January 31, 2021 - Msg 116106: Thank you, G-F!

Thank you for the prayers and encouragement, MDC. As I recall, the needle they used for the covid vaccine was not very long. I always hated giving shots to skinny arms and rear ends when I was working. lol

Boo
January 31, 2021 - Msg 116107: So true, Boo! Or trying to get an IV into a hand or arm with onion-skin, which would tear so easily! --Romeena

January 31, 2021 - Msg 116108:
Looks like a SHAKEDOWN! (:


February 01, 2021 - Msg 116109:
I have been watching reruns of the Beverly Hillbillies on one of our cable channels. The last two episodes dealt with Granny campaigning to become Possum Queen of Beverly Hills. And the banker Mr. Drysdale tricks his wife into running against Granny without knowing she is a candidate.
I wonder if our own possum under a rock ever ran for Possum Queen?

from Poor Horatio
February 01, 2021 - Msg 116110: Good morning, porch. Been a bit scarce the last couple of days - no particular reason. I feel good, nothing bothering me any more than usual, nothing broken. Just lazy, I guess.

MDC, I understand about the misery in the your back. That's the status quo around here. I think mine is not as bad as yours, as I can continue to function, mostly. It's just generalized aches, except in my neck and shoulders, which sometimes gets so acute that nothing helps but getting horizontal. Fortunately, I don't have a hall full of patients depending on me anymore, so I can just go lie down!

Mavis, that pork chop recipe sounds very good. I'll be giving it a try. I think it would work very well with boneless chicken "chests", too. Now that I have that InstaPot, I may see if it would modify to work in that thing as well. MDC, you asked earlier how that went that day, when my friend came over to show us hows to use it. Actually, the jury is still out, regarding my opinion of the thing. The meal was very good, but then I can make a pot of spaghetti and meatballs on the stove pretty easily, too. The idea of making the meal in nine minutes is misleading. Yes, it's nine minutes of actual cooking time. However, the pot takes quite a long time, at least 10 or 15 minutes, to heat up and build pressure. Only when that has been achieved do you start actually start the timer for 9 minutes. Once that has finished, you release the valve, and wait another five minutes or so for the pressure to gradually decrease. I can make a pot of spaghetti and meatballs in a scant half hour on the stove, if I use the same ingredients. The InstaPot asks for jarred sauce and frozen meatballs. Well, shoot! If I'm not making the sauce from scratch, or making the meatballs myself, just dumping pre-made ingredients in a pot, I can probably do that in 20 minutes. The longest part is cooking and draining the spaghetti! With the pot, you just put a pre-measured amount of beef broth, jarred sauce, raw spaghetti, and the frozen meatballs in the pot, close it and punch buttons. Some time later, you have a pot of spaghetti and meatballs. Good, yes! Easier than the traditional way of preparation - maybe a little. I think there may be other recipes that would showcase the pot a little better. I just haven't tried them yet, so my jury is still out. I'm keeping the pot, though.

Boo, hang in there, dear. You have done your best with those kids, you've met challenges that not everyone has to deal with, and you've done it well. For Sean, he's a good guy, again with challenges beyond what most people have to meet. The sun will shine in his back door someday. Erin has had a hard time growing up, she has a rebellious spirit, and you have done all you could do to channel and control that. She's going to wake up and smell the coffee one of these days, and realize what all you've done for her. God will reward.

On our NextDoor site, I found a young woman nearby who makes tamales! She and her sister are trying to get a little business started. I ordered just a dozen pork tamales from her, and she gave me samples also, one beef and two chicken tamales. They were all very, very good, and only $10 a dozen. If you think that's a little expensive, then you have never made tamales. I have, and trust me, that's very, very reasonable. I've paid more than that for a dozen, and they weren't even very good. I will be buying from her in the future. Good tamales, really good ones, are very hard to find.

Well, better get busy around here. My Christmas stuff is all still bright and beautiful, but it's now February, so it occurs to me that perhaps I should start thinking about putting it all away. I hate to do it. It's so pretty, I enjoy it so much, and it's not hurting anybody, so what's the rush? Still, I guess it's about time. Will have to get the little stuff done myself, then coordinate with David and company, because I can't put things on high shelves, and certainly can't dismantle the tree, box it up and put it away. It takes David and at least one of the boys to get that done. That tree is huge, and is so beautiful. The pictures I put on Facebook don't do it justice. There is a yellowish cast over it, that isn't really there. It's a snowy white flock over green, with white lights. I've tried to filter that yellow out, but my phone camera still shows it, somehow. The tree is so well done, that everyone asks me if it's real. It surely does look like it!

OK, it's lunchtime. Maybe a couple of tamales? I've got an avocado. Tamales and guacamole? Yum! Finished off with a little bowl of blueberries and blackberries. That will call Trinket to my side - the little brat loves blueberries!

Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena
February 01, 2021 - Msg 116111: We got about two of snow yesterday and then turned to rain and then ice, what a mess. The trees are beautiful covered in ice. I saw the episode today with the lecturer who had a crush on aunt Bea. I loved seeing her as hip and ready to have fun, she is a great actress. Whatever happened to Warren the deputy and why he was never replaced? Sarah
February 01, 2021 - Msg 116112: Thanks for the encouragement, Ro. I appreciate it.

Boo
February 01, 2021 - Msg 116113:

Sarah, I think Warren only lasted one season, huh, huh, huh, if you get my drift? ha Anyway, I think they finally realized
that barney just couldn't be replaced. They even had him back for 3 shows I believe.
Tonight's ep was Sheriff without a Gun. A good episode, except for the ending where barn did not
even see the jimmied lock! hmmm
Romeena, that is a GREAT price. Our neighborhood tamale maker charges 25 for a dozen, but believe me, it well worth it. :) As for the Christmas items, think of it this way,.. if you dont put them away, you don't get the joy of taking them back out! lol
For the past year they have been building a Cane's chicken place about a mile from our house, and it opened this weekend!
Best chicken fingers around!
All is well here, it should be in the mid 70s this week!
Chiro on Tuesday to fix my back! :)
Prayers,
MDC

February 02, 2021 - Msg 116114: Yep MDC...Ya can’t beat a good chicken 🐓 finger 🤙🏻 it ranks right up there with chicken 🐓 toes! 🦶🏻 G-F
February 02, 2021 - Msg 116115: That darn groundhog!! Six more weeks of Winter- UGH!

******************
possum under a rock
February 02, 2021 - Msg 116116: Ya'll are making me powerful hungry. I know I'll enjoy more time to cook once I retire. I'd like to think my skills are more like Aunt Bee than Andy.

Glad the package showed up G F. Things keep moving, regardless of who you call. Rarely does a phone call help. Just a dirty little secret all us postal people know.

As for the porch pirates, I think people should bite the bullet and pay for signature confirmation. Sad world we live in that you can't trust anyone.

Billy Ray the Postman
February 02, 2021 - Msg 116117:
possum under a rock, no need to worry about the groundhog's weather prediction of six more weeks of winter. Since spring begins on March 20, there is technically six weeks left of it being the winter season. So in that sense, the groundhog is correct. But as for the groundhog's weather forecast, he has been correct less than 40% of the time since 1887 when Groundhog day began.
The Farmer's Almanac is predicting milder temperatures and less percepitation for that area of Pennsylvania for the next two months.
And according to a science web site, "A seven-day forecast can accurately predict the weather about 80 percent of the time and a five-day forecast can accurately predict the weather approximately 90 percent of the time. However, a 10-day—or longer—forecast is only right about half the time."

As for the problem with porch pirates, watch how some people get revenge at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=porch+pirates

from Poor Horatio
February 02, 2021 - Msg 116118:

Possum, your 'cousin' the ground hog calls the shots! haha (But don't get lost in the 'loop!')
Yup PH...that's R E V E N G ! :)
I saw Mayor Stoner (Parley Baer) on Wagon Train today. He had a pretty big role as an impatient man. (So what else is new!? haha)
RO--you mentioned about patients with onion-thin skin. Believe it or not,
at only 71 I am experiencing that! If I barely scrape my arm on something,
it now tears my skin! I wonder what causes that? (not being funny for a change.) I REALLY mean I wonder why skin gets so thin.?
Tonight's tags was Gloria's visit. I forgot how funny Floyd was at his openign conversation with Andy! Good stuff! "The bus cometh, and the bus taketh away." But Helen sure pitched a fit in that one.
Beautiful weather here continues... 75 for the next few days.
HEY TO SPOT, ASA, MAUDIE AND ALL!
MDC



February 03, 2021 - Msg 116119: Never heard of onion skin till now, I just checked mine is OK. Have you ever noticed Helens false eyelashes? What happened in the last episode, I've never seen it, does Andy and Helen get married? Sarah
February 03, 2021 - Msg 116120:
MDC, regarding your problem with tearing skin(onion skin), check out https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/expert-answers/thin-skin/faq-20057753

from Poor Horatio
February 03, 2021 - Msg 116121: You Know...Folks can’t say we don’t talk about a wide variety of subjects here on the porch...Least I know now why my skin looks the way it does these days, and why the nurse had such a hard time getting my IV into my hand....

As far as Groundhog Day...Possum coming out from under her rock to say its cold out, is good enough prognostication for me!
https://youtu.be/TReCZ2auRkE

G-F
February 03, 2021 - Msg 116122:

And here I thought the Mayo Clinic was where I ordered my Hellman's! (:


February 03, 2021 - Msg 116123: No MDC...Not atoll!...Not atoll!... If You can “Duke” it out it would be a “Miracle” Whipping!...🤣🤣🤷🏼‍♂️G-F
February 03, 2021 - Msg 116124: MDC and G-F Y'all best not be 'Kraft'in up a mess cause I'm not gonna clean it up. LOL

Evenin' porchsters! How goes it? It warmed up some here on my end of the porch and quite a bit of the snow melted, supposed to be 21 degrees tonight though so all that melted snow will be ice by morning. Glad I don't have to go out in that mess.

Romeena I sure wish I could find homemade tamales that cheap here! Wow! There's a family here that have passed their recipe down through the generations who still make some to sell if you pre-order them. They come in Regular, Mild and Hot, $28 per dozen and let me tell you they are more than worth that price! I've tried my hand at making them but I just can't get them right.

My 2nd order of COPD meds finally showed up yesterday, but the one I ordered Nov 23rd is still floating out in no man's land somewhere. I called the pharmacy and since they have a 60 day guarantee and it's been well over 60 days they re-ordered it. It should not be this hard to get meds that you can afford!

I've been busy laughing at my English Budgies Mr. Baxter and Mr Green Jeans today. I gave them some millet and some kale as their daily treat and they have been busy fussing with each other over it. Mr Green Jeans is such a pig. He will be eating the kale and he'll see Mr. Baxter go to the millet and he'll RUN over there fussing and cussing up a storm and chase Mr B off of it. Mr B will then go to the kale and yep, you guessed it Mr GJ will go through the whole thing again and chase him off the kale. Honestly, I don't know how he even has time to taste what he's eating he's so busy bossing his brother around. Kale, radicchio and apples are favorites of theirs and of Gomer, our Russian Tortoise.
*extra points if you know where I got the Budgie names 😉*

Welp off to the kitchen, I need to stir my tater soup and decide if I'm going to make cornbread to go with it or not. Here's the recipe if you're so inclined to make it ...

Easy Crockpot Potato Soup

2 14 oz cans cream of potato soup
2 14 oz cans diced potatoes~drained
1 pint half and half
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
bacon bits (optional)
dried onions (optional)

Mix everything together, stir well. Cook on low for 2-3 hours.

Later taters .... see what I did there? 🤪

*Mavis

February 03, 2021 - Msg 116125: Mavis...If I recall...That would be Capt. Kangaroo 🦘....G-F
February 03, 2021 - Msg 116126: G-F winner, winner, chicken dinner ... wait... I made tater soup didn't I? So winner, winner, tater soup dinner! You want that with cornbread, oyster crackers or just plain?

*Mavis
February 04, 2021 - Msg 116127: Any old way Mavis...I love tater soup! I do a pretty good one too. I use sour cream in mine along with a lot of celery and onions, and I add potato flakes to thicken it...

I used to make it a lot and took it to work for my crew, it was a good way to keep peace and harmony when things got tense at times!....Yep a pot of soup and a loaf of hard crust bread 🥖 did WONDERS for moral....Amen?

G-F
February 04, 2021 - Msg 116128: Good morning, porch! Cloudy and mild here today, just 64° - not warm, not cold. Sure does look like rain, though, and I hope it does. We've had some now and then for the past couple of weeks, and I just turned my sprinkler system off. My water bill won't be so scary this time, I hope.

G-F, you are a bird in this world. Also, you are right about Capt. Kangaroo. By the way, did everyone know that Capt. Kangaroo was also Clarabelle the Clown part of the time? I think Clarabelle was played by about three or four guys, but Bob Keeshan was one of them. Who could tell behind all that makeup??

I just had to go set up a hose to raise the water level in my little fish pond. From my window, I could see that the level was about four inches low. I don't know why. I'm hoping it's a backflow leak from the fountain rock. There's a small boulder that sits on one end of the pond, with a hole through the middle and a water line that goes up through the bottom, causing a fountain-like outflow at the top. Sometimes if the water flow is slowed, it will follow the rock and leak backward onto the ground behind the rock. The flow is slow, I think the filter may be clogged, but the pond cleaner guy will be here in a day or two. I used to manage that pond totally, by myself, cleaned it, managed the pumps, everything, but I just can't do it anymore. My balance is not that good, and all I need to do is fall in, hit my head on a rock, and drown in a 2-3 ft deep pond! Anyway, I hope the leak is around that rock, and not a tear in the liner. That would mean draining the whole 800 gallons of water, and locating the leak. Fixing it isn't hard, there are adhesive patches that work very well, but removing and housing the fish during the process, can be challenging. One is a 13" Koi. Then there are about 45 comets (goldfish), varying ages and lengths, from little 2" guys (about six months old) to 6-8" adults, some of which may get to a foot long or more. They probably won't, due to the size of the pond, but in a bigger area, they would. I need to re-home some of the comets, I've actually got too many in there, but they keep having babies! I think I've only bought about 8 or 10. The rest were born here.

Mavis, that tater soup sounds good! I'm afraid I'd have to include some sour cream, like G-F though. I love that stuff, and put it in a lot of things. You know the jingle - "A dollop of Daisy." Incidentally, I may have mentioned this before, but here goes. Next time you're buying sour cream, read the labels. They all have a long string of unpronounceable words, with lots of gums and stuff included. Daisy lists one thing: Cultured Cream. Now which would you rather eat? Same for Daisy brand Cottage Cheese, which I love. Daisy lists cultured skim milk, cream, and salt. That's it. The others read like a lab experiment. I don't opt for low fat in dairy products, either. Their ingredient list would scare you to death. And yes, I use real butter. Haven't bought margarine in donkey's years. Incidentally, my cholesterol is well under 200, and I don't take statins. I use a lot of sour cream, and eat some cottage cheese over some sort of berries almost every night. I guess I'm just blessed.

You know, using those canned soups is a really good idea. I buy the Campbell's Chicken Corn Chowder a lot. I drain a can of Niblets corn and add it in, also a very generous dollop of Daisy, a few dashes of Tabasco sauce, and heat it up. It makes enough for two meals for me, and it's so good. I like clam chowder too, and both Campbell's and Progresso make good ones, especially after I add a can of baby clams and some sour cream and Tabasco. I partially drain the clams, but use some of the juice. By the way, anyone who likes the taste of Tabasco, but is worried about the "bite" - don't be. The sour cream (or any other dairy product) will kill the heat in the Tabasco, but leave that piquant flavor. If you get a bite of a pepper somewhere and find it to be too hot, don't reach for tea or water, take a drink of milk, or a bite of sour cream. Even a buttered cracker will work, as long as it's real butter. Just FYI...

Oh, one more little suggestion. Use your imagination and add some fresh lemon juice to some of your soups. Progresso's Italian Wedding Soup is very good, and it's even better if you add the juice of a lemon. Big and juicy lemon, add half. Small lemon or big dry one, use the whole thing. Meyer lemons, when you can find them, are the absolute best, and worth the price.

Well, better get rounded up and get some things done around here. We're playing bunco tonight, and I need to wash my hair. Poor Trinket, she'll be upset, and will undoubtedly spend the evening in the laundry hamper, but she'll get over it. When she's upset, or uneasy, she gets in that laundry hamper. Actually, it's a cabinet, with a small door that opens downward, above the regular cabinet door below. Probably most of yours are the same. Anyway, she hooks a toenail under the door, pulls it open and goes in. The door then closes by itself. She pouts in there while I'm in the shower, and whenever I leave her in the bathroom when I'm gone. Sweet, goofy little thing. I do love her!

Blessings, friends! Keep looking up! --Romeena
February 04, 2021 - Msg 116129: Only have a minute to check in but letting you all know we are well. My nephew is still making his way through covid and has a low grade fever and a cough. His O2 sats are good, though, so we are keeping an eye on that. So far no one else has gotten sick, thankfully.

So good to have you back on the porch Mavis!!

Gotta go get some chores done.

Boo
February 04, 2021 - Msg 116130:

Hey GF and Mavis, I gotta agree with RO, if sour cream is included, it's gotta be Daisy. As for the mayo, I will
yield to GF and go with Duke's,... maybe Best Foods if I'm feeling particularily frisky! ha
Did I tell you that our Canes Chicken fingers opened up finally!
I walked in, ordered 3 fingers, they said no charge! (This time anyway. Finger lickin good.) (yes, a little pun there :)
RO--I never knew that little fact about Capt K. Interesting.
Regarding the pond...if it is a liner leak, and you happen to locate it
without draining it, I have seen Flex Seal tape commercials on TV that says
they even work in water, but that is a commercial.
On another note, I went out and bought a MyPillow today. Just felt I had to, but that's all
I will say.
BOO--so glad that your nephew is doing better!! :) AZ is getting the vaccine out pretty swiftly at
several big sites.
Oh GF- do you know if actor Parley Baer was related to writer Art Baer?
Prayers,
MDC

February 05, 2021 - Msg 116131: G-F My aunt made her tater soup with celery and it was so good, I like the celery, but it don't like me. I use cornbread in mine or oyster crackers when I don't want to make cornbread.

Romeena your fish pond sounds wonderful! I had one but the resident raccoons 🦝 figured out they were easy pickins and would eat the fish fast as I could put them in there so I gave up. I never thought about using sour cream in the soup! Yum! And yes, Daisy is all we use here as well. That little Trinket sounds like she uses the laundry hamper like her little den. I bet she's great company. I'd love to meet her.

Boo I'm happy to be back, I missed y'all. Great news about your nephew and his o2 stats! Now that I'm on o2 24/7 I have learned way more about stats and such than I ever thought I would. I'm thankful this happened AFTER Google was invented LOL My little pulse-ox finger thingy is never far away.

MDC I've never heard of Best Foods or Canes Chicken, lawsy I need to get out more. As for that MyPillow, I almost got one when they first came out, glad I didn't now. I want a pillow that helps me sleep better and with that one I know I couldn't sleep at night knowing what it's inventor supports and stands for and that I actually gave him money. I'd have to throw that thing in my burn barrel! I never in my wildest dreams would've ever thought a pillow of all things could be political, but that's all I'm going to say, I don't want Floyd hollerin Citizen's Arrest and throwing me in the cell.

Welp, I called all over today trying to find out when I can get the vaccine and there's none to be found for first dose in my area right now. What they have on hand is being saved back for the folks who have already had the first dose and will need the 2nd. They are being told they aren't sure when to expect more. I hate this, I want to get 'er done so I can start taking steps to seeing my gbabies again! I haven't hugged them since July! That's hard on a Mamaw's heart let me tell ya!

Ok, time to hit the old ironing board

*Mavis
February 05, 2021 - Msg 116132: MDC...As far as your question about Art Baer, it appears he is not related to Parley. But it sure seems like they went down a similar road in life...What say you PH?...

Now y’all got me hungry for tater soup, but I don’t have the taters 🥔 to swing it until I go to the store!...But I DO have the ingredients for ham and bean soup. I got a great deal on a ham so we’ve been eating on that, then I’ll have the bone left for soup...Plus I have the cornbread to swing it too!

That’s the only good thing about cold weather, it brings the soup out in a Guy...lol

I always told my Buddy when we would go to our “Lodge Meetings” at Cracker Barrel he’d get Coffee and pancakes. He reminded me of the Campbell soup commercial where the kid comes in from the cold as a snow man, and transformed back into a kid again as he ate his soup...You could just watch all the day’s problems just melt away off of him as he ate...

Funny Memory!...I miss our Thursday “Lodge Meetings” after work...We went to many a Bluegrass show and Mayberry events over the years until he moved to Missouri...

G-F
February 05, 2021 - Msg 116133: Hello porchsters. I was thinking, if Barney caught a porch pirate on this here porch, he might have to pull out his bullet, and that would lead to all kinds of bad things. More'n likely, a bullet in the ground at Barney's feet.

Billy Ray the Porch Pirate Hatin' Postman
February 06, 2021 - Msg 116134:

My back is much better these days.
Thanks for the prayers.
More later,
MDC :)
February 06, 2021 - Msg 116135: Good morning porch ! Quick check in and breakfast , gona read the mail - breakfast will be take out from Waffle House ! I will pick up and deliver - allstar breakfast for all - ok gona go cut cabbage in garden ! Got a lot coming in- gona make some chow-chow. Prayers to all ! SPOT !
February 06, 2021 - Msg 116136: For you Tennessee Girls....https://youtu.be/YXDTWPH8Dss. Those kids got talent...G-F
February 06, 2021 - Msg 116137: Sorry it was this one https://youtu.be/P0XtJjhl8fg
February 06, 2021 - Msg 116138: Dinner tonight is chicken pot pies and two small apple pies for dessert. MDC I received two mypillows free when I ordered our mattress topper which is awesome, can't say the same about the pillows. Looking forward to watching the super bowl tomorrow. Sarah
February 07, 2021 - Msg 116139:

Hey there SPOT and Sarah. Good to see you both. Waffle House breakfast sounds good. :) especially following a pot pie dinner!
As some of you may know, our church has a Sat. evening service
that 'counts' for Sunday. Anyway, (earlier in the week they asked
for volunteers to help 'sanitize' the church afterwards) so my wife and I
volunteered. They have these neat fine mist sprayers to spray sanitizer all over the pews.
This has been going on since last march, its just the first time that WE offered
to help.
GF--those kids sure give the Dillards a run for their money! ha
Very cool. When I was a youngster (around 12) the Christy Minstrels came to AZ and some of my fam got to see them. I found this on yutube Take a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SMLz32Axd4
Mavis, vaccine is coming next week for our area. AZ doing good on distribution.
BILLY Ray, regarding porch pirates, Our neighborhood is now mostly retired folks,
many with those 'ring' cameras, so as soon as a package comes, were out there on it! ha Also, our regular mailbox is in one of those gangboxes that has locks.
Here's a weird thing tho, my wife got her 600 debit card about 3 weeks ago, but I have yet
to get one. Very strange indeed.
Good Sabbath to all!
MDC

February 07, 2021 - Msg 116140: Good morning, porch! Cloudy, gray and chilly here in north Texas this morning, temp is 41°. I'm ready to "attend church", sitting right here at my computer. Technology is wonderful. The services are carried on Facebook, and the little sidebar where we can post comments adds a nice touch. At least we can greet each other. I will be so glad when this thing finally wears itself out. We're at almost a year of quarantine and masks now.

I hate those masks, and seriously question their effectiveness. They make it very difficult for me to breathe, and the fact that my sunglasses fog up when I'm wearing a mask tells me that air is escaping around the periphery of the thing. One doctor put it very well - he said the best thing about a mask was that it kept the wearer from touching his face with his hands. For me, it restricts my breathing and prevents me from supplementing my failing hearing with some lip reading. I wasn't even aware of how much I was doing that until the masks came on the scene. For someone who is more deaf than I am, the mask just totally removes them from communication. I have seen some that have a transparent window in the front of the mask, and I think that's just a genius idea.

About the porch pirates - so far, I have had nothing stolen, but some of my neighbors have. The way my porch is situated, you have to walk up the driveway, follow a short walkway, make a hard left and then another one to enter the porch. In other words, it can't be seen from the street. Most of the thieves won't risk making their way up to that porch to see if there's something there. They just drive by and if they can see something on your porch, they will grab it. I can't imagine doing something like that, but they don't seem to be bothered. I saw one film where the woman ambled up to the porch, looked directly into the camera and waved, picked up the package, and walked back to her car! I've got four cameras - one on the porch, and three around the outside of the house, so it would be hard to get to my porch without being seen by one of them. Love those cameras!

G-F, those kids are amazing! Thanks for sharing that link.

Well, better sign off. I'll get Trinket in my lap and we'll "go to church." Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena
February 07, 2021 - Msg 116141: Good evening Porch Friends!
I know; I’m kind of like that traveling preacher who preached to Mayberrians (ites?) about relaxing. I once was a regular on this porch, but I have only stopped by once in a blue moon over recent years. But due to recent changes in my life and schedule, and with Romeena’s urging, I will hopefully be stopping by more often. So let’s get those uniforms out of the mothballs and Gomer can check for spiders under the bandstand. It’s good to see Boo, Asa, and MDC’s familiar faces here!
Charlotte Tucker
February 07, 2021 - Msg 116142: Well I'll be dogged. If it isn't Charlotte Tucker. So good to see you and I hope you will stick with us.
I have been having some puter issues and other things going on so I have been absent for a spell. I am posting on an iPad and it is a pain. But I just wanted to pop in and say hey. I was watching the golf tournament today and it got me to thinking of MDC seeing how it was in his backyard.
I hope all are well and all are healthy.
GF, did you survive the big storm?
Well more later. This touchpad is a pain to use for me

Asa
February 08, 2021 - Msg 116143: Howdy Asa, lotsa luck to you and yours! Sorry to hear about the puter issues. Personally, I have a love-hate relationship with technology. Golf sounds good. Today is my 60th birthday. Was hoping to be in Florida this week but trip got delayed. Enjoying 3 degrees and a lot of snow here in IL, but I guess that’s better than “enjoying poor health!” Take care, all.
February 08, 2021 - Msg 116144: Good morning, porch! Just been sitting here at my window, enjoying the critter traffic out there in the back yard. Several little squirrels with their minds on romance - very busy. I guess I'll get to enjoy watching some baby squirrels in a few weeks. They are sooo cute! Right now, there's a big and bossy bluejay trying to lay claim to all the feed I've put out. He thinks it all belongs to him! There is a woodp#cker hammering a hole in a tree, and a whole flock of robins searching the yard for worms and anything else they might want to eat. They are so welcome. Robins eat just about anything, though they are partial to worms and other soft-bodied critters, like spiders and snails, termites, whatever. They're welcome to all of those critters they can find in my yard. There's a female cardinal out there, so I'm sure her bright-red mate is not far away. They nested in my little cherry laurel last spring, probably planning to do it again. That bluejay is just hilarious. He's just wearing himself out trying to chase all the other birds out of the yard, and they're mostly just laughing at him. This house sits on a quarter-acre lot, so why he thinks he has to have all that to himself, I don't know, but evidently he's convinced. He couldn't eat all the available bugs out there if he lived to be a hundred.

Charlotte Tucker, I'm so glad you dropped by, and really hope you'll make it a habit. Our numbers have shrunk, but some of the others drop in occasionally and are always welcome. We need more regulars, and I hope you'll be one of them! I do so appreciate all you did for me, publishing my little stories. That was a good time in my life. I'm still writing, but need an outlet. I have thought of compiling those stories into a book, but self-publishing is so expensive, and then the marketing is even more costly. Without it, the book doesn't sell, and they know that. The one who published my book contacted me with a "special offer" for a marketing opportunity. There was a book fair in San Francisco, and I could claim a spot at the fair for only $1800, and would be responsible for my airfare and hotel as well. Ha. Like I have that kind of money! It would cost about $4k at least, and I'd have a little table in a corner somewhere, and maybe sell a few books, maybe not. Naturally, I didn't go for it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you today!

Asa, I feel your pain. I'm only comfortable here at my computer, with my big monitor and regular keyboard. I have on occasion visited the porch via my phone, but it's a real whippin' and I don't do it often. I hate that little dinky keyboard! My phone is an Android, and has a stylus for the keyboard. Good thing, because I just can't do the keyboard with my fingers. How on earth my kids can type - accurately, mind you - on that little thing I'll never know. My fingers are pretty skinny, but that doesn't seem to help much. My son, with his big old fingers, just flies on the thing. Amazing.

Well, guess I'll go scrounge up some lunch. I've got a piece of grilled sirloin left over, rare, the way I like it. I'll dice it up, heat up some leftover brown rice in the microwave, and put the steak in the hot rice. That will warm the meat without cooking it further, I'll stir in a little steak sauce, and it will be yummy. That will make the third meal I've gotten out of that piece of sirloin. Got about a third of a head of butter lettuce, a little feta cheese and a lemon-poppy seed dressing, and that will finish my lunch. Tonight, dinner will be a big bowl of blackberries and blueberries, with a mound of cottage cheese on top, and Trinket will have some blueberries with me. She loves them!

Blessings, friends! Keep looking up! --Romeena
February 08, 2021 - Msg 116145:

ME-TV is starting over tonight with the first tags episode.
That final scene still 'gets me' right in the heart when
Opie comes running out, 'she needs me pa, she can't do anything,
I need to teach her, etc.' :)
Charlotte Tucker, so good to see you here again.
and it appears that birthday wishes are in order! Hope it was a good one.
Boy, the midwest is sure getting hit with COLD! 4 below in Green bay
where my sister-in-law lives. GF, you doing OK?
Message 116143, you didnt sign off with a catch name, but thanks for settin for a spell! Come back again.
RO--you certainly do have a 3 ring circus going on in your backyard! Ha.
ASA--good to see ya back on the porch. As you know, the tourney was
pretty subdued this year, but still a good watch.
I saw a cute cartoon today... two people talking to two Amish people.
They ask the Amish guys why they don't worry about the virus, and one of
them responds..."Because we don't have TV." :)
BOO--I hope you and your family are well these days. Prayers continue for you and yours. :)
God's Peace and Joy to all,
MDC


February 08, 2021 - Msg 116146: Eve'nin Porchsters!
Just stopping by real quick to share a video from the ETSU Johnson City eagle nest, hopefully y'all can see it. Something scared them last night and one ended up falling from the nest and the other ended up hanging upside down for a bit. Craziness going on over there last night for sure. The video is posted in one of the groups on Facebook set up for the eagle watchers

https://www.facebook.com/100004230215032/videos/1862466543904335/

Later taters, I'm off to watch and see what, if anything, happens tonight.

*Mavis
February 09, 2021 - Msg 116147: Mavis...I thinkin’ Winkin kicked out Blinkin, and left Nod hangin’ is what I’m thinkin’.... 🦅...G-F
February 09, 2021 - Msg 116148: Good morning, porch! Brrr! It's just 33° here in the Dallas area this morning, was colder during the night. Not much critter traffic out there right now. They're all holed up somewhere, trying to stay warm. I did see one little squirrel as she skittered up a tree and entered one of the squirrel boxes. So far, she hasn't come out, guess she's planning to stay for a while. After all the courting that's been going on, I would imagine she's looking for a place to have some babies pretty soon. When it warms up a little, I will probably see her dragging mouthfuls of leaves into the box. When Eddie cleans up the fallen leaves, he doesn't remove the ones that fall in the flowerbeds. Left alone there, they provide insulation for the bulbs during the cold weather, and gradually decompose, providing fresh compost later on. Also, the squirrels salvage them in great amounts, to insulate their nests. I don't know if the relatively small amounts of leaves will generate any heat in the nests, like a compost heap does, but I suppose they could. God does provide!

I look like a shaggy dog. I need a haircut! My friend Cheryl, who has cut my hair for over 40 years, is in the hospital with what we are afraid is lung cancer. She hasn't been given a definite diagnosis yet, they're still testing, but she says she's pretty sure that's what it is. Please pray for her. Of course, I can't go visit her, with the Covid restrictions. Meantime, I'm beginning to resemble an old gray mop, and I have no idea who to call. There is a woman in the same shop who has cut my hair a few times over the years, and Rose did a good job, but I can't get in touch with her. The shop no longer maintains a land line, the staff all just use their own cell phones, and Rose's mailbox is full! Oh well, I guess I'll just be shaggy.

MDC, there's a lot of truth in that comment by the Amish man. Oh, and that was Charlotte Tucker up there in Msg 116143, according to the page source. It takes a while to get back into the porch habit.

Well, I have reluctantly started taking my Christmas decorations down. I know, I know - it's February, why are they still up? Because I like them, enjoy them, they bring me joy and comfort, and there is no law that says they must be down, so I just take them down when I please. The house always looks so drab and dreary when all the pretties are put away. It takes me several days to get used to the way it looks without the tree and everything else. Also, I have to wait for David and the boys to come and help me with the tree. I can get the ornaments off, but no way can I wrestle that big old thing into its box and get it in the closet. It's 8 1/2" tall, breaks down into three sections, and the only section I can lift is the top part, and then just barely. I'll do a little bit every day, until I finally get all the small stuff put away, then I'll schedule a pork chop supper, David et al will come and we'll take the tree down. One day at a time!

Trinket is scheduled for grooming this afternoon, but the groomer just called, said her van is still in the shop (has been for nearly two weeks) and she's not sure whether they'll get it back to her today. It's a Mercedes diesel, so requires a diesel mechanic, and I think she's using one that's not too good. She picked it up yesterday, supposedly fixed, and didn't even get home with it. Still doing whatever it was that was supposedly fixed. She is not a happy camper. That's her livelihood, when that van isn't running. So that puts me and Trinket both in a fix! Neither of us has a hairdresser at the moment, and I'm not sure which of us is the shaggiest.

Well, guess I'll go have some berries and cottage cheese. I love berries! Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena
February 09, 2021 - Msg 116149: Good evening porch friends!
Yes, MDC, that was indeed me in message 116143. I’m too used to texting! Romeena, Dead-eye Dickie, figured it out. Ro, I share your love of watching God’s critters. When I started working from home last March, we set up several birdfeeders, and enjoyed some Orioles and hummingbirds in the spring. But this morning we had 3 male and 2 female cardinals, chickadees, a blue jay, dove, sparrows, and juncos. The cardinals are so pretty against the snow. The contrast of the juncos is striking too. Do any of you have juncos? Romeena, here’s how you fill the Christmas tree void—I have been cutting off the ends of my romaine lettuce and started growing them in little bowls of water and planting celery ends in pots of dirt. It is exciting how quickly they sprout leaves! I love gardening! Mavis, thanks for sharing the eagle link. I hope you all have a pleasant evening! I’m watching the Luke Comstock episode. That was pretty nasty of Aunt Bee to drop that pot on “the kitty’s” head!
Charlotte Tucker
February 09, 2021 - Msg 116150: Hey Everybody! I hope all is well in Mayberry for y'all. I'm *enjoying* working the PM shift so I thought I'd drop in and say, "Hey from Floyd!"

Asa, sorry to hear about your computer problems. Things like that is what's kept me a job for the last 31 years. ha ha....Doesn't mean they're fun though.

Charlotte Tucker, you should try to attract some web-footed, red-crested lake loons to those bird feeders. That way you'd always know where the lake was...cause that's the direction they'd be traveling.

--Floyd
February 10, 2021 - Msg 116151: Good to see you, Floyd! Thank you for the tip!
Charlotte Tucker
February 10, 2021 - Msg 116152: Good to see you, Floyd! Thank you for the tip!
Charlotte Tucker
February 10, 2021 - Msg 116153: Oop! How did I chew my cabbage twice??
CT
February 10, 2021 - Msg 116154: Floyd..You’re Funny for a Barber 💈...Truely one of those Men of Genius...Mr. Company Computer Guy..G-F
February 10, 2021 - Msg 116155: Good morning, porch! Rainy, cold, gray and not very inviting outdoors today. Even the critters agree, there's not a furry or feathered friend to be seen out there! Oh, correction: There's one lonely-looking dove perched on a bare tree limb.

Charlotte Tucker, thanks for the tip about the lettuce and celery ends. I'm going to try that. Both are so cheap at the store, it's not worth it for the "crop", but well worth it for the fun of watching them grow! I think butter lettuce will do the same thing.

Thanks for the suggestion, Floyd. The next time I want to visit a lake, I'll just look for one of those birds to help me find one.

CT, you mentioned Luke Comstock. Does anyone besides me watch "Adam 12"? Leo Gordon, the actor who played Luke, has been in several episodes, and I noticed that he also wrote each of the ones in which he appeared. He was one tough-looking guy, but I'll bet in real life he was very nice.

Oh, my! Scratch my comment about the absence of critters out back. A whole flock of huge, beautiful robins, at least 30 of them, has descended on my yard, and if there's a worm within half a mile, they're going to find it! Such busy, persistent birds. And here comes a squirrel! It must be getting a little warmer out there.

Well, gotta run. I've got an appointment with the eye doc this morning, and I'm not even dressed yet. Later, taters! Blessings, and keep looking up! --Romeena