Yay, Jeri!! Glad your mammogram was good. And you are right about not going back to work too soon or taking some lower level job. The company will probably try to do anything they can to 'prove' that Jerry can work so they don't have to pay anything.
September - the year is flying by!
So glad your mammogram was good Jeri! We will all celebrate with you!!
Good advice..........I have heard of them filming people at home and everything you can imagine on disability and work comp cases. Would have been fine with us if they HAD of filmed my Mom because she was in so much pain............but of course that didn't matter. I know several people who REALLY needed the disability that have had to fight like crazy to get it - while others that I don't even think anything is wrong with them get it with no problem. I just do not understand our government.......
It will just take time for the bad feeling to go away......... I don't know yet what they are going to do on his laptop, but I can guarantee you it won't come close to replacing it. I am headed that way in just a bit to turn in all the paperwork the adjuster sent me. I am also looking at a security system from a company called Simplisafe......anyone happen to be familiar with it? It uses cell phone signal to send notifications instead of a land line (which they don't have) and it is portable so if they move in May they can take it with them if they chose instead of losing the money they put into the system and there are no contracts....... just wondered if anyone was familiar with it. I think they need some type of system with Natalie being there alone so much............... they just have not been where they could afford the normal ones. This one is one I believe we could install ourselves and basic monitoring is only about 15 a month I think.
They can watch Jerry all day long and I hope they like Little House on the Prarie and the Waltons ! That is all he does other than walk a little when the weather is nice. He is still not to lift anything heavier than a water glass right now so there is really nothing he can do. His brother in law does the workers comp at their plant and he had told us that they can fire you after 6 months. The reason we asked that question yesterday was for insurance, he said we could do Cobra if he got fired. The place Jerry works does not have anything considered light duty. We go back to see the shoulder doc tomorrow. If he thinks he can do light duty, we are to go to the plant and see IF they have a job he can do with the restrictions the doctor puts on the sheet. I don't feel like it will be going from a water glass to 20 pounds or something like that. We are thinking it will be at least Jan before the shoulder doc lets him even try to go back. All we expect tomorrow is to bump up the therapy to 3x a week.
I am so sorry that Alex was stolen from, I know it has to be horrible to think someone just come inside like that.
So mad!!! I had almost finished a long post and it just suddenly disappeared!!! Hate when that happens.
Sandra all this worker's comp stuff doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I know that's the way it is through. Jerry got seriously hurt on their defective equipment! They owe him compensation for that!
Genna I've not heard of that system. There are some very inexpensive things that you can install to help deter them. There is a motion detector that is very inexpensive that will set off a very loud alarm. So loud it can be heard outside as well as inside. Mary-Milam put one at the entrance to their carport. If anyone approaches it sounds a very loud alarm. There are also alarms that you can put on doors that will sound a loud alarm if the door is opened. They talked about those a lot on Memory People. They said they sell them at the Dollar Store or places like that. Sounds like they entered from the back yard.
I forgot to mention it but Justin got his Apple laptop stolen this weekend. It was partially their fault. All the girls and boys in the duplex were gone and they failed to lock the door in both parts. Two of the girls had Apples and they were also taken. They left the regular laptops alone. My guess is they were all together and probably somewhere very close by since both groups didn't lock their doors. They were probably just outside somewhere. Justin was really upset about it and wanted to buy a Toshiba or something of that type as a replacement to save money. Jeff told him he wanted him to buy another Apple because he didn't want him spending time trying to figure out a new system and it cause him to get behind in his classwork. He told him that in the big scheme of things the amount he would save was just a drop in the bucket compared to what they were spending on college and he didn't want it to cause him any problems with his classwork. Jeff put some money in his account and told him to go the Apple store and buy another one Sun. so he could have it all set up by class time Mon. He didn't lose any of his work. Jeff also had it insured but like you said it was not going to cover the actual replacement cost. Jeff said whoever took it probably saw them all leave and then went in. Hopefully they learned to keep their door locked at all times.
I forgot to say that my two neighbors to the north of me solved the problem of anyone using their back yard as a short cut. They both have back fences that are fairly short (mine is over 6 ft) and they each strung a live wire across the back fence. The way they did it is not real noticeable. My side gate is short but I keep it locked. I'm sure someone could climb over it but my backyard is a booby trap in itself. Not easy to navigate if you don't know what you are doing.
Genna, just curious. Was the window they broke a double pane window??
As bad as it sounds that the kids were broken into at least no body was hurt!! TG!!! We need to all be more careful. Jim was saying the other day that the closer we get to Christmas the more break-ins will be occurring.
They are getting so brazen now. Alarm systems are good but it's not going to deter them from breaking in. They know how much time they have before police can get there. They are long gone by then. A lot of people are putting up outdoor cameras. At least you know who broke in and have proof. That can help the police catch them.
They did break in a back window Charlotte. That one had not been replaced, so I am pretty sure it was just single pane - although I am going up this afternoon and can double check that point.
Alex has been wanting cameras, but his neighbors have cameras across the street - one pointed to that alley or small street that goes behind those businesses, but you can't readily identify them from the pics, but EVEN if he had had a high resolution camera I don't think the cops would have cared. They left a blood trail all down the back of the house and on the shelves setting there where they obviously cut themselves on the glass breaking in - and they didn't take a single attempt at a fingerprint ("because it has been raining" DUH the guy came IN The house and climbed across the kitchen cabinet and HAD to have touched the latch on the window to unlock it)..... and they did not pull a blood sample to obtain DNA......... I won't even say what I think about the way they handled it - other than to say it is OBVIOUS WHY they have such a crime problem. The kid is bound to do it again since he got off scott free!!
I think he probably needs some motion detectors at the end of his house and in the back yard, but the dog would probably set those off all the time. Funny you should mention the hot wire - I grew up on a farm and we used a lot of electric fencing and I had considered trying to rig something up with electric fencing. We used to have some really large wire that we used for fencing around our stud horses and when you hit it you REALLY knew...... same amps of course but you made more "contact" with it and you knew it! LOL..... I figured he would end up getting a liability suit if I tried something like that!!! Its ok that they break in, but not sure if the law would agree with him trying to protect his property. You never know these days...... but I might look more closely at that option today while I am there!
I agree that things will ONLY get worse between now and Christmas ..... the other break ins and robberies that he has told me about there close to him in the past also happened this time of year! I know the armed robbery beside him at the beauty shop was at the first of November about 3 yrs ago.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!~
A few years ago we were having problems with some undesirable people coming down our street and cutting through our private walkway to the park. Our POA but up a metal decorartive gate with pointed bars at the top (locked gate only keys are given to neighbors that request one and the key cannot be duplicated). They started climbing over the gate. The elderly man across the street solved that! He took 2 x 4,s and nailed big nails all over it and then attached the boards with nails upside down on the privacy the gate was attached to and then greased the top of the gate with axle grease !! We haven't had a problem since!
Yes, it always seems like these home burglaries pick up around Christmas and then around the first of the summer. I still can't get over why the police didn't take any blood samples when there clearly was evidence to be had and the robbery was over $1000 worth of property. I just don't get it, but if it is any consolation, I understand it is pretty much the same around here unless someone dies. That's a harsh way of putting it, but true.
I probably told y'all this story, but my daughter had her nice bike (she used it in triathlons) stolen from her carport about 2-3 years ago. She had parked it up against the railing, left for about 10 minutes to run somewhere really quick, came back and there was an old bike parked in her carport. It took her a second to realize some kid had swapped bikes. There was a rash of thefts in her neighborhood around that same time and a friend of hers a few blocks over had her bike and her daughter's stolen too. She's pretty sure it was this kid their church had helped out who would ride thru the neighborhood. At the time there was a low-income housing project about a mile away near the hospital (since torn down), and he was a student at the elementary school in DD's neighborhood, so he pretty much 'cased' his territory. A lot of the houses in her neighborhood have carports and there was also a gang of older teens who were breaking into cars and stealing whatever was in them around that same time. Everybody knows it's a good neighborhood so it's a target.
That's about the case Elaine.... but the problem with ONLY focusing on the big crimes or the ones where people are killed they are encouraging all these "petty" criminals so to get better and build their way up to the really bad things....... I don't think they will just stop on their own. :(
Charlotte, I kinda like that idea on the nails......might have to utilize that. but I don't think they are coming over most of the time.... they just literally keep kicking until they knock out one of the boards in that privacy fence - usually in the gate - and come on thru..... :( I am sure we are going to have to completely rebuild the gate at this point, but I might put that electric fence in front of it or behind it just for amusement.....
You should be able to do what ever needs to be done to protect the property, unless there is home owners association that says it is against the rules.
The personnel manager told Jerry today to come back to work Monday. He calls her after every doc visit and tells her what he says, the not wasn't any different today, said "Left hand only"
She said they would find him something to do. The attorney said he would have to go back and "try" if it hurts him, then call the office. He has to got to therapy 3x a week, but if they want to pay him to work only using his non dominant hand, I guess he will go. I am so afraid he will tear his shoulder out by just reflex someway.
Those Apple computers are probably the only ones worth the risk of stealing, if they get a regular laptop they probably can't sell them for more that 50 bucks. I think it is the drug problem that causes so many break ins to happen.
The boys started using Apple laptops back when they were around 13 and started in a laptop program at school. The school was very specific about what they allowed to use. It had to be an Apple and it even had to have a lot of other specifications. It was not a cheap laptop equipped the way the school wanted it. They replaced those laptops a year or so ago and bought them Apples again since that was what they were used to using. They really did whole up good. Teenage boys are not the most gentle on things.
Sandra I hope things work out ok for Jerry.
I was thinking it was probably single pane glass they broke. I hope that double pane is a little more than they would try to undertake. The whole back of my house is nothing but glass. I even have a door that is nothing but glass. But it is a metal door with very heavy double pane glass. I think there are so many break ins they probably can't keep up with them. What I have noticed is a lot of people using their outdoor cameras to capture things on camera and then posting on places like Forbidden Hillcrest. A guy posted a picture the other day of a guy going behind his house and coming back with his lawn mower which he stole. With it on camera he had proof of who stole it. He posted it so others would be on the look out for the person. His images were very clear. Another person posted video of someone stealing his trailer and driving off with it.
Mary-Milam put the motion detector with alarm at the entrance to their carport because Mark drives a Jeep and for some reason people really like to break into it. It has been broken into at least 3 times while he is at work. The last time someone at his work was looking out a window and saw someone breaking into it! Of course they were gone by the time he could get there. It has also been broken into a couple of times in the carport at night.
Jimmy just bought a motion detection camera that goes on the inside windshield of his jeep. It takes pictures of anything that moves and then shows it on his phone. I told him that would work until someone broke in and stole the camera but they use it when they are mud riding, etc.
Yeah, Alex said he could post a picture on Forbidden Hillcrest too but I don't see that as really solving the problem....... unless they are punished they are just going to continue.
Sandra, I am shocked that they are having Jerry come back to work - but I was telling our safety director about the accident right after it happened and he said where he had worked previously they tried to get someone back as soon as possible... even if it was pushing paper behind a desk - it has something to do with how they count the work comp. I hope they are able to find something for him to do without him injuring or hurting himself! Hopefully they have something safe in mind!
My kids love their apples! I love the old one that I have too - it is close to 10 yrs old, but it still works well. Just some of the software updates are REALLy pushing its memory capabilities.
A new computer to replace one like Alex had was a little over 3K and we got 1700 for it from insurance because that was all the coverage I had listed on it. I think that when we swapped out computers before, I just failed to update the amount of coverage, but it depreciated down to 1900 so even if I had more coverage, I really wouldn't have gotten much more because I had a 100 deductible on it...... So I guess it worked out ok. He got a replacement for 2400 with his student discount, but it is a smaller laptop and a smaller hard drive, but he is hopeful that now that he is finished with most 'classes" that he won't need the laptop as much as he did. He still has to get the books replaced and Natalie's car is in the shop AGAIN, so they are going to be out a lot of $$ for those as well.
I need to be out working in my beds while the ground is soft, but I can't seem to motivate myself to get started........ still don't have any energy back from this sinus infection and I have been having a lot of problems with muscle cramps..... so my muscles feel really tired even though i haven't done a lot. :(
Hope everyone has a good day!
I had to hit the ground running this week! I got moved into my bigger space at my new mall. I had the boy across the street to help me Sun afternoon. He is a really good worker. They were closed Mon so I finished up a piece I planned to take there and then got my moving guying to take several pieces of furniture down Tues. I finally finished up with the booth this afternoon.
I have so many things I need to take care. I need to make me a list and just start checking it off. I had had to cancel Samantha and Charlie's vet visit for their annual check up and shots. Got to get that at the top of the list.
So where are the pictures? We want to see your new space.
Well, now that Jerry is back to work, I am back in the red truck. It has been pretty much idle with the exception of getting some mulch one day and taking my mower down to his Moms.
It had mold on top and the hood from sitting under the trees by the driveway
I spent most of the day today trying to get it clean, it was so bad I was ashamed to drive it to go to the eye doc tomorrow. What a job ! I run it through the automatic yesterday and then had to scrub the top and the hood to get them clean. I hand washed the whole thing and got the windows clean. It still needs to be cleaned inside, but just couldn't do any more today !
I'm having trouble with my icloudso I haven't edited yet. But here are more than you probably want to see. This is the first batch.
How is Jerry doing with being back at work? I hate w/c. They are so tricky!!!
Love the new booth Charlotte!!!
Another group
And another
I don't have any idea why the last ones loaded sideways!!
When I brought them up, they are right. Love the goat ! Your booth looks more like a high scale department store than a flea market booth !
Jerry is making it, he sure is tired though. He is cleaning stuff there, said he used 2 bottles of degreaser yesterday !
Charlotte, I saw most of these pics on FB but loved seeing them all here. Looks very swanky! You've done a great job putting it all together. So you gave up your booth at the other mall and now just have one? That should really be easier on you and this is the place where you always sell good upscale stuff anyway, right?
Sandra, I hope Jerry will make it ok back at work. I'm sure you both have been rather anxious about it. Hope he will not be over-doing it. He should let his physical therapist know what he's doing at work, especially regarding his hand and shoulder activity so he doesn't over-use. The people at work don't understand and don't care, and I'm sure you know that.
I still have my booths at the other mall in addition to this one. I do plan to give up some of the space at the other mall. I'll probably wait until after Christmas to do it. Nov and Dec are always good sales months. The new mall is definitely a upscale mall. No flea market stuff in it. I can put some flea market kind of stuff in the one at my old mall. The look in the new booth is the kind of thing I used to sell years ago.
As crazy it may sound I'm thinking about opening a booth in yet a third location. This one would be in an actual flea market. I have lots of stuff I need to get rid of and don't want to have a garage sale. Too much trouble to get it all ready at one time. So I'd like to find an actual flea market somewhere close by I could take it too. I have given tons of clothes to Goodwill but I have a lot of other stuff I just don't want to give away. I'm in the mood to purge at home!
Love the booth Charlotte! I LOVE the nativities! I have ALWAYS loved nativities, and I wish I could come up with some good methods to display more in my home. I am SO not a decorator - but I wish I had more place to put out photos of the kids in my LR, and also to display more nativities at least during the holidays. We had the opportunity to tour an old house in Arkadelphia over homecoming that I have wanted to go into for years. I was so excited for the opportunity and she had so many beautiful things. But they have traveled all over the world and have 100s of beautiful nativities. I was in awe!..... but she happened to have this long "bookcase" type shelf built into one room with beautiful leaded glass doors on it. She had nativities all along the top and also all inside. I loved it! Then she also had several scattered around the house - she leaves them all out year around. I love that sofa table/library table - not sure what the name of it is - that you have the large deer and nativities on too! I have considered getting some thing like that to put in my bay window to put photographs on, but then one I saw her shelves, I wondered about it being more of a display there instead of just a table....... but not sure if Leigh would be able to build what I am wanting! I also love that square display or china cabinet that you have too Charlotte!
Sandra, I know what you mean about the vehicle..... I had to take my suburban to the shop this morning because it either has a hose broken or a water pump broken..... So, I am driving Kyle's old blazer. We had just taken Leigh's Subaru back for Natalie to drive last weekend because her car is in the shop and they have to have two vehicles. There are leaves piled up on the windshield wipers of the blazer and mildew in different spots because it has been under the trees too! I didn't have time to wash it...... lol
I sure hope Jerry is doing well after going back to work. I bet he is tired - just making it thru a full day and driving back and forth is a lot more than he has been used to. I hope it all goes well. He is still going to therapy 3 times a week? Does he just got before or after work? Or is it close to where he works?
They said there was a chance of storms here today, but the sun is shining at the moment and the skies are clear............
Hope everyone has a great day!..... someone want to start a new thread since we are still working on Septembers? :)
LOL, Charlotte, I wish I lived near you, so I could just consign some stuff over to you to sell! I think I could definitely use a garage sale but don't want to do it in our part of the country.
Me too Elaine! I have even considered getting a booth in an antique mall in Smackover just to get rid of a few things, but I don't want to have to drive down there constantly to check on it. I am applying for a new job down that way, and if I happen to get it, I might definitely consider it.
Ya'll say a prayer for me as I am submitting my application later today. I "should" at least get an interview based on the experience and education they are asking for - but that may or may not mean anything. Not crazy about commuting, but it would only be about 40 min each way and the road is almost 4 lane all the way so that is not bad. Wouldn't be like when I was commuting to Magnet Cove and driving 78 miles one way on curvy roads! And we wouldn't have to relocate.
Found out it was my water pump on suburban, but he was able to get me fixed up today. I am thankful he was able to get me in and out of the shop so quickly!
Good luck, Genna! I know you have been worried and stressed about your current job. Maybe this one will be The One. Glad you and back in your own wheels!
Storms and a lot of rain are supposed to roll in here tomorrow afternoon. I hope it misses south Alabama because Earl and the boys are going hog hunting this weekend down near Dothan. They should have good weather. And much warmer than last Feb when they went.
I am going to the eye surgeon tomorrow for all the tests they do prior to cataract surgery. They said I would be there around two and a half hours. I don't want to have the surgery until after Christmas but figured I needed to get the ball rolling.
Genna hope things go good with the job application.
I can also relate to the mildewed truck! I don't drive my truck very much and it gets mildew on it. Every so often I have to hand wash it to get it off. It want come off in a car wash. I guess if I ran it through a car wash every so often it wouldn't get mildew on it so bad! I guess that's too easy! LOL
I just got back from the grocery store. I bought stuff to make two kinds of soup. I just googled some soup recipes and decided on two with a beef base. I usually eat chicken and fish but was in the mood for something different. A friend bought me some vegetable beef soup and I really enjoyed it. One soup I'm going to make has sweet potatoes and butternut squash as the vegetables. I'm also going to add some kale to it. The other has stew meat and lots of vegetables. I'm going to freeze it up in individual servings and all I'll have to do is take a serving out and pop it in the microwave! I really like some of the single serving meals Fresh Market has. I got one with bourbon salmon, mashed potatoes and broccoli. It was really good. So between my soup and Fresh Market entrees I think I've figured out my meals!l
Elaine Christmas will be here before you know it. If you don't go ahead and get some things out of the way it will probably some time after Christmas before they can do your surgery.
That's one thing I've been doing - making appointments. I had to cancel Samantha and Charlie appointment for their annual shots and check up. Got that rescheduled for next week. It is also time for my annual checkup at the cardiologist. Got that scheduled today.
Got more paper work to take care of tomorrow. I hate doing stuff like that.
Good luck Genna on the new job!!! 40 miles will be nothing once you get into the routine of it. That will be perfect for transitioning from work to home. Alone time to think, pray and plan. LOL!!!
Ashley had 3 interviews yesterday at Costco and they sent her for a drug test. I hope she likes it b/c they pay $11.50 an hour and have fantastic benefits!!!! That is to start with no experience.
I heard earlier this week it was 7 more Mondays until Christmas. WOW!!! I have lucked up for Thanksgiving...my niece bought a house last year and wants to have dinner at her house. All I have to cook is the dressing and I can do that with my eyes closed. It's been pretty awkward for holidays at my house since Cameron died!!!
Jeri I'm sure it has been very hard for holidays. Just a hole missing in the group.
I don't think it's sunk in yet but for the first time since I've been an adult I'm totally free. No one I'm responsible for other than the dogs. No job to report to. I have the antique booths but I could close them any time I wanted to and I don't have to be there. It's not something I have to do. I just do it because I really enjoy doing it. The weather is starting to be to bad but this spring I plan to start getting out and about more. Not sure what that entails yet! LOL It's been several years since I could go somewhere overnight without making a lot of plans for Richard.
I got a manicure and a pedicure this afternoon. I really needed both! A massage is next on my list!!
That is how I've been too, Charlotte but mine has been since I was 5 and my mom & dad separated. My mom was blind so I took care of her business. Terrie was 14 and Joann was 7 when Jim & I moved in with each other so it seems like I have taken care of someone my entire life.
It seems to take 6 months to a year before you should make permanent changes in your life. Everyone is different!!! I look back over things I did in my office the 1st year after Joann died and I don't even recognize my handwriting much less some of the transactions. I actually thought being experienced would help us get through Cameron dieing but it's totally different and nothing is the same.
I don't plan to make any changes. Kristi asked me if I would move out to CA. I told her I would when I'm old and decrepit but I'm not there yet! I told her I don't want for them to have to take care of me long distance. I don't want them to have to travel to look after me. But I'm no where near that point right now!! I'm talking about way down the road. I own my house, have lots of friends here. But when I get up in my 80's (if I'm still here) I'll sale my house and my land in LA and buy some kind of small condo or maybe some kind of senior living. You wouldn't believe what a little 800 sq ft condo would cost in the town they live in. Who knows what I'll do 10 or 15 years from now. But for now I'm just talking about being able to go out to CA when I want to and stay for as long as I want and to go to other places. I'm going out Christmas. Jeff also wants me to come out in the spring and Jeff, Kristi and I will go down to Santa Barbara and spend a few days sight seeing and getting to see where Justin goes to school. Just doing stuff like that.
I've been through my mother, my daddy and my brother (my only sibling) and now Richard. I understand what you mean. You have different emotions with each experience.
Jeri, that job at Costco sounds wonderful and I hope Ashley gets it. Sounds like it is in the bag or they wouldn't have sent her for the drug test. I'm sure it has been very hard with Cameron gone. I cannot imagine the hole that would leave. Aren't you the lucky one for Thanksgiving!?
My granddaughter Mackenzie will be 16 on the 23rd and my DD and I wanted to celebrate somehow. She said all she wanted was a big family dinner. So we are having everybody out on the Sunday before T'giving for dinner. We're going to cook one of her favorite meals and her birthday cake will be homemade. Probably carrot cake will be one since she loves it. I'll be busy as we've got a bunch coming but it will be fun.
Charlotte, I guess it would take a bit for that freedom to sink in. I hope you do exactly what you described and don't put anything off. Especially the travel part. We never know what is around the corner, so go for it.
Charlotte, I am glad to hear you are not planning a move right away. I was hoping you would stay close enough we might actually get to see each other again some time !
I know you have plenty to keep you busy and lots of things neglected while caring for Richard.
I haven't had a massage since Jerry got hurt. Boy do I miss them too !
Elaine, I hope your doctor is as kind and compassionate as mine is. She is pregnant now and looks so cute ! She is due in about a month so she said she isn't feeling so cute anymore. Having had so many surgeries in the past just the mention of it makes me nervous. While one of my friends chatted with her doc while he removed her cataract, I had to be completely drugged. I have a terrible problem with dry mouth all the time and you can imagine how bad it is with no food or drink, when I came to my surgeon was standing beside me with a cup of Sprite!
I got my final checkup yesterday and my vision is 20/25, I could have had a "tweak in each eye" if I wanted new glasses, but I told them I was very happy with my vision now.
All of us miss loved ones every day and I know the holidays are worse, but as Christians, mothers and grandmothers we have a debt to pay to the family we have now. We have to show the rest of our family that life goes on and there is always something to be thankful for.
Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us we have been taught by a great cloud of witnesses and we should run the race, looking at Jesus, who endured the terrible shame of the cross, ran for the JOY that was ahead.
Charlotte, glad to hear you are staying busy and aren't planning any major permanent changes. When my uncle died, my cousins insisted that my Aunt move to Arizona to be close to them. She only lived about 2 miles from my parents and had her place paid for here. When she moved it cost her a small fortune and she was miserable out there! My cousin worked all day and rarely came over and my aunt didn't know ANYONE but her. The people where she lived played bridge all day or golfed - she didn't do either. I think she stayed about a year before she ended up moving back to Arkadelphia in an apartment. But she lost a lot of money in the process. :( She just wasn't thinking as clearly as she should have been.
Grief is such a powerful emotion - and it seems to linger forever so to speak............. it does get better, or really I think we get more resilient to the pain - but it sure never really goes away and the hole in our hearts is never truly filled. I do find reassurance in knowing that the loved ones that have gone before me are with the Lord, but I literally do not know how people that are non-believers cope with grief. The holidays are never quite the same. But, thankfully, I have reached a point where MOST days I can remember good memories of the holiday season with my parents. For some reason, my bday seems to be the hardest day for me - even worse than their bdays. :(
Jeri, I am glad that you don't have to deal with having everyone at your house. Maybe the change in location will ease some of the pain. Sounds like Ashley is on her way to a really good job! That sounds like a great starting salary - and benefits are always good!!
Elaine, sounds like ya'll have a fun family gathering planned! I LOVE houses packed with family members and good times. I really miss the days when about 20 of us would all be together in my parents small home! :) Alex's bday is the 24th - so I know how it is trying to celebrate the bday separate from Thanksgiving! His birthday falls on Tuesday this year - which is the day he was born, so I spent Thanksgiving in the hospital! Thankfully my Mom was nice enough to bring me some Turkey and dressing because the hospital food was HORRIBLE! LOL He will be 28..... and still in school! I know he is ready to be out! :) His birthday is also my work anniversary here. I actually started here on his 10th bday.
Don't know if this new job will pan out, but it would actually be working for a different power plant. From the looks of it, this is a salary position that is considered more a part of the management team and the pay increase looks like it could be very substantial - but you never know about that part until they actually get serious about the offer. Plus, I know some of their benefits are not as good as ours, but then some might be better so if they are interested I will have a lot of comparing to do. I THINK our job here is final stable, but my current boss is such a sexist that I have a REALLY hard time dealing with him..... and the managers that we have in place are in WAY over their head in my opinion. They expect me to bail them out and show them how to do everything (OVER AND OVER) and then I get 1% raises?? It is just extremely frustrating, so when a friend showed me this job posting and the pay scale - I knew I had to at least apply. It will probably be months before they fill it.
Christmas will be here before we know it! I feel like I am way behind because by this time last year, I had most of my shopping done! Finally the kids are beginning to understand I need some ideas if they want specific things .....otherwise they are stuck with what I pick out! That got them going on suggestions! LOL
We got quite a bit of rain last night, but thankfully no storms.
What a great weekend!! Sorry, Jeri, but Alabama played about the best defensive football they have played all year! I know Leonard Fournette is a great player, but Bama has such an amazing defensive line, and not just 1-2 players, it was something to see. That leap by A'shawn Robinson over the line and then the blocked extra point was something. I was watching it by myself. My DD and I had been out most of the day and she said I should have stayed overnight at her house. Her SO was out at a training course and my DH was hog hunting with the guys, so we had a girls weekend.
Friday I had my eye appointment. Couldn't see a thing afterward, so she drove us to dinner after I went with her to look at a car. She's giving her MDX to my DGD and is shopping for a new/used one. We met some friends at a local brew house for a beer and then went to eat Thai food. Saturday I had my run early in the morning and then we went to a big shopping thing at the Civic Center called 'Under the Christmas Tree'. It's a lot of vendors and we did knock out a few items for Christmas gifts. We then went to Cajun Steamer for dinner and I was pretty tired so went home to watch the game.
I skipped church Sunday and got a lot done in the yard yesterday morning. And in the house too. I raked up a bunch of pine straw. We had already had a bunch of bales put out but I had some areas I still needed to fill in so I raked up about 5-6 loads in my cart and put that out. Put away almost all my garden stakes, lawn ornaments, and picked about a dozen green tomatoes, some sweet peppers and about 3 doz jalapenos. Got a little more Preen sprinkled around but I still need some more. Yesterday afternoon I had to pick up a prescription and run a few errands & had volunteered to stuff bags for the Half-Marathon at 5 pm. Earl got home around 2 in the afternoon so I helped him unload until I left to run my errands. Then we met and had a quick bite and finally got home around 7:30. It really was a pretty good weekend. The boys had a great time camping out but they did get wet yesterday morning.
It rained here most of the weekend. Got dry yesterday morning but started up again last night.
Elaine we were flat out played!!! Our guys didn't do bad but they didn't do good either!!! There are a lot of sick Tiger fans after that game.
Jim's A/C went out in his truck so he came home last Wed and put it in the shop. They haven't gotten through with it yet so he is still home. The weather here was nasty all weekend so all we have done is cook and eat. LOL!!!!
We did get up and make it to church and it was a blessing as usual. Jim doesn't get to go to church while he is gone and even though he listens to the sermons on his phone it's just not the same.
Jimmy and Rebecca and the girls were in Biloxi for the weekend at a dance camp so it was quiet here also!!!
I need to start picking up my plumerias, hibiscus and hoyas. The rest can just stay where it is. I left Mary in charge of watering while Jim & I went to Illinois in August and she let a lot of my stuff die so I'm not moving them either.