Soda Shoppe July 1 , 2025

Amy · July 11, 2025, 07:23:39 AM

Good morning..

Going to be another uncomfortable day outside.A/C is our best friend in this heat! Work inside today and gather up "stuff" to take to Habitat for Humanity.

Patricia, any cool weather you can share?

Rick, yes we did complain and want warmer weather I said warmer......not hot! Guess we should be thankful for what we do get and not what others have had to deal with.

Phyllis, salads work for meals and your baked custard for dessert.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

OnLonelyMountain · July 11, 2025, 09:34:19 AM

Good morning Amy and all,Yesterday was perfect, 76°F breezy, partly cloudy. Today is expected to be + 6°. The widow maker did not come down. Ron suggested throwing a rope around it and pulling it out. I could do that, if I could throw a rope worth beans. He thought he may come today. Most likely later. Its cool enough now I'm going out to do filthy, grubby things like cleaning the forest and cutting up more blow downs, or pushed overs. Have a great day everybody! Love yourself and love others. 🥰

patricia19 · July 11, 2025, 12:27:19 PM

Quote from: RAMMEL on July 10, 2025, 10:21:32 PMDoes anyone remember Marty From Miami from SeniorNet? I have a copy of a series of his posts called "Marty's Radio Days". I just read it again, and if anyone remembers him and wants a copy, let me know.

I can't believe you still have that and yes, it's something I'd love to have!

RAMMEL · July 11, 2025, 12:36:18 PM

Quote from: patricia19 on July 11, 2025, 12:27:19 PMI can't believe you still have that and yes, it's something I'd love to have!

Would you send me your email addy - PM or my email. I'll send it as an attachment.

patricia19 · July 11, 2025, 01:27:36 PM

Good morning, meet and greets, morning routine, feeding Farrah and making coffee was all done to the sound of drills. Yesterday, they finished my apartment but today, no water usage until five PM, as they're working across the hall and on the apartment below me. After that, they'll be too far from my pipes to affect any of my water usage.

Last night, I set the coffee pot for today, made up a few ready to heat meals and besides my water bottles and Britta, I tried to anticipate and clean anything I could, so there would be less for today. It's surprising how we're used to always having water at hand. Farrah spent yesterday confined to the bedroom, but just in case, she remained between the bed and the wall until the men left. While she tolerates women with a wary eye, she still remembers that it was a man who abused her. Today, she's on her perch, watching the pigeons canoodling on my balcony.

I repotted my new cactus group last night in the special cacti soil, I bought on Tuesday, and this morning they're already spread out and look a few inches taller. They'd been sold in one of those six inch pots, and I transferred them all to an 11-inch pot.

After the construction crew leaves for today, I'll do the same to the heart shaped philodendron I bought with the cactus, in my regular soil. I have a large plant, a couple of feet tall, that looks like a heart shaped philodendron, on speed. No one seems to know what it is, and I can't find it in my plant books or online.

Amy, we left that steady rain behind for a few days and heading back up until the 21st, when we'll have another week of rain. The skies are blue and cleared of smoke, so the rain must have helped with the fires surrounding us, or sent the smoke in another direction. I looked at the Forestry information page just now, not much has changed, evidently, there are six still burning within twenty miles, and we are still at a Preparedness Level 5.

I know we live in a huge boreal or taiga forest that covers over 175,000 miles, so fires aren't exactly unknown during summer, but climate change and heat lightening have made it worse.

Amy, have you talked to Jane to see how she's doing, or any progress on a new computer?

OLM, when I read your post, it brings me back to my childhood days at our cabin up the Salcha river. Our cabin was built on stilts on a treed foothill as the rivers flows through and around several of them. The Interior is a plain surrounded by forested foothills and three mountain ranges. The only mountain taller than those ranges is Everest, and only because it sits at a higher elevation.

While looking that up, Everest isn't even the tallest. That honor belongs to Ecuador's Chimborazo.

"Basically, since Earth isn't flat, it bulges outward at the equator and flattens near the poles.

This means that mountains near the equator are technically higher than those in other areas, and it just so happens that Chimborazo is almost smack-dab on our planet's waistline, while Everest is 28 degrees north."

OnLonelyMountain · July 11, 2025, 02:01:11 PM

I just love your informative posts Patricia! I'm impressed with your green thumb! Mines "black" if its in a pot. I over or under water. $:-\$ I did great with my garden and landscaping back in the day. I have a Snake plant I've kept alive for 7 years, but I've lost everything else. I have to admire its tenacity.

Glad you're almost through with the upheaval!

Amy · July 12, 2025, 06:50:00 AM

Good morning..

Starting out at 57° and heading to oh my gosh! Will get most of what needs doing and then head to the basement to sew. Will put the laundry out on the solar dryer and it won't be long till it will be dry.

Tomato plants are loaded with flowers and hope to see fresh tomatoes on the table soon. Thinking toasted bacon and tomato sandwiches!

Patricia, I was talking with Jane the other day but will call her later today. Sounds like her computer just needed some tweaking.

Better get the day started..

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

OnLonelyMountain · July 12, 2025, 10:53:03 AM

Good morning everyone,
It started out at 52°F and is heading for 90°. I've had my coffee, picked up two loads of sticks and transported them to the slash pile. I just had breakfast. There was a fire 8 miles NE of me yesterday. It's contained this morning at just .25 ac. Our teams are good! Heading out to take the dogs on Poo Patrol. Ron arrived in the night and isn't up yet.

Have a great day!

so_P_bubble · July 12, 2025, 12:41:22 PM

Quote from: RAMMEL on July 10, 2025, 10:21:32 PMDoes anyone remember Marty From Miami from SeniorNet? I have a copy of a series of his posts called "Marty's Radio Days". I just read it again, and if anyone remembers him and wants a copy, let me know.

I enjoyed re-reading these. Thanks. I wonder if he also posted in the WREX discussion, do you know? We had some great writers there... Pity that it is all gone and forgotten.

Amy · July 12, 2025, 12:44:14 PM

Patricia, I talked with Jane. She did try to post yesterday, wrote a long post and yup....the gremlins got it! She misses everyone and hopes to be back soon.

RAMMEL · July 12, 2025, 12:54:25 PM

Quote from: Amy on July 12, 2025, 12:44:14 PMPatricia, I talked with Jane. She did try to post yesterday, wrote a long post and yup....the gremlins got it! She misses everyone and hopes to be back soon.

Just a thought, and maybe it doesn't matter, but if you talk to her, or email her, tell her to be sure she is LOGGED IN>

Amy · July 12, 2025, 01:10:25 PM

Rick, thank you, I will tell her that..

patricia19 · July 12, 2025, 06:31:59 PM

What I have done as a safeguard, as it has only happened to me in Seniors and Friends, is to open two pages.

For example, if I am posting in Soda Shop, the one on the left is the working post and the one on the right is a copy. Thus, if I lose a post, normally, the left page post; I still have the information on the right.

Amy · July 13, 2025, 06:55:22 AM

Good morning

Another warm one to deal with today. A day of rest here, will try and get some sewing done

Talked with Jane plus sent your suggestion to her Rick and will send yours too Patricia.Thank you both.

Jesse wants to play Frisbee and I don't..not in this heat..I will throw it a couple of times and that is it. Even crow does't like this heat,Charlie came for snacks yesterday and had his beak open as if he was trying to pant or cool off. Had to google that and this is what I found.

Birds sit with their mouth open simply to cool down.
Unlike humans, birds cannot sweat, so like dogs, they'll pant with their mouths open to promote heat loss. The technical term for this is 'gular fluttering' - which is the avian version of panting.Dec 18, 2023.

OK time to meet the day.

Enjoy your day and stay cool.

OnLonelyMountain · July 13, 2025, 10:25:12 AM

good morning everyone,
Amy, please tell Jane that I commiserate with her. It happens to me a lot with my internet dropping. I tap an open space and "select all" then "copy" periodically while composing my posts, now. If it seems like getting back to the page is going to be awhile I paste it to a note page.

Yesterday Ron completed installing the collar ties. After lunch and a rest he tackled the widow maker. Standing under it his first comment was, "That's a long ways up there." Yep. I told him I'd thought about his suggestion to "throw a rope over it," only I was thinking baling twine attached to something heavy. Then I said I decided to wait for him because I could just see me busting out the back window of the RV with a poor throw. He looked at me, then the rear window of the RV, grunted and went off to get a rope. They know how I throw. It wasn't as easy as he expected. It took him (a very good thrower) more than 2 dozen tries to get the weight over the snag. He eventually decided the rope was too heavy; it made too much drag. He cut a long baling twine leader and attached it between the weight and the rope. That was much better and with just a few more tosses he was able to get it over. It took another 10-15 minutes to caustiously pull it down. Yay! I'll be cleaning it up today, and probably tomorrow as well. After all that effort Ron went in for a nap, then a meal. We ran the electrical wire for the great room fan light.

Its 62°F already, heading to 88°. Sunny. Calm with a 6 m.p.h. Breeze this afternoon.

patricia19 · July 13, 2025, 01:46:14 PM

Good morning, we're back to smoky skies, 61 presently and heading back into the 80s this afternoon. Morning routines, meet and greets and feeding everyone went well.

Claire is in the hospital for anxiety and depression. They were hoping the therapy dog would help, but she evidently wasn't interested, and her son is deciding if it's worth another try or to return the dog to help another. I don't have a good feeling about this.

Per fire news, "Priority Wildfire Roundup, Alaska DOF July 13, 2025 🔥

Alaska remains at a Preparedness Level (PL) 4. Initial attack was light on Saturday. There are more than 1,900 personnel assigned to 17 staffed fires across the state. Over 750,000 acres have burned in Alaska this year – with more than 300,000 of those acres burned in the last week. High temperatures are expected to peak on Sunday before turning cooler.

Until weather conditions become cooler and wetter, fuels will be available and ready to burn and increased fire activity is expected to continue today. With increased fire activity, additional smoke production will decrease air quality."

My Amazon orders came in on the 9th, 11th, and 12th as they had different suppliers for my one order. I had my preferred Chosen Foods brand of 100% pure avocado oil and my Pompeian organic cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. Both brands I'm not always able to get here and my two new 16 ounce dispenser oil sprayers, with labels. I may get two more of those for other oils.

My last order came yesterday, and a very anticipated full spectrum plant light with adjustable heights, three setting timers and six brightness levels. No more running the ceiling light and high intensity desk lamp for twelve daily hours.

My plants definitely noticed the difference and my three new cacti, that came crammed into a six-inch pot, have visibly grown overnight, an inch or two in their own larger pots.

Since Farrah would love some fresh greens in her diet, my three shelves of plants are barricaded six feet up on three shelves. She'll have to make do with both her dry and canned food and treats. As a senior, her jumping capacity has also diminished. When you count her age in cat years, she's only ten years younger than I am.

I'm not even close to my friend Vivian, who has an entire room made into a plant nursery, with grow lights on a schedule and windows all across one wall. Her dachshund, Wally, like Farrah, doesn't approve of being barred from the plant nursery.

so_P_bubble · July 14, 2025, 03:46:10 AM

Why not have a pot of catnip just for Farrah?

Amy · July 14, 2025, 07:42:12 AM

Good morning..

Oh boy another fry day, one can't help but feel sorry for those without a/c.

Returning an item to the hardware store this morning then home to dive into a cupboard and toss outdated items.

Managed to get a little sewing done before phone calls and away went the urge.

Will give Janie a call later on and say hello from you.Let her know we are thinking of her.

OLM, happy to read the WM is down. We lost friend due to one of those .

Patricia, my friend used to go to the feedstore and buy untreated oats and plant them for Peter and Penny. The cats would nibble on them once he let the oats grow to an inch and when they grew 4 inches or so the cats would rub their face through them.

Rick, hope your staying cool.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

RAMMEL · July 14, 2025, 09:15:07 AM

Quote from: Amy on July 14, 2025, 07:42:12 AMRick, hope your staying cool.

The Power Co. is getting their profit out of me at this point. But it's nice (and somewhat necessary) to be cooler and LESS HUMIDITY.
Keep cool everyone, and remember this next winter.

OnLonelyMountain · July 14, 2025, 09:41:24 AM

Good morning!How is everybody? Its 60°F, and sunny. Heading for 2° cooler than yesterday, but strong winds. It didn't cool down until after midnight last night. Consequently, I'm a little groggy yet. Having coffee. That sounds wonderful Patricia.🙂 I have one of those programable, full spectrum grow lights. I use it for greening up my broccoli sprouts. 😁 Have you seen those cat grass/greens kits? They're a specific varieties safe for cats to munch on. Maybe Farrah and Wally would like them? I glimpsed them on Amazon once or twice while looking for something else.Ron helped me clean up the tree top. He hauled it to the slash pile with the Kubota. Then he helped with the littered branches. I moved Kato back. He was happy to get his spot back but he also wanted the other🙄. Then we went in to work on more light boxes and wiring. The loft light has a 2-way switch and while Ron worked on drilling holes for the hall light and the loft light I took my ipad to a better reception spot and downloaded a diagram for wiring in 2 - way lights. He couldn't remember a couple of details. We discussed the remaining light locations. Then he moved to trimming the truss plackets for the interior wall application. Since the packets are engineered wood, I had to vacate. Ron also had to vacuum up all the sawdust when he finished... ALL, meaning, the whole interior, every vertical, inclined and horizontal surface. They (engineered wood products) outgas the insecticide and glue chemicals for 10+ years. Its in the dust, too. And it was hot in there! I helped him wash off between and after the two chores. He did it with out one complaint! I would have complained a lot! 😫 High on my list today is re-sealing the freshly cut edges. I also need to start the process of renewing my driver's license. I'm hoping they made changes during covid for remote renewal. It was quite the process last time. Have a great day!

patricia19 · July 14, 2025, 12:18:33 PM

Good morning, last night we had a rip-roaring rain with rolling thunder and some lightening, but the forestry service said the fires weren't too affected. It seems to have washed the smoke out but other than that, no real effect on the fires yet.

Yesterday, they did drop the evacuation alert from a level five to a four.

Morning routines finished, coffee's on and Farrah's fed while in the midst of meet and greets.

Good morning Rick and a good morning to Phyllis, who ever else might pop in or browse thorough.

Bubble, Farrah's among the few cats who're not affected by catnip. She has never been into toys either. She'd rather go directly to the meal portion of a plant, that and cheese, both dangerous to cats.

Amy, does Jane have any idea of when she may be back online?

I've never thought about giving Farrah her own plant. I've tried cat grass occasionally which she has liked, but it doesn't seem to be around lately, it's been a while since she's had some.

OLM, I might try looking on Amazon for some cat grasses.

You and Ron were definitely busy yesterday. I generally clean in equal bursts with a period of rest. Since preparing for this year's inspection, I've been trying more clean as you go rather than designating certain areas via set schedules.

OnLonelyMountain · July 14, 2025, 09:43:49 PM

Good afternoon!
I did get the fresh cuts sealed. Ron pointed out that I forgot to finish screwing the loft decking down when he was here. He was right. I forgot all about it. So I did that too. I swept again. The saw dust will be settling out of all sorts of places for awhile. I made the initial DMV contact for accommodation and placed a couple of orders. The DMV will get back to me. I received one with dry goods from Vitacost. It was Dump and Fill day, with lots of campground watering. The strong winds are making it more bearable. The temp was higher than forecasted. They said 86°F, but that was what we had in the shade. It was at least 90°F in the full sun. We had about 8 elk come right down to the edge of camp this afternoon.

Glad you had rain Patricia! Greetings to Rick, Phyllis, Bubble, Jane and anyone else who checks in!

I hope everyone has a peaceful night.

Amy · July 15, 2025, 01:56:23 PM

Well...poof went the morning!! Figured I had better get the outsidework done before it gets too hot. Then in to make pastry and do laundry now to have a cuppa tea and then see what I can get into. Time was spent watching the crows, their numbers up to 8 now with their babies. Then I found a whole new dog hiding in Jesse's coat, hair is now on the lawn for the birds to pick at.

Patricia, no she didn't say...but she does miss everyone. Cooper is keeping her company.

Rick,tis the humidty that knocks one off their feet. I will do outside work for a while then take a break and head back out again. Funny thing is the lawn/grass has gone dormant but the weeds are green and growing!!

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

OnLonelyMountain · July 15, 2025, 04:48:11 PM

Good afternoon everyone,
Its a lovely cool day, 76°F with a nice breeze. The weather report said "hazy," due to the fire we had west of us yesterday (700 ac.). But its clear.

I started out calking the joint between the sill plate and the floor in the tiny house. Carpenter ants keep showing up and I'm trying to eliminate any entry points. I did some of the gaps between the tongue and groove decking sheets. I need to let all that dry, then shift supplies to do the remaining edges between the decking. Its not that the gaps are big, its just amazing how small a crack an ant can squeeze through. 😠 Then I began laundry, watering and limbed that snag that Ron took to the slash pile. It had so many huge branches that he couldn't get it on the pile until it was cleaned up. Still doing laundry. I ran out of room on the line.

Amy, re: pastry, . I used to love pastry. What a lovely skill to have. What kind are you making?

MarsGal · July 16, 2025, 06:37:41 AM

Jackie, I bookmarked https://englandspuzzle.com/ to take a look at several other blogs. First one up will be the Brecon Beacons. My Mom is from Merthyr Tydfil, just below the Beacons. At the time I was only aware of the Beacons as a national park, but knew nothing else of it. When I became more aware of its history much later, I have always felt I missed something. I never knew Windsor Soup was such a puzzle. It is just a soup I have always been aware of, but never had. Thanks a lot.

Good morning everyone. I've just finished catching up everyone's posts from yesterday and the day before. Nothing much to report except that the weather forecast does not include any rain for three or four days.

Amy · July 16, 2025, 09:42:17 AM

Good morning..

Chores done and now to make dog food. I was going to bake but maybe tomorrow will be a tad cooler??? Today is the hottest but that is to break tonight. One can only hope!

OLM, I usually make butter tarts and better make a pie for hubby. I think I can get 3 doz tarts and a pie shell out of it for a lemon pie.

MG how is Oscar doing?

Better get busy..

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Amy · July 16, 2025, 10:02:51 AM

Just talked with Jane and she said to say hello to everyone and she will be back on line as soon as she can. Her daughter is visiting her at the moment. Bet there is lots of girl talk...

MarsGal · July 16, 2025, 12:42:03 PM

Getting concerned about Oscar again, Amy. He as been pulling hair out, some days worse than others. He is starting to get finicky about his wet food again. Today he refused both wet foods I gave him, but he is eating a lot of the dry food that he pretty much ignored at least two years. The dry food is a special urinary diet for Shan in particular, but I get the weight management blend because he is a pig. I don't think that helps Oscar any. I am beginning to wonder if the prednisone is loosing effect. The other think is the weather. I've noticed over the years that Oscar seems to be more affected by the humidity (and possibly the barometric pressure changes) just like me. Well, now here he is wanting something. Wanna bet it is some of the food I put back in the fridge? Well, I guess I will go see. I might just have to give him the last bit of fresh cooked chicken. Bet that is exactly what he wants.

patricia19 · July 16, 2025, 01:30:09 PM

Good morning, it's 54 and cool, and partly cloudy out there. We've been having partly cloudy days and overnight rains. Our highs will stay in the seventies for now.

Meet and greets are finished, coffee's perking and Farrah's been finicky again and refused most of her breakfast. She always has dry, but knows if she doesn't finish her tablespoon of wet, no treats. There's nothing wrong, other than being finicky, she goes through phases over meat as a favorite and then fish.

She's also not fond of human foods, cat pouch treats or those cat sticks. She was on a salmon preference for a while, but that's going out of favor. One five ounce can of cat food can last five to eight days and I often switch them up or attempt to mix them together, if a tiny amount of one is left.

The construction crew is outside my apartment fixing plaster back over the exposed drains. The other crew has begun work on the next vertical section, so I'll remember this summer as one of reverberations and drills.

After they're finished, the painters will be in to paint all the hallways, of this five story, block long building.

I can only hope it will go better than 2022's replacement of all windows and balconies. That crew didn't put any place for water to escape on the new balconies, so it sits there from rains and or snow, until it evaporates and leaves behind the grime collection.

I'm grouchy and headachy this morning, not seeing the bright anywhere. Claire's son returned the dog, and she's not going to be able to return to her room in the nursing home but will go into one on the medical side.

OnLonelyMountain · July 16, 2025, 02:08:33 PM

Good morning all,
I had business to attend to first thing that required a 3 bar connection so I had to go up to my best spot. My DMV accommodations are coming along nicely. When I returned to camp I finished caulking the cracks between subfloor decking sheets. As usual, I ran water for Kato, laundry, grass and heat reduction. It is currently 68°F. We started with a low of 52°. Our expected high is 82°F, with 5 mph winds in the afternoon.

Amy, I'm going to have to look up "butter tarts." I don't know what those are. I love butter cookies though, so they sound tasty.

Sorry to hear your kitties are having food problems MG and Patricia. 🙁 With all the construction right outside your door, Patricia, I'd have a headache too! I hope you and both yours and MG's kitties feel better soon.

That's almost all I have to report today, just a little poodle clipping outside left to do. Take care everybody, hope to see Jane back on soon, and would love an update from Phyllis. Bye for now.👋🏼

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