Patsy, thanks for the link! I often wonder especially how her DH and Max are doing. Wish one of her sons would post an update on the family.

We finally got a little thunderstorm (temp went from the mid 90's to the mid 70's) and looks like more is coming - fingers crossed...

Thanks, Sam. With all the health problems of BBCers and their families (your Mom included - she continues to be in my prayers), I was hesitant to mention my cat but the prayers and good thoughts of the BBCers are strong so I did....

Annie, our 9 year old cat, has started having seizures. Most are petit mal but Wednesday morning she had a grand mal - very scarry! The vet did blood work which pretty much ruled out infection as a cause but she's getting antibiotics just in case and Phenobarbital for the seizures. The Pheno seems to be working - she still has some petit mal but not nearly as many and no more grand mal so far. We're hoping she doesn't have a brain tumor - time will tell. Prayers and good thoughts for her would be appreciated.

It's HOT here - almost 100 every day. Maybe some rain this afternoon - 40% chance. I've been on a planting spree so have to do plenty of watering.

Jim, I can download samples of books on my Kindle for free - usually a few chapters, enough to know whether I'll like the book or not. Also there is a detailed description of each book on the Kindle.

We came in second in the competition which means that we won't be going to Raleigh in September to compete in the state olympics. The group that won did really well and their dance was sort of a comedy - very creative. They will be good representatives for the county in Raleigh 🙂
One of the judges teaches a senior tap class in Greensboro and I talked to her about taking the class this fall. It might not be much of a challenge, she said it is intermediate, but I've missed tapping so I gave her my phone # and asked her to call when it starts again.

It'll be good to sleep late again although I'm going to try to get up earlier now that I'm used to it. Tomorrow our group is having a cook-out - will be fun. And no more classes until June.

Our line dance group is competing at the County Senior Olympics at 11AM today. One of the girls needs a hip replacement so it's touch and go whether she'll be able to dance or not. Yesterday she couldn't dance at the tech rehearsal so we went back to the studio and relearned the formations without her just in case. I talked to her last night and she was able to get around OK by then so we will see. She really wants to do it!

Sam, thanks for the update on Maureen. And thanks for mentioning that the cat is being cared for - I've been wondering about that.

Diane, prayers going up for your Sis and for you!

Enjoyed Saturday's downtown Greensboro house and apartment tour but it didn't include the apartments I'm most interested in. It was a hot day that ended in torrential rain but luckily the rain didn't start until we were finished with the tour and back in the car. There were a couple of places with walls of loaded bookcases - so inviting! And one place with a calico cat!

We're getting back to back recorded political calls today - with each one I make myself a note NOT to vote for that person - don't like to be hounded. Actually I'm only going to the polls because of Amendment 1 - won't share my views on it here but it's been a hard decision.

Maureen, I'm glad you're feeling better after a good nights sleep.

Tomorrow we'll be going on a "downtown" house tour in Greensboro. I'd love to live in a downtown apartment there near the cultural center where DH could take more art classes and I could take dance classes without the hour long drive. We've thought about renting an apartment for a year just as a test to see if we like it enough to make a permanent move. So the tour should be informative - some downtown apartments are included.

I was dubious about marriage too - liked living peacefully alone and didn't have the "Mommy" gene but at age 28 I met Frank and we clicked. It'll be 40 years in November - it hasn't always been a smooth journey but here we are growing old together, liking the less stressful life of retirement.

We're fighting the ant wars again - happens every spring. Terminex sprays for ants every 3 months around the outside of the house but I don't let them in because of the cats. This morning the cat dish was full of ants! I called the Terminex guy and he brought some ant traps which I have placed where the cats don't go. At least this little fiasco forced us to clean behind the refrigerator which needed to be done anyway.

I still remember vividly my first apartment - it was on the top floor of a family home and felt very cozy and safe. Even now I sometimes dream that I'm back there.

Maureen, you continue to be in my prayers.

Bob, sent friend request (Nancy Dwyer). I tried to find you when you first mentioned being on facebook but couldn't - adding "Salvation Army" did the trick.

Haven't post for awhile but I've been keeping up. I recently got a letter from a woman who is tracing her family tree and wanted to know more about my grandfather who was the youngest brother of her grandfather. What a treat! I knew almost nothing about his past until 1952 when he and my grandmother moved from Syracuse, NY to live next door to us. He was never very forthcoming about his past and now I've found that I have second cousins living less than 2 hours drive from me. She has sent pictures from his youth and I recognize him - kind of exciting.

I've been working on taxes - Federal is finished and mailed today, State is almost finished. What a relief! And we don't have to pay!

Happy Birthday to Bookleaves and to all of you that I've missed. Diane, you have my sympathy - hope you feel better soon. We could sure use some rain to wash away the pollen that seems to be starting early this year.

I can’t take my walk on the Greenway today because it’s closed due to a rabid raccoon scare. Yesterday I walked on the track instead but it was packed and there were some teenagers sitting (and lying) in the middle of it that I had to keep stepping over (because Heaven forbid that they should be polite enough to move over to the grassy area but that’s a whole ‘nother subject) so I think I’ll skip the walk today. Tomorrow the track will be nice and quiet with most of the crowd back to work and school. Last night I ordered a treadmill for occasions such as this – it’s just a small manual foldable one since I don’t have room (or funds) for a fancy one but it gets good reviews and some bad ones, more good than bad – we’ll see…..

I can't watch any movies with animals - never saw Old Yeller or Bambi all the way through. And when I taught dancing I always cried when the babies (children from 3 to 5 years old) danced in the recitals - they touched my heart strings.

The bathroom is now ready for unveiling - we installed the towel racks this afternoon.

Ta Da!!
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Hope you’re enjoying your birthday, Paula.

I always cry at the end of the movie, Without a Trace with Kate Nelligan, when the detective finally finds the little boy. The detective has his own little boy about the same age in the car too and they are driving home with dozens of police cars escorting them. When they arrive the mother (who has never lost hope) is coming home from the grocery store, sees the commotion at her house, and then her son steps out of the car. By that time I’m bawling uncontrollably – talk about a tear jerker!

I like to hear what everyone else is doing (or hoping to do). I've come to the conclusion that it's easier in the long run to do the work yourself that to put up with workmen in the house. We do our own painting for that reason. It takes longer but it's less stressful. We have a lot of packed bookcases so we do one wall at a time, clearing out, painting, and putting back - then repeating on the next wall. After a couple of walls we take a break for a few weeks. It gets finished eventually.

Warning – Bathroom rant below:

I’m about to lose it over the bathroom plumbing. When the plumbers came last Friday they did everything except the sink since the vanity hadn’t been delivered yet. Then they came back on Monday after the vanity was delivered and needed a different plug or piping or something they didn’t have in stock for the copper sink so left saying they’d be back on Friday. This morning we got a phone call from their office (which got us out of bed) saying they were on their way. I was thrilled! They plumbed the sink and left. “Oh Happy Day” I said – finally I can get everything back into the bathroom! But as I was putting things under the vanity I noticed it was wet in there. Was it leaking? Oh, yes – badly, in several places. DH couldn’t fix it so we called the plumbers back and they’ll get here when they can. The problem is that they drag mud from the back door, through the kitchen and hall to the bathroom every time they come plus leaving dirty handprints everywhere they touch. I had already cleaned up all their mess this morning before I discovered the leak and now I’ll have to do it all over again when they come back. I’ve tried to be patient but I “abhor” and “loathe” having work done inside the house!

Warning – Bathroom rant above

Bob, I’m happy to hear that Dewey doesn’t seem to be suffering separation anxiety. When my cat, Izzie, died last November her sister, Cassie, kept looking for her – in fact she still does but not as often (thanks to Feliway). Cassie has now become tight with Annie, our third cat, and they both spend a lot of time playing in the (dry) bathtub where Izzie used to play. I think they can sense her spirit there. Years ago when we got Annie we took the carry case that had belonged to Chloe (a cat who had recently passed away) to transport her home. When we tried to put her into it, she was going in and suddenly jumped as if terrified and refused to go near it. We purchased a new one and she went right in with no problem. I think she sensed Chloe’s spirit and it scared her. Cats are mysterious creatures.

The bathroom is almost finished – vanity was delivered this morning, plumbers came this afternoon but there was a problem with drain for the (copper) sink so they will have to special order one and it won't be here until Friday. So still no water in the sink – no matter, we’re getting used to using the kitchen sink.

We got more snow than we had expected and it was a wet snow that covered the tree branches and was quite beautiful. It's melting now and the roads are clear. By the end of the week it's supposed to bet up to 70 degrees so it won't be around for long.

This afternoon DH is finishing the painting and plans to install the new light fixture. Don’t know if the vanity will be delivered tomorrow after all because we’re expecting snow late this afternoon and overnight – only a few inches and I doubt that it will stick to the roads since temps have been running in the high 50’s and low 60’s lately. Still it’s SNOW – this first one this season. I’m excited :-).