Friday, July 28, 2023

It is 6 am and we are getting ready for our trip to Florida today. Leaving at 7:45 am seems fairly reasonable! We had all the bags packed last night and weren't going to check anything until I realized that Southwest Air considers the dog to be my personal item. So the carry-on has to be checked. Maybe I should have packed more???

Hopefully Florida isn't too wet and sultry. The major thunderstorms in the Northeast yesterday missed Cape Cod once again. Funny how it can be flooding on the mainland daily but Cape Cod is in a drought situation.

Have a fine Friday!

Happy Travels Liz! Hope everything goes well and you get some good pool days.

Love the conversations about down sizing, decluttering. Oh my. I too have hid trash bags, as DH has fished things out that the kids told me I could throw away. And I am guilty of keeping too much too. I was sorting my piles and piles of books to give to a thrift shop, and I found I was reluctant to give up a number of them, even though it is unlikely I will ever re read them...

Ocean Diane, you will be a blessing to the children you will advocate for.

Shirl, congratulations on the new job. Fingers crossed for a smooth transition.

CC you took care of so much yesterday! I'm not 100% sure the downstairs bathroom (which becomes the guest bathroom) is in good order. I should check. I know the guest bed in the upstairs guest room is comfortable, because it's my escape pod when DHs snoring is out of control.

I had a very nice day yesterday. The beach was surprisingly empty, too hot to swim? We got a spot that was shaded by trees, plus we had our umbrella. We stayed about 4 hours, very relaxing.

Best present, my Wegovy was shipped, and should arrive today. That means I am now assured I will have 6 weeks of treatment. Since this is arriving much faster than expected, maybe the shortage is easing? As of this morning, I am 2 pounds higher than when I left on vacation June 25. I will take it! When we get back from Mexico, I hope to hit it hard.

Today is a get it together day. Got home Tuesday night, spent Wednesday with my parents, celebrated my birthday yesterday. Today is laundry, emails, mowing etc. Repacking?

Hope your travels to Florida are uneventful and smooth!

Not much going on here.... a medical appt with my dad this afternoon, a training session this morning at 11, and a NUT counseling meeting at 3:15, and then BFF is coming for dinner, but we will go out somewhere.

The cruise is booked for 2025. It's a Viking River Cruise. Viking is solvent - we checked! We had booked a Viking Cruise in 2020. They refunded the entire cost of the cruise due to the pandemic, so my brother and I feel we can "trust" Viking. This cruise came with some significant sticker shock! I'm glad I have two years to prepare and pay for it! But it is a bucket list adventure and probably the last time I will visit Europe, so what the hell?!?!?! I decided to splurge for a "stateroom" with a veranda. It seems so civilized to be able to sit on a private veranda having coffee in the morning while floating down the Danube.... LOL!

My thinking about clutter has inspired me to chuck a few things.... Wish me luck....

Fun Friday to all!

You will not regret the splurge! I was okay with not having a balcony on the cruise we were on, because it was too cold to be out on deck most of the time (but I loved the big picture window) , but if it's warmer, yes, you must be able to have your room service breakfast on the veranda!

Greetings all

Early check in for this non morning person. Had to do the blood draw. We timed it right - only a couple of people ahead of us and more came in. Good technician and out of there fast. Immediately stopped at a coffee spot for a big one for the drive home. DH does not drink coffee. He brought a protein shake instead.

So now no more excuses. It's crunch time on the junk. I am lacking boxes so may have to hit the grocery for some. There is all the clutter and debris on my desk and I am not a tidy person. Computer will have to be moved so I will be on the iPad. Two dogs and two people are going to be holed up in the master bedroom during this. The guest room has become the storage locker. And the secret trash is growing...

Peps glad you checked up on Viking. I don't know what went wrong with Vantage - I have been on their trips. I guess they managed poorly during covid plus they had just invested in some new giant ships and then there was no one to ride them. We look forward to hearing about the trip,

DD I can almost feel that white mexican sand in my toes. Hope you are having a super time. I don't think any weight loss ever occurs in mexico but oh well. Congrats on wegovy supply. Maybe I will ask my doctor about it next week.

Ocean Diane congrats on your first case assignment. We know you will really help out some child who needs it.

The tree out front is down right ugly. Better get used to it. At least when I sit in the house all I can see is the birch trees in the back.

Chicken Enchilladas tonight. We watched the last of "The Crowded Room" last night. Good ending. We also watch a show called Black Mirror which is a new show each week with the theme of evils of technology. Creepy.

Not much else. I wish I had a transporter beam to beam stuff to the dump. Diane S

Looking forward to a little beach time in Mexico when we travel next week. First, a few days at BFFs house near Mexico City, then we're going to go to Veracruz. It's not a touristy beach city, it's visited much more by Mexican citizens. Curious to have a more culturally authentic experience.

Unfortunately Medicare prescription part D plans are not allowed to cover weight loss drugs (like Wegovy) by law. The monthly cost runs 1100-1300. You might be able to get your physician to prescribe one of the other versions off-label (which are primarily geared to diabetes type 2). My doctor wouldn't previously do that because of the shortage but I am hoping that the next time I see him he will.

Wooo, it's steamy today! A front comes through tonight and it should get cooler. Thankful For my a/c that my dad poo-pooed and now is jealous of.

No rude awakenings this morning, but I was up early just in case. Then I dragged the teak loungers that didn't make it out of the garage earlier this summer to my deck. A workout even with wheels. My cousin and his husband come to stay on Monday and they like naps on those. I was hoping my new deck furniture would be here by then, but no such luck.

I ran to the grocery for ingredients for coconut shrimp curry tonight. The folks come back from their boat trip today. I ordered and stuck on some very cute vinyl stickers for the new trash can as it has two sides, one for recycling and one for can/bottle return (a very big thing in MI. The return rate is somewhere between 90 and 100% here as you pay up front and get 10¢ back and every grocery store is required to have self service return machines). The trash is in a pull out drawer, so no label there.

Now I'm sitting, enjoying the a/c gearing up for putting on the other shower head. I also need to clear out the guest closet as a lot of knickknacks and puzzles went in there for the remodel and never came out, mostly because they need new homes and that's not clear where those homes will be. Last bug task is organizing the laundry room as it's off the guest bath and is messy right now with other things without homes...

Safe travels, productive decluttering and gym/nut sessions to all!

You make coconut shrimp curry??? Is it difficult?

It was good! I would use half the honey next time. It doesn't need it. I also added julienned carrots, red pepper and sugar snap peas to give it veggie bulk. Also only made half the rice for 3 people.

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11767/ coconut-curry-shrimp/