Thoughts for the Month~August

[Larry Hanna]

Hi everyone. It looks like we should have a delightful day with it only getting into the mid-80's today.  I have nothing on the calendar for today so will use it as a slow and restful day. I am feeling pretty weary today and guess I need a day or recovery from our busy Sunday morning.

I enjoyed watching the golf yesterday and it turned out to be a very close finish requiring the extra hole to be played.  The news is showing the incredible damage that the storm is causing in Houston and other areas.  So many lives impacted and the economic loss is unbelievable and still the rain is falling. I know there are many others communities in Texas and Louisiana that also have devastating damage.

Jackie, glad you were able to get out and find someone to speak with.  Men aren't the only ones who can be stubborn.    Nice to see you were also able to get out this morning and meet more neighbors. 

Carol, my wife did no sewing on the pillows but did the turning and has the tool to push out the corners.  Their goal Saturday was to make 300 pillows but I heard yesterday they ended up with about 230. 

Janet, more and more we are turning off the TV in the evening and just listening to our audiobooks. 

[Jeanne Lee]

Jackie, it is wonderful that you are able to take your walks.  I can just barely make it from my door to a car before I collapse.  I just thank the Lord that people are willing to come pick me up for doctor visits.  It's also a blessing that the doctors' offices and hospital labs have wheelchairs available to travel the long (or seem long to me) hallways to the various examining rooms, etc.   The Lord does provide and care for His own.   

[Jacqueline]

Jeanne Lee...
...thank you but that is not always the case..I wont attempt a walk if I cant trust my body...as most now know, with MS, it is very unpredictable and changeable....There are times I go walkabout but by the time I decide to turn to come home, or if lucky to stop for a chat, my MS body by then has taken a downhill turn before I reach where I was going in the first place... and believe you me, it is a d**n struggle getting my body back home, upslope and pushing and stopping my rollator...Jeanne you are right, without mobility aids...thank the Lord for the Items that help us put one foot in front of the other...I want to continue using my feet and legs for as long as I can, before I give there use up...and succumb myself to a wheelchair or scooter..
...Yes our hospitals are aware and do provide the use of wheelchairs, that too is a welcome blessing...You hit that word on the mouth.." long " corridors.." what seems a short distance for most, is never ending and tough work to the likes of us...and it sure doesn't help when the able bodied person you are walking with has a different attitude and thinks you can walk at there " slow " speed...which of course is still too fast..
...I am also saddened to read of your now failing walking efforts, we do take our feet and legs so much for granted, dont we?

Larry Hanna...
...I rest my case...

The Stubbornness of Men is Overwhelming!

Four members of the clergy had a theological argument, with the three male ministers siding against the female minister.

The woman prayed, "Lord, I know I'm right. Please send us a divine sign to prove it."

A big storm cloud materialized, and there was a clap of thunder, "See," said the woman. "It's a sign from above."

The three clergymen disagreed, saying thunder is a common phenomenon.

"Dear Lord," the woman prayed, "I need a bigger sign."

This time a bolt of lightning slammed into a tree.

"See! I told you I was right," the woman said.

But the men insisted nothing had happened that couldn't be explained by natural causes.

"Help me, Lord," the woman implored.

And a deep voice came from the heavens: "SSSHHHEEE'S RRRIIIGGGHHHTTT!!!"

The woman turned to the three clergymen and asked, "Well?"

"Okay, okay," they said. "But it's still three against two."

[Janice]

Good morning, everyone.  So thankful I can say good, so many cannot, thinking of Houston...one of my brothers and wife lives there, a suburb called The Woodlands.  Two nephews as well.  One of them reported all is ok at Katy where they live.  But his wife's parents had damage. No one will forget the name Harvey...my older stepson has that name, they recently moved to Georgetown, TX, I don't know where that is. Harvey is so sweet, he treats me like I was his real mother.  His own mother died long time ago, so I inherited 3 children when I married Earl.

Janet, I tried getting your email by clicking on your picture, and it did not show up.  My email is janice_nm@yahoo.com so when you email me, I will have your address.  OK?  I need to get specifics, and I don't use the phone much, hearing difficulties.p

I am still having pain in my knee, so I put a sleeve on it to help.  My neck another story, the pain is awful.  Don't know if I mentioned that before.  I thought I had a problem with the cervical vertebrae in my neck.  Dr sent me to get X-rays and he said I have degenerative arthritis there. This all started in April. Stiff neck followed by this pain. Not fun!

[Janice]

Janet, I said picture, but I meant your name, as you said.

[Jacqueline]

Jeanne Lee...
...I forgot to ask..did you manage to re-cap ( is that the correct term? ) your damaged tooth?

Janice...
...I am sorry to read you are living with painful neck trouble...not making light of this but..." Arthur " doesn't care where he goes, or who, or where he next attacks...I know cold, wet or damp weather plays a crucial part in the pain factor...

Jeanne Lee...
..I dont post in S S but I have just seen your post and I am overjoyed with emotion on seeing Joan and her little red head boy...I am now shedding tears of shock, sadness and happiness at seeing our 80 year old Birthday girl...what a pleasant surprise and to see a smile on Joan's face...God you are so wonderful...

[Janet]

Wow!  It's been quite busy in here since yesterday!  That's a good thing!

Janice, thank you for the email address.  I will send you one today, if not, then tomorrow.  I need to go to the Care Home to take care of Beth's birthday party this afternoon, don't know what time I might be back.  So sorry to read about your neck pain, and pray it goes away, or at least greatly improves quickly.

Larry, I hope you are feeling better, and know if you are not, you will rest and take care of yourself,
and I am thankful for that.

Janice, good you had a couple more walks along with a couple more nice chats.  Is there a building on your site where some of you could get together to visit or do things together?  That would be so nice for you, especially if you didn't have to walk far to get there.  Thanks for the chuckle, re the joke. 

Carol, nice to hear you know where Benson is.  My niece is a teacher, and her husband is a mechanical engineer who designs things for farm machinery.

I baked Beth a chocolate cake (her choice) yesterday.  That's the first cake I have baked 'from scratch' in years!  And it's so easy I wonder why people rely so much on box mixes which have all those chemicals in them.  We very, very seldom eat cake, so I just don't make them.  I was going to buy a can of frosting, but after reading the ingredients, decided nope!  I will make it myself, and I did.

John is buying the paper products, and I'm taking cake and ice cream for Beth's party.  I think there won't be more than ten of us there.  Just guessing.  And I need to get moving, as we are starting at 2:00.

See you all later!!

[Marilyn]

The air quality here on the Oregon coast is not good today. There is smoke and ash in the air from all the fires burning in Oregon. I was out walking this morning twice with Freckles, however, I am not going out anymore today unless it is absolutely necessary. All this makes it difficult for me to breathe. Our house is not air tight, we need new windows and the sliding glass door in the bedroom has a gap at the top that is letting the smoke in today and the cold in the winter.

I am having problems with my right wrist like I did before I have the lower thumb joint on my left hand replaced. I knew this was going to happen eventually. I dread having to have the right hand operated on because Keith doesn't drive anymore nor can he cook.Plus I need to be able to drive him to Portland for his eye appointments. So my surgery will just have to wait until I can no .longer stand the pain.

[Jacqueline]

Janet...
...no, sadly, we have no buildings on site...wish we did have some form of a club room or social room, but our site is not large, not sure any residential sites would have one either....all we have is an open corrugated largish shed where our Christmas mulled wine - mince pie, music, and our annual summer BBQ takes place...there isn't even any seated benches available to sit on unless they belong outside someones home...

[Janice]

Happy Birthday to Beth!  How did the party go?
I am sitting here shaking..something terrible happened in our little town late this  afternoon.  A man entered our local library and started shooting. I don't know details yet but has been reported multiple fatalities.  Thank God, my grand daughter who is employed there, was not hurt. She called her mom (my daughter) to let her know she was ok.  Just had to tell someone to vent a little bit.

[Jeanne Lee]

Oh my goodness, Janice!    No wonder you're shaking - I sure would be, too.  Thank God that He protected your granddaughter. 

[Larry Hanna]

Hi everyone. It looks like we are in for a mostly cloudy day and nice temperatures not getting above the mid-80's later this afternoon.  After a very restful and unproductive day yesterday, I awoke this morning feeling ready to take on the world.  I have the morning chores in the kitchen done.  In a little while I will leave to go to have my teeth cleaned and then pick up a couple of prescriptions for Pat at Walmart.  Scott is bribing over some clothes around noon to dry as he dryer died and the new one he purchased won't be delivered until Friday.

Jeanne, I well remember the very long hospital halls when Stacey would be hospitalized.  Sometimes I had to sit down and rest a couple of times on the way to her room.  On occasion I would ask for an aide to come with a transport chair and help me get to the room.  The parking garage was a long ways from her room or other places one needed to go in the hospital.  You do well to be able to live on your own.

Jackie, is there no place you could go in the car where you could have a flat place to walk.  Our Church just started a program three times a week for walkers to come and walk in the newly refinished gym at the Church.  I thought about going but then better judgment prevailed.  You are being a bit ornery posting that little story about the stubbornness of men. However I liked it. 

Janice, glad your brother, wife and nephews are still OK in the Houston area.  Unfortunately, it sounds like there is a lot more rain to come.  Hope your knee is feeling better today.  You have about the same thing that Pat has with the degenerative arthritis in her neck so I have a good idea of what pain you are experiencing seeing how my wife suffers from it.  However, some of her pain may be the fibromyalgia as the pain moves every few days to a different part of her body.  What is going on in our world when these crazy people go into public places and kill innocent people.  I expect that will be reported in the news today.  Glad your grand daughter is OK but must really be shaken up. 

Janet, I saw the picture you posted on Facebook of Beth and her 55th birthday cake.  I hope that brightened her spirits and that she was able to enjoy some of the cake and ice cream. 

Marilyn, smokey air is certainly not something that folks with COPD or other lung problems need to be around.  Sorry to see that you are also having trouble with your right wrist.   

[Jacqueline]

Firstly a Happy but Belated Brthday to Beth...

Janice...
...what is happening to our world?...a library,    what next...I fully understand your shaking and worry of your grand daughter, when something like this happens so close to home...just thankful your g-d was safe from this maniac..

Larry Hanna...
...glad you saw the funny side in our menfolk...yes of course us women can be just as bad, if not worse...
...Larry as tough as this is walking up slope, I really need to shift some of this excess weight of mine, for my own sake...

I am not long back from my first out and about walk, left it till mid day as I wasn't feeling too confident in my walking earlier...Glad I timed it as I did as the lady from home opposite came out to specially speak to me, she is the daughter of the 90 plus lady undergoing chemo, although to see her mother you would not have a clue she is or has been dealing with cancer, she looks so neat and immaculately dressed, a slender and elegant looking mother...I have yet to introduce myself to her even though she did poke her head out of the door to briefly speak to her daughter, but she wasn't aware I had said good morning to her...My new neighbour and myself had a lengthy chat and she said after all the works they are still having done to the outside of their home, they will invite myself and Richard over for a cup of tea and a chat...I originally had thought they moved in January-February but they had a home to sell, which is now sold, so had been flitting backwards and forwards but, they are here now and settled once all the work is done and dusted...

These last four days I have met and spoken to more people on site than I have done in two plus years of living here...again it is down to me to push my body to venture out as and when..another downslope - upslope walk, after I do a slight walk to the right then the left towards the alleyway which is all on flat ground, and back, only if I trust my body to let me do it, otherwise I cut the walk short, or only turn to the one way....In the centre there is a small woodland area but the entrance is part blocked with logs, this was the walk I done with our Benji, before we lost him, but there is a slope to climb at the other end, near to the alleyway opening, which I might find tough going...so I might be stupid even thinking of giving this a go..

[Marilyn]

Jackie it is good that you get out and push yourself to maintain some sort of exercise., that will keep you able to keep moving longer.

  The smoke is not much at this time. It has been pretty damp overnight and this morning so I hope that will cut down on the smoke and ash from the fires. It was pretty bad yesterday and if the wind turns NW like the forecast says we will get a lot more smoke or if it is coming from the NW it will blow the smoke the other way.

It is terrible what is happening in Houston, Texas and other communities there. Oregon is dealing with quite a few fires but is getting a group of volunteers together to go to Texas to help there.

Larry today my wrist is not hurting at all. I must have done something to it the other day. What, I do not know.

Janet I also saw the pictures you posted on facebook of Beth's 55th birthday.

I was able to get out with Freckles this morning and not have to wear a surgical mask. I do have to be careful to take care of my lungs since I have COPD.

[Janice]

Re:  the shooting at the library...so thankful Sara, my Gr-dtr, was not harmed.  Believe it or not, the shooter was a 16 yr old sophomore in high school. How on earth did he have access of a gun?  He was a troubled kid, according to the pastor of a church where the boy had been attending a few weeks.  2 employees of the library were the 2 ladies shot dead.  Not sure the status of the 4 injured.  Sara was here at my house last night for awhile.  I asked her if the police interviewed her and she said yes.  I hope she was able to sleep.  No telling when the library will be open again, and she said she was still clocked in! 

[Marilyn]

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2017/08/more_than_320000_acres_burning.html

[Janet]

Good evening!  I'm just now getting here, very busy day again.  We had an appointment with a wonderful young woman who works for the investment company that handles our funds.  She is a delight!  Before that, it was gym, shower, errands in town, lunch, trying to get my stuff together so I can go paint tomorrow, etc., etc.  Just stuff!

Marilyn, glad the smoke settled and that your wrist stopped hurting.

Larry, always good to hear you're having a good day!  I looked to see the photos I posted on FB last night but didn't find them.  Strange.  Anyway, happy they are there!

Thanks to all who wished Beth a happy birthday.  She wasn't feeling at all well, having the mucous problem and trouble swallowing anything.  But she was happy to see her friends and me, and to have the attention. 

Janice!!  How awful that was for your granddaughter!!  To lose two co-workers, and have others wounded in front of her!  I hope she doesn't have too much trauma from it. I'm so sorry.  And to think it was just a boy who did it, so very sad.

Jackie, good that you are still getting out and walking a bit.  Good to keep moving as long as we can!

I still have stuff to do and want to get to bed early.  Tomorrow is the first day to go paint at the Main Artery, and I still have to gather up my stuff.

[Jacqueline]

One also has to think of this young boys parents, after all they brought him into this world, he is still there baby...they now have to live with the shame of how he turned out...assuming his parents are respectable living persons...I ask this question of..." what happens during a young persons life that turns them into the monster they turn into..." why do they so waste the life they have been given? and why do they take the lives of innocent victims that have so much to live for, and leave so many family's to grieve for them? How does s newborn baby turn into someone like this? Sadly this is becoming an all too familiar scene...
God gave us one life to live, we are placed into this world to live to the standards God would expect us to live...

[Jacqueline]

I always have said that for me, the early mornings are the best part of the day, well it is for dog walking...I never mentioned that some of my outside walks have been with Toby, as of this was this morning at 8.am, more so if the weather is dry, pleasant with a little fresh breeze as it was...I even bumped into the lady I met and talked with the other day, she too was out giving her small dog a short walk, and on her way back home in my opposite direction, although I was soon to follow once I reached the opening to the alleyway...We stopped and made conversation, which was very pleasant, and of course it gave Toby a few minutes of fun with her dog, although we both had our dogs on lead... I know they would have enjoyed  chasing off lead but afraid of barking dogs, or at least one excitable barking dog, my Toby would wake the whole neighbourhood up, so I had to keep him quiet as we passed by the homes, of course he spotted another dog at the top of the slope on its way coming home back down, that was a challenge for me keeping him quiet as I approached my journey back up....oh I always take some treats out with me but if he wants to bark, Toby will bark, with or without treats to temp him with keeping quiet...

[Larry Hanna]

Hi everyone. It looks like it will be another cloudy day and have a fairly good chance of rain but it is suppose to stay in the high 70's today. 

Pat and I will make a quick stop at Walmart this evening so she can get a pair of the Sholl's shoe inserts where you stand on a machine and it tells you what pair to get.  Our son has used these for several months and raves about what they have done for his feet.  He used to come home with his feet hurting very badly but the inserts have stopped that and he is on his feet for many hours at a time.  We will be in the Walmart outer ring this  evening as we are going out to eat with our son and granddaughter at the new Dairy Queen. 

I had a good dental cleaning yesterday and no new dental work needed.  This is the third good report from cleaning I have had. 

It seems the situation in Texas just gets worse by the day with new cities being flooded and more in the path of that terrible storm. There is a tropical storm off the coast of Georgia and the Carolina's that may bring problems to the coast.  Then this morning I heard there is another storm forming out in the ocean that may turn into a hurricane that could affect some of the Atlanta Coast states.  It looks like this may be a very bad year for hurricanes. 

Jackie, nice to see you are now meeting your neighbors and that you were able to get out for another walk yesterday. Nice to see the picture of your beautiful dog.  It looks like he was barking at the camera.

Marilyn, it was good to see that you were experiencing less smoke in the air yesterday.   I was also happy to read that your wrist pain had gone.  That is a lot of acreage that the fires have affected. 

Janet, hope you have a wonderful time painting with your friends.  Sorry to see that Beth wasn't feeling at all well to enjoy her birthday.  At least she was able to enjoy having family and friends there with her that made it a special day for her.   

Janice, there are many things we will never understand as to what causes people to do what they do.  Certainly this was a troubled young person who chose to destroy other's lives as will as his own. 

[Larry Hanna]

Hi everyone. We have a good chance for rain today and tomorrow and cooler temperatures.  Yesterday was a very nice weather day as well although we got only a little bit of rain.  This is coffee day with friends downtown and then I hope to go to the Wisdom Group at church.  Beyond that the day will be quiet.  Yesterday I went down and got Scott and he came out and then borrowed the Cruiser as his car needed a little repair on his brakes and the part wouldn't be available until this morning.  He will also need it in the middle of next week so told him to keep it at his house until after that as we seldom need it.  Later we met them and had our evening meal out. 

[Janet]

Good morning!

When I came to post last evening, I couldn't, as I had forgotten to charge my mouse!  This isn't a touch screen, so plugged mouse in and waited until this morning.  My old computer's mouse used batteries, so I haven't yet developed the habit of charging regularly.  Sorry, TMI, again! 

I had such a good time painting yesterday!  It has been far too long since I used my watercolors, and a lot of them were dried up, or when I tried to squeeze them out of the tubes, the tubes busted and made a mess.  So I spent too much time getting set up.  I will be better prepared next week, and will buy some new supplies.  I had Darrel stop on the way home from the gym so he could take photos of me with the wild sunflowers which are so big and lush this year.  Pat Scott Halbach has wanted so much to come to Kansas and see our sunflowers, and I wanted to send the photos to her, which I did.
And, since I had them on my phone, I painted a little card of them.  Not great, but not too bad, considering how long it's been since I used my watercolors.

Janice, any more word about the troubled teen who went off the deep end and destroyed his life, along with taking the lives of others and doing great injury to still more?  I always ask, if they want to die, why don't they take their own life first, and not kill people that they don't even know?  It just makes no sense to me.

Larry, it is so handy to have an "extra" car around, isn't it?  We are so glad we still have our old 1995 Mercury.  It runs really good, gets good mileage, and is worth more to have in emergencies than they will pay for it, even as a trade-in.  Darrel got it out yesterday, so we can drive it some and get the battery charged up good.

It is heart warming to see how the people are responding with all kinds of help for those impacted by the hurricane!  We hear so much of the bad news, but there are so many good people in our country, and this event is showcasing the goodness of so many, from all over the country!  Praise the Lord! I cannot imagine what those in the flooded areas are going through, but so happy they are getting help from so many.

It is past time for us to go to the gym, so I'd better get with the program!  Later, Peeps!

[Janet]

Janice, if you pop in, check your email.  I sent you one!

[Larry Hanna]

Hi everyone. The day begins with some sunshine but we do have an 80% chance of some rain this afternoon.  We did get a brief shower yesterday afternoon after having severe thunderstorm warning for our area during the afternoon.  It is to be in the low 80's again today. 

Pat suggested that we go out to breakfast this morning, something we haven't done in a long time.  We need to take a birthday card for her sister  to the post office as Pat thinks it will need additional postage and then we will probably stop at Aldi's for a few items.  There is nothing else on the schedule for today.  Last evening I watched the first half of the Indiana/Ohio State football game as the college football season got underway with just a few games.  The golf tournament didn't start on the normal Thursday but will start today and continue through Monday. 

Janet, I hope you will post a picture of your sunflower painting when it is finished.  I didn't realize that water colors came in a tube as all I have ever seen were dry and then water was put on them to use them.  I am certainly not tuned in to the art world.    Glad you had an enjoyable day yesterday.  I also wonder why people just don't hurt or kill themselves and leave innocent people alone.  Obviously something is amiss in their minds.  I was talking with a lady yesterday whose daughter-in-law committed suicide a few weeks ago and she was speaking of how that event had about destroyed their family, especially a 17 year old young son.  We can never know what tips the scales to cause such events.  Having the second car has proven to be helpful to our family several times since we moved here.  Often it just sits in the garage and I have to make a special effort to take it out and drive it a few miles once a week or so.  However, it has come in handy for our son as he has only one car that is running and it gives him a backup when he needs it and is therefore worth keeping.   

[Ruth Ann Bice]

Hi, friends,

I've enjoyed being online this afternoon with y'all. So, many topics, and each of them interesting.

My sister in law is still hospitalized. We are trying to get the kitty a new home. I'm supposed to hear soon if the lady really intends to take him.

I'm rejoicing that my Houston son is safe for now from the floods. The water came to the door, but not inside his apartment.

It was difficult to sleep last night. The remnants of the hurricane have been in Nashville, so either one electronic device or another was constantly sending weather alerts - tornado alerts and flash flood alerts - almost all night. In one location there was almost 10 inches of rain!

I must go to feed that little kitty. Y'all have a good day.

Ruth Ann

[Janet]

Oh, my!  It is nearly four and I just had lunch!  I got out our new electric pressure cooker,
and it took a while of reading the instructions to learn how to use it. But it cooked a small pork roast in just over an hour!  I think we will enjoy it, if we will just use it!  Darrel pulled and brought in a few beets, so I cooked those; a friend I painted with Wednesday gave me some really small yellow squashes, so I cooked some bacon crisp, crumbled it and fried the squash in with it, along with some pizza peppers out of the garden.  Yummy!  In the middle of all that, Curtis and Toni (Grandkids) showed up, so we had to visit some.  Anyhow.....here I am.

Beth is not at all well today, in fact she looks terrible, and can't eat because she's having terrible pain in her mouth!    I went and read to her a while, until she fell asleep.  How I pray the Lord will heal her, or at least take away the pain.

I pulled a good one yesterday!  I fell off the treadmill, walking at 4 MPH.  That hurt!!   The thing can abrade the skin off you very quickly!  But I got up and finished a mile and a half, then did some weight work and abdominals.  Oh, I was trying to step off for a minute, and missed the side rail with my left foot, so it wasn't entirely just being clumsy!    Anyway, I'm sore today, so didn't work out as hard this morning.

Darn!  I hate this keyboard!  I have typed the same paragraph four times, and it keeps disappearing, all except the first few words!  I am giving up for now, maybe I will try again later.

And I'm sorry the print is so small.  Must not have hit the size right!  Not my day today!

[Janet]

It's me again!  What I was trying to tell you was that my granddaughter Abby was in a vehicle accident yesterday in Manhattan, Kansas. Another college student, a boy, pulled out of a parking lot too fast, and when she realized he hadn't seen her, she slammed on her brakes, he swerved, but hit her and hit another vehicle!  Thank God, she wasn't hurt, but her car had to be towed to a body shop.  Today his insurance said they will provide her a rental car until she gets hers back.  So she is on her way home now.  She loves her car, so I'm glad it can be repaired.  It's a big car, sort of an SUV style,  and she told me she plans on it lasting through college and at least her first child after she marries.   She doesn't currently have a boyfriend, and seems content with that, and we are all really happy about it, too!  She is too busy for a boyfriend right now!

[Jacqueline]

There was a time I would tell anyone who was looking to do exercise or to lose weight....dont pay money to go to the gym, get out there and do a walk, look at the scenery, be amongst nature...you have a good pair of legs, and best of all, walking is FREE...Well of course I told anyone that who would listen, believing everyone has the capabilities for walking, WRONG, we so take our legs and feet for granted, I have found that out, even I should have walked my three dogs more than I once did, as sadly my three dogs aren't here anymore....we dont know what we have until its gone, so much is taken for granted...

[Larry Hanna]

Hi everyone. It looks like we are going to have a sunny day with the high in the upper 80's this afternoon.  I am looking forward to a pleasant day.  My morning kitchen chores have been completed and  plan on attending a meeting this morning and then spending the remainder of the day resting and watching college football and perhaps a little of the golf match. 

Ruth Ann, I hope the lady will take the cat and thus relieve you of those daily duties.  It is pretty obvious that your SIL is not likely to ever be in the condition to care for it again.  Glad your Houston son is safe and without damage.  They said yesterday that the waters were receding quickly in that area and now the cleanup begins.  I heard that Nashville was really getting pounded and the rain is continuing toward the NE.

Janet, hope you will like your new electric pressure cooker.  Glad you were not seriously hurt on the treadmill accident.  So sorry that Beth is not doing well and hope today finds her doing better.  I wish I had a suggestion for you regarding your new keyboard but really have never experienced that problem.  Sure glad that Abby wasn't hurt in the car accident.  Often young people think they can drive fast and often get themselves into trouble.  Glad her car can be repaired and that her insurance doesn't have to pay the bills so her rates shouldn't go up. 

Jackie, your comments are so true.  We often think we know what someone else  should be doing but how could we as we don't live in their mind or body and thus cannot know what is right for someone else regardless of how well intentioned our suggestions may be. 

[Jacqueline]

Not one of my better days but, not one of my worst...I haven't ventured out on any of my short walks...my MS is not only affecting my walking and my stomach, but is also affecting my head, eyesight and ears, feels like my hearing is part blocked and a slight mild ringing sensation...this too shall wear itself out...I just have to listen to my body, then act on what it is telling me..