Marilyne, I thought of you with all of the rains and floods in San Jose.  I think you have said  you live near San Jose.  I was going to ask, then forgot.

We have had such nice weather but it is coming to an end with maybe snow, maybe even a tornado in lower Michigan.  The Weather Channel said tonight that Michigan has had only one tornado in February since I don't know when - not in recent years anyway.  Maybe since they've been keeping records.  We do have violent weather, but not much.  As I've said at times, Lake Michigan protects us from much bad weather.  And if the weather comes around the south end of the lake, it usually heads for Kalamazoo.  We do get a lot of "lake effect" snow from Lake Michigan and the eastern side of the state gets about half the snow that we do just because of the lake effect snow.  Weather usually goes from SW to NE so Detroit and we do not get the same weather.

I hope you are not suffering the ill effects of all of the rain and floods in the area.

I think I have one smart cat.  Annie bought him a toy similar to what Patricia has for Farrah.  It is round with a ball that goes around the edge.  Kendrick's has a compartment for catnip and Annie put some in there.  On the top is a perforated area and an area to give complete access to the catnip.  It did not take him long to figure things out and he got the top off in short order.  I left the room and came back to find the thing was apart; he had gotten all of the catnip and I cannot find the ball.  And he won't tell me where it is!  I'll have to wait until Annie comes to look under furniture for the ball because it is hard for both Tom and me to get down on the floor. 

Mary Ann

Farrah soon learned how to get the ball out as well as her food and the felt mouse I put in for her. They figure things out when they need to!

We are again having snow which is actually more like sleet, but the warmer weather is to return to highs about plus 7-10 and lows around minus 21 sometime next week. We have a weather advisory for blowing snow yesterday through tomorrow. Pretty much the same old stuff

Edit for Marilyne, yes I use it more often now but try to physically type as much as possible..

Something to think about......

http://www.nextavenue.org/nobody-wants-parents-stuff/?utm_source=Vibrant+Nation+Newsletter+List&utm_campaign=9e749e9c9e-VN_Newsletter_Thursday_February+23_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7103d01d48-9e749e9c9e-23721373

This is becoming the modus operandi for us this winter...Move along folks, nothing to see here.
Middle Tanana Valley-
Including Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright, Eielson AFB, Ester,
North Pole, Moose Creek, Two Rivers, Fox, Chatanika,
Chena Hot Springs, and Sourdough Camp
547 PM AKST Thu Feb 23 2017

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM AKST
FRIDAY...

* SNOW...Additional 2 to 4 inches for storm total of 5 to 9
inches.

* FREEZING RAIN...A chance of very light freezing rain or freezing
drizzle before midnight. No significant accumulation is
expected.

* TIMING...Snow will develop by late evening and become heavy at
times overnight, then taper off Friday morning.

* IMPACTS...Visibility may be greatly reduced. Travel and
outdoor activities will be difficult.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Weather Advisory means that one or more winter weather
hazards are expected to cause travel difficulties.

Good morning Patricia, Looks like you are going to have some bad weather.  The weather here is crazy here also, but in a good way I guess It is still feb and we have had a week of 50 and 66 once this week. This is not Long Island normal.They are now saying, ticks and other bugs will be bad this summer, as the ground has not froze that deep.
Right now Taffy is upset, because I have been up most of the night, she is setting here looking at me, next to the PC
Guess I will head back to bed, and listen to the radio. I have been up since 2 and it is now 4;30

Hi everyone.  We are headed for an 82 degree day and it is nice and sunny this morning.  Other than the housekeeper coming this morning I have nothing on my calendar for today or tomorrow so hope to get rested up. I do have to work on Pat's new printer to find out why it won't stay on line or immediately print when something is sent to it although it indicates it is printing.   I didn't get home yesterday until about 2 pm and was exhausted the rest of the day.  However, I was able to accomplish what I had set out to do. 

Patricia, Mary Ann, Marilyne and MarsGal, I am among the fortunate ones who do not suffer from arthritis.  My wife has it along with the fibromyalgia and the back problems. I do have osteopenia and have been taking calcium tablets for many years for it.  Osteopenia occurs before osteoporosis. 

Marilyne, if they make packaging any tighter or tougher I don't know what people with arthritis are going to do to get into the package.  I have a lot of trouble opening the wrapping on things.  Sometimes it is difficult to even get a knife blade under the packaging and when you do it still doesn't want to give way.  I have seen several men wear the copper braclets for arthritis.  Have you ever tried the hot wax bath for your hands.  Pat had a little appliance to do that and it helped her hands although she hasn't used it for a long time. 

Sandy, did you find any must have items at the Thrift store?

Patricia, when I see you write about warmer weather and it is only 7 to 10 degrees in the daytime and minus 21 at night I can't relate those to warm.  I guess things are relative.  The article you linked certainly rings true. 

deAngel, hope you get some rest this morning and that you are feeling OK. 

Our nice weather has disappeared and we've had a thunderstorm this morning.  Our present temperature is 37 degrees and radar shows more rain, possibly freezing rain in the future.  I only have to go to the mailbox and if it is raining or sleeting then, Tom will take the car across the street to get it.  Such is life in the boonies!

Mary Ann

Think we have lost our summer weather today. Sort of dreary and So windy.
I have been running around every day this week. Just kept Kitchen and Bathroom tidy.
today I am just going to head out to the Movies and See "Lion" Everyone says its good.  Starts at 2pm.  Will stop at the crocery store next door to it and then Home. That will be it for my day
Just showered and did my hair. I will go out in the wind and that will take care of the hair.
I am looking out the window and all the trees seem to be budding out already. Which mean the wind will bring down the buds and cover the porch. Hate that.

I almost forgot to answer your question, Mary Ann. I am in Enola, PA which is just across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg. It is in the 70s again today.

MarsGal, thanks for letting me know your location.  I do know where Harrisburg is because a former minister went there a few years ago and I think she is still there.  I'll have to look at a PA map to find Enola.

We are having intermittent heavy rain right now.  I don't know if the snow in Wisconsin will get this far or not; if it does, it will be tomorrow.  Tom has gone out to drive for Uber and he thinks other drivers will not drive because of the weather so that will give him a better chance at passengers. 

Mary Ann

Good morning from an entirely, (skies, ground and air!) white Interior! Farrah is sleeping next to me on the couch after a very rowdy morning of play and exercise.

Farrah has been dreaming with her legs, "running," and she occasional cries out but doesn't seem to be in a nightmare, just a vigorous dream! I was up all night yesterday and caught a short nap between nine and eleven AM, so slept in today. It is 12:34 pm and I have only been awake two hours!

Marilyne, Dragon is a voice recognition system for computers from Nuance and while not as sophisticated, or as expensive, as Kelly's it works for me and has many variations and additions to the original programing.

Larry, I had not heard of Osteopenia, and will have to Google it.

Larry, what I meant was our old normal for February included weeks of forty to sixty below. We did have a week of fifty below last January. Our new normal seems to be 7 to ten above in the daytime and minus 15 to minus 21 at night. Remember we are in the Arctic Circle and in no way resemble Anchorage's usual weather climate.

This past week and a half, we have been plus 21 to 40 degrees but that is said to change by next week. Also, this is a dry climate where Anchorage and both Carolinas are in wet climates so are not the same feel as those temperatures would be to you. People here wear sweatshirts and hoodies in 21 below weather. I do think that overall, with variations, the entire country is following similar patterns.

Our Spring usually starts in late March and finalizes in April.

Gloria, Taffy wants you to take better care of yourself! She is sensing some distress or tiredness from you. Cats have been known to mother those in their accepted families and sense our feelings from smells and electric impulses we give off. After all we are 70% water and use electrical impulses from our brains and nerves and animals sense and respond to this. Did you know, that the human body's electricity generated could charge an iPhone 5C in 70 hours? Sorry, I love trivia! 

Something I posted in photos after seeing those wonderful photos of Bubble and Don and Sandy's Fe in her nice Mexican dress seems appropriate here as well.  "I agree, the future as we are living it is so different from what we expected or might have wished, and it is in a period of rapid flux, so many inventions we have never heard of or expected to see! I sincerely believe that we are in another industrial,(Scientific?); revolution.

They have even "discovered" a small solar system with planets that look as if they contain water! And they have wristwatches with built in cameras and even special extra lenses made for those camera phones!"

Bubble, Don, and Fe photos links,
http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=11.msg75591#msg75591

Larry, very interesting reading. I also did not know that we begin to lose bone density about thirty! I learn a lot from you.

http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/tc/osteopenia-overview#1

Hi everyone on a beautiful Saturday morning. I have fixed Pat's breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen.  This afternoon I have a man coming to pressure wash the front of my house and my wooden fence that surrounds the back yard.  Next week sometime he will also stain my wooden fence.  This has been something that has needed to be done for awhile. I see this morning that my neighbor, directly across the street from me, has placed her home on the market as a real estate sign appeared sometime yesterday evening. 

Yesterday afternoon I dropped Pat off at Walmart and then went across the street to our Credit Union to take care of some business. I then went to pick her up and as I waiting at the head of the lane in the parking lady a lady across started to back up.  Fortunately she did is very slowly and I laid on my horn.  Fortunately she stopped probably only a couple of inches from the driver's side door of my car.  If I had been thinking carefully rather than sit there and honk I had time to drive ahead but didn't think of it until after the event occurred.  We went from there to our favorite BBQ place for our main meal of the day.  I expect to watch some more of the golf tournament this afternoon.

Mary Ann, your weather sounds like it is a good time to plan to stay indoors.  I hope you didn't get ice. I hope that Tom had many riders last evening. 

Patricia, sure glad my office was in Anchorage and not Fairbanks when I lived in Alaska as that was cold enough for me.  I learn a lot from your interest in trivia.  I didn't know about the human body's electricity being enough to ultimately charge an iPhone.  I read some about the recently discovered small solar system just a few days ago. 

Don, it looks like you were doing a good job of mixing.  What is that mixture filled with?  Were you suppose to be eating them ahead of time?  Tsk! Tsk!

Shirley, always nice to see the first daffodils of the season.  Nice pictures.

JeanneP, what is the movie "Lion" about?  I haven't heard of it until it was mentioned here or in Seniors and Friends. 

MarsGal, I have been to Harrisburg a couple of times.  Are you near the Amish community?

Jackwv, like you if I had to cook for myself I would be eating out more.  However, am getting some experience in the kitchen as my wife hasn't been able to spend much time in the kitchen, although she is beginning to do somethings.  I hope you will join us and regularly post here as we men are outnumbered.    Pretty dogs. 

Hal, what do you mean you only ate the cigar?  You have left me totally in the dark.

Still wintertime here in Northern California.  The relentless rain has been replaced by freezing temperatures.  Miserable for the thousands of unfortunate folks who were flooded out of their homes and apartments in San Jose.  It will take longer to clean up and dry out in this cold weather. 

No hockey games this past week, because of a winter break, so we spent our evenings watching most of the TV shows that we have recorded on our DVR. We had lots of movies to watch, plus a few things on HGTV, and some of the series shows that we follow.  It's the movies that take up most of the space on the DVR, so we watched those that we were really interested in seeing, and deleted quite a few. 

Tonight, hockey starts again, so AJ will return to his favorite pastime! I will relax in front of the TV in the bedroom, and watch the classic film noir movie, Laura, from 1944.  It's playing on our PBS channel, and usually the Saturday Night Movie plays on PBS across the country.  If any of you remember it and would like to see it again, check your PBS channel at 8:00 O'clock.

Larry, I am not far, but not particularly near any Amish communities. The Amish community that gets most of the attention is down around Lancaster. We have Amish communities up in Perry and Snyder Counties; i often see them traveling along Route 11 & 15. There is a general store along the route that they seem to like, and I always see several stands that display quilts. There are probably others scattered about, but I don't know where.

Marilyne, in all the years I've lived here, I have never once been to a Hershey Bears game although i have watched parts of a few games on TV. I am not a big sports fan although I've been known to watch a little car racing, golf, or soccer. I do stop to watch college wrestling if I run across it, but i don't go looking for any sports.

Larry, sorry about the confusion.  I was referring to the shape of the Borek.
see this link: http://www.easyturkishcooking.com/2012/09/cigar-borek-sigara-boregi.html

They also made a type that was flat and used layer upon layer of paper thin pastry, it must have taken ages to make, but it was delicious.  When I was stationed in Turkey I was with NATO 6th Allied Tactical Air Force and we were at an old American University just outside of Izmir, Turkeyhttp://www.easyturkishcooking.com/2012/09/cigar-borek-sigara-boregi.html and we had an international dinning hall.  They made the borek on a regular basis as well as a (what I called beef stew) stew.  The difference between ours and theirs was the size of the ingredients.  Everything was cut larger.  That and a big glass of lemonade suited my just fine.  The Turks were some great farmers and grew some of the best fruits and veggies you could ever want.  Along with their bread (Ekmek) which was make in a kilo loaf and fresh it was great, had a tendency to  sour in the center if kept longer than a day.  But bread was very inexpensive in those days in turkey.  We always bought fresh out of the oven because they didn't wrap their break and sanitation could be a problem.  Remember I am talking early 60's.  Izmir is now a big international tourist destination.

Copied it. They look so good. Going to make to go in freezer. Need to find the doughf first

Hi everyone on a rather cool morning for us as it is only 45 degrees.  However, we will get to the low 60's today with zero chance of rain.  Today will be our usual Sunday with Sunday School and Church and then getting something to eat.  I am not sure that Pat will attend today as she had a rather rough day yesterday.  We stayed home all day yesterday.  The man didn't make it to do the pressure washing but did call, which I much appreciated, to explain what had happened and he said he will be here tomorrow. 

Marilyne, I certainly feel sorry for the poor folks flooded out by the rains you have had in your area.  It is a big and unpleasant job to muck out a home that has been flooded and where the wall boards must be removed so there can be spray for mold, which is a serious problem here in the South. 

MarsGal, I couldn't remember the name Lancaster for the Amish community area we visited a time or two when we lived in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  We also went to Longwood Gardens a couple of times, one of which was when my folks were visiting with us. 

Hal, thanks for the explanation about the cigar shape.  I just hadn't put the two things together.  I bet I would like that bread and it would be a bonus that it had to be fresh each day. 

Larry, my sister and I went to Longwood Gardens two (or was it three) years ago and had a lovely time. We had not been there since we were teenagers. They did some renovations about four or five years ago to the conservatory (I think). When we were there, the main fountains  & topiaries front of the conservatory were closed for work. The fountains will be open again this summer. They were also working on a big meadow garden behind the Pierce du-Pont house which we got to tour.

The following year we drove down to Brandywine Museum. Sue is a big Andrew Wyeth fan, and I had never visited the museum before. There was a display of W. C. Wyeth's art which included some of his book illustrations. I just loved it. I remember a few of them from the books I read as a youngster (particularly his Treasure Island and Robinson Caruso.

It was 19 degrees at 6:45 this morning.  Last week if was not necessary to wear a coat to church, and today I wore my winter jacket!  What a difference a week made.  The sun is shining now so I hope it will get warmer.  The computer says it is 37 degrees now and I'm not going out

Tom had two pretty good days with Uber so he went out again today but things were not as good so he came home about noon.  There are several activities going on that he thought would provide more riders but I guess not. 

Dot and I had a very enjoyable time after church, eating hamburgers and gabbing to solve the world's problems.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann - still cold here, but nothing like your 19 degrees.  When it goes below freezing overnight, we consider that to be a deep Arctic chill!  When I stepped out on the deck early this morning it really took my breath away. I was about 31, according to our gauge.

Winnie likes the deck, but only when there is warmth from the sun, or if it's a warm rain storm coming from the direction of Hawaii. Then he will sit out there, under the awning, and watch the rain for long periods of time. Since it's turned colder, he spends his time sitting in front of one of the vents from the furnace, or in front of the DeLongi (sp?) space heater.  We turn the furnace down at night, but leave the DeLongi on in the living room for him.  He's so thin now, and very arthritic, so I'm sure his bones ache when the temperatures dip. (Just like me!)   

Good morning from a still white, still snowing Interior. They just keep extending the winter storm warning which I find amusing. This is the weather we normally have in late October, but it is just different from the past few years of little to no snow.

I was trying to entice Farrah into playing with me by smacking the ball through her tube toy. For awhile she watched me and watched the ball's progress before swiping a few times herself. After a few moments she got bored and wandered off. I felt just like that lonely child on the playground that no one would play with! 

The over one thousand mile Iditarod dog race starts here on March sixth. It alternates it's start and finish each year between us and Anchorage. It makes it nice that we are situated only a short distance from the river as they set up on the street before us. I can sit on my balcony and watch the races' timed starts  go directly underneath me before running on the ice!

The race commemorates the dog race to get the Diphtheria serum to Nome and the epidemic there in 1925. Last year they trucked snow to the railroad station to send it down to Anchorage and also portions of the trail without any snow. There were all these railway cars stuffed with snow, even some made by the ski resorts. I don't think that will be a problem this year!

I am still organizing things as I either bring them in from the balcony to a new home space or take them down to the give away table. Farrah has discovered the large tub I'm putting the clothes in before donating them to a shelter. I have washed them once so I hope they don't mind a little cat hair. I am moving slowly because I am still weak from being ill and the computer is a terrible distraction!

We are in the thirties and forties with yesterday reaching 52 mid afternoon. However, we are supposed to go colder this next weekend. Everyone has been running around without coats but I expect that to change next week.

I hope the snow cover and weather make for a good Iditarod run this year, Angel.

My cats are the same way. Most of the time, any more, they just watch my roll the ball or swing the rod toy. They seem to prefer watching me than joining in.

Yes, the computer is a huge distraction. I am glad to hear that you are recovering, albeit slowly.

http://iditarod.com/zuma/serum-run-the-rest-of-the-story/

I was wrong in that we alternated with the Iditarod, we alternate with the North American Sled Dog race. However, it started here in 2005 and another year due to poor conditions in the Alaska Range. It has been decided to start here again this year for similar reasons. So, it will still be under my balcony.

"Feb 10, 2017 - Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart to move to Fairbanks ... The ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage will take place as scheduled on Saturday, March 4, ... This marks the third time in the history of the Iditarod that the restart has been moved to Fairbanks due to poor conditions in the Alaska Range. After the ceremonial start in Anchorage, the teams are flown to Fairbanks for the race's timed starts."

One event for Farrah, hopefully, will in be in early March. Each fall, the smaller flocks of wrens, redpolls, grosbeak, pine siskins and other smaller birds unite into huge multi flocks for the winter. In March they appear in my area for a month until breaking up again into smaller flocks of each species. Sarah used to get so excited to see them flying about and coming in to eat the seed I leave for them on the balcony. I'm hoping that Farrah will get the same enjoyment out of these little birds!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/this-furniture-show-is-entirely-devoted-to-cats-242217?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AT%20Daily%2022617%20-%20A%20Bonkers%20Beautiful%20IKEA%20Built-In%20Hack&utm_content=AT%20Daily%2022617%20-%20A%20Bonkers%20Beautiful%20IKEA%20Built-In%20Hack+CID_8de00b238d1c20a7966218e731329b26&utm_source=email_newsletter&utm_term=This%20Furniture%20Show%20Is%20Entirely%20Devoted%20to%20Cats

For all cat lovers and the merely curious! This page shows cat furniture done for a feline charity in Singapore! There is also a Youtube video at the bottom of the page showing cats exploring the furniture. I want one of each! Farrah with all her leaps and bounds would love it. How about your cats?

Marilyne, we are at 40 degrees at 6:25 pm and earlier I noticed 42 degrees.  I don't know if it was warmer than that.  That's quite a climb from 19 to 42 degrees. 

I'm sure Kendrick would love one of each of those pieces of cat furniture, too.  He's very nosy, often looking into any drawer that I may have open.  He doesn't seem interested in the tube thing when there is no catnip in it.  I found the ball he lost and added one to it so there are two balls.  I push them around for him and he seems interested, but he doesn't try to push them himself.  Maybe he considers himself "above" such play! 

Mary Ann

I love the "Mid-Century Modern" cat furniture, and I'm sure Winnie would like it too.  He has to have something soft for his old bones, so I would choose #1, and #4.  I laughed at #4 - looks like an MCM Bertoia chair gone crazy!

Mary Ann - That's a big jump in temperature for you.  Ours only went from 31 to 49 today.  Supposed to be warmer tomorrow, and then by the end of the week, will be a sunny 65!

Patricia, thanks for posting, but knowing Taffy her interest Last about 5 min,  the grey mouse is the only thing she loses and looks for.

Hi everyone on another reasonably cool but sunny morning.  We should get into the low 70's this afternoon.  The man just arrived to pressure wash the front of my house and also the wooden fence in our backyard.  The only thing I have planned for today is to attend my Monday noon meeting and then a quick stop at COSTCO on the way home for gas.  Pat didn't feel up to going to church with me yesterday.  During the children's sermon the minister spoke of Jesus on the mountaintop at the Transfiguration and asked the children what would they do if they were to experience such a thing with such bright light.  One little boy piped up and said he would put on his sunglasses.  The congregation had a hardy laugh.  Sometimes the minister sort of loses control of the situation. 

MarsGal, the Longwood Gardens were very impressive.  We have something similar in Georgia called Callaway Gardens, which we visited two or three times, one time at Christmas time with a senior group.  We went in a bus and had dinner there and then after it got dark we had a bus tour of the gardens with all of the many light displays. 

Mary Ann, it sounds like you needed a winter coat at only 37 degrees.  Glad you solved the world's problems as there are sure plenty of them but suppose there always has been.

Marilyne, like you anything below freezing is considered very cold here in South Carolina.  It sounds like Winnie is wise to stay where it it warm. 

Patricia, I bet the weather forecasters are very happy to have the snowy weather to become excited about.  Sometimes they really over hype things down here such as a day with wind or when rain in coming.  Shame on Farrah for not wanting to play with you but sure she could care less about the shame. I have heard of the Iditarod race but only seen it on the news.  It sounds like there shouldn't be any problem with an absence of snow this year.  I wonder if the dogs enjoy the airplane ride from Anchorage to Fairbanks. 

Mary Ann, it sounds like Kendrick couldn't be bothered to push the balls around. 

deAngel, nice there is at least one thing that interests Taffy.  Each cat seems to have a unique personality. 

Larry - I see that no one has posted here in B&T since your message early this morning!  So even though it's still Monday here in California, I'll say an early good Tuesday morning to you. 
I really enjoyed the story about the little boy who gave  the 'sunglasses' response at your church's children's sermon. I can understand why the congregation got a kick out of it. 

We went to Costco today too, and got some of the staple items that we buy there all the time, like paper towels, Kleenex and Tide.  Do you get the mailer that comes once a month?  I wonder if they offer the same items on sale in all stores across the country?  One of the sale specials we got today, was the ready to eat Ravioli Lasagne tray. (Not frozen) You heat it in the oven for an hour, and it's so delicious!  It's easily large enough for the two of us, for two nights, so the $13.79 price is very reasonable.