Pottery Chatroom Board

Hi from chilly Texas

It was too chilly to work outside today. But that is OK. We had planned to clean house today, but our daughter, Susan and her husband and dog came to see us, and while she was here, my younger sister and her husband and grandson came to visit also. We had a very nice visit.

We worked in the yard and garden this week, and we had a nice rain, so now we have a new crop of weeds to get after. My amaryllis have been blooming and some iris. They are all early this year. I also have lilies blooming, and my clematis are blooming. I also have roses blooming. It is really enjoyable being outside and working in the garden. That will end before long, as the weather report for late this week is for the 90's. When it gets to above 95 for a few days, it will bee too hot to do much outside.

Susan, we are having the house painted a dark country blue. The main part of the house is white brick, and it looks good. Actually, we have had it painted blue for about 30 years. Our next-door neighbor is painting the house for us. Bob had mentioned to him that we were trying to find someone to paint all the high parts, and he volunteered to do it. He is really doing a good job. He had thought he would finish it yesterday, but it rained Thursday night, so he didn't get it done, and today was so cold with a 20-30 mph wind blowing, so he couldn't finish up today. It is really nice to have such good neighbors. We are paying him, and for him it came at a good time, as their car quit on them and he spent over a week getting it running again, so I am sure the extra money will come in handy for them. He does all our lawn mowing, and keeps it looking good.

Well, it is getting late, and I still have some steaks to get cut into meal-sized packages and into the freezer. Our store ran a special on top sirloin steaks for $2.99 per lb. It was too good to pass up, so we bought 10 lbs.

Goodnight all, Ann

Hi All,

I hope you all had a Happy Easter. I spent the day watering my plants. All our rain tanks were full, and since they were forecasting rain, I thought it best if I drained them. I didn't want them to overflow. But here it is 11:00 PM, and no rain. Maybe we will get some tomorrow. We haven't really had the heavy rain and storms, as the really bad weather has gone around us.

I just realized that it has been a couple of weeks since I was on here, and I hadn't thanked you all for the birthday wishes. I have been very busy getting the garden in, and cleaning the weeds out of the garden and flowerbeds. By the time I work outside for 3 or 4 hours, I am too pooped to do much, but fix supper and go to bed.

My flowers have all been so pretty this year. It has been an early spring and they have all been blooming. Today I had to deadhead some of them, as the blooms had faded. It will be about 6 weeks before we have fresh garden vegies.

We are getting the house painted, and it is sure looking good. Susan, our daughter who is planning to buy the house in a couple of years said to tell the painter that he sure is making "her house" pretty.

Irene, I sure hope you are doing better with each day.

Till next time,

Ann

Hi All,

Now that spring has sprung,and we are having wild weather. Yesterday was especially bad west of here. We got about 1/2 inch of rain, but no damage in the area. It then went east and north of us, and our daughter in Burlison had wind damage to her roof and her fence blown down. The other 2 kids who live in that area didn't have any problems. We have a new weatherman on one of the stations, and he sorta went overboard with his maps and such. We were late for a meeting because we watched the weather to see if we were going to have any eminent bad weather, and he was so focused on 75 miles west of us that he never got around to us. He stood right in front of the map, and obscured our area, so we couldn't even see for ourselves if it was going to be bad. I know that we need to know where the bad weather is, but people need to stay calm and pay attention to what is going on around them. There was a very bad accident in west Texas between 2 cars of storm watchers who weren't paying attention. One of them ran a stop sign and hit the other . 3 storm chasers were killed.

We have been trying to get our garden planted. The flowers are blooming. I even have buds on my roses. The amaryllis are sending up buds. They shouldn't be blooming until late May or June. Susan, I was going to send you some Amaryllis if you wanted them, but since they are already sending up buds, I will need to wait until fall. I sent a box to Bob's sister in Missouri. I packed them in a small foam ice chest and put an ice pack in with them. It cost $17.00 for 10 bulbs--5 very large ones and 5 medium sized ones. The ice pack weighed 1 and 1/2 pounds. We mailed them priority mail and she got them in 5 days. They arrived just fine. If I send some in late fall, I don't think I will need the ice pack. At one of the lumber stores, they had some potted up and were selling them for $9.97 each, so 10 for $17 isn't very bad.

Irene, sorry, but I don't know anything about dolls. Hello also to Shelly and Gordon.

It was 7 years ago today that I had my heart surgery. It doesn't seem possible that it has been that long ago. I am feeling very well, and so far have gotten good reports from most of my doctors. I will see the cardiologist in a couple of weeks, and then I will be done with my annual check-ups.

Good night to all,

Ann

Hi All,

It looks like spring has arrived early this year. I looked out a couple of days ago, and my yellow iris are blooming. They don't usually bloom until the middle of May or later. I still don't have my iris and amarillis moved. I gave a few away, and am planning to send some to Bob's sister. I decided to try putting them in a small foam ice chest with an ice pack and see if it arrives ok. I get my insulin in them, and have six or seven in the garage as well as probably 2 dozen ice packs in the freezer. If it works, I would be happy to send some to anyone for the cost of postage, which I am hoping won't be much.

We haven't had any grass fire around here, but the one west of us around Amarillo burned for several days, and I think they said that 5 people were killed trying to save their cattle. It was mostly grazing land on ranches, so an awful lot of cattle were killed.

Carol moved into her home this week. It was a fairly easy move, since she bought all new furniture, and she just had the store deliver it to the new home. She was here on Sunday to get a twin bed that was Bob's father's bed back in the 1890's, an then Bob's bed When he was a child. We have had it since 1965, and it was Carol's bed, and then she took it for her sons, and it came back here until I gave it to my grand-daughter when she was small. Then I got it back, and now Carol has it for her grand-daughter. She is planning to keep it and have a room for her grand-daughter when she visits...that is if her son and his wife get off their lazy butts and get jobs and move out of her house. Her two sons are so different. The older one is in his second year of surgical residency in Iowa. He managed to put himself through college and medical school and his wife is doing her doctorate in English literature and is a college professor. Anyway, 5 generations have slept it that bed over the last 125 years.

Happy Birthday Irene. I hope you have many more.

I need to get to bed. I am so stiff and sore from all the yard work that I can hardly move. I haven't slept much the last few nights. I had a dental appointment on Wednesday. I had chipped both of my front teeth, and the dentist had taken off since before Christmas for back surgery, so he just got to it this week. Then last night, I had a bad low blood sugar episode, and it took forever to get it back up. It went down to 55, even after I drank some juice, and then I drank more juice, and ate glucose tablets, and I over did it, so today it has been high all day. It always leaves me like I was a limp dishrag.

Susan, I am sorry you lost Foxy. I know that you will miss him.

Ann

Hi All,

We have managed to get a little bit of yard and garden work done. The temps have been in the low 60's for several days, but the wind has been blowing at 15 to 20 or more, so it has been chilly. I have been digging iris and amaryllis bulbs. I gave a few to a neighbor, and have another neighbor who wants some. I plan to move a few of them to other beds that have bare spots, but don't know what I will do with the rest of them. Bob called the city, and they said they wanted them, but it has been 2 weeks, and they haven't picked them up. I planted 2 new rose bushes and a Carolina Jasmine. I have glads and Dutch iris to plant after I get the mulch down. Tomorrow the temp is supposed to get into the upper 70's and the 80's on Tuesday, so hopefully I will get a lot done.

Max, we were above average for rainfall last year, and are above the average so far this year. We put in 3 big rain tanks that each hold 325 gals each, so we are prepared to keep everything watered this year. So far, we have had a hard time keeping them from running over. 2 inches of rain fills them. We have had fire warnings several days because of high winds, and so much dry grass. It just takes us longer to get anything done, because we have to stop and rest so much. We are just glad that at this age, 86 for Bob, and almost 79 for me, that we can still do most anything we want to do. Bob got a good report from the cardiologist last week, and I got a good report from the kidney specialist a couple of weeks ago, so we are doing well.

It is getting late, so I had best get myself off to bed. Goodnight to all.

Ann

Hi All,

Happy Birthday, Susan. I hope you have a nice one.

I have been able to do a little bit of garden and yard work, but there is still a lot to do. Right now, I am dividing iris and amaryllis bulbs, and have some lilies and glads to plant. I had planned to get them in the ground today, but it rained. We got at least 2 inches today, and it is still raining some. Our rain barrels were full, and I planned to drain them on the new plants after I planted them. They all ran over.

Max, I hope you are feeling better. I will be glad when it is warm enough to get our tomatoes in. I paid $I each for some last week, and I know they won't be as good as the garden fresh ones are. Our weather is supposed to be in the low 70's the rest of this week.

Our daughter is planning to move into her new house after the 1st of March. She wants to paint it inside, and she plans to take up the carpet and put in hard flooring. She has allergies, and 2 big dogs, so she thinks it will be better to get rid of the carpets.

I have managed to do a little bit of genealogy recently. I found an obituary for Bob's great-grandfather, his mother's grandfather, that we had been looking for, for over 40 years. We knew where he died, but could never verify it until now. Now if we could find the great-grandfather Harper it would be great. We only have a name and nothing else. We think he is a figment of someone's imagination. Bob says maybe it means the he, Bob, doesn't exist either. I have run into some very interesting stories.

It is getting close to midnight, so I had better get myself off to bed. Until next time,

Ann

Hello from cold, rainy North Texas. We had to get out in it today to go to a doctors appointment, so we also went shopping. I'm not warm yet. Our high was 35 today, and will possibly snow tonight. It was 94 on Saturday, and they are saying it will be back to the 70's by the weekend. It just makes me want to crawl into bed and stay there until spring...

I hope everyone had a nice Valentines Day. I made a pot of chili for supper...not very romantic, but it sure hit the spot. Bob offered to buy me an orchid plant, but I nixed that when I found out they wanted $29 for it. The usual price is 10-12 dollars. Then I found a beautiful miniature rose bush, but it was $15 just because it was in a pretty vase. I passed on that also. They doubled the price because it was Valentines day. About half of the plants I buy usually die anyway, so I am a cheapskate when it comes to buying plants.

Till next time,

Ann

Hi All,

Weather seems to be the topic today. Here in North Texas, we are on a roller coaster...a few days in the 40's and 50's and then up in the 70's and 80's. today it was 57 with a very cold north wind blowing at 20 mph, which made it very uncomfortable to try to work outside. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the upper 80's, and Saturday at 90, and then down again to the 40's. We have only had one day of snow, and that was in Dec, and it only lasted about 3 hours, and you couldn't even see any evidence of it after 4 pm that day. maybe we will have an early spring...

We haven't made much progress on the yard and garden. It seems like the days that are warm enough and still enough to work are the days we have dr. or other appointments. We have 4 dr. appointments this month. Right now, I am waiting on our dentist to come back to work...he had back surgery in Dec...so I can make an appointment to get a chipped tooth fixed, and another one pulled. Nothing is hurting, but I just want to get it over with. Otherwise, we are doing well....just getting older.

Our daughter, Carol closed on her house last week, and will be moving in by the first of March. She is having new flooring put in before she moves in.

Ti next time,
Ann

Hi All,

Happy belated birthday Gordon.

Irene, I do live in Texas, just south of the OK border, in the small town of Iowa Park, just 10 miles west of Wichita Falls. I have lived here all but 6 years of my life. The temps have been in the 60's, but it has been cloudy and dreary. We need to get the rest of the leaves raked, and get the garden ready for planting.

Susan, I am sorry you didn't get better news from Mr. Goff. I would say to just keep after him. It is so upsetting to know that there are people out there who take advantage of older people. I try not to be cynical of everyone, but it isn't easy.

Ann

Hello all from cold and rainy North Texas. We just missed the ice storm...it stopped at the Red River and didn't make it to us. The cold did, for a couple of days, but it was dry. They are forecasting rain for tomorrow with a high of about 55, and into the 60's and 70's through next week. I am ready for spring.

Max, it is good to hear that you are doing well. It seems like it takes forever to get back to normal after being in the hospital.

Susan, we have had a fish pond for over 40 years. There have been times when it was frozen over several inches thick, but the fish just kept growing. We even had babies hatch out a few times. Right now we have about a dozen. Three of them are over 8 inches long.

Irene, I got a kick out of you saying you were going to bed and eat cookies. It reminded me of my mother telling me that January of 1947 was a very cold year...It set records for being the coldest on record. My mother said that was the reason my sister was born on Oct 4 that year.

I hope I will be able to get on here more. I got new glasses last week, and I can see so much better. I still have to work around the big floater in one eye, and the blank spots in the other, but the new glasses make it better to read and see what I am typing.

Good night all,

Ann

Merry Christmas to all. I hope you all have had a very wonderful Christmas.

We had a very nice Christmas yesterday when 4 of our children and their families came for the day. Our only great-granddaughter had a very good day. She and her parents lived with her grandmother, Carol and she had a very bad year, with the loss of her grandfather, and then the loss of her home in the fire. She lost all of her stuffed animals, toys, and books to the fire. She is five, and every Christmas for the last 5 years, I gave her a white Christmas teddy bear from Walmart with the year on the foot. It has been a tradition for me to give the grandkids one for Christmas for the first 5 years, there have been 5 grandkids and one great-grand since I started, (Cindy, my youngest daughter told me that 15 was enough...after she had 3 who each got one for 5 years). Any way, I decided to break tradition when I gave Madalyne one this year, since she lost all of them in the fire. I don't think I have ever seen a kid so happy in my life as she was when she got it. She hugged it the whole time that every one opened gifts. She only put it down when she opened her last gift which was in a big red plastic bag...a bicycle.. I think it is wonderful when you have small kids to enjoy Christmas with.

It was a beautiful sunny day yeaterday..78 degrees.. a record was broken. Just a week before it was bitterly cold. We broke a low record with temps in the teens. I think I told all of you about my experiment with a windowsill garden in my enclosed patio. The cold last weekend got my basil plants and my tomatoes. The tomatoes were loaded with blooms. I will try again with the tomatoes a little later...maybe get a headstart on next spring.

Again MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!

Ann

Hello to all,

I lost track of time again, so thought I should check in. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. There were 26 here, and we ate all day. I have been trying to get the Christmas decorations up. I am just about through with all but the tree trimming. I will get to that tomorrow.

It has finally turned cold. I picked a couple of roses a few days ago. It has been so warm that the dumb spring bulbs have come up. The leaves are still on the pecan trees, but will probably fall next weekend, as the night-time temps are supposed to get down to 20 degrees on Thursday and Friday night. We had exactly 1 pecan this year. The squirrels and doves striped the trees clean before they got ripe and fell. Luckily I have several packages in the freezer, so I can do a lot of cooking. The kids are coming for Christmas on Christmas eve morning. We will have brunch and open gifts, and then they will all leave so they can get home before it gets too late.

Carol, our daughter, sold her burned down house and lot for $40,000. She found another house to buy, and will close on it on Feb 20, 2017. The house went on sale on Thursday, and she looked at it on Friday at noon. They already had 8 offers, but chose her offer, even though it was the lowest. She told them about her house burning, and told them that they could stay until their new house was ready. She has free rent on the house she is in now until Feb 20, and then can rent on a monthly basis for up to 2 years. It is a really nice house in Crowley, Texas, just south of Ft. Worth. She works in downtown Ft. Worth at city hall, so it will be closer, and she doesn't have to put up with traffic on I 35, or I 20 to get to work. She is also just 10 minutes from her sister who lives in Burleson. She doesn't know how much she will get on her contents, but the insurance and selling the lot will pay for the new house with a little to spare. It made her Thanksgiving a lot better just knowing that all was settled. There wasn't much to salvage out of the old house.

Susan, I am glad that you are enjoying your house and all the renovations. All we lack on ours is the painting, but it has been too cold and damp to get it done, even if we had the time.

Ann

Hello all,

I didn't realize that it had been almost a month since I checked in. we have been really busy, trying to finish up with the siding on our enclosed patio. We are just about finished with it, and now the next project is to paint the whole house. We will need to find someone to paint the gables on the house. There are 4, and they are really high....higher than I will let Bob climb on a ladder, and I sure can't do it. Today I did some painting, priming the new wood we had to replace, and it wore me out. We are expecting temps in the 70's and 80's for most of the week. We finally had to turn the furnace on Saturday night. The night time temps are in the 40's now. Our daughter, Susan, and her husband have been helping us on her days off., usually Friday and Saturday. We have to stop work on Friday until after Thanksgiving, as I need to do major housecleaning before turkey day. All of my family comes here for dinner. They all bring food, and eat and visit all day. We told Susan that when she buys our house, that Thanksgiving comes with it. It has been a tradition for over 50 years.

Carol got her check for the house last week. now she has to make a list for the contents so she can collect the check for it. They wouldn't let her go into some of the rooms until last Friday. The insurance company said they thought she could sell the lot and what was left of the house for around $35 thousand. She is looking for a small home in a good neighborhood to buy. The cost of a new home in a new neighborhood is too much for her to even consider, and the new homes are too big anyway.

I need to shut down and get to bed.

Hello all,

Here is an update on my daughter's house. The insurance company has found a house for her to move into that is complete with furnishings, dishes, linens, and all for free while they are figuring out who is paying for what. It should take about a month for the to insurance companies to come to an agreement on who pays and how much. She said she thought she would cut her loses and run with the settlement, and buy herself a small house, either new or in good condition. She is in good spirits, and just wants to start anew. She has been given a lot of things, and money from friends. Everyone has been so generous. She is going through and boxing up things that she wants to try to salvage. She is one strong lady.

Just when I thought that fall was here, today it was 93. Last week, we had a day with 60 degrees for a high, and rainy. We didn't turn the furnace on, but did light our gas fireplace for a while to take the chill off. We have had so much rain, and with the warm temps, some of my spring bulbs are mixed up and trying to grow.

Max, my daughter, Susan has had several shih tzus, and they all have been very good dogs. The only time they have been hard to get along with was when she tried to clip their ears or wash their feet. They just don't want anyone to mess with them.

Til next time,

Ann

Hi to everyone.

It has been a while since I checked in. Our weather has finally turned to fall. The air conditioner has been off for a couple of weeks, and we have had the doors open. We are still finding yard work to keep us busy.

Susan and Max, I am glad you escaped without damage from Matthew. I think I will take a tornado anytime over a hurricane and flooding.

I don't know how many of you remember the tale of my older daughter's problems with her kitchen remodel and the mess the contractor made. She still hasn't gotten any money back, and they suspect that one of the crooked contractor's workers stole the daughter-in-laws car last month. Last Friday, the new contractor's worker was putting the finishing touches on the cabinets. He was spraying lacquer to touch them up, and there was an explosion, and the house burned. It looks like it is a total loss. Thankfully, no one was hurt, as they were all out at the time. Both dogs and the cat were ok, but the goldfish and turtle didn't make it. Right now , it looks like everything was lost. It all depends on the insurance adjuster as to what she gets. She hadn't gotten in touch with them because of the weekend, and also the adjustors were dealing with Matthew. Since today was a holiday, she apparently didn't get to talk to them today either. A friend who has a guest house is letting her and the family, including the dogs and cat stay there for as long as it takes. We are hoping that it will be deemed unrepairable, and that instead of rebuilding that she will cut her losses and start anew in a new home. So far, she seems to be taking it all in stride and is doing ok for now.

We are taking it all one day at a time.

Ann

Hi all,

Max, it sure is good to see you on here. I had wondered about you, but was afraid to ask. I was afraid I had missed something while I was off in la-la land.

We are still having temps in the upper 90's with a heat index of about 105-108. We have had some rain---last week, we had 1.5 inches in less than an hour with high winds. We had gotten our tarp up to keep the doves from pooping on us, and on the second day the wind and rain tore it up. We will have to come up with something else. We are about caught up on the outdoor work. Now I need to get started on the indoor stuff. I get pretty tired sometimes, but like I told the doctor last week, it is a "good" tired, because I know that I worked for it. I think I finally have the meds out of my system. He even gave me a card with information on it about what to never take again.

Well, it is midnight here, so I had best get to bed. I will try not to be gone so long next time.

Ann

Hi to all,

I know that it has been a while since I have been on. I have been very busy getting caught up on all my work on my garden and yard. I continue to feel better each day, and am getting back to my old self. It is so good to feel interested in my garden and other things. I still haven't gotten back to my sewing, quilting, and genealogy research, but that is more because of my problems with my vision. I will see the eye doctor soon, and see if she can help on that front.

Several years ago, we enclosed our patio and have windows on the north and west sides. Bob has installed wide window sills and I am hoping to grow herbs and other plants on them this winter. I also made a small seating area in the yard by putting 16 inch square cement blocks down. It is outside the patio in the shade of a big pecan tree. We like to sit out there when we are working on the yard, and we got tired of moving the bench back and forth when we had the yard mowed. He is almost finished making 2 tables out of old wooden wagon wheel hubs that he has had in the storage shed for about 40 years. It is all very nice, except that the doves like to roost in the pecan tree, so we have a lot of bird poop to contend with. We got some wind chimes, hoping they would leave, but no such luck. We are thinking about putting a camouflage tarp up high from the house roof to the lower limbs of the tree to keep the poop off the bench and tables. We have a few more small jobs to do and then will put new siding above the windows of the den, so it will match the bottom that we replaced last fall.

I usually read the board each day, but it is usually very late (or early) so I don't say anything. Susan, I am glad you got your house fixed up. Shelly, I will keep your husband in my thoughts, as I know how hard it is going through tests and waiting for answers. I am a 26 year breast cancer survivor, and my husband, Bob is a 16 year survivor of prostate cancer. At 78 and 85, we are in fairly good health, but still get a little nervous when related tests are preformed. Gordon, I am glad that you are still enjoying your trips around the country. Irene, and Reen, I managed to dry some sage and am well pleased with the results. Now all I have to decide on what herbs I want to grow on my windowsill garden.

I am pretty tired today. We spent about 8 hours in the car yesterday for a two hour visit and attending the wedding of our grand-daughter, Cindy's step daughter.. We managed to get lost getting to the event, and barely made it just as the wedding party started down the aisle. Today, I didn't do anything, not even cook. We had take out pizza for supper.

Goodnight to all, and I will try to visit more often.

Ann

Hi all,

Reen, thanks for the tip on using the microwave to dry herbs. I will try it on some sage and rosemary that is growing very well right now.

I picked three small tomatoes today. They aren't doing very well so far, but with some fertilizer and plenty of water, hopefully we will have a nice crop. We were very late getting them out. We have just had a lot of weird weather this year. I do have a mess of summer squash to cook, and we had about 5 meals of asparagus. We need to redo the asparagus bed this fall. I didn't get anything else planted, and it is too late now.

Shelly, our son in Baytown, near Houston, had a lot of rain, and couldn't get to work for a while.

Susan, I know you are anxious to get started on the house. Just make sure they are insured, and that they get any necessary permits. Unfortunately there are lots of crooks out there, so don't pay them much until it is done to your satisfaction. Our daughter, Carol, decided to use some of the life insurance after her husband died to re do her kitchen. The man who was to do it had put a new roof on a few years ago, so she thought he would be a good choice. She has been without a sink and cabinets since January when he did tore it all out. Then he said it need to be rewired because there were electrical problems. Long story short, he didn't get a permit, he put up the upper cabinets, and started at the wrong end, and when he got to the corner, he cut a hole in the wall, and stuck the cabinet back into it, and it can't be opened. She had paid him $9500 . Anyway, a man who goes to my other daughter's church came out and looked at it, and he told her not to put anything in the cabinets or they would fall down and could really hurt someone. He is a home inspector in another town near her. He enlisted the help of a lawyer, and both he and the lawyer are doing it free of charge. They decided that she and her house were going to be their mission for the next few months. They have enlisted others to help. We decided that the first man knew she had the insurance money, and he was going to get as much as possible.

It is getting late, and I am determined to get to bed before 2 am.

Goodnight all, Ann

Hi all,

I will try again. I am feeling so much better than I was. I am trying to get caught up on my yard and garden work. I decided that the meds that the doctor put me on were causing more problems. A couple of weeks ago, he had me increase the amount I was taking, and cut out the one for my neuropathy, as they had some of the same ingredients . Last Monday night, I realized that I was spaced out most of the time, so I stopped them. I don't know how long it takes to get all of them out of my system, but I am so much better. I will talk to the doctor tomorrow and tell him that I stopped taking them. I have known for years that I have opposite reactions to a lot of things. For instance, pain pills and anti-histamines make most people sleepy, but not me.

Irene, thanks for the info on the herbs. I plan to get more, and see if I can dry some.

Bob and I went to a reunion last Saturday, near Denton, Tx. My mother was one of 10 children, and we have been having yearly reunions since about 1967. There were 32 of us. In years past, we have had 75-80 people come. All my aunts and uncles are all gone, and now, a lot of the cousins have died also. My younger brother had a surprise for us. He was married before he went to Viet-Nam, but they were separated, and they put off the divorce, until he got back, so that his two boys would get an allowance while he was gone. His wife had twins while he was overseas, and there was no way they were his. They divorced, and for whatever reasons( I am trying to be nice ), he lost all contact with the boys. Any way, about 5 years ago, his daughter from a second marriage had put a lot of pictures on "My Space". Then, she forgot where she put them, and had given up finding the pictures again, but some one asked her if they were on My Space, and she remembered, and looked them up. She found them, and her older half-brother had tried to contact her 6 or 7 times. She contacted him, and a couple of weeks ago, they all got together. My brother was extremely excited to see him, and he and his wife, a daughter, a step daughter and 3 grandsons came to the reunion. He found out that he had 17 grandchildren. The other son apparently is a lost cause, as his son, Bill, is also estranged from him. It sure made for a wonderful reunion.

It is hot and dry here. The temp today was 96, and they are expecting it to reach 100 very soon. In 1980, we were having temps up to 1010 and up--with the highest being 117. We have had so much rain this year, that the humidity is in the 80s, so it is really hot feeling. We are having a hard time keeping up with the yard and garden work. We also had a leak in the dishwasher, and had to pull up about 1/4 of the kitchen floor. The new dishwasher was installed, last Thursday, and we think the subflooring is dry now so we can put the floor back later this week. Then I need to do a major housecleaning, as there is dust everywhere.

Goodnight for now, Ann

Hi,

I had a nice long post done, and lost it. Right now, it is 2 am here, and I will explain tomorrow.

I will say that the black cloud has lifted and I am feeling much better.

Irene, I want to start a herb garden, and was wondering if you had some recommendations for what I should plant. Also what are the steps in drying them? I have a sage plant, a rosemary and a basal plant now.

Ann

Hello all,

Sorry I have been absent so long. I read the board every day. I was afraid this big black cloud hanging over me since back in November would invade the board. I am ok physically, but I think that depression has gotten the best of me. I want to sleep all the time, and am tired all the time. I had a stress test, and passed with flying colors. I decided that the cardiologist gave me at least another year. He has had me come in every 6 months ever since I started seeing him in 2008. The kidney doctor also told me that my kidneys have improved. I have an appointment with the family doctor in a couple of weeks, so we will try to figure it out. My flowers are blooming like crazy, and the weeds are also doing well.

If the old men in our town don't quit dying, there won't be any left. There have been about 12 men about 84-86 who have died that we have known forever, besides several others that we knew of. 2 of my cousins that I was close to in the past also died.
The worst was the loss of Bob's great niece, his sister's 17 year old grand-daughter who died on Mar 2 of epilepsy. She had a seizure while getting ready for school and fell and died almost immediately. It is so sad to lose such a beautiful and talented young person.

Good night for now. I will try to get back sooner.

Ann........I live in Iowa Park, Texas, 10 miles west of Wichita Falls'.

Happy New Year to all.

We spent a very quiet New Year's Eve. Actually, we have spent a quiet week after Christmas. Our kids, or 4 of the five, came for our Christmas celebration on Saturday, the 26th. The day started out very nice and before the day was over, it turned cold and rainy. They all left before 9pm, and got home safely. They missed all the bad storms in the Dallas area. Two of them live in Arlington, and they were south of the bad storms. One lives in Burleson just off of 35. The other lives in Nocona, about 60 miles east of us. Beginning late Saturday night we had rain, sleet, freezing rain and snow all through Sunday into early Monday. We got 4 1/2 inches of rain and an accumulation of about 3-4 inches of snow. It is almost all melted now. Spring can come any day now.

It is supposed to get up into the 50's over the weekend, so I hope we can get the yard, garden and flower beds cleaned. First, we have to pick up pecans. We thought we had most of them picked up, but the high winds that came before the bad weather shook a bunch more down. It also got a few limbs also that we have to clean up, and I need to plant all those daylilies I dug up. I also bought some daffodils and dutch irises to plant. We have already picked up about 200 pounds of pecans. We will take them to be cracked in a week or two. The daughter who lives in Nocona wants some, and we might sell some of them to the place that cracks them for us. Bob will shell them, and I will freeze them in gallon glass jars. They will keep for at least 3 years.

It is almost 1 am, so I had better shut down and get to bed.

Good night, and I hope all have a wonderful new year

Ann.

Happy Birthday, Shelly. I hope you had a wonderful day..

Max and Cathy, UPS has been using golf carts and small trailers for Christmas delivery for several years.

To all who inquired about my eye doctor appointment, nothing has changed. She says that trying to correct either problem might cause me further problems. She did say that the left eye has some clouding of the lens, and later I will need laser surgery. Our family doctor had told Bob that he has cataracts on both eyes, and to see the eye doctor. He had an appointment just after me. I "think" I came out better than he did. She told him that his eyesight was 20/100 in the left eye and 80/100 in the right eye, and he was legaly blind and should not be driving. Also he needed surgery on both eyes. She gave him a prescription for glasses for driving, and wanted to set up the surgery as soon as possible. He agreed to the glasses, even tho he didn't think he needed them. Before we left the doctor's office, I told him that we needed to go ahead and set up the appointment for the surgery, because it takes a while to set it up with Christmas and all. We went back and talked to the doctor again and it is set up for Feb. 15. The doctor told him she was glad that he decided to go ahead with it. Our daughter, Susan and husband Terry had come to take us to the doctor, so we went by the optical company and got them started on it. Then , they took us out to eat . Bob and I went back the next day and picked up his glasses. On the way home, he said he didn't think the glasses made any difference, We went by Sam's, and when we came out, it was dark. We hadn't gone 2 blocks until he admitted that he could see really good. Then he found out that the TV was much clearer. All I can say is "MEN!!!!!".
I hope I haven't made too many mistakes. I tried to go over it and correct them. I think I need to change my settings to make the print bigger so I can read it better.

Our kids decided to have Christmas on the 26th. I have barely started on getting ready for it.

Ann

Hello All,

Shelly, The daughter who lost her husband, Terry, was our oldest one, not the one who is planning to buy our house. It gets confusing to have 2 SIL who are both named Terry, but at one time, our oldest son married a Terri also. They divorced several years ago, so we went back to 2 Terrys. Carol and Terry had been married for 38 years. Terry was disabled...he had a stroke when he was 2 years old and spent 2 years in and out of a hospital. The stroke left him with his left arm paralyzed. Also, his right leg was shorter than the left. He also had some learning disabilities, but had overcome most of them by hard work. He worked at a couple of different furniture makers factories, and did all their finial finishing. The last job ended when the factory closed, and he got disability retirement. She has always worked to help make ends meet. They had 2 boys, both married, and one has a 4 year old daughter. She went back to collage and got her CPA license. Right now, she is working 2 jobs, one for the city of Ft. Worth, and one as a Karati (sp) teacher, and takes on private clients for tax work. They are all used to hard work. The oldest son, TJ is in his 2nd yr. surgical residency in Iowa. His wife is a professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia while she works on her doctorate in English Literature . The youngest son and family lived with Carol and Terry, and Terry was the chief cook and babysitter. Carol and Terry also volunteered with Mission Arlington for about 30 years.

Max, I still have the big floater, only now it has settled into the middle of my right eye, and causes a blank spot when I try to read or work on the computer. The macular problem with my left eye seems to be worse. Between the 2 of them, I get very irritable when I get tired. I really think that my vision was a big part of my fall. For months, I have tried to ignore both problems, so have also ignored a lot of things I should see. I have an appointment with the eye doctor on Thursday. We will see if I can get some help with it.

Susan, I think Bob has made amends for putting the box there. He has been very sweet and considerate of how I feel. I am beginning to feel very spoiled, and I probably should put an end to it, before I get too used to all the attention and pampering.

I need to get a few things done and get to bed. Goodnight all.

Ann

Hello All,
I know that it has been over a month since I have checked in. I read the board every day, and your posts have kept me from feeling too sorry for myself. We decided to get the new siding on the north wall of the covered patio before Thanksgiving. Our 2nd daughter, Susan, and her husband Terry, came to help us. They have decided to buy the house from us when we are ready to sell in 2 or 3 years. We had the materials delivered, and stacked "out of the way" on the patio with plenty of room to go around them. I lectured Bob about not going out on the patio without turning the light on because I didn't want him to trip over them. We started on it on the 5 of Nov. by tearing off the old siding. They all griped about Bob building things to stay. Then on Friday They put the new siding on. I was just in the way, so I got the bright idea that I would replant all the daylilies that I had dug up. I started by getting a pitcher of water to put on a couple of rosebushes I had planted earlier in the week. As I rounded the corner of the siding, I tripped over a box that Bob had set at the end of the siding. My face hit the edge of the siding and glanced off and hit the concrete floor and knocked me silly. I also fell on my left knee. I had a small but deep cut just to the left of my eye and several scrapes down the left side of my face. When the dust settled, My face was bruised from my temple, across under the eye and down the whole left side of my face and around under my chin. My knee was bruised from down the front of my leg and around to the back of my knee. It was swollen and sore, and by bedtime, my left hand was hurting and swollen. By Thanksgiving, the bruises on my face had faded pretty good, but my knee is still swollen and bruised. My knee only hurt when I touched it, but never when I walked. My daylilies are still in a box on the patio. The most painful of it all was my hand. It hurt when I tried to use it. They finished up the siding on both the north and west side below the windows. It sure looks nice.

We had a nice but quiet Thanksgiving. When I went to bed on Tuesday night, I was really feeling good about being almost ready for turkey day. I only had to mop the floors, and bake my turkey breasts, ham and 2 pumpkin pies. On Wednesday morning, our oldest daughter, Carol called to tell us that her husband, Terry, had died in his sleep sometime during the early morning hours. He hadn't been feeling very well for a few days, and she was planning to take him to the doctor that morning. She doesn't know yet what he died of. He would have been 62 on the 6th. She came for Thanksgiving (Susan, Jimmy's wife brought her and her grand-daughter). We had 29 for Thanksgiving. All 5 of our kids were here. I am really proud of them. Cindy and Jimmy spent most of the day on Wednesday with Carol. They have grown up to be wonderful adults. Terry's memorial service was on Tuesday, Dec 1 in Arlington, TX. I was exhausted when it was all over. I have done absolutely nothing all week.

Now, Christmas is just 3 weeks away. I guess I will get the decorations out tomorrow and go from there.

I am hoping to try to get in here more. We had a gutter put on the south side of Bob's shop building, and installed a 365 gal. rain barrel. A couple of days later, we had a 3 inch rain and the barrel ran over. Now, we want to get a couple more barrels for the house. It started raining again on Thanksgiving night, and we got 4.75 inches . It will be interesting to find out how many plants we lost to the drought. WE have a bumper crop of pecans...probably about 200 pounds or more, and they are still falling.
I still have to do a bit more before I go to bed, so I will close now.

Ann

Hello everyone,

This part of Texas had 1&1/2 inches of rain yesterday and according to the weather report, no more is expected. It will be east and south of us....Dallas to Houston and east are getting the most of it. We are back to drought conditions. After all the rain back in May and June, and with all the lakes overflowing and all the flooding here, the drought is back. We have been trying to get our yard and garden back in shape, but the ground is hard as a rock. I am trying to move a flowerbed of daylilies, and it is almost impossible to dig them up. However, when I got started, I found out that the outside wall of our enclosed patio was rotting out at the bottom. Now we have to repair that. I don't think we will ever get caught up on all the work.

I am finally feeling better, but still get tired easily. I am so far behind on everything I may never get caught up. I haven't worked on my genealogy for most of the last year. I am still having trouble with my eyes, and that sure doesn't help. I have an appointment with the eye doctor in Dec, and I tried to get one sooner, but there wasn't an opening. I shouldn't complain about my eyesight though, I can see to get around and do most things, and the worst part is not being able to read.

I need to get off here and get to bed. Goodnight all,
Ann

Hi all,
Just a quick note to let you know that I am ok. I have had a rough couple of months. I decided to indulge myself, and just stayed in bed....not really, but I did sleep more than usual. My younger sister passed out in late June, and broke her ankle in 2 places. She is doing ok for now. Then my youngest son, Jimmy, who has MS, had a relapse. His meds quit working, and he got an infection where gave himself shots in the abdomen. He had 2 very angry sores and needed IV antibiotics. The heat has really bothered him this year, and he passes out when he gets too hot. He is better now, but that doesn't keep mom from worrying. The humidity has gotten to me this summer. Every time I went outside, I had a hard time breathing. I had severe pains when I took a deep breath. I knew it wasn't my heart because I had an echocardiogram the middle of July. It was a bronchial allergy thing, and after a shot, I quit hurting. Then my older brother who is 83 passed out, fell and broke his hip. When he got to the hospital, they found that he was 2 pints low on blood, had a staph infection on his heel, and his pacemaker battery was low. He spent over a month in the hospital. He is also doing better now. All of it together just put me into a place where I didn't want to be, so I had an extended pitty party.

I got so far behind in my gardening and everything else. We did have a bumper crop of tomatoes and squash, and kept both o f our closest neighbors supplied.

Bob and our neighbor who lives just behind us decided to team up and start a business. Back in 1968, Bob had made a garden tool, and everyone who saw it wanted one, so he decided to patent it and start making them. The neighbor had all the welding equipment, and had been laid off his job, so he set it up in our almost empty workshop, and they went to work. He did the welding, Bob did the cleaning, and I painted the handles on 40 of them. Our town has a festival along with homecoming weekend, so we got a spot and spent the 19th in the wind selling them. The paper had a very nice write-up on the Thursday before. We got 58 made, and sold 46 of them. We were both wiped out for a couple of days. We called it a Whoop-T-Do special, and painted the handles green for our school colors. We barely came out even on the costs, so we are going to up our prices on them now. Several people told us we were too cheap.

Well, it is after 1 AM here, so I need to get to bed. First I have to wrap and package 3 of them to send to South Carolina to Bob's niece. She had already bought 6 of them, and when her friends saw them, she needed more. I will try to do better at getting on here.

Ann

Hi all,

I see I need to check in. We were lucky when Bill passed through. We were on the very western edge, and only got about 1/2 inch total for both of the 2 days it took for it to pass over us. However, our daughter who lives about 65 miles to the east got 9 inches on just one of the days. It has been sunny and hot with lots of humidity. When we try to get a little bit of yard and garden work done in the late afternoon, the mosquitoes are viscous. I don't know when I have seen such large fat mosquitoes.

We need to pull weeds again. It s time to cut back the bluebonnets and scatter the seeds. I hope we haven't waited too long, because when the seed pods open, they throw the seeds in all directions. We like to get to them first so that we can keep them in a more controlled space. I have seen them throw the seeds 6 to 7 feet away from the plant. I need to collect some for a friend also. We are going to divide the Iris, Daylilies and Amaryllis. A friend wants some of each, and I just hope I can get rid of
a lot , as I am being over-run with iris and amaryllis.

Bob had a nice father's day. All the kids called him. We will be without a car for a few days. We needed a transmission overhaul. I sure hope they get it done by Wednesday or Thursday, as we are supposed to go to a family reunion on Saturday near Denton.

It's after bedtime, so I had best say goodnight.

Ann

Hi all,

Susan, we got another 4 inches of rain between 11pm Friday night and Saturday noon. The ground had just dried out enough that I thought we would be able to get some garden work done this week. Now it is too wet again and more rain is forecast for the rest of the week.

Our anniversary dinner was great. 4 of our 5 kids were able to come. Our oldest son , who lives in Houston had to work. 4 of our grand children came and our only great-granddaughter were able to come with their parents.

I still have some work to finish before I go to bed. Goodnight to all.

Ann

Hi All,

Just checking in. We got home from our grand-daughter's graduation about 5 PM on Tuesday, and it has been a rat race ever since. We had very good seats on the first two rows of the center section. She was in the top 10% of her class, so they were allowed to reserve the seats the first day they made reservations.

We have had a week of sunshine and 88-93 degrees, so things have dried up somewhat. But it is raining now, and is supposed to rain all week. Since our lakes are all overflowing, and the rivers are still high, I hope the forecast is wrong. The weather station just issued a flash flood warning until sometime tomorrow. It is raining pretty hard.

I am trying to get some housecleaning done. Our kids are taking us out for supper tomorrow night for our anniversary. They are planning to start coming around 2. Our anniversary isn't until the 18th, but they can't come on weekdays. They had wanted to give us a party, since it is our 60th, but all have been so busy that they couldn't get it planned. I told them that going out to dinner with all of them would be better anyway.

Well, it is 1 AM, so I had better get a few more things done and get to bed.

Goodnight all,

Ann

Hi,

I had a nice long post, and managed to delete it, so here goes again. We are going to our grand-daughter's high school graduation and will be back on Tuesday, so I thought I had better check in.

Summer has arrived. It was 93 today, and is starting to dry out. No rain now for several days, and none forecast for several more. We had to turn the AC on a few days ago.

Shelly, you asked a few days back if I have a pacemaker. I don't, but Bob does. I had open heart surgery in May of 2000 to replace my aortic valve and 2 bypasses. I am doing quite well considering I also have type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, and had breast cancer in 1990. I try to stay ahead of it all, and always keep my doctor appointments, and take gobs of meds.

Reen, have you ever tried to root plants by burying a lower part of it in a pot of potting soil placed right next to the original plant and keeping it watered good. You don't cut it loose from the original plant until it is well rooted. You should remove the leaves that are under the soil. I hope your open house goes well.

I need to get to bed. I had intended to press our clothes and pack for our trip, but I think I will go to bed, and do it in the morning sine we aren't leaving until 1PM .

Goodnight to all,

Ann

Hello to all,

We have had sunshine for the last 2 days. I don't think we have had sun 2 days in a row since late in Dec. The Wichita River is still flooded in several places, due to the lakes that are on it are all running over the spillways. The weather report says we will have sunny days for the next week. Our flooding was bad, but not nearly as bad as south of us in Austin and Houston. Our oldest son lives in Baytown and both he and his wife work in Houston. I spent several days worrying about them, as when Bob tried calling them, he got a message that they were not taking calls at this time. Finally, on Friday, Bob called the police here, and they talked with the Baytown police, and they tracked them down. They were both ok, the phone numbers we had were all old numbers that were tied to previous work. Robert forgot to tell us he had changed phones. He will be 50 this year, and he is still going on 13. I thought he had finally grown up.

I have enjoyed all the pretty pictures that several of you have posted. One of these days I need to learn how to post pictures. I have had some very pretty flowers this year. Right now the lilies and daylilies are blooming. We really need to get caught up on the yard work, but it is so muddy We can't do much.

Well, I need to get to bed. I have an appointment with my cardiologist tomorrow. It is almost 2AM so I must say goodnight.

Ann

Hi All,

I am late tonight, but thought I had better let you all know that we are alright. We live on a small hill, and didn't have much flooding in our town, Iowa Park, but there has been and still is flooding along the Wichita River from Lake Kickapoo west of us about 40 miles away through the country to Wichita Falls and east to Lake Arrowhead . Kickapoo is going over the spillway, and Arrowhead is over 90 % full. We just had about 1/4 inch last night and today, instead of the 2 to 4 inches expected in our part of Texas. The heavy rain went south of us to Austin and Houston where they had a lot of rain and flooding. Houston is about 420 miles from us. Altogether we have had 18 inches of rain in our backyard gage. Rain is called for every day this coming week. Our county has broken all records for one month's rainfall, and we still have 6 days left. As long as we don't have much rain, they expect the floodwater to go down, and then people can go back home, after the electric company checks out the electricity to be sure it is safe. About 350 homes in Wichita Falls, and another 35 along the river between Iowa Park and Wichita were evacuated. My lilies and daylilies are blooming, and are really pretty. It is so wet and muddy we can't get it weeded, or the lawn mowed, so the grass and weeds are really growing. It rained so hard and so fast that a lot of our mulch washed down and is piled along the fence. Right now it is too wet to try to rake it back into place.

I am ready for some sunshine, even though it means the temps will go into the 90"s and with the humidity, it will be miserable.

Shelly, I have taken the I Caps for years, and couldn't see that it helped, so I quit. Recently I have started them again, but so far, I can't tell any difference. When I get overly tired, or have low blood sugar, the vision is the first symptom . I just have to stop what I am doing and try to relax and rest. I am so far behind on my genealogy research that I may never get caught up. I need to do some sewing also. I have a quilt about 1/2 quilted, and I really would like to get back to it, but since it is hand quilted, I don't think I can even get the needle threaded.

It is 1:20 my time, so I had better get to bed. Goodnight all,

Ann

Hi all,

It's been a while since I checked in. It is official, The drought is over !!! Now we are flooding . We got 3 1/2 inches today, and it is still raining. Altogether, we have gotten over 15 inches since the 1st of May. The farm that I grew up on in the 40's is apparently under water. When we owned it, my father refused to sell any of it to people that wanted to build a home. After he sold it in the 50's it was cut up into several lots. My Dad told people that he could not sell any of it for homes because it got under water quite often. Our house was about 1/2 a mile from the creek that runs thru it, and floods every few years. I can remember standing on our porch and watching the flood waters lapping onto the 2nd step. I was about 5. The TV just said that flood warnings are in effect until Monday morning. Also they are calling for more rain through next week. They are opening up shelters here in Iowa Park, as well as some in Wichita Falls. At least, you won't be hearing me complain about the drought any more.

Happy birthday, Katie. My grand-daughter-in-law lives in Columbia, Mo while my grandson is doing his residency in Iowa. She is working on her doctorate in English History and is teaching at UMC. We had planned to make a trip to Mo, but thank goodness we cancelled it, or we would have been traveling in this weather mess.

Bob, my husband, was bit on one leg by a spider and is taking antibiotics for it, and then he twisted his other knee and having to doctor it. He is getting very wobbely when he walks. My vision isn't any better, and sometimes when I get tired I have to stop trying to read or work at the computer. It is very aggravating. I am still having a lot of low blood sugar episodes, even though my diabetes is under pretty good control.

It is good to see more posts on here.

Ann

Hi all,

I have just been busy, and haven't had time to look at the chat board until after midnight most nights. I haven't blown away, or flooded out, but the weather has been awful. We have had over 8 inches of rain in the last week, and are expecting a couple of inches more tonight and tomorrow. The two lakes that we get our water from have gone from 22% to almost 50% in the last few days. They still consider us to be in an exceptional drought, and are still under water restrictions. We spend most of our time trying to keep ahead of the weeds. Our flowers have been beautiful, when you can see them in all the weeds. I have had the most beautiful roses. The blooms on each are about 5 inches across. I bring in some every day. Right now the amarrillis (sp) are blooming , but are pretty beat up from wind and hail. The lilies and daylilies are starting to bloom. We have lost several tree limbs from our pecan tree, and spend a lot of time picking up stuff out of the yard.

We are doing ok. We had planned to go to Branson and Rolla Missouri about now, but decided we had too much to do. We would have been on the road during all the storms, so it worked out for the best. I still am having eye issues. The floater is settled in in almost the center of my right eye, and the blank spots in the left eye seem to be about the same, but when they both decide to act up at the same time, it sure is aggravating.

Goodnight for now,

Ann

Hi,

Shelly, I have diabetes, and that is what the blood sugar is in relation to. Normal is supposed to be 70 - 100. I test several times a day, and try to keep it in line, but it has a mind of its own, and right now it can't decide whether to be high or low. If it goes below 70, it can cause visual disturbances and scrambled brains. If it gets too low, I pass out. It is not much fun coming to and finding fireman, police and ambulance people gathered around my bed. Now I have a pen for Bob to give me a shot to wake me up. I know that the Bible says to give thanks for all things, so I am very grateful that I am still around. 5 years ago, I spent my 72 nd birthday in the hospital recovering from open heart surgery that replaced my aorotic valve.

We had a very nice steak dinner at our favorite restaurant in Wichita Falls, and I am still stuffed.

Goodnight for now,

Ann

Hello all,

Thanks for the birthday wishes. It was a nice day...90 degrees and sunny. We had rain last night. The weeds are growing nicely. It is hard to think that just 2 weeks ago, we had another ice and snow storm. I think we had ice and snow once or twice a week since the first of January. We have been working overtime trying to get ahead of the weeds and get a garden planted. My dutch iris, regular iris , daffodils, and blue bonnets are all beginning to bloom, and the roses have buds on them. I for one am glad that spring is here.

Shelly, my eyes are about the same. My blood sugar has been giving me fits. It can't decide if it is going to be low or high., and with it bouncing all over the place, it leaves me tired all the time. I didn't help it tonight when Bob went and got pizza for supper. Max, tomorrow my no. 2 daughter is taking us out for a steak dinner.

I knew I was getting on here to late to chat with anyone, but every time I tried, one of my kids called and wanted to talk. 4 of them checked in, so that was nice.

I need to get to bed, so goodnight all,

Ann

Hi all,

My problem with my eyes is that I still have the big floater in my right eye, but now it stays right in the center of my vision. The cataract on my left eye is gone, and the doctor said that I have 20-40 vision now. However, I have a spot right in the center of my retina that my doctor told me was a hole in my macula, so she sent me to a retina specialist. He calls it a macular pucker. It seems that as we get older, a thin layer of cells settle and grow on the surface of the retina. When the membrane starts to contract it causes the wrinkling or puckering of the retina. I have to watch it and learn live with it. The retina specialist told me he could remove it surgically, but I would have to go to Dallas for the surgery, and it might not fix it, and could cause several problems, even the loss of vision, and if it was him, he would take a wait and see approach. He didn't have to tell me twice. It makes it hard to read when some of the letters aren't there.

Cathy, those pieces of glass are pretty. I hope you have a nice trip.

Shelly, thanks for putting the pictures on for us to see. Also, I don't sell on e-bay, I just buy, mostly Schumann China. I am having to cut back, though. When we put down new floors in the front part of the house, I decided I had enough. It took me weeks to get everything back in order after emptying my 5 china cabinets.

Max, we are supposed to have sunny skies and temps in the 60's and low 70's for the next week. We got enough snow and rain that the ground is moist, but the lakes are still below 21%. I am hoping to get some yard work done. We need to get the beds and garden ready for planting. We bought some more mulch today, and I really had to give myself a good talking to and not buy flowers. They had some very pretty ones. I just plan to divide and move some of the ones I already have.

Goodnight to all, and good morning to Susan.

Ann

Hello all,
May I come in and play?

Max, I have had a couple of covered crocks like that, and they called them potporie(sp?) or sachet jars. The holes are for the scent to waft around.

Cathy, am glad you can get away for a while. We are planning to go to Missouri to see Bob's sister, and also spend a few days in Bransom the first part of May. This winter has really been so dreary that I just want to crawl in bed and pull the covers in on top of me. It doesn't help that my eyes are bothering me, so I can't read much or do much on the computer.

Ann

Hi Shelly,
I always read this board, but very seldom make a comment. I am up late, trying to get my hair dry before I hit the bed. I have an appointment at 7:20 am for cataract surgery, so I probably won't get much sleep tonight anyway. About your "panty moths"(I just couldn't resist having another laugh), I store all my flour and such in gallon jars with good tight lids, so haven't had any for years. I also store unopened bags in my freezer until I am ready to use them.

We have been having very nice weather here in North Central Texas. Still no rain, and none expected for the next week or so. This drought is really taking it's toll.

My hair isn't quite dry, but I think I will go to bed anyway and watch a DVD if I can't find a TV show.

Goodnight to the night owls, and goodmorning to the early birds.

Ann

By the way, we expect a full report on the meeting about the bees...Ann

Gordon,
That is interesting about the bees. A home near me in northcentral Texas was invaded by bees yeaterday. They had set up housekeeping in the walls of the house, and something disturbed them. Anyway, most of the family were stung, one bad enough to go to the hospital, and their little dog died this morning from the bee stings. The firefighters were called out, and some of them were stung also. A Beekeeper came to get them, but ended up exterminating them, because the are killer bees. They were swarming around the house again today, and the family doesn't know when they will get to move back in...Killer bees are on the move from South America, and they are very agressive to other bees as well as people and animals.
I am glad to see your clips again. I always enjoy them, even though I very seldom comment on the board. Ann

Just a quick note to wish you all a Happy New Year...I had my blackeyed peas and cornbread, so am expecting a good year in 2013.
Goodnight to the night owls, and a goodmorning to the early birds...Ann

Hi all, Just checking in to let everyone know that all my family is safe tonight after all the storms in Texas. They started over us about 2 AM this morning. We had heavy rain and loud thunder. It rained until about 1 this afternoon. The Dallas-Ft. Worth toranados started just west of Burleson where my #3 daughter lives. They got heavy rain, hail, winds, and electrical outages, but no damage at their house. Her husband teaches in Grand Prairie, and their school was shut down for a while, but all are well. Then In Arlington where my #1 daughter lives, their house didn't have any damage and they are fine. Then in Kennedale where my #2 son lives, they got a lot of damage, but all are ok. Their house had a large hole in the roof where something went through it, and 2 windows were shattered. Also, the fence, backyard shed, patio furniture, porch swing, and trampoline were all gone with the wind. The 2 story house across from them lost part of the 2nd floor over the garage. It is a really big mess,but no injuries or lives lost. The #2 daughter who lives in Nocona, about 60 miles from us had a very long day at work. She works at the water plant, and the electricity went off and she went to work before 4 AM, and didn't get home until 7:30 tonight. Her husband works at the wastewater plant, and also went in early, and was still at work when I talked to the daughter at 8 tonight. It has been a long day, so I am going to get off here and get myself to bed....Ann

Hi all, Thanks for the birthday wishes. I am just glad to have another birthday. If I hadn't had the heart surgery 2 years ago, I wouldn't even be here now.
We had planned to go out to eat, but after a day of shopping we were just too tired to enjoy it, so came home instead and snacked for supper.
I always read the board, but have just been too busy to post. We have been trying to get ahead of the weeds in the garden and flower beds. I think we are fighting a losing battle. We lost several shurbs, and a lot of my bulbs haven't come up. Last years heat and lack of rain sure caused a lot of problems. My Dutch Iris are blooming and are really pretty as are the bluebonnetts. I even brought in 4 roses today. The blooms are about 5 inches across. I need to get to bed...Ann

Irene, I have had very good luck with Lanacane anti-chafing gel. After my last hospital stay I was on my way to a couple of bedsores, and it cleared them up in a matter of days. It says it soothes and prevents chafing from skin rubbing on skin and skin on clothing. The area where you put it becomes silky and slick feeling.
Also, Hi to all. It has been a while since I have checked in. I had a cataract (sp?) removed a couple of weeks ago, and am doing well. I will get new glasses next week, and am looking forward to being able to see well again. Ann

Katie, Your plates may be from Bavaria. The Carl A Schumann factory in Arzberg, Germany may have made it. They produced a lot of blanks for people to paint themselves. They did make a lot that was unmarked for sale in Germany itself. I was told that at times they didn't mark their wares, depending on who was ruling Barvaria at any particulsr time. Personally, the quality looks more like Bavaria, instead of Japan. Ann

I think I will get myself off to bed, even though it is only a little after 8 PM here. I think the last couple of weeks have caught up with me.So, goodnight to the night owls, and goodmorning to the early birds...Ann

It looks like I have missed everyone again. Gordon, "they" say that fracking doesn't cause earthquakes.. even though Oklahoma has had more earthquakes this year than any year on record. It seems like I read that there were around 200. Also, the people in a small town in North Texas have a hard time believing it, as they can sometimes light their water faucet because of so much gas in it. They have been fracking for natural gas around here. Sometimes I think they don't do enough research and thinking when they try so many new things. Ann

Hello all, and Happy New Year. We had our family Christmas yeaterday, and I am tired. It is good to have most of the kids and grandkids here, but I think I am getting too old for this. I read the board earlier today, but my head kept banging on the keyboard, so I gave up and took a nap. Ann

Hi all, Nancy, I loved your house decorations......I just finished up the indoor decorations today, I started them last Saturday...Don't know when we will get to the outdoor lights..maybe earlly next week when we are suppsed to have warmer weather....I have started on my cooking, but am going to cut down a bit this year. My kids expect a goody bag from me....Only the kids under 18 get gifts..Well, I need to get my cranberry nut bread wrapped and get to bed..Good night to the night owls, and goodmorning to the early birds...Ann

Hi all..Happy turkey day to everyone...tomorrrow will be busy for me, as I will have about 25 for dinner...I make a couple of turkey breasts, dressing, gravy and a couple of pumpkin pies...They bring the rest..So far, there will be a smoked turkey, a ham, and a brisket, plus all kinds of goodies..It should be a fun day...I need to hit the hay...goodnight to the night owls, and goodmorning to the early birds...Ann

Well, I am tired, so think I will get myself off to bed...Goodnight to the night owls, and goodmorning to the early birds....Ann

Hi Shelly, I have been around...I read the board each day, and I have posted on the other one a few times...My husband and I are feeling very well....We just have to pace ourselves...He will be 81 on the 9th, so I have to remind myself that he is no spring chicken anymore....I am not either, but that is another subject...Ann

It was a nice day today, so I worked in the yard. I raked around my shrubs, and laid out my soaker hosees. Hopefully tomorrow I can get the mulch put on some of the beds. It sure is a lot of work getting ready for winter. After our good rain of about 4 weeks ago, we had 3 weeks of nice warm weather, and everything thought it was spring, so now I have a nice green yeard of weeds. Even my spring bulbs are up about 8 inches. I just hope I don't lose them to the freezing weather I know is coming...Ann

Hi all, Katie, we felt the quake here also..I was in bed watching TV, and at first, I thought my husband had come in and tripped and fell on the bed. I looked around, and he wasn't there..then it hit again and felt like something big was under the bed and bumping it up from the bottom. It sure is a weird feeling...The center of it in Oklahoma was about 200 or miles from us...My husband was out in the den, and he was pretty shaken also....Ann

I am off to bed, so I can crawl under the blankets and get warm..Ann

Hi all, Well, it looks like our hot days are in the past....Altogether our area had 100 days of 1OO+ degree days.. We were slighted by the national weather service who list Dallas-Ft Worth as having the most with 58 days....Also we had RAIN!!!! not enough, but it is a start....Today's high was 68 degrees, and I have been cold all day...Ann

Hi all, Been a while since I checked in...Texas is still burning, and it is still dry, but it is cooler..The last four days have been in the 80's, and the forcast is for the cool spell to last a few more days...Now if it would just rain every day for about a week.... a slow steady rain with about 3 inches a day....I can dream, can't I? Now that it is cooler, maybe I can get my flower beds and garden cleaned up. I know I have lost a lot of my plants, and hope I can afford to replace them next year, although, I won't replace any until I am sure this drought is really over. Now I need to be off to bed...Ann

At 10:30 , it is still 95 degrees...I think I will get myself off to bed...Ann

Hi all, It is still hot, and we have broken every record for 100+ temps this year. The one record we haven't broken was 118 in 1980. It is now at 88 days for 100 degree days, and there is no change for the next 7 days..It was 108 today, and It is miserable. If we don't have rain soon, I think we might lose all our shrubs and flowers. We had a water bill of $150 this month, just trying to keep things alive...I told Bob that those 12 squash were pretty expensive. We had 12 tomato plants, but only have 4 now, and no tomatoes..maybe we will have a fall crop if we can keep them alive...Our Hotter Than Hell Bike Ride is this Saturday, and this year it looks like it will live up to it's name, as they are saying 108 for Saturday...I think they are crazy, but there were 14,000 riders last year....We have had less than an inch of rain so far this year. Now would be a good time to remove all the dead plants, but the ground is so hard that you would have to soak it just to pull them up. The last drought of this magnatude was in 1958. Since we can't get out in this heat, I think I am about to go "stir crazy"....Ann

Hi all, Susan, we got about an inch of rain last night..We are only about 2 ft. short...Also had a cool front come through, and only got up to 97 today...First time under 100 since back in June....I think I have lost 4 clematis, all of my creeping flocks, and 6 rose bushes, and a lot of my daylillies and regular lillies and amarillis. It is so hot and dry that the hedges ate very yellow... Needless to say, I have stayed indoors, which worked out well last month as I had some minor eyelid surgery, a really bad case of gout, and to top it off, somehow I broke my foot..The doctor said it was a stress fracture, and put a removeable bootie on me. He said I would have to wear it for 6 to 8 weeks. I think I will only have to wear it another week or so, as it is pretty well healed, but I want to be sure it is ok before I remove the bootie.. Think i will get off to bed...Ann

Hi all, I finialy figured out how to get on here...It looks like a realy good website....It is still the same here in northwest Texas..Hot , Dry, and windy...Would some of you send us some rain and cooler weather.. It was 109 again today.. about 46 days of 100 +, most above 105..Ann