Optimistic October - AF

[SnoopyC]

Shoutout to Pauly, your festival day sounded fun. Have a good one.

[treegirl]

Morning all -

Star - how wonderful that you found a meditation class close to you! That sounds like a great way to meet like-minded people. I admire you for actively seeking out new friendships -- kudos to you.

Lav - the snowflakes you are making sound awesome - I hope that they go like hotcakes at the sale! I agree, these new washers are not meant to last like the old ones. Star - I wish that we had inherited an old one at our house! Sometimes I take things to the laundromat (all the dog laundry for sure) just so I can preserve the machines here at the house. We already had to put $400 or so into the dryer in August; it wouldn't heat anymore! Sheesh. Lav - Hope you like the honey recipe - that's great that you have nice local honey.

Dill - do you have time to do any crafts for yourself right now? I am working on a shawl for my SD... I had hoped it would be for her bday this month, but no - hoping for the holidays now. It's very fine wool that I'm knitting - size 3 needles, and I looked at the end of the pattern... 600 + rows! But it's going fast, and I don't need to worry about whether it will fit...

Pauly - how are things going for you? I remember that when I lived in the desert, I had the pest guy only spray the outside and the entryways. It meant that I had to deal with the scorpions if they got in; but that was better than dealing with the spray, uuuugh. Also, if anyone is having trouble with spiders - I use a mix of peppermint and lavender (just essential oils and water in a spray bottle... It works wonders in the house - the spiders hate it! I hope that and Kell are OK. What a bumpy ride you have had recently - I'm sending you peace, if you can grab a little of it...

Wishing all a great AF day --

[paulywogg]

I totally lost my post!!!! Anyway I hope we all have a great AF Tuesday

[dill]

Hello Friends, beautiful day here!

Pauly, sorry you lost your post. Hate when that happens! I downloaded my Terry MacMillan book to my ipod. The audio selection was limited but I found a few. I chose, Who Asked You? Should be a pleasant change of pace for me. FTWD was pretty good I thought. I think it was a pretty good! I sure was taken by surprised by what happened at the border. But I suppose I shouldn't have been.

Star, thanks for your recommendations. I will definitely get to Chesapeake and Alaska at some point. But, no I don't usually have two books going at the same time. You are an extremely voracious reader! I'm glad you found the meditation group near you. Sounds very nice. I hope you make some good connections that way. It is so difficult at our stage of life!

Cyn, I have not been able to find a project to sink my teeth into. I have doing small things tho. I just completed an openwork crochet hat for myself. It was a new pattern so I just wanted to test it out. If anybody comments on it in a positive way, they will be getting one for Christmas! I am making small crochet coasters and am exploring crochet bowl and basket patterns too. Things that are quick and easy to complete. I have never used a needle smaller than a 7. I'm sure the shawl will be lovely! I tried having a front loading washer but our flooring was wrong for it. The whole house shook like the dickens when we used it which we did only once. We returned it the next day and bought this water-saving top loader that essentially works the same way, just doesn't have the vibration problem we experienced with the front loader.

Lav, you are so right that the new washers aren't built to last. Ours was only 6 years old! It makes me sick to throw them in the landfill! But what can you do? We could have spent the money to fix ours but it would have probably just developed some other problem soon. Crazy.

Peace to all.

[Lavande]

Good Tuesday evening friends!

We are still dealing with a lot of clouds around here but the sun peeks thru every now & then. Now all of us on the east coast are watching this massive storm heading this way, ugh.
Poor Haiti got slammed today, next is the Bahamas & Florida. I guess I will get my hurricane cooking out of the way by Friday or Saturday - no one starves around here, ha ha.
Today is YB's birthday so we had dinner out at a place he likes in the middle of no where, LOL He did receive a text from out son this morning with happy birthday wishes, nothing more. It's a start!

Hi there to Star, Dill, Cyn & Pauly! Sounds like everyone is doing well & that makes me happy
You can look at this link to see what one of the lace snowflakes looks like - I have lots of different designs.

http://www.emblibrary.com/EL/Product_images/F9006.jpg

Wishing everyone a peaceful night!

Lav

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Wow, Wednesday already, we are having the most beautiful fall weather. I was able to be outside yesterday for a time and appreciated the warmth, changing leaves and sounds. So beautiful, wishing this for all of you today.

Lav, the snowflake is so pretty, my grandmother used to crochet similar creations, calling them doilies. I have one on my dining room table, a keepsake for sure. The detail is unbelievable. So happy to hear your son texted your husband, moving forward.

Dill, I love reading so much, it is hard to get much done with working full time, that is what the weekends are for! I think your crocheting projects sound cool, I wish I could make some caps.

Cyn, your shawl sounds beautiful, how did you learn how to crochet? You to Dill, is there a book you can buy or just the internet now? Cyn, will you be affected by the hurricane or just Lav? I have struggled to make friends outside of work, but they are all younger then me and in a different time of life, with little kids, my kids age really. My neighbors are nice but see them only in passing as we all work full-time. So, joining a group is the only way I can think of to meet people with like minds. I know it takes time, but really making changes in my life this year. I of course struggle at times, but moments of happiness come now too, I recognize them and cherish them. The three principles have helped me to realize that and to appreciate the happiness when it comes, what am I thinking, and to focus on that more. So you are into essential oils too, I will try the lavender and peppermint oils to discourage spiders in the house. Plus, it smells good!

Pauly, sorry you lost your post, looking forward to hearing from you.

Have a happy AF hump day.

[treegirl]

Morning all - Happy Hump Day!

The weather situation sounds pretty dire with the hurricane - poor Haiti, they seem always in the path of suffering. Bless the people who go there to provide help. Lav, it looks like a problem for you? I had better start listening to the news here! SD lives in a coastal CT city; I think she may be at risk for some flooding there. Hmmm... this is bringing up memories of 'Sandy'.

Star - I congratulate you for taking active ways to meet people. It really is harder as one grows older, but finding similar interests is the key, I think. Good luck! My pattern is for knitting. I learned crocheting once, long ago, but I'm not sure that I could remember how -- goodness, I have to practically teach myself to knit again every time I start a new project! I am in a knitting group (actually crafters) - we are of all ages, and it doesn't matter, it's just all about the companionship (and I get my questions answered!)

Dill - hope your washing machine comes soon. Here is a weird thing - yesterday I used a different browser than usual to open this website, and after I posted I saw on the top of the page 'Ad Choices - washer, washing machine' etc. How scary to know that there is something on the internet (or on my computer?) that is reading everything I'm writing, and then suggesting ads to look at?! Outrageous! So today, I'm back using Avast, the protective browser - slower, but no ads popping up. Grrrr.

Pauly - hey there, sorry you lost your post. Looking forward to hearing how you are.

Lav - so glad to hear that at least your son texted his Dad on his BDay. I hope your dinner out was good. Will go check out that link to snowflakes now!

Wishing all a great AF Hump Day!

[paulywogg]

Morning friends, Lav,very nice snowflake I wish I could get into crochet or knitting but I'm too impatient or something, bug guy came yesterday and yes he used chemicals but in Vegas there's a lot of roaches,spiders and scorps and I'm not dealing with them no way! Dill,I thought Fear was pretty good too just wondering where they're gonna go now,Walking dead starts in 2 weeks been trying to eat better with a big bowl of veggies and chicken but the stomach pain from the veg is rough at work! Star,I know what you mean about the ages of friends that's another thing that deters me,people are just at different points in their lives,small kids and stuff, nothing really in common plus in my post yesterday I mentioned that people who live in this city tend to have a lot of baggage, addictions, hard to find a genuine friend, even hubs has tons of friends but there's something "off" about most of them, I have my daughters,son and Louie, co-workers and customers that I talk to,that enough people in my life,plus Winslow, he's always a great listener haha Cyn,did you get the house ready for fall? We're still in that weather limbo,still using a/c some days in the afternoon, hope everyone has a nice Wednesday

[paulywogg]

Cyn,it does that to me too! Like if I'm reading the Army thread at the top it'll say something Army related kinda creepy, feel like we're being spied on

[dill]

Hello friends,

Star, I first learned to crochet and knit in high school. I took a class with a friend and learned to crochet but I don't really remember who taught me to knit. I have a couple of books about crochet and knitting that help me when I get "stuck". But the internet is marvelous! YouTube is loaded with how to videos.

Cyn, Pauly and Lav, greetings. I have to cut this short. Let's all have a great AF Hump Day!

[Lavande]

Good evening friends!

Very nice day here, no complaints weather-wise.
Hard to believe a huge storm may or may not be arriving this weekend. After hearing today's predictions I'm not sure if it's coming this far north or not. We shall see I guess.

I have a large pot of lemon grass that I've been growing all summer. I moved it into the greenhouse to keep it safe in case the storm does get here. Hope tge greenhouse stays put, ha ha! I see on the news the folks in Florida are high tailing it out of there. I hope everyone who should evacuate does so to be safe.

My daughter has to go sit for her state boards tomorrow to obtain licensure in her field. I have been telling her to stop studying & spend some time relaxing, meditating, etc. I know how nerve wracking it is to go thru this, oh boy. Hoping for the best

Star, Cyn, Pauly & Dill - I wish you all a peaceful night!

Lav

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

The hurricane looks intense, a big storm all over the east coast and of course Haiti, so sad and scary. I heard there has not been a bad hurricane in Fl for 11 years, hope this is the only one of the season. The weather continues to be gorgeous here, what a nice fall.

Pauly, I know what you mean about all the people we interact with on a daily basis and family, lots of times it is enough. I just want to come home and have quality alone time, read and watch what I want.

Lav, hope you don't get hit b the weather, are you enjoying the greenhouse yet? What will be YB's next project?

Dill, sounds like your busy, have a great day.

Cyn, how fun to be in a knitting group. How did you find them? I think some of the stores that sell yarn and stuff might have groups to join. I am trying to find daily time to meditate and do a little yoga, it is hard as I don't have a lot of time in the morning. What is the best time for you?

Today is my Friday, I am off tomorrow for Grandparent's Day. I wonder if some advertising machine just picks words out of posts and then advertisements. I don't let that stuff bother me, I feel I am so uninteresting who would want my info? Every time we go on an ap on our phones and all that stuff, somebody is tracking. Also, I get a rewards from stores, that track every single thing I buy from them. Big Brother, right? The price we pay for computers and phone computers where ever we go. Life has changed so much. Have a great AF day all!

[dill]

Hello All,

Cyn, it is really creepy the feeling of being "watched" online. I do quite a bit of online shopping these days and when I see pop up adverts on my computer it is always directly related to products I've been browsing or buying. I don't like it. It is a strange new world and a dangerous one.

Pauly, I think age doesn't bother me so much in friendship. I can relate to people of all ages. I remember when I was a young woman some of my favorite friends were elders. Often they liked to share their experiences and opinions and I loved listening to them. Now I am on the other end of things and enjoy helping my younger friends sift thru what really matters to them and help as a sounding board to them. But, I find that now that I am retired I simply don't have enough contact with people to maintain friendships. Friends I knew thru work are still in that stream of life and I am not part of it anymore. I have just a couple of close friends in my life now. Looking so forward to Walking Dead!

Lav, great that your son made contact on YB's birthday. Hopefully the ice will start to melt. I bet you miss the grandsons. The snowflake was lovely! I have never grown lemon grass. Is it perennial? I went down to my herb garden the other day. It's in a sad state! I gave up on weeding it several weeks ago so it is over run. Plus the spearmint is out of control! I hope to get things back in order but might wait until spring at this point. I gave up because of the terrible heat we had for so long, plus the should pain and weakness. I backed off a lot of things. Today I am starting PT. Well, having my initial assessment at least.

Star, weather continues to be beautiful here too. We went on our last boat ride for the season yesterday. We took my gf with us and the 3 of us had a wonderful day. So peaceful.

Let's all have a great AF Thursday!

[paulywogg]

Morning friends, I swear I should never start the day peeking at fb! One of my brothers who I got into it with years ago cuz I said I liked Obama is on there posting all kinds of crap,sounds like he hates women as much as his dad did,I wish he would've kept me unfriended from the Obama incident instead of giving into my mom's pressure to add me again, I wish I wouldn't have added him back haha I sound like a teenager his post just put me in a pissy mood this morning, plus I have the dentist right after work, I neglected my poor little choppers throughout the years cuz I was too busy drinking, passing out without brushing, plus the dentist still just scares me oh well, I bought some cute little booties a few months ago from a catalog to celebrate my 100 days ,finally cooling off enough to wear them however they're kinda wide so I hafta wear two pairs of socks,crazy but it works Dill,have you started the Terry McMillan book yet? I've never read that one,Star,enjoy grandparents dayCyn and Lav I hope the storm doesn't hit you guys, it looks bad on the news,off to fix my face and fro,hope everyone has a superb Thursday

[Lavande]

Good evening friends!

I swear I am having a hard time adjusting to these shorter days. Am I moving that much slower this year? I just don't know, ha ha!
I have been keeping an eye on this storm business, unbelievable really. I read today that global warming is causing a lot of this trouble. Normally such strong hurricanes do not occur this late in the season because it's usually too cold! I got to thinking how we always waited until October 1 to turn on the heating system although we were cold a week or two before that. Today my AC turned on because the house was just too warm

Star, you sound good & that's great.
YB will be putzing with the greenhouse for a while yet. I have a long list of jobs that need to be done around here, ha ha!!

Dill, nice you got out on your boat! May as well enjoy the weather while you have it, right?
I hope your PT assessment went well & they can get you back in good working order very soon!

Pauly, I have a real love/hate relationship with FB.
Just block your brother so you don't have to see his posts. That's what I do with my nasty brother, a nephew & couple of nieces, ha ha! I can't stand all their negativity, it's downright depressing. That way you don't have to unfriend them.

This week has gone fast, can't believe tomorrow is Friday already.
Hello to Cyn, hope you are well.

Have a peaceful night everyone!

Lav