#52: "He doesn't need the spotlight. He just glows."

[luckiest1]

Wheeee, we are down to double digits!!!

Man, I've had a crazy, hectic week. I will be so glad for 4 pm this afternoon. I am going to hit the highway and chill in Toronto with my daughter for the weekend.

[merrieeee]

I'd love to "chill" but I am having my bathrooms remodeled next week and I have to do stuff. I think i'm nuts! I have three bathrooms that I am having new countertops and repainted all at the same time!!! DH comes home says get this done and leaves! So who is left to do all the scheduling, phoning and waiting around for contractors........yep me! oh well at least he is paying *g*

99 days! eeeee

[preden]

Wheeee, we are down to double digits!!!

Man, I've had a crazy, hectic week. I will be so glad for 4 pm this afternoon. I am going to hit the highway and chill in Toronto with my daughter for the weekend.

Tell me about a hectic week, I have the weekend off but will be busy going to soccer games with youngest son but at least I won't be working. Hopefully it won't rain and will be getting some sun. Have a good weekend with daughter.

[muskifest]

Couchie, how's your mom? I don't check in here as much as I used to, but I saw that she's back in the hospital...

Leaving tomorrow for Rhode Island, where our week-long summer program happens. So this week at work has been :thRoadRunner: :thcid_3BBE149B-59C6-45CF-B77F-7 :stfu: :fuckoff:

Of course, since I'm the event manager.....

Heh....

[liney23]

Wow... we are a busy bunch of peoples. I am leaving in a few to babysit my son's 3 kids. He proceeds to tell me last night that their computer is broken and so... no internet/FCA until Monday.

I hope I have umpteen exciting fun, picture-filled pages to read when I get back.

luckiest... have fun!

muski... survive and triumph!

ausdon/couchie... hope your respective parents are ok soon!

Scarlett... I love your ideas! I have skype and a webcam and would love to connect to the party that way.

merrieeee... for pete's sake... all three at oncet. Wow. I expect the adventures to shared here.

jmh... groundhogs have to live somewhere other than Pauksatawny, PA (or however you spell that), so why not your backyard??? Cool about all the wildlife you get to see.

[ldyjocelyn]

couchie, I hope everything goes well with your Mom -- and the job prospect too. (See our job thread for more details...hee).

ausdon, good wishes sent to you and your father.

muski, good luck with your conference!

merrieeee -- all three bathrooms at once? You're brave. We're getting our main bathroom done in September, and I'm nervous already, even though we have a second bathroom.

I hope everyone has a grand weekend. Me, I'm going to Chicago for a library conference, and I'll be gone almost the entire day tomorrow. I'll try to check in though with my phone -- will finally get to try 3G for a bit!

Topic: Clay is a good egg. Smart too. Oh, and what the hell -- he's funny and cute and adorable and sexy. The end.

One more thing -- THREAD TITLE POLL AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE!

[justclay12]

Got a question for anyone who posts at CV. I downloaded Firefox yesterday and since then I haven't been able to check out CV. Is anyone else having a problem getting in? Or got any suggestions.

[merrieeee]

Re: CV.

They are having the same issues as they had a while ago with the AOL browser so it might be connected in some way.

[jmh123]

Mom's very weak and disoriented today, and none of my siblings is available if she falls or has any problems, so keep your fingers crossed please. At the moment she's channel surfing with the volume up to an ear-splitting level, so she's happy.

[treenuts]

Ya know, that thread title poll almost reads like a mini-series, chapters 4 and the Epilog!

I am so grateful for a board that is celebrating The Clay!

We have no idea in hell what Clay is up to. We hope he's happy.

God, I love that man. He rocks my socks.

He's made a changed woman out of me!

Clay Aiken - Better than burnt weinies!

:thbighug-1: Hugs all around to all those caring for the parents! I hope things begin to look up, ladies!!

content: Yoohoo, Clay! In the immortal words of The Three Degrees -"When Will I See You Again" :clay:

[Scarlett]

{{{to the FCA moms and dads}}}

I didn't get to tell you this but last month, when kimiye was in town I almost didn't make it to our dinner because my aunt had fallen into a coma and I was on the phone with my cousins, helping them get home to her. We thought we were going to say goodbye that night, but somehow little by little she came back. Today was a good day for her and she was able to talk to my cousin on her cell phone, even tease her a little by answering, "How are you" with "Still breathing" and a little laugh. I know these are just what my cousin and I call "Bonus Days" as she'd been ill for over a year and a half with what was finally diagnosed as an aortic aneurysm, and we're happy for an extra special bonus day today.

I didn't think to offer this before but my cousin's is an RN with a lot of experience with elderly care. If you have questions or need some advice on some things, she may be able to help. I'll keep watch on the caregiver thread. Meanwhile hugs to everyone with a lot of worries about their loved ones today. :thbighug-1:

[Couch Tomato]

Mom's very weak and disoriented today, and none of my siblings is available if she falls or has any problems, so keep your fingers crossed please. At the moment she's channel surfing with the volume up to an ear-splitting level, so she's happy.

Sending hugs to you -- Lotus to you for your dad as well and to everyone with parent issues. My mom is home from the hospital. I have some concerns but I will watch her like a hawk the next few weeks.

And bwah..the thread title poll does sound like a soap opera!

[jmh123]

Good news about your mom, couchie. Do watch her. Last time (or the time before last?) didn't the drs not get it right the first time?

My mom went downhill and then back up so is currently fairly OK. See caretaker thread if you want the latest. I kept adding updates before I posted (instead of after).

[FromClaygary]

Big hugs headed out to everyone filling the caregiver role these days....I know it can be far from easy, and I appreciate you all as I know I'll be needing someone one of these days! I hope I can make it as easy as possible for them at that time.

I am tha-RILLED to tell you I joined the 21st century tonight! I have a brand new, installed by me with minimal curse words about getting the cords up/down from the desk, new widescreen LCD monitor. Ah can SEE!! It is bright, big, and I can actually sit ergonomically in my chair, instead of having to hunch over the desk to be able to see! Weeeee-hoo!! This ROCKS!

[Clayzy]

:hugs: to all with sick parents/loved ones. I've never had to go through what you're going through, but I'm sending good thoughts your way.

On a side note, I hope nobody is experiencing ill effects from the current imageshack hacking.

[me myb]

Many positive supportive thoughts for all of you in tackling caregiving and the extra responsibilities and stresses those roles bring with them. You are all so inspiring. I know I will soon have to face some of the same things with my mother but am not sure I can fulfill them as well as you people. God Bless!

(and of course when my time comes to be "cared" for - I will probably be the patient from hell!)

I am tha-RILLED to tell you I joined the 21st century tonight! I have a brand new, installed by me with minimal curse words about getting the cords up/down from the desk, new widescreen LCD monitor. Ah can SEE!! It is bright, big, and I can actually sit ergonomically in my chair, instead of having to hunch over the desk to be able to see! Weeeee-hoo!! This ROCKS!

Good for you! Have been thinking eventually I will have to bite the bullet and invest in one too. Glad you like it.

[FromClaygary]

memyb Getting excited about Gala?

It was surprisingly inexpensive...I was kind of shocked! It's just a 19" as my corner desk is not able to accomodate anything much larger (although now that I have it in here, a 20" likely would have worked also). But what a difference from my old ...15" or so? Holy smokes.

Now I have to figure out how to get this stuff (the old monitor and a printer I replaced about 6 mos ago) to the techno dump! I can barely lift the old monitor.

[bottlecap]

Waves and hugs and safe travels to all!

laughn and I took a little road trip this weekend, and we have been losing money in the slots stimulating the Canadian economy.

I have been working on my photography skillz and I'm happy to report that there are no disembodied feet this time around.

A very cocky seagull, ruling the railing like Clay rules the stage.

Spurting waters.

[jmh123]

Waves and hugs and safe travels to all!

laughn and I took a little road trip this weekend, and we have been losing money in the slots stimulating the Canadian economy.

I have been working on my photography skillz and I'm happy to report that there are no disembodied feet this time around.

A very cocky seagull, ruling the railing like Clay rules the stage.

Spurting waters.

Cool photos! Y'all have fun.

[Clayzy]

Nice seagull. He's all like, "Whut? I'm awesome. Yeah, take your pictures, tourist. You won't see amazingness in seagull form like this again anytime soon."

ETA: *lols* Sorry, I've been like this all night.

[me myb]

Great pics bottlecap. I like the little guy's attitude!

memyb Getting excited about Gala?

:thbighug-1:

Yes I am getting excited about the Gala! Actually, nervous about grabbing a ticket!

Will probably be harder to come by this time, but we will see!

If I do not get a gala ticket, I will go grab a new monitor for sure as if I am stuck home I will need to see Clay clearly. .

And you are right, draging this prehistoric huge one I have here to the techno dump will be a pain.

You people would laugh out loud if you saw the monitor I am using now.

Of course the darn thing does work so it is hard to justify buying another one!

(besides, I am too cheap)

[tribeca]

((hugs)) to all with sick parents/loved ones

Bottle love your pictures. All of them. The feet too

I was at Smokey Robinson concert tonight. It was fabulous!! When he introduced the band Savon (sp) was playing the keyboards. Was kind of cool to see him again.

[luckiest1]

tribeca, how cool is that?

Hugs to all who are having difficulties with parents, kids, etc. My mom came back with a clear CAT scan last week so all is well here. I am visiting for a few days (my mom and my daughter) and can I just say that Piper the pug puppy is in 7th heaven to have a playmate again. She misses my daughter's pug puppy so badly, and the two of them are having a blast together. It means that I haven't had much sleep, but hopefully I can catch a nap later today at some point.

FromClaygary, congrats on the new monitor!

[FearofH2O]

That's so cute luckiest! Those pups need to see each other more often.

Bottlecap keep practicing, Clay will wake up soon. I like your picture with the water hanging in the air.

Good thoughts going to all of you caretakers of elderly parents and othe relatives. I remember Clay speaking at the Caretakers meeting and how much he admired what all of you do on a regular basis.

We meet our youngest son for lunch in the town where he works on a weekly basis. Usually we eat, talk and go home. I hadn't seen much of the town. It is an old sleepy town which has seen better days. You can park within a few feet of wherever you want to go.

Yesterday, after we ate, he took us around the block to show us a new wine tasting facility that had just opened up. The area has recently become well known for the vineyards that have been developing due to the climate and multitude of water sources. Walking over there we noticed the antique stores, one of which had a fantastic looking kitchen cupboard. I would have bought it in a minute if I had a single place to put it. There were some curbs along the street which were very high as if used to let people out of buggies in another time.

We went into the wine tasting bulding which also had a very small farmers' market in it. Three people had produce which was very obvious that they had grown themselves. One woman had tomatoes for $1.99 lb which were heirloom and sell for over $4.00 a lb in our grocery stores, melons the size of grapefruits. I bought cherry tomatoes in red, yellow and a purplish color which were almost as sweet as real cherries for $2.00 a bag. Unfortunately they only took cash so we couldn't try everything.

My husband tried four types of wine from this small vineyard that was ten years old, fairly new for a vineyard. They were selling 2006 wines, generally. Very interesting peple to talk to, but we had an appointment that afternoon and had to leave. My husband bought a few bottles of their wine. All in all an interesting visit to that sleepy town.

Have a great day.

[aikim]

98 Days until The BAF Gala!

Everyone have a nice day!

Kim