It is cold and rainy here in Northwest Florida.  I sure don't like this weather.

Callie, I also prefer the sweet kind from a bottle.

I couldn't sleep last night so got up and read a couple of hours.  So, of course, I took a nap after breakfast.  It will probably ruin tonight's sleep but that was a good nap.

Larry's brother died this morning.  So sad for the family as his wife just died 6 months ago unexpectedly.  Larry's nephew called with the news and said Bob had so many medical problems that nothing could be done for him.  He and his wife lived a happy long and active life.  The family is large and very close so it will be another sorrow to bear in such a short time.

Hope all of you are having better weather than we are.  Have a good rest of the day!   Still thinking of you, Marilyne.  How are you and AJ doing!

I looked out the window this morning, and the fog has rolled in overnight and is so dense that I can barely make out the shape of the trees, or the house across the street.  Ah yes . . . "The cold gray ghost of the sea". (Sara Teasdale).  Makes the day ahead look bleak and long.

Jean - I'm so sorry that Larry's brother has passed.  So many friends and relatives here too.  The last of my long time friends died on Sunday of this week.  She and I were college roommates way back in the school year of '53 and '54.  We were very close through the years, and maintained that friendship to the very end.  I will miss her so much.

I think my hand is finally beginning to heal.  Tomorrow I see the doc, and hope to finally  get the stitches removed.  After my allergic reaction to the topical antibiotic, I decided not to take any more of the pills either.  I have lived long enough to know my own body, and make those hard decisions. The lesser of two evils.   Turns out that AJ's surgery last June,  to remove a squamous cell cancer from his ear, was unsuccessful.  It has returned, so it will be done again ASAP.

We have a perfectly gorgeous sunny day, but the cold is a face-slicing killer.

Marilyne, just the other day I saw an obit in the paper that told me I am the last of my High School class (from a private, all-girls school)to keep going. The last survivor. The last time I saw any of them was at our 50th reunion in 1997.  I see them often, though, as lovely young girls in pretty frocks.  I should tell you there were only 16 of us, so easy to keep track of.

My dearest friend from my home town died in August.  That has left me drenched in sadness, and with a sense of being deserted.

Oh, I am so relieved to hear your hand is finally healing!  Woo hoo!

Upsetting to hear of a skin cancer coming back.  I had a basal cell cancer removed from my ear a few weeks back, and it never occurred to me it might come back.  Bummer!

Good Morning, to all Bait and Tacklers!  Not much going on in this folder lately, but hoping that we hear from some of our old regulars today?  It's been a long time since Jenny and Beverly have posted.  I hope they are both doing well?  Also, I haven't heard from Shirleyn, but I did see a comment on Facebook a few days ago, so hope she is feeling okay? 

Mary Page -  Thank you for commenting on the passing of my dearest long time friend Joye.    I remember when your friend died last year, and how hard it was for you.  Yesterday I called and talked briefly to Joye's husband.  He seemed confused and disoriented.  

Today my oldest daughter and G-daughter, will arrive, and stay for a few days.  I am SO looking forward to seeing them.  They will do all the shopping and cooking while here, and help to get this old house into some kind of order, plus it will be nice to have my daughter to talk to.    Since I had my hand surgery,  things have gone to "wrack and ruin" around here.(remember that old saying?)   AJ has done a lot of the housework, kitchen clean-up.  He's willing,  but not his forte' at all. 

Marilyne, good to see you posting!  How about Emailing me and telling me more about your hand surgery.  Glad AJ is "helping" you doing clean up, etc.  Also, it will be very nice to have your daughter & granddaughter there to tend to some of the household stuff you are unable to do.

Do let me know how things go!
Joanne

Hello from a cold northwestern Florida, it is heading down to 29° By morning——brrr.

Marilyne, I can imagine what a relief it is for your daughter to be there for several days.  Your hand is healing better?  I hope AJ has that ear taken care of soon.

That bridge collapse in Pittsburg was bad but, thankfully no deaths.  The MidBay Bridge we travel to Destin to go shopping or out to a restaurant (before this horrible pandemic) was worked on this year.  But even with a transponder pass, it cost us $3 each way so they do have income to keep it in good shape, (I hope).  We have a small bridge we have to cross every time we visit Walmart or Publix.  When you see the bridge collapse it sure makes you think of all the bridges in our area.

We sure do miss our friends when they don't post and wonder if they are well or just busy.  I hope everyone is doing OK and we will soon hear from you.

Jean, my sympathy to Larry about his brother passing..... my 3 brothers are all gone and such an empty feeling because I always felt that no matter where I was, all I had to do was call and they would come. In my mind brothers were special people. My sister would have done the same but that was not how we grew up to depend on. My mother's mother died when she was young so she was the one her younger sisters counted on but she depended on her older brothers, her father was a strong man so that was a plus. My brothers all took care of each other as well. A hug to Larry.......

Marilyne, add my hug for the loss of your best friend as well. I have one that will leave such a hole in my life if she goes first I can't imaging life without her calls!  My school day friends are mostly gone or living in another world, we hear from each other once a year, so I know how much you can miss a good everyday friend.

MaryPage, we had between 150-300 in our graduating class from high school. 7 elementary schools dumped into one Jr-Sr high so lots of kids. At the last reunion someone mentioned OUR class was the smallest ever but I never heard that before. In our small town we had the combo Jr & Sr High as well as a Catholic school and a Negro school (what it was called in the late '40s-early'50s.. no disrespect intended). In the early '50s we only had one family that was from Mexico and a few families that were Jewish and a few that were Syrian. I don't recall ANY kind of discrimination, we were home to Scott Joplin & had a SAC base 20 miles away, KC was less than 100 miles away & St.Louis about 120. Lake of the Ozarks 30 miles to nearest water so life was good. By the way, because Cas was in the sun playing golf so much he had a running appointment every 6 mo to have those cancer cells removed. One day he came home with at least 6 or 8 spots he had to put the ointment on. I finally convinced him to wear a hat that came out over his ears but the damage was done. I never liked the sun, had my first sun/heat stroke at 18 so learned it was not my friend. My father went thru 2 or 3 weeks of tests at Barnes in St.Louis to find out why he would pass out in the sun.... all they could tell him was, "probably allergic to sun rays so stay out of it!" Both of us were night owls...

All my life I would hold my breath until we got across bridges, never liked water & my imagination went wild because in central MO growing up we went across half a dozen bridges to get to Grandma's house. It was a nightmare to cross the Atlantic to & from England, not many went by plane in 1954-'57 so 8 or 9 days of not seeing land was not something I care to ever do again.

Shirley -  Good to see you posting here. Thanks for the understanding comments.  None of my friends are still living. AJ has quite a few long time friends who are still here, in their late 80's, and healthy!   All their wives are long gone. 

Jean -  Yes, it's really great having our daughter and g-daughter here for a few days.  Right now they are out doing the grocery shopping, which is a nice break for us.  They will be here until Monday morning. 
I agree with you and Shirley, in being concerned about the condition of all the old bridges here in the USA.  Most of the urban bridges are inspected regularly, and kept in  good condition.  It's the bridges in rural or outlying areas, that seem to be the ones that are the most dangerous dangerous. 

Joanne/Tome -  Yes,  I'll send you an email, ASAP!

I hope all of you in the East are weathering this latest storm okay?.  The pictures on the news are frightening.    Seems like there is an extreme  weather event going on somewhere in this country, just about every day.  We are calm right now in California, but our turn will soon come!

We got the snowstorm: the NorEaster that has flown up North.  We have a perfectly Gorgeous scene of snow, still pure white.  It is about one inch deep and very dry and powdery.  The roads are already clear, as are the sidewalks.  I love it, as it is actually no trouble to anyone.  Oh, and yes, it has been hours and hours now since it stopped snowing here.

Since last night till now it has been between 12 and 14 degrees and snowing most of that time. Snow stopped about mid-afternoon.  I managed to shovel about 15 feet of walk that goes out to the driveway. Ran out of gas there so will do the rest (not much) tomorrow.  My guess is about 10 inches. But the bottom is somewhat wet so it sticks to the shovel  Still a bit of wind blowing.  The wild life, birds, squirrels, are having a time of it. Several doves and some sparrows took shelter on my front porch, which is somewhat protected - so I fed them there today.
Time to do some bill paying.

Rammel, the views on the news at 5:30 looked as if it's a real mess in your area.  Haven't heard anything from Miss Ellen but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a snowperson greeting folks at the entry to their building - courtesy of her and one of her roomies.

I've really had an "Intellectual Interlude"!!!!

  I saw a post from MaryPage in which she mentioned the new HBO series "Gilded Age" and replied - along with comments to other people.  MaryPage replied to mine and, as I was reading it, I realized I wasn't in this folder, as I'd thought.    Instead I was in a folder where I've never ever posted and most of what I said wouldn't make any sense to the regular readers.
So I removed my post and posted a reply to MaryPage asking her to come over here and we'd contiune our conversation.
Now I find that she didnt post anything about the tv series here.     

Think I'd better say "Good Night".  Sleep well, Everyfriend and have pleasant dreams.
 

Sorry,  Callie: I was watching a movie that just ended at ten Eastern and had not seen your note.  Just did, and here I am. 

We are talking about The Gilded Age on HBO.  It is all about the ultra rich at the end of the 19th century.  The dresses are to die for, and I love the cast.  Cynthia Nixon was my favorite of the 4 gals portrayed in Sex & The City, and she plays the "nice" aunt.  She is superior!

If you watched the first episode, did you figure out who the controlling aunt was?  I did not.  I kept saying to myself:  " I KNOW who that is!  So who is it?"  I had not figured it out when the episode was over, so I looked it up. No surprise there:  I know her well, and admire her enormously.

More tomorrow.  Oh, and did you catch the fact that Julian Fellowes wrote this?  Yep!

Rammell...  I am going to nag you then shut up. 

Snow shoveling is very bad...  but I think that
you know that.

Iam with George wit this:

Snow shoveling is so dangerous because it increases heart rate and blood pressure, Franklin explained, while exposure to the cold air decreases the flow of oxygenated blood to the heart. "

As George Clooney would say, 'It's a perfect storm',"

PleaseSTAY SAfe!   

Sandy

Good on You, Honey!  Snow will eventually melt.  No one expects senior gentlemen to be wielding tools to move it.

Agree with you!

love from Mom

Rick -  I agree with Sandy and Mary Page . . .  let the younger generation do the snow shoveling!
MarsGal -  That advice goes for you too!

Today is a big Football day here in the California Bay Area.  The San Francisco 49ers will play the L.A. Rams, in L.A., in hopes of winning and going on to the Super Bowl.   Everyone is positively fanatic, and acting out like a bunch of overgrown five year olds.      I am not a fan of pro football, so cannot relate at all, however, I do understand that most others are crazy about it - some to the point of hysteria!  People need a fun and carefree break, from all the worries of the World.

Mary Page -  When the smoke clears, at the end of the day, I plan to  watch episode #1, of   The Gilded Age.   I'm so looking forward to it and know I'm going to love it!

I had heard about The Gilded Age and was looking forward to it but now can't watch it because I don't have HBO.  Phooey.  Maybe sometime later I'll get to see it.  We had HBO at one time but never saw anything on it we liked and dropped it.

We are getting a little warmer here.  Going to have a high of 61° today with a low of 45°——much better than the last few days.  The sun is shining brightly.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Thank you all for the reminder about shoveling. I did not go back to it. I think my son will finish it up today. The sun is out but still cold and somewhat windy.  The poor wild life is having trouble finding eats, so I have been helping with some extra seed. Even the cardinal did not hesitate to dive in to grab a peanut (they are usually very cautious).

Good Morning,

MaryPage,  I did recognize Christine Baranski as one of the aunts in "Gilded Age". I'd enjoyed seeing her on "The Good Wife" but never started her more current series.     Miss Ellen said there were quite a few "Broadway people" in the show - but she didn't identify any of them.
    I discovered rebroadcasts on HBO at several times on Friday and Saturday.  First episode showings are at 11:00 p.m. CDT on Mondays and I'm not sure I can wait until the end of the week!
    I "Google mapped" what the current intersection of 61st Street and Fifth Avenue looks like (where the series is set). There are still white "mansion-looking" buildings there. None of them look like residences but it seems to be a rather "posh" area and is right across from Central Park. 

Marilyne, I don't watch or keep up with pro football, either but a friend who does mentioned that the Kansas City Chiefs are also in the play-offs for the Super Bowl in the other League.  Since they're "local", I'll root for them.

Sandy, never heard that about show-shoveling but agree that job should be turned over to younger folks. Fortunately, I've been able to use a push broom to either "rake" the paper within reach or make a path to get it without wading in snow.

Jean, I'm very disappointed that shows like "Gilded Age" no longer seem to be on PBS. HBO is included in my cable subscription but none of the other pay-to-view stations that are popping up are and I don't watch enough on any of them to subscribe.   

I just finished watching my church's service.  Fewer than 30 were actually there but there were quite a few who posted greetings from home.

I made Beef Vegetable soup yesterday and baked cornbread muffins to have with it for dinner last evening.  Muffins didn't turn out well but I have enough soup to share with family and several neighbors!!!!  Gave all my canning size jars to dil who cans and makes jelly in the summers so don't know what I'm going to store the soup in.  Right now, my dutch oven is taking up space in the fridge.
Guess I'll have left-overs for lunch.

Jean, I know what you mean about HBO.  We only have it because my son has some stuff on it he watches.  Me, I am a prissy little old lady now, and I hate bad language, horror, sports, rude, crude & unrefined, and so on and so forth.  I am absolutely certain THE GILDED AGE will show up somewhere else sooner or later, and you'll be able to stream it.  And remember, the critics hate it.  Possibly you will, too.  Me, I think they just don't want to credit Fellowes another Win after Downton Abbey.  Anyway, yes, I love it.  Do I relate to it?  Heavens, No!  It is about the filthy Rich.  Never been one of those!  But the buffet table at the Open House towards the end was enough to make me swoon with yearning.  It was a WOW!

Oh, and the Clothes!  Some of the dresses almost made me swoon, too!  I am glad we do not wear corsets these days.  My grandmother did, and I can remember how relieved she was to go into her room of an evening and get out of hers.  During World War II, when we were alone in that big old house, with all her children off to the war, she would get out of it earlier.  On a snowed-in day, she wouldn't put it on at all. 

But the clothes in this are splendid.  Honestly worth admiring.

Ellen had to wear a panty girdle and hose that snapped on- as well as a "Merry Widow" (remember those?) while she was an Extra on "The Amazing Mrs. Maisel".  She hated them and couldn't believe I'd worn both to go dancing.

MaryPage, agree about the clothes and - wow! - that Buffet was amazing!!!!  Can't remember that character's name but I have a feeling her attempts to become one of "Us" will be a main theme of the series.

Wonder why the critics are so critical?  (Snobbishness on their part...hmmm??)

Okay, I am going to tell you something that you may or may not remember.  It happened back when my Becky turned 14.  I always tried to give my children a special treat for just the birthday child and me, and to give them a choice or a list of choices for them to choose from.  The Sound of Music was just out in the theaters, and Becky chose to go see it.

We adored it.  I cannot tell you how many times we have each seen it since.

One of the most famous and prestigious critics of those years was Pauline Kael of The New Yorker.  She panned it.  Really thought it was worthless.

We paid her no nevermind, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Mary Page -  I can definitely relate to your feelings about,  "The Sound of Music", and many other movies from that era.   I also loved it, as did all friends and family.  As you said, Pauline Kael, and other critics, panned it unmercifully, as they did to other major movies at that time, that we all enjoyed.  They especially loved to hate on any film with the story based on a real person or actual event from the past, claiming that they weren't accurate.  I'm sure many weren't accurate in every detail, but screenwriters have poetic license, to add some drama to keep the story interesting, in hopes that it will be a hit.

Now it's fashionable for today's young critics to go back  80 plus years,  to pan and tear apart, "Gone With the Wind" - both the book and the movie!    Of course they are both offensive now, as to the depiction of slavery . . . but there was no such thing as PC,  back when the book was written and the movie was produced.    The story is fiction, trying to depict what life was like on a Southern plantation, and during and after the Civil War.    Mammy and Prissy are looked upon as caricatures in today's world - but the story takes place in 1865 - the Civil War years, for Heaven's sake!  Wealthy plantation owners had slaves back then.  It's an unfortunate fact of history.  Of course it's shocking to us now, but that's the way it was!  Why ban a great book and movie, because it doesn't fit today's agenda? 

Quote from: Marilyne on January 30, 2022, 06:06:50 PMWhy ban a great book and movie, because it doesn't fit today's agenda?

Because people aren't very bright.

I've never been much interested in musicals with a very few exceptions. South Pacific and Thoroughly Modern Millie are two of those I do enjoy. I haven't seen The Gilded Age (don't have HBO). Is it an adaptation of a particular book or series of books? I watched Downton Abbey up to the end of WWI, after that it got a little too modern for my tastes.

I agree Rammel. I can't help but think that a lot of people don't want to remember history whether depicted in an old novel, movie or play, or in the history books. We not only have lots of the older books being banned, but think of all the revisionist history written today. George Santayana wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." I cannot help but add those who refuse to learn or acknowledge history. Forgetting the past is rather passive; willful disregard or refusal to acknowledge past history is another matter entirely. In the end, I wonder if remembering the past is helpful or not. After thousands of years we still have slavery of varying sorts, genocide and discrimination, institutionalized or otherwise, as evidenced by historical written records and anthropological/archeological research. The impact of these things on the collective human conscience (not to mention lives) wax and wane, but never are we rid of them. Well, this is depressing.

Off to get my COVID booster in a while, and maybe do a little shopping. I have yet to visit the new Tractor Supply store a few miles down the road from me.

One of the hardest things about growing older is
picking up that news pAPER OR HEARING On the
Internet that some one that you know, knew and
perhaps even loved at one time,  has "moved on"
to our great reward   (or what ever you might want to
call it!)

It takes my breath away  and then sometimes,
even famous people move on, (again?  Cus I thought
that they had already gone.!!! )

The Gilded age on HNBO  is going to be very
very good.   I saw the first episode and loved it. 

I love the ERA and the clothes and life as it is
perceived,  but  the racism  cuts to my core when
I realize that some of it,  not all of it,  but
too much still is with us in 2022...

How sAD THAT SO many poeple  still believe
that for them to feel good,  they DO  not and
must not believe in the equality of mankind.   

IMHO,  there is  a lot to observe, learn and compare,
by watching closely "The Gilded Age"///

Of course I hAVE ONLY  seen the first episode,
and who knows  if the rest will be as good
as I perceive the first.

Enjoyf and have a good day,  everyone!!

Sandy

Please excuse my miss typing etc.     

I do not know if anyone missed me, but I sure have been missing all of you‼️  The last day of the month of January....how did this happen? Seems at least half of this month just passed me by‼️  I must post today, no matter what.  I come in to read the posts but have to keep logging in, then my post is gone.....Quite sure it is operater error🤪🤪

Our three weeks of helping take care of our grandchildren is over and we are trying to settle back into our easy life.  It was fun, but I think we are too old for this😩🤪🤪🥰🥰🥰

I am going to post this IF I can.  Then I am going to attempt to start reading to see what all I have missed out on.

Have a wonderful day 🦋

Jenny

Hi, Jenny!

There is a new episode of The Gilded Age on tonight.  Whada ya bet our young heroine is going to become romantically involved with one or BOTH of the young gentlemen from our filthy rich families?

MaryPage, what time does Gilded Age come on at your house tonight?