USMB Coffee Shop IV

[gallantwarrior]

Yep, Foxy, we are back from Hawaii. Had a wonderful time. Did lots of fun stuff. Spent a lot of money! Saw things I've never seen before. Took a swim on the famous Waikiki Beach!!! Now for the bad news... I must be the most unlucky person in the whole world!!! Plane got to O'Hare Airport at 0500 as planned, took the bus to Rockford and picked up the truck from the parking lot and drove home. Wasn't feeling too well. Got home at about 0830 on Wednesday morning. Well, at 0300 on Thursday I woke up and found it very difficult to breathe. Went to the hospital emergency room to find out that somehow I had pneumonia!!! Who goes to Hawaii in July, when it's 85 dregrees with a nice mild breeze and comes home with pneumonia? I was admitted into the hospital and not let out until Friday afternoon. Feeling better now and nearly finished taking the antibiotics and steroids. It's the strangest thing I have ever heard of. Still a bit weak but feeling better everyday. It's an odd thing I tell you. Really really odd!

There's a message there...maybe you need to move someplace featuring 85 degrees and a nice mild breeze?

 

[gallantwarrior]

Yep, Foxy, we are back from Hawaii. Had a wonderful time. Did lots of fun stuff. Spent a lot of money! Saw things I've never seen before. Took a swim on the famous Waikiki Beach!!! Now for the bad news... I must be the most unlucky person in the whole world!!! Plane got to O'Hare Airport at 0500 as planned, took the bus to Rockford and picked up the truck from the parking lot and drove home. Wasn't feeling too well. Got home at about 0830 on Wednesday morning. Well, at 0300 on Thursday I woke up and found it very difficult to breathe. Went to the hospital emergency room to find out that somehow I had pneumonia!!! Who goes to Hawaii in July, when it's 85 dregrees with a nice mild breeze and comes home with pneumonia? I was admitted into the hospital and not let out until Friday afternoon. Feeling better now and nearly finished taking the antibiotics and steroids. It's the strangest thing I have ever heard of. Still a bit weak but feeling better everyday. It's an odd thing I tell you. Really really odd!

The one time I flew any distance (it was to Hawaii, too), I came home sick. I thought I was just jet-lagged, so I slept, but then I spiked a fever! It was the damnedest thing. I did recover without a doctor visit. Of course, I was 18, too.

I think sometimes those long flights on airplanes that just keep circulating the same air are conducive to concentrating whatever bugs the passengers are spreading.

And how are you doing now ricechickie after your own recent bout in the hospital? On a normal diet yet?

I can confirm that they do not recirculate the air in airplanes. Actually, many planes have a nitrogen-oxygen separator that provides inert nitrogen to the fuel tanks (less potential of explosion or fire) with the separated oxygen used to supplement that provided to the cabin by pressurization alone. Alas, close proximity with other people and/or lack of appropriate hygienic practices do contribute to the spread of various germs.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Oh..and I have always been afraid of bears. Guess what visits us every night rummaging around in the compost pile? (I have an awesome veggie garden growing and the wild blackberries are a lure too). Black bear. Neighbors caught it on their night camera pilfering in their trash then filmed it coming into our back yard picking out goodies from the compost pile. Needless to say...I no longer take really long walks around the neighborhood in the wee hours. I do it at dusk so I don't run in to Yogi or BooBoo.

Bears?! While common hereabouts, the locals take a dim view of people who put out "bait". We've had a larger than usual number of fatal bear-people encounters up here this year, though. Best if venturing into bear country...make noise; sing, talk, wear bells, etc. Do you carry pepper spray when you go out, Gracie? That also works, but pay attention to wind direction.

 

[gallantwarrior]

I never considered it prudent or logical to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

It's the perfectly good ones that provide enough room between you and the ground!

Skydiving is first, the most fun you can have with your trousers on and second, The ruination of roller coasters forever. No coaster can compare.

Skydiving will open your sinuses!

I've always wanted to buzz around on a kite...hanglider sorta thing with a fan on the back to keep me going for as long as I could. Over fields of flowers, rivers, streams, above tall trees like my avie...what a raven would see during a leisurely flight. THAT would be awesome.

I've done the hang gliding thing, sans power, long ago...Sand City on the other side of the bay from Monterey, and a couple of places along the Big Sur coast. Quit a quick, but lots of work to get there for a few minutes of "hang time". I actually built an Icarus, long ago and far away, and flew it off the Big Sur...quite a rush, I'll admit!

 

[gallantwarrior]

Still no phone call from docs office.
It's been over 2 weeks now.

Dang! Wonder what's taking so long?

 

[Gracie]

Just wandering by to say hello.

So. Hello.

Gracie!!!! Hello! Where are you? Did you move?

I am living in...cough...Paradise Ca. Google it. Very pretty...VERY HOT. It is 101 today and at "home" it is 61. Which is why I miss my beach. But..that life is over. Time to get over it, I tell myself. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Been in a deep dark hole but a very kind friend tossed me a rope ladder. I am about 1/4th of the way up. Gonna take awhile to get back to where I used to be.

Inlaws are on their way to Pearce Az tomorrow for a permanent move. They wanted us to come with. I said not only hell no, but HAYELL no. However, I learned recently that one should never say never. For now...we are surviving ok. Can't beat the medical and dental offered here..which is why Northern Calif is better than central calif.....minus the awful weather. I don't know how people survive here. Summers are horrid. I am eager for fall..and yes....winter.

So the apartment fell through? Or you decided to stay in Paradise? Are you still with the hoarder or did you move in with the lady with the dogs?

Oh I just now saw your other post re the apartment. But am hoping your circumstances in Paradise have improved.

We have the back of the house now. MrG has the original room, and I moved in to the one next to it that Housemate was using as his "office"..meaning..its full of crap. That crap is now where my bed used to be in MrGs room and I don't have a closet because its full of his moms clothes he refuses to donate to Salvation Army because he claims its worth month. Um, nobody wants old polyester pants, sweaters that fall apart if you touch them because they are so old, and old vintage shoes, hats, gloves that all stink something fierce. I sprayed the hell out of the closet with febreeze, which helped a bit, then I covered the closet doors with a wall hanging. Its cramped, but mine alone.
The rest of the house smells awful but there is nothing I can do about it because he refuses to acknowledge his house smells like a garbage can. MrG and I stay in our rooms until we have to leave them..like to cook in his smelly crowded dirty kitchen I have to scour every time I cook due to fear of bacteria, and the laundry room that stinks of mildew so we have to hold our breath when we go in there so we don't inhale mold spores.
Tomorrow I plan to call around and see what the waiting list is like up here and see if we can find our own little cottage or apartment. In essence, we are stuck here..unless we want to go back to living in our cars which we do not want to do. At least our rooms smell good, and I keep them clean. The rest of the house is like living at the local garbage dump and I should buy hazmat suits for us but then Housemate may get offended and kick us out. So...we stay in our rooms as often as possible. Or, MrG stays in his room and I am outside until the heat drives me in. Right now, its about 90 degrees out there and in the rest of the house it is about the same. In our rooms, it is about 75-80 due to our air conditioner we bought for the window in MrGs room that has to work double hard to cool both rooms.

The lady with the dogs wanted us to move in, but she is too flakey. I don't trust her decisions because she moves people in and 2 weeks later complains to me about them and then kicks them out. I don't want that happening to us, so we declined her numerous offers. I wouldn't mind too terribly much if we had to stay in this area for another couple of years...I just don't want to live in this nasty house that long, so I need to get my ass in gear and start the hunt again for our own place here until "home" calls in a few years that a unit is ready.

 

[Gracie]

The housemate is really a nice guy, very mellow, very easy going. But he is a bulldog when it comes to his "stuff" and there is no moving him from the way he lives in this place. Which is a shame because this shit is bad for his health but he refuses to hear it or act on it.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Just wandering by to say hello.

So. Hello.

Gracie!!!! Hello! Where are you? Did you move?

I am living in...cough...Paradise Ca. Google it. Very pretty...VERY HOT. It is 101 today and at "home" it is 61. Which is why I miss my beach. But..that life is over. Time to get over it, I tell myself. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Been in a deep dark hole but a very kind friend tossed me a rope ladder. I am about 1/4th of the way up. Gonna take awhile to get back to where I used to be.

Inlaws are on their way to Pearce Az tomorrow for a permanent move. They wanted us to come with. I said not only hell no, but HAYELL no. However, I learned recently that one should never say never. For now...we are surviving ok. Can't beat the medical and dental offered here..which is why Northern Calif is better than central calif.....minus the awful weather. I don't know how people survive here. Summers are horrid. I am eager for fall..and yes....winter.

So the apartment fell through? Or you decided to stay in Paradise? Are you still with the hoarder or did you move in with the lady with the dogs?

Oh I just now saw your other post re the apartment. But am hoping your circumstances in Paradise have improved.

We have the back of the house now. MrG has the original room, and I moved in to the one next to it that Housemate was using as his "office"..meaning..its full of crap. That crap is now where my bed used to be in MrGs room and I don't have a closet because its full of his moms clothes he refuses to donate to Salvation Army because he claims its worth month. Um, nobody wants old polyester pants, sweaters that fall apart if you touch them because they are so old, and old vintage shoes, hats, gloves that all stink something fierce. I sprayed the hell out of the closet with febreeze, which helped a bit, then I covered the closet doors with a wall hanging. Its cramped, but mine alone.
The rest of the house smells awful but there is nothing I can do about it because he refuses to acknowledge his house smells like a garbage can. MrG and I stay in our rooms until we have to leave them..like to cook in his smelly crowded dirty kitchen I have to scour every time I cook due to fear of bacteria, and the laundry room that stinks of mildew so we have to hold our breath when we go in there so we don't inhale mold spores.
Tomorrow I plan to call around and see what the waiting list is like up here and see if we can find our own little cottage or apartment. In essence, we are stuck here..unless we want to go back to living in our cars which we do not want to do. At least our rooms smell good, and I keep them clean. The rest of the house is like living at the local garbage dump and I should buy hazmat suits for us but then Housemate may get offended and kick us out. So...we stay in our rooms as often as possible. Or, MrG stays in his room and I am outside until the heat drives me in. Right now, its about 90 degrees out there and in the rest of the house it is about the same. In our rooms, it is about 75-80 due to our air conditioner we bought for the window in MrGs room that has to work double hard to cool both rooms.

The lady with the dogs wanted us to move in, but she is too flakey. I don't trust her decisions because she moves people in and 2 weeks later complains to me about them and then kicks them out. I don't want that happening to us, so we declined her numerous offers. I wouldn't mind too terribly much if we had to stay in this area for another couple of years...I just don't want to live in this nasty house that long, so I need to get my ass in gear and start the hunt again for our own place here until "home" calls in a few years that a unit is ready.

The offer is still open in Alaska, Gracie. I'll be full-time up here, and it's late in the season, but we could work something out...
I feel so sorry for you guys, I'm sure you don't deserve your grief...
'Course, you'd be freezing where you are roasting now...

 

[gallantwarrior]

The housemate is really a nice guy, very mellow, very easy going. But he is a bulldog when it comes to his "stuff" and there is no moving him from the way he lives in this place. Which is a shame because this shit is bad for his health but he refuses to hear it or act on it.

I deal with the same shit with my partner. He complains a lot but will not clean up his place. I just don't see his moving up to Willow because I cannot, and WILL NOT, live the way he does in his hoarder house. I have no idea how hoarders continue their lifestyles. He complains that the cat box smells bad...HELLO!!! When's the last time you cleaned it? The cat is probably ashamed to live with him.

 

[Dajjal]

 

[Foxfyre]

Yep, Foxy, we are back from Hawaii. Had a wonderful time. Did lots of fun stuff. Spent a lot of money! Saw things I've never seen before. Took a swim on the famous Waikiki Beach!!! Now for the bad news... I must be the most unlucky person in the whole world!!! Plane got to O'Hare Airport at 0500 as planned, took the bus to Rockford and picked up the truck from the parking lot and drove home. Wasn't feeling too well. Got home at about 0830 on Wednesday morning. Well, at 0300 on Thursday I woke up and found it very difficult to breathe. Went to the hospital emergency room to find out that somehow I had pneumonia!!! Who goes to Hawaii in July, when it's 85 dregrees with a nice mild breeze and comes home with pneumonia? I was admitted into the hospital and not let out until Friday afternoon. Feeling better now and nearly finished taking the antibiotics and steroids. It's the strangest thing I have ever heard of. Still a bit weak but feeling better everyday. It's an odd thing I tell you. Really really odd!

The one time I flew any distance (it was to Hawaii, too), I came home sick. I thought I was just jet-lagged, so I slept, but then I spiked a fever! It was the damnedest thing. I did recover without a doctor visit. Of course, I was 18, too.

I think sometimes those long flights on airplanes that just keep circulating the same air are conducive to concentrating whatever bugs the passengers are spreading.

And how are you doing now ricechickie after your own recent bout in the hospital? On a normal diet yet?

I can confirm that they do not recirculate the air in airplanes. Actually, many planes have a nitrogen-oxygen separator that provides inert nitrogen to the fuel tanks (less potential of explosion or fire) with the separated oxygen used to supplement that provided to the cabin by pressurization alone. Alas, close proximity with other people and/or lack of appropriate hygienic practices do contribute to the spread of various germs.

That's good to know. I just assumed that all those folks coughing or breathing germs into the air for hours and hours was why so many folks do get sick after flying.

 

[peach174]

I'm calling the docs office this morning and keep trying every hour on the hour till we get some answers! TODAY!

The banty hen's feathers have been ruffled and banties are well known for winning fights with the bigger ones.

Dammit it Janet!
I want answers!

 

[Foxfyre]

I never considered it prudent or logical to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

It's the perfectly good ones that provide enough room between you and the ground!

Skydiving is first, the most fun you can have with your trousers on and second, The ruination of roller coasters forever. No coaster can compare.

Skydiving will open your sinuses!

I've always wanted to buzz around on a kite...hanglider sorta thing with a fan on the back to keep me going for as long as I could. Over fields of flowers, rivers, streams, above tall trees like my avie...what a raven would see during a leisurely flight. THAT would be awesome.

I've done the hang gliding thing, sans power, long ago...Sand City on the other side of the bay from Monterey, and a couple of places along the Big Sur coast. Quit a quick, but lots of work to get there for a few minutes of "hang time". I actually built an Icarus, long ago and far away, and flew it off the Big Sur...quite a rush, I'll admit!

Albuquerque elevation ranges from 4900 feet on the river banks in the south valley to roughly 6500 feet in the highest residential area in the northeast heights close to the mountain. The Sandia mountains form the eastern boundary of the city. We have folks who launch their unpowered hang gliders from Sandia Crest, the highest point of the mountain at 10,600+ feet, sail around on the strong thermal currents close to the mountain for awhile and eventually land in the valley below somewhere.

As a personal aside, it looks like it would be glorious, but I don't know how many strong people it would take to push me over that cliff. (Or out of that airplane for that matter.)

 

[peach174]

Benson's elevation is 3,600.
I'm with you, no way.

 

[peach174]

We haven't heard from Hossfly have we?

I hope everything is OK.

 

[Nosmo King]

We've had reports of a black bear prowling the neighborhood here near the Luxurious Pimplebutt Estate. Black bears are common in the woods, but not so much in and around town. I'm sure this one is one of the picnic basket swiping variety. Those who have encountered the pesky bear say it has found something of a smorgasbord at bird feeders. The black oil sunflower seeds are a favorite and the bear has been known to chug-a-lug the sugar water from hummingbird feeders.

Black bears are fairly benign, easily distracted and intimidated. Folks here have been advised to bang pots and pans together in order to chase it back into the wild. I've heard that way out west were black bears, brown bears and grizzly bears are common hikers are advised to carry small bells and pepper spray with them as they venture into bear country. When grizzly bears are present bear experts can tell by the scat found near trails. When there are grizzly bears about the scat found has bits of bell in it and smells of pepper spray.

Meanwhile I have Daisy the Mutt standing watch.

 

[Montrovant]

I've got a good feeling about the little one's third grade year.

A couple of minutes ago we got a knock at the front door. I open it up to see two strange women. They ask if this is the little one's house. It was her third grade teacher and assistant. They came by to say hello, take a picture with the little one, and leave a printed welcome letter giving some quick information about the teacher. It's a small thing, but the kind of extra effort that is meaningful. Tomorrow is meet the teacher day, and school starts on Friday. This was an unexpected, but welcome, surprise.

 

[Ernie S.]

Ja' Rhythm at Doc Holliday's my Birthday Party 7/29/17.

 

[saveliberty]

The lady with the dogs wanted us to move in, but she is too flakey. I don't trust her decisions because she moves people in and 2 weeks later complains to me about them and then kicks them out. I don't want that happening to us, so we declined her numerous offers. I wouldn't mind too terribly much if we had to stay in this area for another couple of years...I just don't want to live in this nasty house that long, so I need to get my ass in gear and start the hunt again for our own place here until "home" calls in a few years that a unit is ready.

Good observations and a good plan to find your own space. A clear head wins the day.

 

[peach174]

Mr. P is out and about on his trike having a good ole time.
He says if I don't receive a call from my calls today he's going back tomorrow to the office again.
This is ridiculous.
It will 3 weeks from tomorrow that he went in for an emergency appointment , was told he will get call soon for outpatient surgery.
We still have Aug. 17th appt. with him at the Benson office. Which was the original one to begin with.
What's he going to do, say the same thing again? Because he does that surgery in Tucson.