Newbies Nest

[Slo]

Re: Newbies Nest

Ugh -daughter in college DOES have Covid!! It was hard to tell since it got superimposed onto an existing cold with lots of congestion and a chest-y cough. Poor girl is gutted that the entire swim team has been exposed and has to get tested. She had to make quite a list of contacts what with classmates and dorm mates also. She feels bad about ruining Halloween weekend for the others. She will remain in isolation in the isolation dorm for another 4 or 5 days. Yes, she’s double vaccinated.

I still have a residual sore throat and swollen glands, but no acute pain. Hopefully baby Mabel’s cold will be mitigated by the helpful properties of breastmilk. Daughter’s immune system was probably rundown by her other lengthy cold. Grandson Beckett’s immune system was probably run down by a cold followed by hand-foot-mouth disease, followed by this cold -no wonder it is pretty severe.

I got off sugar a few weeks ago, finally. It is a calmer way to live, without my daily life being disrupted by sugar cravings. It’s interesting that a taste of root beer was icky rather than good, and the same with a taste of daughter’s cinnamon banana bread.

Lav, did you drive VW bugs in the 70s, or the hippie van?!

We did the same and bred our dog with BIL & SIL’s dog back in the 80s. Once of that was enough! Lav, that was an awfully big litter of puppies that your dog had!

Good weekend to all.

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Slo - Glad your sore throat passed so quickly, but I'm so sorry to hear that your daughter has COVID. Not just because she probably feels so sick, but for the additional layers of awful she must be feeling for potentially exposing others unknowingly, and causing others to have to quarantine as well. I wonder if it wasn't just a cold circulating through the swim team? Hugs to you both.

NS - my only experience with a dog in heat was when I was 4 years old so I'm afraid I'm not much help. Hopefully someone else can chime in, and double hopefully all goes well over your weekend.


Happy Halloween Eve to everyone (or already Halloween to many of you)!

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Happy Halloween Nesters,

We have a cool & cloudy day for the trick or treaters A few light showers passed thru earlier.

Slo, so sorry about your daughter’s breakthrough Covid Dx. Hopefully it will be a light case & she feels better quickly. We know no vaccines are 100% effective but we can hope. Hope the little ones are feeling better too.
I had no experience with pregnant dogs - none! So I asked the vet how many I could expects & he said 1 or 2, haha!! 12 puppies later & I still had my son under age 2 in diapers, I was working & taking some evening classes I thought i’d lose my mind, LOL. It definitely was a good experience but a lot of work, I had to bottle feed pups because the mom couldn’t take care of them all.

Wags, I hope your Halloween is fabulous

Hello to all & wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

Slo - sorry to hear about your daughter and granddaughter! You picked a tough time to get off sugar... great job! I have eaten about 6 tootsie rolls today

NS, I'm with you and need to do better. Drinking has crossed my mind more than once lately. But I walked through the beer isle in the grocery store today and remembered how terrible it was that I would be plotting and scheming and obsessing about a drink in my past. I do NOT miss that and really cherish the free time I have now. Information is great, isn't it? I also love hearing other people's stories.

Eat and drink while driving a stick Belle? Gosh, I am impressed. I am realizing how difficult it is to do much with one hand on the wheel and one hand on the gear shift all of the time. Keeps me occupied though. The kids laugh when I cannot drive and converse with them! HA!

Addiction is definitely fueled by profits WAGS, unfortunately. In fact, a lot of bad seems to come with our capitalism model. We started off as an opportunity for everyone to build their own success (which is great), but then got greedy. We can't be allowed to harm society in the name of profit

Well, my car engine needs to be completely rebuilt. They will pay for a rental car next week, and hopefully be done in about 4 weeks. UG. I DID backup my computer though even though my external hard drive was not being read by my new Mac. I googled a bunch and somehow reformatted the drive to some different style called ExFat (?!) and it "mounted" my computer - all computer lingo here. So I am avoiding a disaster if this other software I have on Parallels reboots.... It's all a mess but I seemed to figure it out since my tech guy was MIA.

SO. Life is life, I am in a witches costume with red hair, striped yellow and black tights and sparkly lips. Waiting for the kids to call saying they're cold or need an umbrella - it's 39 degrees out! I always let them pick their top 10 candies, and I hide the rest for later times. Tomorrow should be fun for teachers and homes with the sugar crashes. But hey - it's one day a year.

Have a good night everyone.

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Kensho - sorry to hear about your car! Sounds like you did a great job with the computer trouble-shooting. I'm no expert but I've had to do some similar problem-solving with my dad's computer over the past year or so.

Hellos and waves to Lav and everyone. Here we go with another week (and another month)!

[available]

Re: Newbies Nest

evening nesters

well made it in one piece to Newcastle. It is lovely to see my SIL and we get to see Jasper tomorrow. he is battling along and still baffling the drs though he is growing and his lungs are not so wont be able to support him. we still have hope. Mother still alive but she is soooooooo negative. thankfully my SIL has more patience with her than i. shes been busy telling her that life has no meaning and im thinking, well do something to give it meaning. ffs! no point in telling her that. ive taken myself off to bed to escape.

Slo, i am sorry to hear your daughter has covid, at least she should not get as sick as someone unvaxed. i hope she gets better soon.

So many memories being here, this is where my drinking career really kicked off and my marriage broke up 16 years ago, where my kids grew up and where i lived for 20 years. lots of nostalgia happening. will go and visit my ex MIL while i am here and seeing a good friend on wednesday. i miss home and my comfort zone but am grateful i have made it up to see Jasper alive.

Happy birthday Byrd, i hope you have the bestest day.

take care and will check in soon. xx

[Slo]

Re: Newbies Nest

Here we are in November now!

Kensho, what a great witch costume! We get hardly any trick or treaters, so no need to bother here. New life was breathed into the neighborhood when six kids moved into the two houses across the street; so they stopped by, but no other kids. (Six Tootsie Rolls isn’t very much!)

Thanks to the discussion about cars increasing in price etc., I have decided not to drive to Texas for my nephew’s wedding this month, and booked a flight. Twin sister had wanted to drive with me, but best to preserve my car, especially considering my future.

Kensho, interesting computer terms! My hat is off to you and Wags for being able to figure out some computer repair stuff on your own. What a hassle.

Ava, no wonder you have to gird your loins for this visit! The grieving and the difficult mother and SIL being your former drinking buddy etc. is enough already; but now layering in painful nostalgia on top of it means you really have to have your tools in place. Hugs to you.

Hope your birthday was a happy one, Byrdie! My grandma had a Halloween birthday. She would have been 115 years old yesterday!

Lav, our dog had 5 puppies in her litter back then, and they were enough to handle at once! And enough for poor mother dog to handle at once too.

Off today to go babysit the little granddaughter for a few days! The endlessly whiny, crying grandson will be with the day care family during the days, thankfully. The evenings will be just enough time to spend with him without completely fraying my nerves.

[BelleGirl]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi Nesters,
Yesterday I realized it has been exactly 10 years since I first logged into MWO. Wow. I did have 5 completely sober years, but I do have to admit that lately things have been a struggle, like Kensho and NS have also mentioned. I need to keep focused in the right direction and not make it easy to 'find' AL. I know lately how much better my life is without it. I just wish the struggle would go away.

I had both kids here for Halloween, so I was a happy Mama. Of course they were out with friends, etc. Not only did my son make it home on the train by himself, daughter came home on the DC Metro by herself. Hubs just had to pick her up at the station. Gosh, they are growing up!

Ava, what a difficult trip you are on. There is so much to unpack there, that I hope you give yourself as much space as possible. And as much self care as you can when you return home.

Slo...sorry to hear about your daughter's Covid. Covid is a sneaky bugger. When my son had it early on, he had no more than mild sniffles...until he told me he could not taste anything! That was pre-vax days. Glad your daughter is double vaxed so she should not have a bad case. My kids' colleges both have isolation dorms for quarantine, but it doesn't sound fun. Daughter's college told all kids to keep a bag packed in case they have to be whisked off to quarantine at a moment's notice.

Both kids go back today. Hubs will drive son back to college and I will take daughter back. Of course they are still sleeping from all the fun they had last night!

But the good(?) news is that when they come home for thanksgiving, which is in 3 weeks, they will finish the rest of the semester online. I think reason is that they don't want kids bringing back covid after family get-togethers. That means that they will be home until mid-January. I wonder if I will have my fill of them by then?

I know I have to come here and keep reading and posting, even if I post nonsense, lol, to help with the struggle. it DOES help so much to be part of a community that understands.

[NoSugar]

Re: Newbies Nest

12 puppies would do me in, Lav! She is being great about wearing these 'doggie diapers', thank goodness. It would really be embarrassing to have her messing up someone else's carpets!! So, some people say that once the bleeding stops she isn't fertile but others say there is the possibility of impregnation for up to 4 weeks after! I'm not believing the first idea b/c it is totally different to the human situation so I think most of this month is going to be spent staying very close to home and her never being unattended outside. Then after a couple months she can be spayed. I can't wait!!

I hope you are having a chance to hold Jasper, Ava. It's wonderful you all are going there to offer the parents support. Isn't weird how different the person who returns to a home town can be from the person who lived there? That often strikes me when I visit my parents. I love who you are NOW!!

Belle, my drinking escalated when my kids were both in college. They had been quite independent in high school but I guess the finality of it got to me. It's great you are aware that this makes you a little extra vulnerable.

I don't have the computer courage you do, Wags and Kensho. I'm impressed!

Slo, I appreciate it that you don't pretend that your grandkids are always perfect. I have a couple friends who do that and it is very annoying. I'm pretty upfront about the fact that the 4 little boys that I love unconditionally are perfectly imperfect humans. Enjoy the cuddly baby and the just right-amount-of-time with the boy who is probably going through one of the endless 'stages'.

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hey, nesters!
I appreciate the birthday witches! It was a good day. My former neighbor took us to lunch and we had a most pleasant time. We didn’t get a single trick or treater. I sure miss those little faces. Our house is in front of a townhome development so the tend to go there….they can cover much more ground back there and no stairs to climb. I sure miss seeing the little ones. People are so creative.

Kensho, I was in the grocery store the other day and saw a display of wine. It took me back to the days of buying all those small boxes of wine so I could smuggle them into the house. I still avoid the wine aisle, it gives me Wine PTSD.
Available, I sympathize about going home again. That brings PTSD, too. Everyplace and everything is a relived memory when I go back there. Our hearts go out to you and Jasper’s family. They must be experiencing unbelievable pain. Such a sad situation.

As suggested by the lady who scheduled my new eye appointment, I called the next day and they had a cancellation for today so I grabbed it. So I went to the new Eye doctor today. He seems to think my cornea is inflamed. He’s going to consult with the surgeon who did the cataract surgery and figure out next steps. I hope it can be fixed with a drop of some sort. Fingers crossed.

Hope everyone is hanging in. I guess the holiday season will start now in earnest. Our town has already put up the Christmas decorations on the telephone poles. Ugg!

Happy Monday! Byrdie

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Byrdie, I AM NOT ready for Christmas decorations, haha!! Too much too soon.
I’m glad you got to see the new doc & hope he comes up with something quickly for you.

NS, sending you good doggie wishes. That experience taught me that I am not cut. Out for the dog breeding business, Lol

Belle, glad you had time with both of your kids. Sounds like you will be spending a good deal of time with them in the near future. Things are what they are these days & I don’t think we can do much to change them. Hanging around MWO for as long as I have has definitely kept me honest & on my plan. It’s just a good place to be.

Slo, enjoy your grandkid time no matter how they are behaving. Those funky stages don’t last forever, thank goodness. They grow & change so fast it makes your head spin

Ava, glad you made your destination safely & will be seeing baby Jasper. Sending light & prayers for you all :hug:

Wags, wishing. You a very happy November!

Kensho, sorry about your car, geez. It’s always one thing after another.
Our son just told us they have to replace both of their cars & it’s going to be $$$. Good luck with your repairs.

Hello to all & wishing a safe night in the nest for everyone!

Lav

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Byrdie -- did I miss your BDAY??? Sheesh, I'm so sorry. Happy Belated Byrdie-Day!!! I'm glad you got to see the new Dr and I hope they have some effective and simple fixes for you.

NS - glad your pup is being so cooperative about the diapers. I'm sure that makes the visit at least a bit easier.

Ava - sending you and your family love and strength during this difficult time. It sounds like Jasper has a few ideas of his own. Is there any chance that he'll pull through, or is it just a matter of time? So heartbreaking!

Belle - the idea of having college kids finish the term online after Thanksgiving is awesome! I mean what a great way to allow travel home and then not have a likely surge of cases as people come back together again. I know they'll have a similar regrouping in January but I'm sure they've thought of ways to use testing to help mitigate the risk.


Things are good here in Wagland. My wife and I have been on a very productive streak with home projects. The list is still long of course, but we've gotten a few big things done that give us some literal room to move and breathe, which is huge. Next on the list is the overflow space where my work stuff goes when it won't fit in my "office" (aka, corner of the bedroom). I'm trying to get everything scanned and digitized so that my physical book library is less than 20% of current. It's a slow process but I'm getting there!

Take care everyone and don't drink!

[available]

Re: Newbies Nest

Evening nesters

Belle, i can guarantee that the longer you are away from al, the less you think about it. When we arrived yesterday my SIL asked me if it was ok if she had a wine and i said yes, go for it. i did have a thought that it would be so nice to have a drink with her during this horrendous time but that was it, the thought was just a thought. i didnt feel deprived drinking my coke zero and she had two glasses.

Wags, no there is no cure for jasper, my nieces waters broke at 23 weeks gestation and she got him to 30 weeks before he was born but there was no amniotic fluid around him to help develop his lungs. he is growing but his lungs arent. Chronic lung disease is his diagnosis and its ridiculous really that such a small baby can have that.

We did get to visit Jasper and fam today. we got to stay 4 hours which was just great, normal visits are an hour. i just didnt want to let him go and mum was upset and it was sad but it was lovely to spend time with them all. My niece and her hubs are just so brave and have done everything they can for him. he is very tiny but gives you a beautiful smile that just melts your heart. We are hoping to have another visit before we leave if he is well enough. Its hard trying to be "normal" when we all know the outcome but we have some treasured photos to take home with us and 4 generations also.

Tomorrow, we are visiting a good friend who i used to live with a couple of years ago (ha ha) in my 20's. i cant wait to see her and have a catch up. then we will hopefully visit my ex MIL. I might try and throw some work in that time also.

Slo i have a chuckle with you talking about the G-babies. You just normalise the good and the not so good, toddlers are just so precious arent they NOT. One day i hope to have the pleasure of a G-baby or 10. My SIL is just devastated, she has missed and will miss all the good and bad that a g-baby brings and my heart breaks for her, its all we really want after we have had our own. But as we have said a lot, thats life, we cant change what is happening, we just have to appreciate that he has been in our life and he has no idea what is going on.

take care xxx

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Greetings Nesters,

Getting ready for the first overnight freeze of the season.
Got the chicken coop prepped. Heated water base in place so their water doesn’t freeze up overnight. They appreciate that, haha!

Wags, great that you’re getting jobs on you to-do list checked off. That’s always a good feeling!

Ava, thinking of you & your family, especially little Jasper. He’s getting a whole lot of love from all of you :hug:

Hello to all & wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[Guitarista]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hola nester's,

Lav, that coup sounds the place to be!

Ava, my thoughts are with Jasper, you and family at this difficult time. I am saying a prayer for Jasper and sending him as much healing and strength as i know how to.

Big hello's and waves to evabody.