Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Winter on Tuesday

Today, we had winter!  It was 48F when I left to go to the office, this morning.  I didn't wear my big winter jacket, but I wore my regular coat (worn over two sweaters and a blouse!) and a pair of knitted gloves!  

I brought the trash cans in before I left and took a quick look at the lavender plants - they seemed OK, so I am hopeful they will be fine.

I had a good day at the office.  We had some new hires starting today and the recent promotions and transfers took effect, today, so people were moving in and moving out!  We will be moving to a different building, sometime in March, and we were asked to write down how many boxes of stuff we'll need moved and any other additional furniture, so I filled out the paperwork for that.  I need to clean out my shelves and drawers, especially my file cabinet, before we move!  
  
I called the surgeon's office, today, to find out what time I need to be at the hospital - right now, my surgery is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. and I need to be there at 7:30 a.m. (which means I need to leave the house at 6:30 a.m.).  There is a chance that the patient prior to me might be cancelling and I might be rescheduled to take her spot, in which case, I would need to be at the hospital at 6:00 or 6:30 a.m.!  I told that to my daughter and she almost had a heart attack!  For us to be at the hospital by 6:00, we'd have to leave home at 5:00 a.m.!  So, tomorrow, I might call the surgeon's office and tell the lady to leave me scheduled for 9:30 a.m. because I can't see us waking up at 4:30 a.m. to leave by 5:00 a.m.!  LOL.  Although, the traffic should be relatively light at that time in the morning! 

My cousin N had offered to accompany me to the hospital, but today, her mother called to say that N is not well and will not be able to go with me.  I had been grateful when N offered to go with me because then, my daughter would not have to wait alone during my surgery, but it can't be helped.  N needs to stay home and recover when she's not well.  Daughter and I will manage on our own. 

I really didn't do anything after I came home, today!  It was too cold to sit in the family room to watch TV (I turn the heater off when I leave in the morning), so I sat in the living room in front of the heater and went online!  At first, I set the thermostat at 70F, but, even though I was wearing fleece lined leggings under my slacks, a blouse and two sweaters, and a pair of socks, I was still cold!  So, I increased the thermostat to 74F!  I just checked the temperature in the family room and it is 65F!  (There are no vents to the different rooms - the heat diffuses on its own, with the living room being the warmest room when the heater is on.)  I should have done a load of laundry and tidied the house a bit, but I didn't.  I guess I'll do that tomorrow. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- A relatively mild winter, so far
- A working heater
- Being able to spend the evening relaxing in front of the heater
- Being able to pay the increased gas (heating) bill
- Chatting with my daughter

Tuesday's To Do List:
- Bring the trash cans in - DONE
- Go to the office - DONE
- Put away the laundry - DONE
- Call the surgeon's office - DONE
- Do a bit of tidying - NOT DONE

Wednesday's To Do List:
- Go to the office
- Tidy family room
- Clear kitchen counters
- Water the houseplants
- Pick up daughter from the airport

How was your Tuesday?  Are you managing to keep warm where you are?  Are you shaking your head about me feeling cold with the thermostat set at 70F?  

18 comments:

  1. It's a beautiful but chilly morning here Bless. I think we're getting our last blast of Winter before Spring makes a proper appearance. I'm helping out at school later as the class are going to visit the new lambs at a local farm.
    I'm glad everything is on track for your surgery. X

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    1. Oh, a visit to see the new lambs sounds wonderful! What a fun outing! Enjoy!

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  2. You had a cold snap and we had a warm snap with temperatures in the 70's. It's not very often that that happens. I hope you are warmer today. We have one more warm day before we go back into winter temperatures.

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    1. Ha, ha, that's funny! You had our temperatures and we had your temperatures! Enjoy the warm spell! It is a little warmer, this morning. It was 52F when I left the house and that was probably our high of yesterday! I didn't need my gloves! :D

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  3. Poor Bless who doesn't like the cold! I hope you managed to stay warm.

    Are you still planning on retiring in a few months? If so, the move is probably a great time to start purging things that you won't need anymore since you'll be leaving. Decluttering at work, so to speak.

    I hope your surgery appointment remains at its scheduled time since it seems the best for you. Traffic would probably be light at 5 a.m., though...

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    1. Yes, thank you; I felt warm after I turned up the heater. :) This morning, the family room was 70F which was a comfortable temperature, for me.

      Yes, I am still planning to retire this summer. definitely the right time to declutter. :)

      I was on the phone again with the surgeon's office this morning and asked that I be kept at 9:30 a.m. She had already moved me to the 7:30 time slot, but I explained that it means waking up at 4:30 a.m. and the lady agreed that that would be a bit of an early start. So she called the hospital and I am back at the 9:30 a.m. slot. Need to be at the hospital by 7:30 a.m. Which means leaving at 6:30 a.m. - much better for us. Daughter and I are not morning people! LOL.

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  4. It has turned very cold here and some areas have gotten some snow. We had some on Sunday, and a little yesterday morning. North of us, the schools are all closed today, and they sent kids home yesterday early. Not here. We are just enough south of Portland, that we missed the big snow. I'm a little worried about my plants that have started to grow because of the spring-like weather we had previously, but they will probably be fine.

    I love the pictures of your garden that you posted a few posts ago. The lavender is lovely. My mother always had bushes of lavender, and they grew large and lovely for her.

    It sounds like you are all ready for your surgery. I hope it goes well, is over quickly, and you recover very fast.

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    1. Becky, I hope your plants will survive the cold snap. Over here, the farmers (a bit further north, at a higher elevation, where they are expecting snow) are worried about the almond and cherry blossoms - the trees flowered early because the winter was so warm and now, they are afraid the flowers will die and the fruit crops will be affected.

      I checked on the lavender plants again, this morning, and they seem to be fine. I really hope they will grow and do well in that spot.

      Thank you, Becky; I confirmed the surgery time this morning (and asked that it be kept at 9:30 a.m.). It should be a relatively minor surgery, so, hopefully, everything goes well. :)

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  5. Hi! I don't think my comment made it so here goes again! I pray your surgery goes well! And smart idea to keep your time and not change it to earlier! Andrea

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    1. Thank you, Andrea. Yes, I am glad I was able to keep the original time. Neither daughter nor I are overly fond of getting up super early!

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  6. Definitely leave your scheduled surgery at the time that works best for you and your daughter. It was certainly better in the "old days" for the patient when you went into the hospital the night before a procedure. Sorry to hear your cousin N is not well.

    Has the move in March been in the works for some time? Major changes were in the process when I retired and I was glad to be out if it. Having said that I did miss working for a very long time.

    I laughed when I read how you were dressed and still felt cold. I am that way about the summer heat. We have had some much needed rain but didn't need the freezing stuff that coated untreated areas. More on the way later tonight.

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    1. Sandy, you know, if it hadn't been for daughter urging me to keep to the original time, I would have accommodated the time change. That's just how I am. But she was insistent that 6:00 a.m. was too early! I now have visions of showing up at 7:30 a.m. and being told I was supposed to have been there at 6:00 a.m., because they didn't make the change at the hospital end! LOL!

      Yes, the move has been planned since November! Then, they found out that we couldn't move because the building we were moving to needed additional earthquake retrofitting before our file room could be moved! I still don't know about my parking benefits - I currently have parking in the current building; not sure if I'll get parking in the new building or not! Well, I'll worry about that closer to the date.

      Hope you don't have to go out on icy roads, Sandy. Be careful, if you do.

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  7. I guess you wouldn't have anywhere moderately priced near the hospital where you and your daughter could take a room Thursday night? I was supposed to have a procedure at 8 am earlier this month and the hospital in question actually has a residence where patients and family members can book a room at reasonable cost. I did book the room but a needier patient took precedence and my visit is postponed until next month. Of course since we have a 2 1/2 hour winter journey it does make sense to stay overnight. I'm glad you didn't accept the earlier time, that would be too hard on you. Your daughter is a helpful and wise young lady!
    By the way, I find 70°F in the house means fetching an extra sweater at least. Sometimes it may be that there is a draught, which I always notice and which would really chill you. I'm sure that houses where you live are not sealed against the cold like they are further north and this may also be why you really feel the need to bundle up a lot when the temperature drops so much.

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    1. Bushlady, actually, there is a motel about a block away, but I think the current arrival time is reasonable enough that we can make it. But that is a very good suggestion! Thank you for suggesting it. I am filing it away at the back of my mind if there is another time, when I might have to go by myself.

      The houses here, especially the older houses like mine, have no insulation to speak of! I think the family room has insulation because it is relatively "new" (20 years). But the old (1970s) aluminum frame windows (single pane) are draughty, the weather stripping around the front door is no more, and the cold air seeps up through the floor boards. I should probably call the gas company and ask them to do an energy audit...perhaps when I am retired and have more time for such things. Also, I think I just have poor circulation.

      I hope you are keeping warm and I hope your procedure goes smoothly when you have it done. Take care.

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    2. Oh my goodness! I had a feeling you didn't have the insulation and weather stripping that we have here in the newer homes and those which are renovated. I think I would be bundled up a lot too, and like you I have poor circulation. We have a spot at our front door where a chipmunk chewed the weather stripping and we should have fixed it, but I made a little filler to put in when the door is closed and if it is not there, I can tell from another room!

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    3. I really need to get the house better insulated, don't I?

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  8. Lol at your winter temp! That temperature here (in the winter at least) has people stripping off their coats and getting out and about.

    Wow that is an early time for your surgery! Hope you manage to get it changed. Glad that your daughter is able to be there.

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    1. Sharon, yes, I know, these temperatures would be quite spring-like for you. Yes, I asked them to keep me scheduled for the 9:30 a.m. time slot. I need to call the hospital to confirm, tomorrow.

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