August Happiness Challenge

It's August. The annual August Happiness Challenge has begun. I forgot until I saw some other posts today. Oops.

Feel free to join in. Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Our daughter makes me happy. As we've been going through health things she's stepped up and been a big help when we needed her.

Mowing grass is a big job around here. Between all of us, we mow our yard, my mom's yard, our daughter's yard, and a neighbor's yard. It had been a while since anyone had done the trimming and it was showing after all the heavy rain we had last week. Today our daughter got out the walk-behind trimmer and cleaned things up. It looks so much better. That and her helpfulness make me happy.

Currently Stealing Like a Sunday Morning

It's been a quiet, but productive weekend. Tim has worked both days and our daughter's family has been busy. Left to my own devices I've been doing some decluttering, as in I sent 5 lawn and leaf sized bags of clothes and nearly as much miscellaneous junk off to Goodwill. Every last bit of it had been stored in the three main closets in the house. Yikes! I love how much room is in them now. I can actually get to things without a tsunami of "stuff" falling out on me.

I plan to be just as busy today, but this morning I'm giving myself a bit of a break...at least until I go to pick up the grocery order at Walmart. What better way to pass the time than with Currently and Sunday Stealing? So, here we go!

Currently...

The weather... is a cool 64 degrees with sunshine. We should see a high of 82 this afternoon.

Reading... I just finished The Little Bookstore on Heart Lake Lane and started Wrapped Up In Christmas Hope. Three days in and I'm doing well at my pledge to read everyday for the American Cancer Society's fundraiser.

Watching... a lot of new (to me) things on Prime. At the moment I'm watching Almost Paradise, a show about an ex-DEA agent who retires to the Philippines only to end up fighting bad guys on behalf of the local police.

Listening... my own heart at work rather than the negative garbage flowing from some of my coworkers.

Thinking... about the things I want to accomplish today.

Celebrating... we celebrated our daughter's birthday on the 25th of July and our granddaughter's on the 29th. There's nothing now until Mom's and my birthday on the 15th.

Grateful... for a quiet weekend and that my leg is cooperating in letting me get things done.

Sunday Stealing

This week's meme is swiped from If By Yes, a Canadian blogger who describes herself as a "left wing left hander with two left feet." It's a shame she doesn't update her blog anymore. Anyway, she participated in a meme that she tells us was popular way back when.

About Blogging

1. When are you at your blogging best – a.m. or p.m.?  Probably in the a.m., but due to work and other obligations blogging usually happens in the p.m. That may explain why I don't post very often these days. I'm just too tired to think about it when I have time.

2. How many blogs do you have? Please include the links in your answer.  Just this one. Some others from the past may still be floating around, but they aren't in use.

3. Do you prefer silence when you compose your posts and write your comments?  No. I have always preferred to have music or the tv on when I am working.

4. What's the grossest thing you've ever spilled on your keyboard?  I don't think I've ever spilled anything on my keyboard.

5. Ever posted while intoxicated?  Nope and no chance of it happening, either. I haven't had enough to drink to be considered intoxicated since long before blogs existed.

Now to leave you with what currently has me giggling...

Where Did July Go?

The last weekend of July is just about over. Man, where has the time gone? It seems like I waited and waited for July to get here and to go on my first vacation since 2019 and then....blink....it's over and gone. 

The weekend began with our daughter's 33rd birthday on Friday. I had to care for my blind client after work so we did not celebrate then. She had a nice evening with her family and some friends, so it was all good. 

On Saturday my mom asked me to go to a used book sale with her. I didn't really want to, but I hadn't done anything with her for a while so I agreed. The sale was buy one bag of books for $5 and get a second bag free. I so did not need that many more books right now, but brought them home, anyway. At least a good portion of them are children's books chosen for our grandchildren. They also sell vintage jewelry at the book sale and I bought 3 pairs of earrings for $2. We stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel on the way home.

Saturday evening we took our daughter and her family out for dinner to celebrate her birthday. They took us to a restaurant we had never been to before, Moreland's at Waterworks. It was such a lovely setting and a very happening place to be. The food was very yummy, too. Tim and I had the steak and lobster pot, our daughter had barbecue ribs and chicken, our son-in-law had stuffed flounder, and the kids had spaghetti and chicken tenders. Oh, and we ordered our daughter a piece of strawberry pretzel salad cheesecake with a candle so we could sing to her. None of us was hungry, but we all had a taste (it was a HUGE slice) and oh my, was it good!

Today Tim worked on pouring the layers of epoxy on the shower floor (we covered the old crumbling one with little pebbles and are pouring the epoxy over it). I picked up a grocery order very early at Walmart and got that unloaded and put away. The grands spent the afternoon with us so our daughter and s-i-l could spend some time alone. They played and we watched several episodes of The Librarians. I also managed to get several loads of laundry done and fill three bags with clothes to donate to Goodwill. It wasn't all I'd hoped to get done today, but we never say no to time with the grandchildren!

It's back to work tomorrow. Most of the week is going to be crazy hot and humid. My leg is a little better, but the muscles (tendons?) around the knee are still a problem. We'll see how it feels after I'm back to work again. 

Tuesday is our granddaughter's birthday. No huge party this year, just the families getting together for cake and ice cream.

Stay cool if you can and have a wonderful week!

Great News!

At least I hope it is.

I saw my PCP today and it didn't take him long at all to diagnose bursitis in my hip. He said I could continue to use ice, heat, ibuprofen, and any creams that work or he could give me a shot. Since none of the other stuff has helped at all, I chose the shot. He said it could take a couple of days to work, but I can notice some difference already. Yay! He also gave me a prescription for Meloxicam. 

If things are feeling better in a week or so I have to go back, but he seemed pretty confident that this would help my leg including my knee. 

Fingers crossed and prayers going up.

Currently

I am enjoying the final hours of freedom before I return to work tomorrow morning. Don't get me wrong, I love working with the clients, but the drama that exists in the department following the last few hires is beyond annoying and unfortunately, the new supervisor they hired seems to be the biggest cause of it...and no one in management cares. She is golden for some reason. She can do (or NOT do as is more often the case) anything she pleases.

In spite of all that, our vacation was wonderful. It wasn't really relaxing with two young kids along, but we all had fun. The only blips were the times Tim didn't feel well enough to do anything, our grandson being hit with terrible headaches a couple of times, and my leg hurting so bad I took a cane with me everywhere and used it some of the time. We managed, though. We spent time at the beach, went on a pirate adventure, visited the Great Lakes Science Center, and Erie's Children's Museum among other things. 

I read Picnic in Someday Valley: A Heartwarming Texas Love Story by Jodi Thomas while on vacation. It was book 2 in the Honey Creek series. I enjoyed it. It was a romance, but it had a great story to carry it along. It wasn't just lovey-dovey stuff.

Mostly we listened to country music while we were away because we usually went everywhere in our daughter's vehicle. She drove, it was her car, so....her music. LOL

I did discover a new show on Friday and I've already binge watched the first two seasons. It's Dark Winds based on the old Tony Hillerman novels about the Navajo police detective Joe Leaphorn. I should have paced myself as there is a third season out, but I've discovered Hulu Live doesn't have AMC. I'll have to wait for it to hit Netflix.

Tomorrow Tim and I both have appointments, so that's what I'm thinking about. He's finally starting his cardiac rehab (nearly 3 months after the fact) and I have an appointment with our PCP. I was supposed to see him in May, but it turned out to be the same day they scheduled Tim for the second stent in his heart. I could have gotten in sooner, but I wanted to see the actual doctor and not the PA. We're going to be doing a lot of talking about my leg. There has to be something they can do for the pain.

We'll be celebrating our daughter's birthday on Friday. How did the baby of my babies get to be 33???

I'm very grateful that the doctors at Pittsburgh's Children's Hospital ruled out anything serious concerning our grandson's sudden headaches. Still, given the strong family history (on both sides!) of migraines, they want him to follow up with a neurologist here at home.

I'm giggling over...

 

Currently...

I am

Checking in... because this is probably my last chance to post until the 20th (give or take). I work tomorrow and Friday until later in the evening, then Saturday is dedicated to getting laundry washed, the house cleaned up, and suitcases packed. We leave Sunday for vacation.

Trying to read... "tidy the f*ck up" by Messie Condo, to be followed by "nobody wants your sh*t."  Terrible titles, I know, but the decluttering advice is great and strikes a chord like no other book I've read.

I'm watching... well, it's really more background noise than anything, Expedition Unknown. It's one of my favorite shows, but to be honest, I don't even know what it's about tonight.

I'm loving... the great deals I've found on Amazon's Prime Days, but maybe not so much the money I've spent.

Cartoon Don

Tomorrow is what I'm thinking about... specifically, about work. My co-worker, Don, is off again and I have been assigned his one-on-one (we'll call him M). If you remember I had him for a week last month and it went fairly well, but M wasn't feeling well for 3 out of the 4 days I had him. He was very mild mannered until the last day. 

He is feeling fine these days and has been letting me know all week that he plans for he and I to spend the day in the shredding department. He is not allowed there, but if he gets in there isn't much you can do as he will use physical force to get what he wants. My plan is to catch him outside, before he ever gets in the building, herd him into a van and keep him out all day. 

Wish me luck. 

Cartoon "M"
It's pretty accurate!

My body has me feeling... every minute of my age. I woke up Tuesday with my hand swollen at the bottom joint of my thumb and moving it around proved painful. To my knowledge I didn't injure it. Just another case, I guess, of how I can now injure myself doing nothing. LOL  I already had a brace that stabilizes the thumb so I've been wearing that. Not sure it's actually helping, but at least it keeps me from moving the thumb around and feeling pain.

I'm definitely celebrating... my ability to avoid most of the current drama at work. Let's just say this vacation can't come soon enough.

I've been enjoying... letting my hair be curly. I'm finding it does pretty well with minimal interference from me. So much of the curly girl advice out there tells you to use a lot of product and do a lot of fussing. Nope. Not me. I throw some curl cream at it, scrunch and go.

I talked with the other woman who helps care for the older blind man I do. I am beyond grateful... to her for getting all his clothes packed for his upcoming trip to camp (he is gone the same time I am). I've been stressing over getting him ready and it's a HUGE help. I just have to get his meds and toiletries together and clean out the fridge. I can handle that.

Our weather... is not too bad, temperature-wise, but enough with the rain, already! It looks like the weather for vacation will be a bit cooler than usual with chances of thunderstorms every day. I hope not. A lot of beach time at the lake is part of the plan.

Giggling...

Saturday 9: Lady Liberty

Hear Barbra Streisand sing it here.

1) This song is a Valentine to the Statue of Liberty. Have you ever visited Lady Liberty?  No, I haven't, but I would like to.

2) When you combine the lady herself and her pedestal, she stands 22 stories high. What's the tallest building you've ever been in?  I have no idea when it comes to traditional buildings. Having said that, I was going to say the Washington Monument, but then I looked and the Skylon Tower in Niagara Falls is about 200 feet taller than that...so that's the tallest "building" I've been in.

 

3) Her crown represents universal liberty with seven spikes for the seven seas. Without looking it up, can you name the seven seas?  The Mediterranean, the Aegean, the Red, the Black, the Caspian, the Baltic....am I close?

 

4) The song was written by Desmond Child, a Cuban-American from Gainesville, home of the University of Florida. In 1965, a team of UF scientists invented Gatorade. Do you have any Gatorade in your home right now?  Yes, there is apple and fruit punch Gatorade in the house. I drink it to help with leg cramps and the grands like it.

5) While best known for his work with KISS, Bon Jovi and Cher, Desmond Child was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the Muppets 2003 holiday special. This morning, as we enjoy summer, what's the first Christmas carol that pops into your head?  Jingle Bells

6) Desmond wrote this song specifically for Barbra Streisand. Watching her record it was a dream come true and he found himself standing very close to her as she sang. When he asked if he was "hovering," she suggested it might be better if he gave her a little more space. Does it bother you when someone stands very close or reads over your shoulder?  Yes

7) Fireworks were introduced to celebrate the 4th because they represent the "rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air." When did you most recently sing "The Star Spangled Banner?"  We played it a couple of times at work yesterday, but I didn't sing it. I don't have the voice for easier songs, let alone that one.

8) John Adams predicted the 4th would be observed with "pomp and parades." Does your community have a parade in honor of the day?  Yep, we have one of the biggest parades around. We also have a Miss 4th of July Pageant, a block party, concerts, a carnival of sorts, and fireworks. Believe it or not, it's actually scaled back to just a couple of pre-events (pageant and block party) and the big day with everything else. For years the events went on for over a week! Covid changed that.

9) Celebrity chef Rachael Ray says she considers mini-hamburgers, or "sliders," the All-American food. What will/did you dine on this 4th of July?  We had burgers, hotdogs, brats, and smoked sausage; potato salad; corn-on-the-cob; hobo beans; watermelon, cantaloupe, and cherries; blueberry cobbler; and cookies. 

Thanks to Sam for running the Saturday 9 and bringing

us the music and questions each week!