Everyday Chatting & Waffling {2024} Let's get to know each other!

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Hey everyone! I made it back home safely last night. Our flight wasn't delayed or cancelled, so I count that as a blessing. My body is enjoying the humidity- it was so dry where we were. I managed to get some pictures, but hubby took a lot more, so I'll have to get some from him too. We are expecting the delivery of a new upright freezer today. Our old one bit the dust right before our trip. We had to cram everything into our side-by-side fridge/freezer before we left. It all fit- barely. Don't have a whole lot planned this week except scrapping some and recovering from vacation, lol.

I read somewhere that Covid is making a resurgence in several states this summer. I wonder why that is?

Sherri, Sam, and Rae--it's good to see you here! Sherri, I'm glad you're home and sad that you didn't get helped for the primary reason you were in hospital. Prayers for you, Sam, for you to feel better! Rae, I hope my retired life is like yours! I'd love to do tons of traveling. I'm glad you're enjoying it. :)

Off to do some scrapping! I wish everyone well!
 
Ane, I know a few people that have come down with COVID. One of my friends had a heart issue, when she went to her doctor they sent her immediately to emergency. She had a pacemaker put in the next day and was home two days later. A day or two after that, she came down with COVID. She has been through the wars. Another of my ladies (both in the Daughters of the British Empire) went to a family reunion and returned with COVID. One more lady doesn't know where she got it, but she came down, too. We haven't seen a single case in our organization for over a year, but now we have three in one month.

Well, today went well. I think I mentioned that I had three projects for today - wedding invitations, t-shirts, and Stanley Cups. The last is for a wedding. I got up, cleaned the house, made breakfast, dropped the car off at the dealer for service, came home, did invitations, and cut the mug designs. My friend Tina came over for the wedding invitations and hung out all day. Daughter Karen also came over to help with the mugs. I had the most awful time with them - I had to cut the pattern on my cricket a dozen times before it would cut right. Karen has all the patience in the world with this aspect of the task of weeding the vinyl, and then transferring the pattern. When I was at my most frustrated, she was so patient until we got it right.

At least it is all done. I can have an evening rest in the air conditioning, then I leave for son Steven's in the morning and won't be back until Monday morning. At least I got some scrapping done the last few days :)
 
Yesterday my son from Banff called me to update me on the fire situation in Alberta. It is absolutely dreadful with Japer, AB being completely evacuated. His sister hotel in Jasper burned down and all guests were sent to Banff so his hotel is completely booked up. The worst thing is that Banff is just 4 hours south of Jasper and may need to evacuate in coming days if it is not contained. I feel for all the poor animals that have perished and pray for all those affected to evacuate safely.
 
Karen - it is horrendous what is happening in Jasper, I agree. They had a bit of rain but the heat is coming back so I pray they get it under control soon.

Lynnie - glad you enjoy seeing my photos. Glad you got help for the projects. You are always so busy, in a different way than I am, but just as busy or more so than I.

Ane - I know some struggle with retired life but definitely not me. I am so busy, I just wish there were more hours in the day. I don't know if all areas are like ours, but having so many others that are interested in lunches, card games, etc, it sure has made it fun to socialize in our new town.

Tonight we are heading into Calgary for a show, Beautifica. Here's a link if you want to know more about it.
BEAUTIFICA 360 | james-hood (jameshood.com)

Our deck/walkway/stairs is almost finished, hopefully by next week some time. It sure will be nice to have the yard/deck to ourselves, not seeing workers coming and going at all hours.

Did I tell you we are going on an east coast cruise in Sept/Oct? I have been watching videos which are getting me really excited to go. The old town part of Quebec City should be interesting and I can't wait to explore Boston. Of course, all the ports in between (while on the cruise portion of the trip) will be fun too, I've got excursions booked now for all the stops.

We are caught up on House of the Dragon and can't wait to see how it finishes up (2 more episodes coming) and have been watching Big Brother (have never missed an episode).

I'd better go get ready to head out. BFN
 
Rae, we just started watching House of Dragons as well, just started season 2...SO GOOD! The cruise should be tons of fun, I want to try cruising too but hubby doesn't like the idea of it. So...one of my friends and I made a pact that we will do a cruise off the coast of Florida for our 65th if we don't cruise there before then. It is her bucket list to cruise and she wants to meet her "PENPAL" from 5th grade in Florida too.
 
What is everyone up to this weekend? Son Steven and his Wife Vanessa went to a Midsummer Scream (Halloween and Horror) event. They asked if I would stay with the kids, so here I am :) This week it will be from Thursday to Monday. I miss my husband!! However, I am having a lovely time. Today is Saturday and Bruce looked at me after they left and said "Nana, we have to do school today!" Since today is not a school day, I said we only have to do Math Facts (his favourite), Reading (My Favourite), and Art (we both love!) We had a lovely morning doing them while baby sister was sleeping.

He has designated the rest of the morning as a work day haha. I am waiting for some stuff to download from my home storage device to here, then I have some stuff to design for the Camera Club.

Next weekend is Bruce's birthday!!
 
Happy Monday, all! Work has been taking much of my time, but I wanted to pop in and say hello. I've completed both of my summer youth programs, hosted a work event for about 100 of my cohorts from around the country last week, and our big summer directors conference starts Friday. I am organizing a focus group, then two days (four classes) of directors training, and then the last day is our big conference. My VERY EXPENSIVE keynote speaker has a scheduler/handler that is driving me crazy with his disorganization and unresponsiveness... which is leaving us in a lurch with a couple of the activities planned. So that's what I'll be working on today.

I did manage to carve out some date time with Randy yesterday and we watched the new movie Deadpool & Wolverine. It was fun to watch him chuckle. We are planning an extended vacation for about three weeks in September, so we're working on those details, as well.

Hope everyone has a great week!
 
Another busy week, I have to go frost some windows for a client after my physio appointment today. Hopefully it won't trigger a migraine like the last few appointments have. I hate frosting windows as the vinyl is so flimsy & if you get any dirt or hair or dust caught it shows up on the window. I must admit it looks great once its done, its just a pain.

Last week of normal footy draw this Saturday & then its finals footy providing my boys teams make it through as we are playing the top team this weekend. We should still be to 4 for finals but we have so many injured players at the moment that it could be a tough game.

Covid has been on the rise here this flu season, & lots of respiratory viruses, I'm still coughing nearly 9 weeks later, nothing seems to be shifting the cough & all the kids have had cuoghs & colds. My youngest went to camp Monday but woke with a cough & cold so had to pack him up with medicine to make sure he doesn't get sicker. He's back this afternoon so hopefully he had fun.

Boys have started the herobot for Vex & it doesn't work properly. Vex do this on purpose to encourage the kids to re-design the robot or make ways to improve it. Noah usually comes up with his own design but builds the herobot for ideas & in some case what not to build. We have been saving all our bottles & cans to help cover the cost of robotics & we had a lady donate a bunch of recyclables that I cashed in & it was just under $40 so we have almost covered the registration fee for the first lot of competitions with that. The next step will be if they make worlds again as that is trying to get enough for rego & flying 4 of us & a robot from Australia to Texas but we will work something out when we come to that hurdle.

My daughter is 21 in 2 weeks, she has organised her own party & won't let me help. I get it she wants to do it but I see her struggling & she won't let me help its hard. I just keep being a sounding board where I can

Positives for the week, no migraines & lots of scrapping so far
 
Karen, how are things going in Jasper? Besides having an over-full hotel, is your son still unaffected in Banff?

Ane, are you having a restful week now you are back home? You certainly deserve it. I am so glad you missed the downtime created by the cyber outage.

Rae, your plans for Quebec City sound amazing. I have always wanted to go there.

Shana, you are always so busy - I am busy and I never know how you fit so much in. I hope you get your speaker sorted.

Sherri, how lovely that Austin turned 21. I always picture him so much younger. I am glad you are home and settling in. Hopefully, you are feeling better every day and the continuing therapy helps.

Sam, the robotics sound fabulous. What an unusual and wonderful hobby.

Carla, I am very lucky that Bruce loves school. I have added a few topics. I make sure we read every day and his reading is growing by leaps and bounds. It is a little affected by his speech issues, but I can understand what he is saying and that is what counts.

I am home after a five-day babysitting stint. I love being with them, but I am so glad to be home. The time here is passing so quickly. One more day and I am back in Riverside!

I have some new writing books for Bruce, I hope he enjoys them. He needs more writing practice, that's for sure.

This is a busy week. I can't even list the things I have to do there are so many and I am feeling a little frazzled. No sympathy for myself though, I did it to me!! No one else.

I have to put up Facebook posts for my local and state pages for August for Daughters of the British Empire. I have flyers for the Camera Club, and some video shorts to prepare for them. I have Bruce's party at the weekend, and Bruce's party to prep for. I am going to try to do the Facebook pages and flyers today and the rest tomorrow.
 
Lynnie, Yes you are one busy lady. I am glad Bruce likes school and you are such a dear to tutor him. Jasper has quieted down but my son says that there could be more fires starting up with the next round of heat wave. He is safe in Banff but the air quality was poor at times. It is still devastating seeing all the beautiful nature being burned, not to mention the loss of wildlife.

Rae, We visited Quebec City back in the 90's, you should enjoy it!

Sam, those robotics sound like such a fun hobby and happy 21st to your daughter.

Sherri, So happy to see you are finally back home. Happy belated birthday to Austin.

I am finally free from covid once again and back to my normal activities. I went for a long ride with my cycling group today, it was so much fun going to a new place to explore. Our group has grown to over 80 ladies so now we have a North & South chapter that cycles on different days. I only cycle on Tuesday's with the group so I have to venture out on my own on other days but I love the freedom of going whenever I want. I still try to get out at least 5 days a week as the season is so short here but since I am retired I can cycle early in the morning.

Have a great week with the fun that is coming up here.
 
Thanks, Lynnie... yes, the speaker has been sorted, the books for him to autograph are ordered. I finished the script for the entire event yesterday. Did a walkthrough for all the AV needs with the venue's team yesterday, as well. Today I'm making sure I have all the PowerPoints and videos that need to be shown and make sure all the name badges are complete. Lots of moving parts, indeed.

Randy and I watched some videos on YouTube last night regarding our upcoming vacation. We've never been across the pond before, so we've been watching traveler tips for Paris and London and learning what to expect and how to keep our pockets from being picked. Oh my!
 
breoni said:
Randy and I watched some videos on YouTube last night regarding our upcoming vacation. We've never been across the pond before, so we've been watching traveler tips for Paris and London and learning what to expect and how to keep our pockets from being picked. Oh my!
Click to expand...

And so true. We were in paris 13 years ago on a day layover and we were pick pocketed first thing in the morning on the subway/train. We were an easy target in our bright green pioneer jackets in an ocean of blacks and grays.
 
Shana, We were fine in Paris and London. I always wear a money belt across my waist and under my shirt or jacket. Also a small backpack across your chest is recommended. I am so excited for your trip!!
 
Lynnie, I am having a restful week. I have hardly had to leave the house for days, which makes me crazy sometimes, but I don't like going out if I don't have a reason to. Tomorrow I'm going to see a sleep doctor (an ENT I think) and will hopefully get a sleep study scheduled. I am sleeping crazy amounts, but it isn't solid nor restful. I don't really want a CPAP, but as my FIL likes to say, it's better than dying an early death.
 
HAPPY AUGUST TO ALL!
We are back [a week now] from a 24 day vacation, and it has taken some rest and recovery time. I still need to read going back to page 50 of this thread, but I will get there.
 
How did everyone's weekend go? We did some gardening Friday night. Saturday we went shopping and picked peaches, which we're going to turn into jam, mostly. We also acquired a new garbage disposal. Sunday was church and some chilling with the TV, lol. All good stuff!

Thanks, Karen! I hope I get this sleep thing resolved too! I have my sleep study later this month. Also discovered I have a deviated septum (nose middle). The doc stuck a camera quite far into my face (it hurt) but at least he saw this. And I am also getting allergy tested again, which means I have to go off my allergy meds for a bunch of days. That's going to suuuck! And today I got my first shingles vaccine. Glad to get it out of the way. Everyone tells me the 2nd dose has worse reactions. Not looking forward to that.
 
Ane, Best of luck on the Dr. stuff. I have had allergies all my life in one form or another and it has gotten worse as I age. I did get the shingles shots and ya they hurt but nothing compared to actually getting shingles. My Grandmother and Brother had it as well as a couple of younger friends and it so painful.

Can you believe that I actually finished and ordered my Europe book...phew that was a BIG one, 84 pages! I originally pre-purchased a 60 page book before the trip as it was on for a great price but I ended up having 84 pages, hard to leave something out! will include a digital link once it is generated if anyone wants to see it. Thanks
 
Ane, good luck with the sinuses. Hubby and I have both had surgeries for deviated septums (apparently, they're super common) and I've had surgery twice to remove polyps from my sinus cavities. It made a huge difference. We both take daily allergy meds and have a nasal spray, and that helps immensely. But we still live in the middle of ag country where we often have warnings of excessive pollen counts. So it's just part of living here, I guess. Ha.

As far as my weekend... I didn't have a weekend! LOL! My conference ran Friday through yesterday. We had around 300 people in total at the event. Friday was a board focus group, Saturday/Sunday I offered a total of four director training courses over those days, and our program was yesterday. I started with a VIP breakfast to raise money for our PAC, then we had a day of speakers and presentations. The event ended at 3 p.m., then we had a short board meeting. So I need to finish up the minutes, the summaries, and all the fun paperwork so everyone gets credits for their courses and that we bill everyone correctly. However, I asked my CEO if I could take Thursday and Friday off this week for all the extra hours I worked and he approved it! YAY!!!!! I am going to sleep in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Hello my friends. I'm in the gearing up for school mode now. I work from home and I swear everyone thinks I do nothing all day. I'm always less productive with everyone at home. LOL. Daughter goes back on the 12th and my son on the 26th.

This past weekend, being in FL in all, we were in tropical storm/hurricane mode. Always fun trying to figure out where things are going. My daughter went shopping with her friends and they hung out at the house since the beach was a no go due to the weather.
 
Ane, I hope you are feeling better by now. You have a lot going on!

Michi, welcome back. I love the page on your cruise.

Karen, I bet your book is fabulous. Is there a digital link to it? Sometimes you get a digital link when you get the books, too.

Shana, do you ever get any downtime? Will you sleep your whole time off?

Sherri, I hope you are feeling well and the therapy is helping.

Esther, working from home with kids around all day is hard. I loved working from home, but the kids had grown up, so I didn't have to worry. I have had to have a few meetings with people on Zoom while I am babysitting (Bible studies and stuff) and it is so hard. The little ones are all over the place. Scary being in tropical storm/hurricane mode. I can't imagine.

My weekend was fun. I usually babysit on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday. I arrived at my son Steven's on Thursday and DIL Nessa let me know I didn't need to babysit Friday or Saturday. We had grandson Bruce's party on Sunday, so that was great. I had lots of time to prepare. The party turned out wonderfully. It was Bruce's fifth birthday and he picked "Inside Out" for the party theme. That was his theme last year also, but we have always picked the themes. He wanted the same theme. It seemed like a good idea because we had the props already. I was so tired when I got home, though. I did all the setup and cleanup. Monday, I went to Steven's to babysit in the morning (and homeschooled Bruce), but I had book club in the afternoon. Anyway, needless to say, I didn't take my pajamas off on Tuesday or today (different pajamas, but pajamas!)

Nessa filed the homeschooling paperwork yesterday and I created a spreadsheet to track Bruce's hours in homeschool by subject and summarizing for daily attendance. We have to track hours in a day. We don't have to track as much until he is six, but we might as well get used to it. He loves school, so he is more than meeting the minimum. My goal is to have him continue to love learning. I am a little horrified at the current learning goals for Kindergarten. Surely at this age, they just need to love learning. Having them need to understand globes, maps, continents, oceans, and customs at their age is a little much. Also, for science, having them do graphs and experiments... I am going to find a way for it to be fun. He is not going to ever dread school while I am in charge!! Anyway, he is loving being taught and I am loving teaching, which is my goal at this point!

Plus I had so much fun with Excel and all the formulas. :)
 
Lynnie,
God Bless your DIL. My hats are off to all mom's who can juggle that homeschool life. I too, would have had fun with the formulas. LOL.
 
We love homeschooling and Bruce is a sponge, sucking up information. I can't get over how amazing he is!
 
Hi everyone,

Well it has been a couple busy weeks. I have been so busy with my cycling group activities and a whirlwind travel week, then working overtime to get my Europe book done that I have neglected so many household chores. I am working on that in between getting in a few layouts for the Scrap-a-thon. I do hope everyone is getting some work done as well.

We have some work to do outside on our patio and finally have secured a person to do it for us. Fingers crossed we will have no rain on Monday when he is expected. And I am splitting my very large Lilies and Peony bushes as they are taking over my flowerbeds. I have a few buyers so hoping they come soon so I can work in the garden more, the summer sure is lipping away too fast.

For those that asked, I unfortunately did not get a link for my book. :( I am looking at seeing if I can put in a program so I can share, stay tuned...
 
WELL! I called the ortho, saw them Thursday and I already have an appointment for endoscopic surgery on my right hand for Friday August 23rd! YAY! It is definitely Carpal Tunnel. She figured that out within about two seconds and three very "painful-twitchy-electric-ish" maneuvers. HAHA. And I very sweetly-gently called her some names that won't be repeated here. To which she replied, "Oh yeah, you got it. So when can we sign you up?"
The only reason that it's two weeks from now is that they're opening a brand new surgical center on fourth floor, in the building right in my town, so why not wait? 5-10 minutes, awake the whole time, 2 dissolvable stitches, telephone follow-up, IF I was working I could go back the next day, (I'm off for the summer... go back on Sept 3)
I am so excited!
 
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