Dang! It’s happened again! – July disappears more so than any other month for me. It has slithered away but not without excitement. I’m hoping for a delightful (and long) August! Oh yes, and boring too!
The locusts are back! – Early in summer there was a lot of hype about the 17 year locust in our area. They come out of the ground every 17 years to eat, dance, mate and die. All in a month. Lots of people get upset but they don’t do damage. They just buzz. I didn’t hear them this year but this past week or so I’ve hear our usual late summer locusts singing their lusty hearts out. It’s a soothing sound from my youth and always was a sign that the summer would soon be over and school was starting. Either that or my tinnitus is acting up again. I hear crickets most days.
A sign of getting old – When I was a 20-something, the mother of one of my friends always wore sweat suits. Always. Summer, winter, whenever. Pink ones and navy ones. All colors really but always sweat suits. I always wondered about her choice. No variety except for the color. Over the past two years (I’m blaming it on Fitbit), I’ve taken to wearing sneakers all the time. ALL. THE. TIME. It has to do with walking. I try to get my steps in and often take impromptu walks. I don’t want to waste time changing shoes so I wear sneakers. I even wear them when going out to dinner. This week I looked at my lovely sandals which I haven’t worn in two years. I really didn’t care. I’m sticking with the sneakers.
The start of projects – This week the contractor for one of our smaller projects is scheduled to start. It should only take a week but I’m already thinking about the cats. Three won’t care but Sasha will be in her hidey hole for the duration! Maybe I’ll break out some new boxes in the basement to entertain them.
Things sure are different now – A good friend had a hip replacement surgery this week. It was as an outpatient and she went home the same day. SAME DAY! I had a friend have one about 30 years ago. He was in the hospital for a week and a rehab facility for two more weeks. Just as Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz “There’s no place like home!” Best wishes for a speedy recovery and no hiccups!
So how was your week?
I find myself throwing out more and more shoes all the time. I will not go into my hip replacement, which was a disaster. Anything that makes walking easier and more comfortable, I’m for.
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Oh no! Most hip replacements today are pretty easy peasy but there is always that .1% and I guess that was you!
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The second time around I went elsewhere. Two years ago and still have problems.
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I love sweatsuits – back in the day I had lightweight ones that I wore to bed! I put them on when I came home from work … nice after a day of pantyhose, heels … the hair went up in a ponytail and I was comfy. I wear them more now and my heavy walking shoes. My feet spread out some from the wide walking shoes, moccasins in the house and Mukluk slippers in the Winter. I’m all about comfort these days.
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I am too. I like clothes that stretch and don’t bind. Even jeans have to have stretch in them or I won’t buy them. Nothing worse than a rivet stuck in your gut. I rarely wear sweat suits because the pants are usually bulky around the waist for me but they are a winter “go to” for those days you don’t feel so good. Sweatshirts I wear all winter long, sometimes right into May.
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I’m looking forward to Fall and sweatshirt weather. I like to be comfortable in the house and no one stops by unexpected, so it really doesn’t matter how I dress. I have not seen my boss since 2012 and I know when the HVAC guy arrives 2X a year.
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I suspect absolutely no one would even notice that you are wearing sneakers all the time. But the same cannot be said for always wearing sweat suits! You are safe. – Marty
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We all get to a point where we just don’t care. I believe that’s where my girl friend’s mother was. I still buy “stylish” sneakers and maybe for a wedding or a prom I’d spruce up my feet.
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My husband had hip replacement only 6 years ago and he had the hospital stay! A friend, like yours, very recently, same surgery, came home the same day. I couldn’t believe it. Especially with virus concerns, coming home seems truly prudent, when possible. And locusts? Yikes! I complain a great deal about mosquitos and I can almost hear myself if I had locusts!
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At least locusts don’t bite. My friend posted a picture coming home from the hospital. She didn’t look like she had major surgery 8 hours earlier. If you can do it, home is always the best place to recuperate.
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What do the kitties make of the locusts?
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They don’t go outside so they don’t know about them except for this weird noise.
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Oh my! Imagine if they did see them! 🦗
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I wonder if they’d eat them!
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Well, according to this they should: https://www.lovebugpetfood.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=1KG_only&utm_term=LB_search&utm_content=search_ad&gclid=CjwKCAjw0qOIBhBhEiwAyvVcfwySIgvK20INQNJsXqp3MfGFIHn9X1qiiXPFxLYpKoAsWoMRjYUfjRoCxbkQAvD_BwE
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My mom never wore jeans or sweat suits. We tried, but no. Culottes once (remember those?). I think it mainly had to do with he hated shopping for clothes and sewed most of hers – quite talented there ( although I always longed for “store bought over homemade no matter how elegantly done.
May your August be filled with boxes and boredom once the work is done (quickly, please let it be done right and quickly) – you deserve it!
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I remember culottes. My mom didn’t wear pants. Dresses all the time. When she was older, she might wear a pants suit for travel but she only had one or two and never at home.
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We were told that we’d have locusts this year and it turned out that we haven’t. I can’t explain why they haven’t shown up in our part of town, but I’m not complaining. They are creepy.
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We had a lot of ta-doo about them too and they were absent from our area. Creepy but harmless. Insect people projected that development is affecting them. More housing, warehouses and just general building and less fields to dig into.
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WOW – same day hip surgery…..I had to stay overnight but honestly – I COULD have gone home same day. Immediately after my surgery I felt NO DISCOMFORT and never did. Amazing stuff how they do surgeries these days. Hope the home reno goes smoothly and the cats ignore the hub bub. If they have a basement they’ll be fine (!). Sweats and sneakers – well I wear jeans every day and slippers – does that count as “country casual” ??? HAHAHA
Hugs, Pam
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During the winter I’ll wear jeans a lot. Now I’m wearing exercise clothes mostly. I have some for winter too but usually jeans are warmer. We all have our “uniforms.” I’ve heard other people say that about replacements and pain. Most people wait so long that the pain before is substantial.
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I get sticking with sneakers, and sweat pants too, for that matter! Hope your August is much more boring than July was 🙂
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Sneakers all the time are just easier than switching. My walks have hills so I don’t like to do them with regular sandals or shoes.
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I’ve worn only sneakers since my knees were replaced, and I don’t regret it for a minute. No one in the family commented when I wrote sneakers to a wedding.
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To a wedding? You are my hero!
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Yes, I wore sneakers to a wedding. The daughter of John’s first cousin got married, and I really wanted to be there. If anyone noticed my feet, they had the grace to keep quiet. The reception was in a stable, so I didn’t feel anyone would care what I was wearing.
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These days, there are many reasons that people wear sneakers. I bet you looked lovely and it was perfect for a stable unless you had cowboy boots! 🙂
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I don’t think I’ve ever looked lovely, but I was socially acceptable.
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I get wearing sneakers all of the time. For me it’s Teva Hiking Sandals. They are comfy, have great tred, go with everything (at least I think that they do) and they are waterproof. Yup, that’s me at the Ball with my Tevas on. When you’ve got a good thing going, you’ve gotta stick with it! 😀
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Tevas are good!
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I understand the mother of one of your friends. After the pandemic shutdown, I’m so used to wearing sweats and t-shirts that it seems like a big imposition to get “dress up” in jeans. I still love beautiful dresses, but it’s harder to look good in them than it used to be.
We don’t have locusts out here. But I used to love the sweet little sounds of cicadas in the trees in the evening when we lived in the Philippines.
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I love that sound! Dressed up in jeans! I couldn’t have said it better. Jeans are so…umm…tight fitting. I wear mostly exercise clothes with lots of stretch!
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I am glad July is gone. That means only a few more weeks of hot hot hot humid weather. I am so over the heat! It will be good to walk for more than 15 minutes and not need a shower when I get home. Ok, enough complaining here.
I am getting some work done in the master bath. It is way past due! I won’t see Teddy and Jack the whole time the work is being done. Tell Sasha they envy her having a basement to retreat to.
We have cicadas. Teddy catches them and brings them in to play with. He is very sneaky about it, he knows that is not allowed.
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My cats aren’t allowed out so they have to make due with spiders and ants.
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The only out my cats have is the balcony. That’s where Teddy does his hunting. One time he brought in a tiny lizard. I have no idea where it came from. I live on the ninth floor!
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Baker’s cyst anyone?
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I don’t think anyone has that!
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Really?!
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Keep the sneakers, but if you’re like me I’d really like to get rid of the tinnitus. Crickets, bees, buzzing, locusts – they’re all on the playlist 24/7. 🙂
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I’d love to get rid of it too but at this point I think it’s with me for life.
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We use to have a sound machine for falling asleep at night. Now, I have mine own. 🙂
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🙂
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I love cicadas. Last week I found one on its back stuck to something on the carport. After several minutes using a variety of tools to assist me I was able to free him, but not before he pissed on me. I laughed. Rumpy would have solved that problem in far less time than I did, but that’s because he found cicadas a tasty treat.
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My cats would probably eat them too.
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My two that venture outdoors don’t seem to care for them, but that may be because they love their canned vittles. Spoiled, they are.
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Two of mine love any insect that ventures inside the house. RIP spiders.
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I need that hip surgery badge! Although I didn’t have a hip replacement, I did have some pins inserted to keep everything together after breaking my hip a few years ago… so I guess I’m a badass too 🙂 As I remember, I spent two nights in the hospital, then home for rehab. If I didn’t have anyone at home to help me, I guess I would have had to go to a facility or hire someone to stay with me. Going home the day following surgery seems a bit too soon. I guess the hospitals are anxious to free up beds.
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Anyone surviving any hip trauma deserves that badge. I remember your injury and glad that it just took pins to fix you up!
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That’s great to know hip surgery can be done on as outpatient. I’ve been having major problems with my right hip…not sure what’s going on with it. Good luck with the construction, Kate!
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Hope your hip issue isn’t serious.
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Me too…thanks!
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We know quite a few peeps that have had hip replacement surgeries and they have all done exceptionally well.
I think Sasha will do well with the worker stuff. She has her own cat cave down in the basement. Fingers crossed though!
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It gets to a point where more of your friends have replacement parts than those who do not. I’m lucky so far. All my original equipment.
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Hip surgery here in Canada is a 4 day hospital stay, which I think is too short for an elderly person like my mom who was 88 with her last one, and when they discharged her on the weekend she hadn’t even had any physio, as they don’t work weekends. I guess they have new surgical techniques now, so maybe the outpatient route is okay, but I still think it depends on how much help you have at home, the anesthetic reaction and your age. My mother remembers when they kept you in the hospital for a whole week after childbirth in the 1950’s. The point was to give the woman some rest, especially when she probably had more children at home close in age to look after and no help from men.
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I’m sure it depends on whether you have help at home and your health conditions. Even with that I was surprised.
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Crickets always remind me of “Charlotte’s Web” (there are worse things). We actually have quite a few on our patio and they chip during summer nights. I like it, but the crickets themselves are what my sister calls “sprickets”–long-legged and sort of mottled brown cross between a spider and a cricket. Not remotely attractive.
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There used to be at least one that would get into our basement and sing his little heart out until one of my cats ate him. It signifies the passing of summer to me.
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July is the shortest “long” month ever!!!
Good luck with the reno, Sasha!
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As if on cue, Sasha has started to sleep on the cat tree in the basement. Perhaps she’s giving it a test run. The contractor won’t go into the basement so she’s safe there.
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Same day hip surgery?? Holy cow. Hope your friend’s recovery goes smoothly. And good luck with the reno project.
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I said holy cow too!
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Keep the sneakers! I remember my Mom wearing sweaters a lot and now I am the same. I am taking them off and putting hem on throughout the day.
GL to Sasha on surviving the invasion.
Yes, medical advances are something else. My hysterectomy was out patient. The 95 year old lady that I take care of, who used to be a nurse, was so shocked!! She was like how dare they send you home! LOL!
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Wow! Not even overnight? I had one outpatient surgery. I was fine when I went home but around midnight I started to throw up from the anesthesia. We had to call the doc who called in a prescription. My poor husband had to pick it up around 1 a.m. We only have one drugstore open all night. Still I’d rather come home.
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Honestly I was shocked too. Nope, didn’t stay overnight and yes, it is soo much better to be home.
Nice about having a drugstore open 24 hours! 1am! Another sign that your husband is a keeper. 🙂
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If I had to have surgery again, I will ask for a prescription for “barf meds” to have on hand. That was just awful and I have a tendency to get sick from anesthesia.
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Ugh! I can imagine that it was. With all my surgeries I fortunately only got sick with one. That was when I had my gall bladder out. You don’t feel the best after surgery anyway, getting sick just makes it 10x worse!.
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Barfing when you have stitches is not fun!
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Very true!
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One of my clients had hip surgery recently and because she lived alone they kept her in the hospital two nights, but only because she lived alone. They had her up and walking the same day as the surgery, and she was really good about walking and within two weeks was cleared to live her normal life. Amazing what they can do these days.
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That is amazing. I was surprised my friend went home the same day although she had a husband to help out. Sometimes you can get really sick from the anesthesia. I hear the pain reduction is almost instant too. Whatever soreness you have from the surgery is nothing compared to the pain of a bad joint.
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