Coffee and ... for Wednesday, August 16

Coffee and ... for Wednesday, August 16 - We came from here: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/639520/

1858 - U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurated the new transatlantic telegraph cable cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forced a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.
1969 - Police raided Spahn Ranch, Charles Manson arrested.
1975 - Serial Killer Ted Bundy originally arrested for suspicion of burglary, only to later escape twice.

Madonna, singer and actress was born in 1958.
Babe Ruth, baseball player (b. 1895), died in 1948. Elvis Presley (b. 1935) died in 1977.
John Diefenbaker, thirteenth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1895), died in 1979.

The coffee pot is on and there are likely to be cyber goodies offered up. Pull up a chair and join us for conversation.

I'm really the first one here today! I've been a tossing and turing in bed for over and hour - decided just to get up!! Turned the heating pad on and now I'm all set. I need to remember NOT to drink a caffeinated beverage at dinner!

No earth shattering plans for today - I could run in and shop a bit. I want a scrabble and boggle game for the computer. I played all my free minutes on the trial one and really like them both!! Also could go to Sam's and develop some pictures...

What I MUST do is get all my new plants in the ground...fall is coming and they will need time to get some roots established. That will be number one priority I think!

DS/DIL are still not home - still over at DGP gutting out their house. They've been there over a week and a half. Talked to DS and he sounded pooped. It's their 3rd anniversary today and they will still be there cleaning- good kids to do that for their grandparents. May I be so lucky!!

Carat- count yourself lucky to have a boss that thinks so much of you (of course you deserve it!!) Do you plan on teaching the same kind of kids when you move? My DGS starts 4th grade and he received a letter telling who his teacher was- he was all long faced- the teacher he didn't want, is the one he got. It will be a long year for him. Hopefully he'll remember his manners... Also got a full page of stuff they will need for class. Where I taught we weren't allowed to send a 'must need' letter. We had to provide it for all the kids free.

Well, CRS has taken over ....gonna go peruse some other forums- nighty night!!

Sarv, we are the night owl brigade....musta been that Sprecher Rootbeer I drank tonight. I didn't think it had caffeine in it but here I am wide awake and not at all sleepy. I did go to bed, laid there for an hour and a half...finally got up and finished the book I was reading. Now all the cats are up playing tag enjoying the fact that someone is up with them. I hate this. Too late to take an OTC sleep aid. Ugh.

V'ann, thats a darling picture! Remember not to carry on anything useful when you fly out. Wonder who gets all those discards at the airports now? Probably all end up on Ebay.

My dad made spaghetti sauce in the pressure cooker once. Blew the jiggler right off the top and decorated the ceiling...in a rented house. Do you know what kind of paint covers it up? Neither did he!! Stain stayed there as long as we did. For all I know, it's still there! Not being one who can learn from other's mistakes, I did it with pea soup, which I'm happy to report does not stain. He made root beer one summer and we were entertained for weeks with the sound of bottle tops blowing off and hitting the ceiling.

Carat, what a wonderful recommendation from your boss. I don't recall ever having a boss like that. I tried very hard to be a boss like that when I had a division of 45 people, having been a working mother I understood too well how sometimes you have to NOT be at work. But, boy did I have a loyal crew! You'll be lucky to find another one like that. Your job sounds very stressful, I don't think I could do it.

I've totally given up trying to address everyone individually, CRS lives here too, Bonnie. Glad you got the phone and such fixed...And since I don't have much else to say, I'll have to find another book and hope the cats settle down before they wake up DH. Good thing I don't have to be anywhere early tomorrow.

Ohhhh, sleeeeep, come to meeeeeeee........
Sheila

M5- I went back to bed around 3:30 and did manage to slelep until 7am - quite a feat! I did an abbreviated garden walk around my patio and watered the pots. You could see your breath outside this morning!! brrr But the weather is supposed to be sunny and beautiful for the next three days.

There was just a segment on the Today show about how bad allergies are this year. Oh great!! My ears are still itching and itching, but other than that, things are pretty mild in the allergy dept.

Speaking of sleeping aids- what OTC do you use??

Time for my 2nd piece of leftover pizza - check ya later!

I didn't have any caffeine drinks since breakfast yesterday. Ice water only all day and evening. And yet, I also had that insomnia thing. I drifted off reading a book so then put it down, turned off the light and went to sleep, but woke up in the middle of the night and tossed and turned for the rest of the time.

If I had known the temp was down to 68 I would have opened a window or two to enjoy the cool.

Yesterday morning I Messengered EVERYTHING. I was proably a week overdue for it but it's done now. Then after things cooled down I went out and got my veggie seeds planted. I did this inside my dog yard so the fence will keep out the deer and maybe the rabbits a little too.

I put the moth balls in the shed and around the inside of the orchid house. I haven't seen any snakes in either places. As a trial I also put the moth balls around my tomato plants. That worked for one night, now the balls have disappeared and the munching is going on again. The critters are leaving the tomatos in my herb garden alone though. The herb garden is right by the house.

I received a notice from my other gardening club the other day, they are sending me a test product to do. This one is going to be deer repellent. Just what I need! :^))))) I hope it tests out positively.

I am off to meet with the "Yellow Pages" man about putting myself in the yellow pages this next year. Any thoughts on successes for this kind of advertising?

Off to the shower for now.
Molly
:^))))

Top o'the morning to every one. How is everyone doing?

Sarv it is cool here this morning 56 on my patio thermometer. Did my garden walk this morning too. Down to 44 fish from 50. Those little ones just don't cut the mustard I guess. There is a whole lot more of the teeny tiny ones I suppose I'll lose those as well. Oh well feeder fish they get go the way they should instead of some bigger fish's belly. Pizza for breakfast? Thats sounds good, do you have enough for everyone???

Yesterday afternoon I noticed some people in my backyard and being the brat I am I went out to find out why they were in my backyard. The woman said they were looking at the house behind me that just went on the market. I told her thats on the other side of the latice fence the property doesn't extend to here. She said I just love flowers and her, her DH, and the real estate lady decided to walk around my back yard and look at the flowers. She said they have passed my house going to shop constantly and she has been watching at the progress of my front garden beds. No one else does much. All in all I forgave them for being in my backyard, the couple enjoyed looking at the pond and the man said oh great now she'll have to have a pond. They complimented me on my gardens and I felt really proud that I could say that as far as the gardens go I did most and in some cases all the work myself. I didn't feel so crabby after they went back to actually look at the inside of the house. I had mowed the lawn about an hour before that thank goodness because it was getting long.....they would have walked back there and got lost and no one would have found them til frost.

Carat that is a wonderful recommendation from your employer. Who ever would call would know they were getting exceptional worker and exceptional person. Oh you must be proud.

I don't know what I'm doing any more so I'll go do something.
~~~~~ To all Cherie

Good Morning GOB's!

Well, I was overly optimistic about my tooth. Tossed and turned half the night when ibuprophen didn't touch it. Probably aggravated it with the new trauma in the barn, LOL.

The long supporting beam in the barn... the one we jacked up already... has 3 other supports that are rotten at the ground level. Brent took my truck, went home and fetched 12 concrete blocks which he donated to me. We have one pier nearly finished, 2 more to go before we can get back to putting in posts in concrete. We did get almost half the junk wood debris burned before it rained. So our work today will just be a repeat of yesterday.

I'm thinking to go back to NC to my storage unit on Friday after my doctor's visit in TN. Several things in it I really need. Hoping Brent will go with me, both for help and for company. It's a 5 hour drive each way and with no radio in the truck, it gets boring.

VAnn, I'd love to visit Japan but only if I could just snap my fingers and be immediately transported. I get air sick (and sea sick and car sick) so I don't fly anymore. I did when it was part of my job and getting air sick all the time gets tedious. One of our Japanese members, I think it's GoldenFish, has posted some lovely photos in the last 2 years. And there's the incredible containers TomTom posts!

Sarv, I'm just as bad about the food in my fridge, and in the cabinets. I forget what I have and buy more. That's okay with staples usually but even as I just unpacked some, I found outdated stuff.

~~~ at everyone else, have a wonderful day!

Hi all- Beautiful day here, time to pick myself up and rejoin the living. I gave myself the day off yesterday to just lie around, sleep, dream, think, pray, cry, and remember.

I can't express how much you all mean to me right now. I read a study that most people today have at most one or two friends they can confide in and many have none. Social ties as measured by the experts, have greatly diminished in the last fifty years. I suppose women would have shared all their trials until they could laugh again, over quilting or shelling peas or canning or over the back fence. I'm glad there's a place like that here, cause I sure don't know where I'd find one in the "real" world! Everyone is just so busy.

Ann-I love the picture of DD. I hope my kids eventually find their "someones". It must be fun to have them planning their future....Thanks for the chocolate meringue pie....I've never made one, maybe I should. That would be a goal! Also, the kitty's name was Lydia. I know there is a daylily called Marked by Lydia, so I can get that for my memorial garden. Right now I just feel very bruised in spirit...but it will get better.

Flowerchild-Read and loved the story. I comfort myself that not a sparrow falls from the sky without the Lord knowing it. It would be magnificent to live as the lady on the other end of the phone did....and also to keep in mind the lifelong impact small kindnesses can have.

McCool-i'm sorry to hear you're sick again. I wonder if you have the same lingering thing? Or maybe just your immune system wasn't fully recovered. I hope it improves quickly.

Twyla-I pray for your release from pains and trials too! You are a brave, inspirational person but I'd love to hear you feeling great!

Elaine-continued prayers for your arm to get better. AARRGGGH it's the typing arm, no less!

m5-LOL about the pressure cooker and root beer sagas. I use my pressure cooker all the time, no accidents yet, but don't ask me about power tools or cars....

sarv-i get sticker shock at the grocery store too...or buying clothes. I solved it by not buying clothes and shopping for basics in quantity and growing lots of food. I am so smug with my organic fingerling gourmet potatoes and fresh gourmet everything....for the price of seed and some effort. It makes up for what I have to spend on other things. I let DH pay the car repairs so I don't get a sick stomach! But I too am grateful at the selection and ease of buying almost anything our little hearts desire. I remember the pictures of the bread lines in Poland, old ladies standing in the frigid weather for hours hoping there would still be food left by the time they got to the front of the line.

Allergies-Zyrtec works for me but I have been beating myself up over how fat I'm getting, now I hear there's a connection.

Can't remember the rest from yesterday so I'll wave for now, venture outside, and check back later.

~~~~~~

Good morninig, everybody. Sorry Sarv, Molly M5 that sleep eluded you last night. That happens often here also, but I slept like the dead last night. Mr B got into all kinds of stuff during the night, and I didn't hear a thing. He overturned 2 trash cans, cleaned out his toy basket, and toys are scattered everwhere, so the first order of business today will be making everything right again.

dmc, I am glad that you took the time to grieve over Lydia. Sometimes, we think maybe people will think we are making too much out of a loss like that, but believe me, it is healthier to get it out in the open, then we can return to normal life.

I too am wondering what kinds of things I don't need to put in carry on luggage. DTS and I are leaving to go to Reno on the 26th, and I sure don't want to donate any personal items to the auction on ebay.

I01, sure am hoping that your arm is feeling better, and that you soon will forget about this nightmare.

darius, sounds like a good work day yesterday. Hope today goes as well.

cc, LOL about the real estate person and prospective buyers. You may have unwittingly helped sell that property, just by having a nice looking garden. Nobody wants to live beside slobs.

Well, gotta go get my shower and get dressed. DSIL came got the tomatoes that were picked and sitting waiting for someone to do something with them. So I have been freed from making spaghett sauce, now that leaves a void, don't know what I will plan with the vacant day.

BBL

defoe - I'm all set to go shopping- wannta go with me??? Just looking, drooling, and maybe picking up a thing or two...

Gorgeous day here and I love it!!

Banana bread on the counter courtest of DM!! also a peach cobbler, but the center didn't get done....whaaa. Maybe I'll try nuke it..

Good Morning to all of you, after that wonderful rain we had yeasterday, the sun is out and it is getting warmer and warmer but no humidity, thank goodness.

I have such a nice neighbor he picks up my trash and takes it to his plant where he has huge containers to be taken away, he did that this morning. When I came back from the NW, his wife brought over a dozend roses to welcome me home again.

Sarv, good that you finally could go to sleep, some times I use tylenol PM but mostly Ambien.
Your DS/DIL sound very nice to help out their GP's. What are you planting??Wonder if I should add something to my garden?

Casey, your are very lucky to have a wonderful boss, my boss was the Dean but totally useless. They finally fired her but she announced if I was to take her place she will sue the university, that did it , the office was closed and I was out of a job.

Ann, wonderful picture of the announcment, just love it!

Sheila, about pressure cookers, I never had one. My neighbor had pieces of chicken hanging down from the ceiling one fine day, lol

dmc, I know what you mean about friends, not every one I know is my friend, I have a couple who truly care about my welfare. They keep in touch all the time, I feel very lucky. Talking about bread
lines I used to stand in line for a loaf of bread very early in the morning before school, quite often they were out berfore it was my turn. The bread was awful, a small round loaf must have weight 2 kilos and did not taste good at all but it was betteer than nothing.

Cece, how nice to get compliments for all your hard work, I used to get them at the farmhouse, people would stop a lot to tell me how nice it looks.

Darius, take csare of that tooth!!!

GGS is not in a hurry to be burn. DD is still in PA but SIL had to come back home yesterday, I asked him to have dinner, I made spaghett.meatballs/salad/toasted garlic bread, all his favorite.
I gave him a loaf of zucchini bread to take down to PA where he is going back todayi

Here is the gift


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~to everyone

Hi, Bonnie, posted at the same time
here is a better picture of the roses, I think lol

McCool no i do not but with so much wrong you live with it. i told dr. that also 24/7 pain that did the knee surgery not one day with out this exc. pain horrible pain wake up it go to sleep finally with it. its all apart life.. lots suffer 24/7 so not alone..if i have it maybe someone else is not.. Hope your getting better..

hoppy is hollering very stupid over over over.. he is so old but still can holler.. old cockatiel rather then let them kill him i got yrs. yrs ago..he is my companion..lol..

Maria roses are awesome so lovely lovely..So nice you cooked for sil.. sounds so good to..

Have great day all.. be well..

Twyla ~~~~~

They just end up so huge no wonder the photo is not clear when I take a closeup

Hi folks,

Well DH will be back tomorrow from Newfoundland and he'll report on carry on restrictions - at least on Air Canada. And I'm sure I can get to a computer sometime next week in Vancouver; so I'll try to report on my experiences going to Vancouver. It's possible that restrictions going and coming from the UK might be different. Air Canada has a travel advisory on their site - http://www.aircanada.com/en/news/travel_advisory1.html It's likely that your airline does too.

Sarv - thanks for the banana bread and soupy peach cobbler. Add some ice cream and nobody will notice the underdone center.

Dorothy, I've never made a chocolate meringue pie either. Actually, I would probably be more likely to make a chocolate CREAM pie piled high with whipped cream or low cal, low fat equivalent. But some of the recipes I saw when searching for a picture sure looked good. Re the cost of car repairs, we just use a credit card that gives us airline points. We are going to Japan entirely on points, but not just those earned on the credit card. DH travels a lot and I've even earned myself enough points just through travelling to get myself to Australia next summer. (mind you, I've never cashed them in before).

Sorry that several of you had difficulty sleeping and hope tonight will be better. Maybe you'll get a chance for a nap.

Cherie - a bit presumptuous of that couple (or maybe the agent) to enter your back yard w/o permission, but if they like flowers and buy the house, they might make good neighbours.

Darius, maybe you should put a bit of pressure on that dentist rather than being so stoic about the tooth. Sorry about your trials in the barn and hope you are able to salvage everything successfully.

Well, I've done aquafit and need to work on the foam covers a bit before going in to the food cover. Need to dry my hair too. Have about an hour. ~~~ to everyone else. BBL

Ann

Maria - thank you for sharing the roses and thank you for putting our grocery store trials in perspective with your story of waiting in bread lines. Sometimes we forget how fortunate we are.

Ann

Taking a break. I planted 4 new perennials - have at least 8 more to get in the ground. And remember I said 'today is THE day!' Keep that 2x4 handy!!

I honestly get way-laid so easily. A hummingbird kept buzzing me and I thought -' oh I need to fill the hummy feeders' - so I did that!! Walked by some weeds that were out of control, and I stopped to weed my 'Darius daylilies' - that job is done.

Maria, those roses are beautiful...never have been a rose fan, but love to see them. I only have one lone rose bush and it suffers from my neglect. Standing in a bread line certainly puts all our abundance into perspective. I apologize if I sounded ungrateful for all we have - I truly am not.

Darius- that Brett sounds like a keeper. He'll be a catch for some lucky gal. Too bad he isn't older!! LOL (if you get my drift) lol lol

Vi-welcome DH back with a big hug-- he made it safely!! Good luck on your upcoming trip.

Well, break time is over- back to more planting.....

Okay lets see if I remember what I just read and from whom.

Sarv - I'll go shopping with you what are we buying?? Having luch some where? I'll pass on the peach cobbler( don't care for peaches) but that banana bread sounds just delicous.

dmc - i too know what you mean about true friends. I've three that I have been friends with since 1967 when we met at school. I have loads of acquaintances but only a few real frineds that I can count on through thick and thin and they all know they can count on me.I got this forward from one them the other day that stated "a Friend will bail you out of jail but a real friend would be sitting ther with you saying We messed up but didn't we have fun?" lol

Maria - What beautiful roses! Thank you for sharing that with us.

ViolaAnn - Yes actually it was a bit presumptous to just walk in someone elses backyard like that. If they'd walked through and knock on the door and asked if they could look I'd have happy to show them around. But kudos are kudos and if they hadn't bbeen so friendly and complimentary I probably would have run them off. I share muy flower gardens but I like it to be my idea, I don't guess I'm making much sense so we'll get off that subject

I hope all who are in pain or feeling poorly or in need of much needed sleep finds the relief they need. I've got a Star jasmine thats calling me to pot up and re-trellis before fall so I may as well get that done so it can finish out this season in its new home before I have to bring it in. This is the third time I've tried to winter one over in the house. This one is getting pretty big so hopefully.........

bbl Cherie
(ps found another two floaters today down to 42 fish. If you get tired of the countdown just tell me leave it alone)lol

That's ok Sarv, as my husband used to say to me, many Americans just do not know what it is like not to have a store full of food...

I could tell you some stories that would totally gross you out but I won't

Good morning. I'm just so glad to be here. Yesterday the computer was not working right and so I just unplugged the thing. I had called the tech guy at my isp and he said it sounded like it needed a doctor. Hubby said he could take it to town this morning, but then when he plugged it in this morning it worked again, so we will wait. I know I need to get a lot of cookies deleted. Although it seems to be ok, I'm not trusting it too much and so if I come up missing you will know why.

Dmc, I'm sure sorry about your kitty being hit and killed. It makes all of us think that it could happen to ours too. I remember when a cat ran out in front of me and I hit it, I felt so bad but there wasn't any way to avoid the cat. When I went and knocked on the door of the nearest house the lady said that most people don't stop. They had a lot of cats and quite often I had seen dead ones near there with coloring that was similiar to the one I hit. That and the distance between houses was what made me think it belonged there. She thanked me for stopping.

Cece, I'm glad your son wasn't seriously hurt. Did the other boy get hit too? Yes, reporting these things to the police is good because if enough people do it eventually there is enough additional information to make an arrest. Somebody else might get a look at the shooter, another one maybe the make of the vehicle, another gets a licence number, etc. It's all important. I looked at Monday's thread and saw your pond pictures. That is wonderful and it will be a place where you will spend a lot of time, I see that some chairs have sprouted there already! It's amazing what a little water will do. When you have plants around the edges and hiding places for frogs I'm sure you will have a few who want to stay around. Yes, you do need a waterfall.

Yesterday's thread and whatever is above my post today is still unread, but eventually I will catch up. I did get a few extra things done yesterday when the computer wasn't working, took a nice ride out in the hills on Patch, then in the afternoon I went to town, did some misc shopping, met hubby for dinner (big salad), and then did my grocery shopping after that. Tonight we are having bbq'd ribs, the kind that come in a package with the sauce. They were marked down $4.00 from the regular price so it was an easy decision. And ice cream was also on sale, another easy one. When I came out of the store there were a few raindrops in the air, and I even had to use the wipers on the trip home! And out here in the dry hills we even got a little bit, of course that was when I was bringing the groceries into the house and then it quit, but it did feel good anyhow.

Going back to read a bit and will be back to comment later. ~~ for now.

sarv. that "waylaid" syndrome is all too familiar. Was going grocery shopping at 7:00 this morn and went outside with a cup of coffee to "just look around". 10:454 I finally got to the store. Re-potted 6 plants, fenced the dogs out of a small new bed, cleaned up the potting bench (a mess) and made a cabinet for the potting bench.( it was 3/8" too wide and now resides in the scrap corner)DW is off to the cabin after work this evening for a couple days so I get to make another mess, probably sunroom stuff. Imari has her night class graduation tonight. Hope she passes the CGC test this time.

Mary, hope your computer just had a little burp and is all over it now. I accidently deleted all the cookies once and didn't notice any change.(but then I'm not very observant) Those ribs sound swell, Pork or Beef ? I love them both but it's hard to find beef ribs with much meat on them. And of course ice cream is always good.

Darius, the shed structure is the pits. Why can't it just be an easy shore-up. Wish I could be there to help, it sounds like something right up my alley. I need to dig out under a 12 foot bearing wall and pour a footing on the shed. With no gutter the water permeated the soil and treated wood footer over the past decade or so. All rotted now. Hope I don't wreck the brick and concrete floor inside. Go fix your tooth!! How can you expect to make Peach Melba jam, Biscotti, chocolate mint candy and all your other delights if your jaw is killing you?

Gads I'm a slow typer and there are probably a bunch of new posts. Better go see. Everyone have a satisfying day. Some rain would be OK.

Maria-the roses are exquisite. Did your neighbor grow them? I've only had floribunda types live, and then the Japanese beetles eat them anyway.

cherie-I love the definition of a friend and I'm going to email it to my best friend. We've been friends for 30 years, and still laugh until we cry whenever we get together.

Okay y'all, just GUESS what i did? Lydia was technically DD#1's cat, which she adopted from a horse barn after her previous cat died of cancer. Emily was at college this year, so Lydia had really become my best buddy (I even let her catnip plant overrun my VERY best daylilies), and Emily was feeling miserable too, and i think kind of mad, and like no one understood....so I had a long talk and offered to take her to adopt another kitty of her choosing. Basically, she could choose a kitty for rescue in honor of Lydia, and I will care for it while she's at college. She hopped out of bed quickly, to my surprise, and said we had time to do that before work.

The shelter is overrun with kitties - six calico mothers with litters, bunches of motherless kittens, half grown kittens, feral cats...we played with and held lots of them, and came home with the sweetest calico cat and her kitten. Emily already named the kitten Monster. He's full of it.

The mother is a lot like Lydia, quiet, soft, and very purry. The minute you hold her the motor starts...she doesn't look like Lydia but seems like her. And the shelter mgr. said the mother cats are not quick to be adopted. Anyway, we freed up a cage so now they can take more. Emily had tears in her eyes, and hated to choose. But Lydia would be happy that another kitty or two get homes. And these will be indoor cats.

Meet Monster and his mom. Emily wants us to wait to name her until she gets back from work!

Here's a better picture of the mom cat. I loved her at first sight, she wanted to come out, sit in our arms, and not go back. She never made a peep in the car. She deserves a good life...I don't think she's very old. I'll have her spayed, and she will be so pampered!

Dorothy,

You are an angel to take another furbaby so quickly, and to provide homes for 2. You are an angel in duplicate.

Aren't they adorable too? I have to watch myself, we are up to 4 birds and 3 dogs now.

Hugs and kisses to you!!!! (((((smooch))))
Molly

Thanks Molly. We have enough room and we can afford it and it's really the only way to make sense out of the misery. The ONLY good thing about losing Lydia is that we had room to take another. We spent hours choosing with the manager, two that would fit in with the menagerie. And I'm smiling about them....

Ahhhhh, Dorothy... you DID GOOD! Plus mommy is pretty as well, couldn't see much of the kitten.

dmc I think Lydia's smiling! I know I am. :-) I so love happy endings!!! You are truly an angel. :-)

No dmc, my neighbor does not grown any flowers so I know she bought them. She does do all the yardwork and has quite a few flowering shrubs but with four little kids and a huge extended family she does not get much time for gardening.

Love your kitty-cats, so cute and your are nice to do for them.

dmc....good job adopting mom and monster..I have to stay away from shelters and anywhere they have kitties looking for a home. I have 14 already and didnt have to leave the house, they showed up at my doorstep. I really think there is an underground railroad thing for cats looking for a home, and my address is top of the list.

One of the last new ones was a little calico that showed up with a surrogate mother..a big red headed boy kitty. They were far enough apart in age that I knew they were not from the same litter. I wish they could tell me their stories...how did she manage to get hooked up with him, he was such a good protector of her. Since he is so good to her, she loves the boys, hence her name Floozy...

Spent half the day yesterday at Ikea....($$$$), spent most of today putting together what I bought with DH. It only took us 6 hours but everything is done, we will wait until the foundation people get done here before we attach to the walls to stabilize. I bought a new coffee table, a utility table that will serve as an end table..and 3 wide book shelves and 1 that is half the size, they all have glass doors. I LOVE that store but can't afford to go there very often. They might have cheaper furniture but when one buys too much cause its such a good deal, you still get cash register shock at the check out.

I happened across an old cookbook (from 1937)..very interesting reading..wondered why one would use butter AND lard in a recipe (and can one even buy lard these days..??)

Still hot and dry here, we stay inside as much as possible.

Kris

Mama is so pretty! I love her markings. Shame on those people who let her get preggers and then dumped her. Lydia would be proud of you. Kitten looks full of mischief, and ready for anything. I'm so glad you found them, it is hard to choose from so many who need homes. We try so hard to convince ours that outside is not a good place but every once in a while there's a prison break.

The last one cost us plenty as Souky got a insect bite or something that needed vet care. DH caught her pushing at the screen leading into the garage the other night. We need something better than the spring and magnetic latches to hold it shut tight. The used to have a C shaped thing with a spring in it, but I'll have to check the hardware store to see if they still carry them.

Maria, if I think of it early enough I can take a tylenol p.m. and that works fine. I just don't want to take anything after midnight because then I'm in a fog the next day. No nap either. Then I'll have a repeat of last night. The roses are lovely, what a thoughtful neighbor. I love my roses, but the J. beetles are having a field day with them again. I dosed them once but it didn't seem to accomplish much.

Had lunch with DD and DIL, brought along my favorite top which is fraying badly at the hem line. Stopped at Hancock Fabrics and picked up thread and some seam binding to match. DD talked me into some other trim, and suggested putting it around the collar, too. I was hoping she would volunteer but that didn't happen. She has a serger. Anyhoo, now the mending materials have cost more than the shirt cost in the first place.

Sarv, I didn't know you were going shopping. I went after lunch and found a pair of Crazy Horse jeans at T.J.Maxx for $!4. Perfect fit and they were a 16!!! ... doing the happy dance. (I'm not letting the reality of the mfgrs size upgrades interfere with that moment of delusion. )

Isn't sizing odd, though? Different makers, different brands, all seem to have their own idea of what constitutes a size. When I was 5 '7" , and weighed 110 lbs. I was a perfect size 8. Now someone that weight is more likely a size 2 or 4. I carry a tape measure with me when I shop, I don't believe any tag info until I measure the item. And unlike Sarv, nothing I buy ever stretches or gets bigger!

You got a good day in Robert. I can't go from point A to point B either, there's alway A1, A2, A3, and several "but firsts" before I get to my first objective. And then you have to retrieve a tool which involves several B1,2 and 3s!! Tell Imari to study hard and pass her CGC test, we are cheering for her.

We saw TWO hummers yesterday. Maybe our lonely little bachelor has found a friend. Or got new deodorant or something. They buzzed around the feeder for quite a while, so I hope they plan to visit often before the weather cools down and they leave for the winter..

Cece, the realtor probably didn't want to tell them that the pretty part of the "yard" wasn't on the property for sale...sounds like they appreciated your efforts, so that's a plus. I haven't seen too many people scouting our neighbor's house. The price tag is probably a little steep for most folks. And the market isn't very good right now for the higher priced homes. If we hit a major recession a lot of them will be up for sale, there are more defaults this year than in the past three.

Bonnie, when you clean out your cookies, you can select the ones you want to keep, like DG, using the advanced option. I forgot it once and had to fix it because I couldn[t get into DG. Every site you visit throws a cookie into your hard drive. I set my preference on medium to high for security and we have a pop up blocker that helps keep the invasion to a minimum. I don't even get much junk mail because my mail service blocks a lot of it.

Hope you need to work on Hoppy and teach him to say Pretty Lady!! and I love you!, a companion that hollers Stupid over and over isn't much help, you might just as well have kept your husband!

DIL is preparing for their flight to Oregon with lots and lots of plastic bags, eveything goes in them, Socks, undies, makes it much easier to keep it tidy if they have to open and go through it. Also double bagging lotions or liquids, make up and such, they get so beat up being thrown in the baggage compartment, some things always want to leak. They leave Saturday a.m. early so I am on pet duty for a week. Howard is going back to my DD;s for the duration, as she has kennel space and Howard will have a good time with dogs he already knows.

I'm so sleepy right now I don't dare even look at the couch. Maybe I'll go start dinner and then go do some watering. No rain today. Maybe tomorrow but not for sure.

Cece, keep the count coming. I don't think that's too many casualties, considering their size and the change of environment...

Have to get moving, too sleepy to sit here blinking....
~~~~~~~~~ to all....
Later

Sheila

P.s. Egg plant update! LOL I suppose I shouldn't name these guys as we plan to eat them.

I have something new I have to share with you all. My kids just got home from school and my DS had homework (on the second day mind you). He needed help because he didn't know how to do it. Now I went all thru high school and took algebra and geometry courses and made A's in most of my classes, so I know how to do math. My son is only in third grade so you would think the work should be easy enough for me to figure out. I am going to type this story problem for you all, because I have no clue how to do it!

Dino takes people up and down Moss River in his boat. Today he starts at Jay Landing. He picks up passengers and takes them 1 mile north to Elm Street. Then new people get on his boat and he takes them 6 miles south to the end of Moss River. New people get on and he takes them 4 miles north to Beach Street. He picks up new people and goes south 2 miles to Dusty Cove. He picks up one person here and goes 7 miles north to the end of the river. How long is Moss River? Draw a picture of the river.

I do not remember having anything that complicated in third grade. If I can't figure out how to do it, how do I teach him?

Flower, do it by drawing a picture.... It's just a number line, laid out in words, probably in order to teach the concept of using a number line "the easy way" ROFL.

Take a piece of ruled paper, and let each line represent one mile. Your map of the river is going to be oriented up & down... draw a vertical line to follow on the paper if you like. Put your pencil in the middle and make an X for Jay's Landing. Go up (north) one line and make a mark at Elm Street. Then go down (south) 6 lines and make a mark for the end of Moss River. Keep going up and down your "river" and make marks for the other streets. At the end, you will have a map of Moss River, and you will be able to measure its length.

For the more traditional student, think of it as a number line, with Jay Landing at zero. North is postive, South is negative. Elm Street is at +1. The south end of Moss River (subtract 6) is at -5. Beach Street (add 4) is at -1, Dusty Cove (subtract 2) is at -3, and the north end of Moss River (add 7) is at +4. Moss River is 9 miles long. (Gosh, I hope I did that right!)

BTW, does anyone here know of Tom Leher (renegade Harvard math professor and songster). He did a song about "New Math" that just makes me howl.

Oh yes it's New Math, Neeeeeeewwww Math!
It won't do you a bit of good to review Math!
It's so simple..... so very simple....
That only a child can do it!

Flowerchild my kid would *surely ***flunck school!!!
I'm waving to everyone else. Have just lurked today.
~~~~

Draw a line to represent the river first. Make a dot somewhere to represent Jay Landing. Then make hash marks to represent each trip north and south. I think it's intended to make them think...what info is important? Number of people? No. Number of stops? No. Number of miles north and south? Yes! mark the ends and count the hash marks.

Does this help? I hate math

Oh, Critter, your explanation was so much better, I didn't even think of using lined paper!! I got nine miles too.

I didn't know anyone else knew about Tom Lehrer, I got DH the boxed set of CDs Xmas before last, nobody thought he was funny but me. Remember "Be Prepared"? LOL

Flowerchild-Oh, and what COLOR is the boat? LOL I used to love doing sketches of those problems with all little cartoon people giving commentary. Course it wasn't in third grade. In third grade we we still doing three column addition...that's it.

m5 -

I love Math - Crit gave an excellent excellent way to figure it out. I taught 3 grade for years and yes, they are trying to teach them what info to use (good for you M5...)

I still have 4 plants to get in the ground- --tomorrow.....I went shopping and bought myself computer games - scrabble and two for DGS - they were buy 2 ge the third one free. Then came home and played the darn game for 2 hrs!! I need to put a timer on the computer!!

Dm- oh.... cute new additions to your family. I could never go into one of those no kill shelters - I'd leave with half their population. I am a total sucker for animals. I haven't told anyone of this as I am still so steamed. DS/DIL had a kitty (she wasn't full grown yet) and she kept having accidents on their oriental carpets and in other places. They have a 4 story home and the litter boxes were in the basement (and often uncleaned) Anyhow, one day last week, DS got up and stepped in a pile, blew up and ended up dumping the kitty off at a farm. I chewed him up one side and down the other for doing that. I would have taken her in a minute. They had her declawed and spayed...He wouldn't tell me where he put her. I cannnot believe he did that and it will take a long time for me to forgive him. DIL is the preggo one and she said they just couldn't have that around a new baby. Now I understand that, but am still upset that they just dumped it off like a piece of trash. off my box now....

earth- I love IKEA- we had a new one open 2 hrs from me!! Did you buy any of the cookies they have for sale? They are wonderful....I bought a ton of their white dishes - they were 50 cents a plate or bowl - can't go wrong on that price!! I'd like to make a trip back, but my pocketbook says otherwise!!

M5- good job on getting the capris...I am not buying another piece of clothes until I get my weight down a bit. A friend just called and she's lost 15 lbs - without even trying. Some new diet like South Beach - I just cannot stick on those things - now if someone would cook for me,then I wouldn't have a problem... I'm going on a three day trip with her next week and will read her book. I'll let you know if it's good!

Well, DH is making burgers on the grill and corn from the garden. Popped my first tomato today too - a delish grape tomato - tasted heavenly!!

Sheila you make me laugh he says though Very stupid so funny.. whistles till i tell him pretty boy..

I love the calico's mine is in for while laying at my feet when i feed her she does that after her extra eats....
I vae to loose at least 20 lbs but want to aobut 25 .. this is first time daughters got some smaller than me.. she lost over 100 lbs. was heavy..

Yes can still buy lard i remember growing up my mother and the lard..

Have good night all..

Twyla

I just bought lard yesterday, it can't be beat for pastry. I hate Crisco, no flavor just fat! I'm supposed to be doing something else, but I snuck in for a quick peek to see what's going on.
Bye...
Sheila