<p>Aww, DTE. That is sweet. </p>
<p>Adding my hopes that you don’t need a pin or any other intervention, CBB. </p>
<p>Time for that glass of wine, MissyPie?</p>
<p>Sabaray – I need a glass of wine just reading about your schedule. Cheers!</p>
<p>Arabrab, where did you put our cyber puppy? I haven’t seen her for days…
All this talk of puppies makes me miss her!</p>
<p>Missy, am glad to hear you’re feeling good about the support at D’s new school.</p>
<p>CBB, be well! Sending corrective healing mojo.</p>
<p>And happy dust for Sabaray…glad you checked in. What kind of courses are you taking? I’ve long thought about doing the same but I can seem to reduce my hours to even a normal work week lately. Someday I’d enjoy it.</p>
<p>Back in Canada I was jealous of my mom when she retired because there’s a policy of free tuition for seniors. I couldn’t believe she wasn’t interested in going for a degree just for fun. But I’m weird that way I guess. Thinking is a form of leisure to me 
I think that is in part because when I first had mcson, I’d been invited to do graduate work with my fav prof and instead had to work to support the family. Later in life as a journalist, the Crown I frequently covered (DA is what you’d call him here) offered me a job as asstistant DA if I would go to law school. Again, logistics got in the way of doing that, but I think I’d have enjoyed it.</p>
<p>Hey Sabaray! So glad to see you!
Healing thoughts to CBB… maybe a nice orthopedic boot would do the trick!</p>
<p>Hi sabaray, you have been busy indeed. Glad to hear from you.
DTE- how nice of your H to surprise you.
CBB- ouch. I hope you are healed soon.
NM- I was a SAHM for the first several years after we got our dog. She became very attached to me and did not like it at all when I went back to work. Ended up having to crate after trying a few other options. Luckily H and I work sort of staggered hours so the crate time is not as long as it would be, but we have no other option. I hope you have better luck with your D’s dog. And glad to hear that your D1 likes her job. She needs some joy right now.</p>
<p>You all are welcome to come get your puppy fix anytime. Guaranteed to cure whatever ails you. I’d use her pic as my avatar but I’m so paranoid about being recognized (plus I can’t quite figure out how) that will never happen. </p>
<p>CBB, your foot better heal before that puppy arrives! </p>
<p>The classes I’m taking address medical practice management. It sounded interesting (and so far it is) but it is a ton of work. There’s quite a bit from my legal background that will translate to the medical profession (at least the management side) but I have a lot to learn. We’ll see, it may lead to something or it may not, but at least I no longer feel I’m stagnating. </p>
<p>Woody, has your D found an apartment yet? Or are you still running a youth hostel? :)</p>
<p>Yesterday was another wonderful day for D1. She likes the women she is working with and the work she has been assigned so far. Today she will leave at lunchtime as she has an informational meeting with a friend of H who previously worked in marketing with a local professional sports team. He is hoping to pass on some other contact information to her for networking. It is nice that her work knows she is looking for a permanent job and allows her the time to interview.</p>
<p>The dog was thrilled to play with D last night. Hoping she is better today!</p>
<p>I’d count that as a big win for D1, NM. </p>
<p>Sabaray – the medical practice management class sounds interesting – is it part of a larger degree program? (MBA?)</p>
<p>Our virtual puppy is right over here, kmcmom13. Just needed a reboot after we had no wi-fi this morning due to the power company’s ridiculous need to work on the power lines during the ladies short program in figure skating at the Olympics. I decamped with laptop in hand and watched at Mickey D’s, which seems to have the fastest wi-fi service in the area. </p>
<p>Do we have a picture of our virtual puppy…or am I just missing something?</p>
<p>Sounds great, northminn…living well is the best revenge!</p>
<p>sabaray - no, neither D nor the S/GF/feline unit has (have?) found apartments. The youth hostel/animal shelter remains open although D is camping at my sister’s place this week. Her commute from there is not great but much improved over Connecticut. There have been so many stops and start with D’s apt search that I can’t bear to write the details - utterly boring anyway. She will have a place some day…
S and GF checked out a place that looked great online but…his head touched the kitchen ceiling. He’s tall but not THAT tall!</p>
<p>Arabrab, the course is one that was created in response to demand in our community - there is a panel of physicians that advises our local community college as to what positions they anticipate needing hires for - and what the necessary skills are. I have quite a few of those skills already, but need some familiarity dealing with electronic medical records and a few other areas. I currently work in a legal office where I do revenue analysis (i.e., where are we making money, where are we losing it and where we should focus our attention) along with a host of other accounting responsibilities. They are trying to push me to do estate administration work, and frankly, that holds little interest for me. I find it dull and monotonous but it requires great attention to detail and is worth far more than my current compensation that they don’t want to renegotiate. I really want to get out of legal. At my age, I don’t know that I’d want to attempt a MBA. I suspect there are a few prerequisites that I’d need to get out of the way. </p>
<p>Woody, I was just reading an article in the Times about the Manhattan rental market and there being a real glut of apartments right now - close to a 3% vacancy rate (evidently that is a lot)! D is hoping to move to her own apartment and has started a cursory search. She’s not worried but of course I am. </p>
<p>FallGirl - please keep us posted on your dad. It sounds as if he’s getting some really good care. </p>
<p>I’ve been traveling so much that I haven’t quite been able to follow the events on CC. I’ve been dodging snow storms. Each week since I returned from Asia, I’ve adjusted my travel schedule to avoid a snow storm. Stayed an extra night in Houston for that reason but am now home. I plan to drive my new car to NY/NJ. NY to have a bit of a Valentine’s celebration with ShawWife and NJ to help my mother with her taxes. With luck, I will be home for a while after that. Am having dinner tomorrow night with ShawD who called somewhat irate about the incompetent teaching of a finance course for health professionals. </p>
<p>No dogs for us. ShawWife’s physical condition gets better but then gets worse. </p>
<p>Shaw, sending healing mojo to shawwife!</p>
<p>Arabrab, I’m glad the puppy’s with you…I might lose her in the snow here. We’ve hit more than 100 inches and have the distinction of being the third snowiest city this year.</p>
<p>The mc-compound specifically continues to battle ice dams. We now have water damage in the master br too. While I enjoy snowshoeing, this is certainly becoming the ‘winter of my discontent.’ H and I are learning a lot about low-pitched roofs in apocalyptic snow. Too little too late, I’m afraid! Didn’t have issues last year but didn’t have as much snow. I see now we’ll have to rake after every storm in the future,</p>
<p>I feel so completely unprepared for the studio move at the moment…just getting through each immediate deadline each day it seems. I’m going to dance a little jig when the snow and the move is behind me :)</p>
<p>shaw - hope your wife starts feeling better. Not feeling well is bad enough, but continually having relapses is very frustrating.</p>
<p>kmc - growing up my family lived in a typical New England cape. When I was in about 7th grade we renovated/added on. The architect was hugely influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, so the LR addition (the existing LR became a den) with floor to celling glass windows had a flat roof. I can’t begin to tell you how many winters we battled a leaky LR celling. It got so my father woke up at the first sound of a drip, and then it was “all hands on deck” to bring out the buckets, etc. The roof was redone multiple times. It did, ultimately get corrected, BUT my brothers and I were out on that roof every winter after every snowstorm shoveling off the snow so it didn’t build up! (As an aside, my parents went on to build a new house in town, and the first thing my father said to the (different) architect was, “No flat or even low-pitched roofs!”</p>
<p>woody - the doc at the walk-in place did, in fact, give me a lovely post-op velcro shoe/boot thing for my foot. It seems like it is helping – or maybe that’s just wishful thinking? Of course it’s totally useless in the snow.</p>
<p>sabaray - yes, I was thinking the same thing – bad foot + new puppy is not a good combo. Of course, if I’m still hobbling around, H will have to step in and do more of the “puppy work,” so there could be a silver lining here. :)</p>
<p>Speaking of puppies/dogs - I’m reading “Following Atticus.” Great read about a man and his little dog. Anyone read it?</p>
<p>On flat roofs, we had guys on the studio roof today. They were shoveling the snow off so that they can work on repairing. A high-end architect designed it with a sloping segment running to a flat segment, which is probably the cause of the internal leaking. We won’t build another another flat roof.</p>
<p>ShawWife’s relapses seem to be related to going back into the studio to get stuff (with a respirator, hazmat suit, etc.). The insurance guys were here this morning looking at the damage to the internal contents. She had to go in to help them look at the stuff and identify what was valuable.</p>
<p>Best of luck to feet and puppies.</p>
<p>Sabaray - I had heard that as well but didn’t see the article. What was the date? I couldn’t find it through google.</p>
<p>…nvm. Found it. </p>
<p>17 years of a low pitched roof even in low snow area was enough for me. Very Frank Lloydish and so cool house but so not worth the headaches and constant few of leaks even from the rain. This was built by a builder for his own family originally.</p>
<p>One of D’s closest GF’s dad had a stroke following heart surgery and will now go to hospice. She spent many Holidays and College vacations with us as her own parents were on with their own lives. I know I will have 1 to 5 of her friends staying here probably beginning tonight.
Sadly, it made me feel like my merry-go round has begun again…enough with sickness and death.</p>
<p>sab, very cool that you are taking classes. I do not do well learning by listening but you have encouraged me to look into and on line class. Thanks!</p>
<p>shaw, gosh that sound awful. Hopefully it will be resolved and also that her art work is ok. I think I would not feel the same again about the studio if it had made me so ill, even when the mold is gone.</p>
<p>Oregon, how is your son doing?</p>
<p>Thanks for asking but I actually don’t know as he does not communicate well at all.
DIL is very busy with her MCAT class, regular classes and parenting and wife-ing.
I will bet S is playing a lot of Magic and taking care of the baby.
I think H will call him soon.
I have decided that until he is nicer towards me I will just take a break. Feels fine. He is a super smart kid and can be very social (I taught/insisted on this). I was leaving the hair salon last night and there was hovering over my car an enormous billboard that had a pic of two you eyes and said “not making eye contact is a sign of autism”.
Man! S is not exactly autistic but certainly on the spectrum and hated eye contact. I am pleased that he can
navigate social situations very well when required.
OK–you asked a simple question and the answer is actually, “fine, as far as I know”.</p>
<p>back from the hospital. Just a reminder to all of us to have our directives in order but also our wishes as far as funerals, wakes, etc. Everything looked one way and then the wife (stepmom ) got a hint that a doc thinks things will turn around (absolutely impossible) so has stalled all forward motion.</p>
<p>Hoping tomorrow gives them some clarity.</p>
<p>Sending ya the light, Oregon. I think the bus needs to come get us all…Shawwife too. Where shall we go? Somewhere warm with a problem-free roof and margaritas would be just fine. Shawwife can paint a picture of us all walking along the beach with our pants rolled up.</p>
<p>The irony of this low slung roof shenanigans is that we moved from a house with a huge flat roof addition. However, since there was a door to walk out, mch kept a little electric snow broom there and regularly removed the snow, so we never had any problems.</p>
<p>By comparison, this rancher roof should have been a piece of cake…but it’s had so many additions with so many valleys it seems under dramatic winter conditions to be more of a problem child </p>
<p>In fairness, I think I exacerbated that problem when we moved in – the idiot installers who relocated our retractable awning placed it on the topside rather than under the overhang as directed. I was irate at the time but was not willing to pay to have them correct their own mistake. That is now one of the problem areas, because the awning causes a dam. When the weather clears, we’re having it moved. </p>
<p>My second contribution to the problems was a failure to properly close off the newly heated studio’s attic, where clearly there are two updraft areas that i suspect are getting heat. That will be remedied once the dams are gone. The stupid part is that my hvac buddy WARNED me about the attic, but both mch and the construction guy said there was enough insulation up there. Hvac pal said he wasn’t comfortable that there was, but I think sometimes mch doesn’t listen to him because he’s my friend and given to over-geek on such things. He and I are going to do some thermal imaging to prove his theory after the move. I suspect he’ll have mch’s full attention :)</p>
<p>Though it seems odd consolation, our problem is ultimately comparatively minor in these parts at the moment, despite a discouraging new leak at the back of the studio. A nearby home had a snow slide that took the shingles with it yesterday, and other folks are running around with buckets of water.</p>
<p>But the hassle of it and the distraction is wearing me down when the move looms. We’ve got the roof guy coming back out today again. I have a feeling I’ll be sending his kid to college :)</p>
<p>We’re going to South Beach next month and New York sooner, but I’m not sure NY does it for recuperative purposes. </p>