I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing.
I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing
than to have answers which might be wrong. I have
approximate answers and possible beliefs and different
degrees of certainty about different things, but I'm not
absolutely sure of anything and there are many things
I don't know anything about...
-- Richard Feynman (1918-1988)

   

The authority of those who teach is sometimes an impediment to those who want to learn.......Cicero

   
Retirement

I worked forty-five years for someone else
So that I could retire.
I dreamed of sleeping late
And sitting by the fire.

I dreamed of long vacations,
Enjoying stage and song.
But, let me set you straight on that concept,
It is simply wrong.

I did junk my safety glasses
And the work boots that cramped my toes.
But, the rest of it had a mind of it's own
And this is how it goes.

My wife had been thinking of retirement
And had plans of her own.
She had spent much time with the kids
But, now they are grown and gone.

We sold our cattle and horses
So we wouldn't have that chore.
I poured concrete over my alarm clock
But, I still wake up at four.

I get my eyes checked on Monday.
She gets hers checked the next day.
I go for a colon check on Wednesday
And pass my wife going the other way.

I have a dental appointment on Thursday
She goes for a test on her heart.
Friday, we go get prescriptions filled
And browse a while at Wal-Mart.

Saturdays, we just stay home
And try to get the paper work right.
We can't take any overnight trips
'Cause we can't see to drive at night.

Restroom confusion keeps us out of church on Sunday
And we really do hate that.
There's nothing wrong with the restrooms,
We just can't remember where they're at.

We don't need to plan next week,
Just make sure we can drive.
And not forget where the hospitals and clinics are.
We'll need them to survive.

So, don't build your castles too high, my friend,
While strolling through the clover.
This is a typical week in retirement
And on Monday we start all over!

Good morning everyone..

Yesterday  was a rather eventful day......some not bad other parts bad. Our eye exams went well. Then we scooted for home knowing traffic was going to be a dickens. We managed to get near home without too much fuss but when we hit our town area traffic slowed to a crawl. Going through town was worse but we needed to pick up meds for Kyle. After supper I started dill pickles  and will do zucchini pickle today, laundry and try a cheese cake in the IP. My neighbour was stopped, signal on to go in her drive way when she war rear ended..not much damage to her vehicle but damage to the car that hit her. She is ok other than her back is sore.

Bubble ,thank you for the new start page..love the graphics and pearls of wisdom.

Enjoy your day everyone..stay safe.

Looks like Bubble has been busy! Great graphics & text. Where do you come up with the sayings? As the saying goes, "they hit the nail on the head"! Thank you for all the time you spend holding us together! Wish I had just a tiny fraction of your PSP smarts!

Cool enough to have sliding door open beside me. Cats fed & wanted out, just sitting by their water bowl (pool). I am going to feed my body & head back to bed. Have a lot of cleaning up & out before the AT&T guys come to switch out my Cox phones & wi-fi in hopes of better service. My family & friends that call are so fed up with having to re-dial several times to finish a conversation. I bought a new router, new "bank" of phones & still dropped calls & wi-fi that is off & on over & over when I am doing e-mail. Here's hoping!

I'll let you know, Gloria, since you also have Cox. I dread changes but put up with this for so long, besides the fact that they never have been able to declare that I am the primary user... after over 7 years since his death & many phone calls because I can't get into the settings to fix or change anything since I am NOT primary! Not but a couple more days and for sure, this set up will be in MY name, even though I was the one that set up Cox (but at that time we females had to put in our husband's Social Security number, even when they didn't use a computer). Won't go on about that old story any more!

It is so pleasant out, the spring we missed but does feel like fall & that is scary since this is the firsr day of August and most dreaded month of the year for me. Hot, dusty and no place to hide from it. We have bugs this year, friend of mine has been fighting some kind of bites like never before, and I live on the other side of town but am getting bites like I never had before. Whatever they are, can't see them but they itch & make lumps. Hope we get a hard enough winter/freeze to kill off the bugs this year. Been here since 1988 & first year absolutely no ice along the river. Had a dusting of snow that didn't need to be shoveled off the driveway. Enough whining... Time for everyone to wake up!  Shirley

You slipped in, Amy. Sorry about your neighbor, sometimes it takes a few days for the bones to lock up after a jolt. Wonder why so much traffic all of a sudden, I've noticed it here as well. Was smiling at the idea the cars seems to be "safe distancing" yesterday when I ran errands. Had a friend many years ago that made the best pickles... she said she used "slack lime", what ever that is. They were so crisp they snapped when you took a bite. I never tried to make them but never forgot that taste & texture.

Good morning everyone, I finally feel pretty rested at last. Yesterday I kept Yve tte busy making some refrigerator pickles. I jus t supervised. My son had also given me some pickling cucumbers. Didn't want to waste them so she said she would do the work, OK. Got 3 quarts in the fridge now, will be ready to eat in 6 days. Hope they come out good. Been years since I last made them.

JANE  hope you and Mickie enjoyed being alone to do just what you felt like doing.

BUBBLE  thanks for reminding me this is August 1st.  For staying inside and away from most people this year has really gone fast so far. Beautiful graphics as usual from you. Retirement is good and now we are is solitary shut in away from most everyone so we don't  get this deadly Covis 19. Thanks for all the goodies today.

AMY  hope you got your pickles made, never heard of zucchini pickles. My daughter makes relish with them.

SHIRLEY  yes I have Cox and would like to get rid of it but the owners of these senior buildings are wired for Cox and we cannot change, they will not let anyother carriers in. We have a lot of trouble with them, too. I agree with you, we need a good old time winter with freezing cold and snow.

Have a good day and stay safe.

Good morning everyone. well I have just been up a short while. I had a hard time getting to sleep Last night,but when i got to sleep stayed at it for a good late sleep. haven't had my morning meal yet. so i am off for my cloistral shot and a bowel full of honey bunches of oats, and a cup of hot chocklet with some marshmallows in it. sun has finely came out. have a great day everyone.

Lloyd

Good Morning Everyfriend!  It's been a totally frustrating one for me.  I held off coming in because I didn't want to risk having to talk to myself.  I've been doing enough of that right here.  My bank recently change from MC to Visa and I need to make some changes to my accounts.  One of them keeps telling me that my password is incorrect enough times that I have to change it and then it won't accept the new password.  I'm so frustrated I could scream but I don't want to scare anyone in TEXAS!

It's a bit cooler here too this morning.  I have the windows open for some fresh air.  It was down to the mid 60s overnight and it's low 70s right now and not supposed to past the mid 80s for the day.  Rain is predicted for this evening but I'll believe that when I see it!  We've had so many predictions for rain that never comes that I've become a bit of a skeptic.

BUBBLE, thank you for the nice, new, clean, beautiful place to hang out!  I love it all!  You really do take good care of us!

Now I have to bid you all adieu!  My personal shopper (daughter Cathy) is almost finished at the grocery store and I have to get ready to put stuff away when she gets here!  I wish you all a pleasant day!  Make it your own in every way!  And don't forget to share it with your friends in the nice clean new Soda Shoppe!

Happy August Oneth!

Maybe those of us with Cox should join the crowd and have a Protest.

I have two t.v's.  One has that Cox  Contour and the other has basic cable.  Thursday night - the remote for the one with Contour stopped working.  The buttons on the set and the remote that came with it will turn it on but only show one channel.  The other one will turn on either way but the screen is fuzzy and it says "no connection".
Changed batteries in both remotes - same results.  Son was here and tried various things - no luck.

Called Cox and was told the wait to talk to a tech would be "more than 5 minutes".  Since I was waiting on a call from my grocery shopper about a delivery, I couldn't wait.

Have finished Domestic Duties and am now going to gather all information, call Cox and settle into the recliner with my Tablet to play games and read e-books while I wait to be connected.
I will NOT pay for a weekend "house call" but am hoping to get an appointment ASAP after the weekend.

If you see smoke rising from this direction, you can say, "There goes Callie - blowing her top!" 

A good Saturday HELLO to EVERYFRIEND 🦋

Remember when Our Gladys used to come in on the first day of the month and say "White Rabbit 🐇🐇 White Rabbit"?  Such a sweet lady..oh how I miss her and the many special telephone conversations we used to have 😢🦋

Seems many enjoyed a nice cooler morning.  We did as well.  It was delightful having my coffee out n the deck with my fountain flowing and helping me to enjoy it😘

THANK YOU, BUBBLE, for our nice new gathering spot with all of the nice things you shared with us today 💐 I especially enjoyed the RETIREMENT poem.  It certainly hit home with me 😘

AMY, your day yesterday seemed might6 busy.  Sorry about your friends mishap....people just follow much too closely.  I hope she will not have long lasting issues with her back.

SHIRLEY, I do hope A T & T service will prove to be better for you overall, and AT LEAST it is in your name🤪🤪 It has been a good long time since I remember biting into a pickle that actually SNAPPED...wish I had one right now!

Gloria, so happy Yvette and you got your pickles made.....sounds yummy and something nice to look forward to!

JANE, hope you got all of your groceries put away and you are enjoying your afternoon. 

HELLO CALLIE.....I sure hope I do not see smoke coming from your direction....hope they can help you with your issue!

Enjoy your day, EVERRYFRIEND.

Jenny

Update:  I waited it out and a very nice, friendly, lady tech worked patiently with me on both tv sets.  It was amazing to see things change on my cable box as she managed things from El Paso - way out in far west Texas!! I marvel at the minds who were able to figures out all these machines that are used today for electronics and medical tests/procedures.
Unfortunately, she was unable to fix anything and scheduled an appointment for a local tech to come on Tuesday afternoon. I don't mind waiting since I can get one channel.  However, she put me on Standby for an earlier appointment and I will move things around if I need to .
I am pleased.

Callie, I bought my little antennas from Sam's Club, 2 in a box for either $40 or $60. & after attaching the first one I ran & got one for each TV. NOW I don't have to wait for Cox for good TV.  I get the 3 local channels & a lot of others, mainly GRIT & ME... those are the no-brainers that have either Westerns or old sit-coms/game shows etc I looked on Amazon & a whole bunch of different kinds, same brand ...darn tried to copy the link but didn't like. It is the Mohu leaf brand....in case you're interested. Don't get Hallmark or the "pay for" channels but my son does all the extras for movies, etc. I never sit down long enough to watch a whole movie & sometimes watch a movie several times & see something new each time! 

I went back to bed, nothing to show for my day but plan to weed whip the berm before I take my Sat.night shower. I was hoping it would stay cool enough to wear long pants to put into boots (like Amy suggested)... got hot so that ain't gonna happen! Guess I will spray all over me & get the job done & scrub it & bugs off when done. My heart is NOT in this job.

CDC, yestersay at 4:20 PM.

SALMONELLA OUTBREAK UPDATE: Do not eat, serve, or sell onions from Thomson International, Inc., or food made with them. This includes red, white, yellow, and sweet onions. If you don't know where your onions are from, don't eat them. Throw them away. 396 sick in 34 states. https://go.usa.gov/xfm3p

Hello Everyfriend!  I thought I was going to have company overnight but Frankie came by and picked up her doggie and headed home.  Now I'm ready to head off to bed.  It's supposed to start raining any time now so Mickie and I will make a quick foray into the yard and the head for the haystack!

I wish you all a peaceful night's sleep and a happy, healthy tomorrow.  And may God bless us, every one!

Good Night everyone.shot time Past so I am off to do it anyway and take evening med's and g to bed my self see you all tomorrow.

Lloyd

well I put this sight to bed and am sighing in this morning, what has happened to S&F.seams Shirley and Gloria and I only ones here any more.

Lloyd

Good morning everyone...

A beautiful morning here...gentle rain falling!! We really need this and I hope it keeps up all day.

Yesterday was busier than I thought it would be first laundry, then chopping up the ingredients for the pickle. While it was resting I made a cheese cake in the IP  and baked 2 lemon loaves. After supper I cooked and bottled the pickle. I didn't clean up my mess last night so that will be done then garbage needs to be taken away . Friends are coming to exchange items we bought for each other and then I am going to do...nothing...........nothing at all.

Lloyd....we are all here, Jane, Gloria,  Shirley, Angelface ,Phyllis, Callie, Joy and Jenny.

Better get a movin..

Enjoy your day everyone stay safe.

An early good morning.

I knew I had to get up early this morning, and I had set my alarm, but I woke up about 5 and after not being able to go back to sleep, decided just to get up. 

I have a grocery order coming between 11 and 12, and I need to finish putting some dishes away so there will be room to set it all down.  That will be the "big" chore for today.

Amy, I hope you get to "do nothing" after you get a few things finished up this morning.  I have a lot of days like that.  I have all good intentions of doing "something" but a lot of times, that never happens.  I am sure I will have a nap at some point today.

Hope everyone will have a nice Sunday.

Joy

Good morning.  I'm here, too, though not as early as some of you.  I slept a little later than usual.  It is hot, humid, and sunny this morning.  The good news is the storm is a tropical storm rather than a hurricane....the bad news is it has turned further inland so it will come closer to where I live.  We will get a lot of rain...which we don't need...and some wind.  But, it is moving fast so it shouldn't stay around long.  It will pass by early on Tues.

No plans for today so will just take it easy.....as usual.

Take care, All.

Good morning everyone! There is a new Brainteaser in the house!

https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?msg=182177

Whoo!!!  I'm just getting in here.  It's been a busy day.  I finally made it to the Farmers Market up on the hill.  I bought some blueberries for Frankie, a cantelope, some cherries, and some green beans to can.  Or maybe just to make green beans.  My plan when I bought them was to have them cleaned and ready to can by Wednesday and then buy more at the other Farmer's market or the Amish farm stand and can them all at one time.  We shall see!

I have to make a trip to the drug store to pick up Frankie's prescriptions for her because it will be closed when she gets home from work.  And I'm waiting for a technical phone call.  I hope it comes soon so I'm not driving into the sunset on my way home from the drug store.  Things just seem to happen and usually at the wrong time.

We had some very nice rain overnight.  I think this one actually hit the ground and soaked in a bit.  It had started when I was getting ready for bed and the road was still wet when I got up!  So it was a pretty good one.

I think I'm going to take the doggies out and rest my eyes until 4 oclock and then assume that the technician isn't going to call me today!  Then I can head out and pick up Frankie's prescriptions.

I hope everyone's day is going well and you are all enjoying whatever it is that you're doing.  If you are enjoying it, keep doing it.  If you're not enjoying it QUIT!

This lovely rainy day made me sleepy so off to bed for a nap...both dogs joined me.  Only work I have done is pick and cut up rhubarb for my friend, she now has it to make jam.

Jane, I was wondering where you were..happy to read everything is ok . Hope the call comes in and you don't have to drive into the sun.

This bein g a long holiday has traffic  thick as the hair on a dogs back!! I for one can't wait till Sept.

Going to have chicken  in the IP along with mushrooms.....will let you know if the recipe is a keeper or not.

Well, I almost had to talk to myself again.  The blueberries are washed and ready for Frankie to eat them.  The cherries are clean and beginning to dwindle.  And the beans are cleaned and ready to be canned.  And the cantelope is cut off the rind, in a bowl and begging to be eaten for breakfast.  And I picked my first 'mater off the vine in the yard!  Gonna eat it for lunch tomorrow.

Now I'm ready for bed and as soon as Frankie gets here from work and we have a little time together, I'll be off to the haystack and some snoozing.  She doesn't have to get up early tomorrow so it'll be the doggies and me first thing in the morning.

AMY, you did read that I've given up on the Instant Pot, didn't you?  I gave it to Christy and she's getting into it.  So if you share any recipes, I'll pass them on to her. 

I wish you all a peaceful night's sleep and a happy, healthy tomorrow.  And may God bless us, every one!

And I am also off to bed. I do think I could just curl up on the floor and sleep through the night. Back when we were kids and aunts & uncles came to visit with their kids, and lots of times we'd just stretch out & go to sleep while the grown ups talked. Sweet dreams to all and God Bless. See ya tomorrow.  Shirley

Goo Morning everyone. well it is better this morning, 64º now and says we are going for high of 76º, now that is livable. hope you all have a great day.

Lloyd

Good morning everyone..

Yesterday was a lazy day, I did get the minimum of chores done including cutting up 12 cups of rhubarb for my friend and that was it! We exchanged goodies when they came ,her daughter had picked up 2 boxes each of rolled oats at Costco. Found a nap that hadn't been used so used it!.

Due to the pouring rain we didn't go to the dump so that is on the agenda this morning  then home to see what I can avoid doing

Jane, we had the New York cheese cake last night  and a little slice goes a long way. Very rich along with the cherry topping. I took half over to the neighbour to enjoy (and wear)    I will send the recipes to you for Christy. You have your work cut out for you with all the canning ahead of you.

Shirley, often on a weekend we would find company that had come in from the US sleeping on the couch chairs and floor. They would tip toe in and settle down. That was back in the day when you never locked your home up....good times.

Joy , I sure did.....didn't feel guilty either doing nothing. Hope all is well your way.

Patricia, thank you for the heads up on the onions..

Gloria, where are you??

Phyllis, we had a lovely rain yesterday an they say all this week we are to get more. Grass is coming back to life again now.

Lloyd, good morning to you and Nancy...

Enjoy your day everyone..stay safe.