[QuilterInVA]

Good morning, ladies! 50 degrees right now and rain.

Daffodils are starting to bloom! What a wonderful harbinger of spring.

Nothing happening but more headaches at work. Eventually I'll get it taken care of and that's what counts.

I did have quilt guild last night and that was fun.

Faye, no one wants surgery but if that's what it takes to get better, so be it. You have really suffered with this stuff. I've had many open surgeries - 4 for bowel obstructions, 1 kidney, 1 hernia, 1 gallbladder, and 1 appendix. Then the 2 foot surgeries and tonsillectomy and deviated septum surgery. I hope I never have to have another!

Jean, you money can get stoolen writing checks easily because your check passes through many hands and anyone of them can get the routing information and account number off the bottom of your check. They are saying there will be no more paper checks by 2020.

Maggie, you and Will always find the best bargains. I hope your garden rewards your efforts with bushels of produce this year. The farmers' market will be opening in May and I can't wait.

Have a wonderful day!

[Maggie]

♪♥♫ GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS ☺♫

We checked our supply of seeds and have several packets of heirloom and can purchase the rest of our list of seeds that we will plant this year. The gentleman at the nursery said to start our seeds inside the middle of next month so in the meantime Will is getting the ground outside ready. We will also purchase some plants from the nursery when they get them in.

We have just gotten back from running errands all day morning. It is a good day to get things done around here. It is to be in the high 40º and 50ºs this day and just a breeze and not that wind that loves to sweep across the plains. I’ve got some cube steaks out to thaw for dinner and a box of au gratin potatoes to fix. I have salad greens in the fridge so dinner is planned.

Not much doing this day here in the ♥-Land. I’ve got some housework that needs to be done so I will be working inside this afternoon.

SUSAN How nice that your daffodils are starting to bloom. I can just see them in my minds eye. We also hope we get some nice produce out of the garden this year. If not, it won't be because we didn't try and do all we could for it to flourish. It was a truly a good find to get that trailor and the price was right for he gave us a great deal. The gentleman had purchased several from the auction and was selling them for a bit of a profit but not gouging folks. We had seen them for twice the amount we paid for this one and not in as good of shape either. The farmers market here has most of it's prices higher than the store does and the produce doesn't seem any better at all.

Have a lovely day Magnolias

[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers! It was a beautiful day in my neighborhood, sunshine ALL day with a light breeze. It was warm enough to melt a lot of snow and the ice in my little metal bird bath. I expect to see the first robin pretty soon. I had lunch bunch this noon and there was only two of us so that was kind of nice to just sit and visit. Tonight I am a happy camper because I was able to get my pc back on wireless status. When in doubt read the instructions several times and then start the process over from the beginning. I know I didn't have this much trouble the first time.

Susan -- It's a good thing you know how to solve the problems being thrown your way at work. When we go out to eat we notice that young people, or couples, often have their cell phones out either reading or texting. On Facebook today, there was a quote by Albert Einstein, "I fear the day when technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots." There is already talk about the lack of personal conversation skills and the disappearance of eye contact when people are together. I know paperless is in the future but I don't have to like it.

Maggie -- It sounds like you had the start of a nice day running errands in nice weather. I hope you got everything done that you wanted to this afternoon.

I have clothes to put in the dryer for a few minutes and then think I will head to bed and read. Have a terrific Thursday tomorrow!

[Maggie]

♪♥♫ GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS ☺♫

Happy Valentine’s Day Magnolias ♥.

I hope you don’t get tired of me talking of our new utility trailer but this surprised me about it. Some of the information that Will found on it included the price which the government originally paid for it was a hefty $3894. We also know what year it was built and that tells us it has been sitting around for quite a number of years not being used.

I am enjoying a breakfast Panini sandwich and ff sf latte as I type. Will brought them to me before he had to leave to visit a lady in the hospital then off to his volunteer job at the museum. I think for dinner I will make some oven baked boneless pork chops along with some au gratin potatoes and a leafy green salad. I can have that ready for when he gets home this evening if I time it right.

I had forgotten to put my q-tips in a closed container and they were all over my office floor again today. That cat loves to bat them around and Beanie likes to chew on the cotton tips. I will do that today. The ones that aren’t chewed up I can use but the other ones get trashed. They are for my glass work so they don’t have to be sterile like if I was using them for medication application or such. The cat may find something else here on my desk to deposit on the floor now. I keep most of the little things in containers so he can’t do much damage. Whoever filled my coffee cup filled it too full and when I took my first sip it poured all down my front even soaking my bra. I should have checked it before taking a drink of it for you can’t fill this container to the top but have to leave some space. Maybe I will remember to check it next time. Must have been a “new girl” that fixed it today for all the regular gals know by now to not fill it to the top.

I am telling you those folks that send those “do you need a loan” e-mails are coming out of the woodwork like cockroaches in the night. Wonder what they do with all that personal information they require you to give them ~ well I really don’t wonder, for they aren’t doing nice things with it for they do like draining bank accounts for whatever amount they can get or selling the information. There are companies that would buy such a marketing tool. I “block & bounce” them as fast as I get them in. Several a day in fact ~ and different ones pop up as quickly as you delete the others. I now have tons of them in my “block” file. Such is life as it is on the internet highway. What would we do without computers. I can do without a TV but ~ well I don’t want to do without my computer.

JEAN It is about time you got some decent weather for a change. AH the robins ~ wish we had such birds like that in the plenty. Only one or two came around last year. Well with the tin foil stips we hang in the apple tree to keep the birds out of our crop may have something to do with them now coming around. We also hang strips on the bottom limbs of the tree to keep the birds from eating the strawberries that grow in a bed at the base of that tree. We have to put up a temorary fence around the garden also to keep the rabbits from enjoying the produce. We only have to fence two sides for we have the garden in a corner plot. Are you doing any gardening this year? Container gardening would be a good way to go if you don't want to dig up your yard. Being wireless is great. I only keep mine plugged in to keep it charged so when the "lights go out" I have a full charge. It receives it's internet connection from a box out in the front room.

Have a lovely day Magnolias

[Jean]

Happy Valentine's Day, Flowers! When I turned on the computer tonight . . . no wireless. GRRRRR! So Bob and I did the same routine as last night and it finally connected. I'm wondering if I need a new router except both the laptop and iPad have worked fine. This morning I went to church to do part of my Tuesday computer posting for the automatic bank checks; a couple people dropped their pledges big time which surprised me. Then I hit the two grocery stores to the tune of $160 and headed home. A friend stopped by after lunch and we visited for a couple hours so that took care of the afternoon. Bob was late getting home so will probably go out for supper tomorrow night.

Maggie -- I have been getting a lot of "check your credit rating" emails as well as the loan ones. I can't find where/how to block them on my email program. Ernie likes to play with toothpicks that Bob leaves on the end table by his chair. I try to watch and keep them picked up as I don't know if Ernie would bite one in half and get it stuck in his innards or not. We probably won't plant anything in pots except flowers. The rumors have it that we will have another dry summer and may not be able to even water flowers. Last summer we could only water early in the morning or after the sun went down, no car washing, or lawn sprinklers, etc.

Guess I will head off to bed and read for awhile. I have lab work first thing in the morning, and then will be making lasagna for Saturday. Have a fantastic Friday!

[Maggie]

♪ ♥♫ GOOD NIGHT MAGNOLIAS☺♫

JEAN When water is short ~ when we shower we save the water that is used that runs until it is hot enough to shower and do that at the bathroom sink and kitchen sinks also. We save the collected water in a large plastic trash can in the back yard. We also catch the rain water from the runoff of the house in a plastic trash can. It fills up quickly when we do get a nice rain. You would be surprised how much water you can collect those ways. We use it for watering the inside plants and garden outside and even car washing. We save the water from the house faucets in washed out milk plastic jugs. Yep if your kitty injested a toothpick it may cause some problems. He may just want them to bat around like Cecil does with the q-tips. I get a lot of those credit rating things also and block them also. Your mail program may not have a "blocker" to use. The one I use is called IncrediMail Premium.

I am now fixin' to call it a day and go cut some zzzzz's.

Have sweet dreams Magnolias

[gma22]

Good morning to you gals. I haven't been able to get in here for the last two days for some reason. I would load the site and it would time out everytime and I would start over and here we go again. It was the only site I had trouble with but I ran my speedy pc program to clean it anyway and nope so I have catch up to do.

No surgery for me, yippeee. This is what happened on Wednesday. I talked to my dr and another one just to make sure we were on the same page. Both doctors agreed that my d and c's biopsies and such all show I have a healthy uterus that the spotting is a hormonal issue. As to the diahrrea, she lowered my dosage in half again and I seem to be doing ok on it so far and this is the third day. Before I would start in with loose stools within 24 hours of taking the first pill. Nothing can be done about the hunger and they both told me the same thing that the med I am on is the best for what is going on with me. The consulting doctor told me she knew I didn't want to hear it, but it would eventually stop on its own. I am going in March 3 into the doctor's office and having a biopsy just to make sure everything is still healthy. Our plan of action is 3 months on 3 off of the hormones and each time I start hormones, I will have a biopsy to make sure no cancer cells have formed until I am not having any symptoms at all anymore. I am ok with that since I don't have to have another d and c. The consulting dr told me that from my health issues ie the colon and hernia surgeries, that removing it should be a last resort. She said the same thing that my doctor had told me last time that it is very likely the colon has attached itself to the back of my uterus, which in itself is harmless pretty much but removal unless it was cancer or some other issue should be avoided if possible because of the risk of cutting into the colon on accident. I am relieved and feeling ok since I am back on the meds so we just have to take a wait and see attitude.

Fortune is at the vets for yearly shots and I am having him just bathed and his nails clipped. I am fed up with the groomer cutting him too short and am going to find another groomer even if it makes it awkward taking Fortune into the vet's when I am not having him groomed there, but he doesn't listen to me and half the time Fortune comes home a mess. I imagine it will cost me a great deal more, but I want him to look decent. Last time it looked like he hadn't even trimmed his ears at all.

I have a Walmart, Fresh Market and possibly Kroger run this morning for dinner tonight. It depends on what I can get where. Then home and hopefully Fortune will be done.

I will answer posts and such tomorrow. I have stuff I have to run and get done this morning before the snow starts. I don't know how much or if, but don't want to get caught in the store if it starts snowing and all the idiots think they will be housebound and come into the store.

Have a nice weekend all. Faye

[QuilterInVA]

Good morning, ladies! Sun is shining and it's headed for 60 this day. Trees are budding and my nose is running so back on the allergy meds.

We are getting a Whole Foods here. I really look forward to that for they have wonderful produce and meats. All organic.

Sandy, Donna and I are going to lock in at Bella's tonight. Dinner at VA Barbecue but I have a vegetable plate since I don't eat meat on Wednesdays or Fridays in Lent and they don't have fish. They have wonderful collard greens.

Faye, I glad you have escaped the surgeon's scapel. Have you ever thought about biodentical hormone replacement? That is tailored to your body. We have a Walmart Market Place that opened the first of the month. It only has groceries, no deli or bakery, drive through pharmacy. I see a van around touwn that does pet grooming at your home (in the van). I always wonder how much that costs. Please keep your snow. We don't have in the forecast.

Jean, I hope you don't suffer another drought this summer like last year. So far we are 2.5 inches of rain ahead of last year at this time - and last year ended up 14 inches more than average. Lasagna sounds really good, especially homemade.

Maggie, Like you, I have to keep all small things in containers or Casper considers them to be playthings. He makes up the best games for himself. That's an excellent idea to catch rainwater and excess water in the house. We used to rinse our hair in rainwater when I was growing up

Have a lovely day!

[Jean]

Good Morning, Flowers! The sun is shining again today! It was 11 degrees when I went downstairs this morning, and supposed to hit high 40s on Sunday. I had lab work done this morning and met with the doctor an hour later. I was totally shocked! All the numbers that were supposed to come down, did, #s too. I figured vacation and wine would play havoc with all of them. I'm making lasagna today, need to vacuum the fur/dust bunnies, and sort through toys the kids "picked up" at Christmas. At least I know things start out orderly and together with like pieces.

Maggie -- You have good ideas to conserve water. Our hot water is fast so don't know how long it would take to fill a milk carton. There's no way we could wash a car with "saved" water as law enforcement watches that closely. What is strange though is that the car wash places do stay open.

"Gma" -- I'm glad you had a good doctor's appointment and hope the new plan works well for you. I know you are relieved about the surgery part and I sure don't blame you on that. Have fun running errands -- hope you find everything on your list.

I need to get started on my cooking endeavor. Have a great day and enjoy!

[Maggie]

♪ ♥♫ GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS☺♫


It is in the 20º area as I type and “they” say we will get rain/snow at 2 in this afternoon. Hope it is rain that we get and it does rain. We can use the moisture as can lots of other states across this good ole US-of-A. Let the come down. Tomorrow evening we have an event to attend at the museum. Will is being honored as the volunteer of the year and being inducted onto the board for he won that position on the election at the last meeting we attended. They will have the dinner catered in and I am sure it will be yummy. Last year they had some great BBQ pulled pork that I made a sandwich of and passed up the other things that were offered that looked so good but also looked like they had lots of P+s in them. Life is all about choices wherever we go isn’t it.

I don’t have a clue just yet what I am going to make for dinner here but will decide in time to get what it is thawed in time for it to be cooked. It may be a day to indoor grill some steaks for I think we have a couple of potatoes to bake and lots of greens to make a salad. I love salads but Will isn’t as fond of them but tolerates them. He always eats one when we go out for a meal though. I must say that now he is trying to lose weight he has been eating more fruits and veggies and very few candy bars. His old habits are slowly getting changed. That is what WW says ~ to slowly change old habits and replace them with new ones that are better for us. That’s an old psychology thing ~ you can’t just quit an old habit ~ you must replace it with a new behavior.

DONNA FAYE That is good news you got from your doctors. Seems to me that the docs are doing the best they know for you so you must grin and bear it when you have those episodes for you can now see the end of the tunnel, so to speak, when all of this has run it’s course and quits troubling your system. We are to get some rain or snow this afternoon also. The moisture will be very welcomed in these parts for sure. Will is currently out running errands before the storm hits ~ some folks don’t know how to drive in wet weather. We are so happy in times like these we do have that 4WD vehicle but we don’t want to be slammed into by some nut case that can’t drive either.

JEAN guess if our water heater was up stairs the hot water would get here quicker and we wouldn't be able to save so much cold. That's too bad you can't even save water to wash your car with there. You would think they would see that your water came from jugs and not the hose going full blast. Well maybe they think you filled the jugs from your hose, but still . . . I remember a time out in CA when I was much younger that there was a real water shortage and my dad saved water in jugs and that is how we showered.

SUSAN Oh wouldn't I love to have a Whole Foods store here. I am sure you will have a great time shopping there. Have fun eating out with the gals. It is a good thing to save rain water.

Have a lovely day Magnolias

[Jean]

Good Morning! The sun is shining again this morning! I'm waiting for the kids to get here and let the fun begin. Hope you all have a great day, I will try to check in tonight.

[Maggie]

♪ ♥♫ GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS☺♫

Will just took his laptop computer to the shop for them to remove a virus that shuts down your computer with some bogus claim you have to pay hundreds of dollars to the bad guys to turn it back on. Off to the computer whizzes to remove that virus. They say it has been going around. Those folks that dream up this stuff to bilk folks out of their money are some kind of computer whizzes living in the woodwork and come out to “get ya” and can shut down a computer so “they” must have captured his computers IP address somewhere he visited on line then hit it “whammo”. The teckies will clean it out for him for they know what to do and have the tools to deal with it. He can still do computer work because his desk top and I-Pad aren’t sick ~ just his laptop. He just came back with the news that he will get his laptop back Monday all fixed. Seems lots of folks have been down there getting theirs fixed of late.

I ended up making a delicious meatloaf last evening and we will have wonderful sandwiches today. It has been awhile since I made one and it popped into my head yesterday that is what I would cook when Will brought in some nice lean ground beef from the “used meat” section of the market. I cooked some of it instead of freezing it. I have a few pounds yet of it to package up today and get it into the freezer.

We didn’t get any rain or any snow as predicted. We so need the moisture. If we are going to have a garden this year we had better start saving our water seriously now so we can have some to keep the veggies alive.

JEAN Have a great time with you kids and stay safe. Hope to hear all about it when you come back to the thead.

Have a lovely day Magnolias

[Jean]

Good Morning, Flowers! The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and it's 35 degrees outside -- cold! I've been to church, read part of the paper, and changed my clothes so far this morning. Bob is singing so won't be home until after second service. The kids had a wonderful time yesterday! They brought their bikes and then later talked fast enough to walk out on the frozen lake. Jason and Will walked out with them after the little ones begged, begged, and begged some more. I was glad because even though it's not deep, I sure didn't want anyone falling through without an adult close by. They said it was just awesome! Neither family has much of a yard so the kids really enjoy playing in ours. They didn't leave until after 8 -- I was tired!

Susan -- I've never heard of Whole Foods but it sounds interesting. Iowa is trying to get a Cabelas (sporting equipment), IKEA, and a couple other stores that I've never heard of and can't remember the names right now. They feel that Iowa won't support them so have refused to build here so far. If they ever do come I'm sure we will be at least a couple hours drive away from them.

Maggie -- I hope that Will's laptop will be good as new after being in the shop. How aggravating to get a bad virus, any virus for that matter! Meatloaf sounds good as we haven't had one for awhile. Today is leftover lasagna.

Guess I will finish reading the paper and set the table. Enjoy the rest of your day!

[Jean]

Good Morning, Flowers! It's a gloomy, windy, cold day in my corner of the world. It's supposed to be cold all week, snow in the middle, with mostly clouds in the sky. There is no mail today and the banks are closed; we are counting at church tomorrow but I plan to pick up the gift shop money this morning and have it ready to go first thing tomorrow.

I'm dressed and need to clean up the kitchen clutter before I do anything else. Hope you all enjoy a marvelous Monday!

[QuilterInVA]

Good morning, ladies! It's cold today - only 33 degrees right now. I hope the spring flowers didn't get frozen.

We had some snow flurries for about 15 minutes Saturday and no accumulation but the cold front moved in.

This week the quilt show starts Wednesday night and it ends on Sunday. I'll be there having a marvelous time. I'm not planning on spending much. I'll take $100 and my lunches and water. I don't need gadgets or fabric, so that should be more than enough money.

Faye, I hope all is okay with you!

Jean, I'm glad you reminded me that today is President's Day. I put my recycling out and was surprised they hadn't picked it up when I left for work and I also was wondering why the teacher next door hadn't gone to school this am. Duh!

Maggie, that was a very nice picture of Will. Thanks for sending it.

Have a wonderful day!