Wednesday, June 9, 2025

Six days until home! Three weeks traveling at this stage in life is just too long especially with the repeated packing and unpacking. We have 3 of those left.

Yesterday's tour of the summer Royal Palace was really interesting. Very beautiful and our tour was hosted by two young, enthusiastic people who are involved in searching for the art still missing from the palace. The art was stolen by the Nazis during the war and the place set on fire in 1944. They have restored it to its former beauty and have been working on reclaiming the art since the war. The young woman showing us the art was personally responsible for finding the picture below and did the bidding on the online auction to purchase it. Some has been purchased, some donated, and some when proven stolen has been taken back. In the latter category sometimes the American FBI assists.

After that we toured the US Embassy then walked to Old Town. Quaint but I guess most of that area was rebuilt after WWII?

We did not eat healthy yesterday. BTW, Polish Pierogis can be VERY tasty! This morning we ended up doing a hotel buffet for breakfast. Overpriced and unsatisfying. I'm ready to go home.

We are touring the Uprising Museum here this morning, then we travel to Krakow by train. An American based hotel today and in our last few days in London. The European ones are comfortable but so small and with essentially no closets or places to hang anything. I guess stuff is always folded up?

Justice is doing well. After a week with 3 other dogs including one extremely large one, he is glad to be back to just hanging with Brandy.

Have a winning Wednesday!

I was thinking about the parts of travel that can drain you, like eating out every night, and packing and repacking. I'm already packing in my mind for Scotland, and frying to keep my imaginary suitcase to a carry on. I did think about my time on the Windstar cruise, and in that case, eating out every meal didn't feel tiresome, and it was lovely to see many different places without hauling suitcases around. The downside is you don't get to experience a location deeply, because you need to move onto the next port. Do you think the start of the trip being harder because of SILs condition has added a bit to your travel fatigue? And my gosh, the heat in Spain. How is the weather in Poland?

A squirrel chewed a hole in our hot tub cover!!! What in the world? DH has made a crude repair and we're just going to have to live with it. New ones cost between $600 -$1000, and this one is only a couple of years old. Worse than the price, they are hard to come by for this older model. When we last replaced it, we had to special order it, and it took 9 months for it to be delivered. $%&#@ squirrels!

But that is a minor problem today. BFF called me at 8:10am this morning. She asked if she woke me, and I said no, I'm getting up at 8 these days. She said, good, that's what I thought, and then she told me she was at the hospital with her son. It is suicide ideation. I don't want to write anymore details, but my heart is broken. He is my boy too, and I've loved him since the day I held him when he was just a few hours old.

So whatever plans I had, I'm going to stay around the house in case BFF needs me to come and sit with her.

Hard to see a silver lining in BFF son's hospitalization, but how fortunate that help was sought while it was an idea, rather than an attempt on his own life.

Yes, absolutely. And having a breakdown in front of his mother, who immediately knew he needed help in a way that his wife was not recognizing. Thank God he is safe for the moment.

Sorry to hear about your BFFs son. So hard! I'm super happy he sought out help!

And those darn squirrels! Hot tub covers are a pain to replace. We had to replace ours this year!

So sorry to hear about your friend's son but good that he is getting help. They are so vulnerable at a young stage of their lives that some kids can't put things in perspective. Hopefully counseling can help him get through this patch.

Darn rodents! Just like the mice and my car! Remember that my automobile policy had rodent coverage? Maybe homeowners does too?

The weather here in Poland was beautiful the first day we were here, but was rainy, cool (60) and yucky yesterday. Today it is supposed to be somewhat warmer and the rain hopefully will stop by late morning. London from Friday to Tuesday is supposed to be sunny and 80. Perfect for the clothing I brought (I am struggling to find warm enough layers here right now).

201.5 - same old, same old...

Today is another kinda sorta busy-ish day. My choice, so it's all good, right? LOL...

The AC repair guy is here with the new motor. He'll install it and do a deep cleaning of the AC unit. Fingers crossed it's a long term fix. I really don't want to put a new HVAC system in the house. It's not on my to do list! I want a new roof first.

Weight loss seems harder these days. I'm not exactly sure why, but it is slow going and due to personal choices. I'm on the max dose of tirzepatide so there is no upping the dose. I really do want to lose that last 13 pounds, but I have to admit my motivation to be "good" is pretty low. I have found a really comfortable groove of eating - no dieting, no counting calories, protein centered meals, daily indulgences. It feels like a very natural way to eat. But I'm afraid it's going to keep me right around the 200 mark. So, I guess I have some thinking to do and decisions to make.

Diamond D, you are right about the cruise - great to have the hotel room follow you and those wonderful meals without the hassle of having to pick a place to go, but definitely not enough time to explore each port with any depth. That was my only "complaint" about our recent cruise. I would love to go back and stay a while in Salzburg and Vienna and take a few days in Munich. Those three cities in 10 days would be a great trip!

Time to get productive! Ciao!

You look quite healthy where you are but you will make the best decision for yourself. Somewhat funny but not is DH is realizing that a lot of his clothing is way too large but because he HATES spending money on clothing he is resisting buying much. He did buy new jeans, a couple of pairs of shorts and a belt only because he didn't want them falling off. He actually said (in jest I hope) that maybe he should gain some weight back do he can fit better into his too large clothing. Guys!

DH and I have had some discussions recently about traveling and my epiphany about how tiring I am finding the packing/repacking/hauling the suitcase.

Greetings all

It is overcast and downright cold here today. I had to get up early as house cleaner needed to start earlier today due to other commitments. Fine by me. Earlier start for me for coffee and net surfing.

So the dentist was fine yesterday. Got it all done and no ill effects. I have decided this dentist is a good one and am grateful as there are many dentists here who are not taking new people. I still need more work done - not sure why I need so much other than I have heard my former dentist - *****tired suddenly - was getting senile. I did not think that but recall that my last crown took two hours and I did not know why. Oh well, another adventure in aging is dental stuff.

Liz you really have had an adventure! I know you will make the most of it and be glad to get home. Yeah the pack/unpack routine would be tiring. Hope you can stay put when you get home. For a bit.

Squirrel attack DD!! Yikes! Sounds like time for duct tape. I once had a squirrel get inside my house. It chewed phone wires. I came home and found a bagel at the bottom of the basement stairs and stuff dumped over and fur on the fly traps. Caught it in a humane trap and took it miles away to a lake. Hope your squirrel stops and finds something better to eat. And thinking of your BFF and son. Glad that this is being taken seriously and treated. Needs to be addressed in every way possible.

Peps, you look great and do not need to lose any more weight. Having seen you recently I would have guessed your weight as much lower and believe that you are muscle, not fat. So that is my two cents.

I gotta hit the gym today as I have skipped a few. No excuses available. Pizza again tonight, Then back to the great dinner unknown.

Diane S

The weight loss is more of an emotional and personal thing. I am 5'7" and the idea of weighing 200 pounds at that height doesn't sit well - especially since I spent so much time hung up on the fact that the nigh normal BMI for my height is 159 pounds. I have a photo of me at 188 which I think is a really good weight for me. I had gained 18 pounds from my VSG goal weight and was "unhappy" about that, but realistically, it was an ideal weight for me.