Good afternoon, we are having a cold nor'easter. Had to get up at 2AM and close window, rain and wind was coming in.  Yesterday had the A/C on.

Larry, thanks for information about Pat. Still saying prays for speedy recovery.  Our senior center has a library room, also in the summer they have and old building in back of our library, called the Yellow Barn, where they sell books and videos.

Joy, I always keep a can of whole potatoes in the house. I use them when I make sauerkraut and kielbasa also some times in stew.  I will try the in salad.

Moved post from Paint Shop Discussion

Thanks, Bubble.  The girls are much bigger now, their facial expressions are much the same and they're walking.  Both have red hair which doesn't show much above, but Johanna's is kind of curly and Eleanor's is straight.  We can see family resemblances in their faces in a glance or two.  I'll have to see if I have a good enough picture to send to you for comparison.

Dot and I went to church this morning.  There weren't as many as usual, but it is a holiday weekend.  I feel families can come this way as well as our people going visiting, but some people start the summer at cottages and with the many lakes in the area, people take advantage of them.  The weather is perfect - probably close to 90 degrees.  My air hasn't kicked on yet, but it will soon.

Dot and I did our usual at the Cholesterol Pit and had the Tuna Melt and Coconut Cream Pie.  Yum.  I also need a nap, now that I am home.

I enjoyed the other pictures Bubble posted, along with that of Jo and Ellie.  Such talent!

Mary Ann

Mary Ann - I remember that photo of Johanna and Eleanor.  So cute!  I'll be looking forward to seeing an updated version.

Sounds like you had a nice morning, at Church and at the Cholesterol Pit. Not sure if I mentioned last Saturday, that we went to dinner at a place here that sounds a lot like your Cholesterol Pit?  It's an old family owned burger place - one of the last that I know of around here that isn't a franchise?  It's called Kirk's Burgers, but they also have other sandwiches, desserts, etc. There's a sign out in front that says, "Since 1948".  You go up to the counter to order, and then sit at the table until they call your number and then you have to pick it up.  I had a California Burger, which included avocado, tomato and choice of cheese.  We hadn't been there in well over a year, and had forgotten how good their hamburgers are.   I want to go back tonight, so we may do that. 

Joy - Your family picnic sounded like it was going to be great fun!  I'd love to have a family gathering like that again.  It's been many long years, and most remaining members are now scattered far and wide, in all directions.  Let us know how your potato salad turned out?  Also, what other foods were there to enjoy?

Marilyn, I am looking for an updated picture of the girls.  I don't see them so often that I have recent pictures.  I was there Easter Sunday (April 1) and that was only two months ago so if I can get it to Bubble,  you will see it.

I'm watching golf as I compute.  I watched a boat leave Superior a few  minutes ago and another came in but there is nothing else scheduled for an hour at Duluth.  I like it that I can watch ships at the other ports, but only Duluth has several cams where I can follow the ship until it is out of sight.  And Duluth is the only place I have heard the horns.

Mr Burger differs from your Kirk's Burgers only in the fact Mr B is cafeteria style.  If there is a delay they might bring your order, but they call your number (on your receipt) and you go to the cashier's area and pick up your order.  No tipping.  Dot does all the work, but we do alternate paying every other week.  When we get a tuna melt, the cost is $11.02!.  Mr Burger is a very popular place and sometimes we've gotten the last booth available.  Lots of people stop in on the way to or from church. 

Mary Ann

Mary Ann's photo of the twins

HERE

Hi Everyone on this Memorial Day.  I think we have had rain all nigh and this morning it is still raining.  Our county, along with several others nearby in Georgia and South Carolina have been under a flood watch but it is being lifted shortly although more rain is forecast for different times throughout the day.  I have nothing particular planned for today but will probably finish an ebook I have been reading and just take things easy.  We did have a nice little birthday party for Elizabeth yesterday afternoon and then she, Jennifer and Pat played Farkle for a couple of hours.  I think Elizabeth was surprised and pleased with the fresh strawberries, cake, ice cream and toppings.  She enjoyed a second helping.

Shirley N, I don't have the information to answer your questions regarding Pat and Paul. 

Joy, glad you felt rested before attending the family affair yesterday.  A good nights sleep does a lot to restore us.  Personally I prefer an indoor picnic and it has been several years now since I attended one outside.  We have found very few things at Aldi's that hasn't been good.  Their potato and other chips are very good and so much cheaper.  I don't mind saving a little money but we wouldn't shop there if we were not satisfied with the quality of the food and other items we buy.  They seem to always have the best price on eggs and milk. One of the nice things about Amazon books is that you can usually read the first several pages of them before you purchase them.  However, I don't think that applies to used books.  I also get the weekly BookBub as well as the daily BookGorilla offers of many free books.  I probably have at least 2,000 of them and while I know I won't read many of them I do enjoy looking at the book covers and having the option of many books to select from when I need a new book.  I can also get ebooks by well-known authors from the library.  If you haven't actually downloaded the books they are not actually residing on your Kindle, just the book covers which are very small files.  If they are downloaded just hold down on the book cover and up pops a screen that will allow you to remove the book form the Kindle or Kindle app but it will still be available to you on the Amazon site.  I usually just keep the current book I am reading on the iPhone.  I think many unknown authors make one of their books available free in order to introduce their work to a broader audience and if liked will end up seeing books. 

deAngel, it sounds like your weather couldn't make up its mind whether to be hot or cold.  It has been pretty warm down here and the nights have not been cold. 

Marilyne, your KIrk's Burgers sounds very much like the Sno Cone in our little town that has been here for well over 50 years.  We also have an old-fashioned ice cream parlor that just serves ice cream.  It is called the Pink Slipper and has the little round tables and the wire back chairs of yesterday year.  I really wonder how they can stay in business.

Mary Ann, I saw the picture of the twins that Bubble posted for you.  The man who won the golf tournament yesterday couldn't do much wrong.  I guess it was just his week. He won a cool 1.2 million dollars for his week's work.  Most of the places here that you order from the counter you have to go back up and pick up your order when it is ready.  Glad you have a place that you and Dot like to eat and that doesn't break the bank. 

Tom and I went out for breakfast this morning at a relatively new place (here, anyway) - New Beginnings.  I think they have been in our area before, left, then came back again.  We both had eggs, toast and hash browns.  I brought home some of the potatoes, but I like them, so I'll probably try to fry them again.  Tom is going to his lady friend's for a cookout this afternoon.  He is not anxious to cook out today because by 4 pm, it will be in the 95-degree area.  I will be in air conditioning because I don't expect to go anywhere.

I may have mentioned that one of Norm's granddaughters left the family when her dad left her mother.  She felt her dad deserted her mother and I've even left her out of my Trust.  Anyway, a couple days ago, her name showed up as a DNA relative.  I have not contacted her but she has been in contact with her sister, who did not leave our family.  Things might get interesting - and they may not!

This week I will start preparations for going to Indps on Friday, also I have to pick up around windows because two days after I return, the window washer will be here.  He is recovering from rotator cuff surgery and was in a sling for three months.  Ouch!

I watched a ship leave Duluth this morning in the fog.  The ship went so slow at one time, I thought it had stopped, but it did make it out of the canal OK.  There were a lot of people on the piers, watching at 8:30 am their time.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann - That's interesting, about one of Norm's granddaughters.  We have the same situation in our family.  When my older daughter Shelley and her husband got divorced, one of their daughters was very bitter, and left the family.  It's a complicated story, and not a pleasant one, but at this point, she is estranged from her mother, (Shelley), her brother and sister, uncle and aunts on our side, and of course her grandparents, (AJ and me).  I hope I live long enough to see things resolved, but I have my doubts at this point.

Nice to see that adorable picture of the twins, and mom and dad look like a happy couple!  Are there a lot of redheads in your family?  I think I mentioned before, that my mother had red hair, but neither my brother or I inherited it.  Neither did my three children - but my brother had four kids, and three of them are redheads.

Larry - that was so nice of you to have the birthday party for Elizabeth.  She sounds like such a nice and helpful young lady.  I'm sure she is grateful to be included as part of your family.

Mary Ann, that was such a nice family photo.  The twins have really grown and are so cute.

The weather here is rainy and overcast.  According to the Weather channel, Alberta is heading our way.  Joy, I was thinking of you when seeing the terrible flooding in Ellicot City which is close to Baltimore.  I hope everything turned out all right for the party.

Jean,  yes, we were able to have the picnic outside.  My son brought along several canopies, which helped us be able to stay outside.  Was some hard rain before it started,, but after we started eating,   it just rained periodically, and luckily,  it wasn't a blowing rain, so it really didn't get anyone wet.  We up in Hanover, Pa.  It was fun seeing all the little ones.  Lots going on all day.  I am just not used to all the noise and commotion any more.  I guess that is a good sign of feeling my age.  I am still very tired today.  And, I am going out this evening to celebrate my middle son's 60th birthday.  I am  still full from yesterday. LOL

It is just  devastating what happened in Ellicott City.   Some of the shops were still in the process of getting back on their feet from the storm in 2016.  This one is supposed to be worse than that one.  I am sure there will be many shops that will not reopen again.  Several weeks ago,, the city was awarded a very large amount of money, up in the millions, to work on correcting these  problems.   Some work was supposed to start  next week.  The river runs under the street there and the drainage systems are big enough to carry off the water when it rains so hard in a certain amount of time. What a loss !

It is a mostly sunny day.  I just heard that some places are gearing up for the hurricane Alberto, as it will be affecting our weather later in the week.  Hope your area will not be affected to bad.

Mary Ann, that is a nice family picture.  The little girls are growing up fast.

Be safe !

Joy

Take a look at Grand Haven - lots of boats both stopped in the water and others going in and out of the channel. 

Thanks for the comments on the girls; they are almost 16 months old now.  Hmm - that's about the age I was when my folks moved from W Va to Grand Rapids.  I think the red hair comes from other than my immediate family.  James had carrot red hair when small, but I think it came from his mother's family.  She recently found via DNA her birth family and I saw a picture of a redhead in one of her pictures (she was adopted and reluctant to look for her birth family until her kids - James and Annie - prodded her).  James' wife, Alicia, has red hair and I'm not sure about others in her family.  Anyway, the girls come by it naturally with two redhead parents.  Johanna has curls (our family) and Eleanor has straight hair.  I'm getting so I can tell them apart without the hair textures.  Their facial features are enough alike that they could be identical twins, but they are not.  Ellie hasn't quite caught up to Jo in weight, but she is close.

We set a temperature record yesterday (93 degrees) and we might set another one today.  I think I mentioned Tom will be at a cookout this afternoon and he's not too happy about being outside in hot weather.  He is 60 years old now so you can tell he's an adult with the weather!

Joy, I am glad things turned out well for your get-together yesterday.  And you were able to see the youngsters.  Watching them is always fun.  I'm with you as far as noise; I'd rather have things relatively quiet.

Jean, when I read about Ellicott City, I thought of you.  Did you live there?  Or someplace else that started with an 'E' (Elkton MD comes to mind and it's been a long time - I'm lucky I can remember you lived in Ocala!).  I do remember reading about the disaster in 2016, however. 

Marilyn, I don't think these young people realize what they do to their families and themselves when they separate from the family.  I'm sorry to hear that it happened in your family too.  If she wanted to rejoin the family, which I doubt, I would be decent to her, but it is like with Tom's former wife, I initiate nothing, all starts from the other person.  It's too bad, but Tim and his wife did divorce and Tim later remarried.  His wife welcomed Tim's daughters and things were probably OK until the divorce when one girl decided to have nothing to do with Tim and his wife - and the other girl stayed in contact.  We have slight contact with that girl and I get pictures of her little girl, now 2 1/2 years old.  Tim died in December 2014 and his second wife remarried last year. 

Incidentally, Tom's former wife is getting married again next Saturday.  What is funny is that the date is the same as when she and Tom were married - June 2.  It wasn't on purpose, but just how things fell. 

Speaking of noise, as I did a few paragraphs up - I have a younger woman living beside me.  I know she doesn't realize it but every outdoor sound in the front of her place comes directly into my condo.  Last night she had a party and one of the men was grilling by her porch and he had his radio on.  Now, none of these noises was louder than usual, it was just they were close.  I hesitate to say anything to the woman because no one is doing anything wrong - they are just talking in normal voices, maybe a little louder because many young people talk loud these days.  But they were not rowdy or unruly and I am just going to let it be.  It isn't every weekend or that often, but it is very noticeable!

Another book -

Mary Ann

Just want to drop a note that I may be a bit scarce for a week or so while I get the ASUS laptop fixed (hopefully), and maybe get a processor upgrade for this HP laptop. For some reason, I lost the ability to log on here with my desktop running Ubuntu 16.04. Haven't figured that out yet.

This has not been a fun past few days between the computers, one of George's cats (which I feed when he is away) died, the smoke detectors decided to go off for no apparent reason this morning, and I got overcharged at the grocery store today. Don't you just love it when the little nasties pile on at once?

MarsGal, I commented in the Windows 10 folders, but I'll say you do have my sympathy.  Hurry back!

Mary Ann

MarsGal

I use to use Ubuntu when Windows operating system crashed...  Fun learning all that new stuff,  that was suppose to be safer then Windows.   

Glad to see that it is still being used. 

Sandy

Hi Everyone.  We have another overcast morning but no rain in the forecast until this afternoon.  My gauge says we have had 2 inches in the last two days and more on the way.  Flooding is now the problem in some counties around the Augusta area.  Our big activity for today is to get Pat to the dentist for the semi-annual cleaning at 10 am.  Then if her new shoes are ready we will stop and pick them up.  Then we may go out for lunch.  I do need to empty the ice bin in the freezer and also grind up some more cheddar cheese.  That will be it for today. 

Mary Ann, always nice to have a new restaurant to increase the options for eating out.  I don't blame Tom in not be anxious to cook out on a 95 degree day.  It seems that family dynamics are always interesting and can be very frustrating. It sounds like the twins are doing well and are really little dolls with the red hair.  At least Tom's former wife won't get her wedding anniversary dates mixed up!

MarsGal, I hope your laptop repair goes quickly and you will soon be rejoining us.  I have played around with Ubuntu only a little bit a couple of times and decided I needed need anymore computer systems to keep track of since I have five working computers for the two of us and have a time keeping all of them updated.  Hopefully the unpleasant things you mentioned are now over for awhile.  Smoke detectors can be so annoying.  The grocery store should make things right with you but it still is a hassle. 

Sandy, I take it that you are back using Windows 10.  I know you have had a lot of experience in the past years working with computers, if memory serves the right.   

Marilyne, so sorry to read that your family also has a tough situation.  If the person carrying the grudge could only realize it is themselves they are hurting the worst by cutting themselves out of the family.  We have the same thing with my granddaughters children as they refuse to speak to her.  Fortunately they will speak to their grandfather and to Pat and I, although usually only one or two of them each week.  There is always room for one more in our family circle and we are happy that Elizabeth wants to consider us her surrogate grandparents and my son as her surrogate dad. 

Jean, I have been listening to the weather forecasts and it sounds like you all will likely get a lot of rain.  We also expect a lot more from the outer bands of the storm that also carry a slight risk of high winds and tornadoes.

Joy, glad your family get together wasn't impacted by the weather and a good thing your son had set up the canopies.  At least you could come home to peace and quiet after the eventful day.  I know from my own experience that being around a couple of young kids can really wear a person down.  I hope you weren't too tired to enjoy celebrating that birthday with your middle son.  There has been a lot about Ellicott City on the news. 

Hi, Sandy. This machine is about 10 years old. The Ubuntu folks don't recommend a later release (I think they are up to 18 now?) for older machines. Bummer! The HP laptop that is running Windows 7 is also about the same age. I am thinking of switching to Ubuntu (or maybe Mint) on that. The ASUS laptop that I need someone to try and get working again had Windows 10 on it until the last update. That majorly crashed it. I haven't decided whether or not to reinstall Windows or go to Linux on that. \

Larry, I do okay with this machine. But it was the Windows machine that I use the most because of some of the programs and websites I like that don't work well with Linux.

It has been very muggy here and it will continue for a few days yet. More rain due tomorrow. Before I think about trotting off to the computer repair shop I need to mow the front yard.

All of a sudden I am getting a lot of attention from my critters. I guess it is time to feed them.

We will have another hot one today - over 90 degrees.  I'm wondering what the humidity is because my arthritic shoulder hurts like crazy.  I don't have the best computer setup in the world and that contributes to the ache.  It is nearly at a temperature inside for the a/c to go on and I know that will help.

Tom came home last night from the cookout and said they did cook outside but they were inside otherwise.  He works and sleeps in the lower level and even in hot weather, it is cooler down there - perhaps damper?  I'm going to suggest that he turn on the dehumidifier and that will help down there. 

MarsGal, I hope you get your computer problems solved.  I am on Windows 10, using Firefox and we did upgrade AT&T to get a faster speed for Tom and that helped.  Other than that, I know nothing!!!

Mary Ann

Good Morning Mary Ann, MarsGal and Larry: We finally started to warm up yesterday.  I don't know why it always has to be one extreme or another, but that's the way the weather works around here.  After being unseasonably cold all through the month of May, we are now having a heat wave.  Mid 90's yesterday and more today. 

Nothing on tap for today, except that Sandy may come over later to do her laundry, and will probably stay for dinner.  She's been at the beach all weekend, with one of her old friends.  They rent a cabin at a small town up the coast called Dillon Beach - near Bodega Bay.  Beautiful up there, but cold and foggy most of the time. 

Mary Ann - last night I clicked on the Bridge cam, just in time to see the bridge going up.  So of course I sat here and waited . . . and waited.  Pretty soon the bridge went down half way for a while, and then all the way down.  No boat ever went under in either direction?  This was a little after 9:00 pm here, so would have been 11:00 in Duluth.  Of course I looked at the schedule afterwards, but didn't see any boats listed.

Joy - I hope we see a message from you today, as to how the family picnic turned out?  Lots of extreme weather going on in your area.   

Marilyne,  I am still trying to recover from my busy weekend.

It was nice, but I am just not used to being around a lot of little ones, anymore.  Very noisy  and lots going on.  The weather wasn't a big problem where I was in Hanover, Pa.  My son had put up canopies and that helped.  It did rain, but it wasn't a blowing rain, and we were able to stay outside to eat.

Everyone got their share of the steamed crabs.  They were so good and were all gone.  The kids ate hotdogs and hamburgers and lots of snacky things.

There were a lot of little ones and they all had a good time.  All got along real good  together.

It was a long tiring day, and it took me all day yesterday to rest up.   We did go out to dinner last night for my son's birthday . The place  was not at all crowed so we weren't rushed.  We were able to enjoy a very leisured  dinner with time to just chat and catch up on everybody's life.  I felt a lot better when I left there.
And, I slept pretty good last night.

Today is a very slow day with nothing much going on.   

Marilyne, where I live, it was just a lot of hard rain, but nothing drastic.  The part of Maryland that was hit with the terrible flooding is about 45 min. from me. My oldest son lives in that same town, but not real close to the old town of Ellicott City.  That is a very old town with so many old houses that people had made into all kinds of really neat little shops and restaurants and taverns.   Have been there many times. The same thing happened almost 2 years ago that devastated the town, and they are saying this time it is much worse.  There town is in a valley where a river runs under most of the town.  Very poor development planning over the years has caused a lot of  the problems.  The town had just been awarded a large amount of money to start trying to make some improvements that would have helped prevent the flooding problems.  Some initial work was to begin next week.  Some of the businesses were just getting started back up again after the last flood.  I am sure some of the shop owners will not be able to come back this time.  So much loss for the owners and all the people who worked for them. Very, very sad situation !  There is still one National Guard person who is still missing.  He was eating at one of the restaurants and a lady came in looking for her cat.  He went to help her and was seen being washed away in the surging waters.  No sign of him found as yet.

I need to start looking for some lunch.

Have a good afternoon.

Joy

Marilyn, at 11 pm Duluth time, I think I was fast asleep at midnight here.  Earlier in the late evening (still some daylight), I saw the name PASSAGE was going to leave.  I thought that was a strange name for a big boat and found out it was listed as "sailing".  I waited quite a while as the bridge was down.  Eventually the bridge went up and 10-15 sailboats went through the bridge area and out to Lake Superior.  The masts of the sailboats are too high to go under the roadway so maybe they waited until all of the sailboats were ready before the bridge lifted.  It was interesting to watch.  I just looked at the schedule and there's nothing going out or coming in for a while. 

It is warm here and the outside temperature is near 90 now and it's just past noon.  The a/c finally went on and my shoulder feels better because I think the a/c lowers the humidity.  I suggested Tom turn on the dehumidifier and that will help his area.  I remember the summer weekends I spent at the cottage, hottern Hades, and I'd drive home to another hot place - home.  I think that was what convinced me to sell the cottage because the house was shut up all week, then I'd be gone during the weekend and the house would still be shut up.  I decided what I did at the cottage (sit on the front lawn and read), I could do at home in my back yard where I had just as much shade.  So I sold the cottage and I could have the house opened up weekends and I was comfortable.  I did not have a/c then but I had several fans that helped.  That was over 40 years ago!

Joy, I don't expect to be in such a large crowd because of where my families live, but I am sure I'd be exhausted after being with a lot of small children.  I will be with a large group Sunday in Indps, but that would only be about 10-12 people and none of them young children.  I hope you recover soon!  It did sound like fun, however, and maybe we can tolerate crowds once in a great while.

Mary Ann

It is 78F here and a little overcast sky.  Every now and then we see some sun peeking out.  We got some nice rain from Alberto but no wind in our area at all.  Most of the wind. And hard rains were east of us.

Mary Ann, We lived in a little town named Olney when we lived in Maryland.  It was 20 miles north of D.C.  We lived there for 11 years and I really liked the area, but Montgomery County is a very expensive area and Larry’s retirement was a factor in our decision to move to Florida.  I worked for a big company in Maryland and I was fortunate that the company had a branch in Ocala.  I was able to keep working for the same company until I retired in 1996 at age 60.  My mother lived with us for 30 years after my dad died.  She never thought she would live anywhere besides the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, but she was a real trouper and made the moves right along with us.

Joy, I wonder if the old town part of Elliott City will recover.  I wonder if they will go ahead now with plans to correct the flooding.

Hi Everyone.  It is another overcast morning.  After quite a bit of rain yesterday afternoon the chances are only about 20% for more rain today and we are to have a high of 83.  Pat's dental cleaning went well yesterday with no new cavities to be filled, which is always what you want to hear.  We did learn that in a few weeks our dentist will be moving his office and consolidating with his father's practice in another part of the Augusta area.  On the way back home we stopped at the Costco gas station to fill the tank and then went on over to our local Walmart as Pat needed some cosmetics.  We then went to the Daily Queen, which is on an out parcel where Walmart is and that their $5 lunch special.  We enjoyed a quiet leisurely lunch and then we didn't have to worry about dinner last evening as it was a big meal. 

I got up about 6 am this morning and showered and then partially dressed and laid back down and read my emails, devotionals, and the new postings in the discussions I follow each day.  About 7 I decided I was ready to get up but as I started to put on my shirt I thought this would be a good day to finally clean out my closet and other clothes so before putting on my shirt for the day I went into the closet and checked out what clothes I wanted to dispense with.  Pat wants some of my discarded shirts for the fabric so she will get what she wants and the rest I will donate.  I still need to go through my bureau drawers and dispense with what I no longer wear or need.  I will do that later this morning.

Yesterday afternoon I had a call from my lung doctor's office asking if I could come in this afternoon for my appointment rather than in June. It was originally scheduled for May but they had rescheduled it.  They apparently had some cancellations this afternoon.  So I will do that at 3 pm and that will get that done for another year.  This evening at 5:30 we have our last Wednesday night dinner at the Church.  The menu is hamburgers and hot dogs with coleslaw and chili , French fries & sweet potato fries and all the trimmings and dessert.  It is a special occasion as we will be having a Roast & Toast for our current Associate Pastor, which will be leaving in June to become Pastor of two small Churches in another part of the State. Scott and perhaps Elizabeth will be coming out to the house afterwards to spend a couple of hours.  So it will be a relatively busy day.

MarsGal, if you have gotten ten years use from your computers you have done very well.  I have been using my Lenovo desktop since 2013 but did have to replace the hard drive a year or so ago.  I use it for several hours every day, usually only in the mornings. My ASUS laptop is new this year.  I have lost track of how many desktops and laptop computers I have had over the years but it is quite a few as have been using computers at home since the 1980s.  It has also been muggy here. 

Mary Ann, glad the AC helped your shoulder pain yesterday.  I bet Tom was happy that the food cooked outside was taken in to eat.  It is soon going to be time to turn our dehumidifier on for the reason.  So far it is staying in the 50% range, which is OK.

Marilyne, your weather conditions sound similar to ours in that it is either chilly or it is hot with only a few mild days. 

Joy, I really like Alaska king crab and other types as well.  It was not something I remember eating growing up in the Midwest.  When we lived in Alaska in the late 1960's a fellow worker had caught a lot of them and gave us on that was so big that one of the claws stuck out of the freezer door, which was contained in the refrigerator rather than being a separate door as we now have.  I remember it was so good.  It sounds like Ellicot City needs to consider rebuilding in a different location.  Those 1000 year predictions of another flooding like two years ago was really off.  I can't even fathom having to deal with such devastation. 

Jean, glad to read you had some nice rain and not anything severe form Alberto.  We have had quite a bit of rain but no wind to speak of from the outer bands of the storm.  I know what you mean about Montgomery County, Maryland being an expensive place to live.  We lived in Gaithersburg for 5 years on my last assignment in Washington, DC.  By the time we left our home had doubled in value.  We seriously considered moving to Florida when I retired and had looked at some homes there in the Punta Gorda area while on vacation knowing that I was likely going to have to retire due to my health.  However, had the opportunity to move back to the Atlanta area so that didn't happen.  Your mother certainly lived with you all for a long time. 

We have forecasts of rain and storms, but looking at radar, everything west of us is going north so we may not get rain today.  When we have such a prediction, I like to get it out of the way, so if it rains, it's OK with me. 

I must start some packing for my departure Friday.  Since I'll be gone only four days (and two of them travel days), I won't have to pack as much as usual.  My computer will go with me. 

I've probably mentioned that Tom H renovated an old house in Indps; he lives in Chatham Arch section.  He has mostly 2-prong outlets and my computer plus has 3 prongs.  i had a time finding a 3-prong outlet but I did and I can compute only in one area if I have the computer plugged in. 

Mary Ann

Sandy came over yesterday, and was feeling very upbeat, after her three day vacation at Dillon Beach.  She and her friend have stayed in this same 1940's beach house/cabin for about three years now, over Memorial weekend. She said that she always feels rejuvenated, after a few days of "living in the past!"

She takes after me, in that she likes and appreciates vintage kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms.  There is something about the era between about the mid 1930's and mid 1950's, that has so much warmth and color in the flooring, tile, fixtures, curtains, wallpaper, appliances, and all related decor like dishes.  Lots of personality, and cheerfulness. 

She was especially fascinated with the old fashioned  linoleum floors in the kitchen and bathroom.   You sure don’t see anything like those floors anymore, and I doubt that it will ever make a return.  She later sent me a web site, showing some of the old fashioned linoleum from the 1940’s.

Mary Ann -  you might recognized some of these unique patterns? It's a real trip down memory lane!  I see a green one, that was in the house that my parents built in 1950. 
http://www.vintageinn.ca/2016/06/the-beautiful-world-of-1940s-linoleum-floorin

Marilyn, I didn't see any that I recognized, but I remember my dad with a roll of linoleum and cutting it where there was a cupboard or something in the way.  When I moved in here, I could choose my floor covering and I chose one with 4" squares of tan and blue and I loved it.  It also had grooves in it and the grooves collected dirt.  I would have had to use a knife or toothpick to clean out those grooves.  I chose a similar texture for the countertop.  You may guess that I have replaced both the flooring and countertop with smooth "whatever they call flooring now".

I'm going to watch for a ship to come into Duluth at 10:18 their time.

Mary Ann

Results of Candy/s Ultra Sound........ nothing shows.

Joan, that must be very disappointing and frustrating that Candy still doesn’t know why she is having this problem.

FlaJean,  she is so fed up with the medical system in WA.  What is one to do tho?

Joan - the fact that nothing shows on the ultrasound is good.  I think it means that there is nothing on the ovaries or in the uterus.  I'm sure they have looked for common things like appendix or kidney stones?  Tell her that I'm sending her my best thoughts for a speedy diagnosis.  She has been suffering with this long enough. 

Marilyne, I agree.