The Lighter Side Cafe Friday May 8

Hi everybody,

I missed seeing everyone yesterday but caught up on your posts.  

Pam, I really enjoyed the video and all the good work your parish is doing to help those front line workers.  Many of us saw the air force fighter jets the other day here flying over all the hospitals and the workers were so touched and all lined up to see them.  Fenway Park in Boston even put up a big heart visible from the sky for everyone to see thanking nurses. It was great to see  your DH - he's a gem - dishing out the jambalaya.  I loved hearing the "back" story on the speakers and I have to say I enjoyed their Louisiana accents.  Hope you had fun with DD#2.  It's so good to see family when we can. 

Sue, I love baby back ribs so much.  Wish I could have joined you. LOL I am sure they were delish. You are doing a bang up job sticking to your food plan and even managing to have just a shake for lunch.  And, it shows on the scale. 

Ann, I sympathize regarding the pesky neighbor.  It's the know it alls that are the worst and combine that with nonstop "holding court" and loud talking makes it hard to tolerate.  I am glad Lula communicates with you. Daisy does that, too. She is like clockwork.  The doggies are so used to my being home all day now.  THey love it because they can nudge me with a kick at 7:30 AM for breakfast and then for a walk in the afternoon.  I swear they can tell time! They also wake us up at 6:15 on the dot every day. Ha. 

We had another "town hall" zoom meeting with our university president yesterday.  He remains positive and he's been a tremendous leader and very communicative and caring during this pandemic. No jobs will be cut nor will any benefits or furloughs take place he said.  We are all slated for no raises this coming year, but hey, that is nothing really.  They are retooling the entire campus at a high cost to get ready for the fall whether they will be able to open or not.  He also said that many of us will continue to work home for most of the summer at this point and some with conditions may stay home even longer.  Who really knows at this point.  He's hiring a health care director just for COVID.  The situation on campuses is so different - it is like one big pajama party for kids with shared bathrooms, dining, dorms, etc.  Very complicated. 

Today I have two more Zoom calls. I have managed to walk 2+ miles every day I can.  Pam, I agree on the word of snow.  BLAH is all I can say!  We won't get it near me, but north of Worcester might.  Ann, you might, right? However, the forecast is for cold, rain, etc. near us. Not exactly a great weekend or Mother's Day.  

Speaking of Mother's Day, I got a little weepy thinking of my mother and how much I miss her.  I have to say my life has not been the same since she died.  It never will. I really miss her daily support and our chats. I made a list this morning of all the things my mom would say to me during this difficult time.  That helped me a bit.  Yesterday was a little rough with more legal details to work out with DD's attorney.  she needed our help preparing a document to send to his counsel.  This things stress me way out.  I walked at a social distance with my friend who lives a few blocks away. 

I'll bb soon.  My weight was up .3 today. I am up and down and up and down.  I do well for breakfast and lunch - fruits and yogurt for breakfast and a salad and protein (egg salad or tuna) for lunch.  But the stress got to me yesterday and I dove into a bag of tortilla chips with some salsa about 3 pm. We are not buying anymore of them-I gave strict orders to DH! I can pass on cookies and ration them but not the chips. So, hence my gain. I just need to get this weight off and I will. Thank you all for your patience with me for something you have all achieved so well. 

Oh, Ann, the book I finished was called On a Night Like This by Barbara Freethy.  Very, very light but entertaining and an escape. Good for a lift! Sort of like our Hallmark Movies.  

Good Morning, WW Friends ~

TGIF!!  We slept in this morning, but then there isn't anything we need to do anyway. It is in the 30's so I don't know if I will walk or not??  I'll wait until I am all put together and dressed and then decide.  We have 'white stuff' flying outdoors but it isn't snow - it is (I think) dogwood?? DH lamented that he will have to clean it out of all the A/C units he just worked on.  But he was expecting it, so it's good to get it over with.

Ann ~ I have to LOL at your Lula with her 'messages'.  You are so lucky to have each other!

Judy ~ Good to hear from you.  We are having our baby back ribs on Sunday, so we have them to look forward to. I also LOVE them and always had them in a restaurant - so being able to cook them at home will be a real treat. Last summer DH bought some and we ended up taking them to his VBF's house (where I think they are still in the freezer).  He was always going to cook them, but we never got around to it.

Pam ~ Glad you got to 'play in the dirt' some.  I used to really enjoy that as well.

My 'created' chicken fried rice turned out great last night! That was a first time for that type of dish and we both enjoyed it immensely!  It will turn up on our menu again.  So that was my second meal from the rotisserie chicken that I bought at Costco; and we have one more in the fridge. Perhaps this weekend??  When it provides the meat for three meals, it is definitely a good investment (and makes meal planning so easy).

Tonight will be pizza and salad. We have two different half pizzas in the freezer (hand-tossed and Detroit style deep dish), so I will thaw one of them out today and DH will use up the rest of our salad makings. I had Yogurt & Berries for breakfast, and will have a HB egg for a snack. DH brought home a bag of mandarin oranges yesterday.  We have been out of them for a while, but really enjoyed them when we had them before.  DH will be back for lunch and suggested cottage cheese and peaches (which sounds good to me).  I have to balance out the expected pizza hit tonight.

BBL. Make a great day!!

Ann ~ I had completely forgotten about Sunny Radio!!  I guess when I discovered I could play my Sirius XM radio (from my car) on my Alexa (in the house) I got used to their channels. Somehow, Sunny Radio slipped off my mind completely.  Since you mentioned it today, I am now listening to it as well, and reading.Thanks!!

Hi again,

i had had a good 45 minute walk, did some work and chatted a Bit with my grandchildren California. I think it really helps DD I can do a little virtual babysitting once in a while so I read them and I spy book.

Judy ~ I just peeked in and happened to see your note.  I wish I could remember how I connected Alexa to my Sirius XM radio, but I do remember that it was quite easy.  I DO believe I did it through my Alexa app on my iPhone - go to Settings - then scroll down to Music.  There is a + sign and you can probably add your Sirius XM account there. Let me know if that works??  BTW, Sunny Radio is an I Radio Channel.

Ann ~ Our pizza was delicious!  DH never made it home for lunch so all I ate today was my Yogurt & Berries for breakfast and then a HB egg and a mandarin for 'lunch'.  I was really hungry!  So DH made a big salad (which was delicious!) and I reheated half of a hand-tossed pizza. We ate earlier than usual and now my tummy is full!

I finished my book - and perused my library and chose another Scottish Highlands Time Travel.  I've started it already.  While DH was gone today I read while Sunny Radio played in the background.

Have a wonderful evening.