Oh, Sandy Dapph!  You are so very tenderhearted, I am afraid the bridge one might depress you too much.  I do hope that is not one of the ones you were able to order.  It is beyond fascinating, what goes into building that sort of bridge, but this was back when there was no OSHA and no regulations concerning the workforce.
But read the flood one, and get good and mad.  Then read 1776, and get good and glad!

MaryPage, this is one of the most valid reasons why I do not own a television and have not since 1997. Nothing beats an evening with a good book!

Although after reading that back, I might add that after two past marriages, I've been there, done that!  And at this age, I may have forgotten how!    

The distance between Heaven and Earth is no greater than one thought.

Mongolian Proverb

"Fe at 3 months"

http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/gallery/89-290716170406.jpeg

Adorable, and I love the outfit!

Tis 104 degrees at almost 4 p.m.   Could go to to 105 by 5 p.m.

Sandy, what a happy child, such a cute expression.

I hope to meet Norm's great-granddaughter Sunday who is five months old today.

Mary Ann

Yes,  Fi is growing up....  and now the changes come
fast and furious.     The outfit was knited by the Grand Mother
of  "Erhan". He is from Switzerland but his
Grand Mother (or Great Grand Mother) lives in Turkey.!

Erhan is the young man who came to live with Kelly's family
when he was an exchange student.     

He visits here just about every year.     Kelly also
had another exchange student from Switzerland, 
plus her next door neighbor
has family in Germany..   

Some time in the next year or two,  Kelly and
the girls will be traveling to Europe and taking
a nice long vacation with these family's. 

Hi everyone.  It looks like we might get a little break in the weather in that it is forecast for a high of 94 today and a 30% chance of an afternoon rain.  As far as I know neither Pat nor I have any plans to leave the house today and I have the outside watering done for today.

I had high hopes for yesterday but the weariness and hip joint pain changed that.  As a result I spent a large part of the day in bed or in my easy chair with heat on my hips.  I did sleep OK last night.

Joan, you were hotter there yesterday than what we had.  I didn't see that we ever made it to 100, just the high 90's.

Mary Ann, what a nice compliment by the man who helped you activate your credit card.  Nice you were able to get that medicine to the right person.  Sorry to hear that Tom has a summer cold.  Those can be so miserable.  Sure hope it doesn't ruin your plans for the weekend.  I don't remember ever seeing addresses in the Obituaries.  I think newspapers used to publish those as a public service but no know that many papers charge to have an Obituary.  As MaryPage has indicated it is easy for crooks to find addresses.

Sandy, I hope you enjoy the McCullough talking books.  I guess I need to check our local library for some of his books in hardback and check them out.  I am getting so used to audiobooks from the library and ebooks that I have in my own collection that I don't often read paper books anymore.  Fe lloks like a very happy baby.  What a beautiful smile.

Patricia, thanks for sharing the information on the changes in Alaska.  I think we are also seeing a lot of that in the Lower 48 and over the world.  Through gradual I guess change is a continual part of life and our planet.   

Larry, we did get up to 105 yesterday.  Today they are sayi.ng only to 98

We had an interesting start to our day.  Tom invited me to go to breakfast at McD's and I went with him.  I needed some money so we went to the bank where the ATM would not accept my card.  As we left that ATM a sign appeared "out of order".  We crossed the road to McD's and there was a sign in the door "no power".  We did have rain overnight, but I heard no storm.  We went to another bank and another McD's where there were two lines of cars in line to place orders.  We went in the building and all was OK but lots of people. 

It is overcast here and we might have more rain.  Tom told me I would be picked up Sunday by Terry and Jan to go to Paula's and we'll eat on the way.  Therefore I can only go to church with Dot, but not OTB - not enough time and I don't need that much to eat. 

I managed to shower and wash my hair earlier this morning, but it occurred to I have not taken my pills yet so I had better do that soon.  Fortunately I only take them morning and night, no in-between.

Mary Ann
 

Hi everyone.  It is a beautiful Sunday morning.  I thought we were going to get some rain yesterday afternoon but it went just South of us.  The high today is suppose to be around 92 degrees with only a small chance of rain.

Pat and I stayed in again yesterday but will get out and go to Sunday School and Church and then Scott will join us for a good lunch at Texas Roadhouse.  I think he will come back to the house and spend the afternoon and hopefully early evening with us. 

Jane, with this high temperature it is a good time to stay in where it is cool. 

When I used to go to McDonald's several morning a week for coffee with my men friends I found that Saturday mornings were usually the busiest.  Glad you have an alternate way to make the trip to Paula's. 

I wrote to Pat Scott Halbach about Jeanee Lee. She wrote to Jeanne and got this reply which Pat asked me to pass on.

"Thanks Home since Friday. More later. Love"

Whom can we ask about Kelly?  I miss him so much.

Thanks Larry for sharing that.    Good to know.

Mary Ann, I've also been concerned. I sent an email to Kelly about a month ago, but never got a response. But then, it didn't come back as undeliverable either.

The temps may be down a bit the last day or two, but the humidity is way up.

This morning my mood became greatly deflated when I discovered that someone sprayed foul language graffiti all over the new bridge down the street from me. Norfolk Southern paid for the reconstruction of the bridge on Rt. 15 over their tracks. The people who did the work did a very fine job and managed to do it with a bare minimum of traffic delays. It has, oddly, been a souce of joy to me to drive over the short span always silently praising the work that was done there, sadly disfigured now.

Good Morning from another, steadily raining Interior day. There has been the usual flooding of the low lying areas and a couple of villages have been evacuated, while we are under a flood watch through Tuesday. This has not been a good summer, and while the state fair is expected to begin on August eleventh, I think they will find attendance to be down.

Farrah has decided that she is now the head of the house. I am at once amused by her new found ability to assume charge of our day and exasperated by her seemingly endless attention to her demands. She has passed from simply being a lost and lonely being to a happy and healthy one I am overall pleased to say.

My birthday has been filled so far with cards and visitors and a small cake and birthday song by the birthday committee here. So far, even with the continuous rain, it has been a nice one.

About Kelly, some people have attained phone numbers for him but refuse to call and disturb him. I suppose Kelly and Jeanne Lee are using their time only to rest and recover.

MaryPage, I saw some news about the Maryland flooding, and I hope you and your family are okay.

Good afternoon, the humidity is 97.  All the rain we were suppose to get this weekend, never arrived.  Sun is shinning here right now.

Patricia, nice to read you had a nice birthday.  I am so happy for you that Farrah has joined the family, and is enjoying taken control of you.
A few year ago wasn't Kelly, out quite a while, but a friend kept us posted.

Larry thanks for find out about JeanneLee. Sounds like she was in the hospital again..

              HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATRICIA!
                        WHOOP IT UP!

Yes, Ellicott City, over in Howard County (one of my sons lives in Columbia in that county) had a flash flood yesterday evening.  Devastating.  I don't believe they have ever had anything quite like that before.  It came, raced through town, and left!  The destruction was UNbelievable!

https://weather.com/news/weather/news/ellicott-city-maryland-flooding-saturday

When I was young, Ellicott City was THE place in the entire nation to elope to.  Their main business was weddings.  I have no idea why that was so, it is just a dusty old memory.

Good for Farrah!  I've been pulling for her to prevail, and now she is a happy, contented, normal cat.  They DO take over and run the household!

Thank you, Gloria and MaryPage for the birthday wishes! I wish everyone were closer as I am trying to lose that last 22 lbs after losing 35 and I now have three birthday cakes in the fridge, that I am avoiding.  How may I send then to you kind ladies? 

MaryPage, I am so sorry to see the damages in that series of videos! It so reminds me of the 1967 flood that we had only a few hours notice. My father, who at the time was the supervisor of the city Public Works, garage, and buildings, was out for three days helping to dispense city humanitarian aid and riverboat rescues.

There was so much damage; everything was washed all over town. After that, the city and state got together to build a series of dams, dikes, and overflow areas jointly called the Chena Lakes Flood Control Project.

We have a low lying area between the Chena and the Tanana rivers that floods each time we have a rainy summer like this one or a time when breakup brings a lot of ice down the rivers, the area receives heavy flooding and once the state offered to buy the homeowners out.

However, they keep rebuilding even with the prior local knowledge. It is along a short distance between the city and two military bases so people will continue to rebuild, being in my opinion, lacking in any sense of reality.

Here, your area and others such as in Florida will have to get used to these disasters as the ones in charge refuse to admit to overwhelming scientific and local lore about climate change. Either by denying it altogether or simply seeing it as a once in a while or gradual shift in weather and climate.

Farrah knows she has it good here. I awoke in mild pain from my arthritis and didn't immediately get up this morning. First Farrah jumped on the bed to get her forehead knuckled, which she loves and soon jumped off.

A short time later seeing I hadn't gotten up, she jumped back on the bed, patted my hip and called out, "Win-Win" just in case I was confused about the time of day. 

Sandy, I do not believe I've mentioned seeing the photos of "Fe" that show up periodically  to my left in the random image from the S&F Gallery. She is a sweetie!

Patricia!

We were talking about Doris Kearns Goodwin, the Historian, the other day.  She was on Meet The Press this morning.  She is often a panel member there, and also frequently appears on other talk shows.

Thank you Callie for the birthday wishes! I now have three cakes and six cupcakes in the freezer for my birthday. I told the friend bearing the cupcakes that I appreciated them but I was trying to lose weight. She said, "Oh, but these are low-cal, just for you." I replied, "That might have gone over easier if your husband was better at hiding his grin!"

iMarsGal, I wonder why people feel it necessary to vandalize things such as your bridge.  Maybe it's their 15 minutes of fame.

MaryPage, such destruction in Ellicott City.  And so sudden!

Patricia, I wished you a happy birthday elsewhere, but I'll wish it again here.  I think Kendrick doesn't have the upper hand here, although I'm not so sure.  He loves to be petted but he wants it his way - on the floor.  I don't get down on the floor but ask him to come up on the couch where I can reach him.  If he doesn't do it my way, he doesn't get petted, so who wins!

Gloria D, I remember, too, that Kelly was missing for a while and a friend took over, but I think when he returned, he said she had a physical problem and was unable to post.

Tom went to a wedding Traverse City yesterday and got home at 4 am this morning.  He said the groom never stopped smiling all day.
 
When I got home this afternoon, Annie was here so I got to talk to her a few minutes.  She also changed my bed.  After she left, I could not find the cat.  He was not in his usual haunts outside and apparently no one had let him out.  So he was in the house, but whenever I called, he did not show up.  I was about to venture downstairs to see if someone had shut him in the furnace room and who should appear but Kendrick. 

Mary Ann 

Did Kendrick remember Annie? 

Sandy, I suppose so because I was not home when she came.  She really comes often enough that he doesn't run when she comes.

Mary Ann

Well,  that is good Mary Ann... 
I know how much you like
Kendrick ...    I hope that he can
stay for a while.
(If that is what you would like!)

Happy Birthday Patricia!

MaryPage,   For as far back as I can remember,  Elkton, Md. was the place where people went to get married quick.   I never heard that about Ellicott City.   Ellicott City was an old mill town.

  http://blogs.weta.org/boundarystones/2013/02/14/elkton-maryland-quickie-wedding-capital-east-coast

Joy