Amy good to see you this A M stay in and stay warm as long as you have heat and plenty to eat the sidewalk won't be any worse off with snow on it. any young people coming to see you can weather the snow fine and the old need to either call on phone or weight until a better day.

Lloyd

Hi Everyone on this day after Christmas.  It is a beautiful clear cool morning here in South Carolina and we will be in the low 50's again this afternoon.  We had a very nice and enjoyable day yesterday.  Our granddaughter did nice job on the Christmas dinner, which was delicious.  We had a nice small gift exchange.  Pat's sister gave us one of those Ring video doorbells that is motion activated so that anyone approaching the porch will be recorded and I will receive a notification and the video on my phone.  It also works as an intercom.  She also gave me a nice new sweater.  Everyone was tired last night after a great day.  I plan on a very laid back day today and have no plans of leaving the house.  I did fix Pat's breakfast this morning as her back was hurting as she was probably on her feet too much yesterday and did not use her walker, which was a first for sometime.  She is using it today.

Lloyd, how long does one of those big bales last for the cattle?  I hadn't thought about the job of taking those small bales from the hayloft and spreading the hay out for the cows to eat. 

Rammel, nice to see your posting and hope you also had a Merry Christmas with that snow on the ground. 

Jenny, it sounds like you had a fun Christmas.  I think the package delivery companies and the Post Office were overwhelmed with deliveries.  I read that Fed EX or UPS had pulled some of their office staff to help with the overload of handling the packages. 

junee, one of the things I noticed about the head phones is that you could hear the background noises like birds singing which adds a lot to the programs I am watching.  As Mary Ann indicated Gloria's grandson took her computer to work on it.  We are assuming that he still has it and hopefully Gloria is OK.  Hopefully she will have her computer back and can rejoin us. 

June, it sounds like you had a great Christmas and a good Christmas dinner. 

Hal, what did you get for Christmas.  In our family it is our tradition that the youngest hands out the gifts and gets to open their presents first.  We have always had one person open all their gifts and then move on to the next oldest.  That means I am always the last to open my gifts. Glad your family had safe travels and it is always welcome to hear that they are safely in their homes. 

Jane, will your granddaughter be staying with you until Thursday?  Do you have to handle exchanges at your register or do they do that at customer service?   

Amy, I expect you are used to those bad roads up your way and know how to drive on them.  Here in the South people panic and don't know how to drive on snow and icy roads. 

Larry,
Yes, I know what you mean about hearing the background sounds.  Gloria would skype her daughter in a far away State every day and I cannot imagine her being without a computer all this time.    I do hope all is well.
We have been enjoying some cooler weather which was welcome after extreme heat.
2018 is approaching and I send my good wishes to all for Happy New Year and good health.

LARRY, my granddaughter will be staying here and sometimes with my son until Thursday.  She and Kiran are best buddies and Kiran is off school this week so Frankie (my granddaughter) will go over to their house and spend some time with her.  They are both going to love it.

I do NOT handle any of the exchanges.  They have customer service well staffed and two regular registers open ONLY for exchanges.  It goes pretty fast and no one waits very long.  But I'm sure glad I'm not one of the ones there.  I'm off to greet my public now.  Enjoy your day Everyfriend!

Good Morning Everyone!

Well it is the morning after Christmas and the wife is off to a doctors appointment.  I have one with the dentist tomorrow morning.  Doesn't take long for the old routine to return.

Larry, I got a couple of new belts, I needed, a B I G basket of all kinds of fancy nuts and a tin of fancy candies and best of all most of the family for a great dinner and lots of visiting.  Isn't sharing Christmas with family what it is all about?

Lite rain here this morning and cool, almost cold.  My leaves from my trees are covering my yard and my yard people are behind because of the rain.  The charged my credit card and I called them on it and they said they would be here Saturday but never showed, so, another phone call this morning. grrrrrrrr

Hope everyone has a great day, I am doing check book, see if I have any money left....LOL

Good Morning,

Looks as if everyone had a good day yesterday.  So did I - very peaceful and quiet.  I made iced tea in my new Iced Tea Maker and enjoyed hot apple cider from my new Keurig.  Made tea in it for breakfast this morning.
I'm sure I'll be reading the directions every time I use either one for quite a while!
(Have to grin at the idea that family apparently thinks my whistling teakettle is redundant.   )

Speaking of family -   Miss Ellen had smooth flights back to NYC (layover in St. Louis) and even arrived a bit earlier than scheduled.

Did some Googling and discovered there are no headphones compatible with my Samsung t.v. model.  Son/dil gave me the tv when they got a new one and I guess it's just old enough to miss the new development.

Housecleaner coming today.   I think I'll take down the garland on the mantle and put away the small Christmas trees so she can clean up any droppings.

Wishing Everyfriend Everywhere an Enjoyable Day.

Lloyd, too late....shovelling and snow blowing is done, wood box filled and another load ready to go in when empty.I am toasty warm when outside,have a down jacket with hood on it, boots that are good for -40 and deer skin mitts with  thick lining in them.

We have been to town ,didn't get meds due to drug store being closed today so tomorrow it is. I did pick up some dairy products at one store though.

Jane have a great day at work..enjoy your granddaughters visit.

Larry, we are used to driving in snow, you do get some people that are in a big hurry and want to pass others. A real meanace on the roads. I think Lloyd meant he unrolls one of the big bales and they are huge. One fellow I need unrolled one of his on a ramp and it ended up killing a calf.

Junee, we all miss Glorias posts and hope she is back here and soon. 

Hal, I really like the old routine..guess I am set in my ways..

Callie, hubby has an outfit that plugs into the tv and he can watch it with no sound on but the sound comes through his hearing aids. Good in the early mornings when he is up and I am not.

Better go see what I can rustle up for lunch..

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz the day after Christmas & all that unexpected cooking!  It was like old days except this time I could afford the luxury of serving meats that were PRE-cooked (from Sam's Club).  Such a joy to feed my crowd but sadly, youngest son was not here.... was with his "other family". 

We had 2 of the roasts & one whole smoked brisket that everyone loved.  Put all that over at least 5-7 pounds (had a 10 lb bag) of mashed potatoes, corn I cooked & froze last fall, "Steamers" cauliflower, broccoli & carrots, a buttery box of Birdseye brussels sprouts (surprised me how many like them) and a whole head of lettuce with lots of extra from the salad bar (smart thinking the day before, huh?) 

Had help in the kitchen from my daughter & DIL, had bowls of munchies all around the big table so the 3 cousins could nibble until food was ready.  Everyone feels comfortable about going back to the stove & surrounding cabinet for 2nd or 3rds.... but still some left overs. 

Everyone offered to help clean up but all you ladies know, it's easier to just do it yourself & know where things go.  I could not have dreamed a better day..... BUT......I did sleep in this morning & still in my jammies.  Got to shower & make a run to the store, poor Tiger has been out of her tuna for 2 days & looks so pitiful when she sniffs her breakfast bowl & it's only salmon or the canned chicken breast.      

At 4:00 today we have the whole gathering at the oldest grandson's house.  My daughter couldn't wait to give me what she ordered for me 6 months ago.  She said it takes that long to get it..... a Louis Vuitton tote with my initials on.... that has the smaller clutch that can be used separately.  She assures me it is guaranteed to hold 400 lbs (as if I could carry that heavy).  Never in this life would I have spent that much on something like this, but I am delighted.  Seriously, it is ideal for travel, not practical, but one of those "once in a lifetime" luxuries to just enjoy. 

I know not everyone would have been excited & happy with all the work yesterday, but I did and loved every minute of seeing them enjoy.  Doubt if I will ever do it again, (am thinking about passing down some of my big cooking equipment to make sure!). 

Lunch time and I'm still in my robe, need to shower & wash my hair, had a wild night.  Think I must have slept well past my 8 hours for once. 

Amy I envy you those boots & deer skin mitts!  I do enjoy reading about your life. 

Hope Gloria gets her computer fixed or Santa brings another.... like all of you, I do miss her.  Even if she got a new one it takes time to load everything.  It would take me 6 months to do what Larry does overnight on his & Pats. 

Junee, so nice to see your beautiful bird in here....

My husband bought many of those wireless & wired type devices to hear TV & never found any that worked for him.  Still have  a big container full of them, some in boxes. I figure some day I may need them.  He returned some early on but didn't bother later.  Shopping online was a great pleasure  his last few years, but his particular hearing problem couldn't be fixed. 

I'd better get moving.  The big day is ahead & I'm not ready for "prime time"..... I just realized NOBODY has mentioned all the Nov & Dec birthdays we usually celebrate with a big Dairy Queen ice cream cake.  I often pick up the biggest they make & it serves all with nothing left over. Need to make some phone calls.................  Wish everyone as happy & satisfied as I am at this time... it is a gift from God, for sure.

Hello Everyone, my grandson just left and first thing
is getting here to S&F to let you know I am still here
in the land of the living. I have missed all of you so
much. Skype is now set up so maybe I will get to
see my daughter later. Right now they are heading
back to Arizon after a week in San Diego. I have not
read any posts yet and I imagine there are many
of them so do not know if I will read all of them.
My grandson installed Win 10 and partiioned the
hard drive and installed my 7 home. Have a few
hundred emails waiting for me.  too. Maybe I
should do like Shirley does. start at the end and
work backwards.
If I had anyone's phone number I w ould have
called to let you know why I was not here for much
too long. I think My grson had this PC at his house
for a month or more. He could only work on it in
his spare time.
We did have a white Christmas and when my son
came to pick me up to go to his home it was almost
a white out, remionded me of driving home in the
1978 blizzard that dropped 60 inches of snow here,
not counting the drigts we had.
Hope to see all of you in the morning.
Gloria

There's Gloria!     Looking forward to cyber-seeing you again.

Gloria, it's good to see a post from you.  I hope everything will go OK from now on.

I also hope you had a nice Christmas with your family. 

Welcome back!

Mary Ann

  Welcome home!! We missed you Gloria!!!!

Yay!  Gloria's back!  I just discovered this morning that I have your telephone number and if you hadn't showed up today, I was going to call you tomorrow.  I hope you would have answered.  I have a Texas area code since I'm on my daughter's plan.  Try to remember that for future reference.

Today was terrible!  Between the bargain hunters and the regular food shoppers, there was non stop customers through the lines.  I was exhausted when I got home!

But I rested and now I'm ready to sit in there and watch some TV...or hang out on the computer.  Don't I sound ambitious!

Larry I have counting bull cows and calves 45 head of cattle. and this kind of weather I feed one of the big bales every day, they clean it up pretty good. I forgot to tell you I take the twine off as it is not healthy for them to eat it and UN role it for them. hope that answers your thought. hope you all have a good restful sleep tonight. sweet Dreams. hope to see you all tomorrow. good night all.

Lloyd

Welcome Home Gloria ! How good it feels to see you posting again. My thanks to your Grandson.

I was feeling tired today, so just stayed at home, napped and read and napped some more. Can't seem to get rid of this cough, but I am well enough to gripe.

I'm going to go fix a light supper and get ready for bed.....first I have to down and check my mail box. Hope to see you later. June

Welcome back Gloria, we missed you lady.  Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

I forgot to tell you all, my son in law turned the heater on for his pool and all the kids and some of the grown ups all went swimming Christmas day.  It was okay so long as they stayed in the pool but the wind was blowing and when they got out they froze their tootsies off. brrrrrrrrrr.  I did not participate.

Well bed time and I am ready to crawl under the covers and get some zzzzzzz's.

Nite, nite, God Bless and Sweet dreams.

Good Morning everyone. it is -4º @ 5:46 A M.  Baby it is cold outside. I plan on just getting out only long enough to feed the cattle. i recommend you all stay in and stay warm.

Lloyd

Good morning everyone..

Brrr chilly here with a temp of - 27°F. We do have to go out today, hubby needs to do blood work, pick up meds from drug store that was closed yesterday  and I am going to go see the snow blower dealer. I am not a happy camper, on Christmas day I was blowing snow with no light. this is a new 30 day old machine so we had better come to an understanding of sorts.. Other than that nothing major on the agenda.

So good to see Gloria back.

Joy, where are you???

Better get going.

Enjoy your day everyone..

edited to add Good morning Lloyd, you are colder than we are!! I remember going out in weather like that to open up the pond so the cows could drink....not a fun job!

Good morning Everyfriend!  I thought it was cold here with 13º but it's already gone down to 11º and it's still not as cold as Missouri or Canada.  I guess I'll survive. 

I'll be off to Wally World again this morning and then more overnight company tonight.

Natalie and Clint (my granddaughter and husband) will be here this afternoon and we have another dinner at her mother's house today.  Also, I have Christmas presents for them.  They will be getting the book with recipes, some of which were contributed by some of you!  I'm eager to see what she thinks of it.

Time to feed the doggies and get myself some breakfast.  I'll be back later...I think!

It is 40 degrees going to 45 as a high and rain forecast.  So we are having a heat wave compared to you all.  Amy I think you misread Lloyd's temp in comparison to yours. His was -4 yours was -27.  I learned one thing in my years in Canada when temps get that cold your don't feel any colder, you just freeze a little faster.....

I awoke, well really didn't sleep much, with a good head cold.   So now I have to call my dentist and cancel my appointment.  Maybe she will tell me to come on in.  All she has to do is put a crown on my tooth.  I'll call and see what she has to say. She always wears a mask anyway.

Lloyd I certainly don't envy you having to get out in that cold to feed the cattle, but they got to be fed in cold weather like you are having.

Amy, those old tires will be snapping and popping when you pull off.  I remember those old nylon tires I had would get flat spots and slap, slap too.  But seems like they always froze to the ground and would pop when you drove off.

Janie, enjoy the family, I know you will.

Hal thank you, I did miss read it...wonder if he would like to trade temps? 

Our vehicles are in the garage so that isn't a problem now and both have heated seats...what a luxury, didn't think I would ever use that but did even in summer.Great for sore backs.
Hope you are soon over that cold.

Amy no thanks you are a good friend but not that good, when I was young and tough I wore a full beard full length was down on my chest. I carried a comb and combed it regular. a friend and I was hauling killer horses to grinville Canada.on a given day was -50 when we got backed up to the dock to unload.
by the time I walked about a 100 feet inside I had two icicle's on my mustache about 4" long from the breath conditioning on it. If we get where we can travel like we plan , and come up there and see you it will be in warm spring or summer. warm enough we can go fishing if senior fishing license do not cost too much there. senior's here older than 65 is no license required. so if it is required there we will just give you a hug and visit. have a great day and stay warm for now.

Lloyd

Hi Everyone on a rainy and chilly morning.  The rain is suppose to continue all morning and then stop after noon. It will stay in the 40's all day.  I had planned to go for a haircut and run a couple of errands this morning but will wait until this afternoon when the rain has stopped.  We expect Scott and Jennifer to be over for dinner with us this evening.  Yesterday was just a quiet and restful day.

Jane, it sounds like Kiran will be keeping Frankie busy while she is there.  Are they about the same age? Glad you didn't have to deal with the exchanges. 

Hal, hope the you can keep the dental appointment today.  You are right it isn't the gifts but the family that make Christmas.  Unfortunately, Pat has decided to send her over the sink "instant counter" back as it has legs on it that make it set up too high.  So that is one of the chores I had today to get it wrapped and ready to return.  Unfortunately I hadn't saved the outer box it came in so will have to wrap it is kraft paper.  Hope your check book was kind to you when you reconciled it.  You stayed out of the pool and yet you have come down with the cold.  Something wrong with this picture. 

Callie, did you get one of the one cup Keurig coffee makers?  If I can remember I will ask my son what he got for our TV that allowed us to use the headphones because the TV didn't have the audio out capability.  These are not Bluetooth headphones. I look for our Christmas decorations to disappear before Friday when our housekeeper will be here. 

Amy, the big bales of hay apparently came into use when we lived in Alaska and I was shocked to see them when we came back to Missouri two years later.  I didn't even know they had such balers.  I remember Lloyd talking about baling some of the small bales and that was the reason for my question to him.  You really are cold there today.  It sounds like you may have gotten one of those lemons with the snow blower. Heated seats in vehicles is really a nice feature.  We have already used ours several times this year if we can remember to turn them on even though it isn't really that cold down here. 

Shirley, you were prepared for the big meal.  That was quite a menu you had for the meal.  Glad you had such a great day.  That must be some kind of Tote bag.  It sounds like a beautiful gift. 

Gloria, a nice Christmas gift to see your message from yesterday and know you are back online. I hope you like Windows 10.  We have it on all of our computers and I have started using the Windows Edge browser.  Once I got my bookmarks setup it is easy to use and fast and the learning curve isn't bad. 

Lloyd, can you unroll those big bales with your tractor?  I have never experienced feeding cattle with a big bale although my dad did use them in the final years he was on the farm.  I know we had to be careful with the twine from the small bales.  That is really cold out your way today.  A good day to watch TV or be on the computer. 

June, sure hope you have a little more pep today and the cough is better.     

Good morning.

Amy,  thanks  for missing me.  LOL  Sorry that you are having problems with your new snowblower.  I really admire you for all the things you do.  You and Shirley must be related to the "Energizer Bunny".

I did have a nice Christmas.  I went to my oldest son's and it was only just our family.  My one DIL had to work for a half-day and we didn't go out until around 3 .  I had asked my son, who really does love to cook, not to go overboard with dinner.  And, for once, he listened. Not  the big spread that he usually does.  So, we were finished dinner in just a short time.  There have been times when we are eating dinner for several hours.  So many different courses.  Since everyone had to go to work the next day,  I didn't want to be out that late.  And, I was home a little after 9.  Was a nice , kind of quiet day.

Yesterday was kind of a very lazy day.  I stayed in my pj's all day. It is so cold that I just wanted to do nothing.  Did get a few things put away and my son had given me some leftovers, so didn't have to do much for dinner. I had gotten several gift cards, so I did wind up doing a little cyber-shopping. 

Not sure what will be happening today.  It has been flurrying all morning, but nothing is sticking to the ground.  It was supposed to start snowing during the night and they were afraid rush hour traffic would be bad, but  glad the snow didn't materialize until now.  And, it doesn't look like it will be a problem.

Gloria, it was so nice to see your posting last night.  You sure were missed.  Just didn't seem right not to see your nice messages every day.  Sure hope that will be the end of your computer problems.  Thanks to you very helpful grandson.

Wish we would hear some news about Joan.  Sure hope that she is doing better.

Larry, I am  curious as to what is the "Instant Counter' that you referred to.  It is always such a pain when you have to return something like that.  Luckily,  I have not had to return anything for a long time now.  Most places wlll enclose a  printed return label, which makes it easy.  If I do have to return  something, I can just put it down by our mailbox and our mailman will take it.

Sorry you are having a rainy morning.  I will welcome rain anytime over snow.  Enjoy your dinner with Scott and Jennifer.  Nice that they come every week.

Hope everyone will have a good day.  For those of you in the cold zones,  sure hope you can stay warm and cozy. 

Joy

Good brrrr morning everyone. Coldest  we have seen this winter so far. Will not be going out for fresh air today. Must be getting old, not liking
winter this year and that is a first. It is all of 4° and wind chill is below -10°.  I spent time after leaving here yesterday trying to learn Win. 10, quite a bit to learn. Quite different from 7 that I used since it was first released. I do have that installed, too. Tried signing into that this morning but it would not accept my password.

So good to be back here again. Thank you my cyber friends for the welcome back. It has been lonesome without coming in here every day. I wished I had someone's phone number but the only one I had was Joan's
and that was from Florida.

CALLIE  I am happy to be back again.

MARY ANN  sure hope this lemon PC makes no more problems.

AMY feels great to be "home" again.

JANE   I never answer my phone unless I recognize the number or a name, I let  my answering machine take it before I answer. So many crank calls and phishing ones. My daughter still has a San Diego area code on her iPhone.

JUNE   my thanks t0 my grandson can never be enough, especially since he does not like working on computers away  from his work hours since he works on computers at his job.

HAL  I missed everyone here so much. When my son came for me Christmas morning it was cold and windy and snowing so hard it was hard to see across the road.

LLOYD  looks like we are both in the deep freeze with this cold and wind.

AMY  still warmer here than you have, that is really the deep freeze.

LARRY  glad to be back at last. Hea ted seats, when my son picks me up 
the seat is already heated and I ask him to turn it off. I think it will take
time for me to get used to 10.

JOY  it is great to be back at alst. I had my son bring me home around 4 in the afternoon, I was exhausted and I wanted to leave before mu DIL's family descended on them. They are wonderful people and I know all of them but I can no longer take all the noise and chatter.

Hal, even in Texas, your family can reminisce about the year they were able to go swimming at Christmastime.  In 1932, we had no snow and my dad and someone else went golfing on Christmas Day - just to say they did it.  Dad was not a golfer.

I noticed a small piece jutting out into Lake Michigan where ice has formed.  Since we are to be in the teens and single digits for at least a week, more ice may form.  The water still is warmer than the air.

It was minus 10 degrees here at 8:30 am and at 10:30 has just turned over to plus 2 degrees.  I think my computer says minus 6 but that is not what my thermometer says.

Gloria, if your daughter has a fancy cell phone (iPhone?) she can keep her San Diego number.  Tom got his first phone in Petoskey MI and still uses that number.  I think you can call long distance with no additional charges now.  You sound as if you had a busy day and I'm with you in not wanting to be in a lot of noise and confusion.

I don't know if I mentioned it here, but Christmas Eve Day, my deceased nephew's wife could not stop at an intersection and t-boned a passing car.  The nephew's wife was hurt quite badly and is in the hospital.  She is coming along OK and when she can walk from the bed to the bathroom, they'll send her home.  She is an RN, among other things, and knows the routine.

Mary Ann

Good Morning,

Brrrrrr!  Temperature in the teens; wind chill in the single digits in Central Oklahoma. 

Larry,  the Keurig is one-cup-at-a-time.  The Earl Grey tea is delicious and I was given a plentiful supply of the cups. However,  I like to add hot water to whatever is left after I've finished eating so I can sip on it as I read the paper.  That was easy to do with the teakettle.  Will now have to "nuke" it.  <she said dragging her feet into the current century!    )

My tv is a Samsung model # UN46C500VFXZA.   The Samsung web site listed several headphone/earbud devices but there was always a note that this model was not included.   I don't want anything with something that has to be set on a table or just makes the sound come toward the viewer.  Don't have room for either one.

I noticed the big woodpecker trying to get sunflower seeds out of that feeder because the suet feeder is empty (thanks to the    squirrels!).  Another Christmas gift was a carton of suet cakes with mealyworms. 
I have two suet feeders so can load one in the house and scoot out to exchange it for the empty one. 
Here's hoping squirrels don't like mealyworms.

Today is laundry day.   Lots of it!!!!  Washer is yoo-hooing.  Time to switch the load to the dryer.

Wishing Everyfriend Everywhere an Enjoyable Day.

I am late coming in, so I will work my way in backwards, if I may.

I see a very old picture of me. no grey hair. 

Today was Gary's day to lead our Bible teaching. Needless to say, this Mother was so happy listening to him teach.He and Dori will be leaving next Monday to go see their beloved kids and grandkids in McCall Idaho. They will be gone for two weeks, and my prayer is for their Joy with their family, and of course prayers for their safe return.

I am still coughing so no hugging going on. I sleep well, so no complaints. I ordered lunch sent up to my room today, and they give such huge servings I have enough left for a supper.

Mary Ann, I am so sorry to hear of your nieces accident. I am glad it was not another tragedy in your family's lives.
The days go by so quickly, and there are so many odd jobs in my apartment that need "taking care of", and the days go zipping by, and I leisurely let them slip by and accomplish nothing. Shame on me. :tickedoff.

Gloria,You are so fortunate to have a close nephew that is so knowledgable in computers. We have several employees here that work on our computers. My favorite is a young woman...very wise.


I think I need to go out for a walk. Sun is shining and flowers are blooming, so I will get out and enjoy. Hugs to all.

My what a frustrating day but all's well that ends well. The snow blower has gone back to the store. I phoned Home Depot about a snow blower only to be told they couldn't hold it till we get there, so I asked my son to check it out for me. When he got there the last one has been sold. After many phone calls,my son checking every store far and wide out he finally found one for us.. I think I would rather do a days work than all the searching we did today.

Still cold and will be for the next few day. Have lots of wood really so I will be a snug as a bug..

I didn't know you're a cheerleader, AMY!