Crocheting - Training to Get UP

 Shalimar, FL  (Hi 91   Lo 78)  High humidity 110 index

It's been HOT all week and I usually don't mention that, but humidity is hard on the lungs. I'm happy that I don't have to get out in it. 

This is going to be a short blog. All I did most of the week is zoom's, Tiktok and crochet. I did get out for the evening playing cards with the gals.

Tuesday was diamond art and than meditation with a  few new people this week. I thought about going to the gym, but I like doing the bike and two people were already on them and I didn't want to wait the  hour to get on.  

Wednesday I went to training on how to get up if I fall.  The guy that teaches it is very careful on what we do so we don't overdo it or have the wrong angle with how we put our legs and feet. I was working the knees that shoots a lot of pain, now I use the thighs. 

                                Most of us can't get up from a chair without hands so this is how you do it. 

The idea is to get up when you fall from the floor and learn to strengthen the muscles you use to do that. 

Thursday was crochet group for three hours and Friday was coffee talk. It's different from the first time I went with the new activities people. I love it and will go back. (Click on the photos to enlarge). I'm on the left. 

Friday night I had zoom with the NC group, still doing it from 1999 when we first met in a restaurant in NC.

Saturday I had zoom class than to the social hour. I forgot to take a picture, but it's with the same group that I've taken a lot of pictures previously. I watched the storm chasers in Iowa with a huge storm, but no tornadoes. This is over Dubuque, Iowa

                                            This is from earlier in the year. Lots of vortexes. 

Now keeping an eye out for the hurricane, CAT 5 in Atlantic, but it's going north. It's not going to bother us, THIS TIME. 

Is it Real or Memorex - Memorial - Collage

 Shalimar, FL   (Hi  88  Lo  75)  Out of the 90's

Everything is AI, is it real or Memorex, remember that commercial?  I've read a few things with AI that I KNOW isn't right (from experience) and the new videos aren't real in some cases. Be careful out there and know the truth before spreading the info.  While I'm on a tant, here's another one.  I've been working with the GBM gals in a zoom with people losing their husbands. Most of the gals are a lot younger than me and want to date. The scamming going on is breathtaking. Guys are smooth talking to the gals that are lonely and say the right things to get them later (not right away) to sell the house and move to apartment, spending or taking their money in sly ways then leaving them when the money is gone. I feel so sorry for them. Don't fall for it. Keep your money to yourself. It's really sad how this is happening. I don't usually do a full scale complaint on the blog, but it's getting so much worse that everyone needs to be aware.  

Ok on to a brighter note: Sunday we had our birthday ice cream social. We're trying to bribe people out of their apartments, who can turn down ice cream?  It didn't happen but we'll keep trying.           

Monday morning I went to a neighbors memorial. It was well done and several people went. We have a chapel and a reception building next door. It's convenient to everyone for both Catholics and Protestants. 

Tuesday was diamond art and meditation. I also worked with my travel companion for the Alaska cruise trying to get the excursions right. Princess took me off one of them and we finally got me back on, but charged one of us again and a different amount than the first time. We'll continue fighting, but I have a feeling it's going to be a mess. Hopefully we can work it out, even if we're on the ship. We both still have to do the mobile sign in which is a duplicate of what we've put into the Princess website. I can't believe we're having so much trouble with Princess, we can't get answers to anything. I got a haircut later in the day. So I'm good to go for several weeks. 

Wednesday was different. Training for falls was in the morning. I still can't get off a chair without using my arms, so I went to PT to ask how to do that and what exercises to do.  The guy wants me to do PT with him. I saw that coming. I need a referral and so far I haven't been able to get hold of my doctor, but I'm not doing anything now it's too close to the cruise to worry about it. The knees are a big problem, but we'll see what happens next month.  The rest of the day I had several things at the same time. Working on the decorations for the sock hop didn't happen, I did TikTok and Instagram instead. I did play cards in the evening.    

Thursday I went to crochet group for a couple hours then the activities meeting. We're planning for September, some good stuff coming up.  I played cards for awhile. 

Friday was zoom all day. All kinds of things are going on with classes and meeting with friends. 

I did get two football gnomes. This time it's Kansas City. 

I also got almost all the people in our Village one on the collage. I'm missing six people.

 I took this bulletin board of all the activities we can do this month. If you can't find something to do, it's not their fault. I have to pick and choose along with what I do normally. 

Saturday: IFalcon is a team of computer geeks from Eglin AFB base that help us "old folks" with our computers. They came today to show how to upgrade our PC's to Windows 11. I have a new PC so I wasn't there for that, I wanted to get my files back to where were before OneDrive decided to take them. I'm not going into specifics, most people won't know what I'm talking about. It took 4 hours to figure it out and I'm still dealing with it. I lost a lot of my files that I can't recover, but I'll figure out something but won't create them unless forced to. He had five computers so people could have hands on to learn to upgrade. We're so thankful they're willing to come help us for free.  Management had food for lunch, this is Mary. 

Thank you for being a reader. I wanted to put this picture in from one of the storms that went thru. 

Heat - Projects - Storms and Earthquakes

 Shalimar, FL  (H 91  Lo  78)  Heat index 105-110

I never complain about heat, I love it, but this week has been brutal. I feel so bad for those that are working outside all day. The humidity is high and feels like your going in a sauna when you step outside. It's Florida in the summer, but seems a lot hotter with humidity this year. I'm really close to the bay, and surprised there's not more of a breeze coming in. 

We're into August!  I leave for Alaska in four weeks. I'm packed, at least on paper. A long list of have to take items and mostly warm clothes. I get cold at 65, and I KNOW it will be colder then that the beginning of September. We're still dealing with the excursions on what we have, they keep changing the price. 

Projects this week on crocheting is more gnomes for football. The big and little is working out great. I'll do that with all the teams I'm making.  

I did some podcasts on Sunday. I learned some more on the One Drive problem. I think I have most of that solved. It's a pain to get around it, but so far I'm finding my "lost files". I went to "ask Leo" to get some answers. That guy has been around a long time doing computer stuff. Jim used to listen to him every time he was on TV or radio. He's the one that started Twit.

All week I've been watching the storm chasers in the north states, Montana, ND and SD.  There's been a few tornadoes. Then I was watching the earthquakes out of Japan, bunches of swarms. I have youtube "Earthmaster" on most of the day when there's action. He kept saying there would be a bigger quake and 11 days later there was an 8.8.  That's not unheard of, but bigger then normal. Now I'm keeping an eye on the circle of fire around the Pacific to see where swarms will be forming. Mother Earth is shifting and cleaning up. 

I've been working on the beginning of the month meeting for the Village and still working on the collage. It's coming along nicely.  I've been doing a lot of tiktok and Instagram along with Youtube podcasts. I learn a lot about health and life in general. Some I don't agree with, but good to know what's going and what to avoid. 

Thursday was crocheting all afternoon. The gals are working on baby blankets for this fall and the color schemes are so gorgeous. I hear all about what's going on in the surrounding area from the gals outside the village. It's a great group. 

My friend in Nevada had a guest at her back door that I have to share.  She's looking for food and didn't run when her picture was taken. I love deer. (Click to enlarge photo).

Another friend sent me this puzzle. That's next when I get done with the one I just started. 

The football team in Ft. Walton Beach, came  out and put rock down by the village one lounge. It looks so nice.

Saturday was the monthly meeting. We had a good crowd and all went well. After the meeting another resident and I went to VFW for a craft fair. It was really nice and small.  There's jewelry and creams, some new resin made stuff, clothes, and dog hats and collars. Prices weren't bad, mainly $20 and $35. It gave me what's trending in the craft fairs this year. I still haven't found anyone that does what I do, so far so good. I went to happy hour, then on zoom for the evening and it's time to send the blog out. 

Crocheting for the Craft Fair and Other Crafts- PC Problems

 Shalimar, Fl   (Hi  96  Lo 77)   Rain off and on and high humidity heat index 110 

I still can't get used to the rain and storms around here. It rains and sun is shining. It looks like we'll get a downpour on the radar and it either disappears or goes another direction. It's hard to know what it's going to do. Reminds me of life around here. I plan and something else happens totally different. I learned real quick in the RV living style nothing goes as planned. It keeps us on our toes. 

I'll bring everyone up to date on the crocheting and puzzles I've been working on. I'm working on football gnomes. Here's the list of teams that are most popular.  Alabama college, Tampa, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, San Francisco. The problem I had was to do little or big gnomes. One of the gals at the crochet club said one of each, so that's what I'm doing. 

                                            

                                          Tampa and Miami I still need to do another one big and little

    

I've also been working on another project. We have a collage in the lounge that needs updated. I decided to redo it and get our village  people in it. Rosie is helping getting pictures and I've been typing names and printing the picture. This is just a start, there's a lot more to get. It's not easy to get everyone.

The other project is puzzles. My neighbor was doing nutcrackers. It's so colorful and fun .

And I was doing a tornado. I still have another one to do but with the funnel. Both will go on the wall. 

This is a real one I took from the TV from a storm chaser. 

Now what have I done this week?  Let's start with Monday I went to United Way to help put kids stuff in a bag. 

                                     It usually doesn't take long and it's a good way to get us altogether.

                        Tuesday was diamond art and I finally finished the picture. It's on a canvas frame

Wednesday was fun. It's usually with an afternoon of cards, but this week I did a TikTok as moderator, then a massage and chiropractor appointment back home in time to do a Youtube where we connect to Youtube and zoom at the same time. I'll have more details on that later.  In the evening I had cards, then zoom with people from the RV world.  Whew, that was fun!

Thursday I went to crochet. It's always a learning experience with so many talented people. I get ideas and learn different things to make.  In the evening I had a class by zoom. 

Friday was the apartment inspection. Every few months they management does inspections, Mainly looking for leaks that people don't report or not know they have a problem.  Dishwashers are checked and under the sinks which is hard to get to for those of us that can't bend down very well to check it. In the afternoon we had a meeting for Style Squad to get ideas for events. This one was for the sock hop in August.  It's going to be fun decorating for the 50's. We came up with good ideas. 

I've been working on my new PC and having a fight with OneDrive. I put it on for  backup  to get my files that are important. I got a notice that it was full.  Ok, no problem I released the sync that I had and everything on the desktop disappeared. It took some doing and help with others (on zoom) to get most if not all of them back. I think it's working, but I'll find out when I need something and can't find it. The files ended up deep in the computer. I hate OneDrive, it's very hard for me to maneuver. I'm on Dropbox, it's easier. 

We had a yard full of toadstools and it looked like a small village. I had to get a picture and share. It popped up really fast.

            I found this saying in the chiropractor office thought it would be neat to end the blog. 

One more thing, watch out for scams. I've got to the point you have to prove it's real and not fake. So much going on with the seniors. Be careful.

Back to Normal Routine

 Shalimar, FL  (Hi 91  Lo 71)  More rain

We start with Tuesday this week since I was on the way home on Monday.  It's back to a normal routine with diamond art in the morning and meditation at 1:00. The activities has changed our name meditation to "Inner Wellness".  Every time we talk about meditation we get the closed eyes, hands together and hummmmm.  Nope that's going to change. We hope to bring in other people and learn more about life and how to get thru the next few years. 

Wednesday it was a bit different. Once a month we have residential council and after playing a couple hours of Hand, Knee and Foot cards in another village, I got to the meeting on time. There weren't as many people this month, but they did have quite a bit of info and that's always good.  I stayed and talked with a couple gals and waited for ice cream social. There were a lot of people that came to it. I forgot to take pictures, guess I'm failing my job as photographer (at least for the blog). 

Thursday was a normal day of crochet all afternoon and a couple zoom get togethers. I have figured out what I'm doing for the craft show.  Football gnomes of different teams and little turtles if I have time I'll add in some other little "critters".  I was with my neighbor after our nightly card game and stayed till 11:00 working on her nutcracker puzzle. We both are night owls so that works out great.  One of the crocheters made this gorgeous shawl and Jan claimed it.  Outstanding job. 

Friday I stayed home and got a lot of computer work caught up, worked on a puzzle with a tornado with my neighbor and was on a special zoom in the evening.  A week of just relaxing and getting back in the swing of things.

Saturday I was on the phone for six hours talking to two people from two different states. I love the not knowing what I'm going to do and something fun happens. I love catching up with friends from the past. I went to happy hours with just a few of us. I'll get more pictures for next week. 

A Week with Sister

 Shalimar, FL   (Hi  97  Lo  76)  Most of the week temps plus rain

 Flight & Arrival

My flight on Monday was excellent—on time and smooth—though the landing was a bit rough landing coming back home.  Leaving Destin we went over the bay. Lots of boats to the right. 

(Click photos to enlarge)

                                            The strip between Gulf and (right) and Ft Walton Beach

At the Destin airport is a cleaning robot. It kept saying, "excuse me coming thru". It did a good job.

                                                    Landing in St. Louis airport

Backyard Wildlife & Rain 

I spent hours in my sister’s backyard watching deer, raccoons, a flock of birds, and two feral cats. We had a few laid‑back days just visiting, watching the rain, and soaking in nature’s quiet moments.

                                            A spider web at both ends of the swing. 

Pampering  & Organizing

I returned to the wonderful massage therapist I saw back in May  We also organized closets, put heavy blankets in  high racks. Sis wanted to be on a ladder and I would hand her the blankets. The closet is now neat and tidy.

Fishing Fun
I went fishing with my brother‑in‑law and caught a bluegill and a bass. We tossed back  both of them because  they stock the lake and didn't want to keep the little ones. The frenzy feeding the catfish every night, some are huge. That's what we really wanted to catch. 

                                                                    Bluegill    

                                                                Bass

Family Time 
Saturday,  my younger son came from Chicago area.  We talked nonstop about an AI platform.  The things it can do is amazing.  He put a box on the couch and told AI to have a puppy come out of it. It's adorable. AI  is creating jobs too, they need people with attention to detail to work with AI and tell it specific instructions. He did quite a bit of excel and other ideas that was impossible to program and get the answer in seconds. 

Restaurants

We ate out twice.  Mexican food was the first and that's where we went in May in Troy. I love their food. Don Julios Tacos Express.  Another great one Chubby's in Moscow Mills, MO. The only thing they serve on Friday night's is frog legs, shrimp, catfish, chicken, green beans, corn, mash potatoes and gravy, hushpuppies and cheesecake. It's all you can eat, and I was stuffed.  My sister showing off the frog legs. 

                                                There's a reason it's called Chubby's

MoJo finally made up to me and let me pet her. She's a feral cat that sis brought in last winter. She's so smart and knows what you're saying.  I love her. 

I had quite a visit. This is all three of us, Rick, Doris and me. 

Thank you for such a wonderful visit. See ya's next year.