Marilyn...good of you to tell Katy about us.  She is sure welcome to join us, of course.

Mary...my cards were lousy too. 

Sharon...nice surprise.  Ray's looking to replace his Avalanche...with something smaller and in the "looking, looking" range.

MaryPage...perfect book title for Marilyn!

Hot and humid here and storms to come overnight. 

jane

What a week so far. Monday allday messing with a printer. Tuesday they cut off the water main in the area. Was without all day. Thought Wednesday would get electrician out at 9am. My fan in the DR  acting up. 8:30am worst storm of the year. Thunder. LIghtning and Boom. All the lights off. Had nothing. Called of the Election until tomorrow.  No Phones as mine need WiFi. Mobile phone.  no time on it and could not charge it up. Notice now if no power I have nothing working.  After 5 hours the power back on. By this time decided to just go and take a nap. Lasted 90 minutes. Feels good now.
Will now try again tomorrow to get things done. First thing. Find a old phone that works of a Jack in the wall. Buy Flashlight.  Keep lots of water around. Technology has taken over. Have desktop. IPad, Tablet, Mobile phone and 3 other phones and could not get out on any of them.
Now know how the people having the floods are feeling. They cant even take a nap

Sharon.  Did you see the news at 5;30pm today. The Tornado pass us in CU but did hit Indianapolis and area.  We just got the heavy storms.. The even put all the Electric power out.

Jeanne...do you have a landline phone so when you plug in, you have a connection to some phone company?

We continue to have a landline for that very reason.  Our cell phones don't use WiFi only but have a cellular service as well so work fine when out and about.  It may be yours do too, but that the towers had no power?

I, too, feel safest with both my landline and a cell phone.  The cell phone spends most of its lonely time in my handbag, turned off, as I really hate the little things.  BUT, so far, knock on wood, I have always had the use of the one or the other.  The kids insisted, years ago, that I have the cell phone with me in case of an emergency, and that is why it stays in my handbag.  I never go out without it.  I am on Steve & Debi's Family Plan.  I bought a cheap just a telephone phone and it costs me $15 a month.

Yes, I still keep a home line phone also. Have. with ATandT. People say to get rid of it but never know about the winters here. Also like today. Forgot to charge up my Mobile phone.

I am so excited sitting here waiting for
my new "Smart Phone" (a Nexus 5X put out by Google)..

I have always loved the smart phones,  but
had to give mine up when I came off the road.

But now I am going to have one, again!   

Hooray!

Sandy

Weather was cooler for last 3 days but heat and humidity back to day. Had to turn the a/c back on.  Glad it didn't happen yesterday when no power for 5 hours.
Can't make my mind up what to do today. Again the Electrician cancelled on me to fix the ceiling fan. After the big storm yesterday and loss of power to half the town. He has had call after call as their A/C blew out. I suppose some people had the TVs and computers running when the thunder struck.
I didn't. Lost my computer one time when it was on in a bad storm.
Mine can wait I told him. Having the water and the Electric back on makes me grateful enough.
Think maybe will run over to the Mall. Have a 35% discount on the type of shoes I wear. More for winter time.

Hi Gals, yes, I heard about the tornados in Indiana. The most serious one hit Kokomo, a city north of Indy an hour or so. I heard that there were problems on the north edge of Indy too, but no specifics.  My daughter lives 20 miles south of Indy. When I talked to her yesterday, she had just received warning that the storm was coming, but she was safe.  The weather has certainly been unkind to a lot of people this year.

MP, like you, I have a cell that resides in my purse and keep a landline for most purposes. The book does sound ideal for Marilyn or any dog lover.

Mary, I hope your dreams were at least entertaining!   Congrats on the new family member. So exciting.

Jane, John already knew he wanted the Avalon because he loves the one I have, so no long term looking, simply a negotiation of price.  He told them what he was willing to pay and after a while, they agreed. I hope Ray finds what he wants.

Jeanne, it is terrible how vulnerable we feel without electricity, etc.  We are indeed spoiled. Glad you are up and running again.

I'm having a bad day--hurting and tired, although I slept well last night. I'm trying to work myself up to going to the grocery, but may wait till later this afternoon.

I hope you're all having a good day.  Sharon

Good Morning, Thanks MP for the book titles and author I will look it up at the library.

Not much going on here today, I am going to the Beauty salon to get my hair cut again. I want her to take off about 3 inches from the bottom layer. My hair is so naturally straight and fine that when I cur l it  the curls only stay for about an hour. and I will n ot put a perm in my hair for any reason. It is already damaged from coloring. Well I should go take Freckles for another walk before lunch. We are sure waling a lot. She goes back to the Vet to be weighed onb the 9th.

Oh on Sept 6ths I start taking clases at the Hospice center for palliative care. They last for 12 weeks.

Talking about phones...I have my cell and land phone...so if one don't work..use the other...Marylin I thought you quit coloring your hair ?  I either do low lights  or color..Hi to all lookin in..Candy

Thursdays are usually quiet days, but with a special treat today.  I had a massage here at home.  A resident who moved in about 6 weeks after I did asked her massage therapist if she would start coming here.  They worked out a schedule and the therapist has been coming here.  I just now got around to setting up an appointment and that was today.  She's a lovely young woman, has a massage school in the area, and also does a lot of "out" appointments.  Anyway today was a treat - and for just a bit more than I was paying before.  And I'll undoubtedly have her come again.

May your Thursday be as pleasant.

Darlene I do low lights on my whole head, going to just start doing 7 foils. tired of  paying so much for whole head foils.

My electric is O.K now Today but half of the Town. Urbana is without power.I went over to the big Library and it was all down. No Traffic lights on all the corners now working. Even the Big Court house was down and 4 of the Banks.
Now across the main St. the Big Grocery store has been out one hour but theirs came on.  They were worried that they would have to moved all the meat, Dairy and other stuff out into a big Refrigerated Truck.  They put dry ice into the Ice Cream and Veg parts.
We just do not realize how much we depend on power now.  Years ago in Winter a bad Ice storm put our power out and I was without power for 3 weeks. Longest in last few year has been 3 days. Being alone and a Camper all my life I managed pretty good.  Would not be handle these flooding places. I have lots of heaters and things to cook on that runs on Karo sine.

But I think now I would just lock the door after turning off water and head to a warmer place. Before I was still working. Had to stay in town.

This morning I got up to take the dog out looked at the clocked and said to keith oh it's 5:15. I took Freckles out, turned on the coffee pot and went back to bed for a little bit, I got up put on my clothes came out to get a cup of coffee , looked at the clock at it was only 4:15, Apparently  it was only 3:15 when I looked at the clock in the bedroom. anyway we've been up since then. I think I will have to turn on a light before looking at the LED display on the clock radio from now on, and possibly put on my glasses. 

Marilyn, I am a bit doubtful that you will find "A Dog Walks Into a Nursing Home" in your library.  The main thing is, it is a very specialized, non fiction book, and I sort of think the system would not spend any of their reduced funds on something that might not get even asked for, let alone borrowed out.  Seems to me they sort of depend on the best seller lists and/or well known authors when they are buying books.  In short, I think you might have to buy this one.  But it is certainly worth checking on.  If they don't have it, you probably can't count upon them having it later, because it has been out since 2013.  I'll bet THRIFTBOOKS has it, though.  Their books are cheap as dirt, and they are reliable to an extreme.  Here is an old review of the book:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/books/review/sue-halperns-a-dog-walks-into-a-nursing-home.html?_r=0

Yes, Thriftbooks DOES have it, and a bunch of other books by Sue Halpern, as well.  Here ya go:

http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/a-dog-walks-into-a-nursing-home-lessons-in-the-good-life-from-an-unlikely-teacher_sue-halpern/524245/#isbn=1594632693

Marypage our library system has that book, I have it up on my screen now.

WOO HOO!  Way to go!

My Talking Books has that book also..
so I just ordered it!! 

Sandy

Now, you both must be SURE to come back in here and report on how you liked it.  I sort of cringe at recommending a book I have never even held in my hands, let alone read.  The thing was just that upon reading ABOUT it, I felt it had been written just for Marilyn, and simply had to share that thought with her.
I am sort of a nervous wreck today.  More of one than usual, that is to say.  Remember Our Bella of "Bella Goes Round the World?"  Well, a new book will begin tomorrow called "Bella Goes to Boarding School," and she is nervous and I am nervous and the whole world is (or should be, from my vantage point) all shook up!  Bella was 11 when she spent a little more than 4 months going around the world with her paternal grandparents on a University of Virginia Semester at Sea.  She practically wrote a book about it, and from that experience she wrote an essay which, with her grades, won her a full scholarship to an excellent private school for young ladies.  Bella just turned 14 this week, and now we know where she will be for the next 4 years.  Still, I am jumpy as one of those "Mexican Beans" that is really a worm.  With 26 great grandchildren to get strung out over, you'd think I'd quit;  but no such luck.  I stress over each and every one of them!

MaryPage...what an experience and opportunity for Bella.

It's been a long day.  I could not get to sleep last night...to many things churning in my head....until 1:30 am and then up at 5:30.  We had a day in Dbq for Ray's labs and doc and then a lunch with friends we haven't seen in quite a while.  His eyes with macular degeneration have gotten to the point he can no longer drive or read things unless it's very large print, etc. 

Tonight we're going out for supper with another couple.  Then, I'm coming home and going to bed!!   

Sorry you had such a bad night, jane, but at least the good day kept you occupied (at least I hope Ray's lab results were good).

MaryPage, how exciting for Bella - and the rest of the family.

I'm excited for me!  The gal I've been playing duplicate forgot and didn't show up this afternoon.  There was another gal without a partner.  We'd never played together - but we were hot! And came in FIRST!!! (out of 7 tables). 

I stopped on the way home and picked up some pizza and a salad.  I got it too early to eat, so I'm going to save it to eat tomorrow night. It's from a small local place, and looks really good.

Yaaaaaay!  Go team, go!

Jane, I'm sorry you had a sleepless night. Hope last night was best.  I'm so sorry to hear that Ray's MD is so bad. If he likes to read, perhaps you can get one of those audio book players, etc that are free to the blind or visionally impaired.  Hope you had fun with your friends.

Mary, hurrah for the new partner and coming in first!! Hope you get to play with her again. Pizza sounds good too.

MP, Wow, how great for Bella!  She really is a gifted child. I hope the school turns out to be great for her.

My cleaning girl was here yesterday. Yea. She had had car trouble earlier in the week when she was scheduled.  Not much else going on here.  I started working on my SS lesson for tomorrow, but will need to spend more time on it today.  Glad this isn't an every week thing.  It was 98 here yesterday but supposed to hover around 90 for the next week with a chance of rain each day. There's a tropical storm in the Caribbean that may or may not impact the Carolinas. Too early to say. We could use the rain, but not the wind.  Sharon

jane - sorry - I didn't realize that you were talking about Ray's macular degeneration.  That's so tough to deal with.  Will that impact your winters in Texas?

Sharon, hooray for the cleaning gal.  I hope the potential hurricane turns out to be a fizzle.  But they have gotten ever so much better with the predictions.

I had the pizza for lunch today, and it was delicious.  I'll definitely get some from there again!  I hope all slept as good as I did last night - woke up about 7:45.  And that's amazing for me!  Nothing much else doing today.  Tomorrow afternoon, one of the local multi-screen theaters is showing The King and I.  I just might go.  It'll be fun to see it without cuts on a big screen.

Happy weekend, Buddies!

ps.  Happy Anniversary  to Ginny Ann and Ray!

No, Thank God, it's NOT Ray with the macular degeneration.  It's a good friend he used to do the RAGBRAI bike ride across Iowa with.  It's a week long bike ride with something like 10,000 riders.  Daryl is the one with MD, but his wife said she can make the font on the Kindle big enough for him to still be able to read.  He's getting the shots in his eyes...at $3,000 a shot, but says his insurance has been good on payment.

Drizzly morning here. Ray had a Masonic thing this morning, so I got my umbrella and took the 5 purple baby hats I'd made down to the Coffee Den to give to the knitter who collects them now for the Hospital.  They put them on the newborns in November for Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness month.  They're all handmade by local knitters and donated, and it's nice to be a part of that.  They seem to appreciate it, too.

This seems to be new car time:  Marilyn, Sharon's John, and now we're off this afternoon to get Ray's new car.  He's trading in his 8 yr old Avalanche for a smaller SUV.  It's a Volvo XC60.  We've never had a Volvo, but their safety rating is always near the top and it has the safety features I have on my car and we wanted on his now.

We have no doc appointments next week...hurrah!!!!

We went out last night with one of our Friday night couples...and he's just bought a new car.  He's 88 and amazing!  He said he thought this would be his last one...he'd had his last one for 14 yrs...

jane

Jane. Oh! good. I also read you post like it was you husband that got the Bad  Eyes Report. Sorry for his friend but happy to know not your H.  I was thinking my goodness and he loves to play golf so much and would have to quit.
Sure wish I knew all you people trading in cars. I need one but don't want to buy another brand new. Don't hardly put any miles on now. Also my Insurance would go up to about $1100. Just depends what a got i suppose but now I pay $299. Would be a big change.  My Honda Accord is still good. Bought new but getting so old. Only has 80000 on it. Would like to find a one owner trade in or at a Estate sale with just about 35000 miles on it. Well taken care of. Keep looking. All the dealer have from Auction houses or lease cars. Want none of those.
Did you all go over to Photo's and see What Bubble posted? She has a photo of Pat in there. Sad to read that Bubble now gone back home to Israel.

jane, glad to hear it's not Ray with macular degeneration.

And ever so glad that it's not me getting a new car.  There are things I'd like to have, but not enough to have to deal with getting something else.

Jane, sorry I misread your post, but glad it wasn't Ray with MD.  I have a friend with it who gets shots in her eyes. She can drive here in Sun City and the adjacent shopping area, but not on the highway.  Ms. Frances got a new Lexus shortly after she turned 90!  And she has about 60,000 miles on it!  Of course when she bought it, I thought she was nuts, but what did I know.  Hope Ray likes his Volvo. I've always heard they were good but never  had one.

Jeanne, keep looking at the ads and you may find a good used car. My sil, Sangmin won't buy a new car and will search all over to find one a year or two old that has low mileage and in good shape. They bought an Audi that way a couple years ago.  You lose so much in depreciation the first year that it makes sense, but he is more knowledgeable about cars.

Mary, glad your pizza was good.  I doubt that we'll be impacted much by the storm or hurricane, but who knows.  Sharon