What did you do today? - 2023/2024 version

Played 18 holes of golf today with an old friend from the mid 1980's. Great day, great memories of things we did back then. :)
 
Primed the wall I prepped yesterday in the AM today. In the PM, in a fit of ambition, I did the final coat. All so tomorrow early morning would be free for a moto ride before it gets too hot. Paint job looks good.
 
Camping

Just enjoying life, with DW and the dog, camped on the Mississippi River at a Corps of Engineers campground in Iowa. The river is low, and not much barge traffic. The weather is perfect. Camping for $10/ night with electricity (senior pass) is nice also.
 
Couldn't get to a tree limb with my pole saw all the way extended. Was seriously thinking about climbing up the step ladder and running the pole saw from the top of the ladder. Decided to give up on the limb. Came home and read that someone thought that poles saw and ladders were worthy of being on the list of 8 things to stop doing after 60. :LOL:
 
I'm sorry to hear that, jollystomper. Here's hoping she will recover quickly and fully.

I wish both of you the best and hope for a full recovery.

Hope it's not too bad Jollystomper. Last time I broke a bone they did not think twice, off to the surgeon with you.

Thank you everyone. I took her back to the doctor yesterday, the took more x-rays and decided that surgery was not needed. 3 more weeks in a cast and then hopefully a walking boot. For now she is scooting around on a knee scooter and enjoying it. Last night we went to a local park and spent some time with friends. She was happy to be out and back to socializing with people other than me :LOL:.
 
Many of my days will be now occupied with helping DW for a while, who challenged the title of 2 recent forum threads and is unfortunately paying the price.

The end of last week a long slip and slide was set up as a community event. Teenagers and younger children were primarily using it. A few younger adults were as well. DW's adventurous streak exceeds her athletic and balance capabilities. So thread #1, "8 Things To Stop Doing After 60", she felt did not apply to climbing up a platform to try a slip-n-slide.

Younger adult friends who with her advised her against it. But she decided that her answer to Thread #2, "Do You Listen To Younger People?", was no. Young whippersnappers, what do they know, I want to have fun.

(I was not present, or I would have challenged her on her choices).

So, she goes up onto the platform - and sadly slips on the slick surface and does not slide. She falls off the slide of the platform - not a long drop, but lands on her leg hard enough to result in a fractured ankle and sprained knee.

She is now in a cast. so my day, like the last few days, has been tending to her needs. I am not complaining, this is part of the "for better or worse" marriage vows, you just deal with it and serve the other person. I feel sorry for her. She is very contrite about the situation, and fortunately with crutches and a wheeled office chair (knee scooter will be here tomorrow, hopefully she will be able to kneel on it) she does the best she can to move around our house (though I limit her, and she listens). I have had a couple of scheduled fun (for me) events that she has insisted I attend.

Later this week I will take her back to the doctor for more x-rays, to determine is surgery will be needed. She has not put any weight on it since the incident, so hopefully that will help.

Life imitating the forum threads, who would've thought?

I'm so sorry jollystomper. My best wishes for your DW's speedy recovery.
 
Jollystomper, glad to hear that your DW was not too badly hurt and the outlook seems promising.

Today I did the cutting in and painted the first coat on the ceiling in the hallway bathroom. This time the regular way with brush and roller, that room is way too small to even think about a pressure roller or anything like that. My Werner platform ladder saved the day, allowing me to reach some places above the bathtub that I would have had great difficulty reaching otherwise. Safely, at least. Even then I was doing some contortions I didn't know that I could still do. Chances are good I'll have some sore spots tomorrow.
 
Went fly fishing in the AM and had a nice fresh lunch. Life is so good!!!

Bike ride later and will get ready to head to the ranch tomorrow morning.
 
Early AM trip to Home Depot for a small three-step ladder and a short roller extension pole. While there I also picked up a couple more Wooster paint brushes, including a 2-inch brush with a short handle, the handle is maybe two or three inches long. I don't have any specific need for it, but I'm sure that it's one of those things that if I don't buy it, I'll need it for some future project and then be sorry I didn't buy it when I have to go back to get one and find they're out of stock. We all know how that works.

Did all the cutting in for the wall paint. There's plenty of time to roll it and be almost done but I'm too tired. That's tomorrow's project.
 
Went to ranch to water trees before some heat coming in the next 4 days or so. Suppose to be in the 90's for a few days. Only had one day in the 90's so far so that has been good.

I also picked some wild berries again and will go back on Monday to pick more.
 
Yesterday after an hour and a half nap I was all energetic again so I finished rolling the two coats of color on the walls in the hall bath. Today's project was finishing the trim paint on the door and trim. The hall bath repaint is all done. Yay! I even cleaned and put away all the tools.
 
Well done, Walt.
We have been out mowing and I moved the trailer into the RV cover, and swapped out the 5th wheel tailgate for the regular one and cleared out the camping stuff. We are not camping again till late August as we have an extra cat to care for.
 
This past Saturday I went with friends for a "fun triathlon". There were nine of us, I was the only "single", as DW is laid up with a fractured ankle. But she encouraged me to go hang out and "send me pictures of your adventures" :).

We leisurely biked (between 8-11 mph) for about 15 miles roundtrip on a path along a river. Then we hiked back on the path for about 2 miles with river tubes. We then went into the river for a lazy float back towards the parking area, with some "excitement" dodging rocks and trees in the water.

We finished up with dinner at Carrabba's, where I felt I deserved a nice steak for all of that "work" - especially since I was the "old man" of the trip, that will show those young whippersnappers :LOL:.
 
I booked flights to visit DH's family in Oregon. I haven't visited since 2017 (most of them came to us in 2018 & 2019 for our DDs weddings); DH was last there in 2019 for his brother's funeral (I didn't attend because it was the same day as DD2's bridal shower). Of course then we were in lockdown for a couple of years and it wasn't until this year the DH was willing to get on a plane again.

We are going in October, which will allow us to attend his oldest brother & wife's 50th wedding anniversary party. We wouldn't necessarily have flown out for that purpose but it works out well because there's a higher probability that more family will be there than if we went at some random time. DH is one of eight siblings, who now have children and grandchildren, so it can be quite a crowd.

I had to talk some sense into DH. He started researching flights and wanted me to book a certain fare. It was much lower than I had been seeing online. Come to find out, he was looking at Delta's "Basic" fare. Yes it's cheap, but we wouldn't be able to select seats ahead of time and would board the plane last. In other words, no space left for our carry-on bags and we are sitting apart in middle seats. Oh, and the return flight was a red-eye.

I reminded him that we are not destitute, and spending an additional $200 to get more comfortable flights was not wasting money. I spent some time working things out, split the trip (flying west on Delta, back home on SWA), used my FF miles, and got us reasonable flights - all for under $500 RT total.

I swear, sometimes that man is like a dragon sitting on his pile of gold. He just won't spend.

It will be nice to see that side of the family again - it's been too long.
 
Friend (whom I'll call BF) and I just got back from Hermann, MO. I've been going there for at least 10 years, since my late husband and I "discovered" it. The first time BF and I went, it turned out that he has family roots there, so now we visit the church yard where half the gravestones have his last name or his mother's maiden name. I rode 20 miles on Saturday and 21 yesterday on the Katy Trail. It reassures me that my mitral heart valve prolapse isn't getting worse and I should stop worrying about it!

We did a lot of random driving around the area in the afternoons- BF loves that and we have good conversations- and yesterday, after the lavish breakfasts at the B&B and the lavish restaurant dinner Saturday night, we laughingly agreed to pick up a couple of sandwiches at Subway, open a bottle of the local wine and enjoy dinner on the porch of the B&B.

We've been dating almost 5 years he loves travel as much as I do but has a more limited budget. He doesn't want me paying his way (and I value that attitude!) but for these trips the marginal cost of having him with me is minimal and it's SO much more fun. Works for both of us- and we already made a reservation for next April!
 
Installing handles/pulls on new cabinets I installed of the complete remodel of kitchen earlier in the month.

A friend called and asked if I could come over and help put a window air conditioner in for him. He and his wife have huge health issues and basically are poverty folks. The small 4 room home is really in bad shape. Most people wouldn't use it for a garage for storage. Rough place.

I said yes, I would be over in an hour to get it in the window and help him. He said someone bought a new for them but didn't know who and was very grateful for the gift.

He said last night his wife and him didn't think they would make the night it was so hot in the house.

He had one in the window that didn't work so I removed it then installed the new one.

Also got a call a cousin and said, his dad passed away. He was my last uncle to be alive. None of my uncles except one made it out of their 80's. Most all aunts and uncles never made it to 80 years old.

I will go the funeral on Thursday.
 
I’m on day 4 of being bedridden with a terrible attack of sciatica. An early Monday morning foray to the local ER via a gurney in an ambulance finally helped out when after 4 hours there, and several incremental and useless steps, they decided my pain was bad enough for morphine.

I wanted to stay with that nice nurse and his morphine syringe, but nooooooo, they stuffed me into DH’s pickup and sent me home.

It’s been a tough couple of days with my doctor’s office telling me gabapentin and its cumulative effects were just the thing. I guess they don’t know that cumulative means the pain will eventually stop—but I want relief now. That pill is as useless as all the NSAIDs I’d been taking.

My most recent Amazon purchase was crutches. Ugh. DH also got me a walker, but I can’t stand or walk too far, just between bed and bathroom. Mostly I lie on my back.

The doctor’s office finally decided to call in a prescription for a little opiate when I told them I’d eat my beagles’ Tramadol if they could not do something better for me than gabapentin for pain.

I also have prednisone, which has fired me up a little bit.

I did find and read all the sciatica posts here and feel confident I’ll feel better soon.

Just last Tuesday, I was sweltering in Austin, eating BBQ, and seeing Jackson Browne at ACL. Three days after that I was suddenly an invalid.

Thank God for DH taking such good care of me. He’s a great combo of Jeeves and GrubHub.
 
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DW suffers from sciatica attacks and they are beyond miserable. One thing she found that helps is a series of exercises along with a tens unit. Best wishes for a quick relief from the pain!
 
I’m on day 4 of being bedridden with a terrible attack of sciatica. An early Monday morning foray to the local ER via a gurney in an ambulance finally helped out when after 4 hours there, and several incremental and useless steps, they decided my pain was bad enough for morphine.

I wanted to stay with that nice nurse and his morphine syringe, but nooooooo, they stuffed me into DH’s pickup and sent me home.

It’s been a tough couple of days with my doctor’s office telling me gabapentin and its cumulative effects were just the thing. I guess they don’t know that cumulative means the pain will eventually stop—but I want relief now. That pill is as useless as all the NSAIDs I’d been taking.

My most recent Amazon purchase was crutches. Ugh. DH also got me a walker, but I can’t stand or walk too far, just between bed and bathroom. Mostly I lie on my back.

The doctor’s office finally decided to call in a prescription for a little opiate when I told them I’d eat my beagles’ Tramadol if they could not do something better for me than gabapentin for pain.

I also have prednisone, which has fired me up a little bit.

I did find and read all the sciatica posts here and feel confident I’ll feel better soon.

Just last Tuesday, I was sweltering in Austin, eating BBQ, and seeing Jackson Browne at ACL. Three days after that I was suddenly an invalid.

Thank God for DH taking such good care of me. He’s a great combo of Jeeves and GrubHub.

Ouch! Last time I had that, I was told to do certain exercises for relief, and it worked (a bit).

What really helped me was packing my back in ice for about two days (in a recliner). That coldness shrunk the inflammation and relieved the nerve of pressure from the swelling.

Sciatica sucks, pure and simple. :facepalm:
 
DW suffers from sciatica attacks and they are beyond miserable.


BTDT after herniating a disk, don't care to remember, it was horrible. Bed to couch, couch to bed, no place to get relief or comfort.
 
I’m on day 4 of being bedridden with a terrible attack of sciatica. An early Monday morning foray to the local ER via a gurney in an ambulance finally helped out when after 4 hours there, and several incremental and useless steps, they decided my pain was bad enough for morphine.

I wanted to stay with that nice nurse and his morphine syringe, but nooooooo, they stuffed me into DH’s pickup and sent me home.

It’s been a tough couple of days with my doctor’s office telling me gabapentin and its cumulative effects were just the thing. I guess they don’t know that cumulative means the pain will eventually stop—but I want relief now. That pill is as useless as all the NSAIDs I’d been taking.

My most recent Amazon purchase was crutches. Ugh. DH also got me a walker, but I can’t stand or walk too far, just between bed and bathroom. Mostly I lie on my back.

The doctor’s office finally decided to call in a prescription for a little opiate when I told them I’d eat my beagles’ Tramadol if they could not do something better for me than gabapentin for pain.

I also have prednisone, which has fired me up a little bit.

I did find and read all the sciatica posts here and feel confident I’ll feel better soon.

Just last Tuesday, I was sweltering in Austin, eating BBQ, and seeing Jackson Browne at ACL. Three days after that I was suddenly an invalid.

Thank God for DH taking such good care of me. He’s a great combo of Jeeves and GrubHub.
My empathy. I used to get sciatica and understand the pain. Oddly, steroids were one of the best treatments for me and copious opioids. Gabapentin isn't the same.

Later in life, I developed degenerative disks, and that was less fun. One neurosurgeon always suggested lots of time and PT when you are able. That kept me away from his knife. Steroid injections were also helpful for me. Best wishes for a quick recovery.
 
Spent (another) day scraping, digging out the dirt floor basement of our 120 year old barn. This after removing several sections of raised floor and discovering trash, old car parts, animal skeletons and other things. Dirty, hot work, but I am 98% done. We have owned this property 4 years this month and this space was all but useless for anything. Another day or to two to dig out the last section, and bring in and level new gravel. I have also recently re-done all the lighting with linear LED fixtures. I think there were two working 40 watt incandescent bulbs in this 55 foot long barn when we bought it.
 

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Spent (another) day scraping, digging out the dirt floor basement of our 120 year old barn. This after removing several sections of raised floor and discovering trash, old car parts, animal skeletons and other things. Dirty, hot work, but I am 98% done. We have owned this property 4 years this month and this space was all but useless for anything. Another day or to two to dig out the last section, and bring in and level new gravel. I have also recently re-done all the lighting with linear LED fixtures. I think there were two working 40 watt incandescent bulbs in this 55 foot long barn when we bought it.

Very interesting project!!! I remember you talking about that project before if my memory id correct. Please give us some more pictures of the finished project. The barn is a very interesting structure and too good to not use in some fashion.

Thanks for sharing your day.
 
Very interesting project!!! I remember you talking about that project before if my memory id correct. Please give us some more pictures of the finished project. The barn is a very interesting structure and too good to not use in some fashion.

Thanks for sharing your day.




You are correct. 4 years ago this month we took the leap and bought this old lakefront "farm". It has been a lot of work and also a lot of fun. I'll post some updated pics in that thread soon (Thread is called "Financing 2nd Home with 401K")
 
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