[Jean]

Good Afternoon, Flowers! Our sunshine has disappeared and it looks like it could rain. The house across the street is getting a new roof. They took off all of the old so I hope if it rains, they can cover it fast. Our guy did a section at a time rather than take everything off. I guess he did do one roof at a time since we have 4 different roof levels. I've been finishing up on the laundry and doing some much needed ironing this morning.

"Gma" -- I had Jason when I was 27 and Beth when I was 32. If I had it to do over again and our circumstances were different, I probably would have had them when I was younger, I don't know. We were married 6 years before Jason came along. Bob left for Vietnam 8 months after we were married, and I was still in college at the time. My parents ok'd us getting married as long as I promised to finish college. When he got back he had 2 years of college left and I was teaching. Back then if you were pregnant, you couldn't teach after a certain month. After Bob graduated we moved to Mpls. and we knew it would just be for a year so didn't want to have a baby on the way not knowing where we would go after the year was up. We moved to Ohio and Jason was born out there. He was a very active little boy and I wanted to space the kids so that he was independent when #2 came along. We were only supposed to be in Ohio a year to 18 months and it ended up being almost 4 years. When we moved back to Iowa and settled in here, Beth came along. Bob's brother and wife were in college when they got pregnant, married, and had their first child. The sorority sisters and fraternity brothers babysat whenever the parents were in class. They are now divorced. They moved to AZ so can't really say how the kids turned out except the one who was just here mooching at the lake. I sure wouldn't want to have kids any later than we did, that's for sure.

Susan -- Congratulations on losing 4#s! I don't know why but I am having a hungry day today and all I want to do is eat!

I see the mailman just drove by so will go and see what he brought today. When he delivers we get mail by 1:00 usually and when the sub (she) delivers it is 3:30 or later. I'm betting she is nice and will take packages up to the door where he just lays them on the mailboxes. He's a jerk.

Have a great rest of the day and a terrific Tuesday tomorrow!

Jean -- from Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning to you all. I can't tell whether it is going to be rainy or not today. It is so hot and humid here that it is hazy so it is hard to tell this time of morning. It got up to 105 yesterday and was steaming.

I took the rental car back yesterday afternoon and was kind of glad to be rid of it. Jack picked out a Chevy HHR and what a weird car that was. It is similar to the PT Cruiser and would sure take some getting used to. First off, it has running boards, but it sits so low to the ground they aren't needed and so you have to step over them kind of to get out of the car. The power window buttons are set in under the radio instead of on the door and the shift knob is right in front of it, so it is awkward to roll down a window. I imagine some people like it though. I can guarantee it won't be on our list of cars to look at when we buy!

Susan: I know it was hard for me having kids really young as I was 20 when Jay was born, but it is surely nice to have Jack all to myself and the freedom to do what we want now and still be young enough to enjoy traveling and such. I don't think having kids in your early 30's is so bad as you are in your 50's when they are in college, but waiting until you are in your 40's or even 50's sometimes, sure puts you at a disadvantage. I don't care if you have been a marathon runner you whole life and eat totally healthy, you just can't do at 50 what you can at 25-35. Then when they really get active and you are in your late 50's or early 60's I would imagine they would really keep you pooped. On top of that, I have a girlfriend who was born when her parents were in their late 40's. She is an only child and though her mom is in her 90's now and still living, she lives with them and Vicki is her soul caregiver. There is no sibling for mom to "Have a day with." I would say statistics were in your favor with the duplicate marriage thing. Maybe is couples were a bit more careful before they said "I do" and then actually worked on the rough spots of marriage instead of throwing it away like an unwanted toy. My husband works with several men who are either on a 3rd marriage or have been through a third divorce. If I divorced, and remarried, if it didnt work out the second time, I think I would give up! lol on your loss! That's great!

Jean: I imagine it won't be long and they will start redoing roofing here. the association president said that is the plan. Fortune is going to love that! Didn't you say your school was old and had no air conditioning? I hope your area cools off before school starts if it doesn't. Nothing worse than having difficult kids to begin with then having the rooms like furnaces for them to learn in. We had no ac in our school and used to go until near the middle of June. It was hot and sticky by then and we used to have classes outside if the teacher were so inclined.

It is to clean the upstairs again so I better get some breakfast and get to it. It won't do itself that is for sure.

Have a good one!
Faye

[Maggie]

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

It is now 9:15 in the am and 73 outside. Not bad a all if it would stay that way but next week it is said to be in the 100's once again. I got a good nights sleep last night. However, the night before was not so good. The yard had a bunch of coyotes playing around and had Ragg Mopp giving them what for. I would get to sleep and he would sound off. Enough. So last night he wore his bark collar, which by the way, has a dead battery in it so wouldn't work if he barked but he didn't know that. It hasn't worked for some time now but still has him fooled. The reason we didn't use it the night before was it was outlside in the Jeep and neither of us wanted to get up and get dressed to go fetch it. It is off of him and he is being quiet and not even barking at the cats today. We are getting some done eadh day for our trip on the 30th. I am looking forward to it not being so dusty all the time as here in this country side.

SUSAN 4 big ones gone. Girlfriend you go. I surely would like to lose in chunks like that. I only gain in chunks like that. No, I don't use salt every time on my cast iron skillets or dutch ovens. Just do it mostly the old fashioned way of hot water then a whisk of crisco. If there are stuck on bits out comes the salt though. It is wonderful as a cleaing agent in the kitchen. My pans are mostly non stick now from the many years of use so they are very easy to clean. It is easier to clean them when they are still hot.

FAYE You had me laughing at that decription of your rental. What are some engineers thinking. I am glad to see that some of the manufactures are going retro. The new chevy coming out in 2010 looks like an older model almost like a mustang. I copied the picture you put up of that cleaner and will look for it in the Super Wallmart when we get moved. I always like to use what has worked for my friends. Thank you for posting that. I was so sad to see that someone had done to that stove top and do hope it isn't scratched.

JEAN I am so glad for you that you have air in your home. That humidity back there is a wilter for sure. I wilt. But it sure makes the corn grow good. Are you having to toss most of the stuff in your basement that got wet or is it salvageable? What a deal to have to work with in addition to regular house work. Especially in the summertine. Do you have ceiling fans in all your rooms? I love to keep that air moving ~ reminds me of gently sea breezes. Ahhhh. I really do miss the Pacific Ocean which is our coastline. I used to love it as a child of around 10 when our school was so crowded that we went there in shifts and my shift was 10 to 5. I would get my chores done early. The chores I had at that age were to make my bed and straighten my room up. I would then skip on down to the beach which was a short two blocks away. My father had given me a watch so I wouldn't lose track of time. I was never late for school. Never, and I loved school so much I got certificates year after year for perfect attendance. I guess I wasn't a sickley child nor did I have the inclination to ditch. Times have sure changed. I would never have let my daughter skip on down the beach by herself ~ yikes we were so young and the world was kinder and gentler.

Have a wonderful day Magnolias. Type at you later.

[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers! I fell asleep in front of the TV and did I ever sleep! Bob left to go to the office and I didn't even know it. Ernie woke me up when he hopped up on my lap or I would be there yet. Visiting MIL every evening sure makes the evening seem short for us. I had my lab work early this morning and then my physical an hour later. All of my #s are better than last year and I weigh 5 #s less. Not sure how that happened but I'll take it. Our doctor is retiring (he is younger than I am) and there will be a new one coming in after the first of the year. This year he was promoting a shot combining tentanus and whooping cough as well as taking Vitamin D. I did get the shot even though I've had whooping cough he said I could get it again, and that it is resurfacing in the schools. Bob was late coming home for lunch, and I ran some errands this afternoon. Tomorrow is a perm first thing in the morning. I really don't need one yet, but we are having church pictures taken Aug. 4th and the beautician is leaving on a 2 week vacation the 31st. She has a sign in her shop that says she is a "beautician, not a magician" which I think is cute.

"Gma" -- One of the teachers got a new HHR just before school got out. I thought it looked like a box with wheels. I'm all for second marriages if a person is single by death, on good terms with the ex, etc., but I would wonder if they cheated on their partner with me, would they cheat on me with someone else. Our high school was built in 1962 with several additions over the years. They have talked about putting individual air conditioners in the rooms, but the electrical stuff would have to be all redone and that would cost way too much to justify doing it for just a few days of use. Our new elementary building will be air conditioned and our middle school, so I suppose the powers-to-be will figure the older kids can handle the heat when the time comes. I'm not going to complain about the heat, but would love some cooler, open the windows, kind of weather.

Maggie -- Our neighbors' son visited with his little dog that has an electrical fence at home. They put the flags around the yard and the collar on the dog. It didn't take him long to figure out that it wasn't connected to anything and he was on our deck eating cat food and drinking cat water. They were upset with the dog, but we didn't mind since he was just visiting. Pretty soon Ragg Mop will have a whole new territory to scout out. The basement stuff is just some boxes we threw together in a hurry: some goes to Jason, some to Beth, some to Good Will, and some will stay here. I just need to get out in the garage and dig in. Since my eczema flare up I haven't wanted to work in the dust and dirt so have put it off. We do have fans in the bedrooms and two in the kitchen area. Our bedroom is upstairs and on the west side of the house so would be really hot without the fan circulating the air. We keep the furnace fan running constantly when the air is on also. I would love to be near the ocean, but want my own private space and be able to walk the beach without stepping over and around other bodies. I love Okoboji but it has become such a tourist spot that the only time the lake is peaceful is early in the morning before they are up and about.

I guess I will head off to bed. I'm getting in the bad habit of sleeping later and should be working on getting up earlier for when it's time to go back to school.

Have a wonderful Wednesday and remember to smile!

Jean -- in Iowa!