A beautiful day here in Northwest Florida.  Supposed to get up to 73° today.

Marilyne, I'm with you on Breakfast.  I seldom eat cereal and if I do it is late evening and I like a banana cut up in it.  I do enjoy an occasional bowl of oatmeal but never for breakfast. Breakfast is my eggs and toast time.

We live close to the Naval bombing range and we've heard the bombs dropping several days this week.  I guess it is good weather for training the pilots, but it can be occasionally noisy for short periods of time.  

I love to see the sun shining.  Have a good day everyone.

GOOD EVENING....

It was a nice sunny day after a bit of snow overnight. 

We are getting ready for our first trip during this pandemic....getting on a airplane is a bit daunting to me to be very honest, but we have a need to do this, so off we will go.  Going to visit our SoCal Family before they leave the Palm Springs.  We are going to drive one of the sons car to Arizona and will see my dad.  Then we decide if we are going to return to Denver or drive straight on to their new home in NW Arkansas. It sure is going to be strange to be out and about driving around and being in a different areas after being home bound for so long🤪

MARILYNE, the drive to NW AR will be about 11 1/2 hours, vs nearly 14 to Phoenix.  We were quite surprised when we figured it out.  I was surprised when I looked at the area on the map how close it is to OK and MO.  I have always wanted to go to Branson and it is no distance from Springdale where Mark will be.  They are super excited about their new adventure and we are too! We have always enjoyed Denny's and the Grand Slam.  What a bargain it used to be.  Sadly, we have very few of them in the Denver area and none at all near us.  The last time we flew into John Wayne in Cali we ate at one that was very near to where you live.

SHIRLEY, without a doubt you and Danny are the luckiest ones in how you were able to get your vaccines! Happy for you, and glad you had no ill effect from them.  My dad FINALLY got a appointment at one of the local grocery store pharmacies in AZ.  In AZ we will be right by many of the spring training fields but they say they are all sold out of tickets, so guess that is out.  Years ago when we lived in Scottsdale we used to attend many spring training games. 

MARSGAL, I, too was born in 1947 and I remember many things on the list that DONKLIN shared with us.  I really enjoyed reading them.  Bob and I often say that we think we were born at a very good time.  Bob was born in 1943.

Time to start some dinner.....enjoy the rest of your evening.

Jenny

Mornin' all!

It is not going to be very warm today. Right now it is 31^o, only to go up to 37^o. The weather forecast is calling for clouds, but they haven't shown up yet.

Last night I watched a clip of damage done by the New Zealand earthquakes. And, oh, there were two cows stranded on a small, and I do mean small piece of land which got detached from the main land. No way for them to get off the drop on one side is into the ocean, the other is too steep and deep for them to cross. I do hope someone has found a way to rescue them before that little piece of land crumbled too. They were huddled together and looked thoroughly miserable. About 56 seconds in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF2fR67E-H0

This morning, it was another meteor/bolide, this time in England. Several of these large, relatively slow moving object have been reported lately. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAB_kwC_ASM

Alpena is on the move. It is just leaving Cleveland now, so I will be on the lookout as she heads up to Lake Huron.

I haven't go anything planned for today, but there is always plenty of housework to do, and of course, reading.

Good morning, nothing new here as I'm still recovering, and anything I posted about that would end up as a PITA, so I'll let it go at that.

Good Saturday morning everyone.  Same old - Same old here.  We did get a light shower here last night, which was measured at one/100th  of an inch.  Not near enough to water the yard, or help to clear some of the pollen out of the air.  A whole lot  of sneezing going on around here lately!

Jenny - I looked at Springdale, on my Atlas, and see that it is way up there in the corner of AR.  It looks to be close to Fayetteville, which I think is a fairly large city?  It will be fun and interesting to drive through Arkansas, and maybe stop at the Hot Springs Nat'l Park?  Your Dad will be so happy to see you as you pass through AZ!  It's been a year since the Covid lockdowns started, and of course he has missed seeing you, as well as all his grandsons.  Glad to hear he is finally getting his vaccination.

Patricia - I have no idea what PITA is - haven't heard it used until now.

MarsGal - Strange how we don't see clips of the NZ earthquake on the National News or  CNN?  Same with the raging volcano in Hawaii. Those subjects are deemed to be of no interest to the general public I guess?  If a news story is not about Covid, or Politics, I guess it's not considered worthy of mention?  Fortunately, we can find video's on YouTube, about other subjects.

shirleyn - You're probably having a busy weekend, but drop in and say 'Hello' if you have time.

Jean -  Hope to hear from you also?

Callie - It's been a while since you posted?  Hoping all is well?

Marilyne, US news and weather is insular, concerned mainly with the continental US. Also PITA is an acromin for Pain in the a__.

Good Afternoon,

Marilyne,  all is more than well in my world!  This is the 4th beautiful day in a row and, although the trees and plants aren't "springing to life" because of the ice storm in October and the recent blizzard, it is lovely to be outdoors for a while.

#1 son took me out for pizza yesterday.  First time I'd been in a restaurant in a year.  (Come to think about it, I think he took me to an Italian restaurant then, too.)  I ordered an individual pizza with cheese and crumbled sausage - and ate every bite!

I've been busy organizing family history and putting together materials for another family story. 

The house I grew up in was a "sprawling" farm house on 165 acres.  Sons discovered it's listed for sale and the ad has lots of interior pictures which are much different from what they remember.  And that memory is very different from what it looked like before my parents remodeled when I was in 7th grade.
Sons and grandson are interested in the history of the house and grandson wants to know when/how/why his great-great grandparents came to Indian Territory.

So....another project for me.

Northwestern Arkansas is a beautiful area with lots of fun things to do and see.  It's in the Ozark mountains and, while not anything compared to the Rockies, has its own beauty.
 
The University of Arkansas is in Fayetteville. I went to summer camp near Rogers as a young girl and worked as a counselor there one summer during college.  We went into Fayetteville on our days off.

Hot Springs is more in the southwestern part of the state and quite a drive from the northwestern corner.
Branson is "tons of fun" with lots more to do besides see shows - which you can - or could pre-covid) do about 3 times a day!

Thus endeth today's lecture.   

Hope Everyfriend is having an Enjoyable Day.

   

This bit of news (trivia) will no doubt confound a lot of you, but most will remember.  I had this Ear Bug for some reason this A.M., a song my mother used to sing to me:  "Down in the meadow is a little bitty pool, with three little fishies and the mama fishie too.  Swim, said the mama fishie, swim if you can, so they swam and they swam right over the dam".  After much searching, I finally found a YouTube of a group that recorded it back in the late 30's.  It has the best sound quality, and you can understand the lyrics better, with another verse or two.  There was one with a "name" band of that time, but they kind of veered off the purpose of the song IMHO.

Maybe Oldiesmann can post the good one in his forum.

Tome, I remember that song as well and sang it to my daughter.

The Three Little Fishies, was #1 on the Hit Parade, in 1939.  I was five years old, and remember it well.  Very popular with the kindergarten set!  We all knew the words, and sang it for many years afterwards.   

Here is the music by Kay Kyser and his Orchestra. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-963CTDLy68

Hard to understand the lyrics, so here they are as well:

Three Little Fishies
Kay Kyser (#1 in 1939)
- words and music by Saxie Dowell

Down in the meadow in a little bitty pool
Swam three little fishies and a mama fishie too
"Swim" said the mama fishie, "Swim if you can"
And they swam and they swam all over the dam

Boop boop dit-tem dat-tem what-tem Chu!
Boop boop dit-tem dat-tem what-tem Chu!
Boop boop dit-tem dat-tem what-tem Chu!
And they swam and they swam all over the dam

There are more verses, but I'll spare you! 

Kay Kyser's YouTube was the one I didn't care for.There may be more than one on there by his orchestra, but the one I played was "meh".

The one by "The Smoothies" was the one I liked!  I was born in January '39.

🎵My bags are packed....I'm ready to go🎵!  It was hard to know what to take as we will be in the 80's....but could be in some colder weather also! 

Patricia.....I tried to look up PITA and could not figure out what you were saying....but now I know hahaha.  I do hope you are feeling better and happy to read you are going to get some assistance.

MARILYN, the NW area of Arkansas is going to be a fun new area to visit.  We are looking forward to it.  So excited to see the family tomorrow and then my dad in a few days. 

CALLIE, not sure about the driving plans but will let you know if we are going to pass near you.  IF not this time, hopefully we will have more opportunities in the future.  It would be great to see you again.  Megan our DIL was so excited to see a Braums in AR. 

Heading off to bed.  Pleasant dreams.

Jenny

Hey everybody – I am here.  I just had a little reaction to my shot on Friday afternoon.  No pain, just a low grade fever.  I slept for three hours, woke up and fixed us some BLT's and then went back to bed and slept for five more hours.  Very unlike me to sleep that long at a time.  Which all left me kind of out of it all day Saturday.  Hopefully I will be back to normal on Sunday.  Right now it is 2 AM and I am wide awake, so will visit the Africa sites for a while and then play games til I get sleepy again. Such is life with me right now.

Of course in my mind I will be singing about the three little fishies in my dreams.  This I learned as a child - many moons ago.

Just a little note - my daughter lived in Mountain View, Arkansas a few years ago.  We visited her there, and enjoyed the area.  While there we went to Branson - got to see Kenny Rogers there - and just drove around the countryside.  Nice area.  Enjoy your trip Jenny!

Okay, that is it for tonight.  Sweet dreams, you'all ~

shirleyn
(~_~)

25^oF with Moon shine at 5:44am here this morning. Looks like is is going to be a sunny day.

PITA is a new one on me too. Love it!

I did get to see Alpena last night. The Detroit was hung up, and I missed her at Algonac, but I did catch her at Marine City. She looked spectacular with all her lights ablaze. At Port Huron she didn't stand out so well against all the other lights there.

I agree, Marilyne. The mainstream media seem to want to continue stirring up their viewers with (mostly) their political half-truths, falsehoods, unsubstantiated accusations, hidden-agendas, and general rabid back-side biting and ignoring the rest of the world. One thing I like about YouTube and similar venues is that you can watch things as they are happening, on and off world. The eye-witness videos without comment can be particularly interesting.

Last night I watched a video of interviews with the veterans of the "Blackhawk Down" fight in Mogadishu years ago. I forgot that there were actually two choppers that went down. The Vets' descriptions of the fighting made me wonder how so many of them actually made it through. Now, all we generally hear about is the Somali pirates. Otherwise it only seems to show up in the news when there is a famine. But I found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYtX--9Ooc4

Good morning. I thought everyone had heard of PITA! It's what my dad, from Missouri, called us kids when we got on his nerves.  I was at least twenty before I actually heard him swear.

MarsGal, I remember the news coverage of Blackhawk down but nothing afterward.

You're watching various ships while I'm looking at lions, giraffes, and Gorillas. Gorillas share 98.3 of our DNA, and you can see it when you watch their behavior among themselves. I watched one scene when a young male in the family group kept making pretend mini charges against his silverback father.

The father placidly watched as his son did this several times while scratching his arm, then his brow. The youngster became emboldened and made one final rush, challenging poor old dad. At the last moment, dad shot out his arm, grabbed junior, held him upside down, then put him in his lap and nuzzled.

Callie - Now interesting, that your sons found a listing for the house that you grew up in!  Did you ever explore all of those 165 acres when you were young?  Did you have neighbors nearby, or were you fairly close to town and to schools?   I would love to see the house where I grew up, in Southern California.  Most of my dreams take place in that house.  We lived there for 14 years, until my parents built a new home in a neighboring town, where they lived the rest of their lives.

MarsGal - there is a movie/documentary available about Blackhawk Down, that I have seen, and is very good.   Also book written by one of the men who was in one of the two choppers.  AJ has read it, but I haven't.  He has also watched and read "Band of Brothers", which is also a true story that took place in WWII.

shirleyn - Sorry you had a reaction to your second Covid shot, but sounds like you slept it off okay?  I had a reaction to my first shot, that lasted quite a long time.   I haven't had the second one.   It sounds like you and I have similar sleeping patterns.   I almost always wake up after two or three hours of sleep.   Impossible to get back to sleep for a couple of hours, so I get up and do other things.  Usually the computer, where I check out all of my cams, and Facebook, and sometimes play some solitaire.   Even the Boat Cams are interesting to look during the night - especially if there's a lot of moonlight.   Often a ship going through the Duluth Canal. Sometimes I clean up the kitchen, if I neglected it earlier after dinner.  In recent years, I'm often just too tired after cooking dinner, to do the kitchen, and I hate to get up in the morning to last night's mess! 

Jenny - We'll be thinking about you while you're on your trip.  It sounds like so much fun!   If you have a chance, keep us posted along the way, as to where you are and what you're doing?  I know you will LOVE seeing Jonah, and your Dad!   

Hi Patricia!  -   Looks like we were posting at the same time.

Good Afternoon,

Patricia, could you provide a link to the website where you watch gorillas?  It's almost scary how similar they are to humans!
I took Miss Ellen to an Intergenerational Elderhostel in St. Louis when she was 9.  One of the "classes" focused on the zoo and, before we went, we had instructions on "how to speak chimpanzee".  We were watching the chimps through big windows when I saw Ellen kneeling near the glass watching a chimp watching her.  She put her fist against the glass in the "hello" signal - and that little chimp held up its fist to her!  She was so thrilled.

Marilyne,  the acreage I grew up on was a mile south of the city limits of our small town.  We could see other houses from ours but nothing like a neighborhood.  Yes, I roamed all over the pastures and "hung out" at the two small ponds near the house.  One had a weeping willow hanging over it and I loved to sit under there and read or daydream.We had a big barn and I also played in the hay loft and learned to milk a cow - but I never could hit the cat's mouth like the adult milkers did. 
 However, my parents were professionals so our life style was more "town" than "rural" and I can't say I ever felt like a "country girl".  

Mother sold the house/acreage and moved to town before we moved from Colorado but we still have a very rural acreage in a different part of the area and my sons - and, now, grandson - go down for hunting season and "just to get away".  They each have a camping trailer on that property.  So they - and I - keep up with my friends who still live there and what's going on around town.

That's more than anyone probably wanted to know about me.  Time to change the subject.
Somebody else's turn....

Hope Everyfriend Everywhere is having an enjoyable day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5ZXH1VkILY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woKcL1DWarg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51d1XLud3Hw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c0YlhgUNFU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDECqJsiGqw

Thanks, Patricia.  These were all very interesting but I thought you meant a live webcam.  That would be really fascinating to watch.

I'm getting a bit bored with the Safari live cam on Djuma.  I thought there'd be more animals doing something other than sleeping and grazing and don't really care about insects, foliage and most birds.
I miss Pete's Pond. 

Callie, I don't think I've seen an animal cam, especially with specific wild animals. The zoos post regularly, and the Japanese zoo's gorilla compound posts daily.

The house I grew up in was demolished when I was twelve, a couple of years after moving to another house. The first house was part of an entire block demolished to build a new fire station, police station, and a new municipal building. The home we moved to is now a home where you can stay for short periods of time, B&B? I don't know the owners.

We're back on the upswing this morning at 17° and snow likely all week. I don't think I've ever seen the amount of humidity and snow we've had this winter. Other than that, nothing new or newsworthy today.

Gorilla brothers and dad play fighting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJqZoFFpuBg

Good morning to all who look into Norm's Bait & Tackle. Nothing on the agenda here today, except a quick trip to the store to get bread eggs, and a few other staple items.  The weather is cooler than usual this morning, with a possibility of rain.  Although we never get any measurable rain this late in the season, we'll take anything we can get . . . even if it's only a trace!

Callie - I enjoyed reading about your childhood home.  It sounds like a lovely country setting . . . the kind you read about in books!  I have a visual "picture" in my mind of the willow tree and the barn.  Nice that you still have some acreage there,  where your sons and grandson, can go for recreation.  I know I'm always asking questions here in S&F.  I don't mean to sound nosy . . .  I'm interested in the different places in the US, and the rest of the world,  where our members were born and raised.

Patricia - you didn't say where the house you grew up in, was located?  I assume it was in Fairbanks, but you have mentioned living in Montrose, CO, so it could have been there?

Jenny - You and Bob must be here in Palm Strings, California right now, enjoying time spent with Jonah!    Soon you will be leaving on your long trip to AZ to see your Dad, and then on to Arkansas.  What a nice break that will be, after a year of Covid isolation.         

I hope we hear from our other regulars today, and also those we haven't heard from in a long time, like Joy?

Marilyne, I grew up in Fairbanks, where both homes were located. One set of grandparents farmed outside Montrose, Colorado, and the other set farmed outside Lamar, Missouri.

Marilyne, the real setting is never quite like a story can make it seem but I see how it could be.
Although I spent quite a bit of time with my friends who lived in town, I wished I could walk out the door and have a neighborhood full of kids to play/hang out with like they did.

However, those friends grew into my high school "crowd", particularly the girls I refer to as "The Super Six".  These friends have never lost touch with each other and the four surviving members regularly text, e-mail and have phone chats to this very day - 80 years after we started First Grade together.

Need to do errands and other useful things.

Enjoy your day, Everyfriend.

Callie - It's wonderful that you were a member of the "Super Six", and that there are still four of you left.  That you all have stayed in touch since first grade, is amazing.  I wish I could say the same, but all of my friends and neighbors are gone now.   

I grew up in a working class suburb of Los Angeles.  It was a great community, and all of us on the cul-de-sac street where I lived, remained friends for many years.  The elementary school we all attended was within walking distance.    Hard to believe, that there were TEN elementary schools in this "small" town, two high schools, and four Parochial schools!  The town was (and is) considered to be very small and insignificant, so gives you an idea of the population of the dozens of cities that surrounded Los Angeles.  The population explosion/mass migration after WWII hadn't even happened yet.

My three best girl friends, are all gone now, as well as all those in my old neighborhood, that I know about, and including my brother.   My high school boy-friend attended Stanford U after graduation, and between his sophomore and Junior year, he and a friend went to Edinburgh, Scotland,  where they were both killed in a mountain climbing accident.  He was only 20 years old.

The hardest thing for me to get used
to now is losing old friends .. 

I just recently lost a couple of gal friends
that I had known for years ...  and every once
in a whie I hear of an old boy friend or ex husband
who has passed on ...  I am just
relieved when I look in the obits and
don't see someone THAT i know or ME
in them!!!!   

But that is what happens as we age.   

I am very lucky to have 3 close girl friends
that I am still in touch with who are still
living.     Hurrah for us!! 

Sandy

Good morning; nothing new here, but our temps are in the twenties and thirties and still snowing off and on.

A couple of my friends have Covid now, but they seem to be mild cases, and everyone is isolating at home and being even more careful. I hate this disease and cannot imagine those who think nothing of endangering others.

A good Wednesday HELLO 🌷  I am sorry I have not been in to see how everything is going, but this Nana has been star struck by her Jonah Boy. He is such a delightful little guy and I have been having so much fun with him🥰🥰

MARILYN, we are here in Palm Springs area with the family.  It is so beautiful here.....green grass, flowering bushes and palm trees swaying! They live in a delightful housing area and the yards are so well kept and swimming pools all over the community.  We got to swim with Jonah on Monday and that little guy can swim....jump in the water over and over and not a drop of fear at all.  No surprise to us, of course with his daddy being a golfer, but he has clubs and balls and he has his swing down pat.....a little swaggle before he putts is just as cute as can be!  He rides a little strider bike and pretty much like a pro.....I can't believe a 2 year old can be so talented!  Of course I am not one bit prejudice! Hahah We are having a DELIGHTFUL time here. 

SHIRLEY, I am sorry to read you had a reaction to your second Covid Vaccine and you too, MARILYN.  HOPEFULLY you both are feeling much better by now. 

SHIRLEY, our kids are so excited about the move to AR, and we are very happy for them to be going to a new area.....we hope to get to Branson on our next trip to AR.

It has been so nice to be out and about after the long stay at home wit( Covid, but I packed plenty of masks and we made sure we were double masked for the time at the airport and on the plane.....all were full of non distancing people and it felt a bit daunting....we are SO THANKFUL we had our shots.....it did make it feel a bit more bare able.

The kids have been packing away and the movers are to come tomorrow to pick up their things.  We have kept the boy entertained.....well, let's be honest, the boy has kept us entertained and it has allowed mama and daddy to get the work done! 

We are going to leave here tomorrow and drive to Phoenix to see my Dad..I am very anxious to see him.  Mark and Family will drive in to Phoenix on Sunday and see my Dad, then we all will take off in three vehicles headed for NW Arkansas on Monday! 

CALLIE, I do believe we will be passing through OKC, but since we are on the family schedule I think we will have to plan on seeing you on another trip.  I will sure think about you and wave as we go by! 

You all take care and I will be back to check on you when I can. 

Jenny

Jenny, hope you are having a good safe trip.

Another beautiful day here in Northwest Florida---a high of 72°.  Not much to post as everything is pretty much the same.

I haven't done any genealogy work in ages, but my son has become interested in my grandmother's family about which we have no info.  So I've been looking into my notes to see if I can help him out.  He recently did one of those tests with Ancestry.com and was surprised by the results.

Marilyne, did you do your dna test with Ancestry?  I'm thinking about having one done.

I just finished reading the latest Donna Leon book and it was quite good.  Now I am waiting for the latest Jacqueline Winspear book which comes out this month.  I just finished rereading Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion by Jane Austen.  Persuasion is my favorite of the Austin books.  This post probably belongs in a different area but I have so little to say I'll just post it here.

Hope everyone is having a good day.