Managing Monday PWYC

[Twins' Mom]

I'm reverting to a theme we've seen before. for me, it's the first Monday of managing at home alone.

should at least be quiet, and that will be lovely in its way.

[LadyMaverick]

Good morning

I just returned from taking DD12 to school. She is dreading this school week because it is state testing. The stress level is high for students and teachers. They try to make it as fun as possible with free for all snacks. Candy, gum and drinks are available in hopes they distract from the process of sitting for hours taking tests. I have yet to meet one person who thinks state testing is a good idea.

DD47 leaves today for 2 weeks in Australia. Her SO is TDY there for 6 months and begs her to come visit him. Last year when DD47 visited, he was on the south side of Australia, this year he is on the North side of the country.

We are dog sitting while DD47 is gone. Jerri is a one-year-old Lhasa Apso that is full of energy. That means we have four dogs in the house. I never thought I would ever say that. Never say Never.

[Ramblinrose]

Morning girls…

I just got back from class and not sure where my day will lead me. It rained last night with thunder storms and now it is really humid with clouds. Already water my sunnies and am contemplating working out in my yard. I have some potted plants I need to put in the ground.

I still need to do some routines but will do that after I finish my second cup of coffee.

I am making a new to me chicken and veggie one pan dinner. I splurged and bought already cut up veggies but will add some cut up peppers as well. I’ll let y’all know how it turns out.

Lucylee…it’s nice to see how well you are doing … you are definitely a Strong Southern woman just like Scarlett :

[CathyS]

RRose there is a package of spices, etc., available in stores here that I have purchased many times. It's called "One" and it is mixed with a tablespoon of oil and then you put the chicken and veggies in a bowl and then they are cooked on one sheet pan. Dh loves it. It's what I use when we have turkey, although I have tried it with chicken, pork chops, etc. I par boil the carrots and potatoes before they get mixed in the oil/spice mixture so they are "cooked" more that what is called for. 30 minutes isn't long enough I don't think.

Supper tonight will be Shepherd's Pie. I told dh I didn't want pasta or chicken, so this is what I decided. He always says that he will eat whatever I cook, but sometimes when we discuss the meal for the next night, he might make a face, or hesitate or just flat out say "I don't want anything with ... in it for a while."

It looks gorgeous out, but it's cold and windy here.

Pest control company is coming to change out the ant traps today. Neither one of us have seen any ants for at least a week or more. Bed is "made" as in one of the blankets is covering all the sheets and pillows. Compost and kitty litter has been removed with litter boxes being cleaned as I sit here. Garbage goes out next.

Island is clear as well.

[Harriet]

Off to HRH's foot appt with him. He certainly doesn't need me, but it's close and I usually go. bbl

[Nancy]

I sorted & purged another planner a 5 x 7" one.
Took apart a wire bound dotted pages one and cut the holes off punched it for the discs I like and put them in this planner.
I have another one I could put some in as I purged it too it was for Estate stuff that I have taken three years to handle c-19 shut down
made enforced turtle mode. Oh well did 99% of that, house will just have both our names on that till I decide to sell or change that it is $300 for that
change and the gal at the county office reassured me it was not necessary. Goal I had a dedicated planner for the lists of stuff on my mind about the will and tasks I needed to do. There were snags and head aches along the way and that is normal.
Thinking of working on my planners for May.

I made a coffee cake. The newly refilled planner has a blue cover and the new me focused one.
Glad my eye is better enough I will be able to do my chapter on that & hopefully one other book I'm doing a chapter a week in.

Lucy L. so glad you found a Sunday school our church does not have that.
One Baptist close by I am considering might go to their SS and mine for service if the times work.
Neither one has a women's ministry group however.

I got enough done that I can play with my planners! LOL!
I have soft classical mood music going.
I have not done any journaling yet. Done.

Cooked up some bacon & set some aside for recipes later like pizza.
Froze up most of the blueberry muffin Jiffy mixes I made up those are great for smaller amounts like cooking for one or two.
-----
Walked doggo.
Had lunch.
Got lined pages out of another journal cut & punched for a diff planner I remembered needed pages.
Luv journals with perforated pages just sayin'.
Used fire pit.
I thought I only had a couple of roses to prune till I saw the one by the gate on the side of the house sigh ...
that one is a climber too and will take several cuttings got froze back pretty badly last winter.
At least I am not bored LOL!
Got great progress on that rose bush now for the piles of branches.
* Note to self remember to wear long sleeve shirt next time.

[Twins' Mom]

still in pajamas and reading in bed w arm up. doc's office called and reminded me to ice and keep elevated.

dfriend cemetery she suggested using an ace chair called to ck in and offered help. she suggested using a loose ace bandage to hold ice in place, good advice. another call from a temple friend looking for a ride to temple for seder tonight. i called her back and we commiserated that neither of us are driving.

we are going to friends tonight, we've been with them for passover for years except for pandemic years. h took care of our contribution: boiled eggs and purchased horseradish.

[Harriet]

Twins', I was hoping there could be a meaningful beginning of Passover for you two this evening - that sounds ideal to bring a contribution and be hosted by friends.

It is also Earth Day today. Would have been a perfect day for me to get to go to the plant nursery but that will have to happen later in the week.

After his appt, HRH tried a plan for lunch, was disappointed again, and says we just can't catch a break on eating out together. Doesn't matter - we had a good meal at home. He even baked some turnovers.

At the appt, we ran into that same 2nd cousin of mine we always seem to see there. Found out why - he has 3 appts per week! We thought that was amazing, until Dr. suggested something similar to HRH, lol. It seems they are doing classes on healthy feet plus classes on balance, on foot strength, etc. HRH was sent home with lots of info, but doesn't know that he'll participate. For one thing, he didn't learn how much this costs, or if any is expected to be covered by ins. Interesting that they do all this, though.

My cousin and I talked while HRH was in with dr. He is so happy in his church but really couldn't "hear" me try to talk about the one he just assumes I'm still attending. He is of the opinion that with enough money in contributions, any church can fix any problems, and cites his own church's betterment in certain physical ways since large dollar pushes. I gave up, lol. The power of money is very limited when there are root concerns.

Back home I sewed the smallest appliques. I lost one so hopelessly that HRH had to come help me find it. It had swooshed off the ironing board and under the caster of my chair and I was probably pushing it along with me as I rolled, trying to find it. Sigh. He has better eyes for that sort of thing than I do. Recaptured and sewn down now.

[lucylee]

Another busy day around here...
* Threw out another fairly large bag of garbage...
* Called SS office...
-- which led to --
* Looked for marriage certificate. I don't know that I have EVER seen our state marriage certificate. The only thing I can find is the fancy thing that the preacher signed at the wedding. SS wants the official state certificate, with a raised seal on it. I looked everywhere it could logically be. I am going to call the health dept tomorrow morning and see if I can get a copy. Finding it here in dh's stuff is impossible.
* Looked at some financial stuff... kinda going to be in limbo till at least October/November when some savings bonds mature.
DBro advises applying for new credit card with zero interest introductory offer. Then I can put funeral expenses on this and pay over 15-21 months or so, with no interest adding up. I am already looking online for that. I wonder if those have introductory credit limits that would not work with this expected $15,000-$18,000 expense I'm going to have with the funeral cost and the headstone order.
* Called Retirement office -- they were closed. Today is a state holiday -- Confederate Memorial Day. There's some trivia info for y'all.
* Took a few thank you notes to dbil for his use
* Went to drug store, gave them all dh's meds for disposal, got a rx for myself
* Went to post office
* Talked to dh's cousin -- her husband was a pall bearer and I wanted to make sure there was no re-injury to his hernia repair some months ago -- she says he's fine; she had him out working in the garage when I called.
* Went to dgd's ballgame
* Third load of laundry is in the dryer, 1st and 2nd load are waiting to be hung to dry
* S/S bathrooms

Rose said --

Lucylee…it’s nice to see how well you are doing … you are definitely a Strong Southern woman just like Scarlett

Thank you so much. I don't know how strong I am. If I slow down to think, I start crying. Certain random thoughts while talking to dmom made me cry. I cried last night after I went to bed. I'm nervous about making a wrong decision, especially financially. But I'm trying.
I miss sooo much having him to share the funny things with, and the things that dgrands say and do.
I hurt for ds, who has lost HIS best friend. DS could talk for HOURS with dh... politics, sports, church situations, EVERYTHING. When ds was on the road late by himself, he would always call and we'd talk him home... and he can still call me, of course, but I don't have the same knowledge base of sports to keep the conversation going like dh would.
I want to continue managing money just exactly like we did when he was here... but the cash on hand has been reduced by about 40%, and the credit card limit is about a fourth what it was... so I have to do some things differently, I think.

I know I complained sometimes (lots of times?) about dh, and I had that little lapse of sanity a couple years ago and all the "what might have beens," -- but I KNOW dh and I were meant for each other. Too many things worked together, against all the odds, to bring about this almost 45 year marriage that has been so blessed. Neither of us was perfect by a LONG shot... but we were perfect for each other. As we grew older, we sorta mellowed, and we learned to choose our battles... and we spent a lot of time just marveling at how amazing it was that God allowed us to meet and fall in love, and create this amazing little family.

I hope people don't think it's disrespectful or insensitive of me to be out and about -- like going to dgrands' ballgames -- I know if dh were alive, but if he were sick and unable to go to the games himself, he would insist that at least I would go to support them. I don't know about Sunday School, but I think he felt bad sometimes because he thought that he was keeping me from going. I think it will be good for me to go. Maybe ds will start going with me, too. DDIL teaches dgd's class, so ds is sorta at loose ends for a place that he fits. This class has adults from my age to my dmom's age (or older, probably) so ds might think it was okay for him too. The teacher is a man who leads our home mission/outreach committee, and ddil works closely with him.

And Nancy, it may seem that I am rushing some of this stuff, but I am just DETERMINED not to act like my dmom, who did virtually nothing for a year, except lie on the couch and cry. Y'all know how I worried about her, and finally had the doctor send her to de-tox to get her off Ativan.
I'm following advice to write everything in notebook, and just work through what has to be done. When I think of something else, I write it down.
I need to organize my notes, even there, though, because my list has become a jumbled up mess over the past few days.

Another thing for my list... return solar light. It just will not come on at all. I've moved it so that it got more sunlight, and it's still not working.

Glad you are observing Passover without having to do the hosting duties and all that, Twins. Your contribution is an excellent idea.

Boy -- I wish my dmom could go to some classes about healthy feet and all that, Harriet! That would be perfect for her. Her bunions are causing the majority of her problems, IMHO, but she says no, she does not think surgery would work any better this time than it did the last time. I think she just waited too long to have surgery -- she was approaching 70 at the time -- and I think her toes just gradually went back to their "natural" position (which is extremely UNnatural).

Cathy, I also consider my bed "made" if the bedspread/cover is pulled up over the pillows. I never put the pillow shams up or tuck in the bedspread at the pillows. Our bedspread is just another quilt layer. Putting pillow shams on and off just seems like a big waste of time.

LadyM, I definitely agree with your statement about state testing. Dgrands just finished up. Neither of them acted very stressed about it; dgs looks at it as a necessary evil, I think. At his age, he's kinda cynical about it (probably because of a lot of statements dh and I have made over the years.) DGD was a little concerned about it, I think, but elementary school teachers can get the "bluff" on their students a lot easier than middle school teachers.
I hope your dd has a good trip!

Tomorrow, I will
* call retirement service
* call health department
* go to my teacher group meeting (we are going to a local sheep farm)
* go back to drug store -- to get the allergy syringes
* go to another ballgame

[Harriet]

You're doing very well, lucylee, and absolutely normal with the tears when speaking with your dmother. How wonderful that your ds had such a good relationship with his ddad.

HRH and I started and watched half of "Made in Italy" and have saved the other half for tomorrow sometime. (Liam Nielson on Nflix) They say it is a comedy but we agree it's a love story/family drama story. Very good so far.