Come one, come all, share your daily thoughts, conversational chit-chat, maybe a joke or two and all the little things that really don't need its own thread.

There are plenty of seats available, so don't be shy and come chat!

View the previous thread here and we can start where we left off!

Happy chatting!

My daily thoughts for the last couple of weeks would have been totally unprintable because it has been ridiculously hot and hasn't rained - and so I've had to keep going out to water both my front and back gardens all the time.
And heat has a very bad effect on my health

I'm definitely not as tough as some of you USA-ers, eh ??

I won't send you any hugs Mad since that would make you hotter but here's some flowers that don't need watering.

Now that is a very kind gesture, thank you, oldbroad

Mad, I can't do with the hot weather either. It's been very warm here though I don't think our temps have been as high as yours. It's the humidity that gets to me, I feel I'm melting away to a wee greasy spot!
Ana, I hope you have fully recovered now.
Hi Oldbroad and all who may stop by later!

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room. Had a great time last night. We met up for karaoke with some friends we haven't seen in years. Lunch and Netflix with a friend today.

Mad, I hate the heat too. I just don't do well in it.

We are having a heat spell here but with an occasional shower... which is not helping our farmer trying to get his second cut of hay cut and bailed... which is what we are waiting for.

Had to start watering the tomatoes yesterday. The optimum for them is at least 1" of rain per week. I was weeding and it was SO dry. Hard to believe just 10 days ago it did nothing but rain every day!

Heading in town to get groceries today. Very hot again.

According to our weather forecast, we will be starting our "excessive heat warning" days on Wednesday. I also hate the heat. It makes me so tired that I don't feel like doing anything.

We aren't having any heat yet because the San Francisco Bay cools us off nicely, but we didn't get 1/2 the rain we should have over the winter on this entire coast. There is talk of water reductions, as the reservoirs did not fill with snow melt-water. Been through it before. Not water rationing, but voluntary cutbacks by homeowners and businesses. The parks will be allowed to dry up. It is sad to know there will be no gardening this year.

We're having a beautiful day here, but the wind is coming up this afternoon so it's a no-go for boating again. Still, it's lovely out there, so I'll pot up some plants I bought the other day.

Where you are sounds like when Rosaboobie was living on Sanday in the Orkney Islands! The wind there was constant and gale force most of the time!

Drac, I did not know that Rosaboobie had left the Orkney Islands. Where did she move to?

She's been living in a small community called Rogart in Northern Scotland for a couple of years now. She found a gorgeous home in the Scottish countryside!

Oh, that sounds wonderful! I would love to live somewhere like that. I'm happy for her!

Hello everyone and good evening Today was (in theory) supposed to be an easier week at work ... so much for theory

Have a wonderful evening

My guy had a really good day today so we were able to get out for a bite to eat at the big resort down the street -- their pub is huge and can easily accommodate the spacing requirements, so we were pretty confident it would be okay. Afterwards we drove south down the coastal highway for a while until he started to feel uncomfortable. It was just nice to get out for a while.

Yes, our wind is persistent here. It's partly because we're in a very narrow stretch between Vancouver Island and the Mainland, so the wind just howls through here.

And of course, so does the water, since the channel is so narrow and all that water goes through there twice a day as the tides go in and out. At the narrowest point, just before the channel turns north, the water whips through so fast it creates 20-foot whirlpools and water at different depths going in different directions. They aren't super deep, so if you're careful AND confident you can just blast around them (which we do). But it's not for the faint of heart because if you panic and hesitate, your boat can start spinning around.

And it used to be much worse through that narrow point because there was a massive rock -- really an underwater mountain -- in the channel, called Ripple Rock because it was just under the surface and created only a ripple so you couldn't see it. Many ships smashed into it, even into the 20th century, so in the 1950's it was blown up by tunneling underneath it and placing dynamite. It was thought to be the largest non-nuclear detonation on earth at the time, and still ranks up there.

My goodness, hagatha !!

I think I would have been pretty nervous about dealing with whirlpools 😱

I'm with Mad, hagatha! Glad you were able to get out for a bit though!

Yes. Me, too. Forgot to say so !!

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room. It's raining here this morning which we need desperately.

Wow, hagatha! I had no idea you lived in such an interesting place! Adventures abound and glad your hubby had a good day and you could get out for awhile.

I've actually driven the boat though that water a few times myself and the first time it was truly You have to push forward, because you can't turn around in it.

There's another very narrow spot called Surge Narrows, where the water is about ten feet higher at one end. Again, very narrow, You literally ride down the shute to water that is lower. But throughout the islands, the water can get pretty darned scary. There are no boat rentals around here for that reason. People kept getting into trouble. But the fast water brings all sorts of goodies into the area for the salmon and the whales. We have giant octopuses here, too, and there is a big diving industry.

It's a great outdoorsy are. The town itself is deadly dull, but we have Courtenay and Comox nearby, with some sophistication and good places to eat, so it's al good. My husband loves it here, so it's been worth it.

same thing.

same thing.

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room. Dinner and karaoke with friends tonight.

Getting ready for the heat blast tomorrow and Friday. Supposed to be ghastly. Mostly watering new perennials I planted earlier this spring. The tomatoes were watered over a couple of days, so they should be OK.

Was thinking about you, Marian, and wondering how bad it is where you are?

The heat blast is supposed to start kicking in today, Drac. Thanks for thinking of me! I just hope the power stays on the next few days.

Apart from that, I wish everyone a pleasant Wednesday.

I've been watching the weather channels and that massive heat wave across parts of the US looks deadly. Stay cool, everyone. Stay inside if you can.

Ana, you've got more patience than me, and I'm sure dealing with multiple dogs calls for keeping them all on a routine that works for you. Admittedly, I've spoiled Huey since I've no one else to spoil. When he was young, I was in better physical condition and we used to walk at least a mile or so a day. Things have changed to the point that I've had to rely on others to give him all the exercise he needs. His appetite has increased with loss of muscle tone. He wakes up ravenous. If I ignore him, he goes back to bed for a few minutes than comes back. I've got wood floors and I can hear his nails clicking away. Earliest he's woken me is 4 am. Told him to go away and got another hour before I have in.

Update on PT. Similar to what happened a few years ago, nothing is working for my hip. I'm not feeling the stretches. PT referred me back to chiro. Saw him this morning and he determined my hips are off balance. The right one is higher then the left, giving my organs only half the space on that side than on my left. The muscular 'knot' they been trying to loosen is actually my bottom rib. When they couldn't tell the difference is unclear right now. Chiro said he could see hip difference when I walked away from him. Misalignment wouldn't not up on scan because it is taken while lying down. Sooo, continue with PT to realign foot and balance issues. Back to chiro get hip back in place. I had been doing much better until quarantine hit. PT said my weight gain from last year is typical. The 'technical' term being used is 'quarantine fifteen'.

I don't envy you butterfly babe. I hope you can get yourself straightened up!

Trying to flush orange water from my plumbing pipes today as they did some work somewhere that had our water off for awhile. Other than that, nothing to report from here.

Have a great day all!

Hello all ... happy to see everyone survived today's high temps ... not so bad here but mid to upper 90s tomorrow but not as bad as out West ... y'all stay safe out there

See you tomorrow

same thing.

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room.

Things have cooled down a bit here, thank goodness! Hagatha, that sounds scary but exciting at the same time! Glad you could get out with hubby.
Butterflybabe, hope you can see some improvement soon.
Oh my, those high temperatures you all get would kill me! Hope you can all keep cool.
Some ironing to do today so best get on with it. Shouldn't be too bad since things have cooled down some.

Well, we were going out today, but my husband took a fall on the stairs. Fortunately he just missed the last step, but he landed on his hip and elbow and banged his head. Being stubborn, he refuses to go to the hospital to have it checked. I have him propped up in the living room in front of a soccer game with a bowl of ice cream and he's happy enough, but if he can't walk by later on today I'll have to take him to the hospital for an x-ray. Hopefully it's just bad bruising, but because his cancer is in his spine there's always a concern. In the meantime, he can shuffle around in my office chair, which has wheels.

Oh, no! Hope it turns out to be nothing serious.

Ditto what Draclvr wrote!

Me too!

Oh dear, Hagatha, gentle hugs

Hagatha, keeping hubby in my thoughts and prayers

Survived Friday's eve at work today and wishing you all a wonderful afternoon and evening

Sweet Tea for the break room

It's so hot here, I've already switch to a cold frosty beer! Whew! We are having our old falling apart pool deck railing replaced with nice white vinyl and black metal posts. The guy working out there said if it wasn't nice and shady, he'd have given up awhile ago! I worked on the south side of the house on weeds for about 45 minutes and thought I was going to die! Supposed to be even worse tomorrow. I feel for all the people who have to work out in this heat.

Thanks, everyone. I'm really hoping he hasn't fractured his hip. If he has to go into hospital I wouldn't be able to visit, so if it comes to that we'll get home care instead.

I am very glad that you would be able to get home care if necessary, hagatha. And I sure hope he has not fractured anything.

Drac, we are indeed lucky that we don't have to be out and about in this heat. Our thermometer hit 96 degrees in the shade today and it is supposed to be hotter tomorrow.

hagatha, sending positive vibes to your hubby! Hope he is just bruised.

Another hot day here. Long work day but good to home in the AC now. Lots of tongues hanging on my park run dogs today.

Have a great day everyone! Almost Friday!

same thing.

Winfrey, how is your horse doing?

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room. Hagatha, positive thoughts for your husband. Working the kitchen for our dinner at the Eagles tonight, Trivia to follow. We had to change the day this week as the Trivia hosts will be out of town this weekend.

Good morning, Sumatra Dark Roast and Scottish Breakfast Tea in the Break Room. Hagatha, best wishes for husband. Projects on the docket today at home. T.G.I.F.

I'll take some of that Sumatra Dark Roast black!

Today will be simply an effort to stay cool. 101°F predicted, but I know it's much hotter other places out west. My step-son works for one of the huge power plants here and he is working double shifts to keep the air conditioners running in east central Missouri!

Stay hydrated, Marian. Those temps are not anything to sneeze at.

Hagatha, hope hubby is doing well, or at least better.

It's hot and humid here too. Good day to stay inside or lounge at the lake

I'll be reading Oathbringer. Ya'll have a great day

Yum, Dark Roast. I'll need vats of that this morning.

No change in the Spousal Unit's condition except that now he seems to be enjoying being waited on. He still can't walk, though, but from his description of the pain he may have pulled a groin muscle from twisting. He refuses to go to the hospital so as long as he isn't in too much pain I'll let him be for now. He has an MRI scheduled for next week anyway, and at that point he'll have to get help one way or the other, and then we'll see what's what.

He has a new oncologist, a young woman who thinks his chronic pain may be an infection right on the tumor that nobody has noticed or treated. She saw it on the scan he had last week. Also, it looks as though the cancer is still just creeping along, still very slow-growing and contained. She wants to put him on a different chemo, so there may be some life left in old guy after all.

That sounds like pretty encouraging news! Sometimes a new set of eyes can make a big difference. Was hoping to hear he was OK after the fall.

I think that sounds very sensible, hagatha, to keep hubby home until next week's MRI. And hopefully it is only a muscle pull.

L4L, if I were drinking any more water, I would wash away! It is now 98 degrees on the thermometer in the shade, so today is definitely hotter than yesterday. Keep cool and enjoy your book. I may check out that series one of these days.

And Drac, the folks in east central Missouri should all be very grateful for your stepson!

Drac, my husband simply refuses to give up. Our GP, who also administers chemo here at our small hospital, says he's never seen someone survive the cumulative weight of the things my husband has survived. He has a lot to live for, it's that simple.

We're actually having some warm weather here, at least warm for us. It's kind of muggy and I'm actually wearing sandals, which is rare for me. Normally I have icicle feet.

Yesterday we had a parade of ocean life. A pod of Orca going north, a lone humpback performing tail slaps and other aerobatics, and then another pod of Orca heading south. I suspect the tail-slapping was a warning from the humpback to its fellow humpies that there were Transient Orca about -- they will try to eat a baby humpback, so the adults would know to gather around it.

I'm a firm believer in that mind over matter thing! My 2nd husband outlived everything they told him too. He had too much to do and too much to see and do! Even when hospice was coming in, they had to make an appointment to see HIM because he was never home! I drove him to town at least 5 times a day to have coffee or a beer or talk to his buddies!

Your ocean sightings put my hummingbirds to shame! I would be so excited!

sports and chores.

Ah, but the hummingbirds are special, too. We had our 7-8 Anna's all winter, and now we have their babies and all of the Rufous hummingbirds and their offspring. Our neighbourhood probably has 15-20 feeders and the air is always buzzing with flying jewels.

The whales are pretty darned cool, though. Growing up in Toronto I never would have imagined living somewhere like this.

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break room. Shopping is on the agenda for today.

Good morning everyone ... dark roast and Scottish Breakfast tea in the break room. Wet day today with Claudette tracking by us today. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Dark Roast! I must have some with my cashew butter toast.

mmm....now that sounds delicious

Oh! Another pod of Orca, heading north. And they have an infant, too.

hagatha, you need to hook up a camera and send us a live feed .

same thing.

I second that.... would love to see that... lucky you hagatha!

My husband could do it, but he's completely bedridden right now. Or should I say, sofa-ridden. And eating cake.

We also had a lone humpback a while ago.

We are fortunate. We gave up living in Vancouver, which is a beautiful, busy, international city with great shopping and restaurants, to live here because we love the critters and the scenery. And we chose this house in particular because it sit about 50 feet above the water line.

What I really need to do is learn how to post photos here, because he has thousands of them. If anyone can give me some pointers on doing that, I'm sure I could post a little gallery.

You can't post photos here on the forum, but you can link to the photos where they are hosted.

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room. Breakfast out this morning. Rain here this morning, we really need it.

Good morning, Folgers Breakfast Blend and Irish Breakfast tea in the break room. Claudette passed last night and the tajin has stopped. We really needed the reason too.

Good Sunday morning to you all.

We are having a nice sunny day good for a nice walk and some work in the flower beds.

I will then do some TV to see the F1 race and then the golf.

Enjoy your day.

A nice sunny day, but we're still stuck inside.

Since it doesn't seem the hip is broken, I've been having my husband do exercises every half hour or so. He has slightly better mobility in the leg that was hurting. I think he has a really painful muscle pull rather than a fracture, since he is able to stand -- he can't get up, but once he's up he can stand. Anyway, I'll get him a walker tomorrow so he can start shuffling around the house -- my office chair's wheels are making grooves in the floor between the couch and the bathroom. ( I must confess, though, I hate that floor -- it's a rather garish red oak manufactured floor that faded to a nasty pumpkin colour -- so this might just be the excuse...)

Oh, my! That floor sounds horrid! Glad to hear hubby is getting slightly more mobile.

The original owners of this house had really, really bad taste. The walls were a sort of dark yellow and a colour we called Dried Blood, the floors are this lurid orange coloured oak, and the cabinets are fir that was finished with oil, so it, too is orange. The tiles are these horrible fake terra-cotta with grey and orange swirly bits. I like a nice, neutral, quiet home with shades of gray and off-white with splashes of colour, not this all-out assault on my senses.

The cabinets are lovely, even if they are orange, but the rest, well, it has to go. We had the place painted a few years back but it's time for the rest to make its way out the door.

How long have you been there? I think you've said, but I don't remember.

I wish I had gone for brighter, bolder colors when we moved into this house. It took ten years to find out how drab and dreary my mom thought her (blue, but way too light) bedroom was, even though I thought it looked nice (at the time). Living room, even more drab and dreary in a neutral color.

We're in our 7th year here. Because of John's illness, we've never really done any of the work we would otherwise have finished by now. Normally I would have repainted the house myself within a few months, but circumstances prevented that since there was the first surgery and then the chemo. We did hire a decorator to help us with our living room cabinetry, which is nice, and we installed a great big Valor fireplace, so the living room is lovely. At some point I'll have all the tiles replaced, but removing and replacing the engineered hardwood would be too disruptive right now.

I like a neutral palette with pops of colour. I have a beautiful Persian I bought about 25 years ago and it looks splendid with neutral walls and furniture.

Believe it or not, the sales video from our old house is still online! I miss that house terribly. It was my dream home. We just didn't want to stay in the Lower Mainland.

http://www.vopenhouse.ca/video/16463_Seascape/

Wow, just wow! That would be my dream home too. Just beautiful. I love everything about it. I'm with you on the calming neutrals with pops of color. I used teal in the living room and in the kitchen, I used a burnt orange. Loving it.

I tried the "pops of color". I still find it bland and dreary with the walls a neutral or too light color. Different strokes for different folks, as they say .

beautiful house and location Hagatha

Yes indeed!

court shows and even perry mason, and chores, starting with perry mason, america court with judge kevin ross, the people court, judge greg mathis, justice with judge mablean ,the verdict with judge hatchett, judge judy.

Beautiful home, hagatha!

I like color. My main living area is painted half lions mane and half burnt copper, my family room is thai tea and the kitchen is 3 shades of yellow. It looks like the sunset in my house and I love it. The beauty of having all the choices is that we can all find something we like!

That was my previous home, though. The one we have now is nothing special -- it just sits on the water. If I could have my old house here on this location, it would truly be heaven. But you can't have everything.

Looking at that video reminds me of just how much it broke my heart to sell that place. Then the people that bought it had serious buyer's remorse and it's been a rental ever since.

So, my guy finally admitted that his hip really isn't improving and so we had an ambulance take him to the hospital. I'm just waiting to h ear what's what, but I'm sure the only thing that will happen tonight is an X-Ray. Naturally I can't go with him because of COVID, although I have been admitted before when he's had medical treatments done. It seems like sometimes I'm an essential visitor and sometimes I'm not. Of course he should have gone three days ago, but the man is so stubborn.

Ewiee. Got some rain tonight. Seeped into our basement from our gangway but fortunately not enough in the sewers to set our ejector pump going off. Tornado sirens were going though so I got scared and have been sitting down in the basement with my brother for the last 2 hours.

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room. Hagatha, I hope it's not anything serious with hubby. Lunch and Netflix with a friend today. Meeting at the Eagles tonight.

With the bad weather we are having. I hope all is safe!

Good morning.

We will also get a lot of rain today and lithning starting this afternoon.

The lawn will be happy.

All have a nice day.

After the cold front that blew through her last night about midnight, I didn't know if our sweet corn was still going to be standing! Holy cow! I got up to let the Bloodhound in because Bella is scare of thunder. I tried to close the west door in the garage and had to disconnect a hose so I could close it. I had to push it closed with both hands and lean into it. There was stuff flying everywhere! One of the barn cats had come in there to get something to eat and was freaking out, so I let her in too. My other barn kitty who usually sleeps in the house at night was not to be found, so I guess she took shelter in the barn. She was waiting to come in this morning! Didn't get much rain out of it, but it is THIRTY degrees cooler!

Tornado sirens blaring here on and off for an hour last night. Crazy storms and so much rain. We are in a drought so rain is welcome, but not all at one time. I don't have a basement, so we just listened from bed. Tornados touched down where my daughter used to live. We are thankful all is well here.

oldbroad, hope you are safe!

off to work, much cooler today than the last few weeks! Have a happy day all!

So our good news is that my husband did not fracture his hip. It's just a very bad muscle pull. The trick now is to find pain medication that will allow him to walk, but unfortunately, he's been on heavy pain meds for so long it could be difficult to find anything that works.

He'll be so cranky about having to use a walker for a couple of weeks.

Those sirens scare me. I can handle a storm, not that horrid noise. My home is on ground floor with no basement. Only place without windows is the bathtub. From what I hear, that's the best place to do. I've been thru a house fire and dealt with a flooded basement, hope it never gets worse then that.

Hagatha, my back/hips forced me back to a walker. Before quarantine, I was walking with a cane; sometimes without it. My goal is to stay out of a wheelchair for as long as I can. I'm starting to bounce back, but realizing balance issues may stay with me as part of aging.

I'm glad weather is cooler, nice break from heat wave.

Excellent news, hagatha!

I do hope a couple of weeks will "do it" for your Husband, hagatha

And also, thank you for those lovely pictures of your home. You have a beautiful house in a beautiful location !!

Good news hagatha!

same thing.

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room. I've been thru several hurricanes, but tornadoes scare me more. Be safe everyone, in this crazy weather we are having.

Good morning all. Another windy day, so I can remind my guy that he's not missing anything by being in hospital. I can't go and visit, which is not optimal for his recovery because he doesn't really eat if I'm not around. Hopefully he'll be home in a few days.

In the meantime, I finally have a day where I don't have to do anything at all, which is such a relief. I might stir myself later on to vacuum the house, though.

So, are they investigating the possibility of an infection while he's there?

Oh. I didn't realize that they kept him there in the hospital.

same thing.

Good evening everyone ... work is going to keep me hopping until mid-July

Have a wonderful evening

hagatha, sending positive thoughts for your husband. It's so hard when they are in and you can't visit. Hope he can come home soon.

It turns out he does have a tiny pelvic fracture, which explains the continued pain. It doesn't change anything, since it will just heal on its own, but it does mean his summer of boating is out of the question. Given all the different things going on in his lower back, my suspicion is that he won't be doing much walking from now on. We'll have to see. It's difficult for me because I can't talk to the doctor.

Pandemic or no pandemic, I feel it is so beneficial to be able to have somebody with you listening to the doctor. There is often too much for the patient to take in and remember. My brother and I both used to go with my sister when she was going through chemo. We were her extra ears and she needed them. I was with her when she was diagnosed and I know she didn't "hear" everything that day. I'm the one that more or less told her she had cancer. A lot of what the doctor told her didn't really sink in.

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room. Hagatha, Prayers and Positive thoughts for your hubby and you. Dinner and karaoke tonight with friends.

Good morning everyone, French Roast and Irish Breakfast Tea in the Break Room. Hagatha, keeping you and husband in my thoughts and prayers. Have a great Hump Day!

hagatha, I'm so very sorry to hear that your husband is basically grounded for the summer. I'm glad you have good views from your home so you can whale watch though.

soot, sorry you have a busy stretch coming up, hope it goes by quickly and you have some fun at least!

Off to work...have a happy day everyone!

"It turns out he does have a tiny pelvic fracture"

Oh, so sorry to hear that, hagatha, and send my best for BOTH of you

Thanks, guys. He's pretty depressed, But we do have our neighbourhood bubble of good friends, so he'll still have a good social life, and he's pretty determined, so he could be up and at it sooner than expected.

The oncologist is trying to get the MRI scheduled for while he's still in hospital so she can have a look at the abscess over the surgery site.

The one great thing is that we have a brand-new hospital, only three years old, and it is stunning, with lots of wood and glass and Native art. Every room is a large single with a massive bathroom. These are rooms the size of a luxury hotel room, and almost every single one looks out over the water, to Quadra island and the lighthouse on the point. The hospital was built high on the ridge, so the views are spectacular.

same thing.

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room.

We have a bad heat wave predicted for the next few days, up to 37degrees. This is highly unusual for our Coastal areas. This kind of heat is especially dangerous here because it's so unusual that most people don't have air conditioning in their homes, and so I expect there will be a lot of heat stroke and hospitalizations. Here on the water we'll probably fare better, but I'm awfully glad I don't have to go anywhere for the next few days.

I'll be using my two fans at night, I guess.

same thing.

Holy cow, that is HOT for you. Had a video chat with our German family Saturday and it's like that there too and no one has AC. Keep those fans running! A good trick if it's just too awful is to dampen a sheet or towel and lay it over you with the fan blowing on it.