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I have dill pickles now on my shopping list! Brother-oh-boy did I ever have a nightmare this morning after I woke up early and went back to sleep. It was a familiar one in which I am in a city I know, but could not get out of the 'bad' neighborhood to find a way to where I was going! I couldn't find my phone to call my mother to come and pick me up, then I did find it but when I referred to the piece of paper with the phone number on it, and then tried to enter the numbers on the phone, I either forgot or lost track of the numbers I needed to press, and I then lost the piece of paper. It was quite frightening and frustrating....and I was going up and down streets I felt would lead me to where I wanted to go (home) but when I reached where I thought a direction would lead me, there were various obstacles and reasons why I had to find another way. I am quite aware of the symbolism of the dream, but it rattled me. When I woke up, I was shaking.....both from the nightmare and from pain in my hips, thighs and knees, It took nearly an hour to shed some of the residual feelings it left me with. I made coffee, took my meds, got dressed and took Tinker out for a rather uncomfortable (legs, knees and hips) walk, and the 'bad' feelings (fright) and shaking gradually calmed down. It is now 11 AM and I am still trying to compose myself. I need to go out for a few items and when I come back I have to start in SOMEWHERE to get some necessary things accomplished. I guess I will figure it out, unlike in my dream, where I couldn't figure things out! Talk about revealing my inner state of mind! YIKES! Scrolling on the laptop a bit to distract myself, reorient myself, and go in another direction! Jumping Jehosophats! Once I am a little less rattled, I do have to dig in and DO some things! I'm sure I will be back by here later on, and hope to be able to tell you how I have pulled myself back together!

Tweety, thanx for the info re banks and SS. I already have 2 banks, so 2 checking accounts here, and one debit card from my "newest" bank. I will be talking to both places this week, and may end up moving a bit earlier than when I have to 'vacate' in order to get things set up down there. Meanwhile I have to go to pick up some prescriptions; it is already 1 PM so I better get my hind-end moving! Then when I get back, more piddling, sorting, packing!! 😊

Good morning! Congrats on complete the activism Joe! Stars, it looks like you're going to have to open your account in Florida first in order to have the SSI sent there and have the two bank accounts for a bit. It looks like you will be able to change the account your SSI goes into over the phone and some banks even do this for you. Do you use a debit card? You can use your debit card on your old bank while you're opening the new bank account and getting your SSI here. I know you're an old school girl but you might have to join 2026 for a bit, as getting a check cashed from an out of state bank won't be easy. LOL. It will all work out. I'm happy that you have this option. Your friends down there sound very welcoming. Hard to believe that in 3 years I myself will be getting an SSI check. Nothing much going on here. I slept until 9AM, which is late for me, after getting up at 6 to feed Waffles. I still have plenty of prepped food for today from my cooking frenzy on Wednesday and will go to the gym and not do much but read and maybe watch TV.

More good news! My friend and her husband are actually both thrilled I am going to be moving down there. There is a choice of 2 rooms, and I hope to get the upstairs one with it's big window and tiny bathroom. It kinda depends on their niece who often goes to visit them with her new-ish baby and generally stays in the upstairs, but she hopefully will be amenable to using the downstairs room, which is also a large room. I may end up moving their furniture, whichever room I get to have, into a small rental storage unit since I do not want a queen size bed and may not need other furniture she has in either room. But I prolly can pay for a small storage unit. I just don't want all the furniture she has in there ; they will be sending me photos of both rooms. My friend is having knee surgery on the 24th of June and will be laid up in bed for at least 3 weeks until she has to start working with PT, but other than settling in and just yakking/visiting with her while she is in bed, I will have no 'patient care.' ALRIGHTY! Tinker will have to learn to get along with another small dog (a mix of Chihuahua/Pomeranian), and the black cat that 'awaits me' (she says). It is in/on Fleming Island, Fla, 30023, in Clay County, 21 miles SE of Jacksonville, and off the shore in St John's River. Technically an island, but not out in the middle of a body of water; it is surrounded by water and wetlands.(Note to self: get some Deep Woods OFF, as I imagine the 'squitos and bugs are prolific) There are all the stores and banks, I use within 1-5 miles, so transferring my business to the ones down there ought'nt to be a problem. There is also a KIA dealership so no problem in using my warranty. Looking at the weather, right now it is similar to what we are having here: heat and high humidity. I'll deal, y'know? And eventually I will probably EVENTUALLY have to go to an ***'t living, but hopefully not for at LEAST several more years! But being single and not well off, and having Medicare will be to my advantage when that time comes. I have to take that shower I skipped again yesterday, after I finish on line here, and have to leave a message to my bro and sister, too, but that can wait. SiL will be bringing some boxes to me today, and more tomorrow. They will be gone, starting Sunday, to the beach for a week and said they are willing to help me with anything [but primarily I think it's fine if they can stay out of my way!] BiL is going to mow the yard today and I will prolly make some phone calls, ditch a lot of old paperwork to be shredded, and start packing somethings I won't need to access before I move, but want to keep. I may end up putting some of that in storage there too, (with their furniture) as it is from some of my collections over the years and many residences. Stuff I don't need to keep in my room, but don't yet want to ditch. Gotta get to it and do it! 👋😊 YAAAAAAAYYYY!

Good evening. Was a rotten day at work. That's all I'll say. Staffing these days sucks. Boss came in do due our annual reviews which were due April 30th. I get a good review that pretty much coincided with my self-review. No talk of raises yet, just the review. Off for three days.

It is supposed to get up to 91 degrees today, with 67% humidity (Mom used to purposely mispronounce it 'Hum-did-it-ee') AUGH, suddenly it is the dreaded Summer weather. It's been so nice having no humidity, sunshine, and pleasant breezes. Oh well, time to switch to tee-shirts. I think today's "T" will be "YOU DON'T KNOW ME-- Federal Witness Protection Program". One of my other favorite ones is "MOOSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY -- Whattsa Matter U". with Bullwinkle in the center of the circle. Last night I stayed up 'til 12:30 PM. I confess I did watch that Cher movie right up until she slapped Nickolas Cage's face (hard, twice!) and yelled "SNAP OUT OF IT!" Then Tink and I went up to bed. I slept really well again and had entertaining, fun dreams which made me wake up in a good mood again. Could it be that eating "well-er" and going to bed earlier (ie not 3 AM) is helping me feel better? I have to confess I gave up smoking again (though I never mentioned to y'all that I had been smoking again in desperation because of extreme tension and depression). But with Nannie being gone over to the rehab/nsg home, it has been so refreshing! I haven't had withdrawal problems... just want to smoke after meals a little bit, out of habit, but I don't do it. And I have nicotine patches I use for late afternoon and evening if I need to. The thing that impels and compels me to keep it up is my checking acct. What with once again being out $800/mo of "Nannie pay", and adding up these eye-opening numbers, it's almost no contest: Cigts cost $10 per pack now and I was smoking one pack per day (OMG!), so saving $10/day, $70/wk, $280/mo, and well over $3,000/year..... NICE! Pretty impressive reasons to quit! I do feel better and sleep better, for sure! Plus if it nags at me to have a cigt. after meals, I walk Tinker instead. She especially enjoys it because there has been a beautiful, long-furred, black+white cat coming through the back yard, quite near-ish to the back door, where she looks out doing her watch-dog thing. OH MY, the barking! The cat runs a bee-line to get away! So Tink is always eager to investigate, ON LEASH of course! She never gets anywhere near the cat, but sniffs and sniffs along its pathway. I just had a sliced-salmon sandwich on DAVE'S thin-sliced bread with 29,465 whole grains and seeds. Okay, so maybe that is a small exaggeration, but still.... I have to say I am actually enjoying life now, for a change, which is also a BIG relief from scowling and stewing. LONG MAY IT BE SO! Can you even believe I am posting without grousing? WOW!

If this is Sunday, it must be my turn to post! Seems I've been doing a lot of dish-washing lately; that's okay, but more pots and pans and things used in the oven. Cuz I bin a'cookin' a LOT! 🙂 Yesterday I wore my hearing aids all day so I could hear the movies on TV without having to cup my right ear....I watched two movies that I have seen before but it was long enough ago that I didn't remember a lot of them....A Time To Kill, and The Negotiator. The second movie I remembered very little of, and it was quite tense! But the time the second one ended, I was exhausted and really tired of hearing my stomach gurgle and my shoes squeak whenever I walked! I had my oldest shoes on and since the movies were on a channel with commercials, I went up and down the stairs frequently for one thing or another. When all was said and done I went upstairs and yanked out the hearing aids. WHEW! Since I was so tired, after I gave Tink her bedtime snacks I decided-----No reading! I turned out the light and it was only 10:40 PM! I woke up two hours later with everything aching so much it was 'singing' in my hips, thighs, calves, ankles, and elbows and wrists. I got up and slathered Lidocaine roll-on below my waist and Lidocaine cream above my waist. I know on the packages it says not to cover large areas with Lidocaine, but I was DESPERATE. I also took one of the capsules the doc ordered for fibromyalgia, which I do not take regularly, and I also took a Xanax. I went back to sleep about 1/2 hour later. When I woke up I was pleased I could walk with my previous stride! Usually I at least have a little hitch in my left knee! After I did more dishes, I spent a lot of the day on-line again ☹️ which is also exhausting. But I did walk Tinker 6 times to get a break in the time on the laptop! Tonight I watched Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Right now MOONSTRUCK is starting, which I do remember that I enjoyed, but I don't want to watch because I don't intend to stay up until 12:30 PM. It's so odd to me that I have suddenly stopped staying up until 2 or 3 AM, but I have to admit I feel better when I don't, even though I do sleep 7-8 hours. It would appear that I am starting to take better care of myself. HUH! Whaddya know! Since it is 11 PM and Tinker has stretched and groaned, we're going up to bed now! G'night!

On a train somewhere in Texas... I guess I never posted yesterday. Was just going to say that I loved "All of Me" with Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin. Of course I have not seen it in A Very Long Time. The New Horizons jazz band played the song at our concert last week and it has been on my brain anyway, then Stars brought up the movie! We are running about half an hour or more late getting to Ft. Worth. I have plenty of time to catch the train from Ft. Worth to San Antonio. I'll be glad for a chance to use a real bathroom and then get some lunch. I miss our dogs but Hubs will not agree to getting one. And yes the expenses do add up. Sam had 4 teeth extracted Tuesday. The estimate had been over $900 but the final amount was just about $580. Our financial advisor would be annoyed with us. Oh, we are here. Time to get out and eventually board the next train.

Good morning! Stars, that's something to think about. One of my goals is also to spend less time online and doom scrolling. I can't tell because my use last week on my phone was high but that's because it was on listening to Spotify music and podcasts for the trip to and from NC. I think I'm doing a bit better. We're having a bit milder days in the low to mid 80's this week instead of the 90 degree days we had last week. I read the fine print and Wayfair says I don't have to be home for the book shelf delivery that they will leave it in a safe place. Given that there isn't much porch thievery around here I'll take my chances and hope by saying that out loud I don't jinx myself. Hopefully they aren't so heavy that I can't move them inside myself after work should they arrive on a work day. My prediction that my GI system would be upset with me eating healthy came true. Still I'm better than when I started treatment. I've also reversed the weight loss and am gaining. Going to take Waffles to her follow up with the doggie ophthalmologist. Hopefully she's okay and we can stop going so often because it's expensive. I was petting her and found the lymph node swelling her vet was talking about. It's just a small nodule at this point and we're monitoring. I told her no biopsies or treatment since she's elderly. Have a great day.

Good evening Joe, hope you had a good outing. Nice of you to take such an early shift. Stars, hope the aches and pains are minimal and you get stuff done. We remained short staffed today and I had a 6:1 assignment. Needless to say no charge nurse duties got done. I also made a med error in my business, but I also blame my scanner for not working. I had to reboot it twice. Had it been working I might have caught my error instead of giving the patient the wrong dose. But ultimately it's my fault and I am seriously bummed I pulled the wrong medication. Even with 6:1 and being in charge I need to breath and focus more. Back tomorrow and if no one calls out we will have one more nurse than today.

Slept pretty well and woke up in a ball of sweat, shivering if any air got under the covers. Time to ditch the down comforter, I guess! Today it will be warmer (ie HOT) here compared to the temps where I will be living in a few weeks. And the humidity is pretty much equal in both here and there, with there being a slight edge higher. Woke up at 3:41 AM again. This is getting to be a weird habit. Anybody else in the "3 AM Club"? Tinker moaned and groaned at me to turn the light off, settle down, and get under the covers. So, when my meds convince the worst of the lower extremity aching to calm down, I will arise, dress, and get busy doing something or other. But first, that all important second cup of coffee is required! It's Saturday and that means the in-laws will be coming back from their vacation tomorrow. 😐☹️ See how excited I am? 🫣< peeking out between my fingers. It's hard to see that, which is why I have explained it. Okay, no book-writing this morning, as I have been doing both AM and PM lately. ☺️ No guarantees about later, though!

Hello all! Ugh, 4 am, Joe?? Kudos to you for being dependable!! Agree, you'll be done sooner! Tweety, hang in there and as you said, just put your head down and do what needs doing, to the best of your ability (given the circumstances). I would have you for my nurse any time! Glad you got the shelves paid off, what a relief! Head for that retirement goal! No Stars, good you got the bed put together and found out what is what with it! Hopefully BiL will be by to measure twice and cut once, for those slats. And good on you, for getting UP when you did!! Wednesday I went to visit a friend and drop off one of the Nekteck neck massagers to her. Figured she could use it. :) We had a nice visit! I slept poorly Wed. night (only 3-4 hours), but made it through Thursday without taking a nap. I took one of the Nekteck massagers to drop off at my former place of work. The colleague I left it for wasn't there, but I left it at her desk with a note. I did get to visit with three others I had previously worked with -- they all looked well, weathering personal changes and changes at the workplace. I slept well last night, and today is Do The Laundry day (a load is already in). There is a jam campout about an hour away, at a friend's property. He has a few acres, and lots of open space for RVs, a pool available, and he will host burgers tonight. Dh and I had talked about going, but decided not to. He says they have plenty of shade (it will be in the mid-90's today) so it's comfortable for jamming. I think we are just being lazy, don't wanna drive out. We have no plans for the weekend. I made an appointment with my Cardiolgist, that will be in mid-June. I'm surprised it was made so quickly, I expected to have to wait a couple months for it! Have a good evening!

Hey, I got up....well I woke up at 8 AM and I told myself I did not want to sleep 1/2 the day away 'cause I've got things to do. And this time, I pretty much listened to myself, even though the room felt cold-ish and the bed was nice and warm, Every time I started to fall asleep I somehow managed to give myself a little shake and would open my eyes and look at the clock. After the 4th or 5th time of doing that, I just got out of bed and pulled some clothes on, including a sweatshirt, reminding myself that it is supposed to get up to 90 degrees today, so it is a good thing the house feels cold right now. I went down to the kitchen to make my coffee, and when I came back up, there was Tinker, curled up into a tight little ball, giving me this "You've GOT to be kidding me!" look. So here I am back on the bed, sitting up against a pile of pillows, the quilt pulled up over my legs, but intent on staying awake. Tinker has moved up right against my hip and when I pulled the comforter over her, she cuddled in and gave a big SIGH! Now she is snoring! My legs and knees, well, surprisingly they didn't screech at me when I got up, but as I was up a bit longer the knees woke up and the thighs started aching (another editorial comment along the lines of Tinker's "You've GOT to be kidding me!") So I have taken a couple of the Hyland's Leg Cramps pills to give the legs a head start with the hot coffee dissolving the pills. Quite soon I have to go back down for that all-important 2nd cup of coffee! Last night I decided to move the head and foot-boards and side boards of the bed-frame into the formal LR so I could set it up and clean it today. Will leave it that way so BiL can measure twice and cut once to make the wide slats to act as a platform. I don't intend to buy a box-Spring if I can help it, unless by chance I run across one that isn't 18-20 inches thick that doesn't cost a massive bunch of dough. And they make mattresses so thick these days, like someone decided you can't possibly sleep comfortably unless it is also big, thick and bulky, That makes it difficult for me to remake the bed, and this mattress I have, for some strange reason, does NOT have the hand-grip thingies on the sides of it; it would help so much if it DID have those!. Carrying or moving even a twin-size mattress is hard if you can't "get a grip!" Time for that 2nd cup of coffee. Then when I come back up I'll take my routine meds, and peruse the news threads to see what idiotic things have occurred overnight, and what more our great leader (cough, choke) has decided to do to desecrate the land around the White House and the Washington monuments. 🙄😵‍💫 While I waited for the coffee to make itself. I went into the living room and put the bed frame together, and you know what? It's NOT a four-poster like I thought it was! It has shorter, rounded head and foot boards, kind of like whatchacall a "spool" design! So much for the powers of observation! (Zoinga!!) Nowhere to hang a hat, but that's okay, because I have that Teflon hair that does not let a hat stay on my head for long without sliding off, and I don't really have any hats, and whoooo needs too wear a hat in Flow-reeda, anyway? (well, I DO understand that hats are needed in some circumstances, to keep the sun off, and absorb sweat in the headband.) So, what now? Oh yeah, the news. I hope not to spend more than 1/2 hour on that! After I do that it is time to start in here and there on this and that! I don't specify because we ALL know what happens when I do......NOTHING that I said I was going to do! (Know thyself, Stars!)

Good morning! 4AM is quite the commitment Joe. I slept pretty well out of fatigue on half my sleeping medication and didn't get up through the night but got up before 6AM in time to feed Waffles. I have my sheets in the wash and am having breakfast and will head to the gym and grocery store. I need to meal prep lunches for the next two days at work. I think a pasta dish I made the other day should feed me for dinners the next three nights. I need to make some sides. Best friend is making chicken wings for lunch and invited me over. I made a promise to myself to not fall apart during the coming weeks of being short staffed and working some overtime. By that I mean just being disciplined to get stuff done, meal prep, not let things pile up but also self-care through some rest and doing relaxing things like reading or watching TV. That includes saying no and putting stuff off that doesn't take priority. I made a nice paycheck today due to overtime and it paid for my shelves, so that's $1,000 off my credit card and it's back to zero. I want to get some stuff done but not retire in debt thus the overtime. I'm still looking ahead to retirement. Each rotten day at work, which is every day, reminds to trudge on towards that goal.

It's that long, drawn out "thought" you had at the end of your first sentence. 😉

Hubs likes to drink pickle juice. He'll eat the last pickle then leave the jar in the refrigerator so he can take a little swig every now and then. The virtual diet program sent me Mg tabs to take for leg cramps should that be a problem. I've taken a couple (and I do think it helped). Today I had another carb-fest. Someone brought sweets and put them in the nutrition room. What was I supposed to do? 🤷‍♀️So I will not be checking my ketones today. Tonight we're having a movie night at the church and watching Rookie of the Year. Is that the one where the kid has some kind of surgery and can throw an incredible fastball (until something happens and he can't anymore)? Saturday a group from the church is going to a baseball game -- Oklahoma City's AAA team, now known as the Comets. Hubs and Twin A and I plan to go.

Good morning! Joe, hope you have a normal good day. J22, hope you're okay. It seems most people I know that travel or go on a cruise pick up something these days. But here I am picking up e coli and RSV in the same year. LOL I meet my new GI doc today since my established one moved. He's in the same practice and I know him from being on call where I work but we don't interact much. I don't think he'll say much or do anything different. Hopefully he reviews my chart prior to seeing me. Otherwise will do some cooking and make a pharmacy run for my sleeping med. No overtime this week but I did pick up a day next week. We have people out on vacation and a couple of moved on. Three people are on vacation at the same time along with two nurses that left leaving us really short staffed. Oh well.

Good morning! Hi Joe! J22, those are great pictures. Dianah, did you watch the old Superman TV series or the movies? Not much going on today. I'm going to yoga today since I missed yesterday. I did go to the gym yesterday. I left my water bottle on top of my car after a recent class and it flew off and I couldn't find it and I forgot to get a new one. First world problems. I'll just buy some bottled water on the way. It's already June which is Pride Month! Or if you're in Tennessee "Nuclear Family Month". "the nuclear family is God's perfect design for humanity and is aligned with the long-held traditional values of Tennessee". I guess I don't fit into God's perfect plan for humanity. Have a great day.

Hello all! Joe, congrats on the activism, I'm sure it was interesting and I hope it made a difference to the legislators, that constituents were dedicated enough to approach them. Glad the drive was safe. I hope today is a nice rest day. Tweety, you have a good rest day too! nursej22, love love the photos! The views are so impressive! The photos remind me that there are many, many lovely and stunning spots around the world, and even in our own back yard areas, that we may enjoy (don't always have to schedule a cruise but sometimes ya gotta do it!). I'm glad you are enjoying the cruise! I hope the weather remains good for you. No Stars, it's good to read about your progress with The Move and Prep Before The Move! You seem to be calmly considering all options, and not freaking out! :) :) I slept better last night, after exercising while watching a Cadfael episode. Then I watched a couple old Superman episodes (they're always interesting, for costuming and scripts that reflect the manners and customs of the day). I also read some, and played Spider Solitaire. Today? Another grocery store run, and change sheets and towels (I washed them on Friday). Have a good afternoon and evening!

We are just approaching Ketchikan, the last port of call before we return to Vancouver. Yesterday we we at Glacier Bay, taking in the magnificence of the glaciers and abundant wildlife. Most of the critters were too far away to get a clear pic with my phone. Below is my attempt to photograph sea otters. We attended an acrobatic show in the evening, then dined and enjoyed music at the Irish pub.

Stars I'm glad she is willing to take you in, I hope you get the details sorted out soon Tweety hope you next shift isn't too bad Ado glad that a crown wasn't needed Hi Dianah Work was rather busy yesterday, in addition to the side project and the meeting I got a new case. Thankfully the meeting was short and the new case proved to be a simple task, but still was a busy day. Got up early for some reason, and decided to get out before work to stop at the ATM and gas station. After work ran by the store. Wanted to get everything done before I drive downstate tomorrow. Was a quiet night, just exercised Today may be quieter at work, however I have a coworker off, so hard to say how the day will be. At least the schedule looks pretty light today. Nothing planned for after work Will be warmer today, in the mid 80s

Wow Stars, that is quite a change. Whichever option you end up with I hope it all goes well. As Tweety said, at least you're now done with the caregiver role for good Tweety glad you're feeling better NJ22 sounds like a nice cruise Dianah glad the internet is now working better Work was pretty good yesterday, just busy enough to keep things going but not overwhelming. After work stopped at the store and the library and exercised Today will be busier at work, have to work on the side project again and have a meeting. After work should be pretty quiet, just an errand to run and exercise Will be a bit cooler today, in the upper 70s

Hello all! No Stars, how thrilling for you! The area sounds very nice (and lots of amenities and 'needs' close by), and you may get to get out and enjoy the waters nearby! Even just a nice view! W00t!!

And after re-reading what I posted, I saw how I had repeated myself about several things. Guess because my mind is so full and BUSY! Bizzy, but not tizzy. 😉

I keep forgetting I have to spell out the word Assisted, because otherwise it is dealt with as a bad, dirty word! 😂🤣

Good morning! Joe, hope you have a nice short week. I got my new books shelves set up. Took the TaskRabbit guy 3 hours and it was a bit cheaper than the Wayfair service. I never would have been able to do it myself and was worth it. It was no small feat hand carrying the books from one part of the house to the shelves. There's plenty of room on the shelves for more books in the future. I also have a couple of smaller bookshelves full in other parts of the house. It's several decades of reading and collecting books. Not sure why I'm like this. But I do feel accomplished. In the coming months I'll get some furniture, maybe used or thrift store stuff, to make a reading room. Not much else going on. I do hope to mow the yard today. I had to buy a new trimmer because somewhere along the line the charger to my old trimmer went missing and I was unable to find just a charger. I was going to show a pic but something about "unknown server". Okay.

Hello all! Remembering those fallen, heroes all, today. We have no plans for today, though the weather continues to be temperate and not HOT HOT HOT. I may do some cleaning. I had to pre-treat one of the shirts dh wears to Disneyland (dressed dapper), the neck needed some attention! Hmmmm, the two jackets he wears to the parks are wool and, though lightweight, they are still WOOL. I wonder if I should order him a linen jacket for use during warmer days? I recall Hercule Poirot wearing one when he conducted his mystery-solving in Egypt and other warmer climes. :) :) Cats are fine, Little Doggy is fine. Tweety, we have some wild parrots here too -- I mean, in Southern California. I guess in Santa Monica there are several flocks, all (as yours) from escapees! I hope your shelves get assembled as planned today. Yah, probably wise to avoid the beaches! Joe, sounds like a good day, walking at the Arboretum with N! What are you cooking for the week? No Stars, lay low and I hope this bout soon passes. Have a good afternoon and evening!

Good morning! Hope you have a good Memorial Day. I will be laying low staying away from the beaches as I know they will be crowded and parking is a nightmare. Stars, I am now a "Collaborator". Moving on up! I went out to empty trash and I scared a bunch of parrots out of my yard. They were a pretty green. And then a blue jay flew away that was hanging out with them. I'm not much of a bird watcher but knew these two. It's interesting that the wild parrots stem from pet parrots that escaped. I have the Task Rabbit guy coming soon to assemble my book shelves. I imagine I'd going to take about three hours or so. I'll stay out of his way. It's clean the bathrooms day and I have laundry. Hope to make it to the gym later but might take a nap as well. Hope everyone has a good day.

My mom always wore what she called a "granny gown." Flannel long-sleeved gown, buttons near the neck. Comfy, and she wore it at home every day (in her waning years). Me? Baggy t-shirt and loose, elastic-waist pants. I have a sleep version and an "at home" version. We drove to Victor Valley (an hour's drive) to meet with the bluegrass group, at their semi-annual campout. It's held in an open field at the Moose Lodge. We arrived around noon, visited and jammed till 3:30 or 4, then left for home. We just arrived home. Dh will feed the cats, then we will probably have soup for dinner. It was a nice day, only 82 degrees, however in the early afternoon the dreaded desert winds sprang up, and though we were under awnings of several RVs camped close together, the wind sure whipped those awnings around! They were very secure, though, by those who knew what to expect! Have a good evening!

Morning, all. Yesterday seemed very long, and I was so tired when I got home. Rode early, at 7, to breakfast per usual. Then, did some computer stuff for dh. Youngest ds and I picked up dd and her youngest. We drove to Lynnwood, a northern suburb of Seattle, then rode the light rail to downtown and the theatre. We attended the 2 pm matinee of Phantom of the Opera (wow, amazing voices and costumes). Then we looked around the big Nordstrom store. We took the light rail back, stopped at the Nordstrom at the mall for dd (she was in search of shoes), then went to dinner. By this time, I was practically falling asleep in my caesar salad. Then drove home, and plopped into bed at 10. No plans for today. I need to wash clothes so I can pack for cruise (we leave on Tuesday). I've got no stories about getting locked out in my pjs. I wear fleecy ones with long sleeves. dh gets me a new set each Christmas. I have been known to put out the garbage can in my pjs early in the morning.

yWent to sleep at 12:45 PM, slept pretty good, but then the telephone (who calls this early on a Sunday morning?!) and my bladder made me wake up. I had to turn up the thermostat as it was 66 degrees in the house, and I had the AC set on 70. So now we are set to 72 'heat', which may turn out to be too warm! I fed the dog, saying "Here is another meal for you to ignore," (she never did eat her formerly favored food yesterday, but she did eat the treats at bedtime) and I was pleasantly surprised that she scarfed it down. I guess she got hungry enough! Made a cup of coffee and took my AM meds. And once again I am ensconced in bed, leaning up against a stack of pillows. Can't guarantee I won't doze off again, but isn't Sunday 'the day of rest?" The gypsies are moderately 'there' this morning, but I am hoping my meds and staying in bed lulls them into being quieter. And I think it was Ado who asked about the possibility of the gabellypentin making me wake up in a sweat; my answer is, no, it's not that. I took it at 3 AM when the gypsies started to get a bit too rowdy, and never sweated a drop. And now I am getting sleepy ag aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ^ I dozed off with my index finger on the 'a' ^^^^^ proving my point about feeling sleepy * now an hour and a half later: Having another cup of coffee and eating leftover cold supper for breakfast. I'm going to scroll through the news feeds and see what's gone on overnight. Surely the prezidon't has been up to some kind of tricks, and there have to be some cute critters doing something, well, CUTE!

Tweety can understand not using Wayfair again. I feel the same way about eBay Stars glad neither of you got any tick bites Hi sirI NJ22 glad the ultrasound was negative, hope you can find an answer Work was unexpectedly busy yesterday, got a new case and had more to do than expected for the person who was off. Was busy pretty much all day, could only slow down the last hour. Rest of the day was quiet, stopped at the store and exercised Today will do the usual bird watching and lunch with dad. Will stop at the grocery store and exercise and work on a date for the Madison trip for my cousin and I. Looking for dates with the most choice in and least expensive hotels. Will probably end up choosing a Sun-Tues Going to get up to the low 70s today, think the rain will hold off until tomorrow

Last night I was watching TV and started hearing a mechanical whining sound. It kept getting louder and deeper and louder. At first I thought it was, like, my refrigerator, then an airplane passing overhead; finally I turned the TV down and listened as it got even louder! Eventually I realized that I was hearing was an increasingly heavy and steady downpour of rain on the metal roof BiL had put up over the patio! Usually rain on that roof doesn't sound so steady, and it was getting louder and louder! What a downpour! I went to sleep at 11:30 PM. I woke up at 2:30 AM with my right hip, thigh, knee, shin and ankle singing with aching. I got up and took the "pregabby" capsule the doc gave me and put lidocaine patches from hip to ankle and went back to sleep. At some point early in the morning, I guess between 7 and 8 AM, I woke up covered in sweat. My t-shirt was soaked, my pillow was soaked, my hair was soaked, and I was extremely groggy. I had been dreaming I was working at a hospital, new to me, but as an experienced nurse. I worked the 8 hour shift and then when it was time to go home, things kept happening that I dealt with as they kept coming up and happening. There was a new nurse on the med cart and there were no aides on that hall. I helped out from one patient and occurrence to the next, going back and forth to several of them and their family members a few times. As I finished and kept saying goodbye to co-workers and patients "I'm leaving now!" Some other thing came up and I took care of whoever needed assistance. I was feeling in a good, cheerful mood, helpful, and enjoyed what I was doing. I was getting appreciative remarks. Then it was (in the dream) 3 AM and I finally got to go. I remember walking through various areas., down the cement pathway, past the parking lot, past country scenes, over a bridge that spanned over a medium-sized river, past homes. I remember going into a house where I lived and just gently collapsed onto a sofa, feeling quite exhausted, and I actually thought, in the dream, "I wonder" or "I bet" that "this is how Tweety must feel when these things happen to him!" REALLY! 😅 And that's when I woke up covered in sweat. I was still sooooooo sleepy and groggy, that all I could do was go pee, then make a cup coffee, and go back upstairs to sit in bed propped against a stack of pillows. I pulled my laptop to my lap and turned it on and was scrolling through the inbox, all the while I kept 'resting my eyes' and would kind of 'come to' and try to get back into things, reading stuff, and coming and going from conscious for I don't know how long. I know I did delete a lot of the things I was supposedly reading, stuff that didn't catch my interest enough to make me wake up more. After what seemed like a few hours in that 'suspended animation' I roused enough to get up and go get some more coffee. Now I am more awake but I feel no need to get out of bed and get dressed. Nothing urgent or pressing to do or accomplish. It is 12:30 PM. I had fed Tinker, but so far she ain't et nuthin'. Sometimes she eats half of her 'breakfast' and finishes the rest of it some time between supper and bedtime. I don't think she feels bad, as she acts like her normal self otherwise. It's been cloudy all day so far, don't know if it's gonna rain or not, but I think we are supposed to get scattered showers (or as a radio dj in the 1980's once said it: "shattered scowers") I know I should get up and walk Tinker. In the last three days I have taken two ticks off of her, and two ticks off of me. None of them had gotten to sink in much, except on Tinks right ear, but it had not 'filled up" and I did get it taken off, I think I already told y'all, with a bent hair clip that worked just as well as the little tick-remover spoon I have but could not find. So they weren't kidding in the news report when they said tickets were "worse this year". "So, so-so-so-SO! You von't tell me vehr the key to the ____(vahtever)____issss?" (Arty Johnson on Laugh-In, dressed as a German/Nazi officer)) Don't know why that popped up in my brain after I typed the first 'so' ! (It's hard to chase a run-away brain; but sometimes I just go with it!) Just spilled some of my now-cooled-down-considerably coffee. I think I will at least get up and put on some clothing and take Tink out for a walk around the periphery of the yard. You know, it is a good thing I read my post before I post it, because my laptop sometimes tries to correct a word like I didn't know what I was typing, but I was mis-spelling on porpoise <like that word which they corrected to purpose. Some computers just have no sense of humor!) Have a good'n y'all 👋 (thanks, sirl!)

Good morning! Joe, hope your day isn't crazy. I couldn't post from my phone while I was away either. Family members often bring in mementos and blankets for patients that are in the hospital for a while. I got ahold of a live person via chat on Wayfair and asked if I could schedule assembly of my bookshelves and they said I could on the web page that has my order. I assured the person I tried and can't find the link and the answer was there is a link and if there's no link I was to schedule via Angi myself. I hung up before I said something rude. Anyway, I set it up via TaskRabbit since I already have that app and it will be done Monday. I'm sure they are going to be okay but I'm never using Wayfair again. One day off and I'm tired and very irritable. I've been in a bad mood all week. Not sure why but need to get my usual state of calmness and easy going back. I've internalized and hopefully it hasn't come out to others. Will meal prep and go to the gym. It's change and wash the sheets day and that's done.

NJ22 glad he was discharged Hi Stars Ado glad the insurance issue was straightened out Dianah glad the pets are doing well Tweety I find customer service to be pretty poor these days Work was good yesterday, despite having to work on the side project. After work stopped at the grocery store as I realized I had forgotten to get apples, exercised and emailed my cousin with my plans for the Madison trip and the opera in October. We'll see if she's interested. Not that it matters that much, I'm still going to do those things whether she's interested or not Today have a coworker off but otherwise should be an ordinary work day. Will probably do the sheets tonight as well as exercise Will be another cooler day in the lower 60s

Stars, I think inheritance tax is on estates worth millions, so I don't think you will have to worry. I went with dh to his cardiology visit. They are no longer pushing him to have a heart cath. His treadmill was not bad. They are convinced he has angina, but I don't think he does. Anyway, he is supposed to increase his activity and come back in 6 months. eldest ds was discharged today, instead of yesterday, due for another day of pain control. DiL said he fell asleep quickly in the recliner and was snoring, so that is a good sign. It's so hard to sleep in the hospital. I worked in the yard today, pulling weeds, planting flowers. I can bend over for prolonged periods, because it makes me feel sick to my stomach. I am getting an abdominal ultrasound tomorrow. My doc felt like my epigastric tenderness needed some imaging. I fell asleep on the couch. My eldest sis came by today to give me money to thank me for taking her to her cancer treatment appointments last year. I tried to refuse, but she insisted I buy something nice when we are on our cruise. Hm. Tweety, I would put your shelves together for you, if they are like Ikea. I love putting that stuff together. Annie, that is a relief that your son got insured. It's required in our state, and a $300 fine if you get caught without it. I've never had a car with a warranty. But most of my cars have been old junkers that I get rid of if the repair is too much. We are going to see Phantom of the Opera on Saturday. I am getting excited.

It's later, and I'm back. {Waving emoji should go here. Wish we'd get it back!) The dealership did not charge me for the required inspection prior to granting me the warranty, since I had an inspection such a short time ago. ☺️ I paid the first of my 12 warranty payments, and only 11 more to go, and then it'll be good for 10 years. And I was complimented by the dealership, saying I had kept it in "real good shape". They didn't find anything that needed re-doing or replacing. That's on the inside of the engine, anyway! The outside, on the passenger side which I scraped and dented with my 'argument' with the posts of the carport, well, not so much, but since the repairs for that, well, when the body shop gave me a estimate quote of $12,000++.....I said, "Uhhhhhh, yuh...... NOPE! Ain't happenin'!!" I have been craving KFC, so since I didn't have to pay for the auto inspection, I treated myself to a 2-piece extra-crispy dark-meat meal with potato wedges and coleslaw. Boy it was GOOD! I have wanted KFC for several weeks, and this afternoon I felt stuffed full to my non-existent gills and had to undo the waist button, and then loll on the sofa until my stomach eased off. Got the few dishes done, got the trash barrels out to the end of the driveway for tomorrow's pick-up, and got the already dried laundry out of the dryer, put another small load in the washer, to do tomorrow; so my Cinderella tasks are done for today. The gypsy pains have come and gone several times today; I don't like 'em, but they are tolerable since they aren't hanging around for the whole day/night. Geeze, when I watch HGTV, like this afternoon, I get this L-O-N-G-I-N-G for several of the people who have shows on there to come in here and gut this house and re-do it! Oh well, dream on. My friend in Florida sent me some photos taken out the window of "my" room. VERY pretty view! She also asked me how I felt about black cats. Well, I've had 5 or 6 at one time or another over the course of my life. She then sent me a photo of a cat, which she said would be waiting for me, when I went down there. She said she didn't really see me as being a permanent Florida resident, but the offer stays regardless. I told her it might be a while though, since so much has to take place before that could happen. I said my usual, "We'll see what we'll see when we see it." After we hung up I saw something on TV that mentioned (in passing) something about an inheritance tax when a person was bequeathed a house. You know I had to stomp on that worrisome thought for now! Like I need anything 'new' to worry about! As my Grampa used to say, "It'll all come out in the wash." Did I tell you that SiL said the rehab/nsg-home place is "working on Nannie's cognition." It was all I could do to keep from giving out with a large "SNORT!" and saying, " Yeah. Let me know how THAT works out!" 😆 They also wanted her to "feel at home" and have some familiar things from the house to surround her with. So SiL took photos and an afghan that Nannie had made, and a few of her crafty things she had also made, which I am sure she doesn't remember doing at all. Honestly, though she does not even know who is in the photo of her and her husband on their 50th wedding anniversary. The closest she can come is thinking "they" are her mom and dad. Okay, that's it for now! Let's all have a GOOD weekend!

We had a cool front come in (BLOW in) Monday so last night I made beanless chili. I bought Frito chips for the guys (and had a very small number myself). It is still just 60 degrees out there. Hubs got the insurance policies straightened out so that Twin A can have coverage. Remarkably, we are not spending more. Having old cars helps, I guess. The insurance agent did say that we could go back to our other coverage in 6 months because some of his points will have fallen off (assuming he doesn't get more).

Good morning. Happy birthday Tweety! We will be off to volunteer in the demo garden soon. Then I am taking my laptop to sis's house so that she can do a telehealth visit. Then I am stopping by a volunteer who saves and packages seeds to distribute to the public. I monitor the display and donation box for her at our local library. Eldest ds may be discharged from the hospital today. He had his surgery late Monday night, and was up and walking yesterday. I bought him a recliner with adjustable lumbar support for him to hopefully rest and heal. He will need to wear a cervical collar and back support for 8-12 weeks. His wife feels squeamish about possible dressing changes on his back wound, so I am happy to do that, although some surgical wounds get left open to air. My old employer offered a weight-loss/prevent DM class, but the times didn't work. So they told me it was from the CDC, so I found it only line. Its helpful. I already avoid concentrated carbs like sweets and desserts. One thing I like to do, but have been putting off, is walking after eating to help move carbs into the cells. And drinking more water.

Happy birthday, Tweety! Stars, that has to be really annoying to keep getting those calls. Reminds me, though, that we need to search for a solution to our car insurance crisis. I don't remember much about The Jerk -- but I do remember him being excited "I'm a real person" -- when his name was in the phone book. I remember that feeling. Kids today say, "what's a phone book?" My health insurance plan provides a weight-loss plan so I am going to try. The idea is to promote weight loss and prevent/reverse diabetes. They use a low carb plan and this will not be easy for me. BUT I'm willing to give it a try. I was reading the recipe/idea book last night and it suggested making pizza -- one with a cauliflower crust for me, one with a regular crust for the rest of the family that doesn't want to participate. And using cauliflower rice or veggie noodles for my own servings of pasta or rice dishes, while they get the "real" thing. OK, I can try that. We shall see.

I wouldn't mind cooler weather here, but as I predicted yesterday, it did get hotter than they said it would. But it did get more tolerable by 5-6 PM and there was still a good breeze. The weather guy confirmed what I also predicted about today and tomorrow; he cheerfully said we may get close to record-breaking temps. I'm not sure when rain is supposed to occur, but there were a few days on the 7 day forecast where there were raindrops illustrated. It "don't make me no never-mind" because the only outdoor activity I have is walking the dog. The other things are the usual dish-washing and laundry, and maybe I'll get around to some of the other tasks, like putting away clean laundry and possibly sorting through old bills and separating the shredding from the recycling, or vacuuming my room.. So exciting! (huh.) I don't have scheduled "wash the floor" days like you do, Tweety. "DISHES AND LAUNDRY WAIT FOR NO WOMEN" And it does no good to specify a day for washing the floor because..."My Name Is Stars,(the group echoes 'Hi Stars') And I AM A SPILLER." So last night I watched two Steve Martin movies which I have never seen. It seems there are MANY movies I have never seen! I watched the one where it is filmed in bl + wh, and he is a detective. I can't believe I never knew how he and Carl Reiner had folded in all the segments of movies from the 1940's to make it look like former Hollywood stars were part of the plot and were talking with Martins' character. Since I have always liked so many of the movies from those days, and was not aware at first how in this movie, it was done, at first I wondered what Burt Lancaster and Bogart were doing in the movie, but realized it was just some smooth and VERY cleverly done bits and pieces. I really enjoyed it! Then I watched another one I can not believe I'd never seen....the classic THE JERK. Quite amusing, and the movie's dog made me laugh the most, as if he/it understood everything the Jerk said, and reacted appropriately. So I was up watching movies until close to midnight in spite of Tinker stretching and groaning during the last hour. I ended up not going to sleep until 1:20 AM, catching up on The WEEK magazine I had not yet read, but this time I did skip some of the stories as some were kind of repetitive news-events which I didn't have the patience to read through. Slept MOSTLY well, except I do know I changed position frequently trying to accommodate those aches in my hips and legs. Once again coated myself from the hips down, with Lidocaine roll-on. Still kinda achey as no position really seemed to alleviate things for very long. Woke up at 8 AM and decided it was time to make some coffee and take my medicine. Now I am waiting for the arthritis meds to kick in. Tinker said it was too early for anything and went back to bed while I was making coffee; she ignored her breakfast. She is now curled up under the covers and attached up against my right hip. Ah, a living "hot-water-bottle!" SO FAR today, the calls have not begun YET, I am going to just hang up on them today; it is tiresome trying to get them to interrupt their 'scripts.' The last call I received last night was one of the 'record-checking' people who, when I said, "No damages, no injuries, therefore no claims," he answered with enthusiasm: "It doesn't have to be anything big, maybe...(this or that)" I could not believe he was trying to convince me to make a claim and lie about something that didn't happen! I was so disgusted, I YELLED at him: "STOP CALLING ME!" and I hung up. Gonna be a HOTTER day, I can already feel the house getting warmer in spite of the AC. And since I am thinking again about a cigarette as my after-breakfast 'dessert', I will , instead, now get dressed and take Tinker out for her morning walk! And if I get any more cravings, I will slap a nicotine patch on my upper arm. Too bad smoking is so bad for a person, because I really did enjoy it ....I know it is an addiction, but mostly, I have to admit, I NEED TO SAVE MONEY and that is my major reason for quitting, because it's like flushing dollars down the toilet.

Dianah it was kind of a generic bar and grill type restauarnt Stars I'm glad the pain has improved Yesterday was pretty quiet, just unpacking and laundry. Ran an errand or two. Was going to exercise but was too tired, was also too warm, needed to run the AC for a while to get the place cool enough. Back to work today, hopefully nothing unusual at work. After work will have a Zoom meeting of the events committee of the gay group Will be unusually warm today, in the mid 80s, will have some rain and storms but nothing too severe it looks like

Good morning. It looks to be a lovely, sunny day here, but only getting to 60. We will be taking MiL to her chiropractic appointment, then to the hospital. Saturday, eldest ds went mountain biking and took a bad tumble. He walked to his car, called his wife, and went to ER. He has fractures in 2 cervical vertebrae, and one in his 7th thoracic vertebrae. He was in ICU yesterday, on spinal precautions, waiting surgery, which will happen today. He has no neuro impairment, thankfully, but having lots of pain. And he hates narcotics. He was supposed to get a pacemaker upgrade Friday, in Seattle, but that looks doubtful. Gad, when it rain, it pours. Tweety, that is frustrating about your bookcase. I've not used Wayfair, but my daughter does. I like Ikea for inexpensive furniture, but it's so far from us, we don't go much. Joe, it sounds like you had a nice trip, I hope the weather cools off soon for you. Dianah, that sounds like it was a lovely day for you and the hymn sing attendees. Stars, good to see you can get some relief from the pain.

Hello all! Temperatures here in the low 70's. We drove up to Oak Glen for the afternoon Gospel Sing, and it was foggy and breezy and cool-ish there. It was nice in the building where we were all gathered, though. Had a nice time. They distribute Baptist Hymnals, and ppl choose which ones they want to do. Those attending were enthusiastic and had (as always) lots of selections they wanted to sing. We had dh playing banjo, me on guitar, one other guitarist, one other banjo player, one on mandolin, E our bass player (upright bass), and a pianist. Lots of fun! We don't have plans for tonight, will relax in a bit and have supper, after dh feeds the cats. Tweety, I hope you can find some shelves you like. It's so much easier to order things online. It's better to see the items in person, certainly. But selection at stores sometimes is lacking, and then to spend the gas to drive around to different stores... It's a trade-off. Joe, hope you enjoyed the art museum and restaurant! What kind of food was it? Have a good evening!

Got home this afternoon and immediately laid down for a nap.the hotel bed and pillows were less than great for the last 3 nights. Dh had been busy while I was gone. The kitchen is clean and there were clean sheets on the bed. It apparently rained most of the time I was gone, but now it's sunny. The dogs curled up with me earlier, but now they are doing zoomies in and out the back door. It's mild enough to leave the heat off and the door open. Stars, have you thought about attaching a line between 2 fixed points and using a cable hooked to that for your dog? Our neighbors do that for their dog.

I want almost every dog I see, so I don't look at dogs for sale or ads in the paper or look on the Nextdoor site or in shelters or whatever. Well, to be truthful when I saw Tinker online in the Neighborhood/Nextdoor site, and it was shortly after I had to bury Momo. I did get in touch with the person who found her and put her picture on that site. I was wanting another Chihuahua after my experience with Momo. No grooming, small, etc. But thankfully I am mostly of a practical mind about that, and strong willed, too. I do like having two dogs or two cats, or a cat and a dog. However, I don't think Tinker appreciates any other animals at all. Well, except unless she can chase it, which is not allowed. Thankfully the times she has escaped, all she wanted to do it RUN-RUN-RUN! Since Tinker follows me everywhere and stays glued to my hip, there might be a jealousy problem with another animal! But right now I don't have the energy or the money for multiple fur-kids ☹️ .....But it is what it is, and Tinker is my #1 fan, so I'll not complain. My sister used to have 22 cats, two dogs, and a large changing population of Nigerian Dwarf goats. The worst thing was when she lived in Mass. she worked at the big animal hospital up near Boston and her apartment was FULL of animals (way to many!). She moved to a house with land and a barn and then it was cats, dogs, a parrot (who used to groom one of the long-fur cats....that cat was blissful while the bird did that.), geese, chickens, She also inherited an old swayback horse that the police found, it had overgrown hooves, and nobody knew where it was from or who had owned it or anything, The police brought it over to her house/property and she just couldn't say no, and took it in. I think now she just has one indoor cat.

Hello all! Good to hear a recommendation of The Devil Wears Prada. I will probably start watching The Other Bennet Sister, via BritBox. I have been waiting for this to come to the US! I will try all the new Jane Austen book adaptations (I DO have my faves). Ado, we have a small (24ft total) Class C RV (with the over-the-cab bed), and when we can get electric, we'll pay for it! We have a generator we can use to power the A/C, but we will usually endure temps below 100 degrees, as 1) we hate to take the effort of closing all the windows and 2) the A/C is LOUD! And, in our opinion, the A/C is somewhat helpful if the temps are really high but it's certainly not like home A/C. So, again, we endure. We use three fans in the RV during the day, to move air. The temperature eventually drops down with the late afternoon and onset of evening, which is when we usually go in search of a jam! We carry our own supply of water and I always carry separate drinkable (I guess the term is "potable") water; the "house" water is for showers and cleaning dishes. This festival, we did NOT pay for electricity or water, we went "dry camping." We have a water pump on board, and it will pump water so we can shower or use our own toilet (also have a holding tank). There is a fresh water tank, a "gray" water tank (for showers, dish water, etc) and a "black" tank for the toilet deposits. The festival folks provided MANY port-a-potties, throughout the campgrounds and near the main stage area. So, tent campers and others who were dry camping could use those. In June we will drive up to Northern California for a festival, and we have reserved stays at two campgrounds on the way. It extends our travel time, but is not as tiring as driving an RV 8-10 hours a day. At those campgrounds we will have water, electricity, and sewer services. At the festival we will have electricity. The festival is held at a fairgrounds, and has toilet (flush toilets, not just port-a-potties!) shower facilities available for campers. Well, that's more than you wanted to EVER know about supplying RVs with water and RV disposal systems, eh? Honestly, the RV is a fair amount of work (dh does most of the set-up and take-down in-between traveling) but it is pretty comfortable, I gotta say, and not much like roughing it, IMO. Of course, there are much larger and VERY luxurious RVs around -- Oh My Goodness, yes! Ours is 15 yr old and looks it, but it all functions well and we are happy with its size and amenities. Oh, nursej22, poor doggies, eating then eliminating those Clif bars! And poor you, handling the extra output! Palo Alto -- I lived in Palo Alto for a couple years, in my Junior High days. Probably couldn't afford to live there now! We lived in an apartment right across from the Bayshore Freeway; I'm sure it was on the less expensive side of town! But it had a swimming pool, as I recall, and we enjoyed that. Took a bus to school. No Stars, YES, use that timer!! Nothing worse than getting taste buds all ready for a meal (pizza, in this case), and then having it BURNT!! Sounds like you are being responsible, getting the car serviced. Hello to Tinker! Enjoy your evening!

Tweety glad you were able to find shelves for the remodeled room Stars that was nice of your friend to make that offer Yesterday was good. Got the cooking and the meal prep done before church. After church came home and then left for the train station to go into the city. While at the train station had to call the police as a man who looked intoxicated was walking down the tracks. Thankfully he got off the tracks before the train came Once I got downtown met my friend J at Millennium Park and we walked down the lakeshore to the aquarium, rested a bit and walked back. Weather was nice, not too hot. Rest of the day was pretty quiet, just ran an errand or two and rested Today have a coworker off work, hopefully things won't get too crazy. Might do the grocery shopping after work as tomorrow night looks to be rainy. Going to be a bit cooler today, in the low 60s

Hello all! We have spent Wednesday through Sunday at the Parkfield Bluegrass Festival. It is in the middle of the BOONIES, in Central Calif. If you drive to the West you will find Paso Robles, Morro Bay, and Hearst Castle. If you drive to the East you will eventually contact Interstate 5. It's about a 4.5 hour drive from where we live. It was a good festival, though got a little hot -- 95 degrees on the weekend. The campers park in fields that have been mowed for that purpose, and it's a premium if you find a nice site with few gopher holes and a large oak tree for shade! And there are signs warning that if you park under the trees, you may be subject to falling branches! And the perimeter fences warn of rattlesnakes. And, it is known for having a magnitude 6 earthquake every 22 years. Other than that, it's a nice place! LOL! About 2000 ppl showed up for the festival, and the music on stage was good, the jams in the campground were good, and we even ate at the little Parkfield Cafe -- twice! Their specialty is beef, as Parkfield IS Beef Country! I got a tortilla soup and salad, dh did try the beef and he is not the only one who raved about it! Our camping neighbor, there with his three teen and pre-teen kids, in a tent (he had se-up down to a science!), had three E-Z-Ups set up, for shade. I guess during Saturday night, a juvenile barn owl fell out of the oak tree, and landed on one of his E-Z-Ups! It sat on the elevated perch all day (in the heat!). As we all discussed the situation, we decided that since the owls are nocturnal, we'd wait till nightfall, and see what happens. Sure enough, after dark the neighbor reported the little guy climbed back up, using the tree branches, to return to his nest! We were all VERY relieved! We had a good drive back, though it was long (for us). Five hours in the RV is about our limit. I make sure we have juice/water/tea for hydration, and snacks for boredom ;). Anyway, the RV is unpacked, food is put away, I have a load of laundry in the dryer and one in the washer. I'm so glad you are back here, No Stars! Lots of credit to you for perseverance, and to Joe for his IT savvy and skills! I need to catch up with the rest of youse guys. Later! Have a good evening!

Good morning! Happy Mother's Day to the mothers out there. Joe, hope you have a good day. Stars, glad to read you're feeling less depressed. Hope you have a good day. I feel asleep last night hard with the lights on, including the one over my bed so it was real bright, glasses on, and on top of the made bed and not even in the sheet. Slept about three hours on my back like this. That's some good sleep because I usually like to have to all dark and can't sleep on my back. 😅 I did enjoy the thrift store, including their extensive vinyl record selection, which I looked at but refrained from getting anything. The only thing I saw was a love seat that I liked but was a bit pricey and need to contemplate it some. Other than pop ups they open only one weekend a month so if it's still there I'll think about getting it. I did order some books shelves at Wayfair online. They had a sale and finding good prices are book shelves isn't easy. They are scheduled to possibly come when I'm working and I chatted with someone who said when it ships I should contact the shipper. Which is odd because how do you contact UPS and tell them to not deliver a certain day when it's on the way. I was a bit annoyed that one can't pick the day they are delivered but it is what it is. I did schedule someone to put them together for me. They're cheap but it's a room I don't use much. I paid some bills including my travel expenses and paid off the loan for the remodel. It feels good to have no debt but also took away my emergency fund. My financial advisor wanted me to use it and said I can always restart my emergency fund but the interest would have been several thousand dollars and not worth it in the long run. Now I don't have the money to furnish the room other than the bookshelf and maybe the love seat. But like I said, not a room I use and as long as I can get my books put away that's good enough for now. I have a long term goal to remodel my kitchen next before I retire but not sure that's going to happen. Anyway too much babble out of me. Not much planned today. Mom got her flowers for Mother's Day yesterday and dad sent a picture and said she liked them.