Gloria, Microsoft is pre-installed on almost every computer that is sold.  If you don't like it you can always go with Linux as an Operating System.  But, I never could understand it even though it is supposed to be more secure.  Tom was dabbling with Linux but never got a chance to go very far with it when he became ill.  If you are talking about Browsers there are maybe several you could install.  I have 4 browsers installed on this computer but since Tomereader says they are phasing out IE I'll lose that one.  Hardly ever use it, anyway.  Almost always use Chrome or Edge and sometimes Firefox, even though it can irritate me.

Very hot here all this week and supposed to hit 99 deg. today.  With the high humidity it will feel like 105!  The AC is running and I have all the blinds closed and ceiling fans going.  And, I don't plan to go outside for any reason.  David still takes his afternoon walk.  He always did like hot weather and tolerates it better than I do.  I worry that he will become dehydrated in this extreme heat but it doesn't seem to bother him.  Cold weather is what bothers him.

Take care. All.

This is so true,

"Nostalgia: a device that removes the ruts and potholes from memory lane."    Columnist Doug Lawson

The day has been interesting ..so far I have not thrown the computer out the window...so far. Ended up calling  our provider (who is in the Philippines) and she told me it was a Microsoft problem. She gave me the number to call and I listened to the recording.if you need help......go online..     If I could have gone online there would be no problem. Phoned my techie, he had me do many things and don't ask what as I was just the finger runner. He fixed it!! Turned out Microsoft had goofed my computer and when I told him that I was using Edge he said get rid of it!! I am now using Chrome..

High winds but no rain..not sure what the evening will bring. I did  batten down the hatches...again..

Gloria, it is a nice 69° at the moment and breezey. Don't mind this one bit.

Patricia, how true that is!!

Phyllis, hope David takes water with him on his walks. Nice to see you in here..

Jane, I would imagine many memories are being made there. Enjoy your time away..

Shirley, why is it when we are to fast, we want to eat like a horse and time goes so slow??

Phyllis, my youngest son also prefers heat to cold & the oldest is like me & my father, we melt. My husband didn't like heat but hated cold so would play golf in 110 degree weather. During summer he declared he "rendered". 69° is about perfect for me. When it cools down at night I am able to cope with the higher temps during the day, but this week waking up to 80+ is miserable.

Amy, I know my problem started with an update from Microsoft & after I got mad & gave it the "hard shut down" it had had another update & no more bullying. I couldn't get into any of the settings (or online), infurating & I was so angry.

Doesn't help my mood that the sprinklers or well won't work so I can't add water to the pool except the expensive city water. That really hurts but have to keep it at a level it can run. Also plants are in need, this wind has nearly killed my pot of petunias & hibiscus. Those lush green leaves & blooms are gone, petunias look dead!  Poor hibiscus has hardly any leaves & the blooms are popping off before they get a chance to fully open. Ah, such is life~~~

Going to get ready for bed... been a super long day. Sweet dreams & God Bless.

Good morning..

Too early to tell if there was any damage to the area from the high winds. I know it would bring a lot of widow makers down, including those from the last storm.

Kyle , is making flower boxes for around the verandah so a trip to the lumber yard is in store this morning. Laundry will be next then making some baking needs to be done.

Shirley, that is also when my problem started  so no more Edge for me! I am amazed at how well this is working now!!


Better get ready to meet the day.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Good Morning AMY and all thet follow. It is a sunny clear day here in MO. and already @ 82º @805 AM.  we were night Awoles last night, we went to a famley gathering, my middle bro and other grand,s neice and nephues were here for it from AZ. we had a great time catching up on all the newese. so I am : set for easy chaire time today. this heeat is not my bag any more. the days of standing at the forge sharpning plow sheres and forge welding is a thing of the past. for me. see you all Later.

Lloyd

Well, Amy, I just had a scare.... first check of computer just now & that little thingy that goes around when something isn't working.... it kept going & going & popped up a message that "Chrome isn't working"... but I let it twirl a few more times & it caught. Microsoft is NOT a very good looser! 

Oops, phone call from daughter-in-law, son (Andy) mentioned to her this morning from his nice cool campground in CO, that I couldn't get the sand filter loose on the well/sprinklerls so maybe she could see if she could. Because we had so much rain for a couple weeks the sprinklers weren't needed so the algae builds up & stops the water from going thru enough to get pressure up and I'm over my head...h   .... she'll be here in a little while so I'd better get a move on.

Good Morning, Everyone!  Well, you snuck in, Lloyd. I do love family gatherings, glad yours had a chance to gather and nice it wasn't for a funeral.

Good Morning Everyfriend!  I've read all the messages and thought about answers and immediately forgot the answers.  So just know that I'm here and I'm thinking of all of you!

And speaking of the weather, this is the only place I've ever been that I wear a sweater inside and take it off when I go out!  I'm not a big fan of AC and it's a necessity in Oklahoma!  My daughter has some very comfortable furniture out on the back porch and a nice swing under a tree in the yard!  So I'm comfortable.

My granddaughter and her family will be home tonight sometime so I'm thinking we'll see them tomorrow!  I can't wait to see them all but I'm really looking forward to the little ones!

I better get moving today.  I don't know what the plan is but I'm IN!  Whatever they do, I do!  I wish you all a good day...better than yesterday but not as good as tomorrow!

Good morning everyone. Made up with the sleep I missed 2 nights ago Slept 9 hours last night and I do feel awake this morning. My son gets here a 10:30 every Saturday so will sign off or put this on hold while he is here.

PHYLLIS  I do know Microsoft is a monopoly in computers but they have weird ideas at times like buying a new PC and wanting and liking 10 they put 11 with it and sorry I do not want like or need all the games and things that are in 11. That is a gripe and also my grandson  for getting me a Dell. The company he works for uses only Dells so he is used to them but for his personal pc he has a Mac.  I use Google for all I do.

Well Bill has come and left for home already. I am ready for a nap. Lately I think my hobby is sleeping,

AMY  I always go to a window when family leaves here and wave to them when they walk to their cars. I did notice it is windy, trees really moving around.


Guess I will take the rest of my AM pills and lay on the couch and see if there is anything good on the tube. If not the sandman will be here.

Have a good day and stay safe.

Good morning..

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads today.

Bright sunny and chilly day here, temp is 40°. Meeting up with friends this morning ,then  later in the day I am taking Kyle out for  dinner.

Gloria,today is a sweatshirt or coat day with the temp. I enjoy this cooler weather.

Janie, enjoy your granddaughter and family. I am sure you are hugging the little ones.....and big too!!

Shirley, my computer wants to do another update and there is no way I am doing till I talk with my computer lad. I tried to get o this morning and it said no internet. I remembered ( much to my surprise) what we did the other day and sure enough one unchecked it worked !!

Lloyd, hope your family spoils you today...

Enjoy your day and stay safe..



 

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY.

Good Brrr morning. First thought I had when I got out of a cozy warm bed was turning the heat up but that is impossible with the heating system shut down till the fall. I have my winter robe on and a throw wrapped around my legs. It is raining and damp on top of the 45°. Feels more like it should be snowing than raining. Gee I think I still have a pair of Geemagotchees that weren't put away for the summer. Maybe they would warm my legs up.

JANE  enjoy those little ones, they do grow so fast. I don't see my great-grandson often and every time I do he seems to grow so fast and get older and smarter every time.  The other 2 grandsons from my grandson that died and the widow cut the family off the oldest one is about 17 now and the younger one 15. They were not even in school when he died.

AMY  will not be capris today but jeans and knee sox, maybe  a day to lay on the couch all bundled up and watching the tube?  Microsoft wants to do an install and so does Dell and I will have to talk to David before I do anything. I don't like either one but if I want to stay online I need both.

Have a good day and stay safe.

Good morning AMY and Gloria. It Is 72º and bright sun here to day. I posted my vitials and sent them to VA via sadlight. we are going to have a falmey get to gather to day next dore @ grand deaughters. have famley here visiting from all over the united states. the young barn swalles are air born cicrleing every place. cant see if they are getting macetios or just learning how to fly good.  I spend a lot of time here in my office watching the birds. and also some time in the kitchen on the other side of the house watching the humming birds coming and goin to the feder Nany has up bacck there. Lot of plasure god has provided for us.

Lloyd

Good morning, it rained during the night and those old aches and pains clued me in before I even looked out a window. It's only going to reach 70 today with brief scattered showers. I plan on settling in with my computer, Tylenol, and coffee close by for the day.

Good Morning Everyfriend!  Has anyone ever caught a cold from A/C?  I did!  I thought it was just my usual runny nose from my eye drops until my voice changed too.  Now I know for sure it's a cold!  Just in time to greet the little ones on their return from vacation!  Dash-blast-it!

I'm going to go back outside and get warm!  Have a great day Everyfriend!

Jane, my father was of the same opinion as you when it came to A/C... and I do recall all the warnings of having it too cold & contrast from in to out. With the heat we've had this summer I have become a mole & stay inside as much as possible. Today's chore of changing the well system from sprinklers in the yard to the pipe that goes to the pool is keeping me in hiding, takes quite a bit of outside work & I'm not up to it yet. Hope you get over the cold fast, nothing worse that feeling bad when away from home. 

Gloria, I can't imagine anyone thinking they have the right to deprive a kid from it's grandmother!  I think anyone that marries into this family understands WE HAVE KID RIGHTS and would have lawyers & judges talking to them.  Hopefully they will grow up and realize what they are missing and come find you.

Lloyd, I spend way too much time watching the birds, right now have a nest of brown thrushes in the holly bush by a triple window on south end of master bedroom. Hardest working birds I ever saw. I've talked to a pair down by the river all thru the years, one of them would give me a whistle when I go down & I'd answer back, then another whistle & sounds like a smacking good kiss & I've learned to make the sound back. Probably the same pair that moved to the holly bush because I haven't been down as much this year. They sure do a lot of bug hunting for those babies!

Patricia, both boys & a gr-son are in CO this morning... all in different vehicles but got to the little town where they buy groceries before going up the mountain last night. Oldest son went down to get 'em organized & called as they started up to the campground to say they really had to hustle to get the tent & canopy up before dark... they could all sleep in Andy's camper if it got too cold & was raining.... but didn't want to have to do that. Each of the boys have the all season tents & the air mattresses but hope nobody tents if too awful cold. Have not heard from them today. The cold would not be a problem for me, besides, a king size bed we can cook meals inside & room for all. I should be there. 

Amy, my computer is set on auto-updates so will let it do what it thinks it must and let the world scream when MS oversteps it's rights. I do think they thought they could bully us into using Edge & got too much flack.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers, gr-fathers & all the women that helped make them fathers & gr-fathers!  May all your memories be happy ones!

Shirley, the paternal side of my family, is in Missouri, basically Joplin and Lamar.

The maternal side of the family is in Salinas, Kansas but mostly in Colorado, either outside Ouray or outside Montrose, farming. So that is the only area of both states I was familiar with from the late fifties and through the mid-sixties. During my marriages, we were either in Texas or the south or on the east or the west coast. So all my info is dated.

One item about computers I need to clarify. Other than Apple's Mac, or Linux, the main operating system is Microsoft. Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome, and Firefox are all browsers that operate on Microsoft's system.

Good Morning everyone. we had a very good time yesterday. next dore. brother was here from AZ, and lots of  neises and nephues and other kin and friends. It IS 72º and clear sky's, sun is all but up. all the barn swaellos are at it already circleing all around.

Lloyd

Good morning...

Starting off cool but will that will soon change. Loons echoing calls as he flew over the house was my wake up call this morning.

Have a return to make in town, deliver a quilt then home to plant in the new planer boxes Kyle made.  We did try  to go out for a meal but every place was packed tight......so maybe today.

There are more updates to be made on the  computer but not till I talk with my computer fellow. So far everything is working just fine.

Jane,hope you feel better soon.Remember what we were told, drink lots of fluids.

Lloyd ,  lots of remembering at the gettogether for you and Nancy.

Better scoot.....day is getting along.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Good morning, World! Tiger insisted I get up before 6:00am, she woke me up earlier but I pretended to go back to sleep. I have a litter box in that bedroom since she is so afraid of all other people & runs to hide when the doorbell rings. Not crazy about having a litter box in my bedroom but better there than forget to check it every day in one of the other rooms, in case it gets used. She used it this morning & think she knew it would get me out of bed, she is one conniving cat.

It says 75° on the computer but 74 on the radio so the AC isn't running just now & it feels stuffy in here. Wind blowing tree limbs in circles already so this is going to be a LONG summer. At least I got the pool water up to where it should be, vac the bottom & puttered around putting stuff away. Need to run the sprinklers but so windy already it's hard telling where the moisture will end up.

Gloria, my daughter got me a "fake" down cover for the motorhome a few years ago & I love it so much I bought one for the bedroom. Usually a warm cover like my mother made (she would put one of the army wool blankets between quilted tops/bottoms) but they were so heavy is smashed the body down! These don't weigh anything & so cozy warm. My son got me one of those tower type electric heaters for the RV, I complained about how loud the furnace is & since I don't like the heat when sleeping the electric heater is great to have on when I get up in the morning, it even has remote control so I can warm up the kitchen area before getting up! 

I know this is a Fed. holiday & no mail but not sure what else will be closed. The propane tank on the RV is less than 1/3 full so like it on full any time I want to run away from home.... when on the road or NOT in a campground that keeps the frig & freezer cold and also lets me boil a cup of water for instant coffee when I don't want to run the generator for the microwave. I really will be sorry to give this up but do not want it stored away from the house where I can't do the necessary maintenance all the time. I do plug it in one week a month and run the generator once a month to keep everything "oiled up" (wrong term, just mobile). Not sure the place I get propane filled will be open today, will call first.

Patricia, Lamar, MO is Harry Truman's birthplace, right?  I've never been there but have been to Independence where he & Bess lived. Seems to me quite a few "movie stars" came from the Joplin area.... was that where Festus came from <grin>?

Lloyd, I was looking down at the river, so many trees now I only see patches of water between trees and a flash of white or dark blue as those herons & egrets flip around to catch fish. I haven't been down a lot this spring, after seeing a tick crawl across some food I took down. I need to spray the boots I wear down, got some flea & tick spray for clothing supposed to stay on & not have to spray every time. The rabbits bring those critters back to the yard so not thrilled with that idea.

Amy, do you have a problem with fleas & ticks around there?  Most years we don't get a hard enough freeze long enough to kill off those icky bugs. I noticed we've got a bumper crop of "lightning bugs" this year so probably plenty others. The mud daubers are swarming all around the house & building their mud homes behind shutters & even in the outside track of sliding doors. Hard to spray them in the tracks, whether to stand outside with door closed & hope to run fast enough if they attack or stand inside & open the door just enough to get the the spray can out. Between foam not shooting far enough or wind blowing it back at my face, not a fun task!  ONWARD!

 

Good morning everyone. I laid on the couch with my robe on and the down  throw wrapped around me all day yesterday. Sure glad that was on a shelf in the closet. The sun is shining this morning and it is 60° now so no freezing today. It will take a few hours for the sun to start hitting this side of the building and getting it warm enough in here so I no longer have to wear layers like I do in winter. Ahh Mother Nature sure likes to surprise us.

SHIRLEY  I am thankful I see my youngest one and they do not deprive me from seeing him.  It is the one that my deceased grandson's 2 boys we do not know where they are. His widow sold the house he bought and who knows where she went.  OK this is 6/20 and you said it was a holiday and I am going crazy trying to find out what one it is bit can find nothing.

Better go get washed and dressed and hope my innards can stop shivering.
Have a good day and stay safe.   

Good Morning Everyfriend!  Sorry I didn't get a chance to check in last night.  My granddaughter and her family came over for supper and since my "office" is one end of the dining room table, I had to clear off and put everything away.  By the time they all left, I was tired just watching the "busy-ness" of Emma and Mikey!  So I never got it out until this morning!

GLORIA, I spent some time trying to find out what "Holiday" SHIRLEY was referring to also.  NO LUCK! I hope she fills us in.  I'm curious, too!

Today is my turn to cook!  I brought along some country smoked ham from PA that they all love and we're making pot pie....not a pie, the kind you roll out, cut and add to the broth.  Pennsylvania Dutch style and um-ummm gooooood!  Ali (granddaughter) and her family are joining us.  It will be interesting to find out what Ali's husband thinks of our PA dish!

SHIRLEY, you've sure been a busy beaver!  I hope you manage everything you have to do.  I think, if I had that spray job to do, I'd let the door open just enough to admit me, spray and scoot inside and close the door!

LLOYD, what a nice gathering you must have had!  Nice to have so many family members gather!  I bet you had a ball!

I'm going to go get busy and see what I can help with while Cindy is at her "office" out there is the family room!  She is able to concentrate better than I'd ever be able to do!  Her boss is right to trust her to work at home!

I wish you all a good day...better than yesterday but not as good as tomorrow!  God bless you all!

It is Juneteenth, a national holiday, and commemorates  June 19, 1866, and after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed.  The  news reached Texas where the last slaves were freed.  All federal offices are closed, no postal delivery, and many businesses are closed, including banks and stock market, etc.

Good morning. The promised intermittent showers never showed yesterday but decided to come in force in the early morning and all day today. This will help with the 298 fires currently. While in a fire ecology, officials say the tundra fires are worse due to climate change. Some have even smoldered all winter deep in the moss. My poor arthritic bones are aching this morning as if I spent all night in a crab position!

Phyllis, while it's a nationally recognized holiday, not all states recognize or give time off for it.

Jane, I was wondering about the holiday as well. I'm glad that Phyllis cleared that up for us. I'm happy you're having a good time and a needed break.

Lloyd, you also have family time! My family scattered throughout the Midwest, and it's been decades since I've seen any, so thankfully, there's email and computers.

Shirley, I agree with Jane that you're joining Amy and Jane's busy times.

Truman and Ken Curtis were born in Larmar outside of Joplin. Did you know Curtis was a singer before going on to act? He was only a year older than my dad, and they knew each other in school but weren't close.

Luckily, our colder winters kill the fleas, ticks, and other pests, so we don't have them. I wonder if the northern tier states or Canada do? I had never heard of mud daubers. I never met any of those bugs in the years (1969-1981) we spent in the South; I don't know why.

I'm an odd one as I was always cold when I was younger, but not lately. I prefer to lay on a blanket rather than under it. Sometimes, I wake up under the blanket or find it on the floor.

Just North of NYC we have what we call mud wasps. I suspect they are the same as mud daubers. I have found one or two on occasion on the door of my car.  Not outside, but in the protected area at the jamb - which is sealed from the inside of the car.

According to DuckDuckGo, my search engine, mud daubers and mud wasps are the same except they're "included in different families and are variable in appearance." Looking at the photos, we don't have any locally. We are unlucky to have a type of wasp that nests on the ground and I have gotten stung more than once by inadvertently stepping on a nest.

Evidently, Alaska's wasp population has been increasing since 2009. I have no idea why other than they say warmer weather. From the Anchorage paper, " This year's wasp boom is part of a decade-long rise in stinging insect populations in Alaska documented by Demain and a Fairbanks entomologist named Derek Sikes. In 2009, the two, along with several other researchers, published a study showing a dramatic increase in the number of people seeking medical attention for stings.

Overall, the rate at which people sought treatment for stings rose by 48 percent over a decade.

In some areas like northern Alaska, defined in the study as between Barrow and Nome, the rate went up by more than 600 percent.

"They are seeing yellow jackets and wasps in places they've never seen them before," he said.

The researchers found that the increase was associated with higher overall winter temperatures that benefit queens, which have a higher chance of surviving the winter and are therefore more able to start a nest.

Last winter's record-breaking snowfall was also a boon for queens.

"If they have good insulation from the snow pack, you're going to have more queen survival," Demain said.

That all adds up to a bumper crop of wasps and a stinging -- and for some, potentially lethal -- summer and fall.

Not everyone has the same reaction to an insect sting, Demain said.

 "As we get older, the risk of a fatal event goes up," he said.

Certain blood pressure drugs and beta blockers can increase the chance that a sting can be fatal, he said.

Demain said he hadn't heard of any fatalities caused by stings this summer, though they are commonly mistaken for other ailments like a heart attack.

Anchorage isn't the most wasp-prone area of the state, Demain said: Data shows that the Interior consistently reports the highest number of stings. The Kodiak Island region reports the highest number of stings by population.

Summer and fall are considered peak times for the stinging insects, he said. After a frost things should calm down. "

In the Interior, "People don't come to Denali and other parks in Alaska to look at bumblebees, but they should," says Jessica Rykken, entomologist for Denali National Park and Preserve. The "Last Frontier" state may be known for supersized wildlife, from bears to moose, but on a smaller scale, the diversity of bumblebees (or bumble bees, depending on whom you ask) there is unusually high, and powers entire ecosystems."

FYI, we've always lived among the wasps & all that even look like them... and I was told long ago to grab a box of baking soda, dump a little in the palm of my hand, add water to make a paste & spread over the sting. Only time I suggested the remedy it worked like a charm. I have a niece so allergic to wasp stings she carries an EpiPen, or did. We have so many around here I've become brave except when barefoot & get spooked when spraying & they drop to the ground, cause I think they can still sting.

Long phone call from my daughter, few laughs & giggles.  She caught a cold while visiting her daughter's family in Fall's Church so heading home in the morning. I've got to get out & do the chores intended for today, before it gets too dark~~~

Sweet dreams & God Bless. Yes, it was a holiday & I'm not sure how I feel about tossing out some of the old ones to be replaced by some new. I'm anti- changes so maybe just an old grouch? 

We have an extremely large bug that looks like a honey bee only humongous. Someone once told me it wasn't a bee but I've forgotten what it actually was. Does anyone know?

YES -------and no. We had a couple here a couple of years ago. They lived in the ground and hunted Locusts. We were told they take the locust back to their hole in the ground where they are used as hosts.  I'll try to get their name.

I searched for -  "bug that hunts locusts"

Try this   https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/the-cicada-killers-are-coming/277688/
Or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKBYUoNP_dA

The kids and parents have gone home and the only one who didn't like the potpie was Emma, she just sat quietly in her chair and refused to even try it.  Mikey dug right in and their Daddy (OK born and bred) loved it! 

I need to head upstairs and get ready for bed.  I'll talk to ya'll later.  I wish you all a peaceful night's sleep and a happy tomorrow.