Honestly, I served on a 5-week jury in 2022 and it was the highlight of my summer. I absolutely loved it and I learned so much. Also, Kenny G was a witness (his dad was the victim).
This summer I’ve been doing my best at being patient. I live in the Pittsburgh area and those of you who also live in this area know what that means. Summer in Pittsburgh means road construction. This summer in my neighborhood there has been a lot of it. So much that I’m sad that I’m not the person who rents the “Construction Zone” signs and the traffic cones to the various companies. Just another lost opportunity at being a millionaire. Now I know this sounds like whining, so I want to be clear. I truly do appreciate all the work that’s being done. And I understand that a lot of it was funded via the infrastructure bill and has to be completed before the funding is lost. Water lines to homes and even miles of primary water mains are being replaced. Natural gas lines are being updated. Old unneeded bridges are finally being demolished. Streets are being paved. All good stuff and all much needed. I just wish that between the utilities and the municipalities and the county and PennDoT, some kind of planning could be done so that while the work is being accomplished, we could still get from here to there. So this summer my choices were either to sit in traffic waiting for long periods of time until it was our turn to use the only open lane or to drive 10 miles out of my way. And doing that was not a guarantee that I’d get there. A couple of weeks ago, for example I needed to go to a specific store. The route I took to get there had a construction zone. Took a different way back and it had a construction zone. Tried to take a work around route and it was under construction. Eventually just drove the 10 miles out of my way to get back home.
So I had choices. In some cases, I cancelled or rescheduled events and appointments to avoid being cranky when I got there. In other cases as I sat in my jeep waiting for the flag person to wave me through, I practiced being patient. As I drove by the flag person I’d open the window and say thank you. I practiced patience. It was the best I could do and in the long run, I think I’m a bit better and infrastructure items were fixed which will make things better in the long run. Sometimes all it takes is being patient and focusing on the longer term goals.
I do have a question that maybe the group can help me with. I really do need to replace some furniture, sofas and chairs mainly. Going to furniture stores all I’m finding are huge chairs and sofas. Even the sectionals are big. My problem is I have an older house and it has narrower doorways than what the standard is nowadays. Does anyone know a quality furniture brand that makes smaller furniture. Back in my day they used to call it “apartment sized”. Looking for quality, willing to do minor assembly if needed, I’m just looking for furniture that is comfortable that I can get into my house easily. Oh and it needs to be sturdy. The search continues.
That’s it. As summer ends and the number of construction zones winds down, my goal it to keep the patience that I worked so hard to gain during the summer.
Now if the Steelers could only learn how to draft or trade for a decent quarterback. I may not yet achieved that much patience.
Some final thoughts.
It’s fall. Time to schedule your shots. Science works. This year I only needed annual flu and this year’s Covid update. Experienced a little arm soreness but that was it.
Take care everyone and please vote. Vote for democracy. Vote for sane leadership. And most importantly don’t just vote for it at the top of the ballot. The down ballot elections are just as important. And so as an honorary member of the childless cat ladies (yes, I asked and one of them let me in). I urge you to understand the assignment and vote!
I have a beef (said with much love): when Caissie or Busy say they’ll discuss something on the next episode, please don’t leave us hanging! My brain and heart remember and have been waiting for the story about Caissie’s dog almost dying (thankfully knowing everything is ok), and how her new refrigerator is doing!
I didn't even talk about it on the next episode & for that I am sorry! How did Birdie almost die? Well, trigger warning if you get stressed. We were all sleeping & were abruptly awoken by one of the dogs doing three sharp shrieks. Not barks. Screams. We ran out & Millie was up, but Birdie was lying in her normal spot, not doing great. Her eyes were open but she wasn't moving. Lincoln picked her up & her head was lolled over, but he said she was kind of stiff. Her breathing was very labored. Matt had to go to work & I was too upset to drive, so Eli got behind the wheel & we sped to the Emergency Animal Hospital, because dogs in our house only ever almost die on Sundays, and it was so early they didn't even have a vet on duty yet. They told us one was on the way, but in the meantime, they were going to take her vitals & give her an IV. They gave her the crash cart treatment, just like in an episode of ER. Fluids, oxygen. They said her breathing was very labored. They did a blood workup. Her blood sugar was quite high, but her X-rays were fine, as were the rest of her labs. She is old, so...she has "old dog lungs" as they told us. When the vet got there we talked about how we once had thought she was having an allergic reaction to a bee sting because she kind of went into shock, but was basically fine. They were not able to pinpoint what had happened to her that morning, but the consensus is, whatever it was, she had gone into shock again, which is, truth be told, what almost killed her, because her blood pressure dropped and her breathing was so labored. It could have also been what spiked her blood sugar. It could have been a heart episode. It could have been a nightmare. But whatever it was, it almost upset her to death. Anyway, after an hour of observation & $1500 later, she went home & rested for the remainder of the day & was pretty much back to normal by the next morning. Knock on wood, she's doing ok for an old girl. We love her. She's still mean as hell.
Oh my goodness, Caissie! How stressful for all of you, and especially poor sweet Birdie. Thanks for sharing and I’m so glad she’s doing ok, though at a cost both pocketbook wise and sheer panic for the household. As someone with a dog with “old dog lungs” (she has the same inhalers I do!) who also has woken us up crying out in the middle of the night, sending all of you big hugs. 🩷
I'm doing my best at moving, which is just the worst. Also sorting through decades of family items at the same time, so I'm a touch frazzled. But it's almost done, and I keep imagining what that will be like, and it keeps me going 😄
Doing my best at enjoying this beautiful Florida Sunday. Lunch at The Boathouse, walking at Riverside and then walking up one side of Las Olas Blvd. and down the other - window shopping along the way. What a perfect day.
I’m doing my best trying to let my kids make their own decisions because they’re old enough to do so and are each exerting their independence more and more (17 and 14 yos). Each incremental increase in maturity is a change that a mom needs to get used to. We first have to recognize it and then have to slowly, but safely, pull back. And then a week later they may digress and we’re right back in it only to have to come back out in a couple days. I don’t find these changes easy, but do love love love to watch them gain their independence.
Doing my best at being a very new mom of a newborn. The parts I thought would be the hardest, like waking up on the night, aren’t so bad, but trying to calm a fussy baby is tough. She seems to like her little black and white books though, which warms my reader nerd heart.
Congratulations on the arrival of your girl, Rachel! Hoo boy, I remember how hard those early fussy days were. I feel like they have even invented new ways to hold & soothe fussy babies since mine were little. Or maybe they already existed but nobody had told me? If you ever want any advice on things you could try, I know there's a lot of moms & aunties here who've got your back!
Thank you! You and Busy have taught me so much about being a mom over the last few years of podcast listening. My cousin who’s a nurse sent me this stuff called Gripe Water which is basically water with lemon, and is supposed to help with gas and colic. Mixed results so far but at least she’ll take it.
Honestly, I served on a 5-week jury in 2022 and it was the highlight of my summer. I absolutely loved it and I learned so much. Also, Kenny G was a witness (his dad was the victim).
This summer I’ve been doing my best at being patient. I live in the Pittsburgh area and those of you who also live in this area know what that means. Summer in Pittsburgh means road construction. This summer in my neighborhood there has been a lot of it. So much that I’m sad that I’m not the person who rents the “Construction Zone” signs and the traffic cones to the various companies. Just another lost opportunity at being a millionaire. Now I know this sounds like whining, so I want to be clear. I truly do appreciate all the work that’s being done. And I understand that a lot of it was funded via the infrastructure bill and has to be completed before the funding is lost. Water lines to homes and even miles of primary water mains are being replaced. Natural gas lines are being updated. Old unneeded bridges are finally being demolished. Streets are being paved. All good stuff and all much needed. I just wish that between the utilities and the municipalities and the county and PennDoT, some kind of planning could be done so that while the work is being accomplished, we could still get from here to there. So this summer my choices were either to sit in traffic waiting for long periods of time until it was our turn to use the only open lane or to drive 10 miles out of my way. And doing that was not a guarantee that I’d get there. A couple of weeks ago, for example I needed to go to a specific store. The route I took to get there had a construction zone. Took a different way back and it had a construction zone. Tried to take a work around route and it was under construction. Eventually just drove the 10 miles out of my way to get back home.
So I had choices. In some cases, I cancelled or rescheduled events and appointments to avoid being cranky when I got there. In other cases as I sat in my jeep waiting for the flag person to wave me through, I practiced being patient. As I drove by the flag person I’d open the window and say thank you. I practiced patience. It was the best I could do and in the long run, I think I’m a bit better and infrastructure items were fixed which will make things better in the long run. Sometimes all it takes is being patient and focusing on the longer term goals.
I do have a question that maybe the group can help me with. I really do need to replace some furniture, sofas and chairs mainly. Going to furniture stores all I’m finding are huge chairs and sofas. Even the sectionals are big. My problem is I have an older house and it has narrower doorways than what the standard is nowadays. Does anyone know a quality furniture brand that makes smaller furniture. Back in my day they used to call it “apartment sized”. Looking for quality, willing to do minor assembly if needed, I’m just looking for furniture that is comfortable that I can get into my house easily. Oh and it needs to be sturdy. The search continues.
That’s it. As summer ends and the number of construction zones winds down, my goal it to keep the patience that I worked so hard to gain during the summer.
Now if the Steelers could only learn how to draft or trade for a decent quarterback. I may not yet achieved that much patience.
Some final thoughts.
It’s fall. Time to schedule your shots. Science works. This year I only needed annual flu and this year’s Covid update. Experienced a little arm soreness but that was it.
Take care everyone and please vote. Vote for democracy. Vote for sane leadership. And most importantly don’t just vote for it at the top of the ballot. The down ballot elections are just as important. And so as an honorary member of the childless cat ladies (yes, I asked and one of them let me in). I urge you to understand the assignment and vote!
Love you all
Herman
I have a beef (said with much love): when Caissie or Busy say they’ll discuss something on the next episode, please don’t leave us hanging! My brain and heart remember and have been waiting for the story about Caissie’s dog almost dying (thankfully knowing everything is ok), and how her new refrigerator is doing!
I didn't even talk about it on the next episode & for that I am sorry! How did Birdie almost die? Well, trigger warning if you get stressed. We were all sleeping & were abruptly awoken by one of the dogs doing three sharp shrieks. Not barks. Screams. We ran out & Millie was up, but Birdie was lying in her normal spot, not doing great. Her eyes were open but she wasn't moving. Lincoln picked her up & her head was lolled over, but he said she was kind of stiff. Her breathing was very labored. Matt had to go to work & I was too upset to drive, so Eli got behind the wheel & we sped to the Emergency Animal Hospital, because dogs in our house only ever almost die on Sundays, and it was so early they didn't even have a vet on duty yet. They told us one was on the way, but in the meantime, they were going to take her vitals & give her an IV. They gave her the crash cart treatment, just like in an episode of ER. Fluids, oxygen. They said her breathing was very labored. They did a blood workup. Her blood sugar was quite high, but her X-rays were fine, as were the rest of her labs. She is old, so...she has "old dog lungs" as they told us. When the vet got there we talked about how we once had thought she was having an allergic reaction to a bee sting because she kind of went into shock, but was basically fine. They were not able to pinpoint what had happened to her that morning, but the consensus is, whatever it was, she had gone into shock again, which is, truth be told, what almost killed her, because her blood pressure dropped and her breathing was so labored. It could have also been what spiked her blood sugar. It could have been a heart episode. It could have been a nightmare. But whatever it was, it almost upset her to death. Anyway, after an hour of observation & $1500 later, she went home & rested for the remainder of the day & was pretty much back to normal by the next morning. Knock on wood, she's doing ok for an old girl. We love her. She's still mean as hell.
Oh my goodness, Caissie! How stressful for all of you, and especially poor sweet Birdie. Thanks for sharing and I’m so glad she’s doing ok, though at a cost both pocketbook wise and sheer panic for the household. As someone with a dog with “old dog lungs” (she has the same inhalers I do!) who also has woken us up crying out in the middle of the night, sending all of you big hugs. 🩷
I'm doing my best at moving, which is just the worst. Also sorting through decades of family items at the same time, so I'm a touch frazzled. But it's almost done, and I keep imagining what that will be like, and it keeps me going 😄
Hope the move is going/went smoothly & your new place really feels like home!
Doing my best at enjoying this beautiful Florida Sunday. Lunch at The Boathouse, walking at Riverside and then walking up one side of Las Olas Blvd. and down the other - window shopping along the way. What a perfect day.
That sounds absolutely perfect, Barbara! Glad you had this day. Thank you for sharing a bit of it!
I’m doing my best trying to let my kids make their own decisions because they’re old enough to do so and are each exerting their independence more and more (17 and 14 yos). Each incremental increase in maturity is a change that a mom needs to get used to. We first have to recognize it and then have to slowly, but safely, pull back. And then a week later they may digress and we’re right back in it only to have to come back out in a couple days. I don’t find these changes easy, but do love love love to watch them gain their independence.
Yes! It’s hard. We’re growing too & we’ve never done this before either. 😅
Doing my best at being a very new mom of a newborn. The parts I thought would be the hardest, like waking up on the night, aren’t so bad, but trying to calm a fussy baby is tough. She seems to like her little black and white books though, which warms my reader nerd heart.
Congratulations on the arrival of your girl, Rachel! Hoo boy, I remember how hard those early fussy days were. I feel like they have even invented new ways to hold & soothe fussy babies since mine were little. Or maybe they already existed but nobody had told me? If you ever want any advice on things you could try, I know there's a lot of moms & aunties here who've got your back!
Thank you! You and Busy have taught me so much about being a mom over the last few years of podcast listening. My cousin who’s a nurse sent me this stuff called Gripe Water which is basically water with lemon, and is supposed to help with gas and colic. Mixed results so far but at least she’ll take it.
I love this!!!