I like to try to remain balanced, and even though this is a mystery shopping forum, I thought it would be nice to have a place to chat about other things that are going on in our lives.

Today I'm taking our little dog, Lucy, to the vet. She is an elderly little black chihuahua mix and she has torn a ligament or something and is in pain and hobbling around. My spouse is sleeping on the couch currently so that she doesn't have to go up and down stairs to take herself out to potty. (We have a doggy door.) She's undergoing some laser treatments and I"m taking her in for one of those. When I get home I"ll start the usual laundry/dishes/vacuuming routine. I"m a terrible housekeeper. I get bored before I finish and wander off to do something else.

I just got finished with my morning coffee and washing the dishes that my husband left in the sink this morning before he went to work. I am going to make the bed and then I am going shopping but no assignments, I am going to buy new pots and pans, dish towels, and other stuff for my kitchen then I am going clothes shopping at Kohl's. Then I will come home and clean the bathrooms and repot some plants and some of the plant clones I have that are growing nice root systems...then off to the grocery store. After that I have no idea...I have a bunch of work lined up for this month but I won't start until the 5th. Maybe I will fill some boxes for my PO shops. I really need to clean out my pantry and organize it but don't feel like it today.

I hope your little doggie is okay. Poor little thing.

I"m tired just listening to your list. I am jealous of your kitchen purchases. I like the Pioneer woman stuff but I think they only sell it at WalMart. We had a leak for some time that we didn't know about, and will soon have to have an entire new kitchen due to the water damage and mold. It's up to the insurance company, of course, how much we get to spend but i do plan to fit all new pots and dishes into it. Lucy survived her laser treatment just fine. She gets a pain pill at noon. It's hard on us watching her but she seems happy in spite of it.

I thought the same thing, that list is just exhausting. I wouldn't run errands, come home then go back out for errands. It must be the route shopper in me, lOL. Glad to hear the pup is on the mend and happy.

For me today is catching up on reports, probably some yard work and a little housework. Tonight is the season finale of Doctor Who so everything needs to be done before 7:30

Please give Lucy gentle little extra scritches from her friends on the forum. I hope she feels better soon!

I am donating stuff and cleaning the places it used to occupy. Yawn.

Dogs are so generous with their love and can be so resilient. If only more people were like that.

My eldest stepdaughter was living with roommates who had all the kitchen stuff, she is now getting an apartment and will be living alone so I am giving her some of my old stuff. I am pretty excited about it, too. My husband volunteered to write me the check and just told me to go buy whatever I wanted. I am going to get new Calphalon I think. I've got some great cast iron pots I acquired from estate sales that I will never get rid of, but I need some new non-stick saute pans and pots as well. People in my family think I am weird because I get excited about appliances and cookware, LOL. I asked for a Rainbow vacuum cleaner for Christmas one year. The kids laughed at me because I was so thrilled about it. I mean, it's a $900 vacuum cleaner with an awesome water filtration system. I have had it for 13 years now and it still works as good as it did the day I got it, and my house stays relatively dust free for several weeks after I use it. I can relate to the mold issue. We are constantly combating it in the basement, though not due to any water leaks. It makes me physically sick because I am allergic to everything, especially mold, and even people without allergies get sick from mold. I keep telling my husband we need to get a professional in here to take care of it. That's next on my list of what kind of check he will be writing!

Lisa, I am going about 10 miles south for retail therapy, and I don't like to do grocery shopping on Saturdays until after 4 pm when the stores are not as busy--and the grocery store I want to go to is about 4 miles north of my house. If the grocery store was south I would do it all in one excursion, but i am right in between. With it being a holiday weekend, the grocery store will be slammed most likely with people getting stuff for cookouts and I like grocery stores better when there are not screaming children hanging off carts and frazzled mothers trying to corral their brood with a cart full of groceries (and the long lines). Plus, it's the 1st of the month so there will be those with the EBT cards slowing down the cashier as well. No offense to anyone who uses those cards...but you have to admit it slows down the process sometimes.

Can you believe I have never seen a single episode of Doctor Who? It's all a mystery to me still. I am that way on Survivor night. I get everything done and order pizza and refuse to answer my phone.

@LisaSTL wrote:

I thought the same thing, that list is just exhausting. I wouldn't run errands, come home then go back out for errands. It must be the route shopper in me, lOL. Glad to hear the pup is on the mend and happy.

For me today is catching up on reports, probably some yard work and a little housework. Tonight is the season finale of Doctor Who so everything needs to be done before 7:30

Here it doesn't much matter which way I go, a grocery store will be on the way home. There are probably six grocery stores in a four mile radius. I think that's why people are so amazed when they look out the window at my house and see a herd of deer walk by

Like you, getting new stuff for the kitchen is exciting for me. I was thrilled after cleaning and reorganizing mine. My next purchase is new glasses and flatware. I've never heard of a Rainbow vacuum. People thought I was crazy enough buying a Dyson.

Awww thanks. I really believe that good wishes are helpful so I do appreciate the positive energy sent her way. We spent the last 2 months donating crap and cleaning its newly vacated spaces. I'm a minimalist by nature but I think I may have married a borderline hoarder. Or maybe that's just compared to me because I throw everything away if I can. I like empty space. It makes me happy.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Please give Lucy gentle little extra scritches from her friends on the forum. I hope she feels better soon!

I am donating stuff and cleaning the places it used to occupy. Yawn.

I used to have a Rainbow, my current wife's first wife made her buy it and she refused to give it to her when they separated. I hated it, I hated dumping that dirty water out. Gross! I sold it and bought a Dyson which I loved with a passion typically reserved for shopping sprees and vacations. The Dyson finally gave out on me, and I researched before buying a new vacuum. I bought a Shark and love it. The only thing the Dyson did better was it had a longer and better wand for cleaning up high. I don't like cleaning but I love vacuuming and look forward to firing the Shark up as soon as the spouse wakes today.

I know it's gross, that's why my husband dumps it and he doesn't seem to mind as long as I am the one doing the vacuuming (he won't clean toilets either and I won't take out the trash, we know our roles, LOL). I love looking at the water before he dumps it. It is really satisfying to see all the dirt I trapped. I know, it's weird. Okay I am getting in the shower, getting a late start...have a good day everybody!

Home watching re-runs of Criminal Minds, going to pool and cooking and maybe doing a little work cleaning out closet (maybe).

Not many people here know this, but last year my dad passed away from complications from surgery. He owned a building that had 4 apartments upstairs and downstairs he ran an antique store. All of the store items were sold and my brothers and I are in the process of remodeling the 1st floor into 6 more apartments. So that's what I've been doing most of the day (and the rest of the holiday weekend).

@bgriffin wrote:

Not many people here know this, but last year my dad passed away from complications from surgery. He owned a building that had 4 apartments upstairs and downstairs he ran an antique store. All of the store items were sold and my brothers and I are in the process of remodeling the 1st floor into 6 more apartments. So that's what I've been doing most of the day (and the rest of the holiday weekend).

Sorry for your loss BG, have lost and it is a trying time. Good luck in the remodeling.

bg that must have been hard to sell off all of the antiques. Hopefully the worst is behind you. My condolences to you. My spouse and I are looking for multi-housing. We actually want to buy old motels and turn them into tiny homes (tiny apts?) for low income residents. We want a focus on building community, with community gardens and a community center, even if it's just a spare room, where they can socialize and play cards and stuff. We believe that is what is missing with most of the homeless population. If they had any community support most of them wouldn't be homeless.

Sorry for your loss, bg. I lost my mother 2 years ago and my father 26 years ago. It's hard at any age. I am glad you have your brothers to help you with this project. I hope you get along better than I do with some of my sibs.

Settling in now for a House of cards marathon.

@CoffeeQueen wrote:

We actually want to buy old motels and turn them into tiny homes (tiny apts?) for low income residents. We want a focus on building community, with community gardens and a community center, even if it's just a spare room, where they can socialize and play cards and stuff. We believe that is what is missing with most of the homeless population. If they had any community support most of them wouldn't be homeless.

This is a very cool idea! My next project (although honestly this one will take awhile) is doing something similar with shipping containers. There are some really interesting projects done with them.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Sorry for your loss, bg. I lost my mother 2 years ago and my father 26 years ago. It's hard at any age. I am glad you have your brothers to help you with this project. I hope you get along better than I do with some of my sibs.

We actually get along very well. They're both pretty cool.

We've taken forever to start our project. We formed our LLC 2 years ago and have just been researching. We've learned a lot and are now actively searching for our first property.
I have seen some of the amazing things done with shipping containers. Keep us posted!

@bgriffin wrote:

@CoffeeQueen wrote:

We actually want to buy old motels and turn them into tiny homes (tiny apts?) for low income residents. We want a focus on building community, with community gardens and a community center, even if it's just a spare room, where they can socialize and play cards and stuff. We believe that is what is missing with most of the homeless population. If they had any community support most of them wouldn't be homeless.

This is a very cool idea! My next project (although honestly this one will take awhile) is doing something similar with shipping containers. There are some really interesting projects done with them.

Meet friends for Sunday coffee at Starbucks...doing a grocery at noon, then Law and Order re-run, pool and nap.
Have a good happy healthy Sunday everyone, and get prepared for another week of the forum, hopefully things get back to normal (whatever that is).

My sister works for the State Department and when she was in Kabul, Afghanistan, they used shipping containers in her compound as apartments...they called them "hootches" I believe. Every year they had a contest for the best decorated hootch. She won the award many times, she sent me photos and it's amazing what someone can do with such a small space. They are very safe from minor explosions and possibly inclement weather. I am really glad she isn't in Afghanistan anymore.

I just cleaned out my coffee maker with white vinegar and watered all of my plants. I got some of the stuff on my list done yesterday but never made it to the grocery store, LOL. I got a cute little toaster oven and my husband wanted to know why I got another $35 Black and Decker instead of the $110 Cuisinart that was bigger and was a convection oven, etc. I was uncomfortable spending that kind of money on it and we just don't need it. Anyway. I am not working until the 5th, plenty of time to get more stuff done. Maybe I'll finish my list, maybe I won't.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2017 03:28PM by JASFLALMT.

Irene gets to go to the pool every day. Nice! Jas , what do you use a toaster oven for? I have never had one since I've been an adult. I use a toaster for toast, and I do grilled cheese on the stove. My stove does have double ovens with one of them being a mini, but I rarely use it. Mostly cookie sheets get stored in there.

I am mowing and weed eating today. Since I am old that takes me all day. I do a little, come back inside and cool down. It's soupy and hot here. I will combine that with making tea. I have to make a pitcher of sweet tea for the wife and unsweetened for me. I may do a run to the grocery for watermelon and deli fried chicken so that her dinner is already cooked.

Frequent cool downs when it is hot and muggy is just plain smart, not a sign of old age

Having a mini oven would be nice. I would love a double oven for family dinners and other gatherings. I use the toaster oven for small portions of garlic bread, heating up a few slices of pizza, my leftover baked mac n cheese with bacon toppings, etc. It's great for baking small items like pot pies when you don't want to heat up the whole oven, but having a mini double oven would work just fine. I have a cabinet next to my stove that is tall and narrow where I store all my cookie sheets so I would actually use the mini. I don't like nuking pizza and the mac and cheese gets an oily separation plus the bacon will not get crisp in the microwave. And of course we use the toaster oven for toast as well. It's really nice to see the toast as it's toasting, less chance of burning it. And if you want to do melted cheese on ciabatta for sandwiches it's great. I do a melted havarti or gouda on one side and smoked turkey on the other side (topped with cooked bacon just to get it crisp), and then have fresh tomato, avocado, and lettuce to add once it's heated. Someone more health conscious than I could use it to make toasted cheese sandwiches but I prefer slathering butter all over mine and doing them on the stove, LOL.

I wish I had a pool. I used to swim all of the time when I lived in Florida and I stayed in such good shape. I love to swim.

Okay so you use your toaster oven like I use my mini-oven (when I bother to take the cookie sheets out.) Got it. I wish I had a pool too. I love swimming laps.

A farmer near me created housing for a temporary worker using 2 40' shipping containers. He allowed me to tour it. He said once the containers were delivered, all he needed was a welder to weld them together and cut out windows and doors. The outside still looked like containers, but inside was nice. Corning Glass provided the inside wall panels and installation for free. The rest of the house looked like it was straight out of IKEA. Functional, but full, kitchen and bath, 1 bedroom, and a living room. It even had a foyer. The worker who lived there said it was soundproof. He never heard the rain or any storm. The roof had a water catch system.

The farmer said after the earthquake in Haiti (2010) he tried to build this type of housing in Haiti, but was denied. For whatever, all proposals for Haiti had to go through Sean Penn and his charity, and he nixed the idea. Housing is still an issue there. And the farmer still hates Sean Penn.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I got a cute little toaster oven and my husband wanted to know why I got another $35 Black and Decker instead of the $110 Cuisinart that was bigger and was a convection oven, etc.

My mom has one of the cuisinarts. Works great.