FRIDAY FOCUS

[Harriet]

Happy Anniversary to the blessedw2s.

Dee, congratulations plus so glad bp was down when the dr took it again. But I believe there are guidelines for having bp taken and getting a more normal reading. I looked all that up when they were trying to get my parents to keep a bp monitor at home. Feet flat on the floor in a normal-height chair was one thing, I believe. In other words, something about your feet swinging free on the dr's table, with extra pressure to the backs of the thighs, OR crossed legs, might make the bp reading slightly off/worse. Oh, wait, here are some guidelines - never thought about an empty bladder helping.

BookSaver, that sounds smart to put a flea collar on a cat when possible. This at least signals to the public that this is a cat who is in transition, perhaps, from feral to tame. However, if it happened to be allergic, you might not be able to catch it again to remove it, as an in-home owner would. The perfect collar would be very mild natural flea protection, brightly colored.... hmmm. One more thing I should invent. Wish there was some way to put on a collar that said, "Part of a feral colony" or something, but then there's an element of untruth in that if it made someone believe they could pet this cat without a bite.

helia, wonderful news for S and her little one, that the nursing is going well. Baby will be growing and thriving even faster, so happy to hear it.

Twins' Mom, please pick up a few things for me at Michael's too... ... (smile) wish we could do that, huh? Sorry about the "mugging".

All's right with the world. Kathryn is traveling to new places and possibly meeting villagers for the rest of us!

Made a cake of cornbread first thing today - HRH had a craving, and it was all he wanted.

Desk Day for our household is done.

Looked at my African Violet in the kitchen window since it was about time to water. Noticed flecks, light colored, over some of the leaves. Blamed myself for once using the foliar spray nutrients for plants. The box said it was fine for AVs, but I started to doubt. Took it from the window to water, and, gee, those dots looked awfully ... blue. Hmmmm... ... Sigh. HRH had cleaned the paint brush at the sink and spattered my African Violet with blue paint! Poor little thing. I can forget ever getting that off, I'm sure. Looks like it has floral chicken pox. Blooming away, though. Tiny buds coming on happily with the tomato fertilizer.

[Ivy]

Dee, Bless your heart for having your keys hanging with the other keys, where you couldn't find them, but then DID!

You made me smile! I hope your doctor appt. and BP are okay, too.

It's dry, dark, cloudy and might be a few sun breaks later. I hope so. It's been so dark and dreary here lately and it's depressing, sometimes. What DOES perk up my heart ♥ is the fact that I know Dsis has left the Pacific NW and she's in sunny Utah, in the outskirts of the St. George area. Just knowing she has sunshine, makes me happy! Her dogs' allergies are gone, one dog's feeling so well he's gaining weight and it's just wonderful to know she and Dbil are so happy and doing so well.

Dsis decluttered and donated TONS of stuff in Oregon before she left, moved to UT and what is she doing????? Decluttering tons of stuff! She said she couldn't believe she brought so much "stuff" with her to UT, but she did. We acquire so much, it sneaks up behind our backs, when we're not looking, and then we turn around and it's like a big gigantic monster looming over our heads. I know that's why the SHE 3 x 5 card system and this Village site is so helpful to so many, including myself.

Everybody, I'm waving to you and have a wonderful Friday, too!

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Elizabeth: check for a Private Message

Here's a lesson for the rest of you. Don't cheap out on the right product for the job.

When my dad died, I brought home a gallon container of generic window cleaner. I've been struggling with it for almost 10 years now.

When I did the inside windshield on Wednesday, it did such a horrible job (which I discovered Thursday morning) that I knew I had to redo the work. So I picked up Win D ex yesterday and have been cleaning windows with it all morning. The ground floor is done, inside and out except the window in the door to the garage because I forgot it. I'll do the upstairs later today.

The difference is stunning! The old stuff worked so badly, I'd wait until the windows were really awful and then spray and wipe, spray and wipe, polish and polish. It was so frustrating to have cloudy windows when I'd finish, I stopped cleaning windows monthly (which usually ended up every other month) and only did them once, maybe twice a year. Currently the front bedroom windows are so bad that when the light hits them in the morning you can't see through them.

My shoulder is sore now so I'll be extra sore for the next few days but it is a joy to walk by a window right now, rather than another reminder of how far behind I am.

[BookSaver]

Hello, villagers ~
Lots of storms rolling through meant I couldn't turn on the computer at all this morning. I washed dishes, took a nap (didn't get to bed until 2 this morning), figured out a grocery shopping list, and have done a bit of paper filing.

It is supposed to keep raining all day. The umbrella will get a workout.

Today's 6x6:
* write checks to pay bills
* post office
* bank deposit for library group
* to Sam's for groceries
* clear stuff out of the car
* get the sewing machine out of its case (finally! ) to do a bunch of mending this weekend

Dee ~ Such good news about a good checkup. Hooray for keys that stayed where they were put!

Helia ~ Happy baby makes everyone happy.

[OKay]

We came out of the insurance meeting with all questions answered. It was time well spent. Insurance manager had her act together and I suspect future communication will be easier now that we have met face-to-face. I prefer written correspondence on these types of matters so I have requested most communications be done through email in the future.

Afterwards we drove 30 minutes to bigger town and did the Sam's/WM list buying. Ate lunch on the way home. It is rare that DH and I go somewhere alone so it felt **almost** like a date. I had a brief thought of us having a quiet lunch together, but that went out the window as people started stopping by our table. Two separate people came and sat with us. Our waitress was a friend so she stopped by and visited several times. DH is a people magnet.

I'm giving myself an hour to goof off and relax, then I'll get started again. FNG is meeting at our home tonight so I have some baking and furniture moving to do.

[OKay]

I'm fascinated with Kathryn's trip planning process. I've been looking at the map of SW USA .... almost feeling like I am looking over her shoulder.

Kathryn - what kind of tablet are you using?

Nancy - what is your new tablet?

I wasn't using the Microsoft Surface tablet so I gave it (back) to DSon last week. He instantly gave me another tablet he had and told me to give it a try. I like it MUCH better. It is Acer brand - 8" size with Windows 8 - 64 bit. It is MUCH faster and more responsive than the MS Surface was. The more I use it, the more I like it. I used the tablet in the meeting this morning with insurance manager.

[Ivy]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, BLESSED & MR. BLESSED!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

I've:
s2s
talked to 2 doctor's offices via phone
got 2 valuable phone #'s
put dirty laundry in the utility room
shampooed
dressed my nose wound
cleaned a canister for inhaling

just looked at the clock and remembered I've forgotten prayers, journal writing, to check my cards, my to do list and I also want to do a Conga today! Where in the world does time go? They say time flies when you're having fun. Is this fun?

OKay, I'm glad you had a good face-to-face meeting. It sounded good for you to get things explained to you.

Booksaver, Sorry about your storms!

Dee, Congratulations on your good doctor appt., too!

Helia, I agree! Happy babies make everyone smile!

Kathryn, I'm sorry your shoulder's sore now. (I get that, too, with cleaning.) But icing helps a lot. I'm glad you had the Windex, you sound so energetic and industrious, too! WTG, K.!

DH is in the shower, then I'll start the laundry. Need to go journal, etc.. to get "grounded" for my day. I think I'll do a 6 x 6 card, too. Sounds like a GR8 idea! Glad I read about it here.

Have a wonderful Friday Focus today, Everyone!

[Nancy]

Okay my new tablet is a Samsung tab. 3 it is an 7"
I have not used the pc in a week. I love it bc it is an android product.
But the smallsize of this one makes using it a challenge.
I have taken the time for lunch and gathered eggs.
Loving the sunshine we are having today.
Got the idea to feed the hens of the rose hips they love the seeds in them!

♥Blessed & Mr. BLessed Happy Anniversary!♥

[Harmony]

Harriet, pretty blue speckles. You could tell everybody you have a brand new variety. Better than the concrete splash DH often leaves on places.

Kathryn, I know what you mean about the window cleaner. I bought a cheap bottle and tried to do a whole house (construction cleaning) once and it not only didn't work, it turned my fingers blue! I also tried a cheap brand on our car windows and the inside wouldn't quit smearing. I have a brand new bottle of w in dex just specifically for the trucks - that doesn't cause smears at all.

I'm done with my shopping. I was so aware of how much walking is involved with these big warehouse-type stores, from the parking lot to the long aisles, etc. I shopped all over the one store just to get the 1 thing DH wanted. Then I went 3 places trying to replace the right size snap clip for my key ring. I'm just now replacing the one I lost a while back. Got the clip the closest size I could. Most of them are the big industrial man-hip size. Got copies of the keys also.

Disappointed in the variety of plants out there. The same grower supplies the 3 stores in town that carry veggies. Their tomato and pepper plants were in the medium sized pots but were only about 3" high in all 3 places. At the last place when I had to give up I bought 2 pots but this place didn't even have any peppers to buy. Sheesh. I wish we had a nice nursery in town but they all went out of business around here. I don't know why because I know lots of people who try to garden.

And now I'm too tired to plant anything, so maybe first thing tomorrow morning.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Total frustration here.

I've spent hours and hours trying to decide on what to do. I finally made up a spreadsheet and made a decision. Not the cheapest or the most expensive, not the quickest, nor the longest but a good balance between price, time, and a chance to drive across some of the Southwest to experience that part of the country. I even looked again at driving completely from home but it is a 4 - 5 day drive so that was out!

Booked the car rental. That was a frustration because it wouldn't let me update dh's credit card number. Finally, I got it to accept it.

Booked the flights there. We are going to fly into OKC because it is a shorter flight with a better departure time. Price was about the same as going to ABQ. Got to the paying page, entered all our passport info and all the credit card info. The webpage uses 'verified by Visa' where I have to enter an extra password. Rejected. Twice. Asked dh for help. He pointed out my middle initial was missing. So we added that. no luck. Changed the address. No luck. Dh tried his credit card number and password. No luck. I try another credit card completely (Mastercard.) This is less preferable because there's no travel insurance on this card. Error message.

In the meantime the phone is ringing. It is our credit card company auto-calling, wanting to know if the charges going through on our account are legit! I still have no ticket (or ticket number/reservation locator) from United but I now have a charge on my credit card. Twice. I'm hold now waiting to get through to fraud prevention to see if they can help me clear this us. I have been on hold for 10 minutes so far.

Still have to book our flights home (from ABQ) and hotels in OK, Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

<The bank just dumped me off hold so I'm back on hold having called them>