Good morning gals. I am later than usual this morning as I was able to sleep in again and took advantage of it. I am so mad. The pool was still locked yesterday so I called someone about it and seems they had not opened it yet and were to decide last night what they were going to do about it at the board meeting. I haven't heard so if I don't get a flyer in the next couple days, I will call my contact back and see what is up. We don't go to the board meetings and I suppose we should but by 7 pm we are usually settled in for the night on most nights. We rarely go anywhere at night anymore.

Maggie: I just have to be careful posting recipes because a lot of them aren't my own and don't want to get into trouble. I guess if I give credit to where I got them then it would be ok. Most of the things I cook are not by recipe and I don't have exact measurements for spices and such. I will see what I can do though. I too would love a house. That is a lovely thing to do and think about us.

Jean: I have cleaning to do today, but I would really like to knit the other front piece to Jackson's sweater today. I have the back and one side down. I have never done a raglan sweater so we shall see how it goes together. Hope I am not like Lucy and the sleeves come out backwards or something...

I got an email from Kelly about T's birthday dinner. He wants to go to the Melting Pot, which is a fondue place. She was sweet and gave us the option of just going with him later, but enjoy having the whole group together when we can (Tom's parents and sister and Tom, Kelly, Thomas and Us) so I talked to Jack and we decided to go. We are going to use that as our one going out meal for June and not overdo on the fondue part but eat more of the veggies and stuff. I kind of feel bad because he is only getting one thing from us for his birthday, but the darn thing costs $169 so it is going to be just one gift this year. It amazes me how much these companies can squeeze out of people. I mean, I know it takes technology and such to make these handheld things with all the gadgets, but I still feel they rip the public off. I am hoping his other games are compatible with this thing and I think they are as this is sort of an upgraded version of something he already has.

Thomas leaves for Washington DC in a week and I am sure he is all excited about that. They must be going there for Jackson's birthday, which is a week from tomorrow. Good grief, I better let them know about his present as it may ship while they are in DC. I just thought about that. Her sister and bil can take it into the house as the live there in town and will probably watch the dogs and cats for them.

Well, this is absolutely getting nothing done. I had better get to it. Have a nice Tuesday!
Faye

Good afternoon, ladies! A hot one in the 90s today!

FAYE, I'll bet your pool hasn't opened for the same reason many around me haven't - actually I read about it in the newspaper this morning - there is a new Federal law and all pools must have come sort of a cover installed over the water outlet so that people aren't sucked in. Many can't afford it and many will be opening late. You can blame it on the Republicans.

What's the law?
Daily Press
June 2, 2009

• On Dec. 19, 2007, President George W. Bush signed into law the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, named after the daughter of Nancy Baker and the granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker. Graeme Baker died in June 2002 after the suction from a spa drain trapped her under the water.

• The act specifies that on or after Dec. 19, 2008, public swimming pool and spa drain covers must meet specific performance requirements.

• In certain instances, public pools and spas must have additional devices or systems designed to prevent suction entrapment.

Measure the sweater front and find a zipper that is that length (if you are lucky). If you can't find the exact length, you can leave a little open at the bottom or buy a longer zipper and shorten it from the top.

Fondue sounds like fun - enjoy!

MAGGIE, I'd love to have a house. I'll put some recipes in the thread over the weekend.

JEAN, I have a BS in Computer Science and finished half the work for my MS but burned out on working fulltime and going to school at night and never finished. The DQ by my house doesn't accept coupons, but a couple others do - different franchise owners.

My exercise bike was delivered yesterday so I started assembling it and was moving along just fine until I got to the part about attaching the cable. Cable was just plain to short to do what they said. I sent the company an email last night and today I got one back saying they are sending me a new cable, sorry for the inconvenience, and they are sending me a coupon for a free DVD from their website.

Have a good day, ladies, I'm going to try to stay cool!

Good Afternoon, Flowers! I thought we would get up to rain, but it is just cool and cloudy. We do need rain; the weatherman says this has been the driest spring yet. Bob finally got a hold of his "hometown" church secretary and we took MIL's memorial $$ over there late this morning. We need to recount but think it was close to $1000 plus whatever was sent to the church in the first place; we also have money to go to our own local church.

We made a quick trip to Sioux City to check siding at Menard's. Our "barn" needs to either be replaced or new siding put on. I voted for replacement and Bob thought he could have the siding put on and then he would have time to paint it before it got too hot. He'd save about $400 if his time isn't worth anything.

"Gma" -- I hope that your pool will open soon. I have a wool sweater that my mom made (knitted) for my dad when he was in service. Looking at it, I wonder if it ever fit him. Each stitch is perfect; I don't know why I am saving it except that it is a connection to my parents. Back in the '60s when we were married everyone got a fondue pot . . . except us. Bob says it takes too long to get a meal by dipping one bite at a time. Tech toys are expensive that's for sure. I would think that Thomas is old enough to understand expense/quality vs. quantity. I'm sure he will be thrilled!

Susan -- I admire you for putting your bike together! Our DQ has a new owner and it's been repainted to look like south of the border. Needless to say we don't eat there; we may try to use the coupon going through the drive-in window part for ice cream. I saw the TV news clip about the pool drains. I thought there were going to be exceptions depending on the size of the drain. It's surprising, or maybe not, that there wasn't a safety size in place from the beginning. I needed one more class for a library science major but never got it. We had just gotten married and Bob was leaving for Vietnam. I thought I could do it in summer school and it wasn't offered that summer. In the fall I had student teaching and then started teaching my own class in Nov., so never did take the class. Believe me I have kicked myself many times over the years. Now most libraries want/require a MS.

Maggie -- Good luck at WW today! I don't feel retired at all! I don't think it will sink in until workshop days start in August.

I need to finish my last 5 thank yous so they can go out today. Have a great "rest of the day!"

Jean -- from Iowa!

Good morning gals. Had to get the trash out as they sometimes come as early as 6 am. I was a little uncomfortable at 1 am so came downstairs to the recliner. I am having gas issues with regards to what I eat now and it can be quite painful until it dissapates. I put on a heating pad and I was able to go back to sleep.

Well I guess the board meeting was nothing short of a big shouting match. They ended up deciding to only open the pool on Sat and Sun and they are going to meet at the end of the month to decide what to do. Why bother and then you should give us money back as this is part of our maintenance fee. It isn't like there is something wrong with the pool and needs to be fixed or it is contaminated. It is that they are having big security issues here I guess and don't want problems at the pool too. Unfortunately, we have a lot of trash that lives here now as we have a lot of what I can trancient renters. They either stay a year or they sneek out in the middle of the night. Renters I thought were good I guess tore the condo next door apart. They had to replaster and paint and tear up and replace carpeting and fumigate too. I guess you never know. So it is the treadmill or outside for me and it is so humid here already that I don't know if I am going to walk in the neighborhood. I may go at least once a week and go walk in the mall. It is a drive across town, but at least it will be an interesting walk!

Jean: Jack's dad had a rust colored fuzzy sweater he wore when he got sick all the time. It hangs in Jack's office closet. He won't part with it and that's fine. I would imagine Jay will keep it when we are gone. I guess you could look at it the other way too and if you had something none too fatty, you could lose weight eating little chunks as long as you didn't keep eating and eating! I am sure we will have a grand time with him and his grandparents and parents and aunt.

Maggie: I contributed a couple quick recipes. As I feel like typing it all out, I will add more. If I could just transfer what is in my head onto the site, it would probably just roll out. I made the lasagna last night. Jack loves my lasagna (he hates ricotta or even cottage cheese so I have to use the cheddar and moz combo) but the calories and fat are outrageous. I used to use a package of each kind of cheese for one lasagna. So I decided I could tone it all down and I did. The test came when Jack ate it and I got an A++ for it so guess it came out a-ok.

Susan: Thanks for the info. Just to be on the safe side, I may have someone at the fabric store measure and tell me what one to buy. I am making a deep purple called raisin so I can put a black zipper in if I can find the correct size that fits. Have fun with your bike. I have been thinking about getting one I saw on TV. I think I would enjoy bike riding. We got my cuisinart ice cream maker last night. I want to try and make some lowfat ice cream and sorbet and stuff. They had a cool recipe for fudsicle ice cream where you used pudding. You can use ff sugar free pudding with it too. That might be something to try.

Well gals, I am going to unload the dishwasher and maybe knit. I am on Jackson's sleeves now so I am buzzing right along. Have a great hump day and stay cool. Faye

Good afternoon, ladies. Another hot one!

I found an interesting article on Prevention. I'm passing on the link if you might want to take a look at "A Perfect Day of Eating."

http://www.prevention.com/perfectdayofeating/index.html

MAGGIE - I'll send you my address via email. My favorite Wendy's meal is 8 points - Grilled Chicken Caesar salad (half a pack of dressing, no croutons) and a small Frosty. It's not a belt that goes on the bike, it's a long cable that attaches to the tension dial comes down a metal tube and then attaches to a spring hook. I think I could fix it if I stripped off some of the rubber covering and exposed more bare cable. I have a stripper from my old computer support days. The spring hook is on another part so unless you actually tried to connect it, there is no way to know it is too short. Considering how things are made now days, I know there was probably no checking.

JEAN - You know what the HOA is going to say, If we give a key to Faye, we have to give a key to everyone that asks. No guts. They need to do some serious policing of the area.

FAYE - Is all the stuff with your security issues, etc. lowering the value of your property? Since you had a key before, maybe they'll be able to make an exception for you. I'd be interested in that fudgescicle ice cream recipe.

Nothing interesting happening here, just more of the same. Have a good evening.

Good morning to you all. Looks like it rained here last night as the deck is all wet. I wondered because some of my satellite channels wouldn't come in and some did. I ate a good lean cuisine meal yesterday, chicken enchilada with rice. I didn't care all that much for the rice as it tasted like there was lime in it, but I ate it anyway. Jack is finding a variety of meals for himself in the frozen food aisle. He takes them for lunch.

Jean: That is the good thing about knitting. It involves both hands and you have to put it down to do anything. Since I am up to my ears in projects to get done, it keeps me from eating if I feel the need to and shouldn't be hungry. I still have hormonal stuff that I will be ravenous certain days. I am to the point now of it not being an issue most days but others, whew!

Susan: The property value is rock bottom in this area because of the riff raff that lives around here now. This used to be a prime area to live in but not anymore. We have severel apartment complexes around us and then housing to the north a bit, but the apartments seem to be the places where the gang and drug activity occur and I know they have been fighting that for several years here since there are so many condos that are landlord owned now. One of the biggest problems money wise with this place is they let the owners get thousands of dollars in arrears in maintenance fees. That means either the paying folks take the brunt because they either raise the fees or provide less services. If they would squeeze the people to pay their fees, but the problem is, though then can take your property if you are 6 months in arrears or more, the condo association doesn't want the darn things as they don't sell. We have a couple of condos here that have been on the market at least 3 years! I saw the other day they took two of them off the market. They are old and a lot of them need big repairs like major plumbing, new kitchens and such so no one wants to put that kind of money in them. We would love to tear out cabinets and countertops and replace them besides the flooring throughout the house and put in all new plumbing fixtures and such, but we don't have the money for that sort of thing.

Maggie: We had a tabby and it is short haired and still shed a lot. I think it is the way of a cat. You could get a hairless one, but I think those poor cats are so ugly. Besides, if Ragg Mopp wants to play I would think a hairless cat could get hurt easily. Hope you have fun creating a new house and assessories so t speak. I have a throw, two pillows, a toddler sweater, a toddler hat and a boy's sweater all on needles! Right now though, Thomas's sweater is sitting in a bag. I just started it to see the color combo. I haven't worked on the throw much but am on the pillows and sweater and hat so I can finish them up.

Well gals, I hear Jack. Think I will fix him some sausage gravy this morning. Have a great day today and hope it is summery where you are.
Faye

Good morning, ladies! Its only 74 today - 20 degrees cooler than yesterday. We had a thunder and lightening storm last night.

I have a busy day today - work, chiropractor, and quilting bee. Fun!

Good Morning, Flowers! The sun is shining and it is warmer today. The TV says rain through the weekend and the paper says sunshine. I wonder who will be right?! My biggy for the day is to take Ernie to the vet this afternoon as well as visit another grocery store for the things I forgot yesterday. The one store has a hanging planter that a mother robin built a nest in. She is sitting on 3 eggs and there is a "not for sale -- Mother Robin at work" sign posted close by. There was a picture in the paper; I just hope the hoodlums will leave her alone. Since they are building a new store it is a busy place and no grass growing anywhere close by. I wonder where she is finding worms or what she will feed her babies.

"Gma" -- The same thing happened to the apartment complex where we lived in Minneapolis. It was the elite area back in the '70s and when we visited in 1994, it was run down, junk cars all over, obvious outside repairs were needed, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't even there now. Sad! You do have the knitting projects to work on! Isn't there a saying about busy fingers or hands?

Susan -- You do have a busy day planned! I hope it was a good one! I'll bet the quilting bee was the best part.

I am dressed so need to get moving. The guy is coming to reside our shed and I need to be gone when he gets here -- he likes to visit too much!

Have a great day!

Jean -- from Iowa!

Good morning! Ok, something is topsy turvy here in Magnolia land. Jean is first instead of last to post and I actually didn't post in the middle of the night! I am fit as a fiddle and raring to go! I started out uncomfortable but took something to sleep and zonked out so even though I had to bring Fortune down here last night, I went right back to sleep in the chair and slept until 8 except for kissing Jack goodbye and giving him the everyday, "Have a good day, be careful, I love you."

I made a dr appt yesterday for her to look at my hands and feet and do my yearly refill on my blood pressure meds. About 4-5 days ago, I noticed around the arch side of my foot and my big toe that the skin was just peeling off then my hands started doing it. It has to be something internal as I haven't used the same things on my hands and feet except lotion and I have used this lotion for over a year and it is Johnson and Johnson's baby lotion with aloe so I don't think that is the culprit. It hasn't gotten serious as it isn't cracked, bleeding or even red, but I feel like I am shedding. It looks like when you get lightly sunburned and your skin forms little blisters but without liquid in them. This morning the stuff looks much better on my hands, but I haven't showered yet so don't know about my feet. Unfortunately, because I wanted to see my regular dr and not one of the other ones, I have to wait until the 16th to do so. I like this woman a lot and though she and I have talked about my weight, I broached the subject not her the last time I saw her. She was so nice. Instead of what you usually get from drs she said, "It must be very difficult to do things with your weight as it is." I didn't get the obesity can cause heart attack, diabetes, etc speech or any of that. It is refreshing to have a dr talk to you like an adult instead of a naughty child. I have to set up my asst female tests with her too, but I am just not ready for the colonoscopy yet. I am going to beg off for at least a couple months then I will go through it.

Jean: Hope mama bird can get those babies all raised and out on their own. I have to get the upstairs vacuumed and dusted this morning and get the bed made and the laundry brought down. Jack always brings the basket down with him in the morning, but he is slipping because it isn't sitting n the washer. Since I have to go down the stairs one leg at a time and hold on, it is sometimes hard to carry stuff too. I can do it, but Jack usually just brings it down with him. Most of the time it is only half a load anyway. Have fun with your friend at lunch!

Susan: Hello to you and hope you have a good Friday!

I started a hat for Jackson to go with his jacket yesterday and have about half of it done. I have got to get the one project done, then get his sweater and hat done and then finish the other one, which is the wedding gift and get the pillow going for it. Thomas's sweater will be last in line then I have to figure out what I am going to do next.

Have a great Friday and a fun weekend. If it doesn't rain we are loading up Fortune into his car seat and going for a ride. I think we may start out at Tom Lee park downtown and take him for a walk if it isn't too hot. We want to try out our new video camera. I bought it a few weeks ago as a mother and father's day present to us to have for the cruise. I got a great sale price on it and it has some nice bells and whistles. We can also download videos to send to Jackson since we don't get to see him very often.

Faye