Book Board Chat

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where we are experiencing typical hot humid summer weather.

I get my internet, telephone, and TV through Spectrum ... and they have been having service outages off-and-on for several days now. Service is spotty so I never know what will be working and what won't work. A wide area was affected. I keep seeing Spectrum trucks in the neighborhood, so at least they are aware of the problem.

Jim With the decline of smoking, I've noticed that I seldom see book matches anymore. When I was younger, I had a matchbook collection. As I would go to restaurants, bars, hotels, and many other businesses I would pick up free matches. Matchbooks were a good source of advertising for these places back then.

... and, in all those old novels everyone smoked. If someone went into a room the first thing they would do would be to light a cigarette or be offered a cigarette. After a good meal in a restaurant they would light up a cigarette of a cigar. Light up a cigar in a restaurant? Good grief.

In the 1942 novels all red blooded men joined the armed forces to fight. The main character in a novel would have time to solve the crime stating that he was to report for active duty in a few days or weeks. The male detectives in 1942 movies would often say the same thing. I know from the TV series that the character Perry Mason served in the navy during WWII. I wonder how, or if, that was treated in the 1940s Perry Mason novels.

In one 1942 novel the detective was stationed in San Diego waiting to be shipped out, He would send instructions to his female partner telling her what to do to solved the local crime. That worked out okay.

By 1943 and later, it seemed that not so much emphasis was put on the men in novels to join up.

I enjoy reading old books. I am now reading one written in 1941. It is fun to see the detective looking for a drug store so he can use the phone booth to make an important telephone phone call. (Do Walgreens and CVS have phone booths?) Then there are the automobiles with their manual shifting gears, throttle and choke knobs, running boards, etc. The cars all had noisy engines. Today's car are so quiet that one can't hear the idle engine when parked or stopped. Most of the noise from today's cars is the road noise of the tires on the road surface.

When I got my driver's license back in the late 1950s, if you used a car that had an automatic transmission there would be a restriction on your driver's license limiting you to use with auto transmission vehicles. Now almost all cars have auto transmissions. Back then, most people would stop at a traffic light and have one foot on the clutch pedal and one over the accelerator, nothing on the brake pedal unless on a hill. The brake lights would not be on. Now all brake lights are on at all the cars stopped at a traffic light. I sometimes shift into "N" or "Park" and take my foot off the brake pedal at a traffic light. I wonder if the person behind my it thinking, "Say, that guys brake lights aren't working."

We have returned from our three and four day back to back to back cruises. We shall take one month off and then repeat the short cruises again. The trouble is that they repeat the same menu every three days so there doesn't seem to be much variation. Never-the-less, we had a very enjoyable time.

Living in southern Florida, even in winter, the temperature seldom drops into the 60s. I like that, no need for winter coats or galoshes.

And today we have our first real frost, feels like -5.5C right now.

Welcome to winter in Tasmania -- my fruit trees are budding, my sweet box has both berries and flowers and my chickens are so confused by the weather they haven't laid for months.

My wife and I are off on another Caribbean cruise. Actually it is three small back to back to back cruises of three and four days each. It seems like the shipping companies now have more short cruises than full one week or longer cruises.I guess they make more money that way. It is a little bit of a nuisance. We couldn't get to keep the same room for each trip so we will have to change rooms each time. Still, I will just try to sit back, stare at the ocean and relax.

We seem to be in that rainy period also, over 1 inch on Friday and will get more this week. Our backyard hill looks like a jungle.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it has been very rainy. Just about every day we have had rain. Some days it was off-and-on light rain, at other times there would be a steady downpour. Everything outside is very, very green right now.

It's been quiet around here. Sis and her DH have been gone the last two weeks on a trip to Costa Rica. The neighbors on the other side have been spending more time at their place out in the country. Another set of neighbors have been in Florida for the past week. The quiet does not bother me at all, but it seems strange not to see people and vehicles coming and going.

When I watch golf on TV all the players are wearing long pants. One time on a regular show I saw some men challenge each other to a golf match. When they played they were all wearing shorts. It looked so strange to me to see men wearing shorts while playing golf on TV. Why? I don't know. My condo is on the edge of a golf course and I see every man that is playing is wearing shorts and it looks so normal.

One time I saw two men on the golf course. A man in long pants was giving instructions to a man in shorts. Obviously the man in long pants was the club pro. His feeling would be, "I am a professional golfer; I wear long pants".

Hello Brian! and hello Diane, Jude, Beth, Jim, Lynne, and Jane 🙂
We're having a bit of every kind of weather, but apparently the roses and peonies love it--they bloomed in masses and now are going over early. I did some planting and digging and mulching--not that much and it pooped me out every single time--I guess I'm officially old. Next year it shall be about 3 petunias in pots and the perennials can fend for themselves among the weeds.
I think many women don't wear shorts because they don't like glaring white tones, or mottling, or veins, to show, or think their legs are too fat too skinny or too something else. I wear the lightest gauze cotton or loose cotton/rayon pants. Some women look elegant in wrinkled linen, but I look like a slob in it so I don't wear it.
There is a possum in the shed sometimes, I guess it will have to be repaired sooner instead of next year. The three darling black chickens with their feathery leggings continue to visit, and there was a Rose Breasted Gross Beak at the birdfeeder one day for the first time!

I like to see men with well formed brown legs wearing shorts, no matter the age. My son, 66, started wearing shorts 2 years ago. He never wore whort in his adult life, but is comfortable doing so now.

My brother is 81, NEVER wore shorts. The Temp could be 100 degrees and he still wears long pants. "My legs are too hairy"..I have tried to convince him otherwise but it just wont work. Oh well............

I notice one thing as I live in Florida. Most men wear shorts when they go out but women wear slacks for the most part or dresses or skirts. The last time I was in a doctor's waiting room all the men (but me) wore shorts and all the women wore slacks. I guess most men say they wear shorts to feel more comfortable. I feel perfectly comfortable wearing long pants but would feel uncomfortable wearing shorts in a restaurant displaying my hairy legs to the other diners. So, why don't more women wear shorts since " they are more comfortable"?

Nice to see Brian here. Love his stories.

It rained again on Saturday, a steady all day rain. According to TV weather people, that is 25 Saturdays in a row with rain. So, of course, it has been the worst garage sale season yet. No flea markets open.

Curt, Happy Birthday. I believe today would be your actual birth date. I see you have updated your Fancy Feast Fund. Very nice.

Happy birthday to our Webmaster!

June 6, 1944, D-Day. I was a mere infant back then. I still have a feeling of gratitude to the men who gave so much of themselves on that day. God bless them all.

Not a lot happening down here -- well apart from the accidental cat, the water tank that started leaking when we put some water in it which means replacing two tanks and winter is almost here. It's been unseasonably warm all through autumn, so all the hens around here have stopped laying because it's all too confusing apparently.

Frankly, I wish more would post. I enjoy hearing from all of you.

I haven't been posting much lately, 2 funerals and this week a wedding with everyone descending on us. Plus I had cataract surgery and couldn't see very well up close for quite a while. Now I'm having back trouble - spinal stenosis is causing some problems with my legs and feet. I had injections last week and still can't spend much time on my computer.

I'll quit complaining now. We have had some absolutely gorgeous weather. All our annual flowers are planted and they are starting to look nice already. The lettuce is coming up. Looking forward to seeing the family at the wedding of my niece this weekend.

Hope you all are well.

I think most of the regulars(?) now post on Facebook. I have Facebook but rarely use it. I limit my posts here as I don't want to make it look as if I am hogging the board. Many a time I think of something to post here but don't bother if it will look like I am the only one posting.

Geeeesh.....does anyone post anymore??

It used to be all you had to do was say something negative about cats....and BOOM....tons of angry vitriol.

Where is Ebozo when you need him? (I know -dead). Steamboat Bill is in heaven too, laughing.....nice try ya hapless fool...get up here, and I'll show you how to rile up the ladies.....grrrr.

Part of a chat room....is....well ..chatting!

Life is......interaction. Don't lose what made it special. Go ahead, rip me a new one for complaining. I'd welcome it.

I miss the give and take :o(

Rant stated....hope all are having a blessed day....................

Oh my. Sounds like several of you folks live in detecting paradise! I live 3000 miles from the sea Diane, also nowhere near any old colonial farms. My version of "detecting" is stumbling around in a muddy cut corn field (I'm in the mid west). My views are always flat nothing that stretches off to the horizon.

Any one of you might wake up tomorrow and find me sleeping in my car, parked in your drive!

I spent almost three hours sniffing around today. Got all of $1.08 in filthy modern clad and a rusty Matchbox car. Grrrrr.

Still....its WAY cheaper then getting hooked on golf, so I've got that going for me. :o)

Nice to see some old s/n's from the past again. I'm serious.....when my buddy and I return to that leech infested swamp, I'll post about our results. Finding an 1855 coin around here is quite unusual. So yeah.....we'll be going back!.....we'll be wearing hand me down pantyhose too!....we'll find exactly what those leeches are guarding!

May you and your loved ones all have a blessed Memorial day. Enjoy your families, eat too much, lose a few coins in the grass while you're at it. :o)

Brigiuy. I live near the beacjj which gets a new crop of treasures yearly. Good to see you.

Briguy, The farm that I was raised on in New England would have been great for a metal detectorist. Our dairy farm was built in the early 1800s. The farm down the road had a building with someone's initials and the year "1823" carved in a beam. Our old work shed had two old Civil War muskets with bayonets and a trove of old tools, etc. Far into the woods my brother and I once found a stone house base surrounded by the forest. How long ago anyone had a house and lived there is anyone's guess. One could also find a lone stone fence in the middle of the woods. Was there ever a field and buildings around there? Who knows.

Welcome back Briguy.

Hello all !!!

I figure that I have to make a post about once per year, because you are all wonderful people whom I still to this day think about. So how about a Mrs Briguy story?

Many remember me as the weirdo stamp collector, but I have other hobbies too. I hunt, metal detect, fish, etc (you know -- guy stuff). In my 15+ years of serious metal detecting I've learned a few tricks that have led me to hundreds and hundreds of old silver coins. Pretty much impossible today to head to the city park and find one of those anymore, because....well.....people like me have been there already. Old silver coins aren't like mushrooms -- they don't grow back next year. So serious "detectorists" have had to adapt. One way is to spend the cold unhospitable winter months researching. That involves pulling up online the old 1870 plot maps of your county and transposing them over a current one. AH HA!!!......in the back of this old field there was once two homesteads and a barn! Given that sort of heads up its usually not very hard....utter silence as you wander the area, then suddenly buzzes, grumbles, and static pops. Human created metallic debris, usually rusting iron bits left from long ago forgotten lives, perhaps a foot down in what is now a cut flat soybean field. Time to make bigger and bigger circles slowly, adjusting your gain way up to hear any specific squeak of what you're looking for.

What we're after is that silver thimble a little girl lost under a long gone apple tree, trying to repair a hole in her sock (sometimes engraved with her name!). Perhaps it'll be an old Indian head penny that bounced out of a workers pocket back in 1862, ....you get it. This works in water too, as modern (well, the expensive ones) detectors are water proofed. Late last year, I found a small creek, surrounded by expensive modern homes. The homes are worthless to detect.....they've been there only 10 years. However the old creek....oh my goodness that creek, has been flowing through the area since before white men arrived.

My first efforts of dabbling there resulted in a 1915 silver dime! Second target turned out to be a 1855 large cent, one of the original copper pennies the size of a modern quarter. Oh yeah, I'm hooked now. I also don't do this alone. My detecting buddy is a fellow church member and the two of us being kind honorable Christians (ssshhh, don't mention to him what you know of me) we have a pact. We share together the secret spots we find. So back we came together, to shuffle slowly through that fetid swampy water waist deep. Both of us old grey men, with $1000+ in electronics strapped to us, looking like crazy 2024 versions of Robo Cop.

It......uuuuhm....well...it didn't end well. Ever see the movie "Stand By Me"? Oh yeah, two old guys screaming in terror, stripping off our clothes, as we yanked dozens of hungry leeches off each other. Must have been quite the sight for anyone passing by.

[Act 2]
Fast forward to the first week of May 2025. The two leech victims are now sitting next to the Fox river in Wisconsin, trying to catch walleyes. Enter a third character to the story, a local we fish with who is very much an interesting fellow. By that I mean SCARY....but interesting. He's 78 years old now, but remains one of those no nonsense type guys that people just look at quickly and say -- lets not mess with him. He did THREE combat tours in Viet Nam as a door gunner in a chopper, and still to this day he has utterly no problem with being right in the middle of a bar fight. As we sipped our chilled brandy (never did get a walleye) he got drunk enough to start telling us war stories. One doozy was about his buddy, only two days in country, being beaten unconscious in the bathroom of a Saigon bar. Why you ask? He laughed at the guy next to him at the urinal, a hard azz special forces soldier who dropped his pants and revealed he was wearing........pantyhose.

Why pantyhose you ask? Apparently ALL the tough as nails special forces guys wore them over there. The reason is simple. As you slowly creeped through swamps and flooded rice paddies, the pantyhose prevented leeches from being able to latch onto you. I looked at my detecting buddy. He was looking at me. in unison we both blurted out -- "Does your wife still have any pantyhose?!?"

Act 3, back in Illinois.
[Briguy] Honey, do you still have any old pantyhose?
[MrsBriguy] Are you saying its time for me to shave my legs?
[Briguy] Oh, of course not.....I want them for me.
[Mrs B] Whaa..uuuh....whatever for??
[Briguy] To wear, of course.
[Mrs B] *long pause* Did you not see the result of the last election?.....the woke transgender stuff isn't in vouge anymore.
[Briguy] I'm not going to a gay bar to dance.....I'm going to wade into a swamp wearing them.
[Mrs B] WHAT?!!.....(looks at me, puzzled)
[Briguy] In fact....Ken is going with me...so I need two pairs :o).
[Mrs B] Dare I ask?
[Briguy] Probably best if you don't....(but I filled her in)

End result is I now have FIVE pairs of crumpled old "Leggs" pantyhose, from way back in the day, when they used to sell them in plastic eggs at the grocery store. At one point she even commented "Oh wait,... this one has a big run in them, ...still want it?". I laughed and said, I doubt the leeches care.

Her final comment was that if we get picked up by the cops.....don't call me for bail.

I'd love to post to the BB chat what the results of Act 4 is/will be, but the two of us are still waiting for the water to get warm enough again. Final result will have to wait until my next unexpected appearance here. I'm only certain that NOBODY here saw this one coming. :o)

-- Brian

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where after several days of severe weather the next few days should be much nicer. Tomorrow Sis and I are driving down to our old hometown to decorate family graves for Memorial Day. This is always a good day because it brings back memories of people we loved.

I am in Facebook Hell. I got an e-mail from them over the weekend stating that my account had been suspended. They never said just why this happened. My efforts to contact someone at Facebook have failed. I'm not sure how much time I want to spend trying to resolve this. Facebook is good for some things, but I could easily live without it.

Hello. I am at sea on a four day and back to back three day cruise in the Caribbean. It seems the shipping companies make more money on four and three day cruise totals than they do on seven day cruises. At least there do seem to be more of the shorter cruises than the seven day cruises.

Florida has banned the use of fluoridation of public water. Remember back in the 1950s when it was such a controversy? Many people fought it on the basin that it was a communist plot to poison Americans. It did pass and cut down on tooth decay. One of my dentists a few years ago did pro bono work in the mountains of Georgia. People there drank pure spring or well water. My dentist said that all the peoples' teeth up there were rife with cavities. I haven't had a cavity in years. Maybe now we are going back to the good old,"Look, Ma, only two cavities."

Beth.. I gave up on Ebay. It got slower and slower. As of May 1st I have nothing listed. Etsy is (was) doing well. Almost to a stop because of Mothers Day coming up. Wishing all those mothers out there a beautiful and joyous day.

Hello all. Where have I been? Well, I got a new iPad for Christmas, set it up a few days after New Year’s Day and kept forgetting to look up my password on my PC so I could post on the iPad at night.
Rain, rain, rain. If we get any sun at all, it is just a few minutes in early evening. But everything is greening up. Grass is green and 90% of the trees in the valley areas. The mountains are just beginning to get leaves on the trees. Another 10 days and the mountains will look like bright green carpet.
Still listing daily on EBay, but same amount of work and number of listings as last year is producing half as many sales. It is a different world on online selling than it used to be.

My wife has a hard time sleeping through the night when first off of the ship. I slept like a rock and woke up feeling refreshed. My wife tossed all night and sits on the edge of the bed glaring at the wall.

"How is my little bundle of sunshine?" I ask.
"Shut up", she explains.

My wife and I do not drink. We usually get off our cruise ships with three or six bottles of free wine. Some of it we give away, the rest is in small wine racks running over the tops of the kitchen counters, over four dozen bottles. With hood exhaust fans and the AC vent blowing up high it doesn't get hot up there. The upcoming Mothers' Day will give us a chance to go visiting and give away some of that wine. Aren't we generous?

I am back and we had a good time on the cruise ship. O my regular cruise line, with over 100 cruises, my wife and I are Pinnacle, top priority guests. We get free water, wifi, 12 free drinks per day, three bottles of wine in the room and a lot more. On this cruise line we had to pay for everything including $5.50 for a can of water! I do not know why they had the water in cans and not in bottles, one couldn't keep an open can in a carry on when moving about. Next week we are gong on another one week cruise on our regular cruise line. We look forward to that.

Wonderful weather here, although there were storms all night. Got a new ceiling fan for my BR and son installed it yesterday. Has a light fixture and I can see in this dark room for the first time since I moved here. Feeling better, but still not 100%. Lost a little weight and to this point have not gained it back. My go to sleep videos on utube have moved on from ancient mediterrean history to art and major artists. Am learning a lot.

Good morning. Spring is finally arriving here too. After being in the 30s last night we're supposed to have 70s all week. The leaves are just starting here, but our pear tree is in full bloom.

I am recovering from cataract surgery. Had both eyes done and for the first time in 60 years I can see decently without glasses! However, now I can't see anything close up so will probably have to get glasses for that once my eyes settle down. This recovery is long than I expected but it needed to be done.

Hope you all are well.

Happy May Day! Happy Spring! We're finally having spring weather here, trees are leafing out, grass is green, There are dandelions, daffodils, violets, scylla, magnolias, and rhododendrons in bloom ! We've had some much needed rains and sunshine.
On the home front, we got our new roof and eaves troughs finished that's a big project finally done. (and taxes went in) I got my eyes checked, and will need new glasses, other wise healthy eyes, good to learn.
Glad to see you hanging in here, Jim Diane, Jane, Lynne , June, Jude, and any other posters and lurkers !

Diane, thank you for checking the list for me.

Curt, looks good to me. Thanks again for all you do for us.

Hello Everyone,
Just a note to let you know I've updated the "In Memoriam" page. Thank you for helping me! Please confirm that I have the names and Ebay IDs correct. Hopefully I haven't accidentally added anyone who shouldn't be there.
Thanks again,
Curt 🙂

I am heading off on a two week cruise with my wife, brother, niece and their spouses. It should be fun. See you later.

Happy Birthday Jim!

Felicitations Jim!

My actual birthday is tomorrow, or course. Still, this notice came as a surprise to me. My instinct is that my birthday is a few weeks away.. I don't know why I feel like that. Must be old age.

My sister and I both had measles and chicken pox. Unfortunately when my children were little I got measles again. I can remember quarentine signs on door for scarlet fecer, and of couse knew several children who had polio. My parents wouldn't let us go anywhere there were crowds of people in the summer because of polio.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where light rain is falling. Luckily nothing severe is expected.

Sis and I both had measles and chicken pox when in elementary school. I was born in 1954 and Sis was born in 1957. Just about every kid we knew had them also.

My sister, brother and I all had measles. And chicken pox.

I was reading an article that said that anyone born before 1957 could be safely assumed to have lifelong immunity to measles due to having had this extremely contagious disease. Well, neither I nor my brother or sister or next door neighbor had measles back then. I guess this "history" was written by people who hadn't been born back then. How many people here had measles when they were children?

Curt< I went through the member list and these names should be added to the memoriam list. JoAnn, Minnewville, lookwhatbobfound, dan, oceanabooks, Teddi, adderbolt. There may be others I don't know about. There are other people who no longer post here, but I see them on other sites.

Thank you Curt for continuing this page. It's been quiet lately but I do appreciate hearing from people.

Hi,
I believe there are a few people missing from the "In Memoriam" page. I modified that page to make changes easier, so if you could remind me who's missing I will make sure to add them. You can either post them here, or email them to me.
Thank you!
-Curt

June If that's the only issue afterwards I'll be quite happy.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is an overcast day. Storms (possibly severe) are expected tomorrow.

Jane I had cataract surgery a few years ago. What I remember most about the after-surgery is how glaringly bright everything seemed to be. Just looking out the window on a somewhat sunny day made me want to reach for my sunglasses.

Jude51 70 here yesterday, 30s and rain, ice and snow today and tomorrow. This has been a very strange year so far weatherwise.

I'm having cataract surgery on Wednesday (one eye now, the other 2 weeks later). I'm hoping I won't be off my computer very long.

Weather here has been rain, rain, drizzle, rain etc all year. Highs in the 50s once in a while. Today and tomorrow temps will be dry and in the 70's. I don't know where that came from, but I will take it. Then temps and rain will make a comback.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where today is a nice sunny day.

We had our share of bad weather over the past week. A string of strong storms moved through the area and towns near us had tornado damage. For a few days we had very strong, howling winds. The sound of that wind really bothered me. The cats didn't like it either!

Diane Happy Birthday to you. From what I saw on Facebook, it looks like today is your actual birthday.

Glad to hear you're getting better Diane -- enjoy your birthday 🙂

At least I'm having one! Finally making some progress - staying up at least half a day. Lonster and birthday cake tomorrow! Thanks Jim.,

Diane, Have a happy birthday!

I went to a restaurant. At two parking spots next to the restaurant were the signs, "Parking for Neosport customers only. All others will be towed away." I thought the store owner just put that up to keep non customers way. That was a public parking area and so anyone could park there at any time. Right? I looked it up on line and was amazed to find that the store owner was legally right. He could have cars towed away from "his" parking spots in front of his store. I guess when you buy the store you also buy the parking spot as well.

Happy first day of spring, everyone.

Thanks Jane, had a lovely day.

Happy Birthday Lynne!

Thanks Jim. Because the board is now on Australian time today is in fact the 17th and thus my birthday 🙂

Lynne, Happy Birthday. (Maybe)

75 degrees here today, a new record for this date. Tomorrow it drops and will be 20. A 25 degree drop in 24 hours. I have to admit I enjoyed sitting on our deck today!

Happy PI Day .... !!

The trick about calling the cell phone number to find the phone only works if the phone is charged and turned on!

Sis's DH ran into that problem when he was working on a landscaping project. He likes to work with plants and occasionally takes on a side job working in other people's yards. The phone had fallen out of his pocket but, since he always turns it off when he is working, it wasn't possible to call the phone in order to locate it. The phone was never found and he ended up buying a new phone.

JIM That happened to me a year ago. I live in a one bedroom apartment....Where the hell could it go? I must have circled the apartment 3 times. Finally went next door and had my neighbor call me. It was on the charger being charged. oh...yeah..

The trick, of course, when someone misplaces their cell phone is to have someone call that number. Then, when the phone rings, it is easy to find.

Jim I'm glad we didn't have cell phones when my DH was alive. He was a person who would set something down, walk away, and forget where he put it. We were always looking for his keys, his coffee cup, his small pocket notebook, or whatever he had last had in his hand.

I keep my cell phone in a phone holster on my belt. I read recently that men keep their phones in a belt holster to prove they are over 50 years old. Hmmph. It seems to me like a convenient and easily accessible way to carry a cell phone. At least I don't crack it by having it in my back pocket and sitting down on it. If I am sitting down, I don't have to move around to get access to it if it is in a pocket. Why would it be that younger men don't carry their phones that way?

June It's not a glitch, obviously the site has been set to Australian time 😉

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where the sun is shining and the temperature is close to 60 degrees,

It looks like he "leap year glitch" is still with us. My birthday is actually today, March 7th. However, I do want to thank those of you who wished me a Happy Birthday yesterday,

Not much going on here. I live a nice calm quiet life ... and like it that way!

Ann, If The Martian you are talking about is the one where the astronaut is marooned on Mars, I did read that. I enjoyed it very much. As an engineer I was fascinated by the technology that the man used in order to survive on a hostile planet. The movie was also very good.

Has anybody else read The Martian and or Project Hail Mary? What did you think?

Happy birthday June!
Diane--sometimes travelers bring more than luggage.The various flus and respiratory disease and stomach flu are really getting around. Hospitals are challenged. Glad you are on on the mend 🙂

Happy birthday June, hope you have a great day. Glad to hear you're feeling better Diane.

Beginning to feel like a human again. Been bedridden for 2 weeks - terrible cough. This was NYCity crud.

June,Happy Birthday. Have a great day.

I wonder how Diane is making out.

AnnI don't really want to go down the $100 every month route I was on with the cats, I don't have the ~$10000 for the imaging and surgery but I also don't want to have to put him down. Talk about rock/hard place.

Lynn--sorry to hear about your dogs health problems, it sure can get expensive these days. Our cat is on medications that are almost 100 a month. He had an expensive scan that did not find anything much but it eliminated the fear of an obstruction.He had what we think was a food poisoning episode and now is even fussier about his food. He had lost a lot of weight but now seems to be holding on the thin side.

Diane, hope you are feeling better

Diane.. Been listing. Now I am off to fix a big COKE float. Hope you are felling better

Diane Hope you're feeling better!

Diane, I hope the ice cream helped. Did you sleep okay?

Miserable. Coughin every breath. My son is on an emergency run for vanilla ice cream and choc syrup. Either that or the rugent care center.

You okay Diane?

I just want o lie down in the parking lot.

Soo, after my elderly cats died I decided to get two young dogs so as to spend less time at the vet. Not actually working the way I hoped. The puppy came with an eye condition that turned out to need surgery, the older dog had undiagnosed anxiety -- and now it turns out that he has a fairly serious musculoskeletal issue. I've done one set of x-rays ($800 thank you very much), and now they want to do more x-rays, an MRI and he may need surgery. Apparently conservative management (pain killers) only works on puppies. He's not even 3 yet...

We went from a less cold, less snow winter to nearer zero, 2 deeper snows and a morning of icy roads--much more normal. We survived as always... It says it's six above today--but very sunny, so sunny it hurts my eyes. The city did a great job with the plowing and salting, roads not bad, even our street, which they miss sometimes, but not this time.

Diane--glad you got a visit from your Grand Daughter and Daughter!

We got covid but not real bad--lucky. I really really miss be able to socialize with family and friends, especially after the seasonal flu kept us home 2 weeks at the holidays.

Daughter from NYC was ill when she arroived and Fri night I had a terri ble cold, first in 20 yrs. Finally able to get out of bed today, although it put a blight on the visit. My step son from TX and his wife were also here, so we had quite a familyu reuninon. Happy camper even with the cold.

Diane, That visit sounds nice. I used to visit my mother twice a year for a couple of weeks. I would do some work and repairs around the house, take my mother for doctor's visits and spend the evening listening to audio books on tape with her. I miss doing that now. I hope your daughter appreciates the time that she can spend with you.

My granddaughter showed up yesterday for a big surprise visit. She and her husband went off to get some snacks and water and when they got back I heard a familiar voice. My daughter, from NYC, who hasn't visited in five years. Wonderful surprise. I'm a happy camper today. Up first this am, and ready for another great day. They are staying until Sunday.

Great weather here. Good day, bad day for me. Not getting anything done.

Hi y'all! Cold but very sunny here. I can't recall a sunnier winter than this one. Also very dry, we are something like a foot behind on snow. I feel bad for the farmers, this is not good for them. The good for us side is clear roads, we have been able to get out all winter. The lakes did not freeze over till after Christmas.
We were sick with flu at Christmas, did not host or visit get togethers . I finally had my family over 2 weeks ago.
Now Dick has covid....I am not testing positive but should stay away from people because I may be carrying, and might well test positive soon.
I did manage to squeeze in arranging for the new roof , finally.It will happen in April.

Diane .. And too expensive

Had four mint cookies last night. They are SO small.

Diane Plants? I would LOVE that! However, we're getting snow tonight and the temp is dropping.

Just got back from a trip to Milwaukee for a few days. DH's brother died and we attended the funeral. DH is the youngest of 9, he has 3 sisters and 1 brother left, so it was nice seeing them since some live far away. Took an extra day to see my sister, nephew, aunt and some cousins as well. We were exhausted when we got home.

Lynne My favorite Girl Scout cookies are the thin mints.

70 Fahrenheit here all this next week. Spring temps - birds singing, squirrels running. Almost time to think about buying plants for the patio. L:ast spring I was not feeling well enough to get any, but not the case this year.,