The Daily Rave

[happystuff]

Glad your dh is okay, IL. Wishing him a speedy full recovery.

We've had a couple of cases in the school (2nd week), so I'm waiting to see if/when/how much it spreads.

[iris lilies]

IL covid has evolved to get milder and milder so his experience, while not fun, fits this pattern. A while back I told the Library Trustees other libraries didn't have mask mandates and the sky did not fall. Next I am going to tell them about lockers, which I saw at another library. You go the outdoor locker at any hour of day or night and pick up the library materials you ordered. It's like picking up an online order from Home Depot. If you are nervous you do that instead of forcing everyone in the building to wear masks.
jeppy I can’t grok that there are STILL mask mandates in your area. Is that right? Is it a mandate by gubment, or,does library system choose to require masks?

[Tybee]

I sent to see a surgeon yesterday and you could not enter the office without a mask, and the doctor saw me out via the backdoor.

[iris lilies]

I sent to see a surgeon yesterday and you could not enter the office without a mask, and the doctor saw me out via the backdoor.
Yes, that is fine with individual institutions. Health offices of course are especially cautious.

But city wide, county wide, statewide mandates for ALL places? Or, are there statewide mandates for health offices?

At the risk of sounding like Jeppy, I was more than a little gratified to know my own dr does not require masks in her office (last time I was there anyway, about June) when DH’s dr has a snotty note on the clinic doors saying something close to this:

“ We require you to wear a mask and if you can’t be bothered to do that, you need to go home and come back when you are prepared to wear a mask.”

[Tybee]

Yes, that is fine with individual institutions. Health offices of course are especially cautious.

But city wide, county wide, statewide mandates for ALL places? Or, are there statewide mandates for health offices?

At the risk of sounding like Jeppy, I was more than a little gratified to know my own dr does not require masks in her office (last time I was there anyway, about June) when DH’s dr has a snotty note on the clinic doors saying something close to this:

“ We require you to wear a mask and if you can’t be bothered to do that, you need to go home and come back when you are prepared to wear a mask.”

I'm not sure if it is still mandated, but I have to wear a mask to enter Mom's memory care, plus have my temperature taken and fill out the form about symptoms.

[frugal-one]

How many times can you get covid? I think the doc and staff don’t want to be reinfected repeatedly. I don’t blame them for requiring masks. They come in contact with many people daily including those with compromised immune systems, as well.

[Tybee]

Just had a nice interaction with someone at a cemetary in Savannah, about burial of ashes of family members. She was patient with my rather weird questions.

[iris lilies]

I'm not sure if it is still mandated, but I have to wear a mask to enter Mom's memory care, plus have my temperature taken and fill out the form about symptoms.
That seems reasonable, that your mother’s nursing home takes all precautions to protect that very vulnerable population.

in the city I see many people wearing mask when out and about. I see grocery store clerks at one particular grocery store wear a masks. I don’t blame them because I probably would as well having to stand across a counter from hundreds of people every day. The grocery store clerks in Herman or in the nearby bigger city (not St. Louis) do not wear masks.

It is a mixed bag in my region.

[sweetana3]

Iris lilies, totally mixed here. We will talk about all the people we know with or just recovered with Covid but only a few wear masks in our exercise class. Instructor always does as does one new student. Many of us are headed out to get the new booster and our flu shots.

[Yppej]

jeppy I can’t grok that there are STILL mask mandates in your area. Is that right? Is it a mandate by gubment, or,does library system choose to require masks?

No library mandate now, but I am worried they will try to bring it back this fall/winter when due to seasonality we get an uptick in all sorts of viruses.

We still have a state mandate in medical/dental settings.

[Yppej]

That seems reasonable, that your mother’s nursing home takes all precautions to protect that very vulnerable population.

in the city I see many people wearing mask when out and about. I see grocery store clerks at one particular grocery store wear a masks. I don’t blame them because I probably would as well having to stand across a counter from hundreds of people every day. The grocery store clerks in Herman or in the nearby bigger city (not St. Louis) do not wear masks.

It is a mixed bag in my region.

I do blame them for lacking common sense.

Masks don't stop airborne viruses.
Masks were never recommended for asymptomatic people especially until everyone freaked out about covid and wanted to do something, anything, even if it was ineffective. A few years ago it was a laughable idea. Fauci himself even chuckled at it.

[Teacher Terry]

My friend’s assisted living facility has a mask mandate just for visitors. Once I get to his apartment I can take it off. It’s no big deal.

[Yppej]

My friend’s assisted living facility has a mask mandate just for visitors. Once I get to his apartment I can take it off. It’s no big deal.

Just because it's no big deal for you, don't generalize to other people.

My rave is I got a new computer at work including now a double monitor.

[iris lilies]

Cream puff Triumph TR6 at the Hermann car show today. It is stunningly perfect and it is all original. I’ve never seen a TR6 like this.

4817

My bulldog and my fat faced cat are getting along just fine

4818

[JaneV2.0]

...

My bulldog and my fat faced cat are getting along just fine

4818

That doesn't surprise me, but it makes me happy.

[Teacher Terry]

[QUOTE=Yppej;414020]Just because it's no big deal for you, don't generalize to other people.

Don’t be a mask drama queen.

[Yppej]

[QUOTE=Yppej;414020]Just because it's no big deal for you, don't generalize to other people.

Don’t be a mask drama queen.

If you develop serious medical problems from the microplastic particles you inhale in your lungs, don't blame me.

[Klunick]

For all you cat people, you will understand my happiness. I had a litter box right outside a bathroom for the last 2 years. The whole time, the cats would tracks bits of litter into the bathroom. While stepping on litter in bare feet isn't as painful as stepping on Legos, it's still something I want to avoid especially in the middle of the night when it's dark.

So yesterday I moved the litter box to the other side of the room but along the same wall. To further confuse the cats, I put something else where their litter box was. :laff: I watched as each cat noticed the change with great apprehension.

I am happy to report that the new placement of the box has been accepted and is being used.

[JaneV2.0]

Change is hard...:~)

[iris lilies]

For all you cat people, you will understand my happiness. I had a litter box right outside a bathroom for the last 2 years. The whole time, the cats would tracks bits of litter into the bathroom. While stepping on litter in bare feet isn't as painful as stepping on Legos, it's still something I want to avoid especially in the middle of the night when it's dark.

So yesterday I moved the litter box to the other side of the room but along the same wall. To further confuse the cats, I put something else where their litter box was. :laff: I watched as each cat noticed the change with great apprehension.

I am happy to report that the new placement of the box has been accepted and is being used.

good for those cat kids!
we have cat litter dust tracks on everything, ugh. I forgot what having an active cat is like. Our last cat was very old and fat, snd she didnt get up on furniture. It is us who is adjusting to litter box change in our house.

[littlebittybobby]

good for those cat kids!
we have cat litter dust tracks on everything, ugh. I forgot what having an active cat is like. Our last cat was very old and fat, snd she didnt get up on furniture. It is us who is adjusting to litter box change in our house.Ha. Cat litter dust. Yep. That's what you get, for not taking my advice, and using woodstove pellets for litter. Unlike clay litter, it is highly absorbent, non-tracking,odor-suppressing and very recyclable. I compost it during the summer, and burn it during the winter. Works great saves $$. Cheaper than clay litter. But, never mind----I am a fool. See---there's a "better" way; wayyy up in that littlebittytown waaay up in the middle o' nowhere, where rasslin' is king and the BIGGER you are, the better you are--why--if a cat interferes with the scrubby dutch neatness agenda, why---they just call the dog catcher ta "come n get this cat, or I'll hafta shoot it". And they haul it off to another county, miles away, just like they do with ALL of the stuff they dispose of. It's the utopian ethic of the founder. Yup. Out of sight, out of mind. Yup. A corny saying for everything. Yup. Amayzeen and awesome. You kids shoulda moved back there to the famly homestead. Yup. Get on the board o' the charming Carnegie liberrry. Yup. Drive-n-eat, for something to "do".And you could be friends with the cool people, there.(see photo of one). Yup. Hope that helps you some.4824

[Eric]

Ha. Cat litter dust. Yep. That's what you get, for not taking my advice, and using woodstove pellets for litter. Unlike clay litter, it is highly absorbent, non-tracking,odor-suppressing and very recyclable. I compost it during the summer, and burn it during the winter. Works great saves $$. Cheaper than clay litter. But, never mind----I am a fool. See---there's a "better" way; wayyy up in that littlebittytown waaay up in the middle o' nowhere, where rasslin' is king and the BIGGER you are, the better you are--why--if a cat interferes with the scrubby dutch neatness agenda, why---they just call the dog catcher ta "come n get this cat, or I'll hafta shoot it". And they haul it off to another county, miles away, just like they do with ALL of the stuff they dispose of. It's the utopian ethic of the founder. Yup. Out of sight, out of mind. Yup. A corny saying for everything. Yup. Amayzeen and awesome. You kids shoulda moved back there to the famly homestead. Yup. Get on the board o' the charming Carnegie liberrry. Yup. Drive-n-eat, for something to "do".And you could be friends with the cool people, there.(see photo of one). Yup. Hope that helps you some.4824



And my same advice :-p https://www.simplelivingforum.net/showthread.php?20016-Shopping-bags&p=413798&viewfull=1#post413798

[iris lilies]

That doesn't surprise me, but it makes me happy.
Well we just had a little interaction that was not positive. Our cat jumped up on the sofa and snuggled next to my dog’s big rubber stick. My dog instantly became stiff and angry and he was staring at the cat, so I knew there was trouble ahead. The dog growled a little bit, made a gesture towards cat and the cat jumped off the sofa.

We’ve told our dog repeatedly that this cat has zero interest in that stick.

this is one of the things I was wondering about with this dog, how he would view the cat and if it was enough different from another dog where he shows extreme jealousy. He has trouble controlling his emotions.

Our head of bulldog rescue is convinced he was raised as a “Singleton “and never had siblings to experience the give-and-take of toys and resources.

[Teacher Terry]

Yppej, people living on the west coast also wear masks when the air is unhealthy from wild fires. We have done this for years. I guess you would abandon your friends if the price of admission was wearing a mask. Plus I don’t think wearing a mask daily like many do in the medical field are developing any lung problems or we would know about it.

[Klunick]

good for those cat kids!
we have cat litter dust tracks on everything, ugh. I forgot what having an active cat is like. Our last cat was very old and fat, snd she didnt get up on furniture. It is us who is adjusting to litter box change in our house.

The litter I used isn't very dusty for a clay litter. I have tried other types but for some reason, they try to eat the litter. >8) We have a fatty too and to get onto furniture, he jumps on lower furniture to get onto higher furniture. They are currently having a spat that has lasted about two weeks. The last one they had lasted 6 months. We have a stray that comes to torment our female. She gets herself worked up into a slather. Our male comes down to see why his sister is going crazy and she attacks him. Then he attacks her and there is fur flying everywhere. We have them separated at night and when no one is home because now, the female has forgotten about the fight but our male holds a grudge like no other. They are either fine with each other or he will hiss at her and stalk her around the house. I hope this doesn't last another 6 months like the last one. Not sure what I can do about the stray. Neighbors have tried trapping him but he is too smart and won't go inside. And unfortunately, he has bred another stray. We currently have 4-5 kittens that randomly show up in our backyard almost every day.

[Klunick]

I am very proud of myself for resisting the urge to bring home an organizational bin from work to organize our fast food condiment packets. Bins are another thing that I want to like and use but like candles, they serve no purpose to me. Maybe I don't have enough stuff to need bins and baskets??? Honestly, the ziploc baggie the packets are in is just fine and is working well for us. We don't have that many packets anyway to really need a bin for them just to sit out in the open when they are hidden away in the fridge.

[pinkytoe]

My rave is our 35 year old-lady peach tree. She gave us hundreds this year after enduring a 90 mph windstorm and heavy wet May snow. I have given away many and it is fun to see people light up with the gift of tasty peaches and future cobblers. We have been putting peaches on and in everything and freezing the rest.

[frugal-one]

I'm jealous pinkytoe. I am on the 5th box of peaches from Costco. I did snag a few homegrown ones too though. Lucky you!!!

[happystuff]

I have two raves. First is Home Depot. I mentioned elsewhere that our lawn mower died and we got a new battery operated one. Well, seems one of the batteries is not holding a charge. Home Depot was very good about me simply exchanging the battery instead of having to bring the entire mower back. (Technically, that would have been the proper return/exchange process). So, my thanks to Home Depot for making it easy. (And fingers crossed that the new battery charges and holds a charge!!!)

Second is really not product related... I'm just really enjoying football this season!!! I don't pay for ANY TV so the games I catch are limited, but I'm really enjoying the ones I've been able to see! :)

[sweetana3]

Just a rave about lovely neighbors. Took over some extra desserts we got and got such great smiles. We are three couples that have lived here on the street for between 10-20 years and all like living here. I know I can count on them if I have a problem.

Right next door they are enjoying the crazy volunteer gourd squash that is growing from our AC unit area across their porch. We call her Audrey.

[Yppej]

The state found in my favor on an open meeting law complaint.

[iris lilies]

The state found in my favor on an open meeting law complaint.
Do they fine your city then? What’s the consequence of that?
I think it’s good that you took this issue forward and it will remind your city fathers they need to follow the open meetings law.

[Yppej]

Do they fine your city then? What’s the consequence of that?
I think it’s good that you took this issue forward and it will remind your city fathers they need to follow the open meetings law.

They told them they have 30 days to get me the minutes.

They also told the whiny chair that many Boards and Commissions don't have a paid secretary and the members have to take the minutes in that case.

[nswef]

We went to the County Fair ( The GREAT FREDERICK FAIR the 160th!) for the first time since 2018.It has gotten more "spruced up". We saw the pigs, race horses, beef steer, cows, birthing tent, Agriculture in the Classroom trailer that goes to schools all over Maryland, a big dish of Hershey's raspberry ice cream, talked to a few people. AND the Grand Prize in the Household Goods was a hand built, carved coffin!!!! First time I've ever seen that as an entry. It was beautiful, walnut, lined in white satin with the half lid open for viewing, which is traditional down here. We then stopped at Giant Eagle for take out fried chicken for dinner. We already had fresh corn on the cob.

[iris lilies]

We went to the County Fair ( The GREAT FREDERICK FAIR the 160th!) for the first time since 2018.It has gotten more "spruced up". We saw the pigs, race horses, beef steer, cows, birthing tent, Agriculture in the Classroom trailer that goes to schools all over Maryland, a big dish of Hershey's raspberry ice cream, talked to a few people. AND the Grand Prize in the Household Goods was a hand built, carved coffin!!!! First time I've ever seen that as an entry. It was beautiful, walnut, lined in white satin with the half lid open for viewing, which is traditional down here. We then stopped at Giant Eagle for take out fried chicken for dinner. We already had fresh corn on the cob.


awwwI love the county and state fairs!

[iris lilies]

My Rave is that we are having a surprise European relative dropping in tomorrow. I had 24 hours notice. What’s fine and great is that in our Hermann house we have wooden floors and everything can be pretty clean pretty fast. Yes it is messy here. Yes it looks like a construction zone. But there is old mismatched furniture to sit on, the floors are clean, we have two functional bathrooms and a completely functional kitchen. We are short on beds but I will give up my bed. So all I have to do is wash sheets tomorrow morning. Then my brother is coming on Friday and we will have to wash sheets again if he stays overnight.

this stuff used to to throw me into a tizzy because our upstairs bedrooms were so dirty due to filthy carpet. Animals had urinated on it, vomited on it, hair everywhere, disgusting. But here in Hermann with all these hard surface floors it’s just not a big deal.

My condo has all hard surface floors too. It makes me even think twice about getting some good Persian rugs which I’ve been wanting for the Hermann house. Maybe I’ll I will only get them if I get one of those robot vacuum cleaners or an actual human vacuum human cleaner.

we will, eventually, have many more places for guests to sleep here than we had in our bigger city house.

[Yppej]

A city official apologized for not obeying the mask mandate when ordinary people had to. This is the first covid apology I have received but hopefully not the last.

[happystuff]

Sounds like a wonderful fair, nswef!

Have a great visit, IL!

[frugal-one]

I am just tickled. I went through my closet to see what pieces need to be updated or replaced. I went shopping today and got the 2 tops I needed, shoes to wear to the pool this winter and a pretty hooded sweatshirt. I absolutely hate shopping so this was quite an accomplishment to have found exactly what I needed in one trip!!!!

[Yppej]

Met with my city's human rights commission and they are going to try to get to the bottom of why most of our Board of Health members are not city residents and why they are all white in a diverse city.

[iris lilies]

I guess this is a rave. Our Swiss visitor came and left after about an hour and a half here. He stopped in to visit, dropped off gifts mainly chocolate, and went on his way. Meanwhile DH had set up a bed in one of the bedrooms so now we do have an actual guestroom temporary that it is.

The cat has taken over that bed as his own.

[iris lilies]

So this was fun: last night we went to a meeting of The River City
Cruisers, the local car club. I was astonished when 20+ people showed up at the library for a business meeting. They are all old geezers, like us.

There is one geezer gearhead in the group who has a cream puff TR6 that is original. It is astonishing in its excellence! . So I thought I would ask him as the resident English car expert what he knew about kit AustinHealey 3000 cars since that’s some pthing I’m looking at. Boy was he the right person to ask! He had flown out to California last year to look at a car, a kit Healey. He doesn’t have much nice to say about them, but he understands the appeal because they have the right body on a frame and innards that theoretically works. They don’t come with all the headaches of an English car.

[Tybee]

So this was fun: last night we went to a meeting of The River City
cuisers, the local car club. I was astonished when 20+ people showed up at the library for a business meeting, They are all old geezers, like us.

There is one geezer gearhead in the group who has a cream puff TR6 that is original. It is astonishing in its excellence! . So I thought I would ask him as the resident English car expert what he knew about kit AustinHealey 3000 cars since that’s some pthing I’m looking at. Boy was he the right person to ask! He flown out to California last year to look at a car, a Kit Healey. He doesn’t have much nice to say about them, but he understands the appeal because they have the right body on a frame and innards that theoretically works. They don’t come with all the headaches of an English car.

We had a green Austin Healey Sprite when I was growing up. We would sit on the frame on top of the back seat and ride that way. Those were the days when seat belts did not exist, and I guess we were expendable.

[iris lilies]

We had a green Austin Healey Sprite when I was growing up. We would sit on the frame on top of the back seat and ride that way. Those were the days when seat belts did not exist, and I guess we were expendable.

Bug Eyed Sprites are cute. I had an MG Midget, same general idea.

But the big Healey is the bomb.

[JaneV2.0]

My uncle had a bottle green MG TD; he had fun working on it.

[frugal-one]

Enjoy when someone posts a word I do not know... JaneV2.0 does a great job at this! I enjoy adding to my repertoire. The rant is when someone strings a group of words that do not go together and are nonsensical or make the meaning mired....

[Tradd]

I finished my rebreather training this weekend. Tough! But so glad I did it. 4875

[JaneV2.0]

Good work, Tradd!

[beckyliz]

I bought a paint sprayer and used it to stain and seal my deck yesterday. It's not pretty or perfect, but it's done and I'm learning a new skill. #olddognewtricks

[Tybee]

We hooked up our woodstove and I made a cup of tea with a pan of water on the top burner.

[catherine]

We hooked up our woodstove and I made a cup of tea with a pan of water on the top burner.

That is so cool, Tybee!!! DH had been looking for a cast iron kettle to sit on our wood stove, and he finally found one this year--at the antique place that's a short walk from our house! We use it for humidifying the air when it dries out with the use of the stove in the winter. I'm sure your tea tasted great!

My rave of the day is about one of the joys of getting older. For over 30 years now DH and I have been the family vacation bookers, funders, coordinators, and tour guides. Basically the kids just followed along, which was fine with us! After all, we're the parents!

So one of our DILs suggested that instead of hosting Thanksgiving at one of our homes, we might consider renting an airbnb. None of our VT houses are large enough for our growing family which is now, locally, 4 couples, two toddlers, 1 infant, and 2 dogs--not to mention DH's BIL who may be coming up here in November.

Well, once everyone bought into that idea, DH and I did nothing. They scouted properties and asked everyone's opinion. We chose a place, and DD grabbed the reins and contacted the owner, and booked it and sent us all a bill for our equal shares.

This is awesome!! I'm finally like my dear MIL who was happy to just tag along and let us "kids" take the wheel. Sometimes I think, "Wow am I really at that age where the familial roles are reversing??" And then I think, "That's fine. I can relax a little."

[Tybee]

That sound wonderful, Catherine, and is definitely part of the joy of getting older. My husband was talking about the same thing this morning, about how much pleasure we get from watching the two local granddaughters growing up, and how it feels to be the elders in the family--really good. The Air bnb is a fantastic idea. I was talking about potential funerals for myself this week as I had to go in for major surgery, and told my husband to rent a bnb for the kids for a week to gather, unless they just wanted to do a zoom funeral. Either would have been fine, but they would have business to conduct and better to get them all together.

But surgery went well and here I am, grumpy and in pain but still here, so will think about using bnb for something nicer like Christmas.

[catherine]

That sound wonderful, Catherine, and is definitely part of the joy of getting older. My husband was talking about the same thing this morning, about how much pleasure we get from watching the two local granddaughters growing up, and how it feels to be the elders in the family--really good. The Air bnb is a fantastic idea. I was talking about potential funerals for myself this week as I had to go in for major surgery, and told my husband to rent a bnb for the kids for a week to gather, unless they just wanted to do a zoom funeral. Either would have been fine, but they would have business to conduct and better to get them all together.

But surgery went well and here I am, grumpy and in pain but still here, so will think about using bnb for something nicer like Christmas.

Oh my goodness--so sorry to hear about the surgery!! I'm glad it went well--definitely slow-play the holidays this year! DH needs hernia surgery and he's trying to put it off until the new year. I'm not sure that's wise. Take care!

[Tybee]

Oh my goodness--so sorry to hear about the surgery!! I'm glad it went well--definitely slow-play the holidays this year! DH needs hernia surgery and he's trying to put it off until the new year. I'm not sure that's wise. Take care!

Thank you!

That was what I had but then she found more in there so did two other things, a different kind of hernia and stitching abdominal muscles back together where they had separated. Honestly, I would say go ahead and do it and get it over with at a time of year he can't be out on the boat, but that you can still drive him to the hospital and it's easier to get around . I wasn't happy that I had to do it unexpectedly, but now it's over and it's not a bad time of year to be laid up. Definitely happy it is not gardening season, that would be such a waste. If he did it now, he should be healed from the worst by the holidays.

[rosarugosa]

Sorry to hear about your surgery Tybee, but glad your family doesn't need to have that Air B&B funeral gathering. Hope you are feeling better soon.

[Tybee]

Thanks, Rosa!

[iris lilies]

Catherine, such a great idea. No one has the pressure to host since everyone is hosting.

ah, I cannot count the number of times I have heard senior citizens in my former neighborhood express the idea that they bought a gisnt-ass house for the purpose of being able to seat their family at .Thanksgiving and provide sleeping quarters for all.

how much more sensible would it have been to hire out an air b n b house for the weekend saving thousands of dollars annually. And the houses in my neighborhood are not only big but they they are old, ca-Ching ca-Ching.

[catherine]

Catherine, such a great idea. No one has the pressure to host since everyone is hosting.

ah, I cannot count the number of times I have heard senior citizens in my former neighborhood express the idea that they bought a gisnt-ass house for the purpose of being able to seat their family at .Thanksgiving and provide sleeping quarters for all.

how much more sensible would it have been to hire out an air b n b house for the weekend saving thousands of dollars annually. And the houses in my neighborhood are not only big but they they are old, ca-Ching ca-Ching.

When I bought this house, I didn't know it was going to be our only house so soon after buying it, but I always thought of it as our exit from big house ownership at some point. I don't want to spend a fortune on a mortgage, heating, cooling, furnishing, etc. I can't afford it, anyway!

The other benefit of not being able to host Thanksgiving, as you said, is all the work of cleaning and cooking! When people say they'll bring stuff, it's still the host's job to keep the ship on course. And I'm not a good natural hostess. DH is my shield in those occasions--he can regale guests with jokes and ply them with liquor and do most of the cooking, so people don't notice the cobwebs I've missed or the fact I forgot to set out soup spoons and salt. Last Thanksgiving I forgot to buy a turkey! So now, all success will be shared success, and I'm sure we'll have no meaningful mistakes or omissions. It should be nothing but a good time for all of us.

I'm glad to have a 600 square foot excuse to say "Sorry, we can't host this year."

[Tybee]

When I bought this house, I didn't know it was going to be our only house so soon after buying it, but I always thought of it as our exit from big house ownership at some point. I don't want to spend a fortune on a mortgage, heating, cooling, furnishing, etc. I can't afford it, anyway!

The other benefit of not being able to host Thanksgiving, as you said, is all the work of cleaning and cooking! When people say they'll bring stuff, it's still the host's job to keep the ship on course. And I'm not a good natural hostess. DH is my shield in those occasions--he can regale guests with jokes and ply them with liquor and do most of the cooking, so people don't notice the cobwebs I've missed or the fact I forgot to set out soup spoons and salt. Last Thanksgiving I forgot to buy a turkey! So now, all success will be shared success, and I'm sure we'll have no meaningful mistakes or omissions. It should be nothing but a good time for all of us.

I'm glad to have a 600 square foot excuse to say "Sorry, we can't host this year."

We actually went out to dinner for Thanksgiving by ourselves the last two years. The funny thing was in Michigan, who was at the next table but our farmer, the guy who we buy straw from, sitting with his big family, and he has the real deal farm and farmhouse and large extended family. This year in Maine we felt all sorry for ourselves and went to our favorite small town with a buffet and I swear, everyone in that town must have been there, and it was delightful, and fun, and you could talk to people if you wanted. I don't think anybody in that town stayed home and cooked dinner.

[SiouzQ.]

I'm really hoping our little volunteer fire department will host a town-wide potluck Thanksgiving dinner this fall. It was canceled for the past two Thanksgivings due to Covid. It was really a wonderful way to have a Thanksgiving dinner and see a bunch of people, share the duties and not feel like the onus is on any one person! The best part is you can leave any time you want when you've had your fill of socializing!

[Tybee]

I'm really hoping our little volunteer fire department will host a town-wide potluck Thanksgiving dinner this fall. It was canceled for the past two Thanksgivings due to Covid. It was really a wonderful way to have a Thanksgiving dinner and see a bunch of people, share the duties and not feel like the onus is on any one person! The best part is you can leave any time you want when you've had your fill of socializing!

That is such a cool idea!

[frugal-one]

I'm really hoping our little volunteer fire department will host a town-wide potluck Thanksgiving dinner this fall. It was canceled for the past two Thanksgivings due to Covid. It was really a wonderful way to have a Thanksgiving dinner and see a bunch of people, share the duties and not feel like the onus is on any one person! The best part is you can leave any time you want when you've had your fill of socializing!

This is similar to what is done at the senior mobile home park we go to in TX. It is so much fun!

[iris lilies]

This is huge for me so I need lots of accolades. I demand all the accolades!!!

Background: I’ve been dancing around for 5 years moving files from our old creaky HP computer to a Mac environment. My first Mac computer experience, a very expensive one, did not go well. I will admit that it was likely 90% user problems but by the time I rescued it from being on the shelf for a couple of years after giving up on it, it wasn’t reliable. And I couldn’t get it to fail in front of the Apple techies.

So I cashed it in and bought a less expensive Mac Air. And now that we are through our move of houses and I am finished with flower show obligations, I made myself sit down for four weeks to figure out how to bring these files over.

Long story short, it is going well. I’m halfway done with 100 of my files now safely stored on my Mac computer and also in the Icloud, but I have learned that I really need a back up system, ICloud is not intended for that. OK whatever, I can deal with that later.

TLDR: Digital transfer of files from HP computer to Mac is going well. Major life project a success.

[frugal-one]

Accolades to you IL!!!

[iris lilies]

Accolades to you IL!!!
Thank you very much!

[rosarugosa]

Good work, IL! Cheers! Accolades! Hurrah!

4886

[iris lilies]

Good work, IL! Cheers! Accolades! Hurrah!

4886

Thank you. Digital cleanliness is as important as tidiness in our physical environment.


This project has been half assed for so long I don’t know what I’ll do with myself when I have files all in one place, neat and orderly.

[rosarugosa]

I'm confident that you will still find plenty of things to give your life meaning. ;)

[catherine]

Nice! That's a big project! I'm glad Mac is finally cooperating!

[happystuff]

YAY, IL!!!! Multi-kudos to you!!!

[happystuff]

My rave is to my family - both sides! Spent yesterday helping get mil's stuff moved from apartment to assisted living studio apartment-type room. Wonderful working all day with that side of the family and the new place is ready for her to move in on Tuesday. Then today, (after working all day yesterday!) my bil came out to look at the "sink hole" that has developed in our backyard. For him to take the time and help us figure things out, and will also help us with whatever the necessary repairs are... I'm just over-whelmed!

So, hugs to family - ALL family! Immediate, extended and all those who simply are part of the whole kit-and-kaboodle!

[rosarugosa]

Happy: That is so wonderful when families are friends, allies and support for one another!

We went to a concert Friday night, our first live music event since Covid. I wanted to share so that Jeppy and Bobby could take pleasure in making fun of me, lol. We wore masks the whole time, and there were only about a half dozen of us in the theater doing so. It was well-ventilated and not too hot, so the masks weren't a problem for us. The band was Melvin Seals and the Jerry Garcia Band. We really like them and had seen them 3 times previously. The Cabot https://thecabot.org/about is a smallish venue, a restored older theater with seats that are actually pretty comfortable, and very reasonable ticket prices (although Ticketbastard tacks on quite a bit of additional in the way of fees). They play Grateful Dead music and songs that the JGB played when Jerry was alive. Melvin is the one member of the band who used to actually play with Jerry, and he plays a Hammond organ. We had a really good time!

[happystuff]

Good for you, rosa! Glad you had a great time!

[iris lilies]

Happy stuff that is wonderful that your family is stepping up to help each other. Good show!

[iris lilies]

A couple weeks ago I discovered that the chain store “Dollar General “is the small town version of Target Hermann has a Dollar General. It is full full of the kind of stuff Target would sell.


I had always thought of it as a sort of ghetto store, But now I see the utility of Dollar General. I will be shopping there.

[frugal-one]

A couple weeks ago I discovered that the chain store “Dollar General “is the small town version of Target Hermann has a Dollar General. It is full full of the kind of stuff Target would sell.


I had always thought of it as a sort of ghetto store, But now I see the utility of Dollar General. I will be shopping there.

Dollar General is a ghetto store compared to Dollar Tree IMO. If you have a Dollar Tree nearby... check it out and compare.

ETA.. I like Dollar Tree so well, I purchased stock in the company years ago. It is now $139+ a share. I purchased it really low ... less than $10/share, I believe.

[iris lilies]

Dollar General is a ghetto store compared to Dollar Tree IMO. If you have a Dollar Tree nearby... check it out and compare.

ETA.. I like Dollar Tree so well, I purchased stock in the company years ago. It is now $139+ a share. I purchased it really low ... less than $10/share, I believe.
But Dollar
general has a variety of items, not just $1 items.

Hermann also has Dollar Tree which has apparently merged with Family Dollar since our store now displays both signs.

I shopped at Dollar Tree when I lived in the city because things were a dollar but now I think they’re a bit more.

[sweetana3]

We have around 20 Dollar General, 20 Dollar Tree, and 20 Family Dollar stores in Indianapolis. They take up less space as a store and fit into more neighborhoods.

[catherine]

There is a Dollar General on the Islands, about 25 minutes from me, and I hear there was a lot of hubbub about letting a chain store in. We do have a chain gas station, but that's it.

If I'm going to the Dollar General, I usually go to the one that's more centrally located to other chain stores like supermarkets and pharmacies.

[frugal-one]

Got the flu vaccine yesterday. Came home took arnica montana, elderberry and went out and washed the deck siding thinking the movement would help my arm. Woke up this morning with NO arm pain and no flu symptoms. OMG... I am so happy. As previously mentioned, after the last covid vaccine I had pain in my arm for 6 months! DH woke in the night with a MASSIVE headache and has been groggy today. He is now doing better though. We both fared better than expected!!

[Tybee]

that is wonderful, frugal-one. My husband just smashed his finger moving rocks and he slathered arnica on it and wrapped gauze around it and woke up with it much better.

[frugal-one]

that is wonderful, frugal-one. My husband just smashed his finger moving rocks and he slathered arnica on it and wrapped gauze around it and woke up with it much better.

The homeopathic is wonderful as well.

[frugal-one]

Went to Mexico today and got my teeth cleaned for $35. Dentist said everything looks good and just to continue brushing 3x a day. DH got an estimate for the dental work that needs to be done. All of it would be less than a crown done at home. It really makes sense to come here for the winter!

[iris lilies]

Today DH hooked up the toilet in our upstairs bathroom. My bedroom is upstairs. I am so looking forward to midnight’s inaugural pee, the first time I don’t have to stumble down the stairs in the middle of the night in months.

[happystuff]

Today DH hooked up the toilet in our upstairs bathroom. My bedroom is upstairs. I am so looking forward to midnight’s inaugural pee, the first time I don’t have to stumble down the stairs in the middle of the night in months.

It is those simple little things that often mean so much - LOL. Congrats.

[Tybee]

Husband just bought an ax handle for the axe head I dug up from the backyard. Will post a photo after he puts it together.

[nswef]

I drove home from book club in the dark-something I dread-the dark, not book club and our new headlights $500 for our 2007 Focus. Worth every penny! I was so much more comfortable on our winding mountain road watching for deer constantly...much better light! Then, getting home the STARS- magnificent. I just stood by the car before going in the house to look. I'd forgotten how beautiful our night sky is, especially in the colder months.

[iris lilies]

I drove home from book club in the dark-something I dread-the dark, not book club and our new headlights $500 for our 2007 Focus. Worth every penny! I was so much more comfortable on our winding mountain road watching for deer constantly...much better light! Then, getting home the STARS- magnificent. I just stood by the car before going in the house to look. I'd forgotten how beautiful our night sky is, especially in the colder months.

ugh, deer season and night driving out in the country. I dont mind the night driving but I worry about deer.

[rosarugosa]

Today DH hooked up the toilet in our upstairs bathroom. My bedroom is upstairs. I am so looking forward to midnight’s inaugural pee, the first time I don’t have to stumble down the stairs in the middle of the night in months.

What luxury! Our one and only bathroom is on the first floor and our one and only bedroom is on the second floor, so we are both very proficient in going up and downstairs in a semi-awake state after 37+ years of practice.

[JaneV2.0]

What luxury! Our one and only bathroom is on the first floor and our one and only bedroom is on the second floor, so we are both very proficient in going up and downstairs in a semi-awake state after 37+ years of practice.

I would have invested in the modern equivalent of a chamber pot years ago--remember Ivana Trump, a cautionary tale.

[iris lilies]

What luxury! Our one and only bathroom is on the first floor and our one and only bedroom is on the second floor, so we are both very proficient in going up and downstairs in a semi-awake state after 37+ years of practice.
It IS a luxury, agreed.

[littlebittybobby]

Happy: That is so wonderful when families are friends, allies and support for one another!

We went to a concert Friday night, our first live music event since Covid. I wanted to share so that Jeppy and Bobby could take pleasure in making fun of me, lol. We wore masks the whole time, and there were only about a half dozen of us in the theater doing so. It was well-ventilated and not too hot, so the masks weren't a problem for us. The band was Melvin Seals and the Jerry Garcia Band. We really like them and had seen them 3 times previously. The Cabot https://thecabot.org/about is a smallish venue, a restored older theater with seats that are actually pretty comfortable, and very reasonable ticket prices (although Ticketbastard tacks on quite a bit of additional in the way of fees). They play Grateful Dead music and songs that the JGB played when Jerry was alive. Melvin is the one member of the band who used to actually play with Jerry, and he plays a Hammond organ. We had a really good time!Okay---Yah, going to an auditorium to see a tribute band rates criticism from littlebittymee. Hippie music is best suited to an outdoor venue. But, you left out the dollar amount for the tickkicks & also the mileage driven & of course---the drive-N-eat factors. So no, I don't know how much criticism to dish out, here. Nope. Plus, leaving the Catts home alone is very troubling. Yup. Hope that helps you some.

[littlebittybobby]

We have around 20 Dollar General, 20 Dollar Tree, and 20 Family Dollar stores in Indianapolis. They take up less space as a store and fit into more neighborhoods.Okay--I shop at Dollar Tree & Dollar General, depending on what I'm shopping for. Both stores handle TGI Fridays Tato Skins. But yeah---Dollar General is higher-priced, but if you live a few miles out & DG is the closest, then by all means. Traffic is murder & driving costs $$. Hope that helps you some. Thankk mee.

[rosarugosa]

Okay---Yah, going to an auditorium to see a tribute band rates criticism from littlebittymee. Hippie music is best suited to an outdoor venue. But, you left out the dollar amount for the tickkicks & also the mileage driven & of course---the drive-N-eat factors. So no, I don't know how much criticism to dish out, here. Nope. Plus, leaving the Catts home alone is very troubling. Yup. Hope that helps you some.

To assist you in criticizing with greater precision:

Ticket face value was $49.50 each, but as I recall, Ticketmaster fees added another $15 or so per ticket. Next time we will go to the box office to buy the tickets, but we decided to go at short notice and box office has limited days/hours.
Venue was only 14 miles away.
Parking cost 25 cents.
We ate at home before the show, and we did not buy any food or drink or merchandise at the show.
The cats don't seem to mind if we leave them in peace for a few hours, as long as we don't forget to feed them before we go.


The only thing I have any regret about is the Ticketmaster fees, and would take steps to avoid those next time.

[Teacher Terry]

I have lived in old houses that had bedrooms up and the one bathroom downstairs. Good thing I was young and only had to get up in the middle of night when pregnant.

[catherine]

Wow. Long gone are the Christmases when I bought DH clothes at the Princeton, NJ Ralph Lauren and he bought me clothes a block away at Ann Taylor.

Look what I'm so excited to buy him for Christmas now!!


https://www.northerntool.com/images/product/kindling-cracker-2022.gif

I'm so psyched!

[Tybee]

Wow. Long gone are the Christmases when I bought DH clothes at the Princeton, NJ Ralph Lauren and he bought me clothes a block away at Ann Taylor.

Look what I'm so excited to buy him for Christmas now!!


https://www.northerntool.com/images/product/kindling-cracker-2022.gif

I'm so psyched!

Catherine, that is so cool! I bought my husband a new Case knife, but I may have to get this for both of us!

[iris lilies]

Wow. Long gone are the Christmases when I bought DH clothes at the Princeton, NJ Ralph Lauren and he bought me clothes a block away at Ann Taylor.

Look what I'm so excited to buy him for Christmas now!!


https://www.northerntool.com/images/product/kindling-cracker-2022.gif

I'm so psyched!

That looks like a great tool. I hope it’s as easy to use as this demo shows.

[happystuff]

Very cool. Makes splitting kindling look easy!

[nswef]

Very cool, Catherine!

[SiouzQ.]

As of this morning I don't know if it a rant or a rave, but for three and a half days last week I combed out all my eight year old dreadlocks! I had been kind of tired of them for a long while, and had stopped caring for them like I used to; they have been looking pretty ratty for a while and not very attractive as I am going pretty grey these days. I hadn't "planned on" doing this particularly, but one evening last week as we were sitting down to stream our show I was idly picking at the end of one dreadlock and it started unraveling fairly easily. So I started on another and then I couldn't stop for three days!

It was a very difficult process - each lock took between 30 minutes to an hour to unravel all the way to the scalp! Plus piles and piles of old hair and old lint that had been trapped within the lock! I finally finished yesterday morning and took a blessed hot shower where I used a ton of shampoo and conditioner. My hair is still fairly long (a little past my shoulders, and it actually decided to curl up as it was drying! I had no idea if it would do that out here in the desert without the Michigan humidity like I was used to.

So now it is back to having to do daily haircare, which I am not used to. I am going to have to buy a wide-toothed hairbrush, and curling conditioner to keep it looking decent on a day-to-day basis and to prevent natural dreadlocks occurring during the night.

Even though I had been thinking about a hairstyle change for a long time, I didn't want to go the route of actually chopping off all my hair and being practically bald and having to grow it out. Plus, I HATE having to blow-dry and style (which I have to do when I have short hair, otherwise I look like bozo). This way at least I have some options going forward. I do need to get a professional trim because the ends of my hair are pretty dry and damaged.

So, I guess I'm raving because I actually went through with it and it's nice to know I still have my curly hair! I'm just going to have to get used to actually caring for it on a daily basis, unlike having dreadlocks which are pretty darn care-free!

[Klunick]

Yesterday was my last day of work until Jan 3rd.

[happystuff]

Yesterday was my last day of work until Jan 3rd.

Nice! Enjoy your time off!

[frugal-one]

Had the women’s club Christmas party today. Got the best present ever at one of these things … homemade candy and single bottle of liquor….. not the usual throw out Christmas crap. I thanked the giver! I gave a nice multi-use/emergency flashlight that was well received also.

[Tradd]

I’m in FL for a week of cave diving. Don’t go back to work until the 27th. Will be home the 25th. Will be nice to have a recovery day. Have an Airbnb little cottage that sleeps 6 for the week for $450 and all this space for me.

[iris lilies]

I’m in FL for a week of cave diving. Don’t go back to work until the 27th. Will be home the 25th. Will be nice to have a recovery day. Have an Airbnb little cottage that sleeps 6 for the week for $450 and all this space for me.
That’s good Tradd,and have fun

[happystuff]

Enjoy your vacation, Tradd!

[Tradd]

Thanks! Having to keep an eye on the weather as there’s supposed to be snow and bad cold later in the week, but looks like it’s going to be Thursday/Friday. I’m driving home on Sat & Sun.

[Klunick]

For the first time ever, I kept my Christmas tree alive and still drinking water all the way through Christmas. Normally it stops wanting water about 2 weeks after getting it and is losing needles like crazy by Christmas morning.

[Tradd]

For the first time ever, I kept my Christmas tree alive and still drinking water all the way through Christmas. Normally it stops wanting water about 2 weeks after getting it and is losing needles like crazy by Christmas morning.

When did you buy your tree?

[Klunick]

When did you buy your tree?

Dec 3rd

[sweetana3]

I sent my first question to a local city councilman. He responded with a very clear answer and we had a short email discussion. Wow.

Turns out he is now the Vice Chairman of the Council and slated to become the Chairman. I liked him before and more now.

The question was about some misinformation that a city employee provided during a televised advisory meeting regarding "Christmas bonuses". I used to watch these meetings a lot and might need to see more of them.

[iris lilies]

I sent my first question to a local city councilman. He responded with a very clear answer and we had a short email discussion. Wow.

Turns out he is now the Vice Chairman of the Council and slated to become the Chairman. I liked him before and more now.

The question was about some misinformation that a city employee provided during a televised advisory meeting regarding "Christmas bonuses". I used to watch these meetings a lot and might need to see more of them.

I’m glad that you’ve got a clear answer and I hope the answer was what you wanted to hear.


I remember when one of the tax supported institutions in St. Louis came out with “year end bonuses” based on their own defined metrics.


I thought that was stupid. Aping the business world that gives out bonuses based on productivity i.e., financial bottom line of a company, does not seem a good role for tax supported organizations that do not have a bottom line they have to earn. Well, they don’t directly earn it anyway.

[sweetana3]

Turns out there were no "Christmas Bonuses". However, I found out they are getting two 13% raises to help get more people to work in hard to fill areas. This means permanent money and not any one time bonus (which did not exist anyway). THis was city government anyway and the employees in question were under a union contract. No idea where the employee got their info or maybe someone was playing a trick on him/her. Sigh.

ps: they are also trying to hire homeless needing jobs and those with a criminal past. Jobs need strong back, compassion for animals and common sense.

[iris lilies]

It suddenly occurred to me today as I was letting my mind wander that the professional guys who make me laugh the most are all named “Dave.”
Dave Chapelle. David Spade. David Letterman. David Sedaris.

Dave Rubin doesn’t make me laugh exactly but he provided a bright spot in conservative discourse a couple of years ago for me although I am kinda off him at the moment.

[rosarugosa]

It suddenly occurred to me today as I was letting my mind wander that the professional guys who make me laugh the most are all named “Dave.”
Dave Chapelle. David Spade. David Letterman. David Sedaris.

Dave Rubin doesn’t make me laugh exactly but he provided a bright spot in conservative discourse a couple of years ago for me although I am kinda off him at the moment.

For me it's Dave Sedaris, Dave Barry and my husband Dave.

[iris lilies]

For me it's Dave Sedaris, Dave Barry and my husband Dave. I thought sbout .Dave Barry too even though I don’t read him nowadays but I have in the past. Probably I would find your husband Dave funny too!

[Klunick]

I wanted to buy a specific item for my youngest's birthday in April and since I am trying to be more proactive this year, I started looking for it now. I wanted to buy it from a reputable place since I believe in the "you get what you pay for" principal and since this was a fairly expensive item, I was hoping to find a good sale. And I did! Item is regularly $175 and I got over $50 off so I snagged it!!

[rosarugosa]

I wanted to buy a specific item for my youngest's birthday in April and since I am trying to be more proactive this year, I started looking for it now. I wanted to buy it from a reputable place since I believe in the "you get what you pay for" principal and since this was a fairly expensive item, I was hoping to find a good sale. And I did! Item is regularly $175 and I got over $50 off so I snagged it!!

Nice savings!

[frugal-one]

New mouse trap… DH took picture from our back yard here in TX. 5125

[happystuff]

New mouse trap… DH took picture from our back yard here in TX. 5125

Lol. Love it! Beautiful bird.

[iris lilies]

New mouse trap… DH took picture from our back yard here in TX. 5125
Haha, nice bird.

[nswef]

https://friendsofblackwater.org/camhtm2.html
I check the web cams on this site daily and see eagles on the osprey platform and an owl on the eagle platform. It makes me smile every time one shows up! Sometimes two!!

[rosarugosa]

New mouse trap… DH took picture from our back yard here in TX. 5125

Your DH got a great shot!

[JaneV2.0]

Ah, the rich pageantry of life, as Barney Miller's Fish would say.

[iris lilies]

Last night we went to see Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock in concert at a huge arena. We are very old and I scanned the crowd of thousands for people my age or older, and I’m telling you folks, out of those thousands I didn’t see anyone older, although I saw a few who might be about my age. Stay with me because my gray hair figures prominently in this report.

The show’s opener, Rick Ingram, worked the audience. Because we had the best seats in the house, middle of the first row, we were targets. He kidded us saying “You two probably don’t even know which show you’re at, you probably think you’re at the Tim Allen show “then asked DH “what do you do for a living? “DH replied he was retired. Ingraham asked him “:What did you do when you worked? DH replied “I was a handyman. “ Ingrahm then countered with “wow! I didn’t know handymen could afford those tickets! “

When David Chappelle finally came on stage, he started a story about Chuck Barry and leaned over the stage to say to me “YOU probably know who Chuck Berry is.” “Ha ha. so this gray hair of mine made me a target for Dave Chappelle and I got recognized by the great one. Worth it!

All of this was captured on the Jumbotron and later one of our former neighbors in the city sent us a message saying “what the hell were you two doing in the front row at this show?!!!”

Chris Rock did extra long set because Chappelle had plane problems and was stuck on the tarmac. Rock is smooth, solid, and his extra long set flowed. He is a consummate professional. Chapelle was… Not on fire. We didn’t get any of his insightful comments about society, but instead got long raunchy stories about Chuck Berry and porn and stories about Chapelle himself and strip joints.

Rock did some nice work talking about wokeness, woke crowds, and the problem of free speech today. Both of them referred to their unfortunate incidents of being beaten up on stage, Rock by Will Smith at the Oscars, and Chappelle by a crazy person.

it was nice to see these two on stage, even though Chappelle was not at top form.

[littlebittybobby]

Last night we went to see Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock in concert at a huge arena. We are very old and I scanned the crowd of thousands for people my age or older, and I’m telling you folks, out of those thousands I didn’t see anyone older, although I saw a few who might be about my age. Stay with me because my gray hair figures prominently in this report.

The show’s opener, Rick Ingram, worked the audience. Because we had the best seats in the house, middle of the first row, we were targets. He kidded us saying “You two probably don’t even know which show you’re at, you probably think you’re at the Tim Allen show “then asked DH “what do you do for a living? “DH replied he was retired. Ingraham asked him “:What did you do when you worked? DH replied “I was a handyman. “ Ingrahm then countered with “wow! I didn’t know handymen could afford those tickets! “

When David Chappelle finally came on stage, he started a story about Chuck Barry and leaned over the stage to say to me “YOU probably know who Chuck Berry is.” “Ha ha. so this gray hair of mine made me a target for Dave Chappelle and I got recognized by the great one. Worth it!

All of this was captured on the Jumbotron and later one of our former neighbors in the city sent us a message saying “what the hell were you two doing in the front row at this show?!!!”

Chris Rock did extra long set because Chappelle had plane problems and was stuck on the tarmac. Rock is smooth, solid, and his extra long set flowed. He is a consummate professional. Chapelle was… Not on fire. We didn’t get any of his insightful comments about society, but instead got long raunchy stories about Chuck Berry and porn and stories about Chapelle himself and strip joints.

Rock did some nice work talking about wokeness, woke crowds, and the problem of free speech today. Both of them referred to their unfortunate incidents of being beaten up on stage, Rock by Will Smith at the Oscars, and Chappelle by a crazy person.

it was nice to see these two on stage, even though Chappelle was not at top form.Okay---5133

[catherine]

Last night we went to see Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock in concert at a huge arena. We are very old and I scanned the crowd of thousands for people my age or older, and I’m telling you folks, out of those thousands I didn’t see anyone older, although I saw a few who might be about my age. Stay with me because my gray hair figures prominently in this report.

The show’s opener, Rick Ingram, worked the audience. Because we had the best seats in the house, middle of the first row, we were targets. He kidded us saying “You two probably don’t even know which show you’re at, you probably think you’re at the Tim Allen show “then asked DH “what do you do for a living? “DH replied he was retired. Ingraham asked him “:What did you do when you worked? DH replied “I was a handyman. “ Ingrahm then countered with “wow! I didn’t know handymen could afford those tickets! “

When David Chappelle finally came on stage, he started a story about Chuck Barry and leaned over the stage to say to me “YOU probably know who Chuck Berry is.” “Ha ha. so this gray hair of mine made me a target for Dave Chappelle and I got recognized by the great one. Worth it!

All of this was captured on the Jumbotron and later one of our former neighbors in the city sent us a message saying “what the hell were you two doing in the front row at this show?!!!”

Chris Rock did extra long set because Chappelle had plane problems and was stuck on the tarmac. Rock is smooth, solid, and his extra long set flowed. He is a consummate professional. Chapelle was… Not on fire. We didn’t get any of his insightful comments about society, but instead got long raunchy stories about Chuck Berry and porn and stories about Chapelle himself and strip joints.

Rock did some nice work talking about wokeness, woke crowds, and the problem of free speech today. Both of them referred to their unfortunate incidents of being beaten up on stage, Rock by Will Smith at the Oscars, and Chappelle by a crazy person.

it was nice to see these two on stage, even though Chappelle was not at top form.

Don't you know that you NEVER sit in the front row at a comedy show??? You are asking to be made fun of! In our early dating days when we were both working in NYC, DH and I went to Rodney Dangerfield's place, and we got similarly roasted (Rodney wasn't the comic--I can't recall who was).

But it sounds like you had a fun time!

[iris lilies]

Don't you know that you NEVER sit in the front row at a comedy show??? You are asking to be made fun of! In our early dating days when we were both working in NYC, DH and I went to Rodney Dangerfield's place, and we got similarly roasted (Rodney wasn't the comic--I can't recall who was).

But it sounds like you had a fun time!

well now I know!

[ToomuchStuff]

Sometimes you didn't get roasted, some times you got splattered. (siblings honeymoon was front row at a Gallagher show)

[happystuff]

Know you were looking forward to this and glad to hear you both enjoyed yourselves.

[nswef]

IL, I'm happy to read your report of the event!!! What fun for you both!

[Tradd]

IL, sounds like fun. I always enjoyed Chris Rock. No clue who Chapelle is.

I’ve only ever seen one comedy show in person. Jeff Foxworthy in the late 90s. That was fun.

[early morning]

Wow, sounds like a great time, IL - glad you enjoyed yourselves. Sorry Chapelle was off his game - generally I like him well enough. But y'all do realize Chapelle lives in one of the most woke-ed places on earth, (or at least in Ohio) right? Maybe they've gotten to him, lol. (Hey, I'd live there too if I could afford it! It's a great, quirky little town)

[iris lilies]

Wow, sounds like a great time, IL - glad you enjoyed yourselves. Sorry Chapelle was off his game - generally I like him well enough. But y'all do realize Chapelle lives in one of the most woke-ed places on earth, (or at least in Ohio) right? Maybe they've gotten to him, lol. (Hey, I'd live there too if I could afford it! It's a great, quirky little town)
No, I don’t know where he lives in Ohio or what kind of Socio economic environment it is. I don’t see how it could be more woke than LA but is it on equal footing?

Chris Rock has a house in New Jersey and he was riffing on his white neighbors (He’s done well! Haha, his joke) and he’s surrounded by “Black Lives Matter “ signs in his woke ass neighbors’ yards. He maligned them for their pretend concern when really they are just afraid of appearing non inclusive. And then he said he was so disgusted by all those signs because he was afraid they were pulling down the value of his property that he put a Donald Trump sign in his own yard. Ha ha.

[early morning]

I've never been to LA so I can't comment on that. He lives just outside Yellow Springs, a small artsy village with a small but pretty well known liberal arts college. (Horace Mann was its first president. Coretta Scott King and at least one of her siblings attended school there). His dad was a professor there. While the people there aren't all wealthy, the property values are high, at least by other local standards, and it's really hard to find a place to buy. It seems pretty much everyone in town is a pretty liberal activist of some form or another. Refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 50s, a hotbed of activity during the civil rights era, much protest of the Vietnam war. SNL had a skit about their "sexual consent" rules at the college in the early 2000s. And they were set to to pass a rule that would allow non-citizens in the village to vote in village elections, leading the state to freak out and put an issue on the ballot that no local laws could be passed to let non-citizens vote on anything. They are pretty accepting of everyone, though - I worked with a HUGE Trump fan who lived there in 2016, and it really annoyed her that her signs did not get a rise from her "lib" neighbors.

[catherine]

No, I don’t know where he lives in Ohio or what kind of Socio economic environment it is. I don’t see how it could be more woke than LA but is it on equal footing?

Chris Rock has a house in New Jersey and he was riffing on his white neighbors (He’s done well! Haha, his joke) and he’s surrounded by “Black Lives Matter “ signs in his woke ass neighbors’ yards. He maligned them for their pretend concern when really they are just afraid of appearing non inclusive. And then he said he was so disgusted by all those signs because he was afraid they were pulling down the value of his property that he put a Donald Trump sign in his own yard. Ha ha.

That's funny!!

[iris lilies]

I've never been to LA so I can't comment on that. He lives just outside Yellow Springs, a small artsy village with a small but pretty well known liberal arts college. (Horace Mann was its first president. Coretta Scott King and at least one of her siblings attended school there). His dad was a professor there. While the people there aren't all wealthy, the property values are high, at least by other local standards, and it's really hard to find a place to buy. It seems pretty much everyone in town is a pretty liberal activist of some form or another. Refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 50s, a hotbed of activity during the civil rights era, much protest of the Vietnam war. SNL had a skit about their "sexual consent" rules at the college in the early 2000s. And they were set to to pass a rule that would allow non-citizens in the village to vote in village elections, leading the state to freak out and put an issue on the ballot that no local laws could be passed to let non-citizens vote on anything. They are pretty accepting of everyone, though - I worked with a HUGE Trump fan who lived there in 2016, and it really annoyed her that her signs did not get a rise from her "lib" neighbors.

very interesting! Thanks for the background.

[littlebittybobby]

Okay----Here's a car that might lower property values, sitting out front. That way, the 'sessor would lower your prop taxes, due to the 'hood being a blighted eyesore. Uh-huh. At least you'd hope so. But yeah---Nothing wrong with that. Nope. Hope that helps you some. Thankk Mee.5137513751375137

[littlebittybobby]

514251425143Okay---How would you kids like to live with all this junk around you?5138513851385138513951395139513951395139514051 435143514351435140514051405141514151415141

[littlebittybobby]

Okay----Vacant houses on Adak Island, Alaska, USA.5144

[Klunick]

Told my husband about a dream I had that we replaced the light fixture over our kitchen table. Showed him a picture of how it looked and he loved it so much, he told me to go ahead and get it! We hadn't even talked about replacing it although I had thought about it often lately hence why I probably dreamed about it. Then he told me to go ahead and order new fixtures for the light by our kitchen sink, the foyer, and a hallway. Four new light fixtures all because of a dream I had. LOL

[Tybee]

What a guy!

[catherine]

Told my husband about a dream I had that we replaced the light fixture over our kitchen table. Showed him a picture of how it looked and he loved it so much, he told me to go ahead and get it! We hadn't even talked about replacing it although I had thought about it often lately hence why I probably dreamed about it. Then he told me to go ahead and order new fixtures for the light by our kitchen sink, the foyer, and a hallway. Four new light fixtures all because of a dream I had. LOL

I am jealous!! We desperately need new kitchen fixtures. Maybe I'll steal the "I had a dream" approach. If you can do it, and Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof can do it, maybe I can do it, too! :)

[iris lilies]

I don’t need to dream about it because DH and I have spent the last 10 days working with ceiling fixtures, both lights and fans and etc. Still working on ’em.

[catherine]

I don’t need to dream about it because DH and I have spent the last 10 days working with ceiling fixtures, both lights and fans and etc. Still working on ’em.

So you'll make me jealous, too! Next year, my dream is roof, range hood, electrical including lighting and new ceiling fans.

[frugal-one]

Bought a Hamilton Beach indoor searing grill a few days ago. Don’t know what even possesssed me to look for an indoor grill other than DH abhors grilling outdoors. Also thought it might be nice to have when it is hot and don’t want to use the oven or heat up the house. Have made hamburgers and pork chops so far and they have been FABULOUS! Short cook time, juicy and tender, easy to clean grill and no great smell indoors. I have never grilled anything in my life but am truly impressed. Next to try is grilled veggies…. The only drawback is a cookbook was not included. There was basic info on grilling meats. I went to the library and found a great cookbook that tells heat (high, med, etc) which is helpful because the grill is by temperature degrees and this is easily converted.

[iris lilies]

So you'll make me jealous, too! Next year, my dream is roof, range hood, electrical including lighting and new ceiling fans.
And we did it with minimum arguing. That is kind of a nice chsnge.

[Klunick]

I am jealous!! We desperately need new kitchen fixtures. Maybe I'll steal the "I had a dream" approach. If you can do it, and Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof can do it, maybe I can do it, too! :)
Ours are 25 years old so an update was definitely needed.

[Tybee]

I keep hearing Ethel Merman in Gypsy singing, "I have a dream, a wonderful dream-
all about roofs and electric circuits"

[catherine]

I keep hearing Ethel Merman in Gypsy singing, "I have a dream, a wonderful dream-
all about roofs and electric circuits"

...Give me a man and he'll know how to work it..
I have a dream!

[iris lilies]

Today I used Tradd’s screen name here as a way to memorize a botanical name. I’ve had the hardest time remembering “Tradescantia” or Spiderwort.

This memory device is helping me. Thanks Tradd!

still have not finished the Pern book…two more piled on top of it.

[pinkytoe]

It is something like 9 degrees outside and snow-globey so watching things germinate under lights is keeping my spirits high. Hope.

[Tradd]

Today I used Tradd’s screen name here as a way to memorize a botanical name. I’ve had the hardest time remembering “Tradescantia” or Spiderwort.

This memory device is helping me. Thanks Tradd!

still have not finished the Pern book…two more piled on top of it.

Haha. Glad to help! Can’t wait to hear from you after you’ve finished it.

[iris lilies]

Technology is great: This morning I received a message feom the Illinois Tollway office that my credit card on file with them expires soon.

I loved this reminder because I do go to Chicagoland periodically (we are going in July) and I like not having to worry about the damn toll roads and how they work. The software records my license plate and charges me appropriately.

This is brilliant use of technology, I have to say.

I remember the first time we drove through those toll roads and we fumbled for cash and didn't know what we were supposed to do. Now we do…nothing! And let the software take care of it.

But, snark here: it is it really very great that the State of IL holds my credit card information? I dont consider that especially secure.

[Tradd]

Technology is great: This morning I received a message feom the Illinois Tollway office that my credit card on file with them expires soon.

I loved this reminder because I do go to Chicagoland periodically (we are going in July) and I Like not having to worry about the damn toll roads and how they work. The software records my license plate and charges me appropriately.

This is brilliant use of technology, I jave to say.

I remember the dirst time we deove theough those toll roads and we fumbled for cash and didnt know what we were supposed to do. No we do…nothing! And let the software take care of it.

But, snark here: it is t really very great that the State of IL holds:6 credit card information. I dont consider that especially secure.

You don’t have to keep a card on file for replenishment of your iPass. I certainly don’t and I live in IL. I just keep a close eye on my account via their website and add more as needed.

[Teacher Terry]

Back when I lived in Wisconsin we had to stop at all the toll booths in Illinois and drop in quarters. It was a pita.

[Tradd]

Back when I lived in Wisconsin we had to stop at all the toll booths in Illinois and drop in quarters. It was a pita.

No money accepted at IL tollway booths anymore since Covid. You either have the ipass transponder or you pay online within seven days. Toll booths are totally done away with.

[Teacher Terry]

I left 30 years ago so it’s good news that the booths are gone.

[frugal-one]

IL keeps sending notices due to MIL who died years ago. We checked once and sent death certificate. A company in Kenosha is using her info. Now just put no one by that name at this address. Stupid.

[beckyliz]

Good sports weekend! My Kansas Jayhawks (men's basketball) beat Kentucky and the CHIEFS are going to the Super Bowl!!!

[Alan]

Good sports weekend!.......... the CHIEFS are going to the Super Bowl!!!
Congratulations! Although I'm a bit heartbroken that my Bengals are not. :(

[beckyliz]

It could've gone either way - for sure!

[Klunick]

Had the perfect snowstorm overnight. Ground is covered but the streets are not. Still pretty to look at but not hazardous to drive in.

[nswef]

That is my idea of a perfect snow, too, Klunick. Our dusting last night only on the roads!!! Driveway icy, hoping the sun takes care of it.

[beckyliz]

I lost 6 pounds in January.

[iris lilies]

I lost 6 pounds in January.
Good job!

[happystuff]

Congrats, beckyliz! That's wonderful!

[Tradd]

That’s fab, Becky!

My rave: going back to MX - Playa del Carmen - in early Dec for a week of cave diving. Just booked my ticket - business class - on AA, as being squished in coach is so uncomfortable. $1073, but worth every penny. My ticket on Southworst in Aug was $725. I said I’d not go back, but I wanted to do a December trip. I’ve been in FL the last two Christmases. Everyone one here missed me and I them. This way I get my trip and get to celebrate Christmas with my peeps. Also, no hassle at all getting the time off, as has happened the last two years. Also early enough in December so somewhat less chance of bad weather in the Midwest.

Dive guide will be my full cave instructor from August. Really looking forward to it. I applied for Global Entry, but getting an appt for interview is questionable. So may not. But we’ll see.

[Teacher Terry]

Congrats Becky! Tradd planning vacations is so fun:)).

[Tradd]

This one will be easier than August because I know what didn’t work now. Like my spinner wheel carryon. I’ve ordered a rolling (2 wheels not 4) one from the Rick Steve’s website. The price was right and what I was looking for.

Just looking for a place to stay now. The hotel I stayed at in August is nice but the smaller rooms are at the far back of the courtyard and there’s a lot of walking to get back there. My knees were not happy.

[Tradd]

All set for MX trip - just snagged a condo for $70/night on Airbnb. It has a washer/dryer in unit. :D Looking forward to not having to stomp my clothes clean while I’m taking a shower! :moon: Having the laundry facilities are well worth the $200 more than I paid for my hotel in August. Quiet area. - a few blocks from where I was in August. There were lots of cheaper places, but no laundry and stairs. Boo hiss! This place has an elevator.

[rosarugosa]

That sounds great, Tradd. Something to look forward to for sure.

[happystuff]

Sounds like you have a great trip planned, tradd!

[iris lilies]

That sounds like a good accommodation for you, Tradd. The chore of finding a cute and appropriate Air b n b is offset by the great places you can actually find once you invest the time.

I am still annoyed that Air b n b will not let you search by zip code, that seems like an easy thing to program.

[Tradd]

That sounds like a good accommodation for you, Tradd. The chore of finding a cute and appropriate Air b n b is offset by the great places you can actually find once you invest the time.

I am still annoyed that Air b n b will not let you search by zip code, that seems like an easy thing to program.

I remembered the safe and quiet area dive instructor had told me about before August trip. I pulled up the location of hotel from August trip on Google maps and had the Booking.com and Airbnb apps open on iPad. That made it much easier to determine exactly where a given place was. Maybe took me an hour.

[beckyliz]

Tradd - that vacation sounds amazing. I got to go to PDC in 2019. It was so beautiful. It's windy here today, but 60 degrees, so I took a walk around the state capitol at lunchtime. Felt good to stretch my legs.

[iris lilies]

My Rave for the day is that I’m in love with my new cat. This is probably my last beloved heart cat of my life. I hope she lives another seven years. I say seven because she’s already seven years old, and my cats tend to not live much beyond 15.
€

[catherine]

My Rave for the day is that I’m in love with my new cat. This is probably my last beloved heart cat of my life. I hope she lives another seven years. I say seven because she’s already seven years old, and my cats tend to not live much beyond 15.
€

So glad you have a special feline friend, IL!! Nothing better. I hope you enjoy many years with her! My kids get on my case all the time over the the dog THEY gave me--they tell me she ran the show, and maybe she did, but I loved her.

[iris lilies]

So glad you have a special feline friend, IL!! Nothing better. I hope you enjoy many years with her! My kids get on my case all the time over the the dog THEY gave me--they tell me she ran the show, and maybe she did, but I loved her.
The special ones are so very special. Of all the dogs thru our house and there’s been 50 of them (most are fosters) only three were Special. I’ve had cats all my life and this is Special cat number three.

well, I could start a new post about the special foster dogs that I had to give up that I still miss. One of them is still charging around the St. Louis area acting like the alpha bitch she was born to be.

[catherine]

,,,,the alpha bitch she was born to be.

Haha, so that sounds like it would describe Nessie, who would sit on my face when I got into bed because she had usurped my spot when I went on business trips.

[Tradd]

Discovered classical guitar on YT as I wanted something soothing. Omg. Love it.

[nswef]

Excellent trip to Xfinity (Comcast). My remote had a bad button, I checked the internet..they'd send one for $5.95 shipping or free if we go to the store. So off we went Sunday to TOWN! Walked in the door, kid at the door asked what we needed. I said a new remote. He took one out of the box right by the door and said, this will do!!!!! In and out in under a minute!!!!

[iris lilies]

Excellent trip to Xfinity (Comcast). My remote had a bad button, I checked the internet..they'd send one for $5.95 shipping or free if we go to the store. So off we went Sunday to TOWN! Walked in the door, kid at the door asked what we needed. I said a new remote. He took one out of the box right by the door and said, this will do!!!!! In and out in under a minute!!!!

that is a dream! You had an irritating tech problem solved in under a minute. Well, you had to drive to the store, but… Still nice.

[littlebittybobby]

My Rave for the day is that I’m in love with my new cat. This is probably my last beloved heart cat of my life. I hope she lives another seven years. I say seven because she’s already seven years old, and my cats tend to not live much beyond 15.
€ Yeah But: Keep lovin' on that new indyanna catt, and you'll prolly come home from a mooo-vee and find the catts' lifeless body in one room, and it's well-chewed head in another. But yeah--your beloved pitt bulldogg will give you that "dindoo nuffin" look, and get away with it. Yup. Hope that helpps you some.5177

[iris lilies]

Yeah But: Keep lovin' on that new indyanna catt, and you'll prolly come home from a mooo-vee and find the catts' lifeless body in one room, and it's well-chewed head in another. But yeah--your beloved pitt bulldogg will give you that "dindoo nuffin" look, and get away with it. Yup. Hope that helpps you some.5177

I seriously think about what to do with the animals when we are gone for a few days in June and again in July. Boarding the bulldog at the vet would make him dreadfully unhappy. Plus it’s also hot even though of course it’s air-conditioned there but these dogs don’t do well in heat. Yet I don’t know that I trust him with his new cat.


On the other hand, yesterday they had a little tiff, and I stood back and let them end it themselves and he did not bite her.

so, I dunno.

[Tybee]

Am grading this morning and just want to say I love my students; it is so rewarding to see that the assignments get them thinking about things and expanding their world view and learning about how they can help others in their jobs, mostly nursing students. It is extremely gratifying to see them light up!!

[Tradd]

Tybee, what do you teach again? I can’t remember.

[Tybee]

Psychology, English, and Humanities classes. My Psych classes are my favorite. We are talking about John Watson this week and the Little Albert experiments.

[Tradd]

Sounds very interesting.

[SiouzQ.]

Our 2020 Suburu Impreza with its airbag system saved my 63 year old husband's life on Sunday when he was in a terrible car accident just south of Santa Fe. A pickup truck blew through a red light at the "Diverging Diamond" intersection that was put in a few years ago by the I-25 underpass as he was traveling north on a green light to Santa Fe. I got a text from him while I was gallery sitting on Sunday saying he was at the ER in the local hospital; I did not have an understanding of just how bad the accident was because I figured if he could text me to meet him at the hospital, maybe it wasn't so bad? When I got there and saw he was not a bloody mess, I was quite relieved, but his back was in terrible pain. All in all, it was 8 hours in the ER while they did two different CT scans, gave him pain meds, made sure he didn't have any internal bleeding. He felt absolutely terrible and could barely sit up, yet the ER booted him out at 12:30am because he didn't have any broken bones or bleeding. We were both incredulous; I argued that it would be impossible to get him out of the car and into our rural house because of the incline in our yard, the uneven, gravelly ground, the numerous steps in our house, the fact that the bathroom is nowhere near the bedroom, that I have a bad back myself...they refused to admit him overnight for observation and to give me time to set up our house in a way that would make it easier for him to be there.

We made it home by 1am; I drove the 25 miles in the dark (I never drive after dark these days because we are homebodies and don't go anywhere!) He managed to get himself out of the back seat where he was laying down, got him in the house, upstairs and into bed through sheer will, grit and a lot of swear words...

I went to the wrecking yard yesterday to get our stuff out of the car and was quite shocked: the entire front end was completely crushed beyond recognition, the hood pushed up and over the windshield, all the airbags deployed...it's truly amazing he came out of it alive with nothing broken. He is very, very sore but much better today and can even move around the house gingerly. We are contacting a personal injury attorney to handle this case and make sure he gets compensated for everything - totaled car, missed work, pain & suffering, lost eye glasses, etc.

THANK YOU SUBURU!

[iris lilies]

SiouzQ. Wow. So very sorry.

[catherine]

OMG!! How awful! Hope he recovers quickly and you guys get compensated fairly!!

[pinkytoe]

So awful, SiouxQ. Drivers these days around here are either under the influence or just plain reckless. I hope your husbands recovery goes well.

[JaneV2.0]

What a close call and kudos to your trusty Subaru, which made the ultimate sacrifice.
Best of luck with your lawsuit.

[Tradd]

So glad to hear your hubby wasn’t hurt worse.

[Tybee]

Omg, Sioux, so glad your husband is okay--what a testament to the Subaru!

[rosarugosa]

I hope he is better soon. How scary.

[Klunick]

I guess this could be considered a "rave". I survived my close encounter with a raccoon this morning. I was heading to my car at 0330 and just as I got there, a raccoon popped out of our garbage can. I looked at it and he looked at me. Luckily he stayed in the garbage can until I could get into my car. He looked at me for about another minute and then got out and went off about his way. I stayed in the driveway a bit just to make sure he was gone so I wouldn't run him over backing out.

[happystuff]

Oh my goodness! It sounds like your dh was very lucky! I'm so sorry that he is in such pain and I hope it subsides quickly for him.

[early morning]

SiouzQ, that's awful, I hope he is better soon and that the other driver's insurance covers all expenses. What a terrible thing to have happen, and good that he was in a sturdy car!!

Klunick, a raccøøn once bit my sister... No realli! Glad that did not happen to you! Rabies shots aren't as bad as they used to be, but still.

[Klunick]

SiouzQ, that's awful, I hope he is better soon and that the other driver's insurance covers all expenses. What a terrible thing to have happen, and good that he was in a sturdy car!!

Klunick, a raccøøn once bit my sister... No realli! Glad that did not happen to you! Rabies shots aren't as bad as they used to be, but still.

What scared me more is that I had been debating whether or not to take a bag trash out with me to stick in the can. I would have certainly had a heart attack if I opened the lid and the raccoon popped out.

[catherine]

[QUOTE=Klunick;421393]I guess this could be considered a "rave". I survived my close encounter with a raccoon this morning. I was heading to my car at 0330 and just as I got there, a raccoon popped out of our garbage can. I looked at it and he looked at me. [/QUOT

The first thing I thought was, I wonder if a Jim Henson puppeteer was hiding in there! Made me think of Oscar the Grouch. Glad the raccoon wasn't too grouchy!!

[Klunick]

[QUOTE=Klunick;421393]I guess this could be considered a "rave". I survived my close encounter with a raccoon this morning. I was heading to my car at 0330 and just as I got there, a raccoon popped out of our garbage can. I looked at it and he looked at me. [/QUOT

The first thing I thought was, I wonder if a Jim Henson puppeteer was hiding in there! Made me think of Oscar the Grouch. Glad the raccoon wasn't too grouchy!!

A good meal and full belly probably helped his attitude. He didn't seem startled at all when he saw me so maybe people feed him regularly and "trash diving" is just for fun. I have to say, it has been a while since we've had raccoons in our cans. I've never seen them but I have seen the evidence when I throw stuff in them.

[beckyliz]

SiouzQ - so glad your husband survived! My DS was in a wreck in a 1999 Subaru Outback when he was in high school (2013). Pretty sure the airbags saved him from major injuries. I now have a 2014 Forester and am Team Subaru 4 Ever.

[Tradd]

Did a copy editing project the last two evenings. It’s a field report of underwater archaeology on Lake Michigan shipwrecks for the WI Historical Society. My WI diving instructor is one of their maritime archaeologists. I get credit in the acknowledgments. I volunteered to do it. Fascinating reading I would have done anyway. My work schedule doesn’t permit me to volunteer as a diver, but I can certainly contribute this way. I told instructor to see me over anything else she needs read/edited. She’s the one who suggested I work on the two rebreather manuals over this winter. Death by a thousand apostrophes. Lots of ‘s for plural. Argh!

[Teacher Terry]

So glad your husband is okay. Sometimes people survive horrendous accidents. When I was married to my last husband he was literally run over by a semi that pulled out in front of him on a highway. The only spot on the car that wasn’t totally crushed was where he was sitting. Because the semi pulled out across the lanes he went under and his Saturn literally peeled the roof back like an onion and shoved him out.

The cops said they thought they were going to a fatality. I made him go to the hospital but literally all he had was a sore shoulder. This was just a few months after we got married and had taken out joint life insurance.

[Klunick]

Slow boring day at work yesterday so I did what anyone would do... grab a pair of old dull scissors, head to the bathroom, and proceed to cut my bangs which were long and driving me nuts. It was one of the best jobs I've ever done on my bangs. They look fabulous!! Usually I hack the crap out of them and instantly regret doing it but not this tine.

[iris lilies]

Slow boring day at work yesterday so I did what anyone would do... grab a pair of old dull scissors, head to the bathroom, and proceed to cut my bangs which were long and driving me nuts. It was one of the best jobs I've ever done on my bangs. They look fabulous!! Usually I hack the crap out of them and instantly regret doing it but not this tine.
The self haircuts—sometimes we get a good “do” and sometimes, not so much. :~) Good that this on went well!

[catherine]

It occurred to me that I am now in a position to play the "I'm elderly" card. Usually, I feel so good health wise, thankfully, that I go about my business as if I'm my younger self. But today I cheerfully used my age to get out of going to my volunteer post at the Flower Show.

We were supposed to get a lot of snow last night, and we did get snow, but I would say only 4". I have a gig this afternoon and tomorrow to introduce a couple of workshop speakers. I really don't want to travel the 45 minutes to the Exposition Center in the snow. A few years ago, I'd be out there, shoveling out the car, creeping down the interstate, and going to great lengths to honor my commitment.

So when the volunteer coordinator called to see how I'm doing up here, I told her, without guilt, that it is highly unlikely I'll be able to make it today--I'm nervous about the drive, I can't shovel the snow, I don't like driving in the dark--after all, I'm 71! Now, by this afternoon, roads should be fine. But heck--my son called me and advised me not to go, and I don't want to go. So I'm not going.

I will go tomorrow, because I've been looking forward to it and, really, there will be no more excuses after the roads are all plowed and the snow has stopped for 24 hours.

[iris lilies]

I think it is fine that you use your age, we do that in garden club. When we have meetings in January or February, and the weather is even the slightest bit iffy, we cancel.


But I don’t know who’s having a flower show in March. Is there a Home and Garden that you’re talking about? Our home and garden shows are always in early to mid March as well as fall because the vendors are super busy during warm weather months and I don’t want to sit in the show hall.

[catherine]

I think it is fine that you use your age, we do that in garden club. When we have meetings in January or February, and the weather is even the slightest bit iffy, we cancel.


But I don’t know who’s having a flower show in March. Is there a Home and Garden that you’re talking about? Our home and garden shows are always in early to mid March as well as fall because the vendors are super busy during warm weather months and I don’t want to sit in the show hall.

Cool. That makes me feel better.

This is the flower show: https://vnlavt.org/vermont-flower-show/

And here's a video that shows you the inside of the hall. LOTS of flowers.

I think Vermonters do the flower show early because we are so dying for winter to be over. Then, as one of the people in the video says, we go home and realize sadly that we have two more months of winter :(

https://www.wcax.com/2023/03/03/flower-show-returns-essex-jct-after-4-year-hibernation/?fbclid=IwAR0odoIQsp_jPc2BrjohJ3xTOOuzeAoBEmOUbT1K uGqEcfJmOCOxp2OIfak

[iris lilies]

Cool. That makes me feel better.

This is the flower show: https://vnlavt.org/vermont-flower-show/

And here's a video that shows you the inside of the hall. LOTS of flowers.

I think Vermonters do the flower show early because we are so dying for winter to be over. Then, as one of the people in the video says, we go home and realize sadly that we have two more months of winter :(

https://www.wcax.com/2023/03/03/flower-show-returns-essex-jct-after-4-year-hibernation/?fbclid=IwAR0odoIQsp_jPc2BrjohJ3xTOOuzeAoBEmOUbT1K uGqEcfJmOCOxp2OIfak

thanks for the link. I can see from the photos that it’s like our Home and Garden show without the “home” part.

All of the plants in the building were not grown in the ground in Vermont, they’re all brought in from elsewhere or are greenhouse grown. I see the design section of the flower show put on by Vermont Garden club, and that looks like a typical design division of my flower shows.

[catherine]

All of the plants in the building were not grown in the ground in Vermont, they’re all brought in from elsewhere or our greenhouse grown. I see the design section of the flower show put on by Roman Garden club, and that looks like a typical design division of my flower shows.

Interesting. I'm new to flower shows so I have a lot to learn!

[iris lilies]

Interesting. I'm new to flower shows so I have a lot to learn!
Well, I sound like a know it all but you guys are getting pelted with snow. How do they have any flowers that are grown in the ground to bring to the flower show? Other than maybe some early crocus or something.


Here, our garden clubs have had an actual horticulture show at the Home and Garden Show in mid March, but it’s heavy on house plants, greenhouse grown things, early flowering bulbs bulbs like daffodils and crocus, sometimes early flowering shrubs like Forsithia.

[Klunick]

The stack of new light fixtures needing to be put up that has been on the floor of my bedroom since January is slowly decreasing. At one point, I had six of them and several boxes of lightbulbs. Now I am down to only two light fixtures and a handful of boxes of lightbulbs.

[rosarugosa]

The stack of new light fixtures needing to be put up that has been on the floor of my bedroom since January is slowly decreasing. At one point, I had six of them and several boxes of lightbulbs. Now I am down to only two light fixtures and a handful of boxes of lightbulbs.

That sounds very satisfying!

[frugal-one]

Sitting on the covered porch here reading a book. The sun is out, the breeze is blowing and very enjoyable! Seeing that it is snowing at home and I don’t have to deal with it makes it even more pleasurable!

[Tybee]

Gosh, frugal, that sounds nice. Got out of the house yesterday for the first time in a week due to snow and supposedly looking at another snow on Monday.
Hoping this is the last winter I spend here, one way or another.

[frugal-one]

It is surprisingly inexpensive to leave for the winter. I would never have guessed. Obviously it depends on where you go and how you stay.

Hope it works out for you too Tybee!

[SiouzQ.]

There is no better feeling than disconnecting our internet service from CenturyLink! After 4 years of poor internet speeds and having our service interrupted several times a day (which jeopardizes my husband's remote job), we went with a local service provider. I found a computer networking solutions company out of Santa Fe and they came out the next day to see how they could help us in our rural area. Within two days they got us hooked up and raring to go! CenturyLink is notorious in my tiny rural town for basically not giving much of a sh** about the poor internet speeds and service calls.

For now I have decided to keep the landline but if our WiFi calling works well when I call my mom back in Michigan, I am considering canceling that as well.

[iris lilies]

Our new printer/copier arrived and I was dreading setting it up. DH volunteered to do that. He spent a couple hours reading instructions, watching videos, and after confoundingly user- unfriendly set up requirements, he got it working. Yay! Now he will show me how to use it.

[Tybee]

There is no better feeling than disconnecting our internet service from CenturyLink! After 4 years of poor internet speeds and having our service interrupted several times a day (which jeopardizes my husband's remote job), we went with a local service provider. I found a computer networking solutions company out of Santa Fe and they came out the next day to see how they could help us in our rural area. Within two days they got us hooked up and raring to go! CenturyLink is notorious in my tiny rural town for basically not giving much of a sh** about the poor internet speeds and service calls.

For now I have decided to keep the landline but if our WiFi calling works well when I call my mom back in Michigan, I am considering canceling that as well.

We had century link in rural New York and they were awful.

If you get rid of the landline, you may be getting rid of your ability to contact the outside world in a power outage--we had landline service in the 5 days in December where we had no internet service and no electricity.

[iris lilies]

Another “I am elderly” card: we’ve been going to the grocery store multiple times a week and I’ve been feeling guilty about it. I don’t know why. Food does not go to waste here, it’s just that we need some fresh vegetables now and then or I have a need to buy something specific for a specific dish.

Why does it matter if I go to the store two times this week, and DH goes once? It’s not like we are burning tons of gas, our grocery store is five minutes away or less. We are retired. We can go to the grocery store every day if we wanted to!


So my rave is that I’ve let go of that expectation that we used to have, that we go to the grocery store only once a week.

[JaneV2.0]

...
So my rave is that I’ve let go of that expectation that we used to have, that we go to the grocery store only once a week.

Very European! We should jettison more expectations as we age.

[Tradd]

Just joined Weight Watchers online at lunch. Nice app with a barcode scanner. I need to lose about 20-25lbs. Everyone I know who does well has used WW.

[rosarugosa]

Another “I am elderly” card: we’ve been going to the grocery store multiple times a week and I’ve been feeling guilty about it. I don’t know why. Food does not go to waste here, it’s just that we need some fresh vegetables now and then or I have a need to buy something specific for a specific dish.

Why does it matter if I go to the store two times this week, and DH goes once? It’s not like we are burning tons of gas, our grocery store is five minutes away or less. We are retired. We can go to the grocery store every day if we wanted to!


So my rave is that I’ve let go of that expectation that we used to have, that we go to the grocery store only once a week.

I suspect you may be more disciplined in your grocery spending than we are, but we spend more money if we make more trips, and often on frivolous items like Reese's cups, flowers, etc. I am certainly not against indulgences, but less trips for us keeps indulgences down to a more reasonable level.

[rosarugosa]

Just joined Weight Watchers online at lunch. Nice app with a barcode scanner. I need to lose about 20-25lbs. Everyone I know who does well has used WW.

Good luck, Tradd. I worked at a medical facility for many years, and the staff always recommended WW as a good and effective program.

[Tradd]

Good luck, Tradd. I worked at a medical facility for many years, and the staff always recommended WW as a good and effective program.

Thanks!

IL, if I go to the store more, I spend a lot more.

[iris lilies]

Thanks!


IL, if I go to the store more, I spend a lot more.

yes, we dont even have a target amount any more.

[catherine]

Tradd: Good luck with WW--I have also heard great things. They're always on the top of the list for the most effective weight loss program

IL: We are frequent grocery shoppers. Because DH is usually the one to go to the local places, we probably do spend more than we should. He's definitely an impulse buyer. Plus, our local stores are less expensive than convenience stores, but more expensive than chain supermarkets, so it's probably not the cheapest way to go.

However, I remember being a kid at the beach cottage and my aunt and grandmother and I went "uptown" (Main Street was only 5 minutes away) every other day. The refrigerator was never full. We ate what we had and then went to the stores. My aunt was a very simple, disciplined shopper and chef. Up here, I think of her often and I actually like the idea of small, more frequent shopping trips.

We go off the island twice a month to get the things that we like that we just can get here, plus the things that might be on sale that week.

[sweetana3]

Our big freezer went out and we are now doing more careful shopping for fresh. Means more trips but probably better and less processed foods. So we have decided to not replace the freezer for awhile. My rule is to never go down the aisles unless i need a very specific thing. Aisles are bad. So we try to shop around the edge of the stores for produce, meat, dairy, eggs, etc.

Tradd, WW is excellent and a healthy way to lose weight. They are very into balance in eating and exercise.

[Tradd]

Sweetssna, I’ve got my Apple Watch tied into the WW app and they give you points for exercise or steps. I have a smart scale already that doesn’t tie into the WW app, but I just manually enter the numbers into WW app. I love I can scan bar codes at the grocery store and get points. I’ll be doing that on Saturday. Breakfast is my big thing. I’ve eaten one from the grocery store for years daily and it’s a lot of points. 8 when my daily is 23 (without added points from movement). Maybe I’ll do a half.

[iris lilies]

When I’m serious about losing weight, I do jump onto the weight watchers program. It is now rebranded as “WW “but it’s still Weight Watchers.


The company is a bit annoying to me because every couple years they switch things up and I’m not sure that the changes are much of an improvement. But the basic ideas remain the same, using “points” as a short hand to count calories, and the points take into account some psychology as well. Exercise. Portion control. Those are the keys to success.

[Teacher Terry]

I count calories which is similar to WW. I eat 1600 day to maintain plus I exercise 4-5 times a week. Good luck Tradd.,

[Tradd]

Down 3lbs. Biggest changes are going to no-fat yogurt and skim milk. I’d been eating a lot of whole milk yogurt and low fat milk. Now half a Thomas’ bagel for breakfast daily. Love sandwiches so I got some lower cal bread to try. Not doing a lot of fake food as some people do. I can’t do artificial sweeteners at all. Very bad reaction. I can drink black tea without sugar but I need something milky in there. Powdered creamer to the rescue.

[rosarugosa]

Tradd: Do you ever drink tea with lemon? I drank it with cream for years and years, but now I prefer it with lemon, or if that isn't available, with nothing.

[Tradd]

Tradd: Do you ever drink tea with lemon? I drank it with cream for years and years, but now I prefer it with lemon, or if that isn't available, with nothing.

I dislike lemon in beverages except for ice tea or lemonade.

[Tradd]

Still down 4lbs even though it was my birthday yesterday and I indulged some. Work had apple pie instead of cake. I was asked what I wanted. I just wish it would be sunny some. Very cloudy all winter and it’s still cloudy.

[happystuff]

Still down 4lbs even though it was my birthday yesterday and I indulged some. Work had apple pie instead of cake. I was asked what I wanted. I just wish it would be sunny some. Very cloudy all winter and it’s still cloudy.

Happy Belated Birthday!!!

[iris lilies]

I had a mamogram today. It took a total of—get this—30 minutes from the time I left my front door to the time I arrived back home. Beat that, big city medical facilities, I dare ya!

Little did I realize how incredibly handy it is to live in Hermann with its hospital half a mile away. They do all of the radiology and etc tests there.

If I was in the city I would have had to drive at least 20 minutes to the giant parking garage ( after figuring out WHICH giant parking garage to use) then driven up winding floors of cement to stop near the top because every space is full. Then find the door to…which building to go to in the giant mega complex of illness? A guessing game. Then walk at least a quarter mile and assuming I found the right department in a timely way, wait in a room of 20 people, check in, wait some more. Then have the procedure done. Find my way back yhru the maze of corridors to the parking garage, then figure out hiw to get out if the parking garage.

I am parking garage challenged, I hate ‘em. Give me a surface lot any day because then
i can see where I am and can see directions.

TLDR: yay for small town medical facilities!!!

[rosarugosa]

Well I am a suburban mouse, but I get my mammogram done in the same office as my primary care MD, and I coordinate the two so I don't need to make an extra trip for the mammo. It's in a not huge medical office building with a parking lot right outside. They even have a very large indoor koi pond which is rather delightful.

[Tybee]

Just had mine at my tiny little rural hospital, and it was very quick, although getting an appointment can take 10 weeks.

[Teacher Terry]

I am a mid size town person. I don’t like living in a small town and I can’t imagine living in a huge city either.

[Tradd]

I’m a suburbanite.

I’ve now lost 5lbs on WW. Still experimenting with what I can eat, portion sizes, etc.

[Teacher Terry]

My sister lives in a very nice suburb of Chicago but I have always hated driving there and wouldn’t live there. Her career took her there and she never liked it but stayed after retirement because her friends are all there. The biggest town I have lived in is Milwaukee which in the 70’s was a great city.

[Tradd]

My sister lives in a very nice suburb of Chicago but I have always hated driving there and wouldn’t live there. Her career took her there and she never liked it but stayed after retirement because her friends are all there. The biggest town I have lived in is Milwaukee which in the 70’s was a great city.

It depends which suburb. I’m in the NW suburbs and traffic isn’t particularly bad.

[catherine]

Our rural rinky-dink health center is OK, as you know, but I love the UVM Medical Center in Burlington. It's a very good healthcare center, had great doctors and everything is close by and it all has a small-town feel.

Our next-door neighbor had a heart attack last weekend, around 9pm on Friday night. We called 911 and drove behind the ambulance to the ER. The place was like a library it was so quiet! Not quite like the ERs in New Jersey!! (Actually The Medical Center in Princeton is not bad--we lived halfway between that hospital and Robert Wood Johnson, which was definitely more of an urban hospital).

[SiouzQ.]

A photo of the dining room K took on his commute to the living room (home office) yesterday morning!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5279

[iris lilies]

A photo of the dining room K took on his commute to the living room (home office) yesterday morning!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5279
oh that wall color! I am sad that I was never able to own a house in the southwest with all those great colors and that charming unique architecture.

when I see southwestern/Mediterranean/south of the border/Spanish styled architecture here in the Midwest, it’s always arresting. It’s weird and out of place, but it’s arresting.