Elgee, the horses are doing well. They are senior horses with special needs now. No regular hay for my horse due to dental issues which means no hay for hubby's horse either! But they get soaked alfalfa cubes and chopped hay along with their grain and are on pasture 24/7 so they are fat and happy.

And we have chickens again! Only 10 this time but they are laying now. We also have 2 turkeys. Dumb as a box of rocks but really cute! 

Lily, good to see you too!

I don't think I'll be able to be super active because work is super crazy right now but I'll pop in when I can. 

I guess I should also go read the rules and find out what has changed. I mean, do I need to start over as a novice or . . . ?

*Peeks in*

*whispers to self* I wonder if my rooms have been cleaned while I've been gone?

*waits to get tacklehugged*

Ummm . . . it looks like I need to update my profile before I get birched for claiming a position I don't hold . . . LOL!

Whew! Got it changed before anyone saw . . . I think. 

Wow, that IS uncanny, Elgee!

And Ta'veren Tees is shutting down . . .   I just went to the website to try to get a Blue Ajah t-shirt but the only size they have left in blue is 2X. *sob* Looks like blue and green are the most popular; the only green left is size small. Red is still available in all sizes, as is yellow, grey, white, and black. Brown has a few sizes left but not all. And they're listed at $15 each, which is a good price. *sigh* 

Looks like I can still post but I don't have much time to get online. When driving we often lose signal and sometimes the modem here at C's house is spotty (and slow!).

Went to Glacier National Park today. Much of the park was closed due to winter road conditions but we had a good time, spent some quality time together, and got some good pictures.

Hey, I can post! 

Unfortunately, it's very late and I've been in the car all day. We drove a friend of our hostess back to his home in Idaho (4 hours each way). His truck broke down and our friend, C, was not up to making that trip due to her health issues.

But we did stop briefly and had a quick snowball fight with the boys!

Testing . . . 

They are Florida born and raised! Last time we had snow here was in 1989.  

My oldest has seen snow by now. I'm hoping there will still be some left when my youngest and I get there next Friday!

Hubby and oldest are flying to Montana on Tuesday; youngest and I will follow on March 15 for a week.

The friend we are going to visit says she has 4 ft of snow in her driveway . . . ?

Should be interesting . . . my boys have never seen snow!

Welcome to DM, Cazzly!  Officially, that is, since you've been lurking for so long!  I guess you already know about the different groups, in addition to the discussion pages. I hope you will stop by the White Tower and the Band of the Red Hand!

Who is your favorite WoT character?

We finally have cable, internet and phone at home again!  After 65 days! The cable has been working a little for the past couple weeks but not very well. Tonight it's working like a champ AND we have internet again!  Wooo-hooo!

Wallboard has been put up in the house. They got the seams taped and skimmed but there's still a LOT of "mudding" to do, then DH will prime and paint. He likes to paint and it will save some money, plus insurance will pay us for the time he spends doing it. 

We ordered a storage shed on November 5 and was told it would be delivered in 3 weeks. It still hasn't been delivered. When DH calls about it, he's told that people who ordered in October are still waiting. The shed is built, just needs to be delivered from Alabama to here. Sounds like they need to hire more drivers . . . 

Really tired tonight so going to go to bed early. Will try to spend more time on DM this weekend now that I won't have to hot-spot in. 

Both hospitals were severely damaged. Only one of them is now able to take in patients at this time and only in limited numbers.  Most are still sent out of county.

So we found out this week that one of the local hospitals is reducing its capacity to about 25% of what it was pre-Hurricane Michael. What does this mean?  800 lost jobs.

We found out today that the mall will not be reopening and will be demolished due to damage from Hurricane Michael. What does this mean?  500 lost jobs.

Those are the big hits. Other businesses are not reopening, as well. So many lost jobs . . .

Here's some video of the storm. This was taken in Mexico Beach, which was on the east side of the storm. They got the worst of it. I hope the video works. 

Our insurance desk adjuster was on a conference call with us and the mortgage company last week and he was coming down pretty hard on the Loss Draft rep on the phone. He was pretty incredulous that they wouldn't cut a check for the roof because the report they had said it was done. So he was on our side, which was nice.

Mortgage company still hasn't sent the check. As of today, they say they were able to verify the W-9 but were waiting for the check to be authorized. Hubby asked what date we could expect the check and they hemmed and hawed some more. He told them that if he didn't have the check in-hand on Wednesday to give to the contractor, we'd be going to an attorney.  He also told them that our general contractor's son-in-law is an attorney that has started going after the mortgage companies that are doing this.  Hopefully that will motivate them. We don't want to go that route but this is ridiculous. The roof has been done for 2 weeks! We need to get the drywall put in so we can get the insulation put back in so we aren't heating the county when we try to stay warm this winter but until the contractor gets paid for completed work, he's not starting any of the other work we need done! Fortunately, it's not cold right now but it's going to get cold again next week.

*sigh*

Insurance companies and mortgage companies . . . grrrrrr

The mortgage company has tied up (i.e., refused to release any of the funds provided by our insurance company for repairs of our house, even the completed repairs) because they have horribly inefficient processes. They got one of the issues fixed today (after 2+ weeks) but still maintain they are waiting on verification of our general contractor's W-9. I just checked the IRS website, and that can either be done via phone or their e-services portal. They've had his W-9 for 2-1/2 weeks . . . and they can't make a freaking phone call?  Or put his TIN in the e-services portal?  *headdesk*

In the meantime, the contractor is not going to do any more work on our house until he gets paid for what has been completed. What that means is that we are missing ceilings and insulation in 5 rooms and 2 hallways . . . and it's going to be cold tonight.

This is frustrating and exhausting and stressful. But every time I start getting riled up I have to remind myself that at least I have a house, as cold as it is.  There are so many people here that are still living in tents. https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/hurricane-michael-displaced-residents-living-in-tents-brace-for-cold-weather/1623043662

We picked out the flooring for the boys' rooms, I think. We're looking at the luxury vinyl plank (20-mil wear). NO MORE CARPET!!!!!

We bought a storage shed earlier this month that is supposed to be delivered this week. At least that will give us a little storage until we can get our pole barn replaced. According to the company that originally installed our barn, they're looking at April before they could get to us because they have so many lined up already.  I am looking to upgrade the pole barn roof to a heavier gauge metal, too; the 29-gauge just didn't cut it. I'd prefer 24-gauge but will have to settle for 26-gauge.

My horses are still stuck in the round pen. We can't build new fencing until we get all the debris cleared but we need professional help with that because there is a lot and we are a good way off the main road where pickup is mandated. And since the insurance company says our fences are not covered, we have to pay that out of pocket . . . and fencing can be expensive. I've been trying to locate some of the fiberglass step-in posts to put up more temporary fencing but nobody has any.

On the plus side, my horses got new-to-them blankets this past weekend that fit them SO much better than their previous blankets! After Dr. Bess found time to come check Taz's eye and fit both our horses for blankets, we donated the 3 we had that didn't fit them very well so that other horses would have nice, warm, waterproof blankets.

Thanks for "listening" to my ramblings!

Congrats, Ryrin!

Thanks, Cross, for this game!

Dang, I've missed several. Lots going on here . . . got a new stove yesterday! 

My Thanksgiving faves are slow-cook turkey (low temp for long time), squash casserole, mashed potatoes with gravy, and Cheddar Bay Biscuits. We will need another side item but I haven't figured out what that will be this year (I may ask my sister to decide). I've decided to do all the cooking but will be doing most of it at my parents' temporary house since our kitchen is still a construction zone (half of it is still missing the ceiling).

With my dad's health and my mom being so worried about him and trying to keep up with his health issues, I'm taking that strain off her this year although I'm sure she'll find a way to get her hand into the preparation!  Oh, I also have a ham. I prefer turkey but the ham will provide some options . . . and leftovers!

Alas, no pumpkin pie and homemade whipped cream this year. I don't think I'll have time to make the pies along with everything else going on.  And I do love pumpkin pie buried in whipped cream . . .

Yay!

Mashed potatoes?

Do we guess in thread?

No, not really! It's so easy to get caught up in the frustrations and being overwhelmed so it helps to take time to think about all the things I have to be thankful for. 

Last year, my list would have been much different.

I'll give it a try. Hopefully my hotspot coverage will hold . . . It's still very spotty!