Finished another year around the sun yesterday. I had to work yesterday but I'm off today and tomorrow. the week has been special and productive. I got to give a tour to 20+ high school students and their teachers. I showed them some of our labs, and what our engineering students are exposed to. Also gave them the Kyle pep talk, about how important college must be in your life, while you are there. It is expensive to fail out of just 1 class and have to retake it.
It is so hot and dry here. My poor outside cat and chickens just sit in the shade and pant. The breeze feels like a hot oven blowing in your face. I would offer to take about 6" from you folks up in the NE. Temps have been hitting 105-106F with humidity getting down to 30% or lower in the late afternoon.
Interesting day. Sophie had good ophthalmologist appointment. Change in drop regimen, back in 6 weeks.
This bed shopping is nuts. Visited a couple local stores. 1 guy very helpful. Not only were prices crazy, prices for adjustable bases even more so, more than cost of mattress. I told Sophie I’d have to rank mattress shopping right up there with car shopping.
That said, I continued my internet research, now I had better feedback from Sophie. Biggest challenge for us is shipping. Some great choices at Costco, but won’t ship to Hawaii. Appears this is because item actually comes from the manufacturer. Really have to delve into the fine print, but by far the majority just don’t ship here, many exude their ignorance when questioned. One manufacturer was very up front about their willingness - almost $2800 just shipping. Have to keep in mind shipping cost is based on volume/weight, not quality of the product.
But I did get lucky. Nectarsleep.com. Actually saw and experienced their low end offering at one of the local stores. On a whim I accessed their chat feature and linked up with one of the most helpful CS guys ever. Bet I spent half an hour with him. Just as helpful and knowledgeable as the in person guy earlier. Free shipping conus, but to Hawaii via FedEx at $250 per box. Not really unreasonable especially compared to $2800. I would be 4 boxes. Ended up with a locked in shopping cart with some options good for 48 hours. Did significantly more research, learned that I could get a 40% military discount. Emailed the CS guy and my cart was updated with the better discount. More discussion with my supervisor.
Bottomline I was able to get higher quality mattresses ( Split King) and better adjustable bases than quoted at local store for almost $2k less than local store even after shipping and taxes. Pulled trigger. Phew
wow, expensive bed. I'm sleeping on a sleep number and my back loves a very low setting. Right now I'm at 25, but sometimes go up to 35. It looks like a deflated air mattress, but for my back.....it works.
Nice score sodamo
69 high of 94 maybe storms after 9:00 PM
Got all clear for doctor on last two surgeries infection gone. Really tired nerves are rattled must keep on
Prayers for all our Country
We are here to listen and pray for you.
Good Evening riptides,
Well seeing those x-rays opened up a floodgate of memories for me ! Something I usually dont talk about because of everything I went through when I was younger !
In 1966 getting ready to go into high school I was diagnosed with scoliosis ! To this day some of those memories haunt me. I went through an extensive surgical procedure at the time, hours of surgery where my back was opened up and then had a Harrington Rod installed onto my spine. I so distinctly remember the intense pain for many days. Your daughter and your family have gone through so much at this point, that only others that have endured the same can truly relate!
I was determined that I was going to make it through this nightmare and this was not going to be a defining moment in my life that I was not going to recover fully from ! There were many people that told me that I was not going to be able to this or that, and I was determined to prove them dead wrong ! Well as I am closing in on 72 I can tell you that I led a full and productive life ! My wife Kathleen and I raised two boys, put them through college, they are now both married and we now have 4 beautiful grand children !
Just a little about me, I have always been an outdoor person, and while I served an apprenticeship and ultimately became a Master Modelmaker, and made a very good living from it, my heart was always outside ! To this day, I love being out on the back side of my barn splitting wood on a nice fall day ! To this day I still love physical work, and even though I have back pain, I deal with it the best I can. I refuse to sit inside and look out the window !
Looking at those x-rays, makes me wish that I had the medical know how of today back in 1966 !
I do have some misgivings, in that I could not go into the Navy as my father before me had,he served in WW2, and I of course wanted to be like my Pop ! That was of course the Vietnam Era, and Im guessing my mother was relieved when I was rejected at the Induction Center.
I wish your daughter my prayers and encouragement, and that she will persevere , and have a full and productive life !
Have a good evening !
Thank you for sharing. It amazes me what some people overcome.
Power out went out at 2:15 still raining. No idea how much, wife called yesterday afternoon said I had bought house we were in since 2006 without her knowledge forged her name was divorce me, really agitated. All clothes packed when I got home then wanted to go out to eat and said I ordered stuff she did not want to eat. Just another day
Prayers for all silent or spoken out Country
Just trying to show a day in the life of someone with dementia, I have no one else to vent to
Keep venting. I want to encourage you to keep praying WITH your loved ones. Let them know you love them and God daily.
RNG, Local Catchy channel is streaming “Get Smart” shows. Still funny after over 50 years.
I dream of Jeanie or Barbara Feldon for a date....tough mental choices.
Morning to all (well Afternoon);
We only got 3/4" rain last night so I count us as being in the lucky part of the country. We have had plenty in the last week with some road washouts and culverts washed away but not to bad locally, much worse not to far away.
With getting the 3/4" last night I went out after breakfast and cleaned out the water cuts I use to divert water off the driveway.
Used the new little Kioti 2620 instead of the Branson8050, visibility was nicer with the little one especially trying to just clean out the existing water cuts. Found out the hydrostatic with the brake pedal being on the same side as the hydro pedals can be a bit nerve racking when putting the front tire on the edge of the bank with a several foot drop. it's a bit touchy going from forward to reverse heading downhill and being on the edge of dropping a wheel over the edge.
I know exactly what you mean. I have a several foot drop bank along a tributary that if damp, is slippery. My brakes being on the left is what saves me from falling over.
Over 50 years and 3 out buildings to collect in. Still collecting.
I won't judge. Mea Culpa. George Carlin said, "Why is everyone else's stuff, stuff, and my stuff is sheet?"
No need to apologize for the smoke...not your fault. But the ironic thing is that many trees in Canada and California that companies paid to preserve for carbon offsets (to meet ESG goals) have gone up in smoke during recent wildfires in these overgrown forests.
I heard somewhere that on average, 6 million acres in Canada burns every year.
Daughter is actively checking into where to go next. Talking to the National Security Team, moving up in the office, talking the DOD etc. Will be interesting where she goes next. She got her interim evaluation that looks great. See some snippets below:
She established herself as one of the bureau’s preeminent strategic thinkers during the interim rating period, both through her design and execution of new initiatives and her innovative approaches to outreach and promotion of existing lines of effort. She undertook this work while simultaneously leading a shorthanded Europe team responsible for oversight of Ukraine programming, by far the bureau’s largest allocation of foreign assistance.
She continued to play a key role in showcasing and applying what continues to be the bureau’s landmark effort to hold Russia accountable for atrocities in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Due in part to her efforts and in recognition of extraordinary innovation, the team won the Department’s annual Data Diplomacy award, based of a nomination justification that she drafted.
She is till on track for the African Safari trip in October together with a group of her friends
It would be great if your daughter's knowledge, could help create an atmosphere of transparency of our givings to Ukraine. I feel more Americans would fully support the situation if they knew that the money sent over there was going to proper channels and not falling into greedy hands. I fully support giving them munitions, and a wee bit of money to help them pay their soldiers for fighting the war. The soldiers often have families to feed and house while they are fighting.
Oh, and huge firewood pile! Do you use all that in a year?
Coffee has finished brewing. 63° with partly cloudy skies this morning. Heading to 80° with good chance of Thunderstorms. Got some more trim done on Chicken coop. But had to quit because sun made it too hot to work. Got smoker out and did some pork loins for dinner. Had visitors rest of the day. So nothing else got done. Grocery shopping this morning. Then hope to get grass mowed before storms move in.
Everyone stay well and safe.
Good Morning All.
Great pic Ron. I vote Ribbit, or Croaker.
RNG, hope the house dealings get situated and you have the full clear story. Sounds like you are doing your due diligence. Are you mindfully prepared to just take on the whole banana (2nd loans and such)? It is a nice looking home. Sometimes I daydream about having a postage stamp sized yard, but then neighbors are a critical part of your life and location. Sad to hear so many hear are having neighbor problems. My previous home was bought in a brand new development, so most all the neighbors were facing similar situations of new home, jobs, car payments...life. I formed lifelong friendship bonds with a handful of my neighbors, and my current neighbors are great too.
2009 Traverse a/c sit rep: It is working great. It will freeze you out on a hot day in 10 minutes. Now my MIL is surreptitiously asking to maybe get it back. I might work her a deal for all the work I've put into it.
Electric clutches: check them by wiring 12v directly to them, the magnets should click firmly and fully, and the clutch disc material thickness should be reasonably thick. Lots of time it is the switch or a faulty wiring connection. But sometimes they are just flat out worn out too.
Prayers for our team.
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