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Post by holly2007 on Aug 5, 2022 1:28:25 GMT
Hi Everyone,
We are gearing up for the academic year next week. Our library director is retiring at the end of August. We’re still looking for a replacement.
I’m still getting a lot of walking in with Kira. Hoping for some cooler weather soon so the walks will be more enjoyable.
Joan, the tomatoes have done well. Not sure what happened with my cucumber plant. I’m still waiting to see how the corn will do. It is fun to try new stuff to see how they do.
Sue, sorry, but that is such a funny image with the bookshelves hanging out there somewhere at sea, lol. I love eastern Canada. I went on a tour of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI about 6 years ago.
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jmg44
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Post by jmg44 on Aug 5, 2022 18:56:29 GMT
Last day at the beach today in SD—love the ocean here—weather has been so perfect—house has AC which is nice. First half week was so fun—second half with DS Park Ranger not as easy—he is just a hard person to hang out with as he is so needy to be the center of attention and doesn;t have very good small group social skills—-AND he’s still drinking—so hard. Feel bad for DH as well as it falls to him to manage him—makes me realize once again how amazing it is that DH gave up alcohol and how it so changed our socializing in such a healthy way. Last night triggered memories of what it was like before.
Looking forward to getting home and getting my hands in some clay again! We leave tomorrow. We have decided that we will not do a whole family beach thing again—we may try a place at Lake Tahoe—found a great house that we can rent for just five days—five days with the whole family is plenty! Will only be three full days but will work better with this dilemma of DS who now plans to participate all the time. I guess every family has some issue!
Hope you are all well—hope the shelves have found their way home!
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jmg44
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Post by jmg44 on Aug 8, 2022 22:36:55 GMT
Well, Friday I started feeling sick again only this time it gradually increased as the day went on—DD52 and I skipped the last night which was a bit of mall shopping and everyone fend for himself at the food court—lucky we did—we were both feeling bad—we have covid—now DH has it and DSIL in CA and possibly DGD18–and they all have to leave for Missouri on Friday! 3 day drive to take DGD to school! Ugh! Hoping no one else gets sick.
I have felt really terrible—called the dr today and they are sending over a prescription for pavlovid=Or something like that—that they are using to shorten sick time and lessen symptoms. She said it might be too late for me but thinks I should try it. I have been living on the couch, sleeping ten hours at night. So, so tired.
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Post by nov21987 on Aug 9, 2022 21:45:51 GMT
Hi! Joan, I'm so sorry to hear that you're not feeling well. It seems to have dragged on a long time for you. Hope the paxlovid will work for you and no relapse from that! Hope your DH, DD and everyone else is recovering will from covid. So many people have had it now. Is DS park ranger the one that has a girlfriend? So DGD18 is starting freshman year college already, wow time is flying by Holly, our bookshelves are in LA port, I think it goes on a train next. People are still coming at least 3 days per week to work on the house. They are usually not here for the full day. As materials and parts come in they will do the work, but we are still waiting on many things. A couple of links to the new ship we will be on. I'm really hoping they have the new vaccine targeting Omicron before we leave. www.travelandleisure.com/cruises/seabourn-venture-new-expedition-shipwww.seabourn.com/en_US/cruise-ships/seabourn-venture/1.html?fbclid=IwAR39OjySGVP7UkmgW_PhRVosvCcRMoPJ74J8MwX9jnXHv_GBdroAlxO4vm8
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jmg44
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Post by jmg44 on Aug 11, 2022 2:54:47 GMT
I think today was my “turnaround” day—no fever spikes at all today!! Also my ears are less plugged and not really hurting so that’s good. I couldn’t even stand to wear my hearing aids. I unloaded the dishwasher after running it today—extent of my work.
Holly, did you see my capresse salad on FB. The tomatoes I planted this year are so nice—larger and great texture—they are Phoenix Reds—really healthy bushes as well.
DGS21 in Reno and his GF sent us a puzzle today—we take puzzles to the beach and her first time with us she fit in so well! She loves puzzles like Jordan and DSIL and I do—we built two 1000 pc puzzles in two days—DH and DD’s BF also helped at times. We get a bit obsessive about it! Anyway we love DGS’s GF so much—she is such a down to earth neat person. This was her idea—it’s a special one that she especially likes—for our isolation time!
The CA bunch seem to have had a lighter case than we have had—makes sense since they are all a lot younger. They are feeling quite a lot better already. DD has even been running errands—fully masked and curb side stuff only. DH and I don’t even want to get in a car! In fact we have not unloaded the car other than our suitcases and the cooler!!
I will be checking out your cruise, Sue—very excited for you to be able to go again.
JoANne, I hope you are doing better!
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jmg44
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Post by jmg44 on Aug 18, 2022 0:38:38 GMT
Still having breathing issues—am going to test tomorrow and call my pulmonologist—I may have to go on steroids to stop my asthma—it seems covid has started it and it just won’t go away even with nebulizer breathing treatments. So tired of this! DH is much better—still has cold symptoms but that’s it. DD tested negative today as did DGD18–they moved into the dorms at MizzOu today—brings back so many fun memories moving our college kids into dorms!
Hope you are all okay.
we had monsoons for three weeks—most rain we have had in ten years—and today it has clouded up again—still pretty warm but has been fun to see rain and lightning again!
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Post by holly2007 on Aug 25, 2022 13:48:37 GMT
How is it August 25th already? The academic year started last week. I’m not teaching my 1 hour credit class, which is strange, but it is nice to have a break.
I still have some tomatoes. For the Fall I think I’m just going to do a lettuce mix and cover crops. Now that I have played around with some different things, I think I am just going to focus on a few next year.
Kira is overall doing well. I was supposed to get the septic tank repaired last week, which is the hold up for a fence. I am going to do some obedience training with her this Fall.
Sue, hope you have a good trip! Iceland is on my bucket list.
Joan, I hope you are feeling better now.
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Post by nov21987 on Sept 4, 2022 4:20:17 GMT
Hi!
How is everyone?
Our trip is in 10 days! I can't believe it. Of course I feel completely not ready. We ordered the recommended warm weather clothes, top and bottom base layers, waterproof gloves, neck gaiters, special waterproof socks, hat, etc. I also got a pair of waterproof walking/hiking sneakers. They will provide us with waterproof knee high boots (for when we are in the zodiacs/kayaks) and they will also give us winter coats that has 2 layers. These we get to keep and can bring on future trips (like our trip going from Miami to Antarctic, then back up and through Panama Canal in Jan).
I really don't have many dressy cold weather clothes, so will bring cardigans, dressy blouses that I can wear over dresses for dinners in the evening. Normally I would buy some new dresses, but I ran out of steam after buying the cold weather outdoor stuff. Inside the ship will be warm so can probably get away with wearing my usual evening stuff. We will be going down Atlantic going south to Barbados so it will start to get warm. From what I have heard people are a little more casual on these expedition trips. I'll wait and see how crowded the indoor dining venues get because of covid. There are people on each trip who are getting the virus and I still want to be as careful as I can. There is outdoor dining so will have to bundle of for that.
There will be a lot of lectures. They have on board about 40 specialists, obviously animals (birds, mammals, etc) but also geologists, biologists, environmentalists, and those who have knowledge of the various islands and their inhabitants. Plus people who will be operating/maintaining the submarines, zodiacs, equip.
Joan, I hope you are completely recovered by now. How are the breathing issues? It's so great to hear that DGS21 is doing so well, I remember the rough patch he went through. Seems his GF is a good influence. How is Jordan? Did you have any flooding in your area? Our monsoon season seems to be over already, and was pretty mild compared to last year. One afternoon though I had the scare of my life, it was heavy wind and rains that hit horizontally at our double height windows and the glass actually bowed more than an inch I think, and water seeped in at the bottom. The guy, Frank, who has been overseeing the work in our house came over the next day and had window people come in the reseal the windows.
Holly, take advantage of a lighter class schedule while you can. Has school started already? My nephew went back to Boston last week and classes started Tues I think.
Well guys have been here all day since 8am installing SO's bookcases! They are also coming tomorrow as well. Not a great Labor Day's weekend for them. Not sure if they will also come on Monday, but they will not be done by end of tomorrow that's for sure.
We are settling in more and more. I've been arranging and rearranging my kitchen cabinets so that I have things that I need in the right locations. It helps that the layout is similar to what I had in the condo, but now I'm really refining everything because I do have probably twice the amount of cabinets.
A couple of weeks ago we went to a "new member" mixer at our club. Met some nice people and also ran into the realtor for the architect and her husband. Although we hate the architect we like her, she gave us good contacts including a plumber who installed our soft water system. This is an entirely different world for me! Anyway we invited her and her husband over for drinks last week. He is a developer and has hired the architect before, but don't think he ever will again. Almost every contractor that has come into our house has expressed negative feelings towards the architect of our house.
Ok, I'm on my 2 week pre-cruise diet, will finish a couple of days before we leave. This is only a 1 month cruise so I'm not as nervous about leaving the new house as I would be for the 78 day cruise in Jan. Our condo was so easy, our front desk personnel would check our apt once a week and get our mail.
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jmg44
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Post by jmg44 on Sept 8, 2022 18:06:42 GMT
Wow, Sue—seems that time really flew by if you leave in ten days!! How exciting—the ship looks amazing—Ithink you will love the expedition type cruise—so much to learn and see—cannot believe they have little subs to go underwater!!
I am finally completely over covid—no more asthma, no runny nose, no crashing on the couch mid morning and mid afternoon! I am so grateful to have had it this late fully vaccinated—=I doubt I would have survived otherwise! I am back at pilates and yoga twice a week this week—almost back to 2 mi walking—not quite but will be by end of next week! Tonight is book club and I am actually up for it! I am taking a peach cobbler to it for dessert. We read The Violin Conspiracy. Next month is The Measure—
heatwave this week was awful—in Sacramento it was officially 116º—all time historic record high! That was 4 º higher than Vegas! Laguna Beach went over 100 for the first time!
My son in SLCity had his back surgery—extensive—rods, fusion, wedges in between the disks—they could not get a fake disk in—not enough room—literally had to pound wedges in with a hammer of sorts. He is one week out and still having pain—they said will be a couple months as they disturbed so much of his body—his incision was about 7 in long!
my potter friend has been in Ireland two weeks so tomorrow we are finally going to do a glaze fire—has been a long time since I’ve had the fun of seeing something finished. Need to get busy and do some building again!
cannot believe the library shelves are finally being installed, Sue!
Holly how are you and the new pup doing?
Hope JoAnne has been healthy.
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Post by nov21987 on Sept 8, 2022 20:56:07 GMT
Joan, so glad to hear that you are feeling yourself again. You are normally so active and on the go, this must have been difficult for you. Well, we canceled the cruise First, I got covid last week! I don't know how, except the only thing we did 2 weeks prior was the new member mixer, where we were outside. Or some of the contractors that came through, but they were mostly outside, and inside less than 15 min and further than 6 feet from me. I first got symptoms last Thurs...very, very mild. Sore throat first then cough, lasted no more than 3 days. No fever or any other symptoms. Tested negative first 2 nights than postive the next, 4th day went to get pcr test and was positive. Since first night positive SO has been sleeping in another room and I'm wearing a mask around him. He tested neg yesterday with pcr test. This is not the reason we canceled though. About 3 weeks ago SO started getting sharp pains in his right upper thigh, went away but then came back and then eventually started spreading. Worse at night but better during the day with walking around. Went to ER and there is no clotting so that is good. They did a bunch of scans and xrays and have no clue. He needs to see a regular dr. Anyway, we canceled prior to his visit to the ER bc we just can't imagine him on the cruise dealing with this since this expedition cruise is very activity oriented. I'm bummed, but it's for the best. And hopefully our house will get more resolved and we don't have to depend on Frank to oversee everything while we are gone. At least we have all the winter clothes for our next scheduled trip in Jan. Diet is going well, have lost 7 ilbs, back to what I was pre-pandemic at the end of our last cruise. Will actually continue on but in a less drastic mode with bringing in some more carbs. I do not want my body to get adjusted to no carbs. There are some carbs on this diet, fruit some bread. One wall of shelves are in. Unfortunately the wood floors slope a bit so things are not lining up perfectly, ugh! Oh!!! There was a snake in our house last night, behind the kitchen! It was thin and small about 9 inches. SO was already asleep, I put a metal bowl on it and this morning SO took it to the wilds next door. We have had about a dozen scorpions caught in our traps inside our house. Unbelievable. A javallina fell into our pool last week and was able to climb out. Javallinas "highway" as our neighbor calls it, is between our 2 properties though closer to his. I feel like we are the "Beverly Hillbillies"!
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jmg44
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Post by jmg44 on Sept 9, 2022 4:17:54 GMT
Oh my gosh, Sue! Things can change so quickly—I’m so sorry to hear that DH is having an issue that you have not yet figured out—hope you get some answers soon! It would be terrible to be on a cruise and have something like that happening! I’m glad you were able to cancel in time!
Oh geez—I’d be freaked out with all the wildlife—I’ve never seen a javalina in person! Cannot believe they can crawl in and back out of the pool.
I’m glad you didn’t have the hard version of COVID and really hope that DH does not get it!!
Do you sometimes wonder if they are ever going to be done with everything on the house? Is it starting to feel like home? You have made such a huge change!
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Post by holly2007 on Sept 9, 2022 15:14:54 GMT
Sorry about the cruise, Sue, but best to err on the side of caution. Are you going to try to reschedule it? I’ve never heard of a javelina. I guess the closest we have here is maybe a groundhog?
Joan, glad to hear you’re back to normal. I will have to put those books on my list.
COVID seems to be milder. I guess it has hit the endemic phase.
Kira is doing fairly well. She is smart, but constantly needs to be occupied by something. She doesn’t know how to chill. The septic tank is getting fixed next week (yet another drama), so the fence can finally be built.
. I
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jmg44
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Post by jmg44 on Sept 15, 2022 5:44:51 GMT
We leave Friday to go visit DGD18 at MizzOu—in Columbia, MO—realized I have a dr appt next week so made an appt for my blood test very late—ugh—not till 1:10 tomorrow afternoon—so am up a bit late eating some apple and peanut butter and a tablespoon of cottage cheese as I will have to fast until then!
have been building clay like crazy—trying to get some christmas trees and other items made to see if I can gett enough together to have a christmas sale.
How is DH feeling, Sue?
I think javelinas are related to wild boars, aren’t they, Sue?
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jmg44
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Post by jmg44 on Oct 11, 2022 20:37:58 GMT
Hoping all is going well in Tuscan and in NC…. My daughter and her DH and Finn the dog are here for a week—working from here—he is visiting his parents daily—has been nice.
Just finished reading The Measure—fiction novel ==was really intriguing and quite good. Would make a good movie I think.
I’v e been walking two mi a day still every morning—have also been eating too much—hard when you hav e others around with different eating habits. Tonight am not cooking.
we are firing some pottery today so tomorrow will take DD with me to unload the kiln which is always exciting. She has not met my potter friends so that will be fun, too. Then she’ll come back and be working all day in the office—so I will build Christmas mugs. I’m going to have to attack the hard job of pricing my pottery soon—we are having a backyard holiday sale on Nov 12–decided to invite my two potter friends to join in—we set some parameters for how it’s going to happen—I think it will work well—if we can get the traffic in—we are all going to make cookies (easy tube kind) and have coffee—I’m probably going to include a Craig’s listing to get more traffic—
weather here has been fantastic—warmer than prior years but still cooling off nicely every evening and my morning walks are at about 64º so really nice.
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Post by nov21987 on Oct 13, 2022 22:35:04 GMT
Hi!
It's been quite hectic here with contractors coming to do work on the house. SO's library is 99.9% complete, some minor finishing. It looks really nice and it is completely filled.
They also had to switch out the temporary appliances for the new ones. The architect had tried to put the 3 yr old appliances he had in his showroom and get away with it, but we checked the model numbers and demanded brand new models, ugh! Anyway, that was days of hassle since it was the refrigerator, freezer and dishwasher and they all had cabinetry fronts that needed to be taken from the old and put on the new. Then I had to read all the manuels to set up the appliances. So complicated these days!
Joan, sounds like you are fully back to your usual active self. SO never got the virus from me. How is your son doing recovering from the surgery?
Holly, wow finally, the septic tank! Hope not as much drama as my house.
The javellinas are boar like, the adults can get big, the babies are cute, but they will charge at you and bite, especially when protecting their young. SO blocked the place where they were coming in and that seemed to work. Try to get them to not make it a habit coming that way. There are also mountain lions here, we've seen one a couple of times, they roam on the road right in front of our house.
We are getting more and more settled in, but new issues constantly arise...leaks, door hardware, etc. The next big things are the glass floor panels and glass railings of our bridges, some of them are misaligned, I think SO said about 25 out of the 100 pieces that we have need to be replaced or modified. We have some metal accent wall panels both exterior and interior that have joints that need to be fixed so that they are consistent in width. We don't expect to redo most of the exterior panels but definitely the interior one that is in our living room.
We had our first dinner party, invited our realtor and his wife over. It was the first one since before the pandemic! Can you believe it's been that long? Well we did have people over in our condo but usually for takeout or casual drinks. This time it was 5 course dinner with hors d'oeuvres before dinner. I made some things I never made before - gravlax and z'atar flatbread for nibbles before dinner. The flatbread dough was really easy and I cooked it using grill pan, it was sooo good. Gravlax turned out well too, more mild and sweet than a smoked salmon. I served the flatbread with lemon marinated feta. I also made gougeres, I'd forgotten how good the gougeres are. I made these days in advance and gave the contractors working in our house some tastings!
I finished the 2 week diet and have gained a couple lbs back...totally normal bc I started to eat some carbs again. But hoping to keep at this weight for awhile before another push to lose before our Jan trip.
Oh, I decided to go to Philly in Nov since we canceled our cruise. Just for 10 days, SO not coming with me. I'll be seeing friends and family. Flying back on Thanksgiving day to be with SO.
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