Norms Bait and Tackle

[Mary Ann]

Patricia, Tom had expressed a wish to have the dining set that his folks had.  After many years, Dot bought another set and told Tom he could have the old set.  The trouble was we had no room for it here.  I offered to sell my set but Tom said my set was better than that of his folks and he told Dot to give it to Goodwill or something comparable.  It would take two men to handle it and most of those places have only one person to pick up things.  I'm not sure Dot has gotten rid of it yet. 

I can't help you with the book but I think the author was a Leila ---.  I have it yet, but Tom does not want me going up and/or down the stairs, so I don't.  I know I have the right title for "Seven Years in Tibet", but I read it maybe in the 70s so it is an old book and probably is out of print.  In fact, both of them could be out of print now.

Since I do not answer calls where I don't recognize the number or name, I have no idea whether they are targeting seniors or not - when they don't leave a message.  I did get a call yesterday, supposedly from DTE (my gas company) and said I should call a certain number and have my customer number handy.  I did not call back and I have an idea it was an attempt to get me to change companies.  Caller ID costs me $10 a month and I feel it is well worth the amount as it saves me a lot of headaches.

Jean, is it to much to wish that the bluebird would stick around?  When I had a cottage in the 60s a neighbor put up several bluebird houses and after he died that was the last I saw of the bluebirds.

I went to the doctor today and got at clean bill of health on my skin cancer surgery.  I will put oval patches on the surgery for 10 days, then I don't have to return until January for my next appointment. 

It is turning out to be a lovely day with the sun shining and the temp in the high 50s which means I only had to have a lightweight jacket on, no coat. 

I think I'll join the cat on my bed - for a catnap!!!

Mary Ann

[Marilyne]

MARY ANN  -  "Seven Years in Tibet", was made into a movie in the 1990's.  It got good reviews and nominations for awards. We watched it when it became available on TV, and thought it was a wonderful and inspirational story.  I always meant to get the book at the library after that, but never did.  However, I see they have it at my library, so I've ordered it, and it will be put on hold for me until I can get over there and pick it up.  Lookin forward to it.

Jean - We also have an answering machine, and we never answer the phone unless we recognize the name or number. We also have Comcast Voice Mail, but I don't care for it at all. I agree, that we have to be on guard for the phone scammers. As soon as one scam is discovered, they think of another one to take its place.  I guess there is no end to new ideas that these crooks come up with!

[angelface555]

Want to know what makes me feel all warm and fuzzy?

Postal mail letting me know that my car's license, insurance, bodywork, etc. needs an immediate overhaul, and I need to promptly re-update all my information to them to get started. No matter that I'm disabled and have never had a driver's license or car for that matter ever!

Or the birthday wishes from political folks or businesses wishing me a happy birthday, with occasional exclusive sales just for me, often two or three months prior or past the actual date!

yay! for me!

[Mary Ann]

Gee,  Patricia, you're lucky.  I have had a car, insurance etc and I've never received any mail like that, postal or otherwise.  Not even after I sold the car.  Thank heaven for small favors in that I haven't received anything.  Maybe the fact that I had all of my insurance with the same company so they know I don't have the car or insurance now!  Tongue in cheek!

Mary Ann

[Beverly]

Stopping in to say a few words tonight. Chape is already sleeping. He got up early to greet the roofers (they finished today) and the man who cleans out the dryer vent. The new roof looks great. It will be nice to wake up tomorrow without the hammering and banging on the roof!

I had a much needed haircut today. I had a perm almost two months ago and it's still very curly. That would be good, except that my hair is so fine and quite thin. It takes curl easily and can tend to turn out frizzy!  I use a curling brush to smooth it out.

We have a good Red Lobster near us. It's one of my favorite places but we seldom eat out now.

Temps were down to 70 today and it was damp and drizzly.

A friend of mine from New Hampshire posted a video on Facebook today. She lives in a very rural area and has a long dirt drive into her house. There was a sandhill crane meandering down the road in front of her. I said he must have been lost.  He's probably getting ready to head south along with all the "snowbirds". It was alone and down here they are almost always in pairs. I love watching them.

Hope you all sleep well! Good night.

[Vanilla-Jackie]

Patricia...
...ask them to send proof of your " fictional " car...i am sure you would like to see what car you are supposed to have..

[so_P_bubble]

Mary Ann, your post about 7 years in Tibet brought back many memories. It was written in the 50s and after Henrich Harrer left Tibet (and helped in the present Dalai Lama's escape from Tibet) he went on a conference talk around the world to promote his book. I hear him when I was in High School and of course bought his book.  Harrer autographed it in Tibetan script! He was a wonderful speaker.

[Mary Ann]

Bubble, you can tell by the fact I read the book twice that I enjoyed it; I think he was a good writer too.  How fortunate you were to hear him in person.  It was a fascinating story.

Mary Ann

[Marilyne]

Mary Ann & Bubble - I'm looking forward to getting Seven Years in Tibet, from my library this weekend.  I'll also check the movie stacks, and see if the film is available there on DVD. I'm usually tuned into movies and awards, so I'm surprised that I don't remember this one? I'm also looking for a movie that MarsGal recommended from the 1990's - A Handmaid's Tale. 

[Mary Ann]

Marilyn, I think you will enjoy the book and the many risks he took as he crossed Tibet. 

The sun is trying to shine here and we're in the comfortable 50s.  According to radar, we are not expecting rain today, but maybe tomorrow.

Kendrick is very comfortable on my bed.  He'd love it if I were to lie down too, but that will not happen until sometime this afternoon. 

Mary Ann

[MarsGal]

Marilyne, you won't regret the time spent reading Seven Years in Tibet.

Bubble, how wonderful that you got to hear a talk by Harrer, and an autographed book as well.

I am going to revise my comment that I won't be reading Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale follow up, The Testament. I listened to the sample and put it on my wishlist.

[CallieOK]

Are we talking about the same "Handmaid's Tale"?  The one I read was set in a future society that severely restricted women and used them for 'breeding".  I thought the entire story was Scary and can't imagine enjoying a movie that probably graphically shows sex and brutality.
Never heard of a 1990 movie with this title.  Is it the same story?

Had a "read one more chapter" night last night and managed to finish "Another Piece Of My Heart" by Jane Green.  It's about a step-mother and a rebellious step-daughter.  Pretty good but not sure I'd recommend it if you can find something else.

Just finished watching my OU Sooners wallop West Virginia Univ.  About ready to watch OK State play Baylor.  Not sure just who will do the walloping in this one! 
Both teams playing at home and it's Homecoming at both schools.  Gorgeous football day!

[MarsGal]

Yes it is Callie. George saw a notice, don't know where, that a little independent theater nearby was showing it. Like I said, he thought it was a Shakespeare play (he told me afterwards). I never saw it advertised anywhere. None of the big theaters showed it, and so it disappeared for years. With big names like in the cast and Harold Pinter being credited with the screenplay (and that is a story in itself), you would think it would have gotten better advertising and placement. The critics gave it mediocre reviews. I think the subject matter was a little beyond their tastes back then (1990). Here is an interesting article about the movie that The Atlantic published in 2015. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/03/the-forgotten-handmaids-tale/388514/ I didn't have the disadvantage of reading the book (never even heard of it before then) before seeing the movie. It was a few years until I ran across the book and read it. The movie does not follow the diary format of the book. In fact, nowhere does it show (that I recall) anthropologists reading and analyzing the diary. It is a straight up tale in the movie.

I got the last of my new cafe curtains up today. They look nice, but the burlap weave is a looser weave than I expected, so they aren't any more private (and possibly less)than the old ones that were a closer weave but very thin. They will do fine until I can actually get the windows replaced. I am hoping to have them make them a little shorter so I can put a counter under them. I really need counter space. I finally located a company that is approved by the utility company for weatherproofing and such. They do energy audits, insulation, weather sealing, and replacement windows too. I'll give them a call in March or April to see what they can do for me. This house badly needs better insulating.

[Beverly]

When I look at the times messages are posted it's confusing. The last post by Mars Gal  said it was posted yesterday at 10:20 p.m. I'm pretty sure some of these were posted today!    Anyone have an explanation? (It's 8:40 here.) I realize we are in different time zones both here and overseas.

[JeanneP]

My time has been showing wrong on here ages. It is 7.53 right now so let's see what shows


Showing 12.53 am crazy

[Beverly]

I've been wondering about FlaJean. Tropical storm Nestor swept across the Panhandle today with high winds, rain and quite a bit of damage. It's been raining here off and on all day.

[Mary Ann]

Beverly and Jeanne, the time shown on my computer for messages sent is an hour off - it is just after 9 pm here and the time probably will show about 8 something.  (PS - the time shows as 8:15 and it's 9:17 pm here).  (PPS - Jean posted in something about the same time as I posted here tonight.  It had to do with picture sizes.)

Jean's post of yesterday:  "We are in for some rain for several days.  The storm coming in is supposed to be to the east of us and coming through tomorrow." 

So she was expecting something in the way of weather.  I have not been watching the TV as far as weather is concerned, so I hope there is no damage in her area.  I think I heard that the storm was moving fast. 

We've had a fairly nice day, although the sun wasn't too bright - but it did try to shine a bit.

Mary Ann

[Beverly]

Mary Ann - Next to your name the time I see is "Today at 1:15 a.m."

[angelface555]

The majority of the Eastern morning posts show as 1 to 4 AM. Beverly's post saying it was 8:40 AM, shows to me as posted at 4:37 PM, yesterday. It is 6:41 AM here, so I'm curious about whether it shows the proper four hour time difference. I've also noticed errors in the forum listings,  some posts not always showing until you go to that particular discussion. That might be something for Bubble to have Michael fix.

[MaryTX]

Patricia, the time by your name on your last post was 9:42AM. That was the time I received it.  I'm in Central Time Zone.  What time did you send it in your time?

Mary

[angelface555]

6:41 AM. It is now 7:25 AM Sunday. I'm in Alaska Standard Time and usually one hour behind the West Coast.

[Marilyne]

Good Sunday morning everyone.  The time on all messages here in S&F, show Pacific Daylight Time, which is my time.  That's the way it has always been for me?  As I'm reading them, I remember that Patricia, is one hour behind me, Jenny is one hour ahead (Mountain Time), MaryTx and Callie are two hours ahead, (Central) and Mary Ann and Beverly and most members, are three hours ahead. (Eastern).  That's the way it has always been for me here. It only shows Pacific Time,  on all posts, no matter what part of the country or the world they come from.

[angelface555]

It's calibrated for each member's time zone so just add an hour to Marilyne and you'll have my time zone.

[FlaJean]

We have sunshine and 71 degrees.  Beautiful day!

Beverly, we just got some light rain and no wind at all.  Now if we can get thru the rest of October and November without a hurricane! 😊

We are on central time here in Northwest Florida.  The rest of Florida is on eastern time.

Mary Ann, I guess you have had your tuna melt and cream pie by now.  We are really running on slow time this morning.  We slept in this morning and had a leisurely breakfast and enjoyed all the sunshine after several overcast and dreary days.

Have a good day everyone!

[Marilyne]

JEAN - I was thinking about you during the worst of Nestor, so it's good to hear that you were not affected by the storm.  I didn't realize that the panhandle section of Florida was in the Central Time Zone. I thought the entire state was in the Eastern Zone. 

Here is a bright clear map, showing the different zones in the USA. Interesting how some states are divided almost in half, and other have just a piece.
https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/timezone.htm 

[Beverly]

Jean - So glad you were spared that storm. Like you, we have our fingers crossed to get through the rest of the season without any hurricanes. It's a bright sunny day here, too.

Patricia - I'm assuming you posted this today. The time on your last post says Today at 4:24 p.m., which in my world, hasn't happened yet. 

Another quiet day here.........

[Mary Ann]

The time posted for me is an hour slow.  Beverly said a previous post of mine was at 1:15 am.  I posted that particular post at 9:15 pm.  Some how or other for Beverly, my time was moved to Alaska.  If I want to know when someone posted, I just add an hour to what it says.  At least, for me, it's consistent.

This year has been the 150th anniversary of the founding of our church so we had a luncheon after church to celebrate.  While I was disappointed there were not more people, we had a nice catered lunch - steam table with rolls, tossed salad, jello salad, sliced potatoes with sauce (later some mashed potatoes), beef and/or chicken, green beans and corn casserole.  We had a decent crowd but I was disappointed to not see some former members.  A few people talked about their memories and I have an idea there was more program afterward, but Dot was hurting badly so we left after we finished eating.  Desserts were most cupcakes of several varieties and a couple of frosted cakes (of which  I took a piece).  Coffee was decaf only and was very good.  I'm glad we went. 
 
Dot's hips are hurting and the cream she puts on them is not doing as good as it was when she first started using it.  I don't know what she will do because SHE HURTS!  Her doctor can prescribe the cream to help control the pain, but no one seems to be able to find what causes the pain.  Pain pills don't work.  It probably is some form of arthritis and that doesn't go away.  She says people don't understand and I'm sure many people do not since she looks perfectly normal otherwise.

I'll check more of S&F, then I'll take a nap.  Oh, it is a beautiful day - 60+ degrees at 2:17 pm.

Mary Ann                 

[Beverly]

Mary Ann - Your after-church-luncheon sounds good. I feel so bad for Dot with her pain. She's right that most people don't understand. I've learned not to mention any physical problems because everyone always says, "But you look great!" So many diseases and conditions don't show on the outside.

As to the time of posts, I think they're testing my mental capacity!  Yours says it's Today at 6:17 P.M.! My local time is 2:40 p.m.  You could say "I'm behind the times" 

[Marilyne]

MARY ANN - so sorry to hear about how Dot is suffering with the pain in her hips. Many of us have ongoing pain, somewhere in the body, that simply cannot be resolved.  We have to learn to deal with it as best we can.  I certainly hope she has "good days", as well as bad?

BEVERLY - I agree that lots of painful or debilitating conditions don't show at all, just by looking at a person.  I know you mentioned before that you have an ongoing health problem, that's not going to go away . . . but you still look good, so people forget! Many of us can relate,  myself included.

We worked in the backyard this morning, and it looks so nice right now.  AJ did most of the work, and I gave the orders! ha ha   We have trees that are shedding their leaves right now, and even the evergreens, like the Redwood and the oleander trees, are constantly dropping something that has to be cleaned up.  Strong, dry winds are becoming commonplace now, so the deck, grass and walkways are constantly having to be raked or swept.  It was calm today, so nice to get everything cleaned up, but N/E winds are expected mid-week and later, so it will be a mess again very shortly.   

[Mary Ann]

Dot has a handicap license plate and she said the other day someone told her she should not be parking in a handicap spot.  She said she has a handicap license plate and the person looked and said, "oh, sorry".  Tom has a handicap plate for me, although I think he would qualify for one on his own.  He does not take a spot if I am not with him.

I think Dot said she had rheumatic fever as a child and that is the basis for her having constant pain.  This pain in her hips is relatively new and more severe.  I do know what she is suffering, even though I have nothing comparable; I believe her!  Several family members are going to meet at Portland MI to see the new baby and to wish his mother a happy birthday.  Portland is about half way between Grand Rapids and Grand Ledge where the baby lives, far enough that Dot feels she cannot go because riding that far is painful.  And we have to drive back, too.

I had a nice nap and about the time I woke up, Kendrick came to join me.  I wish he'd join me when I call to him, but he's a cat - independent, you know.

Marilyn, even though our leaves have not changed color too much, many of the trees are dropping their leaves.  My building is a four-unit building but there is a jog at my kitchen window and that of next door.  When the wind blows, most of the leaves end up in the jog under my window.  I think our lawn guys will finish the first week of November and more leaves will blow under the window for the winter.  Our pine trees do shed, but most of the leaves are from various leafy trees around here - English oak and others.

Mary Ann