ps we have our back and side yards fenced in with chain link, Dh was painting out front and Dash was asleep 5' from him and they chased him onto the porch where they were attempting to bite him...The whole attack occured either on our porch or 10' from it. Can't find the statue but think I remember animal control saying last time $200 and that is times 3 dogs. That should make some fur fly. If they don't show up and it goes to court every time the officer was here will be admitted and the case gets bigger and worse for them. Plus Fl has an Elder abuse law and the verbal abuse/threats will also be brought into play. It can get nasty and I worry about them doing something to house/car/boat.....me? Also worry about the little girls on the street...k3

pss...DH is George!

When my kids had birthday/graduation parties they were still underage so I was able to make the rule that they could not have their gifts until they wrote the thank yous for them.

I do have a question, though. I understand the importance of writing thank-yous for a wedding or large party, but what about when you have a smaller more intimate party. If you open gifts at the party and thank the giver in person, is a hand written note still required? I don't think we did that growing up. An aunt would come to the house and give us a birthday gift and we would open it and thank them, but didn't send thank yous.

Rie - I have weights that go from 2 lb all the way up to 20, plus a barbell set that you can add the weights to. I rarely use that. What I have been using lately is a weight station that you sit/stand at and do leg lifts, bench presses, pull downs etc. I and my step son have always exercised off and on while he was growing up and I still have all this stuff in the house from years ago. When I got my treadmill and elliptical I set up my game room as a little gym for myself as we no longer used it as a game room, using all the old exercise equipment I've accumulated over the years. So I can't really tell you how much weight I use because it varies for different exercises. As soon as it starts to feel "easy" I increase the weight. Needless to say, this is something I haven't done faithfully since I got married, or I would not be in the shape I'm in. But I'm trying to do it now to keep my muscles working so I can stay mobile in my golden years.

Bobbi/Rie - I have rail pots that I use on my wrought iron railings on the front porch. They are metal hangers that hang over the railing and hold long rectangular plastic pots, a couple feet long. In the summer, I fill them with annuals and sometimes at Christmas I put them out with a block of styrofoam in them and fill them with artificial ponsettia flowers. They really look authentic when we get a dusting of snow on them.

Karen3 - Sorry to hear about the trouble with the neighbors dogs. We have a lot of dogs in our neighborhood but so far, none seem to be vicious and it's been years since I've seen a dog around without a leash. Used to have a neighbor next door who had a rottie, a pit bull and a presecanaria. I was scared to death of those dogs and they used to get loose often and terrorize the neighborhood. She had her house up for sale so we tolerated it knowing she was moving soon. She had met up with a guy who supposedly was a chiropractor but I think he was selling drugs. These were actually his dogs. They bought a house with more property for the dogs and moved away. Thank God! I liked your comment about the biker/homicide detective. Just goes to show, you really shouldn't judge someone by appearance, although we all seem to do that.

Bobbi - You have the benefit that your house and land is desireable and in good condition and looks good, but there's always the factor that you have to find the buyer who is looking for that and in your price range. So it's hard to tell what will happen. A lot depends on how well the agent markets it. I know you feel that all the work of your house is hard on DH, but it could also go the other way. Sometimes, having all that physical work to do keeps one going strong. How many people do you see who retire, only to go downhill healthwise once they don't have that job to go to every day. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. It could be benificial either way.

Maryea - Many times DH has wanted me to sell the exercise equipment, especially when I go through periods of not using it. It happens! But it's not in the way. I am fortunate to have that room that we don't use anymore, and the equipment has been acquired over the years, not a big expense at one time. I went to a gym when I was single but I know if I joined a gym I would not go. I like not having to care what I look like when I exercise. I don't have to wait for a piece of equipment or limit my time on it because someone else is waiting. I don't have to clean off someone else's sweat, I can listen to my choice of music or watch my choice of TV. And in the time it would take me to get ready and go to the gym, my workout is half over. I also have some exercise tapes and dvds, but last week I tried to do a step aerobics video and I just couldn't keep up with them, and there was no way to even modify except to do it without the step. They still went too fast for me. My SIL is hounding me to join her gym, but she is still working and doesn't get home until 6:30. By the time we would get to the gym, which is 5 miles from my home, it would be my bedtime! LOL I could join a gym 1 mile from my home, free with Silver Sneakers on my insurance, but I have such a nice set up at home, I'm just going to stick with that. I know there are so many people who say they will makes excuses for not exercising if it were not for the gym, but this works for me. The main improvement I'm seeing is that I'm walking much better and have more energy. When I'm in a store shopping, I don't have to have a cart to use as a walker. I'm not knocking off the pounds, but that's due to my diet, or lack thereof. LOL

Karen31 - Craigslist is such a great way to buy things you want/need or sell things that are still in good shape. The items are pretty much in your area and you can take a look see before you buy. Why buy new when you can get next-to-new at half the price? Enjoy the hot tub!

Donna - Poor GM, having to go through all that prep work! I can understand that they want to be sure that she's in good medical condition to have the procedure, but to need it again a month later? How much could change? I needed all that for my 2 surgeries last year but they were 6 months apart and both were general anesthesia.

I'm sorry to go on and on about the exercise, but it has always been a big thing with me. I truly wish I had stuck with it steady over the years. My mother and her siblings all died of heart disease in their 60's. The last sibling died a couple years ago at age 89. He was still driving and getting around great until shortly before he died. He told me that he went out and walked every day. His legs hurt, but he did it anyway. And I think that is the main thing that kept him alive and active all those years. No one lives forever, but quality of life makes a big difference while we're here. I don't feel that it HAS to be formal exercise, but all should be as physically active as we can.

Hi Everyone,

Friday was the Barnes Museum - GREAT! Saturday was the 5 K with my former students - VERY nice to see them. Today is some kind of outing with my DD & SIL to celebrate Father's Day - not sure yet what we are doing.

Happy Father's Day to your loved ones,

Lynn

Morning everyone another beautiful day hear. thankyou everyone i am feeling better,i dont say mad for long. friday my dd,grkids and i had so much fun at garage sales, we went to 10 of them,and i got in and out of the car and walked around all of them. i bought a grocery bag of stuffed animals for my dogs. i got them for .05 - .25 a piece. they where in puppy heaven. we went to dairy queen and i was a really bad girl. i had a peanut buster parfait. hadnt had one for yrs and i savored evry bite. that evening i was pooped and achy from all the walking. mr cranky went to his cabin,and did fine,he came home yesterday. i wished hed stayed longer becuz of th price of gas and an overnite trip is expensive. hmm its true but i would have liked some more me time. my girlfriend karen came over yesterday and you will never guess what we worked on. shes doing her sons wedding(july21) its an outdoor counrty casual theme. any ways we worked on the table decorations and they are duct tape roses yup and they are really pretty. they will be in a doiley covered mason jar with babys breath flowers, actually pretty and very unique. carolsue i love young and the restless, ive watched it from the very 1st show. Bobbie you dont sound as if you want to sell. how is the market where you are. my moms house is still for sale(4 yrs now(,we had to rent it instead,its in northen mn . hope you have better luck.Karen3 thats awful about your neighbors,we went thru something similar when the neighbors dog chewed up Willie. he was really hurt and abig vet bill. which they paid. hope dash recovers and the owners held accountable.ttfn hoping your sunday is a warm and fuzzy kind of day rosey

To Karenfl: Sorry, I knew that too. George - not Bobbi's Bruce! Sheeesh - senior moment. ( shush donna. LOL)

Marie - I've missed you! Interesting about your DD's eyes. Do all cross-eyed people see separately out of each eye or is that a different issue. I had never heard of that. More and more people must be having that surgery because you rarely see a cross-eyed person anymore. My step-son's eyes are just a little off, one eye just slightly off center. It is a rather sexy look, IMO. The next door neighbor's boyfriend has the same issue. My step-son has extremely bad eyesight and I'm wondering if that's why. Neither parents ever wore glasses.

The bad thing about home exercising is it is difficult for many people to commit to it. That's why you can buy so much barely used second hand exercise equipment. People buy the equipment with good intentions but just can't get themselves into a routine. My suggestion to people who want to try exercising at home is to find good used equipment. A big plus is that it's already assembled and ready to go. If you put your own elliptical together you understand what I mean. LOL When I wanted a new piece of equipment I was always in such a hurry to get it RIGHT NOW that I always bought retail. I'm starting to wish my treadmill would break because I want a new one. LOL I didn't like home exercising as much when I just had one piece of equipment. (treadmill) I like having all the different things for a varied workout.

Rosey - Our current dog doesn't play with toys at all, but we had a Shih Tzu who loved them, but they had to squeak or make noise in some way. We would buy him something every week from the flea market. One time we bought him a slammer and he quickly learned how to bang it on the floor to make the noise. It said "Oh NO!" It was so funny to have him walking around the house "Oh NO! Oh NO! Oh NO!" We ended up with bags and bags of them. Finally we sold most of them at our yard sale and people loved the fact that our stuffed animals were labeled "dog toys." We didn't want anyone to buy them for a child after Mikey had slobbered all over them. LOL One time one of the toys got so worn out it fell apart. DH took out the little box that made noise when you pushed on it. He would sit on the couch pushing the little box and Mikey would be looking around wondering why he could hear his toy buy couldn't see it. Dogs are so much fun.

Donna - Here is how I do personals. As I read along, I go down to the bottom of the page and respond to each post in the little message box. If I have to go to another page, I use the cut and paste feature to cut my message out and past it into the little message box on the next page. Then I keep adding on as I go along, and when I'm done I just highlight each persons name and click on Post Quick Reply. I got tired of having to switch back and forth to Microsoft Word.

Rosey - When DH and I go to the dairy queen we just get small cones. We stopped there yesterday and they told him fathers get a free medium cone, so his was free and he bought me a medium too! Uh oh! Too much ice cream! A small is a nice size treat for me.

Donna - Now that we have agreed that our little Pupper is going to be our last dog, I'm thinking about a cat. I really can't have one in the house because I am highly allergic and DH would freak if a cat jumped up on our kitchen counters or table, which they all seem to do. There has been a cat in our yard off and on. We aren't sure if he's a stray, but he was eating all the bread we put out for the birds so we bought some dry cat food and put it out for him periodically. He is very skittish and runs the minute we come to the door so that's what makes me think he's a stray. I wouldn't mind if he hung around because we feed him and he would just continue to be an outdoor cat, but someone else might be feeding him too because he's not here on a regular basis. When I was single I got a little black kitten from a friend. I'm usually ok as long as I don't touch the cat, but this one wanted to jump up on the bed and snuggle up to me. As much as I loved the affection, I would wake up the next day with red itchy swollen eyes and a runny nose. So I had to take him back to the farm.

Good Morning GG's

I had a good weekend, even though I worked. The kids were over when I got home Sunday evening. For fathers day and for DH birthday. Food and cake. I was very good. Dinner was a piece of baked chicken and cole slaw. Didn't get much exercise, but DGD and I did have a jump rope contest. Out in public. I'm really hoping all the neighbors were busy doing ANYTHING!

Rie, So glad you got "boring" lab tests! I think boring is pretty awsome! I hate heat too!

Jess, I think people writing thank you notes is a lost art. I seldom get one. I set the kids down and encourage them to write thank you notes soon after getting a gift. We sit and talk about the person who sent it and how they like the gift and what they are going to do with it. It helps them form and idea of what they want to say in the note. And my take on making the new addition a permanent part of the family. I would definateally have him "fixed" but i'd wait to make sure he was going to be ok with staying in the house before I had his claws removed. If he insists on going back outside he would have nothing to defend himself with.

Marie, My beloved grandma has crossed eyes. Beautiful Blue eyes that seemed to be looking in 2 different directions! In those days you didn't get things like that fixed. I'm not sure they could. One of my aunts also had crossed eyes but she had them fixed.

Carol Sue, Exercise is a big thing for me too. I walk and I lift. Arobic exercise is great for your heart and even losing weight. But I like weights for the strength. I exercise at home too. Very easy to do if you have just a few pieces of equipment. I am bad about not wanting to get back out after I get home. I do go to a Curves occasionally, since my DIL owns one.

Rosie, You creative lady you! I see crafty people and i'm in awe, since I have no talent at all. Glad you're feeling better.

Karen, Sorry about the continuing problem with your beloved DAsh. If it continues he will eventually get hurt, don't you think? Those people need to pay through the nose for not keeping their dogs under controle. The only thing some people understand is money!

Marie, I have very fair skin too and have to be very careful. I always use sunscreen on my face and chest (had CA scares in both places) but I tend to forget about the other parts. As a result, I got the front of my legs burnt.

Bobbi, You sound less than enthuestatic about the move. Change is just very hard, isn't it? The resons you want to move is for health and practical reasons, but it's still hard to go into the unknown. Unless you're Karen, who seems to have it down to a science!

Karen, You could give Bobbi pointers!

Lynn, HI!

Dee, Glad to see you back posting again. Worried about you there for awhile

Make it a good day,

Freda

Good morning, GGs! Sorry again that am not doing personal replies but kind of lose self in the great conversation here and not confident enough to be sure I am as yet addressing everyone correctly lol but wanted to say hello.

This is a great group. Hope everyone's day is as good as mine is going to be if the car dealership service department calls me early and says I can have a Monday appointment. Yesterday the car smoked and the A/C died on a lonely desert highway in 111 degree temperature with my 88-year-old friend in the car and I was worried about her but being a desert dweller longer than me she was the stalwart one, but the car needs to be fixed right away.

Huzzah to all!

Hello Girls,

Oh, Donna, you just crack me up. (re: the comments you made to me.)

The good ol' summer time really gets me working more. Yesterday I tried out my DS's new electric mower. It has a rechargeable battery and is very easy to push although he did get the smaller head so there is more walking involved. I told DH if he bought one like that I'd cut the grass all the time. In one week I've gone from novice grass cutter to mower critique. LOL.

I made 21 bottles of jam this morning using up some of the frozen blueberries and rhubarb. I have 6 half pint jars of strawberry rhubarb jam and 3 half pint jars and 12 pint jars of blueberry rhubarb jam. And, no, it isn't low sugar. Just regular very sugar-laced jam. Well, actually the strawberry rhubarb is lower sugar but not enough to qualify for any meritorious mention.

I'm soon off to the post office to mail my niece a birthday card which she'll probably get a day or two after her 30th birthday. I meant to mail that last week, but....you know how that goes.

And just to top off my week I've been asked to sing at a funeral! Yes, another funeral. My friend's FIL passed away early Saturday morning and the funeral is tomorrow. No soup this time around as it's almost too hot for soup so I'll be making a salad and maybe a few homemade dinner rolls or sandwiches.

DH is off to work today and actually has an all day field trip he's driving for so he won't be home at noon. I don't often get the whole day to myself so therefore the jam making marathon with no interruptions.

No personals today but I've read all about you. Have a great day, people.

It's 11AM and I have been playing around on the computer since 6 AM! What a life! LOL

Am2 - Hope you get your car fixed. That's terrible to break down in the middle of nowhere.

Bobbi - I am wondering why Bruce has such an itch to move. I know you mentioned all the work he has to do, but what is he going to do with his time when he's in a home where nothing needs to be done? Is he in poor health, or are there just concerns that the things he has to do are getting too much for him? Maybe some of these things don't HAVE to be done, other than cutting grass and just normal upkeep. I know I do much less flower planting than I used to and DH's garden is now limited to just tomatoes and a couple squash plants I had him put in. We just cut back. We don't do the painting etc as often as we used to. Funny, but we still have the energy to go to the casinos! LOL


Isabella - People seem to be dropping like flies in your neck of the woods. I don't think there's much singing at funerals in our area. There is always a nice buffet served afterwards, though.

DH and I were talking about the electric lawnmower you said you wanted. He told me about the rechargeable ones like yours. I think if anything happened to DH I would want one like your DS's, since I have no idea what to do with the gas one. Or maybe I would just pay someone to cut my grass and be done with it. It's not a big yard. There is a neighbor up the street, 50 ish who cuts the grass for some of the really elderly people in our neighborhood. He snowblows their driveways too. He does it free, just out of the goodness of his heart. I would be able to pay him, as I don't think he would charge that much. He lives with his elderly mother. He used to be a drunk and got in a lot of trouble but has since quit drinking and cleaned up his act. The only job he can find is at WalMart and doing these odd jobs would be a nice supplement to his income.

I have to get off this computer and do something productive! LOL

Have a good day, everyone!