Joy, at one time my dad was a scoutmaster and they met at our church.  I don't know how many years Dad did that, but it got so he had the same boys in school and scouts and got to be a bit much.

I had a thought today that Hal's wife is from England and perhaps some of her relatives want to come for the funeral and that could be why there has been no obituary.  He probably has been cremated so the funeral can be at any time.  I'll keep looking.

The beans and ham sound so good.  I doubt Tom would be so creative, but he does put good meals together - when we eat here.  Today we went to the Score for lunch and I had a Philly sandwich which was good and included a house salad that I brought home with me.  I find because of my shoulder it is easier to eat a sandwich than something that uses a fork.  I can eat the salad on my lap which is more convenient than eating from a table where I can (but don't) shovel food from the plate into my mouth!

The Score is the place where in the summer we eat outside at tables that rest on beach sand and we have palm trees.

Mary Ann

Candy and I have had a cold in our nose for a few days now.  This morning it went down into my chest so rubbed on some Vicks.  Hope that takes care of it.  Will put more on tonight when I go to bed.
Got caught up on my laundry this morning so no more dirty clothes here.    I like that.
Also bought me a new keyboard cuz the letters were pretty much worn off on this one.  I don't need to see the KB but my kids do so new one arrived today. 
Take care all.

Joan, I hope you and Candy get rid of your illnesses soon.

While I've never rubbed the letters off my keys, I've heard of some who did.  I also don't need to see the letters (at least most of the time) because I am a touch typist.

I've been watching some pictures of a fire near Fort Worth TX and I hope it doesn't spread too much; the winds are bad.  There is heavy snow in Minnesota. 

Mary Ann

I think that Hal's Wife was back in UK this past Summer. I believe that some of her family did come and visit them and so maybe her brother and wife will come over.
We are having so many deaths here in my town right now that Obits seem to be not getting into the paper until about 4 days after death. Filling 4 whole pages of the Newspaper. So many under the age of 60 these day and lots over 83. Pneumonia seems to be filling the hospitals
So dreary here today. Raining even though it is the 50 deg. the promised.
Cleaned up the front yard a little as such a mess. Limbs and so many leaves which I have no idea where they come from
Had to drag my big garbage holder to the curb. On wheels but still a pain to do that. Usually can carry the bags to the curb. I thought was  raccoon getting in as every bag had been torn open but Garbage man pointed out a hole that squirrels had chewed in it and getting inside. Here I had been putting seed under the tree back of yard for them. Last time I do that.
I can't type and look at keys as a touch typist for years but I always put the large sticker numbers etc on the keys. I like them. Have a new keyboard to hook up and finely found some. Can only be bought on line now. I like them...

Joy, I have 3 sons and I was the den mother for all 3.  My husband was a Navy pilot and frequently deployed to Spain, Newfoundland, or Sicily and I did most of the scout stuff.  My oldest son was the acting Scout Master when he was 14 as most of the fathers were military men and off to war or out to sea.  His younger brothers lost interest in Scouts when he was the S.M. as he was pretty bossy!

Sue

Hi Everyone. We have had a little rain during the night and it is overcast today, at least so far.  It is currently 65 but the temperatures are to go down during the day to the low 60's this afternoon.  I decided to go to the Prompt Care yesterday afternoon and really got a good report as my lungs were clear so the PA doesn't feel I have bronchitis and perhaps it is just sinus causing the cough. She gave me a prescription for TamaFlu if I get any flu symptoms and prescribed something for the cough.  I do think the cough is better this morning.  Last night was one of those nights when I just couldn't go to sleep until probably 2 am. I plan to stay in today and mainly take things slow.

Mary Ann, it is odd to have lightning and thunder this time of the year.  I got an alert a little while ago that there was a 7.9 earthquake off the coast of Alaska and a concern about Tsunami for the Washington, Oregon and California coasts. 

Marilyne, is sounded like yesterday was not a great day to have to get out and shop.  It has been many years since I have been in a Safeway store.  In the little town near where I grew up in Missouri the two main stores were Safeway and A&P and both have been gone for many years.  I use to love to go to A&P with my grandmother and smell the A&P coffee that was always ground there when purchased.  It gave the store a unique smell.  I think Pat is a lot better and was able to sleep quite a bit yesterday and was able to sleep in the bed last night, in fact she is still sleeping in this morning. 

deAngel, one of the things I remember so well about living in a mobile home was the rain on the metal roof and how noisy it was inside and hail was terrible.  We used to go to St. Petersburg to visit Pat's aunt and her cousins and also one time took a timeshare week in Punta Gorda.  While there we drove down the West Coast of Florida but don't remember ever getting to Naples.  We seriously considered moving to the area around Punta Gorda when we retired but got the opportunity to move back to Georgia and take on a much less stressful job working for the boss I had before I transferred to D.C. for 5 years.  I am glad we ended up in Georgia and now South Carolina. 

Joy, it looks like our rain is probably over for now.  I have no idea how much we got during the night but the roads and walks were wet when I got up this morning.  The rain must be headed up to your way. It was nice of you to fix dinner for your sons and wives.  Yes, we have noticed the adjustments on the total of the Walmart online grocery order as they take off items they don't have and as you say some of the produce is based on weight so we only get the price per pound when we order.  I expect if you contact the store they will give you credit for the item missing in your order.  Mistakes do occur but so far we have been satisfied and will continue to use the online ordering.

Joan, sorry to hear that you and Candy now are fighting a cold.  I think I must have a cold and started taking Zicam this morning.  So far am not coughing as much as I did yesterday although don't feel 100%. My cough sounds like a croup  cough and sure came on quickly.  Hope you enjoy your new keyboard.  I sure wish they didn't put black keys on laptops particularly.  I am also a touch typist so if I can get my fingers on the right keys to start out I don't have any problems. 

JeanneP, years ago we had a lot of squirrels in our backyard and I bought ears of corn and put out for them.  However, I found they were not my friend as constantly robbed the bird feeder and chewed holes in my shingles.  My folks had an old Underwood typewriter when I was growing up and in our small high school you couldn't take typing until you were a Junior or Senior.  I didn't want to wait that long so I put tape over the keys and taught myself how to type.  I had planned to teach business courses in high school but life had other plans for me and I never taught in the public schools beyond doing student teaching in my last year of college. What brand of keyboard did you get?  I still use an old IBM keyboard with my desktop computer. 

Sue, siblings don't like to be bossed around by older siblings.  I don't think we had Boy Scouts where I grew up but did have 4-H clubs that I participated in for several years.   

I see on my morning news page that there was a strong earthquake in Alaska, measuring 7.8.  It was centered in the Gulf of AK, near Kodiak. 

Patricia - Looks like a long way from Fairbanks, but you probably did feel it?  Let us know that you're okay?  I would imagine that there was a whole lot of shaking going on in Anchorage??  I'm going to turn on the TV now, as I'm sure they'll have a lot of video footage to show of the quake, as well as the aftermath, and people's comments.

I read about the strong earthquake in Alaska and when I saw the location, I knew it was not in Patricia's vicinity, however, I thought she might have felt it a bit.  We'll have to wait until we hear from her this morning; it's nearing 7 am as I type.

It seems to be overcast here this morning and radar shows much snow but it is not snowing here yet.

Mary Ann

Good afternoon, right now it is pouring rain, and I mean pouring. It is so dark, I have to put the lights on.  We are also expected to have 40 mi. winds

MaryAnn, I also heard on the radio this morning, about the earthquake I am sure Patricia is alright, but will be glad to hear from her. About 5 years ago there was a small one here about 200 miles from us and my other cat Toby, jumped up onto of the refrigerator. I was at the PC and it was and odd feeling and I could see the curtains moving.

Larry, I am so sorry to hear you are now sick.  I am glad you went to the walk in. Hope Pat keeps feeling better. My son Dennis was in both Boy Scouts and 4-H.  Mark was only in 4-H, Cyriel and I were leaders for 10 years, we even got gold pins.  Cyriel taught the boys how to use carpenters tool. Years later two of the boys called my husband and told them they got jobs. because of what he taught.  there was a program for girls called Breakfast is ready,  I taught them that program, and as we lived across from the grade school, thej invited a few of the teachers over in the afternoon. Cooked them breakfast, so they passed that test. All concerned thought it to be a fun thing.

Good morning from a snowier Interior where we hear severe cold will be with us until early February. However, we had four inches of snow overnight and it has warmed up to minus thirteen. Farrah is eating her breakfast, and I'm on my first cup of coffee. A typical morning for here.

Larry, please take care of yourself. Hal thought for a long time that he and his wife had colds and his cough was a part of that. Even his primary care doctors thought his problems were cold related.

I was never in the boy scouts for some reason,      But I was in the girl scouts for a number of years and one of our survival badges involved sleeping outside in tents in our leader's backyard at thirty below. We thought we were tough after that at thirteen! 

Thanks everyone for your concerns, but we are used to quakes here and they are an often daily part of life in the S.E. part of the state. The tsunamis are more concerning and damaging when they occur.

I had felt the bed shake slightly or thought I did when I climbed in about half past midnight last night. I wasn't sure as  when you first get in; you are always moving about getting comfortable or at least I do. Then your comments reminded me to look for news. The 7.9 quake was in the same area as the massive 1964 earthquake but centered in the gulf and about six hundred miles from us.

This area, surrounded by mountains and volcanos, has land often below sea level and thinly spread between the seas and the mountains. It is a beautiful landscape but prone to natural disasters, sitting on gravel and shale, over two competing fault lines. The northern part of the ring of fire, (volcanoes); encircles it.

The Interior is more prairie, forests, and rivers, a different one of the four geothermic areas in this state.

Marilyne, residents out of Anchorage reported a moderate, but a long earthquake. The San Andreas fault runs right down Fourth Avenue, one of their main business areas so the area often has quakes. Kodiak Island, closest land mass to the epicenter reported a long earthquake but no damages.They had " 2 earthquakes in the past 24 hours, ten earthquakes in the past seven days, 82 earthquakes in the past 30 days, 703 earthquakes in the past 365 days." The island sits in the middle of the "ring of fire."

The University's Earthquake Center had this to say. "From the dramatic Southeast coast to the heights of the Alaska Range and the volcanic islands of the Aleutians, earthquakes build the landscapes that drive Alaska’s rivers, glaciers, and even climate zones. Most of these earthquakesâ€"and all major earthquakesâ€"can be traced to the movement of tectonic plates.

The landmass beneath the Pacific Ocean is one of a few dozen tectonic plates that make up the earth’s crust. Each year, the Pacific Plate pushes a couple of inches towards Alaska, which is generally considered to be part of the North American Plate. Where these two plates meet, the dense oceanic rocks of the Pacific thrust under the more buoyant continental rocks of Alaska. This process is called subduction.

Subduction zone earthquakes follow the descent of the Pacific plate down to 200 km or more. Alaska’s largest earthquakes, exceeding magnitude 8 and even 9, occur primarily in the shallow part of the subduction zone, where the crust of the Pacific Plate sticks and slips past the overlying crust.

Examples of this type of earthquake include the 1964 magnitude 9.2 Good Friday Earthquake and the 1965 magnitude 8.7 Rat Islands Earthquake, the second and eighth largest earthquakes ever recorded worldwide.

Tectonics in Southeast Alaska are also driven by the movement of the Pacific Plate, but in a different way. As the plate inches toward the northwest, it grinds past Southeast Alaska and British Columbia. Unlike the subduction zone, these faults slip primarily in a side-to-side motion, with a different tectonic plate on each side. The earthquakes caused by this movement are shallow and occur primarily in the crust of the earth. This is a well-developed fault system that has been active for tens of millions of years and in historic times has hosted numerous earthquakes approaching magnitude 8. The 2013 magnitude 7.5 Queen Charlotte Fault Earthquake is a recent example.

Meanwhile, this northwest motion of the Pacific Plate exerts tremendous force on Alaska, compressing the land in a north-south direction and shearing or tugging southern Alaska to the west. The Alaska mainland is crosscut by numerous fault systems that accommodate this compression and shearing."

Larry7, I started taking tylenol right away when I could tell it was coming so hopefully it will not progress.  Feel a little better this morning, but lots of congestion..  YUK.

Patricia, it was good to see your post this morning.  From what little I know about Alaska (but I am interested in geography), I felt you were too far from the earthquake to have any damage, let alone feel it.  I just checked and there has been a small one in the Kodiak area within the last hour. 

Our weather is so-so but it seems there is some precip with the temperature just right for freezing drizzle.

Nothing else interesting going on.

Mary Ann

MaryAnn, our weather is also the biggest topic of conversation here and because of it not much else going on.

Joan, I do hope you start feeling better soon. There are many old wives tales about giving up thick liquids and soups during a cold and going to thin liquids and broth based ones to help with a cold and congestion. I rarely if ever get colds but when I do, they are doozies! 

Everyone stay warm and feel better! Even the world's desert areas are cold right now!

Patricia - A 7.9 quake sounds like it would be catastrophic, but I know from experience, that it depends on where it is, and how deep it is.  We also live within the Ring of Fire, and the San Andreas fault, runs right through our town.  Like you, we are used to the 2, 3, and 4 point quakes, but I know a 7.9 here, would certainly get my attention!  We were only a few miles from the epicenter of the Loma Prieta quake in 1989, and it's a vivid memory of mass destruction here and all the way up to San Francisco. Partial Bay Bridge collapse, along with buildings, houses, roads, et al.  We are constantly being warned . . . "The Big One is coming - in fact, it's overdue!"  We're supposed to be prepared with all sorts of stored provisions - food, water, warm clothing, emergency lights & radio, etc.  Are we prepared??  No we aren't.  Nobody I know is prepared, except the Mormons.  They take warnings seriously, which is a good thing.

Marilyne, all of the public and or multi-home residences for seniors over the age of 62, were required to prepare and administer disaster preparedness training last summer and fall. We all have our to go bags stashed by the front door and filled with a comprehensive first aid kit, list of current prescriptions and OTC meds we're taking, folded space blanket, multitool, and other items in a supplied backpack.

The town and borough, we're the borough seat; are not as prepared. In a disaster, only about a tenth of beds are available per our population so there will be priorities in place. The valley, one of three in the Borough,  lies between four mountain ranges and three sets of foothills and is mainly rugged wilderness so air power would probably be the only way in or out if we had a large-scale disaster.

"The school district, second largest in the state, encompasses an area of 7,361 square miles (19,060 km2), which is roughly equal to the size of Rhode Island, Delaware, and Connecticut combined, or to the state of Israel."

There are several small villages and homesteaders that are prepared merely because of their isolation. The small towns, alongside the three major highways and along the rivers may be prepared I don't know. We do not have a developed state road system, we use the railroad instead, or air power as Alaska has the highest number of private plane ownership in the country. We found out in 2011, how isolated we actually are and bless the Canadians and their British Columbia for being there for us.

I guess we aren't a priority for state or federal spending. I think being prepared might be a good idea, look at last year's countrywide weather and climatic disaters.

I cannot remember the last time I had a cold.  Has been years for sure.  Of course I do have a room mate right now and she is actively outside and socializing with others.    This too shall pass.

 

Hi Everyone. It is another beautiful sunny morning here in South Carolina and I am feeling much better today than I did yesterday.  I guess this was just a cold that resulted mainly in a lot of sinus drainage and a cough, although not coughing up anything. 

This is Wednesday night dinner at Church and I hope to be able to join Jennifer and her visitor there for dinner. Scott is working again this evening so won't be there or be able to come out to the house.  I will make a final decision on going later this afternoon.  Nothing else on the schedule for today.  I stayed in bed late this morning and by the time I got up Pat had fixed her own breakfast and is now snoozing away in her easy chair.  She is also feeling much better except for the cough, which apparently is going to linger.

Marilyne, we moved to Anchorage about 2 years after that huge earthquake they had in the mid-60's and the evidence of it was very much to be seen.  It was pretty shocking.  The lady living in the other part of the duplex was absolutely terrified of earthquakes. Weren't they playing the World Series out your way when the Loma Prieta quake occurred.  I was watching the game and the following news coverage. 

Patricia, I wasn't taking any chances and had my lungs checked on Monday and they were absolutely fine. I am not coughing nearly as much this morning as I did yesterday.  I have been trying to help Pat with meals as much as possible but last evening she did the whole meal and cleaned up without my help as I was feeling so punk. Interesting information concerning the earthquakes in Alaska. That is one large school district.  Are the native lands included in this area?

Joan, I have taken Tylenol several times these last few days including first thing this morning.     

Good morning, still cold here and I'm still contemplating the morning through my first cup of coffee. It's a little more than half past seven AM, still dark and I've got several things on the agenda today.

Larry,  I'm not sure (as the Natives here, do not live on reservations, but own their land outright and are self-governing); if they are included or not in state spending.

I'm glad you and Pat saw a doctor about your colds and cough.

Hi Everyone.  I am going to beg off of making individual comments today as have had a setback with the cough and congestion.  Yesterday evening early I thought things were under control, but by the time I got home from dinner at the Church I started coughing.  I was feeling terrible and went to bed about 8 pm and was able to stay there in basically a sitting up position until around 3:30 when I started hacking again.  So I came out to my easy chair.  Today will just be one of rest even if it is sitting up. 

Sorry to hear about your setback Larry. Taking it easy for a day or two should help. Get well soon.

It is 31^o now and should reach close to 40^o this afternoon. Even though it has been warmer, the sun has not shown its face much so the ice on the river hasn't moved much. The river hasn't risen much, so I don't think there will be much, if any flooding, assuming there isn't any more heavy rain for a while. It looks like the temps will bounce around between the mid-30s to the low 50s for the next week during the day.

Larry - something to ease that cough and it works better than all the syrups from pharmacy.

Take some thick sour cream or some smooth white cheese ( like cottage cheese without the lumps) and mix it with a big spoonful of honey.  Keep that next to you and whenever you start coughing, put a teaspoon of the mixture in your mouth, don't swallow straight away but let it melt and dissolve slowly.  That especially helped me at night when I could not sleep.

Take care Larry!

Take care LarryI am not sleeping but not sure why.   Hope you feel better soon.

Larry, I hope you're able to rest today.  If your cough continues, go back to your Pronto Care place for observation.  Your health is more important than comments and those will remain until you want to respond - if you want to respond.

MarsGal, your weather sounds like ours.  We are around 30 degrees but supposed to get to 45 degrees today.  Looking at the forecast for a week ahead, the temps go up, then down, then up again.  No wonder people get sick, especially now in the flu season..

Mary Ann

The thermometer on my back deck said 40, when I got up a couple of hours ago.  Now says 45, and is supposed to only go to mid 50's today.  We got one of our pathetic rain storms yesterday, that measured here, only in the tenths of an inch. However, the High Sierra mountains did get a lot of snow, which is good news for our water supply.

Nothing on tap today, so I'll stay home and try to get some things done around the house.  Yesterday I drove to the BIG Whole Foods Market, in a neighboring city.  This particular one is as large or larger than a Costco, and it's fun to go there occasionally, because they have a large amount of fresh produce, huge meat department, etc.   The thing I like best about it, is that they have lots of little cafe's inside the store, where you can buy food to eat there, or take home.  Also rows and rows of  hot food trays, so you can help yourself to just about any item you can think of, and of course a beautiful salad bar. 

This WF is in the heart of "Silicon Valley", with lots of tech companies nearby, so they cater to many different ethnic groups like Indian, Chinese, etc.  I'm not curious about those unfamiliar foods, but AJ likes to sample different food from around the world.

Well, I see it's past 8:45, so time to eat breakfast and get on with the day.  I hope you call have a nice one.
Larry - Good that you're taking care of yourself. Let us know how you're doing, as soon as you feel like posting.   

Good morning, Sunny but cold and very windy.

Larry, I agree with MaryAnn, if you do not start to feel better, go again to the walk in clinic

Good afternoon everyone
from the cold but sunny rocky coast
if Maine. 

Damn flu... Now Fe has it.. but she is
under a doctors care...  As this is suppose to be a bad flu season,  I can't help but worry...

I hope that you are starting to feel better Larry..
And everyone else that has been sick. '
Sandy

Sandy, no matter what age our children are we worry, if they sneeze.

Marilyn, we are to get into the low 40s today, possibly even up to 45 degrees.  I can't say the sun is shining, but it is not raining or snowing, either.

We have a grocery store, part of the same chain as Family Fare, that has an eating area.  The area is located near the deli and I know many people take advantage of it, as we have. 

There is a cat that lives here who wants some attention! 

Mary Ann

PS - OK, Marilyn, where are you in regard to Ferndale and Petrola CA?  I know you are north, but are you near?  I just looked at the earthquake site and those two places are near where there were earthquakes.

Mary Ann - Ferndale and Petrolia are North of us . . . further up the coast toward Oregon.  It's a very "Hot" area up there for earthquakes.  Ferndale is a lovely little town, right on the coast. One of those quaint village type places with a nice downtown area full of unique shops and small restaurants.  Petrolia, is either right below or right above Ferndale.  Both are popular tourist destinations, flank by giant redwood forests and beautiful rocky beaches.   The quake up there today, apparently didn't do any damage, because it was centered off shore. 

There was also a quake today in Southern CA.  I haven't looked up the area yet, but I think it was near Palm Springs or Palmdale?   Tonight on the local news, they will give all the particulars, and show pictures if any damage occurred.