1 MORE MONDAY

[OKay]

LO goes to school 8am to 3pm 5 days a week. It takes me 30 minutes in morning and afternoon to take/pick him up, so that leaves me 7 hours x 5 days alone.

The sounds of silence are still very strange to me. I am listening to the sound of the automatic waterer on the livestock tank hiss as it refills the trough.......doves couwing (sp?) in the trees outside, a calf coughing, and the refrigerator humming. All sounds that are normal but never heard they are lost in the background of our typical noise level.

Living Room cleanse Round #2 - More furniture moved out....DH big recliner/rocker, Great Grandparents hump back chest, 2 end tables, more STUFF, curtains taken down. The dining room has a path through it still but I'm about to run out of room to move things into it. I'm going to move the rest of the furniture onto the front porch. Since we are in exceptional drought status......What are the chances it will get rained on?

OOOPS! I just checked our weather guy FB page. It looks like my timing could be off to use the porch as temporary staging site....
"Showers and storms will roll in overnight tonight into Tuesday. Right now, it appears the heaviest rainfall will fall across western counties. Some amounts could total up to an inch in a few isolated areas. *knock on wood*"

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Dee: I figure I can do a few things at a time and keep the house up. The money I spend doing some of those things in high electricity time is saved by not hiring a cleaning lady to do them for me. Honestly, this cost me about $1.

Both mattress covers are on the line. I've eaten, dried my hair and now am going to lie down in a recliner for at least 45 minutes.

[Emptynester]

I'm working on gallons of paint stored under the workbench where the radial arm saw is attached. So you know what the cans look like. About 1/2 inch of sawdust on the top ones (some are stacked 3 high) and cobwebs with sawdust all over everything. I'll take pictures for next week's blog.

There are two places it is stored. Each one is about 4 ft deep and 5 ft. wide and, like I said, some are stacked 3 high. I have the first one cleaned out, cans blown off and sorted to a degree. I have also blown out the cubby. I had to come in and get something to drink to get the dust out of my throat.

Some of the older paint cans and those that are almost empty, we will place on a skid and open to let them dry out before throwing away. I'm going to try to mark the others and sort by color and store them the same way.

[OKay]

Living Room cleanse Round #3 - The last of the furniture moved out - treadmill, end table and fish tank. Everything off the walls. Cellular shades taken down (6 windows). The room echoes now. The only thing I am hesitant to move by myself is the TV (60"). It is too big/awkward for me to get a stable grip on it to pick up. Next round I will start cleaning the area it will be moved to. When DH comes home for lunch I will ask him to help me move it. I'm debating on refinishing the wood floor. I'll consult with DH at lunch for the final decision. Thinking pro/cons of the project......If we do the floor we will have to stay out of that room for ???several??? days.....but OH it would be sooo nice when it was finished and should last for several years. I think the last time was about 15 years ago.

Next up - washing ceiling. Washing maybe too strong of a word to use. I'm going to start with a damp cloth and see how it does.

[Dove]

Easing into Monday & this new week. Have been doing a lot of erasing footprints this morning, picking up & putting away numerous things that have been left out. I've got a load of sheets in the washer; will wash towels next. The living room & guest room are in good shape but kitchen needs attention. I still need to clean up the breakfast dishes, clear mail off the counter & empty dishwasher. Dinner is planned & I have pork chops thawing for dinner.

I have two partially done projects to work on this week in the afternoons. I keep going back & forth between the two. But first, I'll finish drinking my tea, cuop at least for today, & I definitely see an Off My Mind list being written before lunch. Too many "To Do" thoughts are swirling around in my head. Need to get those those on paper so I don't forget anything important.

Waving ~~~~~ to everyone. You are all so dear to me. Hope you are having a wonderful day!

[helia]

Popping in to say hi.

The weekend was full but not overly busy. Saturday morning, I went for a jog with dh and did 40 minutes. It felt good, so I think I'm getting stronger. In the afternoon, we went to the soup kitchen. It was just dh, myself, dd16 and my dgood friend B and her son - not the one who is dd16's best friend but the other one - for cooking and prep. It was barely enough help to get it all done, but it worked out. Dh and dd16 were the main cooks. We ate there too after all the customers had had their fill; it wasn't half bad! Dh and I went out for dessert that night. It was our last opportunity before he leaves tonight.

Sunday - I drove up to Interlochen Music camp, listened to the concert, which was fabulous, of course, and then brought dd14 back home with me. So, that was my day, including 8 hours in the car. Dd14 had a really nice week at camp, which was good to hear. We've heard it go both ways for freshmen. Dd14 is very socially (and other ways too) independent, which helps a lot when she didn't know anyone the first days. She did make some friends/acquaintances during the week. Amazingly, she was in the same cabin as one of dd16's good friends who comes over here a fair bit, so dd14 knows her quite well! It sounded like the girls in her cabin were down to earth and funny and not obsessed with their looks, all characteristics that dd14 appreciated. The schedule was quite tight: only 1 hour free time in the a.m. and one hour in the afternoon and Dd14 said she usually used that time to practice. T

Today: I have jogged with dh, just 35 minutes today. I have taken care of some emails, including sending photos to dsil for a slide show they're putting together for other dsil's wedding. I am working on LOTS of laundry so packing can happen today. Dh and girls fly out this evening.

After the rough start, ds is recovering beautifully. He took no pain meds Saturday and only one yesterday. He went to work this a.m. without pain meds.

Disturbing development here: one of the visiting guinea pigs seems to be quite sick. I've called my friend twice, but haven't connected with her yet. I feel so bad!! I think the pig is dying, actually. She is lying on her side; she did get up and wobble around her cage a little when I brought in some food. She is shaky; I wonder if she has a neurological problem? I am considering taking her to a vet, but I'm worried the stress of the trip would do her in. . . . I wish dfriend would call me back.

[Harmony]

Helia, oooh, I hope DPet will be ok.

Kathryn, thank you for the cheery post. Just kidding. I have considered all those things; but was surprised to read it all...it's so difficult when one doesn't know what is going on, isn't it. DH asked me when I'd last had mamogram... forever ago...4-5 years maybe. I have to get my records from a dr. in next town up north and set up appointment in our county. My primary guy retired. I was just waiting for my prescription to be ready to expire. I counted my meds yesterday, I have about another months' supply. So I will be going soon, and also will be going to dermatologist too and can ask about that shot he gave me.

Not good to let a dr. do stuff to you without knowing exact name, etc., I can only Google corticosteroid shot, not the specific one he gave me because he didn't tell me. Lesson learned there.

Dee, I am so glad your DGS was not hurt further in the accident. That sounded so scary to me.

OKay, I wish I could do to my family room what you're doing to your living room. It needs it, especially as we will be changing around the entertainment unit and moving furniture. ...sigh...I'm not looking forward to this right now.

Going to do some paperwork for DH. Going to try to get something done for a change. He cleaned up the kitchen, yay. I sewed a little bit. I can only sew a little before I get tired. I'm surprised how much energy that takes.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

I watched Coco before Chanel so that kept me quiet for 100 minutes.

I'm ready for a nap and the bedding is almost dry (just checked it.)

I need to eat some lunch and can't think of a thing to have. Maybe I'll just have another bowl of cereal. It is healthy and better than anything else I can think of right now.

[helia]

Well, we had a houseful of people for about 30 minutes but the house is much quieter now. Dfriend came to pick up the g. pigs and brought her 3 kids with her. We chatted with them for quite a while! Her dd14 (15 in 2 months) knows my 2 girls pretty well since she is in a small group Bible study with dd14 and she has been in the church h.s. youth group with dd16 - and dd14 will be joining them this fall! She is right between my 2 girls grade-wise, will be a sophomore this fall (birthdate cut off is Dec. here.) While they were still here, Tori's family (dad and ds16) came to pick HER up! So, when the houseful cleared out, the animal count decreased as well.

Guinea pig report: I called dfriend at home after posting here and got ahold of her! I'd been calling her cell earlier. She told me that this pig has done something like this before. They wonder if she is having strokes or something. I instantly felt better. By the time they got here to pick up the piggies, the sick one was standing up rather than lying on her side. And while they were here, she started running around the cage, slightly wobbly but looking MUCH better. *phew* I am SO relieved I didn't kill their guinea pig.

The part of my house people were in was pretty messy. Oh, well. These are good friends, but I do need to tidy up the kitchen at least.

On to laundry, kitchen reclamation, and a groc. list.

[Bernice1027]

Hi Ladies
Well have had a wonderful 4+ hours in the ER, 7.1 fever rose to a few points above 104 so Pediatrician wanted her to be seen in the ER..
7.1 is my drama queen, she does not care for Dr's and will let out a ear piercing scream when it comes to getting any type of shot.
So when they came in for a blood draw she was about to go balistic, I told her that she could cry all she wants but if she didnt scream she could watch unlimited tv(a rare treat for the girls) while sick, well she cried alot and loudly, but no screaming, so when she needed a shot told her the same deal, she flinched and cried but no screaming..Guess tv is good for something
Early tests show strep, and the start of a upper(chest) infection, the shot along with the antibiodic that Dh will be picking up should have her on the mend and back to normal by the end of the week.
She fell asleep while I was preparing lunch, dont think she watched 5 minutes of tv. I am going to try and salvage some of my day.
Hope everyone is doing well.