Good Morning Everyone,  from the warmer,  but blustery,  rocky coast of Maine.   

First I see windy snow and then the sun comes shinning through...    Sure looks like March!!! 

I hope that everyone has a good day. 

Joan  stay until you are feeling better..
Miss seeing you posts.

Sandy

The wind finally calmed down and things are back to normal.  Our temperature is only 35 degrees, however, and supposed to dip tomorrow.  I am not sure about snow as I saw a forecast with the snow in northern Indiana and Ohio, but I imagine the snow will creep northward and we'll get our share. 

My former employer had over 200,000 meters out of service and say that it could be Sunday before everyone is back in service.  DTE, in the Detroit area, had 700,000 without power and have the same recovery schedule.  Both companies have help from surrounding states - Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.

I've had Starbuck's coffee a couple of time, but both times were when with Jim and someone had given him a coupon or two as gifts.  It tasted OK, but I was not (am not) tempted to go there to get a cup or whatever.  There is one near my grocery store, but I don't do the grocery shopping any more so I have a built-in deterrent.

Mary Ann

MaryAnn, I see from the Grand Haven cam this morning that the lake is calmer. Yesterday there were several "white horses" as Kelly called them. And the waves were breaking over the causeway.

I used to stop in occasionally at a Starbucks in the malls, but more often, at a local coffee shop, McCaffertes, who have local blues or jazz artists and better coffee. I drink a full coffee pot daily and think of tea only when I am ill so I do have a coffee habit. Other than that, I try to drink a gallon of water daily as suggested by my doctor and the key word there is try. I also prefer hot chocolate in the winter and icy juice in the summer.

Gloria, Dora has never wanted or needed a pet. But she loves Alan so the cat stays. She says it is better than a sports car or a motorcycle and he has bought Duchess a full supply of toys and a bed. She also said she is expecting Alan to suggest a playdate! I predict, knowing Dora, that she too will fall under Duchess's spell.

It is very cold here, minus 36 now, so retirement is looking good to me right now!

I drink mostly Starbucks coffee but usually at home out of my coffee pot.  My only niece's husband is a shift manager at the York, PA Starbucks roasting facility.  Whenever they are coming this way or I'm going down, I order from them and get it at a discount.  When I don't have Starbucks, I notice a difference.  I very seldom get it at a Starbucks store.  As someone noticed, it's very expensive.  However, sometimes when I'm down there visiting my sister, we all go to breakfast and then Pat stops at a Starbucks and treats us to after dinner coffee. 

Patricia, we have something in common.  When I crave tea, I know I'm sick.  And when I crave Campbells Chicken Rice soup, I'm still sick.

So far, my "Meal in a Dish" will include some ground beef, leftover baked beans, an envelope of Uncle Ben's Teriyaki rice, a couple scoops of crushed pineapple? and some shredded cheese + some onions and other seasonings.  What else?

Janie, other than the cheese, that sounds good! I like local coffee shops because they grind their own beans on location. When I buy my own coffee, I prefer dark Columbian or other strong flavorings.

One odd thing I noticed a few years back is that sourdough bread tastes good with a sore throat. It is akin to scratching an itch.

When I want a cup of coffee I want it to taste like coffee.  So Starbucks and DD and McCafe, etc. with all their fancy flavorings are out of the question so far as I'm concerned.  Plus the prices of all those specials are way out of line, IMO.   

Jeanne Lee, while I take my coffee black, I have a friend who fills hers with lots of sugar and coffee creamers. I always ask her if she wants coffee with her syrup? Anyway, now they are coming out with so many different types of coffee syrups and creamers. There is even, I kid you not, a jalapeno coffee creamer!

Quote from: Denver on March 08, 2017, 01:18:22 PM
Just saw this post in Face Book and wanted to share.

Update on Mom (Joan Lavelle) - Hello family and friends, Mom caught a cold in the last week and has had trouble shaking it.  So she went to the ER this morning to get the help she needed to get on the mend.  She and the doctor decided that it would be best to admit her for a day or two for the extra attention that she will get there.  She is at Viera Hospital if you want to call her later today.  Please wait until late this afternoon as she is catching up on sleep.  Linda is headed down tonight to help.

We expect that it will be a short stay at the hospital...

I'm so sorry to read that our Joan is not well.   I do hope that this definitely is a short stay in the hospital and that Joan will...


Love

Pat
xxxx

Good afternoon, again very windy, the sun is shinning and in the 50's. Tomorrow is a different story, wind very cold and 3 to 5 inches of snow.Also next Tuesday another snow storm is in the forecast. Saturday will be down in the teens.  I do not know how manypeople will show up for the bif St. Pats parade. A few years ago the Red Hats were in it, we even had a float.

Joan, pray that you are feeling better each day.

Gloria, guess you and I are going to have the same weather. A man just knocked on my door and said they are putting in a new cable for Cablevision and will be walking on my front lawn, and tearing up the street.  That will be fun with a snow storm.  In Feb. I kept telling everyone to watch out for March.  As  my Grandmother use to remind us about the Blizzard of 1888 in March.

A very good morning to all……To our Bis, Prayers and hopeful thoughts for a quick recovery. I pray they are keeping you comfortable and giving you healing therapy and pleasant medications.

Janie, we are having bright sunshine, and a high of 82 today. Hopefully if your snowfall arrives it will be the last hurrah for winter.

Gloria, same good wishes for you as far as snow is concerned. What is the latest you have had snow in your area, do you recall ? I just received a billing from the hospital visit I had last November. I was there for three days. My total bill was 23,649.00 dollars. I owe them $100.00 dollars. I am so thankful for insurance.

Larry, the ure-Na is not a prescription medication, but it is not over the counter either. I has to be monitored with a Drs. recommendation. I just took my daily dose. Yuck ! It is a lemon-lime flavor, but it tastes more like the peeling of the fruit than the juice.

Jeanne Lee, I have never had a taste of Starbucks, or any of those others you mentioned. I buy my Folgers classic roast, and enjoy. I used to make percolator coffee but the past ten years I have been using a drip coffee maker

Patricia, I too am a black coffee drinker. Here at Rowntree the bring both regular coffee and decaffeinated. I always order "the real thing".



Pat H. thank you ! i had read that message earlier and I thank you for posting it for those who may have missed it. I hope that you too Pat are feeling much better. You had a long time of being not well, and I pray it is all in the past now.

Jeanne Lee and June, Now they are adding wine to coffee!

https://www.popsugar.com/food/Wine-Infused-Coffee-43271497?utm_source=living_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=living_newsletter_Thu_03092017&trk=article_cta_1

I used to only add sugar to cereal and one day wondered why I was doing that? Now I get enough in what the manufacturers add to food and in the occasional baked goods. Did you know that sugar and salt are added to toothpaste for flavoring? Or that both are added to baby food, not for the baby but for the mom tasting so she will continue to purchase that brand?

Patricia, I don't add those flavors to my Starbucks coffee and I grind the beans myself.  I'm also partial to the bold blends and they are so good when I do it myself. The only thing I add is a little bit of light cream.  I can drink it black but I prefer it light.

The casserole is ready for the oven but I forgot the pineapple.  Since I have cheese on top, I don't want to stir it.  I'll leave the cheese off for those who are lactose intolerant.  And I didn't have any ground beef when I looked so it has some chopped ham in it instead.

There was no sugar in my baby food or in that which was fed to my grandchildren.  We made our own.  It wasn't just BETTER!  It was also cheaper.

My mom also made ours with some little container that had a whisk type of handle. All of the grandkids had it made at home probably because that was what our mother did? Then too, both of my sisters are chefs so they probably knew better even back then about commercial additives.

I buy bagged coffee locally from McCafferties that is so good! Otherwise Folgers Columbian or coffeehouse style dark or whole beans.

I just heard that Ellen DeGeneres said, "I really don't need buns of steel. I'd be happy with buns of cinnamon."

Went for choir practice and planned to do exercise,but just too tired. So I came home and slept for over an hour.I want to attend a program at 6:30, so hope this tiredness goes on it's merry way. How can one get so physically worn out doing practically nothing ?

Good night everyone. c u all later.

Lloyd

Just getting here to see if there was any news about Joan.  Sure hope she is improving and will be back home soon.

I have been buying the coffee pods from a place called (I think) International Blends.  Cheaper than getting them from Keurik.  I like the Hazelnut flavored coffee.  This place has a lot of flavored blends.  I also have an extra piece for the Keurik that I can use my own coffee.

I do do that sometimes.

I like a cup of coffee in the morning, but I am not a person who just has to have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning to wake up.  I don't usually have any during the day or even for dinner,  but I do like a cup of coffee if I go out for dinner.  Nice to have a cup of coffee and just sit a bit after eating a big dinner and talk with friends or family. 

I also like coffee with some Bailey's Irish cream or Amaretto with whipped cream.   A rarely nice special treat.

And I am also a tea drinker too. 

Our weatherman is calling for a messy morning tomorrow.  A little bit of rain early , turning to snow right at rush-hour time.  Schools will probably be opening late.  He did say the ground is too warm for it to hang around.   Mostly on the grassy areas, and not much on the roads.  Just enough to be messy and cause delays.  More snow is predicted for the beginning of the week.   Possibly a Nor-eastern storm brining in a lot of snow, but right now,  that is just "iffy".  Sure hope he is wrong about that one.  We have had some really bad snow storms in mid-March many times.  So far, this winter, we have had less than an inch of snow all together.  It has been cold and windy, but very little precipitation, which is causing some drought.  Even some of the ski resorts have already closed in our area.

However, no use complaining as the weather is something we can't do much about.

Hope everyone will have a good restful night and sleep tight.

Joy

Good Night Everyfriend and may God bless us, every one!

Good morning

Yesterday was from stem to stern...I did manage to get some things done here but the gremlins are still having their way in my sewing room. I phoned the vet and they wanted to see her so off we went dog and I. Told the girl I wouldn't get there for an hour and I pushed it all the way too! Turns out she had a reaction to the stitches  and has an infection in her incision. Two needles and a weeks worth off pills and this time there is/was a bandage in her ,I had to re do the bandage this morning.
Now we are off to the city hubby has chemo today and we will take both dogs with us. I didn't think it would be fair to ask them to walk the Golden on a leash.

Jane, I am not so sure about that, you are one busy lady!! Always on the go and working to boot!!!

Better get a move on here have water,treats to get ready for dogs and hubby...better not mix them up.

Gloria to the south of us they got 2-3 inches of snow and all we got was maybe 10 flakes!!

Joan, we sure miss you and hope your are getting stronger day by day.surrounding you in prayers..

Enjoy your day

Good Morning Everyfriend!  One busy day coming up....

This morning I have my station to fill at Wally World from 9-1.  Then I have to meet my niece at Susquehanna University where she is picking up my grandniece for Spring vacation.  (that's about 14 miles away) She's bringing me 3 lbs. of Starbucks coffee (HOORAY!!)  I'll be having great coffee tomorrow. 

Later, my daughter and SIL are picking me up to go to dinner to celebrate my daughter's 60th birthday!  Now you know what I was up to 60 years ago today!

It's going to be a full day!

Amy,  I'm so sorry for the complications for your doggie but nice that you can take them with you when you go to the city!  I hope you can keep the snacks straight.  Did you bring some for yourself?

I better get this day started.  I hope it's the one that we hear JOANIE is all recovered!

Forgot to mention that we had snow overnight!  It's still coming down and supposed to last until about 3 but it doesn't seem to be laying on the sidewalks or roads....just in the grassy areas and on the trees and bushes.  So far, it's really beautiful!  I hope that's all it is all day!

Good morning everyone, it is snowing and looks beautiful. None on the roads or pavement yet but it is on the grassy areas and cars and roofs. The roads must be too warm for it to stick. This time we are at the low end for amount of snow. At least the strong winds from yesterday are gone. There will be more along the coast. From what I heard already this morning we could be in for a nor'easter next week.  Here comes the other shoe I was waiting to fall. I went to older son's for a turkey dinner last night. It was my grandson's birthday and I got to see my great grandson.  I got some hugs from him. He is still fascinated with my rollator.

PHYLLIS  hope you got out for that milk and bread before snow starts there. I had to laugh yesterday, so many here went to the stores for that yesterday. Great that your younger son and a grandson went there for a visit. I know you enjoyed seeing them.

LARRY  I can imagine Pat was tired out after being at the craft group. I know I was exhausted when I got home from my son's last night. It did not take long for me to get changed and into bed. Last place I worked they started getting calls saying there was a bomb in the building. WE all had to go outside while the fire and police departments checked everything out. After a few time of that and being outside and waiting a group of us would walk to the corner to a DD and have coffee and something to snack on. Of course nothing was ever found and they finally tracked it to a man who had worked there a short time and was fired.

CALLIE  after going out yesterday today will be a lazy day for me. I think Joan is on all our minds and in our prayers.

PATRICIA  I have a 4 cup coffee pot and that is all the coffee I have every day. Like you the only time I drink tea is if I do not feel well. I do have 1 or 2 Ensures a day but the rest of the time I drink water. I rather eat the fruit than drink juice. Love your Dora and Alan and Duchess. Hard to resist is kitten.

JANE  like you I like the Campbell's chicken soup or the Lipton's cup o soup when I do not feel good.

JEANNE LEE I like plain coffee too. Nothing fancy for me.

PATRICIA  one lady who lived her like her coffee like your friend. She always had one with her and drank it with a straw. Might as well put coffee syrup in a glass of milk.

PAT  great seeing your post this morning. We are all praying for Joan. I hope you are feeling much better, too.

GLORIA de  the temperature here is dropping but at least it is not windy today. We have had some big snowstorms on St. Patrick's day before. A couple of years ago we had one on April 1st and one year in May. Not a good day to dig up the street.

JUNE  I remember a snow storm in May.  A heavy wet snow that cause a lot of damage to trees and bushes that were in full bloom. I was visiting a niece at that time and her husband and I went out on their snowmobiles. Hope I never have to go to a hospital again. The costs are horrible.

PATRICIA  there is a lot of sugar and sodium in prepared foods. Any one who bothers to read the labels will see sucrose and that is sugar. I still have a sweet tooth but limit how much of it that I eat. I have read at times that sourdough bread is better than white for diabetics but hard to find any around here.  There is one brand that has a sourdough Italian bread but to me it does not taste like any I had when visiting my daughter in San Diego.

JOY  here they started school closings for today. Many things have been cancelled, too. Roads are still clear. Sand trucks were out last night treating the roads so might be that is doing the trick. Snow is piling up on grassy areas.

AMY  I hope you fur baby starts healing now. Safe driving into the city again today.

JANE  your snow looks like it is here. All pavement is wet but snow adding up on grassy areas.

JOAN  you are in our prayers wishing you to feel much better.

I got this in an email yesterday. I would not say it is really true because I know I read the last one before. Still some crazy people around.


The NEW DARWIN AWARDS ARE
HERE!!


The Darwin Awards are finally out. The annual honor given to the persons who did the gene pool the biggest service by killing themselves in the most extraordinarily stupid way. Last year's winner was the fellow who was killed by a Coke machine which toppled
over on top of him as he was attempting to tip a free soda
out.

This year's winner was a real rocket scientist...
HONEST Read on...And remember that each and every one of these is TRUE. And the nominees were:

Semifinalist #1
A young Canadian man, searching for a way of getting drunk cheaply, because he had no money with which to buy alcohol,mixed gasoline with milk… Not surprisingly, this concoction made him ill, and he vomited into the fireplace in his house. The resulting explosion and fire burned his house down, killing both him and his sister.

Semifinalist #2
Three Brazilian men were flying in a light aircraft at low altitude when another plane approached. It  appears that
they decided to moon the occupants of the other plane, but lost control of their own aircraft and crashed.. They were all found dead in the
wreckage with their pants around their ankles.

Semifinalist #3
A 22-year-old Reston , VA , man was found dead after he
tried to use octopus straps to bungee jump off a 70-foot
railroad trestle. Fairfax County police said Eric Barcia, a fast food worker, taped a bunch of these straps together,wrapped an end around one foot, anchored the other end to the trestle at Lake Accotink Park , jumped and hit the pavement. Warren Carmichael, a police spokesman, said investigators think Barcia was alone because his car was found nearby. 'The
length of the cord that he had assembled was greater than the distance between the trestle and the ground,' Carmichael said. Police say the apparent cause of death was 'Major trauma.'

Semifinalist #4
A man in Alabama died from rattlesnake bites. It seems that
he and a friend were playing a game of catch, using the
rattlesnake as a ball. The friend - no doubt a future Darwin
Awards candidate - was hospitalized.


Semifinalist #5
Employees in a medium-sized warehouse in west Texas noticed the smell of a gas leak. Sensibly, management evacuated the building extinguishing all potential sources of ignition; lights, power, etc. After the building had been evacuated, two technicians from the gas company were dispatched. Upon entering the building, they found they had difficulty navigating in the dark. To their frustration, none of the lights worked. Witnesses later described the sight of one of the technicians reaching into his pocket and retrieving an object that resembled a cigarette lighter! Upon operation of the lighter-like object, the gas in the warehouse exploded, sending pieces of it up to three miles away. Nothing was found of the technicians, but the lighter was virtually untouched by the explosion. The technician
suspected of causing the blast had never been thought of as
''bright'' by his peers.

Now, the winner of this year's Darwin Award (awarded, as
always, posthumously):
The Arizona Highway Patrol came upon a pile of smoldering
metal embedded in the side of a cliff rising above the road
at the apex of a curve. The wreckage resembled the site of
an airplane crash, but it was a car. The type of car was unidentifiable at the scene. Police investigators finally pieced together the mystery. An amateur rocket scientist.... had somehow gotten hold of a
JATO bottle (Jet Assisted Take Off, actually a solid fuel rocket) that is used to give heavy
military transport planes an extra 'push' for taking off from short airfields. He had driven his Chevy Impala out into the desert and found a long, straight stretch of road. He attached the JATO unit to the car, jumped in, got up some speed and fired off the JATO!
The facts as best as could be determined are that the operator of the 1967 Impala hit the JATO ignition at a distance of approximately 3.0 miles from the crash site. This was established by the scorched and melted asphalt at that location.
The JATO, if operating properly, would have reached maximum
thrust within 5 seconds, causing the Chevy to reach speeds
well in excess of 350 mph and continuing at full power for
an additional 20 -25 seconds.
The driver, and soon to be pilot, would have experienced
G-forces usually reserved for dog fighting F -14 jocks under
full afterburners, causing him to become irrelevant for the
remainder of the event.  However, the automobile remained on the straight highway for about 2.5 miles (15-20 seconds) before the driver applied and completely melted the brakes, blowing the tires and leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface, then
becoming airborne for an additional1.4 miles and impacting the cliff face at a height of 125 feet leaving a blackened crater 3 feet deep in the rock.  Most of the driver's remains were not recoverable.
However, small fragments of bone, teeth and hair were
extracted from the crater, and fingernail and bone shards
were removed from a piece of debris believed to be a portion
of the steering wheel.
Epilogue: It has been calculated that this moron attained a
ground speed of approximately 420-mph, though much of his
voyage was not actually on the ground.
You couldn't make this stuff up, could you?
AND PEOPLE JUST LIKE THIS ARE ALL AROUND US, BREEDING &
VOTING!!!… SCARY
--
God bless us
all..

Believe it or not

Good Morning Everyone,  from the yet again, cooler rocky coast of Maine. 

Yikes Gloria...  Those "Darwin Awards"  are really creepy!       Sure glad my name is not on them.

It is already the 10th  of March .....   I love Spring,  because
we have so much good weather to look forward to.     
(I suspect that I am repeating myself,    Ayah!)

All is well here.    Joan,  I hope that you are doing OK.
Have a good day,  Everyone!
Sandy

Hi everyone. Good to see so many interesting postings since I posted yesterday.  We may get a little rain this morning and then partly cloudy the rest of the day but still getting into the lower 70's.  The housekeeper will be here this morning and Pat mentioned going over to the nursing home near by as she volunteered to check with them to see if they could use some of the care blankets the Gifts group has been making.  We will also visit a friend who is there that is 95 years old and usually sits at the same table we do on Wednesday night dinners.  We have also decided to go out to eat today as we often do on the day the housekeeper is here.

Mary Ann, those power outages made the evening news last night.  Certainly glad you didn't lose power. 

JaneS, your meal in a dish sounds delicious.  You have created a new recipe but now see that you had to change the ingredients but I bet it still was good. 

Joy, when I used to drink coffee I also preferred Hazelnut.  Pat now buys the pods online and gets a variety of flavors like Pumpkin Spice or the one she had this morning called Glazed Donut.  I also liked cinnamon flavor in the coffee. 

deAngel, a number of years ago they put an optic cable in our neighborhood and just dug a hole every few feet and had a tool that would bore through to the next hole in which the cable was installed.  We have Comcast cable buried in our neighborhood and it was put in as the properties were developed. 

Gloria, those hugs from those great grandchildren are certainly special.  Glad to your attend the evening event.  Those Darwin awards are something else. 

It's only 32 degrees so far with the sun shining.  I was able to put out the trash without having to wear a coat, however.

I've been working on my income tax and I have to watch where I put periods and/or commas.  I think I put a comma where I should have had a period and all of a sudden I noticed either a refund or payment due of over $14,000.  I changed that in a hurry and I still am in the area of neither refund or payment because I'm not that far along in my return.  I'm using Turbo Tax.

It's a little windy at Grand Haven today, but nothing like it was Wednesday; there are whitecaps.

Mary Ann

I found this on the news. You can't make this stuff up!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Not staged” - A Florida lawyer, whose suit caught fire in court when E-cig batteries in his pocket overheated. He was defending someone accused of arson. Lawyer lawyer pants on fire.

Gurrrrrr....I have not lost a post in awhile, but managed to do it today! 

Of course I lost it just as I was signing off! 

Moral of the story......

Day started very early with an Amber Alert out of El Paso Texas at 5 AM!  REALLY??

It is a beautiful bright and clear day here in Austin!

Only positive thoughts and plenty of prayers for our JOAN today.  I hope she is feeling stronger every day.

AMY, Sorry your girl had a set back with a infection in the stitches. 

JANE, enjoy your adventure today going to puck up your grandniece and your Starbucks Coffee...

GLORIA, happy to read you got to see the family last night....especially tha great grandson!  I bet he has grown a lot since you saw him last....they change so quickly!  Thanks for sharing the Darwin's!  Pretty cRaZy! 

Have a wonderful Friday, EVERYFRIEND,

Jenny

Good afternoon, been snowing since daybreak suppose to stop around 4PM.  Very little wind, so the wires are hanging low. Suppose to be in the teens to morrow.

Gloria, enjoyed your post, but how dumb can some people be, they sure did not think.

Joy, I also bought coco pods. On a cold night I like to fix coco or Ovaltine . Like last night when I got up at 3AM. I also did some knitting.

Larry our Homemakers group fix boxes at Christmas for folks in the nursing Homes.  We start collecting now, to make up the packages later this year.  Sm. calendars, pens, playing cards, knit hats for men,small notepads, combs, chapstick, light weight  scarves, jewelry, no pins. etc. we also make lap robs.

Jenny, for some reason I have also lost post, when I got to the very last  word. Of course they had been long post also.

Amy, hope everything went well, on your trip to the city.

Good afternoon everyone!

Had a 10 o'clock appointment with my back doctor this morning.  Ended up with a backbrace.  Seems to be helping, but we shall see.

Jenny, I got the same Amber Alert, along with one from Palestine, Tx.  Funny, the Palestine came in first and I had left my phone in the kitchen and it must have scared my dog, she jumped up, scooted her bed across the floor and started barking, I got up to check to see what she was barking about and the new Alert came in........small world.

We are having rainy weather, not steady, but now and then.  Yesterday a guy was killed when a ditch caved in and then the rain started, steady in that area. 

Hope everyone has a great evening.

Had a busy morning. Housekeeper was here with deep cleaning, so I disappeared downstairs. Took care of some medical and monitary questions and received good understandable answers. So even though it took half of my day, it was well worth the effort. There is a lot going on in the background of running a place like this, and doing it so well, and all the answers are there in black and white. I love living here and I love the helpful folks that work here. They are the best.

Now it is time to scoot down for lunch, and I already hear bed and book calling to me.

Bis, Prayers for your healing..we need you dear.