Hi everyone on this beginning of the last week of September.  It is a nice 71 degrees this Sunday morning.  This will be a busy morning as have Sunday School and Church and then need to find something to bring home for our Sunday dinner and finally a quick stop at Aldi's for just a few items.

Yesterday afternoon I did attend the 53rd Annual Concert by the Augusta Barbershop Chorus.  The theme of the show was the music of the 60's.  They have a very pleasing sound.  There were also three quartets that performed and the ladies Sweet Adeline's Augusta Chorus.  The concert turned out to be 2 hours long including a 15 minute intermission.  The real highlight of the show was an the Signature Quartet from Florida that had won the 4th prize in the recent International competition and they were excellent.  The lead was a black man with a wonderful voice.  There were about 600 people attending yesterday afternoon.  I had gone early and was able to get a handicapped parking spot close to the entrance.

Joan, that is quite an a lot of audiobooks each month.  You keep the library busy.  At our local library we are allowed to check out only 8 audiobooks or e-books a month online.  That is sufficient for me.  Pat is still able to check out audiobooks from the library where we used to live and they have a huge selection.  Our local library went to a system called Hoopla that originally had a very limited selection but it is growing all the time. 

Mary Ann, glad the lost was found.

Hal, we record most of the programs we might want to watch from regular TV or cable where there are lots of commercials and then fast forward through the two to three minutes of commercials as we watch the program.  Generally we pick out a series on Netflix and watch an episode a night.  We have watched a lot of British series that are usually 90 minutes long, which is all I care to watch each evening and there are no commercials.  It sounds like we both tune in about the same time, except Cauvto starts are 4 pm due to the fact we are Eastern Time and not Central.  However, I am getting so tired of the constant political discussions that I don't listen daily.  I don't really care much for the shows featuring judges. 

Sandy, like you I don't like to get involved in "issues".  I have been active in men's coffee or luncheon groups for over 20 years now and while we may not agree on things I have never experienced hard feelings as we accept each other as we are and don't try to change opinions on things. 

Patricia, your apartment building sounds a lot like the last one where Stacey lived.  However, it was a owned by the Atlanta Housing Authority for seniors or handicapped folks, which is why she was able to get an apartment there.  However, she did have to wait about three years for an apartment to become available.  The apartment she occupied had just been remodeled and everything was new in it and very nice.  The apartment she had been living in up the street was over 60 years old and it would stretch things to say it was nice.  However, it was right across the street from one of the big hospitals and her doctors were in that area.  She also had wonderful bus service from there as it was on the main road in Atlanta.

MarsGal, I also usually watch The Five but usually pass on Special Report, although it is news and not opinion.  We do watch the newscast on NBC each evening.

The sun shines bright on Chesapeake Country this lovely day.  There is a Sailing School graduation taking place Right Outside as I write.  Literally just off my own beach area there.  There must be forty, at least, of those crisp white sails lined up in perfect order from north to south, and going through a preset series of maneuvers.  They look like the long line of white capped & gowned joyous graduates they indeed imitate this Sunday morning.  Breezes come all the way from them to caress the beautifully blooming heads on the blue pots out on my bayside deck, salmon, pale pink, deep pink and pale lavender globes of geranium florets dappled by our life-giving star.  Perfection on Earth, and I would not wish to live anywhere else.  There go the newly certified sailors, skipping off over the waves in a curtsying row towards the mouth of the Severn River and back to their celebratory luncheons.

Yesterday was grey all day, but no rain.  Five of my children showed up shortly after ten thirty, and Rob began his slide show lecture of his 3 week adventure trip to the Grand Canyon.  He spent 2 full weeks just navigating the Colorado River from one end to the other.  Fascinating background details into what goes into making such a trip possible were included.  The third week involved a train ride, an all day mule ride down into the bottom of the canyon (and back up again!) and a number of other excursions.  His siblings got quite raucous, and asked an endless number of impertinent questions.  The amount of laughter produced was better than a bottle of pills.
We adjourned to Sam's Waterfront Cafe for a two-cake luncheon; both the birthday celebrants had the lobster rolls.  I had the fish taco.  Again!
Rob's cake was a chocolate rum cake with chocolate mousse filling and a bright blue buttercream icing with cream colored polka dots.  Elizabeth's was a marble cake with the chocolate mousse and a bright yellow icing with bright green polka dots.  Both were delicious, and served with vanilla and chocolate ice cream.
Back at the house, Rob finished his Grand Canyon Show with a flourish, and took us on his bicycle trip down the C&O Canal Towpath.  They used to have a train that ran down along that old canal, and now most of the tracks are covered up to make up this cycling path.  Quite wonderful.  All beautiful.  Again, his audience was loud and bordering on rude, and the laughing made my sides hurt.  In short, a great time was had by all.
I catch the morning news on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" while getting dressed and making my bed, etc., Monday through Friday.  Don't turn the TV on on Saturday mornings, but watch the Sunday Morning talk shows: first George Stephanopoulos and then Sunday Morning (this was Charles Kuralt's last day; Jane Pauley will be taking over in his place), and Meet The Press.  I do not watch "daytime TV" at all, but the telly goes back on for a lot of PBS "masterpiece" type shows on Sunday nights.  Monday through Friday it is ABC news with David Muir followed by NBC news with Lester Holt followed by Hardball with Chris Matthews.  Then I get ready for bed and watch Rachel Maddow at nine.  I also catch a few PBS shows later during the week, but otherwise ignore the popular offerings because they are just too rude, crude and unrefined for my tastes.  Different generation, and all of that.  I cringe at shouting, bad language, violence, open sex scenes, and so on and so forth.  So it goes, and the television moguls could care less what appeals to 87 year olds!

Good morning everyone, still raining and still cool here. I wish it would go ahead and snow already, but no change in weather has been said. Farrah is fascinated by the sight of so many small birds wind sailing from her front balcony vantage point.

Larry, the state has their own series of senior and youth buildings as well as some shelters and another, private organization has a home for seniors that belong to its group, and there are a number of private homes taking in physically challenged seniors or others for pay.

I understand almost all of these are large buildings with many available rooms, similar to what I would call a nursing home. Since the median age here is mid-thirties, I'm rather surprised at the offerings. We do have low-income housing here but isn't that for families?

MaryPage you always paint such beautiful word pictures of your home and family! I think we all wish we could be there with you! Here, the sun has hidden all summer. 

Today is the first time that religious group is to be back and I am as usual, staying far away on the fourth floor. I know we will soon hear all about it anyway!

I wrote something and was nearly finished when it disappeared.  I didn't do anything spectacular anyway, just my usual Sunday morning with Dot, so I'll leave it at that.

Mary Ann

Larry, like I said tho, if there is violence in them I will not read them.  Sounds like a lot but once you take the ones with violence out, it isn't that much.

Larry, I generally don't watch the national news shows, but I do try to catch the local newscasts in the morning and the BBC News (in the morning and online).

Right now I am working on my Latin lesson while listening to Don's (Radioman) Classical music program. He always gives us a playlist and a link to hear it online. 

I hated to See Charles Osgood sign of and say his farewell on the "Sunday Morning show today" Watch him for over 20 years. I was surprised to see that Jane Pauly is replacing him.  I like her but thought they would choose a man. So many are now either passing on or retiring. Don't even care for 60 Min. anymore. And then Lawrence Welk off.  Bad month for me this month. My TV watching seems to be changing.

Don't know if I need to put A/C on today.  Have all windows open and doesn't seem to bad in the house. May even try sleeping with it off tonight.  coming week only suppose to be in the 70s.  Maybe will get to the outdoors and clean up a little. Hosta's looking bad now.  Need to thin them out.

Hi everyone.  It is an overcast but warm Monday morning here in South Carolina. I have fixed Pat's scrambled eggs with bacon crumbles, green onion, yellow peppers and two types of cheese to go along with the strawberries for her breakfast. 

I am looking forward to a fairly quiet day.  I do plan on attending my Monday noon meeting and then Pat will see the Chiropractor at 3:45 this afternoon.  While she is there I will make quick trip on down the street to Aldi's for just a few items.  I plan on making her sausage muffins after we get home but can have most of the ingredients about ready.  I will need to fry up a pound of sausage that is used in the recipe.  We are out of cream or could go ahead and get them baked this morning. We haven't discussed it yet but am planning on a nice salad dinner this evening with shrimp on top as the main ingredient. 

Yesterday was a very down day for me.  I did make it to Sunday School and Church but must admit I sat in Church with my eyes closed (not asleep) listening.  The service was about 15 minutes late in getting out and I had to get something for our main meal yesterday so it was late when I got home. I ate and them laid down for about 2 hours.  Around 8:15 I told Pat I was going to have to go to bed and did so and was asleep shortly thereafter and slept well throughout the night.

MaryPage, I so enjoyed your description from yesterday.  You do indeed live in a beautiful place.  It sounds like your family get together was a blast and enjoyed by all.  I think I will consider geraniums next year for my front porch. 

Patricia, I guess by now all States and cities of any size have senior apartments and other low income housing.  I am glad to see they do not seem to be building the big areas that seem to turn into slums.  I think the low-income housing is available to those with low income regardless of their age.  The last apartment Stacey was in had adjusted rent based on monthly income.  It was set at 33% of her net income, which was her small disability check. 

Joan, do you like the Inspirational books?  Years ago I read a series of books by Lauraine Snelling that I really enjoyed about settling along the Red River in the Dakota's.  I found this information about her:  Lauraine Snelling is an author of Christian fiction and has published more than 80 titles since 1982, among them popular historical fiction series revolving around Norwegian immigration and inspired by her own heritage. Wikipedia.  I just checked our local library and see that many of her books are available but not as audiobooks so that may not be a viable option for you. 

JeanneP, I agree that I always enjoyed Charles Osgood and hated to see he was retiring but 20 years doing anything is a long time. 

MarsGal, I

Good Morning Everyone,
from the cool,  "Fall like",  rocky coast
of Maine.

We seemed to quickly jump into Fall like
weather,   which is cooler,  dryer and very
very pleasant.      (Ah,  but for things to
come!)    I am not going to complain,
except to say that I shall miss the Summer/Fall
weather here on the rocky coast. 

I downloaded a massive Windows 10 update
last night and today.     At first I had a problem
getting it all working.  But restarting the computer
and the modem and the wifi  seemed to work.

Oh,  I had to make sure that "Airplane Mode"
was off.     (perhaps that was the key to the whole
thing)   Anyhow,  as you can see,  I am now
connected and things seem to be working very well.

(Sometimes it takes a while)   
Good luck everyone.   I hope that this
helps.

Larry.  Sorry to hear that you are
not feeling well.


Sandy

Dot called me this morning to see if I wanted to run an errand with her, then go for a snack.  The errand was to take some old razors of Norm's (electric) to a recycle place north of here.  Neither of us had ever been there, but it was easy to find.  Afterward, we went to a favorite restaurant where we each had a piece of pie - Dot had coconut cream and I had lemon meringue.  We nursed our pies for a while, then came home. 

It is sunny out and we haven't hit 70 degrees yet.  Lovely fall weather - I'm with you, Sandy, I like this kind of weather.

Mary Ann

JeanneP, I also watched the Charles Osgood show yesterday, I enjoyed it so much. Was suprised to see who the new host would be. I always watch on Sunday.
Now I have the golf channel on, about Arnie passing. He will always be a fan favorite.

MaryAn, it is so nice that you and Dot have each other. I also am enjoying this weather.

Good morning from a Monday morning in the Interior. Nothing new here other than a small round of tests concerning my balance issues and my vision problems.

Farah is bored with her balcony window on the world, her paper sack and me. She has spent most of the last couple of days sleeping, and she probably wishes for someone more youthful to play with. She is athletic, young, agile and alert. None of those qualities I spend a lot of time with.

"They," are predicting snow in the next day or two. Our past usual way was to snow furiously for a day, melt by the next and then wait about a week for another snow day that sticks. 

The trees are mostly denuded, the wind is finally absent, the air is noticeably drier and crisp, while the sky has gotten, it's cover of clouds. The whole land and its inhabitants are hushed and expectant.

I don't follow the news except for a Microsoft news program addy and the BBC. I have gotten to the point of being glad I am older as the way it is going; we are passing the nineteen fifties with all it's ills and driving smack through the forties and thirties with all of their ills and behaviors.

I finished 100 lessons of one PSP class and joined two more so I should stay busy. Yesterday was another wrinkle in the saga concerning the religious group and the common room's cadre of residents.

The men met in the room early, I understand, and when the group of five faithful came in, they asked the occupants to leave and one woman actually lifted the plate of banana bread and carried it over to the table they were settling down to.

One of the residents called security who came and explained to the religious group that they could not lock or close doors. They also could not tell people to leave. Security  picked up the banana bread and moved it back to its place by the coffee. So score one for the men I suppose. 

This small affair is turning out to be quite the soap opera, isn't it?

Larry, must admit I prefer romance and Historical romance.    Enjoy them most and family stories.

Patricia, it is getting so that I can hardly WAIT to hear what comes next.  I guess the little church group were so accustomed to doing what they had been doing, that they DID feel entitled!  Human nature, I suppose, but common rooms are just that: for the use of ALL residents at all times.  As were the refreshments laid out by management meant to be. Too funny!

I know MaryPage! It is very much like that soap opera, "Days of Our Lives."

What's really sad is that the actual resident probably has no idea about what is happening. His sister, hs guardian, is a member of that group.  She wheels him in and out, and he seems to sleep through everything or at least he seems to when I've seen him.

His sister and her group are only there because she is his guardian and so has building keys. It is her religious affiliation. I suppose they did have to get permission to meet, who knows?

It took some gall to actually pick up the food and move it to their table with others in the room. I am sure that security has been fully briefed by both the company and by the card players who spend time in the room.

I was telling a friend about it, and he shook his head and said don't you have anything better to do than listen to gossip? I thought about it, shook my head and said, no.   

Why is it "gossip" when it is actual events going on WHERE YOU LIVE?  I mean to say, if that resident had HIS card group told by non-residents to leave the common room, and THEIR snacks snatched away from them, he wouldn't be calling HIS outrage "gossip!"  'Betcha!

    

W.Joan, you and I have the same taste in our reading material . Something that takes us out of the ordinary life days, and yet does not contain a lot of violence or depth. I can fall asleep so quickly with that light reading. We have a marvelous library here at Rowntree Gardens. Something for everyone…including computers.

Patricia, it is too bad they do not make a treadmill for young kitties that have so much energy. or a nice tall climbing pole covered in fabric, with a shelf on the top, so those who are not as energetic as the kitty would like, could sit back and watch them enjoy.

June, they do have all that. A small two to 2 1/2' pole with a ledge on top starts at about $36.00. They even have room-sized hamster wheels, (If you have the room and cash!); that are sold to exercise your dog or cat.

I posted to MaryAnn in the Soda Shop, showing an Australian cat that not only skateboards on his own, but does tricks as well.

I bought a sloping scratch pad some time ago for Kendrick.  He loves it.  He has not been declawed and we certainly are not going to have it done now so the scratch pad is good.  When he gets excited, he runs for the scratch pad. 

Mary Ann

Farrah just wouldn't take to a scratching post, so I gave it away. What she does like and Pet Pride, who gave it to me for Sarah, said many cats do, is one of that rubberized gym floor tile sections. The type you put together like a puzzle for your home gym.

Both cats were and are complete with claws.

She doesn't care for toys that operate on their own, blink lights or make sounds. She is just the opposite of Sarah. Sarah loved those that blinked, made sounds, or moved on their own. She , Farrah, likes small felt toys that she can sit up and fling about the room. She really enjoys putting them in or taking them out of her paper bag, growling all the while. I would love to find something that would intrigue her and keep her interest.

I thought about those large rings with a mouse inside.But the earlier cats I had, soon figured out how to get to the mouse so I decided not to.

Apparently it rained off and on during the night.  We have a wet, darkish day out there, but it is not raining at this moment.  I believe they are saying we will get quite a bit of rain tomorrow night and Thursday, leftovers from our neighbors to the south.
That's all good.  Chip took me to the store yesterday, so I have everything I need right on hand, and all of my prescriptions up to date.  I will enjoy hunkering down for a few days.
Wishing you each a lovely day.

Hi everyone.  It is another very pleasant morning in my part of the world. 

Today is our first Adult Fellowship luncheon and program at the Church starting at 11:30.  The entertainment is from a group of Seniors who are singers in another Methodist Church over in Augusta, Georgia.  Then we will have a lunch of loaded potato soup, salad with baked chicken on it, corn bread, and a dessert.  Fortunately I had put in my notifications sometime ago that I had agreed to bring the devotional as I had totally forgotten and wouldn't have remember if I hadn't set it up to email myself a reminder (I use this system of reminders a lot).  I did have something appropriate in my Devotions folder when I have been accumulating Devotional thoughts that I might want to use in the future. 

Later this afternoon Pat has her second Chiropractic treatment for the week, unless it gets cancelled as the Chiropractor and his wife are expecting twins to be born any day now.  That is going to be it for today except for fixing something for Pat's dinner tonight.  I am sure I won't care for a meal this evening as I am always full from the luncheons or evening meals at the Church. 

Patricia, I am glad your security people acted quickly to enforce the policy.  If there are only five attendees at the men's Sunday service one has to wonder why they just don't met in one of the their apartments and then they could lock their doors and have the privacy they apparently want. 

MaryPage, I had the same thought as to the situation in Patricia's building being gossip if it is what actually happened and the facts were presented correctly. 

Larry, here's the straight scoop, I hope!

FOUR of the 5 people do not even LIVE in the building.  They come in, apparently led by the SISTER of one of the male residents, and hold some sort of secret religious ceremonies after shooing other residents out of their common room and locking the door.  Now I agree, the big question is why do they not go into this male resident's apartment?  Well, this is what I gather.  He is completely lost in senile dementia or Alzheimer's, Patricia is not in on his diagnosis;  but there is NOTHING coming from him.  I believe his sister, who is his guardian, does not want to go to the trouble of making his apartment presentable for company.  The building staff keep the common room clean and supplied with food and drink for the residents who choose to go there to visit together.  So this sister takes the clean room and the nice refreshments over and hustles the other residents out and locks the door until her little group have had their service or whatever, and partaken of the goodies, and they decide to leave!
In the meantime, none of the outraged residents, locked out of their common room and goodies, blame the doddering old man who IS a resident, because he is out of it all the time and hasn't a clue what is going on!
The residents who were locked out of the place they gather to socialize complained to the management of the building.  The management said that NO ONE could lock the door of the Common Room and keep other residents away; nor could they take over the refreshments put out for the pleasure of the residents.  So the battle rages on, and the sister of the apparently comatose resident has repeated her outrageous behavior even After the edict came down from management saying she and her little group of non-residents could not do this!

All is the same here in the Interior with cloudy skies and intermittent rain showers. I was surprised to read about snow in Colorado and other lower 48 states when we have yet to have it here. However, it is expected any time.

MaryPage, I couldn't have said it better myself. Except to note that they do this 3 times a week, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday for two hours each time. It is evidently a conservative religious group and the five who meet, three men and two women, may or may not comprise the whole denomination, locally. This room is larger than my entire one bedroom apartment and they are only five people.

The group of men,who complained to management,  all residents, spend most of their days in the common room, drinking coffee and playing cards, and yes, gossiping and solving the world's issues. Also, the building council meets there as do other committees.

Main events are held there and tomorrow, one of them, the bimonthly soup lunches starts again for the winter with a menu of stone soup and bread. This is another hospitality committee that prepares  homemade soup and homemade bread for all comers at that time. So the room is heavily used.

I'm wondering WHY these members of a conservative religious group don't have their meetings at their church.   That seems like the logical place to meet.  We have meetings of many different groups at our church Monday through Friday and often have work days on Saturday (when parishioners work in our yard and or inside the Sunday School building).

Sue

I have no idea except, being a small group, they don't have their own church? Also as the winter season of groups and events are starting up again, some sort of resolution is needed. Bingo begins next week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, so unless they want to share with that and the men that hang out there, I expect to see them either go to the man's room or else go someplace else altogether.

My guess would be that the woman who is guardian of her senile brother wants these folks from her church to pray with and/or over her brother.  Not a bad thing at all.  But the brother, of course, cannot travel to their church and back, so they are bringing the praying to him.  The bottom line is, they probably have good intentions, but it just has not occurred to her that she CANNOT take over the residents common room for her own intents and purposes.  You know perfectly well that some people are just not wired to stop and think about what is and is not proper behavior.  And furthermore, not being a resident herself, and the others not being residents, they may well have not seen the order from the management that they cannot do what they are doing.  Sooner or later, management is going to have to show up WHEN SHE IS DOING THIS and let her know that she is going to have to take the group to the man's apartment, which is on the same floor as the common room.

Okay, the Alaskan management headquarters are in Anchorage, 400 miles to the south, and the woman had already filed religious discrimination when the men cardplayers first complained.

When people here complained enough to the apartment manager here, she emailed the building board to act on this at their meeting, and they emailed the Anchorage board of company directors. The headquarters in Anchorage wrote the board back that the doors must remain open and unlocked 24/7 per building and fire codes. They also stated that they had emailed the group's contact person of those rules so either they had not read their group's electronic mail or chose to disregard it last Sunday. I have not heard about anything happening today, Tuesday.

Bingo, when it starts up, generally has several people show up on Tuesday and Thursdays and people will call out "BINGO!" so I suspect that will put paid to it all.

As the old saying goes:

"If you always do ,
What you've always done,
you will always get,
what you have always gotten."

I suspect that they will not stop
until forced to do so.

So very sad for all the people who
are affected by them.

Fall is here and they will be removing
my window AC next week....  So it is time
to open all the windows and put on all
the fans,   should I get too warm!!!   
(Probably won't,  though! )

Sandy