Mary Ann, you are very fortunate then.  My Arthritus started in my back when  I was still living in CA.  Been in WA now almost 20 years

Mary Ann - Good to hear that Kendrick is healthy, and is now chipped. I'm glad you went along for the vet visit, since he now considers you to be his main family member and caretaker.  He probably didn't get as stressed with you there. 

I also wonder about all the major disasters.  Is someone up there trying to tell us something?  Just so much all at once, and also the going political turmoil is escalating.  Our last major earthquake here was in 1989.  The epicenter was only six miles from here, in the Santa Cruz mountains.  So our town, Los Gatos, on one side of the mountains, and Santa Cruz, on the other side, got the most amount of overall damage.   The dramatic events happened closer to San Francisco, where the ground is more unstable. The collapse of a portion of the SF/Oakland Bay Bridge was the most significant.

Joan - Were you living in the Bay Area in 1989?  If so, did you feel the quake?  My arthritis sounds about like yours.  My hands are horrible to look at, they are so twisted.  I also have a lot of pain in the area at the base of my thumbs.

Good morning from another gray soggy Interior morning. I think everyone here is getting sick of rain. I remember in 2013, everyone was so excited to hear of our long drought ending. Today, not so much. I believe even Farrah is bored this morning!

My arthritis gets worse when the barometric pressure is variable but lately, I have gotten lower back spasms if I do a lot of activity in a short period of time. I need to find some exercises such as I remember my parents doing, or just plain more exercise.

Joan, I'm so glad Candy is, at last, being listened to and receiving some help.

MaryAnn, I'm glad to hear Kendrick did well at the vet. The chip will help if he decides to go traveling.

Larry, few of the gold rush women from my youth were wives. Many were gold miners, newspaper reporters, laundresses,  rooming house owners, or in other businesses...

I'm hoping that the smoke and fires will get better soon for those in the western states. The weather is different all around the world these past few years with unusually severe weather globally. Yet I heard one commenting at a weather site comments section that this wasn't climate change, just a rough year. Right.....

Yes,  seriously,  Major Disasters,
both Physical and Emotional,  certainly have a
a devastating affect on all of us.   

Sadly, there is not  a whole lot that we
can do about them.

At least  for now. 

Sandy

Marilyne, lived most of my life in the Bay Area until 20 years ago.  Felt each and every one of them.

Marilyn, I was afraid that Kendrick would shun me this afternoon, after all, I was part of his trip to the vet.  He is not a cuddly cat and no one gets to hold him unless it is Annie who practically puts a vise grip on him!  But when he was trying to get off the table and Annie was filling out the form for the chip, I was the only one to hold him.  It wasn't a comfortable thing for him, but I didn't let loose of him until Annie took over.  Then it was time to get him in the carrier and things went much smoother than before we left.  That took both Tom and Annie to get him in the carrier and we heard about it all the way to the vet's (about three miles).  He's backto being my buddy now.

Joan, the worst thing with my arthritis is my right shoulder that I can only raise so far.  I have a bad time getting hot dishes out of the microwave, mostly because of my height - or lack of it.  Plates are fine but bowls are not.  Age contributes a lot to my not being able to do many things.  But I'm like Kendrick in that I'm in pretty good health.  In my case - "considering"!

Mary Ann

Mary Ann, I would love to wrap my hands around the neck of the person who labeled these as the  GOLDEN YEARS

Joan, I've renamed them the RUST YEARS.  I think the only gold I have is in a few molars.

Mary Ann

 

MaryAnn, someone once said that the only thing golden about these years is for the doctors, drug companies and lawyers!

Marilyne, the following comes from CNN's newscast.

"It's an absolutely stunning accusation. A fire department in Northern California says Verizon slowed its wireless data speeds so much last month that firefighters battling the state's largest-ever wildfire almost couldn't communicate. The allegation is contained in a court filing from the Santa Clara County Fire Department. Fire Chief Anthony Bowden said his department had to use other agencies' internet connections or their own personal devices to stay in touch while fighting the Mendocino Complex Fire. An email chain included in court records showed that Verizon didn't increase data speeds until the department paid for a more expensive plan. A Verizon spokeswoman admitted a mistake, saying the company "should have lifted the speed restriction" during the emergency. "

Patricia - Why doesn't that surprise me?    It's always about the bottom line, to these massive corporations!  It wasn't until I read your message, that I found the story on a back page in today's local newspaper.  I'll be watching tonight's news, to see if it's reported there. Wondering if there will be any repercussions?

As a good friend always says, "Its the money honey," in a British accent with the emphase on ney when ever someone brings something like this up.

Glad they are hitting back at Verizon. I've been having problems (much more then when I was with Comcast) with drops after I switched to them, both on my laptop and my SmartTV. My Kindle tablet is usually okay, but it did actually drop once a few weeks ago and lately it has been very slow or hung up on some sites. My computer diagnostics keeps telling me I have a loose or broken cable and on two occasions said it was a gateway problem. My sister is having similar problems. Funny, by my hardwired desktop is having no such problems. I have not yet called Verizon.

Hi Everyone.  It is a beautiful morning and when I went out to the mailbox it actually felt a bit chilly.  Yesterday was a beautiful day and it appears today will be the same.  I have an appointment with my cardiologist this morning and on the way back will stop at our Community Ministries Thrift Store to drop off a couple of bags of clothes from Pat and then stop at Aldi's for a couple of items as it is on the path home.  The housekeeper will be here this morning and I think we will be staying in the rest of the day.  We have leftovers in our refrigerator for a good meal this evening and then we plan on eating out tomorrow afternoon.

Mary Ann, that is really something that happened on Lake Michigan yesterday.  I bet there were some surprised swimmers.  It is a taxing experience to take an animal to the vet especially when you have long waits.  Glad that Kendrick was fine.  Is the chip to identify him in case he gets out and lost? 

Marilyne,  I wouldn't want to be in Hawaii on vacation at this time with the terrible hurricane that is so slow moving.  They said on the news last night they might get as much as 30 inches of rain.  I guess our hurricane on the east side of the USA hasn't really gotten started yet. I was watching the ball game from San Diego when that big earthquake hit. 

Joan, my mother and grandmother had arthritis in their hands as well as in other places.  My dad also had it especially in his knees.  He used to put WD-40 on his knees to help the pain and it apparently did.  It is really just fish oil and the doctor told him it was perfectly fine to use it.  I agree with you on the golden years as rust years seems more appropriate as Mary Ann said. 

Patricia, too much of any type of weather really gets tiring and unpleasant.  However, better the moisture than the drought, in my opinion.  Thanks for the further explanations of the gold rush folks.  You are sure right on with your comment about the doctors, drug companies and lawyers and the Golden Years.  That is a sad situation with Verizon.  Some of these huge companies are really out of control.

MarsGal, have you considered that it may be a problem with your modem/rougher if you desktop reception is fine.  However, I think all of the companies have valleys in their service as notice I have occasional short periods where my internet service is slower.  I only use a 25 speed and find it to be most satisfactory to do what I want to do. 

Larry, yes, the chip in Kendrick's ear is for ID.  Annie had thought he had a chip in his belly, but when I stop to think, she bought him from a private party who probably would not have the equipment for a chip.  I read a little about the chip and it is the size of a piece of rice and yet it has Cate's (Annie) name, my address and phone number.  Kendrick did not seem fazed when the chip was inserted.  He's back to normal today, sleeping as usual and spent part of the night at the foot of my bed.

I have not been to Hawaii, probably never will get there, but I'd hate to plan a vacation there and have a hurricane happen.  We have bad storms here at times, but not often, and are not in tornado alley.  I thank my father occasionally for choosing Michigan to come to because for the most part we have decent weather all year round.  Even winters aren't bad compared to some areas of the US.

Mary Ann

Larry, my sister is having the same kinds of issues as me. We both are using Verizon's (FIOS) equipment. She is across the river from me and I am on a hill. Sometimes I am disconnected briefly, other times the internet shows as connected. It drops in and out when it acts up, but can go for weeks without incident and then it starts up again. I'm about ready to try their customer service to see if they are as good as Comcast's CSRs. I is also about time to drop my free for one year HBO and the DVR service I do not use which was also free for the first year. I am on a two year contract.

I finished mowing most of the lawn this morning. Tomorrow I want to take the shovel and dig up some hard to pull weeds and tree saplings before I finish the mowing. If I mow first, I can't find them to get them out. Such a variety: oak, walnut, hickory, slippery elm, maple, sumac, privot, and a few other shrubs I haven't identified, also poke weed, poison ivy, Virginia creeper, and fox grape. Quite a variety of volunteers, along with all the assorted weeds that invade a lawn, in this yard. Oddly, the white pine don't offer up any seedlings although there are lots of pine cones (and needles) to rake up every year.

It is so very good to see Candy so happy and feeling so much better.  The sores on her body are all healing and she is so vibrant again.  Makes this Mom pleased that the cream has worked.

Enjoy!

"Secret of Life"
James Taylor

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

MarsGal and Patricia - The Verizon expose' is despicable, but I'm afraid it's not getting any publicity here in CA, like it should be getting You would think that it would be all over the news here, considering the seriousness of the ongoing fires, and how they were effected by Verizon. Unfortunately, that's not the case.   

Joan - I'm happy to hear that Candy has improved so much since her doctor visit!  It's almost like a small miracle.  You said she still might be facing surgery?

Sandy - Thanks for posting James Taylor’s, "Secrets of Life".  I enjoyed it, but I’d rather listen to his oldie - "Fire and Rain".  One of my favorites.

Mary Ann - It's unusual for Hawaii to have a bad hurricane, like this one is predicted to be. There was a big one on Kauai about 15 years ago or so, and that's the last one that I remember doing any damage? I've been there a number of times, and the weather has always been warm and calm, with some gentle trade winds.  It used to be a reasonably priced vacation, flying to Honolulu, from California.  Usually a package deal, where you would get the flight, plus a nice hotel on Waikiki Beach.  For just a little bit more, you could spend a few days on Maui, Kauai or the Big Island. (Hawaii).  This was back in the 1970's, 80's and 90's.  I don't know what the prices would be like now, but I'm sure it's much more expensive.

Marilyne, yes, she will still have the surgery done.  Tis more to clean out the area after quite a few surgies in the same place.

Marilyn, I really have had no desire to go to Hawaii, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it if I got there.  Jim wanted to go and he had been there with my cousin.  We did end up going to several places where neither of us had been.  It was funny with Alaska and I told him I'd go to North Dakota with him (that would be his 50th state and I had driven across and/or through it) if he'd go to Alaska with me.  He said he'd already been to Alaska; he and my cousin went on the Inside Passage.  He belonged to an organization in Indps that had travels and a trip to the Alaska Interior came up and he had not been there, so that is how he got to go to North Dakota and I got to go to Alaska.  I'm not sorry I didn't get to Hawaii.  I've seen a lot of the US lower 48 plus #49.  2014 was the first time I was in California.

Sandy, I enjoyed the James Taylor piece and it took me to a scene from George M Cohan, then to James Cagney and Bob Hope tap dancing.  I really enjoyed those clips.

Mary Ann

Hi Everyone. This is going to be another beautiful day here in South Carolina with the sun and a few clouds but will be dry and less humid.  It is suppose to get up to around 90 late this afternoon.  I did have my appointment yesterday with the cardiologist and had a very long wait to see him.  It was two hours from the time of my appointment until I was in the car headed back toward home.  He did increase my Entresto medication and I will see him again in four months.  On the way home I make a breif stop to drop off the clothes at the thrift shop, picked up Chick-Fil-A sandwiches for our lunch and made a quick stop at Aldi's on the way home.  I was glad we had decided to wait until today to go out to eat as I was pretty tired and still feeling the effects of it this morning.  I plan on staying home until we go out to eat later this afternoon and taking things easy.  I plan on watching some golf later this afternoon. 

Mary Ann, the chip sounds like a good idea in case he gets out and wanders away.  I read an article this week about a company that has implanted chips in the hand of some of its employees that will identify them to open locked doors or to pay for things in their cafeteria.  They said these chips were also the size of a grain of rice.  You do live in a beautiful State. 

MarGal, Comcast has placed an emphasize on customer service in the last few years.  Before that they didn't seem to know what that met.  Do you do the occasional speed check on your Internet to see how close it is to what you are paying to have?  We tried HBO, usually on those special offers, and every time found the programming not to our liking or it wouldn't be showing what we wanted to see at the time.  This was before the DVR services.  Glad you got your yard mowed.  This time of the year maybe the growth will slow down a bit.  IT sounds like you have quite a yard with some many things growing in it. 

Joan, that is great news about Candy feeling so much better and becoming vibrant again.

Marilyne, that is a shame that the Verizon expose' is not getting any attention in the media out their.  If there had been a celebrity involved in such a situation that is probably all you would be hearing about.  We never made it to Hawaii but know it was a wonderful place to visit.   

Marilyn and Larry, I read the Windows 10 news on this computer and there was more than one mention of Verizon cutting down the firefighters' data.  But it was not headline news.

We had a short rain, a few claps of thunder and I suppose some lightning but it seems to be gone to the east part of the state now.  I postponed my shower until things were quiet and I have now finished and am waiting for my hair to dry.

There is a warning to swimmers and surfers to stay off Lake Michigan because of high, heavy waves and probably under current too.  Looking at the site, there are some big waves close to shore and, of course, that is where the swimmers would be.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann - Your mention of Lake Michigan, reminds me that I saw an interesting old picture on Facebook, from a woman from Sault Ste. Marie.  It's in a FB Group that I joined that's called America in the 1940's.  Not a whole lot of conversation going on in there, but people do post old black and white snapshots from the 40's.  She posted a pic of the Main Street, that said "Picture of my hometown Sault Ste. Marie Ontario, in the 1940's."

Larry - your almost two hour wait for the cardiologist, is unacceptable!  I understand that they are extremely busy and have unexpected emergencies to deal with, but when that happens, the office staff should ask all of those waiting if they are willing to wait it out, or if they would like another appointment?  I could not deal with a two hour wait at all, and would have left after about 45 minutes, as I think my blood pressure would have been off the charts by then! ha ha  I'm not one to make a fuss, but I likely would have told the staff that I couldn't wait, had to be somewhere, etc., and that I would call for a future appointment when I got home.

Marilyn, I have had two experiences with long waits.  The first one was at my dentist's office and it was his day off but I was there for cleaning.  The receptionist was on the phone every time I tried to check in.  People came and people went and I sat there.  Finally, I just left.  When I got home, I worried that I might be charged for the visit, so I called to let her know I had been there.  She was a little huffy and I don't remember how we left it.  But shortly she called me to tell me she had a cancellation for the next day, did I want it?  I did and when I walked in the office the next day, everyone knew I had walked out and commented on it.  I have been going to that practice for many years and I know all of the hygienists so it was good banter that day.

The next time was last year when I had a follow-up visit to my dermatologist.  I checked in and sat near the desk.  As before, people came and people went and I sat there.  Finally, after 35 minutes, I went to the desk, told her that I had been there for 35 minutes and I was going to leave.  She checked to make sure what I was there for and she said it would be OK and I would not be charged.   And I wasn't. 

Norm would have been out of both offices in 15 minutes; his patience was down to almost none in his last years. 

Every so often Tom will come across pictures of our north end and send them to me.  We've always lived in the north end, so nearly everything old is familiar to us.  And they're black and white pictures.

Looking at Grand Haven, there are lots of sail boats out, also one kite that I can see.  Waves near shore are ferocious. 

Mary Ann

Sandy, James Taylor is a favorite of mine.  I have a lot of his music but had not heard that particular song.  It was special as today is our 62nd anniversary and we are on our ride down.

Congratulations Jean and Larry for 62 years.  I am not sure any of my friends reached that number of years, although some did get to 50 years and beyond.  A great milestone.

Mary Ann

Congratulations to both you and Larry, Jean! That is quite an accomplishment!

Jean - as you know, SJ and I follow you and Larry by about two months. Oct. 6th, will be 62 years for us!

Mary Ann - The one time I walked out and never returned, was at the podiatrist's office.  It's a long story, and I won't bore you with the details, but I was forgotten in the exam room, and left sitting there for about a half hour after my toenails were clipped, waiting for the doc. There is some Medicare protocol, where the actual podiatrist has to see you, in order for Medicare to pay. Anyway, I put my shoes on and opened the door and a girl sitting at a desk on a computer apologized, and said the doc had left for the day.

So I was a bit annoyed, but went back twelve weeks later for my next appointment.  The same thing happened, only worse!  I was left waiting for the podiatrist, with no shoes on, behind the closed door once again.  After a long wait, I opened the door and no one was there at all.  The hallway and other exam rooms were empty.  I walked out to the waiting room, and a couple of the toenail clipping girls were there at the desk getting ready to leave, with their purses, etc.  They both looked surprised/startled to see me!  One asked me who I was, and then said that the doc had left for the day! I just walked out and never returned again.  No one ever called me.

Marilyn, I had another incident that I forgot about, but it wasn't that I walked out because of a long wait.  My long-time dentist had retired and I found one near work.  I developed a dislike for the new dentist as he and his assistant talked over me as if I wasn't there.  One time he gave me a shot in my jaw and that evening I could not open my mouth, even enough to put food in it.  I had to put my fork in my mouth and turn it to open my mouth.  I called the office the next day and they had me go in and he did something to correct the situation (I don't remember what) and while he was working, an office worker would come to the door and he'd say "this is XYZ, it's $150", "this is ABC, it's $100 but the insurance company will not pay it".  When I left, there was no one at the desk to make another appointment and I just walked out.  When I had a problem later, I told Norm I could not go back there and he suggested the practice where I now go.  That was a long time ago and the dentist had gone to the same high school as Norm and I (not at the same time), Norm had had Dad as a teacher and Norm had just sold him a car.  I started there and have been there ever since, probably 35-40 years.  That is the office I walked out of where everyone knew it when I went in the next day.

More than anyone wanted to know.

My honeycomb blind cord came undone and we're going shopping for a new blind (vertical this time) to replace it.

Mary Ann