Hiker Was a BAD Dog

OK….I am totally ready for this cold to be OVER!
It has really done a number on my poor body. No vomiting, no fever, but I feel so weak. I don’t ever remember a cold getting me down like this one has. My head is still stuffy and I feel so tired all of the time.
I have never been sick for more than 3 or 4 days. Sooner or later, I’m going to have to go get some groceries and go to the pharmacy for me B/P meds, so I need to get better. I do NOT like having to rely on others to help me do things and I hate asking for help. I’m supposed to meet the group girls for lunch on Tuesday, but don’t know if I will be able to make it. I have my annual check-up with my doctor on Wednesday, plus I have an appointment with my retinal specialist on Friday, which was a reschedule for missing my appointment with him last week.
Around 10 am, my neighbor Sally called me and said she was heading over to the store and asked if I needed anything. Told her I did need some orange juice. I thought it was so sweet of here to call and ask.
I’m not used to not being able to just get out of bed and do things. Today I had to change the sheets on my bed because I’ve been sleeping on those sheets while I’ve been sick all week and I’m sure they were full of all kinds of germs.
I really feel sorry for Hiker. This is the first time since I got her that I’ve been sick and she totally does not understand why we are not doing the things we normally do. She just sits and stares at me. But right now I am so mad at her. Here I am sick and feeling like crap. Hiker saw a cat in the front yard and went crazy and she totally destroyed the mini-blinds on the front window. Just ripped them apart, just like you see the photos on the Internet where dogs have done that. I’m thinking she has cabin fever from us not playing outside, going for walks and car rides, etc. Dogs do things that they would not normally do when they get bored, and I’m sure she is bored from my being sick for over a week. Now I’ll have to get another blind to put in there, but I cannot do it until I’m completely well, and who knows when the heck that will be. She’s lucky I’m not the type of person who beats their dog because I am so mad at her.

Last Day Of February

This cold is like a yo-yo. One day I’m up, the next day I’m down. Slept good last night, but when I awoke this morning, my sinuses were clogged, my head was hurting and my throat was dry.
Had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and started to feel a little better. Checked email and Facebook, then turned on the TV and found that Hallmark was showing “The Good Witch” movies all day. “The Good Witch” series starts tonight. So I settled down on the sofa for the day.
Had some chicken noodle soup for lunch. I am so “souped out” that I don’t want any more for a while.
Was thinking that if I ever get over this “creeping crud”, I’m going to be more out of shape for hiking than I already was. Not good, because Spring is one of the pest seasons for hiking.
We are supposed to have rain this weekend, but the sun was shining brightly when the mowers got here to cut the grass. There was a breeze in the air and it was a little chilly.

Got Out For A Little While

I felt about 30% better today, so that’s an improvement I guess. Took another sleeping pill last night before I went to bed, so once again, I slept through most of the night.
Did not feel like doing a dog walk this morning, so I called Jean and told her to just bring the dogs over for a play date, which she did.
My neighbor Sally came and picked me up around 11 am to drive me up to La Canada so I could pick up my finished tax papers. I hate so much depending on other people, but I’m still too week to drive a long distance. Sally kept saying she didn’t want anything for taking me but I finally talked her into at least letting me by her lunch on the way home. At least I’m hungry again. I’m lucky to have good friends close by.
I had grown very cloudy and gray here. We are supposed to get rain over the weekend, so that will be perfect weather for me to stay inside and get more rest.

Was Feeling Better - Then I Wasn't

I actually slept through most of the night last night. Took a sleeping pill before I went to bed and I only remember getting up once during the night. When I woke up around 5:30 am, I was actually hungry again. Let Hiker outside and then back in and then we went back to bed until a little after 7 am.
Got up and made some scrambled eggs and toast. Still felt very weak, and so crashed on the sofa for the morning.
It’s strange, how when you are sick, one day you wake up feeling like crap and then start to feel better, or you wake up feeling much better, then later feel like crap again. Well by 10:30 am, I was back to feeling pretty crappy. I’ve got online friends telling me they have or have had the same thing I’m going through and some of them are into their second or third week of it. So I’m guessing that it is going to take me awhile to get well.
I forced a small lunch down around 1:15 pm. I was so hungry when I woke up this morning, but lost my appetite as the day went on.
Started getting very cloudy and windy here this afternoon.

So Sick Of Being Sick!

At least I got some sleep last night. Fell asleep on the sofa around 5:30 yesterday evening. Work up about an hour later and decided to go take a hot shower, then went right to bed. Slept for a few about 3 or 4 hours and then woke up again. Went back to sleep and then woke up again around 3:30 am. Back to sleep and then Hiker wanted to go outside around 5:00 am. She came back in and we went back to bed again and slept until she woke me up to feed her. Thought about staying in bed all day, but my sinuses were killing me when I’d lay down, so I decided to get out of bed and crash on the sofa in the living room. My sinuses didn’t seem to hurt as much sitting up.
When I first came down with this cold, I didn’t feel good, but at least I was hungry and wanted to eat. Now I’m not that hungry. I forced myself to eat a bowl of cereal. I know I need to eat to get my strength back, but I just don’t feel like fixing anything.
When I was younger and I’d get sick, I’d just keep going, even to work if I didn’t feel too bad. There are things I need to do, go pick up my tax papers, pay some bills, but I just don’t feel like doing anything. My tax man lives 25 miles away, so there is no way I can drive up there the way I am feeling. My good friend Sally said that she would drive me up to my tax man’s house on Friday if I’m not feeling up to it. I should probably try to go out and start the car since I have not started it in about 6 days. Hope I don’t run out of anything, because I don’t even feel like driving over to the store.
I was feeling somewhat better, then it seemed that I suddenly felt worse. I’m thinking it’s because I am not eating as well as I should. I’m starting to lose my appetite. Nothing sounds good. I’ve been forcing myself to eat some, but I know it’s not enough, plus I do not feel like fixing anything that take more than 5 minutes to prepare.
I sure cannot wait until I am back to “normal”. Not that’ve I’ve ever been normal (LOL).

Finally Went To The Dodtor

Didn’t sleep at all last night. My head ached, my nose was stuffed up. I was coughing. I know that Jean gets up at 5:30 am so I called her around 5:40 am and asked her if I was able to get an appointment with my doctor today, would she drive me and she said yes. So I went online and got an appointment this afternoon.
Tried to sleep some this morning, but still felt like crap. I was so tired of drinking fluids that I was having to force them down, plus now I wasn’t that hungry, but I still forced myself to eat.
After my doctor checked me out, he said I have a “common cold”. I thought that’s what it was, but since I’m older now, I worry that it might turn into pneumonia, plus I wasn’t getting any better. He said my lungs were clear. He told me I’m actually only into the 4th whole day of the cold and that usually the first 5 days are the worse, then you start to feel better, even though it still take about 10 days to completely get over a cold.
So he told me to just keep getting rest, drink fluids and take Tylenol for my headache. He said I could get some OTC cold meds if I wanted to. But he said they don’t always help that much. I’m allergic to Codeine, so he said there was need for him to give me prescription cough syrup.
He said a lot of people have been coming in with colds thinking they have the flu.

Please Go Away Cold!

Was feeling better last night when I went to bed around 9 pm, but woke up at 2 am this morning coughing again and with a very stuffy nose. I still believe this is a cold because I do not have a fever and I have not had one the entire time I’ve been sick.
I called the appointment scheduler at my retinal specialist’s office and reschedule tomorrow’s appointment for next week. Now I have to find out if Jean will be available a week from Friday to take me to the new appointment.
Never did get out of my pajamas. Thought it would be a good idea to stay in bed as much as possible today. I did get up to let Hiker outside a few times. She mostly stayed in my bedroom with me. I made sure I got up and made some lunch.
Watched Y&R in my bedroom. Felt better around noon than I did this morning when I first work up, but then it always seems like when we are sick, we fill worse early in the morning and late at night. My nose was no longer clogged. Actually it was runny. Still had a slight cough so I drank two big glasses of tea and lemon. I don’t like honey.
Huge advantage of being retired…when you are sick, you can just stay in bed all day.
This cold is so annoying. I feel bad in the morning, then better around noontime, then I start to feel bad again as the afternoon goes on.

Hiker taking care of me when I'm sick:

Day Number 3 Of My Cold

Third day of this persistent cold that my body is trying to heal from. Was in bed most of time yesterday and went back to bed right after I had dinner. Slept somewhat better than the night before, but still do not feel all that great today. Don’t really have the bad headache now and my sore throat is gone. Been using my Neti-Pot to decongest my sinuses and that is working well. Still have a slight cough and it is very dry, so I don’t have any chest congestion.
But this morning I have another problem. My lower back seems to have gone out on me. Don’t know if it’s from all of the coughing or what, but I didn’t need for that to happen. Have been using my electronic pulse massager on it and that has helped some. Also took some of the prescription muscle relaxants that I had gotten from the doctor the last time my back went out.
Believe me….these are NOT the Golden Years.
Drizzled here this morning so it was a good day to stay inside, have a fire in the fireplace, watch “The Ghost Whisperer” marathon on CLOO TV, and try to beat this damn virus. I was going to watch movies on Netflix, but my TV would not connect to the Internet for some reason.
I called Jean to tell her that I might be calling my retinal specialist tomorrow to cancel my Tuesday appointment if I don’t feel any better in the morning. Jean drives me to my eye appointments so I wanted her to have a heads up. It is difficult to set up appointments with my retinal specialist because he is so busy, but I’m sure they would not want me at the medical center spreading this bug I’m fighting.
It started raining here around 10:30 am. Not a hard rain, just a drizzle. Did that off and on all day.
I decided to soak in a hot tub for a while. Thought it might help me feel better, which it did somewhat. I was finally able to get my TV in the living room to connect to my Internet. I’ve been watching Steven King’s “The Stand” on Netflix. I am up to episode 3 of 4. I found that if I move my network router into the hallway, the TV connects better. It normally sits on my desk in the front bedroom and I think the walls between the bedroo0m and the living room block the signal.

Still Not Feeling Well

Because I didn’t feel well yesterday, I went to bed a 7:30 last night. Woke up several times during the night due to the fact that I was coughing or that my nose was congested and I could not breathe. Stayed in bed until around 9 am and when I did get up, I did not change out of my jammies and I did not make up the bed so I could get back into it anytime I wanted to. My ribs are very sore from coughing. My throat was not as dry today and was not as sore. My headache was not as bad either. I used my Neti-Pot so now my nose is not congested. I don’t think I have the flu because I am not having any abdominal problems, plus I’m hungry and usually with the flu I’m not. Most of the problem is with my upper respiratory system. I have not been this sick since the first week Ben was in the hospital.
The main reason I finally got out of bed for a little while was to do my laundry. I was running out of underwear (LOL). I never did get to do my housework yesterday, but it’s more important for me to get myself well than to have a clean house. Plus this coming Tuesday, I have an eye appointment with my retinal specialist, plus I will need to refill some prescriptions and also will have to pick up my finished tax returns.
Hiker had trouble understanding why this was not a “routine Saturday”. She could tell that I was acting differently. After breakfast, I went back to bed for a while and she came in and got on the bed with me and just stared at me. Later when I got up to make some lunch, she tried to get me to play with her.
This morning when I first got out of bed it was very dark and cloudy outside, but the sun finally came out later in the day.
I still don’t feel all that great, but I do feel somewhat better than I did last night when I went to bed. If my ribs didn’t hurt so much from the coughing, I’d feel much better.

Sick Day

Well I hope I didn’t pick up a bug while I was at Kaiser yesterday for bloodwork. Started coughing last night before I went to bed and woke up in the middle of the night with a dry, scratchy throat. When I got up at 6 am this morning, I felt like crap, but we still went for a dog walk with Jean. I had planned to do some housework today, but it can just wait because I do not feel up to doing it. Decided to just veg on the sofa all day.
I wasn’t very hungry for lunch but I forced myself to eat. I know that if I want to get well, I need to eat meals and drink a lot of fluids.
Walked up to the mailbox, then wished I hadn’t.

Nice Thursday

Got up early because I had fasted last night for blood work this morning at Kaiser. I have my annual check-up with my doctor on March 4th, so I emailed him and had him order the blood work now so he’d have my results when I go to see him.
While at Kaiser, there was this one woman, probably about my age, who was waiting for some lab work. She came in right behind me, so she was due to go in after me. There were two other people ahead of me. Well this woman was one of those who paces. They have a clip board on the counter that the lab technician checks for who is next (they call your number). Every time the tech called someone in, the woman went to the clip board and looked at it. I was number 66, so when 65 was called, I knew I was next. The woman got up and went over to the clip board again and kept standing there. When the tech came out and called 66, she saw the woman standing there and asked if she was number 66 and the woman said yes. I had already gotten up and was heading into the lab because I was 66. Well the tech saw me and asked the woman for her number ticket and when the tech saw that hers was 67, she told the woman she’d be next after me. First off…I hate people who pace like that at doctor’s offices. Then I’m thinking how stupid she was to claim she was number 66, thinking that she’d get in faster. Some people have a lot of balls.
After I left Kaiser, I headed over to Sam’s Club gas station to fill my car, then I went across the street to Wal-Mart. I decided since I had to fast all night and couldn’t have breakfast that I’d pick up a take & bake pizza for my lunch while I was there shopping.
Watched Y&R and had lunch then Hiker and I went over to Placerita Canyon for a short hike. This is one of my favorite times of the year to hike because everything is so green.
Was in the mid-80’s today.

Slow Day

Didn’t do much this morning. After breakfast I scanned my laptops and then paid a bill. Noticed that my oscillating fans were dirty, so got my portable vacuum out and cleaned them.
Checked email and Facebook and watched the morning news.
Watched most of Y&R but had to leave before it was over to go to my tax man, so I’ll have to watch whatever I missed tonight on the POP channel.
Very warm here again for February. Was 84° on my patio at 2:30 pm. It was hazy again today.

Tuesday Lunch With Group Girls

I was going to get up early this morning to go over to the car wash for their “early bird special” but I didn’t fall asleep last night until after midnight and I could not find a comfortable position in bed, so I had trouble sleeping most of the night. Some nights I can get all comfy, but other nights, I toss and turn trying to get comfortable, but just can’t seem to do it.
Stayed in bed until around 7:30 am then got up and had some breakfast. Thought again about going to get the car washed but just was not in the mood to sit at the car wash for 30 minutes waiting for them to wash and dry the car, so I decided to wash it myself in the drive way. That took me about an hour.
Came in and watched a little TV until it was time to leave to meet the group girls for lunch at Rattler’s B-B-Q. There were only five of us for lunch today as Linda had pulled a muscle in her back. Had a great time as usual. These ladies are so much fun to be with. I can’t meet them next week as I have an eye appointment with my retinal specialist at Kaiser.
On the way home, I got stuck in the traffic by the Jr. High. On Tuesdays, they only go to school for half the day and I got there just in time for them all to come running out.
Tomorrow afternoon, I have to drive up to La Canada to see my tax man and to file my taxes.
It was in the mid 70’s here today and a little hazy. I guess there was some fog this morning and even though the sun came out, the dampness hung around all day.

Lunch With Ben's Best Buddy

Up at 6 am because I wanted to have breakfast and then get over to Stater Brothers to do my grocery shopping. My friend Ed is coming to go to lunch today, so I need to get my errands done before he got here.
It’s nice to shop early in the morning because there is hardly anyone in the store. Only problem is they usually only have one checkout lane open.
I have a new pet peeve…I hate when I’m at a stop light and the person in front of me is texting and when the light turns green, they just sit there because they are too busy looking at their phone to know that the light has changed. You can tell that they have been texting because when you honk at them, their head pops up really quick. Guess they don’t know that “no texting when you are behind the wheel of your car” includes when you are stopped at a light. It was bad enough when people were using their cell phones to make calls when they were driving, but texting is worse.
So Ed arrived around 10:30 am and we talked for a while and then headed up to the Sizzler for lunch. I was surprised that there were quite a few people there today, but then it was a holiday and some people didn’t have to work. The prices have gotten so high at Sizzler that a lot of people don’t eat there anymore.
We came back home and played with Hiker out in my yard for a while, then Ed headed for home.
Was about 84° here today. About 15° lower than it was yesterday, but still too hot for February.

Hot Day - Short Hike

Stayed in bed until around 7:45 am this morning then got up and made waffles for breakfast. After breakfast, I washed my sheets and towels and checked email and Facebook.
Watched TV for a while. Then there was another outage with Time Warner, so the TV went off. I decided to take Hiker over to Towsley Canyon for a hike. I know that I keep saying it, but I sure am NOT in good shape anymore. I used to be able to hike 3 to 4 miles with no problem at all, but now I’m lucky if I can do 2 miles. My feet hurt, my leg muscles hurt. I must say though that it was about 80° by the time we got to Towsley so the heat didn’t help either. There were a lot of people there hiking today.
Got back home and the thermometer on my patio read 93° so it was hotter today than it was yesterday. What’s strange is, that when I let Hiker outside at 6 am, it is only about 40° so I have to run the heater for a while to get the chill off the house before we get out of bed.
Since I had shampooed the carpet all of last week, I remembered that I had not cleaned the guest bathroom. Since my friend Ed (Ben’s best buddy) is coming tomorrow to take me to lunch, I thought I’d better clean it.

Feels Like July

I wanted to sleep in until 8 am this morning but Hiker had other plans I guess because she got me out of bed a little after 7 am. We had breakfast and then I checked my email and Facebook.
I did a load of laundry but not much else today. I had planned on taking Hiker for a walk this afternoon but after I had lunch, I looked at the thermometer on my patio and it was 90°. Way too hot to take Hiker out for a walk. The pavement would burn her paws and I don’t like walking in that kind of heat myself.
This is February…it is supposed to be much cooler than this, even her in Southern California. Our normal temps around this time of year are in the 60’s.
So Hiker and I spent most of our day inside the house where it was much cooler. Hope it starts to cool down soon and I hope this is not a preview of our up and coming summer.

A Hike And A Good Lunch

Got up at 6 am this morning as we had our regular dog walk with Jean. I had been in the middle of a dream when my alarm went off. I was dreaming that I went to work part time at some fast food place and I was expected to know what to do without anyone training me. Glad I woke up!
We had seven dogs this morning, including Hiker and Jean’s three dogs. She is dog sitting three other dogs. We headed off on our normal route, but for some reason, Ebony never wants to leave the community. She just sits down and won’t move, but she’s fine as long as we walk around in our neighborhood.
We took the dogs back to my house to play. Was hoping Hiker would play with Schnorkie again, but she was a little shy with all of the extra dogs here.
Around 9:30 am, Jean and I headed over to where the old Corriganville Movie Ranch was in Simi Valley for a 1.5 mile hike. It was about 80° and it felt like summer. Too hot for February. After leaving Corriganville, we drove into the town of Simi Valley to a place called The Hat. They are famous for their pastrami sandwiches, but neither of us like pastrami, so I had a burger and Jean had a steak sandwich. We also ordered their special chili cheese fries. They come in a huge basket so we ended up bringing about half of them home.

My neighbor Jean enjoying the chili cheese fries:

Beautiful Day

Finally finished all of the carpet shampooing. I don’t know how I used to do the entire house in one day. Now it takes me three days and I am so pooped.
By 10 am this morning, it was already 77° on my patio. I had both slider doors open (living room and bedroom) and also had the front door open.
After having lunch and watching Y&R, Hiker and I drove down to the liquor store so I could by my lottery ticket for Saturday and then we went for a short walk down to the park and just sat under the gazebo enjoying the wonderful weather we are having. I’m enjoying the weather, but we still need a lot more rain and I’m afraid we won’t get it now.
I would have liked to walk more today, but I was too tired from doing the shampooing. I’ll get in a walk tomorrow. Jean and I are going over to Simi Valley to the place where Corriganville used to be to walk around the grounds and then we are going over to The Hat for lunch.

Another Day Of Shampooing My Carpet

Slept in some this morning even though I needed to get up and shampoo the carpet in the living room. Started working on it right after breakfast and when I was done, Hiker and I watched Y&R in my bedroom while we waited for the carpet to dry. I left the front door and patio door open because it was in the mid-80s and very windy outside, so I figured that would help it to dry. So now all I have left to do is my bedroom. I’ll do that tomorrow.
I received several encouraging notes from friends and family yesterday about me making the decision to only go to the grief support group once a month or so. Several of them said they were glad to hear that I was moving on because they thought I was still attending every week because I was still in a deep grief and that they were worried about me. Actually, I pretty much moved on a long time ago, but was still attending the sessions every week for the social aspect. When I found out the other ladies were feeling the same way, I made my decision and want everyone to know that I am doing fine. I do feel that people do need grief groups for a while to be with others who totally understand their situation, but there does come a time that weekly sessions are no longer needed.
I had several widows on Facebook tell me that they too stopped going to groups or going to personal therapy about 3 to 3 ½ years after their spouses passed.
It was like summer here today and we are supposed to have the same weather for the next few days. Sure hope it doesn’t dry everything out. The hills are so green right now.

Great Lunch With The Girls Today

I slept in a little longer than I had planned on this morning. To begin with, Hiker was late waking me up to go outside, then I feel back to sleep after she came back inside.
Had some breakfast then watched TV until it was time for me to meet my friends from group for lunch. We had a great time. There were six of us…me, DeDee, Jane, Carol, Linda and Ruth. None of us had seen Ruth for a few months. She had stopped coming to the support group and we were all getting a little worried about her, but Linda got in touch with her and had her meet us today. Ruth has been having some memory problems due to a non-cancerous growth on her brain. She had surgery done on it awhile back and since then she has to write everything down to help her remember.
All of us just decided at the same time that we don’t need to attend the grief support group every week anymore. We were all basically going so we could go to lunch together after the session and we decided that instead of going to group, we’d just meet each other once a week for lunch.
I think Hiker was happy because instead of me being gone for 5 hours, I was only gone for about 2 hours.
It was beautiful outside today. We had some drizzle type rain over the last few days and it cleared up the air. The sun was out and the sky was dark blue.

Carpet Cleaning

Got up a little after 7 am, had breakfast, and then vacuumed the front bedroom and dining area so I could start shampooing my carpet. Took me about an hour and 15 minutes to do while Hiker hid outside. While waiting for it to dry, she could not understand why I had those areas blocked off so she could not walk on them. What’s amazing is that I just had my carpets professionally cleaned 6 months ago and it is already filthy again. The water the shampooer sucked out of the carpet was black! I was told I should have it professionally cleaned at least once a year, but I’m not going to pay $300 a year to have it done when it’s filthy again in 6 months. I just hope I won’t be sore when I wake up tomorrow morning.
After lunch, the carpet was dry, so I vacuumed and raked it and then put the furniture back, and then I put Hiker in the car and went to buy my lottery tickets. I was beautiful outside. Too bad Hiker and I were not able to get out and walk or hike in it, but I want to get the carpet cleaning done and this week is perfect for it because it will be in the mid-70s to low 80s all week.
I won’t be cleaning any carpet tomorrow because I’m going to meet the group ladies for lunch. None of us are going to the group session, but we are meeting over at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery.

Hanging Out At Home

Woke up around 3 am this morning with a bloated feeling in my stomach. Wasn’t really a stomach ache, but it didn’t feel good. Took some Pepto and went back to bed. Hiker woke me up again at 6 am to let her outside, then we went back to bed and I turned on the TV to watch the local news and then CBS Sunday Morning.
Finally got out of bed around 8 am, but still didn’t feel quite right. It’s strange because I don’t really feel sick, just don’t feel like I should. I was able to eat some pancakes for breakfast.
Washed my sheets and towels and then made the bed.
It was very cloudy when we got up this morning, but by noon, the sun was out. Made baked garlic salmon and rice pilaf for lunch.
I had planned on taking Hiker out for a walk this afternoon, but still didn’t feel that well, so we didn’t go out. So I just vegged out on the sofa all day.

I was so tired last night. I sat down around 7:00 pm to watch a travel documentary about San Francisco on Amazon and I kept dozing off. I finally gave up and went to bed just before 8 pm and was asleep by 8:30 pm. Hiker woke me up around 5 am because she had not gone out for potty since 7:30 am last night. We went back to bed for a while.
Got up and put some laundry in the washer. Wanted to get it done before I had to go over and pick up Jean. We went to the second annual Golden Years Expo. We didn’t know about it last year, but wanted to go this year. They had information about insurance plans, health care facilities, elder law help, long term facilities, etc. They also gave out a bunch of free stuff like pedometers, pens, lip balm, hand sanitizer, etc. Came home with a bunch of reusable tote bags too which is good because as of July 1st our stores will no longer be using plastic shopping bags.
While at the expo, I ran into my friend Lisa who works for my attorney. She was at the hospital with me many times when Ben was ill. She is a vocational nurse, so my attorney would have her go with me whenever I had trouble getting the doctors to listen to me. Also ran into my friends Linda and Jane from the support group.
After the expo, Jean and I headed over to Lily’s Café for lunch. Lily’s is always packed with people because their food is good and not very expensive.
When we came out of Lily’s, it had started to rain, so we headed home. Hiker and I just stayed in and watched TV the rest of the day.

Due to the 80+ temps we had last week, my daffodils are blooming already.

Finally Friday

Another night of not getting much sleep. It all started when just before 9:30 pm, Time Warner had a major outage. They lost their Internet, TV and phone service. I have Internet and TV with them. I was just getting ready to go to bed when it went out. Ever since Ben died, I cannot go to sleep without having the TV on in my bedroom. The outage lasted almost 3 hours, so I didn’t get to sleep until after 12:30 am. Then while sleeping, I must have been snoring or something because I woke up choking on my own spittle. I started coughing and this went on for almost an hour. So I didn’t get back to sleep again until about 3 am. Got up at 6 am to get ready to go for a dog walk with Jean.
Was very pleased with Hiker this morning. Ever since Jean got Schnorkie, Hiker has been a little apprehensive of him because he is just a puppy and he acts like one. She would try to avoid him and sometimes she would hide under my patio chair. I’ve been talking to her about him, telling her that she needs to make friends with him and start playing with him. Well today she actually instigated playing with him in my yard. They played for about 45 minutes until Jean went home. If you did not see the video of them playing on Facebook, I’ve added a link to the video on YouTube.
I noticed the other evening that there was a tiny leak on the toilet I had fixed last Monday. It was coming from the filler hose. I emptied the toilet tank and noticed that the washer in the filler hose didn’t look like it was seated correctly, so I made an adjustment and now it does not leak. I always changed the filler tube myself when it went bad, so I knew how to fix this problem. I had hired the handyman to fix the flush valve because it involved removing the tank from the toilet, and I had never done that before. Didn’t want to chance messing anything up.
I did some housework and then checked my email and Facebook. Then watched some TV. While watching Y&R, I told Hiker that when it was over she and I could drive up to Vasquez Rocks and hike a little. She is so smart. I always tell her to listen for the closing music on Y&R to know when it’s time to leave. When she hears the music, she comes running to me on the sofa and starts taking my wrist in her mouth and pulling me so I’ll get up and go. I swear she is part human.
The weather was nice today. Sunny and in the low 80’s with high clouds

Here is the link for the video:.

Hiker & Schnorkie At Play

Nice Day For Lunch With Friends

For some reason, I could not get comfortable in bed last night. Took me quite a while to finally fall asleep.
Got up around 7:15 am and had breakfast and then took Hiker out for a 2 mile walk. The weather was beautiful. The sun was out and it was in the mid 60’s when we were walking.
I got together with several of the retired Lockheed girls for lunch at Round Table Pizza. For those of you who know them, it was Kay Limpus, Marce Smith, Robyn Boyd, Sandi Owens, Gail Plessner and DeDee Parenteau. We thought we were going to have a nice quiet lunch, but about 15 minutes after we sat down about 30 or 40 kids from the Pinecrest Private School came and they were so noisy that we could not even hear ourselves think. At least they all sat in the “party room” but while they were standing in line, we couldn’t hear what any of us were saying.
Actually there were a lot of people in the restaurant today. I’ve been there about 3 or 4 other times and usually there are only 1 or 2 other people there. In fact, the last time Keith and I went there, we were the only people in there for over an hour.
We all discussed the fact that Lockheed is taking away our Retired Group Insurance Plan. So many people are totally confused on what they are supposed to do. Sandi and I were trying to explain it to them as we have already spoken with OneExchange.
Got up to 88° here today.

Warm Wednesday

Not much going on today. Hiker and I got up around 7:30 am and had some breakfast and then I headed over to Wal-Mart to do a little shopping. This was not a “fun” shopping trip. It was for stuff I needed.
Came home and sprayed a bunch of weeds. Weed killer was one of the things I needed when I went to Wal-Mart. We’ve had just enough rain to make the weeds spread on the slope on the north side of my house.
Ran my weekly scans on my computers and watched Y&R.
After lunch, I put Hiker in the car and we headed out for a ride and while we were out, I stopped at the Goodwill donation station to drop off a bag of clothes.
Tomorrow I’ll be meeting several of the retired Lockheed girls for lunch. We are going out for pizza.
Was another warm day here in SoCal. Got up to 86° on my patio.

Typical Tuesday

It sure was nice not having to go to the front of the house to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Hiker woke me up around 4 am. I told her she needed to lay down and go back to sleep for a while. She woke me up again at 6 am, so I fed her and let her go outside, then I turned on the TV in the bedroom to watch the news. Got up before 7 am.
Went to my support group and the senior center today. I have come to a decision that I don’t need to attend the group every week now. I might go once a month, but I’ve decided to move on and start doing other activities.
Had a really nice lunch with the group girls today. We went to Red Robin. Had a really nice waiter.
Weather was beautiful here today. Sunny and 86°. Would you believe that my daffodils in the front flower bed are already starting to bloom?

A Busy Monday

Up early for our Monday dog walk. Hiker and Schnorkie actually played together some during the doggy play date. Hiker is still a little hesitant about Schnorkie though. He is still a puppy and very “bouncy” and Hiker is not used to that.
After the dog walk, Hiker and I had some breakfast and then I headed over to Sam’s Club. I hate it when you are used to them having a certain brand and then suddenly they no longer have them. I like to buy Tropicana refrigerated orange juice in the gallon size and my Sam’s Club is no longer selling Tropicana, so I’ll have to try to get some at Wal-Mart on Wednesday when I go over there. Wal-Mart had it the last time I needed some.
Got to speak to one of my retired Lockheed friends (Claire Meador) on the phone today. She wanted to discuss the change in our Lockheed Group Insurance. I have not seen her for several years. It was nice to talk to her.
Got a call from the foreman of our community construction crew and he said someone would be here around 3 pm to work on my broken toilet. Hope they don’t run into any problems. I am so tired of having to walk to the front of the house in the middle of the night when I have to go potty.
Aha…he just arrived.

Simple Sunday

Hiker woke me up around 5 am this morning and went to the patio door to go outside. This was strange because she normally doesn’t wake me up until around 6 am to go potty. I guess she really had to go. So when she came back in, we went back to bed until she woke me up again at 6 am because she was hungry. After I fed her, we went back to bed again. I had planned to watch “CBS Sunday Morning” from 6:30 am to 8:00 am like I usually do, but after I turned on the TV, I fell back to sleep and didn’t wake up until 8:30 am. I think I got too much sleep because I really felt groggy.
Got up and had breakfast and changed the sheets on my bed and washed the sheets and towels. Then I paid a bill before I went outside to fill my three hummingbird feeders while Hiker wandered around the back yard sniffing everything.
Watched some TV until it was lunch time. After lunch, I took Hiker over to Central Park for an afternoon walk. There was a lot of people in the park, but then it is Sunday.
Today was not as pretty as it was yesterday. Was still sunny and got unto the mid-80’s, but there were high thin clouds. I like big, fluffy clouds.

A Beautiful Day In SoCal

Got up at 6 am this morning because I knew that my handyman would be here at 8 am to see if he could fix my toilet in the master bathroom. He was right on time and he looked to see what parts he would need and then headed over to Home Depot and Lowes to see if they had the parts. Well because my toilet is an old model, they don’t keep the parts in stock so he had to have them ordered. He called me and said hopefully the parts will be in on Monday and he will come by after he gets off work here in the community to fix it. Thank goodness I have another bathroom, but I have to walk to the other side of the house to go to the bathroom at night. But I guess that’s better than going outside to an outhouse (LOL).
Because I got up early, I was able to see something cool. I turned on the local news at 6 am and they were reporting about the launch of a satellite from Vandenberg AFB which is about 150 miles west of where I live. They showed the launch live, so I grabbed my camera and watched out the back window. About 2 minutes after the launch, I saw the tiny red dot from the flames of the rocket as it shot straight up into the air. After about 4 minutes, it headed south and a contrail started to appear. I watched it until it was out of sight.
The day after we have a rain is always beautiful here in the Santa Clarita Valley and today was no exception. After lunch, I took Hiker over to Whitney Canyon for a 2 mile walk. This is a beautiful time of year to go hiking because the sky is so blue, we usually have big fluffy clouds and the hills are so green. No wildflowers yet though.
Got into the mid 70’s here today.

Here is a photo I took this morning of the satellite launch

Here is a photo I took this after while Hiker and I were out hiking

Busy Friday

I cannot believe that January is almost over! Seems like it was just New Year’s Day.
Jean and I were supposed to go for a short hike today, but it started to rain last night and was still drizzling this morning so we decided instead we would go shopping and then out to lunch.
We went to Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart, Petco, JCPenney, Bed Bath & Beyond and Target and we went to lunch at Sizzler. I had told Hiker that I’d buy her a toy while I was out, so at Petco I bought her a “stuffed” beer bottle.
All of the time we were out, there was no rain. The sun had broken through and the clouds parted to where we could see some blue sky.
When we got home, I got Hiker and walked down to our community office to pay my land lease for this next month and then we came back home. Around 1:15 pm, it had gotten totally cloudy again and at 1:30 pm the sky opened up and we had a downpour. That lasted for almost 30 minutes. Thought I heard a little thunder off in the distance too. The temperature dropped about 10° in 15 minutes.

Another Grey Day

Got up early this morning and was at the grocery store doing my shopping by 8:30 am. I would think with gasoline as low as it is right now that groceries prices would be lower, but I spent at least $15 more than I normally do and I didn’t really buy anything out of the ordinary.
I was having a dream about Ben just before I woke up. Seems he and I were in some small mountain town and we were in a small “mom and pop” store buying some groceries. Must have been because I knew I had to get up and go grocery shopping today.
When I got home, I cleaned the big bathroom. I so much hate housework (LOL). Settled down and check my email and Facebook, then watched Y&R and had lunch.
After lunch, I vacuumed the house while Hiker tried to find places to hide from the vacuum. I tried to get her to go outside but she didn’t want to, so instead, she ran around the house like a crazy dog.
Paid a few bills in the afternoon and then did some indoor exercising.
Very cloudy and grey here again today. Not really cold…in the high 60’s.

Gray Day

Hiker and I were up at 7 am. I had to run all of the weekly scans on my laptops.
After breakfast, I finished the scans and watched some TV.
My neighbor Jean and her friend Shelly picked me up around 12:30. They both had to go over to the Castaic Animal Control office and get licenses for their dogs. They were also going out for lunch so the invited me to come along. While they were doing that, I was looking at the literature they had on the table in the lobby and I picked up a card for New Leash On Life and it has Hiker’s picture on it, so naturally, I had to take one.
We stopped by a place called Tri-Tipps for lunch. It’s just a fast-food place, but it was pretty good. They sell burgers, salads and tri-tip sandwiches. They were crowded when we got there, so even though it was gray and gloomy outside, we had to sit outside to eat our lunch. It wasn’t really cold, but a little breezy.
When I got home, Hiker was smelling me all over. I don’t know why because I was not near any other dogs.

Not Happy With Group Today

Thought if it had been raining this morning that I would not go to my support group, but it was dry when Hiker and I got out of bed. We didn’t get much rain from this last storm.
Today’s group was not so great. We had a lot of people, but somehow, the subject turned into a “history class” and two or three members hogged the entire two hours talking about subjects that had nothing to do with support. At lunch, the regular “lunch ladies” talked about how the discussion got way off track. We should have just met for lunch instead of going to group.
It was a beautiful day. Cloudy, but the sun was shining. We had huge thunderheads overhead, but in between there was a beautiful blue sky.

Waiting For The Rain

Up at 6 am to get ready for our Monday dog walk with Jean at 7:30 am. This was our first walk with Schnorkie and he did great. He seemed to really be enjoying being out with his new family and his new buddy Hiker. He was sniffing everything he came into contact with. He did really well on the leash. He seems like a very smart pup. Jean said he is already using the doggy door to go in and out for potty and he seems to already know his name. During the play date after our walk, we found out that Schnorkie knows how to play fetch with a tennis ball. The vets who work with New Leash On Life claim that he is only 10 months old, but he is extremely calm for a puppy. He acts like an older dog.
Jean has a dental appointment today and then she goes to the senior center to play cards, so she asked if I would stop by her house around 2 pm to make sure Schnorkie is not tearing anything up as this would be the first time she left him alone with the other 2 dogs. Everything looked fine, not even any pee or poop.
After she left, I called Kaiser to start the process of getting my health insurance changed from Kaiser Senior Advantage Lockheed Group Plan to Kaiser Senior Advantage Individual Plan since Lockheed is dropping all group plans for Medicare aged retirees. Kaiser said they will send me the enrollment forms and hopefully have everything changed over before March 1st, so it seems like an easy process.
Then I went online and set up my profile with OneExchange and sent up an appointment date to call them to let them know I have enrolled with Kaiser on my own and to see if I am eligible for the health reimbursement agreement through Lockheed. Made the appointment for the middle of March as Kaiser told me they hope to have mine switched over by March 1st.
Was very cloudy this morning, but by noon the sun had come out. Around 1:30 pm, it was totally cloudy again. We are supposed to get rain later today and all day tomorrow.

Normal Sunday

Had a rough night last night for some reason. The wind was howling outside all night long and I was having the strangest dreams. I remember having three main dreams, even though I don’t remember what they were about, and they seemed to run from one dream to the next. I woke up around 3 am and remember thinking how strange the dreams were, but when I woke up again at 6 am to let Hiker outside, I didn’t remember any details about the dreams.
After Hiker came back in, we went back to bed because I felt exhausted. They were the kind of dreams that actually make you feel physically tired. So I fell back to sleep until Hiker woke me up again just before 8 am.
Washed my sheets and towels and watched TV most of the day.
The wind continued to howl all day and I noticed that it was scaring Hiker some. Not as bad as thunder does though.
It was in the low 80’s and very sunny most of the day but around 2:30 pm the wind started to die down and we started getting cloudy. We may have rain on Tuesday.
I spend an hour exercising with my Wii Sports.

Calm Saturday

Stayed in bed until 8 am this morning. Got up, made waffles for breakfast then started my laundry.
The mowers showed up around 11 am. After they were done, Hiker asked me if she could go over to Jean’s house and meet Schnorkie (LOL). Actually I decided to take her over and introduce them. Jean said she figured I’d show up sometime today.
Anyway, Schnorkie seemed interested in Hiker but Hiker wanted nothing to do with him. She is so shy now when she meets new dogs. She used to not be that way. Jean said she had called New Leash On Life because she thought Schnorkie’s body felt warm and she was thinking he might have a temperature, but they told her as long as he is eating and going potty with no problem and as long as he is not lethargic, not to worry, that some dogs just feel warming than others. Plus his hair is so short and thin that you can feel his body warmth more. His nose didn’t feel hot and he was playful, so I think he is OK.
I could see that he has already created a bond with Jean and her dogs seem to get along with him really well. He and Sassy were playing when we got there.
The weather was beautiful here all day. It was 80° and sunny, but there was a strong wind most of the day. The wind blew hard all night long. We are supposed to get some rain next week.
Hiker and I were out on the patio for a while. I noticed that when we first went out, Hiker had jumped off the steps and ran across the yard and she yipped, the she was limping. I think she just twisted her ankle like we do because I made her “walk it off” and now she seems fine.

Schnorkie

Up early for our Friday dog walk. We were in the park when Shelly (our neighbor) and her Aussie Cattle Dog pup Toby caught up with us. Toby is a Red Heeler and is only 10 months old. Hiker is very leery of him. He wants to play so bad, but Hiker still isn’t sure about him. But then Hiker is a little shy around new dogs and new people until she gets to know them.
Shelly headed home, as did Jean and her dogs. I fixed a couple of poached eggs for me and Hiker and then Hiker and I headed over to Jean’s house so Jean could groom Hiker.
Hiker and I headed home and then Jean picked me up at 11:30 am for us to go up to New Leash On Life and pick up her new dog. On the way back home, I had Schnorkie on my lap. It’s hard to believe that he is only 10 month old because he is so calm. We stopped at our community office so Jean could show him to Chris and Marcie and then we stopped by some of the neighbor’s homes so Jean could show them the new member of her family. We stopped by and showed him to Shelly, Rhonda and Kim. Kim did not want to give him back to Jean. She was holding him and he was falling asleep on her shoulder.
Was a beautiful day outside. Bright and sunny and in the high 70’s.

My neighbor's new dog Schnorkie

Housework YUCK!

Busy morning.
Had breakfast and then went to get my Lottery tickets. Came home and “updated” my earthquake emergency kit. Always check out the dates on the food I have in it and on anything like pain relievers, etc.
Mopped my floors and ran my weekly scans on both of my laptops, then I washed all of my throw rugs and bath mats.
Took a break to have lunch and watch “Young & Restless” then got back to work by vacuuming the entire house.
Was sunny and in the low 70’s here with high, thin clouds.

My Neighbor Jean Is Adopting A New Dog

Hiker and I got up early this morning because Jean was coming by at 8:30 am for me to go up to New Leash On Life with her so she could have her two dogs mingle with the two dogs she was thinking about adopting. It went well for a while, but then Abby, one of the adoptable dogs, snapped at one of Jean’s dogs. Abby is a very sweet girl but she is very “alpha” and very protective of her sister “Tink” who would also be adopted with her. We found out that another couple has shown interest in Abby and Tink so Jean decided to let them have those two dogs, but then she met a little guy named Grisham. He is a Schnauzer/Yorkie mix and he got along really well with Jean’s Charlie and Sassy, so Jean has decided to adopt him. She wants to change his name to “Schnorkie” and we are going back to pick him up on Friday.
The ladies at the shelter were so pleased and they totally understood why Jean had changed her mind about Tink and Abby and totally agreed with her decision.
So then Jean and I drove up to Agua Dulce to the Sweet Water Café to meet my longtime friend Judy for lunch. I had been to this café before but they had not. The food was really good. Agua Dulce is a tiny “country town”. Next door to the café is a little antique shop, so after we ate, the three of us went in and looked around.
Was really a fun day and the weather was beautiful. Clear, blue sky with a little breeze and about 75°.

Here are some photos of "Schnorkie" that I found on the New Leash On Life's website:

Cloudy All Day

Went to my support group at the senior center today. Had a small group. Maybe some people have not gotten back from their holiday travel. We heard that Edwin fell and has been in the hospital. We were wondering why he had not been to our meetings in the past 3 week.
DeDee, Linda, Jane and I went for lunch at Cathy’s Deli. We act so silly when we are all together. Today we were referring ourselves as “The Mean Girls” like in the movie with Lindsay Lohan.
It was cloudy here all day. They keep saying we have no rain in our forecast, but it sure looked like it could rain at any time.
I stopped by the market on my way home to get a bottle of milk and then came home. Hiker and I put the trash cans out by the curb and then walked up to the mailbox.
Tomorrow morning, Jean is coming by to get me around 8:30 am and we are taking her 2 dogs up to New Leash On Life so they can get more acquainted with the 2 dogs she may adopt. We were supposed to go up there last Saturday, but they had to reschedule her visit. After we come back home, we are heading up to Agua Dulce to meet my friend Judy at the Sweet Water Café for lunch. Judy wanted to treat me for my birthday which was last Saturday.

Sunny Monday

Up early for our Monday dog walk with Jean, Sassy and Charlie. Play date after the walk. After breakfast, Hiker and I went to get my lottery tickets. She doesn’t care if her car rides are short or long, just as long as she gets to go.
Did some housework then settled down to watch Y&R.
After lunch, I took Hiker out for a 2 mile walk. It was in the low 80’s and there were a lot of people out on the path since this is a holiday.

Relaxing Sunday

Didn’t do much today. Did some laundry as I normally do on Sunday.
Was warm outside today, but there was a thin layer of clouds, so the sun was not a bright as yesterday and the sky was not as blue.
Messed around on my computer and watched some TV.
Just a relaxing Sunday.

Happy 65th Birthday To Me

Boy was I really lazy this morning! Hiker got me up to go potty at her usual time, and as usual, we went back to bed, but this morning I did not turn on the TV and I fell back to sleep and did not wake up until almost 8:30 am. I feel so much better when I get up at 6 am and just stay up, but some days, the bed just feels too good to get out of it, or it’s too chilly and I like getting back under the covers.
Started getting texts and phone calls wishing me a happy birthday after breakfast. My friend Karren always calls and serenades me with the “Happy Birthday Song”. She’s been doing that for years.
My brother Ron called me to wish me a happy birthday. My brother Keith sent me a birthday text as did my sister-in-law Donna and my friend Judy. Also got several e-cards. Got a snail-mail card from my sister-in-law and also got one from my 95 year old Uncle Gus.
Jean was supposed to pick me up at 2:30 pm to head up to New Leash On Life so her dogs could bond more with the two dogs she might adopt, but NLOL called her and cancelled because they had to drive up to Palmdale to save a dog from being put down.
It was so beautiful outside…sunny and 80°, so I took Hiker out on a 2 mile walk.
Actually got a “birthday present” from Lockheed in the mail today…a letter telling me that they have FINALLY corrected/updated my health insurance records so they have taken me off of the Aetna Catastrophic Medicare Health Plan and now show me on the Kaiser Senior Advantage Plan, so hopefully they will now make the adjustments on my next pension check.

T-shirt I bought for myself. Made a good birthday present to myself.

It's Friday!

My cell phone started ringing at 2:30 am. It showed nothing but “106” in the caller ID so naturally I ignored it. I didn’t fall back to sleep until around 5 am and when my alarm went off at 6 am I was jolted awake. I actually thought it was my phone ringing and I picked it up and said “hello” but then realized it had been the alarm. I had been dreaming that I was working in some big office building and I had taken Hiker to work with me and she was running around the building somewhere and I was asking everyone if they had seen her.
Did our dog walk with Jean and while we were out, we met one of our neighbors (Shelly) who lives up the hill from us. We had never met her before, but we knew about her dog Toby who is a Red Healer (Queensland Healer). Jean had met Toby when Shelly’s neighbor was dog sitting, and everyone had been telling me about him because he is the same breed as Hiker. He is still a puppy, so Hiker was a little taken back by him as he is so full of energy. But then Hiker is always shy when she first meets other dogs. I’m hoping she will be able to get to know Toby and start to play with him.
It was 38° when we were out walking and there was ice on roofs and plants.
I had a $10 gift certificate from Kohl’s for my birthday, so I decided to go up to Kohl’s and look around. After spending about 40 minutes in the store wandering around, I could not really find anything, so I just bought some socks. I can always use socks. Plus they were a good deal. If you bought one package of 3 pair, you got the second package of 3 pair and half price, plus my $10 off, so I did pretty good. 

Pretty Day

Slept in again this morning. Sometimes the bed just feels too good to get out of it.
After breakfast, I headed over to get my lottery tickets, fill the car with gas and go to Wal-Mart.
Really a nice day outside today. After lunch, Hiker and I went over to Central Park in Saugus and did a mile and a half walk. I am still so out of shape. Every time we go out, after about 15 or 20 minutes, my calf muscles start to hurt and my ankles, knees and hips start to ache some. But I keep chugging along.

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Great Weather Wednesday

For some reason, I could not fall asleep last night. I tried watching TV, but that didn’t help. I tried playing games on my iPad, but that didn’t help. I took an OTC sleeping aid, and finally around 2 am, I fell asleep. Hiker woke me up at 6 am to go outside, but then we went back to bed until 8 am.
After breakfast, I went to do my grocery shopping. It seems that lately, I cannot find the stuff I normally buy. I was at Sam’s Club a couple of weeks ago and they did not have Eggland’s Best eggs, so I had to buy another brand and they just did not taste as good. I was at Sam’s Club yesterday and they did not have Tropicana Orange Juice. I thought I’d buy it at Stater Brothers today when I did my shopping, but they don’t even sell Tropicana, so I had to buy Florida’s Natural OJ. Also, I always by reduced fat store brand cheese at Stater Brothers and they didn’t have any so I had to buy regular cheese. Don’t know what the heck is going on.
Came home and after I put my groceries away, I ran the weekly scans on my laptops, then watched “Y&R”.
It was so gorgeous outside this afternoon. Dark blue sky, a slight breeze and 74°. I put Hiker into the car and we drove over to Todd Longshore Park and did a short afternoon walk. As we walked along a dirt path to the side of the park, I saw a roadrunner crossing the trail ahead of us. Hiker didn’t see it.

Spent The Day At Grief Group

Went to my grief support group today. Started out with only 4 of us there plus our leader, then a few more people came in. Seems like after the first of the New Year is always when we get new people. Today we got a woman who had just lost her son and a man who lost his son 5 years ago and then just recently lost his wife.
Since my birthday is this Saturday, one of our members (Linda) brought homemade cupcakes. She is our little baker. She has brought us cookies and other items throughout last year. THANK YOU LINDA! I took a few of them up to my neighbor Jean after I got home.
After group, DeDee, Linda, Jane and I went to Sizzler for lunch. DeDee bought my lunch. THANK YOU DEDEE! As usual, we gabbed and acted like teenagers. Always fun with those ladies.
Came home to find Hiker in her portable soft-sided crate. She acted like she didn’t want to come out. I finally coaxed her out by offering her some treats. Sometimes she acts like when I leave her at home alone for a long time that she is being punished. Must be some memory of when someone else owned her before I came into her life.
Pretty day here today. Got into the low 70’s.

Not A Busy Day

Was up early for our dog walk this morning. It was a little foggy, but cleared up before we headed out with Jean and her dogs.
After breakfast, I headed over to Sam’s Club and then came home and watched TV.
After lunch, I did some house work while Hiker hid from the vacuum. Even after all of this time, the vacuum still scares her. It’s funny though…when my neighbor Jean uses a vacuum to blow dry Hiker when she grooms her, Hiker seems to like it. Silly dog.
After the sun came out today, it got up to 70° here. Was a really pretty day.

Cloudy, Lazy, Sunday

Was a lazy Sunday today. It rained all night and was still drizzling when I let Hiker outside around 6 am. When she came back in, we got back in bed. I didn’t fall asleep again, instead I watched the morning news and then “CBS Sunday Morning”.
We slowly crawled out of bed around 8 am and had some breakfast. I tossed my bed sheets and my towels into the washer and then paid some bills.
It stopped raining around noontime and the sun peeked out a little, but it stayed pretty much cloudy most of the day.

Rainy Saturday

I slept in until 8 am this morning. I wanted to rest my eye a little more. It was no longer as sore as it was last night but now instead of just half of the white part being red, the entire white part is red. It itches a lot.
Hiker and I had some breakfast and I did a load of laundry and paid a bill that came yesterday. Then I checked my Facebook page and my email.
It started raining here just before 10 am. My mowers got here to do the lawn just as it started, so I was glad that they were able to mow before it rained harder.
Jean picked me up at 2 pm. She took Charlie and Sassy up to New Leash On Life to meet Tink and Abby, the two dogs she “might” be adopting. The handlers at the shelter introduced the dogs one-on-one and then as a group and they seemed to get along OK. Jean was upset that they didn’t let her get more acquainted with the dogs this time and that they didn’t put all four dogs in the dog run together off-leash. I tried to explain to her that they know what they are doing because they do this all of the time. The told her they may call her to come back with her dogs next Saturday to let them play together some.
It started raining harder when we were coming home.
Hiker was sniffing me all over because I’d been around the other dogs.

My Latest Eye Injection

Got up at 6 am to be ready for a dog walk with Jean at 7:30 am. It was dark and cloudy out. The morning news was saying there was a chance of rain later today.
Hiker and I met Jean with her two dogs and the two dogs of our neighbor Charlene for our walk. Ebony, the neighbor’s dog, didn’t seem to want to walk this morning, so we didn’t do our normal route and just did a shorter walk around the community. Jean was grooming both Ebony and Rocky today before she and I went to lunch and then over to Kaiser for my eye injection.
So Jean and I went to lunch and then over to Kaiser. Today was my first time using my Kaiser Medicare Plan. It was nice paying $30 less for my specialist co-pay. I thought my B/P would be up due to the fact that the doctor told me he’d be using a larger needle this time, but it was not up as bad as I thought.
The injection wasn’t really any more painful than the other ones. Mostly just feel the pressure of the needle, but now that I am home, my eye is starting to burn a little. They told me that was normal because they had used an iodine solution to sterilize the surface of my eye before the injection, and now that the numbness is wearing off, I’m starting to feel it some. They said my eye may be redder from this injection and that it may water some.
I now have a small pellet floating around in my eye. I cannot see it yet because I am still wearing the patch that they told me to keep on longer than with the other injections. The doctor said I may see what he called a “small submarine” floating around in my eye for a while.
I don’t have to go back now for at least 6 weeks. Before it was every 4 weeks.The scheduler will call me.

The Morning Sky:

Partly Cloudy Thursday

Was 46° here at 6 am when I let Hiker outside. We went back to bed for about an hour and then got up, had some breakfast and then I took Hiker over to Tags Clinic to get her rattlesnake vaccination. They really don’t open until 9 am, and we got there around 10 minutes until 9 am, but they were already open. We were the only customers in the clinic so we were in and out in about 5 minutes. Hiker is always such a good girl when I take her there. Every time we are there, the vet sees her and says “we need to get some cattle in here for her to herd”. They gave her some cookies for being such a good girl.
After lunch, Hiker and I headed out to try to get in a 2 mile walk. About a half mile into the walk, Hiker just stopped and laid down on some grass and looked up at me. I’m assuming that maybe she is having a reaction to the shot she had this morning. I know that some vaccines cause them to feel a little lethargic. So we turned around and walked back to the park and sat down for about 10 minutes and then headed home.
I have another eye injection appointment tomorrow afternoon. Jean is taking me as usual.
Was 82° here again today.

Has Summer Returned?

Took my car over to the carwash this morning. It was dirty from one of the rain storms we had, so now that the weather was warmer, I wanted to get it cleaned.
When I got back home around 9:30 am it was already 70° on my patio and the wind was blowing. Felt like Santa Ana Winds because they were very warm.
Didn’t do much until after lunch when I took Hiker over to Bridgeport Lake for a nice afternoon walk. Actually it was a little too warm. It was like 82° at 1 pm. I still need to get back into shape. My legs and feet we killing me by the time I we got back to the car.
As we were getting into the car, Jean called me to ask if I would go over to New Lease On Life with her on Saturday. I had told her about two dogs they had up for adoption. They are Tink (a King Charles Cavalier) and Abby (a Terrier). They are both female and both are around 2 years old. Abby was adopted in 2012 and then Tink was adopted by the same family in 2013, but the family fell on hard times and had to return Abby and Tink as the dogs had been together for a year and they did not want to separate them. NLOL obliged and now they want to place the 2 girls together in a new forever home. Jean has been thinking about getting another dog since Timmy died, and I had passed a video of these 2 to her before Christmas. She decided to put in paperwork saying she was interested, so she got a call today for her to bring Charlie and Sassy over to meet their possible new sisters.
Tomorrow morning, I have to take Hiker over to Tags Clinic and get her rattlesnake booster shot.

Below is a photo of Tink and Abby...the 2 dogs that my neighbor Jean might adopt.

Good Day At Support Group

Got up at 7 am and got ready to go to my support group at the senior center. I had not been there for 2 weeks, so it was nice to catch up with everyone. It was nice because Edwin was not there today. I heard from everything that he was a real butt head last week. Without him there, everyone else was able to contribute to the conversations without him trying to be the only person speaking.
After group, 5 of us ladies went over to Red Robin for lunch. It’s funny because when the first of us arrives there, we always tell them that we are waiting for a 3 or 4 others and we’d like to sit in the bar area. They always ask if everyone in the group is over 21, which makes us laugh because we are all over 60.
It was a beautiful day here today. Warm and sunny and a bit breezy. It got up to 81° on my patio.

Gorgeous Weather This Afternoon

Up at 6 am for the Monday dog walk. It was not as cold this morning. It was 44° at 6 am and there was no ice when we were in the park today. We didn’t see any of the regular people out walking this morning, in fact, we were the only ones out on the path.
Didn’t do much today. Read a magazine. Watched TV. Played some online games.
The weather in the afternoon was great. Got up to around 75° so Hiker and I spent a little time out on the patio. The sun felt really good.

Beautiful Sunday

I am so mad at myself. I stayed in bed until 8 am again this morning even though I know that I feel better if I get up before 7 am. I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight. I don’t know if it was because of the small earthquake we had earlier in the evening that was keeping me awake.
I was watching a moving last night, Hiker was playing with her little whiffle ball when the little quake shook the house. It only lasted a few seconds and was a very small jolt. Hiker dropped her ball and looked at me when she felt it. Was centered up near Castaic Lake again, about 15 miles from us. They had one there last week too. I didn’t feel that one.
Was in the low 30’s when we got out of bed this morning. It got up into the mid-60’s yesterday afternoon, so it is warming up some.
I was watching a “Hart To Hart” movie on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and was about to fall asleep, so I put Hiker into the car and we drove over to Central Park and had a really nice walk. Being Sunday, the park was jammed with people playing soccer, baseball and having picnics. Felt much better when we got home. It was good to get out in the cool, fresh air and do some exercise.
Actually got up to 72° here today, but still very old in the morning.

Saturday

Stayed in bed late this morning. I really need to stop doing that because the longer I stay in bed, the worse I feel when I get up. My muscles and joints ache more.
Watched “Ghost Whisperer” all day on the Cloo Channel.
Did a bunch of laundry today because I was supposed to take three of the group ladies on a little tour of some of the canyons around our valley, but they had to cancel because one of them is sick and another found out there was a family thing she needed to go to. So having no laundry to do tomorrow frees me up to take Hiker out somewhere.
Around 1 pm, while I was watching TV, Hiker went outside and she stood at the sliding door barking at me. She does that when she wants me to come out and play, so we played ball for a little while in the back yard.

Did SoCal Get Moved To the Northeast?

Up at 6 am to get ready for our Friday dog walk with Jean, Charlie and Sassy. My thermometer on the patio showed 25° at 7 am. All the roofs were covered with frost, as was the grass and all of the cars parked on the street. When we got down to the park, the path was covered in ice because they had ran the sprinklers earlier. We had to walk really carefully so we didn’t slip and fall.
Last evening after dinner, I was a little chilly, even with the heater on, so I decided to go soak in a nice hot tub. Someone started shooting off fireworks again and Hiker almost climbed into the tub with me. She had her front paws up on the side of the tub and she started to pull one of her back legs up to get into the tub. I stopped her so she went over and squeezed between the wall and the toilet.
After our dog walk this morning, Hiker and I had breakfast and then we went to buy my lottery tickets. That was around 9:30 am and it was still only in the 30’s outside. Got back home and cleaned house then sat down to watch “Y&R”.
Once again, when we got back from buying the lottery tickets, Hiker did not want her car ride to end so she just sat in the car when I tried to get her out. She even growled at me when I told her she had to get out of the car. I just leave the car door open since the car is in the garage and I go into the house. I check on her a little bit later and she is then at the door to come into the house.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I had planned to stay up watching TV in the living room until midnight last night, but Hiker was already getting scared from the noises going on outside around 10 pm. I kept hearing a noise that sounded like a 45 caliber or larger gun being shot starting around 9 pm.
I decided since Hiker was so frightened that I’d go to bed and let her hide under the covers. She would not go outside to go potty before bedtime even though I walked out there with her thinking maybe she’d calm down some, but she didn’t, so we came back inside and went to bed.
She was fine until about 11 pm when people started shooting off fireworks. She was running all around the bedroom and bathroom trying to find somewhere to hide. She jumped on the bed and went under the covers, but then there was a big boom and she came out and gout between the wall and my dresser in the corner and stayed there for a long time. She finally got back on the bed around 12:30.
Since she had not gone potty since around dinner time last night, I let her outside around 5:30 this morning. It was 27° on my patio at that time. We went back to bed and did not get up until 8 am and it was still only 29° at that time.
Had breakfast and then I balanced my check book, which took me about an hour because I was off by $30 and then remembered I had not written a mobile deposit in my checkbook.
Started watching the “Hart to Hart” marathon on Hallmark Movie and Mystery Channel, but then watched “Y&R” at 11:30 am. I was surprised that it was on since it is a holiday. Went back to “Hart to Hart” later.