Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

[Stargazerlily]

Good Morning!

Right now we have a hopping thread and that is great. Support and sharing our stories and concerns are what MWO is best at, and it is really helpful.

Rusty, hope your visit went better than you anticipated...this lady cares about you, just has poor social skills. How sad that her entire family are alcoholics, really what chance does she have? Are you going back to work today? I can't as we have a state of emergency due to the cold and are not supposed to be on the roads.

Lav, YB is nothing if not stubborn. A man without TV and cable? Wow, the men in my life LOVE their shows, sports, etc., and would never be without if they could help it. I am being cautious too, don't want to fall and get hurt!

Jolie, it will be hard to go back to work after all that time off. The shower sounded fun and loving. How exciting for you.

Dill, hope your childcare time is eased when you son comes back home. So happy to hear he is moving forward in his recovery. You are amazing, by the way. Soup and bread, what a perfect winter meal.

DTD, loved the recipe, will make it in the future.

I was thinking that our lives are so busy, we are much more productive and happy AF. I really don't know how we lived well before. I guess we didn't. I love waking up feeling well rested, not panicky and sick. I may visit later, have a great day. :h

[Rusty]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Good Morning!

Star-your post today mimicked every word I wanted to say to EVERY person on this thread. So, because I am horribly short on time this morning, with your permission, I have copied and pasted your entire post, with a few modifications.:thanks::h Yes, I am returning to work, but fortunately with a client who is located close to home. My additional comments are in pink font.

Right now we have a hopping thread and that is great. Support and sharing our stories and concerns are what MWO is best at, and it is really helpful. I love this, too.

My visit with my friend went MUCH better than I expected. Yes, she has poor social skills, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. She has mellowed, but only because I have had some sharp words with her in the past. My words were truthful but painful for her and she has learned. It was the nicest visit we've ever had. Later, a friend invited me to watch the Packer game. Too bad they lost.:upset:, What are you going to do on your day off?

Lav, YB is nothing if not stubborn. A man without TV and cable? Wow, the men in my life LOVE their shows, sports, etc., and would never be without if they could help it. I am being cautious too, don't want to fall and get hurt! I can't believe you actually WATCHED the game, Lav. Bravo to you for "managing" your complicated husband.Jolie, it will be hard to go back to work after all that time off. The shower sounded fun and loving. How exciting for you. Totally thrilled for you, Jolie....how great to be present and AF :-)

Dill, hope your childcare time is eased when you son comes back home. So happy to hear he is moving forward in his recovery. You are amazing, by the way. Soup and bread, what a perfect winter meal. Your strength and patience amaze me.DTD, loved the recipe, will make it in the future. Same here.

I was thinking that our lives are so busy, we are much more productive and happy AF. I really don't know how we lived well before. I guess we didn't. I love waking up feeling well rested, not panicky and sick. YES!

Waves of hello to Papmom, Cyn, Darkest Diamond, and anyone I have missed, have a wonderful AF Monday!!

[Lavande]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Good morning friends!

I am actually looking forward to a busy day today - more routine I suppose.
I have some work, need to get back to Curves, only made it there 1 day last week, daughter & granddaughter coming for a visit, lots of excitement. My son & his family are flying to Florida for a few days of R&R, wishing them a safe trip

cyn, this ever changing weather is causing me some serious aches & pains but I'm trying not to dwell on them, ugh! Hope your day is good!

DTD, rain here today & heading to 52 degrees, should melt the remaining snow. But, artic air moves back in overnight - crazy!! You asked about the imposter in the chicken house - he was taken on a ride to the Amish farm down the rode, they were happy to receive him. My hens are much happier & calmer now, of course

Rusty, you have a good day! Busy is good!

Star, I can not explain YB's behavior, living situation or anything. He is one bizarre individual.

Have a great AF day everyone!
Lav

[dill]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Hello All,

It's busy here again today. No school due to weather, so g-son is underfoot yet another day. I think they'll be closed tomorrow too. Sigh. Luckily, g-daughter's day care remains open even when schools are closed.

Yes Rusty, you are right. My daughter is visiting this week from New Orleans. This arctic weather will be a true shock to their systems! They arrive in moments actually so I don't have much time to post. It will be a busy few days here!

Jolie, I'm glad your shower went well.

Pmom, Cyn, Lav, DD, DTD, Star, Sunni, keep the forward momentum going.

[Lavande]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Hope your visit with your daughter is nice Dill - arctic weather or not

My daughter ended up postponning her visit, weather conditions are pretty iffy here today. Warm one minute, then cold, then freezing rain, then snow, then sun - & that was all before lunch time :H :H
Hard to make plans with this nonsense going on.

I am entertaining myself this afternoon with a new project - fermenting veggies. I'm starting with cabbage & carrots - will let you all know on the weekend if they're actually edible

[papmom3]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Hallooooo everyone! What a busy 2 days I've had!

Sorry for mixing up DTD and DD. Won't be the last time I'm sure LOL!!

Rusty-so happy to hear you had a great visit with you friend! Its always such a relief when things turn out better than what we thought.

Lav-totally missed the story about the imposter but glad to hear he found a new home .

Dill, Star-your weather is beyond amazing! I just hope the spring and summer will be incredibly good to match the incredible bad of this winter!! So glad to hear both your sons are doing great and recovering nicely. Whew!

I spent all day yesterday cooking!! ME!! Edamane Hummus, homemade salsa, brownies for the nephews and a spinich/feta crustless quiche. The only think I did wrong was mistake corn starch for baking powder (don't even ask how!!) so that is one DENSE quiche!!:H Still tastes good tho!! Oh, and oatmeal in a mason jar!! You put steel cut oatmeal in the jar, add milk, seasonings, flax and chia (I used hemp) and applesauce. Refrigerate overnite and in the morning either heat it or not. Sure beats the 30 minutes of cooking that one usually does with this type of oatmeal. It was yummy!!
This morning the nephs came over and got the treadmill up from the basement into the living room. It was quite the ordeal! Required taking a door off the hinges, taking one part off the treadmill and scraping of the walls to get it up the stairs but it's done, it works and I'm ready to make it part of my daily routine. Hence the brownies!!
I also had my first cardiac Rehab session. It went really well but the bike kicked my ass!! I'm looking forward to making this part of my life 2x/week for the next 3 months. I'm the only female in the small group.

Tomorrow is my busiest day yet! Grooming appointments for Mick and DD in the morning, vet appointment for LM in the afternoon and quilting class in the evening. Wednesday I have a followup with my primary and cardiac rehab. I might even go to a knitting meetup at 6pm. Thursday my friend and I are meeting at our old place of employment to visit with former coworkers. One fav coworker won't be there and I'm very disappointed but what can you do? I'm excited about this visit-won't get another chance until probably late spring. Friday and the weekend is wide open and then back to work on monday. Almost afraid to say that out loud. I was so sure I would not be going back. :upset:
Still need to make turkey chili and homemade sausage (surprisingly healthy!!), ranch dressing and alternative soy sauce.
I've gotten into the habit of having salad 3x/week for lunch so that takes some pressure off when planning for work days and with what have and will have in the freezer, dinners will be done. All I have to figure out is what to keep in the car for those long mondays when I have to go to support group after rehab. If it stays cold I can keep yogurt and water in a cooler. Once it gets warmer I'll have to think of plan B. NO. MORE. FAST FOOD!!
Oh and I connected with Chill on FB!! She seems to be doing awesome and I think her life is finally where she wants it. She was 4 years AF on NYD. She deserves every good thing coming her way!!
Have a great nite all! :h

[Lavande]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Sounds like you are having way too much fun papmom
Glad things are working out for you!
I have Bob's Red Mill GF steel cut oats in my little crockpot overnight. This will work out great provided the darn power stays on. It's super windy out, you never know.

I'm enjoying keeping up with you, Chill, TDN, LBH, Kaslo & several others on Facebook
It's nice to know that life does go on after MWO.

[DreamThinkDo]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Morning ladies!

Lots of rain here yesterday and last night, still overcast and drizzling. The little stream that runs through the village is a bare trickle in summer; had a look at it this morning and while it's not exactly raging, it is running very fast and full. Will go and have a look at the river later. The big dam should also be overflowing again - it was at 98% full last week, and gets a lot of run-off water.

Lav, hope you still have power.

Papmom, I'm exhausted just reading about you life! You sound so happy and positive - I think that's essential in any form of recovery. And please don't worry about about the DD/DTD mix-up - I've done that so many times with people here!

Dill, have a lovely time with your daughter and family. Huge difference in temperature for them.

Rusty, glad your visit went well.

As for productivity, spot on, Star. (Although a lot of my time is now spent here - but still much better than getting sozzled day and night.)

I've a neat and ordered pantry, want to tackle the fridge today and get a start on the kitchen cupboards - especially the one with all the plastic containers looks like a rubbish tip.

Have a lovely day, everybody - talk again soon!

[Jolie]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Good morning friends!

Wow is everyone super busy around here! Pap - you are definitely cooking up a storm and keeping busy - that's good! The oatmeal in the mason jar sounds yummy - might try it. I hate it when a recipe doesn't turn out - made "chocholate peanut butter pretzel bites" this weekend - ummm - they did not turn out like I expected and followed the recipe to the T. The taste okay but look horrible! Oh well.

Does anyone think that the new year brings out the organization - get your life together attitude? I find myself wanting to organize, throw out junk and just feel more in control of my life - especially after the craziness of the holidays!

To all who asked, my DIL's due date is February 10th. Have I mentioned how very excited I am??? Weird thing - keep having dreams about losing babies (I think this must not be good).

Lav - 3 degrees on my car thermometer this morning - most likely colder where you are. I thought for sure we were going to lose power last night - winds were kickin!!

DTD, Dill, Rusty, Star - hope you are waking up to or in the middle of a great day - have fun all!

[Stargazerlily]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Good morning...

Off work again today. it is -35 below with wind chill, not a lot of people will be out unless they have to, so do not see the point in driving 25 miles and risking my life. I am tired of being home, finally my son went back to work, and my husband will be leaving, so I will be ALONE. It's kind of funny, I have cleaned out all closets, earned CEs I needed, scrubbed floors, and read books, exercised, I have nothing that I need to do.

Lav, how is the weather around you? Is it as bad as in the Midwest?

Pap, great you are keeping busy, rearranging your house and life for better health. Cool you saw old MWOers on FB. Glad to hear they are doing well.

Jolie, you sound good.

Rusty, are you back to work?

Have a great day and keep warm wherever you are.

[cyntree]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Happy Tuesday!
True to form, I posted yesterday on last week's thread, so I'll re-post that in a bit. Lav - glad you still have power - the winds were fearsome here as well, the rain created big ponds, and then when it started sleeting/snowing, well holy cow what a mess. Fortunately I had done what I needed to do, and didn't have to go out on the iced-snow covered roads. 0 degrees here this morning, but I did manage to get the dogs to go out!

Sounds like everyone is in a productive mode - you go PMom - good luck to you Dill, hope your visit with your daughter goes well.

Enjoy the early morning light!

[cyntree]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

from yesterday -

Happy Monday all -

Lav, this switching between balmy and the deep freeze really has me reeling. I'm just hoping that it's not affecting bear hibernation...just yesterday I bought a water heater to give the birds fresh water, and suet to give them energy to sustain the cold. Then this morning it's 49 degrees and 2 feet of snow is melted! Since we've already had a couple of bear visitations, I'm crossing fingers that they'll stay asleep. But it sounds like it's back to the cold temps again - I just wish there was still snow on the ground, the damp leaves are nothing great to look at.

I finally was able to exercise the dogs yesterday (Sunday) with the warmer-ish temps before the rain came. It was a gloriously sunny day, and we walked in the woods down snow paths made passable by a few earlier hiking humans and dogs. And I saw that some people had x-country ski-ed! Now I know where to go, if it is ever snowy and not too cold. It's great walking here in the winter - no worries about ticks!

Best of luck getting back in the work groove, Jolie. So glad the shower went well. Sunni - thanks for the reminder about the thoughts coming first, nicely put. Good luck all - I've a big work day, and I'm hoping I can cross some old burdens off the list (finally!)

[end note - I did make some progress, whew!]

Wishing all a great Tuesday -

[Lavande]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Good morning friends!

Grateful to still have power after all that crazy wind! Kitchen thermometer said 1 degree this morning. I have no idea what the wind chill might be - what's the difference?
I haven't been out to check on the girls yet, hope they are OK. I stapled a throw rug over their hatch last evening to block the wind, hoped that helped.

Jolie, I know you are excited!!!!!!
The first one is so very special

Greetings To Dill, Rusty, DTD, cyn, Star, papmom & everyone!
Staying in today sounds like a pretty god idea to me. I have some work to do anyway.

Star, I never, ever feel like I am truly caught up with things. When I get tired of doing stuff I flop in a comfy place & tune in Netflix. Lately I've been enjoying episodes of a BBC series called 'Doc Martin'. It's a very entertaining show about a curmudgeon surgeon. He's rude & uptight, freaks at the sight of blood - very funny. He had to leave his big city practice to work in a small village. Keeps me entertained

OK kids, stay warm & have a wonderful AF Tuesday!
Lav

[dill]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Hello Friends,
Once again a quick check in. I really have no time to be here and am actually sitting in a room with the 3 g-kids and my daughter. We are having a great visit tho! Thinking of you all and wishing you a peaceful AF Tuesday.

[papmom3]

Gentle January ~ AF Week 2

Hi All-quick checkin.

Cyn-your description of the walk with the pups was really nice and to have found a xcountry ski trail too? Nice! Hope this Polar Express or whatever they are calling it goes away soon so we can all get out again.

Dill-have a great visit with your daughter and g kids!!

Jolie-I didn't realize her due date was so close! Exciting!!!

Lav-did you check on the hens today? Hope they are OK!!

Do cold today! -30 with the windchill-no wonder the pups wouldn't stay out more than 30 seconds!! Should have put the pee pads back down.

got Mick and DD groomed- they smell so nice! LM had his vet visit and it looks like I'm going to need to come up with $600 for a dental in March or April. His teeth are so very bad and there is a huge chance they could affect his already compromised kidneys. He's doing so well I would hate for my laziness to be the reason for his premature demise. Mickey also needs one badly but I think LM is the priority at this point. Sigh.
Quilting was fun. Everyone was so concerned and a few people hadn't heard so were very shocked. Of course I had to tell the whole story but the important thing is I am recovering very well. I started a table runner which is really outside my preferred colors but very easy. It was supposed to be for my sister but she didn't like the material. Maybe she'll like it once I'm done. Someone will like it LOL!! After that is done, next project will be for my neice. I think I've decided on a pattern, all I have to do is pick out the fabric.
Despite the busy day I'm not all that tired so that is good. I also got my 10 min on the treadmill this morning!! Didn't make it up at 5am tho. Next week will be wicked tough!! :upset:

Hello to Star, Rusty, DD, DTD and anyone else I've missed. Stay warm!!