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2024-03-22, 14:15:18
Domestic Goddess: Pollock Fillets seasoned with Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper, Bush's Best Brown Sugar Hickory Baked Beans, Green Grapes and Chocolate Chip Cookies that my husband prepared.  Sorry about the previous type error with my last post.

2024-03-22, 14:03:04
Domestic Goddess: Pollock Fillets seasoned with Mrs. Dash

2024-03-22, 09:31:45
Domestic Goddess: Is this correct, if one would like to post/share a recipe, we do so here?  If so, was searching to see if there were separate recipe categories?

2024-02-21, 22:30:59
Oldiesmann: The chat can be accessed from the menu but I don't kow how often anyone is in there

2024-02-20, 23:18:48
alpiner1: Is the chat live ?

2024-02-19, 23:20:20
junee: Junee

2024-01-30, 11:45:01
Astro: Periodically I use it.

2024-01-29, 20:17:44
mycheal: Love the chat  off and on

2024-01-14, 21:12:20
Oldiesmann: Just curious. Does anyone still use the chat? It doesn't make any difference to me since it's a free service. Just wondering

2023-11-28, 19:23:29
JeanneP: Stiil trying to let Julee know that my EM is   gmjeannep2@gmail.com  and that the  old Comcast on is no longer work, it was to old and they dont do EM anymore


D

Norms Bait and Tackle

Started by dapphne, March 30, 2016, 09:23:16 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Sandy

Good Morning Everyone from the cool but
still sunny,  rocky coast of Maine. 

December is right around the corner with the Christmas Holiday just a few
weeks off.    Hanukkah is the Dec 12th through Dec 20th this year ...
(correct me if I am wrong).. 

So as everyone can see..    Time is slip sliding away...   

I do love pie.    Anytime,  Anywhere, as often as  possible.
Yum !

Have a good day,  everyone ..
Sandy
:uglystupid2:
  "It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brains fall out."

― Carl Sagan

angelface555

#7051
Good morning from a cold, quiet Interior! Not much going on here, I think I'm hibernating!

Thanks, Bubble and yes, the cats do catch the mouse. It's holding on to it that makes it interesting!

Larry, Farrah loves the toy. They all at some point, go under the material after the mouse! Farrah gets upset if I turn it off to save battery life!  :)

This is the toy; I believe that MarsGal purchased for her cats and from what she's posted, they love it too.

The cat, Shelby, and her kitten, Lizzie, were the ones featured and I doubt if Lizzie would have let her mother play! :D  They are now in their forever home, and Lizzie continues to get even smarter.

The owner has two pure black cats that she got a year ago from the same cat fosters and used to keep them out of areas by a child's gate. The first time Lizzie saw it, she climbed right over, and now the other cats do as well. Its become a new cat toy as Lizzie likes to take a running jump at it, the new owner posted.

MaryAnn, Marilyne, that pastry is what I've always called a maple bar, mystery solved.  :)

Hi Sandy!

Mary Ann

Patricia, that is a fascinating cat toy.  Kendrick would love it but I think it would not be long before he’d have it apart. 

Larry, I’m happy someone else has heard of Long Johns.  Do you suppose it is a Midwest expression?  They’re best when filled with lemon custard.

Larry,  Tom recently got an adjustable bed and he can’t turn over on it.  However, he uses a CPAP and that prevents turning anyway.

I had an unusual experience with another computer.  Tom needed some information that was on that computer so when I turned it on and hooked up the printer, the printer started going and when I looked, it had printed out what I wanted!  Probably that was the last thing I had asked for and I might have turned off the computer before it was done.  But the strange and irritating thing is that it came up with Bing as the home page, so I clicked on Yahoo, which is what I prefer.  I looked at a few places, then an ALERT from Windows Defender showed and a voice told me Firefox was corrupted and I should call the Microsoft number (800 number) and don’t delete the message before calling the number or my computer would be locked.  I am sure it was scam, so I did close the screen and now my other computer is blocked.  I still believe it is a scam and I’m going to have to see what I can do.  I'm not calling that number!

Poor Tom if I cannot unravel the above because, being a Mac man, he does not want to learn about PCs but since I have PCs, he has to learn enough to get me out of trouble.  I don’t volunteer his services to anyone else.  Even Dot.

Mary Ann


angelface555

MaryAnn, yes it is a scam and the computer has been infected. Microsoft came out last year with a warning about this type of scam after many had complained and several antivirus companies warned Microsoft about it. Did you know that Cortana is just Bing with a voice added?

Mary Ann

Patricia, I have not used Cortana voluntarily and I did not know it was Bing in disguise.  I'll have to see what I can do about the scam because I didn't click on anything; it just showed up while I was reading some news.  It was a big white notice and I could read it without clicking on anything.  At least it wasn't this computer - cross my fingers!

Mary Ann

angelface555

MaryAnn, you may have to, worst case, do a complete computer reset. In any case, don't download anything from the computer and have it looked at by someone who is trained. Hal has some folks that he has used in the past.

Mary Ann

Patricia, thanks, and if things are that extreme, there are two computer places near me who can help.  I know Tom will not touch the computer under the circumstances. 

I could understand my problem better if I had opened anything, but the darned notice just up and appeared.  I know it said to not sign off before something happened, but I knew it was a scam, so I did!  That was my "bad".

Mary Ann

angelface555

#7057
MaryAnn, not signing off would have made it worse. I always immediately do a CTL-ALT-Del when I see something like this. If the computer is blocked and unusable, then it needs work/help. However, if you can open it, perhaps one of the free, (not Windows Defender!); or trial period antivirus programs will get rid of your problem.

A good idea is to run a good antivirus scan on any email programs you may have on any other computers just in case it came in by attached to an innocent email post.

Marilyne

FlaJean - you asked about how we liked the Whole Foods turkey dinner?  It was good, but not sure I would order it again?  The turkey is precooked, so all you do is remove it from the tight shrink wrapping, and put it into the oven for one hour and 15 minutes. We followed directions, but the turkey seemed dry and overcooked.  It was tender, and tasty, but too dry.  Fortunately the gravy was delicious and lots of it, so we all put it on the turkey to moisten it.  Also the dressing was very good, and the mashed potatoes were mashed potatoes! :D  Choice of using microwave or oven on sides, including the green beans.  No matter how much I microwaved the beans, they remained undercooked and crunchy so that was not so good.  it was not the traditional green bean casserole, but was fresh beans in an organic sauce of garlic, parsley and pumpkin seeds.  The sauce was good, even if the beans remained crunchy. The only other item included was a cranberry sauce, which was very good.  No rolls or pies included in the $119 dinner. 

Patricia - I enjoyed the video of the cats playing with the toy.  That reminds me - as soon as I find the photo of Winnie, I'll send it to your email address, and I would love to have you post it as my profile picture. 

halkel

Mary Ann, I use "hello Tech" https://www.hellotech.com/ It is a legit company and they will not try to rip you off.  You do not have to do anything just grant them access to your computer and they do the rest.  I have a monthly subscription for 7.00 a month (if you call them give them my name and I get a little reward)

In the future if you get one of these "alerts" start your task manager (cntrl-alt-delete) and delete the alert from there, I get them all the time, my wife likes to open all the emails, at least she calls me when it occurs and I clear it.

Mary Ann

Thank you both Patricia and Hal.  I will heed your advices.  I have Malwarebyte on this computer, paid subscription, but I do not on the other one.  I thought I had AVG on that computer, but I'll have to check.  It was funny with that computer.  I bought it as Windows 7, then had to option for the chance to go to Windows 10 when it was available.  I heard lots of "no good" about W-10 and was not going to go there, but I finally did.  At that time I was having trouble with the cursor jumping all over the place and decided that my Word program was causing the problem.  I uninstalled Word and Excel.  I had to have a word program so downloaded a Windows program (forget the name) and that gave me fits because I had to watch an ad in order to use my printer.  Along the way I had bought this computer which had only W-10 on it and Tom put Firefox on here and I've gotten along fine.  I quit using the other computer.  One time I did use it and wanted to use Mapquest.  A Google map program came up and took over as my home page.  I couldn't get anywhere with that program there.  When I got this computer, my printer and it were incompatible; I had to send any printing to Tom to print and, like my laundry, it took a few days before I got it. 

I decided to reinstall my Word program which dates to 2007 but it installed just fine.  I knew that not being online, Word would not bother the map program and my printer was compatible with the computer.  When I turned on the computer, the map program was gone and the opening screen was as it should have been.  I upgraded W-10 and things were almost OK - it goofed up the order of my bookmarks, but they were there.  This morning I decided to use that computer - just because.  It was while I was looking at Grand Rapids TV news that the notice came up.  The computer has rested all day and I will look at it again, maybe later tonight, to see what is what.  I'm in no hurry.  I'll write down your link and your e-mail address, Hal, so if I use them, I can give you credit.

End of sad story!

Mary Ann

FlaJean

Marilyne, the meal we got from Cracker Barrel for six was only $68 and change.  Everything was good.  It included turkey slices and dressing, A choice of three sides, gravy, cranberry sauce and a choice of biscuits, sour dough bread or corn muffins.  Everything tasted good so I shouldn’t complain that we didn’t get a whole turkey.  I did miss the wonderful smells of the turkey when it’s roasting.

Beverly

#7062
Just reading through the messages and saw the discussion about the scam.

Mary Ann - Your instinct was right on! DO NOT click on anything in the box that comes up and absolutely don't call the number. We were getting that fairly often and about the only way I could get rid of it was alt/control/delete and then shut down for about 10 minutes. My brother (who is very computer un-savvy) called the number and ran into all kinds of trouble. Everything on his computer was blocked to him including his e-mail and they were asking for money! He lives in Vermont so we couldn't help him but a friend of his came to the rescue. They make it look like it's something official from Microsoft.

The dinner we had at a restaurant on Thanksgiving cost $70 for two, not including appetizers or drinks. Marilyne, I don't know why but it seems to be a trend to serve green beans nearly raw! Broccoli, too. The best part of the dinner was the cheesecake! We really like the turkey dinner they serve at the Cracker Barrel. Ordering the Thanksgiving dinner from there sounds like a great idea.

Cute story........My aunt used to have them box her vegetables and cook them at home to her satisfaction.  She was a very good cook and could never understand why they served veggies "raw".

Received a nice surprise today..........a real evergreen centerpiece with a candle (the everlasting one) from L.L. Bean sent by our oldest daughter.  She also called to say they hope to be here for Christmas.

Good night all. I have bocce-golf in the morning.

Mary Ann

#7063
Beverly, thanks for the information about the scam.  I have done nothing since I shut down the computer mainly for the reason I want to be "in the mood" when I tackle it.  It sounds as if your brother got one of the Ransom scams and I might have one too.  If I have too much trouble, I'll take it to a computer repair and we have two of them nearby.

Today we are meeting Terry's wife, Jan, and in-laws for lunch.  Usually her father doesn't feel well enough to leave home, and we aren't there yet, but we're meeting at a nearby restaurant where they serve good food, but nothing fancy.  One nice thing is it is relatively quiet.

I got up about 6 am, computed, then went back to bed about 7:30 and I've just gotten up.  I think I'm not awake yet.  Back when we had all of the folders in Senior Net, I would get up at 5 am and it would be 8 or 8:30 before I'd be through all of the folders I read.  There would be two pages of menu.  Now, there is so little to read that I usually do not get up at 6 am, but stay in bed until 8:30 anyway.  Some of it is loss of people, either by death or just plain leaving.  I think we didn't have Facebook or Twitter then, either.  Now we have a bunch of Old Faithfuls, thank goodness.

I'm not asking for a return to those days, but just remembering.

The surf is up at Grand Haven and the sun is shining; a pretty scene.

Mary Ann

larryhanna

Hi Everyone. Another ditto day of the last few and we will see the 60's again this afternoon.  In about 90 minutes we will have to leave and go to the dentists office as Pat has a scheduled cleaning appointment.  Then we will come back by our Church for our Senior's Luncheon.  Today the senior member of the choir and our wonderful choir director and pianist will provide the entertainment with some Christmas music and leading the attendees in singing a few Christmas carols. 

Yesterday didn't turn out anywhere as I had expected.  I took my car to the garage for an oil change and ended up being their for three hours and I had two new front tires, a brake light and the oil change done.  That is why I always dread taking my car in for service but it should provide us good transportation for the coming year.  When I got home I took Pat to get a haircut.  I hadn't had lunch so went next door to Jersey Mike's and got a sub.  It was the worst sub I think I ever had as the bread was stale and it just wasn't good.  I had had them cut it in two and wrap it separately and brought the other half home for Pat's dinner last night. I then went over to Walmart and got some of the small sample or travel type toiletries to take to our Senior Luncheon today.

Last night my friend picked me up and we went to our Men's meeting at the Church.  It was the best steak dinner I have ever had there.  The cook had prepared her Uncle Jack's mac and cheese and it was fresh out of the oven and very moist and good.  Our program was interesting as it was a 30 minute film made about the 7,000 person town of Ellington that had been taken by the Federal Government in 1950 so the Savannah River Site could be built for bomb making and other defense related work.  One of the men who was about 15 or 16 at the time was at the dinner and shared some information about the whole experience.  It was really quite interesting. 

Patricia, didn't you get one of the Instant Pots?  Pat got hers yesterday and it trying to figure out how to get the lid on it.  Any tips?  She is going to review some videos on using it so maybe those will provide some answers.  We were both tired last evening and didn't fool with it very long.  She got the 8 qt. size so it is quite heavy and will have to stay out on the island. 

Mary Ann, Long John's may well be a Midwest name for the pastry. I agree that the lemon are the best although I wouldn't turn any of them down as long as they weren't filled with rhubarb.  :) Does Tom use a CPAP mask that the hose goes back over his head or one that goes down towards his chest.  Pat's goes back over her head and mine is the other way.  I just pull it across my chest and put it under the covers and it stays in place.  Now I have the added little oxygen hose that connects to the mask which makes it a bit more complicated.  You might try a system restore back to an earlier date if you can start your computer in safe mode.  I agree with Patricia that you did the best thing by closing and turning off your computer.  I had this happen a few weeks ago and when I rebooted it was fine.  Glad to see your computer rebooted. 

Marilyne, the last couple of years Pat has gotten the Bob Evans mashed potatoes and they are very tasty and well seasoned to go with the turkey dinner.  Too bad your turkey was dry but glad you had the gravy to help with that.  I really don't like my green beans to be crunchy.  I had some of those crunchy ones with my steak dinner last night but they were the tiny skinny ones so not too bad.  I am glad you shared your review as think I will pass on using Cracker Barrel for a take home dinner. 

Jean, your Cracker Barrel must have had a separate plan.  When I looked at what was available here they seemed to have only the dinner for 8 at the $119 price. 

Beverly, it sounds like your Thanksgiving dinner was pretty expensive for two people.  My favorite green beans are those fixed with bacon fat like my mother and grandmother used to make them.  However, I have eaten lots of them without the bacon fat and they are OK also.  What a nice Christmas present.  Getting it early lets you enjoy it for a long time before Christmas. 

FlaJean

Larry, if you had gone on to another page on Cracker Barrel you would have seen the choices.  When I first looked I also thought that was all that was offered.  My husband was impressed at the way the local Cracker Barrel was set up to handle the pick ups.  He never even had to get out of the car.  Sorry.  That is enough said by me about Thanksgivingâ€"â€"on to the Christmas season. 🎶🎶

Mary Ann

Tom, Dot and I met Jan and her folks at a nearby restaurant for lunch.  I had a Dutchman's Mushroom, Swiss Cheese Burger which was very good.  I usually don't eat burgers when eating out except at Mr Burger but I made an exception today.  We had a lot of conversation and talked about Christmastime plans.  Jan's parents are both ailing, both have the start of dementia or Alzheimer's, but have not progressed to the point they can't remember anything or anyone.  Jan's dad has failed much more than her mother and it hurts to see such formerly vibrant people in such condition.

After eating, we stopped at Walgreen's to pick up pictures of the family that we took last week.  I am very pleased with the results and they look a lot better than they did on my camera.  I'm getting 5x7 for Tom, his kids and me and I will send 4x6 in some of the cards I send. 

It is hard to believe our temperature is near 60 degrees and I did not wear a coat when we went out.  And this is near the end of November.  It was a bit breezy but not unbearable.

Mary Ann


Marilyne

#7067
Mary Ann - Your earlier message this morning, reminded me of how busy we used to be in Senior Net!  Like you, I used to get up early every morning, make coffee and then start looking at the folders in SN that I posted in.  Such pleasant anticipation every morning, to see what people had to say in the many different discussions!  And there were so many back then, and they all seemed to be active and busy, every single day of the year! 

I don’t think you and I posted in any of the same discussion groups?  I was friends with Joan Grimes, (do you remember her?), and was DL in many of the discussions in her Arts and Entertainment folder.  So I was mostly in Movies & Television, Music, and The Golden Age . . . which is where the “Pop Music Memory Lane”  music  game got started.  We had so much fun there, and had lots of regulars from across the country and around the world, who played the game with us. 

The Movie and TV discussions were always busy, and seemed like back then we all watched the same TV shows at night, and then commented on them the following day.   The Books and Literature discussion was headed up by someone else - not Joan Grimes - I can’t remember who?  It was busy all the time, and I liked posting there as well.  Also there was a folder having to do with pets, with separate discussions for dogs and cats.  Dozens of people posted in the Cat group every single day.  There were two women who lived near me here in CA, named Margery and Purple Sage, who had lots of cats, and were always posting there.

I looked into Bis's Busy Nest, every day, but I didn't post there.  I also remember how we all followed the cross country travels of . . . ???.  I can't remember her name right now, but she traveled with her dog, and wrote interesting updates almost every day.  I always enjoyed reading her messages.

Too bad so many SN members decided not to join Seniors and Friends.

Marilyne

I think I just remembered her name . . . Bobbie?

Mary Ann

Marilyn, I haven't been to a movie in such a long time and I did not read that folder.  I was mostly in Michigan, led by Norm, West Virginia, because I was born there (so got to know Jackwv and SueCF - not right, but she was from WVa too), maybe the Missouri folder and I don't know why I read there, but Bunnie was the leader.  There were a lot of state folders.  I realize that folders cost money so I am not asking for more. 

Bobbie is the name of the woman who traveled across the country and I think she had two dogs.  She gave one of them to Rusty (?); I think the dog was named January, but renamed.  Shirleyn and Beverly are two people who posted in the Michigan folder.  Of course, Pat Howe has died.  I remember Purple Sage and she died too.  We do get older and we lose people through death, but now in S&F we have gained new people.  It's just more people have left us than have joined.  I know a lot of people are on Facebook but I am not.

One of my history books in high school had this on a front page - 'Time is, Man marches on".   It was during the time of a radio program - "Time Marches On".  And we are marching on.

Mary Ann

angelface555

Good afternoon, it is a slowly warming day and I'm glad to see a plus rather than a minus even if it is only 7 points.

I weighed Farrah the other day, no easy task! She was 14.5 lbs! She was nine pounds in May of 2016 when she was rescued. Her head and cheeks have filled out rounder, less pointed features, her ruff has really grown and her abdomen is bright orange. You can see the Abyssinan cat in her.

Otherwise she looks like Lizzie in the video, except larger and she has spots rather than bars. Her underside, including tail but excluding her abdomen is white. The vet believes she is a mix of Grey Tabby, Bengal and Abyssinan along with who knows what else!

She loves her little mouse toy, sits by it, looks at me and makes encouraging sounds!  :)  One day, she had gone to the table to look out and turned back to see the mouse still moving under the skirt. She jumped right down from the table to the skirt on top of the mouse, and went back to attacking that sneaky mouse!  :thumbup:

Larry, an 8 quart is huge for an Instapot. I purchased a six quart to be able to make ahead and to meal prep. I know the lid was confusing for me and I also, since I had never even used a pressure cooker, was a bit afraid of it. However, after familizing myself with it and using it, I donated nine no longer needed appliances. And yes mine sits on the counter as it is bottom heavy. I have made cakes in mine as well as loaves of bread and bisquits. I love mine! I'm including a Youtube video I found as I know I learn better visually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh11SsVLYes

MaryAnn and Marilyne, Joan's brother Den was one of the first people I met when I joined Seniornet in the summer of 2000. He graciously showed me the way around PSP and then Dave and Oscar helped me with my computer issues. Jerry from Holland was quite the character and we emailed a few times about Alaska and also his experiences in WWII. I  met several folks in the cat folder and both Bunnie and Rae were  incredibly welcoming and showed me so much in PSP. I was mainly interested in PSP, Cats and Photography with a few ventures into computer issues.




Joy

Marilyne,  I am friends with Bobbie.  She called me last week one day. 

She is living with her daughter right now, in Ohio.  She hasn't been real well, but she sounded really good when I talked to her.  She moved to her daughters a couple years ago, after her son passed away . She and her son had lived in Pennsylvania.  She is a lovely lady.  She had some wonderful trips with her dogs,. She was a gutsy lady,  traveling all alone.  I always told her she needed to write a book about her travels. She met some interesting people along the way.

When I talk to her the next time, I will mention to her that you were thinking about her.  She still keeps in touch with several friends, I think in California.

Mary Ann,  I got involved in one of those scams.  Scared me to death when I saw the notice and I did exactly what they wanted me to do.  Luckily, I was able to get out without too much trouble. 

Joy
BIG BOX

Mary Ann

Patricia, did you get the SmartyKat toy for Farrah?  There is another like it, priced a few $$$ more.  Maybe it is more substantial.  I couldn't tell by the description of the cover. 

I thought Kendrick was heavy but Farrah weighs almost as much as he does.  I had Annie get on the scale holding the cat, then weighing herself alone.  There was 15 pounds difference.  Looking at him from the side he looks quite large, but when you see him from above, he is really quite thin.  He eats good and drinks plenty of water. 

At 8:20 it is 50 degrees here and all week the Weather Channel shows highs in the upper 40s.  I hope for kids' sakes we get snow because what is Christmas without snow.  As for me, I don't care because I no longer have to drive in it.

Mary Ann

angelface555

#7073
MaryAnn, she was half starved, I was told when they found her in late April of 2016. She came to me on May sixth of that year, and she was nine pounds. However, I noticed within the past month or so that she was decidedly more substantial, so I weighed her as Annie did.

She does eat and drink well, still looks small and she is now off her treats and entirely on wet food. She eats a 3 ounce can of wet food a day so she's not overeating. She has her biyearly vet check next month so I will see what they think then. She won't be happy as its time for her shots.  :o

I bought the smarty cat toy for 16.99 through Amazon, plus the three ball unit and a mouse run around along with the feathers lure on a pole for her, so she's all set.

We have minus 12 but have warmed a little and expect about plus twenty by Thursday. This is the most snow we've had in about 4 years with 14 inches accumulation this year but only about three remaining on the ground.

Mary Ann

I'll give Tom an Amazon list and he'll order them plus whatever else he wants.  I'll order the Smarty Kat toy but I wonder how long it will last.  Kendrick isn't really destructive, but he is strong and finds how to take things apart.  The toy is now $14.44.  I saw another for about $20.  I'll find something else to get for him.  Our living room looks like a child lives here with all of the toys spread on the floor.  I think if I were younger and could go up and down the steps, the mess would be in the family room.  But I'm not, so it isn't.

Mary Ann

MarsGal

Mary Ann, surprisingly the Smarty Kat is holding up to the onslaughts of three cats. Shan is extremely active with it, gets entirely under the skirt to go after it, drags it around the room (tried to take it upstairs last night). It is apparently not as delicate as it looks. The material seems pretty tooth and claw resistant even though light.

QuoteToo bad so many SN members decided not to join Seniors and Friends.

Marilyne, I guess the lure of Facebook and others is more attractive than a good old fashioned bulletin board anymore. I, for one, prefer it here and on SeniorLearn. Speaking of SeniorLearn, we've lost quite a few members over the last year or two with hardly anyone new coming in. It is quite striking with some days no one posting at all, at least on the discussion groups I monitor. We do have a few, who have been absent for a while, just recently participating again though. The online Latin classes remain as popular as ever.

Mary Ann

MarsGal, thank  you for that information.  I'm going to have Tom order one next time he places an order.

Mary Ann

larryhanna

Hi Everyone. We are headed up to 70 or above for today so should be a very nice day.  I will leave in a few minutes as have an early appointment with the eye doctor for the last check on my first cataract surgery.  Pat said she would like to go to JoAnns Fabric store to check out some foam to put at her back in her easy chair.  So we may do that today as this is the last day they have it on sale for 40% off.  This evening we will be having dinner at the Church, my third meal in three days there.  Then I expect Scott and Jennifer to come out for a little while.

Yesterday Pat had her dental cleaning (no cavitites except in the wallet as that seems to go up in price about every time we have an appointment). As we came back it was time to stop at the Church for our Senior Adult Meeting.  Our program was great and presented by the senior members of the choir and our very talented choir director/pianist.  It really put us all in the Christmas spirit.  This was followed by a very hearty ham and bean soup, salad and dessert.

Jean, thanks for the info on looking further on the Cracker Barrel page.  Next year I will delve deeper.  I couldn't understand why only the one large meal.  It didn't make sense for just the four of us.  I think our Christmas shopping is about done.  However, I fear I am going to have to once again return the Chromebook, which is Pat's gift to me this year, as it is doing the same lock up of the mouse and browser that the first one did.  I do have three months window where I can return it and get my money back from Costco.  If I do I will probably opt for another regular laptop even through they are heavier. 

Mary Ann, it is nice to read that Jan's folks were up to going to a restaurant for lunch.  I expect Jan could use the outing.  Does she have anyone coming in to stay with her parents so she can get away once in a while?  It is painful to watch the progression of Alzheimer's or any other disease that really can't be treated effectively.  You are having pretty warm weather up your way. 

Marilyne, in the early SeniorNet days I would spend 10 hour or more day working on the computer with the book discussions background and the little book exchange we had going.  It seemed I always had something to do with it or the other volunteer work I was doing that involved the computer.  I no longer do any of that type of work and just enjoy being a participant.  I was also actively involved for 10 years with the Gwinnett County Georgia SeniorNet Learning Center, which was a large one that even set up a satellite center at a second Senior Center in our large county. I remember Joan Grimes very well and met her several times starting at the last convention SeniorNet held in Williamsburg, NC in 1998 (I hope I remembered the correct year). After that I saw her several times when she came to Atlanta for a special luncheon with SN friends or for the Bash.  The Books section was headed up by Ginny Anderson and she currently heads up a website called SeniorLearn.org.

Patricia, it sounds like Farrah has been eating well.  My wife wanted the eight quart Intapot and it is heavy and will stay out on the island, which has a column with an electrical outlet on it as it is too big to fit under the counter and to heavy to put away and get out.  We did discover how to put on the lid.  I watched three little videos that demonstrated and it is simple once you know how.  Thanks for the video link. I will share it with Pat.  She hasn't cooked anything in it yet but sure she will.  She said the first things she was going to make was boiled water! 

Joy, we learn by our experiences.  Glad you were able to get out of the scam without too much trouble or costing you a lot of money. 

MarsGal, Shan is certainly an active and apparently very smart cat who knows what he wants and works to get it.  Are you doing the Latin lessons with Ginny?   

MarsGal

Larry, I gave myself a break this year from Latin. My advanced class was down to only four people and two of them were often absent for various trips and functions. Ginny concentrates most of her time, and rightly so, with the lower classes. I wanted to take a more leisurely approach this year and go back over some of the grammar and vocabulary without signing up for a repeat of a lower class. I was using the Sunday afternoon webcasts of Don's (Radioman) show to work on my Latin, however, Don has retired from the program. I don't know what they are playing now, but the last two times I tried, they were doing something else.

Shan goes in for his second set of baby shots this afternoon. He was to get them on Monday, but the vet's office called to reschedule.

Mary Ann

Larry, Jan is with a Hospice group and she works from 4 pm to midnight Wednesday through Sunday.  I think she has had a nephew stay with her folks while she's been gone, but I heard some conversation yesterday that makes me think she may have a visiting nurse - or someone.  Jan's dad is almost unrecognizable from his "good" years.  His hair is white and he has a beard, which when trimmed looks very dignified, but when it needs trimming, he looks like a hippie.  He's 86 years old.  He was a history teacher and she was a librarian so it is hard to see them going downhill - he more than she.  If "Poppa" doesn't feel well enough to go out when we have decided to get together, we go to Jan's, where her mother has usually fixed a salad and we order a pizza or Subway or Jimmy John.  It is the getting together that is important, not the location, but Jan does appreciate the opportunity to get out for more than just her work.  Both kids, Geoff and Erin, live out of the state and while she is in contact with them often, they're not that available to her.  Fortunately, she has four adult nephews within reach who can help her and if she would ask Tom, he would be glad to help too. 

Larry, in the old days, I spent a lot more time on Senior Net than I do now on S&F and I feel bad about the loss of people.  I'm glad for the "old faithfuls" who do keep us going.  When I start in the morning, I expect west coast people will have posted after I have gone to bed, and I find they have not.  After all, if I go to bed at 11 pm, it is only 8 pm on the west coast.  I know they have other things to do than worry about posting, but I miss having something in the morning.

Now I have exhausted my computer reading material and I'm going to see if I can do something constructive.  I just don't do things I should do and it's about time I dig into the mess.

Mary Ann