Good Evening! Another hot and humid day in my neighborhood; thermometer says 100! I went to get my nails done this morning and then braved the grocery store. I came home on the same street I usually do and noticed several people standing along the curb a block or two ahead. When I got there, there were a lot of cars and what looked like some sort of panel type truck in the driveway. The back doors were open and people were sitting on each side. Being the snoopy person that I am, I went around the block for a better look. There were police cars parked on the side street, sheriff's cars behind the house in the driveway, another paddy wagon (?), and I'm guessing at least 20+ black uniformed officers, looked like a swat team, standing in the back yard plus two in front yard. "You know who" lives there so I'm guessing it was either a drug raid or a murder. There are always multiple cars parked in the yard, which is a violation alone. I am anxious to see if there is anything on the news tonight. Bob was in another part of town later and followed sirens as he was going to the farm. The four police cars were parked in a convenience store parking lot and the officers had four people up against the cars. Lots of excitement for this little town today!

"Gma," thank you for starting the new thread today. When I made SM a favorite on my new iPad it came up with all the SM posts so I had no idea how many posts there were. Today I had time to do some searching and fixed it like I was used to with a list of individual support forums. I hope your refrigerator fixed itself! I wanted a fruit bar the other day and could tell it had gotten soft and refroze. We have to be really careful to make sure the freezer drawer is shut tight. I'm guessing ours is close to 15 years old so suppose one of these days it will die forever. We ended up going out for a sandwich tonight instead of last night. We seem to eat lunch later so neither of us are hungry when we should be eating at night. Yet if we don't eat something, then are hungry at bedtime and I don't like going to bed right after I eat. Glad you found your glasses and hope your scissors fall on through soon.

I have laundry to get in the dryer so better get that done before Ernie goes to bed. Have a nice evening!

Good Afternoon! Another humid hot day but not quite as hot as yesterday, only 93 so far. No rain in sight according to the noon weatherman. I've just been putzing today; did some laundry and vacuumed the fur bunnies. I really need to vacuum upstairs but it is warmer up there so a good excuse to wait on that. I was Mrs. Homemaker and fixed a ham loaf for lunch along with sweet corn which wasn't all that great. In years gone by I have requested the ham meat to be specific for a recipe from Bob's mom. One time the meat counter person said their ham loaf was mixed in the same portions as mine. My tastes must be changing because I don't think it tastes anything like it used to. Bob's mom always fixed ham balls so maybe that is my problem, besides not being a "good" cook.

Not much newsy going on here. Enjoy the rest of a terrific Tuesday!

Happy Friday! It is sprinkling right now! Rain God, please, please, please keep it coming! Bob is outside washing his tractor to get ready for the ride tomorrow. He is leading the ride and will go rain or not, unless it is lightning. We just got our garbage bill dated for July 17th. We are billed every three months and I could find a check number for the first three months but not the next. I also couldn't find the tear apart half of the bill we keep. I finally gave up and called their office; after looking at our payment record he said it seems we didn't get the last bill which was mailed May 15th; that same thing happened to many of their customers. They have had so much trouble with the mail delivery since it moved to Des Moines, but their bills are small postcard type so I'm guessing they get stuck inside magazines, newspapers, or bottom of the mail bags. Now I have to put all the stuff away again. Today I am dusting and sorting some more! If I've all ready shared this, chalk it up! I did remove my name from the last social group I joined last fall. The president of the group was the hostess at my Monday meeting so told her after the meeting. She tried to talk me into staying but I held my ground. The local excitement the other day was a BIG drug bust! The couple arrested were Asians, and there were four children in the house at the time. A young white man was also arrested and has quite an arrest history. They all had loaded weapons, drugs, and lots of cash. Our mailman told Bob that the law has been watching the couple for quite some time. There were local, state, and federal officers on site so that is who I saw. What Bob wondered about ended up being two women who were fighting inside the convenience store. Yet our police chief maintains we don't have a crime problem. Really?

"Gma," hope all of your pacakages arrive today. I ordered five things from Amazon yesterday and it looks like everything is shipping on different days. One item is a coloring book for Maddy's birthday and in the reviews the writer said it came folded in half. If that happens it will go back! For the ham balls, I used to ask for a ham to be ground with pork, but lately have just bought ham loaf. I used 2# of ham loaf, 1 egg, 1/2 cup milk, and 1 cup of bread crumbs. The sauce is brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, and ketchup. Like I said, it never tastes like it used to. Enjoy your dinner out with your friends!

I have towels to fold so best keep moving. The sun came out while I was typing and now it is sprinkling again. The rain gauge says 0.01! Hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Happy Saturday! It is cloudy today but still hot and humid. I have spent the better part of the day working on gift shop money. sidewaysSmile There was a huge two day sale in which the payroll deduction is usually a challenge all by itself. Unfortunately, the volunteer director who oversees the gift shop, wias gone all week on vapcation. When I went to do the week end paperwork yesterday, there was no money in the lock box from the sale days. Lucky for me, the gal working in the coffee shop worked the second day of the sale and knew the money was locked in the volunteer director's office BUT we couldn't find it. I called one buyer, no answer, while she called the other buyer and found out where it was . . . in an unlocked cupboard. Multiple daily copies are put in a notebook and copies of the payroll deductions go upstairs to the accountant. My copies were in the sale day envelope but I have no idea if the accountant got her's nor who made the copies. I can't get the bank statement to balance this time around and know it is the hospital credit card being used and I'm not getting any paperwork.

Bob just asked about supper so guess that is my clue that he's hungry. Hope you are enjoying a nice weekend!

Good morning! Once again I forgot to get in here yesterday. It was 99 at 3 pm yesterday and so humid you could barely breathe.

We had a great time with our friends yesterday evening. I came home to find a jury notice for Aug 11. That puts everything in a mess. First off, Jack can't take me down to the courthouse as he has no vacation days left except for the cruise. I can't go by myself as I can't put the scooter together and parking is pretty far away from the courthouse and I could never walk that far and wander around in the courthouse without my knee giving out. Then there is the whole colon thing as I can't sit on a jury. I never know when I will need a restroom and holding it until a break is not something my body will do. For me, even traveling is stressful because we always have to make sure restrooms are available. When we go to FL, we have to take the long way because the shorter way has limited access to gas stations, convenience stores, fast food, etc that would have rest rooms and there are no rest areas that way. So, I have to try and get into the dr's office and get a letter and get it sent before the 11th so they can "review" it and make a decision. I cannot go so it is a mess and I am pretty stressed about it.

Jean: Wow, you had a bigtime crime going on. These idiots could care less about how unsafe it is for children. Over the last few weeks we have had several little ones killed here because of activities of others or their parents. This world just gets uglier and uglier. Thanks for the ham loaf info. Nothing like having to hunt up what is needed for the gift shop! I hope the coloring book gets to you flat! I have one more delivery than we are caught up. It should get here Monday. The new postman is a nice kid and very respectful, etc. I hope he lasts! It's the substitutes they use on our postman's days off that are lazy.

Have a lovely Sunday!!

Good Afternoon! It is a lot cooler here today, humidity is way down and temperature high was 73; it's been just a beautiful day with sunshine and no wind. We went to early church this morning; I've decided the new minister thinks his Sunday job is to give the sermon and that's it. Not sure how chosen but a different member of the congregation has been doing the rest of the service. I know it won't be me nor Bob doing it! There is no acknowledgment of the donated flowers, prayer requests from the congregation, etc. His sermon is long winded to boot. He is promoting a Disney Sunday night movie, at church, on which he will base the next weeks sermon. This goes on through August. I can never talk Bob into going to a Disney movie so I'm promoting that we go! He's not so sure about it.

"Gma," I just caught the very end of the newscast but the semi full of dead bodies and illegals has an Iowa license plate and registered to a town not far from us. I don't know where the truck was found except in a WM parking lot somewhere. Hope a phone call to your doctor will get you an excused jury duty letter and you don't have to go to his office. What did you have good for dinner out with your friends?

I need to pick up the kitchen; I'm thinking it is pop corn night or maybe a DQ blizzard. Enjoy your evening and have a marvelous Monday!

Good Afternoon! It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood; sunny, no wind, and 77 degrees. I could get used to this! When I got to church this morning the other counting gal was stomping down the hall with steam practically coming out her ears. She couldn't find the coffee money nor the second service offering. I helped her look through the office drawers and cupboards with no luck. Fortunately we had the automatic bank givers money, which we should have had last week, as well as Saturday night and first service offerings. The secretary wasn't there when I finished so called her when I got home. She found the money in the office closet of all places. She had no clue who put it there so now it is locked up where it should be and we will count it next week. She went to the closet to get the step stool otherwise we probably wouldn't have found it until it was coat wearing season again. Stopped by the hospital to drop off a check and the buyers were there. The one asked if I found everything I needed to count last week; they thought I was coming in at the end of each sale day but no one bothered to tell me.

"Gma," I feel bad for you that you have to make a doctor's appointment for something that should be easy to do with a phone call. Guess that must be progress for having the teaching practice there. Strawberry cake sounds good. Yum! I saw a FB recipe for a strawberry salad and think I will make for Friday. Zowie and her cousin are spending the week practicing for a children's play in Amanda's hometown. Her mom has invited us for supper before the performance and I offered to bring a salad. It has vanilla pudding, strawberry Jell-o, marshmallows, Cool Whip, and cut up strawberries in it. I should be able to make that and not mess it up.

I need to get busy and do something constructive. I have towels in the washer and had better go get them in the dryer. I really need to get back to clothes sorting and my heart sure isn't in that project! I know I have some summer stuff to get rid of and fall will soon be here. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Good afternoon! Watching "Four Weddings" and brother can some women be catty! The one young woman gave lousy scores to all the weddings so she could win. It backfired as she ended up in last place.

Not feeling the best today. Our temps are going to be 117 heat index today. I hope Jack doesn't have to out in it today.

I keep hearing what sounds like thunder but it's sunny out so don't know what's up with that!

Jean: Wonder who stuck the money in that closet? Don't you have a specific place where all the money should go? Glad it was found! Have you ever made pretzel salad? Yours sounds yummy! I opened up a container this morning thinking it was frsh pineapple and it was yellow meat watermelon! I love yellow watermelon but it was a shock. We are starting to get things done now before the cruise. Jack has to take the car in for an oil change and get his hair cut this weekend then he'll get it cut in Ft Lauderdale before the cruise like he always does. I have clothes and shoes piled up and Jack has to take his tux and dinner jacket and shirts to the cleaners. Lots of stuff but we still have 6 1/2 weeks until we leave.

Everyone have a great Wednesday!

Good Evening! It's not yet 9:00 and almost dark outside. It's really dark when I get up in the morning, usually around 5:45. It started raining early this morning and rained off and on most of the morning; we got 1.22" according to our rain gauge. We could use another inch tomorrow, and the day after too. This was my morning to work in the gift shop. I had bills to pay and worked on the greeting cards. I even sold a couple things. Bob came for lunch in the coffee shop and then I headed to church to research memorial money from 2015 that was lost when the computer crashed. We have hard copies of everything, it was just digging through them. That all started when I thanked the memorial chairman for the money she contributed to the bell repair bill. She commented she had no idea how much money she really had to work with since the computer record couldn't be found. When I finished there I went to do kitty chores for a friend and discovered a water stream running in their basement. They have a major mold problem in one corner and the blocks were wet, I assume from the rain. I called Bob to come make sure it wasn't a water pipe leak, and it wasn't. When I finally got home put a load of clothes in the washer and sat down to read the local newspaper. Bob offered to cook supper and he chose Chinese. We eat out too often! Tomorrow morning is my coffee date so I won't make it to the grocery store until after lunch. It seems like I was just there!

"Gma," do you get the Four Weddings on the TLC channel? I haven't seen that show in a long time! I always enjoy seeing the church, dresses, and food. They are way more fancy than anything around here. We are pretty paint and simple! The church offering is locked up in a fire proof (so I've been told) file. The key is in a locked key box containing keys to everything in the church. The key to the key box is hidden under the ledge of a counter by the secretary's desk. So far the closet mystery hasn't been solved. I have made the pretzel salad with cream cheese, strawberry Jell-o, and frozen strawberries. I also have a recipe with a butter/flour/sugar (I think) crust, and beaten egg whites with strawberries and whipped cream (?). I would have to dig out that recipe since I haven't made it in years. It's my mom's recipe and makes a 9x13" pan. I could eat desserts and forget the rest of the meal! I have my dad's sweet tooth unfortunately. I have never heard of yellow watermelon, let all alone seen one! Are they sweet like the red ones? You will have your cruise list paper worn out by the time you are ready to leave.

I need to take some laundry upstairs and put it away. Bed is sounding very inviting, I am tired tonight. Enjoy the rest of your evening and have a terrific Thursday tomorrow!

Good afternoon! Brother is it hot and humid here. I took our grocery basket cart out to the garage so Jack can unload groceries he is picking up from Krogers. I was sweating just doing that. I sure like the clicklist thing. We won't have to go out to WM tomorrow now and he just pulls up and they load it into his suv.

I paid bills and did laundry but need to go out and put away dishes and put dirty breakfast ones in the dishwasher. I am then done except for dinner. We are having hash and biscuits for dinner.

Some criminal is on the run here and it's a full on manhunt with dogs and helicopters. Problem is he is somewhere out in the area of Jack's work so I texted him and told him to have the guys be careful if they left the plant in the trucks. They could get jacked or shot or whatever if he is out there trying to hide and there are dozens of places to hide as it's got a state park out there so lots of woods and such.

I bought a cute carry on bag for the cruise. It is a Vera Bradley and will be great to hold my cosmetics bag, perfume, jewelry, stuff like that. It is quite big but it will fit between my feet on the scooter so no carrying it around.

Jean: The strawberry desserts all sound yummy. You cannot tell from the outside the difference between a yellow and red meat watermelon. They grow a lot of them down here in the AR area and they are really a good tasting watermelon. I think sweeter. I had never had one until we came down here to visit relatives when I was in high school. I don't know if they're grown up north at all. I love chinese food. What do you usually get? Jack will eat only a couple things, pepper steak, fried rice and egg rolls. I usually eat something with chicken in it but will eat pork sometimes. I love the chinese soups. We had Cracker Barrel last night. Jack picked it up on his way home from work. They make good mac n cheese and I love their green beans.

Well I better find something for lunch. Have a good afternoon!

Good Afternoon! It's been another beautiful day in my neighborhood, sunny and 72 degrees. This morning was my once a month coffee date which lasted longer than usual. I got home in time for a quick lunch and then off to do cat chores. Their basement water stream had dried but the cement blocks along the wall were still wet. "Boomer" and I watched the Food channel for a bit and then I headed to the grocery store. I needed ingredients to make the salad for tomorrow night. Bob is going with Jason to take their camper out to Sturgis on Saturday or Sunday so bought hamburgers to grill tomorrow noon and called it good. I need to go through the pantry and use up whatever I find in there. I'm famous for buying things to make "something" and then never do.

"Gma," I often see store employees shopping for someone because they have a small computer that fits on the cart as they shop. That is a nice service. I don't know if our stores charge for it or not. I also don't know if WM is doing it here. Hope the bad guy is behind bars tonight. When we first moved here a farm wife was killed by an escaped prisoner several miles north of here. Her farm was right on the main highway and the radio kept giving warning alerts to stay inside and not answer the door. It was scary. My favorite Chinese food is Cashew Chicken but we always get the buffet; once in a great while it will be on the buffet but not very often. Everything is labeled and I will eat the rice, veggies, chicken, pork, egg rolls, "cookies," and crab Rangoon. If I see something on my plate that I don't know what it is, I pick it out and don't eat it. They don't have soup on the buffet in the warmer months, but I've never tried it.

I made some ham salad and bought some sweet corn. Bob just asked, "what's for supper" and for once I had an answer ready! I notice he has fallen asleep waiting. Enjoy the rest of your day and happy Friday tomorrow!