Crone Cronies - My Favorite Season Is Spring. All Things Seem Possible in May. May 17

[boakley]

Hi!!!!!!! I've missed you guys! It's been insanely busy work wise for me and still is, BUT I feel like I can breathe today. I have a presentation to do for a Lunch n Learn, remotely of course, but then I've got a couple of days of just steady work rather than frantic work. It's been good to be busy, but dreaming about Microsoft Teams and work has to stop Running and weight work is keeping me sane and DH has been handling most of the house/meals, and all of the shopping. He went back to work yesterday - also a good thing as being idle isn't one of his strong suits.

I really have to get back to it, but before I forget - Happy Belated Birthday Laura - I'm sorry I missed it!

Waves and good health to you all!
Beth

[sciencelady]

Good morning!

Planning on working at WRC with ducklings today, walking Gus and putzing around inside and outside. I'm sacrificing a strip of garden next to my driveway, which will be replaced in a few weeks - transferring some plants to my back yard garden. Gus was a good cuddle in bed this morning - just about squeezed me out from the covers like a tube of toothpaste!

Laura, we'll be getting rain Memorial Day weekend, but the week is supposed to be nice and sunny but hot near 80 (definition of hot here in MN). I think my brother and I both developed different interests - I really don't remember much interaction with him once I hit high school.

Paula, cool that you're learning new quilting techniques and practicing them on your creations.

Beth! Good to hear from you! Glad your life is returning to more normalcy after the virus - yay that your DH is back to work! I'd have a hard time doing a presentation from home - I'm used to the sounds of my birds chirping in my computer room, but not others, plus Gus expresses his opinion of people walking by with lots of loud barking.

Waves to all (from >6 feet apart)!

Anita

[ddj]

Good afternoon, ladies.

I went grocery shopping this morning. There were still fewer people than I would see later in the day, but more people than I had been seeing in the morning. Fewer people are wearing masks and the ones that don't look at you as if you're nuts for wearing one. And I'm still having trouble finding everything on my list.

Laura, I think we have the same weather system right now. The rain has at least cooled things down a bit. I hope everything works out for your dad. I'm glad the fam in Japan is doing well.

Beth, good to see you, and to hear you're keeping sane. I hope the workload lets up a bit.

Paula, there are restaurants here that are closing for good. It's disturbing to know that chain stores are having problems as well. I know JCP has been going down the tubes for years now, but Neiman Marcus? I don't shop there, but I thought they were pretty popular. I'm selfishly hoping my faves don't have to start closing stores. There is only one Bath and Body store open right now, and I'm surprised which one they picked. It's one of the smallest ones. I would've thought they would open the largest one first. I just hope they don't have to permanently close any of them, especially the one here in town.

Anita, not only did my twin brother and I not interact much when we were in high school, I flat out couldn't stand him. I'm glad he straightened up in his adult years. Are you sacrificing the strip of garden next to your driveway because of the driveway work you want to have done?

I went to the dentist yesterday for a cleaning. This is the second time I've gone there since the latest dentist started working there. Her prices are ridiculous, but it's mostly because she comes up with stuff to charge you for. Yesterday, she "measured" my teeth by stabbing my gums with a pick and calling out numbers to her assistant who was inputting them into the computer. I had no idea what she was doing. Turns out she was rating my gums by how inflamed they were and whether or not they bled. She said I had inflammation and needed to floss better.

I didn't think much about it until they told me what I owed. After I paid and they gave me the bill, I saw the breakdown. She charged me $56 for that. I've never had a dentist charge me for their part of a cleaning bill. They always take a look at my teeth, but they don't charge me for it if I'm there for a cleaning. And really, the hygenist could tell how healthy my gums are by just cleaning my teeth. They also charged me $27 for PPE.

I'm not good about challenging people. DH would have fussed about the charges, but I just pay them and move along. If she keeps doing this, though, I'll have to find another dentist. But I have never used another dental agency. The original dentist had been cleaning my teeth since I was six, and he was cheap. Since he's retired, he's brought in three successive dentists, and each one is more expensive than the last. But for all I know, she is charging standard prices. Now I know why so many people skip going to the dentist. They can't afford it!

I'm sure I could find something else to rant about, but I guess I should go work out. Monday was PHA3, Step Boss bonus ab stacker, and my customized upper body routine. Yesterday was a Virtual Active spin workout. Today I'm planning to do my customized upper body routine and maybe Cardio Party. But the day is wasting, so I need to get on it.

I hope everyone has a great day.

[Laura S.]

I didn't even try to exercise today. I was a busy day. I woke up too early and went back to bed to take a nap. Then, I got up and had a Zoom call with a friend from Maryland. She is being required to learn stuff about Excel during this down time of being at home and she was having problems get1ting some of it, so she asked if I could tutor her. It was fun - great to see her and she learned a lot. This afternoon, I took DH to his PT appointment and called an uncle when we got home to see how he was doing. This evening, I put together the plan for my church's small group meeting tomorrow and sent out the email.

Dede - Yeah, it was cool and rainy today and we are supposed to get the really hard rain tonight. It's aggravating when it feels like people are nickel and diming you. I've had that procedure done before several times. I've been told it shows how much my gums have receded.

Anita - You'd just have to tell people that you have a lot of co-workers in your house. I hope the weekend isn't a washout for you. It's unbelievable that this weekend is Memorial Day (to me, at least).

Beth - Awww. Thanks! I'm sorry work has been so franctic and hope the slowdown actually happens, even if it's only from franctic to very busy. It's good your DH gets to go back to work.

Paula - Good luck with the corners on the quilt. I hope you get the technique down. Well, that means your brother has plenty of time to save money for coming teenage grocery years...

[Paula]

Good evening. Workout this morning was Pahla B Chair Cardio and Strength followed by Yoga with Adriene Home - Balance. Plus DH and I did a long walk in the marina.

Beth, welcome back, I missed you too. Glad you're getting some breathing space. Hope your DH's return to work is smooth.

Anita, good of Gus to be your bed warmer and protector. Nice to have someone to guard against birds, blowing leaves, and little old ladies waling down the streets. Hope you enjoyed the ducklings.

Deedee, I've noticed fewer people wearing masks too, and the cases are risining in my county. You're lucky that any Bed Bath and Beyond are open at all, none are around me. I'm surprised about Neiman Marcus too, although I don't shop there either. I have a dentist appointment scheduled for next month, I assumed it would be cancelled.

Laura, What fun to have the zoom call and teach your friend. Did having that cocnversation of teaching a friend help you with what learners need from you? Luckily my brother has raised his children and it's his son who has the joy/responsibililty of raising and feeding two boys. My brother and SIL will gladly tell you their son was way more work than their daughter (she has two kids now too - one of each).

[sciencelady]

Good morning!

Planning on putzing outside, walking Gus, doing chair yoga, and getting a carload ready for Salvation Army opening up tomorrow. I did clean my stove last night - I should remember to do that on some cold day instead of a warm day - it got to 80 inside!

Dede, your visit to the dentist sounds similar to mine - the cleaning takes most of the time, then the dentist steps in and does the gum measurements and an overall blessing of the teeth. I'm on an annual plan with my dentist for $360, so one visit like you had would be ~$180. A set of X-rays would be tossed in there once a year also. I don't know if there would be additional charges for PPE these days... I think dentistry has been closed down quite a bit during this quarantine - my six months is just spanning this period. Yeah, the strip of garden next to my driveway will get driven on by tractors when my driveway gets replaced.

Laura, our yoga teacher is using the free Zoom lasting about 30 minutes, but really about 40. Is your church group meeting on Zoom, or are you getting together? I don't think I'd miss Memorial Day much under quarantine, but I do really miss not having Easter.

Paula, the ducklings were very cute, but lots of messy work. I was a sweat bomb walking out of there and going to Target on my way home. Of course I run into a person I know at Target looking like I came out of a swamp . We don't have a Neiman Marcus in MN, but I've been in them when I've been in IL - very high end! Pier One is closing everywhere also - the one closest to me closed about four months ago - I've shopped there for home stuff pretty frequently.

Waves to all (from >6 feet apart)!

Anita

[Laura S.]

Today is the fourth gray cool rainy day in a row. This is getting old. I did some band strength work today. Sometimes, it feels like a stopgap, but this morning it felt like a good workout.

Dad went for his test at the hospital this morning. The doctor was in his office, so he hasn't read the results yet that we know of. We're hoping that Dad hears from the doctor soon.

Anita - We only miss Memorial Day from a nostalgic way because we usually visit West Virginia over this weekend. Not this year. My small group meets on Google Hangouts. We're talking about getting together in person in the church's parking lot the weekend after Memorial Day where we can socially distance while getting together for a social time. We're waiting until closer in to try to pick a good time in terms of weather (no rain!).

Paula - Yeah, I think my parents would say that my brother was way more work than I was. That seems right to me. Your comment about Gus guarding against birds and little old ladies walking around the road cracked me up. Nope. Didn't have that conversation with my friend. I told her that I made my videos for her. You're supposed to choose a target customer and I designed them for older women (older than young).who hadn't learned software and want to update their skills. Of course, most of the customers I have had have been young men who are filling in the gaps in their Excel skills... I guess you saw my Mother's Day video?

[ddj]

Laura, it looks like you are having it worse than we are. We have actually had two decent days. But I think tomorrow will be different. I hope your dad gets a good report.

Anita, I pay extra for x-rays. The last time I went they did one of those panoramic x-rays. The hygenist also took a bunch of pictures of the inside of my mouth. She has used that machine before to let me see any tooth problems she's talking about, so I thought we were just checking things out. But she took a bunch of pictures (which I didn't even know she was doing!), and they ended up charging me for that. That one visit alone was nearly $300. I'd never had the gum "measurements" before, and a dentist has never charged me for anything they did on a cleaning visit. It just seems like they are being sneaky about what they are charging. They don't ask me what I think, they don't tell me what they're doing, and they don't tell me what it will cost.

Paula, I was talking about Bath and Body, the store that sells soap and stuff like that. Our Bed Bath and Beyond store isn't open yet, just curbside pickup. But I like to look at items before I buy them. We really need a new bath rug for DS's bathroom, but the ones I saw at Walmart looked cheap. So I'd hate to buy something from BBB and not like it. How do you return it when the store isn't open?

Today I did ICE Chiseled Lower Body Blast. It was tough today for some reason. I have been exhausted this week. I'm glad tomorrow is Friday. I'll probably do a Leslie or Jessica walk tomorrow and then nothing over the weekend. I hope I find some pep before next week.

Waves to everyone.

[Paula]

Good evening. Workout this morning was the stretches from my PT routine, then Yoga With Adriene - Home - Still, followed by Leslie Sansone Pilaltes You Can Do (both workouts). DH and I did a neighborhood walk as well. I intended to work on the quilt today but that didn't happen, ended up doing a "cooking day" where I make some big batches of stuff and freeze them.

Anita, of course you ran into someone you knew when you were sweaty and probably had duckling poop on your shirt - it's Murphy's law of life. I never shopped at Neiman Marcus but I have shopped at Pier One - I'm sorry to see it go.

Laura, hope your weather improves soon. Sorry, I don't recall whether I saw your Mother's Day video, my brian is a sieve. I have seen one or more of your videos.

Deedee, we have Bath and Body nearby also. I only shop there for gifts, I avoid fragrance as it often either makes my eyes and nose run or causes a skin rash. It's too bad, as I'll never really get to enjoy that type of thing, I like the idea of scented body lotion - just not the reality.

[sciencelady]

Good morning!

Planning on working at the WRC this morning, giving Gus a walk, more putzing in the garden, and getting a carload to the Salvation Army.

Laura, looks like your rain is the soaker we had last weekend - very slooooooow mover. Your targeting is good - there's a lot of computer skills that I simply don't follow much any more. Years ago I was on the front line of tech.... now I don't have much, not even a cell phone...

Dede, when I worked I had dental insurance, but now I buy an annual maintenance plan from my dentist (plus get a discount if anything more needs to be done) - probably costs similarly, but I think I'm not getting some of the fancier visualization of my teeth that he give to the deeper pockets - that's fine . I don't think many people just pay out of pocket for visits, so unknown charges get to be a pain in the butt, but sorry it happened to you. Many people just don't go...

Paula, yup precisely - I've gotten to the point of not showering and dressing up for grocery runs - I just go the way I am for the day.... I've just been avoiding very fragrance targeted stores as it's recommended we not use fragrance when working with the animals.

Waves to all (from >6 feet apart)!

Anita