***Welcome To The New Cruise Countdown Club***

Yay he did come today and got not only the south side of the house done but also the deck. The deck needed to be restained and a couple of boards replaced so he is doing that also. Got a few other things I could have him do inside so we'll see how it goes. He is a friend of my pet sitter so he is giving me a good price. He is very interesting and I like him so good he'll be around for a few more days. He will be back either Thursday or Friday. Needs to let the wood dry out before it can be stained.

Got a text from a gal that goes to the Wed night place telling me they are making a pork roast and mashed potatoes tomorrow night. Good to know so I don't eat before I go. Last week was spaghetti and garlic bread but I had already ate.

No forecast for rain tomorrow so that's a good thing! Hope your game goes well!

Sharon

Sharon, woke up to rain this morning. So I hope it does dry up for this evening. It looks like temps in the 60's around her today.

That is good that the guy finally came and is doing what is needed for your house.

Also good to know that you will have a nice dinner provided for you tonight, so you do not eat before hand.

So tonight is our last night of bocce. We will have to have our triple A game on tonight as the team we are playing will just be a spoiler. We win we stay in first place and that is exactly where we want to be.

Kathy

No rain here today, but after I posted last night I saw they were predicting it for your area. Hope you got in your game and you won!

I am going to the wedding of a friends son on Saturday. I tried on the dresses I have and although I have some that would work decided to go to the mall to see if there was anything I like better. Well most of the dresses are gone and in their place are coats. I never saw so many winter coats! I finally found I dress I kind of liked at Sears for 50% off and bought it but it does have sleeves, short sleeves but I see that it could be in the 80's Saturday. Might be too hot, the sleeves are lace and come almost to my elbow. I hate to be hot so I also bought a little jacket sweater I think it's almost a shrug at Macy's. Thought if it's too warm I'll wear a sleeveless dress that I already have and wear the little bright pink shrug. The sweater was marked $20.95 but when I got to the register she said it was $7.99. So I told here I would go back and get the bright yellow one too. When she wrung up the exact same sweater but in yellow it came up as $20.95. So I said I wouldn't take it, she said come back in a week it will be $7.99 by then.

Had a nice meal, not only was there a really good tender pork roast and mashed potatoes but they made deep fried corn on the cob. It gave it a different taste but really good. I stopped and bought some cookies to take as my contribution to the dinner.

My guy called and said he had ordered the stain for the house and deck and would be back on Friday to start again on it. I am trying to make a list of all the other things that I need him to do once he gets done with that. Only thing is he does not live around here and it takes an hour or more to get here so I don't know if he would be interested in doing more or not. Guess I'll just have to ask him.

Will be interested in hearing how it went tonight with your game

Sharon

Sharon, it might be best if we did not talk about last night at all. But since you asked, last night was our second most terrible loss in the season. We started out OK, but then just totally fell apart. All we had to do is win and we got creamed 16-4. So Bill will work on the standings sometime today. But he told me last night it looks like we will end in second place. So still in the money and it is very had to repeat. So it is what it is.

We got rain yesterday morning and then it turned out to be very humid, but no rain. It was very overcast all day long. We woke up this morning to very dense fog. I could not see my hand in front of my face.

So you had a very nice dinner last night. So next Wednesday we will have the bocce banquet. Bill will be working on that this week. Then on the 24th we will leave for LAS for 1 week.

So as expected you always seem to find such great deals. So it sounds like you did OK with the dresses. So Saturday you are going to a friends wedding. How far away is it from where you live?

Well like you said, all you can do is ask to see if he is willing to come back and finish all that you have for him to do.

Kathy

The wedding is only supposed to be about 10 to 15 min from my house that will be good, it starts at 4pm. The wedding and reception are in the same place.

I cut some grass today, its really dry we could use some rain but hoping it doesn't so he can stain the house and deck. I don't think he can get all that done in one day so probably will be here on Saturday too. He said no problem if I had to leave for the wedding before he was done.

Again wondering about WW, geesh you would think I could get off 10 pounds! But still hovering up and down around 8.

Too bad about the loss, funny sometimes you're on and sometimes you're not. But hey 2nd place isn't too bad either, I know 1st would have been the best though.

Sharon

Sharon, Bill said we missed second place by 1 point. So we actually ended in third place. Still in the money. Banquet is next Wednesday.

Well that is good that the wedding and reception is in the same place and not too far away from you as well. Enjoy and have a great time.

I agree it is dry out and no rain until Sunday evening. Temps today will go into the upper 80's. Last night we went to a theater guild meeting and we did not get home until after 10. They provided the food and we paid for our own drinks.

Well with this dry weather that guy should be able to finish the outside work on Saturday.

So Bill is working doing packet preparation for the marathon next month on Saturday. On Sunday he is managing an aid station just south of McCormick Place for a 20 miler. He gets paid to do that. They call him up due to all of his experience.

Lets think positive that you will loose today at weigh-in for WW.

Kathy

This morning down .4 which is exactly what I was up last week. Ridiculous! But there was an interesting discussion going on before the meeting started. One of the gals had heard about a woman names Stepandahalf. She had something wrong with her hip so each time she took a step the next one was a half step. Interesting trivia, but also she was the town's madam! None of us had heard this before, guess she died in the 70's sometime many years after here retirement. Thought it was a funny discussion.

Your Bill is into so many things, he certainly is making the most of his life. I am still looking for a purpose for mine.

Too bad about slipping below second place, but at least you all had fun and like you say you're still in the money.

I don't think Bill the carpenter is going to be done anytime soon. He came about 10, we talked for a while then he got started. We had talked earlier about my truck so when I went outside to air up the flat back tire, he said why don't you put the charger on it (it hasn't been started for probably 5 years) and we'll try to start it later today. So then since he was taking a break we walked back to the back pasture area so I could show him the huge oak tree that had fallen down. Then he got back to work and around 4pm decided to stop for the day, too hot to paint, it would dry to fast to spread. He had brought his portfolio of previous work so he came inside had some ice tea and I looked at the book. Before he left he gave me a hug, he had done that at one of the barn dances and I had said it was nice, living alone I don't get many of those. He said he remembered that, he didn't either. The truck never did start so he is bringing a battery he has from home to see if that will work, tomorrow.

Can you tell I kind of like him?

Sharon

Your comment put a smile on my face today Sharon. I needed that after all we have been going thru with this no electric problem. I went to a medical needy shelter for 2 days my BP is off the wall. Then 2 days with out air at home. I know I shouldn't wine I have neighbors with no homes a few trailers down. 8 deaths in a nursing home in Florida. Some of my neighbors were yelling at a woman who just lost her home because electrical equipment fell on her roof and Duke refused to pay for a new pole. I can't wait to leave Florida .

Sharon, Bill is downtown someplace preparing packets for the marathon next month. Tomorrow he is managing an aid station on the lake front just south of McCormick Place. Tomorrow's event is called the Ready To Run 20 miler. So you may see it on TV sometime tomorrow.

I agree we are both doing the same thing. Up 1 week and down the next. But at least you lost and did not gain. That was a very funny story about that lady. I know at my place they are dead serious and do not go off topic about WW.

So another Bill. It sounds like he takes his time. There is nothing wrong with that as long as he does good work. So am I reading something into this all? Always good to get a hug.

So temps once again in the 80's around here. I think I am going to lay down for a bit. I just feel like taking a nap. Too bad I cannot take more of them.

Kathy

I took a 2 hour nap today. Some people just got their electric on today. Glad this is over.

Karen, I am so sorry to here that you were affected from the hurricane. I hope things are slowly getting back to normal.

It felt good to take a nap today.

Kathy

Karen, my sister rode out the storm in good shape, sorry you are still having problems. It's okay to "whine" once in a while, you have been through a lot. I hope by now your BP has stabilized, take care of yourself.

Glad I could lift your spirits if even for a little while, glad you are still following along.

Sharon

Kathy, I read or heard about the race too, glad he is just helping out instead of running it. I'm sure the highlights will be on tv tomorrow night.

Yes I really like talking to Bill, he is a very smart and interesting man. He also has had his share of problems. He lost his wife and daughter in an car accident. He has had a very hard time recovering from the loss as we all do. I am glad he takes his time, means he will be here longer for me to talk to. He is very skilled and does the job the right way. He is an old friend of my pet sitter so comes highly recommended.

Had a good time at the wedding this afternoon. The wedding itself was outside, then we went inside for the reception. There was an open bar until dinner which was supposed to start at about 5pm but actually didn't start until almost 7pm. I had one glass of wine but on an empty stomach I could start to feel it so switched to water the next drink. They had a buffet of pulled pork and brisket with cornbread and "sides" it was very good. I stayed until 10 pm and came home. The party was still going strong when I left.

Hope you nap did some good, with you working everyday its hard to get one in I' sure.

Sharon

Sharon, yes the nap did feel good. I really did not sleep well over the weekend. As when Bill, gets up early I really cannot go back to sleep. So on Saturday he was downtown someplace preparing packets for the runners of the Chicago Marathon next month. Today he left at 5:30 to be down on a aid station that he was the manager of just south of McCormick Place at the 14 mile mark of 20 miles total. So he is still down there and hopefully will be home soon. So I may just take another nap once again this afternoon as well.

So it sounds like you rally enjoyed yourself at the wedding. Yes, you really have to be very careful when drinking on an empty stomach. I do not like staying to the very end either. So it sounds like you left at the right time.

Well that is good that you enjoy this man's company and talking to him. Must be nice having him around for conversation. So is he bringing a battery to get your truck started. Once that happens, are you going to try and sell it?

I did tell you that the jerk's place down in Florida was not damaged at all. So at least we can count on going back down there in another month or so. I cannot deal with him being around all winter long. He is always locking himself out of the office and then he has to come and find me. Bill told me a few weeks ago when he drove up to our house, Bill was not going to let him in. He told me what is this jerk doing here.

Kathy

Good for Bill, I would act like I'm not home and not go to the door if I saw him coming!

Hopefully he'll be headed south soon.

Carpenter Bill got the whole south side of the house painted this afternoon, it looks really good. He still as to go around the whole house and paint the fascia board. Then that leaves the deck to do. He was pretty tired by the time he quit today going up and down that ladder and using the very long handled paint brush I'm sure had to really get to his arms. He says he hits the YMCA's whirlpool before he goes home. Good for sore muscles.

Talked with my sister, she has a terrible cough again. Once she starts its hard to stop. Hope she gets hold of a dr and gets something for it soon. Its been going on now for almost a week.

I watched the news but the only running I saw was those people on the Midway runway. Funny they didn't cover the marathon. I wouldn't have wanted to get up that early as your Bill did, but I guess he enjoys it.

Back to work day for you tomorrow, hope you are well rested and have a good day.

Sharon

Sharon, Bill gets paid for what he does. Even the Dr reports to him. So it was not a marathon but 20 miles. This was the last long run for those running the marathon next month.

So Sunday we leave for LAS and return on Friday. So Bill told me this morning before I left that he has change the flight plans, as our original flight was over booked. So now we are connecting through SFO as all of the direct flights are over booked. We are just arriving a few hours later. Flying stand-by we have to do this once in a while.

So it was a good day to be working outside. I am surprised he worked on a Sunday. All this week should be good weather as well.

I am sorry to hear that your sister is still not doing to well. Now that the hurricane is over she needs to get things taken care of. But now I am seeing there are 3 more hurricanes coming.

Enjoy the day, bump and grind for me.

Kathy

Oh that is why there was nothing on the news about the race. Good thing he gets paid at least helps a little having to get up so early.

As long as you get to Las in time for all your stuff it doesn't matter too much what route you take. It's so nice that you get to fly free too, I know you still have to be concerned about getting seats for sure but you've been pretty lucky with that.

Bill is self employed so he works when he wants to. He was here today and got the house finished. It looks really good. Tomorrow he is going to do the deck. He thinks he can get it all done in one day. I hate to have him finish everything, I like him here. I go out and talk to him several times while he is working and when he is done he comes in and sits and talks for a while. I have been getting a hug or two before he leaves. I will miss those too. I was thinking I have felt alot better and happier since he has been coming. It's pretty lonely here all the time by myself. He has other work to do both up north and down in Elmhurst so I don't know when I will see him again. I might have to ask him!

Luckily I had signed up last spring for a river boat ride in Moline, IL on the Mississippi on Wednesday. If Bill wasn't done I was just going to skip it but now looks like I will probably go. Its through the bus company I always go on Van Galder.

My sister was going to call and make an appointment for that biopsy today, going to be saying a bunch more prayers that it turns out to be nothing.

Sharon

Sharon, I will also put your sister and continue to say prayers for her as well that all comes out OK for her.

Yes, to a certain extent Bill is self employed as far as working for the various races. But his regular job is working for the Lansing PD as a crossing guard. So that means he has to get up early, then he comes back to take a nap and then does it once again in the afternoon.

So when we fly stand-by we have to go for the best flights that we will get on. Since all of the direct flights are over booked we are going to connect through SFO. Sunday we are open. Monday we have a tour. Tuesday we have a tour. Wednesday we have a tour and in the evening we are going to see Celine Dion. Thursday is the banquet and Friday we fly home.

So tomorrow is our bocce banquet. Bill is in charge of setting that up and taking care of handing out all of the prize money.

So we got a lot of rain very early this morning and there was light fog as well. All is burned out now and it looks like it will be a nice day. With the rain we got I do not know if he will be able to do the deck today as it may be too wet.

Well that will be real nice to go on a bus trip to take a boat ride. At least the weather will corporate.

Kathy

Oh I meant the Bill the carpenter is self employed in answer to you saying you were surprised he worked on Sunday. He was back to day and got most of the deck done, could have gotten it all done but ran out of stain. So he left a little early to order more so he could come back tomorrow. I did call and cancel my trip, I've done it before anyway so no big deal.

We had some rain either last night or early this morning and the deck was wet but by 11 am it had dried off because of the hot sun on the south side.

Your trip sounds like a whole lot of fun and busy. Glad you got tickets for Celine I know you wanted to see her. She has a terrific voice!

Sharon

Sharon, I figured that Bill was independent. I just meant that Sunday is customary a day set aside for rest. But it is good for you to have the company around. I also figured that if he did not finish yesterday you would cancel the trip to be around today.

So we had rain during the night early Tuesday morning, and then the rest of the day became hot and sunny. I have not checked the weather for LAS just yet. So today temps in the 80's and about the same as yesterday.

So tonight is the banquet and the awards for first, second third, most bocce's and last place. Bill will pay out $700 in prize money. After Bill gets off of work this afternoon he will pick up the cake and then go to the club to make sure all is ready.

Yes, that will be the highlight of our trip for us to see Celine. I am so looking forward to it. I know Bill is not, but is going alone with it to keep me happy.

Bill has been elevated to VP for Conventions. He was the assistant VP and now the VP.

Enjoy today,

Kathy

That should be fun tonight, and you did finish in the money! Add another title to Bill's name, (VP) he seems to enjoy and be good at so many things!

It was really hot again today, looks like summer is back for a while. The deck and everything is done and looks good. We have agreed to be friends and try and do a few things together once in awhile. So I was happy he felt that way too.

Met the girls tonight, well two of them didn't come but there was still 3 of us there. I didn't know they were cooking so ate before I went. They had made chicken breast with teriyaki sauce and melted cheese. It looked good but I didn't eat any too full. One of the gals and I decided to go see the Elvis show at the Fireside theater sometime next month. We will go on a Thursday for the buffet dinner.

Hope you had a good time!

Sharon

Sharon, everyone was doing nothing but complimenting Bill on how well he ran the banquet and distributed all of the prize money. I thought Bill was sick, as he went to bed as soon as he got home at 8:30. I got home a 1/2 hour later and usually when he goes to bed so early, that means he is not feeling too good. He was just extremely tired. Usually he gets home in the morning at 9 and takes a nap for 3 to 4 hours before going back in the afternoon.

He did not take a nap yesterday and was working on changing our travel plans and flight info. So that was the major reason for him being so tired. I always get so stressed out when traveling and he is always so very calm. He is so clam I just get upset in seeing his calmness. I really shouldn't though.

So that is good that everything is all finished and that you both have agreed to remain friends, and to keep the door wide open.

Yes, summer is returning in the fall. After having a mild summer, now we are getting the extreme heat. So stay cool and relax.

After all the times you have been going to that place, you should know by now that more often than none, they are going to have something good to eat. So just do not get anything to eat knowing that you will be going there. The owner sure does take good care of you all.

Kathy

Very nice that everything went so well, Bill deserves to be complimented for his good job! Sometimes the right person gets the job and looks like this was the case for the banquet.

I think it's great he does all the travel arrangements. I always had to do it and thought how much easier it would be to be able to not have to worry about it. It's so nice that he remains calm too. Bill, my husband had this amazing ability also.

He has a busy schedule so I can see why he would get tired once in awhile. He is probably looking forward to this trip you have coming up to relax.

Had a meeting with my stock guy this afternoon. The market has been doing very well so I took some of the profit and put it in some safer places. Just looking ahead so that I don't lose too much if the market drops. Also sold some that weren't doing to well to cover the taxes on the good ones.

I have to take my friend's who's son had the wedding, parents to the airport tomorrow, they are going back home to Florida. They are leaving out of the Rockford airport so not such a big deal to get them there. Only thing is I only drove it once so hoping to remember how to get there. I can put the address into my car's GPS as a backup.

Friday tomorrow, WW weigh in day. Bill the carpenter had such a healthy diet that he inspired me to try and eat better also. So we will see how that worked.

Sharon

Sharon, good luck on WW today. Let us keep our figures crossed.

Another hot day going to 95 once again. Now Bill for the second night in a row he went to bed early once again long before me. I am starting to get real worried about him getting sick. But he assured me that this heat is just knocking him out being outside for the period he does each day. This heat can knock us all out.

So Bill was actually Assistant VP and now he has been elevated to Executive VP For Conventions. Our travel plans for getting there is real crazy. I hope and pray that all goes well for us tomorrow. Coming back no problem, we just have to get there tomorrow. Easier said than done.

It should not be too very bad today taking your friends to Rockford. Much better than going to O'Hare.

I would be interested to hear about this fantastic diet that Bill the carpenter is doing. If it is working very well, then why not give it a go. Certainly what we are doing just now is not fully working. Up one week and down the next. He must have felt your frustration.

Stay cool,

Kathy

Got to them to the airport just fine, not much traffic at all even in Rockford. Stopped at the mall and of course had to stop at Fannie May counter. My purchase weighed .65 of a pound. I told the guy (who I have seen several times) I bet I will gain more than that weighs. He said probably. Then he told me he had just joined WW. I told him I was a member and that today when I weighed in I had lost 2.2 pounds, yes its true!! So we talked about all the ways and things you can do with zucchini. He was a nice guy, I wished him luck.

I was going to meet some friends at the dance place for dinner so about 6pm took my shower. When I was done, found the shower would not shut off. Nothing I could do to turn it off. So I had to call a plumber, an emergency plumber who's minimum charge was $202.50 an hour. Had to do it so he got there and shut the water of to the whole house, so now I know where that is, didn't before. Then he pulled the handle of and replaced the cartridge, put the handle back and turned on the water. It took all of 15 minutes. I told him that and he said, when you're good, you're good, ha ha. So I did make the dinner with friends and did a few line dances too.

He is not on any specific diet, just eats really healthy fresh things like salmon or sushi and salads packed with all kinds of vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, dried cranberries, seeds and nuts for dinner. For breakfast lots of fresh fruits, turmeric, cinnamon, honey, soy or almond milk on some kind of cereal. He says he stops at the grocery store every couple of days for the fresh stuff.

Thursday night I made a broiled piece of cod, sliced fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and a dish of spinach with vinegar and this morning was down the 2.2 pounds. I finally hit my 10 pound mark. It's only taken me 9 months to do it. Trying now to see how much food I can eat with little or no points, but still be filling and healthy too.

Enjoy your trip hope all goes well with the flights both out and back.

Sharon