October thread

[Teresa]

Just putting up a new thread.
Be back later

[judy]

What a fun thread, Teresa.  Thanks 

So I think I told you that my brother has Covid.  He was very sick and ended up in the hospital.  He was lucky to get a bed because he lives in Idaho where in some places they are rationing care because of the high incidence of Covid.  His wife, I'm sure, also has Covid; however, she didn't end up in the hospital.  They chose not to get vaccinated.  Robin was supposed to be able to come home yesterday, but I haven't heard the latest.  I hope he did.  Since Carol is too weak to take care of him they plan to have Home Health Care.  Maybe I'll hear something today.

It's a gray day here and maybe we'll have rain later in the day.  I hope so because we can use all the rain we get.  It's been very dry as it has been in many other places.

My classes started last week, and so far I have 12 students.  I will be happy if that is the number it stays because that way everyone can have a chance to read.

Ginny, I hope your deck gets done soon.  And, Kathy, I finally was able to open the whale video.  WOW!  Whales are such magnificent creatures.  It is amazing to watch such a large creature breach.  

Time to close and start working on my list.  I have WW weigh in, hope it's good news.

Take care, Judy

[ginny]

Teresa, I love the graphics for the Halloween thread.  
    Judy, your brother and his wife are in my prayers.  I'm glad Robin was able to come home.  You say you think his wife also has it, so I guess she can't get any more infected.  Have they been able to get some of the treatment drugs?  They are supposed to be very effective.  Hope they have good luck with their home health care.  It can be really difficult to find someone good AND reliable.  If you remember, Karen was one of my dh's caregivers who stayed with me after he passed.  She was and is a gem.
    If anyone missed my last post, it is on the previous thread on the 2nd page.  Hope you all have good WW news.

    Virtual Hugs,
    Ginny

[judy]

My Weight Watcher weigh-in was successful.  I'm glad I did it before I went to Bandon this weekend because I seldom go to the Coast without having Clam Chowder which is not known as low-point food.  It's soooooo good!  It's been a while since I made a trip like this by myself.  My driving directions say it's a little over three hours, but I remember it as being more like four.  My plan is to go half way and then find a place to stop for a while, stretch and maybe have a cup of coffee.  I'm still learning all kinds of things about my new car.  I plan to stop by the dealership tomorrow and ask them a couple of questions.

Ginny, you are right good caregivers are not easy to find.  Robin and Carol have a very supportive faith community and they seem to be providing the help they need along with the Home Health Care.  

Can't believe we are about to finish the first full week of October.  Time flies...

Take care, Judy

[kathy]

It's cool today. 27 F. There is frost on the roofs. More things to put on the list. Cutting down the plants so my place doesn't look yuck!

Judy I don't recall that you got a new vehicle. What did you get?

On my way out to the coast I stopped at the Nissan Dealer and had a course #101. They showed me how to get the cruise on. How my brights worked. I have a lot of items on the steering wheel which didn't light up, TheService Manager went and took my vehicle and came back later and said it was fixed, which is great when driving and the interior of the car is dark and when one looks at the steering wheel one can see all the buttons one might like to press. When I was getting gas on the island and it was dark I locked my vehicle and when I went to click the remote it wouldn't work. I wondered what that was and a guy filling up his tank said that in the remote there is a key! Used that and got into my vehicle. Went shopping at the mall and lost my vehicle. Tried the panic button and it wouldn't work finally after walking around found my vehicle exactly where I parked it, further down in the parking lot. Took my remotes to a Nissan Dealer and put new batteries in the remotes. If I knew how to do it, I wouldn't of had to pay $13. for the batteries which one can buy at the store for around $3. Now the panic button works and I am back to reading the manual. I bought winter tires for my vehicle which cost over a $1,000. installed. They are forecasting a shortage on winter tires. I get my tires installed on October 23, It's a Saturday afternoon. I was told by my Tire Specialist that my tires are big, 19" and low profile and that they aren't good in snow. Things one learns after one buy a new vehicle. Hopefully, everything else is good with it. I really like driving it and it seems to be good on gas, which is good since the price of gas went up $0.10 a litre.

I go back to work on Monday. I have been off for 41 days. Doesn't seem that long. I finally got my disability monies. The claim is closed. I work 5 days, 8 hours a day, for the week. Have no idea what my shifts are the following week. Doesn't really matter as I've already spent my pay cheque for the next months.

My bathrooms are a mess. The on suite has new tile around the tub. The walls aren't painted and the floor isn't done. The bathroom downstairs has half the tile done and that's it. No paint and no new floor. I have been washing my hair under the tap in the bathtub. I really want a shower!
When I came home there was no hot water at the kitchen sink and the dishwasher wouldn't work. I took the stuff from under the sink and found the hot water turned off. Talked to my sister and she suggested that i pour a couple of pitchers of water in the bottom of the dishwasher. Run it. It worked! So now am just waiting for the contractor to come and paint the bathroom upstairs. I bought a new shower curtain which has green and coral in it. My tub is almond and so is the sink. The toilet is white. According to the magazines because they aren't close to each other it will look okay. A new tub is close to $1000 installed which I don't have. Personally, I think it will look good. If people dis it, then I'll just tell them to put their money where their mouths are!

It's Thanksgiving Weekend! I bought a frozen turkey roll. It is stuffed. Takes about 3 hours to cook. Haven't decided what else to cook with it. Probably some sweet potatoes and some Brussel Sprouts. Maybe someone will invite me for dinner. I was going to make a carrot cake loaf for dessert.

Judy hope your brother and his wife are on the mend.

Hugs
Kathy

[ginny]

So the deck contractor just left. He wanted to get out early, because he’s taking his new dog to some kind of a fun weekend training session. Didn’t even know they had such things. He didn’t mention taking his wife… My deck is about a third done, I guess. The bottom layer is finished except for about half of the topside you walk on. The framework for the top layer is finished, but top cover not touched at all. I do love the color of the composite; it nearly matches the siding of the house, and I didn’t even plan that. Actually I was expecting it to be a bit darker and less blue, but I like this even better.
    Judy, glad to hear your WW weigh in went well. I went and got all my lab work done today, and no one suggested I needed to get on the scale so I didn’t mention it either. It will catch up with me on Monday, when I actually see my doctor. I went to McDonald’s on the way home and picked up a quarter pounder and small fries—I’m sure you can see my reasoning: the lab work was done, and wasn’t going to be read until Monday, so the food I ate this morning didn’t really count…. By the way, I keep forgetting to mention that I got the kitty graphics, and really loved all the stuff. I have them on my breakfast table and look at them often. So cute! I’m also glad to hear that Robin and Carol are part of a faith group that has home health care. They couldn’t do any better than that.
    Kathy sorry to hear all the new car problems. I think that is why, unless something disastrous happens to my Subaru, this is my final car. I still have after 4 years,things I don’t understand on my car. Glad you are going to be able to go back to work finally. 41 days is a long time to be off. Hope everything goes smoothly when you get back. Thanks for mentioning your Thanksgiving menu; I always forget your Thanksgiving comes before ours. The frozen turkey roll sounds like a tasty and carefree choice. I may try that this year. Let me know how it goes. I’m not sure about side items either—though it has to have dressing, gravy, and mashed potatoes. Maybe someone will voluteer a pie, although if not I have a great big Marie Calendar Dutch Apple pie in my freezer, that I bought on sale a while ago.  Have a good week all,
Hugs,
Ginny

[kathy]

It's Turkey Weekend! Happy Thanksgiving!

I found a VISA gift card that I got from having my furnace installed. Quite shocked at the amount. Will take it and hopefully be able to buy a tablet with it for my trip to Mexico. Need to sit-down and decide when I'm going to leave and return and book my accommodations. I am going to use my Avion Points to fly to Mexico I have so many. I bought a wrap that has the color of my dress in it. The wrap is multi colored and quite wide so if it cools off I will have something to keep me warm.
The guys are here to paint the on-suite bathroom. They put a primer coat on and it has quite a tint of yellow. They can't drill the holes in the tiles to put my shower rod up as they don't have a drill bit for tile or a drill. My contractor is having family health issues and I realize these things happen, I need to get my bathroom useable. It will look beautiful when it is done!

The group that I walk with is having a Thanksgiving get together on Monday. I looked at the list of what people are bringing and I think I will cook my turkey breast stuffed with dressing and some carrots if I can find the recipe that I had seen. I think I deleted the recipe. The group is going to meet at a park, have an open firepit, and everyone will bring different dishes and lawn chairs. I just have to get the carrots. The pictures looked so yummie!

I go back to work on Monday at midnight. So will be home in time to get there for noon. I work 5 days this week. Just have to figure out where I'm going.

Have to go out and look at some shops close by, I'm looking for a crossbody purse that I can put my cellphone, hand sanitizer, and wallet in. I found one but the hand sanitizer wouldn't fit. I Dislike big purses!

Had better get off the couch and attend to my list!

Hugs
Kathy

[Teresa]

Kathy, check out Baggalini purses. I have had several cross body purses from them and I love them. Cool colors and different styles and sizes.

Today we walked 2 1/2 miles, then played for over an hour at the church tonight.

In between I baked some 2 ingredient dough dessert stuff. Turned out delicious.

I am going to need warmer clothes for outside time and I am going to need an actual coat, I dont have one.

[judy]

It's been a busy couple of weeks.  The good news is that my brother Robin is home from the hospital and progressing.  The nurse told him it will take several months to heal and he needs to be patient.  His wife Carol also had Covid, but was not hospitalized and is slowly regaining her energy.  

The Courthouse Preservation Committee finally gets to meet in person this month.  We don't have a lot to talk about, but we do need some updates.  The county is proposing a levy to build a new courthouse, jail, sheriff's office and emergency management office as well as a crisis center.  The crisis center is already being organized in a building that already exists.  The current courthouse was built in 1888 and is the oldest courthouse in the state still being used for its original purpose.  It is an icon, a truly beautiful building; however, and its a big however, it is not seismic safe and many of the people who work there do not feel safe.  This has been known for some time, and there have been evaluations, estimates for retrofitting, but nothing has ever happened until this proposed levy  However, the proposed levy is very large and the most contentious part of it is the jail.  Three previous proposed levies to replace the jail have been voted down, and it looks like this levy might be voted down, too because people are still opposed to the plans for the jail.  Our County Commissioners have not been very transparent and have not really asked for voter in put.  Very few people want to tear down the current courthouse and build the new facility there because it has such value in the community.  However, I don't think that it could be used once everyone moves out until it is retrofitted to the extent that people could safely get out of the building in case of an earthquake. At this point there are no clear indications of what is going to happen to the courthouse.  At an earlier update, well over a year ago, I asked, "Is the courthouse going to become the city's largest artifact?'  I hope the decision will be made to retrofit it so it can be used for alternate activities--there are lots of opportunities for those.

Teresa, I am so much enjoying the Facebook postings of Chibs.  He such a cutie and has a VERY expressive face.  He reminds me of Jasmine, the dog Bryn and family had.  She was a sweetheart.  

My class is going well.  There are 12 in the class and that turns out to be a good number because it allows everyone who wants to read to have the opportunity.  

Looks like more rain is on the way.  Time to close, take care, Judy

[kathy]

Teresa I did check out Baggalini purses. With the shipping charge & exchange rate, I think I'll be using a recyclable bag from a store.

I finished my first week back. 40 hours. 2 different times for shifts. midnight to 8:30a X 2, and 4 am to 12:30 pm X 3
It was a long week with lots of frustration.

The contractor is in and is installing the flooring in the bedroom. on-suite and walk in closet. t's looking great. Now comes the hard part! Putting everything back and going through everything so stuff doesn't just get put back!

It's beautiful out 21 C and I'm stuck inside.

Hope everyone is having as great Sunday!

Hugs
Kathy

[Teresa]

Kathy, the baggalinis I have had were from clearance, tj max or as a gift (thank you Judy)

Judy, my latest Chibs story is pretty remarkable. A few nights ago my inhome oxygen concentrator quit working. I did several things to try and get it to work. Nothing worked. Chibs became very distressed, he started touching the machine with his nose and then he touched all the parts I had touched to try and make it work. I finally gave up and left the room. He stayed behind to check out the machine, he would come to me and whine and go back to the machine. He was going over that machine like he thought he could fix it. I tried telling him everything was okay but he was just stressed. That night he followed me every where, he walked so close he was stepping on my ankles, when I sat on the couch he was practically on top of me. The next day when they brought me my new machine he checked it out so much he kept changing the oxygen flow. I had to tell him to stop pushing buttons. He is an amazing friend.

[ginny]

Ladies,
The deck is finished, just waiting for the final approval on it. It does look great, especially in comparison to what it replaces. Karen has enlisted Duke to help her put up a Sunsetter awning over the sliding glass doors, so I can have a place protected from the rain where I can feed Spotty, and also a shaded spot to just sit and enjoy the outside. Karen and I have decided not to do Halloween dec and handing out candy this year. Although if she has the time and energy, she would like to put up my huge inflatable dragon in the back yard or maybe on the deck so just I can enjoy it. I do love the dragon!

Kathy, congrats on finishing your first week back at work, even though your schedule sounded hard. Did the towel holders/grip bars finally get put up in your bathroom?

Teresa, Chibs sounds like an amazing friend to have. Did you happen to see the PBS program about animal friends? If you can find it, you would really enjoy it—it made me cry. Glad your machine is back to doing what it is supposed to do. Good health!

Judy, glad to hear your classes are a good size, and going well. A few times in my career I had a class that size and they were my favorite classes of all. Glad to hear your brother Robin is doing well. My friend Becky was just released from the nursing home after her last hospital stay. She was so anxious to be released and get home. She thought she would be able to just pick up where she left off, but fortunately she has realized she doesn’t have enough strength to do everything. I hope she will accept the help temporarily that she needs. This has been a difficult year for all of us.

It has been down to 40 at night here, but the afternoons are veery nice. Stay healthy everyone.
Hugs,
Ginny

[kathy]

The flooring in the master bedroom, on-suite and walk in closet is done. It looks beautiful! The bathroom is almost finished, the light fixture has to be replaced. There is a few things that need to be attended to like paint spots but it looks good. Now to put everything away. I took the mattress off the bed so I could put the things that goes under the mattress and I can't get the mattress back on the box springs. It's a King size mattress and just too big for me. I have washed the duvet cover, the shams and am washing bedding. I washed some before I left but there is dust everywhere. I put most of the clothes back in my closet and didn't throw anything away. I do not feel like trying clothes on. There is still lots to put away but the room looks so much bigger. I washed the window and the screen and the floor. I have plate glass on top of the dressers and I can't get the glass off the dresser with the mirror. It's kind of a 2 people job. Other wise I'm putting stuff away. Cleaning, dusting and I guess I should get some tape out to mark the spots. It's my day off from work but not here. There's lots to do.

It's 45 F here and it's feels cool. Hopefully the white stuff holds off til after the weekend, I get my winter tires installed on Saturday afternoon.

Hugs
Kathy

[judy]

Kathy and Ginny, congratulations on your construction projects.  I'll bet it's wonderful to have them done except for finishing touches.

Kathy, I keep forgetting you asked about our new to us new car.  We got a 2019 Subaru Ascent.  Our van was 11 years old and starting to have many repairs so it seemed like a good time to replace it.  It was interesting looking for a new car.  First of all, we weren't shown any new cars because there weren't any at the dealership.  That's okay because I'm very happy with the car we got.  Last weekend I visited my friend in Bandon, it's a 3-4 hour drive and I enjoyed driving the Ascent.  I still am figuring out things, and I wish the index in the instruction book actually helped in finding things I needed to know, but it doesn't and that's frustrating.

Teresa, I just saw your Facebook post about baking Chibs cookies.  Those cookies looked good enough for human consumption.  I guess it would be easier to bake cookies for a pet than for humans.  Personally, I don't bake cookies anymore because I eat way to many of them.  I seem to have no control!

Toby has two more football games.  I really am enjoying the games.  My grandson, Garrett, is coming home so he can go to Toby's last game, and I'm really looking forward to seeing him.  It's so much fun to visit with him.  He trained and is working in construction and loves it.  He joined the union and has taken advantage of additional courses.

Izaak who graduated in 2020 and who had been working in maintenance at a vet clinic, got a job with a plumber.  He wants to begin a plumbing apprenticeship, but currently there are no opening at the community college he wants to attend, so this job is good introduction.  His first day at work was quite a surprise.  He helped on a job, just he and his boss, that lasted 17 hours because the apprentice who was supposed to do the job didn't do it correctly and it had to be done over.  IZ started on Wednesday and I saw him on Friday, and in spite of 17 hours the first day he seems enthusiastic.   

Time for dinner and I'm ready.  Hope you are having a good week.  Take care, Judy

[kathy]

Judy we both got 2019 vehicles! I would of loved to get a new one but didn't want to spend the money. There was lots available if one wanted to pay the price. On Saturday I get my winter tires installed. I am storing them there so I don't have to deal with lifting them. These ones are bigger and probably heavier then my other tires. They are forecasting there is going to be a shortage of winter tires. Just one more thing to add to the shortage list.

Today I looked out the window and I think I saw 15 partridges walking down the road. There is no pear tree! I've never seen birds walking down the road before.

I am going to look for some binoculars. When I was at the coast my sister had some in their vehicle and it was great to look out and see things in the distance. Now to figure out which ones to buy. I did have some that were my Dad's but I don't know where they ended up so there's no use going there. I'll just get some new ones that are probably better.

Haven't ventured into the bedroom today. I worked and when I came home I made the mistake of sitting on the couch and had a nap and there went the afternoon. Now it's time to go to bed and then back to work.

Hope everyone is healthy and wise!

Hugs
Kathy