Morning ladies. The cat was hopping all over the bed not letting us sleep so I brought him downstairs to work on laundry so Jack could sleep in. We had a problem with my dryer last night right in the middle of the Nascar race and Jack had to take off the back and clean out tons of lint (from all those towels I had to dry back a couple months ago with the morons next door flooding my bathroom) as it had started BURNING!!! It is all nice and cleaned out now, so I am hoping it will work more efficiently as I need to get this laundry done!!!

I braved the commissary, though dragged Jack along as I was out of everything. We got all that home and put away and I kept at the laundry yesterday. We went out and looked at XM radio kits for the car/house as that is going to be my birthday UGH present from Jack. We haven't exactly decided which one and since my birthday is the end of the month, I have time to decide.

Talked to our son yesterday and got tickled when I was talking with dil and ask her about going next month to Florida. She said something about, oh, it is next month isn't it? I said something about yes, I knew it was because I was dreading getting older this month. She said to Jay, "Did you know it was your mom's birthday this month?" I heard, "S*%$," in the background and just laughed. I heard him say, "Is their anniversary the 24th?" I laughed and told Alicia, "Tell him NOTHING is the 24th for anybody." and repeated birthdays and anniversaries (which ours is not even until November 18th!) . That man just cannot keep dates in his head.

We have soccer practice tomorrow evening but I am hoping it will be a bit cooler. It is supposed to be 91 most of this week, but it cools off nicely in the evening now. I guess I will take their gifts with me and give them to them at the practice. I got Thomas 2 t-shirts, one from M and M store that I promised and one with a cartoon safari tiger from MGM Grand lion habitat, some Halloween colored m and m's and this gumball character I bought at the Chocolate Swan at Mandalay Bay. It is a gumball that they took frosting and made a body out of. His is a little tiny lion, but they had bunnies, babies, clowns, all sorts of things. They had a dinosaur, but it was baby bop from Barney so I didn't want him thinking I thought he was a baby so I got the lion instead. They come in these little clear plastic cases so he can keep it. I bought my dd and sil a bottle of this "dipping" olive oil with tomato, basil, etc in it. You eat it as an appetizer with french bread. I bought it at the Bellagio and I bought 20 assorted chocolate truffles for her as she hinted around about chocolate from the Chocolate Swan.


Well, I need to go and get the morning started. No more pool as it closes tomorrow, but I am going to try and get started walking again tomorrow.

Have a great holiday!

Faye

Morning gals! Such a mess at my house. The garbage disposal went belly up and of course, it is just outside the warranty. We put a new one in when we bought the condo three years ago but are going to have to put another one in again I guess. Then the AC/furnace has quit working. Jack has one more thing to check when he gets home tonight then we will have to call a service tech if it doesn't make it come back on. It is DEAD! Will not come on at all and we have done everything but handsprings. I turned it up yesterday when I got up then when I came back from Hobby Lobby around 11 it wouldn't come back on at all. We checked breakers, put in a new thermostat and only have one more thing WE could do maybe! Brother! I guess I should be happy I at least have a husband who can fix some things!

I have started a beautiful baby blanket for my neice's baby shower next month. It is this incredibly soft yellow yarn and it is so pretty. It is called a diagonal blanet and I think it would be perfect for breastfeeding. They live in southern CA so it is light enough not to cause the baby to overheat. I haven't knitted in years, but came right back to me. Only thing is I found I now have an OLD body which includes hands and they can't just knit for hours like they used to! Imagine that! I do 10 rows or so and put it down for awhile then do some more, etc.

Not much going on here. I have everything back to normal including the laundry now. We hung up the last load last night. My kitty misses Fortune I think, but they are going to groom him and can't get to him until Thur so I am leaving him there rather than picking him up and taking him back on Thur as he stays all day and I don't want him to think he is being left again. I know it is a waste of $$ but I think it is better for him.

I guess I will scout around for something to eat. I had a peach about 3 (I got too hot to sleep even with fans and I am leery about opening windows on the second floor with the cat) so I am hungry

Have a great week gals PS: Thought you might get a kick out of my butterscotch "substitute." I found him at the hotel gift shop and he reminded my of my kitty so I bought him for company!

Faye

Good morning gals! It is nice and cool right now, but it going to get into the 90's again today, UGH! Since the pool is now closed, I am ready for fall weather, but it usually doesn't get here until some time late Oct. I have the windows open upstairs in the bedroom with fans in the windows and the door closed (I am nervous about B pushing out the screen trying to get at birds in the tree out back) and I have the downstairs door open with a fan in front and another one going. As you can see, from the above, Jack couldn't fix it. He found the wiring burned and the fuse gone so we are lucky it didn't catch fire. We have someone to call, but it may be a couple weeks before we can get it repaired if at all then we have to decide what to do if we have to replace the furnace.

Jean: I know that when I looked online for diy ac/furnace repair that one of the things they said is that new furnaces and AC last 10-12 years. Now if the darn things are more efficient than the old ones, why have they not been built to last longer????? I guess they have to make more money than in the old days. Ours is pretty old so we feel lucky. We aren't even sure when or if it has ever been replaced. Butterscotch misses his pal. He meows at me a lot in the morning when we get up and is fidgety overnight, which is unusual for him, so I suspect it is because Fortune is not here and he is asking me why our family is not back to normal!

I am trying to get a load of laundry done before it gets too hot. The dryer heats up the house too. It is a good thing I don't have 6 kids I guess!

We went to T's practice and I gave him his gifts. He actually liked them and his favorite was that little gumball lion. That surprised me as I thought he would want to just eat it, but he just looks at it in its little case. I got my dd and sil dipping oil from the Bellagio and 20 assorted truffles, which she "tested" at the practice last night. They are hard to know what to get so I thought yummies were the best bet. Our poor little guy got sick last night from drinking too much water and vomited on the field. It wasn't too hot actually as they didn't start until 6 PM so it had started to cool down, but the water just turned his little tummy I guess.

I am just yammering so I guess I ought to go and get a little knitting done. Looks like it is back to the store for me as I am going to run out of yarn. I bought a different brand than their suggestion so I guess it has less in it. Uhhhh, yep, just looked at the pattern and the skeins they recommended (a brand you cannot get anywhere here in town btw) are 6 oz and the stuff I bought is 1.75. Of course, it is also twice as expensive, but that is not what I care about. I knew this soft fuzzy stuff would cost me more. I was just dumb because I didn't see the fine print on the second page that said how much each skein weighed. Back to the craft store for me this evening. I am going to try Michaels first as it is closer and just take my yarn sleeve to make sure I get the same dye lot. I did notice that a lot of yarns are being made with "no dye lot" printed right on the sleeve. Wonder what's with that? Oh well, to the task at hand......

Have a good day ladies

Faye

morning gals! It is cool right now, but we are in for another hot day I guess. I am going to have to get going on cleaning house today. Butterscotch drags all his food onto the rug and it is tiny little pebble things then kills bugs in the house so I find those too!

Jean: Maybe you all look so young they need to be able to tell you from the students???? Ok, well it was a try anyway! I ran out of yarn for my blanket so started T's Harry Potter scarf and found the stupid yarn is not the same ply and they have nothing else so I am going to have to use it anyway. SIGH, nothing seems to come easy. I am sure he won't notice but his mom will! It doesn't look bad but I know. It is the stitch size looks different between the two but it is not wacky looking or anything and since they don't have the gold in the same ply or the maroon in the same ply as the gold I don't have much choice. Jack and I talked about the furnace and decided that if we have to buy a new furnace, we are just going to get a home warranty, wait a month then put in a service call. We really can't afford to buy a new furnace before it gets cold. I was a boob and accidently let the home warranty lapse last year and didn't go back in and order it again so I need to do that asap. The fun part of home ownership!

I never felt sorry for those little brats next door until last night. I don't know who it was, but one of the male adults was tearing this kid apart, screaming at him about learning to write his name and until then.....(I couldn't understand everything he said) He slapped him and roared at him to get into the house. The kid is 5 for heaven's sake and they aren't exactly college material themselves so he has little to look up to. Besides the fact that he is not even being raised by parents but by a grandmother and aunts and uncles depending on who is living with her at the time.

Well, I really need to get going on the house before the heat sets in. have a good day all!

Faye

Good morning girls! It is going to be a hot one, mid 90's today UGH! I just got a call from my dd and she and Thomas are coming over here and we are going to go out for dinner someplace. She is doing some United Way thing today so is not working.

I went and got my doggy and was drenched in sweat just walking the 3 blocks there and back. It is really sticky. Our cat is ignoring the dog, but is surprizingly quiet! We know he missed him but he has to pretend he didn't.

Jean: Our warranty covers everything from AC, Heat, plumbing, all our appliance, garage door opener, even the garbage disposal. The only thing I DON'T like about it and they all seem to be the same is they don't cover faucets or sinks at all. It is quirky, but all the companies are the same on this. They will unstop a sink, but won't repair the faucets or fixtures. We pay $468 a year for it with a $45 service fee per call but it is like car insurance, worth it when you need it.

I didn't get up with Jack this morning as I was up until 2 AM so I am not sure the upstairs is going to get cleaned today. It gets so hot upstairs even with the AC at times you have to jump on it early. Bad thing about 2 story homes I guess.

I can't wait until the new tv season starts. I am so tired of the reruns that I have seen 100 times. I don't watch much tv so the few I watch I have seen multiple times. Most tv is crummy because so much of it is reality tv now and most of it is stupid.

Well, this is not getting a thing done.

Take care and have a great weekend

Faye

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
We got out of school early today because of the heat . . . shock, shock! We've suffered through 2 weeks of heat and humidity so I don't know why the superintendent thought today would be any different. Several students have complained to me and I just told them to tell their parents to call the administration so maybe they did.

"Gma" -- It is 95 degrees as I am typing and windy! What is up with the weather anyway? Do you run your furnace fan all the time when the air conditioner is "on?" When we put in our new furnace and air, the salesman told us to do that in order to circulate the cooler air up to the bedrooms. It does make a difference in the summer. I don't do it in the winter because I like to sleep in a cooler bedroom. I see where there is going to be a new Survivor show again. I'm wondering how they will come up with anything new and different enough to hold the audience interest after so many episodes. I didn't watch the very first one but did enjoy the second one. Some of the other shows are just too much blood and guts for me. DH hates the canned laughter on the sitcoms so he channel surfs and I head for the computer.

I need to make a grocery list and get moving. I have an eye appt. at 5:00 so will go afterwards.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Jean -- from Iowa!

I see there are several posts so I'm moving on. Have a nice weekend!

Afternoon ladies! Busy morning with a soccer game bright and early at 8:30 AM! They lost 5-2 but they had a good time and that is all that matters. We have a new boy on the team this fall who has never played before and his dad is a soccer coach for old kids (10 or so) and he rags on that poor little boy, tells the coach how to coach and generally makes a pain of himself. I had to sit next to him and wanted to poke him with my knitting needle to get him to shut up and just let the kid have fun! They are only 5 and 6 for heaven's sake!

Jean: Hope the eye appt came out ok and got all those groceries bought! We came home and just decided to hang in the house today. I am going to get up early in the morning and get the upstairs cleaned before it gets too hot. I never got time to do much except put the sheets into wash this morning before we had to leave. As far as the AC/furnace, we just put the AC to automatic. Our system is one or the other not both.

We are changing from AOL to DSL through our phone company so I hope we like it. Jack says it will much faster so I hope it is. I am kind of fed up with AOL kicking you off etc which you would think after all these years they would find a remedy to. I hate have to change all my addresses to everyone and move all my favorite sites and whatnot, but this way we can have total access to the phone too. We pay a fee to get phone calls through AOL and it is a pain because they only give you 3 minutes then they disconnect you!

I am about 1/3 of the way through with T's Harry Potter scarf and about half of the blanket is done. I got a lot of oohs and ahhhhs with the blanket when I took it with me to knit on during the game. I had to put it up though because my hands started to sweat in the heat and I didn't want the blanket to get sweat on it. My dd saw the scarf and really liked it so I may make her and her dh one each for Christmas in a different pattern and buy them some nice leather driving gloves to go with it. I am going to try and make T a hat and them buy him some gloves. I am not ready to try and make mittens or gloves though I know how.

Well, Jack is awake from his nap so I need to see when he wants me to start dinner.

Oh, BTW for you chuckle of the day, I have already begun working on next year's trip to Vegas!

Faye

Good Afternoon!
It's been a busy week and today was no exception. A priest from our parish was transferred last June and made pastor at a parish about 1 hour away, North. Today he was installed as Pastor and a number of our parishioners took buses to seem him officially take the roll of Pastor. We didn't go by bus but took our own car and after a beautiful service and luncheon we went to the Commissary on the way home. It made for a long day and then there was the putting away of all we bought. Not too much as we only spent $150. It seems that doesn't buy a heck of a lot these days.

Thursday we took off for the Cape as it was just a beautiful day and DH went for a swim. He said the water was warm but I don't go in after Labor Day.

I am trying to get all our ducks in a row for our trip to Disney/Raleigh next November. I have maps and books from AAA but now am trying to have each day with only 6 hours of driving. DH does most of the driving but I will spell him on the easy parts.

Faye: Good for you getting back to knitting. I used to knit a lot but have not made anything for a while. Maybe I should think of something cute I could make....ie: easy! Sorry to hear about your heating problems but I hope you can resolve it after getting the insurance policy.

Jean: You must be right in the swing of school by now! Yes I know just what you meant about putting back all the pretties after the GKs leave. Mine are all old enough so there isn't so much picking up and putting down. The 5 yr old still likes to play with my houses and the trees, people, etc.

Tomorrow we are supposed to be back in the Summer heat and may make a last trip to the beach. DH has a friend a church who loves the water but because a knee problem hasn't been this year. I think we may take her and let her enjoy a day at the beach.

Gloria in MA.....enjoy the week everyone.

Hey girls, hope it is a good morning for you! It is going to be a cooker today again. I like warm weather but long for some nice 70 temps! I am hoping that starting tomorrow I can work up a walking routine again. I need to do outside work until we get all this AC stuff cleared up. I am still waiting for their confirmation they have processed my contract as they haven't authorized my CC for payment yet! SIGH~

Gloria: Just think what those groceries would have cost you in the regular grocery though! We have 9 1/4 % sales tax ( we have a combo of state and city sales tax here) and that eats into your grocery budget big time so though I hate driving out there it saves me money even with the gas prices. I made Jack go with me last time as we were out of everything because I didn't shop before we went on vacation. I bought a bunch of cleaning supplies, candles, lots of paper products like paper towels and tp, my regular groceries and I think I spent $250 and I am not going again until Sept 23rd so I did pretty well. Sounds lovely to go swimming, but I am strictly a pool girl, don't like lakes or ocean. Guess if I can't see the bottom, I don't want to get in!

Jean: Boy, sounds like you did have a busy weekend but lots of fun. I miss doing things with our group from church. They were the nicest people. Pretty soon it will be too cold to do things outside so we need to get in all we can I guess. You and Gloria have a harder winter than we do down here, but we still get some pretty chilly temps. We can get some occasional snow, but usually nothing serious. We could use the wet weather. We are so incredibly dry here. Flying home, we flew over Memphis area to Atlanta and you could see the Mississippi and there were huge sections of sand bars visable where the river was so low. It is 12 feet below normal and dropping and there is serious concern because there is still a lot of products that go by barge like heating oil, coal and stuff like that and are having trouble navigating the shallows now.

Well, girlies, I HAVE to get that upstairs cleaned today. I fell asleep on the couch and by the time I woke it was hot hot hot upstairs so it didn't get done. I need to make some progress!

Have a good day

Faye