Becca_Anne

Glad everyone's electrical issues are getting sorted out! And super happy to hear Mr MtRider got a clean bill of health. Miki so sorry to hear about your mailbox some people are just mean We are finally home I will post more pictures once I get them uploaded off my good camera. Ruby was overjoyed to see us and the garden is doing fabulously. It is hot and humid and we need to go buy 2 more A/C units this weekend to replace the units that were moldy we noticed before we left. So just the bedroom A/C's are in. We will be doing laundry and groceries tomorrow. Chickens survived fine while we were away too and are now full sized birds. My son did such a great job taking care of everything while we were away.

Dee you might look into getting an electric canner. I'm considering one just for the convenience of not having to watch it and time things so closely. It is about the size of an instapot so doesn't take up a ton of space to store when you're not canning.

Almost home! I will post more pics when we get home. Yesterday we did Mt Rushmore and today 1880 town and Dignity statue. We are in Omaha and tomorrow will get home. I have had a great time but super ready to sleep in my own bed and see my dog and how much of my garden made it. It is so hot I am not used to the temps. Hoping the rain will clear out the smoke over IL before we get there. Mt Rider glad your electric will finally get fixed! Jeepers that is so irritating that they didn't release all the funds I hope the contractor can provide what they need to pony up the remainder. I am glad the contractor is willing to work with you to make it happen. You will be so glad to get this all done and I hope you get every penny and more out of that house when you sell. Littlesister I hope you can get the financial plan worked out so it works for you. Putting some money into easily accessible cash isn't always a bad option.

So sorry Jeepers that is just outrageous that it's taking so long to clear that check. I really hope the rest of the process goes more smoothly for you. Littlesister have fun preparing for the baby shower I had the most amazing time at Yellowstone. Got to see a Bison and a Bear Mama with her babies close up (a LOT closer than I would have liked for mama bear but she didn't seem bothered). Gysers and hot springs and all kinds of steam vents and it was as beautiful as I hoped.

Littlesister hope the visit with your financial planner goes well. You are making good progress every day it seems! Ambergris I hope the internet gets more stable for you soon. It has to be frustrating. Miki sounds like a yummy dinner at your house! I am looking forward to being home and cooking in my own kitchen. Tomorrow we will be visiting Yellowstone. I'm super excited. On our way through ID we visited my hubbys sister who lives in Post Falls for dinner, then today we drove through MT and stopped at a Gold Mine where Ben and I took a tour and "panned for gold" it was fun. I'm a geology geek so I really enjoyed seeing the ore and we got to spend some time in the gold panning area. We got to keep the pretty rocks and "gold (fools gold)" that they plant for people to find. I'll put them in a little glass jar for Ben to keep for memories. There were a good number of tiny garnets it there so it was a bit like finding real treasure for him. We stopped at Costco for dinner and bought our bear spray for our big adventure tomorrow. Hopefully we won't need it! I am hoping to get a lot of good pics on my good camera which I will share when we get home.

Jeepers glad you are being selective about what you are moving and letting go of things especially the big items It's easy to store all the things for the kids but at some point they do have to decide what they want. I was able to give all the big items DD had in my garage to her before we moved and the only things I kept were artwork/school papers I hadn't sorted them apart into each child. I'll take photos and then just keep the ones that were the most special or send her the ones she cares about. I'm much more sentimental than I should be and even after moving twice have way too much of it. I am determined though to get it down to one sweater box sized bin per child and toss the rest. It can go up to the attic to be stored for the ones still living at home, and then I will bring the other two their items when I come back west. It's time for me to let go of it. I have plenty of space just think it's time to sort through and make albums or let it go. That and photos. I really need to organize and tackle those next. My home is coming together though there are only a few space (Hubby's office) and my office and art room that really need attention. The art room became a catch all and really I don't want to be storing all the home improvement tools/items there they belong in the basement.

Glad you're getting things cleared out Littlesister and hope you can enjoy your space now. I'm looking forward to getting home and working more on my house. I have enjoyed my trip but getting homesick. I miss my dog and my bed. Got all the work things done and now back at my SIL. Ben is camping with his cousins tonight and then we leave Sunday.

Hoping your birthday tomorrow is extra special!

I will share photos <3

Littlesister hope you can get those curtains done. That can be a satisfying project and helps cut the cooling bill a bit to have them up. I really need to do some heavy curtains for winter to help insulate my windows downstairs better. Most of them are just shears which are nice in summer but don't do much to hold in the heat. Miki I hope you had a good day! Chocolate pie sounds amazing I'll be right there Jeepers hope you can get that phone turned off. Super annoying to have to keep paying a bill for a service you aren't even able to use! It's getting harder and harder to manage this kind of thing when you'd think technology would make it even easier. Almost done with my week of work in person. Wow do I ever appreciate my quiet work from home environment. I had to share a workspace with loud people during a really important meeting where I was chairing the meeting for the board of directors and it was embarrassing because of all the background noise. I was able to use an office space several of the days with a door that shut. Was nice to see everyone but I will also be glad to get back home. Will leave tomorrow to go pick up hubby and youngest son and then we will head back to IL. I will be offline a few days next week we will be sightseeing and I am taking some PTO to just relax and enjoy sightseeing. I really will appreciate that time to just "BE". Tomorrow I turn in an important project and finished up one this morning. So my brain might actually let me relax.

Jeepers hope you can clear up that kidney infection quick. And that the bank clears your check quick too. You really have been through the wringer lately. Annarchy have a safe trip! Littlesister hope your shoulder feels better soon. I messed mine up somehow like that right after we moved and did PT and it did help me but still not sure what I did to hurt it. Miki hope your power stays on! Mt Rider hope your apt went smoothly! I made it to Oregon for work through a huge downpour on Sunday. Wrapping up two big projects this week in person for work and it's weird going in to the office. Still challenging to find anywhere to sit. Reminds me why I like working from home so much. Work is noisy and crowded LOL. We had a ribbon cutting for the opening of a new clinic today so that was fun. I am also getting to visit with various friends while I'm here which is nice I go back on Friday and pick up my hubby and son from my SIL and then we head home. Almost time to head back and I'm happy and sad about that. Missing my daughter and grandbaby already.

Thank you Mother Yes I hope to use video chat to keep in touch. We already did one yesterday so she could show baby to her aunt's family and my DH's parents. I hope to set up a weekly chat and include everyone so we can all visit more often. Today we went to visit our 2nd child who lives in the area and went out for lunch which was nice. I only get to see them once a year or so but it's always a treat. So fitting a lot into this trip. My nieces are getting so tall and growing up and I'm glad Ben gets to spend so much time with them while I work next week. Littlesister glad your Grandson is learning from his experience. I hope he stays on the right track. Jeepers I'm sure it's very overwhelming sorting through everything without a lot of say of what got put where. Makes it confusing I am sure to figure out what is left and what still needs sorted. I think it would help if you designate one room for each category but then you're moving things around a lot Working on one room at a time can help. I try to sort in categories- all the papers (gather and sort once boxed up), clothing, mementoes, books, furniture, etc . It's a bit like moving only you don't have to box up everything.

Mt Rider so glad the beaver mess is draining. Hope they decide to go somewhere else so you don't have to deal with this ongoing! Ambergris I'm glad you had a day of downtime you have had a constant adventure in the last few weeks! Jeepers I hope you get to fill all those jars before it's cold enough to enjoy that soup! Littlesister I'm sure it feels good to be making some progress on your house. Dee glad you are able to get some cooler time to work in the garden even if it's super early! That will be me when I get home Today was my last day visiting and both my daughter and I were in tears saying goodbye. I just don't know how I will handle not being here all the time. My heart is happy and sad. Happy I got to come and sad I'll miss so much of his life.

Oh my Jeepers that's such a pain but thank goodness the check finally got written. What an ordeal for that to get cashed though! Littlesister sounds like you are getting things organized a lot better for you now. So glad. And more time with grandbabies YAY! MtRider oy those beavers have been busy! I hope the property manager can get them relocated or find a solution. Don't want you stuck without a driveway or have someone get washed away!! Miki glad you got your lab work done. I have just one more day here tomorrow to snuggle my grandson and then we will be heading out. Have a week up in WA and I will be at my work, then have planned an epic trip back with lots of fun stops including Yellowstone and Mt Rushmore. For once I'm going to stop and see the sights. We usually just drive point A to point B. Packing up most of the things tonight and will do the rest tomorrow. It went so fast.

Hope your birthday was super special!

Happy Birthday!! I see Dee beat me to it Hope your day is extra special!

(((Jeepers))) I really hope they can get your house in shape to sell before too long so you can finish your move! I'm sure it has been a huge ordeal to go through. I am getting to the point where I have less attachment to my things. There are items which I would like to pass one, mostly my grandmother's paintings and the family jewelry and photos but really it's up to them if they just want to sell it and if it's a burden to them I'd rather they let it go and hopefully someone else can enjoy them. I'm paring down to what I really love over time. I'm off to snuggle the grandbaby and spoil my daughter for the day

Thank you everyone! We are very happy Spent about half my day at the hotel working and went twice to the hospital- in the morning for 3 hrs and then another 3 this late afternoon/evening. Could look at his little face all day DD will probably be able to go home tomorrow. Littlesister glad you are getting organized I am sure it feels good to get a better idea of what you have and where it is Mt Rider best of luck to your DH! Miki hope you can get the storm gutters clear! Our street doesn't really have them, just one catycorner to our house on the main street and none on the side streets.

Thank you everyone! Baby and Mama are doing well but wow what an ordeal to get there. Last weekend DD was having contractions 8-10 min apart and already at 2 cm so we all thought this might go smoothly. She had off and on contraction all week but still no baby so they set the induction date for 6/5 at 9 pm. We got to the hospital an she was still about the same as at her apt when they started the medication to ripen her cervix more. That started some nice contractions and then they added pitocin a few hours later and she got an epidural before that. My DD is deathly afraid of needles and her partner supported her beautifully through that part and then we had several hours of nice progress where she got to 9 cm at 11 in the morning. And that's when things started to get odd. She had a small cervical lip that just didn't want to budge so we tried all kinds of positions to get it to dilate. Baby seemed to be doing well, but was posterior (back to mama's back) and that can cause slower progress so we just thought that was the reason. It took her until 5 pm to get to be completely dilated and ready to push. Baby was still looking good and we tried everything but my poor daughter pushed 4 hours without being able to move baby past the pelvic bone so we made the call at 8:30 to do a c-section. She wanted me in the room instead of baby's dad so we went off to the OR and I got the birth on video for Dad. Baby was born at 9:09 pm 6/6 and healthy and cried right away which was a huge relief. I was up since 7 am on the 5th other than a few short cat naps of about 45 min total over the whole time. So we were all very exhausted. I got them back to recovery and settled in and then went back to the hotel to sleep for 10 hrs. Back to the hospital today to meet baby. He's beautiful very alert and calm and nursing well. 7 lbs 12 oz and 20 1/2 inches long.

Sorry I missed your birthday but I was busy attending the delivery of my grandson which took 24 hrs and ended in a C-section I hope you had a fabulous Birthday!!

Jeepers glad your son got back safe and so sorry your DIL's dad got injured but hopefully it heals ok. You are probably going to get your wish for my DD's baby to be born on your birthday since the induction time they set was 9pm tomorrow. I am going to bed early because I will probably be up all night tomorrow!! I promise to post as soon as I get back to the hotel to let you all know how it went. I don't have Mrs S login on my phone. Littlesister glad your GS has somewhere to stay and maybe he'll be able to help his friend this way and perhaps give him more appreciation for having a place of his own when he gets there.

Annarchy such a sad day when things like that break hope your new fixture works out well. Littlesister good luck with your weeding! I hope your garden thrives. Mine is just going to have to fend for itself while I'm away at least it's mulched and getting watered. Ambergris so glad you found your wallet! MtRider sorry your mom had a hospital visit. Hope the new BP med continues to work well for her. A beaver would be entertaining as long as it builds away from anything that you want flowing like you say hope it stays away from your driveway culvert! Jeepers so glad your son was able to come help. Sounds like you got a lot done! And YAY on the insurance company coming through I hope the work can all get done quickly for you so you can get it all taken care of and finish your move. We have an induction date of Monday evening, so an end in sight and we had a lovely afternoon visiting with Daughter. Took them out for Thai food and then for a walk in the park. I am hoping the spicy food does the trick Then brought DS back to the hotel and he swam in the pool while I rested it was a great day

I thought it would be fun to share with each other and I'll be posting from time to time with some icebreakers to encourage us to share some fun things to get to know each other better. Copy and paste your answers below! Today's game- What is your Favorite? Favorite Color: Cobalt Blue Favorite Season: Autumn I love the colorful leaves and crisp air Favorite Drink: Coffee Favorite Food: This one is hard for me but I'd have to say Tom Yum Ga soup! I could live on the stuff Favorite Book: The Harry Potter Series. Just great storytelling, character development and pure fun Favorite Movie: Sense and Sensibility Favorite Tool: A shovel because I can plant in my garden Favorite Pet: My dog Ruby but my chicks are coming in a close 2nd. Having a lot of fun with them. Favorite Camping Spot: Brookings Oregon there is a campground right by the beach that is wonderful and within walking distance to the ocean. Favorite Place to take a Vacation: Anywhere there is a beach Favorite Garden Seeds/Plants: Tomatoes! I planted at least 7 varieties this year - San Maritzano, Dr Wychee, Purple Cherokee, Heirloom Rainbow, Red Cherry Tomatoes, Yellow Pear Tomatoes, and Beefsteak, and Mortgage Lifters and probably a few others. I gave away over 30 plants too that I didn't have room for this year. Favorite Comfort item: my Puppy Ruby she is a snuggle bug. Share whatever you feel comfortable with and remember none of these things should ever be part of your passwords

Thanks for the prayers everyone! Daughter had her Dr Apt today and baby looked good on the monitor and some changes from the last visit so her Dr is happy but did schedule her for induction on Monday so won't be much longer either way. My husband's dad's birthday is on Sunday so unless baby comes before midnight he'll hold to the tradition of being on or next to another family birthday. I only have one kid that didn't do that LOL. I figure baby wanted a June birthday as the last week of May was so crowded. Littlesister glad you have a plan for the rabbits won't be much left of your garden otherwise! I am going to have to fence in mine too but that will have to be next year. Ambergris glad you got your printer working!

Mt Rider I took so long to write my post you posted while I was typing Hope your pup handles the boarding ok. And your hubby's surgery goes well. We are in Oregon but will be also going up to WA to visit DH's family afterwards on the way home.