I miss seeing a message from Larry, this morning?  His post is usually the first one I read, when I check in every day.  I hope that he is okay, and that we'll hear from him soon.

It's about 8:15 here, and I'm working on my second cup of coffee.  After that, I may drive to the fruit stand at the orchard near me, and buy some fresh picked peaches and nectarines to enjoy over the weekend.  Other than that, nothing planned for today.

Hi everyone. It is a hot and humid day here in South Carolina and will get into the mid 90's this afternoon.  Fortunately it is predicted to be cloudy later today.  I made a quick trip to Walmart to get a prescription for Pat and to pick up a couple of hardware items before it got too hot this morning.  Fortunately there was a riding cart available.  Still not feeling at all peppy.  Fortunately I have nothing else to do today.  The housekeeper is here so soon we will have a spic and span house again.

We had a very nice time at our Sunday School party last evening.  Almost all of the regular attendees on Sunday made it to the party.  The food was delicious and I was able to fix a plate full of food to bring home so our supper tonight is all set.  Pat was feeling better yesterday and seems to be OK today.   

Mary Ann, always nice to have the yard all mown and trimmed.  They use a riding mower for the front yards and then a walking mower in the back.  Then someone comes and weedeats around the edges of the walks and driveway and patio in back.  Finally someone comes with a blower to get the grass off the walks and drive and the patio, although they are not doing an adequate job on the patio and Pat gets very frustrated. 

JeanneP, at least watching movies and having Pizza at home lets you have control of the volume and avoids getting out in the heat.  Clogged ears are no fun as I know from experience.  Happy to see that your father made it back from the battle although it sounds like you family suffered great tradegy in the war. I like to keep things neat but we enjoy our home. I don't bother Pat's things and she doesn't bother mine. 

Patricia, glad your building is built to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes.  I sure don't blame you for looking forward to winter.  The last place Stacey lived also required a money order.  Fortunately she lived within a block of the bank.  She did have a bank account but only used a debit card and didn't write checks.  The boss with OCD sounds terrible.  Glad you didn't have to work there very long. 

Marilyne, I'm here but was just running late today as made that early morning trip to Walmart and had a couple of other things to do before I could start reading and posting.  Other than weariness I am fine.  Fresh peaches and nectarines sound so good. 

Good morning from another bright, blue, dry & heated day. Next week is expected to be nothing but rain. However, August is always our rainiest month, it brings down the temperatures and September should be much cooler but beautiful. October brings Autumn, falling leaves and probably snow by Halloween. 

Farrah has gone through some rapid changes this month. She isn't shy about verbally reminding me to play with her or fetch what she wants. Or by coming up and tapping me with her paw if I don't get the earlier verbal reminder. We are over the hump personality wise, but that preternatural awareness seems permanent and she still occasionally flinches if there is a very loud noise or people move unexpectedly. Alan bought her a new cat bed that I  placed in the rocking chair she likes to sleep in.

At night she will often pace lengthwise around my bed, just enough to partially wake me and earn a scratch or two. Even though Dora and Alan now have their own cats, Alan still says he is Farrah's buddy and doesn't want to leave her out. He has the same relationship with his neighbor's Great Dane and their Pitbull mix. Imagine if you will an Italian thirties style gangster in a suit, surrounded by animals and that is Alan. Dora with her bobbed hair and dresses always seems to be another Greer Garson, so they fit together well.

My converter microwave is due today by UPS. I can hardly wait to use it. My toaster, convectional oven works wonderfully, I had a steak last night and now I will no longer be restricted to stove top meals. I just wish I could afford to have an actual repairman do an estimated repair on my stove's oven so I could forward a copy of needed repairs to the landlord here and the headquarters in Anchorage. It is frustrating to be told there is nothing wrong with that oven and to know I can not afford to move with today's studios going for over a thousand. I would also need first and last month's rent plus utility deposits and surcharges. Otherwise, I enjoy living here.

Good afternoon, everyone. It looks like we will be getting some heavy rain overnight and into tomorrow. We just missed the last downpour that did some flooding in Middletown and Hummelstown. They are just south of Harrisburg. George got lucky; it even missed him. There were several homes with flooded basements in Highspire, but his, although it got some water, did not flood.

Angel, remember to reduce your times or number setting on the inverter microwave when cooking and keep an eye on stuff for a while til you get used to it cooking faster. I managed to overcook meatloaf and chicken before I started to get the hang of it. My turkey always comes out fine because I periodically check to see if the pop-up indicator had popped. It usually does that before my timer goes off, so if I didn't have that indicator I'd probably overcook that too.

Speaking of cooking, I have me a nice ham and the fixings to make a big pot of Navy Bean Soup this weekend.

Patricia, I thought of your clouds when I sat on the deck early afternoon.  I also thought of the clouds Shirley of Soda Shoppe has posted.  Our clouds were big, fluffy white that just floated in the bright blue sky.  Our temperature was in the low 80s but there was a nice breeze blowing that made it unnecessary to turn on the a/c.  Tom is across the state at a funeral today and he should start for home soon.  I may or may not have the air on for him when he gets back.  I have done little but work on my Trust and I'm about ready to see my lawyer.

Mary Ann

Thanks, MarsGal, I plan to keep a very close eye on it as I haven't had any type of microwave for a number of years. I placed photos of my new kitchen, a gift to myself for my birthday on Monday. It only took me 66 years to downsize and reorganize, guess I'm slow!   

https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=11.msg94322#msg94322

MaryAnn, I have a front roll seat on my balcony for watching the foothills and clouds. I am something of a geek about clouds.

Angel, I see you are a little short on counter space too. Even though my kitchen is fairly big, it only has a counter surrounding the sink. I use an old computer desk for my microwave and some of the pots, and I bought a small kitchen island/storage unit for my coffee pot and mugs. My kitchen table, which sits in the middle of the room, is where I prepare my meals and tends to be a catch-all. I actually managed to get it mostly cleared off so I had more room to prepare things, but that came at a price - the cats discovered the extra uncluttered space.

This morning Lucy, once again, managed to find some plastic to chew on. The little bugger had to push off a piece of  loose cardboard placed atop the box and then open the box in order to partially pull out a new Zero Water filter before I discovered it. Out of sight out of mind doesn't work for her. I swear she can smell the plastic.

It has been a long time since I made Navy Bean Soup. I plan on making a big pot this weekend, but I need to go look up some recipes to see if I must soak the beans overnight or not.

Patricia, your oven troubles remind me of what I had to contend with years ago.

I had bought a new gas range and discovered there was absolutely no oven burner.  After three days of being told I didn't know what I was talking about - of course there was a burner there - it was just a newer model than I was used to - I just didn't know what it should look like.....   Phone call after phone call you could hear the tone in the men's voices they thought I was just a dumb broad.  Finally, my husband got on the phone and announced that if the burner had not been installed that day he would put the stove on the front lawn next morning, in pieces with a large sign about the store's incompetency.

About 6:00 p.m. that evening, during our supper, a repairman arrived at the back door "I understand there's an oven burner that needs repair".  He opened the oven and said in shock "There's no burner here!"  Someone finally believed me!   

Hi everyone. We have a 60% chance of some rain this morning and I sure hope it does rain and I won't need to turn the sprinklers on for watering on Monday.  However, it will be in the 90's again today.  I just had a quiet day yesterday and expect to have the same today as am very short of breath. 

We are having a couple over this evening for a visit.  They attend our Sunday School class and we want to get to know them better.  We are doing a meal as that is just too hard and if they are agreeable we will perhaps go out to eat with them occasionally.  We really haven't developed a social circle of friends other than those we know from Church and see at Church.

Patricia, interesting description of Alan and Dora.  I can visualize them now. It sounds like Alan has discovered his love for pets in a big way now that he time for them.  I hope you like your new converter microwave.  I am glad you now have alternatives to using your oven.  It seems every place we live has a few negatives but generally the positives outweigh the negatives.  I saw the pictures of your kitchen and it looks very nice. 

MarsGal, I saw on the weather map that you were to get a lot of rain up your way and on into the Northeast.  Have you ever made a fifteen bean soup?  It has been a long time since we had that and won't have it anytime soon as Pat is trying to stay away from beans as not on her carb diet. 

Mary Ann, it sounds like you had some delightful weather yesterday. 

Jeanne, what an unpleasant experience with the range with no gas burner in the oven.  You have to wonder where the quality control was in the factory or by the installer. 

MarsGal - interesting that Lucy likes to chew on plastic.  I wonder if that habit will take a toll on her teeth, as time passes?  As my Winnie ages, (soon to be 19 years old), he isn't digesting his food very well, and is having lots of upsets. There are a number of "aging cat" websites online, with some good suggestions.  One was to try giving your cat a jar of baby food. (turkey, chicken or beef) I did, and Winnie loves it.  Seems strange to be back shopping in the Gerber Baby Food section of the super market, after about 45+ years.   

Larry - very nice of you and Pat to go out of your way to make friends in your new community.  As the years have moved along, all of our old friends and neighbors have passed away, or moved to distant retirement communities.  Sorry to say that we didn't make much of an effort to find new groups of friends, but have mostly relied on family, cousins, etc., for social life. 

Hope you all have a lovely day and weekend.  Nothing much happening here, except staying out of the relentless heat. 

Good morning from a fog shrouded Interior, I woke up with almost nil visibility and 54 degrees.

Farrah is munching on breakfast and I just poured my first coffee.

MarsGal, that island is quite large, 64 by 36 inches, separating the kitchen from the living room, or it would be if I left it empty. I think Farrah is a bit perturbed to lose some prime real estate too. I have empty cupboards as my groceries are on the bottom shelves of the uppers and the lower ones do slide up and then out but I no longer have anything in there. I have to say, however, that it feels so good to get rid of all that stuff I was carting hither and yon! I had 16 coffee cups and three kitchen junk drawers for just me!? Now I have the bare minimum. Everything is in a green crock.

I know what you mean about the plastic. Farrah literally bites at the shower curtain, there are little teeth marks all along the side. I have to keep it slung over the top of the shower rod when not in use. My vet said they use dried milk in processing the material and that can attract cats and some dogs too! I once knew of a dog that licked the baseboards!  I had a large raw bone cat named Thomas, he died in 2005. He went from place to place because he bit people as his way of being close as crazy as that sounds. He bit hard because he was a big cat but never broke the skin. I would tap his nose each bite but it never cured him.

He wanted to be the top cat but the others I had then chased him off and he didn't have the gumption to stand up to them. But, I'm sure in his own mind, he had them cowering! Thomas was quite large and ungainly, he had to sleep with his legs straight out. The main issue and why I remember him was that I could not have any rugs in the bathroom. He peed on them each and every time! It was the only time he didn't use the litter box and when they were removed, he never peed elsewhere. It was another reason he was unwanted and almost put down.

I've made navy bean soup and it has always been an autumn special, but Larry, I have never heard of a 15 bean soup! I will have to Google that one. Yes, Alan and Dora have always worked hard and managed a nice home. They had help as they worked sixteen hour days and never seemed to vacation. They never had pets and never seemed to want any but Alan's "obsession" as Dora calls it remained well hidden. And to see Dora with a cat or two on her lap would have had heads turning just a few years ago! I have to say I have been secretly patting myself on the back for that one and Farrah who started it all. But then Alan was the first one after me that Farrah grew close to. He played a big role in her recovery as I'm pretty sure it was a male who abandoned her and abused her.

Jeanne, I have never lived in my own house, after leaving home, military housing or apartments only other than the two years we spent in Kentucky living in my in laws' home while they lived in his paternal grandmother's to care for her. However, I would have done something like your husband & yelled at those folks, (Hopefully, but probably not.    ).

Hi Marilyne; plastic isn't good for cats as they have nubbins on their tongue designed to bring things down and not back up. Plastic can poison a cat and damage inner organs. It is one reason I keep a close eye on Farrah in the bathroom as I'm sure MardGal does with Lucy as well. I have a friend with an aging cat who feeds it a soupy mixture of rice, vegetables, and meat. I will certainly pass on your baby food suggestion.

Way back when my children were small it seemed that any time I would call for an appliance repair the first question that I got asked was "IS IT PLUGGED IN"?  mY OLDEST DAUGHTER AND i STILL LAUGH OVER THAT ONE.

Sorry for the caps

Patricia, I wish I had your will power in disposing of things.  I moved from a 1200-ft ranch house on two floors to an 870-ft condo on two floors (that is each floor was 1200 feet or 870 feet).  I have never in 36 years adjusted to the lesser space.  I was getting along OK (just OK) when Tom moved in and I had to get rid of a lot of things but I still had/have too much.  I had enough cooking pans but recently Tom decided he wanted to use HIS pots and pans.  In addition, when I got a new range, the drawer at the bottom was smaller than the previous range and there was not enough room for what I had, let alone to add Tom's equipment.  We use the oven enough so that is not a good place to hide things.  I took over a lower cupboard to store my stuff but every so often, Tom wants to use one of my pans and that gets put with his things - on the counter.  And there isn't a lot of counter space. 

To my knowledge, Kendrick has not taken to chewing on plastic.  I have a decorative curtain over the plastic curtain and he doesn't spend a lot of time in the bathroom.  He does like to go after the toilet paper if the air current catches it; then I will find the paper pulled out from the roll. 

Until this week, I imagine Kendrick thought he was the only cat in the world.  Then two days ago, I was sitting on the deck when he got very vocal, unusual for him.  I got up to see him stretching between the deck rails as he saw the cat next door.  That cat was just lying there, minding her own business and really ignored him.  I was afraid he'd try to get onto the other deck which is higher than mine and about six feet away.  I brought him back in the house.  Last night, he could tell the other cat was nearby but not seen because he told me she was near.  Maybe when/if the other cat is outside in front, I may let Kendrick out to see what happens, if anything, but I'll be close by.

We are enjoying another nice day.  Our temperature is 85 degrees and the sun has shone all day long.  We do need rain but radar does not show any rain for several days.

Tom is away for supper so i'll have to see what we have for me to eat.  He went to the store this afternoon so there should be something.

Joan, I understand an appliance not being plugged in is a frequent problem.  When I was in the appliance department, I'd get many calls about not being able to use the oven.  It would turn out that after a previous use, the owner would not have turned the clock to "off". 

Mary Ann

I did the same on a garbage disposal.  Wall Switch would not work. Service man came. got under the sink and pulled down the little switch on the disposal and turned it one. Done it many times on my car. Stopped to see why a light is on on Dashboard. Cars use to say what they were. Now just no idea. He just went to the back door and shut it and light went off. Same when one of the seat belts not plugged in. No wonder they talk about women drivers. (Men don't stop to ask if a problem)

Patricia - I had to laugh when I read that you found you had 16 coffee cups, and thought that was an excessive amount!  I'm thinking to myself . . . is that all? LOL!  Reason being that I probably have at least 60, and that's not nearly what I had in the past. In my "former life", I was a dealer/collector of Vintage dinnerware and china, glassware, kitchen items, et al.  Of course each set has/had a full contingent of cups and saucers.   Although I've given away most of my sets, or sold them on eBay, many people who purchased from me didn’t want the cups an saucers.  Another sign of the changing times . . . people only drink out of mugs now, so cups and saucers are a glut on the market. Nobody wants them. 

So I’ve kept most of the leftover pieces, and keep them in a pantry style closet, along with extra plates, bowls, and lots of kitchen stuff.   Every morning I look in the closet, and pick a different pattern, to enjoy with my morning coffee.  It's kind of an upbeat thing, that starts my day out in a pleasant and nostalgic manner.

Marilyn and Patricia, I have a lot of mugs that I have bought on various trips as souvenirs.  I'd have more if some had not been broken in transit.  Few of the mugs are duplicates.  Some of the mugs are larger than others and those are the ones I prefer for my morning coffee - the only time I drink coffee.  I always bought mugs that reflected the area where I bought them.

We still are warm this evening; I had my so called supper on the deck but Kendrick did not not want to join me. 

I noticed a couple of boats in Lake Michigan, also some bathers. 

Mary Ann

Ah, fellow mug collectors. When I moved last, I had three boxes of at least 32 mugs each, plus a few other packed elsewhere. The three boxes are still out on my enclosed back porch. I only have room for a few in the cabinets I have now, several are on a window shelf, and a dozen on decorative mug racks. The bookcase I had in the kitchen at the old house held cookbooks and mugs but  is now in the living room holding biography and history books. The cookbooks are in my "media" room because I have no space for them in the kitchen. It is not that the kitchen is smalll, but with the big windows, steam radiator and pipes, four (yes, four) doors, and the refrigerator, stove and microwave stand there wasn't much room for anything else. The below counter shelves by the sink are about worthless now since I discovered mice found their way into several and another drawer has a damaged metal lid that I can't move.  Remember the old metal lined bins? I have three. I think the cabinets are best replaced rather than resurfaced, but I can't afford it now. I really, really need to weed more kitchen and decorative items out again but it is really hard to part with some of this stuff.

My mugs include Garfield and Kliban (remember Sneaker cat?), advertising mugs, travel souvenirs (included a nice little collection of train mugs), and various other little pretties I ran across.

On the bright side, any good stuff I get rid of I now give to the guy who runs our Friends of the Library bookstore. He has a flea market booth in the summer, and the few items I have given him he takes up there. The proceeds, he says, he puts into the Library fund. I hope he keeps a little for himself for his trouble. He probably doesn't get much for the items, but it is nice to know that someone wants and can use them.

Downsizing sure is a difficult project for me, but I have been very slowly removing things. Unfortunately, I backslide a bit, especially with the books. Hardcopy is hard to resist, especially when it comes to most history or science related books.

Hi everyone. It looks like we will be getting a break on the hot weather with it staying in the high 80's this afternoon.  Yesterday was a total wipe out for me as spent most of the morning and early afternoon laying down.  Our friends did come over for a couple of hours early in the evening.  We found out we have much in common with them.  We plan to go out to eat with them on occasion as they often eat out on Friday nights and we do also. I plan on going to Sunday School and Church this morning and then getting something to bring home for lunch.  Pat is not going as has a stabbing pain in her back again and didn't think she could sit still in the hard chairs or the pews.  Later this afternoon I will watch the conclusion of the RBC Gold Championship being played on a beautiful course in close to Ontario.

Marilyne, our cat never bothered the shower curtain but did put teeth marks in our aluminum blinds and some of the electrical cords and one day I had left my earbuds for listening to the radio on the bed and when I went to bed that night found the ear buds had been severed from the wires.  I was not a happy camper.  It will be nice to have one couple to go out to eat with on occasion.  Unfortunately, often neither Pat nor I are up to having company or going out to eat with someone.  I hate it as we do enjoy being with friends. Most of our socializing has been related to dinners at Church on Wednesday nights or Pat's bi-monthly crafts group and my weekly coffee with guys on Thursday's and then the Wisdom Class. 

Patricia, when I saw the pictures of your kitchen I guess I missed seeing that nice large island.  We also have a large island in our kitchen but also quite a bit of cabinet space.  Later this week I am going to order the first slide out shelf and Scott will install it to be sure that is what we want and they work well.  We found them on Amazon. If you look in the dried bean section of your grocery story you likely will see a package with assorted beans.  I think one is perhaps 13 bean and another is 15 bean mix.

I don't think I have much else to add to the discussion so will not make further individual comments this morning.  I am running out of time. 
 

Most of my mugs are from places I have worked or lived.  I do have one from Senior Net tho. 

I also have a Kliban cat mug, another of Waldo and you really have to hunt for him (Where's Waldo?), Denmark, six from the company where I worked, Indiana, Arizona, some are keepsakes because of who gave them to me.  I also have a box of Christmas mugs, two or three Easter mugs - and so it goes.

Dot and I did our usual and we had burgers at Mr Burger's (aka the Cholesterol Pit) along with a piece of coconut cream pie.

I will watch the RBC golf match, which in IN Ontario, Larry, near Toronto.  Every golf course is interesting to see and most are different one from the other.  Some are spectacularly beautiful and others are amazing because of their lack of beauty.

I feel a nap coming on, but I'll probably wait until Tom gets home.  Since we expect temperatures in the mid-80s, I am sure I'll change my clothes before long.

Mary Ann

MarsGal - Wow, I think you have surpassed my cups and saucers, with your mug collection!  You need to figure out a way to display all of your mugs, so you can get them out of the boxes.  I can envision a bright and cheerful mug wall in your media room.  I can see that it wouldn’t work in your kitchen, what with your limited wall space. I would love to see your train mugs.  I used to have lots of vintage train cups and saucer sets from the old railroad lines - now no longer in existence. 

In my nostalgia closet, I also have a shelf of colorful Archie, Flintstone and Looney Tunes glasses, that once held Welch’s Grape Jelly.  Also, two Morris the Cat, 9-Lives glasses. 

Mary Ann - Your Christmas mugs would look great, on display, during the holiday season.  You could cycle through your whole collection throughout the year, if you have a display shelf of some kind. 

Good afternoon, beautiful day.  I am just home from the hospital, had a mild heart attack again

I have a collection of bells from all over the world.  I am suppose to do a show and tell about them at our Red Hat sept meeting.

I had not slept but a few hours, all the time I was in the hospital.  This morning at 5:30 I felt a patting on my back, which of course woke me up. Of course it was Taffy, then she laid across my legs to make sure I was not going anywhere. the next thing I know it was 10 Wow! get I need that, and she was there.

Gloria, I'm sorry to hear you were back in the hospital.  I know it is no fun.  Do you know what causes your heart attacks?

Marilyn, I doubt I could display my Christmas mugs, or any other set, because I do not have a display shelf.  I do have a china cabinet (bought used, not family) but I have older family pieces there or more recent collections (a few creamware items, for instance).  It's a nice idea, but in an 870 sq ft condo, there isn't much space for anything, let alone cups.  I know Tom would like me to get rid of anything we do not use!  I'll let him take care of it after I'm not here to protest!

Grand Haven is busy today; it's hot and there are lots of boats and swimmers.

Mary Ann

Good morning from another sunny Interior in the eighties at 10:21 AM. We will see how the day goes as I spent an hour basically rearranging my emails into folders, Dropbox or trash. Farrah has successfully badgered for treats and is now watching for birds from on her table. It is getting to the point that I need to stop buying treats as she then doesn't eat her food and she rarely eats more than a daily two-thirds cup of anything regardless. Treats aren't that good for man nor beast it seems! I have a fabric curtain on the outside in the bath and a plastic liner. I have been slipping the liner over the rod when not in use so you just see the fabric curtain which is fine. Although I  did get an odd look or two when the housekeeper and maintenance man were doing my bi-yearly apartment inspection!

Larry, I basically have one large room with the tiled kitchen split from the carpeted living area by that counter. Then there is a long hallway, bathroom, bedroom and large walk-in closet on the end. We have the pullout and then up drawers in all of the lower cabinets in bath and kitchen and I really don't know how I got along without them. Although now they are basically empty in the kitchen except for two vinegar jugs and an oversized box of Arm & Hammer baking soda and my small and large drainers. There is also a long walk-in closet by the entry across from the kitchen and one in the bedroom.

Folks, besides those 16 cups and bursting at the seams, kitchen, I had thirty-nine china and porcelain cups and saucers, two full sets of dishes for eight and two sets of silverware plus serving utensils for both. I had 28 large boxes of hardback books, 23 large framed prints that took two people to carry and enough clothes to donate three large boxes, two 33 gallon garbage bags and three 8 gal garbage bags to that used clothes place and still have my bedroom closet, entry coat closet and three plastic tubs in the  bedroom closet floor full. I have thirty-two coat scarves and 29 neck ring scarves. I have two large water jugs, three coffee jugs and a cold thermos and a hot thermos. I now have two plates, one platter, one mixing bowl and two salad bowls. Clearly, I have more work to do altho the 23 prints stay.

My apartments with family and on my own were always clean but packed. My older sister once remarked that my style was a combination of a British men's club and some international mayhem. I think that was from my working in that import/export store in the eighties, Alaska House and Xanadu. When I was renting rooms only for brief periods in the 2005-2007 period, I was paying over 100.00 monthly for a large storage room. The clincher came in packing and repacking boxes only to struggle to find room for things and the somehow need that I would use or always want everything. That comes directly from having two depression era parents and my own strong hoarding instinct... Now I actually do have only what I use, other than the prints and my excess clothes. When you , yourself, are doing all the work of moving and begging for transport and muscles during those moves, you can see where the decluttering need overcame my need to hoard.

Gloria, I was so sorry to hear you were briefly back in the hospital. I hope your doctors and you will find ways to assure you have a long comfortable life ahead of you. I will keep you in my thoughts.

Patricia, my doctors are very good, they are not happy with me as I will have no invasion  done. I like June. I am 93 had a fairly good life.But no family around. Beautiful neighbors on either side of me and across the street.

I can agree with that as I lost my daughter and am only close to my younger sister family wise. We and Taffy would miss you, however. You are important to us.

Patricia, again I say I wish I had your will power.  I want to get rid of stuff but there is no place to put things while I work on getting rid of things.  As I've said, I moved from 1200 sq ft to 870 sq ft and I've never adjusted.  I could put things in the storage room but I cannot take anything to the lower level.  I am going to have a chair lift installed but that won't happen immediately.  The chair lift has been around the horn - it first belonged to Tom's mother when she lived with Terry in Holland MI.  She died in 2003 and eventually it was installed for Norm.  After he died, Dot had it taken out and it is now available for me.  Terry did the first two installations, but, of course, he is not here to do mine.  We are thinking of having the manufacturer do it and that will cost, however, they would not service it if they did not install it.  So it should be worth the money.  In th meantime, nothing gets done!

Mary Ann

I have mugs and cups. going back to the Wedding of Elizabeth  and Philip, Charles and Dianna. Even Henry the eighth and Minuture ones of he and  his 6 wives along with Tea caddies. Biscuits tins. Lots of stuff.

Nice here again today. Just getting ready to go over to the grocery store. Don't want to go far n my car as something seems to be wrong with the lock as when I put my key in it just needs  a lot of work turning it before it starts. It is going into the shop Tuesday while I go to movie next door. Car need good check up. I may be looking at what they have in on their Honda Lot.
Now I am reading a book at the moment. It not bad. About a girl 21 gets in a little trouble and the Child service talks her into signing her 4 year and a 6 month children away. She was going to prison for 10 months. Sort of goes through all their lives. The up and downs. Called "Somewhere out there" by Amy Hatvany. Never heard of her but then never heard of 3/4 of the writers now. Seems like all can get book printed.
Off I go.

MaryAnn, even though you are older than me, you have a large, loving and helpful family. (I see where Jan is busy and I don't know if Annie would be available); but perhaps some one in the family knows a teen or someone that is young able-bodied and perhaps in need of some spare change? I can see where you have a two person job even without the storage room. But why use the storage room? I use three very large Rubbermaid tubs. One for save to be washed, dried and repositioned. One for donations after cleaning and one for the donation table downstairs. I had a floor pile for what was unusable, stained or just garbage. Farrah loved those bins for naps while they were a work in progress and sometimes they were out for thirty days. I think she was a bit perturbed when they would go away.   

I have been getting tired and weaker so now was a good time and they simply weren't being used and someone would love them. This one bedroom is only 950 sq. feet.