Good morning, Gloria.  I used to like parades and all that hoopla, but at this age it's not something I want to attend.  Remember when we had to get up  from where we were seated and go to the TV to change the channel?  Now I have many, many remotes.

Good morning, Joan and all.  A sticky bun will taste good this morning.  Thanks !

Joan, I was in here with you earlier this morning.   Around 4 a.m.  I couldn't get back to sleep, so I usually will get on the computer until I get cold sitting here and then will go back and crawl into my warm bed and go back to sleep.  LOL

Gloria, since I had 3 sons and a very sports-minded husband,  I learned early to enjoy all the sports they were interested in.  They all played basketball, football and lacrosse.  Then, when my oldest grandson was in high school, he played football for his school team.  My husband and I used to laugh at how we would sit out in all kinds of weather watching him play.  My husband was in his glory during those times. So, I learned a lot about sports. I usually don't watch any sports now, except, the Baltimore Raven's football games.  I used to like to watch the Baltimore Orioles, the baseball team years ago, but really don't know any of the players now.  Baseball doesn't seem as exciting as the football games. 

I hadn't really planned on watching the Super Bowl, but had it on as I wanted to see the half-time show.  And, I just left it on and it was an exciting ending. 

MaryAnn, a few posts back, you mentioned that you had heard Lady Gaga sing the National Anthem but couldn't remember where. She sand the Anthem last year at the Super Bowl game and she did do a great job.  Sang it like it is supposed to be sung.  I, too, hate it when the singer will add all those extra frills to it.  Really spoils it.  I have always heard that it is a really difficult song for a soloist to sing.  I still love to hear Kate Smith sing it.  And, she always would sing the beginning chorus, which a lot of people don't even know.

It is a cloudy morning here, and supposed to rain later. They are also saying that there is a Nor-eastern storm coming up the Atlantic coast and will dump a lot of snow, especially up in N.E.  Not supposed to be that bad in my area.

Amy, good luck to your husband today. Hope his treatment will go well and he will get to come home later. 

And, Jane, glad to know that your back is feeling better.  Does it bother you when you have to stand at the register all day?  There is one lady checker at our local store who does sit on a stool.

Joan, you mentioned about having so many remotes.  I remember a long time ago, when my husband and I were at my son's house and I was just mesmerized about all the remotes he had for so many different TV's,. tape players, etc.  Now,  I find myself in the same situation.  Two remotes for the TV, one for the DVD player,  two for my electric recliner, and usually the portable phone are all  on the table beside me also.  There have been times that I try to change the TV with the phone.  LOL 

Not sure what I will get into today. It is already started out to be a dreary one, and that tells me a nap will be in order at some point of the day.

Have a wonderful day.

Joy

Good morning, Joy.  I wish I could go back to sleep after that first time I wake up.  I have to make up for it by trying to get a little nap in the afternoon.  Good that you learned to like sports since the rest of your family was involved.  Ha, Ha--I too have tried to change the TV with the phone.

Hi everyone.  It is another clear morning, at least at this time.  We started the day in the mid to hight 50's and may get up to 80 degrees this afternoon.  Our schedule is light today.  I didn't get to the Post Office or Aldi's yesterday so we will try to get that done today.  This is also the day for our city elections.  I wasn't going to vote because I knew none of the candidates pro or con until I found out the man who served as our Sunday School class president for this last two years was running for mayor.  He is a fine man, a retired engineer retired from the military and I think he would make a wonderful mayor.  That will be plenty for today as got up tired, which is becoming the norm, even after a full nights sleep.   

Joy, I am glad that a political statement was not made at the Superbowl halftime show.  Those were two excellent teams but obviously the best team won.  I wonder how long Tom Brady will continue to play as he has been playing for 16 or 17 years and must have a lot of aches and pains. 

JaneS, I expect the way that TV's are repaired today is drastically different than when the business first started.  I remember all those vacuum tubes that were involved and the bulb tester in some stores that sold the bulbs.  Glad your back is feeling better.

Patricia, I remember well the delays in TV broadcasts.  Right before we moved to Anchorage we had purchased a big Curtis Mathis combined color TV and record player only to find when we got to Alaska that they were not yet broadcasting in color, although shortly thereafter they did start the color broadcasts.  I also remember that punctuality of when a show started wasn't very important and the 6 o'clock news could start at 6:05 or 6:10.  I always like Barbara Stanwyck and remember well Big Valley. 

Mary Ann, I have heard the same thing about what caddies are paid so the caddie of the winner of a multi-million dollar tournament would do extremely well. 

Joan, when Pat and I were married we had I think a 9" black and white TV and had it for several years.  TV's have sure grown as the one in my family room is a 60" flat screen. 

June, I think a lot of people thought that the wrestling matches were the real thing.  I do enjoy college wrestling as that is in fact not staged as the professional ones are.  Glad you are seeing improvement with your leg.  I haven't chewed gum in years and would worry now about losing a filling by doing so although that is probably nonsense.

Hal, I hope your wife is feeling better today.  My son has had several kidney stones and know it is terrible pain. 

I hope all have a good day.  It is time to head out as Pat is ready and going with me today. 

MaryAnn,  I totally was confused when I mentioned that Kate Smith sang the National Anthem.  I don't know where that came from. I do know that she sang God Bless America.   I don't know who I was thinking of when I mentioned that.  I was just sitting here thinking about the chorus for God Bless American, and I know very well,  that the Star Spangled Banner does not have an opening chorus. Although it does have several verses that I know  a lot of people aren't familiar with. 

I guess it was another "loss"   moment. LOL

Joy

Greetings from Israel. It got up to almost 80 this afternoon, while in London Ontario it got up to zero with a forecast of freezing rain.  I think I like it better here

Good morning, Larry.  I'm sorry you continue to wake up tired.  I think the first black and white TV Ray and I had was a 9".   I now have a 60" flat screen in my entertainment center, and three other a bit smaller--one wall mounted in the kitchen and one each in two of the three bedrooms.

Joy--We all have senior moments like that.

Good morning Radioman.  I don't blame you for liking the weather in Israel right now better than in Canada.

Our first TV was a second hand set, in 1952   A combination 10" TV screen, 78 rpm record player and AM radio, all using the same speaker.  We'd been married just over a year and had a brand new baby boy and it was a really major purchase. 

Good morning, Jeanne Lee.  We didn't get our first TV until we'd been married three years.

Good Morning Everyone!

I didn't get in here yesterday, I was really tired, I am not used to staying up till almost 1AM so I drug myself around and made an early trip to pickup prescriptions for the wife and waiting for them (5),  the druggist didn't seem in too good a mood that I wanted to wait, she had just come to work and I guess didn't want the rush.  But she mellowed out later.

Lloyd, no I wasn't upset with you.  point being I did go and really didn't mind, she needed help and got it.  Thankfully no re-occurrence of the pain and she sees the doctor this afternoon, my Granddaughter is going to go with her, she can go in while "things" are being discussed.  While my wife doesn't like me sitting there.  Don't ask me why, we have only been married 65 years.

Amy I hope nothing really serious with the husband.  Prayers continue.  Hope your roads remain driveable.

Joanie, thanks for the soul food.  Loved the joke about hubby and wife.  I can relate...

I have been on the phone most of the morning. 
Wife lost her credit card and we had to get new ones, so I have been on telephone to people who are authorized to charge charges automatically changing stuff around.  Some are so simple and some are very complicated and one was overseas (call taker) and with my hearing and their speech pattern it was a chore.  But I think I got everyone, I think.

I am sure I will hear from any missed.

Everyone have a great day.

Oh, Janie, in my small town where I grew up, days before cable, it is situated in a valley (Mineral Wells, Tx) and we also had the 50 foot antenna poles and sometimes, well a few times, I got some California station clearer than the Fort Worth station.  In Canada, I had a 50 foot pole on top of a three story building, so I could get TV from  the states.  Not very good.  I wont mention the fact I could get college football on Saturdays.

halkel--I can understand your being tired yesterday.  What a pain when you have to replace a credit card.  Hopefully the doctor will have answers for your wife when she sees him this afternoon.

Joy, I wondered when you wrote about Kate Smith singing the Star Spangled Banner because I had never seen a video of that; only God Bless America, complete with the opening verse.

I did not see Lady Gaga sing at any Super Bowl; it was something else because she had on a white long dress and she came out from between curtains onto a stage.  She did a good job without adding all of the extra notes so many singers do.

It is raining here now and Tom and I are going out to eat.  For Christmas he gave me two cards for restaurants and we used one of them last month.  This is a fancier place, but we go at noon and it isn't so busy - or fancy.  Many of the tables are beside windows facing a man-made lake.  With it raining today, it won't be so interesting, but in good weather, it's a nice place to view the area.  We are at 35F degrees.

If our weather goes to the east and stays as it is, Amy should not get ice, although she is a bit north of us as far as longitude is concerned; I haven't looked that up.

Mary Ann

Good Afternoon Everyone,  from the snowy and windy,  rocky coast of Maine.    Real February weather is upon us now.  Fortunately,  I am all set and don't need to go out for a few days,  when it should start to clear up around here. 

Hal.   I am so sorry to hear that your wife is having issue with her kidney stones (?) ...   Not fun,  and to loose a credit card on top of that....    You just did not need this aggravation.   
I am glad to hear that she is feeling better today.  I hope that all is well.        Now you need to rest up and let the women take over so that they can figure this whole thing out.   

I know that they are worried about you,  so go lay down and rest and try to  let the stress go.   

Sandy

Mary Ann--I really like getting gift cards for restaurants.  It gives me a chance to try different places.

Sandy--Good you are all supplied so you don't have to venture out in the inclement weather.

We are home!!Gosh, it is good to get home before the freezing rain.All in all the day turned out well, medication/s will be needed and we will soon need a wheelbarrow to take all his meds with us...
Thank you for your prayers and safe trip..I must admit I was really nervous that we would get caught in the storm. What little snow fell last night is going to stay there just in case we do get rain.
Going to get my cup of tea and put my feet up...

Amy--I am so glad all went well, and you got home before the freezing rain.  I continue pray for you both.

Joan, we don't have very many "nice" restaurants in our part of town.  That said, people like to live in our area because it is not so commercial.  About two miles east of us is the East Beltline and that is where this restaurant is.  It is a bit more expensive, but we like it and like to go there occasionally.  For one thing, they use big cloth napkins and the eating utensils are heavy, not the skinny knives and forks used by many places.  The servers are always very nice, but I find that in any of the places we go to.  I had a Reuben sandwich with cole slaw which was different than any I've had - it included broccoli and was very good.  Tom had a burger and salad.  We used up the amount of the gift card and even had to add to it.  And we did not mind one bit!  We didn't sit by the windows as we often have, but we were on a raised area and could see over people at the windows, so in effect, we were at the windows too.

It is raining here and our temperature is 35 degrees.  Much snow is disappearing.

Amy, I'm glad you had a good trip so now enjoy your rest.

Mary Ann

Good afternoon, and it is raining. To morrow it will go to 59, might break a record, if it goes to 60. I have another appointment  with the  hematologist. Last week Medicare said they would not pay for the shot, unless I have and iron check every two months.

Joy, one day I had a big senior moment I use the remote to dial the phone.

Joan and Larry, I have a TV in the bedroom, my husband bought about 20 years ago, I can still pay my tapes in it, plus it has a place for a disk. I think it might be a 20inch.

MaryAnn, the only gift card I got this year, is for Bath & Beyond.  My birthday I generally get more.

Gloria, I guess you will be getting the same snow On Thursday.

Amy, safe driving, Prays that every thing is going right for your hubby
Oh! I see while I was writing, you were also.  Glad to see you are home safe and sound.

Hello Everyfriend!  I'm home from work, had lunch, fed the doggies and chased them out between the rain storms.  Now I'm ready for a nap. 

I haven't tried to change the TV with my phone but I did try to answer the remote a couple weeks ago. 

Larry, repairs are certainly different.  Now it's not tubes, it's a circuit board that gets changed.  My son's work bench is about half the size of the one my FIL had.  When they took a TV apart back in the old days it sure took up a lot more space.  In fact, the TV took up a lot more space in our houses back then.  I wouldn't touch the insides of a TV now but I was known to change a tube or two in days of yore.

We went to houskeeping in 1955 with a 19" TV, an automatic washer and dryer and a dishwasher that you rolled up to the sink and hooked up to the faucet.  I know we were unique but the store made life easier for us.  Unfortunatly, there wasn't enough room in the kitchen for the dryer so it was down the hall in our bedroom.  I thought nothing of carrying a load of wet laundry the length of the house.  What other choice did I have? And it beat taking them to my mother's to hang out in the yard.

Now I'm tired too and I'm going to close my eyes and see what happens.  Take care, my friends.

Good Afternoon,

The sun is shining.
The wind is not blowing.
We are to break the record high temperature of 73 - supposed to go to 77.
Daffodils and tulips are peeking through in my pot garden.
My neighbor's pansies are blooming.
I feel alert and energetic (well....as energetic as is possible for someone for whom "sitting still" is the physical activity she does best      .

It's a Good Day in Central Oklahoma.

I'll say good day from the Interior as it is morning here and afternoon there. I was sick yesterday, did manage to get three loads of washing in and late afternoon mail collected before I gave into bed about 5 PM. I had the sniffles and a severe headache by then, and this morning, I was up and then back to bed until ten, so this is my second attempt at the day.

Farrah has rediscovered her large blue tube toy. When not chasing the ball around its corridors, she will take her treats I give her and drop them into the slots. Then it is a game to find and finagle them out for a quick bite.I started it by putting them in long ago, and she took over one day. It's a kick to see her carry them over, drop them in and then figure out how to get them back out again!

I remember the old television consoles with the tubes. There was one in one of our first rented off base houses, and the owner said it didn't work. My husband asked if we could have it if we made it work? The man looked like he thought we were nuts, so he agreed readily enough. We spent $55.00 on tubes and everything, television, record player, and radio worked. I think everyone but my husband was surprised. When we left, he sold it to the next tenant for $75.00. That's a Kentuckian for you!

We have three "nice" restaurants in town, the sort where they have waiters with the white napkins and the wine tasting. The prices are high, but the food and service and quality are great. The problem is those high prices and availability. Most are just outside of town.

My favorite restaurant is Pike's Peak,  situated on the flanks of a mountain and one of the rivers. You can sit by the window and watch skiers, skijorers and dog teams go by in the winter. In the summer you can sit outside on a huge flowered deck and watch people arriving and leaving by boat or small plane. To me, it is just as good as those higher priced places.

Our weather hasn't changed, warm during the day and cold at night. But it's better than the expected February freeze, so I'll take it. Especially since I'm sitting on a couch and not having to be out in it...   I hope everyone's day and evening are enjoyable and just the way you want it!

Every single person in here - I send you a big 

So many issues with health - travel and just plain getting on in life. 

Here, we had a little battle with a herd of Javelina late last night.  A loud thud was heard, we went outdoors armed with walking stick, broom and flashlights.  They had tipped over a really heavy trash bin and there were about six plus at least one little one.   We ran them off only to hear the noise about two houses down the street.  If bitten, they are so full of germs you have to go the ER.  So, it looks like even the new really heavy trash bins are not a match for these garbage feeders and I will have to set an alarm for the early pickup.  So it goes. 

Our friend at home, slipped on ice and broke her elbow.  4 days later, she had surgery - I don't know why the delay but ice caused a lot of accidents in Denver.  Her husband's health is slipping - has has cancer.  Wishing we could be there but we have too many appointments here too. 

I woke up from a good nights sleep feeling blah, so I am taking the whole day off and just staying at home. Just a general tiredness, weakness, and  pain in the leg. So I will go back to the recliner and book. See you later.

Mary Ann--In my area the restaurants are all chains.  When we want to go to a nice restaurant we have to go downtown Melbourne--about 15 miles.

Linedancer--So now I guess you have to add getting an iron shot to your list of "musts".  The TV I have in my bedroom doesn't do the things yours does--it's just a plain TV.

Janie--When you answered the remote, who was calling?

Callie--Sounds liked all is good in your world.

angelface--Hope you're feeling better by now. 

Carol--Thanks for the hug.  Those javelina are real pests.

June--I pray that you feel better.

I'm better, Joan. I'm still awake, just no energy at all. Carol, are those javelinas a type of wild pig?

I saw this elsewhere and thought it was another unique experience with cats. "Bringing Back Extinct Tigers with Surrogate House Cats

It’s a sad truth of life that some 20 to 30 species are lost to extinction every single year, but at the University of Georgia, there’s a real-life Jurassic Park â€" for big cats. The scientists there have extracted DNA from rare big cats in an attempt to save them from going extinct. Eventually, this DNA will be used for the artificial insemination of a domestic cat, which will then give birth to a tiger or other big cat. Domestic cats have been chosen for this purpose because scientific knowledge of their reproductive system is much more comprehensive than that of big, wild cats."

http://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?emailid=24551

There were stories of rescue dogs working with the Colorado ski patrol in rescues and with wolves helping veterans to survive in spite of their PTSD. Also a good one about a dog, Blakely, helping to teach young orphaned zoo animals how to learn behaviors before they are released into adult populations. You had to really feel for the dog with four young cheetahs.

We have two additions to our family today.  I don't know their names, but they are twin girls, not identical.  Baby A weighed 4+ pounds and Baby B weighed 3+ pounds.  James and Alicia really have been on a roller coaster ride this last month because they would have her BP stabilized enough to suggest she might go home and the next day her BP would go off the charts and they'd be back to square one.  The babies are in ICU with CPAPs and some oxygen.  We all can breathe easier now.

Joan, the restaurant we went to is part of a chain, but in Western Michigan - the Gilmore Group.  All of the restaurants are listed on the card and the card is good at any of them.  We went to the Blue Water Grill.

Mary Ann

I would have taken those weights for my twins.  They were 4 weeks early and still weighed 10 pounds and 10 ounces together.  They were born by Caesarean section and they were both allowed to go home with me when I was discharged 9 days later.

When I closed my eyes this afternoon, they stayed that way for about an hour.  So I got my nap in. 

Now I'm going to go have a snack and watch some more of M*A*S*H.  ]

Just checking in and I need to answer 'what is a javelina"?  I had to look it up because it does resemble a hairy pig.  They are originally from South America, a peccary family, hoof, and very poor eyesight.  Two of them came toward us last night, they will bite and kill a dog or cat.  Further search from the Arizona site and they tell everyone to keep the javelinas safe, just try to keep them away from garbage and cacti, other native plants.  Sure, bet that we can handle that idea!  Oh, they are nocturnal so it is really dark (lighting laws) in this area  - we walk with walking sticks and and flash lights. 

Jane:  If you fall asleep in the afternoon, it is because you deserve a break! 

JaneS, of course these babies were born by C-section too.  It has been estimated they will be in the hospital for two or three weeks and I don't know what Alicia will do.  I think she'll stay more than the usual one or two days, but it is a hardship on them to travel to and from Holland each day.  I do not have room for either or both of them to stay here, or they could have my bed and I'd take to the davenport.  If push came to shove, I'd do it for them. 

I had three nephews (Tim, the oldest, died two years ago), six great-nieces and -nephews.  Now I have three great-great nieces with a great-great nephew on the way.  I am not sure people realize that since I did not marry that these are my family, especially the "greats" who are as close to grandchildren as I'll ever have.  I can say this now because Norm is not here to defend himself, but I think the "greats" are closer to me than they were to Norm, because I was around while he was in Florida for six months. 

When I hear the names, I'll post them.

Mary Ann

Well, I am fixing to hit the hay.  Wife is going into day surgery in the morning at 615 to remove the stone.  I will stay home and my daughter will take her to the surgery place.

It was in the 80's here today and tomorrow it will also go to the 80's.  Thursday things will get more normal, in the 70's.

Nite, nite, Sweet dreams and God bless.