Book Board Chat

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it has been a pleasant day. The temperature is in the 60s and the sun is shining. Unfortunately, with all the flowering trees there is a lot of pollen in the air causing problems for allergy sufferers.

It has been very quiet around here. Sis and her DH are away on a trip. They are visiting Croatia, Slovenia, and ending with a couple days in Venice, Italy. They return home on Friday. I have been keeping an eye on their house and taking care of the plants. They have a lot of both indoor and outdoor plants.

Jim Happy Birthday to You !!

My birthday is actually tomorrow, March 7th. I'm not sure why it is showing up on this site as today.

This will be a "biggie" birthday, as I will turn 70 years old tomorrow. This just doesn't seem right. When I was a kid, anyone who was 70 was considered ancient.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where spring is starting to make its appearance. Crocus are blooming and some of the daffodils are starting to open up. Sis saw a robin the other day ... so that is a good sign of spring!

With all the crazy up-and-down weather we've been having, I wasn't sure just when we would start to see spring.

Jim I still subscribe to the weekly newspaper from my old hometown. The paper comes in the mail. Sis and I both enjoy browsing through the newspaper. The thing that we look at most are the obituaries. Many of our classmates' parents (and sometimes our classmates) have died ... and we wouldn't know about it if we didn't get the paper.

Diane I know what you mean. When I lived in Dupo, there were wetlands not far from my house, so a lot of birds passed through the area. My bird feeder was a very popular place. I don't see near the variety of birds where I live now.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is an unseasonably warm but overcast day. Today's temperature will be in the upper 50s.

My, we haven't been a very chatty bunch lately! Hope all are well.

I just heard that a new independent book store will be opening in downtown Belleville. I certainly wish them luck. It's awfully hard for a small independent book store to survive with all the internet competition and the mega chain stores like Barnes & Noble. I'm not sure just when the new store is opening, but I will certainly check it out when it does.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is very very cold.

We do have some snow on the ground, but the biggest problem has been the wind. Just a few days ago we had wind gusts of close to 50 mph. When it's already bitter cold and the wind is that strong, it is miserable and dangerous to be outside. Thankfully my furnace is working and my water pipes haven't frozen, so I am quite willing to stay indoors and wait for better weather.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a cool gray day.

Diane I went to Wal-Mart the day after Christmas and bought a small artificial Christmas tree from the clearance aisle. The tree I've been using was left behind by a previous tenant and after many years of use it has become very sad looking.

It's normal for me to be up after midnight, so that's not an issue for me on New Year's Eve. By midnight I am usually in bed, but stay awake and read for a while before turning off the light and going to sleep.

Merry Christmas to all from Belleville, Illinois where it has been a gray rainy day.

I went to my Sister's house for brunch today, but only stayed a couple hours. That's about as long as I can handle her active noisy grandkids. I truly appreciate my nice quiet house.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a cool gray day.

Beth It was hard to leave things behind when I downsized and moved seven years ago, but like you I am relieved now to have less baggage. I am very sorry to hear about your medical problems. Is Jerome doing OK? Hopefully one of you can still get around fairly well.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a cold gray day. We were supposed to have a few snowflakes this morning, but if we did ... it was before I got out of bed! The ground is just above the freezing mark, so no accumulation was expected.

I have always been a really good sound sleeper, but now I stay in bed even later because it's just so darn comfy in my bed, under a light blanket, with two cats curled up next to me. It's not unusual for me to stay in bed until 11:00 A.M. these days.

Diane No, I quit selling on eBay about 18 months ago. It wasn't fun anymore and there had just gotten to be too many rules and regulations. The final straw for me was when eBay instituted their mandatory Managed Payments.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a nice sunny day. We had a hard freeze last week, so the growing season in over. Now it's time to rake up fallen leaves and prepare for winter.

I had never heard of a dog trot house either. I often learn new things and that helps keep life interesting.

I seldom have much to post here, but do read the Board every day. I'm glad to see that Patsy and her sister were able to take their trip.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where the sun is shining and it is a fairly windy day.

This has been a strange week weather-wise. One day the temperature will reach 80 degrees ... and the next day the high will be 60. My poor head really doesn't like all the temperature and pressure changes.

Sis and her DH are away on a trip. They are in Ireland. There is usually a lot of activity at their house as their daughter and her children stop by frequently, but for now it is extremely quiet. They get back home on Tuesday.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois.

I remember meeting Teddi and Fred many years ago when they were in the St. Louis area. Nice people.

Beth Having been through a major downsizing and move, I have a lot of empathy for anyone going through the process. The hardest part for me was dealing with all my late DH's stuff. That dear man was a packrat who could not throw away anything with a picture of an airplane on it!

Regarding the Cussler books: I seldom see copies of them at thrift stores or used book sales. I am not looking for collectibles or first editions, so have been able to find used paperback reading copies on ThriftBooks to fill gaps in the various series Cussler wrote.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is extremely hot and humid. The older I get, the less I tolerate heat.

I have been staying indoors and doing quite a bit of reading. In particular, I have been going through books by Clive Cussler. Cussler had been around for a while, but he is new to me and I am really enjoying the novels. There is action, adventure and history and I find them interesting. Another thing I like about the Cussler books is that there are a lot of them ... so I will have reading material for a quite a while!

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is yet another very hot day. I've been pretty much staying inside in my air conditioned house.

I have a beautiful group of pink Surprise Lilies blooming in my back yard. My grandmother used to call them Resurrection Lilies and I've heard other people refer to them using different names. Whatever you call them, they are lovely.

Sis and her DH watch a lot of those HGTV renovation shows. I don't know what it says about me, but more often than not I prefer the "before" to the "after."

I was just thinking of Beth earlier today when I saw pictures of the flooding in Vermont. I'm not sure if her area was affected, but hope she and her family are safe.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a warm sunny day.

My neighborhood is usually a calm quiet place, but that changed last week. One of my neighbors was hosting a family reunion at their house. There were lots of people and lots of noise. One morning I heard music and looked out to see a young man playing a slide trombone in the back yard! You just never know what that family is going to do when they all get together. The reunion lasted all week. All is quiet for now as the reunion caravan has moved on to the Carolinas to spend time with even more family members. I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to be part of such a large family.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a very hot day.

Diane is correct in that not many of us still sell books. I quit selling on eBay about a year ago after the Managed Payments and other new rules/regulations went into effect. While I seldom have anything interesting to post here, I do still check the Board every day.

My, we've been a quiet bunch lately!

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a warm sunny day. On Sunday we got one and a half inches of much-needed rain. We are still below normal rainfall for the year, but this certainly helps the situation.

Beth What did you name your kitten? If you posted his name here, I must have missed seeing it.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where we got some much-needed rain this morning. It has been terribly hot and dry for a while so the rain is appreciated.

In addition to the heat, we have had some air quality issues. It seems that smoke from the fires in Nova Scotia has made its way down here, causing alerts that anyone with asthma or similar conditions should limit their time outdoors. It just seems odd to me that something in Nova Scotia should affect my area.

Beth I'm glad to hear that the new kitten is thriving.

Jim I'm sorry to hear about your wife's fall. You may start getting calls from ambulance-chasing lawyers offering to take your case. There is no shortage of TV ads from these firms wanting to handle personal injury cases.

Curt Happy Birthday to you !!

Beth You're right. Adorable is the right word for that cutie! Let us know when you decide on a name for him.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it has been a warm sunny day.

This afternoon I went over to the National Cemetery to decorate the graves of my DH and a few other folks I know there. The cemetery was a busy place as quite a few people were putting out flowers in preparation for Memorial Day. It was 80+ degrees, so I was hot and tired by the time I go home. On Friday, Sis and I will drive down to our old hometown to decorate other family graves.

Jane I sold quite a few lots of mystery/detective books on eBay. If I could group together 6-8 paperbacks from the same series, by the same author, they sold really well for me.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where today has been an echo of yesterday, The day starts off sunny but by late afternoon thunderstorms (some severe) move in. This pattern is expected to repeat again tomorrow.

Ann I still like cozy mystery books, particularly if I'm looking for light reading. For a change of pace I have also been reading some adventure/thriller titles by authors like James Rollins and the writing team of Preston & Child.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois. Yesterday I turned the air conditioner on for the first time this season. The temperature outside was in the upper 80s and it was humid. It's reassuring to know that the air conditioner is working properly and ready for summer weather.

Beth I didn't need to name most of the dogs and cats we had over the years. Since most of them were rescues, I just kept the name that their previous owner had chosen or that the shelter had given to them.

Beth Did you get your new kitten? If so, what did you name him?

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a sunny, but very windy, day.

The blooming Dogwood tree in the front yard was beautiful this year. The strong winds have pretty much stripped off the petals now. For a while it looked like big snowflakes as the wind blew the petals around.

It's a rough spring here for allergy sufferers. My head has been very congested with lots of sniffing and sneezing, and I am in no means alone in dealing with this.

Beth I always like to have two cats (an heir and a spare) so if something should happen to one of them I wouldn't have to come home to an empty house. When I get down to one cat, it's time to look for a rescue that I can adopt to bring my number up to two again. You might want to think about getting two cats.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where will be another nice sunny warm day.

Jim Happy Birthday to You !!

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it will be a lovely day. The sun is shining and the temperature will top off at about 80 degrees.

Beth I lost my oldest cat, Shadow, back in January. Fortunately I do have two other cats so I did not have to come home to an empty house. It would really bother me to come home to a house with no animals waiting to greet me. I am very sorry to hear that Peewee is no longer with you.

We used to always have a jigsaw puzzle laid out on a table in the living room. We would get puzzles that had been donated to a local thrift and put them together to see if the puzzle was complete. The puzzles would then be returned to the thrift with a tag on the box stating if the puzzle was complete, or if there were missing or damaged pieces. Even puzzles with missing pieces would sell (cheaply) because some people used the pieces for art projects.

The Wysocki puzzles were our favorite to assemble.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a nice sunny day.

After lunch I am going to the big Belleville Book Sale. Since I no longer sell books or need inventory, I wait until half-price day to go to the sale. I go simply looking for interesting books by authors I haven't yet read. DH and I used to always be at the book sale on opening day looking for personal reading material and eBay inventory and would spend much of the day at the event. Times change.

Kathleen It must have been someone else who gave you the recipe for cleaning siding. When my siding needed cleaning, I hired a local a man with a power washer who always did a good job. I don't know what kind of soap/cleaner he used, but he always did a good job.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it's been a rough few days because of severe storms. It was scary the way the strong wind was howling and blowing. There were also periods of heavy rain and hail.

Neighbors have been posting pictures on-line of items they are finding in their yard that have blown in from who knows where! Items like patio cushions, plastic planters, etc. can travel quite a way in those strong winds. The only casualty at my house was the wind chime on my back porch. The wind demolished it.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it has been a lovely sunny day. The temperature was in the low 60s. We may get severe storms on Friday.

Sis and her DH left for a two week trip today and the neighbors on my other side are leaving tomorrow morning for a three week trip to Florida. It will seem odd not to have vehicles pulling in and out of the houses next to me.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a cold crisp day. Even though the sun is shining, we won't go much above the freezing mark today.

St. Patrick's Day was never a big thing for me. Back when was in college, many local bars would have cheap green bear (which I did like). This sounds strange, but the last time I had green beer on St. Patrick's Day was at a nursing home. I was visiting my mother at the nursing home and the staff came around with tiny glasses of green beer for the residents and their guests. Mother was in the nursing home in 2010, so that was quite a while ago.

Lynne Happy Birthday to You !!

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a cold sunny day. Daffodils are blooming in my yard and trees are starting to bud.

I was also thinking about JoAnne recently. When she left the Board, I figured she would be back at some point and am surprised she hasn't returned.

Thank you all for the birthday greetings. I had a nice day. Sis made a birthday cake for me and her grandchildren (ages 7 and 9) sang at me this evening when the cake was cut.

Gail Happy Birthday to You !!

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it may be time to build an ark! It rained all night and is still raining hard. We are expecting about 4 inches of rain before the day is done.

I got the last of my tax information in the mail yesterday, so this gray rainy day will be a good time to sort through my financials and get my stuff ready to take to the man who prepares my income taxes.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it will be another gray day with possible thunderstorms. The temperature is in the 50s.

Ann Overall, it has been warmer than usual here for February. We get a couple of cold days, and then it warms back up to the 50s, 60s, or low 70s for a few days before dropping back down to more normal winter temperatures.

I saw something beautiful the other day. It had been raining on and off throughout the day and when I looked out my front window there was the most beautiful rainbows I've ever seen. The rainbow bands were wider than what I usually see and the colors were outstanding!

Good morning and Happy Valentine's Day to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a gray day with rain showers expected off and on throughout the day.

Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to reach 70 degrees. That's just wrong for February. My poor head really doesn't like all these weather changes. If it would just get cold and stay that way for a while, my head would clear up beautifully!

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where the sun is shining and the temperature will be in the low 50s.

Not much going on here ... which is fine with me.

I do like living in an area where we have all four seasons. Though with the crazy weather we've had these past few years, sometimes we get all four seasons in just one week!

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a very nice day. The temperature is in the 50s and the sun is shining. Tomorrow will be much colder. For the next two days we aren't expected to go above the freezing mark.

Diane I don't do mornings, but I do maintain a routine. I stay up late and watch at least part of The Late Show. How much of the show I watch depends on whether or not I find the guests interesting. I go to bed around 11:30 P.M. and read for a while before turning off the light and going to sleep. I get up between 10:30 and 11:00 A.M.

I also have a routine with my meals. Since I don't get up early, I don't bother with breakfast. Lunch is at noon and supper at 6:00. I chose these times because in both instances I can make up a plate and eat while I watch the local news broadcast on TV. If I get hungry between meals, I will eat some fruit or a bit of cheese.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it has been a cold, but sunny, day.

Diane Why does your Dr. want you to get up so early in the day? I've always been more of a night person so that wouldn't work for me at all!

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a gray and very windy day.

Will Trent started out as a minor character in Karin Slaughter's books. I read many of the books and enjoyed the way Will evolved into a more important role in the series. I have been hesitant to watch the TV series because in the past I'm usually disappointed with the changes made when a character transitions from print to TV or movies.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where the sun is shining and the temperature is in the low 40s.

My brother-in-law (who is also my landlord) came over yesterday to unclog my kitchen sink. The plumbing under the sink has an odd bend that tends to cause problems every few years.

I watch quite a bit of the Science channel on TV. One of my favorite programs on that channel is called "Mysteries of the Abandoned".

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a cool gray day. The sun may come out this afternoon for a while.

A couple days ago I lost my oldest cat, Shadow. He was 18 years old. I believe he had a stroke which affected him badly enough (both physically and mentally) that I took him to the vet for euthanasia. He had been with me for the last 17 years and I am glad I was able to provide a home for him for so long.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a gray rainy day. The temperature is near 50 degrees, but the dampness bothers my joints.

Not much fireworks here over the 1st, but I did hear some gunshots. This was a real problem in some of the St. Louis neighborhoods. Folks don't stop to think (or care) that what they shoot up into the air has to come down someplace.

Patsy Alive and kicking is a very good thing!

It's good that younger people are stepping up to help with the FOL. I know several charities around here are trying to get more young people involved to fill gaps left when older volunteers are no longer able to get out and do the necessary work.

Good morning and Merry Christmas to all from Belleville, Illinois.

I haven't been doing much of anything. The past few days have been frigid, so I've spent much of my time curled up in my favorite chair (with a couple cats on my lap) rereading some old favorite books. Today will be a bit warmer, but we will still be below the freezing mark.

I will be walking across the driveway to have lunch today at my sis's house. Her children and grandchildren will be there ... so it will be a fairly noisy crowd! After a couple of hours, I will gladly come back to my nice quiet house!

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a cold crisp winter day.

It is odd how this Board can go dormant for a few days and then there will be a brief flurry of posts.

Jim Bob died a couple years ago. I was Facebook friends with him and a niece posted there about the death when Bob passed away.

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a gray day. Light rain is predicted off and on throughout the day.

I expect a nice quiet day here. Sis and her family are spending the day with her in-laws. I have a standing invitation for this, but can't handle that many people and screaming kids anymore. I will be much happier here at home.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a cold day. Today's temperature won't rise above the freezing mark.

Yesterday I went to the eye doctor. My vision has become less "sharp" and I have some irritation in my right eye. I got a new prescription for eyeglasses and was diagnosed as having Dry Eye Syndrome. From reading the information the doctor sent home with me, it appears there are many, many things that can cause this syndrome. I was given some drops to put in that eye and we will see how it goes from there.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a gray cold day.

It was a surprise to open the curtain this morning and see snow! Snow was predicted for an area south of us, and we were told there might be a few flurries here but the ground was still warm enough that the flurries should melt when they hit the ground. The surprise was that we had five and one-half inches of snow here at my house. It looks like the weather predictors missed this one.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it will be a nice sunny day with a high temperature in the 60s.

I am glad that Election Day has finally arrived. Whatever the outcome, at least I won't have to put up with all the political TV ads, phone calls, and junk mail until the next election cycle.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where the sun is shining, but it was a rainy windy night. The strong wind took most of the remaining leaves off the trees.

Jim My family participated in something like that when I was a child. I don't think it was Nielsen, but every week we would receive a survey about what we watched on TV. Tucked inside the rear of the survey would be a dollar bill as payment for our participation. It seems odd, but now I have more TV channels than I would have ever imagined possible yet I watch very little TV.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it has been a lovely day. The sun was shining and the temperature was around 70 degrees.

No trick or treaters here last night and I am glad about that. The street where I live is also IL Route 158 and cars drive way too fast on that road. There are no sidewalks, so it is better we don't have children going from house to house in the dark.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a lovely sunny day. The temperature will reach the upper 50s. On Tuesday we got some much needed rain. It was very dry around here so the 2 and 1/2 inches we received were certainly appreciated.

Today my sister's work is hosting a retirement luncheon for her. Tomorrow is her last day on the job. How is it possible that my baby sister is old enough to retire?!?!?

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is also chilly and breezy.

Last night we had our first hard frost of the season and today's temperature won't climb out of the 40s. By the weekend we should be up to almost 80 degrees. With all the temperature and air pressure changes, it's no wonder many people around here are dealing with at least some degree of congestion. I know my head feels "stuffy" at present.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a cool rainy day.

Beth I've never heard of Magic the Gathering Cards, but then again every year there seem to be many more things that I know nothing about! I do lousy on the Pop Culture categories on Jeopardy, and about half the skits on SNL do not resonate with anything familiar to me.

Diane No, I did not send out any friend requests on FB for quite some time. I'll look into this.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it will be a sunny day. The high temperature is expected to be around 60 degrees.

Yesterday I drove to the vet's office to pick up more of Shadow's medicine. There was a lot of road work being done along my usual route to the vet's, so coming home I detoured through my old neighborhood in Dupo. I was pleased to see that my old house looks good and the huge trees in the front yard are still there. There have been a few times over the years (particularly after a really bad storm) when I considered having those trees taken down, but they gave such nice shade and were beautiful to look at, so I kept putting it off. I've been gone from that house for six years now ... but those trees are still there!

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a lovely sunny day. The high temperature today will be in the upper 60s.

Tomorrow Sis's newest grandchild is getting Baptized. There is all sort of activity next door because after the service quite a few people are coming to Sis's house for a luncheon.

The only good thing about a tornado is that it doesn't last long. As soon as the tornado has passed, you can go out and see what kind of damage has been done. With a hurricane, wildfire or severe flooding it could be a few days (or longer) before you can even get back to see what is left of your home.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where after a few nice autumn-like days, the hotter temps are returning.

My nephew and his wife are selling their current house and buying another one. The house that they are buying is really large. I can't help but think of all the families (including mine!) that got by easily in a small house that had at most 1,000 square feet. These huge houses that so many people want now would be a nightmare for me. I can't imagine heating, cooling, and cleaning something with well over 3,000 square feet.

When I stopped at the pharmacy a couple weeks ago, they mentioned that they were already offering flu shots. I might swing by the pharmacy and get my flu shot when I run errands this afternoon.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where after a few gray dreary days of rain ... the sun is shining.

Covid has been around long enough now that many people are just tired of hearing about it. Unfortunately, it is still around.

The TV show Jeopardy announced that there will be a couple of alternate contestants for the Tournament of Champions coming up in late October. There is some concern that a positive Covid test, or travel issues, could affect the contestant line-up, so the alternates will be on-hand at the beginning of the tournament and can step in if necessary. The alternates will contestants from last season who just missed making the cut for the tournament.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it will be a sunny day with temps in the 80s.

There isn't much going on here, but I wanted to make some sort of post since nobody has posted for several days now.

I have been rearranging shelves. Since I no longer sell on-line, I was able to move or get rid of supplies I needed back when I sold and shipped books. I will use the open shelf space to spread out my personal books (grouped by author and series) to make it easier to find things.

We used to go to Vegas every couple years for DH's reunion with some of his Air Force buddies. I always enjoyed playing the slots because it was something we could not do in Illinois at that time. I think it was the novelty of being able to gamble that made it fun. Once riverboat gambling (and later full casinos) became legal here in Illinois, gambling lost its uniqueness.

Jim I am just the opposite of your wife. I lost interest in going to the casino when they got rid of the old bell/fruit/bar slot machines. I liked putting the tokens in myself and pulling the handle and really missed hearing the coins hit the metal tray when you won. It just wasn't as much fun for me on the new machines.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a lovely day. The sun is shining, the temperature is moderate, and the humidity level is low.

Since I have a large u-shaped driveway in front of my house, many of the delivery companies park here when delivering to houses close to mine. I am home most days and have a good view of the trucks and drivers, so I am the lady who calls my neighbors to let them know that a package has been delivered to their porch.

I remember when I got a book in the mail once that was so overly taped and packaged I was concerned I might damage the book while trying to cut through all the heavy tape. It was a tedious process, but in the end I managed to extract the book safely from all the packaging.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a nice sunny day with temps in the low 80s.

Diane Strange things do happen. Now I'll have that Twilight Zone theme running around in my head for the rest of the day!

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where the temperature is in the 70s! It's been a while since we've had a day that wasn't uncomfortably hot and humid.

Diane Thank you for the update on Patsy. I had noticed that she wasn't posting on FB anymore, but was unaware that she had been kicked off the site.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it will be hot and humid all weekend. It will be a good weekend to stay indoors and enjoy my air conditioning.

I have a lovely group of Surprise Lillies blooming in my back yard. Some people call them Naked Ladies, and my Grandma called them Resurrection Lillies. It is always nice to see them.

The new kitty has settled in, thoroughly explored the house, and is getting along with my other two cats ... so all is well.

Jane I'm glad you had a nice birthday.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where no rain is predicted for today ... which is a very good thing!

Lynne The new cat is fitting in here quite well. She is a very sweet kitty who craves affection. I guess it's been a while since she had her own person to love her. My cat Shadow made up with her pretty quickly. My other cat, Katie, is still observing the situation and keeps an eye on the new cat. Katie is in no way aggressive toward the newcomer, it's more like she's watching to make sure the new cat doesn't steal the silverware (or anything else).

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where the sun is shining ... and thank goodness it isn't raining. We got another two inches of rain yesterday so no more is needed!

I have a new cat here at my house. Her name is Alaska and she is about 12 years old. She is a small black-and-white cat. One of my neighbors has a close friend who is part of an animal rescue organization. This cat needed a home, so my neighbor thought of me. The new cat arrived yesterday evening and her first night here went well. My other two cats are curious about the new addition, but don't seem particularly upset about her. Barring something unusual, I think little Alaska is a keeper.

Gail Up until today, we were bone dry also. Farmers were praying for rain and people who had to work outside in the heat were having a rough time of it. I guess there is something to that old saying about being careful what you wish for.

Gail Yes, my area received just under 9 inches of rain so far, and a little more is expected later today. All is well here at my house.

It was really strange ... I knew we had had quite a bit of rain because I could see puddles in the driveway and it was still raining at the time. But when I looked through the window at the rain gage in my yard, it seemed to be empty causing me to think that it might have developed a crack or broken. Come to find out the gage wasn't empty but rather it was over it's 6 inch capacity so there was no mark indicating how much rain we actually had. That has never happened before.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it will be another hot day.

This afternoon I take Shadow to the vet. It's time to check his thyroid and readjust his meds, if needed.

Sis and her DH, her children, and her grandchildren are all away on vacation this week. While they are gone, I've been keeping an eye on their house and watering the container plants on their deck. Yesterday after I came back from my plant watering duties, I started to itch. I don't know what kind of bugs or insects live next door, but they sure liked me. I am very grateful to whomever invented the anti-itching cream I get at Wal-Mart. That stuff really works good on insect bites.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it will be a warm sunny day.

It has been very dry around here so I was happy to get the one and a half of inches of rain yesterday. There were brief downpours, but much of the rain was the gently soaking kind that really helps the plants in the yard.

Diane Is this the DGD who was planning to go to Australia at one time?

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it will be a warm sunny day.

We only had one TV in our house. The only times we disagreed on what to watch usually had to do with some sort of sports program. If DH wanted to watch sports, I would just go into the bedroom and read, or go into the office and spend some time on the computer.

Ann When my current keyboard quits working, I plan to get one of those with the large light-up letters. I'm glad to hear that you are so pleased with your new keyboard.

JoAnne and Lynne I actually made my last move in two stages. First I had the movers take bookcases and books and then a couple days later they came back for the remaining furniture and miscellaneous. The movers placed the big bookcases along the walls where I wanted them (yes, I had a diagram of where I wanted the bookcases to go!). During that time between moving days I went to the new place and got many of my books shelved and out of the way before the rest of my stuff arrived.

I might add that another factor in my hiring professional movers was the weather. I moved in mid-July and it was terribly hot and humid which added to my concern about letting older friends and family help me.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where the sun is shining brightly. It will be hot throughout the holiday weekend, with actual temperatures in the 90s and a heat index of over 100.

Jim When I moved to Belleville a few years ago, it was the first time in my life that I hired a professional mover. In the past, family and friends were always willing to help but as I looked at that group again I realized that they had all gotten older and I was afraid someone might get hurt trying to help me move. The movers I hired proved to be hard workers and were very accommodating when I asked them to do something. The move was accomplished efficiently and everything went smoothly. I am very pleased that I decided to hire professional movers.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where the sun is shining and it will be a warm day.

Jane My goodness ... You certainly did have some excitement at your house. I remember one time when my DH was mowing the front yard and mowed over a nest of ground bees. The bees swarmed and bit him badly. What a mess!

Yesterday was the Illinois state primary election. There were six Republicans on the ballot who all wanted a shot at replacing the current Gov. of Illinois and they all spent a lot of money running endless TV and print ads. The main election isn't until November so we might get a brief break before all campaigning starts up again.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where the sun is shining and it looks like it will be a good day for those who want to celebrate Father's Day with outside activities.

There is a fairly big U-shaped driveway that serves my house and sis's house. A lot of delivery drivers use this driveway when delivering to houses in the immediate area because it is easy to maneuver the trucks and pull out safely onto the busy highway. I don't mind this at all because I'd rather see the trucks pulling out safely than causing an accident in front of my house. While I used to see a delivery truck in my driveway every once in a while, it has become almost a daily occurrence.

Jim I know that United Airlines has has been actively trying to train and hire more minority workers, but that is a company decision. I am still in touch with friends and former students who are employed in the airline industry and none of them has ever mentioned any kind of governmental minority hiring mandate.

During the height of the pandemic, many pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics were let go because there weren't enough flights to keep them working full time. Once travel resumed at a more normal pace, some of these people who had been let go had already found new careers, or decided to retire, and were not interested in returning to their previous jobs which caused a shortage and brought about delays and cancellations.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a lovely sunny day.

My ... We haven't been a very active group the last few days. (I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.)

I don't have much to add here, but this morning I went in for my annual blood tests. I'm really glad I only have to do this once a year because the fasting part of the test is difficult for me.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it will be a warm sunny day.

Sis has her children and grandchildren coming over this afternoon, so I'll get to meet the newest addition to the family. My new great-niece is a month old now.

It's hard to get exact covid counts anymore because so much is done through home testing. Unless you are sick enough to seek medical help, there is no clear record of how many people tested at home and whether the results were positive or negative.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a cool gray day.

I'm glad the basement waterproofing project got done when it did because we've had about 3 inches of rain in the past 48 hours.

Jim I'm impressed -- Not very many men that I've been around would know how to tie a bowtie!

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a lovely sunny day.

The guys doing the waterproofing in my basement are here (along with their jackhammer)! My hearing isn't nearly as good as it used to be which is actually a good thing at the moment because the noise coming from the basement is loud.

Now I know where the scammers have gone. I used to get calls and e-mails all the time similar to the ones JoAnne mentioned, but it's been quite a while since I've received one of those.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where the heat is on! The temp is in the 90+ degree range with high humidity. We set a record yesterday and probably will today also. It is unusual to have this high a temperature in mid-May.

I've been staying inside enjoying my air conditioning, so there isn't much going on around here. It will get busy at my house on Monday when workers come to do the basement waterproofing job. I've been warned that jackhammers are involved in the process, so it will be noisy.

It seems odd to me that there is so much commentary/analysis around sporting events. The Kentucky Derby is a good example of that. The actual race lasts about two minutes, yet there were three hours of coverage with endless commentary. That is a lot of commentary for a two minute event.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it has been a wet spring. It seems like there is at least a chance for rain almost every day. Oh well, at least everything in the yard is green and looks very healthy.

There was some news here this week. Sis's son and his wife had a baby girl on Wednesday (two days ago). This is their second child. They also have a 4-year-old boy. I've never been a much of a "kid person", and it seems that the older I get the less excited I get about babies. Don't get me wrong, I am happy for my nephew and his wife as I know they really wanted another child ... but I have no desire to rush to the hospital to hold and fuss over a new baby.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where it will be a warm but very windy day. The temperature is expected to reach 80 degrees today.

The State of Illinois Health Dept. put out a press release stating that Illinois residents are being urged to stop using bird feeders and bird baths to help slow the spread of avian flu. The release went on to give tips about how to properly clean feeders and bird baths. Apparently at this time of year birds don't have any trouble finding food or water in nature, so feeding them is not a necessity at present.

I'm curious to know if there are any notifications like this in other parts of the country.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where the sun is shining. Yesterday was gray and rainy, but we dodged a bullet and the severe weather fizzled out before it reached my area.

Jim Happy Birthday to You !!

I have spent a lot of my life dealing with other people's stuff. First it was helping with my grandparents items after they died, then with my parents stuff, and finally with my DH's many possessions.

Hello to all from Belleville, Illinois where it is a gray damp day. There is a chance for severe weather over the next couple days.

Shelly There was a lady named Laurie (I think her eBay name was Wellingtonct) who was really into horses. I met her once when she came to St. Louis to attend a horse show.

Joanne I just want to extend my sympathy for the loss of your son. You certainly are having a rough year.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois. Yesterday was a lovely sunny day, but spring showers are returning today and will stick around for a while.

I never read the Harry Potter series, nor did I see the movies. It just didn't appeal to me. The only Young Adult fiction that I read was the Twilight series which was OK but not something I would keep to reread.

Good morning to all from Belleville, Illinois where after several dreary gray days ... the sun is shining!!!

It's been a busy week here. Two different companies have stopped by my house to give my landlord bids for making the basement more waterproof. A company has been chosen to do the work, which will begin sometime in May.

I picked up my completed tax return yesterday, so all that's left for me to do tax-wise is to write out checks for what I owe. It's always a relief to just get this done (whether I owe money, or not).

JoAnne Oh yes, buying habits change when you find yourself alone. I make more trips to the store now than I did before because I buy smaller quantities at a time to ensure I can use them up before they go bad. I really hate to waste food so, even if it is a bit more expensive, I buy the smaller size packages.

Lynne Happy Birthday to you!

It's been a pleasant day here with temps in the low 70s and plenty of sunshine. Unfortunately tree pollen is high so I've been sniffing and sneezing a bit.