Best/WOrse/What did I learn today?Chat with friends old/new

Good morning everyone,

Got some sleep and feel better. Still kind of traumatized and I seem to be coming down with a cold.

I don't have to head to San Diego until Thursday or Friday so I will just take it easy as best I can until then. I think some more sleep is in order. Yesterday was exhausting.

More little jackfruit plants are popping up. More dragonfruit coming and lots of new blossoms. Need to find out how to make sure they set fruit. But not this minute.

Tony is here. That's always good news. He takes stuff like this in stride and still has compassion for me when I don't.

hugs, katie

Take it easy Katie, So good you have Tony to help keep you grounded. Get rested up before you travel again.

Katie - Tony is truly your Earth Angel..........

When I've returned to my human form and have some energy one thing I want to do is to paint the concrete floor in my kitchen/living/bed room to look like bricks. Earlier this week I was looking at stencils on eBay. Then today I was cruising around on the Pinterest site - being too worn out from yesterday to do any real work - and I found a great idea which I will now share:

Cut a sponge to the size of a brick. Get some paint the brick color you want. Dip the brick in the paint and get yourself a brick floor or wall or whatever. Seal with clear concrete sealer.

Can't wait to have the energy to start doing some of these things.

Meanwhile I'm reading about plastic bottle crafts. I just moved my puter into my air-conditioned bedroom. I'm going to play on it and sleep and do little else for awhile. Except one jackfruit seedling needs to go in a pot.

Life is fine.

hugs, katie

Almost 100F here today .. hard for us Northerners o take ..

Very bad day for poor Smokey .. I do believe he is on his last life ..
Watching him, and holding him and just trying so hard to give him something to hang onto .. but .. I do think we will lose him.
After all, he is 21 ..

M

*hugs* Marilynne - this watch must be the hardest thing for you. I'll pray for him.. 21 is a great age

Katie - you'll be in human form in no time :-)
I remember making a flagstone kitchen floor - tore kraft paper into flagstone size/shaped pieces and glued it down with a flour & water paste. Took 3 layers so I couldn't see the black "tar" that was left after we removed the asbestos 50's floor tiles out of the kitchen. Then I used some poly to seal it. I thought it looked beautiful - looked better than the old (ironstone?) tiles - red/black/white speckled....

Morning all

Everything is going to plan,wonderful day in Salem, lots of laughs!!
We are just leaving for Boston, full day ahead
Girls are laughing, bought me a boyfriend who is now in the zinc, not a pretty sight. Lol

"m" sorry to hear about Smokey, heart breaking for sure

Katie when I get home I will post photos of my basement floor, entire are has field stones which I painted, been 10 years and still looks as though they were just set in grout.

Karen, must be close to the time the kids will be going home?
Lindakay, met a man from sanantonio yesterday, we were telling him about how much fun we had and of course Dick's last Resort

Waving to those I've missed

Well time to get a move on

Sorry to hear about Smokey.

Love the boyfriend!

Betty .. hope they let him across he border! Does he have a passport LoL

Smokey is still with us .. has drank some water .. we just don't know what to do ..
He has had 'bad times' like this over the past year .. but .. always has come around .. to be perfectly honest with you all, I had thought he would pass during the night .. needless to say no one got much sleep..
Playing it by ear .

Another 95-100 degree day on tap .. gag me
Taco salad was a hit .. tonight DH is BBQing beef short ribs ..
Not sure if Lorna wants to go for gas at the Reserve or not .. there's a fella there who 'has his eye on her' .. very nice gentleman .. but Lorna is not a fan ..

Thank you for your kind comments re our Smokey .. much appreciated ..

HUGS

~M~

Marilynne, I'm so sorry about Smokey.

Two or maybe all three of mine got into a scuffle at about 4am. Hard to get back to sleep so I'm up early.Could not get here all day yesterday. Or this morning. Guess it is an Internet Explorer problem as I tried Firefox and got here with no problem. Also could not get Amazon or several other spots to respond. Good thing trying Firefox worked as my skills about what to do are seriously limited.

Betty I remember your floor. One of the first times I met you was through that post. And I brown-bagged most of my walls. A vast improvement over concrete block walls.

Time to get out and see how many new jackfruit have popped up. This hot humid weather is at least good for jackfruit seed germination. Doesn't so much for me.

Maybe a cup of coffee will help me wake up. Being awakened by a dog fight is not the best. I'll watch the sunrise and cheer up.

hugs, katie

Sorry to hear about Smokey, M. Never an easy time. Hard to believe the temps you're getting up there. My brother is heading for Sleeping Giant Provincial Park for a camping trip next week.

Sounds like your trip is going well, Betty. Love the boyfriend!!

Temps here hit the low 90's yesterday, so I set up the pool for the dogs. The water was filthy within a couple of minutes, but they had fun!

Deb

Sending prayers for Smokey. May his passing be peaceful when the time comes.....

Oh M my heart just aches for you. It is so hard to see a loved one in such a state.I too wish that Smokey's passing is peaceful
D

Deb ... your brother won't need warm clothing that is FOR SURE .. it's up over 100F here today, am letting the dogs out for 10 minutes at a time ..
Smokey has, again, rallied .. just had some half n half cream .. but, he's by no means good !
So appreciate your thoughts and prayers .. tough stuff this ..

Katie . we had FIREWORKS, go off around here last night .. Lilly and Piper and Zoey were frantic .. pressed up against me and shaking .. so, I slept, seriously, on a SLIVER of the mattress .. my back sure felt it this morning ..
Hope your jack fruit are jumpin up :-)

Thanks Dianne and Barb .. ladies, you all rock .. and are totally appreciated for your kindness ..

DH is BBQing .. guess it's better than having the oven on in this heat ..

Deb .. forgot to say .. your brother will love Sleeping Giant Park .. just a beautiful place, pics galore .. if he comes into Thunder Bay he should 'do' the marina ..all under construction, but, very nice for a visit, ..

Trying to help Lorna with downloading Dropbox for her phone .. has taken TWO hours, but, we finally have the pics OFF ..
Techies we are NOT!

Time to let the dogs in, and, cuddle Smokey .. feel so bad for him .. we had to clean his 'personal parts' last evening .. he looked mortified .. poor wee chappie ..

HUGS

~M~

PS .. I think it showered in Boston today, AND, our temps are headed that way :-(

M, I'm so sorry that Smokey's time is coming to an end. He's definitely had a long life! How long have you had him? All 21 years?

Betty, keep us informed! You know we love to travel along with you vicariously!

Katie, your worm statement made me laugh! Hope things are feeling better, now.

Waving hi to all you others!

Your high temps are headed my way M. I already have the ac on. The boys didn't want to go in the lake to cool off and they all wanted in. I tend to have the ac on over night as the cooler the
temp the better chance I have of some sleep.

Betty I just know you are having a blast. Waiting for the day's update.

Poor Duke I sure had him cowering this afternoon. He has come so far and I just didn't think. There were some house flies in the kitchen so I used a newspaper to swat them. Poor boy! Who ever did the things to this boy need to have it done to them in return. He did follow the vacuum around this morning though.

BBL Dianne

Evening all,

Just got our room in Braintree, great plan having it just at the edge of Boston, took us about 20 minutes and here we are!

Told the girls if they wanted to go out for eats and shop I'd take them now because once I make myself comfy that is it for me

Great time in Boston, taking these tours (2 1/2 hrs) gives you so much info and you really get an overview of the city.

We toured 'Old Ironsides -the USS Constitution' , she is in dry dock but the tour of her was fantastic..amazing to stand on same deck as the many who fought..shivers for sure

Also went to Cheers bar that was the inspiration of the series..in the basement is the original..the owner saw there was so much interest in the series that he built a replica on the 2nd floor, have to say I had chicken penne and it was the best meal ever. I bought Paul a cheers mug and a 'drink' makers manual as used in cheers, am Paul will like both.
We did Fanueul Square, great stores,entertainment ang had a giggle, lindakay the in the square was Dick's Last Resort..don't think they ham it up as much as when we were in San Antonio.

Tomorrow it's off early morning to Cape Cod..the boat leaves for Nantucket at 9:30 am so don't want to miss it.

Off with the gals, try to be back later to gab and respond to your posts

Morning all

Everything is going to plan,wonderful day in Salem, lots of laughs!!
We are just leaving for Boston, full day ahead
Girls are laughing, bought me a boyfriend who is now in the zinc, not a pretty sight. Lol

"m" sorry to hear about Smokey, heart breaking for sure

Katie when I get home I will post photos of my basement floor, entire are has field stones which I painted, been 10 years and still looks as though they were just set in grout.

Karen, must be close to the time the kids will be going home?
Lindakay, met a man from sanantonio yesterday, we were telling him about how much fun we had and of course Dick's last Resort

Waving to those I've missed

Well time to get a move on

Deb .. S C R E E C H !!!!!!!!!
Dh reminded me that being ON the Giant camping is a much cooler proposition than being on shore in the city ..
So .. a jacket in the evenings, or, out on the big lake, will likely be in order ..

Joyce .. we've had Smokey for 18yrs .. DS had him for 3ys before .. but his DW became allergic to him !?

Dianne, I apologize for sending you this gawd awful heat ... keep the A/C on for sure .. ours ran til after midnight last night .. turned it down or up whatever because we felt Smokey might catch a chill ..
Does Duke have a fear of newspapers?

Always wondering how Ms Betty (and her boyfriend) are doing ...

Off to do stuff, then bed

Night, night

~M~

Ms Betty had better put her "boyfriend" in the bathtub - putting him in the sink, if he grows 6x his size and he's 1ft to begin with, he'll be 6ft tall and won't fit in the sink much longer LOL

Marilynne - hope your Smokey is doing well - as well as he can be, at his great old age of 21! So, even though he was in your DS's home for 3 years, you still knew him....

It's sure cool here - now & then it rains, but right now it's fine.
Bob took some stuff to storage, but forgot the key.... and it's half hour drive each way! Well, he has to clear his work truck of the stuff so has to return tonight.
We have a working washer/dryer, as of 2am this morning lol guess what? We didn't do laundry right away, but it was tested for leaks, etc - all's good, and we did start doing laundry at 9am this morning! We've got some stuff sorted, but it's still a turible mess.........
At least we have our couch & loveseat down, with the coffee table inbetween.
Today Grace, Robert, a neighbour (Elizabeth), their two sons and their nephew all came down to our place - it was Grand Central Station! I think Elizabeth felt embarrassed for us, because it wasn't an appropriate time to be visiting. Only 2 spots to sit on - one on the loveseat, and an office chair, cuz everything else had boxes all over. and of course Grace had to invite Elizabeth to see our kitchen, etc. Grace insisted her sons apologize for coming down the stairs to our place without asking, but she doesn't see that inviting people to tour our wee messy place is not right... ah well, when we have a door & doorbell, maybe it will be better......
LOL when I said (after Grace was chiding her sons for coming down the stairs and not the door as she did) that they might catch Bob & I necking, Elizabeth said "or something more....." I laughed so hard and said "RIGHT!"
When coming down the stairs it's beside the bathroom on one side, the kitchen on the other side, and looks right into the bedroom. I guess the boys figured "mom & dad are down there, so it's ok". Raymond looked shamefaced and said "I should have been more formal, I am sorry". Nice boys, Raymond & Ryan.

Morning all
Getting ready, another fun filled day I hope

This message was edited Jul 27, 2015 5:08 AM

Good morning ..
All's well here ..
Trying to sort out Lorna as she slept in a bit and is now in a tizzy about it ..

BBL

~M~

Safe travels Betty.

Enjoy your day, Betty
Marilynne - turn up Lorna's alarm clock! lol

Place still looks cluttered, but at least it now looks like we care about where we live.....
We only have 1 layer of boxes around the walls...... but still only half our counters and no sink yet.
No closets yet, but we do have a washer/dryer now though!
Eventually we will get our clothes put away......

After sleeping fourteen hours - plus a nap yesterday morning - I'm feeling a little better. Still feeling shell-shocked.

This problem with retirement/IRS/Tax Court has gone on for twenty-five years. When I made the trip to San Diego in March and had the long meeting with two IRS workers I thought the nightmare was finally over. And I started to relax. That's why I had such a metdown on on Friday when I got the letter regarding the new threat of Tax Court. I'm still kind of shaky and weepy. I'm also getting ready to go north later this week and the money transfer I sent Thursday has not gotten here so I have to call BofA. Again.

Good news - Jackfruit #1 is about 5" tall and has two tough leathery-looking leaves. I fixed a lot of pots for the new seedlings. Sharing the not-much-fun work with Tony. We can also use the preped pots for mango seeds.

A few months ago I was hitchhiking from town and got a ride from an American man who lives across the arroyo from me. He's about as sociable as I am so I haven't seen him since but he mentioned that he does some grafting of trees. We have a lot of little mangoes and citrus suitable for grafting so I may visit him and see if we can work out an exchange. Maybe he'd like some dragonfruit plants. I need to keep working on the positive sides of my life and getting more food plants going here is one big one. I also realized I need something with more immediate gratification so I need to get a sewing station set up.

We had another big rain yesterday. That was the third in seven days so the plants should be happy and there should be a lot of plants on my trip north as I think all three rains hit most of the Baja.

I'm feeling a strong spiritual connection with Susan in the make-this-place-livable dance. Mine has gone on for years. When I moved in here there were some concrete block walls and one cement floor. No roofs, windows, etc. And we had a hurricane two days after I moved. It blew off the temporary roof that was over my bed. I lay in bed hugging my Amma doll. But wasn't scared. Just wet.

However, I soon found out that the little house I had moved from was completely under water due to the storm. So I spent my time cleaning up being grateful at having been spared something much worse. As I suspect Susan has only to think of her former neighbor to give thanks for a neighbor who can be irritating but is not malicious. Wonder how Ker and Mike are doing. Is it wrong to pray that they both get what they need?

Must call BofA.

hugs, katie

ah Katie - shall we dance? The dryer is no longer on the front lawn - Bob saw it gone, and Ker with his black van, likely there to take it away..... It looks like Ker and/or Mike didn't take over the utility bills, and we have ther use of utilities on our bill. We should have no $$ owed to the utility, but there's more owing...they're still "kicking" us..........
it's so funny about Grace & Robert - bringing a person to meet us, then giving her a tour of our home. Yes, that's irritating, but they mean everything with love. Last night Grace brought us a home cooked dinner, after calling to make sure it was ok to come down. She did scold her sons for coming down without calling or knocking on the door. They were sufficiently chastised, and apologized. They've taken a printer we were going to put in storage, and are borrowing it. Bob & I each have our own regular sized printer, but this one Robert's borrowed is huge! I'm so glad they've taken it over for now lol
When Robert said they were also needing to get rid of excess, I told him that we were hoping to get rid of our excess in THEIR home........ including the piano lol Bob said "if you're having trouble opening the door when you come home in Sept, it may be because of the over-stuffed house you're coming home to" LOL We three had quite a laugh about that.
They really are quite sweet. They are, after all, just learning about being landlords.

Special good thoughts going out to Betty and gang.

M, sounds like Smokey is still hanging in there! My Smokey lies sleeping in front of me on the dining room table. Seems no matter how much we chase him off of there, he insists that's his place. So we generally just give up and let him have his way. We of course clean the table before our meals there!

Katie, wow, you've had some experiences for sure. Do you speak Spanish?

Susan, sounds like each day gets a little better. Hugs being sent your way!

Guess I'll go out and get some plants in the ground. It's overcast but very, very humid today. I'll have lots of breaks to cool off!!

omg - I just looked at my bank acc't, and our old utility is still charging us for July (we get our bill through the acc't - they don't auto-withdraw, in case you're wondering), when we no longer lived there! I called the 2nd last day of June, to tell them that we were no longer responsible for the bill, and obviously they never took us off the acc't. It could be because neither Ker or Mike took over. We normally got a bill of approx $200/month, and because Mike was also using the utility (and Ker too, with his workshop in the garage), it went to $406 for June! Mike owes us for his portion of $243, but we were going to "swallow it" rather than have to deal with him anymore. Yes, I know - we shouldn't have to, but neither did we want to have to deal with Mike.....
But now - to be charged for July as well???? The bill is now over $947!!!! We are NOT paying that!
I'm on "musical hold" with the utility company to find out Why we haven't been taken off the billing.

That is a huge amount. Stay on that phone till they answer.

they did take us off the acc't as of July 4th. Which means that $300 of the bill is Ker/Mike's and a further $243 is also theirs........
Some of it is from a previous bill. LOL just had a nasty thought - don't pay the bill and get them cut off......... no, I won't do that, cuz it would affect my credit, and it's just not the right thing to do, but geeze, how tempting.......

Could Bob approach Ker about the bill and say "You know, if it doesn't get paid, electricity will be cut off?" I know it's awkward because of their work relationship but the thought crossed my little mind so I"m passing it on.

I'm so tired. I know it will pass but it just seems like one things after another. Hope this passes faster than the radiation tiredness did.

hugs, katie

Listen to your body Katie. All those ant bites probably have something to do with it.

Must be 'BAD BILLING DAY', everyone run for cover LoL

I just got our cell phone bill .. $440.00!! I near passed out, Gord was standing beside me and thought I was fainting !!
Our bill is ALWAYS $65.00 for 2 cells. .. unlimited texting ...
I could hardly punch in the number of our local cell provider .. Thunder Bay is one of the few cities that still has it's OWN phone company .. very competitive ..
The fella answered and I was about to let him 'have it' when I got calm (thanks MoM) .. I explained the situation, he checked, and, voila, there had been an error made when we got new phones a month ago ..
WHEW .. I was SICK !!
With adjustments, the bill is now $35.00 ..

Katie thankful for your mega sleep .. I so need it, but, never seem to get it .. these poochies and the cat side swipe me everytime I try
Do so hope your trip north is a good one .. as for the retirement/tax stuff .. well, you certainly are tenacious ..I hope it all works out in the end ..
Must look up JackFruit ..

Susan ... sounds as though things are coming together, albeit, slowly ..

Joyce, our Smokey HAS to eat up on the kitchen counter because of the dogs .. we have a mat down and his wee bowls .. and today is a good day for him :-)

Creeping up to 100F right now .. I am off to shower and make a salad ..

TOODLES

~M~

Bob asked me to print the bill, and he'll take it to Ker.
Now, to get our computers & printers set up....... still on the laptop, although the desk is now accessible.......

Holy Cow, Marilynne - I would have a fainting spell too, if I were you!!!

Katie - please take care & get some sleep......... your body is telling you to take a break. All this stress is not good for you *Hugs*

Can someone start a new thread please.

Well my day got off on the wrong foot before I even got out of bed.Someone was pounding on the front door. It was 2 OPP (provincial police) officers. It was sometime between 4:30 and 5:00 am as it was still dark. Someone had reported my land line wasn't working. Of course the boys went ballistic. I I put Duke and Chaos on the deck and left Diesel with me. The one cop said is that big dog going out? I said no he was the major part of my security detail.I told them unless I gave him the command he would stay beside me.. It was remarked I must feel quite safe way down here. I got my landline and called my cell. That worked but didn't think to do the cell to the landline When I called Bell the the call went downhill from there. The person on the phone was very hard to understand. So I ended with a service call both today and tomorrow 12 - 5 pm.
I hate this waiting around, afraid to step outside with the pups.But they are quite content sleeping over the floor vents. Yes the ac is on.

How is Smokey M?

Need to get something to eat - I forgot. Think I was just rattled by my early morning visitors. Of course when I saw the OPP I thought oh my Warren has been killed in a car accident.

I was watching Boston news this morning I was looking to see if Betty was their 'Breaking News'.

oh Dianne - you really were rattled. *Hugs*
Good that the OPP came by when they were worried about your landline. Good that your Thundering Herd were there to protect you from "the big bad policemen" lol
Doncha just hate it when people that don't thoroughly speak your language are trying to help you? Nice that they're trying to help, but if you can't communicate, it's counterproductive.......
lol Betty - breaking news....... that made me giggle........

This is something I saw on FB - going to have to try it:

"Works on every stain I've tried it on !!!
The ultimate stain remover that actually works on a seriously set in stain! Never buy oxyclean again!
The mixture is:

1 tsp. Dawn dishwashing detergent
3-4 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide
couple tablespoons of baking soda.
Scrub on with a scrubbing brush"

Dianne, why would the police be at your door, because of the bad phone lines?

Moved us over
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1401795/