Marilyn and Joy, if you both were born in 1934, you are 10 years younger than I am.  Time flies when you're having fun.

We've had a lovely windy day.  At one point the wind blew so hard I could hardly open the storm door.  After I took a nap, I went after the mail and I was able to open the door easily then.  I let the cat out on the porch stoop and he stayed there while I went across the road.  The sun is shining, wind or not.

Mary Ann

Hi Everyone. We expect to have a mostly cloudy day and a temperature in the uppper 80's.  Nothing on the schedule for today other than to fix Pat's breakfast when she gets up.  We had a very enjoyable Sunday School class Spring party last evening.  The food was good, the accommodations were great and the spending time with friends over a good meal was what made the evening.  They had enough food left over after everyone had what they wanted so most of us were able to put together a nice box to bring home and that will be our dinner tonight.  I don't have any plans to go anywhere today as wasn't feeling up to par yesterday and it started again this morning so will just take it easy and rest.

Sandy, it has been awhile since I visited either of the two Thrift stores we have here in North Augusta.  The Salvation Army has a new store and our Community Ministries also has a store and has plans to move to a different facility before too long as they are really crowded in the current building.  It support the needs of the poor and homeless and is supported by over 20 different Churches here in the North Augusta area.  I hope you found some summer clothes in your visit yesterday.

Mary Ann, that sounded like some really strong wind.  We have had a couple of days with very strong winds that knock over a lot of our trash cans if it is trash day.  However, usually we have very little, if any, wind here.  We are getting a lot of robo calls.  I usually won't answer and if I do and determine it is a sales call I just hang up. 

MarsGal, glad you were able to get another of your air conditioners installed.  I expect if Shan gets hot he will seek out the cool spot in front of the AC.  He sounds like a pretty smart cat.

Joan, nice that Candy can go with Dan.  I hope she will be able to get her own car soon as expect she would like to be out and about more.  Do you have a bus service in your area?

Joy, I think we may be getting some showers tomorrow and we need the rain as things dry out here so quickly.  I hope your dental appointment went well and you found a lot of bargain at the Amish market if you were able to stop there.  I will wish you an early Happy Birthday in case I forget to do so later. 

Marilyne, you and Joy are about 6 years older than I am since I was born in 1941. 

Larry, 1941 - the year I graduated from high school; I was a few weeks over 17 and that was nearly 77 years ago.

Our wind calmed down and we have the start of a nice day.  The forecast is for 77 degrees and with that I can open doors.  Yesterday things cooled down and it was 50 degrees when I went to bed and we had to close the doors because the furnace came on and ran and ran and ran.  We did have high winds in the area and many in town were without power and a tree branch fell on a 7-year-old girl, injuring her some but not bad; she was taken to the hospital but back home before long.

Tom and I are going out for breakfast when he wakes from his nap.  He left early to drive and came back about 8 am.  I showered and shampooed and now I'm drying off.  I'm sitting in a chair and after I finish S&F I may lean back and close my eyes for a while - a short while!!!

I don't have anything on my agenda other than what I usually do - look around to see what I should be doing and probably doing nothing about it.  Life after 90!!!

Mary Ann

Mary Ann - Be sure to take a look at the earthquake site you sent me . . . the number of quakes in Hawaii, seems to be non-stop in the past couple of days.  The strongest one so far is 6.9, which must have caused major damage.  However, the news broadcasts are talking more about the lava flow, than about the quake itself.  It looks like that volcano is not calming down anytime soon!

Last night, between about 8:00 and 9:00 here, I looked at the Bridge Cam, and must have just missed a large ship.  The bridge was all the way up, but soon came down.  Then, it was interesting to see hundreds of cars drive across, that had obviously been held back on both sides, for the ships passing.   Also quite a few walkers on both sides too.   

Marilyn, I'm not sure but I think where there are volcanoes, there are earthquakes.  I've noticed more earthquakes, both worldwide and in the US.  Most are not very strong.

I checked the Duluth site last night, maybe about the same time you did and caught the tail end of a ship going out.  I also have a site for the Soo Locks; it isn't a good view but I saw a ship go through there, too.  When I was young, we could walk on the locks but when some worldwide trouble began, people were restricted from walking there.  They still have the boat trips through the locks, however, and you can start through the American locks and then go through the Canadian locks before you return to the American Soo.  I don't know if they still do this, but on the Canadian side, we'd stop and vendors would come to the side of the boat and sell things.  I once bought a tin of candy and the tin was decorated.  I am sure I still have the tin. 

Tom and I went out for breakfast this morning.  We ate at Cheers and I had the Plainfield Pleaser which is two eggs (over medium), potatoes (hash browns) and toast (raisin).  The () indicate my choices.  Tom had the French toast platter which included eggs.  We try to do this once a week, sometimes we miss, sometimes we do more than once.

The cat and I sat out on the deck for a while and it is lovely out there.  I did not have my dark glasses on and it was hard on my eyes so we came in. 

Mary Ann

Larry, yes we have a bus service here in the Tri Cities. have a private bus for  seniors and disabled persons.

JUst saying High

Larry you are just a kid to me.  I got married  in 1945

It is such a beautiful day, I have been working outside since 10Am  I set and planted one large pot,  I also did a lot of supervising of Keith, while he cleaned the yard, did some planting and pruning.  Things that have not been done outside in a long time

Gloria de: Good to see you - I was starting to worry about you, since it had been a couple of days since you checked in!  Looks like you're getting a lot done in your yard, and good that Keith is there to help you. 

Mary Ann - I finally saw two ships in a row, on the Bridge site!  I looked at the schedule earlier, and saw that there was a coal ship at 2:02, and an iron ore ship at 2:22.  (That would be 12:02 and 12:22 in Pacific time).  AJ watched too, and he is so impressed with that bridge!  Being as he is an engineer, he is fascinated with the fact that it goes up an down a number of times both day and night, and seems to have no problems, despite how much it must weigh!  There is probably information on line about when it was built and how much it weighs.

Gloria, you put me to shame; I could never get down to plant anything.  I do have some house plants that need attention and I'm going to combine a couple.  I plan to put most of my plants outside next week.

Marilyn, I probably watched both ships with you.  Tom saw the first one, but he had to get ready to go out, however, he did know it was arriving.  There is something about the bridge - built in 1905 is all I can remember.  I'll look for the information and post it here for you.  I watched both boats - one from the harbor, under the bridge and out the channel, the other coming in the channel, under the bridge and to the harbor to where it disappeared. 

One beautiful scene Marilyn and Joan might like - at about 9:30 and later, go to the GLA cam, especially when the water is very calm.  There is a reflection of the bridge on the water and it sparkles.  Of course, if the water is rough, it doesn't show off.

Marilyn, I have looked for what I read about the bridge and can't find it.  I'll look some other time and if I find it, I'll post it here.

Mary Ann

Marilyne and MaryAnn, I did my planting very lazy I set on a chair the pot about 18 in across, I put in about 5 plants, I have two of those pot, that I put on each side of the back steps  I will try and post a picture of my tree blooming in the back yard  Yes Keith is a big help to me.  I wrote this before.  My yard was beautiful when my husband was here.  One year we won Yard if the Month. we got a $50 gift certificate to a resturant
It is quite cool here to nigh, after 90 the other day.   I looked a GrandHaven, and the water still looks cool

Marilyn, here is info about the Duluth bridge.  More than you wanted to know!!!

Mary Ann

Bridge history
Aerial gondola, circa 1908

The bridge spans the Duluth Ship Canal, which was put through the miles-long sand spit named Minnesota Point (commonly referred to as Park Point by locals) in 1870â€"71. The natural mouth of the Saint Louis River is about seven miles (11 km) farther southeast, and is split between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Creating this gap in the tiny peninsula meant that residents who lived on the new island needed to have a way to get across. Several transportation methods were tried, though they were complicated by the weather. Ferries could work in the summer, but ice caused problems in colder months. A swinging footbridge was used, but was considered rather rickety and unsafe.

In 1892, a contest was held to find a solution. The winning design came from John Low Waddell, who drew up plans for a high-rise vertical lift bridge. The city of Duluth was eager to build the bridge, which would have been about 130 feet (40 m) wide. However, the War Department objected to the design, and the project was canceled before it could be built. Waddell's design went on to be built in Chicago, Illinois, as the slightly larger South Halsted Street Bridge (removed in 1932).[3][4][5]

New plans were later drawn up for a structure that would ferry people from one side to the other. This type of span, which is known variously as an aerial transfer, ferry, or transporter bridge, was first demonstrated in Bilbao's Vizcaya Bridge in 1893 and one in France in 1898. Duluth's bridge was inspired by the one in France, though the actual construction is quite different. The architect was a city engineer, Thomas McGilvray.[1]
The Aerial Lift Bridge dominates the Canal Park skyline. (2005)

When it was completed in 1905, the Aerial Bridge's gondola had a capacity of 60 short tons (54 tonne) and could carry 350 people plus wagons, streetcars or automobiles. A trip across the canal took about one minute, and the ferry car moved across once every five minutes during busy times of the day.[6] A growing population on Minnesota Point, a greater demand for cars, and an increase in tourism soon meant that the bridge's capacity was being stretched to the limit.

A remodeling was planned that would remove the gondola and incorporate a lifting platform into the structure. The firm finally commissioned with designing the new bridge was the descendant of Waddell's company. The new design, which closely resembles the 1892 concept, is attributed to C.A.P. Turner. Reconstruction began in 1929.[1] In order to ensure that tall ships could still pass under the bridge, the top span had to be raised to accommodate the new deck when raised. The support columns on either side were also modified so that they could hold new counterweights to balance the weight of the lifting portion. The new bridge first lifted for a vessel on March 29, 1930.[6]

The bridge can be raised to its full height of 135 feet in about a minute, and is raised about 5,000 times per year.[7] The span is about 390 feet (120 meters). As ships pass, there is a customary horn-blowing sequence that is copied back. The bridge's "horn" is actually made up of two Westinghouse Airbrake locomotive horns.[8] Long-short-long-short means to raise the bridge, and Long-short-short is a friendly salute.

Mary Ann - Thanks for all the bridge information  I'll have to read it a number of times to get it all. I'm really surprised that the original bridge was built in 1905, and the present one was remodeled and improved way back in 1929/30.  I just assumed it was new . . . like built in the 1980's/90's.     
Incredible that it is raised about 5,000 times a year, and is still structurally sound, after all these years.  That is one amazing piece of architecture!

Mary Ann, thanks for sharing that information about the bridge.  Very interesting facts.  I always like to hear the horn blow when one is coming in or going out. Interesting facts about the sequence of the long and short whistles.

Marilyne,  So glad that you were able to catch 2 ships in the canal.  Before they changed the page for the schedules,  the time was listed after noon,  as 1300 and 1400 and 1500  etc. and that really used to confuse me.  Now, it is easier to just add or subtract  an hour or two the way it is listed now.

Larry, thank you for the early birthday greetings.  You are just a "youngster".  I always say, tho, age is just a number and doesn't mean a thing.  I sure don't feel that old most of the time.

  I made out extremely well at the dentist this morning.  I was looking at very many more trips over the summer, as I thought it was going to be a very difficult procedure.  As it turned out,  he was able to correct the problem today, with no additional appointments needed.  I do have to go back in about a month just for him to check everything and do a cleaning.  Of course, it was an expensive procedure, but not nearly as much as it could have been.  Luckily, I had just deposited my tax refund, so I just wound up paying the whole bill.  I am a happy camper tonight. He is open just a half-day on Saturdays, but does take Thursday's off.   Saturday is the only day I can get there, as it is harder to get someone to take me during the week.  Since I have been going to this dental practice for about 50 years, I sure don't want to change at this point.

And, yes, I did get to the Amish store and got a lot of goodies.  Had some fresh corn, which I cut off the cob, some fried chicken and a piece of shoo-fly pie for dessert.

Hope everyone has a pleasant evening.

Joy 

Mary Ann, interesting about the bridge.  Joy I wish I could have gone to the Amish store with you.

After others read about the Duluth bridge, I thought I'd better read the article because I did not have time earlier. 

Nothing interesting going on here.  I know the cat is downstairs looking out the slider door at the birds that have nests in the under framework of the deck.  I have louvered blinds at that slider and they used to have weights and chains at the bottom.  The cat would get between the vanes and made such a mess that I had Annie remove the weights and chain.  It hangs OK anyway.  Someone did knock down a vane and it's never been replaced.  I'd have to hire someone to do it!

Mary Ann

Hi Everyone. We in for a sunny day with it getting only into the low 80s.  I am ready to go to Sunday School and Church but it will depend on how I feel when the time comes.  I didn't feel well all day yesterday until last evening when I started feeling better.  So far this morning it is the same.  I just got back from taking my PT Cruiser out for a short trip to be sure the battery stays charged up.  I seldom drive it and haven't all week.  Nothing else on the schedule for today.  I stayed in all day yesterday and took it easy (of course I take about every day easy so wonder how I can tell the difference).  We did enjoy the leftovers for our dinner last evening that we brought home from the Friday night party.

Mary Ann, that was certainly a blessing that the little girl wasn't hurt worse or killed by the falling tree branch.  Hope you enjoyed the breakfast out at Cheers yesterday. 

Marilyne, since Hawaii is subject to earthquakes I have to wonder if they don't have a building code to help the buildings withstand them to a certain point.  However, that smell from the lava must be terrible. 

Joan, you are fortunate that your city has the private bus for seniors.  In Atlanta the handicapped could ride the extensive bus service for free but if they needed the special handicapped bus that would pick them up at their residence and bring them back to the residence I think there was a $3 charge for each leg of the trip.  Most of the time Stacey could get where she needed to be on the regular bus system in her electric wheelchair.

deAngel, I don't get called a kid very often anymore other than by Pat's sister who still refers to us as kids although we are three years older than she is.  Glad you have Keith there to help you with your planting and pruning.  Does he enjoy doing that type of work?  Glad you were up to doing a little of it yourself that you were able to sit and do. 

Mary Ann, interesting information about the bridge.  It sounds like quite a structure.  I have seen the bridges where the decks are raised to allow boats and ships to go underneath them. It is quite a site. 

Joy, I agree with you that age is just a number.  Once we become adults our interests may change as we grow older such as no longer caring to watch much TV or attending movies but we all have many things in common such as our families.  Good news on the dentist front.  I had a simple filling on a front tooth the other day and the bill was over $200.  No wonder there are many people who cannot afford dental care. We haven't gotten any fresh sweet corn so far this year but looking forward to it. 

Jean, I am with you in thinking it would he nice to visit an Amish store.  To my knowledge there are no such stores in our area.   

Good Sunday morning.  Kind of a dreary morning, with scattered showers and maybe a thunderstorm later.  But,  some nice warm days predicted for the rest of the week.

Larry,  if the simple filling cost you that much, then I got a bargain for what I had done.  Since 4 bottom front teeth were involved, and he used a composite filling, which is always more expensive than the metal kind, it cost me almost $600 for everything.   My son had told me he thought I got a bargain, so I guess I made out ok.  He basically had to "build" 2 of the teeth. 

Jean and Larry, I, too, wish you could have gone to the Amish market with me.  Of course, not all the vendors are Amish,  but the ones that are, sell a lot of hand made quilts and lots of hand made furniture.  I love looking at the quilts.  And, of course, a lot of different kind of Amish food you don't see at regular markets.  Especially, the shoo-fly pie.  There is one stand that sells what they call "bulk food'.  Different kinds of pudding mixes, gelatin mixes, all kinds of herbs and spices and baking supplies.  They package them  up loose  in different size containers.  One thing I saw that I had never seen before..... a bag of cheddar powder?  I asked the lady what that was used for, and she told me flavoring for pop corn.  That made sense and there were several different flavors of cheese and different spices.  Never had seen that before.  Also, I can get clear vanilla flavoring there, that I can't find in the regular grocery store.  And, I did get some powdered dip mixes to mix with sour cream or mayo.  I always wind up spending more money that I plan on, but everything looks so good.  Good thing I don't go very often.  My son thinks the things are over-priced.  One stand had the biggest crab cakes I have ever seen.  They were $18 each and were huge.  It was hard to pass them buy. You could have probably gotten 4 nice-sized sandwiches from just that one.  And, they must have had at least 100 of them in the case.  The market is only open on Thurs, Friday and Saturdays, so I assume most of the food is gone by the end of the day on Saturday.  Not sure what they do with what is left over.

Where I live, there is a county bus service, but you have to go on their schedule.  Sometimes when I have used it,  I might have to wait a couple hours before it is time for them to come back to get me.   I used to try to schedule my appointments to co-inside with the bus schedule  Worked out good getting there,  but usually would have to wind up waiting a good while to get picked up to go back home.  There are several taxi services, but they are very expensive.  Lots of seniors have a lot of problems with transportation getting to and from doctor appointments.   There is one company that is serviced by just volunteers and they really can be very unreliable at times. I have never used this service, but several ladies where I live have, and there have been times when they don't show up. And, that can be very frustrating. 

Time to get busy cleaning up my breakfast dishes and get on with my day. I am going out to dinner later this afternoon. 

Hope everyone will have a nice Sunday afternoon.

Joy

Joy, do you have Uber drivers where you live?  Tom drives for them occasionally.  You have to have an app but you signal for a driver (or call, I'm not sure which) and the nearest one will respond.  The passenger and driver make arrangements to meet, usually close by.  The passenger gives his credit card number and no money is passed between the passenger and driver.  The cost of the ride is credited to the Uber driver on his credit card.  The driver does not carry any money other than his own.  I'm not explaining it right, but you get the idea. 

I think our temperature is about 60 degrees now.  Dot and I did not go to church because she felt dizzy and knew she should not drive, feeling that way.  Tom and I are going out to brunch when his church is over in about a half hour.  If we go to the Cholesterol Pit, I will have a Tuna Melt.  If we go elsewhere, I will not!

I saw a ship go through the lock at Sault Ste Marie this morning.  I think the first ship to go through the Duluth canal is due at 5 pm.  It is sunny out here.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann - Sorry that Dot isn't feeling well, but good that you got to go to the Cholesterol Pit anyway.  I always visualize that tuna melt, and how delicious it must be. One of these days I'll find a restaurant around here that serves them, but so far, no luck.

Joy - the Amish market sounds great!  I would love to join you as well.  The crab cakes sound delicious . . . a little pricey, but as you said, you can get three meals out of one cake.  What exactly is shoo-fly pie?   

A cool day so far today - about 66 degrees on my back deck right now.  The local weather has been predicting temps in the low 80's, but so far it's not happening. I went to Safeway yesterday and bought lots of groceries, but seems like I have nothing to eat for lunch that appeals to me.  I have a fresh loaf of bread, so will figure out a sandwich of some sort?   

Marilyn, isn't it funny that with food in the house, nothing appeals to us?  I've been getting croissants recently with a container of chicken salad and it's a good combination.  As a result, we haven't been ordering bread.  I wonder if restaurants in your area might have a tuna sandwich, which would be their name for a melt.  It seems so simple - mayo, chopped up mixed veggies, chopped tuna and rye toast.  With Dot and me, we split the order and also split a piece of pie.  Tom wondered if I wanted some pie but I told him I wouldn't be able to eat pie and the tuna melt because today I was getting the WHOLE THING!  i did manage to eat the entire tuna melt and i'm good until evening as far as more food is concerned.

I'd like to go to an Amish market sometime, too, but I'm not aware that we have one close.  We have Amish about 25-50 miles north of us but I've never heard of a market. 

I'm watching PGA golf and they're in Charlotte NC.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann, my DIL looked into Uber drivers in our area, and there were none listed.  My son and DIL use them, especially when they have to go to the airport and don't want to leave their car for a long period of time.  But,  they get the same driver everytime they use them.  Did Tom have to go through any kind of security checks when  he started driving for them?

There has been some controversy  of the safety of using Uber and I am not sure I would feel safe with just me in the car.  I guess that kind of sounds silly, but that is how I feel.  I guess it is the same situation as getting a taxi cab.  But, I can't remember the last time I was in a cab. There are a couple taxi services that come into our area, but it would cost me over $50 one way,  just to go about 5 or 6 miles. 

Marilyne,  Shoo-fly pie is strictly an old time Pennsylvania Dutch food.  There is a wet-bottom kind and a dry  kind.  It has a kind of crumbly sugary fine topping and a molasses-based filling.  It is something that you either like or not..  It does have a bottom pie crust, tho.  I  prefer the wet-bottom kind.  It is not actually "wet", just has the molasses filling that is kind of thick and syrupy.   

Jane could probably explain it better. At the market, they have a 9 in. size and also a small individual size. 

MaryAnn, If there is an Amish community not too far away, I would think that they would have some kind of a market.  Of course, none of them are open on Sundays.  The ones around me usually have Senior Day on Thursdays, where you get 10% off of what you buy.  However, you have to remember to ask for the discount.  They don't automatically see that you are a senior and give you the discount.  The Amish have learned over time to become shrewd business people. 

Joy

MaryAnn,  here is a link to information for Michigan Amish Communities.  You might be surprised to learn that Michigan has the 6th largest Amish population.

http://amishamerica.com/michigan-amish/comment-page-1/

Joy

I'm sorry that in my lifetime, I'll never see an Amish community, or even an Amish person.  Nothing at all like that here on the West Coast.  We have lots of farmer's markets, and orchard fruit stands, but no markets that sell home prepared baked goods of any kind.  We used to buy home made cakes, desserts, etc. at church or school fundraising events, but it's now against the law to sell any home cooked food.    Somewhere, (don't know where), someone bought something and got sick and sued the church or school.

Joy- About the Shoo-fly pie. Is the molasses filling set firm somehow, so that it can be sliced?

Mary Ann - Bringing home a number of bags of groceries, and yet having nothing for dinner that night, is something I've been famous for all my adult life. ha ha!  Today for lunch, I resorted to a bowl of tomato bisque soup, and a slice of sour dough bread.  The soup was way too spicy for me, so I only ate a small amount.  The bread was good though!

I'll also be watching the Duluth Bridge cam, for the ship arriving at 5:00.  That will be 3:00 here, which is only a half hour from now.   

Besides the ones mentioned above, significant Amish communities can be found at Mecosta County (1982, 5 districts); Clare in Clare County (1981, 4 districts); Gladwin County (1979, 3 districts); Charlotte/Vermontville at Eaton County (1977, 3 districts); and Marlette/Brown City in Sanilac County (1987, 3 districts).

Joy, thank you for the link.  The places above are nearest to me and Mecosta County (Big Rapids is the main city) is 50 miles north, kind of far to go for groceries, especially.  Besides, I don't drive now and I know Tom would take a dim view of driving so far for groceries!  Ha!

We do have a market that sells mostly produce but we forget to go and it is not far from here.  Our supermarket now has pickup service and it is a great convenience for Tom because he was doing the actual shopping.  You do lose your independence at 90, but I'm not going to drive again just for shopping.

Marilyn, I forgot about the ship or maybe I was napping.

Mary Ann

Shoo-fly Pie! I haven't had that in years. Warning, it is heavy and very filling. A small piece will do, thank you.

Pennsylvania is home to the oldest Amish communities, most notably, Lancaster Coutny. Ohio, however, ekes out PA in population number and has more communities. http://amishamerica.com/pennsylvania-amish/ I sometimes wonder how they hang on with modern communities springing up all around them and being the object of tourist curiosity. I know that some have moved to quieter areas like Perry and Snyder Counties. There is building pressure there now, too. I am unfamiliar with the Western PA communities.

MarsGal,   Some years ago, when my husband and I were still camping,  we were looking to buying another camper and we decided to out to Indiana, as there were several factories in the area that made the campers.  It was in the  north-east/central area,  We found several large Amish communities in that area.  Most of the workers in the factories we went to were Amish.  I questioned one of the workers as to how they could be using all the electric tools.  We were told they could use them as long as they didn't belong to them.  Same thing with using the phones.  As long as they weren't inside of their house.  They had small phone booths built on different farms close by each other, and several families shared the phone. If someone got a call, somebody would have to run to get the person who the call was for. We also saw many Amish girls smoking outside in the backs of  the restaurants where they worked.   

Marilyne, yes, the filling is firm enough to slice.  They are baked so that would thicken the filling.  And, yes, they are heavy and filling. 

Mary Ann, if you could find one of the towns where there is an Amish community,  maybe, it could be a nice day trip. (That is if Tom was willing to take you.)
I am sure some of those areas would have some kind of an Amish market . You would find other things besides produce or grocery items.  Just don't go on a Sunday.



Joy

Joy, I have been to Shipshewana in northern Indiana several times and bought things. The whole town is Amish and Mennonite.  I would take IN 13 south and it runs through Middlebury and there are a lot Amish there.  Are you sure the people you talked to were really Amish because the Mennonites have a little more leeway in holding jobs.  In Nappanee IN the servers in the restaurant are Mennonite and you can tell by the colorful pastel dresses they wore.  They do wear the caps all women wear.  Jim and I were in the house on the property and Esther was quilting.  We were the only ones there, so we could talk and ask questions.  I asked about taking her picture and she said it was OK as long as she did not pose.  So she started sewing and I took a couple of pictures. 

I might be more tempted to pursue something Amish around here if I were younger, but I know Tom isn't interested and while it sounds fun and interesting, it's not in my future now.  We read about a few Amish buggy and "English" car accidents (the Amish call non-Amish "English").

Jayco trailers are made in Middlebury IN and I would pass their business when I would go to Indianapolis.  Intersection of US 20 and IN 13.

I was able to follow the Finnsborg through the channel in Duluth to the harbor.  Another ship was to come in at 9 pm (my time), but I haven't seen it.  I looked on the map and found it far away so I'll give up on that one. 

Mary Ann

Good morning.  Pretty morning with the sun trying to make an appearance.

Yes, Mary ANn.   That was the area that we went to.  We had a craft business at that time, and we used to spend the winters in Florida.  We had talked to someone, who told us all about Shippshewana.  So, that following summer, we went out there and also that was when we were looking to buy a new trailer.

Yes, I know about the Mennonites.  My mother had a real good friend who was a Mennonite.  And, yes, they are more lenient. This lady even drove  a car.  No, these people we talked to in the trailer factory were Amish. I had heard that before about them being able to use different tools if they belonged to someone else.  That was quite  a large Amish community.  Almost bigger than the ones in the Lancaster, Pa. area.  I only live about 90 min . from the Lancaster area.  And, we used to go up there quite often.   We also went to a factory near Shipshewanna,  that made fabric and had an outlet store.  In the factory where the ladies were sewing, there were tubes running back and forth across the ceilings that ran their sewing machines by something other than electric.  Right now,  I can't remember just what the procedures were.  But, they did sew on machines without any electric.  Probably hooked up to maybe generators. 

We spent 2 days in Shipshewanna at the big market there,  and had planned to go back, but never made it.  We bought lots of craft supplies and picked up a lot of ideas for our craft business.  I understand now it has gotten a lot bigger with a hotel right across the street. The big market there,  I think , was only open for a couple days a week.  We  went to a blueberry festival and I went back, I think, 3 different times to the fabric outlet. Came home with tons of fabric.  We also went to Notre Dame and visited that campus and area one day.  Also, I remember the town of Nappanee and Middlebury,  which  was where  the trailer factories were.  It was a very nice and pleasant trip.  My husband got sick later, and that ended our camping days.  I still look up the website for the big market in Shipshewanna every once in a while. 

Have you ever read any of the Beverly Lewis books?  All her books are about the Amish.  Very interesting stories about how the Amish live.

Joy

Hi Everyone.The sky is clear this morning and we are to have a sunny 85 degree day.  My calendar is clear for today so expect to stay home all day. 

We had a big turnout for Sunday School and once again I led the hymn singing as none of the choir members were present.  I did meet two new families visiting the Church yesterday who were sitting beside me (an older couple who had moved here to be near their daughters) and a young family.  Our new youth minister was introduced. 

I did watch the end of the golf tournament which was won by Jason Day, who is from Australia. A few moments ago I spoke briefly with my old coffee drinking friends at McDonald's where I use to have coffee with them several times a week. Video calling is great.  They hadn't changed much in the three years + I have been away from there. It was a nice way to start the new week. 

Joy, based on what I paid the dentist it sounds like you got buy three and get one free dental fillings. I agree with your son that you got a bargain but guess it was a volume discount.    I remember when we lived in Maryland we got groceries at a supermarket who had a lot of bulk foods for sale.  We are getting a new Sprouts market in our area and they also have some bulk foods but it is an expensive store.  Those must have been some huge crab cakes. I have seen a couple of van type vehicles that appear to be a service for seniors.  Fortunately we are not yet at that point to need such help. 

Mary Ann, I expect we have Uber services in our area but haven't heard anyone mention them.  I hope Dot's dizziness is a passing thing and she is OK today.  I like croissants also.  Wasn't that stream that ran through the golf course pretty? 

Marilyne, I also wondered what shoo-fly pie was although I have heard of it before.  To me any sandwich with fresh bread sounds good.  I have a real weakness for French bread but can't buy it too often as will eat too much of it especially when it is nice and fresh.  Yesterday Pat and I shared a Ruben sandwich, which is a new item for Firehouse Subs.  It was OK but we both agreed we like the Italian better so probably won't order it again.  Don't you wonder how we survived all of those pot luck dinners and outside picnics.  I don't think we have any laws here against selling home made products as our Church as a bazaar in August and sells lots of home cakes, pies and casseroles. Was the tomato bisque soup from Costco?  We like it a lot along with the other soups they have. We have tried most of them and liked all of them.  They made an easy meal for us.

MarsGal, when we lived in Maryland we did make a day trip through Lancaster County.  They have some beautiful farms and we did see the horse and buggies they use for transportation.  I also remember when I was working on a job in Illinois we had dinner at an Amish restaurant.  At checkout they just looked at the plate and said it was a certain price.  The prices were so reasonable that I doubt that anyone ever complained and the food was good. 

I really enjoyed reading all of the discussion yesterday and today.  Sort of like sitting in the room together and sharing the conversation.   

Larry, it's nice that you can see your old coffee drinking friends; that kind of progress is good.  Our Meijer store used to have bulk foods and probably still has; I just don't go into that part of the store any more.  I haven't talked to Dot yet this morning to see how she is getting along.  She said she felt OK, it was just she felt dizzy and knew she shouldn't drive.  The Quail Hollow golf course is beautiful.  Tom and I were talking about the sizes of the courses and the limited uses but I do think most courses are open to the public when there is no tournament going on.  I was glad to see Jason Day win because it's been a while.

Subway just closed a restaurant near us.  There is another one close but we used to go to the one closed.  It always seemed busy, but we would be there around noon, so what do we know?  Tom would eat there more often, meeting friends.  I told Tom the next time he offers to bring me a sandwich to bring one from Jimmy John's and I do like them.  We just didn't care about eating there because it is noisy - people and environment.  Good sandwiches, however.  My grandmother had a recipe for Shoo-Fly pie and I probably have it in my collection.  I don't ever remember her making it, sounds too sweet for me.  I've made my own tomato bisque soup - a can of tomato soup, chopped-up-fine onion, can of milk, paprika, basil, salt and pepper.  I make it for me occasionally - if my cook lets me cook!!!

Joy, it's been a while since I've been through the Indiana Amish country but I always knew to drive cautiously because of the buggies.  In Shipshewanna there is a big restaurant and hotel in the middle of town.  When I'd meet Jim, we'd stay at Goshen and branch out from there.  Between Middlebury and Shipshewanna is The Cheese Factory and we'd always pick up some cheese.  We could watch them making the cheese, too.  The store in Shipshewanna is Yoder's and I am sure they're still there.  That is where people would go to get fabrics and I bought yarn there.  I am sure I bought a nick-nack at the grocery store.  There probably still is a Hudson car museum there and we visited there. 

One time when I went to Indy, there was a lot of construction in northern Indiana.  I started on a detour and it took longer than what I thought it should, so I turned around and went to a State road I knew.  I went a while and more construction.  I went to another State road and ran into more construction.  I ended up going to I-69 to get to Indy; I had never run into so much construction.  On I-69 I stopped at a rest stop and called Jim because I ended up being an hour late in arrival.  Those were the days!

I woke at 8:45 this morning, unusual for me.  And I have written a book so I think I'll go on to the next folder and see what is there!

Mary Ann