Asheville is a cool town..Mom lives about an hour from there and oddly enough I also live about an hour but that is going on the highway vs having to go small towns. So different directions but not so different time wise

M and I are going on vacation on the 26th. Dad is helping pay for a rental. Which I have to book tomorrow I guess. And we are going to Fl and the beach. M would like to go somewhere else some time for vacation and maybe next year but I am going home damnit and going to be lazy. Also we don't have to pay for a place to stay

And god help us but we are taking both cats again. Duchess I'm not worried about but Penny I am. She has thyroid disease, she's on meds but doesn't seem to be doing that great. She pees all the time. But we can't leave her here because she won't get her medicine . My plan is to get a plastic tub, line it wiht puppy pads, put her carrrier (also wiht puppy pads in it ) in that to hopefully contain any spillage. Even withholding water I'm not sure how well she will do because she always pees in the car

A ten hour drive is a long time even if you haven’t recently had surgery, Teppy!!

I had a somewhat annoying day—had a date and then a trainer appointment. Made plans for the date up north like 30 min from here because the trainer is north. Only I fucked up the appointment on my calendar and she was texting me asking if I was coming, three hours before I thought the appointment was. Doh! And then still drove north for the date…and she canceled just as I was walking in, four minutes early. Booooo.

It's a great day to celebrate Calli! Happiest birthday wishes. May the day bring joy and spoils, and may this year be all you hope for and more.

Very annoying to waste a day that way, meara. Boooo indeed.

Happy Birthday, Calli!!

Great to see you, Sophia, and smooth recovery and continued very best outcome vibes your way.

Ooh, a flea sighting back there. Hi!

We had a lovely trip to Pittsburgh -- really cool town. Much museuming, a Pitt student theater production which was great, lots of good food, and DH had a really great night catching up with his old friend from college and beyond days, which, frankly, was worth the whole trip. Five stars. Would go back.

Wishing you all good vacations, healthy outcomes, and general positive vibes your way.

Oh, bummer, meara! I hate days like that

Good luck with the cat, askye, have fun on vacation!

I'm heading to my 40th HS reunion on Thursday. It will probably be fine but I have a bit of dread because I don't have any tidy answers to "so what have you been doing for the last 40 years" at all. I have not kept up with any of these people, really - a few on FB but just if the algorithm decides we should see each other, y'know? I do have a dress I am happy to wear to the "gala" on Saturday, and a blue fleece jacket (from work) that is pretty much the right blue to wear to the homecoming football game on Friday.

This'll be the longest my parents will have gone without a supporting relative in the house since my mom's fall, too. Mom is doing really well, she can pick up light things with her right hand already, but she can't write or carry anything upstairs unless it's in a pocket or pour hot water for tea, stuff like that. My dad wasn't feeling well yesterday and pretty much slept all day and if that happens while I'm gone they'll be really limited. Hopefully he'll stay relatively healthy.

Oh, we need to come up with some spectacular tales of your adventures the last few decades.

I'm flying to FL on Wednesday and back again on Saturday, before driving home a week later. My sister is in the hospital, likely to have surgery for a large kidney stone today or tomorrow. She is in pretty bad shape. Bad infection, and other concerns. My hope is to be there for her transition home after surgery. It's the only window I could come up with so close to my return. Her daughter has excuses for not going, as usual.

Happy Birthday, Calli!

Laura, I hope everything goes well with your sister.

Happy birthday, Calli! They say you learn something new every day, but mine are usually not as big as this. Edited because I should summarize a bit...I wrote about "Grace", which is a Midwestern art staple, and, indeed, State Photo of Minnesota, but not in the way you might expect. Or at least, I didn't, and I'm sure Grandma wouldn't. [link]

Happy Birthday Calli!

Today was my dad's birthday, so it's always a bit of a bittersweet occasion for me now.

I finally assembled the string trimmer I bought last Christmas yesterday. The battery was in a plastic bag that was oily inside, so I'm letting it dry out for a few days before hooking it up to the charger and live current. Assuming said battery doesn't melt, I should be able to tell if I can use trim a couple of overgrown shrubs or if need to make other arrangements.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, y’all! I celebrated yesterday with family. After dinner out, we went back to my nephew’s for ice cream cake and presents. My 5-year old great nephew was all, “This one’s from us. You like legos, right?” He hasn’t quite figured out that whole “secret” thing yet. But I was very happy to receive a Lego flowering cactus.

I’m also very happy to see Sophia’s pixels and that Steph is getting to the seaside.