[Jean]

Good Afternoon! It is sunny, hot, humid, and windy in my neighborhood today. Bob had to introduce the new pastor in church this morning and I thought we never would get out of there. The VBS kids provided the music for a half hour! Two songs would have been plenty imo! The majority of them go to second service so I'm not sure why we had them early. The pastor had a sermon, of course, followed by communion. Usually the previous pastor used the printed ritual in the hymnal, but today the new one gave the invitation to come, ripped off the bread to serve, while another couple passed out the juice cups. We were finally out the door an hour and forty minutes later. We have been spoiled with less than an hour in and out! We went out for breakfast after church; I was hoping no one heard my stomach growl. I've done some laundry, fed the birds and squirrels, so now need to write church birthday cards and gift shop checks for tomorrow.

"Gma," we spent most of yesterday in Sioux Falls. Jason bought a used golf cart for when they have to camp far from the bathrooms. They have a bathroom in the camper but he doesn't want them to use it. There is room in the "toy hauler" for the golf cart and motorcycles. He wanted to put headlights on it and hasn't done much wiring so wanted Bob's help. Amanda, Zowie, and I went to the mall. I had forgotten what it is like to shop with an "almost" teenager. It seemed like every store was having sales so lots of lookers, lines for the dressing rooms and check outs. I didn't even look at clothes for myself, just wasn't in the mood. I did stock up at Bath & Body, then had fun in a tea tasting store. We both bought a strawberry daiquiri tea leaf mixture. I hope I can make it like it tasted in the store. Salted caramel was another good one; it is pricey so just bought one flavor this time. Glad you enjoyed your dinner date and made new friends! You are brave to try new things, I'm like Jack and stick with what I know I like. Sioux City had mostly hit and miss hail damage and downed tree branches from the storm. Sioux Falls just had rain; Amanda was driving through SC, on the interstate, when the take shelter warning came on the radio. She said there was no place to go so she kept driving and stayed ahead of the worst of the storm. Do you have to have Jack's jackets or your dresses pressed on the ship? I didn't know that was offered until afterwards.

I need to get my cards and checks done. Enjoy the rest of a super Sunday and have a safe 4th!

[gma22]

Good morning. I am slow going this morning. I had achy knees last night so had troble sleeping. Napped this morning in the recliner.

Did a load of laundry and dishes and am fixing some lunch then will do a bit of housework.

Boy we zipped right through commissary but had several things they didn't have and noticed a lot of blank shelves. I'd say they were trying to close it but they did a major reno on the bathrooms over the last couple months. They're still not done. We went to Hueys, which is a burger/bar place. I had a shrimp poboy that was really good. They used to have fish and chips, but took it off the menu.

Jean: I like fall flavored teas so yours sound good. Let me know how yours come out. I told Jack if we ever bought a fancy rv I'd want a golf cart. I have a headlight on my scooter! I never knew I had one until we came out of the baseball game recently and it had gotten turned on by accident and it was shining in the dark. I have a tooty horn but not sound when I back up.

Have a good day today!!

[Jean]

Good Evening! Sitting here listening to stupid people blow up fireworks. They can shoot until 11:00 the night before, on the 4th, and the night after, otherwise it is 10:00 the week before the 4th. We're going to do this again in December. There are some Mexicans a block over from us who can't tell time. Grrrrr! It was after midnight last night when they finally quit. The police are so busy issuing citations they just can't get to everybody. Yeah, right. This morning was church money balancing on the first try, also on the gift shop money. I spent some time with the new pastor explaining what I was doing on the computer when he came. I feel kind of sorry for him being alone over the holiday but maybe he will keep busy unpacking and even visit the festivities in the park. Tonight was an antique car parade around town and they end up in the park on display. The kids had a parade and there was a city band concert. Another group, The Brown Family, was scheduled to perform and got a good start when the sky got dark and lightning was over the lake. The wind switched direction and people started leaving. Cars are parked for several blocks in all directions so it was a major traffic jam. We left too, but so far no rain. I felt bad for the Browns. They tour down South in the winter and their home base is a town over by Sioux City. They bought a bank building and remodeled it into a small auditorium. Tomorrow is another parade, craft vendors and food in the park again, and fireworks when it gets dark. We are invited to a friend's house for a birthday bar-b-q supper. Jason and Amanda are coming for the day. It is Jason's 25th class reunion and some of his classmates are planning to get together. Ian and Zowie are at the lake with their other grandparents so we won't see them. On a sad note, a six year old boy drowned in the lake, by the water park this morning.

"Gma," I haven't tried the tea yet but can order it online if I like it. I told Amanda it may be on my Christmas wish list. The only store close by is in Sioux Falls. I did four loads of laundry this afternoon and that was all I accomplished at home. I hadn't planned on the kids coming tomorrow and told them lunch would be served down in the park. I think I got burned out fixing food and hauling it to the cabin every summer. Bob figured up how much we aren't spending with just cabin insurance and utilities this summer. I was surprised, but can tell my grocery bill is considerably less.

I need to unload the dishwasher and head to bed! Have a safe and happy 4th!

[gma22]

Good morning to you all. It was quiet here until almost 1 AM then the nitwits started shooting off stuff. They kept at it a good hour and must have run out I guess. I don't know whether it kept Jack awake. I have been having a lot of cramping again in my leg so I was in the recliner so would have been closer than Jack was upstairs. Sounded like it was on our back deck so I wonder if it was on either side of it. Who knows what tonight will bring and Jack has to go to work tomorrow.

I have got a load of shirts we ordered for Jack in the dryer and crossing my fingers certain of them don't shrink. I was just going to hang them but they came out of the washer incredibly wrinkled. I am drying everything on delicate so we shall see. I haven't decided whether I am going to do any housework today or not. Like I said, Jack is going to smoke some ribs. He wants baked beans so I will make those. I am wondering if the bbq place across the street will be open and if so I may have him go and get a container of their potato salad. He won't eat it, but I sure will. Jean: Hope you all have a nice time today. I hope your new pastor works out just fine for you all. Always hard to get used to someone new until they settle in. We once had a preacher who preached an hour no matter what so will hymns and special music and offering and such we would be there forever. The only good thing is the restaurants were cleared out by the time we went to lunch. Thanks for the tea link you sent me!



Everyone have a nice safe 4th.

[Jean]

Good Evening! Once again have fire crackers, bottle rockets, and loud whatever's going off tonight. Tonight's birthday party was approximately a mile from our house; it poured rain for a good half hour or more while we were eating. We got nothing at our house. Bob went to the parade this morning but left before it was over. I opted not to go thinking if I'd seen one old car, tractor, or horse, I'd seen them all. Jason came home about noon and we went down to the park for lunch. I wandered through the vendor alley and didn't think there were as many as I remembered. It was a little warm but there was no wind so things didn't have to be tied down to keep from blowing away.

"Gma," do you take calcium? We were discussing night leg cramps tonight, and one gal said she doesn't have them any more since she started taking her calcium right before she went to bed. Said she read it on FB. I'm going to try it! I try to eat bananas but hate them when they get squishy.

I'm heading off to bed. I hope the idiots shooting fireworks run out before the 11:00 deadline. I'm too tired to go and find the addresses but plan to call them in anyway. We have three streets out here so the police should be able to catch the culprits. Hope you enjoy a wonderful Wednesday!

[gma22]

Good morning to you all. We had a heck of a storm yesterday so no cooking out for us. Jack ordered pizza but it just wasn't the same. It was rather boring around here yesterday as we didn't do anything.

Jack's shirts came on Monday and he was standing under the new ceiling fan and broke the glass cover when he put his arm through the shirt. I went online and found the company and they had an "ebook" and in it was the part for it so I told Jack he has to call today and order a new one. At least we can get a new one.

I have a really pretty black diamond and white diamond double heart necklace Jack bought me a few years ago for Valentine's Day. I never take it off, but had to for my colonoscopy. Well now we can't get it back on because the chain is very, very fine and so the clasp is too. Jack's left hand shakes so he has trouble with anything tiny and I can't get the thing clasped because it is a short chain and my acrylic nails. He bought it at Zales and they don't sell just chains so I had to order a longer chain from a jewelry store. It shipped from California so it won't be here for awhile. At least this one I can do up the clasp and slip it over my head.

The idiot next door was lighting stuff in his yard in the middle of the night and banging in and out of his back door. Kept me awake most of the night. I am not queasy and tired and a big grump this morning. It sounded like he was lighting fire crackers and throwing them over the fence they were so close. I need to go and see if there are any signs of it because that would really make me mad as we have a wood deck. I hear him out on the street right now shooting off some more.

Jean: I do take calcium, but in the morning. I will switch it and see if it helps. I think most of mine is from swelling in my ankles and feet, which causes cramping. The cramping in my left leg started the evening we went out to dinner with that couple as we were at the restaurant 3 hours.


Everyone have a good Wednesday. I am going to go and have some cantaloupe for breakfast.

[Jean]

Good Afternoon! It is sunny and more humid today, heading up to 90 degrees. I went to have my nails and toes done this morning. I was there before the shop opened as always, and a man pulled in beside me. He stood by the door as if to say he would be first in line instead of me. I was pretty sure he wasn't going to have his nails done but thought "what a jerk" to myself. Everyone was moving kind of slow this morning so it took longer than usual to get in and out. Bob had a couple calls on the boat and set a time tomorrow for a guy to go for a test drive. I'd like one more ride around the lake for old times sake so will have to do that tonight. I've been on the phone this afternoon changing an eye appointment and trying to arrange church money so we can go get the bells next week. I don't like being in the middle; the bell lady was on my answering machine and I'm not the one who has to get the church check; money is coming from different accounts and I don't have anything to do with that. At least I didn't think I was the one in charge of making the arrangements.

"Gma," I saw in the paper where a Sioux City guy blew off his hand messing with fireworks. The mayor is going to ask the council to ban any further fireworks. Somewhere in Iowa a mother was holding a new baby and the fireworks went sideways instead of up, and burned both of them. Sad in both cases. It was more quiet in our neighborhood last night, I was surprised. It's lucky Jack didn't get cut when he broke the fan glass.

Not much else is newsy from here. I need to check the dirty clothes piles and scoop the litter box so best get busy. Being gone this morning leaves me with little motivation to do anything this afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day!

[gma22]

Good morning to you all. It is very warm and humid again today. I am definitely staying inside.

I bought a case for my nail polish so am going to move all of them today into it. I can put them by colors and such so I can see what I have. Right now they are in a plastic shoe box so I have to dig through and most of the time go with what's on top.

Jack is having a discussion with RCCL about the cruise we booked next year. They are trying to up the price $2000 and the reservation has already been made and the deposit put down. I think it is a glitch in their computer system, because for months our paid for one of this year said we had overpaid $281 and that was nonsense. He is on the phone with them at work right now.

Jean: Well, Jack called first and sat on hold for 30 minutes yesterday about the ceiling fan part then she got snippy with him because he had the part number and not the model number so he hung up. I called with all the info, sat on hold 20 minutes and found out it is discontinued model so we can't get a new glass cover for it at all. Why do they sell discontinued and not marking it that way in the store? Nothing we can do about it just have to live with it. The numbskull said maybe we could get a universal part and I told him no that the cover was triangle and unique. I told him goodbye and hung up. Hope you get to have a farewell ride in the boat. He was still shooting off stuff at 10 last night but must have run out because then it stayed quiet overnight. Idiots all of them.

Have a good day today!!!

[Jean]

Good Afternoon! It is hot and humid again today, supposed to hit 92 this afternoon. The weatherman mentioned a cold front coming but I didn't hear the details. This morning I cleared off the kitchen counter and island, which seems to have become a daily ritual any more. I don't know why things can't stay picked up and neat. This afternoon is more clothes sorting. I wish I could wiggle my nose, like Bewitched, and have things done instantly.

"Gma," do you ever paint each nail a different color just for kicks and giggles? I've noticed Zowie is doing that lately. She said it keeps her from getting bored. I asked if she was ready for school to start again and she emphatically said, "no!" I would think the cruise line would have to honor your original price since you have the reservation and made a deposit. I suppose they will manage to come out ahead one way or another. The guy is coming to the house after work, to look at the boat. His wife wants a ride and has to work tonight, besides it is too hot to be out on the lake anyway. They are leaving town for a few days and he is afraid Bob might sell it if he doesn't put some money down on it. That's too bad about your fan light. If you got it at a chain store, maybe another store might have it. It was quiet around here last night. The local paper did say that several people went to the city council meeting last Monday night to complain, and it wasn't even the 4th yet. I lost count of the missing and found dog pictures that the local vet has on FB.

I need to get going on the clothes sorting. Hope you enjoy the rest of a terrific Thursday that seems more like a Tuesday or Wednesday or Friday.

[gma22]

Good morning to you all. This heat and humidity here is awful right now. Summer is always hot here and the humidity is always up there, but seems it is worse this year. Probably not, just griping from me as it is so miserable to go outside and do anything. I keep reminding Jack he isn't 30 anymore and to drink a lot of water and be careful when he has to work where it is hot.

As I told you yesterday, RCCL had a glitch in their computer so everything is fine with the reservation. They have started something that irks me no end though. You now cannot cancel without losing your deposit! So, most deposits are $500 on 7 day cruises and that goes down the drain if you have to cancel. Jack said it is because people book a whole bunch of cabins than come back and cancel most of them, but who in their right mind is going to tie up maybe thousands of dollars of their money in deposits? You have to put a $500 deposit down for each 7 day or longer cruise. Anyway, I am very unhappy about it.

Jean: Hope everything goes well with the boat sale. I seem to always be picking up after Jack. I don't hang on to catalogues and flyers and such so don't have that clutter and we don't get the newspaper, but he leaves stuff laying around all the time then complains when he can't find it. We bought it at Lowes, but they aren't willing to open up a new box to give us the globe even though they are discontinued and Lowes says they can't replace it for us. So, it is what it is. Like I said, it really doesn't look bad as it has three tiny lights and each one has it's own little glass cover so it actually looks like that is the way it was made. I did tell Jack to put the end caps back on where the glass attached to make it more finished looking. It is really modern so it doesn't look bad at all.

Everyone have a great weekend. Jack wants to grill out the ribs this weekend if we don't get rain.

[Jean]

Good Afternoon! It's another sunny day but not as hot as the last couple days in the 90s. We need rain badly as lawns are turning brown and crunchy. I made a grocery run this morning. Zowie's horse camp usually has a "show" where the girls ride the horses around the ring, then we move to the church for a short worship service followed by a pot luck. Since it is a two hour drive I decided to make a veggie tray with dip. Amanda just sent me a text saying no potluck this year. So now I have 4#s of baby carrots, celery, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, and two containers of dip on hand. I think I will take a cooler with us and send some of it home with them. I finished another box of shoes and clothes for the SOS store; I thought I was doing so good until I looked in another closet!

"Gma," I'm glad the cruise glitch was just that. It is too bad about RCCL not refunding deposit money, but I can't imagine people reserving rooms for other people not knowing if they were serious about going. We bought trip insurance but I didn't bother to read through it; I just assumed we would get a refund if one of us couldn't go for some reason. The boat is sold! This couple takes their boat up to the lake where we had the cabin every weekend. There are two good sized lakes, connected by going under a bridge two boats at a time. They are both crazy busy on the weekends with jet skis, swimmers, tubers, drinkers driving boats, and people who have no clue about boats or water rules. There is no way we would go through the hassle of launching a boat up there on the weekends, but the guy said they love it up there. Too bad he didn't want a cabin. I call Bob Mr. Tidy House. He hates clutter but can't see a dust bunny even if it could jump up and bite him. Everything of his is neat and orderly; if I use anything on his side of the garage I make sure I put it back exactly where he had it. My cupboards, dresser drawers, etc., are neat and orderly but I'm good at making paper piles thinking "later when I have more time." Beth bought a refrigerator at Lowe's and the computer panel went bad shortly after they bought it. Lowe's doesn't have a service department, or at least not in Sioux City. They told her to contact an appliance store, who in turn wasn't too excited about servicing something they didn't sell. She ended up buying a used refrigerator from them because it cost less than replacing the computer panel. We have an appliance store here in town. A teacher bought an appliance at Nebraska Furniture two and a half plus hours from here because it was cheaper. When it went on the blink the local store told her to call Nebraska for service. That's exactly why we try to buy everything local! If you get rain, send some our way!

I need to unload the dishwasher and get back to my clothes sorting. Hope you are enjoying a fantastic Friday! Have a nice weekend.

[gma22]

Good morning everyone. Hard to tell what kind of day other than hot and humid. We are supposed to be in the 90's today.

Now the post office isn't answering their phone. I tried for an hour because no delivery for two days of a small package and it just rang busy. It was Amazon and I contacted the seller trying to get them to do something because postal website said delivered one day then added ready for pick up. Must be a small company as the owner texted me twice snotty replies about how I should handle my postman! Like we hadn't been through this before. She said Amazon should handle it. I wanted to get nasty but told her sorry I was a bother and decided to put my grievance on her feedback on Amazon. I did tell her I had prime and shouldn't have to pay over that for ulternate shipping like Fedex. he had the gaul to tell me if I reported problems repeatedly Amazon would quit allowing me to order!!!! Anyway, the stuff showed up around 7 pm 4 hours after mail was delivered.

My older sister is in the hospital again. She quit taking her meds because it caused incontinence and her leg blew up with fluid. No one can get through to her. I try and call and she won't answer her phone. I called her cell and she talked about 5 minutes and said the nurse was there to do tests and hung up. My younger sister tried to call yesterday and got no answer. I don't know what else to do. I can't just jump in the car and go visit. She is 8 hours from here and my younger sister is in Phoenix.

Jean: I was trying to think of something to use your veg in but came up empty except for maybe soup you could freeze. Out of luck with the dip though. Jack finally got mad at RCCL because besides the no refund deposit policy, they now charge people that don't have suites $8 for a cut down room service menu (used to be none unless you wanted middle of the night then it was $3.95) and your cabin has to be paid for 90 days in advance instead of 75. They also went up $30 on their drink packages for two people. It's ridiculous. Here's my ceiling fan now. I don't think it looks bad. It's not like it's just light bulbs hanging.

Well time to get breakfast and get chores done. Have a great weekend.

[Jean]

Good Morning! It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood with sunshine, 72 degrees, low humidity, and NO wind. The sliding doors are open and the birds are chirping away. They have been flying on and off the deck taking turns eating with the squirrels. Sheets are in the washer and I am sneaking up on sorting through more clothes again. I will get the numbers whittled down . . . eventually. It will be a stay-at-home day for me. There is a reception for the new pastor and his wife between services tomorrow then Horse Camp in the afternoon. I did get my nerve up and dropped out of the social group I joined last fall. One of my favorite ladies has moved out of town and another also dropped out. The person I called to take my name off the membership tried to get me to change my mind but I just felt I have too many places to be. I never enjoyed it as much as I thought I would. Besides, I would like to try my hand at Mahjong. The group meets every week in the hospital cafeteria, after the noon rush, to play. Since I don't know the game I would like to watch a few times. It's a group that not everyone plays every time, so no commitment.

"Gma," when I called the post office on July 5th to ask if we were getting mail (it was 6pm) the smart aleck said all the carriers were back from their routes. "It's the day after a holiday so delivery is always later." He was a real jerk and hung up on me. We finally did get our mail about 6:30 that night. I hope your sister will be home soon. Does she have any children who live close to her? There is an Asian family a block over and they had a wing ding of a party last night, complete with fireworks. They were so loud they sounded like they were on our deck. Today is the last day to legally shoot them off in our town. I'm sharing veggies and dip with Amanda tomorrow. Bob is good about eating raw carrots so guess they'll get eaten. Your light globe holder reminds me of the neighbor's drone that got caught in our tree. I wonder if the cruise rates are going up because fewer people are cruising. Everything seems to be going up these days.

Susan, are you home yet? Hope all is well with you.

Bob offered to grill steaks this noon so I need to clean potatoes and wash carrots. Enjoy the rest of your day!

[gma22]

Good morning to you all. Gonna be a lovely day today it looks like. Jack is going to smoke a rack of ribs for dinner tonight. Yummy!

I have vacuuming and mopping then am done with the downstairs. Will tackle upstairs bathroom tomorrow morning before it gets too hot.

Once again they didn't deliver three packages saying they had no access. Jack is over the moon angry and is going to the post office and there will be fireworks there I guarantee. He doesn't keep his temper very well and for this I can't blame him. I found out the lady that owns the company of package that wasn't delivered until around 7 called the post office and took them to task. She emailed me and said it wouldn't happen again as she put it, "I made an honest postman of a dishonest one." She was so snippy to me when I told her the package hadn't been delivered in the first place, I got in her face in email showing her she wasn't as smart as she thought she was that we didn't get our packages yesterday and the excuse was a lie. I copied and pasted the whole postal thing and sent it to her. She never said a peep back.

Jean: Those prongs that look like the drone is what held the globe in place. I know it does look just like a drone. I love mahjong and shanghai. The apps on Ipad and games elsewhere say mahjong but are shanghai. Shanghai they give you a pile of cubes stacked in a pattern and you match two until there are no left. The issue is taking them off correctly or you'll find you have a stack and no moves left. There are always 4 of each in a stack. In mahjong, it is played similar to American dominoes. You draw cubes from a pile and then play from your group of cubes. You get points for triple, pairs, etc. Watching would give you an idea anyway. They do have true mahjong on app but one is in chinese and the other japanese. If you read either, go for it. When we get back from vacation I am going through all of our clothing, my shoes, my handbags, all of it and sorting and pitching or sending to Goodwill. I have to make room for what we do wear as every closet is full and I have three stand alone units with clothes on them. The spare bedroom and Jack's office is awful and needs to be completely cleaned out.

Susan: Hope you are able to be up and about!!

Have a good day everyone.

[QuilterInVA]

Good evening, ladies. It was only in the high 80s today - a relief.

I am so sorry I thought I had posted at least once since I came home. I was in the hospital 2 days, rehab 2 weeks and I've been home 2 weeks. This knee did even better than the last one. I'm not using a walker or cane or on any pain medication anymore. For some reason, I had 3 weeks of bad depression. Even though I had plenty of visitors, it just got to me that I could get out and go by myself in the car. Guess I'm too independent. I also lost down to 123 so the doc put me on medication to improve my appetite. Me who spent my life on a diet just didn't find any food appealing. He thinks I should gain 10 pounds. It scares me to even think about it.

Donna, maybe you could find your glass for the fan on ebay. Fortunately the post office does a good job here. We don't get to the door delivery. We have a bank of mail boxes and 2 package boxes. If it doesn't fit in there, they do bring it to the door. Our mail man has been bringing me my mail and rininging the bell since he saw I was using a walker or cane when I came home. Cruises are going to price themselves out of business if they aren't careful. I see you got an electric pressure cooker. I love mine. A good thing to do to get used to it is go to www.hippressurecooking.com and sign up for their "school". They have excellent recipes, too. Another good site is www.pressurecookingtoday.com.

Jean, I love to paint my toes with a different color polish on each one. It makes me happy. Not much for fireworks around me. Big displays at Yorktown Beach and Langley AFG but just one or two neighbors and only for a short time.

Have a wonderful evening.