Thursday, January 10, 2019

Good Morning! I love Ann's theme:) Lots of discomfort going on. My goal is to find comfort and positive thoughts in whatever cir****tance I'm experiencing. Right now, I'm experiencing irrational fear. I'm afraid of falling so I'm not leaving my house at the moment without Andy. I went through this when I had my knee surgeries as, well. I know this too, will pass but it's frustrating. Trusting my body is hard!

Speaking of contractors and getting work done. I feel your frustrations. It took me a long time to have my floors done in my house. Why? I was afraid. Silly I know. Afraid that the workers would make mistakes. Afraid of all the mess. I didn't want to deal with it. Afraid I wouldn't be happy with the finished product. Anyway, I finally relented. It was the best experience ever. The men were meticulous and very clean. I love my floors. When we moved into this house...I left while the workers moved our furniture in. I couldn'****ch. When Andy climbs the ladder to the attic, I can'****ch. Dumb. Dumb Dumb. And, I consider myself a pretty put together person. Typing this all out...reading it...not so much. lol

Bonnie, I'm gearing up for work too. It's going to take me twice as long to get ready. The stiffness in the morning is horrible. Clothes will be an issue as it seems fat has collected in my hips. lol My swelling in my left leg is substantial. And, my hip and scar are really sensitive to the feel of clothing. I need soft. Shopping for soft and stretchy.

NOLA seems to be agreeing Ann. I'm sorry your surgery is again postponed.

Can't wait to see granite pictures, Liz. Hoping that Paul can come off the meds and level out. I think next time I drove to the airport, I get an Uber and forget the BIL! ha!

Diane...hope you and hubby are on the mend from your colds. I'm glad he has a surgery date. Hope all goes well.

Devon...living through you on your trailer adventures. Congrats on the wins for your puppies.

Shirl..you have a beautiful farm.

Hope everyone has a great day. I'm watching the cardinals feed...love them. And, I need to work on some reports for our accreditation. Gives me something to do.

Steph- I'm thinking "Snuggies-one piece" for work. Think that would fly? Let's start a new standard for business casual!

Greetings Party Animals

We are all living vicariously through Ann and Liz in their exotic environments. Sorry for your eye delay Ann but it just gives you more time to explore the big easy. Hope the book club is fun.

SteffieP I too am very afraid of falling and have all my original equipment so no excuse. My feet have nodules that sometimes hurt and I worry about a misstep. So I look like I am 100 years old going up and down steps. Its wise to be afraid of falling and as you heal it will subside I bet. Besides, people offer to help you if you appear creaky as I do. I recently was at a college campus and their quad had wide gentle stairs but no rails anywhere! So annoying here in super correct California! But my older brother just slipped on some ice and broke his leg badly and is now in rehab so it pays to be careful.

Shel, interesting article. We are all victims of our beliefs. I have always believed I have sub normal athletic ability - evidence: inability to do a single pull up in third grade. I still believe this but must work on also believing I can do more than I do.

Last night's board meeting was uneventful. We had a reasonably successful year and discussed painting some walls grey. It took us 6 years to paint one wall grey so I am not holding my breath.

Rain has momentarily stopped. DH is off to a blood draw and then lunch with buddies. I should take advantage of his absence and move some of his junk from the hallway to the garage - if I can lift it. Later today is studio duty and the never ending search for something healthy to eat. Chicken soup is mostly gone and meatloaf has reached the "yuck" stage.

Ocean Diane so sorry for your contractor woes but good on you for standing up. I once had a decorator who was always measuring wrong and it made me so angry that I could not rely on her. Sometimes you have to wait for what you want. And Liz, hope the granite goes well.

Bonnie150 good to practice your routine ahead. Get some tunics and elastic waist pants. Surely you will be allowed to take a walk under the cir****tances.

Time for coffee and a news check. Diane S

Good Morning - Friyay again and a welcome end to the working week for me. My SIL goes into hospital for a day procedure on her back today in the city. DH will come back up with her on the train and I will collect them both around 9.50pm tonight. I have just been over to her property and let her puppies out for a run (cleaned up the accidents oops) and let out all her chooks n ducks. Will pop back over in 4 hrs or so to let them out for another pee stop. Have also brought all her washing home - will get that done through the course of the day.

Not much planned for after work - will be over at SIL doing chores for a bit and might re pot a few trees and give the floors a quick clean. DH and I are going to pick up a garden shed tommorrow - we will set it up here so we can bring our chooks up next time - just need to get an electric mesh fence to keep the foxes away. Then we are going to look at a property for DSD and her partner. 100 acres of hilly land - will speak to the agent today.They are considering buying an hour away from us and we couldnt be more excited. They are currently over 4 hours away.

Ann - Sorry your eye surgery has been put off again but bright side it gives you better quality to enjoy the wonders of NOLA. Its on my bucket list. Wont manage it this years trip but it will happen

Dianne - How frustrating re the renovation. Well done on getting them to take responsibility for their errors and owning the additional costs etc. Glad you have a second bath too :)

Bonnie - Thinking of you as you prepare to return to work. That will be huge. Be kind to yourself x

Liz - Sorry if the cherry talk drew you to that tart he he he - Cant wait to see your new benchtops and fingers crossed the new filter part fits like a glove

Stephanie - Thank you for the compliment re our lil patch of dirt - we do love it and counting the days (years) till we can live up here full time. Good luck in your prep to return to work also - baby steps and be kind to yourself also x

Well a second cup of tea is calling :) Have a wonderful day/evening all

Shirley

I have a sense of disquiet lingering. It is an odd feeling, difficult to label, but I know it well enough to describe. It is a quiet, deeply rooted sense of melancholy. It flows up creating a sense of sadness and loss. What I have lost, if anything, I do not know. The feeling is familiar and feels simultaneously pleasant and unpleasant. Unpleasant enough to push away, yet a feeling of, "No, let it come," answers each push back. There is anxiety about the swell of feeling. Hmmmm....

I found myself looking on line at eating styles last night. I have not done that for quite a long while. I don't know if I was looking for motivation, a reminder of what works for me, inspiration, or if it was an exercise to fan the embers of depression. Whatever the reason, I was inspired to cook myself a hot breakfast this morning. I made myself a single egg omelet with an ounce of cubed ham and a few tablespoons of shredded Mexican Cheese Blend from Costco. Twas tasty!

The only task I accomplished last night was finishing taking out the grooming supplies from the van and putting them back where they belong. That included getting all the damp dog towels taken care of before they went to mold. I accidentally left the wet towels in a plastic bucket this past summer. Took a lot of bleach and wiping down of things to get rid of the mold. I still noticed a bit of a whiff of that moldy smell this past trip from the bucket. Blech! The musty smell of mold is one smell I don't tolerate well. I can handle skunk, but not mold. Go figure!

I created a lower body workout yesterday that really did what I wanted! My butt is that perfect level of, "Ow! Oooch, Ouch!" I know some of you at least get that. LOL! I did an alternating set of dead lifts (115 pounds) and walking lunges (40 pounds). Then I went to a superset of one legged RDLs (but quite light weight with only 10 pound weights in each hand), leg raise crunches, and sloooooooow clams with 4 count squeeze. I think it was the clams that put the ow in the ouch!

Have a grooming this afternoon, so that will pretty much exhaust all reserve energy. That will be from 4 to 7 tonight. Gotta scoop poop, too, before it gets dark so, off I go!

LOL poop scoop in dark. My friend once had an idea for an invention of a dog nutritional supplement that made poop glow in the dark so one could poop scoop in the dark! Might also be good as BigFoot bait. ds

Today my students treated me to a Theater of the Absurd. Ex: student working on a software program turns to me and says, I can't hear what they're saying, while wearing his headphones over his hood. Really?! Finals coming next week and everyone is a little discobobulated including me. Did skipping my Tai Chi get my energies all out of whack?

I got home from work and slept all evening, still not feeling well, so I treated illness by eating some rice pudding, chased by chicken in a biscuit crackers. More theater of the absurd. I think it's out of my system and I will return to my regularly scheduled program now.

So no Tai Chi, no sugar abstinence, but I did take my vitamins.

Friday afternoon, how I long for your sweet embrace :)

Weight 177.6

Therapy, gynecologist, hiking in the dark. All went fine! My house is clean and I'm in bed watching tv and trying to keep myself from going downstairs to get a snack I don't need. Just another day in the life of me.