DECEMBER 2023

Welcome to December!

No tree up for us, yet. It is rainy, so may not get our giant inflatable horse up either. Our real horses look like dirty wet sponges. Very festive.

Donnie is getting me a new Kindle for Christmas, one of the little ones. My Kindle is 12 years old and the battery is failing. I have to admit, I use it enough to justify a new one. I have actually worn out the cover on it. The new little one is more the size of a paperback book instead of a regular book. It's much lighter than the old Kindle. I am getting Donnie some kind of electronic gadget he wants for his radio. I have no idea what it is or what it does, but he seems happy about it.

Here I am.

Nothing new to say. Still in PT & OT..............lucky me.

Cold & rainy today so I couldn't go out in my wheelchair.................long boring day.

Everyone have a good safe evening.

Good grief, I can't believe how long it's been since I checked in here. Lot of catching up to do. ELLEN, I got the biggest kick out of that list of jokes you posted, and I've saved a copy to send off to friends. And INDY's response was terrific. On the Lewiston business, I think I'd have been more scared than I was had I realized how close it was. I thought Lewiston was a good 100 or 150 miles away; I just looked it up, and it's only 60! Clearly, I never travel in that direction...In fact, these days, I couldn't be said to "travel" at all. Does carefully making my way from recliner in living room to food in kitchen count? Ha! I still get out and about, though, and today made the 28-mile round trip to the supermarket, oxygen on my back, where it is, these days, almost always. (I got careless with the sawdust in woodworking, I think, and worsened my condition before I realized it.) Big hugs to our two Covid Kids in their recoveries. and to all others handling their own or others' infirmities with such aplomb. I've escaped Covid thus far, probably because I'm three-fifths hermit.

As yet, I am Covid free. Of course, having said that, I'll probably get it. Like Beech, I spend a lot of time at my house and am not very near to people I don't know.

Graymare, are you at home for your PT and OT? I hope your weather won't stay bad very long. It's so much better to be able to get outdoors.
It's been raining here for the last 36 hours. We need the rain, but I'm already tired of the dark cloudy days.
There are three little squirrels that think my deck is a great place for a snack. They have cleaned up most of the maple seeds, so I started tossing out some stale bread pieces. They are so small I suspect they are from a very late litter. They have blonde tails.

I FINALLY got the Christmas tree done. I'm not altogether happy with it, but it will have to do.
Now, all I have to do is finish knitting a sock, wrap a BUNCH of presents, sew two casserole covers, make two grilling aprons, and....... At least all my shopping is done. click click click Hello, Amazon.

Each year, I keep thinking I'll make some neat Christmas cookies. So far, that hasn't happened. Maybe.....

HAPPY DECEMBER ALL...

I have been amongst the missing for such a long time I hope you remember that it is still me, lol. I have been so busy all fall, every day I had an appointment of some sort. By the time I get home I just veg till I get moving again and don't get to the computer till the next morning.

I haven't read anything for such a long time, I'm way behind on all of your news. Today I have to wrap gifts, I'm way behind in everything to do with Christmas. Originally John and Priscilla were coming here for a few days over Christmas, then his schedule changed to work Christmas Eve and again on Boxing Morning so coming here was out. That leaves me trucking to the city (which I'm not looking forward to) on the 21st and back on the 26th. I don't mind the driving, just the getting everything ready to lug with me

Hope all of you FOOPS are well and ready for the holidays. Ill try to catch up later today when I take a break from wrapping.

Hugs to all

Donna

It's always good to see you, Donna.  I'm glad to know that you are doing well.  As we get older, everything (like wrapping and packing) seems to take so much more energy.


This was written by a local guy for the very local online newspaper. I always look forward to his articles.
https://www.inkfreenews.com/2023/12/04/butch-needs-a-new-battery/

Now this twice in one day!!!!! I just scanned the posts from the first of the month and saw your post Greymare! What happened to you? I don't want to have to go back looking for the info. PT and OT and wheelchair, sounds like I was last year. I'm still walking with a cane, probably will never be able to get rid of it. I do have an appointment on the 13th with my Orthodontist surgeon, the one that repaired my hip, for my right knee. Since the left leg is shorter than the right, more since I had my hip done, it has caused the right knee to be right out of whack. It will need to be replaced but always a long wait. This has been a year since he put me on his list, will see what this appointment brings. Ill check back later.

Donna

Ark, are you and Donnie both recovered now?

ELLEN:
 Donnie has tested negative yesterday, but I am still positive.  I still feel like I have a cold, but not as bad as before.  At least Donnie can go to the grocery store now!  We are out of fresh produce and milk.  
 Those squirrels sure sound cute! I don't think I've seen one with a blond tail.  BTW:  bathroom pix?  We still have a new toilet sitting outside of the bathroom.  Covid has sure screwed up our plans this past month.  We did finally put our blow-up Christmas figures out yesterday.




DONNA:
 Good to see you!!   Sorry about your joint problems.  I hope they get you into the loop soon!  How's Fergie?  You are ahead of me, I haven't started Christmas shopping yet except for Donnie's presents.   I guess I had better get busy on Amazon.  I still can't go in stores yet.  


GRAYMARE:
 I didn't realize you were in a wheelchair.  Hopefully you will recover soon and get back to your gang activities!

Ark, I just e-mailed the new shower pictures to you.  Thank you for posting them for me.

I'll try to get a couple of pictures of the blond-tailed squirrels.


   


 


 

ELLEN:
Very nice bathroom!! Makes me want to get ours done. Soon, I hope. Having a toilet sitting in the dining room just isn't very stylish. It is still in the box, though....


What a sweet looking squirrel! I have never seen one with a tail that color. We have some with red tails around here, but most are gray. Thanks for sending the pix!

I really like my new shower. It's nice to just walk in, shower, and then dry off without trailing water all over the place. The floor at the end where you see the towel doesn't get very wet at all.

There are three of those little squirrels. I suspect they are from a very late litter. They supposedly mate in January or February, have the babies in March and stay in the nest until late May or early June. I didn't start seeing these three until a little over a month ago. None of the three have decent tails. They have pretty scrawny tails, but it doesn't seem to affect the way they run through the trees.

Thanks again for posting the pictures for me.

Great shower ELLEN. For anyone considering a walk in shower I highly recommend a wooden seat like ELLEN has. When I put in the walk in shower for my brother it has a molded seat from the same material as the rest of the shower and it is SLIPPERY. He has a hard time sitting on it and not sliding off. We've tried bath mats and the stickers for traction in tubs with varying degrees of success.

Indy, would laying down a simple towel increase the traction on that seat? It might not be as cold to sit on either.

ELLEN:
What are the dimensions of your walk in shower? Is it the size of a regular bathtub area? It's very nice.


INDYAPP:
Good advice. I wouldn't have thought about that seat being slippery, but the manufacturers sure should have! How is your brother doing at home? Did Tiberious have his procedure done?


It is cold and windy here today, 38 degrees that feels like 30 with the 12 mph winds and much cooler earlier today. I just got us each a pair of winter pants that have fleecy material on the inside. They got a try out this morning and are so nice and toasty! It's hard to get Donnie to put on layers of pants, like longjohns and such, but he likes these.

Ark, the shower is 3X6.  Slightly longer than a regular tub.  If my bathroom was a little larger, I might have expanded the shower to 4X6. There just isn't enough space to do that. While it is wide enough for me, for a bigger person, elbows might come in contact with the walls.

It's been rainy/snowy and cold for the last several days.  Do you still have your seal suit?  I have mine but haven't used it in a long time.  
I also found some soft fleecy pants on Amazon that I like a lot for winter.  They look like regular pants on the outside, with the fleece look on the inside, so I don't feel stupid wearing them when I go out to anywhere.

ELLEN
I do still have my seal suit, but rarely use it. Half the time I can't find it, it's lost in the dark part of my closet. While warm, my biggest complaint about it is how hard it is to get out of when "I've GOT to go RIGHT now!" I wish I had bought a 2 piece version of it instead of a onesy. If I was talented, I would cut the top part off and make stretch pants out of it.

Our new winter pants look like ski pants, I think. They are a bit puffy from the fleecy inside and are water proof on the outside. They have elastic waists and are easy to get into...and out of. I got the elastic ankles instead of straight pants. I am surprised at how much Donnie likes them! He isn't the easiest person to buy such things for.

I think we have the room for a walk in shower. I do wonder if it would make it easier or harder to eventually sell the house? I never use the tub as a tub, just the shower.

We have to take Daisy and Areion to VA Tech tomorrow for trims. I will have to go to load them in the trailer, but will be sitting in the truck while they are inside. I am still testing positive for Covid. Donnie tested negative a couple of days ago. I sure don't want to give this to anyone else!

I had a lady contact me about going riding on Monday at Pandapas this morning. I told her I couldn't go because of Covid. She said, well if you are feeling okay, I don't mind you coming...... Nope. I will not pass this along, although she had it in 2020 really bad before the shots. She doesn't need to get it from me.

I don't know what the codes are about having at least one bathtub is. I really don't care; a tub is just not what I need or will need in the future. When I don't need the house anymore, my younger cousins will take over and they can do whatever they want.

Yeah, the jumpsuit can be a bit difficult to deal with in those tense situations. I'm just not outside in the cold that much anymore, so I don't use my seal suit. When I first moved here to the lake and didn't have a good furnace the house would get cold at night. The seal suit was my daily (and nightly) uniform.

I hope you test negative SOON. Maybe tomorrow?

Unfortunately Tiberius' procedure got postponed. Dr. B had an emergency call just before he was to come out. He offered to come out when he was finished but I suggested we just reschedule and he took me up on the offer. Going to try for next Wednesday.

We have tried the towel on the bench along with a couple of other ideas and it sorta works, but not ideal. Dan has been home a week now and it most definitely has not been a good experience. I don't know how this is going to play out, but it can't continue as it is.

I saw some flannel lined jeans at the farm store the other day. They looked like they would be warm and comfy. I didn't buy them, but I looked.

Here are the pants I have. They look pretty good and are warm.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B7JW444M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

ELLEN:
Those comfy pants do look nice. Ours look more like ski pants. Not quite so stylish, but very warm. Donnie and I are discussing walk in showers. Discussions tend to take a long time around here.....

INDYAPP:
I hope Tiberius does well with the procedure. At least he won't be worrying about it like you will be.
Our pony/donkey farrier cancelled on us, she is sick. We cancelled on her last week when we were sick. One of these days we will get all our ducks in a row.
We did take Daisy and Areion to get their trims. They were both good horsies. I wore a mask just in case the test didn't catch those last Covid germs. I don't want anyone else feeling like we did because of us.
Daisy is starting to act older. She may have some arthritis or something similar. She mostly walks around, doesn't dash much anymore. Daisy is 20 years old. I wonder if I should give her some kind of joint supplement. Unfortunately, our wonderful vet that could answer things like that retired.

Lots of rain coming Sunday. I guess we will bring our giant horse decoration inside for that.

Good Morning All,

I'm staying home today and getting my wrapping finished! I hate the job, if I was smart I would buy one gift for everyone and end it with that but, NO, I like shopping for people. Then I have this darn job of wrapping, although I'm a tissue paper and bag when I can get away with it, person. I get panicky looking at the calendar and watching the days go by and all that I need to do.

I'm going to Halifax on the 20th to my Sons, making a trip to Antigonish on the 22nd to visit Allison, Andrew and Ava and back to Johns on the 24th. I was so disappointed that I wasn't going to see my Girls over Christmas, Allison and family decided to stay in their beautiful house, they haven't don't this since they moved in, and it's time. I don't blame them but I miss having family around and this year it really has hit me hard. Don't think I will get to see Erin as I'll be gone when she comes home and she will be gone when I get back. . I will get my family fix after all!!!!!

Beautiful day out there, sun it coming up, I have been up since 6 and it was a lovely sunrise. Hockey game tonight as was last night. Church in the a.m. and then its Monday AGAIN! I have an appointment on Wed to see the orthopaedic surgeon that did my hip last year but this is about my right knee. It needs to be replaced and the wait is long but this is a year since I saw him and hopefully it will be this next year that I get a call. The hospital is in Kentville, 2 1/2 hours away so we will make a day of it, two of my friends are coming with me.

GREYMARE, you haven't been on here lately and I still don't know what happened to you. Girl, did you get hurt or have surgery?

ARK, I cant believe Daisy is 20 years old already. I remember her as a young filly.

Donn

Hello everyone. Busy week here in PA. Monday blood work at the hospital, then dentist appointment (that was canceled cause the hygienist called in sick) but I had to stop into the office anyway. Somehow my tongue has split open in the center. My dentist (who I love) said just stop in and i'll check it out. Turns out my dry mouth issue caused it...had to get a special mouth wash prescription filled. None of the local CVS could fill it cause they can't get the one ingredient. Lidocaine. I had to make a 30 mile one way trip to get it filled at a little family owned pharmacy. What a nightmare. Still split but closing up, and not bleeding any longer. Always some nutty thing going in my teeth, gums and mouth.

Mailed all my Christmas gifts on Monday. Having worked at the PO, I know mail early or be sorry when the postal employees get worn down and start tossing boxes around. All were received and in good condition, even the one to FL. And I only sent one Priority Mail.

Weds evening was my church group Christmas party. Great food and good fellowship between the 2 groups.

Friday was the church annual Christmas concert. WOW it was terrific. They play a lot of the
Trans Siberian Orchestra Christmas Music. LOVE IT...I was out of the house until almost 9:30, a record breaking night for me. LOL

ELLEN: We put in a walk in shower a few years ago. LOVE IT...no tub to try to climb in and out of. Yours looks great..we didn't put a seat in ours, we have a removable little stool.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Next Monday back to the dentist and then a week of rest and making cookies...

Apparently I've been out of the loop for a while. Graymare, what happened to you? Ark, I'm sorry about the Covid mess. I had been really lucky.......of course, being retired and living in the boonies and being vaccinated and boosted have minimized my risk.........and then last Christmas Andy went to his family's for dinner and I went to Mandy's. Andy's family Christmas turned out to be a Covidfest, and he came down with what he thought was a bad cold a few days later. I stayed far enough from him to have avoided a cold, but on New Year's Eve morning I woke up with a sore throat and a tight chest. By evening, I had figured out this wasn't just a cold, so took a Covid test. The test line was twice as dark as the control line, and I spent ten days feeding horses twice a day, usually in the rain, and resting the rest of the time. I have NEVER been so miserable in my life. Since I've had COPD (chronic bronchitis) for years, my lungs took an awful hit, and I have just this last month gotten to where I don't need an inhaler twice a day. I'm not sure I could survive another bout of this. Ellen, your new shower is gorgeous!