Welcome back, Bubble!  So happy you're feeling better and able to be with us again.

Oklahoma is definitely out of the Drought it had been in for a few years!!!!  Various areas are getting 6+ inches of rain in about an hour and a half - - repeatedly!!!!  Nice not to have to water outside plants but...
Sun is shining this morning which, of course, makes for horrible humidity.

I decided The Grands needed to know more about the people behind the genealogical facts and figures I'd charted and put in albums a long time ago.
So my latest project is writing stories about their lives.  Have completed one about my mother and her two sisters - now working on a bio of my Dad.
I'm titling it "In His Words" because I have quite a few memoirs he wrote after he semi-retired from his law practice - as well as his photo albums from his college years (1910-1914) and WW1.
Tying those together with other resources - and my memories - is turning into quite a task! 

Have also been keeping up with the ship-watching and have added the new camera at the Soo Locks to my list.

Doesn't leave much time for posting here and there but I'm enjoying reading the comments.

Wishing Everyfriend Everywhere an Enjoyable Day.

Sandy, I was also a reader, still am for the most part. When I was eight, I had read everything in the children's portion of our small at the time library and was moving into the teens.

The librarian called to explain to my mom that she might be concerned about what I read as I was at that time three-fourths into the teen area, and they were concerned. I am eternally grateful to her for telling them not to stop me from reading; it was a gift.

Callie that sounds wonderful, and what a legacy for your grands!  In our family, we have multiple photos, but few words as most were farmers. For example, many names were repeated down both lines, and brothers fought on opposite sides in the civil war as we have daguerreotypes but no written words or explanations.

There are several photos of serious family members on porches or in the parlor, and one that has one small dark-haired grinning boy amidst a somber crew. I would like to know more about him, but there are no names other than the father and the surname to know he's a relative.


Bubble, I've already welcomed you back but know you were terribly missed!

Callie -  I admire you for gathering so much history about your family, and putting it all together for your sons and grandchildren.  A valuable gift for them.  The only written accounts I have of past family members, would be personal letters - written and received.  One of my grandmother's sisters, was very much into genealogy, and she did leave lots of information as to births, marriages, divorces, etc.   I do know that my  great, great grandfathers on both sides fought in the Civil War, but I don't know which side or where?   I do have lots of wonderful photos, going back into the late eighteen hundreds, and on up through the 1970's.  My mother was careful to preserve all photos in albums, and all are labeled with names and dates. 

So great, that Oklahoma is no longer in a drought!      Wish I could say the same for California, but it's not happening here.   The worst part is knowing that we never get rain until November, so we still have four months to go, and even then,  we may not get any.   In the meantime, water rationing has gone into effect here, and in most of CA, and the Wildfire Season,  will be arriving soon!      

Sandy -  I liked reading about your family.  I always thought you were an only child, so I was surprised to learn you had two older brothers.  Seems that here in S&F, all of our childhoods were very different - even though we all grew up at approximately the same time. 

GOOD MORNING 🦋
Sun is shinning and I am feeling a bit perkier❣️

Welcome back, BUBBLE‼️ YES, YES, you were missed. Happy you are feeling better but hope you do not over do. 

Love reading ALL of the interesting posts here.....so many nice subjects and details.  Thank you all for sharing.

CALLIE, happy to read OK is out of the drought....hope you can keep it that way.  We are shake d at how much rain Springdale AR has received since Mark has been there.  If only we could share some rain with the left coast....they need it so badly.

Just lost a part of my post....no time to redo it, but I sure am thankful for saving what I had.

Have a great day.....hugs all around.

Jenny

Happy Birthday, Bubble

Happy Canada Day to all our Canadian friends.

Good morning everyone:  It's about 11:00 here, so still morning.  I didn't sleep well last night, so finally just got up around 5:00, and have been up ever since, and so far, have accomplished nothing! 

Sandy is coming over this afternoon, to do a load of washing, and to fill me in on the latest happenings in her life.  I hope to hear that she is having some luck finding a job??  She was laid off during the Pandemic, and now trying to find something new, is difficult.  Long story, but hiring for office e work and HR, which is what she does well,  has changed drastically this past year, here in Silicon valley.  Now, in order to get a job in HR, in any company, you are required to speak either Spanish, or Mandarin (Chinese).  I feel bad for her, as she has had lots of experience in HR over the years, but unfortunately, she only speaks English!  Same with most other office jobs, like receptionist, or anything requiring talking on the phone. 

Being as she is only 52 , she still as a good ten years of work ahead, so I hope something turns up.  Older daughter and gr-daughter, are planning to move to Nevada, when their apartment lease runs out.  Rents are astronomical here in CA.  Now over $2,000 per month for a one bedroom apartment, in not the best of areas.  I think maybe Sandy, will be following her sister to NV, if cost of living continues to rise.

Jenny -  Nice to hear that you're feeling a little better.  Yes, you can send us some of your rain!  We are parched and dry, per usual.  It's become our normal climate now.  I had forgotten about Mark and family, moving too Arkansas.  How do they like it there, so far??  I hope you get to see them soon, as I know that being around Jonah, will raise your spirits!

Well, nothing more to say, so I'll sign off, and hope to hear from all of you who haven't been to Bait and Tackle yet today. 

I just cannot fathom where my posts disappear to.  I wrote a long one yesterday, and lost it.  I wrote at least half of one today, and lost it again.  I am beginning to start to commence to understand that apparently I cannot just leave my post and go back through the posts to find one I want to reread before I make a comment about it.  Feels like my computer is playing games with me, and I am losing every one!

Oh, well.  If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Sandy Dapph, I am thrilled to the core to hear about what Fe's Dad is doing with her.  She is going to have such great confidence.

I too had 2 brothers.  No sisters.  David & Douglas were both younger than I.  David lives still, and is 88 now.  Douglas died in 2006.

Callie, your family is going to be just so grateful for years to come for all the work you are putting in now to preserve family history for them.

Marilyne, I had relatives on each side in the Civil War, as well.  What awful times for this nation.

We are getting thunder & lightening, so I will sign off for now.

Good Afternoon,

It was raining when I got up so I put aside plans to do errands.  An hour later, the sun was shining so I got ready and headed out.  Got everything done and had been home about 15 minutes when the room got so dark I had to turn on a light, lightning and thunder started and it was raining so hard I could barely see across the street!
A bird bath that was totally dry was running over about 45 minutes after the rain began.

My parents were both Yankees and the only Civil War involvement were two great uncles who were in the local Militia in Iowa.  They never saw action.

However, my husband's great grandfather was in the Confederate Army of Mississippi.  Husband was able to get his papers from......someplace in Washington, D.C.....and we learned that he was actually "in and out" three different times.  Apparently, farmers could go home when the crops were ready and rejoin after harvest.  He was wounded during his third time of service and sent home. 

That side of the family wasn't at all interested in family history so we really had to dig to get information.
 We went to Mississippi to look for info on this great grandfather.  Husband's uncle went with us to the cemetery where we knew great-grandfather was buried.  Uncle just shook his head when I began doing a rubbing of the headstone because the lettering was so faded.

Then we went to the courthouse to see what we could find and learned that it had burned in the 1920's and only one book of land records had been saved. 
Well! That was enough for Uncle; we could head home.
 However, we insisted on going down to the basement and back in a corner to look through the book.
Sure enough, we found all kinds of land records - not only for the great-grandfather but the neighbor family whose daughter he had married. Uncle shook his head all the way home.

The next day, we headed for another cemetery and husband asked Uncle if he was going.  The reply:  "If you're gonna be rubbin' any more gravestones, I'm not going"!!!!    We weren't - he went - and we had a great time.

#2 son/dil are bring hamburgers for dinner.  I'm off to the kitchen to see about Go-Withs.


Still dark as pitch and raining off and on.  Bleah!!!!!  Marilyne, if I had a magic wand, I'd wave some in your direction.

Good afternoon.  Dark and dreary here after a sunny morning.  More rain is expected.  We had a good rain overnight with lots of thunder and lightning.  CALLIE, if we could we definitely would be glad to share our rain with the left coast and anyone else needing it.  Our own western slope is in need as well and we can not even help them😩

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES BUBBLE 🥳

🇨🇦 HAPPY CANADA DAY 🇨🇦

MARY PAGE, I, too, forget and accidentally look back to reread posts and poof the one I am working on is gone. Or I get busy and wait too long to finish a post and it is gone....or sometimes I must hit something and wham it is gone😩‼️

MARILYN, Mark and Family are quite happy with their life in Arkansas.  There have been a few times when they could cut the air with a knife due to the humidity, but that is to be expected.  Jonah is in a very nice private school that he really seems to enjoy.  Megan will not start to work until the middle of August as the school nurse at a local middle school.  Jonah qualified a month earlier than expected to be accepted in this school.  He comes home singing new songs and telling stories he has learned, as well as his ABC's and counting to 20, so they are very pleased that it has proven to be more than just day care. He already knew quite a bit as his mama had worked with him.  These little ones are like sponges and pick things up so quickly.  He is 2 1/2.  I am sorry Sandy's having a difficult time finding a job.  Very sad that those with so much experience having to now speak foreign languages.....I sure wish her the best.

SANDY, I saw that you and I both had sons with Birthdays on the 29th! 

Time together ready to head down to see Dave and the kiddos.....we are joining them for dinner.  They are all doing as well as can be expected 💞

Have a good evening.

Jenny

That pretty much covers the mistakes that are making my posts vanish, Jenny.

I have been trying to figure it out, but my brain works at it and then gives up.  I think it is correct that you are the ONLY one from SeniorNet days still posting here in Seniors & Friends, whom I have actually met. Pennsylvania Bash in October 2001.  We met first in that little coffee shop in the hotel.  I have a video and a bunch of pictures.  It was a lovely, fun occasion.  I think having met and experienced Gladys was perhaps one of the indelible memories each of us took back to our respective home states.  Wasn't she elected or chosen Queen of the Banquet or something?  And what was the name of that brewery across the street?  I can still hear echos of waves of loud, raucous laughter coming from long tables full of not so sedate "Seniors!"

When you are in the middle of a post and want to check something from a previous post, open a new S&F link.  That way you will not lose you post. That is the easiest method.


Alternatively You can  highlight what you wrote and do a Ctrl+X which will erase the text but keep it available. Check what you wanted then come back to your message and do Ctrl+V.  This will reactivate your text and you can continue to write.

Often, I will have two S&F pages open. To read one page and to reply on the second page. Another good method is to use Notepad or Wordpad for your replies, so you don't have everything in the same format.

Bubble - I don't know what computers Mary Page and Jenny are using, but I have always had Apple Computers, since the 1990's.  Whatever CTRL-X and V is, it does not exist on an iMac keyboard?   Or maybe it does, but is some other configuration of letters?   Also I don't know what you mean by, "Open a new S&F link"?    What I try to remember to do when I want to save a post, is to copy and paste it onto a Text Edit or a yellow stickie. (looks like a Post-it note).  Then when I return to my post, I copy and paste again and continue on.

Patricia - Just saw your message.  Note Pad or Word Pad is probably the same thing as Text Edit or a Stickie, on an Apple computer.

Marilyne, Bubble means to open another page, so you have two pages open, the same as I wrote in using two pages or links. Microsoft also has sticky notes; thanks for reminding me. However, I'm not familiar with Apple products, but it seems probable that your text edit may be a grammar or spell check as well as a place to note items?

You can also highlight your message - then right click and "Cut" - go look at others - come back to blank Reply - and right click then 'Paste". Your original message will come back.

(I suspect MaryPage is    and wishing she'd never mentioned this! )

#2 son/dil brought dinner from a locally owned "burger place" last night.  I enjoyed a "Theta burger", which is a regular cheeseburger with some kind of special sauce "invented" by the owner of Johnnie's.  Yum!

#2 Dil works for AT&T and showed me how to do a "video" call on my cell phone.  Will only work with other Android phones so won't be able to use it with The Grands and their family, who all have I-phones. #2 son is having serious back surgery next week and I'm sure we'll enjoy using it during his long recuperation time.

Wishing Everyfriend Everywhere an Enjoyable Day.

Callie, I wonder if your burger's name came from Theda Bara, 1855-1955; she was a vampish nineteen thirties silent movie star?

Patricia, I've read that the Theta burger was named for a friend of the owner who was a member of the college sorority Kappa Alpha Theta...as was I. However, Johnnies wasn't in business when I was in college and I think the guy who established it is too young to have known anything about Theda Bara. 

Marilyne,  "Whatever CTRL-X and V is, it does not exist on an iMac keyboard?"
CTRL+X Copies a highlighted text to what Windows calls "Clipboard" and removes it from the document it was in.
CTR:+V Will paste whatever is on the Clipboard to wherever you set the cursor.
So if you CTRL+X it will stay on the clipboard till you need it - assuming you don't do another CTRL+X (which will overwrite the first one).
CTRL+C will copy any highlighted area, just as CTRL+X does, but it leaved the original text there.

I would bet Apple has something similar. it's too basic and useful,

Rick -  I also think Apple desktops and laptops probably have something similar.  I'll check it out on a Q&A online.  However, I doubt that I'll be learning how to do it at this late date.   I'm okay with copying and pasting from Test Edit or a sticky.  I'm finding it harder and harder to learn technical things as I've grown old.   I recently purchased some new hearing aids, and have had to learn how to set them up to suit me, then program all that into my iPhone, allowing for constant adjustment, etc. etc.    It was much easier with  old pair, where I just put them on and had a little dial on each piece, that I could turn up or down.               

Thanks Callie, I guess I'm old enough,     that my mind immediately went there!        

Good Guess, though. 

Johnnie's was fairly new and very popular when we moved here  34 years ago and
nobody seemed to know why this particular burger was named Theta.  Never heard or saw an explanation until the restaurant began to expand years later and there was a write-up in the paper.

Their other burgers and things are really good - but their French Fries are skinny and dry - as most became when everybody "went healthy". 

Here am I, almost sick with fatigue, but happy as if I had good sense.

Daughters Becky & Debi came over today, and we watched a slide show of thousands of family photos I have on my computer and went out to lunch and laughed ourselves sick and came back and watched more photos and vigorously discussed many things, including how many films of Daphne Du Maurier's REBECCA have been made.  Turns out we were all wrong, as it is something like 15.  Debi and I were adamant that it was three:  the Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers one, the Diana Rigg as Mrs. Danvers one, and the new Netflix Kristin Scott-Thomas as Mrs. Danvers one.  I have been watching the lovely Lily James as "I" in the new one on Netflix, and Debi and Becky plan to start in soonest.  We all adore Lily James, and I suspect all of you do, as well and all.  Oh, and Chip was with us for all of this.  Becky flies back to Missouri tomorrow.  I tried to get her to move in with Chip and me, but no go.

You betcha, Callie.  I find too much thinking about things technological is like a hive of bees in my poor old head.

Which reminds me, one of the stories we roared over today was Debi telling of a picture/phone call she had with five year-old Ava yesterday evening.  Ava sent her (shoot, that pint-sized midget can do ANYTHING with technology!) some pictures from her school/camp she took today, and proceeded to tell her who was in them and what they were about.  When she got to the 4th picture, which was not terribly clear, Ava said: "Now this one is not easy to see," and lowering her voice to almost a whisper, she continued: "because you are so old."

Just found out my elderly friend - ex neighbour of 20 - 30 years ago died last Sunday 6.am in hospital where she had been for the last month or so...Told by daughter during phone call that she just gave up, was prepared to die, was not afraid of dying as she had had a previous visit of seeing colours, grass - flowers, animals, with the dark skinned man telling her it was not her time... She had had all manner of things wrong with her insides...she weighed 6 stone when she went in, daughter told me she could not eat due to her illnesses, so much had been going on with her, her inside body after having most of her intestines - stomach removed plus suffering colitis, told her weight at time of death was 4 stone...Daughter told me cremation takes place 14th July and not to wear black if i can make it to go... Too far in my mobility scooter and i can only walk so many steps with my rollator, would have to be by taxi...said mom would not want anyone to wear black, told to wear colours...

Edited: if any positive news, my friends hubby's cancer has shrunk...

This is what I found when I looked up Theta Burger...

Theta burger is the name of an Oklahoma specialty consisting of a bread bun and a meat patty that is topped with hickory sauce, mayonnaise, slices of dill pickles, and shredded cheddar cheese. It is believed that the burger originated in the Split-T restaurant (now closed) in Oklahoma City, although some claim that it was invented in the 1930s or the 1940s by Ralph Geist, the owner of Town Tavern in Norman, Oklahoma.

Good morning from a smoky Interior; I woke up briefly last night and could smell it in the bedroom. Evidently, the winds have shifted, temperatures are cooling, and rain is predicted this coming Monday.

Nothing on the agenda for me but venturing out on errands and finishing up a few household chores. Farrah has been clingy the past few days, but she had the zoomies yesterday and chased down a fly that had gotten in when I was on the balcony. So, she had her protein, and I quit worrying about her health.

Our July fourth plans were canceled due to weather. I hope that no one is foolish enough to set off fireworks, but this is humans we're talking about.

Thanks, Jenny.  I didn't think about researching the Theta burger!  Maybe the "Theta" name was to the Norman burger maker's connection to the sorority chapter at OU.  Glad to know it's an "Oklahoma" product.

Patricia,  I think I've mentioned before that I was touring Alaska in June, 2004 during the kind of fires you're having now .  I saved a newspaper article for my trip album headlined "Wildfires Smoke Out Fairbanks". Article reads "The air smelled like a bad campfire. The hot summer sun melted into a dim red glow in a foul milky sky. Workers at big box stores donned respirator masks and grimaced at the stink."

  at your description of Farah "getting her protein".

MaryPage,  Also  at Ava's "confidential" comment about age.  I remember similar comments from my Grands.

Wishing Everyfriend Everywhere an Enjoyable Day.

One granddaughter used to cuddle close to me, and pinch the skin on my arm...
"Grandma, you've got squishy elbows".  I still laugh to this day about that, and the whole arm is squishy now!

Callie, I remember you mentioning that and that you picked an interesting time to visit. From Alaska Fire Services, "A Year For the Record Books: Wildfires burned 6.7 million acres in interior Alaska boreal forests and tundra from June-September 2004. This is the largest single-year acreage on record, surpassing 1957 when 5 million acres burned."

Thank you for your kind words at the loss of my friend...