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Evening all, left at 7.33, got to work at 8.13, went the same way as Fri and found some highway maintenance men getting ready to do more works. Bit of a funny day at work, though at least we got 2 meetings done in 15 mins rather than the hour allocated. Had a nice lunch break, 2 colleagues only had 10 mins left, but joined me to play word games. Nice journey home, one set of roadworks has gone so only took 14 mins, got some reduced pesto and made some pasta for lunch tomorrow.
Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "can you not make suggestions as it affects your health?..."We do. They promise to 'think about it.' Nothing happens.
In a facility full of older adults, there is way too much salt added to food, there are no real desserts suitable for those who need to reduce sugar intake, and the vegan and vegetarian choices have practically no protein in them.
We have a dining committee of residents. They make suggestions. Almost nothing happens. Management is just ignoring the issues, and you're left with trying to pick something to eat!
Fortunately for us, my husband is an omnivore - he eats all kinds of things. So we spend our in-house food dollars on him, and buy what I need. We mostly bring our food to our apartment.
We manage - but things were SO MUCH BETTER when we came, six years ago.
Irritating. They keep playing bait and switch. And doing stuff like having four different salads - and putting raw onions in ALL of them! Don't get me started. We came because of what they had when we visited - and it has all but disappeared.
That sounds difficult, Alicia. You obviously know what it is you want but are unable to make the management comply. Food is such an important part of life and health and it seems wrong that your committee is not being listened to.
Evening all, decided to drive today, got in the car at the exact time as yesterday, had only got a few hundred yards down the road in 13 mins, so decided to turn round to get the train, then struggled to get back home! One of my neighbours was on the platform so didn't read much, but had a nice chat, she walked down from the station, i got the tram so read then. Was doing more training this morning but one of them still doesn't have everything they need. Ended up having a bit of a rotating table at lunch, started off with the two people from last Tue, then a newish colleague who also plays word games joined, then someone else just as i was going! Bumped into neighbour again at the station so sat with her on way home, then left to go to shops, no bargains today.Wow, can't believe you've been there 6 years Alicia, sorry its gone downhill and you are having to sort out basic things like food yourself
Hello !We have roadworks here in the town centre- a big project supposed to make the area better for cyclists and pedestrians. It has resulted in queues on all roads leading to the centre and buses not running on time. I was crossing the road close to my house- 10 minutes walk from the town centre- it was easier than normal as the traffic was all at a standstill, and a taxi driver leaned out of his window and said that he had been over 15 minutes so far on a journey that normally takes 2 to 3 minutes.
I’m still sorting the last few things up at my old house, I’ve not done much this week as with the good weather I have tried to get out walking when I can. I tried three new gym classes this week- on Monday an extra Zumba and a new circuit class - I have booked those again for next week. Then yesterday one with resistance bands - I’m not sure about doing that one again. The walking game that I did last year is starting today in the next town so I’m planning on doing that over the next few weeks.
On Saturday the Hospice has a Memory Event at one of the parks in Burnley. There is a sponsored walk along the canal from the hospice to the park which I am going to do, then at the park you float lanterns on the lake. It is coming up to the 12th anniversary of my dad passing and a couple of weeks later will be one year since we lost mum.
Today the electricity provider is upgrading the smart meter and tomorrow I get my new mattress. So busy times.
My sister in law helped me to cut down a lot of the overgrown honeysuckle, I’m still clearing the cuttings, and although it does look clearer there is still a lot more needs doing before I can organise the space to be able to sit out and enjoy it.
I sometimes can’t decide what to make for lunch or tea, but that’s just me. It must be different if you should have somewhere that provides the meals but isn’t delivering adequate choices.
You sound busy with your work and the craft events Desley- how do you find the time!!
Sunny here in Devon. You are fortunate to have honeysuckle in the garden, Jay-me; it has such a beautiful smell. I am thinking of planting some to cover a wall which was blown down in a winter storm and has now been restored but is bare.
Evening all, was off today, Lucy woke me up at 5.50, got her to settle with a cuddle but she started up again at 6.30, so gave up and got up. Watched TV till 9, then did a bit of tidying before going to get my sister to do some cleaning. Found two lots of roadworks that weren't there on Mon, but colleague from a different team got to work in 20 mins this morning. She wanted a candle from Home Bargains, so we went there first, got a few bits, we did some cleaning, then went to new cafe had a hot drink each and played Uno for a bit snd got my prescription on the way home, even managed to book in a hair app for Sat. Took her to collect niece, then dropped them off. Went to shops for bargains, coop are still struggling but had lots of reduced tomatoes and turkey slices, so Lucy will be happy and i got something for tea and lunch, nothing in Sainsbury's. Got back about 40 mins before sun disappeared from front of house, so got to sit and read. Nice day offSounds like busy times Janet
Jim wrote: "you've been there six years!"Ditto, Carol
Pretty amazing - we came pre-pandemic (2018); everything's different now, but they spend money on completely unnecessary physical plant changes (a new lobby? really?), and the whole food philosophy seems to have changed (I don't care for all the strongly-flavored sauces and foods like onions and garlic and kimchi and chimichurri and cilantro...) to be more 'interesting' - I need stable, mild, and predictable; the flavorings they so love should be add-ons, not baked into the roast.
And many of our fellow independent-living residents need that, too.
Other than that, it's a great place, and the fellow residents are fascinating people.
The problem is that once you buy in and are here three years, you don't get any of your buy-in back if you leave - so we're stuck. Plus I'd rather not leave the friends we've made here.
There are much bigger problems in the world than my dinner, so I adjust as well as possible, but I think they could listen much better.
Jay-me (Janet) wrote: "Hello !We have roadworks here in the town centre- a big project supposed to make the area better for cyclists and pedestrians. It has resulted in queues on all roads leading to the centre and bus..."
I can only imagine the disruption. These things always take so much longer than they promise they will. They tell you it will be three weeks of mess, and then started, if morphs into three MONTHS and they're still not completely finished, and it always seems to go way over budget. Not very good planners, it sounds like, but I think they know if they tell you anything close to the truth, the community will tell THEM to take their project elsewhere.
I never eat onion or garlic so I think I would find your cook's meals a bit difficult, Alicia! I had never heard of the other 3 you mention but I see that one is fermented vegetables so I don't know if could cope with that either.Sunny and warm here today. Have just come back from walk to the coast.
Goodness knows how long the disruption will last. This week they have apparently moved to the opposite side of the road to continue the work.
This is basically the road that would be the cross at the top of the letter T.
When they do the downstroke it will end with a big roundabout replacing traffic lights.
To one side is the old shopping centre/market which is almost empty now and is scheduled to be demolished and replaced by a smaller centre with about 6 shops and car park.
I don’t like very spicy foods, I will have mild variations, but don’t have them very often.
I do like garlic, I have one of my favourite recipes in the slow cooker at the moment- Tuscan Chicken, which I have with less chicken and add mushrooms and peppers instead. I do have raw onions in my salads but don’t like beetroot, potato salad or those salads with cold pasta.
I don’t eat fish in any shape or form, and not a lot of meat - mostly chicken. I like my broth and dumplings, tatie ash and soups. And chips and gravy from the chip shop.
I got my new mattress today- it looks so comfy, and it’s more than twice as deep as the one it has replaced.
Evening all, nearly got the train to work but then traffic started moving, still took from 7.33 to 8.17. We had an event at the Town Hall this morning, they've recently pedestrianised round it so we walked over with our stuff, i stayed to do the first shift, it was really busy, turns out they had over 1500 people! I left at 12, had lunch, then went back at 1.15 to help pack up. Had lunch with 2 people playing word games, one of them has invited one of her colleagues. Went to coffee shop, tried a vanilla milkshake, plain and on the menu! Went to shops after work, got some stuff from coop. Tired now, have done 10k steps, least pain for weeks, though my ankle felt quite tingly this morning.
What is tatie ash, Jay-me? Is it a dish with potatoes?10k steps is a lot, Desley.
Am waiting for the coal and logs to be delivered. We are still lighting a fire every evening, even although it's quite warm, as husband is ill.
Evening all, didn't get on yesterday as went out for tea with crafter friends as it was one of their 60th birthdays, it was a really nice evening, the crafter wjo had a heart attack came, we haven't seen her dince last year, she thanked me for all my messages while she was recovering, she said they were a massive help. Vegi options were limited but nice cheese and onion pie. Nice day today, barely any housework, had a hairdresser app at 12, they were out of my usual colour so options were previous darker colour or rearrange, went for previous colour, had a fun time there, popped in coop, no bargains but more food than they've had for a while, went to new cafe and tried Strawberry, Basil and Cucumber cooler, it was really nice (though probably should have gone to other cafe, try and go to them all), then got sandwich from bakery. Have pretty much just sat and read all afternoon. The nail varnish brand i use brought out another new range and had 25% off, so bought those too, good job i put my new stand together this week.
Evening all, Lucy woke me up at 5.50, i convinced her to go back to sleep and she let me sleep till 8. Unfortunately I didn't fully shut the bedroom door so she saw Chanel, growled at her, lashed out at me then went under the bed till 11, so couldnt medicate her. Decided to go out to a market town to get a stoodley, but he wasnt there. Got some other stuff, but town was disappointing, a few shops have closed since i went last year. Was too early for the direct train, so got one that stopped at another market town, so had a little nosey there, but the Sunday market was also disappointing. Only had to wash up and put clean bedding on when i got home, it was cloudy when i got back, but sunny by the time I'd eaten, so have spent time sat outside reading, finished one book and started a new one. Also forgot to mention that i got letter after my rheumatology consult in March, it had tesults from Dec bloods but not March, my ALT was slightly high at 59, he didnt mention that so hoping that means they aren't worried, debating whether to ring and ask for them, or just wait for bew app, which should be next month, though they aren't always strict on the 3 monthly check ups!
Nice to hear of your travels and walks, Desley - wish I was doing some of them with you.One of my kids gave me her partner's old Apple watch when she upgraded, so I now have started to get some data on things it monitors, and was gobsmacked to find I'm getting 2500 steps a day, since my walking is pretty limited to the inside of the apartment, and doing bathroom and kitchen trips.
Also, I have to learn to interpret the sleep data after I get more of it. I'm getting almost NO deep sleep or REM sleep - doesn't help when I'm trying to create fiction. My nighttime sleep can be broken into as many as a dozen segments, rarely any over about 1:30 hours. It may be an artifact of the settings, but my assistant has the same watch, and she's going to help me figure it out.
Evening all, alarm actually woke me up this morning and i got a little snooze after it. Got Lucy's medication done with no issue. Was supposed to be WFH, logged on, then got an invite at 8.29 for a face to face meeting at 11.30! Ended up shuffling things, including the whole week, and going in at 10, at least it was the nicest journey in for a while! Downside was it meant i had a face to face meeting 11.30 to 1, then a teams meeting at 1! Luckily first meeting finished early so got 20 mins to eat in between and got to chat with old colleague. Felt like i barely achieved anything today though, then had a potential issue come through at 4pm. Came straight home, realised at 8pm when i went to make a cup of tea that i was supposed to buy milk today! Wow, that is impressive Alicia, when i have a day of not leaving the house, I'm lucky to do 1k steps. I'm not as bad sleep wise, but rare my deep sleep is more than 26%, mine does tell me I'm sleeping when i know I'm awake, so guessing my breathing/pulse are light enough it can't tell the difference
2,500 steps a day sounds quite a lot, Alicia. I have no idea how many I do, but try to walk most days so I am probably exercising enough. No walk this morning. I am waiting for the weekly shop to be delivered.
Evening all, rubbish night sleep. Better day at work though, and got an hour for lunch, went to coop gor milk, fridges were pretty much normal. Did my nails with my new colours, i love them!
Carol wrote: "2,500 steps a day sounds quite a lot, Alicia. I have no idea how many I do, but try to walk most days so I am probably exercising enough...."Normal people get much more exercise than I do - but I didn't realize how much I am getting - I shall tell the cardiologist in June.
Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "...rare my deep sleep is more than 26%, mine does tell me I'm sleeping when i know I'm awake..."I have yet to learn all the ins and outs. It's just a watch with a counter and some way of guessing that you're asleep and/or breathing or walking.
But it's a shiny new toy, and I'm going to have some DATA! Exciting!
Had a good morning walk in the fresh air but then sat in the car revving the engine for half an hour to keep the battery charged so breathed in its fumes. I no longer drive as I don't like it rather than any other reason but don't want to give up the car in case I suddenly need it so have to remember to charge the battery now and again.
Evening all, slept through, traffic wasn't great. Had some frustrating IT issues, we are being moved to Office 365 and I'm a guinea pig for one of our systems, have spoke to the IT person every day since the upgrade on Thu, but today was twice, second time was half an hour and he left me with a different issue! Had to help colleagues learning things too, so a bitty day! Had lunch with W, we nearly failed connections, T stopped at my desk lste afternoon to have a go (they sit opposite so she'd asked how we'd done without her!), and failed, we have now swapped numbers so i can send her screenshots so she can help when we aren't both in the office. Stopped at their desks at hometime to show W the result, and T wanted to play Spelling Bee, ended up waiting and leaving with her, we walked to M and S together, then i went to Iceland to get yoghurt and chicken for Lucy. Did also pop to Sainsbury's for bargains. Also happy as new update on my hidden object game and the theme is Ancient Egypt, which i love. Oh, and I'd got one of my colleagues a melt to test, she's thinking of ordering, told me of another colleague who might be interested, and T likes melts too, she does know someone but we seem to do different scents, so hopefully will be getting sales at work
Evening all, woke up early with cold feet, been cooler and windier today, and rain forecast. Not a good start to the day, couldn't get on teams, so had to reboot, then couldn't get on one of the systems! At least the workaround for my other issue is working. Managed to get through some elearning and got my mileage claims for the year done, think I'll get £30 back, so treating colleague to a drink tomorrow. Went bargain hunting after work and bumped into ratty neighbour, who reminded me they are going away in the morning, shes just going to leave me notes, and was disappointed i couldn't think of anything they could get me as a thank you. And tried holographic top coat over my holographic nail varnish, they now have a blue sparkle.
Evening all, managed to get to work in 25 mins today, was a nice journey, though they are apparently digging up more next week. Day started off OK, then another frustrating probation review meeting, losing the will to live with them! A different colleague joined me for part of lunch and helped with connections. Went to coffee shop at lunch. Glad we have a long weekend, even if it us likely to be typical bank holiday weather!
No rain here yet although I am hoping as the sky is very overcast and my garden hose has lost its fitting for the tap. Everything is dry as the proverbial bone.
Evening all, was surprised by an unusual noise while brushing my teeth last night - it was rain! Had a bit more today but not as bad as forecast. Went to feed the rats this morning, wasn't sure which female was in front of me (one nips) , so offered my long nail, she got my finger, took forever to stop bleeding. Took my sis and the kids out today as its sis's birthday on Fri, we ended up going for a carvery due to weather forecast, was dry when we finished, so we went to a farm that has Jersey cows and make ice cream, i couldn't decide between parma violet and birthday cake, went for parma violet, and they had birthday cake blondies, so got that for tomorrow. Then took them to company shop, got some bargains, popped in Aldi as they have birthday cake bailey's type drink, ratty neighbour wanted to get me something as a thank you, so got that and shes paying me back, then popped to retail park to get Lucy some food, b and m were out, but Asda had some. Very tired when i got back. Gave rats some veg for tea, offered nippy rat something and she was very aggressive taking food off me, I'll be trying to ignore her (i say trying, the girls have similar colouring, the difference is on their back!
Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "...frustrating probation review meeting, losing the will to live with them!..."You must have ideas how to do these review meetings better - is no one listening? Aargh!
Haven't had rain in ages - and we really need some.
Cautiously optimistic about a new med - hasn't made me sick yet, and one of its side effects seems to have fixed an extra problem. The doctor lets me research meds and suggest ones to try occasionally - but the whole phone/receptionist/internet/advice nurse system is between her and me getting the request to her - barely made it in time for our Memorial Day holiday weekend. 24 minutes on hold to talk to two different humans.
Chose the same-day delivery option - with the holiday, I wouldn't see the mailed med until next Tuesday, and the difference was only $4. I took the first one last night and had a relatively good night. Cross fingers.
Evening all, slept through till Lucy woke me up at 5.50 as her water bowl was empty (the upstairs was half full last night, she's drinking a ridiculous amount of water, wondering about hyper thyroidism, shes due her booster next month so will chat to vet then), ignored her till 6.30, but felt very drained. Had a lazy start, then worked out bare minimum housework. Went to shop with soft plastic just to get out of house, tried watching a film but wasn't that interesting, so finished my book. Glad the new med seems to be working Alicia, hope it continues
Hope the new medication is useful, Alicia. No rain here yet but am hopeful for tomorrow. Spring Bank Holiday here today.
Evening, slept through till about 7, still felt drained. Fed the cats and had another lazy start, and have staggered housework. Went to sort out the rats, put a glove on as don't trust the nippy one, stroked one of the boys with my other hand and he bit me! Went in at teatime, they had put some part of the blanket in the litter tray, so put the glove on to move it, nippy one went for my hand with such force that shes bruised me! So litter trays are barely being touched, changing the water bottle was daunting as she was on the shelf watching me! Snd i gave them some bits like Jersey royals that i was having for my tea! Yesterday's washing was too late to peg out, so did that first thing as it was windy, and did a new washload, only put part of that out due to forecast rain, it started raining before lunch so brought them in, went to shops and it was still dry, so put them back out, started raining about 2 so brought them back in, glad i did as it hasn't stopped raining yet (neighbour left her towel out!)
Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "nippy one went for my hand with such force that shes bruised me!..."That was cheeky of the rats - nipping the hand that is feeding them. Can't explain that you're filling in, and their main feeder will be back soon... At least you're pretty sure they don't carry bubonic plague!
Morning all, set off at 7.33, got to work at 7.47, love half term! Quiet in the office, was very cold though, apparently there was an issue with some automatic window openers and they were stuck on open! Had lunch/word games with a new colleague today. Was raining when i left work, got some bargains from Sainsbury's, glad i was looking after the rats, tried some Edamme (sp?) Beans, didn't like them, but the two girls were going mad for them, nippy one was very gentle taking them from me, but then stomped her feet when i stopped feeding them, it was quite funny. Have apologised to neighbour for the cage/trays not being as clean as i like to leave them
Evening all, bit of a quiet day at work. Had to go to the post office at lunch, then popped to the shops after work, got caught by charity people at coop, did get a compliment on my nails. Ratty neighbour popped in after i got back with some presents, very apologetic for the blood shed! Had a chat with her, apologised for not doing more with their trays/bedding, was just too wary, went to make tea and realised there was enough chips for 2 portions, so took her the other half, nippy rat came straight up to the bars acting like she wanted a fuss, so i just spoke to her, she's always been a biter, neighbour is wary of her too.
Carol wrote: "I never eat onion or garlic so I think I would find your cook's meals a bit difficult, Alicia! I had never heard of the other 3 you mention but I see that one is fermented vegetables so I don't kno..."I am NOT a fan of anything sour or fermented (husband loves them all), so I agree.
The new med is questionable. It seemed to improve sleep, but my ankles look like giant balloons. The Mayo clinic site listed that as a rare side effect, and one you should let your doctor know about immediately. So I did, and have permission to TRY 1/2 tablet every OTHER day, rather than 3 a day as prescribed. I hate being so sensitive - but those ankles HURT. Haven't decided yet - may try once or twice, once the swelling goes down, because the improved sleep was nice (the med is a muscle relaxant).
We could use some rain - hope you got yours.
A nuisance about the swollen ankles, Alicia. Medication often needs trial and error before you hit the right dose. We are not all the same size and shape and women can be very different from men.
It sounds difficult feeding the rats, Desley. They have extremely sharp teeth. I had one in my garden recently and it kept eating through tarmac.
Evening all, day started off wet, then was windy by the time I finished work so have only left the house to put the rubbish out. Was glad to be WFH as was up about 4am, so changed to the 7am alarm, still feel drained. Sorry that your ankles have swollen with the meds Alicia, they are very painful. Hope the reduced dose gives you the sleep help without the swollen ankles
Evening, woke up with a pounding headache, think it was sinus related as bridge of my nose was hurting, colleague said that she thought it was a pressure thing. Had a meeting at 10 that i hope will help with probation. Bit of a hectic afternoon, but overall coped without manager. Old big manager rang about something this pm, was so lovely speaking to her, we've had a nice chat this evening and she sent me a video of a fox cub playing in her garden, very jealous! Got petrol on way home and a reduction for tea, then nipped to Lidl, then Sainsbury's to see if they had any sandwiches, only to find out there is a cafe at craft fair tomorrow (never done this one before). Very tired now
Evening all, had a rubbish night sleep and a 6.30 get up for a craft fair. We had to swerve twice on the way, first for a peacock on the road (it looked confused) and second for a lamb on the road! First time we've done this event, it was very quiet, we took £1 more than the table fee, we are booked on again next month, A was wondering about booking later in the year, i thought we should see if next month is better. Was in a church hall with cake and a decently priced cafe, so i don't need to take food next time. Was very tired when i got back, did the trays, then watched some TV in bed and ended up having a 20 min nap, hope it doesn't affect my sleep.
Hello everyone. I can’t believe it’s been that long since I’ve popped in. Goodreads is a bit shit about telling me when people post so I haven’t had any notifications. I haven’t read through all your posts since I was last here (sorry) but I can say that we too have roadworks, they are rubbish too, and totally get the sleep troubles, I have trouble getting a straight 3 hours so my REM sleep is down too. Hope all is well and hopefully I will not leave it so long next time!
Evening all, slept better and today's craft fair wasn't that early a start. We've been to this one before and did OK, but it was so quiet, we took £10.50 (50p was me and £3 was a colleague!) and it was freezing! I bought a book and remembered they had vegi sandwiches, so bought lunch there, i do like trying to buy refreshments at venues to help them, if we all take our own, they might stop doing it. Been cheap craft fairs though, other than food and drink, a book for 40p is all I've spent. We were with some crafter friends we don't see very often today, was nice catching up and A thinks she's going to get them to make hoodies with her logo on for us to wear. It was also the monthly one we do today, couple of our crafter friends have said that was quiet too, so wouldn't have mattered which one we did, this was cheaper and closer to home. Got some bargains on the way home, so had an interesting tea!
That sounds a lovely day, Desley. My bil came down from London to see us so had an enjoyable day yesterday walking and eating with him.
Evening all, slept better, started the day with more IT issues, luckily we weren't too busy and I got some elearning done. System was slow all day. Got a hospital letter with an appointment for Opthalmology later this month, which has worried me. Went to shops after work, was probably the only nice day this week Sorry MT, meant to say that it was nice to hear from you
Evening all, wet and windy today, just managed to get to and from the car without getting too wet. Got to see someone from my old team whose been off sick for nearly 14 months, was lovely to see her. Introduced another colleague to word game at lunch. Nipped to m and s, got a sandwich reduced to £2, then went to Sainsbury's to see if they had anything for tea, they had one of my favourite sandwiches reduced, so had one for tea and taking other for lunch!
It's the small wins that make life go by smoothly :-)
Evening all, had some training this morning, was quite interesting and didn't last as long as expected. Got back to have lunch with colleagues, 3 of us played word games today, and a 4th person asked what we were doing, but declined to join. Had a meeting this afternoon which will hopefully help things, then ended up with stuff added to my to do list. Went to both shops after work and got reduced stuff for tea and lunch tomorrow.
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Sorry that the food selection in your 'complex' is getting worse Alicia, can you not make suggestions as it affects your health?