Daily Check In Thread For All!!! #154

Good morning, friends...
Cold day expected, in the 50's and yesterday it was 80 degrees So many things I wish to respond ....please forgive if I'm brief.

Jamie, hope your anger has subsided and you're feeling better.

Karen, Did you and Jasmine have a 'dance'? hehehe.
Your contract situation brought up (bad) memories. We had a similar situation TWICE. ....and had to pay one of them (dumpster). The second was paid off by the company we were changing to. Good luck!

Lynnwood, Hope you do go and visit friend...but stay away from DOORS!

Myself, You certainly give good advice and suggestions,,,and work hard.

Trina, I'll look into the norovirus situation. Must admit I've never tried any protection options...shots etc.
AND....Happy Anniversary...did your husband remember?

Joan, Lack of health can get us down, can't it. I'm frustrated over my garden this year...No energy to keep the weeds in check. Of course, part of the problem is there are over eleven acres.

Hope, thanks for your thoughts about my recent loss. We were married for 53 years...Hope your pain lets up. Not being able to type is not my aches.

Tim, decided to "respond" to your posts separately. First, I need another cup of coffee. See you later.

~ Joyce

Monday Smiler – Oct 31
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Did you know
The fear of Halloween is called Samhainophobia

Have you ever wondered?
Halloween Jack o' Lantern comes from an Irish folk tale about a mean old man named Stingy Jack.

When Jack died, he was sent off to roam earth with only a burning coal for light. He put the coal into a turnip as a lantern, and Stingy Jack became “Jack of the Lantern” or “Jack o’ Lantern.”

Based on this myth, the Irish carved scary faces into large turnips, beets and potatoes to scare away Stingy Jack or any other spirits of the night.

Daffynition:
Pocahontas — A card game that comes back to scare you.

Happy Halloween!

Was in the 80's yesterday...only in the 50's today. Temperature changes are wreaking havoc on me!

Tomorrow and Wednesday are supposed to be back up in the 70's! At least it will be mild for me to change the outdoor decorations from Halloween to Thanksgiving.

Lisa bought me new lights for the archway. They look like red and yellow flower petals. Can't wait to see how they look when lit. Should give a nice warm glow. I'll use the string of lights she bought me last year along the patio. I'm so excited about the 3.5 ft inflatable turkey we got for the back flower bed. So glad we got the outdoor outlet installed for it. So much else I've accumulated in the bin!

Trying to figure out how to get my nephew from Tampa, Fl. to N.J. where I live. He's struggling with alcoholism and his family down there doesn't know what to do! Having been through this myself, I think he'll stand a better chance up here. We have so many resources that I know about here...don't know much about Florida.

Hoping everyone is having a good day today.

Turtle, So very sorry your having to struggle with that and the paperwork mess.
Sorry, I've not been on for awhile, it's been busy since the wedding and I plan to get back soon, but I also have a broken toe, x-ray confirmed and it broke a few days before daughters wedding...
Love y'all and wishing everyone better days, keep positive and stay strong, even if it's just one day at a time.
It doesn't have to be fast!

Karen, last year I planted mums, eight of them. Only 3 survived and returned. Two red, one white. Up here, we treat them more like annuals. The good news is the prices are quite reasonable. I have 2 Montauk daisies that I planted last year that are awesome this year. I also picked up 3 more small plants, that if they make it through winter, I will have to find room for in the flower bed. The 'trick' is to bunch pots together. The 'treat' is, longer lasting color.

I've been trying to find more plants that bloom later in the season or have colorful foliage this time of year. I've spotted a shrub that I must find the name of, as it blooms NOW! There is also a vine that is similar to jasmine, growing at one of the local shopping centers. I may try to get a cutting as it also blooms now. Stretching the blooming season is a challenge, but so much fun!

Hellbores bloom while snow is still on the ground. I'm still searching for snow drop bulbs. I planted crocus, anemone, Puschkinia, Chionodoxa, and Fritilaria this year. Some are 'early' bloom, some 'mid' bloom, some 'late' bloom. My daffodils do me proud every year.

Early start...late finish. The only months that are bare are December, January and February. That's why I feed the birds. Cardinals with their crimson feathers and Blue Jays, black capped chickadees, gray and black tufted titmouse, the occasional red headed woodpecker, these bring life and color to the winter landscape.

I also have a red twigged dogwood and a rose bush that has canes that turn maroon in winter. I have one yew that stays green and has red berries on it, and of course, the pyracanthus with it's orange berries. So many ways to keep color year round.

Between the plants and the various holiday decorations, I always have something to look at outside! It has inspired a few of my neighbors to keep the color and interest going throughout the year as well!

These are just some of the ways I fight the 'winter blues'.

Tuesday Smiler – Nov 1
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Do you know
The descriptive word for “cat lovers” …..ailurophiles

Stuff you didn't know you didn't know!
Isaac Newton is credited with inventing the cat door

In 1963 the first cat in space was French. She was named Felicette, or “Astrocat.” She survived the trip.

Abraham Lincoln kept four cats in the White House.
When asked if her husband had any hobbies, Mrs. Lincoln is said to have replied “cats.”

Black cats are bad luck in the United States, but they are good luck in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Male cat owners tend to be luckier in love, as they are thought to be more sensitive.

Some research does suggest that dogs are slightly smarter than cats, but cat owners might have a different opinion on that.


Just a groaner
What do you get when you cross a black cat with a lemon.
___________A sour-puss.

WOW, Karen...the cat experience you had with the chair was amazing. !!!! Maybe it was Grandpa's way to give you his love in his old...and your new home

Joyce: (PA--grandma):

Thanks for the nice note.

Have been enjoying the Smilers. I need the rest.

Those were difficult years, but it was actually 29 bad years. You had 35 years of a good marriage? For me, that's difficult to believe.

You're right. I'm not alone. I do have my dog. She's right beside me even as type. We'll be taking a walk later today. She and I are both looking forward to it, getting out of the house.

I've always loved dogs. Have two pictures of me at 2, squatting down and petting a dog (ours?) that was laying down in our front yard, showing I've always been attracted to dogs.

At 4 1/2 when I decided to go see my dad at work, my dog went with me, and he got across a busy road barking at some chickens and I'm calling "Chipper, Chipper," cause I can't even get across the road myself.

A lady stopped her car, opened the passenger side door, and said, "Get in!"

I got in and she said, "Where do you live?!" I pointed to the roads she should take, and she took me to my front door and knocked.

My mother opened the door and said, "I didn't even know he was gone."

I tell you what, if you survived childhood in my family, you were going to be some kinda tough.

Also, by that lady stopping and helping, shows you don't have to wait until tragedy starts.

You can put the clues together, figure out what's going to happen if this pattern continues, and step in and prevent it. This lady did. Hundreds of others passed it by. Talk about appreciating as an adult what she did.

I've had a dog ever since. I've got one right now sitting five feet from me. I've always had a dog.

Fifty three years. In thought it was up there, but I didn't think it could be that much.

Now that you're single, are a senior citizen and have emotional problems (depression), you've got to watch out for those scam calls. You're now in a different league than you were when your husband was alive.

Your furniture is the same, your house is the same, but your number has drifted down to 1, the lowest possible. Meaning you're the most vulnerable to certain types.

You've got a car, might have a little money laying around the house or in a bank account, you're perceived differently by certain types. It's no longer "the Jones live down the street," it's this "elderly lady lives by herself."

Uh, oh. The "Jones" is plural. "Elderly woman lives down the street" is singular. One has a man, one does not. One has backup, one does not. Word will get around.

"Knock, knock, knock" on the door sounds different when you live alone than it does if you have someone else living with you.

Post Edited (Tim Tam) : 11/1/2016 10:24:03 AM (GMT-6)

Joyce: (PA_grandma):

Thanks for your nice message.

I've been wanting to tell about my website name of Tim Tam, but no one has asked beside you.

Tim Tam was the name of a racehorse from the 1950s that I have heard many times but did not think he had won any major races, but just looked it up on the net and found that he did, which is why I've heard his name so much.

It turns out, in 1958 he won the Kentucky Derby--horse racing's biggest prize--and he also won the next major race, The Preakness in Baltimore, Md., but was injured in the Belmont States in New York City so he did not win the Triple Crown.

But when I hear them talking about some of horse racing's biggest stars--"Tim Tam"--it just slays me.

So that's why I choose it.

My name is actually Tom.

My dog is a Beagle, and his name is Tim Tam. I have high hopes of him winning the Kentucky Derby one year. That's why I take him for a walk every day. He's in training. Look for him at next year's event. He'll be the only Beagle in the race.

He can out run me, and several squirrels in my neighborhood, so why can't he win the Derby?

You domesticated a feral cat? Pretty good. How difficult was that to do?

The cat's 10. Tim Tam, I mean, "Beagle" (that's his name), is about 9. We adopted "Beagle" also, or found him as a stray.

You said, "Stock up on ideas....I expect to be asking for help again before the month is over!!!"

After I typed my above post to you, I re-read the dog story and downloaded some of those accounts in preparation for any future entries.

Hey, do me a favor, take good care of yourself.

Post Edited (Tim Tam) : 11/1/2016 12:22:06 PM (GMT-6)

Lucky you! Let me know what shows you are seeing!

Just had a fascinating discussion about history. I love it when a curious kid asks smart questions.

Cool and overcast here. Tired.

no, not taking it personally. jaded, yes, a tad perplexed. anyway I need to follow my heart. thx all. hope you are all well.