Quote from: Lindancer on June 19, 2016, 03:32:57 PM

Sandy, the 2017 open will be in Southampton, just a few miles from me.  I was to the last two they had there, but I will not make this time.

I would love to be able to go to
one of these championships,  but not at this
age ...  too much sun,  too far to walk to find and
outhouse..  (giggle) ...   

I worked at some of the matches that they had for
Seniors when I was working back in the Eighties.. 
They are a lot of fun!

Sandy

JaneS.  Now Bubble and Don are now the new Adam and Eve.

Whew..it is 96 degrees and my AC has been working overtime. Tomorrow it is to be over a hundred degrees, then all of a sudden we shall drop back to our mid to high 80s.  I guess Mother Nature is telling us she is still in control of our comfort levels. I went to  a big lunch downstairs after our Church Services, then came home and changed to comfy clothes and just read and slept the rest of the day away. I will have a light supper at home and a good long walk if it cools down outside, otherwise I will walk the hall ways.

I am planning to do some type of volunteer work. We were given a sheet of paper to fill out for our volunteering. All I have so far, I join the choir and we haven't sung since Easter so I could only give four hours for that. I have been told we have to have a certain amount of hours for volunteer work in order to keep our "non-profit" status, and I find that is a worthwhile goal.  We are given so much here, it is my goal to give something back.

Hal, you are wise to be comfortable when you have the duty of money counting...it keeps you more alert. I did that for several years when I lived in Sierra Madre, and enjoyed the companionship of the dear lady in charge. She was a very special friend..long gone now. I am thankful to still be around and fairly active, but it saddens me to look back and find I am about the last of all those old friends. They were all older than me at the time, so I guess it is normal to have them gone, but still lonely.

Jeanne and all others...our Don and Bubble certainly made a big SPLASH with their announcement. I was not really surprised, just very happy for them.

Good Night Everyfriend!  I'm off to dreamland!  I wish you all a peaceful rest, a happy awakening and a day full of everything good!

I've been to check on everyone after a week in the high country of Colorado... couldn't help leaving a note for Bubble & Don but my brain is fried in this heat & just keep falling asleep.  I hoped to have some photos off the camera & posted to show y'all what cool beauty is ........ but camera still holding all pics.   

Had a wonderful week with my sons & still amazes me that they can be so different & have had the same parents.  The saga of the RV goes on....  day or so before I left youngest son noticed the end cap of the awning was missing.... & the day before that oldest son had me open the awning to make sure it was okay.  I had opened a few weeks before after hard rains & we discovered the NEW party lights under the awning had quite a few of the lights not working.  That strip of lights had been replaced once before & only time had been on was when "they" showed me they then worked.  Anyway, knowing the RV company probably would not do a thing since I've passed my one year warranty, so I called the awning company.  They were very nice, must have had a lot of problems with awning & lights so offered to send both without charge (son says he can do the work).  Oldest son left the night before I did, youngest and I do not see well in the dark.  Mid way on the road we heard a noise.  Tom & Tiger loaded fine & I thought they must had made the noise, son was driving so I got up & looked everywhere but nothing out of place.  Hour or so later I go up to get a bottle of water out of the frig & the door came off in my hand!!!  The noise we heard was the whole latch snapping off... and we had not hit a bump or anything!  We pulled over & put something to brace it closed & headed on for the Walmart parking lot where we were to meet the older son.  Thanks goodness the evenings are cool out there because oldest son took one look at the door problem & insisted on fixing right then.  Boys (in their 50s) went into Walmart & came back with supplies, including a steel yard stick to put across the bottom where it had been plastic.  They came up with a hinge & whatever that works like the original only much better material.  I am going to yell about it with the RV people, I'm sure they have had lots of problems since they replaced that one plastic piece before for mine!  I took photos of sons working on the door in the parking lot... quite a few other RVs parked there so nobody paid attention to us, but sure hope everyone noted the maker of the RV, I would not recommend it to anyone.. EXCEPT... it is still the only one for the price that has the wooden sliding door to the bedroom where I can put the cats without making them stay in a cage when I get in & out!    Old LaurenKat hid in the basement so I left her home with plenty of water & food.... closed the door to "the west part of the house"... but she had a full basement & kitchen & family room upstairs to roam.  I do have nose prints on the window over the sink so she can still jump!

The boys & I ate more food than we should have, Mom insisted this was the best way to spend their inheritance~  great Italian in Salida, delicious Mexican in Buena Vista, & the dinner menu at Mt.Princeton Hot Springs Lodge (just down the road from where we camp)...was fantastic.  That's not counting the hamburger place in Salida that is so good even the locals stand in line a mile long to get their food.  What can I say, sinful... but oh, so good~ That's not even considering all the food I took to grill out & even a pork loin cooked that I saute'ed fresh mushrooms, onions in butter before putting the chunks of loin in & covering with mushroom soup to simmer until hot so tasted fresh.... had way more than we could eat so sent a big batch to the camp hosts & froze (frig & freezer works on propane... kind of nice!) a good size meal for oldest son to have when his wife got out the day we were driving back, we passed about mid-way. 

I was disappointed that my old body did not adjust to the altitude to do any real hiking... but I stopped to take photos on the hike through the woods & did okay... little bouncing streams everywhere...  enough pics to paint from for the rest of my days.  I always take my favorites to have 8x10 prints made that fit the frames & mats that hang in the guest bathroom so everyone can see.... less than $3 at Sam's Club & they do a nice print.  I can use them to paint from when I get around to it.  Expect to get to painting with the summer heat already (& still not into July & Aug....) bet this will break the 1954 heat records but at least we have AC now. 

Well, I finally faced the heat to put the jacks down & slide out so I can get stuff out... was dripping wet in just a few minutes so will work on that early morning.  I can't run the AC from the power cord to inside the garage... that plug in isn't rated for using that power... blew the fuse to the house (before I left) trying, I forgot. 

I couldn't unwind last night so didn't go to bed/sleep until about 1:30 am... didn't make it to early Mass so went to 11:30 am & then to Sam's Club for the rotisserie chicken for the cats.  Miss Callie Cat (outside) & old LaurenKat were waiting for us when we got back yesterday... missing their people food.  They had dry food but not the same as all the fresh extras. 

Tom & Tiger were pretty good in the RV but they spend several hours after midnight running around, know exactly how to get me up & chasing them, scratching or hissing or jumping at each other.  About time for me to get up they curl up & become perfect little angels.  I give them breakfast & they sleep all day.  At home I just let them go out when I go to bed & they are waiting at the bedroom door when I wake up. Such is life. 

I have lots of photos of the campground... think it might bring back memories to anyone that ever camped.  Lots of trees & foliage and plenty of distance between camp sites.  Took one long hike across the road, back where signs of bear & cougar & lots of deer... but did NOT SEE a single deer.  That is shocking.  I didn't even see any of the gophers or ground squirrels & very few birds so was concerned about the wildlife. 

Much too long but y'all can ignore me... I'm too tired & sleepy to proof & delete. Just realized I forgot to eat tonight... cut up a watermelon & ate some of that .... sweet dreams to all & to all, a good night!  God Bless and hope every Father had a wonderful day.  I sent e-mails to thank the fathers of my grands... Shirley

Tisi, your trip sounds great ! Will be looking forward to pictures. I had a call from my son....he said the drive they took between Bend, Ore. and McCall, Ida. was just beautiful. Everything was so green..quite a contrast from our brown/tan So. Ca. He said the highways were all small two lane and very restful.

I am going to go to an early bed. Took a very warm walk outside, so glad to be back in my cool rooms. Sleep well dear hearts, I send you Love, Prayers, Hugs and wishes for a nice peaceful sleep tonight. June

Good Monday morning, Everyfriend.  There's Cinnabons to accompany your coffee or tea . I wish everyone a nice day!!




Baptism Class

Little Betsy had faithfully attended baptism classes. Her mother, wanting to be sure her daughter understood its significance, asked, "Honey, what does baptism mean?"

"Well, it isn't the water that makes you clean ..." she began.

Smiling, Mother thought, Yes, she understands, "... it's the soap."




Foxtails
(By Michael Newnham)

The official plant of hell is the foxtail.

In case you don't have it where you live, it's a grass that produces sharp barbs which burrow into the flesh of animals as they walk through it.

Animals like my cat, Miss Kitty.

With each movement she makes the barbs travel farther and dig deeper.

Twice a day (at least) she comes walking in the house looking like a porcupine and I spend the next hour carefully trying to remove them from her long fur.

In a way it's become a bonding process for us as it hurts when I remove them...fur is often ripped out with Satan's flowers.

She has to trust that I'm doing something to help her, not to cause her more pain, though that is often the temporary result.

Our bond was put to the test this morning...I awoke to her sitting in my chair waiting for me to rise.

A foxtail seed had lodged in her eye and the eye had swollen shut around it.

It looked excruciatingly painful and it was.

The smallest of wings was still attached to the seed...if she would let me I'd have one shot to pull the thing out.

She would either trust me and let me try to remove it...or claw me to shreds for trying.

To my amazement, she stoically stood up and looked straight at me...and I plucked the seed from her eye.

She purred some thanks while cleaning the gunk from her eye with her paw.

Two things I learned this morning...

The world is like a field full of foxtails and as we go through it many barbs afflict us...some fall off, some burrow down and cause constant pain.

Sometimes we need someone else to remove them for us...we can neither see them, nor reach them, but we can surely feel them.

Thank God for those who you can trust and who love you enough to try to remove them.

The second thing is sometimes those barbs stick in a place so sensitive that only the Master can remove them.

Everyone can see the barb and the wound, but the risk is too great to remove it.

It has to come out.

The wound has to heal lest you lose vision and perhaps even life.

It takes great trust to allow Him to work.

Do it anyway, even if it causes temporary pain.

He loves you even more than I love my cat...consider it a bonding process.

You can be healed...



“It makes me so mad that some people underestimate the wisdom and energy of young people.  All because they don’t look the way older folks think they should look.

--Johnny Cash

Good Monday morning Everyfriends.......a very wet and grey start to our day, rain is pelting down....

Just typical really as our deck-patio wicker furniture is due to arrive today...so is our comfy office chair, both from different company's....decking furniture will have to stay wrapped and under cover as of yet I haven't found suitable outdoor armchair waterproof covers to order.....Hope your weathers are faring better than ours.....

Oh R just took a phonecall from decking furniture guys, said they are at the parksite gates, so almost here....they are here...

Edited..oh what a nice man NOT...I watched the drivers expression as he took one look at the concrete steps to our back and the gate to our decking, he put the large boxes down with Rs help carrying them, then abandoned the moving and left R to do it himself....of course R struggled doing it without complaining about the driver, and ignoring me complaining about him, so I left him to it......." what a nice driver he was..." NOT...well thats one driver that wont be getting a tip from us....guess he spotted me at the back door and thought she will be able to give him a hand, well he thought wrong...and to think he looked a young, fit and healthy guy...just couldn't be bothered to place the boxes on the decking where they were meant to go......The only way R could get the boxes through the gate was to take the inner packaging out from the large outer packaging box....if the man had stayed to help they could have lifted the boxes over as they were...

We have managed to cover them with a waterproof cover, a cover previous owners left behind with the white rusty metal bench, just about fits over the two large cardboard boxes, so glad I didn't throw that cover away...the seat covers are in the kitchen, the other " table " box is left ontop of the outside bench, part under cover so should be ok....

Good morning everyone.
Another blistering hot day in the making here. We had a nice visit with son and daughter in love at the car show yesterday. All that eye candy parked row by row chrome gleaming in the sun and not one speck of dust on the body of the cars or trucks. One car was worth $200.000.00,I said you could buy a house with that amount!!

We are back to the city for hubby's appointment,then to Costco to see if they can fix his eye glasses.

Jackie, that was not nice of that young man to do that. He should have helped put the furniture in place. I did have something similar happen though. Our cookstove (cast iron) was being delivered and the one man said to the other shouldn't we get more help to put it in the house and the other said ..no,she is a farm woman she will do it....and I did.

Joan, thank you for breakfast.

Enjoy your day everyone.

Amy, hm, not sure if that was an Insult ( which it was, ) or meant to have been a compliment of your capabilities......shame on that man for assuming you could cope without them...I wonder what thoughts of that man, the other " nice " man had of him, after hearing that from him...I am assuming he thought..." not a pleasant man, I pity his wife or girlfriend..."

Good Morning Everyfriend!  I'm waiting for 8 a.m. to call the garage and I've decided that if they tell me my car was ready on Saturday and I know no one called me, I'm not going to rant and rave.  But I will make sure that I don't trust them to call the next time. 

Shirley, I was wondering about you.  I guess I missed the posting that said you were going to be camping.  I'll be waiting to see the pics too.

Good morning Vanilla-Jackie.  That deliveryman was LAZY.

Amy--Good morning.  They sure do have some costly cars at those car shows.  Go safely on your travels today.  The deliveryman you encountered was just plain rude.

Good morning, Janie.  The car repair people SHOULD have called you Sat. if it was ready.

My new cleaning duo comes for the first time this morning.  I hope they do as good of a job as my former housekeepers.

Hi everyone.  It is a cool 61 degrees this morning but headed up to around 90 degrees this afternoon.  There is zero chance of rain today. 

This morning I have a 9 am appointment to get the oil changed in our Hyundai Sonata.  They said it would take about an hour and the place is only about 20 minutes from here.  Then at noon I have my Monday meeting.  That will be it for today and will stay in where it is cool the rest of the day. 

Yesterday was a wonderful day both weather wise and also at our church.  Following the service we went to a favorite place and Pat and shared a club sandwich and a serving of potato salad.  Pat had ordered this sandwich a couple of weeks ago and had to bring half of it home so we decided we could have a good lunch by splitting an order.  It was delicious. 

Later in the afternoon I watched most of the golf tournament until the 6:30 news came on but checked later and found the man leading most of the day yesterday ended up with a decisive win. I looked up what the prize money was for the U. S. Open and found this:  The total purse for this last weeks event was $10 million.   Dustin Johnson got $1.8 million for the win and the second place finisher got over $1 million.  All players making the cut got some money with the last place finisher earning over $22,000.  However, golf is a tough sport and players at this level really have to play a mental as well as physical game.

Joan, the great grandson really is not a blood relative.  Our son met our step-grandson when his mother was 6 months pregnant.  They eventually married and our son was a father to the step-grandson for the first four years of his life.  At that point our son found his wife was unfaithful and they divorced. However, we have always considered the young man as our grandson and thus his children (he has two) we consider as great grandchildren although we have not stayed close.  Life can get complicated sometimes--believe I know. 

Joan, that computer certainly has been a pain for Gloria.  Perhaps the disk will have the repair tools needed to make her computer work correctly. 

JaneS, I understand that the garages usually use book rates for repairs so even if the work is done in less time than the book says you still get charged for the book rate labor hours at whatever rate the individual garage charges.  Hopefully the charges won't be too high.

deAngel, your grandson is still a very young man to have such a serious condition.  Do they have a good spinal center rehab near where he lives? I hope he can have a full recovery with rehab. 

Molly, sounds like a very wise decision to not want to move again.  While sometimes it seems necessary but at our ages it is most difficult. I hope you have a day or two to rest while Mohamed is in Maryland.   

Sandy, while you miss the crowd excitement of personal attendance, you have a much better view of the golf match from the comfort of your home.  You don't get to see instant replays at the course. 

June, I have never heard of resident in a retirement community being expected to do volunteer work.  However, I am sure you will do your part to the extent you are able.

Shirley, glad you are safely back but what a time with your RV.  I have never heard of a refrigerator door falling off.  It sounds like the RV manufacturer saved a few too many pennies in the manufacturing process.  However, it sounds like you managed to have a great time.

I just called the garage and someone is out road testing right now.  Bucky, the owner and a classmate of my son, said they will call me in about 14 minutes.  We shall see.

Good morning, Larry.  When I first got up (about 4 a.m.) it was raining here, but it stopped shortly after that.  Thanks for the explanation about your step great grandson.

Janie--Are you watching the clock?

I'm watching the clock and they still haven't called.  I have a dentist apt at 11:30 and I'm wondering if I have to change it.

Good morning from a dark, dreary,  wet Interior, still! 

The Solstice Festival is still going on out there, but I think I'll remain in here this year.

Janie--Those people can't tell time.

angelface--Good morning. It's probably a good idea to stay in.

Cleaners turned out to be a trio and they were in and out in 90 min.  That I like--and they did a good job.

Good Morning Everyone,
from the Sunny and warm,  rocky coast of
Maine.   

I have had some issues with my computer
that AVG has come in and fixed  for me.   
Cleaned up a virus or two that caught
me.    All is well now and I am back
in good shape.  (My fault because I
downloaded two conflicting programs. 
I will have to be more careful the next time)

The US Open was a long one because
they had to fit four days into three days
due to weather issues.     Phew..  All over
now! 

Have a good day,  everyone

Sandy

Good Morning Everyone!

Well my saga about the a/c.  Came back from church yesterday morning and neighbor told us that our a/c had been making a racket.  Called Vic and ask him to drop by today and check it.  He came yesterday instead, he was going to be of town today, brought his new (new to us) we hadn't met his wife since his previous wife had died some years back.  Anyhow, he checked and the good news, you listening Larry, the compressor is going.  But he said that it may last a year or more (of course it may not), but it wont take long to do the job if and when it goes and he got all the information so he knows what to get.  Seems that our wonderful government has changed the type gas used which will cause him to have to change out the expansion valve inside.  OH, how wonderful government is to worry about us, like they do.

Larry, Sandy, Mary Ann, yesterday was a real embarrassment for the USGA on not being able to make the penalty call on the putt.  The winner did a super job holding it all together under the circumstances.  I had to laugh though, the winners wife wore the tight fitting, short dress and then I think regretted it they way she kept pulling on it. 

Janie, I do hope they called you and the news was good.

Got to go move my water.

JoanFL.  You must have a large place if it took 3 prof. cleaners 90 minutes to clean it.  How often do you have them in a month. Where they cleaning windows and all that kind of thing?

Bis, I have sent todays chuckles off to my Gary and another member of his Church..they will appreciate it, as I did.

Jackie, I would call the company you bought the furniture from and tell them what the delivery men had done. They should be responsible for those whom they hire. Plus you could also vent to the owners who hired these men to work for them.

Amy,  another couple of men that should be fired from their jobs.

Larry, I may have been unclear in my post. Rowntree does NOT require us to do volunteer work. It is entirely up to us. When I heard the reason for the need of volunteer hours to keep our status of being a non-profit organization, I wanted to do do something to help that happen. I have been thinking this morning of being a visitor to the patients at our extra care facility. I could read to them, sing old songs with them, or listen to them. As long as I would be free to do it when I choose to appear. I no longer want to report to anything at a certain time, unless I so choose to do so. Like a class of exercise, where I can be there or not..my choice.
   In economic terms, a nonprofit organization uses its surplus revenues to further achieve its purpose or mission, rather than distributing its surplus income to the organization's shareholders (or equivalents) as profit or dividends.

Janie, Since your car repair person is a friend of your son, and if

I were you, I would call him back and tell him of your dental appt. and put the ball in his court. He may think you are just sitting around with nothing to do. Let him know that you have a life that needs attending to.

Hal, and if you were on welfare, our wonderful government would probably supply you with a New A/C, due to your supposed health conditions,and send you to a classy motel till the work has been done.

Time to make my bed and get dressed. I have had two cups of coffee and a sweet roll. I will devour a banana between now and lunch time. My A/C is doing the job already and I have it set on 80. We are to have 103 degrees today. ho-hum......

Sandy--At least your computer is now clean and up and running.

halkel--Hopefully your a/c will hold up for a long time, and when it does choose to give up it won't be when the weather is torrrid.

JeanneP--My house is just average.  1,850 sq.ft., 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, double garage and screened in porch.  They don't chat at all--busy cleaning every minute they were here.

June--I'm glad you shared the Chuckle.  I keep my a/c set at 73°--any higher than that, and I can't breathe well.

JoanFL. That is a good size house. For some reason I thought you lived alone in a small one.

Junedrabek, Oh I would like nothing better than to tell the company about their outside transporting company they are using but...as usual R will have something to say to me if I go ahead...he will not be pleased with me..he will just see it that I am making trouble....even though he wasn't happy with it himself...but he of course will never admit that...It was just the one man who delivered...

Now as for the office chair delivery man, he couldn't have been any more helpful in offering to take off the wrappings for us.....Of course driver was from John Lewis, a company you-we can trust....
.........................................
Today I must have done one of the longest walks I have done in yonks....I often walk down our parkhome slope to the bottom, either turning right or turning left to walk through a gangway opening but, usually stop at the far end...only this time my right leg felt pretty good so myself and R ventured uphill, a quiet lane, very muddy with uneven potholes but I ventured as far as I dared to go knowing I have to get myself back home again....I got up so far till I could see through a large gap the sea and spotted a cargo boat in my view....I not only surprised R but also surprised myself on my walking but...I really did struggle with that last uphill walk to our home, then when I got inside I had to sit down, then after a short rest I got up and had to sit straight back down as my rather heavy legs became so weak, weak to the extent I was ready to collapse....after a long sit down I was ok when I got up to walk again, I knew that walk would take its toll on me, and it did just that... but boy, did it feel good to have ventured out as far as I did....

For Larry who asked about my new mini greenhouse. Here is a photo upon setting it up.

http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=11.msg28105#msg28105

Merry Monday,

I've hardboiled some eggs and boiled some red potatoes - so there'll be Potato Salad in the hidey hole as soon as they've cooled.

Wishing Everyfriend Everywhere a lovely day.

Callie, I thank you for making potato salad...one of my very favorites. I am heading for the hidey hole with my plate and a fork.

Jackie, I think it is very kind of R. to go walking with you. There are few men that would want to take the time and patience to do so.

Bis, I did have to turn my AC down to the low seventies for a while yesterday. But so far, it is fine at 80. I miss the central type of conditioning we had at Sunwest. A window unit is not as thorough in my opinion, but that is what we have and I am thankful for it.

I have only one thing on the docket for today. The movie Blue Hawaii will be shown on the big screen at  1:30, so I will go down for lunch, then on to the movie. They show mostly old movies, which I do enjoy, and I seldom saw any of those..busy raising little ones.

We are celebrating Hawaii all week. On Thursday there will be a luau lunch out in our Courtyard along with entertainment by Mahana Polynesian Entertainment. I am not familiar with this at all. I understand it is something they have once a year, and I know it will be enjoyable. Hopefully the weather will have cooled down by then.

Patricia, it looks like you have a balcony for your greenhouse. I had a nice balcony when I lived in Hemet. Here they enclosed all the balconies and made another room for us...This is where I have my computer, second desk, and book cases.

I do June, however, I have not put out my chairs and table this year because of the relentless rain. This mini greenhouse will also be nice inside for the winter.

Junedrabek, yes I so do agree with you on this one...I have never known R to turn me down although there was one time I said something he didn't like and he walked off away from me, left me to fend by myself... then stood there watching me when I couldn't move by myself, ( this was uphill, our private road in and out ) then when I said something to him he came back to me, just that there is an element of cruelty in him...but otherwise he is always willing to walk with me....