Tuesday, January 5th

[Colliemom]

Good morning all,

Sorry, hit a blank on title this morning, so just threw the date out. Those of us who are retired need a reality check once in a while We lose track of days and dates.

Nikki, thank you for your compliment. Some days I feel like I'm just rattling on about nothing. Just sitting here watching the Weather Channel to see what's going on around the country. Quite a mixed bag of everything. CA finally getting much needed snow and rain it seems, but might be too at once. MS river surge slowly moving downstream. Looks like a blast of cood air moving in for next week, all the way south. Not good for those trying to clean up behind floods.

I agree with the carpet and pet issues many of you mentioned yesterday. I have vinyl in my kitchen, dining area and Pergo through my living room and hallway. Carpeting in the bedrooms and indoor/outdoor carpet in breezeway. I have mine professionally cleaned twice a year. Keeping carpets cleaned and hose clean and dust free can go a long way to.keep air quality and allergies under control.

O'Sharon, yes PA is in my sights for this year. Not for sure when, but Gettysburg has been bugging me for years. I'm interested in Civil War history and have been to Lookout Mountain in TN and Vicksburg in MS. Just sent for some PA material as I would rather sit and read it in my hand instead of online. Where else I wander to remains to be seen. Probably camping in MI and a return to Shipshewana for meat and cheese.

Enjoy reading about you gals with the Fit Bits. If I had one, it would probably run out of numbers with all the walking I've been doing

Okay, enough jabbering for this morning. Y'all keep safe, dry, healthy or whatever out there.

[IrishIroamed]

Mornin' Sue and all that follow ~~~

Could have called the post Titleless Tuesday Sue Not a whole lot going on around here. I need to get my act together to figure out where Spring vaycay will be spent. Still thinking about southern IL someplace, maybe somewhere in Shawnee National Forest for a few days then back up to Carlyle lake. Also thinking about a weekend somewhere in April. Have scheduled one day off for the Midwest Horse Fair in Madison, and playing with the idea of taking an extra day, getting dewinterized and then up to WI for the weekend. Who knows, can someone make a decision for me, seems I'm starting the new year off pretty clueless.

JudyJB hope your son is feeling better and out of the hospital today or tomorrow. Look on the bright side, at least you've seen the grands a bit, and now have extra time with them in the future.

Not much else {{{shaking}}} around here. Have a good day everyone and stay safe on the roads.

[grammynmaggie]

Good morning Sue Cheryl and all... still a little on the cool side here the going to warm up by the end of the week... Sue if I make it to Pennsylvania this year it's not looking good though maybe we can have a meet up... not much going on here taking my dad to run errands... I stopped at the vet office yesterday to talk about bringing Pheebe in for her first initial visit so I can get her heartworm medicine... she doesn't need to test for heartworm because she just had it but they want to see her and we talked about how we would do this the vet said give her some benadryl 30 minutes and they would bring her in a side door so we will see how it goes I'll have him check her eye but it looks fine... will let you know how it goes ...have a good one & B safe...donna

[carolb]

Gmorning Sue, Cheryl Donna & all to follow

Brrrr, 33dg this morning in Plaquemine LA! Days get warm though. My friend "Sam" & her mom live just about a block or two from the levee of the Mississippi River--we've walked down to see the river the past couple days, & it's rising! Sam says they've never had flooding here, so hope that remains true:)

Kathleen, soooo sorry you lost one of your little ones Even though you had her only a short time, I understand the sadness & hurt...Now, for cat litter, there's an all natural product called "Swheat Scoop"--made from wheat--get it at pet stores. A little more costly, but really works & lasts longer than other litters, & safer than products with chemicals. Wow, good discussion on household cleaners with such dangerous chemicals! I was using a couple drops of bleach for my dishwater in HB (switched to peroxide after a tip from friend), now I wonder if that caused Tigg's respiratory issues?? On that subject, I took him to Sam's vet here--couldn't bear to hear him cough any longer! He's on lasix to clear some fluids from his lungs so he can be xrayed on Fri to determine if it could be a heart issue (BJ, how is Andy doing?). Thus I've delayed my travel to Martha's...

Donna, poor Pheebe! Bet it scared you too!

Enough jabbering from me this a.m.--y'all have a great day & be safe always

[Othersharon]

Good morning! Wow, got up to sun again this morning! Two in a row! But on the downside, the temp is showing 4! Sun did its job yesterday and melted the bit of snow on the sidewalk! I procrastinated long enough!! Figured it would work out that way! I finally called Comcast and the guy told me what to do and it worked! Dang, it was exactly what I had done...several times! Do they have a magic switch or something? I was almost afraid to turn it on last night but I was pleasantly surprised that it worked! Now on to trying to hook into wifi and hooking up the dvd player. Not ready to try it yet, I need to think about it awhile, translated, do I really want to mess with it right now!? When did tvs turn into computers?

Judy, hope your son is doing better today. Disneyland isn't going anywhere so grands can plan another trip! Carob, sure hope you can get to the reason the pup is coughing. And Donna, another step in Peebe's education. Glad her eye is okay. And Sue, Gettysburg is a great destination. I'm only a couple of hours from there and have been there several times. The new visitors center is really nice. They've changed the self guided tour route and last time I was there I got turned around and took a wrong turn but finally got it right! The battlefield tour is free and everything else is run by Friends of G-Burg for a fee. And our senior card isn't good there. It amazing how much CW history there is here, my little town was apparently part of the underground so we have some CW history right here.

Well, time to get the day going and decide what to get into today. Dinner tonight at son's, he's excited to try a recipe with venision shanks. Sounds like a pretty heavy meal but I'm game to try it! My stomach might not be happy about it though! Have a good day and be safe.

[Redetotry]

Good Morning All, The flood waters are going down and the massive clean up starts. I feel so sorry for those who have lost their homes. Carolb keep and eye on the nesw regarding the flood! It has broken records in many places here and levees have been broken farther down, it is coming that way. Andy is doing very well, I've heard him wheeze a couple of times lately but no cough. He is on Furosemide and Enalapril. The first is like lasix to keep fluid down and the other is for his heart which is enlarged. It is the Enalapril the vet said that controls the cough the most. I hope they can help him.

Cheryl I'll make your decision, come to Southern Illinois for your spring fling

Something that we did in yoga class yesterday gave me a burst of energy that lasted all day. Got to figure out just what move it was and keep doing it!

[Olive6001]

The dogs and I slept in this morning. Usually Olive jumps onto the bed and stands on me when it's time to rise and shine. This morning I had to call her. I guess rain and grey skies make us all lazy.

Judy, I haven't read your post about your brother's mishap, but it sounds like something happened. I hope all is well soon. Kathleen, I'm sorry for your loss. You're all in my thoughts.

I feel so lazy that I don't want to get busy, so I'll sit here and finish my coffee and read all my usual online sites. I can waste a couple hours at least that way. I'll try to vacuum, but trouble with hip and leg might make that impossible. (Isn't it wonderful that there are days when it's impossible to vacuum? No guilt.)

Dr. Meyers lavender scented all purpose cleaner is labeled pure and natural and all that stuff and it's the only thing that doesn't leave streaks on the tile floor. Most other things get cleaned with vinegar and water. The toilets, however, get a diluted bleach solution and bleach in the bowls. I can't compromise there. Just can't.

For the most part I clean once a year whether I need to or not. I've even gotten used to dog hair. Tumble weeds give the front room a sort of western flair. N'cest pas?

Wishing everyone a happy, safe and dry day.

Nikki

[gingerK]

Good morning all,

Kathleen, do NOT use the corn based cat litter, the corn and the moisture from the urine can produce a deadly aflatoxin. And it doesn't really work well; one of my friends used it. I watched her kitties for her and oh boy! Not so good.

Judy, missed your post about your son; sure hope all's well with him now.

Cheryl, if you're thinking of MHF, better make reservations quickly. Lots of horse people go up with RVs and LQs trailers and stay. Campsites may be scarce, I'm thinking.

Both the cleaning companies I worked for used vinegar for floors and also for windows. I usually use it on my own kitchen and bathroom floors.

Donna, poor little Pheebe. She's just getting comfy and now this happened unfortunately. Good idea to go talk to the vet and explain her situation and that they will try to accomodate her.

Not much else going on here, need to get a move on and go let my own dogs out and feed horses their lunch.
Everyone take care,
Kathy

[SoCalGalcas]

IT'S RAINING, IT'S POURING here in SD!!!!! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I love it. Casey will not like it when I take her out for her potty walk.
Kathleen, what a shame about your little kitty. So sad for you.
Judyjb, what is with your son? sorry to hear he is in the hospital. I don't do Facebook.
I enjoyed reading about all the household cleaners! I cannot remember what I use for kitty liter. The good stuff in down in the camper, and I don't like what I have here in the condo today. It was given to me, I did not buy it. Will post what I use after I get down to see the camper.
stay safe all....lyn

[BarbaraRose]

Good morning! (barely ). Yesterday I thought would be slow at work since everyone was back to work and school. Wrong! Another crazy busy day for 7 hours straight without a break! There can't be anyone left within a 50 mile radius that still needs a haircut!! Slept like a rock until 10am this morning! Luckily, I have today off!

Sunny and about 20* here but very windy with low windchills. Will stay around 30 til Sunday and then the polar vortex drops down and we will only be barely above zero for next week! Typical that the week of my birthday is always the coldest week of the winter. Never fails! However, only 10 more weeks until spring and 9 more weeks until we can change the clocks ahead! Yay!

Sorry to hear about the scary incident with Phoebe and her eye! Also very sad about Kathleens kitten. Very heartbreaking!

As far as cleaning products go, I use Dawn with water in a spray bottle to clean practically everything. Great for stains and odors in carpet. I know it is not a natural product but works great for me with no strong odors. I accidently mixed bleach and ammonia once and thought I was gonna die! Never again! I rarely use bleach other than to clean the aquarium (cant use anything else on those) or anything with mold, etc.

As far as litter, I use the clumping litter and scoop the clumps and poopies out into a baggie every single day. Really cuts down on the odors. I have a small apartment (studio) and two cats and I have no odor problems (no one has complained yet! ). I have to vacuum a lot because of all the fur tho. With the two cats play fighting all the time, the fur literally flies!

Nothing else going on here. Will stay home today and clean house and work on some projects. One of which is to start my autobiography for my daughter.

Hope you all have a good day and stay safe, warm and dry!

[IrishIroamed]

Cheryl, if you're thinking of MHF, better make reservations quickly. Lots of horse people go up with RVs and LQs trailers and stay. Campsites may be scarce, I'm thinking.

What's MHF?

On Edit 4 hours later: Big DUH ... MHF = Midwest Horse Fair! Not planning on staying on the fairgrounds if I head that way. Just thinking camping at an SP or something and then just doing one day at MHF as usual.

[JudyJB]

I am still in rainy Bakersfield and son is still in emergency room on a gurney because they do not have a bed for him. His pain level is less so he is going to get clear liquids today in hopes his lipase levels continue to drop. If so, he can be sent home tomorrow. He is in a room, at least, but I would have a terrible time on one of those gurneys because of my back. He says he managed to sleep last night, at least. His wife is with him this morning.

I need to take advantage of a brief break in the rain to go extend my stay another day. Also need to fill tank with fresh water and do some laundry when I get a chance. Don't know where I will go tomorrow if they head back to Napa. I have reservations for Casper's wilderness park for Friday night, but would like to find two more nights near there. Will see what happens.

Just finished breakfast of crepes and my homemade blackberry sauce!

[Azusateach]

I have reservations for Casper's wilderness park for Friday night, but would like to find two more nights near there. Will see what happens.

Judy, there's a KOA next to the L.A. County Fairgrounds in Pomona that would do in a pinch. At least you'd be on concrete/asphalt if you need. Don't know what their rates are, and it wouldn't be a horrible drive to Capistrano from there. And you could check out Rancho Jurupa, too. I bet they've got spots, too. Anything else closeby is going to be dirt (read: mud).

Laura

[dayspring39]

later than evening here.... Thank everyone for the helpful hints... the bathroom is vinyl or something on that order... I have two litter bins one in the main bathroom and the other where the christmas tree was as they pooped there... it has carpeting... I did use bleach and then steamed it... do not know if it helped as the bathroom was a mess today all of the things I washed had been pooped on again... I washed them with water and put them over a stool in the tub after I took my shower...

Time will tell but this little kitten needs to use the litter... I have three that have suggested Fresh step and tidy cats... I must change the food as that is most likely causing the diarrhea...

And BJ I will use vinegar... the pine sol had been left in the condo it was the largest bottle I had ever seen...

More tomorrow on what the rescue shelter said...

Night all no funny here as I am tired from doing nothing much...

rest well everyone...

[bluepinecones]

Too late for coffee, maybe time for wine but I don't have either tonight.
Velda, I have a clip on Fitbit - One- that I wear off to one side on waist band of pants. I will try changing it toward front and see if that helps. Don't wear a bra much so putting it on cheats is out..
Questions come up on the forum from time to time about best service carriers for Internet/phone for RVers. Found an interesting review for 2015; link is posted under Maint/Tech. On edit: Added another link comparing the 4 major providers for RVers.
Also posted update on Magic in General.
Judy - hope your son is doing better and BJ has found her keys. Try to get some rest, Kathleen