(NEW) SMART SPENDING CHAT THREAD

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Why are there mosquitoes in my house and yard in DECEMBER!?!? This is just wrong.

We're fundraising for the cat rescue on Facebook. Some mean idiot shot her in the back of her head with a pellet gun at close range. She's stable now, on meds, surgery on her head/eye (to remove the pellet) once the swelling has gone down.

My wonderful DH is gone.  Paid bills today. Fed squirrels. Took out the trash. It's now 10:04pm and I'm looking/waiting for Jack so I can snag him and bring him inside.

[TheOtherMe]

Sounds like something Lucy would do.

My sister and I decided to postpone dad's hearing aid check up from tomorrow to next Wednesday.  It's just going to be too cold to have him outside.  It's a 30 minute drive and he's so frail.  If anything happened car wise, it could be the end of him.  When I called to reschedule, receptionist said they had lots of cancellations today and tomorrow.  The elderly have no business being outdoors when the wind chill is in the minus teens.  He keeps his place at 80 degrees so it feels even colder to him.

Sister convinced him to buy some food because it's supposed to snow Friday in to Saturday and he may not get his meals delivered and nobody may want to go out Saturday to take him to Dairy Queen.

[Sharon]

We have the possibility of a couple of inches of snow tomorrow and overnight temps are to be in the low 20's.  That is cold for us and we don't even get snow every year.  The mountains are getting huge amounts of snow which is good.  They need it and we need it since the mountain snow will fill the reservoirs that we use for irrigation etc.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Never did find Jack last night. Saw him sleeping in the backyard today. 10:10pm and can't find him tonight. Augh!

Trimmed some bushes today ... brought up the trash cans ... been eating up leftovers in the fridge. Still fundraising for the cat rescue, and processing applications.  Been hearing from my wonderful DH by phone.

We're forecast for an inch of rain on Thursday. (We only get an average of 11" per year ... so that would be amazing ... especially since we haven't even hit the average the last 5-6 years.) I'll believe it when I see it. Think Thursday is laundry day.

[TheOtherMe]

Lucy spent this very cold day following the sun around the house.  It must have some warmth to it even when it's about 5 degrees outside as she followed it all around the living room.

Tomorrow I have to take my dad grocery shopping since it looks like nobody may be able to get to him on Friday or Saturday.  That would include his Senior Meals and the meals the church brings him on Friday afternoons.  It's still very cold and will be tomorrow but we will be going 5 minutes from his house and I will drop him off at the door and park the car.  Pick him up the same way when it is this cold. 

I'm happy my sister convinced him just how much snow and blowing snow we could get Friday and Saturday and helped him write a grocery list.

[TheOtherMe]

Sister made out dad's grocery list.  I think when she wrote down ham, she meant more than 3 slices.  That is what he bought.  The look on butcher's face. 

[Sharon]

Dec 15, 2016 13:10:10 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Sister made out dad's grocery list.  I think when she wrote down ham, she meant more than 3 slices.  That is what he bought.  The look on butcher's face. 

I can see his reasoning.  One for Friday, one for Saturday and one for Sunday.  Then on Monday his meals will resume.

We got snow yesterday and now it is just hanging around messing up the streets etc.  It has quit snowing but is too cold to melt.  This weekend is supposed to be even colder.  I can hear cars on my neighborhood street crunching the ridges of slush that have refrozen.  Getting to work tomorrow should be interesting.  Today wasn't too bad.  It took me about 10-12 minutes longer than normal but I went about 45 minutes earlier and there wasn't hardly anyone on the streets.  I only hit 2 red lights the whole time.  Just slow and steady and go there fine.

❤ mollymouser ❤ has Jack showed up?

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Jack showed up the very next day ... brought him in last night.... brought  him in again tonight. Bad Kitty! Bad Kitty!  It's pouring rain here, so about 4:30pm I opened the front door and called him and he came RUNNING in!

We're getting rain rain rain rain. We need it.

I am officially tired of my Chinese food leftovers. Note to self: order less next time.

Petco adoption center tomorrow ... at least 2 adoptions scheduled.

[TheOtherMe]

Dec 15, 2016 21:55:28 GMT -5 Sharon said:

Dec 15, 2016 13:10:10 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Sister made out dad's grocery list.  I think when she wrote down ham, she meant more than 3 slices.  That is what he bought.  The look on butcher's face. 

I can see his reasoning.  One for Friday, one for Saturday and one for Sunday.  Then on Monday his meals will resume.

I think I was hoping that he was going back to eating ham sandwiches for his evening meal instead of splitting his noon meal in half.  I was wrong. 

It's snowing.  Supposed to get 3-5 inches.  Problem is that it's the light, fluffy snow and the wind is to be over 20 mph starting tomorrow afternoon.  That means drifts.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Jack the cat's newest thing .... to hide (over the fence, in his old yard) while I call and call and call him. I whistle. I open a can of cat food. I make the sound of opening and closing the Catio door. I wait. Nothing. I wait longer. Nothing.

So I drop my clothes and pitter-patter to the hot tub. Open lid. Slowly get in. Get ALL the way in and just start to relax and ..... you guessed it ... Jack shows up. I don't want to risk him wandering off (going to be 31 degrees tonight), so I get out ... close the lid ... and quickly pitter-patter back to the Catio to let him inside. Now it seems like too much work to head back out to the hot tub. This is the exact thing that happened last night AND tonight! CATS!  Oh well, maybe I'll try hot tubbing later.

We had four adoptions at Petco today: Cosmo, Sammy, Faith and Gingersnap. It was a ridiculously hectic day there ... and when we first arrived there this morning, the Petco store's heater was stuck ON and it was about 85-90 in there. We flung open all the doors, cranked up all the fans, and I spent a few hours wishing I were in shorts and a tank top instead of shorts and a t-shirt. (It's always warm in there  ... but today was positively tropical. Ugh!) Eventually, the heat got turned off (or at least down) and things cooled off to a more reasonable and balmy temperature.

Driving home, I was listening to local Talk Radio and they were doing a Marine Corps Toys for Tots Drive. An adult man whose Marine dad had just died said he would match a $100 donation. I knew I had the cash and I was driving close by, so I decided to turn in and donate. There were tears in his eyes when he said thank you. I told him my wonderful DH was in the military, so I understood. It was a touching moment. I drove home with tears in my eyes, glad that I made him feel better.

Jack is now hanging out across the family room from me in his heated cat bed. Megan is next to me in HER heated bed. (Mac and Cheeto are locked up in another room... Megan tolerates Jack pretty well with supervision.

[TheOtherMe]

Since doctor said I can drink almond milk, Lucy likes almond milk.  So far, it hasn't made her sick.

It's been snowing and blowing for about 24 hours.  Neighbor hasn't done a thing to my drive.  I'm supposed to take dad to lunch tomorrow.  I have a drift behind my garage door.  I am not happy.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

We're forecast for the low 30s for the next few nights.... brrr.   (Don't worry, Jack is currently snoozing in a heated cat bed in the family room.)

We filled bird feeders today, did around-the-house stuff, AND my wonderful DH skimmed a gazillion leaves out of the pool. We also did some grocery shopping.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Sunday night ... Jack is happily sleeping in a heated bed.... yay! 

Still fundraising for the cat rescue ... and processing apps .... paid some bills today.

We signed up for the free 30-day trial of Netflix so we could see the first season (10-episodes) of The Crown. (We're on episode 2)

There's a new game on the forums ... this time, we're shoveling snowflakes.

[Sharon]

Off to work for me.  Unfortunately we have not transitioned out of the cold air as quickly as they said we would so we have freezing rain this morning.

[Sharon]

Ha Ha just found a snowflake right over the top of Molly's snowflake count.  Guess they just want to jump into her shovel and join all their friends.

[catsareme]

I must be doing something wrong, I don't see snowflakes anywhere....

[catsareme]

Oh, I found a snowflake. Yay, it takes so little to make me happy!

[Sharon]

Dec 20, 2016 18:54:58 GMT -5 catsareme said:

Oh, I found a snowflake. Yay, it takes so little to make me happy!

If you find 5 snow flakes you will get a little red or green pinwheel candy down in the lower right hand corner of your screen.  If the candy is green there is a snowflake some where on the page.  If it is red no snowflakes.  Once you get 20 snowflakes then you will start get multiples added to your count.  Happy Hunting.

[catsareme]

Thank you for the info Sharon.

[Sharon]

It looks like once again I will manage to pull off Christmas.  Somehow every year I manage to make it on time.  Found out today that the office is closing at noon on Friday.  Having the extra time is very welcome indeed.

[TheOtherMe]

Did anybody miss me?  My internet went down Sunday morning and finally got it fixed yesterday.  Supposedly getting a credit on my account.  Still not happy.  Sad thing is an ISP with any speed has a monopoly here.  This ISP is the only one that allows me to stream.

Had dad to the hearing aid place Tuesday.  He said it was a total waste of his time. 

He hasn't been hearing well and we knew it.  Seems he doesn't clean his hearing aids, so one was clogged with wax.  The other ear was clogged with wax.  BIL took him yesterday to get the wax out of his ear.  We go back to waste his time in January. 

[debthaven]

I did!

[dee27]

Dec 22, 2016 18:42:13 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Did anybody miss me?  My internet went down Sunday morning and finally got it fixed yesterday.  Supposedly getting a credit on my account.  Still not happy.  Sad thing is an ISP with any speed has a monopoly here.  This ISP is the only one that allows me to stream.

Had dad to the hearing aid place Tuesday.  He said it was a total waste of his time. 

He hasn't been hearing well and we knew it.  Seems he doesn't clean his hearing aids, so one was clogged with wax.  The other ear was clogged with wax.  BIL took him yesterday to get the wax out of his ear.  We go back to waste his time in January. 

What I learned about independent hearing aid stores is that the personnel know how to sell the product but not service the individual customers. With my dad, we got the best advice from the hospital's full-service hearing center that had an audiologist and doctor on staff. A university hospital that does research on hearing problems is a better resource.

[Sharon]

TheOtherMe glad you were able to make it back.

[TheOtherMe]

Dec 22, 2016 19:57:37 GMT -5 dee27 said:

Dec 22, 2016 18:42:13 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Did anybody miss me?  My internet went down Sunday morning and finally got it fixed yesterday.  Supposedly getting a credit on my account.  Still not happy.  Sad thing is an ISP with any speed has a monopoly here.  This ISP is the only one that allows me to stream.

Had dad to the hearing aid place Tuesday.  He said it was a total waste of his time. 

He hasn't been hearing well and we knew it.  Seems he doesn't clean his hearing aids, so one was clogged with wax.  The other ear was clogged with wax.  BIL took him yesterday to get the wax out of his ear.  We go back to waste his time in January. 

What I learned about independent hearing aid stores is that the personnel know how to sell the product but not service the individual customers. With my dad, we got the best advice from the hospital's full-service hearing center that had an audiologist and doctor on staff. A university hospital that does research on hearing problems is a better resource.

That may be, but that is a 2 hour drive that nobody is going to make.  Dad will be 93 in January.  Mom and dad chose this company because it was in their local mall and mom knew the people running it.  Same company is located here.

There was all new staff on Tuesday.  I liked the audiologist that was there before, but not the receptionist.  She couldn't figure out how to save appointments so you would get there and somebody else would also be there for the same time.  That meant waiting.  I had called headquarters when this happened for the 3rd time and I was seeing other people having the same problem with her while we waited.

[TheOtherMe]

Dec 22, 2016 20:28:59 GMT -5 Sharon said:

TheOtherMe glad you were able to make it back.

I was having withdrawal symptoms.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Howdy ho ho ho!

I expect Friday and Saturday to be literally and figuratively INSANE at the Petco Adoption Center. People cannot walk in and adopt (an online application is required and there's got to be time enough for the adoption committee to check out their apps / stalk them online) ~ so THAT always pisses people off. Then we have the people who have been approved coming in to pick up or pick out kittens. Then we have some who adopted earlier this week coming in Saturday to pick up their kittens (we hold them for Christmas!)

My wonderful DH has a "man cold." 'nuff said. (grin) He's got the next four days off ~ so that's good. We've got rain forecast for Friday and Saturday morning. Hope things are passed and dry by Saturday evening ... we're putting luminaries out on curb on our street this year. (A couple of neighbors are organizing things ... it will look SO BEAUTIFUL!)

  HAPPY HOLIDAYS     

[TheOtherMe]

Hope the "man cold" goes away soon.

We had snow today.  Big heavy wet flakes.  Don't think it amounted to more than 3 inches or so.

I take dad to lunch tomorrow and Monday.  I drive him to sister's on Christmas.  She is good at handing out orders.  I am not good at taking them.

She has been carrying on about "my family" again and how she is only inviting dad because she feels that she has to.  Of course, I am his ride.  I really think I have had enough of not being her family and will not attend any more of her "my family" dinners because I am not her family, according to her.

[TheOtherMe]

I really do not want to go to my sister's house tomorrow.  More drama from her on FB.  It's not going to turn out well no matter what I do, but I will be happier at home than going someplace I am truly not wanted. 

She resents me and dad intruding, but she will be mad if I don't take him.  Can't win.

[Sharon]

Arghhh!!!!! Merry Christmas to me.  My car will only go in reverse.  Yes this is my brand new 2016 car that I just bought a couple months ago because I wanted a reliable car.  This better be covered under warranty.