It's December! Happy Holidays Everyone!2016-12-01T18:53:35-05:00

Home Forums General Quacker Chatter It's December! Happy Holidays Everyone!

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    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Here we are winding down the year. I hope it’s been a good one for all with more ups than downs.

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    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Here are some more pictures. We are having internet problems. Right now we are using Greg’s phone for a hot spot. I guess Verizon had an update and it messed up their customers who have a satellite dish on the roof like we do. Hope they fix it soon.

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    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I don’t know where the name Quimby came from. All I know is that it’s odd.
      I haven’t started decorating yet.Hope to get started this weekend.
      Maybe Owen is attracted to Moby Dick because it is about a whale. It will be interesting to see if he gets into it. It’s been so long ago since I read it I hardly remember anything at all about it.
      I had the patience to read a lot bigger books when I was younger. Now i think with the internet my attention span isn’t as good.
      Hope you get the sunroom cleaned out for all those Santas. Sometime you should take a picture of all of them and post it. Get your grandaughters to do it for you. they know how to do all that stuff.
      Gail

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      I like the pictures that you posted. They are really pretty. I like that wreath made out of hotdogs and biscuits. You would have to have a lot of patience to do that. The grand kids would like that though.
      I do not read big books either. It just takes too much time and there are other things that I have to do. I read Moby Dick for school when I was in high school. It was our required reading list. They do not do that anymore in school. The kids do not have to read the classics anymore. That is really a shame. They will never have the fun of reading some of these books.
      I think that I posted a bunch of pictures of my Santa’s on the other site. I am going to have to try and find those pictures back again and post them. It was right after we got the Santa and his sleigh from Costco. I am still wanting to get the Santa sitting in his chair that they have there. It is really cute. There still are not ornaments on my Christmas tree. I may have to just do it tonight after I get off of here. It seems like we are always doing something. The group of lunch ladies I go out with had our Christmas lunch today. So went to Pasta House to eat. Then we had to go to the grocery store and by the time we get home from doing all of that it is late.
      Not a whole lot going on here. Guess I will close for now. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!! I hope you all had a great turkey day. We did. Then as if the gremlins didn’t have anything better to do I caught a bad
      cold over the weekend!! I haven’t felt good all week, so the decorating didn’t get done. I managed to get the windows done. At least I have a little
      done. I should be feeling well enough to get it done this weekend.

      There’s been a lot that’s happened since I last wrote on here, nationally that is. I hope no one is in danger from those fires in Tenn. I wish I could’ve sent the heavy rains we had last week. It would’ve put those fires out in no time!! It was so bad that the new roof sprung a leak & some of the tiles on the ceiling came down. So much for the new roof. The leaks were just outside my door. They knocked on my door asking if I had any leaks inside my apt.
      I got lucky that time, no leaks. Of course it had to happen just before the holiday weekend. All they did was make a funnel out of sheets of plastic & duck tape it in place, then put garbage cans under the plastic so the water would go into the cans. When Monday rolled around all they did was take one of the garbage cans out & left the plastic hanging. NO ONE did a $%^&***** thing about it till Wed!!!! I finally heard someone on the roof working on it. Luckily the rains have stopped in the mean time!! They still haven’t replaced the insulation or the ceiling tiles that were damaged. If we did that we’d be evicted in short order.
      The night before last, I was awakened by someone knocking on my door at the ungodly hr of 3:30 AM!!! At first I thought I was dreaming, then as I woke up it happened again. I went out to look thru the peek hole & saw some young guy with a backpack. I didn’t open the door. If I had I would’ve had my meat cleaver in my hand, saying “You better have a $%^&**** good reason for getting me outta bed this time of day!!” LOL. But I didn’t. I found out later that day that he’d knocked on Kay’s door & Critt’s door as well. We figure he was looking for a place to crash. I reported it but it won’t do any good.

      Thank you Colleen for passing on my message to the ladies. I forgot about the computer room down in the community room for us to use. I think that’s where I picked up the cold germs. I didn’t think to take a wipe with me to wipe off the keyboard. The room is an elevator ride down to the 1st floor, so I didn’t have to leave the bldg.
      Well, I gave in & paid my delequint bill. It was too hard to be without it, for the internet. The TV part was okay cuz I had an indoor antenna I could use for
      the tv. And I missed not being able to do this in the comfort of my own living room where it’s nice & warm & Jewell can sit here beside me.
      When I heard about those children in that school bus, I was numbed. Then when I saw the mug shot of the driver I was enraged!! the more I heard the madder I got. Kay & I were discussing it & we both neither one heard of a school bus driver that young driving kids around. All our school bus drivers were older like our mothers or fathers. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a young school bus driver!! There’s gotta be more to this story. Why was he speeding, & why was he not on the regular route??!! I haven’t heard any more on the story.
      Oh have there been any more QF shows since the holiday? I saw one 2 hr show & wanted everything they had!! Did I tell ya I got the kitty keyhole top in black? I thought I clicked red but they sent me the black. It’s pretty. I wasn’t going to send it back. Stains won’t show up as easily. lol. I’ll wear it when I go to my friend’s for Christmas dinner.
      Can you believe it’s Dec.?? Where has this yr gone??
      Well, I’m talked out for now.
      Take care.
      dd

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    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      So glad that you are back. That guy knocking on the door would have been very scary. I guess your building is not very secure.
      That was a long time not to fix the roof. Glad your cold is getting better. Also happy that you have your internet back. Right now ours is down from some sort of update from Verizon. I’m hoping that they get it fixed right today. Right now we are using our cell phones to create a hot spot so we can get on our laptops. It’s horrible being without internet. I have not started decorating yet either except for myself in Quacker tops. I’m glad that you like your kitty top. I don’t think that you missed any Quacker shows except for Chicks night in. However, there is a wreath giveaway. I just remembered. I better go sign up for it.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I bet it wouldn’t be so bad to make that wreath. I have made those hot dogs and just cooked them on a tray-so it’s not much of a leap to make them into a circle and cook them that way. They showed the cutest thing on pinterest. You take a grape, a slice of banana, a half strawberry and a miniature marshmallow and put it on a toothpick and they are called miniature grinches. I should have saved a picture and posted it.
      I guess if there was a really big book that I really wanted to read i would still do it. It’s just that I can’t seem to concentrate as long as I used to. I could read a 7 or 8 hundred page book without blinking an eye and i read many of them. Now 3 or 4 hundred is a good page count and I read many cozy mysteries which are much shorter.
      It’s sad that kids aren’t taught some of the classics anymore. I wonder what books that they do have to read? I wonder if they teach Shakespeare anymore?
      I hope that you are able to get that big sitting Santa for your room this year. It’s fun to add a new one to your collection. Ron should get it for you after the vacuum gift. lol
      Hope Barbara pops in soon to tell us about her Thanksgiving.
      Gail

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    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      I just thought I would let you all know I was finally able to get on just now. I don’t know if it will last and do not know what was wrong with it.

      Gail I don’t know where Quimby came from but it sounds Australian to me.

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I thought I’d drop by for a little while. There are rumors flying around the local TV weather folks we could have snow flakes flying around here between Monday thru Tues. night. It’s a rarity for us to get snow down here. It’s good tho. It means the mts will be getting copious amounts of snow. Always a good thing. An Arctic cold front is coming down from the North Pole (where have I heard that before), bringing with it bitter cold air. If we have enough
      moisture we will get the snow. It won’t last long, never does. I’ll hunker down & just be glad I don’t have to be out in it. I’ll get my decorations up & have hot cocoa.
      Wasn’t there a movie with Tom Selleck a few yrs ago called Quimby or something that sounds like it? Adele would know about it I’m sure.
      I have the I Love Lucy special on right now. I don’t like it when they colorize black & white shows. The skin color looks off.
      Well, that’s all I have for tonight.
      Have a great weekend ladies.
      dd

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    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      Was that Quigly down under? I hope that we don’t get an artic blast-although this is the time of year for that kind of stuff.
      Cute cat pictures. It’s always good when you can stay in and not have to go out in the cold and snow.
      I guess colorized is for the younger generations as they have never watched anything not in color and almost cannot imagine not doing so. I like the old black and white stuff just the way it was. You are right the colors just look off sometimes.
      Have a good weekend.
      Gail

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      What a mess. I hope that the roof did not leak too much. Have they fixed it now or is it still leaking? Thank heaven that it was not leaking in your apartment. That would have really been a mess. They have been having all kinds of problems there at the apartment building.
      That would be scary to find some guy at your door at 3:30 in the morning. He is lucky that no one called the police. It was better that you did not open the door. He may have pushed his way in and that would have been bad. It is a shame that there is no security at the door to prevent these people coming in that late.
      I am glad that your computer is working again and you will be able to talk to us again. It is a hard decision to make when they raise the bill that high. It was a shame about all those poor little kids on that bus. I am like you. I do not understand about that young man driving the bus. They usually have older people driving. Did they ever find out what caused the accident? They will think twice before hiring anyone that young again.
      I agree with Gail. I think that the movie you are thinking of is Quigly down Under. That was a good movie. He was young when he did that one.he is such a good actor. I do not think that I have seen anything that he is in that I do not like.
      I would stay in the house and be warm and comfortable if that much snow is coming. One thing about being retired is you do not have to drive in the snow. You do not even have to go out in it unless you need groceries or a doctors appointment. That is one thing that I love. You are right this year is going by so fast. Where has it gone.
      I love all the cute pictures that you have posted. They really make me smile. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      Those are some cute ideas of things to do to decorate. Melissa gets a lot of her ideas from pinterest. That is where she got the idea of how to make a snow man out of her old Christmas tree. She really makes a lot of cute things that she get the ideas from there. We are going to give her our old tree this year and we are going to get a new one. We are going to get a smaller tree this time around. I think maybe a 5 ft. tree. Or maybe a six foot. I am not sure. We are going to get one with the electric in the pole. They have to be better then they were at first. Have not heard of anyone having a problem with them here lately.
      The last big book that I read was the Harry Potter book. It was the longest one of the set. It was really good and caught my attention. I do not have any other books like that I want to read. I may read one by Patrick Taylor if he came out with one about the Irish Country doctor. That would really be a good one. I just hope that he keeps writing more books about that.
      I do not think that the kids get a reading list for the school year like we did. We had so many books that we had to read and do a report on but they do not have that. I know that Brooklin was going to read of Mice and Men but do not know if she read it or not. It would be really nice if they would just read some of these books on their own. I would let them take books from here to take home to read. I have the works of Shakespeare. They really need to read some of them. I know that the play that they did this year came from stories from Edgar Allen Poe. My grands have never read any of his works. Maybe they will not since they did the play. Kylie played Edgar Allen Poe.
      I agree Ron owes me a good gift this year. That Santa would be the best thing that he could get me. He needs to make up for that one.lol What a cute idea to do with the grapes. That would look really cute on the Christmas table. Do you do Christmas at your house this year?
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      Thank you for telling me the name of the movie. You’re right, it was Quigley not Quimby. Adele will have my head on a platter for that!! LOL.
      BREAKING NEWS: Did you know Albany has left QVC? I was wondering why I hadn’t seen her in a few days, so I got on her FB page awhile ago, &
      she wrote on there that she decided to leave so she could spend more time with her family. I really enjoyed her sense of humor. she was such a
      kick in the pants on the show. I’ll sure miss her.
      I was rudely awakened this morning by noise coming from the roof. at first I thought it was Friday, but realized it was Sat.!! Apparently they were up
      there finishing up what they started earlier in the week. I know they didn’t do anything yesterday (Friday). I hope they got it finished. They made
      enough noise! Now they have to fix the ceiling in the hall, replace the tiles & insulation.
      They’re still saying we could get a few snow flakes, but no accumulation yet. Mostly rain & snow mix down here. The foothills behind us will get some
      accumulation tho. It’s really too warm right now for the snow. If we’d been having freezing temps at night it might be different case.
      Did any of you take advantage of the day of free shipping on the Q today? I didn’t. I have enough already!!!
      did I tell you guys I still have QF Christmas sweaters from back in the late 90’s early 2000’s? I have 4 or 5. And I have 2 sets of her 3/4 length sleeved tops for Christmas/winter.
      I’ve been working on my decorating today & tonight. Mostly getting things out of the boxes & setting them around. I should get it done tomorrow.

      We have argued till we’re blue in the face about having security guards here, but management ignores us. They installed all these cameras but they do
      little good if there’s NO ONE here to monitor them & catch these people in real time. No, they wait till they come back from the holiday or weekend,
      & by then the creeps are looooooooooong gone!!! It’s infuriating to say the least!!
      I’m including some pics of my apt from a few yrs ago.
      Have a good Sunday
      dd

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    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      I hope some day they will get some security for the building at night.
      I had read that Albany was leaving on the Q boards.
      I hardly watch any Q program straight through anymore anyway-so it hardly matters who is hosting. If I see a program that I am interested in I DVR it and then skip through it later. Years ago I had QVC on all the time as background but I never do that anymore as the programming has gotten so repetitive. It’s like all the products are on a loop. Not many new or interesting products.
      I didn’t buy anything on free shipping day. I’m glad they did that though as so many online retailers offer free shipping all the time. Maybe QVC is getting with the times on that one.
      I have Christmas sweaters from years ago and also a ton of those white appliqued shirts that I never wear anymore-as they are too structured. I prefer the soft stretch of the teeshirts. I have to get rid of them as they are just taking up valuable real estate in the closet. lol
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      Guess what? It’s snowing! So winter really begins.
      I have all the Harry Potter books but have not read them yet. Perhaps that will be my New Years resolution for 2017.
      I have some thick books on my shelves. Hopefully I will get around to them.
      Boy I remember reading all of Poe’s stories when I was maybe a teenager. That’s interesting that Kylie played a man. I think some of those books are better if you can have a classroom discussion on them. Like Of Mice and Men. I think I read all of Steinbeck when i was younger. I liked him much better than Hemingway. Also I read a lot of Dickens and he wrote massive books. Although I haven’t read a Tale of Two Cities-Maybe I should go back and read that. We never had a reading list in school. We just had to read what was assigned in class. If we had reports we chose our own books but i imagine that they had to be approved by the teacher. I was always in an advanced English class so maybe they did things differently from the other classes. I remember doing a report on Van Gogh. I really learned a lot about all the impressionist painters doing that. Things that have stuck with me my whole life.
      I have Christmas every year. Jenny has Thanksgiving and I have Christmas. Maybe when the kids get older they will want to stay home and I don’t really care. I will go over there if it should ever work out that way. I’m flexible.
      I hope that you get that Santa for Christmas. Does Ron ever ask you what you want? If I really want something I just say-I would like such and such.
      Gail

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      I think one of the reasons classic books are not recommended in schools is the parents. I just read the other day where more classic books were removed from the library because the parents did not like the content. We read all of them and I do not remember anything they should object to in them. I had a teacher that was really into Shakespeare so I read all of that and we put on plays. The students are just not taught the way we were and are really losing out on the basics, If you read message boards the spelling and grammar are missing. Math skills are no more. Computers do everything and that is not always a good thing.

      We are to be getting snow too and very cold as in below normal temps. And the wind never seems to stop anymore. Have not seen the sun in some time.

      Did you all hear Penn State are the Big 10 champs? Last night game was very exciting. They were down 28 -7 early but came roaring back in the second half and won 38 -31. They have been a second half team all year and have some very good players. Some people are still against Penn State because of Sandusky but the team is not responsible for his actions. They were not even around then.

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      Ron did ask me what I wanted for Christmas. I can tell him but that does not mean that is what I am going to get. He saw a Kitchenaid mixer on tv today and was talking about how neat it was. I have been asking for one for three or four years but still do not have one. He liked all the attachments it had. I asked him when he thought that I would make my own pasta. That has never happened so maybe he is going to take it up for a hobby. I want one that will mix pastry dough that is what I am interested in. I use to make cream puffs but since I got arthritis in my fingers it is hard to mix the batter. It would be nice to knead bread also.
      I do love to go to the art gallery in St. Louis but do not know a lot about the painters. When we were in grade school we had a music teacher that would come once every two months and she would play music and we had to draw a picture of what it made us feel like. That is one thing that I could not do and that is draw. So mine were always really simple and sometimes I wished it could be a picture of a person sleeping from getting bored. I could stand to listen to the music but not the drawing. I was just a weird kid. The music teacher was always a nun that went around to different schools.
      We use to do the every other year with Danyielle but now that she goes to her boyfriends family she stopped doing it. Melissa does not have the room and Mandy does not have a table. So everyone comes here. I would go anywhere they wanted me to go but they just want to come here. I do enjoy going to the base on the 4th. They have the best fireworks display and band there. We really had a good time when we went there last year. We will do it next year also if they are still there.
      I cannot believe that you had snow today. We had rain all day and it has been really cold. They are not predicting snow here yet but we will see. We are supposed to have more rain on Tuesday. It seems awfully cold for rain hope it does not freeze. That would be a mess.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Sue,
      It is a shame that parents are trying to take over the library. They need to read all of the classics and do a lot of things that they do not do on the computer. I never did like letting the kids take calculators to school for math class. All that taught them was to take out a machine and figure that all out. They do not use their heads for anything.
      Why don’t they just let the kids play sports without bringing anything else into it. Sounds like they worked really hard to get where they are and should be given the praise that they deserve. How sad. I am glad that they won.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Sue,
      Congratulations to Penn State. I know that you are a fan. I don’t watch much college ball. Although a few years back University of Wisconsin was in the Rose Bowl I believe-and we were interested in that as we have taken a couple of our dogs to the vet school up there.
      I know what you mean about not seeing the sun. I think that’s the worst part of winter-all the dark days. it makes you want to hibernate.
      You know we were so innocent when I was in high school even if there was something objectionable in some of the classics I’m sure it went right over our heads. Sometimes I think the parents just make things worse. But because it is a public school system everyone has to be heard.
      I think what bothers me most is that no one has to go to a library anymore to do research for a paper-so no one knows how to do that anymore.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      We ended up with about six inches of snow. Greg had to put the plow on the pick up so he could plow the driveway and the lot at the apartment. It’s funny he was just saying Friday night that he probably needed to put the plow on soon. I was really not expecting that much snow. They said that we would get a dusting. This was more of a thick frosting! lol
      That whole drawing thing must have been hard on the kids that didn’t draw well. it’s hard to express how the music made you feel if you can only draw stick figures. She would have done better to let the kids who liked to draw illustrate their feelings and perhaps the other kids could write how the music made them feel. It’s funny that she came only once every two months. Although you were probably glad that it was so seldom.
      A Kitchen Aide would be nice as they can handle really thick batters. When I first got mine I almost felt guilty when making pound cake because it could handle that thick batter so easily and all I had to do was stand there and watch. They usually come with a dough hook, a paddle mixer and a whisk for beating. I think we have an attachment for meat grinding. I did laugh when you mentioned about often Ron has seen you make home made pasta. lol Some of those attachments one would probably never use. Sometimes the stores will have really good sales on the Kitchen Aides also.
      At least you don’t have to travel on Christmas which is nice. I am so grateful after years and years of driving into Chicago that we don’t have to do that anymore.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Adele,
      I hope that you are watching The Great American Baking Show. Every time I watch I think of you and how much you like to bake.
      Gail

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      That was a lot of snow for a dusting. We just got the rain guess you got all the snow. We will probably get our share later on in the year. We do not get that much until the end of December and the beginning of January. It will be interesting to see how much we will get this year. Were the kids happy to have the snow? I bet they were ready to go play in the snow.
      This was when we were in Catholic school. We had music all the time but she was a special teacher and came only every two months. She was an older nun so it was probably hard for her to get around like she did. I do not know why she did it that way. She should have let the ones who couldn’t draw just make squiggly lines and that would have been good enough. We could have made lines that looked like the ocean or lines that would look like a storm. She just did not know that we had that type of talent. lol
      That would be nice to make the thick battered things again. Your pound cakes sound really good. I am not really good at kneading bread anymore so that would be nice for that also. Ron put the commercial for the kitchen aid on the dvr so I could see it. So had to watch it. He is going to call about it but do ot know if he will get it or not. He may just talk about it until after Christmas. You never know about him.lol Maybe he will cut out a picture of it and put it under the tree. That would be my luck.
      We did a lot of traveling on Christmas when we lived in Illinois. We use to travel from our house to my mom and dad’s and then down to his mom and dad’s. We would stop at my parents first and drop off the gifts from Santa so the kids would not notice them and then go to Ron’s parents. They celebrated on Christmas eve and my family did it on Christmas day. So it really worked out nice. The kids got to see both families.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      Yes the kids wanted to play in the snow two seconds after it started. lol It’s so fun to get excited about snow when you are little and don’t have to drive in it or shovel it.
      Maybe that nun only came once every two months because she went to other schools too. Or maybe she didn’t have anyone to drive her there more often than that. I remember when we were kids the nuns didn’t drive themselves. Gosh that seems so odd now. I remember that my Mom used to take the nuns into Rockford so that they could go bra shopping. And Rockford was not as close to where I grew up as to where I live now so that was a trip that took probably and hour and fifteen minutes or more. I wish I could remember which store that they went to there.
      I never saw a big advertisement on TV for a Kitchen Aide. Was this an infomercial? Sometimes the Q has a Kitchen Aide for a TSV. It sounds like Ron wanted your opinion since he went through the trouble of copying the advertisement. Maybe one is in your future. I think I got mine as a Christmas gift. I’ll bet Greg wishes that I used it more. I used to use it a lot but it seems when I lost my interest in cooking I lost my interest in baking too. Maybe my enthusiasm will come back. I think part of the problem is shopping for ingredients gets more and more tiring and doing a lot of cooking and baking gets tiring too. So I think part of the problem is just aging-it just hurts sometimes to do the things that I once did.
      When you lived in Rockford where did your’s and Ron’s parents live? How did you end up in Rockford? And where did you live when you were growing up? Lot’s of questions, huh?
      It’s been quiet on here. I wonder where Adele and Barbara are?
      I haven’t heard from Christine in a while. How is her foot doing?
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey girls!
      So sorry I have not been on. I was still trying to get decorated, and cleaning form Thanksgiving, then add the dam doctor appointments, for me and Gary- you know what I mean. At end of day, I was just too pooped. It is starting to calm down. I finally found my Nativity set today- my old one. Still have not located the Peanuts one, and decided not to put out the Annalee one. I was trying to down size a little and the things I wanted must be in the last 2 closets I did not want to touch.
      Gary is at another doctor right now. The eye doctor said he needs cataract surgery- they will wait until summer. he is at the internal kidney doctor’s- he has 2 kidney doctors- ne is the surgeon, and then this one. he is not feeling great today, and I think it is because he has been neglecting to take the fluid pill. Had my MRI, and getting another shot in the other shoulder this week. Doctor was right- the shoulders are also affected with arthritis, as the shot took about 50% of the pain away. Also, Marissa’s car was vandalized- they broke her rear windshield. Some people were arguing outside Enzo’s house late Saturday night, and he yelled out the window to knock it off. They woke up to her car window smashed. It is covered by insurance, so she is thrilled.

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey ladies!
      All of a sudden the site stopped me from typing, so I did not finish the above response. in case something is wrong here, I will make it as fast as I can.
      DD- so glad you are ack. Love the pictures Sorry about the water on Thanksgiving. I am so incredibly happy you did not open your door that night- there are so many weirdos roaming around. Thank God you are safe!
      Gail- Hurry up and get decorated. It is only 3 weeks to Christmas!! The kids are coming for dinner tomorrow night- Steph, and crew. I am doing a pulled pork in the crock pot. Hope it comes out good, as I have not done it this way before.
      Tillie has had me on the phone, and computer getting all her stuff for Christmas. She is almost done. I still have some odds and ends being delivered.
      Going out with Nancy and Sue, on Monday night for Christmas, and then on Wednesday of next week too with Nancy, Gerald, and possibly Maxine. Gerald is having a hard time, as his last Auntie is dying. Nancy’s son’s surgery was moved to January. he is still refusing to get the entire thyroid out, and Nancy is so sick about it. The doctor said it is a guarantee the cancer will return, if he doe snot get it out.
      Colleen- hope your belly is a little better, and that they finally gave yo a referral for a specialist. How has Aliza been? Ron? The girls? I hope everyone at your place is good.
      That is all for tonight. I hope I did not forget anything- please remind me, if I did.
      I am always thinking of all of you, even if I am not on here. I so hate no more emails on posts- you have no idea.
      I promise to be on Thursday, as the kids will all be here tomorrow, and I have to get dinner started early. I hoep to have time before they come tomorrow, fro a quick one!
      Love you guys!!
      Quack Quack!
      Adele

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I tried writing a message, but half way thru, “poof” it was gone. So I hope everyone is fine. We sprung another leak when another storm came thru. It came thru the other leaks & a new one on top of that!!! I don’t know when this is going to stop!! So much for a new roof. I think they need to get another roofing co. out here!! Now we’re looking at snow, freezing rain, & all that stuff. We had a storm system come thru yesterday, & the lower foothills got an inch or so of snow. Lots of mountain snow. I think I counted 5 or 6 snow flakes down here. It was mixed in with the rain down here. We’re only 100 ft above sea level, so it has to be pretty cold before we get snow down here on the valley floor. It was sunny today, & is gonna be really cold tonight. Setting up for the next storm coming in Wed. night. This time we could get snow here. It’s beautiful when it’s coming down. Being up here on the 12th floor, watching it come down, it looks like little pieces of cotton floating around. I;m just glad I don’t have to be out in it. NO ONE here knows how to drive in snow. They drive waaaaaaaaay tooo fast for it & end up in a ditch or worse!
      I’m still working on decorating. I should’ve started before T’giving like I wanted to. Not all of it, just some of it.
      Right after T’giving I caught a bad cold, so that didn’t help. I got my flu shot that week & a few days later I get sick. Figures.
      I got my first Christmas cards today. I love getting cards & letters in the mail. gives me something to look forward to.
      I think that’s all I have this time around. I miss not getting the email notices too.
      Take care.
      dd

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    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      The nun did have to go to other schools. She was the music teacher for all the grade schools in our area. I never did figure out why she traveled around like that but that is the way they did things back then. That really makes me feel old saying back then. It is true though so that is how it is. Some of the nuns use to be fun. My parents would have them over for bbqs and things like that and they would play badminton and volley ball and things like that. They were a lot more fun then they were in school It was also embarrassing to have the nuns at our house. You know how kids are about being teachers pet. It was just something that they did and it was nice for the nuns I guess.
      It was probably an infomercial but he did not tape the whole thing. He just taped the part showing the parts that came with the mixer. It had the phone number to call to order on there also. We will see what happens because you can never tell what he is going to do. That is one thing that he may get upset about is if he thinks that I do not use it enough. So I may have to make bread and cream puffs all the time.lol
      My parents lived in Dutzow when we lived in Rockford and Ron’s parents live in Greenville. They neither one lived close to the other and never did. We lived in a suburb of St. Louis when I was a kid. We lived there until I was out of high school and married for a couple of years. Then they decided to move to Dutzow because the neighborhood was getting pretty bad where they lived. That was a shame too. It use to be a really nice neighborhood but then they started having some rough characters moving in that area. So they felt like they had to move. My dad had a dream house that he wanted to build and that is what they did. It was a Spanish type of house. They lived there until my dad passed away. Down where Ron lived in Greenville there was not a lot of jobs there so they all moved up to Rockford or Rochelle. THey worked at Green Giant or what that factory was there. Ron worked in Rockford and when the jobs were bad in Mo. he decided that we should move there. He knew that he could get a job there. So we moved there.
      Christine is still having trouble with her foot. I think that she wrote something on here today. She is having a problem with her eye. She has a torn retina and her eye is hemorrhaging. I think that she wrote about it on here. I hope that she gets good care.
      Well that is about all from here have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      This site has really been acting up. Sometimes you can write a response and it will disappear. It has been happening to all of us. I hope that they are not going to give up on this site. We have been on here for a long time and we enjoy chatting to each other. It would be a shame if they let this go.
      I am not done decorating yet either. I do not think that I will ever get done. We have a Christmas party to go to Saturday. It is Ron’s family Christmas so we have to go. This is the second one that I have been to this year. We had our Christmas lunch the other day that we have every year with friends. It is just a bunch of woman.
      Doctor appointments get tiresome sometimes. I have one on the 21st and the 22nd of this month. It is a lot right before Christmas. I had to keep the one because it is the specialist that I have been waiting to see. His office called me and set it up today. They will not do anything until after Christmas I am sure. They will be going away for the holidays and so that will take care of that for this year. I think that I would rather wait now since Christmas is so close.
      That is good that the shot took away 50% of the pain. Hope the next shot will help even more. It will be nice to have both shoulders not hurting. It is hard to get anything done if your shoulders and neck are hurting. Has the Christmas baking started yet or will there be any since you are hurting so bad. Maybe the kids will come and help you this time.
      That is great that Marissa’s car is covered by insurance. Sometimes it is hard to get them to pay. I hope they find the people that did that. That was a terrible thing to do.
      We do pulled pork in the crock pot all the time. It is a lot easier to do it that way. Every one will really like it and they will not be able to tell that is how you cooked it. I think that the meat is more tender when you fix it that way.
      I hope that you had a good time with Steph and family tonight. It is nice when they come over to visit. It must have been fun to have the grands over also. We have not seen Aliza for awhile. Hope to see her soon.
      You have a lot of lunches to go to the next couple of weeks. It is fun to get together with friends for lunch. It is nice to go out and relax and just enjoy yourself.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      I hope that the rain did not get into anyones apartment. That would be a mess. I wonder if they are going to be able to do anything with all the rain coming and the cold and ice. It is so aggravating when they do not do the job right in the first place. Hope they get if fixed soon.
      I love to watch it snow. It is so pretty and where we are it lands on the trees and they look so pretty. Especially the pines they seem to look the prettiest. People do not know how to drive in the snow here either. There are a lot of accidents and we have snow all winter some years. So people here do not have any excuse. It is just so nice not having to drive in it unless we have to. So far all they are predicting for us is rain.
      I love all the pictures that you posted again. The houses in the pictures are so pretty. I really like the old big houses they were so pretty. I just would not want to live in one now there is too much cleaning to do in them.
      I am not done decorating yet either. Hope to get it done this week. I have to get the rest of my stuff out. Well that is about all from here. Take care of yourself and hope that your cold is gone soon.
      Colleen

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey girls.
      Can you believe how early I am up? It is a 8 lb roast, so I wanted to make sure it is done before JJ and his little buddy have to go to basketball practice. I put the crock pot on high for the first hour, so I decided this is my Quacker time for today. Then, I am off tot take my tubby, as I call it.
      I forgot to say yesterday (because my words were disappearing) that Sue reminded me to get on her, and I am so grateful for that. We get into habits, and mine was to answer by the emails. I need to establish a new Quacker site habit- fast. Thank you, Sue!!
      I have not heard from Christine in a while, and I was wondering how she was. I will send her a note. That poor thing has so much bad health, and she is so young.
      DD- love your pictures of beautiful Christmas scenes. Also love your tree- you did a nice job. I hope the water stays out of your apartment. It has been raining here too today. We got some snow on Monday, and yesterday the whole driveway was a sheet of ice- that black ice is miserable. Winter has arrived. I heard 2 different predictions- one said more snow and milder temps for us, and one said a milder winter. Who knows. All I know is, I am inside when it is slippery, or threatens to be slippery.
      I am so happy you have your new friend next door to celebrate with you and your other friend- forgot their names. that is so nice- the more the merrier on a holiday, I say. I hope your cold is all gone, so you can enjoy the holidays.
      Our idol, Tom was a repeat last Friday…..I think I cried. I do remember that name you mentioned- Quimby. Was it from one of his shows? I think it was the movies on Hallmark, where he is the police chief in the small town.
      Colleen- oh yes, I was watching the holiday baking show, and will until it is done. I do not think I could perform in front of so many people, and it is equipment you are not used to. Every oven is so different, how can your baking come out perfect?
      So, is Ron getting you a new mixer for Christmas? You will have to bake at least one thing a week, or he will be on the potato soup list for sure.
      That is awful you have not seen Aliza. Is it because of the weather, or holidays? I hope you will get to see her soon.
      I am so happy about my lunches. that is the one thing I miss so mush- all the Christmas parties I went to when I worked. We had the office pot luck, with a Yankee Swap, then I hosted the annual Christmas Brunch for my unit, and then I had a Foster Parent holiday party, with another Yankee Swap, and there was always another one somewhere down the road.
      We are going out with Ron and Joyce on Sunday afternoon- meeting them at their favorite Chinese restaurant, so that is good too.
      I got the recipe for the Pulled Pork from “All Recipes”. I goggled it, as nobody liked the one I used ages ago. You just put a little oil in the bottom of the pot, add onions and garlic, and then a mixture of some strange things….bbq sauce, cider vinegar, chicken broth, brown sugar, prepared mustard, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and chili powder. It was pretty simple, so I hope this one works. Where did you get your recipe? There were a lot of them, and I hope I picked the best….LOL
      Gailster….Jenny said to say hi to her Mom….LOL. She saw that Sue reminded me I have not been on. I thought that was so funny. How has Greg been? Did you get a contractor for your new pool yet?
      Well…better get to reading my emails!
      Love you guys!!
      Has anyone heard from Barbara? Send me an email, if any of you would like a Christmas card from me. I have Gail’s address, but not Colleen, DD and Barbara’s. I thought I had Colleen’s, but, did not find it when I did the cards this year.
      Quack Quack!
      Adele

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      I hope they get that roof fixed. The snow is pretty but not when you have to go out in it. I’m hoping for a mild winter but I’ll have to take what we get.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I’m glad that you finally got into that specialist. Hopefully you will finally get some answers. I hope the medicine has helped.
      I have a rheumatologist appointment next week. Just for a regular checkup.
      I had a cousin that was a nun and she was lots of fun and did all sorts of stuff. But i know what you mean about the kids teasing you when the nuns came to your house. My parents were good friends with one of the parish priests and he came over for dinner a lot. The funny thing was he farted a lot. He would just be walking and farting and it was hard to pretend you didn’t notice and not laugh. lol
      I know what you mean about neighborhoods changing. Greg’s parents neighborhood changed from practically all Lithuanian families to sketchy characters who sold drugs and such after his Mom moved away from there.
      I guess Green Giant and Chrysler were both big employers in the Rockford area at one time.
      I feel so bad for Christine. She has so many health problems. I hope they take care of this pronto as a torn retina is potentially very damaging.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      Welcome back. I thought that you got lost.
      I hope Gary is doing better and gets back to taking his pills. Sometimes it is hard to remember.
      You have lots of lunches. We have no Christmas activities this year. I didn’t even get any concert tickets or anything. Plus we no longer work at ONP-we stepped aside for the younger generation. So it will be kind of a quiet December for a change and i don’t really mind. it’s a change of pace.
      I love that baking contest. And their stuff doesn’t always come out so perfect either. I just wonder why they bake in a tent in a field. That seems odd to me.
      I make that pulled pork in a crock pot and just use a packet of that McCormack seasoning mix. I think you use the seasoning and a couple of ingredients added to it. It turns out pretty good.
      Have a good dinner tonight with Steph and the kids.
      Gail
      We had been using my phone for a hot spot for internet for a week. Verizon was supposed to send someone out over the weekend which they didn’t. So Greg called again last night and they say that they are still working on it and no one seems to know what’s wrong except that something happened with an update. So he decided to unplug everything and leave it unplugged for awhile and then plug it back in. Well guess what. Now the internet works again. go figure.

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      Well, we’re bracing for a bad storm to come thru tomorrow (Thurs.). They’re saying the valley floor could get up to 4 inches of snow. Then it starts warming up, which means in the transition we’ll get freezing rain on top of the snow. YIKES!!! Freezing rain is far worse than snow. By Friday we’re supposed to be back to normal rain. I’m just glad I don’t have to be out in it.
      I got started on decorating today. I should have it done tomorrow. I don’t have anything else to do except laundry.
      Did any of you see QF earlier today? They had the cutest things again.
      Well, that’s all from this side of the country.
      Stay safe everyone!!!

      dd

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    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034
    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Ladies,
      I don’t know what I did but my message got sent twice. I went back & erased the second one leaving a blank space. Sorry. Here’s what we’re
      looking at for the next 24-36 hrs. I just hope it doesn’t stay long.
      dd

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    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      DD,
      We are getting an arctic blast here too and then snow over the weekend. They haven’t said how much yet. And it’s not even winter yet!
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Colleen,
      I know that you like musicals too so I was wondering if you watched Hairspray last night? I’m so happy that they are bringing musicals back to TV even if it is only once a year. So much fun!
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hello DD
      I hope you have all your groceries, before the storm hits, so you can just hunker down with your friends in the building.
      It is supposed to get very cold here over the weekend too. they are saying snow on Sunday afternoon, which may end 2 of my lunches. I was going to call Rona and Joyce, to see if they would consider a brunch, before nay snow flies. We have not seen them in months.
      How is your pretty kitty doing? does she like to watch the snow outside?
      With all your decorating, it will really seem like Christmas with the snow outside.
      Stay safe!
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hello DD
      I hope you have all your groceries, before the storm hits, so you can just hunker down with your friends in the building.
      It is supposed to get very cold here over the weekend too. they are saying snow on Sunday afternoon, which may end 2 of my lunches. I was going to call Rona and Joyce, to see if they would consider a brunch, before nay snow flies. We have not seen them in months.
      How is your pretty kitty doing? does she like to watch the snow outside?
      With all your decorating, it will really seem like Christmas with the snow outside.
      Stay safe!
      Adele

      Well, I tried to post this one, and do one for Gail. but it kept the writing here….LOL
      So….Gail….
      I think it is a good idea to let the young’uns do the ONP. Now, you can just attend, and enjoy. You and Greg have certainly put in your share of time over the years, and it would not have been so huge without you.
      Gary is feeling better today. He spooks me when he does not feel good, as I always think it is another kidney emergency.
      The pulled pork went over very well, accept for Gary, of course. Even Tillie loved it. It has a great flavor (way too much for Gary, as Bobby says), and was nice and soft for Tillie. Steph wanted roasted potatoes, so we did that too, with simple can corn. Jhonny was trying to get Aizen to eat more of the meat, and he was more interested in running around with the Annalee reindeer that has jingle bells on it. So, Jhonny told him he needed more protein, and Aizen said,” I don’t want protein Papi”. OMG…I nearly died laughing.
      Gary was in the office, finishing up his work, and we were calling him for dinner and he kept saying he needed to finish the paperwork. So, Aizen ran in, and gave him peanuts, so he would not be hungry. He is such a funny kid. Can you imagine Aizen and Piper having a conversation??
      I thin that baking show being in a tent is disastrous. the humidity and heat so affects what you bake. There are a couple of cakes I cannot make, if it is too warm, even with the air on.
      I watched Hairspray to last night, until 10, as I had to see what was happening on Desiganated Survivor. We thought it was the finale, and it was not.
      Do you watch “This is us”? OMG- love that show!! I also love Life in Pieces. Those are 2 of my favorite new ones for this year.

      Colleen
      Hope the doctor appointment went well. I was wondering if it is closer to your daughter, so you could have taken a quick run over to see cutie Aliza.
      I have not heard from Christine in a while. I just figured she was tired of writing, so I did not pursue it. I knew she kept in contact with you, so we would hear if anything was wrong. I hoe she is better. She has been through a lot for her age.
      Hope everyone was warm and cozy! Hope we hear from Barbara soon.
      Adele

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      The snow has arrived & the local stations are on wall to wall coverage of it. Do they do that back there when the snow arrives? I guess they do it since we don’t get snow that often. And like I said nobody knows how to drive in it. They closed all the schools of course. The East winds are gusting like crazy. When it blows like that the wind chill is terrible. I don’t need to tell you guys that tho. the freezing rain will be coming in later on making the roads even worse.
      I;m cozy comfy in my apt, nice & warm. Jewell’s in on the bed curled up on my Berkshire blanket. She could care less about the snow. She’s taken over my blanket, by the way. She got on it & it felt so soft under her feet she staked her claim of it. LOL.
      I should go make a batch of chocolate chip cookies & put a roast in the oven for dinner.
      Take care & stay warm over the weekend.
      dd
      PS: I took pics of the view from my window but I couldn’t find em.

      Attachments:
    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      I missed that last night. I really wanted to see it. Maybe they will show it again. Did Derek have a very big part on there? I saw him in the Macey day parade. They did a skit from that show.
      I can imagine you kids trying not to laugh out of respect for the priest. It is hard to do when you are a kid. My mom and dad did not have a priest come to there house until they moved and all of us kids were out of school. He was from my dads old neighborhood when they were kids. I think he was younger then he was though. It is funny how people get together when they are older.
      It seems like every time she goes to the doctor they find something else wrong with her. We will have to just keep praying that it stops for her soon. How did your doctors appointment go today? I hope that they did not find anything else going on with you or have to change your medicine. It is usually a mess when they change medicine. There always seem to be problems with that. I will be glad when this visit with the specialist is over with and we know what is going on. It seems like all of us are spending a lot of time at doctors offices.
      I still miss living in Rockford. I really liked it there and so did the girls. Ron says that he does not miss it at all. I do not know if Melissa remembers as much about it as the two older girls do. She was pretty little when we moved.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      That is good that Gary is feeling better. I can imagine that you are worried when he gets sick. He seems to get kidney infections really easily. Diabetes does that to people. It is a nasty disease.
      I am glad that the pulled pork turned out really good. That was funny about Aizen not wanting any protein. With all the energy that he has you would not think that he would need more. lol I bet that he made Gary smile when he brought peanuts into him. That was so sweet. At least he made sure that Gary would not starve.
      I do not go to the doctor until the 22nd of December. It is not in St. Louis it is in Cape Gerardo. So it is in the opposite direction. It is just about as far from here as St. Louis. Any of the really good doctors are in one of those cities. So we always have to drive a long ways to see one of them.
      How are you feeling now? I hope that the pain in your neck and shoulders are gone now. Did you have to have another shot or was the one all that they gave you? I am asking a lot of questions.
      Christine doing okay. She said that she had not heard from you for awhile. I will tell her that you were asking about her. We have adopted Christine into our family. I am her adopted mom. She is such a sweet girl and the whole family loves her. We miss her since she has not been able to come to visit for awhile. I just hope that she will get to come back again soon. I know that it is expensive and hard with her health issues to make the trip though.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      It sounds like you are going to get a lot of snow. They do come on a lot when we get snow. Mostly to tell the road conditions. We probably get more snow then you do. It is nice that you have friends there and that you can get together with and spend the cold days with. One of you will have to make a big pot of chili or soup and all of you get together and eat it together.
      I like the pictures that you posted. THey are so cute. The pictures that you took are probably really good. I love to watch the snow. It will be fun to see what our puppy thinks of the snow. This will be his first year in the snow. Does Jewel like the snow? That is funny that she took over your blanket. They are soft and warm. She is a smart cat.
      We are just about done decorating. It took me two days to find my Nativity set. We forgot that we put it in the plastic container. We are really getting scattered brained. Finally got it up and now it looks more like Christmas. It is funny how certain decorations make it seem more like Christmas then others. Now that it is up and all my Santa’s are out we are ready to go.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night and stay warm.
      Colleen

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      Well, the snow storm was a dud. They were predicting up to 5-6 inches of it, but we barely(!) got half an inch!! In some ways it’s a good thing since the rain is supposed to come in later tonight & wash it all away. It’s the transition between the icy temps, & the warmer rain that causes the most trouble. Ice!
      I’m just glad I don’t have to be out in it!!

      Colleen, you’ll have to let us know how your puppy likes the snow. Usually dogs love to run & jump in it. Cats not so much. Jewell’s never been outside, esp here. She’d have a nervous breakdown. I may join her pretty soon. I could go to bed right now.

      Adele, my fave show is This Is Us too. the actor who plays Kevin, left Y&R to do this show. I sure have to keep glued to it or if I blink I’ll miss something.

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      Glad that you didn’t get all the snow. It’s snowing here again right now. I thought we weren’t supposed to get any until tomorrow. Maybe this will just be flurries. The newscasters always hype the snow. Especially if a big storm is expected.
      I think the idea of a roast and cookies is a good one.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I don’t think that they ever rerun those musicals. They are live and I suppose they film the show and maybe you can watch it on the website. Derek had a pretty big part with lots of singing and dancing.
      My doctor’s appointment is next week. It’s just a checkup and as long as I am feeling good they most likely won’t change any meds.
      You probably wouldn’t even recognize Rockford anymore. Some parts of it are kind of bad neighborhoods too. I don’t know what part that you lived in. Was Cherry Vale mall there when you lived there? How old are your girls? Brent is 35 and Jenny is 34.
      We used to drive through Cape Gerardeau a lot going someplace but I can’t remember where anymore. I’ll bet we were within miles of you when we traveled through Missouri on 88 back and forth from NM.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      I’m glad Gary is doing better. I like that Aizen was concerned about him starving to death out in the vast reaches of his office. He and Piper would be a hoot! So Gary is crossing the pulled pork off his list of things that he will eat. Is his favorite seasoning bland? lol
      I only watch two dramas anymore. The Blacklist and Grey’s Anatomy and i can’t even keep up with them anymore. I vowed that i wasn’t going to get involved with any dramas anymore since everything that i got hooked on would get cancelled. However Designated Survivor and This is Us would have been the two that I would have picked. I knew This is Us was going to be big as there was a lot of chatter about it preseason. I do watch Life in Pieces-very quirky. I love the parents-they are the kookiest of all the couples.
      Here is something I just learned while reading an article. One viagra or cialis pill without insurance costs about fifty dollars! Boy that’s some expensive sex! Also, why do they cover those and not birth control pills? Or do they cover birth control pills now too? I know they didn’t used to. Of course none of this matters to me either way. lol It’s all a moot point-I just was shocked at the cost. However, I think everyone should have a set of two bathtubs set up side by side out in the yard. lol You never know when the urge to take a side by side bath might occur. lol
      Okay, I’m done being silly.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey DD!!
      OMG- did you see this week’s episode? Wow, is all I can say. Did not see the Dad being gay coming- that came out of left field. There was no hint of it at all, but, I did wonder why no woman was involved in his life. Then again, there was no “best friend man”, either. I loved the little girls’ response to her Dad about it. I laughed so hard. I started to get teary eyed when the boyfriend had a heart attack. I hope they do not kill him off. This is one of my favorite shows now. Plus, I can so relate to the chubby sister,and her struggles. She is so pretty. I would love to see her in a Quacker top!
      So glad you did not get all that snow, as the mounds of it always makes for rough travelling after. We are getting snow Sunday night, into Monday- so no out for Adele on Monday.
      I bet your roast and goodies came out fabulous, while you and your funny kitty were watching the snow.
      Our idol is on tonight- Tom. I hope I stay awake, as I was up at 6:30 to go to the doctor today- got the shoulder shot.
      It is getting real cold up here. Stay cozy!!
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi Colleen
      What a lousy time to go to the doctor- Dec 22ond. You and Ron should do a little holiday dinner out that day, to celebrate Christmas together. I hope they tell you right away what they think is going on, and that a solution/treatment can be reached.
      I am going to send a quick note to Christine, to see how she is.
      Well. had the shot, and had to get up at the crack of dawn to be ready. The PA reviewed the MRI, and said the neck is not too bad- consistent with a 66 year old’s neck. The area where the discs are bulging, are the ones that send messages to the biceps. Now, I know why the biceps on both arms have been killing me. It has been weird. He agreed with the doctor, and gave me the shot in the other shoulder, as after the shot, it reduced the pain by at least 50%. I will see my doctor the first week in January. I am so glad I got the hot before the holidays, so I am not miserable. It is getting so old being in pain all the time.
      Poor JJ was sent home from school with a belly thing today. it seems to be going around, as my friend’s grand was also sent home.
      I bet I am not going anywhere next week- snow coming for Monday, and then again on Wednesday- my plan were for both of those days. Maybe we can re-schedule, or will have to wait until after Christmas. We will have to see how much is left on the ground.
      I hope you get a visit from your daughter and Aliza soon. You must miss them a lot.
      Did you get any snow- it looks like your area got blasted. Stay warm!
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Gailster…. what is up with the double adjoining tubs? Someone HAS to explain that to us, as it makes absolutely no sense at all. We are just as shocked that insurance covers Viagra, and penile implants, but they do not want to cover birth control? Seriously?? I have been outraged at the women’s health issues that are being pushed aside, just like you. We all have daughters, and granddaughters, and this is nuts.
      Read my post to the girls on the doctor today. I hope I can stay awake to see my man, Tom tonight….LOL
      You know, I need to put a new label on one of my spice bottles….”Bland”, and put it on the table in front of Gary. Oh yes, pulled pork is off his list. Not that it was ever on his list.
      Speaking of Life in Pieces- do you notice the mannerisms of the wife with the infant? She reminds all of us of Stephanie. She even says things in a similar way….scary…….
      What was your doctor appointment for this week- saw it on Colleen’s post? Anything different? Hope all is ok.
      You are all in my nightly prayers. Hey- how is Greg’s friend, who was sick- think he lives in NY??
      Stay cozy!
      Adele

    • Barbara Smith
      Guest
      Post count: 58

      Hello to everyone! So much has been going on here that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I think I can sum it all up by saying we are all doing okay; except itty bitty had an ear infection and had to take antibiotics, Neal is still very involved in his school, and Jerry and Lisa are at all out war over his trees and her dog eating them. This has turned into a catastrophe of epic proportions, and I am just wringing my hands and going from day to day worried about what will happen next. I know how utterly crazy this must sound to all of you; but this is a family thing that I am beginning to believe will not be solved any time soon. It just makes me absolutely heartsick; but on it goes. Jerry is right; but some things just are not worth the price you pay to be right. Lisa has dug her heels in the sand and is using the dog as her excuse to have to be here to keep him from his destructive behavior. As silly as this all sounds; I need your prayers for an amicable resolution to this crazy problem.
      I guess I don’t need to say that this has brought a gray cloud over our Christmas season. I am honestly not sure what we will do at this point.
      I so hope all is well with you all. I hope your tummy is better, Colleen, and that the neck and leg issues are better for you all Gail and Adele. I have missed you all so much. Sure wish you all were close by so we could just sit and talk.
      I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas season. Are you enjoying the movies on Hallmark? I go and watch them sometimes just to remind myself that tis the season.
      Hope to write more soon. Please don’t take my lack of writing as a sign I don’t think of you all and wish the absolute best for you and your families. Adele, you may need to sit ONE more place at your holiday table. Someone else may have to stay here. Hugs from the very cold state of Tennessee. Barbara

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      Boy you really had to get up early for your shot. Hope you stayed awake to see Tom. Are those new shows or reruns right now?
      Now when I watch Life in Pieces I will think of Steph when I see that one actress. lol The guy that plays her husband is Tom Hank’s son-he reminds me of his Dad when I watch him.
      My Doctor’s appointment isn’t until this Wednesday and it’s just a routine check up with the rheumatologist. Hopefully it won’t be snowy that day-although it is supposed to be bitter cold. We are supposed to get 8 to 12 inches of snow tomorrow into Sunday so we’ll see how that all plays out. We were planning on staying in and decorating this weekend anyway but maybe I can send Greg out to the grocery for some things tomorrow. I hope my plan to move the upstairs landing Christmas tree to the corner in the family room works out. It seems every year I change something up. Sometimes I even surprise myself. lol We leave decorations up until after the Epiphany so they will be up for at least a month. I hate that QVC rips theirs down the day after Christmas. It’s still a festive season through the New Year-although maybe not so much in the land of retail-since as soon as Christmas is over they have to start pushing Valentine’s day.
      Our friend from New York is still undergoing treatments. He had a little set back recently but is back to normal again. Thanks for asking.
      Piper was busy preparing “birthday” cakes for all of us last night. I guess in anticipation of her own birthday coming up. She still is being shy about performing in the preschool Christmas concert. What happened to my little thespian? However she does want us all to go out to dinner at Stingers afterwards. So she has that part planned out.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Barbara,
      I’m so sad that you are going through all this turmoil in what is supposed to be a happy and peaceful season.
      I hope Jerry and Lisa will come to some sort of amicable agreement soon.
      In the meantime you will have to keep yourself sane by hugging on your precious Colin. That should help put everything into perspective. I don’t blame you for wanting to escape into a Hallmark movie where everything all works out happily in the end.
      I will say some special prayers that peace and goodwill will enter your home. I hate conflict-it knots up my stomach.
      Hugs,
      Gail

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      That is sad that Rockford changed so much. I had heard that a lot of the factories moved out and so there are not as many jobs. My girls are 40, 37 and 31. They are older then you two except Melissa she was the youngest. She was a lot younger then the other two and we never thought we would have another one. We wanted more but it just wasn’t happening. At least we have the three.
      Ron’s family had their Christmas party today. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to see everyone. There were a lot of kids there this time around. So doing the games with them was a little harder. Some were older and then we had the three and four year olds. It was interesting to say the lease. By the time the party was over I was worn out. Next year some of these younger kids are going to have to help out. It is too much for one person. Especially with all the younger ones.
      You probably were close to us on those trips. That would have been fun if we would have known each other then. We could have met for lunch in Cape. We have not been doing that much traveling here lately. I guess because we are at the doctor so much we do not have the time. That is sad that at our age we spend more time with doctors then anywhere else. That is how it feels for me right now.
      Are you grand kids ready for Christmas? This party today gets the kids all wound up and they want it to be Christmas right now. Santa Claus came to see the kids and bring them a gift. We took Aliza up to sit on his lap and she was just amazed. She stared at him for a long time. She never did cry or want down. He gave her a present but she would not get the toy out of the gift bag. So he had to take it out for her and hand it to her. The whole time she just stared at him.
      Well that is about all from here. I had to laugh when you said that about the two tubs together. That was funny.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      We did not get any snow at all. They always show it like it is snowing here but it isn’t. We are not supposed to get any snow until Thursday. We will see what happens though. It has been so cold. We do not go out unless we have to. We went to Ron’s families Christmas party today so we stopped at the store on the way home and picked up a couple of things that we needed. That will keep us going for awhile.
      Poor JJ. At least he is sick now and not the week of Christmas. It is always bad when they get sick on Christmas day or eve. I just hope that Aizen does not catch it and get really sick also. That is one bad thing when the kids start going to school. They catch all types of things from all the kids. They just pass things back and forth. it is a shame that they do not encourage parents to keep their kids home when they are sick. At least they do not do that where we live.
      I am glad that the shots are helping you and you will not be really sore for Christmas.What all do you bake for Christmas? I need to start baking cookies soon. I have to make the candy cane cookies and some sugar cookies. That is about all that we are going to have. Then we will have to have a cake and a pie. Do not have any idea what type of cake that we will have. Did you see the cake that woman made on the Chew the other day? That was a big cake and they decorated it really nice. They used ginger bread houses on it. It was just so cute.
      Maybe they will be wrong about the snow and you will not get any. I hope that you don’t so you can go out with your friends. I can understand why you are so sore all the time. Hope that this will help to alleviate some of the pain.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Barbara,
      I am sorry that things are going a little crazy there. Lisa needs to take her dog and move on. Are her and Joey back together? I hope not because it seems like when they are together they do not get along. Things will work out. They always do. It is just hard when you are going thru them. When we have problems here we just pray that things will be okay and most of the time they are. If not just pop them all on the head and tell them to behave themselves.lol
      Will Neal be home for Christmas? I hope that itty bitty is better now. It is hard when they get ear aches when they are that little. They cannot tell you what is wrong and and they do not know what to do. I bet that he is growing. How old is he now? He must be 3 months. I cannot believe that our little one will be a year old next month. Time goes fast.
      I go to see another specialist the 22nd of December. So hopefully he will have an answer for what is going on. He probably will not be able to do anything until after the first of the year so will just have to wait.
      How is your sil? Am still praying for her and hope that she is better. All of you will be in my prayers. Hope this thing will be over with soon.
      That is about all from here. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Barbara Smith
      Participant
      Post count: 418

      It is SO cold here today. I feel sort of bad to complain since I know that you all face really cold in your areas. Lisa is here today. Jerry and I saw her out back by the pond with all the dogs; playing with them for about two hours. We never saw Joey. I feel that sometimes she is using this doggie as her excuse to have to be here. Joey has offered to find him a really good home with the blood hound society people; but no way from Lisa. Are you all ever faced with a problem that no matter what you think to do it is immediately blocked. Again, I really think this is all part of a “bigger plan” for this goal she has set up. On it goes.
      I called Sarah last night to check on her and the baby. I was thinking he had to get his 4 month shots yesterday; but when she called me back today she said it is next week. She also said the air ambulance folks have called and asked her and the baby to a Christmas party they are having at the zoo tomorrow night. She was worried about taking the baby out in this cold; but I said I would check with the baby doctor if she is really concerned, but I know she could bundle him up really well, and leave if she felt he was getting too cold. I know she wants to go, and I offered to keep him so she could go, but she said no, she knows the people want to see the baby. Neal reminded us today that is almost certain that he will not be stationed in Memphis when he finishes his school; but we just keep reassuring him that as much as we love and would miss them so much, that we know he is doing what he feels is best for his family, and we are proud of him for this. I am really having a hard time with this, but I know in my heart that I don’t want to give him something to worry about since he already has so much on his plate right now. I just have to make myself keep my emotions in check, and put on my “brave” face. Jerry said he is proud of me so I guess it is working.
      Colleen, I like your idea of just gathering them all up in one room and bopping them on the head and telling them to straighten up. LOL I did order Neal some Honey Baked Ham and sides today to have sent to him for Christmas; and I will be sending him a package of cookies he loves, and some homemade fudge. So that should help feel a little more like home to him.
      Girls, I have been SO sleepy everyday around 3 o’clock. Our kitty cat has been waking us up every morning around 5 to be fed, and by the time I get back to bed, go to the bathroom, take a drink of OJ and some medicine for achy bones; I am awake. I lie there for a couple of hours then drift back off until about 8 something. Jerry has decided we need a new bed. Do you all have any recommendations? We have a Nautilus that we bought several years ago, but I think it is just getting too old. It is one of those you adjust the air coils on each side individually. We invested a lot in it at the time.
      Jerry and I are going to his Mom’s Christmas party at the home this week, and then the next day we are driving to Jackson Tn to meet his brother and our SIL for lunch. Then the next day, we go to the doctor for our check up. So we have a pretty full week. Oh, then we have packages to mail off. I bet you all have lots to do too. I know your grands must be getting so excited for Santa to make his appearance. I love the look on their faces. Any special toys of their wish lists for this year? I decided to start a tradition of getting Collin a new ornament each year and writing a little message on it from Jerry and me on it. Hopefully he will save them and keep them to remember us by as years go by. I surely do love that little fellow. He smells so sweet and I love to hold him up close to me and just feel his little body up against me. Guess I better close for now. Thank you all for your prayers. That means so much to me. Take care and have a wonderful Sunday. Hugs, Barbara

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I hear the Mid West & the Eastern part of the US is under the Arctic blast, Polar Express, Siberian Express, whatever you wanna call it. We’re just getting
      out of what little we had this week. We had a little snow then freezing rain on top of that, which is farrrrrr worse. But the temps are back up into the 40s with normal Oregon rain. I was able to go to the store this morning. the sidewalks were clear of ice. Some parts of town are still w/out power from trees coming down taking out power lines. The Gorge gets the worst of it this time of year. It’s gonna get cold again this week, but it’s gonna be sunny which is colder, esp when the East winds blow thru the Gorge.

      Barbara, I may be confused, but if the dogs get ahold of something toxic, it’s gonna be a moot point. If that happens, someone’s gonna have a big vet bill & possibly lose the dog. there are somethings that a pet should NOT get ahold of, esp this time of yr. Poinsettias, is one. go online & check out pets & Christmas & see what comes up. I hope it all gets straightened out.

      My sciatica’s been flaring up again, & I’m not enthusiastic about decorating.. I wish I could twitch my nose & it’d be done. It could be the cold weather causing it too.
      Well, that’s all for tonight. Have a great Sunday.
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Barbara,
      I went online & found that holly, misiltoe, & poinsettias are deadly to pets. the needles on a tree can get caught up in their digestive system & cause unpleasant issues for all concerned. Chocolate, onion, bleu cheese, pudding, fruit cake, are also deadly to dogs.
      dd.

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      I hope the sciatica is feeling better so that you can decorate. I got started this weekend but still have things to put up. Hope to get done by midweek. I felt a little “off” yesterday so didn’t get as much done as I wanted.
      We had two days of snow. Maybe 8 inches in total. At least it wasn’t snowing and blowing. Now we are going to get into single digits for the rest of the week.
      What will you do come Christmas day? Will you be able to get together with your neighbors for a dinner? You will be pretty in your Quacker cat shirt. Jewell will like that.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      Maybe next year you will have to get one of the older kids to help you with the games and maybe separate the kids into two groups according to age. I’ll bet you were exhausted after all that activity. I am surprised that Aliza was so fascinated by Santa. Usually the little ones cry when they see that big guy sitting there. I hope that you got some good pictures.
      Years ago when the kids were little we had a Christmas get together with two other families and Santa came and brought presents for the kids. Each year a different Dad played Santa. We always thought Greg’s Santa sounded like WC Fields. We do have videos somewhere of most of the Santa visits. They are funny.
      Did you give Ron’s sisters the throws yet? I hope that they liked them. They are very soft and cuddly.
      Have you planned your Christmas meal yet? Here’s what I think that we are having right now Prime Rib, twice baked potato casserole, (new recipe-never made it yet) But I could change that to kugelis-7 layer salad, grape and strawberry salad(because it’s red and green, mac and cheese(for the kids) and corn souffle. I will probably throw in some chicken nuggets for the kids as they won’t eat the beef. Not sure what dessert will be yet. Probably a cake from the bakery. The older I get the easier I like to make it for myself. We will probably have some cheese and crackers and a veggie tray for appetizers earlier in the day.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Barbara,
      I think you are right. Lisa is using the dog for an excuse to come out there. It is hard when she obstructs any suggestions that anyone makes. I take it she can’t keep the dog where she lives now? I think her accident was right after Kim died so that means all of this has been going on for three years now. That’s a long break up. Everyone must be exhausted from the roller coaster of emotions.
      Barbara, what is Neal going to school for? Is it a government or military job where he would be assigned someplace rather than having a choice where he wants to go? I don’t quite understand.
      You are right. You do have to put on the brave face-even though you might be hurting inside. He has to do whatever is the right thing for his new family. But I hope he will be able to stay nearby. I will pray for that.
      I’m with you. Around 2 or 3 in the afternoon is when I like to take a nap too. I don’t always get to,but it is the perfect time.
      We have a sleep number bed and we like that a lot. I think not having the wire coils feels better for my RA. The previous mattress was a very expensive Stearns and Foster mattress and after a few years it actually sank in the middle so that’s where you would roll towards during the night. The sleep number is costly but well worth it I think for the good night’s rest.
      Our kid’s godparents gave them special ornaments for Christmas when they were little. Now as adults I have passed those ornaments on to them. All three of Jenny’s kids wanted Hatchimals but they are impossible to get unless you are rich and can afford to spend the ridiculous prices that they are selling them for on EBay. The thing that’s hard is because they believe in Santa they don’t understand why Santa couldn’t bring them since they have been good. It’s tough when the demand for a toy exceeds the supply. Maybe the Easter Bunny will have to bring them.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hello everyone!
      My lap top was going nuts, so I did a full scan today that lasted for hours. I hope all is well.
      Well, we made the lunch with Ron and Joyce, so that was good. I am not going out tonight, as the ground is very wet from the early am snow, and I ma afraid it will freeze before I get home. We are on for our Wednesday lunch, as the snow for that day is going out to sea.
      After lunch, we went over to Steph’s to see the tree, and the kids. Everyone ended up going there, accept Marissa and Amanda, who were working. So, all in all, it was a god day. Very festive!
      Ill write more later- afraid I will lose this….LOL
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Quackers!
      So, I read up to the last one I saw, so here goes…..
      Barbara:
      That is simply awful about Lisa’s dogs and jerry’s trees. I am with Gail on this one- she is keeping them there, just to keep a foot hold in your son’s life. the thing is, if he did not like her around, he would have put his foot down by now. So, I wonder if he is still in love with her. I could be wrong, but that is what I am thinking. So you are in a real pickle. We will all pray for an amicable solution.
      It got very cold here, and then went up to the 20’s. We got a little snow, but, not much, and then it changed to rain. It is supposed to be frigid on Wednesday, and then balmy on the weekend. New England weather is all over the place.
      The yearly ornament is a very nice tradition, and Colin will have those when he is a grown man, which is even nicer.
      You are welcome at this crazy table any day. Bring your ear muffs, as Italians are very loud. LOL
      Gailster:
      I hope your appointment on Wednesday goes well, and there is no ice. How much snow did you get? I have this visual of you and Greg happily decorating, while the snow is flying…..very pretty! We all have been changing up our decorations lately. Too bad it is “need driven”….LOL This aging is not good for the holidays.
      I am dying to hear about Piper’s concert. I hope she doe snot get stage fright, as she is so adorable.
      Colleen:
      Sounds like Ron’s family party was good. That is such a nice thing to do every year. I am always missing siblings, as I am an only. But this family has been getting bigger and bigger, and that makes the holidays fun.
      I missed that Chew with the great cake- I do have one recorded, and maybe that one has that segment.
      I make a lot of cookies, but here are the ones I make every year for Christmas: lebkuchen, Vienna bars, jelly roll, Anise cookies, and a butter one of my given mood- that one can be different every year. I do not usually make a cake or pie, unless I get a particular request.
      DD:
      The cold weather makes the sciatica worst. I hope your weather gets better soon. Did you get the next storm they predicted?
      Do not worry about your decorating. You have a beautiful tree, and that is all that counts. You are such a festive Quacker- I bet you have a lot done, in spite of your not feeling so good.
      Hope everyone is good, warm and cozy.
      Have a good night! My chicken soup is just about ready, and the natives are hungry.
      Adele

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Barbara,
      It must be hard to figure out what Lisa wants. She is not happy if she is with Joey all the time but she cannot stand to let him go. Joey is going to have to put his foot down and just tell her that she is going to have to take the dog somewhere else to stay. Is he still thinking about going to Alaska to so the traveling nurse? I hope that made sense. It may be a good thing if he did that for about 6 months after Christmas. Things will all work out. But like I said if not you know what to do.
      She could take him out if he is bundled really well. Kids do better then we give them credit. Colin may enjoy seeing all the lights if they do that at the zoo like they do here. She can always stay for a short time and then leave. Then everyone will be able to see the baby. That was really nice that they invited her to come. They must be a bunch of really nice people.
      Sounds like you have Neal all set up for Christmas dinner. He will really enjoy that. Sending him cookies too that is really nice. Will Sarah try to go where he is for Christmas? That would be nice so he could see the baby for the holiday. Maybe it would be hard for her to do that with working. My sil will not be home with his kids for Christmas this year either. He will be in Korea. It is sad when the dads cannot be home with their families for that day. Next year Colin will realize what is going on more then he will this year.
      We take a nap every afternoon. It is a habit I guess. It cannot hurt us though because we can all use a good nap. That is what keeps me from getting crabby. It will be hard on Christmas day when everyone is here and we have to stay awake. Unless the kids are tired from getting up so early and want to take a nap. Maybe they will humor us and take one. It will never happen but it is nice for a person to dream.lol
      I hope that you and Jerry have a nice time at the Christmas party and the lunch with his brother. This is always a busy time of the year.
      Well that is about all from here. have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      We have been lucky all the snow has gone around us. We are supposed to get some snow later this week but I doubt that we will. They are always telling us we are going to get snow and it does not happen. It is the same with rain. It was the same over the summer. They never did predict the rain correctly either. I really do like snow though. It is so pretty and we do not have to go out in it so it does not bother me as much anymore.
      I am sorry to hear that your sciatica is acting up again. Hope you find something to do so it will ease up a little. It is miserable when it starts to hurt.Can you use heat or ice on it to help?
      Not a whole lot going on today. It is cold here and that is everywhere. You really do have good weather where you are. That would be nice not to have to worry about it being really hot or really cold all the time. We get the mix of hot and cold.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      It was funny how she just stared at Santa. Maybe because Owen sat on his lap first she thought it would be okay. She saw a lot of strangers at the dinner though so that may be one reason he did not bother her. You never know how little ones are going to act.
      Ron’s sisters really liked the throws. Ron’s one sister said that her and their youngest daughter would be fighting over it all the time. I had to laugh. Her daughter will probably take over and have it all the time.
      When our kids were little we did not have a movie camera. Now you can take movies on your cell phone. I did not think to do that Saturday so we did not get any movies but did get some cute pictures. She is just so cute. She really likes to jabber at people all the time. She says hi and waves now also. It is funny. Even when she is leaving she waves and says hi.
      We are going to have ham and potato casserole. That is all that I have planned oh I forgot mac and cheese. Got the 2 pd tray from qvc. The kids all really like their mac and cheese. St. Claire make some really good sides. I guess that I have the right company. It is better to make it as easy on yourself as you can. That is what I will do also. I have started buying the already made mash potatoes instead of doing it myself. With all the stuff that we have to make there is not enough room on the stove to do that. I just pop them in the microwave and they are done in no time. Your dinner sounds really good.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      The cookies that you make sound really good. I do not know if I will get any baked or not. I really want to make the candy cane cookies but they are a lot of work. With all the doctors appointments that I have next week I may not feel like it.
      If you look at the recipes on the Chew web site you will be able to see the cake. They were going to put it on there. Wish you lived closer so you could give me some good ideas on what to fix for Christmas. I could come to your house and sample some of the things that you make and go from there. Gail have a good menu for the holiday also. I would really have to make the rounds.lol
      We usually have a good time at the Christmas party with his family. All the kids like me because I have all the toys that they get when they play the games. They either call me the toy lady or the game lady. It took awhile for some of them to figure out that I was their aunt. I guess they thought that I just came to play games with them. There were 11 kids this year. They were all different ages. So it was interesting.
      I thought that you had a lot of snow on the ground there. I guess that it must have been somewhere else. We do not have any snow on the ground at all. Just hope that it stays that way until after next week and then it can snow all it wants.
      I am glad that you got to go to the two luncheons. It is nice to get out of the house and be with friends.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I hope everyone’s okay. I see on the news how bad the weather is back there. We’re gonna get the back side of that Arctic blast in the next few days.
      We could get snow & ice again, Wed. night into Thurs., depending on if a rain storm comes up from the south. It does mean LOTS of snow in the mts & Eastern Oregon. We’ll be in the 30s during the day, & down into the teens & twenties at night.
      I just got a pair of those MUK LUKS boots in camel, with the ‘”sweater” that wraps around the boot. Perfect timing.
      I’ll be going out to friend’s for Christmas Day. I lived with their Mother for awhile so they have me out for the holiday. If the weather is bad tho I won’t go.
      I take the light rail (Max line) out to the stop closest to them & they pick me up. I always have a good time. Bring home lots of left overs too. They gave me one of my favorite Thomas Kinkade Christmas pictures one year.
      I love his paintings. I have so much I could start my own gallery. It started out with Christmas cards & stationery & went on from there.

      I have Lyrica for my sciatica, but when I read all the horrible disclaimers, I take it as needed. and at bedtime. When you read the disclaimers it makes you wonder which is worse, the meds or the pain. And since I have an aversion to taking pills anyway, it doesn’t take much for me anyway. I would not make a drug addict. I hate needles & pills.

      stay warm & stay safe!!
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Barbara Smith
      Participant
      Post count: 418

      So good to hear from everyone. It sounds like you all are really busy in the Christmas/Hannakah spirit. I know from watching the weather that all of us are getting the craziest weather, and now we are in line for the “polar vortex” or whatever that term they used that meant to me that it is going to be absolutely freezing here and all over. Gail, I can just imagine you and Greg putting up your ornaments and was thinking the whole time of Currier and Ives. I am such a slush puppy when it comes to things like that. I love the idea of sitting in our library with the crackling fire and the cider and good friends. Then I think of the Smiths’ little Charlie Brown tree, and how no one can seem to locate or remember where they put the decorations. LOL And the finger pointing that follows is epic. Finally someone locates the missing ornaments and treasures from Christmas pasts of little cut out from construction paper angels, and trees with the glue and cotton balls and glitter still holding on somehow. I love those most of all. I know you all have special decorations that you have had for years and mean so much to you all too. Paw Paw Smith gave me a globe with geese and glitter like snow that is a music globe, years ago, and I pack that away each year so carefully. I love to play the music and think of him each year. So, I wish all of you the happiest of holidays this year, and you all make some of the happiest memories you have ever made this year. Dianne, I hope you are able to visit with your good friends this year, and the weather co-operates for you. Sounds like a good day that you have planned.
      Adele, I think you and Gail have touched on a vital point about Joey and Lisa. I really have not thought through all of this, that mabey, just mabey, Joey IS still in love with Lisa and she with him, and the puppy dogs are just part of her plan to HAVE to come back out here and though her persistance, she will somehow, someway pull him back into her life where she feels he should be. I cannot think of any other reason that she would hold on for so long to what she would have to see is not right. I sat Jerry down just a couple of days ago, and had this very conversation with him. I do know this, love will propel a person to do things that other people say what and why about. So I have just prayed that God would lead them in the right direction and do the right thing for them. So I asked Jerry to just , as hard as it might be for him, to say to BOTH of them when he sees them, how much faith he has in them to know what they need to do, and for us to remember to treat them as the adults they both are, even when they may be making a mistake, and that unless it is heaven forbid, life threathening, to let them learn and grow in their own way. So wish us the best on this.
      Sarah and the baby had a great time at the party the other night. She said that everyone just loved the baby. I know it made Neal so proud to know that his job that he had to leave to go to this training, still want his little family to come and enjoy the holidays with them. I love the company Neal worked with. Sarah won’t be able to go to Oklahoma for Christmas; so we will just have their little holiday here when Neal gets home. He has big tests right after Christmas; so he will be studying a lot.
      Take care everyone, and bundle up. Will talk soon. I have to go put my Muklucks on. My feet are freezing! Barbara

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      I hope the weather cooperates so that you can go to your friends house for Christmas.
      We are in a deep freeze right now. If I didn’t have a doctor’s appointment I would stay home today. Of course as soon as it warms a bit by the weekend we will get more snow. Ah! Winter in the Midwest!
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Barbara,
      The decorating in this house is definitely not as “Hallmark” as you imagine. Most of it falls on me and Greg is the work horse that has to carry the stuff up from the basement. There are plastic storage boxes scattered all over the place.
      I had to give up those construction paper decorations a while back as they became so tattered and torn. I used to hang them up on the patio doors. There are a couple that still survive. I still have the original nativity set that my parents bought from the dime store when they were first married-although i no longer use it. I have a different one that I use now.
      I’m glad that Sarah and Colin were able to go to the Christmas get together. I’m sure all Neal’s old coworkers loved meeting the baby.
      I hope that you all have a happy warm holiday season. And I will pray that the New Year will bring a satisfactory conclusion to the Joey/Lisa saga no matter what that might be.
      Keep Warm!
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      We had about another five inches of snow. It didn’t seem to be too icy when i was out yesterday. But it is freezing!!! So i will go to the doctor’s and come right back home as there is still some decorating to finish up.
      I will be over to your house as soon as those cookies start coming hot from the oven. Love homemade cookies.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I’m glad Ron’s sisters liked the throws.
      I like when the little ones wave hi even when they are leaving. It’s so cute.
      My mac and cheese and the corn souffle is from the Q too. I could make my own but the kids like this just as well-so I will save myself the work.
      I’m still working on decorating. Where does the time go? Christmas seems to come so fast after Thanksgiving.
      Gail

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      Well the snow has arrived. they weren’t sure the timing, but it’s here now. They say it won’t last long, but they’ve been wrong before. But I have to say, that it’s NOTHING compared to the Mid West & East coast. I hope everyone stays warm & cozy, & safe!!!!!
      I guess I;m not the only one who is still decorating. It does seem like Christmas is coming up faster than usual.

      What kind of cookies do you make Adele? I’ll jump on my broom & fly right out to your place. LOL You can bake for me anytime!! I bet you’re all great cooks.

      Not much going on here, I need to do my cards this afternoon.
      Stay warm & safe girls.
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Ladies,
      I am giving up for tonight. I have tried to post on here three times. Every time that I try to post it disappears. I give up. Maybe tomorrow I will have better luck.
      Sounds like everyone is getting a lot of snow where they are. We have not gotten any so far. We had flurries but they went away fast. We are supposed to have more snow on Saturday night and Sunday. They did not say how much we will get. So will have to wait and see. They did not expect us to have the flurries either. They do not know much.lol
      Well that is all before this disappears. Hope all of you have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Everyone,
      Well it’s a balmy minus 8 degrees here this morning. This is when we wonder why we live here. Lots of cold and more snow predicted through the weekend.
      DD I saw the snow in Portland on the news this morning. It looks very slippery out there. Stay inside.
      I don’t have any appointments today so hopefully I can just stay inside and finish up this decorating and do some wrapping and some cards. It’s hard to believe that Christmas is a week and a half away.
      Driving to the doctor’s yesterday was not much fun as the wind was blowing hard and snow was blowing onto the country roads and even some places on the highway. I was just glad to get back home safely.
      Piper’s birthday party is Saturday and Sunday we are meeting friends for dinner and a Christmas gift exchange so I hope the weather cooperates. Usually I get tickets for some Christmas play and the Christmas guitar concert but I didn’t do any of that this year. In a way I’m glad as I don’t really want to be out and about in the cold that much but I do miss our little traditions. I will probably go back to them next year.
      Keep warm and safe everyone. I hope that this posts.
      Gail

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      Gail I am in the same boat with you. We had snow then sleet and freezing rain on top. Woke up to an icy mess Monday morning. So got my walk clear of that then on Tuesday it looked like a blizzard it was snowing so hard. I could see from my window people were getting stuck and my neighbor said there were a lot of accidents. So yesterday I spent a lot of time clearing my sidewalk and cleaning off my car. Now we are below freezing and very windy. I hope this clears up as I need to deliver my friends Christmas gift. They are calling for more snow on Sat. But hopefully next week will be better. I just don’t want to take a chance falling. My knee is hurting anyway with the cold and the shoveling didn’t help.
      I can’t get warm this morning so I am off to bake some cookies as maybe the heat from the oven will make it feel warmer.

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Sue, I hope next week will be better too as so many will be traveling for Christmas. I think our weather is probably most alike. I really don’t know how you do all that shoveling-I would not be able to do it. I too am afraid of falling down and really walk like a little old lady when there is any snow or ice on the ground. I took a tumble last year and that scared the heck out of me. No wonder so many older people move to Florida or Arizona. I wouldn’t mind living someplace warmer but I refuse to move that far away from the grands. I knew my grandparents really well but my kids hardly knew theirs as they didn’t live close and I think they missed out so I wouldn’t want to be away from ours.
      Baking cookies sounds like a good way to warm up.
      Please be careful when you go out.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hello fellow Quackers!
      I was able to get out for the last planned luncheon, and it was a lot of laughs. It is nice to see my friends, and hear their laughter.
      I just took the zucchini breads out of the oven, so this house smells, and feels warm. We have had a couple of snow squalls- one while I was in the bathroom. I came out, and there was the snow! It is freezing, with a lot of wind here today.
      I also wish we were all closer, as we could share our goodies, and all make our favorites, and share them on holidays- how nice would that be!
      Barbara:
      How nice to send the cookies to Neal. how do you pack them, so they do not fall apart? that is a huge skill. I bet he and his new friends at the school are thrilled with the homemade goodies.
      I wish we could make decisions for our kids, but, we cannot. It was so much easier to keep them happy and safe when they were little. All we have is our prayers. I hope it all works out for all of you.
      those are the best kind of decorations. I have a few that can no longer hang on the tree too. They got way too fragile. The kids get a kick out of seeing them too.
      Gail:
      Boy did you get a lot of snow. We have had smaller amounts, with ice. Nothing left on the ground. We are supposed to get some on Saturday, and I am so glad I have all the errands done.
      I hope the weather cooperates for your weekend festivities. Nothing worst than cancelling holiday plans because of bad weather. I hate that, and it does not contribute to the holiday spirit.
      Colleen:
      Tillie makes a Stollen, just like the one they made on the baking show last week. Her recipe is very similar.
      Wow- 11 kids at the holiday party must have been very noisy, and fun to watch. You have here to fore become our new Quacker Toy Lady. What a great name for you.
      I am glad Ron’s family liked the throws you got them. this winter sounds like they will be very much in use. Gary and I watch TV with our snuggly throws on too. My new one is the Peanuts holiday one.
      Sue:
      Here is a good one for you……I was not able to buy any ice melt on line form Home Depot today. It kept telling me there was a problem with the addition into my shopping bag. I guess New England is all out of ice melt. I was hoping to have it purchased, so Gary could just pick it up at the service desk. I could not even add it to my bag to have it delivered!
      We are getting snow on Saturday too. they are saying we will be getting more snow squalls tonight too. It is supposed to be very icy out there.
      You are so right- baking makes the house feel, smell, and be warm. I jut took out the zucchini breads. What did you make?
      DD:
      I love the village you created on the table. I bet it looks pretty lit up at night.
      Those Muk Lucks are the best to keep your tootsies warm. I bet you will be wearing them when you go see your friends for Christmas. I hope you have a wonderful time, and have lots of stories to tell us. I will add a prayer that the weather does not interfere with your travels.
      I do not read the warnings on my pills. My Mom des, and she gets herself very anxious over them. I keep telling her she has had these medications for years, and if they have not done anything yet, she is all set. I am not sure about the ones you take- I hope you will never get any reactions from yours, so you can just take them, and feel better.
      Will you see your 2 neighbors over the holiday too? How are they doing?
      Hope everyone can stay warm and cozy, and bake something good. Don’t forget to watch the baking show tonight.
      Love you guys!
      Adele

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi All,
      It is really cold here but no snow. We have not had anymore since we had the snow flurries. So will have to wait for Saturday and see what we get then. It seems like all of us are expecting some type of snow or freezing rain. It should be a mess for all of us. Just as long it is gone by next week so all the travelers can get to where they are going.
      I do not know what the deal was with my computer last night. Every time I would get something written it would disappear. It was acting strange last night so just gave up. Got tired of writing the same thing over and over.
      DD, I love all the pictures that you are posting. They really make me smile. I thought about getting the muk luks and see if I liked them. Sound like they are really warm may have to try some after Christmas. Need to make sure that I have all the presents that I need first. I hope that you are not snowed in and will be able to go to see your friends on Christmas. You need to get away for a day.
      Gail, I am glad that you made it safe and sound to the doctor and back home again. I remember how windy it use to get up there in Illinois. All of the snow also. It can really be a mess. I cannot wait to hear all about Piper and what she has been up to. She is such a cutie. I am sure you will have a lot of stories to tell after Saturday. Hope that the weather cooperates and you will be able to go to dinner with your friends. That is one bad thing about this time of year. You never know what the weather will be like. Who makes the corn souffle? I have never noticed it on there before. The grands love the mac and cheese. I think that I could just fix that and they would be happy.
      Barbara, I hope that things work out between everyone and you have a great Christmas season. That is hard when you worry about things like that. I guess we all have that happen sometime in our lives. Our children do not think when they do things like this. They think that we will accept what ever they do and be happy about it. I guess we have to remind them that we have feelings also.
      Well Ron has done it again. He bought me a Christmas present that I have never seen the thing before. You use it to turn all of your vegetables into spaghetti. Now I do not know where he got the idea that I would want one but he bought it. He gave it to me tonight. Now I have never made anything into spaghetti before so this was a surprise to me when he bought it. Well tonight he used it to make spaghetti potatoes for fried potatoes tonight. Well let me tell you it does not work too well to make potatoes that way. They do not fry right and they stick together. It was interesting to say the lease. I cannot wait to see what kind of gadget that I get on Christmas morning. Maybe he will find a machine that makes meat balls to go with the machine he gave me tonight. lol
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      Glad that your computer is behaving. That’s so annoying when you spend time typing something and it disappears into cyberspace. Greg just had everything disappear off his phone for some reason. Plus we were both in that last yahoo hack again so we had to change passwords again. What is wrong with them that they can only find out that they have been hacked three years after the fact. Cuckoo!
      Now when I say the word cuckoo it always makes me think of my Dad. That was my sister’s kid’s name for my Dad-they called him cuckoo instead of grandpa because he had a cuckoo clock. People often gave them funny looks thinking they were being disrespectful but my Dad loved that nickname. What can I say. My family is quirky.
      The corn souffle is made by the same people that make the mac and cheese. Can’t remember the name of the brand right now but they make the sweet potato casserole and the cornbread dressing too. Gosh-the name escapes me.
      So Ron got you a spiralizer! Maybe you better not let him watch any more infomercials. I’m still hoping that there will be a Kitchen Aide under the tree as that is something I know you will use and love. Mixing thick doughs is a dream with those.
      I laughed when you said maybe he will get you something that makes meatballs. We gotta have a sense of humor about these things. lol
      It’s going to snow today and tomorrow and then be below zero Sunday. The Bears-Packer game at Soldier Field should be interesting. It’s supposed to be minus one at kick off. It’s a good thing both teams are used to playing outdoors in the cold.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      I’m so glad that you got out with your friends. It’s good for the soul to get out and talk and laugh. You know most of my friends live far away or have moved etc. I think maybe I need to cultivate some new friends in the New Year. Not so easy to do as a non working adult.
      I use that Peanuts holiday throw too. Especially to annoy Greg who dislikes the Peanuts specials. What can I say? He’s a grinch!
      Speaking of cuddly things-I am wearing one of those Cudl Duds TSV sets from the other week. It’s comfy and cozy. I was afraid it might be too heavy but it’s not-and it’s so soft! I’m glad I got two. I think it’s going to be my go to winter lounger. The only thing is I bought the petite and the sleeve length is still way too long. I have the sleeves folded up. I must have unusually short arms or something as sleeves are always too long. The Quacker 3/4 sleeves practically come to my wrists on some of them. No wonder I can hardly reach anything in the kitchen cabinets if it is above the lowest shelf.
      Well the snow is supposed to start about noon and be off and on until early Sunday morning. We will definitely have a white Christmas. So far next week looks less snowy and not as cold so i hope that forecast stays.
      Gail

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      There are days when I feel like throwing this computer out the window. But then I think better of it because I would have to clean up the mess and it would be hard to talk to all of you if I did that. Life is full of ups and downs right now.
      That is funny that your sisters kids called their grandpa cuckoo. I can see why people would stop and look at them. Kids will pick up on the funniest names for grandparents. They called me grammy for a long time. It was okay by me at least that was a reward. lol That was the two oldest ones that called me that. Grands are just so much fun.
      Is the name of the company St. Claire’s sides. They do make some good sides. I ordered the two or four pound mac and cheese. I cannot remember what the size is but it is bigger then the other one that I ordered. I have it on auto delivery. The grands want that for every holiday meal. I do not know how many times they will send it though. I will have to look and see. It is nice to have their sides it saves a lot of work.
      That storm is coming our way also. We had freezing rain today. It was a mess. Some kids did not make it home from school and had to spend the night at school. Can you imagine how much fun that would have been for the teacher that was stuck staying there with them. They had to bring cots in for them to sleep on. I wonder why they could get the cots there but could not get the kids home? That is strange. It was funny here. Ron went out to feed the dogs and nearly fell on his back side. We had no idea that we had the freezing rain. It was not a heavy rain so we did not hear it. We tried to get the dogs to come in but they wouldn’t. Ron did get the shed set up for them with heat.Now if we can get them to stay in there. We may put Snoopy’s bear in there. He may go in with the bear. We have a wood heater in there with a fan that blows the heat. So it will stay warm in there.
      It is going to be a cold day to play foot ball. I guess they have the clothes to wear to keep them warm. All the running would keep them warm also.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I think it is Saint Claire’s where the sides come from. My kids like the mac and cheese too. Plus they are always glad that they get to take the leftovers home also as neither Greg nor I eat mac and cheese. That’s what Piper requested for her birthday party yesterday-so they had mac and cheese, Little Caesar’s pizza, potato chips and cuties. The poor kid gets gypped a little with her birthday being so close to Christmas. Usually there is family and friends there but hers is normally just family as other people are just too busy around Christmas time to come.
      I’ll bet those kids didn’t want to spend the night at the school. They probably could get the cots in because they came from a closer place. Plus that is just adults bringing them in-they didn’t want to jeopardize the safety of the kids by driving them around in the ice. I know I would rather have my kids be safe and stay there overnight if need be.
      Jenny’s work Christmas party was last night. I was glad that they decided to take the train there rather than drive as it was snowing again last night. It stopped by this morning so we will be able to meet our friends for dinner tonight. However it’s supposed to get down to 12 or 14 below tonight with wind chills of 25 below. That’s cold!
      I’m glad you have a warm place for your dogs to go. All our dogs have always been inside dogs so I do worry about the outside ones. I’m glad Ron didn’t fall. At our age we can hurt ourselves when we do. However watching someone fall is one of those things that is funny even though it shouldn’t be. We know someone could get hurt but yet it is kind of funny to see it. I know when I fell last year I had to laugh at myself as I knew it looked funny. Good thing I had a big old puffy coat on.
      Poor Greg pulled a muscle in his back yesterday and was in so much pain. He had me rubbing it and he was screaming from me doing that. He took a bunch of Aleve and we put a heating pad on it and he also finally took a muscle relaxant even though he doesn’t like to take them but I think that made a big difference for him. He needed to go out and plow here and at the apartment so he needed to be able to move. I don’t know how to plow so if he didn’t feel better i was going to ask Adam to come over and do it-otherwise we couldn’t get out of the driveway. I felt bad too because while he was trying to recuperate we had a package delivery and the poor Fed Ex guy had to park in the road and walk up the driveway in the snow. Greg said he’s on that guy’s naughty list. lol Heck if it had been our mailman he would have shoved it in the mailbox even though it wouldn’t have fit and left-too bad if it fell in the snow.
      Well at least the sun is shining right now so it doesn’t look as cold as it really is. This should be an interesting Bears-Packers game today. I don’t see how anyone could catch a pass.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Does anyone have any idea of what the Quacker TSV is going to be on Christmas Eve?

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      Gail I have not heard a thing. It seems to be very quiet about it this time. Angel & Patrick have given no hints on Facebook.

      Are you still cold there? We are cold and windy. I have been trying to get the ice off my walk and it is brutal. I have most of it but it is still bad out by my car. I want to get out to deliver packages and pick up a few things at the store but do not want to fall. I do walk like a old lady (guess I am one) but my knee cannot handle any more blows.

      I guess I have joined your nap club. I sat down this afternoon and fell asleep.

    • Barbara Smith
      Participant
      Post count: 418

      Hello from the FREEZING state of Tenn. to the more frigid North, East, and Northwest. We are just like popcicles here. We had such bad storms, tornadoes all around us last night, but thankfully we made it through. I went to bed fully dressed again last night. Jerry laughs at me, but I keep my shoes, purse, medicines all right by the bed and stay dressed until the “all clear” is given. He was concerned too since we went from over 70 to down to 20 in the matter of just a few hours. I was so worried about you too Colleen, since I knew you were right in the path as well. Hope you all are all okay. Please take care on all that ice and snow. You are so right about how it is funny to see someone take a tumble, but you know that they will feel the effects for a while. Jerry and I help each other up steps and such. It is a real sight. I keep thinking of the old saying I’ve heard for years “the blind leading the blind” and think that people must be saying, I don’t know what is wrong with those two but I hope we don’t catch it. LOL
      I am trying to finish boxing the out of town gifts today, that should have been sent last week, but we had such a busy week. Each day brought something we had not planned on, and we just kept getting further and further behind. I think it is sweet that Piper wanted macaroni and cheese for her birthday. She is so sweet. That is one thing I just love about children; you just never know what to expect.
      Sarah called us Friday night and asked us to come watch Colin for “two hours” from 9-11 am the next morning after she got home from work. I asked her to please let me keep him all night and then we could let her come in from work (you know they still have the apartment upstairs) and sleep and we could keep him down here with us and let her rest, but she said no, that he has to sleep in his own bed and her Mother will be spending the night with him. So, I put my best face on that I could, and said we would love to be with him and would see them at 9 in the morning. It is SO hard for Jerry to be showered, dressed, and going before about 10 at the earliest, his poor back has to have some time to get going, but he got up while I was in the shower trying to let him rest as long as I could, and started shaving and got ready. He was really hurting by the time we got home, but he said there was no way he was going to have me driving those 35 miles to her apartment with the storms being predicted, and how I don’t see good when I am driving in the rain, so he went and helped me. It was raining pretty hard by the time we left; so I am glad he went with me, but it hurt him so much. We had such a wonderful time with Colin. I love him more than words can say. He just laughed and laughed and talked to us. I feel so bad for Neal that he has had to miss such a wonderful time of watching him grow these 3 months, but Neal will be home in a little over 2 weeks, and then we will see where they will be moving too. I am like Scarlett in Gone with the Wind, “I will think about that tomorrow”. I bet all you little and not so little grands are anxious for the big day. The little children in stores here are so excited. They just run from toy to toy.
      I went by the butcher shop and bought a ton of huge soup bones for our puppy dogs to chew on and help keep them warm. I have some cooking right now. He left quite a bit of meat on them. All of our outside doggies can eat the big soup bones. Auto Kitty has his preference of what he wlll and will not eat. Speaking of him, he is right in front of the wood stove just sleeping away. I have on my muk luks and he is right in front of the warmth.
      Do you all have anything special you are hoping for this year? Colleen, Ron is just like Jerry getting you that spagetti thing. Just what we need, something else to sit on a shelf. I hope you do get a kitchenaide mixer. I don’t have one, but would love one. I have dropped so many hints. Jerry has this saying “just go get whatever you want and say that is my present to you” and even though it makes so much sense, because he is usually not very good at picking out something I would like, it just takes the surprise element out of it, and so this year, so far, I don’t have anything “from him to me” . I see things I like but then by the time I have thought of all the other things for the family, I have forgotten about me. But poor Jerry won’t have too much to brag about this year. So far; all I have for him is tee shirts, and those bare naked underwear they sell at Deluth Trading company. I am like you ladies, I get so sick of seeing that couple in those two bath tubs out in the middle of no where advertizing the Magic Pill. All I thought of was, how did they get warm water in those tubs to keep those people from getting so cold? Now isn’t that romantic? LOL
      Well, will have to get busy in spite of the fact a nap is calling my name. I have a pot of soup on the stove and need to make some warm bread to go with it. I am hungry for some cookies or something sweet; so will have to figure that one out as I go along. Take care everyone, be careful, try to stay warm, and we’ll talk soon. Happy Holidays to all. Barbara

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      I feel bad for kids that have birthdays so close to Christmas. It just does not seem like they have as good a party as the kids that have a summer birthday or later in the year. Melissa’s birthday is the 4th of January and she really did not have good party’s. The combination of food that she had was interesting. Pizza and mac and cheese. That is good food for a kid. They usually love both of those foods. When we have the mac and cheese here for Christmas it is all gone so do not have to worry about leftovers. The older kids really like it also so they eat a lot of it.
      You are right about the kids. It was safer to keep them there. I just thought that is sounded funny that they could get the cots there but could not get the kids home. I can imagine by morning the kids were all ready to go home and be out of school. That was so weird that the weather changed like it did. It was a surprise to everyone when we had all that ice. I wonder what they did for food to feed the kids. I would imagine all of the kitchen staff went home before that all started. Unless they had food brought in for them.
      That was good that Jenny and Adam took the train instead of driving. Where was the party at? The train is so nice when you have snow like that and you do not have to worry about driving. We do not have anything like that where we live you have to drive into St. Louis to catch any type of train.
      I hope that Gregs back is better now. Sometimes you have to take the muscle relaxers to feel better. It is miserable to have a sore back. I hope that he will not have to go back to the doctor for his back again. We still do not have any snow. We were supposed to get some yesterday and Saturday but we did not get any. It just keeps going around us.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Barbara,
      We did not get all the storms that they had in Tennessee. We did not even get any snow. It went all around us but did not hit here at all. I guess we were just lucky. I think that it was worse in St. Louis. It is funny how much different our weather is from theirs. I am glad that you and Jerry are safe. It is scary when it storms like that. I do not blame you for staying dressed while in bed. I would have done the same thing.
      I am glad that you got to spend the time with Colin. It is so hard not to be around them all the time. They do grow fast and start to do such cute things. I love it when they start to jabber and laugh. Aliza can get pretty loud when she is jabbering and no one is listening. She can get peoples attention that is for sure.
      Our dogs love soup bones also. The butcher is always good about giving the bones away. It is nice because if they do not give them to people with dogs they would just throw them away. Our puppy is still too small to eat one so we will have to wait to get some more. How many dogs do you have right now? I know that you have a lot more then we do. We use to have dogs dropped off on our road a lot but here lately we have not seen any. I hope that they have got caught dropping them off and got into trouble. It has always made me wonder why they do that. We do not want the extra dogs either. We all have our own dogs. I guess we all take them in though. It is hard to watch a dog starve.
      Sometimes it would be nice if Ron would just give me the money and let me buy what I want. Then it would not be such a problem. He does get me some nice things but not that often. He is funny. He loves gadgets and I guess he thinks that I do too. Jerry and Ron would really get along well. They would be picking up junk and buying gadgets for the house. We would have to separate them.lol
      It is fun to see the kids on Christmas. They love it when Santa has been there and they see all their toys. My youngest daughter and her two kids will be here for Christmas. They are going to spend the night and so we will get to see them on Christmas morning and watch them open their gifts from Santa. I love it when they come and stay. Their dad will be in Korea still on Christmas so this way they will not be alone for the holiday. I know that it has to be lonesome for Melissa.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great day and Happy Holidays to you also.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Sue,
      Be careful when you go out. You sure do not want to fall and get hurt. Especially now. Just be careful. Do you have any plans for Christmas? I hope that you have a good one.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Sue,
      I hope that you can get the rest of the ice cleared off so that you can get out and about. It is freezing here. Last night on the way home it was 15 below according to the car thermometer; the farther north we got from the restaurant the colder it got.
      If you hear any chatter on Facebook about what the TSV might be let us know, please.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Barbara,
      Gosh I had no idea that you were getting tornadoes there. That always does seem to happen when the weather gets warm and then the temps drop drastically. Glad that you are all safe and sound.
      We are frigid here-minus 14 this morning I think. But at least it is supposed to warm up to the higher 20’s during the rest of the week and no more snow is predicted right now.
      I have to get my out of town gifts boxed up today too. I wanted to do it last night and give them to Greg to UPS them out of his work for me today but I was too tired after we got home last night to do it. Hope they get where they have to be in time as I will have to pack them today so he can send them tomorrow.
      I’m glad that you got to see Colin. Will you see him over the holidays? It’s good that Neal will be done and back home soon. I’ll bet he misses everyone.
      I really don’t have any special wish this Christmas. I told Greg that I didn’t want anything. Just that as he gets more time off from work that we take more trips around the country. He is getting a motor assist bicycle and weather tech car mats. Plus I bought him a few books and a couple other little things.
      I hope you and Colleen get those Kitchen Aides-they make mixing things so much easier as we age.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Colleen,
      Jenny’s Christmas party was in the same town that she works in about 40 minutes away from here. We are lucky to have the train. It’s the commuter train that goes into Chicago and the town where we live is the end of the line-the last stop.
      We met friends out for dinner last night. The roads weren’t as clear as we thought that they would be so it took a bit longer for us to get to the restaurant. We exchange gifts with this couple so we had a nice meal and exchanged presents.
      School was cancelled here today because of the extreme cold. Kendall’s Christmas concert is tomorrow and Piper’s is on Wednesday which is her actual birthday and she requested that we go out to dinner with her afterwards. She even picked the restaurant. lol Then they have a half day on Thursday and they are going to an indoor water park/hotel to spend the night for her birthday. Jenny asked us to go too but I still will be finishing up wrapping and cleaning around here so I declined although it would have been fun to go too. That’s okay-we’ll probably see them Friday and then they will be here Sunday for Christmas.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hello girls!
      just a quick story to make you laugh. I will read all he posts after I am done with the cookie, that is cooling.
      Amanda came over yesterday, and one of their good customers rented the restaurant for a Christmas party. She came in with a ….you guessed it…Quacker Factory sweater on. So, Amanda approached her, and asked about her beautiful sweater, and said….”Quacker Factory, right”? the woman was quite surprised she knew about Quacker, and Amanda told her about me, and that she, at age 21, knew way more than she should about the life of Jeanne Bice, and the Quacker Factory line of clothing….LOL LOL
      How funny is that? I have never run into anyone wearing Quacker, and my granddaughter did. Life sure is amusing.
      Love you guys……hope you are all baking in this freezing weather.
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      hey again……just read all the posts, so , here goes:
      Sue:
      We use that Ice Melt stuff, and I swear we own stock in it every winter. We go through at least 2 50 pound bags, as it has to be ice free over here for Gary, and the business comings and goings. Not to mention if I have to go out. You should get some. It works miracles- the ice melts in minutes. Only thing is, you track in all the little white pieces that did not dissolve. Still better than slipping on the ice.
      I have no idea what the TSV will be either.
      I am glad you joined the nap club. At least that way you can stay up to see the late night shows, they are really funny.
      Colleen:
      So, veggie spaghetti is your new go to food?? Ron is really funny. I have the Kitchen Aid Spiralizer attachment to my mixer, and love it, as it peels and cores apples in seconds. Does yours attach to your mixer too?
      I hope Ron did not hurt himself, when he almost fell. Just that twisting can get you. I guess we will all e staying in for a while.
      Our snow melted- rained, then it froze again, so anything that was wet became ice.
      I ordered those sides you like . I will let you know how we do with them, with all the picky eaters I have over here.
      Gail:
      Dying to hear how those concerts go this week!!
      It is hard to make new friends. Do you have a Senior Center near you? I have thought of going to ours, but, still have not.
      Gary also hates Peanuts, but, suffers through the Halloween and Christmas tree one with me….LOL
      How is Greg’s back? That is just awful. HAs he ever had the shots in his back? I cannot remember. I hope he is better today.
      That was funny that Piper wanted mac and cheese for her birthday. Kids really do love that dish, as well as we do. She is such a cutie.
      Barbara:
      So happy Neal will be home soon. I bet there will be a parade down your driveway for him, and a huge dinner to celebrate. What a nice Christmas present for all of you.
      I am glad you got to spend some special time with Colin, even though it was not all night. We have to take what we get, when the Mom’s are fussy, and it stinks.
      Hope everyone is good, and not falling out there. Those tornadoes are scary. Hope you are all safe.
      Adele

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      I do not know if it is reliable but someone on the QVC boards said the TSV will be Dream Jeannes ankle pants. No other info.

      Adele I do use the ice melt but when it is to cold it does not work. I got the walk clear but it is still an icy mess around my car. The ice melt does not seem to work there as it is ground underneath so if it melts it just refreezes. It finally got up into the low 20’s today so I guess that’s a heatwave. They are calling for 40’s later this week so I hope that happens. Much better for getting around.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      The TSV is what I said above with grommets at the bottom of the leg. Angel had a photo on Facebook but I don’t know how to get it here.

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      Boy do I have a story for you guys. Last week out of the blue I wasn’t able to connect to the internet. when I’d log on it’d go to a blank page saying it couldn’t connect to the internet. I checked EVERYTHING. I called Comcast to see if they had shut me down, but no they hadn’t. I was at a loss. I could get on sort of on my phone, but not enough to write on here. Well, I called Comcast again & this time I actually got a REAL person. He put me on hold
      & when he came back he said he checked everything & even rebooted my signal. No dice. I called back & this time I got ahold of a technician, in Honduras!! He walked me thru step by step, with my computer. Turns out Windows 10 had upgraded itself & in so doing shut me out of getting on the internet. Anyway, he walked me thru every single step, & it now works!! There I NO Way I would’ve known how to do that if he hadn’t gone thru it with me I had no clue what happened.

      How is everybody doing? I hope you’re all fine. I keep hearing about the horrible weather out there. I have a question for you guys. Does the Dept of Transportation out there use salt on the freeways/highways when it snows? We don’t out here, because of the environment. But after last week they may change that. I could rant on & on about what happened last week. That snow storm didn’t show up out of the blue, they were tracking it for days. But they waited till it arrived to send the kids home. There was some talk about how many snow days they were contractually able to take. The weather doesn’t give a rats @$$ %^^&*&** about contracts. Some kids didn’t get home till almost midnight in some areas!!!! I can see some of the freeways from my window & they were parking lots till 1AM!! It was a nightmare!! I stayed put till Sat. Now we have a big rain storm barreling thru so all that snow & ice will be a distant memory in short order. Now we have flooding to look forward to. It’s gonna melt some of the mt snow causing the rivers & streams to rise fast. It’ll last just a couple days or so. They’re saying Christmas Eve & Christmas Day should be fine. Christmas is supposed to be pretty nice, dry & in the 40s!! Hoooooray!
      I read where one of your hubbies hurt his back. Did you see the massager they had as a TSV last week? It’s made by HomeMedics. It looks like it’d be wonderful for that!!! It was on easy pay. All the hosts were almost asleep using it. I may get one as soon as pay off some of my easy pays. LOL

      Oh, I wore my new Muk Luks when I went to the store on Sat. They’re great. Not overly warm, but kept my feet nice & cozy. And they weren’t stiff, either.
      Well, I guess that’s all for now. Stay safe & warm!!
      dd

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    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi again ladies,
      here’s a pic of my tree. sorry for the mess.
      dd

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    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      That is nice that she could take the train and not have to drive. Does she ever take the train to work? It may be easier to drive to work then to take the train. I have not idea we have never had that option. It would be so nice to have a train that would take us to St. Louis to see the grands and not have to fight all the traffic.
      That is nice that you got to go to dinner with friends. I am glad that you made it home okay. The bad roads are scary because you never know who will be driving in front of you. Ron does not like to get behind someone that cannot drive on the bad roads. He says that they cause more accidents then others. So needless to say I do not drive on bad roads. I do not want to cause a wreck or to have one. It seems like when we lived up north more people knew how to drive on the icy roads because you get use to it.
      I hope that the kids will be able to get to school for their Christmas programs. It would be a shame for them to miss them. I bet that Piper is excited about hers. That is funny that she has the restaurant picked out for after the program. She will be so cute up there.
      We still have to wrap presents. I have to get that done tomorrow because Melissa and the kids will be here Wednesday. I am glad that they are coming. It would be hard on all of them to be at home for Christmas morning and their dad will not be there. At least here we will be there with them and they may not get as sad that he is not here. I feel so sorry for all the kids whose dads will not be home for Christmas.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night and stay warm.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      That is funny that Marissa knew so much about quacker factory. She must be one of the few young ones that do. All my girls know is that I wear it all the time. They are all older then your grand daughter. It is funny that you have never seen anyone with quacker on but she has.
      This thing that he bought does not hook onto my mixer. I have been talking about wanting a kitchen aid for a long time. I guess this was his as close as it gets gift. I will never get that mixer. He will just talk about it until he drives me crazy and then it will end. Then he will be eating potato soup for a couple of years. I really like potato soup so I can stand it. lol He really likes that thing and was using it to show me how it works. So I think that the gift was for him and not me.
      Ron did not hurt himself at all when he almost fell. He caught himself and so he did not do any damage. He got a hold of the railing on the porch and that stopped him. He was lucky that it was not icy like the steps. It seems so odd for us to be having this type of weather this soon. We usually do not get this until January. It came early this year.
      I hope your family likes those sides. Gail orders those also.They are a big success at both of our houses. They are just so good and handy to have. It helps with all the cooking.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night and stay warm and safe.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      If our computer had done that we would be lost also. I am glad that you got a hold of someone that could walk you thru that and your computer is working now. It would be nice if they would send a live person to your house and help but they would never do that. Not without charging you and arm and a leg. I feel like they do that already do that.
      They do put salt and stuff on our roads to keep them from getting slick. It does not always work but they do try. I wonder why they do not want to put anything down on the roads to keep them from getting really slick. That would be horrible for everyone. I bet you were glad that you were in your apartment looking out and not in the car in that mess. That is one good thing about being retired. You do not have to go out in this weather unless you want to or something comes up that you have to.
      It just goes from one extreme to another there where you are. I cannot believe that your are going from ice to rain and flooding. That is going to be a mess. I hope that the weather stays nice until all of that water dries up. This is some strange winter.
      I like your tree. That is really pretty. I did not see any mess. It looked really nice. I like the pictures that you posted also. They always make me smile. I am glad that you find them and post them on here. You and Gail always find some cute pictures.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Here’s some Christmas cuties.

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    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      You need to click on the second one and the last one because they have funny sayings that were cut out of the pictures when they posted.

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey everyone!

      I am attaching 2 pics of the 2 cookies I did so far. One is Lebkuchen, with the chocolate topping, and the other is the Vienna Bars, with the meringue topping. On to 2 more for tomorrow. Then only 3 more to go. They all take cookies home, so we go through a lot of them, with their going to 3 different homes.
      Wow, Sue, we never had the ice melt not do miracles up here. That really stinks. It works miracles for our walkway and driveway. Thank you for the info on the TSV, as I will look to see if they will work for me. I love the decorations on the hem of the pants.
      Hi DD:
      Love your pictures, and your tree.
      That is awful that they do not use salt on the roads, people can get killed. I would be a wreck when it snows, with the school buses on the road.
      I had up-dates on Windows 10 too, and now I cannot buy anything from Home Depot, and some other sites. I was trying to order more ice melt, for a store pick up, to make it faster for Bobby, and could not do it. I kept getting knocked back to my codes, and then gave up. I guess I will have to call Comcast too. I am glad your weather will be better, and that you love your Muk Lucks.
      Hey Colleen!
      So glad Ron did not hurt himself. he was very lucky, and you must be so happy he did not do any damage to himself. We are too old to fall, and not have any lasting damage. But, he will be eating potato soup after Christmas, if that Kitchen Aid mixer does not show up. Hey….I have an idea. Write a letter to Santa Ron, and put it on his night stand. Maybe that will do it. I do this every Christmas morning. I run (as fast as my chubby legs can go) to the window, and see if there is a BMW SUV with a big red bow on it. Naturally, there is none, and I add my yearly comment…..another year of disappointment. It has become a standard joke around here.
      Hey Gailster- I do not see a post from you. Did it get erased?

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    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      Well, the gremlins struck again!!! I went to use my phone today & got no response. All I got was my wallpaper. No date, time, apps, nothing!! I thought maybe the battery died & needed charging. I charge it & still nothing. So I got on the computer & went to Verizon. I clicked on “chat” & got a nice fellow.
      I told him what was going on (or not going on). He told me what to do & it worked!! It reset it. I asked him what caused it & did I do something. He said it could be any number of things. I was sooooo relieved. I’m not tech savvy so I need these guys to help me out. I find it odd that both went down within days of each other.

      Adele,
      those cookies sure look good!!! I’ll be right out, lol.. Didn’t you say you watch Designated Survivor? We gotta wait till March 9th to see what happened!!!! and This Is Us returns on my birthday!!! what a b/day present, lol. I have a crush on Kevin.
      When you call Comcast make sure you tell them you need tech support & what happened with Windows 10.

      We had a heatwave today!! we had a lot of rain over night, but it cleared out & was real nice today. I’ll try & send some of it out your way!!

      Gail, those are some real cute pics, love cute kitty & puppy pics.
      Well, I guess that’s all for tonight.
      Stay warm & safe!!
      dd

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    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      How cute the pictures and the sayings at the bottom. I like the one about the tree fainting. That was a good one. Dogs always have that innocent look on their faces.
      Thanks for sending us all a smile.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      Your cookies look so good. It would be nice if we could just reach thru the computer and take one. We are going to bake cookies while the grands are here so they can make some for Santa. I love it when the kids are here. It is so much fun.
      That is so funny about the car not being there. I cannot believe that Santa has not delivered the car for you yet. It is just a bmw and how hard is that to get on the sleigh. I guess with it being a suv it will be a little harder but come on he is Santa. Well I guess if he cannot get a kitchen aid on his sleigh he must not have much room. lol
      My youngest daughter and two of the grands are coming tomorrow for Christmas. They will be staying until New Years week-end. So it will be nice to have them here. The grands are 10 and six. It will be so much fun with the six year old she really believes in Santa and will be anxious to have him come and leave the presents. Her brother does not believe but he does not say anything especially here. I have told all of them that they have to believe or Santa will not leave a present for them under the tree. So they all humor me.
      Well that is about all from here. Have good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      Those Gremlins are really bugging you right now. I hope that after this they will let you alone. That is so aggravating when things go off and you cannot figure out how to get them to work without help. I am not tech savvy either. So have to have help with everything that I do that has to do with the new technology.
      I love all of your pictures.They are really cute. That Santa is just the way you would picture him. He looks so cute and happy. It is fun to see one that is that happy. I am going to have to figure out how to do that and start sending pictures. They are just so cute and they really do make me smile. Right now I think we all need something to make us smile.
      Well that is about all for tonight. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Everyone,
      Adele, that is funny about Amanda and the Quacker sweater. I have seen other people in Quacker in Chicago and up north. Actually one day a lady who was checking me out at WalMart had on a shirt that i was pretty sure was Quacker but she said she didn’t know as she had bought it at a resale shop. it was one of the original cotton shirts with the appliques.
      Well, I sure hope that Santa brings that BMW this year. You would faint if you looked out the window and it was actually there. lol
      The cookies look good enough to eat! lol You are a kind woman to bake that and do all the work and then give it all away. I hope you put some aside for you and Gary.
      DD, we had problems with our internet a few weeks ago. They kept saying they were working on it and there was a problem after an update. Finally after a week my husband unplugged the ethernet cable and the 4G box and left it unplugged for awhile and then plugged everything back in and it worked. Meanwhile two days later we get a call from Verizon saying they are still working on the problem and it should be up and running with 24 hours. Okay-so we are convinced that they don’t really know what the heck they are doing. He also lost all his stuff from his phone last week and some guy told him how to get it back off the cloud. He had no idea why it all disappeared.
      Our kids had a day off school Monday because of the extreme cold. Here they build snow days into the school schedules. if they don’t use them all they get out of school earlier.
      We use salt here but they use it sparingly because of the cost. The big highways into Chicago use a lot of it because of all the traffic.
      I saw on the news last week when you had that snow there was a school bus with kids on it just sliding down a hill and crashing into cars. Fortunately no one was hurt but that could have been a tragedy.
      Colleen, Jenny doesn’t ever take the train to work because it would be a long walk between the station and where she works.
      I’m glad Melissa and the kids are staying with you through New Years. You will have a lot of fun visiting. And it will help them not to miss Stephen so much.
      I liked the one about the tree fainting too. It made me chuckle.
      Well today is the beginning of winter. Really? We’ve had winter for a month. However, it is also the day with the least amount of daylight. It’s also Piper’s birthday. However this day always makes me think of my Dad. Each year on this day he would say-after today the days will start to get a little longer again. i think of him on this day without fail.
      Gail

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I just got an email from QF & the TSV is Dream Jeannes with 3 grommets on the bottom for $39.96. They have only a handful of colors.
      I wrote to Angel about new colors for spring & she actually answered me. She wasn’t sure yet what colors they’re going to have.

      I heard on the news that the weather across the country isn’t supposed to be nearly as bad as it has been the past couple weeks. Let’s HOPE so!!!
      Christmas Day here is supposed to dry, no wind. Today we have fog. Weather whiplash is what I call it. Thank goodness no ice!!

      I should get out to the store today since it’s decent. I’m going to a basketball game tonight with a friend.
      Have a great day.
      dd
      PS Have you seen this new set of bakeware from Temp-tations? They showed up on my FB page.

      Attachments:
    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey girls!
      I am attaching pics of today’s cookies. After I clean up the mess over here, I will try to come back on and read all your posts.
      One is a chocolate crackle, and the other one called Holiday Sandies- a butter cookie made with confectionery sugar, and chopped craisins.
      Love you guys!
      Adele

      Attachments:
    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey girls
      OPMG- I was just typing, and all of a sudden, I was on the National Grid site, and Quacker disappeared. I will try again.
      DD- having similar troubles with Comcast. I just do not have a couple of hours to spend with them, until all the baking is done.
      I love those 2 shows! I really love the chubby boyfriend- and I hope he does not die. I think I saw an email about the new Temptations set- was it from the Q or Temptations that you saw it?
      I think our weather will be good for the weekend, but tomorrow we are having some nuisance snow- slippery, and makes the travelling bad. Of course, I will be safely baking away.
      Gail- I cannot click on the pictures. As soon as I do, I am knocked out of the Q site. All this crap happened after they did a huge up-date. Up-dates are supposed to make things better, not worst. I may do what Greg did, to see if it works, as that’s a lot faster than on the phone with them.
      I will not be getting the BMW, as our dam snow blower just died, and I do not even want to think of what we just paid for another one. We got an Ariens, with all the bells and whistles, so Bobby will have an easier time out there in the snow and cold. Our old one was at least 17 years old.
      I am dying to hear what Amanda says about her customer, as I told her to do the quack, quack, thing the next time she comes into the restaurant.
      How was the Christmas concert? I bet you are still partying hard with cutie little Piper, and family.
      Colleen:
      We both need Santa to bring what we really want….LOL you have more of a chance to get the Kitchen Aid, than I do the BMW.
      That is fabulous that they are coming tomorrow. You will all have such a good time. Will you be baking together too?
      We are all hoping you will get the mixer. Have fun with your daughters tomorrow! I hope your weather cooperates.
      HO HO HO…fellow Quackers!
      Adele

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Ladies,
      Our weather is warming up. I cannot believe it. It is supposed to be in the 50’s over the week-end. We will see. They are also predicting rain. That will be better then snow and ice. I cannot believe that it warmed up this much. I am glad though because I have to drive to Cape tomorrow and see that new doctor.
      I think that you stand a better chance of getting the BMW then I do the mixer. You would think that it was a BMW the way Ron is acting. I can predict a lot of cranberries in Gary’s life. He will be eating those while Ron will be eating potato soup. They could get together and feel sorry for each other.lol
      So far it has been pretty good with the kids here. Ethan has been driving me crazy but he is 10 so that is his job. lol It is nice when the kids are here. The grands are so wound up it is not funny. Your cookies look so good. I will right over to have a couple.
      I hope that Pipers concert goes well and all of you get to go out to eat afterwards. It is warming up here so that makes it hard to believe that it is winter. I cannot believe that the days will be getting longer already. It is usually cloudy this time of the year and it makes it seem like it gets dark even earlier.
      The internet is getting so bad here lately. I think that everyone is having trouble with it. We are all from different parts of the country. Our internet is thru Verizon also. They are an interesting group.
      Jewel looks so cute under the tree. He looks like a present. He is such a pretty cat. That is some pretty Temptation. Do you have a set like that? I do not have that many pieces of Temptation. Have a fun time at the basketball game. I hope that your team wins.
      I will talk to all of you later. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi girls!
      Well, the cookie I made today tastes better than any I have ever made. It has this Fiori di Sicilia in it, which is a form of vanilla, with citrus in it, and it makes everything fabulous. Plus, the cream center also has lemon and orange rind, to make it a little citrusy. The recipe only made 17 cookies, so these will be rationed. I sent one down to Tillie, and a half cookie left with no top, so Gary got to taste that one with me- I cut it in half….LOL
      Tomorrow, I make the last 2 a jelly roll, and the Anise Italian cookie.
      Steph and Jhonny stopped by with Aizen. I gave him a fudge crackle cookie, and one of the cranberry ones with sprinkles. He loved the cranberry one, and said “yum, sprinkles.” He then told me all about making cookies with his Nonni (Heather). he loves to make cookies. How cute is that.
      The internet is still driving me nuts. I tried what Gail’s Greg did, and nothing changed. I will have to take the time to call them.
      Hope everyone is good, warm, and dry, and we hear about Piper’s concert soon.
      A Quacky Ho Ho Ho to all of you!
      Adele

      Attachments:
    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Adele,
      It won’t take 2 hrs. It took 15 minutes if that. If the tech knows what he’s doing it should be a quick fix. I can’t imagine a tech wouldn’t know tho. He will tell you step by step what to do. Just make sure you tell Comcast you need technical help, that you’re having internet issues.
      By the way, you can come here & bake for me any day!!!

      dd

      Attachments:
    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      Those cookies look so good. All of your cookies look good and we know that they taste good because of Aizen. If he says yum we know that they are really good cookies. I agree with DD. You can come and bake at my house any time. I doubt that your family will let you though.lol That is so cute that he likes to bake cookies. I am glad that he got to make some with Heather.
      You have baked a lot of cookies and the jelly rolls sound really good also. I can see why they all come to your house to eat. You always have such good cookies and meals. You have all types of good bake goods.
      I bet the kids are all excited for Santa to come. We have two at our house that are about to go crazy waiting for Santa to come. They have been looking under the tree to find their gifts. It is so funny. I cannot wait until Christmas morning. I am not looking forward to getting up at the crack of dawn but it will be fun for one day.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Everyone,
      DD, I love the picture of Jewell under the tree. I think our cats always thought the tree was there just for them. lol
      Adele, that darn snow blower had to conk out just now when that BMW was almost in the driveway. You are lucky Bobby lives there as otherwise you would have to hire someone to do all that clearing.
      Isn’t it funny how the kids love the sprinkles. I can’t believe that one recipe only made 17 cookies. That’s a lot of work for not much product.
      Greg has a cold or something so I am trying to stay away from him. At least he has the next 4 days off to recuperate.
      We went to Kendall’s concert on Tuesday and she actually wore a dress and sang! I love to see the little kids in their Christmas finery. I loved the part where they sang one song and the choir director said the words are on the program if you want to sing along-and Jenny and I just turned and looked at each other because they had the lights off in the gym so there was no way to see the programs. It was nice this year because Adam was on vacation this week so he got to go to these kids activities which he usually misses because he works nights. Wednesday was Pipers program at the preschool and much as she said she wouldn’t sing she did. Tuesday she celebrated her birthday at Preschool as she only goes Tuesdays and Thursdays so she wasn’t there on her real birthday. Anyway, they give the kids a paper crown with pictures of candles and balloons on it. So she had that on Tuesday night at Kendall’s concert and was still wearing it Wednesday at her concert. I asked Jenny if she slept in it and Jenny said she tried to and now I see on Facebook that there is a picture of her sleeping with it on. lol I guess she feels that this is validation that she really is a princess and she doesn’t want to give it up. lol
      Colleen. How did the visit to the specialist go? Did they order more tests? How was the drive over there? Were your grands off this week? Our kids had the day off Monday because of the cold and then went Tuesday and Wednesday and had a half day Thursday. Jenny said they didn’t do a lot this week though. Mostly movies games coloring pictures etc. I guess it’s too hard to get the kids to focus the week before Christmas. I remember when I was a kid I would get really excited too.
      We never had to get up early when our kids were little as we opened gifts Christmas Eve as we always had to get up and drive into Chicago on Christmas Day to go to Greg’s Mom’s house. I didn’t like making our kids leave all their new stuff before they even had a chance to play with it to make that trek into the city two hours each way every year. Some years the weather was terrible too. I wanted to go in the previous week or the week after but Greg’s Mom wouldn’t have it as she said it wasn’t the same if it wasn’t right on Christmas. I vowed then and there never to do that to our grown kids. We would be happy to see them whenever during the season made the most sense for everybody. We have been lucky that for many years they both lived close.
      Anyway, I’m sure that Ethan and Kaylee will have you up bright and early on Christmas Day. It will be fun to watch them open their gifts.
      Went grocery shopping Thursday to get all my ingredients for food for Sunday. I had been planning on making this strawberry and grape salad because it was red and green and I knew the kids would like it. Well lo and behold there were no strawberries! Except in these little overpriced containers mixed with a few blueberries in there too. I almost sat down in the middle of the produce section and wept-the guy checked for me and there were none so I asked if there would be another shipment and he said not until after Christmas. So I bit the bullet and bought four of the small overpriced containers so that i could make my salad. GRRRRRR! Our WalMart sucks when it comes to the food sections. If they ever put in another grocery store close by I would go there in a second. But right now I didn’t have the time or the inclination to go gallivanting across the area to find strawberries. Sometimes I make a fresh strawberry cake so I’m sure glad that I wasn’t planning that one. This year the local bakery is providing our dessert.The older I get the easier I like to make it on myself. I used to make everything myself and was then exhausted by the time the day got here. Now I figure they don’t come for the food anyway so I make it easier on myself and this way I can enjoy myself too without feeling like I will fall asleep any minute. Leave that to the men in the family. Did you ever notice how men can sit down in a chair after a meal and just fall asleep snoring even with little children crying and laughing around them. A woman couldn’t do that in a million years. lol Men just don’t have that sensitivity to children’s sounds genes.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Merry Christmas to all my Quacker buddies!!
      I have attached the final 2 cookies- the Jelly Roll, and the Italian Anise cookies. I am done. Tomorrow, I just have to get ready for the crew to get here, for the celebrations. You know, it is kind of sad. We have all been shopping since July on the Q, storing all the gifts, getting everything decorated, and ready…then the wrapping and baking, at it will all be over in a few hours. At least we have our Hanukkah celebration on New Years Eve….LOL We decided that is the day we would do Gary’s favorite- potato Latka’s.
      Gail, I saw Jenny’s pics on Facebook, and they were adorable. I think there was one of you- not sure.
      I am very lucky to have Bobby do it all, and that is why I got a really good machine, so he will not have to work so hard. We had a big one, but, now they come with EFI and better steering.
      I will say a prayer for Greg to get rid of that cold fast.
      Colleen- I hope you are having a grand time with your grands….get the pun….LOL I bet you will be taking a nap when they take theirs. I hope all your celebrations go well. I got a set of those 4 sides you all like, and we will see if the kids like them.
      DD- If I have time earlier tomorrow, I may try to get Comcast on the line, if not, I will do it on Monday or Tuesday. I hope you are spending time with the family you were going to see, and having fun. Also hope yo get to see your friends in your building, as they seem very nice too.
      Sue- thank you for letting us know about the TSV early, so we are ready to shop! I hope you have a good time too, over the next few days. Where will you be going? Are people coming to you place for goodies? Post some pics of your baking goodies!
      Barbara- I hope everyone has a great time at your house, and the baby enjoys his first Christmas. How much fun is that! I think you said your son will be home?? Hope Jerry has a great time with the baby, and everyone. How is his Mom doing?
      Have a wonderful Quacky Christmas, everyone! I wonder if we will be wearing the same tops? Ho Ho Ho
      Love you guys!
      Adele

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    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I just wanted to wish everyone a verrrrry Merrry Christmas!! I imagine all of you will be busy with your families, so I hope Santa is good to one & all.
      MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

      dd

      Attachments:
    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hello Everyone,
      Well tomorrow is finishing wrapping and preparing whatever food that I can ahead of time.
      We didn’t go to our usual Friday night at Jenny’s tonight since Greg is not feeling well. He actually took a long nap this afternoon which is unusual. But actually it was good since I rarely can get him to lay down when he is sick. When he got up he helped me by cleaning the bathroom and washing the kitchen floor. He’s a good guy.
      I hope he feels better tomorrow. We had some unexpected snow and it must be really heavy stuff as it has accumulated on our satellite dish and now we don’t have any TV other than what we can get with an antenna. So none of the Quacker shows copied. Fortunately I could at least look online to see what they showed. I hope either the wind blows the snow off the dish tomorrow or it gets warmer and melts away. It’s a good thing we can probably get the Bears game over regular TV or Greg would be having a fit.
      I want to wish all my Quacker friends a very Merry Christmas. You are all such a special part of my life. I look forward to coming here and sharing our stories. We may come from different areas of the country but we are sisters at heart. And it’s all because a woman from Wisconsin had a dream. What a gift she has given us above and beyond her clothing. She has given us a sisterhood and for that I am grateful. I hope everyone has a warm and loving Christmas Day no matter how they chose to spend it.
      Gail
      P. S. If you get a minute go to Christine UK’s page and wish her a Happy Birthday. I believe it’s on Christmas Day.

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      The kids are really excited for tomorrow morning. They have been arguing a little because they are too excited and they are wanting this day to be over so they can see what Santa brings them. A little later we are going to bake cookies and fixing some things for tomorrows dinner. It is nice to have some things that we can fix ahead and not have to worry about tomorrow.
      We exchanged presents with Danyielle and her family. They all liked their presents. We gave the normal gift cards to the adults. They gave me a qvc gift card. I was surprised that she did that. I usually ask for one and she will not get one. She says that I buy too much from there. I guess she has given up that. lol I can see a new quacker outfit in my future. They gave Ron a gift card for a tool store. He shops there all the time they always have good sales there.
      That was a really high price for the strawberries. It is so aggravating when they do something like that. We have a Schnucks store here and they always have nice fruit. It is fresher then what you get at all the other stores. So when we need fruit we can go there. It was like where you are here until last year when that store moved in. They always have good sales there also. Wal-Mart is getting really high here. So it makes no difference where you shop anymore. We ended up getting a cheese cake for Christmas. It looks really good. They had one with strawberries on top but Ron wanted plain so that is what we bought.
      Men do take it easy on holidays. They can nap like you said and we have to do all the work. I know that the kids can fight and Ron will sleep thru that. He lays on his good ear and that takes care of any other noise in the house. We may be better off with the husbands sleeping. They may be more of a pain then the kids.
      That is aggravating when the snow piles up on the satellite. Hopefully it will melt off and be gone by tomorrow. You are really getting a lot of snow. We have not have any to speak of here. I guess we are far enough south that it is just going around us. That makes it nice. I hope that Greg feels better by Christmas day. That would be bad if he could not enjoy the day with the kids. We won’t have as big a crowd here as usual but that will be okay I guess. I still do not like it. Owen wanted to come here on Christmas day but they are not going to come.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a Merry Christmas. This has been a great site and we sure have made a lot of friends here. Hopefully it will be for a long time and we all stay in touch.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      We are having fun with the kids but they are getting antsy waiting for Santa to come. It will be nice when it is tomorrow and they can open their gifts and Santa will have been here. Then it would be nice if tomorrow did not end as soon as it will. You are right it is all over with in a blink. All the planning and shopping and cooking and it all ends to fast. I guess we have to really enjoy it while we can.
      Your cookies and jelly roll look really good. Do you have any extra people coming for Christmas? Will you be celebrating Hanuka with Gary’s family this year? I was wondered if they were going to have anything this year since you sil has been so sick. You will get to enjoy both holidays.
      Read what I wrote to Gail if you want to. I wrote most everything on there. I went to the specialist and they are going to run a bunch of tests again. They will be doing that on 28th. More blood work. I am anemic so they are going to take a lot more blood. Isn’t that wonderful. They also will do an mri. I will not see the doctor until the 7th of February. They hurried to have all the tests done but cannot see the doctor until then. Really makes a lot of sense. I guess if there is something that needs to be taken care of they will do that sooner.
      Well that is about all from here. Have to bake cookies for Santa. The kids are getting excited.
      Have a Merry Christmas.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      I hope you have a Merry Christmas. Hope you have a good time with your friends Christmas. I hope that the weather is good and you will be able to get around okay.
      I love the pictures that you sent. Santa sure looks relaxed. He must need a long nap after delivering all the toys. I hope that you can still find more pictures to post on here. They are always so cheerful.
      Have a Merry Christmas
      Colleen

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Gail
      Nobody could have said that better. Amen to that wonderful homage to Jeanne.
      I hope I can find Christine’s UK page!!
      We are all prepped fro today’s dinner, so I had a minute to come on and say hello. Steph was the last to leave, and they left after 11pm. She was vacuuming the rooms we were in for me- how nice is that!
      I hope the snow came off your dish, so you can see the game and holiday shows.
      Merry Christmas!!
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi DD, Colleen, Barbara, Sue, Gail, and everyone else…
      Merry Christmas!
      DD I hope you made it to your friend’s house y train like you were planning. Hope you have a great day!
      Barbara- hope all is going well in your neck of the woods. I hope your son was bale to make it home for the holidays.
      Sue- not sure what your plans were for today, but, I hope you have a spectacular day too.
      Colleen- by now all the gifts were opened, and Santa has arrived. Hopefully the kids are playing with their toys, and keeping busy,, so you can take quick nap. I am so sorry you are still not feeling well. I hope they figure it all out at that next appointment.
      We will be doing Hanukkah on New Years Eve. Gary will have his potato Latke’s then, and we will also do Aizen’s birthday that day….I hope. that is my plan, and I hope we can make it all work out. Gary’s son and family are supposed to come here tomorrow. So, we will see them Monday.
      Hope everyone is having a great day!
      Merry Christmas!!
      Adele

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      We have been really busy around here. On Christmas morning the kids got us up at 4am and wanted to open their presents from Santa. So we all drug out of bed to watch them open them. The breakfast casserole was a hit and that is what everyone ate before we all took a nap. Then my middle daughter came over with her family and we had dinner. My oldest grand had to work Christmas day for two hours. So we did everything really fast so we would have it all done before she had to leave. So it was a mess.
      Well I was shocked Christmas morning. Ron got me a new purse and then he brought out a blanket. and he wrapped my Kitchen Aid in that blanket. I could not believe it. I actually got one from him he was listening. I was hoping to hear that your BMW was parked in the drive way. This was a Christmas of surprises. I would have loved to hear that you got that. We both would have been in shock. So one day this week I am going to make some bread. I think that we will wait until after I have all those tests done. Then I will do something like that to keep my mind off of waiting for the results. This was a good Christmas.
      Sounds like you have another busy day coming. There is going to be a lot of celebrations on New Years eve. We have one more Christmas dinner to go to. It will be at my moms the week-end after New Years. That will be good to get that over with. Then no more parties.
      Well that is about all for now. My daughter and the kids will be back soon and then I will not be able to concentrate. They are a wild bunch.lol
      Have a great night!
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hello Everyone,
      Well Christmas is over. I always enjoy the peacefulness of the days after Christmas when we can just sit and enjoy the peace and the lights of the decorations. The grands loved their gifts and had a great time opening them. Even though Greg wasn’t supposed to get me anything he did have a few little things there for me to open. (another cookbook-like I don’t have a hundred of them already-I think he’s trying to tell me something) I will get my own Christmas present although I don’t know what it will be yet. He has his new bike ordered but it won’t get here for awhile. Plus you can’t really ride here in the winter anyway.
      Colleen, I am so glad that you finally got your Kitchen Aide. You must have been so excited! You will find it makes mixing heavy doughs so easy. I had to laugh when you said your daughter says you buy too much from the Q. It’s like role reversal and she is the mother reprimanding her daughter. lol
      Now if only Adele got that new BMW. lol I doubt it as she got the new snow blower instead-not quite the same thing.
      I’m glad that we didn’t have to get up at 4-even Jenny said her kids were up about 7 so that wasn’t so bad for them.
      I’m thinking Greg gave me his cold even though I tried to stay away from him. Today I have a scratchy throat and a headache. I hope it doesn’t turn into something worse. We are supposed to go to dinner and a concert with friends on Friday so I hope that I will be well. Saturday night we are dog sitting as Jenny, Adam and kids are going to a hotel with a bunch of other friends. They go and hang out together and the kids go in the pool and they celebrate New Years together. We just stay home anyway so it’s no big deal for us.
      Speaking of having dogs over I never realized how many crumbs that we drop on the kitchen floor until we no longer had a dog. Now I’m having to sweep all the time under the table and around the island whereas that never happened with dogs in the house. They ate all the crumbs that dropped on the floor. All the more reason to have a dog I guess. lol
      I hope everyone had a great Christmas and will drop by soon to tell us about it.
      Gail

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      I am waiting to hear from Adele and have her tell us she got her BMW. That snow blower will be hard to drive around town. lol Sounds like you had a good Christmas also. We had a good time with all the kids. Missed Aliza and Owen though would have loved to have had them here also.
      That was nice that the kids did not get up until 7 instead of 4. At least Jenny and Adam got to sleep for awhile. I hope that all of you had a good time. That would be nice to go to dinner and a concert. I hope that you have a good time. That would be terrible if you get sick and cannot go. We will be home with the kids. They are not leaving until the 4th of January.
      A lot of the younger generation like to go to hotels and stay and let the kids play at the pool. Danyielle does that with the kids also. That would be a good time. That is nice that they have a places like that for them to go with the kids. There are not that many places to go to anymore.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I’m gonna try this for the 5th (!) time!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I did get out to my friend’s for Christmas dinner & had a wonderful time. They had the white elephant (?) gift exchange, & I ended up with a small back massager, & a few other gifts they gave me. I hope you all got what you wanted for Christmas. Me? I’m still waiting for that $10 million check in the mail or a winning lottery ticket. sigh.
      Colleen, I got a chuckle out of your story about the Kitchen Aid wrapped up in a blanket. I kinda had a hunch he was up to something when he gave you the spiralizer before Christmas. Putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. Now I’m curious what color?

      We’re preparing for an Arctic blast next week. No moisture for snow, just the bitter cold. I;m not looking forward to it!!
      I’m gonna send this before it disappears. I’ve had 4 disappear already
      dd
      pics of Portland’s tree downtown, & sunrise over Mt. Hood

      Attachments:
    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      I’m glad that you got out to your friends for Christmas. It sounds like you had a great time. Did Jewel get a new kitty toy for Christmas? I like the picture of the sunset. I hope that we don’t have an arctic blast coming our way.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      Adele probably hasn’t been on here since she is out and about driving her new BMW around town. lol Barbara hasn’t checked in either with news of her Christmas.
      We are lucky-Jenny goes to her inlaws on Christmas Eve and comes here Christmas Day. Even if she had to go to both places we all live in the same town so it wouldn’t be too bad. She would just have to eat lots of meals. lol
      Well I still feel like I am coming down with something so will probably just spend the day laying around watching TV. Fortunately I don’t have many chores except laundry right now. We have been eating leftovers for dinner.
      When do you have to go back for all those tests? Greg is going back to the pain doctor in January as his feet are still numb. The back shots only helped for about six weeks.
      time for another nap.
      Gail

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      Sounds like you had a good Christmas with your friends. The back massager sounds really nice. That is something that we all need. That would be nice if that 10 million would come soon. You and Adele have not got your Christmas presents yet. We will all just keep wishing or you.lol
      The mixer was white. It is really nice but have not got a chance to try it yet. The first thing that I am going to make is cream puffs. I make them with sugar free pudding. They are not bad for me that way. He really did surprise me when he brought that in. It was funny wrapped in the blanket. He is a character.
      I hope that you do not have to get out for any reason during the arctic blast. That sounds like a good time to stay at home wrapped in blankets and just watch tv or get on the computer. There will not be much else to do.
      The pictures you posted were really pretty. The trees are really pretty. That sunrise over mount hood is so beautiful. I love to see the sun rise and set. That is the prettiest times of the day.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great day.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      That would be nice if she was out driving around in her BMW. She is having a good time in it. She has to show it to all her friends in town. lol I wish that we would hear from Barbara. Miss hearing from her. Hope she got to spend some time with Colon. That baby is so sweet.
      Jenny is lucky. Danyielle cannot use the excuse that we all live too far apart. Her inlaws live not to far from where she lives. So she could have worked it all out. She is upset with us because we moves so far out and it is not where she would pick to live. She needs to understand that we like it here and she lives where she likes to live. So there is no reason for her to act like this. I am still upset with her as you can probably tell. We told her that she could have a meal at what ever house she wanted and have dessert at the other persons house. That way they would not have to be eating all the time.
      I hope that you can start to feel better before tomorrow. Drink a lot of hot tea with honey and lemon a little Brandy helps also. That is what my mom always gave us when we had a cold. We just took it at night and that way we could sleep at night. It did not have that much brandy in it but it did help. She said that it did not have any more alcohol in it then what they put in cough medicine. It was what my grandmother gave us also.
      I went for the tests yesterday. They took an hour to get done. By the time I got out of there I was ready to scream. I had a panic attack while in the machine and when they brought me out to put the dye in I tried to leave. She talked to me for a few minutes and so I finished but she did come as soon as it was done and get me out of there. I will never do that again. It was a closed machine and you felt like you were trapped and it was closing in. Well they called today and that was not it. So now they want me to go to another doctor and see what he thinks. Fun,Fun cannot wait. I am thinking that I will go and see my primary care doctor and see what she thinks.
      I hope that they can figure out what is going on with Greg’s feet and do something. Those shots do not always work like they want them to. He may have to have another one. Did he have the series of three or just the one?
      Well that is about all from here.Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Barbara Smith
      Participant
      Post count: 418

      Hello fun and faithful friends! Who else can I say would wait on this ole’ country girl to finally get around to writing to you all. Have SO much to tell you all; but will do it in pieces, or your heads would be spinning. I will start by saying, we all are okay. We did have one fall from Maw Maw; but she is okay/had a small cut above her eye and by the next day her right knee was swollen; so we got it x-rayed; and it was good. They have a mobile service that comes out there and does the xray. She was on her way out of the bathroom and she fell. One of the aides was with her, but she was giving her some privacy and getting her clothes ready for the day, and thats when she fell. We wanted to have her for Christmas; but that didn’t work out since her knee was swollen. Sure hope all of you all had wonderful holidays. We ate steak from the grill that day since it was about 70 that day and that is what Joey said he really wanted. Did I tell you all that Lisa came with him? Well, everything went fine. I had ordered her some PJ’s so that was good. She had gotten Joey some kind of Play Station thing and he loved it. He had gotten her a beautiful tri-colored gold necklace. It just sparkled. I thought it was beautiful. He came up the next day and asked to talk to me and Jerry. He told us that he was wondering how we would feel if he and Lisa moved in together? He said he loves her, and they have been doing so good together. He told us that he is scared of not doing the right thing, but he is just as scared of looking up one day and realizing that Lisa really is the true love of his life. We just sat and listened; which is SO hard for Jerry but I have begged him to just let him talk if he ever comes to us about them. So, we said son, this is completely your decision, and you should follow your head and your heart, and we support his decision. He said to us that this feels like the right thing to do, so since then it is like none of these YEARS of worry and confusion has just gone poof. And so far; so good. So pray for them that this will bring them the peace and love they have searched for and waste no more of their lives.
      Neal finished his school today, and passed, thankfully. He was so worried last night; because they test for 3 days, and he didn’t do very well on one part of it, and it could keep him from getting the job if he did one more thing wrong. Now we have to find out where they will be assigned to. It could be anywhere in the US. But he has worked so hard; it would have devasted him if he had not made it through there. So our prayers were answered there. The downside is of course, we will have little Colin moving off away from us. I don’t even have to tell you all how hard this is; but this is a time when I know that I have to do what is right for our son since he is doing what is right for his family. I will catch you all up on our time while he has been away another day. You all know that is a story all in itself.
      Sure hope you all have been well. There is so much flu and bronchitis going around here. I did see that you had tests done, Colleen. I am so sorry you had that panic attack in the machine. You have endured so much. Prayers for you and better health in the new year. Gail, is your foot aching more in this cold weather, and your knee and back, Adele? I know poor Jerrys back surely does.
      Did you all get the new Dreamjeannes? I got a pair in black. I really wanted to get the white, too for summer, but got Jerrys Mom a pair in medium denim. I know she will love them. She wears a small. Everytime I order something for me and her in the same order; I know the people there think I have messed up with the sizes being so different, hers a small and mine, shall we say, X marks the spot. LOL When I hold hers up next to mine its like the size of one of the legs of mine. I had a friend that I haven;t heard from in years send me a card this Christmas, and I was commenting to Jerry how nice it was to hear from her, and the only thing inside was a photo of her and her husband showing her “new body” that looks like she has either lost about 200 pounds or had major gastric bypass surgery in the last 5 years. No “how are you and Jerry, hope you all are doing good, just a glossy 4×6 of Merry Christmas from Kim and Larry and the date. If the date ever comes when I would be small, I would not stick my remade boobies out and put my hand on my new hip that was hidden away for years, and send it to someone fat.
      Take care, everyone. I will be thinking of you all with the new year rolls in. It is our night to watch “Its a wonderful life” with Jimmy Stewart. We watch the ball drop, and go back to the movie. That is, if we are still awake. ha ha Barbara

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Barbara,
      It is good to hear from you. That is good that Joey and Lisa have finally decided what they want to do. That had to be hard for you and Jerry to just sit and listen and not say anything. You did a lot better then I would have. I would not have been able to keep my mouth shut. Maybe things will calm down a bit now. You and Jerry will not have to worry as much.
      I am glad that Maw Maw is okay and did not really hurt herself. It is so easy for an older person to fall even if you have an aid in the room with her. It can happen in an instant. I imagine that the poor girl felt really bad. Maybe she can come home for Easter and enjoy the day with you then. You dinner sounds really good. It sounds better then our ham. We had rain here so cooking outside would not have worked out very well.
      That is great that Neal has finished his classes and passed. Maybe he will not be too far from home. They will be able to come home more often then you think. It also will make a nice trip for you and Jerry to go and see them. That will give you a chance to get away for awhile. That will be hard to not have the baby close by but with the internet and all of the new things that they have you will get to see him more then you think.
      I felt like a big baby panicking like I did. My arms are both bruised where they took the blood and where they stuck the needle in my arm for that dye. That is one test that I will never have again. It was a waste of time. They did not find anything and that was so aggravating. I still am sick to my stomach and having trouble. I do not want to have more invasive procedures done but would like for them to say it is a nervous stomach or it is a nerve in my stomach that is causing all the trouble. Then it would just be something to do with the diabetes and that would be better. I can deal with that. Well I will stop whining now and move on.
      I did not get the new jeans. They were cute but the things on the leg looked uncomfortable. That is just me though and I am sure they will be okay. I just like to sit on my leg and that would drive those into my leg. I guess if I sat more lady like it would be better.
      Barbara you should send that lady a note saying that you are sorry to see that she has been sick. She needs to gain a little weight and she will feel better. As for Jerry and me we feel great. That will make her think. That is irritating when people do that. It is a shame that she did not take the time to write a little note on there asking about how you and the family were doing.
      Well that is about all from. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I totally sympathize with you having a panic attack in the machine. I hate feeling closed in by something like that. I’m glad that you finished the test though. At least you got the results back quickly. What kind of a doctor are they sending you to now? is it a different type of specialist? Maybe it is a good idea to check in with your primary care doctor in the meantime. I sure hope someone can figure out why you feel sick to your stomach. If you go to another doctor at least they shouldn’t have to do more tests since you already have the results from the other doctors.
      I feel bad for Greg-his appointment isn’t until the 9th and he said last night he couldn’t sleep because it felt like someone was sticking pitchforks into his feet.
      I think we are going to have to cancel our plans for this evening. We were supposed to go to dinner and a concert with another couple but I still don’t feel that good. I could go but I probably wouldn’t really enjoy myself. I feel so bad because Greg was sick last week and now i am sick and i feel like we haven’t done anything fun because of that. I am starting to get cabin fever from staying home.
      That is funny that Danyielle thinks that you should move to make things more convenient for her. After all-you guys were in your place first. Everyone should live where they feel most comfortable. You have a nice place out in the country where you have peace and privacy-why would you ever want to leave that?
      Did you make that breakfast casserole that was on this site? How did that turn out? It sounded good.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Barbara,
      I am so sorry about Maw Maw’s fall. It does happen so quickly-even if someone is standing right there. I’m glad that she didn’t break anything.
      Congratulations to Neal on passing his course. I will pray that he gets assigned somewhere close by so little Colin doesn’t move away. That would be heartbreaking.
      Somehow it doesn’t surprise me that Joey and Lisa are back together. It seems like neither could ever make a clean break. However, the road to love should never be that hard and tortuous as it has been for them the last three years-so I hope that they can move forward now and put this all behind them. I wish them nothing but the best. Does Lisa have any remaining physical effects from the accident or is everything totally healed. Gosh, that was three years ago now as it was shortly after Kim died.
      It seems to me whenever someone loses a tremendous amount of weight they have become very self absorbed as that is all they have been thinking about for so long-and consequently they become less sensitive about weight issues. You would think it would be just the opposite as they have walked in the other person’s shoes. I did like Colleen’s idea of a comeback though-that was funny.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey fellow Quackers!
      I am so sorry I have not been on. The laptop was making me nuts. I finally did the repair thing with the Geek squad, and they went into the laptop, and fixed all the issues, which were caused by the windows 10 up-dates. They said my browser was not compatible with the new version, and changed it for me. Only thing is, now I have no favorites. I have tried to add favorites to the “bookmarks” thing, but when I click on it, I cannot see any favorites….help!!
      So…here is my news…..had to attend a wake of a good friend, who lost his brother last week. Went to breakfast with Nancy and Deb, as Deb was on vaca, and we got the breakfast in, just before the storm started yesterday- it literally began snowing, just as we left the restaurant. Also got in a dinner with Gary, the night of the wake.
      Today I little Aizen’s birthday- he is 3. Can you imagine 3 years are already gone??
      it is icy an snowy around here today. Not a lot of snow, but ice, as we got rain and snow. We even got thundersnow last night- very weird to see and hear that. Have any of you had that, or is t it a New England thing?
      We are late having breakfast today, as we were both tired, so gotta go and eat- it is 11:30…LOL I will come back on, and read all I missed after we eat. Love you guys!!!
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey everyone….I just caught up with all the posts. I missed a lot, while the laptop was running so dam slow! Wow, is all I have to say.

      Soooooo….. no BMW. But, I have been riding the snowblower around the circle, which is funny, as it has no seat, all the while yelling “someone fix my dam computer before I scream”….LOL LOL
      Gary did give me scratch tickets, as he thought I would win a million dollars. Not. Told him to get me a gift certificate next year. I do get such a kick out of scratching the tickets.
      Today will be a boring day, and that is ok. I have to get the bathrooms cleaned. That is my only task for today. Tomorrow night, we have Gary’s favorite dinner for his Hanukkah celebration- Potato Latke’s. He has his bib, and fork ready, and will not leave the table. I think he is going to sleep here.
      I am getting a new Tiffany lamp form Tillie for Christmas and my birthday. I have a bid on a real pretty one, as I am giving Heather one of mine. (hope I get it for a good price for Tillie) She recently broke her favorite lamp, which I gave her years ago, and I have the same one. She was heartbroken, so I told her she could have mine.
      Well, ladies, here goes……
      Gail:
      It sounds like Greg will have to wait a long time to try that new bike out. Our snow keeps disappearing up here. Come live in New England, where the weather goes from winter to summer in a second, and then back again.
      What cookbook did you get? I have not made a meal since Christmas. tonight, we are having the last 2 sides- the chicken rice and mac and cheese. The cornbread dressing and sweet potato casserole were big hits.
      Dog sitting is nice for you, as I bet you do miss your puppy. I told Gary I need a puppy, so I do not complain about his crumbs. yet another disappointment…no puppy, says Papa Gary. That is a nice tradition jenny has with her friends to celebrate with thier families. They are involved in such nice activities, and look like such a happy crew.
      Colleen:
      Gary has to take a heavy duty mood altering drug, before he gets into an MRI. The last time he had one, he took it an hour before we went, as directed. So, when we got there, the nice MRI man says….”gee, you do not like you are nervous about the test at all”, and I say back….”the crazy man is as high as a kite.” One time, I had to hold his hand during the entire test. I could not believe they let me do that. That was when he was in a wheelchair, way back when.
      I hope they find out what is wrong, so they can stop poking at you. when do you get the results of the rest of the tests? We are all praying for you.
      I am so happy you got the Kitchen Aid mixer. You are going to love it. You can whip the eggs into a meringue on seconds, not to mention how fast you can cream the butter. You may become our star baker!
      So, what breakfast casserole dish did you make? I would have cried at 4am. By now, you must be at your Mom’s for New Years Eve celebrations- hope you all have a o good time.
      Sue:
      We have not heard from you- are you ok? How did your holidays go?
      DD:
      It sounds like you are freezing over there. So glad you got that cozy new throw, to keep you nice and snuggly.
      Check to see if you need to change your browser too, as that may be some of your computer issues too. i finally had the time to call, and did. Now, I just have to figure out where my favorites went.
      i am so glad you were able to get to your friend’s house for Christmas, as this tie of year the weather decides where we will and will not go.
      Barbara:
      So sorry Maw Maw had another fall. I am glad she did not break anything. That poor thing has had such a tough time lately.
      I am not surprised that Joey and Lisa got back together, as when he had her constantly around the house, I had a feeling he still loved her. Maybe the separation was good for them, and things will be different this time. That is what I will be praying for, as poor Jerry has quite an adjustment to deal with. Did her dogs ever stop going at his trees??
      That is great that Neal is all graduated. I hope he can get a position close to home, as being without him and the baby will be yet another adjustment.
      Its a Wonderful Life, is Gary’s favorite movie too. We have it recorded on the DVR, and we have DVD of it too, that the kids gave him a few years ago. They just do not make movies like they used to.
      Hey girls- what do you all think about poor Debbie Reynolds and her daughter, Carrie Fisher? That was an awful story. I feel so bad for Crrie’s daughter. To lose your Mom and grandmother in two days is awful. Life is so very precious.
      Hope eb=everyone is having a good day!
      Adele

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      I did make that breakfast casserole that was on here. It was really good. I am going to make that again the next time the kids come and stay. They ate a lot of it. It was so easy because you could do it the night before in the slow cooker and it was done in the morning when everyone was ready to eat. it is worth trying if you were thinking about doing that.
      This other doctor they want to send me to is a gastro guy like the one that ordered the test. Will talk to my primary care doctor and see if she thinks is worth going to him. If the other guy could not find anything this guy will not be able to either. It may be a nerve in my stomach that acts up because of the diabetes. That will be fun. That will mean that it will be like that forever. That is a happy thought.
      I wonder if he called the doctor and told that he was having a hard time sleeping if they would get him in sooner. That is terrible that his feet are hurting that bad and there is nothing that he can do for it. Hopefully when he goes back they can give him something for that.
      That is terrible that you had to cancel your plans. Maybe something else will come up soon and you can go to another concert. It seems like this year there is just not enough time in the day or someone is getting sick. We have had a lot of that around here. This is a crazy time of the year.
      I am glad that we have now heard from Barbara and Adele. It has been awhile for both of them. At least they are back and we know that they are okay.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night. Take care and get well soon.
      Colleen

    • CHRISTINE ANGELA BRAILSFORD
      Participant
      Post count: 15

      I just wanted to wish all quackers a very happy new year, lets hope that 2017 is a much better year for us all health wise, we have all had our fair share of health issues, mine are still ongoing, had my foot problem 2 yrs this coming April, realy is starting to get me down now, the hospital are supposed to be making me some custom made insoles for my shoes, they did say they would be ready by xmas, but heard nothing from them as yet, will give it another 2 weeks then contact them to find out whats going on there with them!, I have to go back to the eye clinic at Harlow Hospital Feb 22nd to sort out my eye problem, I only wanted new glasses from the optician! ended up being there 2 hours only to be told I need to go to the hospital as they found problems with my eyes, turns out Ive got a hard jelly like mass behind my left eye and nerve damage!, they did say I could go ahead and get new glasses though, so got one pair made up, getting another pair made up in a few weeks time, they are hard to get used too as the lenses in my left eye are thicker than the right eye one,but I can see much better, still see floaters though, but at least I can see, im not blind, must be awful to be blind.

      I hope you all had a lovely xmas, we just went to stewarts parents xmas day, had a lovely day, patch loved it, he didn’t touch thier xmas tree, if we had one up he would of pulled it down! he got some tough toys for xmas, we got him this lizard toy supposed to be made out of firehose material and yet patch managed to chew off the legs!! so not that tough! i had to sew the legs back on it, stewarts parents got me some quacker factory dream jeans leggings, they were very lucky to get them , as they sell out realy fast here in England, they had no dream jeans at all in my size, stewarts mother phoned up q v c here in England and they told her they had none at all and didn’t expect any more deliveries of them in before xmas time, but she managed to get me the leggings, which im so pleased about, they are 28 inch leg, so not much to take up this time, the dream jeans i have to take off about 5 inches off the bottom of each leg!!, stewarts parents also got me that velvet criss cross top in green, which i wanted, xmas day I wore my red dream jeans and the new dog xmas top stewart bought me a few months ago, the ones with dogs on wearing xmas hats! its so cute and its long sleeved too, which is nice, i got stewart some trousers, chinos, slippers and a cover for hes new amazon fire tablet he bought, my dad gave us money, plus money for my birthday, i want to get some dream jeans with some of the money, hope patrick does some shows here soon , so i can get some! and i want to get some sketchers ankle boots, the only footwear im able to wear at the moment with my bad foot, stewart has to work the day after xmas day, and hes working today and tomorrow, although he believes he will be home earlier than normal tonight as the last flight leaves stansted at 6pm, so we shall see anyway.

      Today its patches 2nd birthday, cannot believe hes 2 already, we got him this tough dinosaur toy, and a hamburger squeaky toy, he loves both, but he is to be supervised playing with them, hes still a rascal in many ways, cannot let him off the lead at the moment, he ran off in November, somehow he got out of the garden gate , he ran over to the green area, I was having an asthma attack , luckily an elderly lady coaxed him into her home and i managed to get the lead on him, but boy what a day that way, ive put my wheelie garden bin by the back gate for now with a heavy pot in front of it, so no escaping for patch, we have to lower the bolt that locks the back gate, the back gate had dropped a bit with the weather being as it is, its realy cold out now, we have had bouts of bad fog too here,stewarts work have changed hes hours again now, he does 2 shift of 4am-1pm and 2 days of 12 mid day to 9pm and then 2 days off, so thats not too bad, stewart has arthritis in one of hes knees, hes due to start physio therapy on the 5th january, at the moment he rubs in ibuprofen gel into hes knee, think its helping but the damp, wet weather we have right now does not help any, it does not help my poor back i know that one!! lol, I just wish you all a happy new year and hope that 2017 will be a better year for all us quackers and i promise to mail more on here from now on, i best go and start dinner and see to patch, hope stewarts home soon, happy new year hugs to you all there christine

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      Well this will be my last post for 2016. I can’t believe it’s 2017 already! I never dreamed I’d live to see the year 2000 much less 2017!
      Let’s hope & pray the new year will be better than 2016. Goooooood riddance, I say!!!
      I went out to dinner with friends today. It’s one of my friends’ birthday & we always go out to dinner to celebrate it & mine coming up. I was on the bus on my way to meet up with them & it started snowing! /that was not in the forecast, that I know of. I thought, Oh great! Thankfully it didn’t last very long! Just some flurries.
      The worst is yet to come later this week, & believe me I;m not going out in it for anything! I stocked up on what I needed for the week.
      I;m sorry you didn’t get your BMW that you asked Santa for. Maybe next year!! I still didn’t get my check in the mail or a winning ticket. sigh

      I’m signing off before I lose this post too. I lost 4 of em the other night. they went “poof”.
      HAPPPPY NEW YEAR!!!
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      The least they could have done is put a seat on the snow blower so you could get comfortable. We were hoping that you were cruising in your new BMW. That would have been nice. I got my mixer so it is possible to get the BMW. lol
      The breakfast casserole I made is the one that was on here it was from one of the people that work for quacker. It was the one with the picture of Jeanne and her pillow. It is nice if you are going to have someone for breakfast. It would also be good for brunch. It was just so nice to just have something that was already done when we got ready to eat breakfast. Not all the hassel of doing all the cooking in the morning and then doing dinner.
      I was aggravated that they did not find out what was going on when they did the mri. So all they do is keep sending me to different doctors. I am about to give up. It is just going to be like this and I will just have to accept it.
      Even with the Kitchen aid I will not be baking as good as you do. You have it down to a science. I will have a lot of mess ups. They always say such good things about that mixer. It is supposed to be better the any other mixer. It certainly has more attachments. We will be using it a lot. I have not tried it yet with the kids still here. If I mess something up it would be better if Ron and I were here alone. Then he will have to eat my mess ups and not the kids.
      That was so sad about Debbie Reynolds and Carrie. I cannot imagine how hard it was on her son. All of the arrangements were left to him and Carries daughter. At least he had her there to help him. They have not said much about Carries half sisters if they are around are what is going on with them. We lost a lot of good actors and actresses this year. I could not believe that Alan Thicke died also. A lot of the ones that have died were not that old. Sixties and Seventies is not that old any longer.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      Sounds like you had a good day today. I hope that you will be with friends tomorrow also. It will be Ron and my daughter and her kids so it will be busy around here. They will be going home on Tuesday or Wednesday. It is nice to have them here.
      It does not seem like this year could get done with any faster then it did. With all the problems that we have all had in 2016 it just seemed like it was time. 2017 has to be better the 2016 that is all I can say about that.
      I am glad that you did not get caught out in a snow storm. That would have been a mess. I do not like to go out in really cold weather and not in the snow. Especially when you have to take a bus. That is one thing that I miss where we live now. There is not other transportation around. You have to drive or stay home. You cannot even walk anywhere. I love country living but there are some draw backs.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Happy New Year to everyone and hope that this year will be a great one for all of us.

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Starting a new discussion page. See you all there.

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