Home from work, it was slow today and they made the day creep along.  I'm really tired so I think I'll go collect some zzzs.  There isn't anything urgent hollering for attention.  The only thing that needs doing is shortening my curtains and they're dark blue.  I don't think my eyes are up to it right now.  I don't even feel like eating any lunch.  I'll check you all out later.

Sure glad MOLLY showed up!  We might have had to send in the Marines!

JEANNE LEE....
...so you have already, " road tested..." your alert system? I have had some strange dreams but, never the ambulance - medics crew dashing to a false alarm into my bedroom...must have been real scary, and not once but...three times....

Janie--It seems time drags when things at any work place are slow.

Vanilla-Jackie--I really pushed the button that last time I had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night, and the EMTs etc. were at the door in about three minutes.  That whole experience WAS a nightmare.

Back from a visit at our daughter's house.  Our SIL and g-son are planning to hike up a 14er tomorrow morning - they start at 10,000 elevation and hike - unless - clouds gather or thunder.  Then, we hope they descend rather quickly.  Snow is at the tops right now so that is a concern as well. 

We had a nice visit - my breakfast today was quinoa cooked quickly with raisins and nuts.  I came home and ate the last piece of a refrigerated chocolate cake - needed that sugar for energy 

Best wishes to all who are not feeling well. 

Molly:  Why didn't you just hose the fellow?  Just kidding - he sounds like a winner of a helper for you.  When you write about the driving in Egypt, it sounds almost lawless.  We watched drivers in Paris trying to park and wish that it was recorded - they force a car in a space by ramming the back of one and then doing the same to the car in back.  Dents all over.   

Hello Everyfriend!  I did find some missing zzzs on the sofa.  Took a nice nap and woke feeling refreshed.  I have chicken and sweet potatoes in the oven for supper tonight and a couple more meals to freeze or maybe just put in the fridge for the next couple days.  I'll open a jar of corn left from last year to go with it.  And a raspberry muffin for dessert.  Leftovers will be in the Hidey Hole.

I wonder if Gloria has learned to walk on the ceiling yet?  If it were me, I'd certainly be climbing the walls by now and the ceiling would be next!

I'm going to go watch TV until supper is ready and the dogs start bugging me for theirs.  Enjoy the rest of your day.

Jackie, be careful!

A good Friday morning HELLO to EVERYFRIEND. 

Busy week again.  Seems the days just fly by!  Yesterday my life long friend was here and we had quite the time together.  We had breakfast out, did a lot of shopping.  That was fun for me as I never get to shop with another lady, and we sure had a good time.  She stayed and Bob and I took her out to dinner.  She was in town to see her surgeon for a checkup after her surgery.  She is doing quite well. 

Last night we were to go to one of our outdoor concerts, the last one of the season, and Patti was going to go with us.  Unfortunately it rain ed most of the afternoon, so we decided against it.  Funny enough it cleared up and it was a beautiful evening.  A bit cool, so still best we did not go. 

JACKIE, I am sorry to read about your fall....sure glad you were not hurt.  It sure could have been a different story.  Too bad R was not there....but then....maybe he would have reacted the same way the doggies did!  At least if he were there you could have yelled out.  Good the dog grooming went well and the lady was also able to clean Toby up too. 

Opps, just saw that I never finished this.....

Hope everyone's day is a good one. 

We are off to meet Mark's lady friends parents for the first time.

Jenny

Carol--How nice you can go to your daughter's for a meal.  Good luck to your SIL and grandson.  I never was a climber.

Janie--I'll check the "hidey hole" for leftovers.  Thank you.

Jenny--How nice you've spent time with your life long friend.  I saw a picture of you two on FB--lovely ladies.  Oh my meeting Mark's lady friends parents for the first time must make you a bit uneasy.

Jeanne P. I think Costco is a place where you have a membership. I'm not at all sure how it works, but I am just thankful my Gary is so willing to help me out in so many areas of my life.
I truly am blessed with good sons, and all you wonderful friends.

I just had a wonderful surprise visit from my Dori girl.She brought me a beautiful bouquet of red roses and yellow sunflowers. She is SO loving and kind. We talked and talked, and reminisced and I had to shed a few tears as we talked of days past...happy tears for sure. Then she had to scoot home to make chili for Gary's supper. I am SO blessed.



Hal, what does your physical therapy consist of ? Is it a manual type of treatment or do you have to do actual physical movements. I'm curious, as I have never been subjected to that.

Jackie, I am amazed at hearing of the neglect you are receiving from your doctors. Is there any place you can contact to complain ? Lawyers are not inexpensive, but sometimes it is worth the cost to get some decent, respectable results.

Bis, that is the same time I decided to take my Ensure…I was late today as my substitute housekeeper goofed me up and ruined my morning. She said she would be back at 9a.m. and didn't return till after lunch. She is fairly new, but she did do a good job. I had no big plans for today anyway.

Janie, dear friend, please don't neglect your health. You must eat whether you have an appetite or not. I too never feel actually hungry, but I have an excuse…I am really retired, where you are still young and have a job

Bis, I well remember your last siege at the hospital, when Joe came out ad stayed at your place while you were so very seriously ill. My brother was put on a ventilator at one point in his life, and I well recall visiting him and seeing how close he was to be being gone. So I knew right away how seriously ill you were. I remember when you didn't show up on the computer, I dialed your home phone and Joe answered and told me what happened and where you were. He was so kind to put up with this person he didn't know and yet was willing to give me information on your being hospitalized. I will never forget his kindness.

June, don't laugh at me.  Right now it consist of five minutes on a stationary bike, then to the parallel bars and with on foot in front of the other I have to balance myself without holding on to the bars for 20 seconds five time and then switch feet and do the same.  The walk in place for about 30 seconds.  Then kick sideways for five times with each leg. Doesn't sound like much, and wouldn't be for someone in normal condition.  But I aint.  Oh, forgot, I have to sit in a chair raise myself up without using anything but leg power, five times.  No other muscles are allowed.
Just legs.  try it.

I'm off to la-la-land but couldn't go without a big     for Hal & a good attitude with the PT!  Have to start somewhere & sounds like solid muscle building.   Bet you will be surprised in just a few weeks how much more you can do.   

Good night, all, I've been busy all day with nothing to show for my labors.  I had a few minutes more than 7 hours sleep last night & think that is just too much for me.  Not going to blabber on tonight, hope all's well in Every Friend's world.  God Bless all.  Shirley

Hal, I would never laugh at you.I do various exercises downstairs.....always seated...and have been doing it twice a week for 7 months now. I still cannot rise from a sitting position without using my hands to help me rise. Most everything they have us do is from a seated position and it is called a  balance and mobility class. My balance is way off. I tried your foot in front of the other, and when I changed feet I almost toppled over. Fortunately my big recliner was right in front of me so I could grab it if necessary. So I understand completely that what should be easy, no longer is. Don't give up the practice though !!! I did find that standing tall and looking straight ahead helped in changing position.

It seems like this has been a 48 hour day so I am going to bid you all a very, very good night, with Love, hugs and prayers as always, June

HALKEL.....
....you done well, dont think I could have managed all that when I was fit, let alone with medical illness that you are dealing with...and of course nor would i be able to do that myself now....the only exercise I can do and that feels so good is, standing straight with my arms up high in the air, stretching my whole body up, can just about manage to stretch on tiptoe, and if I put my hands low on my tummy by pulling my tummy in and up, that feels so so good...but I would have to make sure I do this standing on soft carpet, not concrete...

JUNEDRABEK.....
....It is going through a formal complaints procedure, I now have the written letter but....in all honesty, I haven't a clue how or what I would like to be the outcome of it all, just that when asked that question over the phone from the lady who was jotting everything down what I wanted, ie, would I want to keep my MS team, I told her a definite NO, told her I have no trust in them now, she said she fully understood....On the letter it is giving me a date that I should hear from, seems otherwise there is no need for me to do anything other than wait.....

JENNY....
...you are probably right about R not reacting to my fall, if you remember the very nasty fall I had a year or so ago, ( before my MS diagnoses ) the fall I had outside my kitchen backdoor, falling on concrete, catching my head on the large terracotta flowerpot, with me shaking, and calling out to him, I had to call three or four times with every time I called him, my call being louder, he too shouted out WHAT, and with his each WHAT also being louder, while completely ignoring all my shouts while sitting comfortably in a chair....He isn't much different now Jenny....
Jenny please say a HELLO to Patti from me, and wish her all the best on her latest procedures recovery....

Good Saturday morning, Everyfriend.   There's a breakfast buffet to accompany your coffee or tea. I wish everyone a good day!!



Exercises with Your Dog/Puppy

You've seen those ads on TV promising amazing results from all sorts of contraptions. Well, there's no need to invest in fancy equipment. If you have (or can borrow) a dog, you have everything you need to get in shape now!!! The following exercises can be done anywhere, anytime.

Upper Body Strength: Lift the dog - off the couch, off the bed, out of the flower bed. Repeat, repeat, repeat. As the dog ages, this exercise is reversed onto the couch, onto the bed, into the car and so on.

Balance and Coordination, Exercise 1: Remove your puppy from unsuitable tight places. If they're too small for him, they're certainly too small for you. Do it anyway!

Balance and Coordination, Exercise 2: Practice not falling when your dog bounds across the full length of the room, sails through the air, and slams both front paws into your chest.

Balance and Coordination, Exercise 3: (for use with multiple dogs) Remove all dogs from lap and answer the phone before it stops ringing.

Upper Arms: Throw the ball. Throw the squeaky toy. Throw the Frisbee. Repeat until nauseous.

Upper Arms: (alternate) Tug the rope. Tug the pull toy. Tug the sock. Repeat until your shoulder is dislocated or the dog gives up (we all know which comes first).

Hand Coordination: Remove foreign object from dog's locked jaw. This exercise is especially popular with puppy owners. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Remember, this is a timed exercise. Movements must be quick and precise (think concert pianist) to prevent trips to the vet, which only offer the minimal exercise benefit of jaw firming clenches.

Calves: After the dog has worn out the rest of your body, hang a circular toy on your ankle and let the dog tug while you tug back. WARNING: This is feasible only for those with strong bones and small dogs.


The Road Trip
(by Madge Blanton)

Some of the best conversations my husband and I have are on long road trips. Although we've flown a time or two, we truly enjoy driving. It's a great time for sharing thoughts that we hadn't made time for in our busy schedule. As we drive away from the familiar and head towards a new or seldom traveled direction there's something cleansing that takes place. Temporarily, we shed all the things that usually distract us from having quality time and delve into each others thoughts for a time of bonding. Of course, however, there are always children in the backseat!

Fortunately, our children have become accustomed to long road trips. My husband's parents moved to Michigan a few years ago and since then we have made the three hour trip dozens of times. Habitually though, there are still those same words that come from the backseat haunting us like the plague, "Are we there yet??"

One of my girlfriends spent a lot of her childhood family vacation time in the car. She remembers sitting in the backseat always so concerned about where they were going, while her sister sat contently playing. When they played together, her sister would get perturbed because like a mile marker my friend would ritually interrupt their playing to consciously take in a visual note of where they were. I'm sure for her parents it made the miles seem much longer than they actually were. I can only imagine how many times she asked "the question."

As much as I love a long road trip and the anticipation of the unexpected, I often find myself being like a child in the backseat of God's minivan. Although I love to journey with Him and He's never forgotten me at a rest stop, I still inevitably find myself whining like a two-year old, "Are we almost there? Where are we going?" Fortunately, the Bible tells us in Isaiah 55:8 that God's thoughts are not our thoughts. I am most certain if they were that God would be thinking, "For Pete's sake, just keep quiet and enjoy the ride!" As a child of God, I foolishly spend much of my time on the journey worrying about the distance between points A and B. I forget that He's the navigator, and my responsibility is to trust His leading and obey Him. Besides, He's already told me time and time again where we are ultimately going. Like a child waiting in anticipation of seeing Disney World, I should have the same anticipation of what God's "magical kingdom" will be like.

"Lord, please forgive me for wasting my time worrying. Forgive me for impulsively wanting to do Your job and lead the way. Please help me to have the faith to follow as You lead the way. In Jesus' name, Amen."



Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

--Author Unknown

Good morning everyone.
Another muggy day in the making here. Nothing important on the agenda today, I will pick a few things up at the grocery store  plus I need a few things at the bulk store. Then high tail it home to sew:)

Hal, keep up the good work,day by day it will be old hat to you.

Joan, thank you for breakfast

Enjoy your day everyone

Good Morning Everyfriend!  I have a day off today.  There is nothing that I HAVE to do but I'm going to get started on shortening my curtains.  I have two panels to do and I have to hem them by hand since my sewing machine has taken a vacation and I finally returned my daughter's machine.  No big deal!  We used to do all our hems by hand until someone designed a machine that could do that.  My grandmother never trusted the machine to do it right and she never gave way.  So....back to basics!

June, FYI...After I rested, I ate a decent dinner and I have three more in the fridge to eat when I'm too tired to think about what to eat.  I also took a small meat loaf out of the freezer and stuck it in the oven with the other things to use for sandwiches so I'm all set.  Today I'm going to boil some eggs and put them in the red beets for pickled eggs and they are good to have for breakfast.  I'll be all set!

I hope you all have a great day full of the love of friends and family. 

Good morning, Amy.  It's to be hot and muggy today here, too.  The lady I hire to do my big grocery shopping will be here about 9 a.m. so that'll be taken care of.

Janie--Good morning.   I sure remember all the hand hemming I did before I got my great Viking sewing machine.  Sometimes I am sorry I left that behind in Arkansas.  Enjoy your day off.

I had a Pfaff sewing machine that could do almost anything except hang the curtains when they were finished.  I gave it to my daughter when it looked like she had inherited the skills that my mother and grandmother had.  That's the one I borrowed back to do Cathy's curtains.  I've returned it to her with a new carry case for which she was very grateful.  I have a Brother that I bought at WM to do things like hems and mending but it's decided to go on strike.  I called the repair shop but they want $40. just to walk in the door with it.  Since I have other places for the money, I'm going to do the curtains by hand.  And that will have to be done in front of the window in daylight hours.  So I better get moving!

Enjoy your day!

Janie--A Pfaff is a nice sewing machine.  My Viking could do just about what your Pfaff did.  I sure put many miles on mine.

Good Morning Everyone!

Thank you all for the encouragement on the exercises. 

I do believe that today is a good day for a birthday and I do believe that Lloyd is celebrating his.  Soooooooooo Lloyd HAPPY BIRTHDAY, I hope you have a good one and you get to to take the day off and eat ice cream and cake every hour on the hour......    

Nothing much suppose to happen here today, and I am wondering if I can find a college game of football on that I want to watch.  I think it started last night, the season that is.

It felt very humid when I opened the door to let Lady out to do her business.  But I haven't ventured out, fixing to, to see if paper showed up this morning.  a
whole story within itself.

Jackie I am surprised they haven't offered you some PT for your mobility.  Will they assign you to another team since your bad experience with the last?

Amy see you have a quite day planned, well except usual shopping.  I am kinda surprised at your complaining about humidity.  I don't remember it being too humid in Ottawa.  Remember on year that it rained every weekend.  Strange, Monday through Friday prettiest weather you could want, Friday would cloud up and start raining all the way to Sunday.  Well actually it was the summer months not the whole year.

Janie, know you will do an excellent job on those curtains.

Joanie, you no longer sew?  What kind of hobbies do you have?  Other than riding herd on this rowdy bunch.

Coffee's done, who wants a cup?

Good morning everyone. we are going fishing today to celebrate My birthday.
Jane take the top off of the machine and soak all over it with wd40. wont hurt it and very well fix it turn it by hand first an after a while do it with the very speed peddel do reverise and forward . has a way of fixing them .brothers is a good machine I have one  it will sew very thick cuffs ilke nothing no stopping.the man I bought it from showed me the wd40 trick. do not need a mecanick. Have a great day.

Lloyd

Hi everyone on a warm and soon to be hot Saturday here in South Carolina.  We will be up in the mid-90's again today with no predicted rain. 

Yesterday was basically a day of rest for me.  I did take Pat to her appointment yesterday and she got a very good report with no indicated problems.  She suggested we stop and have a good lunch and then I wouldn't need to cook last evening.  Believe me I jumped at that offer.  We stopped at Ruby Tuesday's.  While she is still having pain when moving she obviously is feeling some better although still needs the walker or a cane to get around. I did not end the day exhausted as I had been for several days. 

This morning I will take to the church some fabric that Pat has cut out for the pillows the women of the church are making for cancer patients. They had a large group of women show up for this event last year and it was on a Wednesday.  They are expecting a larger group today and they assemble a large number of small pillows in a couple of hours time.  From the church I think I will see if any of the guys have come to coffee and if so join them for awhile.  I will put together a salad to go with some food we have already in the refrigerator and that will be our dinner tonight.  So certainly not a hard day.

Molly, nice of you to see that your yard men have plenty to drink.  I notice all the workmen around here have water coolers and ice chests available to them.  On occasion I have offered water to some of the workmen but they have refused saying they were fine.

Hal, sure hope your wife's tooth wasn't infected.  Glad your PT is going well for you and enjoyed your description of the regimen they have you follow.

JeanneP, I pay $14.86 plus tax for 16 bottles of Equate.  I will have to check out the nutrition drinks at COSTCO.  I liked the little video on the bird. 

Jackie, certainly not a good situation when you have no confidence in your doctor.  As far as I know we have good doctor's here and also had them for many years with the HMO we had for health insurance.

JaneS, when I was working I always preferred a lot of work to very little to do in a day.  However, since I have retired I don't mind having little to do as long as I have accomplished something for the day. 

Carol, I don't see how anyone can hike starting t 10,000 elevation.  The last time we were in Colorado we drove up to the 12,000 foot elevation above Estes Park and went into the visitor center.  My heart didn't like that at all and we had to immediately come back down from that height.  However, I expect your SIL and grandson are used to such heights.

Jenny, nice that you had time to visit and shop with your good friend but too bad you had to pass up the evening concert.

June, you are right in you have to buy and annual membership at COSTCO.  We have found their products to be first rate and the prices reasonable although you do buy in pretty large quantities of some items.  You get a rebate once a year based on how much you have purchased.  Very nice of Dori to bring you the flowers.  She obviously loves you a lot as I expect about everyone who knows you does (including me).  I consider you and our other folks here as dear friends. 

As I look across the street I see they got the windows installed in the new house yesterday and they are over there working today.  They are certainly not wasting any time.  I expect they will install the siding outside next week and begin to put in the sheet rock.  It has been interesting to watch as I can see it from my office window whereas the other two house next to me I could see only when I was on my porch or driving by in the car although could hear the workmen.

Lloyd, Happy Birthday.  I hope you catch a lot of fish. 

Hal, I didn't realize that the college football season had started.  I will have to check the schedule in the paper.  I watched just a few minutes of the Carolina pro pre-season game last night but am really not interested in pre-season.

I thank you all. we are going to lock the door and leave the problems here. sil and daughter  Has a second house at wheatland Mo on the Truman Lake we we going down there with them fishing. they are here for us see you later.

Lloyd

HAPPY  BIRTHDAY  LLOYD  HAMMOND..... 

Good morning, halkel.  No, I no longer sew.

Larry--Good morning.  Glad to hear Pat is doing somewhat better.

Happy Birthday Lloyd!!

Happy Birthday Lloyd....may you have a wonderful day

Bis, what a perfect Thought of the Day. I have found that so true in my life time. Some people love greatly, but they don't know how, or are not able to express it. And usually they are the ones that need our love the most. And our understanding.

Janie, I am happy to know that you feed yourself well balanced meals. You do so much every day of your life…helping others, canning, cooking, baking, taking care of two darling dogs, plus extended visits from family and friends. It all make good eating a necessity. And we here all need you and depend on your daily visits.

Bis, I am SO glad you have a woman that does your shopping for you. I never liked that chore, and Ed loved it so he many times took over that job. I miss my sewing machine too,but I would have no place to put it,plus I would have trouble threading the needle. Do you remember a former Sr. Netter named Gert ? That dear girl sent me my first set of self-threading needles. I had never heard of them before, and they are all I use now..if we a bit of difficulty as my fingers are not as agile. Gerts husband was named Berge and they made a darling couple. They lived in Neponsit, N.Y. I miss her, she was a fun contributor.

Hal, I have had two cups of coffee and a half a sweet roll, and I'm full. But thanks for the offer. We are having a nice cloudy morning but the sun will be out by noon.Our high will be around 80 and I can live with that.

Larry, what a fine friend you are. Thank you for your kind message. Dori does love me, plus she tells me I am her best friend. I feel SO blessed by God for all the loving people He has put in my life. I look forward to the reunions we will experience in Heaven.

LLoyd, I wish you a very Happy Birthday friend, and a health-filled year to come, with no more head bumps in your life time. It sounds like you are going to have a perfect day out fishing…Good Luck !!!!!

http://www.duluthharborcam.com/p/camera-status.html

New Duluth Harbor Cams:  (Click above)
Where you can see the whole harbor, now.. 
Gives a new prospective on the area...

Sandy

Hello Everyfriend!  I've had two visitors...my daughter Cathy who became concerned when I didn't respond to her text messages.  I never received them. And my son who installed a new water filter in my fridge and moved the fridge out so I could clean under it.  At first I thought there was another dog under there and then realized it was just "hair of the dog".  I wonder how often people move the fridge out to clean?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LLOYD!  I HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A FISH FRY FOR SUPPER![/color]

SELF THREADING NEEDLES? WHY HASN'T ANYONE EVER TOLD ME ABOUT THESE THINGS?  DON'T THEY KNOW I CAN'T SEE?  WHAT'S WRONG WITH EVERYONE?  DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF?(

Lloyd, I don't oil my sewing machines ever since oil ran out of one and stained a white pillowcase I was hemming.

Larry, I'm familiar with that feeling of accomplishment and I'm content with it most of the time but lots of customers make the time go faster when I'm behind the counter at WM.

Hal, keep up the good work.  I'm here to tell you that PT WORKS!  When I had my knee surgery, I went to PT as soon as I could and when they wanted to give me shots in my back for stenosis and bulging discs, I opted for PT instead and I'm sticking to the regimin that I brought home with me.  Go for the Gold!!

By the way, the curtains are hemmed and up and because no one ever told me about self threading needles, the hardest part was threading the "dash blasted needles".  It' took me a good half hour to thread 3 needles!

Good morning everyone!