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#16

GailR , 06-15-2011 12:24 PM

I am back.

Susan, the weather was so nice while I was in Va. Beach. And its a nice day here at home in DE. My air conditioner has not run yet for the day (but my FIL is cold and is presently wrapped up in a throw like Whistler's Mother). I know this sounds strange but I can't wait to see my next electric bill. I bet you have some gorgeous quilts and some in progress that are equally beautiful. I love arranging and re-arranging my knitting supplies. I don't have anything insured though!

BRB

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#17

GailR , 06-15-2011 12:31 PM

Hey Maggie....sounds like you have been busy putting up all those photos of fruit and veggies. I love my cookbooks and I have had some binders started for the same thing. I agree with you a lot of the recipes I'm seeing are more or less repeats of some old recipes I've clipped and saved. I, too, love WW and CL magazines. Do you think you'll ever buy an e-reader that you can read magazines on (along with books of course)? I'm not sure about that myself as I feel old-fashioned in loving the actual hard copy magazines (and books) in my hands but I can see where it all could have their own place in our very technical world. I haven't a clue as to what I'm making for dinner tonight. The grandkids come over at 4:30...and not sure how that is all going to work out with the physical therapist here at 4:00 for my FIL. Its a little nerve-wracking to me have my home all turned around. I'll live through this.

BRB

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#18

GailR , 06-15-2011 12:39 PM

And here I am again...

Donna Faye, your puppy dog is one lucky little thing! The food you are making for Fortune sounds yummy! Really. We do these things for our doggy family members because we love them and they love us so without prejudice. And they can't do for themselves. Don't you worry about maintaining---you have the right mindset. I'm sure you will lose next week. Hopefully, the benefiber and the swelling will go down and you will lose a lot. Remember slow and steady wins the race. Okay about blah blah hotel (love that by the way)....I haven't a clue. But remember my brain is blah blah right now. Good luck on getting the answer. HOWEVER, I would think you would (should) get two nights free....but you may only get one. Yeah...I was a lot of help. NOT. Okay...just read your next post! I'm glad things are worked out at the Radisson. Love the slippers!

Gotta go.

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#19

Maggie , 06-15-2011 03:31 PM

Wonderful Wednesday Aka: Humpday
GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

It is a beautiful day in the high 70's and a slight breeze here in the Heartland. Will is out spiffing up the Jeep and the dogs are supervising. I think it is tomorrow the parts are in for the new breather system and that won't take long to install. We have been looking for a tent trailer to pull behind the Jeep for our vacation time. We are not the resort ~ stay in hotel types. But to each his own I always say and 'what ever trips your trigger'. I am deciding what to make for dinner this day. I operate best when I have a plan of what to fix. If I wait too late in the day to make plans then is when I get myself in trouble. Time to go get my latte and Will is off with the dogs to bring me one. He found some more of those meat wrapped doggie biscuits at the dollar store today. The dogs love them and the first ingredient is beef so they are the good kind for them. We are careful about what treats we give them. My nails are getting very long and it is time to cut them so I will do just that when I get off here. I just received my current catalogue "The Artisan Table" put out by "Cooking Enthusiast" and they have some "I wants" in it. I know where I will be spending some of my July allowance. Life is good.

DONNA FAYE Your slippers are going to be so cute. I can quit doing glass work anytime during the process and pick up where I was another time. But I do like to finish up with one process and clean my area before starting on the next phase. for Jacks tremendious progress in weight loss. I imagine you have lost more or at least the same as he. I bet moving that piece of furniture will do wonders in your cool air circulating and cooling down your place.

JEAN I don't blame you for taking your favorite "tools" with you when you go to MN. We have what it takes as far as cooking items at the cabin in the Sequois out in CA placed in containers so they stay clean and ready for the use of which members of the family are up there. I did take a crock pot up there when I would spend 3 weeks during the summer though. That way we could be gone all day out and about the mountains and when tired when we got back ~ dinner would be ready. In your case you are wise to take just a few of your favorites with you. Our place up there has 4 bedrooms and we can sleep 25 for there are 6 bunk beds in one of the bedrooms and several couches in the front room and lots of floor space. We had many good times at "the cabin."

SUSAN Isn't that they way it is you get a new cooling system and then the temp cools down. AH but it will rise again and you will be so thankfull you have a good system that will keep you cool.

GAIL Breathe. Girlfriend I feel for you. Having your FIL in your home is temporary and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Nope I don't think I will ever buy an e-reader. I like my hand on visuals too much. I can take the page out of my binder and slip it into a plastic sleeve to protect it and take it to the kitchen where I prepare the meal. All my books are back here in my office and I don't like to take the whole binder to the kitchen.

I gotta tell you what I had for lunch that was yummy and 8 P+ ~ a WW frozen entree called Orange Sesame Chicken. I added a zero point half can of sliced water chestnuts for crunch and enjoyed it ever morsel. There were lots of big chunks of white meat chicken in it and to eat it I had to cut them all in half. It is one of their new ones and I will definite do it again.

I need to go plan dinner now. Watermellon ~ that will be one thing. It is getting cold in the fridge as I type. Later ladies.

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#20

Jean , 06-15-2011 10:53 PM

Susan -- I love the "no air, no heat needed" days! You will have your house squeaky clean again soon. It's nice that the thrift store will take furniture you no longer need. I'd much rather do the hotel and eat out kind of vacation; that's exactly what we do in Maui.

Gail -- I did (really!) at your FIL wanting the anti puff, anti wrinkle cream. I could use some of that! All you can do is take one day at a time and hope for the best for him to get back on his feet again. At least you will know that you did all you could do to help.

Maggie -- What's on your kitchen "want" list for July? You talking about bunks in your cabin made me think of where Bob goes fishing in Canada. They have bunks but think the cabins are only set up for 8 or 10 people. I've not seen the WW dinner you mentioned. It sounds good!

I'm going to head off to bed and read for awhile. See you all tomorrow!

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#21

gma22 , 06-16-2011 06:56 AM

Good morning ladies. It is a pleasant 78 at the moment but it is going to be hot, hot, hot again today. The farmers are going to be crying for rain soon I am afraid with this intense heat and sunshine. Funny not too long ago we had more water than we knew what to do with and now we need rain.

I finished the other slipper and will sew it up and felt them this morning. I have clothes to put away and the bed to make upstairs and some cleaning to finish downstairs, mainly mopping and then that is done. Tomorrow sometime I want to get more yarn to finish the hat. I didn't have quite enough then wash all of those things and they my dil's birthday presents will all be done and I can get the socks finished and a pair of slippers for my girlfriend done and her birthday gifts will be finished. I still have to think about what I want to do for my dd for her birthday and then knit socks for the grandsons for Christmas.

Gail: Hang in there and use the help that is given. Don't try to do too much yourself. Since you don't know exactly what is going on with your heart, try to not get too stressed out. I know it is easier said then done, but like a baby, when you fil rests, you rest too. It is important. We all care very much about you and don't want anything to happen to you.

Jean: Yep, I am your basic lazy cow on vacation. If we are in our room I sit and read, watch tv (rarely) or of course knit, I swim, we do whatever we are going to do, we eat out and we VACA as I call it. I never was a camper of any sort. My parents took us camping a lot when I was a kid and I didn't mind it, but as an adult If I have to, I will stay in a cheap motel versus a more expensive one, but camping Of course, I don't have a husband that loves to fish and such so he is not a camper either. Thomas told us the other day they are talking about next year's vacation going to Mt Killamanjaro and go mountain climbing. Just the thought of them doing that scares me to death. He said they were going to do a smaller mountain first to get used to it, like that makes a difference to me!

Maggie: Glad things are all put together with the jeep. I have menus for 2 weeks and I stick to them though I may arrange the days. If I don't we are eating out and that makes everything go every which way. You would get a kick out of Fortune and his homemade dog food. I don't have to beg him to eat, that's for sure. I told Jack this morning he is like a little kid though, leaves his veggies as I found a couple peas on the paper towel I put under his bowl.

Susan: Jack's whole goal is to get into his 36 waist jeans before vacation and the way he is going he will do it. He is better at losing weight than I have ever seen anyone. He sticks right to stuff, though he bought a box of the individual oreos for his snacks because he is a sweet eater. Those and the little ice cream treats keeps him away from the candy machine at work and the oreos are about 5 pts a pack I think. He eats a bowl of cereal every morning and has a ww style frozen meal most of the time for lunch then his dinner so he always has pts left for a sweet snack at night. I have been staying away from most sweets for good reason. My body is a sugar craver and I am going through another round of female stuff and so my hormones keep me hungry. Anyone that says that is a myth is crazy. It sure does mess with your system. I have until Sept then back to the dr to make a decision about what we want to do about it.

Well gals, I need to get going and get my chores and work done early. Lots to do, lots to do. Have a great Thurs. Faye

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#22

Jean , 06-16-2011 09:28 AM

Good Morning, Flowers! The sun is peeking through the clouds and it's a nice 65 degrees outside. Today is "crunch" day: I need to lay out clothes, do some laundry, make a grocery list, and run a couple errands. I have cards to write, and deliver, for the pastors' "goodbye" reception that we are going to miss on Sunday. I'd love to know how much money has been given to/for them, not that it is any of my business; I've posted a lot and know more is coming in this week.

"Gma" -- You have a busy day planned for yourself! I will add spot cleaning to my chore list because I like to leave a clean house "just in case." Bob did a lot of camping as a Boy Scout but has never mentioned that we camp. My idea of camping would be a fancy 5th wheel or a motor home, both being very expensive. I'd also have to cook 'n clean which wouldn't be my idea of fun! I hope Thomas and his parents will opt for a safer vacation next year. Mountain climbing would worry me too!

I need to get dressed and start on my "to do" list for the day. Wishing you all a terrific Thursday! Enjoy!

Jean -- from Iowa!

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#23

GailR , 06-16-2011 10:12 AM

Jean, it's okay to laugh! At times it is a riot around this house I live in. Especially now! My FIL is up and rollin' around in his wheel chair I type this! At least he ate more for breakfast today. That's a good sign. When you talk about the cabin, it makes me want to go somewhere like a beach. I would love right now to take a beach chair, a good book, some sunscreen, and a bottle of water and sit down at the ocean's edge.

Maggie, y'all have a cabin too? Did I read that right? I want a vacation spot. Or at least to go "VACAing" like Donna.

Donna, well I had a melt down this morning. My FIL has duplicate bottles of medication which makes things more confusing. He's having me dump old prescription into new prescription and some pills are different colors and I'm trying to read to make sure they are the same thing with the same mgs in each dosage. I'm trying to tell him this might not be a good thing. Wayne said not to argue with him. I had a meltdown and started shaking and crying. I told him I was afraid we were going to get things mixed up and he'll kill himself taking the wrong thing! I felt sorry for him. I scared him. This is the first time he's ever seen me like this. I don't do stress very well. We are fine now. I am fine now. Whew! I need to find a quiet corner and knit. All that cleaning you do puts me to shame. You are one energetic person!

Well, I need to go transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer, water my flowers outside. Check on my FIL. I am okay!

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#24

Maggie , 06-16-2011 11:58 AM

Titilating Thursday
GOOD MORNING STEEL MAGNOLIAS

It is in the high 60's right now and fixin' to get to 94 this day later on. No spring here for sure. Our garden continues to grow and all is well. I have several boxes I need to get down stairs that I am saving to use to ship things in. I just don't like to keep them in my office/work shop. I also need to get a glass order made up for I am getting low on "choices." I also need some solder and that has gone up a lot since my last order. I can usually get two buildings done with one roll. They don't even put the price of it in the catelogue for it is subject to change with the market on silver. The solder I use is half silver. The company I deal with is in Florida and I have used them for many, many years which is lots. There is not a glass shop anywhere around here. I don't know if there is even one in this state. I always like to purchase "stuff" locally if they have it but around here it is not likely they have what I want. But catalogues have lots of things. Amazed me for the local market did have lemon curd. Which reminds me I need to add WW cream cheese to my shopping list. I sure like those little individual tubs. Some of that and lemon curd on a low point english muffin is so good.

DONNA FAYE What joy that you little pooch is eating with gusto now. Nope, mountain climbing is not my cup of tea. The most mountain I ever climbed was the one across the meadow at the cabin that in the 20's had a ski lift. We would pull our sleds and tobagins and inner tubes up there and have a blast going down the mountain trying to avoid landing in the creek at the edge of the meadow at the bottom. Then back up again. Last time I did that I was in my late 40's. I don't do that anymore.

JEAN One of my "I wants" is a set of 4 soup spoons and the matching ladle. It is a pattern of hand-forged stainless steel with heat blackened handles with the pig tails at the end in different shapes. I have iced tea spoons, cob holders, spreader knifes, BBQ skewers, condiment forks and serving spoons for condiments in that pattern. They all go nicely with the set of flatware we use which have the blackened handles with a twist at the end. I have a set of 4 each but have 8 long handled tea spoons. Fun to use with company and root beer floats since we don't sweeten our tea.

GAIL Don't let your FIL get to you. Just ignore his wierd behavior and just deal with his creature comforts. OH yes our family has had that cabin up 6000 feet on the Sugar Loaf mountain as long as I have memory. My uncles used it for a hunting cabin and then sold it to my folks when I was young and we went up there a lot through the years. Sometimes it would snow and cover our cars in the winter and was gorgeous in the summer. We had a shower in the bathroom. When it got so cold and we had shut the water off so the pipes wouldn't burst so when we arrived in winter time we had to warm up the place before we could use the facilities and turn the water on. Had a lovely "out house" out back. My grandmoter had it all decorated up cute inside. It was big enough to take a "possibles bath" in there. In the kitchen there is a wood burning stove and a gas stove also. So pleanty of ways to heat water to keep clean. Huge long wooden table down a couple steps to a big dining room. We played a lot of games on that table. It would seat a whole bunch of folks. I could go to the cabin and play in the snow then on the same day go back down the mountain and surf at the beach. 180 miles and high altitude to sea level makes a huge difference in CA weather. Down the mountain a little way is the remnants of a small saw mill and then a "lodge" that serves some meals and has rooms. During the roaring 20's it was quite the recreation place. Over the mountain a bit is what is called California Hot Springs which was a resort area way back then where folks would come up in the summer form the heat in the valley to play in the hot spring waters. When we would go up to the cabin when no one else was there I had a check list of what to do to shut everything down before I left. Had to make sure I turned off the water pump, shut off the electricity etc. and drained the water out of everything. My Bro in law has had to replace a couple toilets that exploded in the cold when he forgot to drain them when he was shutting the place up. We laughed at him. Anyway I probably told you much more than you wanted to hear. Be safe my dear friend and don't stress. Please don't stress.

SUSAN I imagine your place is all spiffed up and shining now.

I've yacked enough ~ to hip gotta go.

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#25

gma22 , 06-16-2011 01:31 PM

Here are the slippers for Alicia. She has size 11 feet and I tried them on when I got them out of the washer so I know they fit. I took one of my old tennies and stuck it in the slipper to use as a form and put them outdoors. It is going to be 100 today so they dried pretty quickly so here they are. I even finally found the buttons to put on them. I am going to put the biggest one that is on the card on each one so I had to buy 2 cards, but they were inexpensive. I think they go great with the slipper. Now all I have to do is get fabric paint to put on the bottom to make them non skid. Once I get the presents done, I will get all your sizes and make each one of you a pair. They knit up quick and I can do all three of you a pair then felt them all at the same time! Anyway, I will keep it in mind when I get all this stuff done.
- aliciaslippers.jpg (30.2 KB)
- 493003008.jpg (69.9 KB)
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#26

Jean , 06-16-2011 10:31 PM

Gail -- I can just picture you with all of your FIL's pill bottles! I would get confused too! Bob's mom had lots of pills and I was glad when the nurses took care of doling them out to her. She ended up in a detox unit when she moved back here from AZ because she was on so many prescribed narcotics that different AZ doctors gave her without checking what she was already taking. We don't do any beach sitting where we are going in MN. The resort is on a river that merges with another (I think); it's strictly a fishing setup. They do have a little beach area for kids to play and swim but it's not fancy by any means. Are you knitting tonight?

Maggie -- It got up to 86 here today and my air did come on this afternoon. It's cooling down tonight so will be good sleeping with the window open. Do you get your glass supplies all from the same source? I didn't know that solder comes in a roll, nor that it was half silver. I would love to see the spoons with the pig tails on the end. Beth has a pig collection so anytime I see anything pertaining to a pig, I think of her. I enjoyed your description of your cabin. Jason has been adjusting around the Bemidji area and took some pictures of the cabin my parents owned. Whoever owns it now has done some remodeling and added a fireplace. I'd love to go inside; it was not fancy but had running water and heat.

"Gma" -- Alicia's slippers turned out so cute! How tall is she? I have her pictured as short and petite, so I was surprised when you said she wore a size 11 shoe.

I need to work on some more clothes packing and then I'm heading off to bed. It's been a long day.

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#27

gma22 , 06-17-2011 06:53 AM

Good morning all! It is a cool 69 this morning and supposed to rain all day but we aren't getting away from the heat. The heat index got up to 111 yesterday though and I am glad I didn't have to go out in it.

We are supposed to go swimming with T today but if it rains all day that squelches that. He leaves for Boy Scout Camp on Sunday so this will be the last day we get to swim with him for over a week. He gets home on his birthday then we will be going out to Melting Pot on Sunday for his birthday. Pretty much everyone is giving him money this year as he is saving to buy an Ipad. I did buy him a pair of cuff links. He collects them and I tried to feel him out about what he had but he said he had so many his parents told him he couldn't buy anymore. I just hope he doesn't have the pair I bought him if he has a lot. He does have some cute ones though. He likes wearing french cuffs when he does his recitals, on the ship during formal night, etc.

Gail: I apologize. I thought I had sent you a link to help you with the drug business. Anyway, if you go to drugs.com the have a "pill wizard" and you can see what the pill is the name and such to make sure you can combine drugs. I hope that might allay your fears about his taking the wrong stuff and such.

Jean: I had to laugh. My daughter in law is a big girl. She is about 5'8" or so and probably weighs 175 lbs. Ya, she is always telling me about sales and stuff she gets on shoes because she knows I have big feet too. She has been doing mini marathons and did the one in South Bend recently while being sick so she said she is done until fall. I think she walked a good deal of the last one. She had a sore throat, hives and something else. Me, I would have said phooey with the whole thing, but she did it. She is doing a Mexican Murder Mystery birthday party for a friend's 30th birthday. She calls herself the "producer." I told her it sounds like a lot of fun.

Maggie: Hope you are fine this day. I only know about solder because with Jack being an electronics tech he has used a lot of it in his day. When we were teens we used to togoggan behind our youth leaders house in the woods. It was always scary because it isn't a straight shot but dodge and weave, but it sure was fun and boy does it go fast. I am way past doing that kind of stuff anymore.

Susan: Hope your weekend will be great!

I am going back to working on the sock until I can get out and get more yarn to finish the hat. I have been looking for a pattern for a dog sweater for Fortune this winter. The first one I made is too big under the belly and I want to make another one but haven't found the pattern I used originally nor one I really like yet. Whenever you ladies think about it, please email me your shoe size and I will keep it in a file so I can make the slippers. I always have to have more than one thing going at a time because I get bored so I can do them in between working on gift projects.

Everyone have a great day and weekend. Jean, hope you have a grand time in MN with your mom and family. Faye

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#28

GailR , 06-17-2011 09:12 AM

Good morning everyone! We're going into Day 3 here. Did I tell y'all my FIL slid off his bed (at the hospital) and cracked a rib? Oh yeah...it never stops for him! Bless his heart. The pain medicine he was taking for that just doesn't help very well. I suspect it's not very strong and that can be a good thing. He was given a prescription for Oxycotin but refused to fill, said it would be too expensive. In a way, I'm glad he did not get that prescription filled because I know it's highly addictive and that is just one more thing he does not need. So I found our heating pad and that seemed to do the trick for him. He felt better yesterday by dinner time. His appetite is coming back and I'm glad for that. Along with all the different meds he has I've been told by the home nurse that he should not eat anything with Vitamin K in it. Not ever paying attention to Vitamin K I had to have a short lesson on the foods with Vitamin K. And of course, those are the foods my FIL wants and besides that he was fed salads (leavy green veggies), tomato juice, V8 juice, etc. with Vitamin K in the hospital. This is enough to just make me want to bang my head against the wall....but then I would have a headache! Today, the physical therapist is coming at 10:30. The home nurse is coming sometime before 2pm. I leave at 2pm for my own doctor's appointment. Wayne will get off work at 3pm or as soon as he can and he'll be home no later than 4pm. My FIL can be left alone for short periods of time. And did I tell you he's regaining his appetite which is a very good thing. But he had a bad night last night--rolling around in his wheel chair at 3am, watching tv in the kitchen and not going back to bed until Wayne left for work this morning at 6am. I keep saying to myself, 'we're gonna be okay'....

Maggie, I love childhood memories and it sounds like you have some very nice ones spent in that cabin! My FIL tries very hard not to be demanding. Truly he does. It's just overwhelming to me when I see all that medication on the counter but the nurse who is coming to the house today is going to help me get it organized in a better way than I have it. I am so grateful for physical therapist and the nurse who comes to the house.

Donna, the slippers are soooo cute! I love the buttons and the large one especially that you are going to use. I will check out that website this morning and you may have sent it to me and I didn't see it. I will look again. But thank you so much. We have a Melting Pot restaurant in my area. I've passed it many times and wondered how it is. The problem is I would have a hard time getting my husband to go there (he can be so fussy) but I bet my Lunch Bunch Ladies would want to go! I am the same way myself--having to have several projects going at once! This lacy scarf I'm knitting is taking me forever as I'm using fingering weight yarn and size 6 needles. If I ever finish it and block it I will have to take a photo of it for you to see. Usually with a project like this I need something simple to knit to take a break with. Either socks or a dish cloth. Although come to think about it socks can take me awhile too. For me, I guess its all about the process and not the finished object so much. I knit for calmness in my life. I can have anxiety attacks at any time which happened yesterday. I haven't had an anxiety attack in a very long time....and that is one of the main reasons I retired from the university so early.

Jean, the cabin and area sounds wonderful. I love the water....river or ocean. So calming. Wayne would love to buy a boat but I have no idea when that dream/wish will come true for him. He told me he would love to have a boat with a cabin and just sit on the dock! He'd be a dock duck then! Right now I would settle for a weekend somewhere near water other than DE or VA. One day.....

Susan I hope you had a nice evening and a great day planned ahead of you!

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#29

QuilterInVA , 06-17-2011 10:18 AM

Good morning ladies! 76 degrees and headed for 92 this day with severe thunderstorms later.

I worked yesterday, had dinner with my friends and then went to applique bee. Tonight is lock in so much quilting being done. Don't you hate it when you do one thing around your house and then something else needs to be done that didn't look bad at all until you did the first thing? Now the family room carpet looks dirty so I'll have to clean that.

Gail, I had a 7-day pill container that had for separate compartments for each day for my husband. Once a week I sat down and made it up and then I didn't have to worry about it anymore. They also have pill things like that for people who live alone that open only at specific times so they can't forget and take medicine again. My husband had 17 prescriptions. One of the curses of old age is not being able to sleep. Hang in there and you will be fine. Try not to over think things and get yourself sick. I'll keep you in my prayers.

Faye, I'd sure love a pair of those slippers. I wear a 9-1/2 shoe. Since I lost weight, my feet have gotten smaller. I was once a 10-1/2.

Jean, I'm with you...my house has to be clean and tidy before I go on vacation...in addition to wearing new underwear in case I get in an accident and have to go to the hospital.

Maggie, I love hearing your stories. They are always entertaining. I could just see the toilets exploding.

Have a great day, ladies!

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#30

Maggie , 06-17-2011 03:27 PM

Finally Friendly Friday
GOOD EARLY AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

It is currently 81 degrees and not expected to get higher than 89 this day in the Heartland. We had winds at 60MPH with gusts up to 70MPH so we did take down our hanging wind chimes. Didn't want to find them down the block somewhere. For some reason Ragg Mopp doesn't like the thunder and high winds but Beanie is imperviois. Storms have always bothered Raggs. Beanie is a bash on regardless dog. We had Colonel Cluck AKA:KFC for lunch and that grilled chicken sure has a good taste to it for all of it's 4 points+. I refuse to eat their 5 point+ biscuits (but they are soooooo good) and discard them after pinching off a little taste for Ragg Mopp.

DONNA FAYE I will be one happy camper to receive a pair of hand knitted slippers made by you. I e-mailed you my shoe size. You are a peach. Solder comes in different amounts of tin and silver content. The first number is the tin content and the second the silver. The more tin the quicker and easier the solder will melt. For instance 60/40 has a lower melting point than 50/50 but the 50/50 is best for all my copper foil soldering. Then there is a 63/37 blend that is ideal for fancy, decorative solering on foil or lead. And there is a blend that is lead-free for all fine soldering and jewelry work. For soldering the chams on my bracelet I use a lead-free alloy containing actual silver for the jewelry. I don't use any of the standard 40/60 which is plumber's solder because it doesn't make strong smooth joints for my glass works. Bet you now know more about solder than you need to know.

JEAN I get all my supplies from "Glass Crafters" out of Florida. I'll cut out the pictures of the spoons, etc and send them to you so you can see what I am talking about. Each piece has a different design on the end. I think they called them pig tails because each piece has a different curl at the end. Yep solder comes in one pound rolls except for the silver I use for my bracelet which comes in a 1/2 pound roll ~ read what I posted to DF above about the different kinds. We seem to be running around the same temps you are there.

GAIL Three of us even took 4 of the girls that had off grounds priviledges to the cabin one summer and they had never been to a place like that much less walked on trails in the mountains. City kids! Needless to say they had a wonderful good time of it. I could say a lot more on those types of outings but it may bore you to tears. I am so glad that there are those that come in and help with your FIL. This weekend also Wayne will get a full dose of what you have been dealing with and have his eyes opened. Bless his heart.

SUSAN Have a wonderful afternoon.

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