Hi Everyone. We have a bright and sunny morning.  We will be in the high 80's again today with little chance of rain.  Pat's breakfast has been fixed and I have grated the pound of cheddar cheese as wanted to use some with her eggs and bacon bits. I have a number of things I want to accomplish today here in my office.  This evening is our Wednesday night dinner at the Church and it is fried chicken week, always a popular meal.  Yesterday we went to the Honey from the Rock Restaurant restaurant at noon and had a great meal.  I had meat loaf, creamed corn and sweet potato casserole with a dinner roll.  The food appears to be made right there and the serving are large.  Their pies look delicious but by the time I finished the main meal I wasn't hungry anymore so was good and by-passed the dessert.  This is the restaurant owned by a Church right next door and the people are so friendly and helpful.  I have to say it is one of my very favorite places to eat here.  It is served cafeteria style and they are open only 3 hours a day at the noon hour. 

Marilyne, I can't even imagine going six months with no rain.  Maybe if you got the Instant Pots for your daughters and DIL they would prepare things and share some of with you.  That link you posted must take the prize for one of the longest.  I have never seen one like it. 

Mary Ann, did you ever think we could have access to radar to keep track of weather where ever.  I always look at it anytime we have rain or storms in the forecast.  It sounds like you will soon be having frost up your way. 

Sandy, it sounds like your first outing with the Rollator was a big success.  Pat still has taken hers out only last Wednesday night at Church and continues to use her cane when we leave the house.  She uses the Rollator all the time in the house if she is going to walk more than a few steps. All of the city buses in Atlanta also were equipped with the wheel chair lifts and when the doors were opened the bus had the kneeling feature you described. 

Joy, that is a terrible price to have to pay for a one way trip. However, when put in perspective of the cost of owning a car I guess it isn't too bad.  However, cars are certainly much more convenient and no waiting, except in traffic. 

Linedancer, the Instant Pots are certainly not light weight.  Pat got the biggest ones and we just leave it on the island.  I really think we could have gotten along well with the smaller version but she wanted the bigger one and she now has all of the extra pans and racks, etc., that go with it including a double boiler type so two different things can be cooked at one time. I don't think I have heard of a senior center having its own bus or providing two meals a day.  That is a great service. 

Patricia, it is nice to be able to put in a large roast or slab of ribs.  We now have quite a few home prepared meals in the freezer and they are certainly better for us than the ones we buy with all of the chemicals in them.  We find a little bowl of apple sauce makes a nice addition to these meals.  I did share those sites with Pat and she said she hadn't seen any of them and was checking them out yesterday.  She can spend hours looking at recipes.  When she finds one she wants to try she will either print it out or put it in her Pinerest page for easy recall.  When they are tracking hurricanes in the Atlanta they usually refer to the American model and the European model and often they vary pretty significantly until it is closer to land when they sort of converge. 

Good morning.  Another summer day today. Supposed to be up in the 80's and  in the 90's tomorrow.  I know these kind of days won't be lasting too long.  I hope to get a chance to sit out for a little while when I go down for my mail.

A friend of my son's has been posting pictures on Facebook, of a trip she is on with some of their other friends to Iceland.  It seems so strange that they had to go to Iceland at this time when our local weather has returned to summer..  They have been to all kinds of ice caves, snow  boarding, glaciers, and even at a place called The Blue Lagoon, which looked like a huge steam bath.  Snow and ice all around them and steam coming up from the water. They are all in heavy winter coats, hats, gloves etc.  That sure wouldn't be my choice for a vacation.

I don't have anybody coming until around 4 p.m. today.  One is the nurse the other is the OT.  Neither of them stay for very long.  I am doing so well, that there isn't much they can improve upon. Just ask a lot of questions.  I am hoping that next week will be the end of these visits.  I must say, they have been helpful.

Larry, your dinner at the restaurant and your church dinner tonight sound good.  That is interesting about the restaurant that is connected with the church. 

Patricia, that is ashame that you have so much trouble getting into the bus.  I haven't used our bus service for a good while now, but it seems that the lower step had a  handrail that made it easy to get up with.  It also has an wheelchair ramp that they can lower and if you just have a walker, you can step right up onto it and hold on to a bar and ride up into the bus.  I guess a lot of these kind of buses are different.

I need to get on with my day.  I am finding myself able to do more and more things.  I did manage to get some things put away yesterday that  I have just been laying aside.  Each day gets better.

Have a great day.

Joy

Larry, we will take it a day at a time as far as accessories for the Instant Pot, but I did find a plastic container that is about 8-10 inches square and I put the things that came with the pot in there.  At least we should be able to find them. 

One of these days we're to get into the 70s and that will be nice because I can then open the doors if I wish.  I brought Kendrick's grass in yesterday and now I'll have to remember to water it.  I have plenty more seed in case it dries up.  The grass grows faster than he can eat it. 

Tom and I will go out for lunch today, place not chosen yet, but he will be busy or gone much of Thursday and Friday. 

Tom and his now former lady friend were thinking of a trip to Iceland because the air fare was very low.  She is out of the picture now but Tom still would like to go there.  I wish I was younger because I'd like to see Iceland too.  He may convince a male friend and his female friend to go with him.  Tom is 61 and has seen a lot of the US but no foreign country and he wasn't on vacation during his travels; he was traveling with a friend to deliver products for the friend's father's company.  They did make side trips, however.  So I would not deny him the chance to see Iceland when/if he decides to go.

I'd go to Iceland at the drop of a hat if I were 10 years younger!

Mary Ann

That earthquake link, is incredibly long! I tried to shorten it, but then only portions of the list came up. Oh well, just so it works, for anyone who is interested in tracking the quakes around the "Rim". 

Patricia - we visited Mt. Lassen National Park, back in the 1970's  What a spectacular sight it is! The devastation is still apparent everywhere, and the area is much more vast, that I ever imagined.  My parents were with us on that trip, and both remembered when the volcano erupted, when they were little children.  My mom lived in Reno, Nevada at the time, and there was lots of newspaper coverage there.  My Dad was living in near Susanville, in a lumber mill town called Westwood. He was very young, but remembered the eruption very clearly.  His dad, my grandfather, was a lumberjack, and worked the mill towns in that area.  My dad was born in a remote mill town called McCloud, in 1909. 

We are having another planned electrical outage today, which starts at 10:00 this morning and will last until 2:00.  PG&E is doing line and transformer repair.  Four hours isn't so bad . . . last time it was eight hours.   So I'll return later, and in the meantime, hope you all have a nice day.

I should mention that the local buses have the kneeling feature, wheelchair lift and large bolted in handrails at the doors. Until Sandy clarified, I didn't know what kneeling meant. The issue is that I do not have the muscle strength to "jump up" or rise any distance upward. I cannot even freely lift my foot more than a few inches off the ground. I had a severe fall on black ice in February 2014, and my arthritis finished it and is one of the reasons I sometimes fall.

What I do is put down any bags in the bus, grasp the handrail and use it to pull myself up. When exiting, I grasp the bar and slowly move down the steps and step from them to the ground before releasing the rail. I always feel more unsteady moving down than up.

I believe the majority of folks with walkers, rollators, crutches, use VanTran. It has the kneeling feature. I have seen wheelchair riders in both the buses and VanTran. The issue is convenience and cash. The buses have two going opposite directions on each route, and there are nine routes. The buses began at five thirty AM and the last ride, returning to transit center is at nine PM. For seniors 62 and over it is free and there is a bus arriving at stops, on average, every fifteen to twenty minutes.

With VanTran, you need to call in and reserve a ride. It will take you to one place and return at the prescribed time and return you to your home. There are no side or extra trips. You could go to a grocery store for example and have the van return at a scheduled time. It is two dollars each way, and there are six vans.

There are four Senior center vans, a group effort of local senior centers. They operate the same as Vantran but cost five dollars each way altho you can occasionally request free rides. They usually carry folks to and from lunches and activities at one of the centers but are available for other places when you call ahead to reserve. My point is that when I venture out, it is usually to more than one place, with any groceries last, bills and food mostly. I take a bus out and if grocery shopping, a taxi home. I need more autonomy than the senior or Vantran rides offer.

Larry, there aren't any ways for me to schedule pick up on what I want to donate. You need enough for the Salvation Army, to fill one of their vans and Love, Inc. a product of local churches only helps with move in and outs. They do other services, setting up your need with one of their volunteers such as a ride or something, but not large donations. There are other "donation" places, but they're scams where they SAY they sell to those in need at a low price, but it is a business, not a charity. While they do pickups, I won't donate to their bottom line.

I do use my Instapot when I meal prep, cooking a large amount before breaking it down into various freezer meals. But it is too much for day to day meals for a single person or at least for me. I'm glad Pat found the links interesting and that MaryAnn found them useful. I remember when I started with mine, there were few recipes options available.

I would love to visit Iceland as well. I remember reading about an American who moved there from the South for business and stayed because he fell in love with the island. An online magazine showed photos of his neighborhood and his apartment.

Marilyne that must have been some trip. People often don't get second chances in disasters. We do have Earthquake Park in Anchorage that shows similar devastation from the 1964 quake, the layer of dirt set upon a gravel base, liquified and everything slid during the earthquake with several chasms opening. Probably similar to Mt. Lassen. People never learn however as it is built up all around.

You can still see the earthquake aftereffects in many parts of the Southeast and the city of Valdez packed up and moved across the bay from their original site. I do not think that folks are allowed back in old Valdez where so many died. One of the horrible scenes captured on film was where they were filming sail and cargo boats by a dock moving due to the earthquake when suddenly the ground opened up, and the entire pier, buildings, people and ships went in, and then the ground closed up over them.

Tom and I ate at Russ's today because I wanted to get a gift card for my next door neighbor who has tended the flowers in front of my kitchen window.  I had a fish sandwich and I don't remember what Tom had. 

It is a beautiful day here today and the temperature is in the mid to high 70s.  Great! 

Yesterday Amazon delivered a scratch lounge for Kendrick and he's in 7th heaven.  He has switched beds to the scratcher and he's happy.

Mary Ann

I ordered a 6 qt. Instant Pot from Amazon.  I had planned on getting the 3 qt. but several reviews wrote that it wouldn’t hold a whole chicken.  I like to cook for more than one meal so hoping it will turn out OK.  I’ve got a place on my counter for it so it will encourage me to use it.  It won’t come until next week so will have to get busy finding some recipes.  I noticed that Patricia posted a URL for a recipe site so will check it out.  Mary Ann and Larry sound like they have had some good meals in their Instant Pots, I hope I will be able to say the same.

Thinking about the fires and floodsâ€"-natural disasters are so sad.  People work all their lives providing a home and raising a family and in the matter of a few hours lose everything.  We always have a feeling of relief at the end of Nov. when we have been hurricane free, a couple months to go.

Jean, I ordered a 3-qt because it was suggested for two or three people and from the looks of it, I did right.  I doubt Tom would cook a whole chicken, but the parts.  I have not really looked with a fine tooth comb at the recipes but I think most of them are for the parts so it would cook more evenly.  However, Tom did get the entire roast in the dish. 

Right now we are working to finish the roast and I had another sandwich (hamburg whole wheat bun).  I have one more bun to go. 

I think the recipe book that comes with the Instant Pot is geared to the size you purchase so my book would not go with yours.  Go online to see what recipes you find; some are easy, others complicated.

I hope you like the Instant Pot as it is different than cooking on a stove.  I have not cooked in a pressure cooker for many, many years.

Mary Ann

Joy and Mary Ann, I spent 5 days in Iceland found it very interesting. They could tell the Americans, as we sent the bacon back to be cooked more

Fall is here.  Leaves on the ground and temps are cooler.  Our daytime temps are in the 60's and night tempos are in the 30's

Joan - glad you're having some calm and cool weather.  How is Candy feeling?  I'm sure she's very relieved, but still needs some answers and some sort of treatment?  Do you think she'll have surgery to remove some cysts?

Patricia - I remember reading an interesting story in Time magazine, right after the 1964 Anchorage quake. It was mostly first hand accounts told by survivors, who described in detail what it was like, and the aftermath.  The thing that impressed me the most, was the length of the quake.  I think it was something like five minutes?  I've been in enough quakes to know how frightening that must have been.  Our quakes here in CA  have been measured in seconds, not minutes! 

Marilyne, Candy is still in a lot of pain.  She has an appt. tomorrow with her GYN  and hope to get the infor from the Colonoscopy.

Interestingly enough Marilyne, the San Andreas Fault runs straight down Anchorage's Fourth Avenue, (Their main street); which means they have lots of quakes of various types and the ground, a thin strip, below sea level between the gulf and the mountains doesn't help. The S.E. portion of the state is very prone to earthquakes, and there are some volcanoes with a lot of action underneath thin layers of soil.

That quake also went down into California did it not?

Hi Everyone. It is to be another beautiful mostly sunny day getting up to around 90 degrees.  I had difficulty sleeping last night and didn't get much sleep.  This will be a busy morning usual Thursday morning.  Pat put in a Walmart grocery order that I expected to pick up at the Walmart close to where I take my friend home.  However, when I looked at the reply back I found she had forgotten to switch the locations from the one over in Georgia, about 25 minutes or so away, to the closer store.  It was too late to chance it and it isn't a difficult drive up to Evans to get it I will do that after coffee.  I am hoping that the man who picks up my friend on Tuesdays and takes him to coffee will be there this morning as I know he will take him home and then I can go on to Walmart directly from coffee.  We did have a nice time at the dinner last night at the Church and then a good visit with Scott afterward.  I think he was shocked when he got here and I told him we had no chores for him to do for us. 

I am going to brief in my comments today as am a bit rushed this morning. 

Patricia, my dad always went down the steps backward so that if he fell it would be going up and not tumbling down the steps.  When you think about it that is a pretty smart thing to do.  Sorry you don't have a place that will take just one or two items as a donation.  I think Pat found a recipe or two from those Instant Pot recipe links you posted.  That big break in the earth along fourth street is Anchorage is something I will never forget.  I am pretty sure it wasn't a park yet when we lived there.

Jean, you probably won't regret getting the larger Instant Pot as you can also cook smaller portions in it as well and you said you have the space to leave it out. 

Good morning.  Started out as a foggy morning, but it looks like the sun is trying to come out.

Larry, I will have to watch when the location of the store comes up.  I never would have thought that it would change just on it's own.  Hope that the extra miles don 't  tire you out too much.  It will be nice if you are able to leave right from your coffee meeting.

Jean,  I am still considering getting one of the Instant Pots.  I think I could possibly find a space for it when I finally get around to rearranging my counter space and getting rid of a few things.  I don't have much counter space at all.  I have a small space on each side of my stove and the toaster oven takes most of one of those spots.  THe other side has some things that I really don't use.....mostly just for decorative purposes.  On the other side of the kitchen is my sink and the counter space on each side of the sink is about twice as big as on the sides of the stove.  My microwave and coffee maker take up one side, and my dish drainer and some other storage things are on the other side.  So, it is going to take some rearranging.

I am still debating if I will get that much use of it.  And, I do plan on getting the smaller one, if I do.   I probably would only use chicken parts and not that big of a roast.  I need to do some other rearranging, so it will be a while before I decide.

The more I hear about them, tho, the  better they sound. LOL

Patricia, you said that you were able to get rid of several of your other appliances when you got the Instant Pot.  I think you mentioned which ones, but I would appreciate if you would repeat the ones you were able to get rid of.  Maybe that will help me with my decision.   THanks !

I was up early and still need to get dressed and wash up a few dishes.  The PT is coming at noon, and then I will have the rest of the day to myself.

Hope everyone will have a nice day.

Joy

Joy, I would suggest you go to that list of four sites that Patricia posted a few days ago for recipes for the Instant Pot to see what types of ingredients they use and put together.  You might find there are several things, more than you think, you would cook. 

We don't have a lot of counter space, but we do for the Instant Pot because that can take the place of the large slow cooker which is now in the coat closet.  If we ever want to make something that will feed an army, the crockpot is nearby.  I don't have a toaster oven but I am going to get a countertop microwave soon.  I have a nice Spacesaver microwave over the range but unless something has a handle or is on a plate, I can't get it down because my reach isn't that great.  We don't need two microwaves but we're going to have two because I'm not going to take the Spacesaver down.  Tom has no trouble with its location.

I remember our bus driver in our Alaska trip telling about the earthquake in Anchorage and how it dropped (or raised?) several feet.  It was hard to imagine forty years later.  We've been on fringes of earthquakes here, enough so we could feel them, but nothing that moved the earth.

Mary Ann

Good morning from the early, very dark seven AM Interior! Coffee is still perking but Farrah has been fed and has fresh water laid out. I found as usual that when I go downtown this afternoon to pick up some printing at Office Max, I will need to pick up the two or three items that didn't make it onto yesterday's list!

Larry, your dad's idea is a good one that I might use if I am the only one coming off the bus, thanks! Usually, there's a line.

Joy, altho I have since purchased a second slow cooker as I can use both it and the instapot for meal prep. I did donate the one I had. I donated a yogurt maker, rice cooker, spaghetti maker ensemble, crockpot, and an older bean slash soup pot. I have the Duo six quart but it is the first version and discontinued for at least two newer ones since that time.

https://store.instantpot.com/products/instant-pot-duo-plus-60-9-in-1-multi-use-programmable-pressure-cooker

https://www.google.com/search?q=3+quart+instapot&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab

Instapot Don'ts   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKqQSJk8Ceo

Facts and features of the Instapot pressure cooker   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcMvp9cRkHA

Before the nineteen sixty-four mega-quake, Anchorage had everything on Fourth Avenue. Police, fire, administrative, emergency services, it all was situated on that one street that just happened to have one of the major fault lines running right down that street.

"The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AST on Good Friday, March 27. Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 139 deaths.
Wikipedia
Duration: four to five minutes
Tsunami: Major. Run-up of 67 m (220 ft) at Shoup Bay, Alaska
Total damage: 311 million USD
Magnitude: 9.2 M, 6.7 mb (ISC)
Date: March 27, 1964
Casualties: 139 killed"

"It is also the second largest earthquake ever recorded, next to the M9.5 earthquake in Chile in 1960. The map shows the epicenter of the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake (red star), caused when the Pacific Plate lurched northward underneath the North American Plate."

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/events/alaska1964/1964pics.php

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKQFgX0Vix4

This is narrated from fifty years ago, 16 mm film from one of the ships but it tells and shows what happened at that huge commercial dock in Valdez Harbor.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdrMKt55VBQ

Anyone else out there besides me, who likes to keep track of Paul . . . he will be arriving in Duluth tomorrow afternoon at 3:30, which would be 1:30 here.  That's a good time, as I think it will attract a big crowd to welcome him . . . especially on a Friday.  The only problem, is that the schedule for Paul seems to constantly change, compared to the other boats.  My guess is that he will arrive later than 3:30, but will likely still be early enough for lots of fans to congregate. 

Patricia - the San Andreas fault, runs right through my town! Comes down the coast into San Francisco, and then South and into Los Gatos (my town).  The epicenter of the last big one here in 1989, was only six miles from my house.  Then the fault continues on down south, and into Los Angeles. 

Larry - I often go backward down our inside flight stairs  . . . not because I'm afraid of falling, but because it's very steep, and has started causing me a lot of knee pain.  If I go backward it takes a bit longer, but is worth it.

Marilyn, it irks me when they change the schedules, but I guess those are the rules of the games.  If Paul is to leave sometime tomorrow, it might mean that he is going through the Soo but the Cafe Soo site is on the blink.  I haven't checked that this afternoon, it may be working again, but probably not.  What gets me is when a ship is to leave at a certain time and I look for it only to find out it is anchored and going nowhere.

I have a great nephew living in North Hollywood.  He once told me that he'd rather deal with earthquakes than shovel snow and have the cold!  I'd rather have the four seasons because fresh snowfalls are beautiful.  I also love the Spring green of the leaves and the Fall colors.

Without looking back, I might be repeating myself, but my neighbor has taken care of the garden spot in front of my kitchen window.  She bought a piece of fabric that has seeds in it.  She bought some where the flowers that come up are to attract butterflies, hummingbirds and I don't know what (all "nice" critters).  The season is nearly over and the flowers are still blooming.  If she does not pull them up, they will reseed.  I have a couple strands of my myrtle in there too.  Anyway, I bought her a gift card for a local restaurant where I know she likes to go.  She is out more when Tom is coming or going so I'll let him give it to her.  She's a good neighbor.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann - I just looked again at the boat schedule for tomorrow, and I see that Paul has already been moved from 3:30 to 6:00 PM.   I wouldn’t be surprised to see him moved up a couple of more times.

Regarding your great nephew . . .  the last earthquake that did any damage in the Los Angeles area was in 1994, and it was a big one, at 6.7!  I don't think your nephew was living there at that time, so he hasn't yet experienced a "real" earthquake.  But even if one that size, or bigger, happens any time soon, I doubt very much that that would cause him to move away.  Seems that nobody ever leaves California and returns to their home state, once they're settled here and have a good job.

Marilyn, you're right, Geoff (great-nephew) was seven in 1994 so he wasn't living in CA then.  He doesn't own property in CA, however, his wife is from CA.  For vacations, they come back to Michigan because of family and he does love our outdoors and many lakes.  I will say when Tom, Annie and I were in CA for their wedding, I loved driving through the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountain area.  And I think fire has destroyed much of that now. 

Paul will leave about 7 pm my time but I watch something else at 7 pm, so I doubt I'll see him leave or hear them blow the horns.

We are having such wonderful sleeping weather now.  Two mornings in a row I have woke at 8:30 am.  I think I got up once during the night.  Tom went out to head his Bible study and I did not hear him leave but I did hear him when he returned.

Our UP has had snow, I think the first of the season for them.  I can wait for that. 

At one time Larry mentioned Pat making Baked Onion.  I wanted to see how it worked in the microwave so last night I finally got an onion to try.  It was an unqualified non-success.  For one thing I didn't have the proper thing to put the onion in and a second thing was I did not have a sweet onion.  I did cut the onion into quarters, then decided to cut it into eights.  The onion was firm enough that it was hard to get the butter between the parts but I made it, then sprinkled grated cheese on top - mozzarella cheese.  I started at one minute and that wasn't enough.  I set it at another minute and that was better but the dish was too hot and that finished it as far as I was concerned.  I had some noodle tuna casserole (deli) in the refrigerator and that became my supper.  I'll settle for creamed onions next time.

Mary Ann

Hi Everyone. It is another clear day that is going to be hot by the afternoon.  When I went into my office this morning and looked out the window I saw workmen digging big deep holes between the curb and the sidewalk in all of the yards and starting to bury the fiber optic cable that AT&T is installing to provide cable service to our area.  I knew this was going to happen but it was still a bit of a shock. 

The housekeeper will be here shortly and that is all that is on the schedule for today.  Yesterday was a very busy day as while I was at coffee a friend called saying they were in the area and wondered if we would be able to meet them for a late lunch.  We were delighted to do so and we visited for about 2 1/2 hours as the restaurant wasn't busy.  I had gone to coffee and then made the hour drive to the Walmart and back for the groceries before we went to met them.  By the time we got home I was extremely tired and sure feel the results of the day today, even though I had a very good nights sleep.

Joy, the location for the Walmart pickup was changed by Pat on the previous order as our two local Walmart's had stopped taking online orders for a week.  When Pat made the new order for this week she forgot to change the location and thus the mixup.

Mary Ann, we have decided that our days of fixing big meals for special occasions are a thing of the past.  Pat still have the large and medium sized crockpots but I am doubtful that she will often use them in the future.  The gift card is a nice way to let your neighbor know how much you appreciate her help with your outside flowers. Pat always fixed the baked onion in the microwave and I think she used the Valdalia onions. 

Patricia, it is dark at 7 am here also and we still have a month to go before we can get off daylight savings time.  My dad never fell on the steps when he did the backward steps and his balance wasn't good at all.  Hard to believe it has been over 50 years since that terrible earthquake in Anchorage. 

Marilyne, North Augusta is on the Charleston fault and is considered the 6th most dangerous place to live.  When I learned that I bought earthquake insurance and with all insurance I hope it is never needed.  Glad to see you also use the backward down the stairs technique.  Pat's sewing studio is in the one bedroom we have upstairs and when we moved there one of the first things we did was have a stair lift put in.   

Good morning from a just dawning Interior! Today we had scheduled sunrise at 8:13 and sunset at 7:04 however, at 7:30 it was already lighting and at 8:08 we have daylight. Of course, being cloudy, who'd know if it showed or not? Sunday there is a slight chance of snow forecast.

I had to go out yesterday again and was doubly sore than the night before. Walking hither and yon two days in a row just about did me in! Today will be spent on the phone and setting up my new office area. I found one of those black four-foot folding tables on sale, purchased a black tablecloth and plan to set everything up in one spot.

When I moved in, a small folding tv table and one of those hospital tables were brought in by the hospitality committee as I had no furniture. I had sold what I had previously. Now I plan to pass them along as well as the sofa sleeper, large lamp, and the small dining table and two chairs.

Larry, your idea was a good one, but I am not going to try it in the middle of a crowded bus line nor on a public stairway. In this building, we do have two elevators in the middle of each floor.

Marilyne, I seem to recall that the 1964 earthquake and tsunami that hit Valdez also impacted parts of California?

Larry, I did wonder about the onion when I started to fix it but went ahead anyway.  Maybe if I had let it continue baking, it would have tasted better - I do like caramelized onions and I don't think they are necessarily sweet or Vidalia.  I only let it cook for two minutes, how long does Pat cook it in the microwave.  I doubt I'll dispose of any small appliances, but I told Tom the only appliance the Instant Pot does not replace is the George Foreman Grill which can be used for steaks or hot sandwiches and we probably have not used that in a long time.

Patricia, two days of walking would do me in too.  I do fine with the little bit I do.  As Tom just left for much of the day, I will walk to the mailbox.  That is my limit.  I do not feel tired after that walk.

Mary Ann

Patricia - YES, Crescent City, CA, was devastated by a tidal wave/tsunami, after the 1964 Alaska quake.  I looked it up on line, and found this fascinating NPR account of that tsunami.  Be sure to scroll down and read an excerpt from a book about the tsunami, The Raging Sea.  The couple who were the lighthouse keepers, and were in the lighthouse when the tsunami hit, are quoted here.  I didn’t realize that the ocean was sucked "out to sea" like that, and then came rushing back and hit the town with such force!   
https://www.npr.org/2005/11/17/5007860/california-town-still-scarred-by-1964-tsunami

Marilyne, yes over a hundred people, children, and adults, buildings, and supplies disappeared under the earth in the Valdez video. The sea swept totally back, the earth opened up and swallowed the commercial pier, reclosed and the tsunami swept in and carried the ship into the center of town. The city of Valdez relocated across the peninsula afterward because of its utter destruction. It is horrifying to see the aftereffects of these disasters and how soon people minimize and ignore those lessons.

MaryAnn, I need to walk more or I won't walk at all according to doctors.

That was a very interesting story, Marilyn.  I've read about other tsunamis and know they are very destructive.  Where is Crescent City from you?

On a lighter note, I notice Paul is leaving at 6:30 CDT (7:30 pm my time) tonight.  Lee is leaving or arriving later.

I think I'll see what I can find to eat.  Maybe a nap after that.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann - Crescent City is about 350 miles North of here, almost to the Oregon border. It would take 6+ hours to drive there.

Paul, has already been moved back a couple times today, so I'm guessing that the time will be changed yet again.

I tried to take a look at Grand Haven today, but I got the black screen. That happens every so often, but it eventually comes back.

I've been getting the black screen for Grand Haven too.  It isn't a nice day today, damp, so I doubt anyone would be there anyway.  At least the Soo is working today (cross my fingers).

Mary Ann