Good Morning . . .

Fall is definitely trying to settle in around here. It's after ten am and we are not yet into the double digits (that's C, of course, -- it's below 50F) even though the sun is shining so happily. Hey, this is the day for my afternoon mall-crawl anyway so the weather is great for that.

Other than that just trying to get used to the new computer world once again and trying to find time to get started reloading some programs and then rewriting some applications.

Hope everybody else has a great Thursday . . .

Good almost afternoon.....Have started cooking for the bridge game tomorrow. Now kinda glad am doing one more before Nov. Have boiled the eggs....that's it. Have to make the carrot cake, the sandwiches, black bean salsa, artichoke dip and the roll ups....and the triffle. Since my refrig is busting it seams kinda delaying starting stuff and besides it is so hot and humid here you can't move or think. I stuff the players with carbs and they get so mellow and sweet they forget to call for the director.

Can't wait to try this recipe for Black bean salsa. Has mangos and red peppers in it. Let you all knew it it's a keeper. Off to scullery....karen3

Morning everyone..its still raining..spent a quiet evening reading a nora roberts book..made an old recipe last night,german pork chops..used boneless pork chops(take off all fat)brown them in a little olive oil,place in a casarole,layer sauer kruat(sp?) and sliced apples over the top,sprinkle with 2 tbs of brown sugar,pour 1 cup white wine over all and bake 350* for 1 1/12 hrs..served it with mashed potatoes and a green salad..thought id share as it sure tasted good,and we have left overs for tonight so i dont have to cook..i have physical therapy this am so am sure i'll get a good work out..hoping you all have a great day and stay safe rosey

Hi all

Good to see you Cat I've snuck over to SB and spied on you once or twice just to know you are OK - we're such a bunch of worrywarts over here we panic if we don't hear from someone for a while Glad you made it through the storms OK and sound like you are having one of those gloriously exhausting busy lives

Linda the entire time I was reading your post from yesterday I kept trying to remember what cartoon it was with "Mr. Wizard" in it. I keep thinking there was a turtle or some critter like that who would go spinning around calling "Miiissster Wiizzzzard" (or maybe I'm confusing it with Mr. Bill and his "oooooo nooooo" from the old SNL ). Glad it sounds like your getting all those nasty little gremlins evicted from your computer.

Any good news Bobbi ? That fiance of your DD's sounds dangerous - a man who can cook up a meal like that? Does he do dishes too?

Honestly PampGal, between you and Karen3 just chatting so calmly about preparing to evacuate to get out of the way of huge storms! I picture myself in a situation like that and I'd be the chicken little running in circles hollering about the sky falling. You guys are awesome.

(Heavy sigh) You all talking about fall (heavy sigh). I was joking with our receptionist this morning that there must be one house somewhere in this valley who has one tree in their yard that's changing colors - there is probably a line of cars around their block of people trying to get a glimpse of it Oh well, I decided that I never want to shovel snow or scrape ice off my windshield again, so I guess there are sacrifices to be made for every happiness.

Have a great evening all

It’s hard to believe it’s been 7 years. As with most of us, I can remember exactly where I was. Prayers for the victims’ families…

Bobbi, still praying for good rest for you. My DD is having problems sleeping as well – I think it’s stress on her part.

Karen3, the bridge spread sounds yummy! If the black bean salsa concoction works out, you’ll have to tell me where you got it.

Rosey, it was good to hear from you. Are you getting cabin fever from the rain? The pork chops sounded good too. Are you sore after PT?

Isabella, the weather sounds fabulous! How did the snacking go?

Cat, glad to have you back after the mess of Gustav. I chuckled at your down-grade to chalk! I’ve always told my husband [teacher] that a website to post assignments, research/teaching aids, etc would be beneficial. Do a lot of teachers in your area do that or are you the pro?

Meowee, your weather is even better than Isabella’s! [I was raised where we had 4 equal seasons].

Vegas, here in Houston we say the trees lose their leaves out of boredom not due to the temperature! Virtual fall is just around the corner.

Our company’s pipeline system is being run from a site 150 miles inland as of 6 am this morning and they too will probably feel minor effects from Ike. We packed up the offices today. We raised all the blinds this time – I think they’re fatalistic in that the windows will break so we might as well save the blinds. You can almost directly see the gulf from my office window – it’s just usually hazy. At least I got to pack up my cross stitch.

Since it’s 9/11, SIL got to call free from Iraq. Between my MIL and him, they talked my DD and DGS into leaving for Austin just before the traffic got bad. They got there safely. Yeah, a huge load off DH’s and my shoulders!

Here we’ve done most of the yard pick up. I’m saving the indoor packing until tomorrow – cross stitch, family pictures, etc. The waiting is soooo hard and you can’t go out and walk it off. So I’ll keep my hands busy. I’ve said, if we don’t have power by Sunday evening, I’m going to Mom’s. Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. DH says thanks for keeping up with us too.

Hi chicks...all done. The cooler is packed and I'll change ice jugs of ice in the morning. Found freezing 1/2 gal milk bottles and sticking them in white trash bags keeps my cooler cold and dry. Reuse the same bottles for ages. We eat down the freezer every Spring and fill it with milk bottles and a couple of tubs of water. so when we go powerless can use refrig/freezer like coolers. some archaelogist some day will dig up my freezer and think I was saving water as a treat!

Made low fat SF brownies and SF pudding for the triffle...Need to go to Fitday and figure out calories. Bet it is pretty good. Nope didn't taste it. Did take nibble of brownie and it was surprisingly good....crunchy. Made 56 sandwiches (ham'ncheese, egg salad and roast beef with blue cheese mayo), carrot cake, salsa and artichoke dip. Actual made 2 brownie trays so will take 2nd one for snacking too.

Rosey...I cook every type food, but my base is German foods. First worked in the kitchen in boarding school with Moravian cooks and then when got married my DGMIL taught me really how to cook. Love my pork and DH will eat anything if it has an apple in it. Only thing better than pork and kraut is pork and red cabbage..............oh yum.

This darn storm is so big that we had hugh high tide this afternoon. The whole Gulf coast is being impacted. And Darn it There's Mikey! Told you all he is a home town kid. At least he's still dry.

I know that if I don't eat 1000 calories a day that my body shuts down my lossing mode. I have been having a small dish of Sf sherbert to get over the 1000....but boy that could get to be a habit easy enough.

YoYo....make colored leaves out of plastic eggs and hang from cactii. Thats what they do here....Or colored bottles. Actually some of our Oaks turn color in Jan....and virgina creeper(viney weed) turn bright red in the late fall. Here I have everything blooming together...all four seasons sometimes.

Well need to crawl into bed early tonight. Know they will run my silly doppa off tomorrow. hugs, Karen3

Hello everyone. Just thought that I would pop in and say HI!! Things have been hectic and frustrating here.. Still waiting on someone to buy the house so we can get moved. I took this picture of the mountains right from our front porch. This was taken on August 29th and YEP! That is snow up there. I'm just not ready to see that yet!

I'm keeping everyone in my thoughts and prayers that are in the pathway of Ike. Please stay safe and let us hear from you when you get a chance.

Cat, good to hear from you. So glad that you ended up with minimal damage this time.

Take care everyone and I'll try to catch up soon.

Good Morning,

Linda, I'm glad to see that you are back. You were missed. pesky ole computers anyway!!

Cat, how good to hear from you. I've been worried. Drop in from time to time and let us know how you're doing. Sounds like you're having lots of fun with the new class, and the puppies. They must be getting big now.

Bobbi, Still saying prayers. Hope everthing is ok.

Karen31, That view is glorious! Wish I could relocate. But i'd have to move son and DIl and the grands too. Just can't leave them behind.

Karen3, Just glad to hear that you're still safe and sound. No wonder you're such a good cook. You learned from the best! My grandma was a german cook too. Love sourkraut. Especially homemade. You're having a hard time eating over 1000 calories a day? Why?

PampGal, At work yesterday, we were talking about where we were when we heard the news about the towers, and what our first thought was. Some things you just never forget. Everyone remembered exactally where they were and what they were doing.

YoYo, We have glorious colors here in fall. But you're right, in a few more months we'll be getting the snow blower out.

Rosey, Your recipe made me hungry. Isn't it amazing how cooler weather brings on an appetite for heartier meals? Do you think apple cider would work instead of the wine? Or chicken stock. I don't cook with wine and usually don't keep it in the house. Or, how about beer?

Make it a good day, Freda

Another beautiful morning in northern NS . . . hope things are glorious in your neck of the woods too; and soon to improve in those places not having such a good weather picture at the moment.

After I got home yesterday and started playing around with the computers again I decided I'd have to 'go to town' again today to find a book to help me (I never feel more stupid than when I'm trying to figure out a new operating system on a computer) -- something along the lines of "An Idiot's Guide to Vista for Dummies" might be appropriate.

Other than that -- SSDD -- see you later

Good Morning Girls!
Not much happening here, we're watching the news about Ike. We'll know you've moved to higher ground if we don't hear from everyone affected by the storm.
We had some postitive news about Tiffany (DD) and the huge cyst on her kidney. I don't quite agree with the doc's but he said it doesn't look cancerous and to let it go for 6 months! They tested her liver, kidneys, etc and no sign of cancer from the blood work. Praise the Lord and thank you everyone that believes in the power of prayer. If it were me, I'd want them to take the nasty thing out.
Freda...YoYo...Yeah, he does everything. Laundry, carpeting, electrical, you name it. Tiffany house had sooooooooooo many things that needed a man's touch. She's been divorced for years and she just can't do it all. Her basement was always wet, he said her water heater was leaking and that's the problem. We're meeting her fiance this am at Home Depot, she can't afford a new water heater so we're picking up the bill. We've paid her house payment for the last 5-6 months, she's having a hard time of it. The ex owes her about $18,000 in child support that she'll never see, the lazy $*^*###! Maybe all the stress she lives with brought on the medical problems she has.

Pampgal...sorry to hear of DD sleeping problems, I agree about the stress! Wouldn't it be nice if we could take the stress off our kids and grandkids awhile until they can get back on their feet. But thinking back when DH and I were young, having financial difficulties, nobody helped us and we lived through it. Actually, we learned early on to pay up in full our credit card (only have one) each month. Tiffany usually does, but she didn't work all summer (teaches pre-school) and maxed out her credit card this summer. Makes me sick just thinking about it.

Geeeeeeeeeez, I'm really negative this morning. I need to cheer up, maybe breakfast will cure me.
My tummy is telling me it's time, what's everyone having this morning? We still have a bunch of those delicious Colorado peaches, I'm having that on Fiber One cereal and vanilla soy milk. Yesterday I picked a few raspberries, this is our fall crop that just started and we usually lose them all due to frost at night.
Later...............

Morning

Thank heavens for the no cancer findings for your DD Bobbi! I know 6 month sounds like a long time to have it just hanging around in there but I'm sure they are thinking that, at this point, the risks of surgery are higher then the risks of any damage from the cyst. Not sure about one that size, but I have heard of cysts simply shrinking away on their own.

Prayers going out to all our friends on the gulf coast. Stay safe!

Sorry I'm not too chatty, I'm a little waffly today - found out yesterday that my company is moving our division to Kansas. Too many reasons for me to stay here to consider following the job. I seem to spend 5 minutes stressed, 5 minutes excited about new possibilties, 5 minutes annoyed at having to make changes, 5 minutes just totally relaxed and confident that it's really for the better, then start the whole cycle all over again. Oh well, on the bright side it's an excuse to go shopping - all my good suits are miles too big so I need new interview clothes

Have a perfect day

Good Morning! I just got this and thought that it was too funny (TRUE) not to share!!


Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications,which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as: NBA 5.0, NFL 3.0 and Golf Clubs 4.1.
Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,

Desperate.


DEAR DESPERATE,

First, keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html and try
to download Tears 6.2 and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Farting and Snoring Loudly Beta.
Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)

In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.
In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program,but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Cooking 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck Babe!

Tech Support

so true, so true. Thanks for sharing

Hello chickies. Good news about your DD, Bobbi. At least everyone can breathe easier now.

I've been doing pretty good the last few days with calories and exercise until this morning when I slipped giving mom her bath and nearly broke my thumb. Thumb is very sore and I'm not able to use my step band to do my circuit workout so maybe I'll get in a little walk later on.

The weather is really nice here but I've been watching Ike on the news and boy oh boy I'd get out of there as fast as I could. Hope everyone made it safely out of harm's way. Prayers going out for those in Ike's path.

Gotta run to the store. Catch you all later.

Hello all ~

Glad you got good news about your daughter Bobbi.

Hanging in here in Houston. Right now here ~ north of the city ~ is cloudy ~ no wind or rain yet.

Take care