Good Afternoon,

I see blue skies and sunshine out the windows - - - and 32º on my outdoor thermometer!!!   Glad I did my errands Monday and yesterday !

We are terribly horribly in need of a good soaking rain.  Even with the humidifier running 24/7, the house still feels that awful "itchy" dry.
I really can't drag the hose in and out of the garage every time the temperature is warm enough to water - so am wondering if all the perennials and bulbs son and I put in last year will make it this Spring.

My sons' signatures are on my bank accounts in case I break both arms and can't sign my name (what I told the bank I wanted) but their names are not on the checks or statements.

Plan du Jour was to sort out 2016 monthly receipts, etc. to clear the way for ones starting to come in for 2017.  Got sidetracked and now need to gather up and put out the trash and go to the mailbox. So....... (can we say "pro-cras-ti-nate"?  )

Hope Everyfriend Everywhere is having an Enjoyable Day.

We have talked about this before,  I think< Joan... 

But temps in the 30's/40's  here in the North East  feel  very differently than if  temps were even down the the 50's dows in Florida.       I think that it has something to do with the humidity in Florida.       I can remember when I lived there
(for seven years)  being chilled through to the bone when the temps dropped out of the 70's in Sarasota. 

    As long as I have a light weight sweater and my
down vest on,  with a hat,  I can handle the cooler
temps  (with out wind chill,  of course,  or rain)   

Suns going away now....  too dark!

Sandy

Hal,  I think there is a difference in having a joint account and just having someone else's name on the account.  Seems I remember something about that when I opened up my account.   

I remember hearing a long time ago, that 1 sister had her name on the other sister's account and when No. 1 sister died, the other sister had to pay inheritance tax on her own money.   That has been a long time ago, and I am sure that wouldn't be the case now.  I think it really depends on how the account is worded.  One little off-word can make a big difference. 

I am not going to worry about it, as I won't be around to know what is going on.  LOL

Joy

I don't have anyone on my bank accounts unless Norm is on one.  I'll check some day to see and how to get him off.  I do have a copy of his death certificate.  From having counted the Sunday collection at church for many years, I can tell you the "checkers" at the bank don't check signatures.  Occasionally, we'd have a check come through with no signature on it at all, we'd put it through and it would pass.  I think it is up to the account holder to check the signature.  Now, this doesn't have anything to do with how the account is handled at the death of a person.  I wrote checks on my dad's account after my mother died and my name was not on the checks.  Norm and I did not have to pay any estate taxes or inheritance tax after Dad's death, probably because there wasn't enough estate to worry about.  That was in 1970 and I am sure things have changed seven times seventy since then.

Grand Haven is quite windy and hazy today.  You can hardly see the north light house.  The water temperature is 36 degrees and the wind is 11 mph.  Thus a lot of whitecaps.  A couple of dozers are working at the water's edge and I think they pile some sand at the shore.

Mary Ann

Sandy, we have the same issue here regarding the dry or wet climates and how humidity changes the feel or chill. I can tell folks that our minus thirty is very similar to your zero in humid climates and no one believes me unless they have been in both wet and dry climates. At twenty below you will see people here running around in sweatshirts and hoodies and the newcomers all bundled up as if they were at the North Pole.

Our garage is UN heated it got to 30º in there for the high today. about the same out side a bit colder. I had to plug the block heater up on the tractor for about 2/1/2 hours before it wanted to start. but got it and the cattle fed  by mid afternoon.

Lloyd

see you all tomorow I am finished for the day

Callie--We need rain as much as you do.  With sprinkler systems our lawns/trees/shrubs/flowers are fine.  BUT it is the open areas where there are many raging brush fires.

Sandy--Yes, I think the high humidity we have here makes a great deal of difference.

Joy--My accounts are set up and joint accounts.

Mary Ann--Rules about inheritance have changed over the years.

Angelface--I didn't know about the humidity where you are.

Lloyd--That's mighty cold to be working outside.

Good Afternoon dear Hearts and Gentle People ! I am HOME ! Have partially unpacked all my gear, but not rushing myself in any thing..just enjoying being my own boss again, with God directing, of course.

Bis, You've got it right Bis. Everything is truly hurry up and wait. Finally arrived up stairs only to find the double lock still on my door, so had to make a trip down back stairs to have them remove it. I must remember to have the office phone # installed on my cell phone...would have saved me a bunch of steps. I have learned a lot about Mersa thanks to the computer and Gary. My nursing staff here must have found the right combination of "anti's" via intravenous to get it beaten down. God certainly is proving that He is watching over us. This could have been a long drawn out series of trying this and that. I am eternally grateful.

Mycheal, I thank you dear friend. Those prayers are so needful and the caring of new friends is especially blessing. I am so grateful.

Janie, I will be happy to share your sour kraut. That is on thing that is seldom served in restaurants or pre-packaged food, and I really like it. It also good fried in butter or bacon grease. My Polish MIL had it as normal serving many days of the week...with additions of course.

Beverly, I am finally home and enjoying every minute of familiar surroundings. I appreciate SO much the prayers and good thought of you and all our friends here on The S.S...I still thing of us Srs. and Friends...but so grateful for our S.S. association.

Tisie, Yes, to have a "fix" for what ails, is a major defeat of the problems, both physical and mental, when the body is ailing. I am ever for grateful for the care and love I am given.

Hal, I have no doubt that our God had been listening to all the good prayers and thoughts that were offered on my behalf. What could have been a long drawn out debilitation was taken cared of in a short time. I am so grateful to all of you here that have offered up prayers for my recovery.

Jane, my Son Gary shares my Checking account and what a Blessing it is to have him keeping track of "stuff" for me. He also has Power of Attorney so when and if my brain fails, he will be able to take are of all the necessities life hands us.The greatest Blessing is having adult children that are not greedy and share with one another. So many families are divided by "the folks" problem..mine lean on one another in love. I am SO grateful.

Gloria, It is such a treat to see the variety of dogs they bring too, from tiny to huge and all so loving. Now they are telling us the dogs will be brought to the Apts. too, and if we want them to visit we just leave our doors open on that one day, and they will come right in.

Hal, you are correct in being very cautious in some family cases. I saw it happen to some very wealthy cousins in No. Ca. The parents died and the adult children no longer talk to one another..greed spoiled a family. I do not have a will. Ed had an irrevocable living trust drawn up, and I continue it. Both sons share equally with anything I don't use up. Right smack down the middle, no if's and's or maybes'. What they do with their share is their business. Neither of the boys are needy...they have done nicely in making their own lives comfortable, so I am content and very grateful. The boys and I each share a copy of the trust. We had an excellent attorney that is also a good family man.

I have read all the messages and talked too long and bored you all I'm sure, so I will quit for now and finish putting "stuff" back in place and take care of some other things.

SO GOOD to be back home with you all. June

JUNE, WELCOME HOME!

I was home from work and eating my lunch when my son called to ask if I could pick up Kiran today.  I could and I did!  We had to stop at the store for Doritos on the way home because that's her favorite snack and I had it on my list to get tomorrow morning.  She's getting to be such a help around the house and I cherish our time together. 

My son, Kiran's father, is the high school girls basketball coach and he had an early practice today.  I was the only one with time.  Nice!  But I suspect that I'll be watching a bit of TV through my eyelids tonight...no nap this afternoon.

I want to thank you all for the feedback re, children on bank accounts.  What we plan is what someone said, if my brain freezes or I break both my arms, someone will still be able to pay my bills and get groceries.  I suppose that if my arms are both broken, the groceries will have to be slurpees and straws.

Enjoy the rest of the day, Everyfriend!

Okay, I've had a hard day but y'all have me rolling off my chair with "what if ya break both arms...."  My twin aunts were totally different in personality, one was tuned into the fun side of life and the other serious to the core.  The fun lover broke both elbows, her husband absolutely worshiped the ground she walked on & since they had no children, he doted on her.  She laughed about coping with her broken elbows & the problems with "going to the bathroom".... use your own imagination!  So writing a check would not be the "end all" .... 

I got my driver's license this morning early, no problems except she said my left eye was not up to par on the eye test.... passed without wearing glasses & I don't know how she detected the left was bad since she didn't check eyes separately. 

Anyway, spent the rest of the day showing my gr-daughter how to start an oil painting.  She had art in high school & a little drafting with her Industrial Engineering degree... but unless you get some help with how to start to create a painting, one tends to believe in the half hour, almost instant paintings as seen on TV.  She & her husband have made a couple trips to Rome so she wanted to paint a landscape with those beautiful columns & arches.  I don't want to discourage her but want her to actually be able to paint from scratch so kept my hands to myself & let her hands do the work.  That is way harder than what most teachers do when they get frustrated & pick up the brush or knife & whip out the problem. She is off work yet, baby is 6-7 weeks old.

I've had people at shows ask if I would teach & that isn't in me.  From my first grade teacher all through school (even 280 hours training as a cartographic draftsman), I've had teachers showing tips or sharing hints so it is like breathing.... you don't stop to analyze why you inhale and exhale, you just do it.  So explaining why or how to paint is not easy for me. At shows some of us old timers used to quip "50-60 years" when asked how long it took to create a painting.  Now I can say "about 80", since my father was teaching me as soon as I could hold a pencil or color. He was the best I've ever seen, he would help but not let anyone see anything HE did.

At least she has a good eye for sketching, so many of the young artists are using projectors (especially the men that learned how to use them drafting or mechanical drawing), but they are stumped when they want to combine a couple photos or add something in a painting.... and can't get the perspective right. 

About 40 years ago 15-20 artists started a guild for "anyone that ever wanted to paint and didn't know how to start".  Some were teachers & hoped to attract more students & some of us felt it was "pay back time", to share what we enjoyed.  By the time I moved to KC area maybe 10 years after start up, we had over 400 members.  I was surprised how many men joined and how good they were because of mechanical drawing or drafting in their background.  We all learned from each other, one man did gorgeous work, perfect perspective & detail but was almost impressionistic.  He explained that he took his glasses off & squinted at the photo or the landscape and that was what he saw! 

It felt good to dig out the supplies, not so good that some of the paints had dried, but the right time to have something to show for my days. Guess you can tell it was quite a day for me, slipping back in time.

Time to have a snack, give cats a snack & go to bed. Need to do a bed check on cats, they have been in & out so much today I can't keep up with them.  Too cold to let them stay out long.  Tiger is the smart one, she darts in & heads for a furnace vent to sit on. 

Sweet dreams and God Bless.... Shirley

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

Shirley, I left the night light on and I put your wagon in the closet!

Good Thursday morning, Everyfriend.  There's  pancakes and bacon to accompany your coffee or tea. I wish everyone a good day!!




Record Store Pun

A woman meant to call a record store but dialed the wrong number and got a private home instead. "Do you have 'Eyes of Blue' and 'A Love Supreme'?" she asked.

"Well, no," answered the puzzled homeowner. "But I have a wife and eleven children."

"Is that a record?" she inquired.

"I don't think so," replied the man, "but it's as close as I want to get."



Loving Hope
By Rebecca Heys
Scripture Reading: 1 John 4:7-12

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
1 John 4:9
I have a painting by a local artist that hangs in my house. The painting features a colorful background behind the words “I love you. Pass it on.”
I’m not sure whether the artist was thinking of God’s love when he painted those words, but that’s what I think of when I see the painting. The book of 1 John in the Bible makes clear that God’s love is what em¬powers us and enlivens us to love others.
John says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God,” and, “Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” When I read these words, I imagine God saying to me, “I love you. Pass it on.”
The birth of Jesus that we cele¬brate in this Christmas season is the greatest gift of love that God gives to us. God showed his love to us by sending his Son into the world to give us life.
Now we can pass it on. We can show the love of God to other people by putting others before ourselves. The love of God is the greatest Christmas gift we can give.
Our hope for a Savior was fulfilled in Jesus. We show our gratitude for God’s love in Jesus by loving one another.
God loves you. Pass it on.
God of love, thank you for the great love you have shown us by sending your one and only Son into the world. Strengthen us to share that love with one another. Amen.



“Take risks.   If you win you will be happy.  If you lose, you will be wise.”
~ Author Unknown

It is 13º and snowing lightly about on the + side of a inch so far. not good weather. stay in stay comfy , and eat Harte. Have a great day.

Lloyd

Good morning everyone..
Another date with the snow blower this morning..one would think we have a serious affair going on!! Took a peek outside and the snow is beautiful, not a foot print in it. That will soon change as my waltz begins.

I can sew together another quilt top later today., have all the pieces ready to go.

Need to think of what to have for supper tonight, lunch has been taken care of with pea soup. Better make some cookies too,either today or tomorrow..

Joan, thank you for breakfast

Enjoy your day everyone.

Good morning Lloyd, enjoy your day .Stay warm and safe!!

Good morning, Lloyd.  Stay warm in that cold and snowy weather.

Amy--Good morning.  You sure are having to do a lot of dancing.  Pea soup sounds so good on a cold winter day.  Will you please put some of those cookies in the "hidey hole"?

Good morning Everyfriend and a special Good Morning to Joanie, Amy and Lloyd who got here before me.  We have 23º here today and it's not going any higher than 30 all day.  That's cold enough for me, Lloyd.  I have to meet the school bus today and sometimes I have to park around the corner and then I have to walk to where I can see the bus arrive and wait in the cold.  It's geemagotchee day!

Good morning, Janie.  They are saying that Sat. and Sun. night it's going down in the 30s here with daytime highs in the 50s and 60s.  For here, that's geemogotchee and furnace weather.  I'm glad you have those geemogotchees since you have to stand out in the cold.

Good Morning Girls again a bad piney has returned.it is getting colder here for now the snow has stopped at a good 2"s .now 10º. I am going to plug the block heater in on the tractor and in about a hour feed the cows and go to shop and turn on the space heater there. stay out of Nancy's hair she has a bad cold and
in a bad mood with it also. have things to do there by my own self. you all have a great day.

Lloyd

Lloyd--I hope you can stay warm outside in that frigid weather.

Thank goodness the sun is shining today....at least, for awhile.  "They" have upped the snow accumulation that is expected to start Fri. night and last into mid-day Saturday.  Now it is expected that we will get 3-6 inches.  I'm ready since I filled the fridge and the pantry yesterday and today yellow split peas and kielbasa will go into the crock-pot.  You are right, Joan, a big pot of split pea soup is just right for a cold, snowy day.

June, what a treat it was to read your post and know that you are back home and life is good and getting back to normal, too.

Jane, don't freeze your toes or your nose while you wait on the school bus.

Any, I have no intention of dancing with a snow shovel.  We have lots of sand to make a path from the back door to the mail box and that is all we plan to do.  Mother Nature put the snow on the ground.....let Her clean it up!

I'm off to get some breakfast and then start the pea soup in the pot.  Make it a good day, everyone.

will dress warm and tractor has cab. I wont be out long enough to bother turning on the heater in it. save the battery's . I will make a cup of hot chocolate. we have those packets size for one cup I heat the milk for 2 min. stir in the mix and re heat for 30 sec. more. just right to dunk a couple of cookies in and nibble off. some times when my sweet teeth are watering i put some of those miniature marsh mellows and desolve them in it. have a great day.

Lloyd

spell ck cant fix desolve for me

Hi everyone from a very pleasant South Carolina.  We will get into the mid-50's this afternoon and then we are headed to a period of much colder weather with a good possibility we will be seeing a little snow on Saturday as well as rain and going down to about 20 degrees at night. 

Pat did get her blood tests done.  We then went to Denny's so she could have breakfast and could have lunch.  She ordered an omelet and I decided on pancakes.  However, since Pat didn't want the toast or grits or pancakes, the waitress pointed out she could just include the pancakes with her omelet and save us a couple of dollars by not doing a separate order of pancakes for me and then I ate the pancakes. 

Today I will follow my usual Thursday routine and pick up my friend from the care facility and we will go to coffee, I will take him home and go back to the Church for the Wisdom Group.  I have no idea what the rest of the day may bring.

Joy, we haven't gotten too many catalogs since Christmas but sure had plenty of them before. 

Hal, since we only have one living child there shouldn't be any squabbling over whatever is left if we don't have too use it all for care in our last years.  My main concern is seeing that my wife is well taken care of when I am gone.  However, that is interesting information and I guess nothing is simple. 

Joan, glad you had some rain finally and hope it cleared the air of the smokey smell. 

Jenny, our granddaughter is 34. 

Sandy, don't your arms get cold with just a vest for a coat when you are outside? 

Joy, probably for most of us inheritance taxes are not an issue as the threshold is pretty high before they kick in on an estate. 

Mary Ann, banks not paying any attention to the signatures on checks is sort of like them not requiring more than one signature on a check even if the checks are written requiring two signatures.  I found this out as treasurer of a couple of groups that had required it and had thought it was a safeguard but it is not. 

June, sure glad to read you did get home yesterday and that your time away form home didn't have to be longer. 

Shirley, nice of you to help your granddaughter start to paint.  You are a very talented lady with many interests. 

Joan, it sounds like winter is hitting all over the USA and Canada now. At least where you live and I live it doesn't stay real cold very long.   

Good morning everyone, a cold one, the sun is shining and I have an appointment today with the pain doctor. I have the town car for transportation so no worries there about waiting.

AMY we have snow in the forecast for tomorrow and a second snowfall for Saturday. Glad I do not have to go our then. The CNA I have has been coming here more than a year now. She and I get along great but she comes 3 days and is busy the time she is here.

JOAN  when I called the office the lady in charge was disgusted. She thought that girl was at work. Hope you got all your errands done yesterday. For me now I would like to stay home in the winter months and keep appointments from spring to the end of October. The thought of struggling into my winter jacket is not pleasant.

PHYLLIS  when I have a winter appointment I always tell them if it is snowing I will not be there. The Panera I have been to is near where I used to live. The lady in the apartment next to me has a son who owns a Panera but do not know which one. There are quite a few around and the one I went to was always busy.

LARRY  I agree with you, it is the youngsters that make Christmas so much fun.

JOY  like you I am still getting catalogs from places I never heard of with the “this is your last catalog”. I just recycle them without looking to see what is in them.

HAL  I know my son and he is very honest, my 3 are like that. I do not worry about it. Whatever is left will be split 3 ways. I saw what happened when my MIL died and my inlaws and my ex were at her home and started arguing about who was taking what. I could not believe the greed of one sis in law.

JOAN  now that you got some rain I hope you get more but no flooding. 

JENNY  no flooding at Regina's new home, they are up in the mountains, above of what she calls the floodplain.

GLORIA de  from what I heard on news this morning looks like Friday and Saturday we will have snow here. 2 separate storms but no amount stated. The companies that hire the house keepers only pay minimum wage so they seem to always be short handed. That one who did not show up was not interested in doing her job when she was here, she kept sitting down and taking out her phone. I would tell her that is against their rules and pout the phone away because there were things to do. She would just look at me and put the phone away and try to look busy.

JUNE  so great to see you are home and cured of that Mrsa. You are one of the lucky one to get better so fast from it. I can see you leaving your door open for all the dogs to visit you. I would do the same. You have raised 2 loving sons and I feel like I did good with my 3. They are not jealous of what anyone else has and are always willing to help. Their father would never help anyone unless he was paid for it. I am so thankful to God they do not take after him in anything.

JANE  I think I did not much more than sleep yesterday. I woke early, came here and then laid on the couch and fell asleep. Woke before my CNA got here and laid on the couch when she left and fell asleep again. Was asleep by 9:30 last night and woke at 7 this morning. I am getting the Zzz's you missed.

SHIRLEY  has your granddaughter been watching Bob Ross on TV? With the big brushes he uses it is no wonder he can do a painting in a half hour. Would like to know how he gets fine detail in anything. With every thing my daughter has done she has a lot of detail, she seems to like that part of painting. One thing Regina's instructor told her is when something she is doing just does not look right, walk away from it then turn around and look at it, study it, and you will see what needs to be done. She has been so busy since they moved she has not had time to do any painting. She does know what she wants to do next, just finding time now. They were in San Diego for 2 weeks at Christmas and brought the rest of their things back that they did not have room for before they moved, The back of the pickup was loaded again. Now they have every thing and have to rearrange things again.

AMY  I have been wanting to ask, how did your hubby like the quilt you made him for Christmas, Was he really surprised with it?

LLOYD  stay warm.

Getting late so I better go get ready to leave at 12:15 when my driver gets here. I sure hope this pain doctor can help me.

New Year greetings to all.  I don't know where the time goes -

I read some of the news missed over the last month and tried to catch up with all of you.  So sorry to read of Bobbie Gould's son passing.  She hasn't posted in such a long time. 

We usually head out early each morning to either walk the streets or go directly to the gym.  It takes all my effort since I would rather sit and drink coffee right here.  Beginning next week, it is time for some of our relatives and friends to turn south to Arizona and come for short visits.  Always a really great time - sometimes it can be a bit tiring but everyone is really easy and they don't need a lot of attention. 

I baked several batches of biscotti and have been handing them out for gifts and froze some packages to keep on hand for drop-in company.  It is a nice treat, not too sweet.  These are cranberry walnut cookies.  Today is a good day for chicken noodle soup in the crock pot and then to freeze extra portions.  Time for me to stop agonizing over the latest quilt and just sew it. 

Wishing everyone good health and happiness and a smooth transition to whatever is a "new normal" for all. 

Good morning, Phyllis.  Seems many think "soup" when the weather is cold.  Glad you have everything you need so you won't have to go out in the expected bad weather.

Larry--Good morning. Like you, we are headed for some much colder weather. That little bit of rain we got yesterday did take the smokey smell away, but we still are very dry.

Good morning, Gloria.  I pray the pain doctor is able to offer you some relief. I don't have to worry about flooding because I am not in a flood plain.  The only possible time I might have trouble is in a hurricane. 

Carol--Good morning.  I love biscotti.  Could you please put some in the "hidey hole"?  Nice that all the company you get in AZ isn't needy.   I am so jealous of you folks who make those beautiful quilts.  Like I've said before, I failed Quilting 101.

Well, I guess that old saying that "one thing leads to another" is right.  I had the coffee pot on while I joined all of you this morning and it decided to be contrary.  All the water went up into the basket but none of it went down into the pot.  WHAT A MESS!  And no coffee to boot!  I started to clean that up and as I said above, "one thing led to another" and I have a very clean kitchen.  The dishwasher is running and the floor is clean and I'm ready for the day.  OOPS!  looks like the day is half over.  That's the way the ball bounces some days.

I hope everyfriend's day is going better and I hope that's the end of the problems in mine. 

Good Morning Everyone!

Cold here this morning, but going to get colder tomorrow and the next day.

I just got back from bible study and breakfast with my men's group.  Had a new guy this morning, just retired.  Nice to have a new people.

My post on bank accounts was just or your information.  I hope none of you thought I was posting for any other purpose.

Think I will light the fireplace up and make things a little more cozy, wife is going to a chick flick with her girl friends so I have the house to myself.

Everyone have a great day.

Janie--Sorry you had such a mess to clean up.

Halkel--Our weather is going to be like yours.  I don't have a fireplace.  I'm deprived.

Waltz with snow blower went well. Came in and started to clean out kitchen drawers.oh my.wonder who put all that stuff in there?? Put the pea soup on the back of the stove while cleaning and got a hankering for tea biscuits so stopped to whip some up to have for lunch. Put some in the hidey hole with lemon butter for you. Now to get back to clean cupboards.

Gloria, he did like the quilt but it is too big ,when it hangs down over the side he has a dickens of a time to turn over so I put a smaller one on the bed,much easier now for him.