April 03, 2022 - Msg 117743:

ASA, I also like Patricia Heaton. One of her best scenes was on Everybody Love Raymond when Ray delivers a futon to her apartment and Ray tris to
ask her out. I think all men 'have been there' in a similar situation! haha
Yes, a good relaxful Sabbath. After church, a little nascar, a little golf, and a little wheeler in full outstretched position! :) mdc


April 03, 2022 - Msg 117744:
Romeena, I found the "Frasier" video clip that I mentioned in my Msg 117738. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNPf4VsxE2M

from Poor Horatio
April 03, 2022 - Msg 117745:
Oops, that link above are outtakes from "Frasier". The link for the three Cranes lifting up Daphne is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnoe21U74so

from Poor Horatio
April 04, 2022 - Msg 117746: The leg wasn’t loose...Oh, I thought the leg was loose...😉 Like that line MDC?..
Many good episodes many good lines... It was nice seeing Patricia Heaton pick up where she left off when she did “The Middle”...Yes, As Asa said she was a Cleveland girl..I thought it added to the humor that her BOTH her TV husbands were extra tall and her be a short person it just added to the humor.

G-F
April 04, 2022 - Msg 117747: Asa, yes, Frasier is a very funny show. It also has a good number of poignant scenes as well. Very well done show.
When I first subscribed to Amazon Prime, I binge-watched the entire series, and then started over. Unfortunately like a lot(read, most)of the shows that I watched on there as "Free with Prime," Amazon took off of their lineup. Oh, I can still watch them on there, but it is through places like IMDB and have ads. Ack. I hate commercials. Especially most of the ones they show nowadays.

Never saw a plane crash(thankfully), but I did have a dream where I saw an A-10 Warthog crash over our town lake. Don't know why.
I like the A-10 as well, and saw a couple of those flying over when I worked at a local roadside fruit and vegetable place right after I graduated from high school.
The A-10's were very low. So low I could even glimpse the shape of the pilot if that tells you anything.

-Sterling Holobyte
April 05, 2022 - Msg 117748:

BOO--If you are looking in, I saw a report on the news this morning about the daughter of a nurse who works in a retirement home, and the daughter goes around and visits the residents. Something like that
might be good for Erin, get some interaction with the elderly, etc.
The girl asks the residents 3 things they wish for the most, and then tries to fulfill those wishes. Believe it or not, the most requested is vienna sausages! ha. Anyway, just a thought.

Sterling, yes, the Warthog is a handy plane. It was almost cancelled
a while back but a couple of our senators here worked to save it.
I also enjoy a Frasier now and then as I get reruns on COZI TV,
but the only thing that I do not like, and is the case in most modern sitcoms, is the whole casual s(e)x thing, one night stands, etc. Some, like Home Improvement,
depicted a married couple, as did Raymond; but I think the whole 'do whatever' has not
been good for our society. I don't mean to be a debbie downer, its just my humble opinion.

GF--Actually, I did not seen the ending of the race, I had switched to golf! ha
Our weather forecast is 90s all week! Yikes.
Well, hang in there folks,
MDC
April 05, 2022 - Msg 117749: Good morning, porch! First of all, I must tell you that LaRue is now in Heaven, her poor little 74 lb body is restored to a heavenly body, and she knows happiness that we cannot even begin to imagine. Thank you for your prayers. Her family is doing well, they're all gathered in her home, the home most of them grew up in.

Her daughter called me as I was getting home from church yesterday morning, and asked me to come. LaRue was not conscious, and I knew when I walked into her room that she was not going to be here much longer. I really expected her to pass at any moment, but she actually did on Monday morning. It's a mercy, and a blessing, and I haven't shed a tear. I just can't. I ran out of tears about two years after my Dale passed. That event eventually gave me a new perspective on death and "loss", and I now see it and react to it differently. When a child of God passes now, I see it as a victory. As the Bible says, "O death, where is thy victory? O grave, where is thy sting?" I will miss her, but I'll see her again, just as I'll see my Dale again. So, why tears?

My yard, which has looked the same for the last month, has suddenly awakened and boy, do we need a visit from Eddie! The grass, which hadn't grown at all, has suddenly become about 8" tall, dandelions have opened, weeds are coming up in the grass, and I've talked with Eddie. He will be here this week. It's a good thing, because I'm hosting the bunco gals here on Friday night! They always like to come here, because they like my yard, and right now, it's a fright! I've got a couple of little stands of tulips, and some irises are about to open. Steve came and cleaned the pond (thank goodness!) on Friday, and all the pumps are running. After Eddie works his magic, it will look pretty good again. I don't have the multitudes of flowers that I once had, but can't afford to do what I used to do. Oh well. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:1: "To everything there is a season, and a time for every good thing under heaven." My time for putting 23 flats of spring bloomers in one big flowerbed is past. However, at the moment, I have eight huge stalks of orchids blooming in the sunroom. Yes, all is restored after the outlaw cats, Bonnie and Clyde, destroyed them (I thought), I repotted and talked to them, and they have perked up, and are blooming beautifully. Since one of the bunco tables will be the little table in the sunroom, all the girls will enjoy those orchids as they cycle through that room throughout the game. To everything there is a season ----

I did my little book review yesterday. I was pretty scared, as I'd never done one before, but I guess God took over when I picked up the mike, because it went very well. Of course, as my dad always would say, I would talk to a fence post, and I did have a very sketchy outline but I didn't refer to it much. Words just seemed to come. Nobody went to sleep, except one very old lady, and I was warned that she always does that, so I didn't take it personally! Afterward, much to my surprise, I was handed an envelope with my name on it, so I opened it, and found a check for $150!!! I didn't even know I would be paid, and certainly not that much! What a surprise, and very much appreciated. I may just go get a couple of flats of petunias. Seems appropriate, since the name of the book is "A Flat of Petunias." I want some clematis vines as well. I have an old garden bench, about 20 years old, that is broken down, one leg is missing the last 4" at ground level, and I have a couple of bricks holding it up, but it was unsafe to sit on, so I sat it in the middle of the big raised flowerbed, and I'm going to plant clematis to climb over it. Should be pretty. My neighbor has retired and closed his garden center, so I've found a new place (John used to send me there when he didn't have what I wanted) and so far, I really like them. Hated losing my "neighbor discount" though!

Well, better get busy. Trinket is trying to get my attention, I need to go throw a toy for her a little bit. Of course, I'll take her with me to the garden center. She always enjoys little trips with me. My little co-pilot! What a gift she was! Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena
April 05, 2022 - Msg 117750: Romeena...Sorry for the loss of your friend...Your first paragraph says it all...G-F
April 05, 2022 - Msg 117751: Romeena, I join GF in expressing my condolences concerning Lerner, and at the same time applaude her graduation. I am sure that sounds weird to some but I am sure you get it.

Asa
April 06, 2022 - Msg 117752: Sorry, My auto correct kicked in. That should read Larue.

Asa
April 06, 2022 - Msg 117753: If Y’all missed the Mayberry Days episode on the travel program “Small Town Big Deal” here’s the link.. https://youtu.be/aMvZgxWUm-I

I was right there as they say....G-F
April 06, 2022 - Msg 117754: For those of you who may never get to Mayberry Days, this is a good report of the happenings...G-F ....Again
April 06, 2022 - Msg 117755: Romeena, I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. May LaRue rest in Heavenly peace.

************
possum u.a.r.
April 06, 2022 - Msg 117756:

Well, last night's tags eps werent much to talk about...Roger Hanover was one,
and then Ole Blue. That is actually a pretty good one.
Tonight's however, were something else entire...
"Andy said THIRD PARTY?" That will for sure tell you the episode. ha.
Also, in that ep Thelma Lou talks about having to get back to the office.
I think it is the only one where her job is mentioned.
GF--do you know why Jim Fritzell wrote that one as 'Gus Adrian?'
The second one was about Barney and Fred Plumber. I like the line about
why Barn's judo teacher calls him 'chicken.' :)

RO, LaRue is with Jesus now. I pray for her family and her friends however.
I hope you are doing ok.
BTW, that is really neat that you got a little stipend for reviewing your book.
Yes, I think a flat of petunias would be a good thing to use some of it on.

All is well here. We are indeed in the 90s this week. My lawns have a good start,
and my wife's flowers are springing up all over...daffodils, daisies, roses, irises,
and some of which I dont even know their names! haha

Possum, I heard of some bad storms your way. Are you and yours doing OK?
Prayers for sure.

BIG MAUDE, JM, BILL MEDWIN, BILLY RAY, AND OTHERS, please check in when
you can.

Pray for Ukraine,
MDC


April 07, 2022 - Msg 117757: Good morning, everyone, checking in for a bit before my workday gets going.

not much exciting to report from my end of the porch. Its cloudy, a bit windy and feels chilly even though its 54 degrees. I guess the rain from last night and the wind causes that...

stay busy at work and things are home are taking shape as the remodeling makes progress. They are finishing the tiles on the wall in the kitchen area today and putting the hood in above the stove. He will do some touch up painting and move on to the next project of staining the stairs to match the LVP laminate. He has done a great job, has a great sense of humor so we have enjoyed having him in the house during the process.

The pastor serach team at church has been going well. We started with over 90 resumes and have narrowed it down to our top candidate so we have interviewed him and will meet his wife tonight and go from there. I feel good about our choice at this point and can God working in the process.

Guess thats about it from Ole Maude.
Prayers for Romeena in the loss of her friend as well as everyone else.

Lunch menu will be: grilled cheese with bacon sandwich, chips and brownies for dessert.

have a blessed day,
Big Maude
April 07, 2022 - Msg 117758: Morning, Porch

Checking in with a Checkpoint Chickie, MDC.

Romeena, my condolences.

Maude, I'll be there for lunch. Sounds scrumptious!

Anyone want to grab a drink at SONIC today, charge to my bill.

Take care, folks!

John Masters
April 09, 2022 - Msg 117759:

HI Big Maude and John Masters! Thanks for checking in.
Maudie, I am happy to hear that the remodeling is going well.
That is not always the case with such jobs, so yours is good news!
And also the pastor search. I may have said this one before, but
just make sure that he doesnt want Sundays off! haha
Thanks for the lunch.
JM--What's your favorite Sonic item? Mine is still the Coney Dog.
I know, there are lots of good eats there, but I just like that
dog for some reason! ha.

Not too much going on here. We made it thru the week of 90s, and they
SAY that by Tuesday we will be in the low 70s! So we shall see.
I missed TAGS tonight as we were at a fish fry at Church.
Mmm boy is that some kind o good!
Keep well folks. God bless,
MDC
April 09, 2022 - Msg 117760: Good morning, porch! It's a clear and beautiful day here, but a bit chilly. It's warming up, though, and should be nice all day.

Amazingly, I was in bed by 10:15 last night, and didn't get up until 10 this morning! That is definitely not my usual habit. However, yesterday I was up at 6:30, in the shower by 7, and had Trinket in there with me, much to her shock and dismay. I wanted her to be fresh and pretty and sweet-smelling when the bunco girls were here last evening, so I just got her in the stall with me. Sure saved a lot of water everywhere, as she hates baths. I have a little bench in my shower, so put her on it, and all went quite smoothly. I have a huge towel that's hers, so wrapped her in it and put her in her little cuddlebed in the bathroom while I showered myself, and she fell asleep! Later I blew her dry, and put her topknot up, and she was beautiful. She had a lot of "grannies" paying attention to her at the party, and was in seventh heaven. Two of the ladies don't much care for dogs, and after they rebuffed her attentions, she left them alone. Since she followed me from room to room as we changed tables, she visited with the ladies in the room with me, three at a time.

As I looked around the rooms at the guests, I couldn't help thinking back to when we first organized the group, over 15 years ago. We were all a lot younger then! Now, four canes have appeared, table conversation has devolved into ailment recitations, and four original members have passed on. Still, we have a lot of fun. There is a lot of laughter and joking, much kidding, little courtesies and assistances offered, and it's still definitely something we all look forward to. The cars parked outside have dwindled to three, as so many of the women no longer drive at night, or at all, so there's a lot of carpooling.

I didn't cook, I went to Spring Creek and got BBQ brisket and sausage, and their delicious potato salad and coleslaw. A bit expensive, but about a third of it was left, so I'll get several meals out of it, which levels the expense quite a bit. I did make a cake though, and it was a hit! It's called Granny Cake, it's easy to make, and sooooo good! We're having a Palm Sunday Potluck at church Sunday night, and I'm going to make that cake again for that. It has pineapple and pecans in it. I'll share the recipe if anybody wants it. Someone shared it with me a couple of years ago.

My computer is all boogered up. Files are scrambled, emails that were deleted two years ago pop up in the lineup, I can't find some that should be there, and some things that were scanned (and I needed to print last night) are there but all distorted and won't fit on a page, just such annoying stuff as that. My trusted computer guru, Bruce, passed away a year or so ago, and I need help! I guess I can take it to Best Buy and let them try to figure it out, but they'll charge an arm and a leg for that. I need Bruce! He charged too, of course, since that was his living, but he was fair. Oh, well. It will all get solved eventually.

Well, guess I'd better go get that kitchen cleaned up. I used my Fiesta collection at dinner last night. We usually do paper plates, but I'm proud of my Fiesta (I have about 500 pieces) and enjoy using it. At the moment, it's all just stacked in the sink! My back and neck were really aching at the end of the evening, and I just wanted my bed! At least, the dishwasher is empty and waiting!

Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena
April 09, 2022 - Msg 117761: You know Romeena, every time you mention you ladies playing BUNCO, a vision of Aunt Bee & her Ladies' Aid Church Committee Members sitting around a table throwing dice 🎲 🎲 pops in my head...Then they Say...Just the Facts Ma'am...JustRoll the dice! 🎲🎲

In the mind of a Goob ...I guess I just have one of those active imaginations! 🤷🏼‍♂️....G-F
April 09, 2022 - Msg 117762:
RO--a good way to help those docs from scrambling is to save them as a PDF rather than just a word doc. (that sort of 'locks' them in place.)
But of course, that does not help your present situation. You might want to try a de-frag, and once all is
better, be sure to do a back-up.
Best Buy will sometimes do one free question period if you are a rewards customer.
Also, take your back-up drive with you,
as they might be able to install it to help
clean things up. They may have some software
to help with that. Just some toughts. :)
MDC


April 10, 2022 - Msg 117763: Good Sabbath all.

I got a good chuckle reading MDC's message to Romeena. Amazing how technology has changed our lingo so much. He alluded to docs being scrambled, and saving them to PDF's instead of word docs. And the defraging and back up and back up drives and cleaning software. lol Not that many years ago non of that would have made a bit of sense.
Reminds me of a space documentary I was watching recently. They were interviewing a NASA engineer who was recalling how back in the early 60's he was a fresh graduate out of college. With a degree in engineering he was filling kind of full of mimself, especially when NASA recruited him to come work for them. Then he said how weird he felt after the first day trying to understand all the NASA lingo they used. lol He was feeling pretty discouraged after listening to some of their discussions and not having a clue what they said, because everything is abbreviated. CAPCOM. FIDO, TLI. LOS, ..... He went from feeling like a highly trained professional to a toddler learning to talk.

GF, You ever figure if Ro's bunco ladies visited Col. Harvey for elixir prior to game night? lol

Well off to scramble some eggs I reckon. That got me hungry.

Asa
April 10, 2022 - Msg 117764: Asa...I’m thinking Romeena’s Ladies are just full of “Jocularity” in my best Colonel Potter voice. G-F
April 10, 2022 - Msg 117765:

Scrambling eggs is much better than
scrambling docs!
Also, don't forget the CM and LEM ! (: AND mdc


April 11, 2022 - Msg 117766: Good morning, friends! Very funny, all you jokesters! Perhaps you haven't noticed, but I think I've reached the cut-off point when it comes to absorbing new technology, and new technological terms. I've had a computer since the early 1980's, I think the current one is the sixth or seventh one, and it's just over two years old. It's currently using less than 10% of it's available space, so probably doesn't need a de-frag. And that term is about as far as I go, technologically speaking. I don't even like PDF processes. Our church secretary sends out a lot of things in a PDF format, and I hate it. I may just go back to a stone tablet and a chisel. Seriously, thanks for the advice. I'll get it all solved eventually, I'm sure.

We had a great time last evening at the Palm Sunday service, and the Palm Sunday Potluck which followed. I never saw so much good food! I couldn't believe how much food so many people put on their plates, and was privately thinking "tsk, tsk", and feeling a bit smug about the comparatively miniscule amount on mine, until my conscience reminded me of what my plate would have been like a couple of years ago. I couldn't begin to eat that much these days. As my body decreased in size, I suppose my stomach did as well, and I'm glad. From an all-time (and very brief!) high of 201 on a 5'2", bird-bone frame, I'm now at 128 and feel like a new person. I've plateaued at that point, but want to lose another 8-10 lbs. I will slowly get it done. Would be wonderful to be under 120 again. I weighed 108 when Dale and I married, and was just over 5'5" tall. Yep, I was slim. Had a 23.5" waist! Ha, I'll never see that again!! I don't particularly care, though. I feel good, am reasonably healthy, and without the weight loss, I might not even be here. I can breathe so much better now!

You're right, Asa, most industries and professions have their own language. Get two nurses into a conversation, and the rest of the group just looks bewildered. When my son and Jerry, his FIL, get together and start talking HVAC stuff, my eyes glaze over. It was bad enough when David was just helping Jerry with an occasional repair call. Now David has his own license, Jerry is working a lot less (he's 82 and has health issues, but refuses to retire) so David is handling some of his calls, and has a lot in his own right. His business is booming. When those two get together now and start their a/c stories, everybody else just starts watching TV.

Well, Trinket is giving me the pleading look, she wants me in my chair with her in my lap, and that sounds like a pretty good idea to me, too. Why not? I have nothing to do that can't wait. Retirement is a gift from God! Blessings, friends, and keep looking up! --Romeena
April 12, 2022 - Msg 117767: Well, where is everybody? Has the Rapture come and I've been left behind?

I just came in from outside in the back yard. How do the growing things go from non-existent to standing tall and beautiful in just a day or two? One of my favorite irises has shot up a bloom stalk in the last couple of days, and this morning the thing is at least 28" tall, has six huge purple blooms fully open, and is just gorgeous. Then I happened to look back toward the pond, and there is a stand of irises back there, covering at least a 5' diameter area and at least a dozen bloom stalks getting ready to open! Three days ago, it barely had the swords (leaves) above ground! By tomorrow morning, most if not all of those buds will open and it will be a sight to behold. There's another big stand of irises in another bed, about 25' out from my window and in full view. So far, all that's up is the foliage (the swords) and I see only one small bloom stalk, about a foot high. It's in a full sun location though, so it will take off like a rocket in a day or two, when the sun comes back out. It's very cloudy and threatening to rain today. I hope it does, as I put the sprinklers on a 72 hour rain delay this morning. Rain is free. City water is not.

My garage is a disgrace. There is so much stuff in there that needs to be donated, repurposed, sold, or just plain trashed! One of these days I'm going to conscript Eddie and we're going to have a garage-cleaning day. My dad designed the garage to be 3' extra-wide, and there was plenty of room even when my car and Dale's truck were both inside. We were careful not to crowd it, and our vehicle doors had no dings. Now there is no truck, and I have stored all sorts of stuff in there now. There's still plenty of room for my car, with open space around it, but the truck's space is full of things like trash cans containing dried molasses and corn gluten meal, stacks of bags of cedar mulch, a wheelbarrow, a fertilizer spreader for the contents of the cans, two enormous clay pots, which hold my two plumeria trees, (they will go outside this week when Eddie comes), bins filled with about five thousand yards of Christmas yard lights, extension cords, timers, etc. Most of that must remain, and has no other place to go, but it just needs to be organized and condensed. I can't do it, it's all too heavy, but Eddie will get it done. All the gardening tools - the rakes, hoes, diggers, brooms, such as that, are standing leaned against the wall on one side of the garage, confined behind lengths of bungee cord so they don't fall over on the car. Easy access, easy put-away. The floor needs to be swept thoroughly, too. I'm just grateful there are no big smelly trash cans to deal with, as we use plastic bags in this area. Fill them, sit them out twice a week, gone!

Well, guess I'll go scare up a little lunch. I'm not hungry, maybe just a little cheese and crackers or peanut butter. OR -- yay! I have some Honeycrisp apples! I'll slice one, and dunk the slices in a little cup of peanut butter. One of my favorite things. Love peanut butter, it's good protein, and a Honeycrisp apple is a joy forever! That and a glass of tea, and I'm all set! Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena
April 13, 2022 - Msg 117768:

Hello Porchsters,
I hope you are all having a good Holy Week.
For me, this week even tops Christmas
because of what we commemorate, the redeeming act
of Jesus! :) Do any of you get a channel called
PosiTV? The other night they showed the drama titled Jesus of Nazareth.
It is the one that was made in the late 70s and was actually on
ABC network back then. My, how times have changed. It was sure nice to see it again.

I caught the 2nd tags on Me-TV tonight about the car in
the courthouse. Two questions. (GF, you may know the answers)
Has it ever been determined what make and model car that was?
Or was it some kind of 'made up' car for that very reason?
I have just always been curious.
Also, to me, it seems like that car would indeed fit thru the door
opening if they just opened BOTH doors, but then I guess there wouldnt be an episode! ha
Also, when Goober has only the engine set up in the courthouse,
ever notice that there is no radiator attached? With no water circulating
thru those parts, the engine would get overheated very quickly. Oh well.

ROMeena- may I ask what you dont like about PDF files? Any that people send to me always
open without a problem. Just wondering.
Your irises sure sound beautiful! Snap a pic if you get a chance. Would love to see them.
All is good here. Today it was actually in the 70s,
which was very nice after a week in the 90s already!
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the day after I was asking about the cracker shelf
being empty for over a month, I walked into our Fry's food store, and there were TEN boxes.
I took one. :)
Well folks, please stop in when you can.
BOO has been posting old family photos on FB. Great stuff when Sean was about 9 years old!
Please keep praying for Ukraine.
MDC

April 13, 2022 - Msg 117769: MDC...The Car 🚗 was a 1960 AMC Rambler American Deluxe...I guess we weren’t supposed to notice.

We FINALLY had a nice day yesterday and there’s talk of 70’s today!...Time to get my rocking chairs out of the shed and get my porch set up for the season. Yep time for some serious bird and squirrel watching again...I miss that in the “off season” can’t wait for the new crop of those furry little lunatics 🐿 Amen Romeena?....Also I got a birdbath w/solar fountain for my Birthday so I might set that and my two little fountains ⛲️ up today too....In the spirit of Springtime...

G-F
April 13, 2022 - Msg 117770: Good morning, porch! I'm up earlier than usual, got errands to run. Eloise and I are scheduled for pedicures at 10, and my car is showing "check oil level", so I need to run by my mechanic and get him to top it off before driving to Euless (another suburb) to get the toes beautified. Actually, I get pedicures because I can't quite reach my toes to do it myself anymore! I can, but not comfortably or safely, and being diabetic, I don't want to risk cutting myself. Besides, it's fun, we enjoy it, and it lasts for six weeks or more, but if I do it myself it looks raggedy and chips off in a week or so. Since I'm barefoot much of the time at home, it matters.

As for the oil level in Tillie, there is a tiny, known oil leak and Richie says it's about $650 to fix, and it doesn't stay fixed. It only leaks when the engine is running, needs topping off about every six months, and he says even the Cadillac house would advise me to just top off when needed. He says it's a known problem with that car series, and nobody actually fixes them anymore. I have learned to trust Richie, and with this, he's actually losing money - doesn't even charge me for the top-offs, and is giving up the price of the "fix", so I have no reason to doubt him. A trustworthy mechanic is a valuable thing!

G-F, you are so right. I love to sit at this window and watch the antics of the "furry little lunatics" in the back yard. There are two on the big cottonwood right now, chasing each other round and round. So funny! It's a huge tree, trunk probably 2.5 ft in diameter. I love it when the one leading the chase suddenly doubles back and they collide!

MDC, that's odd that your store doesn't have crackers, and our tacky little Kroger has full shelves, every cracker you can think of. I love Ritz crackers, with peanut butter, cream cheese or any kind of cheese (especially goat cheese when I find it on sale), and they have been in good supply.

As for the PDF files, I guess I'm just not used to working with them. Sometimes they open just fine, and other times they won't. I think it may have to do with the person who sends them, or it may be the one (me) who is trying to open them. That's possible, because I don't work with them very often, and many times my problem with them has to do with files I've already opened, saved, and can't find to get back to them. Yep, it's probably me. Oh well.

Our weather is really looking rough. Black skies, moderate wind, rain squalls, the whole deal. The toes may have to wait for another day, but I have some other errands that really need to be done. The TV says the bad stuff should be moving out in a short time though, and I see the western skies are showing some blue, so maybe I'll chance it. I won't be leaving the house for an hour yet, so it might be clear and sunny by then! Texas is quite capable of doing exactly that.

I put flower stakes around the irises that are up and blooming yesterday. As tall as they are, the wind we've got right now would blow them over and break them, and I don't want that. I like those little stakes with the circle at the top, they really keep the flowers from falling over. I need some more, and I'll be at the garden center today for more cedar mulch, maybe I'll get a few more stakes, too. Those irises are too beautiful to let them get broken.

Well, better get dressed. Trinket is moping, she has figured out that I'm going somewhere, because I'm up earlier than usual, and she saw me hit a couple of trouble spots in my hair with a curling iron. She's a smart little rascal! Oh, last week there was a man in the Kroger grocery store with a small dog in his cart, and no one challenged him. He bought his groceries, and left the store with the cart, dog, and groceries, put them in his car and left. Hmmm. I wonder if I could get by with that. Probably not. I asked him if he had one of those "permits" you can get, calling your dog a "therapy dog." He said he did not, he just brought the dog in and no one has ever challenged him. Interesting. Personally, if the dog isn't running around in the store, and isn't hostile to people who stop to speak to it, I think they should be allowed. A well-mannered dog is better than an unruly child in such a place, in my opinion. Some people bring their kids in and let them run through the store like a stampede, bumping into people, opening bags of candy and taking pieces out, such as that. I don't understand that. Or my eternal pet peeve, those who bring a sleepy, tired and irritable kid in and let it scream like a banshee for half an hour while they shop. First of all, help your child understand that screaming and throwing fits is not acceptable. Then, take the poor kid home and let him or her get a little nap. Good manners and good behavior is easy to teach (to kids or dogs either one), why don't those parents do it?

Good grief! I guess I've become a grouchy old lady!

Well, the skies are showing cracks in the clouds with blue showing through, the wind is dying down, and I'm going to do what I had planned to do today. Texas weather! Amazing. Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena
April 13, 2022 - Msg 117771: Good afternoon all.

Romeena, sounds like you have a good mechanic for sure. There are, sadly, some mechanical issues in certain machines that just have inherit problems. I saw many of them over the years in industrial equipment. After a while you learned what was worthy of your attention and what was not so much.

MDC, I also enjoy this week for the reasons you mentioned, but I love Christmas also. I know there are a lot of theologians who would argue that Christ's birth was in the spring and not in December. But what's important is why we celebrate and/or worship such events.

And who said Spring? Spring? Bah humbug! I had 4 inches of spring on my lawn yesterday morning. But we need the moisture so bad, I won't gripe. But dag blame, it was cold. 35 for a high with 20 mph north wind blowing. Just not fun for mid April. But today we are having one of those spring days we get here that I just love. We get snow squalls that will come over the lake and just blast us with snow for about 5 minutes. Then the sun is out 5 minutes later and it's nice. It does this all day and is just fun to watch. Often I find a place on the east bench to park and watch these storms form over the lake and then roll in and then roll out. Truly amazing to watch.

Well Debbie got her new port in yesterday and everything went well. Was up to the Hospital at 7 a.m. and we were home by noon. Glad that is over.

I hope everyone has a blessed Easter week and weekend. Truly a remarkable event.

Asa
April 13, 2022 - Msg 117772: Watch close .....Matt must ha called for a cab? https://youtu.be/3S8OdNwf9jc
April 13, 2022 - Msg 117773: Sorry to hear about your friend LaRue, Romeena. Prayers for the family.

Didn't you say you wrote for some magazines or something at one time?(I know Charlotte Tucker is an editor and does some articles but I thought you mentioned it as well years ago)
Did you use PDF's when sending them or did you do it the tried-and-true method of sending it through the mail?


I too am eager for Spring(or rather, Summer) to get here. We have had it pretty nice, in fact it was pretty warm this morning but the forecast calls for snow tomorrow. Ack.

Well, as Andy says, be sure to act like somebody.

-Sterling Holobyte
April 14, 2022 - Msg 117774:

Message 117772--sure enuf, for a split second i saw the car in
the far background! Thanks. funny to see that. :)

GF--thanks for the car answer. I was thinking maybe a Stutabaker
or a Metropolitan; but a little Nash Rambler makes sense since Gilly
was the owner! ha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enqNl7tdLR4

Sterling--we have plenty of spring here! I'll box some up and
send it your way!! :)

ASA--glad all went well on the new port. Boy, i would sure like to see one
of those lake affect storms. All we get here are duststorms! haha

RO--hope all went well with your day. I know that caddys at one time had
Northstar engines. They were built tougher than nails, but I'm not sure if your year has that make or not. One problem I recall hearing about is that the
cylinder head covers can loosen up over time, and cause some leaks.
I used to do a lot of my own car work, but not anymore, as engines are
way too complicated nowadays.

Stay well my friends. Three big holy days coming up!
MDC
April 14, 2022 - Msg 117775: Good morning, porch! It's a perfectly beautiful, sunshiney spring day here! So nice! Mild temp, just 68° at noon, everything is green in the yard and blooming if it's supposed to be. I love this time of year!

Asa, so glad Debbie's port is in and working. I assume it is, they wouldn't have sent her home if it wasn't functioning well. Those ports have been a God-send, makes continuing treatment possible, when at one time it wasn't.

Sterling, yes, I did write for the magazine "A New Day" for several years. Just little "reminisce" stories from my childhood. Such fun to
write, and was even paid for them! Amazing! And yes, Charlotte Tucker was my editor. She's a jewel! Sadly, the magazine went out of print a while back, so I no longer have an outlet for my memories. I still write them, though, and they're stored on my computer. I have the ones that were printed, and the later ones that are not. I'm giving a little thought to publishing another book, which I would probably call "Diary of a Free-Range Kid", a compilation of all those little reminisce stories. So far, I'm just toying with the idea. Self-publishing is very expensive, successful marketing costs even more, and without an agent to help with the marketing, the author pretty much receives zilch. I never even broke even with "A Flat of Petunias", but it didn't matter. Money was not my motivation, ever, with that one. If I do anything with "Diary" I would want to make at least a little from it.

To answer your question, I did not use PDFs, or snail mail. I just sent them as attachments to an email. I guess it must have been satisfactory, as Charlotte never asked me to do anything different.

MDC, Tillie (a 2004) does have a Northstar engine. I'm not sure when they quit using them, but my mechanic, Richie, says he wishes they still used them, as they were good engines. They did have a couple of little quirks - mainly a couple of things that were very difficult to service, but overall, he thinks they were great! I bought the car in 2006, as a certified pre-owned car, paid less than half of the original price for it, it had around 20,000 miles on it, and had been a demo car for its first year, then a loaner for the remaining few months, from a premier dealership in Dallas, called Sewell Village. I had a new-car warranty on it for several years, until it aged out. It only has 106,000 miles on it - not bad for an 18 year old car! It runs beautifully, is comfortable and familiar for me to drive, doesn't have a dozen unidentified bells and whistles on it that presumably are warning me of something but I don't know what - I think I'll just keep it. Also, it's beautiful. A very classic design.

Well, Eddie and Wayne are here working in the yard, and David just called to tell me he's on his way. The air handler on my HVAC system is making a weird noise, and he'll fix it. That boy looks after his mama.

Thank you for all your prayers, everyone, as were losing, and finally lost, our dear LaRue. I passed the word to everyone, they knew you were praying, and it was appreciated. Blessings, everyone, and keep looking up! --Romeena
April 14, 2022 - Msg 117776: Oops! (/b>) There, that should fix it. --Romeena
April 14, 2022 - Msg 117777: Well, it didn't! Let's try again!
April 14, 2022 - Msg 117778: OK, that fixed it. I left out one closure up above somewhere, I guess. I'd track it down on Page Source, but am too lazy. At least it's fixed. --Romeena

April 14, 2022 - Msg 117779: Well, David arrived and immediately fixed the problem with the air handler noise. Jerry, David's FIL, was the last one to work on that unit recently, and apparently didn't secure the unit's door adequately, and it had slipped loose and dropped about four inches, letting the top of the metal door lean against some little whirly thing that sticks out near the top of the unit. Naturally, that was producing a loud, scraping, squealing noise! He reattached the door, and the noise vanished. That boy is as handy as the pocket on a shirt! --Romeena
April 15, 2022 - Msg 117780: Good Friday morning all. And it is indeed "Good Friday".

Romeena, although Debbies port is in, they have not accessed it yet, whatever that means. She is still using a pick line they put in back last December when her old port failed. Her home health nurse is here on Tuesdays and I believe next Tuesday will access the port and make sure it's working and them will remove the pick line. That will make her happy. She hates the pick line.

I'm glad David was able to get your air handler issue fixed so easily. I was watching a video that an HVAC contractor had posted on youtube. He got a call from a homeowner about a noisy air handler. He got down in the crawl space to investigate it, turne on the unit manually and it sounded like it was ready to explode. My first thought was a bad bearing or something had gotten in and thrown the fan out of balance. Well further investigating found the problem. A snake had somehow gotten in the squirrel cage, and then the fan turned on. The poor old thing was all wrapped up in the fan cage. What a mess. I had a similar situation years ago. I would have to pump water out of an irrigation ditch to water my lawn. One day I noticed my sprinklers were barely working. Hardly any water pressure. I checked the electric motor on the pump and it was smoking hot. I thought the motor was bad at first. But checking further I realized the pump was bound up tight, almost couldn't turn it. So I took the pump apart and could see something wrapped tight around the impeller. It took a bit before I realized what I was seeing was the remnants of a snake. He had gotten sucked up through the intake pipe and got up close and personal with the impeller. It took me a good hour or more to get that mess unwrapped. I felt bad for the snake, but glad my pump and motor were okay. I had a screen on the intake pipe prior but removed it because it would get plugged up with debris so fast. I decided I better get another screen on it, maybe one a little bit coarser. Thankfully I don't have to water that way anymore.

MDC, I have seen some videos of those dust storms. Mercy sakes, they look scary. I bet they leave a huge mess behind.

The clip of Gunsmoke with the car pulling up was funny. I remember once seeing a western and in one of the shots you could see some high tension power lines off in the distance. lol Gave it all away.

Well I pray you all have a blessed Easter weekend and that you find the time to reflect on just what Easter is all about and the blessings of the Atonement. What our Savior has done for each and everyone of us.
Bless you all.

Asa

April 15, 2022 - Msg 117781: Asa...In our work travels we certainly have seen some interesting conundrums haven’t we?... We can NEVER say we’ve seen it all, because you never will...Always thought I shoulda wrote some of them down for our “Greatest Hits” album...Amen? Because people wouldn’t believe some of the things spew have seen and done!...

At this point in our lives, All we have are our “Stories”...10-4?

*Thought you like that Gunsmoke clip I forgot to sign the post..

G-F
April 16, 2022 - Msg 117782: Hey Porch!

I wanted to point you to something I thought you might get a bang out of. I have sent you the link before to the "Phantom of the Backlot" where this guy grew up on the backlots of MGM and 40 Acres. His latest entry is incredible and really shows how magical Hollywood can be. It deals a lot with a section of Mayberry, specifically the exact spot where Malcolm Tucker was walking thru deserted Mayberry when church was in. It shows the exact same place in Gone With the Wind, Gomer Pyle, Hogans Heroes and Star Trek. The pretend of Hollywood has always fascinated me as how Mayberry, North Carolina can become Berlin, Germany. I really think you'll enjoy this. Study the pics carefully.
This might be a good subject for "Two Chairs." The way Mayberry showed up on so many other shows.

Hope you enjoy. The title is: RKO/Selznick/Desilu/Amazon Intersect. Here's the link.....

https://phantomofthebacklots.com/

Take care, all!

John Masters