[gma22]

Good morning to you all! It is warm and muggy outside this morning and the ac has been on and off all night. Hopefully that means we will have a nice day today.

Jean: The darn satellite is acting up again so I rescheduled for them to come out this morning. We have the protection plan so we don't pay anything for a service call or repair. We own our satellite dishes and the regular boxes, but lease the HD box that is connected to the tv downstairs. I don't know what is wrong as both tvs are affected upstairs and even though programmed to do so, the boxes won't come on when you press the on button on the remote. You have to press the button on the Dtv tab that is separate or on the box itself to get the box to turn on. Anyway, who knows when he will show up though I took the first appt of the day.

Susan: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!! :balloon s: I hope you have a wonderful time with your friends today and get lots of great presents!

Maggie: Hope your day is going well and since the kitties should be back home today are doing well.

Everyone have a terrific day today and a nice weekend. I am going to knit, knit, knit to get some stuff done.
Faye

[Jean]

Good Morning, Flowers! The sun is shining here but it is a COLD 31 degrees! I haven't looked at my deck flowers but I'm sure they are history. If it snows tomorrow they will be for certain. We got the death call yesterday, but have no details as to when the service will be. It's a blessing, I know, but still hard to lose someone so young. I have a perm this afternoon and need to finish off a Good Will box this morning.

Susan -- Lunch at the Italian restaurant sounds like the perfect way to celebrate! I had to chuckle about your quilting bee being next week; at least you got to eat out and visit with your quilting friend. My curio cabinet got moved last fall to make room for the Christmas tree; it sits back in a corner and I'm sure I could scoop the dust into a pile and plant a plant. I plan to move it back "out" before Christmas this year so will definitely have to do some major cleaning in it. I hope your day today is special!

Maggie -- I'm hoping the kittens are in good shape and glad to be home, I'm sure. I'll bet RM was glad to see them. My hometown is Charles City, in the eastern part of the state, between Mason City and Waterloo area.

"Gma" -- I would take some of your "warm," but you can keep the muggy! Do you have HD boxes on all of your TVs? The tech tried to upgrade our box from "wherever" and it didn't work. That's when the guy came and replaced the outside wire, which didn't solve the problem 100%. In the end a repairman put in a new box and remote. Sometimes I think technology is way too complicated! I hope you get everything up and running like it should be.

I need to get moving! Have a fantastic Friday!

Jean -- from Iowa!

[Maggie]

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS
It rained in the night and got down to low numbers and the heater came on. I think it is set to the low 60's somewhere so it wouldn't come on in the summer. The kttens came home last evening and were glad to see us and Ragg Mopp. They slept for four hours and then wouldn't let us out of their sight. Since they are declawed in the front we didn't shut my office/shop door and they joined Ragg Mopp on our bed. Their paws are a bit tender but they don't act it. They also don't shred the plastic liner I put in their butt hutt. The vet said they were so easy to work with for he could tell we handled them a lot. They are stitched up with disolving thread so they don't have to go back to get them removed. They are timed to stay in awhile after the feet are healed completely. They sure drank a lot of water when they first came in. I do believe they will heal without any complications. Not much going on here but for the fact I will solder my firehouse together this day. BTW that Schwan meat I was telling you about was great and so easy to prepare. The marinade was delicious and I grilled it in my inside appliance. I served rice with it along with green beans and a large green salad with purple onion and tomato in it. Next time Schwan comes around I wll order another of that from him. I need to go in and peruse my freezer and decide what to thaw for dinner after I leave here.

JEAN I hope your hair turns out to your satisfaction this day. I am going for a trim next week for I am getting kinda shaggy.

DONNA FAYE How is your back? I do hope the pain has eased on out. And hope also you get your TV woes fixed up.

SUSAN enjoy your meal out to celebrate your Hippo Birdies Two Ewe.

Too Hip Gotta Go..... Type at y'all later.

[gma22]

Good morning all! I went out and opened the gate since I expect the Halloween stuff today. Oh and Jean, I ordered the little felt pails from Swiss Colony. I have an account with them and at holiday time they have such cute stuff. It isn't cheap, but it is awful cute so I can't resist.

Jean: Brrrrrrrrr, we are no where near what you are. We have been getting into the low 80's by afternoon still and usually around the 60 degree mark overnight. I don't look forward to cooler weather. The older we get the more the bones hurt! I would love to be rich and move to Phoenix where is it nice and warm most of the year. I would miss my little guy a whole bunch, but if I were rich I could fly to see either of the kids and their families whenever I wanted! Tv business is all fixed. It was some part on the satellite that had burned out. He had it up and running in about 20 minutes. We only have the HD tv in the living room so the other two bedrooms have regular tvs and boxes in them.

Maggie: Glad the two kittens are home. They will be right as rain really quick I am sure. We would all love to see your firehouse when it is finished.

Today is Jack's 60th birthday. The man looks at least 10 years younger than that though, lucky guy. I took him out to dinner to Olive Garden on Thursday night and we had a nice dinner out. The waitress remembered me and gave me lots of extra veggies and such for my salad as I decided to have salad instead of soup as I had soup for lunch. He wants a Blackberry, but it is just not in the budget cards right now so it will have to wait until after the first of the year. I have too much travel money and Christmas and Thanksgiving stuff to work into the budget.

I guess I will sit and knit and keep working on those sweaters. I really need to finish T's sleeve, but I did want to get a handle on the little one's sweater too so I am going back and forth.

Have a wonderful Saturday and stay warm and dry if possible! We have a real wet and soggy day yesterday so I am hoping it is sunny today!
Faye

[Jean]

Good Morning, Flowers! It was a COLD 23 degrees when I got up this morning. A light breeze is blowing and there is snow on the rooftops! Bob went to the farm hoping they will be able to get more corn in the bins today. They started late yesterday afternoon after the moisture had been tested. I guess the beans will have to wait -- not sure what the cold and snow does to them. I'm hoping we will get funeral day and time today so I can let Beth and Jason know. I made a casserole last night and will take part of it to Bob's secretary and then walk her dogs for her. I don't want to wear my boots, but I just might.

Maggie -- I'm glad the kittens are home. They are entertainment and keep RM on his toes, I'm sure. My hair is "ok" -- she never does it the way I ask her to, so I just let her do her thing. I didn't want the "just cut and permed" look, so she did leave it a bit longer. She claims she always uses the same perm, but sometimes it *stinks* more than at other times. This time it doesn' stink.

"Gma" -- I used to get Swiss Colony catalogs and haven't for a long time. I should go online and see what they have. Phoenix and Tucson were both unusually hot this summer. Bob's brother never complains about the heat and he did this summer. It's fun to dream about what one could have, and do, if one was rich. A to Jack! Have you ever made a sweater for Jack?

I need to call and make sure it's ok to take the casserole and walk the dogs this morning. Have a nice day regardless of the weather!

Jean -- from Iowa!

[Maggie]

GOOD LATE AFTERNOON MAGNOLIA
Got my fire house finished and it is sitting inthe front room next to the TV and that will be it's home until Will gets the shelf built around the front room though the dining room and kitchen and back to the front room for all my village ~ yet to be built again ~ to be displayed with a train and tracks running throug it all and around the rooms. Anyway that is the plan. I'll get many more buildings built before he starts the shelf I am sure. The kittens are sleeping a lot but are getting well for sure. When I cleaned their butt hutt it appeared all their pipes are working properly for they made the usual deposits.

DONNA FAYE I love the Swiss Colony for they do have some neat things for sure. So Jack has now joined the 60's. Just still a youngster.

JEAN It is 29 degrees here in the Heartland still at 4 in the afternoon. Glad your perm doesn't stink. I hate that smell......ugh.

Everyone have a lovely rest of the weekend. Type at y'all later.

[gma22]

Good morning all. I am trying to get chores started then will again tackle more of the sweater stuff. I have to kick it up a notch so I can get them finished.

Maggie: Jack was funny yesterday. He had found his birthday card where I placed it and read it and came over and kissed me and said thank you then straightened up and said, "Oh, I am now 60 years old!" I told him he was the youngest 60 year old I have ever seen. You look more like 45 or 50. Glad you got the firehouse done.

Jean: Snow, already? I read the almanac said winter was going to come early and hard this year. We are supposed to have a very cold and wet one in our part of the country and you guys are supposed to get lots of snow this year. I have never made a sweater for Jack. He kind of indicated he wouldn't wear one if I made it, but I may sneak one in sometime and see if he would. Jack and I have watched those lottery shows from time to time and seems like most folks who get rich spend money on dumb stuff like 10 cars and junk like that. Jack and I always maintained you should pay off bills and buy CDs (money cds not music ones ) so you have income coming in for life before you ever go out and buy toys and whatnot.

I talked at length with my brother's oldest dd on facebook last night. She is a sweet girl, is now 16, has cerebral palsy and I was commiserating with her because the kids at her school don't treat her very nicely and she doesn't have many friends and such. She hinted around coming here to live with us, but I told her that we lived in an area where the high school was gang filled and horrible and the school system would be worse than hers. She lives in an upscale area about an hour from Chicago and I wondered if maybe the white kids are snooty and mean. So, I compromised and asked her if she would like to come here during her Christmas vacation for a week. She is now all excited and had me email her dad while we talked to ask. His kids always gravitated towards me when they were little and I haven't seen them in probably 5 years or so. She is one of a set of triplets whose brothers all died at birth then her siblings are twins brother and sister a couple years younger than she. I always felt she was treated as the odd duck out because of her disability. They would visit at holiday time when we lived in Indiana and the two girls would always beg me to paint their nails as I always had a big container of different colored polishes since I would get my nails done all the time. I told her if they let her come I would treat her to a set of acryllic nails and a shopping trip to the mall. So we shall see if they will let her come. If so, we will drive up on Christmas Day to pick her up and then drive up on New Year's day and take her home.

Well gals, this isn't finishing up my chores. Have to get the dishwasher unloaded and such. Have a great day all!
Faye

[Jean]

Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's another cold, cloudy, gloomy day in my corner of the world; rain is predicted for tonight. We skipped church this morning; Bob was achy and tired from farming yesterday. My first thought was the flu, but he claims it is from using muscles that he hasn't used since spring. He's back out again today so feels ok otherwise. I need to run a couple errands and then will walk the dogs later this afternoon.

Maggie -- Your village and train setup sound very unique! Making all of the buildings will keep you busy for awhile.

"Gma" -- The snow is gone, but it was a COLD 21 degrees when I went downstairs this morning! I keep turning the furnace up a notch even though I have on a sweatshirt with a t-shirt underneath, shoes and socks too! I think the older I get the more I notice the cold temperatures. Our kids keep their homes much colder than we do; I remember my parents saying they thought our house was cold. I'm sure it would be a treat for your niece to come and visit. I hope that it will work out for you.

I have laundry going and need to dig out my winter "something" to wear to the funeral. It sounds like it is going to be cold and raining.

Have a nice "rest of the day" and a marvelous Monday tomorrow!

Jean -- from Iowa!

[QuilterInVA]

Good evening, ladies. A cool 66 degrees right now.

Sorry I have been AWOL for a few days - I've been celebrating my birthday since Thursday. Ate way too much and not the best choices, I'm sorry to say. Today I went to church then had a baby shower this afternoon. One of my quilting buddies daughter (25 years old, yet) came home pregnant and the young man headed for the hills when she told him. More to support our friend than the daughter, we had a shower for her today. Just 8 of us but it was enough. She got lots of nice gifts and seemed really appreciative. Another of my friends is about to become a great grandmother (she is 60) today or tomorrow. Her grandson called while we were at the shower and said his wife's contractions have started.

Faye, that was very nice of you to offer to have your niece for a week at Christmas. Kids can be so cruel, especially in a group.

Jean, you must not have gotten the news cast from our emminent nobel prize winning leader - we are supposed to have a mild winter and save $150 a month on our heating bills. I believe the Farmer's Almanac - cold and wet for where I live. I notice the cold a lot more now, too.

Hi, Maggie!

Dryer is buzzing so I got to go. Have a good evening!

[Jean]

I'm just peeking in to see if anyone else has visited today. I'm waiting for Bob to come home. I could be ironing, but this is more fun.

Susan -- I was glad to see your post tonight. Since your birthday only comes once a year you are entitled to celebrate a little extra. It was nice of you to have the baby shower. I'm sure the mother-to-be will be facing many challenges in raising a child alone. What I think of guys who abandon their responsibility is not printable! I've seen it happen way too often at school and it is sad. I'm begining to think the Farmers' Almanac is predicting "winter" pretty much like has been so far. Bob checked the ears of corn and said the husks are pretty tight on the ends. The "old timer" was quoted as saying that means a colder wetter winter.

Bob just pulled in the driveway so guess I will see if he has had anything to eat. They sometimes will either go into town to eat or the farmer's wife will fix a meal.

See you all tomorrow!

[gma22]

Good Monday morning to you all! I talked to my sister yesterday and it is cold up in Indiana already. I saw some pics of the boys on my son's facebook and they were all bundled up at a pumpkin farm so guess fall is here to stay.

Maggie: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!! Hope you have a grand day and gets lots of presents!

Jean: Poor Bob! I imagine farming can really strain the muscles. Jack was in a lot of pain with his hand on Friday and we had to put ice on it and he took ibuprophen and it finally eased. He finally has a dr appt about it today but I would think if he broke his hand they would have called by now since his xrays were about 3 weeks ago. When I went and got my flu shot the nurse practitioner was telling me she has had numerous cases of people with a bazillion children and trying to pass their TennCare card off for care. TennCare was TN's version of Medicaid but went bust over 2 years ago. She said they would give her the card and she would tell them she couldn't take tenncare and they would pull out a regular insurance card. She said she threatened to call the police on them and told them she would absolutely not see them as they were committing insurance fraud. So, looks like these people aren't as destitute as they pretend to be. I told her if I had my way the only people that would get government assistance in any way was the elderly. They are the only people too unfit, to ill, too fragile or whatever to work and that SS alone would starve them to death. I don't mind paying taxes to help take care of the elderly providing food and such, but not anyone else. No one ever helped us when we couldn't make ends meet and we didn't ask for it.

Susan: Ahh, just pick yourself up. You are so committed to health that your once a decade splurge won't hurt you! I did watch a program last night that kind of shocked me. I have watched a program a few times where they have what they call super obese that are trapped in their house or whatever. I saw a show about one of these men a few months ago where they had to cute the front of the house out to get him out. He weighed like 800 lbs or whatever. Anyway, there was a show last night talking about a man who weighed half a ton and in 19 months lost over 800 lbs with the help of Richard Simmons. It didn't look like the same human being. He had been interviewed by a British program etc then they went to commercial and came back and the man was shown being that same man I had watched a few months ago. I guess the guy lost all this weight then on the day he reached goal went to Nathan's to have ONE hot dog. He hadn't had any since he started on his program but thought he could control it. That day he ate 4 hotdogs, ff with cheese on top and drinks. He said that is where it all began again. It is always something we have to be hyper vigilant about and I think as we have talked about many times that it is a relearning and if you don't totally relearn about eating food you are likely to goof it up. I know that I have learned this time that if I do slip that I recognize it and I do not say, "Oh what the heck?" and continue, I know that I will always be subject to mistakes and need to learn to fix them right away not let them go on. It is one thing I finally have a really good handle on. It I gain a lb and I know it is because my food is not proper or I went over pts that I cannot let it get to two lbs, or 5 lbs or whatever and go backwards. I put a halt to it immediately. What is frustrating for me are these periods of extreme hunger that is almost agonizing to try and control. They don't last long thank goodness, but boy are they hard to handle. I no longer eat just to eat anymore or because the food on tv gives me the desire to eat or whatever, but I really wonder if hormones do play a part when I have these hunger things that happened. I still don't handle those very well but I know that when they happen I don't go out and get a pizza or eat chicken wings or something. I at least try and eat fruit, whole grain cereal, whole grain bread sandwich, raw veggies or something more healthy even if I do go over points.

Well gals, I need to get my shoes on and get on the treadmill. It is raining here again today and I don't feel like getting all cleaned up to go out to the mall so it is the treadmill for me today.
Faye

[Jean]

Good Morning, Flowers! It is snowing like mad right now. The ground is covered but the street is clear (except for all the leaves.) It is waayyyyyy too early for this kind of weather! The weatherman is predicting a "wintery mix" for tomorrow -- just what I need to think about for travel.

I volunteered to walk the dogs this morning as Nelda has a doctor's appt. Why she chose to have the surgery an hour away when she could have had it here is beyond me. Anyhow, I'm hoping her sister will volunteer for the 5:00 walk.

"Gma" -- I would really be mad if Jack's hand is broken and they didn't call! Sometimes I think the lines of communication break down because people rely on technology way too much. A human has to feed the info into the computers. With the snow I doubt there will be any farming going on today. They switched back to beans yesterday because of the moisture content in the corn. Evidently they can dry corn in the bins, with fans, but the electricty bill is pretty high and it's hard to tell if the corn in the center is really dry until they take it out next year. I can't imagine anyone eating all that food in one sitting. We have a place that makes the best hamburger in town; it's big and I have to be really hungry in order to finish the whole thing. It's really a bar for college age kids, but at noon and suppertime the older people go there to eat. Every once in awhile I get really hungry for cholcolate candy -- if I'm at the store I will buy a candy bar, eat it, and forget it. I used to buy the bite sized bags, but found that one just didn't satisfy the craving. Sometimes if I don't check out by the candy, I even forget to buy it.

Maggie -- I hope your day is extra special and you get to do something just for yourself!

I have laundry going and need to put my face on so I don't scare the dogs when I go to walk them. Have a great day! I hope your weather is better than mine!

Jean -- from Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning to you all! Looks like rain here again today it is all cloudy and dark, BUT no snow for us thank goodness!

Jean: HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLFRIEND!!!! Hope your day is grand and you have a lot of fun today! No, Jack's hand is not broken, it is what we thought (why do we pay drs anyway?) He has tendonitis. They gave him steroids, heavy duty ibuprophen and tummy settling meds to help with the other two. He goes back in about 3 weeks to see how he is doing. It is an ongoing problem you can't really solve, just treat flare ups so there isn't a lot they can do. I am not thrilled with him taking steroids, but if it helps for a longer period of time for him, I guess it is worth it. I rarely buy candy because truth be told, I would eat it. I have some sweets here at home, ie ww ice cream, their muffins, some 100 calorie cookies, and the ww 4 pt desserts, but I don't plow through them. I do usually have a dessert of some kind after dinner, ice cream or the 4 pt desserts or even fruit.

I finished t's sweater and all I have to do on it now is assemble it. I have the back of Jackson's almost done too so maybe I can start on the front today. I don't know if I am going to get to his little jacket sweater or not. If not, I will finish it and mail it to him for Christmas.

Guess I better get some breakfast and get on the treadmill. I am only doing 20 minutes for the time being, but will work up to more as I go along and my body adjusts. I am able to sustain over 2mph speed though so that is better than it was.

Have a great Tuesday all!
Faye

[Maggie]

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLAS
I am a happy camper this day for my sticking to program last week did pay off and the iron monster said I showed a loss of 3.4 which put an instant smile on my face. After I weigh in I alway walk down the counter and greet all the workers. At the end of the counter was sitting a cloth stuffed doll with a country style outfit on and a floppy hat. I remaked, "How Cute She Is." The worker picked her up and said, "Maggie meet Maude for she is going home with you." I was wowed. She said that the first person that commented on her got to have her. I was about the 25th to weigh in. Such a deal ~ having the gift of gab and being alert to what is around me does pay off. It is really hard to believe that no one else had said a word about Maude. Will is going to put up another shelf in my office so she will have a place to sit. My other two shelves are full and I can uncrowed them some. I have got to keep my babies "up" so the animals we have won't get them.

JEAN Hippo Birdes Two Ewe. I love bithdays. Hope your day is a wonderful day.

DONNA FAYE I am so proud of your doing your treadmill. You go girl.

SUSAN Hope all is well with you and you are back on track.

Too hip, gotta go ~ type at y'all later

[QuilterInVA]

Good morning, ladies. Almost cold at 64 degrees. I gave up yesterday evening and turned the heat on. It sure felt good.

I can't believe we all have birthdays so close together! A happy belated birthday to Maggie and a very happy birthday to Jean.

Faye, I've been on steroids for a very long time with my various inhalers and Prednisone occasionally. I don't like them, but I do love what they do. Steroids for a short time are not bad. There are 2 kinds, anabolic (which is what the athletes abuse) and corticosteroids, which is what I take. Anabolic are not good! I hope Jack's hand improves rapidly. Good for you for doing your treadmill!

Jean, have you plans for celebrating today? I don't think I could stand snow this early anymore. Hopefully we won't have any this year.

Maggie, Keep up the good work on the scales!

Have a great day!