We had a good start for the day by going downtown to the Holiday Inn Downtown to meet Tom Harton for breakfast.  Tom came to town with friends who had business here and he was with them except this morning.  It was good to see him outside of Indps.  Afterward Tom gave Tom a ride around downtown Grand Rapids and pointed out a lot of progress that has been made in the last several years.  It was a tour for me too because I have not been downtown in years and many changes have been made since I worked there in 1973. 

I had to get up at 7:30 this morning and I'm ready for a nap!

Mary Ann

Sounds like everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  We did also.

The weather has been so pleasant over the Christmas holidays.  Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the year.

A Good Friday HELLO to ALL ☃️

I enjoyed reading all of your posts. THANKFULLY it seems every one had a nice Christmas Day.  JACKIE, one of the best conversations we had with our grands was all of us commenting our thoughts about the many people in the world that are not as blessed as we are and YOU were my person to discuss.  I am so happy you were picked up and taken to the hospital for the meal and friendship.  I know it had to be hard to go back to your empty home😢

PATRICIA, I sure enjoyed watching the trains.....it was rather mesmerizing to me.  Thank you for sharing this. 

We, too, had a wonderful couple of days.  Being one of the blessed ones, as many of us definitely are......it could not have been any nicer OTHER THAN IF ALL of OUR family could have been together🙏🙏

We were with Dave, Michele and the children for Christmas Eve.  This was their 16th year of their traditional crab fest🦀🦀🦀.  Dave has it down to a science on just how long to boil the crab and it is perfect!  The children are so excited to be outside with dad, playing a bit with them as they are alive when we buy them!  It is quite the sight to see.  Luke, the second son was the one that ate the most crab...he was first to start and last to finish.  He was cracking that crab like he was a professional😘 We also had a beautiful Yule Log which is also part of the tradition.  We all enjoyed Daddy reading the Night Before Christmas and then it was time for the kiddos, and grandparents to head off to bed🥱🥱😴😴
Christmas morning was wonderful as always, and everyone enjoyed it🥰

We came home with Lola the Doodle Doggie, as Dave and Family were flying to Arizona the following day.  They are going to visit my Dad today and they were all so excited.

After we got cleaned up, we headed off to our youngest son and DIL's home for Christmas Dinner. Of course Lola went with us as she and Brian's Dog Oliver Doodle are besties and love to play together.  Brian and Cathy fixed the most beautiful and tasty prime rib dinner.  They both love to cook and everything is freshly made, including the salad dressing and we ALL enjoyed everything so much.  There was no room left in the tummy for the apple pie, so they cut a piece to share and the rest of the pie as well as all left overs from the meal were sent home with us.  There is enough prime rib left for two more meals.  We will be having left overs today and I am really looking forward to it!  We ate very lightly yesterday as we were still full, and I thought I probably would not eat for a week🤪....and yet here I am ready to tie in to it again❣️

Breakfast is over and I need to get ready to head out to a couple of stores.....yes, I know I am crazy, but I want to buy a few Christmas items that will be marked down today.

Enjoy your day, everyone☃️☃️

Jenny

Kendrick and I had our naps and he is continuing his, just in a different location. I remarked about your lovely day, Jenny, in the SS, and it sounded like a wonderful day for all of you. 

We will go to Holland Saturday to be with James and his family and that should be fun. 

Jean, if it were a little warmer here (37 degrees now), we would have Florida weather.  It has been a long time since we've had such a mild Christmas.  Since Tom does the driving, I don't care if it snows, but driving 40 miles there and back, I'd much rather have dry pavement.  People mention parents worrying about adult children driving in bad weather, aunts worry too!

Mary Ann

That train track. Unbelievable . Took some smart people to do it. I love trains.

Good morning to all who post or read here.

Jenny, sounds like your Christmas was wonderful, and that Michele and your Dad, were both feeling well enough to enjoy all the festivities. Your Dad must have been pleased to have Dave and family fly into AZ to visit him. So nice of them to make the effort!   Cracked crab, is also a big Christmas dinner dinner item here in California. We get the fresh Dungeness crab, straight from local commercial fishermen, near us here in Santa Cruz.  Ours has already been freshly boiled, and is ready to eat when we buy it.  Yummy!

Mary Ann - You and Tom are most likely on your way to Holland, to spend a late Christmas, with you family there.  I know you'll have a good time, and will enjoy watching the girls unwrap their presents.  Per usual, I'll be hoping to see some pictures? 

Hello to  JeanneP, Jackie, MarsGal and Sue!   Hope you have all recovered from your Christmas celebrations, and are ready for New Years Eve?  Hard to believe it will be 2020, in just a few days!

Good morning from a cool minus sixteen Interior. All is quiet and all festivities over for the moment. I don't think anyone in my group does a New Year's party or evening anymore. We're probably all long asleep by then! There was talk of a New Year's Day brunch, but that didn't get too far.  As usual, I have emails to write and calls to make that I've been avoiding, and that must get done today.

I hope everyone looking in or posting to our small group has a wonderful, New Year with no pain, illness undefeated, or accident! Let 2020 be a joyful one for all!

Good day Marilyne, Patricia, et.al. Gosh, half the day is gone already.

It is about 52^o here, but it feels colder, probably because of the dampness still lingering. The sun is shining so that should dry things up, maybe enough to do some leaf raking again.

Things have slowed down considerably on the St. Clair River. I did watch USGS Bristol Bay pull up the buoys at Port Huron/Point Edward and replace them with the winter buoys. Right now she is down on the Detroit River doing, I expect, the same thing. Several ships, coming from both directions are heading for the St. Clair, but they are all hours away yet. I was going to check the ice conditions on the St. Lawrence at the Port of Quebec, but it seems their webcam is down at the moment.

Well, I guess I will go see what kind of "trouble" I can get into this afternoon.

Just stopping by to wish everyone  A Very Happy New Year !

Sounds like everyone had a nice Christmas.  Now back to getting things put back to normal and start planning things for 2020.    Hope it will be a good, Healthier and Happier year for everyone.  I think we all deserve that !!

Have a good Saturday.

Joy

I have read of Jenny's Dungeness crabs and remember Mary Page's steamed blue crabs but has anyone tried Alaska's, King Crab? It's quite large and comes in red, blue, golden or snow.

I posted two photos in our photo site

https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?msg=166808

Hello Joy, I see we were posting at the same time.

The Right Diet for An Inactive Cat;

https://iheartcats.com/the-right-weight-loss-diet-for-your-cat/?iid=BottomRelatedPosts

Hard to believe that it will soon be 2020.  The years are going by too quickly.

My mother hated any type of seafood but my dad loved it so she cooked it occasionally.  My dad liked soft shell crabs so I've eaten those fried.  My favorite is crab cakes.  I've never had boiled hard shell crabs.  It all sounds good to me right now as we haven't had our "big" meal of the day.

My daughter gave me an interesting item for cooking pasta in the microwave.  I'm planning on trying it soon.  You put the pasta in the bottom and then add 10 ounces of water and cook for 10 minutes.  It has a sort of rubber type top.  If it works, it would save having to use a big pan of water on the stove.  Has anyone used one of these gadgets?

It is overcast here but warm.  We stopped by the library and grocery store and the breeze was a warm breeze but moist.  According to the weather app we will have warm weather until Jan. 6th when we will have a cold snap.  Time will tell.

Nice reading all the posts.  

Marsgal, hope you don't get into too much trouble. 😁

Mary Ann, you'll be celebrating your second Christmas gathering today.  I know you will enjoy seeing those precious little girls.

I'm thinking of all of you and so glad to hear that everyone is enjoying the holidays.  Jackie, I'm sure this has been a difficult time but I'm glad you did have some joy on Christmas.

We had a lovely day with James and Alicia and the girls.  Annie/Cate went with us, so there were five adults and the twins.  Both Tom and I hit the hay as soon as we got back home.  We left about 10:45 and got home about 4:30 and that is  too much for this old lady!  Even after my nap, I'm tired.  We opened gifts then ate.  Dinner was roast beef, carrots, potatoes and gravy; for dessert pumpkin, apple and/or rhubarb pies.  I had slivers of each pie.  There is no need to eat more today.  While it was overcast, we had no snow.  It might not feel like Christmas, but I was happy to see no snow.

Bubble, those were good pictures you posted in the photos folder.  Sunny is so cute I know your family will enjoy having him around.  Patricia, I had seen pictures of King crabs too, in fact, I went to a birthday party at a restaurant years ago and a young man across the table from me ordered them; we thought because they were the priciest thing on the menu.

Jean, I have not seen a picture of your daughter's gift, but I wonder if we took a relatively deep micro dish and put 10 oz of water in it over pasta if we'd get the same results.  I fear the pan would be too heavy for me.

Mary Ann

FlaJean...
...yes three hours only of " joy " on Christmas Day...the rest of Christmas and the coming New Years Day i have been, will be, all by myself, one of the loneliest Christmas's in the past 20 years...

I'm up and I'm almost ready for the day and I decided I am too tired to go to church.  So I called Dot to let her know.  I slept good last night but I need more sleep.  I'll get that when Tom is gone. 

It looks like a dreary day for us, but still no snow.  I think of years past and this one too with the young kids wanting sleds, skis, skates and the like for Christmas, then not being able to use them.  Growing up, we lived in a house with a sloping drive and Norm and I would slide down our drive.  Actually, we had the least slope and as you went west, the drives were steeper until the house at the top of the hill where their drive was level with the road.  But the sloping drives were used until the dads shoveled them so they could get up and into their garages.  But we had plenty of empty lots where we could play - all year long..

Mary Ann

Mary Ann - I saw your post in SS, that the girls were happy with the cupboard that your father made, so long ago.  Little ones, are always intrigued with drawers and doors, that can actually be opened, closed, and filled with things.  I'm sure your Dad would be pleased to know that it has been saved all these years, and now still in the family, and enjoyed by his great-great grandchildren! 

Jean - I was wondering the same thing as Mary Ann about the new microwave container, to cook pasta?  it must be a shallow pan, that cooks mostly with steam?  There are a few frozen veggies available now, that come with a vented plastic pan underneath.  The microwave heat melts the water in the pan, and ten it boils, and the veggies are steamed.   Tell us a little more about yours?  If it's not heavy, then I think I would like it?

Joy - Good to see a message from you yesterday!  I hope we soon hear from Beverly,  and others who only post occasionally, like Shirleyn, and Johann.

Paul just floated by quietly through Marine City.  At first all I could see were lights but I did see the silhouette of the ship as it got closer.  One of the chatters wrote that Kaye Barker was waiting in Lake Huron because of storms to the north, but my radar did not show any rain or storms there. 

I snacked much of the day and when Tom asked about supper I said I wanted something substantial, so he went to Wendy's and got me a hamburg.  Because of his weight loss program, Tom does not stop at Wendy's; he has lost nearly 20 pounds but I don't know when he started.  Lately it's been between one and two pounds a week. 

It is 52 degrees here now and that is hard to believe.  I think we'll go lower next week.  I don't have any appointments until January 10 or so and I am happy about that.

Robin is coming tomorrow and she has invited me to join her and Tom on New Years Eve and I think I'll go.  I've spent many NYE here so I'll make a change.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann, there were four of them waiting near Sarnia Anchorage a few minutes ago, but I now see that Algoma Innovator is making a move now, but not really going anywhere. Two other ships on the lake are keeping close to the Canadian shore. Algoma Sault is anchored just inside Lake Michigan. I wonder if she is sitting there for the same reason.

It is raining here again this morning and foggy with a temp currently of 41^o. I haven't got anything specific planned for today.

MarsGal, it is two hours since you posted and the same four ships are in Lake Huron.  I looked at radar and it is doing everything in Michigan - rain in the lower part, snow further up and at the Soo it looks like a mix.  The radar doesn't show wind but I think wind would deter the ships more than rain or snow.  The water is warm enough yet for them to get through. 

It is 40 degrees here now.

Mary Ann

Yeah, I saw that. I think Kaye and Innovator were just adjusting how they were in relation to the waves and wind. I see Presque Isle is out past the four of them and slowing down. Don't know yet if it will park like the others or not. It is pointed in the wrong direction for Two Harbors.'

NWS forcast for today on Lake Huron. https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=dtx&product=glf&issuedby=lh

Is it my imagination or is Marine Traffic showing more buoys on Lake St. Clair above the Detroit River?

MarsGal, I see what you mean about buoys on Lake St Clair; I think I had noticed them, but not as an increase in number.  Reading the forecast, especially about the wind and waves, I wonder if the weather is responsible.  If ships want to get to Duluth and Superior area, they had better start up as the Soo will shut down in two weeks.  Ships that go to the Duluth area will have any repairs necessary done up there.  Probably others will stay in the St Lawrence area when the river freezes over.  Right now, it doesn't seem that we should have a big freeze, but our temperature has dropped a bit since morning.

Mary Ann

It is bright and sunny here today after several overcast days.  I put a roast, potatoes and carrots in the crockpot this morning but neither one of us was too hungry.  We ate a big breakfast later than usual.  But we will have good leftovers.

Mary Ann, sounds like you have a nice New Year's visit.  We will do our usual New Year's Eve---Larry will snooze and I will try to find a decent New Year's Eve program on TV.  Haven't really enjoyed New Year's Eve programming since they changed all the music, etc..  I'm feeling my age!

Marilyne, I used my new pasta gadget last evening and fixed some spaghetti.  I put several ounces of spaghetti in the thing, covered it with water and cooked it for 10 min.  It actually worked!  No mess and so easy.  It looks like this.

Well, after I posted the photo it didn't let me add anything.  Hope everyone will have a good 2020.  It is a little breezy here.  My computer is in front of a window and I can look up and see my wind chimes moving but can't hear them.

Not too many posters today.  I guess everyone is busy?  Have a good day!

Jean, if a person has a perforated top to go on a pyrex bowl, I would think that would work.  10 oz of water is just over a cup - 1 1/8 cup?  I don't have a proper top, but my pyrex bowls have lids that allow venting.  I don't eat that much pasta so probably will not try anything, but it is a nice looking piece of equipment - and it worked!

I found out more about my New Years Eve - we will go to a restaurant for supper and that will be it.  Robin has to go to bed early because she has to work New Years Day and get there early.  She is a phlebotomist at one of our hospitals.

Robin is here now and I'll have to find something for her to do after she changes my bed.  I didn't see any bedding in the linen closet and I think Tom had not dried them yet!  I have a time with my laundry because Tom does it as I don't go to the lower level.  I put the basket at the head of the stairs and it stays there for a few days.  Tom takes the basket downstairs and it is another week before I get my laundry!  I'd like to get a small washer for the upstairs bath, but it would involve remodeling the bath and an adjacent closet and I don't want to go through that. 

We're down to 33 degrees now and a rain snow combo is expected Tuesday.  I'm happy I'm not driving.

I just looked at Lake Michigan from the link at the bottom of my post and there are a lot of whitecaps.  Several of the freighters are anchored in or near ports because they don't want to be on the lakes when it is very windy.  The Edmund Fitzgerald went down in Lake Superior many years ago; the lakes are deep and waves are huge at times.

Mary Ann

Jean
Now is that pasta maker one that you just put in the microwave?

I'm late posting here today.  Usually I write something first thing in the morning, but today I needed to respond to Christmas emails, from a couple of old friends, two cousins, and my sister-in-law.   As you all know, I tend to get carried away once I start writing, so it took the better part of the morning for me to finish.   Then AJ and I went to Safeway, and  bought a huge amount of groceries to last us over New Years Eve and Day. 

Jean - I'm intrigued with the pasta cooker, and will definitely look at them on Amazon.  Not sure if I'll buy one, as I don't cook from scratch anymore.   However, I love spaghetti or any pasta, and used to prepare it often.  I miss it, so I may be tempted.  Thanks for posting the picture.  It looks like an easy container to handle.

MarsGal - You and Mary Ann, are doing a good job, following the various ships on the lakes, as they begin to wind down for the Winter.  I remember last year, being so disappointed when there were no ships to watch, and we were relegated to watching the ice fishing shacks out on the lake, and the fishermen arriving or leaving with their catch. 

Mary Ann - Sounds like fun for New Years Eve, to go out for dinner with Tom and Robin.  Exactly what does a phlebotomist do?  I know it has to do with blood, so I assume it is some sort of laboratory work?    You're very patient with Tom, as far as your laundry is concerned!  That's a long time for you to wait, and I'm afraid that I would start turning cranky, after a couple of days.  Of course I understand that he has responsibilities, and other things that he has to get done every day, and isn't at home a lot of the time.  Laundry is not a priority for most men! ha ha   Maybe that's something Robin can help you with, on the days that she is there?

SHAME ON ME.....I have been so lazy today.  I can hardly bring myself to do much of anything. 

Yesterday was a delightful day.  We picked up easy things for our meal together at our youngest son and DIL's home.  A spiral ham,  pre-made scollop potatoes, pre-made Mac and cheese, a bag of beautiful Brussel Sprouts, a veggie tray and some dinner rolls.  The four of us watched the first half of our Bronco Game, before the oldest son and family arrived about 3.  We all had a wonderful visit and everyone enjoyed the meal.  Before we knew it the time came that Bob and I needed to head for home.  We are still watching Lola Doodle as Dave and Family did not return from Arizona until nearly 10 PM.  THE Boston Family stayed at Brian's Home, as the Boston DIL is highly allergic to cats and can not stay here at our home😢😩.  They came by and picked a Bob up around 6:30 so he could drive them to the airport as we will keep Kurt's car here at our house as he will return over Presidents Day Weekend with college friends and they will all stay at his place in Vail and get some skiing done. 

JEAN, your pasta cooker looks interesting.  It appears that you would have to break spaghetti in half, to fit into the container? So you do not have to totally emerge the pasta in the water for it to cook, or do you? 

MARY AÑÑ, it made me smile when I read about how the twins liked the cupboard.  I can understand how you feel about it, but how wonderful it is that you have passed it down to the younger generation to enjoy.  I just wonder which of the girls will end up with it many years from now? 

PATRICIA, I am familiar with the snow King Crab, but had no idea they came in other colors.  I am going to go and check them out.  We lived in Mississippi for a short time after we were married and we went crabbing there and caught the Blue Crab.  They were smaller tho and quite hard to pick the meat out of them, but they were good.  I tried to go to the site to see the other colored crab and it said "access forbidden"!  Thanks for sharing info about cat diets also.

JEAN, I have had soft shell crab a couple of times when we were on the East Coast. 

MARILYNE, the tradition of having Dungeness Crab started when Dave and Michele lived in Healdsburg CA. We would always drive to the coast and,purchase them back in the day, but now we buy them at a Asian Market that flies them in for commercial restaurants. They were quite a bit less money back then.....the ones we bought for our dinner were $15 a pound. I honestly do not remember how much we payed back then but I would say 7 or 8$ a pound?

Actually, I do not know how they can afford to fly them in here and supply this land locked stated with live crab! 

i am going to get this posted before I loose this....will add more later? 

I can well imagine you would like to have a washer and dryer on the main level, Mary Ann. 

Jenny

It is strictly for the microwave and holds regular length spaghetti.  You can cook any type of pasta but you have to cover the pasta with water.

Mary Ann, I didn't know this until I got this pasta dish but I looked on Google and saw a video—--you can cook up to 8 oz. of pasta in any microwave safe bowl.  Just make sure you cover it with water.  You can cook it for 5 min. And stir it and then cook it another 5 min.  And to think I've been using a heavy pan and waiting 10 or 15 min. just for the water to boil.  Then another ten min. or so for the pasta to cook.  In the video the guy just used a regular glass bowl and no cover.  But glass gets awfully hot.  microwave safe plastic would be safer, I think.

Remember to test your smoke detectors and change their batteries if you haven't done so recently.

Also double-check to make sure that your cat boxes aren't in use before testing the smoke detectors.