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It seems like it's been unseasonably cool on the east coast this last week or so. Hope your feet can stay dry.
Warm here for a few more days, then the temp is dropping to fall weather. Peps should enjoy it. It will be mid 70s and low humidity.
Yesterday I worked in my office/closet organizing, purging and tossing. It felt so good to bring order to my desk and thin out my closet. I started getting out sweaters for my trip. I have a lot of fun summer weight sweaters that should pack well, but I think I should bring at least one thick sweater. Current plan, I have some I was on the fence about keeping during the last purge. There's nothing wrong with them, I just never wear them. I might bring one or two along, and then leave them behind. That will make room in my suitcase for souvenirs.
This morning I'll make a quick trip to the grocery store to get ingredients for a hot dish to bring to my parents house, and assemble it before we leave. Then off we go. My Mom did not get admitted to the hospital, so she will be home to update me about her appointment.
Tomorrow we are going to the State Fair, tagline: The Great Minnesota Get Together. As a kid from a farm family, and a 4-H member, the State Fair is in my DNA. When I was a kid, my Grandparents would come and stay from Duluth, and we would all go to the fair, cousins, uncles, aunts. Great memories.
Well that hot dish needs to get into the crockpot, so off I go!
We are in Saratoga Springs! It was nice weather yesterday so pleasant for walking to dinner and to a couple of bars before and after.
This morning it is raining and quite cool (58 right now with a high of 60 for the day). Hopefully there will be some breaks in the rain today because the plan is to go to the horse track for a few hours. I don't think we need to hurry to get there as early as usual and maybe we will only stay for a little while, but it is the main reason we came so DD could experience it. We were hoping that the forecasters would be wrong about the rain but unfortunately not. I brought a warm jacket and we have umbrellas but stupid me only brought sandals, not sneakers so my feet are going to be wet.
Probably more bars this afternoon, then dinner out at a different bistro. It looked really cute last night but it was all open to the outside with tables in and out. It will likely have a very different atmosphere tonight.
Paula has her house showing today I believe? Best of luck to her. At minimum hopefully they get helpful feedback to assist in future showings, but who knows they may get an offer right away! I assume the house will be officially on the market after this? It is still a buyers market in Florida so it would be a good time to buy something there. It will probably get a bit more competitive as the year goes on and there are more winter people.
Have a winning Wednesday!
Liz 5'3" HW: 219 SW: 185 GW: 125 LW: 113 Desired maintenance range: 120-125 CW: 119ish
Yes, Universal (and Disney) are for children in a certain age range and not for most adults (except to chaperone said children). Very tiring! But some adults still love that stuff for some reason. DD has a close friend who tries to go to Disney every year - she had her honeymoon there and took their son the first time just before he turned 1.
Liz 5'3" HW: 219 SW: 185 GW: 125 LW: 113 Desired maintenance range: 120-125 CW: 119ish
So sad that your Mom is so unhappy and sick but won't accept help. I wonder if the doctor may also want to hospitalize her to try to find a medication to reduce her CHF? My mother suffered from it in her last years and when the doctor wanted to change her meds he had to do it in the hospital so she was on a constant heart monitor. She lived more than 10 years after her first bout of CHF with fairly good quality of life - she did do what the doctor asked.
Liz 5'3" HW: 219 SW: 185 GW: 125 LW: 113 Desired maintenance range: 120-125 CW: 119ish
I love the nightstands and they are perfect with the bed and comforter.
Liz 5'3" HW: 219 SW: 185 GW: 125 LW: 113 Desired maintenance range: 120-125 CW: 119ish
A timely and wise decision and the tables are lovely. And Kirby of course needs to photo bomb. If he's not in the picture why ae you even taking it?
on 8/19/25 4:56 pm
Such a difficult time of life when one has a parent *****fuses absolutely necessary help/intervention and you an do nothing because they do not consent. My mother did the same. It puts you in such a terrible position with your hands tied while you watch them make the choice to deteriorate.
I have firmly entered my "what am I saving it for?" years and am replacing stuff I don't like. In that vein, I ordered new nightstands for my second bedroom here. The previous ones were mismatched, one spray painted, and had no drawers, so not functional or terribly attractive. These are navy blue and so cute!
A little hard to see with the lighting, but here's a pic with a Kirby photobomb.
closeup:
Not much else to report. The outside's of both houses and the barn are going to be painted so they've been powerwashing with something bleachy the last few days. P-ew. But they look sparkling clean!
Can't wait to hear about your Scotland trip, DD! Take care all... (ps to Wordle players - got it in 2 today!)
It might be trickier to go with a baby so that could slow him down : ) Although we did do Disney when DS was only 5 months old.
( answer to the question, why would you take a baby? He won't remember. Answer: Because I want to see Disney and he goes everywhere I go)
I thought of you Diane when we had BLTs for supper with framer's market tomatoes. Mmm delicious.
Greetings all
Another sunny one. Started the day with Scrabble where I proceeded to suck. Lost all three games though I was very close with the Shark. I had a 113 point play and still lost! Rats. After that I got a deli sandwich and went to the studio and glazed some things. Lots of activity there as usual.
Yep DD, nothing like aging parents to put a damper on peace. I know a few people whose parents made wise decisions on their own without pressure but not very many. It was my Mom's parkinson's disease that helped us convince her (gang up on) to move to a retirement home. In her own home there was hoarding and squalor was on the horizon. I do hope your mother goes to the hospital for a bit for everyone's sake. Glad you have aussie sister who has the same assessment. It is heartbreaking that your mom is so sad and fearful but as you know you cannot fix it. Don't have to set yourself on fire....Focus on future ferries!
So Liz Saratoga is horse races, right? Fun. Good on you for listening to disabled friend. I do wish you had video of Justice and his friend watching out the window.
Not much to say about weight and health other than I feel ok and am looking forward to this short trip. Hoping that the new grand niece will keep nephew from dragging us to Universal Studios and crap like that which is what he used to always want to do. As I kid he was always on the worst roller coasters and such - like the one at the county fair that they had to hose barf off of before the next riders. He is almost 40 so may have finally outgrown that stuff.
Diane S
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Liz bless you for checking in with your friend from time to time. It is definitely not easy. I'm sure people who call my parents get the same vibe. My Mom cannot make it through a conversation without crying. My Aunt, who is also in her 80s and has her own struggles has started emailing instead of calling ... There are no easy answers, but any call you make from time to time is certainly a tremendous act of kindness.
It is getting very challenging to protect my peace. I'm trying my best to keep solid boundaries, but the barrage of need coming from BFF and my parents is relentless. Aussie sister is staying with a friend near my parents house and went to visit them yesterday. She just spent 45 minutes this morning, telling me how shocked she was about their situation. She thought it was bad last year when she visited... I KNOW how bad it is. The one good thing about the conversation was hearing someone else say there is no clear way to solve any of this. They are not incapacitated enough for us to take over legally. Anyhow, we will go visit tomorrow. My Mom is going to the doctor today. Last time he saw her, he wanted to put her in the hospital. She refused. I won't be surprised if he does again. It would be so helpful if she stayed a few days to drain the fluid. She is absolutely swollen from congestive heart failure.
Today will be low-key as I focus on happier things and start packing for Scotland. I am only bringing my carry on and a backpack since I'll be pulling my luggage on ferries and trains and busses. I'll pack the things I need for Massachusetts and Upstate New York in packing cubes, and DH will bring those when I meet him in Massachusetts. No need for me to drag sun dresses around Scotland : )
