Re the power outage, we were gone around noon so had no reason to go to the refrigerator.  I remember one weekend when Dad and I went to our cottage.  There was a storm, at least at home, and when we got home, the refrigerator was off; lightning had hit the TV antenna and traveled down to disable to whole circuit.  We threw away a lot of food then.  And recently our refrigerator control was bad so I replaced the refrigerator.  In a way I'm sorry I did that because the older refrigerator was not that old and was a nicer model.  Buyer's remorse and there's nothing I can do about it!

I think we'll have rain today because we have a hazy sunny sky.  And I'm going to post this before I lose it - the screen is moving up and down.

Mary Ann

MaryAnn. Isn't it surprising as to how we can't do without Power . Used for everything now.  Last week our whole town lost it.  No Stop lights working. Banks down . some stores. and my Library where I headed was in darkness. Ours went off at 8:30 and was out most of the day. Like you. my Mobile phone was out of a charge . No WiFI. or computers working. Someone reminded me that I should be able to plug my phone into my Car battery. Never thought of that. New cars are all wired up for doing that now.
I am still having problems with my Ipad and had to change my ID on computer . Don't know what happened to them.  Its just on the E-M accounts  All have to be reset.  I would never make it if it was a case of Flooding, Tornado hitting. Things like that. Not good when things don't work right.

I just got shocked.  Went on Facebook to see what was new and saw that my Dan was in a relationship.  LOL  Wow, the things you find out on FB.  LOL  This is a gal he just met recently.    Guess I will hear all about it on Fri. when he comes by

Joan, you learn something new every day, don't you?  I hope you approve.

Jeanne, I probably was as uninconvenienced as anyone yesterday with no power.  I don't know what I did, but I was not frustrated.  I could see so did some things around here that needed doing.  I got up about 8:30 knowing there was no power and at 11 am we left to meet my retiree friends for lunch.  When we got back home, power was restored.  Dot said it went back on about 2:15 pm and Tom said it had gone off about 5:15 am so it was off about 9 hours.  It was only our complex that was affected and I don't know the cause.  Being gone 30 years, I don't know any of the servicemen any more.  The phone surprised me but I wasn't thinking.  With the landline, I had phone service; I no longer have a landline phone.  I think the biggest inconvenience was the a/c because it was a very warm day, getting  up to 90+ degrees.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann, have not met this gal as yet.  We shall see.  LOL

Joan, I hope you're able to meet her soon.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann, will let you know.    Stay tuned.  LOL

Joan, I'm tuned!

This noon Dot and I went to lunch for our family gathering.  It turned out we were the only ones there.  We knew Tom couldn't make it but we did expect Terry, maybe Jan, and Jan's parents.  We had a nice lunch and gabfest.

Later in the afternoon, Tom and his lady friend were going out to eat and Tom wondered if I wanted to join them.  While twice in a day is a bit much, I did join them.  His lady friend and I split a salad which is all I was going to order anyway.  At noon I had had a Philly sandwich.

The cat is ready for his treat so I'll bid good night and be back in the morning.

Mary Ann

Hi everyone on a 73 degree morning with partly cloudy skies here in South Carolina.  This will be my typical Thursday morning with picking up my friend for coffee and taking him home and then back to the church for the Wisdom group.  Then this afternoon Pat will have her third chiropractic treatment for this week.  Initially she had scheduled it for tomorrow morning then realized she has a long standing appointment with her GP tomorrow morning.  I discovered when I went to take my morning medicine that the boxes were empty.  It seems like I just filled them for two weeks last week but I realize that time flies by.  So I have to put the medicine boxes together before leaving this morning. 

Yesterday was another very busy day.  Scott and I did enjoy the dinner at church last night.  We had wings with different sauces, mac and cheese, a great green salad, dinner rolls and a piece of pound cake with fresh peaches on it with a little whipped cream.  He then came out and spent several hours with us. 

Joy, I try to always expect the best so don't waste my time worrying about things.  If test results or scans turn up something I will deal with it but often I would have just wasted my time as they are OK, as was the case this week.  Pat has really enjoyed the Balsamic mushrooms but I didn't get them made yesterday as just didn't have the energy to stand over the stove and stir them.  Hopefully this afternoon I can fix them.  It isn't hard.  I have never cared for mushrooms.  Any improvement that my Pat is experiencing is very slow to show itself.  I know she is a bit discouraged. 

Mary Ann, once we make a decision and act upon it we are better off not to look bad with regret.  We did the best we could at the time with the knowledge we had. 

JeanneP, I am with you on wanting things to work correctly.  That must have been an eerie feeling with no power in your town.  Sorry you are having problems with your iPad.  They are great when they work as they should but very frustrating when they don't. 

Joan, I hope the relationship works out for Dan.  Life is too short to live it alone unless that is what a person wants. 

Good morning to all the early friends here this morning.

Larry,  I think you do have the right attitude how to deal with tests and such.  I try to feel the same way, but sometimes that is easier said than done.  I know what will be, will be.  I have to have blood work done this Saturday for several doctor's appointments over the next couple weeks. 

Your dinner at your church sounds like it was very enjoyable.  Right down to a delicious sounding dessert.  My  DIL is bringing me some Maryland peaches today.  They have been very good this summer.  She picks them up at a really nice produce stand on her way home from work.  A nice treat !!!  I love peaches any way.  I did have some from the grocery store a couple weeks ago and they were terrible.  Wound up throwing them away.  They had no taste at all.  So, I am looking forward to some good ones.

I read something not too long ago, that most people think of Georgia as the "Peach State", but South Carolina grows more peaches than Georgia.  So, I guess the saying "Georgia Peach"  doesn't necessarily pertain to a pretty gal !!!

Have a good day.  We are having temperatures again in the low 90's.  Schools that don't have any A/C are dismissing early today.

Joy

Good morning from a sunny day in the Interior! Farrah has had her back scratched, and her head knuckled along with a brisk game of catch that feather on a stick, so she is napping for now.

While our trees started turning yellow a day or two after Amy's, I awoke this morning to frost on the rooftops, so we are having an early winter this year. It is probably due to all the rain we've had. Normally we have our first snow somewhere around Halloween, but I don't believe that's likely this year.

Joy, I remember swinging on my maternal grandparent's gate, gorging myself from a cherry tree on the left and a peach tree on the right! I would have the worst tummy ache and a redhead's sunburn, but oh! those were wonderful times!

We never really had outages until we hooked up with Anchorage to an electrical  common Enerty. Now we seem to have several in the spring and fall. I can remember when I worked in grocery stores of having to work along with everyone to download the freezer cases. Then, often as not, reloading them after an hour. In all stores, during an outage, we would roam the halls, politely moving all the customers to the front and there were always those who wanted to continue shopping in the dark.

To all those awaiting appointments for tests or afterwards awaiting results, I wish good outcomes! Larry has the right idea, what will be will be and it is useless to worry. I had a friend who set aside a period each day, usually ten minutes, for worry. She then had the rest of the day to enjoy with a happy and clear conscience.


I hope everyone is enjoying their day, of either sunshine or rain!

 

Hi everyone on a beautiful sunny morning here in South Carolina.  It was hot here yesterday and will be again today.  Yesterday was busy as left the house about 9:40 and didn't get home until around 2 pm.  I rested for a couple of hours and then took Pat for the last chiropractic treatment this week.  She suggested we eat an early dinner out.  Needless to say I didn't raise any objection.  We went to Pizza Hut and had a good meal.  Pat was able to have a nice salad and then they had a pizza special where you got two medium size pizzas for $12.99.  We each got one and hers had a lot of meat on it, which she ate with the cheese and just left the crust.  We then had a quiet evening watching television.  Today's schedule has only the mid-morning doctor's appointment for Pat, which is about a 30 minute drive from where we live.  She did seem to be a bit better yesterday with both her back and eyes so am hopeful that each day will see a little improvement. 

Joy, I understand that sometimes it is hard not to worry about something medical or other matters. I just try to deal with whatever comes along at the time knowing that I am not the first person that has dealt with a particular situation or health issue.  Three times I have been told I have cancer or that it has returned plus all of the issues with my heart but made a conscious decision a long time ago to not waste my time worrying about something since I didn't know for sure what the next day would bring.  So far that has worked well for me.  I know that each of us see things differently and that is what makes life interesting.  The meals we have at Church are almost always very good.  We have a couple who do the cooking and the lady loves to cook.  The desserts are always good.  There are a lot of peach orchards not very far from where we live here in South Carolina. I am pretty sure that all of the schools in this county are air conditioned and need to be since some of these start early in August. 

Patricia, it sounds like you wore Farrah out.    You are getting an early start on the winter type weather.  We are a long way from frost here we have only had a couple of nights in the high 60's and the others in the low 70's.  Your friend had an interesting approach to worry. 

Sandy, your comment sounds like something my wife would say. 

Good morning from a sunny but chilly, frosted Interior. Farrah is spending today jumpy and alert. I sometimes wonder what she is hearing, smelling or seeing on these types of days that I do not?  I have showered, brushed and tidied so here I am on the computer with all of you!

Larry, you have so many busy days with all your errands and eating out! You are an extrovert. If I didn't have folks dragging me out to meals or shopping, I would spend weeks in my apartment!

After so many years of underpaid, overworked, middle management, dealing with frustrated customers, arrogant bosses, and surly clerks or bipolar desk clerks along with a series of busy bus schedules; well having days to myself are a treasure.

Patricia, I find myself much like you - I don't have to get out of the house if I don't want to.  Going to the mailbox is my "outing" and I don't feel any the worse by staying inside. 

I find Kendrick all of a sudden will jump up and run from one room to another, maybe race up and down the stairs, then be quiet and I'll have no idea what got into him.  He does keep very close to the door in case I'll let him out, but to me he is an inside cat and I don't like it when he scoots out the door and disappears overnight. 

I have upright louvered curtain at my downstairs slider and the cat has almost destroyed it.  What he has done is messed up the weights and chains at the bottom of the vanes.  If I could get in among the curtain, I'd like to remove the weights and chains and let the curtains hang.  There are things around here that no one cares about - except me.  And usually I can't do a darned thing about it. 

I have expected it to rain all day, but so far nary a drop.  Radar does look like we might get a storm overnight or tomorrow. 

This morning I started to put out the trash and recycle, then realized we had a holiday Monday and things will be picked up tomorrow.  I have to get up before breakfast because the recycle is picked up about 9:30 am but trash itself is picked up after noon.

Mary Ann

Oh Larry, you prove your point with me.  I have had the diagnoses of cancer a couple of times plus sundry other "alert" type problems.  If this or that happens head for the emergency room pronto.  Like you I don't worry too much about it, if something happens, it happens.  The only thing that bugs me is not being able to do things, like MaryAnn, that used to be a snap.  I don't like the way the lawn guy edges my lawn and leaves some things undone that I would have routinely taken care of.  But it looks mostly neat, mowed and trimmed, so there.  I feel blessed that I have had as many years that I have had.  I know you are tired of doctors and visits like many of us are, but then, I would feel guilty for not at least try to take care of what the good Lord has left me with.  Except I am pretty sure I will draw the line on invasive surgery.

I enjoy my men's group once a week and we all have our conversations/laughs and fellowship.  But I like some of you enjoy being home and doing my thing.

Mary Ann: Funny coincidence - I also have those straight up and down louvered blinds on my kitchen slider.  Winnie has played with them and batted them around for years, and now they're all loose and don't work well anymore.  I think the cats like the feel and sound of those little weights and chains!

Also, I can relate to what you called your "drunken sailor" walk. Sometimes I think that if any of the neighbors happened to see me walking around my back yard, or out to get the mail, they would think I've had "one too many"! ha ha   

Darn it.  I had a lot of running around to do.
Storms are now back here.  Really hard.  Was going to leave but no longer. In for the night

Friday nights are when all the High School football games are in town.  Will be rained out. Same happened last Friday night.  Some teams come from far away also. Such a shame.  Maybe they get word on the Buses before they make the long trip.

Marilyne, I have a hard time walking on uneven ground unless I have someone to cling to.  Walking across the parking lot and road, I look both ways before I start out and if someone sees me staggering, I'm afraid they'll think I'm about to fall.  My balance is OK but there'll be a first time, I know.

Jeanne, please keep your storms in Illinois but radar shows they might make their way to Michigan. 

Mary Ann

Shoot, MaryAnn! I can lean slightly sideways and topple over, no uneven ground needed.

Sandy and others once said I should cover the gray and go back to my natural, or more natural red. So this is what I did today.

http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=11.msg46936#msg46936

Patricia, I like the cut and color of your hair.  Mine is my natural white.  I started to get grey, then white at a young age - in my 30s.

I wish someone had been here with me when I was playing with Kendrick tonight.  The only thing I could play with him is the stick with a fish on the end of a string.  Probably Annie bought it and I think she has put catnip on it because he was very interested in the fish and when I'd wait a minute, he'd lick his fur where the fish had been.  All of a sudden, he saw the cat in the reflection in the slider door and it seemed he moved to see if the other cat would make the same move.  We "played for almost a half hour".  I'll have to do it more often because he is very neglected.

Mary Ann

MaryAnn, Farrah doesn't care for the mouse on a stick like Kendrick has. She loves the feathers on a stick, but I really watch her, so they do not get caught in her throat. I also put it away in the cupboard for the same reason.

All the toys Sarah liked, Farrah doesn't. The squeaky ones, the balls or the fake fur mice do not even rate a ho-hum. She has a small yellow felt chicken and three little  felt mice that are soft and light enough to carry and flip through the air.

I am thinking of bagging the discarded toys, running them through the washer, then air dried, before making them available to some other cat. Kendrick has more stimulation now and will probably want more but it's good exercise.

The red in the photo is very similar to what I used to have back in the day. you can see how pasty my skin is, typical Celtic pale, no color unfortunately, people tend to think I'm ill when I'm fine.

I tried the PT test of rising from the dining room chair as I have balance issues. I couldn't rise at all unless I placed my right hand on my left thigh and pressed down. It's the same using the arms.

I was so surprised and happy today. I had company over, Farrah came up to them, sniffed their legs and the cane they were using and then got her felt mouse, lay on her back with her stomach exposed and played with the toy while they were here. She has come a long way from those two months spent under the bed!

Just finished an article in the September 12th issue of The New Yorker in the form of a Letter From Alaska titled The New Harpoon which was utterly fascinating.  I know you would find it of interest, Patricia; but truth to tell, I think you all would.  Alaska is way ahead of us in experiencing devastating changes due to the loss of ice up in those parts.  Peoples who have lived there for thousands of years now find their habitat and life patterns totally altered and their very lives threatened.  I just had a real eye opener reading experience, and will now be forced to think about some things I've never given a moment of thought to before.

MaryPage, I mentioned that before and how the University here has been hosting Asian, Scandinavian and Russian scientists about the now rapidly changes in climate for a number of years.

Alaska has taken aggressive stands on imports and alien plant and animal life from the south. However, it has been too little, too late. Even the die hard Republican governor has come out about the need to deal with the effects. Its too late to stop it now, we can only deal with the effects as you know. However, there are still those who insist it is only a wrinkle in time and nothing new, sadly.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/letter-from-alaska

Hi everyone on a beautiful day here in South Carolina.  I have watered my flowers, emptied the dish washer, pulled up my tomato plants and got things ready to fix my frozen fruit after Pat gets up.  I am hoping my energy level will hold up for awhile this morning so I can accomplish a number of other small tasks that have accumulated.  I do need to fold the sheets I laundered last night and do another big load of washing.  Pat's eyes seemed better yesterday as she was tolerating the light better and she was walking somewhat better. 

Patricia, I have never thought of myself as an extrovert and certainly wasn't when I was younger.  However, I do like people and enjoy being around them although I also like my quiet times.  Your hair coloring looks nice.   

Mary Ann and Marilyne, our cat left bite marks on almost all of our Venetian blinds.  I thought I might have to replace the blinds when I sold the house but that wasn't required.  The cat also bite off the ear buds of a set of ear buds I used to listen to music or the radio and left some teeth marks on some cords and other things in the house.  There was a day delay on trash pickup but only for those whose regular day was Monday or Wednesday.  Ours was picked up on Thursday, which is our normal day.

Hal, I certainly try to take care of myself, as you obviously do as well, and try to follow my doctor's directions.  Most morning I get up feeling great but anymore soon wear down and then I have to push myself to do things the rest of the day, although my afternoon rest does help usually.  Our men's group at Church meets only once a month on a Monday evening and that is starting again on the 19th.  I have missed it during the summer hiatus. 

JeanneP, it seems like the Midwest has certainly had more than its share of storms and hard rain.   

Patricia, do you suppose Farrah picks up the scent of your previous cat and that is why she doesn't want to play with the toys?  Nice that Farrah is adjusting to your having company. 

MaryPage, that must have been an interesting article. I just did a quick search and find that article is available to read on the Internet and I will read it later today.  Here is the link if others are interested:  http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/12/fossil-fuels-and-climate-change-in-point-hope-alaska

That's the one, Larry; the very one.  Yes, Patricia, I have been reading what you have been posting about the changes in Alaska's weather with great interest.  It is just that this particular article suddenly made me see this globe, our planet Earth, as a single little blue marble twirling around its own path in this vast universe.  And everything, EVERYthing, on that marble interconnected with everything else.  And with failing systems of unbreathable air, undrinkable water, chemically contaminated earth, and uninhabited seas all around on that little marble, I suddenly saw multitudes of human beings surging out of the places where they can no longer find food or water.  Hordes and hordes of people, with the only thing to stop them being ranks upon ranks of machine guns to mow them down and protect those who still have good water.  The stuff of fantasy, of Hollywood epics, I know.  But unless we unite in an effort to put our God given brains to the task of preventing that scenario, it is coming as sure as death & taxes.

I am happy to be with you all today. What a storm we went through yesterday. About 6pm and then at 9pm. Tornado warning and Sirens going.  4 tornados came to ground. Went over my town but hit in 2 of the villages 10 miles east.  Everyone O.K and just damaged a few building but did competely distroy one Farm Home and all the buildings and also a Motor Home where the people had just driven in from Alaska. Shame on the farm house as it had been in the same family for 137 years. Built by GGF.  Seems they lost their dog and 2 cats.
Lucky though as the tornado missed two big camp grounds where lots of people had already parked the camping trailers for the weekend. Few lost siding but no one hurt.
We are pretty much farm land  close to the interstate. Think that the reason that these Tornado seem to come down on land with not a lot of building. Although 3 years ago one did take down half of the town 9 miles south of me. And about 12 years ago another larger town 14 miles east. Again only 2 people died in those. You sure feel good though when the all clear goes.  They happen so fast.

MaryAnn.  Not heard if Indy got any damage. I think by the time the Tornados came through This part of Illinois going from south to East they had come to a end.

Your family will most probable call you this weekend as the TV was saying would hit Indiana on the West side.

Jeanne, thanks for the storm info.  I just looked at radar and eastern Michigan has rain, no storm; the storm is below Michigan and has left Indiana for Ohio.  Tom and two friends are returning from Penna and if they haven't run into the storm, they will.  Tom is a very good driver and I know if it is necessary he will stop until danger is over.  He expects to get back home about 10 pm and I will wait up for him, regardless of the time.

Dot and I went out for a snack this afternoon; we went to a place we both like and Tom does not so it was a good chance for us to go.  Dot had soup in a bread bowl and I had a turkey salad.  Both of us brought part of our food home.  I am sure I'll finish mine before the end of the day.

We are having alternate sunshine and drizzle but the drizzle has really ended.

Mary Ann

Grand Haven evidently is quite windy because there are a lot of whitecaps.  Also, there are two kits flying and it's good weather for that.

Mary Ann