Book Board Chat

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.,

Diane It was February 1st yesterday -- here 😉 We're at the beginning of a heat wave down here -- not really bad temps comparatively but very high for us, peaking tomorrow at 35 degrees. I haven't seen Girl Scout cookies for years sadly.

Sunny, calm, blue skies, 65 degrees. nine inches of snow a memory. I'm sure there will be at least one more cold spell before spring is really here. Girl scouts have set up a cookie table in my yard; I'm a corner lot. I thought it was Feb 1 yesterday. Seem to gain or lose a day every week now. Only need to know what day it is for Dr apts.

typing awful, new Apple computer and keyboard is so small

hello all! hope all came thru the nasty weather ok! all fine here in Gainesville

house open and in the 70s today, very pleasant....had good walk about 2. doing my physical therapy twice a week and it is helping me keep moving... trying to avoid any more surgery at my age - anesthesia not good for elderly.

don't know if I posted, but got great-grandson #7 in the fall. not seen in. person but pics are great, he's growing fast.

My 2 cats are grown and happy, and such joy and great company. they keep me moving and f rom sitting too much.

Hope all of you are well and stay so.

Over 60 degrees here today - guess winter is over. 70 predicted for later in the week. The snow hung around far longer than I thought it would. Beautiful that first day and night.My brother planned to visit but cancelled because of his health. His wife had a fall also.

The temperature has been very low here in south Florida for the last few weeks. It was 43 degrees this morning, which is cold by Florida standards, when I went to take my morning walk. This is the first time I can remember putting on a jacket before going out for my walk. It snowed in Louisiana and they showed the streets covered with ice. People were actually ice skating and playing hockey on the ice covered streets. Up north they have salt spreader trucks to melt ice on the streets but the South only can wait for warm weather to melt icy streets.

I wonder how the tourists are making out in Miami, 35 miles south of me.

The weather sure is strange! The south etc is reeling from snow, and we don't have any and need and want some! We're 17 inches behind for the season and only have maybe 2 inches on the ground. We had negative temps of minus 20s last week with minus 10 for a high. This is nuts!

Most of our 9 inches of snow is still here. Very ;little melting so far - Pensacola has been paralyzed fpr 2 days. I certainly hop it's another 100 years before we see this again. Beautiful the first day, and amazing, but I'm over enjoying it. Have plenty of food and house is warm, thankful for that.

Facebook messed up my account because of a problem with email addy. So those of you who are "friends" please send me a friend request so I can start rebuilding my account. Was Judy --- now Judith -- and you know my last name on the account.

ARGGGGGGGGG

Chilly nut sunny in Pensacola. My brother is coming this weekend for a weeks visit. He has been snowed in for several days in N. Ala. I have 3 or 4 small chores to do before he arrives.
Christmas passed uneventfully. The four little pups next door continue to bark in the middle of the night. Even on these cold nights they were outside in the covered porch. Going to buy one of those whistles that deters barking.

A few weels agp ny coincidence, I watched a doumentary about a lost civilization on Greenland on utube. Quite interesting. Vikings settled on both coasts, but the west coast settlement proved unsistainable. Greenland has many rich mineral and natural resources including hydrocarbons, lead, iron ore, zinc, rare earth metals, gold, precious gemstones including diamonds, platinum, and uranium.

It seems odd when I see mention of snow in the newspaper or in the comic strips. Snow is almost a forgotten thing for people living in Florida.

I have been doing a bit of reading up on Greenland, its capitol of Nuuk and some of its past history. It looks like an interesting place to visit for a short time.

38 deg here, hi today 45. Just getting the edge of the Eastern cold. Temps back to normal by Weekend.

By the way, I believe dragonfly books passed on some time ago.

41 here, windy. Christmas put away, a few small chores to do today. Made another banana pudding last night. in the microwave - so easy. No standing and stirring. I sit at the table or on my walker for most cooking chores these days.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where the winter storm has passed through and is now out of here! There is about an 8" accumulation of layered snow and ice outside. This will be around for while as we don't expect the temperature to get above freezing until next weekend.

I am so glad that I did not lose power at my house. Towns about an hour's drive south of me got hit hard with the freezing rain and ice, which knocked down trees and power lines.

Around here we'll be happy to get to 19 today!

49 deg here in Salem, Or and will be that temp for a couple days. Then 40 deg for a couple days, then back to 50. Typical weather pattern for us this time of year.

It is cool here in southeast Florida - lows in the upper 50s and highs in the low 70s, a pleasant change while taking my daily walk.

58 and sunny in Pensacola. A little chilly for us. Slept late, feeling fine.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

It's 1 degree here, feels like January. But no snow! We need snow!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Very quiet one here, ok by me,......lots of craziness going on.

hope all of your are well and had a wonderful Christmas or Hannkukah!

Happy 2025. Down about 3 days with inflammation in neck and should, but almost 100% today. Slept very late. Weather fair and vool.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Another year comes to a close. We are fine, we all have bad colds, but we will get over them. Not much new or different, we lead a quiet boring life and I like it like that. Got our Christmas tree up late this year, not until December 21, and I will take it down tomorrow as I have for over 50 years.

I will wait until Little Christmas on January 6 to take down outdoor decorations. Might be easier if I did it tomorrow since weather is nice now and won't be on January 6, but who am I to break with tradition after all these years?

When she was a child my wife and her friends would be outside on January 5th gathering up grass to leave under their beds for the three kings' camels as they passed through. In gratitude, the children would be left gifts. A charming childhood belief much like leaving cookies and milk out for Santa.

One of my favorite O. Henry's stories is The Gift of the Magi.