Penpal match? Just turned 50, want to lose 75!

[sleepysue07]

Hi Y'all,

Things here have not been going well. DH was laid off last week and is searching everywhere for a job so far without any luck. I am looking for better paying employment myself.

I am afraid that depression is beginning to set in on both our parts. This one is truly tough as we have never been in this situation before. If either of you have I would appreciate any advice you may have.

I am thankful that we have finally had a lot of rain and the temperatures are milder so that there is no need to run the AC now. I don't know how long it will be before the temperatures are back in the 90's though. In Texas it is usually warm until after Christmas.

Have a good week. I am trying to rally my positive attitude. I'm at a loss as to how to do it though.

Carolyn

[Dreamcometru]

Oh Carolyn: I'm so sorry about your husband's job. Ugh! I can't believe the unemployment situation is getting better when it seems I constantly hear about someone else losing their job. I wish I had some advice. Basically these days it is not what you know but who you know. My son never did find a job this summer. My daughter didn't even try. She knew with having to leave next week to go back to school, that no one would want to hire her in June.

Hang in there. You guys are in my thoughts and prayers. This economy is just awful. I hope your DH filed for unemployment and can at least get those benefits coming in.

Sue: I had to laugh at your DH eating 3 servings of those prepared packaged food. I usually buy two packages to accommodate everyone for that very reason. Dh and DS both eat way more than two servings and just one package isn't nearly enough for both of them and me and DD2.

I hope life is adjusting with having to work more on the farm. Like you said though, actually being there will enable you to get more done. Hey, how come that doesn't work at home? Ha Ha. I have so much I need go get done.

DD2 leaves for school this Sunday. This is going to sound weird, but I'm sad for the puppy. She's been so good to entertain him. Now he's stuck with me. DS who wanted the puppy so bad hasn't really done much with him, but I could have figured that.

I won't be sad to have the tension gone. The fighting between DS and DD2 has been driving me nuts. I will just need to get into the new routine of getting up extra early so I have time to walk the dog before work.

Carolyn keep up posted on your situation. Talk to you both later.

Leslie

[Suji]

Dear Carolyn.

I am so distressed to hear that you are in this situation! Your husband is in construction? I don't recall quite what he does. He may have to break down what he knows into skill components that allow him to look into other fields if it becomes necessary to break away from what he has been doing. As Leslie said--hopefully he has filed for unemployment and that will assist for now. THis economy is requiring people to think outside the box of who they think they are and what they think is necessary in life. So many jobs seem to come from word of mouth rather from listings in a paper or on line. Some areas of the country are doing better than others--all I can say is Be Open. When our life in TX became a terrible financial struggle (DH was self-employed and the company he was contracting to wouldn't pay him on time) we moved across the country to VA. He had to leave behind his dream of being self-employed (he HAD made a good living and then WHUMP!) and signed on with a company in Northern Virginia in 1993. So, we've been with various companies in the Mid-Atlantic since then.
Perhaps you can get leads from your church connections too.

Leslie, I'm sure you will welcome the peace when 1/2 of your fighting duo goes. I wonder what it is that makes the difference--my two boys didn;'t get along until the older left for college and then it was like night and day. Of course, big brother told me that little brother is not doing his share of apartment upkeep so there's currently a small amount of tension there!

We went to a party yesterday. A man sold his company a few years back and got millions. He bought 30 acres of Chesapeake waterfront and built a 14000 sf house. He wanted to give a party and show off his place yesterday to his former employees, so we went, oohed and aaahed. It was quite a showplace of the sort that executives build to impress other executives. TO me it seemed like there was a lot devoted to the man's interests and background in pictures, memorabilia and decorative toys. Maybe his wife was more into the overall design or something. We wandered over the whole house. Amazing to have that much $ to spend.
Here's the place:
http://www.ce.org/shared_files/marko...photo1_309.jpg

Quite something, but I wonder what it would be like to just have 2 people in all of that when the parties aren't happening. I would feel compelled to have to utilize that space!

Well, keep us posted--I'm thinking of you Carolyn. (( Hugs)) Later, Leslie!

Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue and Carolyn:

I hope all is well. DH got placed on a job out of town for about a week and a half. Its so nice, peaceful and quiet with just me and DS. DS has rehearsal the next three nights so it will really be quiet.

Since DD2 left, I have to walk the dog in the mornings before I go to work so I've been getting up earlier. Its not so bad and I really don't mind once I'm out there. I know the winter months are coming and its going to be miserable, but I walked with my walking partners all winter and we just deal. This is every day, but only for about a half an hour. I charted my course and I go about a mile. I know, that's not very far, but hey, its exercise I wasn't getting before.

I'm going to try to take care of the patio roof this weekend myself. I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do, but while its dry, I need to try to figure out something that will keep the water from coming down between the patio roof and the actual roof. I'm hoping I can find some wide flashing that will allow the water to flow past the house roof on to the patio roof and then something that will channel that water to the edges. I've asked DH to help and he hasn't and of course he won't let me do it, so I'm going to do it while he's gone.

I also need desparately to work in my yard, so that's on the list.

Carolyn, I hope your DH has a few leads on a job. OMG our receptionist gave notice and we posted an ad and got 25 hits within 10 minutes of it being posted. This morning we had more than 350 hits. It is an easy job that pays really well, so I'm sure its more attractive than some but the amount of resumes that have come in is amazing.

Sue: That house is absolutely amazing. That must have been fun being able to walk through it. I wouldn't want it, but it would be so nice to visit. I can't imagine being able to spend that much money, let alone have that much money to spend. We've been waiting for years just to remodel our kitchen and keep putting it off because of money, so we are still living in the 80's.

Talk to you later.
Leslie

[Suji]

Hello,

THought I would check in. THe weather is becoming downright chilly and the wind is up today. I think that forbodes a change in the things I will be doing! RIght now I have been tackling various cleaning projects that I never seem to get to. There's nothing to beat scrubbing wood floors on hands and knees (yuck). I keep thinking of all the things I ought to be doing to spruce up this place and the list seems never ending. Got to get back to my painting now I guess!

Carolyn--how are you holding up? I think of you often and hope that you find an occasional bright spot amidst the changes happening. Check in when you can, OK?

Leslie, DH and I made a pact to lose 5 pounds over the month of OCtober. He's already gearing himself up for it by saying "I had enough, I think" which is amazing for the Human Food Disposal! I figured we need to work on that together and perhaps I will set an overall goal to lose X for the Christmas party s that I can wear a great dress with some of the jewelry he has gifted me with in the past.

Sometimes, I really feel like this place is so empty! I was thinking that both my eldest and middle child have essentially left home, probably for good unless they get capped at the knees by the economy. I hardly see DS1--he is totally into living at the GFs. DS2 will come home for major holidays but he is now a "professional scholar" with his focus at university and on his future career training path so lives there most of the year round. There's only DS3 and I don't know if he will want to stay over the summer with his brother. Man, I'm about ready to adopt! (Ha ha) It really is quite a weird transition that I haven't allowed myself to grieve over properly even yet.

I made quiche for dinner (so 70's!)--guess I'd best check to see if I can take it out of the oven.

Later, Sue

[sleepysue07]

Hello Ladies,

DH still hasn't found a new job, but we are managing to hold our own. It is amazing how little money it takes to get by when you only have a little. He is getting the maximum amount of unemployment allowed by the state of Texas, but it is only about 1/3 his monthly salary. I am trying very hard to pick up the slack and have gone back to my part-time job at the mall and I am still directing the youth department at church, and working my regular office job every day. All of these elements combined are allowing us to survive, but not have much left for extras. I don't mind it so much really, but I am of course tired.

So far I haven't been able to get him out of the recliner except for the times when he is physically out searching for work.

However, my neighbor called me to say that she saw him out mowing the pasture today. Perhaps he is beginning to come back to himself. I have given him a long list of projects that I would like for "us" to accomplish in the short term (trying to appear non-confrontational)

I am actually working inside the mall right now, but the UPS guy told me that it is about 90 degrees outside. We were having lovely Fall weather last week, but it seems we are having an Indian Summer stretch right now. That's ok because I plan to paint my kitchen tonight when I get home. It is supposed to rain for the next five days so today is the day!

I have noticed that he is eating unusually large portions lately so I think that I might implement a low fat/low carb eating plan without declaring it. I can also cut out the junk and snack food for budget reasons. Sneaky, I know... but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do right? Besides that, he is a diabetic and if he won't watch out for his health I can at least try.

I still have one at home of course, but he told me last night that he plans to move into an apartment with a friend at the end of this semester. I will be sad to see him go for sure. Who will I be if I'm not "Mom at the Rescue?" I really don't have a clue.

Have a good day!

Carolyn

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue and Carolyn:

Wow, this empty nest thing is hitting us all. I still have DS around for a year. We are working on his college applications and items like that. The little turd needs to get a hold of the person in charge of the music department to see if he can get an in with them and figure out which ensemble he can join. He isn't majoring in music, but wants to continue studying. His private teacher is bummed he isn't going to the local community college so he can keep teaching him. He just had all state auditions and is gearing up for solo. Its going to be so weird when I don't have all these events to go to anymore.

Oh well, that's why I got the dog. He sucks up so much of my time. My efforts failed on the patio roof and it still leaks. However, I did string plastic sheeting up which catches a lot of it, but I didn't rig it at a slant and when it gets to full, it just spills over. I'm sure when Dh gets home this weekend, he will see I have tried and he hopefully will help me get it fixed. Perhaps if I go wider with the sheeting. I've got plenty.

Sue, DS has lost 23 lbs in 4 weeks. I've got to join him. I know I would feel better, so I started with an LC breakfast this am and hope to stick with it. I'm working more on portion control. I seem to keep stuffing my face and then I'm so full I'm miserable. Your goal to lose 5 in October is a great goal. Perhaps I will join.

Carolyn: I know about DH sitting in the easy chair thing. Its very difficult to get mine to do anything outside of his regular job. I see his work coming to an end soon and he will be laid off for the winter months. I'm not looking forward to that because he gets so grumpy. We manage on unemployment, but just barely.

Take care you two. Hopefully I can kick myself into doing something to jumpstart my weight losses once again.

[Suji]

Wow-that purpydug shore has growed, Leslie! :-)

Carolyn--the chair setting sure sounds like the hand of depression. Men in particular are so identified with their jobs that being let go is a real ego hit. He may need to stew for a while and grieve before his brain starts to come up with alternatives he can try.

I went to the district meeting for our garden club yesterday. It was held in an old barn and the hostess had decorated it with giant swags of grapevine intertwined with white Christmas tree lights and hanging round white cloth lanterns both large and medium size strung overhead among the timber-framing. It was a lovely effect. Lunch was packed into hand sewn cloth baggies secured with spring clothespins. Very cute touch.

I keep trying to tackle various things that have been left undone (worked on pantry last time!). Perhaps it will be the master bathroom drawers and cupboards today. I do have to mow. I wish my oldest son would show up and do it but he hasn't come by in 3 weeks now and I may be forced to do it. My problem is starting the darn thing. I have a wonky area in the elbow that doesn't like quick motions such as pulling the starter multiple times.

THen there is trying to come up with decorative items to put on my grapevine wreath before next Wednesday. Next year I am going to be certain to plant some separate garden beds with flowers that dry well like celosias and strawflowers, etc.!!

Leslie, I think 5 pounds is easier to handle than a larger figure. IS your DS doing LC?

Later,
Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue and carolyn:

Sue: The garden club meeting sounds so fun. How cute with the lunch bags. Someone was very creative.

We've been lucky to have good weather this week. Its very cold in the mornings, but warms up in the afternoons. DH and I have been butting heads on letting the dog in the house when it gets cold. I'm really getting worried. So I'm going to try to purchase a kennel, 6x6x4 to cover with boards and plastic for a wind and rain breaker. I will put his house inside and put a heat lamp in and perhaps buy a warming bed for him to use as well. I've been pricing kennels and didn't realize they were so expensive. Everytime I inquire about one on Craigslist, its already sold. I can see why.

I'm going on the bridgewalk this weekend in Astoria. DH isn't happy that I'm leaving but its for less than 24 hours. He's getting really weird. I hope he gets over it.

Oh well, if I have any free time when I get back on Sunday I will be raking. Its just the beginning of a long October and I need to rake up what I can while its dry outside.

Talk to you later.

[Suji]

Gee whiz--it's SUnday already! My DH is going to take Columbus Day off--a well deserved holiday from work and commuting!

I managed to score some iris from the historic house as they had so much so I planted the rhizomes on a slope at the farm. I got garlic into its' bed too--new varieties from Georgia (the country) and from Korea plus last year and the year before so at least 6 kinds. Other than cleaning off the porch and bringing plants and furniture inside that was it. It was such a nice fall day that I spent the whole of it outside. WE ended the day watching a great sky streaked pink sunset then the neighbors whom we hadn't seen in a long while came by to say hello. THey have to be out of their house around Christmas and haven't found a new house that they can rent yet. She says all they do is work anymore and they still can't pay their mortgage unless it is cut in half. Her husband is now subcontracting to a man who used to be their subcontractor. She says they probably won't ever return to the house building biz as company owners. I think much of their problems came when he couldn't afford his health insurance payments and was forced to drop it and then had all kinds of health/accident issues happen that ended up costing them an incredible amount. THere is some survey that says many of the bankruptcies in this nation have been caused by people going broke paying medical bills.

I am not doing so great with this diet trying to include DH as he is getting home so late that I am eating past the recommended time. IF he doesn't do much for lunch he likes a larger dinner (one never knows on whether he got out to eat or not) so this is proving harder than I thought! I may have to rethink this doing it together stuff.

Leslie, I feel for you, I don't understand your husband. Why does he dislike dogs in the house? Is it the possible odor/hair he objects to or having a critter underfoot? My DH *sighs* a lot at having so many pets but I take care of them. He is kind to them though he is much more of the hand washer after touching them than I am!

Leaves are starting to color and fall--had a huge windstorm a couple days ago! Two new houses are being built in the neighborhood--if you can call it that when people don't interact. They drive cars into or out of the garage and disappear. They really don't make themselves available to chat. I've tried--but it doesn't go beyond cornering someone working in the yard once in a blue moon!

TTFN!

Sue

[Suji]

Hey--where is everybody????

[Dreamcometru]

Oh my: I did't realize it had been so long since I had posted. Sorry about that Sue.

Hey Carolyn: Where are ya.?

I did the wonderful bridge walk last weekend. It was freezing cold, but really beautiful. We had a great time. We managed a free meal at breakfast, courtesy of the hotel, and a free lunch courtesy of the walk sponsors. So we didn't spend a dime that day. Whoo Hoo.

I also got the kennel shelter set up for the dog. Awesome Craigslist deal. I knew if I kept looking daily something would come up. And DH helped a little. We still have some work to do on the top because although I placed boards at a slant, the rain still puddles a bit. DH said he knows what to do to fix it and make the shelter more wind resistent. I'm really excited because with the awful wind and rain we had last week, the area stayed perfectly dry. Its so big, DS and I go in there and sit with the dog. DH suggested getting some scrap carpet pieces, but I want to lay them on planks in case the rain seeps through the bottom. Its like an extra room on the house. I also bought a warming plate for the actual dog house that's inside the kennel. He needed it last weekend. It takes up exactly half the floor in his dog house which is what was recommended so he can sleep opposit of it if it gets too warm. Now I can go to the doghouse if I'm in trouble! Ha Ha.

We went down to Eugene yesterday so DD1 could take DS's senior pictures. It was a gorgeous warm fall day and we went to a farm that had tons of beautiful backdrops. It was really fun. I bought way too much fresh produce. DD1 and Soninlaw are buying a house and we went to look at it. I really like it. Its so modern. I can't wait for them to move in. They are in the country, but in a small residential development.

Since I've been gone the last two weekends, my poor yard has suffered. Garlic? Wow, I've never even thought of planting it. We have lots of iris though. They are so pretty. I'm hoping tonight I can get some front yard cleanup done. The neighbors were shoveling the seeds and leaves yesterday they've gotten so deep. Ahh, its that time of year again.

Diet? What's that. Oh I'm still trying. But my portion distortion is getting the best of me. We had birthday cake like crazy for a couple of weeks. Fortunately I didn't gain anything, but wow, what would I have done had I not eaten any. DOH! For exercise, I still walk the dog twice a day, but its usually dark both morning and evening now. Yuck! DH worries, but I just take the dog behind our back fence and let him run in the field.

I hope all is well. Sorry for being so delinquent. Have a great week.

[sleepysue07]

Time between postings sure seems to get away from me!

We're fine so far. I am working all of the extra hours I can get and DH is still looking for a job. The bottom has fallen out of his profession and he has finally begun looking for other types of work. He is attending a job fair at the convention center tomorrow and applying at a few places in town as well.

DH1 has taken a job closer to home and has therefore moved back in with us to be closer to work. I don't mind except that he is messy. I am beginning to think we will never truly have an empty nest now.

My poor kitty isn't well. I noticed that he seemed to be struggling in the litter box and felt a little warm Saturday and then yesterday there was blood in his urine. The vet says that he has a UTI and that his portly state is preventing his being able to properly clean himself. Our vet put him on antibiotics and has cut his caloric intake tremendously. We recently found him eating the dog's food at 2:00 AM. We cannot leave the dogs food out anymore. DH had never taken him to the vet before and thought he didn't need a carrier so he just sat him in the front seat of the Camaro which was a huge mistake-frightened tom cat in a fowl mood, unrestrained in a fast car with leather seats on I-35 in rush hour traffic. I wish I could have "seen" this. Needless to say DH left the cat at the vet and drove home to fetch the carrier. It's hard to tell who was more traumatized by this event, but Baxter is whining less than DH.

Leslie your puppy is so pretty! Tell me more about the warming pad????

Sue, I envy you the Irises. I haven't a one. We have had so much rain this month that all of my trees and flowers have grown like crazy. I spent the whole Spring and Summer watering every day and they didn't grow like that. It must be something about the rain I guess. We are expecting more rain tomorrow. My roses are more beautiful than ever, and full of flowers.

Well it's very late. Tomorrow is my only day off this week so I am going to read a while because I can sleep late in the morning. I may actually sleep until 8:00 if the dog will let me.

Have a great week!

Carolyn

[Suji]

Carolyn-hi! I'm glad to read your upbeat note. Here's hoping something comes along for your DH soon! Yeah, it is the rare cat that is a good traveler!
I am done with the garden for the year--time to get on with house stuff. In a week or so I will be living at the farm FT for about 3 weeks. I hope to get a lot done while our friend is down in NC visiting his GF. I've been spending time looking for a reasonably priced mattress set which, although it won't be used regularly is still quality enough to last for a good while. I cannot believe what is being asked for some of these mattresses!!! You'd think they were heirlooms or something! I am trying to get one bedroom ready--in my head it was until I looked at it critically--mistake! Now I have to do more work quickly before getting minimal furniture in there. I don't know if you guys are into this feng shui craze--but that room sure doesn't have the natural layout for it! Gah.

Have either of you ever read Jeannette Walls' book "Glass Castle"? OMG--if not you would have to read to believe her true story of the unbelievable childhood she had. Her Mother AND Father were nut cases. THis was one of our bookclub readings.

DH bought the 10 Buff Orpington chickens the cutest Amish-made shed to roost in at night. It has a ladder/loft, a heart shaped window in a center dormer, real opening windows with screens, window boxes and a dutchdoor (plus larger one for main access). Our caretaker rolled his eyes on that one but DH decided he'd rather be spending his time doing other things and was willing to fork over some $. He's going to build a bitty one for the 3 bantams this weekend.

Well, guess I'll work on a bit of genealogy for an hour. :-)

Have a nice weekend,

Sue
PS Leslie, it sounds like you made a nice setup for Puppy--what is it's name?

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Ladies:

Its good to hear from both of you.

Sue, I haven't read that book, but its a great recommendation. I'm still trying to plow through several others but I will keep that one in mind.

Yah, mattresses are ridiculous. Fortunately, this last go round with us, we purchased a super plush pillow top for DS full size. His bed is one from Ikea and is set up kind of like a bunk bed where no box springs set is necessary. It worked out beautifully and cut about half the cost.

I managed some work in the yard last weekend. OMG, I'm buried in leaves. Unfortunately in the back yard where we have the most, the doggy (his name is Barkley) has pooped. So now when I rake, I have to be careful. Ick!

We have had a lot of rain. Dh is laid off because of it. He never seems concerned. In fact he's going today to put new tires on his truck, etc. etc. Yes, it needs them, but I'm sure we could squeek another 5,000 miles out of the tires that are on it already.

DS is having a big party for his birthday on Friday night. He's invited about 40 kids. Last year about 25 showed up. I hope that's the case this year and no more.

Carolyn: Your poor kitty. I do hope he gets well soon. You paint a hillarious picture of your Dh taking the cat to the vet. There is no way we would not take ours in a carrier. Although he likes his carrier, he freaks out once the car starts running.

The warming pad is this plastic board about 3/4 of an inch thick, 2 feet long by about 1 and a half feet wide. It is only supposed to put out the heat of a light bulb so as not to accidentally burn the dog if he falls asleep directly on the pad. I have felt it and it does get quite warm, but certainly not warm enough to burn. We place his giant pillow in his house--that takes up the whole floor so it covers the pad and he can lay on his pillow and soak up the heat. I unplug it during the day, but turn it on at night. He pops out of his shelter in the morning and feels like he has been nice and cozy in there. I got it at Petco. They have all sizes. This was the medium one. The electric cord is covered with metal so the dog can't chew it.

I feel sorry for you having to work so many hours. I would though too if it came down to it. I've always told Dh I would get a second job if his fell through. I've had retail experience and would have no trouble working at a department store or something.

I hope you two have a good week. I will try to remember to get on here more often. Because I'm not posting with the other group anymore, I tend to forget. The other group kind of migrated into a weight loss surgery group and I didn't really fit in anymore.

[Suji]

Hi Leslie and Carolyn,

This is a big push week for me--so much to do! I was expecting our friend at the farm to get his license today but the PMV was closed Mondays which means I have to go back again tomorrow! And--drive north to Carlisle since they don't have "One Stop Shopping" so to speak to take care of registering cars, etc at the same place you do all other state required car related things. Ack.

I did get a LOT of scraping done. I've been removing paint from the board and batten door and t he picture rail in the bedroom I will use. It's such an extremely odd color of original paint--intensely flat like a "Blue black hole" that no light shall escape!~ They must have used what is called "Lamp Black" in their paint way back when to get this particular shade. I've got 3 palettes of historic colors to choose from to repaint with. Since this blue-black is all over the place I figure I will reserve it for downstairs or a different room upstairs instead of this particular one. I want a warmer feel here.

DH built/installed *finally* the large nest box for my chickens. They have just started to use it and it will keep the eggs much cleaner now.

I have been doing lots of surfing online to come up with ideas for furnishing this bedroom at the farm bit by bit. I have so many bookmarks!~ I did order a lamp with a PA Dutch "distelfink" design--a bird design. I'm going to order some area rugs too--either rag or braided once I decide on the color scheme of the room. THis weekend is supposed to be my first stay but we shall see--it depends on my friend taking care of his car business.

That whole puppy set up seems well thought out. I hope it will be good when it gets very cold too. We re now reaching down to the 30's at night.

DH has decided to do 4 day weeks which means getting up at 5 and getting home after 8. Yick. Which also means *I* am getting up at 5 to make coffee and see him off by 6 so here it is 7:10 pm and I am already T*i*r*e*d!!!

I will check in when I can on this weird week. SUpposedly I will have computer access for mail and such there, so we will see how that goes.

Carolyn--how are you doing? Is your cat better now? Did your DH get any leads from the job fair?

Talk to you later gals,

Sue

[Suji]

Hey Gals,

Still waiting to hear about when my first stay over is so I may or may not be out there this weekend. It was a real push to get friend squared away as much as I could with all the car and driving issues. As it turned out he made a fatal error on his driving test (not stopping LONG enough) and didn't pass. All the driving tests have weeks long backlogs unless someone withdraws. So he is going again today except that it will be a 5 hours long round trip drive several counties away. That has been the hold up.

Meanwhile my mattress set arrives today and I picked up bedding items and rugs, etc yesterday. Still no chest of drawers until the legs on the antique one are fixed. I wish I had a blanket chest but they are expensive! Lamp #1 was delivered and I'm looking at which others I will go for.

We got all items planted at the historic garden but need to pick up the remaining for kitchen garden over in TN. Still, so far it looks really good. In spring the perennials will get installed.

I need to get my library books and cross stitch, etc together to take with me for the times I don't feel like hard physical labor. Lots of cleaning to do at the farm however. It will be interesting to see what happens when I am totally responsible only for myself scrounging food out there! Will I be able to jump start my metabolism?

I notice that we are posting less and less and not really following though on the original premise of this LC post for different reasons in our lives. Do you two think it is worth it to you to keep this thread open or should we close it? I don't post enough for it to be a hardship to keep up but I'd like to know what you think.

Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue: I agree about the thread. I love to catch up on you and Carolyn, but the original purpose seems to be gone. The three of us could exchange emails and keep in touch that way.

Its been so rainy here. The dog shelter is holding up well, but DH is still a butthead. Barkley stays warm so far. We, too, have had a couple of very cold nights, but when I turn his warming plate on, he tends to drag his bed just outside of his house and sleep on it there, so I think its too warm for him. I had to wake him up yesterday for his evening walk, he was so cozy.

So are you talking about staying for long periods of time at the farm by yourself? That would be advantageous to getting a lot of work done out there.

Your DH's work schedule sounds difficult. My DH is laid off. And its only Nov. 9th. I'm concerned but he can draw unemployment. They are supposed to have a job they can do all winter, but I've heard that before. Its been so wet, I don't see them doing anything for a long time.

I managed to clean out a lot of the back room this weekend (we were stuck indoors). Gotta itemize for tax purposes on stuff I am getting rid of. Bleh, but at least it will be out of my house. Got rid of lots of garbage too. Yay!

Well I gotta go. Clients are waiting. Let me know about the emailing.

Leslie

[Suji]

Leslie,
I'm trying to get our caretaker to *Get Gone* already but he's being so difficult. He keeps dragging his feet on the exit time to leave for NC because he has talked himself into cleaning everything first. I don't want him to. I just want to get out there and do stuff myself. He's gotten very possessive of the space, in a way--and he's there for free!!! Arghhh. However, if he keeps dithering, this GF is on her last nerve with him.

I don't think we could live off unemployment at the moment--our bills are too high. I reckon if one is employed in an industry that lays off seasonally you learn how to live within your means in a hurry!

I'm OK with going to e-mails. I wouldn't want Carolyn to be left wondering what happened and how to get in contact if she wants to continue to do so. How do we exchange e-mails and keep it private?

Sue

[sleepysue07]

I guess that I am for the e-mail idea as well, but I'll be sad to see our little thread disband. I am sending you both a private message with my e-mail address and latest news.

Carolyn