What are you up to today? This week?

[rodentraiser]

5 hours ago, havanaholly said:

Oh, Kelly!  I think I would have had a heart attack!

We also went grocery shopping yesterday.  Last thing I was slicing the ginormous baguette I got and the bread knife slipped off the lovely hard crust and sliced into my left index finger, so I am trying to type and do the other things I normally do with ten fingers with nine fingers & a pressure dressing.

OMG, Holly, that could have been so serious. I hope you're OK.

[rodentraiser]

2 hours ago, Sable said:

Kelly, why don't you install your air conditioning unit for just this week? Why be miserable?

Well, there's a couple of reasons.

To begin with, it's in a box at the bottom of the pile in my closet and I really don't feel like digging it out. Yeah, I'm lazy.

But the other reason is my window. I have an enormous window about 4+ ft wide and easily 5ft high. It opens in two sections, top and/or bottom. I don't have a piece of wood large enough to cover the whole bottom section to keep the air conditioner from sliding out (remember, I'm on the third floor here LOL). I talked to Jim and he said if I got the wood, he'd drill holes in the wall to bolt the wood in, something I can't do. Since I really don't think I'll be here another summer and because September is supposed to be the COOL month, I decided not to have Jim mess up the walls just for a week or two of air conditioning. If I get too hot, I can always put on the T-shirt.

I'll thoroughly wet down a T-shirt in warm or hot water and while I'm wringing it out, it'll cool down to where I'm not putting on a hot shirt or an ice cold one. That's worked real well in the past. In fact, with the T-shirt on I've gotten so cold from the fan that I've had to turn it to the lowest setting and sometimes even turn it off. The only downside is the T-shirt dries and then I have to rewet it again, about once every half hour to 45 minutes.

I also got one of those little ice packs - the ones that fold. I have that frozen and if I need to lay down for a while in the afternoon, I just wrap that in a towel and put it behind my head and neck. It's pretty comfortable. There's a big artery coming up the back of the neck and it splits at the back of the head and goes round the head to each side. If I cool that artery off, the cool blood will go through my body and cool me down, plus as long as I keep my head cool, I'm a happy camper.

Sorry, probably TMI here.

So I can stay cool. I just like complaining about the heat.

[Sable]

I'm doing all of the necessary pre-pre- hurricane prep due to Hurricane Irma.  It's very early but one of the "spaghetti models" has the eye crossing over Coral Springs and my beach cottage in Vero Beach.  The garage has been my main task today. I put away all of my power tools so the two workbenches can have room to stack the patio furniture. The four coolers have been cleaned out and sanitized. There's room for one car and there is now easy access to the storm panels. The newest car always gets the garage. Unfortunately, it's no longer my car. 

I'm going to try to change my stitch removal appointment for tomorrow instead of Thursday. 

Water is already gone in grocery stores. It's probably all been shipped to Houston.

The worst case scenario for this storm is that it comes up the center of the state as a cat 3 or 4. The Everglades are extremely warm and extremely full. This warm shallow water has been known to intensify storms so a 4 could easily become a 5.  I will be far far away should this scenario be expected.

Oh and I keep forgetting, this is the first storm I'll have to worry about a dog.

[Thimble Hall]

Oh my goodness Sable,  I am all teary, I cannot imagine how I would cope with that problem and my heart goes out to you. You know living as far north as I do one cannot really imagine hurricanes and tornadoes that some folks go through all the time, we watch it on the news and feel sad, we send money to help out but it all seems to come into perspective when someone you chat to on a forum is involved. Stay safe, and to all of you down there stay safe too..

[pgwyn]

Sable, I hope you and your cottage stay safe.  We are scheduled to vacation in Cocoa Beach the week of September 9.  Not sure what we are going to do.  I hope Irma stays well away from Florida.  I do want to visit the miniature store in Orlando if we wind up going.  

[KathieB]

Keeping an eye on Irma. Sable, stay safe!

New house is all painted inside. Looks lovely! Tomorrow I wrestle with the water company, clean windows and blinds and vacuum. Wednesday head back to NOLA. Hope I don't get there just in time to evacuate from Irma. I don't have time for hurricane stuff.

[Sable]

2 hours ago, pgwyn said:

Sable, I hope you and your cottage stay safe.  We are scheduled to vacation in Cocoa Beach the week of September 9.  Not sure what we are going to do.  I hope Irma stays well away from Florida.  I do want to visit the miniature store in Orlando if we wind up going.  

Oh my, you are cutting it close. We will know so much more by Wed/Thurs. 

The ToyBox in Cocoa is a great dollhouse store too! Just in case Orlando gets obliterated.

[Sable]

48 minutes ago, KathieB said:

Keeping an eye on Irma. Sable, stay safe!

New house is all painted inside. Looks lovely! Tomorrow I wrestle with the water company, clean windows and blinds and vacuum. Wednesday head back to NOLA. Hope I don't get there just in time to evacuate from Irma. I don't have time for hurricane stuff.

Kathie, I haven't congratulated you on your new house, yet. I keep trying to invision what kind of house you bought. 12' ceilings was a good clue. I'd love to see a photo if you would like to PM it to me. I'm just so proud of you for doing this but please rest up and don't overdo it.

[KathieB]

1 hour ago, Sable said:

Kathie, I haven't congratulated you on your new house, yet. I keep trying to invision what kind of house you bought. 12' ceilings was a good clue. I'd love to see a photo if you would like to PM it to me. I'm just so proud of you for doing this but please rest up and don't overdo it.

Thanks, Sable. It's a 3-bedroom ranch. No more stairs for me, thank you very much. Gated community. The high ceiling is in the living/great room. I don't have any photos worth sharing. Will share when I get some.  

[havanaholly]

6 hours ago, Jeannine said:

Oh my goodness Sable,  I am all teary, I cannot imagine how I would cope with that problem and my heart goes out to you. You know living as far north as I do one cannot really imagine hurricanes and tornadoes that some folks go through all the time, we watch it on the news and feel sad, we send money to help out but it all seems to come into perspective when someone you chat to on a forum is involved. Stay safe, and to all of you down there stay safe too..

It may be different on the west coast, Jeannine, but we were in New Brunswick in 2004 when Ivan came and visited the Maritimes (why we cancelled a trip to PEI).  If Irma is still Cat 4 (or more) and comes this far west our plan is to bring everything outside into the workshop, close the Bahama shutters over all the windows, hitch up the camper and head north to the first state park campground with room.

[Sable]

The only benefit to hurricanes over  tornadoes, earthquakes, flash fires  and tsunamis is that we get warnings days in advance. Given this gift you would think my family would be assisting me with all of the prep work...HA! 

Tonight I'm going to try to double book two hotels on the West side of the state. However, I have a feeling everything in Ft Myers and Naples is already gone.

Edit: it's difficult finding pet friendly hotels. But I found one in Ft Myers.  

[havanaholly]

Our Channel 5 Chief Meteorologist thinks the fronts due in might steer Irma back to the east, like last year's Helene, so it will dance around the west coast of FL before heading back to the Atlantic (but north of Ft Myers, probably).  Stay dry & safe.  And families assisting?  Doesn't cross their minds.

[Sable]

1 hour ago, havanaholly said:

 And families assisting?  Doesn't cross their minds.

It should, they live under the same roof.  

[jbnmini]

My son and DIL live in Orlando (just around the corner from Ron's), so we are all hoping that the hurricane steers clear of Florida as well! 

Stay safe all of you southerners!!

[havanaholly]

6 hours ago, Sable said:

It should, they live under the same roof.  

I think THAT ought to be embroidered on a sampler and hung on a wall in a prominent place.

[Thimble Hall]

I have just been something a bit different and was stunned as to the lack of family help, sometimes it just doesn't make any sense.,

[Sable]

I guess my men were saving up their energy to put up all of the steel hurricane panels and wait in line two hours for propane, today. All is forgiven. 

The grocery stores seem to be keeping up with the masses. 

[havanaholly]

The stores should be getting more water deliveries tomorrow, according to tonight's news.  We stopped by Academy Sports this AM to pick up some more freeze dried breakfast packets and they were sold out.

[rodentraiser]

It just makes me sick to think of the devastation to yet another state should Irma hit Florida.

 

Today I am just mad. Mad because I went to pick up a little sewing table for a computer desk the other day. Even though Jim checked it and said there aren't any bedbugs in it, our good old manager came running out and told me I couldn't put it in my room. So now I'm stuck with a small table I paid $50 for and it's sitting in the back of my car and I need to get rid of it. My guess is I'll have to bring it to the dump.

Then I made an offer on a bathroom set to go in the shadowbox. The set was $12 Buy It Now or Best Offer, so I offered $10. The offer was declined. The guy said that in view of the free shipping he couldn't take such a low offer. I see his point, but what was he expecting - $11.50? If I were going to offer $11, I'd just throw in the extra dollar and buy it now. Sheesh!

Then I spent the night looking on eBay and Etsy for some pillows, or bedding, or a fern for the shadowbox. I couldn't find anything that was the right style, the right color, or the right price. I also hadn't known what a cheap person I am.

So now it's almost midnight, I got nothing accomplished today except the dishes (they're replacing the boiler tomorrow so no hot water from 8am to 4pm) and I'm still mad about the table.

I think I'll turn the fan off and go tot bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

[havanaholly]

Keep  the table.  Don't throw away $50.  Why is it some people have to act like jerks?

[rodentraiser]

I suppose I could donate the table to Goodwill. But it's such a nice little table, complete with a drawer. The drawers are put together with dovetails and the owner (about 80 years old) said it had belonged to her grandmother.

The problem is, I don't know where to keep the table. It's fine in the back if my car for now, but eventually I'm going to need that space for groceries. I already have a telescope, a fold down table, and the Willowcrest kit living in my car.

Maybe I should just be looking at a storage unit after all.

I just want to MOVE from here!

[havanaholly]

I would ask the manager if they will pay for the storage unit if they weren't going to allow me to keep MY things in MY room; but I would first have somewhere else lined up, and I'm a smart a** anyway.  What about putting your groceries on the passenger side of your car?

[Guest]

Stay safe Sable.. I'm so sorry that both of your houses might get hit by this storm.. I hope it misses you entirely & glad you found a hotel that takes animals.. they are hard to find over here as well.

My husband's entire family live in the Orlando/Tampa area and a friend was telling us last night, he spent an hour waiting at the grocery store yesterday for a truck of water to show up and when it did it was like a free for all.. like you see when they are handing out aid overseas... crazy stuff. He didn't even end up getting any water.. there wasn't enough for everyone waiting. Luckily another friend had found some and left a 5 gallon bottle on his doorstep.. that friend just got a really good karma boost.  

[rodentraiser]

1 hour ago, havanaholly said:

I would ask the manager if they will pay for the storage unit if they weren't going to allow me to keep MY things in MY room; but I would first have somewhere else lined up, and I'm a smart a** anyway.  What about putting your groceries on the passenger side of your car?

LOL, Holly, when I shop, I shop for an entire month's worth of food. Last time I had almost 20 full plastic bags of groceries in the back of the car, not to mention the 6 pak of paper towels, the 6 pak of toilet paper, and three huge packages of napkins. The only reason I didn't have the 10 pound pak of hamburger was because the store was out. Lisa gave me one of those little carts where you can carry the groceries upstairs. But I have to use a large grocery cart (there are a few in the parking lot from someplace) to get everything upstairs.

Anyway, these guys are always complaining about how they don't have money. I was fortunate to be able to buy a bed. The one they gave me originally had holes on both sides of the mattress and one side of the box spring because of the springs breaking. If I put my weight on the mattress just wrong, I would get stabbed by a spring. I asked for a new mattress and they can't afford to get any more. I figured they didn't owe me a free mattress so I bought my own. But a lot of people here can't afford that.

[WyckedWood]

I keep hearing about the lack of water because of storm prep, even from friends in Alabama. That really freaks me out. Who thinks about water until there's a chance you can't get it. So scary. Makes me want to start hoarding water. Hope this storm misses everyone, sounds like a real monster.

Here in the west even the dogs are having a hard time breathing, this smoke is killing my sinuses, the air is so thick and awful, I live right under the mountains and can barely see them today.