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

[lynxstch]

Good morning. Another sunny 70 degree day. We're getting used to this very quickly. It's going to be a shock if the weather does an about face to winter. It shows the same weather through the end of the month, so I'm hoping it stays like this. The grass is turning green, the trees are all budding.

Dave got the deck light up in less than 10 minutes, and he's going to get a frost proof water valve, and run a new pipe in the basement going out to the back of the house instead of out in the lawn. Makes a lot more sense, and I wish I'd had him do it years ago. He also measured the old shed out back that needs to be replaced so he can price it out. It should cost about the same as the one he built last year did, give or take the price of materials. Wood is cheaper, metal for the roof is more expensive.
He also measured the driveway so he can talk to his friend who does blacktop and get me an estimate.

Hard to believe that on Tuesday, it will be 25 years since I left MA and moved to MD.

I'm going to do some more spring cleaning, one more room and then all I'll have left is doing the carpets.

Have a good day everyone.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Hugs dear Lynn. I am once again so thankful extra to God that Dave is around. Just extra love to you, Taz, and all of my Quacker family who have needed to make a heart-wrenching decision about a loved one's care or treatment. God is forever with all of you. I care, too!

Saturday hug to each of dear you with love.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good evening slipping thread save. I pray it's a peaceful evening for all of you. Love always.

 

[Snowysmom]

Lynn Glad you are getting some needed work done. You are fortunate to have Dave to help you with projects.

Tazdev Sending prayers to you and your family.

Good morning. It 49 with temps heading into the 60s today. Rain is coming in tonight and tomorrow. Yesterday I went to the Museum of Science with Jeff and 3 of the kids. Ellie stayed home to do a group project for school. We had fun. Sam is now better behaved in the museum and listens better. It was a nice time. The museum is undergoing some big renovations so there isn't quite as much to do right now. Then I came back to the condo and did some housework and walking. I talked with my half sister. She has been so busy the past year or so that we have not had time to talk. It was a nice long chat catching up. Her area had the bad storms come through on Friday. There were tornadoes north and south of her. Thankfully her area was not affected. Today is the gym and walking around the complex. Also the always needed housework. Kenny may drop by after work for a bit.

Have a good Sunday.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Good evening slipping thread save. I pray it's a peaceful evening for all of you. Love always.

Peaceful, no, but fun, yes - I went to Masonic gala with DH last night. Tons of people, good food, and a late night. We had a great time and I actually slept in this morning.

There was an event for the wives earlier in the day while the guys had their actual meeting, and I'll try to post some pics later from where we went. It was a really cool tour, and just nice to meet some of my counterparts from the other districts.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Hugs Snowysmom and thank God your half sister is safe. I'm also so glad the two of you were able to catch up. God Bless all of your precious grandkids.

Hugs PollyannaMom. Hooray that you enjoyed an evening out including making some new friends. I look forward to seeing pictures.

Good early Sunday morning. I'm waiting for Angelina to hopefully come soon. Dear Lynn, I thought of you last night. Angelina told me she was wearing her, "Hawaiin blue," when I told her I liked the bright light blue color of her scrubs. She shared how beautiful and blue the ocean is in Hawaii. I have never been there. My beloved late grandparents were gifted a 50th Anniversary Hawaiin cruise which they loved. It makes me so grateful today that you have had such wonderful island trips.

Have a great day, everyone. I will check back in later.

 

[tazdev3225]

just a quick update. Dad will get the feeding tube. He is sundowning which means there is a relatively short period of time where he is lucid enough to take anything by mouth. He did pull the NG tube out so my daughter is getting him something they use on patients at risk of pulling the PEG tube out, I think that's what it is called. After this is in place we will be having another meeting with the care management team. This will decide what we are doing to get him home. My mom is adamant that he WILL come home. We will work all that out and I am hoping maybe we can get volunteers to spell mom for a couple hours during the day so she can shop, get out for a break, whatever she needs to do for her sanity. We may look at someone for overnight so she can get some sleep. My daughter did tell her that he will probably need a hospital bed. Dad is in danger of aspiration pneumonia because of his swallowing issues and needs to be kept upright.

We all realize that dad is nearing the end. He is a fighter but his body can't take anymore. The dr. pretty much said the next hospitalization will be the end and mom has said no heroic measures. I only hope I can help as much as I can but Jim is getting a procedure that will require him being off his feet almost 100% of the time. I don't trust him to listen as he is quite stubborn and insists he can still walk the dog. Thankfully the dr. told him he listens or they will need to amputate the toe as the ulcer is not healing and it has been about 6 months.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Just so very much love and prayers of peace and comfort dear Taz. Prayers you feel God's loving arms surrounding you. Thinking of you, my friend. Hugs!

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning. We stayed at 60 degrees overnight, going to be 65 with thunderstorms today. I just took all the blankets off the front porch where the cats slept most of the winter and put them down to wash. Going to vacuum the carpet out there and call it a day. I stumbled going down the cellar steps this morning and bent my bad knee so hard I didn't think I was going to be able to straighten it out. I did, but it's a little sore. Going to put ice on it and take Tylenol and rest it for awhile. Not what I needed to do today when I had a lot on my to do list.

Have a good Sunday.

 

[footballmouse]

Happy Rainy Sunday!

Boy has it been storming here this weekend. It's my weekend to work so it's not really affecting my plans at all. This past week though the temperatures were wonderful. I picked Mia up from daycare on Monday and we went to the park. It was nice to get outside and play. She was at my house on Thursday for a few hours and we played outside the entire time. She's gotten so much more comfortable being around the dogs and they all leave her alone once the required "hello's" are done. All the dogs need to get in their kisses.

I accepted a new job the other day, I'll start training on April 7. I feel a little bad since today is my first day out of training for the position I moved to in January. This new job is completely different than what I'm used to so fingers crossed I can handle it. I'll be working for an organ and tissue donation company. I'll be contacting the next of kin to coordinate the donation of tissue and cornea and then I'll coordinate with the recipient to get the transplant going. I'll be training for 2 days in Lexington, KY. They'll put me up at a hotel overnight, I just need to work something out for the dogs. I'm hoping I'll be able to stay PRN at the hospital that I'm currently at. I'd like to have that dependable 2nd income if I can. I'm getting a little tired working at Kohl's. A 6 or 7 hour shift just hurts my back so bad.

@Judique - gorgeous pictures of the moon! Sorry to hear about another house falling through for your son. I remember when Evan was going through the house buying process a couple of years ago. They would always lose out due to a cash buyer or the other person offering way over the asking price. Tell your son that it will eventually work out, there's a house meant for him out there.

@lynxstch - I know what you mean about the store changing things around. My Kroger just went through a remodeling, and I've only had to run in for quick trips lately, but I've noticed things have moved around.

@flyingdumbo127 - glad to hear you're making progress, keep up the good work. You'll be back home in no time!

@tazdev3225 - glad you enjoyed your trip to DW, sorry you got some bad news about your dad though while you were there.

I'm having someone come out to the house this week to give me an estimate on new gutters. I know they need replaced so I'm finally getting it done. I'm also going to start reseeding the back yard. I need to run to Home Depot and get that orange plastic fencing so the dogs won't get into the section that I'm working on. Hopefully next week will be good weather. I'm off for 3 days so I'm determined to get things done around the house. Depending on the weather, I have a couple pieces of furniture that I'm going to start to refinish. Jacob has a wood microwave cart that he wants painted and Evan has a wood cabinet that he made in high school art class that I'm going to touch up for him. Once those projects are done, they can get them out of my house!

I was looking into getting a toddler bed for Mia and taking Mitchell's old bed apart. Then I realized that the mattress on Mitchell's bed is pretty new so there's no reason to waste that. I'm just going to get some bedrails, and Mia can just use that bed when needed.

That's about it for me. Have a great rest of the weekend!!!

 

[lynxstch]

@footballmouse Good luck with your new job Jen. It sounds like it's going to be both challenging and heart breaking at times. You're going to be doing some amazing work.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

ITA with Lynn dear Footballmouse. Thank you for the incredible difference you will make. Please be kind to yourself. God Bless Mia.

Hugs, dear Lynn and you please be careful and take care. I do not want to hear of you falling again

Extra hug for you dear Taz.

 

[PollyannaMom]

just a quick update. Dad will get the feeding tube. He is sundowning which means there is a relatively short period of time where he is lucid enough to take anything by mouth. He did pull the NG tube out so my daughter is getting him something they use on patients at risk of pulling the PEG tube out, I think that's what it is called. After this is in place we will be having another meeting with the care management team. This will decide what we are doing to get him home. My mom is adamant that he WILL come home. We will work all that out and I am hoping maybe we can get volunteers to spell mom for a couple hours during the day so she can shop, get out for a break, whatever she needs to do for her sanity. We may look at someone for overnight so she can get some sleep. My daughter did tell her that he will probably need a hospital bed. Dad is in danger of aspiration pneumonia because of his swallowing issues and needs to be kept upright.

We all realize that dad is nearing the end. He is a fighter but his body can't take anymore. The dr. pretty much said the next hospitalization will be the end and mom has said no heroic measures. I only hope I can help as much as I can but Jim is getting a procedure that will require him being off his feet almost 100% of the time. I don't trust him to listen as he is quite stubborn and insists he can still walk the dog. Thankfully the dr. told him he listens or they will need to amputate the toe as the ulcer is not healing and it has been about 6 months.

Many hugs all around

 

[PollyannaMom]

Hugs PollyannaMom. Hooray that you enjoyed an evening out including making some new friends. I look forward to seeing pictures.

The place we toured and had lunch at is in Lenox, MA. It was built by JP Morgan's sister Sarah and her husband:

About Ventfort Hall

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Thanks so much PollyannaMom. The formality reminds me of Hearst Castle which dad and I toured when I was a young teen. I'm glad you were able to tour Ventfort Hall.

 

[Snowysmom]

PollyannaMom Lovely pictures. I love old homes that have all the old fashioned touches.

Tazdev Prayers for peace and comfort for your Dad.

Footballmouse. Congrats on the new job. It sounds challenging and so rewarding too.

Good morning. It is 55 here now with lots of rain all day. Yesterday I did alot of housework to keep busy. I cleaned the kitchen cabinets, coffee maker, kitchen floor and part of the hallway where I come in from outside, and did some laundry. I also went to the gym and mediated. The lake would have been too muddy as we got a bit of rain in the early morning.

Another week! Off to work. Have a good day.

 

[lynxstch]

Happy St Patrick's Day!

It got to 75 here yesterday. We had a couple of downpours, and 1 rumble of thunder but none of the bad storms, and no tornado's despite a tornado watch.

Today it will be a high of 46 and then tomorrow and Wednesday near 80 again. Make up my mind. Heat on, heat off, windows open, windows closed.

My knee was fine until dinnertime. Then it was so stiff I could barely move it. I had a hard time falling asleep, because I couldn't find a comfortable position. It's still stiff this morning, but only when I walk, so I'm being very careful how I move it.

I know I can vent with my Quacker family, so bear with me this morning.

I'm a little hurt. Summer texted me yesterday afternoon asking if I knew Luke was in town. How would I know, he never told me. He texted her at 10 on Friday night, telling her that Mary (their mom) wanted her to join them for breakfast out Saturday morning. She went, but felt uncomfortable and didn't stay to eat. Luke made comments about Summer's kids changing jobs all the time. At least they have jobs! She told them she had a Walmart delivery to do and left. She said they made her feel like they didn't even want her there. They didn't even say goodbye to her when she left. They had come up (the 'they' being his long time partner, girlfriend) to go to a surprise birthday party for someone he went to school with.
Long story short, even though they had to drive by here to get to Mary's house where they stayed for 2 nights, they never stopped, never texted, not even a hello. That tells me where I stand. with them, which is nowhere. I also questioned Summer as to why she just told me about it late yesterday afternoon. She said she had been busy and didn't think of it. I'm not buying that excuse either.
I was upset, I was angry, and I was hurt, but I'm over all of it. I'm done with both of the boys from now on.

Have a good day everyone.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Thank you for trusting in us to share dear Lynn. Love and care to you always. We are here for you always. I hear you on "fair weather," at times folks or when it feels that way. Not fun. An extra reason I thank you and the rest of my Quacker family for your prayers and kind encouragement always. I am so blessed indeed. Hugs to all.

Dear Snowysmom, prayers you have a good day and are able to enjoy a walk tomorrow.

 

[Snowysmom]

Lynn I am sorry that Luke did not come by to see you and never let you know he was in town. Family can be frustrating, maddening, and hurtful at times. I can understand your feelings.

 

[dazedx3]

Lynn… I totally understand your hurt, I’ve been feeling that with a few family members lately too. I’m trying really hard to realize it is a two way street, that we both have phones. Not saying that is the same for you. When you have had a big loss it is hard not to feel hurt when you feel slighted. Hugs.

Yesterday was Kris’s birthday, I was invited on two different outings but I just stayed home, and felt sorry for myself. I just want my life back. I feel like this year has been harder than last. Next weekend will be hard also because it is my birthday, we were one week apart. We always celebrated jointly.

Beginning of next month I will be having cataract surgery on both eyes. Not really a big deal but I hate having to ask for rides from people. I am really hoping this will improve my sight. I am paying out of pocket for special lenses that will correct much of my astigmatism. Medicare will not pay for more than the standard lenses.

So far so good concerning DD’s pregnancy. We all are very worried. Her dogs both got severe gastroenteritis from a bad batch of dog food. they had to have a scan done on one of them and found a mass on his spleen ( not related). He will have surgery as soon as he feels better, the outcome from that could be life ending. As if she doesn’t have enough to worry about!

Mona… small progress is still progress
Tazdev… prayers for your Dad and Mom and you.
Snowysmom… I’m so glad you are staying active. I am really struggling with my knees so my activity has been suffering.

Stay safe and healthy everyone