MarsGal -  I Googled "Rodale Institute", and found it very interesting!  A nonprofit that supports research into organic farming.. Lots more in-depth information online about exactly what that entails.  Sounds like it was a great place to work. 

Mary Ann & MaryTX - I also learned to hand set type, and work a small size printing press at Sears Roebuck, of all places!  I worked a part time job when I was in college, at the local Sears, in what was called the Sign Shop.  My job was to make signs for the following day's sales.  Many different sizes of type and signs to choose from, and they usually let me make the choice as to the set up. TODAY ONLY - Men's Pajamas - 25% off Marked Price!

Patricia - The "7 Day Mental Detox", is a good name for what I went through.  I once was a news junkie . . . I no longer am!   I mourn the loss of the independent newspaper, that told both sides of an issue, and also, the loss of TV news anchors like Walter Cronkite and Huntley and Brinkley.  They were real journalists, who reported on all sides/aspects of a story.   

We have started cooling down up here.  Temps in the 80's and 90's for the next ten days.  I like it. 

MaryTX, did you ever have to sort pi?  I did many times, but it was not I who had dropped the case.  It did earn me rides home, however, because usually I walked home from school - 1 1/4 miles.  With others, it was a short walk. 

With the basketball and football home game tickets, I composed those.  I used a small press to print, but I had to do the setup.  Our school newspaper came out weekly and was printed on a large press; I did not use that press.  At that time, we used gasoline to clean the ink off the presses (and was my dad a stickler as to how that was handled - I never heard of any accident) and I'll bet there is a different method to do that today.

The old print shop was made into a couple other classrooms and an addition was put on the school after my dad retired.  A few years ago, our high school was closed and given to another school  so my "almy mater" is no more.  The funny part is the present superintendent graduated from the same high school. 

We had five public high schools plus a tech high school when I was in school, also a Catholic high school and a Christian high school.  There now are three public high schools, no tech school, two Catholic high schools and two Christian high schools.  I have no idea the number of elementary schools but we have several charter schools.  Things have changed!

Mary Ann

Yes, Marilyne it was interesting. I took a particular interest in water issues while there. It is where I first heard of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) and the different categories of wells. If you are interested in water wells, clean streams and the Clean Water Act, the Federal EPA has an extensive website just for all things water. Here is their index page: https://www.epa.gov/environmental-topics The site used to look "prettier". I have no idea if they still have their lovely charts and such. There is a tremendous amount of information on the site.


When I started at Fry, we were taking raw files from the client and processing them through Quark and  Pagemaker, making hard copies to send to the client for proofing and approval, then converting the approved pages to .eps files to send to the film machine. The film was "stripped" to plate sized oaktag (or similar) sheets, the completed sheet was then photographed, and the resulting film "master" was sent to etch the image onto metal plates that were then placed onto the presses. By the time I left we were bypassing much of the prepress work, and increasingly bypassing the plate itself to go directly to press with the digital file. At the end, all I was doing was proofing the completed electronic  plate to make sure the pages were all in the correct order and the ads were where they were supposed to be. I didn't even see the direct to press proofs, the pressmen checked those themselves, right on the big monitors they installed at the presses for that purpose.

I expect to be mowing some of my jungle tomorrow.

Patricia, I have belonged to Homemaker for 60 years, it has always been a group of ladies that wanted to learn. Our children were in 4-H so many of them were leaders in the clubs like my husband and I. he   was a leader forover 10 years, which was great for a man. It started out as Homebureau, then Home extension now HOmemakers. We have to get 5 points a year, taking classes and teaching go towards the point, also community service I make lap robs and baby hats. I use to love to dance, so enjoyed teaching line dancing at the Rec hall and senior center I guess this is more then you wanted to know, I also like belong to the 90's club in here  I also have learned so much about Alaska, since reading your post.

Mary Ann, yes I sorted a lot of trays and I didn't drop them either .  I think my class was the first time they allowed girls in shop classes.  There were a few other girls but I don't recall any boys in the Home Ec classes.  By the time my kids were in high school, both sexes took shop and Home Ec.

We will never forget Jeff's Home Ec experience and neither will he .  He and his partner also a guy, were learning how to bake potatoes.  They forgot to poke the potatoes to let the steam out and they exploded in the oven!  They spent the rest of that class and probably the next one learning how to clean an oven . 

Mary 

Mary, I think I was the only girl to take a shop course.  I know I would not have taken it if my dad had not been the teacher.  At the same time, some boys in another school took Home Ec and I understand they goofed around and goofed things up so that fall a new rule was boys did not take Home Ec and girls did not take shop courses.  By that time I had enough knowledge to print the tickets and I earned some money too.

I had my own experience with baked potatoes - in the microwave.  I was fixing a baked potato in the range oven, then wanted to put a steak to broil (this happened years ago and I forget the sequence) so I put the partially baked potato in the microwave for probably 10 minutes.  Presently I heard a terrible loud noise just the other side of the table beside my chair in the computer room.  It wasn't until I stood up that I realized it was the smoke alarm.  I got that off and saw a haze in the living room.  The alarm went off again and I got it off again.  I looked in the range oven that was now empty and there was nothing wrong there.  Finally, I opened the microwave door and there was the inside in shambles.  The potato was a crisp and all I could do was laugh because I did it myself!  The top of the microwave melted and came down at the corners of that plate and looked like a tester bed.  I took a picture of it and the next day went to Lowe's and bought a new microwave.  The next day a man came and installed the new one.  That must have been a good 10 years ago.  I do bake potatoes in the microwave but not partially baked ones and I have good luck with them. 

Mary Ann

My oldest son had to take home-ec one semester.  He made a pair of pants and learned to cook a few dishes.  He's the only one of the 3 to take home ec--but all 3 of our sons cook--2 of them more than their wives!  I let them use my kitchen if they had something they wanted to cook--and most of it was edible.  I even let them make beer once, but didn't let them drink it as they were not drinking age yet.  It was pretty awful but I tried it and told them they did a good job!  I had my fingers crossed when I told them that. 

Sue

Hi Everyone.  It is a beautiful morning here in South Carolina but we are headed up to 90 degrees this afternoon.  I am getting the morning off to a slow start but don't have anywhere to go today.  Scott will be out this evening to have dinner with us.  We did get the deep freeze delivered yesterday and it is just the right size for the two of us. 

Yesterday evening I noticed there was a special on Betty White on our PBS station at 8 pm.  We watched that and really enjoyed it as I have watched Betty White I guess since we first had television in about 1957.  That was followed by wonderful concert by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra with a marvelous violinist named Zoltán Mága who I had never heard of before.  This was a special Christmas Concert with 16,000 people in attendance and was a program made especially for PBS, which they were using for their fund raising efforts this week.  I only got through about half of it and will watch the remainder of it today.  I just wish I had been recording the whole program and not the last half as it was so enjoyable and such beautiful music.  I found some of his recordings on Spotify.com and am listening to them now.

I think yesterdays discussions here of some of our backgrounds deserves a big gold star for how interesting they were.  I had little idea of the background so some of you and while I knew the background of a couple of you there was added detail.  My highschool was too small, only 26 students, to have any special printing classes I did serve on the student newspaper and yearbook staffs.  Only the girls could take home economics and I don't recall there being any special courses for the boys.  We had English, math (Algebra and Geometry), typing but only as a Junior or Senior, Home Economics and Physical Education. I really wasn't challenged in high school and often worked the lessons ahead and thus was able to devote time to other things.  I remember doing some work in the school office. I was the Valedictorian of our class.  I was concerned that perhaps I wouldn't be able to compete in college but found that not to be the case and was able to gradate Summa Cum Laude in three years. 

Mary Ann, so sorry that you are having trouble with your eyes.  Do you enjoy audio books?

Marilyne, hope you and Sandy had a most enjoyable time together yesterday.  It is nice to have a little time with our grown children. 

MarsGal, I remember getting a publication from the Rodale Press years ago but don't remember what it was.  Seeing smoke from PA in North Carolina isn't a good thing.  I wonder if we will get any of it here but perhaps the winds from the south and east will prevent that. 

Mary, when I was in 4-H we had a woodworking class taught by our minister, who was a Industrial Arts teacher at the high school in the town where the college was located.  I still use a little bookshelf that I made.  However, that was another field I had no interest in nor aptitude toward.  I did take a cooking class or two while in the 4-H but after I got married I lost all interest in cooking and forgot most of what I had learned from the classes and from my mother. 

Patricia, thanks for the info on your courses.  Congratulations of coming to the culmination of a four-year endeavor.  I think perhaps the most interesting courses I ever took in college were the two semester of Humanities that introduced me to Ancient history, arts and music.  It certainly expanded my view of the world. 

Joan, I am sure you are happy to see some cooler temperatures.  On the weather last night they said we will be getting some nighttime temps in the high 60's and it has been awhile since that happened. 

deAngel, what happens if you don't get your 5 points a year?  After 60 years it seems you would have a lifetime membership status.  You obviously have a very active mind as do all who post here. 

Sue, nice that all three of your sons know who and apparently like to cook.  I am sure I could develop some cooking skills if I just had the energy to do it.  I am trying to do more to help Pat in the kitchen as standing for her has become so problematic.  Sometimes it is just setting out the ingredients needed and the equipment.  I am now fixing the lettuce salads.  Yesterday I had a little mistake in trying to slice the carrots in our food processor as I forgot to take the whirling blade out of the bottom so after the top blade sliced them it cut the carrot slices up into tiny little pieces.  I won't make that mistake again.  I did slice a cucumber and it made instant work of slicing it into perfect little discs for the salad.  I also cleaned and cut up a stalk of celery.  Unfortunately the celery doesn't seem to be very good this time of the year and it is a bit tough and stringy. 

Larry, I peel the outside of outer stalks of celery with a potato peeler and that takes care of most  of the strings, then carefully breaking the stalks in two or three from the inside out takes care of what strings are left.

Larry, our nights are in the low 60's now.  Enjoying the open window at night now.  Sleep better too.

MarsGal - Your job at Fry, was certainly  detailed and time consuming, with lots of steps to follow before you finished. I can't imagine the press operators having monitors to check right there at the presses!  Not much left for other workers to do, now that most things are done digitally.  I always liked the job of visual proofreading on any newspaper. 

I’m sure that in today’s digital world, the proofing is somehow just scanned and corrected by the computer? I don't know, since it's been decades since I've been in a newsroom or pressroom.  There’s probably a program like Spell Check, and some kind of grammar, and punctuation check that is run through in a matter of minutes?  I doubt that a program could ever exist dealing with sentence structure, but it wouldn’t surprise me.  People aren’t required to think and figure such things out anymore.   Lucky you - getting the smoke from our California fires! . I hope it was just a remote possibility, and didn't actually happen?

Larry - I'm curious about where you lived and went to high school school?  Twenty-six students in a graduating class is a small number.  Needless to say, you must have known everyone in your class, and maybe everyone in the entire school?  In spite of the size of your school, it sounds like they provided a good program that prepared college bound students. I'm impressed that you were Valedictorian . . .  always a great honor. 
I'd like to see the Betty White special on PBS, as well as the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.   We're also in the midst of Pledge Week, so they are most likely running the same programming schedule here?

I've been sitting here too long for so early in the morning, so had better get moving and make myself some breakfast. I'll return later and check out all the messages by the rest of the "Bait and Tackle" group!

Tom and I are going out to lunch today and I'm not sure where - maybe the deli at Cannonsburg.  I like their sandwiches and I can bring home half for another meal.

Larry, I am not much of a reader any more and the computer spoiled that.  I prefer biographies but not just of "anybody".  I probably would not read a biography of any of today's "personalities" and they do write them.

Marilyn, my dad graduated from Plainview MN High School in 1913 and there were 13 in his class.  I have no idea if they even had a Valedictorian.  He did have a scholarship to Hamlin University in St Paul MN but he chose to go to Thomas Normal School in Detroit, the start of his career as an Industrial Arts teacher. 

Larry, if there were only 26 in your high school, how many were in your graduating class?  That averages only 4+ students in each class.  That's good one-on-one education.

I am a great proof reader, but I do not correct people's posts.  Learning to set type, I can read backwards and upside down although I don't have occasion to do that now.  Whatever program I have, it has a spell checker but I am a pretty good speller and able to find my own mistakes.

Mary Ann

Larry, both my kids took wood shop and metal shop in high school and I still use a couple of bookshelves and metal candle holders they made.

As I got older, I lost my fear of saws and became an avid DIYer.  I have laid floors, ceramic tile, drywalled, knocked down walls, painted, did plumbing etc.  I left electricity alone!!  Thinking back now, I did all of this while working full time and raising a family. I would love to do some remodeling on this house, but age (and good sense) has taken over.  I really admire Shirley for all the things she still does. 

We're getting some of that smoke down here that is blanketing the Pacific Northwest and it's keeping the temperature down somewhat.  My sister in Seattle said it was so thick yesterday, she couldn't see across the street. They are saying the air is so unhealthy for people to stay inside and even keep your pets inside.  She is an avid gardener and is really going stir crazy being cooped inside.   

Good morning from the Interior. It's sunny this morning with rain expected as usual in the afternoon. I did notice that the "blue" skies are more white, a typical autumn theme. Farrah is sitting in her appropriated nylon chair and watching out for stray birds.

Marilyne, there are hundreds of grammar programs for digital print. I took a class years ago to learn computer coding, and I know there were several back then. That coding class came just before coding generally changed. I had the same experience when I took a two-year study on computerized accounting for small business admins just before discs went out that did it for you!

Larry, I learned to read early, and as I was generally ill until I went into remission at age eleven, it took me out of myself and around the world. And in my childhood, there were many older gold miners and others still around from the gold camps and gold rush days so I would sit, have cookies and lemonade and hear stories of such heartache, courage, and vindication that I couldn't wait to learn more. Those older men and women were probably lonely now that I think back and having children come, sit on their porches or steps and listen to them was as much a highlight of their day as it was ours!

I still remember Louie. He left his home in Russia, aged eleven, after some pogroms and worked his way to Rotterdam. He made his way across the sea working ships and through America similarly until he reached Alaska and got gold fever. So many stories, how could you not want to know more?

I graduated in 1969; married a month later and two months after that I was on a military base as a dependent.  I went to college initially as he immediately went to Vietnam.

Gloria, I admire you so much! You've never stopped learning and never stopped teaching!

Every one of us has wonderful stories to tell. Life seems full circle in some ways when I remember back to Louie and others. Now streets, halls, and boulevards are named after people I knew and  times are different but still the same.

Good afternoon, chance of rain, but very warm

Larry, at 90 you do not have to pay dues, and the president looks the other way if you do not make all your points. I do teach and make alot of lap robs.
When we had the 4-H club, I taught a program called Breakfast is Ready. The boys had to cook for some one to pass. So after school they invited there school teacher sover, and cooked breakfast for them

Mary Ann, I read about your  bake potato, and I remembered to poke holes in my spaghetti squash cooking to day. I cook it in the microwave for 20 min first. then cut it in half

I learn a lot just by reading the stories everyone tells.  I think I have exhausted my stories but I am sure something else will come up.

Gloria, my potato episode was not because I didn't poke a hole in the potato, I probably had done that before I put it in the range oven.  But what a mess I had and it was not repairable - it called for a new microwave!

Today Tom and I went to the deli at Cannonsburg where I had a ham sandwich.  Their sandwiches are very large and by getting a whole sandwich, I can bring half of it home.  Today I brought 3/4 of it home and I'll have the next 1/4 of it for supper - which will be soon.  They also include a dill pickle slice and a bag of potato chips.  The cost is $8.  I like to go there, probably because it is quiet and the sandwiches are large.  I think the meat portion was nearly an inch thick and the whole sandwich was about three inches high so you can see why I ate only a portion. 

We've had a comfortable day and it has been breezy.  I took a nap and I wish I would go to sleep at night as soon as I do in the afternoon.  I had a cat at the foot of the bed when I woke up.  Afterward Kendrick and I went out on the deck.  He prefers quack grass to his cat grass but he eats both.  The quack grass is in with a geranium plant that I've wintered a few years.  He does not eat the geranium, I've noticed.  One of these days I'll pull the quack grass.

Mary Ann

Good news.  The surgeon gave some anti biotic cream to Candy the other day and it is working on all of them.

Mary Ann I have never heard of quack grass, but we have been invaded with nut grass.  The more you try to pull it out the faster it shows up again

WJoan, I am so happy to read that Candy is getting some needed help.

Joan, that sounds like what happened with Dot.  She had extreme pain in her abdomen to hip area; her pain was so bad she wanted to scream.  One day her doctor was not in and she was assigned another doctor.  He listened to her and told her immediately what was wrong - something to do with the sciatic nerve - and he prescribed an ointment that did the trick.  Dot is never without pain because of arthritis since she was young, but this pain was "above and beyond the call of duty".  She's not entirely pain free, but is much more comfortable.

I hope the best for Candy.

Mary Ann

Lindancer, thanks, so am I. 

Nary Ann, I have Arthritus in my back and know the pain can be extremely bad at times.  Sorry Dot has to suffer with it.  Good she got help on the other tho.

Joan I am so glad that Candy is finally getting some help! There is a reason they call it a practice!

Marilyn, at 8:35 ET Paul R is in the Soo locks, going to Lake Superior.  Now that he is in, I won't watch much because watching ships rise in the water is like watching paint dry or grass grow.  I'll check in periodically because it takes 15-20 minutes to raise the ship.  It isn't dark here, but light is fading.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann- I watched Paul, a couple of days ago, going in the other direction through the Soo Locks.  It took forever for him to be lowered, but it was interesting for me to see how it worked.  So now he's on his way back and will be in Duluth on Friday, I think? 

Joan - I'm so glad the antibiotic cream is working for Candy.  I hope this means that she won't have to have any surgery, or anymore tests?

Marilyne, she will still have some surgery as they have been unable to determine why she is having so much pain in her abdomen.

Hi Everyone.  We are expecting another beautiful partly cloudy morning and then sunny afternoon with no expectation of rain and a temperature high of about 86.  I have a full morning planned and have already been pretty busy with kitchen chores.  I still will need to fix Pat's breakfast and fold a basket of clothes.  Then I will make a quick stop at the Walmart Pharmacy to pick up a couple of prescriptions and then pick up my friend to go downtown to have coffee with the guys.  I anticipate that we will be having one of our homemade frozen dinners this evening as our main meal. 

Bubble, I had never thought of using a potato peeler on the celery stocks and that is a great idea.  When we have it I have three or four celery sticks along with 4 or 5 of the small baby carrots as well as part of an apple for my lunch. 

Joan, glad you are able to have an open window at night now as it is cooling. 

Marilyne, things are changing quickly in our world in many fields such as publishing.  Unfortunately proofing with the computer doesn't always catch the errors but does do a pretty good job.  I lived in a little town about six miles from our college town in the corner of NW Missouri.  It was rolling and rich farm land and I grew up on a farm.  Missouri is a large State and at the time I went to college at Northwest Missouri State College (now a University) there were colleges in the corners of the State and the University of Missouri sort of in the middle of the State.  There were other private college in the State also.  The college was a school to prepare teachers in the beginning but had broadened out to many other area by the 1960's.  I think we had about around 3,000 students on a beautiful campus.  I wanted to be a business teacher in High School and have a business degree with a major in accounting.  However, I accepted a job starting two weeks after graduating with the Federal Government as an auditor with the General Accounting Office and never became a classroom teacher in a school setting.  I can almost guarantee you will enjoy both of those PBS programs and I hope they are aired in your area. 

Mary Ann, yesterday we got a card offering a buy one get one meal at a nice Italian Restaurant called Carrabba's.  We had a couple of these in the area where we did live and ate at them a couple of times.  This one is fairly close so pretty sure we will take advantage of the special offer.  I didn't realize they even had a place here in Augusta until I did a search.  Like you I do most of my reading on the computer but can listen to an audio book while working a crossword puzzle or putting together a jigsaw puzzle, which I do a lot of each afternoon and evening.  Pat will usually be listening to her audio book or will have the TV muted and listening with the headphones.  There were six in our graduating class, 5 boys and 1 girl.  Five of us are still living but one of the boys is pretty ill right now with brain cancer that had spread from another cancer site.  I just looked at the yearbook from my highschool and counted the number of students and when I was a freshman there were 35 students.  Unfortunately over the years I have lost track of two of the four yearbooks, including my senior year but am pretty sure the number hadn't varied much.  It is sort of a shock to look back at the year books and see how young we all looked and were.  We also got a good one-on-one type of instruction when needed.  I have always been a good speller but anymore I am thankful for spellcheck as my fingers often get on the wrong keys.  Getting a sandwich that you can get 4 meals from certainly makes the price very affordable. 

Mary, you sure have me beat in being a DIYer.  I think a lot of this came from my youth where I would try to do something mechanical or with wood and if I didn't get it the first time my Dad would take over leaving me with a sense of failure and this has effected me all of my life.  He was a very capable man and I know he was always rushed to get things done. I think that is why I decided I would make my living with my head and not my back.  I couldn't wait to get off the farm.  Too bad the smoke is so bad that it is preventing your sister from tending to her garden and being outside. 

Patricia, one of the memories I have from living in Alaska was the beautiful clean blue skies.  At least you are not having rain all day.  I feel badly for anyone who doesn't want to read as it open up our minds and broadens, as well as entertains us.  What a unique experience you had to listen to the old gold miners and the wives.  You graduated form high school ten  years later than I did. Every person does have a unique story and that is what makes us interesting. 

deAngel, I am sure you do more than enough to earn your points for your Homemakers group even if not formally.  The women of our Church are meeting this Saturday to make small pillows for cancer patients.  This year their goal is to make 250 pillows in the two hour period.  This is the fourth year and it apparently is very well organized on an assembly line type basis. The lady heading the project mentioned at Sunday School that they are useful for people with ports in their chests as they can be used under a seat belt to protect the ports as well as other uses.  Did the breakfasts the boys make turn out well?

Joan, so good to finally read some good news regarding Candy's medical problems.  It is a little surprising that none of the other doctors hadn't prescribed such a treatment plan.  I can visualize how much pain you have with your back as Pat has severe back pain from the spinal stenosis and arthritis.  I am one of those fortunate people who have little, if any, arthritis. 

We had something interesting happen on (or to) Lake Michigan yesterday and I had never heard of it happening.  It was quite windy and the winds churned the lake so that the cold water at the bottom of the lake came to the top and the water temperature went from 75 degrees to 41 degrees during the day.  I am sure if there were any swimmers, they did not stay long.  I looked in on the cam site but didn't know about the temperature drop - until this morning when it was in the news.  Even with warmer weather in the next few days, I think the temperature of the water won't get to 75 degrees again this season.

Kendrick is going to the vet today as a result of his barking.  He is no longer barking because he coughed up the source, but at 5 years old, he has not been to a vet since he was neutered so it is a precaution, nothing visible wrong.  We have to get a cat carrier big enough for him and Annie is to get it this morning.  To my unpracticed eye, he is in good health.

Thursday and the lawn guys are here.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann - The temp of the lake, dropping from 74 to 41 in one day, is certainly unusual.  There seems to be all sorts of strange things happening with the weather, and the natural disasters like fires, volcanoes, hurricanes and earthquakes!  Something like 90 earthquakes a couple of days ago, around the Pacific "Ring of Fire". All small, but still, it seems like a warning sign.

Let us know how Kendrick's visit to the vet turns out?  I guess it's time for a health check, and maybe some shots brought up to date.

Larry, you are very fortunate not to have Arthritus.  It is a painful thing.  Have it in my thumbs lately so there is no place it does not touch.

Going to the vet was an experience.  Annie and I went, along with Kendrick.  I had on my hearing aids and when we were on our way, he was very vocal, something I seldom hear without the "ears".  To begin with, Annie had to pick up a cat carrier and I think the place didn't open until 10 am and that was the time of our appointment.  She did call to let them know we'd be late.  Kendrick settled down in the office but it was at least 20 minutes before we got into the cubicle  (it seemed like longer, but we were gone 1 1/2 hours all tolled, so it wasn't as long as I thought.  We also waited a long time in the cubicle before a doctor (woman) came in.  After we were in the cubicle, a woman told us they had had an emergency that morning so that softened the long wait.  Kendrick was docile in the cat carrier but once out, he wanted to roam and he was hard to manage, but we did!  The moral to the story is that he is in good condition, he weights 15.6 pounds which is about what he weighed a year or so ago when we weighed him here.  I paid to have a chip put in his ear and Annie paid for the office call.  She had thought he had a chip in his belly but none showed up.  We had planned to get a bite to eat but Annie didn't have time so I'll eat more of my lunch from yesterday.  Funny, but I'm all tired out!!!

Joan, I'm fortunate with my arthritis.  For the most part, mine is not painful, but it is very convenient.  I do have pain in my right shoulder, but Arthritis 650 pills ease that a lot.  I have little strength in my knees and my knuckles are larger than they should be - because of the arthritis.  But it doesn't hurt!

I told Tom the other day what with all of the weather disasters, maybe the end of the world is coming sooner than we expect.  I also think it is foolish for some countries to try to attack us because I think Mother Nature is doing a pretty good job herself to destroy us.  We certainly do have a lot of disasters - all at the same time.

On the other hand, I read a long time ago the fact that God allows babies to be born means that the world will continue. 

Mary Ann