Good afternoon everyone.

I am still getting used to having to be a Lefty after 43 yaers as a Righty...  Not easy..  please excse the mistakes.   I wish everyone could feel better..  Maybe the upcoming, nicer weather will help.

Enjoy
Sandy

I know some of you are not on Facebook, but this is worth sharing with all the Mothers here.  Thanks Shirley.

Wise words - Every year my children ask me the same question. After thinking about it, I decided I'd give them my real answer:
What do I want for Mother's Day? I want you. I want you to keep coming around, I want you to bring your kids around, I want you to ask me questions, ask my advice, tell me your problems, ask for my opinion, ask for my help. I want you to come over and rant about your problems, rant about life, whatever. Tell me about your job, your worries, your kids, your fur babies. I want you to continue sharing your life with me. Come over and laugh with me, or laugh at me, I don't care. Hearing you laugh is music to me.
I spent the better part of my life raising you the best way I knew how. Now, give me time to sit back and admire my work.
Raid my refrigerator, help yourself, I really don't mind. In fact, I wouldn't want it any other way.
I want you to spend your money making a better life for you and your family, I have the things I need. I want to see you happy and healthy. When you ask me what I want for Mother's Day, I say "nothing" because you've already been giving me my gift all year. I want you.
If you feel the same way, feel free to copy and paste... I did! ❤️❤️
I think most all moms feel the same!! I love this!!
Exactly what I want😃😃. I love this

Sandy,  you're doing fine as a lefty.  I've been fortunate (?) in that I broke my left leg and left wrist. 

Patricia, when I went to make my bed this morning, there was a big lump in the middle of the quilt.  You know who was in that lump, so I left him there.  Later, I was lucky to get the bed made before he discovered I was in the bedroom, so I was able to make the bed then.

Kendrick doesn't seem so fond of the current treats so if he isn't interested, I don't force them on him.  I do feel sorry for him in that he doesn't get much play time.  I do try to come in and sit beside a throw-covered-pad and he has learned when I sit there that he must jump on the pad and I will pet him, tousle his fur etc. 

Joy, Dot feels that she is going to have a special lens put in her glasses - one on each side now, to eliminate the seeing double.  She's resigned to it and expects to have to wear glasses, something she was hoping to avoid. 

Joan, that is a nice piece about wants for Mother's Day.  I would substitute great-nephews and -nieces.  I have told my family what I want is services.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann, I think that sometimes the younger generation  needs to be reminded, (

wjoan - I liked that a lot!  I feel exactly the same way.
Thanks for posting it.    

Mary Ann - I thought about you last night, when I was watching a show that featured a beautiful area in Michigan called Irish Hills.  There were so many lakes there, that I've forgotten how many - something like a hundred or more? They showed many of the lakes, and the lovely homes located on the shores.  Water sports and lots of sailing and power boats.  Looks like a wonderful place to visit for vacation.  I tried to find it on my map of Michigan, but it wasn't listed, so I'm not sure if it is anywhere near you, or up North?

Joy - Wishing you a belated Happy Birthday!  Looks like you had a great day.  I was also born in 1934, so I'll catch up with you in August!   

Interesting about the old factories being converted to condo's.  The same thing is happening here in my part of the country.  Now called Silicon Valley, but it used to be the Valley of Hearts Delight, or the Fruit Basket of California.  Because of the fruits and veggies grown here, we had dozens of canneries that were busy around the clock when the various fruits were in season.  Now all the beautiful orchards have been paved over and filled with tech companies like Facebook, Apple, Google, et al.  All the old canneries have recently been converted to condominiums.  Just like your area, they are extremely expensive.  Smaller one bdrm condo's selling for a little under a million, but two and three bedroom units going for well over a million!

Sandy - Looks like you're doing well with only your left hand!  I'll bet you're watching a lot of TV these days?  Be sure to join us again in the Television forum, and tell us what you've seen that you recommend . . . or what you don't recommend!    

Marilyne, I think most Mothers do. 

Marilyn, Irish Hills is along I-94 between Jackson and Detroit.  It is not a town but an area.  I have not been there, but I've read about it and heard about it.  It sounds as if it is rather "posh" and I didn't know that.  There's a lot of our state I have seen but also probably more that I have not seen.  I'm not too familiar with the east side of the state, although the names of the towns and cities are familiar.  I've been up and down the west side of the state, also the UP.  And until Tom, Annie and I flew to California in 2014 to attend Geoff's superwedding, I had never been to your state.  I have,  however, been to most of the states, including Alaska, but not Hawaii.

Mary Ann

Thank you,  Marilyne,  for the birthday wishes.  Very much appreciated all the good wishes in here. 

Joy

Hi everyone. Another beautiful morning and currently 72 degrees but headed to the low 90's this afternoon.  The only think on my schedule today is our Wednesday night dinner at the Church and visiting with Scott and Jennifer.  I may make a quick trip to the ATM at the nearby credit union this morning.  Pat has her gifts group at the Church this morning and then will stop by Walmart to pick up the online order she placed yesterday.  Since my Echo was rescheduled to a later day I was able to stay home yesterday, for which I was very thankful, as guess my good day on Monday caught up with me as about all I felt like doing was laying down, which I did a lot of yesterday. 

Mary Ann, if Dot gets the proper lens that corrects her double vision she should be able to resume driving.  I hope you all had a good lunch with Jan yesterday.  Jan's family sure is spread out.  They sound like a very accomplished family. 

Joy, wish I could share a bit of our very warm weather with you.  Summer seems to have come early to South Carolina.  Thanks for the information on where you ate.  I was only familiar with the Inner Harbor as think I was only in Baltimore twice, once for a one day work trip and then the tourist day.  I agree we cannot live our lives in fear of what might happen as that steals the joy of life from us. 

Patricia, the growing season in Alaska is short but with all the sunlight it sure is fast.  I will never forget some of the produce I saw that had been grown in the Matanuska valley, especially the cabbages.  I also remember how large the dandelions were and just perfect.  I hope Alan appreciates the humor of the gift you mentioned.  It sounds like Farrah has no problem communicating her wants since she has taught you her language. 

Sandy, your message looks fine and just glad to see you posting. 

Joan, what you posted is so true and expresses my thoughts as a Dad.  The best birthday gift my son ever gave me was a day of his time when we went to the computer store together, which we both enjoyed, had a leisurely lunch where we could talk and then saw a movie together.  Thanks for sharing that piece. 

Mary Ann, nice of you not to disburb Kendrick while he was sleeping in the bed covers. 

Marilyne, the price of real estate in many places just staggers my mind.  I have a number of cousins that live in the Oakland area and there real estate, which they purchased many years ago, has appreciated many times over through the years.  We still have reasonably priced housing here in the South and Midwest.  I have seen many problems on HG television where people have been buying homes and seem to think nothing of paying huge prices for small places.  How anyone can afford to live in the New York City area or Silicon Valley is beyond me unless they have been there for many years. 

Larry, I think Dot was hoping she would not have to wear glasses after her surgery but she thinks now it will be necessary.  Someone told her that she looked older without glasses!  When I had my surgery in 1999, I chose to wear glasses because of the wind blowing dust around.  Norm did not want to wear them, either.  Anyone trying on my glasses would get sick to their stomach - I have a nearsighted lens in my right eye and a farsighted one in my left.  Works for me. 

Jan and Terry's immediate family is stretched out as much as Jan's birth family.  Geoff, the older of the two, is a TV writer (I think you'd call it sci-fi but I'm not sure because I don't watch what he writes) in California.  I am not sure what Erin does, but she is in Indianapolis. 

My dad was kind of like today's generations:  he was born in Minnesota, went to Manual Training school in Detroit, jobs in Arizona, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan, more schooling in Wisconsin and Michigan.  I think he felt bad that neither of his kids went to college, but I think both Norm and I have managed very well. 

Larry, I too was very impressed with the sizes of the cabbages I saw in Alaska, also with the flowers.  I think I saw snapdragons three feet tall, something I'd never see here.

I watch House Hunters on HGTV too and I am amazed at the young people in CA who have a budget of $500,000 to buy a house and when you see what is available, those houses would sell for $150,000 to $200,000 in our area.  No wonder they're able to buy such expensive houses if they move to the center of the country.   

Looking over my right shoulder, I can see the sun is shining to the south of us but when I looked out the slider on the north side of the building, it was cloudy and radar shows rain north of us.  Our pond is losing some of its water and I'd just as soon have a few more days of sunshine, plus more warmth.  About 55 degrees now.

Mary Ann

Larry, I don't think our children understand that time with them is golden to us.  A shame.

Mary Ann - I'm one of those seniors who looks much older when I don't wear my glasses.  My face has lost all of it's fullness, (fat?), and now has a droopy look. Also the bags under the eyes are now bigger and look terrible.  When I wear my glasses you can't see those bags, and the shape of the glasses seem to make my face look fuller. 

The program I saw on HGTV that featured the lakes around Irish Hills, was one of the shows on Lakefront Bargain Hunt. You probably will eventually see it if you ever watch that series.  They repeat the same shows over and over again on HGTV.

I thought I was posting in here, but it was the Soda Shoppe and I responded to something Larry wrote.  I copied the second paragraph to put here.
****************************
Since Saturday I’ve had a problem with my left eye.  I knew it could be any number of things and the eye has been feeling better with no itching, little tearing.  I was tempted to ignore the problem but decided I should see my optometrist, who had me come in this morning.  She found I have an infection in my lower lid so she gave me a prescription which Tom supposedly dropped off at the pharmacist’s when he went to lunch this noon.  And he’s to pick it up after his lunch.  It is an antibiotic which I should take for ten days.  My glaucoma check is “in the ballpark”.

Marilyn, I'll pay more attention to what they're showing on HGTV to see if I can see the show about the Irish Hills; I have heard it's a very scenic area.  I watch the fixer-upper sometimes, but when they show something three times in two weeks, that is enough for me.

I think I look older without my glasses and, like you, my glasses hide the bags under my eyes.  When I had my skin cancer surgery, the doctor followed the line of the "bag" and no one would know I had surgery.  Today, especially, the "bag" is very obvious as it is bright pink because of the infection I mentioned above.

Mary Ann

Marilyne, and I have trouble making people believe I am almost 84. LOL

joan - You don't look 84!  My daughter told me I should get Botox treatments!    

Good late morning from the Interior! We are having some wind with occasional, brief showers.  I had a few appointments this morning so after shivering through a brief walkabout, am logging into the computer.

MaryAnn, the median listing price for a home here is $223,650. Anchorage, $295,700.

I look young because my parents did and my sisters do. My biggest irritation is that people seem to think & comment I'm going to faint on them due to my paleness. The fact that I seem to fall over at times for no discernable reason certainly doesn't help! I wore makeup then and now mainly to put color on my cheeks! I have worn glasses since I was two years old so I have no idea how I would look w/o them.

I'm halfway tempted to purchase a television, just to see some of those HGTV shows but I know once the novelty wore off, I'd never turn it on. That's why I gave my last set away in 1997 and reality shows sound simply awful!

I'm glad you and MaryAnn, enjoyed the flowers and vegetables when you both were here Larry. Even though our Arctic summer is brief, the twenty-four-hour sunlight makes it memorable. When I saw it get dark in the summer, stateside, it was always depressing for me as darkness signified winter and it was hard to think otherwise. The largest cabbage for last year was 34.40 pounds for a green cabbage and 16.68 for a red cabbage.

Many flowers, berries, and some vegetables grow wild here due to to the black glacial soil, such as daisies, irises, and peonies, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries among others. Also, the state's wilderness isn't or likely to be overdeveloped so that helps.

Patricia, I look younger than my years mainly because I have no wrinkles on my face.  Also, I am short.  I am not fat, but I'm not thin, either and I have a ruddy complexion.  I put on foundation and powder if I'm going somewhere important, otherwise, I just clean my face and put on moisturizer.  Simple. 

Kendrick and I spent an hour on my deck this afternoon.  The temperature is 70F degrees and i just loved it.  The cat was interested in any birds that flew near, but I just closed my eyes and I think I didn't doze, but I'm not sure.  I didn't have the pad on the wrought iron rocker which is why I think I didn't doze.

Mary Ann

Marilyne, had not thought about that.  Maybe if I get to 90  LOL

No wonder my parrot was yelling. I am here on S and F and it is outside. Trying to get it a little sun. Sun was shining last I looked out and now just went to the door and it is pouring down.  So it got a bath also.

MaryAnn, my natural color is very, almost ghostlike, white. I have had people ask if I am ill, nauseous, or tired when I was fine and thought I looked fine. I am a natural Celtic redhead w/o any freckles and smooth skin due to a sun sensitivity. Surprisingly, many have asked if I'm East European?

I do as you, face wash/moisturizer, usually. But when I go somewhere, I use a tinted moisturizer and a bronzer plus mascara as I am sensitive about my ghostly look, added to very navy half circles under my eyes. It's vanity, but it's me.

Farrah is very vocal around me as she's learned it does get results. I read somewhere long ago, that cats don't normally meow to other cats as they've learned it gets results via humans. Farrah has never meowed but she uses the same sounds for certain activities such as food, treats and or petting. Right now she is nuzzling my toes for some reason, probably since I was sitting outside with some others and some residents had their pups along.

The sixth marked a full year of our being together which surprised me. From a very frightened, unresponsive animal to a confident, comfortable, little diva secure in her home, person, and life, what a difference a year has made!

Patricia, Kendrick doesn't make many sounds inside, but when he is outside on the deck, wanting to come in, I can see his mouth moving.  Now that I have the screen open, I may hear him more.  I try to go in the living room two or three times a day to sit on the couch next to a pad Annie fixed for him.  He has now learned that when I sit beside the pad, I will pet him if he jumps up on the pad.  He may take a couple minutes to decide whether he wants it, but he will jump up, get settled, then purr when I pet him.  He will be four in July, however, Annie had him for a year when she rented a house with some other girls.  I would say he's lived with me a good two years.  We sat on the deck this afternoon and I probably enjoyed it more than he did, but he did not ask to get in the house, at least not while I was with him. 

Mary Ann

There is a new Quiz posted at http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?board=22.0..Everyone welcome to try...and it is o.k. with me if you google the answers...

Hi everyone. We are in for a very hot day today in the upper 90's.  I have an appointment at 10:30 with the lung doctor.  This is the annual required visit related to my CPAP machine.  There have been no issues so this will be just a routine visit.  Yesterday evening I opened a new 10 pound bag of beautiful red delicious apples but the first two I took out had spoiled spots on them.  So I will be returning the whole bag to Costco later this morning.  They guarantee satisfaction and I am certainly not satisfied.  It is a 10 lb bag and I have bought them numerous times in the past without a problem. 

I don't have much available time this morning so will try to be brief as want to catch up on yesterday and this morning postings before I leave the house. 

Mary Ann, I think I would be lost without glasses as have worn them since I was a teenager.  Glad you found the cause of your eye problem. 

Marilyne, I think I also would look a lot older without glasses and also have the bags under my eyes. 

Patricia, you can probably find many of the HGTV shows available on your computer.  I usually watch them in the waiting room at our GP's office as that is what they keep their TV tuned to.  I enjoy seeing them.  We don't watch any of the reality shows.  Life gives us enough variety.  That huge cabbage sure would make a lot of cole slaw.  The year with Farrah has gone quickly and she has really changed over what you described when you got her. 

JeanneP, does your parrot not like the rain? 

Mary Ann - When I sit out on the deck with Winnie, he expects me to brush him with his wire pet brush.  We keep it out there, inside of an empty flower pot, and he always goes over where it is and stands there looking hopeful when I walk out. He's spoiled, but such a sweetie.  He still has a lot of energy, considering he will be nineteen in August.

Patricia - my mother had red hair, but she had the freckled pale skin that often goes along with it.  The only thing she disliked, were her colorless eye lashes and brows. First thing in the morning, on getting up, she would apply mascara and a light brown color on her brows. She was instantly transformed! Without it, she thought she had a blank, washed out, expressionless look, and didn't want to "greet her public", until she had "put on her face".   I still miss her, after 42 years. 

Larry.  I doubt it liked the rain because it doesn't like being sprayed with the bottle. Runs all around the cage.

Now my problem is with potatoes. Specially if they show on sale. I am always getting, even the big bakers that after baking you open and have bad parts inside. Last weeks would find black parts in them.  Going to just pay more and stick with the Yukon Gold.
Now what did you do with so many apples. 10 pounds is a lot.  For some reason I don't like apples anymore. Wish I could eat just one a day. They dont seem to taste as good as they use to. Tried all kinds. So just stick to apple sauce. Maybe that is what you are making.
It was 86 deg yesterday but today only 62 deg. Also looks like could be more rain.

Jeanne, I stick to apple sauce now. I like apples, but I have to peal and dice them. My 92 year old teeth don't want to do the job anymore. I order little individual cups of apple sauce. They keep well and taste good.

Good morning from a gray, damp, expecting several T-storms, Interior! Our leaves budded out on Tuesday in an hour, the usual Interior practice. First, early in the AM, you will see a general green haze to the forest and then seemingly in syncopated moments, all the buds break out. However, we are not getting our usual warm weather and that certainly seems to tie in with the rest of Canada and the more Northern US.

The members' Aide was here yesterday and convinced me to apply for several senior's benefits that will raise my rent but ultimately benefit me she says. I am such a skinflint but could see using the benefits such as being able to add more onto my farm supplement. I enjoy the monthly fresh vegetables, eggs, honey and berries so much that adding a third more to my share would be terrific! I might also be able to afford to share in some farm meat collectives which I would love.

Farrah has been her usual energetic self, playing with her cylinder and often inspecting it for any overlooked treats inside. Yesterday, I washed and gave all of her toy balls to two cats down the hall. I am told that the tennis balls and hacky sack balls were joyfully received by Max and Lovey whereas Farrah had absolutely no interest. Even in the one that wobbled or the one that chirped when rolled. She is only interested in field hockey with the ball in her big blue cylinder. She has quit playing with her ducky or felt mice so I put them up for awhile.

Larry, most cats use similar sounds to communicate with humans and they don't use them with other cats. Farrah was almost catatonic when she first came here. I find with most animals, that the best thing you can do is give them a hideout and leave them alone until they feel safe. When they feel safe then they will perhaps make overtures but you must let it be on their schedule and in their abilities.

Farrah doesn't have many of the usual cat sounds or traits which lead me to believe she was taken from her mother and littermates way too soon. Her first few years must have been a real challenge and she ended up twenty miles from a town and in the small piece of forested land amidst two strong rivers so I know she didn't travel there on her own!

Marilyne, I know exactly how your mother felt! Although I don't wear makeup around this building other than some blush. Winnie is doing well, I know Farrah enjoys a good brushing but doesn't seem to look for it and is surprised each time as if it is new to her. I had two cats I called my two old fur buddies or furmen. Peter was an orange/red tabby with green eyes and Beijing was an apple head Siamese with pale blue eyes. They lived to be twenty and twenty-two years respectively and died within three days of each other in January 2011. I am told an indoor only cat has a life expectancy of twenty-six years and the oldest I've heard of was twenty-eight years.

MaryAnn, I am always surprised when you write about Kendrick staying with you outside. I have had some real escape artists in the past and domesticated cats aren't known for their sense of direction. I had one, Sarita who loved playing in the snow and one time managed to knock a screen out, get out onto the balcony and onto the roof. Now that was a lesson to me, and to the apartment manager!  she thoroughly enjoyed the outing and thereafter would push against that screen. I ended up just buying wire screening and nailing it to the window frame. I lost her in 2009.

I enjoy fruit but since it rots so fast with only me here, I generally buy a bag of apples and a bag of oranges along with perhaps a couple of peaches or perhaps a pear or two. I no longer eat bananas as there is a protein in bananas that resembles lactose and many lactose intolerants have issues with that fruit.

Our first T-storm of the season has started with some rumbles and flashes, so I'll join you, folks, later.

Patricia, when Kendrick is out on the deck, with or without me, he is on an elevated deck.  To the best of my knowledge, he has only jumped off the deck once.  The spaces between the rails are wide enough that he could get through them, but I don't think he wants to jump off.  I live in a walkout so we walk in on the first floor but when we go out the upstairs slider, we are on the second floor.  I like that setup because I can have my bedroom window open without worry. 

The time Kendrick did jump off the deck, Tom had left him out overnight and when Tom got up in the morning and turned on his light, the cat was at his window and let Tom know he was there; Tom sleeps in the lower level. 

We were just out on the deck for a few minutes.  An unsuspecting flying bug flew too close to Kendrick and I looked and he was pawing the poor thing.  Kendrick got the bug between the boards on the deck but eventually, the bug came up so it got pawed again.  By the time I saw it, I could not identify the bug but I saw wings.

When Annie comes over, she usually brushes Kendrick.  I think he tolerates it more than liking it, but he lets her do it.  She also cuts his toenails.  For that she must pick him up and hold him.  I can't pick him up; he's too big and he doesn't like it anyway. 

When he is outside and I let him in, the first thing he goes to is his scratch pad which is on a slope.  It is his favorite toy.

My computer says our temperature is 66 degrees and it is very comfortable.  When I sat on the deck those few minutes, I was comfortable wearing a sweater.

Mary Ann

JEANNE LEE, HAIVNG A P[ROBLEM AND AM UNABLE TO USE MY YAHOO MAIL.  wOULD YOU BE SO KIND AS TO CONTACT ME AT VIXEN771@GMAIL.COM?  THANK YOU.

Joan, Jeanne Lee has not posted for some time and we don't know if she's ill or having computer problems. 

You might go to General Computer Q & A to post your problem and there are people there who can help you.

Mary Ann