KarenK

Kay, I'm so very sorry to hear this. I hope he is being kept comfortable. My thoughts are with you and your family.

I think Marg is in northern Louisiana. Marty is in Florida(can't remember where) which is also getting hit. Hope she chimes in also.

Kay, I have to say that Sears is the absolute worst to deal with on the phone. I can NEVER understand their reps. I sent them an email about this very thing 20 years ago. Obviously, it did no good. lol I will say that I've never had a problem with their repair or delivery people though. I hope your washer is working right and not leaking now.

The whole idea of a "play date" is so foreign to me. Not in reference to introducing Kodie to a new friend to see how they get along Kay, but in reference to humans. I know "play dates" have been around for years now, but how did society become so regimented that we have to schedule a time for our children to play. What happened to kids being kids and just hanging out together at someone's house or the park, riding bikes or exploring the neighborhood. Can you imagine your mom setting up a "play date" for you or even setting up one for your kids. If people control every aspect of their children's lives, how will these children ever learn to be independent. Granted it's a good idea to guide their choices, but can't we just let them be kids having fun until they're forced to be adults. Guess I'll shut up now. Off my soapbox.

Went to the cable store today, discussed streaming(which was hard enough standing 6 feet apart trying to hear the responses through a mask), decided it was worth trying to save about $80 a month, and got the equipment. Then went to the grocery store. When we got home, they had already turned off the cable(which they weren't supposed to do until we called them). So my son started to install the new equipment. It required a new modem\router compatible with the streaming device. The new router does not have enough Ethernet ports to support the connections we need, so streaming will not work for us. Then spent the next 2 hours on the phone getting the cable turned back on. I was able to renegotiate my cost to a little bit less, but not much. It will have to do for now. I find it so frustrating how customer service people just don't listen to what you're saying. I'm sure you have the same problem Gwen, given all that you deal with. I don't remember being that stupid when I provided service to people.

I'm all caught up on the Wind River series, waiting in line for the latest Jance book, and waiting for the latest Kate Shugak in ebook form. Have never read McGarrity. Funny how we become attached to these book characters. lol I hop around among 36 murder and mayhem authors and always looking for new ones. I think I was in law enforcement in my previous life. Sure more exciting than my current one.

Marg, I love it! You always give me fun things to search for. Found Alex Baldwin as Robicheaux in "Heaven's Prisoners" in 1996. Don't remember seeing that one. Tommy Lee Jones played him in "In The Electric Mist" in 2009 which I have on DVD. Very few ebooks at our library so probably won't get into them. Barely started on the Cork O'connor series. Long wait. Lots of people reading those. Check out Jenny Milchman. Fairly new author. Her books are pretty exciting.

Ana, your post breaks my heart and brings tears to my eyes. You are so young and yet you have lived a lifetime. We all understand and we love you.

Sad to say, but TV conversation makes perfect sense to me as mine is on all my waking hours. I don't record anything. I have about 160 left of the 600 dvd' s we accumulated. Sold a lot at yard sales and traded for other things at the second hand book\electronics store. There are very few prime time shows I watch when in season. Don't care for sitcoms or talk shows. Mostly watch ID, HGTV, and free movies on demand. Watched everything Netflix had that interested me for a couple of months, then cancelled. Can always get newer movies at the library when I brave that environment again. I put all my reserved items on hold until Nov. 1. I read library ebooks on my Kindle constantly as I watch TV. Can't say I'm not well read. lol I had a terribly sad and frightening night last night. Don't know what caused it, but I kept dreaming that Ron was trying to kill me. He would be arrested, escape, and come after me again. I kept waking up thinking it was real. To my knowledge, he never wanted to kill me for real. Just one of those stupid dreams that stays with you when you wake up. Enough gibberish for now.

It bothers me that I have nothing to look forward to or get excited about. No vacations, spur of the moment trips, trips to see Debbie, dinner out, arts and crafts shows, and anything else fun we used to do. I certainly don't have your pain or worry of possible surgery, but I definitely share your boredom and aloneness. Grocery shopping is my only activity and not a pleasant one with the outrageous prices and the suffocating mask thing. I'd settle for a trip to the mountains just to see pine trees and smell fresh air. Even if we could afford the gas, logistics are a problem. My truck is a double cab, but it won't fit the three of us and two big dogs. I don't even worry about tomorrow anymore. It will only be a repeat of today. I am planning a trip to the Cox store on Monday to discuss cable vs streaming(which I know nothing about). They have streaming plans which will save me $100 a month, so they say. I don't like technology changes and just want to easily watch the things I do now, so we'll see how that goes.

Dates are full of coincidence. In addition to the obvious events of 9\11, my mother died on 9\11 and my son was born on 9\11. My father died on 1\14 and my oldest grandson was born on 1\14. Just a bit weird. Clever writing you found about living one day at a time, Marg. I read something once about letting tomorrow take care of itself. The big problem being that tomorrow never takes care of itself. lol It has been almost a yellow day here. A strange color in the sky. We are getting haze from the California fires.

It seem dogs have different personalities and mannerisms, just like people. Marley is not very affectionate to me, but is to my son. She likes to be petted and brushed and is always at my side, but does not like kisses. She does not "dog talk". Tatum runs up at random with big sloppy kisses. She likes to grab my arm and lead me somewhere. She's always done that. I have permanent red marks or bruises on my arms. She has very kind and intelligent eyes. We have a lot of "dog conversations". She talks back as if she completely understands you. They both sleep in my room, but on the floor.

Thanks Gwen, can scratch that worry off our lists now!

Kay is about 40 miles east of Eugene. A news report said fire had closed the highway in both directions in her community on Tuesday and there are a lot of power outages in the area. Hoping loss of power is the only reason we haven't heard from her and she is surely safe.

Our dogs bark at any and every noise outside. I have to look outside and tell them it's okay to shut them up. Great alarm system. They are both big and sound ferocious. In reality, they're not. Tatum is much more self assured, while Marley tends to hide behind me if someone drops by. I tend to count my fingers when hand feeding Tatum. She doesn't bite intentionally. She's just very exuberant as if it's her last bite of food. Marley takes the food very delicately from your fingers. They don't seem to be afraid of anything, but if it's dark, Marley will stand at the door and scope out the area before going outside. Tatum could care less. Gwen, I wonder if certain noises hurt Mel's ears and that's why she avoids them. Did you get her as a puppy or could there be something in her past that frightens her? When I brought Marley home, every time I reached to pet her, she would cower as if she was expecting to be hit. I thought she might have been mistreated. She would also stand and bark at the coffeemaker as it made coffee. Glad she got over that one. lol Hope your afternoon trip went well and you were able to get your meals. I went for gas and groceries. It was so hot! About 110. Was wiped out by the time I got home. Saw on the news that this had been the hottest August on record for Phoenix. Wonder if September is headed that way?

Gwen, Ron's SS amount was more than mine. When he died, my amount was raised to equal his. I remember taking his death certificate to the SS office probably to authorize the change. This is permanent unless you remarry before age 60. My Medicare premium is deducted from my benefit amount before it is deposited to my bank account.

Shirley, so glad you are safe! Not sure which of our "family" here is in that part of the country except you and Marg. Hope she checks in soon. Fingers crossed for everyone in the path of the monster.

Well folks, it's 7:30 pm and a mere 110 outside. I had planned on sweeping the grass dregs off the driveway and sidewalk before it got too dark, but screw it. My son mowed about 7am, but the extreme heat is just not for me. I'd last about 5 minutes. As much as I hate humidity, I sure wish we'd get some rain. I've forgotten what it looks like. Wonder if this is how those Texans felt back in "The Dust Bowl" epic. My backyard looks like an empty horse paddock with hay spread around.

Kay, at one time, I had 75 dolls. Only have 33 now. It broke my heart to have to sell a lot of them. Although worth more, I sold them for what I could get on Craigslist or at yard sales, desperate for money. Just another happy memory erased. Mine are 8" dolls. My mother bought 3 for me about 1954. My cousin made little dresses for them. Played with them, put them away. Who knew at that age to keep the original clothing pristine? Found them and the little dresses in an old diaper bag while closet cleaning in 1990. Only one has most of her original clothinhg. She is valuable. Started buying more at doll shows. Had a small display cabinet built. Soon needed a bigger one. They now live in my mother's nice china cabinet. One day they will go to my granddaughter, I guess.

I almost have to laugh. If Ron were here, he would be out there buying everything up. He could never buy 1 or 2. It had to be 10. I'm sure it stemmed from being hungry as a child. He did the grocery shopping for years after he became disabled and I was still working. He also liked to "window shop". I never did. I think the last time I actually had fun shopping was before my mother's stroke in 2000. We loved to go to the nicer department store sales, but we also loved going to Goodwill. Always bought a bunch of stuff we didn't need. Went to all the doll shows and always bought a few Madame Alexander dolls for my collection. Just a short trip down memory lane there. The only kind of trip I can afford now.

Made my grocery run. I found the mask suffocating and a bit disorienting, probably due to lack of oxygen. The variety of products I was looking for was very limited, the prices were horrendous, and most people acted like we were from different planets. Not an enjoyable experience, but a necessity, of course. Can hardly wait for my next trip. lol

Marg, I love your last line, "I'm as okay as I ever will be". That's exactly how I feel!

Dee, I'm so happy for you. I'm sure leaving what has been your home for a long time will create a certain sadness, but also a relief that you no longer have the upkeep. It will be an adventure for sure. I'm so glad your son's property is large enough to accommodate your new home. There are beautiful manufactured homes now, not like the mobile home I mostly grew up in. It's also great that you will be near family in your own place. Don't try to do it all once, just a little each day. You will see daylight before you know it.

Gwen, not a gated community. Just a very old neighborhood built in the 50's. The city has all kinds of ordinances that govern your property with daily fines for non compliance. Some of them are just plain stupid. If you park on the street in front of your house, your vehicle must be facing a certain direction or you get a ticket????? What's with that one? Whoever creates these ordinances must get really bored looking for something to do. Most of Ron's things are gone from here, sold for financial necessity. I will always feel bad for having to give up the things he worked so hard for all his life, but I had no choice. I used to have nightmares about his returning and being so angry that they were gone, just another thing for him to be angry at me about as he was so often in the last few years. There's really nothing left here for me to go through. I guess that's a good thing. I'm going to attempt a trip to the grocery store tomorrow. Have not been since all this stuff started. Not looking forward to it, but can't put everything off on my son while he's trying to work.

We are in a drought with excessive heat warnings every day. This is normally our monsoon season, but there has been no rain and none in sight for the future. A perfect time for the city yard Grinch to strike as he does every year. Got a compliance letter to remove the grass where the sidewalk meets the street a couple of weeks ago and Robert got that done. Now he has started his job working various hours and a sleep pattern is impossible. He's exhausted. Got another letter yesterday to cut the grass and weeds and clean up some poop and cut the back yard. First time in 50 years back yard has been mentioned. I am the first to admit the yards are messy right now but wasn't aware the garbage men who traverse the alley cared about my back yard. It is so hot out there, I barely go out, much less do yard work. Not sure if Robert can even manage it. It's 90 at 5 AM and 106 at 7 PM. This guy evidently missed the train that carried compassion or he's on a power trip.