Book Board Chat

Been a while since I visited. Had my epidural December 27, it helped a lot, but was hard to know as pain in hip became unbearable. Had left hip replaced January 19, all was going really well, I thought, but xrays on 6 week post surgery visit showed I had broken a bone in my hip, so I was told to stop 50% of my PT exercises until I saw the doctor this past Thursday. The broken bone is not going to heal on its own. I now need to decide if I want to have surgery to repair it, or use a cane to walk the rest of my life. I keep going back and forth about it. The surgery is very complicated with a high failure rate. I would have to stay off my feet for up to 3 months. Decision has to be made by April 17 and surgery by April 20. After that, too late to do anything. Doctor really wasn't much help in deciding. I HATE the cane! I can't carry anything, need someone to help me all the time with the simplest chores. I need to be more independent. But the failure rate on surgery is over 35%, not good odds. So I go back and forth. Today, I am thinking I have to try it. Tomorrow I may think it is not worth it.

Saw the discussion about daily papers. I have read the Rutland Daily Herald for over 60 years. About 5 years ago, they got rid of the Sunday edition, 2 years ago, they got rid of the Monday edition. Now there is a physical paper Tuesday through Saturday. I used to subscribe, but then I got a carrier who threw my paper in snow banks, was late 3 times a week and I would have to buy a paper on my way to work even though I had one coming at home. Now the Tuesday thru Friday paper is $1.50 but they want $3.25 for the Saturday edition, just because it has the grocery flyers, so I stopped buying Saturday. I may go back to subscribing since I moved and it will be different carrier. Costs less than half of what I pay for 4 papers a week if I subscribe.

DIANE

I did not realize how long since I posted here. I am all moved in at new place. The amount of stuff I threw out is a disgrace but it does feel good to have all that baggage gone. Health issues are occupying me now. For a couple years I have been having leg problems. Tried chiropractor, various medication, physical therapy, nothing helped much. I was referred to spine clinic and while waiting for that appt, things got worse fast, My left him has become so painful. Getting up from sitting position is excruciating and I need a cane to walk at all. Had MRI last week and saw Dr yesterday. My hip needs to be replaced. That didn’t surprise me, but it has to be done as soon as possible. Seems I have a vascular necrosis, hip bone end is dead and has collapsed. I also have major spine issues. As soon as they get approval from insurance, I will go for epidural shots. Christmas will be sparse. I just don’t have the ability to do things right now.

Dianne, this year I planted one Early Girl and one Beefsteak. Last year I planted Early Girl and one Heirloom.

Why is the world so complicated? Everything takes twice as long as it should and requires tons of paperwork. What should have taken 3 days, has taken 3 weeks to get finalized. I bought a new couch, takes 10 days to get it delivered. Purchased a storage shed, it will be at least a week before they can deliver and set it up. In the meantime, I have begun moving small amounts of stuff every day. All the outdoor stuff is at new place. Most of my nonperishable food is now in the cupboards there. The storage shed is 2 stories, 10 X 16 so it will allow me to keep more than I originally thought. I am still dedicated to purging as much as possible. I don't need it and my son doesn't need to deal with it when I am gone.

6 tomato plants Dianne? I plant 2 each year and have 10X as many tomatoes as we can use. My husband keeps telling me to plant just one, can't make him understand that I can't plant just one. If it fails, I have no backup.

Patsy, I saw you were back on Facebook, but have not yet accepted the friend request because I wanted to be sure it was you. I will accept it now.

I will not be giving up selling on Ebay entirely, but with limited space to store stuff, I will be selling a lot less or a lot smaller items. I will keep some cookbooks, but already sold the most valuable ones. I have over 350 of them. No time to list them and too much stuff that sells faster for better money.

I am also keeping the Christmas stuff with sentimental value, but not much of that. My Grandmother's and Mother's stuff all went to my older sisters who passed it down to their kids. I have about 16 bins of Christmas. I am trying to get what I save into just 2 of them.

It is so hard to give away my books. I spent a lifetime collecting them and most have special meaning to me. But with no room, it makes no sense to store them where no one, including myself, will ever see them again.

Hello all!
Sorry I haven't visited but I have been so very busy with life. We have decided to downsize and move to a smaller place and want to do it before winter. Stairs are getting hard for me and would like to be on one level. Not much housing available around here and it is a lot harder to find a place than we expected.
I am going through stuff and have already filled one dumpster and am working on a second one. Most of the stuff I am throwing out is good, it should be donated, but the time it would take to box it up and take it to the thrift stores would make it an impossible task.

I have not gotten to the books yet, but I have 8 full bookcases and 3 boxes of cookbooks. I have decided to only keep 2 bookcases and to give away all the rest of the books. It is breaking my heart to do it, but it must happen. I do have someone who will take the books. He will come pick them up as soon as I have them boxed.

The hardest is going to be my Christmas items. I have at least 10-12 bins full of vintage Christmas. I will keep a couple but must get rid of most of it. I had considered a storage unit, but if I am never going to use them, why pay to store them. Let someone else enjoy it.

Dianne, I read about your Cussler book. I wonder if it was the hardcover version of "Iceberg"? That is a very hard to get book and still sells for $200 on Ebay, A few years ago, it was going quite a bit higher. I think I sold one in just acceptable condition for $160.

My son named him Dalton. He does not look or act like a Dalton. I call him Silly or Silly Cat.

I no longer have the option on iphone 13 of not having it personal code locked. A 6 digit code is required to open it. And I never used one on my computer but again, the setup for my new computer required a 4 digit numerical code. On my phone, I can answer incoming calls without the code, but that is all. Everything else requires a code.

Very disappointed in my physical therapy. I have been going 2 days a week for 3 months and really no improvement in my ability to walk. I have seen some improvement in stamina, but I really need to walk better. So, this week, they have switched me to the therapy pool. They say it works wonders for some people. I am willing to try. I went yesterday for first session. It is intense. They put me through a lot in 45 minutes. Hope it helps. I go back again next Monday, then twice a week after that if I decide to keep with it.

June, we have had air quality issues from the Toronto area fires for the past 3 days. Sunrises and sunsets have been a big red ball in the sky, the moon has had an eery orange glow and we cannot even see Pico and Killington Mountains which are 6 and 12 miles from us. Normally in the summer, the air is crystal clear and we can see mountains well beyond Killington that are over 30 miles away. Only once was I actually able to smell smoke, but the haziness is unusual for us. It all moved away about noon today when the wind direction changed. It is now going west and south of us to NY, DE, PA.

My little kitty is growing and what a terror he is! Nothing is safe from him. He just adores my son. Every time he sees Christopher he sits on his feet really making it necessary for Christopher to pick him up to avoid stepping on him. He mostly ignores me unless I am sitting in the recliner. Then he likes to come and be cuddled and petted. He constantly attacks Jerome wherever he is. He is very entertaining.
I had my DNA tested several years ago on 23 and me. Every month they send me a new list of "relatives", almost always 3rd or 4th cousins by their estimate and rarely anything worth pursuing. But my niece showed up a year ago and my grandniece showed up about 8 months ago. A new one showed a few months ago that said second cousin, but not a name at all familiar to me so I emailed her and was able to determine she is the daughter of my nephew that I have not seen in 30 years. 2 weeks a go another showed up saying 2nd cousin or first cousin once removed. Before I could message her, she messaged me. Was able to find that her mother was my first cousin. My cousins were all way older than I, this cousin was about 15 years older, but I did babysit for her kids a couple of times and the new relative is one of the kids I babysat for. She was about 3 at the time, she is 61 now. She lives in Arizona but will be in Vermont next week for a graduation and we will get together with her and a bunch of other cousins on that side that I have never met or have not seen in decades. Should be an interesting day.

got my new kitten on Saturday. He is just adorable. All black, teeny tiny, nonstop energy and into everything. We are falling in love with him, so mush fun and very affectionate.

I was supposed to get my kitty today. I was so looking forward to it. Now the owner says she would like to wait another day or 2. She says he is eating both hard and soft food and that he uses the litter pan, so I am not sure why the delay. But I've waited this long, I guess I can wait a few more days.

June, I am still waiting for my kitten. He will be ready to pick up on May 16. I plan to name him Rocky unless it doesn't fit when I actually meet him. Other options are Einstein or Champ.

June, I have always had 2 cats at a time until now. When Bear died, my heart just wasn’t in it to get a second cat and with Peewee so young, I thought I had time. I will likely get 2 kittens but not at the same time.

After countless Facebook posts, emails, applications, etc, I have found a black male kitten. He will be ready to take home on May 5. I am leaning towards calling him "Rocky", but will decide if it fits when I meet him.

I do think the physical therapy is helping. We went to an estate sale today and had to park half a block from the place. I was able to walk to and from with no problem and even shopped on my feet with no shopping cart for almost 20 minutes. I may try walking outdoors next week. I will start by walking to the end of our street and back and if I can do that, I will try walking to the church (about 2 blocks away) next. I'd really like to get back to walking a mile a day 3 times a week, but don't know if that is a realistic goal or not.

Nice to see you back, Karen.

All 3 of us are having a hard time with the loss of Peewee. Really hadn’t been aware of how much he had wormed his way into our daily lives and schedules. Miss him so much! I am trying to find a new kitten and not having any luck. Lots of kittens out there but so far can’t find an all black one and Jerome and Christopher won’t accept anything else.
I am going to physical therapy twice a week and doing my recommended exercises daily and I think it may be helping. At first it was up one day, down the next, but this week I think I am getting stronger. It is slow progress, but progress.

Such a difficult day today. My sweet cat, Peewee, was euthanized last night as I petted him and told him how much we would miss him. For the first time in my entire life I do not have a cat. It is such an empty feeling.

It just does not want to warm up this spring! Most of our snow is gone, actually all except for where it was piled when shoveling or plowing. Grass is turning green. But temps are still in 30s & 40s most days. That is supposed to change as of Sunday. They
are predicting 60s for most of next week. I'm ready.

I started physical therapy 2 weeks ago for the sciatica in my right leg and my lack of stamina generally. They are sure they can help with both, but so far it has been a lot of work with little noticeable result. I will give it a few more weeks. I am working with 2 different people, the hands on one is a female, very friendly. The second just works with me on exercises, his name is Dan and he is the same one I worked with 4 years ago after my hip replacement. I really really like him. He is very encouraging without being pushy.

Bought a whole chicken on Monday with big plans for it, then lost interest but had to do something, so I threw it in the crockpot this morning. Smells so good in the house now. Not sure how I will use the chicken, but I will figure it out.

Jim - I am not surprised a student in Florida for spring break might be oblivious to the world around her. I don't think you would find the same true of most college students. I know the college campuses near me have students very active in politics.

Ann - Keene NH used to have a tremendous Halloween festival the Saturday before Halloween each year. They built stands along 1/4 mile of both sides of Main Street and displayed over 25,000 lit, carved pumpkins. There was music, games, a parade. It got bigger every year until 2018 when a riot broke out. They cancelled it for 2019 and have never held it again. It did not become a problem until large numbers of college kids from out of the area started attending.

Jude, I was just thinking about JoAnne myself. Hoping she is okay. It has been a long time since she posted.

About an inch of new snow overnight. Just added to the 10 inches already here. Supposed to have major snow Tuesday/Wednesday, a traditional Nor'Easter they say. We will see. They continually overhype snowfall amounts . We almost always get less than half of what they predict. Normally doesn't matter, we don't have to go out if roads aren't good. But I do have a physical therapy appointment late Tuesday.

Making corned beef hash for supper tonight. I can't remember last time we had it. Looking forward to it.

I may have mentioned that my niece and her husband opened a restaurant last fall. They have seating for about 35, but 90% of their business is take-out. They are only 3 miles from us, straight drive, one right hand turn, no lights or stops on the way. Very convenient and the food is just wonderful. Portions are huge, I get 2 meals out of most meals I order. Last Saturday I had the smoked prime rib, queen cut, end cut with baked potato, mixed vegetables and roll. I ate about 1/3 of the meat Saturday. I had 1/3 of it on Monday with mashed potato and the last 1/3 I sliced thin, heated and stacked on a brioche bun for supper on Wednesday. 3 meals for $22!

We eat from there too often. 3 times last week, twice so far this week.

Our second vehicle is a 2008 Honda Ridgeline that we bought new in April 2008. It has been "my" car and since I stopped working, it hardly ever gets driven. Has just under 100,000 miles on it. Gets driven about 3500 miles a year. And I just learned is is under recall and likely will be a buy-back from Honda as the frames rust under the gas tank and can't be repaired. Now I am looking for a replacement truck. And I hate it. I expected that truck to last me another 10 years. Honda will pay me about $7000 for it and I can't find anything comparable for under $20,000. I hate the thought of spending $13,000 I didn't expect to for something driven so little. But we do need a second vehicle and having a truck really is helpful.

I have had several very quick, high priced EBay sales this week. Kind of a double edged sword though. I love quick sales, but I know that when something sells within 15 minutes of listing it, it may mean I priced it too low. Oh well, I made huge profits. Let someon have a bargain.

Snow here all day today but only added about 2 inches to the 6 inches we got a couple of days ago.

Traded our old2011 Honda CRV for a 2012 CRV I much better condition with way lower mileage. We got a real good deal and an amazingly caring seller. When we got home, Jerome noticed a strange fob on the key ring and took it off. I was curious so looked up “compuserve”,the only markings on it, on Google. It was a remote starter. Curious if the car actually had one, I held the button for 3 seconds per instructions and car started. Went out to tell Jerome, only to find the starter had locked the doors and Jerome had left both sets of keys in the car. The dealer came over when I called him and opened the doors, saving us a locksmith fee. Next morning, go to start car, no luck, dead battery. Dealer came again and put in new battery, no charge. He had no obligation to do that. Now car is running perfectly and we are very happy with it.

Weather is so nice right now for February! Almost 40 degrees today and we are supposed to get temps in the 50s later int he week. February is usually teens int he daytime and zero or below at night.

Jerome is taking me to Saratoga Casino for Valentine's Day. First time we have been since they closed for Covid in 2020. It will be interesting. I know they made big changes, including eliminating the buffet. We used to go twice a year, my birthday and our anniversary.

I am used to cold. But it was beyond cold on Saturday morning! First time in years that our car did not start. Truck started fine, so we used that to run the errands we had to do and then went home and stayed inside. It was considerably warmer on Sunday morning and car started just fine.

I say truck started fine, but that does not mean there were no problems. The tires had frozen into ice on the driveway and it just spun and spun, even with 4 wheel drive. Jerome put ice melt under the tires and eventually moved it. then Jerome put the driver's window down and it would not go back up. Too cold to even consider driving with open window, so I got a large clear plastic bag and taped it over the opening, thinking we would have to drive to Honda dealer for help. But by the time we go to the post office (2 miles away) the truck had warmed enough so the window went back up.

Sure am glad to see 35 degrees today. A whole lot better than -20.

Jim, one of my favorite quick lunches is eggs poached in spaghetti sauce and served with crusty Italian bread.

We got about 4 inches of snow today. First snow since Christmas. Very very unusual for us to have green grass for so long in winter months. We are supposed to get another good shot of snow on Sunday night and maybe a major storm next Wednesday. Oh well, stayed home and got some neglected chores done.

Well, I went to install my new computer and thank goodness I always read manual first. Learned it had no Wi-Fi and no SD Card reader, so I returned it to Staples and they told me they had no computers with built in card readers, so I went to Walmart site and found one that met my needs and ordered it. 2 days later, it arrived and was not the one I had ordered, had no card reader, so I returned that one. Jerome convinced me to go to Best Buy in New Hampshire and buy in person instead of ordering and off we went. But they don’t stock desktop computers in store anymore, so had to order anyway. Finally hooked it up on Sunday January 8 and was surprised at how easily it all went. I printed my shipping labels on Monday and Tuesday and then on Wednesday, halfway through printing labels it quit. I have spent hours and cannot make it print. I am now using my iPad to print my labels. Hope I can figure it out. I will call HP support tomorrow

You would think with all the advancements in weather prediction, satellites, state of the art equipment everywhere, that they would be a bit better at predicting snowfall totals. We have a storm coming this weekend. First it was coming Friday night into Saturday morning, then it changed to all day Friday into Saturday, then it was to start before midnight on Thursday, latest is it will start after supper tomorrow. And depending on where you get your info, and I watch several sources, we are going to get 4" to 8" or 5" to 9" or maybe NBC is right and it will be 8" to 12". But just in case, we have to be ready for 12 plus inches predicted by CBS weather. So, we are looking at a low of 4 inches to a high of up to 18 inches. That is a big difference with an entirely different impact. 4 inches is nothing, just carry on as always. 18 inches could keep us home bound for 2 days. We are supposed to go cut down our Christmas tree on Saturday. No idea right now if we will be able to do that.

WOW! I didn't realize it had been so long since I visited here. We did not get much snow, about 5 inches or so and it left the roads and paved areas rather quickly. Hung around on the grass for a few weeks but is all gone now. It has been a very very mild start to winter. A couple nights in the teens but mostly in 20s at night and 30-45 degrees daytime temperatures. A couple days it was above 50 but of course ti rained hard those days so you really couldn't enjoy the warm. I will do 90% of my shopping online this year, much of it done already. Just looking for a cast iron mermaid for my husband now.

I am having so much trouble with my computer, it is ungodly slow and at least 3 or 4 times a day it just stops responding at all for about 10 minutes. I had Jerome buy me a new computer for Christmas and it is sitting in the box in the living room. Every time I swear at the computer, he tells me to just hook up the new one, but if I do that, I have nothing to look forward to for Christmas. I will limp along a for a couple more weeks.

Went over Mendon Mountain(Killington Ski Area) to NH today. Foliage is at peak and it is just breathtaking, even though I have seen it every year for decades. This year we have had very little rain and no wind, so the trees are holding their leaves. And the colors are wonderful. Loads of red and purple this year, along with the bright orange, gold, yellow and rust that is typical. I can't resisit taking picutres. I know how fleeting it all is and it seems I need to record it, even though as my husband always points out, it never is as awe inspiring in a picture as it is when you are in it.

A couple weeks ago I paid $2.50 for a box of 700 Magic the Gathering Cards. I don't know much about them, but I expected I could probably sell the box, even if all commons, for at least $20. What an education I have been getting! So far I have sold 9 cards individually for a total of just over $1500, one for $365, another for $307, $220, etc. And I have one card that is supposedly worth close to $4000. I have sent that to Beckett's to be authenticated and graded. It will take 45 days and cost me $50, but should increase the sale price by $500 or more.

Went to the "World's Largest Garage Sale" in Warrensburg, NY yesterday. We had palnned to go again today, but I have sciatica in my right leg and just no way I could do the walking required. My thigh muscle burns like it is on fire after a very few minutes of walking. So we went to a couple of estate sales and I got a lot of wonderful things. My sales on Ebay were down by 32% for the past 31 days when I checked on Thursday, but I had some great sales Friday and Friday night and I am now 3% ahead for past 31 days! Things can turn around fast.

Jerome got his 2nd Covid booster and his flu shot on Wednesday. I will get mine next week when I see the doctor.

Jim, I have not asked, but knowing my brother-in-law as I do, I suspect he was not vaccinated. I know my sister had her vaccinations and boosters.

Brother-in-law moved out of ICU on Monday, still in hospital in Burlington

Not much going on here. My sister and her family, husband and 2 adult sons, all came down with COVID 3 weeks ago. The 2 boys were sick with flu-like symptoms for less than a week. Sister had similar, has tested negative twice now, but is still not feeling well. Her husband had to go to the hospital and a couple days later was taken by helicopter to a larger hospital, ICU, and was put on a ventilator. The doctors were not very encouraging, painted a pretty bleak outcome. But he’s a tough old Vermont farmer and after 10 days came offf the ventilator and had a zoom call with my sister. It has been 3 weeks, he is still in hospital but may be transferred back to his local hospital this week. No word on when sister can visit or when he might come home.

Without posting names, I think JoAnne is referring to Grano9 from Gainesville. She seems to have gone missing the past couple weeks. I know she was permanently kicked off Facebook which really upset her. Last I heard from her was my July 4 card from her.
Speaking of rain per year. We report precipatation rather than rain as we get about 45 inches of rain and about 80 inches of snow, for a total precipitation (with snow converted to rain amounts) of about 55 inches per year. But it has really been dry in July. We did get a quick heavy downpour yesterday and a drizzle this morning, but no real rain to speak of. And temps in the 90s with dewpoints over 75, so it has been miserable to be outside in the daytime. Very unusual for us to have more than 3 or 4 days that it hits 90 in a summer. I think we have already had 7 this year. It is supposed to be cooler and less humid this coming week.

June, glad your new cat fits in. I have been down to one cat since last August and keep thinking of getting another. We have had cats all our lives and this is first time we only have one. The one I have is such a character, more like a dog than a cat in many ways. He absolutely loves being outside, only comes in to eat and heads right back out. Loves, loves, loves people. He will not sit on your lap and does not like being picked up, but he sticks to your ankles, meows constantly if you aren't petting him. And I don't know how to explain it, but he absolutely adores it when I talk to him, just melts.

When I go out to weed, water or pick things from my garden, no matter where he is, within seconds he is right at my ankles, begging to be pet. I can't figure out how he knows I am there. It's not as though he is in a place he can see me. He rolls over on his back so I will pet his belly. And with Jerome, he wants his ears pulled.

Jerome recovered nicely from the procedure to scrape the irregular cells from his esophagus. Doctor said they got all they could but likely a few still remain so procedure needs to be repeated in October to be sure they get it all. He was a bit uncomfortable for a few days, but not really pain. Seems back to normal now.

Lots of people on Facebook complaining about slow sales on 3Ebay, but mine are way up from what I normally see in July. I am selling this month more like I see at Christmastime. 12 packages shipped this morning, right now I have 6 for tomorrow.

June, we have been really dry this month as well. Lawns were starting to turn brown, but we got a good soaking yesterday as well and are supposed to get more rain on Thursday and Friday.

Finally had to put in the A/C in bedroom. Not that hot, but the humidity has been so high this week. Put it in on July 17, that is the latest ever. Usually I have it in by Memorial Day.

Over the mountain tomorrow for Jerome's endoscopy procedure. I will be so glad when it is over. He is a nervous wreck, even though doctors say it is a simple thing. We will have to leave here at 8:30 and will likely get home about 6.

Had a wonderful breakfast with my niece. As I feared, my sister took much of the time talking about people Nancy has never met and could care less about. And then she had to give the 20 minute recounting of her first husband's death 12 years ago. About the 10th time I have heard it told exactly the same way, but new to Nancy. I was surprised to hear that Lorraine has not seen Nancy in over 20 years! I knew it had been a while, but didn't know it was that long! Nancy looks so healthy, rested and happy. She had some major health issues a few years ago but they seem to be behind her now. Still loves her job and her home in Florida.
Got a call from Dartmouth. Jerome's tests from Mayo Clinic are back and he does have some irregular cell structures in his lower esophagus which will become cancer if not removed, so he will be going in for endoscopy and removal next Wednesday. Both doctors I talked to are very optimistic. They say it was caught early and intervention planned is fairy easy, noninvasive and results are almost always complete and favorable.

Tons of fireworks here last weekend. Neighbor in back set off over 2 hours of intense closely spaced ones just about 50 yards from my bedroom window on Saturday night. Then on Sunday night, another neighbor in back, about 2 houses further north set of a good hour's worth of spectacular ones, these about 150 yards from my bedroom window. And I could hear them all around us from all directions, but did not bother to look.
I have a niece that I practically raised when she was toddler. My brother and his wife worked all the time and I took care of Nancy nights and weekend from the time she was an infant until my brother and his wife divorced when she was not quite 5. My brother totally abandoned her, making no contact for years, but I maintained a close relationship with her, helping her put during a few really tough times in her life. About 5 years ago, she was fired from her very well paying job and was devastated. I managed to convince her that with 10 months severance pay, she was in a great position and sure enough, in less than 3 weeks, she found a similar job paying 3X her former salary. And she still had 10 months pay in the bank! But she had to move to Florida for the job.
She comes back to visit annually, usually in the fall, but his year she is here now. Last year when she was here, I had breakfast with her at a local restaurant, It was so good to catch up. We had a ball gabbing for over 2 hours. When I mentioned that to my older sister, she was a little bent out of shape. Her comment was "I would have enjoyed going to breakfast with you and Nancy. I haven't seen her for years". Well, Nancy and I are having breakfast tomorrow. So, of course, I felt obligated to invite Lorraine to come along. She said yes. It will be a nice time. But I sure would like some alone time with Nancy. Our relationship is way different that any relationship she has with my older sister. I hate to think of myself as petty or selfish, but I guess I am.

I have no idea how I ever found time to work 40 hours a week! I have nothing at all that I MUST do, yet I am busy every single day from the time I wake until I go to bed. Seems there is no time for anything. Today I was up at 7:30, had 6 packages to pack and take to the post office. Husband called out to me about 8:30 to come out and look at something. I have a Honda Ridgeline truck and in the bed of the truck there is a panel that opens to reveal a huge trunk. It is big enough to put several large suitcases or a week's worth of groceries. I rarely use the truck anymore and with plenty of room in the back, especially since I fold the seats up, it has been a long time since I opened the truck bed trunk. Well, Jerome opened it to get out the lug wrench to check the lug nuts and the trunk was full of water! Like 25-30 gallons of dirty water and I had some old clothes, t-shirts and a suitcase in there. Had to clear it all out and empty the water to find that someone had somehow closed the drain which is why the water accumulated, although I have no idea how it got in as the lid is supposed to be water tight. So 2 hours of cleaning up that mess and a huge bag of trash now to take to the dump. Went back in house and finished my packages, then to Post office and to UPS to drop them off. We then went and got breakfast sandwiches and coffee, then to 2 thrift stores and a stop at grocery store. Then I got a text message that the gas grill I ordered yesterday at Home Depot was ready to pick up, so back home, dropped off car, got in truck and went to get gas grill. Brought it home and had to detach propane tank from old grill, remove it from deck, move some deck furniture and clean up some space for the new grill and hitch up the tank to it. Then put everything back where it was. Went down and weeded my garden, picked some rhubarb, watered my hanging plants. Then went into my computer and checked email, relisted a few items on Ebay, checked some sold items on FB pages, sent Paypal invoices for them. By then, it was 3:30 and time to call for pizza, a Thursday tradition for over 40 years. Picked up pizza at 4:30, back home just before 5 and ate. Watching the news while I list a few items on Ebay, play Wordle, and catch up on Words with Friends. And I am tired.

Off to garage sales this morning. Went to a town wide and I had to quit after about 35 sales. My legs just could not go anymore. When I got home, I had to go to the laundromat, something I have not done in over 25 years! My washer dial broke last week and since the machine is over 12 years old, I decided to get a new one. I ordered from Home Depot on May 26 and they gave a delivery date of June 6, but I just got an email yesterday that my new washer won't come until June 16 now, so I had to do something to get by until then. I took 6 loads of wash to the laundromat. That almost caught me up.

Went to an estate sale yesterday. There was this box of Wallace silver plated annual Christmas bells, about 20 of them. I asked how much and had to suppress a giggle when the woman said “ I was asking $15 each, but I guess I might take $4 or maybe $2.” I told her if she got down to a dollar each, I would take them all. I gave her $20 and went home with 21 bells. One was more valuable than others, so I listed it on EBay as auction starting at $69.99. I listed the other 20 as a lot starting at $188.99 with make an offer. Got up this morning to an offer of $250 which I accepted. They paid and I will ship on Tuesday.

Had another gout flare. Called doctor, she prescribed another 6 days of steroids and within 24 hours the pain and swelling subsided. Looks like this is becoming a routine.
Garage sales were excellent last week. Got loads of goodies. Should be even better sales this holiday weekend.

Finally got the gout under control. We went to 99 for Mother's Day and my husband had his favorite from there, fish and chips. But about 8 o'clock Sunday night he started complaining that the fish did not agree with him. Next day, he complained all day and used the toilet half a dozen times. About 7 o'clock he said he was going to bed, very unusual for him to go to bed early. I went to bed about 9 and he got up to use the bathroom and was very unsteady on his feet. When he came back to bed, he was staggering. I made him get dressed and took him to the ER. He was bleeding internally again, and they admitted him. He came home Thursday afternoon. While there, he had an upper GI and they found what they think is precancerous cells in his lower esophagus. They took biopsy and sent it to Mayo Clinic. It will take about 2 weeks to get results. If they are what they suspect, he will have to go to Dartmouth for surgery. If it comes back negative, he goes for another upper GI. I really hate that he had to be hospitalized again for stomach bleed, but this time it may have save his life.

I have been 6 days with no pain in my toe. Maybe this is the end.
Very busy day today. Went out for breakfast, then to a couple thrift stores and a flea market in New Hampshire, back to Home Depot to buy the stuff I needed to replace the rotted enclosure for my vegetable garden plot. It is only 4' X 8' but that is big enough for me to have tomatoes, radishes, beets, cucumbers and in one corner I have some strawberries and I plant half a dozen sunflowers every year. Oh and the catnip I planted 10 years ago that keeps popping back up in strange places. Came home and installed it, looks so nice, but now I think I need to replenish the soil. Tomorrow or Tuesday I will get 5 bags of garden soil and a bag of cow manure and fill it back up.

Entered a recent Facebook contest on my Credit Union page and I won a $50 gift card to a garden supply store. Just perfect timing.

After setting up garden, I washed my hands, changed my clothes and we went to 99 Restaurant for dinner. First time eating in a restaurant in over 2 years. Nervous when I entered but fine after that. Food was good, service was good. I planned to have dessert and a drink, but could not even finish my meal, so no room for either.

My son gave me gift certificate for 2 hanging plants which I will pick out later this week. My husband bought me a HUGE hanging plant yesterday for Mother's Day.

Foot feeling better today. I am surprised at having the gout as I do not eat any of the trigger foods except red meat and I only eat that a couple times a month at most. From the research I have done, the most likely cause for me is the diuretics I have taken for over 25 years. I could stop taking them but the ensuing issues with my blood pressure would likely be much more dangerous than the gout. Hoping to have it under control soon.

Been very busy. Lots of EBay sales, garage sales starting up again finally and weather warming up finally so I have gardens to clean up and get ready for planting. Still having issues with the gout. Seems very 2 weeks or so I have a “flare”. Dr tripled my allupruinol, tried a couple new medicine one of which caused the severe diarrhea. I did not know one could have it that bad. Went back on steroids for a week and gout settled down. Last day on steroids was Sunday and tonight, the gout seems to be starting to flare again. Just so damn annoying.

It has been a week or more since I visited here.

Joanne, I am so sorry to hear of Bobby passing. I knew he had some severe health issues lately. As others have noted, this has been a tough year for you. The only silver lining is you do not have to wonder who will be there for him once you are gone.

My son is doing fine, he has been very fortunate not to have any debilitating effects yet from MS, but with him being an only child, never married, my greatest mental burden is worrying about who will be there for him when I die. I try to put it out of my mind, but late at night, when I can't get back to sleep, it creeps back in.

It seems so odd that Easter is not anything special to us anymore. Family is scattered all over the country, nobody gets together for Easter. We used to go out for dinner and really enjoyed seeing the families all dressed to the nines, especially the toddlers, but the past 2 years with Covid, we stayed home. I think we may have our first meal in a restaurant in over 2 years on Easter Sunday.

So cold today. Last week it seemed like spring was coming. 18 degrees and 2 inches of fresh snow this morning

Beautiful warm sunny day today. I know winter is not over, but so nice to have a break from it like this. We should have 3 days of pleasant weather before it turns cold again.
We used to go out to a restaurant for St Patrick's Day every year. It was my mother-in-law's birthday so we would all meet to celebrate it with her. After she passed, Jerome and I continued to go out because I MUST have corned beef and cabbage and he really dislikes it. The past 2 years with COVID, I got take-out. Well, this year, the American Legion 2 blocks from me, which does Monday take-out meals for $10, had corned beef dinner this past Monday so I got 2. I ate one on Monday and tomorrow I will use the meat from the other one for a Reuben sandwich and eat the vegetables.

Looks like the gout is under control, but it has triggered th arthritis in my feet which I had been told looked really bad on X-rays but had not bothered me much until now. I am fine all day, but a couple hours after going to bed, I awaken every night in pain. Usually a couple of Advil calms it enough so I get back to sleep, and it is fine when I get up in the morning.

I got my new glasses today and they do make a noticeable difference. The TV is so sharp and I can read the running headlines on CNBC. Hopefully I will no longer need to use a magnifying glass to read instruction booklets.

Gorgeous day today. Not much sun, but high in upper 40s and no wind, no snow, no rain. But tomorrow is calling for 8 to 12 inches of snow in daytime, high wind alert for evening. High only about 25 on Sunday. Sure am glad the clocks change tomorrow night. I hate having no light after supper time.

I still get a lot of enjoyment out of selling on Ebay. And I still make a substantial amount of money doing it. But I do understand that many are getting tired of the ever changing policies, rules, etc. I nearly quit when they switched from Paypal to Managed Payments. I still hate that but I will just suck it up.

Weather very strange here today. started out at about 18 degrees, but climbed to 40 by 9 am and then it rained hard all morning. By noon, the sun was out and we saw a high of 66 degrees at about 3 pm. That is very warm for us in early March. It is now 6:40 pm, thunder and lightning, raining hard, wind blowing it against the windows. It is 60 degrees and only supposed to go to 38 tonight so at least the water on the roads will not freeze. But we are supposed to get snow all day tomorrow, accumulating to 3 inches or so.

My foot is much better. It does hurt a bit in the middle of the night, but nothing I can't deal with.

Woke up Monday unable to put weight on my foot, not just toe sore, but whole front half of foot purple and swollen. Called doctor and they had me come right in. Took X-rays again and prescribed more steroids. Steroids must have done it. Woke up Tuesday to almost normal size and color foot, just mild pain. Today, almost no pain. I hope this is the end.
I had a very slow week on EBay last week and was concerned, wondering if inflation was to fault. But things have really picked up again this week. 8 packages on Monday, 11 packages yesterday, 7 today and I already have 8 for tomorrow. My normal daily average has been about 4 packages per day , so this is great week so far.
We got 10 inches of snow last Friday, about an inch on Saturday and 3 more inches last night, so we are again all white. Where is spring?

I feel like I am living doctor appt to doctor appt. 10 am Monday, saw regular doctor who sent me for lab work and X-rays. X-rays showed nothing but arthritis in toes, blood work showed excess Uris acid and low potassium. Got prescription for alliipurinol and potassium. Gout does not seem to be improving, but not getting worse either. It hurts, but I can stand it. Eye doctor Monday afternoon, new glasses ordered, but have to wait 4 weeks. I sure need them Everything blurry with my current glasses. Appt tomorrow with sleep dentist (who ever knew there was such a thing?) to have procedure to help with snoring.

JoAnne, I know how hard it is to deal with a schyzophrenic. When my sister was diagnosed, I read several books and dozens of articles and there is no question, the more intelligent the sufferer is, the harder it is. My sister is so manipulative! It works so often for her when it shouldn’t. I just never know when I should be forgiving because it is beyond her control and when I am justified to be angry because of her manipulative ways. Some times she does and says because her illness controls her, but sometimes she is just being mean and nasty because she gets away with it. Deal
Ling with her is a minefield

And not everyone is prone to gout. Some people eat shellfish, drink alcohol and eat red meat all the time and never get it. Then people like me who rarely eat red meat, never eat shellfish and rarely drink alcohol get it once at age 30 and go 40 years before a second bout. It is a bit better today. Still swollen and red, but not as painful.

The pain in my toe had seemed to be getting slightly better, but I woke up about 12:30 last night with an almost unbearable pain. Since I had already taken my medication, I took 3 ibuprofen and it calmed things down a bit in about 20 minutes, but my toe throbbed all night. I did not get more than an hour of sleep. When I looked at my foot at 7 am it was so swollen and it was almost purple. Looked like if it swelled any more the skin would burst open. I had to try 6 pairs of shoes before I could find one I could get my foot in. Went back to Express Care. They have now prescribed prednisone. And I have followup with my regular doctor on Monday morning. Was also told now to ice it and I have been doing it 20 minutes of every hour all day. I can breathe without crying, but toe is still painful. I could not be prescribed Allopurinol as it interacts with another drug I take. I was prescribed colchicine which is often given before Allopurinol until blood test come back. I am hopeful the steroids will do the job.

Well those 2 days of good health were all I got! Woke up at 2 am this morning with incredible pain in my right big toe. Went to bathroom and looked and it was bright red and swollen. It was fine when I went to bed. Put some Icy Hot on it and took some Advil and went back to bed. Woke again at 6 am in pain and toe was twice as big as it was at 2 am and now it was purple. I had Jerome take me to Express Care at 8 am and they diagnosed gout and wrote a prescription. I have had gout in the past, but at least 25 years ago and I know it is usually caused by eating red meat, shell fish or drinking alcohol, none of which I do. I suspect that the 4 days I went without eating last week upset my electrolytes and chemical balances leading to the problem. I have taken medicine twice now and swelling way down, pain much less, but I am quite dizzy from the script. Have to be very careful moving around. It would be very easy to fall. I will have Jerome go up the stairs will me to be safe.

Well, finally feeling well again. We have had the craziest weather this month. We get 2 or 3 days of 30s, even 40s and immediately followed by 2 days of fringed below zero days, then back to mild, back to cold. Past 3 mornings it has been minus temps when I get up, never higher tha 15 degrees all day. Now today it was almost 40 and tomorrow it may reach record high of 55 for February.
JoAnne, I do hope Bobby is doing better.
Diane, you know I do Wordless every day.
I have really been having trouble getting cat food. I normally buy from Amazon with 2 day shipping and now for past month I order and it takes weeks to get delivery. Nothing in the shelves locally that my fussy cat will eat. Finally got 3 boxes of 40 cans each on Monday and Tuesday, so I am set for about a month. Maybe supplies will improve by then

I am on the mend. I was sick about 3 days, then very weak for 2 more. Finally getting a bit of strength and energy back, still no appetite but I can afford to not eat much. Driveway is done, warmer weather helped a lot.
Covid has dropped dramatically in Vermont, governor talking about ending masking mandates but We will keep wearing ours for a while. We don’t go many places and are never inside more than 10 minutes anywhere, so not a real inconvenience. I do feel badly for people who need to wear masks for hours on end. That I could not do.
JoAnne, glad furnace was small thing. I wonder if a momentary power outage could have tripped the reset button. I hope you don’t have ghosts. LOL.

Jerome had a 24 hour stomach flu last Monday and by Wednesday it had hit me pretty hard. I cannot ever remember throwing up as much and once your stomach is empty and you keep heaving, it is incredibly painful. Spent most of Wednesday in bed. Felt some better on Thursday, but very weak, no energy, just sat around. I couldn't even keep water down. Still not able to eat, but have been able to drink several glasses of apple juice. Didn't really matter on Thursday and Friday, couldn't go anywhere or do anything anyway. We got 16" of snow. Jerome got about half of the driveway cleared and then put the ATV and snowplow over the bank, where it is still sitting. Christopher tried to help, but he has been having a hard time with the MS lately and just could not do what he wanted to. So only half our driveway is clear. We are parking down at the opposite end of where we usually do because we can't drive in any further. Neither of us is happy about it, but we have to learn to do what we can and not worry about the rest. It is supposed to warm up this week and I should get stronger and be able to help shovel in a day or two. Of course, I want to just hire someone to do it but neither Jerome nor Christopher will allow it.

We have had so many frigid days lately. I had 8 am doctor appt today and it was minus 16 when I went out to start car.
COVID is still dictating our lives. No restaurants. In and out as quickly as possible at stores. Always wear a mask going in anywhere. Just so tired of it all. I miss eating out. I miss auctions.

Ungodly cold here today! -12 when I got to my computer at 8 am, never got above 2 degrees and temp is dropping again. Winds were over 40 mph, giving us windchill temps of close to -50! Just going from the house to the car, about 20 yards was enough to freeze you. Supposded to moderate a bit tomorrow with temps in the 20s and then a big snowstorm on Monday. Stopped at a small thrift store that I do not go to often because they are only open 2 days a week, and 30 miles from here, but were in that area on Thursday and stopped. A Tupperware rep had donated all of her brand new unused pieces that she used for display at parties. I got about a dozen sets for $15.25. I believe they will sell on Ebay for a bit over $250. Then on Friday we stopped at a church thrift that we rarely go to except in the summer as they are only open Friday and Saturday. I bought 36 like new Guideposts Hardcover Christian mysteries for 50 cents each. I normally get about $7 a book in lots when I sell these so again expecting to sell my $18 worth of books for about $250. Best week I have had in a long time. And today, it was an estate sale. Disappointed at what was there, but I did get a wool Orvis jacket for $5 and a vintage Holly Hobbie doll for $3, so may make $100 profit on those. Slim pickings in the winter usually, but I do have plenty of inventory, heck, books alone, I have over 300 still to list.

Lots of cold. Snow quite often. Seems like winter here. Vermont started a pilot program with NIH today. You go online, enter your address and 2 sets of at-home COVID tests(4 total tests) are sent to you from Amazon. The website opened today at 10 am. I had to try 6 times before no longer getting we are overwhelmed message, but did get mine ordered. News says they got requests for over 350,000 tests in first 5 hours. I have no plans to use tests right off, but will have them on hand should I need them later.

From very early on it was determined that COVID is an airborne disease. You are not going to gehtbit any other way than by breathing in infected air. You will not get it from restaurant food, nor from door handles or from delivered packages. It is hard to get in out door situations unless you stand very close to an infected person for a substantial time. Where it spreads is indoors. And the more people or the closer to one another they are, the more likely you are to get it. Avoiding crowds, avoiding indoor situations, keeping distance and wearing a mask all help avoid it

Jane, I've heard too many stories like that. I declined all invitations for gatherings. I have eaten a single time in a restaurant in the past 2 years and have no plans to eat in one for the time being. I go nowhere that people congregate. Any conversations I have with people are online or on the phone. When I go inside anywhere, I wear a mask and get in and out as quickly as possible. I use delivery services or online shopping for most things. I pray every night that we will get this Covid behind us and be able to live more socially soon.
Nice to see you visit Briguy.
Nice to see you, too, Patsy.
Glad you are back safe, Jim.
We have to find the silver linings where we can, Diane

Jude, odd, I also accidentally deleted my post about Ebay and media mail. About a year ago, they eliminated the ability to print media mail for books listed in categories other than books. It is so stupid, because if you go to motorcycles, or dolls, or even pottery, they have subcategories for books and allow you to offer media mail shipping, but when you go to print the label, they won't let you. I have had to print my labels several times using Paypal or Pirate Ship when I sell items eligible for media mail in a category where Ebay doesn't let you print one. I would never pay for Shipstation. Pirate Ship is FREE, imports Ebay addresses and automatically uploads tracking and prices are the same as Ebay. It is a bit tricky to figure out the media mail the first time, it is listed under other options.

We had 8" of snow last Saturday night into Sunday morning. It has been cold enough since so that it is all still here. Sunshine today finally cleared the rest of the driveway.

Jerome and I both got our booster shots in early October, got our flu shots at the same time. My son has been having difficulty getting an appointment for his booster, but finally has one for December 31. Jerome and I don't go very many places and we wear our masks anytime we go inside a place. We have declined all invitations to parties and gatherings. My son goes nowhere except for the pharmacy and the grocery store, so he really is not at a lot of danger of exposure, but he is substantially immuno-compromised, so not sure how much protection the vaccinations are giving him.

Just finished a deep cleaning of my livingroom so I can put up my tree tonight. We cut it down on Saturday in advance of the snowstorm. I cannot believe it took me 5 hours to clean the livingroom. 10 years ago I would have had that done and probably more thoroughly, in about an hour. I work 10 minutes, rest 10 minutes. We just finished eating supper, watching the news now and will put up the tree and decorate it in about an hour. At the rate I was working today, I might not even finish it tonight. Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

Cheek is completely healed. Forehead is almost healed. Eye is not looking good. While not as black as it was, it keeps spreading. It is now half way down my cheek and bright bright red. Really looks like those old-time comic pictures of a fighter with a black eye. But the fact it is getting lighter gives me hope.

I am in quite good health. Can do whatever I want, eat whatever I want, do everything I need to for myself, so why does it seem I am at the hospital all the time for tests? I went for bone density and mammogram last week. Of course a spot showed up on the left breast. I had to go back today for second mammogram and sonogram. They have determined it is not cancer, not sure exactly what it is. I have to repeat both the mammorgram and sonogram in 6 months. I have been to my own doctor, then to pulmonologist for some problems I am having with phlegm buildup in my lungs overnight. Last week I went to sleep specialist and tomorrow night I check into hospital at 8 pm to sleep there overnight all wired up to see what they might learn. Last time I had a sleep study I wound up with 7 operations on my sinus, nose, mouth and throat.
I am almost done Christmas shopping and have not been inside a single store. Mostly Amazon, but some Ebay, some Walmart and a couple things from Target. Still trying to get another Carhartt black t-shirt for my son. My husband says UPS and Fedex come here twice a day. He is exagerating.

The bruise and scrapes on my cheek look awful. My forehead has a huge black and blue all around the cut, but my eye is definitely the worst. Dark, dark purple my whole eyelid from eyebrow down to 2 inches under the eye. My bangs cover the forehead, face mask covers the cheek and I have been wearing my sunglasses to hide the black eye. I think healing is going to take a while. At least nothing hurts except forehead, and that only hurts if I touch it.

I have a keurig and used to use it, but since I only drink 1 cup of coffee a day and it is only 99 cents for any size at the store I go to daily to get my newspaper, I now just buy my coffee every morning. Makes it real easy as I don’t need to worry about Splenda or cream at home anymore and nothing to clean.

We got 6” of heavy wet snow last Thursday night. Then it got really cold and it all froze solid, stuck on trees, bushes, etc. we got another 2inches on Saturday, 2 more on Monday night and a dusting on Tuesday. It was nice to have it warm up today and we saw several hours of sun and the snow finally melted off the driveway and the deck. I came home from doctor’s appointment and made mistake of thinking deck was clear. It was actually glare ice and I went down. Never even had a chance to get my hands out and landed on my head. Fortunately it hit on an icy snow mound on the edge and I did not hit my nose or mouth, but my forehead, right eye and right cheek. Quite a bit of blood followed by swelling, big bruise on cheek and cuts and scrapes on forehead. It is not pretty and will probably look worse in the morning.

We had a very quiet and easy Thanksgiving dinner. Just the 3 of us. I bought a fully cooked turkey breast at the deli of the grocery store, a container of mashed potato and a jar of turkey gravy. And bought a small 6" pie at the bakery. On Thanksgiving day, I baked a squash, put the turkey and potato in the over for 30 minutes at 250 degrees, made a box of Stove Top stuffing, opened a can of cranberry sauce, baked a package of Pillsbury crescent rolls, heated the gravy in microwave and we had it all. Turkey, mashed potato, stuffing, cranberry sauce, squash, rolls and pie. No leftovers, very easy cleanup. And all 3 of us were full and felt we had a real Thanksgving dinner.

We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday.. Well, not celebrated, it came and went. We didn't do anything special, no gifts, we don't need a thing. My eldest sister ordered a flower arangement for us, but the florist screwed up and delivered it to the wrong place, so I never even saw it and my sister was refunded.

Jerome's birthday yesterday. Christopehr and I each bought him a knife. He only has aobut 1000 of them in his collection, but it the only thing that excites him, getting a new knife. Well, Christopher gets him new, I always buy vintage ones because he likes those best. 2 of his brothers called and each kept him on the phone an hour or more.

Busiest week of the year coming up this week. Thanksgiving on Thursday, our 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday and Jerome’s 70th birthday Monday the 29th.

Dianne, I find myself buying more and more groceries on Amazon all the time Just in past 3 months I have not been able to find single slices of Spam, canned corn beef and dried beef. Bought all at reasonable price on Amazon.

Getting much colder, especially at night. We have had snow overnight twice, but all gone by 10 am each day. I am way ahead on Christmas shopping. Usually don’t start it until after Thanksgiving and looks like this year I will be done before Thanksgiving.

Finally recovering from my Veteran’s Day trauma. About 10 am, I chipped my upper front tooth and lost a filling. It was so bad, I took a quick look in mirror and could not face looking again. Called y dentist and learned he retired 2 months ago, no notices sent, they just figured to move me to another dentist in the practice, but could not see me until Tuesday! I usually take things in stride, not much rattles me for more than a minute or 2 but that broken tooth really got to me. I was so distraught! I called 4 more dentist before finding someone to see me same day. By 3 pm, all fixed. What a relief!

Weather getting cool so back to more substantial meals. Like Diane, I like meals that can be eaten several times. Made pot roast in crockpot Sunday, leftovers will be beef stew on Friday. Made a big meatloaf today, ate 1/3 of it, will freeze half of what is leftover and have again as meatloaf in a couple weeks and the rest we will use for sandwiches this week.

Jim, our TV stations still report COVID cases every night, usually in first 5 minutes of the newscast. They report for Vermont, New Hampshire and 5 northern counties of New York. For VT, they report number of new cases, number in hospitals, number in ICU and any new deaths. For NH they report new cases, new deaths and cumulative total cases. And for NY, they report new cases and deaths only, but NY does not report on weekend, so nothing Saturday or Sunday and a number representing 3 days on Monday. Our numbers of new cases in VT are up quite a bit, but hospitalizations are not and neither are deaths. But VT does way more testing than most states.

JoAnne, I am so sorry to hear of Jack’s passing. Such a difficult time for you. Glad Jim is there. I wish I had some wise or comforting words, but All I have is great sadness at this news.

Finally got results of my MRI. The “tumors” on my liver are actually benign cysts. No further medical treatment or tests needed.

Incredibly busy foliage season here this year. I can’t remember ever seeing so many cars in many places. Towns and roads that usually have little traffic were bumper to bumper. Coming up Route 103 in Ludlow, I checked license plates on a line of 50 cars. 6 were Vermont, 23 were Massachusetts,, 10 Connecticut,, 5 New Jersey, 2 New York, 2 New Hampshire, 1 Florida, 1 Texas.

Jim, Our TV stations report COVID numbers for Vermont, New Hampshire and upstate New York every night. They had been way down for Vermont in August, fewer than 20 new cases statewide per day, but once school started, they went back up to almost 200 a day. Still few deaths, under 40 people in the entire state in hospitals. Vermont is over 85% vaccinated but new cases are mostly in kids under 12. 92% of hospitalizations are unvaccinated.

I have always been hard to draw blood or start IV and I always warn them ahead of time, but yesterday was particularly bad. I was beginning to think they would not be able to do it.

Went for a ride over Killington Mountain today and then about 40 miles further north in the heart of the Green Mountains. Foliage is not quite at peak but it was still glorious with the sun shining on it and you are just immersed in it on all sides. Too bad it lasts such a short time.

Went for MRI this morning. Doctor called this afternoon. Spots on liver are benign cysts. I do not need to do anything unless I have problems which I have not so far.

What a nightmare it was though,getting IV in. I was all ready for MarI positioned on table and tech tried twice in my elbow with no success so called in a nurse, she stuck me in wrist but couldn’t get it, so I had to get up from table, put my shoes and glasses back on and go half way across the hospital to the ER where they used sonogram to find veins. Still first poke didn’t do it, they got needle in, but couldn’t get catheter in. Finally, third nurse, 5th needle stick they got IV started. Took over an hour and 20 minutes to get IV for 20 minute test.

June, I only mentioned the issue to my doctor because my husband keeps complaining about the coughing. It is pretty bad.

Had the sonogram and did not get any answers about the liver tumors. Now I need an MRI.

I have been having issues with a very bad cough early morning. It seems my lungs fill up at night and I spend the first 90 minutes that I am up and about, coughing up phlegm and blowing my nose. After about 10 am, all is fine the rest f the day. I have had so many tests done, tried so many medications, went for pulmonary studies, had a cat scan of my lungs last week. They put me on steroids for a week and that helped a lot, but they can't continue them without knowing what is causing the problem and so far, no good. The cat scan showed no problem with my lungs, but it did unexpectedly pick up 3 small tumors on my liver. Now I need to go for tests to be sure they are not cancerous. Next they want a sleep study. I called to schedule it at out local hospital and they can't get me in until mid December! I am going to see if Dartmouth Sleep Center can see me sooner. I hope so.
I have been incredibly busy on Ebay. I am more than 100% ahead of this time last year and it has been that way all summer. I am listing about the same, but am selling and shipping more than double what is normal for me. I did have 600+ listings but with the increased sales, I am down to under 300 and still listing 60 new ones a week. Many days I have 15-18 packages to ship. The money is good, my bank account is climbing. I might even be able to take a few months off after Christmas at this rate.

Thanks to those expressing concern for me. I am fine. Very busy with Ebay. Lots of family stuff inlcuding 3 postponed clelebrations of life for family that passed during covid lockdown.

Glad you are crusing and traveling again, Jim. I know you and your wife both missed it.

So sorry about Jack, Joanne, hopefully you will be able to visit this week. I am sure he misses you.

I do read the board at least every other day, if not daily.

I am so sad to hear Paula Lynn has passed. Does not seem that long ago that I had my last conversation with her on Facebook. We were discussing the fact that she was eligible for the COVID vaccine and I still had to wait a month for it. That was late January, I think. I really really liked Paula.