[gma22]

Good morning ladies! Hope all is well in your world. I am going to make a commissary run today even though it is an off week as I didn't go last week and we need quite a few things.

Gloria: The CUBS clinched the division last night and Jack said so did the RED SOX. We are just thrilled that maybe, just maybe they will get into the world series this year.

Jean: I keep forgetting to ask everytime I am in here. How is that young man that is your relative doing since his injury? Isn't he named Ryan too? I am losing it I just know it. Can't keep anything straight. Believe me, we will vote. I want to get some big changes in this city, but being the color we are, it isn't likely. Sad that the crook of a mayor might just get re-elected because he is black. Even the blacks are fed up with him but will go back to the same old thing and put up with him. I surely hope they would choose someone else.

I am a bit on the woozy side. I didn't go to bed until well after 11 and Jack's watch alarm went off at 5 so the dog thought it was time to get up so I had to come down and let him out then feed him. He is now all curled up on the sofa back to sleep while I am now up and awake! Doesn't seem fair somehow!

I got a gift for my birthday from one of my close friends yesterday. I know she spent a lot of money for it as she works part time in a fancy restaurant and the building has a bunch of little boutique shops and she gets a discount. Well the bag, I think is awful. It is an old fashion still, what my grandma used to call a pocketbook with the metal clip at the top, it is fabric in a baby blue with a pink handle and a pink fabric section in front with these yellowish green diamonds sewn on it and then dark pink sequins criss crossed all down the pink panel. I don't know who thought this is stylish, but..... I imagine I will take it with me when I go to Indiana and use it whether I hate it or not so my friend thinks I really like it. I wouldn't hurt her feelings for the world. She knows I am nuts about handbags and Lucy and last year I got a bunch of cute lucy stuff from her.

Well, I am going to go and knit on the vest awhile. It is kind of hard on the hands as it is a 3x size so has lots of stitches and I am doing the back, which would be the widest part. I work on it some then put it down when it starts to hurt my hands a bit. I would have put it on circular needles then knit it straight to hold the weight better, but I looked and didn't have the correct size. This is the button I bought for her vest. She works for the school system in South Bend and I thought she could wear the vest to work. I am using the honey colored yarn I bought for Tom's sweater and I still have skeins and skeins of.

Have a good weekend everyone!
Faye

[Jean]

Good Morning, Flowers! It is windy and raining here this morning. We have been to a waffle breakfast put on by the music department at school, WM, the grocery store, and another drug store downtown. The choir accompanist showed me a hand cream she uses for eczema and I had ordered a tube online. I was going to order a second one to have at school and it has been discontinued! This morning I went to all of the drug places in town and no one has it, but "they can order it" for me. Just to see what happens I gave them my name and phone # so we'll see if any of them call me to tell me it's been discontinued. That makes me so mad! My thumbs are better than they have been for months and I wanted some more!

"Gma" -- Ryan has been moved to a rehab hospital in St. Paul. They have started PT and OT with him. Because he is so tall they had quite a time finding a wheelchair to fit him. I guess he has managed to use an electric one a couple of times because he has some movement in his left arm. The small town in the area where he was raised had a benefit for him with a silent auction. I guess it was a huge success. His mom was able to go and someone video taped it for Ryan to see. Every once in awhile he has a "bad" day and I'm not sure what that means because no details are given. I'm sure it is a day-by-day, wait and see kind of deal. His mom would be heading back to AZ for the winter about now so I'm sure that is in everyone's thoughts. She would never leave him so will spend the winter in MN. One of our school nurses' husband was in a diving accident and is confined to a wheelchair. I visited with her a bit yesterday and her comment was that the longer it takes for the feeling to come back, the less likely it is to come back at all. By the same token each patient is different and one just never knows. Thanks for asking about Ryan! Our local packing plant is adding 250 new jobs; the guidance counselor at the middle school shared that she enrolled 6 new families this week and all are from the Chicago area. The gal sitting next to me whispered . . . "yeah, they're all black and bad!" Just what we need -- more trouble! Your handbag sounds like the ones I saw at a Diva Disco handbag party. They are not my thing and I ended up buying a plain straw looking bag that could be used for anything. The schoolhouse button is sure cute -- you do find the best buttons!

I need to change laundry loads and get busy! Have a nice day and remember to smile!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning ladies! Hope your day is going well. We are going to tackle some rug shampooing before the race this afternoon from Fortune getting sick again and I am going to try and get some housecleaning downstairs done today. Seems like there are leaves and parts of leaves all over the house from people and the dog dragging them in. I bought a Swiffer Sweeper to see if that is easier to keep things cleaned than dragging out a broom and dustpan all the time. We shall see.

Jean: I am so glad Ryan is on the road to recovery. Spinal cord stuff or neck injuries are alway so iffy for recovery. I know it has to be so difficult on his mom though. I used an online website called buttondrawer.com and they have every conceivable button you can imagine. Unfortunately, the shipping for that one 1 1/4 inch button cost the same as the button itself! The problem is, even in this huge city they don't have many fabric stores and they don't carry a good variety of buttons so I am stuck to online stuff. Thank goodness for the internet.

I got this wonderful birthday card from my younger sister yesterday and in it a $50 gift card to Joann's. I went to town and bought 10 skeins of yarn, 3 circular needles in sizes I didn't have, a cable needle to teach myself to cable, and 2 knitting books. Got everything on sale and free shipping! The yarn is 5 skeins of soft yarn in a bright red for a bolero sweater for this same sister for her birthday (she has really dark brown hair so I thought it would look smashing) and 5 skeins of a banana color for my best friend for her birthday. I told her she couldn't have bought me a better present. My other sister's gift is still where she bought it. Some snafu with it and won't be shipped until Tuesday. She was all upset when she called yesterday and I told her no sweat. Just let's me celebrate stretched out as I haven't gotten Jay's card yet nor anything from Kelly.

The commissary was nutty extraordinaire yesterday. On top of that, they rearranged the WHOLE dang store! I make my shopping list from how the store is laid out and now is bum over tea kettle as my mom would say. What a mess! Now you tell me why a store would put dog/cat food and supplies across from their packaged meats???? It used to be in the same aisle as paper products, but that has been moved to who knows where now. It is such a mess. The only thing they left in the same place was their frozen food section, but even then they rearranged the frozen foods in the cases themselves! lol Oh, they kept the cookies in the same place, like I need to always know where they are! lol

Well, need to get going and get started on cleaning up stuff. I want to get some of the stuff moved before Jack gets up.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Faye

[Jean]

Good Afternoon, Flowers! The sun is shining after a morning of loud thunderstorms and rain. It is another windy day in my neighborhood. The bell choir played at early service and I must pat myself on the back . . . I didn't lose my place or miss a note! This piece has malleting and chimes along with the ringing so I really needed to concentrate. The gal (Leslie) on one side of me is more musically talented than I am and never hesitates to let anyone know when they play a wrong bell, wrong timing, etc. She "forgot" we were playing this morning and the director had to call her and get her out of bed! The gal on Leslie's other side always gets Leslie's bells out and set up because she is usually late, but today that gal wasn't there and the sub didn't do it. Neither did I and Leslie was a bit frazzled when she realized she'd have to get her own stuff lined up. This is the same gal who took her wedding dress to the cleaners and never picked it up!

"Gma" -- Let me know how you like the Swiffer Sweeper. Some time ago I bought a Hoover electric broom (my name for it anyhow). I really like it except it has a filter that collects the cat fur and has to be dumped and cleaned each time I use it. I especially like it because it fits under the edge of the counters and stove. The suction is almost better than the vacuum. The JoAnn's gift card was a nice idea from your sister. I know you had fun spending it! Not too long ago our grocery store rearranged some of their stuff. I used to be able to tell Bob which aisle whatever was in and he would stop on his way home from the office. The Mexicans buy water from the machine and they moved that clear to the back of the store. Some of them fill the huge jugs that only two can fit into a cart; I would hate to have to lug those through the store. This store has downsized quite a bit of their selection -- only one brand available in many items and that is the store brand which isn't all that great. Life would be so simple if we didn't have to eat!

We have a "get acquainted" visit with the minister tonight. Evidently it is a new "Methodist thing" because the new minister in my hometown is doing the same thing. Various people agree to host the group in their home and invite a few people to come and meet/visit the new minister's family and others from the church that we might not know. We got called when Bob was on his fishing trip and couldn't go, but the choir director is having this one and cornered me at practice. We really already have visited with them because they graduated from the same college we did; he is on the nursing home board with Bob and she plays bells with me.

I have laundry going and need to vacuum some fur bunnies. "Mom" should be bald at the rate she is shedding. I asked the vet and he said if she is eating and using the litterbox I shouldn't worry. Have a great "rest of the day" and !

Jean -- from Iowa!