Good Friday PWYC

[Nancy]

Harriet I was considering a 3 cornered lg bandit style hankie for a walk yesterday smoke was bad yesterday here.

I am puttering today doing some but not a lot but it is still progress. Should do a store run.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

It is darkening down here now as the sun set 20 minutes ago.

This means dh and the others are starting their trek down off Lion's Head mountain. They encouraged me to come and I changed into hiking clothes but the drive up to the starting point spooked me so much I gave up and had the driver bring me back to the hotel. I'm just too scared of heights and this wasn't a 'walk in the park', there are chains to help you scramble up at one point. How they'll get down in the dark is beyond me. Dh doesn't have a flashlight, beyond my smart phone, with him.

It has been an exhausting but wonderful day. I adore our guide (we traveled with him on our last cruise up the African coast) and his family is a delight. The other family on the tour was also delightful. In total we were 10, 4 kids (ages 6 - 11) and 6 adults. We did the walk through the old part of Cape Town, then out to the townships, including a stop to meet one of their friends there. After that was lunch (over an hour earlier, the 6 year old had loudly said, "Mommy, is today a day when we won't be getting lunch?") at a winery with an excellent deli and picnic ground. We came back into the city to do the museum and then up to Signal Hill to gauge the winds (they decided it was ok to climb) and enjoy the view (for me since I wasn't climbing.)

The driver dropped me back at the hotel and I enjoyed a lovely cup of tea and some coffee cake while I drank in the silence. On the ship you don't notice the drone of the generators but they are always on. I think that is part of what exhausts me on the ship.

I'm sitting out on our balcony now waiting for Ken and the others to come back. Their suitcases are in our hotel to make room for dh in the car.

Not sure what will happen about dinner, dh won't be back for another 30 minutes or so. There's a restaurant about 3 blocks from here or we could take a taxi down to the waterfront and eat in one of the places down there. Tomorrow I hope to eat out at Camps Bay since we enjoyed that last time we were here.

[lucylee]

Harriet, my dmom wears a mask when mowing. She swears by it.

(((LadyM))) and sick little ones... wow... what a day.

And (((Twins)))... what a night, w/dh & dd... BTDT.

Re: giving thanks instead of complaining... I have two notes on my mirror on that very subject. One says "Don't mistake your BLESSINGS for BURDENS." (Or something to that effect. I'm afraid to leave the computer b/c dh will be right back in here on a ncestry dot com again and I'll never touch the keyboard again today, LOL!)

So... with that said, I am thankful we can afford to eat out, thankful dh wanted to take me to my favorite pizza place last night, thankful I am healthy enough to eat whatever I want without any worry except weight gain.
Now I am going to go give thanks for the multitude of clothing we have to wear, and for the dh who likes for HIS clothing to be ironed, and the fact that although he would be willing to pay the ironing lady, I am still healthy enough to iron for him, and for a multitude of movies on dvr to entertain me while I do this task.

See y'all later, maybe...

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Back from dinner. Dh's photos from the climb were frightening to me. He's convinced I would have froze on the way down and not enjoyed any of the climb even if I could have physically managed it with my knees.

We walked a few blocks to a restaurant for dinner and then back as quickly as possible. It is an iffy area, which is true for all areas, some are just iffier than others. We visited a township woman who feeds 300 people a day from an 8' x 8' kitchen in her front garden. It was broken into and her gas tanks, stove, and pots stolen. So even in the townships, homes that would appear to have nothing have heavy bars on the windows and doors. Here in a 'rich' area, there is a private patrol on the street, bars on everything, locking gates and spikes on the tops of walls or fences (if not barbed or electrified wire.) At the end of the street, we walked past piles of blankets that had people underneath them.

[DeeClutter]

I would not do well in that kind of atmosphere, Kathryn.

Hugs to LadyM and LO & DGD3. Hope everyone is better soon -including anyone on here.

[helia]

I caught a break today - my afternoon tutee cancelled on me, so I'm home earlier than usual!

Payroll hours daily totals declined as the week went on; yesterday it was 5.33. Today, without tutoring A and prep for that (I don't spend too much time on prep for him anyway b/c he doesn't send me essays ahead of time), my total is 4 hours. That makes a total of about 25 hours for the week. And I still need to grade a quiz and post grades for 2 classes. I'm estimating that tutoring + grading the quiz + posting grades would add about 3 hours to my weekly total. So, maybe I'm working about 28 hours/week with both tutee meetings. I'm going to keep tracking for a couple more weeks.

Maybe it is my payroll job, but I am almost completely healed of any helicopter mom tendencies. In fact, I may even be leaning toward "slacker mom" tendencies now. . . . LOL! I'm thinking about this because I had no idea dd16's spring break started today until she told me last night. I also have lost the info to log on to check her grades, so I have done that exactly 0 times this year. Or maybe I actually looked once in the fall? First semester, she did keep her stellar GPA, which maybe is why I'm not following her courses and grades so much anymore - she's internally motivated, but it's really not as important to me as it was with poor ds.

I've scrambled up and down places in the Alps that had chains, Kathryn. Some of them I'm not sure they were needed. Others, the chain was helpful. Only one was a very difficult climb down, and we descended that rock face (not too tall) one at a time with those with mountain climbing experience (dh and 2 of his dsisters) guiding each one with specific instructions re: where to put a foot and then a hand, etc. Dh was less helpful to me in that situation than his older climbing sister.

WW said I was down 0.8 lb today, so I'll take that. I got the last of the Easter stuff + other odds and ends at Tarjay afterward. Then, I worked at home (making a quiz, editing paragraphs, planning a lesson) until it was time to go to work.

I've had a snack. I will start laundry and then veg. before starting dinner. We went out last night instead of tonight b/c we just couldn't figure out how to cook when I got home at 6:15 (with only 40 minutes at home since 8:30 - and I needed those 40 minutes to finish lesson plans), dh got home at 6:20, and the church service started at 7 pm. We went out to eat afterward. Actually, I went to the groc. store and started putting together a quiz instead of going to church.

I'm so glad it's Friday, though we do have a busy weekend. We're hosting small group tomorrow night, so I'm making tacos for about 20 people (several of those are kids, though some kids eat as much as an adult) and then on Sunday, we'll have an Easter brunch with just our family and then Easter dinner with S and R and one of dd19's friends. After also cooking for 8 on Wednesday (Wed. dinner crew - we had one guest), I'm hoping to not do much hosting next week. Fortunately, dh jumps in with the cooking and the burden is shared.

[Nancy]

No smoke here today thank goodness we enjoyed being outside. ToddlerN came down with pinkeye in the other eye. sigh I texted the mom for the meds and she cleaned up the eye and gave meds to her while she was here. wd made brownies toddlerN wanted to make cake the brownies fit the bill I was nearly out of mixes yum, I sent most of them home with ToddlerN.

[BookSaver]

Back from the trip to Sam's, where I had such good luck finding groceries that I didn't have to go anywhere else. The produce looked amazing today. I'm very happy that we will be able to take a special green salad with pears, walnuts, and blue cheese to DH's family gathering for supper tomorrow night, and also a variety of raw veggies & dip to my family gathering for lunch on Sunday.

Makes up for the fact that the fudge I made yesterday was unsuccessful. It's edible, but I used a store brand of sweetened condensed milk instead of the name brand, and it made a huge difference to the taste.

Must cuop.

[Harriet]

Molly's Nana, hope you enjoyed time with your grandchildren.

I am really not on my game today. Fell asleep yet another time. Not much chance for that to "take" since I was right back up coughing soon after. Thought about just a little exercising, sat down to think about exercising, and continued to ... ... sit. My plan is to get well right away quick-hurry-up , and be able to visit my colorist tomorrow night in prep for Sunday and then a week of unknowns.

Prescription for an inhaler was never called in, so I called dr's office this a.m. and they were closed for the day! HRH says wouldn't you expect them to also be closed Monday for holiday, and if so how long before I can tell somebody I didn't get that inhaler. Hmmm...

I had asked the pharmacy to call dr for me about inhaler while I was there (which I thought made sense seeing I had just purchased 3 other prescriptions from them and you would think I was obviously being a very good customer at that moment). But they wouldn't.

[Lynlee]

I'm glad you didn't get stuck part way down the mountain Kathryn. Good thinking on your part.
I've been so ? I forgot it was Friday holiday yesterday.
I've had my head slightly pulled in, and didn't go to yoga or taichi this last week.
I wondered if tai chi was on today, but no hall was closed up. I need get back on track, and not so easily sidetracked by stressful interactions. I can't change anyone but myself.
went to markets, then grocery store.
Tried the uht goat milk yesterday and I hated it. So at least I've restocked on that.