Best Of

To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.

Confucius

betrayal - Hoping the thoracic epidural provides much needed relief. The issue with the prescription bottle having another customer’s label under yours is appalling. I hope the pharmacy changes their process.

Otter - will be thinking of you next week and wishing you the best with your surgery and pathology.

Cindy - you go girl! The ice maker is fixed!

Chris - Tippy is an amazing dog and companion.

Woke up yesterday to a dusting of snow. Ack! Pulled the covers over my head and decided to delay going to the gym until today. I did make it to the gym today and had a decent workout. It is, not surprisingly, busy at this time of year but during the day it is still fairly easy to find a machine to use. I was getting bored with my workout so I reduced the elliptical workout from 3 miles to 2 miles and added the stair stepper and some upper body workouts. Temps are supposed to drop over the weekend but I’ll have to force myself to get in the car and go to the gym.

New washer and dryer will be delivered on Saturday. The current set still works so we are able to do laundry. I just need the current washer to last 2 more days (fingers crossed).

Waving ‘hello’.

Another busy day. I had a volunteer picking up IKEA donation and I found some bedding that was never used that she also took. The charity helps people set up a home at no charge and I really find that to be nice in this day and age. I called Vietnam Veterans to arrange a pickup for 1/21 for the clothing we had removed from DH and my closets. Other phone calls to eye doctor to insure recent report goes to PCP, and Pulmonary to get supplies now that test month is up. Still having minor issues with mask, but it's much better now.

Got up early because I wasn't sure when drapery guys were coming and wanted to clear the table runners and seasonal items off the table. Some are being rehomed to the linen closet and others will be kept in a drawer. I also sorted through the kitchen island runner drawers and removed the Christmas and Easter items to be stored in the linen closet now that I have the room. The remaining runners were separated by season or theme for easier access.

Got 2 loads of wash done as well and now I am done. My back has been bothering me for the past few days, and even with the medication, I don't get complete relief. I do have to make my bed and put the items in the linen closet.

The drapery guys came, removed the sheers, drapes and the valance. They can clean the valance on site at half the cost of taking it apart and reassembling, so I took that option. More expensive than I expected, but still cheaper than replacing them. This will be their first cleaning and considering they remove, clean, replace and then steam in place after hanging, the price seems better. They are double lined and quite heavy so pin placement is critical to prevent tearing.

DB comes on Monday to paint, so the room is ready to go. We took the leaves out of the table today, took the shelves from the China closet out and they are on top the table. The wall decorations have been stashed in a very crowded living room. We need DSIL to help lower the china closet off the buffet base or move the entire unit away from the wall

I am hoping that next week I might be able to get to DD's old closet to sort through the clothing I store there. One section is summer clothing, another is lightweight jackets/fleece hoodies, the third is vacation clothing, and lastly is the center shelving holding travel items. It needs to be reorganized after I cull unwanted or ill fitting clothing. I'd like to really reduce what is here to what I really need for summer, jackets and then travel.

I have my thoracic epidural tomorrow. I don't know what restrictions I might have afterwards. I am just hoping I get relief. DGD has a basketball game on Saturday as does DGS. His is so early in the morning and they are 30-40 minutes away based on traffic. We won't be able to go to his game and I might not make hers based on how I feel.

I hope everyone has a great day and am waving "hi" to everyone.

otter, you are correct about them just slapping another label on the vial. They did put some type of blackout paper in between that label and mine, but it didn't work. In the future I will check all bottles before I leave to ensure I don't get "recycled" meds again. My issue, too , was the date change between their June one and my July one. The medication had been sitting in this bottle for over a month so why did they extend the expiration date, it wasn't in the original sealed and moisture protected bottle. His explanation was not acceptable, since they do not use the expiration date from the original package, but a year from the date they offload it into the container they dispense.

I hope your plan for surgery goes well and I like your decision to get it done ASAP.

I was clearing out the china closet yesterday and one item is a crystal decanter with 6 brandy snifters that I received as a wedding present from my then boss. I have not seen him since 1977, but had followed his career for awhile. Just out of curiosity, I googled his name and found a treasure trove of personal information about him including an email address. I read his memories section and looked at the novels he had written before I located it. I thought I would take a chance to see if he was still alive. Well, he is, so I sent him an email explaining who I was and with some names I remembered of others who worked in the department. I received a speedy reply after he googled me, looking for a photo (none posted) and he sent some other memories.

He had 3 children and the older two were very academically talented and his youngest was a handful whose escapades used to delight us, but not him so much. He is Jewish by birth, escaped Hitler's Germany via the Kindertransport to England (age 6) where he received his education until age 18 when he emigrated to the US. Both of his parents were in Theresienstadt (Terezin Concentration camp) and managed to survive the war. Unfortunately, other family members were not so fortunate. He became a physician, married a Baptist minister's daughter which caused some family members to ostracize him and her. She has since died, he lives alone and mentioned he is lonely. His children are in Iowa, North Jersey and DC, so not close enough for direct contact often. He'd like to get together for lunch and I would love to do that. He is over an hour away, but I always enjoyed his razor wit (even when I was the target), and his intellect. He's 95, and based on what he wrote, still appears to be sharp.

He enjoys reminiscing and given what we accomplished together, we'll have lots to talk about. I initiated our hospital's participation (one of 2 in the state of PA) in a national program affiliated with the CDC. I was trained by them to run the program and went back annually for new updates. It was exciting to do and we learned how our large municipal hospital (2,000 beds) compared to others of comparable size across the US in regard to infection control. Given our limited resources and patient population (99% uninsured), we did well.

DH ran to Staples to get more bubble wrap so I could finish china closet today. He found a great sale on large, transparent storage bins which we needed. They are so nice, I sent him back for more because I want all bins in the attic to be see-thru. We do use heavier totes for heavy items, but I prefer seasonal house decorations be visible. I sent him back for more.

It is another gray day with temps in the 50's, but we are expected to get rain and a sharp drop in temps to the 30's later. Given the drapery company is supposed to come tomorrow, I hope the driveway is clear. Fingers crossed.

I did some laundry and will do bedding and towels tomorrow. This is my break before I resume work in the dining room. I have emptied the 2 side cabinets in the buffet, but still need to unload the drawers, find a safe spot for the wood and glass shelves, another safe spot for the wall art, and I plan on taking the leaves out of the table. I may leave one in, but I could take it out and then drop the ends of the table to make it really compact. The chairs will go in the living room. I can wait until Sunday to move them. So almost done and tired.

Will have thoracic epidural on Friday to see if it will knock out my back spasms.

Chris, loved how Tippy can communicate his needs to you. He is quite expressive. I hope your hand is feeling better.

carole, sorry you are losing the Winn-DIxie in your area.

harley07, I hope your new washer and dryer arrived. Tough to be with out them and it seems you never know how much laundry you are doing until they are out of commission.

cindyny, hoping you can get the ice maker sorted out and working again. Can you ask a neighbor for a loan of the tool you need? I like to fix things, but don't have your extensive skill set.

Hope everyone has a great day. I apologize for the diarrhea of the mouth today. Waving "hi" to everyone.

Good morning. I have been up in NC. The first day I was there it dropped to 17 degrees, but my little cabin was nice and warm. I am still dealing with the crawl space issue. I got a couple other estimates, but they are $1500 higher than the guy I have attempted to go with. I am not sure if I wrote about the plumbing disaster. The guys broke the main water line as they were ripping out the old insulation. Then the owner told me he sold the company. I met the new owner and got a quote from him. He also said he would deduct the cost of the plumber from my bill. I am on community water, so it caused problems for the entire area. I am just not sure what to do.

Down in Florida the new tile is going in. I love the color. The lots on both sides have been cleared. Only one has a permit box up. I am going to get some shades I saw at Home Depot to block my view of the vacant lot and into the neighbor's house.

Today, I am working on year end stuff.