Quarantine and chill and kindness chatty clubhouse: Jump in and join the conversation! All is welcome!

[flyingdumbo127]

Happy Friday and good morning/afternoon to all!

It's a dash (I'll take it) warmer here at the moment, still cold but better than yesterday. I truly appreciate all of your time and care, love, helping me find some type of robe. I will be ordering something this weekend and pray it will work much better for me! I also need to try and find some gloves. I know that must sound odd coming from LA but I think if my hands were warmer. I'd also be warmer. I am trying to find some that are comfortable and roomy as opposed to tighter fingers. My own fingers are long and narrow but I don't like them feeling squished! So grateful at night for jersey sheets! I do have my new comforter if need be as well. So thankful dad also has his new comforter.

Big hug, B&B, and what a wonderful mom you are! Adorable pictures of your young DS! He is blessed to have you that is for sure. Prayers for both of you and that he finds a good friend!

Thank you so much, Snowysmom! I’m just trying to find something without a collar at the back. It needs to be like a crew neck T shirt neckline. Completely flat all-around if that makes sense. That’s why I’m thinking I may need to consider something not as traditional like a long nightgown or nightshirt or even wearable blanket. Always love and continued prayer to you, my friend. I’m glad you will get to talk with your sister!

Thank you hug also dear Lynn. I agree that it must be the beanbag part. I know that must sound so funny and odd but it’s true! That’s how it felt like a weighted beanbag! I hope you enjoy whatever dash of warmer weather there is out there and have a good day!

Sounds like a yummy way to earn some extra money, Footballmouse! Enjoy and your party, too!
Thank you also, Carol, I will look into that Have fun at Longwood!

ITA, Dazed! Prayers continuing for you as well, my friend.

Pea, hug to you and prayers work is going smoothly!

Judique, hug and hi to you as well. Your post snuck in just as I hit reply!

Your post did the same as Judique's Frog. Good to see you, too and, of course, a hug as well. Thank you and Snowysmom for the Kohl's info. Dad and I each actually have $10 in Kohl's cash. They sent it to each of us. The only catch is you have to spend $25 to get free shipping which at Kohl's means $35 because once the $10 is deducted along with any other discounts, the subtotal still has to be $25. The closest Kohl's is almost an hour from us so we are probably going to need to pass on our $10. That's why I have said one time when this plague is behind us, how wonderful it will be to go to Kohl's and Penney's too! I appreciate the suggestion and tip and always you and all of you dear Quackers.

Love to all! I'll come back later

 

[Snowysmom]

footballmouse--- Please try to figure out your c-pap machine, it is really dangerous not to be using it regularly. It can be doing a lot of damage to your heart. Just concerned about you

I second this with personal experience. A contributing factor and probably a major factor why my DH passed was sleep apnea and not using his cpap machine. He was getting salivary gland infections so he stopped. His PCP told him to look into other things that could be used instead but DH never did. I also believe he was having heart issues from the sleep apnea and family history as I saw him really slowing down the last 9-12 months. No one thinks the worst will happen but it can and it does. Just a PSA.

I talked with a coworker who lost her husband in 2009. It was expected as he had cancer. She sold her house and bought a condo all within 4 months of his passing. She never regretted it. She bought a townhouse as her kids were still coming home from college. She is my age and she said at this age she would have gotten a one floor condo. She also said she travels alone sometimes on cruises. Her sister goes solo to Disney. So there is hope for solo travel in my future. It was good to talk with her and get her take on everything. She said the "firsts" are the worst and I know that for sure. This month is an emotional minefield and I find I can cry at just about anything. She also said once she got the appt with social security that the process was easy and quick. I just need our marriage certificate which I do have. She had her appt in August and had benefits start in Sept. As long as the rep does call me at the appt time on Jan 3 I should be OK. She is retiring at the end of this year. I am not ready for that as I would not know what to do with myself. I will keep working and see when it feels right personally and financially.

Time to take my walk. The weather is warm, around 57 and sunny. Tomorrow will be a different story with some snow so I have to get my errands, house visit, and hair appt done early.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

With the exception of DH's gifts, and stocking stuffers, all wrapping is done. This could be a record for early finish.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

@footballmouse If you want to post (or PM) me a pic of your equipment, I might be able to help you figure it out. If not, I know a respiratory therapist on here we could ask. If you check with your supplier, you may be eligible for a new set up, too.

BTW I have been seeing this advertised on TV, I don’t know much about it, but it might help someone w sleep apnea.

https://www.inspiresleep.com/

 

[Kirby]

We use a Rubbermaid bowl to freeze soup in. We take it out and just pop it in the microwave.

Had a nice visit with my brother, we went out to lunch. He makes me laugh. Then this evening, had a surprise visit from an old friend who was in town, which was really amazing. Like feast or famine around here!

I'll have to look into those bowls!

It's always so nice to go out to lunch with someone you haven't seen in a while.

the robe sadly is going Its weight is SO weird and causes me TMJ trouble. I've seen any garment that has that beanbag but very heavy weight feel to it--does that makes any sese, btw? Is it because it's velour whatever that means? I may have to go with a long sweatshirt or night gown both pull over but would (I hope) work better. If any of you see anything on Amazon with the same round neckline (zero collar) as the red one I posted (that's going back) please, please let me know. It can be a long sleeve sweatshirt, robe, nigh shirt, lol don't care! Need something.

Could it be the zipper that is weighing you down? My mom had a couple of terry cloth robes which would have been very lightweight but the zipper was just heavy enough to feel that the front was weighing her down.

Going to make dark chocolate cherry biscotti today.

Mmmmmm, that sounds good!

The stuffed pepper casserole turned out really good. I put a Pillsbury French loaf in the oven to also have with it. The recipe is below.

I have a taste test that I'm doing later this morning. I'll be tasting cinnamon rolls and I get paid $12. It's easy money so always try to get picked for them. I've stopped doing the product testings for P&G since I'm not working from home every day. That was a real bummer because they pay really good to test their products. I'll still fill out the questionaires, maybe some of the studys will have late pickup times.

Thank you for the recipe!

I've always wondered what it would be like to be a taste tester. Something right up my alley. I'm always game to taste something new.

Snowysmom, I'm so glad that you have someone you can talk to, not that talking to us is not good but someone that has been through what you are going through does help to not feel so alone.

I met with my monthly Men's Group last night, no men though. There are six of us ladies and one of us decided that our name should be something about menopause. I can't remember what Men's stands for now, I just know that I don't care for the name. I call them my girl's group to differentiate them from the other groups I hang out with. This group is around my age whereas my birthday group is 10+ years older than me. Anyway, we all brought something to the table. I took a Cranberry/Walnut Batard I picked up at Kroger. Delicious! Another brought cookies from a local bakery called Crumbz. We also had Taco Soup, Mandarin Orange/Pine Nut/Spinach/Mixed Greens salad and an appetizer made with Brie/Pecans/Blackberry Jam in a pastry shell.

Lil Joe went to school today but DD now has the virus. She was up at 11:00 pm throwing up and then added diarrhea to the mix about 5:00 am. The throwing up has finally stopped but the urge for the other is still there. I'm hoping that it will pass the rest of us by but I'm not getting my hopes up. DH left this morning to go deer hunting. I hope the virus doesn't strike him down while he gone.

Lou Lou likes to use markers like any other child her age. She wanted to color and use her markers this morning so I sat her at the kitchen table. A little while later I went to check on her and found that she had been applying her "makeup".

 

[lynxstch]

Biscotti are done, except for the white chocolate drizzle that has to finish hardening before I put them in the airtight container. They taste good, but it will probably be the only time I make them. Too time consuming. That batter was so hard to mix with the mixer,,and then I made a mess rolling them out into logs. Then the baking time, cooling time, cutting time, more cooking time, and more cooling time. I think I made them smaller than they should be, but not being someone who ever buys biscotti, I figure these are the right size for my purpose.
I think I am going to wrap some up in little bags for the mail carrier, the newspaper carrier and the trash men.. There are just too many for the 2 of us to eat. I don'twant to gain back any of the 25 lbs I have lost, lol!

Its very cloudy outside, temp is 58, but they say rain is on the way

Have a nice evening

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good afternoon

Love all the pictures!

Lou Lou is precious, Kirby! I don't think it was the zipper but somewhere near the top of the robe because picking it up, it felt SO weighted and heavy from the top. Your Mens group sounds great. I would love a not quite (I don't) think 100% in Mens group

Snowysmom, you ARE doing what is right for dear you and that is SO courageous because YOU are, my friend.

Pea, as always, thank you for your loving care to us all!

Lynn, enjoy your treat

So glad dad is safely home for the day from laundry and Ralph's and that it's a dash, a tad, but something, warmer today, too!

I hope you all are having a good day. Thinking once more of Sparkle and pray she is okay!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Slipping thread save!

I've narrowed the robe choices down to two. Will choose one and let all of you know how I (sure pray I will) like it! Pink Robe and Purple Night Shirt I'm leaning toward the purple at the moment just because it looks longer in length. I like the pink because it has the zipper. Decisions, decisions, lol!

Sweet dreams to all of dear you!

 

[Snowysmom]

@flyingdumbo1127 I like both your choices. I do think I like the pink one a bit better as it looks warmer and has the zipper. But, you are the one who needs to be happy with your choice.

Off to start the day.

Have a good Saturday.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Good morning, everyone.

Having a nice weekend here - DS is home for a couple of days (between his friend's and DH's birthdays) so I'm in my "mom happy place".

 

[lynxstch]

Good rainy Saturday morning,,at least it's not snow!

@flyingdumbo127 another vote here for the pink one

Already stripped and remade the bed, just have to go down and put the others in the washer. I may make my mothers English Teacakes (not really cakes, but they are cookies she would make every year when I was a kid, and it's not the holidays to me without them

Have a nice morning--@PollyannaMom--enjoy your 'happy place' weekend!

 

[dazedx3]

Good morning.

Flyingdumbo127-- I would get the pink one, but you have to be happy.

Today my DS is flying home. He is my sentimental, traditions kind of guy! I'm having some Mom guilt because I just couldn't do it all this year. Maybe I'll put him to work, He suffers from depression and anxiety. He just had a major upset in his life so we'll see how he is doing.

Have a great Saturday everyone.....try to relax, if only for a bit, during the busy preparations.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning.

Flyingdumbo127-- I would get the pink one, but you have to be happy.

Today my DS is flying home. He is my sentimental, traditions kind of guy! I'm having some Mom guilt because I just couldn't do it all this year. Maybe I'll put him to work, He suffers from depression and anxiety. He just had a major upset in his life so we'll see how he is doing.

Please don't beat yourself up over 'Mom guilt'. I have a feeling quite a few of us QUACKers aren't up to doing what we normally do at this time of year. I know I haven't. Between taking care of Mr L, being in the hospital myself, even though I feel great, I just didn't feel like going all out. Have a happy time with your son being home, keep him busy, that will take his mind off all he's been through.

Have a great Saturday everyone.....try to relax, if only for a bit, during the busy preparations.

 

[Kirby]

Dazedx3, definitely what Lynn said.

Mona, if you can manage it, I'd order both and then send back the one you don't want.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Good morning. (I still have 11 minutes to type that.)

Longwood was nice last night but fairly crowded, even outside. Only stayed 2 hours this time. Did get hot chocolate with Baileys. Then picked up carry out for dinner. We were going to go to a restaurant, but with the increase in COVID, we decided to be safe.

And speaking of COVID, DD and family are getting tested before the holidays. There is concern about Carter possibly being exposed. And we get tested Tuesday. Prayers that all test are negative.

DH went out for a few errands to I wrapped his gifts while he was gone. Now working on stocking stuffers. Plan to make some cookies this afternoon.

@lynxstch, the biscotti looked good.

@flyingdumbo127, I would also go for the pink one. The purple looks pretty lightweight.

Back to watching Dave. I always like that movie. And DH and I were there when the scene at the Orioles game was filmed. It was fun.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Waving Saturday hi to all!

Thank you all for your robe thoughts!

Kirby was right! I ordered both! I like the pink one better as I said for the color and zipper, plus it looked warmer to me as well. I liked the purple (turned into bright blue because the purple would not come until mid -February. I'm not much of a blue fan overall but have always liked bright sky blue) because it somehow looked longer than the pink choice. This way as you said, I'll get to see both at the same time. Plus, I do not want dad to have to make 2 separate trips to the UPS store for a return. This way, we'd know about both at once and I can make an easier, more informed choice. I hope one of the two is a winner!

Hooray for visiting family all-around! I pray those of you with relatives coming simply enjoy the gift of extra time in person with them.

Carol, just saw your post. Indeed big prayers for negative results! I remember Dave and liked it, too!

I've asked for sugar cookie recipes before but not sure I ever specified we'd prefer a drop sugar cookie (no cut out) because those also tend to be softer and thicker which equals easier for me to eat and less greasy--maybe. I will go back and search all of your earlier suggestions and thank you, of course, for them!

Forgot to share earlier in the week that my new bath towels are Quacker Famil;y approved bright yellow! I desperately needed new bath towels and these were a bargain at Target.

Happy Saturday to all!

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning. (I still have 11 minutes to type that.)

Longwood was nice last night but fairly crowded, even outside. Only stayed 2 hours this time. Did get hot chocolate with Baileys. Then picked up carry out for dinner. We were going to go to a restaurant, but with the increase in COVID, we decided to be safe.

And speaking of COVID, DD and family are getting tested before the holidays. There is concern about Carter possibly being exposed. And we get tested Tuesday. Prayers that all test are negative.

I hope Carter wasn't exposed, ,I hope all of your family , including you and your husband, all test negative..prayers said

DH went out for a few errands to I wrapped his gifts while he was gone. Now working on stocking stuffers. Plan to make some cookies this afternoon.

@lynxstch, the biscotti looked good.

Thank you!

@flyingdumbo127, I would also go for the pink one. The purple looks pretty lightweight.

Back to watching Dave. I always like that movie. And DH and I were there when the scene at the Orioles game was filmed. It was fun.

 

[lynxstch]

I am confused right now. I went across the street to the cluster mail box to get our mail. There was a stack of mail..on the ground..which of course was wet since it rained. I picked it up to see who it belonged to. It belonged to a guy on the next street. There were bills in it, circulars, a calendar etc..and something belonging to a contracting company he owns. I came back up our driveway, walked through the 2 yards next door to get to his house. Knocked on 2 of the 3 doors of his house before I could hear someone talking, from a different doorway. I knocked on that one and he answered..and he wasn't very happy that I found his mail on the ground. He said he got his mail Thursday, but not yesterday. I said it was some strange mail person in a post office truck, plus another lady in a jeep full of mail parked behind her. Mail didn't come till after 3, usually here before 10 am. I got our mail, and there was nothing on the ground, so my guess is the carrier in the jeep found it in her jeep after the other truck was gone,,didn't have a key to unlock the box, and just threw it there. We all have our own keys..so noone else could have unlocked his box to take the mail out..and there is one main lock that unlocks both doors, so the carrier can access all the mail boxes. I tried calling the post office, but they are closed till Monday. I suggested he call and raise heck on Monday..if that was our mai..I would have gone through the ceiling! If that is what happened, that carrier needs to be fired!


I saw the mail truck coming, so I went out. Not our usual carrier again. I asked who delivered the mail yesterday. Carrier said 'I did', why? I told her about the guys mail being on the ground, in the rain, next to the box. She asked me if I knew what the name was and the address. I told her and she said I put his mail in the box yesterday and locked it. She said the jeep behind her was just delivering pkgs for her..but there was an awful lot of regular mail in that jeep when I walked by it yesterday to get our mail. She said people are going around taking mail and pkgs..I said I can understand that when most boxes aren't locked..but all this mail is locked and only the person who's mail it is..or a carrier can unlock the box. And why would anyone just throw this guys mail on the ground? She said she would tell someone about it when she got back to the post office later,,and I said and your delivery manager can expect a not so nice call on Monday from the guy!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

So, I wasn't exactly truthful about Carter being exposed, I just wasn't putting this out there until DD put it on Facebook. Here is her post after their entire family was positive on this date last year. She is angry.

One year later and we’re finding ourselves in a similar situation. Carter had a snotty nose this morning and with lots of weekend plans I did a rapid test on him. There was an incredibly faint positive line. So we went to get the whole family PCR tested, to be safe. I’d say half the line for the PCR tests were other family’s with children Tessa and Carter’s age. I heard more than one child screaming in their car seat while mom or dad tried to do a nose swab on them.
It makes me infuriated how a year later we’re still having to deal with this because of the selfishness of other adults. My kids are lucky enough to be surrounded by people who take the safety of our kids seriously. But there are enough people out there still who don’t, and unfortunately my kids have to go to daycare where they see other children just like them that are too young to be vaccinated. And yeah, even if we’re positive it’s likely just going to be a cold for the kids. But it will also mean them missing out on a week of Christmas fun, because they’ll be forced to isolate. So no Christmas lights train, no daycare fun, no Christmas Eve church, no grandparents/aunts/uncles on Christmas day. So I’m glad that your choice to not be vaccinated is working out for you. Because my kids don’t get a choice. And as long as adults are making the choice not to protect them then they’re still at risk not just for sickness but for the continued loss of normalcy.
Praying for negative PCR tests, and that I’m overreacting. But the fact that we still have to do all this is *********.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Slipping thread!

Cool afternoon here. I'm working on dad's Christmas card right now. I'll watch some of a Hallmark movie later. I hope each of you are having a good Saturday.