Good morning gals. It is nice and mild this morning. The weather gal said last night we are about 10 degrees above normal for the year. Looks like we will continue in the 80's until midweek next week then dip into the 60's. We are supposed to get a heavy rain tomorrow, but we shall see. We are considered in drought conditions now and on fire watch everyday. I know they had a big fire about 500 acres somewhere around here a day or so ago.

Jean: I hate it when I get leg or foot cramps. The foot ones are the worst for me because they are the hardest to relax for some reason. It has been nice not having to put the furnace on. We are just the opposite and spend much more on cooling than heating. I chuckled at the "little" Jack reference because when there were two Jacks, my husband and fil, it was Jack and Jackie by his family, then when Jay was born, we called him Jay so it was Jack, Jackie and Jay by his family those his grandmother always called him little Jackie which drove me nuts. Now that Jackson is here, his dad named him Jackson because we found out when Jack's mom died and we went through her stuff that Jack's dad given name on his birth certificate was Jackson and Jay always like it. I try to reference Jay to most people that know him as Jack as Jack, but to me for the most part he is Jay and his wife calls him Jay. So if his dad were still alive it would be, Jack, Jackie, Jay and Jackson, but legally, Jackson Nolan, Jack Nolan Jr, Jack Nolan III and Jackson Nolan IV! Now are you totally in the maze struggling to get out?

Susan: Ooooooh, I love the quilt with all the different bottles and jugs. They are all quite extraordinary though. I am a color freak and love to put colors together. Well, that's a big part of our expense I imagine, the windows, which they won't let us change, insulation, which was never great, we have an attic and that makes a big draft, etc. Your condo association seems to have more brains than ours does. Yes, my grandson eats better than any child I have ever seen. I have never gone anywhere out to eat where he orders hot dogs or cheeseburgers or junk like that. In fact he doesn't order from the childs menu and hasn't for years, even then she would usually order him some type of side dish off the regular menu. Now he eats fast food like Mcd's from time to time and he likes pepperoni pizza, but for example, if we go to incredible pizza, his plate will have one piece of pizza, but stuff from the salad bar, any fresh fruit the salad bar has, etc. He bypasses the taco stuff and eats soup or will eat pasta with alfredo sauce if they have it. He gets the little carrots, or ears of corn, olives, broccoli stuff like that from the salad bar. He eats like a horse though and I got the giggles when he told me one day he was here "I have a very high metabolism." I said, "No kidding, how much do you weigh now?" He went into the kitchen and weighed himself and told me 71. He said he had just broken into the 70's recently. I asked him how tall he was and he said about 4'10" So he is a beanpole no doubt about it, but he is one healthy kid.

Maggie: We used to have surround sound, but it really started to annoy me having different noises fromt the tv sound, as each speaker picked up specific sounds and they all then blended, but if you were sitting near a speaker you heard the sound it would pick up and sometimes it was really distracting. If you want a good cry, rent "My Life as a House." It is about this guy who has basically a shack on his piece of pricey real estate on a cliff near the ocean, his neighbors hate him because it is an eyesore and they have all ritzy homes. He contracts cancer and decides to build a house, making his estranged teenage son help. His ex wife eventually gets involved and more and more people with more and more issues about it as the story goes along. It is a real tear jerker and I bawl on and off through most of the movie, but it is really good.

Well girls, I am going to peruse a craft website. I got a gift certificate for $10 off a purchase for my birthday so I want to spend it on some more sock yarn. The weather is cooling off so back to getting some socks done for Christmas for the boys I think. Have a great Saturday all. Faye

Good Morning, Flowers! It is a gloomy morning and I suspect the rain will hit sometime this morning. Bob and Jason are at the cabin to fix the leak in the roof. Several of the stores are having customer appreciation gimmicks today so think I will go check them out. I need a few things at Walgreens which is in the same area. My bed is made and the washer/dryer are both running so I have accomplished something!

Susan -- I just had to at your description of Cupid stomping up the stairs. Our weather is definitely changing if Ernie's behavior is a sign -- he took a nip at me this morning and latched on to Bob's jeans with his claws out. He doesn't usually show any aggressive behavior towards Bob so we were surprised. I had no idea that a quilt would bring such a high price but after seeing your pictures I can understand why. The quilts are absolutely beautiful! I wish I could see them in person as I've never seen any with "objects" in them. Most of the quilts around here are just shape designs put together, if that makes any sense. (no pictures)

Maggie -- I know you will enjoy your "new" sounds. I asked the doctor about leg and foot cramps. His comment was that my potassium level was just fine. I don't get them often which is good. I hate having a good nights sleep interrupted!

"Gma" -- When we go back to Bob's hometown he is "Bobby" because his dad was Bob. He's not a junior but sometimes he will get mail with Jr. behind his name. I think it's nice when a family name is passed down through the generations. There have been a few field fires around our area -- some have been total losses including a combine or two. Have fun shopping for yarn!

I'm off to get dressed and head out. Have a great day!

Jean -- from Iowa!

Good afternoon, ladies! A nice day at 66 degrees.

I was down 2.2 pounds at my WI this morning so happy about that. The shelves are pretty bare at our location. We have a local chain of grocery stores, Farm Fresh, and their policy is if a price rings up wrong, you get the item for free. I wanted some Eggbeaters and was reaching for the pint container when I noticed the quart had the same price on it. I read the sign carefully to be sure it was 32 ounces. When it rang up, it was $2.00 more than the sign so i went to Customer Service and got my money back. I should go back tomorrow and see if they put up a new sign.

Just doing house cleaning today so a boring day.

Have a good one!

Good morning! It is lovely outside this morning again nice and mild.

I heard Jack moving around so I imagine he is up. I think he stayed up late watching college football. He was downstairs watching football for 6 hours then I grumbled a bit and he went upstairs and watched it. I do not see how men can watch hours of football, but then I can watch hours of things he probably thinks I am nuts to watch.

Maggie: congrats on the loss!

Jean: What does that usually mean with Ernie, snow, cold weather, or just some drastic change? I have to get to one of the Walgreen clinics and get my flu shot next week sometime. If I go to one of their clinics, I pay only my co-pay if I get one at a Walgreen without a clinic where they just have a table set up, I pay like $30!!! My co-pay is $12 so I go with the clinic. They are always out of shots at my doctor's so I don't ever bother going there.

Susan: Good for you. Great loss! I didn't tell you the story about Thomas. I bought a couple boxes of full bars awhile back because I wanted to try them out. I was upstairs taking a shower the other evening while Thomas was here and came down and he was munching down on one!!! I told him what they were for and asked him how they tasted and he said pretty good. I told him he had to drink a lot of water or he would get constipated because of what they were made of. I had him drinking water all night because I did't want him to go home and have any problems. He has scared me on Wed because he went to the bathroom and was in there at least 20 minutes. I had gotten concerned and got up to check to make sure he was ok when I heard the toilet flush and hear him wash his hands. Well, out he comes with his Ipod touch! I told his mom I figured that was the new version of a magazine.

You gals have a nice Sunday. I will talk to you soon. Faye

Good morning, ladies! A beautiful Sunday heading for the 70s.

Still doing housework and then I have my bible study to do for tomorrow. I put a beef roast, potatoes and carrots in the crockpot so a good supper will be waiting when I get done cleaning.

Faye, I just wonder how all these IPODS, IPADS, MP3, etc. devices are going to have an effect on their hearing. We may have a nation of totally deaf older people with tatoos and piercings when they get older. LOL. Do those Full Bars work? I've seen them but never bought any.

Maggie, I think I need to read the ads in the paper a little better! I'd love to get a deal like you did.

Hi, Jean!

Have a great day.

Good Afternoon, Flowers! It has finally begun to rain and is such a fine mist I can hardly see it. We need it. We've spent most of the day at church! Bob had to sing and I went to early church, but stayed during the coffee time to put my bids on different items for the TTT auction (time, treasure, talent) at 12:30; there was a soup and sandwich lunch at 11:30. (no point in going home then!) I bought a set of tv trays, a jar of homemade raspberry jam, a sunset picture of the "old" lake view from an area that now has a waterpark on it, a set of computer greeting cards, homemade salsa, an 18k gold leaf from CO, and a small bench made out of barn siding for the deck. I donated the coffee maker that I thought I had to have and didn't like! The money earned is split between the budget and mission giving. Usually the kids will volunteer to rake leaves or wash windows but I didn't see any of that this year. It's a fun time and for a good cause.

Susan -- on losing 2.2#s! I knew you would be in control this past week! I'm bad about paying attention to price signs in the stores. I need to pay better attention. I cut out coupons and then forget them or else they are buried in my purse. Your supper sounds delicious . . . I can almost smell it!

Maggie -- on being down another pound! Onward and downward is the name of the game! I mainly wanted to go to the jewelry store that is celebrating their 100th anniverary. You could buy a balloon for $10 and take a chance on winning a gemstone. I had a birthday coupon and saved $50 on a gold chain for a diamond pendant I won a few years ago. I also had a birthday coupon from the Hallmark store for 20% off my entire purchase so I loaded up on greeting cards, a couple of Christmas gifts, and a candle for me. Actually I was rather disgusted with my doctor! First of all he isn't nearly as thorough as my previous doctor was: I asked about the leg cramps as well as 2 "major" drug interactions that my pharmacist advised me to discuss with him. He blew them both off saying not to worry about it. You got a really GREAT deal on the rotisseries! I'll bet that store manager checked his sale ads for awhile! The ads around here will say the 2nd item is equal or lesser value than the first one you buy.

"Gma" -- Bob is watching football right now and can watch game after game if they are "good" games. That's why I'm on the computer! Our Walgreens sign outside says flu shots are $29.99. I wondered if they bill the insurance companies for you if you don't get prescriptions there. I get mine next week at the hospital. I had to at T and his Ipod in the bathroom. I've never been one to read but have been in bathrooms that look like a small library.

I need to keep going on laundry since I didn't finish yesterday . . . and probably won't today either. Hope you all are enjoying a relaxing day.

Jean -- from Iowa!

Good morning to you all. We had rain all day yesterday and we appreciated it because we are so very dry. We had a thunderstorm last night which upset the dog for awhile. He would bark when the thunder would boom just once.

Susan: They can't do worse than music cranked up in cars and going to concerts which you come away from half deaf I think. Thomas doesn't use the ear buds much, unless he is watching videos and someone in the room is watching something else. He only wore them once at my house and he borrowed mine because he hadn't brought his. I just have the Nano and have music and books on it. I mostly listen to books on it. If I can't sleep listening to a book will put me to sleep. They do fill you up if you eat them and then drink a lot of water.

Maggie: We got to a restaurant here in town that has a lot of tvs all over, but most of them are tuned in to the same thing.

Jean: Jack wants Boise State to be ranked #1 since they are undefeated but no one is ranking that way. He watches the football games mainly to watch the teams left that are undefeated get beat! lol The school really isn't getting a fair shake from the BCS but then they are all about money and the money is where the big well known football schools are.

Not much else going on. I slept in just a bit this morning after getting up and feeding Fortune and such. I hope you have a great week this week. Faye

Good evening, ladies! Storms and 77 degrees today. I'm glad for the rain. Scott aerated and reseeded my front lawn Saturday.

I had water aerobics and Silversneakers this morning and have been working on the outline for my One Block Wonder class in January. These things have a way of creeping up on us.

I need to get some supper going and get ready for bible study so this will be short today.

Good Afternoon/Evening, Flowers! It's been a gloomy windy day in my neighborhood. I went to work at the church this morning and the treasurer was using the computer I usually use so helped sort through some of the auction things that still need to be picked up. The secretary, minister, and treasurer were going to have a meeting so I "babysat" the phone and did my posting on her computer. I wasn't finished by lunch time so Bob offered to take me "out" for a sandwich and I went back to work. I finished and balanced again! Yea for my side! I had a coffee date midafternoon so haven't been home very long. I need to declutter the ounters before Bob gets home from a meeting.

"Gma" -- It sounds like our weather is in the same pattern formation. We haven't had the thunder though. I'm not a football fan so either read while Bob watches or get on the computer. I wish they would show the half time activities rather than the announcers -- we can listen to the announcers but don't have to see them.

Maggie -- You recipe sounds delicious! I hope Will's knee pain is something he can live with rather than have surgery. Mine aches once in awhile but seems to have no pattern to follow. My gold leaf is a "see through" outline and I thought it would be pretty on the Christmas tree.

Susan -- You had a busy morning! How many different quilting classes/clubs do you belong to? My stepsis was VERY impressed with your pictures! Enjoy your Bible study tonight.

I'm off to declutter so it looks like I accomplished something today! Have a nice evening!

Jean -- from Iowa!

Good morning to you all! It is extremely windy, rainy and balmy this morning. The ac hasn't kicked on in the morning in a couple weeks but it has been on all morning already. It is just plain weird weather outside.

I got tickled at a friend of Thomas's. She posted on Facebook this "tag" box where she answered questions like who is the prettiest person you know, who makes you laugh the most, etc. On her "who is the smartest person you know" she said Thomas. That got me to thinking about something he and I talked about. He just got his first report card and got all A's again. He has had straight A's for every report card. I asked him if he had ever had trouble with any subject that he had to really work at to understand or do the work. He thought about it and told me no. Wow, what would that be like? He told me he just got into the beta club, which he told me meant good conduct, good attendence and you had to get nothing lower than a B on your report card. He said he thought it was unfair though because if someone transferred in from another school district, they could have terrible grades at the other school but then only had to have one semester of all a' and b's to get in but kids who had been in the district their whole lives had to maintain all a's and b's for their entire school experience up to fifth grade. I tend to agree with him.

Jean: Another round of perfect accounting, yeah for you! I get irritated at the sports announcing too. They are all such egotists it seems like. They love to hear themselves talk about what they think. Jack watched ESPN the other night to get the current BCS standings and they spent 15 minutes babbling about what each announcer thought. Who the heck cares about you? I only have to put up with it on Saturdays in the fal and winter and once in awhile college basketball, though since Bob Knight retired Jack doesn't watch college basketball much. He does like college football though and that starts around 11 am on Saturday and goes all day into late evening. I watched 6 hours then griped and he went upstairs.

Susan: Hope your classes went well. I have got to get my act together and get a daily exercise plan going. The problem I am having is intestinal cramping when I walk any distance. I can put up with backache and feet and stuff when I exercise until the weight comes off, but the cramping does me in. I think I am going to start doing chair exercises for awhile and see what that does. I don't know whether losing weight will help with the cramping or not. It may be something I am going to have to live with, I don't know.

Maggie: Jack is now to the point with the other knee he comes home and puts an ice pack on it and takes keteroac I think is what it is called. He was given it for his other knee. He has an appt the 3rd to see the doctor and I imagine they will put him on a round of steroids, but he thinks it is the same issue with the meniscus he had with the right knee. If so, he will have it worked on after the first of the year and his hand will have to wait.

Have a good Tuesday everyone. I hope to get some housework done today. Faye

Good afternoon, ladies! Rainy and 72 degrees today.

I have work, the Y (weights), and River Country Quilters on my agenda for today. Fun! Having dinner at Cinco de Mayo. I don't care much for Mexican so will eat something before I go and then get something small.

Faye, I feel so sorry for Jack with his knees and hands. I don't know how he keeps going all the time. It doesn't sound good to get intestinal pain when you walk. Is it near the site of your scar from your surgery? Maybe you are developing adhesions or a hernia. I pretty much went through school like Thomas. I don't have a photographic memory but close to it. If I read something, I can remember it when I want. Once I read a quilt or knitting pattern, I can teach it to someone else with no problem. If I've read a book or heard a tape, I only need to hear/read the first line again and I can remember the whole story. Of course, this is offset by me not remembering names or what I ate this morning. LOL. We didn't start getting letter grades until 4th grade but after that it was all As except gym which I hated and got Cs in.

I'll come back and finish this later.