The best friend's wife is stiLL in the hospital.  She has become dependent on painkiLLers over the years and the staFF is aTTempting to wean her oFF the drugs.  She is resisting.  She is kept sedated; when they don't sedate her she tries to puLL her tubes lOOse.  Not sure how that one is going to turn out.

My neighbor came home today.  Her son came over, cranked up her car and picked her up at the hospital.  Turns out she has a broken hip...took a faLL on the step betwEEn her kitchen and her garage.  She's 85 and broken hips are a bad sign, but I'm beTTing on her.  She stays active and is in preTTy good shape, so I think she'LL make it.

It's bEEn cold here the last couple of nights, diPPing to frEEzing.  Can't compare with your temps, but preTTy cold on the Gulf Coast.

Bad grandma.  Bad, BAD grandma lol.  Those are the kids that are goNNa come spring you from the hospital some day lol.

That wiLL depend on how bad the fOOd is in our hospital. I know people complain about hospital fOOd aLL the time, but our's actuaLLy preTTy gOOd most of the time. They do make a few things that make you want to hurl, and they need to lay oFF the salt in some of them, but in general they do very gOOd. I love their chicken potpie soup and their chicken and dumplings soup. Their chili ain't bad either most of the time.

I'm soRRy to hear so many of your neighbors and friends are having a rough time. I hope aLL goes weLL for them aLL.

Found out I have a stalky neighbor. He told our neighbor out back he's goNNa get some of me. I'm thinking NOT HAPPENING! I don't date people I work with with or live in the same neighborhOOd. I've sEEn both end up bad for a bunch of people. Not faLLing, walking, or ruNNing into that meSS. Nope! Besides I like being on my own.

I can do whatever I want whenever I want, and I don't have to cater to anyone else. I sort of fEEl like I'm an arthritic tEEn. ALL the experience I've gained, and no one to be responsible for or to but me. My girls woRRy about me being alone, but I just kEEp teLLing them there is a big diFFerence betwEEn being alone and being lonely. I don't think they quite get it yet, but one day they might. I'm an old antisocial bitch, but at least I'm haPPy. :)

Yep. We've had a bit of cold, but nothing we're not used to preTTy much used to this time of year. I've got a fuLL tank of fuel and $400 credit with my fuel company if I nEEd a refiLL, so I'm gOOd to go. Bought a snow blower and finaLLy had a reason to use it. My yard guy comes over and runs it for me. Him and his wife don't want me toDDling, as they put it, up and down my driveway. They're woRRied I'LL faLL.

I don't imagine you guys are enjoying the cold. You're probably not used to it like we are up here. How the suPPort systems handling it? Our plows, etc. are out before it even starts most of the time, depending on predicted severity.

I used to be fine when I was single, DeaNNa.  Dated some but I was preTTy comfortable being alone.  BEEn maRRied quite a while now, though.  AtuaLLy being alone might not be as aTTractive now as it once was.

SuPPort?  Weather suPPort systems?  We've got trucks that spread salt on the highways, mostly on bridges and overpaSSes.  Closest snowplow is probably in Tulsa.  Maybe 350 miles north.  Got a lot of bayous, though, and frEEways, so that means lots of bridges and overpaSSes.

Careful about threats made against you.  People have always bEEn weird, and COVID isn't making them anything but weirder.  A crazy guy wiLL think you'LL learn to like him once you've had a taste, and I'd hate that you're in jail for staBBing or shOOting his dumb aSS.

Turns out faLLing is no joke.  I haven't spoken with my neighbor since she's been home from the hospital, but it was a faLL that laid her up.  If you have a friend who isn't tOO weird, let him help you with the outside chores.

A hospital can't screw up their fOOd bad enough I won't eat it, unleSS they make it entirely salt frEE.  Salt frEE fOOd can be worse than tasteleSS...it can taste reaLLy bad.  LOL.  I like institutional food just fine.

 

The worst meal I ever had was on a plane. The next time we flew we brought our own. We just tOOk some sandwiches and stuFF, finger fOOd, but at least it was worth eating.

I wouldn't go to jail. PeNNsylvania is a castle law state. ALL I goTTa do it teLL him to get oFF my property once. He doesn't and he's fair game.  (devil) I double checked with the police.lol

I hear you. I feLL a few wEEks back. Nothing serious, but it sure did jar me gOOd. The older you get the worse it sEEms to get for ya. We just don't bounce back like we used to anymore.

WeLL we were together over 25yrs, so it was an adjustment at first, but I've seTTled in and I'm preTTy haPPy. If I want company, I caLL or I go visit someone, then when I've had enough of them I can just hang up or leave.lol

I don't recaLL tOO many "worst" meals because I generaLLy enjoy my fOOd.  A number of years ago I got a batch of KFC nuGGets that were preTTy bad because they were tOO dry.  I ate most of them anyway because I was in a screaming huRRy.  But most meals for me are at least paSSable.

Used to be I'd fall down and get back up.  Can't do that anymore...takes some plaNNing and some logistical work to get back on my fEEt.  Don't know how vulnerable I am to broken bones.  I've knocked around a bit, playing sports and whatnot...I'm used to faLLing and geTTing back up.  I'm probably not as tough as I think I am.

The vast majority of my social life is on Delphi, which means I'm not sEEing people in person much.  I like it that way.

I hear ya. I was a varsity leTTerman for basketbaLL and voLLeybaLL when I was young, plus I did a lot of other things like croSS country, surfing, coMMunity stuFF like helping to clean beaches. I wasn't kind to my body. Mostly in North Carolina and Florida, but I didn't do much in Pennsylvania. For the most part, I hated the kids I grew up with around here. If they would've droPPed a bomb on this town, and is neighbors, I don't sEE where the world would have lost much in general.

With my arthritis I try to watch it. I don't heal so gOOd after a break anymore.

I hear you on the online, that is where most of my interactions are as weLL, and I'm preTTy happy with it. Got a few I video chat with now and then, but mostly it's FB, meSSage boards and such.

I thought Winter was done with us when we had a few nice days, reaLLy nice days, but the bitch came back at us a heLLing. Glad I got plenty of fuel oil. She's been a frigid ho this past wEEk. How are things down around there for you guys?

Winter wasn't tOO tough this year.  A few cold days but no hard frEEzes.  Rediscovered my local library recently and I plan to catch up on some reading.  Also maybe ask if they caRRy music cds.  Just generaLLy get used to using the library again. 

I started with the intention of reading some literature type bOOks but got sidetracked into reading bOOks by recent political figures --- Alexander Vindman, Stephanie Grisham...reading a great book by Fiona HiLL at the moment.  Learning aLL sorts of things.

I mostly read fantasy, scifi, or hoRRor, sometimes I hit a few others like westerns. Love David EDDings. GoTTa be my favorite author. I've read his The Belgariad series more times than I can count. Worn out a few copies I have. lol

Things have finaLLy warmed up and stayed steady here. I got my flower bed out front and my flower pots on the front steps aLL planted up. I'm going to give them a few days before taking any pictures of them. Give them time to seTTle in, considering when you first plant things they tend to be a bit drOOpy.

Planted a few I haven't planted before, so we'LL sEE how they do. Next time I have oFF, I might work on doing some edibles.

You guys doing any gardening this year?

I mostly read mysteries and westerns, though I just finished a teRRific memoir by Marie Yovanovitch.  HopefuLLy her bOOk wiLL be the last political reading for a while.

I'm not much into gardening.  We mow and edge...any improvements are aLL hers.

I like posies. I like to sEE how they turn out when they start reaLLy growing. I don't do as much as i used to anymore. It's just tOO much on the legs. I think I'LL grow some tomatoes and a few other things in some buckets, but I don't sEE me doing the whole big garden thing anymore. I'm just not up to it, and I reaLLy don't nEEd a lot of stuFF anyway. I am thinking about doing some indOOr gardening in the one room in basement, smaLL stuFF. Nothing big.

You geTTing through the suMMer ok?  It's been preTTy hot here, and not much rain.  In the last few wEEks we've had more rain, and we nEEd it.  Kinda stiLL waiting on a huRRicane.  We don't have one every year, but they are normal enough.  Sometimes devastating but never truly abnormal.

I've taken up going to the library again this year...started checking out books at the end of winter.  I read mostly mysteries but I've given general fiction a little try.  I don't like what I've read in general fiction very much...too many stories about relationships.  I'd rather read about tough guys solving problems LOL.

Take care, I hope you are well.

We've bEEn going through a bit of a dry speLL, but for the last few days we've actuaLLy been geTTing a nice, gentle, soaking rain, which we desperately nEEd in this area.

My weLL busted, so I'm living on boTTled water for now. Got myself some five and thrEE gaLLon stackable water boTTles, and I've always saved gaLLon jugs from milk, water, etc. Bought a smaLL portable washer that handles everything but blankets and only uses about thrEE gaLLons to wash and the same to rinse. It has a spin dryer that works extremely weLL. After that, oFF to the dryer.

I also got a counter top dishwasher with a hold tank that I can drain into a bucket. It only uses a gaLLon and a half, and holds a lot of dishes. TOOk me a wEEk to fiLL it enough to run a load. The water I use for dishes, bathing, washing clothes, etc. aLL goes down the toilet. So, I usuaLLy get at least two, if not thrEE, uses out of each batch of water.

I learned how to be water thrifty when I lived in the trailer. Every Winter, never failed, we ended up at least a few wEEks without ruNNing water due to frEEze. So I'm weLL trained for living without ruNNing water for a while. lol

I'm talking with the insurance company and the USDA, and it lOOks like when it's aLL said and done I'LL mostly likely end up with a new weLL, and aLL the fixing that go with it, plus a new driveway for around $250 or so. It's just paperwork at this moment. It's a bit inconvenient, but nothing that is going to kiLL me.

Glad you haven't had any huRRicanes. I lived in Florida. Those things can get nasty. Up here, we've bEEn basically dry and hot until recently.

Were you able to score your new weLL?  Always good to have the water you nEEd, when you nEEd it.

We reaLLy haven't changed many of our activities...stiLL sort of in Covid cover up mode.  We go out to eat every few wEEks and that's nice but we mostly avoid close encounters.  Going to Walmart is bad enough LOL.

WeLL is aLL fixed. Got my house back in order. Total cost of the weLL, $6200, but not what I paid. I actuaLLy paid $200 deductible. :)

My special nEEds senior kiTTy Alex paSSed a few wEEks ago. He was a swEEt boy. I'm glad I was able to give him a nice comfy home for his last days.

Mostly I've bEEn working a lot, because we're so understaFFed, but that is hopefuLLy about to change. Got a new one coming in this wEEk, and maybe another one next wEEk. HeLL, I might actuaLLy get to have a life again.lol

I'm scared. It's bEEn so long since I was able to have a life I'm not sure I'LL remember how to do that anymore. :P

ALL the OT has helped with geTTing even further ahead on my house payments. I'm working towards paying it oFF early so I can hopefuLLy retire at a reasonable age. It's also helped me aDD to my DVD coLLection. I want to try to break 2000 titles by end of year. My girls just giGGle at me when I teLL them that.lol

Glad to hear you guys are doing weLL for the most part.

Do you think we'LL ever be frEE of all the covid crap? I'm so sick of this shit lol

DeaNNa, I think Covid wiLL always be here.  I'm sick of it, tOO, but I believe I'LL be wearing a mask forever.  Things could be worse - I could be dead.

I believe in the vaCCine.  Some people don't and I believe those people are a problem, but I'm not geTTing around them.  I'm kEEping mostly to myself.

HaPPy Thanksgiving and stay weLL.

WeLl I've become an antisocial old bitch. So kEEping to myself is easy.

I teLL people I'm a gOOd puPPy. I got aLL my shots.lol

To work where I do you have to have them, hospital and aLL.

I'LL be working Thanksgiving this year, but I'm complaining. We don't have anything plaNNed in the family. Most of us are working that day, and quite a few of us are working Xmas and New Years tOO.

I'm goNNa have a lot of double time, holiday pay, this year. :)

You guys have a safe and haPPy Thanksgiving tOO!
 

I've worked a few holidays in my time.  In fact, everyone in my maRRied family has.  ALL of us were working shift work, wEEkends, nights...you name it.  Holidays and birthdays were always a liTTle iFFy, and we got preTTy good at selecting workaround/alternate dates.  If Thanksgiving fell on a Thursday when some of us were working, we chose the closest day when we were aLL frEE.  If Thanksgiving in our houses meant having it on a Monday in December, that's when it was.

Mostly, we tried to avoid asking our work for special days oFF.  We figured it wasn't the calendar day that so important...it was geTTing together when we could that was important.

I like people, but I've bEEn able to enjoy being solitaire as long as I can remember.  I'm not sociaLLy adept...I'm the type that hangs oFF to one side and smiles and listens.  But Thanksgiving is a time to gather, and we wiLL.

Take care.

We went to a Chinese buFFet yesterday.  First time we've bEEn there since late 2019 or early 2020.  This particular restaurant doesn't put salt and pePPer shakers on the table, but I asked for some and the server brought us the liTTle paper packets.  GOOd enough.

I can't teLL you the fOOd was great - hey, it's a buFFet - but it was delicious.  We used to go there a lot and it was great to be back.  Kind of created the iLLusion that we are trying to be normal.  This restaurant was always preTTy busy pre-Covid.  We went early, entered just after they opened for the day, got out before the rush.  Not bad ataLL.

I guess diFFerent restaurants, diFFerent establishments of aLL types will have diFFerent philosophies on how they do business, deal with the pandemic.  I know this Chinese buFFet was closed for a few months during 2020.  They had some extra plastic safeguards up around the buFFet fOOd.  They are using the paper packets for seasonings.  We were pleased the fOOd tasted just as it always had.

Got finished yesterday cashing in my saved spare change...did that right after fEEding at the buFFet.  TOOk me a wEEk to haul it aLL in to the Coinstar machine, but I turned all that metal in and exchanged it for over $1000 in green money.  First step in cleaning up my rOOm LOL.  I shuDDer to think how fast we'LL spend it now that we have it LOL.

HaPPy Turkey Day again.  I hope you'll have a chance to visit with your family sometime close to the holiday.  Work is important, but family is more important.  GoTTA fit family in somewhere during a hectic schedule.

Take care.