sept 1

[Slo]

Well, good point, Lav. Maybe I just can’t be a modern-day helicopter parent who “helps” with things like moving and babysitting. My limit, thanks to my pain & mobility problems, seems to be folding laundry for them.
Three grandkids all went to a church carnival near here today with D2 & her HB, and I couldn’t go thanks to my treatment-induced foot pain. I hate missing out on those delightful firsts with the little kids, and I get lonely too.
Thankfully it was a nice day here, and I was able to visit with two neighbors, one on each side! That helps so much with the loneliness.
I was wrong about their patio fence screen: they didn’t put it up to block me out! That was pre-planned and pre-approved by the board last year.
Both of the neighbors that I visited with have their share of pain, mobility, and health problems; so I feel less alone that way as well.

Yes, my mattress is very thick (like 11”), so that’s why I should have let wooden slats be enough -even though it is a shallow (4”) box spring.
Paying a lot to reupholster that ottoman thing I bought is a possible option.
My furniture gets delivered on Tuesday!

That’s interesting that YB almost went the pharmacy route. We do what we know about at that age, and mostly all we know about is what our parents do for a living.
I guess we all have to make our own decisions with regard to the vaccines.

Hope the back garden is shaping up, Mick.

It ‘s rather cool here today, so sending it your way next, Lav!

[Lavande]

Happy Saturday all!

Proud to say I went to the pharmacy this morning for my Covid. Flu vaccines. Now at least when YB brings germs home from his Amish customers & I get sick at least I shouldn’t die, haha! Now to press him to get his shots too, what a stubborn pain he can be at times. He did 1 1/2 years of a 5 year Pharmacy program when we graduated high school then quit. His dad was a pharmacist & pushed him into it just like my Mom the nurse pushed me into nursing. He didn’t stay in school long enough to learn about the value of vaccines, etc. oh well, I’ll keep my fingers crossed. It’s 6 pm & the sun is just now making an appearance. We had clouds & showers all afternoon.

PQ, you will be needing to stay healthy & strong to get all that work done, good luck. Hope you get to speak to your pharmacist soon. It’s currently 60 degrees here heading down to 55 tonight. Hope the rest of your weekend is good.

Slo, that must be so aggravating with the foot pain/shoe issue, sorry you have to deal with that. I’ve noticed a slight increase in joint pain the last few days but it’s nothing that’s going to stop me. Hope you can get it worked out & find some comfort. We have moved from 2 apartments & 3 houses over the years until we landed here. I never once asked my Mom for help, it wasn’t her problem. Maybe your daughters need to suck it up & just get the work done themselves, geez.
The furniture situation sounds frustrating. Do you know anyone who could possibly recover the ottoman for you. I like those jobs myself. As far as the bedding goes, I’m trying to decide what I want for myself. I’m thinking a platform bed to eliminate the box spring. Right now what I’m using is so high I fear falling off & hurting myself. I miss the regular sized box springs & mattresses. These newer things are way too high! Good luck with all that.

Mick, rain or sunshine today? Either way I hope you rested yourself after all that outside work this week.

Hello to Pie, Cyn, Det & all.

Have a good night everyone.
Lav

[Slo]

I finally slept really well! What a godsend.

PQ, busy times at the centre as the Fall and school times resume. I guess you really did have to get that website updated to head off problems!

Lav, so true that friends from the trenches can be the best. You all worked side by side and went through it together. Like army buddies!

My foot pain has returned with a vengeance. The built-up sole splays my foot out and rubs the little toe against the shoe, and the heel lift puts the foot on a slope and sends the little toe repeatedly crashing & crushing against the shoe. It’s too painful to continue this way, so I have to remove the lift and go back to a crooked posture. Meanwhile, my doctor says it’s because of weak leg muscles from the neuropathy -but it’s not! It’s mechanical problems!

So I remain in pain and unable to do much, and so I try to explain to my daughters why I can’t be more helpful (because I look lazy and like I’m not pulling my weight); then they are annoyed that I’m telling them “negative” things.

I got a large ottoman that I thought would be good for the living room, but the swirl pattern is actually gray & black, and I need it to be navy & blue. So that was a waste. I don’t think I needed the shallow box spring after all, and could’ve just used slats. The bed frame didn’t fit on the headboard, and new holes had to be drilled, and it is unstable. I probably shouldn’t have bought it if I wasn’t going to use the sides & footboard with it. They are used, but still kind of expensive.

Hope you all have good weekends!

[porqoui]

MAE ALL...OMG IT'S HOT OUT THERE! Hiding in the A/C at the office and at home. I did nothing I was planning on doing at work today, ended up working on updating the website as the boss was sending out an email blast about upcoming events and had them all pointing to the website. My fall programs start on Monday so I'll be in early on Monday creating Attendance Sheets for all the instructors.

Lav...thought I'd wait till someone posted so I wasn't talking to myself and there you are. LOL Our mornings have that crisp fall feel to them, until tomorrow when we wake up to 70F and it increases from there! Yes, I read that just taking off the patch and having a smoke is a definite no. Making the plan is what I want to do with my pharmacist. I too think it's amazing we're still alive. LOL

Shout out to the rest of the gang. Shutting down the laptop as my eyes have had just too much strain today. Have a good night all...PPQP

[Lavande]

Greetings folks,

It’s Friday evening for those paying attention to those things these days. Every day seems the same to me anymore but not really complaining. Partly sunny today after an unexpectedly foggy morning. Tomorrow we will get rain I hope, we do need rain.

PQ, sorry aboutthe heatwave, ugh. I think it’s coming back here next week too. Sounds like you have been busy at work as usual.
If you do start on the patches, be sure you don’t smoke. It is possible to OD on nicotine & you don’t want to do that. Take some time to make a real plan, like we did when we quit drinking. Cover those triggers, you’ll be happy you did!!! When I think about all the stress we put on ourselves with alcohol & nicotine - yikes, it’s amazing we’re still alive. Your body will thank you by being happier & healthier in the future.

Hello to the ever busy Mick, Slo, Cyn, Det & everyone.
Hoping we all have a nice night!

Lav

[porqoui]

MAE ALL…been a couple of busy days. I laughed at the childcare director when she said I’ll get my request in now because once the boss gets in you’ll be busy. Boy, was she ever right! Our heatwave has returned, back to the mid 30’s for the next week or so.

Slo…it was quite the turnout at the community centre Tuesday night, glad I wasn’t working it. Good to hear you don’t miss the old condo. Congrats on closing the “stupid” condo, say goodbye to the monkey. You make me laugh, so the headboard, box spring and bed frame were not to your liking? Will you be able to exchange them?

Mick…you probably needed a lazy day yesterday, with the rain chucking down it’s easier to do nothing. Same thing happening here with the no contact after work hours. Did I know you were an ex-smoker? Ooh, Old Hartley, I’ll be looking it up the same as Slo. Sorry you had to replace a half ton of dirt back, how frustrating. Maybe you over did it and that’s why you weren’t feeling too great last night. I was up at 3am this morning too!

Lav…I’ll check out the bushwhacking video on messenger. Sounds like you had a good day for it. If the residents are serious about implementing a restrictive covenant, they’ll have to pony up to pay the lawyer’s fee. Although I don’t think that’ll be a problem as most of these families live in huge megabucks’ homes, they can probably afford it. To be honest, there is absolutely no reason I can’t start the patches now, on my own. Other than it was an excuse not to start. I just have to get through tomorrow, it’s been crazy at work. I’ll see if the pharmacist I want to see is working at the clinic this weekend and if not, I’ll at least start on the patch till I can meet with her. I did try Champix when trying to quit before. It didn’t really help, and I probably wasn’t ready to stop anyways. It must be approved to be covered by my insurance, and I doubt if they’ll agree to it again.
I knew your light was on but was waiting till you posted, and there you are. Yes, it does feel like family when I post here. Glad you got another good day and was able to be outside cutting & pruning.

Apparently, I have to do dishes before I can start dinner tonight so must get at it. Shout out to the rest of the gang, have a good night all….PPQP

[Lavande]

Good evening friends…..almost family at this point after all these years.
Grateful to have all of you in my life & that we have overcome the devil addiction together.

We had another perfectly nice day here & I’ve been outside cutting & pruning my brains out, Lol. We will be having rain on Saturday so I can make that a rest day. I’m really glad I can finally catch up with all this outside work finally.

Mick, there was a saying on an old TV show - “if it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all” LOL. Sorry you had to go thru all that work again. But, in the end Argyl should be a happy guy. You’ve been so good to him. About missing some people much more than others - I think that has a lot to do with the connections you’ve had with that person while they were still here. I keep telling myself I was lucky to have her in my life for 32 years. It wasn’t really enough but I’m grateful she was my Mom. Your next trip sounds nice, enjoy!

Slo, it’s true that our kids are busy & we don’t want to add to their burdens. They have stressful jobs, are raising teenagers & have in-laws with all sorts of problems, I don’t want to pile more on them either. So many of my old friends have wandered off over the years, only a few remain. My old work friends are a bit younger but they are the best. The people you spent time with in the trenches are special friends.
What furniture pieces are you unhappy with? Is it the color or style? Maybe some colorful throws & pillows can jazz them up for you.

Hello to PQ, Cyn, Det & everyone.
Have a nice night all!

Lav

[Slo]

Oh no, Mick! I can’t believe you had to put all that dirt back after all that labor.
I’ll have to look up Old Hartley. Sounds like a nice little getaway.
I have acupuncture today. It seems to help as, when I tried to go down to once every three weeks, the pain increased. So now it’s once every 10 days.

Lav, yes: I’m finding it to be true that daughters don’t want us “trauma-dumping” on them. I learned that term yesterday on a social media spoof of a “Boomer mom” “trauma-dumping”. So, I guess we have to keep it to ourselves, and not share with the generation below us. Well, they are in the midst of the especially busy time of life; and so I guess they don’t need anything extra dumped on them. So, I need to be more careful to not share or over share with my daughters.

PQ, I like Lav’s idea of adding in a downer to help get through the nicotine detox.
My sugar addiction has gotten pronounced again, and it sure shows on my body.

I don’t like either of the furniture choices that I had delivered yesterday. Dang!

[Mick]

hiya all ..how are we doing today then? hope all is good ..a drizzly day over here ...and the wind is blowing .Just booked our next trip away,..a place called Old Hartley....overlooking the sea and St Marys lighthouse away on the 16th .Youll never guess...the guy came to check we were ok for doing the turfing .. .it ended up I had to reduce the depth of the hole ..ended up putting about a half ton back in !!Wasnt feeling too great last night ...I ended up getting up about 3 am .

hiya Lav ...howare you doing today? hope all is good with you ..well done on the clearing ..hope you get the weather to enjoy it .Im going to have a go at growing milkweed....monarch butterflies are rare here ..So Luna is back home ...I agree with you ...you miss people..as you get older ..without trying to sound nasty ...I miss Jlies muma lot ....more than mine for some reason ..and yet my mum wasgood ...strict but ok ..hope you have a good day ..

hiya everyone else ..hope you are doing ok .

[Lavande]

Greetings all,

It was another nice day here, yay!!
We’ve been out continuing with the Fall yard cleanup, did a lot of bushwhacking across the back of the house. I have a short video that I’ll post on Messenger, don’t think I can do it here.

PQ, that’s some crazy rezoning going on in your city, geez. I don’t think they could do anything like that here but who knows? I hope the meeting is fruitful for those involved.
is there any reason you couldn’t start on the patches now, on your own? Are you concerned about drug interactions? I used the nicotine lozenges & now that I’m thinking about it - it would have been nice to have an Rx for a mild downer (sedative) like Serax or something to help calm the nerves. I had so many other problems I was dealing with at the time (like YB) haha. Do whatever you think you need to do, make a plan (just like we did here to cover all your triggers). You won’t regret it I promise.

Slo, yes Luna just showed up at the door early yesterday morning. She was gone for a day & a half just like she did last time. Now she doesn’t want to go out at all, Lol
I seem to be missing my Mom more & more these days. I guess you never really get over losing certain people. I’m glad your Mom & sister are both in better moods these days & helping you emotionally. I guess that’s what I really miss - the emotional connection. There’s only so much you want to dump on your daughter or friend. Congrats on dumping the condo!!!!

Mick, glad you got an enforced day of rest old man, haha! You should listen to Julie more often, wise words!
I think you should be able to grow milkweed there. It’s a hardy plant once established & goes dormant over the winter. The monarchs love it, need it really. Doc is being his usual self today, thanks for asking Lol

Hello to Cyn & Det.
Have a nice night all!

Lav

[Mick]

hiya all ...how are we doing today then? hope all is good .glad I got the work done yesterday ..its chucking down today .today was a lazy day ...didnt do much at all.didnt sleep well last night was up at 3 this morning .

hiya Slo ...how are you today then? hope all is good .Yes he did show ..it will be done by Sunday ...yes there is a lot of work ..ish ..but to be honest its for Argyl in the main to turf it all ...but also its about making life easier for me too. Who knows what the future holds ...hope the medical appointment went ok for you.Sorry to hear about D2 .

hiya ppqp ...how was today at work for you ?too right about the boss ...did you know over here they are trying to make it law that employers cannot contact employees after work hours ..unless there are specific reasons .that restrictive covenant sounds like a real battle point...Best of luck with the quit,.Speaking from experience it was the best thing I ever did

hiya Lav how are you doing? ok I hope ,,my body knows Im not as young ...my head tends to disagree...however the body is starting to win.As Julie says its about making life easier for ourselves .I might have a look at milkweed...dont know if they will grow over here ..though our climates arent that different .hows Doc today?

hiya everyone else ...hope you are ok

[Slo]

MAE all,

That’s too bad the boys didn’t come over, Lav; but typical teens I guess. More interested in playing their video games.
I have milkweeds in my new yard too! It looks like I need to prop some of them up. Did Luna come home?
I sure wish you could’ve had your mom around for much longer. She was your Person it sounds like. And you had no sister or aunt or other such female to help fill that gap.
My twin sister has apologized and is being nicer -and is not currently drinking it seems -so I finally have my one confidante back again. It makes all the difference for me. Well, until she starts back to drinking and gets surly again.

I never heard the acronym N.O.P.E before! That’s a helpful one.
So a large group is fighting against the blanket zoning? Good for them. Could get heated at the community centre tonight.
No, I missed the fireworks. I don’t know what they were for. At my previous condo, I could sit on my balcony and have a private showing of fireworks (around July 4th) from several surrounding communities. But strangely, I don’t miss that condo one bit, nor ever long for it.

Mick, did your partner ever show up to help you with that ambitious back garden project? It’s looking good!

I did early closing today on that stupid condo that I didn’t want. So by the end of the day on Friday, that monkey will be off my back!!

I picked Huxley up from daycare today, after my medical appointment which is near his daycare; and then spent time with him & D2. Even had dinner with them; a nice salad with smoked trout added. D2 found out today that her latest embryo transfer has failed, so she’s sad. I never really had a good feeling about it.

I’m slowly moving in yet. Tomorrow I have a headboard, box spring, and bed frame being delivered and set up.

[porqoui]

MAE ALL...nice sunny day here as well. No boss and the accountant left at noon so fairly quiet. We have a public meeting at the community centre, has to do with restrictive covenants. The city did a blanket rezoning in order to access federal money for housing. Now, if someone sells their house you could get a 6 unit building built. Everyone is outraged. The restrictive covenant is a group of people in an area that restricts what can be built. They're expecting 200 people and we have a new facility staff hire working. So I texted the boss to give him a heads up because I'm not answering my phone tonight. LOL

Slo...I'm glad your visit with your mom was a positive one. That was a nice thing your son-in-law did, I'm sure you appreciated it. Were you able to see some fireworks? Was someone celebrating Labour Day? Hope you're slowly getting settled into your new place.

Mick...busy as ever I see. That's a lot of stone moving, you be careful with your back. I'll have to look and see if you put any pics up on fb. A day off with your camera sounds like a perfect idea. I'm sure Bonnie will appreciate all you're doing for her.

Lav... the appointment with the pharmacist didn't happen on Monday. She was still scheduled up until 10am and then the pharmacist/owner said he was taking over the appointments. He's ok if I'm just getting the usual flu/covid shots but I specifically booked with a pharmacist that has a history with me. I cancelled and will reschedule when I find out her clinic hours. I have an annual with my rheumatoid Dr. in a couple of weeks and would like to announce that I've started the quit. I don't think I'll ever forget about you telling me about N.O.P.E. I see milkweed attracts the monarchs. Any specific colour you're going for?

Time to get some dinner started. Have a good night all...PPQP

[Lavande]

Greetings everyone,

We had a real nice day here, not hot. & sunny. Made a trip to the dentist this morning to get two teeth straightened out, such fun.
YB took Doc to the vet this morning for a nail trim & weigh in. Doc will be 6 months old as of Wednesday & weigh 76 lbs already, good grief. He’s enormous & still growing!
thinking about planting a whole lot of milkweed seeds now & letting them overwinter in the ground since they need cold stratification. I just have to figure out a way to keep the cats out of those beds so they have a chance. Maybe some sort of screens could be placed on top of the raised beds, we’ll see.

Mick, you are working yourself so hard, be careful! You’re not as young as you used to be either Lol

PQ, hope your day was good & you got your plan put together with the pharmacist. Remember when you quit - N.O.P.E. Not one puff ever!!!! You can do this!

Hi Slo, how’s life treating you today?

Hello to Cyn & Det & anyone else stoping by tonight.

Have a nice night all!
Lav

[Mick]

Hiya all how are we doing? Hopefully all is good..weather over here is lovely. Finished digging the stone out..I have got rid of a load of it but still got a pile to lose .l reckon i have shifted about 2.5 tons of stone by hand.tomorrow I am going to have a rest and take the camera out. Friday the soil is coming and get that in then the turf laid and redo the back border. Apologies for the short and impersonal