Best/Worse/What did I learn today?

Good morning, everyone. Especially big hug for Diane being careful not to mash her mouth.

I am recovering from the cold I got in LA. Still. I'm still coughing a little and not sleeping well but I'm much bettewr.

Tony and I went to town to do errands yesterday. It was so hot and humid that it looked like everyone was outside hoping for a little breeze. Few people working. This is our weather when people go into survival mode.

I have a desert rose (adenium) that I got at Walmart a couple of years ago. They are almost unkillable here and it blooms a lot - a pretty pink. A few weeks ago I repotted it into a larger pot with some fresh soil and fertilizer. It is blooming again and seems to now be a darker rose color. Tony agrees. Very strange but pretty.

We got a box of chicken legs yesterday and I cooked a big pot of them. About ten pounds. Now I just need to cook rice and the dogs will be happy for several days.

I don't get very hungry in this weather and my weight loss is now at exactly fifty pounds.

Lots of work to do and very little energy. Tony finished the awning over the outdoor kitchen while I was gone. It's still very hot.

My knee is somewhat better and my right shoulder is almost pain free. If the heat would just let up a bit I'd be a really happy camper but I am not complaining - just sweating.

hugs, katie

How's your mouth this am, Dianne?

Katie - this is why they have Siestas in Mexico - everything shuts down from Noon to 4pm, right? (except for ice cream parlours? lol) What a way to lose weight - get too hot to cook or eat.........
Glad your knee is better and shoulder pain free?!?! GREAT

Today we're making a difficult decision....... taking our cat "Baby" to the Humane Society. "No Kill Shelters" here won't take cats from individuals, only institutions - I suppose like the Humane Society.
Baby's 11 yo, and is sweet, gentle and 'bright eyed and bushy-tailed" but....... has had a major fault to 9 of her 11 years...... she defecates anywhere she wants, in our home. She's an indoor cat, and Bob cleans her litter 2-3 times a day, and we're home with her, and play with her a lot, but - she will "go" in the LR, BR, on our bed...... under the dining room table, behind us as we stand somewhere......... Not Clean, or Sanitary.
Now, she's taking to gong on the DR table, and on the high-up TV console, and eating plants or taking them down from waaaaaay up high. She's obviously energetic enough, but in the past couple of months she's been getting worse. Don't know why she's doing this.
We had, once upon a time, taken her to a behaviouralist at the Humane Society in Winnipeg, and it worked for awhile, then she started defecating everywhere again. I value her, but cannot be "stepping in it" everywhere I turn around.......

It sounds like she needs to be an "outside" cat. Is that not possible? Of course, I guess it gets too cold in the winter for that. Difficult problem! I love animals, but if a particular one simply cannot adapt to human living, it is necessary to mercifully deal with it, but not just endure. If she has had as good a life as you could give her, that is all you can do. It sounds as if you have reached your limit.

She can't be an outside cat in Calgary - she was, until she was 1 yo in Winnipeg (had to bring her indoors when her mom got bitten by a mangy cat and got infected - we didn't want Baby to get bitten too).
There are coyotes here, and they attack pets. One took & killed a small dog right off the owner's leash while she was walking it..........
We've had Baby since she was born to a cat we had - Smokey got preggers within months of us rescuing her as a stray. After 9 years of Baby defecating in the house, yes, we'd reached our limit.........

Sorry to hear about your cat Susan!

Shirley, so glad to see you popping in to say hello! Sounds like your staying busy, and clearing out a lot of stuff! We were amazed to see how much Mom had collected over the years after she passed away! Took 4 of us, with all the Grandkids to get her trailer empty, and ready to sell!

Thanks for the links, I am running the malware now, and so far it has found 3 bad objects. Praying this works!

Good deal...LK....so many sites add cookies for tracking and some sites have been infected by spyware etc....The Malwarebytes program will automatically update itself everytime you run it. I would recommend using the full scan the first time...It can take a couple hours to run, but is worth it to do so every few weeks.

Sorry about your Kitty Susan. Sounds like her Mama didn't socialize her very well.

I dunno about socializing her - they depended upon each other. Smokey was pretty lazy when it came to opening doors that swung...... she'd wait for Baby to "head butt" it open for her - what a Diva, eh?
They were very close, and when Smokey got sick, and even the vet couldn't do anything more for her (she got terribly depressed and hid, towards the end), we had to put her down. Baby looked for her everywhere. It took about 2 years for her to get over the loss of her mom. She, at one time, licked a patch of fur off her tummy, and was obsessing that way. She eventually got over it and it grew back white (her fur otherwise is all black). But....... maybe it was the loss of her mom that "put her over the edge" and was continuing to obsess, but in a different way...........
Our cats were both really sweet, gentle, and close to both of us. They (as all furries do) "hooked up" with Bob - guess he was the Alpha Male lol

Susan, did I understand correctly that you all clean the box 2 or 3 times a day? That is very likely your problem. Cats need that symbol of territory....check out this video. Jackson Galaxy KNOWS cats.

http://jacksongalaxy.com/2012/01/18/the-politics-of-litter/

Jean - I checked out the vid - thank you. Unfortunately we no longer have Baby. Also, our HS in Winnipeg said if the cat sees "too much" in the pan, it won't go in anyway. They suggested 2-3 times cleaning per day.
I guess there are just so many opinions, and we've been trying everything for 9 years......... We couldn't, as some people do, leave the litter box for a week - that's just gross!!
I told my DH what Jackson said on the vid, and I guess I shouldn't have said anything - he's hurting........ now I suppose he's wondering if we did the right thing, but yes he knows we did. It's just hard to deal with it today. Cleaning out all her things, etc.........

((((Susan))))

Good Morning All ;

(HUGS) Susan as well. Always difficult to lose a family member..

Happy Happy days to see Shirley and Dianne ! Greetings! Just glad to see you pop in when you can...

Katie - I have 2 desert roses... both as in the same exact spot... one is losing leaves and the other is thriving !?!? Don't know what to do. Someone told me to treat them like a cactus. Also that they like small quarters (was going to repot the one that is losing leaves). any ideas ?

Yay to Elf and the swap... look what we have today ... our first lotus bloom !

HUGS
Mary

PS: Sistahs Gathering! UPDATES PULEASE !

Mary - Don't know if I've mentioned that I call my place "Darwin's Garden." There is a caudiciform forum which might have ideaes. Mostly, I keep mine in a well-draining mix they like it dry. Repotting seemed OK for mine. I have a few little ones I started from seed; no flowers on them yet. If you Google them there are some great pictures of very old plants out there; I should live so long that mine get that big. Low water is what I know for sure.

Susan, sorry about Baby. One of my twins (Twink and rosie) goes through phases of peeing on my double bed. If I ever caught whichever one it is in the act she might be gone. Max still pees to mark territory. I'm grateful for concrete floors and throw rugs.

Slept better last night. Still some coughing.

How's the gathering. Please send hugs,

hugs, katie

Left Betty's this morning,and arrived safely at our next stop on our little vacation.
More later

Debbie

Where you going next Debbie?

Wha have I learned?
I can ride the bike into the fair before it opens on a Sunday morning.
http://dailypics.ning.com/profiles/blogs/650124:BlogPost:1092403
Andy P

Thanks, re: Baby - having probs with coming home and not finding her waiting at the door.....

Debbie - it was so good to see you via Skype, at Betty's!!

Sorry about your baby Susan. I know it is hard to lose a loved furry one!

Late evening all..many have left, last 2 groups early morning ! Sure will be a quiet house..all laughter gone, I'll be lonely!


Will take time tomorrow to read and comet on the posts

Night, night!

Thanks, LK.......

Betty - always can check in here for Laughter! I know it won't be the same, but we can still make you laugh (esp me, with my kooky "mixups" lol)

So sorry to hear about Baby Susan, sad loss.

Everything is fine here...loving the lake.

Debbie

Morning,

Well the Sistah's 2012 Reunion is almost at end, just waiting to hear all have arrived safely! I really did enjoy having them here and sure hope they left with what they hoped to find on their travels, friendship abound!!!

Doing all the bed laundry, other household cleaning chores and then it shall be feet up.

Prayers for those in need, hugs for those that need them

Enjoy your day..will post photo's as the day progressed so joing us on the Gathering Thread!!

Thank you, Debbie........

Tallulah (Susan) - good luck on new job tomorrow. Hope all goes well so you are left with a good feeling. Don't forget us on myfitnesspal.com. It is harder to stick with the program when working as time is short and healthy foods are not as available as at home. Don't worry about it - we all just do the best we can at the time and circumstance. Best wishes.

Evening all, even though I said it would be an quiet day it didn't turn out to be..Jeff and Julie dropped in, Julie with bags of double dip caramel and Mexican popcorn, thought the group would still be here..now it's in the freezer, with you all gabbing of eating better I sure don't need these bags of goodies.

Off they went with Greg and Melanie boating for the day, got asked by Jeff, then Greg to come along with them..told them I was tired. About 1 1/2 hrs later I get a call, Kyle wanted me to drive him to the Midland waterfront so Greg could pick him up and go boating..well, now that I was dressed, in town, there was no way of saying I couldn't join them so off to Henry's for another dinner..just watering the gardens then off to bed.

Sure hope all is well in your neck of the woods...

good luck tomorrow Susan!!!!

Thanks, Melanie - I post on myfitnesspal most days, but got caught up yesterday and today, but NOW I'm up to date.........
I have chicken breast (grilled), yogurt, avocadoes, and apples to take to work, so I'm not going to eat junk food at work. It's easier to take a proper lunch when the majority (if not ALL) of the companies have lunch rooms and fridges.... !
I just keep away from the vending machines and should do fine! Just have to watch out for those Potluck lunches lol

Morning all,

Overcast today but that's ok as it's a work day and wouldn't hurt to have rain for the gardens..I neglected them this weekend big time.

Didn't sleep well last night, think it was the excitement of the weekend and wouldn't you know it, fell into a deep sleep come morning.

Susan, thinking of you this morning excited to pack your lunch and head out to possibly a new career..sorry about your furry.

Drats..thought trying to keep myself awake would be a good idea..trying to put addresses in the blackberry Jeff gave me yesterday, not doing the best at it so might get Kyle to come over tonight..need him to show me how to program things on thelephone and car..both times he was in the car he made calls via the system..have no idea as to how or why..big yawn

Sad news, we lost an American icon...Andy Griffith, 86. http://www.legacy.com/ns/obituary.aspx?n=andy-griffith&pid=158358991

Just heard about it Jean on my way back from lunch..what an icon!

off to read what he died of other than his age..wasn't that old by today's standards

Betty it's a Chevy so it probably has OnstarTechnology, it's a wireless connection that connects the car to your phone so you can make a call without dialing the phone, just tell it who you want to call and the speakers in the car project the sound and there's a microphone in the car also. It's the same thing as Bluetooth. Onstar also has a GPS that knows where you're at all the time, so if you get into trouble with a flat or break down or whatever, just press the button and an operator comes on and gets the help you need, there's a monthly fee for that service though.

Oh I know, I heard it this morning on the radio. I said about a month ago it's going to be one sad day when he passes. Usually they say heart attack when they can't figure out why someone passes.

Crissy, Kyle was using something and I don't think he had a phone..for fun, he asked for directions while we were going to Henry's..it was telling us to make u turn when safe and that we had 16 kl to get there..well, we were only doors away so it's about as reliable as my gps, at least last night was!

Loved watching both shows but particularly Matlock

That is a GPS, they all work the same. I haven't used my GPS since the last time we went travelling together, I have a smartphone, like the blackberry, and there's an app for one there.

Well, whatever she was she was wayyyyy off

Yeah, that's why I quit using it/them. I pull up the driving directions on my phone and read them, those are never wrong lol

SO.... I FINALLY Found where you were all posting ! The Sistahs Gathering ! SO much to read....but I scanned as much as I can and ya'll had SUCH a super time !

If I'm reading right... Marion will have one in 2013... and it will be a VERY Reasonable distance for me to travel there if I am invited....

(HUGS)
Mary

Marion's will be further from me...... siiiiiiigh

MARY!!!!!! How dare you think you wouldn't be invited! Date is being discussed as I want it before it is blazing hot and after Kim is out of school. No one, not even me, wants to be around her when she is finishing you a school year teaching Nope not good. LOL

I guess that means us Canucks would be invited too lol

Susan - If they will allow us Cajuns to come... I'm sure they'll let ANYONE come LOL......

JK... Marion... I really do consider myself a Floridian that married Cajun (Why not the MEN cook GOOD!) I do have an Aunt in Havana that is overdue for a visit...

But... I'm close enough to help... so I can bring stuff with me... (cheeseball, chairs, crawfish.... okay maybe not crawfish....)

((HUGS))

Mary