My apologies for a late post ... I got busy and distracted!

Things are moving along fine here ... I am not cooking as much as I had planned but I am eating well and staying on track. Ive been doing some plain old school mat exercises in the early am and that is feeling good.

Also starting to clear out dead weight -- old clothes that are 2 or more sizes too big, clothes that are long out of style or just worn out. The process stinks but it is so nice to have clear and organized spaces. It has been good for the soul. I am probably only half way there but I have 2 spaces in good shape!

How are you doing? Anything special going on this week?

I had a great week at arts n crafts camp but it was a lot of sitting, and the food was really good…a little too good! I have not looked at the scale since I got back.

The workshop itself was so good, loved the instructor and my classmates were great. There were 9 of us, and everyone but me was in their 70s. The instructor was about 75. Very inspiring! All of us ate every meal together and were in the studio at least 9-4 for five days. Everyone was super nice, supportive, and chatty. Two of the women live pretty close to me and we are planning to get together regularly over the winter to work on the baskets.

The baskets we made were tiny, made from waxed linen. I was the only one who was a true novice. Several of the women had taken classes with this instructor before.

This was the easiest type, made from wrapping the thread around a paper coil. My maiden voyage:

This was my second basket in progress. It is a twined basket. Some people learned a third type, but I had my hands full learning these two. It took me 3 days to finish this one. I don’t have a photo of the finished product.

Some of the teacher’s work.

I am back on track with normal eating, and went for a long walk this morning…but I am sorry to report that the last cortisone shot I got for my hip did not really work. I’m pretty annoyed about that.

In other news, I am getting my flu shot on Tues and getting my face lasered on Wed!

It is such a gift when you find the right connection and help in the medical field. I have a great PCP, she is around my age, so I assume she'll practice for awhile. My parents are so fortunate to have an amazing PCP. It really makes a huge difference.

Life is getting back on track so I am trying to get myself back on track too.. I have done better with the exercise. I'm up several pounds, probably because I just don't exercise like I used to. I would play pickleball 10 -12 hours a week, and it was fun, and burned lots of calories. For many reasons, that just hasn't happened and I haven't replaced it with anything similar, nor decreased my calories enough to offset it.

I have done some regular hiking, and at home I have done some exercises every day to keep up the habit, so that's good. Sleep is going pretty well. I did do some meal prepping this week which is helpful. But I've had a terrible sweet tooth and that has been a real challenge :)

I'm already dreading the early darkness. It makes me just want to go to bed and read. I definitely need to turn my day around and get more done in the early mornings, including exercise. It's not even cold outside yet!

I have not been in a while. If you decide to go, consider visiting Vieques. Take a canoe tour of the bioluminescent bay at midnight. It is magical.

ChatGPT summary:

Mosquito Bay, located on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, is recognized as one of the brightest bioluminescent bays in the world. Its magical blue-green glow is produced by millions of microscopic organisms called dinoflagellates, which absorb energy through photosynthesis during the day and emit light through a chemical reaction when the water is disturbed at night.

As kayaks glide through the water, each paddle stroke creates shimmering trails of light. The phenomenon is especially spectacular on moonless nights. Surrounded by protected mangroves, Mosquito Bay offers one of nature's most extraordinary nighttime experiences.

Photosynthesis:

How this relates to Vieques' bioluminescent bay: The microscopic dinoflagellates responsible for the glowing water use photosynthesis to obtain energy during the day. At night, when the water is disturbed, they produce flashes of blue light through a separate chemical reaction called bioluminescence.

In other words, photosynthesis captures light energy, while bioluminescence produces light.

i was going to say the same thing - Vieques. …because that is the place I hear people talk about most!

@Kswl yes! and yes!

I went to one of my fave thrift shops today and did another replacement! I have this long black tweed-y Zara jacket, which i just donated

I was going to buy it again in a new size, but I never loved the buttons so I held off. Thrifted this in person today, by Tuckernuck (Pomander), at a great price.

I also picked up this at the same thrift shop. This is my third houndstooth item this season. One arrived yesterday and I tried it on and liked it. One arrived today and I am not home to see it. Both of those two are returnable. One will be voted off the island since I just bought this.

KSWL, there must be good thrift stores in Atlanta.

I ended up being surprised and pleased with my outfit today ... none of it was bought together or with the intention of wearing together but it all worked super well for a casual outfit for our town's Harvest Hop and then dinner/drinks. I felt really put together (except for my very wind-blown hair). I was especially pleased because I have been really challenged to put together outfits lately.

sorry, no photos of me or any of us.

I wore my new EF top with jeans and a wide RL brown leather belt

Gray-brown vionic boots (planned to wear Naturalizer pewter sneakers but they were too shiny and grabbed too much attention)

Jewelry was a mix of pyrite beaded necklaces like this .. but centered correctly... and 2 pyrite bracelets and 2 gold silicone bracelets.

and this was the crossbody bag

We went to dinner with friends tonight, casual place. I have been trying to wear outfits that are outside of my usual, so I wore jeans (ok, that’s not different) with a gray striped cashmere sweater (narrow stripes, two shades of gray), and a square floral scarf with lots of colors (incl a touch of gray). I added dangly earrings and thought I was so cute, I almost posted a pic for you people LOL. The earrings had a green stone that picked up a color in the scarf…I mean, I was stylin’. Halfway through dinner, I realized one of my earrings was gone. Sigh. It wasn’t anywhere to be found. We had to walk a bit from the car to the restaurant, so it’s probably on the sidewalk or in the street. That’s what I get for thinking I was cute! Fortunately, they weren’t precious — I can’t even remember where I got them. But still, a bummer.

I love that EF top, Funky.

Oh, we just found out we have a wedding next August. Guess I don’t need to shop just yet.

PS I had to crop a bit, but this is my baby at a wedding today. She is not really into fashion at all, and she didn’t show me ahead of time what she’d be wearing. I was happy to see she really dressed up!

Churu cat treat. Laser pointer.

I will second the real fur mice.

A fishing pole type thing.

Part of me wants to suggest a small mirror because our cat likes to chase reflections. We get light and reflections coming in the front windows and the cat picked up that our phones would make reflections (inadvertently at first) and she likes to chase them.

But now she knows when the sun hits a certain spot on the doorjamb that it makes the right kind of reflection on the floor to chase. So now at that time of day if someone is home she sits by it and howls until you come make some reflections. So maybe unless it's more random than that, this is not such a good idea

Hah! I can answer this. The answer is NO. My son’s SO is office manager for a dermatologist whose practice is entirely cosmetic procedures, along with facials

, lasers, and the usual list. I went for a facial and felt that I should tip the woman who did the facial for me,

. At checkout I asked son’s SO if I should tip and she said absolutely not, this is a medical office.

Evidently a former emplyee got in trouble for accepting tips. I cant believe their credit card screen would ask for that however it may just be included in whatever credit card processing company they use.

Our power went out and generator came on. Pwr Co sent text "a crew has been dispatched." I am not too sure about that.

You too, @rubyclaire

We have POWER, even INTERNET again!

@Still trailing and @Fun2BHere, our annual service appt is in the morning, as in tomorrow. I cannot see the tiny letters on my cell phone to post. (Time for readers!? LOL)

I am not west of Miramar.

@rubyclaire They should have power soon, if not already. IG has not been cooperating properly, but if I see a local post about Seaside, I will let @Still trailing know about Seaside.

Going to bed. Hopefully everyone hears from their family and friends.

FWIW, our two nearby beach accesses are fine. But we do not on higher ground with stairs.

That's a great looking console - love the woven shelf too. Well that sent me looking at Birch Lane. I had no idea how many products they carried, they even had recognizable brand names. But I made the mistake of clicking on Holiday Decor. .... nope - turn away - I don't need any more, especially since I'm trying to reduce what I have.

Closest Wayfair is Greensboro, and none in SC from what I can tell.

Congrats, 3katz, and hope the party for DH goes smoothly.

Inspection contingency was lifted yesterday and fortunately we didn't have to do anything for that. We won't be at the closing so we will be signing our paperwork in a week with closing in two weeks and then DONE!

Congratulations on the sale! 🎆 🧨 🎆 🧨 🎆

I got on the scale today for the first time in 2 weeks -- not because I don't care but I know my body is "taking a rest" from losing and some days that would be very disappointing. I don't love it but I love that my body is not just shaving off weight faster than it can adjust to. Also, admittedly, I havent been super diligent and restrictive. I am not gaining and that is a good thing ;)

My sleep has started to improve -- still have some bad nights, even some very bad nights but I am also having nights with great sleep patterns. I have been able to see these improvements without using xanax so I feel good about that and I feel better in general with more sleep.

I am super glad today is Friday :) and we have some greater great and mild weather so that's all good. What about you? How are you all doing?

Technically my toe is healing but now that I am on my feet all day again, it hurts chronically. And I already have neuropathic pain in that leg anyway, so sometimes it feels like someone is sticking a need through the tip of my toe, and then it jerks, mostly at night. The option seems to be to get really thick ugly orthopedic shoes to wear to work. And I still can't walk down certain types of stairs the normal way, I have to put both feet on each step, or it bends my toe too much. (This includes my steps at home). Luckily the shorter riser steps at work I can walk down. I have kind of traded one type of pain for another, it seems.

My blood pressure is acting up, at the Dr. the other day the diastolic (lower #) was 105.

@gsciencechick yes DH has been several times in the past 2 yrs to see the top hand guy there for a tendon problem . I willbe in good hands. 😊👍

Let me bump up the new thread.

Whew, DH stayed only mildly sick from flu B and I didn't get it. I slept in the guest room, and we opened the windows and ran all the HEPA air filters. I use one in my office at work, too.

Not much new here. Fall break is soon and that's all I can do. Got one Pilates and weights already. On the treadmill now.

Finished my antibiotics today, so hopefully I can get my digestive system back to normal! Not much appetite the last few days due to the antibiotic and feeling full/bloated. Always something!

To answer the questions about pain, blood pressure and gabapentin. I don't really think the pain is enough to be raising my blood pressure, and I don't think it is enough for me to start taking a prescription for it.

My blood pressure is primarily raised by the medication used to treat my anxiety disorders. When I go of those medications my blood pressure goes down to normal levels. I am on two to lessen the effects of taking this blood pressure-raising medication had at a higher dosage as a single agent. It may be time to try something different although this one works better than some of the others.

I have tried going off the meds for my anxiety disorders and I am fully functional at work and with regards things that I must do. I am disciplined enough that I can't stop anything important. But I got to a point that I could barely do anything else that might cause the slightest anxiety. I had to make a phone call to see a specialist, and I did not make the phone call for six solid months. Not because I forgot, but because I could not physically call the number, and this also became layered with embarrassment about not being able to call. I had to go back on medication to make a phone call. I know how irrational that is, which makes it worse. and my blood pressure went up as a result of all the suppressed anxiety. As in 190/105.

And I had patches of psoriasis everywhere. So I had to go back on anxiety medication and also on BP medication. And the psoriasis resolves itself when I am not stressed.

I have the neuropathic pain, some essentially from birth(left leg) and then on the right side of my face. lip and chin from a nerve injury (as well as some actual numbness, luckily no paralysis) But I have learned to switch that off almost entirely. It only comes out when I am severely stressed, which I am less so when on the anxiety stuff. And then I probably need a left shoulder replacement or something done up in my neck. This is occupational and it actually bothers me most when I am lying down, although I can my arm go numb if I rotate it a certain way when I am upright.

But I feel like I have learned to manage or deal with the nerve issues, by shutting them off more or less. You can ignore a lot if you want too

So this long "organ recital" as my dad would have called it is a long answer as to why I don't want to go on any pain management meds. I feel like I am already on too many because I essentially consider myself a "healthy person for my age". I go to the gym, I walk everywhere, I never take elevators, I never get out of breath, and I have a job where I am on my feet almost all day long. I have been sitting during lecture only because of my foot, but there are days when I am on my feet for six hours at a time.

Have followed him for a while. Looking forward to seeing how he evolves over time. Lots of pressure for a kid, but he’s so adorable.

He's just wonderful. When I first started following him, (I think he was five), as someone who sews myself, I was cynical. I couldn't believe he could cut and sew with the accuracy evidenced in the final garments. But it wasn't too long until I became a believer.

I've also been following him for a while. He is adorable and so creative!

Full disclosure, I would not put the floor in my own house but I think it is a very interesting choice and definitely shows out of the (big) box thinking. I would take the blue range!