by Dianne
One Sunday, in counting the money in the weekly offering, the pastor of a small church found a pink envelope containing $1,000. It happened again the next week. The following Sunday, he watched as the offering was collected and saw an elderly woman put the distinctive pink envelope on the plate. This went on for weeks until the pastor, overcome by curiosity, approached her."Ma'am, I couldn't help but notice that you put $1,000 a week in the collection plate," he stated."Why, yes," she replied, "Every week my son sends me money, and I give some of it to the church."The pastor replied, "That's wonderful. But $1,000 is a lot; are you sure you can afford this? How much does he send you?"The elderly woman answered, "$10,000 a week."The pastor was amazed. "Your son is very successful; what does he do for a living?""He is a veterinarian," she answered."That's an honorable profession, but I had no idea they made that much money," the pastor said.. "Where does he practice?”The woman answered proudly, "In Nevada ... He has two cat houses, one in Las Vegas and one in Reno ."
Yay I am #1 on the top branch! Watch out! I still have tummy troubles lol!
ReplyDeleteIt is cold, windy and raining today. Northern Michigan is getting it worse. The wind is causing a lot of power outages. I see one of the Lake Michigan lighthouses fell into the lake due to the high winds. High trucks are being escorted across the Mackinaw bridge.
No way would I be crossing that bridge today!
I hope you are all keeping high and dry!
Hi Mary. Congrats on being the top Owl. We have had some strong winds here, too. It caused a huge power outage here Sunday night and over 140,000 homes were without. Ours went out shortly after the Golden Globes Award show started and didn’t come back on until about 10 o’clock. I still got to see all of the show because when the TV came back on, the show was about in the same place as when the power went out. Good thing they show it twice. I saw A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody and they were both very good, imo. The guy that played Freddie Mercury did an excellent job and I’m glad he won best actor. Lady GaGa did a very good job, too, but I didn’t see any of the movies of the other women who were nominated, so I can’t judge them.
ReplyDeleteDianne, Maybe J/L is right and your DIL had been drinking before she texted you. Midnight is an odd hour to start texting someone! I have had some drama in my family, too. Dean still isn’t speaking to Chad and we didn’t spend any of the holidays together. He invited us to his house, but I told him it would be too awkward and uncomfortable for everyone if he wasn’t going to talk to Chad. So Joshua and Allie went to Dean’s first, then came to my house, and it worked out well.
ReplyDeleteJ/L It was fun watching the Bachelor ‘together’ tonight. From the preview of the next show, it looks like it’s going to be a drama filled season. I mentioned that we are going to see an attorney tomorrow to see if it’s going to be worthwhile to open up a probate fro my brother’s estate, such as it is. I have to pay $350 just for the consultation and if we decide to go ahead, it’s going to be $1500 just to file all the papers. The $350 will go toward that if we go ahead with it. He may have a lot of creditors that will have a claim on what he had and it may take it all. I really don’t mind that too much, as long as it’s not going to cost me a lot. If he owes taxes, that and the attorney fees come off the top and I will get reimbursed and other creditors come after that. As long as I don’t have to pay them, I’m OK with it. We will have to place a notice in an L. A. Paper and see who makes a claim. He was not good at paying taxes or bills.
ReplyDeleteHi.....barb, it’s so great to see you in the nest again. I’ve really missed your posts. Well, my son called me today tomagreee with his wife. I did tell him he shouldn’t let someone talk to his mom like she did...I think he’s in the middle but oh well. Don’t you just hate the family drama? If they could only realize how much it hurts us. We aren’t spring chickens and to have that hurt I simply think is wrong. We never spoke to my parents like that and I would never be ok with a husband doing it for sure. I think midnight when at a party is a weird thing to do too. I’m sorry you had to deal with it too. And they wonder why I like being out of town for holidays. My son doesn’t like it that we go to Andy’s (ex sil) for Christmas. Well, my granddaughters are there and we aren’t Invited to Todd’s.
ReplyDeleteOk enough....sorry to be venting and unloading on you all. I enjoyed the Globes but was sorry to not see A Star Is born not to win more.
Mary, we’re still having nice weather. We did have some wind yesterday. I just hope the weather holds out for us to get out of town on Thursday. Glad max went home and you didn’t have to entertain him. Any Vegas plans? How’s your knee doing? I have one more pt this week. I’m going to dr about injections.
JL, it won’t be long until your cruise. I tried on some tops for formal wear nights and one doesn’t fit at all .I had never tried it on. I freaked and did an online order with two day delivery to the store for $6 and hope it fits. .
Dianne, my knee is doing much better. I am weening myself from the Motrin. I am also sleeping pretty good. I have never slept more than 5-6 hrs at one time anyway.
ReplyDeleteWe may be going to Vegas sometime in late Feb. or March. I am pouting about my girlfriend going to Spain without me lol. My funds have to be bumped up before I make anymore oversea plans. Not sure going to Vegas will help lol!
I love cruising! I am pouting about you gals going :( LOL...Enjoy!!
It has gotten coloser here, but not much precipitation. Zoie and I have been enjoying our afternoon walks.
I have to run into town and get a few gross-eries. Seems like a big part of my monthly expenses goes to them!
It has gotten "colder" here! I just "thought" I proofread" lol!
ReplyDeleteHello everyone. This week has flown by and I can’t believe it’s Friday already. Chad and I had a consultation with a probate attorney on Tuesday and he gave us some ‘homework’ so we can make a more informed decision about opening a probate for my brother’s estate. It will save us some $$$ if we do some of the research ourselves. His hourly fee is $350 per hour, and we had to pay that for the consult.
ReplyDeleteDianne and J/L, The Today show is talking about a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that cut the trip short because of a norovirus breakout. I hope you ladies don’t experience anything like that. What cruise line are you taking?
Mary, I'm so happy for you that you are healing well. Walking used to be my favorite exercise, but I can’t walk very far anymore. I will probably need a hip replacement soon, plus my fibromyalgia prevents me from walking long distances without a lot of pain. Getting old really sucks!
Barb I'm glad you can do some of the research work yourselves and save some money doing so. I'm glad you have Chad there to help you with all of this.
ReplyDeleteI went to a matinee alone yesterday to see "The Favourite" and I enjoyed it. There were some pretty funny scenes in it but in the end, they were all so intent on trying to out maneuver or screw over each other that no one ended up with what they really wanted. My friend and I plan to go see "Mary, Queen of Scots" tonight. Anyway, that is the plan. It's going to rain again today and I am not going to want to get out on the roads if it's actually storming. We had a break in the weather yesterday and I had to go nail a board back into my fence that had been blown out by heavy winds during the storm the other day.
My upcoming cruise is on Princess but the norovirus can hit any of the ships. They do have hand sanitizer stations all over the ship, especially where you board after being ashore and at the entrance to any dining area.
Mary That's great that you are doing so well with your surgery recovery. I should be out there walking but either the weather has been too crappy or I've been bugged by an ache in the arch of my foot. I think I need better walking shoes that give me more support. I better get off my ass soon and go shopping because there's going to be a bit of walking on our shore excursions during the cruise. Shoot, just walking to where you want to go on the ship is more walking than I've been doing lately. Ever since I got that infection in my leg, my walking has been reduced. It's bad enough that my sciatica always kicks in after about one block worth of walking. I'm sure it would be better if I lost a significant amount of weight but so far that isn't happening. Like Barb said, getting old really sucks.
ReplyDeleteDianne I'm not sure if my daughter and I will participate in formal night this time or not. Since it is a 10 day cruise, there may be two formal nights. My daughter has never been a fan of formal nights and has already told me she'd be happy not to participate. I haven't decided yet. It would be less to worry about regarding packing.
ReplyDeleteFamily issues are so tricky. It's really great that you all get a long with Andy and his new wife. It makes it so much nicer for everyone, especially the girls. Except for Tammy's mishap, it looks like everyone had a great time on vacation.
Hello.....we’re going princess too. Just another thing to worry about but at least they were only one day short and got a full refund. They weren’t allowed to get off the ship in Jamaica either but I read about 300 sick and 8,000 aboard. Now that’s a big ship! I’m stressing about weather although weather report shows 50 on Thursday. AND of course the packing. I haven’t even started crept to unzip the suitcase. I love the formal night and at the end it’s ususlly lobster.
ReplyDeleteOne extra thing I love about a cruise is the escargot. Yummy, that’s only time I can afford it. If I didn’t rent a scooter, I would never be able to get around ship. I don’t take it off ship though.
JL, it is nice that we get all get along so well with Wendy and Andy. Remember Tammy and I set them up! I Think except for the accident they had a good time. I went to lunch with Tammy today and she’s walking better then when I saw her on Saturday. Yes, packing for formal night takes more things for sure. Are you doing a special,dining time or anytime dining? We are doing anytime for the first time. Sorry, you’re having pain. I literally feel your back pain. Mine is getting no better Ben with pt. Today was my last time unless Ins gives me a couple of more. Barb and I are going to see The Upside tomorrow with Nichol Kidman. It looks pretty funny. .
Barb, Wow that’s a good hourly wage for the lawyer. I think we all missed our calling. Glad he told you some of the work you and Chad can do to save some money. I didn’t realize you were going to have to have a new hip. Ouch! I too agree with you with age and all these aches and pains. Between back and breathing....it’s tough. Are you adjusting to all the people in your house? You never told us if the kitties worked things out.
ReplyDeleteMary, well I hate to tell you the news but I think we’re sending snow to you. It started snowing about midnight and has been snowing lightly all day. The roads were mostly wet but think the plows are out there now. It’s about 30 degrees all day. The weekend is supposed to be in the 50’s. Be careful walking if you get the weather. You can climb in my suitcase and come with me on trip if you want too. We’d have fun. My aunt and uncle just came back from 17 day Hawaii cruise. They ate in the buffet for all meals, read, she went in casino some and they watched football games. They did go on three weeks excursions. It didn’t sound fun to me. I like to be a little busier. I’m an stay home and read and watch football. I thought maybe sometime we could cruise with them but we’d hardly eat together as I just like the dining room.
Well, hope you don’t get too much snow.
Dianne, nooooooooo, keep your snow! So far the snow belt has stayed to the south of our state. I am hearing rumors of maybe getting a storm next week end! Booh! I am glad Matthew is going back to work, but hate his having to drive in the snow.
ReplyDeleteSacBarb, yikes, that's quite a lawyers fee! I remember when I hired one for my Dad's estate over 15 years ago. It was about $250. He died owing nothing but a few taxes. He didn't leave much in the way of assets but his shoe store. Most money went to the taxes,lawyer and burial fees. Not too bad for a man who raised 7 children with no government help or health ins. He paid many medical bills because my mother was ill a lot. He was a proud man.
I agree, this getting old is no fun, but we forge on anyway lol!!
Just_lin, I never like dressing up on board. I did it because my traveling friends enjoyed all the fuss lol! On my second cruise Raquel went with me. We chose the open dinning. We like that.
I have't had too much trouble with my sciatica lately. Do you do the leg-over exercises while laying down? It almost always works for me. I do remember all the walking and the pain! I wish they had places to sit on those long docks to the islands. Just a few seconds of rest helps a lot in my case.
Oh, BTW, I won $600 on the lottery last night :)
ReplyDeleteWow Mary, congratulations. There’s some money to save for you next trip. We are doing the open dining too in the dining room where they wait on you. Our snow has stopped and sun out today. I went to store this am and the parking lot was cleared but the handicap parking was deep in snow and slush. It looked like the plows pushed everything off into handicap. I complained to three people. The very young bagger asked if he could help me to my car. He was raised right!
ReplyDeleteWent went to see the Upside movie and it was really good. It was funny and touching and a true story. We both really liked it. We went for Chinese afterwards and I brought some home for Louis.
That’s my day.
Mary Congratulations on your lottery win. I don't play so I can't complain that I don't win but I sure wish I'd win something like that when I'm playing slot machines. I will put that much in the slots on the cruise ship, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteI am so terrible about keeping up with doing the exercises to reduce the sciatica. I start out with good intentions but my enthusiasm peters out and before you know it, I'm not doing them regularly anymore. I need to try harder to do them and to keep doing them.
Dianne My daughter and I chose to do late dining with a table of 8. That seems to work out for us as it gets us to get to know others on the ship as neither of us is particularly outgoing. We've ended up with some very interesting table mates, sometimes with people from other countries. When I cruised with my husband, he'd know a dozen people by name before I even unpacked. LOL
ReplyDeleteI used to enjoy the formal nights more when I was younger and had a better figure. Now I really don't feel like I ever look good so that kind of takes the fun out of dressing up.
Barb I'm waiting for rain to start. It's supposed to start sometime today and rain all week. Someone on FB posted Pioneer Woman's 7 Can Soup recipe the other day so I have bought all the ingredients and plan to make that tonight. I emailed the recipe to a couple of friends and they made it and raved how good it is. I will freeze as I think it will make more than I can eat tonight and tomorrow night. It might be a good and very easy thing to make for you and the fellas. My friend, Kathy, made corn bread to go with it and that sounded very good. I got out my unopened box of corn meal last night and saw that it had a Best by of Dec 2014. Oops! I guess I won't make corn bread tonight. LOL I'll email you the recipe.
ReplyDeleteJust_Lin, I would like that recipe too! I will see if I can find it on FB.
ReplyDeleteIf my sciatica starts acting up, I do some light stretches before I get out of bed. A couple will help a lot!
I rarely play the reg. lottery unless it grows big. The Michigan on line lottery has some free games you can play. I didn't win on those. I don't go to the casino, so I sometimes play the Michigan lottery on line, maybe once a week or so. I never play more then $5-10 at a time. The night I won , I decided the last minute to play $6 worth. Yay me!
I'm not sure if you have Raquel as your FB friend. She wrote about the scare she had with little Mila yesterday. It brought tears to my eyes! I will copy and paste in a minute....
This weekend was one of the scariest moments yet in the parenting journey. Myla officially has HFM AGAIN!!!!!! This is the 4th go around with this nasty virus. Saturday morning I woke up and looked at the clock saying almost 7am i thought to myself WOW shes ALWAYS up by 5am. I went into her bedroom and found her laying in a pool of diarrhea head to toe she wasn't crying and her eyes looked completely glossed over. I immediately grabbed her and put her in the bath. She was quite and staring out into space the entire bath. I knew something wasn't right. I picked her up and plassed her on the floor and her arms and legs fell to the side and her eyes started rolling to the back of her head. I immediately tried to get a response from her pinching her stomach, face, legs screaming at her with no response. I got into the CPR position and she suddenly opened her eyes real quick and then back down. We rushed her to the ER on the way there my mom telling me to drive fast because she is unresponsive again. We arrived at the ER and found out she lost so much fluid during the night on top of refusing her normal eating routine that she literally did not have enough energy to open her eyes or lift her head. After meds and hydration we went home. We had no idea she had HFM again because we didn't see any spots until the next day they starting showing up. We thought her lack of eating and diarrhea were from 5 vaccinations she got the day prior. The pediatrician told us it was normal. If we only knew at that time it was HFM again we would have started the necessary medication to prevent hydration!! She is doing much better now that we are treating her properly. Please pray for a quick recovery for this little girl.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh Mary, that’s so scary. I for sure will put her in my prayers. I’m glad she’s better now. That poor little girl and mom too. Thank God they got her to ER so fast. It’s just so frightening with babies...especially the first , I think. Please keep us updated on how she’s doing.
ReplyDeleteJL, I just made this soup,last week and it turned out really good. It said it made enough for six but I think it was more. Louis ate most of the week and said it was a keeper. I just sent the recipe to my niece ten minutes ago. How did you like it? The hardest part was opening all the cans, lol. The reason we didn’t take late dining this time is it seems like we were missing the shows. They started at 7 and 9. They just changed early to 5:15 bit we will start out with the anytime this time and see. I like being at large tables too. Louis and I run out of things to talk about after all day. A time or two we’ve been at a table for eight and there was just us or one other couple. That’s kind of weird too. I still like the dress up part. Louis used to rent a tux but travel agent said sport coat and tie was good nowadays. Louis got a new cost. I’ve bern packing this afternoon trying on all my clothes. I wish I could wear long shorts ..it would make it easier. I went to lunch with a friend today that just came back from Kauai and said it was really hot. I hope not when we are there. No rain but low humidity. I at least got my 18 pairs of underwear packed!
ReplyDeleteBarb, hello..How’s the weekend?
Mary, I will play a lot on this cruise in the casino. Hate spending the $ as I’ll be thinking of Coach bags as I lose it. Oh well...ten days cruising is a lot of gambling. I’m hoping I’ll read as I have a couple good books downloaded. We only play the lottery when it gets big and never even win a dollar. You are always so lucky. You must know how to figure all this out. Is Jim lucky like you too? It seems like he’s won a lot too. Does he play Slots?
Our weather turned so nice today. I have a busy week...eye appt and nails tomorrow. Looks like nice weather this week too
Dianne, I wish I could get excited about going on a cruise. I feel like it would take a lot of energy to do all that walking and I just don’t seem to have it.
ReplyDeleteI went to see Mary Queen of Scots with the Jennifers last weekend. We liked it, but I wish they would have filmed it using more light. I realize electricity hadn’t been invented yet, and candles don’t give off much light, but these old eyes have trouble with such dark movies.
You asked about the kitties and they have worked things out by mostly avoiding each other. My cats sleep in my room and I keep the door closed all night, because one night we were awakened by cats screaming and paws running on the wood floors. Now that I don’t have carpet, they have a little trouble getting traction on the floors. It’s kinda funny, but not at 3:00am. It’s mostly my cats that do all the hissing.
Mary, congratz on the lottery win. That’s a nice chunk of change to win. I, too, only play when it gets really big, but so far I have just contributed to the winner’s pot! I will also keep little Myla in my prayers, and her parents, too. That is really scary when a baby gets that sick.
ReplyDeleteJ/L, Tonight’s Bachelor looks like it will be interesting. We should find out why Colton jumps over that wall to get away from something! Also one of the ads shows one of the women is getting snarky about another woman and so it begins!
ReplyDeleteWe are supposed to get rain tomorrow and I have a hair appointment. I hope it waits until I get home to start so my hair doesn’t get wet! I know, how vain am I? LOL
Guess what? It’s tuesday night and I’m packed except for last minute things. Feels good except now LOUIS has to weigh suitcase. That could be an issue. I did find out today that there is a laundromat onboard. Louis is t too interest it that but with sailing so long..I have no problem doing it. We shall see is we have to unpack anything to make suitcase lighter.
ReplyDeleteMy Texas Tenors that I like so much are rumored that they will be on America’s Got Talent on the 28th if any of you would like to watch. I really like them and am even in fan club. Lol
Barb, glad your cats are somewhat getting along. Are you enjoying all the company with you? I’ll bet you’re really enjoying Chad there with you. Did you get out without the rain for your hair? I am all ready with hair and nails. I went to pickup an order I had shipped to,Catherine’s and then got all the way home (45 min away) that one more order came in late and it’s the one I was waiting for so back I go tomorrow but I will be out there for ww.
JL, looks like Ursula was having a great time with her friends. It’s nice you have a person to do that for you. Did you get to the movie? What is the date you leave n your cruise? I’ll bet you’re looking forward to it. It’s so nice you and your daughter have so much fun together.
Mary, hows Mila? Is she getting better? Let us know an update on her. How are you doing?
Dianne, Myla is doing wonderful! Once they got her fluids back in her she perked right up! Raquel would like to find a new daycare, but most are filled up or not to her liking. I wish I lived closer, I would take the days that Lena couldn't. She watches her at least twice a week and some date nights.
ReplyDeleteI am doing ok. My knee has been hurting. Actually it's more my leg/shin area. Our patio has been iced over for two days making it impossible to do my walking. It was sunny and cold today. I was able to get in a short walk.
Schools have been closed for two days. Matthew is not happy because it will make for a short pay day. Bus drivers are only paid when they work, no holiday, spring break or summer pay. He will be doing Uber in the summer.
I sure envy you gals going cruising! Have a wonderful time!!!
Just_lin, thanks so much for the recipe. Can you believe, I went to buy grosseries today and remembered everything but the beans lol!!
ReplyDeleteDid you say it was ok to freeze some of it?
Mary I made the soup and froze half of it for another time. I am assuming it will be fine when I defrost it. Beans really are a big part of it. I hate when I go grocery shopping and forget some major item that I really must have. I've even done it when I have it written on my list!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that Myla is doing so much better. Apparently, the virus is very contagious. I don't know if her daycare people wear clean gloves when diapering a child or if they sanitize everything. The virus can live on toys and other surfaces in a home, even in Myla's own home.
I had a hunker down and stay home kind of day. I don't have icy porches to worry about but it is a stormy day today with lots of rain and high winds. I hope I don't lose any trees or fencing tonight as it gets even worse out there.
Dianne My cruise isn't until Feb. 21 so I have a while to worry about packing. Good on you for getting it done. I am better at doing it the day before although I do end up setting things out within view as I think of it starting about a week before, things like my portable hair dryer and jewelry I don't want to forget. What I really need to do is go clothes shopping. How frustrating for you to go pick up your order but the thing you were especially looking for didn't get there until after you were already gone. I hope it fits!
ReplyDeleteMy friend and I saw Mary, Queen of Scots and we both enjoyed it. I did get to Bohemian Rhapsody on Monday and I thought it was very good and Rami did an excellent job. Yesterday I went and saw Can You Ever Forgive Me? and that was very good, also. Melissa McCarthy was really good, too.
Barb One thing for sure; it's no fun to get the dog to go out to do her business when it is storming outside! I last got her to go out around 5 before things get even worse as the night goes on. I'm hoping things will die down a little between 10 and 11 so I can take her out for her last pee of the night. I see that my outside thermometer that attaches to the outside of the window has been blown off and is now wedged between two plant saucers on the deck. All sorts of small branches have blown off the trees and are scattered about. I just saw on the news that in another part of town a tree came down and demolished someone's front porch.
ReplyDeleteI am very curious to find out why the Bachelor makes a run for it and jumps over the wall. He must get very upset but that's not a good sign that when things get bad, he bails.
J/L, I agree about Colton bailing if he doesn’t like how things are going. I still think he is immature. Now that I’ Seen more of him, I’m not that impressed.
ReplyDeleteI herd on the news Wednesday that there was a 3.8 earthquake in SF and was felt in Pacifica. It was about 6:00 or 6:30am. Did you feel it?
Dianne, Good for you getting your packing done. When I was working, I traveled often, so I kept a small case filled with duplicates of the last minute things like make up and travel hair dryer and brush and comb, etc. one time I forgot my brush and comb and I had to find a store to buy them. I didn’t have much time to shop so I was limited to a grocery store and just had to buy what they had, which I didn’t really like. So from then on, I just always kept all that stuff packed and ready to go. I don’t still do that, since I don’t travel as much.
ReplyDeleteIt started raining on Monday, right after I got home. So my hair was safe! He put extra hair spray on just because it was so damp outside.
Mary, you might want to mention to your doc about the pain in your shin. You may have an infection. That’s what happened to my son about a month after his knee surgery. He had to get some heavy duty antibiotics to clear it up.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad Myla is so much better. I remember how difficult it was leaving my babies at a daycare, especially before they could talk and tell me if something was wrong.
NEW BLOG!
ReplyDelete