'Cafe Eclectic - Thursday, May 21st

[diane]

Welcome to Cafe Eclectic! The Cafe is a place to come and share good times and bad times. We are a group of women and have been together since 2002. The Cafe is open to everybody. Newcomers are always welcome - just jump in and post. Some people are regulars and visit daily, some pop in now and then, some stay to chat, some just listen. All are welcome. Post a personal message if you can. If you can't, that's okay too. You will find lots of support and encouragement here, and hopefully you will enjoy this thread as much as the rest of us.

(Optional, but encouraged)

Goal for today
Activity for today:
Yesterday's achievement/struggle:
Yesterday's menu:
Yesterday's exercise:

Quote of the Day: "In fact, hope is best gained after defeat and failure, because then inner strength and toughness is produced." Fritz Knapp

[kem1956]

Spring Challenge March 20-June 21
Karen 157
Lauren 163.0 YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sue - 187.7 - Goal 175
Janet - 174.8 NOT PRETTY!!!!

Week 6 May 4- 10
Karen 159
Sue 187.5
Janet 168.2

Week 6 May 11-18
Karen 159
Janet 170.2

Week 7 May 19-24

[kem1956]

Good morning girls,

It  is gray, cloudy and rainy again today.  These days are cool and feel more like Fall than Spring.  Right now it is 56 degrees headed to 71 with showers.  I am so over this weather.  

Yesterday I managed to pick a gallon at least of strawberries sent what I had in the fridge which was several quarts home with Addy and Luke.  Today I am going to make a batch or two of freezer jam for Wes and make Doug another pie.  We won't have to pick today since we picked so good yesterday.  We picked in the mud yesterday what a mess. It was drizzling rain and a cool wind.
Miserable.

Doug went to the AWANA drive by parade he said several cars came by.  He said it was nice.  Everyone visited from a distance since it was outside no one had a mask on. I think he enjoyed seeing some friends.  He got home about eight.  

We had a nice short visit with A/L.  It was good to see them.  

I did one load of Doug's work jeans.  Still in the dryer.  That was it for me yesterday other than the strawberries.

Today I will make that jam and do another load of laundry and try to get to another box in the front hall.

I did get the weights in yesterday but only got a half hour walk in it was just too damp and breezy for me.

Today I will try to get the entire walk in since it is not a weights day.

Hoping Annie is okay.

Goal for today jam, and laundry
Activity for today:walking
Yesterday's achievement/struggle:A some laundry done S the whole day with the weather.  Just down in the dumps.
Yesterday's menu:B egg and sausage
L salad with tuna
D ham, mac and cheese
S ice cream not low carb  as you can see I ate some comfort food yesterday.  Can't do that today.
Yesterday's exercise:walking and weights

Have a Blessed Day,
Count your Blessings,
Karen

[peggy]

Good Morning Y'all,

The pressure washing guy will be here soon. It'll be good to get the house cleaned...I just pray the estimate for painting isn't to steep.

My brother, Tom did get accepted into inpatient care Tuesday night. For a few days anyway. I hope he can find the strength he needs to cope with life in a positive way.

I saw another cat yesterday...a solid black cat that looks just like Banjo. It was walking down the driveway. I went out on the porch and when it saw me, actually ran towards me, but stopped about halfway. When I stepped off of the porch, it ran back to the driveway and up towards the garage. I'm wondering if this is a littermate of Banjo's?? I really hope it doesn't approach the house...I didn't tell Ed about it...he would have food out for it already. I wouldn't be able to resist feeding it if it came up to the house, but I'm not going to invite it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!
(((HUGS))) all,
Peggy ^..^

[kem1956]

Just saw that we have strong storms moving in this afternoon.  Doug wants to get the wood carried downstiars where he tore the floor up for the new bath and I want to get my walk in this morning.
BRB

[marwood8]

Good Morning Cafe Friends,

Hello from HOT Tampa.We are officially in the thick of it. Our walk started in 74 degrees but climbed rapidly.

Right after our walk, I got outside in the front yard and planted 2 flats of grass plugs. DH had the nerve to come out and supervise with immediate suggestions. Can you imagine how that went?? He thinks he knows it all since the new landscaper told him "just put them in, they will grow no matter what". Yeah right. Our ground is hard as a rock and was just aerated for that reason. I had to dig holes through roots in order to place these plugs. Took me over an hour to get 36 plugs into the ground and watered. I was just drenched and I know my back will be telling me a story later. But I only did a small portion of what needs to be done. ARGHHH!!!!!

Yesterday our group met in Marshall's parking lot. Same place, Same time. It was really nice. Audrey suggested next week we "go somewhere". WHERE? I'm not going to a restaurant, I actually consider these gathering going somewhere. At least I'm not in my house! Jacki took a picture of us sitting there and it will be a funny memento in the future showing how we had to meet.

I had a Teledoc appointment with the nurse practitioner from my doctor's office. I was able to show her the latest bug bite with my iphone camera. She prescribed an antibiotic and an antihistamine. The latter makes me sleepy so I'll only take it when in the house (which is 90% of my time) and only as long as the bites are itchy. Hopefully that will only be today. I did sleep like a rock. A combo of 2 nights of not sleeping and this med. She did want to give me a steroid but I said No. I don't do well with those packs, they make me antsy. Can you imagine being antsy in our current situation? She didn't press the issue at all.

Last night I wrote an email to Barb for her DD Tracy's opinion about Jessie's current condition. Tracy sent back a long email with questions to further understand the case. I so appreciate this and will answer her shortly. So many of the websites that describe this liver enzyme condition are over my head in medical terms that I feel lost. I do have the name of a vet who practices holistically in coordination with standard vet practices. I may make an appointment for a second opinion.

Off to grab my ice belt and lie down a bit. My back will be screaming at me shortly.

Wishing everyone a great day.

Stay Safe, Safe Well, Stay Home.

Lauren

[mcmoff]

Good morning

Today's goal - finish that acct rec file -

Today's activity - walk

Yesterday's s/a - I made some progress on the Recons. I did get out on a walk, but did a shorter, flatter version. Just not up to hill climbing last night! At least we went I guess!

Yesterday's activity - walk with the pup. We did the old Lucy version of a long walk.  No steep hills involved - one block of a mini climb, but for here, that's nothing.

Yesterday's menu

B - bagel, cream cheese, smoked salmon, 2 eggs

L - salad w/ham & gorgonzola cheese, blue cheese dressing

D - lasagna, green salad w/blue cheese dressing.

I woke up this morning thinking it was Friday! The days all run into each other without Bowling on Wed night helping me to keep track. I fear I'll never bowl again, which is too bad as I enjoyed getting out. Guess I'll have to take up golf! HA!

It's foggy out this morning - it should burn off by the afternoon though.  On the Next Door ap, it was shared that an employee of the Target over the hill from us, has Covid. She's asymptomatic, and home in isolation right now.    I haven't gone to that store - it's big, lots of people there, so I normally don't, unless I'm looking for something specific.  They have groceries, but the vegi section is lacking - and they sell mostly big brands pre-made stuff, that I just don't buy.  It is scary that it's so close though.  Just over the hill from us.  A reminder to be careful, & wear the masks when I go out.    I did have my mask on the dog walk last night.  Didn't need it, but it was there.   I wonder why she got tested?  Is Target testing all their sfaff - that wouldn't be a bad idea.   Our county is offering tests no to anyone that wants them, and with that job they are exposed to a lot of people, so it does make sense.

I read that even if you're outdoors, but closer than 6 feet to people, you should have a mask on.  As we get together with our friends more, it's something to take into consideration.  And if you are making food to share with people outside your household, wear a mask when prepping it.  As we start to get together with our friends for outside parties, I know food will be shared.  We can do it, just safely.  Lots of things to think about.   I'm not ready yet to do this.   But some people are - it's good to be an introvert right now!  I really don't like parties in the best of times!  I have the perfect excuse not to go!  HA!

Or you can do it like Lauren and have everyone bring their own food, drinks, and serving plates & utensils!  Or meet in a parking lot and sit under a tree six feet apart in a circle (I love this visual of you all!)  That works too!

Time for me to go - have a good day everyone

Sue

[aviemore03]

Good morning, Café friends,

Goal for today: do those weights!
Yesterday’s activity: walk
A/S: A - paid some bills and walked the whole route. S - poor sleep
Menu:
B - coffee, creatine, collagen, HWC, leftover NY steak
L - beef stick
D - hamburger patties, fried egg and jalapeños
Yesterday’s activity: walk 11,541 steps, 585/550 active calories burned.

I don’t know what happened yesterday, but my entire note just disappeared in front of me. I hadn’t touched any key on the keyboard, but it just winked off and there was no record of it ever being there. Bizarre! It was the universe telling me to quit complaining. Today I will try to be more positive. I think this social distancing is bad for the psyche. If it’s bad for us, you know it’s really bad for adolescents. It’s a time when they really depend on being with friends and trying to establish their own identities separate from their parents. I worry about this generation of kids growing up in this - how many will be plagued with fears, self-doubts and depression.

I did get my 4 miles in yesterday and the wind was pretty strong, but cool so I didn’t mind it much. It kept me from being a total wet dishrag when I got home. Robin went the entire way with me...darn! I didn’t really talk much though, and he respected my need to listen to my music while I put one foot in front of the other. My music is how I keep up this routine of walking and lifting weights. Otherwise, I couldn’t do it. I hate to exercise most of the time, although I do get depressed & cranky without it.

The chorus Zoom meeting wasn’t too bad, although I didn’t work too hard at finding stuff for the scavenger hunt. I didn’t win, of course, but did have fun watching everyone go bonkers trying to find the items that were mentioned. We talked a lot about things and shared, taking turns and being orderly, which is always nice. Everyone brought their drink of choice and we had a cocktail hour, chatting and generally relaxing and having a good time.

I was awake at 3 again last night, right on cue. I went to bed at 10 and woke up after 5 hours. My usual. I’m beginning to think that this is normal for me now, that maybe I don’t require more. I’d say that were the case if I felt rested the next day, but I don’t always. I’ve never required 8, but it would be nice to get at least 6.5 or 7. I do better with my ZMA supplement, but I have to remember to take it! Melatonin doesn’t help and the herbals don’t always help either. Apparently, the zinc and magnesium are my best go-tos.

I think I will put out feelers today from my friends if they know of a good estate lawyer to help us draft our wills and establish a trust, one that won’t charge and arm and a leg for the service. I’m pretty sure Lisa has forgotten that we wanted her to talk to her colleague in her firm. I know a couple of chorus members who would probably know someone. Melinda is probably the most knowledgeable, but her lawyers are in LA where she grew up. Not touching that place with a 10’ pole!

Hope you all have a great day, stay safe, be well, and remember to eat mindfully and move something! 👟💪🏻🏋🏽‍♀️

[anniehewgill]

Good morning friends. I am trying voice texting so my fingers Won’t hurt.I should leave just leave all the funny things it says because it’s entertaining. I haven’t heard from my doctor but I got the lab results and there’s nothing wrong there. I’m still waiting for the referral for the MRI and my daughter should call me today. I sure hope so I’m getting pretty sick of this.

I had a couple of girlfriends come over yesterday afternoon and that was the highlight of my day. I was really in a bad place I didn’t even want to get dressed. I can’t fix my hair capital my own bra forget make up. It’s hard to keep an upbeat frame of mind.On the upside, the weather has been gorgeous this week. Yesterday sitting outside in the afternoon I actually had to wear a sweater. There was a nice breeze is very pretty.

We’ve been giving Dusty shots twice a week for his arthritis pain and there’s actually improvement. We are picking up a refill today and will do that for another three weeks and see. Usually he can get up on the first try with help now which is so much better.Michele and Shawna are coming over this afternoon sometime would be nice to see them. I can’t think of anything else going on so have a good day and stay safe.

Annie

[avocado41]

Good morning,

The ranch next to us is spraying their trees via helicopter, so we have all the windows closed to avoid any drift from them.  At least they give the neighborhood a heads up the day before.  It sounds like a war zone out there, that chopper is flying very low to the ground.

I've got my Spanish class in just one an hour, will do my yoga beforehand and get my upper half presentable looking.  Afterwards I'll have some lunch then get out for a bike ride.  I never did any exercise yesterday, it was a pretty lazy day for me.  I did sit outside and did some reading, played some piano, not much else (can't remember now).  I'll feel better if I get out and exercise today.  My shoulders are feeling better so that is good.  I slept really well, in general my sleep patterns have been good.  

We had the rest of the chicken soup last night, so an easy dinner and clean up.  Tonight I'm going to try that carrot soup recipe, it sounds like a relatively easy dish.  I haven't been so good about trying new dishes from my big vegetarian cookbook, partly because I've built up a repertoire of dishes that I like to re-make.  The author's recipe titles are very descriptive of the ingredients, no fancy names here.  This soup is "Carrot and Red Pepper Soup".  It calls for white rice, but I think I'm going to use barley instead.  Only two tablespoon's worth which seems very light to me, but I'll stick to the recipe otherwise for my first try.  Good thing I just looked at the recipe because I need to get an orange.  I've got a friend with a loaded orange tree, she'd be happy to off load a bag of them if I let her.  I find I can't drink orange juice anymore, it aggravates my GERD.

Well this is nice, a different friend has her son and daughter-in-law visiting (he's a long haul trucker) and she just texted to see if I wanted to go biking with her and her DIL.  Her DIL is from Peru, so I can try to do some chatting in español with a native.  Guess I'd better get ready, they had wanted to leave at noon but will wait til 12:30 for me.  I'll need some lunch before I go.  Lately I've been eating chicken skewers for lunch.  At first bought them from TJs, but Steve brought home a big pack from Costco.  The Costco ones aren't as tasty, but probably a better value.  I like them because I get a good dollop of protein which I don't really get with my normal breakfast of fruit and yogurt or fruit and cereal.  And it takes me all of two minutes to zap them so it's an easy meal.

Okay, off to do my yoga!  Hope you all are able to keep your emotional chins above water.  Looking forward to our chat tomorrow evening!

[marwood8]

I'm back

I have literally slept the day away. After planting and showering, I took a nap while lying on ice. Got up, had lunch and went back to sleep until 4. You know when the prescription bottle has a warning May Cause Drowsiness? I was the shining example of that today. NO more of these antihistamines for me!!! I'll live with the itchiness, at least I can function.

Lauren

[Grammaof4]

Good afternoon. It is after 4pm and I've just finished working for the day. I've been busy nonstop since about 7am. Just that time of year for me. But it does make the day go by quickly.

This has been a miserable, dreary day. The weatherman keeps promising sun but we have not seen that in quite some time. We have not had a lot of rain today, just drizzle from time to time and only about 60 degrees. They say temps in the mid 80s by Friday and through the weekend with storm chances each day.

Ok, so yesterday I went to the hospital to get the container for the 24 hour urine collection. Let's just say that container was designed by a man for use by men. My aim is not so great! I'm doing the best I can and will be ever so glad to hand this thing off tomorrow. I got a little worried because never in a million years did I think I'd fill a 3000 cc jug in 24 hours but its over half full now. So I called and they said just use a clean jug if I need another collection container. So much for sanitization, eh? I will have my blood drawn early tomorrow morning when I return this filled jug, since it is fasting blood work.

Joe worked today to get the house sprayed for bugs. We saw some ants recently so he wanted to get a handle on that. Then he left to go fishing with his nephew. He text me a photo of a good sized bass they caught. Not sure how long they'll be gone. Joey, Joe's nephew, built himself a boat and wanted Joe to go out with him to test it out.

The endocrinologist suggested fennel for menopausal symptoms, like hot flashes. I may try to find some. I don't have the hot flashes generally until I lay down at night and every single night I start with covers, kick them off because I'm sweating, then settle down and cover up again.

She (and my gynecologist every year) suggested I get the suggested 25 grams of fiber each day for my digestive issues. Do you know how hard that is? I made chili, which has 8 grams per cup. I'm not sure how I"ll get to 25 grams and still stay within my points values each day. I used to buy Fiber One and add it to my yogurt and such. Guess I need to do that again. I've also begun to take the probiotic again. For some reason I quit taking that and I do think it helped me.

I've had Ben on my mind today. They are supposed to do that trach. I hope Bob was able to be with him, but I'm not sure they were allowing that.

Looking forward to seeing you all again tomorrow night!

Have a good evening.

[anniehewgill]

Hello. Me again. Gregor on the phone with the insurance and found out they didn’t put the referral in until yesterday afternoon and they didn’t mark I urgent. So he called the doctors office and tore somebody’s head off And I have an appointment tomorrow at four so. I just wanted to let you know

Annie