Soda Shoppe December 1 , 2024

BarbStAubrey · December 25, 2024, 10:45:58 AM

Happy Hanukah morning - Merry Christmas morning

Whew - thank goodness I do not have much cleaning up but we had some storm last night - briefly lost power and was proud of myself - the wifi was knocked out and I handled it and then recharged and got everything working without calling AT&T - thank goodness I had my cell charged so I was not completely shut off... the Tornado did touch down further south in south east Houston - not fun for the few houses destroyed and on Christmas - nearby businesses still have their automatic emergency lights on and probably they will stay on till they open tomorrow and then I notice some houses on the street with no lights and so my guess is those of us with electricity are using generators. A few branches down but nothing major and if anything major happened at Paul's house he has great neighbors and they would have called him - but that was sure some show of rain and lightening for hours last night.

Amy · December 26, 2024, 07:18:24 AM

Good morning.

Another chilly day with a temp of 19°. Nothing poressing today other than pick up meds. Then pick apart the turkey to vacuum seal.

I just might find time to start a new quilt!

Barb, can't imagine living in an area visited by tornados. We have had a few here but not many thankfully.

Better get on with the day.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

patricia19 · December 26, 2024, 12:26:09 PM

Good morning, another cloudy day here, but I've got lots to do inside. Barb, I agree with Amy, I want no part of any tornados.

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and hopefully looking forward to a happy new year!

Meet and greets went well this morning and everyone enjoyed their Christmas. Farrah's fed and coffee's perking, I've got plant care, and other morning chores yet to do and perhaps some laundry. So, I'd better get to it.

JaneS · December 27, 2024, 07:15:50 AM

Good Morning Everyfriend! I'm up and (sort of) attem! No Cooper today but there are still two doggies in my house. They just came running down the hall and then saw me and I went and let them out in the yard. And then back in and in the process, I discovered that one of my guests decided to open the sofa bed and sleep there last night. So now I'm just waiting for them to wake up. I think my SIL is going home today and that means only one doggie after he leaves and she's itsy bitsy.

I hope you all have a great day. Make it your own in every way! And don't forget to share it with us. We miss you when you don't stop by! And I miss you when I don't manage to stop by!

Amy · December 27, 2024, 07:21:06 AM

Good morning.

We had a light dusting of snow overnight..temp is 21° at the moment.

Finishing up on what didn't get done yesterday and make contact for a quilt delivery for tomorrow if possible.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Miss Jane, hope you post today or your phone will ring..!

ok, see you did post.. enjoy your family.

MarsGal · December 27, 2024, 10:06:48 AM

Good morning everyone. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. The meal at Red Lobster was good, as usual, but the increased prices (again) and the reduced choice of sides with the meal kind of dampened my spirits ever so slightly. Nevertheless, the portions where huge, so I brought half of it home. The remaining salmon is going into a sandwich for lunch.

I am staying home New Years. I had thought to do a pork roast with sauerkraut and potatoes, but changed my mind. The available pork at the market was way pricey except for a 4lb. boneless center cut roast. At $2.99lb vs. around $5.50lb for everything else, I got a little suspicious of the quality. Four pounds is a little more than I wanted to contend with, not to mention I would have gotten a free 32oz. bag of sauerkraut and a five pound bag of red potatoes with it. I already had bought a five pound bag of russet potatoes last week, there is a big jar of sauerkraut on my shelf and my freezer is full. Instead, what I have coming with my groceries in an hour or so are corned beef slices from the deli, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing, and rye bread. Fries are in the freezer. I have not had a Reuben in years.

Oscar is eating every bit of the Royal Canin K/D prescription cat food I got for him. It is labeled "Early Stages" and is not one I can get at the usual places. My vet signed on with a supplier of pet pharmaceutical, vet, and kennel supplies that sells and ships directly to pet owners with prescriptions. I could be imagining it, but I think Oscar is gaining a little weight back. I want to get him up to 12lb. He was down to 10lb when the vet weighed him last and has started feeling a bit bony when I pet him.

patricia19 · December 27, 2024, 03:18:54 PM

Good morning, seven degrees here with more light snow. I've picked up a stiff neck yesterday and today, but a friend brought me over some topical gel which seems to help. I have a feeling, it's a case of hard pillow and sleeping on my side.

Meet and greets went well, Farrah's had some of her salmon, (her newest favorite); and is laying next to me on her back with all four feet in the air.

I normally don't eat ham as it's too salty but ended up with one for Christmas. My group normally gives food for Christmas because we have everything else, and lucky me got a bone in ham with absolutely no freezer space available. I was going to cook it but after talking with a friend, it's packed and sitting on my balcony.

MG, Farrah also weighs ten pounds, and it was only a few years back, we were discussing a diet as she was 15 pounds. We went a year on feline dietary food that made both of us unhappy and at the end of that year, her weight hadn't budged. Three years later and she's two pounds under the average feline weight. She goes in next month for an exam and immunizations, and I intend to discuss it at that time. I normally weigh her by first standing on the scale alone and then back on holding her.

When I talked to my sister, she was back rehabbing and refurbishing her house. Before her coast-to-coast trip last fall, she had torn out several large stones in her yard and set it up for a larger garden in the spring. This winter, she is buying new furniture and doing a gallery wall.

She's a decade younger than me, but even so, I was never that active at her age. This is the same one who at sixteen purchased one of those red Chevy love pickups and totally upholstered the inside in red gingham over batting. I admit to being envious of her vision and enthusiasm.

Amy, today, I need to get done what hasn't been done for the last two days. I need to water my plants, and do some laundry.

Jane, enjoy your family visits. Both you, Amy and MG, are lucky to have family close. Mine is 4000 miles away but we talk and often email.

I talked to my cousin on email recently after I discovered he had taken the same Ancestry DNA test I had some years back. They recently sent me an advert trying to get me to rejoin and sent the two family members info onsite who my DNA most resembled. One was my maternal cousin and the other my sister's son. It was amazing to see the close similarities, only a point or two off, practically identical. My maternal side all seemed to favor Ancestry and my paternal side favored 23&Me.

I discovered, after growing up in a proudly Irish clan, that I was only 11% Irish and the rest from the Netherlands and Belgium. My father's side was Germany, Wales and Scotland. In other words, northern European. I'm glad in a way that my mother never lived to know she wasn't wholly Irish. It was such a large part of her identity.

Amy · December 28, 2024, 06:30:19 AM

Good morning..

Starting temp is 28° with a 36% chance of rain this afternoon.

Most of what needed to be done was done yesterday .Just need to pick the turkey bones and make soup to can.

We have family coming tomorrow for a visit so last minute tidy up.

Patrica, do you think your sister could share her energy? Mine seems to wane faster than I want it to.

Better get at the day.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

patricia19 · December 28, 2024, 01:43:35 PM

Good morning, we're set to drop down the thermometer this evening with some light snow today at eight degrees. Farrah's been fed and I'm on my first cup of coffee. Meet and greets went well with those finishing up colds staying wrapped in hot drinks and warm blankets.

I did get the plants watered, but three out of the six are becoming heavy for me to lift them back on the shelves after. They're large and in ten by ten pots from last year and already need re-potting. If Farrah wasn't so keen on fresh greens, I'd have them set lower in my office.

Amy, I wish I had my sister's energy too. She's creative and before retirement owned a craft shop for a number of years. She also bred and showed dalmatians for a few years before that.

I find it hard to do more than a few items on my daily list and it often turns into a weekly one.

MarsGal · December 28, 2024, 06:11:33 PM

Maybe an indoor plant watering hose will help, Patricia? A lot of them hook up to the faucet. Not handy if your plants aren't close to a faucet. But, I saw some that come with a container to hold the water. Almost all of the ones that Google found came from Amazon, though I can't believe that other garden supply stores don't have some. What is nice is that you don't have to move your plants. Even so, some of those containers, full, may weigh some. The one I looked at holds a half (about 4lb.) gallon. A wheeled base for potted plants would work just fine.

JaneS · December 28, 2024, 08:18:29 PM

Time to say "Good Night Everyfriend"! Today was a pretty easy day except for one thing....Christy went back home to Maryland! Things are now back to usual around here. Frankie texted from work to ask if Cooper could stay overnight. So tonight I have a bedfellow!

When I finish here, I'll be off to turn all the lights off, unplug the Christmas tree and hit the hay! I wish you all a peaceful night's sleep and a happy day tomorrow. Make the day your own in every way and let us know how you did that! Maybe we'll try your way!

GOOD NIGHT!!

BarbStAubrey · December 28, 2024, 09:03:37 PM

Oh Patricia I am so glad you shared how of late your daily list becomes more like a weekly list - I thought it was me and reviewing my vitamin intake and scolding myself for not walking at least the length of the driveway or my erratic sleep hours that I was getting tired so quickly and not accomplishing in a day what I could even last winter - whew it is just aging - Mom did not live past 74 and where my grandmother did live to be 99 she lived with my aunt and cousin in another state so I did not see that much of her in her elder years. Now my other aunt who lived to be over 100 visited me with my cousin, her daughter when she was 92 as bright and perky as could be and so I was using her as my example and for sure I am not matching her bright and perky physical ability and so I was sure I was doing something wrong but with you sharing your good intentions take longer I am breathing again... it is just aging and we all age differently - for sure I'm not aging as my Aunt, my father's sister.

Trying to decide if I pack up Christmas tomorrow - I usually left things till January 6 but our weather with all the storms and tornadoes is defiantly a Spring phenomenon that happens every year, granted usually the end of January and the Almanac did say we were not going to have much of a winter I'm feeling more like I should pack up and get on with the next set of seasonal activities.

Are any of you packing up this weekend or are you enjoying the cozy Christmas feel you've created a bit longer?

Amy · December 29, 2024, 06:52:43 AM

Good morning

More rain today, making the snow deflate. Not as foggy as yesterday but that can change ,temp is 36° at the moment.

Company has postponed their arrival until tomorrow with hopes for better weather.

Jane, hope Cooper shared some bed with you.

MG ,do you know of any cat food to give a cat that is losing weight? Callie (next door cat) has been losing weight yet she still eats.

Rick, Oak Island is on tonight but I don't stay up to watch it. I tape it then watch tomorrow and fast forward through all the commercials. Seems lately there is more commercials than program.

Better stat the day.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

RAMMEL · December 29, 2024, 09:12:54 AM

Quote from: Amy on December 29, 2024, 06:52:43 AMRick, Oak Island is on tonight but I don't stay up to watch it. I tape it then watch tomorrow and fast forward through all the commercials. Seems lately there is more commercials than program.

It's shown here on Tuesday night, @9:00. Wasn't on last week because of Holiday scheduling. Will see about this week. Seems everything is loaded with commercials. I've counted ten short ones at one time. I asked my son if he remembers what the first or second one was and he has no idea. I think they are just a waste of time, and money on the advertiser's part.

Amy · December 29, 2024, 10:42:27 AM

Rick, some are so annoying that we change to another channel then back when we think the ad is over. Some make you want to not buy their product!

RAMMEL · December 29, 2024, 11:51:11 AM

I very much agree.

CallieOK · December 29, 2024, 02:13:26 PM

Barb, I agree about slowing down before you're ready! I used to multi-task way better than I do now. Don't have as much energy, either. That happened with Christmas. I've always had family over for Christmas "supper" because one son's in-laws celebrated on Christmas Eve and the other one on Christmas morning.
This year, I just didn't have the energy to set up for that many people and so no one was here and I just put out very few decorations that I could manage to do myself. I'm putting away one room at a time - "leisurely" (not slowly LOL)

I've read about your storms. Family of friends live in the Houston area but I don't know if they had any damage. My friend in the Florida panhandle reported they had a tornado in the wee hours last night and she was in her closet from 3:00 a.m. until 4:30 a.m. She didn't report if her area had any damage.

Amy and Rick, I totally agree with the number of commercials! Only good thing is that they give me time to do something I need to do in the break.

BarbStAubrey · December 29, 2024, 06:06:06 PM

Yes commercials have gotten a bit much - I've tuned them out - a couple of jingly like songs I remember but have no clue what they were or are selling - like you Amy gives me time to get something done...

Tornado hit just north of me in Conroe about 10 miles from me as the crow flies - feel lucky that it did not come across and affect me - This is when being elderly is the pits - would love to help but no way any longer - No life lost and from what I'm hearing a resale lot for vehicles took a big hit however, so did a couple of homes. Of course huge electric outage - Half those without power were back on within hours - makes my concern if I should pack up Christmas Decorations a blip in the scheme of things...

JaneS · December 29, 2024, 08:21:08 PM

Well, I've read all your entries. With regard to the tornadoes...My newest great-grandson lives in Houston and as soon as I saw the news, I called my daughter to see if they were near it. She said they weren't and I followed with two prayers...one of thanks for my family's safety and one for those involved.

I wish that I were a bit younger and a bit more able also. Doing anything wears me out. When Cooper and I go for a walk, we get back and remove all the outer wear and hang it up, give Cooper his treats, and collapse! I uses to just keep going and that's over! But I'm thankful for each day that I get through and for each job that I finish!

Tomorrow, Frankie doesn't have to be at work until 7 and that's late for her. I prefer that one to the early one. We don't have to wait as long for daylight to appear. But I will definitely welcome SPRING! I won't have to wear as many clothes just to stay warm!

Right now, I'm only staying up until I catch up on my eye drops. For some reason, I got behind on them and I still have two more to go. I have to wait a half hour between them. But when those last one go in, I'll be hitting the haystack! I wish you all a peaceful night's sleep and a great day tomorrow. Make it your own in every way! And don't forget to share it with us. We might like to try your way for a change!

CallieOK · December 29, 2024, 09:10:20 PM

Re commercials: I'm bad about missing the first few minutes of a show I want to watch. So numerous commercials give me time to reverse and watch what I've missed.

Jane, I have to wait between 2 eye drops at bedtime. I try to use the first one before I go in to brush my teeth, wash my face, etc. I can't imagine waiting half an hour between several. Do you normally start right after dinner?

Just placed a grocery order to be delivered tomorrow afternoon. Was going to wait until later in the week, but weather forecast sounds cold and possibly snowy... starting tomorrow night.

Sleep well, Everyfriend and have pleasant dreams.

BarbStAubrey · December 30, 2024, 01:04:10 AM

Me too - just placed my grocery delivery order for tomorrow - I was not as concerned about weather as much as my order getting short shift among the New Year's orders for either New Year's Eve or probably the games all day into the night on Wednesday.

Clear sunny and warm tomorrow in the high 70s and then it drops back into the 60s Tuesday and Wednesday.

Didn't take down Christmas today but for sure tomorrow most of it gets packed away

Haven't cried watching either a movie or TV in years and years but the tears spilled and I was a wreck watching both episodes of All Creatures Great and Small - the first when James leaves for war and the second when Mrs. Hall decides to stay and not marry Gerald - both episodes are very well acted and pulled the heart strings... Looking forward to mid January when a new season starts.

Amy · December 30, 2024, 07:11:33 AM

Good morning

Misty rain out there according to the weather dog..temp is 42°. Snow has gone down a lot! Police are warning folks to stay off the lakes ice is thin but as you know some do not listen.

Company coming today is the weather behaves. Everything is ready just need to do a tidy up.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

JaneS · December 30, 2024, 08:43:34 AM

Good Morning Everyfriend! I've been up and attem for a while. Cooper arrived a bit before 7, ate his breakfast and then we waited for daylight to take his walk! I forgot to grab my sunglasses and the sun was just clearing the roofs. I was very uncomfortable in that time and place!

CALLIE, I begin my eye drops in the morning. I have 4 different kinds....3 that have to be done twice a day and one right before bedtime! I keep them lined up on the shelf in the bathroom and change places when I've done them for that day. Just this morning, I commented to the person in my mirror that I wish I didn't need them. I'm really tired of having to do them. The lady in the mirror didn't comment. She never does!

Now Cooper is sleeping in the living room and the next time I start moving around, he'll probably ask to go out in the yard. It's fenced and he can do that on his own!

I have a bunch of stuff to catch up on today but I'm in a mood to ignore it. However, when I go in another room and see it, I'll be forced to do it! I wonder what the word "retirement" really means!

I wish you all a great day! Make it your own in every way! And if it includes how to get out of housework, let me know! There must be a good way to do that!

RAMMEL · December 30, 2024, 09:52:24 AM

Quote from: JaneS on December 30, 2024, 08:43:34 AMI wonder what the word "retirement" really means!

Retire " Re-Tire (Tire again).

patricia19 · December 30, 2024, 01:28:27 PM

I haven't had a TV in years, nor do I see adverts on my Kindle or on YouTube as I purchased a good ad blocker, but I can sympathize. Adverts are a good way for me not to buy a product, I always have this nagging feeling that any item needing an advertising blitz either has something wrong with it or a newer one is coming out and they need to clear inventory. Another good reason is that I simply don't need anything.

JaneS · December 30, 2024, 09:44:22 PM

I'm ready to hit the haystack! I fell asleep on the sofa watching the old Perry Mason show. When I woke up, I decided that it was past time for bed.!

RICK, I like your version of RE-tire-ment! I think it works better than the other one! Thanks for helping me over that hurdle!

Now I'm off to the haystack! I'm so sleepy, I can hardly keep my eyes open and Cooper won't be here tomorrow so I'll have a slower day. I wish you all a good night's sleep and a good tomorrow!

Amy · December 31, 2024, 06:12:28 AM

Good morning.

A light dusting of snow fell ovennight ,starting with a temp of 33° this morning.

We had a great time with the kids yesterday, grands are growing up too quickly!

Today is D duties and cutting up fabric..I hope.

Rick and Jane, don't you mean re-tired ment? One wonders how they found time to work when they retire. At least now when you get busy hopefully it is something that you enjoy doing. Must admit I did enjoy my jobs though, never a day I didn't want to go to work.

Better get at this day.

Happy New Year to you and safe travel for those on the roads.

Enjoy your day and stay safe

.

Amy · December 31, 2024, 06:28:34 AM

Sounds about right..

JaneS · December 31, 2024, 07:47:35 AM

Good Morning Everyfriend! No Cooper today so I'm up later than usual and I'm not dressed yet. But the last of my breakfast (the coffee) is in front of me!

AMY, I liked all your descriptions of re-tired! Now if I can just remember them!

Today is my own. I wonder what I'll do with it. I wish you all a good one. Do whatever suits your fancy! Once I manage to get dressed and put the bedroom back in order, I'll probably go for a walk. I don't need Cooper to do that. All I need is the thought in my mind, some memory, and the urge to GO!

Enjoy your day, Everyfriend! Do what suits you best (if you can remember what that is)!

Amy · December 31, 2024, 10:21:00 AM

A friend sent me this and I am not sure what folder to put it in so if it needs to be moved that is ok. This is well worth the read.

This is a wonderful true story. You will be glad that you read it, and I hope you will pass it on.
It happened every Friday evening, almost without fail, when the sun resembled a giant orange and was starting to dip into the blue ocean.
Old Ed came strolling along the beach to his favorite pier.
Clutched in his bony hand was a bucket of shrimp. Ed walks out to the end of the pier, where it seems he almost has the world to himself. The glow of the sun is a golden bronze now.
Everybody's gone, except for a few joggers on the beach. Standing out on the end of the pier, Ed is alone with his thoughts...and his bucket of shrimp.
Before long, however, he is no longer alone. Up in the sky a thousand white dots come screeching and squawking, winging their way toward that lanky frame standing there on the end of the pier.
Before long, dozens of seagulls have enveloped him, their wings fluttering and flapping wildly. Ed stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds. As he does, if you listen closely, you can hear him say with a smile, 'Thank you. Thank you.'
In a few short minutes the bucket is empty. But Ed doesn't leave. He stands there lost in thought, as though transported to another time and place .
When he finally turns around and begins to walk back toward the beach, a few of the birds hop along the pier with him until he gets to the stairs, and then they, too, fly away. And old Ed quietly makes his way down to the end of the beach and on home.
If you were sitting there on the pier with your fishing line in the water, Ed might seem like 'a funny old duck,' as my dad used to say. Or, to onlookers, he's just another old codger, lost in his own weird world, feeding the seagulls with a bucket full of shrimp.
To the onlooker, rituals can look either very strange or very empty. They can seem altogether unimportant .....maybe even a lot of nonsense.
Old folks often do strange things, at least in the eyes of Boomers and Millennials.
Most of them would probably write Old Ed off, down there in Florida ... That's too bad. They'd do well to know him better.
His full name: Eddie Rickenbacker. He was a famous hero in World War I, and then he was in WWII. On one of his flying missions across the Pacific, he and his seven-member crew went down. Miraculously, all of the men survived, crawled out of their plane, and climbed into a life raft.
Captain Rickenbacker and his crew floated for days on the rough waters of the Pacific. They fought the sun. They fought sharks. Most of all, they fought hunger and thirst. By the eighth day their rations ran out. No food. No water. They were hundreds of miles from land and no one knew where they were or even if they were alive.
Every day across America millions wondered and prayed that Eddie Rickenbacker might somehow be found alive.
The men adrift needed a miracle. That afternoon they had a simple devotional service and prayed for a miracle.
They tried to nap. Eddie leaned back and pulled his military cap over his nose. Time dragged on. All he could hear was the slap of the waves against the raft...suddenly Eddie felt something land on the top of his cap. It was a seagull!
Old Ed would later describe how he sat perfectly still, planning his next move. With a flash of his hand and a squawk from the gull, he managed to grab it and wring its neck. He tore the feathers off, and he and his starving crew made a meal of it - a very slight meal for eight men. Then they used the intestines for bait. With it, they caught fish, which gave them food and more bait....and the cycle continued. With that simple survival technique, they were able to endure the rigors of the sea until they were found and rescued after 24 days at sea.
Eddie Rickenbacker lived many years beyond that ordeal, but he never forgot the sacrifice of that first life-saving seagull... And he never stopped saying, 'Thank you.' That's why almost every Friday night he would walk to the end of the pier with a bucket full of shrimp and a heart full of gratitude.
Reference: (Max Lucado, "In The Eye of the Storm", pp...221, 225-226)
PS: Eddie Rickenbacker was the founder of Eastern Airlines. Before WWI he was race car driver. In WWI he was a pilot and became America's first ace. In WWII he was an instructor and military adviser, and he flew missions with the combat pilots. Eddie Rickenbacker is a true American hero. And now you know another story about the trials and sacrifices that brave men have endured for your freedom.
As you can see, I chose to pass this story along as it was passed to me from my father. It is a great story that many don't know...I think it exemplifies a couple of life's lessons to be remembered. You've got to be careful with old guys, you just never know what they have done during their lifetime. It also speaks to me about how we never know what we adversity we might face, but when we put our talent both mentally and physically together, we can overcome, but we must never forget what we learned and to remember to thank those that helped pull us through even if it was as something seemingly meaningless as a seagull and to pay it forward.
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Soda Shoppe December 1 , 2024

BarbStAubrey

Amy

patricia19

JaneS

Amy

MarsGal

patricia19

Amy

patricia19

MarsGal

JaneS

BarbStAubrey

Amy

RAMMEL

Amy

RAMMEL

CallieOK

BarbStAubrey

JaneS

CallieOK

BarbStAubrey

Amy

JaneS

RAMMEL

patricia19

JaneS

Amy

Amy

JaneS

Amy