School Days for Toni - Page 5

PamfromCT · ‎05-22-2014

Hello Donna!

Finally getting to message you, my regrets.

Between getting ready for vacation, and then returning and getting everything set again, a very busy time. We have been trying to get a contractor, for a fair amount, to put in more

insulation in our attic. I need to get someone in to clean the windows. It is hard to find help. Some advertise, but then are unresponsive .

I think your Toni doll outfits are just perfection. I love all your fabrics, designs, and ric-rack trim. Such a fantastic job of sewing and designing. Wonderful to see someone keeping a skill like sewing alive. As a little girl, and as a big girl, I have really loved teddy bears. More than dolls, hard to imagine. I have culled my collection quite a bit, but my first love.

I have never had my colors done, but I love all bright shades of blue, pink, and purple the best. Of course, like you, turquoise. For many years, black was my basic color. I still wear a little black, but navy blue is now my favorite foundation color for my wardrobe. My pant size does vary, so I do not buy a great deal of pants, but many jackets, blouses,

knit tops. Way too many shoes and handbags. And I have vowed not to get more jewelry. Of course, the price of gold now is just insane.

I did manage to get some information on Amazon's feature of book publishing. I guess my friend ordered a book on how to self-publish on Amazon. I guess you create a document, upload (with help from Geek squad he hired), and a plain paperback book, around 200 pages, will be printed and available for $5 a copy. I am not a computer geek, and I had a hard time following everything.

I sometimes just want to read something quick and light, and have discovered "First," a women's magazine. It is not solely cooking or decorating, but touches on many things. You could buy a copy and check it out if you want. And I have ordered a few of Fiona Ferris' books from Amazon. Tiny paperbacks on assorted women's lighthearted issues, like "100 Ways to be That Girl," etc. The author is from Australia and offers light-hearted advice on beauty, health, ideas for living better. But I don't think you need that!

I am taking it easy today, after my COVID shot. I will be getting the flu shot, then the RSV. I have an appointment to have an implant replacement crown put in. An appointment with a semi-yearly appointment with my PCP, which is fast - checks on old people like me. An appointment with a new vein doctor. Did have vein problems that were fixed years ago, doctor moved, and want things checked out. Does this make you dizzy? It does me. I keep hearing what "good shape" I am for 80. I say, I better be!

For you, if Katie could talk. Winston told me:

Be Frisky

Pounce on Possibilities

Enjoy the Night Life

Stretch Often

Delight in thr Simple Joy of a Long Nap

Create Your Purr-feet Day!

Love,

Pam

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@SportyShorty07 Like you, I have very light skin and even when I did tan in my younger years, it was a very light tan.

I just never wanted to show glowing white legs in summer. About 20 years ago, I started using the Jergen's lotion that slowly gives a little color over time with each application.

Then when maxi dresses became popular, that was what I wore in summer to cover my white legs. Personally, I think that dresses are much more comfortable in hot weather, than pants.

At home I will wear a shorter dress and at this age, I don't worry about white legs any more. I haven't even used a bronzer on my face for many years. People around here, no longer seemed to care about tanning anymore. We used to think that it looked healthy to have a tan, but now we know about the dangers of too much sun.

You must look very pretty with your bronzer and I would have done the same at your age.

I have some nice maxi dresses, if I need to dress up, like I did for my grand daughter's wedding. For that and any other special occasions, I have L'Oreal Lumi Glotion, that Martha Stewart uses. That gives a nice color and little glow without

looking glittery. That and a little blush is enough color for me.

I never wore foundation, I could never stand the feeling of it and I tried several brands. I always had good skin and just used

some blush for color and a matte powder to take down any shine.

Your cream and camel cashmere sweaters with your leather jacket sound perfect for Fall. When I was working, I liked to wear cashmere sweaters under jackets in Winter .

My two newest cashmere sweaters are camel and navy.

Last year, I wore the camel sweater with brown pants and I haven't worn the navy one yet.

I'm glad that you enjoyed the Mr.Kermit and Ben and Zara

videos. I have been going down rabbit holes , watching videos.

Now I know why my youngest daughter and my youngest son

have been watching them. Some are funny and some are cute.

Katie is doing great. She is very happy running the house and having three servants here to comply with all her demands.

She mostly eats her Fancy Feast, but I did cook some chicken for her this week. Tonight she shared a hamburger with me. She likes to at least taste what we eat. She likes a little taste of cottage cheese or yogurt. She loves broiled haddock.

She loves tuna and I always put a little in a dish with some of the tuna water. That is a treat only maybe once a month, since mercury is a concern with tuna. One of her favorite things is pork, either roast pork or her very favorite is Chinese pork strips. One thing she loves is spaghetti sauce. All my cats have liked eating a little pasta and sauce. She licks up the sauce and leaves the pasta, so now I just give her a little taste of sauce.

Every night, between 7-7:30, she tells one of us that it is time for her Greenies. That is if we don't think of it first. They are dental treats and giving those to all my cats, has saved them from having to go through being anesthetized to have their teeth cleaned.

Do you have any pets? Have you ever had a cat or dog?

As a child, I had a Cocker Spaniel and while raising my children, we always had a cat.

Happy Fall! Today feels like a Fall day here, only 64, cloudy and windy. I hung up my two Fall wreaths on front and back doors. Flowers are still blooming and they will last until the frost comes. Today, I did see some falling leaves from one of our trees and a few small acorns from one of our oaks.

What kind of weather are you having, this time of year?

I don't like to think of Winter coming. I mostly hibernate and

do not like the cold.

It's late, so I'm off to bed. Have a great weekend.

Donna

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@PamfromCT

Hi Pam,

Happy Fall! It is nice that the heat and humidity

are gone. I hung up my two fall wreaths. Do you decorate for Fall? Next month, my husband will get some mums and we usually get a pumpkin, that is all we do.

I hope that you have not had any bad side effects

from your vaccine. You are very busy with all your

doctor appointments. Hopefully all will go well for

you.

Last month I had all my doctor and dentist

appointments and don't need to see my PCP until

Dec.

This has not been a good week, with vertigo for

the past four days. It is getting better today.

For several years now, this has been happening each

year, in the Spring and in the Fall. It is so annoying.

I do think that I need to make an appointment for

a cortisone injection in my knee, it has been getting bad this past month. It has been a couple of years since

the last injection and I am not planning to get a knee

replacement. That was recommended four years ago, along with a shoulder replacement. The last shoulder

injection did not help that much.

It seems that maybe the change in weather is affecting my arthritis because my foot has been bad too.

In 2008, I got injections in my foot and they did not help that much. Later a foot surgeon said that I needed surgery, but I told him that my foot didn't hurt when I wore my Birkenstocks.

He said that was because the Birkenstocks acted as a

splint on my foot. That was all I needed to hear and I gave up my cute shoes with heels and have been living in Birkenstocks,

Clarks and Easy Spirit comfort shoes ever since. Now, I'm having pain even wearing Birkenstocks. I don't want any surgery. It is tough, this getting old.

Enough of my complaints. I hope that you had a lovely time on your vacation. I always enjoyed vacations ,but looked forward to returning home, sleeping in my own bed and seeing my cats. We haven't gone away at all this year and that is okay.

Katie is so attached to us now, at eight years old, I think that it would be too traumatic for us to leave her alone all day. My son would only be here at night.

Thank Winston for his wise words. Katie is following his advise with us, her faithful servants, accommodating her with her comforts and needs.

It is interesting that you have a love of Teddy bears. Along with dolls, my mother collected Teddy bears and I also have a

collection. I have Hermann bears, a couple of Steiff bears, Boyd's bears, Mary Meyer's mohair, Ty (large and small), Annette's and five very special real fur bears.

About 20 years ago, in a little shop in Rockport, MA, I discovered the most beautiful handmade Teddy bears by a

local woman, Barbara McCrory. She made all her bears from recycled fur coats, mink, seal, otter and beaver.

She sold the bears in the little shop in Rockport and at the gift shop of the Ritz Carlton hotel in Boston. The five real fur bears

are the only bears on display now. I told my girls that they will each have one of those. I'm not ready to give them up yet.

I have been culling my bear collection in recent years. I gave

12 of the large Ty Beany Buddy bears to a women's shelter for the children, donated small Ty Beanie Bears to school fund raisers and gave many to grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Now, I have been giving some of the larger bears to great grand children and I have a couple for two little neighbor girls.

There are too many collections of all kinds in this house and no place for it all. I only have seven Toni Dolls on display. Six more are packed away. Today, I may post a picture of two of the dolls in their plaid school dresses. I like sharing the doll

pictures, but a book might be too much of an undertaking, with

not much public interest.

I don't have Microsoft Office and that program would be a few hundred dollars to install. Then the cost of publishing. I might be more inclined to just do something online, to share on one of the doll collector websites.

I just am not as ambitious as I was years ago, when I had a few small business ventures. I am not that driven anymore. I have had responsibilities since I was sixteen years old. Raising five children and two husbands. All those years after my divorce, working two and sometimes even three jobs, getting my degree and working full time until I was 72.

Now I'm tired and reading is my favorite activity, along with sewing. I used to get First magazine and had subscriptions to a few other magazines. Now I only subscribe to Archaeology Magazine. So many magazines became more filled with ads, than substance.

Another collection that I have started to downsize is my shelves and stacks of books. I have hundreds of books and gave away three boxes of them last Saturday. It doesn't seem to

make a dent in all that I have. I'll have to donate some to Salvation Army or a store called Savers.

This week I did buy and I finished reading Mary Trump's new book, a memoir. It was okay, but her first book was better.

My brother and his wife have 10,000 books and don't know what to do with them. They both have their PHD's and I think that they must have every book, they ever bought. They have shelves of books in three rooms. The local libraries and schools don't want them.He gave a few books on Egypt and

Ancient Rome, to me.

They never had any children, so they will have to do something with all those books. I might suggest

that they could possibly sell them on Amazon.

Books are tough to get rid of in this age of Youtube, Tik Tok,

Instagram and everything else online. Even when I brought five boxes of books to school, free for the teachers, the young

ones didn't care about reading or taking any.

On another note, I posted a rather long reply to you on September 2nd. I don't know if you had a chance to see it,

being busy on vacation. It is under "Recipes" in the thread

"Salade Nicoise".

I think that I'll get a little lunch and then post the Toni Girls In Plaid.

Enjoy your weekend.

Love,

Donna

SportyShorty07 · ‎04-15-2014

@Enufstuff So great to hear from you and thank you very much for such a nice reply ! I'm going to try that Jergen's glowing gradual tanning lotion sometime. I've never tried maxi dresses before, I bet you look beautiful in your dresses and caftans! Thank you for your kind words about my bronzer - I love some bronzer to finish off my makeup look. My favorite bronzer is L'oreal Lumi Bronze It Bronzer in the "Light" shade: its not too dark, it has a nice shimmery glow and its a ton of product for an affordable price. Your L'oreal Lumi Glotion is really nice- I bet it looks beautiful with the blush on you!

Cream, camel, warm olive and leopard print are my colors for the Fall and I pair them with brown or black leather moto jackets and high waisted skinny jeans . I bet your new camel and navy cashmere sweaters look fantastic on you! Mr. Kermit and Ben and Zara were a lot of fun to watch! I saw a great youtube video the other day- "Corgi rides pony" and its a video of a little corgi dog that's friends with a pony and the short little corgi jumps a couple times until it can get ontop of the pony for a ride! I was laughing so hard because it was just such a funny and adorable sight.

Ooh your Katie cat is so elegant like you and I'm glad that she's happy! The finest cuisine for you and Katie! I love that she eats so many different things on special plates and she even alerts you to when its time for her dental chew greenies- so cute! I don't have any pets and we had a goldfish growing up, but that's it. I'm a houseplant kind of girl- I like that they're low maintenance and I can slowly watch my cactus plants grow taller over the years.

Happy Fall! Your weather, wreaths and trees sound lovely! Its 62 degrees today and sunny out with some wind. The leaves are starting to fall from the trees a little, but it still feels like Spring during the day, but gets colder at night. I packaged and froze individual portions of my homemade chicken chili and my homemade lasagna today so that I can have them whenever I want. I hope you're enjoying your Saturday too!

PamfromCT · ‎05-22-2014

@Enufstuff

Hello Donna!

Sorry it has taken me this long to get back to you. But you are always on my mind.

I am so sorry you are going through pain issues. I completely understand and can relate all too well.

If a cortisone injection can help with an issue, I hope you can get it. I do understand wanting to avoid surgery - there are never guarantees and recovery times can be very long. Just make sure you are careful what you take for pain. I have a friend who will not take a pain pill, but takes too many over the counter stuff that I worry will damage her liver. Nothing is easy, right?

Arthritis is affected by weather, yes you are right. My back can be decent, but gets worse with weather symptoms. Yikes, it does hurt and disrupt your life. Likely repeating myself - but years back I went to a hospital pain center.

Agreed to cortisone injections in my back. After a few times, I had a terrible reaction - my legs felt numb for a couple days.

No more injections in my back, ever agsin.

I do wear a spanx like thing every day. I think it helps. I do have a back brace, small and not bulky, when I will be on my feet for a long time. It does help.

So sorry to hear about episodes of Vertigo. That is awful and scary. The only thing I can offer is to make sure you are well hydrated all the time. Most of us are not, but another thing I learned the hard way.

We did have a good peaceful vacation. Winston goes to a kitty hotel - I kid you not. He has his own room and lots of attention. We go away once a year, and his hotel bill is high, but they take good care of him. The cost is quite high, but our kids have their pets, and he needs attention. They email pics of him and reports every day when we are away.

Yes, I know the feeling of drowning in books! And yet I still buy some! Bookcases, books on many subjects, attached to them. Starting to try to weed out, but it is tough. Even though my vision is good with reading glasses, my eyes tire more easily than years back.

Your brother and his wife remind me of my brother's friend.

Two degrees in English, a retired teacher, he reads most all days. Huge amounts of books. Reads the NYT cover to cover every day.

And a friend I have out west. Massive amount of books. She was a teacher of younger children and even kept children's books. She did manage to donate a good amount to a Native

American reservation.

But your brother takes the prize! I did not read Mary Trump's second book, only the first. I did read a Duty to Warn book years bsck. I do not recognize this country and only read a synopsis of the news every day. Beyond our beliefs, our entire family. Obviously, many are ignorant about history.

I am also very disappointed with some of the attitudes I find here. Everyone has their opinions - and rightly so, but this place is not what it used to be. So you and old buddies on the Preds thread are it for me. We can all express different opinions, but hurtful comments....well, no.

Oh, I forgot to mention a bit of history about Chatham. We went to the small Marconi museum and learned this place was instrumental in communicating with ships in WWII.

Chatham was very small at the time, and housed military involved in this effort. They had entire blackout at night.

I did not know that.

Did not buy much on vacation. Just birthday gifts for DD and also SIL. They have hosted so many holiday occasions. We did stop at a craft fair I'm Chatham and picked up a few little decor pieces for the fall. Boxes of stuff remain in the basement.

I hope I live long enou

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@PamfromCT Dear Pam,

Part I :

Last week was very stressful here. Katie was having health issues for a few days and of course, it was over a weekend, when our veterinary hospital is closed.

I called on Monday, I couldn't believe that they no longer do same days appointments. I had to take her to the next town to an urgent care clinic.

I thought that she has a stuck furball and wanted an ultrasound done. They did not have ultrasound, but they did an

x-ray and that showed a possible kidney problem and maybe an intestinal problem. They wanted her to come in the next day for another x-ray, to see if there was any change. So, then they told me that she should get an ultrasound

at another hospital, forty minutes away.

That hospital is a very large hospital where all the doctors are

veterinary specialists. That is where Katie's sister Silvie had been treated for the last year of her life by a wonderful cardiologist.Everyone at that hospital is so caring and they treat the animals with such kindness.

After blood work and ultrasound, it was determined that there was no blockage, but she does have the start of kidney disease.

They did a urine culture to find if she had a kidney infection.

We had to wait six stressful days to hear the results of that test.

Fortunately, it was a relief to hear that she did not have an infection. That was a good thing, because she was refusing to eat the food that I mixed her antibiotic into.

It was recommended to give her a k/d special kidney diet food

or start with senior food. I tried two cans of senior Fancy Feast

and she ate it. We will follow up with our vet.

Fortunately, for the past few days, Katie has been back to her old self, playful, eating seeming well. I was so concerned when she had a diminished appetite, refusing her Greenies and was hiding under a chair.

She had no treatments, just IV hydration. If we just waited a few more days, it seems that she would have been okay. I'm thinking that she did have a slow moving furball. It was over

$3,000. for all the testing and vet fees.

At least we now know that even though she seems well, her

kidney function is a little diminished and that does not get better. We will just have to give her the best care and be aware

of any changes.

To prevent losing this post, I'll end here and start another post,

Part II, to respond to your last post.

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@PamfromCT

Part II

Dear Pam,

Fortunately, my vertigo and knee and shoulder pain issues have gotten better this past week. Katie's health has been priority

and my aches and pains have taken a back seat to that.

Baby comes first. I haven't made an appointment yet, for a cortisone shot for my knee. I will, when it acts up again.

I don't take anything for pain since what a doctor once subscribed, can affect the kidneys.

I have stage 3 kidney disease and my kidneys have 40% function, so I won't take anything that can affect kidneys.

I can only take Tylenol, but that can affect the liver. Maybe once a year, if I have a really bad headache, I will take Tylenol.

Other pain meds can interfere with my blood pressure medication. I am so sensitive to so many medications, I try to avoid taking anything.

For thirty years, I have been a water drinker and for the past

15 years, I have been drinking at least a half gallon a day, since I have had several bouts with kidney stones. Twice, I had lithotripsy to blast them. Three of my children get kidney stones too. I remind them to keep hydrated.

How are you doing with your back? Does cold, damp weather cause you pain? I'm sorry that you had a bad reaction to the cortisone injection. I am fortunate that the cortisone injections, I've had, did not give bad reactions.

The vertigo seems to be related to allergy seasons in Spring and Fall. It started about twenty years ago and it usually lasts a few days. This last time was four days, but I've had it last for as long as two weeks. When it lasts longer, I do take a medication and I've tried the Epley maneuver.

I'm glad that you had a nice vacation on the Cape and that Winston has good care at the Kitty Hotel. Years ago, I had a friend who ran one for a while. She called it "Cat's Pajama Inn". You are fortunate that Winston does well in that environment and that the owners keep you informed.

With my first husband, we would visit his sister in Chatham, but I never knew any Chatham history. It is interesting that there is a Marconi Museum there and its part in WWII.

The craft fair in Chatham must have been fun. I haven't been to one in a while, since Covid. I used to like to go to them to get ideas for things to make, more than to buy things.

I used to make and sell things at Craft fairs, back in the 80's and in more recent years. My daughter and I were going to do that again, but Covid came and it never happened. I have over a hundred pieces of sea glass jewelry that I made and want to sell. Ten years ago, I was selling a lot of my sea glass jewelry.

Then I did a couple of craft fairs locally, before Covid.

My daughter is doing a craft fair soon. Maybe I'll see about getting a table, too. It is at a church near me. I'm still concerned about Covid and avoid crowds. I would wear a mask, if I decide to do it.

I hope that you are enjoying this Fall weather. This past week has been lovely here, but this coming week will get cooler.

We are fortunate to not have been hit by any hurricanes yet.

The devastation from Helene is so tragic, especially in NC.

How do those poor people ever recover with whole towns just being washed away? I've watched a few videos of people trying to help, bringing supplies. I think that a lot of people

criticizing lack of help, just don't understand that roads and bridges have been washed away and trucks can't get through.

Some of those areas only had one road or one bridge and its gone. I was watching one documented delivery of goods that filled a small truck. They were going to a remote area on dirt roads. They got as far as they could and the road was just washed away. They couldn't turn around, too narrow. They had to back up on the road until they could find an area to turn around. It took 40 minutes to get to another route.

Churches, schools and fire departments are places where supplies are being taken to. One problem is, many people from remote areas can't get there, with roads washed out. They are going through the woods. Trailer trucks with supplies are stuck on some of the roads and can't turn or back up.

There are trucks being robbed by people in the remote areas,

they are so desparate for food and water. The water treatment

facility in Ashville is gone. Some people are getting power back and there is some cell phone service. Starlink is helping.

In many areas in the mountains, the people did'nt have cell phone service even before the hurricane.

There are helicopters, horses and mules taking supplies to some of these remote areas.

There are still hundreds of people missing. I can't even imagine what these people are going through. Volunteers from all over the country have gone down to help, but getting to the people in need is difficult. People can't be given food that needs cooking, if they have no water or power to cook. World Central Kitchen has people serving meals and that is my favorite charity. They were the first to help people in Ukraine and in Gaza. A large group of nurses and Salvation Army, from Boston, have gone to volunteer.

Many do not have cash and ATMs aren't working. The gas stations aren't able to process credit cards.

It is a very complex situation and a lot of people don't understand what is going on there. Downtown Ashville seems to be undamaged , but it is the surrounding areas that are devastated. Biltmore Village is destroyed. ECBG loved going there for lunches and she loved the craft guild artists in Ashville. She would show us the handmade jewelry and accessories that she got from them.

All we can do is pray and donate to legitimate charities. Cash is needed. There is Samaritan's Purse for donations.

I thought that I would post before breakfast and now it's 11:26,

so I think that I should get something to eat.

Take care and stay well.

Love,

Donna

PamfromCT · ‎05-22-2014

@Enufstuff

Dear Donna.

Here's my reply to Part I. You are so smart to break it up. I sent you a very long post yesterday am - and it crashed!

I send blessings to you always, but certainly to darling Katie.

She sounds like the sweetest little lady, a real lover. I can just jmagine how much you love her.

I am so glad that she is doing well, and I know all to well the fear that happens when something is wrong with our fur babies. I am glad the hospital was able to diagnose her issue.

In fact, as our pets grow older, like us, they do develop health conditions that we live with. Did the hospital give you any recommendations for specific brands or supplements for her?

Sometimes they do.

I am sure little Katie is glad to be back in her loving home!
And you can feel such relief!

We have been in that situation over the years. Almost 58 years married, except for the first years married, we have always had a pet. Only one dog, Willy the Corgi, who was the best and sweet dog. And a line of kitties, one at a time.

Winston is our first male kitty. He is an active boy! We love him dearly - good thing! He is a busy guy who is likes to chew! Cannot leave our shoes out - pocketbooks, etc. the same way. They have to be put in a closet when not wearing shoes, and never leaving a pocketbook out. He is also a jumper! He is stubborn, but we are crazy in love with thim. like you and Katie.

I know of vet bills! Through the years, oh boy. We recently got pet insurance, although we should have a long time ago.

I will get all info and email you. It came in handy a few months after we got it. We live in the country here, and do have an exterminator spray outside to keep critters out. Well,

a mouse got in, and Winston found it, and took a bite we think.

It was awful. He grew lethargic very quickly, thought he was dying. Rushed him to the vet, where they kept him, with medications and tests. Of course, the bill was a Wowser. Well, we had gotten pet insurance a few months before and had no experience with it. So we paid the vet and sent in a claim. What a surprise - the pet insurance reimbursed us.

I will get the name of the company. I am sure $ depends on the age of the pet, but no exam needed. Fortunately, Winston soon became his lively self, but we were spared a huge bill.

I did reply to you yesterday - on the salad topic - but it would. Or go through and was destroyed!

Love,

Pam

Will reply to Part II this PM.