Staying the Course -- 09-04-2017

[Superbob]

Doing something bizarre as this week's starter -- writing it at 3 in the morning. Ever had nights you just can't get to sleep? Don't know if it is the result of watching an exciting football game, or thinking the odds of a major hurricane (Irma currently) smacking us, or maybe just didn't eat right ... maybe thinking of more paid work I can do to support us through so-called retirement... anyway, here I am....

The floor is open for any observations, reports, comments, happy news, sad news, hopeful news, news news, non-news, blues, brights, anything at all.

Current calculations are that there is a 45 percent chance of Irma, about to become a Cat 4 hurricane, to sock us along the east coast in about a week, a 45 percent chance of its taking a right and going out to sea, and a 10 percent chance of hitting the Gulf coast (can you imagine that, after all those folks are going through?) Maybe this is why I can't sleep tonight.

go to eat something healthy tomorrow, maybe have a strong drink, take long walk, watch Tennessee football game - hmmm so I will probably be up a 3 tomorrow night too.

Anyway, have a good Labor Day..... hopefully without hard labor.'
Stay the Course, steady as she goes...

Cheerio,

Superbob

 

[Paleowoman]

HI SB - it's just after 8am here in England so I got your message while having my breakfast. I often wake at 3am, it's very difficult to get back to sleep then as thoughts/worries seem to take on another force that time of night.

I and DH are off to France for two weeks at the end of this week. This will be our first holiday this year as we had to cancel our first planned one in March due to problems with DS, and then cancel the next planned one in May due to me seeing cardiologist and cardaic surgeon and tests. So we're very much looking forward to this break.

I hope that Irma doesn't hit you too hard.

Happy Labour Day to you and others in the US !

best wishes,
Anne

 

[honeybunny]

This is my 10th day off work. I was able to put in about 20 hours at home and I'll take vacation time for the other 20. The last few days have been quite restful. My son came over yesterday to help me rake up the yard from debris from my pine trees and haul some stuff to the curb. I'm taking advantage of the storm trash hauling to get rid of some clutter.

SB, it's probably a combination of all those things that has you up late, not least Irma. Harvey is too fresh in your mind to treat Irma like just another hurricane. I have a feeling you will be just fine. A string drink sounds like a good idea

Paleowoman, have a GREAT holiday!

 

[jwinter]

Good Monday morning all! Thoughts and prayers for those in the line of more severe weather ahead. How ironic that our area remains horribly dry and hazy from all the fires that have come with the drought.

I can relate to those 3 a.m. wake up calls. It can be a rough time as worries seem to creep in when it is middle of the night and all is dark and quiet. Hopefully will be short term and things will eventually settle and work out.

Had a good visit and bbq with family yesterday. Not all the grands were present but first time all my kids have been together in a long time. This mama was sure happy to talk to each of them alone and then all together. Right there is one reason I choose to keep staying that course for my health.

This Friday will start prep for colonoscopy and gastric scope. A whole week of stopping warfarin, bridging with Lovenox, INR checks and then a last day of actual prep. All for two tests that will take very little time. Seems like a bit of overkill but appears, once, again, the only way out is through.

Have a good week and enjoy the holiday to those that are celebrating. Anne, I am glad you get a much deserved vacation and break. Enjoy!

 

[FredW]

Hello everyone. Looks like I'm in good company with the waking up in the wee hours of the night and not being able to get back to sleep. I relate to SB's thought of money and retirement, Anne's worries taking on another force at that time, and Jwinter's notice of the quite time. I actually like the quite time between 3 am and birds greeting the morning light with song.

Ann, I wish you a good vacation. We just got back from a vacation with others at a beach house at the North Carolina coast. We didn't have that great of a time. When I wasn't walking the dogs on the beach, I read and napped a lot. Boredom came to visit on day 2 and stayed until we left on day 7. One of the guys we stayed with starts drinking way too early for me and becomes loud and self centered by dinner time. We did have some good meals, but they were offset with bad leftovers for more nights than I like. Next year, my wife and I will not let the offer of free beach house accommodations sway our desire to be alone and do what we want.

We will be watching Irma and hope it goes out to sea. Hope everyone a good week.

 

[epstns]

Hi, everyone! I'm still around, but had to come back to work to get some rest. . .

Started my weekend on Saturday by tearing out 3 sets of folding closet doors in our family room, and replacing them with custom sliding doors. This turned out to be much more work than I planned, because the contractor who originally finished out the room some 30-odd years ago did not use a level or a T-square. Yes, things looked straight, even to my critical eye, but the door frames are definitely NOT square. I had to do a lot of picky trimming of steel tracks for the roller doors, and also had to drill into the concrete floor (without the requisite hammer-drill, no less). Did all 3 sets of doors on Saturday, but here it is Tuesday and I'm still stiff and sore. Oh, well, at least it is finished, and turned out quite well.

On Sunday we had some neighbors over for dinner and a visit. They are about our daughter's age (in fact, the girl went to the same high school as our daughter, just a couple of years earlier), and have a 3-year old, a 1-year old and a delightful mixed-breed dog. We had a great time - no pressure and no agenda. . . just getting to know the neighbors.

Yesterday we decided to go out to the Chicago Botanic Garden for a bit of a walk, and to have lunch on their dining deck for one last time this season. Although the park is open every day, all year, the outdoor dining areas all close on Labor Day. Even though it rained a bit later in the day, all in all it was a nice day.

Today. . . I am back at work. At least it lends some structure to my days. I need to start planning what my days will be like once I retire next year. That could get to be a challenge, as many of my friends were a bit older than I, and are no longer with us.

 

[Paleowoman]

Thanks for the holiday wishes ! I've been doing a lot of packing, working out what we need to take and how it will fit in our car. Everything seems to be working out nicely. I don't think I will be able to get online much while we're away so wishing everyone well for the next couple of weeks !

 

[epstns]

Well, Anne, it sounds like you have a really nice holiday opportunity coming up. I hope you get a chance to unwind and really enjoy it. We haven't taken any vacation time to speak of yet this year, and I feel the strain, too. We never acquired a holiday/vacation place in our younger years, and by now we just don't want the bother of caring for a second home, so we do the "hotel" thing. That doesn't mean that we don't have favorite places to go for holidays, though, as we have a few spots we have visited many times over the years. We just aren't tied down to a specific residence for all of our holiday time.

We have trips planned later this year to central Indiana, northern Wisconsin, Florida, Massachusetts, and then back to central Wisconsin -- all before the end of the year. Next year is unplanned, as yet, but may include a cruise or some European travel, pending my retirement (targeted for the end of March, 2018).

It has always seemed strange to me to hear of European friends traveling to another country so easily, while we just hop to the next state. I guess that comes from living in a country that is 3,000 miles wide. . .

 

[Paleowoman]

by now we just don't want the bother of caring for a second home, so we do the "hotel" thing..

Having a second home has it's advantages and disadvantages. There's often things to do when you get to the house as it's been empty for some time and you never know what's happened ! Luckily my nephew has just been staying there so we know the place is still standing. Thankfully my brother is a shared owner since it was left to us by our parents so he helps somewhat with the upkeep, though he's not a francophile. The good thing about your own place is that everything is there and you get to know the area and explore a bit more each time.

It has always seemed strange to me to hear of European friends traveling to another country so easily, while we just hop to the next state. I guess that comes from living in a country that is 3,000 miles wide. . .

But we Brits have to go over, or rather under as we do, the Channel. I envy the people in Europe who can just drive over the borders and visit different countries.

Sounds like you're going to do something big on your retirement Steve !

 

[epstns]

Anne, we plan to do some "big" things as well as some "not so big" things. We do want to tour various parts of Europe and perhaps Asia and some other lands, but we also have a long list of places here in The States that we want to visit or return to. At the moment, this is all a massive dream. . . I'm still working full-time and plan to do so until next March. After that, I have been asked to consider some part-time assistance, maybe one week per month, to help the company transition to my absence. I'm still considering this, but it may be the best of both worlds for me. Working one week each month would allow me to have long stretches of time to "be retired" and to travel, yet the short-duration work schedule would allow me to stay connected professionally and would be a dynamite income supplement. I wouldn't want to work like that forever, but a year or two might make sense.

Meanwhile, I'm still working on plans for the remainder of this year, scheduling our Christmas visit to see our daughter, son-in-law and grandsons, and the other stuff we've postponed until later in the year.

Next year it will be nice to be able to make plans without having to count and allocate vacation days. In so many cases, it isn't the length of the trip that drives the cost, it is the transportation cost. Once you're "there" you add lodging cost for additional days, but I discount the cost of meals because wherever you are, you've got to eat. Eating costs about the same wherever you are, so if I eat in some vacation destination it will cost around the same as it does to eat at home.

 

[MartinF]

It's been several weeks since posting. I read about Steve having lower back spasms and I had the same thing about the same time. Woke up with a stiff back and when I tried to get up it knotted up. It took me almost an hour to get out of bed and another hour before the spasms stopped. My back is only beginning to feel better the past week. Unfortunately I had minor surgery yesterday for an abscess and I won't be able to do much exercise for a few weeks.

Thinking about all the hurricane survivors in Houston and hope Florida survives. I have a brother in South Carolina and they might get hit too. Here in CA it's been hot and humid the past month but seems to be cooling down a bit. I'm ready for fall weather.

Hope all are doing well. Martin