Good morning.  It was nice to see the reminiscences about Senior Net.  I was on Senior Net from the start (Jane and GinnyAnn and I were all hosts on Third Age when Senior Net started and they steered me here when Senior Net closed down).  I met Joan Grimes in Atlanta at the airport and drove her to a "bash" at a South Carolina beach (can't remember which one).  Prior to that, I met both Margery and Sage who lived in or near San Jose when we lived in Monterey and San Diego.  I think both of them may have died since then.  I've often wondered why Senior Net decided to drop their program.

Thanks for the memories!
Sue

SCFSue, in remembering the old Seniornetâ€"â€"-I belonged to a forum where we kept a record of how much we walked.  Weren’t you in charge of that?  The name Sue is ringing a bell. 

Although I much prefer message boards, I do like some things about Facebook. Particularly the family connections.  I’ve “met” a number of 2nd and 3rd cousins on FB, that I wish I had gotten to know in earlier years, but better late than never!  It's also fun to see the photos posted by friends and  grandkids. 

However there are things I don’t like about FB . . . most especially the so called meme’s!   Those endless strings of things to click on, that have cutesy sayings, prayers, political comments, animal videos, jokes, quizzes, etc etc.  They go on and on, and take up way to much time. If you do click on them, anything you read or see is quickly forgotten.  Too much junk like that on Facebook! They are just pointless time-wasters, IMO. 

MarsGal - I never joined SeniorLearm, but I do read the postings, and have followed up and read many of the book suggestions. I see that the messages are now few and far between, or totally nonexistent in the discussions that I liked to read there . . . mostly fiction, non-fiction, movies, Women’s issues, or Political.  Mary Page contributed  lot of thought provoking comments in those last two.  Too bad she decided to leave both SL and S&F.  I thought she might return to S&F, but seems that once a member leaves, they never return.

Joan Grimes and I emailed back and forth for years, and she became a good cyber friend.  Then she began to have lots of serious trouble with her eyes, and it was difficult for her to see to post messages, or to keep up with emails, or to read books.  She passed away a number of years ago.  Her daughter or dil, Sent me a link to her obituary, and it was very interesting.  She was an accomplished, active woman, who lived an interesting life. 

Good morning from a noticeable warmer Interior. Not much to report here as Farrah and I are hibernating. It is funny how so many cats like that smart toy. After I awaken, shower and start that first cup of strong coffee, I feed Farrah and fix her litter box.

By then she is dashing back and forth and back and forth between me and her toy. After I start it, it's funny to see at times; her whole body strung out with part of her head and one paw under the skirt and that tale twitching! However, Shan makes me laugh with his enthusiasm!   

Larry, I know you are going to enjoy that Instapot. Mine is almost the only appliance I use other than my converter microwave and my Oster convection bake and toaster oven. Besides those, I have my iron skillet, my coffee maker, a Calphalon 2.5 quart pot and my smaller red copper skillet. Since I do not, in reality, have an oven that works, this is all I need. I have gotten rid of 99% of what I've had in the past. If I did not meal prep, all I would need would be a skillet, pot, and plate.

Sue, I was in Thirdage for some years before finally only coming to SeniorNet. Both places did the same, abruptly stopping their online forums which was a disturbingly horrible way to treat many seniors whose lives were so intertwined with the sites. In TA I was active in cats and photography. Which forums were you involved with?

     HAPPY BIRTHDAY
       to my friend
         JUNE!!!

shirleyn      ~_~

Marilyne, since Ella passed away the Non-fiction section of Senor Learn has been pretty quiet. Barb had been unable to post for a month or so but is back now, so the Poetry discussion has picked up some again. Otherwise, most of the posts I see are in The Library or in Mysteries. While I try to occasiionally post something in other discussions, I mostly stick o The Library or Science Fiction/Fantasy. SciFi is down mostly just down to me and PatH, although JoanK posts occasionally.

MarsGal, did you read anything by Robert Sawyer (SF)?

Bubble, I tried reading the first of his WWW series, but lost interest rather quickly. I don't think I ever finished Red Planet Blues either, or at least I hardly remember anything about it.

Okay, sleepy Shan has wrapped himself around my left arm and begun to purr. The purring isn't the problem. Trying to type right now is. 

I found his trilogy The Neanderthal Parallax fascinating.  Unfortunately no other books of his are available locally. Amazon + postage is prohibitive

Hi Everyone.  It is going to be another beautiful day getting up to 71 degrees this afternoon.  Pat has to go back to the pain clinic this morning for a followup on her shots.  She is feeling up to driving herself.  I will pick up my friend at assisted and we will go downtown to have coffee with other friends.  I will take him home and then go back downtown to the Church for the Wisdom group.  I haven't been able to attend that for a few weeks so am looking forward to it.  That will be it for today.

The eye doctor told me yesterday that my eye was healing very well and that I shouldn't need prescription glasses but will be able to use OTC glasses for close work.  I signed all the papers for my second eye surgery on Monday.

Nothing but computer problems this morning that have used up my time and I need to leave in 5 minutes.  I will try to get back and later today.

Angelface, I was in the book discussion and a couple of others--which I've forgotten.  Third Age did send me a cute Teddy Bear with a t-shirt that says "You have a friend in me".  I still have it and keep it in a high chair I had for my grandsons when they were too short to reach the table.  I kept them the month of June for many years and their other grandparents kept them in July as my son and his wife both worked full time and weren't able to afford full time sitters.  They went back to school in early August.

I took Latin from (I think it was Ginny) at Senior Learn for a couple of terms, but lost interest after that.  I occasionally check in there to see what they are reading, but don't post there.  I had 3 years of Latin in junior and senior high.  In 9th grade I transferred to a new high school in another state and was the only freshman in a class of Juniors and Seniors.  The teacher was the Senior Class advisor and didn't like having a freshman in her class who was better prepared than the "big kids".  She spent lots of her teaching time planning Senior activities with those students.  She was also the advisor to the National Honor Society and kept me out until I was a Senior.  Needless to say, I didn't have much respect for her!

Larry, was your surgery to remove a cataract?  I had mine removed about 10 years ago and haven't worn glasses, except dime store readers when the light is not strong at night.  I had no trouble with the recovery and my vision is wonderful now.  Good luck with the second surgery.

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving and are looking forward to Christmas.
Sue

Am writing as I am resting so will be brief. I have read all of the postings and the only one I will comment on today is Sue’ question. Yes it is cataract surgery on the second eye.

MaryAnn, you might mention this to Tom and whoever else uses a Mac.

Suzanne Kantra
Founder, Techlicious

Special Alert for Mac Users: If you own a Mac, it's critical to install the most recent update to macOS High Sierra. It fixes a huge security hole that enabled anyone to log into your computer and see all files for all users by using the User Name "root" and leaving the password blank. You'll find the update by going to the App Store > Updates.

I am writing from the "infected" computer and all seems to be well.  I turned it on a while ago and it opened up as it should have.  I have since downloaded Malwarebytes and I can't see that AVG is on it  I have not checked on Windows Defender and that was what was used on the message.  I did a scan and quarantined several threats.  I had put MS Word on this computer so I could use the printer.  It has been a pain having to send something to Tom to be printed because I don't always get it back in time. 

Other than that, it's been a nice day with the temp about 40 +/- degrees. 

Annie and her friend flew to Orlando this morning for three or four days.  His business is open seven days a week so he doesn't take much vacation and when he does it is on the spur of the moment.  Annie was looking forward to being at Disney World. 

Thanks, Patricia, I forwarded your message to Tom.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann,   yesterday I had a call starting with " Your license with Microsoft has  "expired",   and as soon as I heard Microsoft. I hung up.   Since I had a  problem with a scam a couple months ago, I was not taking any chances. I don't have Caller ID.   The man I have to work on my computer told me that  Microsoft will never call you.  I was almost afraid to turn on the computer yesterday,   but I called my son, and he said it shouldn't be a problem  And, it was fine.  I think I learned my lesson a while back.  When that scary message popped up, it just about scared me to death, and I did everything that guy told me to do. I fell right into it.   I am sure he thought he had good  :stupid" old lady that he could really con.   Thankfully , it all worked out ok.

Larry, do hope all will go well with your cataract surgery on Monday.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Joy

Joy, I think you were lucky because so many times the person asks for information that will take them into your inner workings.  I pay $10 a month for Caller ID and I feel it is well worth it.  I will say that at the time I got it AT&T was having a promotion and it didn't cost me anything.  If you were to do it without a promotion, you'd have to pay an installation fee.  I was getting so many charity, promotion and you-name-it calls I think I would have gone for Caller ID even if I'd had to pay the fee.  I just hit it right.  I'd say the bulk of my calls are numbers unknown to me.  When I do recognize the name or person, I butt right in and answer so we can converse, but that isn't often, especially when the name is usually there too.

Mary Ann

I've had caller ID for maybe 20 years or so. I would never be without it now.

Back when I was growing up I always had a fondness for variety shows with musical numbers. Probably because we always watched the Dean Martin show each week while I was a teenager. Recently I discovered a trove of old shows on YouTube and this one features the entire Martin and Sinatra families for a Christmas 1968 special.

It is bittersweet to think that Dean Martin Jr. died just three months after taping this show because he was my age. I think you'll enjoy this video especially the part where Dean and Frank fool around while singing a medley of old songs. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf_hHU1Yu7o

Hi Everyone. We are going to have another 70 degree day on this 1st day of December.  Our housekeeper should be here in a little while and the house is ready for her.  I don't have anything on the schedule that will require me to leave the house today.  I did get up yesterday afternoon with a scratchy throat and feared I might be coming down with a cold.  I used some cold ease type lozenges and seem to be better this morning.

Yesterday afternoon I reinstalled Windows 10 on my desktop computer as it had become unusable.  When you do this your applications and a few other things have to be reinstalled.  I have decided to give the new Edge browser a try and have my favorites set up.  Later today I will install the printers  and a few other things and I will be fully back in business.

Pat will be having another shot in her back as soon as the insurance company approves and then it can get on the schedule.  There is another area of her back that is giving her a lot of pain in her back and leg.

Mary Ann, glad your computer is functioning as it should.  Hope Annie enjoys Disney World.  Is this her first visit there?

Joy, apparently the scammers are able to draw in lots of people so don't beat yourself up over it.  Glad all worked out OK.  If I am in doubt on something I will often do a Google Search and have found that helpful.  I am really looking forward to my eye surgery on Monday.  The surgeon told me I can get a cheap pair of glasses OTC the following day.  I may look for those half glasses as I don't think I will need correction for using the computer or distance seeing.  I guess time will tell.  He said it will take about 12 weeks for my eyes to settle down and my vision not changing. 

MarsGal, one of the nice features of the smart phones is to show who is calling and if no name at least a telephone number. 

Patricia, I loved those variety shows as well starting back with the old Hit Parade show with Dorothy Collins and three other singers.  Ed Sullivan was a weekly must view and I enjoyed the others as well.  I had forgotten that Jim Nabors had a variety show for a couple of years until I read about it in reading about his death.  It is pretty amazing what is available on YouTube.  Thanks for the link. 

Remember singer, actor Ed Ames who played Mingo on the Daniel Boone show starring Fess Parker? He was one of the Ames brothers and had a beautiful voice like Jim Nabors, but more of a base.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htuKARqD8aw

Patricia - When I hear about Ed Ames, I always think of that hilarious scene, when Ed was a guest on the old Johnny Carson show!  It's been shown a million times on "The Best of Television", type shows, and I'm sure it's available on YouTube.  It was the show where Ed was talking about being 1/2 American Indian.  They brought out a tomahawk, and a full size cut-out of a man's body.  Ed threw the tomahawk, and it landed in a specific spot.  I thought the laughing would never stop!  It's still funny, after all these years, which is why it's still being shown.

I saw that TV show! It was hilarious and thank you for reminding me!

Dean Martin, Ed Ames, the guy who played TV's Pallidin among others, all tall dark and handsome. My young heart was always fluttering! 

I just found a link!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L5QC9ZJkM8

Hi Everyone.  It looks like we will have a cloudy day today and only get into the mid-60's.  I did stay home all day yesterday so nothing much to write about.  Today my throat feels almost back to normal.  I am not sure yet whether I will attend a meeting this morning or not as will have to decide when the time comes.

Today is a big college football game as this afternoon it is the Championship game in the Southeastern Conference and Georgia plays Auburn.  This evening Clemson plays Miami in the Atlanta Coast Conference Championship game.  So I plan on watching quite a bit of football this afternoon and evening.  This is the last week of the regular season and then Bowl bids will go out and it will be decided what four teams will play for the National Championship in college football. 

Patricia, I do remember Ed Ames.  I think I have a playlist of his songs in my Spotify account.  He did have a beautiful voice.  Pallidin was played by Richard Boone in the show "Have Gun, Will Travel". 

Marilyne, when Patricia mentioned Ed Ames I also thought of that Johnny Carson appearance.  That certainly is a classic. 

I'm going to have to try to find a walk-in clinic today.  I've been fighting a cold since right after Thanksgiving, but I think the cold has won the fight!
I should have gone to the doc yesterday, but I took a chance that I would be better today, which was not the smart thing to do.  Now it's the weekend, and I'm stuck.

Hope you are all doing better than I am?  We didn't hear from Mary Ann yesterday . . . I hope she's okay?  I'll return later today. (I hope!)

Marilyn, I did not realize I didn't post yesterday.  All is well here.  Like others, I don't always feel like posting.  My life is hum drum and who cares?!  Even Kendrick didn't do anything exciting, but always tries to get me to pet or scratch him. 

For several years I've ordered a fruitcake from Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana TX.  What we did not eat at our Christmas Eve get-together, I'd leave with Dot to share with her family.  The last couple of years I bought little balls of fruitcake.  It turned out last year was the last of our big family get-togethers because with the younger generation married, they want to spend some holiday time with their spouses' families too.  I have no idea what we are going to do for Christmas, but whatever Tom does, I will be included.  Anyway, realizing I am really the only one who likes fruitcake, I ordered a mini fruitcake from Collin Street.  I haven't opened it yet, but I think it solved a problem for me.

It is almost 11:30 and time I should get dressed.  I love sleeping in and getting dressed whenever I feel like it, but always before noon.

Nothing exciting at Grand Haven although there are some whitecaps.  Just a pretty scene so far.

Mary Ann

Good morning from a still dark Interior! We are firmly in the midst of those five-hour daylight winter hours until the winter solstice on December 21st. With the winter solstice, we will be gaining minutes of daylight instead of losing them.And two of those bracketing hours is Dusk. It is 20 degrees warmer than the last week thankfully. Farrah and I have both been fed, cleaned and watered or in my case, coffeed if that can be a word.

Today between eleven AM to eleven forty-five, I will be collecting and ferrying food baskets to my three shut-ins and then since I did all my bill paying and "hunting and gathering" yesterday, I will be doing some deep cleaning today, and Sunday as my by-yearly apartment inspection is early next week.

As you know, I am as usual taking different classes. We just had a two-week Thanksgiving break in one group, and while I am only on #25 of a 160 lesson plan in my filter graphic class, I will have to wait as you finish one lesson, send it in to be approved and then they send you the next lesson. However, they just sent an email saying that Christmas break will be from December ninth until January second!

At least I have other self-administrating lessons in different classes so I won't go into complete withdrawal!

While I was out yesterday, I did buy Farrah a couple if cans of tuna that will last her for the month. I also found two more of the jalapeno jellies to try. I loved the blackberry jalapeno altho it was sweeter and not as hot as the apricot jalapeno. The two I found yesterday are Raz-Pepper, (raspberry); and Sweet Heat is made from cane sugar, vinegar, jalapenos, habaneros, sweet red peppers and fruit pectin.

They are from the Peppermill brand and range from mildly spicy to some with a kick! While they are intended to be served as a jalapeno preserve, I have made them mixed in with vegetables or as a meat rub or as I initially discovered them, at a friend's with crackers and cheese. They are good. A friend told me she puts them out in a multiple jelly serving piece along with her homemade yougart and other food toppings.

It's a warm enough day (50 degrees) that I could go to the mailbox wearing a sweater instead of a coat.  It also is warm enough that Kendrick would go out the front door to wriggle on the stoop but when I got back from the mailbox, he was willing to come back in with me.  The sun has been shining, not brightly, but shining, so that makes it a nice day.

Tom gave me a sheet of address labels for the few Christmas cards I send out.  The trouble is it is an old list.  I think we had the same trouble last year.  I'll have to ask him to delete the old lists as I try to keep mine up to date.  I will get started on sending money to my greats so they can do whatever they want with the money.  Tom is going to order some things from Amazon and that will include some stuffed animals for the next generation.  I don't think they will appreciate money yet.  I also asked for some plain frames for the family pictures I had printed for him, James, Annie and me.  Others will get 4x6 pictures and can frame them if they wish.  The picture is only of Tom's family.

I watched some of the Hero Golf Tour in the Bahamas today.  Tomorrow will be more interesting because there will be a winner.  Tiger Woods is playing in this Tour and is doing OK.  I am not a fan of Tiger, but it is interesting to see how he is doing.  He has said he feels better in this come-back than he did in previous ones. 

Mary Ann

I decided to forget the walk-in clinic today.  The only reason wanted to go, is because I'm having difficulty coughing, because of the paralyzed vocal cord. I need to cough, but nothing comes out except a soft "bark"!    Consequently, it's a vicious cycle that never gets the needed relief!

Most likely nothing they can do about it at the clinic, so I'm just going to stay home. Tonight is the annual lutefisk dinner, at The Son's of Norway Hall, here in town.  I'm not going to go this year, as I'm sure I would be shunned, with my weird barking cough.    Having a hard time talking too, so I will stay out of sight and let the rest of the family enjoy it.  Most of AJ's cousins are there every year.  The women and daughter's serve the meal, wearing traditional Scandinavian dress. It's a fun holiday event.  Our daughter Sandy, will be there, a well as our son and dil.

Mary Ann - Your temps aren't too far below ours.  So far 58 degrees here, but it's only 2:00, so will probably hit 60 by late afternoon.

Marilyn, with a Scandinavian heritage, I'd like to go to a Scandinavian feast or festival at least once.  I don't know the breakdown now, but at one time Grand Rapids was said to be 40% Dutch and 40% Polish with 20% all else.  We fell into the "all else" category.  I think those two nationalities still predominate, but the percentages probably are not the same.  If we had phone books now, there would be a lot of Van, Vander, Van de, -ma and -ski names - pages of them.  While we say we're Danish, our name is not Danish; there are a lot of Tocks with English backgrounds.  I'd like to find out more, but have not so far.

At 5:35 it is 47 degrees.

Mary Ann

Hi everyone. We are having Internet problems this morning so this will be a brief message for today. Will plan on going to church and I will go to Sunday school and then we will
likely go out to lunch look forward to having a quiet afternoon and evening.

I’ve read the messages since yesterday and with this problem with the Internet I will not post any individual messages this morning as posting from my phone isn?t very easy with the browser I am using.