Norms Bait and Tackle

Mary Ann · June 29, 2019, 10:04:50 PM

Sasha, don't be shy about talking about the cats, others do. I hope the story about Helen and her family comes to a good end.

Patricia, the facts about Michigan tornadoes covers 62 years and for the counties listed, that comes to less than one a year. We had serious ones in 1956 and 1965 and I know there have been some in other counties, but our experience is nothing like the middle of the country. The lakes do sometimes lessen the effects of storms. Radar will show a storm headed our way over Lake Michigan and by the time storms reaches our shore, there is little or nothing. We have had fires in the UP where there are forests, but we have those down here too, just not as many.

Someone has started shooting firecrackers near here and they're loud. Thunder does not bother Kendrick, and I had left him on the deck when I came in but he was ready to come into the house after the firecrackers started up.

Mary Ann

Sandy · June 29, 2019, 10:08:26 PM

Hi Sasha...
You remember me. I used to go by the
name of dapphne!!

You did have an exciting and I imagine very
emotional day working at getting someone into
a probably very necessary rehab .... Best wishes
for his successful stay ... never and easy process
and emotionally devastating for all ...

Sandy

larryhanna · June 30, 2019, 01:07:30 PM

We have a beautiful day so far this morning and think the rest of the day will be the same although getting into the 90's again. I had a very good night sleep last night and rather than getting up at midnight as has often been the case I didn't get up till after 4 am and I'm taking things pretty easy. Earlier this morning I put an order in at Costco that I will get in 3 to 5 day. This item did not require an order of $75 or more for free shipping. I realized I was trying to go to sleep again here in my easy chair so I lay down but thenI I would listen to the church service that was recorded last week and was the last Sunday for our minister. It was a very nice service and at the end they shared some statistics of many of the things he had done including bringing seeing more than 400 people into our congregation, performing many funerals and wedding and other thing and they left out quite a few of them such as hospital visits.

We had no visitors yesterday. Scott will be here today to pick up his drill and finish installing his new dishwasher. I hope'll be able to stay at least a few minutes with me as I enjoy any time I spend with him.

Patricia, nice to see the pictures. It has to be a tough job to be one of the firefighters.

Mary Ann, I know you must enjoy having Annie there and I bet Kendrick is also happy. I hadn't give it a thought that we will be hearing fireworks for the next few days. I hope they will wait at least a couple more days before many are set off.

Sasha, I do hope the boy's father will be accepting of the rehab. It isn't easy to do an intervention. What the boys have done is a start and now it is up to their father as to whether he will acknowledge he has the disease of addiction or not as someone can't do that for another person.

Mary Ann · June 30, 2019, 01:36:22 PM

Today I did not feel like going to church - so I didn't. Nothing wrong, I just did not feel like going. Dot said I didn't miss a thing, however, our former organist was there so the music was good. Dot picked me up after church and we did our usual. Afterward, Dot had some coffeecake for me and we stopped at her place to get it. I also was able to see her new couch which is very nice. She got the new one because the old one was too low for her. I sat on the new one and that is too high for me; my feet don't reach the floor.

Larry, you and Tom have similar likes - and I'm sure other men feel the same way - Tom is always happiest when he is with his kids and now grandkids.

We are having fireworks, all right, up until 11 pm. I think they were in our complex but further north. Even so it sounded as if they were on my patio, especially one of them. Kendrick does not seem to be bothered by the fireworks, but I try to stay near him in case he needs some support. I think if he sees that I am not upset at the noise, they will not bother him. At least another week to go!

Mary Ann

Mary Ann · June 30, 2019, 01:49:12 PM

Patricia, I'm sorry the fires continue and don't let you see the foothills and ridges.

I'm watching golf and Lashley is still ahead. I never heard of him until this Tour.

It's 88 degrees here.

Mary Ann

Marilyne · June 30, 2019, 02:52:18 PM

We're leaving soon, to attend a Celebration of Life, for a good friend of AJ's, who passed away about a month ago. They worked together at IBM for their entire careers, plus they had other hobbies and pastimes in common. This friend's wife died right before Christmas, so it will be a gathering of family and friends for both of them. It seems like regular funerals are not held much anymore here in this area. I wonder if it's the same across the country? It seems that the younger generation prefers having the Celebration of Life, for their departed parents, rather than a standard funeral or church service.

Sasha - I hope things work out well, for Helen's family. It's hard to place a loved one in a rehab center, for any reason, and I certainly do hope that everything works out for the best. Don't worry about talking about your cats, in this folder! We are interested in hearing about your, Place In The Sun, and about all the kitty's who live there with you.

Larry - Good to see that you've been taking it easy for the past couple of days, and that you're feeling better. I know that visitors can be very tiring, and you need a break to recuperate.

Patricia - I hope that you don't have to have evacuations in Fairbanks, due to the fires. We usually have mandatory evacuations as soon as a wildfire gets near the outskirts of a town. If the wind is blowing, sparks can be carried for long distances, and once something is ignited, it's all over!

Mary Ann - Fireworks are outlawed here, because of the fire danger . . . but of course that does not stop people from shooting them off anyway. There are no real consequences at all, when police respond to a complaint about firecrackers or the dangerous rockets that often land on rooftops. All the people get is a written warning. It used to be, in "the old days", that the Safe and Sane fireworks actually were safe! Now nobody bothers with those anymore, because you can buy all sorts of dangerous stuff, off the internet. Bottle rockets or other rockets are the most dangerous because they go up high, and can land just about anywhere. We're already starting to hear the super firecrackers like M-80's, and cherry bombs.

angelface555 · June 30, 2019, 04:23:07 PM

Marilyne, the northwest side of town is on a standby evacuation order.

Mary Ann · June 30, 2019, 06:50:08 PM

Patricia, you've probably said umpteen times, but what part of Fairbanks do you live in? When I was there, we were transported by bus and I have no idea of directions there. We stayed at Wedgewood Lodge (?), walked to where we ate in the complex, went by bus to the Fred Meyer store, to where ate salmon, and to the Pioneer play. I don't even know what they were called anymore. I hope you are not involved in the evacuation.

Mary Ann

angelface555 · June 30, 2019, 07:36:50 PM

I'm in the northwest part of the city but just a few miles outside of the areas further west that have standby evacuation orders.

You were in the eastern portion of the city. The salmon feed and Pioneer play were in Alaskaland's Pioneer Park in the western side of the city.

Mary Ann · June 30, 2019, 08:01:45 PM

Thanks, Patricia. I usually am pretty oriented as to direction and location, but when you go by bus and talk, you lose your sense of direction.

Mary Ann

Sasha · June 30, 2019, 10:11:46 PM

Good evening, as we all wait for the rabbit and his friend the other rabbit to jump out of the clock.
Those of you who have experienced the miseries of family alcoholism will understand when I say we're experiencing the telephone addiction again. JACKIE, I know you know the horror of it.
So let's talk about the cats: the humidity was lower this afternoon, and the mostly-indoor kids went out, and, oddly, the mostly-outdoor kids came in. And somehow I still wound up with two on the bed!

Vanilla-Jackie · July 01, 2019, 02:01:49 AM

I wonder if you watched the next video clip...." Castle Combe in Wiltshire " not a place I have visited," so quaint, so old, so unique...named as the prettiest village in England...

larryhanna · July 01, 2019, 04:42:46 AM

Hi everyone on this first of July. Where has the first half of this year gone? It looks like we are to have a very nice day with some sun this morning and some partly cloudy this afternoon and a low chance of rain but it's going to get hot up to 95 later today.

I am trying to get an early start posting to the discussions as yesterday couldn't stay awake but so far haven't fallen asleep but my eyes are getting pretty heavy. . I woke up about midnight and Pat was waiting for me so that I could do some bug hunting. She had seen a big water bug or something like that and she doesn't like bugs, to say the least, so I spent the next hour or so looking through the pantry and while I was doing that I got rid of a lot of big boxes of soda did some re-organization of it but found no waterbug or whatever. I told her the bug was more afraid of her than she was a bit but she wasn't buying that. Maybe it'll show up later today. I don't blame the bugs trying to get in from the heat out there but they're not gonna hurt us whether water bugs or palmetto bugs or whatever they are. It is now after 3 AM and I have gone back to bed. . I told Pat that I'd probably spend most of the day in bed here either sleeping or using my laptop and just getting some extra rest. I'm not feeling as strong as I did yesterday although yesterday was a very good day.

We had a surprise visit from Elizabeth that we had not expected but was most welcome. She came to talk to me about getting a new rug for their room and had done all the homework in terms of prices and where it where it can be accomplished without breaking the bank so to speak. She's very smart young lady and I supported her and what she said. I told her that I wanted she and Jennifer to make the decision after all it's their room and they're going to be using the rug.

Scott did come yesterday afternoon for a short time and I was able to discuss with him several things that are minor and will probably be done Wednesday evening when they're all here for our dinner together. Scott said he will definitely be taking his two days off, which are Wednesday and Thursday. As of now we are planning an outing Wednesday as Pat wants to get a haircut and we have a couple of other stops, including eating lunch at Sonny's BBQ, as I mentioned yesterday.

As far as I know at this point we are not expecting any visitors today but if someone stops they will certainly be welcome as I can always talk with someone.

It is a couple of hours to early to be having my breakfast. I asked Pat if she would take care of her own breakfast today. She has about a day and a half of the prednisone to take and she hasn't really slept very much in quite a few hours and didn't again last night but hopefully that will soon end. She has a terrible cough but said her throat was not sore which is good.

Mary Ann, glad you were not ill yesterday and you and Dot could go out to enjoy the lunch. It is hard to get furniture that fits everyone. I just know I want a divan or a chair to be firm enough that I don't sink down into it. I do agree with Tom about the joy of being with Scott and Jennifer and Elizabeth. Unfortunately I will never be able to have a meaningful relationship with my great grandchildren as distance separates. They did live here in Augusta for about a year and we did get to enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas with them that year and then they moved back to New York to be near his family. I have never heard of the golfer Lashley either. I passed on the golf yesterday as it appeared that the final winner had already been determined after that fabulous score Lashley had.

Marlyne, a Celebration of Life held sometime after the death really is a good thing, at least in my thinking. We did that with Stacey and people were able to plan and we had time to take care of her affairs and not have to rush. I do think that funerals as we have known them over our lifetimes will continue to change to the Celebration of Life services. Certain Fireworks were band in Georgia for several years but it appears the law has been changed. I don't think South Carolina has ever had a law regulating fireworks but I may be wrong.

Sasha, I have made no secret of my involvement in Al-Anon as it has been the key to my own serenty. However, I like the discussion about the cats as well.

Jackie, I did not watch the following video. You all such interesting little towns.

Sandy · July 01, 2019, 10:48:52 AM

Good Morning Everyone from the warmer
and overcast rocky coast of Maine.

I have the AC on this morning ..

Tomorrow I have an appointment with
the Chest Doctor. I have had a few
test regarding my cough, so far so
good. I suspect that it is allergies
that have been irratating me for the
last few years.

So I thought that I would have a thorough
check up. Then my good friends
from Wisconsin are going to be visiting.

It is going to be a busy week.

Sandy

FlaJean · July 01, 2019, 12:00:46 PM

Another hot summer day. Yesterday was a busy day. My son-in-law and his fishing buddy went fishing on one of those fishing guide boats so Gigi came over and spent part of the day with us. We were so busy catching up on family news that we forgot to play a game.

Mary Ann, sounds like you and Annie had a nice visit.

I love to hear the stories about the cats and nothing is cuter than a picture of a kitten. I hate to admit it but I am afraid of cats since a bad early experience with a mean outdoor cat when I was a little girl. Whenever I visit someone with a cat, the first thing that happens is the cat jumps up in my lap. I just sort of freeze and someone will come and take him off. My oldest daughter is very allergic to cats. A few years ago we visited my sister and Kathy started sneezing and tearing up and asked my sister if she had cats. We didn't see any cats but she had put them in another room and sure enough just being around the area had triggered her allergy.

Mrs. Bluebird is apparently sitting on her eggs. We have noticed a couple of times when it has been very hot in the afternoon, she sticks her head out of the birdhouse door. It must be hot in that little wooden house. I hope all goes ok and we see some fledglings.

Marilyne, I think the "Celebration of Life" is also becoming a trend on the East Coast. We had that for my oldest sister, and it was much easier for my niece. She had lost her husband, younger sister, father and then mother in a period of 4 years to illnesses. I remember when she called me and asked if I thought that would be all right. I'll never forget her saying to me that she couldn't bear another church funeral. I understood completely and it was so nice.

Hope everyone will have a good day.

Mary Ann · July 01, 2019, 01:47:14 PM

Tom has been in Petoskey the last four days and he just called that he is on his way home. He will get here about 4 or 4:30 and will go to his therapy place first, then he will pick me up and we'll go out to eat. He's been so happy to be up north and would love to live there, but he knows there are no decent jobs there, so he came back home. Of course, Tom doesn't have a decent job here, either, but he is realistic about it. His health limits what he can do, also he will be 62 in a couple of weeks. He gets along fine here and I'm so happy to have him living here. We are like two ships passing in the night, but it works.

Kendrick and I just sat out on the deck. He ate some of his grass and some of the quack grass I transplanted for him, then he went to his hidey-hole under the loveseat on the deck. It is just under 80 degrees out there.

Jean, I can assure you that if you were to stop in, Kendrick would not jump up on your lap. He's not used to others in the house and if a stranger comes in, he leaves to go where they are not. Usually, it is to go downstairs, but if someone would go down, he might go under my bed. He now is used to Annie and Dot and Robin. If a person stays long enough upstairs, he might come up to investigate, but jump on their lap? NO! We do have cat hair, however.

Sandy, it is the time of year for allergies. This time of year, for me, grass would trigger sneezing and coughing, however, with the climate changes, it could be trees coming to life. Sixty years ago I had the 100-patch test and found I was allergic to "dust, mold, tree, grass and small ragweed". Dust and mold are always around in the air. I had subcutaneous shots for almost four nears to increase my tolerance to those things and I am rarely bothered any more. But it was terrible before I started as my nose would close up, I'd sneeze and blow and my nose was always red from blowing.

Larry, I'm not crazy about bugs either, but we don't have them the size of palmetto bugs and others that live in the south. One time at Norm's in Florida, I got up early (as I usually did) and went to make the coffee. On the windowsill was a spider that I swear was at least 3", if not 4", in diameter. I don't remember what I did to get rid of it, but it disappeared. Norm gave it a name but I don't remember - dust spider? Most bugs I'll find in my bathroom and I'll take a tissue to pick it up, then flush it down the toilet. Living alone so many years, you learn to fend for yourself!

Larry, it may not sound good, but at 95 I've gone to church most of my life and I don't always want to go. I'd miss the people who sit around me if I quit forever, but they're all 15-20+ years younger than I am. And the only time I see them is Sunday and they aren't always there, either, for whatever reason. I would not quit my church, just attending at times.

Dot and I cover a lot of topics when we go out after church and we almost always have our usual of a cream pie and tuna melt. With half of the pie and half of the tuna melt it is a meal for both of us.

Patricia, I hope you're able to stay in your apartment; I know Farrah would be very confused if she had to leave.

Mary Ann

Denver · July 01, 2019, 07:47:06 PM

WELCOME
🍑 J U L Y 🍉

It is raining here right now, but it should stop soon and we can get out to do some shopping. We are leaving tomorrow morning to head to Vail to join our family. I just can not stay home and miss being with them all. Next week we are back to helping out with the children as Michele will have chemo on Monday.

Son Kurt told me the closed the bridge going to his area in Vail as the water in Gore Creek got so high on the bridge.....it was really rolling when we were there last week! Goodness, I hope they do not get cut off from the road by both bridges being closed to high water!

MARY ANN, we do not have any of those kinds of bugs here in Colorado, but we have spiders and I react the same to them as I would a roach, by any name! Poor LARRY, up in the middle of the night searching for one of them! Happy to read Tom is back and you will go out to eat. Happy you had a nice visit and lunch with Dot yesterday after church.

MARILYNE, you are right, it seems a celebration of life is common today. We hardly know anyone that has had a fur real recently.

Good luck tomorrow at the chest doctor appointment.

SASHA, I am sorry that you, too, are having to deal with someone fighting alcohol addiction. If your calls are anything like JACKIES, I feel bad for you. Kitty talk is a LOT more enjoyable 🥰

PATRICIA, no post from you today.....I hope you did not get evacuated due to the fires.

I must get out to shop.

Enjoy the rest of your afternoon.

Jenny

Beverly · July 01, 2019, 08:05:21 PM

Our day started very early. Chape had to be at the Endosurgery Center at 5:30 a.m. for an upper endoscopy. By 7:30 we were back home.

Temps reached 99 today but I barely noticed........stayed home all day. It's going to be hot here all week.

Larry - I keep a can of spray that's safe to use in the house, so if I see one of those bugs I try to get it before he scoots under something. I understand how Pat feels. They're creepy.

Jean - I had a much loved cat who was shy of people, but would always find her way onto the lap of someone who didn't like cats.

Sandy - Hope your tests at the doctor's turn out well.

Sasha - I've dealt with my share of family alcoholism and drug addiction so I know the pain and misery it causes. I hope things turn out well for your family member.

Mary Ann - My sense of direction is terrible. I can get lost without even trying.

Mary Ann · July 01, 2019, 09:30:17 PM

Patricia, I feel bad that you are having to endure the smoke and fire threats. If we did not have you to tell us about them, we would never know about the Alaska fires because the California fires are in the lower 48 and seem to take precedence with the weather people. I must admit I do not take a newspaper any longer so I don't know if there are reports or not.

Beverly, my sense of direction is usually pretty good but when you're on a bus trip and not paying a lot of attention, you don't know which way is up.

Jenny, it seems a lot of the US has overflowing streams and rivers. I watch the Marine City cam and waves from passing boats and ships often send water over the breakwaters. I think the big ships are in a "no wake" area because of the high water but that doesn't bother the motor boats whose drivers go as fast as they can just to create waves. The Great Lakes all are setting records. I've read about roads being closed because of being under water. Then we have California that is so dry there are fires. You'd think Mother Nature could spread the rain around.

A new cam has opened on the St Clair River on the East coast of Michigan. It is at Algonac, south of Marine City, almost at the north entrance to Lake St Clair. There is a ferry there to the Canadian Walpole Island. I typed in Algonac cam and a few other cams showed up, but Algonac was there. I still think the most interesting of those on the St Clair River is the Port Huron cam probably because of all the activity that goes on there.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann · July 01, 2019, 10:15:29 PM

I don't know how long they'll last, but with today being Canada Day, there are fireworks in Sarnia ON across the river from Port Huron.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIGaI7ZNxT0

Mary Ann

Vanilla-Jackie · July 02, 2019, 01:14:47 AM

Sasha - Jenny - Beverley - Larry...
...yes alcohol addiction...as for my daughter, so far my telephone has been quiet for the past few weeks but, this can also be worrying as I dont know what is, or has been going on her side, 150 miles away...I would like to say that " no news is good news.." or as my late father often would say..." all quiet on the western front.." but as everyone knows, as a mother we will forever worry.."

MarsGal · July 02, 2019, 06:58:17 AM

Mary Ann, I spent very little time on the net yesterday, so thanks for the heads up that Algonac webcam is finally up and running.

My right foot got X-rayed yesterday. I've been having some low but off and on persistent pain in it since the Gettysburg trip. The results should be back today. Doc is looking to see if I have a stress fracture.

I mowed the front lawn yesterday, but will not tackle the backyard until tomorrow, weather permitting.

Lucy must be going through her second childhood. She is engaging with the toys more and more, and the other day, I saw here attempt to stalk Shan. He saw her coming, so that put a stop to a full onrush. They merely ended up briefly touching noses.

Marilyne · July 02, 2019, 10:30:38 AM

An early Good Morning to everyone. Only 7:15 here, but last night was a wakeful one, so I finally just got up a couple of hours ago, and stayed up. Used to be that I would watch the news in those early hours, to find out what was going on in the USA and around the world, but now the news everywhere is too upsetting. Not a good way to start the day.

MarsGal - I hope your foot X-Ray, turns out to be just a sprain. You don't want to be stuck with a cast and crutches, during these hot summer months!

Jackie - I agree with you, that "no news is good news" does not apply, in most cases. I want to know what's going on, or I worry too much, and my imagination runs away with me!! My family also has seen plenty of alcohol and drug problems. I don't think there is a family that hasn't been touched by it, somewhere along the line. I meant to thank you for the lovely video of the village in Wiltshire. When I see something like that, I wonder if I still have relatives living anywhere in the region?

Mary Ann - I hope you get good news on your nose biopsy? AJ went back to the dermatologist yesterday, and had something suspicious removed from his neck. It was large enough, that there are ugly stitches there, but not as many as were on his ear. Sent away for a biopsy, so we should get a call from the doc by the end of the week.

larryhanna · July 02, 2019, 01:09:37 PM

Hi everyone on what is going to be a very hot day here in South Carolina as we expect to get up to about 97 today by late afternoon. It looks like it's going to be a nice day around here as Pat has had a good night as did I. She was able to go to bed fairly early for her and I haven't heard her coughing like she has been the last few days and I think she's just generally feeling better and that sure makes me feel better.

The aid called a little after 8 am saying her early appointment had cancelled and that she was on her way. to help me with my shower then I will have free time until about 3 o'clock this afternoon when the Comcast technician should be here to fix my Internet problem. I called yesterday and explained to the tech exactly what had been happening at this house for the last 4 1/2 years thinking that we had a problem with the equipment but realizing that changing the equipment didn't solve the problem. I told him in a logical way what have been happening and he said he agreed with me in every step that the tech,who was young really didn't know what he was doing as couldn't even put the plug in the wall straight. I told the tech that I I was not going to get up and do a lot of trying to get the back online that we've done so much in the past and I simply wanted somebody to come out here and fix the problem. He was able to find a spot this afternoon and will have a tech here as I indicated above.

So I am expecting to enjoy a nice afternoon of rest and listening to some beautiful music and also switch over to Willy's Roadhouse on XM radio which I enjoy because I like the old-time country songs and there's some commentary that goes along with a lot of the songs that provide some interesting background of the people involved with Willie and other country stars. I had my breakfast late so will just have a light lunch, probably that Dilly Bar that Scott just brought me (I hadn't expected to see him today so that was a great treat.

I have taken care of a load of laundry that was basically my things anyway and put them away, emptied the dishwasher and put the dishes away and now we have another load being washed. . I realized last evening that I can get down my new ramp in the garage by holding on the nice railing we have and using the cane and then I have the fold up aluminum walker out in the garage and I'm going to keep at the bottom of the ramp and it won't be necessary then for me to use a walker to get down the ramp as II can use the aluminum one to get over to the car and it should make getting in and out of the car much easier as well as not having to take the walker with me. We will have the transport chair in the truck so it will be available if needed. We have some plans for tomorrow that I will give me a chance to test them out.

It seems that everyday is a different adventure as I had no idea that today would turn out as it has so far.

Judy, it sounds like you made a wise decision in getting out and taking pictures and keeping Zeke from getting too stressed.

Ellie, yes I am a touch typist and love to type. My dad had an old Underwood typewriter with those round keys. Before I was eligible to take typing in high school, you had to be a junior or senior, I put adhesive tape over the keys and then started typing. As a professional I wasn't allowed to type on the job. Finally when computers were introduced I was finally able to type my writing at work and it was much more efficient. In this day and age with the computer I expect there are many men who are touch typists but also a lot of one finger typists. I am sure your husband knows a great deal about planting. Sometimes we men do know what we are talking about although if you see men represented on many TV shows we are bumbling fools.
]Jane, you have earned the right as well as the need to take things easy. That is also my goal for Pat with her bad back and feet. As long as I am able I intend to not be an invalid as I enjoy accomplishing something every day but I also now have he freedom to do or not to do what I want and it gives me a lot of joy and peace of mind. We don't go to the mailbox each day. With the USPS app we can see what is being delivered so have options.

I am having a terrible time trying to post as keep falling asleep. Guess not a bad thing but do want to post for today. I am going to read the posting since yesterday but not try to post to everyone so I can finish my nap.

Vanilla-Jackie · July 02, 2019, 01:36:30 PM

Marilyne...
...my grandson, my daughters boy ( 31 ) lives a few miles away from his mother, so I am assuming he will be keeping an eye on her, as and when he can...

Mary Ann · July 02, 2019, 01:48:50 PM

Larry, I don't know if I mentioned they now have Hospice for Jan's father (Jan is Terry's widow), Dale. He has had an experience similar to yours in that he is feeling better and able to do a couple things that he was unable to do before. He is 89 and the thought was that even with Hospice, he'd last a week to a month. Jan's sister is on leave for a year from teaching in Alaska so she has been able to relieve Jan and their nephews of some of the things involved with Dale's care. Jan told Tom that her dad is able to swallow now, speak some and something else. I don't expect Dale to get to your stage, but any improvement is good.

Tom stopped at a market today and bought some Michigan strawberries. I haven't had Michigan berries for many years and I'm going to make a shortcake from the Jiffy mix and I'm going to enjoy myself! Floridians and Californians don't realize how tasteless their berries are by the time they reach us because their berries are picked and shipped before they are ripe for eating.

Mary Ann

Marilyne · July 02, 2019, 02:39:28 PM

Mary Ann - California strawberries are tasteless here too! No taste, no juice. They look bright red, and pretty like they would be good, but they're awful.

Mary Ann · July 02, 2019, 03:18:48 PM

Marilyn, I have to say the couple Michigan berries I ate, tasted good. These are larger than I remembered but there was taste. When I was in Florida, we'd go to a strawberry farm and get huge berries and they tasted good, but I am not sure how store-bought berries would have tasted. I guess we have to grow our own in order to get what we want.

Mary Ann

FlaJean · July 02, 2019, 05:03:55 PM

We had strawberries from both Florida and Calif a couple of months ago. They were both delicious. Last week we had really good sweet Bing cherries from either Calif. or Wash., I don't know which. They are my favorite fruit. My big disappointment in fruit is peaches. I haven't had a good tasting peach in years. I've been so disappointed in fresh peaches, even Georgia peaches.

We had our own orange tree in Ocala. Larry went to one of those agricultural extension classes where they supply the tree stock and buds. That orange tree was about 24 years old when we left Ocala and had the sweetest tasting oranges. I fertilized it 3 times a year and always kept it watered. When we got an occasional cold freeze in Dec or Jan, Larry would prop up an old sheet to cover it. I sometimes wonder if the new owners take care of it. We also had a lemon tree and a grapefruit tree. But we had way too many grapefruits and not enough people who like grapefruit. We took a lot of grapefruit to the Salvation Army kitchen, but we finally just cut down the tree.

Mary Ann · July 02, 2019, 05:27:18 PM

Jean, your telling of Larry propping a sheet over your orange tree reminded me of when I did that to a magnolia tree in front of my kitchen window. I know what we have up here in magnolia trees is different than the "real thing". Anyway, the tree would be loaded with buds in early April of any year and almost invariably we'd have a freeze. I had two elderly neighbors who were very helpful and I casually mentioned to them that I was going to cover the tree that night because of the forecast. At 7 pm my doorbell rang and there were my neighbors ready to help me. I had the sheets and we put them together with safety pins, then we took clothes poles I had (relics) to get the sheets toward the top of the tree. I think some buds were above the sheets and were not protected, but the sheets did the trick. I could not mention anything to these neighbors but what they'd be here to help me. They probably were in their 80s at the time and I might have been in my 60s. Wonderful neighbors!

Robin, Tom's friend, is here cleaning for us. She does a good job but leaves boxes in the middle of the room and cleaning supplies wherever she last used them.

Mary Ann

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