If you have 50 or so pounds to lose, or are in the process of losing, then this is the group for you! Jump on in and join; you'll be sure to get a warm welcome.

Hi JOYce! Your veggie stirfry sounded really good, so I made something similar last night w/mushrooms, peppers, shallots, ginger, bok choy and zucchini. Re: France, we leave the 26th. Florida is in mid-July. But we'll definitely be here all of August, (isn't that when you and your dh are going to Oklahoma for the wedding?) ... sure hope y'all can swing down here and stay with us a while!

Texaslady, I hear the heat index in Houston is over 100; hope you're staying in the A/C! It's not exactly chilly here either.

Carol, any word from dd and dsil re: moving to Florida? Are you enjoying that pool? (Ds just emailed me a pic of Dad and dbil in the pool; Dad looks like he's really enjoying it!)

Linda, how's the garden doing?

Janet, we miss you! Stop in when you can and let us know how you are. Is your nephew fully recovered from his accident now? Is dd home for the summer?

Stennie, hope all is well for you.

Regards,
Jan

Hi Jan, Yes we are going to the wedding in August....it looks like we could hit Texas about the 21st, or so...will let you know later, I would love to be able to swing by and see y'all!
DD is making a list of places we need to check out in Texas to enhance her geneology search. but I think my ancestors came from around Lubbock and Brownsfield...I have a cousin in Amarillo, and some cousins across the border in NM...so we will see what itinerary dh comes up with
July will be busy ! I'm helping with VBS for a week (not in charge of crafts, just asssisting) 13 yr old dgd will visit from WA for 2 weeks, and oldest ds will be here for a few days before and after his fishing trip with his dad. DH has 2 trips planned, a 3 day with
DS, and a 6 day by his lonesome.

I'm still not a bundle of energy, but am going to go to glass class and try to get something done. I need her advice on a pink ribbon I did.....needs to be reinforced somehow.

Lost 2 more pounds!!!

Thanks for asking about my garden, Jan. I fed everything today and put an eightball zucchini and four acorn squash plants into the ground today. I am so looking forward to having *free* acorn squash right there in the back yard. Our artichoke is really getting huge, but we haven't seen any 'chokes on it yet. I dug up the ranunculus bulbs today and pulled some garlic out of the ground. Our Satsuma tangerine tree has lots of little green tangerines on it, hooray!

JOYce, I'm glad to read you feel like going to the glass class. Take it easy, though.

Ooooooooooohhh! Satsumas! I love them! There are actually some trees around here. Had an acquaintance who used to bring them into the office all the time - course, that was the LAST office, not this one! I am gonna miss those tangerines this year! But we sometimes get them in the grocery stores, too. I will be looking for them. Thanks for reminding me, Linda.

Jan - glad your dd got off to Florida OK. Wow, I am impressed that he was able to make the flight by himself! But knowing him, I would expect nothing less! I don't have time to check out your ghost town site right now, but I will get to it later. Maybe we can go see it on our next Annual 3FC get together? Yep, pretty dang hot here - but not unexpected. Just wish we could get some rain - course, we don't want anything like we had a year ago with Tropical Storm Allison. But a little bit would sure help our parched lawns and flower beds. I have almost nothing surviving in the flower beds - most have just gently given up for this year already.

Joyce - I am so sorry you have been down and out. Hope you are feeling better now. Sometimes, the cure is worse than the ailment! Glad you tracked down the reason for your problems. I think the pharmacies go so overboard with their "possible side effects" literature that we sometimes ignore it - at least, I know I do. Wow, Texas in August! Now THAT's going to be an adverture. I believe you will even find it gets pretty hot in Amarillo area too - tho nothing like Jan and I get around here!

Carol - How's the job going? I am so glad the commute isn't bad. I remember those long ones you had in Maryland. Wish I could find something closer to home for me! Perhaps one of these days I will forego the legal profession and try to find something else which might be closer. Who am I kidding - that's not going to happen.

Gotta go and turn off the water sprinkler. I am trying to at least keep the grass and trees alive. Everyone have a great week. Will check in again later.

Texaslady, good to hear from you, how are you doing by now? I had no idea what Satsuma tangerines were until I discovered "clementines" about three years ago at the grocery store and became hooked on them. We searched for something similar to plant in the yard and found these tangerines listed in our big garden book. This will be our first yield, as dh planted the tree only three months ago, and I am already really anxious to start picking them. Dh is keeping it watered and fed.

We too are suffering from a drought -- we water every single day for about 20 minutes in each area of the yard. If we didn't we wouldn't have anything growing -- LA is basically a desert anyway, and what with the tiny amount of rain we've had this season (about 4"), the only way you can maintain a green lawn with flowers and shrubs is to water, water, water. I can't even imagine not watering everty day, to think that some people get rain year round is amazing to me!

Hope everyone has an OP Thursday. 'Night!

JOYce, two more pounds, yay! I'm so happy for you! Sounds like you have a busy summer planned already; how was glass class yesterday? Sure hope you and your dh can make it here in August; we'll have fun despite the heat!

Texaslady, thanks, Dad has made that flight quite a few times; it's direct, and just a little over 2 hours. I think it's probably easier on him than the 2-day drive! The hardest part is getting him past security, with his metal knee, pocket change, cane, etc. Glad to hear you're able to keep the lawn alive; we've had to give up on ours, though we have stuff growing in pots. If the tomatoes ever ripen, we'll have a pretty good crop! But it will probably happen the day after we leave ... Re: the ghost town, would love to take y'all on a little tour! I know all its secrets ...

Linda, I didn't realize y'all were also in a drought. Wow, satsumas, my favorite too! You have such a great variety of veggies and flowers in your garden. Good luck with the zucchini and acorn squash!

Carol, how's the new job going?

Janet, Janet, Janet ... come back!

It has been a quiet week here so far. Dh and I have walked our 2 miles every morning, but points-wise, I've been maintaining. Dh is losing steadily, though! We're headed to SA tomorrow morning early to help stuff sacks for an educational conference. Saturday we're going to Corpus Christi (ww mtg with my first leader!) and then Rockport for a family reunion. (Kind of like a distant-cousin family reunion; fun people that we haven't seen in ages.) We're taking the kayak, and hope to practice some more in the bays. We don't want to embarrass ourselves and my ds in Florida later; everyone there seems to be an expert boater! Should be good exercise, too.

How is everyone's weekend shaping up?

Regards, Jan

Good Saturday morning, everyone!

Congrats on the 2 pound loss - Joyce! You are right, even though you lost the weight "accidentally", it would wonderful to keep it off and go on from there. That's something I did NOT do after my surgery! And, of course, I gained all the weight back that I lost during that hospital stay. If your heat is anything like ours, you better stay away from non-airconditioned places. The heat really whips you out! Here is our part of the woods, you simply cannot bear it outside right now. I reached over to pick up a metal door knob I had left on my deck, and I burned my hand! Pretty dumb.
Congrats on the new grandbaby - now, how many grandkids/great grandkids is that now?

Linda - I didn't know you could get a crop of tangerines the first year after planting! Let us know when you pick your first one! We are WAY behind on water, too. Hurricane season usually brings us some relief but no disturbances yet.

Carol - Where are you? Guess you are still getting settled in your new house and job. How's it going? Let us hear from you.

Jan - You are as busy now that school is out as you were when classes were still going! Sounds like you are going to stay busy up til the time you leave for Europe. Good luck on the kayack practice in Rockport. Still planning to get through there - ONE OF THESE DAYS!

Gotta go and run some errands. Will check in again later.

Texaslady, believe it or not, when we bought the tangerine tree several months ago, it had about 6 tangerines already on it, ready for the picking. I had eaten three of them by the time dh and I drove it home in the back of his truck -- I was plucking them off the branches as he was loading it into the truck. I am nuts over satsuma tangerines! I check them every day when we start out on our walk around the block and they are getting to be almost marble-sized, hooray! Sorry to read that you've put weight back on since your hospital stay. Do you remember a year or two ago, you and I challenged each other to walk on our treadmills regularly? How about it? At my last checkup, my doctor suggested that I start out walking for five minutes, very fast, on the treadmill. How about starting with just the five minutes' part to begin with? What do you think? Your heat sounds ghastly -- too bad about that doorknob on your deck you picked up, wow! It is terribly hot here today too -- probably in the mid to upper 90's. I don't do well in the heat, I'm afraid, but have resolved myself to turning the temperature on the a/c down to only 77. I tried 78 but I just couldn't do it!

Stay cool, everyone!

JOYce, congrats on the new great-granddaughter! And I love the name Emily Jean; sounds so lyrical. I know you're anxious to see a picture! Where does she live? I'm glad you brought up journaling. I will resolve to journal on my Palm all this week, too. Let's compare notes next Sunday!

Texaslady, sorry you got burned! Isn't it amazing how hot things can get in this sun, even steering wheels and car seats. Whew. One local radio station does a thing every summer challenging listeners to call in with the weirdest thing that melted in their car that day.

Linda, I had to laugh at the picture of you plucking the satsumas off the tree as your dh loaded it on the truck! I'm so glad you have a nice crop coming on now; that's amazing. Way to go on your treadmill resolution!

Dh and I just got back from Rockport. Had a lovely weekend, but way too short. Took the kayak out in some choppy waves, which was challenging but lots of fun. Also found a great park with a walking trail that we took this morning. Now we're getting the house ready to have friends over for dinner tomorrow night, so I guess I'd better get back to work!

Hi to Carol and Janet! Hope everyone had a great weekend ...
Regards,
Jan

Well, Jan, methinks that if there is ever a walking trail to be found, you and your dh will find it and walk it! Good for you both for doing all of the walking you are doing. Glad you had a good time kyacking. And how funny that one of your local radio stations asks people to call in with weird things that have melted in their cars because of the heat! That really makes me realize how hot it must get there where you are. Are you able to set your a/c temperature to as high as 78? Here in SoCal our bills are really high and also, so we won't have rolling blackouts, they suggest we keep ours that high. I really have tried to comply, but I am such a heat-wimp that 77 is as high as I can stand. Ed. note, in a later edit: IDIOT!!! I already said all that about the temperature on the a/c in my last post! Man, there is practically no hope for my brain fade these days.

JOYce, how is the weight loss progressing? Be sure to eat enough, now!

How are you feeling these days, Texaslady? And hello to both Carol and Janet, I've missed your posts.

Gotta be careful!! I haven't figured out where I left my points calculator..it is around here somewhere.

It is hot in So. Calif!! and all the fires are not helping any!
I'm going up to Mothers on Thursday, in the San Jouquin Valley, it is even hotter up there!
dgd is going with me this time, so will enjoy her company on the trip. she is taking her clasroom driver's ed yesterday, today and tomorrow. after that we will get her permit for behind the wheel, which she has to use for 6 months before applying for her license.....her 18th bday is in Feb., so will wait til then for the license.

must scoot, I have an appt with the oral surgeon today, just for a re-check to check my healing progress.

Well girls...I have tried posting twice in the last couple of days and have ended up losing both posts...so let's try one more time.

I thought I better drop in to let you all know that I am alive and well. I think I have gotten our laptop problems at home rectified, so hopefully I can start posting regularly again. I haven't been able to read all the posts that I have missed, but I hope that everyone is doing good. One word did catch my eye on this page, and that was satsuma. That is my absolute favorite fruit, but it is only available here around November...and for a very short time.

I don't have much new to report. I've been doing good, except that my hormones have been out of control lately. I have a doctor's appointment Monday, and I hope that she can help me. I'm driving everyone around me crazy!!

It still seems like I have very little free time, but I'm hoping things will start to calm down at work and at home. I've been dating again some, and that has been enjoyable. I am renting a beach house for a week in Florida with some friends the week after the 4th of July, and I can't wait. DD and her boyfriend are going to be gone the week of the fourth to visit his sister in Panama City, Florida. He has joined the Army Reserves and wants to visit before leaving for boot camp. They will be able to come down to join us the last weekend we are there. That is DD's birthday, and that is when we usually try to go on vacation. She will be 19...I can hardly believe it!! I must have had her when I was 10!!!! DD's boyfriend will be gone for at least four months...two at Fort Knox in Kentucky and two at Fort Lee (?) in Virginia. I don't know what we are going to do without him. Y'all know that he is like a son to me. He has to earn phone privileges, and I asked him how he is going to break the news to his real mom and to my DD that he is going to use his time to call me.

I've been away so long it seems like I should have more to report. Carol, I have gotten to talk to you a few times, but I hope you are getting all settled and that you are still enjoying your new job. I wish I was going to be close enough to visit you while I'm in Florida, but I will definitely be there next year. Texaslady, you have been in my thoughts and prayers, and I hope you are continuing to recover. Jan, I did read where you were going to Paris...how EXCITING!! Please take lots and lots of pics to share with us. I hope your dad is enjoying Florida. JOYce, I hope you are feeling better...it sounds like you are staying very busy and Linda I hope that you are doing good. Your garden sounds wonderful...I miss having one, but I'm glad I didn't try to start one this year. I'm having enough trouble keeping my flower beds going...we need rain badly!!

I had better scoot, but I'll write again soon! I've missed "talking" to y'all.

Janet (Kudzu)

JOYce...I forgot to congratulate you on your new great granddaughter. I'm sure she is beautiful too!! Post pics when you can.

Janet, it's so good to hear from you! I'm glad your laptop problems are going away; I hate it when computers act up! Glad to hear you're getting a nice vacation in Florida soon. It sounds like you are way too busy! Time for some r & r. And how exciting that you are dating again; what fun! So many good things are happening for you, and no one deserves it more. Sure hope we'll get to see you in October! (Details should be in a pm in your inbox.)

Linda, I'm with you, 78 is just too hot! We're not under a restriction here, probably because we're in a rural area, though we're conserving water. And San Antonio had an ozone alert day yesterday and today, so we're taking measures when in the city (like not filling up with gas in the daytime).

JOYce, hope all went well with your appt at the oral surgeon's today, and that you enjoy your trip tomorrow to see your mother. I'm sure she'll be very excited to see you! Try to stay in the a/c, though!

Dh and I just got back from SA. I went to a 3-day tech conference, so dh and I stayed overnight Tues. on the riverwalk. A group of us did a presentation this morning for several hours, which was pretty tiring, but worth it. And I took a few short classes on 3-D animation, really cool stuff. Wish our school could afford all that advanced software & hardware, though! Now I've got to work on packing and trying to lose at least a little weight before we leave.

Still very hot and dry down here; our county is now officially the most drought-stricken in Texas. It will do dh a world of good to get away for a while.

Hi to Carol and Texaslady! Hope all is going well!
Regards,
Jan

So good to hear from Janet!!!Sounds like lots of good stuff going on! enjoy Florida! what fun!

Jan, you will really be ready for a vacation! You are always busy, aren't you! But always building your knowledge and that of others.
I hope I get to see the Riverwalk this summer, I've heard so much about it!...our plans for August are ever-changing! I'm not sure who all is going to be with us, at this point, so will not make definite plans for a while.
Oral surgeon says I am healing very nicely, and should plan on implants in 4 months, so wil plan that for early November. (Not going to mess up my October hopes!)

Still no pix of Emily Jean...of course I haven't sent a present yet, maybe it is a stand off!! que sera`

gotta go get dgd from drivers ed...
more later
!!