Post a bad thing that happened in your life today

[Cecile Marion]

You must be exhausted, Betty. Hang in there. 

[Michael Ventura]

53 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

Back to the doctor this afternoon as I’m getting weaker. Another round of meds and a chest x-ray, of which I’ll know the results in a day or two. I slept on the couch last night in a raised position that helped with the coughing.

I’m so tired of this, it’s been 15 days of feeling rotten.

Very sorry to read this Betty.  I remember, back in my 30s having a horrible bout chest and cough issues, very tough to sleep with.  I too slept or tried to sleep on the couch, to both keep my head raised and to allow my wife sleep.  I found one over-the-counter med that helped, somewhat, was Delsym cough suppressant.  I hope you get some relief soon!

[Bryan]

2 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Back to the doctor this afternoon as I’m getting weaker. Another round of meds and a chest x-ray, of which I’ll know the results in a day or two. I slept on the couch last night in a raised position that helped with the coughing.

I’m so tired of this, it’s been 15 days of feeling rotten.

Sorry to hear that you are still poorly Betty. You've done the right thing and sought medical help.  Hopefully the doctors will be able to find a way forward.

[gvallee]

Got the stitches under my eye removed. What a sight I am! Black eye to boot and I have a street party tomorrow to celebrate Xmas. I guess I could pretend I got mixed up and thought it was Halloween 😁

 

I cannot help to not take Xmas seriously in Australia. 33c degrees today in Cairns and 48C in the north west. Summer has arrived! Luckily our housesit has a lovely swimming pool. 

.

[Ed Rooney]

 

Just tell them, "You should see the other guy."

 

Edited December 9, 2022 by Ed Rooney

[Bryan]

1 hour ago, gvallee said:

Got the stitches under my eye removed. What a sight I am! Black eye to boot and I have a street party tomorrow to celebrate Xmas. I guess I could pretend I got mixed up and thought it was Halloween 😁

 

I cannot help to not take Xmas seriously in Australia. 33c degrees today in Cairns and 48C in the north west. Summer has arrived! Luckily our housesit has a lovely swimming pool. 

.

Ouch Sounds painful !

 

However my sympathy is tempered by the fact that the temperature here is currently -1 deg C, but feeling like -6 in the gusty north wind.  We also have a thin covering of snow, just enough to be a nuisance, but not enough to look photogenic.

[Ed Rooney]

 

The long-range forecast says Christmas week will be between 5 and 9 C. Santa? Make it happen!

[gvallee]

57 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Just tell them, "You should see the other guy."

 

 

🤣🤣 Told hubby a trip to Fiji for Xmas or I shop you to the cops 😁

[Steve F]

Get well soon everyone!

[Mr Standfast]

Just turned the heating up from miser to skinflint...

[spacecadet]

21 minutes ago, Mr Standfast said:

Just turned the heating up from miser to skinflint...

We've had it set to spendthrift all week.

[Dave Richards]

On 09/12/2022 at 09:50, gvallee said:

 

🤣🤣 Told hubby a trip to Fiji for Xmas or I shop you to the cops 😁

I have a friend living on Fiji, say hello for me 😃

[Allan Bell]

45 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

We've had it set to spendthrift all week.

 

 

Mine is set to millionaires setting.

 

Allan

 

[gvallee]

2 hours ago, Dave Richards said:

I have a friend living on Fiji, say hello for me 😃

 

I didn't win on the trip. Yet... Hubby says Australian beaches are as scenic as Fiji's. I don't disagree but I like the name...

Elections time over there I believe.

 

Edited December 14, 2022 by gvallee

[Mr Standfast]

2 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

 

Mine is set to millionaires setting.

 

Allan

 

Or as I call it... ON!

[Bryan]

2 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

 

Mine is set to millionaires setting.

 

Allan

 

Ours is set to on, but it prefers part time work, and is totally unpredictable with it.  Most mornings it comes on, but sometimes not.  Or it will start the day well, then decide to take a long break.

 

Fortunately we still have a gas fire in the lounge (and CO monitor) and can light up the oven in the kitchen if needs be. The boiler functions OK and we have plentiful hot water.

 

Just prior to the recent cold snap we fitted a heavy lined curtain between the kitchen and dining room, and that has been remarkably effective. The dining room is now out of bounds.

 

Heat on nicely as I type, but what will tomorrow bring? 

 

We do have a CH expert waiting in the wings, but, not unnaturally, he won't attend with Covid in the house.  Hoping for -ve tests in the next few days.

Edited December 14, 2022 by Bryan

[Rebecca Ore]

One advantage of living at 1,000 meters in the tropics is never having to worry about either a/c except in April and never having to worry about heating with an adequate supply of bed clothes at night and sweaters/jumpers during the day.  

[Betty LaRue]

It has turned cold again here, too, and will drop even further in a couple of days. Weather forecasters says the cold snap will last through Christmas, so no more 50s F for me. When this cold front came through, it set off a few tornadoes in Oklahoma & Texas.

[gvallee]

16 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

It has turned cold again here, too, and will drop even further in a couple of days. Weather forecasters says the cold snap will last through Christmas, so no more 50s F for me. When this cold front came through, it set off a few tornadoes in Oklahoma & Texas.

 

Funny, just as I was reading this, hubby was saying to me that the temperature today was 34C/93F.

We make good use of the swimming pool. Even one of the dogs jumped in.

It's been pretty much constant for the last month or so. The forecast early Wet season hasn't materialised and apparently La Niña is fading. So no cyclones yet. So far so good. My cameras are safely stored in a dry cabinet against humidity.

[Betty LaRue]

2 hours ago, gvallee said:

 

Funny, just as I was reading this, hubby was saying to me that the temperature today was 34C/93F.

We make good use of the swimming pool. Even one of the dogs jumped in.

It's been pretty much constant for the last month or so. The forecast early Wet season hasn't materialised and apparently La Niña is fading. So no cyclones yet. So far so good. My cameras are safely stored in a dry cabinet against humidity.

93F is too hot for me, but 75-85 F is the sweet spot. A pool does make 93 go down well, though. I am enjoying NO mosquitoes. Do you have a lot of biting things? At least winter cold has a few advantages since biters love my blood. Everybody wants me at their lawn parties because I draw the mosquitoes to me & away from them.

I hope you are enjoying your stay there. Nice to earn money for a sweet gig.

[gvallee]

37 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

93F is too hot for me, but 75-85 F is the sweet spot. A pool does make 93 go down well, though. I am enjoying NO mosquitoes. Do you have a lot of biting things? At least winter cold has a few advantages since biters love my blood. Everybody wants me at their lawn parties because I draw the mosquitoes to me & away from them.

I hope you are enjoying your stay there. Nice to earn money for a sweet gig.

 

Right now amazingly there are no mosquitoes. So the Happy Hour on the deck by the pool is very pleasurable. The sea is another story. Irukandji have arrived for the season (very poisonous/deadly jellyfish). But the sea is never a good idea for swimming any time anyway with the crocs/sharks.

 

The beach is about 10mn walk from our housesit. It's a typical tropical beach, impossibly scenic with palmtrees and sand. It's where we're supposed to take the dogs for a walk but the cattle dog is unmanageable when he sees other dogs. Of course the beach is where every Dick and Harry walk their dogs. So we found another area just inland through woodland along a creek. It's a first for us to have to watch out for crocs when walking the dogs. We had got into the habit of doing the same circuit at about the same time every day. Perfect for crocs that have all the time in the world to observe. At one point, there is a narrow pedestrian bridge low over that creek. There are tree roots jutting out on a slope on the trail just before accessing the bridge and it takes a lot of concentration and authority to control the dog's enthusiasm and not let him drag us and fall in. Perfect place for a drama film: dark place in the woods with lianas dangling and a stream with bubbling surface. LOL!! 

 

[Betty LaRue]

10 hours ago, gvallee said:

 

Right now amazingly there are no mosquitoes. So the Happy Hour on the deck by the pool is very pleasurable. The sea is another story. Irukandji have arrived for the season (very poisonous/deadly jellyfish). But the sea is never a good idea for swimming any time anyway with the crocs/sharks.

 

The beach is about 10mn walk from our housesit. It's a typical tropical beach, impossibly scenic with palmtrees and sand. It's where we're supposed to take the dogs for a walk but the cattle dog is unmanageable when he sees other dogs. Of course the beach is where every Dick and Harry walk their dogs. So we found another area just inland through woodland along a creek. It's a first for us to have to watch out for crocs when walking the dogs. We had got into the habit of doing the same circuit at about the same time every day. Perfect for crocs that have all the time in the world to observe. At one point, there is a narrow pedestrian bridge low over that creek. There are tree roots jutting out on a slope on the trail just before accessing the bridge and it takes a lot of concentration and authority to control the dog's enthusiasm and not let him drag us and fall in. Perfect place for a drama film: dark place in the woods with lianas dangling and a stream with bubbling surface. LOL!! 

 

Anyplace warm without mosquitoes or no see ‘ums is Eden to me. My only ever place outside of the US borders I went were two trips to St. Croix. No mosquitoes bothered me, but beginning in the late afternoon the sand fleas or whatever they were, attacked my legs from the knees down. Whatever they were, I couldn’t see them. I discovered rubbing my legs with moistened dryer sheets repelled them. I had used the dryer sheets to repel mosquitoes in the states.  I was a bit like the chicken, “the sky is falling.” But instead ran about telling everyone I saw “use dryer sheets!” Lol.

[Bryan]

I feel the need to whine about the current UK situation with Covid testing. Both my wife and myself continue to test positive for Covid and we are running out of test kits. They are no longer freely available, you have to buy them. Today we managed to source some tests from our local pharmacy and they delivered them to the house. The NHS app expects that you will be fully recovered and not spreading the lurgy after 5 days, but we have both tested +ve after that time. Fortunately we still had some free test kits in the house then. I'm wondering how many people will think all is well after 5 days when actually they are still infectious and how many of those will bother to seek out test kits when they have to pay for them. We are not ill, but clearly it would be irresponsible to mingle and risk infecting those who may be vulnerable. 

[spacecadet]

11 hours ago, Bryan said:

I feel the need to whine about the current UK situation with Covid testing. Both my wife and myself continue to test positive for Covid and we are running out of test kits. They are no longer freely available, you have to buy them. Today we managed to source some tests from our local pharmacy and they delivered them to the house. The NHS app expects that you will be fully recovered and not spreading the lurgy after 5 days, but we have both tested +ve after that time. Fortunately we still had some free test kits in the house then. I'm wondering how many people will think all is well after 5 days when actually they are still infectious and how many of those will bother to seek out test kits when they have to pay for them. We are not ill, but clearly it would be irresponsible to mingle and risk infecting those who may be vulnerable. 

Although there had to come a time, I think the government could have dealt with test supplies better (as with everything else), maybe just limited the supply rather than pulling down the shutters completely. I agree that this winter test kits are going to be prioritised well below the gas bill, or even eating.

Fortunately as a vaccination steward volunteer I could order them virtually without limit and for a while I was the supplier for family and friends- I would offer them at dinner parties. In fact if I stretch the facts a little I still can order them. But we still have about eight boxes, so no need really😉

But your situation could get expensive depending on your approach- I tested positive for 32 days, although after about 10 I said to blazes with it and resumed normality, except for volunteering, of course. By then I was testing for that sole reason.

That was always the official advice IIRC- after 10 days you can get on with life because the chances of your still being infectious are very small.

There are no circumstances I can foresee under which I would personally pay for tests, any more than I would pay for healthcare.

Edited December 17, 2022 by spacecadet

[Betty LaRue]

It is 22F (-5C) this morning. Two more arctic fronts coming, will get down to -2F (-19C) in a few days for overnight low while still staying well below freezing for highs. This is the part of winter I hate. Colder winters seem to be on trend around here. Long range forecast is below normal temps this winter.

The sun is shining, though, so all is not lost.