March 16, 2022 - Msg 117674: Make that "a biT shakily", not "big shakily." Although, come to think of it, "big shakily" is a pretty good descriptor after getting sprayed with alcohol! --Romeena
March 17, 2022 - Msg 117675:

Good sweep of the porch RO, thanks.
So sorry about LaRue, she is in my prayers,
as is her great-grand daughter.

I have one theory about the flies. My guess is that they were
somewhere in the house long before Monday, and just like at a picnic,
the strong smell of that food brought them out. Just a guess tho.

Tonite's tags was a good one about Brisco and Aunt Bee.
So many classic lines, like: MEAT, TATERS, twang my buds,
three cuts of pie, and I aint about to be beat to death with no spoon! :)

APB for all our missing porchsters! Please check in. BOO, how goes things with your fam?
Have you ever heard any more about Shoreline?
All is well here. I just purchased a portable, battery-powered PA system for our church. It can be used at parish picnics, Easter sunrise services, and other activities. Only $159. It is about the size of a suitcase and is on wheels. Has a wireless mike too.

This Sunday we are going to a local Railroad Museum. There are 12 vintage train cars that we can walk thru. Here is a link if you
want to see what it is like.
http://azrymuseum.org/

Please keep praying for Ukraine. thx
MDC
March 17, 2022 - Msg 117676: Happy St. Patrick's Day! Haven't been posting much,but I do peek in to try to keep up with all of the Porchsters.

Prayers for LaRue and her loved ones. Can relate to the great granddaughter and how the loss will affect her- Laci's mom's best friend of 30 years died about a month ago from Covid,and Laci has hurt right along with the rest of us. She very seldom cries,even through some tough medical procedures and illnesses that she's had,but the mention or thought of "Aunt Kim" will bring some tears. It's hard to see the young ones hurting and my prayers will be with LaRue's little great granddaughter in the days to come. And with you too,Ro. Hard to lose a friend.
Prayers for Ukraine,too.

********************
o'possum under a rock (the one day out of the year that I use my "government name"- ha! )
March 17, 2022 - Msg 117677: Good morning, porch! Another gray day here, wish it would just go on and rain and be done with it! It seems like Spring is just never going to arrive. I've about worn my a/c thermostat out, switching between cool and heat.

MDC, I can just about guarantee you there were no flies in this house until I cooked that cabbage. Why would they just hole up and sit hidden somewhere and starve? I do enough cooking around here that they surely would have shown up before now. Food cooking, any food, would have brought them out, don't you think? There would be nothing to attract them, as my trash is bagged and stored in the garage, and is picked up twice a week. I have a powerful garbage disposer, and run about 90% of the wet garbage through it and therefore out of the house. I still have no explanation for them, but just having them camping out in the house, waiting for me to cook a cabbage, well.......Thanks for your concern, though. If you and Cecile like cabbage, cook some and see if you have the same experience. One other thing - these flies don't look like the normal little old housefly. They're enormous! They look like horseflies, and believe me, that's a big fly! Miserable wretches! Looks like a B-29!

Thank you, everyone who is praying for LaRue. I just talked to her daughter, and she said they got her to eat a small pancake and a half. For her, that's a huge meal. Yesterday, she didn't know she was in her own house, and barely said three words all day. Today, she's Chatty Kathy! Go figure. I've got a doc appointment myself today, and will stop by there on the way home and sit with her for a while. Keep praying, friends. Her doctor says it's just a matter of time, so right now, we're just waiting on the Lord.

MDC, That's one of my favorite lines out of the whole series - "I ain't about to be beat to death with no spoon!" Classic! Right up there with "Boy, giraffes are selfish!" So funny!

Well, better get moving. Got to get to the hearing aid folks. Hope he can fix at least some of the problems with my hearing - Heaven knows he's trying - but so far, it's a mess.

Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena
March 17, 2022 - Msg 117678:

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!
Good to see O'Possum stop by and say Hey.
Ro, another good line at the end is when
brisco says the kisses aint worth the pain. ha.
Peace to all,
McMDC :)


March 17, 2022 - Msg 117679: Right, MDC,! That's a classic! Seems to me that a lot of good lines showed up when Briscoe was on the scene. --Romeena
March 18, 2022 - Msg 117680: I love Briscoe talking about putting on square wheels so things don't get rolling to fast in the courtship. Denver Pyle shows up in a lot of Perry Mason episodes. He was a fine actor but he really excelled as Briscoe Darling. He did pretty good as Uncle Jesse also on the Dukes of Hazzard. You have to admit, Andy's plan of making Aunt Bee a tyrant worked out well in ending the courtship. Kind of like the same plan he and Thelma Lou used in dealing with Big Jeff Priutt. But I still wonder, if Andy was so wise how he ended up letting Peggy get away and ending up with Helen. Go figure. lol

Romeena, interesting story about your fly problem. It does make you wonder where they hang out all winter. I don't like em either. Especially in the Fall when it starts cooling down. They really become a pain then. And I have no love for skeeters either. But sorry, even less for the disgusting creatures that eat them. Of all unwanted house guests, I would say mice is on the top of my list. And put wings on a mouse and what do you have? A bat. No thank you.

MDC, that sounds like a fun trip on Sunday. I love touring those old machines of yesteryear. Planes, trains, and automobiles. I like them all.

I saw Jubal Foster on Perry last night. It took me a while to figure out who he was. I think that is the first time I have ever seen him as anything but Jubal Foster. He was serving as a deputy DA.

Well I hope eveyone had a nice St. Paddy's day. and didn't get pinched.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Asa
March 18, 2022 - Msg 117681: Good morning, porch! Well, another chilly (48°), gray, overcast day. We had a brief frog-strangling rain last evening, just as I was leaving the JOY dinner at church. Took Eloise home (she rarely drives at night, as she doesn't see well after dark) and drove through a blinding rain for about a mile, then it stopped and I drove in just a light sprinkle until almost home, when the heavens opened again! I was so glad my sprinklers were already on rain delay, so I didn't have to go out in the rain to set the delay! My water bill should be smaller this month, and things got watered very well. Looks like we'll get more today. Fine with me! (I'm sure the Lord is glad to have my approval!)

I did go by and sit with LaRue for a while yesterday. I took her a favorite dish - vanilla Dairy Queen ice cream with chocolate syrup. To my surprise and delight, she ate about 2/3 of it! She looks terrible, weighs 84 lbs, and looks like she would shatter if you touched her. She was talkative, but part of the time it was disconnected rambling, and then in the next breath she would relate the story of something that happened 40 years ago, like a trip our group of friends made to my favorite river camp on the Frio. As we were riding the rapids, somehow she and her innertube got hung up on a tree root, and my Dale walked upstream to rescue her. She even said, "he looked like Moses parting the water!" Yet when I asked her if she ate breakfast, she said she didn't know. Her Hospice nurse has warned the family that it will probably be over in a few more days. I hope so. She is a beautiful servant of the Lord, has been helpful in so many ways to her church and her friends and will be missed, but she's ready to go. Please continue to pray for her and her family.

MDC, let me know how you enjoy your trip to the Railroad Museum. Believe it or not, our JOY (Just Older Youth) group is going to a similar museum, I think on the 31st. We will visit the historic old locomotives that are preserved there, and then will go indoors to wander through a huge model railroad setup. I'm told that the models are laid out over an area the size of a basketball gym. Should be interesting!

Blessings, friends, and keep looking up! --Romeena
March 18, 2022 - Msg 117682: I think LaRue's Chatty Kathy mood rubbed off on me. This post was getting enormous, so I decided to divide it.

b>Asa, please forgive me, but I just get a big chuckle out of your disgust with bats. It's not unusual, I think more people hate them than even tolerate them, let alone appreciate them, and I'll admit they're not the most glamorous animal around, but I still like them. They're so beneficial, and they mean us no harm, personally. I may have told you at some point in the past about my encounter with them, but just in case, I'll do it again.

There is a huge colony, estimated at about 3 million, of the small Mexican free-tail bats that live in an abandoned railroad tunnel near Fredericksburg, where my daughters live. We were down there one summer weekend many years ago, visiting our girls, and Dale decided he wanted to go and watch the bats leave the tunnel at sundown. The area has been put under the State Park control now, and a viewing area has been established about 50 feet back from the entrance to the tunnel, but at that time, you could just park in a little clearing, and walk up to the rim of the tunnel, right where the bats would come out. There was no one else there that morning. We were standing about two feet back from the edge when the first bat flew out. It was soon followed by several more, and then suddenly the air was thick with bats! They exited the tunnel in a spiraling, swirling cloud, with us right in the middle of it. They flew so close we could feel the wind from their wings ruffling our hair, and could see individual bats, some of which were albinos, very clearly. They were within a few inches of our faces, yet we were never touched. Three million bats swirled around us, we could have touched one easily, but they never, ever touched either of us. It was amazing. The sound made by their collective wings was like the wind, and we could hear their little sonar calls clearly, but not once were we so much as brushed by a wingtip. The spiral surrounded us, then rose up and formed a column, veered off and looked like a dark, solid roadbed heading south. It took about 20 minutes for them all to clear the tunnel, and looking to the south, we could see the "roadbed" breaking up as the bats scattered over the countryside. Once they were all gone, Dale and I just stood there in silence, absolutely overwhelmed by the spectacle we had witnessed.

About halfway home, Dale asked me if I would like to come back in the morning and watch them return, and of course I said I would love to. So we did. We got up early, and were in the area before dawn. We took up our position on the rim of the tunnel, and in a few minutes, just as dawn broke, the first few bats returned, circled us, then flew down and entered the tunnel. More came, then more and more, until we were once again surrounded and engulfed by a swirling torrent of bats, circling us and then dropping down to enter the tunnel. Again, we were never touched, not once. Finally, the last lone straggler appeared, circled us twice, then went into the tunnel, and all was quiet. It was a bit eerie, standing there, knowing that all those bats who had engulfed us, were now in the tunnel beneath our feet, tending their babies, after having cleared the air for miles around of millions of annoying, and often harmful, insects.

I know there's nothing glamorous about a bat, they are a bit spooky-looking, but I see them as a vital cog in the grand scheme of things. Without them, we would be overwhelmed by flies, mosquitoes, and who knows what all kinds of harmful pests. Yet we rarely see them, unless we make an effort to do so, and very few people are interested in doing that! My Dale and I were interested, and I wouldn't take a gold coin for the experience. To each his or her own, I guess. That's what makes the world go round.

That, and a sense of humor. I love your analogy of a bat being a mouse with wings! That's funny!

Well, enough bat/rat talk! Blessings, friends. Pray for Ukraine, and keep looking up. --Romeena
March 18, 2022 - Msg 117683: One more thing - if you ever see a bat on the ground, especially in the daytime, leave it alone. Don't touch it. Bats do not hang out on the ground, and especially not in the daytime. If you see one there, something is wrong with it. So do not touch it, just note where it is and call Animal Control. Be safe. --Romeena
March 19, 2022 - Msg 117684:

Otis: I told ya, all I see is a BAT! :)
(My tags quote for the day.)
I think bats get a bad rap because of the whole 'vampire' thing.
Here is a video you may enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNgGBemdnuw
RO, That was a very cool story of you and Dale watching the bats at both sundown and sunrise.

Last week I told y'all that I went for my yearly
echocardiogram; well today I got the result in my patient
portal on-line, and my left ventricle ejection fraction is 56% !
RO and BOO will know about EF, but it is basically how much blood the left ventricle pumps out with each contraction. So far, this is the best one
since my valve replacement 3 years ago, and it is very good. Normal is
50 to 70%. My continued workouts 4 times a week are paying off! woohoo!
(one of those 'workouts' is helping to clean and vacuum our 900 seat church
each Monday. ha) Even slow-motion type movements help. So many of us here are
now retired, it is important to keep moving, and dont let yourself 'go!.'
That was my pep talk for the day. :)

POSSUM, so sorry to hear of Laci's "Aunt Kim." I will keep laci and her mom (and you) in my prayers. BTW, keep up the prayers for PappaBear. He had some procedures on his legs recently.

BOO--I'm just curious if you have heard anything about shoreline?
Did it close? If not, I hope things there improved greatly.

As most of you know, I am observing a 'season' known as Lent. One wonderful tradition
every Friday is what is called Stations of the Cross. It is a service that consists of
meditations on the passion of Christ from being condemned to death by Pilate to the laying
in the tomb. Each 'station' consists of Gospel readings of that part of his passion,
as well as an old testament prophecy of it. It is always very moving to realize what Jesus went
thru for our redemption! (That was my church talk for the day.) :)

Tho we tend to be 'thinning out' here lately, hang in there my friends, and please keep
praying for Ukraine.
Peace
MDC
March 19, 2022 - Msg 117685:

Oh RO, my wife's dad was an SP freight train engineer for 38 years, and when we would go to Yuma to visit her folks,
he would show me around 'the yard' and I would watch the switching operations. Amazing how all those goods got to the right places! :)
mdc

March 19, 2022 - Msg 117686: Wrong..Wrong..Wrong..It’s a Butterfly 🦋..That’s the problem with you Otis..You see mean things I see Butterflies 🦋
Well, it’s a MEAN Butterfly 🦋 then!!....
But on the bright side, an average bat can eat 1,000 to 1,200 mosquitoes in a single hour...I just want to know WHO sat there for an hour and counted all 1,200 mosquitoes 🦟 the bat 🦇 ate? It sure wasn’t Asa!...He say’s even knowing that fact, he STILL ain’t crazy about 🦇...

Also MDC..Bless Your ❤️...For Doing That hard work! And tell it to keep it up! We need you around to keep us rockin’..

Asa...Stacy still doing Ok? Hopefully everything is back to HER normal....

Lastly...Do y’all get the RFD TV 📺 Channel? The travel program “Small Town Big Deal” filmed at Mayberry Days this year, and it aires this week, so check your listings and see when it’s on it your area...I got to talk to Jan & Rodney (the hosts) for awhile and they were very nice folks....

G-F
March 19, 2022 - Msg 117687: Good morning, porch! It's bright and sunny out there this morning, a bit chilly at 46°, but heading for a high of 76°. Maybe Spring is really arriving now. My back yard is full of squirrels, at least six or seven out there, hard to tell because they're so busy, never still for a minute. I enjoy watching them so much.

MDC, congratulations on that very excellent EF. Anything above 50% is fine, and when you start approaching 60%, you're great! Anything above 60% is rare, and probably belongs to a football player or somebody like that. Or maybe a racehorse! I may have asked you this question before, but if I have, I've slept since then, so therefore don't remember, so forgive me if I'm repeating a question. Do you take Co-Q-10? If not, ask your doctor about it. I have two leaky valves in my heart, have been that way for years, and doctors won't even discuss any surgery for me now, at my age, diabetic, etc. Suits me, I feel fine, can do just about anything I want to do, and don't see any point in taking that risk. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Anyway, about the Co-Q-10 -- for those who might not know, it's an enzyme that supports cardiac function, gives your heart a little boost, so to speak. About 20 years ago, I was, of course, in better health than I am now, mostly, but in some ways not so good. For instance, I had an EF of just about 40%. Our nursing supervisor asked me one day if I took Co-Q-10. I told her I didn't, and didn't even know what it was. It was just starting to gain a little traction with the medical community, and only a few doctors prescribed it. She told me to ask my cardio doc and give it a try. So I did. The doctor said he didn't care if I took it, it was "voodoo", wouldn't do much, but wouldn't hurt anything either. So I started taking it, and within two weeks I had more energy and stamina, and just generally felt better. I was due for another echocardiogram, so my doc just laughed and said we would find out whether my witch doctor medicine was doing anything. Well, my EF came back as 58%. The doc asked if I was still taking that "stuff". I said I was, and he said, very emphatically, "Well, don't stop! Your heart hasn't looked this good in years." And so, I have taken the "voodoo" medicine ever since, still do, and my EF hangs around 55-60%. It's sold over the counter, don't need a scrip, but I would recommend checking with your doctor. If he or she doesn't encourage it, ask some questions. Why not? What harm, if any, can it do? The ratings in the literature are all positive. There is no reason not to take it, unless you're allergic, and I have never heard of anyone being allergic to it. It's an enzyme that's naturally present in our bodies, and sometimes you can benefit from just a little more, so why not take the supplement?

MDC, thanks for the link to the presentation about the Bracken bat cave. I've been there, watched the bats exit in the evening. It's spectacular! Also, and I don't know if the colony is still there, but there used to be a very big deal every evening at Carlsbad Caverns. There was an enormous bat colony there, and they made a ceremony over their exit in the evenings. It's a spectacular sight, wherever it occurs, but take it from me - watching from a distance and standing in the middle of the swirl are definitely two different experiences. I will never, ever forget that. Lucky me, to have a husband like Dale. He always found exciting and unusual things to do, see, or participate in. He got me in the barn to see the beautiful Budweiser Clydesdales when they were an attraction at the Ft. Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. I don't know how he did it, because the barn was not open to the public, but he did. I got to spend about 20 minutes in that barn with those beautiful horses, got to rub those velvety noses, just soak up the essence of power that surrounds them. We entered the barn by a back door, after a nod from a man standing nearby, and nobody challenged us. When I asked Dale how he got us in there, he just grinned and said, "I'm magic!"

Well, better run. Eloise and I are heading for a shopping center, I've got a pair of slacks to exchange. They're tagged my usual size, didn't try them on, and I should have. They're about four inches too long! Oh well. The store is having a big sale, so maybe I'll find something else I just have to have, besides exchanging the slacks. Then we're going to Arby's for one of those Reuben sandwiches they're advertising, that look so good! I love Reuben sandwiches anyway, and Arby's just has to do a good job with them. We'll see!

Blessings, friends! Prayers for all who need 'em, and I guess that would be just about all of us! Keep looking up! --Romeena
March 20, 2022 - Msg 117688: Welcome,Sweet Springtime!!

possum again
March 20, 2022 - Msg 117689:

We great thee with SONG! (:


March 20, 2022 - Msg 117690:

We great thee with SONG! (:


March 21, 2022 - Msg 117691:

RO--yes, I do indeed take CQ-10. I do 200 mg
in the AM and 100 mg in the PM. Your 58% is great!
I hope everyone had a good Sabbath
as well as a good first day of Spring!
Have a blessed week!
MDC


March 21, 2022 - Msg 117692: Good morning, porch! Well, it may officially be Spring, but you would never know it, looking out my window this morning. The sky looks like someone turned a giant #10 washtub upside down and dropped it over my neighborhood! Gray, gray, gray! Nothing but gray sky as far as I can see. It looks dismal and gloomy, but I see beyond that. I see more rain! Beautiful, wonderful rain! None falling as yet, but it will, I just know it will! My sprinklers are still in rain delay, and I hope to be able to keep them in delay for a good long time. Healthier yard out there, cheaper bill in here. Can't beat a deal like that!

MDC, I'm glad to know you do take Co-Q-10, though it doesn't surprise me. That stuff is wonderful, and it's over-the-counter! When I started taking it, it was fairly new, as I told earlier, and most docs were a bit skeptical. Well, not any more. Practically everyone I know who has any cardiac issues at all is taking it, on their doctor's orders, and everyone has achieved some improvement, in many cases a lot of improvement, as I did. So glad you take it!

Yesterday was an interesting day. I've been having problems with my ADT alarm system for the past two or three weeks. It will just suddenly, for no reason at all, start making a chirping sound. I try to silence it by entering my code and hitting "Off", but it doesn't work. It will chirp for about two minutes, then the overhead alarm starts screaming, and I can't silence it with the code at the door into the garage from the kitchen. I have to travel to the control box in my bedroom, which is some distance from the other box. After entering the code about four times, it finally registered, the thing went off, and there was a recorded phone call from ADT, telling me that because my alarm had been silenced by the authorized code, the police had not been called. This happened twice, and I asked for a repairman. He came, replaced a radio in one of the units (I didn't know they contained radios) and called it fixed. It was, for a few days. Then it did it again, I called for help again, had a phone visit with a technician, and it was working again. Until yesterday morning. Just as I was putting my shoes on, about to walk out the door to go to church, with Trinket penned up in the bathroom, it started chirping again, and wouldn't stop, started screaming, would not respond at the garage door box, but finally shut up when I went back to the bedroom control box, after I entered the code about six times. I just left it as it was, didn't set the alarm when I left, and am trying to call them this morning. I want somebody out here, put in new boxes, change the batteries, do whatever, but I'm tired of fighting with it. They will fix it, I'm sure. I've been with ADT for many years, have never had any complaints, they give good service. Anyway, my plan to arrive early for SS and church was shot, and I was about ten minutes late. I hate being late!

Well, we just got a little sprinkle of rain. Lasted about five minutes, looked like it was coming out of a salt shaker, not much to it. I really hope we get more than that!

I just talked with LaRue's daughter. Seems her mom is being a real pill today. Refuses to do anything they want her to do - like eat, brush her teeth, whatever, and argues over everything. Obviously, she is trying to maintain, or regain, control. She's in the last stages, still refusing to eat, and now weighs 75 lbs. Good grief! Please pray for her, and for her daughters, who are bearing the whole load of her care, along with visits from a Hospice nurse.

Woohoo! Eloise and I went to Chico's yesterday, I wasn't able to return or exchange those slacks, I've had them too long. Just didn't get around to it soon enough. However, if I can figure out what's wrong with my sewing machine, I can just shorten them to fit me, I guess. Anyway, while there, I found some good stuff! I bought two blouses, and two pair of pants that I like very, very much! I wore one of the sets to church yesterday, and three people complimented the blouse before I even got to my seat in the SS room! The pants will go with lots of things that I already have, so I think I did very well.

Looks like this will continue to be a drippy day, I hope! We can use the rain, I can use the cheaper water bill, and if it really rains hard for a while, it will top off my fish pond and I won't have to do that! I love it when they get fresh rain water, instead of the chlorinated stuff that forces me to use chemicals in the water.

Well, off I go. I need to run a couple of errands, and maybe pick up an ice cream sundae for LaRue. She ate most of the one I took to her last week. Everything helps, I guess.

Blessings, friends! Keep looking up! --Romeena
March 21, 2022 - Msg 117693: Hello Porch,

Nice to step up on the porch for a bit, while I can.

An observation......

In "Briscoe Declares for Aunt Bee," I believe the story's time frame was really off. Consider this...

In "Mountain Wedding," Andy shows up at the Courthouse at 4am to wake Barney so they can get going up in the mountains. So you figure that must be a 3 or 4 hour journey.
Now we go back to "Briscoe Declares for Aunt Bee." Andy tells Opie to go get lunch from (forgot her name) where he'll eat grits and raw prunes. Figure that's noon. Then he makes the journey to the Darling home to rescue Aunt Bee. Then they have time for cleaning the house for three hours, all five of the Darling men to bathe and have a cooked dinner.

How did they have daylight long enough for Andy's long trip around lunch time, washing the house for three hours, all five Darlings to bathe and have a cooked dinner. Even if Bee was cooking dinner while they bathed, still...isn't that a lot of daylight? Even for summer?

Did I think about that too hard? ;)

John Masters
March 21, 2022 - Msg 117694: Maybe so, John Masters. Now I'll admit I may have my details wrong, would need to see the ep again, but I don't think it was a long way to the Darling homestead. It may have been just an hour or so. Remember, they're in the heart of mountain country already. Also, my recollection of the grits and prunes thing was that it was for breakfast, but I could be wrong, and you could surely be right. Then the final thing is - they were doing this filming over a few days, presumably, so probably they weren't too concerned with the time frame! Good snooping! --Romeena
March 22, 2022 - Msg 117695:
John Masters, You done 'over-thunk' it because many 'timelines' are 'off'
a bit on TAGS. For one thing, most counties back east are pretty small,
so why would it take so long to get to the Darling place? Indeed, i think
it is just poor continuity. In fact another good example is the ep from the
other night...citizen's arrest. The ep starts with Andy showing Barney
a receipt for issuing Barney his revolver TEN years ago; but just 8 shows
later they have a party for Barney's FIVE years with the sheriff's department.
Very curious.
RO--so sorry to hear of your alarm problems. I looked into "Simply Safe"
but it is all run thru the internet. ADT used to be run thru the phone lines,
but I'm not ept enough to know any more. I hope you get it worked out.

We had a great time at the Railroad Museum. 12 restored cars that we could
wander thru, and several old steam locomotives. My those things were massive!
Today was Cecile's 75th birthday. She did not want a party, so I set up our
breakfast counter with big 7 and 5 balloons, non-alky champagne, a little cake,
and she got 18 cards from friends and relatives. We went to dinner at
King's Fish House tonight. All in all a great day for her! :)

Prayers for all, write when ya can,
MDC
March 22, 2022 - Msg 117696: Romeena, MDC

The reason I believe the Darling place is far away is because Andy gets to the courthouse at 4am to wake Barney. They arrive there in full daylight. If it was an hour or so, they'd be there maybe 5-5:30 am. I couldn't see Andy getting there at 4am if it was an hour or so. Why not get there at 7 and be there at 8 if that's the case? Did it take Barney a couple of hours to get ready?
MDC, I caught that ten years/five years too.
I just finished watching "Wedding Bells for Aunt Bee." Anyone notice that when Otis is telling Andy that Goss was really trying to get Bee to go to the dance with him, he lights a cigarette and throws the match on the floor? Littering IN the courthouse?!
Seems kinda odd.

John Masters
March 22, 2022 - Msg 117697: Good morning, porch! It's a beautiful, sunshine-y day here! Just a few little puffy clouds, mostly a clear blue sky. After a good hard rain last night - my birdbaths are running over - and a couple of tornado alerts that never developed, now it's so pretty!

John Masters, you present some logical arguments. The only other thought I have is that dawn comes very early in the mountains. When you're sitting on a mountaintop, the sun just naturally gets to you first!

Well, guess I'd better get moving. I've got to go to my electrocardiologist for a routine reading on the information my pacemaker contains. Then I've got a lunch meeting with the women in our WinGS group. That's Widows in God's Service. It's a newly formed group at church, and we're looking for ways we can serve. There are a lot of things we can do. One thing we're considering is having a "bake day" where we'll all gather in one place, bring the ingredients and pans needed to make our favorite baked whatever. We may meet here at my house, since my kitchen is big, with a roomy island in the middle, and I have two full-sized ovens. Should be fun, and Trinket will be thrilled! All those "mamas" to love on her! Anyway, everyone will bake whatever they brought, and later we'll distribute it to friends (those we know and those we haven't met yet) who are stuck at home with illness. We have one with a badly broken arm after a fall, and she can't do much home cooking. Another might be LaRue. She likes cookies, and might eat some if she had them. A loaf of freshly-baked bread might sound good to someone. Anyway, I'll bet we can whip up some good stuff, and will have no trouble finding a home for it. One thing I know, we'll have fun! Probably about eight or ten of us, but my kitchen can handle it, I think. Two ovens, lots of counter space, and enough floor space that we won't be bumping into each other.

Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena
March 22, 2022 - Msg 117698: Morning all. I hope everyone is doing well.

John Masters, I have always thought that episode of having to leave so early to get to the Darlings was a bit odd also. But it is just a part of it all that makes it fun to watch the show over and over again. Heck, around here there is no such thing as a town sheriff. Sheriff is a County designation. So the whole idea of a town sheriff is a bit odd to me. Again, those are the things that make it fun to watch repeatedly.

MDC, Sounds like you and the Misses had a good time at the station. Happy Birthday to Cecile. My bride has one coming up next week.

Well Ro and MDC, All your talk about heart health got to me, so I bought a bottle of that coq10 stuff and will give it a try. Despite Romeena's odd attraction to bats, I trust her wisdom very much. And I very much agree with MDC's thoughts about staying active and to keep moving. When you are dealing with constant back pain, it becomes a bit of a challenge to stay moving, but it is important.

GF, Stacey has an appointment on Friday so hopefully we will know more then. In the meantime she is doing really well. Looks great. Little Jazlyn is growing like a weed.

Had a cold and a bit snowy weekend, but it is supposed to slowly warm up all week and actually hit the low 70's by Saturday. That will be nice. I need to start getting everything ready for summer again. And make sure Helen has a fresh tankful of treated fuel. She gets cranky if it gets to old.

Well prayers for all for a great day. Thanks Possum for singing. I can tell you have been working the old larnyx. :)

Asa
March 22, 2022 - Msg 117699: Oh Romeena, I forgot to mention that LaRue and her family are certainly in my prayers.

Asa
March 22, 2022 - Msg 117700: Hey Porch,

Asa - I read Andy Griffith hated the mayor character. He was a COUNTY sheriff and he had a CITY mayor telling him what to do. I believe he had a somewhat heated argument with Sheldon Leonard about it, but he lost because they wanted an antagonist for Andy Taylor.

Best greetings to Romeena, Maude, MDC, PH, Possum, G-F, Sarah, Boo and everyone else who wanted to run Ed Sawyer out of town.

John Masters
March 22, 2022 - Msg 117701: Well, so much for my morning enthusiasm regarding the weather. Our "sunny day", with its erroneous predicted high of 70°, has turned out a bit different. An hour after I posted #117697, the skies clabbered up and turned gray, a cold north wind moved in, and it's now 50° out there, with a hateful little wind that just cuts to the bone. Grrr! I hope the Easter Bunny will bring me a big basket of sunshine! If not, I'll just smile a lot and make my own. So there!

After the WINGS lunch, five of the gals went with me to visit LaRue. The restaurant where we met serves delicious pies, so we took a slice of chocolate (her favorite) to her. We all just wanted to cry. Her daughter was expecting us, and had her up in a chair, which she's supposed to do every day anyway. She looks like a refugee, weighs about 75 lbs, and could barely talk, because her mouth and the rest of her is totally dried out. Yet, when we "helped" her with a drink of water, she tried to refuse it. So we got her some root beer, at her request. She took one sip. One. Count 'em - 1. It's breaking my heart, all of our hearts. She has been a dearly loved friend for almost 50 years. All I can do now is pray, and ask for God's merciful will be to be done. It's comforting to reflect on something I once heard a pastor say: When all you have left is prayer, prayer is all you need, provided you pray in trust and belief.

Well, there is a little fluffy white critter at my feet, hoping for some attention and loving, so guess I'd better make her little prayer come true! She wants in my lap, but she doesn't fit there when my lap is under the knee space of my desk. Therefore, a change of location is needed. Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena
March 23, 2022 - Msg 117702:

RO's got the ovens to swing it. (:


March 23, 2022 - Msg 117703: Good morning, porch! Once again, it's a clear and beautiful morning, not a visible cloud anywhere. Still, I'm not taking any bets on it. Yesterday started out this way, then by noon it was cold, wet, and miserable. I guess we'll see!

Yep, I do have the ovens to swing it. When my dad was building this house, he talked me out of the ovens I thought I wanted - one big one and one much smaller one, stacked. I had never had anything other than a single large oven, or a one and a half stack. He didn't have to talk much to convince me, and boy, was he ever right! Two big, full-size, continuous-clean ovens, and I love them! When I bake a turkey, that big old roaster pan fits so nicely in the cavernous bottom oven, and is so easy to do the basting and all. Then I have an equally cavernous oven above it, and the veggie dishes, or two pies, and finally the bread or rolls or anything else that needs an oven has the top one all to itself. That twin full-size stack was his trademark in the houses he built. Everyone loves them! My dad passed in 2003, and to this day, I still encounter people who make it a point to tell me that he built their house, and they still love it! Realtors leave flyers in homes they have listed, that describe the house as "a Jim Rogers home, built in (whatever) year." Not a bad tribute for a man who didn't quite finish high school! How did I get so blessed?

I just talked to LaRue's daughter, to see how she's doing this morning. The answer was - not well. She said in addition to the one sip of rootbeer we got her to take yesterday, she had two bites of jello, and that was it for the day. She has entered total "shutdown" mode, doesn't feel hunger or thirst, and just wants to be left alone. Her daughter is slowly coming to accept that, but her other daughter, the elder of the two, is still trying to make her "wake up" and participate! It's not going to happen. It's a very difficult time for them all, for any family in their situation. I'm thinking it will all end in a few more days, and that would be a mercy.

I know what I'm having for dinner! I've got to go to the hearing aid place, which is next door to a big Tom Thumb supermarket. In their deli, they make and sell a delicious seafood salad, and I love it! I'll stop in and get myself a pint or so of that, and with a little extra lemon juice added, it will be soooo good!

Well, away I go! Things to do, places to go, people to see! Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena

March 24, 2022 - Msg 117704:

Hello Porchsters. It seems like we have more "lookers' than writers
these days, but I guess that is how it goes; or to use an old fashioned
term, it waxes and wanes.
One of tonight's Me-TV episode was Romeena's... with the "How do you do Missus Wiley"
quote, and of course, the ameminies. :)
Also, on a GRIT movie tonight, I saw nurse Mary, Julie Adams, as a preacher's daughter. Curious, curious.

I hope all is well. I continue to pray for LaRue, poor thing, I pray the Lord will call her home soon. And my goodness, the devastation in Ukraine is so hard to look at. As a Christian man, I don't want to think ill of anyone, but I truly believe that putin is pure evil. As St. Paul said, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Lord help us.

I saw my cardiologist today, and he was very happy with my echo report, even told me
to keep taking the CoQ-10.
ASA, I suggest that you start out with perhaps 100 mg
a day, just to see how you feel for a while.
Our weather here has been in the 80s recently, but we may go back to the 70s for
a few days next week, as a "cold front" is on the way.

Peace and good to you all,
MDC

March 24, 2022 - Msg 117705:
Oh, that verse is Ephesians 6:12


March 24, 2022 - Msg 117706: Good morning, porch! Clear and sunny this morning, a little chilly at 58°, but still a pretty day.

I'm with you, MDC, wondering what has become of all our porchsters? Just about six or so of us still checking in frequently, wish the others would return. I miss them. If anybody happens to be passing by, and sees this little note, please know that we miss you and wish you'd check in now and then.

There's a big and beautiful black and white cat sitting on top of a small boulder in my back yard. He or she is so pretty! Total stranger, have never seen it before. There are several cats that pass through just about every night, and who set off my cameras every morning around 5:30, but this one is new. Sure is pretty. I think most, if not all, of the cats around here have homes. They all look well-fed and healthy, and I never see them in a group, so don't think they're feral. I think they're just indoor/outdoor cats, making their nightly rounds, because I rarely see them in the daytime. This one is an exception. It will be interesting to see if it's going to stick around, or if it's just somebody's pet that hasn't gone home for the day just yet. Pretty thing, anyway.

I wouldn't mind adding a nice cat to our little family here (Trinket and I might enjoy the addition) but after that experience with the two cats my "houseguests" brought in here, I've decided against it. I learned that cats and potted plants aren't a good combination. I realize that the fact that the cats were confined to the sunroom with no attention at all except for feeding if the "owner" was reminded, for the entire 2 1/2 weeks, certainly made the problem worse, but I don't want to risk having my orchids torn up again. So, Trinket and I will remain a family of two.

Wow, MDC, if that verse from Ephesians doesn't describe today's world perfectly, I don't what would. Old Vlad is the personification of evil, you can see it in his eyes, and he's demonstrating it in large letters for the world today. I expect to see him sprout horns! It's not hard to imagine him as the AntiChrist. If he's not, then we will see God deal with him soon, I hope. If he is, then God will deal with him eventually, but it may be a while. There are still some prophecies that haven't occurred yet, though many have. The time frame is unknown to us, but one thing is certain. It will happen.

Well, I've got some of that seafood salad left from last night, I just couldn't eat it all. Sounds like lunch to me! Blessings, friends. Keep looking up! --Romeena
March 25, 2022 - Msg 117707: Hello Romeena and MDC. I visit here about every three days. However, when I don't have anything to contribute, I just read. I am kind of like the TAGS character Lydia Crosswaithe because I don't care much for chit chat.

And speaking of cats, watch the following:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX2qFMC8cFo

from Poor Horatio
March 25, 2022 - Msg 117708: Romeena,
I am going to have to try your rubbing alcohol spritzer, once the warm weather returns for good. I have one of those electric tennis-racket-type bug zappers, which works well when you are close enough to hit the little buggers, but a spray that puts them down would be a lot simpler.
I have used hair spray to trip them up before, but it takes a lot of hairspray.
I wonder if the spritzer would work on hornets(and not just make them mad) as well. Ever since I found out I am allergic to their venom a few years ago, I have been even more cautious around them. It was actually ground wasps that showed me I was allergic to them, but I read that hornets have the same type of venom as those even nastier wasps, who will sting you just for looking at them wrong. Despicable things, those ground wasps! Hornets can get agitated when it is really hot out, but I have never been stung by one of those at least.

Anyway, everyone is good here in case you are wondering.

Have a great day!

-Sterling Holobyte
March 25, 2022 - Msg 117709: I should add, I was referring to hornets that manage to get in the house, as they sometimes do. I wouldn't spritz them outside, but would probably continue to use the heftier bug sprays out there that I know work.
-SH