worthyoflove

What are you going to do with the saw? I actually was just talking about possibly getting one. I watched the guys put in the floors the last few days and it seems like something I could maybe learn to do...the problem is just not having the proper tools.

One more day of painting...hopefully.

Is the kitty a cuddler? I get to meet the kitten net Tuesday and then she comes home with me a week from Saturday. I ordered a bunch of stuff from Amazon for her, it's overkill. As I get the various towers and beds Sam looks at them and has no interest...hopefully the kitten cares.

It finally stopped raining here. It hadn't stopped for like two days and we didn't even get it the worst here. A few dams in the middle of the state have failed, they're evacuating larges sections of Midland...the Governor said downtown Midland could have 9 feet of water in it by tomorrow. I have some family up there but they're just on the edge of the evacuation area but my great aunts house was historic and downtown...probably going to be under water.

SouthernSweetieTX

We are attempting a few shanty2chic projects. I think floating shelves first. OM wants to make yard Jenga. That should be fairly simple. Power tools are expensive! I found an amazing deal on a 12” dual bevel compound miter saw. It was 420 OFF the original price. It won’t be here until June. It’s only shipping from Kansas. I hate waiting.
I bought a sander from Lowe’s today. I ordered online, so I have to go pick it up. Jenga only needs saw cuts, sanding, stain, and a waterproof coat.

I just read about the dams! That is terrible.

Charley loves her kitty condo. She broke her favorite toy today. She proudly carried it around to show us her kill. She is so dang cute, I cannot stand it. She is NOT a cuddle bug. She will sleep on the bed, near you, but not on you. She prefers a blanket on the floor. She doesn’t let you pet her too much. She loves to play. Hopefully, we will make her a lap kitty.

DaisyGirl14

I just read about the flooding in Michigan this morning - sounds terrible. Hope this doesn't impact you too much.

All this home DYI stuff is inspiring. I've done a lot of clean up and organizing but not a lot of projects. The organizing has hit some snags because I have a lot of stuff I want to get rid of (donate) and I'm not sure if those places are accepting donations. So now, I have piles of "stuff" just lying around ... waiting.

Kayla - I wasn't a member of the forum when your husband passed. It sounds as if you and your kids have found a fun way to remember him... I hope you have a great visit with your parents too. I've been kinda missing my family back in PA and its a weird shift for me to hesitate to travel and go see them. Traveling has always been so fun and easy for me and now that I'm not sure what that might look like, I don't know when I'll get to see them. At least I feel good about car travel but I'm not driving all the way across the country unless its absolutely necessary.

worthyoflove

I'm not impacted by the flooding, it's up in the middle of Michigan, I'm down near Detroit, Southeast Michigan. We had a ton of rain but up there they got close to 5 inches in about 36 hours. There was a big flood there back in 1986, the 500 year flood...but they are saying this one will be worse.

We have some family roots there, my grandfather's brother was a DA in the city for a really long time and their branch of the family is still there. Last I heard they were evacuated and are with other family members.

The projects at my friends house are a good excuse for me to avoid having to do cleaning and organizing at my house.

We finished painting today. I'll have to do some touchups but otherwise I think we're done. Now just hanging curtains, putting in baseboards and shoe molding, all that fun stuff.

I have a friend renting a car and traveling to me this weekend from Chicago. Her family is in Georgia and she's been absolutely completely alone for two months other than going to the grocery store. She's having a really hard time with the social isolation.

One of my best friends since 4th grade is moving home from Nashville this weekend too! I'm so excited.

DaisyGirl14

I'm glad to hear she's coming to visit - isolation is truly a silent killer.

elherts

I'm so jealous of all of you being able to see friends, go to stores, and vacation homes. I'm still on lockdown here and going stir crazy. I am going to get together with some friends on Saturday and social distance celebrate one of their birthdays.

I plan to watch Little Fires Everywhere and Hightown is out on Starz now. Halfway through Season 5 of Little House on the Prairie.

worthyoflove

Chicago is really bad right now, we peaked here around the time New York and New Jersey did, we still have like 500 new cases a day but our curve has flattened.

Our Governor actually announced as of today we're able to have gatherings of 10 people or less as long as we continue to practice social distancing.

My friend was all excited that Ohio is now allowing wedding receptions of 300 or more guests as soon as June 1st, that sounds way too soon for something like that. She moved her wedding to September and that even gives me pause.

elherts

Do you still worry though, being around your friend and her family, being in stores? I can't even take the garbage out without panicking.

My cousin that I am close with is moving from Atlanta to Chicago. I can't wait to go visit.... well... after it's okay to.

worthyoflove

I still don't like being in stores, I hate having to even pass someone else while walking in a store and it drives me nuts if I see someone without a mask. I feel like it's becoming more normal though. Wear a mask, wipe down what I buy, wash hands as soon as I get home. I've gotten take out more in the past two weeks than I did in the past two months. The more you do something obviously the more comfortable you get with it. I actually got Starbucks for the first time today in months too.

I'm most nervous about going back to work and having to have exposure to clients and other people for long periods of time.

I'm a little nervous about this weekend at our cottage. I've been quarantining with my friend but yeah there will be my parents there and three other people that I haven't seen in months. They're all being safe, but that's all relative. It's such a weird balance because things are starting to open back up so it feels so extreme when we literally weren't told to leave our house like a month ago because it was so bad here.

Chicago is such a great place, I love it. But I'm not a city girl at all, I'm content with visiting two or three times a year, but I couldn't live there, especially in the winter.

SouthernSweetieTX

My parents’ visit was nice. They brought me my Nana’s china cabinet. I have her parents‘ dishes and my parents’ wedding china. Now, I can put them out!

Daddy mowed for me! Baby minion helped him and he did really mind it. He said he’d keep mowing all summer. We’ll see. He went to the lake with friends today and then I invited his friend over to stay the night. They’ve been playing board games all night.

OM and I remembered we have her old laptop and it just needs a new SSD like mine did. We’re confident we can change it out and now Baby Minion will have a computer too. Her hard drive still works, but it’s s...l...o...w...

So, I realized the saw I bought isn’t at all what I thought it was. Ugh. So much so, I think they switched what I ordered. I never would have ordered what I have coming. I’m trying to just cancel the order.

The CDC has flip flopped again, and now they are saying the virus can’t live on surfaces, so wiping everything down isn’t necessary.

UT sent out an email Wednesday night saying they will have classes as “normal” on campus until thanksgiving break. Then students will not return to campus, they will finish the semester and exams, online. They are hoping to avoid exposure after everyone breaks and would have come back from the holiday. They fear another surge this fall.

A friend posted that if 80% of the ppl would wear masks and social distance, that the virus wouldn’t spread as quickly. There are definitely that many, if not more wearing masks here. I’d say 90-95% are wearing masks. Social distancing is harder when more ppl are in the store now. People are still respectful of the six feet while in line, etc.

I’m glad your friend is coming to visit, A. I can’t imagine being entirely alone all this time.

The friend in Nashville was the one considering moving to ATX? Man, I wanted y’all to move here.

I got to see our cousin graduate this evening. It was fun to watch. If not for this mess, we wouldn’t have been able to see her unless we were there. She was Student President and got to speak before everyone walked. She did a fantastic job! I’m looking forward to watching another cousin, in Maryland, in the next week or so.
OM has several friends, at one school, graduating next week. It is killing her that we cannot go. We can watch it, but that’s not the same thing, especially, when you know everyone graduating.

KitscherSunk

Hi guys. I’m caught up on this thread at least. But sorry if I miss anything.

First of all, Kayla, I’m so sorry I missed the anniversary of Lee’s passing. I hope you can forgive me. But I’m glad to hear your mom’s recovery is progrsssing and that you got to spend time with her and your dad. And congratulations on getting a kitty!

DaisyGirl, my sincere condolences about your friend.

Emma, I hope the girls are getting along better now and things are a bit more peaceful for you.

KiKi, I totally understand your fears about the virus. As a germ phobe already, the fear sometimes is so overwhelming. Five minutes in a store and I start hyperventilating and gripping the cart. I hate this virus! Hang in there.

Amanda, you sound busy! Which is good! You’re a great friend to host your friend who’s been alone so long. And you’re getting a kitten too?? How is Grizz?

As for me ... the isolation of living alone and my fears about getting sick were already starting to weigh me down, like everyone else. But then, after surviving several rounds of layoffs over the years, I lost my job. The company got rid of almost all of us, in early April. I took it extremely hard. I’d worked there for 20 years, right out of college. And after losing so many relatives in recent years, I’d ended up making my job my entire life. So, I sunk into a huge hole, stopped eating, stayed in bed all day with the covers over my head, crying and panicking constantly. I’m better now, after a trip to the doctor to get my depression med adjusted. I’d needed to do that for a good two years anyway but kept putting it off, so when the layoff happened I just spiraled. I’m still scared and I haven’t a clue what I’m going to do next. There aren’t many jobs left in my field, and I’m sure job losses in almost every field are only going to get worse this year and maybe even next year as companies “restructure.” BUT I’m not completely hopeless the way I was just two weeks ago. I’m HUGELY grateful for that.

So anyway, that’s why I’ve been absent for so long. At first, I didn’t want to complain on the board. But then it got to the point where I couldn't have posted if I tried. I missed you guys, though, and I thought of you often, hoping everyone was safe and healthy.

I haven’t been in the mood for much TV or movies lately, and I actively avoid too much news these days because it makes me too anxious. I did start Little Fires Everywhere, but I have 2 or 3 to go. I also finally started watching The Office (U.S. version), but I found Steve Carrell’s character so annoying that I didn’t get very far! If anyone has watched it, does it get better? There has to be a reason people love the show so much!

elherts

I love the way you honored Lee's passing... remembering his favorite things. I have told you before.. I so admire the way you handled everything with your children.

I don't watch the news anymore either Lornette. Anything important pops up on Facebook anyhow. I was driving myself crazy. I have friends sending me links to every ridiculous article. I've concluded that NOBODY knows WTF is going on and we are all just figuring it out as we go along.

Don't feel bad. I didn't LOVE The Office either. I LIKED it, but so many people I know are obsessed with it. To each his own I guess. I was obsessed with FNL, Mr. Robot, CMBYN etc and others weren't.

Kayla -Did you ever get the whole landscaping situation settled?

I hope that is true about surfaces. How could they have gotten that so so wrong?? That would make a huge difference in my life. I freak going to the store, then touching my steering wheel etc. Even getting the mail. How do we believe them now? Clearly, again, no one knows WTF is going on.

I'm still holding out hope that my nephew will get some type of graduation. BTW he decided on a small Division 1 school here in New Jersey. He actually will be practically on the beach and yay! He will be down the road from my school. STILL holding out hope that he will WALK ON the football team. ... if there even is a season. My father was talking to him about it on Mother's Day, telling him he's good enough... all he said was, "I know." Usually he goes into a whole thing about how he doesn't want to etc. etc.

SouthernSweetieTX

Thank you! I often feel like I'm doing this widowed mom thing all alone, but then I get a message or reminder that y'all are watching and rooting for me.

I took pictures of the backyard, showing it's been mowed, by me. The company never came back or contacted me, and my landlord hasn't said anything else. I was going to text him the pics today and see where we're at on that. I told my parents how much it was and they about died. The lawnmower that was left here by previous tenants should run. It needs a carburetor cleaner, which I got at Lowe's yesterday. If that doesn't get it to spark (Daddy's words), then we have a friend who will look at it for us. Hopefully, that's all we need. Now that it's manageable, I think we can keep it up.

The company I bought the saw from has ZERO telephone customer service. I found the number to their headquarters and there's a recording that says we only deal in emails. I am not amused. If I haven't heard from them by close of business today I will refuse the order and dispute the charges with my bank, if I have to. It wasn't supposed to ship until June 3-5. Now, it'll be here Sunday. Any other time I would be thrilled it came early.

I think everything about this virus is so unknown. Any recommendations are coming off speculation or based on flu, or making educated guesses. While it's alarming to say wipe things down, and time-consuming, better to be safe than sorry?

College is going to be a weird experience for students in the fall. I hope there's football, and it would be great if your nephew decides to walk on. My cousin played baseball for 18 years, was going to walk on for Harvard, and decided to not play. He had played little league and select since practically T-ball. He also played football in the offseason. He just wanted a break.
The first home football game in Austin IS HUGE!! I'm not sure what that will look like now. If it means anything...the university has not sold released the student athletic passes that get them into every sport event on campus. I think it's a sign.

I can't stand the office. My sister and BIL think it's God's gift to mankind. Different ideas of funny, I guess. We both like Seinfield, but she doesn't LOVE Friends to my level of appreciation.

worthyoflove

I really don't trust the recommendations, or just do what gives me peace of mind. If wiping down the stuff I'm bringing in from outside keeps me sane, I'm doing it. I mean the CDC was all, "you don't need a mask" but "now you need a mask" and "wipe down surfaces" now "not really transmitted on surfaces", but with how contagious it seems to be that gives me pause. But, whatever.

Lornette, so happy you're back and in a good enough headspace to be here with us. I know everyone has been dealing with this craziness in their own way. I'm glad you were able to get some support through therapy.

The Office for me, season 1 I usually just skip over entirely because the comedy is so dry and uncomfortable. It really finds its stride and the character development in seasons two and three. I usually end my rewatch after a certain storyline kind of fleshes itself out, but I still enjoy it. It's kind of a comfort show for me, it's like comfort food. I like it as background noise.

I am getting a kitten! A week from tomorrow actually. I'm getting her through a rescue. She's mini, just over one pound. I'm eager to see how my cat Sam and Griz react to her.

The friend in Nashville had considered Austin but decided to move back to Detroit to be closer to home and family. I have one other friend that was considering Austin but she just got married and her husband has children already so it's hard for him to move out of state.

I hate delivery and online shopping snafus, I hope you get a response on the saw. I had to contact Amazon on a few days ago because I got notice that a package was delivered that wasn't. I waited a few days to see if it would show up, it didn't. It took me forever to figure out how to even contact someone at Amazon to tell them my package has said it's delivered but isn't....I finally talked to someone who issued a free replacement. Then my neighbor shows up the next morning with my package. He's been leaving his packages in the garage for a few days before opening and didn't realize it wasn't his until he opened it. All's well that ends well.

elherts

I'm actually waiting on toilet paper that I ordered a month ago.

We sent my friend a bouquet of balloons today for her 50th birthday. The time frame was 10am - 6pm. They got there at 6pm on the dot! And she filmed the guy on her door cam. He literally just left them on the porch, rang the bell, and left. What if she didn't come home for hours? I mean, I don't know what else he could have done.