JOY! WELCOME THE NEW YEARS IN! DECEMBER 31, 2025

[Nancy]

Thanks for a great start in this thread!
I have slept in then did some goals prompts to work with in my writing planner.
Working on clearing off surfaces after purging other planners of used up pages.
Put the ones I undated last nite on disc. and have covers one them now.
I have cleaned off the table and it needs that again...
Frosty morning here.

I slept in till around 7 today!
Then got going with coffee and the above mentioned stuff.
That's about all so far.

I'll have some cranberry juice and diet soda for a toast later in my red cup.
I de-cluttered my gobblets b/c of hard water stains.
Shrimp for dinner.
Not sure what else the day holds.
I to have on sweat pants.

[Harriet]

LadyM, I'm glad he likes the job. He will be pleasant to work with and probably get good recommendation later. I was going to post to warn him not to let others talk him into "washing" his hands with anything questionable there. Washing up with gasoline was a seriously unhealthy idea once, that ds encountered when about the same age working at an oil change place. But HRH tells me I am out-of-date on that, and OSHA would have already seen to better habits. Still, a new container of Goop or other product made for the purpose when he gets those black rings around the fingernails - that would be a nice "happy new job" gift!

What? Doubt Twins' Mom's competence for a moment? That would be a losing bet. We simply will not discuss how long it took/takes me to figure out new things.

Nancy, we have hard water here, too.

Turns out HRH never doubted we'd go out to lunch together today. With a few false starts of restaurants that were not open today after all, we had a really nice meal at a quiet restaurant with a "fusion" concept of various Asian styles. Funny (to us) sayings on the fortune cookie papers are saved in my purse, and I'll stick them in for the last day of this planner, to remember we had fun. HRH called it "last chance for a 2025 date".

The errand of going by pharmacy 1 was a bust, though. Wow, that was NOT happening. We passed it twice and both times the parking lot was overflowing, the line of cars at drive-through very long. It wasn't urgent for us, so we left that for folks who are in a real bind on this last day of the year before deductible concerns, etc. (Insurance worries?)

I did wonder why HRH was being so kind today, almost carefully so. I know on old comedy shows, the joke would be that the spouse being nice must have done something wrong, but he never fits that mold of remembering when he did anything wrong! It occurs to me that he had awkward moments yesterday trying to be patient with my long appt and being surprised that it was not the breeze we thought. I kept saying he could go take a walk but he wouldn't, and stayed when even the pro folks thought he would leave. I think he stared at the walls a little too long and had too much time to think about it being an unhappy day, wishing he could fix it. There was one moment when I did say something about deserving a treat after this, but I was just jabbering nervously to a nurse. Men want to fix. I have the impression he's trying to erase it.

[Twins' Mom]

Thank you LadyM. I actually do very little but I can fiddle around sometimes and make something happen. Harriet and HRH are the powerhouses.

I'm working on the HOA stuff. Doing the billing for dues once a year means that it's hard to remember what it is that I do, both in Quickbooks and in the website where payments can be made by credit card. And it appears that the house that was sold just Monday is owned by now an insurance company? How am I going to bill for HOA dues there?

[lucylee]

Many auld acquaintances here, and new friends this year to boot! We are truly blessed with this community of friends!
We have shared so much over the years, and I thank you for all our friendships, advice, for being there, and for history here.

YES. This. ^

Harriet, HRH and Twins - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO keeping this SHE forum going. You bring joy to my life everyday by providing a safe place for us to gather.

AND this ^

I am sooo thankful for all of you ladies -- I can't imagine what my life would be like if I had not found y'all that summer day almost 25 years ago.
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS??? Yes... it has been that long! Oh my goodness, how many changes in life I have been through in that time -- and most of us have.

Well... I guess I am ready to welcome the new year, but I can't find a lot of real "excitement" about it.
I am thankful my cousins care about me and are involving me more in their celebrations. I think my girl cousin is a bit more concerned about me since dh's death, and she may have picked up on the fact that dh was more of a homebody and preferred to be home watching ballgames than sitting around chatting with my extended family. At any rate, I am glad I will be spending time with them tonight, and guess what -- ds and ddil are planning to join us after all -- ddil was mistaken about the day her parents wanted them.

Having said that, this monster ham is in the oven, coated with brown sugar, pineapple slices, and maraschino cherries... and my goodness, I hope it doesn't overflow the large roasting pan. (I did pour the remaining juice from the can of pineapple into it, which might not have been wise.) It barely clears the top element in the oven, without the lid -- I "loosely" covered it with foil, as instructed -- and the lid would not sit on top of it anyway! I can BARELY lift it and likewise, can barely pull the rack out of the oven with it sitting there. My goodness, I wish the man who cuts the hay would just give me a gift card to the steak house. BUT... I'll not look a gift-hog in the mouth.
Cutting this thing will be another adventure, but I've done it before and I'll give it a try again.

Happy birthday to Twins' Dad and Ken in Canada!
* Kathryn -- you are thought of often and I know I would love to hear from you! I hope your family is doing well and that the new year brings many blessings.

Well, what about that -- just discovered how to do "split view" on my computer.

I am not making any real resolutions either, blessed. I am going to get my planner out tomorrow and put some goals, and I want to look at the pages mentioned yesterday about looking back and looking forward.
I guess my goals for tomorrow are a little over-blown -- but dgrands will not be here for most of the day, so I am hoping to get some things done:
* take down tree and put away decorations
* watch Rose Bowl parade
* watch ballgame
* set up planner

I hope your headache is better by the time you read this, blessed.

Harriet -- what do you think? How long would you expect to cook a 20 lb ham at 325? It IS pre-cooked, so the goal is just to get it heated throughout.
I do have a meat thermometer, but I did not put it in there. After a few hours I may take the ham out and check it with the thermometer.

I am not eating any traditional foods tomorrow. I don't like any of them (except cornbread, if that is traditional?) so I am not doing any of those. I may have frozen pizza, since dgrands will be gone and everything will be closed. Or I may eat stew from the freezer. I do love that chicken stew. I'm getting stingy with it -- I think I only have two more packages from the Labor Day supply.

(((HUGS))) for your dd14, LadyM.

Hope y'all enjoy your evening, Mystery! I remember when we had church on New Year's Eve when I was growing up. I really liked that.

I hope y'all have a good day, Cathy.

I bet you didn't sleep in as late as me, Nancy!

Shortly before my alarm went off (at 11:00 a.m., because I wanted to make sure I had time to take care of that ham) -- I was awakened by a call from my cousin. He is ddad's first cousin, actually, but he is five years younger than me. Anyway -- he called to let me know his dad is not doing well at all -- pneumonia and has been in ICU on a ventilator for 15 days. He is 94 years old, the last of my dad's uncles/aunts, and dcousin said "I'm going to have to make some decisions, but I told them I wanted to wait till after the first of the year."
I asked if there was anything we could do for him, and he said no, just pray, so I assured him we would, and we talked for awhile about various other members of the family. He said he had already talked with my girl cousin who I'll be seeing tonight.

So -- I guess I will go check on the ham and then put on some make-up. I don't want to leave the house with the oven on while dgs is still asleep -- Y'all see why he and I get along so well, right? I need to go to the post office, and I am sure he will be wanting some food.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!!

[Nancy]

I did a tweak on Rx my meal time insulin
is now on auto refill saves me a phone call.
They will text me when it's ready.

It's warming up 36* but not quite warm enough for my walk yet.
Had my brunch.
More papers are off the table again now yea for some small bits of progress.
I have one last hot pad to make this year. Not happening not enough yarn .
Before Sat. anyway.
-----
I sorted out a few more Christmas items.
swapped out a cord for the lites to put in the box for the nativity set.
Santa hat did not get warn might be time to de-clutter it and the 2nd pr. of same size red plaid pj's too.
Glad I did that it felt like progress. Took a crate of items down stairs.

Walked to both corners it's still cold out.
Got my a.m. steps in plus some yea!
Working on my p.m. steps now over half of those are done.
Walked ddoggo around the block. Chatted with some neighbors.

79 Days until spring now.
Happy New Year!

[Lady Maverick]

Home from quick trip to the city and PT appointment. While DD14 was in her appointment I decided to walk next door to the grocery store to get a few items. We are having beautiful weather with bright sunshine and almost no wind. It seemed like a good idea to spend time walking. It wasn't until I exited the grocery store that I realized that I would be carrying those groceries to our vehicle which was parked a good block away at the pt office. OOPS. I had 6 bags of groceries with most of it being lightweight (2 loaves of bread, 3 bags of chips, dip and 10 yogurts). However, I would not have bought multiple canned good and those 2 bottles of nonalcoholic wine if I had thought about the weight & distance. I am so totally spoiled to having a vehicle parked nearby and not giving any thought to how difficult it would be to transport groceries by hand. I have no understanding of how difficult it is for some people who use public transportation or walk while carrying everything. The experience took me back to spending a week with the homeless in NYC and seeing first hand the difficulties they face doing the simplest of tasks.

I'm getting videos today from DS52 of his family paragliding in the alps. I've enjoyed texting with him about the simplest of things that are different from what I know. I asked about the sunrise/sunsets there so DS52 sent me pictures of the how it looks - not the vivid colors like I am used to here on the plains, but the mountains have light/dark contrasting lines as the sun rises or sets.

[Twins' Mom]

I really like LadyM and Mystery's suggestions re making small incremental changes. LadyM has been doing it monthly over in H & F, and I think that's my plan. January is cutting back on alcohol - Dryuary or at least Damp January.

I'm going to review other areas of my life this weekend - regardless of dh huffing about me spending my time up here, it's quiet and I can hopefully be reflective.

[CathyS]

Dh took off his slippers and he had indentations all over the top of his swollen feet. I am now the proud owner of a very slightly used pair of old man slippers in a black/brown plaid pattern. They are too big for me, but it's the thought that counts. Dh wants me to find him a larger pair, possibly size 13 if I can find them.

Supper is very close to being ready. Other than whatever dishes we make dirty tonight are the only dirty dishes or pots/pans. I want them cleaned before midnight so I can go into the new year with a clean kitchen.

[Lady Maverick]

Sitting in dealership waiting for paperwork to finish so we can get out of here.

Cathy - i usually have to order ds17 size 14 or 15 shoes/boots because the larger sizes are rarely in stock.

[Lady Maverick]

I am glad to be home and have DS17 vehicle purchase over and done with. Even with fast tracking it, the process took 2 hours of my life. Hurry up and wait is the SOP pace of hospitals and dealerships IMHO. If you walk outside anytime soon, look up on Cloud #9 and you will see DS17 and GF.

I talked again with DD14 about changing bedroom & bathrooms. There is a bigger bedroom not being used while she is crammed into the smallest bedroom in the house. DD14 is resistance to change but she has agreed to think about it. She mentioned that she might do it during spring break. Might. Maybe. I told her my greatest concern was her mental health being surrounded by so much STUFF in a small area. She agreed to sort through her clothes and remove the items that she doesn't like or wear. Baby steps.

I cooked a pan of lasagna this afternoon. There is also a variety of chip/dips and nonalcoholic drinks available. NYE food selection isn't the best, but no one had any request or suggestions. So, the YGWYGADTAF rule applies.