Sunday April 16

[Shirlv]

Morning All, it’s 66° and sunny. 83% humidity, 64 dew point so I have the ac on to make it more comfortable to breathe. Beth I have a pity party every day or maybe a talk with Shirl. Yesterday it was “ get over yourself, put on a bra, shoes, use the inhaler, get car and apartment keys, wallet and go pickup the package on friends porch”. I argue with myself because I am better off than a lot of people my age. I searched what does it mean to age gracefully. Looking old and holding on. Guess that’s me. Lol Beth do you have cell service on the trails. Have you met someone you feel comfortable telling you are walking a trail and will call when you get back safe. I hate asking for favors too. The balcony is covered in yellow pollen so will stay inside and do tidy. Looking forward to next week when new plants are at favorite garden center. Yep, use the inhaler and put on the bra again. Be safe

[OregonLuvr]

So far I think I should have stayed in bed. Put the Kcup in the Keurig, pushed the button, took the dog outside, came back in and I had forgotten to put a cup underneath sheesh. So cleaned up that mess and made another cup of coffee. Then asked Alexa to turn on the lights in the family room.....well her light comes on but says nothing and does nothing. On any of my echo's or my echo show there is zero response. So guess the system for her is down. I can live without that......for a while LOL Googled it but didnt get any satisfactory answers so will just forget it for now.

[Bethers]

First, Sheila, I hate leaving Ty behind but, yes, if I go on any of the strenuous trails I will. And I ordered a set of walking sticks that will arrive later this week. Shirl, while I love having the whole place to myself on Sundays, I won't try these trails then. Cell service comes and goes in some of the areas. So on a day off, not Sunday, after I have the new walking sticks, I'll let the director here know I'm hiking and I'll check in with her on my return. And I'll turn back if I don't feel comfortable/safe. It's just a pita that only a few years ago I'd have been fine. In some ways it's fears I've allowed to develop.

Meantime, Ty and I walked the gardens this morning, again lol. Laundry is almost done. Just posted pictures.

Karen, hopefully your day improves.

[Shirlv]

Beth, I don’t think fear has developed just common sense. Single women seem to develop that safety feature. You’re doing great.Karen some days it’s better to kick and wait for bad juju’s to pass. Lol

[BarbaraRose]

Good morning gals!

Just about to watch church on YouTube. I have my bedroom window open and the birds have been chirping away since sun up. Some songs I have never heard before and it sounds like the Amazon sometimes!

Beth, I know the feeling of being limited on more things I can do now. With my knee issues, I have avoided doing any hiking until that is healed. With my shoulder issues, I have had to quit playing golf for the last 6 years or so, which I used to love! At least I can still putt! The body sure reduces certain activities as it gets older.

I have a Chromebook that I have had for many years. Haven't had too many issues with it, other than trying to find a printer that is compatible. Am hoping I am not having new issues with it now. Maybe I need to use another computer (library?) and see if I have the same issues with that.

Karen, that sounds like something I would do. .

I had more strange things happen yesterday. My remote for my TV quit working, so I switched out the batteries. But then I tested those batteries and they were fine. Then the sound on my laptop stopped working. Couldn't get any sound on YouTube videos or anything else. Later on, I tried again and it all worked fine. Funny thing with that is I ordered a small set of laptop speakers yesterday morning from Amazon, because some videos are hard to hear (like my church sermons) which is frustrating so I decided to get some speakers to use. Then that happened! It is like there is some ghost with a twisted sense of humor just messing with me all the time!

Calm and sunny today with warmer temps this afternoon pushing 90*. So the AC will come on later. I will need to find a step ladder soon to cover my skylights with Reflectix again. That really does help keep the heat from coming in from them.

The friend of Dave's that was supposed to fix my outlet has never called or come back over to fix it. Will have to ask Dave about that.

I got my SS payment yesterday which is good. That will keep me going until I start getting paid for my new job and then I can pause it.

Have a good day!

[JudyJB]

Cheryl, I did some checking and there are still quite a few state parks with spaces for May and June, plus I sent you a private message suggesting some COE campgrounds along the COlumbia River. It is a great drive and lots of still empty sites.

Got to get moving and hop on the shuttle. When I get back, my task for today is to use the cleaner to fix my headlight covers which are very clouded. Trying to get some small projects done that I have put off forever. It is such a nice campsite and the weather is so nice that it is easy to get things done.

[Colliemom]

Much needed rain moving in. Might see an inch to inch and a half, then changing over to snow tomorrow afternoon I to Tuesday morning as the temps take a dramatic drop to more normal levels. Will take the moisture any way it comes.

Velda, these record breaking temps we have been having are way out of norm. Somebody asked the NWS why this this was so, and this is the answer that they gave him. The big difference between the Grand Rapids CWA and the Gaylord CWA is that winds have a tendency to cause a downsloping effect in much of northern lower Michigan. The way this works is that air sinks as it flows downhill into the lower elevations away from the interior, and is compressed. The density of the airmass will remain the same as the air flows downhill, and will therefore result in warming as the air sinks into the lower elevations. An additional factor to consider is that the dominant soil type in northern lower Michigan is very sandy, which, when dried out, can absorb and release copious amounts of heat into the atmosphere. Sometimes this can be compounded in early Spring owing to the fact that there are no leaves on the trees and vegetation is dried out, resulting in much more direct sunlight reaching into the normally shaded areas of the woods. As a result, the soil deep in the woods can heat up dramatically and release a high amount of heat compared to deep in the Summer season, when the tree canopy is at full bloom and vegetation at the surface provide shading to these soils. Grand Rapids is in the south west part of the lower peninsula for reference.

Beth, I’m with you on walking in some types of terrain, especially rocky. I don’t particularly like to do it anymore either. Like Shirl said, it’s just common sense. We who are single and do things alone, have to be more careful, than we when are with somebody. It goes for doing anything actually. We have to find creative ways of doing some things alone. Shirl, I love your take on the tomato plant with the old lady flying through the air :lol. Gave me my morning laugh.

I accomplished what I wanted to do yesterday morning and the dogs and I took off for Mackinac for the afternoon. 83° when we left here and it was 54 up there. Typical for being by the big water. Sun as out so it was pleasant. We walked around the park by the bridge for awhile, down on the beach as Molly likess to go wading to get a drink a few times. Then drove a couple miles or so to another lighthouse and snooped around there for a bit. I stopped at one of the local restaurant that was open because I was getting hungry, and then we headed for home. Mackinac is a tourist destination, filled with stores and shops where you can buy souvenir shirts, trinkets, fudge and tbe usual tourist stuff, and rolls up the rug and shuts down in the fall. Only places open are businesses essential to any town. And Maybe a couple hotels. Will start opening again in May. So it was a good day. This morning I watched mass on TV and then I took a run uptown to pick up a few things from the grocery store and also to Lowe’s. I transplanted flowers that I have in house into some fresh dirt and brought them back in again. Wound up tossing both of the mums, and decided to ditch the impatiens. This morning I watched mass on TV and then I took a run uptown to pick up a few things from the grocery store and also to Lowe’s. I transplanted flowers that I have a house into some fresh dirt and brought them back in again. Wound up getting both of the moms and I also decided to ditch the impatien. The geraniums are thriving and very healthy so they should be all set to go. I will pick up a pack of impatient plants when they come in to the nursery later on and just start new. They grow pretty fast anyway also hook the special attachment after my leaf blower that allows me to reach up into my gutters and blow them out with having to get up on the ladder and ran that over the gutters direct sure that they are clear of debris. Not very much up there, as I had done them last fall before the snow came. Ran the recycles up to the recycle bins. And now that it is pouring down rain out there. I am going to go back to painting my flowers. It is really coming down.

[Bethers]

Judy, I'm laughing because I also checked a couple state parks in Oregon I like abs found quite a bit of open sites. So Cheryl, no excuses this year lol

Shirl, Barbie and Sue, yep to all. But part of coming here was looking forward to the hikes and my being cautious might be good but also is effecting my enjoyment. I spend 3 days a week telling people about these wonderful hikes! I'm getting over it and really, truly enjoy my walks a couple times a day in the gardens. And maybe with 2 sticks I'll be able to do one of the hikes (part of one I will NOT go on alone even with the sticks, and maybe at this time in my life even would back out with someone else going).

As to things happening in the home. I went on my walk this morning with no problem with my screen door leaving or coming back. On one of my trips for laundry it wouldn't open and I managed to get it open far enough to get out and one of the connections that should have 3 screw connecting it is missing a screw and the other two of the 3 were loose. I tightened them and all is working now but I'll be keeping an eye on them.

[IrishIroamed]

Hi ladies~~~
Well looks like I'm heading to OR and hopefully WA via CA. I'll be taking the safe route from Vegas, south on 15 to Bakersfield then working my way up the valley. Not a fan of California fuel prices, so I'm only be doing 2 night stops. The first week I'll be spending at any place will be near Mt Shasta thru Memorial Day.

I also planning on a mini-GTG with Diana and hopefully Sandi.
woohoo!!!

I haven't read your pm yet Judy, but good to know both you and Beth found openings at SPs. I have not looked myself yet and only based that statement on what my friends told me and their route up the coast. They are also doing alot of 2 night stops due to lack of availability on dates and locations.

My first time out there so I'll see what I can find, but I'm not keeping my hopes up for areas I want to see for a week. Not everyone likes dry camping or winging it. Me included, but that doesn't make me wrong for worrying about it.

[BarbaraRose]

I got one good thing fixed today! I was in contact with the lady who runs the autobiography site. She said she went into my account and was able to start a new chapter for me and for me to let her know if I could get into that. I got in there and found the new chapter, so I copy and pasted what I had written on OneDrive for my second chapter and got that on there OK. Then I clicked on "New Chapter" and it brought me to a new screen to add the next chapter, which it wasn't doing for me before. So now it looks like it is fixed! I can continue writing! Yay!

I went back into the County property tax site and checked that again. Got to the page where my address and info is on and it says to click on the "PAY" button, but there still is no "PAY" button anywhere on there to click on. Grrr!

Well, at least one thing got fixed. Tomorrow, I should find out when my start date is for the new job. I really need to get some money rolling in soon because I think I am gonna have to visit the dentist soon here. I have a tooth with a large filling in it and the front of the tooth broke off awhile back It hasn't bothered me at all but now it is starting to be sensitive so I am worried the whole rest of it might break off. I had hoped last year to be on the road and be able to go to Algodones to get that fixed much cheaper, but looks like it is gonna have to be taken care of here instead. I need to be very careful what I eat on that side which is the side I normally chew on, and try to remember to chew on the other side instead. Good thing I didn't buy that bag of apples the other day! I also need to wear my mouth guard every night now since I am grinding my teeth a lot and that will only make it worse. Always something!

I have had the AC on in my bedroom today but just at 83*, and kept off the living room one. I can probably open the windows tonight since there is a light breeze out now. I did hear something about more wind coming in tomorrow tho.

Cheryl, glad you are going to head up the west coast after all. I really want to do that trip as well. I am not much of a planner as far as reservations months to a year in advance either. I like to just take things day by day which is harder to do now with RVing. But there are apps for places like Boondockers Welcome, Harvest Host, AllStays, Campenium, and the BLM and COE sites to find places more spur of the moment. I plan to take advantage of those sites once I hit the road.

Nothing on TV tonight so will take a shower and get to bed early (before 2am!).

[JudyJB]

Well, I didn't get my headlight covers polished, but I did help rescue an older woman. There is a sidewalk from the campground that goes along the river to the visitor center, but is really on top of a sort of levee. It is about 4' higher than campsites, and in some areas goes through a brushy area. I got almost to the park entrance booth near the pedestrian bridge and saw a lady sitting on the ground with her legs hanging over the bank. At first I thought she might be just relaxing, but then I asked her if she needed help. She said she got dizzy and slipped and could not get up. I saw a ranger coming toward her because someone else had thought she needed help.

Then her husband showed up, but he did not look in great shape himself, but luckily a male ranger came up to help the earlier female ranger. They both lifted her up, but she was really shaky, I walked the few feet to the ranger booth and asked them if they had any water because the lady needed something to drink and a first aid kit for some scratches on her arm that were bleeding. I went back and the two rangers were holding onto her because she was really shaky. A third ranger came up with a bottle of water, and they walked her to nearer the booth where she could sit in the shade with her husband. I had a packet of hand wipes, so i gave her several and helped her clean off her scratches. The rangers brought a small first aid kit, but said they could not legally put any bandages on and did she want them to call an ambulance. She said no ambulance, and I told them I could help her if they couldn't. She was still really shaky. Anyway, the kit only contained band-aids, which the lady pointed out she could not use on her fragile senior skin. So, I helped her take out the one big gauze pad and put it on with band-aids just touching a bit of her skin. (Shouldn't they have had a bigger and more complete first aid kit???? Like with that non-stick stuff you can wrap around something and some big gauze pads, etc.? There weren't even any decent wipes.) I gave her the remainder of my package of wipes, and she tucked away the extra band-aids.

Anyway, I sat with the lady and her husband for a while after the rangers left because she still was shaky, but left when she looked better. Saw her later on a shuttle, and she was doing fine.

And then, to add more excitement, at the end of the shuttle ride, I was standing near a younger man and his parents who I had chatted with on the bus. The younger man bent down to take a photo of his parents, and fell completely backward, but luckily he did not hit his head. So, he was OK, and I volunteered to take a photo of all three of them!

I'm beginning to think I need to carry a first aid kit!!! Either that or I am bad luck and need to stay away from people who might fall.

[snowball]

it was a typical Sunday church home lunch scriptures nap fixed supper we had meatloaf tasted pretty good... I did some Swedish weave while the meat was cooking then after supper finished the Sunday Mystery color page then crocheted my two rows down to 4 I think... I think I will be finished Tuesday night ... I'm not wild about the colors of the next one... not sure how I am going to place the yarn... guess I will have to work with it a bit
I get the being cautious some times even stepping off the curb makes me think I have been going to get the sticks as well then wonder how much I will use them with having to pack a tank of oxygen around when I'm out and about... when I exhort myself I tend to breath through my mouth that doesn't help get extra oxygen in.
you all have a great day
sheila