Chit Chat for October 2023

[Grassy]

Oh Boo! I didn't know that. Steelers are having a rough time too. The Lions play tomorrow.

[silk]

That was a fun read tonight. What a bunch of nice guys you have.
I first married at 19...tried twice more...but you know what they say ,'you can't flog a dead horse !' Joe and I decided at the age we were that marriage again just wasn't necessary.
I saw my optometrist today because I find that I am misjudging
things such as putting a spoon of sugar in a cup or trying to use scissors. I completely miss. She told me that one needs two eyes for certain actions. We had such a fun time. I was in a wheel chair and trying to get my chin on that part of the machine
was difficult...we had a few trial runs and lots of laughs.
Flagryl I notice that Joe's short term memory is failing.
We do a lot of shopping at Aldis for food but they don't stock everything we like or sometimes what they have is better at other stores.
I am exhausted after my big day that began at 6am.
Huronna that cruise sound wonderful. I am imagining you all in your romper suits.

[Huronna]

Those actually stay on in my suite, going to the spa or pool side I have two bathing suite coverups, like night gowns LOL

[Grassy]

In a few minutes my roommate from college is coming to visit me! I am beyond excited! How we became roommates is a long story in itself. I will tell you all later. But in the meantime, I am so excited to see Molly again! I have not seen her since I was a newlywed back in Georgia!
She has not met Sid, and I have not met her husband, who is the Secretary of Labor for the State of New Mexico. New Mexico is one of our eight states that I have not visited yet.

[Huronna]

I'm excited for you also

[deezaster]

Oh my I remember those cute rompers we wore them as kids, I think my mum called them summer jumpsuits, and totally flannel, perfect for the beach…
I don’t go anywhere near the beach, but they look comfy for couch surfing.

My #1 was annulled - not a recommendation, takes longer than a divorce, which you still have to get….
my #2 John - well after 14 years of marriage, he cheated, I couldn’t forgive that, so I moved out and on, but we became good friends, especially for our sons benefit.

Gary is my porch rocker guy and we have been together 7 years, on Nov 3rd, lord time flies when your having fun,

My holiday works 7x7 Cards - they are drying as I just attached ribbon or lace or cheesecloth to this group,
I will then need to put foam tape on them, add some glitter spritz and or sequins , and gems to bows,
Then figure out who’s getting which one lol, I need to make 14 of this size, I think I have 10 ready for foam mounting and the glitter, sequin, gem line..



Gift Bags 12 x 12 x 6 another 4 of these bags I completed today…



Huronna Your cruise sounds exciting and that suite does too, I am sure you will have a wonderful time.

It sounds like opposites are the key, Gary is the typical very quiet guy in the corner, doesn’t talk much to others typically, but once you get to know him, he’s all the 1980 dad jokes kinda guy, he loves fantasy golf and football and studies that stuff like he’s sitting for a bar exam lol he’s super smart, very funny and very OCD about certain things… he makes me laugh every day.
He works from home full time since a year or so post Original Covid, and that kills me, he makes noise and moves around too much, I’m use to the house and me being in our quiet zone, so that has been a big adjustment.

I’m more of the says it, how it is person, and more social, but I have also known everyone I socialize with for many years, so it comes easy. I’m actually very shy at first, but once I feel comfortable, I’m out there lol…

I am Totally going to try the ALDIs chicken salad, I didn’t know they sold it, but I love chicken salad so that’s a must do, thank you for suggesting it lol


Seattle Seahawks won, I’m actually quite surprised by their season, was expecting nothing much from them this year or next year tbh, but hoping for a big 2025 when everything should have come together and their newer younger players are more seasoned. Time will tell

On a happier note: it’s awesome to not have to hear Tom Brady’s name mentioned every 45 seconds especially when his team is not even playing in the game they are commentating on, thank goodness he’s retired… I’m so happy they are moving forward and talking about someone else for a change, lol.
No offense New England/Bucs fans….

[deezaster]

Huronna yes occasionally we eat at the rise, I know where everything is at the Hard Rock, even after all the Reno - it’s easy for me, Central Bar, Casino zone is where Hard Rock Cafe, food court, noodle bar, council oaks, smoke /cigar, main players club, escalators up to buffett private gaming rooms and Sushii is ( cleanest toilets are up there too lol with bamboo type doors)

Rear Casino Floor is that whole end - passed the esculators, slot room, then where the non smoking slot area is, the High Roller Slot Room is for X card holders, where esculators are to take you to the poker room floor and deli and old orient street car park esculators,

New Lobby Bar Casino Slot Zone, is where Hotel Check In is, Exit to Valet parking is, Elvis’s Gold Piano is, Main Cage, Theaters, Convention Rooms, The Rise, The Rise Coffee, Cakes, Take away is, The Italian restaurant is, hard rock 24/7 store, Unity store, Pool Views Entrance, Xclub private table rooms, High Roller Slots, table games, access to hotel room elevators, east west towers, Sweeping Esculators to 2nd level mezzanine
2nd level No Smoking zone Casino slots area
Ice cream alcohol place, lollipop store/resturaunt, that other resturaunt which has weird hours, lol smoke store, walkway to new orient car park and walkway to the original car park…
I know there is more stores etc… but I’m not there to shop lol so I dunno…the names of any of them I just know they are up there lol..

Valet parking - Entryway Main entrance, wine store, clothing stores, chocolate truffle store, esculators to mezzanine and car parks. I know where all the bathrooms are, including the sneaky ones beside the rear of the good court,

The old poker room which use to be walk the hallway next to the food court was the new sports book but they closed it after only being open 24 hours…

I believe the Buffett was closed firstly for Covid then renovations upstairs, I don’t know if it ever reopened, I don’t do buffets much, I cannot eat that much food and we never get our moneys worth lol…
if you ever want a full on tour, I’m  Your gal haha….

[1247chance]

FREEDOM!!! I'm hitting the mall Friday [ I SHALL SHOP TIL I DROP!]also late lunch with the girls.. my sons coming over to stay with Hubby ..........FREEDOM! YES! The last time I did that was last May and I had to, needed a dress for my grand daughters wedding....getting out alone for longer than an hour or two isn't feasible yet...gonna make my debit card SMOKE! I'll let you know if I melt that bugger...

Both my boys had big weddings 3 times, each new wife wanted the whole enchilada, lol...and they were marrried in the greek chruch which is exteremely LONG. my grand daughter did a small wedding, grandson went big..

Happy Halloween to everyone! I get to pass out chicky soup to a few of my neighbors, I, in turn get a stash of goodies from them from hot apple cider, donuts, to my favorite candy ..annual thing around here .. then pass out the goodies to the shorter crowd.. we get between 100 to 150 kids..a lot of the kids are second generation of kids we had eons ago.. So I get to see the parents again..

kids are already making their christmas lists out.. my youngest sent me a DRAFT via e mail [she lives 20 minutes from me].. lol and I also have a round of birthdays, 5 of the girls.. and of course time to bake is coming up .. I usually buy oreos and stratch the letters off then dust with powdered sugar...only ones that still fall for that are the young ones:(

[Huronna]

Clyde (Chance) make the most of your outing. Spend like there's no tomorrow Just be careful dancing in the streets at an afternoon of freedom, you don't want to trip. LOL
Seriously we all need that alone time, once in a while I do luncheon with girlfriends, and yesterday I actually left hubby home, went to the bank, the gym and grocery store, May seem mundane but not having a tag-a-long was really a nice change. Of course tomorrow is a different story, we have a luncheon and monthly meeting of MOAA (Military Officers Association of America...that's a mouth full) Tomorrow's speaker I'm actually looking forward to. not about battle ships or planes flying or war.....a guy with PTSD works with service dogs that perform specific tasks that help address PTSD symptoms, such as applying pressure to alleviate anxiety and nudging to interrupt flashbacks. Previous research has found benefits of the PTSD service dogs such as reduced severity of symptoms, improved mental health and improved social interactions.

EEK gads Dee....a tour guide to the Hard Rock. Lets see, I know where the valet entrance to the hotel is, not the same as the ones in the casino garages. And Elvis's Gold Piano, that's an addition after all the redmodeling and additions. The place really is enormous. I've been in the high rollers' area. I used to go with a friend, she went every day with different friends. She would get comps to Vegas and when she got off the plane at TPA she would just drive to the Casino. She would get week's passes to the Plum room and she would take each one of use on a different night. We would go out to dinner with out hubby's , they would go home and we went to the casino. First stop was the high rollers, because we got free wine HA HA (this was before they added the "ICON slot room" have not been in there. She would stay in the high rollers and I would go to the penny machin area's though there is no such thing a a penny, minimum is 40 cents I think. we make a meeting time and meet at the escalator. We had lots of good times, actually we had met in Japan when we were all stationed there. She was my Jazzercize instructor. The next 20 years we were never stationed close by and didn't even keep in touch. But then Both husbands retired, he's was a Capt. up for Admiral when he got out and then he went a contactor's job doing the same secret stuff he did in the military. ANyway, she got hit with the Big "C" and passed away in 2016. Oh the memories.

And Dee I guess you feel comfortable here because this statement "I’m actually very shy at first, but once I feel comfortable, I’m out there lol…" sure is true HA HA

[Smilyn]

Happy Halloween to all the peeps here who celebrate it. I hope you get all the treats you want!

Wow! You've had a lovely and chatty month here. The variety of tales really made me smile! I'm leaving hugs for those in pain, and especially those in chronic pain, Silk; I hope the med issue gets fixed. Grassy congrats on the new job!

I am doing well overall. though they cannot figure out what is wrong between my lower back and my right knee. Cause of hip pain has to come from one end or the other as the hip itself is not the cause. I finished PT and had a steroid shot in case bursitis could be involved, but will need to see the dr again for back and knee x-rays at some point. I did all the exercises and regained a lot of strength and flexibility, so that is good. Our YMCA has an 85 degree exercise pool and that is where I workout now - but not in a class. I have been limited from walking on uneven ground, in crowds (hence no aqua class) and must drive as little as possible - and not in the little Prius-C with the short leg room. I am following instructions. I know that seems amazing, but I am.

So many topics that I could add to: As a new USAF wife I joined a daytime bowling league in Alaska. I had a few lessons from a more experienced bowler. It was discovered that curve balls were hard for me and I lofted when trying to attain power, though I was very good at starting in the same place, reproducing my throw and using the dots. Experimenting with balls I stumbled on a 16 pound ball by accident and got my first strike. I bought one. I had a pretty good average with it. The momentum was amazing; like wheat falling when it landed. During Desert Storm when we were stationed in New Jersey I was in an evening mixed bowling league and a Dr on my team threw a curve so far to the edge that I held my breath each time. He joked that my purple 16 pounder was a wrecking ball "inexorable mass in motion". I did well, not stellar to begin with, but improved over the season, and our team made it to the finals. I was pacing behind the tables that night, just wanting to stay in my headspace and throw. I was throwing the best I had ever done; strike after strike and did not want to be distracted. Dr Joe came to tell me that he had noticed my focus and wanted me to understand that I had entered the mindset of an athlete. I never forgot that; I hadn't experienced that before. He, however had been missing his legendary strikes for several throws, and it was worrying me; the competition was close. My reply to him got us the win: "Joe, your throws are not making me hold my breath. I'm not afraid they will fall off the edge into the gutter. What have you changed?" He shook his head and a grin spread. And the next ball was a strike. And the next. All his balls - and mine were strikes from then on. We were the dynamic duo. For that hour I knew what it was to be a champion athlete completely in the groove with the tape at the end of the race in sight. It's a grand and exhilarating memory!

Vegas: I went there in 1976. A man I dated in Alaska took me with him on a visit to his mother who had retired there. Doris was tiny and frizzy haired, with a sharp wit, sharp eyes, and a sharp smile. She had been a Diner waitress all her life in Ketchikan, Alaska; the kind that wore a hat on styled hair, a pressed uniform with a folded decorative handkerchief in the breast pocket that was embroidered with her name, a pro who knew all the regulars and never used a pad to write an order. She raised her son on that income and was now one of the elderly women who augmented her retirement income in Vegas by playing slots several times a week (if not everyday,) for a few hours. It was a serious job to her; requiring use of her keen observation skills. She loved it and decided to teach me. I did not know we were going to a casino; I was dressed in a 3 piece cream pant suit to meet her. And that is what I wore while she taught me how to play the silver dollar slots - 3 at a time from my bucket and pull the lever. My hands were black! I was using my own money, and at $150 in I wanted to quit. She had carefully picked this machine (we had waited 15 or 20 minutes in the background before she scooted over and told me to sit and play) and she said: "Give it another $25." At $18 it hit; bells ringing, silver dollars pouring out (into the bucket she had ready until a staff member came running with a bigger one...) $700! That was an incredible sensory experience! I was excited and grinning and ready to go wash my hands. But no: "Keep going. If you reach $50 without hitting we're done here. But I bet you don't reach $30." And she was right. At $25 the coin waterfall, bells and lights began again! It was overwhelming. I was exhausted! After taking out my initial investment I had cleared over $900.00. I had no desire to play more. I cashed out and washed my hands. My boyfriend was playing blackjack; a game he loved. I walked past him on the way to the ladies room and asked him how he was doing: "Having a great time, he smiled... I'm only down $600!" His mother had a wonderful moment proudly telling how how well 'her student' had done. After the restroom I went to the casino jewelry store and spent a good part of my winnings. I bought a 1" tall heavy gold wishbone and a chain and gave it to him. He wore it every day of the rest of his life. I went to Alaska for his Memorial service when it was passed on to his adopted son. And yes; my cream suit remained clean throughout.

That's enough tales from me. I am leaving hugs for you all and wishing you a great start to the holiday season!