Saturday with lovely women to talk to

[blessedw2]

taking it easy today because of yesterday but wishing you all a wonderful Saturday.

dh has my car bc I am not going anywhere today.
dd older has the day off but needs to keep away lol - doesn't want to get sick. She just had what's going around.

french work is done. (falling behind because I don't understand some things) I took the book test and didn't do well. Not sure why. I am getting better at translating the language. I am still having difficulty taking English and translating it into French that makes sense. Working on the verbs.

Anyone that knows french??? ... Est-ce que confuses me.. I know that it makes a sentence a question but sometimes it seems like a catch all and doesn't make sense if one translates it. What am I doing wrong?

I am going to use the harmonica... lol yes that's what I said.... someone recommended it for people with lung issues/colds to keep the lungs open... I will probably drive my family crazy.

[CathyS]

Hi!

I haven't been feeling very sociable this week, hence my absence. Yesterday would have been my mother's 86th birthday. She was only around to celebrate on earth for 36 of them.

Partly due to the weather, I didn't have the cleaning lady this past week. I got the bathroom completely done before dh came home from work early.

Today we are finally getting the backsplash put up in the kitchen. No more delays or excuses or sickness or vacation-related absence.

The counters are cleared and cleaned and waiting to go!! Glossy white subway tile with white grout. I can't wait. This has been planned since last September!!

Like the over 100,000 people waiting and watching for April the giraffe to have her baby, I am also trying to be patient.

[blessedw2]

(((d cathy)))) my love goes with you.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Back from the audit. 75 minutes of driving, 40 minutes of work, 20 minutes of visiting with the lovely ladies.

Am having lunch now and then will go for a walk in the sunshine. It is at the freezing point outside so it should be a pleasant walk.

[LadyMaverick]

Waiting on DS8 to finish reading comprehension lesson. This morning while DS8 was doing Math lesson I let my creative side show by painting metal flowers to put in the garden. I don't like the look of plastic fake flowers but I do like the look of metal flowers that are freshly painted (not faded).

Yesterday I started painting our address on the side of the new mailbox. I have been looking for something to use but didn't find anything that would work so I ended up creating it myself. I first tried stick-on decals (didn't like the look), then I looked for stencils (didn't find the correct size). I honestly didn't think I could do it but once I got started it just sorta happened. I started by writing the address on a sheet of paper in cursive then I started enlarging it. Each time I wrote it again to enlarged it I corrected the flow of handwriting to make it easier to paint. Then I assured myself that I could always paint over it if I messed up. This was total out of my comfort zone because I'm not a free hand painter AT ALL. but I took a deep breath and started. After the initial coat of paint, I am cautiously optimistic. DH saw what I was doing and said "That looks great!!" I'm not so sure yet, but it is good enough to give me hope and so I will keep on.

[lucylee]

Well, THERE'S a new hint for dh! I must tell him to try playing the harmonica!!! ( He'll need to go to the car to do THAT, too.)
Hope you feel better soon, blessed.

I'm still rubbing my eyes too much, and using the rx drops twice a day (and OTC drops in between times) but I guess the steroid shot is working, b/c I certainly saw that appetite increase that accompanies it... and I was awake at 5:30 a.m.

AND -- since getting out of bed at 8:30, which you all well know is unheard of for me except on Sundays & doctor appt days --
I have...
* carried on long conversation w/duncle * See J&C if you enjoy watching Days of Lucy's Life
* eaten breakfast
* carried on long conversastion w/dmom
* reconciled checkbook statement (realized I went to T arget last week and AGAIN forgot I had a $5 coupon)
* filled dmom's meds for next week
* trimmed lots of dead leaves and branches from houseplants
* found graph paper and made chart to keep up w/28 day-habits -- water, morning exercise, no computer, walk away the pounds/walking outdoors

Dmom & I made plans to go to funeral tomorrow -- my paternal grandfather's oldest living sister -- 93 years old. She is actually a half-sister. His only full-siblings died before he did. He has two half-brothers and a half-sister still living.

It is at the freezing point outside so it should be a pleasant walk.

I guess it is all in the eye of the beholder, Kathryn. I don't want to be out walking if it is below 50!
Right now, I don't want to be outside, period, b/c of allergies.

(((Cathy)))

Dmom said dbro said he was sick of April the Giraffe!

Twins, part of conversation w/duncle was his frustration w/the grandchildren of the deceased. Their grandfather died in WWII, before their mother was born. (Their mother is also deceased now.) Apparently no one knows where the grandfather is buried, and they have all acted as if he never existed. Duncle is a military buff and also loves family history, so this annoys him to no end.
I told him I would have ds search for this man on ancestry.

So glad you're feeling better, Nancy!

I was sorry to hear about your dsisil, Dee, but I must admit, I am hoping this will get her attention about the smoking.

Speaking of computer issues, (Harriet was) -- I just got a notice that I will have to pay a monthly fee to continue w/aol desktop. After 17 years, now they start charging. It is only $5.99 a month so I suspect dh will want to do it. If anyone hates change more than I do, it would have to be dh.

And I second Harriet's words, LadyM -- you and dh are doing VERY well. I would consider fence building an excellent lesson in vocational agriculture. Everyone should take a basic course in vo-ag! (I never did, no girls did back then, but now lots of girls do at our high school.)

WTG on your painting, LadyM! Free-hand lettering like that is HARD. I can address envelopes beautifully, if I do say so myself, but to get something enlarged to do a poster or something like you're doing -- I am never pleased with my results. Your idea of enlarging your writing is a GREAT idea. I hope I can remember that the next time I want to attempt something like that.

Waving to ALL. I am going to go read for a while. I have FIVE library books due Monday, and I have not completed the FIRST one yet. DH said, "Why did you check out FIVE???" My answer: "Want of sense, I guess."
I plan to take it easy and rest today, b/c the funeral tomorrow is in Next Town and it is unlikely I will get much of a nap before we leave for it.

DGS will be spending the night, unless his cough is worse and ddil wants to keep him home from church tomorrow. She kept him home from school yesterday, but I don't think he is terribly sick.

[blessedw2]

d lucy!

hi all !

[blessedw2]

check in ... kitchen dailies done (very very slowly)

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Lucylee: I will admit it felt cold. I wasn't quite properly dressed because there was a wind-chill. Also didn't get the step count I expected. I thought I went 1.4 miles and turned around to come home but only got credit for just over 1 mile. We are shaking our heads at that.

We stopped in at the showroom for a new building going up along our walk. To get what we'd want, we'd have to buy two and have them build to our specs. I'm sure that's extra. The parking spot is $40,000. Sixty percent of what we have now is $1,029,000. Not sure how much the apartment next door would be. Forgot to ask what the monthly condo fees would be.

Edited to add: just looked at the floor plan and the two combined into one apartment would work very well for us. We'd give up our eat-in kitchen, though. Gain a guest bedroom well away from the master bedroom.

[lucylee]

Re: step count --
I was a bit disappointed when I realized something the other day.
I thought my step count was always waaay higher when the grands were here.
Well... it may be some higher... but the majority of those steps are dgs', running back and forth to show me the latest city he's found on my Weather app! So the phone gets a great workout... me, not so much.

Another dgs funny.
He was telling his dad that "Nana bought Mandarin orange slices!"
Ds, thinking about his love of geography, asked, "Do you know where Mandarin oranges come from?"
Dgs: "Walmart!"