December 31, 2021 - Msg 117470: Happy New Year 2022 to all my Mayberry friends!
--Floyd
January 01, 2022 - Msg 117471:
HIYA FLOYD, I see that you Ten-Foured the porch
for new year's! ha
Happy New Year to you and yours. And thanks again for another good one on the porch!
God bless you,
MDC :)
January 01, 2022 - Msg 117472: Thanks MDC! I hate I don't visit here more but there are only so many hours in the day and I have a lot of irons in the fire.
--Floyd
January 01, 2022 - Msg 117473: Happy New Year, porch friends! My daughter gave me 5 seasons of Andy on DVD. I’ve been having fun brushing up on my quotes! Thought I’d just come sit for a spell.
Nice to see you, MDC and Floyd! Floyd, You’ve got the porch looking might spic and span today!
Charlotte Tucker
January 01, 2022 - Msg 117474: Happy New Year to all and thanks for the clean porch,Floyd!

************
possum u.a.r.
January 01, 2022 - Msg 117475: Glad to be able to sweep up the porch to begin the new year. The "archives" have also been updated and are ready for what comes in 2022.
--Floyd
January 02, 2022 - Msg 117476: Thanks Floyd, and Happy New Year!

Boo
January 04, 2022 - Msg 117477:

Hello All!
I hope everyone had a good New Year's Day.
Being a 'sentimentalist,' I really miss the 4 bowl games that
used to be played on the 1st...Rose, Cotton, Orange, and Sugar.
I would always catch a bit of each one, and the networks would
space them out to make that possible. Oh well, life moves on I guess.
Wow, lots happeniing around the country to
start the new year. If Spot were still working
I'm sure he would be out with the crews to restore power
on his corner of the porch. I hope Possum is doing
OK as well as others in those areas. So bad about Colorado.
We are doing OK here. Took down the last of our Christmas
decorations today. Tuesday will be 'tree day' to get all the ornaments off
of it.
I missed Tags tonite and watched the Roadshow instead.
Please check in when ya can.
Prayers for our world,
MDC :)
January 04, 2022 - Msg 117478: Yep MDC, guess you could say we are unlucky and now we all have Covid. lol. Emily caught it from her grandmother and passed it to all of us I guess. Just bad cold symptoms, can’t taste or smell and it takes a long time to get better it seems. Prayers please❤️

Boo
January 04, 2022 - Msg 117479: PS- we have all been vaccinated so are having relatively mild symptoms so should be ok

Boo
January 04, 2022 - Msg 117480: prayers for Boo and her family
Big Maude
January 04, 2022 - Msg 117481: Prayers for you all Boo. I am so sorry to hear that.
Debbie spent 3 days in the hospital last week and last night they called to inform us that we had possibly been exposed to it. That was 5 days ago and so far no symptoms. We have both been vaccinated and boosted so I that helps.
You guys are in my prayers Boo.

Asa
January 05, 2022 - Msg 117482: Good morning, porch! Well, it looks like things aren't changing much, in spite of being in a brand-new year. Maybe it just takes a little time. The political scene is still a comedy of errors. I always thought comedies were supposed to be funny! The circus continues, and don't bother to send in the clowns - they're here! There are little glimmers of hope, however. I just keep praying.

Asa, prayers continue for you and Debbie. I'm glad you're vaccinated. You definitely don't need Covid. My David and his family were all sick last weekend, and we didn't get to have our turkey dinner. However, he's back to work, Hudson is back in school, Brittney is still feeling a little rough, but all have agreed that whatever they had felt more like a plain old cold, nothing like the Covid they had a few months ago. I think we've come to the point where if anybody sneezes, we all run from them, hoping to outrun the "Covid" that we're just sure they must have. I can remember having colds that made me feel just awful, lasted for several days, and I just sneezed, blew my nose, felt terrible and toughed it out. Today, I would be isolated, avoided like a leper, and another tick-mark would be added to the Covid list by my doctor.

Thank you, those of you who prayed for my friend Pat and her husband. Robert passed yesterday afternoon. Pat is grieving, but a tremendous burden has been lifted from her. Robert is now with his Lord, and Pat is grateful for that. She will miss him, but is glad he is no longer in such misery, and can now resort to her memories of him when he was healthy and strong. Personally, I have learned the joy of those memories of better times. Because my Dale was taken at age 58, those good memories are all I have. I never saw him old and stooped, bent and in pain. For me, he will always be 58, tall and strong, laughing and full of fun. I didn't know it at the time, but when he left this world with no warning, at just 58, I was spared years of watching him slowly decline. I missed him terribly, because I couldn't see the future possibilities, could only see that the happiness we were enjoying had ended so abruptly. Over the last few years, I've witnessed many women friends, as they lead their husbands by the hand to keep them from getting lost, or try to keep them calm when Alzheimer's muddles their perception of their surroundings. God can be trusted to do whatever is best for us. We don't always understand, but that doesn't diminish the wisdom of His choices for us. God is good, all the time.

Boo, praying that you and yours will recover very soon. Apparently you're having a relatively light run of this monster, and the good news is that having had it, you will have some measure of immunity to it, at least for a while.

Well, better get busy. I've got a meeting at the church at noon, and some errands to run along the way. Trinket will be miffed at being left behind, but churches and grocery stores are terribly narrow-minded about the presence of dogs, so she has to stay home. She forgives me immediately when I return, however, and we'll have some cuddle time in the recliner this afternoon. She's such a sweet little thing!

Blessings, friends, and keep looking up! --Romeena
January 05, 2022 - Msg 117483: Just checking in to let everyone know I'm still above ground. Still trying so very hard to learn how to walk through this world without my only child and still crying most of the day every day.
I spent 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year's with his babies and that helped my heart so much. There was a lot of crying out of me and the kids. They are having a hard time, especially his daughter. Please continue to lift us up in prayer and love and light.

*Mavis
January 05, 2022 - Msg 117484: Prayers for you and your grand babies , Mavis.
You and Jacobs children will certainly honor his life as you will take hm with you in your hearts and minds everyday .
Prayers ,
Big Maude

January 05, 2022 - Msg 117485:

Hi All,
Mavis, my prayers do indeed continue for you and your family.
May you feel the hug of Jesus during this time.
ASA-so sorry to hear that you may have been exposed.
Keep up the proactive approach with zinc and vitamins
for your immune system.
RO-I'll tic a lock regarding your first paragraph above, other than to say that
yes, all three rings seem to be going right now! ha As for what you said about colds, etc...that is the problem now, everyone just expects it to be covid when it is probably the many other viruses that are out there this time of year. I am just trying to live as normally as possible, being proactive,
and keeping my eye on the Prize as I run the race.
I shall continue to keep Pat in my prayers.

Well, I gotta talk some tags. Tonight's first ep:
"IthinkIveheardjustaboutenoughaboutthattomata"
That will tell everyone which episode was on! haha
and in the second ep tonight:
"rubber baby buggy bumpers" Love that show! :)

A question just out of curiosity:
Does anyone else here ever give a Christmas gift to your
mail carrier or trash collector?
We have for many years...a Whitman's Sampler to both.
In fact, when our long-time mailman retired several years ago,
he said, "You know, I may just come by for my box of candy each year!" ha
My mom and dad used to do the same thing, and I have just carried on
their tradition.
The last of our Christmas trimmings were put away today.
Keep safe my friends,
Breakfast on me at Waffle House Thursday!
Prayers,
MDC :)


January 05, 2022 - Msg 117486:

Oh, hey to big maude.

January 06, 2022 - Msg 117487: Make sure Debbie is getting daily vitamin D3, Asa.

Love you, Mavis.

Thanks Ro, we are improving. Erin and I had a light case of the crud, Bruce and Sean were hit the hardest but I dont think it is covid because Bruce was tested at work and was negative. I think its just the crud. Of course Emily and Matt both are covid positive but not very ill and we were closed up with them for a week, so..we will see. For now, Bruce is really the only one suffering. He sounds like a dying goose. lol

I have the decorations down except for the tree. I think I will keep it up for awhile because we are still enjoying it. I am still waiting for someone to be well enough to bring my containers down from the attic to put away the decorations that are all on the kitchen table waiting to be packed away. I like the feeling of everything being less cluttered, for sure!

Oh, here is a laundry tip: I somehow washed a pen with my vintage christmas table cloth! It had some huge ink stains on it so I tried oxyclean non-chlorine whitener and soaked it for hours. It is almost completely out and the white is brighter. Just in case you ever need to know.

Boo
January 06, 2022 - Msg 117488:

Good evening! BOO--I am happy to hear that you only had
some other mild kind of virus. Prayers for Bruce however! Poor guy!
We have used oxi-clean in the past for soaking
out stains, and it has worked quite well!

A funny line from tonight's tags:
"Yup, she's still ugly, single, and pittin' prunes." :)
The second ep was not a fav, but I liked Howard Morris as the TV guy.
And, BTW, the man who plays the game warden is the guy who says,
"The Andy Griffith Show" in the opening credits, but I'm sure that
ya all know that! :)

As most of you know, I put up a rather large front yard display each year, and
so I still have many strings of mini-lights that are not led.
So every year I have to get out my "Light Keeper." It is a great little
device that helps find burnt out bulbs on a light set.
It is about 10 years old now, but still works great.

Well, hang in there, and God bless,
MDC


January 07, 2022 - Msg 117489: Good afternoon, porch! It's cold and gray outside, skies look lead, at 46°. After several very cold days and below-freezing nights, we seem to be heading for a warmer spell. Personally, I'm ready! It's too bad that freezing temperatures don't kill viruses.

MDC, are you talking about that little red gun that will reset the lights and get a string going again? I've got one of those, have had it for a lot of years, and it works on incandescent lights just beautifully! I don't have many of those anymore, almost all LED, but still have incandescents for the rooftop lights. That little gun was quite inexpensive, as I recall, and was worth its weight in gold on a rainy afternoon when the lights just wouldn't work.!

Mavis, you are still in my prayers. I, too, know what it is to lose a son. Not my only child, but my firstborn son nevertheless. Much like losing a spouse, it never gets easy, but it does eventually get less hard. You learn to cope. Just keep leaning on the Lord. He will not move away from you. Just be sure you don't move away from Him. Much love....

You people that have to start yanking the Christmas stuff down so early! I know I should, but I just can't. Just last night, I moved several tree ornaments to a different spot on the tree because I thought they looked better there. I'll still be doing that, probably on the night before I take the tree down! I enjoy the decorations so much, I just see no point in taking them down until I feel like doing so, and right now, I don't! In fact, I just ordered some soft-glow metallic red wrapping paper from Amazon. David and Brittany gave me a pair of stocking hangers - two adorable snowmen, about 8.5" tall, each wearing a black and white checked top hat, and a gold monocle. They look like English gentlemen. They're sitting on the mantle with about two dozen other snowmen, some are beanie babies, and other figures. The stocking holders blend in and aren't noticed, so I'm going to use the paper to make a Christmassy backdrop for them, to set them apart. They're from the Mackenzie Childs collection, thus the black and white checks. That's the trademark of that line. Last year they gave me a 3' tall metal moose, with black and white checked antlers. She's wearing a long red robe, and holding a silver scepter. I named her Chris Moose. There's a whole lovely line of Mackenzie Childs Christmas figures, and David says they're going to build me a collection of them. I said hooray! I found their website, and anything I saw there would be forever welcome in my home!

Well, guess I'll go cuddle Trinket for a while. It's warm in the house, but still has that chilly feeling that you just can't seem to get rid of in weather like this. So, I'll get under a warm throw (thanks, Boo) and get a warm puppy under there with me, and we'll have a lovely evening. Maybe I'll make some popcorn. We both like it!

Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena
January 07, 2022 - Msg 117490: Oops! There, that should do it! --Romeena
January 07, 2022 - Msg 117491: Thanks MDC, Bruce went to see his dr who loaded him up with steroids and what=not so he is feeling much better today. By the way, Bruce still uses his light gun on the outside lights every year and he has had it for about ten years. He told me that next year, all lights are going to be LED. He is done with the incandescents.

Romeena, glad you are still enjoying your warm throw and your Christmas decor. I like the Mackenzie Childs decorations. If they are buying it for you, they are not cheapskates; good for them! I had to smile at what you said about rearranging the ornaments on the tree. I was just thinking that I may add some more colored lights to my tree to enjoy for awhile. lol

The weather here is pretty gray and cold, too. I have had a nice fire going all day and evening. I love it..just been mostly resting up today and watching tv. If you have Hulu or get ABC, there is a series that started yesterday that is biographical, about Emmett Till and his mother Mamie. I watched the first two eps and they were amazing. I cried in the second ep when Mamie sees Emmett's body for the first time. It's very emotional but an important series that I hope many people will watch. Its called The Women of the Movement, if you are interested.

I've been watching alot of TAGS on Pluto TV. They run it 24/7 and its great! I had not watched much for a long time because I couldnt get it since we dont have regular cable, just roku and I had to pay for each episode. I have dvd's but my dvd player went out. Anyway, been enjoying it!

Wanted to give you an update on Erin. She is sad off and on, mostly because she missed the little girl, but she is doing pretty well and still plans to leave for Missouri at the end of the month. Please pray she follows the right path. Thanks!

Boo
January 07, 2022 - Msg 117492:

"Chris-moose" haha, I get it. Cute! (:


January 08, 2022 - Msg 117493: Was “Chris Moose” also a “Moosesketeer” back in the day? Just Curious...🤔

I’ve been busy trying to decipher this Medicare stuff as I quickly approach that decision...My situation is kinda different since I was a State Employee with a State funded pension. During my entire 38 year career I did not pay into the Federal Social Security system. So my situation is rather tricky..And VERY frustrating to deal with!!...
Part A?...Part B?... Part C?...Oh My!...JJ Walker & Joe Namath will you help me get all my FREE STUFF!...*What a joke those two are!..Amen?....

G-Frustration
January 08, 2022 - Msg 117494: Good morning, porch! Gray and drizzly here this morning, temp around 50°, but feels much colder. I've got my thermostat on 75°, and the house still feels cold! "I wonder what causes that?" Maybe I'll go move Chris Moose from her place of honor in front of the fireplace, and light a fire. It won't do a lot to help, since it's no longer a wood-burner, has gas logs instead now, but maybe it will help. It does produce heat, but nothing like it did when it was a wood-burner. When we burned wood in it, you could stand 20 feet away and feel the warmth from it, after it would build up a bed of coals. Now, you have to be within about 8 feet to really feel any warmth. Oh well, it's still pretty, and does produce a little warmth.

G-F, I'm with you. I don't know which of the two is the more obnoxious - Joe or JJ. Joe is just, well, smarmy, as he rubs his hands together, like a fly "praying" over whatever he's sitting on, - and JJ sounds like a potential looter. "It's Freeeeeee!" Annoying!!! And they're on about every 15 minutes!

Boo, when I went to the Mackenzie Childs website, to see what other things they had to offer, I was horrified to learn how expensive their products are! I'm very flattered that my kids are willing to buy those decorations for me, I am enjoying them immensely, and you can bet that they will all be willed to the givers when the time comes. That's my standard wish for when I leave this world - all gifts to me will be returned to the givers, unless otherwise specified, for appropriate reasons. Gifts from my parents to me will be passed to my children, taking into account what's appropriate for whom, and whether they want/need/or will use the item.

Well, I'm craving a bowl of warm soup, a fire in the fireplace, my warm lap throw, and a warm puppy alongside. Sounds like a good way to spend a chilly afternoon. Blessings, friends! Keep looking up! --Romeena
January 09, 2022 - Msg 117495:
GOOD SABBATH to all!
Today's sermon: What's Your Hurry? by Dr. Breen. :)

GF and RO, now George Foreman is also doing those commercials!
I thought medicare enrollment stopped on Dec. 7, why are they still hawking it? They sound like midway carnys!
RO and BOO--YES! That little red gun, what a lifesaver!
Speaking of those kind of lights, I once read a short story
about Thomas Edison called The Incandescent Genius. It was very good
about his untold HOURS of working to find just the right filament to work in his light bulb invention. He would work days on end with just catnaps now and then. Here
is a short paragraph from the story. Quite a man:
"By January 1879, at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, Edison had built his first high resistance, incandescent electric light. It worked by passing electricity through a thin platinum filament in the glass vacuum bulb, which delayed the filament from melting. Still, the lamp only burned for a few short hours. In order to improve the bulb, Edison needed all the persistence he had learned years before in his basement laboratory. He tested thousands and thousands of other materials to use for the filament. He even thought about using tungsten, which is the metal used for light bulb filaments now, but he couldn't work with it given the tools available at that time."

We have been having a string of really nice weather here
lately, mostly sunny, but with some high clouds now and then.
BOO-thank you for the update on Erin. Glad that things are a little better these days.
Remind me again why she is going ti Missouri?
How's Sean's job going?

Peace of Jesus to all, :)
MDC



January 09, 2022 - Msg 117496: Good evening, porch. It has been a quiet, peaceful, restful day here today. I went to SS and church this morning, so glad I did. After Robert's passing this week, Pat naturally was not there to teach our class, but we have two or three other gals in the class who do an excellent job of subbing when needed. Our pastor had arranged for the president of Southwestern Seminary to preach for us during the worship hour, and he did an excellent job. I almost didn't go, arthritis in my ankles and wrists this week has been pretty painful, but I just took some Advil and went on. So glad I did. That dadburn stuff is such a nuisance. I now know what my dad meant when he would refer to his as "traveling arthritis." It does travel. One week it will be in my hands and wrists, then it might move to my hip joints, or my ankles, and is always in my neck. Then it turns up in just one knee. The other one, the one with the replacement of the demolished ACL, never hurts, though the doc says it has no cartilege, is just bone rubbing on bone. I can feel that, feel it grating, but it doesn't hurt. Go figure.

Yes, MDC, I've seen George Foreman's commercial for Medicare, but he's nowhere near as annoying as the other two. At least not yet. By the time that thing runs for the thousandth time, it will get pretty annoying too.

I didn't even go to lunch with friends today. I just picked up something and came home. Trinket and I have spent the day cuddled in my recliner, snoozing, watching TV, just totally wasted the day, I guess, but it was so cozy. It's been 50° all day, but felt colder. Very damp and drizzly-looking, and even with the thermostat set at 75°, I was still enjoying that warm throw. Good puppy-snuggling weather, and Trinket is a past master at snuggling. Gotta love the little rascal!

Actually, I did one constructive thing. My metallic red wrapping paper I ordered was delivered. So, I drew a simple, cute little Christmas Tree figure as a guide, cut out two trees from some light cardboard, covered it neatly with the red paper, and stood it behind my new Mackenzie Childs stocking hangers - the two snowmen. Now they stand out from the other soft, stuffed snowmen standing shoulder to shoulder behind and around them. They're very visible now, and I just love them!

Well, the Dick Van Dyke show is about to start, think I'll go watch that, followed by Barney Miller. I still like the good old shows. Most of the new stuff on TV today falls under the heading of trash in my opinion. We old gals get like that as we get older!

Blessings, friends! Keep looking up! --Romeena
January 11, 2022 - Msg 117497:

Good evening porchsters. Pretty slow lately here. I sure hope everyone is OK.
In last night's episode of the rehab of Otis, Otis mentions about
Barney having a three-party line, but I thought the whole town
was ONE incoming line, and thus the need for Sarah. Remember how Mr. Tucker complained because the whole town was tied up due
to the two ladies talking about their sore feet. (I wonder what causes that?) ha Once again, I've seen them all too many times, I guess. :)

RO--have you ever tried tumeric for your joints?
It sure helps me. Just wondering.
Very cool about the red wrapping behind the snowman!
Glad you made it to church. Being a 'live' assembly is important, especially
in this world of TV. My opinion of course, but interaction with other real
people is essential I believe.

HEY TO BOO, MD, GF, JM, BILLY RAY, MAUDIE, NN, KY GIRL, MEDWIN, STERLING, SPOTTY, POSSUM, CHARLOTTE, AND ALL! Love ya,
MDC
January 12, 2022 - Msg 117498: Good morning, porch! It's a beautiful, bright and sunny day here on my end of the porch. A bit chilly at 56°, but heading for the 60's. Almost feels like spring, but then I know we still have February to go - drizzly, drippy, chilly February, and then windy, blustery March, but April comes next! Beautiful, mild, gentle April, with little green things popping up everywhere! It will come, eventually. It's one of my favorite months, as the things I planted in the fall and forgot, pop up and announce their presence. So much fun!

Hey, MDC. Yes, I've tried turmeric, and it felt like it was burning a hole in my stomach. Maybe I need to try it in a different form. A time-release capsule might work. I know it's powerful stuff, and since it's an ingredient in the yellow mustard that stops leg cramps in their tracks, I know it can do wonders. I'll talk to my pharmacist and see if she can suggest a different form of it.

As for live church attendance, I agree totally. As Hebrews 10:25 tell us: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” I think that's pretty clear, and becoming more appropriate every day. I'm grateful for the online services, because it lets the elderly, housebound, ill members of our church body still attend and be a part of things, but we all need the physical presence of friends and fellow believers, to bolster our connection and provide fellowship with other believers. Sometimes it's hard, on a cold Sunday morning, to drag myself away from my warm bed and equally warm, snuggled-up puppy, and get dressed and drive to church, but I can't deny how much better I feel on the way home! We need that contact, for reassurance, confirmation, emotional and spiritual support, and strengthening of bonds. My church is my extended family, and I need their presence in my life.

Well, better get busy around here. My Christmas stuff is all still up, and I'm not ready to take it down, so I won't. No law against it (yet) and I enjoy it, so what's the hurry? I've got plenty of things to do besides that, so maybe I should do some of them. A little dusting, and vacuuming come to mind. I don't try to do the whole house at once anymore, like I used to do. I do one or two rooms at a time these days, and that works fine. Trinket will get up on one of the sofas and bark at the vacuum as it goes by, the little goose. She's so funny. She's totally baffled at David's house. He has a Roomba thing, named it Marty, and when Marty goes by Trinket is fascinated, but steers clear of him. I'd love to have one of those, but they don't do too well in soft carpets, and my living area is sunken 6" from the rest of the house, with three different step-ups to exit the room. A Roomba would be totally confused. Oh well, as expensive as they are, I don't need one anyway. Would be fun, though, just to watch Trinket trying to deal with it!

Blessings, friends! Keep looking up! --Romeena
January 13, 2022 - Msg 117499:

Hello all! (Or should I say, Hi RO! haha)
Sure hope y'all are doing OK.
RO--people have often told me that I have a 'cast iron' stomach!
Tumeric, oregano, fish oil, peppers, hot sauces, etc etc just don't bother me. I have never tried SUPER hot things, and don't
really plan to, but I do enjoy some hot Mexican fare now and again.
Also, I used to get sore throats when i was teaching, and I would literally let an aspirin disolve right on the sore spot in my throat. People thought I was nuts, but I could do it with no problem, and it really soothed it.
As far as Christmas decs go, I say go for it , keep em up for as long as ya like. ha:)
Tonight's eps were no favs, Gloria and the Punch in the nose, but last night I saw the quarter million dollars and the fake TV crew. One of my favorite lines is Andy telling Goober that he's not seeing the money, and Goober says "But I'm lookin right at it!" :)
Our nice weather continues here with mid-70s, and tiny buds are already on our naked ash tree!
Prayers for all,
MDC


January 14, 2022 - Msg 117500: Good morning, MDC! And anybody else who might be lurking silently. Where is everybody! I hope everyone is OK - check in, please! We miss you when you're not here!

This has been a strange week for me. Wednesday night, I just could not sleep. I was in bed before 11, which is unusual for me, but sleep just didn't happen. I was wide awake all night, finally dozed off briefly around 5 a.m., woke up at 6, and finally just gave up and got up. Normally, on a night like that, I would have something rattling around in the old brainbox, and would get up, write whatever story was brewing there, go back to bed and be asleep in minutes. However, there was nothing there, so I just stayed in bed. There may be something simmering just below the surface there, but I haven't recognized it yet. I hate when that happens!

So, last night I was awake for a couple of hours, then finally got to sleep around 1 a.m., and didn't awaken until 10:45! I guess whatever was sitting there, needing to be processed, finally got it done. I just wish I knew what it was!

MDC, I've been accused of having a cast-iron stomach too, as well as having no nerves in my mouth, as I can eat very hot peppers and salsas. Most of the salsa served in our Mexican restaurants, I could eat like soup. I've seen friends dip just about a half-inch of the corner of a tostada (chip) into the salsa, and then act like they had bitten a live coal. They'll drink copious amounts of water or tea, which only spreads the heat around. To neutralize it, you need some dairy substance - milk, sour cream, butter, whatever, but not water. I don't need it, I can take the heat, but trust me, it does work. There's a reason why there's usually a blob of sour cream somewhere on a plate of Mexican food. Yep, rare beef and hot peppers, the mark of a Texan.

Well, guess I'd better get dressed and get moving. I need to go the grocery store, and I think I'll stop by my pharmacy and finally get that booster shot. I've had the first two, so may as well get the booster as well. Several family members and friends have had the latest Covid - Omicron, I guess. I think my immune system is pretty strong, I haven't had anything at all, but I suppose I could, and I don't want to.

The Gloria story isn't one of my favorites, but I do like the Punch in the Nose story. Barney is so funny in that one. He just has to make an issue of anything like that, and just makes it so much worse. The last scene, with him walking real fast, hanky to his nose, heading for the office, is just too funny! Somebody finally got enough of his meddling!

Well, off I go. Trinket has been watching me getting dressed and putting warpaint on, and is tucked up in her cuddlebed under my desk, hoping to be overlooked, so she doesn't have to be closed up in the bathroom. I wish I could just let her stay out in the house, but with the Christmas tree, (which she hasn't bothered) and a few electric cords that can't be eliminated, I'm just afraid to do it. She's safe in the bathroom. It's big enough, she has a cuddlebed in there, food, water, and toys - and if she really needs comforting, she knows how to open the laundry hamper door and can get in there and curl up on my dirty clothes. She seems to find comfort in doing that. Sweet little old thing!

Blessings, friends! Keep looking up! --Romeena
January 14, 2022 - Msg 117501: Hey to MDC and Romeena. Sorry I've been missing, just dealing with sick people around here. I thought we finally got Sean well and now he is sick again with terrible congestion and a bad cough. I got a covid test and gave him but it was negative so who knows. Now Bruce is puny and has a sore throat!! Many folks in our area have the omicron but arent getting terribly sick from it. My nurse friends who work with covid patients in corpus christi tell me that the icu is not full of covid patients and that this omicron is proving to be much less severe for most people. Very thankful for that.

Not much else to tell. Finally took down the christmas tree today and boxed it up. It is still in the foyer but who knows when it will actually make it upstairs? Kind of sad. I was just thinking that I may take down my small tree and decorate it will white lights and hearts for Valentine's Day just because. It is so nice having the lights in the house after dark. I keep white lights in my bookcases above the tvs all year and enjoy it.

Well, I hear Sean getting up from a nap and coughing so better go check on him. Stay well!

Boo
January 14, 2022 - Msg 117502: Hey Y'all- Asking for prayers for Laci. She's really sick and we think it's Covid. Awaiting test results from her doctor but an in home test was positive. Very worried about her but I trust the Lord to bring her through this like every other battle she's fought. I'll update when I have any news. Thanks,Porch Family.

******************
possum under a rock
January 15, 2022 - Msg 117503: Morning all.

Possum, so sorry to read that about Laci. She will for sure be in my prayers as will your entire family.
Glad you are getting the booster Ro. This current variant sure is a busy one. My Daughter Sarah has it and is quite sick. I thought Stacey had it for sure because she has been very sick, but she was tested and it came back negative. They put her on a z-pack and after just two days she says she is feeling way better. I'm glad for that because she is set to deliver any day now.

MDC, I kind of like both those episodes myself. We sure saw Helen at her worst. I always crack up when her and Andy are in the car and Andy says "you beat everything, you know that"? The glare she gives Andy is as cold as you ever wanna see from a woman. lol
And I love Barney's line "it's as open as it ever was". Like it really matters all these years later.

Boo, sorry to read about your family getting sick again. You guys are all in my prayers for sure. Our Governor here yesterday said the State was running out of testing kits because the supplier was under such a huge demand. So he said if you have any symptoms, just assume you have it. I mock weathermen for getting paid so much to be wrong. I think I need to add so called public health experts in to the mix. I better stop at that before I go to deep. lol

Romeena, poor Trinket may start hiding your war paint to prevent you going out.

GF, I hope you got all your stuff figured out for your medicare. They surely do seem to over complicate it. I suppose they do so for a reason. I hardly ever watch live tv anymore. I dvr everything that interests me and watch it later for the sole purpose of skipping through the endless commercials. So I don't see the Namath/Walker show. I have noticed on daytime tv it seems half the commercials are by big pharm, peddling their newest cure for the mange, and the other half is lawyers, trying to get you to call them and get in on a class action suit on big pharm. because their mange medicine weren't so good after all. What a crazy world.

Well off to putter in the shop. Our weather here has been pretty decent for January. Not to cold for us.

Prayers for all to stay safe and healthy and for all those who are sick to get better fast.

Asa
January 15, 2022 - Msg 117504: Good morning, porch! It's cold here on my end of the porch, just 35° and a brisk, blustery wind blowing. Ordinarily, I'd stay tucked in here today and stay warm, just cuddling Trinket. However, the memorial service for Robert is at 11:00 at the church, so off I go.

Our SS class is providing a meal for the family and close friends at noon. There will be enough food to feed an army, I'm sure. I've got a large bowl of green beans to take, and I saw that there were at least 25 names on the list of people who were bringing something. Somebody asked me to bring "my" green beans - they always get rave reviews. My secret? Glory Brand canned green beans! They taste just like the ones my grandma used to make. The cans are huge, and three of them fill up a 5" deep casserole dish. I can cook fresh green beans from scratch, but why? If you haven't used the Glory brand canned veggies, give them a try. Just like Mama used to make! Look for the orange labels.

Well, I got that dratted booster shot yesterday. The first two shots didn't cause any reaction at all, but that silly booster has made a big old sore spot on my shoulder. The tech told me it might, and it did! Oh well, it'll be gone by tomorrow, probably. If that's the worst it does, I guess it's okay.

Asa, you sound like me, talking about skipping commercials, and the ridiculous stuff they pitch. I'm so sick of that Car Shield thing, over and over and over. And the insur@nce companies! Now, the little Geico Gecko doesn't count. He's cute, appealing, and just doesn't annoy me at all. The rest of the commercials are just hack stuff, irritating and boring, insulting and embarrassing. Good grief! And to think somebody is getting paid to write that stuff!

Well, guess I'd better get dressed. I got up early, got my shower and washed my hair, which has now dried, and I can hit it here and there with a curling iron, get my war paint on, find something warm to wear, and away I go.

Blessings, friends. Prayers for good health for all. Keep looking up! --Romeena
January 15, 2022 - Msg 117505:
Hello Folks. Haven't had much to say so I just read posts here about once a week.
Romeena, I'm here lurking silently in the shadows.
I agree with you about the current state of television programs and movies. I am just not interested in viewing the new stuff being offered today. This is one of the reasons why I cut short my career in television. But I do enjoy watching documentaries and old classic programs that I grew up with. Unfortunately, there is not much of that up here in Canada.
I spend a lot of time viewing YouTube videos. There is so much I learn from them from making home repairs, to watching sports bloopers, and learning about other subjects that I am interested in. I also love answering questions over at Quora. Some of my answers are helping others with their school work. And some of my answers relate my military experiences and knowledge to those who are interested in serving. And although I have no formal training, I often use my life lessons to help others with there personal problems. I used to do this over at Yahoo Answers before it was terminated. Thankfully I found Quora.
Temperature here today is close to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. But at least there is no snow on the ground.
On one of our cable channels, they broadcast TAGS in the middle of the afternoon, but I am not watching television at that time.
MDC, that voice everyone heard at the beginning of TAGS was Colin Male. He did make an appearance as a Game Warden in the "Andy and Helen Have Their Day" episode.
Finally, prayers for Erin, Sean, Laci, and anyone else I might have missed.

from Poor Horatio

January 16, 2022 - Msg 117506: Morning, Porch

Haven't been around in awhile and thought I would drop some news on you regarding classic TV. The Warner Bros. Ranch backlot, where the homes of Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Blondie, Dennis the Menace, the Partridge Family and the park and fountain made famous in the beginning of Friends has been bought by some big company and the entire thing will be leveled. This new company is going to build sixteen brand new studios with offices and parking.
I am so sad to see all of this history disappear. It's bad enough that 40 Acres was lost along with so many others. But, that's that "progress" we hear so much about.
Thought you might be interested to know this. Y'all take care and be careful out there. Lot of mean stuff out there!

John Masters
January 16, 2022 - Msg 117507: Amen John Masters...The only thing about studio backlot sets is they were only meant to be temporary structures and not built for for longevity...I heard 40 acres actually got unsafe to be around and not safely useable anymore....

But it is sad just the same to see all those sets demolished...

G-F
January 16, 2022 - Msg 117508: John and GF, I can just hear the demolition team talking after being told to get under the building and set up the explosives. "I ain't going down there. It looks like there could be spiders down there. If I was a spider, that's where I would go".

Asa
January 16, 2022 - Msg 117509:
John Masters, thanks for that info about the Warner Brothers Ranch. For more details, visit https://tinyurl.com/ms4x2vbp

from Poor Horatio
January 16, 2022 - Msg 117510:

HI All, just a quick hello right now.
It's not that I'm "in a hurry," just some family
is over today. More later.
MDC

January 16, 2022 - Msg 117511: Good find, PH! That's exactly the article I found. I then followed up with a couple more.

The one place I would love to go, if I had a dying wish or bucket list, would be Big Sky Ranch in L.A. where "Little House on the Prairie" was filmed. The buildings are all gone, but the big area where Walnut Grove was and the Ingalls hose and barn are still wide open country. There are YouTube videos where tourists and former cast members visited it and took video.
I think I told you all that there is a website of a guy that roamed 40 Acres as a teen. It was after the very last shooting had been done and the place was abandoned. He goes into detail about sitting on the Taylor's porch and running around all over Hogan's Heroes Stalag 13. He also tells of being at the Warner ranch and being pushed in the Walton kids tire swing. It's really jaw dropping stuff. He lived an amazing teen years. Here's the site again if you missed it:

https://phantomofthebacklots.com/

I about fell outta my chair when I saw the Taylor and Aunt Pitty Pat homes completely burned down!

Y'all take care.

John Masters
January 16, 2022 - Msg 117512: Hey all, just quietly settin on the porch. Had an inch or two of snow today in SW Ohio. I'm not a big fan. If it could somehow snow when it was warm, I might like it.

Billy Ray the Retired Postman
January 17, 2022 - Msg 117513: Over a FOOT of ❄️ here in Northeast Ohio Billy Ray...
You should have gotten some of that heat from the Bengals to keep ya warm Buddy....G-F
January 17, 2022 - Msg 117514:

Hello Porchsters!
I heard on the news this morning that Possum's area got a pretty good snowstorm, as well as Ohio, etc. I hope you are all OK. Possum, check in if you can. For some unknown reason our power went out this morning around 4 AM. Our smoke alarms beep three or four times when power is cut like that, so it woke me up. It lasted until around 7 am. We were fine tho, as it was only about 45 degrees outside.
BOO--I hope Sean is doing better. I think as omicrom spreads and this thing weakens
all will be better as antibodies get built up. I am still disappointed tho that PSAs don't talk more about proactive measures like zinc, etc.
ASA--I also hope that Sarah is ding better. BTW, did you ever sell any of your tools?
Or are they still part of your 'puttering'? ha
RO--one commercial series that i think is funny is Progressive's 'turning into our parents.'Some pretty clever lines in those! :)
PH--Quora sounds interesting. I see one needs to set up an account to get in. I may do it to check it out.
I like sports bloopers too! One I just saw recently was amazing football catches!
Players bobbling the ball, one hand catches, etc.
JM and PH--thanks for those links. That back lot one was really cool. One forgets that they were all just false fronts, and often just painted backdrops, like the squad car outside the courthouse doors! (I'm sure they never envisioned HD-TV) ha

I am praying for all the hostages who were in the synagogue stand off.
My goodness, can't believe such terrible happenings. At least all were ok.

I'll end this 'novel' on a funny note. I drive thru Panda Express about once every 10 days for some lunch, and i always order the same small box of orange chicken. For several years now it has
been $4.49, so when I went thru today, the worker as if I'd like to 'round up' for a charity, to which
I said, 'sure.' When I got to the window, the worker (whom I know pretty well) said:
'Thanks for the 3 cents.' Yup, they had recently raised the price to total out now at $4.97,
so I had given 'three whole cents,' and YES, it was even for a children's charity!! :)

Later,
MDC