by Ninasusan

The kitchen remodel

Dear Diary:

5 years ago when we bought this house, we decided that the kitchen needed upgrading…so to get us through, we decided to have the cupboards painted and had a laminate counter top put on to replace the well worn counter top. To make it fit we had to rip out the old back splash…and we didn’t replace it because we knew we would be eventually ripping it all out…so why did I think I had to have a new countertop 🙄. Kind of bummed when we went to Lowe’s and priced cabinets…$$$$ and they were not exactly what we wanted…so I finally called a guy here in Pleasant Hill. He’s retired and does this to keep busy and I liked him and his kitchen ideas and suggestions immediately. So we decided to go for it!

HE is doing the removal! It started with the floor while I was in Vegas.

Today….it begins! We will be living with no kitchen other than the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. Thinking about the process caused me some anxiety…but now that it’s happening, it will just be another adventure and so worth it.

Keurig in the bedroom…hmm…not a bad thing…two sinks for dishwashing…not a big deal….4cats and one old dog thinking…seriously, you didn’t think just moving the couch 6 inches was enough to mess with us ??? 🙀

Until next time…..

03.27.18

by Ninasusan

Pantyliners for foot pain

I’ve stopped in a sketcher shoe store and purchased new shoes the last two visits to Las Vegas. The obvious reason is that I did not pack wisely for either trip….but I did find pantyliners in a zippered area of my back pack and decided that of course I could use them to pad my shoes if my feet really started hurting. My feet really started hurting but I couldn’t figure out how to stick the adhesive strip side in my sock so the soft side would be against my foot. So I stopped and bought a new pair of shoes. This was before I had an aqua massage.

From the website: Aquamassage is a quick, convenient way to get a full-body massage. Jets of water are used over a protective plastic barrier to give a relaxing massage without the need to remove any clothing, or apply any lotions or oils. No physical touching involved, the entire massage is given by the machine.

You enter this contraption similar to a tanning bed…once they push the button, you are massaged from shoulders to heels. Very, very relaxing. While we were waiting for our turn, we were treated to electronic echo massager…similar to equipment used by the chiropractors office. The Echo Massager is a small hand-held electronic pulse massager device that allows the controlled use of vibrations to ease sore muscles and release tension in the body.

Here we are.

A fun day on the strip….but the best was yet to come….

Donny and Marie at the Flamingo. Voted #1 show on the strip for the last 3 years and they deserve it. High energy and entertaining! ….and it doesn’t hurt that they are both gorgeous! If the duo happen to extend their residency in Vegas for 2019,I hope we all get together and go back next year. This is the perfect group to travel with. I lucked out meeting these strangers…..and they are stranger than that ❤️

Until next time….

03.26.18

by Ninasusan

When Pam told me to put the Uber app on my phone….I did

Uber was a game changer for the Vegas trip. When traveling, there is always the question of do we rent a car, fight traffic and try to find our way around or do we throw a lot of money at taxi drivers and the hassle that goes with it or are we rather isolated and only journey as far as we can walk…

I think all 5 of us, during the Vegas trip, would say that the Uber drivers’ personalities just added fun to our back and forth on the strip and we actually looked forward to meeting our next puzzle piece. It is soooo different that your typical taxi ride!

We appreciated it even more after the 5 of us, with Pam at the wheel, got lost in a dark lower level parking garage at Fremont Street. Dark, vast spaces with no cars, unclear parking/exit signs and the contagious heart pounding fear spreading through the car because we are all old enough to have collectively watched enough horror and mystery movies!

Obviously we lived…..

Until next time….

03.26.18

by Ninasusan

Vegas with strangers

My childhood friend, Sue, texted me a few months ago and told me she and 3 high school friends were going to Vegas to see Donny and Marie…did I want to go?

It wasn’t until I was deplaning, that I had that little twinge of anxiety about spending a weekend in the penthouse suite of a resort for 3 days with 3 strangers and Sue! They picked me up at the airport and we were not on the highway before I realized driver, Pam, knew words and knew how to use heavy traffic required verbiage! By the time we reached the resort I had been welcomed into the fold…the class of 1977…all of them 3 years younger than me.

First adventure Fremont Street to see naked people and, quite frankly, freaks along with a long anticipated zip line down Fremont street. Buying tickets early is necessary for a Friday night in Vegas so Julie and I were pretty bummed…but the freaks did not disappoint!