It's October! Spooky Nights, Falling Leaves, Football and Pumpkin Carving…2016-10-03T09:45:22-04:00

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    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Everyone,
      I think we’ve turned the corner into cooler weather. I’ve pulled out the Halloween Quacker and am having a ball wearing both old and new purchases.

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    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey girls!
      Love the pets in costume. It is sunny today, and in the 60’s.
      Gary is at the hospital. Surgery is scheduled for 10:30. Please say a prayer today that his kidney has not lost more functioning, even though we will not know that for some time. The kidney has to heal, before they can test it for functioning.
      Thank you!
      Adele

      Gail- how was your weekend with your sister?

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Everyone,
      Sounds like everybody had a busy weekend.
      Colleen, I’m glad that you had a good group for the hayride this year. Sounds like having it earlier in the month might be the answer to getting lots of people to show up. I think getting the blankets is an excellent idea for gifts. I have given them as gifts and have some myself and they are very snuggly.
      Barbara, I’m so glad that you found a place closer by for your MIL. Hopefully as time goes by Jerry will feel more relaxed about his decision. I agree with Adele in that he is probably feeling a little guilty-it’s hard to come to terms with the realization that we can no longer do it all- and it’s in our own best interests not to try. Also it sounds like he likes to be in control and is having a hard time handing over the reins-so to speak-to someone else. It might be bruising his masculine ego a bit too. Hopefully he will eventually see that his Mom is well and happy and be able to relax about the situation a bit more.
      Glad to hear that Neal is doing well in Oklahoma. I hope you get to see Colin soon. I don’t mean this in a bad way so please don’t take offense but if I were Sarah I would be reluctant to come to the house without Neal too if I felt that my FIL was always disagreeing with me. I don’t know the specifics of what he comments on but maybe he just has to learn to “let it go” or “shake it off” in the words of some popular songs. Maybe you could buy something for the baby and drop it off with her if she continues to be vague about stopping by. Or offer to watch him so she can have a break since she is there by herself with him.
      Adele, I am praying for a safe and speedy recovery for Gary today. Happy New Year to him. Did you try a brisket?
      If you like Skipping Christmas-have you seen Christmas With the Cranks based on that book? Very cute.
      I loved the story about Gary and communion. That reminded me. Our kids were baptized Catholic but never had first communion or conformation. Well it just so happened that Greg’s uncle, his Dad’s brother, Father Nick was having a celebration of 50 years in the priesthood when the kids were about 9 and 10. We were at the Mass for that and I just told them how to hold their hands and what to say and so unbeknownst to Father Nick he gave his great nephew and niece their first communion. Not exactly traditional-but I think too that God understands.
      We had a lovely visit with my sister this weekend but it was far too short. She got here Friday afternoon. Normally we go to Jenny’s Friday night but this Friday her kids had a birthday party to attend at an indoor water park so they didn’t want to miss that. So we ended up going out to fish fry at the restaurant at Greg’s golf course. Saturday Lachlan’s soccer game was at nine instead of ten so we skipped that as it was sort of gloomy and cool out. We went over to Jenny’s for a visit after lunch and spent some time there and then we went over to Rockford to Anderson’s Gardens which is a Japanese garden with walking trails and ponds with koi. It’s a lovely place although right now it’s between all the flowers and the fall colors. It was kind of drizzly at times so we got a little wet but not too bad. Of course none of us can follow those goofy trail maps that they give you so sometimes we were lost but it’s not that big of a place fortunately. Saturday night we met Jenny and family at a bowling alley that also has a restaurant. So we all went out to dinner together-afterwards the kids went bowling and Greg Susan and I stayed in the restaurant for another drink and to listen to the band that was playing there for a little while. Then we went out and watched the kids bowl for a bit.
      Susan left yesterday morning for her drive home-so it was a short trip. Hopefully when Greg can start working part time we can get to Indy more often to see her. But we had a good time and she got to talk to non stop Piper. lol Susan told me that when our Mom was little her nickname was Radio because she never stopped talking. And of course i was famous for getting checks in “does not conform to school regulations” in grade school because of excessive talking. So perhaps the apple does not fall far from the tree. lol
      Gail

      • Brenda Kerr
        Guest
        Post count: 58

        Don’t know if this is the right forum for this question but also don’t know where to go to ask. Question: I bought two Quacker Factory tee shirts last Spring to wear for the summer. But, they are very long. They come down to the top of my legs. Is that the style these days or should I shorten them? Thanks in advance for any advice.

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      As usual you have found some really pretty pictures to post on top of this. I like the puppy with the bee costume on. How cute is that. I am glad that it is fall and the weather is cooling down.
      Has that Andersons garden been open for long? I do not remember it being there when we lived there. I guess Rockford has really changed since we lived there. They have a lot of new things and some of the places that we use to go to have closed. I guess they are right you can never go home. It is always different then when you left. The kids went back once and did not want to go back again. So they haven’t. Most of the kids they knew had moved away and they did not know where they went.
      I am glad that you liked them. That is what I am going to do this year. It is getting harder and harder to buy things for them. At least this will not be something they will have to put away at the end of the holiday or put batteries in. lol
      That movie with the Cranks is really good. We watch it every Christmas. I like the crabby man that lives across the street from the Cranks. They are always arguing with each other. It is just a good movie and funny. Who thought that a Volkswagen could be Santa’s sled.
      I do not think that it matters when they make their first communion now. For a while they did it when you felt that your child was ready. Then they went back to having them do it with their class. So I am thinking that it is anything goes now. It was nice that you picked that time for your kids to make their first communion. Our kids made their first communion but only two of them were confirmed. Melissa decided that she did not want to be so we did not make her. I kind of regret that now.
      Sounds like you had a really good time with your sister. It is a shame that it was so short. It will be nice when Greg goes to part time. Wish that Ron would have done that for awhile instead. It would have made the transition easier. Oh well to late to worry about that now. It is nice to be able to go places when you want to and not have to depend on whats going on at work. It must have been fun for Piper to have a new person to talk to and show all of her talents to.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I think Anderson Gardens was started in the very late 70’s. Not sure when you guys moved away. Things do change a lot over time when you move away from a place after awhile nothing looks familiar anymore. That’s how I feel about the town that I grew up in. Of course when we moved there much of it was still farmland and now it’s all built up.
      Yes, Piper was ecstatic that she had another person that she could perform for and get their undivided attention. lol She was showing my sister how she learned to do somersaults in tumbling class.
      It looks like the DWTS results show tonight will be a shorter one and they are kicking two off tonight.
      Remember, two Quacker shows on today.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi Gail, Colleen, Barbara, Sue, DD, and all!
      I have the Quacker show on as we speak. My sweatshirts form last week are supposed to arrive today. Tillie got her stuff already,, so she is thrilled.
      OMG- I love that new shirt with the glitter on the pocket! I wish you could pick which colors you like, when they have a set of 2.
      here is the scoop on Gary. The surgery went well. The blockage did come out with the stint. But, the doctor said he had a “bag of stones” in that kidney that got a lot bigger in the last year, so she pulverized those with the laser. He was very sore yesterday, and still sore today, which is understandable. He is home today, resting. His back is killing him- think they put him in very funky positions doing the work yesterday. He is using his cane, as he is struggling to walk. But, that should improve.
      Gail- that is funny about the Communion. You really had a full weekend. So…. did you take a nap yesterday?
      I did see, and we have the movie about the Crank’s. I swear, Gary has done, and said those same things. I watch that movie every holiday season, as well as White Christmas.
      Hope everyone is good. Also hope DD did not have to clean up a lot after the exterminators, and that she is all back together again at her place.
      It is cooler here today, and I am making a roast pork dinner with the potatoes in the pan- just salt and pepper, and garlic on this one. It is delicious!
      Adele

    • Barbara Smith
      Participant
      Post count: 418

      Happy shopping day to all my friends! I have caved in and bought several things and still have another show to go LOL I just LOVE the Fall clothes, and right off the bat I had to get the Believe in Miracles shirt in black. It just makes me feel hopeful and peaceful when I read these words, and then off I went to other things; like the pumpkin shirt with LOTS of sparkes and a heart leaf shirt with the leaves in a heart shape. Oh, my; it has been a colorful, fun day so far. And I really needed to splurg on me some Quacker. Loved what Leah was wearing; but was a little late in ordering in the burgundy one; so it is on waitlist for me. I have really been bad and I plan to be even worse before the day is over with. Are you all pacing yourselves? It just seems like there is SO much beautiful things on these shows.
      Adele, thank God that Gary;s surgery went well and he is doing good. I know you were worried. The nurse in me has to say for you to please tell him for me to not lift anything; drink his fluids as instructed by his doctor, and rest, rest, rest. The body needs to heal, and to take it slow and easy and I know you will be really taking excellent care of him. He is so blessed to have you to be there for him. Give him my best; and tell him to listen to you because I know you will be doing everything the doctor wants for him to do right now. Also; YOU rest too whenever you can. Let those dust bunnies get acquainted with one another; like they do here in Tennessee. LOL
      Gail, I took absolutely NO offense with your remarks about Sarah and Jerrys relationship. You are so right. I have tried to explain just the same thing with him; because I feel that expressing an opposite opinion to just makes her feel she has to prove that she is an adult and has the right to have her own way of doing things; even if it’s not what someone else thinks is the way to handle an issue. I have also tried to explain to him that when he was her age (as if it doesn’t still apply to him, but I don’t bring this up LOL) he chose his own way for him, us, and our family, and his Dad didn’t say, “well, I think this is the way it should be done and not that way”. That one actually shut him up for a while and I could see the wheels turning. And I told him that the best way to lose one of our sons is to make him feel he has to “choose” between our opinion and his wife’s opinion on something that really doesn’t matter (like everyday, not life and death matters). So mabey, just mabey he will hear my message of “you know, you do catch more bees with honey than with vinegar”. Sarah did ask if we would watch the baby at her apartment last night so she could go to her exercise class. I was of course thrilled, and we had such a great time with him. He is really looking around now, and I kissed him so many times its a wonder I didn’t have to change his little outfit. He is smiling now and just stares right into your face. I sang “Rock a by Baby” to him as i was rocking him and we were cuddling, and he went to sleep. I tell you the truth, if the good Lord had called me home right then and there I would have gone to my heavenly home a happy happy woman. Poor Jerry, after Sarah came home Jerry had been holding little Colin under his arms and had his head all safe and braced (we do know not to just let his little head flop) and he was lifting him up just like he has done all of ours a thousand times in the recliner) and he was saying “super baby” and Colin was smiling, but Sarah said, “you know you have to be really careful with his head, he is not old enough for you not to brace his head” and Jerry just said okay and gave the baby to me. I said, oh, honey you don’t have to worry, Jerry knows to always have his hands where his little head is stable but we know you don’t know how careful we are with him and I’m glad you watch for things like that”. It hurt Jerrys feelings, and that was the FIRST thing I heard about when we left; but I told him; it it okay; she is just being the Mommy and you know that Neal knows you would NEVER do anything that would hurt him; baring God forbid and accident of some kind. It sort of settled him down. So even though I didn’t want a Subway sandwich for dinner thats what Jerry wanted and so I said I did too; and thats what we got. Jerry is a very outspoken man; and he just has a really hard time taking advice from others; especially if he feels they are wrong. But this is a work in progress, and you had some good advice. Keep it coming; I can use all the help I can get Girls. Ha ha
      I am so in the mood for some baked apples; but don’t want to go to the store because of my shows. I have meant to ask you all this about your spagetti sauce (I think you say gravy, and if you do, is that the same thing or something different?) Do you do meatballs, or is the meat just in with the sauce? Also, what type of meat do you use; just ground chuck, or do you mix other kinds in like pork or some type of sausage? I usually do onions, garlic, bell pepper in olive oil with a little butter and glaze this then add ground chuck and that’s the meat base. After seperating this from the fat after cooking, then how do you make your sauces? I have grown tired of mine, and would like to try something new. Also; do you all do something like zity that bakes in the oven after you mix it all together? That always looks so good to me when I see a recipe for it; but I know my bunch always balks when I try new things.
      I have been dealing with my right hip acting like it just wants to jump out of place for lack of a better term these last few days. One day; I could barely get around. It wouldn’t hurt me every step I took; just some. But when it did, it was really painful. I rubbed it really good with some kind of linement for acouple of nights, and slept with a heating pad on low, and so far so good today. I still feel a twinge, but not nearly as bad as it was. It just came on me out of the blue one day. It is getting cooler here; mabey that stirred something up. I am just so glad it went away; because I could barely walk for a few days. I know I am the old one of the group; so you youngsters just have to put up with my aches and pains. When we all get together in Gails reading library, just be sure my recliner and throw are close to the fireplace. Thanks for the book suggestions, Gail. We need a new one to get started on. We just finished the last. I am so glad we started this. There have been some nights that we only read mabey two pages because we were so tired; but I think it helps us both to unwind and connect.
      Better go for now. I have to go by the farm supply store and get the big bag of doggie food, and Auto Kitty is on his last can of cat food, and around here that is an emergency. He is like me; hunger makes him mad. Take care everyone, and have fun today. It’s nice to know that all over the country we are connected at the same time by watching our Quacker shows. I will be saying hello to all of you. Hope you hear me! Barbara

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi Barbara!
      Thank you for the good wishes for Gary ,and the prayers. I told him you said not to lift anything.
      Gary is like Jerry. He gets very easily offended, and think everyone hates him. He also says the opposite of what he feels, and that makes things even worst. I have been convinced he is dyslexic for years. So, he tries to stay out of any heated debates around here. Still, it creates problems. I am always saying…”Gary I don’t think you meant to say that don’t you mean this.”
      So glad you had such a good time with your Itty Bitty! they fall asleep in our arms for such a small time, and then they become wiggle worms. Enjoy this time. I miss it with JJ and Aizen.
      here is how we make gravy:
      Mix beef and pork- combine with salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, egg or 2 (depending on how much meat) and some Romano cheese. Mix the meatballs, and then roll them in Panko breadcrumbs- bake them for about 20 to 30 minutes- depending on the size. (old timers used to fry them)
      You can also add pork chops with the bone in, to the gravy, or Italian sausages, or beef ribs- just put those right in.
      First you sauté chopped garlic, and onions in olive oil. Then, you add cans of Kitchen Ready tomatoes- also depends on how big a pot you use, and how much you want to make. For a smaller pot – 8 quarts to 10 quarts, use 2 BIG onions, and about 8 pieces of larger garlic cloves, and about 4 to 5 cans of tomatoes. Do not skim out the oil, as you do not use that much in the sauté, just cover the bottom of the pan. Add some tomato paste, salt, pepper, and basil leaves. Some people put in a tablespoon of sugar, and some do not. Add the meat, and cook for 2 hours. You can serve with any pasta you like. Do not use oregano in the gravy- gives it a funkier flavor.
      I hope that helps.
      have a good night. OMG- Sasha just proposed on DWTS!!
      Adele

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Barbara,
      The fall Quacker is gorgeous. I think we all did some damage this season. I am enjoying wearing my Quacker fall and Halloween right now as the weather has cooled a bit.
      I’m so glad that you got to see Colin. We all know that you and Jerry know how to care for babies. I guess Sarah was just flexing her Mommy muscles. I’m glad you defused the situation. We don’t want anything to come between us and our grandbabies. And all we want to do is just love them. It’s our job and I think we all do it excellently.
      I hope that your hip feels better today.
      I think it was Adele who made the book suggestions. I’m glad that you and Jerry are enjoying your nightly reading sessions. It is a good way to unwind at the end of the day.
      I used to make a ziti bake when the kids were little but don’t remember the recipe off the top of my head. Brent’s favorite was a sausage casserole. You saute Italian sausage with some peppers-cut it in pieces and mix it with penne or any other pasta about that size that you like, add spaghetti sauce and top it with mozzarella and bake it until the cheese melts and everything is warmed through. I will look to see if I can find the ziti recipe later.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      I have not gotten my stuff from last week yet either. I swear years ago I used to get my stuff faster.
      I’m glad Gary is doing better. Tell him no more stones allowed!
      I did have to take a nap on Sunday. You know me pretty well. lol
      The pork roast does sound really good. I will have to try that sometime minus the garlic.
      We have a whole list of movies we watch at Christmas time-plus I watch the Hallmark ones too.
      Does Jhonny still have relatives in the Dominican Republic who might have been affected by the latest hurricane? I hope everyone is safe. They are already evacuating people in South Carolina. I wonder if it will go up the coast and reach your area?
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Gail
      Jhonny has a lot of people still in the Dominican- his Dad, grandfather, and aunts and uncles. I hope they will be ok.
      It is coming up, but, they keep changing it. One report says it will come right over us, and all the others say it will pass to the right of us, out to sea. Too early to tell. Either way, it usually loses some strength coming up.
      The roast was good- no complaints last night….LOL
      Gary and I watch the Hallmark movies too- he is addicted to them, which Bobby finds very funny.
      It is sunny here today. Gary stayed home again, which I think is good. He is still very tired.
      Hope your day is sunny- my sweatshirts arrived late yesterday- love them!
      Adele

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi All,
      Adele I am glad that Gary is doing okay. Will continue to pray for him. Do they know a way to keep this from happening to him? My youngest daughter gets kidney stones and has had to have the laser used on her. This started when she was a teen. They still do not know what to tell her to stop this from happening. it is very painful. One thing in her favor she is not a diabetic.
      Hi Gail, We were in Rockford in the 70’s. Ron said that we may have been there but do not remember the name of it. The one that I remember was Sinsippi park. They had flowers there and a lot of people get married there. Well at least they use to. Unless I am getting the two confused. Ron does not remember them having flowers there. So I may be wrong and talking about the place that you were talking about. Where is Rockford was it located? You have me curious now.
      DWTS was really good last night. I could not believe that Sasha proposed to the other dancer. That was so sweet. Everyone was so excited for them. The double elimination was a surprise last night. I guess they will have to cut the show short this year because of all the election stuff that is going on. I would rather watch dwts then the election stuff. I just want to know who wins and that is about it. Do not want to hear all this other stuff. If you listen to all the ads about each candidate we would not vote for anyone. I am trying to do all the research on each person running so I can make a wise decision. Well at least as wise as I get.
      Barbara, That was thinking on your feet. It is funny that you stepped right in there and stopped the situation from getting worse. That is so nice that you got to spend the evening with your grandson. That is so precious when they start smiling and then when they start to laugh it is really cute. Aliza is really growing and she will be out of all that cute stuff before we know it. They will always be cute but the baby stuff will not be going on anymore. With all our aches and pains we may need to all have recliners. We will have to be careful too. After we sit for awhile and we start reading we may all take a nap. lol I am getting to where I need a nap almost everyday.
      Well I did not end up ordering anything yesterday. I have a few things that I want but I keep thinking that I need to finish Christmas shopping before I start I getting things for myself. I was doing so well and now I am getting behind. I still have to find the pots and pans for my daughter and for three more of the kids. If anyone notices any cabbage patch dolls please let me know. I thought at one time they had one that was all soft and better for a baby. I could be wrong.
      Well more health problems. They took more blood and are testing that. Had to have another urine test and that is getting tiresome. It is no wonder I am so tired. They keep taking my blood. My iron level was 25 am not sure not what it should be so if anyone knows please let me know. Barbara you will probably know. They are going to send me to a doctor to run that tube down my throat and look at my stomach. They have done that before also and did not find anything. If that is what they want to do that is fine with me. I just want to feel better. Sorry this is getting depressing.
      Well that is all from here. I hope that everyone has a good night.
      Colleen

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      Sorry it’s been awhile since you’ve heard from me. It’s been a rough couple weeks or so. I had to clear out cupboards for the bug guy, only to find out all I needed to do was under the kitchen sink. He went around & put some kind of gel behind the fridge & in corners where I told him. Then came the REAL nightmare. when the bugs got ahold of it, then they’d show up dead. IT was gross. The stress was too much. Am glad to get rid of em!!

      On to more pleasant things. IT looks like our rainy season is getting a good start. It usually doesn’t get started till later in the month. But we need it tho. I hope all of you are safe from the hurricane. I’ve been watching it on CNN.

      I haven’t read all your posts yet, so I hope everyone tuned into the 2 QF shows. Once again, they had a lot of things I’d love to get, but can’t. I guess you know that from now till mid Dec. it’s gonna be Christmas shows every day mixed in with regular scheduling. I don’t mind it as it’s uplifting & I need it right now.

      Sorry I don’t have much to talk about tonight, but I thought I’d let ya know I’m alive.
      Stay safe!!
      dd
      PS: I’m sending a couple pics of the Oregon coast.

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    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      Glad that you got the bug problem cleared up-I hope they never come back. That would be terrible to have cleared all the cabinets and then to find out you only needed to clear under the sink. I would be grumbling-all that work for nothing.
      I hope, at least that you had some time to decorate for fall. That should make you feel good.
      You are right-pretty soon the Q will be all Christmas shows. I don’t mind except they show the same things over and over. Also I wish they would keep the decorations up until the New Year. Now they tear them down the day after Christmas-probably because they have had them up since October.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      The gardens weren’t started until the 1978. It is on Spring Creek road around where it crosses Forrest Hills. I believe Sinissippi Park is down around the river. They have a few places down there now-Klehm Arboretum and something else too. We have never gone to them. We really should as none of that is very far from us. Maybe 45 minutes or so. Did they have the Discovery Museum when you lived there. The kids always go there on Field Trips.
      I think I heard that now DWTS is going back to one night again until the finale in November.
      I can picture us now in my library snoring away in our recliners. lol Although my sitting preference is my legs curled up in the corner of the couch. But we definitely would have lots of comfy blankets and afghans knitted by my mother and MIL. A nap is a very underrated pleasure. We could start a napping club.
      I hope you feel better soon. Is it still the stomach-or something else? I’m pretty sure they can give you something for low iron. Remember Geritol when we were little for “iron poor blood.” I remember my sister used to have to take that. I wonder if they even make that anymore.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      I hope Gary feels better day by day. It’s funny how he loves the Hallmark movies. Greg doesn’t watch them-I usually watch one after he goes to bed. He likes the funny Christmas movies or the old classics.
      Made an egg casserole for dinner last night and am making fajitas tonight. Hopefully this weekend will be like last and we will eat out Friday and Saturday. It’s the perfect weekend when there is no cooking involved. lol
      I still like to browse cook books but the actual cooking is not as much fun. Part of it is I always disliked grocery shopping but now it literally wears me out. So I guess it’s not the cooking I mind as much as the purchasing of the ingredients. My energy level has just gone downhill and I hate that.
      Got my sweatshirts too-so cute!
      Hope all of Jhonny’s family is okay.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Gail!
      So, today I wore my new orange ghosts on the bottom short, with my orange zipper crops. Carried a Coach orange wristlet. I looked like the “Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”. When I said that to Gerald and Nancy, they howled. Tillie was pissed she got the grey one, instead of the orange one…LOL
      I have a lot of ingredients in this house, because of Bobby’s cooking. So, I usually only have to get the vegies that go with the dishes, or the certain cut of meat. But, I have to agree. It is exhausting cooking a meal. Last night, I was at the kitchen table, waiting for the meat to cook, and I fell asleep for a second. Is that not hysterical??
      I am planning on an “egg weekend” unless we do a take out night too. (also hoping Bobby will feel like doing something Sunday) I made a ham earlier in the week, and the leftover will be with eggs, or maybe a quiche.
      I have not heard anything bad about Jhonny’s family yet- I will ask when I talk to them tonight. I did not go over there, after I went to lunch with Gerald and Nancy, as Aizen is sick. They took him to the doctor, and they said a virus. Heather, who was there yesterday, is also sick. So, I am glad I did not go in. I brought them Kentucky Fried Chicken, per request of JJ, and dropped off the tarantula and rat that is remote control, that I got from the Q.
      I saw Piper’s pretty picture dress on Facebook. OMG- she is so adorable. Too bad her picture day got cancelled. I bet she had a lot to say about that.
      Hope your night is going well.
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Colleen and Gail
      I think we would definitely keep the neighbors annoyed with all our snoring….LOL
      Gail- I did not realize you were not feeling good- what is up?
      I hope everyone in Florida, and the southern states will be safe form this awful storm!
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi DD!
      I am so glad your bug issue is over. I hope you never have to go through that again. It is a lot of work, and you did not do anything to bring it on. Just not fair to you, me friend.
      So far, all is good for us with the storm. It will not be hitting up here.
      It is always nice to hear form you, and we are all glad you are ok.
      Love your pictures!
      Adele

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Adele,
      It’s Colleen who is not feeling good.

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi Colleen!
      I am so sorry you are still having issues. I hope they get a diagnosis, and can do some treatment to make you feel better.
      This getting older is becoming a challenge for all of us. I missed the post of what is bothering Gail. I must have read them too fast.
      I loved the proposal on DWTS. It was so touching! I love when you get to see a proposal on TV. Happy news is always so good to see.
      I feel so bad about your daughter with the kidney stones. She has a long life ahead of her, and lots more instances of pulverizing them. That is just awful. They want to done of those 24 hour urine tests on Gary to see if there is another reason he is getting so many stones. That will be done after the stint they just put in, is removed.
      Gary is getting a little depressed from all his issues. He told me last night, that he feels like he is failing. I told him not to think like that. He feels it is taking him longer to recover form this one. Honestly, I feel you just cannot keep having blockages, and think you will rebound quickly. I think the more he has, the longer to come back from them. Maybe Barbara can weigh in on this one!
      Hope you are feeling better, and they find out quick what is wrong.
      Prayers sent your way!
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Het Gail
      OMG……my brain must be real tired.
      LOL
      Adele

    • Barbara Smith
      Participant
      Post count: 418

      Hello everyone. Today has been a good day since we were able to get a lot done that needed to be done; but has just kept our “to do” list growing. Now we didn’t get it all done; but we made a dent in it and that feels good. My old hip is still bothering me. It is so aggravating. I can walk just fine sometimes for hours and then bingo, it just feels like something catches in there and the hurting starts again. I have been rubbing some Bengay ointment on it at night. It stinks. Do you all have a favorite liniment that you use? Well, isn’t this just a lovely conversation, two sentences in and I’m already talking about my aches and pains. LOL
      Hope you are feeling better, Colleen. I know you are so sick and tired of all the tests, sticks, peeing in a cup etc. but hopefully they will do the right thing and you will be all better. So sorry you are having a hard time. I have a kind of funny story to tell you all about peeing in a cup for a test one time. They gave me this little thing and here I am trying to make sure I don’t miss it, and I hear the pee hitting the toilet water, and I panic trying to stop and get the cup in the right spot. I knocked the little wash cloths off the back of the commode, and the paper towels, and some other trays and stuff and it sounded like a fight was going on in there. THe nurse knocked on the door and of course everyone could hear her saying, “whats wrong, something is wrong with Ms. Smith, can you hear me?” I was so embarrassed. You would think you could hit that little cup but not me; I am probably built upside down or something. Leave it to me. From that point on, when I needed a sample from someone at the clinic where I did volunteer work, I always gave them the big kidney shaped plastic container, and asked them to pee in that and then just pour it into the cup. A lot of people looked relieved, so I must not have been the only person with the problem of “aiming” right.
      I have been thinking a lot about our “reading room” at Gails. We will take turns reading to the group. Then the others can just doze off whenever they want too. And Gail, you can have a fainting couch instead of a Lazyboy. Do you know what that looks like? It is a Southern thing; really beautiful; you just lounge back on it and your legs can be out straight or curled up if you like, and there are beautiful big pillows (usually in some kind of tapestry) and it is for the gentile southern lady to recline on if she felt “faint”. Kind of a Gone With the Wind thing. ha ha
      I am praying for Jhonnys family with this storm and for everyone in the path of this thing. I know he must be so worried.
      You know girls, I feel the same way about my cooking these days. I just love to cook; and I just detest going to the grocery store. I have actually heard of going on the computer and ordering your groceries, and then all you have to do is go to the store and everything is ready for pickup and you pay and load them up. I am going to look into this more. It is probably too much money for the service, but we’ll see. Thank you for telling me how to do the Ziti Gail. I just remember it was gooey and cheesy and I liked it. I like to do things I can put in one pot or casserole dish, or the slow cooker and be done with it.
      I was just thinking the other day; I don’t know why I didn’t just tell you all to look on my facebook sight to see pictures of us and the baby. Mine is Barbara Smith Millington Tennessee. I have very little on mine. I really don’t do much of the social media thing, but since I don’t know how to download pictures on there I don’t have much on there, but Sarah or her mom puts things on there sometimes.
      Jerry did make us a pizza last night. It is the kind that you buy fresh and then bring it home and bake it. I have to say it was absolutely delicious. He has not been so grouchy these last few days. I think a lot of it has to do with feeling better about his Mom. He took her to her primary physician yesterday. He wanted her to be checked out after all she has been through. He was so kind to Jerry. He assured him that she is in a wonderful home; in fact; this is the same home he put his Mom in when she had memory problems and wasn’t safe in her home. Jerry asked him could he expect his Mom to get better with time, and he put his hand on Jerrys arm, and said, no Mr. Smith this will be as good as it will be, but that she is happy and safe, and you and your wife need a life as well. He said he remember all the years he took care of his Dad, and how he knows he only has her best interest at heart, and he should be proud of this. Jerry’s Mom couldn’t answer any of the questions the doctor asked her. I think seeing her doctor has really helped him to feel better about everything.
      Well, Neal is driving home tomorrow evening (about an 8 hour drive) to spend Saturday and up to about noon on Sunday with his little family. This will be his only chance to come home during this school. We told him not to even try to see us while he is home; we completely understand that he has such limited time and we want him to be with Sarah and the baby. Sure hope everyone feels this way. He is out of school on Monday for some kind of holiday, and he needs that day to study. Surely do miss him, but I hope he has a wonderful few hours with his family.
      Diane, I am glad you have your bug problem under control. Yuck, I don’t like creepy crawlers. I love your pictures.
      Take care, everyone, and enjoy this weekend. Joey has to work all weekend. I love talking with Joey. He is such a kind and gentle soul. I know you all have really good families too. Doesn’t it make you proud when you stop and just think of what good children and now grandchildren we have had a part of? We are good fur baby Mommies too. Jerry has always said that if the good Lord let him come back to earth, he would want to be one of our pets, and I know your little ones are treated the same way too. Take care everyone. Hope each of you that may be feeling under the weather are doing lots better. I don’t like my friends to be sick. Yes, Colleen, 25 is low for your blood count. It makes you tired and short of breath. Do you take B12 shots? I have too. Take care all. Barbara

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      That is a mess when they come and spray for bugs. I bet you were ready to scream when he told you he only was going to spray under the sink. He could have told you that before you took all the stuff out. Well at least it is done and you do not have to worry about it anymore. At least the bugs are dead and not still crawling around. That would be really bad.
      I like you pictures. The ones of the coast is really pretty. Oregon is such a pretty state. I do not know if I have ever been there are not. We may have drove thru it when I was a kid on our way to California. I just do not remember. I do know that we went to Disney Land and had a really good time.
      I am glad that you are getting rain. We have had a lot of rain here so it is not too bad here. If we do not get our fall rain it could get bad. It was warm here today and then tomorrow it is supposed to start cooling down.
      I did not buy any Quacker either. Will have to wait until I get all my Christmas shopping done. Hope that I can get enough money to buy the dj. they have for thirty six dollars. That was a good deal.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      They are going to put the tube down my throat to find out why I keep getting sick. I hope that they figure it out this time. This new doctor is so much better then that Jamsie Smith D.O. was. She has found out more in the short time I have gone to her then he did in a year. I am just glad that I found her. I do remember Geritol. They always had commercials on tv for that. I do not know if they still make it or not.
      We were still there at that time. I guess we just never got around to going. I use to work at the YMCA when we lived there. I worked with pre schoolers. it was fun. When we were living there no of that other stuff was there. We use to go over to the park and take the kids sledding there in the winter. They use to love it. There are not any good places to go sledding around here in the winter. It is a shame the kids always like to do that.
      A good nap is nice. It would be nice to be wrapped up in an afghan or a blanket and sleeping. That is one thing I love about winter. Snuggling up under all the blankets. It is just hard to get up in the morning and have to take a shower. Then you could freeze to death. lol I really love winter and the snow. Hey if we started a napping club we could call ourselves the Napping Quackers. I bet we would get a lot of members.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      I hope that Jhonnys family is okay. That is scary to be in a hurricane. Are they still thinking that the hurricane will go around you? Do you have problems if when blows up? Are you close to the ocean or are you far enough in land that it will not reach you home? It still is scary because of the high winds. It can come really do some damage.
      I bet you looked really cute in your orange. That pumpkin shirt sounds really cute. is it the one with the pumpkins and the ghost on the bottom? I cannot remember what all they had. I wrote down some numbers of things that I would like to have but have not ordered yet. Still waiting to buy anything. My easy pays are paid off the middle of this month so that will be nice. I just wish I had more of my Christmas shopping done.
      It will be nice to just have one night of dwts. When they have two shows they tend to just show reruns of the dances that they did the night before. That got kind of boring. Had to keep watching thought to see who got voted off the show. They are really getting rid of all the guys and just the women dancers are left. They have elemanated 4 male stars from the show.
      I feel bad for Gary. To have to go thru this two years in a row. That is a lot to go thru. My daughter has not had to have stents put in though. They just have blasted the stones and got rid of them. It is hard to watch them go thru that. She would get really sick to her stomach when she was having problems and that made it even worse. I will continue to pray for Gary and that this will be the end of it.
      We will just act like we do not know what the neighbors are talking about. We none of us snore. They must be hearing someone else not us. lol
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Barbara,
      I have not had the b12 shots but do take the pills three time a week. I did have to have the IV awhile ago and hope that I do not have to have that again. I think that I went 3 times a week to get the iv. Cannot remember what they called it. I had to go to the hospital and sit there and they would give them to me.
      It seems like they are always wanting to give us shots to take care of the pain in our old bones. I have had three shots in my hip and in three different spots. It is doing okay now but it was really sore for awhile there. I use icy hot when I have aches and pain. My mom always uses ben gay. It works for her. I think that all of that stuff has a strong smell to it. People smell you coming when you have it on.lol
      That is funny Barbara. I can hear all that stuff falling and the nurse knocking on the door. They should give us a bigger thing to pee in and then we can pour it into that little cup. My daughter Amanda says that those things were not meant to be use by women. A man had to invent it.
      How nice that Jerry made pizza. It is so nice when they cook for us even if all he had to do was stick it in the oven. It gives you a break for a night. That doctor sounds like a really nice man. It is good that he made Jerry feel more comfortable about his mom. At least he now knows that he is doing the right thing and that it has happened to other people. It makes a difference when a doctor tells you and says that the place is a good place. Men never want to listen to their wives.lol
      How nice that Neal is getting to come home and spend time with Sarah and the baby. They will need that time together. That was nice of you to tell him not to worry about coming to see you and Jerry. He probably appreciated it.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Thank you for the prayers. That will help me a lot.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I sure hope that they can figure out the problem this time too-and then they can go and fix it so that you feel better. I’m glad that this new doctor is really working with you and looking for answers. She was a good find.
      I remember all the years that my poor mother had an ulcer and she would be sick to her stomach all the time. She was always drinking baking soda and water for an antacid. She finally had a surgery and then she felt much better afterwards and was able to eat normally again. That was before the days of the proton pump inhibitors like they have today.
      We used to have a hill for sledding behind our old house. All the kids went there. The bad thing was if they were late coming home the Moms would call us and we would have to go out there and yell for them to go home.
      If we were the napping Quackers all bundled up in the library we would have to have hot chocolate and tea and I guess we would have to have some of Adele’s cookies to sample. Of course none of us would ever snore! lol Only our husbands do that.
      By the way-how are your husbands for snoring? Greg is horrible. He always goes to bed before me so when I get in there it’s always a struggle because I have a hard time falling asleep and as his snoring becomes louder and louder I can just feel myself getting more and more tense. We have a split king and I have been known to raise the head of his side to try and get him to stop. Or if I am really desperate and annoyed I tell him to stop or I will put a pillow over his head. lol I really wouldn’t you guys. But snoring really can become a big issue. If only I could drown him out with the TV-but he insists that he can’t sleep with the TV on and of course I love sleeping with a TV on. So we have had to compromise and I play music at night instead. The sleeping wars go on…No wonder that I need a nap some days. lol
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Barbara,
      I am all for the fainting couch. I think I could play Scarlett O’Hara quite well-I would send the Tarleton twins out to fetch me a lemonade while I reclined. Now if only I had a tiara…
      That is a funny story about trying to pee in the cup and demolishing the restroom-they probably wondered what the heck you were doing in there. However, I agree-we do not have the same ability to aim as the men have-we need a larger target.
      I’m so glad that the doctor was able to set Jerry’s mind at ease. It is a difficult decision and it’s natural to struggle with it and wonder if you have done the right thing. Hopefully Jerry will be able to relax and feel good about the situation now.
      I hope that Neal has a nice visit with Sarah and Colin.
      You know people used to tell me that all the time-that if they died and came back they would love to come back as one of our dogs. They were well tended-and I miss them all.
      When my sister came she gave me an ornament that she had a portrait of Rocky painted on. It was a special gift.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      You are a goofball. I read that posting and thought-what am I sick? I didn’t even know. lol
      I’ll bet you were a site to behold in your pumpkin orange. I actually got the gray-orange is not a great color on me-but I know you are an orange lover. Just add some navy blue to it and you will be wearing Bears colors. lol Probably much to Gary’s chagrin.
      I hope Aizen and Heather are feeling better. JJ is probably terrorizing his family with the rat and spider. lol You know how to liven things up. Next thing you will be getting him a drum set. lol
      Tell Gary-it just takes a little extra time to bounce back now that we are all a bit older. Do not be disheartened. You love him and need him around. I hope he will feel like he has turned the corner soon. I was watching The Goldbergs last night and every time I see the Dad I think of Gary now. Isn’t that funny? Even Greg has been chuckling at Superstore. He didn’t see it much last year because it was on on Fridays and I usually watched it after he already went to bed. I just picture people doing that at our local WalMart every time I watch that show.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Barbara!
      I think we all need one of those gorgeous Southern Lady couches!
      I found out all Jhonny’s family members are good. That is one good piece of news from the storm. So far, my friends who moved to Florida are fine-the ones who are more south. My friend Maxine’s daughter is in Georgia. She moved inward yesterday.
      I got some bad news last night. When I called my SIL on Monday, to tell her how Gary did, her daughter answered, and said her mom was real sick, they had seen the doctor, and were waiting for test results. I was worried, as I had not heard back from them, so I called last night. Well, she is in a Boston hospital, and has lymphoma. The test results will be in today. Please say a prayer for her. She is more worried about my BIL, who has the Alzheimer’s, and is in a nursing home. She went there every day, and had dinner with him, and took him out for walks in his wheelchair. I am absolutely devastated by this news, and praying hers is curable.
      I will friend you on Facebook!
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi Colleen
      I hope you are feeling a little better today. Do you know when they will schedule that test for you? I had it, but I was out when they did it- it was in conjunction with a colonoscopy.
      We live one town away from the ocean. We are far enough away, that we would not get flooded by the ocean- I hope. It is not coming up this far, as far as I know. Jhonny’s family are all ok, and we are all happy about that. I have a lot of retired foster parents who moved to Florida. So far, they are ok. My friend Marie’s mother is there too, and she is in the southern part of Florida- she just got downed trees, no damage to her house.
      Gary is feeling better today, so that is good. He does not work on Fridays, so he gets a rest today.
      We got bad news about my SIL yesterday. She is in the hospital, and has lymphoma. They are supposed to get the results of all testing today, and I am praying it can be beat. her daughters are devastated. their Dad has Alzheimer’s, and now this.
      Orange does look good on me, and always has. I just think I am quite bold to wear it ay my size….LOL
      I am also glad DWTS is on for one night only. Who wants to rehash what we already saw the night before?
      It is sunny here, and warm- in the low 70’s. hope your day is going well.
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Barbara
      Forgot to say……nice that Jerry made the pizzas. Doe she do them from scratch?
      So happy to hear Neal is coming home for the weekend too! I also have difficulty peeing in those dam small cups. They need to invent a new one for us older gals.
      I cannot find you on Facebook. Just go on, and friend me, instead.

      Gail
      I am a goof ball, for sure. A big orange one. I told them all I was the “Great Pumpkin” from Charlie Brown’s Halloween story. Of course, I got compliments on my shirt. I always do. I am amazed that I never see anyone up here in Quacker. What is up with that? They all ask me where I got my stuff, and I still do not see anyone in any of them.
      You know, Aizen loves the tarantula and rat. Steph said he is feeling a little better today, and as soon as he got up, he went right for them. I thought they may freak him out a little. Apparently, he inherited the love for Halloween.
      funny you should say that, as I was watching the Goldberg’s, I thought the same thing, and I knew you would be laughing thinking of Gary. I swear, he must be related to the Goldberg Dad! Gary fell asleep during the show, and I kept yelling….”wake up and watch yourself on TV”. But, Gary would NEVER let anyone see him in his undies.
      Read my post to the girls- my SIL has lymphoma. I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me. I should be baking, and I just can’t today. My baking therapy just does not cut it today.
      Of course we would have the best goody table ever, should we all be together….LOL
      hope your day is going well, and you have only good news to tell us. We need a cute Piper story.
      Adele

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      That must have been a lot of fun when the kids all come over to go sleighing in your yard. They must have been having such a good time that their moms had to call for them to come home. We have a good place for the kids to ride their sleds here but they all live to far away to come over to slide down. The only ones that live close are older and do not want to do that here. They want to be with all their friends and they do not want to come all the way out here.
      I agree. What is the sense of napping if we cannot have cookies and hot chocolate or tea. That sounds like a party to me. It seems funny to be saying that taking a nap is a party. You would have never heard any of us saying that ten or fifteen years ago.lol My how times have changed.
      Ron snores really loud also. I have been known to sleep in another room because he snores so loud. He tells me it is me but as we know only men snore.lol I have not tried the pillow yet but I have woke him up and told him to roll over. Does Greg snore the loudest when he is on his back? That is the worse for Ron. When he is on his back he gets really loud.
      Well Ron came home today with a puppy. He is really cute but won’t stop crying. We have him in the utility room for the night. I gave him a bear to sleep with hoping that would help him to calm down. It is not working though. I think that I might have to get him a toy that has a heart beat. I wanted to put a radio in there but Ron does not. I bet he will tomorrow. This dog is just a mutt. He is black with white paws with black spots on his paws. THe tip of his tail is white and his belly is white. He is just so cute. Hope he will be easy to tame. Ron thinks that he wants to be outside because that is where the people that had him kept him. He was out there with his brothers and sisters and mom. So I know he gets lonely.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      They are setting up the appointment at the doctors office. So do not have any idea when the test will be. Just hope that they do it fast. I am so sorry to hear about your sil. That is really hard on her kids. I hope that they pull her thru this. I will be praying here for her. How sad for those kids and you and Gary. With both of them being sick. Are the kids taking over being there with their dad since their mom is sick? I hope that someone is.
      That is good that you are that far away from the ocean. It would take a really bad storm to get to where you are. I am praying for all those people in Florida that are affected by this storm. That would be terrible. I am glad that all your friends are safe and are not without a home because of that storm. That is the worse thing about hurricanes and tornadoes they can really make a mess.
      That is really good that Gary is feeling better. I think that it is harder on the men then the women when we get sick and have to wait to get better. They expect to be able to go on with their normal life as soon as they get home. I do not know why they think that they have to be superman.lol
      Jeanne Bice said that if we can’t lose it decorate it. She was right. If you feel good in those clothes then you should keep wearing them and the heck with everyone else and what they think. You are with a whole group of women that feel that way. We all sparkle and shine no matter what. We love it. Jeanne would be proud of you for wearing all orange.
      We do need a Piper story. We have not heard one lately.
      Well that is all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I am excited that you have a new puppy. I wish that I could see him. I am weird but I love the smell of a new puppy. As you well know they are always lonely at first but will settle in eventually. I hope he will turn out to be a great companion and that you will have him for a long long time. Eventually he can keep the bread tossers out of your yard.
      Greg never sleeps on is back-only on his side. I am an equal opportunity sleeper and can sleep on side, stomach or back. He says I snore too-but of course he must be wrong about that. lol
      You will probably relate to this as Ron has a bad ear too. Do you find that sometimes he mishears things and what he thinks he hears is something really funny. Greg always mishears things that sound really funny. I can’t think of a specific example right now-but I am always telling him he is often hearing a totally different conversation than the one that is actually taking place.
      You do know that we are getting old when we are getting excited about a napping party. lol
      What do you think that you will name the new puppy? Sometimes it takes a few days before the right name pops up.
      Ron is like a little boy always bringing home a new dog. lol
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      I am so sorry to hear about your SIL. Just what she doesn’t need to be sick! It sounds like her kids are there to provide support since her husband is no longer able. The good news is that lymphoma is pretty curable if it hasn’t spread. If it is caught early they have good results with chemo. We have a couple of people we know who were cured. I will pray for her for sure. What scary news.
      You know I never see any Quacker around here either-although I have seen people when we have been in bigger cities. Adele, I’m of the opinion-if you like it-wear it. I am so beyond caring what anyone else thinks. I am overweight and I wear my Quacker loud and proud. lol I love seeing the faces of my grandkids when they see my sparkly clothes with fun pictures. Sometimes I just like the plain sparkle and sometimes I like a big ole honkin’ picture on my chest. lol
      Jenny called me yesterday and said that Lachlan has strep throat-so she didn’t know if i wanted to come over. He’s already been on the antibiotic over 24 hours so he isn’t contagious. I said i would talk to Greg and call her back-and that i am more worried about all the things in the house that he has touched. Well, I called her back and said we would come over as i can’t hide from the kids all winter and i wanted to see them since I don’t babysit anymore. So my sweet daughter had told me in the meantime that she had wiped down all the bathrooms, tables and counters and vacuumed and wiped doorknobs. How nice was she to do that for her old Mom. I try and stay away from germs but I also have to live my life. She wanted to know if I thought that she should keep him out of soccer this morning and both Greg and i said yes as he has a cough and running around in the cold will probably just aggravate it.
      She actually thought that he had bronchitis so was surprised when the strep test came back positive. So the school kids have already started passing the germs around. They are off Monday for Columbus Day.
      I don’t have a specific Piper story. Although she was dancing around in her footed pajamas and if she would slip and fall down she would pop right back up and say I’m OK. She was also singing a song that she made up about butterflies.
      It was funny-Kendall, Lachlan and Piper were still running around playing when we left at 9:15 and Enya the teenager was fast asleep on the couch. I was saying-what’s wrong with this picture.
      Then we went home and watched the Cubs game-They sure don’t want to make it easy on my old heart. it ended at 11:30 and normally I would be so tired by then but I was wide awake-I guess because of the adrenaline. Talk about the oxymoron of exquisite torture!
      I will keep your SIL in my prayers.
      Hugs,
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi Gail
      Thank you for the prayers, and encouragement. When I hear cancer, I think the worst. I will be hoping for the good news, as she does not deserve this. Not that anyone does. She just has a lot on her plate already.
      Our Red Sox lost the 1st 2 games. They have to win the next 3. We all want Big Papi to go out with a huge win. Even I am rooting for them….LOL
      hey Gail- we now have a new name….”Loud and Proud Quackers”. I like that term. Fits us.
      I would be leery about going over too, as when we get something it lasts so long.
      Our kids are off Monday too.
      OMG- Piper is so you. She loves the butterflies too. How nice for you to hear her sing about your favorite creatures. that is still a cute piper story and it made me smile.
      Aizen told me this morning how much he loves the rat and spider. He has been playing non stop with them- got them from the Q, of course. I thought he would be a little scared of them, but he is definitely not!
      Hope your day is going well. It is starting to cloud up- we are getting some rain tomorrow from the hurricane.
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Colleen!
      You have a new puppy! Take a pic for us to see his cuteness. that is the one thing Gary would never do- bring home a puppy. I always wanted one, and he keeps reminding me I cannot walk a puppy….LOL Or, go downstairs to let him out every couple of hours.
      Thank you for the good wishes and prayers for my SIL. Her daughters are very close with both of them. they are sharing the visiting of both of them. We are going to see my BIL tomorrow, so they can have a break from one of the visits for the day.
      Gail gave us a little Piper story for today. That will be our new phrase….”we need a little Piper”.
      I hope you get that test fats, so they can figure this all out. You are always in my prayers too, all my Quacker friends are. Jeanne would be proud of us all being friends. Look what a good bond she started!
      Adele

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      We did finally decide to call the dog snoopy. He was getting into everything tonight. He emptied out a shelf on one of our cabinets in the utility room. We have to keep him in there when we leave the house. It was funny he decided to be mad at Ron for leaving him so he went potty on Rons rain coat. It was in the laundry basket. Ron will probably forget about another puppy home.lol
      I am sorry to hear that Lachlan is sick. Hope that it does not go thru the whole family. That is the only bad thing about having more then on child. They always seem to pass things on to each other. That was nice of Jenny to do all that cleaning. You should not catch it after all that she did. It is hard to stay from the grand kids. They are so cute and so much fun. How is Kendall doing this year in school? I hope that she is more relaxed in school now. That is hard when they get that nervous at school. That is funny about Piper. It was good that when she fell she let you know that she was okay. You sure do not want her to go on without letting you know.lol How is she doing in preschool? I bet she is a lot of fun.
      We went to the pumpkin fest this year. It was really nice. Mandy and the girls went with me. They had a civil war exhibits there. They had these two men that had the musket and the back pack that those use to have to carry. We picked it up and it was really heavy. So was the back pack. They use to have to carry all that and wear wool uniforms. THey had men passing out all along the march because in hot weather they go so hot they would have heat stroke. That must have been terrible. It was interesting to hear all about that. Kylie picked up the rifle and and they put the back pack on her and told her how she had to hold the musket when you wanted to shoot it. She couldn’t do it was just too heavy. Brook would not do. She is too feminine.
      Ron does not hear things right either. It is funny sometimes. The kids and I will laugh and he cannot figure out why.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      Ron does that when he sees a puppy that he likes. It does not matter what I want. This dog will be an outside dog after he gets a little older. He stays outside when during the day. We have a pen for him. Our other dog does not like him and bites him. So we will have to keep him in that pen until he is older and will fight back. Well not exactly fight but not let Austin bite him. He is too little now. He does not know what to do.
      That is good that your sil’s kids will help out with both parents. That really makes a difference. It is really nice that you and Gary are helping out also. That will give them a little break and they can do things that they need to do at home. I cannot imagine what they are going thru right now.
      That is funny we need a little Piper. She is funny for being so little. She really is a lively child. I guess her talking all the time comes from her great grandma and her grandma. We do pass our traits on.
      I cannot believe that Aizen like that rat and spider. How did Steph feel about it. She may get a little surprise sometimes if they are playing with them and she is not expecting it. That would not be a fun thing for the kids to play with if I was there. Boys always do like things like that. I guess some girls do also.
      I wrote to Gail about what we did today if you want to read it. It is too long to write again. So that is about all from here. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Gail, I am rooting for the Cubs also. Ron isn’t. Why I do not know. Unless he is telling me that to aggravate me.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Adele thank you for the prayers. I really do appreciate it.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I’m glad that you are rooting for the Cubs as long as Saint Louis is out of it anyway. I think if they make it into the world series a lot of people who aren’t normally fans will root for them because of the story of it taking so long to get there. The games haven’t been starting until 7 or 8 and it is late when they get over but I am still not sleepy because my insides are still so tight after watching the game. Like I said it is exquisite torture. lol Brent and my brother Bruce are huge fans so I hope they are getting the games in NM and Colorado-plus there are lots of retiree fans in Arizona since that’s where they spring train.
      I love the name Snoopy! Those little puppies will get into lots of mischief while they are learning.
      Lachlan isn’t really feeling too bad. They bounce back quickly. Kendall already has had at least one of those stomach aches since school started-so we’ll see how things go. Piper is liking preschool-her Dad is spoiling her as he takes her over to bakery after he picks her up from school. I think her Dad enjoys the bakery more than the kids. lol
      The Pumpkin Fest sounded fun. I always enjoy those historical reenactments. Have you ever been to one of those places where all the people are doing things like the settlers did? I enjoy doing that although it’s getting harder to walk a place like that. There’s a place not too far from us called Old World Wisconsin where they do that and we have gone to a place in Indiana where they do it too. I think it’s called Connor Prairie Farm. Once we were there with my Mom and this lady in this one house was saying that there was going to be a wedding that day but she couldn’t go because she had to stay home and churn butter or something. Well my Mom got so into the story that she offered to churn the butter for her so she could go. We were all laughing and reminding her that this is all just make believe.
      When we were at Silver Dollar City in Branson they were having some Civil War reenactments there too. That’s on my bucket list to go to Gettysburg to the battlefield. I read tons of Civil War books when I was a kid. When my parents lived in Louisiana we toured a lot of the plantations in the area around them. History is so much more interesting when you can see what is being talked about.
      Greg is out golfing this morning. It’s getting close to the end of the season here. The courses will be closing soon and then he’ll have to wait until spring to play again.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      I would have thought that JJ would like the rat and spider better than Aizen. I think it’s neat that he’s enjoying them so much. I’ll bet that you’re happy it was such a big hit. I saw that and thought how freaked out Jenny would be as she is afraid of spiders. I can’t tell you how many that I have had to get rid of for her over the years.
      When you used the term “needing a little Piper”-it makes me think of the song from Auntie Mame-“We need a Little Christmas.” So now I am singing the song in my head substituting we need a little Piper for we need a little Christmas. lol
      This baseball is going to make me a nervous wreck. I’m going to have to start taking xanax. lol I’m glad that today is a day off so that I can relax. lol Monday I will not be able to copy The Voice because I am already copying DWTS and I need the other cable channel open to watch the game. Plus it doesn’t start until 8:30 here-so Greg will never be able to stay up and watch. I’m sure he’ll put it on in the bedroom until he dozes off.
      I’m glad that you and Gary will get a chance to visit his brother today. I know that must be so hard on Gary. I will continue to pray for a good outcome for your SIL. Think positive thoughts.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi Colleen
      The new puppy is certainly giving you a run for your money, as they say. How big is he? Snoopy is a cute mane. I love the Snoopy cartoons.
      Steph thinks it is real funny that Aizen likes the rat and spider so much. I am glad he likes Halloween things, as it is so much fun.
      You seem to have so many cool things to do in the Fall in your area- like the Pumpkin Fest. Pumpkins are my favorite things.
      We went to see my BIL today. It was awful to see him like that. he was non-verbal, and looks like he lost even more weigh. He looks like a skeleton. Alzheimer’s is such a cruel disease. My SIL has bone marrow lymphoma. She will have treatments that are not chemo, so they will not make her sick. They are saying it is curable. I will be praying she gets through this, and fast. She will be in the hospital for a few weeks. I think not seeing her every day, will make my BIL even more confused. Such a sad situation, all the way around.
      It is pouring up here, and we need it. We are getting the edge of the hurricane- just the rain.
      Hope you are good, and feeling ok today.
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Colleen- you are entirely welcome for the prayers. Some days, I feel that is all we can do, and I do believe in the power of prayer.
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi Gail
      Read my post to Colleen about the visit with my BIL today. So sad to see him decline.
      Our baseball game was postponed. We are getting rain from the hurricane. They did not think we would get this much. But, we need it desperately. It has been raining all day.
      I am counting the hours to watch the debate tonight. This ought to be a doozie.
      That is exactly what I meant….the song We Need a Little Christmas….LOL I bet if you tell Piper, she will make up new lyrics for her new song!
      I hope Greg had fun playing golf, as it seems he doe snot have much more time to play.
      I need a nap. between the trip to see my BIL ( an hour to get there), and the rain, I cannot keep my eyes open……where is my Southern Belle sofa????
      Hope your day is going well.
      Adele

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      It is hard to get to sleep especially if they play a really good game. The cubs do deserve to win this time around. They have not won in such a long time and it is time. At least they will accept that the curse is over. I am not sure if that is the problem but everyone keeps saying that it is.
      Snoopy is getting into enough trouble that is for sure. Ron is thinking of getting another one of the puppies to keep this on company. That is all we need. He wants to give Austin to a friend of ours that really likes him and would take care of him. He just will not get use to the puppy and will not let him alone. We are afraid that he will hurt him. We never thought that he would be that mean to little snoopy.
      I just feel so bad for Kendall. I hope that she does not have any more of the stomach aches. That must be so hard to go to school and get sick over it. I hope that they figure out a way to help her. I am glad that Lachlan is feeling okay. That is so nice that Piper gets to go the bakery with her dad. Probably makes her feel special.
      We have the reenactment of the civil war every year. They do the battle at Pilot Knob. Melissa had to film it one year when she was in high school. She did pretty good. But I would say that I am her mom. We have gone to that in Mindin Nebraska. They had an old school and a town. It was really interesting.They did some reenactment about how things were in the early days. They also do that at Branson. They have wood carving and all that stuff. I guess that was silver dollar city. When we went to Shepherd of the hills they had a hold up. They stopped the trolley that we were riding and took one of the passengers off the trolley. They had a lot of shooting and it was just funny.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
      p.s. That is funny about your mom. It was nice that she offered to churn the butter for that woman.

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      Thank God that your sister in law can be cured. God does answer our prayers. It will be nice when she gets out of the hospital and can go see her husband. It is so nice that you went to see him. I know that it was hard for you and Gary. That is just so sad.
      I am glad that you are now getting the much needed rain. I hope that it helps the drought that you have been in. It is nice that you are just getting the rain and that the hurricane has gone around you. I hope that it is headed out to sea again. It would be great. It has already caused enough damage.
      That is funny that Steph does not mind that rat and spider. I guess it is a good thing since she has two boys. And a grandma that likes those things also. lol Does JJ play with them at all? He is such a good kid. We are all lucky to have such good grands.
      We will keep praying for your sil and bil and hope that things get better for that family soon. Will pray for the kids they could use some prayers also.
      The puppy is ten weeks old. He is just a little one. He sure can get into things though. It is always a job to train them. Ron is talking about getting another puppy. He thinks that will keep the other one company. We will see what happens.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      Is Shepherd of the Hills in Branson too? It sounds familiar. Is that the place where they had the big Noah’s Ark show?
      How do you feel about Ron wanting to give Austin away? I would think you would be attached to him.
      Two puppies at the same time would be a lot of work. We always had a dog that was a little older and then the puppy kind of learned from them. Plus we never had outside dogs-our dogs were strictly indoor. They were never outside off a leash unless one of us were with them. I would be too afraid an animal would get them or they would get hit by a car or someone would take them. Actually I believe it’s illegal to let your dog run loose around here even though we live in the country. They are okay as long as they are on your own property but they cannot roam around everywhere. Plus we have had big dogs and small dogs and the small ones could never be alone outdoors-someone would eat them. You even have to watch for hawks.
      I think Kendall will be okay after she gets a little older. Everybody’s off today so Lachlan has an extra day to recuperate.
      I’m watching The Chew and they are at Disney again. I remember last year they were there the week after we got back and it is the same this year. I can’t believe that vacation was already a year ago. Where does the time go? I’m ready for another fun vacation. Especially since I missed my vacation up north this year.
      Did you get your test scheduled yet? How are you feeling in the meantime?
      Could you imagine Ron and Greg trying to talk to each other-they would only hear half of what each other said. That could be interesting. lol
      Gail
      I’m ready for game number three tonight. It doesn’t start until 8:30. Yikes! I will need toothpicks for my eyes.

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      I hope that you got that nap in yesterday. It’s good that you got the rain as you really needed it. I hope it helped the drought situation.
      I know it is hard to see your BIL like that but it makes you feel good and sad at the same time after the visit. He may not even realize that his wife is not coming by.
      I’m glad to hear the lymphoma is treatable. I will keep praying for a total and speedy recovery for your SIL.
      We went out for pizza last night and I kind of forgot that the debates were on. I did see about a half hour of them. That was weird how Donald was pacing around the stage. The whole thing kind of gives me a headache. Now we know that he is a dirty old man on top of everything else. Imagine how his wife feels knowing he was talking like that shortly after they were married.
      You know if you ever wanted to get a small dog you could train them to potty on a puppy pad and they would never have to go outside. My SIL was never able to train her yorkie to go outside but she would go on a potty pad. With a tiny dog like that it’s hardly any mess at all. Not much different than a cat with a cat box. I know a lot of people with small dogs in city high rises do the same thing. Just a thought.
      How is the stocking coming? Did you make one for all the grands and great grands? My MIL made really cute ones for our kids. I still am amazed at how professional looking your pillows turned out. You could have been a seamstress and a baker!
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi Colleen
      Wow- now you will have 2 puppies. Will they be trained by the winter? I have no idea on how that goes, as I never had a dog.
      thank you for the prayers. Everyone needs them, as it is so terribly sad. Even though they say it is curable, I still get nervous about it.
      JJ plays with the rat and spider too. Aizen makes one chase the other, which I think is real funny.
      the rain stopped early this morning. They say we got about 2 inches, which will help a little.
      It is chilly up here, but, the sun is shining, which is nice.
      Gary has another infection. I told him on Wednesday that he did not look good. So, it took until Saturday night for a fever to start. Last night, the fever was higher, so he finally called this morning. they put him right on an antibiotic again. I wish that man would listen to me, when I tell him he does not look good. Men!
      hope your day is going well.
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi Gail
      Read my post to Colleen for the Gary up-date.
      I really would love to have a tiny puppy. I am just so afraid of having to stoop down all the time to clean up a mess….LOL So, are yorkies hard to train?
      How is Lachan today? I hope better.
      I thought he looked extremely aggressive with all the pacing last night. I told Gary I thought after this is over, his wife will divorce him. So should his daughter. He is such a slime. Did you see the View this morning? they were wild over it.
      Hope your day is going well. I am swiffering floors today.
      thank you for the compliments on the pillows. I really love to do them, and enjoy doing different designs with the trims.
      Adele

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      Did ya catch the 6 easy pay on fashion day today? It’s the last fashion day before the holidays so they put all fashion & accessories on 6 easy pay today. I ordered 2 pair of QF pants, one pair of denim & co., & one kitty holiday QF top. That’s the only way I can afford to buy anything is on 5 or 6 easy pay.

      We had a soggy Sunday out here. Nothing compared to the East coast tho. I hope you’re all okay. IT’s a beautiful day today thru Wed. From Thurs. thru the weekend we’re expecting heavy rains. Altho out here, the weather is subject to change at any time. I just heard the snow level will be coming down to pass level in the mts. That doesn’t mean I’ll be getting any yet. I’m at sea level for the most part, but the temps will be dropping here too.

      I found out where those critters came from. Turns out my former next door neighbor, who got evicted, had a bad infestation, & so they came over here.
      I wondered where they came from cuz I hadn’t had any since the big spraying they did 3 or 4 yrs ago. I got on the elevator today with some guy & he noticed I was going to the 12th floor. He said he’d just been up there, & bombed the apt next door for the critters. When I got off the elevator I could smell the fumes from the apt. I’m still finding a few babies here & there, so I told management. I want them GONE!!!!!
      Since it was so soggy yesterday, I put up my Halloween window clings on my windows.
      I just upgraded to an iPhone 6 & I’m not sure if I want to keep it. My bill’s gonna be outrageous. I don’t know what to do.
      Well, that’s all for now.
      Take care.
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      Shepherd of the Hills is separate from Branson. It is on the way to Silver Dollar City but not exactly that far. It is hard to explain. They do have a tower that you can go up to the top and look out. They also have a zip line and a gift shop. Then you have to get on the trolley and ride into the part where they do the Shepherd of the Hills play and the hold up. It is interesting and fun to go to. They also have that outside place to eat and they do some type of show with horses while you are eating. We decided not to do that because the day we were there it was windy and the smell from the horses was a little too strong. The Noahs Arc show is in a theater. It is in Branson and it is right by a hotel but I cannot remember exactly where it was. That was in Branson though.
      I am not sure how I feel. If he would quit trying to hurt the puppy it would be different. He is still doing that and we have to watch him and make sure that he leaves him alone. We try to give each of them the same amount of attention but he is just too jealous. He was jealous of Biskit also but Biskit was here first and she could take care of herself. She knew that we loved her and was not as jealous as he was. I do not know what is wrong with him. I think it will be okay with two puppies. We will keep them outside during the day and let them in during the night. Snoopy had never been in the house until we got him and he has a hard time with it. The poor little guy missed his siblings and has to stay in the house at night.
      Where we are the houses are so far apart that they usually never make it to someones house. They like to run in the woods and go to Ruth and Joe’s house. That is because they give the dogs treats all the time. They said that after they give them a treat they tell them to go home and they go. That is the other dogs we had. Ron is hoping to teach Snoopy to stay in the yard.
      I watched the chew also. It is funny that Daphne did not bring her family with her to Disney. Her little girl would love it. Unless she did not have them out because todays show was at night. I like it when they are at Disney.
      Well that is about all from here have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      You got a lot of rain that is good. I hope that you get some more until you have what you need. We have not had any rain for awhile so we probably need more.
      I am sorry to hear that Gary has another infection. That poor guy. It seem like infections are getting harder to get rid of.Men never listen to anything we say. They are a pain. They never listen to anything. I hope that he is drinking a lot of water now. It is hard to drink water When there is so many other good things to drink around.
      It is hard when when someone has a disease like that. It is hard to believe that they will be alright. Prayer will bring her thru.
      I am not sure if you asked this or if Gail did.So I will put it on here and Gail will read it. They have not scheduled the test yet and they still have not given me the results of my blood tests. The doctor is really good but the nurse is not the best in the world. She never calls back until you call the office three or four times.
      I wonder if Aizen lets JJ play with the rat and spider very much. He really likes that. I can see it now JJ having to grab them really quick before Aizen finds them. Are you ready for Halloween? We are not sure what we are going to do this year. We may not give out candy this year. We are going to just stay home. When we are at home no one comes here the houses are too far apart.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      Glad you were able to get some Quacker on 6 easy pay day.
      Hope the critters are gone for good now.
      I don’t know anything about iphones as we have Samsungs but not the ones that are bursting into flames fortunately. Can’t you get a plan that fits your needs? I’m not really sure how that all works. It seems to change so rapidly.
      Like the butterfly with the pink.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      Did you and Ron ride the zip line at Shepherd of the Hills? lol The show with the horses sounds interesting. There are lots of good shows in Branson.
      As to Austin-some dogs just do not get along well with others. Is he neutered? I hope that he doesn’t hurt the puppy.
      I wonder if The Chew will have all their shows on at night. I remember last year they had them during the day and they really seemed to be hot and sweating a lot. Maybe they will do them at night when it is a little cooler.
      I am lucky. Our doctor has a place where you can sign up to have your tests so that you can see the results online. So I can see if anything is high or low when I get my bloodwork done. Maybe you will get that eventually.
      We used to help Jenny take the kids out on Halloween but didn’t have to do it the last couple of years as it was on a weekend. I see this year it is on a Monday so we may go and help her again if she needs us.
      I wish the Cubs had put the Giants away last night. I am so tired. I fell asleep on the couch and woke up at the top of the 8th. Then they tied it and went into extra innings and i stayed up until it ended in the 13th inning. It was about 1:45 by then and then I was wide awake again. Now I am just dragging. I may need a nap. lol
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      I’m sorry that Gary has another infection. I wonder if those surgeries stir up more bacteria or something. Tell him he has to start listening to Dr. Adele-she knows best.
      I did see The View yesterday. They are having a great time with this election season. Personally I’ll be glad when it’s all over and hopefully Donald will not end up being president. He’s scary. Billy Bush ended up being collateral damage in the whole tape scandal thing-he is been suspended from the Today show indefinitely-I doubt he will ever be back. However, I didn’t think he was a good fit anyway so maybe the powers that be were already looking for a way to get rid of him and this just fell into their lap. But I hate to see someone lose their job too. They should have never moved him from Access Hollywood or wherever he came from.
      I find most small dogs take longer to housebreak than larger dogs for some reason. I think my SIL had a hard time with her Yorkie because she worked full time and her husband worked part time and someone was not home often enough when they were trying to housebreak her. Anyway, I think there is something on the potty pads that attracts the dog to go there so they had no problem having her use that. I know Jenny’s SIL is having a rough time housebreaking their puppy too but i think that may be from lack of consistency as they also have four small children and she may not be able to dedicate the time that she needs to training.
      I hope that Gary is feeling better today. Sorry about the Red Sox. Now he can root for the Cubs.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Guest
      Post count: 58

      Hi GAil
      I was devastated by the Red Sox’s loss. We all wanted them to go out with a bang, for Big Papi. He us such a good man, father, and player. An all around good man, who does a lot of donations for kids in need. I really hate to see him go. Everyone was crying when he war on the mound saying goodbye- even the Papi himself. Not a dry eye in Boston last night.
      the girls on the View have been hysterical. Not to mention Stephen Colbert, and the rest of the night crew. I will also be glad when it is over, if that crazy man does not win. the only good thing he is doing, is giving all the comedians material for their routines.
      I still want a little doggie, but with all going on here, I cannot even seriously consider it yet. By the time I do it, I will be too old to get the poop of the puppy pads…..LOL
      I never saw that Billy Bush on anything. We watch Steve Harvey and The View while we have breakfast, and wait for Frankie to get here from the warehouse.
      It is chilly here, but the sun was shining- that is always good.
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hello Fellow Quackers!
      You will not believe what I did yesterday. As I have a double oven stove, there is no storage draw. Plus, with all the Temptations I got, I need places to store them. So, most baking pans are stored in both ovens, and I empty them when in use. Also in the bigger of the 2 ovens, is my bag with half sheet parchment papers, which I use not just for baking, but even to line pans for some meats.
      Well. I think you know where I am going here. Used the smaller top oven last night to broil the hamburgers. A simple supper, with little clean up for Adele….perfect you would think.. NOT.
      So, when I took out the burgers, I did not see that one was red on the outside, and needed tog o back in. Oven went back on. Element was not turning red. Adele was puzzled. Kept looking to see what was up- controls were correctly set (not), or so I thought. Then the smell came. I opened the bottom oven, and the fire was raging. Immediately closed it, as that is the only thing that saves you from an oven fire- shut the door, and it will burn itself out. Thank God I remembered that one!
      What a mess. Parchment paper, and the plastic bag were burned, and little pieces of black soot were flying everywhere….after the fire was out. Smoke alarms were blaring. I had Gary and Tillie open all the windows to stop the noise, and put on the hood fan. As I was the only able bodied person in the house, (and able bodied I am also not) I had to clean it all. Tillie cannot bend down into the oven, and Gary was still so sick from the infection. I sent Tillie downstairs, as it was way too cold up here for her with all the windows open. Gary sat in the kitchen to keep me company. After a while I told him he may as well go in his chair.
      It took quite a while to get all the “flying parchment soot”. Every time I thought I had it all cleaned up, I saw more. Finally got it all cleaned up, and my back an neck were killing me. Bobby came home, and yelled…what the hell is going on????? He has now deemed me a danger in the kitchen.
      Honestly, I have never done anything like that. But, the night before, because Gary was so sick, he woke me up all night long. I think I was just too tired, and made an almost deadly mistake.
      Ordered new parchment paper from King Arthur company this morning. I do not think it will EVER be stored in an oven again. Also lost a plastic cover to one of my Temptations baking pans. Called Sears for a repair on the oven as the element burned- they cannot come out until Monday. told them….this is why all my appliances are now coming from Best Buy. I only have the stove and dishwasher left from Sears, and when they go, so does Sears. Told that to Sears too. Called them today, to see if anyone cancelled- now I have an appointment on Friday. I will call them again tomorrow, to see if I can get one earlier. My contract with Sears is over on October 18th- boy was I lucky it was before then.
      So, no therapy baking can be done here, unless it can go in the microwave. Dam. I did research new oven form Best Buy- picked out the one I will get, Justin case. Lucky for me, my Consumer Reports just did an article on ovens. I am hoping it can be fixed, and they will not charge me for being an idiot. Should they do so, I will be on my way to Best Buy, and Gary will be crying. this is what kills me…..I only have 2 more payments on my zero % financing on the fridge from Best Buy. I was looking forward to that. I am still hoping I will not have to get a new one. Also hoping this will not be the typical Sears repair- we need to order a part, and it will come in within 4 weeks. I cannot go without an oven that long. So, I take responsibility for being the dumbest Quacker, ever. Who puts plastic, and paper in an oven to store?????
      So, tonight I did the crock pot roast, and it does always come out good. After Bobby went downstairs, he yelled up……”Hey Ma, that was the best roast you ever made. It was so good it tasted like it was smoked. Oh, yeah, it was smoked”, as he laughed his chubby butt off, from downstairs. Another story they will tell at my funeral some day. I really need to stop giving them so much material for my Memorial…..LOL
      Love, dumb old Adele.

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi Colleen!
      I wrote a novel on another post, so please read it, and laugh. You need a l good laugh.
      I hope they get that test scheduled for yo, so you can get some help with your stomach. This is just awful.
      do you believe I still have to remind him to drink water????? No wonder I am so tired, I am making ridiculous mistakes.
      I am ready to make those cute Ghost meringue cookies, and even have these cool little boxes to put them in. So, I hope the oven gets fixed. that would really tick me off, as I love making those for the kids.
      It is chilly here. House still smells a little funky, even though I aired it out as much as I could, and lit candles. It was just too chilly to leave all the windows open all day long. I had the kitchen one cracked all day, until it got dark, and colder. We had a frost last night, and it will get cold again tonight.
      Hope you are good, and making better decisions than I am…..LOL
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi DD!
      So glad you came on to post,. so we know how you are. I am glad you got yourself a couple of tops, as the 6 value pays were great. I got myself that neck pillow, in the hopes it will make my neck feel better at night.
      read my funny post on what I did yesterday, that could have ended in disaster. I certainly had an Angel on my shoulder!
      I do not have a smart phone. I have the old fashioned kind that doe snot go on the internet, but it does have a pull out keyboard, so I can text.
      You posted 2 of my favorites on your pictures- Snoopy, and the red cardinal. You always post such pretty, happy pictures- thank you for that.
      I hope you got rid of the bug problem. Just not fair that someone brings them in, and you all have to deal with it. I hope your ordeal witht he bugs is done. You are in my prayers, every night, like all my Quacker buddies!!
      Love you, DD!!!!
      Adele

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      There is no way that we rode on that zip line. We did go up in the tower and Ron looked out. I did once but told him all I could see was the top of the trees so I was done. It really makes me nervous to be up high like that. So we came back down and went on the trolley to see the rest of the sites.
      I ordered the blankets for my sils and they are already on the way.I am so glad that they are. So that is three more gifts out of the way. I still have the three kids to buy for. I really need to get their gifts bought. Will look for them this week and see what I can find. I would like to get the things for the baby and get that over with. I was going to get her an American Girl doll but decided that she is to young for one of those. Even the baby ones that they have they say are for kids three and up. So now I will have to find something else. It is hard to find a doll for her age.
      Well last night I did not get to see who was voted off the show. For some reason the dvr cut the thing short. I got to see Sasha and I can never remember her name dance and they went to join the others to see who was in jeopardy. So what happened. I cannot find out anywhere.
      I cannot stand to watch the game when it goes into overtime. It just seems to go on and on forever. I like to watch the last game of the series and that way there is not as much tension.lol Just hope that the cubs win.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      You really made me laugh. I would have been the same way. I cannot store anything in my oven for that reason. I have ruined a handle to a skillet once because I put it in the oven and forgot. I cannot imagine how bad the smell was. It was good that you could open the windows and get some of the smell out of the house. Of course Bobby had to aggravate you about it he is a kid. Well at least one of your kids. They seem to like to remind us of some of the dumb things that we have done. All we can do is remind them of a dumb thing that they have done if not recently when they were kids.
      I can believe that you still have to remind him to drink water. He is a man and they never want to do what they should. They like to drive us crazy. You would think after they have been sick they would not want to have that happen again. I hope that the antibiotics help with the infection and he gets better real soon.
      That would be sad if you cannot bake the cookies that your kids like. There is always next year though or you could bake them after Halloween and they still would enjoy them. They have to fix that oven quickly they have taken away your therapy for when you need it. You may have to make fudge on top of the stove. That would help some.
      It is chilly here also. It is nice though. We have not had a frost yet though. It will won’t frost here until the end of October or the first of November. Then we get really cold and it will stay that way until spring. That is the way it is supposed to be but then you never know if it will work like that or not. It depends on if we have crazy weather this year or not.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      Love the pictures that you posted. They are so bright and cheerful. We all need that right now. Wish the whole world would be bright and cheerful now and quit with all the negative things that are going on.
      I am glad that you got to buy some quacker yesterday. They had a lot of nice things on that show. I still have not bought anything. I may buy something later. All of my easy pays will be paid off this month. That is so nice. Then I will have some with the food that I bought for the Christmas season.
      That is terrible that you are still finding bugs. Hope if they spray again they will get the rest of them It is pretty common to have some babies still around. It is aggravating but it still happens. At least that person moved and you will not have anymore bugs.
      I have an i phone but I have att go phone plan. I can pick what I want to pay for it. My bill is not that high but I do not have the internet on mine. I do not use the internet on my phone when I had it before. So I just got rid of it. We have internet at home and that is enough for me. Then internet on my phone did not work that well when I was at home because of where we live. So anyway I just got rid of it.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I don’t like to go up to high places either. You should see me any time that we drive through mountains. I am almost sitting on the floor of the car-and meanwhile Greg is driving and looking out the window and saying how pretty everything is-and I am telling him to keep his eyes on the road. lol It makes for interesting trips.
      I think your SIL’s will love the blankets-they are so soft. One word of caution-if they are the one’s that I am thinking of don’t use fabric softener with them. I’m sure there will be washing instructions on the tags.
      I would think that you should be able to find a soft bodied baby doll for Aliza. She is definitely too little for the American Girl dolls. I would google soft body dolls and see what comes up. Or dolls for babies-they have lots of cute things.
      To tell you the truth I have not seen DWTS this week because of the baseball games. I have it copied and hopefully will finally get to watch it today.
      The Cubs won last night so they will advance to the next playoff. You would think a team that has the best record in baseball-like they do- would not have to go through all these playoff games. It is so nerve wracking. Now I can relax for a couple of days at least. lol They sure did spray a lot of champagne in the locker room last night-everyone was soaking wet.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Oh Adele,
      Thank goodness that you didn’t burn the whole house down. No more parchment paper in the oven! How sad though that now you have a burnt element. Are both ovens affected? Can you use the one that didn’t have the fire for baking? I hope that you can get it fixed promptly. We had hamburgers the same night but Greg grilled them outdoors.
      Tell Bobby that nobody likes a wise guy! lol
      You know I stopped burning real candles a couple of years ago for the same reason. I was afraid I would forget to blow them out now that I am a bit older. I always used to burn candles and loved them but now I just use flameless candles all over. If I want a scent I have one of those electric wax melters that I use for scents as that is the part that I miss from the real candles.
      I hope that Gary is getting better.
      I am sad-Quacker had a show at 1:00 A.M.-there was a shirt and one of the motifs was dogs puling a sled-it was a new design of this particular shirt and by the time I saw the show this morning that shirt was sold out and it is the only order of the year. I will have to remember that and keep an eye out for it next season. I am a sucker for all of their dog designs.
      Hope that your smoky smell has dissipated.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      hi Brenda
      You may have bought tunic’s. Also, how tall are you? I am 5 ft. 2 inches, a nd the tunic’s come longer on me. Do you sew? I do, and if I am not comfortable with a length, I make a small hem. But, to tell you the truth, I do not mind them longer, as they cover the who ha, as they say.
      It sounds like the longer length does not work for you. Make sure you check the top is not a tunic, before buying next time. They do also have some shirts that are shorter.
      here is another suggestion- if it is cotton, you can put it in the dryer, and it will shrink- just make sure you have it inside out first.
      I do not know if anything I suggested helped, but I hope it did, as Quacker has so many beautiful things, and we love new Quackers!
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Gail
      I am pretty sure I can use the smaller oven, but I will not leave the kitchen if I do. Tonight I made a vegie soup, and added the hamburger I did not use. So, I will make a package of those Grands with it, and hope the oven works ok. I am so sorry I did not grill ours….LOL
      I think the smell is gone. The oven does smell, if you open it-yuck.
      I guess as we age we really have to check twice, on everything. I will have to find a new place for the parchment paper. The dam cabinets are full, and I want the paper to stay flat, so it will not curl when I use it. I will have to be creative about where it will go, I guess.
      Tillie was up, and saw the 1am show. Isn’t that funny?? Not me- I was out cold.
      Hope your day is going well!
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Colleen and Gail
      Macy’s used to have a cute little soft body doll, and I bet they still have one.
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Colleen!
      Bobby thinks he is real funny. When he came home last night, he said…..how is the smokehouse going? He has been laughing his big butt off over this.
      Honestly, I feel like Gary’s mother, not his wife. I do not get why this has become such an issue. He keeps saying he is not thirsty, and cannot drink if he is not.
      I never thought of making fudge. that may be my new “therapy”, should the oven become an issue. I just hope thye replace the element Friday, and do not do the “we have to order a part thing”. I will scream.
      Hope everyone at your place is behaving themselves. How is Snoopy? I think the Peanuts great Pumpkin show is on soon- I heard some commercial, but, do not remember what day they said.
      It is still chilly here, but we did not have a freeze last night.
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Colleen- you did not miss who got voted off, as they did not vote anyone off….LOL
      Adele

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hey Adele-who’s Brenda? Is she your new invisible friend? Or are you hallucinating from too much smoke? Or am I blind as i don’t see any posts by her.
      Tell Gary to sip water or some sort of liquid-juice, pop coffee, tea something all day long even if he doesn’t feel thirsty or I will come over there and give him “what for.”
      You may have to store the parchment someplace unusual-like the linen closet or with the wrapping paper. I’m sure that you will think of something.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Gailster!!
      I got a post on this thread from her. You didn’t? I am going to look further up, to see if it is here, before I submit this one.
      Found it- it is dated the 12th, But it is inserted next to a post from you on the 3rd. That is really weird.
      Is there an issue with postings? It should not be that far away from the date posted????
      Adele

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      Well, did you see the QF Tee shirt show this AM with Mary Beth? They sure had some real cute tops.

      It was 54 yrs ago today we had a really bad wind storm. Ironically we call it the Columbus Day storm. It did a lot of damage, if there had been
      a funnel cloud, it would’ve been a tornado for sure. I was 12 at the time & mom put us in the back bedroom. I could see shingles flying off the
      roof, & other debris flying thru the air. We lived on a dead end gravel road in a small town SE of here. It was like living in the country. We lived 100+
      miles from Portland. We lived next to an open field & we watched it move in a semi circular motion. I don’t remember rain, just a lot of wind. I think Portland took a bigger brunt of it than we did down there.
      And now it looks like we’re in for it this week, starting tomorrow. There’s a series of storms out in the Pacific heading right for us. I’m gonna be hibernating for the next few days. We’re in for what they’re calling “copious amounts of rain” over the next 4-5 days. Nov. is usually our rainiest month of the yr, but Oct is giving it a run this weekend. I guess we’re making up for the lack of rain we’ve had in the past. I think the wildfire season is well over now.
      Now it’s local flooding we have to be concerned about. I don’t have to cause I’m on higher ground, the 12th floor.

      Gail, there was a lady who wrote on this site asking for help for a tunic that is too long. I got it on my notifications of new emails. She isn’t invisible.

      OMG, Adele!!! Are you okay? I bet you won’t do that again!! I keep my clean(!) fry pans in my oven, but I ALWAYS check to make sure it’s clear
      before I turn the oven on. I’m strapped for space for large things like the fry pans so that’s why I keep em in there. I’m glad you have a sense of humor
      about it, but it could’ve been for sure!!! What am I going to do with you, girl??! I guess I’ll have to come out there & keep my eye on you. Lol
      I never have liked Sears. I bought some pants from them & the first time I washed em the hem came out of one of the legs & found whoever made
      em wadded up a bunch of material before sewing up the hem. I’ve never bought anything from them again.

      I’ve been moving things around in here, & so far so good. Jewell isn’t happy about it tho. she doesn’t like it when I move things around. Cats don’t like
      change.
      Have any of you noticed that on the Christmas shows on the Q they keep showing the same things over & over? It’s like they’re trying to get rid of
      their inventory in the warehouse. Nothing new yet.
      Guess that’s all for now
      Stay safe everyone.
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi again, ladies,
      I found this info on the 1962 Columbus day storm I spoke about. Get a load of those wind speeds. I had no idea. We lived
      south of Salem we were further away from the really big winds. But there was lots of damage, downed trees, power out,
      & as fast as it came it was gone. We haven’t had one that bad since. Until now. I’ll keep ya posted.
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      If I was riding in the mountains and said something to Ron he would just laugh at me and make it worse. He has no sympathy for me when he knows that I am afraid of something. He is such a trouble maker.lol
      I will tell them not to use fabric when they dry those blankets. I have a couple of blankets made out of that material so will warn them. They may also have some like it. I cannot wait to get them. I am really excited. I will get to keep one also. So that worked out really nice. I may wrap one up and put it under the tree for me. lol They really looked cute.
      I cannot believe that right after Christmas Aliza will be one. The time has just flown by. She is such a little cutie. All of us have really cute grand kids. I cannot believe how fast time has flown by this year. Her birthday is January 18th. So it is hard to buy a toy for her because she is at the in between age. I will look on the internet and see if I can find her a soft doll. I thought that last year they had a soft cabbage patch doll. Did anyone else see it or was this all in my mind. She had a soft face and body. I just hope that I can find one that I want.
      I saw that the cubs won. They really did have a lot of champagne flying all over the place there. I wonder if they ever drink any of it. I hope that they all have goggles on so they did not get any in their eyes. I do not like they way they have the play offs set up now. They have to play too long before they get to the world series. I do not understand why they did that. It was so much easier when they just did the play offs once and then played the world series. They do not always change things for the better.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
      Colleen
      GO CUBS!!!

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      You really need to get something on Bobby so you can tease him. Then maybe you can call a truse. Kids can be so mean to their mom’s lol I am glad that the smell is not in the house any more just in the oven. Have you tried putting lemon juice in the oven? That is what I do to my microwave so it does not have odors from the things that I heated in there. You just have to get it warm. It would be worth a try.
      I would put a pitcher of water on the sink in the kitchen. Tell him that he has to drink that before he can drink anything else. My mom’s doctor did that to her because she was not drinking enough water.We had been telling her that for awhile but when the doctor told her she listened. Maybe that would help. Maybe you could get his doctor to tell him to drink that much and he would do it then.
      I think that Snoopy and the Great Pumpkin comes on next week. Will have to start watching for it. I love to watch those shows. Our Snoopy gets into as much trouble that he can. He drives me crazy crying at night. That can be a real pain. He has his stuffed animal that he sleeps with and is happy with it during the day but at night he has a fit. It will get better I know but when will that happen.
      I got that post from Brenda also. She was not happy that the tops were so long. She must not have understood about a tunic. It is hard to find one that is not that long if you are short. I am like you the more my top will cover the better. Sometimes I would not mind if it came down to my knees. Maybe she will start chatting with all of us.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I just think the time flies faster the older we get. It does seem like it was just yesterday that Aliza was born. Piper and Kendall have birthdays close to Christmas too. Pip is Dec. 21 and Kendal is Jan. 16. It’s especially hard to have a birthday party for Piper as it is so close to Christmas and people are so busy then. My SIL has a birthday on Dec. 26th but growing up her Mom was always good about making sure that she had two separate celebrations and presents for both days. She was lucky as many people will combine the two days when they are that close together.
      There should be lots of choices in soft baby dolls for a one year old. I find the best way to save a lot of time is to research it online rather than to chase all over looking for one item. I don’t know if I ever saw a cabbage patch baby with a soft head-but the vinyl heads should be pretty safe too and the bodies are soft. I’m sure you should be able to find something that you like for her.
      I got an e-mail from Brent about the Cubs too. I had sent him some Cubs shirts and some cherry vitamins after Adele said that they were good for gout and Brent had just had another occurrence of that. Now he says his elbows are bothering him so I wonder if he is getting some bursitis or something. He said his girlfriend just got out of four days in the hospital with pneumonia and she came home with oxygen-so I guess by comparison I was lucky. I don’t know if it’s because I had it-so I am paying more attention-but I have heard of so many people with pneumonia lately.
      I hope little Snoopy is starting to sleep better. Is Ron still thinking of getting another puppy?
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      I heard that there was going to be a lot of rain in the northwest and thought of you and our other Quacker friend from Medford. Also our daughter’s MIL who is out with her daughter in Washington right now while her daughter’s husband is deployed.
      I think we may have gotten our first frost this morning. Brrrrr!
      I agree, the Christmas shows on the Q have been pretty lackluster. Maybe I have just been watching QVC for too long and have just seen it all. It seems like there have not been as many Christmas decorating shows as there used to be.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      Brenda probably hit the reply button at the bottom of my post and that’s why it landed up there. I’m with you and Colleen-as far as I’m concerned the longer the top is the better. I like butt and belly coverage. lol Brenda must be little.
      Of course I never saw the post because no one was ever able to figure out why I don’t get the notifications in my Yahoo mail. That still ticks me off because now if I want to see if someone replied on my phone I have to go into this site to look. No one can figure out what happened or how to correct it so I am just stuck.
      If you did get a new oven what kind did you have picked out?
      Last night I was making a quiche but could not find the book with my original recipe so I had to wing it a bit-and everything turned out fine. But now the question is what happened to that cookbook. It was one of my very first ones and one of my favorites. It is not on the shelves with any of my others and I cannot imagine that I would have ever thrown that one out-so the mystery is-where is it?
      I finally got to watch DWTS last night-they all looked surprised when Tom said there would be no elimination-so maybe they didn’t know. In my next life I want to come back tall and with long legs like Erin Andrews or Cat Deeley.
      It is definitely chilly enough here today to wear one of my Halloween sweatshirts today. Had a frost last night.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi Gail
      Today was a little warmer than yesterday. I think in the next couple of days, the temp is supposed to dip way down. If we gout with Ron and Joyce, I will be able to wear one of the sweatshirts. I hope we will be able to go-depends on how Gary feels.
      I hope Brenda answers us, as I am curious to see if she is tiny too. I forgot to ask her what state she comes from.
      I just read the article in my Consumer reports magazine, and they said the best 30 inch, convection/double oven is LG. I love LG, as I love my fridge, and washer. They are great products. I told Gary I will be fully dressed, so I can go to Best Buy, should Sears piss me off tomorrow…..LOL Gary is scared. I really do hope I do not have to go, as it would be so easy to have it fixed tomorrow. But, my life never works out that way.
      Did Greg move your cookbook??? this is a mystery we will need to get up-dated on!
      By the way, I think Trump is having a melt down. I cannot believe that people are still behind him, as he is sounding like a total loon.
      Hope your night goes well….there is a lot to record tonight on TV.
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      hi Colleen
      You are right.. Snoopy is coming on next week. I saw the commercial last night for it. Gary hates those shows, and I am amazed that anyone does It seems un-American.
      I do need to get something on Bobby. It is hard, as he is such a good cook. I just have to lay in wait- sooner or later I will get a good one.
      Thank you for the ideas on the smell in the oven. But, I am deathly afraid to put it on, until it is fixed. I was even afraid to put the smaller oven on last night to do the biscuits. I stayed in the kitchen while they were baking. nothing happened, thank God.
      I was hoping Brenda would chat too. I guess we will have to wait and see.
      Hope you have a good night!
      Adele

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hi DD!!
      OMG- we will be praying like crazy for you to be safe, and keep your electricity on. Our weather man here does not say too much about what is happening in your area. So, I had no idea you had storms on the way. Please stay safe……do not do “an Adele”…..LOL
      I cannot believe I did that. I swear I had an Angel looking out for me, that the fire stayed confined. I just remembered that you shut the oven and the power, and it will eventually burn itself out, form lack of oxygen.
      Will you be watching the Snoopy Great Pumpkin show next week? I love that cartoon, and always have, since I was a teenager.
      I have also noticed there is nothing that has attracted my attention form the Christmas shows. I thought it was me. I hope they bring in some cool new stuff. Last year they had this adorable throw that had a hood, and the hood was an animal head. I got one for each of the kids, and they were acting like they were 3 with them. It was so funny. I have not seen anything I can get for them yet.
      hope your night is going well, and you are safe and sound.
      Adele

    • Barbara Smith
      Participant
      Post count: 418

      Hello Ladies. Kind of cooler here today; leaves are fluttering to the ground and the puppy dogs are rolling in the grass and enjoying the day. Adele, I am so glad that you caught that fire before it went any further. Sorry for all the trouble it has caused; but glad it isn’t worse than it is. I didn’t put the oven on like you did; but I did turn the wrong stove eye on (glass top stove) and Jerry walks in the kitchen and sits a plastic bag of groceries on the stove top and sets it on fire. I had been cleaning with some baking soda mixed with lemon juice earlier, so the box was sitting right next to the stove, so I threw the sack into the sink after drowning it with baking soda. I can so relate to all those little black things in the air and the smell. I am really bad to turn on one eye and be thinking it is the other. I hope you get things fixed real soon. My stove top is built into the counter top and the oven is in another place in the wall next to the stove top and sits right under the microwave space. You know, come to think of it, Jerry was our general contractor and when he was designing our home he didn’t really ask me many questions about my kitchen. The main thing I said absolutely no to was that the stove top be in the center of the kitchen on this island thing. I had him put the sink and dishwasher there, because I was too afraid the little ones might stick their hands up where that stove top was. I know now that he did most of the planning when we were building for his wants and needs on the outside of the house and his shops and those kind of things. I was too caught up in the cost of things (we saved all my salary for five years to pay on the house) course, still had to get a loan for when that was all used up, but sure wish I had put a lot more thought into things back then, but to be honest, at this point, I don’t care that much. Such a long paragraph for catching the sack on fire ha ha
      DD, just love your beautiful pictures. It must be beautiful where you live. My husband used to love to get runs there. Course, he was gone for days, but he said it is one of the most beautiful states he was ever in.
      How are you feeling Colleen? Did they ever call you with your lab results? Sure hope you are feeling better. Isn’t it hard to just sit and wait for someone to call and update you? My prayers are with you.
      Adele, does Gary eat ice by any chance? That helps some people to get in their water needs. Just a thought. Prayers coming your way too. I know there are some folks around your house wishing you were able to cook about right now. I know they are missing your delicious baking talents. I just love the smell of something warm and gooey on a cool fall day.
      Got to cut this short. Just got a call from Jerry that he has his Moms medicine all mixed up and he thinks the nurses at the assisted living are not doing this right, and guess who I think is the middle of the problem? LOL Sending good thought to you all. By the way; I love the Charlie Brown/Snoopy shows. Look forward to it every year. I don’t think I will ever grow up, and I’m not sure I want to ha ha Barbara

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      Just a note to let ya know I’m safe & sound. Did laundry most of the day. I tend to let it go for too long, then I end up doing it all afternoon.
      We’re in the throes of the 3 storms that are heading this way. The 3rd one which will hit Sat. is the strongest. It’s the tail end of what was
      once a cyclone in the Orient. They’re saying it’s the strongest storm to hit us in a decade. With all this rain, we’ll have local street flooding,
      due to the fallen leaves. The rivers are still pretty low from the summer, altho some of the rivers close to the coast could raise quickly.
      The coast is the place that’s getting the worst of it. They’re getting pummeled by the wind & heavy rains. It’s early for this kind of storms.
      They usually show up in Nov, Dec.
      If the power does go out around here, we have a backup generator since we have residents that are on oxygen & they have to have a
      generator for that.
      I will be watching the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. I’m a BIG CARTOON freak!!!! I have quite the collection of Disney, Looney Tunes/
      Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck; The Flintstones, cartoons from the 30s,40s, you name it I probably have it. So long as it’s the old ones!!! I play
      my tapes (VHS) & DVDs for days on end during the holiday season. I do my decorating, & my cards while I have them playing in the background.
      It’s probably a good thing I’m single. LOL
      I wish I could take credit for those pics, but I get em off of Pinterest, Face Book (newsfeed).
      Well, I guess that’s all for now.
      I’ll let ya know if we need to start building an ark.
      Take care.
      dd

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    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Barbara,
      Good to hear from you. I would think it would be easy to put on the wrong burner on the glass stove top when it is electric as you don’t really see it. I’m glad I have a gas cook top. I only ever used an electric cook top at my Mom’s and there is definitely a learning curve to getting used to one. I do have electric ovens and those are not so different from gas. I think I actually prefer electric for the oven. Thankfully I had a lot of input with where things went in the kitchen when we were building. The main thing that annoys me is that Greg and the contractor decided where to place the chandelier in the dining room as there is a design on the ceiling and for some reason they did not place it in the middle of the ceiling as they thought it would then not be in the middle of the table underneath. So the placement of the fixture is off kilter and looks goofy and it annoys me whenever i walk in there. Some day I will have to see if Greg can relocate it without too much patching of the ceiling. lol
      I hope eventually Jerry will be able to relax and realize that his Mom is in good hands. How is she liking her new place so far?
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      Good to hear that you haven’t blown away from the storms. Good thing you have that generator. Losing power is never fun.
      Have a good and safe weekend.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      I hope that you get to go out to eat and wear your Quacker finery.
      I hope that the oven gets fixed today. I didn’t realize that it was a regular/convection double. Mine is just two regulars. I think the upper one seems a little larger than the lower.
      I will have to be like Nancy Drew and solve The Mystery of the Disappearing Cookbook. I still find it odd that it is not in with the other cookbooks. I can’t imagine that I would have gotten rid of that one even if it was falling apart. Heck I still have my original crock pot cook book held together with a rubber band.
      Count me in on liking Snoopy/Charlie Brown too. Greg doesn’t like them and I tell him that is just downright UnAmerican. lol The old curmudgeon.
      Gail

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I don’t know if you’re hearing this out there, but a tornado touched down on the Oregon coast. It started out as water spout over the ocean
      then it moved inland & moved across Manzanita, Oregon along the coast. It did some incredible damage. Roofs taken off homes, trees down,
      power lines down. Right now there are 4 tornado warnings along the SW Wa. coast, Oregon coast. Extensive damage in Manzanita. People
      are sending in videos, pics to the local news stations & they’re showing what happened. I’m gonna try to see if I can send some pics to you
      guys.
      For now I’m safe. I’m approx. 100 miles from this. there’s a coastal mountain range between me & this damage. So far all we’ve had is lots
      of rain & wind. This is what I was telling ya about that happened in 1962. Except I don’t remember a tornado at that time. They’ve never talked
      about a tornado back then.
      I’ll keep ya posted on what’s going on out here. They’re saying the worst is yet to come Sat. Batten down the hatches.
      dd

    • Barbara Smith
      Participant
      Post count: 418

      Hey Girls. very cool and cloudy and gloomy here today. Just perfect weather for our reading room. I need a nice romantic love story, with a little suspense thrown in, and a happy ending. Dianne, please take care of yourself and get into a room with no windows if you have to. Tornadoes are not anything to take lightly. Unfortunately, we get our share of them in this area, and they just scare me so badly. I have gone to bed many a night fully clothed; including my socks; with my shoes, purse, medicines for us and a coat right next to the bed. I think Colleen gets quite a few too. If I had to do it again; I would make sure and build a tornado shelter in our garage. Please be safe.
      Adele, were you able to find me on facebook? I am not computer savvy at all; but there are some wonderful pictures of our sweet Colin. There is one on there of me holding him right after he was born. You know; I had on a diagonally striped long shirt (you know “smoking mirrors”). Well, I don’t care what kind of mirrors or smoke you put up I am still big and there is not enough smoke in the world to cover that up LOL. It just cracks me up when they say that and they say it all the time it seems like. Well, as usual, I’m wandering off subject. I absolutely love your picture of the orange Quacker shirt; looked great on you. I have an idea that I would like to send to someone in Quacker, (back to my original thought now) I wanted a Quacker shirt to wear the day he was born that said something like “This precious angel is my Grandbaby!” and we could have a pink one and a blue one. It should of course have sparkles all over and a cute little baby lying on his/her tummy all curled up sleeping. What do you all think of this idea? I think I will write to Angel and ask her if mabey they could do this.
      Gail, I much prefer a gas stove, but got talked into this one. I know what you mean about having your light fixture off center of your dining table. That would drive me crazy too. I know our fellows don’t see things like we do (but sometimes I think Jerry sees things great if it something that he wants) but little details make such a difference to us. And having to see it every time you pass by is just a reminder. Jerry and I have been together for so long. I got myself into a mood a few weeks ago when I just couldn’t change a darn lightbulb. I tried and tried, and the more I tried the more frustrated I became. It is the having to admit that things HAVE changed, and not wanted to accept some of it. But then I finally just said my only other choice was the step ladder; and all my common sense said Barbara don’t do that; its not worth the risk of falling off; so I waited for Joey to come by and he changed it quick as a bunny. So mabey you will be able to change it out one day; and even if you don’t, try not to look at the thing. LOL
      I also have lost a cookbook that I have had since we married. It also is held together by a rubber band, and I know that in spite of the fact that Jerry says “you probably just accidently tossed it out” I know I haven’t so we will just wait for our cookbooks to show up. Isn’t it funny how much of our lives are so intertwined?
      Jerrys Mom is doing really well. She goes on field trips and they do picnics in the garden area. Of course, bingo everyday, and the soaps on TV. They have a big recreation room where the TV is and she has her own TV in her room. She was telling Jerry that some of “those women” had stolen her bath towels, and he looked all around and finally found them under the sink right where he should have looked first. But the nurses say she has acclimated very well, not made friends so to speak yet, but is joining in on group activities. Today, they bring the puppy dog that lives there and visits each cottage on different days. She will really enjoy that.
      We are to have a nice weekend after today. Hope you all do too. How is Gary doing on his hydration? Better I hope. Dianne, be safe. Everyone gives your children, grands, and 4 legged friends hugs from their friend in Tennessee. Barbara

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I’m safe for now. I got some pics of the damage done by that tornado in Manzanita, along the Oregon coast. It’s pretty calm here right now.
      But that’s going to change tonight into tomorrow. We don’t get tornadoes that often, esp at the coast. They get a lot of wind & rain, but
      nothing like this.
      I’ll keep ya posted.
      dd

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    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Ladies,
      They sent me to a specialist today and he is going to do a endoscopy next Wednesday. I really do not want to have this done but it needs to be done so will have to quit whining and do it. They said that I will have to be there early probably around 6:30 am. So I should sleep really good when I get there. If they find anything that needs to be taken care of they will do it right then while they are down there. They give you a picture of the tool that they use and it looks too big to go down your throat. I guess in reality it is smaller then it shows so you can tell what it looks like in the picture.
      DD do they have a place for you to go if the winds get too strong? Just like Barbara said get into a room with no windows. They say the best place is the bathroom in a bathtub. I do not know if I could do that though. I want to see what is going on. Just be safe and get to safety if the storm is coming your way.
      Adele, How is Gary doing? I hope that he has gotten rid of his infection and is drinking water like he should. After our kids are grown we have to be moms to our husbands. If you put the hot lemon in the oven you do not heat it in the oven you heat it on the stove. Then set it in the oven. The steam will help with getting rid of the smell. Did Sears come and look at the stove today? I hope that they fixed it right away and you do not have to wait for them to get a part for it. You would think that they would have parts with them in their trucks.It is a shame that the do not think of that.
      Gail, I have heard that cherry juice is really good for a lot of joint pains. Ron took that when his hip was hurting him so bad. He said that it is not hurting him like it did. The Cubs are really doing well. I hope that they win this year. It is the Cubs turn to win the world series. Ron is not saying anything to me about who he wants to win. I told him that we are routing for the Cubs and he did not say anything. So we will see how he acts when they win.Brent will be happy to get that Cubs shirt. I hope that his girlfriend is doing better now. I wonder if she let that pneumonia go for too long before she went to the doctor. It can be really rough on people if you get it. You were lucky that it did not get any worse when you had it. How is Lachlan doing now? Hope that he is over the strep. I always think about Kendall. That is so sad that she get sick like that during the school year. Wish she could find a way to handle the stress.
      Barbara, It is so hard to burn things on the stove. I have not had one of those glass top stoves. I always have gas stoves cannot cook on an electric. It is hard to cook on one of them. It is too easy to burn things on them. I guess I have always used gas so am not use to cooking on an electric one. The place where Jerry’s mom is staying is really nice. That is so nice that they have all those activities. His mom will make friends before long. She will see these people all the time and they will start talking and doing things together. Even if it is just walking to bingo together. They really keep everyone busy there. That makes a big difference. We made the same mistake and did not build a storm shelter. You would think with all the storms that we have we would have thought of that. Oh well if we blow away with the wind we blow away. Maybe we will go to Oz,lol
      Gail I hope that you find your cook book. This is a mystery. Did you lend it to Jenny at one time and forgot about it? It will show up when you least expect it.
      DD I love all the pictures that you have been posting. The ones with the pictures are sad. Those poor people having to do all that clean up and get their lives back together. You just take care and find shelter if one is coming your way.
      Have a good night everyone.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I so sympathize with you. No one wants those tests where they are scoping out your insides. Unfortunately sometimes they are necessary in order to get better. Sometimes it just sucks! I will be praying that it is over quickly, that they don’t find anything bad and that they figure out what is wrong and fix it so you feel better. You have been suffering with this stomach issue for a long time now and we all want you to get better.
      I will be taking Greg for his back shot on Tuesday. It’s at 8:30 so I will have to get up at the crack of dawn to drive him.
      I hope the Cubs win the World Series too. They start the last round of playoffs today. This is when they went downhill last year so they have to make up for that now. They must be so tired as it is such a long season. Heck-it seems like now the Series is being played around Halloween. How did all the sports seasons get to be so long? Except football is a little bit longer than it used to be but not like Basketball and hockey which starts in the fall and ends in the spring. I guess they have so many more teams now than they used to so they all play more games.
      I wonder too if Brent’s girlfriend let it go too long and ended up in the hospital. She works and has a couple of kids and you know how we women tend to put everything else first. Well hopefully she is on the mend now.
      Lachlan is feeling better. You know kids they bounce back after a day of antibiotics.
      You take care of yourself and we will all pray that they fix you up after your test so that you are spunky and raring to go.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      DD,
      Stay safe and keep us updated.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Barbara,
      I was going to recommend Me Before You for a romantic book but then I remembered that the ending is not happy at all-so we will skip that one. lol I like the Christmas romances-they all seem to have a happy ending and are good short books to cozy up with over the holidays.
      If you wanted you could click on those pictures of Colin and you-save them to your pictures file on your computer and post them on here.
      I would send my shirt suggestion to Angel or Patrick. I’m still trying to get them to make one with a little duck by the left side that says Quacker underneath it. Maybe some day. Years ago they put out a teeshirt that said Quacker across the front of it in rhinestones-I still have mine. This idea would be a little more understated-kind of like their brooch shirts.
      It is amazing how similar our lives are even though we are from all across the land. Jeanne would be so proud knowing about the friendships that she has helped to forge.
      I’m glad Jerry’s Mom is adjusting so well. I’ll bet she’ll love the visiting doggie.
      How many dogs do you guys have now-it seems it must be around six. You are probably always picking up dog food.
      Have a fun weekend.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Girls!
      I have not received any emails of your posts today, and I do not know why.
      DD- please stay safe. I am praying for you. Tornadoes scare the be Jesus out of me. I hope the last storm goes by , with no damage.
      Colleen- I hope the test is done quickly, with no stress to you. Will they put you out? I hope they do not find anything awful, and you can get some help for your stomach. Gary is doing better. It seems the infection is gone. Stints come out Tuesday.
      Gail- hope all is well at your place. The stove is good- Sears said no damage to the element. He cleaned it, and tested the oven, and all is good. I cannot tell you how happy I am about that! Also, I misunderstood the woman- the stove is covered by a contract until 2018, not October the 18th. Very glad about that too.
      Barbara- I think a nana shirt would be fantastic- one in blue, and one in pink, with lots of sparkle. I could not find you, but I got a request from you and said yes, so I did see you in your striped shirt. You are not chubby at all, at least not by my standards! The pics of Colin are adorable. the other grandparents looked thrilled too. Nice pics of all grandparents, with the baby.
      I hope I saw all the comments. I also hope I get emails on the posts after I respond to this one!
      Adele

    • Barbara Smith
      Participant
      Post count: 418

      Hi everyone. Back to warm weather here today after all the cold and dreary day we had yesterday. Our poor little Colin had to get his first shots yesterday. He ran fever last night, and is fussy today because he feels bad. We took Sarah some dinner last night and I rocked my sweetie while she ate and then took her a shower. He felt warm to me and I told Sarah; but she said he was not too warm and the doctor had told her to expect him to run a fever; so I asked her to just watch him extra careful last night since babies always seem to have their fever go up when the sun goes down. She said she would and we offered to do anything she needed, but she said she was fine so we came on home. I checked on them today; and she said he is running a “low grade” fever, and I could hear him kind of fussing; so I offered to do anything she might need, and she said that her parents were stopping by soon. Then I called Neal to check on him, and he was studying. He has done good so far with his class. He misses his little family so much; I can tell. But I try so hard to assure him that we are keeping close contact with her. He asked me would I please make her a home cooked meal one night? And I made the mistake of telling Jerry what he asked and he went off into a lather about how dare that boy ask you to work and cook a meal for that girl who won’t even clean her own or her husbands dishes when you cook for them? Jerry got all worked up, and it took me a solid 30 minutes to settle him down. I told him that I love all of our family and there are some things in life I believe that are just not worth getting all upset about. But I really think what finally settled him down was when I reminded him that just a little over 2 years ago that I experienced what could have left me unable to walk, talk, or even might have taken me away and how blessed I feel to just be able to cook a meal that I don’t think of what others are doing or not doing. He told me that he is going to go along with me for now because he knows how important everyone is to me; but that there will come a day when he reminds them that just as they love their wife; he loves his wife; and he can’t have me doing things that might hurt me and take me away from him. So, I really do understand where his heart is now, and I will have to cut back soon.
      Colleen, every time I have been doing an endoscopy I have always given the patient lots of drugs to help them be out of it so to speak, and they didn’t remember anything about the procedure. So I am praying that you do really well, and it get over quickly but that they take a really good look and find something simple that they can fix during the endoscopy and you will wake up all better.
      Glad the grands are feeling better. Worries you so much when they are feeling bad; doesn’t it? How is everyones men folks doing? I sure do wish Jerry was able to still get the shots in his back. He took them for several years; every six months, but they finally quit giving them to him. They said he had reached his “theraputic” level whatever that means, and they were done. I am glad they help those of you who are taking them. Adele, you do them in your knees don’t you? Guess they do all different kinds.
      I woke up around 5 am and had one of my couldn’t go back to sleep spells; so I read for about an hour and finally got a little sleepy. And now all of a sudden I am so sleepy I can hardly hold my eyes open LOL You know what girls? Instead of or in addition to our reading room we could also have a “napping” time each day for us all. Take care all; and praying your storms are settled down and no one was hurt Dianne. Hugs from the South you all, Barbara

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      Thank for the prayers. I really do appreciate them. I really do believe in the power of prayer. They can work miracles especially if there are a lot of them. I pray for everyone all the time like all of us do on here. We do make really good prayer warriors.
      I hope that the back shot helps Greg a lot. The always want to do those things early in the morning. Hope he plans on taking the day off from work that day and does not try to go in after he has the shot. It is good that you are there to take him. He probably would not go if you weren’t. If he is like Ron he wouldn’t.
      The Cubs won tonight didn’t they? Ron was watching the game until the Cubs start winning and then he turned it off. I told him again that we are rooting for the Cubs but he isn’t listening very well. lol I am not sure who he wants to win he has not said. He is just being contrary and not rooting for the Cubs. They will make it this time. I have a good feeling about it. Sports never use to run into each other like they do now. Baseball season is still going when football starts.Ice hockey is going will baseball is going. Remember when there use to be a break between each season. Now there is none at all.
      I am glad that the kids are feeling better. It is hard when they are sick they are so sad. It is hard to watch when they just lay around and do not do as much as they usually do.
      We will be praying for Greg also. Hopefully this shot will be the one that stops his pain. I hope that DD is okay and lets us know soon. Those storms can be terrible.
      Have a good night
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      I am not receiving notices either. I thought that maybe everyone decided to not post today. It is good that I looked on here to see. I wonder what is going on with this site now. We may have to let them know if it continues.
      They will put me out when they do that test. They will fix anything that they find wrong. I am hoping that they do not find anything but my stomach will be fine after they do the test. I just keep losing weight. That is what is so weird. Well I am not eating like I use to though either. It would be nice if I can keep the weight off after they find out what is wrong.
      That is great they Gary is doing better and they will take the stents out liked planned. Will he have to stay in the hospital at all after they do that or will they do it as an out patient? Will keep praying for him and everything will be okay for a long time this time.
      That was good news that you do not have to replace your oven. I am glad that they got it all cleaned out and you can use it. It is a pain when you have to wait for a long period of time for them to get a new part or to get a new stove installed. That is good that you have that plan until 2018.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Barbara,
      It is not unusual for a baby to run a fever after getting their shots. My grand kids use to do that also. They also said to put a cool rag on the injection site. We use to do that and give them baby aspirin. That was so nice that you took Sarah a meal and let her take a shower. She really really appreciate you coming over. She does not sound like the type of person that would tell you though. It is nice that both set of parents are coming over and helping. She will be feeling more comfortable as years go by.
      That was so sweet that Jerry said that. He could not have expressed his love for you any better then that. I guess we all know that our husbands love us it is just nice when they let us know like Jerry did. That is good that you calmed him down.
      They are going to put me under when they do this. One time they did this I woke up and they had to give me more to knock me out. I got really sick that time. I forgot to warn the doctor that sometimes I get sick when they do that. I will have to tell him on Wednesday before he does the procedure. I really like this doctor he is really good. He removed a cyst for me one time. He did a good job and I did not feel a thing.
      I hate when I get up early and cannot get back to sleep. There is nothing to do at that time of the morning. If you start to clean it wakes our other half up. So you have to do something that is quite and not disturb them. Now if Ron gets up and cannot go back to sleep it does not bother him to wake me up and keep me awake. lol I am getting crabby so better end this.
      Have a good night
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi All,
      Maybe the crazy thing that keeps me from getting notifications has hit you guys too. I have not gotten notifications in months and no one can figure out why not so I just have to come over here a everyday and check for postings. Make sure your box on the bottom is still checked.
      Barbara, even though you don’t want Jerry all riled up at least you know why he gets that way now. He loves you and worries about you-maybe more than you know. You can’t fault a guy for that.
      I always hated when the babies had to get their shots-as I always worried that the fever would shoot high. Glad those days are over.
      We had talked about adding a napping area to the reading room. It seems like a perfect idea.
      Colleen, sometimes I think Ron likes to tease you by being contrary. lol Heck Illinois is closer to you than California so Ron has to secretly be rooting for the Cubs unless he has a love for the Dodgers in general. I’m hoping the Cubs do well in their home field. I am starting to finally let myself get a wee bit excited. Fortunately it warmed up a bit here lately so they aren’t playing in the freezing cold.
      Adele, it’s good to know that the service contract was for longer than you thought. I hope Gary is on the path to wellness and doesn’t have any reoccurences. Now if only he could understand the importance of staying hydrated.
      Gail

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I’m safe. The storm kinda fizzled out. We did get a lot of rain & wind, just not what was expected. Prayers were answered!! Parts of Portland did
      lose power but I didn’t. It’s back to our normal Oct. weather, showers. The National Weather Service rated the tornado that hit the coast an EF2.
      We NEVER get tornadoes like that. What we usually get, if we get one, is an EF0 or 1. They say it was 10 streets wide. There’s only 10 streets
      in Manzanita!!! There were NO injuries in all of that damage!! Talk about a MIRACLE!!!
      Yesterdays storm did damage, but not what they were expecting. Downed trees, power lines down. I think 10,000 people were without power.
      The crews were johnny on the spot getting the power back on. There was street flooding but the rivers aren’t flooding. They’re still low from
      summer.
      Colleen, I hope you come thru fine. Keep us posted.
      I think the idea for a grandparent shirt is a great idea. I’m surprised they haven’t come up with one yet. I’d submit it to QF.
      I hope everyone’s fine & safe. We’re out of danger now no new storms like those on the horizon. Just the normal rain & showers.
      Have a great Sunday. Watching ITKWD.
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Glad you’re safe DD.

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      Patrick’s Mom went to London with him to appear on QVC UK. Patrick, SJ, and 3 of their friends took her to dinner. So I said I thought 5 of us ladies should go to Little Rock and take Mr. Hoy to dinner so he could have some fun too. He said he can be ready in 15 minutes. Who is with me?

      • Gail Norusis
        Participant
        Post count: 3596

        That would be fun wouldn’t it Sue. Too bad we all live scattered across the country.
        How was your week back at work?
        Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Everyone,
      Well Greg got back from his trip last night. Bill lives in NY but they have a home at the Jersey Shore so that’s where they actually went to visit and rehearse. Greg said it was really pretty there but said it probably would have been much more crowded at the height of tourist season. Anyway, they had a good visit with plenty of rehearsing.
      Tomorrow morning, on my birthday, I have to get up at the crack of dawn to drive him to his back shot. I will definitely need to go to the napping room tomorrow afternoon.
      It’s going to be in the 80’s here today. I have not turned on the heat here yet-even though it was chilly at the end of last week. If Greg had been home he would have had it on on the nights that it frosted but I just put on a sweater and powered through.
      It’s kind of gloomy right now but maybe it will clear up later. When I went out to feed the fish last night there were five deer chasing each other around out in the back. I love to watch the young ones play-they can jump so high in the air-it’s like they have springs in their legs. Plus we see a lot of the turkeys at this time of year. And the bluejays and cardinals are busy in the garden eating the seeds out of the sunflowers. At least the cardinal is busy doing that instead of banging on our window.
      Gail

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      Gail Happy Birthday for tomorrow. Do you think you will go out for lunch or dinner or won’t Greg be up to it after his shot?

      I have decided I must be to much of a perfectionist. I went back to work for a week and what a mess. Some things she did not do at all some were half done and others not correct. So I tried to get things done up again. The most difficult was the book she did not do at all since I left. It was hard to go back and see when things shipped as some had been paid already. I have no idea where she came up with a figure for what was shipped as it was not right. But it was nice to be back and see everyone. I think they missed seeing me too.

      I really think it would be fun to take Mr Hoy to dinner. He is a smart man and I could learn a lot just talking to him, I want to meet him one day as I have met Patrick and his mom.

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey everyone!
      I hate not getting the notices on email! I feel I am behind, and hope I answer all the posts here. So, please forgive me, if I miss something.
      Barbara- I do get the shots in my knee, and back, and am heading toward them in my neck next. They do work wonders. It is totally normal to get a fever, and be cranky after a shot- the shot is usually more than one at a time, too. As soon as they get home from the doctor’s, it would be helpful if they gave him a little Tylenol. Hetaher did that, and the girls were not so out of sorts. But, Steph doe snot, and the boys get fussy.
      Gary gets the stints out tomorrow.

      DD- So thrilled you came out of the storms with no horrible issues to deal with. Scary picture of the tornado!! Our weather is hot again- humid, and in the 70’s. tomorrow may hit 80, which means I will not be able to wear my Halloween sweatshirt.

      Gail- what a beautiful sighting to come upon- the deer playing n the field. You must have been thrilled to see them. Happy the poor bird has stopped killing himself. Today, I had a bird come to the kitchen window, and then just look at me for about a minute. It was so cute. Only thing is, the old Italians feel a bird to the window is not good news- usually means death, or someone is trying to get a message through to you.
      Happy Birthday, Gailster!! Hope you and hubby do something nice tomorrow. Glad he is home, before your birthday, to celebrate.

      Sue- I would love to take Patrick to lunch. But, I hate to travel. It is very hard for me to use a bathroom, with shower, that is not my own, as I use a chair, and have the pull down water thingie. I wish we all lived within driving distance. That would make a visit so much easier, and do-able.
      I bet your entire office staff wishes you would come back from retirement. Will they keep this girl on, when she has made so many errors? Would they want you to go in, and train her? I bet they really appreciate your work ethic.

      Colleen
      I hate that I am not getting the emails anymore. I feel like I am out of the loop.
      Thank you for the prayers for Gary. You are in my prayers every night too. I hope you have success with the test, and they end your discomfort. It is an awful way to lose weight.
      DWTS tonight- I am getting in my chair in a minute, as I am pooped tonight. I wonder who will be voted off tonight.
      Adele

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      I cannot get into my e-mail at all on my personal e-mail account. It is driving me crazy. This happened after I changed my pass word. I remember the new one but it says that it is wrong. So have sent a thing saying that cannot remember my pass word but that does not help. THey just sent me a thing saying it is the wrong pass word even if I try to change it. I am about ready to scream. Now I will have to get a new e-mail address and try to get all of my e-mails off the old site. There is no way you can get in touch with a person from yahoo they just send you back to the same place. It is aggravating.
      Ron does like to aggravate me. That has become his new pass time. I am thinking of finding him a job so he will be too tired to think of ways to aggravate me. I think that he is a lot like his dad was. He was nice but did like to aggravate Ron’s mom.
      I hope that things go well for Greg tomorrow at the doctor. You will probably be able to go out to dinner tomorrow night for your birthday. Those shots do not make you tired or hurt you. The ones that I had did not keep me from doing other things. That is not a good way to celebrate your birthday. You need to celebrate on the 19th also. That day you can sleep in and just have a great a lazy day.
      Well that is about all from here. Just nervous about Wednesday. Wish it was over with and they knew what was going on. It will be here before I know it.
      Have a good night
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      Gary is having the stents out tomorrow and Greg is getting a shot in his back tomorrow. That is unusual that they are both getting those things done on the same day. I hope that it all goes well for Gary. I will be praying for Gary and Greg.
      It will be interesting to see who gets voted off the show tonight. I am not sure who I want to see go this week. I do not like that Amber Rose that much but she is getting better. It will be interesting to see who wins. It is hard sometimes to watch Tara with Sasha. She is so tiny and she really has to run to do the dance that he wants her to do sometimes. I have a niece that is a little person and she has really short legs like Tara has. We have to watch how fast we walk or she has a hard time keeping up. It is funny because I have heard Tonya talk about how hard it is to get shoes. She can get light tennis shoes though.
      I cannot even get into my e-mails at all. They have locked me out for some reason. I do not know if someone has hacked in and changed everything in my account or what happened. They will not take my pass word anymore.It is really aggravating.
      Well that is about it for now. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Gail, I will be saying a prayer for Gary.

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      13Hi Ladies,
      I guess i’m not getting notifications either. If I hadn’t got on the site I wouldn’t know you guys had posted. At first I thought you guys were busy
      & didn’t have time to post anything. I hope everything goes well for you & your hubbies.
      We’re still having stormy weather, but nothing like Friday. No tornadoes, or remnants of typhoons. It’s turning out to be the wettest Oct’s on record.
      Making up for lack of the rain in yrs past. No snow pack yet in the mts. The temps have to come down abit more before that happens. Thank you
      for your prayers & concern. The prayers were answered. You wouldn’t believe there were some people who were actually upset at the weather
      people for “hyping” it up!!!! I guess cause they didn’t lose power or lose their home or business it was all hype. And if it had been worse than expected
      they’d be saying why the weather people warn us so we could prepare.

      I always get a slight fever when I get my yearly flu shot. They tell ya to expect to feel off for a day or so after the shot. Even when Jewell gets her
      shot she is out of sorts for a day or so. It’s nothing unusual. Unless there’s a really bad reaction, then I’d be getting to the Dr. asap.

      Happy Birthday, Gail. Go out & celebrate, & have fun!!
      The pics of the bridge is in North Portland. It’s called the St. John’s bridge. Portland has 13 bridges. Portland is also called “bridge city”, along
      with City of Roses.
      That’s all for now.
      talk to ya tomorrow.
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      I have no clue how the # 13 got in front of Hi Ladies. I guess I better do a better job of proof reading, lol

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I received my QF pants today & they STINK! I mean literally stink! Have any of you received clothes from QF that smell awful? This is a first
      for me. I’ve gotten stuff from them before & they didn’t smell. The pants I ordered from Denim & co didn’t smell bad when I opened the pkg. I haven’t
      received the Christmas kitty top yet. I hope it doesn’t stink. I found when I tried them on I need to order the shorter inseam, I guess. The length on
      em were like 3-4 inches too long. I’m too lazy to hem em up. I don’t have a sewing machine anymore.

      The really strong storms are gone. Now we’re just getting showers. We had quite a thunderstorm on the East side of town yesterday, but it didn’t last
      long. They’re getting snow in the higher elevations now. That’s good news for the ski resorts. We depend on the snow pack in the mts for our
      water supply during the summer, so the earlier it starts the better.

      Well, I guess that’s all for now.
      take care.
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      I think the smell comes from the dye they use. Should lessen as they are washed.

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      DD,
      I read the QVC boards and I see people on there talking about some items having an odor. I agree with Sue-it’s probably either from the dye or something they spray on the shipments from China to keep the bugs and humidity out. I think it will air out quickly or you can wash them and that should take care of it. I have had to stop buying Dream Jeannes in the long pants as even the short at 29 inches are too long for me. I still can wear the capris etc. though. I refuse to pay good money and have to shorten things so I just cuff up the ones that I already have and wear them like that. I can wear the leggings as the inseams are shorter on them.
      Glad to hear your storms are over.
      Thank you for the birthday wishes.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Sue,
      Thank you for the birthday wishes. I had a good day.
      I guess your replacement is struggling a bit with the new job. Hopefully she does better as time goes on. It’s hard to step into the shoes of someone who has done things for a long time. It’s a lot to absorb.
      I’ll bet they’ll ask you back to fill in in the future.
      I know you must have met Patrick on the cruise but when did you meet his Mom-at the live show? What did Patrick’s Dad do before retirement? I thought that they lived in NY-and now they are in Little Rock? When did that happen or do I have it wrong?
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I am thinking about you and praying for you right now as you are probably having or are done with your test. I hope everything goes well and they fix you up right as rain. I am so sorry that you have being feeling unwell for so long. It makes me sad. I hope that you get results quickly and do not have to wait.
      Greg’s shot went well. I drove him and took my book and just sat in the waiting room and read until he was done. It took about an hour all told. He said it didn’t hurt any worse than a flu shot and he was not in pain afterwards at all. Now hopefully it will make him feel better. Monday night he was out to dinner with a business associate from New Jersey and some other guy overheard their conversation and was giving him a big talk about how he shouldn’t get the shot-that he had one and it messed him all up and on and on. Nice thing to be saying to a complete stranger. He said he wasn’t afraid but listening to this guy must have made him wonder at least-then another lady overheard and came over and told him not to listen to the other guy-that she had the shot and he would be fine. I said-that’s what you get for eating dinner in the bar of the restaurant rather than go in and sit at a table. People eavesdropping.
      I hope you get your e-mail straightened out. I know when Yahoo got hacked I had to change my password and it was not easy finding the place to do that. I had to have Greg help me and he even had trouble finding it. You’d think they would make it a little easier.
      Hoping to hear that you are feeling better soon.
      Gail
      P. S. The Cubs better start getting some runs or they will find themselves getting beat in the playoffs like last year. And we fans will be very very sad.

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      I hope everything went well with Gary yesterday.
      Greg’s shot went fine. He said it didn’t hurt any worse than getting a flu shot.
      So when I was driving him to get his shot yesterday morning I mentioned that what I’d like for my birthday was those weather tech mats for my car. He says-oh I was thinking of getting you something else-and I go what-and he says a pool-which I have been wanting for the past 20 years. lol Takes a while to get through to him. lol So we have the winter to ponder that one and in the meantime he got right on his phone in the car and ordered me the mats-I think my request really caught him off guard as that is probably the last thing he thought I would ask for. Even after 43 years i know how to keep him on his toes.
      So after we got done with his shot he wanted to stop at Menards so we could get a new faucet for the main floor bathroom sink which is leaking-but you know how that goes-he wanted to get a new faucet and toilet paper holder but i said since the toilet paper holder matches the towel bar we had to get a new one of those too. The sink in that bathroom is very specific as it has a floral design in it and all the accessories in that bathroom had porcelain floral designs to match so once you replace one thing you kind of have to replace them all. Even the toilet flush handle. So we went from white, gold and floral porcelain to tuscan bronze. Then after all that he decided in for a penny in for a pound so we picked out paint for the room too. So I hope the new hardware will look good with the more old style sink and vanity in there. I think we will have to replace the light sconces too as they matched everything else but so far we haven’t seen what we liked that would go well in there. It would be nice to replace it all but I just can’t justify getting rid of a perfectly good sink and vanity. In the meantime I fell in love with hose undermount kitchen sinks while I was waiting for the paint to be mixed. Did you get one of those in your kitchen redo? Now our kitchen sink needs replacement-so when we do the counters and backsplash eventually I want to get one of those. I like the farm sinks too but I wonder if they won’t go out of fashion in another few years.
      So I think it’s funny that for my birthday I got something that Greg would probably like to have for himself-the car mats-not the pool-and we went to his favorite store-Menards. lol
      So when we got back to town his new glasses and sunglasses were ready so we picked those up and then went out to lunch.
      We did both get a nap in yesterday afternoon too. Then we met Jenny and the kids for dinner. So I had a good birthday. The only thing I missed was a cake. Next time I’m in town I will have to go to the bakery and pick one up. I told Lachlan how old I was and he announced it to the whole restaurant. Kids! lol I had on that owl shirt where he is wearing a witch’s hat and Piper thought he was wearing a party hat-so I guess that shirt can do double duty-Halloween and birthday.
      Gail

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      I met Patrick’s mom at the dinner we had after the live audience show. She walked up and started talking to me. They are originally from Arkansas and moved back after retiring. They were both teachers. I think it was West Point that Mr. Hoy taught at, it was a military school. They have another son Tim but I have not met him either. I think he and his family are in New Orleans. Very nice family and very intelligent. Mr Hoy posted a photo of their Corgi Tucker laying on momma’s chair. He was missing his mom while she is away.

      I guess no one is posting as they do not get notifications. I don’t understand it myself. I hate my e-mail box clogged with notifications. I prefer to just come here and see what is posted. Maybe if everyone posted one post to everyone it would cut the clutter. But I hate dozens of notices a day so I never check the box.

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      I don’t know if Portland made national news tonight, but we had a huge gas explosion here. It was just 4 blocks away from me. I heard the explosion
      & felt the bldg. shake. There were 3 explosions altogether, & I felt each one. Of course the local news was on all day. There were some injuries, but no fatalities. I guess we did make the national news. It’s on right now. It destroyed 2 business, leveling both bldgs.
      I’m fine. No damage here, that I know of. It sounded like a bomb went off. Some of the residents thought it was a bomb that went off.

      I hope everyone’s okay. I haven’t seen posts from a few of you, so I’m hoping all is well. I hope the hubbies are doing well. Saying prayers for all.
      We had a lovely day today. the sun was out & there was no wind so it was nice, & NO rain!!
      Well, I guess that’s all for tonight.
      dd

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    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Sue,
      Patrick’s Mom seems like a wonderful lady. How lucky you were to get to meet her. I’ll bet the picture of the corgi is cute. Maybe someday you will meet the rest of the family.
      Are you still considering knee replacement? They were showing that Al Roker from the today show just had it done. I guess he had one 15 years ago and the other just now. Things have changed a lot for the better in the time between the two of them.
      I think maybe Colleen is not posting because she had an endoscopy yesterday morning and perhaps she is just not feeling up to it yet. I’m not sure about Adele-I know Gary had his stints out Monday so maybe she is busy taking care of him.
      I stopped getting the notifications months ago and no one could figure out why so I am just stuck that way. I prefer to get them because then I can see the postings right in my mailbox on my phone and tablet rather than having to come over to the site each time I want to read-it’s more convenient for me that way but I have just had to learn to go through the extra steps as no one knows how to fix it. Fortunately we all can choose to check the box or not so it gives us all the choice to have it the way we like it.
      I hope everything is all right with both Colleen and Adele and that they will check in soon.
      It just occurred to me that you said that Patrick’s parents have a corgi-just like the queen of England! lol Your brother’s dog looks like she has some corgi in her. They are so cute but I hear they are horrible shedders.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      DD,
      They showed the explosion on the Today show this morning. I sure am glad there were no fatalities. That must have scared everyone in the area. Glad you are okay.
      If you and Adele are still not getting notifications you should check with Tiago. I stopped getting them months ago but no one was ever able to fix it-so I just have to come over here and check for posts everyday.
      Hope your weather is good. We are getting cooler here.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Quacker Factory on Zulily today.

    • Barbara Smith
      Participant
      Post count: 418

      Happy Belated Birthday Gail! Sorry I wasn’t here on the “official day”, but I did think of you and I’m glad you got your birthday wishes. Boy, did Greg ever surprise you with the pool idea. I would have fallen out of my chair if Jerry had actually come up with that idea after so many years of wishing for one. That was sweet of him. So glad he did well on his shot. Hope it continues to help him. I have thought so much about Colleen these days too. I know that was a difficult test for her, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that the doctors will have done something to help her feel better now. She has been though so much. And she just doesn’t complain even though she certainly has the right to with all she endures with her tummy. I hope she is resting and that Ron is taking very good care of her. Is Gary doing okay, Adele? My prayers have certainly been with all of you. Life can really throw us some curves, but I so admire how brave and strong you all are and how you just do whatever has to be done.
      We are okay, I think. I could complain, but I am just not going to. I have kind of had the “blues” today; but I think it is just missing our family, and it is too darn quiet here. Neal called us yesterday, but didn’t really have much to talk about. He is doing well, but he must do well every week of this school; so we try to not bring up things about it. He misses Sarah and the baby so much, you can hear it in his voice. He asked Jerry and me to watch the baby while she works. We tried to get some real information out of him about what all he needs us to do; but he sort of shut down; so we didn’t press. When she came over the other night (for dinner) she didn’t mention it. So we just brought it up about helping them however we can, and she still didn’t ask us or tell us what they need. So I guess it’s going to come down to us just saying “what is your shift, and how long will you need us to watch the baby since you work night, and how do you plan on us doing the feedings?” Jerry still has some sore feelings about this; as I said, he has been grouchy and feels that we are just here for what folks need us to do but don’t reciprocate; and I just try to keep things on an even keel. He said his back is really hurting today, so I know that has a lot to do with how understanding he is about things. HIs dream was to have this place built so they could all three build homes on the land and live out our lives kind of like we did all together years ago. I try so hard to explain to him that they love us but that they have their own dreams, and we were their age when we were living out our dreams. I just know that deep inside him he feels that families staying together is so important. And now with his brothers doing him so badly and then our sons moving off that he has to feel disconnected with his warm and fuzzy feelings of how he wishes life could be vs. the reality of how life is. Enough of my “life lesson for the day” LOL
      Gail, is the tea on and the fireplace glowing? I surely need our reading/napping room today. Guess I better wait for everyone to get to feeling better.
      DD how scary! Thank goodness you are okay. Been thinking of you with all this rain.
      Debra, this just goes to show how great a job you were doing at your work. I know they miss you. Bet it felt good to walk back in, do the work, and no that you could just walk back out and to your freedom from punching that clock. Hope you are really enjoying your retirement. You certainly deserve it. How exciting you have met Patricks family. I’ll bet they are nice; since he is such a sweet person.
      Better close for now. I did catch the Quacker on Zulillly, but everything in my size was gone. I wanted the Believe in Miracles shirt so badly. Take care everyone. Barbara

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Barbara,
      Thank you for the birthday wishes. Greg did catch me completely off guard about the pool. I, like you, have been wanting one for years and do say something about it every once in a while-and he just points to the koi pond and says-what do you mean there’s your pool. However, when my sister was here something came up about a pool and my sister said – do you really want one-and i said yes-and that’s when it must have finally sunk in that i was serious.
      You are right, Colleen, has been feeling bad for quite a while and she doesn’t complain even though I’m sure it makes her feel bad to be sick all the time. Every once in a while i feel nauseous for a couple of days and it puts me out of sorts-and she has been feeling this way for months without saying much about it. I hope that she is getting relief and we hear from her soon. The same for Adele-we have not heard since Gary went in to get the stints out-so we worry that something might be wrong.
      Prayers for everyone.
      I’ll bet Neal misses his wife and son. It’s hard to go away so soon after having the new baby. If Sarah is going to go back to work she is going to need someone to watch Colin while Neal is away. I think I would just ask her right out if she needs someone to watch the baby when she goes back to work.
      I do understand that Jerry is probably out of sorts sometimes with the chronic pain of his back. Being in pain all the time actually wears you out. At least that’s how it affects me when I have a flair. I can’t even imagine feeling that way all the time with no relief. It is hard sometimes to reconcile the dreams we had when our kids were little to the reality of what happens when they become adults. Our dreams are often not their dreams-and that seems to be the way of the world. I’ve discovered that one does not have to be physically close to family to feel the closeness of heart and spirit. Of course it’s always better when they live close enough to see often-that is like the icing on the cake-but our feelings do not change when we live apart. Hopefully-Neal and Joey will continue to live in the area-even if they are not right on the property-and that is much better than them living hundreds of miles away.
      I hope we hear from Colleen and Adele this weekend and that all is well with them.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      OMG……hello everyone!
      I hate not getting notifications. I am going to tell Tiago. I think nobody is posting, and them I get on here, and BAM!! I missed a whole lot of stuff.
      here is my news. Gary’s stints are out, and so far, he is ok. He goes in a month to get an ultrasound, and blood test to determine the level the kidney is functioning at.
      Nancy’s son had surgery yesterday. They lanced, and sucked out blood form the “blood blisters” in his throat, and then biopsied the other 4 tumors. It was a tough day of worrying yesterday. Nancy is a wreck. I did a lot of praying.
      I had a tough few days, as the day of the stint removal, my neck and back were killing me from the weather. Then add the long walk to the doctor’s office. I actually counted my steps. From the inside of the door ( in the building) it was 180 steps to the door of the office. Then, for the procedure, you walk back the other way. Gary wanted to gout for lunch, so we did that too. By the time I got home, I was in deep doo doo…..LOL It took 2 days of laying low to stop, and now today, it is 100% humidity, and gross here- tropical rain, they are calling it- also not good for me.
      With all this mess, I have a funny for you girls…..so, we are leaving the doctor’s at 1:30. Gary says he wants to get something to eat. Ok, I say. We are passing his favorite, hole in the wall, best Chinese food ever place, and I say- want to go there? Oh no, he said, it is way too early in the day for Chinese food, and he cannot eat Chinese until 4pm. This Chinese food rule has escaped my attention. Apparently, I never asked to go there before 4pm. I have been with this crazy man for about 19 years, and this s a new food rule that has come to light.
      So….what have I missed? Gail is getting a pool????? DD had an explosion in the neighborhood???? Good God! Sue met Patrick’s Mom- how nice is that! Did Sue go back to work any more days? Did her old boss give her an award for being the best retiree ever??? It seems like poor Jerry is having a tough time adjusting to being an older Dad of his boys, and a Papa. A lot of times, we do not get the calls, unless they need us, as they get busier, and busier in their lives. Gary feels bad about that a lot too. It seems we women get it, and the guys struggle with that issue. Heather calls me at least once a day. then, the other day, I heard form her about 10 times, as she wanted to get the ingredients right for a soup I made that they loved. It was one of those…..lets make a soup days, and I added in what was here, and then” juzzed” it up a notch, and they loved it- was a big hit.
      I am so sorry I have not been on, and I hope I did not miss anything else….let me know.
      Where is Colleen? I pray nothing awful is wrong.
      I will have to remember every day to go in the old fashioned way- I hate that!
      Adele

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Adele,
      Glad that you checked in-I was really wondering what was going on.
      I haven’t gotten the notifications for months. I just have to come over here a couple of times a day and check for postings. It’s aggravating but I have learned to just live with it.

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey girls
      I left a message for Tiago. I guess I may have to remember to come in and check. It was so much easier to go in through the emails.
      Well. it is October the 21st, and I have the air on. Who says there is no global warming? The air is soupy up here. Yuck! I am dying for the baking bread weather. You will all have to remind me, when I say I am cold….LOL
      DD- I did not hear a word up here about the explosions in your area- what caused them?
      Has anyone heard from Colleen?
      I forgot to say, I do still get dizzy, but, not as much as before. It seems to have lessened, and I am grateful for that. I hope it will completely disappear one of these days.
      Gail- so glad the shot went well for Greg. Is he feeling better?? I would suggest an in the ground pool, as I cannot get in our above ground one. you can just walk into an in the ground one, and with all our mobility issues, it would be worth it. Only thing is, it is more dangerous for kids and animals. But, they now have those covers you can walk on.
      I do have an under mount kitchen sink, and I love it. I know how that goes with the bathroom- change one single thing, and the whole bathroom gets done over, as we are both big on matching. For me it was the light- then all the fixtures have to change to match- including the shower rod. I also went to the bronze ones. We are a lot alike, and that is funny! take a pic of your bathroom when you are done, so we can all see.
      thank God I did the backsplash that I did, as the kitchen is now Temptations Fall leaves, and pumpkins…..LOL LOL I do not know what I will do for Christmas, as I do not want to put the Temptations away. I may have my holiday cookie jars on the top of the fridge!
      Adele

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Adele,
      I was getting worried when you didn’t post for a few days. I know your hubby was having issues & was concerned something went wrong. I’m glad to hear that wasn’t the case.
      As for the explosion, there was construction in that area. A subcontractor clipped a gas line, they called 911 immediately. The first responders got people out of the bldg. just in the nick of time. There were 8 people injured, but NO fatalities!! Miracle of miracles!!! It destroyed a bagel place & a tattoo parlor. It’s now toothpicks or kindling for the fireplace!! One of the firefighters was blown 20 ft & ended up with both legs broken. He’s still in the hospital but doing fine they say on the news. Everyone else was treated & released that day. I was sitting here when I heard a loud BOOM, & this bldg. shook. I also heard & felt the other 2 explosions, 3 altogether. Then I heard a lot of sirens so I looked out but couldn’t see anything, so I went & looked down the hallway & I saw some people looking out the windows down the hall. I went to see what was going on & there was a HUGE plumb of smoke just up the street from us. It was like 4 blocks away. Needless to say, it took over the TV stations all day.
      Between the storms of last weekend, & now this I don’t think Portland’s been on the national news this much.
      It’s a cooking day all day Sunday. Should be good.
      Well, that’s all for now.
      take care.
      dd

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    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Ladies,
      Well I had the test done and they did not find anything. So now it is more tests and blood work and all types of things. I am so irritated and wish this was all over with. I could not really talk about if for a few days. I was so upset and felt like there was nothing wrong it was all in my head. The doc that did the test told me that it did not mean that what was going on with me was not real. He said that there is something wrong they just have to find what it is. So I just have to go with that and hope they find it.
      Gail, That is cool that Greg is talking about putting a pool in. I would love to have a pool here. We sure have enough room for a pool. I know that we need a fence and maybe a pool house. lol A pool house would be ideal. We would not have to worry about animals getting in the pool. That was good that he got his shot in the back and it all went well. It does help and is worth getting. The cubs are doing really well. They did a come back and they may win. I am rooting for them. Ron is now rooting for Cleveland. He cannot make up his mind.
      DD, I am glad to hear that you are okay. That would be scary to hear the blasts and the building shaking. It was so lucky that no one was killed and not many were hurt. The first responders did a good job getting the people out of the buildings. How terrible that those two business were completely destroyed. I hope that they will be able to rebuild. What a terrible way to for you day to end, Love your pictures again. You always find the cutest ones to post on here. They always make me smile.
      Adele, I am glad that Gary is doing okay. Hope that they do not have to do that again. I hope that things went well for Nancy’s son. I know this must be really hard on her. We will be praying for her son and that he is okay. That is interesting that there is a time to eat Chinese food. I will have to remember that. We have gone out to eat Chinese for lunch. We were breaking the rules. lol
      Barbara, I complain more then I should. I know that everyone gets tired of hearing about it. That was a very nice thing to say. You are a nice person. It is hard when your kids get older and they want to do other things then what we would have liked for them to do. it does not bother Ron like it does me. he just tells me not to worry about it. He goes outside and works on his lawn mowers. We actually went down the road the other day and there was something laying there and he did not pick it up. I could not believe it. He drove past it and did not take a second look. It was still laying there two days later. This must be killing him lol He bought a bubble gun machine the other day that does not work because it is missing some pieces. I have no idea what he is going to do with it but it is sitting in our sun room. It is a double one and those are rare. I can see why if none of them work. Has Gary been picking any more things up? I would just come right out and ask Sarah if you can help with the baby after she goes back to work.Tell her what you are willing to do. If it watch him at night for her just tell her. She may not want to impose on you.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I don’t blame you for needing a few days to process what the doctor found. It is frustrating to feel bad and no one knows why. I hope the test wasn’t too bad at least-hopefully you are knocked out for it. I just hope they find the answers quickly and can fix you up. It’s awful to feel nauseous all the time. And I agree with Barbara-you must be miserable and you hardly ever complain. You are a trooper. We’ll keep praying that they can fix you up soon. The doctor sounded very understanding.
      Yes, the Cubs are back in Chicago and if they can win one more game they will be in the world series. I wish they could just win the first game tonight-it would be easier on my heart. I think Ron wants to be for Cleveland just because you are for the Cubs. Hey he used to live in Illinois-he should have some loyalty-unless he lived in Ohio too-or has relatives there.
      Well we have all winter to think about whether we will do the pool or not. He really did surprise me-and all I wanted was weathertec mats for my car. lol Basically because I had given up on the pool. I did get the mats though and he even put them in for me.
      Little Piper was feeling under the weather last night-although he still did find the energy to do an interpretive dance-but she definitely wasn’t her usual bouncy self. She was more snuggly and as much as I love a good snuggle I must admit I was hoping that she wasn’t coming down with strep throat like Lachlan had. Between being susceptible to things like that and not being able to get a flu shot I am Purelling heavily all winter long.
      Hope you have a good weekend.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      I’m glad that Gary is feeling good.
      I will pray for Nancy’s son too. The poor woman has had a lot to bear.
      It’s funny you had on the AC the same day we (actually Greg because he is a wimp) turned on the heat for the first time.
      I’m glad the dizziness is a little better at least-it’s a step in the right direction.
      Greg says he is starting to feel a little better in his foot and leg. They told him it takes a couple of days but I think when I had my knee done that it took more like a week before the effects set in. And it’s kind of subtle-it doesn’t change overnight but gradually.
      If we got a pool we would get an inground-that’s why we never got one before. I would have been happy with the less expensive above ground just to have one but Greg just did not like the looks of them-even the ones with the nice decks built around them-he has sort of a thing about that for some reason. The man who could care less about his clothes and the way things are decorated has to dig in his heels about something like that. I guess because the yard is kind of his area. lol
      I did not know about the no Chinese before 4 P.M. rule. I will keep that in mind. Ask him why they have a lunch menu then? lol
      Maybe by the time December comes around you would be willing to give up the pumpkins for a month in favor of Christmas. If only you could find Christmas decor in brown, orange, green and gold. You could invent the Christmas acorn and dried leaves tree. lol
      Hope your weather cools off-I’ll send some your way-all I’m hearing from hubby this morning is about how freezing it is-I’m surprised he’s not wearing a snowsuit. lol
      Gail

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      Any of you that are too hot come to PA. I have the Penn State game on and they said it was a cold windy winter night. It has been cold and windy all day round 2 tomorrow. It has been cold here my heat is on and I am wearing a sweatshirt. It would have been a good day for the witches to ride their brooms but watch out for the poles.
      I got a chicken to roast tomorrow as it will feel good to have the oven on. Then I will have leftovers for other meals. Time for comfort food. Maybe I will even bake a few cookies.

    • Barbara Smith
      Participant
      Post count: 418

      Hello ladies. I had just written you all a nice long note; and caput; off it went somewhere so this will probably be short ha ha. That makes me so mad when it does this; but I;m sure its something I did. So glad to hear that Greg and Gary are better. Adele, I am sorry you had such a hard time with the long walks you had to take. I remember once a few years back when Jerry and I were on a short trip and we were about 3 hours down the road and I had to stop. When I went to get out of the car to go inside; I could barely walk. I mean, it really scared me. My legs were hurting so badly with each step that I didn’t think I could make it into the store part. I was so embarassed and afraid at the same time. That is truly a lot of steps. I know its probably just me; but when I hear those sales ladies on the Q who are no bigger than a stick go on and on about their fit bits or how many steps they made that day; I just want to spit.
      I think I got Debra and Sue’s names all mixed up the other day on one of my notes. So if I did; sorry girls. Just know it was one of my “moments” ha ha
      I know Nancy has been absolutely out of her mind with worry over her sons throat. I thought I had heard of most everything in medicine; but that is new to me. I know we have had patients contract extreme inflammation of the trachea (windpipe) to the point of it bleeding and it is very serious; but not actual clots. How scary. Praying he is getting much better each day. Do they have any idea what brought this condition on?
      Colleen, try not to be too discouraged about not getting much information from your tests. I went through so much worry and wondering when I had the stroke and no one could tell me what had caused it to happen to me after all those tests they did on me. I was so happy that the MRI’s that they kept doing on my brain were good, but I just needed someone to tell me what I had done or not done that caused this to be happening to me. But to this day; no one has been able to. So I have had to make myself think of each test as a puzzle piece, and since you don’t make a puzzle with just one piece that each test brings another piece to the puzzle and that one day the puzzle pieces will all fit together and then they will have the answer. So mabey it will help you to think of it this way too. I had gotten to the point right after where I was too scared to be out of sight of anyone; I was afraid to Jerry to walk outside where he might not be able to hear me if I called for him; just things like that. And then I knew if I didn’t stop worrying, and the worry wasn’t changing anything. I hope you can understand some of this giberish of mine, and that somehow it will help; because you certainly deserve to feel good so you can love on those grandchildren like the wonderful grandma I know you are. Here’s hoping you are feeling better each day.
      I called and asked Sarah is she has her schedule for work so we can begin to see when she will be needing us to help with the baby. I really don’t know where her Mom and Dad are in all this; but won’t be asking about any of that. It is a full time job just to keep Jerry calmed down and on track for what we need to do to help out and keep his head and heart in the right direction.
      Better go for now before I lose this one too. DD, so happy you weren’t involved in that explosion. What a terrible thing, but thank God for those rescue people who come in and do so much. Goodnight everyone. Barbara

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      It was a beautiful day today. Got out & enjoyed it. I went for a walk & went to see the damage done by the explosion. There were a lot of people walking around so that was a good sign. the businesses need the people to be out & about spending their $$ up there. the folks along the coast that got
      battered by the tornado & storms last weekend are wanting folks to come back.
      I took some pics of the damage & of the trees along the way there. I hope I can send em.

      Colleen, I’m sorry they couldn’t find out what’s going on. Have they checked out your spleen & pancreas? I’ll pray they find out what’s going on, & that it
      isn’t serious.
      The Q had a Bethlehem Lights Christmas tree TSV today. I wish I could get one, but it’s not in my budget. I’d love to have a prelit tree. The one I have is an old white one I got at KMart several yrs ago. It’s turning brown in spots & I don’t know how to get it back to white. I tried getting a Santa’s Best last yr, but when I put it together, you could see the pole. I loved the lights & all the different things you could do. But it was a big disappointment so I sent it back. So when do you ladies start decorating for Christmas? I usually wait till after Thanksgiving, but if I get into the mood, I might start earlier, since it
      takes me longer these days to get things set up the way I want them. Not before Halloween tho!!
      It won’t be long before we turn the clocks back, then it’ll be dark at 4. I hate that!!!!
      That’s all for tonight.
      Hopefully I’ll be able to send the pics I took today. wish me luck
      dd

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    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      Yea Cubs they won tonight. You know that you were watching the game also. I guess that Cleveland has not won a world series for a long time either. I still think that the Cubs should win. Cleveland can win next year. But only if the Cardinals are not playing in the play offs. lol
      You should have asked for those mats a long time ago. Your pool would be in already.lol You never know what a man will come up with next. If Greg is like Ron if he has all winter to think about it he will change his mind. The girls have been begging their dad to put a pool in for a long time but he will not give in and do it. It would be nice to have one it would give the kids something to do in the summer. We would see them a lot more.
      Poor little Piper. I hope she is feeling better tomorrow. It must have been hard to watch her just want to snuggle and not be her bouncy self. At least she did her interpretive dance. Maybe that was a good sign. I hope that you do not come down with what ever they have. You seem to get it really bad when you get it.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Barbara,
      I am glad that it was not an ulcer because I do not like milk. Ron reminded me of that. I guess that he was trying to make me feel better. You are right all of the tests that they are doing leads to the next one. They are sure they will find out what is causing it so will have to wait and see. Need to just stop complaining and get on with things. We have the holidays coming and we need to get the house ready for that. I cannot wait to get all of my Santa’s out for the year. I may start putting them out early.
      You handled that really well with Sarah. I hope that she told you some time that you can help with Colin. It will be a pleasure to watch him and get to spend the time with him. Jerry will come around once Colin starts to do cute things and jabbering and laughing. That always wins Ron over every time that the grands did that. Men are slow at getting into the grandpa mode. My grandson said it best all she does is just lay there and does nothing but cry. Now that she is more active he is really into doing things with her.
      The girls on qvc do not know what hangy parts and stuff that we have. They talk about their arms but they should see mine. They wave in the wind. I never knew that I could have that much flab all over the place. There was this one girl cannot remember which one it was that was worried about how her legs looked when she sat down. I thought yea you have all kinds of fat spreading out. I have elephant legs and that is ugly.lol
      Well I will get off my soap box for tonight. Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD
      They are checking everything. I just hope they find it and get this over with. How is your back doing? I hope that you are not having anymore trouble with it. That is rough when your back hurts.
      That must be a mess where that explosion happened. It is good that people are walking around there and helping those businesses out. I hope that the bagel shop is up and running again soon. I guess the construction company will have to pay for the damages to the building. At least they should.
      Have you tried spraying that white snow on your tree. I do not know how that would work but it would be worth a try. I really like those trees that they had on today also. We are going to have to get a new tree soon. We will give out old one to my youngest daughter. We got it from QVC a long time ago. It has really been a good tree but I think that we are going to get a smaller one. I am not sure yet. The one we have now is a 6 and 1/2 ft. tree. It is really pretty. I would like to have the newer trees that you plug things into the pole and there is only one plug in on them. Maybe after Christmas they will have a good sale on one of them. We usually start decorating Thanks giving evening. We do it when the kids are here and they help to put up the tree. I would like to start putting my Santa’s up early this year. But it will not be until after Halloween.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Sue,
      Your chicken sounds really good. That is a good idea to turn the oven on to help heat up the house. We have our heaters on right now but not the furnace. We will wait until the end of October to turn that on. We still have our air conditioner in the window.
      We have had some cool weather but it is normal for us not to get really cold until after Halloween. So it is normal around here.
      Have fun baking. It is the right time of the year for it.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Barbara,
      You do have a full time job keeping Jerry in tow. I wonder why Sarah is so reticent. I would think if I were going back to work I would want all my child care ducks in a row as soon as possible. Both I and Jenny’s MIL did some of the child care so maybe Sarah is trying to get both sets of grandparents to help out and make a schedule. Hopefully things will get figured out soon. Did you ever get them that portable cradle that I suggested? Jenny used that all the time with all three babies when they were small.
      I’m glad that you are feeling so much better after your stroke. That was a scary time.
      How’s the weather in Tennessee right now? Is it still warm?
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      We start decorating in December. Every year I do less and less. I used to decorate every room in the whole house and now that is just too much work. They have nice prelit trees at the home stores like Lowes and Home Depot and Menards which are a lot cheaper than the ones on the Q if you don’t need to have all those fancy functions.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      You don’t have to drink milk anymore when you have an ulcer. That whole bland food thing was from years ago. Now they put you on a medication. Did you drink milk as a kid? You know I went through my teenage and young adult years not liking or drinking milk and now I like it again. Weird-although I am not crazy about chocolate milk and everyone else in the family loves it. Personally I would rather have white milk-it’s something about the milk being sweet-I think.
      He may change his mind over the winter but I think it’s up to me now and if I really want it we will do it. I know the grands would love it! He even put the new mats in the car for me. Of course now when he saw how nice they are he wants some too. Merry Christmas Greg! Hopefully he won’t order them for himself before then.
      Cleveland has not won a World Series since 1948 but the Cubs have not won one since 1908-so they have had a much longer dry spell-plus they haven’t even played in one since 1945. Wrigley field was wild last night. I got an immediate text from Brent and e-mail from my SIL after the game.
      What are the little ones being for Halloween-Kendall is a ninja, Piper is (now I can’t remember the name) like a genie from a Disney show and Lachlan hasn’t chosen a costume yet. Piper keeps telling me how her Mommy is going to dye her hair blue. I think that’s her favorite part. lol
      I asked how she was doing yesterday and she is still hoarse and won’t let Jenny look in her mouth. I hope I don’t get whatever she has either. I don’t bounce back quite as quickly.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Sorry ladies-please indulge me a little.

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    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      Gail while you were celebrating the Cubs win I am celebrating Penn State’s win over Ohio State (College football). Congratulations to the Cubs and their fans.

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Sue,
      Did you go to Penn State? For some reason I think one of the Q hosts went there-or maybe it’s just my imagination. lol

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      No but I live about 30 miles from State College. Dave King went to Penn State.

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      CONGRATS to the CUBBIES!!!! It’s Looooooooooooong overdue!!!! Not much going on which is fine with me.
      Have a great week ladies.
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Sue,
      Funny you should mention Dave King. I just read that he was on an episode of The Middle-I still haven’t seen last week’s so maybe I will see him on it. How long have you watched the Q. I go way way back about 25 years-so I remember most everybody.

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      No I did not like milk then either. I would drink chocolate milk once in awhile but that was about it. My mom use to get upset with me because I would not drink it. I did not like milk in my cereal or oat meal either. I do like things like cottage cheese and yogurt. So I guess that makes up for not drinking milk.
      I would get the pool it would be so nice to get in there and get your exercise. It is so much easier to move in the water then it is to move on the floor. Just to sit in the water on a hot day would be really nice. That is nice that Greg wants the mats now. It will make a good Christmas present. I have no idea what I am going to get for Ron.
      That is so cool that the Cubs are in the play offs. They do deserve it. I do hope that they win but this time it will be nice no matter who wins. It is nice to have two teams playing that have not won in a while. This is going to be a good year.
      The kids have not said what they are going to be for Halloween. I have not seen Ethan and Kaylee for awhile. Will have to call them and ask them what they want to be. I will see Ethan and Aliza on Saturday. It is Brooklin’s birthday and we will go to her house for her birthday party. She will be 15 wow time flies.
      Sorry that Piper is still not over her sore throat yet. Why is it that little ones do not like to let you look in their mouths. Is she going to school? We have been having some really nice weather here so hope it is there and she can get out in the fresh air.
      I hope that you do not catch that either. You do not want to be sick around this time of the year.
      Have a good day.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Sue,
      Is Dave King the one that use to do the cooking shows? I really liked him or is he the African American? I really liked him also. It was a shame that both of them are no longer at qvc.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      Glad to hear that every thing is going well where you are. This weather could not be better then it is right now. The skies are so blue. I like your fall decorations. They are really pretty. I still have Halloween things up.
      Have a good day.
      Colleen

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      Gail, Dave King was on the Middle. He turns up in different shows pretty often lately. So far just bit parts so hope he gets something that lasts longer. He sell Real Estate also. I have watched QVC a very long time. Probably as long as you have before Jeanne Bice brought Quacker Factory during the 50/50 tour.

      Colleen I think you are thinking about Bob Bowersox as he had a cooking show. I don’t remember Dave King ever doing a cooking show. He is African American. A real nice guy. He sang Baby its cold outside with Lisa Mason for the Host’s CD. It usually pops up somewhere at Christmas time.

      Dave usually posts on his Facebook page when he is going to be on a show.

      I wrote Dave that he does not look like my cousin because I have a cousin also Dave King. He said there were 4 Dave King’s at Penn State when he was there. So must be a popular name.

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Sue,
      That is funny that there were 4 Dave King’s at Penn State when he was there. How unusual is that. I remember when they made that cd it was really good. They had a lot of good singers at that time. Ihope that he has a lot of luck with his new career. He would make a good actor.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Sue,
      I do hear of Dave King sightings on different shows from time to time. Maybe someday he will be cast as a regular on a show-I’ll bet that would be a dream job for him. He always seemed like a really nice guy.
      Gosh yes-I watched from before even the 50 in 50 tour. That is a long time watching.
      I have two Christmas CD’s from QVC hosts. I haven’t played them in ages. I will have to bring them out this season and review who sang on which one.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Adele,
      I saw the spider bundt cakes on the King Arthur site this morning and thought of you immediately. Not that you remind me of a spider-but because it made me think of how you like to bake fun things for the holidays.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      That is funny that you didn’t even eat milk in cereal. You are like a little kid and just eat it right out of the box like a snack. I like when the grands take the Lucky Charms and just eat all the marshmallows.
      Gosh Brooklyn will be 15! How old is Kylie now? That is like Adams girls are a sophomore and junior in high school now. Time flies!
      Piper goes to preschool two mornings a week. I haven’t heard any reports on her talking from Aunt Kelly-I’ll have to ask Jenny.
      It would be nice to just get on a raft and float around in the pool with a book and a lemonade or diet soda. Greg will have to be my pool boy. lol
      Boy this year I am so disappointed with the offerings on the Q for the Christmas season. It seems like they used to have tons of decor during October for both Halloween and Christmas and this year there has been next to nothing. Plus their gift shows are kind of a joke very little selection or variety. It makes you wonder about the future of this type of programming.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hello everyone!
      Good God….I cannot go a day without checking the posts- I hope I did not miss anything. I hate this no email message thing!!!!!
      Ok…here is my news first. Nancy’s son has to have surgery. They said the tumors are benign, but, they grow slow, and are dangerously close to the vocal cords. They are referring him to a more skilled surgeon in Mass General Hospital to remove them, so the vocal cords will not be harmed. If they are, it means he may not be able to talk. Nancy has not been in Mass. general since her son died there- I cannot tell you the PTSD this is causing for her. She is beside herself, and her son is a wreck. He has Asperger’s, and he does not handle nor process things well.
      My SIL was back in the hospital form Thursday, after her infusion, until Sunday. She got a high fever, and very sick. they let her go, as they said they could not find any infection. On the positive side, her blood counts are back up.
      Gary is ok. Seems like no more infections brewing there- all good!
      I am ok too. My neck has been bad at night. It wakes me up in pain, form positions I get into when I am sleeping. I suppose I need a straight jacket to sleep in…LOL
      Heather was in the ER at Mass Eye and Ear- she has scratches, and tears in one eye, which also caused a massive infection. She has to put medicine into the eye every hour, and it hurts to put it in, as well as if the eye is open. She has to follow up with her eye doctor by tomorrow. But, on the positive side, she was in less pain yesterday.
      So far, we got all the papers out of the attic, and office, and had everything shredded yesterday- they came to the house to do it. Step one of the big attic clean out. Step 2 looming on the horizon.
      Colleen- So sorry they could not find out what is wrong with your belly. You must be really disgusted. I hope they can figure this out, so you will not have any more discomfort. How is the new puppy doing? how has Ron been?
      Gail- I saw that spider cake too. That was a pretty easy way to decorate a cake. I did that new chocolate pie they posted last week. Not sure if I like it. it was too coffee like, with the addition of the espresso powder.
      What is wrong with our little Piper???? I saw a mention, and could not figure out what it was.
      Hurray for the Cubs! Hooray for Sue’s favorite college team too!
      Sue- I can smell that wonderful roasted chicken from here. I am making a new recipe tonight- called Paprika Pork Scallopini with Sauerkraut and Apples. got it form the Food Network magazine. It ought to be good, and I cannot wait to tell you the comments from the peanut gallery.
      DD- love you decorations, and pictures. So sad about what the explosion, and storm did. I heard there is another big storm brewing, and I hope it misses you. These storms have been awful lately. We got a lot of rain over the weekend, and wind, but, we needed it.
      Barbara- I hope you get the babysitting settled with your DIL. Thanks for the info on what you knew from throat issues. Shane seems to have a lot of strange things. He also has a weird skin thing, where he cannot be in the sun at all, or he gets an awful skin rash.
      I hope Jerry can start to feel better about your DIL. It is a tough position. he is trying to defend you, and feels she is being just plain mean. I wonder if she is feeling very guilty about having to return to work??
      I hope I did not miss anything- let me know if I did.
      I have to remember to check this every day, and it gets busy, and I forget. Love all you guys!
      Glad Sue is enjoying her retirement, and starting to bake!!
      Adele

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      I am glad to hear that all of you are okay there. Even though there has been a lot going on. I hope that Heather’s eye get better soon and she does not have any more pain in it. I hope that the surgery for Nancy’s son goes okay. He really has been having some bad health scares. That would be hard for Nancy to go back into that hospital but it is the right place for her son to go. Will be praying for her and that she makes it okay when she has to go there. Your poor sil has been going thru a lot also. Hope that she is feeling better soon. Is the fever gone now? I am surprised that they sent her home with a fever. They do things different now. That is really good that Gary is doing okay. Hopefully this will not happen to him again. He is another one that has had his share of health problems. How is your neck? Have you tired a different pillow? They have a lot of new ones that are supposed to line you neck up with your spine. I wonder if that would work for you.
      I think that I missed something. What are you doing in the attic? Are you redoing it or getting a solar panel on the roof? Sometimes I think that I read over things or I forget what is going on.
      The new puppy is getting to be a little rascal. He took his food bowl off and we cannot find it. I guess we will have to get a heavier one so he cannot pick it up. He does not come in the house that often. He really likes it outside. I guess that he will stay there until it gets cold. Then he will have to come in the house. He is not easy to house break either. He just goes all over the place.
      Your dinner sounds really good. Hope that everyone likes it. Maybe Gary will like this meal. What is his favorite meal? If he is like Ron it depends on his mood.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      I have been feeling the same way about the q’s Christmas shows. It was disappointing that they did not have more Halloween then they did. I did notice that the other day they did have a few new items on a Christmas show. They had a hurricane lamp with a flameless candle. It has snow birds on it. That was the first time I had seen those. They had two or three others with different designs. I thought of Debbie the other day when they were showing a Christmas tree with a remote. She was looking for one for such along time. I think that she did end up ordering one but it just make me think of her.
      Yes Brooklin is going to be 15 and Kylie is 17. She is going to graduate this year. It is so hard to believe. Brook is a freshman because she had a late birthday she had to wait a year before she could start school. That is kind of a shame that they do that. She was ready to go to school but could not.
      I cannot imagine Piper not talking during school. She is such a live wire. I guess they are the ones that surprise everyone and do not say much. She is so cute though.
      You should also have a pinacolada or some type of interesting drink. Since you have a pool boy he can fix them for you.lol Ron would tell me to get out of the pool and fix my own.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I guess it’s not just you and I either. A lot of people on the Q boards are thinking the programming is getting really boring and repetitious too. It used to be they had such cute and different items and now it’s the same stuff over and over. I watch a lot less than I used to. I just hope that Quacker never goes away. That would be awful. I also read on there that the Q is starting a separate beauty channel.
      It’s funny I was thinking about Debbie the other day too. There was a character on the TV program Fresh Off the Boat that kind of looked like her. I have not heard from her in ages.
      Does Kylie have any plans for after graduation yet? Was she the one who wants to be a doctor? Is she looking at any schools yet?
      Did you ever tell us what mix of breeds that you think the puppy is? His name is Snoopy right? Is Austin getting used to him?
      I hope the doctor will figure out why you are feeling sick soon and fix you up.
      The Cubbies didn’t do well last night. They will have to fight their way back. I know the weather is pouring rain here-I wonder what it is doing in Cleveland.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      You will get used to checking the site every day after awhile. I still wish I got it in my e-mails but no one can figure out what’s wrong so I am stuck the way it is. Did you hear back from Tiago?
      I will be praying for Nancy, your SIL and Heather. You have a lot of health issues going on among family and friends.
      My sister went to a specialist at the Mass. eye and ear place as the guy that knows the most about her eye disease ( can’t remember the name of it now) is there. Also I just remembered that my nephew-my sister’s son- did some undergrad work at BC.
      We used to have a woman who posted on here who was from Salem-I always think about that at Halloween time. Then I think they moved to Missouri or someplace.
      Piper was hoarse and kind of tired when we were there last Friday so I was wondering if she had gotten strep throat like Lachlan. I haven’t talked to Jenny in a couple of days so I don’t know what the outcome was of that. You probably saw the picture of Jenny and Dan Hampton(former Chicago Bear) on Facebook.
      You know I wonder if Nancy’s son takes any medications. The reason I asked is you said he gets a skin rash from sunlight. One of the medicines that I take will give me hives if I stay too long in the sun. I have had it happen and it is miserable. I am extremely careful of staying in the sun too long.
      How did the dinner go? I love to hear the comments when you serve your family something new.
      Gail

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      Gail if Cleveland is anything like here it is COLD. We had a very heavy frost this morning looked almost like snow. It is now 10:30 and still only 38 our high is only to be in the 40’s today. At least the wind seems to have died down.

      I saw Jenny’s photo with Dan Hampton. She looked like a little girl next to him.

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      I wonder if it hurt them to have that extra channel. They do not have enough product for both channels. It would be nice if they would get some of the old vendors back again. They use to have more Christmas vendors then they have now. That is probably why they had so many different things. I like Valerie Parhill but her things are too big for my house. So do not buy any of her things anymore. I did buy some Choir people last year but they were rough on the bottom and had to send them back.
      Did you watch Chics Night in tonight. I was surprised that it was on at 7pm today instead of 9. It was a good thing that I have the dvr to record it when ever it comes on. It is supposed to be on at the regular time next week. I have been ordering things and I shouldn’t be. I still have Christmas things to order. I bought the shirt with the pumpkins and ghosts on the fence, I bought two pairs of dj and a jacket. Oh I forgot I ordered a shirt with Santa on it. I cannot believe that I bought all of that. I need to stop again and finish shopping for the kids. The things that I want for two of them I will have to buy at the store. Will so that pretty soon so I do not have to go out after Thanks giving this year.
      I have not heard from Debbie either. She was so much fun and I miss her being on here. Maybe one day she will surprise us and post on here again. I just hope that she is okay.
      Kylie does want to be a doctor. She is applying at St. Louis University and Washington U. They are both in St. Louis. So hope that she gets in there. She was going to see about getting loans for school and see what she can get. She did really did well on her entrance tests. We are hoping that she will get some type of scholar ship for college. What about Adams older daughter? Is she graduating from high school this year? What are her dreams and what does she want to be?
      Snoopy is part lab, part blue healer and some type of cattle dog. We cannot remember the name of it. That man told Ron what it was but it is really unusual. We will have to look up the different types of breeds again and see if we can find it again.
      I go back to the doctor on the 31st of this month. Will see what she has to say then. I wonder what the next test will be.
      The cubs are winning right now. They won 5 to 1. It will be exciting to see who wins tomorrow night. When do they go back to Chicago? I hope that they win at home so everyone there can celebrate.
      Well that is all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I have bought some of Valerie’s things over the years. Right now the village that I put on my mantel is from her. I got it a few years ago and gave my other village to Jenny. I really don’t need any more decorations but I sure do like to look at them. I have a really nice fall village too-I think it came from some catalog years ago-but I didn’t put it up this year. In fact I put up very little fall or Halloween because I can’t get to the boxes since stuff got all moved around in the basement when we put the new floor down there and everything is not back where it is supposed to be yet as Greg is trying to go through all of Brent’s stuff that got left here and take that out to the barn to store it. It’s a work in progress. But I do have some pumpkins and some candles I can decorate with for the whole fall season through Thanksgiving-so that will be it for this year. Hopefully I will be able to get to the Christmas stuff by that time.
      I didn’t copy or watch Chick’s Night In last night because I was copying some other stuff. That Halloween shirt that you got is really cute. I got it in the gray. Did you vote for next years shirt on this site yet? Just think of all the years of wear that you will get out of your new Quacker stuff. It’s a good investment because it lasts forever. I can’t buy the DJ’s anymore because even the shorts are too long and I refuse to shorten stuff that I have already paid good money for. I can still wear the capris and pedal pushers and shorts though.
      I didn’t see anything for the kids on the Q this year. Towards the end of November Jenny will start sending me ideas for the kids and then I will just go online and order things and have them shipped here.
      I will have less to get this year as I won’t be getting stuff for the dog groomer or dog sitter. I will just have my hair dresser and I already know what I am getting her.
      Adam’s oldest daughter Gabby is a junior this year so she has some time before deciding on a college. I’m not sure what her future plans are. We don’t see her as much anymore as she is off doing things with her friends and boyfriend.
      Is Austin a blue heeler too? You should have some sheep with all these herding dogs. They can herd the guineas.
      Well I hope the doctor finds out something when you see her on the 31st. You can wear your new shirt. I figure on that day the people in the bloodwork place all should wear Dracula fangs. We used to have a grocery store in town here and all the people who worked there always wore costumes on Halloween. I actually enjoyed shopping on that day seeing them all dressed up. I miss that grocery store too-their produce was so far superior to WalMart’s which is where we shop now. I wish they would build another regular grocery store here.
      Excited about the win last night. I believe the next games are in Chicago Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So if they could win three straight they would be at home when they won the series which would be unbelievable. I honestly believe the city would burst with pride. Every game-every inning is exquisite torture. At least the weather is supposed to be a little nicer-so that’s a good thing. I feel for those guys playing in the cold-baseball is supposed to be a spring summer game. To say I am excited is an understatement-and then take me and multiply it by millions.
      Hope you do something fun this weekend.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey Girls!
      hope everyone is warm and cozy. Yucky here today. It will be pouring soon, and last until tomorrow am. Tomorrow I go for the brace for my hands, to help with the discomfort on bad days. As our anniversary is Saturday, I told Ga, lets make a day of it tomorrow, as log as the rain stops. After we get the brace, I would love to take a run up tot he farm I love in Essex, to get some apples, and some fresh vegies. Then, we could go for an early dinner, at whatever place we want to stop at. I hope the weather cooperates, so we can do the farm. They have a handicap parking section, that is pretty close to the big barn, where they sell all the produce, etc.
      Did I tell you girls for our anniversary, I sent for DNA kits, so we can see who we are….LOL I have been dying to do that. It takes 8 weeks to get the results back.
      Did you all see the comedies last night, with their Halloween shows? I have to say, I was chuckling. It is so good to laugh.
      I totally agree. I have had a real problem trying to find something cool from the Q this year for everyone. Yesterday, I noticed Temptations brought in a new loaf pan- set of 3- a regular loaf pan, and 2 mini’s I got a set for me, and one for Heather for Christmas.
      Soooooooo….the big test dinner. I think the sauerkraut/apple/onion sauce came out great. You sautéed an onion, and 2 cut up apples, until the apples browned a little- in 2 tbsp. of unsalted butter. Then, you add the can of sauerkraut, a cup of chicken stock, and a 1/2 cup of apple cider- simmer until the sauce reduces. Smelled great, and I loved the apple/sauerkraut taste. Then, you fried the pork chops, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and paprika, and served them with the sauerkraut. The chops were too thick, and they dried out before they cooked through. If I could have done it, it would have been good to cut the chops in half, to make them a lot thinner. I cannot do that, as meat is so slippery, and my hands cannot hold the meat well enough. too bad Bobby was not home to cut them for me- I should have checked them- my error.
      Here is the jury verdict……..Tillie did not like it- she likes her sauerkraut the German way only. Gary ate the meat only, and knows better than to criticize….fearing a strike. Heather and Dave had it the next day (yesterday), and they loved it. Heather said the meat was not dried out. I think maybe the meat absorbed the juices from the sauce overnight. Bobby, the “Food Nazi”, did not try it, as he hates sauerkraut. Bobby did suggest, I should have baked the chops when I saw they were that thick, and nobody was home to cut them for me.
      So, I do not think I will be making that again…..LOL
      This weekend, I will be making Whoopie Pies, with eyes, like they did on the Chew yesterday- I loved how they look, and I have the edible eyes I was using for the ghost meringue cookies. I will have to decide if I make the ghosts too.
      Congrats to the Cubs, ladies! I bet you are all thrilled they are winning.

      DD-How is your weather? We are having snow in the higher elevations today, and a it of a freeze tonight- not a hard one. I hope all is well at your place, and that other storm moved on by. Did they ever figure out what caused that awful explosion?
      I agree with you on the Q. I wish they had some interesting things on for the holidays. The last interesting thing, was the cool outside trees I got before Halloween. I did get my Mom the Hallmark set of all occasion cards- she will love those, and it is a useful Christmas gift.

      Colleen- The neck pillow does help, when I am in my chair at night. It cradles my neck so nicely, and is so soothing, that I fall asleep when I have it on….LOL It is one of those sleeping on an airplane pillow. That dam neck has been a problem lately. I wake up in awful pain, as I get into a position that hurts the neck, and it wakes me up. So, sleeping is an issue lately. I go back to the doctor the week after Halloween week, and I will be signing up for the shot in my neck.
      The attic is a project of purging. Gary puts everything up there, and I am clearing everything out. We first got rid of all saved taxes, and papers for the business- we saved only 3 years back. We had over 32 boxes. Next, goes all the in-used decorations, etc. Anything not necessary, is going. I have some Christmas stuff I will not be using anymore- a couple of large trees, and the 7 foot skinny one I got from the Q years back. Plus, the garland and topiaries for outside are on their way out too. This year, and going forward, I have the outside trees I got form the Q (2), and the beautiful big Nutcrackers (2)- those will be new the outside decorations. And, they are much easier to put up. No more ladders to get up the garland around the door.
      How is your belly feeling? It is awful to go to the doctor on Halloween. I hope you do not run into a lot of traffic. Will you go see the grands on Halloween? What is Aliza going to be? I have no idea what the boys will be, as I guess it is a big secret.

      Gailster- Thank you for the prayers for all my sick people. My SIL is good, so far this week. I hope she stays good this week, as tomorrow, a nice basket with chocolate and wine is being delivered to her house as a gift from me and Gary.
      Where does your SIL live? IS she in the New England area? How is her eye now?
      Heather’s eye is getting better. They changed the antibiotic she puts in the eye yesterday, and added another one that goes in her eye too. She has to wear sunglasses, as the light bothers her eye a lot. They will evaluate if she can ever use contacts again, after all is healed.
      How is Piper feeling? I hope she does not have strep. Halloween is right around the corner!
      I did see that pic on Facebook, but I did not know who he was. Gary did not recognize him either. I thought that was funny, as Gary is a big football fan. At least now, I know who he is.
      Nancy’s son does not take any meds for the Asperger’s. He has some creams for his skin condition. I know some meds do not do well in the sun- Celebrex is one of them. It makes me nauseous when I go in the sun, and I am not sure if it is the med, or just me.
      I remember Debbie. She was hysterical, and then, one day, she just disappeared. I often wonder what happened to her.
      Have you seen the Chew this week? So much fun, as they have all Halloween shows this week.

      Sue- So, what have you been baking, since it has been so cold up our way? Are you doing anything for Halloween? I will take a pic of my Halloween Whoopie pies- hope they come out good….LOL
      Do you watch The Chew? I love that show.
      Have you been called to help the girl who replaced you anymore? It seemed like she needed your assistance. Have you changed your sleep times, since you retired? I do stay up a little later, to see the beginning of the Stephen Colbert shows, as he is hysterical. I get up between 8 and 9, depending on the weather. I usually get up, and take my Celebrex, and watch GMA in bed, while the Celebrex starts to work. It is so nice I do not have to get right out of bed, when I am all stiff.

      Hope everyone is good, and getting ready for Halloween.
      Adele

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      How is everybody? I hope you’re all fine. It’s raining, still!! We’re headed for the wettest Oct. on record. It’s usually the foggiest month, but not so this
      yr. Nov. is normally the wettest month. If this is any indicator we could be in for a soggy winter. So far the creeks, & rivers are within their banks.
      We did have a bit of a break in the clouds this afternoon, but the liquid sunshine has returned. It’s not a steady heavy rain, just showers.

      They still haven’t figured out what caused the big explosion last week. I haven’t heard anything on the news. It could take awhile since there were 3
      explosions. Then today, there was another incident on the same street, just on the opposite side of town. Another contractor clipped a gas line. The fire dept. evacuated everyone, but there was no explosion this time.
      My arthritis has been kicking in this week. I had a bad fall 5 yrs ago, causing my elbow to pop out of its socket. I had to go to the ER & they knocked me out before the put it back.. I had to have surgery on it to staple the tendons, etc back on the bone. When I do something I don’t mess around do I??
      anyway, it starts letting me know it’s still there. I’m not able to straighten it completely out. There’s a bone spur or something that keeps me from it.
      Jewell’s resting on the sofa arm right now. She sends her purrs.
      So, how about those Cubs??!! GO CUBS!!!! The closest baseball team out here is the Seattle Mariners, as is the Seattle Sea Hawks the closest football
      team. We do have the Portland Trail Blazers as our NBA team.
      Did any of you see the Valerie Parr Hill shows this week? She was on with Mary Beth this morning. There were soooooooooo many things I wanted!!! I loved loved loved the red & white berry garland & wreath!!! Other than her shows, they still haven’t had anything on worth getting.

      Well, I guess that’s all for now.
      take care
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      Sorry that the elbow is acting up. Growing older is still not for sissies. If only we knew about these aches and pains when we were younger-we would have appreciated our young healthy bodies more.
      My sister lived in Portland in the 70’s and she said it is a bit rainier there than it is in the Midwest.
      We are so excited about the Cubs in this area of the country. It’s something we have dreamed of for so long. Now if they can just win three more games.
      VPH does have some beautiful things. But I often wonder who has so many coffee tables and side tables and sofa tables in their houses to put all those little scenarios that she dreams up. With all the dogs that we used to have I eliminated all the coffee tables-they just got in the way. Now I use storage ottomans instead. They serve the same purpose and are also practical. lol
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Adele,
      What does the hand brace look like? Will it be for both hands? Can you do anything with the braces on. If it is anything like my ankle brace they are not cheap either.
      Happy Anniversary! Tell Gary he is a lucky man! That’s an unusual gift-DNA tests. I had a DNA test done to tell how quickly the macular degeneration might progress in my case. Thankfully it came back showing a very slow progression-I hope it’s right.
      I’m with Bobby-i don’t eat sauerkraut either. I love that he’s the food Nazi! lol
      It was my sister who went to Mass. Eye hospital. She lives in Indiana-and flew out to see the guy there because he is the country’s expert in her particular disease which I can’t remember the name of. it’s an autoimmune disease-so it doesn’t get cured but she is doing better and is off the strong meds for it. I hope heather can wear her contacs again-I would be sad if I couldn’t wear mine anymore-even though I don’t wear them as often as when I was younger.
      For some reason I haven’t seen The Chew this week-and I love when they do the Halloween stuff.
      I think with all the baseball my schedule has gotten all messed up.
      It’s no wonder that Gary wouldn’t know Dan Hampton as he was a player on the 1985 Bears Super Bowl team. That was a while back. He was at Jenny’s work signing autographs.
      She always gets pictures with the famous people-When she worked at the homeless shelter they had a concert with Gary Sinese’s band so somewhere there is a picture of her And Gary too.
      Have fun today. I hope it’s a blue sky sunny day and you get out to the farm. After all-according to the Q hosts-you have to get that pumpkin picking in. lol
      Gail

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      VPH does have some really cute village pieces. The ones that I am talking about are the balls that she had and the stands to put them on. You would have to have a big are to put them so they would look right. We have a small house and big things like that look out of place. Unless it is a Santa. lol She did have some cute things before. She does not seem to have as many candles like she use to have. I guess that everyone is going to the wax burners and not lighting candles as much. I guess things are just changing and I cannot keep up with the times.
      I hope that you can find your Christmas things by the end of November. Sounds like Brent left a lot of things behind when he moved. It is hard to know what to do with it. Ron has three sheds and there is not room for anything in them. He has really stocked them up. If anyone ever needs a lawn mower or a tractor or parts we have it here somewhere. It is hard though when you things get moved around and you cannot find them. It can really get aggravating. Hope you find everything.
      My shirt is in grey also. I got that in grey and a grey top with Santa on it. I get a lot of grey. I was looking thru my closet and I have a lot of grey tops. I need to brighten up a little.lol It is a good thing that they have a lot of sparkle on them. My tops are about as boring as my conversations. I had to go down another size in djs. If I keep losing weight I will be in a size six. lol My daughter would be shocked to see me that small. I have always been chubby mom and grandma and now it is all going away.
      We went to see Aliza Thursday. She is changing so much. She can stand by herself now and she is walking around tables and things. She is giving hugs and kisses now. It is so funny. It is the open mouth kiss like they do when they start. When she hugs us she puts her face next to ours and say aw. Just like I guess we do to her when we hug her. She is just so darn cute. I am not prejudice though.
      I do not know why I thought that Gabby was a senior. She has time to decide what she wants to do then. Was one of the girls interested in helping animals or am I thinking of someone else? These kids are growing up too fast. They will not slow down either. Kaylee got an award at school today. She got one for being a good helper and listening. She even got to eat lunch with the principal. That was a shock to all of us. She was the one that we all thought would have trouble in school because she did not want to go. You never know how these things are going to work out.
      We have a couple of groceries stores here and not just Wal-Mart. I like to go to Schnucks but Ron likes to go to Country Mart. They started enlarging their stores when Wal mart put in there super centers down here. So there is some competition here now. That is good. We do not get good produce at our Wal mart either so was glad to be able to go to other stores.
      The game must have been torture tonight. They lost and I was hoping that they would win. Maybe they will win the next two. It would be nice if they would have won at home. Do each of the teams won two games? This does get nerve wracking. Come on Cubs get going.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night and hope the Cubs win tomorrow.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      I am glad that they pillow is helping you with your neck. I may have to get one for my neck. It always hurts after we go on a trip anywhere. It just does not seem possible to get comfortable in the car. Can you use that pillow in bed? I just wonder if it would do any good when you are in bed. I sleep in our recliner sometimes. It is more comfortable then lying flat. Wish we could get one of those beds that you can raise up and down. That would be nice. I guess it is a sleep number bed.
      It is hard not to fill up every empty space in a house. We store a lot of things in every empty spot we have. My Christmas things takes up two closets now. The outside decorations you have now sound really nice. It is a good thing that you are not keeping the things that you or Gary would have to get on a ladder to put up. That is not a good idea for either of you. I would love to get a new tree. Mine is getting older and I want a tree that it all plugs into the pole instead of having to plug it in more then once. We have had this tree for a long time now. Were the 7″ trees for the outside or inside? That is really tall.
      We do not have that much traffic down here any time of the day. I have to be there at 8am so it will not be bad at all. Where we live there are not a lot of trick or treators that are around. We go mostly on the high ways so there are not houses on there. That is one good thing about living in the country. We will see all the grands tomorrow in their costumes. One of the grands is having a Halloween birthday party.So it should be interesting to see what all they are wearing. The second oldest grand is turning 15 and so she is excited about having this party. It should be interesting.
      I hope that you got to go to the farm and get your produce and then go to dinner. That sounds like a nice day. Sometimes if they know the issues that you are having they will let you park closer. At least they will here. They do not want anyone falling for fear they will get sued. We did not go to the apple orchard this year. We should have an froze some apples. We have a lot of peaches frozen that we got from the orchard. We found an easy way to get the peals off of them now if we could find an easy way to get the peals off the apples that would be great.
      I am glad that Heather’s eye is getting better. Hope that she can wear her contacts again. It would be hard to get use to wearing glasses again. Do they know what caused her to get this infection in her eye? That is rough when your eye is bothering her. How nice that you and Gary sent your sil some candy and wine. She will probably really appreciate that. Nothing makes you feel as good as chocolate.
      Your meal sounds really good. I like the sauerkraut and apples cooked together. That is a shame that the pork chops were dry though. Well it sounds like the likes and dislikes were about even. So when Heather and Dave come over you will have to fix it then and fix just pork chops for the rest of them.lol Bobby is a coward for not at least trying your dinner. How could he say that he did not like it. I see potato soup in your future.lol
      I have been enjoying the Chew this week also. They have had a lot of good things on there this week. It is going to be fun Monday to see what costumes that they are going to be wearing. I wonder if poor Micheal will have to dress up like a woman again this year. He is a good sport about it though.
      Well that is about all from here. This is starting to look like a book. Read what I wrote to Gail about Aliza. She is so cute.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD
      This weather this year has just been crazy. It is going to be in the 80’s here for a few days and then drop back down to cold weather. We have been having rain off and on but not as much as you have been having. Hope that you are not having a lot of flooding around there.
      I always thought that construction workers had to get permission to dig in certain places. That way they will not hit a gas line. I guess that they just did not know that the lines were there. That is good that there were no more explosions. That is scary when you hear an explosion like that. They were quick to get everyone evacuated.
      Does your arthritis act up when you have wet weather? I know mine does and it drives me crazy. Especially my back. I injured my back and I have arthritis in my back also. That is miserable. That was a bad fall. I hope that you elbow will start to feel a little better when this rain slows down. Do you take anything for it? That made my arm hurt just thinking about that fall you had.
      How nice Jewell is letting you know that she loves you. Cats are so cute and so are dogs. it would be hard for us not to have some type of pet around here. We have not been without one for a long time.
      Well that is about all from here. Hope you arm feels better soon.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      I have those VPH balls in turquoise. I have them sitting on a curio cabinet right inside the front door. I don’t have them on pedestals though.
      After Kim died Brent packed up their whole household in boxes and moved it here. He took a lot of stuff when he moved to NM but he couldn’t take everything. A lot of what he left behind was clothing and books that were Kim’s. He never really took the time to go through her stuff and either donate or throw away and I never pressed the issue as I know how difficult that is-so i think a lot of the boxes may be her personal stuff.
      I wore that Halloween shirt in the gray over to Jenny’s tonight and Lachlan was counting the rhinestones on the pumpkins and the cats. He told me to make sure I wore another Halloween shirt with sparkles next time I saw him. I told him after Halloween it would have to be Thanksgiving shirts and then after that it would be Christmas shirts.
      Boy you have lost a lot of weight being down to a small now. No wonder you have been buying clothes-you need to get new ones because of going down in size.
      Wow-Aliza is cruising now. I’m glad you got to see her. I miss my time with Piper too now that I am not babysitting. That is funny when they give those open mouth baby kisses.
      Maybe you were thinking that Adam’s girls were into animals because they both have been in 4 H for years and years. This year Kendall is dropping girl scouts and going into 4H. Adam’s oldest daughter Gabby will probably go to college-the younger one Enya really doesn’t care for school and would like to be a pastry chef.
      Good for Kaylee-winning that award. The kids do surprise us sometime. I hope she enjoyed her lunch with the principle.
      I think the closest Schnucks to us is in Rockford. Brent and Kim used to shop there a lot. We have a really nice grocery store in the next town across the Wisconsin border but since I don’t like shopping that much I don’t like taking the extra time to drive there. I used to go there and shop sometimes after I dropped the dogs at the groomer as it was close to her house. But now with no dogs i don’t get up that way too much.
      The game tonight was excruciating. So far the Indians have won two and the Cubs one. They need to start doing some hitting again. They are giving me grey hairs on top of my grey hairs.
      Have fun at the party.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey girls….just a quick one tonight. I will read all the posts tomorrow.
      here is a pic of my ghost meringue cookies, and the “monster” whoopee pies. The Chew did eyes on their whoopee pies this week, and I thought that was a great idea, so I did them too.
      I was in the kitchen all day, baking, and it took a long time to get all the eyes on all the dam cookies…LOL LOL I used my eyebrow tweezers- after I cleaned them of course!
      Adele
      Let the Halloween celebrations begin…..

      Attachments:
    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      Adele These girls have no idea what a whoopi pie is. I tried telling them before but they had it all wrong. Maybe you photo will prove that they exist. I have made many but never put eyes on them.

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Cute ghosts-whoopie pies look delicious-I’ll be right over for a sample.
      Girls-if the Cubbies don’t win tonight-it’s all over-again-keep your fingers crossed for a win.

    • Dianne Danielson
      Participant
      Post count: 1034

      Hi Ladies,
      Well it’s another soggy Sunday out here in the NW. Perfect for hibernating!! I hope you’re all doing fine this weekend. Sorry to hear about the Cubbies!!
      I was soooo hoping they’d win it all!! Maybe if I didn’t watch it would help.

      Are you all ready for the trick or treaters tomorrow?? Normally I don’t get any since I live on the 12th floor. But I signed up this yr. It’ll be interesting to see
      if any kids from the bldg. next door make it up here. It’s gonna be wet so I may not get that many.

      They keep saying this month could go in the record book as the wettest Oct. on record. Last week it was in the 3rd spot, but with this weekend it could put it on the top. We’re not getting battered like we did a few weeks ago. The creeks & rivers are still in their banks so there’s no danger of flooding at this
      point. With the leaves tho there could be street flooding around the corners. We did have a beautiful day Friday & part of yesterday, so that helped.

      My former neighbor who was evicted, all but destroyed that apt. My friend Critt is moving in & he was telling me what all they had to do to repair it. the former tenant cut the cords on the stove & refrigerator so they had to replace both. They had to treat the apt for bugs 4(!!!) times. they had to bomb it that many times there was soo infested with the creepy crawlers!!! That’s where mine came from!! I think most of my neighbors had to be treated for them as well. I don’t know why people do things like that. He’ll never be able to live in low income housing again. People like that make it bad for the rest of us. What’s wrong with people???
      I’m including some pics, but the only one I can take credit for is the one of Jewell watching the crows as they fly around the bldg.
      Have a Happy Halloween!!!
      dd

      Attachments:
    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      You have a bigger place then I do so they would look good there. We have a small place and low ceilings. It is just hard to explain. I wonder if Brent would get upset if you gave away Kim’s stuff. It would make it easier on him but not sure that it would be easy for you to do either. That is kind of a hard thing to do. At least you can put them in the barn and it will be out of your way.
      Well that is not right that you cannot wear Halloween shirts every time you go over to his house. Lachlan was probably was disappointed. He will be okay when he sees your Thanks- Giving shirts. We went to Brooklins Halloween birthday party Saturday. She had a few friends over and they were all very nice kids. There was one girl there that was taller then Ron. She was a tall girl. We stayed until they all started to dance and sing songs while listening to the radio. I think that we were cramping their style. So we left so they did not have to worry about the old folks listening and watching them. You know how teenagers are. They were all really nice kids and very respectful. Owen and Aliza did not come they had company and then Owen had to go to a birthday party. It was a sleep over and he did not to miss it. I do not blame him. Brooklin is so much older then him it just did not seem like fun to him. Melissa did come down and we fixed chicken and dumplings today for lunch. She always wants that when she comes to visit. Kaylee and Ethan looked really good in their costumes last night. Some of the kids wore their costumes and others did not. I guess with older kids they do not dress up like they do when they are younger.
      Maybe Enya will go to a cooking school. They have a lot of good ones around. Wouldn’t it be fun if she got to go to Paris and go to a cooking school there. A lot of good chefs go there. I hope that both of them succeed at what ever they want to do.
      I can imagine it is hard not to be around Piper. She is very entertaining. When the older ones are in school all day it is hard to get to see them when you are watching the littler ones. There were a lot of times that Kevin or Danyielle would get home before Owen so we would not get to see him. It is hard to not see them as often. We use to see him all the time.
      At least the cubs are winning tonight. Ron turned the channel and is watching the news. I do not watch it until the end. I cannot stand to watch the whole game it drives me crazy. Go Cubs do not give up yet.
      Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      Your cookies and the whoopee pies look really good. You need to sell things on qvc so we can buy them and get to taste all these good food items that you make. My sugar would be really high after eating all the treats that you make. You know that you would sell out from just us buying.lol
      They are all so cute with the little eyes on them. You really take our time with baking. You do all the little things that matter. Hope that you get on here tomorrow we miss hearing from you. It doesn’t show the posts in our e-mail still I really wish they would get that fixed.
      We may all have to write to Tiago and James.
      Well that is about all from here. Read Gail’s post if you want to hear what all is going on here. If you want to read it.
      Have a great night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi DD,
      I sure hope that the creepy crawlers did not come into your apartment again. That is terrible that they did that much damage to that apartment. Has Critt moved in yet or is he still waiting to move in? I hope that he is. I do not understand why people would do that either. Where will they be able to live after doing all of that. They were not too smart were they.
      We never get any trick treators here. We are in the country and the houses are too far apart. So they kids go where the houses are closer. We do go to a church for trunk or treat but do not know when they are having it this year. So probably miss out on it all together. We will stay here and watch Halloween movies and eat popcorn.
      You really are getting a lot of rain this month. Hope that you do not have any flooding. We have been lucky with our rain that we have had. We just have showers and not down pours. That is always better. I love a slow rain that sinks into the ground. It is much better and does a lot more good.
      That picture of Jewel is really cute. She is such a cute cat. You always find some cute pictures to post on here. That is nice because we all need something to smile about.
      Well that is about all from here. Hope that you have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi DD,
      I don’t know why people have to destroy stuff either. Just be glad he is gone. You are better off without him next door to you. Now you will have someone there that you know and like.
      We don’t get any trick or treaters out here. The houses are too far apart.
      Well, the Cubs are still in it. They have to win two more. It’s been exciting, scary and frustrating. They need to fire up their bats!
      I like watching all the shows today to see how everyone dresses up.
      We are having a bit of a warmer spell-I’ll take 60’s for as long as we can get them.
      Gail

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Hi Colleen,
      Has everyone written to Tiago or James about not getting notifications? Maybe if they can fix it for you guys it will automatically fix it for me too. That would be nice.
      Sounds like Brooklyn had a good party. It was smart to leave early so as not to crimp their style. It’s fun to see the young people and think about how they have their whole lives ahead of them. And it’s fun to watch them dancing and singing and having a good time. What were Ethan and Kaylee dressed as? I’m glad Melissa came so you could visit with her too. It’s nice to know she still loves Mom’s chicken and dumplings.
      I don’t think Brent would mind if I went through Kim’s stuff but I don’t really want to do it. Plus I wouldn’t know if there was anything of sentimental value to him. After she died Jenny had a special pillow made for him out of this fuzzy pink loungesuit that she used to wear a lot. That meant a lot to him. In fact I think he always slept with that pillow-at least when he lived here. Plus he had some of her ashes made into pendants for him and her three daughters. I hope they are happy and doing well.
      The Cubs are still in it. They have to win these next two games. Keep on believing.
      Gail

    • adele shanbar
      Participant
      Post count: 5025

      Hey girls!
      Happy Halloween!! What is everyone wearing today? I have on my orange (new one) ghost shirt- the one with the ghosts on the bottom. I am betting Tillie will have on the same shirt as I do, accept she got the grey one!
      I did message Tiago on the email issue- I hope everyone did.
      Well ladies, (thanks for letting me know, Sue!) I did not know Whoopie pies are a thing of the Northeast. They are 2 dense chocolate cookies- kind of a cross between a cookie and a cake, and the inside has a vanilla cream center- like the cream in the Hostess cupcakes. The eyes were an idea I saw on the Chew. They are a favorite of Gary’s, and Steph’s, not to mention the rest of the crew- Bobby gave them a 2 thumbs up. Funny, I did not even get a taste on the sauerkraut from him. he may be on the “potato soup” list very soon.
      I hope you all get to watch the Chew today, as they will all be in costume.
      I read all the posts a few days back, and I hope I did not miss anything. So here, goes…..

      Sue- thank you for letting me know the girls do not know about Whoopie Pies. It is funny how many foods are regional, or at least what we call them. How is retirement going? this is your first Halloween home. I bet that is nice, not having to get home after the trick or treater’s are out.

      DD- Arthritis knows when Fall begins, not the weather people. It is amazing how it starts to ache, all of a sudden.
      I wish we could get a couple of days of your rain. We are still 8 inches in a drought. Even when we get rain, it is drizzle, which does not help much.
      I am cheering for your Cubs, for you and Gail. I hope they will make it.
      I love the pic of the bat, and the Snoopy one. So glad your friend is moving in to the apartment next door. Now, you will not have anymore issues with bugs. I am continually shocked at how people treat their homes. They have no respect for anything. I know you keep your home so nice, and decorate so everything looks pretty.

      Gail- The hand brace is a small thing that goes around the thumb- kind of between the thumb, and the rest of the hand, to keep the thumb stable, and the joint immobile. That is where the hand hurts the most0 where the thumb connects to the hand. It is for when the pain is bad, and will not prevent it from hurting- kind of pain management. I am very lucky, as my insurance pays for the braces in full. I did not even have a co-pay. I have the Tufts Medicare Preferred plan.
      Thank you for the Anniversary wishes. We did not get to the farm, as it was on and off raining, and miserable that day. If we picked up a pumpkin, we would have been soaked, and muddy. Maybe next weekend???
      I did not realize you do not like sauerkraut. If you had Tillie’s, you would like it. It is a big process, with lots of smoked meats added, and cooks for 2 hours.
      I hope your sister’s eye is good, and will not get any worst. I am glad you did not get that gene. Who in your family had eye problems? That is a long way to travel for an eye doctor. We do have the best care here in Mass. We are blessed for that.
      I saw Piper’s picture of her long braid. She is such a cutie. Jenny is lucky to get pictures with all those famous people. She must get a big kick out of that.
      Colleen-
      I answered some of your posts in the ones above….LOL I cannot believe Aliza can already stand. Before long, she will be walking. What is she going to be for Halloween?
      I got my neck pillow from Ebay- they had the best prices. Try there for one, you will be happy with the price.
      It sounds like you had a great time at the Halloween birthday party. So much fin to see the kids dressed up, and enjoying themselves. Nice to visit with your other daughters too.
      I hope your doctor appointment goes well today, and you get some good news. Prayers sent your way!!
      Heather’s eye is a lot better, but still sore. When she goes back next week, if it is healed, they will tell her if she can wear contacts again.

      Happy Halloween to all my Quacker buddies- Barbara too, as I did not see any post from her!
      Adele

    • Anonymous
      Inactive
      Post count: 643

      I don’t know if any of you will see this but I know you watch DWTS. Anyway Shana’s knee was badly hurt and she has to stay off it for 3 to 6 weeks. So now James will be dancing with Jenna. I am so afraid this will cost him the trophy. But her health is more important.

    • Barbara Smith
      Participant
      Post count: 418

      Hi everyone. I just finished writing a book on here, and poof off it goes and I am so aggravated about this; that I am just going to let you all know that we all are doing okay. We have been very busy, but I know you all have too. I hope you all are okay, and that everyone is well including the children, grands, and puppies/kitties. This just makes me so irritated; I have to go for now before I say more. ONe whole hour and gone and I had so much news to share with you all. Miss you and will TRY to talk to you soon. Hugs, Barbara

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Gail,
      I wonder if they are going to fix it. It has been like this for a long time. I just always get on here and look because I have to do birthdays anyway. I am not sure about this new site. I guess they are still working the bugs out of it.
      That would be hard to go thru Kim’s things without Brent being there. He really needs to get rid of those things. It is not doing him any good to hang on to them. I guess some people cannot let go. My niece is having trouble letting go of her husbands things also. My sister goes over there once in awhile and helps her to let go of a few things. Her son does not really want them so it is better if she just lets them go.
      It is fun to watch the kids but it also good to know when to leave. It is hard to have a lot of fun with your grand parents sitting there watching you. There was a lot of chaperones there anyway. She does have nice friends.
      It is nice to see her standing and when she hugs you it is so sweet. I cannot believe that she has grown up that much. I have to watch her on the 2nd so will get to see her and spend time with her.
      I saw the doctor today and she is sending me to another doctor in another hospital. She said that if it is not the bile duct then it must be a diabetic problem that happens when you are diabetic. There is a nerve in your stomach that is effected in your stomach just like when you get trouble with your feet or legs. I would write down the name of what they call it but I cannot spell it right so will not even try. She has me on a pill that will keep me from getting sick. She wants me to eat three times a day but that is hard to do. She was not happy that I have lost more weight. Can’t help that. We will see what happens.
      Well that is about all the news from her Have a good night.
      Colleen

    • Colleen
      Participant
      Post count: 3077

      Hi Adele,
      I think that I answered some of your questions in Gails post. Sorry about that. So if you read that you will find some things that I meant to write to you. It seems like my mind is wandering right now.
      We had whoopee pies here. I know what they are. They do not make them as much as they use to though. Maybe I do not notice because the kids are all grown and we do not buy them anymore. They are really good.
      I do not know how I missed your anniversary. I hope that you had a good day and did at least get to go out to dinner. Maybe it will be nice next week-end and you will get to go to the farm. It just seems like everything tastes better if you can get it from the farm then from the store. Apples are always so much better.
      I hope that the brace helps your hand. It is hard to wear those braces though.It does not seem that it is not easy to do anything when the brace is on your hand. Hope that you do not have to wear it for long.
      The costumes on the Chew were so cute. I thought that it was funny that Micheal had to wear a dress again. They do that to him every Halloween. Carla made a perfect Erkle and Daphne made a good Peg. They really put them in the right costumes. Poor Clinton did not know who Zack was. He did a good job imitating him though.
      I am glad that Heather’s eye is doing better. Hope that she continues to get better.
      well that is about all from here have a good night.
      Colleen
      p.s. we never have any kids come here on Halloween so we just sat at home and watched Halloween movies.

    • Gail Norusis
      Participant
      Post count: 3596

      Starting a new discussion page. See ya’ll there.
      Gail

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