Quote:

"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. "

Who says he doesn't think he's the top cat? 

To pet Farrah, I lean over from sitting or on the bed behind me and knuckle her head which she loves and purrs and sticks her head back under my hand if I quit. You do not pick her up, or she cries, and you do not put her in a position without a way out.

That is one of the reasons why she comes up behind me on the bed; I'm a side sleeper. This way she feels she has time to make a getaway if she thinks I'm trying something nefarious.

Thank you for the birthday greetings, Beverly! It has been a nice one except people keep bringing me goodies I certainly don't need!  I've already had three of the cupcakes!

Oh Joy, you are absolutely right!  Put it down to my being in my dotage.  What can I say?  It makes me feel so useless and just plain stupid to make mistakes like that!  Well, not much I can do about it.  I will try to discipline myself to double check my facts before making pronouncements like that.  YES, it was ELKTON that was the place to elope to! 
Patricia, I am impressed and jealous.  I have never in my life had TWO birthday cakes, let alone THREE!  You must be the most popular resident in that place!

MaryPage,  you, of all people, sure should NEVER even think you are "stupid".    I hate that word and it sure doesn't apply to you.  You are so knowledgeable in so many subjects, that a little mistake about a certain place that you aren't that familiar with is absolutely no reason for your thinking that about yourself.   We all make those kind of mistakes.  I wish I could retain a lot of things that I used to know about.  Please don't lose any sleep over it.  LOL

I did not see anything about any kind of flooding in Annapolis, so, I am assuming the town was spared.  But, I  do remember seeing similar flooding at times down there.  But, I don't think nothing as bad as this latest disaster in Ellicott City.   Very sad situation.

Have a great day. 

Joy

Sad news about Ellicott City. I didn't watch the news yesterday, so I missed the initial reports. My Ex lived there, long ago, when he worked at Westinghouse after graduating high school.

Hi everyone.  It looks like we may be in for a break in the hot temperatures today with it predicted to get to only 88 degrees and as much as a 65% chance of some rain late this afternoon.  This should be a fairly quiet day.  I do plan on attending my Monday noon meeting and need to get some gas in my car and that is about it. 

We didn't get to Texas Roadhouse until about 4 pm yesterday.  That worked out well as was able to rest/nap for a couple of hours after getting home from Church.  We had a nice leisurely meal. When we got home Scott fixed a couple of printer problems that had been preventing Pat from printing from her laptop. 

I had another email from Pat Scott Halbach and she asked me to share with you the following:    "Pat is also unwell and isn't fortunate to have her 'right-hand man'--Jeanne!". 

MarsGal, I also sent a private message to Kelly and have had no response.  It is certainly sad when punks spray paint on public works or private building.  They apparently have no regard for other people.  I feel the same way about people who litter along the roadside. 

Patricia, sure hope the flood watch ends without more flooding for your area.  You know you are there to attend to Farrah's needs and demands.    I know you are elated to see her come out of her shell and develop trust in you. 
Had to understand why people want to continue to live in places that are subject to such destructive floods. 

MaryPage, I read about the flash flooding in Baltimore but had not heard of the other areas being flooded. I have seen Doris Kearns Goodwin on some of the other shows.  She is well spoken and obviously stays on top of current events.

Mary Ann, I guess cats will be found when they want to be found.   

Thank you, Joy.

Annapolis had no problem, but remember, this was a sudden torrential rain, with an extreme amount of water coming down all at once, and Ellicott City is in a very vulnerable situation with its rivers.  Totally different scenario.  The Annapolis flooding is more like the Miami Beach flooding: it is tidal in nature.  The oceans and seas and estuaries are rising as the glaciers and Arctic and Antarctic are melting.  We are placed on the largest tidal estuary in the United States.  The tides are coming in higher and higher.  The estimates now are that we will have six feet more water by 2100.  Our big flooding problem has nothing to do with rain, albeit I am not trying to claim that too much rain would not cause flooding problems for us, as well.  I'm just saying, that is not the direction we look in with worry and dread.

Larry, I beg to differ with you.  Cats cannot be found, they simply make an appearance when it suits them to do so.

I think you read about the flash flooding in Ellicott City and it said it was "near Baltimore."  Which it is.  The Baltimore Sun made it their headline, front page story.

Really distressing to hear that Pat is unwell.  Lovely to hear that Jeanne Lee is on the mend and will be coming back to us soon.

I am sorry to hear about the flooding and two deaths in Maryland. We have had one of the worst summers I can remember. Even the flood of 1967 was perpetuated by the month of August, pouring down rain. This has been the entire summer and yet continues! But we do live in a watershed valley in the middle of five rivers, so I suppose we should expect this. The flood watch has been extended through Tuesday.

"THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FAIRBANKS HAS EXTENDED THE

* FLOOD ADVISORY FOR...
  STREAMS AND RIVERS BETWEEN THE TANANA AND YUKON RIVERS FROM
  FAIRBANKS AND THE WHITE MOUNTAINS WEST...

* UNTIL 1130 PM AKDT TUESDAY

* AT 714 PM AKDT...HEAVY RAIN THAT FELL OVER THE AREA BETWEEN THE
  YUKON AND TANANA RIVERS FROM THE WHITE MOUNTAINS WEST HAS NOW
  ENDED. BETWEEN ONE AND THREE INCHES OF RAIN FELL BETWEEN FRIDAY
  AND TODAY OVER THAT AREA. THAT WATER IS NOW WORKING ITS WAY DOWN
  STREAMS AND RIVERS IN THE AREA.  STREAMS AND SMALL RIVERS ARE NOW
  RISING WITH MINOR FLOODING IN SOME LOCATIONS. SMALLER STREAMS WILL
  START TO FALL ON MONDAY BUT RIVERS WILL RISE THROUGH TUESDAY.

* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE MINOR FLOODING INCLUDE...LOW
  SPOTS ALONG THE TANANA RIVER BETWEEN FAIRBANKS AND
  MANLEY...INCLUDING PERKINS LANDING...NENANA...AND MANLEY HOT
  SPRINGS. ALSO INCLUDED ARE CREEKS AND RIVERS CROSSING THE ELLIOTT
  AND DALTON HIGHWAYS SOUTH OF THE YUKON RIVER SUCH AS THE CHATANIKA
  RIVER...HESS CREEK AND THE TOLOVANA RIVER. MINOR FLOODING WILL
  CONTINUE ON THE CHENA RIVER IN THE STEAMBOAT LANDING SUBDIVISION.

  IN FAIRBANKS...WATER LEVELS ON THE CHENA RIVER WILL RISE THROUGH
TUESDAY AND REMAIN HIGH FOR MUCH OF THE WEEK. WATER LEVELS WILL BE
AT LEAST AS HIGH AS LAST WEEK. BIKE PATHS UNDER BRIDGES AND LOW
   LYING BACKYARDS WILL BE UNDER WATER AS THEY WERE LAST WEEK.
   ADDITIONALLY...GROUND WATER LEVELS WILL BE VERY HIGH AND
BASEMENTS NEAR THE RIVER THAT HAVE FLOODED IN THE PAST COULD SEE
  FLOODING THIS WEEK "

It was very unusual that Kendrick did not come when I called 'Kitty, Kitty".  I know he has ESP because almost every time I get up from my chair in the computer room, he is at the door to meet me.  I had looked outside where he goes when let outside and he was nowhere to be found.  That was when I worried that he had been at his litter in the furnace room and someone might have inadvertently shut the door.  I'm sure I was home an hour before he appeared. 

Sandy, a reason I wish that Annie could/would get a place of her own where she could keep the cat is that he should live many years beyond me.  I am sure Tom doesn't want a cat permanently, although he is willing to sub for me when necessary.  Kendrick has both of us "marked". 

We are to get to 85 degrees today.  Yesterday rain was predicted, but we were lucky - no rain.  It was a beautiful day to travel to Eaton Rapids.  I am so glad I was able to see that adorable baby and I'm happy she has my ears, so that is one Tock trait she has. 

Gee, the first day of August!  Time flies whether or not you're having fun.

Mary Ann

MaryAnn, Annie, and Kendrick know they're lucky to have you and Tom! This is one reason why I waited to have a cat for six years even though I wanted one. Cats' hearing is phenomenal, and Farrah and Kendrick share that ESP! 

MaryPage, I'm sure I am not the most popular person here! Only one cake was from the birthday committee who bake and bring a card and cake to each person's birthday. The other two and the cupcakes were from friends.

I had to freeze them all after I ate three of the six cupcakes so now it will be harder to get at all that sugar!

Larry, the people, building the homes in that low lying area have the same mentality as those in  Anchorage, who rebuilt homes in the area of Earthquake park, knowing full well that the San Andreas fault runs directly under Anchorage's Fourth Avenue!

I wish for fall as I rise each morning to more fog, rain, and dark, dark skies. This weather has made me very depressed and housebound!

Good Morning Everyone from the
cooler but more humid,  Rocky Coast of Maine. 
(I prefer the warmer but less humid weather,
of course!) 

Cats are magic.  They appear and disappear,
at will!!!   They are also escape artists!  Plus
they appear to me to communicate with the
unseen  (to my eyes) entities  that hover
around us.   Yes,  you can see,  I
am convinced of their abilities!! 

I would love to have another cat,  but I don't
like to have cats near me for more then
a few seconds.  I don't enjoy lap cats, or
cats that might want to sleep on my head
or surprise me by jumping up on me or
over the top of me.... 

So I will have to go with out and just enjoy
other peoples cats,  when I encounter them. 

Have a good day, Everyone,
Sandy

In addition to the latest news regarding the Saturday evening flash flooding in Ellicott City, our local newspaper printed a wire news story pointing out we can expect more of the same.  I looked the story up on line, and here it is:

http://www.pressreader.com/usa/chicago-tribune/20160801/281702614087837

MaryPage, in September 1986, it rained every day of the month.  If the water had been 1 1/2 feet higher, it would have come up to my patio.  Our pond is really a drainage ditch and we get water from several nearby locations.  The township or county has the easement over the pond so we have nothing to say about it.  Fortunately, that amount of rain has not happened since, but I can see that it might.  I just hope it is beyond my lifetime.

Sandy, you probably would like Kendrick.  He is not a lap cat, nor is he a cuddly cat.  He likes to be around people he knows but he has his spots to nap and ones lap is not one of them.  He is very independent and often when I sit beside him to pet him, he'll get up and go to one of his nap places.  But he usually does come when I call so that is why I was concerned when he didn't show up yesterday.

I'm doing one of my duties now - washing dishes in the dishwasher.  I do have Tom's scrambled egg pan to soak and there is much more I can do but probably won't.

Mary Ann

Kendrick sounds like my kind of cat.   
But of course ...  when picking up a shelter cat, I never
know until the cat has already taken over my space...   

I know that Kendrick is very happy living with you,
MaryAnn !

MaryPage, as alarming as the increasingly destructive weather patterns are,  it is even more alarming to hear those in authority using the excuse that it's just nature to avoid having to address the issue!

MaryAnn, Kendrick, and Farrah may very well be related. I think she enjoys her paper bag playtoy more than me! 

Right now she is growling while she dashes in and out of that bag. She would be one who loved the wrapping over the gift! I wonder just what it is she's imagining?

Patricia, sometimes Kendrick goes for the tissue box.  I even hid it under the couch one time and he found it and brought it out into the open.  Then there will be bits of tissue over the floor.  I wonder what he might be lacking in his diet to make him want to eat paper.  I have a scratch pad for him and he chews on the pieces he gets out when he scratches.  Funny cat.

Yes, Sandy, I think Kendrick likes living here, but I think he'd make himself at home wherever Annie or I might take him. 

I'm fortunate he does not eat my plants but he does go after certain outside plants.  He evidently knows which ones are good or not so good for him.

Mary Ann

Goodafternoon, low humidity, after yesterdays 97

Patricia, we have the same problem here, with people rebuilding after a hurricane, with people building on the beach. Then the goverment also has to spend millions rebuilding the sanddunes

Joy, I saw on TV this morning people trying to save a women from being washed away in her car.

MaryAnn It is nice that Annie makes your bed.  I have to have someone do mine, as the new one has such a large mattress.  Taffy dose not like to be picked up, but will set in my lap.

Prays for Pat Scott and Jeanne.

Patricia, Taffy goes crazy with all the wrapping paper when I am opening my gifts a Christmas.  I have taken pictures of her in the middle of the wrappings.

Hi everyone.  It is an overcast morning following a night where we got 1 1/2 inches of rain that was much needed and appreciated. 

When I went to my meeting before noon yesterday I saw that there was work being done on the bridge over the Savannah river east bound on I-20.  There was already at last a two mile backup of traffic and more building all the time as I-20 gets a lot of traffic, especially big trucks.  So I decided to return home by an alternate route that was several miles further but where I kept going.  In the paper last night I read that the traffic backup, where there was only one lane across the bridge open, had gone on all day and evening.  I was certainly glad I had taken the alternative route home.

Nothing special on the schedule for today.  Pat may want me to pick up a few items at our local Walmart and I might go to Aldi's for some fruits and vegetables.  Pat asked me to get her walker from the garage this morning as her sciatic nerve problem is worse.  I knew she cried out each time she turned in bed last night, at least while I was awake. 

MaryPage, I obviously misunderstand where the terrible flooding had occurred.  I did see some pictures of it on the news last evening. You expressed better what I was trying to say about cats being found when it suits them. Interesting article on the increasing rainstorms being experiences in these last few years.

deAngel, our cat always like the wrappings and ribbons and bows at Christmas.  It must have something to do with their hunting instinct.

Patricia, I bet there are a lot of nervous people in your area concerning the potential for the flooding.  It appears we may be getting more rain this month.  I see there is a potential hurricane forming in the Atlanta and the path is projected over the Southeast with South Carolina being right in the middle.  Of course, we live in the Western part of the State.  We moved to Anchorage about two years after the big earthquake and while we lived close to downtown, our area wasn't hurt in the quake.  We did experience several more while we lived there but not strong enough for damage. 

Sandy, I agree with you that it is nice to enjoy other peoples cats and dogs. 

Mary Ann, I was more than ready to say goodbye to July.  Although I know August can be extremely hot down here perhaps we will get some more moderate temperatures.  Our forecast yesterday for 88 was way off as we got up to 96 here at our house. 

When I had children who were, oh, say from 7 months to about 18 months or so, at Christmastime or birthdays, we would urge them to look inside the paper or the box or whatever type of bundle might be expected to bring forth a torrent of Joy, and most of the time we would be totally disappointed, as they would play with the ribbons and paper and show no interest whatsoever in the contents.  This was the way with my granddaughters, as well, and now with the great grandchildren.

Which proves that for children,
"It's not the destination,  but the journey"  !   

Gloria, I have had cats in the past that went totally nuts over papers and wrappings. I had to watch them closely however as a cat's tongue has a type of spur that allows it to drag food down but causes a problem with items going the other way such as tinsel, yarn, string and that sort of item.

I had a cat when I was nine, and that choked to death on a piece of yarn, and I have never forgotten that. I agree totally with you about people having no sense, and there are always those looking for a profit to indulge them.

I agree about that as well, Sandy. Many children are placated with toys that do everything for them, and few incite their imagination or creativity. It does, however, keep them quiet and out of the parent's hair which is unfortunate for both.

Larry, we are expecting rain for the next two weeks and the hopefully only minor flooding is projected to continue. After the 1967 flood, when they built the Chena Lakes Project, they included some dams, dykes, overflow plains and the like. I certainly hope it lives up to what they promised!

We are dead center in the midst of five rivers that are old and constantly change channels, oxbows, and curves. The Chena River which cuts through the center of town in a series of curves is reported by anthropologists to be 45 feet further north than it was in 1903. Then we have some ponds, creeks, sloughs, hot springs and other types of waters that come with those rivers.

The Nenana,

http://www.borealisbroadband.net/vid-nenanamega.htm

and the Chena River, (I cannot find a cam for either the Yukon, Chatanika or Tanana rivers).

http://www.the-webcam-network.com/webcam/USA/Fairbanks-Alaska/10860.html

https://fairbanksalaska.com/goldenheart/   In this last one, you can see the water is just under the bridge and still rising.

Our temps are finally going down some.  Sure glad of that.  In the high 80's  during the day.  Maybe I can open my window at night now. 

Patricia, I remember seeing the tripod when I was in Alaska in 2006 and I have a picture of it.

We are in the mid 80s now and supposed to get to 89 degrees today.  It is sightly humid and I will turn on the air soon.

I heard a commotion at my front door this morning and saw two men looking at my wrought iron railing.  I opened the door to see what they were about and was told they were checking the railings for security.  One of my posts was rotting and now they are finished, I see they replaced that post.  Next will come repainting the entire railing.  I was not aware of the post being loose but they showed me that it is.  This is a condo responsibility and I will pay for it through my monthly fee.

Patricia, Sandy, MaryPage and Larry, thank you so much for having your posts in BOLD and larger font; I can read them so much better.

Mary Ann

This gal thanks you also.   Makes it easy for me also, except for the light green, cannot read that one.

Well, don't feel bad about THAT, Joan!  I don't have MD, and I can't read that light green EITHER!  So there!

Here is a copy of a letter I sent just this week to the editor of TIME magazine:

I am 87 years old, and when your layout artists try to jazz things up by putting white type on a darker colored background, or any pastel type on such a background, I go nuts because I simply cannot read it.  In the on line social groups I belong to, such as SeniorLearn and Seniors & Friends, everyone complains about the same thing.  But old folks are not the only would be readers who have difficulty with these color combinations.  Let the artistically inclined work their magic elsewhere on your pages, but please rule for BLACK type for anything you would really like for us visually challenged to read.
Hoping, with thanks
MaryPage M. Drake
Annapolis, Maryland

Thanks MaryPage.  Thought it was just me so didn't say anything before.

I also have trouble with the lighter fonts as well as some places using a handwritten font that I could not read. Now is my teal green a problem or was it simply the green others use?

New Trivia Quiz

http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=95.msg39338#msg39338

Your post number 1976 I can read just fine. the next one I cannot

Got it, no more teal!

New Trivia Quiz

http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=95.msg39338#msg39338