Quarantine and chill and kindness chatty clubhouse: Jump in and join the conversation! All is welcome!

[PollyannaMom]

Josh has been testing me something awful in just the 3 weekdays since school ended.

The transition between school schedule and summer schedule is hard for a lot of kids! - And most of them don't really know (or can't really articulate) what's making them feel uneasy. They get the impression that they're supposed to be excited, so any other feelings confuse them, and come out as behavior issues.

...We'd been there for quite a while, though, and I was getting sunburned, but I couldn't get him to leave.

The twins used to be hard at the playground too. Now I "outsource it to tech" - When we arrive at the playground, I ask them how much notice they feel they'll need when it's time to go (5 minutes, 10 minutes...?) then I set a timer on my phone for that many minutes before I want to leave. When it goes off, I let them know it rang and that I'm setting the snooze for their chosen amount of time. - Then when it beeps again, we leave (but the phone is the bad guy, not me!)

 

[Allison Joy]

Happy Father's Day to all the dads represented on this board!

QOTD: My mom brother, and I went on a picnic at our local park, but it wasn't really for Father's Day specifically.

Now, my local "question of the day" that I was asking people at church this morning was, "Did you lose power, water, or both last night?" We had a huge storm sweep through the area, and the water treatment plant lost power. We had no water for 2 to 3 hours last night. They have no reason to believe anything it wrong with the water, but there is a voluntary boil advisory. Sounds redundant to say "voluntary" and "advisory" but "voluntary" is because they issued it on their own, and it didn't come from the state. "advisory" because they don't have any reason to suspect anything is actually wrong with the water. That's not expected to be lifted until tomorrow afternoon. We kept power the whole time, though, so we're grateful for that.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good afternoon and a hug to all missing their Dad this day. I know how extra Blessed I am to have my own.

As always, Carol, I enjoyed church. I loved the message to all young at heart and that is wasn't only intended for young kids the way it is often at my current church. Dad loved his bear and had fun opening his other gifts as well. We took some pictures for our scrapbook.

Wishing all of you a bright rest of the day.

 

[Snowysmom]

@Pea-n-Me Great pictures of the Flower and Garden festival. We loved it when we saw it last month. Sounds like you are having a nice relaxing time.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads. The kids sent cards to DH. We saw younger DS and grandkids yesterday. Older DS needs to take it easy as he worked 15 days in a row not too long ago and then had a busy weekend last weekend. We wanted him to have time with his kids. We did a videochat with him and the grandkids. DH and I went out to lunch. I am too tired today to make a nice dinner tonight and he is fine with that.

 

[lynxstch]

Well we just had a big surprise!!! Not only did the stepdaughter show up with the 2 girls (1 boy was sleeping, the other working), but right behind her was his son Luke and 2 of his 3 girls. Even she hadn't known that they drove up till he called her a little while ago!. That was a HUGE surprise since he was just here 2 weeks ago. They brought a huge framed collage of pictures of some of their trips..had Luke and his partner Marcella in some..the whole family in others..hubbys other son Ben in some of them. And Summer (stepdaughter) brought us a smaller collage frame with different pics of her 4 kids in different poses. Really made hubbys day! Its 93 degrees out and HOT..off to fix dinner..have a nice evening

 

[PollyannaMom]

When we opened the door there was our missing Cat.

So glad to hear she is back!!

PS - I like the term "planovers".

 

[lynxstch]

Thought I would share a picture of both of the framed sets that they gave hubby today. First one is stepdaughters 4 kids..21,17 (the boys) and the girls 14, and 13 Second is younger stepsons , asst'd pictures. There are the 21 year old, the 17 year old, the 13 year old (all girls),,his partner, and hubbys older son in them. Geez the smaller one came out rightside up, but the other one sideways..sorry about that!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

That sounds nice, Snowysmom. I hope your DS does get some time off soon.

Hooray for surprises that make a Quacker happy, Lynn! What beautiful pictures you just shared with us.

 

[Kirby]

@lynxstch, those are really nice!

Went to church this morning. In SS, Lou Lou had to answer questions about her dad for a special Father's Day card. She told her teacher she doesn't know her dad, remember she is three years old. The teacher questioned DD about it when she picked Lou Lou up and DD had to briefly explain that Lou Lou's dad hasn't made time to get to know Lou Lou and that DH (Paw Paw) was more her dad than her biological one. So Lou Lou answered the questions as best she could. When asked how many years old Paw Paw is she replied "he is bigger than me" and Paw Paw's favorite food "he hates food". There were others but those were the two funny ones.

DS and fiance came over with their two dogs, Mack and Ellie. DS grilled wings, added to it was potato salad, pasta salad and baked beans. DD made some gluten free chocolate chip cookies. The kids and DH had a water balloon fight out in the back yard. DS and fiance stayed a while longer and then left. DH and Lil Joe are napping, DD is on a Wal Mart run while I keep Lou Lou entertained. I figure she'll go down early tonight. Mack is spending the week with us. DS is going on a business trip and fiance is going on a girl's trip to San Marcos to float the river. They would leave Mack with fiance's mom since she lives closer but Mack and one of her dogs play too rough when unsupervised and one of them ends up getting hurt.

I imagine we will just veg out what's left of the day.

 

[frog3101]

Bump…I’ve been following this thread from the beginning, but am not much of a poster. Just wanted to keep it on page one.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning Quackers! @frog3101--welcome and thanks for the bump to page one! Always nice to see new friends on here, even if they are 'lurkers'!

66 outside now, but only going to 84 instead of the 91 they said, so we shall see. Lawn needs mowing again already (hey grass--quit growing so fast, lol!), but my knee is stiff and aching,,so it is going to wait till tomorrow when it's only mid 60's or so.

Hubby had a nice day yesterday, I'm glad. With his health issues, we are never sure how many more Father's Days he will have. He is going to start one of the new meds today, one of the others Wed, and up the dose on his 2 older ones Friday,,so if there are any reactions or issues, we can pinpoint which one is doing it.

Only tv we got to last night was the US Open..and that lasted from noon till after 8, so it was a long tournament to watch.

Have a nice morning everyone~~

 

[sweetpeama]

Actually managed to have dinner in time for DH and 16 year old to leave for work. They were both able to take some with them for lunch. Ended up having noodles for putting the cream cheese chicken on. It was a bit skimpy though as could have put another 3-5 chicken breasts in the slow cooker when I started it about 4 am. Wasn't going to wake DH to go downstairs, I don't do well on the stairs especially since ours require going outside and there is no light on that door-DH needs to get it fixed but can't figure it out so I wait. I tried to call 16 year old but she was asleep. Supposedly she took a shower early this morning and was only able to get a couple hours of sleep. Considering that I didn't fall back to sleep until about 6:30 only to be woken by our male cat loudly meowing to be let in which considering I did open the door to see if he wanted to come in before I sat back down in my chair and put my feet up I said you can wait until grandma (that's me) needs to get up and use the bathroom. Finally was able to fall back asleep about a quarter to 9 and she had not come upstairs it was not that early. I had a small bowl as it would be easier for me to grab something else later being at home.
Called my dad and wished him a happy father's day while waiting for 16 year old to come out from work. Did not call my father in law as our phone conversations are restricted to the hello how are you can I talk with mother in law when I call and he answers. If she is out then let her know I called and either I will call back or have her call me when she gets in conversation is conducted along with when do you expect her back. I did ask DH if he had called his dad and he hadn't when I got off the phone with him on his meal break at work.
DH said work was going well but it was going to be a late night as a number of people had not shown up to work. Considering that this time of year only 3 people can be out on the night warehouse for vacation at any particuar time unless there are a whole bunch out of berevement it is a lot of last minute sickness that will be complete with miraculous recoveries in time for work on Monday or no calls no shows which is even worse as they will have to be given a hearing with a shop steward present and unless there is a significant number over the past 6 months or so all they will get is a warning.
It is already 3:15 am and no sign of DH getting home from work. I am going to attempt to get some sleep and 13 year old can just watch tv or movies I don't care

 

[sparkle78]

I’m not good at finding photos on the internet, but who remembers the McDonald’s commercial with the kids in yellow rain coats going “ quack quack” waddle waddle as they head in for food ??? I woke up to a loud rainstorm rattling the windows this morning

ok, just found it on you tube. ... 1980s Camp Nippersink commercial

 

[lynxstch]

@Sparkle..thanks for the memory of that commercial..I loved it!

Its almost 90 out, some dark clouds in with the blue sky and white clouds, and a breeze is coming on, but it's a hot breeze. Holding off on mowing the lawn till Wed/Thurs as they are predicting rain all day tomorrow

Did laundry instead

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good Morning, friends

Time sure does fly, doesn't it? Here we are heading towards the end of June! Thanks to all of you, always, for your daily company, friendship, care and kind support! You each make such a difference to many

Two pieces of shopping advice to share! First is to never purchase an Amazon gift card at the store that is intended to cover the bigger cost of one specific item, unless you are positive you will be keeping the item you order! Extra this suggestion should you also be using money that was given to you as a gift to pay for the prepaid card. For budgeting reasons, it is often easier for Dad and I to get a prepaid Amazon gift card at Ralph's rather than using the credit card. This way we know the order is already paid for. I was given some birthday money that I gave Dad to get me an Amazon gift card for a larger amount at Ralph's with. My intent was to use the money toward summer weight pajamas. I had already gotten one pair that I was pleased with and was ordering a few more. Same seller, same brand, style, and size, the only difference was color. The order came yesterday. I was VERY disappointed that these pajama pants do not feel as soft and smooth as the previous pair They can be returned for my money back but most likely that will mean back to my Amazon account as credit since that was my original form of payment. I will find out whether there is an option to get it as credit card credit instead. You still are not able to use Amazon credit toward purchasing one of their gift cards such as to Old Navy. Not that big a deal just semi feel as though I "lost" pajama money if that makes sense.

Second, much brighter shopping tip, is as of last night, Old Navy is offering Super Cash on a purchase over $25. You get $10 off $25 that can be used for a week in July. Also through tonight, ON.com is offering 30% off on select items. The "catch" is you have to spend $50 in order to get free shipping but any ordered items (if need be) can be returned to an ON store. Always like to try to save money when possible and pass on deals to all of you, of course, too. LOL, ON, still has sizing all of their own! I will say it felt amazing to be once again able to wear a nice, lightweight, T shirt in a smaller size! Dad and I both like their soft washed line of T's. Men's are better quality than the often sheer women's. I am 5'8" as I've shared before and thanks to God, now fairly thin, in fact I'm at my ideal weight to where I do not want to lose anymore (that would not be good) just perhaps tone up a little one day when I am able to get out and be more active. Dad had gotten me a T in medium. It fit fine pre wash. After wash, it shrank enough to where it pulled at my shoulders and needed to be exchanged for a large which is fine as long as that now stays it's similar size. He had also gotten me a tie dye shirt, so soft! He got this one in medium. It is huge! Hopefully that one does shrink. My recommendation for solid color T's is, of course, when possible to try them on at the store. Unless one size is tent- like on you, should it be very comfortable as it is but you have any concern about shrinking either length (me) or width, get the next size up to save yourself a return trip

to all!

 

[easyas123]

Hello all -

Hope everyone had a nice weekend.
I had a rare Saturday afternoon meeting, which went swimmingly, and yesterday we had some family over which was fun. I continue my almost daily battle with the barn swallows & their nests around here, I swear there must be 20 nests under the back of our porch. They dive bombed me yesterday when I went into the barn, too!
I've gotten to spend zero time outside today, unfortunately. It is that bright grey soup outside the usually precedes a thunderstorm or rainy weather, which I believe we are due for tonight and tomorrow. I have one of my every-two-weeks nail appointments later this afternoon so I hope I get home in time to catch a bit of storm on the porch, or at least just some fresh air.
Not sure what is on tap for dinner this evening. I believe tomorrow may be sautéed shrimp over salad.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

It is very hot outside today, with oppressive humidity. I am once again putting up with Josh's whining about the playground. There is no way we are going today or tomorrow, we'll pass out halfway there. I promised him Wednesday and/or Thursday when the humidity breaks, hopefully. And I will definitely use PollyannaMom's suggestion about the timer

We had a full day yesterday! First we got stuck in Six Flags traffic on the way to the cemetery - I know some of you know the area, that the cemetery is down the road from SF. I was surprised - but I shouldn't have been - by the number of visitors at the cemetery! There were cars parked on both sides of the roads; we all had to keep pulling over and taking turns to get by. When we got to my FIL's section, there was a spot to pull over right behind my SIL. She had my MIL sitting in a chair at Dad's space, so we got to spend a little time hanging out there. Josh dug up a little stone and I taught him about putting stones and coins on graves, so he left it on Dad's headstone (I noticed that the person behind Dad had a stone on her headstone, and there were coins on a stone a few spaces down). He also dug up a second stone and we left it on the headstone of one of their friends, who is buried behind and 3 spaces over from Dad. My MIL and SIL left before us, and by the time we decided to go it had cleared out.

At home, we made a decision regarding Josh's birthday in August. He's been after us to go to the Nickelodeon Resort, but it's in Punta Cana, so that's not happening But when I googled "Nickelodeon," the first thing that popped up was a Nickelodeon Universe theme park in East Rutherford, NJ! Only 2 1/2 hours from us! And there is a Legoland Discovery Center nearby as well (they are both located in a mall - so indoors will be great as well, in the August heat)! So we booked everything, the theme park, Legoland, and a nearby hotel for one night. Now we're trying to find a good driving route in order to get there - DH hates I-95 through New York, and the George Washington Bridge; we avoid it every time we drive to Florida. I did notice another route that takes us right near Sleepy Hollow, NY, which is on my bucket list to visit, so we are going to try to stop there on our way home. It looks like if we can get there on the way out, then we can get on 278 and cross on the Tappan Zee Bridge, then take 9W all the way down and completely avoid 95 and the GW Bridge. And it will only take an extra 15 minutes, it seems. I'm kind of excited now!

And our final excitement...while we were just sitting around, and it was relatively quiet, all of a sudden Josh screamed, "OMG, my tooth fell out!" His first one! We took all the requisite photos and he put his tooth in his special tooth fairy pillow. She left him $5 since it was his first one But in doing errands this morning, at Michaels he wanted a wood "circle" and some metallic copper paint (to make a giant penny for Granpa), but he didn't want to spend his $5. His cousin used to pull that, too...

This Friday night we're going to a Yard Goats baseball game - the little league offered tickets for $10. Then he has his baseball photos and closing ceremonies on Saturday, and his friend's birthday party in the evening. I'm glad DH has next week off from work!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Good afternoon.

Hot and humid here. We tough it out with open windows and fans because it cools down at night. Maybe a storm tonight.

Nothing exciting. Went to an Amish farm stand and Lowes. WooHoo. Have a dance lesson this afternoon. Will stop at the grocery store on the way home. Tuna salad for dinner. It's made and I have tomato and hard boiled eggs to go with it.

@lynxstch, nice pictures for your DH.
@frog3101, thanks for the bump. Please stop in whenever you want.

@Sparkle, I don't remember that commercial but it certainly was cute.

I was surprised by the number of visitors at the cemetery!

We also drove through the cemetery where DH's parents and BIL are. A small community cemetery but also way more cars than usual.

When we go MD to CT, we take the Garden State Parkway to 287 across the Tappan Zee Bridge to Saw Mill River Parkway. This time with DD in early June, DD convinced me to follow Mr. Google and we went the George Washington Bridge to I95. NEVER again. It was awful. On the way home I saw I sign for the GW Bridge and about panicked.

@easyas123, your barn swallow story of them dive bombing you reminded me of one of our Shelties, Susie.
We had some barn swallows in the yard. Can't remember if they were nesting in the blue bird box or just regular visitors, but they were always in the same area of the yard. Susie liked to "play" with them. She would go out and sit and wait until they dive bombed her. Then she would duck and watch for them. It was comical.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Humidity really is the worst! I am grateful we don't have too much of that out here. Keep cool and indoors to those of you that are in swampy (which is what I always thought of Houston heat when I visited my Grandma during the years she lived there) weather.

So glad you enjoyed some fun time with family, Easyas. Get home safely today!

Always good to see you post, Apirateslifeforme. What fun birthday plans for Josh! I'm so glad, my friend. A getaway will be great for your family As I PM-ed you, the "tooth fairy" was quite generous to Josh but it is exciting to have lost his first tooth. He's growing right up indeed!

Enjoy your dance lesson, Carol.

Hug to all who visited loved ones graves yesterday. I know that's never easy to do.

Have a great afternoon, friends.

 

[lynxstch]

We are under a severe thunderstorm warning till 10 pm, and it looks like it's about to hit anytime. Very dark outside and I think it might be raining. I will find out when I go out to give the outside cats their dinner. Dinner here is going to be the leftover ribs from the other night, with a baked potato and zucchini.
Checking in while I can,,if it storms badly, you will find me hiding under a blanket on the couch..I am not a big fan of thunderstorms.
Have a nice rest of the afternoon,,will be back to check in later if the storms subside.