Soda Shoppe January 1 , 2026

phyllis · January 11, 2026, 08:46:57 AM

Good morning. Cloudy today and strangely warm. January and February are the coldest times of winter here but yesterday's temp was in the 70's and it was still in mid 60's when I got up. Now they are beginning to drop and getting colder during the day. It's an upside down day.

I am going through the car insurance and inspection chore just as you are, Barb. I don't drive anymore but my son needs it to take me to appointments and other errands. And, I dislike paying for inspections and fixing whatever they say I need to fix in order to pass and then going through the registration renewal expense and annoyance for a car that usually just sits in the driveway. And don't get me started on why as my car gets older and worth less my insurance premiums get higher!

Amy, when you're outside in the snow are you dancing a waltz or a jitterbug or perhaps you are clogging?

OnLonelyMountain · January 11, 2026, 11:31:23 AM

Good morning everyone,
Overcast and 25°F this morning. Tomorrow we'll have to go out for the a.m. poo patrol before its light in order to get back before the crews come. This morning nearby coyotes wound up Kato. He was a handful. Glad it was light out. The first few days were "get back in shape days." I was pleased today was easier. I have a couple bags of carded wool I'm spinning before I transition to socks.

I thought Oregon DOT and insurance was terrible for hoop jumping. I was way wrong! Thats crazy ladies! Feeling for you☹️.

Amy · January 12, 2026, 08:20:04 AM

Good morning.
Looking out at a black and white scenery, temp is 19° with snow/rain to come.

Yesterdays snow is all cleaned up and I just need to gas up the snowblower ready for the next dance. Our plumber is to come today to check out why our oil pipe refuses to whistle when we get oil. Need to pick up meds and more laundry fills the day.

Phyllis, depends on the snow and area. At times it is a soothing waltz then jitterbug, clogging may come into play when slippery but square dancing also is involved. This snowblower has triggers on eachhandle, piull one and it disengages a wheel making turnig a breeze BUT....do it in 1st or 2 nd gear as any higher gear and you with swing your partner!!! Now that I am aware of this dance I try not to let my feet fly and giggle while it is happening.

Better get ready for the day.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

JaneS · January 12, 2026, 08:22:43 AM

Here I go again! If it posts I'll be amazed!I miss all of you when I cannot visit this is a trial! I wish you all a good day!

phyllis · January 12, 2026, 08:39:54 AM

Hi Amy and Jane, Good morning to both of you and to all who look in today. Cold but sunny here.

Make it a good day.

RAMMEL · January 12, 2026, 08:46:45 AM

Good morning all. As usual, nothing much doing here. A big truck just left a dumpster across the street. Big enough to hold the contents of that house, so I'm hoping they are NOT moving, but just cleaning up a bunch of old stuff.

OnLonelyMountain · January 12, 2026, 01:23:46 PM

Good morning everyone,
No new news up coming today. Mostly I'll be doing the same stuff as yesterday. Still spinning. Yesterday I topped the fresh water tank. Ron had only partly filled it before evacuating because it was almost empty when the neighbor applied, but traveling on a full tank is hard on the tires. He was too sick to top it once we got up here. I was too injured. I needed to do it on the weekend, before the crews were here. I have to stay inside to avoid exposures while they are working. So I made myself. Over did it! Exhausted myself, and gave myself a wicked headache and profuse nose bleed. I got another one this morning. Kato and Rosie are suffering from the chemical injury too. They have been drinking gallons of water and peeing out rivers multiple times a day. I'm assuming they are trying to flush the poison from their systems. I've been sneaking them out 3 extra times everyday. Basically whenever they signal. Poor Kato stands on 3 legs for 5-10 minutes! I'm on tenter hooks the whole time😰 worrying that someone will come. They didn't drink as much this morning so I'm hoping they've improved.

Its 32°F with mostly high thin clouds. There's only thin, crusty snow left from the last storm.

BarbStAubrey · January 12, 2026, 05:34:58 PM

Wow everyone has checked in - here it is late afternoon and I'm only getting to the computers - had great news on price from my eye surgeon - trying to get the glaucoma at least stable - lost a bunch of sight in that eye and talked about laser - ends up it not only means no anti-biotics which is always a 'crap' shoot for me but it will only cost - get this - around $100 with my just having Medicare - about as much as I spend grocery shopping - can you believe - I'm dumbfounded...

Amy I am so glad you said you had laundry to do - I forgot and need to get a load of whites done - getting so that I need notes to myself - I get started on something and all else disappears from my thinking...

With these few days of cold reminded me - I missed out and it was so lovely - made me feel so full and connected but no cold weather or something I forgot this year for Advent - I have 24 trees on my property - 4 that I planted but the others big trees - the whole front in towering lollybelly Pines - anyhow what I was doing was visiting a tree a day - crazy as it sounds I was talking to the tree - telling it how I noticed this or that bird enjoying its stop over or the squirrels that scrambled up the side of it, how I enjoyed the shade or its look and what I noticed that it needed and then I left it a gift of my winter mixture of 1 part coffee grounds, one part peat moss and one part Epsom salts - it got me out and as I say gave me this great feeling I do not know how to describe of more than connecting but a feeling of deep satisfaction. It is not as easy for me to just pick up and follow up without a goal that Advent gave me but I'm going to try - Katha arrives Feb. 2 and starting tomorrow that is 22 days and so I may just double up trees for two days this week and use her visit as my goal date.

Hope everyone has filled in their day with what they need - and yes, I've noticed have you? The days are getting a tad longer - notice it in the evening more than I do in the mornings...

Amy · January 13, 2026, 06:19:37 AM

Good morning

Just took a peek outside ,light snow last night but nothing to worry about this morning.

We now have our whistle back on the oil pipe, a hornet had gotten into the pipe clogging up the part that whistles!!

Nothing spectacular going on today..just playing catch up on jobs that got left behind when I was out dancing..

Jane, so good to see you!!

Barb, I used to take all our laundry downstairs in baskets but now thanks to son I do it differntly now. I bought laundry bags, fill them and throw them downstairs. This leaves me able to hang onto the railing when going down to the basement. What we don't learn from the young ones!

Patricia, how are you doing?

Enjoy your day and stay safe..

RAMMEL · January 13, 2026, 09:10:35 AM

Quote from: Amy on January 13, 2026, 06:19:37 AMWe now have our whistle back on the oil pipe, a hornet had gotten into the pipe clogging up the part that whistles!!

What are the chances of that happening, especially with the smell of the oil. Ours whistled for about 30 years - till I went to gas.

Amy · January 13, 2026, 09:13:25 AM

Rick, there is a cap on the filler spout and lil stinker squeezed in there!! We have been in this house for 26 years and didn't have a problem till now. I am just glad it was an easy fix,.

RAMMEL · January 13, 2026, 09:20:49 AM

Amy, - My direct neighbor converted to gas -----and failed to tell the Oil Company about it. You guessed it, tried to fill his basement with oil. They all spent quite a bit of time cleaning up the mess. Now the law here makes them remove the filler pipe, and I believe cover the hole where it was.

RAMMEL · January 13, 2026, 09:22:02 AM

Quote from: RAMMEL on January 13, 2026, 09:20:49 AMAmy, - My direct neighbor converted to gas -----and failed to tell the Oil Company about it. You guessed it, tried to fill his basement with oil. They all spent quite a bit of time cleaning up the mess. Now the law here makes them remove the filler pipe, and I believe cover the hole where it was.
Most of our tanks are inside, in the basement, here in the City.

Amy · January 13, 2026, 10:18:53 AM

Rick, that happened in the first house we moved into. Although it wasn't a big spill the smell wasn't nice. they sprinkled an odor neutralizer on it. Our oil tank is also in the basement.
Just talked with the oil company and she said one year they had a lot of problems with the ladybugs in the filler pipe.

BarbStAubrey · January 13, 2026, 03:34:46 PM

What is this oil y'all are talking about - does it oil pipes so they work better? I'm trying to picture in my head what or how there could be so much oil.

Cold, rainy and overcaste all day today... been attempting to do laundry... thank goodness no basement to rustle with stairs and laundry piles - to me the trick would be after it is folded getting it back upstairs - I think I'd spend money on one of the chair like contraptions that go up and down stairs and if I didn't sit in it I could at least have a neat pile of folded laundry get to the top of the stairs. However, to dig a hole for a house here just does not happen and so any stairs is part of a 2 level house - all an under ground basements would be is one huge snake pit which most of us would prefer not attempting to live above.

As to laundry I would give my eye teeth to have back my washing machine and dryer from my Austin house - people who sold this house where I moved in 3 years ago left theirs and it is one of those washing machines that senses the amount of water it will use - grrrr I prefer my wash to be covered in water especially during the rinse - now in order to get the borax that I use with my detergent it takes running the load twice plus my machines in Austin were old, very old, like maybe 40 years old with the result no bells and whistles but better yet so easy mechanically to make a repair where these two machines although great name brand (Amana) I've had to have them worked on twice which cost almost as much as a new basic model machine.

Little by little I'm clearing out - some shirts and slax I'll never wear and even a pair of shoes along with a few pairs of socks since I have enough to last a couple of weeks before they would have to be washed - anyhow boxed it all up and left it on the porch for an early morning pickup from Paralyzed Vets - there last email I notice they are branching out and taking more than used clothing - now they will take kitchen and appliances and small pieces of furniture as well as office supplies - the only thing not mentioned is books and that is the big clearout I need to tackle this year.

Speaking of which I'm off to now read another story full of the antics of a bunch of delightful characters in Sicily - love this series of books full of short stories about the most delightful, wise and humorous characters whose lives are more like a sitcom than anything series. Just what I need... as our Ciaobella would say Ciao

phyllis · January 13, 2026, 05:45:32 PM

It isn't lubricating oil, Barb, its heating oil burned in an oil-fired furnace to heat the house. When we lived in upstate NY we had that. I wasn't fond of it but at least the delivery truck never dumped it in the finished crawl space of our split level house. That would have upset me!

BarbStAubrey · January 13, 2026, 05:55:56 PM

Ah so... thanks Phyllis

RAMMEL · January 13, 2026, 06:22:23 PM

Barb --- And it is smelly

Phyllis, where did you live Upstate?

JaneS · January 13, 2026, 08:49:37 PM

Hi This is just a quick goodnight to all of you Ill be back tomorrow everyfriend.

RAMMEL · January 13, 2026, 10:52:47 PM

Me too. Goodnight all.

OnLonelyMountain · January 14, 2026, 05:58:51 PM

How is it that I'm the only one here today? I did notice I had dufficulty getting the buttons to work. I had to get creative🤪

RAMMEL · January 14, 2026, 06:59:45 PM

Quote from: OnLonelyMountain on January 14, 2026, 05:58:51 PMHow is it that I'm the only one here today?

A possibility, other than no one posted, is that Verizon seems to be having a problem, mostly on the East Coast - but some other areas also.

RAMMEL · January 14, 2026, 10:35:43 PM

Still no one. So, goodnight no one.

MarsGal · January 15, 2026, 06:14:12 AM

Not just Verizon, Rick. There was a big outage yesterday and affected T-Mobile, AT&T and some others. Heard it was a biggy, but didn't see where the outages were.

Taking the cats to the vet today.

JaneS · January 15, 2026, 07:25:46 AM

good morning to anyone who shows up today! it still cold out there and I'm still looking forward to SPRING!!!

so_P_bubble · January 15, 2026, 07:40:05 AM

ME TOO!!!

Amy · January 15, 2026, 07:44:32 AM

Good snowy morning..

Not a nice day and temp is only 3° along with high winds. The dance did not go well yesterday, I took two swaths and called it quits, I was making slushies out the chute! I ended up pushing the snow then water would seep up! Knew if I waited till the temps went down and the snow dried out it would blow better. We will see how that goes this morning. Made a huge pot of beef barley soup and sewed yesterday.

Better get out there and dance.

Enjoy your day and stay safe

ME TOOOOOOOOOOO

OnLonelyMountain · January 15, 2026, 08:45:44 AM

Good morning everyone, 😊 Its 25°F and when it dawns, its supposed to be sunny. Yesterday the sun on the long south side of my RV drove the indoor temp up to 80°F w/o heater assistance. Way too hot! It was so warm carpenter ants came out of the crevices from hibernation and fell on my head and down the neck of my clothes! 🤯😱

Amy, that beef barley soup sound delicious!😋

I'm spinning this morning. I've almost finished the wool I have carded. Then I will pivot to re-knitting the feet of my worn out socks. I'll just cut them off above the heels and pick up the stitches and carry on.🧶

I have bookkeeping to do as well. Yuck.

Have a lovely day!

RAMMEL · January 15, 2026, 09:13:15 AM

Quote from: OnLonelyMountain on January 15, 2026, 08:45:44 AMAmy, that beef barley soup sound delicious!

Me too. But the soups I get are commercially made.

phyllis · January 15, 2026, 11:13:06 AM

Good Morning. Sunny and cold here.

Playing with AI in a Google program. Not my dog--a stock photo from internet. I added some enhancements and this is what it created. Hope it is resized correctly. Fun to do. Click on link below.

img]https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/gallery/845-3521-1000000903.jpeg[/img]

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Soda Shoppe January 1 , 2026

phyllis

OnLonelyMountain

Amy

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RAMMEL

OnLonelyMountain

BarbStAubrey

Amy

RAMMEL

Amy

RAMMEL

RAMMEL

Amy

BarbStAubrey

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JaneS

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Amy

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RAMMEL

phyllis