Working Wednesday

[Lilac]

Dd1 and I have walked this morning. Dd1 is having dd2, her 5 kids and I over for strawberry waffles and strawberry pancakes for lunch. Dgd3 saw the strawberry pancakes on some kid show, so she always gets those when they go to I HOP. I have some watermelon cut up that I will take. 3 of dd2s kids love watermelon but she doesn't like it. She does buy some cut up from the store but not near as much as they would like to have it. The 3 of them have inherited my love of fruit. They always want fruit at my house.

Tomorrow will be 4 years since we lost dstepdad. It is also dgd17s birthday. My dm has been so weepy every time I talk to her. She is still griping about dsisil and db not going to the cemetery, plus she is still mad at dsisil for not going to that family reunion dinner. She is becoming the hateful, grumbling, feel sorry for herself person, that she never wanted to be. For the last month or so, I had only been talking to her once a week, because that is all I could stand. Last week she commented that she only hears from each of us, once a week. So with it being so close to the anniversary of losing dstepdad, I decided to call more often. Yesterday I was on the phone with her for almost 2 hours and she was rerunning all her negative issues, plus she now has a new one. Ever since dstepdad died, an older, former minister of their church has been asking her to take him to various dr. appts. etc. Most of these trips are 2 hours away. The guys eyesight is bad. The first 2 years of her doing this, her dbil kept telling her she should be having him pay for the gas. Once that dbil passed away, his dw, dms sister started helping him plus the other sister. They live in the same town with him, dm lives 20 miles away. Most of the time he would buy them lunch. Recently, one of my daunts told him that he should start paying for a portion of the gas. Last Saturday all 3 sisters received nasty notes in the mail from him, informing them what he was willing to pay for what. Then on Sunday he sat at the back of the church instead of his usual place. Someone asked him why and he said that it was his last Sunday, because the people who help him out wanted to be paid for doing it. Blah, blah, blah. This was before church and he was talking loud enough that everyone could hear him. Dm and her dsisters were the only people willing to help him because he has made every one in town mad at him because of his attitude. Anyway dm and her sisters have decided they will no longer help him, period. Oh, I forgot he kept harping on what happened to Christian charity? Dm mailed him a note on Sunday telling him that she would not be helping him again and he would need to find other transportation to his July 15 appt. So he sent her a not telling her he would not be bothering her again. I love her to pieces but I hate to see what she is becoming. She told me that "they" are suppose to be coming to fix her wifi and phone line. Her wifi is thru her phone company. She now has a tablet. I don't know how she can let them in to do anything and if she does, I can't believe they won't turn her in. She has a window ac unit in the bedroom, but the rest of the house is not heated or cooled. Someone would be doing all of us a favor if she was turned in. I can't believe I just said that but it is true, none the less.

Guess I better get a shower, the morning is getting away.

[MysteryWoman]

Well, with half an hour's work, I managed to detangle the bottom 8 inches of dd's hair. Sent the girls to work upstairs for :10. (It's just too darn hot to ask them to do :15 -- the thermostat in the dining room says 81°, and it feels cool in here.

Next for me is to total up the adjusted times on my cards to see if they add up to more time than I have, in which case they'll need to be adjusted again!

I think I'd be with you on that shower head, Ramblinrose, and I'd love to look over your shoulder while you work on those photos.

You are good to your hens, Nancy. They probably lay delicious eggs (assuming you have them for the eggs)!

Cut, color, nails, Norma? You should really be looking spiffy before the day is out! Perhaps the view will distract Mr. Guy from his confinement.

I want to hear more about LEGO Club, Bookie! Smart move to keep the time blocked out during the off weeks to get the non-meeting business done!

I hope the pleasant morning with your immediate family will help balance the unpleasantness with your extended family, Lilac. (Although I guess your DM is your immediate family, too....) (((Hugs))) to you!

[Harmony]

I am trying another board style today. It's nice, though it does remind me constantly that I do have this phobia to some extent. Probably one of the reasons I feel so "safe" here.

Sunny will read this: glad to read you're having fun with family, hoping the storm does not get in your way. My phone is on charger and when charged I must sit outside to call back (I have little coverage inside my house) and I'm not sure I am stand the heat...

Speaking of the heat, it seems oppressive to me this year. Maybe it's just me. Probably. I can actually feel the humidity. Yuck. But I sure don't do well in cold, either, so where does this leave me?

Our storm is off the other coast and supposedly will suck the moisture out of our part of the state as it progresses on. We should have clear skies. I hope they're right about that because our subs are pouring a big driveway for us in a day. And 2 customers are painting their newly done stucco. I hope it does not go inland in N/S Carolina. Family and friends up there and of course, Sunny and DH have to fly home.

Well, I got my payroll taxes submitted. I must do my quarterly reports next.

Then: go to bank
go to grocery (drinking black coffee - blek - DH drank up all the milk)
put laundry away
finish desk chores
unload dishwasher running now.

Wanted to tell Lilac I understand how concerned you must be about your dmother and her situation. There is just no helping people with those problems unless they really want help, is there.

DH came in 2 days ago from a job. He was repairing a damaged floor in a house trailer from water tank leak...and this old guy was cleaning out. DH arrives home with the stuff this guy was throwing out - thank goodness none of it was wet from the leak and all clean, etc. But now I have about 100 vcr tapes and about 10 old blankets to think what to do with. DH said he could not bare to throw it all out for him.

[Twins' Mom]

Got to keep moving along here...

-call to reschedule body work appt
-call dmom's vet about getting Trifexis for her dogs
-s2s
-make the bed
-pack up shred to take to UPS store

After this I will head out...

[Lilac]

Harmony, you just nailed it when you said you feel safe here. That was an ah ha moment for me, because I realize I feel safe and cared about here.

I still haven't showered because I called db to talk to him about dm. He said that she has started crying when they hang up and they aren't even talking about anything that should upset her. He said he just gets off the phone because he doesn't know what to do with her and she upsets him. Unfortunately I had no advice for him.

Shower, shower, I need to shower......................

[Emptynester]

Everything done except dishes and fold clothes. Can you tell I hate them?

House is cooler with shadecloth on east porch.

Off to the sink.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Late check in here.

The fireworks below us were done before 11. We think it was groups of people who each had bought fireworks and all gathered in the one space (the only open space for a couple of blocks, everything else is treed.) Perhaps they were from this building, who knows. Anyway, one family would do theirs, then the next, etc. etc. with them pausing for part of the big show downtown (which they could see if they walked to the corner.) That would explain the long pauses between a large number of fireworks.

Today we had to be ready by 8 for the window measuring. She came at 7:40 (I was s2s by then.) Was gone by 8:30. The living room windows are not square so we can't have vertical blinds. She showed us a horizontal blind that lets in the view but cuts drafts and we may go with those. So far, the only order is for the bedroom where we are putting in vertical blinds. The spare bedroom will get the black drapes from our room and the dining room will get the brown drapes, for now. Kitchen will remain with just a shower curtain (actually 2) next to the table to cut the sun at dinner time because it is the right length and doesn't overwhelm the space. We'll wait until winter to see if we need something else there.

I've been working on the spare bedroom since ds is home in 5 days. So far, I've emptied 2 more boxes and found a missing cd player (yay!) Old photos of my grandfather's ships smell bad so I've taken them out of the frames and tossed those. Was looking up ways to cut the smell in the photos when I remembered I should post.

I have payroll work to do this afternoon so I'll just tidy up my work so far in the bedroom.

Dh reports the garbage room is overflowing with boxes so we'll toss the boxes I've emptied today later this week. I have a pile of glass from the frames to get rid of as well.

[DeeClutter]

Strange, Harmony, but I have no difference in how things 'look' here. Wonder why.

Little concerned about dh and making sure he's hydrated. He called around 10 and asked me to bring him water. I took two, but when he got off the mower I noticed he was pretty wobbly. Then dcampowner stopped me to say he didn't want to get in trouble, but wanted me to know that dh was pretty light headed this morning. He's home now for lunch and out talking to someone on the deck. Took him some A rizona peach tea and asked if he wanted me to call the Dr. Says he's okay. But we're all watching.

[MysteryWoman]

Well. It would seem that the reason I haven't been getting everything on my cards done is that the amount of time it takes to actually do such (as opposed to the time I think it should take) is more time than I have in a day -- unless I'd like to give up on that sleep thing. So now I need to figure out which things can be skipped or at least done on an every-other-day or once-a-week basis.

Speaking of the heat, it seems oppressive to me this year. Maybe it's just me. Probably. I can actually feel the humidity. Yuck. But I sure don't do well in cold, either, so where does this leave me?

Right here with me, Harmony! I would love to find someplace it stays temperate all the time. Oh, wait -- such a place exists... and that's why San Diego is so expensive!

Moving well, Twins!

(((Lilac))) It sounds like your DM needs some help working through her grief -- and, sadly, she can't turn to her minister....

We have the same hates, MT -- although my greatest clothes hate is reserved for DH's dress shirts.

Glad you were s2s early for the woman with the blinds, Kathryn, even with the fireworks last night. (Though it reminds me of the old "blind man" joke.)

Dee, you can choose different board styles from your user control panel. I haven't found another one I like more than what we've already got, but maybe I'm just resistant to change. Yes, do keep an eye on your hubby, especially as we're getting into the hot part of the day!

So, I think I'm going to check on DD's progress and get dd to help me put books on shelves before I get back to work on my cards....

[Harriet]

July changes everything, Dee. By the end of August, the majority of people in the US are dehydrated and don't know it. and we are so hot right now... ...

How Hot Are We? Chasing Nancy, my forecast hear will be over 95 - some say 97 but I think we won't be the ones who get that hot.

Blackberry cobbler from our own little wild blackberries is just LOVELY and tastes so good. I pretty much used my dmother's fruit cobbler recipe, although I was reminded there is fruit... and then there is fruit. With large blackberries (and certainly slices of peach), heavy fruit drifts downward in the batter and the effect across the top is a pretty rolling "landscape" of gold cobbler against fruit. These wild berries have no weight! They tend to create a layer over the top. But with 3 cups of them in there, enough gets to the bottom to make it moist and delish! Out of the oven onto trivet & my blue checked kitchen towel, the scene is quite virtuous.

Continue to hope Sadie can post with us.

((Lilac)) the man may have had no concept of comparable costs between lunch and gas/time. But if he is alienating those who would help him, it does sound as though there is a dementia issue for him??? So possibly others are really understanding your mother's decision all too well. I can see how you would worry about installers/repairmen coming to your dmother's and wonder how that's going to work. As far as her tears, that can certainly come from the press of things all around her, and the "visual" she gets of a depressing surrounding. I'm amazed your dbrother can do as well as he does - men have such a hard time with emotional situations and want to DO something to correct it, which is not an option for him.