Just need to talk to my friends (190)

ronald71111

Zetta, it must be wonderful to be able to get out and help people with their dietary needs. You would have fun convincing me what I should do, need to do and better di with my achalasia problems. I know that I should be eating small meals several times a day to give the food time to travel down the worn out esophgus.

Received the firm to fill out for primary care change in the mail yesterday. Everything has changed so much! It use to be where all you had to do is go to the patient advocate and tell your reasons and they would take it from there. Now you have to fill out a form that gies to a PACT (patient align care team), who reviews your request and has a decision within 30 days. In the meantime you continue to stay under your current primary care until you are reassigned. How do you continue to see your current Dr. if you lost trust in them?

Sunday afternoon and night was hard with Lou, she was at her worse and was almost more than I could handle. Yesterday she was a angel! The hard days are difficult, but when the good days come around it's easier to forget the hard ones.

Still cant get rid of this coughing when I talk or eat. I've also noticed my oxygen level doesnt come back up as quickly after mild exertion.

Ron

loveskitties

Hi to all. So sorry to not posting for a while, but I have been reading.

Days have been spent crocheting dinos...lol. They were a "seller" at the craft fair my daughter did recently, so have been working to create another "herd".

Ron, I am so sorry for the struggles you have had with your PCP and not feeling well. Perhaps you should just go to urgent care or ER again since you are still struggling with breathing and low oxygen levels. Prayers for your soonest improvement.

Zetta, sounds like you have "fallen into" a great job. Hope it all works out the way you want and gives you joy.

Our fur babies, great and small, do cause us concerns. I know if my one kitty goes into hiding I am frantic to find him...even though I know he can't get out of the house. Years ago when my 2 kitties were spry and full of mischief one had jumped onto the top of a bookcase which as placed across a corner leaving a space behind it. I started hearing this pitiful meow...she had gotten herself behind the bookcase and could not get out. I ended up having to empty the bookcase to be able to move it and rescue her! Fortunately she was uninjured by her adventure.

Lorita, I know how aggravating it is to misplace something. Hope the tablet will make an appearance soon.

To each of you, thank you for sharing your lives here. You are a joy!

Better days and better health to you all. Hugs

Lorita

Morning, good to hear from you all. Marie, crocheting must be relaxing to you. I think I'd go crazy but there again I've never tried it. I used to sew a lot - made my clothes, curtains, cushions, etc. and it was really relaxing to me. Now I doubt it would be. I'm sure all of your "herd" will be gorgeous when you finish - we'll need to see some pictures of your work. I get frantic, too, when I don't know where everyone is - like you said, even though I know they're still in the house I need to know.

It's a warm morning here - already 77 with some wind but the humidity is high. Guess that's Oklahoma for you. When I was growing up it wasn't this humid. After they built Eufaula Lake the humidity really increased.

I've fed three cats, watered and fed the two cows and opened the gate for them, fed the two Pyrenees and two squirrels and numerous birds. Also opened the last box from Chewy and filled the bird feeder. They have the best birdfeed for songbirds - lots of sunflower seeds, some smaller seeds and even peanuts. This morning I looked out the door when I got up and there was Rusty - and another squirrel. Guess I'll call this one Connie. Of course I don't know if it's a girl or boy. Wouldn't it be fun to see some little squirrels? I have two five gallon cans of cattle fed setting in the yard by the gate for the two girls and I cover them with the top from a mineral feeder - it's about two feet across. Then I put a heavy, heavy brick on top. Yesterday morning the top was off so I thought I had put the top on but wasn't positive. Last night I put it on and this morning it was off again. Those squirrels must get it off somehow. It has corn and other things in it that they must like.

Ron, so sorry Sunday evening and night was bad for you. Glad that it's better now. I never heard of such a thing - having to fill out a request form to change teams. Not sure how it was done when I was working there or later when Charles went to the VA all the time. He was always satisfied with his team (yellow by the way) so never dealt with changing one. Thirty days is a long time to wait to find out if you can change. Sounds like the VA is really changing from the way it used to be. Sometimes change is good and other times not so much. Like Marie said, it might be well to get checked out after having pneumonia.

Sara, how are things this morning - didn't see a post from you yesterday. I hope the stone has passed or at least not giving you so much pain. You're not able to work right now, are you?

Nothing going on here today - if I can help it. The girls are standing in the pond and some are grazing. They want to go into the barn where they can get out of the heat and away from the flies but Mike and I decided it would be better to keep it closed off because of what happened. Hopefully, soon he can move the bulls and put the heifers in the west pasture so "my" girls can get into the barn like they're used to being able to do.

I had some eggs in the refrigerator in an air-tight Lock n Lock container that I bought the latter part of March, I had used four of them but had checked them a couple of times and they were still all right. I don't use many eggs - hardly ever eat one so usually they just stay in the refrigerator. Yesterday I checked them again and none of them floated so I boiled them for Stormy and Sheena. Gave them a couple of they yesterday and they looked good. So it's been about seven weeks and guess they're still okay. Next time I go to town I'm going to get some Egg Beaters and freeze them to make individual eggs

.Has anyone seen a post lately from Day? Hope she's still around. I'll be back later - going to check on that e-mail.

loveskitties

Lorita, you don't have to get expensive Egg Beaters to freeze eggs.

Just take a regular egg and whisk it like you would normally and place in a plastic ice tray. Once frozen you can pop them out and place in a freezer bag. It is ok to freeze eggs, just not when they are still in the shell as they will explode.

jfkoc

Another thing...eggbeaters are mainly egg whites with some other junk thrown in. You can also use your muffin pan for freezing.

Lorita

Judith, thanks, good to know. I've read about freezing eggs and the place I read says to add some salt - I don't know why - but next time I get some eggs I'll whisk them and freeze. This is another thing I love about this thread - if one of us has a question or concern, someone has the answer.

I'm concerned about the big elm outside the kitchen window. It's huge - bet it's 100 feet tall. Looks like all the leaves, which are many, are mostly at the top. I had it trimmed back from over the house a year or so ago. A few days ago we had some wind and one of the lower limbs broke off. If one of those huge limbs broke or the tree fell it would either fall on the house or if it fell the other direction (north) it would hit the utility pole, electric line, generator and propane tank. I hate to have it taken down but it scares me. I know it's 70 years old, probably more - it's the one daddy put a chain around to hold the trunks together - when it was young. I'm going to call the tree people we use and see what he thinks. I can't stand to think of it being gone but I have to do something.

Oh, I am seeing some leaves on the magnolia - on a little limb coming out from the trunk at the bottom so there's still life there.

I went out a while ago and the lid was off the feed buckets - how those squirrels get it off is amazing. I put it back on and put a brick on each side. May have to put a mineral tub over it.

ronald71111

Lorita, when you mentioned the magnolia tree I had to post this picture. The first house Lou and I owned had a huge magnolia tree in the front yard. My brother and SIL owned a custom framed business and when we bought our current house brought us this picture. The candle stick holders and candles Lou had in a drawer for years and they were perfect for the picture.

jfkoc

Lorita...it is not if...it is when. You can likely trim the tree drastically but fact is some of the brnches may be rotten inside. I had an 80 year old elm limb fall recently into the yard...completely rotten.

Beautiful Ron.

Lorita

Ron, the picture is beautiful and so are the candleholders and candles. They couldn't have matched better. You know we planted that magnolia many years ago and it's probably 20-25 feet tall - never had a single bloom on it. I've seen much smaller trees that did flower. When I was working one of the social workers lived just down the drive from the hospital and he had a magnolia and would bring blooms to the office. They smelled so good. I hope I can salvage it - maybe leave it there or cut it back some - not sure.

Judith, I'm afraid you're right. The limb that did fall off just broke off for no apparent reason - unless, it was because that was the limb Rusty would run out on to get to the Rose of Sharon and to the ground. I so hate to lose the wonderful shade it provides - I hate to lose any tree but losing the house would be much worse and so would the generator, electric and propane tank. I'll call Adrian tomorrow - hate to call someone on business at night. They've done lots of tree work for us and have a grinder. Maybe I'll have them leave some of the trunk - it might grow back from the roots. Lorita lost a tree in her yard in an ice storm and they left the base of it and three trees grew back from it. Doesn't hurt to try. I have all kinds of little tree sprouts growing up in the yard - mostly black walnut - and others so I might plant one of them in a bucket and then transplant it in the fall. I have another tree by the storage house over the cellar that's really in bad shape - never can remember the name of it. Daddy got the seedling from a neighbor and planted it there decades ago. Just hate to think about losing trees and the Seeshade they provide but all good things must come to an end. Hope you all are well tonight.

Had a call from Darwin this afternoon. Seems my short visit made his wife dream not-so-good things about us so he had a really bad day with her on Monday. Hopefully, she has forgotten about it. But, we all know how Alzheimer's runs - good one day, bad the next.

See you all tomorrow. Rest well.

harshedbuzz

@ronald71111 the wait and uncertainty around this process seems really onerous and frustrating. That picture is lovely and the sconces really work nicely with it.

@Lorita I'm joining you in the "tree house". I scheduled the removal of 2 ashes. One is dead and dropping limbs on my deck and the other probably won't survive the year. I'm looking at $1200 to take them out and another $150 for grinding. Grrrr. This isn't the sort of project that is particularly sexy but it needs doing.

My mom sees her PCP to discuss treatment of her osteoporosis. We also going to discuss her recent falls, shoe choices and my suspicion that she's developed a little neuropathy. I am hoping this is a one-and-done appointment, but it seems like every appointment comes with a follow-up or a referral to a new specialist. She currently has 13 medical providers and I suspect she might get turfed back to her excellent but blunt rheumatologist who is something of a meangirl. Next month she sees her retinal specialist to discuss injections for her AMD. This is a wonderful development, but Dr. Google tells me she will need injections every 3-10 weeks. She insists on seeing the ophthalmologist downtown rather than one of his colleagues at their satellite location a mere 2 miles from her home because she trusts him.

I took mom to the garden center a couple days ago so she could buy some annuals for her postage-stamp sized front garden bed. LOL, last year I bought them as a Mother's Day gift and she insisted on the fancy New Guinea impatiens-- this year she saw the price and settled for more sensibly priced Vinca. Yesterday she called and asked to borrow my shovel. It's a little 1/2 size model that's perfect for working in an established garden and easier to use than a hand trowel. I said yes, of course, and then spent half an hour tearing apart my garage looking for it with no success. I called back and told her to check her own garage. It was there.

Lorita

Morning, Cloudy and damp-feeling here this morning. A few of the girls are already standing in the water. Last night about 3 a.m. Stormy decided he had to go outside - so let him out and went back to sleep. Usually I let him back in. He awakened me this morning outside the bedroom window whining. I guess he thought I'd banished him forever. He's all right now - sleeping on the divan. You know they get their feelings hurt just like humans, sometimes more.

HB, I found there's no use trying to convince our parents to do something - just have to sort of go with the flow. It's good that your mother is all right with going to the doctor - some aren't and that makes it harder. Hope things turn out all right with her.

Sounds like several of us are dealing with having trees taken out. I really hate to have it done and maybe he'll be able to trim it back - it looks so top-heavy. My dad used to keep the trees topped. I think what has me thinking about this is I've seen so many trees blown down onto houses this spring so guess I'll call this morning and see what he thinks - maybe he can remember the tree from the times he's been here. They don't live close - over by the Arkansas State Line.

Stormy smelled like abelia, I think, when he came in. I only have the one plant that didn't make it through the drought so maybe it's not abelia - it's a fragrance I know - could be some wild flowers I transplanted from the meadow a few years ago. My red knock-out rose in the back yard is beginning to bloom and the two salmon colored ones are in full bloom. The other one that was blooming had a lot of blooms and buds but the two girls have taken care of that - they must taste really good. I'd better stop and check on the two girls - need to feed them and open the gate for FedEx. Hope everyone's well this morning. I'll be back later.

ladyzetta

Good Morning.

Lorita. You are so right about how our fur babies get their feelings hurt. Yesterday I went in for my training I was gone from 1pm to 4pm and when I left home Molly was right by the door getting ready to go. She pretty much goes every place with me. I had to tell her to stay the look on her face broke my heart. She went to the couch and curled up and looked so sad.

I hope Sarah is doing as well as she can. I thought Chicken Pox was a thing of the past. Is it common for an adult to get it and how hard is it on someone? Iam glad your weather is getting better and your able to be spending more time out with all you animal babies.

Sara. How are you doing it seems like it has been a few days since your last post. Have you passed the stones yet. You're in my thoughts, I have never had stones, but I have heard they are painful. Please get some rest and take care of yourself.

Ron. The picture of those flowers is breathtaking. I love those candle holders they really set the picture off. I had to laugh at the way you described my job as a Dietary Aide. I have nothing to do with the food and the menus. I aide the dietitian by doing the dinner dishes. In my case Dietary Aide is short for a dishwasher. 😁

Marie. Thank you for wishing me well on my new job. I really needed to do something I was feeling so isolated, now I have people to talk to. Three days a week is good I really don't want to talk to people every day.

I started my on the job training yesterday. I worked 9am to 1pm. I learned how to wash dishes in the big commercial dishwater, how to wash the pots and pans, how to get the push carts ready for the morning meal. They asked me if I felt I needed to come back one more day for training before my Friday shift started. I told them No! I got this. LOL

It was nice being around people, but even nicer that I am not around a lot of people. My job entails, when I get there at 5pm the cooks are cleaning up their area from prepping dinner and the caregivers are cleaning tables and bringing all the dinner dished to the kitchen. The cooks leave at 6pm so it's all me. I wash up all the dinner dishes and wipe down all the cooking areas. The cooks will clean up all the cook areas. It's a small kitchen the cooking area is on one side and the dishwashing area is on the other side, it's all in the same room. So once all the dishes are done the counters all wiped off and the floor mopped, I can leave. After the cooks leave I don't really have any contact with anyone else. The kitchen is off limits to residents, and only certain people are allowed in the kitchen. I had a workout yesterday loading and unloading the big dishwasher, my arm is sore from pulling down the big handle that closes the doors and starts the dishwasher. Iam going to really like this. 🤣 🤑

Take care all, Hugs Zetta

Lorita

Hi again, Talked with Adrian - he'll come and see what he can do - not today probably and tomorrow his wife has surgery but Friday or Saturday. He asked if the elm tree was leafed out - of course it is already. He said you can trim them back much more before they have leaves - if you wait until they're leafed out and cut back too much it'll kill them. Elms also have a shallow root system. He said they don't do too well when they're topped. I just counted and I bed there's 15 trees in the yard - no limbs over the house now but close. I think when people plant trees, because they're small they tend to plant them too close to the house and when they're grown, they're too close. I know we did that with the seven Chinese Elms we planted at the MH. There were no trees so we planted a variety that would grow fast - and they did.

Still cloudy here and a good breeze but humid. Girls came to the barn to get a drink and maybe get inside but are drifting away - really wish they could go inside - maybe next week if it doesn't rain too much.

Trying to decide whether to put Frontline on the cats. I used to use it on our other cats but never have on these. Two of them have allergies - one has bumps around her neck so she's the one I'm concerned about. They're all asleep on the bed now. I've never seen a flea or tick on them so not sure if they need it. I, on the other hand, have gotten five or six small ticks off. You don't realize they're there until they start to itch or hurt. I guess they're all in the grass - just got one off my ankle a while ago.

Sandy, enjoyed the visit last night - always good to talk with you. Hope the vet doesn't find anything much wrong with your horse tomorrow. I know there's lots of talk in Oklahoma about Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Maybe I should wear a flea collar to keep them off of me. Somewhere in the back of my mind I think I've heard they vaccinate horses here for Lyme Disease? Not sure about that.

Time to watch the news - back later.

Lorita

Hi again, I found a picture of the big elm tree I've been talking about, however, I think it will be sideways if I can get it to post. Must have been taken either last fall or the one before. What do you think?

Lorita

Hi again, I just measured the circumference of the tree and it's 126" or 10 1/2 ft. I used the formula I found on line to calculate the age and it said 161 years which is not right. I can remember when I was very small it was sort of coming apart and daddy put a chain around it to hold it together. Of course the chain has broken but it's still there - grown into the tree. So, it may be 90 years old, not sure. This picture as taken over eight years ago because the generator is not in the picture and we had it installed in 2015. It would be an awful shame to cut down that tree - maybe Adrian can find an alternative.

jfkoc

Maybe you could cut out some of the large branchs....thinning. I do that on my big trees. It allows wind to blow through them. Did you find out how long elms live.

Check to see how much roof insurance would be. If the tree falls on the house where would you live while repair goes on for months???

What is the tree growing up beside it?

Lorita

Judith, it says American Elms can live up to 300 years - Chinese Elms 50-150 yrs. I have good insurance on the house and farm - not separate from the roof. The tree beside is it one of the Royal Paulownia trees - it's much taller now and bigger. Started it from a little seedling about 6" tall. We have another one in the front yard that has wisteria growing up in it and anotehr one by the corral. No blooms this spring because of last year's drought.

I hope he can thin it somehow - didn't realize how tall it was until it leafed out - should have had it trimmed back before leaves came on. When they cut the limbs back that were over the house, maybe two years ago, he said it looked safe then - hope it is now.

jfkoc

My USAA Homeowners does not cover my roof.

Lorita

Judith, we have American Farmers and Ranchers insurance on the farm, house, barn, etc. When we had the metal roof put on the house some years ago there was a way to lower the insurance because of the roof but it didn't cover as much - seems to me the roof had to be almost completely demolished so we didn't take that exemption.

It's been a pretty day but humid and pretty warm. Guess we might as well get used to the muggies since we have almost six months of them to go. Did go down to the mailbox to close the main gate and good thing I did - Susie and Penny were about 50 ft. from it. Why they would have gone all the way down there I don't know - there's plenty of grass for them to eat closer to the house. Maybe they were just exploring. All the other girls, except eight in the meadow, are in the south pasture. They don't seem to come up around the house since the barn is closed. I'll be glad when the bulls are gone and the heifers are back with the others so I can open the barn.

Judith, that tree that looks like it's next to the Elm is outside the yard, probably 50-100 ft. from it. For some reason all it's leaves and blooms are close to the top of it. The one by the corral has a pretty shape with lower leaves and blooms (but not this spring). How is Winda - haven't noticed that you've mentioned her later. Tell her hello for me.

Stormy and I just had a cheese sandwich - using the last of my homemade bread so guess that means I'll make bread tomorrow. I got rid of my Gold Medal flour and got some Great Value. I have another sack of Gold Medal bread flour so guess it's all right since the recall was for AP flour.

Sara, haven't seen a post from you today - please let us know how you are. Wishing you the best. Also, Ron, hope things are going well for you and Lou today.

I'll see you all tomorrow.

BethL

Lorita, that is a beautiful tree. Thanks for sharing the photo!

ronald71111

Rain rain go away, come again some other day! Remember that old saying!! Its been raining cats and dogs all morning and still going. I called Lou's sitter and told her to stay home today, no need to get out in this when I really dont need to do anything today.

Yesterday I was suppose to go for a appointment at the VA with PCMHI. Sitter didn't show up and I couldn't get her on the phone. Decided to take Lou with me and she refused. Ending up calling and had my appointment over the phone. Which worked out ok since she mainly needed a little history on me this first appointment. What is suppose to happen is she will try to help me cope with all the stress in my life.

Guess since the rain is st in for the day I'll get in the kitchen and make the beef tips and rice dinner I've been craving for over a month. Might even bake a cake!

Ron

Lorita

Morning, Ron, your dinner sounds good. Enjoy the rain while it's there but just stay inside - sounds like that's your plan for the day.

We had a little shower last night - most of the rain went north of us. The grass is a little bit damp. When I woke up this morning I looked out the window and saw the cows going as a herd across the south pasture, then they came down to the house. I noticed the gate to the NE pasture was closed. I must have done that a couple of days ago and forgot about it so opened it and now they're all happy with fresh grass to eat. Everyone looked okay - the little calves are so cute.

Last night the TV kept going off like it does when we're having rain - said trouble communicating with the dish but it straightened out. This morning when I turned it on - no picture - still trouble communicating with dish. Called Directv and they'll have to send out a technician tomorrow so I'll be without TV until at least noon tomorrow. I have a sneaking suspicion that Rusty may be involved in this. The last time something went wrong someone chewed on the cable coming to the porch. They put part of the cable in a piece of metal pipe but now it looks it may be frayed a little bit just above the pipe. Does there ever come a time when everything goes smoothly? It doesn't seem like it happens here - there's always something to be repaired or replaced.

Beth, thank you, it is a beautiful tree - I hate to have anything done to it - surely don't want to do anything to kill it for sure. Maybe they can trim it a little bit and let it go until the leaves are gone and then do a little more work on it. It says an elm can live to be 300 years old. I don't want it falling on the house or anything else so we'll see what he says. I had one big tree taken out a year or so ago and it happened there was another one growing just beside it so they left it and it's a beautiful tree - much taller than I thought it was.

Guess I won't be doing much of anything today - a nap will surely be taken. Ron, I may bake a cake, too. I haven't had an angel food cake in years so that sounds good. Enjoy the day.

BethL

Ron, Lorita, I may bake some lemon bars - the kind with a buttery crust, lemon filling and topped with powdered sugar. I have a bunch of lemons and need to use them before they go bad.

Ron, I am glad you seem to have gotten a little of your energy back. Glad that you have had some improvements.

We have had a busy couple of weeks. Last week we went to a furniture store and tried out the mattresses and chose one. Then, Ron had to take apart our waterbed which was no small feat. The mattress and box spring came this week. The old bed is out on the curb - we have large item trash pick up Saturday. Also, we arranged for and had delivered 3 pallets of cedar mulch (225 bags). So far we've worked on the mulching for 5 days (parts of 5 days, not all day long). It's a dirty job - but someone has to do it - lol.

Enjoy your day. Be well my friends. Beth

Lorita

Hi, it's been a strange day without TV. I did watch a movie on Amazon Prime on my tablet (still haven't found the big one and not looking for now). After that took out the two litter boxes and dumped them in the pasture and cleaned them out - still have another one that I just put out.

It's cloudy here and windy. While I was watching the movie wrote checks for insurance and donations. Stormy and I will take them down in the morning - don't like to leave checks in the mailbox overnight.

Did get a callback from the Chamber of Commerce telling me there are three places in town where I can take clothing to donate (they're all drop boxes which is fine). I have Charles' things in boxes so need to put them in plastic bags to make it easier for them to move - and probably for me to take to the PU, too. During the summer, or soon, I'll go through my closet and take out things I no longer wear or haven't worn in a couple of years. Just watch - as soon as I donate something I'll want to wear it. I pretty well threw away all my old shoes before they put the new floor in so at least that's done.

Never did get around to making the cake and won't today - I'm feeling like I'd like to take a nap.

I have Amazon Prime - does anyone know how to get that on my laptop? I can on my tablets but haven't figured out, or needed to, get it on the computer. This morning when I called Directv the guy said he could walk me through getting TV on the computer but, as usual, he was very hard to understand so I told him I was too busy at that time. Maybe I'll do that later.

Beth, I've never made lemon bars - bet they're good. Lemon pie was my mother's favorite so they may be a bit like that. Ron, you mentioned the sitter - is it the woman who lived next door but moved? Also glad you're sounding like you feel better. so grateful for that. Laptop's about out of power so I'll stop and charge it and the tablet.

ronald71111

Got the spice cake made and still working on the beef tips and rice. Guess I've been in the kitchen to long. HR was 124 little over a hour ago, down to 102 now. All I've done was fix Lou's breakfast, bake a cake and working on the supper. Nothing strenuous so really dont understand.

Rain has stopped for now but suppose to have another round later.

At least Lou has been good all day!

Ron

jfkoc

Amazon....pull up amazon just like you are going to order something. In the black line at the top you will find Prime VIDEO toward the left side.

Or, just type Prime Video in your search bar.

Lemon squares....Yum.

Test results comig in from lab work done yesterday. 13 different tubes. They asked if they thought I could do it. I told them I could not possibly have downed any more water so to start and see how it went. So far all looks good.

Lorita

Thanks, Judith, I've never noticed that before - thanks so much. Guess I'm set for the night now. There's lots of good movies listed and TV shows. Maybe I can find Barney Miller. The movie I watched today was pretty good - On A Wing and a Prayer. Why were you needing to drink so much water?

Ron, you've been really sick and you're not completely well yet. Don't overdo - you don't want a backset. Your body needs time to get back to the place it was before you got sick. Do a little bit, sit down and rest, then do some more. We haven't had any rain but it's looked rainy all day. I like spice cake - use a lot of the mixes to make the pumpkin-spice muffins. Supper sounds good. 

Lorita

Hi, thanks again, Judith. finding some interesting things to watch. I've found one show called Clarkson's Farms that is very interesting. He's English and just bought 1,000 acres and is trying to learn to farm it himself. Really funny. Brought back so many memories of the days when daddy was farming. I was very inquisitive so learned a lot about it - what you do first, etc. I was always asking questions. Farming is an art and you have to be able to try to know what the weather is going to do. Back when daddy was farming I doubt they had very good weather reports - he learned how to read the clouds or weather. Farming is a gamble for sure - guess that's why people don't do it as much as before - at least around here. Hope I can figure out how to get back to the point where I stopped watching for tonight.

I went out with a glass of iced tea and sat on the porch swing and enjoyed the evening - then called Sarah and had a nice visit with her. The cats and GPs have gone to bed and I won't be far behind. Looks like it's storming in OKC - supposed to get here about 10 or so according to the bit of weather I saw at 6 p.m.

Shoot, just remembered I didn't eat supper - did have some rainbow sherbet so guess that will sufficeth. Probably will wake up hungry at 2 a.m. Reminds me when I used to be dieting sometimes when Charles and I went to bed I'd mention that I was hungry. He always made me get up and find something to eat - or he'd bring me something. He said you should never go to bed hungry. I think that stemmed from the time when he was growing up and they didn't have much - probably did go to bed hungry sometimes. Memories.....

See you all tomorrow - sleep tight, don't let the BBB.

ronald71111

Good morning from Lorita's front porch!

HR stayed high until I got the kitchen cleaned up. After I rested awhile in my recliner it started going down. Took awhile but it finally was under 100 before bed and its 78 now. Just hard for me to understand how something as simple as making supper and baking a cake can do that. At least Lou didnt give me any problems. The beef tips and rice was good, I did use just a tad too much red pepper, I've always thought if my eyes and nose was running it's good. Spice cake was delicious also and thinking about it has me craving a slice. Think I'll go get a small piece!

I still have several projects I want to get done around here. I've always held on to my money for emergencies but have reached the point in my life where I feel like I've held on to too much and need to enjoy some of it.

Horse racing started at Louisiana Downs last weekend and I told my brother when SIL recovered from her surgery we needed to go. Its probably been over 20 years since I've watched the horses run.

Ron

Lorita

Morning, Ron, you've been really sick so your body needs time to repair itself. Take it easy and don't overdo. Do a little bit, rest, then do some more. I have a good friend who's 82, hasn't been sick but he says he can only do something for about 10-15 minutes, then has to rest before he does more.

I'm the same as you, I've held onto funds but at my age seems like I should start using them. Living on a farm I guess being frugal is ingrained.

It's cloudy here this morning with some wind and humid. Mike called about an hour ago and said he was going to try to move the bulls this afternoon and get the heifers back where they belong so I went out and opened the barn and called them back down. Everyone went in easily except one of his red heifers. I did get around her and she went in with the others. I know it's going to be pretty hot in there and I'd like to open the back doors but they're wired from the inside and I don't feel safe going into the barn to get them ready to open. If it was just our girls it would be fine but his heifers are really skittish

I took some mail down to the box and opened the north gate - didn't see those two girls anywhere and I made two trips. I fed them earlier this morning and I know they're somewhere but they're really hiding - probably in some deep shade.

So, Ron, with the cooking you did yesterday you probably won't have to do anything today except warm it up. Rest today. I think I may cook a frozen pizza later today.

Lots of bad weather south of and around OKC last night - several tornados. All we had here was some heavy thunder and a little sprinkle.

I'll be back later - hope the Directv guy comes before 4 p.m.