Good afternoon everyone...

Best wishes to everyone...
And hopefully,  all those feeling under the
weather will recuperate nicely... 

All is well here on the cool
and partly cloudy,  rocky coast
of Maine.   

Cooler weather is on the way...

 
Sandy

Janie, look at this link.  They have combination blowers/vacuums at all different price ranges.  Think "hint" with the link on postit notes all around the house(s) of your kids, or heck, just tell them: "you all want to get me something you can all share in"   

https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=leaf%20blower%20and%20vacuum&typeahead=leaf

Thanks HAL.  I bookmarked the page but I try not to ask my kids for so much at Christmas.  They do more for me the rest of the year than I think they should.  I know they don't think of it as "having" to take care of Mom but if I can do it myself, I do.  They are all still paying back college loans and they have their own lives to live.  I love them and they love me and I don't want that to change and have them think of me as "NEEDY".  I'm not!

I will look at that page again and I'll probably get one of those when I can.

June, to mulch the leaves you have to have a lawn mower with a mulcher and I don't even own a lawn mower any more.  I haven't mowed my own grass for many years.  And to just leave them in this area, they get wet, heavy and end up killing whatever grass there is.  Ours isn't like Texas.

Also, right now, I have a tree that has to come down before it falls down and damages something in the process.  I have an estimate and I'm going to see if he can just take the tree down and then grind the stump in the Spring after I get my income tax refund!  Hot Dog, that's where my money go-o-oes!

Bis, how nice for Finlay and Kate, and GailAnn that they can meet and enjoy one another again. Does Finlay still have memories of her ? I so glad Joe can sleep..that is a great healer, so I'm thanking God for that favor for Joe.

Janie, o.k. no more nagging you on mulching the leaves. Different States do require different gardening, for sure. Home ownership can sure eat up the pay checks, but they are worth the cost. I miss my last home, but it was time.

I'm still feeling a bit rocky, so plan on staying home, except for going down for a bandage change around 3 p.m. Seems less crowded at that time, and I'm hoping my prescriptions have come in, so two birds with one stone.

Another quiet day is slowly closing down. The Clinic was busy,so I will go down after six o'clock then be finished for this day.

Tomorrow will be lunch about 11:o'clock, Choir at 1:30, and Balance and Mobility at 2:45, and that will be it for me. I hope I make all three appointments.

We were to have 67 degrees today in Stanton, and down to 51 tonight. I love this kind of weather. Some rain, some sun, and beautiful skies in between.

Bis, we will be thinking of Joe and Kate and Finlay, and praying they have a safe journey home, as you will be doing also, I know.

I'm off to bed and book. Goodnight and God be with you. June

Holding good thoughts and saying prayers for Joe and family.  I hope the drive back to Fairhope goes smoothly and it won't be too hard for Joe.  Hugs and prayers for you, JOAN.

JANE, we owned one of the bagged blower/vacs to clean up leaves, etc. and sadly I must tell you it was not all that it was cracked up to be.  It was a name brand with a decent sized motor...... FYI.

Tomorrow we are to meet up with some old Senior Net Friends, Eugene and Nadia Thomas in Black Hawk.  Watching the weather tonight is not making it look very good for either of us driving.  They will be driving from Breckenridge and is from Denver.  Might have to re-evaluate this decision in the morning. 

Pleasant dreams to all,

Jenny

JOAN....
...sorry to hear of your Joe, must have been rather frightening for your Finlay at the time...but glad he has now been released from hospital...wishing all a safe journey back home...just sorry this trip..what should have been an enjoyable occasion turned into a nasty and frightening medical issue..

JENNY....
...dont let those machines win, dont let them get the better of you...

JANE S....
...not to poke my nose in where its not wanted but...do you have hire shops like UK have...maybe to hire  a blower would come out less than forking out unwanted money as to buying one...of course I dont know how much these so called hire companies charge on a daily basis, just a thought...

JEANNE LEE....
...if you get blown into England, I can guarantee during the last few days....you would have gotten blown right back...
...................................................

We in UK have just been getting over storm Angus, heavy rain and high winds....caused a lot of flooding in some parts of our end of country...but not where we live....not really bothered me as I have been tucked up warm and dry at home, even Toby has been limiting his walk down to one a day, when lucky to get that short break in the weather which didn't last...

Good Tuesday morning, Everyfriend.   There's a crockpot breakfast to accompany your coffee or tea. I wish everyone a great day!!




Kindergarten Tour

While leading a tour of kindergarten students through our hospital, I overheard a conversation between one little girl and an x-ray technician.

"Have you ever broken a bone?" he asked.

"Yes," the girl replied.

"Did it hurt?"

"No."

"Really? Which bone did you break?"

"My sister's arm."


Not Everything We Hear Is True
(By Rocky Henriques)

Have you ever noticed how many times those who know the Bible the least, and spend the least amount of time studying it, seem to know so much about it? Take celebrities for example. In many cases, all that is required is that the celebrity has an opinion about it. It doesn't really matter that he or she has never been exposed to sound Biblical teaching, or has any other credentials that would qualify him or her to make such statements.

The subject of Heaven and Jesus being the Only Way is just one of those topics which we frequently hear them pontificating on. They will boldly declare that Jesus can't possibly be the "only way." And the audience applauds.

I agree that there are "many ways," but they all need to be asking where those ways take them. Only one road takes us to Heaven. How do we know this? Because the Bible says so. And if I believe what the Bible says about that, then I've got to believe what it says about my sin and my eternal destination unless I repent and turn to Christ.

Not many audiences, including those in many churches, would applaud if Oprah said, "Jesus is the only way to heaven, and we need to follow Him."

Sort of reminds me of an old story about a motor cycle mechanic who was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a Harley motorcycle when he spotted a well-known heart surgeon in his shop. The surgeon had come in so the mechanic could take a look at his bike.

The mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey, Doc, can I ask you a question?"

The surgeon walked over to the mechanic. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, "So Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take valves out, fix 'em, put 'em back in, and when I finish, it works just like new. So how come I get such a small salary and you get the really big bucks, when you and I are doing basically the same work?"

The surgeon paused, smiled and leaned over, and whispered to the mechanic... "Try it with the engine running."

Just because the mechanic could repair a motorcycle engine did not mean that he could perform open-heart surgery. The lesson, I believe, is that just because I've made a movie, or thrown a few touchdowns, or even won an election, does not mean that I am qualified to give a definitive word on what the Bible says about Heaven or how to be saved.

I am certainly not saying that the only ones qualified to comment about the Bible or even have an opinion about it are preachers and Bible scholars. But when it comes to commenting on spiritual matters, shouldn't we at least be familiar with what the Scripture says? Shouldn't we question the source of our information before blindly believing anything that comes across the airwaves or in an email?

We should all be careful what we believe. Not everything we hear is true.


A lie that becomes tradition, practiced long enough, is defended as truth.

--Author Unknown

Good Morning Bis and everyone else!
Hope you all have a great day. no rain so far as the weather guesser predicted for here. I stepped out on the deck flees good a very light breeze here. I am going to go play some freecell c u all later.

Lloyd

Good morning everyone
Tis a great morning.....woke up and I don't have a date with either snowblower or shovel We still have high winds and I hope they soon die down.
Just a chiropractor appointment for hubby today and that is it. All I need to do is coral those darn dust bunnies and get a load of wood in....then go sew

Good morning Lloyd.

Joan, thank you for breakfast and sending prayers for a safe journey home for Joe and his family.

Enjoy your day everyone.

Good morning, Lloyd.  No rain here, but it's chilly.

Amy--Good morning.  The dog got me up this morning--she needed to go out.  Since we have no fences, she has to be taken out.  At home, they just open the door to the fenced back yard.  Thanks for your prayers for Joe and family's trip home.  I'm glad you don't have to dance with the shovel or snow blower.

Good Morning Everyfriend.  The wind has died down and that means that when I get home from my shift at WM I'll have to bag the leaves that have blown up against the house and are covering the sidwalks in front.  That's OK.  At least I don't have to rake them.  They are already in piles.

I hope Everyfriend has a lovely day!  Wish me smiles in my line today.  It's going to be another busy one with people shopping for Thanksgiving fixings.

My prayers, too, for a safe trip home for Joe and family and a speedy recovery for Joe.  A rather scary warning!

Good morning, Janie.  I wish you smiles in you WM line today.  Thanks for the wishes for a safe trip for Joe and family.  It sure was a scary warning.  They left here about 15 min. ago--and I miss them all already.

Good morning everyone. Got a phone call from my new doctor last evening with the results of the MRI. My spinal column something channel? Is narrowing and some other things I don't remember and will be sending me to a Neurologist. In the background of the MRI they said one of my kidneys looks like it is shriveling. That was not what they were looking for so will need more Xrays for that. My goodness what kind of doctors have I been seeing the last 20 years that they would not listen to me. Just on old woman hypochondriac?

JOAN  first thing, how is Joe? How is Finlay reacting to his energetic Dad being rushed to the hospital?

HAL  the yard group that comes here uses leaf blowers to clean the parking lot of leaves or whatever in out there. It might work on a light powdery snow but not on some of the heave wet snow we can get.

LLOYD  in the blizzard in 1978 on the street where I lived then (dead end street) they used a front end loader to finally clear the drifts from that road. All the neighbors were out sheering the man  on. We were snowed into that street for 5 days and could not get out.

JOAN  sorry to see Joe's visit cut short but being home he can see his own doctor. I wish them a safe trip.

CALLIE  glad the meds are helping your friend, Alzheimer's is terrible, I had on sis in law who died from it and one DIL's Mother did, so sad. Both were active and full of life. Looks like your sons had a good hunting trip.

JANE  my son has some permits to allow hunters in his orchard in deer hunting season. He knows the ones he gives one to. Every one who gets a deer will give him some venison, they always invite me when they cook it and it is good when cooked right.

JENNY  hope you get to meet Eugene and Nadia. I wonder if they remember their trip here to New England. Nadia had sent me some pictures of her wedding to post in SN but that was when the site shut us out and I never heard from them again.

JOAN  prayers follow Joe, Kate and Finlay on their drive home. Thought of the Day is so true. Thank you for all today's goodies.

Cold this morning!  At least for us here in the south it is cold.  Nothing much happening today.  Some household laundry and some pre-Thanksgiving day cooking.

I'm sure you do miss Joe, Kate and Finlay, Joan.  I know that you will worry about them as they make that long drive back home.  I wish them a safe trip.  Had Finlay grown a lot since you had last seen him?

It's good that you changed doctors, Gloria, and hopefully now you are on the right path to treating your back pain.  My Tom had one of those doctors, too.  Didn't pay much attention and didn't seem to be inclined to track down any thing that was bothering Tom until I finally made an appointment and went in to see his doctor with a list in my hand.  I asked questions and outlined problems that I could see happening and only then did the doctor line up several specialists for us to see.  That doctor has since left the medical group that I go to.....I'm not surprised if he was so inattentive to all of his patients.

Jane, we have one of those vacuum leaf baggers, too.  My candid opinion is that you shouldn't waste your money on getting one.  We used it a couple of times but it wasn't satisfactory.  It was tedious and the leaves would clog up the tube so you had to stop often to clear it and it didn't take long till you had to empty the bag and that was a pain.  If you have only a few, smallish leaves, mulching with the lawn mower is fine....if you have a lot of heavy leaves, raking and bagging is the only way to get rid of them completely.  Fortunately, my property has a stand of woods behind us and David blows, or carts, a lot of the leaves down there where they break down and make a good mulch under the trees.  In the front yard we bag them for the town to pick up.

I must get some breakfast and get the day started.

Hi everyone.  I am thankful for this new and beautiful 41 degree morning.  The sun is shining brightly and the trees now have all the colors of fall.  I did bring in my garden hoses for the winter yesterday afternoon and put my Impatient plant in the garage as it was predicted to get down to 29 degrees last night.  I have no idea whether it got that cold or not. 

I have a routine doctor's appointment at 10:30 this morning and his office is 30 minutes or so from where I live.  This GP insists on seeing us every four months whether we need to be seen or not or he will not remain our doctor.  I guess this is good for us and will comply as I do like him.  On the way back I will finally stop at COSTCO to pick up my new glasses and buy some things we need.  Pat wants to get a small turkey to fix so we can have dressing and the normal Thanksgiving meal.  I was in favor of just getting a turkey breast and a couple turkey legs to fix but was overruled. Scott is bringing the pumpkin pie.

Gloria, I hope the snow stays away so you can enjoy Thanksgiving with family and not alone.  Glad you have gotten the report from the doctor even if the results are not what you would have liked.  Personally, I don't want to be kept in the dark about my health situation.

Lloyd, I remember one Christmas when we had so much snow that our dirt country road was drifted in.  Pat and I were dating and she couldn't get back to Independence where her family lived so she spent Christmas day with us.  Dad and I had to take his Farmall tractor to the highway about a mile away and pick her up as she has gotten a ride that far as the highway had one lane open.  It was her first and last experience standing on the draw bar of the tractor. However, it is a great memory.

Joan, glad to read that Joe was feeling some better and sure hope they have an uneventful trip back home.  Comforting to know what with cell phones help can be summons if needed on the way but sure hope such help won't be needed. Ten hours is a long time in the car.

Callie, what a nice Thanksgiving surprise with the phone call from your friend and to know the Alzheimer's has been slowed. Your son's sound like they are good hunters.  I bet the shelter kitchens can make good use of the donated meat. 

JaneS, I can't think of a term less suited to you than "needy".  I am sure your kids love doing things for you just as you love doing nice things for them. 

Jackie, good to read that the storm Angus didn't impact your area with the flooding.   

Jane I looked at that link Hall sent you looks like you have good choice there, should be able to get one you can afford. have a great day,

Lloyd

Good morning, Gloria.  It's mighty chilly this morning for FL--it was 48° when I got up.  We told Finlay what was wrong with his Dad--but didn't make it sound scary.  Glad you finally found a doctor who is taking some action.

Phyllis--Good morning.  Oh my, yes, Finlay has grown.  He's as tall as I am and weighs five pounds more than I do.

Good morning, Larry.  I think some of these doctors want more frequent appointments so they can "line their pockets".  We had a combination Thansgiving meal and Finlay birthday celebration.  I'll eat leftovers on Thanksgiving.

Hi Lloyd.

Jane, I'll jump in with the rest & say "we had one of those blower/baggers & was worthless".  I do highly recommend those large yellow scoopers for leaves (just Google that), best money I ever spent but I did not do my research.  Can find them from just under $5 for a pair & some of the places you think would be cheapest has double the price.  Trust me, if the wind piles the leaves up for you they can be bagged in a few minutes.

Larry, love the story about "taking the tractor to the highway to pick up".... I was never so lucky to ride the tractor but do recall having the tractor pull the car out of the mud!  No question in my mind that some of my happiest memories are when things went wrong & we all pulled together to make them right.

Callie, I woke up to 55°, a little rain & now bright sunshine.  We've already had our Thanksgiving & I'm ready to make "one more trip" out camping but do not want to get tangled in holiday traffic.

New baby due today so lots of excitement & tension.  Prayers welcome, a high risk baby since the mother had cancer & the cure less than 2 years ago... Doctor gave the all clear, so far all's well, they are getting the boy they prayed for.  Hey, we are geared up to worry, right?

Have a beautiful day, Every Friend.....

Joan, I didn't bring home any leftovers so will celebrate with the best carry out I can find.  Was invited to #1 son's house but will be chaos with the new baby & don't know how many family & friends of the kids.  This family gathers up anyone that is alone.  I am needing peace & quiet.

Good morning, Shirley.  I'll be praying for the high risk baby boy and his mother.  Many restaurants here are closed on Thanksgiving.  I have a frozen lasagna I made in the freezer--so might just have that.

Good morning,
"The best laid plans of mice, men......and Callie often go astray".

As I wrote yesterday,  Plan A was to start prepping for Thanksgiving contributions - which I planned to "leisurely" stretch over a couple of days.

Then Miss Emily e-mailed that she had some appointments today not far from me - how about lunch?  Of course, I said,  "Sure - come here for soup and sliders (that I had in the freezer)".

At 4:30 yesterday afternoon,  Sir Carson called to say he would stop by and pick me up on his way home from OSU and would be here about 6:00 p.m.
Between then and time to watch Dancing With The Stars,  I:
made the graham cracker crust for The Chocolate Dessert,
baked the cornbread and biscuit dough (I just spread it in a pan) for the dressing,
ate dinner, and
made the cream cheese layer for the dessert.

I would have finished that after DWTS but I discovered I had gotten cook-and-serve pudding mix instead of instant.
That meant a trip to the grocery store after the beauty shop this morning.

Miracles of miracles - I found a parking place not too far from the door and a checker waiting for someone to come through his line!

I'll finish the dessert but will take the "groceries" for the dressing to son's house and finish it tomorrow or Thursday morning.

After Emily leaves,  I'll pack to be away for at least two nights.   As far as I know, I won't have to do any laundry - thank goodness.

I plan to take my Tablet but, in case I don't get back in,  here's wishing everyone:


.....or 4th Thursday, whichever applies to you.   

CUL8R

Joan, isn’t it strange how quiet a house is after family leaves.  Tom and his family usually stayed with me when they came to town and they might have stayed a weekend and when they left, this place was dead. 

I woke up to 18 degree temperature this morning and it’s only about 35 degrees now and the sun is shining.

I had my hair cut this morning, then a routine appointment with my cardiologist â€" or nurse practicioner .  All is well but they want to do further testing that they haven’t done for a couple of years.  My blood pressure is good.  I think I’ll have them wait for the further testing until 2017 and mt dentist wants to put a crown on a tooth too.  Too many health problems in my old age!!!

I hope Joe, Kate and Finlay's trip home is uneventful. 

Mary Ann

SHIRLEY, PHYLLIS, HAL, LLOYD...Thank you for the input about the leaf eaters/grabbers.  You two ladies both voiced a problem that I'd already thought might be true.  I think I'll hold off on that but I've seen those "yellow" things advertised and that's in my price range NOW.  I'm going to find some of them. 

And now, I'm off to bag leaves. 

Gloria, I'm so happy that  you've found someone who is tuned to your needs.  I hope they are able to help you get some relief. 

My internet and 3 TVs that have adapters went out mid-morning.  My cable etc. service man just left, and all seems OK for the moment.

Callie--You are a busy, busy bee.

Mary Ann--Yes--it's so quiet now that they all left.  I hope all is well when you get to your additional medical appointments/tests.

Janie--Hopefully after you bag leaves you can get a nap.

Well - not as busy as I thought I'd be.

About 5 minutes after Emily left - with the "groceries" for the dressing - her Dad called.

They thought I was going to Thanksgiving with other son/dil and made plans with dil's family for tomorrow that Carson didn't know about.  If Emily did - she didn't mention it.

So I am now going/coming home with son/dil who live here - and Emily's Dad will tell her to bring the groceries back to me after her appointment.
       
I think I'll take a nap!!!! 

Oh Callie, bless your heart.  Isn't it strange how family treats US like kids instead of the head of the clan.  I do realize that all my brood are now grandparents and my Grandkids are parents and our days of doing all the planning are long past.  But, please lets us be in charge of ourselves.  Now, something that will put a smile on everyones face, I know it did me.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/SJoE_lNQdHU

Callie--I don't know how you keep track of where you are supposed to be and what you're supposed to take.

halkel--Thanks for the link.  That's so cute.

I won't get into the reason I didn't know local son/dil were for sure going.  Going with them would have been the original plan all along but the reaction I was getting from them was the reason I went ahead and made other plans.
I guess I was supposed to "know" about the plans with dil's family because it's an annual thing.  My choice to never have gotten involved so I don't automatically remember.

What really annoys me is that nobody makes a definite decision until the last minute.  I'm pretty flexible but, by this time, I think they should all realize I truly do need to plan ahead.

Oh well, nobody's going to change at this point.  C'est la vie.