You can thank Jane for this new thread.
We've been following UD basketball more than usual this year, especially the girls that have a real rocket team. They won the local championships and go on to the big deal seeded number 6.They play West Virgina here on Sunday at 12:15 and on ESPN2. Elena Delle Donne is our top player and is tops nationally also. It will be fun to see what happens at the Bob Carpeter Center ( The Bob) which is very big and very sold out.
Al is glad to have his Honda back, but over did it yesterday afteroon and is very sore again today. Hopefully some quet time on the heating pad will help.
The shad are running here and I was able to enjoy a nice set of shad roe for breakfast this morning. The shad run always brings out the eagles near the big Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna in nearby Maryland. I might run down there tomorrow and see if I can spot any.
The cold weather is still holding back some of my favorite flowers .The Andromeda and the Pussy Willow finally opened but the Forsythia just can't quite make it The crocus still look good and it's funny to see them in places I know I never planted any. I'm working on a big kettle of Veggie beef soup, better go check on it. Enjoy spring day number two.
Here in Greenwood County, we are still dealing with winterlike weather. Enjoying the ballgames. I'm thinking if the weather doesn't change soon, we'll be hiding white Easter eggs in the snow! ;D Not getting in any rush to plant my garden this year.
Ours has not at all been what was predicted. We had very little snow last year, as was predicted, but this year was supposed to be much worse and more like normal for winter. Well, we've had about 12 inches of snow all winter,but never more than an inch at a time and gone very quicky. The snow blower never left the shed and the city salt truck only came through once all winter. Not that we can't yet have a big spring snow, but it doesn't seem very likely now. Our beaches are still a mess from the coastal nor'easters and Hurricane Sandy, so the prospects of Easter at the beach are about nil. Until the winds shift to the south, even the coastal fishing won't be any good. Eventually we'll get good fishing from the beach but not yet this year. I love to zing out a Hopkins lure and pull in a big fighting Blue. I do miss your great catfish. We have them here, but not nearly as tasty..
Some folks down in lower, slower Delaware, as in Sussex County got to see that recent meteor whiz by, don't know how much farther it went.
We also got some happy news. This is our fire company's 125 Anniversary so we are planning all sorts of interesting events. We found out that that Washington DC Fire Dept's Emerald Society Pipe Band will be parading with us four times this summer including Newark's big Memorial Day parade in May. One of our volunteers went on to be a career fire fighter there and plays in the band. He was able to make the arrangements. It will be so cool to hear the skirling pipes echoing off the buildings on main Street. I love bag pipes and always wanted to take lessons, but could never find the time.
We still have cold sunshine here. How much snow did you get?
There was four inches on the bird feeder this morning. Eight inches on the bird bath and I estimate about ten inches on the south side of a planter in my front yard. Take your pick.
Ok, 22 inches then. ;)
Our U D girls did win their game this afternoon by a nice margin.Very interesting game.
It's a shame your Palm Sunday services had to be cancelled. Better for safety though I'd think.
I always loved the music for that day, especially "The Palms." When I was a kid and played it, I always thought it should be blossoms "sway" rather than "gay. There is an old Nelson Eddy version that just about puts me on my knees even yet if I happen to hear it. We kids always got to carry the big palm fronds into church and lay them in front of the alter and then were given a piece to take home after services, like most places do.
I would say somewhere between 5 and 6 inches of snow here in Piedmont.
You all definitely got more than we did. It arrived here late last night and came down hard for a time, enough to cause late school openings in some districts, but still only gave us about two inches. When I got up very early it was beautiful on the trees and bushes, like cotton candy all over.It will soon change to rain and wash it all away...again.
I hope your snow equaled enough moisture to do you all some good. I know you need it badly and your long range forecast is for very dry again this year.
I owe Judy a huge thank you! She found that Nelson Eddy I love so much. Just wonderful! Gave me the shivers.
So the UD girls played hard and won last night. Again they were right here in town in a sold out Bob Carpenter Center. They will be going to the girls sweet 16 for the first time ever and play Kentucky next. WOOHOO!
After Al had a Charter School walk through with all the subs this morning, we drove to the Susquehanna River at the Conowingo Dam in Maryland to look for eagles. There is a fisherman's park with boat ramps and we looked a bit down the way from there. Saw lots of fish jumping and after a short time found three eagles.They were out on a rocky spit with some small islands out in the river below the dam. We heard them before we saw them. One had caught a fish and had dragged it up on a rock to eat it.
It was quite cold with a brisk wind so no boats were out today. All the better for seeing the eagles....also saw mergansers, fish crows. vultures, ducks, herons, three kinds of sea gulls and osprey as well as lots of land birds.
We stopped at Wesley's on the way home for fresh shucked fried oysters. Yum!
I didn't know what a merganser was, so I GOOGLED it. It's a duck. The internet says that they are in North America, but I don't believe I have ever seen one.
Yes, they are fishing ducks and have a very long skinny beaks.They can swim under water to chase fish.There are several different kinds .The ones we saw are the ''common'' kind. There can be as many as 200 eagles near the dam depending on the time of year. I've never seen even close to that many there.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on March 25, 2013, 06:47:27 PM
I owe Judy a huge thank you! She found that Nelson Eddy I love so much. Just wonderful! Gave me the shivers.
Nelson Eddy ??? How old are you, Diane? Try Gordon MacRae:And Gordon with Shirley Jones:or Gordon and Kathryn Grayson:Gordon with Tennessee Ernie Fordor even Gordon and Jeanette MacDonald:You might enjoy this... Jeanette MacDonald Funeral - Nelson Eddy's Participation:In this third "Master Class" written by Madeline Bayless and presented by Linda Tolman, little-known details are revealed of the funeral of 1930s movie star Jeanette MacDonald. MacDonald died on January 14, 1965 and her death made front page headlines in newspapers worldwide. Thousands of loyal fans attended her funeral four days later at Forest Lawn Glendale. Despite her supposedly loving last words to her husband Gene Raymond, many fan were curious to note that her grief-stricken co-star Nelson Eddy sat privately with the family and in particular with Jeanette's older sister and confidant Blossom Rock. (Note: in the funeral service and on Jeanette's crypt her birthdate was incorrectly noted as 1907 rather than 1903.) For more information and to see the photo boards used in this presentation, visit maceddy.com.
I enjoy all the old ones, including Gordon MacRae and especially the old films on TV, and the old silents on Sunday night. Al does too . I'm 68, why the frowny face? Do you think I'm too young or too old to enjoy those?
The Nelson Eddy was a version of ''The Palms" that I love so much. Judy found it.
So the UD girls play again today at noon in CT. I'll enjoy that game but their chances of winning are not good. Then off to the cemetery to put out my parents' Easter flowers and Mom's birthday flowers too, since it's on April 1st.
My great great grandbaby was due on the 1st. One of my aunts was born April 1. My mother always said she was a joke anyway.
So the UD girls ended their run with a very good game and got beaten by a better team, just as it should have been. The cemetery looked really nice with all the flowers and it was warmish and sunny. Mom never knew what funny thing we would pull for her birthday, but she enjoyed it all . We ate late ,stopped at a little Mom and Pop country place on the way home, so now I won't have to cook tonight. YEA!
Your great-great grandson didn't want to share great-great Aunt Janet's and great-great Uncle Jim's anniversary with them. Darn it all anyway.
That would have been funny Janet!
I just spent several days going through hundred and hundreds of photos and newspaper clippings from the mid 60's forward. I'm helping write our fire company's history for a new book for our 125th anniversary. Mostly it will be an update from 1988. I have a kazillon photos, but as one might expect, they aren't all in albums. Fortunately, I am good at identifying what's in the envelope with subject, names and dates. Lots of good memories, but some tears too, as many of the old firefighters are gone now. It's been hard to not sit down and reread all the newspaper clippings. (I was actually surprised at how many had me in them.) The sun is nice today and it should hit 60, but the wind makes it feel much colder. BRRR.
Al went to his first physical therapy session for his back yesterday and came home very sore but optimistic. He will have at least thirty sessions, twice a week, maybe longer. They sent him home with a T.E.N.S.( transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit that does electrical shock therapy ( an hour at least twice a day) to the muscles with the worst damage.
They actually understood about the post polio, which was a pleasant surprise. All young people of course, which Al thoroughly enjoyed. The building is just around the corner from our fire house...very convenient. He scootered there yesterday but then they gave him a parking pass to the U.D. lot in case of rain.
Have a great afternoon everyone.
We are scanning all of the old pictures that we can find for the Museum that I volunteer at and will burn them to cd's so we can run the slide shows hoping that visitors will recognize some of the people.
That's a lot of work but should be fun too. Doesn't it make you wonder why so many of the old photos were never identified in the first place? I guess the people at the time the photos were taken knew who everyone was so they didn't bother and didn't think toward the future. So far most of our oldest ones have most everyone identified in at least one, so we can match them up with others.
Thanks for sending us some delightful weather at long last. 85 yesterday and 88 today. I made my first gallon of sun tea out on the back deck. The temps will drop again soon, but how nice to have some hints of what's to come.
We went back to the cemetery to bring the plants home and there were robins running all over the place. The flowering trees have all all popped so it was a nice drive.
We got all the wren houses cleaned up and the chickadees are checking them out. Sometimes they will raise a brood first.
Has anyone heard from Waldo and our Colorado friends? That's some storm they had.
Today was chilly but sunny. A nice day to get out and do some yard work.We took down small oak that sadly had to go and Al did the first grass cut just to even up things from the warmer parts of the yard to the cooler parts. Onion grass is thriving.
Yesterday I brought home some veggie and herb seeds that were on sale and picked up a few nice toms. Celebrity,Early Girl, a Roma, one jalapeno and some nice pansies that will go in big pots tomorrow. It's much too cold here to plant the toms just yet, but at least I have a few. Our true frost free date isn't until May 15. I have several more nurseries to visit to get the rest and get the peppers.
The skies will be cloud free tonight, so hopefully we'll see the auroras in the north. We'll look a little after eight and then on through the evening. I can remember seeing them many years ago from Mom's upstairs bedroom window,10 min.north of here, so they do get this far south sometimes, even this late in the spring.
It was 90 here today, record highs for the first part of the week and then record lows for the latter part. All of my trees have finally leafed out, I was getting very worried about one big old tree.
Probably won't be putting out any vegetables here, am putting the house up for sale and moving closer to my kids in Arkansas. This 4 acres is just to much for me to take care of and no family close. Hope to know by the end of the week if the person that is interested will give me what I want.
I do have roses blooming and the one I started from a cutting last year is still alive.
Quote from: Ms Bear on April 15, 2013, 06:41:16 PM
It was 90 here today, record highs for the first part of the week and then record lows for the latter part. All of my trees have finally leafed out, I was getting very worried about one big old tree.
Probably won't be putting out any vegetables here, am putting the house up for sale and moving closer to my kids in Arkansas. This 4 acres is just to much for me to take care of and no family close. Hope to know by the end of the week if the person that is interested will give me what I want.
I do have roses blooming and the one I started from a cutting last year is still alive.
We are looking at moving back to Texas but not that far South.
I wish we had part of that 90 degrees. It was cold and windy here. I don't think it knows that it is April. The sad part is that when it does warm up it will get hot. Of course, the cooler weather is keeping the spring flowers nice longer. My roses are leafing out really good, but no buds yet.
The auroras missed us, but the Boston mess didn't. I had my heart in my mouth until I could verify that my friends who were there to watch and to participate were alright. So far so good. I have a number of EMS/fire friends who participate in various marathons including our little open 5k around Newark that we held last Sunday as part of our 125th anniversary events.
Next up is an Aetna sponsored motorcycle ride celebrating our anniversary and also raising funds for "The Warrior Project." We've sold a bunch of tee shirts so far.
Our weather is slowly improving day by day. 71 today and the tulips are starting to open...what the deer haven't eaten that is. Ms B. good luck with your buyer.
There were a lot of people from the Houston area there and one from the county I live in. He finished about 15 minutes before the blast. He was very relieved to get back home.
That is so sad, how do you explain that to children.
I guess we have to tell kids that there are bad people out there, but then show them how wonderful the people of Boston were to jump in and be so helpful. It's a beautiful,historic, friendly city.
Had our situation not changed we would have been going back in two weeks. Where we stay is only a few blocks from where the bombs went off. I always have enjoyed the shopping ,the public park and the Swan Boats, and the Boston Commons area. I thought we were going to be able to see the America's Cup start off this summer too, but that has changed also.
Ms Bear, I'm so glad none of your locals were injured in Boston. It will take time but the terrorists will be identified.
Al finally made a very hard, sad decision. He resigned from the NCC Pension Board after 26 years service. A nasty political issue has reared it's head and he is totally disgusted. He won't play politics with people's pensions so he quit, along with three others who said enough is enough.
I just heard on the local news that a young elementary student was injured in the bomb blast in Boston but her injuries are minor.
Our community has been adversely affected by politics, so sad when it affects so many people in negative way.
We are getting a very slow rain here today, will really soak in and should do a lot of good. The tame blackberries are getting big already, still have about two weeks before they start getting ripe. I will have blackberry syrup in May and then blueberry syrup in June.
As I thought, the yard is covered in petals from the wind last night.
I stayed up much too late enjoying Boston and Watertown celebrating what went right. All the more reason for people to stop trying to jump the gun on information too early. It is so often wrong. I'm sure all the many agencies involved have learned a lot.
Now prayers please for all the folks in West, Texas... Heart breaking number of deaths and injuries.
There are so many homes that were damaged or destroyed, they are beginning to let the people back in so there are a lot of people that don't know what they have left. So much work to do for so many, a lot physical and emotional healing. It was a small town and most of the people have had family there for several generations, everyone knew everyone else so they are all affected.
Yes,it is so sad.Especially losing so many volunteer firefighters and EMS people. A big fund within the fire service has already been set up to help folks and replace lost apparatus and equipment, but obviously the people can never be replaced. We have several national fire sites we visit for news...heartbreaking.
They have opened up the second area for people to go back into see what is left of their homes. They have sent some in to the blast site but will still be quite awhile before anything is known. They are having a memorial service on Thursday. The last I heard there were still at least 20 unaccounted for.
You are probably getting better reports on the fire sites than we are getting on our local news.
Yes, but some of the information can be very technical and would not be of interest to most. Personally, I'd like to know why homes etc. were built in the blast zone of the plant, and apparently no buffer walls. As plants go it wasn't very big, but deadly none the less.
Did you see the tape of the man and child shooting film from their vehicle when it lit off? whoo! They seem so far away, but not for the shock wave. So sad that there are still so many missing.
I had wondered about why so many buildings were so close. I think there were a lot of violations at that plant.
I am amazed that they were able to evacute the nursing home in time. All three schools are damaged and the students are attending school in nearby towns, the rival schools have really stepped up and students from one even painted part of their school and lockers with this schools colors to help them feel welcome.
So much destruction and so many lives lost.
There was a sea of blue in Mass. yesterday for the police office's memorial service. Yes, we had people who went. As much as some don't like or understand Joe Biden, I enjoyed his memorial speech.
Boston is a neat city. I've always enjoyed going there and will miss not going for the pension conferences anymore.
I really had to laugh. The CEO character, who was instrumental in Al deciding to retire from the pension board here, got caught up in a real mafia style goomba fist fight in one of the little local God father Italian restaraunts in Wilmington. He actually got bitten! Of course the whole thing hit the newspaper, because he called the County Chief of Police to come into Wilmington,into another police district, to hold his hand. What a wimp. I'm so glad Al retired! I have a feeling this isn't over yet. Power politics at it's finest. :P
One of the little towns just south of me had a very bad reputation for stopping people on the State Highway for speeding and collecting fines that never quite made it where it was supposed to go. The Texas Rangers finally stopped that and then last year the Texas Rangers and FBI paid the City Hall a visit and took the Mayor and two other off to jail. They had the Mayors trial today and found her guilty of taking out loans on cars that the town didn't own. I don't think they gave her enough time but at least she is out of a job. And it was her birthday.
Gee,on her birthday..what a shame...NOT. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Now we have to wait for the sentencing.
I went to a Sawmill Festival today. All of are towns here were started by sawmills. They had a fire department there that is celebrating 50 years of service.
What a week. Lost another longtime friend to lung disease. It was chronic but the end was sudden.
Al had his three month bladder scoping . No new tumors found, but now we wait to see if there are any free floating cancer cells. Looks like I'll be going to 4-H camp in June. UD called to see if I would do a fire safety program for the 4-H day campers age five to eight at the AG farm just south of me. MOO!
Now I can drive a few on here goofy because I can "indoctrine " those poor captive kids in fire safety. After all ,isn't anybody who makes Some Mores a lefty commie? ;D ;D ;D ;D.
I just might have to stop at the creamery before I leave the Ag school that day. Yummy!
More wrens have arrived. Now we have house wars in both the front and back yards.
One male hummer buzzed me while I was planting petunias in the hangers on the front porch. Still no catbirds.
We had offical fire company photos taken yesterday evening for our 125th book. All spoofed up in our class A's. We are really looking old!. Today was just beautiful but still rather cool. I have a section of front yard that I won't let Al mow yet as it's all in buttercups and looks so nice. The nose garden is in full odor today..lilacs, wysteria, lily of the valley and more. it looks like it might rain again. Salmon cakes, baked acorn squash and rice for dinner. This weekend I want to go out for soft shell crabs.Yum.
The cat birds arrived in full ''meow" this morning and I heard a wood thrush in the woods across the street. That pretty much completes the usual gang that comes here.
The one garden shop I visited had the cutest watering cans. I couldn't go home without a big gold fish and a large pink pig called Babs ;) Hope everyone has a nice frost free gardening day.
We had frost warnings last night and the heat came on. Very unusual! Petals are flying everywhere and the azaleas are beautiful.
I may get to go visit three college girlfriends for some girl time at Beach Haven NJ in Sept. The one girl, who is a professional artist and teacher, who retired to Maine, has her brother's place at the beach available. It did have some Sandy damage but has been repaired. Two are fighting breast cancer. It's a two hour drive for me but worth it. Al has developed new back pain right over his kidneys...It's a worry. Hopefully he just overdid the yard work. Pork chops on the grill tonight.
Just sat down and caught up on the East Coast Happenings. Just love to hear about what is going on back east. Enjoy hearing about Texas also. Hope you and Ms. Bear had a good Mother's Day. I'm up to about 5 hummers at my house. Getting a little gardening done. I really don't think this will be much of a year for the garden here. Ladies take care.
Thank you.It's always nice to hear what you are up to also.
We're on the downhill run to finishing the new Newark Charter JR. SR. High School. Except for details it will be completed next month. Hope to get the C of O in mid June. It really looks like a school now and not a big industrial building.It will eventually hold about 1200 as we grow into it over several years. It will be another four years before they have a class graduate.
So yesterday we risked putting out the toms and peppers. It is sooo late as compared to usual. I've got my assortment of herbs and mint in big pots on the back deck and hanging baskets on the front porch. My Rosemary wintered over in the basement in it's big pot, but looks kind of scraggly. I'll wait a bit yet to plant the cukes and beans. The big pots of pansies, petunias, snapdragons, nicotinia, tuberous begonias and red salvia look good and have kept the hummers happy. My favorite iris are in bloom, but I lost my old blue grape scented one and will have to try to find another one somewhere.
Al's test came back clear for bladder cancer cells, so now we just wait for three months for the next scoping. We are very relieved.
Tonight we get together for parade practice with the Emerald Society Pipe band that is coming up from Washington DC to parade with us tomorrow in Newark's big Memorial Day parade. Then it's party time afterward.
We will be dedicating our ladder truck and the new rescue truck to all our local vets.
Lou Angeli, a long time friend and world renown fire service photo journalist will be coming to do photos for our 125th anniversary. He did a lot of the post 911 photos and programs in NY. Then another lunch and party for the fire and police at our big hall after the parade. Showers are predicted but hopefully it won't be a wash out as happened two years ago.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend .
Warm, humid and overcast. perfect for spreading mulch and that is what I have been doing. Yard is beginning to look like summer. I planted a passion vine yesterday. Don't find them very often for sale. The blossoms are so very pretty. The first one I ever saw was growing in the wild in a woods in Oklahoma. I fell in love with it, and have been trying ever since to have one of my own. Gene Stratton Porter wrote about them growing wild in the Limberlost swampland. I think that made me fall in love even more. Hope it flourishes, and hope it makes it through the winter, I hope, I hope! Diane I am very happy for Als' good news! :) :)
Thank you. The first passion flower I ever saw was a huge vine on a long stone wall in Bermuda. It was full of happy little lizards. I know there are several kinds .Which color did you get?
Purple I think. Iy has buds but isn't in bloom yet. Waiting----------! Not so patiently I am afraid.
The parade on Sunday went very well. Lou Angeli did come and took wonderful photos for us. Guess where he is now? I think the tornado had hardly hit when he caught a plane to OK and is there taking fire service photos. He posted some already. It's just as terrible as everyone thinks it is. Prayers continue.
My family in Shawnee andTecumseh are all ok, but had some neighbors hit very hard not far away.
I grew passion flowers in Minnesota - they are sooo beautiful!
Purple ones or the pretty blue? I like both. I'm thinking I might have Al put up a trellis on my south bed and try one if it would get enough hours of sun
I need my head examined maybe. Went to the grocery store today and they had five Oso Easy roses left from Mothers' day. As they say, I made them an offer they couldn't refuse and home they came. I need to do some pruning but I think they are salvagable, I hope, I hope. So I got get off here and get BUSY! :D
Sixdogs, I just resurrected an old thread called "Roses". It is full of excellent information about roses, etc. The only thing it doesn't mention is how to get someone else to do the planting and care of them.
Hope yours get along just fine without a lot of fuss and bother. I really enjoy mine when they are blooming.
Six,I'll bet those roses will do fine. Plenty of sun ,enough water and some love should do the trick if they have good roots.What colors?
So it looks like Wichita is going to get a good many of the big refueling tankers. That's nice for your economy.
There are three Paprika and two Mango Salsa. They should not be difficult to see if they bloom! :D :D
I have a Paprika and it is blooming and it is easy to see.
This is national EMS week. "One mission One team." We had a big thank you BBQ out behind st.8 in the big parking lot for all the neighboring ambulance comapanies and NNC Paramedic units who were near enough to stop by and still respond if they got called out. Really nice. Now for the not so nice.
Al is still a director for Newark Emergency Center here in town. They have their annual board meeting tonight at the University and Whist Club. Al never made it. Not far from here, he was waiting in line for the light to change when, wham, he got hit in the rear. If the "sweet young thing" as he called her, was on the cell phone or texting or drinking, she may have to deal with me!
He didn't think he was hurt, but here we go again.... just waiting to hear more. GRRRRRR!
So it turns out Al's "attacker'' was a 17 year old girl who had just had a fight with her boyfriend,was driving her father's car, distracted by the boy friend thing and as an inexperienced driver didn't start stopping soon enough. Her father came to the scene and apologized about 20 times. When she realized she had hit a fire fighter she was just inconsolably upset. Fortunately, no phone,or texting or drinking or drugs...just not paying attention to her driving. It's going to cost $1,200.00 this time to fix us.Her front end was very badly damaged. I hate to think what it will cost.
So you all sent us your hot, humid, storm remnants last night, Lots of wind and rain with some damage to trees,poles and wires and an amazing temperature drop sucked down from Canada. It got to 54 this afternoon,back down in the 40's tonight. I may never get my beans in.
I might finally get the beans and rest of the garden in tomorrow.. Right through the weekend it's supposed to get up to close to 90. That should do it.
On Saturday, June 1, we have Newark Day, our annual street fair. We take back the town when the UD kids go home. Or so it used to be. Now they have decided to have a homecoming weekend right near us on the UD Green. So now lots more will be coming into Newark and it won't be just locals after all. So much for returning to a little quiet town. Aetna always does a fire safety tent with lots of activities and give aways, but this may bust our budget and we might run out of stuff. The heat might keep some folks away though. It's going to be fun no matter what.
Around 90 today and very humid.I'm not used to it yet and started feeling bad. I'm back inside where its cool and fine again.
I'm watching the weather channel and watching your tornadoes again. Be safe all. Had some storm chasers over run with some injures apparently.
It was hot here today, turned the a/c on yesterday and it really feels good.
I mowed the yard when I got back from vacation and am going to have to mow it again Monday, already high enough for the dogs to get lost in.
Found a snake this morning, first one I have seen in the yard in three or four years. It was a good snake though, it was dead. Don't know if the cats or the dog killed it. I thought it was a worm, about three inches long till I saw that it had eyeballs. Am watching much closer because there is probably a nest of them close to where that one was.
Al saw our garden garter snake recently. It snuck under the black plastic back by the toms. I wonder if it likes slugs. We're in for some reckless weather over the next few days. The left overs from your storm are coming in this evening and later in the week Andrea is expected to bring very heavy rains and possibly tropical storm force winds up the coast. Several days worth..and even more rain. We are on flood warnings already. I'm afraid my newly planted seeds will wash out since they don't have much root system yet. The local police agencies are doing a very long run for Special Olympics tomorrow .They may drown.
Our local orchard, Milburns, in the country just into Maryland is to open tomorrow too.... free cider donuts, but it's going to pour.
Glub glub... it's here... lots of rain but no wind yet. It's 68 but I thinks that's warm enough for the garden. I'm almost afraid to go see if the seeds washed out, but the toms and peppers will love the water...I hope. If the wind comes the toms and peppers are all caged and staked so they should be alright.Al made 6 ft. tom cages for me from hog wire in 1972 and we are still using them.
I'd been havng ant problems in the house and I think I finally found the main nest in the big composter out behind the shed. I saw a busy trail of them going in and out and when I opened the door...Yikes! There had to be thousands in there. I know they have their place, but not here! They are no more... I hope.
Diane, I am usually fighting ants. Several years ago, forgot how many, I was groaning to a friend about them and she
gave me a start of Tansy and said this will get rid of them.
It took awhile for the plant to get started........remember I live in the apartments here at Longton.......and I would bring in sprigs
of it and lay where the varmits would come in.......and this year.........after moving the plants around to different areas of mine as well as other units here I am not seeing as many as there use to be.
Not saying they are gone. But, life is more peaceful this year. The smell isn't a bad smell........really reminds me of bug spray in a can but is a natural herb? Good luck.
Thanks. I'll try some Tansy too. We got 4.5 inches of rain from that first storm. I went around and dumped all my outdoor plant saucers into my watering cans. More due on Wednesday.
I was hoping that you were okay. That is a lot of rain but hoping you didn't have a lot of wind with it.
Have you tried putting boric acid down along the outside and inside of the walls where the trails are at. Bugs don't like it but it doesn't hurt the plants you will be using the composted materials on.
I've tried Boric acid with some success but right now the many rains keep washing it away outside and inside seems to be OK for now.
It seems to be our turn now ...two tornadoes just south of Newark proper, but in our fire district. About a dozen homes with severe damage, reports of people trapped. We've been on tornado warning for about an hour now .We have our bug out bag and are headed to Station 8 as the tornado is headed NE...toward us. We can go around and come in the other side. More to follow.
Small, but damaging tornado. Typical for here. Miles of straight line wind damage too, with big primary lines down. 24+ homes damaged in Robscott Manor. Kept Aetna busy with searches, live wires and trees into houses. A few minor injuries. Our past chief was on the road coming home from work and saw it cross RT.40. He got on the radio and his voice was much higher than usual ;D ;D ;D. Sure glad it wasn't worse. It may set up the same way on Thursday. Have a nice evening all.
Hope you are still okay.
I talked to my son yesterday, he was in Pennsylvania and it was raining but not bad.
We're fine. But another line is setting up for tonight and tomorrow. I wouldn't want to be with my friend in Chicago right now. That whole area is in for some really evil weather,and east to western PA. It was a front name I'd never heard of before.
Where in PA is your son? The PA South Eastern Chester County line is just a skip up the road from us. Have a nice evening.Al is at the fire house for a Directors meeting so I'm battening down the hatches again.
Dental in the morning. I hope the mess doesn't arrive here until I get home.
A beautiful day. I'd like to keep this one for all summer. The pool two blocks away did open, but it's been too cold to swim. It's OK now and I enjoy hearing the kids having such a good time The tennis court next door to the pool has a lot of business too.
Al had to shoo a tiny garter snake out of the garage that tried to sneak in while he had the door up. The local snake must have hatched her eggs recently.
Al is really suffering from allergies and he still has back pain from time to time. He's a mess. ;)
Some sympathy here, lady. He may be a mess, but his pain is real. I know. I have been hurting for two weeks now. Ever since I started dragging hoses around again.
We have been having heavy rain for about five minutes now. I wonder if a "Mud Run" ever gets rained out. Our local one started just before the rain.
Wilma, I do understand and get so frustrated for him. So many pain and allergy meds he can't take, as he has a very touchy liver. The Post Polio business makes it all worse too. There is so much he wants to do, but can't any longer and his stamina is lower. Heat helps his back for awhile and the TENS device does help too, but it's so complicated with one thing working against the other.
He can't rehab his back any further as he can't strengthen the muscle groups that were permanently damaged by the Polio. The ''good" muscles try to work for the damaged ones and then they get tired and painful too.
I'm so sorry you are having pain again. Believe me I get it. Hope the mud run was a big sloppy success.
I had forgotten his polio, but I can understand that frustration. There is so much that I can't do anymore, either. I do what I can because if I give up and start having someone else do it for me, I would be done. Besides no one can do anything the way I would do it and that would just add to my frustration. I am just an old lady that no one can please.
My aches and pains depend a lot on the weather and today has been a doozy. I kind of think that they stopped the "Mud Run". I didn't hear as much roaring as usual. We had some wind and a lot of heavy rain.
Diane and Wilma...
Get a TENS Unit, Wilma. It work for me, hip, Knee, lower back and shoulder. I wouldn't be playin golf without it... I wear when I play. I have a EMPI Tens Unit... http://empi.com/empi_products/index.aspx
http://empi.com/empi_products/detail.aspx?id=146
...that medicare and tri-care for life, paid for it.
I know there's pro and con on it but, like I said, it works for me.
Diane, Has Al had a Nerve Ablation for lower-back pain?. My ortho doc is giving me nerve ablation at Mayo. This involves heating tissue of the facet nerve to destroy it and sustaining that heat for about one to two minutes. This deadens a length of nerve tissue, preventing it from transmitting pain signals to the brain. He tells me I'm likely to experience a greater than 50% pain reduction. So far, he's been right. Unfortunately, relief only lasts on average, 6 to nine months. It's not clear why pain often returns, but it's suspected that the nerve reconnect over time. The procedure can be repeated indefinitely tho'.
(http://empi.com/uploadedImages/Empi_Products/Pain_Management_-_TENS/select_large.jpg)
Wilma...Info on the TENS Unit:"TENS involves passing an electric current through the body via electrodes taped to your skin from a small battery-operated box about the size of a PDA. Some people like to think of it as the electrical equivalent of acupuncture. There are two theories about how it works, the gate theory and the endorphin theory. The gate theory says that by overstimulating nerves with electrical current, the TENS unit confuses the brain and blocks pain signals from getting through. The endorphin theory states that the TENS unit stimulates the production of the body's natural morphine-like substances, the endorphins."
A guide dog is being heralded as a hero after his quick reaction to an oncoming car saved the lives of his two trainers on Monday.
The 18-month-old Labrador retriever named O'Neil is seen on video turning to alert one trainer behind him of the oncoming car approaching quickly from the rear, while pulling the other trainer, who is blindfolded in the exercise, to safety.
Moments later, a car reverses at high-speed toward them.
O'Neil's early response to the car prompted supervisor Todd Jurek, the rear trainer who was not blindfolded, to grab the blindfolded instructor, Daniella Alvarado, and with the dog's help, drag her to safety around the corner seconds before the car would have made impact.
The car was being driven by a 93-year-old woman who, after barely missing the guide dog and his two trainers, crashed into a nearby building, the New York Daily News reported.
The elderly driver was not injured in the incident.
Police are still investigating the crash.
"Even from Day One he was special," Alvarado said about O'Neil.
The dog still has to take his final test at the Guide Dogs for the Blind academy, which according to Jurek shouldn't pose a problem considering his actions on Monday.
I'm not sure about the name of Al's TENS unit but it is a more complicated one and does more in terms of muscle stimulation as well as nerve, so it might be what you are using.
No nerve ablation as of yet. The Post Polio problem really complicates that kind of thing. He already has damaged and dead muscle and nerve fibers.
Today is a good day and yesterday was miserable. Sometimes he has what we call a Polio Day where he is too weak to do much of anything. As it is he is on an ''energy budget." He does what needs to be done first thing and then rests or takes an afternoon nap before night meetings. It's been a slow decline for the last 12 years. The docs' goal now it to keep him on his feet as long as possible. He wears braces on both legs, uses a cane for balance and we have had a stair riser chair here for years. It was a demand by his doctor as soon as he was diagnosed at the ''gate lab" at Einstein Hospital 's Post Polio Clinic in Philly. Two years ago he started having hand problems and was sent to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore to rule out Rheumatoid Arthritis, which is in his family. Thankfully it wasn't. It was just the Post Polio getting slightly worse and has not gotten any worse since.
I really had fun yesterday. I did the fire safety module at the 4-H camp at UD's big Townsend Hall where the Aggie classes are taught. Great kids, as 4-Her's always are, and wonderful staff. Another storm came rolling in just as I was leaving, so I'm afraid their planned walk down to the UD pool shortly after my visit didn't get to happen. :'(
I did stop by the UD Creamery for ice cream before I drove home. Bought a true half gallon of wonderful Black Forest.... Rich Holstein Chocolate ice cream, with brownie pieces and thick streaks of black cherry syrup. Oh yum!
Yea! The new charter school passed all it's inspections, the C of O has been iissued and now the building can officially be occupied.The trucks are starting to arrive with all the furniture, and the parents, volunteers and the teachers are working like bees. Those parents are amazing. They offered trucks, vans, carts, dollies, you name it. Some furniture is new, some second hand or donated. It's really starting to look like a school.
We're still watching storms. Another Derecho rolled through just north of us tearing down lots of trees and wires. I'm glad the meteorologists are finally using the real name instead of just "severe thunderstorms." They can be very damaging but have no spinning circulation.
Had some soft shelled crabs for dinner last night.I sauteed them in good butter and they were very tasty, if I do say so myself. I'm not crazy about having to clean them, but I'll not dwell on that. eech!
The garden has taken quit a pounding but seems to be winning anyway. I have several toms almost ready and have picked a couple of peppers.I'm surprised how it has caught up since I had to plant very late.
The slugs are awful this year,so I've been hand picking them and dumping them in soapy water. Have a good day everyone.
Local flooding here yesterday and again today. 3.9 inches yesterday in my rain gauge and another .3 today. More predicted every day next week. Enough already!
More rain today and many,many messages back and forth about the firefighters. I didn't know any of them personally, but know folks who did. We have trained teams here who will go out for two weeks at a time during the season to help. I've decided the lack of sun and too much rain is giving me the worst garden ever. The toms are good, but the beans are poorly sprouted, the lettuce is too. I've replanted the cukes twice with only two plants sprouted and have only two yellow squash out of a replanted area of ten. There is still time to replant once more, but I'm not sure I should bother. Friend in MD are sharing with us instead of the other way around! ;)
Happy Liberty Day to all. Our local daily paper, as I'm sure many do, printed the Declaration of Independence as they do every year. I read it with my morning coffee and watched it being read again near the Liberty Bell in Philly. They had a neat parade in spite of the oppressive heat and humidity.
For once it isn't supposed to blow up thunderstorms today, so folks can have their fun and bake but not get boiled in the rain too. Tonight we'll watch the concerts and have steaks on the grill.
Yesterday one of the local camps came to tour the fire house. Its a hard one to do because they run from age 5 to 12. Their interests and fire safety knowledge is so different. 26 kids and 8 counselors.
My friend Irene was off work so she brought her two yellow lab search dogs, Pierce and Pulaski to the station. They really made the tour extra fun as they followed her commands and showed off.
The kids all got a group photo taken wearing their new fire hats in front of the big hook and ladder truck...really cute.
Pierce is 10 now and will retire from the field soon...so, she just got a seven week old new pup to start training. He is so cute. She named him Bunker. Have a great day everyone.
Who turned on the heat? It's 90 here and with the 77 dewpoint and high humidity, it feels like 102...excessive heat warnings, so we ran our errands early and are hiding inside. Enjoy your weekend.
The new charter school looks like an ant hill with teachers and parents and staff moving in boxes and furniture and lots of teaching ''stuff'. The rain has been a pain, but at the same time the athletic fields look great. The road in from the main road has been paved and the road and parking lines will be painted soon.
The ribbon cutting and dedication will be on August 20th. Hooray! (Then on to some expansion and room change around in the existing elementary and middle schools.) Because we re-purposed a closed industrial building, we'll never be accused of building a Taj Mahal. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
The Delaware July heat is back for the week. 90's and very humid. But it's July, it's supposed to be hot. Toms are coming on nicely now with beans almost ready. One pepper plant is a fizzle, but i plant plenty and the others look good. Beets are almost ready too. The cukes and squash are poor. I replanted three times and still only have a couple of plants . Not sure why. birds? ants? Bad seed? That has never happened before. Enjoy the day.
Like many areas, we are still baking in this week's heat wave.
I got a call this morning from a neighbor who is fretting over her poor garden this summer. She didn't know what "early blight" was on her toms, they are very slow to ripen and her cukes aren't setting on. Usually I share produce with her as her yard is very shaded except for a very small spot. I had to tell her I wasn't doing much better. Yesterday a ground hog came through and managed to eat all the squash plants. They were in their own unfenced area and were gone before I even knew he was here. Now for the trap! Maybe I can replant again.... if I can catch him. Apples and carrots usually do the trick
Just one word...birds...can set off some amazing comments from some very rude people. As far as I know this is and always was an open forum. If it weren't so sad it would be funny.
Whew! THI at 108 and actual temp at 95.5 with about 50% humidity. It should break tomorrow with the arrival of some severe storms coming in from the south west. We're on an orange alert for poor air quality too.
It looks like Al may have gotten a spider bire .He has a 1 1/2 inch long blister on his back, right at the belt line. It looks very simple and doesn't itch. I think it must have happened when he was out watering.
I was just thinking about the changes in the forum over the years. The nicest, openest, friendliest people joined as much as 7 and 8 years ago...most have gone now. Had enough. Most of the nastiest, rudest, most self absorbed and self opinionated came much later...now even less than two, or even one year.
They have no clue how to do a real debate and just whine and complain... Mostly about their own fellow Kansans! Anyone who doesn't live in Elk County, even if they did at one time, might as well hang it up. As far as I know it's still an open forum and nobody should be slammed for posting ideas or opinions on the threads. So stop the personal attacks! Especially the "probies" who haven't earned the right to be rude to ANYONE. If ya moved in recently...forget it. Unless you are a very conservative cookie cutter image, ya don't stand a chance.
IMHO. ;)
The storms came rumbling through last night and broke the heat wave. It's supposed to be nice all this week. Mid 80's and less humidity, but maybe a few little pop up storms.
I see the manure is still being tossed on a certain thread. Perhaps one there should muck out a bit more often and it wouldn't pile up. Sure does take liberties with less than a year on the forum ;D ;D ;D ;D
So Newark Charter came out with great state scores again this year. The local daily paper even mentioned them... Very nice.
Congrats to all the 4-H kids, both in Kansas and here in Delaware for their hard work. Our state fair caught the awful heat last week and had to have cooling tents and water stations for the animals as well as the people.
I guess the 'gators couldn't handle the heat as the food folks were selling grilled alligator on a stick. No snappers though...didn't want to accidentally get hold of any Elk County residents. Some of them are snappy enough as it is. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D I won't mention any IQ's. Pizza and our garden salad for dinner tonight.
So, today we are celebrating our 43rd anniversary.
Ham, fresh green beans and red skin potatoes for dinner. Al added two more pearls to my necklace that he has been doing since our wedding. It's nice and long now. He's going to start a bracelet to match it.
Tomorrow night we are going to Wesley's in Maryland for their once a week summer seafood buffet. YUM
So far our ambulance fund drive is doing very well. I think promoting our fire company's 125th anniversary has helped.
Now I need to finish up the fire fund drive letter that goes out about September 15. Again, I'll be emphasizing the 125th and a bit of history of how the fire company came to be.( a big woolen mill fire that put about a third of the residents out of work. I think I'll add a little about what some of the original gear and equipment cost. The first seven rubber coats cost $3.50 each. In those days the church bells were rung if a fire was found.
Congratulations to both of you. It is always nice to hear the news from East. Wish we had a good seafood place around here. Nancy
Thank you.
Dinner last night was great. Lots of good seafood choices and tender rib roast too. I finally got to have a nice piece of broiled local Rockfish. Hadn't had any yet this s were super good.There were local clams and local Del. Bay and MD oysters on the half shell, but I will not eat them that way in the warm water months. I made up for that with fried and broiled oysters and clams, and clams casino. Lot's more choices too.
A nice cool front came in. It's low 60's and a nice break from the heat. Have a beautiful morning.
Now I can rest. Al and I finished writing the fall fire company fund drive letter. After one more time editing and proofing, I can send it off to the printer. It goes out about Sept.15th. Anybody want one? No? Well, imagine that! ;) Just funnin'.
Don't worry, I won't say how much we get, so I won't be accused by "the grumps" of bragging.
It's a beautiful day. 78 and dry. The fire company family picnic is this afternoon, with the chief and the officers manning a big brick grill next to a large pavilion in a wooded setting. One of our farmer members grows a block of sweet corn just for the picnic so it's always just right and fresh. There will be the usual picnic stuff, with the main event being several bushels of steamed blue claw crabs. Picking crabs and joking around with long time friends is a great way to spend an afternoon. The kids aren't left out either.There will be three bounce houses, pony rides and a few games.
Just finished listening to WVUD" Scratchy Grooves" and ready to see another episode of Masterpiece Theater.
Ah...Another beautiful day after pouring rain yesterday afternoon and night... refreshed the air and made it a great day to start the first day of the two week Newark "Safety Town" day camp. The kids had fun with our police officer and went "out on the town'' behind the parks and rec. building where the camp is held. It's a miniature town with lines painted for cross walks and RR tracks, various traffic signs and a red light. There are a number of buildings representing Newark. The kids have little cars to drive aound in and also practice being safe pedestrians. They learn about all kinds of safety....water, guns, trains, strangers, abuse and more.
I took my 9-11 call simulator and the kids will learn to make practice emergency calls. I'm always amazed at how many do not know their own address and phone number. Don't parents teach that to their kids anymore? Very odd.
This will be my 33rd year with the kids... two more years and that's it...I'm retiring. I've done them all since the camp started many years ago.
I also had one of my regulars call me to schedule her preschool for their annual kids' fire safety class at school and a tour of the firehouse, as well as a CPR class for her teachers. With a lump in my throat, I told her this will be the last CPR I'll do for them. I'm giving up my instructor's certificate in 2014. That will give them two years to make other arrangements...if she hasn't retired and closed the school herself by then.
It poured again today.We're on flood watch again. I wish some of the states having drought could share in this.
We spent several hours working at the New Charter School. My job today and again tomorrow was/will be to find sloppy work, dings, scuffs, wall gouges, improperly installed sprinklers, missing parts, and outlet covers, cracked windows, plumbing that doesn't work etc. Now that was in areas that were to have been completed, finished, done, two weeks ago...or more.
I blue taped it all and there was plenty. Much of the workmanship was fine, but the things that were poorly done were awful! Closets with no shelves, badly damage ceiling tiles, plaster drips, missing base boards, no water in one sink in the art room, but the other three in there were fine.
I met with the nurse, who was setting up her rooms and we worked through some problems with missing outlets. There was no ceilng in her closet and missing base boards in her lav. They had left an open "pass through" type window between her office and the outside waiting areas. Nope, no security that way. We had the window man come down and he designed a solid secure window with a speaking opening like some movies used to have and some stores still do. It will look good, she can see and hear the kids in the seating area and talk them too, with no HIPPA privacy problems, plus have security in her office. She already has lockable drug cabinets and we found one that wouldn't lock properly. A few days ago the Staples rep came to see the school. Staples has been great about giving good discounts and help when we needed it. He was amazed how beautiful the big entry lobbies are...One for Jr high and one for Sr.high. Looks very expensive but wasn't at all. No taxpayer money was used to build it. Rather modern, yet retro. One can't tell it was ever an old manufactoring plant for car seats. More to do tomorrow.
Another day with the blue tape and punch list. The teachers are slowly slipping in to see when they can move into their rooms and everyone is getting excited. The head janitor hosted a picnic outside in the gazebo to thank his staff for all the extra work they have been doing. Are they ever hard workers! We did find several rather serious problems, but because we caught them early, repairs can be done before school opens.
That dratted ground hog, or a brave deer, came up on my deck and cleaned out my lettuce window box, parsley and cilantro pots and ate the ripe toms in their big pots. The sweet basil was left alone. Go figure. GRRRR.
I had a "critter" that had been digging in my flower bed. Lawrence brought up a game cam and lo and behold I have a big fat armadillo that digs for grubs. Not doing much harm, but I wanted to know if I needed to be on the look-out for patio visitors like the skunk I had last year. That particular critter was in search of water and was visiting the water bowl I kept out there. We don't have that problem this year as there are plenty of water holes around. I just cannot believe all this rain. Life is good! ;) ;)
Do you know about when armadillos showed up in your area? Daddy said they weren't there when he was growing up in Elk County.
I wouldn't be surprised if you start seeing more "visitors" near you. Many of the young animals are out now learning the ways of the world and are checking out food sources as well as water. We get little holes in the yard at night when the skunks are teaching their young to dig up worms and grubs. We've seen many possums too, just waddling around checking things out. The darn racoons are teaching theirs to find our bird feeders .One had climbed the tall pole holding it and because the ground is so wet, it just tipped over and he/she got all the seed. Pesky, but I've gotta admit I love watching 'em. I'm glad you've been getting some much needed rain.
While we were working at the school yesterday, I came to a very scary realization. We've been having a good time being kidded and funnin' back with the workmen, etc. They are going to have to fix all the imperfections we blue taped but they asked us questions too and valued our experience.
Then it suddenly hit me that Al and I were by far the oldest people in the school. Oh my goodness, get me a chair! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
According to KDWP&T, armadillos were sighted in Kansas as early as the 1940's, but mostly just in the southern part of the state. Over the years their range has continued to expand further north and there are now sightings even in Nebraska.
Thanks. He left in 1941 and only visited after that. Never saw any.
The first one I saw in Kansas was in Greenwood County north of Severy before we moved to Sedgwick. I don't remember the year, but we moved in 1979.
Speaking of Sedgewick, I heard through the fire service there was a bit of an explosion at a biofuel plant...same place?
The biofuel explosion and fire was in a suburb of Wichita. Wichita is in Sedgwick County and the town Sedgwick is just north of Wichita. Actually, I think that Sedgwick is on the county line of Harvey County, the county bordering Sedgwick County on the north.
Thanks, I understand it was a relatively small plant and nobody was hurt. That's the important part.
Good dinner tonight, if you like liver and piles of sweet onions,which fortunately we both do,green beans and mashed taters too. Went provisions shopping this afternoon. Should last for weeks. I have a few more hand outs to count for the camp parents' fire safety program on Tuesday. Had a nice chat with Liz awhile ago. Soon I'll be watching Masterpiece Theater... If I can stay awake. Good night all.
Woo! I'm finished my part of Safety Town! The 25 parents seemed to enjoy my presentation and then they went out to hang around and watch the stranger,danger part. One of the park employees, who the kids have never seen,.tries to get one of the kids out on the town to go with him with some excuse. Every year someone does go with him, to the horror of the parents who thought their child knew better. Now we have a working fire. The friends who did the the tour at the firehouse had just finished when it came in. Perfect timing.
Diane. Just to show you that I care, when I read this in the politics section I just knew you meant it to be in the Delaware thread so I moved it for you. No need in thanking me----just trying to be helpful. Oh yea, I think you mis-spelled" requirements" but that's fine by me because I know what you meant. Like you, I don't believe in nit picking and fully realize you probably did it on purpose trying to keep people on their toes..
Quote from Diane:
They all have con ed requirments and I was one of the instructors. Do you care? No? Neither do I.
When I retired from the fire school that's part of what I gave up. They handled many of my medical assignments.
I even ran the front desk in Al's father's dental office for a couple of weeks when school was out when his mother was in the hospital with cancer. She was his hygienist until she retired and ran the front office instead.
I had no office experience of any kind, and had no idea what I was doing. I was scared to death. I didn't want to do it for fear of screwing things up, but I was given no choice. But it worked out just fine. I even did all the insurance papers correctly. None came back for correction. I was amazed too. I was scared to death! I did learn a lot about the business side of things.
Actually I did miss "requirements" ...not sure how, as I did spell check it. Yes, I do sometimes put one in wrong for "bait," but this was not one of them. Good catch!
As far as your moving my posts from one place to another... GRRRRR. I don't do that to you.
The end of another day. Al had his three month bladder cancer check up this morning, with the scope up the you know where. Still all clear.
Unfortunately he still has to go every three months for another year and a half and then every six months for two more years after that. His legs still bother him a lot and will never be any better, but his back is finally showing some improvement. Not as much night pain now. He went to a directors' meeting and I'm going to watch TV and try to stay awake. We spent some time at the new charter school this afternoon and met with the builder and the architect again. They still haven't put the right door locks on the classrooms.There must also be a quick twist lock for the teacher to do a lock down, not just a key lock that had to be retreived, inserted and turned to lock the door from the inside. For some reason the maintenance chief can't make the builder see and understand what we need and why.
More of the punch list work has been checked off and the parts that were missing have been put on the sprinkler heads and they have been uncovered. The landscaping trees were planted today except for the coffee trees that can't go in until fall. After all the rain we've been having Jimmie won't need to worry about them drying out. We're to go back tomorrow and Friday with the blue tape again and do the outside too. I don't think there will be much more to find. Have a good evening all.
Another beautiful day. The rains have been going across south of us, so we have finally gotten a chance to dry out.
Friday night we had another crab feast at the firehouse to finish out the season. Big jumbo crabs have gotten VERY expensive. $240.00 and up per bushel. Fortunately we got a nice discount and we all chipped in to pay for them. I could only eat three and I do love to sit and chat and pick crabs.
Today we took a friend and went to Elkton M.D. to a good mom 'n pop place for a big breakfast. Stopped by the new charter school on the way home to show it off, and drove around the other two also, (elementary and middle school) as they were just up the road on the way Tom had never seen them either since they don't show from the road. He was impressed.
We go back again tomorrow to finish up blue taping the outside. I don't think there will be much to do.
We received our official invitations to the ribbon cutting on Aug. 20, at 6:00. I'd post photos, but since the skeptics don't believe there is such a place, nor do they believe we had anything to do with it, I guess the photos would be blank, so I won't bother. ;)
It finally came in at $85.00 per square foot ( 125,000 sq feet renovation) and the addition of the 15,000 ft. new construction gym. Now I think $85.00 per square ft. for 140,000 sq. feet total is really good. (I was even given my silver hard hat to keep as a souvenir). It will eventually hold 1,200 students when it's up to full speed. This year it will start with 7th, 8th, and 9th, and will bump up one grade each year until the first graduating class in June 2017. It's designed to operate as two separate schools under one roof with the Jr. High separate from the High school.
I have new fun project to do. I was asked by the Newark Historical Society to help design a display about the fire company because of our anniversary. In particular, they want to borrow from my collection of burned items that have stories behind them. I've used many over the years as props in my fire safety programs.
I have a melted pull station from a U D fraternity fire, a tea kettle with the bottom burned out, a drip coffee machine that the off switch failed and turned back on when nobody was home, eventually set it's self on fire and spread. There are several melted smoke detectors that got people up and out of their houses in the middle of the night, and big tubs of more stuff. Should be fun.
I was privileged to do a similar display years ago at U D. Their Museum Studies class did a big exhibit on the New Castle County fire service I was able to add some of my things and some photographs representing our fire company. Some of my pieces were mounted on display boards by the students and were given back to me later to keep for our use.They also took my big quiz boards and built some little versions so they would be interactive. It has learning materials and information on the top.Then a question. Flip the top and there is the answer.The one girl I worked with went on to work for the Museum of Natural History in New York.
Interesting how attitudes can be so different in different areas. Ross is all head up about the placement of a sign. I still don't get it. So everyone in Howard who didn't complain about the sign placement is, by Ross's extension some kind of a crook?
So the school isn't quite in Howard. AND?. It had to go somewhere when it was built. I remember seeing it under construction. There wasn't enough room on the old school site. What is the high school's mailing address anyway?
Our Christiana High School is not in Christiana. Many others here, as out there, are not in the towns where they were originally. They out grew their land holdings and went out side town to build. Look at how many little one room schools out there were closed down in favor of a bigger school in town. Did they fuss and fight over doing it? I suspect some did but the economy of scales says it's cheaper in the long run.
As far as being close enough to a town to be annexed into it... Why not? Here we do it if a community asks.. The taxes immediately go down and we get all the city services the county doesn't provide. Even though we pay city and county land taxes we come out ahead. The county school tax is by far the most expensive, but there is no city school tax. Some districts set up their own "special "tax district. They tax themselves at a higher rate to provide more to their schools and pay the teachers better.
But the schools here can't raise taxes without a referendum. Often they fail. Smoking loco weed? Why ? It makes selling bingo really entertaining. Which is exactly where I'm off to right now. Ross, don't pop a vein over a sign!
You folks seem to have high taxes for where you are. The fact that there are so few of you must make it hard to do a lot of things. Especially roads.... long and many roads and few people to support them. I'm sure a few would prefer that all roads be toll roads like many were many moons ago.
Another day working at school. The teachers are setting up again today and it was nice to meet more of them.
We had a major storm come through this morning and the new school had some major water leaks. Some of the windows leaked and rain ran under the doors. Water poured through the roof over the front entrance. The builder came shortly after, once he could find a way to get there because of so many flooded roads, and grumbled around making repair lists. Better to have that happen now before the school opens.
Several trees came down and the brick facade fell off one of the apt. buildings across from one of our firehouses. Three small tornadoes were reported, but I know of no damage.
I took American flags to all the occupied classrooms. The teachers who were there today took them with big smiles and put them up right away...makes it official. Some had their own kids with them who were having fun helping load book shelves and open boxes
The builders still owe us the foreign material traps in all the science rooms, the in room fire extinguishers and the trap in the art room, the locks are still wrong and some gouges in the walls still are waiting. The big show cases still need their glass, one light doesn't work and one outlet is dead. Many of my blue tapes are disappearing though as the touch up painters, cleaners and patchers are working their way through our lists. The fire alarms do work and the general sound system is great. We had wonderful music to work to. Many of the Jr high band kids came today to help set up the band room. They said they can't wait for school to start again. it was a fun day.
Another beautiful day. I'm not sure how long this will last, but in the 70s with low humidity is wonderful.I went through my bags and boxes of fire safety burned props and will meet some folks at the Newark Historical Society at 1:00 today. It's in the old train station and is a neat little building. My pieces, collected over many years, will be part of an exhibit honoring our fire company's 125th anniversary. Some will go to another exhibit at city hall and some to the library for another exhibit later in the fall. They also want to do one at the senior center.
There is a melted drip coffee machine that the off switch failed and over heated, starting a fire, a tea kettle that boiled dry and the bottom burned out, a melted pull station from the U D Sigma Nu fraternity house fire, a burned toaster and more. All have stories that will be placed by each piece, with their teaching points.
A long time friend, fellow firefighter and sheriff's deputy is in town for his 50th high school reunion in North East MD. He has lived in Wilmington, NC for many years after the DuPont Co transferred him there. He retired from DuPont and his still enjoying his other job. Carl and his wife June, were competitive shooters for many years.
Dinner out with him tonight will be fun. My red hen tote arrived from one of my imaginary, invisible Kansas friends, or so says Ross. ;D 8) It's very nice and I highly recommend it. I'm sure the other choices are just as well made. Have a nice day all.
We had a really nice visit with Carl. He's a Detective Sergeant with the Sheriff's Dept. in Wilmington, NC. Left us yesterday after enjoying his class reunion on Saturday. Another school with a very small graduating class...60 some, in North East MD. He drove back to several murder cases that were waiting for him back in North Carolina.
He's the one whose 13 year old grandson was murdered by his step mother while we were visiting in Kansas in 2008. Saw it on TV at the Crooked Creek Lodge. Assumed it wasn't him, but it was. Terrible!
Our Newark Little League kids ( Newark Nationals) went to the World Series for the first time this year. ( Mid Atlantic) They won their first game and lost the second. More play to come.
Back to school soon for one more day's work. Have a nice day everyone.
I'm finished at last! All the teachers from all three Newark Charter Schools met for lunch today at the new high school. Everyone was invited.... ,teachers, staff, maintenance, us, the kitchen ladies, and what a fun time we all had. I met some new people and got to talk with some I hadn't seen in awhile.
The rooms are almost ready with some little details yet to do. All the teachers put their flags up and the rooms really look like classrooms now.
Today we toured the entire outside and picked up more things than I had expected. Missing soffit in several areas, with the insulation still showing, loose downspouts, missing supports, sloppy paint over spray on the outsides of the windows, nail holes in the block where they had been hammering forms, but didn't fill in the holes, an outdoor loudspeaker hanging by its wires, very crooked wall lightning. The security cameras are missing, blocked roof scuppers and a few more.
The foreman better start kicking butt! Payment will be held up. Al won't authorize the checks until it is all made right and our punch list is complete. Al goes back tomorrow and Wednesday. The formal open house and ribbon cutting is tomorrow night, with lots of dignitaries and all the families invited.
School opens Thursday morning. There are still more trees and foundation plantings to go in, but I think everything that is needed to open a complete and safe school is almost ready.
We made it. Delaware officially has a new charter high school. There were 550 chairs set up in the cafetorium yesterday evening but several hundred more than that came to see the opening activities. Standing room only. They had some of the band and orchestra kids playing chamber music on stage as back ground as we all came streaming in. I was pleased that Al and I had reserved seats in the second row.
"Mr Mayor," ( Repub.) as well as Senator Tom Carper (Dem.) and our local Delaware politicians came out, of course. Mayor Vance Funk and Tom Carper have been stalwart proponents and positive boosters since the beginning. I got big hugs from them both . ;)
Joe Biden was in TX with his son Beau, who might have a brain tumor. Tests are still being done.
Director Greg Meece did a welcome and introduced all the important players, including Al and me. I wasn't expecting us to be included in that. He even told everyone about our working so hard to get all three schools up and running over the last several years. I was very flattered.
We knew a number of the people who have kids who go there, even some firefighter families who didn't know we had anything to do with the Newark Charter Schools.
After the 40 min program, the kids went to pick up their schedules and their locker locks and try them out for the first time, and tour the building to find their classrooms. Maps were included in the programs. It was fun watching everyone trying to find their way around. Of course the teachers went to their rooms to meet and greet everyone. We toured around to see if the repairs and completions that had needed to be done were complete....not. Mostly minor stuff, but two bathroom floors have to be torn up as the sinks in two next door bath rooms don't drain. The air conditioning isn't quite right yet, but learning to do the over rides and occupied and unoccupied settings will come in time. Of course as is always the case here, after a nice cool down, it will be in the 90s tomorrow for the first day of school.
They are officially changing the names of the schools ... elementary will be primary K-3, middle will be intermediate 4-6, and then the Jr. Sr. High school, 7 to eventually 12. A new year begins!
I'm getting very frustrated with my tomatoes. Usually this time of years we are overloaded and feeding all the neighbors. Not this year. There are lots of green ones but they are still just sitting there mocking me. I love green fries, so they are being used, but I want ripe ones! Even the few red ones we've had just don't seem to have the usual sweet, sunny, summer flavor. The ground hog that ruined so much seems to have gone....maybe the back yard neighbor's dogs got it. too late to replant now.My "boat neighbor" next door went out on a deep sea fishing trip... many hours out and many hours back. He said it was amazing how much big debris is 'way out from Sandy last year. They had to pay close attention not to hit something. his bunch did really well. They got a big, more than 100 pound tuna, and a variety of other fish too . We got a "share" :D... four nice tuna steaks and some tile fish filets.
More funerals to go to. I guess at this point it will just get worse and happen more often. Tomorrow would have been my parents anniversary, so I'm missing them. They were married in Lawrence in 1940. Have a nice day everyone.
They're baaaack! Lost people all over town. It's freshman move in day. I don't care where it is, you can't get there from here. ;D... a beautiful day though, nice and dry and no rain in the forecast. Good for making all those many, many trips into the dorms. I could hear the band practicing all last week.Good memories.
I'm getting ready to make a big jar of pickled eggs... and tacos for dinner.Yum!
Went to the nearby Milburn's Orchard in MD and came home with a huge ready- to- eat- right- now cantaloupe, a big bag of King of the Garden Limas, a nice basket of peaches and some cider donuts.
It's interesting how things happen. Al and I are going to do just two more scheduled CPR classes and then we're retiring. I'll miss it, but all the lugging and toting and our own recerts, and updates are getting to be just a little too much. 41 years is enough.
So what happens next? Al has just been appointed to the City of Newark Planning Commission. He's as pleased as he can be. City hall is quite close, so he won't even have to go very far for the once a month meeting in Council Chambers.
So... I wasn't finished at Newark Charter after all. We got asked to come back again today to do another run through with the blue tape and see what else we could find. The subs were all busy there today doing repairs to ceilings, floors, plaster and paint. I found some things that were still on my list untouched, and a lot that has been nicely finished since I last checked. Found 4 more outlets without covers yet....and three paper towel dispensers are missing in the big art room. The eyewash station has ben repaired in the chem lab, but the traps are still on order. The gym floor is finished and was being coated today. Highways finally put the signal at Elkton Road on full cycles and off flashing.
After another 4 hours and 15 minutes today, we may be almost ready. Al is going to authorize the next payment on Tuesday. Hopefully in a couple of weeks it will be all finished to everyone's satisfaction, the punch list walk will be completed and final payment can be made.
I hope everyone had a nice peaceful Labor Day. Saw a cute cartoon .Fellow says to his wife that all three of his jobs gave him Labor Day off. ;) We are supposed to have great weather all week, low 80s and cool nights. We are wondering where all the hurricanes have gone. It's very quiet. Usually this is a very unsettled time of year here.
The UD kids are back and some are acting just as stupid as ever. Some cannot be turned loose from home without supervision. UD won their first football game Thursday night.... and the drinking started. Drunk calls all over the place Friday night. Well, that's not how they are dispatched, but we know that's what they turned out to be. A couple were so bad they had to be hospitalized.
This morning Al and I did a CPR class for some preschool teacher friends. I told them it was their last time, but they have two years to find someone else. After one more scheduled class in January, we are retiring as CPR/ AED instructors. I started in 1972 and the teaching is still fun, but the rest is getting old...so are we.
Another beautiful fall like day. It got down in the 50s last night and haven't needed the air conditioner in about a week. The garden finally decided to get going, so I can share with my neighbors after all.
We laid another good friend and 1962 classmate to rest yesterday. The Leukemia he had been fighting for 13 years finally won. He was one of the those special friendly people that I'd match against 10 ordinary folks. In typical Jerry style he had everything planned out ahead of time.
His wife Rosie's family is from Rising Sun MD and Jerry was buried in a beautiful cemetery high on a hill and way off the main road. I didn't even know it existed. They had a wonderful celebration of life at the Rising Sun Fire Hall after the grave side service They a 45 min. video of Jerry's life. Five more of his classmates and spouses were there too, so we had a good visit and a good cry and got to meet his relatives that we had never met before. More of us had gone to the visitation the night before. I think the entire Kennett reunion committee ,that he was a king pin on, made it to one or the other. The committee will never be the same without his tireless work and constant stream of jokes. I'm so glad he was well enough to go to our 50th reunion last year. This week I'll be setting up for the annual state fire prevention contest again ,preparing for Newark Community day on the UD Green next Sunday and doing clean up, laundry and packing for my college girl friends reunion beach trip to Beach Haven NJ next week.
I'm still deciding how I feel about the situation in Syria. My young military friends have mixed feeling about it.. They wonder about N. Korea, Russia Iraq and others who are closing watching to see if we still have the guts to do something....again... but don't think boots on the ground is worth it since it's their own stupid civil war. Could be much more complicated than it seems if one considers the warring tribes aspect that is extremely old.
Took a break last night to watch Le Mis again after Bingo. Since it's on TV now I copied it to enjoy many times. What voices! Hugh Jackman is amazing and I loved Eddie Redmayne too, and of course Anne Hathaway and Russell Crowe. I think Victor Hugo would have been proud. I have always wanted to see Alfie Boe on stage, but could never make it work. His tenor could make warblers cry.
It is 9-11. Please take a moment to remember the many people who losts their lives and the many people and search dogs who came from all over, including Delaware, to help.
The "pile'' has been turned into a peaceful park. World Trade Center One is up, and the others are being built as they have committments to occupation. It was a terrible event. Everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news.
Woo, busy time around here. The goofy UD Kids had a near riot on Monday night because the "I'm shmacked" bus rolled into town (ask your kids) a couple of "boys" had to go overboard and damage several cars, the rest were just dancing up the street and acting silly blocking traffic for a short time. The two were caught on camera and will be arrested. Sunday is our big Community Day on the UD Green and we are expected to have perfect weather. Many of you saw the serious fire at the Jersey Shore. That's some distance from where I'm going on Monday. Have a great day.
Yesterday was a pefect day. Lots of folks enjoying the food and fun on the UD Green. I'm off in a few minutes to enjoy The New Jersey shore, Beach Haven, until Friday. Lots to see and sea.Three girlfriends are coming in, so the good times will roll!
Home again in one piece. pretty nice 2 1/2 hour drive. There were only a couple of places where traffic was bad. The NJ turnpike was almost empty and the long drive through the pine barrens was nice, as expected. No signs of the Jersey Devil or any black bears. There is still a good bit of hurricane Sandy damage, especially down on the south end of Long Beach Island. That will keep the builders busy for a long time. At one point there was at least 8 feet of sand covering the road and the yards of all the houses on both sides. Livy's brother's place had some damage as it it just one house off the beach, but it was easily repaired. Others weren't so lucky. Most places are up on stilts at least one floor with car parking underneath, so the storms just roll under for the most part. Some were toppled and a mobile home park was washed completely away. The north end is much wider and had a lot of shifted sand but much less physical damage. There are lots of old pines there too that help shelter the houses. There didn't seem to be any serious problems where Al's uncle's place is.
We ate breakfast at home each day and ate out the rest of the meals. The ocean was nice, but very cold and there was a cold wind on Monday and Tuesday. So we hit the beach all bundled up anyway! Wednesday was lovely. We drove the whole length of the island up to Barnegat Lighthouse and enjoyed watching the fluke fisher folks out on the rocks along the causeway. Had a good clam chowder lunch at one of the local chowder shacks and had dinner at The Black Whale.... feasted on broiled local scallops. The first night we had great Italian, with a local seafood touch of course, at a good place near the house. We talked a lot as only we could do. Their kids are all grown now, with their own kids, and of course there were some sad stories of deaths, parents of course, and younger ones mostly by cancer. Such is life. It was a great trip.
Now they all want to come to Newark next fall to see how much UD and the town have changed. Gotta get working on that right away.
Sadness has over run our neighborhood. Mac Mcleod, our most beloved Scot, has died at 89. He's the one who had the St Andrew's Cross flag in the back yard and played the pipes for all of us on special occasions. Many years ago he started the Highland Games here and supported piping classes and groups all over the area. He was like a sweet uncle to me and always gave us tickets to the games each year. I will miss him terribly, but he's back with his beloved Meg once more and will be forever young.
Another beautiful fall day but going to be hot and humid soon. We finally have a storm to keep an eye on. Very late this year but may come see us about next Tuesday. The garden is about done. Had one more mess of green fries..yum!
Next week is Fire Prevention Week. This year's national topic is "Prevent Kitchen Fires'' Think of some safety tips. be careful and not distracted when cooking. Check out your smoke detectors too.
On Sunday at noon we'll ring our big 1888 bell 81 times in memory of all US firefighters who died in the line of duty during 2012. Perhaps some of your churches will ring their bells too during the national ''Bells Across America'' program.
Back from ringing our big bell. The adorable son of one of our chiefs came dressed in a little turn out coat and his father's white helmet. He wanted to help pull, so he "helped" me at the end. Really cute.Then we walked up the street to IHOP for butter milk pancakes. yummy! Tomorrow a bunch of our firefighters will be wearing pink tee shirts (me too, of course) for breast cancer awareness month. It has Newark Fire Company on the back with the pink looped ribbon where the "i" in fire would be... looks cool!
A pretty good sized storm is about to hit here any minute. We're on tornado watch until 5:00.
I got a mention in the Newark Post this week on behalf of the fire company. The Newark Historical Society set up a nice display with some of my burned teaching props, in conjuntion with Fire Prevetion Week and our 125th anniversary. To my surprise ,the paper put a little article in the "Out of the Attic'' section. Yup, that's me alright...attic all the way! ;D
It poured yesterday and today. I finished up my last preschool class, but have one more group coming to the fire house for a tour next week. Tuesday evening our Ladies Auxiliary hosted the monthly meeting of all the Ladies Auxiliaries from all over the county. They all take turns hosting. I went to help serve the dinner that they have before each meeting. Had about 200 ladies turn out. they had decorated the hall for Halloween and it was really spectacular.... even had pumpkin shaped cheese balls and crackers on each table.
Fire company meeting tonight with a nod to the 50th anniversary of our second fire house, st.8 where the big hall is and where we'll meet tonight. There will also be a mention of the 50th anniversary on Dec. 8th of a terrible plane crash that occurred here in 1963. I happened to see it go down. I was sitting in my dorm window taking a break just before 9:00, when it exploded just in my line of sight and then disappeared, trailing off down to the south east. All 81 aboard were killed.
Woo Hoo! My new clothes washer and gas cooktop just arrived. My "Boat Neighbor" and Al went to pick them up at Sears (Kenmore) and they hustled the old washer up the outside basement steps and took the new one down. It was 25 years old and starting to leak just a little. Time for a nice simple new one. Al will finish installing it and the cooktop tomorrow.
Scrappers stopped and took the old washer for salvage value. The new one is running it's first load right now and is so quiet I can hardly hear it running. The rest of today will be spent going over the several hundred fire fund drive returns that have arrived. a number have special requests or questions, so I'll be visiting them personally in a day or two. Again, the weather is spectacular. Chilly but nice. All the sports teams here aren't worth mentioning. Really bad seasons. I should clear out the garden but didn't have the heart to pull the last peppers and toms as they are still producing. Soon though. Have some spring bulbs to plant and some Peruvian Daffodiles to dig before frost gets them. I need to go to the cemetery soon too. Daddy's birthday is coming up Nov 1st and I have a nice fall wreath to put up now until I replace it with a Christmas wreath. Hope all is well for my friends out there.
Finally had frost last night. I had already stripped the garden, so my neighbors will be getting some nice peppers soon. We finished judging the local fire prevention contest entries. Now we have to hunt up the 30 winners names and send the first place winners up the ladder for county judging. We had a very poor showing of schools this year. Only 6 of 20 schools entered. Not sure it's worth all my hard work for so few. Tomorrow is Newark's Halloween Parade down Main Street in the afternoon with trick or treating among the merchants afterward.
Al and I went to a wonderful memorial service for our beloved Mac Macleod at First Presbyterian Church. Great service with many testimonials and shared memories. We were escorted by a pipe band from the church to the nearby social hall for tears and tales among family and friends. Some of this ashes are buried with his wife Meg and some will go home to Scotland. He has passed on to Tir Nan Og.
Got my peppers delivered to neighbors and some came home to roost already... a nice pan of stuffed peppers were delivered just in time for dinner. Perfect timing as Al has to leave for a Newark Planning Commission meeting soon. They are still working on the new Comprehensive Plan for the city. We now have seven people running for mayor next month. Several are for all the wrong reasons. Some of the locals are all upset because U D bought the huge old closed Chrysler plant site, tore it down and are building a new technology center on it. It's properly zoned for it and will be really high tech and modern. The way some people are talking, one would think the place will be spewing black coal smoke as from old steel factory tall polluting chimneys. Hardly.
A small tight few are really pot stirring about things they know nothing about and can't do anything about anyway. It will create lots of good clean jobs and put at least part of the property back on the city tax rolls.
It will be interesting to watch it all play out. Some of the ridiculous accusations remind me of a certain small county I know. I expect to hear "sheeple" and "kool aid" any day now.
I got to watch something very interesting for awhile yesterday. My back yard neighbor just had solar panels put up on the south facing part of their roof, which faces our house. They are very unobtrusive and nice looking. Of course, today it's cloudy with rain. I told Sally I can't wait for the first time their meter runs backward. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to recoop the instillation cost and how much they will really save over the long haul.
I'll be glad when things slow down a bit here. We got our local first place fire prevention winners off to county judging and Al managed to get all 30 of our local winners' certificates made up. I found someone else to do all the parent calling for our awards program on Nov 21st. It's nice that for once I don't have to do that too!
Had 57 kids for Halloween; that's a lot for here. The leaf colors are really beautiful now. I think I'll nudge Al into going leaf peeping one day soon.... after we get the box of bulbs planted. We started, but haven't yet finished. Having some health issues. My right eye is having a pressure build up and may need lazer surgery soon.
I'm starting to get the boxes up from the basement to see what I need to order soon for the firehouse kids' Christmas party....and I'm scanning old photos and newspaper articles for our 125th Aetna history book that should be ready next spring. Whew!
Don't forget to change your smoke detector batteries now that we have changed our clocks back.
So can someone tell me what has become of the birthday dates on the calendar? I know some folks, but not all.
Finally had some great pumpkin pie last night. I surely do love it.
I had an unusual issue come up over ionization smoke detectors. Yes, there is a tiny bit of radio active material (Americanium 124) in them. It puts out alpha particles that are extremely weak and not harmful unless someone wants to cause trouble and start breaking open the little ceramic containers in the detectors and breathing it. She was scared to death. It took awhile for me to convince her it wasn't the same stuff as Three Mile Island. I had to teach her a science lesson to convince her.
So, as part of our fire company's 125th anniversary, Friday night, at our monthly regular company meeting ,all our vets who could be there, were given a fire service challenge coin and a "thank you" by The Delaware National Guard's Adjutant General, Frank Vavala. There are about 74 living vet members, with the oldest being 96 and two others in their 90's also. Most of the 74 were there for the ceremony. Several are still deployed. As one would guess, all branches of the service were represented, from WWII forward. We have two women also. It was a very moving ceremony and presentation.
Today we went to our local Appleby's for Al's free vet meal and one of our oldest fire company vets was there too. Good times chatting again.
Diane:
I know you are versed in the codes of the Fire Dept, so, do you know if the ISO has the minimum requirements for downloading or reading as to per capita of small towns? <200.
This would be a volunteer Fire Dept within the City Limits.
If this is in the wrong lounge, please let me know and change it.
ready
Ready,I'm no ISO expert, but it has to do with fire insurance...the resident's distance from the closest fire department, available water supply and certain firefighting equipment numbers per capita. Yes, you should be able to look it up. Most larger cities have it available and most fire companies know their own ISO rating. For example, here in town we are a three and the rural part of our district is a six, mostly due to water supply. You might ask your fire company, or look up the town you are insterested in. ..ISO rating for .....Kansas. We have people call us quite often, asking, as they have just moved in and are setting up their insurance. Most very rural areas are nine or ten. Can I be of any more help? Try this too.www.isomitigation.com.
Thank you Diane. Our rating is about to go up due to bookkeeping, and the ones in charge do not know the minimum amount of people needed to go to meetings.
I will research some more.
ready
I think I'm no help at all. Am I trying to answer the wrong questions? Book keeping and meetings? I don't understand. Are you talking about a business or a fire company? Do you have an ISO review coming up?
Ready, I talked to Al and he thinks you are talking about business ISO ,which I am not familiar with at all. I'm sorry, definitely not my area.
Al had his very uncomfortable scoping again yesterday. So far it seems to still be clear, but the labs won't be back for several days. Each time they do the equivalent of a PAP smear and wash the bladder looking for wandering cancer cells.
I had my own blood work done today. They took 5 vials, but did leave me a little too. Went to IHOP for the senior sampler breakfast after.
Got very cold yesterday. It was funny watching the squirrels sink the thin top layer of ice to get the water to come to the top of the metal bird watering pan. I'll soon need to put the heater in it, but we're due to have another warm up, so it can wait a few more days.
Al's been working on the Newark Comp. plan now that he's on the Planning Commission. This week was urban transportation, making suggestions and planning for the future. Of course, in any larger town, parking is always an issue and in a college town, pedestrians and bikes are a big deal too.
There are always a small group of "I don't care what it is, stop it" folks who try to impede everything and want Newark to be a 1950's small town again. Not gonna happen. Newark is economically healthy as compared to many areas, and is still growing. Enjoy your day, whatever you are doing.
The beautiful 60's yesterday dropped to the chilly but bright upper 40's today. I put all the certificates, gift cards and 125th anniversary fire company pins and patches together for the kids' awards program for tomorrow night.
We drove up to PA today to a nifty hat shop so Al could pick out a new winter cap he wants for his birthday. The last one he bought has served him well...1966. I think he can have a new one now... a nice wool 8 panel cap, news boy style.
We decided to stop in for late lunch at the local Red Lobster near by. As we were leaving, an older gentleman got out of his car to go in. As he passed by I saw he was wearing a K U ball cap. Of course I yelled out " Rock Chalk Jay Hawk," and he pulled up short and turned with a big smile and a laugh. I told him both my parents had gone there many years ago, so I couldn't miss the opportunity to say something.
Time to go eat my left over lunch shrimp salad for dinner.
We had lunch with my high school girl friend and her husband at "Pour Girls Inn" in Green Tree PA. this afternoon. It was going to be tomorrow, but we have a drastic change in the weather coming in tomorrow, so we switched days. They live near Lancaster PA, so we meet half way, but well into Amish country. All the buggies were out today doing their shopping so we saw dozens up and down the roads. Most of their crop lands have been harvested, tilled, manure spread and put to bed for the winter. A few four mule teams were just finishing up and will get to rest tomorrow as the cold winter wind moves in. I see the squabblers are still at it.
Sizes for safe rooms and public shelters for all sorts of weather situations can be found at FEMA.... P-320 and P-361 for IBC 2009, ICC- 500.
It is also not easy to reopen schools that have been closed for some time. One cannot usually just walk back in and turn on the lights. I have no personal knowledge in Elk County's case, but there have to have been reasons why what was done was done when it was. Transportation costs? Expensive needed repairs? If so, are those repairs still sitting there waiting? Is the furniture still there?
Some closed schools end up with mold and and varmint problems, and possibly asbestos abatement needs. Perhaps heating and cooling system repairs and upgrades too because of inefficiencies by today's standards. Sometimes due to fluctuating humidity,heat and cold, empty buildings damage themselves. Critters may have chewed wiring and computer needs would have to be met.
I wish someone would go find some article in some archive somewhere written when West Elk was originally opened, to solve the question of the intended student count once and for all.
Some of the complainers make it seen so personal, as if the school board members will personally benefit if West Elk expansion happens. Don't they pay taxes too? Very curious.
Brrrr! The cold weather arrived and I put on an extra sweater. Al put the heaters in the bird baths just in time.
I had a delightful little chat last evening with a young lady I've known for a few years now who goes to West Elk and has been keeping up on the expansion controversy. It's a pleasure to hear from someone who actually goes there and knows first hand what the problems really are, from a student's point of view. It was a very informative and well balanced conversation.
Enjoyed Al's birthday Monday. He just wanted to go to the local diner to eat and then we did bingo at the firehouse Monday evening. When we got home I brought out the coconut cake I had hidden in my car and he enjoyed a big slice of that. Afterward we sat up much too late watching old movies. Does that make us fuddy duddies or old fogies? ;D The storm came sweeping through late in the afternoon yesterday with heavy rain, sleet and high winds.
We had the Newark special mayor's election yesterday too, and the candidate we had worked for won. YAY! I thought the weather might have kept the turnout lower than it did. It was a really ugly race for here.
More rain and snow showers again today. That fireplace we converted to gas really made the family room cosy. Pork roast, home fries and salad tonight.Better go get started.
The sun is out and it's brisk but beautiful. I put an 11 pound hotel style turkey breast in the oven. Now I'll make the side dressing and the rest and eat about 3:30 or so. Just us this year.Have a wonderful and blessed day everyone.
Stayed home and let all the crazy shoppers have the roads.
The turkey last night was very moist and tasty. We'll enjoy a second generation of it all tonight. I had to really wonder at all the "unattended cooking fires" in the area yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately several were rather serious. There were several fires also, with nobody home, that were a complete loss. What a sad situation to come home to.
Enjoy all the left overs!
Another beautful crisp day. My "boat neighbor" brought us a beautiful Rockfish, enough for at least 4 meals... Some for an early dinner before Al goes to the City Planning Board meeting tonight at 7:00 and several big slices for the freezer. Marv and his son had their boat on the Susquehanna River, not far from the Chesapeake Bay. It had been too windy for several days, but yesterday was perfect and they caught their limit. Time to put up a few more decorations.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on November 28, 2013, 12:02:45 PM
The sun is out and it's brisk but beautiful. I put an 11 pound hotel style turkey breast in the oven. Now I'll make the side dressing and the rest and eat about 3:30 or so. Just us this year.Have a wonderful and blessed day everyone.
I learned something - thank you. I had not heard of a hotel style turkey breast. Now I have and I know what it is. Thanks! :)
Thank you. They are popular here for folks who are more interested in just white meat, but want the giblets for making gravy. They also have the wings folded up beside it.. no legs,thighs, or underside dark meat,
A whole turkey is much the better value, but if the dark meat is not eaten, it's wasted. Al's not very fond of dark meat and it was his turn to choose what I bought. To have an 11 pound breast, this fellow had been one huge bird.
I finally broke down and put several people on ignore. If a certain lady sour ball or the self- anointed saviors of Elk County whack at me, I won't have to see it. I can't imagine why one in particular bought a large piece of land and built in Elk County a few years back.The tax liability was easily available. Now he complains about how high the taxes are... Like moving next to an airport and then complaining because there are planes! I really don't understand some people's logic.
Gee, why would anybody still be interested in buying Elk County land? Why, what are they REALLY up to? ??? ;D ;D ;D ( total sarcasm)
WOO-HOO. It's snowing like crazy :D 5 inches so far. It's light and beautiful. This is supposedly going to change over to sleet and then rain, but I don't know when. The salt trucks and plows have not been out and the accidents are happening everywhere. Our one neighbor put the plow on his big pickup and just ran up and down all our neighborhood streets. A really nice fellow. All the critters have come in and are practically knocking on the door looking for food.
We had our big 125th fire company Christmas banquet last night. The big hall looked beautiful with all the lights, wreaths, garlands and three big trees. Had a wonderful time and the place was packed, nearly 300. Our company chaplin did an especially nice invocation and memorial for the members and ladies who died during the year. They also read the names of the origonal charter members who founded the fire company after the big woolen mill that employed a lot of local people burned.
We had stand by crews come from other companies and sat in our stations and covered our calls during the party.There were several calls, but the crews got paid very well...in food.. Catered shrimp cocktails and baked crab balls, fruit, cheeses and crackers, fancy sausages. Then buffet style prime rib, fresh crab stuffed flounder, baked chicken, rice pilaf, potatoes au gratin, baby green beans almondine, salads, assorted rolls and finally, little one bite pastries of many kinds and cheese cake.The prime rib was butter knife tender and had exceptional flavor. Yes, we paid for it all ourselves...no taxpayer money involved. The dance afterward helped get rid of all those tasty calories. Had a good DJ. A fun night was had by all.
The snow is over. The forecasters were really thrown by this storm. Our "snow showers to rain" turned into 6-12 inches,all snow. We had 6 1/2 on the picnic tables, with other parts of town having 12. Schools starting closing yesterday evening for today since there are narrow, hilly roads all over the area that the buses would have a hard time negotiating, especially since lots of people just walked away from their stuck cars.. The snow plows, once they finally got out, couldn't get around to clear the roads There may be more tomorrow. Certain personality types could get 6 months gripe and complain time ripping the weather folks for getting it wrong. I can just hear it now. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
It's b-a-a-ck. It started snowing early this morning and has added several more inches to what we already had. There is not a breath of air moving, so the snow is stacked high on everything... just beautiful... looks like cotton candy. Might have more on Saturday and Sunday. Bingo was very sparsly attended last night.
As trees appear in front windows, and electric candles appear in all windows, it's really looking like Christmas around here. Al put the lights up on our little front porch yesterday and I'll do our window candles later today. The poor tree is still snow covered in a bucket in the back yard...should have put in the the garage! I have a laser procedure on one eye tomorrow afternoon. Not sure what all they are going to do.It somehow relaxes the blood vessels to bring the pressure down a bit. I'm just on the edge of glaucoma apparently. Time to fix brunch for Al. He is just getting up. Have a peaceful day everyone.
Another beautiful pre winter day. The sun is out, the sky is bright blue, the winds are calm and the snow is right where it belongs, on the yards and fields, not on roads and side walks. It's cold though, well below freezing.
My SLT procedure on my right eye went very well. They numbed the eye and then did 100 little green laser pops on the eye's blood vessels. No discomfort at all. Have two antibiotic drops for yesterday and today and that's it. Of course I had a post procedure visit scheduled for 9:30 this morning... went to start the car and got... click click click click. #@!!!%$#@! Al was still home, so he took me. The call back went well; pressure dropped from 22 to 16. YAY! I go back on December 27 for one more check.
My car battery is a good one and was just 17 months old. They did manage to get it to take a very weak, unacceptable charge and so replaced it for nothing.I'm just glad it didn't leave me stranded out some where since Al has the cell phone now. More messy weather due here on Saturday.YUK!
OK. New battery in place all should be good. I got an interesting message from the fire company PIO last evening. I'm to be interviewed by our local paper for a big article about the fire company's 125th anniversary. I asked " why me?" John told me it's because I've done so many varied things for so many years, from being first female member and all the ambulance work to so much fire prevention work and all the rest.I'm not the only one being interviewed of course, but I guess I'm pleased to be included.
We have company elections tonight...on Friday the 13th.That should be interesting.HA!
Diane,
Let us know what the name of the newspaper is and when it will be published so we can read it.
The Newark Post, but probably not for a week or two as he is still doing interviews. I expect my piece be short, just a few sentences. He has 125 years to cover. ;) Tuesday night we are having a big deal open house at our hall. It's the actual date when the founding fathers started the company 125 years ago. The governor,mayor and others are expected.I usually have 30 pounds of stuffed mushroom to make for our annual open house.This year they have upped it to 50 pounds! That's a LOT of fungus!
Maude, I'm sure you aren't really interested, but I'll play along anyway.
Diane, I was trying to be nice and you go making a smart remark.
If you are really trying to be nice, then I sincerely apologize. Usually I get nothing but criticism from you.
I will be so glad when this year is over... Lost another very dear friend on Dec.14.
Lou Angeli died of Hemorrhagic Sepsis. He was a firefighter and professional photo journalist for the fire service and was very well known world wide.
I met him when we were both just starting out back in the early 70's. He had come to our station 9 to make some air pack training film and used Al and several others as the "actors''. He was everyone's instant friend and helped a lot of young firefighters hone their photography skills.
He was very early on the spot at 9-11 and was the source of a lot of my "up close and personal" information about what was really going on there. Unfortunately he had health problems,especially lung, off and on ever since then. He was one of those special people who had free access and scene passes to cover most anything anywhere and knew most all the FDNY firefighters in every house.
He lost a lot of personal friends on 9-11. A number of them had been used in his films. He spent much of last summer commuting to Toronto doing a series for them. He had done a tape of the topping off of Freedom One, the new tower, and the lighting of the top lights and the flag raising, but I don't know if he finished his post production work before he fell so ill back in November.
He is the one who I asked to come to our 125th Memorial Day parade. He took photos of many of us and all our apparatus all spiffed up for the parade. I'm so sorry there will be no more. He'll be terribly missed.
Whew. One more big event down. Soon I can rest. The Tuesday night fire company open house was especially well attended. It was held on the exact date 125 years after the meeting that formed the fire company. More than 300 came, along with the new Mayor, all the city councilmen, a number of state officials and fire service friends from several states. Several hundred more slid in, literally, for a short visit and then left. Had sleet and black ice on the roads.There were many volunteer as well as career firefighters who stopped by for the fun.
We were given a number of resolutions and plaques, there were some speeches and some generous checks also.
My stuffed mushrooms were a hit as usual. They really aren't anything special, but they are well liked.
We did 50 pounds this time. I made up the stuffing mix and Al and two others cut and chopped the stems and helped fill the tops. They were real beauties. Pure white, clean and huge. We ordered them direct from a grower so they were just picked. They are nice enough to give us a wonderful price each December. It's been a long busy year, but I think we did our founding members proud. Now I'm going to decorate the naked tree that has been waiting patiently in the family room. Have a nice day everyone.
For anyone who is interested, the local paper here came out with our article yesterday.I think it was nicely written by the young man who did the interviews. Steve Austin (no,not that one) had a large piece, as well he should have and I got a few lines also. www.newarkpostonline.com
It's a nice article. Congratulations. It ended on a good note - once you serve others, it's hard to stop.
Enjoyed the article Dianne. Hope you are enjoying your nice temps, it is cold and icy here in Oklahoma. I feel like I am on an island amidst numerous lakes of ice. The cattle grazing in the wheat fields appear to be ice skating. :P :P
Thanks both of you. That was the third article I've been in in the last several weeks. It's getting embarrassing. .... time for some of the younger ones to tell their stories.
Right now it's 60 and raining steadily. Feels weird after the early cold and snow we had. I know it won't last, and we won't have a white Christmas after all, but the kids here sure enjoyed it while it lasted. Have a good day and stay warm.
By the way, did any of you happen to see the story Fox picked up about the little seal that climbed into the lay back boat with the sea duck hunters? The one who took the tape is my friend Chip Thompson. He showed us the long version on face book a couple of days ago. He's been a buddy forever, was the one I wrote about who got the military helicopter rescue awards a while back and is a career firefighter now at the refinery that reopened in Delaware City, and is a firefighter member at Aetna here too. He and a couple of friends had gone on a sea duck hunting trip off Mass.when the seal came to visit. He was recently in Seattle too...Duck hunting.
Deer, goose, turkey, duck, swan, how about elk and moose? Fish and crabs too in season. You name it, he and his buddies go after them here and all over the country. It's really a small world.
We aren't nearly as citified here as some would want us to be. ;D ;D ;D
Another friend, Sam, still owes us some venison. ;)He has had very poor results so far this year. Plus, he fell hard on some black ice on Tuesday, smacked his forehead very hard, broke his head lamp and smashed his scope and missed his shot!. He was late coming to help me make mushrooms because he had to stop and buy a new scope.... but no venison that day.
Slept in late and had our nice little gift exchange. Off to the neighbors soon to disappear into their joyous mob of family and extended family and kids by the dozen. They are so much fun. They usually have a huge turkey and enough sides and home made desserts to feed most of Newark.
Many of our Italian friends had the feast of the seven fishes last night, with Midnight Mass, famiy dinners today and more friends and family tomorrow. Next everybody takes a break, and then parties in the new year. I'm not sure why some think the reason for Christmas has been lost. It's very evident around here.Merry and holy Christmas friends.
YAWN... I think I'm up, but not sure. I've been padding around since 10:00, but my lights still aren't really on... stayed up much too late. I'm working on a big pot of shrimp creole for dinner and also making a pot of chili to eat on Friday. I hope I don't get the ingredients mixed up. ;) My back fence neighbor stopped by yesterday evening with a big plate of home made cookies. What a nice surprise. Happy New Year everyone.
Ths snow has returned. 4-6 are predicted. It looks like little diamonds gently drifting to the ground. Beautiful. Everyone still has their Christmas decorations up so it looks especially nice, but.... there is an extreme cold front with high winds on its way down from the arctic circle.When it gets here it's supposed to get down to single digits, which is rare here. I hope not too many people get frozen pipes from it.
Now Al and I are sharing a cold. He caught mine, so we're about to buy stock in Keenex.Stay well everyone and enjoy the last of the holiday season. I think I'll go visit face book for a while.
If your colds include the severely stuffed noses - go with Puffs - I love the ones with Vicks in them. Wonderful! Stay safe and warm - and have lots of chicken soup on hand! :)
YES, my sore nose loves Puffs with the Vicks too. Do today's kids know Vicks like we did? Mom slathered it on us, if we even had the slightest sniffle. I've got chicken soup for lunch...if Al ever gets up. We had very spicy, hot Chinese last night...opens up noses too. Whew!
Had some good chili last night if I do say so. Both feeling somewhat better. The rain last night washed away most of the snow and now the temp. is dropping fast. All emergency services are preparing for really low temps. We've already had two CO deaths and a couple of close calls, a number of serious sledding accidents and a number of hypothermia cases in the area, not to mention a series of serious fires, broked pipes and broken sprinklers. It's to go below zero here tonight again, with the coldest temps since 1997... a hateful time to have to fight fires, as every drop of water that spills on the ground freezes and creats slip hazards for anyone on a hose line. Not a nice time to slip off a roof either. As much as I don't want to, we'll have to go to Bingo tonight. BRRRRR! Hope lots of the much older folks stay home.
It just occured to me, as I'm sitting here watching the temp.drop, 25 years ago today, in a big snow storm, we moved into this house.The movers were from Buffalo NY and they just laughed at our meager foot plus of snow. The last thing packed on the truck was our snow blower and the first thing off was the snow blower. They cut paths everywhere, the driveway, to all the doors and the basement bilco door. They did a fantastic job. I tried to help push the piano up the driveway, my feet went out from under me and I slid all the way back down the driveway on my butt! ;D ;D ;D ;D
It got seriously cold last night as predicted ,never got higher than 14 today and is back down to 7 right now. All day long there have been many calls for broken water pipes, flooded apartments, broken sprinkler heads, furnace fires and gas leaks. More suicides too. Really a shame.
Some calls to fire board have been from Mail Carriers or passers-by reporting water running out from under folks' front doors and nobody home... Some away on vacation in warmer climes.
All the schools in this area were closed today, possibly tomorrow too. Many older schools have frozen and broken water pipes and their heat is out too. Too cold for walkers also. A lot of kids here don't have 0 degree weather coats.
Finally temps. here are getting back to Delaware winter "normal". Usually we get moderated by the influence of the Chesapeake Bay to our south and west and the Delaware River/ Bay/Atlantic Ocean to our east. Even cities in the north that are used to brutal cold conditions every winter cried "Uncle" and closed for a day or so. I have to laugh at people saying that the warming global trend doesn't exist because of this oddity. Winter will always happen, but may usually start later and end earlier, while summer heat continues to rise...in tiny two steps forward, one step back increments. It will take a very long time to make statements that can be proven to everyone's satisfaction.
Time to head to the dentist for my check up and cleaning. Hopefully nothing new going on. Stay warm and enjoy the day.
Had a good dental check up, nothing needed but a cleaning. I think saw the truck again that hit my passenger side mirror and broke it off, but again I couldn't get to him and the back was still too dirty to get a look at a plate. Fortunately Al was able to get one for me and put it on.There was no door damage thankfully. So for $30.00 I was back in business. I don't think the big tractor trailer truck driver even knew he hit me.
I know many of you are watching Downton Abbey again. Winterthur Museum, (not far from here) the huge mansion of one of the wealthiest DuPonts, will soon be having a display of many of the show's costumes. It was built at the same time as the earliest parts of the series. They had even more staff than Downton Abbey did. The museum is home to a huge collection of American furniture,silver, art etc. in the home's 175 rooms,on 1000 beautifully manicured acres with gardens and ponds. People come from all over the world to see it. I'm hoping they will eventually show some of it on TV, but who knows. Winterthur is a real American Downton Abbey.
Time for a mental break. I've spent the day tossing out pounds of teaching notes, lesson plans, overhead projector slides, text books, tapes. discs, EMT props, CPR props and the like. It's time for other younger folk to take over. We'll donate our 6 CPR mannequins and A E D trainer units to the firehouse. I'll actually have some extra storage room in my garage! It's been a great ride, but I've had my turn.
It's back. 10 inches officially for Wilmington/Newark and 9 3/4 on my back picnic table. It was 5 when I got up this morning with a nasty wind blowing that dry fluffy snow all around. Schools closed early yesterday and are all closed today. The Gov. declared a limited state of emergency here, which means stay off the road unless you have to go out. I know you folks commonly get those cold numbers, but we get more snow I think. If we get one more 6+ snow before the end of Feb. it will be an all time record for here. We often get one or two boomers, but then lots of little 2-4 inchers piled on top. Al went out early with the men who were home to get everyone cleaned out.The sun is beautiful now and has helped some what but its still very cold and will be for some time. A code purple has been announced so the street people can be scooped up and taken to shelters overnight, like it or not.
I see the female resident sour puss is spewing again. She must have a very sad, contracted life to have so many complaints and be so intolerant. No sense of humor and rather jealous, I suspect. Very sad. Perhaps she should put most of us ignore so her "sensibilities" won't be challenged . ;D ;D ;D ;D .
Brr--- very cold here in Oklahoma today but very dry too. Fire ban all over the place here. Wheat is needing moisture and the canola looks really bad. Keep warm all.
Whacha doin' in OK? Stay warm yourself. Have fun. Can't wait for a warm up. Sorry you are so dry there.
One of our big time hunter friends ( Ramar of the Jungle...not) is having a game dinner tonight. Venison, goose, probably smoked trout and whatever else he has in his freezer. I'm taking a cocoa pudding cake thing that is very good. It eats out of a bowl, warm, with whipped cream, if anyone wants it. Not too sweet.
Spending a little time with hunka-hunka for his birthday. We took a little excursion east and down in southern Okla. Spent one day visiting the Chickasaw park in Sulphur, then on to the Chickasaw center for the rest of the day. Interesting history there. Got to see about the oldest flag for me, a United States flag carried into the battle of New Orleans in 1814 by a Chickasaw chief. Time has taken it's toll, but interesting nevertheless. I did not realize that they are such a diverse people. Their DNA must read like the ABC book with some of everything. There were people working at the museum from the tribe whom I would never have guess at being tribal, much less of a certain tribe. Nice place to visit, and I recommend the food at their grill. Very good and reasonably priced too.
We had planned to spend the following day at the Noble museum at Norman on the campus of OU. Somehow we missed our exit because of all the construction on I35, and looking across we would have stuck in dead traffic for many miles had we exited and tried to return. Along with the construction, there had been some kind of accident and traffic was shut totally down. It did not take long for us to decide that Norman was for another day. Had a nice little trip with good windy dry warmish weather all three days. Visited a few casinos, there seems to be one on almost every corner here. Lots more casinos than I have money to spend in them for sure. ;D
Have not heard all the reports on this incident but there was a shooting in Norman at the college today. Must have been why all the traffic was back up. Good thing your plans did not work out. Glad the rest of the day was fun!
That shooting turned out to be false, but it did confuse things for awhile.
Six.That was a nice adventure.Glad the shooting wan't anything.
I have a feeling if we could really follow our DNA back a long way we are all a much bigger mix than we think we are. Bitter cold again here today. 3.7 when I finally gave up my warm spot and got out of bed. Still a lot of snow everywhere, but they were able to plow the roads wide enough to get most schools open today. Our game dinner last night was wonderful. Venison chili followed by pounded flattened goose breast rolled up in prosciutto stuffed with veggies and baked with a reduced balsamic sauce, and wild with white rice with just a bit of soy sauce. My cocoa dessert went over well too.
They just got a little yellow kitten that was just the cutest thing....demanded lots of attention and climbed up on Al's lap while he was eating and went to sleep.
Al is at a half day conference today, invited by the City of Newark. He is really enjoying being on the city planning board and they seem to enjoy him. Even the public, a group who go to every meeting, have been very complimentary to him and have thanked him for joining the board.
We may be setting up for more snow, gotta keep an eye on it. Stay warm all.
Drat! I peeked out the window and it's still there. 1-3 ''due tomorrow.The whole mideast and north coast is really starting to have problems with frozen pipes, sprinklers and frozen hydrants. Even the new Newark Charter High School had a frozen pipe.The builder is very embarrased. ;)
One of our fire line officers made the mistake of having a sledding accident. Broke several ribs and found out several days later he had a leak in his spleen .Off to surgery he went to have it removed.
I just made a big Buffalo chicken and potato casserole.Should take us right through the weekend.
Got the extra few inches last night.I'm getting cabin fever! Still very cold.
Off to see my eye specialist tomorrow afternoon and bingo early evening, if I can see again by then. One more week of January to go. It seems extra long this year. No January thaw so far. Stay warm and don't let the trolls get ya. They start hunting for human flesh this time of year. :P
And another dusting for us.Several inches downstate so schools had to be closed again. i cn't imagine how they'll make it all up. Just saw a Bud Clydesdale and new puppy buddy commercial for super bowl.Really cute.
We are enjoying a few hours of above freezing weather. Even have some grass showing here and there. But, the next storm is forming up and will arrive with falling temps. and ice and snow about 3 AM tomorrow morning. Has the potential of being a big one, but is kinda iffy for right here. The school transportation folks are already trying to figure out what to do about school tomorrow. This winter has been a real nightmare for them. But, our ground hog had to have seen his shadow since the sun was out here this morning. HA!
My neighbors just left for a flight to Florida and then a cruise to the Bahamas. I hate them. ;) I made a big pot of Lima bean soup yesterday. We'll have that for dinner after we come home from the movie. "Gravity" is playing at our neighborhood theater. It sounds like a good one to see on a big screen. Stay warm all.
Gravity was a good adventure story. No guns, drugs or sex but plenty of heart stopping action.It could actually happen...up to a point.... and the theater is only 10 minutes from home.
Six, I knew I had something I wanted to tell you and then forgot what it was. It finally popped back into my head. I have family in Sulphur. I think Dan and family would be second cousins to me.
Now Al has to decide whether to move the snow blower back to the garage from the shed. ...or wait and see. Wonder weather is now suggesting 6-8 inches very hard during a very short time. In by 6:00 AM, out by 5:30PM. No, that's not the dry cleaner. :D I've got a few things to do and then gotta have my Downton Abbey fix later this evening.
I think that whole area of southern Oklahoma got buried with snow today. They are predicting significant snow here on Tuesday, then snow the following Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We need the moisture so bad, I'm not even going to complain for at least thirty minutes. Keep warm all! :D :D
It's snowing again here right now and will all day. This is a big system. Why, they even cancelled bingo tonight! Now that IS desperate. ;D I know you folks can use the water no matter how it comes. Some meterologists are worried about possibly severe drought patterns setting up your way and west. Sure hope they are wrong. Stay safe.
We're still struggling to survive the cabin fever effects of a winter that won't quit.Short school days with either late openings or early closings.At least those don't count like school closings do. We are out of snow days and the administrations are trying to figure out how to make it all work without still being in school in July. The Charters are looking into Home School days with assignments to do at home on snow days so they wouldn't lose time. So far it hasn't passed muster.I recently had an opportunity handed to me that was hard to resist...except I'm retired. A Charter School east of here specializes in public safety... All the typical academics, but also classes that police officers, firefighters and Paramedics would take. They need someone to teach the entire National EMT program for the seniors.... full time job. I have all the credentials still and if I'd shown an interest it would have been mine for the asking. The folks doing the hiring have known me for many years and know what I can do and how I teach.... wish I had today's technology, but was 25 years younger. I'd have grabbed it, I think. I was very flattered.
We're going out soon to get some errands run before the next storm, tomorrow, which may be another ice bomb. We were very luck not to have had much damage or lost power in Newark. Some areas just north got slammed very hard. I think we'll stop at Alex's Seafood in the New Castle Farmers Market for a fried oyster lunch. Fresh shucked huge local oysters with hush puppies and cole slaw. Yum.
We finally got Bingo going again. Only had 73 tonight. Still a lot of ice on back roads. One of the ladies gave me the cutest mouse made of two kisses glued together back to back sideways with a pink ribbon tail and two little wobble eyes on the front. Now we're on storm watch again for Thursday. But then again, the second week in February almost always brings us a big storm coming up from the south. We're hearing anything from 4 inches to a foot or more of snow. We'll see.
Some times it just amazes me how rude people can be. People around here are getting edgy about the coming storm. Some poor folks have just gotten their power back on and we may lose it again tonight. Anyway I stopped at our small local grocery store yesterday to do my normal shopping and take advantage of some sale stuff. I don't need to go every week.On Tuesday they discount most everything by 5% for seniors, so I usually stock up when I do go. So there I was with a heaping cart. I pulled into a line that had four people ahead of me, as most of the lines that were open had. Everyone was being very patient and many of us knew each other. Two of the checkers were out sick and most of us had fairly full carts...storm shopping, etc. An elderly man came up to my line, the last one in the row. He had a hand basket with only 4 things in it. By now there were only two people ahead of me and none behind me. I asked him if he would like to go ahead of me. I said he'd be done and on his way home before I even cleared the conveyor belt! Just then a new cashier came in and said she'd open the next line. The man with the basket could go first and she's take me next. By then there was just one ahead of me in my line...but I moved over anyway.
OK, so now the fun starts. As I'm off loading my cart, this angry looking man walks up to the end of the belt behind me and makes a few sour remarks and I asked if he was looking for something or someone. He let fly with a tirade, at my checker, as to why they didn't have an express line open. She said she would change my line to express as soon as I was done, as nobody else had moved in behind me. He was still pitching a fit when I finally said I would have extended him the same courtesy as the other man...but his hands were empty. No basket, no nothing. He had left his few purchases sitting elsewhere in the store! So he finally collected his basket, still grumping, and went to the line next to me. Everybody in that line and the one next to it jumped him! (verbally) and really let him have it. The young man just ahead of him actually challenged him to go finish it in the parking lot! WOO! He went on and on about how badly the store treated the customers. Again the young man ahead suggested he take his business elsewhere if he was so dissatisfied and special. By then we were bagging my order and he finally went stomping out the door. Everyone in the store had a few words to say about rude people once he had gone. Amazing.
It's here....again. The snow started about 8:30 last night, then changed to freezing rain for a time this morning, but will be back later this evening with several more inches of snow predicted. So far we have 14.1 inches of new snow on top of several inches that were already there, and it may be topped again by 4+ more inches. We may have at least 18 by the time it is over completely, with more possible on Saturday. Al and a couple of others got out mid morning and got our two car driveway and our long front side walk cleaned, along with several elderly neighbors' driveways and sidewalks When do we get to be the "elderly'' neighbors? School is closed again of course and most likely will be again tomorrow. They may start having to have school on Saturday to catch up. They have already started lengthening the school day as it is. This snow is a record breaker for us. We had never had more than three 6 inch plus snow storms in one season. (Would someone please shove the jet stream back north where it belongs?) This is number 4 and we may have more to come. I'm going to go watch more of the Olympics and look at seed catalogs.
We made it! No power loss. About 16 inches of snow total and some ice between the layers. Al went out early and did a second go 'round of snow blowing up and down our street. Al had already redone ours, but the city guys came around and cleaned out the ends of the driveways they had replowed back in.... really super cooperation. They will get a thank you note once winter is gone for good. Snow showers are due back tomorrow again. Happy Valentines Day to all my friends, you know who you are.
It's snowing again! Not very hard, but it just doesn't go away. We've had lots of deer and critters coming up from the woods. The snow is so deep they can't find food very well and are just about begging at the door. Hopefully we'll have a warm up next week or they may start starving.
So, I've been reading bits and pieces that are being witten about Common Core. It reminds me a lot of the big flap over the "new'' math which raised it's head when I was a new teacher. As with most things, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't the answer to teaching math to all kids. The slower learners still learned it slow and it took longer to teach the concepts in the first place. The idea was that if the kids were taught how the system works, they could figure it out for themselves. But when kids are still learning HOW to learn, it doesn't work. Knowing that 4x 4 is four groups of 4 each and then counting them up is fine, but it is slow as molasses and slows down the whole process. Better to be mean to the kids and make them do some memorization. 4x4 =16 once learned, always available and much faster. Can you still do casting out nines? ;D ;D ;D
Now we've got people up in arms over Common Core who don't know a thing about it, except that "somebody" objected. Also some of the gripers are insisting that some information be put into high school that always has been college material. There are whole semesters in wonderful English literature, but there is no time in high school to put it all in. But, ya can't take 8 years of French in 4 years of high school. How about adding 13th grade like Canada has? Why limit school to 12 years if the kids need more to make it in today's world?
Now the critical thinking parts are going to throw some people. In some cases parts of a question are missing...that's the whole point! ...learning what information one needs to answer the question.The answer it's self really doesn't matter. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Now in the case of Kansas, the ultra conservatives won't trust anyone to write a curriculum no matter what.They still don't even acknowledge that those kids in other countries who are supposedly doing "better" than ours, whatever that means...are using government written materials. They have no choice! Some want to rewind the clock so their kids take what they themselves took. In a few cases that might be fine, but for most it wouldn't be enough....especially in reading, deep comprehension and prediction. It will all be interesting to watch.
Oh well. I had heard that Pat's body had been found at Fall River State Park. Guess it wasn't him after all. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Perhaps it was Bullwinkle and they haven't identified the body yet. yuk,yuk. Just kidding.
We got another couple of inches of snow last night. If this doesn't stop soon I think some heads are going to explode. The city managers and county equivalents are running out of salt and the winter budgets are busted.
I can't wait to hear the climate change skeptics use this weird winter to disavow the long range predictions. Australia, who is having their summer now....( Ordinary people forget to include the southern hemisphere in the climate change research predictions)... is very hot, more so than usual. They are being affected too.
It's not so much how cold the individual winters are that matter, it's how hot the summers are trending, the coldest parts of winter may start later and be shorter. Of course none of us will be around to see the worst of whatever will happen.
Poor California is having a very,very serious 500 year drought.Figure out the long range effects of that, if anyone wants to argue food prices and the politics of mother nature. There are even considerations of residential water rationing and letting some water hungry crops like cherries and almond trees die in favor of more important crops like carrots and tomatoes .I'm sure Larry knows even more about it . The food growing co-ops there are watching very carefully.
Al has a planning board meeting tonight. They hope to finish up the new Newark Comprehensive Plan,at last. I suspect our version of the CCTP's will insist on being there too, with a useless petition to save a building that is in such bad shape it can't be saved, and nobody will buy it to save it.The family that did buy it is going to tear it down to build a combination building with shops on the lower floor and apartments above. It was already approved after much discussion.The opposition will have to take their complaint to City Council, not the Planning Board. I saw the drawing.Very nice and will fit in well with the neighboring buildings and our typical college town style. That builder has done several others in town here and always does a good job.
I just can't believe one of the worst of the self important forum nasties just can't remember Anwar being subjected to really nasty verbal attacks while they were showing off for each other...wouldn't even acknowledge he was male. tsk,tsk.Which means they will never admit to ripping up anyone else either. So their plan to take over so just a small group of ultra conseratives and totally anti Gov't types has it all to themseves has worked. They can bolviate to each other with nothing and nobody to give another opinion wit out severe consequencies. How sad.
Hey...it's not snowing! But it is pouring, with thunder and lightning. What a refreshing change.
Al just left for his three month cancer bladder scoping. It hurts badly for several days afterward, so he didn't sleep well at all last night. I wish I could help, but he's own his own for this. Also had our fire company president, and good friend for 45 years, in Philly yesterday at HUP ( Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania) for open heart surgery. He had a valve replaced and the ascending aorta repaired. I'm told he did very well. Another fire fighter just had a hip replaced. He thinks he should be further along with his rehab. He had to be reminded that he'll get there, but he's past 50, not 25 anymore. It will take longer. One more local thing.
We've had several very serious house fires recently, with some related to our bitterly cold weather. One of the kids whose family lost everything is a student at Newark Charter High School. They have asked that any of our fire fighters, who were at her fire, to have lunch with her at school on Friday, if they can make it. She wants to thank them for trying so hard. I thought that was awfully sweet.
I see some of the hard core political posters still don't acknowledge that others have the same right to speak their mind about issues and can use any format they wish; it does not have to be a professional tightly edited dissertation just to please them.They don't even write that way themselves. That is especially true for one who repeats the same material and gripes over and over and over for years! It's no wonder many of the friendly, social folk have gone. They were chased away and/or don't want to read about others being attacked for having a different view. Very bad form and seems so ignorant. They were asked several times to stop with the personal attacks but they don't think they have to. So it keeps up. Nuff said about that, or I'll be rightly accused of repeating my plea for political peace too many wasted times.
Personally, I'd like to see some of the other nonpolitical threads reactivate, but I'm afraid those groups have gone for good. Any takers? Whoops, just heard a call for a house struck by lightning.
The kitchen is calling. Bye all. Have a good day celebrating KU basketball.
So, Al had his three month bladder scoping. The results were't what we had hoped for. The Doc did find a little something again....it's been just a year since this all started. He's not sure if it's another early cancer or a bit of infection.They took a some for biopsy and culture.It will take about two days or so to get the results.If positive, he'll have to have another little surgery. Not sure what happens after that. Regardless, he still has another year of three month scopes and then a year of six month scopes...that's just two.After that, who knows? I just hope he is still here. In the meantime, we are due a warm up today, around 60 with some rain and then back to the deep freeze next week.
Today I have to spend some time working on some text and photos for the big Aetna history book we are writing. I'm one of several authors and the main proof reader. Some of the younger ones have much better skills than I with computer design. It's been fun watching them work and how creative they are. BUT my spelling and grammar is much better than theirs . Most of them still don't use there and their properly and will stick apostrophes in anywhere, willy nilly. The computer catches it for them depending on what program they use, but they still don't know the rules and really don't care.
Now as for me I'm writing social conversation, but someone will be sure to accuse me of bragging.???? Go ahead, hate me all you want. Like the one who was "bragging" about his two corporations, etc. Personally, I think that is interesting conversation, but according to some people's rules that's "elite" bragging . HA! And he calls ME names! Pots and kettles again. Need to go make Al's breakfast oatmeal. He's still sore so he slept in.
Finally, we're going to try to do some traveling again, if Al's OK. Might rent a cottage near Ocean City MD for a few days. We'd also like to drive to Toronto late summer just to see the city. We could do it in one longish day, but will probably do an overnight...easier on both of us. Al is researching to pick out things for us to do while we are there. He always comes up with neat stuff. I'd love to come back to Kansas too, but we'd be shot at the Elk County border, so I guess we'll skip that. Or keep the trip a secret. How sad is that. Time to feed the birds. Have a nice day friends.
Yay! We finally had enough snow melt in some warm spots to have some snow drops pop up.There is hope at last. We better enjoy it as snow is predicted for Tuesday and more on Wednesday. I need to spend the rest of the day working on my part of the history book some of us are writing.Then the last of the Olympics, Downton Abbey and East Enders to finish off Sunday. Have a great one friends.
Oh joy. It's snowing again now, tonight and tomorrow. :'(. I'm going to go to my hair appt. this afternoon even if I have to find some sled dogs.
I hope everyone enjoyed the Olympics as much as we did. It's been fun watching some of the newish events ,like snow boarding, develop into serious competetion.
I think our ice dancers were the most entertaining since Torval and Dean raised the bar with their fantastic Bolero program back in 1984.
I'm still working on our fire company history book. So far we've picked and scanned 300 plus of our photos from the late 60's on. It's been really funny watching many of us age .Thick heads of hair have gone bald,smooth skin has earned many wrinkes. Some have died, of course. I think our oldest now is 96 and still active as a fire police officer. He sure doesn't look his age ,still has a big shock of white hair. He actually had a cochlear implant because he had gone completely deaf. Ok, I've had my break. Back to work.
This morning's snow, a daily event now, dropped another 2 inches, but I think now that the sun has come out it might go away. That was our 15th measurable snow this winter. We may have t-shirts made up.
One sure sign of spring though...the shad are running and I had a nice set of shad roe for breakfast. Yum.
Monday night we are having Mardi Gras night at the fire house Bingo. It's been so miserable we thought we'd have some fun. I got 288 green, gold and purple necklaces for the players to wear. If I have time, I'll get a few feather masks to put on the doors for the players to see as they come in. I'd make a big King Cake, but I know I won't have time. The New Orleans krews have been having their amazing costume balls all this months we were there one year and several krews were using the ball rooms at our hotel, so we were allowed to peek in to see the amazing costumes. Several nice people explained it all to us, as were visitors and didn't know much about the whole business. They had spent huge amounts of money on those balls!
Al and I are still working on the history book and it's almost time to start writing the next fire company fund drive.I need a nap!
So, Al got his test results back and it is not what we had hoped for. It's not just infection. He has to go back to the surgicenter on March 18 to have a deeper piece removed under general anesthesia for a different biopsy. The doc again said it's very early and small, but we were hoping for it not to come back at all. Now I'm very worried, but have to be OK for him. I'm not sure which end is up right now, but hopefully things will settle down once we know more...again.
Al is in my prayers.
Larryj
Thank you Larry. I really appreciate it.
Interesting. At the foot of my street there is a left turn and curve into an electric substation and parking area. Beyond that is a hiking trail up through the woods that winds around through UD property. Right now there are several Newark Police cars and the ME's vehicle next to the sub station at the edge of the woods.I know several of the folks there, but it was too public for me to ask any questions, even though it is only four houses away from mine. I wonder if our "walk away" from nearly two years ago has turned up. I always figured if he was around here the buzzards would have let us know. I'll eventually find out.
We're on snow watch again as of tomorrow night and all day Monday. They are saying probably 8-10 for us but who knows? ;D ;D ;D ;D That will close schools again. A few NJ schools have already announced closings for Monday. That's a bit early even for me and I undestand it.
It was him. John Dohms walked away from home near here Sept.2012 and vanished. It looks like he's been in the woods across the street from me since then. That is just so very sad.....all that time he was just 400 feet up the trail from the trail head, which puts him just across the street in the woods behind the neighbor's house where we always go for Christmas. Someone had been out combing the woods looking for dropped deer antlers and found his remains. At least now his family can put this to rest at long last. I thought the hunters would find him during the winter of 2012. Now I know why they didn't.
It's over! The snow came during the night snowed hard and has now moved on south, pushed by bitter, dry arctic air. So this time slower lower Delaware will get the brunt of it. We got plenty, but it was all light, fluffy stuff over a layer of slick ice. Al got us and some neighbors cleaned out in no time. Everything is closed down again. Chili for dinner tonight.
Our prayers are with Al and you
Thank you so much. We are trying to be very optimistic, but Al is rather down right now. This awful winter hasn't helped either.
Some green is finally starting to show again but there are still piles of snow around.thelocal forest creatures must really be getting hungry. They are coming to the bird feeder during the day to eat seeds on the ground. I know we shoudn't, but we bought a big bag of dry dog food and have been putting some out at night. Hopefully that will keep them going until the ground is uncovered again.
I got Charlie D's latest quiz correct.I'm very pleased with myself...and humble too. ;)
WOW...just plain wow.I received an amazing e-mail from a gentleman who is researching KANZA Art Pottery. That was Mom's business in Horton before WWII sent them here. I am totally amazed. He has about 30 of her pieces and is collecting it whenever he can find it. He is also researching Kansas artists, especially those who went to KU many years ago. He wants photos of Mom's paintings and pottery and even wants to purchase some if I would be willing to part with any. They would eventually go to the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka. Maybe, in a way, my parents will be going back home to Kansas after all.
How cool - exciting! :)
Well, you all would have to send your wind our way. It's sunny, but very cold and very windy with gusts up to 60 MPH.
We went down to the Newark Historical Society this morning to meet the new president and retrieve some things that have been on display for an exhibit.Then we blew down to Elkton MD. for a good country breakfast at Jo-Jo's. It reminded me of some of the little places in Kansas ,but only a few customers were local farmers coming in. Here it's the school bus drivers chowing in after their morning runs ,including to the school up the road where I used to teach. They are delighted to have the snow gone.
Hey Ross. Do your own home work!!!! ::)
So we have an outside chance or more snow Sunday night into Monday. I sure hope that's not going to forum up.. Ya know folks, I'm so disheartened by the constant easy spelling errors and easy grammar errors on the forum, it's beginning to make me wonder if some of these folks ever went to school or what they did while they were there. Is there no no longer any pride in the printed word? No spell checks? and I don't mean just typos .Are folks really that busy?
As far as I know Kansas has a Capital and DC has a Capitol. Perhaps I really am losing my mind! We're off to the fire house for our monthly meeting. We had several working house fires this week, so there will be lots to talk about. Night all. Sleep well.
GRRRR! Snow tonight and more tomorrow.There is some chance that the worst will be about 30 miles south of us, but we could still get up to 5 inches.
I got to visit with a good buddy last night who is home from his 4th deployment. He is real modern patriot. He really knows what is going on. He was given a really nice "stand up and cheer" from all the firefighters at the meeting.
>:( Diana, if you do not like the way we old folk back here in Kansas use bad spelling and bad grammar. Then I suggest you stay off the forum if it bothers you. I cannot believe you would even say anything. What is it to you? And why is it your business and why do you think you are better then the rest of the world. :( I know you will have some smart remarks about this as you always put your two cents in on everything.
I'll be happy to answer you. When you read newsletters ,menus, posters and such don't you expect to see proper spelling? Why would anything less be acceptable?
The person/people in question expect to be taken seriously. They post a lot and in spite of what one says, expect to be believed and agreed with. They are very critical of your educational system, yet they themselves didn't care to work hard enough to learn to spell and write correctly most of the time. Teachers can't saw off the kids' heads and pour it in, ya gotta meet 'em half way at least! The kids learned the difference between Capital and Capitol in second grade! ( I don't say as much about poor spelling as I used to.) Then these same people cast themselves as experts and sit in criticism of your local school board and county commissioners as if they are uneducated hicks who can't run a meeting correctly and therefore can't be trusted to do anything right., BUT no criticisms should come their own way...DOUBLE STANDARD!.
I think my point really is that the same people who were poor students and expect to be let go about it are sitting in judgement of others who are brave enough to run for office or become leaders and aren't ever given a break. Would you want to read misspelled, poorly written minutes? So where is the problem really? Why aren't others complaining if things are so terrible? There are many correct ways to run meetings, often it is just whatever has been customary. Roberts Rules can be used as guide lines and commonly are, but don't have to be.
Of course if you are one of the conspiracy theorists, I can see why you would protect them. Ross in particular doesn't need your protection. He is who he is. Some of his ideas are worth thinking about, some are just griping as far as I'm concerned. He doesn't believe it, but I rarely read him any more. It's nothing but gripes.
Is it really necessary to constantly refer to the old script."What did they really mean by that?" "Why did they REALLY cancel the meeting, and try to cast doubt on most everything anyone tries to say or do. It's a sneaky way of calling people liars and getting away with it. IMHO
Why do you even read what I have to say? Why would you ever be interested?
As far as why do I care? Why do you care if I care? Again....if you all would just decide at what grade the kids will no longer try to learn to spell, read and write, the teachers can use that time for some other subject! Especially if the parents don't care how their kids do.
As I have said many times before, I have friends and family out there and even read the paper every week to see what's up. I enjoy what the kids' academic teams and sports teams are doing and know a number of the kids. I also check to see who is making honor roll...and in one case, who isn't. I read the obits and some times see people I knew long ago.(I was sorry to see that the Chamber of Commerce won't be donating to the fire works this year.) Regardless, this is an open forum made of different kinds of people, as it should be, but it has gotten very heavily weighted on the negative, anti anything side. Some very interesting people, who knew how to debate issues, gave up and left because every word they said was personally attacked and criticized. I hear from some of them and they have gone on to live healthy productive lives. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Yes, I know I've been rambling a bit. Now hit ignore and go on your merry way. I'm not your cup of tea. So what. As far as me being "better" than you, only you can allow yourself to feel lesser. I sure don't feel that way. and you know perfectly well I don't comment on "everything". That is incorrect. If there are some rules about that, ya better have Teresa post them.
It's still there. We got four inches yesterday and downstate got much more. So once again, schools had to close. It was down to 17 last night, so nothing has melted.We did go ahead with Bingo which worked out OK. We were missing a few regulars, but most came decked out for St. Patrick's Day. The cooks even made corned beef, ham, cabbage and potatoes that sold very well.
Al has his next surgery later this morning, so we need to head out soon. My stomach has been in knots and I just coukdn't eat anything, and of course he wasn't allowed to. We'll see what happens this time. Gulp. Have a good day my friends.
Al's surgery went fine according to his doc. He called the excised mass " superficial" but we have to see what the biopsy results say. He goes back to find out in two to three weeks. He's still sore but the little bit of bleeding has stopped.I'm very grateful for the PMs prayers and good wishes.
We had a nice long gentle soaking rain yesterday and it took away the snow. YEAH!!!!! It's supposed to get to mid 60's on Saturday. Our accountant will stop by today and we'll finish our taxes, finally.
Now, something fun to share. My dining room table is being graced by a big, white four layer wedding cake with a peacock on top and frosting peacock feather "eyes" around the sides. The problem is, it's fake! ;D ;D ;D ;D ....frosting covering a styrofoam base.
My neighbor's daughter across the street is getting married on May 31st. Her bridesmaids tried to have a surprise shower for her already, but it was snowed out. Now it's going to be at her Mom's house on Saturday, still a surprise.... we think. My house is the hiding place for all the decorations and "stuff." The mother is a professional baker and worked for a bakery for many years. She has trays of beautiful cupcakes hidden in the freezers of the neighbors' houses. The cake here is just for decoration. Her daughter's theme? Yup, peacocks.
I got her a beautiful peacock feather pin with swarovski crystals in blue, green and purple, some silly kitchen gadgets and a gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond. She is such a sweet girl.I've known her since she was born. Have a wondeful day everyone.
I'm finally getting to do my baked corned beef with cabbage, carrots and potatoes.It's sure starting to smell good.I can't believe we are on deck again for another nor'easter to come up the coast on Tuesday intonwednesday.This is just unreal.So far they are calling for one to three inches of snow here but it's really too soon to tell.
I do remember another late big one though. On March 20, 1958, Landenberg PA, where we lived then, got 40 inches with another area in PA getting 50. There were lesser, but big amounts all around this area. We were off school for a week and had no electricity because of all the lines being down. The National Guard was even called out to help. We lived in the dining room with the fire place and melted snow for water. It was quite an adventure. The huge drifts looked more like Colorado than PA.
OK, I giv up. My hands r in the are and this pour ould teecher has had it. I tried for many many years to teech reeding and riting and all that silli stuff, so peeple their wood continu to bee able to comunecate, accuretly and bee undurstud. i feel very sory fo any 1 triing to lern english as a secund launguag.
i was very gud at it end got hi marcs from mi teeching evaluaters becuze of it.
So now any vowel can be stuk any ol' where and that's ok, Like hoarse shoos ,cloase is gud enuff. Lets pretind ther are no posssessifs that need apostrophee's, or better yit, toss aprotrophe's on everthing.
Sew what's upp? I made a commint about the missuse of Captial and Capitol and got swaated for careng.
Jane, i appoligiz.Bake croe will be serve at my table to-nite.
i have found three more missusse's of Capitol and Capital in three different news' paper's! Even the pros have gived up. know ewe can forgit silent vouls and figer if some pour sole kin figger it out, its' gudd enuff..especilly on legel paper's.
We can saf moni by closing doun the burro of waits and mesur's and clos will be gud enouff fo' all. After all, if you by a pownd of meat: and its onle 14 ounses...who cares? ...were all frend's hear.
Ros, yer saf. If u-in don't kare, I do'ntt eather. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D.
What a shame...no joy in Mudville tonight. :'(
No, but it was a wonderful ride. KU lost, too, today and North Carolina lost just a little while ago. Wonder who will be next.
I can't imagine. All my favorites are gone now.
Can you believe we are setting up for snow again? I do think this time we just may be sideswiped with about two inches or so, but up in New England they may get many inches again, unless this thing swings east off the coast.
Mom's birthday is April first. I always take fresh hyacinths, lilies,or tulips to her grave and then plant them in our flower bed once they have gone dormant. This year there are just none to be had anywhere. The cemetery doesn't want artificial flowers after the first day of spring, but I think this year I have no choice. April Fools! No spring this year. HA!
The bridal shower I went to on Saturday was so much fun. She is a lovely girl (23) and her friends are so sweet.
I had a tall Lenox Victorian bride doll that I got for my 20th anniversary, which was also Mom's 50th. We shared her for awhile and she was borrowed for several friends' showers and wedding decorations. I decided it was time for her to move on to another generation, so I passed her along as a surprise for Kathleen's shower.
Her grand mom thought she was so pretty. She burst into tears that I would give her up for Kathleen. It was the right thing to do. The doll will now go on to another nice home and will probably see many more showers as Kathleen's girlfriends get married. I told Kathleen that her younger sister Alison must have borrowing privileges some day if she wants to use her.
One last little 2 inch snow yesterday. The kids from the Delaware School for the Deaf cancelled their fire house trip for the day and will try again next Tuesday...April first ;D .UMMM..I wonder.
Some of the kids have multiple handicaps, so bringing them out in even a little snow isn't safe for them. Now we have a lot of rain coming on Saturday. RAIN, not snow.Whooppee
Al just called from his doc's office. He's OK. The little thing they removed was some little irritation, but not malignant. I'm so relieved!
He starts back on his every three month scoping in June.
It's about to rain again, but it's warm enough so that all our crocus and daffys are finally showing color and are open in the warm spots. Mom's birthday was yesterday and I did manage to find the flowers I wanted so we had a chilly but sunny trip to the cemetery.Have a good one. Don't let the grumps get ya down.
Great news about Al! Prayers were answered.
Larryj
They sure were.Thanks Larry! Have a wonderful shake- free day.
If finally had a chance to catch up on the news and some photos of the earth quakes.That California one sure did cause a "clean up on aisle 6" call for sure.
Now for anybody who has been to Yellowstone, that whole area is a huge caldera that jiggles and shakes all the time. That's why Biscuit Basin no longer has any biscuits. They were all knocked off their biscuit tees by a large earthquake. ;)
They say there are no signs of anything building, yet, of anything extra large. Several of the geysers that hadn't been active for years have spouted recently, according to Yellowstone Magazine. They are watching carefully out there though, just as always. No, the Bison running down the road didn't mean anything. They do that commonly.A chilly wind here today...please take it back! We're off to a 50th birthday party this evening. They are having a big bonfire to celebrate. He is one of my ER doc friends who is always a wealth of information when we have questions. I started him on his way in EMT class and he took off from there. I'm very proud of him. Right now he's working the ER at Einstein in Philly. It's what they call "the knife and gun club." Rough side of the city, but great for keeping the docs' skills sharp. Have a nice evening all.
I know for a fact those rapidly running bison in Yellowstone Park were actually running as a direct result of the huge volcano super caldera lying underneath their feet. They are well aware of the extreme danger that lurks below.
However, they were only running a test of their emergency evacuation plan, which naturally and smartly follows the most direct highway routes out of the area. One might note that in the videos they were running in single file except for a few who did not get the word to test safe.
Even though Bison sometimes get confused and run the other way, Bison are actually very smart animals.
Bison have been practicing their getaway plan for many years. They are well aware that their species was once almost extinguished from the face of the earth and the elders of the old guard running the test are not about to let a volcano finally finish the job.
The running Bison are a regular occurrence. Two-legged locals know this and it does not upset them.
It is when the bears begin their evacuation test run that really gets them all excited.
Waldo, I am so glad that you cleared that up for me. All these years I have thought that they were just running for the heck of it. Like a herd of horses. I was going to say like a herd of cows, but I can't honestly say that I have ever seen a cow run unless there was a reason for it.
That is really funny.So when the Bison occasionally try to climb in the back of trucks, they are just checking out escape plan B? I do love Yellowstone. We stayed in one of the little cabins right at Old Faithful. It was so neat to have it go off late at night and wake me up...just barely/bearly. One lady actually asked a ranger if they turn it off at night....seriously. It's been amazing to see how it has recovered since the '88 fire.
My neighbor Luke was re-elected to City Council yesterday. He's very good for our district, Only 28, but wise beyond his years. He's very good at understanding people's emotional response to changes, and growth, which needs to happen to keep Newark healthy. It's always a balancing act in a college town to keep the tax base healthy,address traffic and student concerns, and also maintain a close community atmosphere.
Yesterday and today have been perfect weather. We got the bird houses cleaned out as the wrens are due next week. I'll soon put out the hummer feeders too.The males are due at the end of the month. Time to get the ambulance fund drive finalized too...goes out soon. The daffys and crocus are out full and are so beautiful. I've been checking my roses for that dratted new virus that has hit the area. Even the Knockout roses get it. It's a virus that has no treatment or cure. so far I don't see any sign of it. We have one big Norway Maple by the driveway that is going to have to come down soon. It's looking very bad. It was cabled a few years ago, but it's really rotting at the core now. I'm afraid a summer storm could bring it down. Enjoy a beautiful evening.
The wren is running around checking out all his housing choices. The females should arrive soon. We had a beautiful day yesterday. Got a few of our new perennials in the ground and went to a 25th anniversary luau, complete with kalua pork and a shave ice truck with every flavor there is. No sweet red beams though.
The veggie garden is almost ready to go, but the soil temp is still quite chilly. The cool weather stuff can go in though, probably Tuesday. Frank probably has tomatoes by now.HA! Just finished liver and onions for dinner .After I get the kitchen cleaned up I'll make brownies with strawberries and whipped cream, followed by an evening of PBS.We both like Call the Midwife, Selfridge's, Bletchley Circle and Eastenders.
Hope you all had a good weekend and didn't blow away.
So, I heard Baxter Springs got hit pretty badly with many homes damaged and at least one death. Isn't this rather late in the season to finally have a bad one? Thinking of you all.
No, Diane. The one that hit Haysville in 1999 was just before Mother's Day. I can't remember just when the one that hit Andover happened, but it was about this time, too.
Thanks for the information.I think I thought April was always the worst month there, although I know tornadoes can happen most any time when the heat and cool fronts find each other.
I feel so badly for the people in those long swaths that lost everything. I'm glad there weren't more deaths even though any are too many.
I'm fascinated with what is being done now with the little drones... great photos and they aren't as loud as helicopters are. They too get good photos for us, but if they get fairly low we can't hear ourselves or our officers giving orders and directions on our radios.
We've got the rain part of those storms coming in later today and are on flood watches. It's still getting down in the low 40s at night, so it's still too chilly for most garden plants yet. I was going to plant some some cool weather seeds today but I might as well wait or they will just be washed out. Stay safe all.
We had quite a storm here to not be associated with a hurricane.I had 4.2 inches in the rain gauge and had serious flooding on the entire water shed here. Had quite a few vehicles in deep water, including a loaded school bus. No fatalities near here but several very close calls including one woman who was washed down White Clay Creek and had to be rescued out of a tree she had managed to climb into. We had a little water in the french drains, but nothing out on the floor.At least the field and marsh fires should stop for a few days.Now perhaps i can plant some seeds and they won't wash away.Have a good day all.
The male hummer has returned and I got buzzed this morning by a female. I put out the feeder so that should keep them happy. The catbirds came on Sunday, so all my usual friends have arrived. We've had a lot of warblers passing through and had a beautiful evening Grosbeak stop by too. Al saw an indigo bunting and I hear something this morning that I couldn't identify at all... never did see it.
A little warmer yet would be nice.I went overboard on new bird, bee and butterfly attractors, and I got my toms and peppers, now gotta get them all planted. I see we have impatiens again. Last year they were wiped out by disease. Later this week I think we'll go up to Groff's Amish Greenhouses and Nursery and see what unusual plants they might have, not the usual stuff.Feliz Cinco de Mayo.
Slowly it is warming up at last.We got into the mid 70s yesterday but it's still chilly at night. Al replaced all the dilapidated rabbit fence around our little veggie garden. We still have some black plastic to replace where the warm weather plants go and then we'll be ready to enjoy watching things grow. I expect we'll soon do battle with a ground hog or two also. One of the raccoons that sniff around every evening came to the deck door last night. Al slid it open just a bit to put out some stale rolls and it took one right from his hand.Fun, but not a good thing to get started. We do get lots of left over rolls and such from the fire house, but I don't want the bandits getting dependent on us.
Al's father's last sibling has died, so we have a grave side service to go to for Uncle Lawrence on Tuesday. He was a podiatrist before he retired.
I finally did something I've been planning to do. I got a big arrangement on a "saddle" for the top of my parent's headstone... Artificial yellow roses and white mums. The cemetery has gotten very fussy about having anything that interferes with mowing, including arrangements on a shepherds crook, which I always thought looked nice. Have a great day all.
What a beautiful day here. Perfect weather. Happy Mother's Day to all you moms. We got most of the flowers and plants from the bulging nursery wagon load from Groff's in the ground in three of my 9 little beds. I'm almost finished with the hanging pots and will soon have the little veggie garden ready to plant with any and all comers. We had stopped on the way back from the nursery and got some free range fresh eggs from an Amish farm to have with our "blue plate special" breakfast this morning.That lasted right through lunch. Al wants Buffalo Wings tonight, so we'll use a nice gift card we were given to get some for dinner. Stay safe from those crazy storms .
I'm sure some of you saw the story about the hot air balloon that crashed in VA. It had been built and was piloted by one of ours. Mr.Kirk was very experienced and was up with several other balloons when he lost altitude and drifted across a high line, which set it on fire and dropped the basket.All three occupants were killed. Today is another beautiful day.I'm going back out now to plant a few more flowers before dinner. Don't let all the negative grumps get you down.They can't understand why they are being ignored.
All the bees got sorted back into a truck that was sent to take what could be saved on their journey up the coast to the Maine blueberry fields.There were about 20 million in 460 hives and about half were saved from the tractor trailer that rolled over getting onto I 95. Some hives were broken open but many remained intact,just tossed around.The bee keepers in the area are still trying to find some missing queens before the scent trails are lost. It took our fog nozzles and some air guard foam to keep them under control. A few rode back to the fire house on one of our engines. It was much easier to round them up once the sun went down. Honey bees are so scarce now it's a shame to lose any.
We had a weird srorm come rolling through yesteday afternoon. It split and went north and south of us. Down state had "something" that took a house off it's foundation and made it into a pile of sticks, and a mobile home was rolled into a wrinkled ball of metal. Straight line winds? Micro burst? Tornado? They don't know yet. There was also more, but with lesser damage. Thankfully, no injuries.
Congrats on Tobina's new son, Cord.
Our storm visitor was a tornado. Just a little fellow by your standards, but it did some damage downstate mostly in farm country, and some damage in Marydell on the Delaware-Maryland border.
That little tornado here did more damage than I first heard about.15 homes badly damaged and some non life threatening injuries. Mostly in farm country so, as you have, some out buildings were damaged and some fields were scoured.
Sadly, I just found out a long time fire house friend has been admitted to U of Pa hospital in Philly and put on a waiting list for a heart/kidney transplant due to heart failure. He is much younger than I am...really makes one think. So sad...has a wife and two children.
My goodness, Al's Aunt Marion said she couldn't live without Uncle Lawrence and so she didn't. She died this morning while talking to her sister and one daughter.She just stopped. He died May 8th and she now on June first. So back to the cemetery we shall go. Probably on Tuesday. It's sad of course, but it does uncomplicate some things.
Today is a great day for gardening .Al was helping me grub out some overgrown stuff and runaway ground cover with wrens, catbirds and robins providing the musical accompaniment, while I potted up 20 Peruvian Daffodils that have been in the family for may years. I had about 100, but it's starting to be too much for Al to rototill their bed, put them in, then dig them up at frost time as they are not hardy. They do have a beautiful white flower and a nice fragrance. I'll try these in three big pots and see how they do.They want full sun, so I can just set the pots where ever the sun is and feed them a bit. Crabcakes and salad tonight with our own lettuce.yum!
I am sorry for your loss, Diane. I hope that you and your hubby are doing OK, given that this is the second funeral in such a short time. ((((((hugs)))))))
Thank you, especially for the hugs. It has been hard losing them both so close together....but they are together again for eternity. Knowing that helps.
Now we have another funeral on the 11th .John Seador died Sunday while awaiting a heart transplant at the University of Pa. Hospital in Philly. His whole family have been good friends of ours for many years. Crushing sadness.
His brother Dan was an EMT student of mine long ago .He went on to become one of our career New Castle County Paramedics, quite high in rank. John's twin sister married another of my students, who also went on to become a County Paramedic. Kept it all in the family.
Cat, It's nice to hear from you and see you posting again. Don't get too frustrated too fast. ;)
Raining again. But we were able to slide our new bath tub in my Focus wagon, so now we have the making of our "new" upstairs bathroom at home and ready to go. The tub can rest in my vehicle until needed. (There has got to be a good joke in there somewhere.) The floor tile, tub surround tile, vanity and top, and new toilet are waiting patiently in the garage until our tile man can schedule us. Al could do it but I don't want him to work that hard. He's always so willing but it takes the stamna right out of him and he doesn't bounce back very fast anymore. Plus, he has another cancer scoping next week.Gulp.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 09, 2014, 01:12:30 PM
Cat, It's nice to hear from you and see you posting again. Don't get too frustrated too fast. ;)
No frustration here, since employing the "ignore" option. What a great way to use technology!!!! ;) I haven't had the time to go back through your posts to see if you are raising a garden this year...???? I have a bunch of cherry and grape tomato plants out, along with cukes and peppers. The peppers look like they are going to crap out on me, thanks to all this rain, but the cukes and tomatoes are growing by leaps and bounds. My asparagus has also been growing waaaaaayyyyyy too well, much to my disgust...That crap can grow up to 7" overnight. Thank God my mom will take the stuff! lol I only grow it for her, to begin with. I have never developed a taste for the stuff.
Yes, my garden is in, late because it was such a cold spring, but we are at 90 today for the first time and things are roaring up out of the ground. I have lots of little toms and beans are starting to bloom.We've been eating lettuce and have radishes too. The cukes are trying, but are slow, and the peppers are just so-so .
My many flower beds were getting overgrown, so we've been doing some tough love on them too.
I was asked to work up a lesson plan for fireworks, pros and cons, for the middle school aged kids from The Delaware School for the Deasummer school program.I present that on July 10.Then the kids will have to write a paper on on whether they think fireworks should be allowed in Delaware, based on my program and the research links I will give them. I can't wait to see what they do with it. My signing isn't too great, but I can work very well with the interpreters.
That's where it is hard to explain what I do. I'm retired, but not, and am considered a guest specialist in all the schools around Newark. We're having a big open house at the fire house on Saturday in conjunction with a street fair the downtown merchants are having, one block up the street from us, on Main St.
Tomorrow Al has his three month cancer scoping again so we're a bit nervous about that. Enjoy every minute of your time off.
:angel: Sending up prayers that your hubby comes up clean and that your summer is a joyous one!!!!
Thanks Cat. Every kind thought means something. Hey, I want to share some thing with you. Last night i saw a silly commercial on TV and they were playing Chicken Fat. Do you remember that song? We loved that goofy thing and I got a copy for my classroom shortly after it came out. Meredith Wilson sings it. It's a great song to get kids up and moving and get rid of the wiggles, especially on rainy days. The kids loved it and would fall on the floor in giggles at the end.Brought back good memories.Even Ross can't spoil those for me.
Al is back home...all clear! Good for another three months. He is very uncomfortable, says it feels like a hot poker has been shoved up there. They took more fluid after a chemical wash to see if there are any wandering cancer cells, but I don't think the doc expects to find any.
I was reading about the particulars on the bond failing. Poor ol' Ross is in hog heaven... even bragging about how he shamed the school board.
I wonder what will happen now? Based on my own personal experience those portables should be OK for a number of years yet.Surely they were built better than the one I was in and it lasted for many years. Are the teachers OK with them or not? Our portables didn't even have covered walk ways ..and not one student or teacher melted in the rain. One of our other schools was getting squeezed, so they made the library into classrooms and added a portable, with a covered walkway, for the library.I know I'm here not there, but solutions are solutions no matter where they are, even when ya have to deal with stubborn mules .
My personal informant tells me that the library has already been divided and converted to include other activities. I think one of the activities is a class room. Maybe the reason the school board can't get what they want is that they are not letting the public know the actual conditions at the school. At least, the only thing I hear about it is from one of the employees.
It sounds like better information should be forthcoming and some decent compromises are needed.One thing is for sure.Things will be even more expensive next year.I know there was some upset over the playing field dirt.Why didn't some one look over the contract thoroughly..perhaps .even the lawyer.One cannot leave that kind of thing to chance. There must be specific details. Been there,done that. I know it's really none of my business, but that was sloppy and could have been easily avoided.
I just took a break from clearing out the upstairs bathroom for the workmen tomorrow. I guess nobody can call me an elite snob after waiting 25 years to do a change up. ;) Even at that it's very simple, nothing fancy at all.
Hey Cat, I did write a new Haiku over in the poem section that Boss Ross had to say something hurtful about. He never misses a chance. ...a shame....suggesting we couldn't find the poetry section. HA!
I went back for entertainment value and reread his latest flailing around. He is genuinely troubled.
He would be lousy on the ambulance, where life threatening emergencies can be complicated by the overdoing of sympathy. It can cause loss of concentration and consequent loss of the ability to function properly and do ones job.
There is a lot of difference between caring for a child's broken wrist or caring for a person who just lost both legs from being hit by a car, or taking a SIDS baby from a parent's arms. Sometimes one has to turn off the sympathy and be objective or the person could die. We must also never let our own history enter into the situation. Bypass the compassion for now and start the CPR!
Oh, by the way Ross, since I'm sure you will read this. Delaware State EMT instructors must be either Nationally Certified EMTs, Paramedics, Emergency Nurses, or Medical Doctors. But of course, since Ross knows "something" he knows all. I still don't know what "organizations", he was frantic about, nor what it had to do with me. He is apparently one unhappy dude with no sunshine in his life. Ross, why don't you sign up for a local CERT class. I think you would enjoy it and it really has redeeming qualities. Back to the upstairs.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 19, 2014, 12:09:38 PM
It sounds like better information should be forthcoming and some decent compromises are needed.One thing is for sure.Things will be even more expensive next year.I know there was some upset over the playing field dirt.Why didn't some one look over the contract thoroughly..perhaps .even the lawyer.One cannot leave that kind of thing to chance. There must be specific details. Been there,done that. , but that was sloppy and could have been easily avoided.
Don't pay attention whenyou are reading the political section, specifically the http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,11780.6110.html the Topic: Elk Konnected Hand out at County Commissioners meeting on 4/25 where political School Board meetings have been discussed.
THERE WAS NO CONTRACT FOR THAT $7000.00 JOB ! Comprehend? Sneaky political remarks from lack of knowledge in the Coffee Shop Section is just rediculous.
I agree with you on what you said 100% aint that a switch, I'm quoting what I agree with you on right here so you will not be corn fused. Diane you said,
"I know it's really none of my business". Right on! It has no effect on people in Delaware does it?
More on that political sneakyness in a little while, Okay ---OK.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
I just took a break from clearing out the upstairs bathroom for the workmen tomorrow. I guess nobody can call me an elite snob after waiting 25 years to do a change up. ;) Even at that it's very simple, nothing fancy at all.
Hey Cat, I did write a new Haiku over in the poem section that Boss Ross had to say something hurtful about. He never misses a chance. ...a shame....suggesting we couldn't find the poetry section. HA!
I went back for entertainment value and reread his latest flailing around. He is genuinely troubled.
He would be lousy on the ambulance, where life threatening emergencies can be complicated by the overdoing of sympathy. It can cause loss of concentration and consequent loss of the ability to function properly and do ones job.
There is a lot of difference between caring for a child's broken wrist or caring for a person who just lost both legs from being hit by a car, or taking a SIDS baby from a parent's arms. Sometimes one has to turn off the sympathy and be objective or the person could die. We must also never let our own history enter into the situation. Bypass the compassion for now and start the CPR!
Oh, by the way Ross, since I'm sure you will read this. Delaware State EMT instructors must be either Nationally Certified EMTs, Paramedics, Emergency Nurses, or Medical Doctors. But of course, since Ross knows "something" he knows all. I still don't know what "organizations", he was frantic about, nor what it had to do with me. He is apparently one unhappy dude with no sunshine in his life. Ross, why don't you sign up for a local CERT class. I think you would enjoy it and it really has redeeming qualities. Back to the upstairs.
I'll be carrying this back to the Political thread "Common Core Education And More About Federal Government Control" at http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,15765.160.html where it belongs. Just because you choose to twist word about lacking compassion concerning poor people and their children attending school to something changes nothing. Diane, don't you realize that twisting words is simply the same as lying? And it is not nice!
And Diane there is a difference between
Sympathy and Compassion!
But fear not
I don't believe you will be accused
Of either.
Does that qualify as a Japanese Haiku ? LOL
Oh I like that, Boss Ross idea of yours Diane, but I retired from that and don't plan to do it again, Thank You.
I have told you in about a boss's poem about me, in a previous post I do believe, but since you like poetry so much, I'll repeat it for just for you.
He use to love to say:
Here come Ross
The Boss
On the
Fautin' Hoss.
He had a college education too! Ain't that sweet!
Don't forget to visit the thread "Common Core Education And More About Federal Government Control" at http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,15765.160.html where it belongs. Do it later today or possibly Tomorrow. This post of yours actually belongs there in an untwisted form.
I will definitely try to put some truth to it, Okay ---Ok.
Just to give you peace of mind Diane, don't worry about getting confused with being an elite, I doubt that will ever happen. LOL :o
Well, well, look who showed up. I wish I could catch trout that easily.
Nowhere does it state that folks here can only have opinions on things that directly affect them. If that were the case most of you would have to get off some threads. How about if it were suggested that only people who have military family members in the middle east can have opinions on the war? I don't think that would last long.
Many who were on here have gone because they got tired of the personal attacks, even to others besides themselves, which of course lead to defensive attacks by people who who eventually get/got a belly full. How do I know? They told me!
Reasonably intelligent civilized open minded people can debate different sides of an issue with out malice or resorting to unfair putdowns, which may cause back draft for someone who is tired of being insulted.
Teacher and EMT, Paramedic and school board qualifications, standards for graduation, and many such things have nothing to do with you. You can have an opinion, of course, but so can I.
I have no influence in the writing of the newspapers and magazines I read every day and it really makes me smoke when I see terrible grammar and misspellings. They are meant to be written by professionals and I don't like paying for errors, I don't care how many computer programs they have. But there is little I can do about it. Again with threats to move my post. NO! You don't have my permission to do that....and that thing you wrote is not hiaku. More with the mean opinions of me? I do not deserve that.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 18, 2014, 11:54:24 AM
Al is back home...all clear! Good for another three months. He is very uncomfortable, says it feels like a hot poker has been shoved up there. They took more fluid after a chemical wash to see if there are any wandering cancer cells, but I don't think the doc expects to find any.
I was reading about the particulars on the bond failing. Poor ol' Ross is in hog heaven... even bragging about how he shamed the school board.
I wonder what will happen now? Based on my own personal experience those portables should be OK for a number of years yet.Surely they were built better than the one I was in and it lasted for many years. Are the teachers OK with them or not? Our portables didn't even have covered walk ways ..and not one student or teacher melted in the rain. One of our other schools was getting squeezed, so they made the library into classrooms and added a portable, with a covered walkway, for the library.I know I'm here not there, but solutions are solutions no matter where they are, even when ya have to deal with stubborn mules .
More Elk County Politics in the Coffee Shop, wow Diane you are amazing.
And bragging I do not do, I only provide the facts and my opinion.
Unlike you ,I Don't ask anyone to believe anything I say.
I infact ask them not to, but to talk about the subject and make up their own mind.
And so far I have failed to shame the School Board and I am beginning to believe they have no shame or dignity or class or understand decorum and Roberts Rule of Order.
But of course you would not understand because you are unable to attend School Board meetings in Elk County, Kansas. Right? Right!
You were not at this months School Board in Elk County, Kansas were you? School Board .
You didn't get to see the School Board President nearly have a melt down and his near temper tantrum did you?
You didn't get to hear the School Board President say
he did not care how pissed off voters get
about another School Bond issue he wants in November. That is just five months after the Bond issue has failed for the second time. Must be that college education getting in the way of common sense, don't ya reckon ?
So you must have read they wanted to build eight brick and mortar class rooms so they could dispose of the $500,000 worth of eight portable class rooms we recently paid for. Where is the gain in class rooms ? There is no gain only loss and debt ! The class rooms were simply used as an excuse to build a new gymnasium for the School Board Presidents children. He even said during a School Board Meeting his children would be forced to grow up and do without. Such a shame the voters just don't understand the needs of his children isn't it?
Doesn't your personal informant or spy do a good job and let you know this important stuff. Or don't they attend School Board Meetings?
Diane maybe you could desert Delaware and move to Elk County, Kansas and register to vote and pay property taxes and above attend the School Board Meetings with me.
What fun we could have. Come on down to Elk County, Kansas, it's a great place to live.
You do know this belongs in the Political Section don't you?
Of course you do, how dumb of me to mention it.
You gotta a college education,
my bad!
You have ot shown one single solution for problems in Elk County, Kansas. My bet is you can not find a single solution for local problems in Delaware, forget Kansas.
TTFN
Good grief! If there is anyone left on earth who doesn't know about your person attitude toward the school board, the bond issue, the County Commisioners and Elk Konnected, please step forward. Ross would like to indoctriate you. Don't think for yourself, he'll do it for everyone and then confuse things by saying not to believe a word he says....that's a good choice.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 23, 2014, 09:08:09 AM
Reasonably intelligent civilized open minded people can debate different sides of an issue with out malice or resorting to unfair putdowns, which may cause back draft for someone who is tired of being insulted.
It's a shame you don't practice what you preach.
You can run to a different thread with your politics all twisted and bad mouth me, really fine and intellegent of you to believe you don't deserve the same.
What happened to that ignore thingy is it still failing you. Or don't you comprehend how it works?
Ya just can't stand it can you?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
I went back for entertainment value and reread his latest flailing around. He is genuinely troubled.
And you brought the politics to the Coffee Shop, didn't you?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 23, 2014, 09:08:09 AM
More with the mean opinions of me? I do not deserve that.
Yes you do, you actually earn every bit of it. And you keep coming back asking for more. It must be that college education getting in the way of common sense. You see, when you started on meou didn't the same kind of response. And you can not seem to comprehend that if you stop it all stops. You can not use your education properly to bully me, now can you? Check your next post quoted at the bottom of this post and repeat what just said here? ROFLMAO. Sorry, My edumaction is slippin"! Paleeese refresher me !
Remember that ignore thing you said you started. Excellent tool for someone in Delaware don't you think?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 23, 2014, 09:34:20 AM
Good grief! If there is anyone left on earth who doesn't know about your person attitude toward the school board, the bond issue, the County Commisioners and Elk Konnected, please step forward. Ross would like to indoctriate you. Don't think for yourself, he'll do it for everyone and then confuse things by saying not to believe a word he says....that's a good choice.
Why do you keep going there Diane?
Why do you keep bring up the subject from thread to thread?
If you can't handle the heat, why don't you stay out of the kitchen?
It's all politics and you can't handle the truth.
Leave politics on the Politics thread and I won't have to chase down our insults of me. LOL
Besides, it's local politics here in Kansas, Ms. Delaware.
Humm, so ya'all call it indoctrination up there in Delaware, interesting!
What do ya'all call Obama Common Core up there in Delaware?
What do you call it when teachers don't believe, there is room for improvement
in Educational Standards up there in Delaware?
What do you call it when some one claims to have solutions to problems far, far away but doesn't present them? Way up up there in Delaware?
My, oh my what a mess of conundrums? ROFLMAO.
nEXT
I may be crazy but I'm not insane!
I may be a smatass, but I an't no dumbass!
Love ya Diane, you are so much fun.
Hey wise guy, I can visit the thread I started as often as I like and talk about my choice of subjects. I don't need anybody's approval. I'm not going to put my own thread on ignore, now am I, and as long as Delaware is sending some of our tax money to poor Kansas, that can't cut it without help, it is personal to me. Truth? Show me some from you that is reliable.
Put me on ignore and go away, I accomplished what I wanted to do ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D :angel:.
Now back to the workmen redoing my bathroom.They got a lot done today. Repaired some very old damage from long before we moved here and made some great suggestions for new faucets and the shower head. Very water efficient but nice. Extra money of course. The old pink tub tile is gone and my "sandy beach" will go in when the repairs are done and the concrete board and real insulation goes in.The old insulation was very skimpy and was about gone. Real bats will help a lot since the tub is right in the north corner. Also the tub is a couple of inches deeper and insulated underneath, so Al can have a good long hot soak on his poor Polio legs. Every year now he loses just a bit more strength and stamina. His Polio doc says his body is actually 10 to 15 years older than his chronological age would suggest. He does very well for several hours most mornings and then begins to slide.He 's taking a nap right now so he'll be able to do Bingo at the fire house this evening. He doesn't complain because he knows how many are also dealing with health problems that limit them.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 23, 2014, 02:54:02 PM
Hey wise guy, I can visit the thread I started as often as I like and talk about my choice of subjects. I don't need any body's approval. I'm not going to put my own thread on ignore, now am I, and as long as Delware is sending some of our tax money to poor Kansas, that can't cut it with out help, it is personal to me. Truth? Show me some from you that is reliable.
Get it right, I ain't no wise guy, I got no edumacation, remember.
I'm a smartass!
Where do you get that Delaware is sending money to Kansas?
Are Delaware Government educated managers stupid?
Show me where you got that information, a link would be nice.
Other wise it is just another dumb remark by you, in my books.
What an imagination? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: LOL
However, if there were any truth to what you say, your bitch would be with your Delaware Government not me? Carry on ! LOL
Who in the heck suggested you put your own thread on ignore? How ignorant is that? LOL
Sure you can visit your thread as often as you want, who would suggest otherwise. LOL
LOL, But you invited me by saying the following:
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
Oh, by the way Ross, since I'm sure you will read this.
And you brought Politics over here and attempted to diss me with lies, actually I believe you were hoping, I would not see it.
I simply took the item back to politics and you can read the truthful response over there.
Topic: Common Core Education And More About Federal Government Control at: http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,15765.160.html
I'm sorry to have to inform you, but you accomplished nothing.
You communicate poorly when you are angry, so slow down a little, be nice to yourself and try to have a plesant evening.
Your forum Buddy --- Ross the Boss on the Fautin Hoss Bye-bye.
Sounds like you and Al have done a lot of work!!! Glad to hear that you've got a good tub for Al to soak in. Figures he'd be the stoic variety. Can't see you being the type to marry anyone longwinded...Or given to excessive posting... ;D
Quote from: Catwoman on June 23, 2014, 08:19:04 PM
Sounds like you and Al have done a lot of work!!! Glad to hear that you've got a good tub for Al to soak in. Figures he'd be the stoic variety. Can't see you being the type to marry anyone longwinded...Or given to excessive posting... ;D
You are so right Catwoman, Diane does enough posting for one family. LOL
Cat, socially, Al is very quiet. But get him started on a subject he really cares about and he can out talk me!
My boat neighbor had a successful outing and brought us a dozen big crabs. Summer is officially here!
Last night at bingo.(I sell the "early bird" game") One of the players, who I've grown to like a lot over the last several years, told me she has to see an oncologist this morning. She may have stomach cancer.I feel so bad for her. She is one of those clever crafty people who is always making something cute and bringing it to the firehouse to share. She is scared to death. I feel so bad for her.
Al is out on the front porch with the morning paper and his coffee. I think I'll go join him.
The men are back and the noise has started again. It will be worth every decible when they are finished. I've been looking at Murphy beds on the computer. Since my nieces have grown, our little 4th bedroom has turned into a sewing, ironing, tread mill, junk room. It's time to get it back under control and "repurpose" it back to a bedroom that we can also sew and iron in.
Al is going to put up some high shelves with a gallery rail going down one wall, around the corner and down the other wall for more of the smaller antiques and fun stuff I have collected from my grandparents, parents.There will be room from some of Mom's nice pottery pieces. Then the tall deep book case Al bulit for the room when we first moved in 25 years ago, will get reused for my collection of Frank Schoonover illustrated books. Mom was a student of his and others, and painted with "The Studio Group" when she first came to Wilmington from Kansas in the early 40's.
Our Newark library has agreed to take my 5 big boxes of VHS tapes, mostly kids' subjects for their collection. Hurray! They will have a good home tomorrow.
The guys who are here have said they will move my tread mill to the basement to an area I'm setting up for it and the exercise bike. Ah, today is one of those good days when everything goes right!
Next, I'm going to get rid of my 65 year old piano. The felts are hard as rock and it needs more to fix it up than it's worth. It should retire and go on medicare. Maybe someone will come get it for salvage value. I had promised Al I would start downsizing and uncomplicating things at age 70 and I'm actually six months early! Have a good afternoon all.
Down-sizing - ugh!
I've seen some Murphy beds recently that have shelves on the bottom of them. The shelves have hinges so that when the bed is down, the items stay on the shelves. Really cool.
Good luck!
Yes,I saw those :D.There is a company that does mulifuctual furniture for small New York City apartments. They are very functional and creative. Pricey, but worth it when space is very limited.
What a beautiful day. 82, dry with a slight breeze and lots of sun and high pressure cotton ball clouds. Probably one of the best 10 days of the summer.
The State Fire School in Dover is 50 this year and today they had a picnic for all the current and retired instructors, employees and the their families. It was quite a reunion. We got to catch up on all the doings of so many of us. It was good to see them again. The senior staff had put together a nifty slide show of all of us teaching one thing or another through the years, in the classrooms or outside on the training grounds. It was funny watching us age before our eyes. It was also very sad to see several of us who have died.
They had cued the slides to music, Ring of fire and Backdraft, among others to really set the scene.
The food was really good. Some of the Ladies Auxiliaries got together to make their best picnic food for us, including slow cooked southern pulled pork and cole slaw, macaroni and cheese and baked beans,with water melon of course .The fire school is out in the middle of farm country so it was all good homestyle farm cooking.
Oh, there was a plane crash four miles south of the airport in the Delaware River as we were driving down. They had no idea how big at first, but the tower was finally able to tel that it wasn't a big commercial plane. Rather a little Cessna went down but the two on board got out with apparently minor injuries. Kept our River companies busy for awhile. Eventually we'll hear details.
Hope you all are having a good day too.
I guess Ross just can't let go can he? I don't care what he says any more. He can call me a liar all he wants, others know the truth.
When it comes to federal taxes, Delaware is still a donor state and Kansas is a "taker" state. It's all pooled together, of course, before it's doled out to poor states who can't make it on their own. Kansas is one of them. Some of it comes from us and he can't prove otherwise. yuk,yuk.
By the way, for anyone that might be interested,TLC will be showing our local Newark Bakery, Bings, tonight at 10:00 here. They have made our cakes for many many years . All our family birthday cakes ,wedding cakes and anniversary cakes were made there
A few years ago Mrs. Bing finally died and the Bakery was sold.They use the same cake recipe though, so our tradition goes on. They even donated a big sheet cake to the firehouse for EMS week recently. The bakers were also good friends. Mr. Doodleheim, the master baker there for many years before he died, was married to a good friend of mine, Irma. She is in her eighties now and is still going strong. Have a nice evening.
We have two storms brewing, one from you all and our first of the season coming up the coast.
One last try before I complain to Teresa and Kjell.
Why is Ross allowed to move my posts from my East Coast Happenings thread postings to where ever he wants them to be? He had done this before and was told to stop. Now he's doing it again. That just isn't right!
Rosco operates with impunity, Diane. It falls under the heading of "Freedom of Speech". He is free to say whatever he likes (to an empty house, more often than not, even though he makes sure to respond to as many threads as possible so that his name dominates the forum), while you are castigated for even the smallest comment (as I recall, Ross loved to use blue...Or was it red...To highlight every single retort to any and all parts of your/my/anyone who disagrees posts. Ross and his ilk use that method to bully/verbally bludgeon their way through a topic. Since utilizing the ignore option, it has been soooooooooo peaceful. ;D ;D The sooner you quit feeding the monster, the sooner it will die it's own pathetic death.
Apparently freedom of speech is unequally applied. I had mostly given up on most threads having to do with anything besides education. Now he's going to try to show that he will control who can post where....and move them? Pretty cheeky if you ask me.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 01, 2014, 05:48:32 PM
One last try before I complain to Teresa and Kjell.
Why is Ross allowed to move my posts from my East Coast Happenings thread postings to where ever he wants them to be? He had done this before and was told to stop. Now he's doing it again. That just isn't right!
You do know of course, when you use my name in your post, you are inviting me to respond. Basic communication skills, no degree required !I do believe the forum policy is to have political posts in the Political Section, easily understood isn't it Diane?I ignorantly posted a political item in another section once, and the owners moved the whole post and deleted my original post from the thread I originally posted to. I learned and have tried to avoid the same mistake again!
What are you going to complain about?Try complaining about yourself, bad mouthing me, about politics on this thread in an effort to hide the bad mouthing, and your back stabbing ways, try that, okay !
Throw in the fact that you twist my words and use omission of words to create lies !
Try complaining that you don't own the forum !
Complain too, that
your orders are not being followed !
I sure hope this helps your complaint process !Quote from: Catwoman on July 01, 2014, 08:53:30 PM
Rosco operates with impunity, Diane. It falls under the heading of "Freedom of Speech". He is free to say whatever he likes (to an empty house, more often than not, even though he makes sure to respond to as many threads as possible so that his name dominates the forum), while you are castigated for even the smallest comment (as I recall, Ross loved to use blue...Or was it red...To highlight every single retort to any and all parts of your/my/anyone who disagrees posts. Ross and his ilk use that method to bully/verbally bludgeon their way through a topic. Since utilizing the ignore option, it has been soooooooooo peaceful. ;D ;D The sooner you quit feeding the monster, the sooner it will die it's own pathetic death.
Again Catwoman when you are using my name or discussing me, you invite me to respond ! Basic communication skills, got it ! No college required !No, I do not even consider trying to dominate anything. You invite me to the thread!And you and Diane keep starting new threads and use my name as an invite to respond !
Try getting the story right, please !Who is calling names, so who's actually doing the bullying?
"Ross and his ilk"
which is deragoratory in and of it's self.But follow that up with
bully, pathetic death, monster !
Oh, Catwoman, so you don't like colors !
Don't you like to use colors for grading school papers? Wouldn't that be just as wrong as my using colors?
And using colors on here is available for you as well! Or can't you figure how to use them? If I can help and teach you how to use them, please let me know. I'll be more than happy to help you with that problem.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 02, 2014, 05:51:53 AM
Apparently freedom of speech is unequally applied. I had mostly given up on most threads having to do with anything besides education. Now he's going to try to show that he will control who can post where....and move them? Pretty cheeky if you ask me.
Where do you get that freedom of speech is unequally applied?
You are fee to say what ever you desire and I am free to respond if I so desire.
So where is it that freedom of speech is unequally applied?No ma'am I do not control who posts or where or what they post, just as you don't !
But that is what you will complain about right?
That
you can not control who posts what and where? Right?In closing I'd like to repeat, using my name or even what ever nickname you wish to give me such as Rosco, is the same as asking me to reply.Very basic communication skills dear'ies. This is so much fun, I love you two ladies. ;) ;) ;) ;) :o :o :o :angel: :angel: :angel:
I hope you both
have a great
and safe and sane
4th of July.
Oh, he's just a wannabe who enjoys getting to see his name come up repeatedly. Kind of sad, if you ask me. Just keep it on "ignore"...lol... ::) ::) ::)
Quote from: Catwoman on July 02, 2014, 06:29:42 PM
Oh, he's just a wannabe who enjoys getting to see his name come up repeatedly. Kind of sad, if you ask me. Just keep it on "ignore"...lol... ::) ::) ::)
You are so wrong, again Catwoman ! Ya just can't get it right, can ya? You fail terribly at pigeon holing me.
I'm retired and I am a very greatful
has been, that really enjoys your weak attempts at harrassment! But, just the same I like you and Diane. You are so much fun.
I'm so sorry you are sad.
How's that complaint of Diane's coming along?
I'd sure enjoy reading that !
LOLThat ignore just ain't working for you yet is it? Another failure.
LOLI patiently await further remarkably wrong remarks from you, that may require correction on my part !
Happy 4th to you.
Cheeky??? lol OMG. I love your expressions! lol ;D ;D
Quote from: Catwoman on July 02, 2014, 09:08:56 PM
Cheeky??? lol OMG. I love your expressions! lol ;D ;D
cheek·y
/ˈCHēkē/
adjective
adjective: cheeky; comparative adjective: cheekier; superlative adjective: cheekiest
impudent or irreverent, typically in an
endearing or amusing way.
"a cheeky grin"
How sweet of you to think of me as endearing and amusing, thank ya kindly fer the compliment.
Ya love me, huh! LOL
TTYL
So, now we are dealing with the western wind bands from Arthur. Not too much rain, it's still east of us, but we've had damage from 70 MPH wind gusts. Area trees and wires are down. My deck pots were moved around and one was blown off completely. My big night blooming cereus was toppled over, but was still tied to it's fence post, so I was able to right it without too much damage. My staked 6 ft. tall yellow tree lilies were broken off and the rest of the flower beds were flattened a bit, but will most likely bounce back. The toms are fine in their big construction wire cages and the beans lay down but are already popping back up the peppers and the rest are OK.We had quite surprising temprature drop down to 69 and is now very gusty and back up to 74. Hope all are having a fun filled, bang up, Independence Day celebration as oursome of our founders thought we would.
:angel: :angel: Happy Independence Day, Miss Diane!!!! ;D ;D Hope your day has been a joyous one!!!
Thanks. We did have fun. Yard work, worked a bit more on the bathroom update and we're even still speaking! It cooled down amazingly with the Arthur's back flow coming down from Canada. The 90's return tomorrow, just in time for two day camp fire house tours on Tuesday and Wednesday. I heard from a friend that you- know- who is bad mouthing me again to a new poster. I won't read anything he posts any more so I don't know what he said. Hopefully the new poster will see what he is doing and scorn him. Off to the fire house to count out handouts for my program on fire works. Have a great day.
Back home from the fire house again.Time to turn on the air conditioner to scare the humidity out of the house as the wind swings around to the SW and the temp.starts to rise once more.
. I brought in some of the lilies that broke off. Talk about sweet smelling, wow.
I read a little article in the paper about a boy who was very seriously burned when a sparkler he lit set his clothes on fire.
Hope you all got to see fireworks in Elk County and nobody got hurt.
Had a $300,000 house fire near here from a bottle rocket that set a big house on fire . Nobody was home at the time.It must have been a total loss.
::) Did you expect anything different? The definition of insanity is doing something over and over again, expecting a different result each time...I think that is a good description of our admirer, don't you?? lol
Quote from: Catwoman on July 06, 2014, 06:19:58 PM
::) Did you expect anything different? The definition of insanity is doing something over and over again, expecting a different result each time...I think that is a good description of our admirer, don't you?? lol
Amazing
Catwoman. You just described yourself to a "T" !You do the same thing over and over again and again!
You keep inviting me to respond. So I respond and you do it again and again, what is it you are
expecting differently? I will try to oblige any resonable request ?
LOLThe difference between
YOU and ME is simple:
1.
I don't use ignore and you claim you do ? ? ?2.
I'm crazy and I know it, I also know I'm not insane, you questionable,
after you posted the above remark ? ? ?3.
I am an unedumacted redneck conservative,
You possibly an arrogantly ignorant progressive liberal with a limited education as a grade school teacher ? ? ? ?4.
I do admire the amusement that you two provide concerning Elk County
and the West Elk School District. It is humorous coming from people that can not attend either meeting. Really knowledgeable ? ? ? ? ? Keep the invites coming if you are insane like you said in your above post.
I will respond in kind as kindly as possible. Ain't this fun?Tra la al twiddley dee deeTTFNP.S. I just remembered your remark about colors so I colorized just for you.
Ya gotta love me for that.You ladies are just so sweet.
Quote from: Catwoman on July 06, 2014, 06:19:58 PM
::) Did you expect anything different? The definition of insanity is doing something over and over again, expecting a different result each time...I think that is a good description of our admirer, don't you?? lol
Oh just for shits and giggles can you show us unedumacted rednecks just where you found that definition ? ?
Catwoman, was it your college diploma lead you such an exemplary example of wisdom ?
Please post the link to this great and magnificient find !
Thanks.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 06, 2014, 10:00:46 AM
Thanks. We did have fun. Yard work, worked a bit more on the bathroom update and we're even still speaking! It cooled down amazingly with the Arthur's back flow coming down from Canada. The 90's return tomorrow, just in time for two day camp fire house tours on Tuesday and Wednesday. I heard from a friend that you- know- who is bad mouthing me again to a new poster. I won't read anything he posts anymore up so I don't know what he said. Hopefully the new poster will see what he is doing and scorn him. Off to the fire house to count out handouts for my program on fire works. Have a great day.
I have been told that all the "bad mouthing" amounts to is a 2 year old-variety tantrum over being ignored. Ah, well. It's not like you didn't try multitudinous times to treat the individual like what he had to say actually mattered...It's just that your attempts were picked apart viciously each time. You have hung in there far past the point that anyone else gave a damn. I have to say...I am really enjoying the Forum again!!!!! ;D ;D ;D It's like the old days all over again! :-) ;D ;D ;D
Cat, I have always enjoyed Diane's contributions to the Forum, but having you back is like frosting on the cake. Hope you can stay with us all summer at least.
So do I. Yay.
I just heard from another young teacher friend (widow) who had planned a cruise up the east coast with her two kids, just as Arthur was getting set to run up too. They were just ahead of it, but the cruise company changed their itinerary once they got under way. They went to Bermuda instead. Gee, what a shame! ;D They had a wonderful time.
Quote from: Wilma on July 07, 2014, 06:47:21 AM
Cat, I have always enjoyed Diane's contributions to the Forum, but having you back is like frosting on the cake. Hope you can stay with us all summer at least.
Right on Wilma, I had about quit looking at the Forum, I had so many of the biggest posters blocked. Cat is a great read.
Awwwww... ;) ;D...You all make a gal feel like a million bucks! lol I have really missed all of you. It is so good to be back!!!! :D :D :D
I second that, too, guys. I love Cat's humor and writing style. And Cat, I hope you had a great 4th of July weekend, at least better than mine, LOL...
Haboob Dust Storm Phoenix AZ 7/3/2014
...and Frank, hope I'm not one of those you've blocked. :laugh: :angel:
Warph, I think you are the most respected man on the Forum, along with Waldo and Larry .
Keep on keeping on.
Quote from: Warph on July 10, 2014, 02:54:40 AM
I second that, too, guys. I love Cat's humor and writing style. And Cat, I hope you had a great 4th of July weekend, at least better than mine, LOL...
Haboob Dust Storm Phoenix AZ 7/3/2014
...and Frank, hope I'm not one of those you've blocked. :laugh: :angel:
Holy cow, Warph...That sand storm looks formidable! Hope you came through that OK? I would imagine all that dust could ruin the workings of an AC unit quickly. I had a wonderful 4th...Sorry yours was dusty!
Quote from: frawin on July 10, 2014, 07:29:10 AM
Warph, I think you are the most respected man on the Forum, along with Waldo and Larry .
Keep on keeping on.
Agreed! I add you to that list, as well, Frank. You all are the reason I came back (along with the new ignore option)!!!!! ;) ;)
Gee, I hope I can come out and play now. ;D ;D ;D ;D
Three down and several more to come in late July and early August. Between summer school kids and day camps, we've had lots of kids visiting the fire house.The ambulance and engines will be going to Safety Town Day Camp on July 30, the same day I go there to do a fire safety parent session.
I did my fire works presentation today and it was very well received by the kids,the teachers, parents and the interpreter. The kids decided that fireworks should stay illegal in Delaware, so adults and fewer children will get hurt even though some people have them illegally.
Delaware is one of just four states that totally bans any kind of fireworks, except for organized events with certified trained people. They have to have a fire engine standing by. Even so, people will get them illegally. If there are injuries or fires there is a hefty fine.
Hope you are all having great weather and lots of fun out there. It's hot here, but it is July after all. Anybody have parade photos or anything to share?
Quote from: frawin on July 10, 2014, 07:29:10 AM
Warph, I think you are the most respected man on the Forum, along with Waldo and Larry .
Keep on keeping on.
Wow... I got to tell you that's one terrific compliment, Frank. I showed what you said to my wife and she wondered if you had been drinking... lol. I agree, Larry, Waldo, you Frank, Bull, Jar, Ross, Wilma, Cat, Diane, Six Dogs and a host of others, too many to name, are enjoyable to read. I'm on a couple of other forums (Military) and I got to say, this is my favorite. BTW, I saw those wonderful pic's of your back yard area. Wish mine looked half that good. Again, thank you.
Thanks, Frank, I am humbled to be included with those people that Warph mentioned. :-[
This forum is great and I am truly appreciative of all those who are members.
(from another thread----Warph, you ain't got no beaches and you probably don't have much of a back yard, either. :laugh:)
I am sure most of you have heard the saying......"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." They have one for Warph's region, also. "What grows in Arizona, dies immediately from heat." or something like that.
Hee
Larryj
Diane, don't you just love the way we have turned your thread into a conversation thread? I do. I love hearing from everyone about what they are doing and what is going on in their corner.
I agree, Miss Wilma!!! :D :D It's so nice to hear what everyone is doing!!! :D :D
Fine with me, as long as I'm allowed to come play too. ;) Now that our upstairs bathroom is close to finished I'm tackling our fourth bedroom that has slowly turned into a sewing, ironing, I-don't- know- where -else- to- put- it- for- right- now room. It was for my nieces when they were little, but at 35 and 29 they are hardly little anymore. Al is making a long shelf to put all along one wall, one foot down from the ceiling, for more of my Mom's pottery, and more of my small antiques and doodads I picked up while traveling. That will free up bookcase space. While he is working on that shelf, I finally dared to tackle my little linen closet at the end of the upstairs hall. EEK! ;D
I pulled out a mess of old towels that will go to my vet, since I bought a pile of colorful new ones for the bathroom. ( I kept a few that had been wedding gifts...can you believe it?) I put a few hand towels in the new vanity and rolled up some wash clothes and put them in a little yellow "sand bucket" on the back of the new toilet. A few extra bath towels are stacked on an old rush bottomed stool. It needs painting, so for now it's bumped and bruised, "shabby chic."
I'm using a big scallop shell as a dish for my nail brush and thought about my big abalone shell as a soap dish, but I usually use liquid soap there. Perhaps I'll get Al to put a high shelf over the bathroom door for my big jar of sea glass. I thought about draping up some fish net with a big sea fan, seashells, star fish and glass floats, but I've decided that's 'way too much for that small room...maybe in the bedroom? ;D I had a huge shed horse shoe crab shell at one time, but it finally disintegrated. I'll have to go hunt for a new one. Hope you folks are having a super Sunday.
Another day, another serious thunderstorm. It must be July in Delaware. Had a lot of lightning strike caused fires yesterday evening, along with a short but heavy mash- the- plants- down- rainfall. It's already done it again this evening and more is due soon.
I need to get out and do more weeding tomorrow.It is supposed to be nice with less humidity.
Our annual young ground hog is causing problems again. It has managed to avoid the trap and has stayed out of my veggies, but is ruining my one flower bed by eating the freshly planted stuff I put in during May and June. I may have to take stronger action.
I see it's time to put one more closed minded local yokel out there on ignore. Been gone for a very long time and starts right out showing his true colors. tsk.tsk Watch out for those storms.
AH.That Canadian Vortex thing came slumping down and dropped all the humidity out here. We've had two beautiful days but it was toss- another- log -on- the- fire- Gertie last night...really chilly. Tonight...steaks, sweet corn, grilled pineapple, sweet potatoes and cantaloupe.Hooray for the farmers market!
Set a place for me...I'll be there in 20!!!! lol
You would always be welcome.
Veterans show Obama how they turn their backs on him, as he has done to them!
July 19, 2014
by Amanda Shea
(ObuttHead was in Delaware to check on a bridge that received
stimulus funds and for a burger)
Via BPRhttp://www.bizpacreview.com/2014/07/19/veterans-show-obama-how-they-turn-their-backs-on-him-as-he-has-done-to-them-132821
Angry veterans protested President Obama's visit to Delaware to show their disdain for how the administration has treated them.
(http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Veterans.jpg)
The 25 protesters — led by Martin Nicholson, a veteran Marine – lined the street and turned their backs to the president's passing motorcade.
"We feel he's turned his back on us veterans, so we're going to turn our backs on him as he drives by on his motorcade to show our appreciation that he does not care about us veterans," Nicholson told BuzzPo.com.
Obama was in Delaware to discuss a recently damaged bridge, a topic the protesters call a waste of Obama's time when much bigger issues demand his attention, including the Veterans Affairs scandal and the invasion of illegal immigrants.
"Take care of your own first," protester John Stroud told BuzzPo. "There are Americans that need help first. I think there are more important things you could be doing than coming to Delaware to look at a bridge."
The Delaware bridge began to tilt after an unknown party dumped 50 tons of soil next to it. Repairs are expected to cost taxpayers $20 million, according to DelawareOnline.com.
No matter where he goes or what he does, someone will protest something. When he comes here we all just avoid the area because it causes all kinds of traffic detours and snarls and ties up our police, fire services and ambulances. Frankly, all the preplanning is a pain in the neck. So is the bridge closure. It is a main artery and has caused a real mess for traffic traveling through Delaware."They" know a lot more than is being made public and heads should roll over it.
The several Charcoal Pits have been around forever. They were the first to make charcoal grilled burgers here, and still make very good burgers with good quality meat, accompanied by real milkshakes. They name their menu items for the local high schools, and their big punch bowl sized "kitchen sink" ice cream sundae dessert is legendary. Ya need about 8 hungry teenagers to eat it all, even though it is advertized to feed "two to four".
I'm very proud to brag that Newark Charter School came out very high again in state testing, and in the comparison from last year to this year.
(http://didyouknow.co/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/smoking-facts.jpg)
....Now I know why I quit 45 years ago.
I started with about 10 cigarettes from my friends at my 21st birthday,said "what's the big deal?' and never smoked another one.I think I could go to europe on the money I never spent.
Here's another interesting connection between Kansas and Delaware that will make a few of the grumpies snarl.
I know you had a Kansas soldier come home recently from the Alaska incident where the C124 crashed and was swallowed by the Colony glacier in 1952. We had one on board too. He arrives back home on Thursday.
Col.Eugene Smith, who had been selected to head the new USAF Alaska Air Command's OSI, was lost with 51 others when their plane crashed on the glacier. The warming temps. are causing many of the glaciers to recede and many interesting things are becoming visible.
He was educated here at Salesianum High School in Wilmington, a very good Catholic high school. He went into the Delaware National Guard and eventually wound up as a 2nd LT. in WWII, in Africa .
Happy Anniversary Teresa and Kjell. Ours is today too. Hope you are off having fun somewhere. It's our 44th and we decided to go to Wesley's in Maryland for their famous (here anyway) summer seafood buffet. Lots of choices and a big salad bar. Otherwise we'll be watering anything that will sit still long enough to get wet. The heat has returned big time (95 today) and it's suddenly very dry. We may get a quick thunderstorm this evening, but it's not a sure thing.Have a great day and stay cool if you can.
Woo... bad things all over. We had another quick but nasty storm swoop through here yesterday evening. It also pounded the Cecil County (Maryland) Fair. We had passed it going and coming from our great meal at Wesley's.
A little while ago I found out that two of my friends of many, many years were badly injured this morning in Virgina when they were caught in a tornado. It swept though the area, including a camp ground . Shelly is critical with a FX femur and other injuries and her husband has at least a back injury. I think their kids were spared or had minor injuries. A mutual girlfriend is getting ready to drive down and try to get them to bring home to Delaware if she can. Please, prayers for them all.
We heard from our tornado victim friends on facebook. They were very lucky not to have come out worse. Two people were killed when a big tree flattened their tent. Their big camper was rolled over onto it's top and totaled. Their two kids were trapped under their beds, but not injuried more than minor bumps and brusies. Shelly and Dave had just gotten out of bed to deal with the big side awning and close the door when they were suddenly struck and rolled. It all happened very quickly as these things often do. A wooded camp ground in a tent or camper is not where one wants to be when even a small tornado hits.
Shelly ended up with a dislocated and fractured hip and Dave had a wreched back, bruised ribs and a foot laceration. Delaware City, their fire company, sent one of their ambulances down to bring her back to Christiana hospital near here. Hope you all have a good day.
Shelly had her hip surgery and is doing great.The bone was strong so they were able to put in a couple of screws instead of replacing the whole thing.She'll be home tomorrow and on crutches for a few weeks.as an RN she knowshow to take care of herself.
Yesterday we had our big annual fire company picnic. Beautiful weather. 82 and dry, wow. We had huge crabs and all the other usual picnic fare, with pony rides and bounce houses for the kids... a beautiful day visiting with lots of friends.
Knock,knock. Hello,hello. Anybody out there?.
You noticed, too.
OKAY!!!! Who's making all that noise banging on the door? Knock knock indeed.
Speaking of hip surgery, my wife has been experiencing severe hip pain lately. MRI showed that all the cartilage in the right hip joint is gone and she is at the Orthopedist as we speak, I mean, type. She made the comment this morning that she was in far better shape 40 years ago when we got married than she is now..................
DUH!
Hip replacement surgery is in her near future.
Larryj
Ok, next time I'll tap on your bedroom window or whisper through your mail slot if you have one.
I'm sorry your wife has a hip replacement in her future. Fortunately the modern kind are very good, and most people are very pleased with the results. Lots of physical therapy though. My one friend said the worst part for her was not being able to cut her own toe nails anymore. I'm not sure if that is always the case or just her. Safety Town started yesterday so I stopped by and dropped off the 911 simulator telephone and some hand outs, fire safety and 911 themed coloring books . really cute kids.
Tomorrow I go back to do a fire safety talk for the parents that are able to come. Avoiding match play, kitchen fires, candle fires, exit practice, smoke detectors and proper 911 calls are part of what we'll talk about. I always get to hear some great stories from the parents about fires or near misses they've had.I learn a lot from them about human behavior and what people really do ,which isn't always what they were taught.
Sounds like you have been busy, Miss Diane!!! :D Those kiddos are lucky to have you there, reminding them about fire safety!
Yes, camp time is a busy time for us. It's not just me of course. All the fire companies here are heavy duty into kids' fire safety,as are the parents and teachers .It does seem to work too. Delaware has very few fires started by kids. Now if I could just make some headway on careless candle use.
Sometimes I have to remind myself how truly self brain washed certain groups really are. By worshiping at the feet of certain bloggers, and immersing themselves in hours and hours of mental trash, they lose their ability to analyze and root out the total nonsense and misinformation being placed in their troughs for their mental swill. It happens here on the east coast too, but I am more aware of it in other sectors.
So now EBOLA is coming here from Mexico and South America? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D. Heck, if I were those illegals, I'd be more worried about catching chicken pox from the kids here. Ebola? Really? ::)
What makes these panic mongers think only illegals bring diseases here? Legal travelers bring all kinds of viruses and germs of all kinds to where ever they disembark.
Every year influenza comes here. It has nothing to do with legal status. How about the Norovirus problems that happen on cruise ships?
The solution for rounded up illegals? quarantine!Then a trip back home.Drop 'em on the stoop of the local church. Easy to say, not emotionally easy to do.
We took a big provisions trip to BJ's.I shouldn't need any paper products, cleaners and shampoo,etc. for many months. Caught up with a girlfriend for lunch at Appleby's too. Nice to just sit and unwind.
Hope you all enjoy your weekend.
Here in Kansas we have had an outbreak of measles. Brought in and dispersed at a sports event. No illegals or missionaries from out of the country. INHO it was caused by complacent parents who thought it wasn't necessary for their children to be vaccinated.
I also heard of one Kansas family that has Chicken Pox. They don't knew where they were exposed. Very frustrating
The purpose of vaccinations was to try to eradicate these childhood diseases that are potentially dangerous. I would think that parents would want to protect their children in every way possible.
I've heard some folks who don't want their child to experience the pain of the needle and others who worry about very rare but real side effects.
As far as I'm concerned, the real danger and risk is in not having the vaccinations, especially for adults. My parents made sure we got everything that was available at the time and I've had boosters as my doc felt necessary. Some may not be 100%, but it gives one a better chance of avoiding illness. I remember my father being terribly sick in 1952 when he finally caught mumps from the local kids.
Back to Safety Town tomorrow.
Now that your primary has come and gone, I broke my rule and read what all the posters had to say. WOW! What will someone pay me to make an offer on Ross's place if he will move to Mississippi? I think I could cover it out of my one piggy bank. ;D ;) Talk about a sore loser. Transvestites? Bi sexuals? WOOO...some body needs to put on his big boy skivies and, well you know. ::)
It looks like "We The People" of Elk County did speak out. Perhaps Mr Ritz, who I have no doubt is a very nice person, was hurt by Ross's out of district "help." I wonder how the next election will go?
Safety Town went very well and the kids were really cute. They took all the safety rules very seriously.It's interesting how sometimes someone who isn't a parent has more of an effect on the kids than the parents do. Perhaps it's the cool uniform.
The new sets of kid sized gear I bought were a real hit. They made hose teams with a long piece of cut off hose with a real nozzle attached, and put out several "fires." Tomorrow I go back for a parent session and graduation. The kids get to show and tell their parents what they learned.
In case you missed it, Diane:(http://angrywhitedude.com/wp-content/uploads2/2014/08/ROWDY-GOWDY-610x400.jpg)
Please listen to him below on this video... I can guarantee you won't regret it for a second!:
Well said, Trey. Well said, indeed. It's good to know you have America's back.
No, WARPH I didn't miss it.
Today we are having a steady rain, which we needed.I think SE Kansas had it first and sent it to us.
A bad day yesterday. One of my long term firehouse friends was visting Cape May New Jersey and had some sort of extreme diabetic episode. His sugar went up to 800. The hospital thought he was a goner, but he is fighting back from organ failure and brain damage. We hope to be able to send one of our ambulances over to bring him back to Christiana Hospital in a day or so. He is still very grave.
Of course the loss of Robin Williams is a heart breaker.I saw him once in San Francisco about 40 or so years ago. He was doing street comedy out on a dead end street near Gharadelli Square having fun with all the passersby. He wasn't known then. I only remembered him because of the "Robin" first name and the super fast delivery. He will be missed.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 12, 2014, 12:24:47 PM
No, WARPH I didn't miss it.
so... what do you think about what he said?
I think he is a very compelling speaker.All Presidents can veto and when they should or shouldn't depends on the truth and intent behind the bill or bills in question.
I am not happy with the whole bunch right now because all they to want to do is neutrilize each other, so nothing can move forward. Very shallow in my way of thinking. This congress has done very little work that has any depth.
They're b-a-a-ck. This is UD move in weekend and Newark is crammed with lost parents and kids overloaded with boxes.One learns when not to bother trying to go down town and we have to add back at least 10 minutes to our travel time all over the area. In about two weeks it gets better. we're still doing some downsizing and shifting aound with our house. I thought we had found a new owner for my very old piano, but it didn't work out. We commited homicide on it this morning and the city will take the remains to the piano grave yard later this week. I kept the pretty top and the music stand front to do something with some day.
It's amazing how fast things can change. After finally giving up, having my piano moved to the curb, and arranging to have the city come get it, things happened quickly. Wednesday evening we heard music coming from the curb and found one of our older neighbors having a great time playing it. He was sad that we hadn't found a home for such a professional piano that was just a tiny bit out of tune. The next morning ,when a lot of people walk their dogs ,again I heard very well played classical music coming from the piano out at the curb. Al was up stairs ,put up the window and yelled down that they could have it if they wanted it. It was the family from the next cross street down ,same number as ours, 23, only about 5 houses away. The 16 year old daughter plays very well and it was love at first sight. It was the Pastor's family from the local Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Nice folks. We occasionally have swapped mail when it was delivered to the wrong 23.
Turns out they have a good friend who is a professional piano tuner and restorer. He came out that after noon to take a look. (In the meantime we called off the city pick up.) He said it was exactly the kind of piano that is worth restoring. It has a great sound board still, and just barely needs any work ( Weaver Upright Grand) He and the daughter are going to put new felts on the hammers, tune it and it will be ready for another generation of piano lessons. He is going to teach her to tune it and she will be able to care for it herself. We gave them back the pieces we had removed, but not damaged. He brought a piano mover's dolly with him and they loaded it on and pushed it home. It was a delight to see it going down the street with the whole family,Tabitha, her brothers, sisters, parents and their friend, pushing it along. I am so pleased it got a good home. I have visiting rights. HA!
On a much sadder note, most of you know I did grow up out the country, six miles from here in nearby PA, in a big 1870 Victorian house with a barn, chicken houses, etc. Sunday evening we had a nasty thunder storm blow through this whole area. The current owners of our old place were not home, except for the 17 year old daughter who was upstairs, in what had been my sister's room, doing homework. Suddenly there was a huge crack of lightning that hit the barn, which is rather close to the house. The place is right on top of a hill, so the house had always had lightning rods because strikes are common, but nothing this huge. She called 9-11 and got out, thank goodness. All the surrounding fire companies, 8 of them, were called. It was really creepy hearing my old address dispatched for a working barn fire. The radiant heat from the burning barn set the house siding on fire and damaged anything else that was near by.The firefighters did save the house and made a good stop on the barn as far as that goes. They saved the attached wood shed and water curtains saved the line of work trucks parked out side and up wind from the barn. There is no public water out there so they had to set up tanker relays from a mother tanker that got water from about a mile away at a hydrant just inside the Delaware line.
They run a landscape and yard business there .Unfortunately a lot of his smaller equipment and business supplies were in the barn and were a total loss. He will rebuild of course, and hopes his insurance will cover it all. A lot of happy childhood memories were associated with that 1870 barn.
What a sad experience with the barn and the fire - and how wonderful that as much was saved as was. It sounds like an old-fashioned fire-line, almost. ;)
As far as the piano goes - :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Hearing the music coming from the curb must have been a delight both times, and any time a piano is saved is a good time. Happy memories going with the piano and soon-to-start with the piano. The pictures in my mind are delightful.
A true win-win. :)
The barn fire and a photo of it made the front page of the Chester County Press, which is one of the weekly papers for the area where I grew up. Among other people, they interviewed my sister, who went there after I called her. She got some of the facts wrong about the history of the house, but that's no surprise and isn't important.
It's 9-11 one again. Always remember, don't let it fade away into history.
I thought I'd spend a few minutes on here this morning.Haven't had my dose of Kansas gloom and negativity yet today, although it is raining, so the gloom and doom folks may be out there somewhere. I'm not sure why they think anyone enjoys reading all that. We are all bombarded with that everywhere we look now. Thank goodness for Public Television and ROKU and such.
My hummers have gone, but I left the feeder up and have had some migrants stop by on their way to Mexico.
Newark Community Day was held up and down the U D green last Sunday. It was a perfect day and there were some 15,000 people enjoying it all. We had our usual fire company tent up on The Green and gave out fire safety materials . We do a ''spin the wheel" game where the kids spin a wheel and have to answer a fire safety question to win a prize. Very successful and fun.
Al had his scoping again yesterday. It seemed to be OK, but we have to wait for the the biopsy results.
I had my own physical and EKG in prep for cataract surgery next month. I've developed an electrical problem in my heart. It's a left bundle branch block, (LBBB) which is just a sign of an aging heart.The electrical impulses are slower passing through the heart tissue on their way to cause the chamber to contract. Nothing is done for it, at least not now.
It's starting to look like fall here and the cooler weather is very nice, although we've had a very mild summer altogether. My BIL and SIL are coming in from AZ soon. I'm really looking forward to that. She also told us we're going to be great Aunt and Uncle next March. The first little people on either side of my family in many, many years. Whoopee!
You may have seen it on the news ...We had a tour bus flip over near here last Sunday with 58 injuries, two deaths and several more still very critical. All our mass casualty training was put to use for that one! We had 18 ambulances, including two of ours, a bus for the walking wounded and two helicopters taking multiple trips to 5 hospitals and treatment centers. All the victims were orientals from NYC and had been on a three day trip to Washington.The driver has been charged with those deaths.
Have a great day all.
Nice to hear from you again.
Hope you and your hubby are both doing well!!!! Thinking about you and sending you some Kansas sunshine!!!!!!! ;D
Hi Nancy and Cat.Thanks, we are doing OK and enjoying our own sunny weather... with your infusion of Kansas sun ,we can't miss! HA! Fire prevention requests are flooding in now so it must almost be October.
Yesterday was a whirl of emotions. We had fun at a friend's 50th birthday party yesterday evening, but spent the afternoon sick with worry over an acquaintances 8 year old daughter. The family had been dog sitting the SIL's pit bull and it attached the 8 year old daughter, locked on a bit her arm off... a baby sitter was at the house at the time...can you imagine? Our EMT's responded and made arrangements for her to be flown to AI DuPont hospital for children, who then made arrangements for the chopper to take her on up to Children's Hospital in Philly, where two microsurgery teams were waiting. It took more than six hours, but they were able to use an artery from her leg to help reattach the badly damaged arm. It will be some time before they know if the surgery will be successful.They don't know how much ,if any function she will regain. Unfortunately the dog had flipped out so badly that the police had to shoot the dog to get it off the little girl, even after it had bitten her so badly. So sad.
Prayers going up for the little girl and her entire family, including the poor babysitter who was in charge at the time.
Thanks Cat . That family needs all the prayers they can get.Emily has several more surgeries to go. She had a number of other bites besides the arm.Our ambulance crew was pretty much devastated by the whole thing too.I'm glad I didn't have that one!
Little Emily is slowing being awakened from the induced coma. There is a pulse in the hand but she still has several more surgeries, starting tomorrow. The surgeons are dog bite specialists, so she has the best chance there is. The one doc said it's the worst mauling he's ever seen that has lived.
She is a student at Newark Charter.That's the one Al and I have been so involved with for the last 13 years. They are making lots of cards for her and prayers are flying, of course. His father has been wonderful at keeping all of us up to date on his face book page. At least the tests showed the dog was not rabid.
I made a big mistake a little while ago. I was interested in what Nancy and Frawn were saying to Ross, so I opened it. Usually I don't read him any more because it's a waste of time. He is just a walking insult machine with no interest an anyone elses opinion. I tried for a long time and had to admit defeat and gave up.
I can't believe he is still licking his wounds from apparently being embarrassed at the first, or at least early, Elk Konnected organizational meeting. It's been years and he still stuck there. He has even taken ideas suggested by the attendees and claims that they were E.K.'s ideas, when all they did was compile them and read them to the folks who were there. It's no wonder they didn't allow him to address the group. They didn't trust him and it now seems for good reason. All he seems to want to do is agitate, and be the center of attention even when he does have good ideas sometimes. He has a very immature way of presenting ideas, full of insults and personal attacks. He would be much happier with a dictatorship and not a democratic process. Perhaps he and Red could move into their own compound,and keep each other stirred up and suspiciously eye everyone else...LOL!
It has been very interesting watching your local politics. "Everyone" wants Doug Ritz, but he lost the election to a newcomer. Has anyone even asked him if he wants a write in campaign on his behalf? Or has he graciously accepted his defeat and moved on? I'm not sure he would want a bunch who have such an angry, pushy "stick in your eye" reputation as supporters.
Little Emily has more surgery tomorrow. She still can't stand or hold her head up, which is a worry. They have already stated her chances of having function in the mangled arm are very slim.
There has since been another such incident in Wilmington, with a loose Pitbull attacking a woman out on the sidewalk and seriously injurying her arm before bystanders were able to choke the dog enough so it would let go. Again, the animal had to be shot by police. The history of the dog is unknown, so the poor woman had to start rabies shots right away.
I had my first eye appointment leading up to cataract surgery on the 19th and the Doc discovered I have developed a wrinkle on my left retina. So off to the retina specialist I must go, and quick.
Since this is Fire Prevention Week, don't forget to check your smoke detectors replace them if they are more than 10 years old. Feed them new batteries too.
Good luck with your eyes.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 09, 2014, 10:36:05 AM
It has been very interesting watching your local politics. "Everyone" wants Doug Ritz, but he lost the election to a newcomer. Has anyone even asked him if he wants a write in campaign on his behalf? Or has he graciously accepted his defeat and moved on? I'm not sure he would want a bunch who have such an angry, pushy "stick in your eye" reputation as supporters.
So you like dirty politics in Delaware, huh?
And enjoy backstabbing like your friends here locally, huh?
And ya like it in the CoffeShop on our local forum, huh?
Perhaps you should learn some manners and acquire some couth?
And in case you are not aware it was only a primary election.
The main election is in November, teacher?
And write ins are allowed and counted.
Perhaps your
Elk Konnected friend will loose this time when it really counts.
But of what concern is it of yours?
You don't live here.
You don't vote here.
And for you to bad mouth people behind their back is simply terrible, especially when you have no knowledge of what you speak. It is your
"stick in your eye" to us that is inexcusable.
But you did get one thing right,
Everyone wants an honest County Commissioner and that would be
"Doug Ritz" "Doug Ritz" "Doug Ritz" "Doug Ritz" "Doug Ritz"
If you don't like politics in the coffee shop don't start it. You know it doesn't belong here, don't
you teacher? Or are rules only for school children and not teachers?
Okay, now you can break loose and call me all the nasty names you can think of. I won't mind even a little bit. Have a good evening in the good ole state of Delaware.
:) Hoping that the thing with your eyes is easily remedied!!!! :laugh: Hang in there!! :laugh:
Quote from: Catwoman on October 09, 2014, 08:53:01 PM
:) Hoping that the thing with your eyes is easily remedied!!!! :laugh: Hang in there!! :laugh:
The cure is simple! stop ass/u/me ing you know what you think you know and really learn the truth and stop back stabbing. Try a little politness also, it works wonders. You will feel much better quickly.
Have a great day while healing yourself.
BE HAPPY !
TTFN
Ross, I'm assuming you said something to me worthy of your usual crap. I didn't read any of it as I could care less. You are just a minnow in a puddle.
Thanks Cat.A retinal "wrinkle" can be minor or very serious. We'll see what's what, but it will complicate things for a time.
Don't have much happy to report. Little Emily has a bad place where the shoulder and the arm come together that is not healing as it should. I'm not sure what they'll do about that.
We lost one of our young 20 year old Probie EMTs in a two fatality car accident Thursday evening. Terrible! It was in our response area so we had to handle it.He lost control for some reason, crossed the center line and hit an on coming car head on. He and his best friend front seat passenger ,both belted, flipped end over end several times, landed on the roof and skidded on down the road on its top. (The other driver was injured, but will be OK.) They were both crushed and killed instantly. Speed was a factor. That was so unlike him. He was to go to med school from UD. We had the CISD team come in to talk to his Aetna friends. A very nice young man and a terrible loss.
Tomorrow night we judge the fire prevention contest entries... fun but tiring . I still have one more kid's tour to do ...every year since 1980! The owner of the preschool has decided to retire and I'll retire with her.
I'm still having Dr's appointments getting ready for my eye work...then I start again to have the other eye done. At least my third eye is fine. HA! I have rather serious astigmatism in my right eye, so we'll fix that while we're at it. It takes a special lens. Very pricey, and no insurance covers that part, but it will be worth it.
Al brought the house plants inside for me today and they are now safely settled under the grow light in the basement. It so feels like fall here with colorful dry leaves rattling down the street.
We had to have a big front yard tree taken down recently. I miss its bright yellow leaves, but its absence opens up the yard and lets in much more morning light. Now I have to decide whether to replace it and if so, with what. Have a fun Sunday afternoon.
On Sept 25 Diane writes :
I thought I'd spend a few minutes on here this morning.Haven't had my dose of Kansas gloom and negativity yet today, although it is raining, so the gloom and doom folks may be out there somewhere. I'm not sure why they think anyone enjoys reading all that.
A few days before that post we all heard about the barn fire---then on to Al getting invaded by" The Silver Stallion" (scope )---then her own EKG and electrical problems with her heart---then a tour bus flips over---then a pit bull attacks a child----then a wrinkle on the retina----then a car wreck that kills an EMT---then on to the eye surgery that thankfully Al has made a good living his whole life so he can pay for it----then we shift gears and get nasty talking how the 3rd eye is doing fine ( I presume we are referencing the ol Brown eye )
So I ask you my dear Lady----who exactly is the "gloom and doom folks ? "
I'll leave you with this quote of yours
"I'm not sure why they think anyone enjoys reading all that " :angel:
Before I respond to
your lame post,
let's refresh
what you have read
and posted
Okay, OK.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 09, 2014, 10:36:05 AM
It has been very interesting watching your local politics. "Everyone" wants Doug Ritz, but he lost the election to a newcomer. Has anyone even asked him if he wants a write in campaign on his behalf? Or has he graciously accepted his defeat and moved on? I'm not sure he would want a bunch who have such an angry, pushy "stick in your eye" reputation as supporters.
Quote from: ROSS on October 09, 2014, 05:27:23 PM
So you like dirty politics in Delaware, huh?
And enjoy backstabbing like your friends here locally, huh?
And ya like it in the CoffeShop on our local forum, huh?
Perhaps you should learn some manners and acquire some couth?
And in case you are not aware it was only a primary election.
The main election is in November, teacher?
And write ins are allowed and counted.
Perhaps your Elk Konnected friend will loose this time when it really counts.
But of what concern is it of yours?
You don't live here.
You don't vote here.
And for you to bad mouth people behind their back is simply terrible, especially when you have no knowledge of what you speak. It is your "stick in your eye" to us that is inexcusable.
But you did get one thing right, Everyone wants an honest County Commissioner and that would be
"Doug Ritz" "Doug Ritz" "Doug Ritz" "Doug Ritz" "Doug Ritz"
If you don't like politics in the coffee shop don't start it. You know it doesn't belong here, don't
you teacher? Or are rules only for school children and not teachers?
Okay, now you can break loose and call me all the nasty names you can think of. I won't mind even a little bit. Have a good evening in the good ole state of Delaware.
Quote from: ROSS on October 10, 2014, 05:24:44 AM
The cure is simple! stop ass/u/me ing you know what you think you know and really learn the truth and stop back stabbing. Try a little politness also, it works wonders. You will feel much better quickly.
Have a great day while healing yourself.
BE HAPPY !
TTFN
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 12, 2014, 12:13:11 PM
Ross, I'm assuming you said something to me worthy of your usual crap. I didn't read any of it as I could care less. You are just a minnow in a puddle.
You ass/u/me very little --- everyone realizes you read every word or you would not reply with such a smart ass attitude. Otherwise you would be responding to something you know nothing about. But wait a minute you do, do that frequently, don't you.
Dear, dear lady, unlike you, I have never claimed to be important. So have fun with your little fish in the pond.
And you are so well known and loved way up there in Delware from here in Kansas look how politely a response you get:
Quote from: jarhead on October 19, 2014, 05:13:19 PM
On Sept 25 Diane writes :
I thought I'd spend a few minutes on here this morning.Haven't had my dose of Kansas gloom and negativity yet today, although it is raining, so the gloom and doom folks may be out there somewhere. I'm not sure why they think anyone enjoys reading all that.
A few days before that post we all heard about the barn fire---then on to Al getting invaded by" The Silver Stallion" (scope )---then her own EKG and electrical problems with her heart---then a tour bus flips over---then a pit bull attacks a child----then a wrinkle on the retina----then a car wreck that kills an EMT---then on to the eye surgery that thankfully Al has made a good living his whole life so he can pay for it----then we shift gears and get nasty talking how the 3rd eye is doing fine ( I presume we are referencing the ol Brown eye )
So I ask you my dear Lady----who exactly is the "gloom and doom folks ? "
I'll leave you with this quote of yours
"I'm not sure why they think anyone enjoys reading all that " :angel:
How sweet is that. You could learn some politeness your self.
You are such a great source of humor, I really appreciate you.
Jar, ya don't have to read anything I write ya know. It's strictly voluntary. It has been pretty gloomy around here ...with real things, not just artificial, contrived, twisted logic and written tearing of garments over local politics. Elk County will live on even after your elections. By the way,don't ever assume you know who I do and don't know.You might be very surprised. I don't share everything
I see Ross wrote again. I have him on ignore and don't want to ruin my day, so I'll again not read whatever venom he spit at me this time. When a little local girl has her arm chewed off by a pit bull, and one of our EMTs is killed in a horrible accident, whatever Ross has to say has no interest for me whatever.
This thread is called East Coast Happenings. That may indeed include sad "happenings" as well as fun stuff. As far as my third eye...all teachers have them. That's how we catch kids who are doing something they shouldn't. Leave it to you to come up with something else...HA!
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 20, 2014, 09:23:59 AM
Jar, ya don't have to read anything I write ya know. It's strictly voluntary.
Yes teacher Jarhead and most adults capable of using the forum are well aware of that. Remember, I taught you that on the political thread. I'm sure glad you are a good pupil of mine and remembered that.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 20, 2014, 09:23:59 AM
Elk County will live on even after your elections.
Yet another educated statement from a so called teacher. Who taught you that one, that life goes on after elections? Remember we want a trusted and proven member of our county as County Commissioner, not one that had abandoned the county for 25 years and returns to run as a
RHINO. Doug Ritz is that trusted and proven citizen. Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 20, 2014, 09:23:59 AM
By the way,don't ever assume you know who I do and don't know.You might be very surprised. I don't share everything
Concerning who you think you know, really means nothing, as in unimportant.
More little fish in the puddle is all? Isn't that what you posted, my dear?
More little fish ! Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 20, 2014, 09:23:59 AM
I see Ross wrote again. I have him on ignore and don't want to ruin my day, so I'll again not read whatever venom he spit at me this time.
Oh how, I cherish you Diane, you are always good for some humor, but not so good for facts.
You just can not put a single post inside a thread on ignore. You see it, you read it. Why can't you be truthful?
Please show me and the readers where the venom is? Can't do it can you?
Don't you realize, if you didn't bring politics in a back stabbing manner to the Coffee Shop and would have left it in the Politics section I would not be on this thread about the far away North East called Delaware? Don't you realize that?
And you continue to call me out by name, so I must respond, because, I know you love me.
[quote author=Diane Amberg link=topic=15176.msg222816#msg222816 date=1413818639
When a little local girl has her arm chewed off by a pit bull, and one of our EMTs is killed in a horrible accident, whatever Ross has to say has no interest for me whatever.
[/quote]
Well the story really sounds terrible, do you fabricate those fantasies all on your own? Like that third eye fabricated for use on your grade school children? Wait a moment, you probably, seriously believe you have a third eye, right?
[quote author=Diane Amberg link=topic=15176.msg222816#msg222816 date=1413818639
This thread is called East Coast Happenings. That may indeed include sad "happenings" as well as fun stuff. As far as my third eye...all teachers have them. That's how we catch kids who are doing something they shouldn't. Leave it to you to come up with something else...HA!
[/quote]
The fun stuff is political back stabbing isn't it?
Why don't you use that imaginary third eye to see that you made this thread, about Elk County, Kansas politics by bring your political backstabbing of Elk County, Kansas citizens over here to this thread? And you keep calling my name. So surely you want this to be an Elk County, Kansas political thread, or you would stop making it such. There is no one to blame but yourself, so why don't grow up and own up to the responsibility?
I hope you have a great day.
Your friend the astronaut, signing off from the planet Ork. LOL
See isn't that fun?
Oh yes, I have my tin foil hat on too! Are you wearing yours?
We have another beautiful day going on here in Kansas and I need to get back out side to enjoy it some more.
One final thought:
Keep Elk County Healthy
Write-In
Doug Ritz
For Being An
Excellent
County Commissioner
And Continue to
Keep Elk County Healthy
By the way Jar, I reread your comment to me. Did you notice none of my comments about things here were political? Also, not that it really matters, but for accuracy, Al is not paying for my lens that insurance won't cover.I have my own money and will pay for it myself. My choice. As far as posting about health issues.I'm certainly not alone on that. Others do too.
As far as your local "gloom and doom" politics that goes on and on, even after your elections are over, certain ones will find more to criticize. I didn't mean you folks in general. Most are very nice people who don't obsess over anything. But that's why I have a couple of folks on ignore.
Perhaps I should have put my comments in politics. I'll worry about it when others do.HA!
Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 21, 2014, 07:59:39 AM
By the way Jar, I reread your comment to me.
Diane every one knows this is your back handed way of operating, like your backstabbing.
But, you know what I appreciate your honesty in backstabbing and this backhanded way of addressing my posts.
Very cute.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 21, 2014, 07:59:39 AM
Did you notice none of my comments about things here were political?
Again Diane everyone realizes your
backhanded way in politics as well.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 21, 2014, 07:59:39 AM
Also, not that it really matters, but for accuracy, Al is not paying for my lens that insurance won't cover.I have my own money and will pay for it myself. My choice. As far as posting about health issues.I'm certainly not alone on that. Others do too.
Yer right, "Also, not that it really matters" it is of no real importance politically.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 21, 2014, 07:59:39 AM
As far as your local "gloom and doom" politics that goes on and on, even after your elections are over, certain ones will find more to criticize. I didn't mean you folks in general. Most are very nice people who don't obsess over anything. But that's why I have a couple of folks on ignore.
Perhaps I should have put my comments in politics. I'll worry about it when others do.HA!
See the politics in your post Diane,
""gloom and doom" politics", which is totally uncalled for and is rude and mean and nasty. Shame on you. I bet you teach your students these manners. Your
Alinsky tactics are
failing terribly, aren't they? This is so much fun, keep it coming.
You said, "Most are very nice people who don't obsess over anything." How
arrogantly ignorant are you?
The elections don't end until
November 4, 2014 ballots are counted. You really should study up on that. I would think a teacher would know something that simple. So now, try to remember you should go out and do your civic duty in Delaware on
November 4, 2014 . If you would like I could arrange a reminder for you.
You said, "people who don't obsess over anything", so tell me why you obsess over everything in
Elk County Kansas? Even obsessing dissing Elk County, Kansas citizens and using our local forum to do it, why?
Don't you have a life in Delaware and politics in Delaware that you can obsess on? Or has Delaware already tired of your obsessions? Now I don't mean any of that as rude or ugly of mean, just asking.
We have an excellent man in office that you or anyone else would be hard pressed to find a replacement for.
But you really have no say in it do you?
There are plenty of folks that would prefer to keep Doug Ritz in office rather than turn control of the Elk County Commissioners Board to a non-governmental organization. Are you to blind to see that?
So,
yes instead of the negative factor that is
involved is very important.
That is why the call to:
Write-in
Doug Ritz
For
Elk County, Kansas
Commissioner
On
November 4, 2014
To Keep
Elk County Healthy
Diane it's a shame you can not comprehend the positive importance and aspects of keeping control of Elk County, Kansas out of the hands of an NGO.Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz
Thak you Diane for allowing me to advertise on your thread, i really appreciate the invite.
Ross, there are alot of readers that enjoy hearing from Diane so would you please keep your ranting to yourself.
Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz
Quote from: Nancy on October 21, 2014, 09:30:07 AM
Ross, there are alot of readers that enjoy hearing from Diane so would you please keep your ranting to yourself.
Thanks for inviting me back so soon Nancy.
What's wrong Nancy is Diane now, once again unable to communicate for herself?
No, I will not Nancy stop responding to her outrageous put downs of Elk County or her outrageous political remarks. But now I have politely responded to your request haven't I?
When Diane takes her politics to the political section then and only then will I leave this thread.
Her obsessions and backhandedness and backstabbing requires honest responses.
I forgot to mention the reason we need to keep
Doug Ritz in office and Elk konnected out is because
Elk Konnected in my opinion has
FAILED at everything they have tried to do, Everything.
Thank You Nancy and remember:
That is why the call to: Write-in
Doug Ritz
For
Elk County, Kansas
Commissioner
On
November 4, 2014
To Keep
Elk County Healthy
Diane it's a shame you can not comprehend the positive importance and aspects of keeping control of Elk County, Kansas out of the hands of an NGO.Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz
Thak you Nancy for requesting my return, I really appreciate the invite.
I sure hope you are having a great day. TTFN
Quote from: Nancy on October 21, 2014, 09:30:07 AM
Ross, there are alot of readers that enjoy hearing from Diane so would you please keep your ranting to yourself.
Sure Nancy, I can see there a whole lot of responses, thousand and thousands ofreponses to Dianes postings and wishing her well with all her ills and emergency stresses.
Thanks for pointing that out.
Thanks Nancy.I honestly have not been reading what Ross has had to say on this thread, but I'm sure it's not complimentary.I have him on ignore and learned some time ago not to bother reading him as it's always the same old rants and attacks. I don't care anymore what he has to say about me. He couldn't be objective about my interest in Elk County if he had to. Back when he accused me of letting Liz write as me on my own posts, I knew he wasn't playing with a full deck. Nothing has changed my mind.
It's another beautiful day here. Warm with a gentle breeze and beautiful leaves falling everywhere.
I had my last kid's tour for some time on Wednesday morning. My friend Irene brought her search dog, Pierce.The 18 kids loved to see him perform to her commands. He's an 11 year old yellow lab that is about to retire from field work. She has two more coming along with their training.One is a big pup, a juvenile delinquent who loves everyone, but gets too exited when it's time to "work." She recently did a fire safety program for the "Young Marines"group here and now they have agreed to go and get " lost " for Irene and her dog group to go out to practice finding. There are a number of people and dogs in the search group, so it sounds like fun outside in the woods on a nice fall day.
Monday night we judged the K-3 fire prevention posters at Station 9. It's not easy! We get into really funny arguments over which is the best and why. I brought the big pile of gr.4-8 essays home to judge myself.They are all coded so we don't know who wrote what.It took me 14 hours over three days to finish. I was able to give them to the fire company vice president to go to the schools to track down the winners. Our first place winners then go on to a county fire committee for further judging. Then those first place winners go on to the state for judging there. It's a big deal. All the local winners have local awards nights at their fire houses. The county winners have a nice Sunday lunch at one of the fire houses, and the state winners have a nice dinner at the state fire school in Dover.
I have noticed some technology influence creeping into the contest essays . Text speech...If U have a fire....RU ready for trouble? ...and spell check.The wrong word spelled correctly is still wrong. Shore instead of sure, problems with there, their, and they're and more. Sadly, I had to kick out some really good essays because of it.
I get my first eye repair next Wednesday.I'll be glad to get it over with! Enjoy the rest of your day all.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 24, 2014, 01:15:24 PM
Thanks Nancy.I honestly have not been reading what Ross has had to say on this thread, but I'm sure it's not complimentary.
Thanks for calling me back once again.
Keep the lying going strong Diane. Ya keep calling my name, as if you are having a love affair with me and a lovers spat.
Sorry old girl that affair would never ever happen.
I never dated liars when I was dating! And today I am happily married to a very petite, as in tiny and not overweight little princess. Been there for over 20 years.
So it definitely would never happen before or now.
Instead of calling my name why don't you call Doug Ritz name?
That's right tell all your
Konnected friends to vote for the best person in Elk County for District 1 County Commissioner ----
Write In
Doug Ritz
To keep
Elk County, Kansas
Healthy
Remind them what it was like when Elk Konnected had control with two members on the Commissioners Board. Tell the voters how they were being
raped of their tax dollars, by all your long distance friends, why don't you tell them the truth?
Why don't you mind the readers how your friends wanted to turn Elk County into a socialist state?
Perhaps this will help you remember:
Quote from: ROSS on April 26, 2011, 07:00:15 AM
Unified Gov't (w/in the county) to save money and become more unified (do away with city gov't, councils
(cont.) all centrally located-one managing body) (Big Ideas's)
Here is the link where this is posted:
http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,11780.0.html
A really big idea isn't it, "do away with city gov't, councils" do away with self government --- a simply amazingly stupid idea, right????
Do we need to let people like that have conrol over our Elk County Government?
I seriously believe what's her name is involved with that bunch because at the Longton County Fair Political Forum she railed about the West Elk School Bond Issue. The Elk County Commissioners Panel or Board has absolutly no business or say over the West Elk School Board that is a completely seperate Governing Agency. Discussing the failure of Bond Issue as if it was an Elk County issue (which it is not) she showed me her
KonnectionNot all Elk County voters participated, only those in the School District voted it down, she showed me her
Konnection to the
Elk Konnected members on the West Elk School Board. Really very simple, isn't it?
When she attempted to call an executive session of the County Commissioners Board as a visitor she showed how smart she was about Government. Only County Commissioners can call for an executive session.
I had someone try to convience me how smart she is and whe I asked, "How is she smart?" there was no response. Nothing --- sip --- end of the conversation.
I am saying Doug Ritz is knowledgable, honest and dependable. He already has the experience for the job, Kaminska or what ever her name is has no exerience with the Elk County Commissioners Board. I'm not to bright but I have attended many more Elk County Commissioners Board meetings than she has and have more knowledge of the operation than she does. I have addressed the board many times, she does it once and tells them she wants them in executive session --- what a joke.
Elk County needs to retain stability and the person to do that is Doug Ritz.
So Diane what can your
Konnected friend offer chaos?
Keep Elk County Healthy
Write-In
Doug Ritz
For Being An
Excellent
County Commissioner
And Continue to
Keep Elk County Healthy
I hope you have a great weekend Diane!
Keep calling my name and I will return,
I enjoy the invites.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 24, 2014, 01:15:24 PM
Thanks Nancy.I honestly have not been reading what Ross has had to say on this thread, but I'm sure it's not complimentary.
Nancy, Diane don't know what she don't know
ow, right?
That there falls under arrogant ignorance .doesn't it?
Actually I was very complimentary of:
Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz
And wanting to Compliment Elk County, Kansas by
Asking voters to:
(does not include the State of Delaware)Write-in
Doug Ritz
For
Elk County, Kansas
Commissioner
On
November 4, 2014
To Keep
Elk County Healthy
I hope the eye repair goes well.
Thanks Nancy. I have one more appointment tomorrow and started the pre op drops today. The other eye is scheduled for Dec.3rd. The whole business should be no big deal.
I see Ross is still posting here. If he actually thinks I read any of it, he is sadly mistaken. I'm not sure what he is trying to do.
Diane,
You did it again. You said his name. Now he will feel obligated to post another reply. Seems he always has to have the last word. Even to the point of responding to himself when no one else does.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 26, 2014, 04:41:33 PM
Thanks Nancy. I have one more appointment tomorrow and started the pre op drops today. The other eye is scheduled for Dec.3rd. The whole business should be no big deal.
I see Ross is still posting here. If he actually thinks I read any of it, he is sadly mistaken. I'm not sure what he is trying to do.
Quote from: ddurbin on October 26, 2014, 05:39:14 PM
Diane,
You did it again. You said his name. Now he will feel obligated to post another reply. Seems he always has to have the last word. Even to the point of responding to himself when no one else does.
Thanks for pointing out Mr. Ddurbin that she called me. It isn't at all about having the last word, not at all.
It's all about Diane and Diane calling me out. I guess I have to explain this whole mess to you guys.
First you guys aren't real cleaver. So, I will explain! LOL
Since Diane allowed herself to be used by
Elk Konnected for the last three years for political reasons on the political thread
" Topic: Elk Konnected Hand out at County Commissioners meeting on 4/25 " at http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,11780.0.html and she because she brought the
politics of Elk County to the
Coffeshop and the
State of Delaware and by callig out my name incessantly in her back stabbing way, I figured she would really enjoy being used by me for local politics.
How does it feel being used Diane?Sure, you read every word and so do your so called friends from
Elk Konnected and no one has any doubts about that.
Aren't you flattered?I believe if your friends regain control of our county government we will return to the days of money grabbing and back stabbing we recently had prior to removing at least one member from the County Commissioners Board. Do you now understand the reason for me using you Diane?
Because you would not keep your backstabbing political remarks in the political section and mainly in the political thread
" Topic: Elk Konnected Hand out at County Commissioners meeting on 4/25 " at http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,11780.0.html , you just weren't playing fairly and decently.
Just keep calling me back and I will happily respond, but better yet bring your political views to the political section. Thank you Diane.
Now a little polite politics for your
Friends Diane and may you have a great day:
Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz
And wanting to Compliment Elk County, Kansas by
Asking voters to:
(does not include the State of Delaware)Please Write-in
Doug Ritz
For
Elk County, Kansas
Commissioner
On
November 4, 2014
To Keep
Elk County Healthy
Bye-bye Diane and happy trails to you.
oh and please be sure to call me back by using politics or calling my name.
You too Mr. Ddurbin feel free to call me bac and I will oblige you both.
Thanks D. I hadn't thought of that. I really don't read his posts so I have no idea what he is saying. I assume he is still attacking me, for what reason I do not know. I'm not sure what all this special attention is supposed to do. No more comments about his posting. Perhaps that will work.
By the way, speaking of politics, Al was recently elected chairman of the Newark Planning Comission. A nice compliment. They are pretty much apolitical, thank goodness.
congrats to Al.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 27, 2014, 08:36:06 AM
Thanks D. I hadn't thought of that. I really don't read his posts so I have no idea what he is saying.
Now Diane everyone knows that, that
"he" be
me. Ha,ha, hee, hee. So funny!
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 27, 2014, 08:36:06 AM
I'm not sure what all this special attention is supposed to do.
My dearl You relish special attention thats why you keep this going.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 27, 2014, 08:36:06 AM
I assume he is still attacking me, for what reason I do not know.
I am not attacking you --- I am attempting to communicate with you.
Now remember, you are the one that was doing the backstabbing by bringing politics to the coffee shop.
And you and your
Kronies at
Elk Konnected are the ones attempting to tear down Elk County, Kansas
refering to our beautiful Elk County as a BLIGHT and so much more.
Do we need people like that with such ugly and negative views of that nature, on our County Commissioners Board ???? I don't think so! Just my personal opinion. But I hope that Elk County District ! agree with me and keep Doug Ritz on the Board instead of the alternative.
Thank you Diane for encouraging me to point out who is doing the attacking. I really didn't want to go there. All you have to do is go back on thread and a couple of the political threads and re-read your posts to see who is attacking who.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 27, 2014, 08:36:06 AM
I'm not sure what all this special attention is supposed to do. No more comments about his posting. Perhaps that will work.
Perhaps the teacher is learning something and perhaps the teacher won't enjoy being used any longer.
I have been nothing but honest with you and it appears you can't handle honesty. Take politics back to the Political section and ther is nor reason for me to return here. Thank you in advance.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 27, 2014, 08:36:06 AM
By the way, speaking of politics, Al was recently elected chairman of the Newark Planning Comission. A nice compliment. They are pretty much apolitical, thank goodness.
That's pretty rich a politician being elected to the Newark Planning Comission and no politics involved. Did they
neuter all the commissioners? LOL
CONGRATULATIONS TO YOUR APOLITICAL POLITICIAN ?? ??Hey Diane just in the event that you keep your word about not calling me back with my name or the equivalent or with politics, I want you to know.
It has been real
&
It's been fun
But it hasn't been
Real Fun
ROFLMBO
Remember we need to keep a good man on the Elk County Commissioners Board.
Now a little polite politics for your
Friends Diane and may you have a great day:
Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz Doug Ritz
And wanting to Compliment Elk County, Kansas by
Asking voters to:
(does not include the State of Delaware)Please Write-in
Doug Ritz
For
Elk County, Kansas
Commissioner
On
November 4, 2014
To Keep
Elk County Healthy
Honesty is what we need
and
Honesty is what we get from
Doug Ritz.
Honesty is hard for some people to handle
But the County deserves it.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on October 27, 2014, 08:36:06 AM
By the way, speaking of politics
Quote from: ROSS on October 27, 2014, 05:36:13 AM
Now a little polite politics for your Friends Diane and may you have a great day
Neither Nancy or ddurbin mentioned politics. But on the other hand, you said, "speaking of politics" and the only person that spoke of politics was ROSS. Are you quite positive you don't read what ROSS writes? Are you sure you don't just click on it long enough to read it? Just wondered. Whether he's blocked by you or not, everyone else can read what ROSS has to say anyway. And I might add, he's the only reason I even read what's happening on the east coast. Otherwise I would get my news from the internet or any cable news organization.
Even though I cannot vote in District 1, I want everyone to keep this in mind: two and four years ago our county commission used to be spelled with a K. We've corrected that and got it back to a C. Let's keep spelling it the correct way!
KEEP KONNECTED KAMINSKA OUT OF OUR KOUNTY GOVERNMENT
Kent
You say tomahto. I say tomato.
Public Squares Communities:
Elk Konnected.
BE LIBERAL!
Cultivate Fredonia.
Working Together Sheridan
Decatur Tomorrow
Greeley Co Community Dev.
Dream Humboldt
Tri Hope
Reading
K-West
Positive Pursuit Meade Co.
The Morton 4
No matter what it's called, they're all the same with the same socialistic agendas. All of the prominent business owners, who can influence school, city and county governments, all have a say. Once you have enough counties on board then you're able to attack the state. Maybe Sam Brownback should take note of who is kissing his ass. Maybe they should look closer at where their grants are going. When it's all boiled down, with multiple different named organizations, there's still ONE leader. And for that leader to claim stupidity would be futile.
Sorry Shadow, just a figure of speech. 8) There has been a lot of political rhetoric going on everywhere as elections approach. I do not read those I have on ignore, and there are two now.
Why in the world would you read this thread just to hear you- know- who flail me? That is just strange. ;D ;D ;D ;D
I had my appointment with the retina specialist. The wrinkle is what he called "an irregularity" and needs no treatment.Whew! I am so relieved. Have a beautiful afternoon.
Quote from: the shadow on October 27, 2014, 03:25:09 PM
You say tomahto. I say tomato.
Public Squares Communities:
Elk Konnected.
BE LIBERAL!
Cultivate Fredonia.
Working Together Sheridan
Decatur Tomorrow
Greeley Co Community Dev.
Dream Humboldt
Tri Hope
Reading
K-West
Positive Pursuit Meade Co.
The Morton 4
No matter what it's called, they're all the same with the same socialistic agendas. All of the prominent business owners, who can influence school, city and county governments, all have a say. Once you have enough counties on board then you're able to attack the state. Maybe Sam Brownback should take note of who is kissing his ass. Maybe they should look closer at where their grants are going. When it's all boiled down, with multiple different named organizations, there's still ONE leader. And for that leader to claim stupidity would be futile.
You got that right. It's a total socialist agenda. Since the early settlers of Howard County never supported the Progressive Community outfit, today it's most probable that they would never join the modern version of Progressive Community called Elk Konnected.
Just the other day I was visiting with a businessman/farmer from Leoti, Wichita County. He knew the Woodbury guy that had the Elk County Sheriff remove Ross from the meeting. He mentioned that the last that he'd heard was that Woodbury was working the Tribune people - Greeley County, which is the next county west of Leoti.
Good news on the eyes. Cooler here today but need some rain.
Thanks Nancy. We've had another little warm up and it will be beautiful again today (70's) with showers expected tomorrow.I don't know what winter here will really be like, even though "bad" is predicted again, but we've had the best summer ever, I think. No frost yet. We haven't even had to turn on the furnace. Have a beautiful day everyone.
Well fellas it doesn't look like there is any construtive support for Kaminiska and Elk Konnected
from Delaware any longer. No denials to what has been exposed either .
Too bad for the lack of menaningful and intellectual dialog and transparency.
So it should be a vote for Doug Ritz and a healthy Elk County, Kansas.
Thanks Delaware Diane for nothing.
Happy Halloween ya all.
Yesterday was very interesting. For those who have had cataract and astigmatism surgery, it will be no surprise, but for me it was all new and very interesting.
Many of you will know the name Wills Eye Hospital from the big well known facility in Philly. My procedure was done at the Wills Eye Surgery Center here in Delaware. I was to be there at 9:00 for paperwork, then they took me back to pre op for questions from the nurses ,LOTS of eye drops, an interview by the anesthesiologist, booties to cover my shoes, a short gown top and paper bonnet, MORE eye drops, an IV for a mild sedative, EKG stickies, nasal cannula for low flow O2, a pulse Ox clip on my finger and a self inflating B/P cuff on my arm. Al hung out in the waiting area and researched a court case for the Planning Commission to pass the time.
When they took me back to the OR, there were more drops and Dr.Kalin got started. It only took about half an hour and he explained every step. Fascinating! Afterward I was given a nice cold cup of Diet Coke, which really tasted good after having had nothing to eat or drink since midnight Tuesday. I came home with a clear shield over my eye, the usual dark glasses and orders for more drops at home several times a day, with more orders to goof off and not do much for the rest of the day. The great, cheerful staff couldn't have been nicer and my nurse, as well as Dr.Kalin called me last night to see how I was doing.
I saw him back at his office at 8:00 this morning, no shield needed except for sleeping, allowed to drive, but no heavy lifting... More drops for several more days. He was pleased with how the eye looks and so am I. The eye is still a tiny bit scratchy, but there was never any real discomfort or pain. I go back for another check in three weeks. Enjoy Halloween everyone!
happy to hear that all is well, Diane. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Edie.I'm sitting here waiting for the kids to start coming.I had 57 last year but I know there are parties in the area tonght which might affect the number of kids out.
Didn't have but a couple of dozen trick or treaters here. I had intended to go to the park tonight for the weinie roast, but it is so cold. Just about 30 degrees right now. But I did make it outside for the fireworks show as I can see them very clearly from my back gate. Didn't have time to get chilled and had on my big coat. Ugh! I hate schlepping around a big old heavy coat. But that is Kansas, bake one day and freeze the next. And I do enjoy seeing the little ones when they come to the door.
It's chilling down here too, but not as cold as you are.There is a cold rain here today that came in off the Atlantic. It is bringing the leaves down fast now. I'll miss those beautiful colors. We may have frost tonight, so I need to get out in the garden today and strip off whatever is left.
Today would have been Daddy's 100th birthday.It doesn't seem possible that he's been gone for 10 years.I'll slip up to the cemetery this afternoon.
We had only 24 kids come to the door this year.That is quite a drop from last year. Very cute costumes.
I had bought cat and raven skeletons to add to the front porch decorations. Really fun.
Tomorrow I'll go over my notes and decide who I'll be voting for on Tuesday. Stay warm.
Hooray. Little Emily got to come home and was able to go back to school for Halloween. She still can't lift her arm or move her hand and fingers, so it's in a special sling, but she was able to move her shoulder and does have some feeling. She has a lot of treatment and more surgeries ahead, but she is so happy to be home and back to school.
I'm still on 9 eye drops a day, of three different kinds, and still have to wear an eye shield to sleep, but all seems to be going well. I go back for another check up on Nov.18. I guess he'll decide then when or if to have the other eye done on Dec.3.
Great news
Ahh. We just came back from voting. Mine was a mixed bag as usual. I always vote the person not the party. Our voting place is only about 5 blocks from our house and at mid morning isn't very busy. The weather is so nice, the many folks who knew each other, stood under the trees after voting and chatted for quite awhile, before we all felt we had to go get something productive done. This wonderful weather can't last much longer and nobody wants to waste any.
Very interesting elections.I sat up much too late watching the nationals. (yawn) Now that the Repubs. have the Senate, I wonder what they will do with it. Here at home I think all my favorites won. We were invited to a couple of after election parties but didn't go.
Today I need to tackle the bushel of peppers I still have sitting here. Tomorrow night I'll make a big pan of stuffed peppers for Al .He loves 'em.
Congrats to all your election winners. Enjoy your day all.
More Delaware happenings. Let the good times roll for the teenage boys :angel:
Former NFL cheerleader allegedly had sexual relations with 15-year-old boy
Published November 05, 2014
A former Baltimore Ravens cheerleader and the estranged wife of a prominent Maryland energy executive has been arrested and charged in connection with a sexual relationship involving a 15-year-old boy, police announced Wednesday.
Molly Shattuck, 47, was indicted Monday on two counts of third-degree rape, four counts of unlawful sexual contact and three counts of providing alcohol to minors, Delaware State Police Sgt. Paul Shavack said. She was released on $84,000 bond after an arraignment Wednesday in Sussex County Superior Court in Georgetown, Delaware.
On Sept. 26, a 15-year-old boy reported that Shattuck began an inappropriate relationship with him near Baltimore and that it culminated with sexual activity at a vacation rental home in Bethany Beach, Delaware, over Labor Day weekend, Schavack said. Police executed a search warrant on Shattuck's home Oct. 1 and seized items but Shavack declined to specify what they were.
Ah, yes, the honesty from Delaware--Robert
Democrat candidate arrested at polling site
YORKTOWN – A candidate for Yorktown Town Council was arrested on Election Day at a polling site, accused of earlier stealing other candidates' signs and leaving the scene of a traffic accident during a confrontation with his accusers.
Richard E. Yencer Jr., 60, 3100 N. Delaware County Road 500-W, was preliminarily charged with theft and leaving the scene of accident.
Arrested while greeting voters at Yorktown High School early Tuesday afternoon, Yencer was later released from the Delaware County jail after posting a $5,000 bond.
According to a probable cause affidavit, emergency dispatchers received a call "about a person stealing campaign signs" at Cammack United Methodist Church, 1901 N. Cammack St., about 10:15 p.m. Monday.
The Yorktown Police Department requested the Delaware County Sheriff's Office investigate the matter after determining "the victim and suspect (were) both campaigning for the Town Board of Yorktown."
Yencer — a reporter for The Star Press from the mid-1970s until 2010 — was a Democratic candidate for an at-large council seat in Tuesday's election.
According to the affidavit, Yorktown Town Council incumbents Bob Ratchford and Rich Lee, both Republicans, were placing campaign signs at polling sites Monday night when they saw Yencer at the church, the polling site for Precinct 55.
The Republicans reported they circled the block "to see what Mr. Yencer's intentions were," and saw the Democrat tear up a sign for Republican U.S. Rep. Luke Messer "and place it in his trunk."
Messer's Democratic challenger, Susan Heitzman, was a financial contributor to Yencer's council race.
Lee told authorities he saw signs for other candidates — including Ratchford and Yorktown Town Council member Daniel Flanagan — in Yencer's car.
"When (Lee) told Mr. Yencer that he knew the law and he can't do that, Mr. Yencer replied that he is the law," Kip Curtis, a sheriff's deputy, wrote.
Ratchford reportedly tried to prevent Yencer from leaving the scene by standing in front of his car. The deputy wrote that Yencer then put his 1994 Nissan into reverse, striking Lee "in the knees with the rear bumper of his car."
Lee told the deputy he jumped on the vehicle's trunk to avoid injury and struck the trunk with his fist "hoping Mr. Yencer would stop."
Lee — who would later decline emergency medical treatment — maintained Yencer was "fully aware" that his vehicle struck Lee.
Yencer then drove "through an adjoining yard" and left the area, his accusers said. County police reportedly searched for Yencer in the area for about two hours, and one of the deputies took photographs of Lee's knees.
The Democrat was arrested, without incident, more than 12 hours later at the high school, the polling site for Precinct 71.
In 2012, Lee won election to the council's District 1 seat over Yencer.
The Democrat has been a consistent critic of the Republican council's handling of town government.
Attorney Robert Beymer said Tuesday night he would represent Yencer should formal charges be filed.
"The arrest was politically motivated by Mr. Ratchford and Mr. Lee, who have their facts wrong as usual," Beymer said in a prepared statement.
Yencer on Tuesday failed in a bid to win one of two at-large seats on Yorktown Town Council, finishing last in a four-candidate race. Ratchford and Lee were re-elected to their district seats.
Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.
Oh the good people in Delaware...it's nice to get real news out of Delaware. Let the good times roll--Robert
Pervert admits to throwing his semen on 'hot' female shopper at Delaware Wal-Mart
A Delaware man was arrested Tuesday after throwing semen at a 20-year-old woman he told police he thought was 'hot.'
Frank Short Jr., 22, was charged with a litany of offenses after being arrested for the depraved act in a New Castle, DE, Wal-Mart, according to a police report obtained by Mail Online.
Among the charges are lewdness, harassment and offensive touching with bodily fluids, said the report.
The incident occurred while the woman was in a Wal-Mart aisle texting and Short walked past her, saying 'excuse me,' said the report. The woman soon felt 'something wet on her buttocks, thigh and leg.'
Though she initially thought the pervert spit on her, the woman soon realized it was 'a glob of semen on her leg, just below her knee,' the report said.
After the horrified woman got over the shock of having semen thrown at her in the middle of a busy store, she sought help from store employees – with Short following her around the store – who called police. Authorities confirmed the victim's suspicion when their tests showed the substance was 'indicative of semen,' said the report.
At first the degenerate denied his depravity, saying he 'sneezed into his hands, then shook his hands off' onto the poor woman's leg. He soon admitted to spitting on the lady before finally copping to the whole thing after calling the woman 'hot.'
Short also admitted to considering himself a 'loner' who 'gets a thrill out of such an act,' the report said.
The report concluded Short took 'a substance into his hand, believed to be his own semen, and did place this substance upon the body of [the victim] because he was sexually attracted to her.'
He was booked and tossed into a local jail before being released later in the day on bond.
I sure am glad we Don't have that kind of people in Elk County, Kansas.
By the way folks, for those of you who failed geography, Delaware County is not in Delaware. We have only three counties...New Castle, Kent and Sussex.
Yorktown ain't here neither. Ya better fire yer fact checker, makes ya look stupid, ya know? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Are you few THAT desperate to pick on someone? ::)
No Ross, I didn't read your post, so you wasted your time again.
I finished the Christmas party posters and got them posted at each of our four fire stations. I spent most of the rest the day working on other parts of the party. I researched and then ordered the candy and goodies for the bags the elves give the kids after they visit Santa, and some new craft things for the 5 craft tables we set up each year. I'm expecting between 50 and 60 kids again. This is our 20th, so the first kids have long since grown. We have a lot of younger firefighters now who are unmarried, or recently married and haven't started their families yet. Since parents and grandparents can come, we have some families in which there are more adults than kids in attendance. Our Ladies Auxiliary provides hot dogs, pizza, cupcakes, ice cream and punch. I think I'll ask them to do a 20th anniversary sheet cake this year too. We have some very good bakers in that group.
I'm starting to hear from the parents of our fire prevention winners too.They are very excited to come see their children receive their winning certificates and gift cards from our officers, all dressed up in their class A uniforms. Again, the Ladies Auxiliary will provide snacks. The engine bay will be open and it's funny to see some of the parents as excited as the kids about climbing in and on the apparatus. Lots of photos get taken. Have a nice Friday night everyone.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on November 07, 2014, 03:13:55 PM
No Ross, I didn't read your post, so you wasted your time again.
I call Bull Shit on that.
But none the less ya keep calling me back, don't you?
Cause
ya love me so much.
ROFLMAOBut I ain't wasting my time.
Just suppose ya don't read it.
Because all one (1) of your friends do read it, don't they?
Where is that durned
old degree ya got, when ya need it? LOL
Hey have a great weekend darling,
yer gonna make it to the top of the list of people
that adore me if you keep it up.
TTFN
I got to thinking about Walmarts after a recent post. Our closest one is about 40 minutes away and we go maybe once a year, if that. By the time I figure in gas milage, it would rarely save us a thing to go there as a destination.
I've never been to a Walmart that didn't have an off putting group of characters wandering around. We tend to collect them from surrounding states too, because we have no sales tax in Delaware.
I'm glad I did strip the garden clean a couple of days ago as we finally got a heavy frost last night. I made up several bags for my nice neighbors so they will have some last ones to enjoy too.
It doesn't seem possible that the growing season is over except for the cold weather crops. I'm really going to miss the fresh tomatoes.
I enjoyed taking Al to lunch at Applebee's on Veteran's Day. Lots of gray hair there and lots of stories exchanged.
We decided to do something different for Thanksgiving this year. We are going to a covered dish meal at our station 7. One of our fire fighters is going to fry a 19 pound turkey out behind the station. I'll be standing by with a fire extinguisher just in case. ;) We're expecting something of a temperature drop here with a bit of snow forecast. Brr!
The tree crew that took down our big maple finally came back yesterday and took away the big pile of chips from the stump eater and filled the hole and root area with good top soil Now I have to decide whether to replace the tree with another or perhaps put in a good sized crape myrtle bush for late summer flowering.
Hello, hello... Echo, echo... Anybody there. No comments on your earthquake? Has the social part of the forum shriveled up and died?
We did not feel it north of Grenola. Just cold and wind.
Thanks.I guess it must have been very small and local.
I felt it here in Howard. It wasn't much of a jolt, but definitely from the ground.
According to earthquake.com, Kansas has had 12 earthquakes of 2.5 or higher since the 4.8 of several days ago. The latest was a 3.8, today, centered at Haysville.
Kansas has had 1.5 or higher earthquakes:
2 earthquakes today
26 earthquakes in the past 7 days
67 earthquakes in the past month
355 earthquakes in the past year
The 4.8 earthquake was ten times stronger than the 3.8 quake of today.
I hadn't heard about the one today centered at Haysville. Could you tell me a little more about it? I am sure there wasn't anything on the evening news about it.
http://earthquaketrack.com/p/united-states/kansas/recent
This is all the information I had.
I still haven't heard of any earthquake near Haysville, Kansas on the local Wichita channels. Most of you probably know that Haysville is only a couple of miles south of Wichita. Is it possible that an earthquake could be recorded but not felt in the vicinity? This puzzles me. Why would the Wichita news service jump on an earthquake near the Oklahoma border and ignore one at home?
The same USGS web site reports a 3.1 earthquake centered at Haysville today.
A Christian Science Monitor website says that anything below 4.0 is minor. That site also says that 130,000 earthquakes between 3.0 and 4.0 hit the earth every year.
We still aren't hearing of any earthquake near Haysville. However, there is a report of a 3.8 quake two miles NW of Anthony yesterday morning, which is west of the 4.8 that hit the other day. Is there any report of this one from the USGS?
The USGS reported that 3.8 yesterday as also centered at Haysville.
I read in the newspaper that the 4.8 a few days ago was centered at Conway Springs, whereas USGS web site says Haysville for that one also.
The 4.8 was centered at the very small town of Milan, six or seven miles south of Conway Springs. The Wichita TV channels covered it with video of the site and some of the damage. There must be something wrong with the USGS reporting. Guess we can't believe everything we read, can we.
Very interesting. If you remember we had one while I was on here that made my computer jump up and down, set my porch hanging plants to swinging and almost dumped the books off my book shelves.It did much more damage in DC. The Washington monument has only recently reopened. I find all this ever facinating. It always reminds us we are not really in charge.
One of our faithful fire house bingo players had a little stoke after bingo last week.She's 85 and a delightful person. Apparently she has developed atrial fib. and had the stoke before they got her started on blood thinners. I'll see her tonight I hope and see how she is doing.I don't think she had any residual dmage because 911 was called right away. She got to the hospital very quickly, in time to dissolve the clot in her brain.
We have a very cold rain now and very cold weather coming in later today. Brr...Stay warm all.
Tonight was just plain fun.The fire prevention contest winners came to get their awards tonight. We had almost 200 happy people. Afterward they had home made cookies and punch and toured the engine bays to look at all the equipment. Irene brought her search dogs,(yellow labs) who were a great hit with everyone.
Very strange weather we are having here. Last night a warm front came up from the south with rain. Right now it is 68, but we are expecting snow on Wednesday,as much as 6 inches. I guess I better get my final shopping for the fire house turkey day finished tomorrow even though it will be Al's birthday. :(
I spent yesterday sorting through the three big tubs in my basement pulling out the toys and activity books for the firehouse kids Christmas party on Dec 14. I shop for it all year long. Mc Donalds gives us free cheeseburger coupons every year and often some soft happy meals toys for the babies.
My big candy order just came so I can take the 5 big shopping bags of stuff with me to bingo tonight and pass them off to one of my friends, who will take it all to her special ed class. They will sort and fill a Christmas bag for each firehouse child. Our elves will give them out to the kids after they have seen Santa and had their photos taken. I got a bunch of new craft projects for the 5 craft tables. This is our 20th party, so it will be fun to freshen it up. It doesn't seem possible we have been doing this for 20 years, with mostly the same small committee doing it each year. Have a good non ridiculing day.
Tuesday was Al's birthday so he slept in late, opened a few gifts and played with his fancy new lap top. We went to The Yi Palace for real Chinese for dinner.I had a good stir fried lamb dish with brown rice, and he had a chicken and tofu in "sauce," also with brown rice. It came in a huge soup bowl and he wasn't sure what to do with it at first. He finally figured out to put some of the rice on the plate that came with it and spoon some of the chicken, tofu and sauce over it. Delicious. We brought a lot home as the servings were huge. I'm going to make more rice and we'll finish that good sauce over it after we are tired of turkey.
I spent yesterday cooking for today. It did snow here, but not too much. It was nice to see it falling and know I could stay home and cook and not have to go anywhere on slippery roads.
We leave for the firehouse about 2:15. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
I hope everyone has enjoyed and recovered from a wonderful Thanksgiving. Later today I'll pack away all the Halloween decorations that made it to the basement, but not back into their storage tubs. I'll take down the Thanksgiving decorations and take them down to store away too. I'm determined to be really organized this year....I hope.
It's still a bit soon for me to decorate for Christmas, but by next weekend I'll have the itch for sure. We'll get our tree soon and put it in a big tub of water in the garage until we have time later on to set it up. In a few minutes I go back to my ophthalmologist for one last check on my left eye. It has it's "fix" on Wednesday morning. The right eye is doing great. I'll be glad to be finished with this all...especially the eye drops so often. I hate eye drops. Have a nice day and stay warm.
I had my left eye surgeryat 6:30 yesterday. All went very well.I'm glad to be finished even though I had to be at his office for a quick check at 7:45 this morning. Everything looks fine he says. Both eyes are back to 20/20. Hooray!
Good news!
Larryj
Yes. Thanks. Are you having all the rain and flooding where you are?
Diane, we don't live in a flood zone although a few miles to the north of us are the San Gabriel mountains which have seen wild fires in recent years. Those who live in that area can expect flooding and mudslides. We did get about two inches from this storm. It is very much needed. Our average rainfall is about 15 inches. The rainfall season runs from July 1 to June 30. They have told us that in order to fix our severe drought conditions we would need 75 inches of rain to refill reservoirs and lakes to their normal capacity.
Larryj
Woo! You sure do have a bad drought going on there. I'm glad you aren't in the flood areas though. Those California rivers really are full right now. I saw the mud photos on TV. awful.
Today I really need a hug. I had both eyes' cataracts taken care of a month apart with easy success, and now comes the several weeks of drops 4 times a day and at least a week of sleeping with an eye shield, no heavy lifting or snow shoveling, etc. Then 6 more weeks of occasional follow up visits. Not a big deal, just busy.and waiting for the left eye to completely heal an not be so blurry. I have several busy weeks ahead also with kid's parties adult parties and activities and of course Bingo for two more Mondays before the holiday break.
So what's the problem? Yesterday afternoon Al suddenly lost his vision in his left eye. He said it was like someone smeared Vaseline across it. YIKES! It had to be on a Saturday, so our doc was off to someone else, whose office is many miles away and it was pouring rain. He did call us back through his answering service and away we went...Very nice and competent seeming young man. Sure enough, we had guessed what might had happened.
Al had a cataract removed in the mid nineties and the implant lens had suddenly lost the little biological "springs' that held it in place .It slipped away. But now? Jeez! It will take a more complicated surgery with flaps and stitches, a new lens and I don't know what all, but he should be fine eventually. He has to call her office first thing tomorrow... for hopefully a prompt appointment. Now I have to find out where in downtown Wilmington she is and where the surgery will be. So, right when we should have been at our fire company Christmas banquet, we were driving home in a rainstorm at 5:30. I was sure glad to get home! Our friends will wonder what happened to us. It's always something isn't it? Have a good day!
So sorry to hear this.
We have an appointment with the recommended specialist this afternoon, an hour away, so I had to clear my schedule. If surgery is required, it will probably be on Thursday. I hope the weather holds as I am not a good slick road driver. Couldn't this have happened in June? HA!
Al has his surgery at 7:00 Thursday morning in Wilmington at the surgicenter at the Wilmington Hospital.It's rather complicated and will require general anesthesia, sutures and I don't know what all
Nobody knows for sure what the outcome will be, but if any one can repair it well, Dr.Ko can. Now I have to take him to his primary Doc for his preop EKG and a presurgical check up at 1:30. Of course it's raining again.
Prayers for you guys, this is pretty scary stuff!
Yes it is. We have an incredible specialist, but who know how it will all turn out? The little spring things that are part of the eye had erroded away and allowed the cataract implant from 1996 to actually flip over, come completey loose and slide to the bottom of the back of the eye. Sounds really creepy! He said it was like having vaseline smeared over his eye...light, but no vision at all. Dr. Ko said those implants are no longer used because they tended to flip, but who knew back then? We are optimistic, but it's a complicated procedure. With those springy things useless, the whole business has to be stitched in.
So, at least my eye situation is improving as it should. No more eye shield at night and I'm down to just two different kinds of drops, twice a day. Anyone who has ever had cataract surgery will recognize this schedule. I'm getting ready to drive Al to get a hair cut and see if I can get my Christmas stamps. If I can get organized I'll work on Christmas cards while I wait for his surgery to be completed tomorrow morning. We're supposed to have rain again, but it should be enough above freezing to avoid ice.
According to Bullwinkle nobody comes on the forum to read what I have to say, so I guess I must be writing to myself.
I guess I should leave too, and leave all the posting to the Red's and Ross's and a few others who have taken over. I was going to make a donation to a current local project, but when someone tells me to keep my Delaware money at home, well....
Quote from: Diane Amberg on December 10, 2014, 10:03:23 AM
I was going to make a donation to a current local project, but when someone tells me to keep my Delaware money at home, well....
Diane, take that Delaware money and put it to good use by donating it to the 'Naked Clowns Charity Organization for MS.'
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_srOhGcGHvik/SNsm7Aj6CwI/AAAAAAAABVo/yqBhk1SCl8A/s400/nakedclown.JPG)
The dress code of these multiple sclerosis research fundraisers has been very lax; the hosts have taken to wearing socks now. With a goal of raising $1,000,000 for donation to the cause of finding a cure for MS, the 'Naked Clowns' have been performing across America from 2008-2014. Despite the attire of the 'Naked Clowns' during their performances, the shows themselves are completely harmless. The 'Naked Clowns' take great efforts to ensure that neither their calendars nor their performances contain any instances of profanity, and the shows are of a nature one would find in any circus or clown street show except they are 'Naked.' Overall, the 'Naked Clowns' seem to have mixed their inherent need of expression with marketing, the result being a virtuous cause to put an end to one of the world's worst diseases, Multiple Sclerosis.
Recently, the 'Naked Clowns' began 'the Naked Dream' program, which every month will award a cash grant to a single MS-afflicted child that wishes to pursue any given dream. This enterprise seems to be expanding quite a bit, as the 'Naked Clowns' appear to have a booked performance calendar through 2057 and have even performed in New York's Time Square and the White House for President Obuma and his lovely wife Michael.
P.S. Hope your eye is doing better. When I had my cataract surgery, my left eye developed a macular hole which took additional surgery. It is about 80% now. It should be 100% by the time I'm 90. LOL... Warph
Actually, I already do donate to MS research. I have had five friends who had developed MS over the years.Only one is still living. They developed it young and it took them young. One is still doing very well, thank goodness.
My eyes are doing fine. Still doing the drop routine with the second one. I have another doc visit on the 23rd.
I'm sorry to hear you had complications with yours. Hopefully it will eventually heal completely.
Al had his much more serious surgery yesterday and I'll take him for his morning after visit shortly. He has a big pressure dressing over his left eye,(very uncomfortable), so he couldn't use his CPAP last night. He slept very peacefully though. He'll have many more doc visits and won't be able to drive himself for at least a week or so.It's been fun juggling our schedules to make it all work. I still don't have my tree up and now I'm not sure if I'll get it done. He isn't allowed to lift and I'm not sure if I can manage it alone. Perhaps just a little wee tree? We'll see. Gotta go and head to Wilmington. More to follow. Have a good day.
Al had a very good follow up appointment yesterday. He's still very restricted of course and will be for some time. His eye is quite sore and very red, but everything is staying where it's supposed to be .Six weeks with his glasses or an eye shield, six weeks of eye drops and lots of return trips to see Dr. Ko. Worth every bit of it to save that eye. I just hope the weather holds.
We had to skip the fire company meeting and elections last night, but I think I'll take him to the firehouse kids' party for just a short time Sunday. I can drive him and slip him home a couple of hours later. He enjoys the kids, but has no stamina for very much right now. His polo legs don't help either. We have a friend's Christmas party to go to for awhile tonight. He'll like that. I'm doing well too, drops yet for a week or so yet, but since I can drive (but not lift),we're doing alright. It's very strange to have both of us with eye things going on at the same time.
According to that sterling Elk County representative, Bullwinkle, nobody reads me, ever, so I'll just write to myself. ;D ;D ;D ;D I'm not sure what his problem is, with me I mean. Not that I care. His loss. :angel:
Al is getting better day by day. He is still not allowed to drive, but his vision is improving slowly. He had to rig up something so his eye shield and C-PAP work together at night, but he managed to do it. I'm sleeping better too. :) I have another eye appointment myself next week, and hope it will be the last for about six weeks.
I still need to find time for my car inspection, driver's license renewal, and bone density scan.
Last night was our fire chief's fire service open house and about 200 people from many surrounding fire companies came for good food and holiday fun. It was great to see some friends I hadn't seen for awhile. They went through 40 pounds of my famous stuffed mushrooms. It made up 9 large pizza trays of beautiful snow white "specials," big stuffing mushrooms.They came fresh picked for us from Catone's Mushroom Farms in nearby Avondale PA. We have one more neighborhood party two doors away on Saturday and then Christmas at a neighbors across the street. I still have to find out what I'm to bring, but I know Al will be part of the clean up crew as always. All his years of working in the fire house kitchen, and being tall means he knows how to make the clean up fly. I'm thinking he'll be doing very well by Christmas.
We finally decided to skip the tree this year. Neither of us can lift yet and it's just too much to to do.I'm behind on my cards too so I better go work on them now.
Hang in there friends. Don't let the unending ridicule and sarcasm spoil your postings. After all, free speech means you too. There will always be insecure people who don't know any other way to express themselves.
Have a great day.
Thanks for your updates. I'm one of the non-posters now, at least most of the time. Just got tired of the bullying. I do read, however, and appreciate you and your comments. Merry Christmas!
I'm with Mom. I enjoy the daily doings of other people and abhor the bullying. This is one thread that I can enjoy reading. Diane, you and Al are going through where I have been. My eye problems weren't as serious as yours, but I know the frustration of not being able to see. Plus, you are so active and having your activities curtailed because of your eyes just adds to the frustration.
You are wise to forego the tree this year. If you find that you just absolutely have to have one with lights, I am sure you can find a small artificial one with the lights already in place. I even decided against the little 18" one that I usually put up because of the painstaking patience that it takes to put the little decorations on it, then disassembling it to put it away. The older I get, the more I can do without.
Merry Christmas to all and may your streets stay dry.
Thanks to you both. Unfortunately the folks on the dark side don't see themselves as bullies.They just don't get it. Every one of us is supposed to turn the other cheek, no matter how rude they are, except them. (For some reason they have much higher standards of decorum that we are expected to adhere to.) It is not an even playing field, not that what they are doing is a game. After all, they are just telling it the way they want it to be in their own little narrow world.
They will not understand that people have the answers to many of their questions, but know better than to engage them because they know what will happen.Why any sane person would put up with being on the receiving end of more than a few insults and put downs is beyond me. So, they interpret the silence any way they want to....if they only knew! Even Teresa doesn't post here any more. They truly aren't interested in any opinion other than their own, and if we can manage to figure out what they are trying to say, that's good enough for them.
I rather suspect they are totally different away from the forum. They know they can get away with anything on here and not get punched out for it.
I'll gladly skip the tree this year if it means less work for Al. He is beginning to show great improvement now.Bright light doesn't hurt any more and although his vision is still not clear, he can see much better. I take him back on Monday and I expect to hear good things from Dr. Ko.
I go back on Tuesday for what I suspect will be the last check up for quite some time. Perhaps I can get off all the eye drops by then.
Wilma, I'm sorry you had hard times with your eyes also. Mine were just very ordinary cataracts with one astigma correction too. Not a big deal, just time consuming. Al's problem was the bad one, but it looks like he'll be just fine in due time. So far the weather is holding for us, just rain, no ice or snow. He 'll be happy to be able to drive again. I think he misses his independence.
Time to take the pork roast out of the oven. Have a nice evening !
Glad to hear the good eye report. That was pretty scary stuff. I will never forget my first Christmas without a tree. My hubby had fallen and badly damaged his back a couple weeks before. I was going to school full time, and holding a part time job as well. I would run home between classes to check on him and do what had to be done. We had him on the living room floor on a mattress, with the phone and a potty can nearby. Whew! I remember meeting myself coming around corners, and before I new it Christmas was two days away. No shopping or anything done. I took an evening during an ice storm and went to a store where they gift wrapped, and bought something for everyone on my list, took them home and hubby made out the name tags as I feverishly worked on a card list. I did make it into the attic and pulled out a small electrified lantern that was decorated with Christmasy stuff, and set it up so that we would not be entirely without any decoration. That year taught me a great deal. Christmas is not the decorations, but the love that it represents. I guess it takes tough times for us to realize that. BTW, I was trying to prepare for and pass semester finals while all this was going on. Talk about stress! :-\ :-\
Wow. What a time you had! Our situation right now is nothing compared to that. You are right though. The real Christmas is all internal as far as I am concerned. As much as I love my tree and all the fancy old glass and hand made kids' ornaments we put on it every year, it means nothing as compared to the people part.
We did get our icicle porch lights put around the edge of the porch roof.That took about 5 minutes.The red berry wreath is on the house by the front door under the porch roof, and my stuffed snow man "wind sock " is flying on the porch edge too.That's enough for this year.
I said I worked on my Christmas cards during Al's surgery.I finished the last few and they went out in the mail yesterday. Tonight we walk up the street two doors for a neighborhood dinner that our friends have every year. They are very sweet people. She makes the best poached salmon. We are missing two this year though. Our delightful old Scot has passed on and our ancient Russian holocaust prisoner had to go to a nursing home.
Al just got up so I'd better fix his breakfast. Enjoy your day.
It will be interesting to see what pops, or not, now that two NYPD officers were murdered sitting in their car. One was oriental and one Hispanic.There was no confrontation. The shooter, who is dead, was black. He had to be nutz! I'm not going into this very deeply or I'd put it in politics.( Ross better keep his paws off this!)
Our local neighborhood adult party last night was a real hoot. There was lots of good food, friendly conversation and all sorts of holiday joking among age groups from early twenties to mid eighties. They hired one of the local teenagers to act as a ''serving wench'' and everyone had a lot of fun with her. She had no previous experience, but she did very well at keeping everyone's glasses filled and plates full. I think she had as much fun as we did.The weather last night was very cold, but dry, so most of us could walk there without worrying about ice and snow underfoot.
Today I'm going to be as lazy as possible,but working around eye drop schedules. We'll have oatmeal as soon as Al gets up and left over pork roast and veggies for dinner. In spite of having a lot of fun too, this eye business has been very stresfull and frankly, I'm tired.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on December 21, 2014, 09:24:39 AM
( Ross better keep his paws off this!)
Ya had to call me out, with a threat no less ! LOLMay the bird of paradise fly up your nose
May an elephant caress you with his toes ETC
(A Great Song)
https://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=chr-yo_gc&ei=utf-8&ilc=12&type=523482&p=May+the+bird+of+paradise+fly+up+your+nose
You are such great fun.
Maybe Santa will bring you an encyclopedia on disk.
Merry Christmas to you too Diane.TTFN
WILMINGTON, Del. – The former headmaster of an elite Delaware prep school faces at least 50 years in prison after being convicted Monday of dealing in child pornography.
Christopher Wheeler, 54, was found guilty on all 25 counts. Wheeler is a former headmaster at Tower Hill school, where he was paid more than $300,000 a year and where tuition exceeds $25,000 a year. Graduates of the school, founded by members of the du Pont family, include DuPont Co. CEO Ellen Kullman, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and television personality Dr. Oz.
Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said the evidence showed Wheeler sought out and downloaded images of child porn.
"Mr. Wheeler developed a pattern of Internet browsing for child pornography," Davis said.
Wheeler waived his right to a jury trial after the judge denied a defense motion to suppress evidence seized by police.
Wheeler showed no emotion as Davis read from a lengthy opinion. The judge tentatively set Wheeler's sentencing for March. Each count carries a minimum two-year prison term.
Defense attorney Tom Foley said he planned to appeal.
Wheeler resigned from Tower Hill in October 2013 and has remained behind bars in lieu of $1.5 million cash bail since his arrest.
Wheeler, an accomplished musician and composer who flew his own airplane, was hired as headmaster at Tower Hill in late 2004 after 14 years at Lake Forest Academy near Chicago, where he was assistant headmaster and wrestling coach. He previously worked at St. Paul's School in Garden City, New York.
Tower Hill officials said in a letter to the community after Wheeler's arrest that he was extensively vetted and had a criminal background check before being hired.
Court records suggested Wheeler for years may have hidden a darker side.
In a letter to a Pennsylvania man who asked Wheeler about making amends for alleged child sexual abuse, Wheeler wrote: "I did those things. I am the one responsible," according to court documents.
"I will not compound your pain by attempting to deny or in any way deflect responsibility for my actions 35 years ago," Wheeler wrote. "I'll wait to hear from you about further appropriate steps towards resolution and restitution."
Wheeler has never been charged with sexually abusing anyone, despite allegations leveled by the Pennsylvania man and his younger brother. They came forward in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State University. Wheeler's own adopted son also has accused him of abuse.
Prompted by those allegations, Delaware investigators searched Wheeler's home and office at Tower Hill last fall for evidence of witness tampering or intimidation. They instead found more than 2,000 images of child pornography, according to police.
A Delaware State Police officer who was the only witness called at Wheeler's trial testified that Wheeler had subscribed to several online newsgroups involved in child pornography, and that Wheeler tried to scrub his laptop computer as police closed in on him.
Foley argued that prosecutors had failed to prove that Wheeler viewed or downloaded any child pornography, or that he knew images from online newsgroups to which he subscribed were being automatically cached to his computer. Foley said Wheeler could not be found guilty of dealing in, or even possessing, child porn based on what prosecutors think he might have looked at, suggesting that prosecutors were acting as "mind police."
The judge rejected the notion that Wheeler may have been unaware of the images or wound up with them on his computer devices inadvertently
Quote from: jarhead on December 22, 2014, 06:51:22 PM
WILMINGTON, Del. – The former headmaster of an elite Delaware prep school faces at least 50 years in prison after being convicted Monday of dealing in child pornography.
Jarhead it doesn't look like all that extreme edumacation made him very smart, does it?
Ross,
I don't see the connection with having an education and being a pervert. Probably just as many perverts without "'papers" as there are with that diploma.
Only posted this in case Diane had missed seeing it on the news.
There is no way I could have missed that one. We do get the daily Wilmington paper and they have been covering it for quite some time.
Tower Hill is an extremely good, tough and well known academic private school.
It seems that people with wretched perverted souls come in all stripes. It just doesn't stop.
Al had a very good eye appointment yesterday afternoon and I had a good one this morning. Al has permission to drive again, so that will help him feel more normal. He will still be many weeks with the eyeshield and eyedrops.The swelling is slowly deminishing and the irritation is much less. He still has some multiple vision in that eye, but Dr. Ko said that will lessen with time.
I have to continue one drop once a day until the bottle is empty and then that's it....hurray. My vision is back to an easy 20/20 and my reading glasses are back to 2.5. What a pleasure! I don't have to go back again until April. I have a bone density scan at 2:00 and that should finish my medical appointments for the year. I am extremely greatful that the weather has held for all this running around. By this time last year we had already had a lot of bad weather .
It is 54 outside now and the deep woods robins from across the street have burst out onto our front yard and are running all over the place looking for worms and bugs.There is always something hopeful about seeing robins in December.
It got up to 60 here yesterday, with moderate rain all day. It felt very strange to be so warm and again, robins all over the yard. ...terrible news about the tornadoes and deaths, especially at holiday time.
We have had several serious fires here, with three deaths, including one in our own fire district. A couple of apartment complexes were burned out in the area taking the residents' food, gifts, clothes, and holiday spirit with it.
This morning, 10 years ago, I came downstairs to find Daddy collapsed on the living room floor. He never came home from the hospital and died there January 9th. I am finally able to get past it now without ruining my Christmas.
Since he lived with me for three years after we lost Mom, we had lots of time for him to share his Kansas memories of his childhood and Elk County. He was a very intelligent, and quiet but funny man who always had a good joke to tell. I miss him.
Merry Christmas everyone. Enjoy the day and it's meaning in whatever way is right for you.
We enjoyed our Christmas doings, that's for sure. We did go to the movies on Christmas Eve, as we often do. The newest Night at the Museum was showing at our local theater, which is only a short distance away. It's cute and funny as the other two were, but it was sad to see Robin Williams and Mickey Rooney in their last film performances.
Christmas dinner across the street yesterday evening was fun pandemonium as usual.They seated 24 adults and then about 10 kids of various ages at a different table.
Al took over the kitchen at clean up time. As I cleared the tables, he made short work of the plates (in the dish washer) and the silver, stemware and fancy glass bowls by hand washing. The thirty pound fresh turkey and big ham fed everyone handily with some leftovers for another smaller family get together they will have on Saturday. There were enough sides and desserts, as most of us brought a big bowl of something, to feed the local National Guard Unit!
The only problem was that four kids and one adult were not well. We'll see if we come down with colds in a few days. :o I hope you all had as much fun we did.
Unfortunately, we both did blossom with colds on Sunday. I've developed a deep racking cough, but have some good cough syrup and plenty of hot tea with honey and lemon.
.No appointments for either of us until next week, when Al has his monthly Newark Planning Comission meeting. Hopefully we'll both be over it by then.
What is the old saying? Three days to get it, three days to have it and three day to get rid of it. So I'm hiding. I don't want to give this to anyone else. Well, perhaps one or two. ;D ;D ;D.
I need to start thank you notes, especially to the older children who help with the Aetna Kids' Christmas party each year.
Once again today we have robins out of the woods, on the ground, running all over the place. I wonder why? Any snow out there? None here, but may come next week.
We were having some spits about 9:30 when I put some things out on the back porch. I am not staying out until this system goes away and some warmer weather moves in.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on December 30, 2014, 08:17:41 AM
Unfortunately, we both did blossom with colds on Sunday. I've developed a deep racking cough, but have some good cough syrup and plenty of hot tea with honey and lemon.
Add 1oz. shot of Brandy (every 4 hours) to that tea and you have the best cough syrup money can buy, Diane. By the fifth shot you'll forget you had a bad cough...:laugh: :laugh: As you can see, it cured my cold:
(http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/funny-drunk-dogs-pics-12.jpg?w=500&h=457)
HA! Love it. I have had days when I felt and looked that bad.
We both spent the day wrapped up in quilts by the gas fireplace watching the Mummers'parade, part of the Rose parade and a film, The Hundred Foot Journey. It was very good, IMHO. Happy New Year.
A bit better today but still very little energy. The flu is now an epidemic and if people don't have that they have some form of this upper respiratory infection that Al and I are sharing. grump,grump. Stay healthy friends.
I read a very interesting article in our News Journal here about our tiny down state farming town of Hartly. It's a good example of what happens when someone just lets go of the reins and let the horses have their head. It has collapsed and is in real trouble.
I'm going to take a much needed break from here. I was asked to join in 2007, which led to making new friends, learning to type a bit and taking a much overdue trip to the Kansas and some other states of my ancestors. I got to meet both Teresa and Kjell, who were very nice to us both and we got to meet both her parents and the gang at Cookson's. I met Six Dogs and Judy harder too. Great folks all. In 07'and 11' it all changed for me. The dark side challenged several of us to prove we were worthy of the forum and we were found lacking.Slowly but surely the closed minded took over, and almost all of the original group who had so much fun together have given up and/or moved on. When nonstop ridicule is the main topic of their dark charter, no decent, ordinary person stands a chance. Now even people's personal posting names are ridiculed. Why?
No where is safe and away from their ridicule. Nobody can post to anyone else now, on any thread, without someone jumping in to flail away. I'd think that would be beneath them, but when they are always right, there is no such thing. I recently posted something funny to WARPH, on a thread he had started long ago and had just posted on a number of times in a row. Anyone with any sense would have known any return post would have been for have been primarily for him
We used to be able to banter back and forth with fun, WARPH would never insult forum members that way. Just fun, no mean intent assumed.
But no, the dark side jumped in to spoil my fun and once more my intelligence was assaulted. Naive my foot! But he couldn't leave it alone. He wanted everyone who reads my posts to know how much I deserved his wisdom and put downs for my own good. For what reason I'll never know.Why does he want Elk County to fail? What's in it for him? He really does have good ideas sometimes, but then ruins them with his awful self absorbed outside the system attitude. Can't some of his supporters teach him how to get his point across in a civil manner?
You'll forgive me if I don't throw myself in the mud for him. He must have some sort of inferior personality disorder to make trying to damage me so important to him. What kind of power does he think I have to make me so dangerous to a few? Dip my braids in the inkwell? ;D ;D ;D ;D Does his wife know how attached he wants to be to me?
It won't work, never will. I'll keep right on supporting the Elk County projects I choose to help, and will visit with family and friends as always.
I'll just take a breather, perhaps permanently, from here. Now if I can just get well.
So Cat, stay with your wonderful poetry. Nancy, Wilma, and many others ,don't let the trolls get to you.They are so wrong!
You just had to call me out didn't you?
Do you really miss me that much?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 04, 2015, 09:39:26 AM
I read a very interesting article in our News Journal here about our tiny down state farming town of Hartly. It's a good example of what happens when someone just lets go of the reins and let the horses have their head. It has collapsed and is in real trouble.
Probably the same thing that happened to Detroit = Ran by Liberals and NGO's. Which is politics.
Perhaps if you take control from the Progressive Liberals and all the privately run organizations (NGO's) that want to spend friviously things might improve as designed. Designed to operate as a government of the people, by the people and for the people. It is not a government of the NGO's, by the NGO's and for the NGO's. These NGO's need taxpayer money to survive, to pay them selves a wage so they can lobby the local governments. Just like the giant corporations do to the Federal Government. And nobody approves of the large Corporations buying our Federal Government do they? Unless they are Progressive Liberals.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 04, 2015, 09:39:26 AM
I'm going to take a much needed break from here. I was asked to join in 2007, which led to making new friends, learning to type a bit and taking a much overdue trip to the Kansas and some other states of my ancestors. I got to meet both Teresa and Kjell, who were very nice to us both and we got to meet both her parents and the gang at Cookson's. I met Six Dogs and Judy harder too. Great folks all.
Sure all the folks in Elk County are good people. And like any other community there are differences, very normal.
But Diane your special little NGO here in Elk County has never accomplished anything. Elk Konnected hides itself and has failed at everything it has tried to do, in my opinion. They wanted to copy what Elk Valley School District does every year. That is to have a community day where the kids help clean up the community. A terrific thing they do and the kids and teachers there act like a family working together. But Elk Konnected was told no by the community leaders, namely the School Board and Administration. Why should an NGO use kids to build a name for themselves? Answer this question Diane, please.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 04, 2015, 09:39:26 AM
In 07'and 11' it all changed for me. The dark side challenged several of us to prove we were worthy of the forum and we were found lacking.Slowly but surely the closed minded took over and almost all of the original group who had so much fun together have given up and/or moved on. When nonstop ridicule is the main topic of their dark charter, no decent, ordinary person stands a chance. Now even people's personal posting names are ridiculed. Why?
The Dark Side as you refer to me as, has only asked questions, questions that go unanswered. You don't appreciate the questions and fail to answer them. Simple questions such as who is Konnected with Elk Konnected? You claim to have all the answers but it is you that refuse to answer and call names such as the "Dark Side".
Then you fault everyone else, and try to sneak around the forum. Such as this post about politics in the "coffee Shop." My, oh my!
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 04, 2015, 09:39:26 AM
No where is safe and away from their ridicule. Nobody can post to anyone else now, on any thread, without someone jumping in to flail away. I'd think that would be beneath them, but when they are always right, there is no such thing.
Don't you mean you can run, but you can not hide?
That's why you bring politics to the coffee shop, isn't it?
So you can bad mouth and back stab.
Because you can't deal with the truth?
I have admitted on several occasions that I am human and make errors, but have you?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 04, 2015, 09:39:26 AM
I recently posted something funny to WARPH, on a thread he had started long ago and had just posted on a number of times in a row. Anyone with any sense would have known any return post would have been for have been primarily for him
We used to be able to banter back and forth with fun, WARPH would never insult forum members that way. Just fun, no mean intent assumed.
Trying to shift the situation away from your self to Warph is inexcusable. I happen to read durn near everything Warph posts and have alos posted many times on his thread. I very much like what he does.
The real issue is comprehension and decency let's review, Okay?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 03, 2015, 07:11:42 AM
In 3725 is that a dog on the President's plate? Is somebody funnin' ya? :laugh:
Nothing in the above post limits answers to any one person, does it?
I politely responded with an answer:
Quote from: ROSS on January 03, 2015, 08:41:47 AM
That is satire, sarcasm. It's symbolic.
Sure it's suppose to be there.
That is part of the humor.
I'd suggest reading the article that is posted with the picture.
And you responded rather nastily:
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 03, 2015, 08:52:23 AM
Well duh. There ya have it ladies and gentlemen, the latest from Captain Obvious. :P
Quote from: ROSS on January 03, 2015, 01:13:46 PM
You asked a naive question concerning comprehension and I politely provided you with an answer.
And you gotta be nasty and ugly.
Some gratitude.
But you are welcome just the same.
Have a nice day Diane.
Then you come back with an excuse:
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 03, 2015, 02:39:13 PM
Not naive! @#!!!#! It was a setup question! I was expecting WARPH to come back with something about the place being so exclusive the hot dogs were made of real dogs, or some such, but he never got the chance now did he? You had to jump in there and take an insulting swing at me! It's no wonder some people call you an idiot. Good manners don't let me say what I'm really thinking. Back on ignore for you!
And I responded not so politely, but not ugly and nasty:
Quote from: ROSS on January 03, 2015, 08:17:43 PM
Oh what I could say, but I bite my tongue. I could be just as ugly and nasty as you and call you stupid, but I refuse to stoop that low.
Your lack of comprehension has been obvious for a very long time.
I didn't read where you said hey Warph or anything of that nature.
Here is your remark and there is nothing set up about it.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 03, 2015, 07:11:42 AM
In 3725 is that a dog on the President's plate? Is somebody funnin' ya? :laugh:
Nope, no set up there, LOL
Then you slide over here to the "Coffee Shop" To bad mouth me.
Great move, great try.
Do you comprehend how many times you have complained about politics in the " "Coffee Shop"?
Do you comprehend how many times you have posted about politics in the " "Coffee Shop"?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 04, 2015, 09:39:26 AM
But no, the dark side jumped in to spoil my fun and once more my intelligence was assaulted. Naive my foot! But he couldn't leave it alone. He wanted everyone who reads my posts to know how much I deserved his wisdom and put downs for my own good.
You have a way of twisting things rather nicely.
How many times have I told you I don't have a college degree?
How many times have I told you I'se an unedumacted red neck hick.
Why do I worry you so terribly much?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 04, 2015, 09:39:26 AM
You'll forgive me if I don't throw myself in the mud for him.
Not a single solitary sole has asked you to do any thing of that nature.
But you have done it your self:
Your Attempt at censorship:
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 28, 2013, 12:58:04 PM
No matter what the subject, it always seems to made into all about four of you and what you want and what your expert perfect "facts"(opinions) are, no matter where it started. Enjoy. :P
Remember your own advice and how negative you are.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on February 16, 2014, 11:14:17 AM
ZING! Tarwater huh...hmmmm. ;) Center of attention? Ross has that one sewn up.
You do not own this forum!
Hope you enjoy being so miserable and grumpy.
Intolerant and self absorbed. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
You negative people sure can a make a nice day gloomy.
About that name calling Diane, here are just a few of your nicer ones:
Quote from: Diane Amberg on February 16, 2014, 10:29:08 AM
smart alecs
Quote from: Diane Amberg on April 07, 2013, 03:06:24 PM
( It's bird. it's a... It's super Ross..... ;D)
I don't think you are despicable. I just think you're a bit of a self proclaimed superman today. Or was that Mighty Mouse?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 14, 2011, 08:13:08 PM
Trailer trash VS white trash, round and round she goes....
now for the Carnival Barker, one Patriot, to stir the pot again to keep it going, all for one thin dime. Ladies and gents, what a show! Don't miss it. Gooood Grief. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
This sounds paranoid to me.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 04, 2015, 09:39:26 AM
He must have some sort of inferior personality disorder to make trying to damage me so important to him. It won't work, never will. I'll keep right on supporting the Elk County projects I choose to help, and will visit with family and friends as always. I'll just take a breather, perhaps permanently, from here.
When you criticize you really should expect to be critiqued back no matter where you try to hide.
Fair is fair isn't it Diane?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on December 27, 2014, 07:08:55 AM
I can't have any opinion without being critisized, no matter where I put it,
Wasn't this said to you Diane?
Quote from: Bullwinkle on February 18, 2014, 10:24:39 AM
I have not let anyone "have it" except for one person in particular that refuses to address any topic without trying to prove to everyone they know it all and strays from the topic with half page posts containing a plethora of unrelated yak, yak, yak.
You couldn't comprehend the purpose of a person quoting them self. So the attempt at a put down:
Quote from: Diane Amberg on September 13, 2012, 03:11:15 PM
He copied his own post and then commented on it...He was commenting on his own comment...talking to himself. Oh, never mind! :(
If you would like to see more let me know and I will post them for you.
You knock more than just me on this forum and you have earned and received the wrath of a few.
So who is destroying you? It sure isn't me.
No one has said you can not support any thing you want to support, have they?
No one has said you can not visit family and friends, have they?
We have defended our rights to free speech, which appears to offend you, why?
We have never tried to inhibit your freedom of speech!
But we have the right to respond to your posts, whether you like it or not, just as you have the same right!
Who actually continues this diatribe?
Who is it that really won't let go?
Who is it that jumps from thread to hide the diatribe?
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10686957_806505889391181_7543642497900146711_n.jpg?oh=81b7691fa13ff09f3e3d2a65aba51339&oe=54DD8D1A&__gda__=1428161707_0ecb7bdf7e24f03da4a2c9914517e3f2)
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 04, 2015, 09:39:26 AM
Now if I can just get well.
I hope you heal quickly to good health.
I am so sorry to hear of the Caney firefighter's death.(Cliff Sanders) It's considered a line of duty death, so we'll ring our memorial bell for him in 2016. The fire service is all connected, so we hear about such things early on. Prayers for all involved.
Happy Valentine's Day to my friends and family out there. We had a bit more snow this afternoon and are expecting an extremely cold front to come through soon with winds above 50. There will be single digit temperatures, possibly down to -1 on Monday night and very cold through Wednesday. Then more snow Wednesday afternoon into Thursday. I feel so sorry for folks in New England. I don't how they can take much more. It's all been streaming just north of us, so we are missing the big snows here.We are getting lots of calls for gas leaks because of the cold....not sure why. In spite of it all, we have large flocks of Robins coming in for water and I have Snow Drops blooming in several sheltered spots and Daffodil and Crocus tips showing here and there. . The pond ice is just about thick enough for ice skating but there was one girl near here who went through and almost drowned. There was a fire fighter/EMT neighbor who was able to save her.Very lucky. Stay warm and safe.
It's been so cold here, with 0 and below tonight, all Delaware schools are closed tomorrow. Pipes are freezing all over the place, with fire systems shuting down and serious leaks bringing down ceilings and damaging floors, including schools, so there is no water and water mains are breaking too. Spooky!
More calls for "water problems" and it's snowing like a son of a gun....again................
Our storm dropped the most snow we've had so far this winter, but now the sun is out and everything is beautiful. i think it was about 6 inches but it's hard to tell because we had freezing rain on top of the snow and that pushed the snow down somewhat. The neighbors have tings well cleaned up now but i could strangel the two teenaged boys across the street.Their mom was out shoveling the sidewalk and drive way all by herself and was having a terrible time with the big icy lumps at the end of the driveway where the snow plow had pushed up some big piles. Al took our big snow blower over and finished it.The right thing to do. Except, as soon as he came back home, the two oldest sons came out, got in their car and left. GR%$@#!!!!
More snow and ice yesterday. It was pretty but was a real pain.It's scared off a lot off the bingo players. I understand, but we don't make enough to make it worthwhile. Newark had taken care of the streets very well, but outside of town and parking lots and such were terrible.Had some deaths in the area too.I hope this breaks soon.We are supposed to start having kids coming to the firehouse for tours again starting next week.
Al had a report to give to city council last night so he was busy there until after 11:00 PM .Tonight he has the City Planning Comission meeting, but we are expecting snow and ice again this afternoon, so it remains to be seen if they'll have the meeting or not.
They have been working on the Comprehensive Plan for the city and it's tough to do. It's hard to keep everyone happy and still be within the limits of the law.
Here we go again. More ice. More snow.Yuk.I'm waving a white flag, but nobody can see it for all the white stuff out there.
The stuff you had or are still having, is making an appearance here right now. Temps are dropping and snow total predictions are rising. We are about to be pounded by Thor's hammer. We might have 6, 8 or 10 inches or more.
It's a typical big storm maker for here. Cold Arctic air is moving in from the North West as warmer wet air is moving up from the south. Makes for good snowballs and snowmen though. The schools are out of snow days, so I hope this is the last curtain call for ol' man winter. We are right in the chute for the worst of it, now until 7:00 tomorrow night. The snow blower has been moved back into the garage so it will be ready to join the local neighborhood snow train when the neighbors get together to dig out after it's all over. Now for some good TV.
Ah. Al got a new computer for me. HP Envy. So fast as compared to my old one I almost need a seat belt. What a pleasure. Today is a pleasure too.Truly nice weather and above freezing all day. The snow is slowly receding and happy little plant faces are appearing.The birds aren't as frantic to eat and seem to be enjoying sunning themselves. Off to Bingo later this evening.
Diane,
I see you got lost so I helped you out by putting this where I think you meant it to be. No need in thanking me.
Re: Common Core Education And More About Federal Government Control
« Reply #268 on: Today at 12:13:45 pm »
Quote
I just had the little kids (4-7) from the Delaware School for the Deaf back at the firehouse to do a spring tour. Some had multiple disabilities. Some have cochlear implants, some are very slow academically, some are extremely bright.
Hmmm. I guess I did...maybe. :P
I guess spring finally arrived yesterday, but it was lost under a good,or not so good, two inches+ of snow. Fortunately, the roads are pretty good this morning and the sun is nice ,so I hope the snow will scat soon. The shad are running in the Delaware River, so that is a hopeful sign too.I hope you all are having some real spring weather.
I saw something about tornadoes in OK? Hope everyone is alright.I just caught a bit of it.
On the funny side, the anti "me" and anti Delaware group are going to have a hard time with Ted Cruz.HA! Ya just can't get away from us. I'm sure by now you all know why.
Whatever that was I didn't see it. My adobe isn't working.
I find it interesting that some seem to have no idea that improvements and such to private businesses are tax deductible, up to a point. Repairs and improvements on the house I rented out were tax deductible up to the profit line. We took the capital gains and sold it, but I haven't forgotten how it worked. It helps people from becoming slum lords because they can deduct the repairs.That is a big help in areas where people who rent are really rough on the properties.
It looks like spring might stay this time! Hooray.
My college friends are coming in to visit for a few days in June. We all lived on the same floor in the same dorm and became life long friends.We got together at the beach two years ago and now they are coming here to see how the campus and Newark have changed.Should be fun.
Happy Easter
It's pouring here this morning...good for what we transplanted on Friday. We finally got the garden shed cleaned out and reorganized yesterday. It really needed it. We saw an eagle soar over our house Saturday afternoon.A real treat.
Off the eye doc for Al,for hopefully the last time for many months.
I see the forum is running on just a couple of flat tires now.What a shame.
Since I'm assured by one with bovine anatomy that nobody reads my posts, I'll do this just to practice my typing. We barely missed the predicted frost and I hope you all missed the storms that were predicted for your area.
Apparently Sir Paul has confirmed he will be coming to Delaware's big firefly concert days this summer as well as another concert or two in this area. Sounds like fun for the young folks and will be a big boost for the economy here.
Since du Pont is about to implode from in- fighting, our anchor chemical industries are in big trouble due to the ripple effect.
I'm very impressed with what Arizona State is proposing to do to update and reinvent its educational format.
I find it interesting that it seems some LEOs are now shooting anybody that might even remotely cause them problems or harm....Might be connected to the new concealed carry laws. Perhaps they assume every person they have contact with is now armed and will shoot for any reason. Some of these bad guys aren't very bright to start with, and may see shooting and/or running as the best way to solve their problems. It doesn't seem to be working out too well.I hope you are having nicer weather today than we are. Brrr.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on April 25, 2015, 09:23:00 AM
Since I'm assured by one with bovine anatomy that nobody reads my posts, I'll do this just to practice my typing.
Heck, Diane even I read your blog, sometimes it's even entertaining.
Who would be so callous to say nobody reads our posts?
Why they even had to read your post to make such a statement.
My oh my, what's the world coming to"
Have a great day Diane and I hope ya warm up, that thar global warming thing don't ya know!
Happy May Day everyone.I assume you all snuck around your neighborhoods and hung flower baskets on all your favorite neighbors front doors. No? When did that custom stop? When I was still in elementary school we still did it, even out in the county where are neighbors weren't very close.We also made up little cone baskets to hang on the doors of other classrooms and we did have a Maypole dance.The colonial cities here often have a special day with folks dressed in costume and the kids learn to do the Maypole dance for the public.
Our trip to the Amish plant farm yesterday was a huge success... Just enough people to be fun and lots of puffy cloud skies and warm sun.I wanted one of everything of course, but that meant as many holes to dig as there were plants.I'm still entertaining ideas for a new rock garden and a Crêpe Myrtle bush where we took the big old Maple tree down last fall. I got a mess of petunias and pansies of course but the rest will have to wait Some of our local places will soon have loss leaders to tempt me.
I got all my toms and peppers but it's a little early to put them out just yet. The toms were just .79 each for nice sized plants.I thought that was pretty good. I got two Early Girls, a Fourth of July, a Supersonic, one Roma, one Juliet and a generic "Grape" tom for a big pot on my deck.Then there are the peppers.Two Sweet banana, one Jalepeno, one Bell Boy, an Ancho and a Big Red.I had actually planned to grow my own from seed this year, but with all Al's eye problems and my own two cataract surgeries, I never got around to it. we stopped at our favorite restaurant,Wesley's on the way home and had a nice late lunch, Chicken Chimmie and the soup and salad bar. No dinner needed last night.
Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms, Step Moms, Biological and adoptive Moms, Grands, Great Grands and anyone else I might have missed. Sorry I'm the only one, but apparently now ugly politics rules all on this forum..Very sad.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 10, 2015, 10:43:05 AM
Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms, Step Moms, Biological and adoptive Moms, Grands, Great Grands and anyone else I might have missed. Sorry I'm the only one, but apparently now ugly politics rules all on this forum..Very sad.
Did you really find it necessary to add politics into a Mothers Day wish.
Such a shame to to treat Mothers Day that way. Very sad, indeed!
I got up this morning and cooked breakfast for two mothers, what fun. They were quitee pleased.
Have a great mothers day Diane.
Phooey! :P You are truly one sick puppy.Why in the world would I have a happy Mothers Day?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 10, 2015, 02:21:57 PM
Phooey! :P You are truly one sick puppy.Why in the world would I have a happy Mothers Day?
Why not !
I wasn't being ugly?
Jeeze!
Were you being a sick puppy entering the ugly remarks about politics when you were wishing Happpy Mothers Day?
I truly don't know why I am answering this....I was the only person on the forum who wished the mothers who read this a Happy Mothers Day. Why?
You few who are left on the "forum'' (HA!) have indeed made it your own political gripe yard. So have at it, it's all yours. As far as why I should have a good Mother's Day myself? Not likely. Just think about it.Jeeze!
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 11, 2015, 09:02:24 AM
I truly don't know why I am answering this....I was the only person on the forum who wished the mothers who read this a Happy Mothers Day. Why?
You few who are left on the "forum'' (HA!) have indeed made it your own political gripe yard. So have at it, it's all yours. As far as why I should have a good Mother's Day myself? Not likely. Just think about it.Jeeze!
So are you making this your political gripe thread about politics?
You really like politics don't you?
You are one of them thar Politically Correct Liberals that if things do go their way they cry about it nd call it polittically incorrect. right? That's you isn't it?
Ya can't keep politics in the political category can you?
Hop, skip, jump and hide here and there.
ROFLMAO
s
SUCH GREAT ENTERTAINMENT.
Do yourself a favor and put your retort to me over in politics where it belongs You happily invaded my space.Now go away.....Back to not reading you.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 11, 2015, 11:51:14 AM
Do yourself a favor and put your retort to me over in politics where it belongs You happily invaded my space.Now go away.....Back to not reading you.
Sure I happily responded to your ugly political remark right here on this thread.
It was entertaining and fun.
Diane, I understood what you were saying,but Mr. hateful evidently cannot. Thanks for posting the Mothers Day wishes.
Quote from: proelkco on May 12, 2015, 08:41:05 PM
Diane, I understood what you were saying,but Mr. hateful evidently cannot. Thanks for posting the Mothers Day wishes.
I wasn't hateful, I was truthful.
Is it that you can not handle the truth?
Same o - same o with the name calling.
Nothing new there it there?
LOL
Thanks Pro.I wasn't looking for thanks,really, just making a point that the "forum" as we knew it is gone. It's just one big one way gripe session, with a few exceptions. No real debate allowed, just personal attacks if folks try, so they stop posting. Very sad.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 13, 2015, 07:29:33 AM
Thanks Pro.I wasn't looking for thanks,really, just making a point that the "forum" as we knew it is gone. It's just one big one way gripe session, with a few exceptions. No real debate allowed, just personal attacks if folks try, so they stop posting. Very sad.
Yea Pro Thanks !
Just take a look at who had something ugly to say with a Happy Mothers Day wish aboutpolitics in this coffee shop thread that started the whole mess. And take a look at who does all the name calling?
Then ask yourself why? Why start politics in the coffee shop and then cry about it like a liberal?
Here was the very poorly constructed Happy Mothers Day wish:
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 10, 2015, 10:43:05 AM
Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms, Step Moms, Biological and adoptive Moms, Grands, Great Grands and anyone else I might have missed. Sorry I'm the only one, but apparently now ugly politics rules all on this forum..Very sad.
Diane is right when she says, " No real debate allowed, just personal attacks if folks try, so they stop posting. Very sad." And she start calling names and whinning like a Liberal.
And she won't follow her own advice and keep politics in the politics section.
It's simply terrible in my opinion.
I sure wish she could understand her own advice and keep the politics out of the coffee shop.
Ya all have a great evening now, while bashing people that do post here on this fabulous forum.
It's been a real pleasure conversing with you two.
Awright you two three... LOL... talk about sour lemons....?
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h5mwoTwDBk
Good one Warph.
I love it.
Come on Warph. Don't you remember before you reached puberty the ol --" I hit you last----No, I hit you last---No, I hit you last "-----and the beat goes on !!!!!
Got the last wren house up today.They now have 5 to choose from. It's fun to watch the little male escorting the ladies around to view his properties.Sometimes they build practice nests before they settle down to stay.
We've been watching the awful train derailment stories .That's the same train we took back and forth to Boston and New York for several years, just different times of day. The train version of the "black box" has been sent down here to Wilmington to the Amtrack building for investigation.
As always, our local stations are covering parts that aren't of interest to the big time Channels. I can personally attest to how bad parts of the tracks are on that North East Corridor. So far it doesn't seem anyone I knew was on the train, thank goodness... do know some folks who work at the receiving hospitals and they should have some interesting stories to tell. The 188 had just stopped in Wilmington and the 30th Street Station before it derailed.
Now I'm going to make a statement and I don't care if certain self important judgmental people like it or not.That North East corridor is by far the busiest railroad in the entire US. Allowing it to have areas that haven't been updated and upgraded for many years due to lack of funding and help from Congress is such a travesty, it borders on criminal.That curve could and should have been straightened out a very long time ago. I'm just glad we haven't had more serious incidents before this and it was lucky so few died.. It will be interesting to see what the final report has to say.
Thanks for the info and have a good day
Diane... a few items on:
49 CFR 213.57 - Curves; elevation and speed limitations.
(http://clawback.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/money-pit.jpg)
AMTRAK, The Money Pit
CFR
Updates
Authorities (U.S. Code)
§ 213.57 Curves; elevation and speed limitations.
(a) The maximum crosslevel on the outside rail of a curve may not be more than 8 inches on track Classes 1 and 2 and 7 inches on Classes 3 through 5. Except as provided in § 213.63, the outside rail of a curve may not be lower than the inside rail. (The first sentence of paragraph (a) is applicable September 21, 1999.)
(b)
(1) The maximum allowable operating speed for each curve is determined by the following formula—
Where—
Vmax = Maximum allowable operating speed (miles per hour).
Ea = Actual elevation of the outside rail (inches). 1
Footnote(s):
1 Actual elevation for each 155 foot track segment in the body of the curve is determined by averaging the elevation for 10 points through the segment at 15.5 foot spacing. If the curve length is less than 155 feet, average the points through the full length of the body of the curve.
D = Degree of curvature (degrees). 2
Footnote(s):
2 Degree of curvature is determined by averaging the degree of curvature over the same track segment as the elevation.
(2) Table 1 of appendix A is a table of maximum allowable operating speed computed in accordance with this formula for various elevations and degrees of curvature.
(c)
(1) For rolling stock meeting the requirements specified in paragraph (d) of this section, the maximum operating speed for each curve may be determined by the following formula—
Where—
Vmax = Maximum allowable operating speed (miles per hour).
Ea = Actual elevation of the outside rail (inches). 1
D = Degree of curvature (degrees). 2
(2) Table 2 of appendix A is a table of maximum allowable operating speed computed in accordance with this formula for various elevations and degrees of curvature.
(d) Qualified equipment may be operated at curving speeds determined by the formula in paragraph (c) of this section, provided each specific class of equipment is approved for operation by the Federal Railroad Administration and the railroad demonstrates that:
(1) When positioned on a track with a uniform 4-inch superelevation, the roll angle between the floor of the equipment and the horizontal does not exceed 5.7 degrees; and
(2) When positioned on a track with a uniform 6 inch superelevation, no wheel of the equipment unloads to a value of 60 percent of its static value on perfectly level track, and the roll angle between the floor of the equipment and the horizontal does not exceed 8.6 degrees.
(3) The track owner shall notify the Federal Railroad Administrator no less than 30 calendar days prior to the proposed implementation of the higher curving speeds allowed under the formula in paragraph (c) of this section. The notification shall be in writing and shall contain, at a minimum, the following information—
(i) A complete description of the class of equipment involved, including schematic diagrams of the suspension systems and the location of the center of gravity above top of rail;
(ii) A complete description of the test procedure 3 and instrumentation used to qualify the equipment and the maximum values for wheel unloading and roll angles which were observed during testing;
Footnote(s):
3 The test procedure may be conducted in a test facility whereby all the wheels on one side (right or left) of the equipment are alternately raised and lowered by 4 and 6 inches and the vertical wheel loads under each wheel are measured and a level is used to record the angle through which the floor of the equipment has been rotated.
(iii) Procedures or standards in effect which relate to the maintenance of the suspension system for the particular class of equipment; and
(iv) Identification of line segment on which the higher curving speeds are proposed to be implemented.
(e) A track owner, or an operator of a passenger or commuter service, who provides passenger or commuter service over trackage of more than one track owner with the same class of equipment may provide written notification to the Federal Railroad Administrator with the written consent of the other affected track owners.
(f) Equipment presently operating at curving speeds allowed under the formula in paragraph (c) of this section, by reason of conditional waivers granted by the Federal Railroad Administration, shall be considered to have successfully complied with the requirements of paragraph (d) of this section.
(g) A track owner or a railroad operating above Class 5 speeds, may request approval from the Federal Railroad Administrator to operate specified equipment at a level of cant deficiency greater than four inches in accordance with § 213.329(c) and (d) on curves in Class 1 through 5 track which are contiguous to the high speed track provided that—
(1) The track owner or railroad submits a test plan to the Federal Railroad Administrator for approval no less than thirty calendar days prior to any proposed implementation of the higher curving speeds. The test plan shall include an analysis and determination of carbody acceleration safety limits for each vehicle type which indicate wheel unloading of 60 percent in a steady state condition and 80 percent in a transient (point by point) condition. Accelerometers shall be laterally-oriented and floor-mounted near the end of a representative vehicle of each type;
(2) Upon FRA approval of a test plan, the track owner or railroad conducts incrementally increasing train speed test runs over the curves in the identified track segment(s) to demonstrate that wheel unloading is within the limits prescribed in paragraph (g)(1) of this section;
(3) Upon FRA approval of a cant deficiency level, the track owner or railroad inspects the curves in the identified track segment with a Track Geometry Measurement System (TGMS) qualified in accordance with § 213.333 (b) through (g) at an inspection frequency of at least twice annually with not less than 120 days interval between inspections; and
(4) The track owner or railroad operates an instrumented car having dynamic response characteristics that are representative of other equipment assigned to service or a portable device that monitors on-board instrumentation on trains over the curves in the identified track segment at the revenue speed profile at a frequency of at least once every 90-day period with not less than 30 days interval between inspections. The instrumented car or the portable device shall monitor a laterally-oriented accelerometer placed near the end of the vehicle at the floor level. If the carbody lateral acceleration measurement exceeds the safety limits prescribed in paragraph (g)(1), the railroad shall operate trains at curving speeds in accordance with paragraph (b) or (c) of this section; and
(5) The track owner or railroad shall maintain a copy of the most recent exception printouts for the inspections required under paragraphs (g)(3) and (4) of this section.
33992 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 119 / Monday, June 22, 1998 / Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
49 CFR Part 213
[Docket No. RST–90–1, Notice No. 8]
RIN 2130–AA75
Track Safety Standards
AGENCY: Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: FRA amends the Track Safety
Standards to update and enhance its
track safety regulatory program. To
address today's railroad operating
environment, these amendments present
additional regulatory requirements,
including standards specifically
addressing high speed train operations.
FRA issues these changes to improve
track safety and provide the railroad
industry with the flexibility needed to
effect a safer and more efficient use of
resources. The amendments reflect
recommendations submitted to FRA by
the Railroad Safety Advisory
Committee. The provisions included in
this notice become effective with this
rule. However, FRA anticipates that
further amendments will be added to
address the use of Gage Restraint
Measuring Systems.
DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is
effective September 21, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Allison H. MacDowell, Office of Safety
Enforcement, Federal Railroad
Administration, 400 Seventh Street,
S.W., Mail Stop 25, Washington, D.C.
20590 (telephone: 202–632–3344), or
Nancy Lummen Lewis, Office of Chief
Counsel, Federal Railroad
Administration, 400 Seventh Street,
S.W., Mail Stop 10, Washington, D.C.
20590 (telephone: 202–632–3174).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
The first Federal Track Safety
Standards were implemented in
October, 1971, following the enactment
of the Federal Railroad Safety Act of
1970 in which Congress granted to FRA
comprehensive authority over ''all areas
of railroad safety.'' See 36 FR 20336 and
49 U.S.C. 20101 et seq. FRA envisioned
the new standards to be an evolving set
of safety requirements subject to
continuous revision allowing the
regulations to keep pace with industry
innovations and agency research and
development.
FRA amended the Track Safety
Standards with minor revisions several
times in the past two decades. It began
a project to revise the standards
extensively in 1978, but later withdrew
the effort when investigation revealed
that considerably more data collection
and analysis were necessary to support
recommended revisions. A less
extensive revision of the Track Safety
Standards was issued in November,
1982. Since then, FRA has acquired
much information crucial to further
development of the Track Safety
Standards through the enhanced
statistical analysis capabilities resulting
from additional field reporting
requirements and improved data
collection processes.
Statutory Background
The Rail Safety Enforcement and
Review Act of 1992, Public Law 102–
365, 106 Stat. 972 (September 3, 1992),
later amended by the Federal Railroad
Safety Authorization Act of 1994, Public
Law 103–440, 108 Stat. 4615 (November
2, 1994), requires FRA to revise the
track safety regulations contained in 49
CFR Part 213. Now codified at 49 U.S.C.
§ 20142, the amended statute requires:
(a) Review of Existing Regulations.—Not
later than March 3, 1993, the Secretary of
Transportation shall begin a review of
Department of Transportation regulations
related to track safety standards. The review
at least shall include an evaluation of—
(1) Procedures associated with maintaining
and installing continuous welded rail and its
attendant structure, including cold weather
installation procedures;
(2) The need for revisions to regulations on
track excepted from track safety standards;
and
(3) Employee safety.
(b) Revision of Regulations.—Not later than
September 1, 1995, the Secretary shall
prescribe regulations and issue orders to
revise track safety standards, considering
safety information presented during the
review under subsection (a) of this section
and the report of the Comptroller General
submitted under subsection (c) of this
section.
* * * * *
(d) Identification of Internal Rail Defects.—
In carrying out subsections (a) and (b), the
Secretary shall consider whether or not to
prescribe regulations and issue orders
concerning—
(1) Inspection procedures to identify
internal rail defects, before they reach
imminent failure size, in rail that has
significant shelling; and
(2) Any specific actions that should be
taken when a rail surface condition, such as
shelling, prevents the identification of
internal defects.
Petitions for Rulemaking
In May, 1990, the Brotherhood of
Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE)
filed a petition with FRA to revise the
Track Safety Standards. The petition
suggested substantive changes to the
standards, the addition of new
regulations addressing recent
developments in the industry, as well as
the reinstatement of many of the
regulations deleted from the standards
in 1982. The BMWE also petitioned
FRA to further address employee safety
by incorporating in the Track Safety
Standards certain sections of the
Occupational Safety and Health
Standards presently administered by the
U.S. Department of Labor.
In March, 1992, the Association of
American Railroads (AAR) submitted to
FRA a list of recommended revisions to
the Track Safety Standards. The AAR
suggested some changes in the wording
of existing regulations to provide
additional flexibility to accommodate
future innovations in railroad
technology. Several suggested revisions
included new approaches to
determining compliance with certain
existing regulations. Most notable
among those was AAR's proposal that
the revised track standards permit the
use of a Gage Restraint Measuring
System (GRMS) in place of detailed
crosstie and fastener requirements.
Proceedings to Date
On November 16, 1992, FRA
published an Advance Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in this
docket. See 57 FR 54038. The ANPRM
summarized FRA's knowledge about
developments in the rail industry in the
past two decades and then posed some
52 questions regarding how those
developments should be addressed in
the revised track safety standards.
The ANPRM also announced plans for
four public workshops in which
technically-knowledgeable persons with
specialized experience in track
maintenance were invited to share their
views with FRA in an informal setting.
The workshops were fact-finding
sessions comprised of informal giveand-
take exchanges between industry,
labor, and government professionals
charged with the administration of the
track safety standards on a day-to-day
basis. They constituted an initial step by
FRA to use more active collaboration
with labor, railroad management,
manufacturers, state governments, and
public interest associations in
structuring the revised regulations.
Participants in the workshops
included representatives of major and
short line railroads, the AAR, the
American Short Line Railroad
Association (ASLRA), the BMWE, as
well as individuals with a particular
interest in certain areas of the track
safety standards. In addition to the
workshops, FRA invited interested
Federal Register /Vol. 63, No. 119 /Monday, June 22, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 33993
persons to submit written comments to
the questions posed in the ANPRM.
Approximately 30 individuals,
railroads, and industry groups
submitted their suggestions and
observations.
Following one workshop which
included an extensive discussion about
the safety of maintenance-of-way
employees, FRA decided to isolate that
issue from this proceeding so that it
could be addressed thoroughly in a
separate rulemaking. That issue became
the focus of a proceeding addressing
roadway worker safety, FRA's first
negotiated rulemaking. FRA established
its first formal regulatory negotiation
committee in 1994. After months of
discussions and debates, the committee
reached consensus conclusions and
recommended provisions for an NPRM
to the Federal Railroad Administrator
(Administrator) on May 17, 1995. An
NPRM based upon those
recommendations was published on
March 14, 1996 (see 61 FR 10528), and
a final rule was issued on December 16,
1996 (see 61 FR 65959). Thus, a
significant portion of the mandate of the
Rail Safety Enforcement and Review Act
of 1992 calling for a general revision of
the Track Safety Standards already has
become effective.
The Railroad Safety Advisory
Committee and the Track Working
Group
In past rulemakings, interested parties
generally have approached the
proceedings in an adversarial manner, a
tactic that often inhibited the
development of the best regulatory
solutions to resolve difficult safety
issues. In addition, parties also have
resorted to pressuring Congress for
legislation that would grant regulatory
results with which FRA disagreed or
were at odds with FRA's regulatory
agenda. FRA concluded, therefore, that
inclusion of these parties in its
regulatory process would result in a
more positive approach to developing
the best solutions to pressing safety
problems.
Although FRA gathered much
information in the 1993 track
workshops, as well as in similar
workshops associated with other
rulemaking proceedings, the agency
recognized that continued use of these
''ad hoc'' collaborative procedures for
each rulemaking was not the most
effective means of accomplishing the
agency's goal of achieving a more
consensus-based regulatory program.
Following the success in 1995 of the
negotiated rulemaking addressing
roadway worker safety, FRA decided
that several pending rulemakings,
including this proceeding to revise Part
213, should advance under a new
rulemaking model that relies upon
consensus among various members of
the affected industry and the regulated
community. On March 11, 1996, FRA
announced formation of the Railroad
Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC), the
centerpiece of the agency's new
regulatory program which emphasizes
rulemaking by consensus with those
most affected by the agency's
regulations. See 61 FR 740.
The RSAC is comprised of 48
individual representatives drawn from
27 member organizations. The
membership of the RSAC is
representative of those interested in
railroad safety issues, including railroad
owners, manufacturers, labor groups,
state government groups, and public
interest associations. It's sponsor is the
Administrator, who recommends
specific issues for it to address. The
RSAC operates by consensus. It is
authorized to establish smaller
''working groups'' to research and
initially address the issues
recommended by the Administrator and
accepted by the RSAC to resolve.
Most of the text of this final rule was
recommended to FRA by the RSAC. The
committee was tasked by the
Administrator to formulate and present
to FRA recommendations for new
regulations and revisions of existing
ones.
In accordance with established RSAC
procedures, RSAC formed a Track
Working Group, comprised of
approximately 30 representatives from
railroads, rail labor, trade associations,
state government, track equipment
manufacturers, and FRA, to develop and
draft a proposed rule for the revision of
Part 213. It met periodically over a span
of six months in 1996.
The Track Working Group identified
issues for discussion from several
sources. One source of issues was, of
course, the statutory mandates issued by
Congress in 1992 and in 1994. Two
other sources were the BMWE's petition
and AAR proposals. Several issues came
to the Track Working Group by way of
requests for consideration made by
FRA's track safety Technical Resolution
Committee. The group also examined
track issues involved in a number of
recommendations made to FRA by the
National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) in the past decade. Discussions
utilized information acquired by FRA
through its research and development
program, as well as from findings from
routine agency investigations and
accident investigations. Finally, the
Track Working Group systematically
surveyed the existing regulations to
identify those sections and subsections
that needed updating or, in some cases,
deletion.
At a public meeting on October 31,
1996, the Track Working Group
presented its proposed rule to the RSAC
for approval to recommend it to the
Administrator. As required by RSAC
procedures, each provision in the
proposed rule had received unanimous
approval by the members of the Track
Working Group. At the request of the
BMWE, the RSAC agreed to defer the
vote on whether to recommend the
proposed rule to the Administrator to
provide that organization additional
time to inform its members. At the time
of the formal vote by mail on November
21, 1996, representatives of many of the
labor unions withdrew support of the
proposed rule and recommended that it
be returned to the Track Working Group
for further discussion.
Despite the lack of support by many
RSAC representatives of rail labor, the
number of votes cast in favor of
recommending the proposed rule to the
Administrator exceeded the number
necessary for a simple majority. RSAC's
procedures provide that where there is
a majority vote to recommend to the
Administrator a rule presented to the
RSAC with full consensus of the
working group that produced it, the
RSAC will recommend adoption of the
rule by the Administrator. Following
those procedures, the RSAC formally
recommended to the Administrator that
FRA issue the proposed rule as it was
drafted.
On July 3, 1997, FRA published a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)
which included substantially the same
rule text and preamble developed by the
Track Working Group. See 62 FR 36138.
In developing the regulatory evaluation
for the NPRM, FRA attempted to
incorporate additional data in the cost/
benefit analysis beyond the impact data
provided by the Track Working Group.
In the NPRM, FRA requested additional
relevant data to use in the regulatory
evaluation for this final rule, but parties
who had access to relevant data did not
respond to that request.
Comments and Responses
The NPRM generated comments from
12 sources. Four of the commenters,
namely, the AAR, the BMWE, the
ASLRA, and Amtrak, were represented
on the Track Working Group and helped
draft the recommended rule which
became the basis for the NPRM. All four
of those commenters expressed support
for the RSAC process.
The BMWE stated that it agrees with
many of the revisions proposed in the
NPRM, but that the standards proposed
33994 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 119 / Monday, June 22, 1998 / Rules and Regulations
therein ''do not go far enough to ensure
the integrity of the track structure.'' The
BMWE stated that ''several significant
deficiencies'' led that group, as well as
RSAC members representing other labor
organizations, to recommend to RSAC
that the proposed rule as drafted by the
Track Working Group be returned to
that group for further consideration.
The AAR, in its comments to the
docket, stated that it continues to
support the NPRM and the language
drafted by the Track Working Group.
However, the AAR also added a request
that should FRA revise any of the
proposed rule in direct response to
comments by RSAC participants who
withdrew support of the rule drafted by
the Track Working Group, then FRA
would also re-examine the positions the
AAR originally expressed about those
issues. The AAR stated that its support
of the proposed rule reflects that
organization's willingness to
compromise some of its positions in the
interest in reaching consensus about the
proposed rule in the Track Working
Group. Therefore, the AAR's general
support of the NPRM should not be
misconstrued as agreement by the
organization with each and every
provision of the NPRM.
FRA has not significantly changed the
NPRM based on comments from other
RSAC participants who withdrew
support for the rule proposed by the
Track Working Group. Thus the AAR's
suggested revisions based on that
contingency are not examined in the
''Section By Section Analysis'' portion
of this final rule.
Continuous Welded Rail (CWR)
In the first track safety standards
published in 1971, § 213.119 dealt with
CWR in a rather general manner, stating
simply that CWR must be installed at a
rail temperature that prevents lateral
displacement of track or pull-aparts of
rail ends, and that it should not be
disturbed at rail temperatures higher
than the installation or adjusted
installation temperature. (See 36 FR
20341.) In 1979, when FRA proposed a
significant revision of Part 213, the
agency suggested that this subsection be
eliminated because it provided ''little
guidance to railroads'' and was
''difficult to enforce.'' The agency
further stated that research had ''not
advanced to the point where specific
safety requirements can be established.''
(See 44 FR 52114.) However, when the
proposed revision was withdrawn in
1981 (see 46 FR 32896), the proposal to
eliminate § 213.119 was also
abandoned. In the November, 1982
revisions to the Track Safety Standards,
§ 213.119 was deleted.
In the Rail Safety Enforcement and
Review Act of 1992, Congress mandated
FRA to evaluate procedures for
installing and maintaining CWR. In
1994, in the Federal Railroad
Authorization Act, Congress added an
evaluation of cold weather installation
procedures to that mandate. In light of
the evaluation of those procedures, as
well as information resulting from
FRA's own research and development,
this final rule returns CWR procedures
to Part 213.
CWR is naturally subjected to high
compressive and tensile forces which, if
not adequately restrained, can result in
track buckling or pull-aparts. The
potential for track buckling increases as
the ambient air temperature increases
while the potential for pull-aparts
increases as the ambient air temperature
decreases. Track buckling tends to occur
under train movement and therefore can
be instantaneous and somewhat
unpredictable.
In recent years, FRA engaged in a
research program to develop criteria and
guidelines for improving CWR's
resistance to buckling. The program
sought to (1) define critical forces and
conditions associated with track
buckling, (2) quantify parameters which
govern the resistance of track to
buckling, and (3) develop technology to
detect incipient failures prior to track
buckling. Railroads have also invested
considerable resources into CWR
research and employee training which
has resulted in a marked decrease in the
number of reportable buckled track
incidents over the last decade. FRA's
Accident/Incident data base reveals that
the number of reportable buckled track
derailments has been reduced by
approximately 50% since 1985,
dropping from a yearly average of
approximately 60 instances to
approximately 30 such occurrences per
year.
How a railroad provides the adequate
lateral resistance to prevent track
buckling may vary from railroad to
railroad. The Track Working Group
found that consistent methodology is
not as important as effective
methodology in installing and
maintaining CWR. Therefore, the Track
Working Group's recommendations and
the new subsection (§ 213.119) are
premised on the concept that the
regulations should provide railroads
with as much flexibility as safely
feasible. The new subsection allows
railroads to develop and implement
their individual CWR programs based
on procedures which have proven
effective for them over the years. At a
minimum, procedures shall be
developed for the installation,
adjustment, maintenance, and
inspection of CWR, as well as a training
program and minimal requirements for
recordkeeping. FRA fully expects the
railroad industry to take advantage of
continuing research initiatives to update
and enhance their CWR procedures, and
cautions railroads not to develop less
than acceptable CWR procedures as a
means to lessen the effect of regulatory
oversight. FRA will monitor the
railroads' adherence to these procedures
as well as the overall effectiveness of the
CWR programs.
While the CWR provision, as
proposed, received support from some
commenters (the NTSB), others were
critical of the new provision. The AAR
called it ''a classic case of
overregulation'' and suggested that the
provision require track owners only to
have CWR procedures and training
programs in effect and accessible to
FRA. While it supported the provision
as a means to enhance track safety, the
BMWE also advised that the provision
lacks a means to address railroads' noncompliance
with their own CWR
programs. The ASLRA suggested that
railroads should have the option of
excluding from their CWR plans any
trackage over which trains do not
operate at speeds over 30 m.p.h. and
which do not exceed one million gross
ton miles in traffic annually. The AAR
also stated that it generally supports the
provision as drafted by the Track
Working Group and that its suggestions
for changes were to be considered only
in the event FRA decides to revise the
proposed provision in response to
recommendations of other RSAC
participants who, after helping to draft
the recommended NPRM, withdrew
support for the recommendation. All
three commenters who expressed
negative comments were active
participants in the Track Working
Group and helped to draft the language
which adds the provision for CWR in
this final rule.
Excepted Track
With some limitations, the excepted
track regulation permits railroads to
designate track as ''excepted'' from
compliance with minimum safety
requirements for roadbed, track
geometry and track structure. FRA
added the excepted track provision
(§ 213.4) to the regulations in 1982 in
response to an industry outcry for
regulatory relief on those rail lines
producing little or no income. FRA
believed that without some relief for
low density lines, railroads would
accelerate abandonment of those lines
rather than invest their slim resources
where returns would be limited.
Federal Register /Vol. 63, No. 119 /Monday, June 22, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 33995
Therefore, the 1982 revision provided
the industry with a means to operate
over designated tracks without
complying with the substantive
requirements of the Track Safety
Standards. FRA believed that the
designated tracks would be located in
yards or otherwise on comparatively
level terrain in areas where the
likelihood was remote that a derailment
would endanger a train crew or the
general public.
The 1982 provision contains a
number of operating restrictions,
including limitations on where excepted
track can be located and the number of
cars containing hazardous materials
(five) that can be hauled in one train.
Maximum speed is 10 m.p.h., and
passenger service is prohibited.
Despite these limitations, railroads
have embraced the concept of excepted
track. In 1992, an FRA survey revealed
the existence of approximately 12,000
miles of designated excepted track
nationwide, far more than FRA
envisioned when the provision was
added to the regulations. Recent surveys
conducted by the AAR and the ASLRA
indicate that between 8,000 and 9,000
miles of excepted track presently exist
nationwide.
Comments to the ANPRM, the NPRM,
as well as some opinions expressed
within the Track Working Group,
showed that many railroads favor
maintaining an excepted track provision
in the Track Safety Standards. They
argued that accident and injury data do
not support the notion that trackage in
''excepted'' status presents any
significant safety hazard. FRA's data
show that between 1990 and 1995,
track-caused derailments on excepted
track caused three reportable injuries
and one release of hazardous materials.
In commenting on the NPRM, the
ASLRA stated that, in a recent survey of
short line railroads, 146 railroads that
reported having excepted track had 122
reportable accidents in a five-year
period from 1991 through 1995. Of
those accidents, 87 were track-related.
The ASLRA strenuously argued that
short line railroads depend on the
excepted track provision in order to
keep certain track segments in business.
Many short lines operate over track they
acquired just before abandonment by a
major railroad. A significant number of
those lines serve only a handful of
industries with comparatively small
gross tonnage. The ASLRA commented
that the cost to short line railroads to
upgrade and maintain excepted track
would exceed $230 million. Elimination
of the excepted track provision would
cause the abandonment of
approximately 95 lines affecting 1,063
shippers who may be then compelled to
use highway transportation.
Approximately 65% of all reportable
derailments on excepted track from
1988 through the third quarter of 1995
were track-caused. Of those, nearly 33%
were attributed to wide gage as a result
of defective crossties or rail fasteners.
Several commenters expressed approval
of some type of gage restriction. The
BMWE suggested that the revised
provision should also address the
condition and placement of ties and
fasteners, as well as switch maintenance
and rail/joint bar defects.
The AAR commented that the gage
restrictions proposed in the NPRM
should be eliminated. The AAR stated
that there are situations where wide
gage is safe, for instance, in road
crossings. In those cases, pavement
would have to be destroyed and
replaced to correct wide gage when the
pavement would have restricted wheel
position and prevented a derailment.
The AAR also stated that it recommends
that the gage restriction be eliminated
only if FRA decides to revise the
proposed provision based on the
comments of other RSAC participants
who helped draft the recommendations
and then later withdrew support of
them. Otherwise, the AAR supports the
NPRM as drafted by the Track Working
Group.
Because none of the commenters
presented FRA with a compelling
reason to make further changes to the
gage restrictions in the excepted track
provision, this final rule adopts the
language as recommended by the Track
Working Group and as proposed in the
NPRM. Under this final rule, track
owners must maintain gage to a 581⁄4¢¢
standard and perform periodic switch
inspections.
FRA and state inspectors have found
instances where railroads have taken
advantage of the permissive language in
the 1982 provision to conduct
operations in a manner not envisioned
when FRA drafted the provision. For
example, a railroad removes a segment
of track from the excepted designation
only long enough to move a train with
more than five cars carrying hazardous
materials, or to operate an excursion
passenger train, and then replaces the
segment in excepted status as soon as
the movement is completed. The BMWE
and the NTSB suggested that the revised
provision include time limits for the use
of this provision over any segment of
track. The final rule adopts the language
as proposed in the NPRM and requires
railroads to provide FRA with
notification 10 days prior to removing
track from excepted status.
The revision also changes the word
''revenue'' to ''occupied'' in describing
passenger trains prohibited from
operating over excepted track. This
change codifies FRA's long-standing
interpretation of the 1982 provision
which allowed trains on excepted track
to be occupied by crews, work gangs,
and other railroad employees attending
to their job-related duties. It is also
designed to dispel the misconception by
some railroads that passengers could be
hauled over excepted track as long as
they were not charged, and the railroad
received no ''revenue,'' for their
transportation. The purpose of the
passenger prohibition is to safeguard
railroad passengers; its purpose is not
concerned with the revenue-generating
power of passenger service.
Liability Standard
The current track regulations are
enforced against a track owner ''who
knows or has notice'' that the track does
not meet compliance standards. This
knowledge standard is unique to the
track regulations; other FRA regulations
are based on strict liability. The
knowledge standard is founded on the
notion that railroads cannot prevent the
occurrence of some defects in track
structures that are continually changing
in response to the loads imposed on
them by traffic and effects of weather.
Many defects may not be detected even
when the track owner exercises
reasonable care. Therefore, track owners
should be held responsible only for
those defects about which they know or
should know. Today, even after years of
track abandonments by major railroads,
the industry is responsible for
maintaining about 200,000 miles of
track. Many defects occur suddenly in
remote areas, making it difficult for even
the most diligent track inspectors to
keep pace with all defects as they
happen.
With a knowledge standard attached
to the track regulations, railroads are
held liable for non-compliance or civil
penalties for only those defects that they
knew about or those that are so evident
the railroad is deemed to have known
about them. FRA and state inspectors
meet this knowledge standard in a
number of ways. Sometimes they record
and notify a railroad of a defect that
they find, and then re-inspect later to
see if the defect has been repaired. If it
has not, they may cite the railroad for
a violation of the track safety standards.
While this method provides a failsafe
way of proving railroad notice of a
defect, it is not always practicable for
inspectors to perform follow-up
inspections. Such a system would make
railroads responsible only for defects
33996 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 119 / Monday, June 22, 1998 / Rules and Regulations
FRA already has detected, which is
clearly not a sufficient incentive to
comply.
Often, inspectors choose to inspect
the railroad's own inspection records to
see if a defect they have noted is
recorded there. If it is, the inspection
record forms proof that the railroad had
notice of the defect. If the defect is not
recorded in the railroad's inspection
records, but is of the nature that it
would have had to exist at the time of
the railroad's last inspection (for
example, defective crossties or certain
breaks that are covered with rust) and
would have been detected with the
exercise of reasonable care, the defect's
existence constitutes constructive
knowledge by the railroad and the
railroad is cited for a violation. FRA's
reading of its ''knows or has notice''
standard has been its long-standing
enforcement policy and is explained in
FRA's Track Enforcement Manual.
In its petition, the BMWE suggested
that FRA put track owners under a strict
liability standard by removing the
phrase ''knows or has notice'' from
§ 213.5. Under that standard, any defect
found by an FRA inspector could be
written as a violation regardless of the
railroad's ignorance of it or the
railroad's opportunity to have detected
it under the required inspection
schedule. The AAR requested in its
petition that FRA develop performance
standards for the track regulations.
Certain defects would not be cited as
long as the track is performing safely,
making unnecessary many of the
regulations (for example, inspection
requirements and the minimum number
of crossties). The inherent weakness in
such a proposal is that railroads will
develop differing internal requirements
for track inspection and maintenance.
Some railroads may not be as vigilant as
others in spotting defects or potential
defects. Track defects compromising
safety may not be discovered until the
track fails, causing a derailment and
possibly injuries and death.
Neither the BMWE nor the AAR
provided FRA with cost/benefit
information to support their respective
requests.
More Continued on Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION/Federal Railroad Administration:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/213.57
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1998-06-22/pdf/98-15932.pdf#page=38
Are you making me take a test after this? ;) More is starting to come out about the speed of the train .I know that curve, and there are many who ride over it every day.70 is the top speed for entering the turn and usually there is a slow down during it with a gradual speed up when the last car has exited. It does tend to make one rock and roll to the left and right at any speed. There is another very rough area near Providence. I have a friend who, before retirement, was an Amtrack engineer.We called him Chooch ,or ChooChoo.I haven't caught up with him yet, but I'm interested in what he has to say about all this, especially what happened to the engineer. Since this the second wreck there perhaps this time the curve can be straightened some what. Shutting down the entire corridor is tough on everyone as it is very heavily used.
So, now more information is starting to come out about the train wreck.Instead of screaming to shut down AMTRAK, in favor of I don't know what, stop second guessing what actually happened and wait for the final reports. Don't totally blame the engineer just yet. There was something weird going on.
Do you believe that Amtrak is your benefit from the government (tyrants)?
Yep, more is coming out.
The train was not shot at.Speed kills!
100 mph on a 50 mph curve now lowered to 45 mph.
Waiting for more facts.
(https://scontent-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/11054303_1084205518306243_1831374450517881696_n.jpg?oh=4eaa1fb976ac915e59c0a74c240fabd7&oe=55C82B40)
Sorry folks, I'm not feeding trolls today.I didn't read any of the last three posts nor do I plan to.They live on some other planet. No matter what the subject, it's the same old misspelled, self centered ridiculously critical blah,blah,blah. Who needs it?
Our Beau Biden is not well.His career may be over and his life may be in jeopardy.
Newark had a nice parade last Sunday. 50 groups in line.That's a little smaller than usual, but the weather wasn't the best.There was the traditional wreath laying and service in front of U D's Memorial Hall prior to the parade. Aetna turned out in force as always and the Shriners stole the show.... again! 60 photos at newarkpostonline.com.
I finally finished getting the last of the veggie garden in. Grow plants grow!
I am starting the count down for my college friends coming in on June 15. One just got engaged at 68! Her husband died two years ago and she met this great fellow at church. I can't wait to hear the details.
Our community pool down the street is having their usual "Dash and Splash" this Saturday.They jog all over the neighborhood and end by jumping in the pool to officially open it for the summer. A free weekend for everyone.
Tomorrow our firehouse is having a cookout for all our current and retired EMT's for National EMT Week. Of course the entire fire company is invited.One of our great cooks is doing chef duty. The local bakery is donating a cake and Rita's Water Ice is donating big coolers of Gelato . It's a good week to thank EMS for all they do.
So far we haven't even turned on the air conditioner...hope that cool air lasts just a little longer so I can finish my new rock garden.and not get too hot.
My "boat neighbor" brought us some great tasting Atlantic Cod. He is hoping for Black Bass next time.
Our school district is having another referendum next week.I suspect it will fail again.
Later all.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 20, 2015, 02:24:58 PM
Sorry folks, I'm not feeding trolls today.I didn't read any of the last three posts nor do I plan to.They live on some other planet. No matter what the subject, it's the same old misspelled, self centered ridiculously critical blah,blah,blah. Who needs it?
Now how can you possibly say you are not trolling, when thst is exactly what you are doing?
All that bull about mispelling, how many times have you been corrected teacher? LOL
If you haven't read the previous three posts you don't know and understand the many words of wisdom posted there. So who is it that is from some other planet?
You are so funny, and fun. LOL
Oh yea and Joesue says no one is posting anymore, or didn't you get the word?
You and Joesue what a pair, such great entertainment !
Bye-bye.
Ross, you are wasting your time. I didn't read your post. I'm sure there is nothing new, interesting, useful or complimentary to anyone, especially me...just more ridicule and personal criticism.
We just got back from a fun lunch in the engine bay at st.8. Lots of food and friendship, with many of the local ambulances there to jump into service if need be. Some of the local merchants were kind enough to give us things for door prizes and Al and I each won gift certificates to two of our good restaurants. That was a nice treat as we rarely ever win anything.
It's raining gently, but very chilly.Much needed moisture for my new plants and garden seeds.Hope it keeps up for a few more hours.A bit warmer would suit me just fine though. It's just barely 53 .Not too good for the beans, with more of the same for tonight and tomorrow.
From what I can see from the forecasts here, you all better roll up your pants legs and get out the chest high waders. Stay safe all.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 21, 2015, 12:45:36 PM
Ross, you are wasting your time. I didn't read your post. I'm sure there is nothing new, interesting, useful or complimentary to anyone, especially me...just more ridicule and personal criticism.
Jeeze I thought I was sort of complimentary to you on your ability at back stabbing, I responde in kind to your post. Here is part of the post I am refering to:
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 11, 2015, 09:02:24 AM
You few who are left on the "forum'' (HA!) have indeed made it your own political gripe yard. So have at it, it's all yours. As far as why I should have a good Mother's Day myself? Not likely. Just think about it.Jeeze!
And you did bring politics over here to the coffee shop once again of your own volition.
Wasting my time, not hardly, not much time involved but it is always a pleasure to chat with you.
Just keep calling me back and I will return at your bidding. Just talk politics in the Coffee Shop or use my name or some other reference to me and bingo-bango I'm here with pleasure.
Have a good night Diane.
Today the flags are flying here and later this morning we'll visit the grave of a dear friend who was killed in Viet Nam July 15,1968.
I hope everyone keeps in mind why we have to have such a day.We'll enjoy the nice weather and enjoy friends and family and picnics and the beach.They would want us to enjoy the freedoms they died to protect. Never forget.
We visited Dave's grave and then I took Al to Firebird's for his free vet's lunch. The place was full of old folks.Imagine that! 8)
Our local school referendum failed for the second time.The school district is trying to blame the charter schools from taking money away from the regular schools.Don't they understand the money follows the child whatever public school they go to? A child who isn't in their building doesn't require any money to be spent on him.
Our local voters haven't forgotten what the district pulled three years ago.After the referendum finally passed, they went out and hired more administrators. Very little of the money ever reached the classrooms.If the state is able to redistrict and pull the City of Wilmington out of the mix and give it back its own school district, as it should, a kagillion $ will be saved on busses and transportation. It's a very long and complicated story that goes back to the early 70's and federally forced desegregation that Newark should not have been involved with anyway.
Of course, now they say they will lay off teachers and cut programs.They aren't suggesting they cut any non teaching staff. It's a very sad situation but the charter schools ,and there are several around here, are just perking along doing fine, all somewhat different from each other, yet meeting the needs of their students.
My one young friend who will graduate soon will be going into the Navy in November and has been accepted into their Pharmasist's Mate program.It's perfect for him.He has been going to the First Responder Charter School that has kids who are interested in careers in medicine and law enforcment.
Another one is military in nature and another is the Cab Calloway School for the Arts.They are public schools, but have their own specialties. Our industrial arts schools are also public schools, but have their own district.
Al finished my new rock garden for me and I have a couple more sale plants to put in.The rough winter killed a few of my new plants from last summer, so I'm going to try them one more time. Time to go fix Al's breakfast. Eggs fresh from some local hens, sausages and toast today. Enjoy the day.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 29, 2015, 06:52:31 AM
Our local school referendum failed for the second time.The school district is trying to blame the charter schools from taking money away from the regular schools.Don't they understand the money follows the child whatever public school they go to? A child who isn't in their building doesn't require any money to be spent on him.
Our local voters haven't forgotten what the district pulled three years ago.After the referendum finally passed, they went out and hired more administrators. Very little of the money ever reached the classrooms.If the state is able to redistrict and pull the City of Wilmington out of the mix and give it back its own school district, as it should, a kagillion $ will be saved on busses and transportation. It's a very long and complicated story that goes back to the early 70's and federally forced desegregation that Newark should not have been involved with anyway.
Of course, now they say they will lay off teachers and cut programs.They aren't suggesting they cut any non teaching staff. It's a very sad situation but the charter schools ,and there are several around here, are just perking along doing fine, all somewhat different from each other, yet meeting the needs of their students.
My one young friend who will graduate soon will be going into the Navy in November and has been accepted into their Pharmasist's Mate program.It's perfect for him.He has been going to the First Responder Charter School that has kids who are interested in careers in medicine and law enforcment.
Another one is military in nature and another is the Cab Calloway School for the Arts.They are public schools, but have their own specialties. Our industrial arts schools are also public schools, but have their own district.
Are you actively taking your school issues to your local community, the taxpayers and voters?
If so haow are you doing that?
I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavor in getting the issues resolved, if you are attempting to.
Really hot and dry today with no chance of rain.We usually don't have to water the veggies and flowers until July, but if we don't they are doomed for sure.
UD graduation is this weekend and the under grad kids who finished their finals early have been moving out too. This week was a good week to avoid downtown. Lots of lost parents from many states are roaming around looking for parking, even though there are no no parking areas this weekend.
When the two sets of west side dorms not too far from me empty out, they will be permanently closed.One set will most likely be sold to The City of Newark ,torn down and used for rain water and flood management areas and ponds.The other set...who knows? UD wants to get away from the west side of town and build more to the south and east.
By Monday, Newark will be a sleepy little town again for a few weeks until summer school starts.Yay!.
For many years we then took over Main St. and had a big party to celebrate the closing of school.Thousands came and took over Main St. for a fun street fair until 9PM. Sadly, some out of towner rough types came in from Wilmington and out of state and ruined it all.
I'm getting set up for my friends who are coming here on June 15. Can't wait to see them all again. Back to watering everything.
Quote from: ROSS on May 29, 2015, 09:23:14 AM
Are you actively taking your school issues to your local community, the taxpayers and voters?
If so haow are you doing that?
I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavor in getting the issues resolved, if you are attempting to.
Nice response (no response) to some excellent questions about your local school issues.
I take it you aren't interested in your local politics only politics far away in Elk Couty.
Are you afraid to get involved in your local politics?
I think we all knew it might happen, but not so soon. Beau Biden lost his battle with brain cancer and died yesterday.He had been seen, but not heard in public since his last problem, so everyone figured he had speech difficulties. Now he'll join his mother and baby sister in heaven.They were killed in a horrible car accident in 1972, and he and brother Hunter were injured.
I saw that two of your local boys were killed in a car accident too.That is so sad.
Ross, I don't know what you are posting here but don't keep bothering.I don't read it because it is always full of snide remarks and criticisms of me that I can do without. Don't waste your time. On occasion if you do say something worth seeing, someone there will PM me and tell me...otherwise, phooey,who needs it?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 31, 2015, 06:34:51 AM
Ross, I don't know what you are posting here but don't keep bothering.I don't read it because it is always full of snide remarks and criticisms of me that I can do without. Don't waste your time. On occasion if you do say something worth seeing, someone there will PM me and tell me...otherwise, phooey,who needs it?
Everyone knows you do read every word.
You brought up the subject of your local political school issues, here is a reminder for you:
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 29, 2015, 06:52:31 AM
Our local school referendum failed for the second time.The school district is trying to blame the charter schools from taking money away from the regular schools.Don't they understand the money follows the child whatever public school they go to? A child who isn't in their building doesn't require any money to be spent on him.
Our local voters haven't forgotten what the district pulled three years ago.After the referendum finally passed, they went out and hired more administrators. Very little of the money ever reached the classrooms.If the state is able to redistrict and pull the City of Wilmington out of the mix and give it back its own school district, as it should, a kagillion $ will be saved on busses and transportation. It's a very long and complicated story that goes back to the early 70's and federally forced desegregation that Newark should not have been involved with anyway.
Of course, now they say they will lay off teachers and cut programs.They aren't suggesting they cut any non teaching staff. It's a very sad situation but the charter schools ,and there are several around here, are just perking along doing fine, all somewhat different from each other, yet meeting the needs of their students.
My one young friend who will graduate soon will be going into the Navy in November and has been accepted into their Pharmasist's Mate program.It's perfect for him.He has been going to the First Responder Charter School that has kids who are interested in careers in medicine and law enforcment.
Another one is military in nature and another is the Cab Calloway School for the Arts.They are public schools, but have their own specialties. Our industrial arts schools are also public schools, but have their own district.
Al finished my new rock garden for me and I have a couple more sale plants to put in.The rough winter killed a few of my new plants from last summer, so I'm going to try them one more time. Time to go fix Al's breakfast. Eggs fresh from some local hens, sausages and toast today. Enjoy the day.
And I simply asked a few very polite questions about your possible activity concerning it, here is anothe reminder of those questions:
Quote from: ROSS on May 29, 2015, 09:23:14 AM
Are you actively taking your school issues to your local community, the taxpayers and voters?
If so haow are you doing that?
I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavor in getting the issues resolved, if you are attempting to.
There is nothing snarky about the above questions and a wish of good luck. Now is there.
This post is just to help you comprehend what has transpired after you introduced the politics of your local school system.
And you were not even polite enough to respond. So, I was forced to think you are only interested in politics in Elk Count, Kansas instead of in Delaware.
Do you think you can correct my thinking on this subject? I'd really appreciate it if you would try !
Thanks you
Hooray, it rained last night! We got a very useful 3.1 inches when a system went rumbling through during the wee hours of morning. I feel like singing that old song,''The day that the rains came down, Mother Earth smiled again". We have needed it so badly.The lower part of the state, where most of the farms are have been getting rain that has been missing us here in the northwest part of the state.
I see "he" is still posting here and I'm still not reading. It's probably his usual horse manure, and personal attacks. Would someone please tell him he is wasting his time? He should find someone else to try to feel superior to. There was a time that I thought maybe I could get him to consider other ideas or broaden his outlook a bit. Nope, if anything he has gotten worse and even more narrow. Only he has the answer to anything. Just follow him and everything will be just fine. I have out grown him and moved on.
There are so few left on the forum, it's hardly worth anyone's time to stop by.I do, but to see who else, if anyone, has anything to say about anything, such as gardening, plus the obits.I still occasionally see a name I recognize from long ago, or at least a family name. I also enjoy reading the Prairie Star. It must be good since the Boy's Club dislikes it.HA!
I now have a date to go annoy some weeds that I can finally pull up...I hope.
Thanks for calling me back Diane, I am am pleased to oblige !
I see you are still reading Diane, educational isn't it?
See how a highly educate
Elk Konnected Follower responds to very polite and sensible questions that included a wish for success in her endeavor. This a is college educated, educator responds to a sensible redneck. Hilarious isn't it? The bullying name calling that is! LOL
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 01, 2015, 06:39:07 AM
I see "he" is still posting here and I'm still not reading. It's probably his usual horse manure, and personal attacks. Would someone please tell him he is wasting hs time? He should find someone else to try to feel superior to. There was a time that I thought maybe I could get him to consider other ideas or broaden his outlook a bit. Nope, if anything he has gotten worse and even more narrow. Only he has the answer to anything. Just follow him and everything will be just fine. I have out grown him and moved on.
TTFN
It's still raining! Gently, almost 8 inches now, but it hasn't stopped and it is cold. Only 53 yesterday morning and 56 this morning. It never got above 59 yesterday.The pool down the street is open, but no takers.
A lot of my friends have family kids graduating now.The years sure do fly by. I think I'll get my plate and head out to crash their parties. HA!
The President is coming in to do the eulogy for Beau Biden on Saturday.That will really mess up traffic for a while. Beau will lie in state in Dover and there will be a couple of other viewings before the service on Saturday. He was very well liked, even by the opposing political parties.
Time to go out and dump the big flower pot saucers.
Again, we got a solid inch of rain last night.That makes 9.5 since Monday.Things got a good soaking and the reservoir is full. Now we need a little warm up and some sun.
I bought a watermelon which we ate half of last night and a neighbor brought us a big bowl of their good June strawberries. Both were very sweet and a nice treat following my homemade bean and bacon burritos.
It was very sad reading the obits of those young men who died in that vehicle crash. I think every high school group loses at least one.They will never be forgotten of course.They will be remembered at every reunion and the old stories will be told once more. We do the same here.
I wouldn't have expected any of you to have watched it, but Beau Biden's funeral was very nice.That Westboro white trash showed up looking for publicity, but the 100 or so folks who blocked them kept them from having any effect.
St Anthony's is a large 1000 seat city church in the "little Italy"section of Wilmington and there were still hundreds of over flow people.They have a big local festival for many blocks around the church at this time every year and they postponed the start this afternoon until the funeral was over.They have the best Italian food ever.We used to go, but haven't in the last few years.It follows the Greek Festival that just ended.Also wonderful food.
Woo-hoo! Hurray for American Pharoah. That was an amazing race...and that horse won it going away.
What an up and down weekend this has been. My college friends come tomorrow, so I've been cleaning and cooking like crazy.
My friend who lives in Maine is bringing me some of their good Maine fish chowdah.
Last night was Newark Night up and down Main St. It was hot but nice until we had to respond to a real tragedy.Right down the street from me, in the parks and rec. building where I've done the Safety Town Day Camp for many years, there was a private party going on. A 4 year old wandered off and went way at the back of the property where there is a pond/retention basin,. fenced and locked.usually.Someone left the gate unlocked.It had been the winter source for ice for the Newark ice house way back when. She went in or fell in and drowned. Our folks went in and found her, worked on her as did the hospital but they couldn't save her. What a terrible thing to happen.
Then this morning I found out that a good paramedic friend of many years committed suicide. He had just recently retired.I am heart broken.
They're here! Al rented a van so we can all run around together and what a grand time we are having. They can't believe how much the town and campus have grown and changed.They left for a bit to go check into their rooms and will be back for dinner soon. Then we'll see what kind of trouble we can get into later!
Whee! What a time we had. I don't think we shut up the whole visit. Al and Larry enjoyed it too, but couldn't get a word in edgewise. HA!
We went to Wesley's for our late lunch and it was delicious as always.Then we drove west further into Maryland to the big Conowingo Dam and hydro electric power plant on the Susquehanna River. Larry used to work for the parent electric company, so it pleased him to see it. There is a nice parking area down by the river where folks can fish and photographers come. We sometimes can find eagles. They would have large babies this time of year and we know where they nest in the forest behind the parking lot, among other places. Since the day was late and the sun was dropping down, I thought we might get lucky.
As we drove down to the bottom of the long lane that goes down a long steep hill to the river, there is a turn on to the flat parking area. On the grass just doing nothing, were a several hundred Black Vultures! They are black all over, but have silver tips on and under their wings that show when they fly. We found them when we looked up vultures to see what kind they were;they were new to me. They weren't eating anything, just sitting, walking around and showing their wings and preening.They ignored us as we drove by within 20 feet of them.
There are several large, rocky, but tree covered islands in the middle of the river there with two very tall typical old style electric towers one one of themThe birds enjoy hanging out on them.We sat on a picnic tale high above the river,took some photos and enjoyed the peace and calm there. It has been very hot here and the coolness by the water was very refreshing. A few minutes later a mature eagle swooped over and several more appeared over the island and landed on the towers. One went right over our heads and back up into the deep trees behind us. I'm sure it went to a nest, but of course that was well hidden from us. We walked back among the river to see those vultures again. As we were leaning on the fence by the river, watching them and the other birds, of many kinds, and watching for fish to jump, the Black Vultures suddenly took off in mass and headed toward the island, probably to settle in for the night.
Yesterday afternoon my friends departed, all going on to other things after they left us. We put my widowed friend Pat on the train to New York City from the little station here in Newark. I am keeping her car safe here. She went up to meet the family of her new "boyfriend." who actually lives in NC. not too far from her. It's getting serious and he want to his family to get to know her.His adult daughters both live in NY, as he had at one time. He's 71 and a very sweet person. He took a train from NC to NYC too.They are going to see a show and see what there is to see. We'll pick them up from the south bound train on Monday evening and bring them back here, so we'll get to meet Chet. Then they will take Pat's car and head toward N.C. ,stopping at Pat's sister's house along the way.
We did tour around Newark Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, including the UD campus. They were amazed it how much it has grown. A big parking building had been built next to the Student Center, so we drove in, picked up the ticket from the machine and had a fun time poking around the SC next door to see how it has changed over 53 years.Some things are exactly the same.
Then came the fun part. As we tried to leave the building, we collectively couldn't figure out how to get out of the place!. None of the usual ways would make the gate go up. So now we have a new joke. How many senior citizens does it take to get out of a UD parking garage?
SIX! We finally found the garage "office",which was nowhere near an exit, and paid there.
What adventures we have had!
I was assured that "nobody'' reads what I, as an dreaded outsider, write any longer, so we'll see if I just wasted my time.
Reminder to self. Don't feed the trolls. As I figured,"nobody" read my big post. He won't even get the joke.
Trolls have no souls and hate people. They don't deserve any communication with anyone, even if they deliberately set out to hurt people for their own amusement.They really think the world would be a better place if people would just agree with what they think, and do everything their way.They try to make fools of people and it bounces back on them every time.They call people liars who are not, and actually believe their own postings. They can't possibly be Christian and treat people the way they do.They really aren't very bright and are very jealous of those who are. They never get over any perceived slight and keep a detailed record of every one so they can savor them and use them as excuses to treat people badly.They try to get the goods on anyone for anything, so they can crow and flap their wings and feel superior.They have severe personality defects and association with such people should be limited and could actually be dangerous.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 19, 2015, 10:57:52 AM
Reminder to self. Don't feed the trolls. They have no souls and hate people. They don't deserve any communication with anyone, even if they deliberately set out to hurt people for their own amusement.They really think the world would be a better place if people would just agree with what they think, and do everything their way.They try to make fools of people and it bounces back on them every time.They call people liars who are not, and actually believe their own postings. They can't possibly be Christian and treat people the way they do.They really aren't very bright and are very jealous of those who are. They never get over any perceived slight and keep a detailed record of every one so they can savor them and use them as excuses to treat people badly.They try to get the goods on anyone for anything, so they can crow and flap their wings and feel superior.They have severe personality defects and association with such people should be limited and could actually be dangerous.
So you slipped back to the Coffee Shop threads to do your trolling and backstabbing good --- no excellent job. You are so wound up you failed to place spaces between your sentences, good job teacher.
Your write up about a troll explains you to a "T". Superb job Diane !
But associating with you as the troll that you are has not and will not affect my common since or my psychic in any fashion that you describe. Because, I am a far better person than that. Besides if I didn't feed you as a troll you'd go hungry. LOL
You don't catch me switching threads to bad mouth people on the political thread as you do.
And I had informed you months ago if you summon me I will come. So here, I am responding light heartedly and honestly as promised.
Won't you try to be a good girl and keep it clean and on the political threads. After all, you have done a great deal of complaining about people taking things from the political threads to other threads.
Ross you just keep proving everyone is right, you are the worst thing to happen to the Forum. You think all of your smart remarks are cute but the really confirm your rudeness and stupidity. Everyone I talk to tells me they quit posting because of you and they didn't want you running them down.
Quote from: Joesue23 on June 19, 2015, 12:55:52 PM
Ross you just keep proving everyone is right, you are the worst thing to happen to the Forum. You think all of your smart remarks are cute but the really confirm your rudeness and stupidity. Everyone I talk to tells me they quit posting because of you and they didn't want you running them down.
You just cant handle the truth.
And the truth is and is especially true with liberals when they are losing an argument do to lack of proof they switch to calling names and any other put down they can come up with.
And it is truly nothing to worry about.
So, I really enjoy your posts and the profuse sweating that they display.
It's fun and humorous. Keep it coming, keep it coming. LOL
You even fail to answer any questions that you are sure to know the answer too. TCH,TCH !
Male trolls who actually expect answers to their rude and intrusive questions are actually eunuchs. They resent the lack of respect they receive and don't know what to do about, it because they are powerless. Feel sorry for them, they don't know any better.
Fight the urge to get even. One cannot hurt someone who is already dead inside.
They prove their status by answering back to comments that they assume were meant for and about themselves, even though their name(s) wasn't/weren't used. After all, who else is important enough to talk about?
They actually think that every word they write is so interesting, exciting and important that everyone will read their posts and then lie and say they didn't. Yeah, sure. What an ego!
Can anyone tell me why a certain person is so addicted to his hatred for the efforts Elk Konnected made? He just can't get past it or his hatred for some of the people who tried to keep Elk County from dissolving off the map.
That is a very unhealthy mental state.I think some people may be afraid of him because of his uncontrolled tirades.Perhaps he should stay at home and direct his spare energy to where it is actually needed and appreciated.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 19, 2015, 03:51:26 PM
Male trolls who actually expect answers to their rude and intrusive questions are actually eunuchs. They resent the lack of respect they receive and don't know what to do about, it because they are powerless. Feel sorry for them, they don't know any better.
Fight the urge to get even. One cannot hurt someone who is already dead inside.
They prove their status by answering back to comments that they assume were meant for and about themselves, even though their name(s) wasn't/weren't used. After all, who else is important enough to talk about?
They actually think that every word they write is so interesting, exciting and important that people will read their posts and then lie and say they didn't because the poster was put on ignore.What an ego!
Do You really consider everyone as ignorant as yourself, do you? Do you really believe calling people names is the proper way to respond to ernst questions when you have no answers. Names do not always have to be used, implied intentions are often quite enough. And you claim to be educated and have been a grade school teacher at one time.
You come over to the political threads and bad mouth the hell out of a person, then retreat back to here to backstab and then your Obama Liberal attitude fails you tremendously. And you seriously believe you have accomplished something. You have my sincerest heart felt sympathy.
What I do write is of some interest to local people here in Elk County, Kansas but perhaps of no interest to any actual Delaware State citizens which is fine. But when a person such as yourself intrudes with snide and nasty remarks continuously, those remarks and backstabbing cries for a response. Such as the "eunuchs" remark is actually a cry for help. I'd like to suggest that you seek help immediately before you have a complete break down and do something you might regret for life.
You said good bye to the political thread any months ago promising never to return, and you have done that several times and yet you keep coming back.
I on the other hand promised if you called me out after your first backstabbing post on this Coffee Shop thread you started, I promised to return. As you can see I keep my promises. Why don't you keep your promise. I'm sorry you find life so difficult but there is nothing from over a thousand miles away that I can do to help you.
If the stress continues to be to burdensome please call a crisis hot line and don't do anything foolish.
Take care of yourself Diane. And please do request my return again. You know I wll have to return as I promised you.
Have a great weekend and I hope you get to feel better mentally.
Bye - Bye
I'm working on a new project.Fish. Tri State Bird Rescue, nationally known for bird rescue,repair and de-oiling shore birds, has three young Eagles and 2 Ospreys they are raising until they can go out on their own. I have a couple of friends who volunteer there and we are looking for all our fishing friends to dig in their freezers for fish that are "old " or will go catch some fish for the birds.Several have already responded, including me. Tri State is only about two miles from me, so it's nice and close. One pal is going out for more perch.He already donated 5 trout and several other perch.
What a fun time we had on Saturday.My life time girl friend and husband were given a 50th anniversary party by their children. Of course it poured all day, but the party was held in a nice room at a golf club in PA. so it didn't matter.It was in a very interesting round rustic room with heavy beams and curved stone benches all around the sides.The property it sits on was once a farm owned by Mary Ann's family, so that was even more special. They had film and photos to show and it seemed strange to see her in her wedding gown and us in our bridesmaid dresses looking so young.
The last storm flattened my beans, but I think I'll be able to harvest some soon anyway.Toms are coming on now. I'm still not sure why two of the plants just up and died for no reason that I can find.That has never happened before.I'll still have plenty, but I'll miss the Roma and 4th of July. We're invited to a pool party on Sunday and I think I'll make that nice summer marinated mixed bean salad with the honey mustard dressing.Everyone likes it on a hot day.
It was July first, 2007 when I found the forum and was invited to join in...8 years...It doesn't seem possible. So much has happened since that lively fun bunch shared their stories and told jokes, shared their history, showed their photographs and paintings, recipes and adventures.
I even went to Kansas that summer to visit and took my lap top to check in every day to show our travel progress and what we had seen.
Then politics began to slip in. The people who don't tolerate anyone's thinking but their own began to ridicule anyone who expressed different ideas, who stood up for themselves and the way they thought about anything.They even suggested the person on the end of the tirades deserved it, even if they were just objecting and fighting back from something one of the rough people had ridiculed them about in the first place.The rough ones thought they had all the answers.Just do as they said and would would be fine. Hardly!
They were told to back off and refused.
Now even this thread, started by me, has been over run. It is no longer just the thoughts and doings of a person on the east coast. The self proclaimed modern confederates, pining away to return to the Civil War have buried it.
Thank goodness for PMs and Face Book, so I can still have conversations with my friends and know how friendly, Kansas people really think.
So, now the hunters are on patrol and most everyone else has either abandoned the forum or looks but doesn't dare post. It's a shame. Teresa and Kjell worked very hard getting this to fly. Thank you two for all you did.
I've always stood up for the little guy and still don't tolerate abusers and bullies, but there is nothing more I can do.The rough,common ones are set in their ways and feel they are some how owed a one sided, narrow minded wolf pack forum. They refuse to attack and debate issues, and are determined to attack the person. No depth of thought necessary.
It takes work to understand the subtle nuances of sensitive issues They just don't cut it. RIP
I enjoy your posts very much.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 02, 2015, 07:46:44 AM
It was July first, 2007 when I found the forum and was invited to join in...8 years...It doesn't seem possible. So much has happened since that lively fun bunch shared their stories and told jokes, shared their history, showed their photographs and paintings, recipes and adventures.
That is really nice, I'm proud of you!
It is an open invitation to join any public forum, all you have to do is sign on. I do believe Everyone is welcomed by the owners of this Forum.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 02, 2015, 07:46:44 AM
I even went to Kansas that summer to visit and took my lap top to check in every day to show our travel progress and what we had seen.
Could you please explain that progress? The population of Elk County has been declining for a very long time. During the earlier years it was it was a very rapid decline. And today the decline continues very slowly. So what progress pray tell of which you refer.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 02, 2015, 07:46:44 AM
Then politics began to slip in. The people who don't tolerate anyone's thinking but their own began to ridicule anyone who expressed different ideas, who stood up for themselves and the way they thought about anything.They even suggested the person on the end of the tirades deserved it, even if they were just objecting and fighting back from something one of the rough people had ridiculed them about in the first place.The rough ones thought they had all the answers.Just do as they said and would would be fine. Hardly!
You are so right politics picked up rapidly when
Elk Konnected, LLC was born, to attempt to control funds to be paid to Elk County from the new windfarm that was soon to be built in Elk County.
And when I pointed out the ludicrousness of their plans. I also pointed out that as
Kounty Kommissioners they were providing county funds to themselves in order to entertain the flock they were attempting to grow. I pointed out that their so-called
" Elk Konnected Kommunity Konversations" were in fact not
community conversations but a manipulating circus of a bunch of circles of chairs. Oh and I pointed out the
Elk Konnected, LLC entertainment was paid for with Elk County Taxpayer money and said it amounted to nothing more than lollipops.
Allow me to refer you to: http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,11780.0.html
"Topic: Elk Konnected Hand out at County Commissioners meeting on 4/25 (Read 267238 times)",
the thread that will not die. I mostly asked questions and no one had any legitimate answers.
I attempted to always be polite, where as you Diane were usually very rude and calling names and correcting people grammar and spelling. Check this post of yours did you correct your own errors.
The politics here locally was about local control and local expenditures of local Elk County Taxpayers money. And really of no concern of someone in Delaware, now was it?
There were maybe three or four of us locals that you were bad mouthing and back-stabbing and some could not tolerate it from an outsider. Oh, I fail to mention, I am considered an outsider even though I have owned a small 60 acre farm since 2005.
Why? Why am I considered an outsider ?
Because, I was not born and raised here. ?
Remember the outsiders joke about "Not being inbred" ?
Yea crass but funny. LOL
I was born and raised just 40 miles east of Moline in the county adjacent to Elk County.
The business
Elk Konnected, LLC that's what this whole subject is about and that is you support.
Elk Konnected, LLC wrote an open letter dissing two of our local communities. They didn't have to name the communities because locals knew who they were dissing. But they had the audacity to ask what was wrong with our communities because they did not want to work together. Is dissing them going to aid in getting them to work together? I don;t think so.
Elk Konnected, LLC stated flat out that they were weeding out the
"Old Guard" from becoming a part of their organization. Sure they knew who the
"Old Guard" was and I believe it was the
organizers of
Elk Konnected, LLCand I stated that. I think. I actually said, "
Elk Konnected, LLCis the
"old guard" "in a new dress."Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 02, 2015, 07:46:44 AM
They were told to back off and refused.
They were told - what do you mean?
You were told tooo! And you failed terribly!
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 02, 2015, 07:46:44 AM
Now even this thread, started by me, has been over run. It is no longer just the thoughts and doings of a person on the east coast. The self proclaimed modern confederates, pining away to return to the Civil War have buried it.
So sorry, you fail to comprehend ! You brought our local politics to your thread, not us here in Kansas.
So your thread is not over run just respponded to.
And name calling from you is usually much worse. "modern confederates" is nothing compared to what you have done in the past. However, I am not offended, I'd rather be a confederate
(tho I am not) than to be a Liberal Socialist like the one's you claim are the under dogs. The ones that have threatened me with a possible lawsuit and a back handed death threat. And no Diane, I did accuse you of that.
A name more appropriate for me would be a Ten Year Vietnam Veteran and Patriot and a concerned Tax Paying Citizen of Elk County, Kansas.
I live here and you don't,
I pay taxes here and you don't, I vote here and you don't. Do you comprehend all this ?You fell back here, to this Coffee Shop Thread with your political back-stabbing and the bad mouthing us locals in Elk County, Kansas, instead of keeping it in the Political threads.
So yes I am responding.Sure you started this thread and I never visit it unless you make it political. I promised you sometime back I would do so, and I always try to keep my promises.
This is not a private blog you have started and it is not a private Forum, I sure hope you understand that. All your crying and your
Elk Konnected, LLC cronies crying to the owners of this forum to get me blocked failed and for that I really appreciate and respect the owners.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 02, 2015, 07:46:44 AM
Thank goodness for PMs and Face Book, so I can still have conversations with my friends and know how friendly, Kansas people really think.
I happen to think Kansas people are the friendliest in the nation, especially out here in the boondocks. We will stop and help anyone in need and we help our neighbors that may live a quarter of a mile or twenty miles away.
But to address local politics, we are normal and have our differences, which is quite normal.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 02, 2015, 07:46:44 AM
So, now the hunters are on patrol and most everyone else has either abandoned the forum or looks but doesn't dare post. It's a shame. Teresa and Kjell worked very hard getting this to fly. Thank you two for all you did.
There is some of the crap you throw around with nothing to back it up. I mean, this web sites statistics refute what you say, that being "most everyone has either abandoned the forum or looks but doesn't dare post."
It is a shame that you make such statements. That is just dirty politics at it's worst.
You are right Teresa and Kjell worked very hard getting this to fly and it is still flying or we would not be communicating with each other would we?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 02, 2015, 07:46:44 AM
I've always stood up for the little guy and still don't tolerate abusers and bullies, but there is nothing more I can do.The rough,common ones are set in their ways and feel they are some how owed a one sided, narrow minded wolf pack forum. They refuse to attack and debate issues, and are determined to attack the person. No depth of thought necessary.
You have always stood up for what little guys. The one you back up here in Elk County are the elite, the wealthy. The common ones --- yes, that's me, one of the common people, the hard working man that is retired, the Vietnam Veteran of ten years that owns his little 60 acre retirement farm/ranch and hays his field with antiquated equipment, because I do not have the money to buy new fancy farm equipment. Through all my years of hard work, I learned skills as an electrician and mechanic, so I still get dirty and repair antiquated equipment bought at auction. It is a great retirement!
And yes, I am an old fart, proudly pushing 70.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 02, 2015, 07:46:44 AM
It takes work to understand the subtle nuances of sensitive issues They just don't cut it. RIP
It doesn't take any of that Diane, when dealing with people trying to control everything and wanted control of the nearly $1 million dollars the county receives from the wind farm in lieu of property tax. It doesn't take any of that, when as
Kounty Kommissioner the people blatantly lie at the
Kounty Kommissioners meetings.
Yes Diane may the lying RIP !And may honesty and morals and ethics prevail !
Diane Please review the post at : http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,16997.0.html especially the parts that pertains to morals. There is a lot there for you to learn. And please note, my sarcastic note at the very top of the page.
Leave the politics in the Political Section and I won't return to this thread, except to be social if the occasion should arise.
Diane, I want to wish you a Happy, Safe and Sane 4th of July and I hope you take the time to contemplate why we celebrate that day.
Good night from a Patriot.
Oh Diane I forgot to mention while discussing that progress you spoke of.
we lost another store front, a two story building that has had one side propped up by steel pipes for a long time. They had to demolish it after the last big storm we had. Is that the kind of progress you were refering to.
Or perhaps it was the Dollar Store that wanted to move into the county, but didn't due to lack of cooperation by the town of Howard.
I just don't know what progress you have seen here.
But you know what? I am terribly happy with the way things are.
We are not the big city --- we are tiny and not over populated ---- there is lots of room to move around.
Crime here is almost nill.
What more could a person ask for. This is a little bit of heaven on earth just as it is.
Well, thanks to a funny hint that came by another route, I am responding.
I've always known you don't read well or have very selective comprehension.Go back and read the third line of my post of July second .I spoke of our TRAVEL progress as we went from Delaware to Kansas. How could you possible create something else out of that...and why? Also, you know I never threatened you with injury or death.Why did you accuse me of it? That's a lie!
Perhaps your son, as old as he is now, could help you with your reading comprehension, grammar and spelling. I gave up long ago. It's hopeless. Fortunately there are still a few, like Pro. who even post that they like what I write.Thank goodness for PM's and face book.I can keep up with other things that way.
Your needle is usually stuck on politics,the meaner the better.
Thanks to you I have learned to throw manure with the best of 'em. That's a skill set I really never wanted ,but like most, I got sick of the personal attacks.
You do know it was Teresa and Kjel that enabled "ignore" just to be able to avoid a couple of you.
Please don't feel obligated to come to this site, it doesn't benefit in any way from your postings and personal attacks.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 04, 2015, 07:33:25 AM
Well, thanks to a funny hint that came by another route, I am responding.
I've always known you don't read well or have very selective comprehension.Go back and read the third line of my post of July second .I spoke of our TRAVEL progress as we went from Delaware to Kansas. How could you possible create something else out of that...and why? Also, you know I never threatened you with injury or death.Why did you accuse me of it? That's a lie!
Perhaps your son, as old as he is now, could help you with your reading comprehension, grammar and spelling. I gave up long ago. It's hopeless. Fortunately there are still a few, like Pro. who even post that they like what I write.Thank goodness for PM's and face book.I can keep up with other things that way.
So I thought you might have been speaking of our local progress that your so-called friends at
Elk Konnected, LLC here locally were promising. My error, but no big deal. They appear to have gone into hiding since they are unable to get their hands on County Taxpayers money any longer. No more Konnected Kommunity Konversations that were more like a circus of circles of chairs where they failed to allow citizens to speak openly as a whole group or allow citizens to ask questions.
They appear to operate more like
"The Old Guard" that they professed to keep out of their
Elk Konnected, LLCsomething or other.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 04, 2015, 07:33:25 AM
Your needle is usually stuck on politics,the meaner the better.
No Diane my needle is 99.8% locked on politics. That was my main reason for accepting the invitation to log on as a member of our local Forum.
LOCAL POLITICS. LOCAL POLITICS. LOCAL POLITICS, LOCAL !!!!!!!
As in Elk County, Kansas POLITICS!!!!
I hope you comprehend that.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 04, 2015, 07:33:25 AM
Thanks to you I have learned to throw manure with the best of 'em. That's a skill set I really never wanted ,but like most, I got sick of the personal attacks.
Now if that isn't just twisting word, I don't know what is. And your talking for others, which I assume are a figment of your imagination.
When I first came on here I was very kind to you, I even stuck up for you. I thought of you as the underdog, because some people were really ugly towards you. I was nice and decent even though I had been PM'd by several people that told me you were receiving what you deserved. And it took only about a month and you were knifing me. You were excellent in personal attacks, before I came on to the forum. It was a real struggle and I messed up a few time trying to be polite with you. I don't deny it, I lost it a couple of times but not really totally rude. Just as I am responding to your backstabbing ways of bringing politics to this thread in the Coffee Shop. I politely informed you, I would oblige you and return each time you called, through the use of politics in this thread. So here I am once again. To oblige you.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 04, 2015, 07:33:25 AM
You do know it was Teresa and Kjel that enabled "ignore" just to be able to avoid a couple of you.
You do know, you are twisting Teresa and Kjel reasoning to fit your personal opinion. That is really disrespectful towards Teresa and Kjel.
You said many times you put me on ignore, but then you failed to be able to utilize it properly and always came back with not so smart text and bad mouthing
Elk County, Kansas Politics
nd citizens
that live here and
pay taxes here
and vote here.
You could not argue intelligently because you do not live here and had no first hand knowledge to argue about, so you resorted to rudeness.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 04, 2015, 07:33:25 AM
Please don't feel obligated to come to this site, it doesn't benefit in any way from your postings and personal attacks.
I fully understand you don't want a response. So, you can try to keep up an image of honesty. Sorry about that!
I'm so sorry you feel that way Diane. I am not making any personal attacks, not even making political attacks. I am just politely informing you of the actual truth. And your friends that read this, if there are any reading this surely understand. If not I welcome them to read the political thread at:
http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,11780.0.html it is entitled
"Elk Konnected Hand out at County Commissioners meeting on 4/25" it was started « on: April 26, 2011, 08:00:15 am ».
It is a lengthy read, a humorous read, an interesting read. It is almost a book. LOL
But Diane, I am obligated to respond to your on-going posting of Politics in the Coffee Shop section of this local forum.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 04, 2015, 07:33:25 AM
Also, you know I never threatened you with injury or death.Why did you accuse me of it? That's a lie!
Oh, I know you never threatened me "with injury or death.", and if I were to do that it would be a blatant lie worthy of at least 60 lashings. So, no Diane I never accused you of any such thing.
Here is a quote of which you speak, please not I said "The ones" referring to your associates as "Liberal Socialists" and made no reference to you making any kind of threat. I Think, I will high light the area of the post I am talking about, I will make no other change to that quote.
Quote from: ROSS on July 02, 2015, 06:22:44 PM
So sorry, you fail to comprehend ! You brought our local politics to your thread, not us here in Kansas.
So your thread is not over run just respponded to.
And name calling from you is usually much worse. "modern confederates" is nothing compared to what you have done in the past. However, I am not offended, I'd rather be a confederate
(tho I am not) than to be a Liberal Socialist like the one's you claim are the under dogs. The ones that have threatened me with a possible lawsuit and a back handed death threat.And no Diane, I did accuse you of that.
A name more appropriate for me would be a Ten Year Vietnam Veteran and Patriot and a concerned Tax Paying Citizen of Elk County, Kansas.
I live here and you don't,
I pay taxes here and you don't,
I vote here and you don't.
Do you comprehend all this ?
I even recognized that you would accuse me of accusing you of threats, so please note I stated,
"And no Diane, I did accuse you of that.
[/b]
"I enjoy communicating with you intensely Diane.
If you wish not to hear from me on this thread, simply leave the politics in the Political Section of our Local Forum.
Bye-bye for now. Until you conjure me up again.
I hope my Kansas friends are enjoying the holiday weekend. I watched most of ''John Adams "again yestrday .I had forgotten how good it was. Of course we watched the Capitol Fourth since we decided to say home and not go out to see fireworks this year. Al's legs are really bothering him, so it was better that we stayed home. He found a new Polio doc to try in Philly. His leg braces just don't seem to be doing the job as they had been.
:-\ Sorry to hear your hubby's braces aren't helping as much anymore. Hope he finds a solution. I've been watching the History channel a great deal in the past two days. It's been interesting! The first time I've had time to sit down and actually watch TV in quite awhile. Never have watched "John Adams", might have to hunt it up and see it. I agree with Proelkco...I enjoy reading your posts, as well!! :D :D :D Hope your 4th ended up being a good one for you both!! ;D ;D ;D
Hi. I was thinking about you recently and wondering how your summer was going.
Yes, Al is unhappy that his leg braces just aren't supporting him as they did.Of course he's older and that surely adds to it. He uses his scooter as much as he can,but that's impossible here at home.
We just keep trying. He gets muscle spasms and pain quite often, but he still has to use his legs enough to keep them from atrophing.
We have Bingo again tonight at the fire house, but he'll kick back for about three hours before we go. He runs the big dish washer and makes the pizza, and I sell Bingo games.
We had a quiet fourth, but went to a party yesterday and have friends coming in from Washington State on Thursday.I have camp kids coming to the fire house on Wednesday. So, summer marches on.
I'm glad my posts don't offend you as they apparently do some. I hope you had a fun 4th too!
I appreciate your posts, too! Saves me a ticket to fly there, when you can describe it.
My BIL also had Polio as a young child. His arm crutches wouldn't withstand after several years, so he was confined to a chair. Perhaps you will find the solution.
4th is over....and as the Devil said to his workers standing waist deep in crap..."Coffee Break is over....back on your heads!"
Thanks Ready.I appreciate your comments. Hope you are having a good summer too. What are you up to? Turns out we didn't have to go to the firehouse for Bingo tonight after all.Usually we do unless a holiday falls on a Monday. For some reason we got today off too. I'm glad because thunderstorms are rumbling through.
On a beautiful July 23 afternoon in 1970, Al and I got maried in a sweet little historic church that was opened just for our wedding. 45 years just doesn't seem possible....and happy anniversary to Teresa and Kjell, where ever you are. Have a great special day.
Happy Anniversary - love the "comfortness" of a long marriage with a touch of "newness" thrown in every now and then. :)
CongrTulations Diane on a long and sucessful marriage. Did "Toss" send you a card.
Thanks to both of you.I got a call from Kansas but no cards.
We did have a wonderful day yesterday.The weather was beautiful, a nice break from the heat and humidity we've been having.
We drove to Rising Sun Maryland to pick up some non ethanol gas for Al's small engine equipment, and drove past the Cecil County Fair that opens this evening...Great teenage memories of the fun times there years ago.Then we stopped at Wesley's on the way home for a late lunch... good food and a huge salad bar.
My anniversary pearls came in, so of course I wore them. He gave me six as my wedding present in 1970 and adds two to the necklace every year. Very romantic. Actually, now he's working on a bracelet, but it connects to the necklace to make it longer when I want to .
These are really good top quality pearls. Our jeweler had to find a new source for them as the supplier in Japan was caught up in the radiation business and if I got them, they might glow in the dark.HA!
Wow! We just got a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered from our fire company. What a nice surprise...
and tomorrow is the annual fire company picnic. Crabs, here we come... Blue Claws to eat, I mean.
We had a perfect day for the fire company picnic yesterday. There is a large picnic table filled covered pavilion in a large grove of trees that we are permitted to use every year.
There are pony rides and inflatatable bounce house /slide type things for the kids and several of our firefighters keep the hambergers and hot dogs coming from a big brick outdoor wood fired grill that smells so good. We ate our way through several bushels of huge crabs and many dozens of ears of corn,piles of toms, watermelon and other sides. The turn out was the best ever I think, even though the state fair is on this weekend too. To say it was fun would be a huge understatement.
I know there only a very few friends left that will read this, but whoever you are, have a great day and avoid the trolls and insecure nasty ones.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on July 26, 2015, 08:55:37 AM
have a great day and avoid the trolls and insecure nasty ones.
Excellent Advice Diane.
Miss ya.
Diane thanks for the news I really enjoy your posts.
This original post and thread was credited to Jane. And I thank her, too.
I, for one have traveled to other places, and your spot is one I just have no desire....however, I do enjoy your writings...it helps me to envision what it would look like.
This Country is about free speech and public 'roads' per se....(forums) Thread content, not personal direction!
I would answer back, with questions however I don't wish to be picked apart. I wish an honest discussion. Nuff said.
Keep the posts coming.
ready and ......tired of 'stuff'
And this is how I feel about the inbreak of discussion!
ready...and tired of it all.
That is exactly the way I feel, too.
It is great to see some of you chiming in and letting the idiot Ross know how you feel. Hopefully more people will do it. I think he is to self centered to get it.
Ross is the Obuma of Howard and Elk County. Let's let him know it.
Quote from: Joesue23 on July 27, 2015, 04:42:44 AM
It is great to see some of you chiming in and letting the idiot Ross know how you feel. Hopefully more people will do it. I think he is to self centered to get it.
Self Centered I don't know what you are talking about.
Of course when youcall me a liar I am going to ask show me the lie.
When you threaten me I'm going to say bring it on.
All in self defense nothing more.
The truth seems to hurt some people.
And I can not and will not appoogize for that.
Quote from: Joesue23 on July 27, 2015, 05:45:51 AM
Ross is the Obuma of Howard and Elk County. Let's let him know it.
Now that is just not too bright!
You see Obama wants to own you --- I don't!
West Elk USD-282 wants to own our bank accounts --- I don't think they should.
Tax, tax, tax!
I suppose you favor extreme Taxation --- well I don't!
And in my opinion most senior citizens don't either !
And we have a right to oppose such extremes, in fact we have a duty to do so.
But i guess some people have no understanding of DUTY!
Thanks Joe Sue for all the fodder and may you have a great day.
And here we go again.
Unfortunately, Proelkco:
I did not mention any names, in my post did I???
Sorry Diane, this is not what it was meant to be.
I do enjoy your writings!
Quote from readyaimduck :
Unfortunately, Proelkco:
I did not mention any names, in my post did I???
No you didn't Ready but a couple posts before yours did. The one who gripes the most seems to be the main culprit at rude name calling and pathetic threats. Anmar asked politely to keep politics in the politics thread but it fell on deaf ears---I guess. Ross-Toss-Stupid---idiot---whatever a certain person keeps calling him, has said he will keep out of this thread unless his name is thrown in and a certain juvenile just keeps inviting him back. Carry on ready----now I am ready to shut up for a month or two !!!!
This was suppose to be a thread for East Coast Happenings. So now everyone has decided to use this to make comments about other things Now you have all the people you did not want to see here. I think it is time Shell or Teresa clean up the forum and get rid of a lot of threads no one is using. Or every one needs to stay off the forum for 2 weeks. Then if a comment is made it is not made about the people you do not want to see on every thread. Does that make sense?
Yikes! Apparently I can say nothing at all and and still get swatted....Jar...
Ready, you are fine with me...No worries. and Joe Sue and P E Co. and several others too. Someone has to be on the other side of the raft to help keep it stable.
Now, the real reason I came on here today. Al had his bladder scoping again this morning. His doc took more than before and deeper. Al is really uncomfortable. Now we wait for the biopsy...again. This time I'm a bit worried, but if we're lucky, it's benign.
A good bingo friend fell yesterday morning and broke her hip. She was to have surgery for a hip replacement this morning. Getting old really sucks sometimes. I feel so badly for her.
Jane, nice try, but I wouldn't count on any success.
Al is feeling better today, but still somewhat sore.
It's going to be very hot here, so I think we'll just hide inside and I'll cook. I'm getting a hankering for strawberry short cake, so I think I'll whip up a pan of short cake and hope Al stays out of it long enough to make it up with the strawberries. Tomorrow I'll make a couple of blueberry pies since the price is down right now.We've really been enjoying the fresh veggies from the garden...bet you all have been too. stay cool!
It would seem that I missed your anniversary?? :o Sorry to hear it and Happy (belated) Anniversary to you both!!! :) :) :) I always enjoy reading you, Miss Diane. The pictures you paint with your posts are most enjoyable! I have to agree with the previous comment regarding keeping to the subject of the threads without interjecting unrelated commentary. The cool thing about that "ignore" function is that you can see who has posted but you don't have to get stuck having to read any of it. ;D Keep up the good work, Miss Diane!!!! ;D ;D ;D
If ya all back track you would find the very post in this thread of a political nature was Dianes post/
And ya'all keep feeding it in a back-stabbing manner.
So ya see I have to come back and set the story straight.
How many of you live in Elk County that pay taxes and vote here in Elk County?
And for calling me obama I don't think you understand Obama.
You see Obama was just like Elk Konnected, a Community Organizer, hehad to have people follow him just like Elk Konnected Followers.
And look what Obama and his community organizing did for him.
While it destroyed the cities he touched it made him wealthy.
He made money off of the taxpayers where as I don;t have any followers I have fellow citizens and fellow taxpayers and fellow voters that all think for themselves. And I am sure they will think for themselves if I ask them to sign a petition to save themselves from being robbed by the West Elk School Board for taxes it does not need.
It will be each and everyone of their own decisions. No circle of chairs, no name tags, no kindergarten stars, no telling them who they can talk with. Now don't ya think that is the way it should be or should it be the Obama way?
Bad mouth me all you want but I am a concerned and caring citizen of Elk County and i believe you are all just jealous that you do not live here.
Eat your hearts out.
By the way, Miss Diane, I have been having to smile a bit, lately. It would seem that your opinions are shared by quite a few. It is interesting how the pendulum eventually swings back, yet once again. Keep up the good work!! ;D ;D ;D
Thanks for the good wishes Cat. I appreciate it.
I'm not really trying to stir the pot, but Mr. Big Britches issued a challenge about lies and I took him up on it. I wonder if he will back pedal now and try to get out of them. ;D ;D ;D.
It's very hot here but the veggies are calling so I better go pick before the predicted big thunderstorm comes charging through later today. Stay cool and enjoy yourself.May we see another poem soon please?
That big storm just came through with a lot of rain and wind. No damage here and I'll bet if I go looking I'd find a rainbow soon.. a nice drink for everything.
All you potential poets ...check out the poetry section.I added something fun to try. Cat?
Quote from Diane:
Yikes! Apparently I can say nothing at all and and still get swatted....Jar...
Lady Di, Go back and read what I said. I did not take a swipe at you---I said a "certain juvenile". As much as "we" would like to think of ourselves as that juveniles---it aint been so since shortly after the last Woolly Mammoth disappeared from this Earth. Nice try though
So...I did think you meant me. I stand corrected....and I'm relieved.
Last night's storm brought another fast 2 inches of rain, which makes four in just a few days.
I multi tasked today and got things done and still had fun poking at someone on the forum too. I just don't have the heart to be as mean as I could be.It's just not in my nature to take advantage of people who aren't wired for it.
I made a new batch of baking mix and then made a shortcake from that, hardboiled eggs for egg salad, chatted with FB friends and did some house work too and caught up with some reading I had gotten behind on. It looks like you all have been enjoying the fairs and summer events. Keep enjoying ...it goes by fast.
I made Al's favorite buckwheat blue berry pancakes this morning.
That was the good thing for the day.His biopsy came back...cancer again. But, tiny,local and right at the surface. Once more caught very early. That means he will have to be scoped every three months indefinitely.Very depressing, but we'll be strong and try to stay as normal as possible.Every time though his stamina doesn't come back quite to normal and getting older and having had Polio doesn't help.
Right now he is finishing up what will be his Chairman's report on a very sticky subject at tomorrow night's Newark Planning Commission meeting. I still need to proof and edit it. He still needs to take a short rest before we go to the fire hall to sell Bingo tonight.
Have a good one.
Prayers going up for your hubby, Diane. I am sorry to hear this.
Thanks Cat.
I know he'll do OK, but it's a worry that will alway as be lurking around.Others have had cancers that are so much worse, his is hardly worth mentioning.
Al and I have a command performance, so to speak, at our firehouse today. The Governor is coming to sign a bill and we are to be there,with others, to witness it.
HB 133 has to do with residential sprinklers.It will require builders to make home owners aware of what extra cost would be involved in adding residential sprinklers to the cost of building a new home.
I'm sure some people will take advantage of it and many won't.The actual instillation isn't mandated here, except in new multifamily residential.
The big deal with the signing is all political of course, but I'll go along with anything that raises awareness. Having been a fire safety specialist for so many years, anything that helps folks prevent and survive unexpected serious fires is good.
Off the subject somewhat.... I just read an article about Kansas having a self created teacher shortage. Among other things, the article said they will be hiring "unqualified "people to fill spots, for much lower pay.I find that very interesting. I wonder what the parents think?
Have a beautiful day.
I think I'll go have some breakfast.I suddenly got hungry... ;D
Last night's National Night Out block party was great fun. Our newarkpostonline.com has a bunch of photos. They had a little course set up for people wearing "impaired goggles" to drive bikes through...it was really funny.They also had K-9 demos and we had fire extinguisher demos and did a wrecked car demo.,as well as available literature, coloring books and fire hats for the kids. I know we saw several hundred people just at my table.
The weather was great ,not too hot and a nice breeze.UD had their creamery truck there so I got some really good ice cream during a break. Newark PD grilled up several hundred hot dogs and burgers for the crowd,who were very appreciative. to say a fun time was had by all would be a big understatement.
Mosquitos! I'm so sick of them. When I was kid we had only the big evening and night time buggers.
Now we have these dern day time jobbies too.They are tiny but have a nasty bite that itches like nobody's business for days afterward. "Off" and all those do help, but they aways seen to find a spot I missed. I hope you don't have them.
Our Cicadas have really tuned up here. It's so loud they makes ones ears hurt.They don't sound like yours do. Ours just have a pulsing chatter,not that zizzer,zizzer that yours have. The Cicadas always make me think it will soon be time to go open up my classroom. Even after all these years that feeling doesn't go away.
It's almost time to get the "permission to deliver" letter from the school district administration office.We need that to take the Fire Prevention Contest packets to the schools. They screen everything to be sure nothing inappropriate winds up in the teachers mailboxes. Have a great day.
We had a fun time at our biggest fire station yesterday. The Governor came to sign HB133, which requires builders to inform people who are building new homes what the cost of residential sprinklers would be if they were added to home construction.
It's not really very expensive when the house is under construction and all opened up. It's not a requirement state wide that people include them, but now at least they will have the information.
Newark already has such a requirement. New construction must have sprinkler systems. Real estate agents use that as a selling point too. Gov. Markell was pleased to see how many fire fighters from many fire companies came to witness the signing.
I know him casually and Al and he have have known each other almost all their lives.In such a small state that easy to do. We had lots of photos taken and he had one taken with me...the fat old gray haired lady....HA! I don't always agree with his politics but he is a very nice person.
Something funny I was going to mention and forgot. At our National Nite Out block party Tuesday evening ,since it was sponsored by Newark PD and Aetna, there were blue uniforms all over the one closed block where we had all the events.It was meant to be a casual fun time for all of us with no sense of emergency or tension. There were lots of cute young police officers, some holding big "free hugs'' signs from their fun "Hug a Cop "program.
Anyway, there was one older dude walking around, wearing a side arm on his left hip. He wandered up and down that one block over and over just about sticking his hip out to be sure everyone saw he was carrying. Nobody paid any attention to him...not the police, not us, nobody.
I suspect he was hoping someone would confront him so he could fuss. I'm sure PD quietly checked him out, didn't see any potential problem, so he was left be. I think he was disappointed.
:o Uhhhhh...Somebody neglected to tell him that it's NOT against the law to conspicuously carry? Poor guy. All that effort and no scuffle in the mud to show for it! lol Sounds like you had a really good evening with all of your friends!! :-)
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 04, 2015, 07:11:37 AM
Off the subject somewhat.... I just read an article about Kansas having a self created teacher shortage. Among other things, the article said they will be hiring "unqualified "people to fill spots, for much lower pay.I find that very interesting. I wonder what the parents think?
Have a beautiful day.
The government schools hire unqualified teachers all the time - that's nothing new. Most of the unqualified teachers are highly educated having been indoctrinated by and thru the government education system - certified they call it. Accredited outfits like KU, KSU, ESU, PSU and others are part of the scheme.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 04, 2015, 07:11:37 AM
Off the subject somewhat.... I just read an article about Kansas having a self created teacher shortage. Among other things, the article said they will be hiring "unqualified "people to fill spots, for much lower pay.I find that very interesting. I wonder what the parents think?
Have a beautiful day.
[/quote
So, you open a can of political worms in here again, in the Coffee Shop !
I'm sure if you checked your own back yard there are plenty of problems right there in Delaware.
About the shortage of teachers that is happening in several states.
There are unhappy teachers everywhere you look and my heart just pumps purple panther piss for them.
The main thing is we don't get paid enough, I call the opposite of the Politically Correct Socialists. It depends on many factors their location, qualifications, experience, ability to adapt to changing atmosphere and educational changes. Some teachers are extremely over paid.
I recently had the opportunity to observe a retired teacher acting as a para helping special education children, two kids. The nab sat there and read the questions the kids were suppose tolook up in their book and then fill in the blanks. Well the retired teacher/para was doing all the reading and not aloud and providing the children the answers. No reading out loud by anyone and the two children were playing. How's that for teaaching?
Over paid, I don't think so.
You concern yourself about Kansas when you may have more serious trouble in Delaware than we do. But you don't know perhaps because you don't want to know.
The city of Howard thinks they have a dynamite high ranking school, well wake up, The Howard West Welk School has been gone for many a year and stands as a blight on Howard. Where is your friends at Elk Konnected, why haven't they cleaned up that blight. Oh, well never mind.
The real West Elk is rated as only an average school when it comes to educaton. I posted the chart that shows that info in the political section where it belongs. Because a few people make a few "A's" doesn't mean it is a great school. Over spending on sports does not enhance the education of children in reading, writing, arithmatic. The fact that educational standards have fallen considerably makes the average much lower by those prior standards.
An even more serious problem is Common Core, but you haven't shown any awareness of Federal Control and the lies and secreacy behing and about Common Core. Are you even aware of the threats leveled at schools by the Federal Government? But then Delaware has fully adopted Common core haven't they?
Have you taken the time to even look at the Common Core on line testing students have to endure?
Apparently it isn't all about education. I asked to look at it on the school computers and was denied, it's secret. That brings to the question, Why?
I have seen where a state required teachers to take test to continue teaching and plenty failed and they were permitted to re-do's to boot. I took the same test in the news paper with out looking at the answers and with the exception of one item which was write a report , and I passed the test. So don't tell me about teachers being so well educated.
I have spoke with so many educated people and that includes teachers, that have no idea what is going on in current events be it in their own field of employeement or world conflicts and much more stuff.
You are so funny Red. Scheme? My word, you are so suspicious!
Where do you thing the certified teachers for the private and religious schools get their education and licenses to teach? I have one younger friend who went to UD as an education major and taught at Pike Creek Christian.. Another teaches at Elkton Christian and another at The Alethia School. She retired. Holy Angels and Christ the Teacher Catholic schools , same teacher education. One friend went to Newmann Catholic University, but the basics for teaching English and math are pretty much the same everywhere in the US.
Other countries, whose primary language is different with different "letters" might do it differently,I don't know. I doubt Chinese would lend it's self to phonics.
There is no special different way to teach reading or math to Conservative Confederates in the US. You want different...do it at home. Here, we do not hire unqualified teachers. We have enough population to not need to do that.
Now I must address "the other one." You manage to justify whatever you post where ever you post it. So I'll do the same until the administrators tell me not to. :angel:
I was here in Delaware when I read the article. My opinions originate from here in Delaware. I wondered how the parents there feel about having ''unqualified" teachers in the classroom.That, to me, is not politics.
Sure Delaware education has its problems...that isn't one of them ,and no I don't post about everything I know.
Most of the problems here, still, after all these years are connected to forced deseg., from years ago. A federal judge upset everything and included districts that were already integrated, as Newark was, long before the mandate. We are still trying to get the kids back to their local schools. It would be boring to you there to read more about it.
What makes you so knowledgeable about what the "para'', as you call them there, was supposed to be doing? Did the classroom teacher tell you what she was supposed to be doing so you could make a report? Why didn't you jump in there and show her how to do it "right?"
Aren't paras paid much less than certified teachers? They are here..subs too, a Per Diem rate.
I won't criticize the para because I don't trust you to tell the truth about what was happening. You also griped one time because VBS kids were "playing" out in the church yard. How awful! ;D ;D ;D ;D
I'm not quite sure how a dissertation on West Elk, EK and Common Core has anything to do with my question about how Kansas parents feel about their school teacher situation, but like certain politicians, you wouldn't want to miss an opportunity. You are jumping to conclusions again and 'way off the subject of my original post.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 09, 2015, 09:21:25 AM
Now I must address "the other one." You manage to justify whatever you post where ever you post it. So I'll do the same until the administrators tell me not to. :angel:
Nothing said in those two sentences concerning the subject ---- EDUCATION.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 09, 2015, 09:21:25 AM
I was here in Delaware when I read the article. My opinions originate from here in Delaware. I wondered how the parents there feel about having ''unqualified" teachers in the classroom.That, to me, is not politics.
Sure Delaware education has its problems...that isn't one of them ,and no I don't post about everything I know.
Oh but it is politics, everything about education is politics. Did you read where one state figures they will lose 7,000 kids to home schooling, huh did you read that? The schools won't be able to draw txpayers Federal Dollars for those kids. Does that explain pretty how most parents care about the politics of education and Common Core? You don't have a clue do you.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 09, 2015, 09:21:25 AM
Most of the problems here, still, after all these years are connected to forced deseg., from years ago. A federal judge upset everything and included districts that were already integrated, as Newark was, long before the mandate. We are still trying to get the kids back to their local schools. It would be boring to you there to read more about it.
And what are you personally doing to help with the problem in your area of Delaware?
It's boring to read about Delaware dissing Kansas. So what's new?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 09, 2015, 09:21:25 AM
What makes you so knowledgeable about what the "para'', as you call them there, was supposed to be doing? Did the classroom teacher tell you what she was supposed to be doing so you could make a report? Why didn't you jump in there and show her how to do it "right?"
It isn't rocket science to teach children basics as taught in our schools. And when you see a retired teacher working as a para doing the kids school work for them it is real easy to understand when he says write this answer on number three.
I held daddy detention at school with the support of the School Superintendent and because I did, my son made the honor roll.
I probably sat in on more classes last year than you did. It is not my job to interfere with the teachers discipline or lack of discipline. However I did report a harrowing experience to the School Superintendent in one class where the teacher was way out of control. A week later one of her student recorded her very inappropriate attitude. She was offered the option to many people in education get. That is quit or be fired.
So now that problem simply moves on to the next school. Do you see the bad politics in that?
I have instructed adults in electrical theory in the military and I have taught 3 of my own children in some of the basics of math and such. No, you don't have to have a college degree to teach. But the college degree aand the teachers union can prevent a teacher from being fired for bad behavior.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 09, 2015, 09:21:25 AM
Aren't paras paid much less than certified teachers? They are here..subs too, a Per Diem rate.
I won't criticize the para because I don't trust you to tell the truth about what was happening. You also griped one time because VBS kids were "playing" out in the church yard. How awful! ;D ;D ;D ;D
Oh no, Diane now that is a bold faced lie! No, you are twisting something that had nothing to do with this subject. But it is still a bold faced lie.
LIE (in capital letters and bolded) I my self attended many a vacation bible school and enjoyed every one of them. So don't
lie about me. Yes, there I have now called you a
liar. And the next time you say, I called you a
liar, have this book marked to use as a quote.
You are so right Diane ,
"How awful!" Remember to ask Gods forgiveness in your prayers tonight.
You don't have to ask my forgiveness because I just now forgave you. That is the end of that and I hold no
ill will toward you for that error. It really is that easy.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 09, 2015, 09:21:25 AM
I'm not quite sure how a dissertation on West Elk, EK and Common Core has anything to do with my question about how Kansas parents feel about their school teacher situation, but like certain politicians, you wouldn't want to miss an opportunity. You are jumping to conclusions again and 'way off the subject of my original post.
First off your friends from
Elk Konnected are on the school board and in the classrooms, didn't you know that? And Common Core is a
Federal Government Program and you haven't heard of it? You apparently are way behind on current events. As I said Common Core is threatening schools and states for children opting out of their Common Core testing, that testing is being kept secret from parents. A public school is public property and all information about that school with the exception of most disciplanary actions are public information.
I know how much you believe in organizations from your multiple posting about being a member of organizations and I only have to assume that is why you like
Elk Konnected (EK) so much. I can see you are a team player, no matter what, and approve no matter what, as long as it is an organization. What that kind of loyalty is about is, not having to think for yourself and to ignore actual current events like Common Core, which has been happening for a long time. You have also asked me, how come I don't have an organization. Simple I don't need one, because I can think for myself and have no desire to think for someone else. This presents a win, win situation for everyone. And we can each accept responsibility for our own actions and not have someone else to blame.
Have a good night Diane.
Yes, I read your post. I had a feeling it would be a juicy one. Got kinda wound up didn't ya?
Now, go back to 6/29/11 and read your #4451, 4453 and 4454. You were griping about bored kids in a Moline church yard. I did think you said VBS, but you said "camp"and complained about what it cost. No lie on my part. I did ask you if it was perhaps a VBS because of where it was. I still don't believe you actually knew.
You can't judge if kids messing around with hula hoops, and squirt guns are ''bored." They might have been setting up for an activity.I can think of several things myself. Since you went to see someone across the street, I can't imagine you spent very long observing them, or the adults might have thought you were some pervert watching the kids or planning to snatch one of them ...HA! Not really.
I didn't know you were such an expert on camp kids and free time...or whatever they were doing.You sure are quick to judge!
By the way, you haven't used "lollipops" or "sheeple" or "Alinski Method" for a long time...you must be slipping. ;D
You said you kick your wife around..(to keep her going,you said.) Should I actually believe that, or is it a lie? or what? If you are going to pin the rest of us down on every word we write, you should hold yourself to the same standard.No kidding around, no allegory,nothing. Suspicious people can't stand it....HA!
You had also posted why you wouldn't be running for office...speaking of lies... I guess things must have changed, for the better I hope. See? Some of us do care about the person, not just the politics.
Tag, you're it. Don't expect me to read all your posts...I don't and I won't. Back to the cucumbers.
Tag,you're it.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 10, 2015, 09:23:03 AM
Yes, I read your post. I had a feeling it would be a juicy one. Got kinda wound up didn't ya?
Now, go back to 6/29/11 and read your #4451, 4453 and 4454. You were griping about bored kids in a Moline church yard. I did think you said VBS, but you said "camp"and complained about what it cost. No lie on my part. I did ask you if it was perhaps a VBS because of where it was. I still don't believe you actually knew.
You read all my posts because you are afraid I might not mention you, and you keep these lies going just so I will respond and correct you. I understand your infatuation with me. I am a handsome, slim senior citizen and you can not break off the infatuation. ROFLMAO. An ex-swabbie ya understand an ex-swabbie..
I was not griping about bored kids in a Moline Church Yard,. And you did not, think I said VBS that was and is a lie. You said VBS trying to impose a lie on people other than me. You, in my opinion are twister than a snake. Everything you said was a lie and this s a lie. The best liars believe their own lies and you fit the bill to a "T".
All those dates and numbers mean nothing in this post, unless you are actually to ignorant to post the quotes so everyone can easily find them. Most people won't waste their time looking for them and you know it – that's why you won't post the quote.
But, what the subject actually was, was your friends at
Elk Konnected claiming they were doing so much for the children of Elk County and they called it summer camp, They had the cheapest of toys and left the children bored to the point of frustration and you were not here to see it for your self. And believe what I was pointing out was what was happening with all the grant money. I believe, I also stated that the whole thing amounted to no more than two hours of free baby siting. And actually the whole thing was actually provided by Elk County through a State grant rather than through
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 10, 2015, 09:23:03 AM
Yes, I read your post. I had a feeling it would be a juicy one. Got kinda wound up didn't ya?
Now, go back to 6/29/11 and read your #4451, 4453 and 4454. You were griping about bored kids in a Moline church yard. I did think you said VBS, but you said "camp"and complained about what it cost. No lie on my part. I did ask you if it was perhaps a VBS because of where it was. I still don't believe you actually knew.
You read all my posts because you are afraid I might not mention you, and you keep these lies going just so I will respond and correct you. I understand your infatuation with me. I am a handsome, slime senior citizen and you can not break off the infatuation. ROFLMAO. An ex-swabbie ya understand an ex-swabbie..
I was not griping about bored kids in a Moline Church Yard,. You did not think I said VBS that was and is a lie. You said VBS trying to impose a lie on people other than me. You in my opinion are twister than a snake. Everything you said was a lie and this s a lie. The best liars believe their own lies and you fit the bill to a "T".
All those dates and numbers mean nothing in this post unless you are actually to ignorant to post the quotes so everyone can easily find them. Most people won't waste their time looking for them and you know it – that's why you won't post the quote.
But what the subject actually was, was your friends at Elk Konnected claiming they were doing so much for the children of Elk County and they called it summer camp, They had the cheapest of toys and left the children bored to the point of frustration and you were not here to see it for your self. And believe what I was pointing out was what was happening with all the grant money. I believe, I also stated that the whole thing amounted to no more than two hours of free baby siting. And actually the whole thing was actually provided by Elk County through a State grant rather than through Elk Konnected. Sure Elk Konnected took credit and the fact that they had a member working in the CourtHouse and they had control of the moneys. I never could find where all that money was spent. I didn't believe it was all spent for the benefit of the few children involved and all the cheap toys. That was my opinion then and it is my opinion today.
Try telling the truth Diane, you might surprise yourself how much easier it is.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 10, 2015, 09:23:03 AM
You can't judge if kids messing around with hula hoops, and squirt guns are ''bored." They might have been setting up for an activity.I can think of several things myself. Since you went to see someone across the street, I can't imagine you spent very long observing them, or the adults might have thought you were some pervert watching the kids or planning to snatch one of them ...HA! Not really.
I am a the youngest member of a very large family, I gained a great deal of experience teaching nieces and nephews to talk, to walk, to chew bubble gum, to throw spit wads at bad teachers. I taught some of them to fish and some to hunt. I've raised three children. I believe, I have considerable more experience than you do. Your industrialized and organizational and government learned skills can't hold a light to the real every day inter-action of a loving parent or a loving uncle. Yes, I do know when children are bored. When the cheap toys are lying on the ground and the children are leaning up against the building doing nothing, they are bored.
They might have been setting up for an activity, why, yes they were Diane, they were most likely waiting for their parents to pick them up.
And out pops your snake again with the remark about being a pervert, well I am sorry my friend knew full well, what I was doing and why I was visiting her, and it was the subject of our conversation and she agreed the children were bored. You were not here to see what was going on and you are only interested in protecting an organization belonging to a friend of yours, the way I see it. And you will lie to do it, won't you?
Perhaps you were one of the perverts you speak of, were you a perverted teacher and forced to quit teaching? Just asking.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 10, 2015, 09:23:03 AM
I didn't know you were such an expert on camp kids and free time...or whatever they were doing.You sure are quick to judge!
What you don't know could fill a larger encyclopedia than what I don't know. Chew on that until you figure it out.
There was no camp, there was a farce in my opinion then and it is now. There was no Elk Konnected Summer Camp, they just named the baby setting scheme that to take credit where no credit was. The money for the baby-sitting scheme came from a grant acquired by the Elk County Government.
But you simply repeat yourself causing me to repeat myself in order to set the record straight.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 10, 2015, 09:23:03 AM
By the way, you haven't used "lollipops" or "sheeple" or "Alinski Method" for a long time...you must be slipping. ;D
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 10, 2015, 09:23:03 AM
You said you kick your wife around..(to keep her going,you said.) Should I actually believe that, or is it a lie? or what? If you are going to pin the rest of us down on every word we write, you should hold yourself to the same standard.No kidding around, no allegory,nothing. Suspicious people can't stand it....HA!
Not only do you attempt to be the spelling police and now you want to regulate "figure of speech", how sloppy of you? You really take things out of context and like a snake twist them to meet your need to lie.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 10, 2015, 09:23:03 AM
You had also posted why you wouldn't be running for office...speaking of lies... I guess things must have changed, for the better I hope. See? Some of us do care about the person, not just the politics.
Tag, you're it. Don't expect me to read all your posts...I don't and I won't. Back to the cucumbers.
Tag,you're it.
I ran for office at the encouragement of friends, do you have any of those things in your life.
I had no desire to win.
I wanted to show some of the old rednecks in Elk County they don't have to be rich or a member of the elite to run. And that was in hopes some of the rednecks will run next time. I spent no money or no time asking people to vote for me.
Besides, I am considered an outsider with little or no chance of winning. It is the Elk County way.
And before you go off the deep end again, I consider the term "redneck" a term of endearment and real respect, unlike the term "elite" which is just the opposite.
It is the rednecks of this country that are the real patriots and the real people that have done the hard work to build our country. It damn sure ain't the "elite" in Washington, D.C.
Now my disclaimer, I think Diane thinks I am one of her fantasies and can't let go.
That why I think she breaks her own rule about politics in the Coffee Shop. But don't take that to heart because I am not a psychiatrist, I am an ex-swabbie, an ex-Federal Employee and a retired ol fart living on a 60 acre farm/ranch playing farmer/rancher. LOL
Bye-bye for now.
It's been fun and it's been real and it's been real fun.
. Sure Elk Konnected took credit and the fact that they had a member working in the CourtHouse and they had control of the moneys. I never could find where all that money was spent. I didn't believe it was all spent for the benefit of the few children involved and all the cheap toys. That was my opinion then and it is my opinion today.
Try telling the truth Diane, you might surprise yourself, how much easier it is.Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 10, 2015, 09:23:03 AM
You can't judge if kids messing around with hula hoops, and squirt guns are ''bored." They might have been setting up for an activity.I can think of several things myself. Since you went to see someone across the street, I can't imagine you spent very long observing them, or the adults might have thought you were some pervert watching the kids or planning to snatch one of them ...HA! Not really.
I am a the youngest member of a very large family, I gained a great deal of experience teaching nieces and nephews to talk, to walk, to chew bubble gum, to throw spit wads at bad teachers. I taught some of them to fish and some to hunt. I've raised three children. I believe, I have considerable more experience than you do.
Your industrialized and organizational and government learned skills can't hold a light to the real every day inter-action of a loving parent or a loving uncle. Yes, I do know when children are bored. When the cheap toys are lying on the ground and the children are leaning up against the building doing nothing, they are bored.
They might have been setting up for an activity, why, yes they were Diane, they were most likely waiting for their parents to pick them up.
And out pops your snake again with the remark about being a pervert, well I am sorry my friend knew full well, what I was doing and why I was visiting her, and it was the subject of our conversation and she agreed the children were bored. You were not here to see what was going on and you are only interested in protecting an organization belonging to a friend of yours, the way I see it. And you will lie to do it, won't you?
Perhaps you were one of the perverts you speak of, were you a perverted teacher and forced to quit teaching? Just asking.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 10, 2015, 09:23:03 AM
I didn't know you were such an expert on camp kids and free time...or whatever they were doing.You sure are quick to judge!
What you don't know could fill a larger encyclopedia than what I don't know. Chew on that until you figure it out. I didn't know you were so arrogantly ignorant to believe you could puul this shit and get away with it.
There was no camp, there was in fact a farce, it was my opinion then and it is now. There was no
Elk Konnected Summer Camp, they just named the baby setting scheme that to take credit where no credit was. The money for the baby-sitting scheme came from a grant acquired by the Elk County Government.
But you simply repeat yourself causing me to repeat myself in order to set the record straight.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 10, 2015, 09:23:03 AM
By the way, you haven't used "lollipops" or "sheeple" or "Alinski Method" for a long time...you must be slipping. ;D
I don't need to in this conversation, are you crazy? You probably don;t comprehend that either, so sorry!
But just the same you just said it all.
It shows the education I am providing for you is doing some good. Now if you only comprehended the meaning of the words. Shall we work on that.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 10, 2015, 09:23:03 AM
You said you kick your wife around..(to keep her going,you said.) Should I actually believe that, or is it a lie? or what? If you are going to pin the rest of us down on every word we write, you should hold yourself to the same standard.No kidding around, no allegory,nothing. Suspicious people can't stand it....HA!
Not only do you attempt to be the spelling police and now you want to regulate "figure of speech", how sloppy of you? You really take things out of context and like a snake twist them to feed your need to lie, don't you?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 10, 2015, 09:23:03 AM
You had also posted why you wouldn't be running for office...speaking of lies... I guess things must have changed, for the better I hope. See? Some of us do care about the person, not just the politics.
Tag, you're it. Don't expect me to read all your posts...I don't and I won't. Back to the cucumbers.
Tag,you're it.
I ran for office at the encouragement of friends, do you have any of those things in your life.
I had no desire to win.
I wanted to show some of the old rednecks in Elk County they don't have to be rich or a member of the elite to run. And that was in hopes some of the rednecks will run next time. I spent no money or no time asking people to vote for me.
Besides, I am considered an outsider with little or no chance of winning. It is the Elk County way.
And before you go off the deep end again, I consider the term "redneck" a term of endearment and real respect, unlike the term "elite" which is just the opposite.
It is the rednecks of this country that are the real patriots and the real people that have done the hard work to build our country. It damn sure ain't the "elite" in Washington, D.C.
Now my disclaimer, I think Diane thinks, I am one of her fantasies and can't let go.
That why I think she breaks her own rule about politics in the Coffee Shop. But don't take that to heart because I am not a psychiatrist, I am an ex-swabbie, an ex-Federal Employee and a retired ol fart living on a 60 acre farm/ranch playing farmer/rancher. LOL
Bye-bye for now.
It's been fun and it's been real and it's been real fun.
Nope, ya don't get away that easily.
Look it up.I made it easy for you, dates and everything.You'll see exactly who said what. Yes, VBS was mentioned, and the rest that I posted too. Anyone who chooses to can look up all your posts, every one of them on your member page. Want more? I have several.
Repost them? Not worth my time, and I still need the typing practice.I have improved somewhat. Besides ,now you'll delete them since I was nice enough to leave the door open for you. See, I know who believes me. They know you aren't important enough to tell lies to or about.
I even did all the work and posted the dates and everything.I have lots more but anyone who is still even remotely interested (which I doubt) can see them...every one of them.They can easily see I did not lie. I have a bar of soap for you... ;D
So now you want to do the twist and turn dance. I'm not surprised. Everything I wrote was indeed posted.
I'm not a liar...don't have to be.I'm female. I'm allowed to make mistakes though. Men always say that. ;) and I do some times change my mind if new facts and circumstances appear.
Does any of it really matter? Not really, but you never let go of anything, so I thought I'd show you your own posts.You have been stuck in this mud for so many years now it has putrified.
Nobody but you cares any more. No, nobody is going to answer "those questions." Nobody cares...it's too old and wrinkled now. Even Janet told you to press charges if you had proof of wrong doing, years ago.You didn't do anything but complain over and over to people who could/would do nothing about it.
You can throw verbal mud balls at me forever if you choose to. Nobody is impressed or cares anymore. After 8 years, people there have made up their minds about me long ago. Some will remember the circumstances of my joining up, some won't. It had nothing to do with politics, but rather a fire and a serious injury to a long time family friend.
I still have a heart and care about the people there, and all the Elk County doings and things 'way beyond politics.I've never understood why you seem to have such a cold heart and seem to have no interest in the people in general and their lives, beyond politics. Do you have any social life? I hope so.You say you are an "outsider." If you are, how did you garner the votes you did get?'
So keep going to those meetings. See if you can generally be less abrasive. You do sometimes have good ideas.
I'm sorry you don't understand the term "loyal opposition.'' Our founder fathers had several of them.
As far as attacking me again, why bother? Everyone know how things are and won't be impressed with your flailing around.
When you ran for election, after saying you would not, you just said you had ''no desire to win." That was sure a waste of time and a let down for the people who did support you and voted for you. You actually got quite a few votes! So why would you say that after the fact? If your heart really wasn't in it, why bother? People believed you.That means you took away votes from someone else.
Now, go take care of your wife and those pretty horses, and that just- about- grown- up son of yours. I assume he is working this summer. Try to have a fulfilling, happy day.
I will read your next post.I'm sure it will be amazing.Then I won't read any more. Perhaps I'll take you off ignore, but still not read them. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Another nice day.In fact, the last two days were so nice we turned off the air conditioner. We turned it back on last night, more for the dehumidifer than the cooling. Bingo last night was fun. Bingo Bill, our bingo boss, got a bunch of watermelons and used them as door prizes.The local ones here have been especially sweet this summer.
I had a big bowl of local peaches from Milburn Orchard for breakfast this morning. Extra sweet.Their freestones are just coming on and the blackberries are in full swing.
A few of my toms have been pecked by the cardinals...just a small hole, but then the butterflies come to drink from the hole. Funny to see.
The hummers are starting to tank up for the long trip back home.They are spending much more time at the feeder,coming every few minutes. My August Lilies are in full bloom and smell so nice .Unfortunately the deer came last night and made salad out of some of the big white blooms.
One sad thing...went to a funeral on Sunday for one of Al's distant cousins.(age 69) He died in a very strange bicycle accident several miles from here. Two adults on bikes were headed toward each other when Phil, a very experienced biker, zigged when he should have zagged and hit the other bike. He flipped up over the handle bars.Even though he was wearing a bike helmet, he broke his neck when he hit the ground.(C-2) He was taken off life support on Friday.
Now to go look through the daily pile of mail.Hope everyone is having a fun day.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 11, 2015, 09:34:33 AM
Nope, ya don't get away that easily.
Look it up.I made it easy for you, dates and everything.You'll see exactly who said what. Yes, VBS was mentioned, and the rest that I posted too. Anyone who chooses to can look up all your posts, every one of them on your member page. Want more? I have several.
Repost them? Not worth my time, and I still need the typing practice.I have improved somewhat. Besides ,now you'll delete them since was nice enough to leave the door open for you. See, I know who believes me. They know you aren't important enough to tell lies to or about.
I even did all the work and posted the dates and everything.I have lots more but anyone who is still even remotely interested (which I doubt) can see them...every one of them.They can easily see I did not lie. I have a bar of soap for you... ;D
I have absolutely no reason to delete anything, such an accusation is one of insecurity. If you truly thought I would delete them you would definitely quote them to prevent me from doing so. But guess what I quote everything I respond to partly for that reason but mostly to be clear in my response to your postings.
So this is how you deal with your lies, you fail to post any of the quotes of the lies, with a lame excuse.
But perhaps it isn't a lame excuse, perhaps you fail to understand and comprehend how to post any quotes.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 11, 2015, 09:34:33 AM
So now you want to do the twist and turn dance. I'm not surprised. Everything I wrote was indeed posted.
No dearie it is not I, that do the twist and dance like a snake, but nice try.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 11, 2015, 09:34:33 AM
I'm not a liar...don't have to be.I'm female. I'm allowed to make mistakes though. Men always say that. ;) and I do some times change my mind if new facts and circumstances appear.
What one hell of an excuse for lying, I have never heard better.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 11, 2015, 09:34:33 AM
Does any of it really matter? Not really, but you never let go of anything,
No dearie and I won't let go as long as you are lying about me.
But about that letting go, who brought politics to the coffee shop on this thread with her back stabbing ways? Why it was you.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 11, 2015, 09:34:33 AM
so I thought I'd show you your own posts.You have been stuck in this mud for so many years now it has purified.
You have shown exactly nothing.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 11, 2015, 09:34:33 AM
Nobody but you cares any more. No, nobody is going to answer "those questions." Nobody cares...it's too old and wrinkled now. Even Janet told you to press charges if you had proof of wrong doing, years ago.You didn't do anything but complain over and over to people who could/would do nothing about it.
You can throw verbal mud balls at me forever if you choose to. Nobody is impressed or cares anymore. After 8 years, people there have made up their minds about me long ago. Some will remember the circumstances of my joining up, some won't. It had nothing to do with politics, but rather a fire and a serious injury to a long time family friend.
Janet has no say about anything I do or say. She has no authority over me. But you don't understand the law and politics do you. What liberal thinking!
I had only provided information and asked simple questions about you Elk Konnected group. And the lack of answers were the answers for the Elk County citizens. But that is over your head, isn't it?
Oh it all mattered very much at the time and still does today. Why, because the citizens of Elk County won't be bamboozled again. That's why!
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 11, 2015, 09:34:33 AM
I still have a heart and care about the people there, and all the Elk County doings and things 'way beyond politics.I've never understood why you seem to have such a cold heart and seem to have no interest in the people in general and their lives, beyond politics. Do you have any social life? I hope so.You say you are an "outsider." If you are, how did you garner the votes you did get?'
I am an outsider because that is the label attached to people that are not born here. And you don't comprehend that, either do you? The outsiders laugh and joke about the inbreeding in this county. of coures they are joking and really mean no more harm than being refered to as outsiders even if they may have lived here twenty years or more.
You have a heart to lie about me, and to back stab that's what you have shown me in politics.
My personal and social life is really none of your business and really has nothing to do with politics. I have shared a bit of personal information, but it has been limited and that is for good reason. To prevent heartless people like you from twisting it all out of shape, Such as your play on the word pervert. That was just plain nasty of you.
Right now, I am working on a petition to stop an outrageous property tax by the West Elk USD-282 school board. And if you give any thought to that, it is for the elderly on fixed incomes that night have to skip medications or meals in order to make the tax payments. The School board apparently doesn't believe in a budget and is continually talking of raising taxes, they spend, spend, spend and ery wastefully. Do they care who they hurt ---- hell no. Of course the present President of the board doesn't mind raising his own property tax ----- he just inherited in excess of a million dollars. But Diane did the 85 year old widow get a giant increase in her retirement of her social security payment. You are right Diane I don't think of anyone else, I am just a selfish person that lacks any passion.
I didn't care a bit, if I thought your friends at Elk Konnected were morally abusing their position on the County Commissioners board or that they were taking advantage of the Elk County Citizens, I was just being a big prick, right? I just called them on the carpet at those County Commissioners meetings for no reason what so ever. You didn't like the truth coming out and have been trying to stomp me in the dirt ever since and it's been amusing, but I have had far better people try and fail, so don't feel bad. Heck the whole office of child protective services in the Greater Seattle lost their battle to put me down
But about your friends at
Elk Konnected, where are those friends of yours from
Elk Konnected now?
The last post on the
Elk KonnectedFacebook was June 30, 2014 !
https://www.facebook.com/elk.konnected?ref=br_rs
Why do you suppose that is?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 11, 2015, 09:34:33 AM
So keep going to those meetings. See if you can generally be less abrasive. You do sometimes have good ideas.
I will attend school board meetings and county commissioners meetings just as often as I can and I don't need consent to do so. You see as a taxpayer and a registered voter, heck just bcause I am a human being I have the right to attend a public meeting. Do you comprehend that.
And if I feel like sharing what I learn or feel here on the forum I shall do that as well. As long as the owners of the forum permit me too. And inspite of people like you that think they have a say over the forum. Sorry about that ! NOT!
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 11, 2015, 09:34:33 AM
I'm sorry you don't understand the term "loyal opposition.'' Our founder fathers had several of them.
As far as attacking me again, why bother? Everyone know how things are and won't be impressed with your flailing around.
As a teacher is that what you taught that the Civil War was ? ? ? ?
I don't want to impress anyone, is that why you are on here, to impress people with you great intellect?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 11, 2015, 09:34:33 AM
When you ran for election, after saying you would not, you just said you had ''no desire to win." That was sure a waste of time and a let down for the people who did support you and voted for you. You actually got quite a few votes! So why would you say that after the fact? If your heart really wasn't in it, why bother? People believed you.That means you took away votes from someone else.
You do not read for comprehension do you?
I explained in depth what that was about and it zipped right over your edumacted diploma's didn't it.
But I didn't hear anything about the shenanigans over the County Election out of you and the three way split ticket. But again that was way over that edumacted mind of yours.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 11, 2015, 09:34:33 AM
Now, go take care of your wife and those pretty horses, and that just- about- grown- up son of yours. I assume he is working this summer. Try to have a fulfilling, happy day.
I will read you next post.I'm sure it will be amazing.Then I won't read any more. Perhaps I'll take you off ignore, but still not read them. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
All that ignoring and not reading is simply amazing to me.
You ignore so you don't know what's going on.
You don't read so you don't comprehend.
And yet you keep posting.
I'm wondering when you were teaching did you teach this technique?
So why do you cling to the politics of Elk County and not let go?
I have been having a delightful evening sitting here on my front porch watching the lightning bugs flicker and listening to the cows and the coyotes while responding to your post. It is really quite pleasant outside this evening. Thank you.
Oh a couple of suggestions for you on the computer for you before I go.
1. Learn to use the space bar.
2. Learn to use spell checker, I know sometimes I forget to use it.
3. Go to windows help and type in, How do I copy and paste?
If I can be of any more help, just ask. Nighty-night.
Ross, I've noticed you're following Diane all around the forums. Whats the deal? This is a thread about East Coast Happenings, why are you hijacking the thread to talk about the Elk Konnected deal? Get off the soap box for a minute. Keep politics (including local politics) to the politics forum please. You've already got your whole deal over there. Stop muddying up the coffee shop and stop useless bickering.
Quote from: Anmar on August 11, 2015, 11:29:19 PM
Ross, I've noticed you're following Diane all around the forums. Whats the deal? This is a thread about East Coast Happenings, why are you hijacking the thread to talk about the Elk Konnected deal? Get off the soap box for a minute. Keep politics (including local politics) to the politics forum please. You've already got your whole deal over there. Stop muddying up the coffee shop and stop useless bickering.
I think you missed some of the post Diane put on here and maybe a bit biased.
Diane brought the politics here to her little thread not me.
And apparently Anmar you are nit aware of Diane's connection to Elk Konnected and all the ugly she had to say to me about my postings. And apparently you are unaware of her subtle remarks about Elk Konnected.
And she called me out both by name and by suggestion. I Think she has an infatuation with me and my honesty.
And you say stop the usless bickering, to me it's not usless, when someone back-stabs me or lies about me, it's a pleasure to respond truthfully.
Oh, I'm not upset with Diane, I understand it is just her nature of communication, I think it must be all that left leaning liberal education.
But Anmar I'm done when she stops with the lies and the political backstabbing in the CoffeeShop on her little thread.
Thank you for your concern.
In closing, I'd only suggest you ask Diane why she brought politics to this thread and why the politics in Elk County matters so much to her way up in Delaware.
Have a good day.
That is so funny. Mr.Lloyd Wayne Ross decided I was somehow "connected" to EK, even though I'm here and not there...and somehow, if it were true that would be an awful,traitorous,thing. I guess it made it easier for him to justify being mad at me all the time.
I also don't happen to think that all posts about schools and education are automatically political in nature.IMHO!
I guess I should call my thread "Happenings and Opinions From the East Coast."Then I could talk about anything. HA!
As far as I know when this thread was started, it was for all of us who either lived there ,had at one time, or had a connection to Elk County. I'm sure you know what I mean. It was not intended to be a haven for just extreme right conservative confederates, but that is what it seems to be now. Any differing view is labeled, pronounced dangerous and is trampled immediately. Freedom of speech is just for "them".
He also made up a set of rules that I should personally abide by. Who gave him that authority, I don't know. ;) He is not a moderator for any thread and was asked by Teresa to back off the constant, repetitive ridicule and patronizing attitudes a LOOONG time ago. He did improve for short time but it didn't last.
Yes, I let him have an earful about his nasty comments to JoeSue about their forum name. It was extremely rude and unnecessary.
In the meantime, thanks for your comments.He does wind me up sometimes and I'm sure I could do better, but it's not up to him.
Now for what's going on here. Our next door "boat neighbor" brought us eight nice big, fat, heavy crabs yesterday evening. Guess what's for lunch today?
It's just 65 here now and everyone's thoughts have turned to school again. I need to go to my friend's uniform store and get a white short sleeved uniform shirt, and I think I should have gone sooner. He is loaded with kids needing to get their uniforms for school.This time of year is like Christmas to Mike.
We are also waiting to hear about a chest x-ray Al had yesterday afternoon. He's been having left sided lung pain again. He's had pneumonia twice and our Doc said he could hear something, but he was not sure what. So we wait. He already started him on a broad spectrum antibiotic, just in case.
We are also supposed to go the our drug store and get the newest pneumonia shots that just came out recently.It supposedly picks up from where the other one leaves off and covers more ''bugs." It's free for Medicare patients. Some of you might want to check and see if your doc wants you to have it too.
It's time for coffee on the front porch.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 12, 2015, 07:39:14 AM
That is so funny. Mr.Lloyd Wayne Ross decided I was somehow "connected" to EK, even though I'm here and not there...and somehow, if it were true that would be an awful,traitorous,thing. I guess it made it easier for him to justify being mad at me all the time.
No, no Diane you decided your were Elk Konnected by your posts and accusations against myself and others on the
Topic: Elk Konnected Hand out at County Commissioners meeting on 4/25 (Read 276436 times) located at http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,11780.6530.html .
The whole thread is an interesting read, those that might not know about it, might get a kick out of it.
You supported every move
Elk Konnected and opposed any one who said other wise. You also had the members log into four personal facebook. You even chose to stop calling the
Elk Konnected and calling them EK which is a bit more personal in nature.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 12, 2015, 07:39:14 AM
I also don't happen to think that all posts about schools and education are automatically political in nature.IMHO!
I guess I should call my thread "Happenings and Opinions From the East Coast."Then I could talk about anything. HA!
I agree not all postings about education are political in nature. However the tone and nature and timing of a post can actually change what appears non-toxic into something politically very quickly.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 12, 2015, 07:39:14 AM
As far as I know when this thread was started, it was for all of us who either lived there ,had at one time, or had a connection to Elk County. I'm sure you know what I mean. It was not intended to be a haven for just extreme right conservative confederates, but that is what it seems to be now. Any differing view is labeled, pronounced dangerous and is trampled immediately. Freedom of speech is just for "them".
This forum was around far, far ahead of when you started this thread and it is public for anyone to read or to sign on in order to post.
You are always crying this theme like a very good little well trained liberal extrem left, puppet. And yes you do very much object to other peoples views and opinions and you always attempt to put the other person down rather than to communicate intelligently. So yes Diane I agree with you on this point.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 12, 2015, 07:39:14 AM
He also made up a set of rules that I should personally abide by. Who gave him that authority, I don't know. ;) He is not a moderator for any thread and was asked by Teresa to back off the constant, repetitive ridicule and patronizing attitudes a LOOONG time ago. He did improve for short time but it didn't last.
What did I fabricate for you? Why do you make statements of this nature with out showing something to back it up? I know why, because they are just useless statements.
And Diane you received the very same message from Teresa along with everyone else. How in the wold could you possibly forget you were involved in that post?
I did make you a promise to return to this thread of your is you called me by name or innuendo!
And you would not want me to break a promise to you, would you?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 12, 2015, 07:39:14 AM
In the meantime, thanks for your comments.He does wind me up sometimes and I'm sure I could do better, but it's not up to him.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 12, 2015, 07:39:14 AM
Yes, I let him have an earful about his nasty comments to JoeSue about their forum name. It was extremely rude and unnecessary.
You bet you did. You gave me an ear full of nothing. LOLBut since you wish to attempt to make it appear, I was out of line and you bring up Joesue of Montgomery County, Kansas lets look at a few of her postings on this forum shall we. And please, remember you failed to correct her on her attitude and attacks.
This coming from someone living in Montgomery County, Ks not here in Elk County?Quote from: Joesue23 on August 06, 2014, 08:56:27 AM
The best thing that could happen to Elk County is for Ross and Hillbilly to leave and go put their negative crap on another county. Shari is a really sharp person and she has held some very important jobs with Major Oil pipelines, she will do great as a County Commissioner. Her husband is part of a very longtime prominent and successful ranching family in Elk county. Shari's Mother served Elk count for many years and did. Great job of it, Shari will do well Also.
Doug is very much a landowner in Elk County, so why the lie? This lie once again cominf out of Montgomery County, Ks.Quote from: Joesue23 on August 24, 2014, 12:14:38 PM
If you listen to Ross blow, everyone that doesn't agree with him is part of Elk Konnected. I happen to know that Shari Kaminski has never had anything to do with Elk Konnected. All my family and friends in Elk County intend to vote for Shari. She is super sharp and her family are Ranchers and landowners in Elk County. Doug is not a landowner and what he farms is land owned by Shari's Aunt. Think about it what has Ross done for Elk County, NOTHING.
And Diane I suppose the next two posts by Joesue show a great deal of intellectual communication about the subject of Common Core, is that correct?Quote from: Joesue23 on December 22, 2014, 01:51:24 PM
Ross you are an absolute idiot, no one on the forum has done even close to the Putdowns that you have. From the first time you got on the Forum until now you have lied, made up crap about everyone from the schoolboard, county commissioners, to anyone that opposed your trash. You are without a doubt the worst thing that has happened to Elk County. I own property and pay taxes in Elk County, have thought about moving there but you make me hesitant to do so. I am not defending Diane I just tired of your trash and lies.
Quote from: Joesue23 on December 22, 2014, 01:55:05 PM
Ross, you have driven everyone else from the Forum,, look at how few are posting.
Quote from: Joesue23 on May 10, 2015, 01:49:23 PM
Redcliff my husband, his Father, my Brother and my Father all served and fought under and for that Flag. They are getting tired of you and your UnpAtriotic comments. Why don't you move to some Foreign country that hates America like you do. My Husband wants to come to Wichita and have a talk with you.
I too served my country! Ten years of the Vietnam Conflict/war. There has never been an unpatriotic utterance from me. Her fabrication is very terrible.I hope her husband had a fun trip to Wichita, that sure is a long way around to get from Montgomery County to Elk County. EOFLMAOSo is Joesue implying that her family objects to the constitution and Freedom of Speech? What did they think they were serving for?Quote from: Joesue23 on May 10, 2015, 01:49:23 PM
Redcliff my husband, his Father, my Brother and my Father all served and fought under and for that Flag. They are getting tired of you and your UnpAtriotic comments. Why don't you move to some Foreign country that hates America like you do. My Husband wants to come to Wichita and have a talk with you.
Extremely intelligent don't you think Diane?Quote from: Joesue23 on July 25, 2015, 03:26:26 PM
Ross my husband is a BIG Xmarine and in great shape. He says he is going to come to Howard or wherever you hangout. And speak to you about your manners. He will invite several local people to join him, several have said they would attend as they are tired of your rudeness and lies. We have nothing to do with Elk Connected, in fact we don't even know what it is.
Quote from: Joesue23 on July 25, 2015, 06:05:18 AM
Blah! Blah! Blah!, typical Ross trash and talking when he Doesn't know what he is talking about. A lot of what he Isn talking about on shutting down the old Grade School Happened before he invaded Elk Cpunty. From what my Family in Howard tells me it was Condemened for several reasons.
Quote from: Joesue23 on July 28, 2015, 03:07:31 PM
Ross, I am the husband and I am tired of you being such a total smart aleck. The truth of the matter is you are a rude, dumb name caller. What is your address I am going to pay you a visit so I can see what kind of an idiot you look like. You and you alone have ruined the Forum, a lot of people enjoyed it for so long and enjoyed so many topics, then a long came a rude idiot named Ross and ruined it.
Quote from: Joesue23 on July 25, 2015, 06:14:47 PM
Ross your day is coming and you won't like it. From what I have been told you are the most disliked liar in Howard.
People tell me you are Elk County disconnected. You have no idea what my husband can be like.
I believe, I have made my point to your post about Joesue and your ruse.
Have a happy day Dane, I know i will.
Four different face books? I have no idea what that means. (Yawn)
One school comment. I don't think I'd be so public about telling people that you taught anyone to throw spit wads at ''bad" teachers. How does that help anything? Is that how ultra conservative confederates solve problems? Awfully shallow if ya ask me. :-\
Remember, the posts of 6/29/11,#4451,4453 and 4454 will show who said what...after you called me such a liar. Proof!
Anyway, back to more east coast stuff...boring! But fun...Al does not have pneumonia.The x-ray showed bronchitis, and the chest pain is from irritated scar tissue from the last two times he did have pneumonia. He is already feeling better, as the antibiotic our doc prescribed was just the ticket.
I did get fitted for my white uniform shirt last night and it was fun to see the parents and kids coming in to see about school uniform fittings or picking up the ones that were ready. Now Mike's seamstress will sew on the shoulder patch and I'll be good to go. I could have done the patch myself, but it comes with the cost of the shirt, so why not?
It's been fun watching the parent birds trying to wean their babies away. The younger birds are chasing them all around demanding to be fed still, while the adults,who already taught them what to do, are trying to avoid them. One can just about see them saying ,''Go away kid, ya bother me.". My apologies to WC.
My Night Blooming Cereus had two more beautiful blossoms last night that scented the entire front yard. That makes 11 for the summer, so far.
We went out late to watch for meteors, but as soon as we did, a thin layer of clouds covered the sky and hid them. With no moon it should have been a great show. Did any of you go out to look?
We're starting to give away veggies now that we have plenty to share and lots of cukes now. My lack of success from the last two years really was about ants, they were eating the seeds.We got rid of the ants, no more problem. My back yard neighbor planted blackberries right up against my back fence. A great many poked through and Sally said I could have any that were on my side...Aw shucks..Blackberries again? YUM. There were plenty for both of us, and the birds too.
Time to go sweep the deck. It's covered with Magnolia leaves.
Have a good day.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 13, 2015, 06:32:22 AM
Four different face books? I have no idea what that means. (Yawn)
What about four different facebooks?
What are you talking about?
Are you seeing double, twice?
You need help in a bad way!
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 13, 2015, 06:32:22 AM
One school comment. I don't think I'd be so public about telling people that you taught anyone to throw spit wads at ''bad" teachers. How does that help anything? Is that how ultra conservative confederates solve problems? Awfully shallow if ya ask me. :-\
You lack any comprehension about a figure of speech, how did you ever deal with children?
And Diane, I'd much rather be referred to as an ultra conservative confederate than a Yankee extreme left liberal. It shows a lot of common sense. And couple that with being a Veteran and Patriot and concerned citizen makes me really something. Don't ya reckon?
Tis Far Better than being a sheeple of the left, in my opinion.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 13, 2015, 06:32:22 AM
Remember, the posts of 6/29/11,#4451,4453 and 4454 will show who said what...after you called me such a liar. Proof!
Do you lack the knowledge and ability to learn?
Do you lack the knowledge to post what you wish to quote?
Because typing a bunch of numbers instead of making quotes shows a lack of intelligence in my opinion.
The numbers show nothing whatsoever.
See all the quotes of your friend joesue and the ugliness spewed forward, they tell the real story.
Try it, if you wish to make a point.
Besides you accused me of probably going back and deleting them, which I would never do, because of the honesty in my posts.
If you quote them I can't delete them now can I? I'm just trying to help you make a difference!
Or just admit, it is way over your head, and your degree is of no help.
Whenever you are done with this tit for tat, I am.
Just don't call me back to this thread.
Otherwise I'm a die-hard ans will return as promised.
Your call!
Bye-bye Sleep tight.
It's another beautiful day and last night was cool and great for sleeping. We often have a little cool spell here this time of year and then it gets very hot and humid again.
Al got set up for net flix, Acorn and some others awhile back, and we have been overdosing (that's an allegory ;) on good British Mysteries. I also like the new Boston EMS, very good, and not hokey like some. I really like the way they treat their patients... low key and casual when they can be, and very serious when they have to be. Much like our bunch here.
The one Hispanic Paramedic girl reminds me a bit of me...or how I'd like to be seen. Very professional and competent, but nice, and funny too, when it's appropriate.
Tonight is the August fire company meeting. We'll get all the bills paid, and a social with crabs,sweet corn, toms and salad afterward.This time of year they are huge, full of sweet meat and a little cheaper.(The crabs,not the bills ;)) We are lucky to get good prices since we get several bushels at a time.
Now I need to decide whether to edit out the posts on here, especially some ridiculous criticisms, ridicule and patronizing of me, or just leave them. Gee, I wonder what I should do. Should I take a vote?
Quote from: ROSS on August 13, 2015, 09:06:19 PM
Whenever you are done with this tit for tat, I am.
Just don't call me back to this thread.
Otherwise I'm a die-hard ans will return as promised.
Your call!
Bye-bye Sleep tight.
So that is your response. To start a new thread!
Called it "Political Opinions from the East Coast" in the political section of the forum, good girl.
And the first four words contiue to show your burning
infatuation with me.
Only your infatuation is not short term is it?
Quote from: Diane Amberg on August 14, 2015, 09:47:11 AM
I guess since Ross
ROFLMAO
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D I honestly can't post what I'm thinking right now. :angel:
We had a great time cracking crabs last night,with good sweet corn and salad too.It's a shame the peak season is so short. Teresa got to have some beautiful Blue Claws recently too.The same kind we have. I'm sure she enjoyed them. I wonder if someone had to teach her how to open 'em up and what part to eat....Nah,I'm sure she already knew. There is an edge in the air as families are buying shoes and stocking up on school supplies.Lots of sales going on and the stores are getting crowded.
My uniform shirt is ready but I'll not pick it up today. Mike's will be very busy and I can avoid that by going in during the day next week. Time to go fix brunch.
Ross, you can't really think anyone could possibly be infatuated with you. Possibly in awe of your stupidity. Why do you even stay in Elk County?
EEK ! You used his name! He'll think you rubbed his bottle and will have to arise back here again. ;D ;D ;D
Nice to hear from you Pro. I'm sure there are plenty more folks like you than there are like him.
I'm having a fried bologna sandwich with Miracle Whip, sweet onion and big slices of tomato on 12 grain toast ...for breakfast. That may sound awful for breakfast, but it sure will be good.
I really enjoyed Waldo's article in the Prairie Star.I'm always ready to learn about the area.
I went to Milburn orchards in nearby Maryland again yesterday afternoon, so I'm going to make a big peach cobbler this afternoon.Their yellow freestone peaches are coming in fast now. Of course I had to get some of their cider donuts too.They also have lots of their own jellies and jams,sauces, relishes, local cookbooks and interesting doodads from around here. It's become quite a destination stop as it has grown and expanded over the years. Enjoy the day.
local fruits and veggies are always the best. and the sandwich sounded great.
It was. We have rain starting to come in now. The flower beds and pots can use it but I don't want too much at once or the toms may split.
I can't help thinking about Roma.I'm just really torn up. She was so nice and always nice to me too.I'll have to follow up somehow.
It's a perfect day.The humidity dropped out again yesterday evening, so up went the windows and off went the air conditioner. YAY.
I picked another 3/4 bushel of cukes and another apron full of toms.Tonight we're going to have lamb chops, green fried toms and Lima beans. I love the summer veggies.
I wish I could be there for Roma's memorial.I hope someone takes some photos. I wonder what cemetery she will go to? I'll be thinking of you all.
Another perfect day. Northwest breezes from Canada and humidity in the 30's.Yesterday I got my hair cut and stopped at the farmers market and Pepperidge Farm outlet on the way home.
We went to nearby Maryland later to try out the relatively new Golden Corral and Grill at the truck stop just off I95. We went for the early bird dinner which was a bargain at $ 7.69 including beverage. I was surprised that it wasn't very busy.
They started in North Carolina so there is a southern lean on the cooking. Good pot roast, grits, okra, baked potatoes,gravies, several kind of beans and breads, salads and all sort of good things to try.
I have never see so many desserts in my life. They even had a chocolate and vanilla fountain with dippers. I don't personally care for that ... too many germ potentials for me. But the soft ice cream over apple pie was very good.
Time to go put the clean clothes away and finish in the kitchen.
Nature did it again.It's beautiful.We don't usual get such a run of weather this nice for this long.
I've been enjoying the photos of some young friends who just spent their honeymoon hiking and camping in Peru.Their goal was Machu Picchu and they made it. It took four days of rugged trails and camping to get there and the altitude was hard on them but they loved it.
Tomorrow we're going to a Bat Mitzvah for the twins of friends. They are doing a beach theme for the birthday party following services, so I put together a gift filled sand bucket for each of them... looks really cute.
Pizza tonight..no cooking. YAY!
Tomorrow the thundering herd starts coming back. They've already had their first overdose last night and the dorms aren't even officially open yet. Some will run wild, get hit by cars,drink themselves into the hospital, or worse, and now we are having a heroin overdose epidemic.
I dread the next two weeks. I have to add 10 minutes to everywhere I go until the traffic patterns settle down again.
I left a casserole dish in the sink to soak, time to go wash it.
I picked another big trug of toms and a dozen or so more cukes.The cukes are about done.
Tomorrow Ill make another peach cobbler and a nice summer squash casserole that we both love.
UD is back in full swing. We've had several students hit by cars, overdoses galore, stupid drunks stumbling all over the place, and the traffic is a pain again twice a day.
I can hear the marching band practicing from here, which I love.
The Bat Mitzvah service and party after was wonderful. The Rabbi is very modern (reconstructionist) and a delight to listen to.(He played guitar for all the songs.) At least half the people there were not Jewish, and he was very good about explaining everything in English. The birthday party afterward was at our fire hall and was totally decorated in beach themes and there was boardwalk food. Our one hall manager had a fit when Dave hauled in 4 50 pound bags of sand and George was scared to death of what Dave was going to do. When questioned, Dave(the father) told him he was going to dump it on the floor to make a beach area. ;D ;D ;D (It was to put in big sand buckets (wet) to put big beach umbrellas in on the tables). Very clever. When asked about the big buckets, Dave told him they were for the water fights. ;D ;D ;D ;D Poor George about had a heart attack.
All in all everyone had a wonderful time.
Back to Bingo tonight.
Our garden did nothing this year so glad yours did.
We have had a lot of rain, almost too much sometimes, so we did have a very good garden this year.
I'm sorry you weren't successful. Too dry? We're going to be back in the 90's for the next few days and then it drops down again. That may cause the toms to stop blooming, but we'll see .
With UD back in session, Newark is sure hopping.
Hot but nice today.
The Pope is coming later this month.The mid Atlantic region and on up to NY is really starting to get excited. It's all kind of lost on me, but means a lot to many people here. For most it's a once in a life time event.
He'll be in Philly for a weekend and there are several events planned. People are swooping on every available room, including here.
As much as I hated to do it, it's time for this old girl to catch up on health appointments. I scheduled my annual mammogram, blood tests, physical, and the dreaded colonoscopy. Thank goodness it's only every 5 years. I hope it stays that way.
We have been helping out a very old racoon with a bad leg. She comes up on the deck almost every evening looking for food. So far she seems to do OK with dog kibble. I don't usually approve of feeding such animals, but I know she'd never make it on her own.
Twice now, after she has had her fill, she has curled up under the deck table and slept for a long time. I'm sure winter will claim her.( I'm just guessing that she is a girl.The males I've seen are usually much bigger.)
The lady fox, who we have seen quite often all summer, has finished raising her kit and doesn't come around as much now.
The local squirrels are starting to chip away at the dogwood seeds now that they are turning red, and the hummers are starting to look like little stuffed sausages. Al is calling.Have a great day.
Our get together at Green Tree PA was lots of fun yesterday. These are the retired vet and my forever girlfriend who had their 50th anniversary recently.We had to finish before the Penn State game came on. They can't miss that.
The "Pour Girls" It is a colonial inn deep in Amish country, so it's a treat to drive the 34 minutes there through beautiful farm country. It was a perfect day, so all the Amish were out with their beautiful bay horses cutting corn, hay and the tobacco leaves that are pegged as they are cut and then hug to dry in the big ventilated tobacco barns.
The woman have beautiful flower gardens that are always so colorful this time of year. The wild walnut trees are dropping their leaves now, and are rattling down the road as the squirrels gather up the nuts.
We stopped at an Amish stand on the way home and I got two quart baskets of Limas to freeze.
Al's little belt sander, that he has had for 25 years, broke this morning. He just came home with a new one. I hope it's not Chinese junk..
UD lost its first football game at home Friday night. Not a good start.
On Sept 22, on Discovery, they are supposed to have a show on about the infamous "Johnston Gang" that has roamed around in PA and Delaware for years.(I think that they are all in prison now.) Very violent and dangerous, and would steal anything from anyone. My friends from yesterday lost a tractor to them years ago.
Time to go start working on dinner.
Nice, but a little too hot today. I'm starting on my fall house cleaning..gotta shovel it out once in awhile whether it needs it or not. My favorite East Enders weren't on again last night, so we watched some more reruns of Prime Suspect. I always liked Helen Mirren in that series.
I'm working on the school lists and Fire Prevention Contest Rules packs for the schools in our fire district. There are 21 schools in our district, so it takes awhile for two of us to get the packs out to everyone from K-8. I hope to get some of mine delivered tomorrow and finish on Wednesday.I'm sure you all must do something similar in your schools.
No Bingo tonight, so I'm soon going to read for awhile and then treat myself to a rare nap. Hope all the non retirees enjoy their day off, if they get one. For everyone else, enjoy this symbolic, but official end of summer.
Whew! It's hot and humid this afternoon.I expect pop up thunderstorms later.
I had my annual appointment with 'Julius Squeezer," this morning and the girls still look OK, but the doc will check the digital x-rays for details later today.
While I was out anyway, I got the contest deliveries made to four of our schools. I hope to finish the other 5 of my share tomorrow.
I also stopped and filled my gas tank. $2.19... a great price by at least 10 cents here.
For the rest of the afternoon I have a boring and detailed job to do.I'm on the Constitution and By- Laws Committee for our fire company. We have done a big over haul and amended and added a number of things. Now I have to proof read all 45 or so pages.They actually WANT me to find the spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. ;D ;D ;D ;D
Bye for now.
I worked late, got up very early and did more on the proof reading.Turns out to be 50 pages with the addition of a new membership category. I'm almost finished, but need to run through the whole thing again so I don't miss anything. Parts are kind of technical, so I want to be sure there could be no misinterpretation.
Finished. YAY! It looks good, and I found only two more things to fix. Now it can go to the printer for the 500 copies we need. I chose a green cover this time.
The old raccoon came hobbling very slowly up on the deck a few minutes ago, so I put some dog kibble out for her. She took the pieces in her "hand" one at a time and ate them.
It had been raining ,which we have needed, but she waited until it was over for the time being. I suspect once she finishes, she'll curl up until the table again and take a nap.
Bye all.
I survived the colonoscopy yesterday.That prep is awful, but needed. I'm not crazy about the results.Even though I had the last one 5years ago and had this one right on schedule, I had two more polyps,one rather large,at 10mm and a smaller 6mm one. They were sent off for biopsy of course. Depending on what comes back, I may have to be seen more often than 5 years. GRRR!
Al is getting the new car itch.He's been drooling over a new Honda CRV Touring with all the safety bells and whistles. It's fine with me as we are older drivers now. I don't think his scooter will fit inside this one, so if we get one, we'll get a little platform carrier for a tow hitch on the back. That would work just as well for him, I hope.
I have a blood test tomorrow morning and then we'll go dicker with Honda and see what we can do. We've never spent so much on a vehicle before, and I'm not used to so much automatic electronic stuff, but I think we would really enjoy it.It would take Al an entire afternoon to figure out all the gadgets and doodads.
We did it! We bought the 2015 white Honda CRV Touring. Al and I both did research, by way of CU etc. and were armed with what we thought was a fair price.
We got several calls from dealers in the general area, but not as close as our local dealer a few blocks from here. When we can, we do support our local merchants. Mike matched the best price the other dealers offered and then some.
Honda pays up to $1,000 for equipment for disabled people, so soon we'll have a trailer hitch put on, and buy a carrier for his scooter for outside on the back. With this model, the spare tire is under the floor in back and not outside on the rear like the one we had. Also, the back lifts up and closes automatically, not to the side like a door. It has all the safety stuff, like side warnings, if your car is wandering out of it's lane and front and rear cameras,closing warnings, built in GPS, a nice radio and disc player, lots of little storage places, heated leather seats, key less entry and start and lots more. All those safety features kept our insurance from going up very much at all, for a new vehicle.
We've never owned a car this expensive, but we got such a good price, it doesn't pinch at all....And a discount for cash, and a return customer discount too.... and a free tank of gas too.HA! We got a super deal and they made their profit too.Everyone is happy.I'm sure Mike has sold our other one already. It is in perfect shape and very low mileage.
Another beautiful fall day.The House Wrens have headed south, but the Carolina Wren has been entertaining us with all its antics, running up over, around and down, and under everything looking for spiders and bugs. Daddy Long Legs show up on our window screens, as have a few Stink Bugs.The Canada Geese have been busy practicing flying with their young ones.I still hear the Catbirds, but I suspect they will be on their way soon.
We went down to the Golden Corral for the Early Bird lunch again yesterday and tried more different things. They make wonderful yeast rolls... had the okra again and some really tender pot roast with mashed potatoes and black eyed peas. I started with a nice baby spinach salad with piles of fresh mushrooms and fresh pineapple chunks. I finished with banana pudding and a chocolate peanut butter shooter. Very tasty.
Al is having fun trying to figure out all the idiosyncrasies on the new car.It sure drives nice,with plenty of pick up.Why, it's so fancy that if it starts raining, the wipers turn themselves on.The headlights can turn themselves on and off too....such luxury!
I decided to take Al to lunch in downtown Newark today at Cafe Gelato, our favorite Italian place. We have a bunch of errands to run and that will make a nice break.
Another beautiful day.So far no east coast tropical storms or hurricanes yet, and this is prime season right now. Actually we do need rain.I'd better drag the hose out and water the flower beds and the new Mums.The hottest part of summer is definitely over and we're enjoying the cooler perfect weather for as long as it lasts. Have a wonderful day, all my friends.
I just got some wonderful news. My biopsy came back benign, not even precancerous.I don't have to go back for another 5 years. YAY!
I also got word that "That One" was jumping up and down because I dissed him. Maybe his followers can go to his knee and lick his wounds, since he can't take getting what he dishes out. HA!
He tried to insult me again, took issue with my education and profession AGAIN, and apparently copied another one of my posts from my thread to another thread, where HE wanted it to be. I'm not sure how that was supposed to hurt me, but he sure tried. HA! He is a real piece of work. Everyone is out of step but him.
Now I'm going back to another forum where everyone is nice to each other and nobody has to defend themselves from a self appointed, self interested, protector of the county.
Great news
Thanks, it sure is.I finally got a good night's sleep.I tried not to worry, but it kept creeping in. Have a beautiful fall day.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on September 24, 2015, 02:11:36 PM
I also got word that "That One" was jumping up and down because I dissed him. Maybe his followers can go to his knee and lick his wounds, since he can't take getting what he dishes out. HA!
He tried to insult me again, took issue with my education and profession AGAIN, and apparently copied another one of my posts from my thread to another thread, where HE wanted it to be. I'm not sure how that was supposed to hurt me, but he sure tried. HA! He is a real piece of work. Everyone is out of step but him.
Diane, I am so thrilled for you!!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: You need to go out and celebrate!!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Actually,we did.Thanks.I hope your school year is running smoothly,with no unexpected black clouds.
The Pope has come and gone, with hundreds of thousands of the Catholic faithful and interested people of all kinds in Philly to see him.
I watched a lot on TV and was pleased at how well the throngs of people were treated and helped to get where they wanted to go.
I can't imagine how much it cost to do all that.
The weather cooperated and it was a perfect day for the people who waited for hours for just a glimpse of The Pope as he went by. Some who never did see him were happy just to be able to say they were there.
On another topic, we had a total eclipse of the moon here last night. We got to see some of it, but clouds covered part too. Always interesting.
We are very dry, but some rain is promised soon. Usually Sept. is a rainy month for us, but not this year.
Our boat neighbor brought us some more nice big fat crabs again.These may have been the last of the season....Sure were good.
Al is still setting up the new car. We need a 12 year old to help us figure our all the neat features and gadgets! We finally did get the cruise control figured out yesterday.It was so easy we didn't believe it. HA!
We went over to the Newark Shopping Center for their every Sunday local Farmers Market in the parking lot. Lots of fun fall stuff. I bought some local scrapple and a huge butter nut squash. For the many toms and peppers and all, we still have our plenty of our own . I did get to try something new... Pawpaw. Daddy often talked about the good ones in Kansas.They do grow here, but not as commonly. A pair of our friends has a home grown honey and bees wax candle tent. They have a Pawpaw tree, so they brought some of the fruit to the market. I finally got to taste some for dinner last night.Very good...a bit like a mild sweet Mango, but with more bean sized seeds. Hope your weather is as nice as ours today.
We dropped off the new Honda this afternoon to have the trailer hitch installed. My favorite gas station is right next door and I was so surprised to see the cost. $2.05.9 Amazing. Of course my tank was still full and I didn't need any.I was about to get out my rubber pockets!
It's getting dark and cloudy, so rain is finally on the way.There is even a tropical storm going to head up the coast... Late this year. Now if I wait a few days, the ground will get a good soaking and putting in the boxes of new spring bulbs that just came will be so much easier.
The number two raccoon came up on the deck last night. He took his scraps very happily. He, much bigger than the very old gimpy one, looks very fat and healthy and ready for cold weather.I'm afraid the other old one won't last much longer.
Start thinking about Fire Prevention Week.If your regular smoke detectors need their annual batteries,don't forget...or if they are more than 10 years old,the whole unit should be replaced.There are really good ones out now that are sealed, no battery changing needed and will last for 10 years.We changed ours over as they were 10 years old this year. Stay safe out there.
It's amazing how quickly things can change. The hurricane is now up to a category three and seems to heading slowly toward the east coast. Even if we don't get a direct hit, serious amounts of rain and flooding are predicted.Tomorrow, if things don't change, it will be time to start putting things away and battening down the hatches.There are a lot of directions this thing can take, from a total miss to a direct hit.
We may have to postpone our memorial bell ringing until next week. Tic toc, carefully watching.
We are still marking time and watching the hurricane.Joaquin seems to be going to head up the coast, but more out to sea than originally thought.That is good for us here. We are getting the needed rain, but less damaging winds. We've had 4.5 inches over the last couple of days. Low areas are already flooded with more to come.
It's chilly too. Got down in the 40's last night. If it stays that cold, I'll have to bring in my house plants soon. I put on a long sleeved shirt today for the first time in months.
The other thing that isn't getting much notice is the nor'easter we have been having, even before the effects of Joaquin get here. The beaches are being hit hard with very serious erosion.... after spending millions on beach replenishment recently, it seems like a terrible waste.I hear the mail carrier,time to get the mail.
Still very blustery here, but the worst is over.We got 9.3'' of rain before it was all over, with just a bit of spitting still going on. There is some flooding around and some loss of power and trees down, but all in all we were very lucky... no injuries or loss of life around here that I know of. Ready for some hot tea on this chilly afternoon.It's only 52.
We got another little bit of rain,so make that 9.5''all totaled.That's a lot for us, but compared to what the states south of us are dealing with, it's just damp.
The beach at Rehoboth is gone.I have friends at a conference there and they say there is no sand left.
We did get the big bell rung at noon...had 13 of us.The local paper showed up, took some photos and did an interview. Great publicity for the start of Fire Prevention Week.
My goodness, Josh Shannon already put our little article in the local paper.newarkpostonline.com.
Cute little article - and saw you ringing the bell! :D
Why shucks, thanks. I always look so old and fat in photos now. HA!
I liked the cute photo of 6 year old Aiden Bowerson pulling the bell chain with is father.... and also our handsome young chief A.J. Schall, pulling the chain too..I was sorry there was no photo of the actual big bell itself up over our heads.
Grump,whine,whine...such a busy time of year for us, and in spite of my best efforts, I caught a cold.
I skipped the fire company monthly meeting last night.Al gave my report and I'll skip a bonfire/bbque tonight... don't want to give this to anyone. I'll send Al anyway. It's mostly our fire friends so there is no reason for him to miss it.
The leaves here are really starting to color up and look beautiful now. It's always surprising how fast they do when they make up their minds. We got another 1 1/2" of rain yesterday evening, so that should set things up nicely for cold weather. Have a nice day!
I'm feeling much better today and so far Al hasn't caught that cold from me.It's another beautiful day, cool and dry with the colorful leaves dropping a few at time.
The flavor of the tomatoes is falling off fast now. I brought a few more in, but they just aren't as good. I will make some more green fries soon though. I need to start bringing in more of my houseplants before a frost sneaks up on us, and there are more bulbs to plant.
I hung my friendly ghost wind sock on the front porch and a "Batty" flag next to the front porch in the little shade garden there.I'll put some more things out closer to Halloween.Since it's on Saturday,should be extra fun. Have a great one.
All the plants are in and the garden has been almost completely stripped.I'll finish it later today.All the bulbs are in and it was chilly enough to turn on the gas fireplace this morning to take off the chill in the family room.
Here in Newark we are mourning the loss of the UD football team.Apparently they died...or so it seems.This year they have nothing! One win all season.They might as well put the Marching Band on the field.
Al has been kept busy with the Newark Planning Commission.He was recently elected chair again. There are several sticky proposals coming before them, including the possible development of the Newark Country Club. It's failing and has been for a number of years now. Of course, the people who border it don't want houses built on the golf course, as they have been borrowing the open space and the views for years.The Country Club on the other hand, wants to get all the value for it that they can, which would mean high density, small lots and many houses. The tax revenue for the county and City of Newark would make big bucks for the tax coffers, which we need, but emotionally nobody wants more traffic either.
Al has me proof and edit his reports, so I'm involved too.
''Space" is never a problem for you all, but I guess paying the community bills with so few people must be.
I hope you all can enjoy another beautiful fall day.Time for a pumpkin pie.
Brr! We finally had to turn on the furnace before bed last night.We held out for as long as we could.We'll still just use the gas fire place as much as possible. It heats the downstairs nicely and especially the family room when we hang out there. Lots of frost on the garage roof this morning.I'll go out soon and see if I missed any peppers.
The Halloween decorations are turning up in the Newark neighborhoods...some really cute ideas showing up. I thought about hanging "someone" in a tree, but I don't wanna scare the kids TOO much. HA! I'll put a KU sweatshirt on it and really upset him. Nah, just kidding.
My brother in law is in the hospital with a very nasty Congestive Heart Failure episode.He'd been having some unidentified breathing problems, but he then went down hard on Saturday and had a seizure.They drained 14 pounds of fluid out of him!The docs had already given him every test known to man. They always came back normal, in spite of knowing something had to be wrong somewhere.Now they've got something to treat and hopefully he'll be OK. I'm off to the fire house later to set up for fire prevention contest judging tomorrow....and Bingo tonight. Have a good one.
Whew! I finally finished reading and judging several hundred fourth, through eighth grade fire prevention essays. There were some very good ones and some that would have been had they not had spelling punctuation and grammar errors. We had already judged the K-third posters.
I guess I'll never know where the teaching is falling down with some of these that are so common. There instead of they're, are instead of our, u instead of you and several others ...and when I'm picking winners, all that does count, not just content.
I'm more lenient with the special ed.kids.They have their own category that we call "independent topics." Some of those kids are very dyslexic but can get the idea across. The others have assigned topics for each different grade. Now another person has to go back to the schools that have winners and track down the kid's information for the 30 winners, as we judge just by a teacher assigned code number.Then on to call each winner's family to come to our awards night on Nov.19th. It only takes an hour and we'll have about 200 people turn out for it.The winners get their prize gift cards and then they can roam the engine bay for visits with the fire apparatus and take photos. Lots of smiles and fun.
It's nice to do something "normal" that doesn't reek of politics and controversy.
Not a good morning. My BIL has finally gotten a diagnosis on his problems and it's not good. Cardiac Amyloidosis. No cure, but perhaps can be controlled. It's weird protein produced in the bone marrow that makes plaques that stiffen the organs that are attacked by it. Also called "stiff heart disease." He'll need chemo to try to stop it, but there is no way of knowing for how long.Hopefully he'll have a few years yet.
Good Morning Diane, sorry about the bad news.
Thanks.It really is a shame. He's a very nice person. He retired a about a year ago and then started having problems. Some retirement!
Chance of frost tonight so hoping it well knock down the pollen. Did you read Teresa's announcement?
Yes, I'm sure there are those that assume it's all my fault.HA!
absolutely not.
Agreed...Absolutely not. It will be nice to see the Forum return to what it once was. :D
Not a chance that you are to blame, Diane. I don't see anything negative about your posts.
Thank you.I appreciate your good comments.
No more frost here, just a touch that nipped the very tender plants, we stripped the garden just to be sure, but we were a very strange 65 degrees yesterday with 4.6 inches of rain....some system coming up from the south.
Our first Junco arrived, happy to see the seed feeder.
We had a great Halloween last night. 43 happy kids with parents waiting by the street as the kids charged up the driveway.
It was perfect Halloween weather. Goul...make that cool... with lots of rustling dry leaves. My wheel barrow full of bones got lots of good comments.The neighbor across the street built a spider web maze that the kids had to navigate to get to the goodies at the house. He had also put out lots of little white spooklets all over the front yard. Really clever.Another friend across the street set up their deck fire pit in the front yard and had "Double double toil and trouble" going on. It looked nice and kept them warm too.I wore my tall black and purple striped witches hat with a big jeweled spider on it and sat out on the front porch with the big basket of candy and pencils.
Our little Civic Association put out a clever computer map with all the houses in our area marked that were involved in trick or treat.I hope you all had as much fun as we did.
Oh, and Al thought the skeleton parrot on it's perch swing was so funny he has now hung it from a ceiling hook in the family room. Looks like Monty Python's very "late" parrot.
Love reading your posts, Miss Diane!!! ;D ;D ;D
Why, thank you Miss Cat.I always enjoy your posts too.
The city leaf truck is working it's way down our street with it's big elephant sucker trunk swinging slowly back and forth rattling the piles of leaves on the curb up into the the big covered truck attached to it. Al got our fallen leaves blown down onto the curb just in time, as Tuesday is our day for pick up. He had already raked good leaf cover over my flower beds and around the new Crepe Myrtle and a few other bushes and shrubs. Once the truck is full, it detaches and goes up the road a bit where the city has a several acre composting leaf pile area on the edge of town by one of the city water towers. Once the leaves have well composted, the residents can go help themselves to leaf mulch and compost for their gardens.I have one big Maple that is still full of bright green and yellow leaves that hasn't let go of them yet. I'm not sure why it's so slow.
Now its just starting a gentle rain, but at 61 degrees it's still nice out.
Time to go sweep the kitchen floor and decide what to make for dinner this evening.Have a nice day all.
The leaves are holding on here, too...????? We're closer to Christmas than we are the start of Autumn! lol
All the leaves have fallen...except that one stubborn Maple. It's still hanging on for some reason.The yard looks pretty good though. Al raked some, blew some and mowed a lot, so the leaves are under control.
I put a fall colored wreath on the house and hung my funny turkey windsock, so it looks like Thanksgiving here.
I hadn't seen him for several weeks, but the one big fat raccoon showed up last night. He was licking up bird seed from under the feeder when I turned on the deck light. He looked up, saw me, and ran up the deck steps like he was greeting an old friend.I put some chicken scraps out for him.
I think nature has collected the old gimpy raccoon.He wasn't in good shape the last I saw of him and he's been missing for some time now.
We have more Juncos now and they seem to be settled in. We picked up our big seed order for the winter, and got that all tucked away in the garage. Al put up our last two big caged tube feeders, so the little birds can eat, but the squirrels can't reach the seed. They get enough from spillage.
We have several woodpeckers and a couple of nuthatches coming now too. Love to watch them. It's still warm enough that we haven't had to put the water heater in the bird water pan and the bird bath is still up.
My Thanksgiving cacti are starting to bloom so they make a pretty show on the table in the living room where my computer sits.
Oh my .I just heard a cardiac arrest call at my sister's address. Back later.
He didn't make it.My brother in law hasn't been well recently, but this was not expected.The EMT's and paramedics worked very hard on him,shocks and everything, and the good people in the ER did too since CPR had been started on Sonny immediately at home. His brother and son in law were there going to do a bit of yard work and planned to play some board gamesand then watch football. Sonny started feeling fuzzy and was having a little trouble breathing. He took a Lasix as ordered, lay across the bed and just stopped. Very sad.
I am so sorry for the loss of someone so close to you, Diane. Prayers going up for all of you.
Thank you.It was terrible hearing his address on the fire radio right next to me and knowing I was too far away to do anything.He was a nice person.
I guess my sister must have been up all night as I got an e-mail from her at just before 4:00 this morning.As one could imagine, she is just devastated. Sonny hadn't been well with an odd disease the docs were just getting a handle on. Often called "stiff heart" disease ,it has to do with a blood protein that attacks organs.They thought he had at least two more good years. so sad.
So sorry for your loss
Thank you.
Sonny's obit. was in the Wilmington paper today. Nicely done, but I guess I've been spelling his name wrong all these years. His first name is Colman, or so I thought.The paper had it as Coleman. He had always been Sonny to us. They decided on a simple graveside service Friday morning at New London ( PA.) Methodist, just a short distance up the road from New London Presbyterian where my parents are.
Red do me a favor and please do not ever direct a post to me again. I have never tried to limit anyone's post, Teresa and Kjell are the only ones that can do that. I am quite Sure that Diane was not offended in any way by my posts. I seriously doubt if anyone else on the Forum was offended by it.
Frawin...of course I have not been offended.You don't have a mean bone in your body.
I'm just rather low now thinking about my brother in law, who was a very nice gentle person. He worked for Chrysler for a few years just after his stint in Alaska with the Air Force, and spent the bulk of his career as an operator/mechanic at AirCo. He had only retired a short time ago, so in that regard he and Carol were short changed. So very sad.
Even after all these years I find out new things. Apparently, when BIL Sonny had to have some sort of security clearance for some special project for AirCo, he added the e to his name and had a new Birth Certificate issued.They decided that since his father used the e, that his original Birth Certificate was in error.Interesting. So it really was Coleman after that.
The fire prevention winners and families came to get their awards Thurs. Night.Our fire hall was full with the 30 winners and all their families, almost 200 of them. The kids were really cute and enjoyed their treats after.
Sonny had a proper send off yesterday with a good many friends and family there.
Yesterday we went to Al's Post Polio Support Group meeting for brunch.
Some are so much worse than Al is it makes me sad to see them struggle so to get around. But, they are such a happy up beat bunch. Nothing gets them down. They are uplifting to be with. We are down to 14 now as several have died over the years.
Our little local Super Fresh grocery store has closed.The liquidators are in there now to pick over the bones. Being so close we will really miss it. We have no idea what will happen next on that site.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Al spent his birthday yesterday in Philly having his appointment at the Einstein Gate Lab. Very tiring, but he actually did better than I would have thought. Some decline in muscle strength, but it could have been much worse. He needs new orthodics for both legs that will give him better support, but no crutches or wheel chair yet. Just his cane. YAY!
I just found out niece Amy in AZ just got engaged....YAY!
Our little dinner at home worked out well.Al was able to take his pain meds and kick back in his chair to elevate his legs. He could enjoy the diner and snooze when he wanted to.
He's very good today, so were going to head north to both cemeteries to visit family and then have leftovers for dinner.Even better the second day. I hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving day, and a Happy Birthday yesterday to our own Judy Harder.
I just got back from my ophthalmologist visit. Good one .20/20 and still 1.25 on reading specs.
One of the signs on the office wall stated,"Do you have a vision plan?" Yes, I do. I plan to have vision as long as possible. HA!
Yesterday I packed up the 5 big shopping bags full of the stickers, candy, pencils and little toys for our firehouse children's Christmas party.The bags will go to one of my friends soon, who is a teacher at a school that has special classes for deeply mentality challenged kids. These are older ones who look forward to putting together the individual firefighters' children's bags. They will be making 60 bags this year. It helps them with counting, categories, and more.
I always make sure they get Christmas candy too and I'll mail the class a thank you card after the party.
I'm still just so sad about the loss of my BIL. He was such a nice person.
If I've been grumpy with anyone on the forum, I apologize.
It's been a rainy sleepy day here I don't think I ever did get all my cylinders firing today.
Al brought our Christmas tree home. It's out under the Magnolia in a bucket. Now to find time to get it in, up, and decorated. I just put a tuna noodle casserole in the oven for dinner and then Al goes to Newark City Hall for the City Commissioners meeting this evening. There are a couple of rather controversial topics coming up. I'll be interested in what he has to say when he comes home. He runs a tight meeting, strictly by Roberts rules. Believe me, he suffers no fools, and has a very good reputation with the public because of it.
I'm going to wrap his Christmas gifts while he's gone.
Christmas season is really on a roll here now.The fire company Christmas banquet has come and gone with lots of food music and fun for a hall full of friends.We did a photo booth this year with lots of goofy props.We also had our election,and now have a new chief, as he was hired as chief of Delaware's Emergency Services and had to give up our chief's position. Al and I are still responsible for the usual things. We were given a beautiful art glass vase engraved with thanks for our many years of doing community fire safety and all the years of fund drive, as well as other things. That was a very nice surprise. Sunday was the firehouse kids' Christmas party. Had 87, which was a nice room full. We had a photo booth for their party too. It made them look like they were in a snow globe. Lot's of fun.
Today I am really tired, but had a lot to put away from the party, and also cooked the ground sausage for the 40 pounds of big stuffed mushrooms we'll be making for tomorrow night's Chiefs Open House. I still have to mix in the grated cheese, bread crumbs, oil, a bit of water and seasonings, and then stuff and bake them there. It will make up about 9 very large pizza pans.
I'm very flattered to have firefighters from other companies who come just for the mushrooms...not that they ignore the oysters and other good food too!
Tomorrow we can finally start our own Christmas. The tree is up but not much on it, and the porch roof edge lights look nice. Cards have started coming in and I'll finally get to send mine out soon.
It's still so warm here that we opened everything up again for the last several days. Feels weird.
My Knock Out rose burst into bloom today. Looks nice, but now I won't have much for spring.
Tic toc goes the clock. My electric candles look so nice in the windows. The tree is starting to look full at last. All my gifts are wrapped. Several will be given out at Bingo tonight.
We still need to make a trip to the food bank to give them the food we collected at the fire house, and I still have one more toy to drop off at the police station.
The "Santa Runs" have started. We take our Santa around the neighborhoods on the ladder truck to wave at the kids and toss mini candy canes to them.
Sadly, we had a bad fire on the south side of town mid morning today... an odd time for a serious fire. Nobody was at home, but two adults and 5 kids lost everything. It went from the basement and through the second floor before anybody even knew there was a fire. The Red Cross was called to help them. I'm sure they lost all their Christmas things too. Any major fire is heartbreaking, but especially so at holiday time.
It finally got December cold here yesterday, but is supposed to be right back up around 70 on Christmas Eve.
As I write this, it is 62 degrees and foggy.
It looks like I'll be spending part of Christmas Eve day wrapping gifts at the firehouse for the family that was burned out. We've opened up our one station to receive donations of clothes, toys, money and gift cards. The lines of cars waiting outside the fire house to drop donations have been amazing. With two adults and 5 kids, they need a lot to salvage Christmas.
We have an arrangement with one of our local hotels to put up people when this kind of thing happens, and Red Cross has vouchers for them to pay for lodging and immediate needs.
We have our folks sorting clothes and things, and we have a wrapping party planned at noon tomorrow. During the early evening we'll load everything, including Santa, on the fire equipment and take it all to the family at the hotel. Even the Mayor of Newark has gotten involved. Now I need to go dig around and see what wrapping paper and tape I can bag up for tomorrow.
On the 24th our station 7 really did look like Santa's workshop all day. Donations were still coming in and about twenty five of us sorted, wrapped, and put the kids' names on their toys, books, puzzles and games for the whole family. Even their little dog, who the Dad snatched up on the way out, was included. He received lots of dog food, a new dog bed and lots of treats and toys. The children of some of our fire fighters wanted to help so we put them to work too. There were lots of paper goods too... Cases of paper towels, toilet paper, soap of all kinds and enough personal supplies, both male and female, and new cosmetic sets to stock a drug store.
One of our guys, who loves to cook, fixed bacon and eggs for all of us for breakfast so we could keep on working.
The family has been given the use of a local parish house for a couple of months. It is usually used by missionary teams who stay there, but it wasn't in use right now. Its a nice big four bedroom place with plenty of room. At 2:45 we loaded everything into our van, an ambulance and several fire engines and created a lights and siren convoy to their house.
Another fire company came with us to help. They have character costumes for Mr. and Mrs. Clause, elves and reindeer and the Grinch, who we threatened to beat up. HA! Everyone could hear us coming, so the whole neighborhood turned out to watch us unload and ''bucket brigade" everything into their soon overflowing living room and dining room.
I was surprised to see that two Philly TV stations sent camera crews, so we got a nice human interest story on two of the Philly news stations.
Once their insurance gets set up, they will have a more permanent place to stay as their house is leveled and rebuilt.
Now, about the mountain of clothes and shoes at the firehouse. The family will pick out as much as they want of both new and gently used clothes, and a consortium of our local churches will take the rest to sort again and share at several local church clothes closets. One nearby Baptist Church in particular does a wonderful job outfitting the working poor and homeless all year long and opens the church every Christmas eve through Christmas day, to feed and shelter anyone who needs it.
So is all this unusual? Not really. This year it just happened to be a large family right at Christmas time here in Newark. Any time folks are burned out, their neighborhoods pull together to help.
On a personal note... It felt so good to be able to do something positive.
Have a fun "day after."
;D ;D ;D Happy New Year, Diane!! ;D ;D ;D Hope 2016 is a stellar year for you and yours!! ;D ;D ;D
Thanks and right back at you!
The shiver-r-s have certainly arrived in Delaware. It's been down in the teens, but will warm up a bit later in the week, so the expected precip. will still be rain and not snow. I finally had to dig out my serious winter coat, hat and gloves.
I went to my hair dresser yesterday for a much needed cut and styling and stopped at the farmers' market on the way home to restock on essentials.
We're going to have trout filets for dinner with a salad and broccoli. Sounds healthy after all the junk we've been enjoying during the holidays.
I managed to get all the Christmas stuff back down to the basement, but it still needs to be sorted and put back in the storage tubs, especially the left overs from the kids' Christmas party. I finished writing the thank you notes for the older kids who helped at the party. I still believe in hand writing them and sending them through the mail.
I hope everyone's New Year is off to a healthy and gentle start.
My birthday yesterday was especially nice. I received so many nice wishes from so many people, it really did make me feel special.The fire house Ladies Aux. gave me a homemade cake and a big flower bouquet. Al was in on it...total surprise.
Al took me out for a nice lunch at our local Greene Turtle Sports bar.They gave me a free meal. I've been spoiled rotten!
In spite of some Kansas mud mouths, I guess I do have some friends after all. HA! It's cold here but still dry.No snow showers yet. Stay warm all.
Happy Belated Birthday, Diane! Glad you had a happy and fun day!
Thank you.
There is a very cold wind driving down from Canada today. It's very damp and bitter. BRRR. We went to Firebirds for lunch yesterday on another free birthday meal certificate. I could sure get used to not cooking. Tomorrow we'll go to the Golden Corral Buffet. I get a free birthday meal there too. Good for the whole week. Tonight I'm reheating stuffed pork chops from the dinner I made on Sunday... Froze half to reheat.
We have a wayward kitten roaming around and hiding under the backyard shed. It is much too young to be out alone. I can't image where it came from. I don't think it can survive the cold nights much longer and so far I haven't been able to catch it. I'm going to put some food out and see if I can tame it down some.
Real snow flurries today, sticking just a little. We may possibly have a real 5-8 inch storm next weekend. Real winter has finally found us.
We went out for breakfast in Elkton Md. with a firehouse friend. The drive was beautiful with the snow flying everywhere. Now it's time to curl up by the fire place and enjoy the Sunday paper.
I'm going to be a great Aunt again in June. My sister's youngest is expecting her first at age 31, in June.
Unfortunately they hadn't told anyone yet when her father died....but I believe he knows anyway. My sister had given up that they would ever have kids.
Apparently they are still planning to build onto her house and move in. Her oldest, who still lives at home, is not happy about it..."too noisy" she says. HA!
I have a feeling my sister wasn't really given much choice in the whole thing. Now they'll expect her to be a built in baby sitter. So much for her own plans.
We are being warned of a massive storm that "may'' have us in it's sights for Friday afternoon through Sunday morning.Our worst ones do come up from the south, right along the coast and this is one of those.More to follow.
We are as ready as we can be for the coming storm. It should arrive here early evening today with lots of snow, high winds and coastal flooding across three high tide periods. That has the potential for a lot of damage. We're supposed to get somewhere around 12 to 18 inches of snow, but there is no way to know for sure. If we lose power, we have our gas fireplace and gas cook stove and the garage is cold enough to act as a refrigerator as needed, plus we can store food in ice chests packed with snow if we have to.This storm is quite large and will affect us from this evening through Sunday morning. I'm hoping we don't lose any trees.
Good luck and stay safe
Diane, keep that Nasty Weather up there. We DO NOT need it down here. The Temperature here is 54 and the Sun is shining. We are having 10-15 MPH Winds. We can stand the current weather and then have it start Warming up more each Day.
I'll keep it away from you. ;D It's snowing now. Right here, in Northern New Castle County, we are right in the shute for up to 28+ inches. We're on a blizzard watch to change to blizzard warning later tonight.All the states around here are on emergency status.
We have a little local forum here that includes 12 Newark neighborhoods.I just sent them all texts to please shovel out the fire hydrants tomorrow morning if possible as they will be buried.
It's still snowing and the wind is blowing hard too. Pretty stuff as it drifts, but dangerous too. So far we still have power. Al and the neighbors just went out and took the first go around at clearing the snow. I haven't gone out to measure yet, but it's quite deep. We haven't seen the city plows. They have their hands full with the bigger main roads.
The birds are in of course, looking for their food. Al just now cleared a path across the deck and cleared the seed cans so they can eat soon.
I just heard a call for a 65 foot tree down into a house. The family is in the kitchen unharmed. I think that's the way today may go. Delaware emergency services really stepped up to the challenge. We even have a National Guard crew and a Humvee sitting at one of our stations. There are multiple crews for everything 'round the clock. There have been some calls, but not too bad so far.
It feels funny sitting here listening to the younger folks go out. We're just part of the "Old Fogey" gang now, so we wouldn't have to go except in dire straights.
Al just came in.Time to go fix him a big cup of steaming hot tea.
We made it.The sun is out beautifully, but the wind is still fierce. Many areas did lose power but we did not.
I tried to get a snow measurement, but flat places that hadn't been affected by the wind are hard to come by. We had at least 15 inches on the back deck table, but there are areas in the yard with much more than that.The fire companies up and down the state did an amazing job under the worst possible circumstances. Equipment got stuck, a number slid off the road into ditches and sadly there were a number or working fires to complicate matters.
The beach towns downstate flooded, some worse than Sandy. Sand bags only help so much. We were very lucky here. We have had worse storms with much more snow, but there are areas just north of us that got more than 30 inches yesterday.
Al just came back in from his second go with the snow blower and he says with the sun out it's not bad at all.
Hope all you good folks have a nice Sunday.
So glad that you got through the storm without any problems. So glad that we didn't get what you have. And I will be even more glad when the possibility of winter storms is over for this season. Viva la Spring.
Today is cold and beautiful.The sun created some nice Christmasy icicles on the snow covered evergreens, but in general nothing much has melted.The snow plows are still working on neighborhoods and side streets. No school today.The newspaper did come.
In the interests of safety, we did cancel firehouse Bingo for tonight.
A couple of our neighbors,with healthy teenagers, still haven't dug out and their outside cars are buried. I wonder if they think it will just melt and save them the work. HA!
Our Weather for the next 10 Days looks very good. the Day time Low is Forecasted to be 49 on Tomorrow , our Daytime High is Forecasted to be 74 on next Monday. Our Night time Low is Forecasted to be 32 for Tomorrow, and our Night High is Forecasted to be 50 on next Saturday. We do NOT miss the Cold Weather at all, we get very little Snow down here and we SURE do not Miss the Snow. Diane you can keep your Winter Weather up there, we will keep ours down here. When I went thru Bartlesville, Ok a week or two ago, they still had lots of Snow Piled up everywhere. We have lived in Bartlesville twice and, and we had some really Big Snows several times. We lived in Midland Texas 27 Years and we very Seldom had Snow. If we did it was a very small amount.
Looking good right now, and it's finally just above freezing, but there are patches of black ice from refreezing. I found one myself and almost went sprawling, but caught my balance just in time. Schools are still closed, but hope to open tomorrow. Rain showers are due this afternoon and might wash away some of it. We do
have warmer weather in the forecast.
All the birds have come in since the ground is covered. We even had two big vultures come in to check out what we had put out.
Frank, I'd like to say we will have no more snow this year, but I'm not quite that optimistic with the big pacific El Nino still off the west coast. The New Jersey shore and the Delaware beaches have lost almost all their sand....again. Some of the big protective dunes were breached and the towns flooded quite badly.Tomorrow Al has his next three month cancer scoping, so of course we are worried, but hoping (and praying) for the best.
Things are starting to get back to normal with most roads and sidewalks passable, but LOTS of snow still on the ground.There was some melting yesterday but it didn't accomplish much.There are huge piles of snow at the end of many shopping centers and fields that may be there until spring, or longer.There was a panicked deer that almost joined us in the family room yesterday afternoon.I don't know what scared it, but it turned at the last second to avoid our big slider and went back around the side of our house. We have a lot of deer here but rarely see them except early morning or near dark. With the snow so deep on everything I suspect they are getting hungry and are ready to paw down in our flower beds to see what they can forage there. I know they like my Day Lilies and Azaleas.
We lost our oldest fire company member on Friday. He was 98 and had been an Aetna member since 1938. He was a delightful person to know and got along with everyone. He was big help to me when I was the first woman to join and helped me avoid many of the pit falls that lie in wait for new members. A number of us took turns bringing him home from kidney dialysis for a year or so, which gave him a chance to tell stories and share the history of Newark and the fire company with us. He was a mail carrier for his long working career. I will miss him.
Wilma, we have slowly rising temps coming up for next week, so it shouldn't snow here. I'd be happy if that big bomber was all we got.
I was very well entertained this morning, watching out the window here, as the tall lanky teenager right across the street finally got around to trying to dig the number two car out of their driveway. Of course he waited much too long, and the drifts and piles are now like granite, and the snow plow piled up high ridges that the rest of us have long since gotten rid of. Then as he chipped away at it, he threw it back over his shoulder,right back on the sidewalk. HA!
OK, so my Sunday pot roast turned into a baked corned beef. Dummy me knew I had something the right shape in the big basement freezer. It wasn't what I thought, but will be just as good. The tasty joke is on me.
Phil did not see his shadow this morning, so spring is on it's way. For once I hope he's right. HA! The vultures came back yesterday. There were 4 of them sunning in my back neighbor's tree. Now there are at least six doing circles over the woods across the street.There may be another dead deer there.Have a nice day all.
Diane, maybe the Buzzards are looking for you. When my Wife and I see them Circling above the Car when we are Traveling, she says they are looking for her, I tell her No, they are looking for me. I tell her, they would not want to eat on her because she smells to good. I notice My Posting is only the 8th Posting today. I wish more people would Post something, anything. I am sure a lot of them are busy, Traveling or don't have any thing to say.
I hope they aren't looking for me! I must say they would have a good meal though. Plenty to share. HA! I hope they will have to wait for many years yet.It's raining here today...no snow but there mght be some next week. I'm heading out soon to pick up some things at the drugstore.They have a senior 20% off everything the first Wednesday of the month.
Last night at Bingo we had Mardi Gras night and gave out beads and sweet treats,(Duck Donuts and Insomnia Cookies.) I wore my Mardi Gras jester's hat in purple, green and gold. Totally silly and fun.
By 7:00 it was raining and soon changed over to snow. It's been snowing all night, but the ground is till too warm for much to stick, so I don't think there will be anything to shovel this time.There are still big mounds of snow from the last big one. We are supposed to have really cold weather by week's end.
Al decided that today would be a good day to work on taxes. I keep all the receipts,etc. during the year and he puts it all together for our CPA to go over in a couple of weeks. Since we closed down our business at the end of 2014, it should be fairly simple this time. We are thinking about setting up trusts later in the year.
I'm going to put in a big chicken to roast later today. It is a nice fat one that must have waddled when it walked. It should be good for several meals and some good soup too.
I've been enjoying the last season of Downton Abby. I'm going to miss the characters when the series is over. Do any of you watch it? Have a nice quiet day all.
I have lots of spring things poking up and some daffys are budded with a few little ones in bloom....big mistake! We are supposed to go down to two if not zero by Sunday, with more snow on Monday. Another 3-5 inches. Not a big deal, but it may cause problems for the school buses.
We have been seeing many more woodpeckers than usual and more variety too.They come in to the feeders and swoop across the seeds to fill up their beaks and then go push some seeds under the tree bark for later. One nice thing about snow on the ground are the animal tracks we get to see. Lots of kinds.
Diane, we will trade you our Birds for Yours. When we lived in Bartlesville, we had ALL KINDS OF BIRDS. Here all we see are Grackels, Starlings and Occascional Blue Jay. I would not Trade you Places, our Weather is MUCH BETTER THAN YOURS, So far, we have not had any Snow and only 3 or 4 Frosts. If you have Dinner with Joe Biden, tell him for me that I think he and OBUMA are the WORST PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT IN MY LIFETIME. well I need to get busy and do something before MY MYRNA GETS HER BROOM OUT AND WACKS ME OVER THE HEAD. WILMA KNOWS HER, AND SHE PROBABLY KNOWS HOW MEAN SHE IS. I HAVE BEEN MARRIED TO HER 52 SHORT YEARS AND SHE HAS/IS AN AWESOME PARTNER, COOK, BEST FRIEND, MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER, AND BEST FRIEND.
It's very cold here today. Lots of frozen chocolate. HA. Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends. You know who you are.
Whoops I forgot it was Valentine's Day, I better run out and get Something for my Wife, we are coming up on 52 Short years.
Would you spend $325,000.on a low digit Kansas licence plate?
One of the odd things,among others, about Delaware is the "value" of low digit plates. People will pay huge amounts for the low ones. Yesterday #14 was auctioned for $325,000. Rarely do they even become available. I've had my four digit since 1972 and it's worth quite a bit, but I'll keep it, as always. Another little storm is moving in this afternoon, might be more ice than snow this time. BRRR!
What is the value of a low-digit license plate, such as #14? Just to prove they've been around awhile?
Back when new Kansas license plates were issued each year, I can remember my uncle Waldo Gray would get to the courthouse very early in the am on January 2, or whenever, to get a low numbered EK plate. He got EK - 10, one year.
Thinking on it, though, I would think the elected commissioners and officers would get the lowest numbered plates before they were ever offered to the public. He must have lucked out to get 10.
Thanks Waldo.That's interesting too.
Mom, I'm not sure why low digit numbers have such artificial value. Delaware is so small that we don't have that many cars, so nobody has very high digits. Snob value? But $325,000? Oh my! Some have gone to expensive vanity plates, which can have most anything on them, even though there is still a regular number on file. I like my 4 digit plate because it's easy to remember. As you might guess, the governor has plate number one. We don't have front plates.
The ice and snow dumped on us yesterday, so Bingo was cancelled, which was fine with me. During the storm we had a very serious fire in one of the big apartments complexes. It went to a third alarm.The weather made it hard on everyone. Now the temp. has started to rise and it is raining hard, but the ground is still frozen. It's a mess.
I know you all have had some memorable ice storms where you are over the years.
Diane, we WILL NOT TRADE WITH YOU, our High for the next 10 days is Forecast to be 77, and our low 40. Our highest night time low is forecast to be 60. I think the GOOD LORD IS MAD AT YOUR AREA BECAUSE YOU HAVE JOE BIDEN LIVING IN IT.HEH!!!!!!!HEH!!!!!!!!!
That's Ok, we're used to being picked on. At least, thanks to Joe, most people know where Delaware is now and we are less likely to be asked what state it is in.
We have nice beaches, great seafood, wonderful real subs and cheese steaks, the best fresh oysters and mushrooms, a kazillion chickens, truck farms, and all kinds of history.
After all, we are the "First State" for a reason. HA!
We tipped over 60 degrees yesterday and the local creatures slowed down their eating.
I suddenly have lots of snow crocus and other little bulbs popping up in sunny warmer areas.
Bingo tonight and a much needed hair appointment tomorrow. It's gotten long and needs "the works." We have our tax appointment on Thurs. It should be fairly simple this year. Al puts everything together and our CPA goes over it to be sure we didn't miss anything. Basically we take out what we need and send the rest to the IRS....HA!
I started taking out my IRS distribution at long last. I'll be paying out more in taxes than I had figured based on what we were told many years ago.I shouldn't complain though.
Hope the good people there have a wonderful day. The rest can just stick it. Who needs 'em? 8) ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Nice here today.
A gloomy rainy day..but it's not snow. I guess I'll be blamed for that too. HA! I really didn't know there were such weak spined people there that they need a fat little old lady to blame everything on... and I do mean everything.
If your cow dies, it's Di's fault. If the "wrong" person becomes President, I'm somehow to blame.
If someone leaves the forum, it's not because of the constant, never ending bashing, it's because of me!
People have been taught that for certain ones to have an opinion it is a social death sentence. So why stick around? The mud mouths are so jealous it's sad. They don't want to share the spotlight.
That is so funny. I'd blame the Elk County Creeper, but it's vegetarian. Perhaps zombies ate their brains. I've already been told not to talk to certain people because it just encourages them.
So they are to be allowed to just blather on? Non stop? Ok so be it. They will assume silence means acceptance. Too bad. Bye.
The problem is, you never let any thing rest, just like your last post. You could have just talked about what is going on, and what you are doing in Delaware. You had to made snide remarks. So just leave stuff alone and it will be OK.
We'll see. Some of you need to lighten up...much too down in the mouth.There are days when the only posts are ugly politics and that gets old quick.
Diane, I agree with Jane. You are just aggravating every one, JUST LET IT GO QUIT READING ROSS AND REDCLIFFES POST. YOU SAY YOU DO NOT READ ANYTHING THEY POST BUT YOU MUST BE. ENOUGH SAID!!!!!Just talk about the Weather or Talk about what Movie is showing at the local Theater, STOP opening OLD wounds.
Frawin, you're right! Any liberal or socialist who reads Ross or my posts ought to be upset. I've seen it before how disgusting they think my postings are. Unless it's straight ole two-party ideology, Republican or (reconstructed) Democrat, they call it twisted and urge everyone to ignore their postings. That's why the Republicans and Obama get along so well when they criticize the Constitutionalists or real conservatives. Bob Dole calls 'em right wingers which can be expected from the co-author of the "national" food stamp program.
I'll keep posting as long and when I can, and you can post the stand of your side.
You folks don't understand the PMs I get telling me who is stirring the pot and talking mean about me, and a few others, behind our backs. I don't have to read "them" to know who picked on who and when. It's very easy to figure out. But somehow that is alright? I don't think so. Swat a few of those people will ya?
I could "out " the PMers, but that's not fair to them, now is it?
Now I've said enough and will not revisit this again. I tried to do that on the other subject, but wasn't allowed to. Too many people thought they were having fun at my expense.... and stop with the Biden insults. You don't know him and I'm not responsible for him. If it was meant to be funny, then consider my comment about "bad" people just as funny. It was a turn of a phrase, no names were used nor meant. It was just the opposite of "good" people, but I guess some just don't get it. Keep digging folks.
I had planned to tell you about our upcoming school referendum but it's obvious it isn't juicy enough.
I am interested in upcoming school referendum.
We just came home from Old Colonial New Castle Del.on the Delaware River,where we ate some huge winter oysters, sea salty and sweet, with slaw and hush puppies. I couldn't begin to eat it all, so I have another whole meal waiting for later.
As far as our school referendum goes. It's a hot mess. The last two attempts failed because the administration has not been using their money wisely and is much too heavy with administrative people making good salaries at the expense of classroom teachers and supplies for teaching. The public noticed!
Our divisions for districts are very weird and go back to desegregation, so I won't try to explain that, but they want to redistrict....again! Part of Wilmington's City schools, some 12 miles away, have been included in Newark's school districts, which has caused almost all kids to be bused and for much too long each day.
I'm sure you know about that, but there is no reason to have to do that here. We have plenty of population. Now the district has lied and said they need the money to fund the several Charter Schools in the area. The district is supposed to end some money as a pass through from the state. In other words, the money follows the child. They are always chronically late with the payment, sometimes more than a year late. It's supposed to go for actual teaching, not bricks and mortar. The Charter Schools have to fund all but the teachers and supplies themselves, and do very well at using their money wisely. (They are considered public schools, so unlike private schools, the parents pay nothing extra...no tuition, but the Charters have more flexibility as to how they spend their money.) They would have only one administrator in place of at least three at a district school. For this referendum they are complaining that the Charter Schools are all to blame and are "stealing" money from the district's kids, (baloney.) even though redistricting, which I am very much in favor of, would immediately save millions in transportation costs alone.They want a tax increase as if the redistricting is not in progress.
The Charter Schools are very frugal and have nothing to do with the district's mismanagement of funds. They really do get more done with less and yet win top academic awards, which often include significant money prizes for the school. (YAY Newark Charter.)I wish our local district schools would figure out what the Charters are doing right and copy it..
Someone will really have to do a sell job on me, or I will vote no. This has managed to set parents against each other, which is a real shame. Either way the kids lose because there is no guarantee that any tax raise will ever get to needed programs, building maintenance or to the classrooms. I guess they don't think we remember that. I do and I'm not happy.
Thanks for reading. Have a good one.
Charter schools have higher quality students but the public schools have everyone. It makes a difference. That is the American way and for the most part the best way I think to have them all. When they graduate they may not be able to stay in their select group.
It really depends on the parents. With Newark Charter, the students are chosen by lottery.They have all sorts of kids, including Special Ed. I'm not sure how all Charters work, but in all cases the parents have to apply and be well involved.
I agree, the more choices in eduation there are, the better the fit for all kids.
I have a young friend who just completed his Army basic training yesterday. He graduated from a local Charter for First Responders. (police, fire, ambulance) He's off to Fort Sam Houston for his next training...pharmacy. He said his Charter School experience really helped him a lot.
Aren't Charter schools government schools too?
We are worshipping government in so many ways and the Republicans and Obama keep looking for more.
Ronald Reagan said that he'd eliminate the Department of Education and it never happened under his administration. Cause why?
Nope, didn't read it, don't care. A little pot stirring perhaps?
Just came back inside from a nice tour of the yard It's above 60 here and the sun is so nice. it won't last but it's nice while it's here. Started planning when to start yard clean up and I'm drooling already over what to plant and where. I want to do more Tuborous Begonias in hanging baskets for the front porch and some big Dalias in large pots for the porch and deck, along with the usual Petunias, Salvias and more of the usual. I already bought some veggie seed.
Dinner tonight. Lamb roast, mashed potatoes, peas, mushrooms and pickled Okra.
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YAY! Taxes are finished and we're due refunds on both state and federal. Not huge, but a nice surprise.We won't take the refunds. It's just as easy to apply them to the next Estimated Tax in April. I was afraid we might owe more than I had planned but it came out OK.
A nice sunny but cold day. We went down to North East Md. to meet up with friends for lunch. It is a charming little old town just about on the Chesapeake Bay.
Woody's is the local seafood place. I thought I'd be smart and order off the appetizer menu and got seafood nachos. HA! There was enough for all four of us and I brought home a big box for our dinner.
We stopped by the firehouse on the way home to see the new Quint that was delivered yesterday. Really nice.
...a 75 ft. rear mount ladder and 750 gal. of water. It cost $750, 000. It replaces a very old Squrt that was worn out after many years of hard work. Can't get parts for it any longer. The boom and nozzle has had it and is no longer reliable. It might soon be a safety issue.
Now they are calling for more snow tomorrow night. I'd hoped were were done with it. Just one to three inches, but snow is snow. YUK!
We had dinner with one of our firefighter friend's family last night. Sam is quite a heavy duty hunter, fisherman, and every year he does a "wild" dinner for us. This time it was Bambi balls (not That kind!) with Pheasant with potatoes and root veggies in an oven baked casserole and salad. I took Cannoli for dessert. Really very good. It was such fun, and sure enough just as we left to come home it started to snow. We've got a scant three inches on the ground, but not on the streets and sidewalks.That's the best kind.We're supposed to have quite a warm up next week so maybe this is the last of the snow.I've got all my seeds and can't wait to start planting again.
It seems Frank has gone again. I wonder what happened this time.
I was sorry to hear that Nancy Reagan died. Now she'll be back with her Ronnie.
She was a lady that is for sure.
AH! The beautiful weather slid in here today. It's about 75 and spectacular. We took a run to both Costco. and BJ's for provisions, slid the roof open, the windows too, and just enjoyed. Al has his eye on a nice 12' x14' screen house he wants to put up on our back deck...with the bad bugs and disease carrying mosquitoes and ticks it might be time to do that. If the squirrels and raccoons will let us have it that is. HA!
I got an interesting PM about Ross taking teachers to task for going to training conferences. I wonder what that is all about. He must not now how it works. Around here all schools and districts have training budgets, some for distance conferences also. National conferences tend to be held in places that have very large conference centers and can seat a lot of people as well as have exhibition halls where companies can show off their newest wares... A bit like a state fair for teachers. I'd love to know what he's up to, but I won't read it. I promised I wouldn't.
The house windows and sliders are all open...delicious!
Another beautiful day. We reached an all time record 81 for this date.
We have long time friends coming in from Davenport Washington. The wife has stage 4 cancer and wanted to see her friends one last time. She has been fighting it for several years, but this time it's final. It will be nice to see them again even though it will be her last trip.
It's nice to be back online. We've been off since last Friday. No phone or TV either. Verizon had problems.
I see Lois Perkins passed away.There are few left now that I ever knew.
My Washington friends have come and gone(she was really sick but loved being here) and the mother of a good friend died also. Not happy times for them.
The weather has ranged from beautiful to downright cold.The daffys are in full swing and downtown, that is warmer than up here on the north sloping Piedmont, the Redbuds and Magnolias are out. Ours are in bud. Snow showers are expected on Sunday.
One of our firehouse friends made a big pot of chicken and dumplings for lunch for all of us that were around on Tuesday.Yummy!
So who is having corned beef and cabbage today? We are, with red skinned new potatoes, soda bread and apple sauce.
I guess some will plant peas today, but I think I'll wait a bit.
Happy Day O' The Green.
Tomorrow is finally the first day of spring and we have a Nor'easter forming from the warm moist air coming up from the south and colliding with very cold air coming down from Canada. This will be the heavy, wet snow.
We had one of these many years ago when I was a child and lived out in the country. There were many inches of snow and school was closed for several days. I remember Mom putting a chalkboard out in the front yard snow that said," March 20, the first day of spring." We all went out and built a huge snow man and packed it tight, so it lasted for many days after the rest of the snow had melted.
We had a red sky this morning, so something is on its way.
It must be hiding.We had some wet sloppy stuff yesterday evening, but so far no sign of the main storm. If it ever gets organized and runs up past us, we're still expected to get three or so inches. We'll see.
We went to a neighboring fire company's buffet breakfast this morning.They have one on the third Sunday of most months.Very tasty as always. St.19, Hockessin (Hoe-kess- in) is in mushroom growing country, so they make a great mushroom omelet for their buffet.
Enjoy Palm Sunday.
The school referendums here were held yesterday.Two passed and one failed.
Ours here for Christina district passed by less than 150 votes. Not exactly a landslide of approval.They had failed twice before and this time asked for a .30/hundred raise.That will mean an extra $192.00 on average for most people.
Our district isn't exactly known for being wise with their money. We'll see.They will be watched carefully.
Oh my, what a decision....Terps or Kansas. I had lots of friends that went to Maryland, I taught in Maryland.
I have friends who went to KU, as did both my parents. Part of me would love to see an upset, but KU should win it. I assume none of you will be watching...HA!
Assume nothing, Diane. I have been waiting for this game. I am still mad at Turgeon for deserting Wichita just when he had a winning team. I hope Kansas sends him back to Maryland.
Actually, I am not as mad at him as I was. Since he left Wichita, Greg Marshall has had a chance to lead Wichita to the greatness that they have achieved. I just hope that he can continue to win after losing the best three players that Wichita has ever had.
Good game.
So, today's score is 6 to 2 and I don't mean basket ball.LOL!
Are we gonna watch the game together tonight? It's going to be hard for me tonight too, as Villanova isn't far and I have friends who went there.
Again, I expect Kansas to win by just a sliver.Villanova has had an exceptional year. Let's hope the only thing on fire will be the players.
I have the game on, but I can't tell you what the score is. I have been in the kitchen for awhile. My work is done now and I will catch the rest of the game.
Have a happy Easter anyway.So close. I was all set to wear my KU sweatshirt today. I guess Oklahoma is next for V.They beat V once earlier in the year, so they know they can. Should be interesting.
I hope everyone had the Easter they wanted. We finally went to a nearby Cracker Barrel for dinner.Very good as usual.
Well now, between earthquakes and wild fires, you have a real ''shake and bake" going on out there don't ya.
Seriously, I hope the fires are out by now. I haven't heard anything for a bit.
We have had very serious chilly dry winds blowing here. Right now we are assisiting another company with multiple mobile homes on fire, and several other fires nearby. Not good.
As of noon today, the various fires were between 80 and 95% contained. Very good news. The snow and rain Sunday helped quite a bit, as well as fire fighters from all over the state.
That is good news. Our wind has settled down today, but not before fire swept though 9 mobile homes yesterday afternoon.They went so fast it was just unbelievable. Now there is a chance of snow here for Sunday...amazing. Have a good one.
Yesterday would have been Mom's 101 birthday. I still miss her.
I see where apparently poor Waldo has been speared. He is such a nice person. I hate to see it happen.
The damaging winds are headed this way again this afternoon.
And they're off again. Slightly different cast, but the insults abound. Very sad.
It seems the basketball championship will come back east this year. Villanova beat Oklahoma rather smartly. We'll see what happenes tomorrow night.
YAY! Villanova took it all.They even cancelled classes today to celebrate.They won by a three pointer at the buzzer. A real breath stopper.
I'm getting rather discouraged about our weather.We had a hard frost last night which did in the Magnolias and many other flowering trees. Sure hope it didn't hurt the apple and peach orchards too much.
I'm getting so sick of ugly politics on all levels. Bleah.
I swear the birds were wearing socks at the feeder this morning. It's so cold. I wish that Canadian front would push back up north again where it belongs.
All my tulips are frozen on the ground. I'll go out soon and cut them to see if I can save any blooms in a vase or two. The Columbines that were pushing up are badly frosted and may not make it, and some of the ferns got hit too. I hope you are all warmer out there. BRRR. >:(
I loved the end of the Villonova / North Carolina game. It was exciting. Two evenly-matched teams. North Carolina tied it up with a 3-pointer with only a few seconds left, the Villanova won with a 3-pointer. It was just plain fun to watch.
It's been a strange year for weather, that's for sure.
There is a big parade in towntown Phildelphia tomorrow to honor the Wildcats.They're are partying like it's 1985....HA! It surely was a fun game to watch.
My fully opened tulips surprised me.Yesterday afternoon I went out to cut them all and they had hauled themselves back up again and look fine.They are tougher than I thought.
It's been snowing all morning but not much has stuck. We're going to go up to the cemetery later to get the wilted flowers. We'll stop at a nice Mom and Pop Mexican cafe (Daddy's Kitchen) on the way home for our ''meal for the day." The servings are big enough to easily bring home some for dinner too.
Niece Amy got married yesterday at "The Boulders" in Arizona. All went very well, very nice place to have it.
Just came back from the fire house. We have a small group of good cooks who make meals occasionally for any of our bunch that stops by.
Today was a brunch consisting of sausage gravy and biscuits, an egg and cheese casserole, fresh mixed fruit and Danish. Newark PD was invited too and about 8 of them came. A good social time for about 25 of us.
It's still too cold...got down in the mid 20's again last night, but that should be the end of the below freezing temps. at night.
The sun is beautiful but deceptive because the air is still so cold today. Have a good week friends.
We finally topped 60 with bright sun this afternoon, so I cleaned up seven of my front porch hanging baskets.I hope soon to be able to fill them again for the summer. I'll probably hang at least three more.The back 16x16ft. deck is about to get it's annual power wash and then needs to be sealed again as soon as it gets a little warmer.The big herb pots are ready to be seeded, but also need a bit more warmth. I made a gallon jar of sun tea this afternoon while we in Maryland having a good buffet lunch.
One of our local soldiers got home yesterday, so our fire company and Christiana Fire Company, our neighbor, got together to give give him an escort to two of our schools to surprise his son and daughter at their schools. It worked out great. Lots of flags, smiles and happy tears.
Our favorite raccoon is coming every evening now for his "snack."
Chilly last night and again this morning, but now it's nice and warm and sunny.We went out and trimmed the Red Twig Dogwood back to the ground to let it start over. It was planted in 1989. It's dead in the middle and needs a rehab now more than just taking out a third of it each year.The one Forsythia has finished, so I cut it back some and shaped it up.The other one is later and is still in full bloom.The Hen Bit is blooming all over the place. As much as I try I never get it all.The False Strawberry is popping up in weird places, but I've only seen about 5 Dandy Lions. Not much onion grass either. I sent Al out with a pin point blow torch to burn it out. So far so good.
My Carolina Sweet Shrub is starting to bloom and smells so good. It is a big bush now that has a long history.When we moved to our first house, I got a slip from my mother's bush that was there at their big 1870 Victorian house when they moved to it in 1948. It had been planted when that house was new, so my bush has very old genes. I brought a slip here from my other house. The Lily of the Valley is just in bud too.The Andromeda is in full bloom also and our neighbor's honey bees are enjoying it. The two Lilacs are starting to show color.
I think perhaps next week we'll take a 45 min. ride into Pa. and go to Groff's Plant Farm and see if their veggie plants are ready yet. They have lots of varieties that other places don't have at very good prices. Great Amish folks.
We finally put away the last of the snow shovels and ice scrapers. I'm hoping it was safe to do so.
I got some Florida sweet corn today.The ears are nice and full and have surprisingly good flavor.It comes up the east coast by train so it gets here fairly quickly.My fisher friends are catching good trout and stripers (Rockfish) now. I'm hoping for Shad roe soon.
The little House Wren has made it back safely. YAY! He announced his arrival and made a big deal out of it. I expect the male Ruby Throated Hummers next week. Enjoy the day.
I see Texas is being hammered.I hope you all got the rain you need, but nothing dangerous. We're off to Bingo soon.
Howard / Moline got a little over 3 inches. Most of it was a good rain, and will help the area.
I'm so glad. I know you have been so dry. Maybe this rain will help the fire hazard problems too, and help with the green up.
We're off to pick up some mulch at out local farm/garden store. Tuesday is senior discount day and every little bit helps. I think we'll need 8 3 cubic ft. bags this time.
HA! We arrived home with many veggie plants, but not all of the varieties I eventually want. I also got enriched hummer liquid food, meal worms, some dill seed, some fertilizer and all those bags of mulch....sort of.
A man was helping Al load the big bags into the back of our Honda CRV, with the seats folded down, when one of the bags tore open on the far end, and when he plopped the next one on top, it poofed out all over the back, the front seat, and me! What a mess, but very funny. A wisk broom and a dust pan took care of it when we got home. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
It's still much too soon to put tender plants out but I have a nice warm, sunny place to store them, and then harden them off for planting in a few weeks.
We're off to Amish country shortly. It's a beautiful day and it will a beautiful ride northwest into PA.
There is a place near the plant farm that Al can get real gasoline (no ethanol) for his small engine equipment. The "ethanolized" fuel doesn't do them any good at all. Then on the way home we'll cut the corner into Maryland and stop at Wesley's for a late lunch. Al is feeling good today, which is a plus too.
Now if anyone wants to pick at my typing ,help yourself. As I have said many times,I'm self taught and had a terrible teacher. HA!I hope your recent rain helped everything out there. I think it's our turn by Friday and we're ready for some too. Have a great day.
Have a fun and safe trip. So glad you are both feeling well.
We did indeed have fun, thanks. The Amish farmers had their horse and mule teams out and were cutting hay and plowing and the laundry was flying on the long lines strung between the house and barns or other out buildings. Freshly painted signs for eggs, spinach and other things are reappearing at the ends of driveways and some of the farm markets are reopening tomorrow.The mustard is blooming bright yellow in the fields and along the roads and the wild apples are in full bloom, as are the pretty yard trees everyone has. Even the air smelled like country.
Have a good one.
I like the picture you paint, Miss Diane!! :-) You can almost smell the fresh air as you drive along with the windows down! :-)
Why, thank you.That's very kind.
We just got back from the fire station. Our 1921 Stutz fire engine is back home at last. It came in on a flatbed truck from Indiana. It's in bad shape but most of it is there. Now we'll start haunting fire flea markets and see what we can find. Perhaps we can have it ready for its 100th anniversary in 2021.We'll start raising money now and eventually we can restore it to its former glory.
It's May finally, but one would think it's early March. There is a much needed, but very cold, gentle rain falling. My many trays of annuals are still sitting in the yard, being watered by nature, but the ground is too cold to plant. Nobody has any Impatience out yet. It's too cold for them still.
I just read a bit of "The Exhaustion of the American Teacher" by John Kuhn. I'll see about reading the rest when I have more time.
Al has his three month bladder cancer scoping on Wednesday morning. It's very painful, and puts him down for at least a day. If it's clear, we can start thinking about some short vacation trips.
Dealing with the Post Polio problem is bad enough, but he's tough and pushes on no matter what. He has The Newark Planning Commission meeting again this Tuesday evening. I hope you all are having a nice Sunday, however you enjoy it.
Al's bladder cancer scoping was clear. He's safe until August. Perhaps we can do a bit of traveling after all. He has been wanting to go spend a few days in Toronto... and some day trips closer to home.
I had my dental cleaning this morning. Look Ma, no cavities!
I had a student shadowing my hygienist around. She's going to make a great dentist some day... A very quick learner with lots of questions and a very nice, fun personality.
Good news
Well, I've been yelled at again. It seems I'm not welcome any more on ANY thread. Now Red and Ross will have it all and that's a shame. I wish someone would yell at them.
I really didn't think I was posting too much, especially about birds and such, but I must be when someone I respect slaps me. I wish they would just not read what I have to say, but that wasn't good enough apparently. It was fun for years, but that's over and I'll miss a lot of you. Sad.
I don't know who yelled at you but I enjoy hearing your news.
I've taken a month off, and as I feared, two people have taken over the forum. With a couple of exceptions, unless you want to see ugly politics, ya might as well not bother. As for here..rough going. I lost three dear friends in a week's time and several more have been diagnosed with cancers.
On the good side, Al and I are a Great Aunt and Uncle once more, and the first time on my side of the family. My sister's youngest had a cute little boy on June 6th...D-Day.(Delivery Day.) She's 32 and we had given up that they would ever have children. Since my sister had lost her husband and soul mate last November, this has really given her a reason to keep going.
My garden is doing well and so far no sign of critters getting into it. I hope all my friends out there are well and enjoying a nice summer.
Nice to hear all is well with you and Al. So sorry for your losses.
Thank you.I'll be back to visit from time to time.
Good to hear from you Dianne! :laugh: :laugh:
Thanks. I won't come by too much, but once in awhile.
I may have forgotten to share with you that two weeks ago we had a young adult black bear come wandering through here. We think he came down from PA. He spent several days in and around Newark before heading into Cecil County Maryland. Many people got photos of him and our local PD shadowed him around to be sure he stayed out of trouble. He was not aggressive at all and people enjoyed getting a look at him from a safe distance. We called him our Delabear. Of course Cecil County named him Cecil. The Cecil County Sheriffs kept him under distant observation until they lost him. There is a deeply forested state park near me and another even bigger one where he was last seen. I hope he's happy and doing well.
Happy Fathers' Day.
I was reading with interest the business about Howard's anticipated annexation.
Here in Newark, an interested party has to ask to be annexed. Newark does not initiate any annexation processes.
Usually folks here come out way ahead. We get city water, sewer, electric, police, snow plowing (residential) leaf and yard waste pickup, trash and recycling collection, street lights, Parks and Rec. program discounts and 2 free swimming pools. We have a bunch of free parks, tennis courts, 45 minutes of fireworks displays on July 4th and lots more. We pay city taxes for these of course, but they are very low.
I'm not sure how or if Howard comes out ahead with taxes because of annexation.
The female deer that drop the little ones off in my flower bed while they eat...Cute, but a pain. But in town here, no shooting. Fortunately I have plenty of friends who love to hunt and fish and give us more fish and game than we can eat.
Delaware is overloaded with deer.They are hunted to keep the herds healthy, even in the state parks.
It seems sadness is around every corner recently. Another friend died and a second one has been diagnosed...again...with cancer. This time it's Burkett's Lymphoma, stage 4. She's in the hospital in N.C. for heavy duty treatment. She's quite a fighter and if anyone can beat this Pat can. My veggie garden is looking good, but we could use some rain. A happy day to all, at least to those who can stand me.
It's almost chilly here. Canada sent some chilly weather our way. Somebody set off a bunch of fireworks in our local community last night. I am so angry about it. Fireworks are illegal here!...And they didn't invite any of us! HA! They must have had a permit and it might have been at the swim club. I went out, but couldn't see anything for all the big trees.
Newark has a 45 min. fireworks show tomorrow night at the practice field next to UD stadium. It is a really good event and brings huge numbers of people. Aetna always goes to stand by for anything that gets away. I'm afraid it may rain tomorrow night, but we'll see.A Capitol Fourth is always good on TV too.
Bing- Bang- Boom... Happy fourth to youm.
Bad timing, but we got the rain we needed... At the expense of the Newark fireworks on the U D campus next to the football stadium. It will be tonight instead.
I'm really getting tired of the personal attacks on me and by extension, my Kansas heritage. I've been called a liar one time too many and I'm totally disgusted. Why is it so important that a couple of people need to try to make me look bad?
Now even Frank is blaming me instead of the real perpetrators. Be careful, you could be next.
I don't know what it means out there, but here, being a Mason (Al) of many years means something. It does for their families too. There is a level of honesty and behavior that is expected. Both sides of my family, and the one I married into, have had Masons for several generations. In my mother's case, her family, with many Masons, came to this country before the Revolutionary War and fought in it .Here our Masons are hard working ''get things done for the people of our community" people. They and their families would never be treated with disdain, let alone called liars. What in the world is wrong with some in Elk county? Is it simple jealousy? or what? Personality disorders? I was recently reminded that insecure people will, if they can't control you, will try to influence how others see you, especially in a negative way.
I'm starting to be embarrassed to be connected there.
I used to brag about my good Kansas friends and bloodlines. Phooey. I'm not even allowed to fight back without being called on it. I keep turning the other cheek, but then it gets slapped too. I'm tired of standing up for myself and then having it tossed back to show how rotten I am and deserve what I get and how angelic the other person is. If I stand up for myself I'm "playing the victim." How convenient.
Two of them have very successfully taken over the forum as their personal billboard. I hope they enjoy it.
Yup, once again, I'm the bad guy and a victim because I didn't like being poked. And guess who, as usual, had to have the last word. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D.
Well, except for permanently leaving, I'm out of ideas. I tried to come back for a visit, but even that has been poisoned. Frank is taking the low road by blaming me, and even Jar got suckered. What a shame. I wish some of you would stand up and fight for what used to be a great forum.
I'm not sure Teresa knows how bad it has gotten. A couple of members and some hiding "guests"who never post does not a forum make.
Bye again.
The whole problem with you and the "You Know who's" is. You just keep the fire burning. Instead of just leaving their post alone, you have to put your 2 cents in.
So it's alright to be called a liar ? :P I answered a question from Jar and "you know who" chimed in. How about telling "him" to stay out of my conversations with someone else?
Tell Jar not to ask me any questions because I'm not "allowed" to answer him, 'cause someone self important said so. He will jump right in no matter who I with have been chatting with and hijack the conversation. He has to own it. Go back and look for yourself. Don't worry, I've gone again.They ain't worth a plugged nickel.
By the way, Jane. I didn't mean to be rude to you yesterday.
I won't be commenting to anything a certain person says, but I have no control of when he jumps in and insults me when I have been posting back and forth to someone else. What am I supposed to do, go back and delete my post to someone else so "he" can't say anything?
I got another PM, two in fact, reminding me that very few pay any attention to him and don't in any way agree with his vitriol and insults. I guess some read him for the side show effect, but ignore the person behind it. I appreciate your effort, but go back and see who was responding to whom.
All I was trying to say, was be a bigger person then they are. There is no reason respond to any thing they say.
Right on Jane, I agree 10000%.
Ok, Ok, I get it. :P I'll just have to let the insults slide off me and hope my friends understand. Thanks.
In the meantime, it's going to be really hot here today, for us. Upper 90's expected for several days in a row. Time to drag out the hose. Have a nice day.
I recently read this. "People who try to control you and find they cannot, immediately try to control how others see you." "People who try to hurt you are usually very troubled, insecure people. "Avoid them if at all possible."
good advice
Words to try to live by....again. It used to be easy.
I stayed up much too late last night watching the live coverage of Dallas. At first it took me right back to 1963.
Now I'm just so sad for all those broken hearted families. I hate to see all this divisiveness with "them" and who is right and who "deserves" to die. Being angry about something shouldn't mean a death sentence for other people. It's too complicated to let that happen.
Life is not always fair, and killing people doesn't even up the score. Fortunately the public, some of whom surely were armed in an open carry city, stayed out of it and let the police do what they needed to do. It will be interesting, but very sad, to see how this all plays out and what the ripple effect will be.
Any updates on Eureka?
Several different tornados cat 1,2&3 luckly no one was killed had a little warning.
Thanks. I saw the news but it didn't tell much. The occasional ones we get here are rarely more than a one.Glad nobody was killed.
Caught a bug and I feel lousy. Yuk. I was looking at some video from a Baltimore City apt. fire.The audio was on .The apt fire was very involved.
The firefighters were were breaking out windows and taking a section of roof to ventilate to hold it to the one apt and keep it from spreading to the ones next door. One bystander was heard to say "Sometimes the fire fighters cause more damage than the fire does." Talk about clueless. They have no idea. Very sad. I wonder if they would rather have the firefighters wait until the heat builds so much it blows the windows out for them?
I'm feeling better, but I'm really angry. Our local deer came through and took the top buds and many of the big leaves from all my various kinds of Hosta and many of the buds from the late season Day Lilies. Fortunately the mid season ones are in full tilt and look beautiful, along with a lot of regular lilies that scent the yard so nicely.Have good day.
Little Delaware had a fire service tragedy yesterday evening. An experienced Lewis firefighter was killed when he was participating in a helicopter rescue practice/training operation. As he stepped out on the skid to repel down, he fell and was killed instantly. We are so small that everyone in the fire service knows everyone. We are all devastated. RIP Tim McClanahan.
More rough stuff for the Aetna firefighters. Yesterday evening one of our engines was responding to a box alarm when a man stepped out, threw a bottle and smashed the front window. I was amazed how much damage was done by one bottle.This is the second incident here and it is so unusual. I'm very sad that it has come to this....and of course what happened in Nice. It just doesn't stop.Very depressing.I'm ready for our little vacation next week.
Off to NE Pa.tomorrow for several days.Wellsboro. Glad to get away from here for awhile. Lost another good friend Sat. evening she had been fighting cancer for several years.
Back from our little mini vacation to Wellsboro PA, home to the Grand Canyon of PA.
Today is our 46th anniversary and we got to spend the afternoon with our fire company friends picking crabs at our annual picnic.That's a great way to spend a special day. It's extremely hot here, but the big picnic pavilion is back in the edge of a nice woods and that made it cooler.The good breeze blowing helped out too.Thinking of my good Kansas friends.
Interesting Pokemon Go has hit Newark hard.young people are wandering all over the place and some are doing damage and getting hurt in the process. Our fire house was posted as a local site and now people are showing up, and wandering in, looking for the virtual characters. Sadly, we have had to start keeping the doors down.Some are also playing behind the wheel.One doofus drove off the street and into the side of a police car. Talk about stupid.
Happy Late Anniversary!! :-) :) :) :) :) :)
Hi. Thank you very much. 46 makes me feel old.
We are finally getting enough toms to do something with. We'll have plentiful green beans and cukes in a few days and have been enjoying other folks' watermelons and cantalopes.It must be summer!
The hummer family must be finished raising their babies. They are very busy at their feeder now, constantly zipping in for a drink, flying away and coming right back for more. It's funny watching the liquid blurp as it drops in the tube.I think I've spotted the two babies also.They are a little clumsy and almost no color, just kinda gray.
Last night Newark participated in "National Night Out" hosted by Newark Police and Aetna Fire. Academy St, between Main and Delaware Ave. was closed to vehicular traffic. PD set up a huge grill and cooked free hot dogs, and people wandered up and down the street. UD had their Creamery truck for super good ice cream. PD did Police Dog demos and had "drunk Goggles'' to wear while playing corn hole . Of course nobody could come even close to the hole. They also gave out "free Hugs.''
We did fire extinguisher demos and tore a wrecked car apart for a vehicle extrication demo.
The weather was beautiful, just 80 and dropping humidity. The best evening we've had in awhile. We had most of our apparatus set up on Academy St. The kids, and many adults enjoyed climbing inside. I had the little kid's gear for them to try on and lots of photos were taken. A fun evening in downtown Newark.
We finally got our first picking of green beans today.YAY!
We have really been enjoying watching the Olympics.The girls on the gymnastics team are fabulous.
I felt so sorry for the one rowing team that got dumped into that polluted water.Then the wind kicked up so bad they had to postpone the event.The wind apparently damaged some buildings and decorations too.
I'm never excited about the bike events, but our one girl almost got the gold until that group of three swept by her. She should still be proud of her accomplishment. I'm also happy to hear that the girl that took that awful spill will most likely be alright, even though she did have some neck injuries.
Mike P. and the team took back the relay gold medal so all is right with the world. ;D ;D ;D. Enjoy!
Sad about the rule that only two per country can compete in the all-around gymnastics. It would have been nice for Gabby to try again. Her score was higher than those from other countries. It's been an exciting Olympics so far.
We've also been following the boxer from Wichita - Nico Hernández - he won his first match and boxes again today.
Love the stories they've been showing as well: the 41-year-old gymnast, the solo entry from Romania, the rest of the story on Mike Phelps, the Refugee team.
After spending so much time enjoying the Olympics, I had to come up for air and get back to what I should be doing.I was very pleased at how well our young people did, in spite of some of the stupid stuff that sadly will be remembered forever.
The kids' fire prevention contest rule packets are in and have to be delivered to all 20 of our participating schools next week.That will keep me busy.
It's very hot here again. It's about to be an August record breaker.
The kids are moving into the dorms this weekend, so there are certain areas of Newark people should avoid, plus there are lost drivers all over the place.Its fun looking at all the out of state plates.
I can hear the UD band practicing from my house. Brings back wonderful memories.
Time to go pick tomatoes ...again.
Another beautiful day here...still too hot, but cooler temps come and go for a day and then it goes past 90 again. Now we're watching the hurricane. I have friends in Florida quite close to where it was to come ashore. Schools closed Wednesday to let folks get ready, or leave, and schools were closed yesterday indefinitely.
We are watching for some effect here too.The way it will come across, our coastline will get high winds, rains and flooding, but probably just as a tropical storm. Right here we are expecting a bit of wind and quite a bit of rain.
We have/had two parties to go to this weekend...we'll see what happens.
The hummers are stuffing themselves getting ready to leave. I hope they can tell to wait until the storm leaves.I wouldn't want them to tangle with it on their way south. Enjoy the long weekend.
It missed us. It tore up the beaches, but didn't rain a drop here west of the shore.The pool party yesterday had perfect weather and so far it's cool and sunny here today. We have another get together later today up in Amish country.That should be fun. Enjoy.
We survived our local primaries and I'm happy to say got rid of a couple of disgusting people who have totally outlived their usefulness, if they ever had any. One is a real crook and blackmailed anyone who stood up to him. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in his offices today. Ha! They must have a huge fire going to burn the books and are busy scrubbing the computers.
Several personal friends won their primaries, so I'm pleased. We have another hot day today, above 90 again and very dry.Cooler weather has to come sometime.
It has been nice all week here.
I hoped this would never happen during my lifetime, but it finally did. One of our Aetna volunteer firefighters, Jerry Fickes,who is a paid career firefighter for the City of Wilmington lost his life along with another firefighter early this morning at a house fire in Wilmington. He was a good friend for many years.I have no tears left.
So very sorry for the loss.
Thank you.It's very hard.We are doing everything we can to help the families, help cover their runs and dealing with our own grief too.Tough times.
So sorry for you guys. The fire (and loss) made it into the Wichita Eagle. :( Prayers for all of you!
Thank you. I really appreciate the thoughts and prayers. Jerry was a good friend for many years. His family were some of the first to bring their kids to the Aetna kids' Christmas party many years ago when we first started it. We had a crew that went to Wilmington this morning to escort his body, along with Wilmington firefighers also, to the funeral home from the Medical Examiners Office.I'll check your paper for the article .Thanks for telling me.
Slowly but surely funeral plans are being made. Two viewings, two funerals on Thursday and Friday and a huge combined memorial service at the Blue Rocks Baseball stadium in downtown Wilmington, with public safety people from all over the country coming on Saturday. Tears still come very easily for all of us.
Here's the article from The Wichita Eagle: http://www.kansas.com/news/nation-world/article103956301.html (http://www.kansas.com/news/nation-world/article103956301.html)
They also had this one: http://www.kansas.com/news/nation-world/article104093006.html (http://www.kansas.com/news/nation-world/article104093006.html)
Thank you for the links.Things are slowly coming together for viewings, several funerals and a huge memorial service at the Chase Center next to the ball park in Wilmington on Saturday. Unfortunately, a large rain front has arrived and will be here through Sunday.
The two badly burned firefighters who were rescued alive are still critical but stable at the Crosier Chester Burn Center in nearby Chester PA. The female, Ardythe Hope, had 80% of her airway burned from when her air mask and helmet were knocked off as the floor collapsed out from under her.
The family residents had some smoke inhilation, but will be fine.
I didn't think it could get any worse, but it has. It was arson.The setter of the fire has been arrested with many charges, including two counts of murder the first degree. She was a drunk, drugged out 27 year old resident of the place who got angry over something and set the basement on fire.
I have enjoyed reading about the sheriff's upcoming election, especially Ross's "pubic" debates.How can anyone take that seriously? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
We managed to survive such a tragic week, including a huge memorial service in Wilmington. Companies came from all over including far away states. Every Delaware dignitary came including the Vice President, Joe Biden.There was no politics from any of them, just sad condolences.
Pipe bands came from as far as Seattle and played songs they all would know.It was beautiful and chilling too. Saturday night we had an old fashioned Wake at a Newark pub. Our own fire fighters along with many from other companies,including DC, NYFD, Philly and many others. Next Sunday we ring our memorial bell for the beginning of Fire Prevention Week and will include the three threes(or perhaps 4 5's) for Jerry and Chris.
I lost a another old friend suddenly.This is getting worse and worse.
Now we have to watch the skies and see what Matthew will do as it comes up the coast...or not. My girlfriend in Wilmington, N.C. just finished storm proofing her house again.She lives very near Wrightsville Beach but high up in hilly country which keeps them from getting a storm surge, but they still get very high winds.The next few days should be interesting for sure.
I have friends in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. They've been getting ready as well. They are also involved in theater in the area, and have been posting all the theater cancellations and plans. It could be a big mess.
I feel bad for your friends...This storm is really bad news for those who get it. Our predictions have changed as the thing seems to want to eventually hook a hard right...maybe... and circle back on itself. We might not see anything. Nothing is sure. Prayers for those in it's path.
So far 11 deaths have been reported in the south east from Matthew. We had some rain bands come through here and they are just about gone. We had very little wind, thank goodness. The storm surge south of here was just as bad as was predicted for the hardest hit areas, so I'm glad most people who were told to evacuate did so.
Today is the beginning of Fire Prevention Week.Check the age on your smoke detectors.Never keep them beyond 10 years. Last year we replaced our own with 10 year sealed units that need no care and won't need to be replaced until 2025.They might out last me!
At noon today we'll ring our big fire company bell in honor of US fire fighters who lost their lives due to fire related causes during 2015. We'll also honor some who were injured in previous years, but finally died from their condition in 2015.(some 911 firefighters ) Stay safe out there.
I really like the new fire / smoke alarms. We would always forget when we had changed the batteries; there were several reminders throughout the year and we couldn't remember which ones we followed.
Now it's an install and forget it. Love them!
Glad you guys are safe.
We are fine. Had some beach damage along the coast here, but we missed the worst by a lot, thank goodness.There have been at least 22 deaths reported now in the states severely affected and the water is still rising from the huge rains up stream and may continue for several more days. Sadly, bodies are still being found. Old flood records have toppled and what was thought to be "high enough" wasn't. Several dams are still at risk. Hopefully there will be no more big threatening storms this season.
Matthew is finally gone and the beaches and the swells are back to "normal" with some damage that can be repaired fairly easily. Sadly, more than 30 have died. Some were swept away in flooded vehicles and some stayed when they were told to go.They weren't as smart as they thought.
We are still doing lots of fire safety requests to visit schools and preschools and will judge the several hundred fire safety posters and essays on Sunday evening. It's very educational for us to see what the kids have to say about their topic.
I'll be so glad when this election mess is finished. I'm no fan of Hillary, but if Trump wins and he acts as he has been, this country will be in a world of hurts. His inconsistencies and treatment of people will not play well on the world stage. He seems to have some good ideas too, but I don't think he can deliver them. On the one hand he talks about all the things he will make happen, but it would take even more Govt. to accomplish them. That is not what most people want to see. He talks about lowering taxes, but everything he wants to do would have to be paid for somehow.
He says he loves war. What an ignorant thing to say. Now he is stuck on these trivial school play ground revenge statements. What a big baby. I'll watch the last debate tonight and be very interested in who says what, but I doubt many folks will be swayed either way.
On a very happy note, Newark Charter School has once again been designated a Blue Ribbon School. They were designated the first time in 2010. The same school cannot be designated every year, so this was the first time they could be designated again. I am so proud of them.
The leaves are beginning to show color here, but we still haven't had any frost. I need to start moving my house plants inside so we don't get caught short some night. Have a good one.
I had my nose taken care of yesterday.My dermatologist took an ugly rough scaly growth off the right side so I can stick it where it doesn't belong even better. HA. He also checked out my sudden red and scaly arms, neck and back. It is psoriasis as I feared. I've never had it before but he says the terrible stresses in my life recently allowed the genes to become active. I've got some good strong cream for it. We'll see what happens. I go back in two weeks.
I did watch the last debate last night. Nothing changed my mind. Hope all my friends are well and enjoying mild weather.I have a few lilies to plant but got all the indoor plants moved in, so we are 'most ready for anything and everything now.
My grandfather had psoriasis, in several spots. The cream he took (many years ago) worked on some of the spots, not on others. I would assume that today's meds are more powerful.
Good luck!
Thank you. It seems a little better today, but it's still ugly. We judge fire prevention tonight and always have fun doing that. Enjoy your day.
We finally got all the FP submissions judged.It took quite awhile.I have one of our officers out tracking down the local winners' information.This afternoon is the Newark Halloween Parade. We'll have an engine or two with "skeleton" drivers and a fire themed float.The kids get to "trick or treat" at the merchants up and down the street afterward. We're having a fire company lunch get together at the station closest to Main St. before the parade. Several of the younger fire families make all sorts of goodies several times a year just to get together socially.Lots of fun.It's a beautiful day here...supposed to hit close to 80 .Wierd weather, but I'll take it.
After reading a couple of the other posts...easy to figure out who since there are only a couple left.....It's amazing how many "squirrels" show up at parades and public gatherings demanding the time of folks who are then stuck with them.The interpretations of "who owes what to whom and why" is very interesting.
Our big parade went off nicely yesterday with everyone having a wonderful time. The firefighters' lunch was super.There were two kind soup, pulled pork, bread and rolls, cole slaw and pumpkin pie, cookies and brownies.That gave me a nice break from calling parents about the fire prevention contest.
It's mighty pretty out today.The leaves have colored up and are beginning to fall. We had just that one touch of frost and it's been nice ever since. Have a good one.
Parades can be so much fun, if you realize they are supposed to be fun. ;)
Three West Elk bands went to the Neewollah festival in Independence this year. The 6th grade and the Junior High bands marched in the Kiddie Parade on Friday, and the Patriot Band marched in the Grand Parade on Saturday. First time in years they've marched in the Grand Parade. They did a great job.
The Soviets were pretty good at using parades to display their tyrants and all their majestic greatness except the so-called "squirrels" had no access to them.
Some of us have a pretty good understanding why you say the things you do.
If you think I care about what you say to me you are sadly mistaken.
Thanks for your response.
Hey, all you vets...Thanks again for your service and enjoy your special day.
The kids came and got their fire prevention awards and had great fun at the fire station. Lots of smiles and photos and tours of the engine bays.
I heard recently from an old Kansas/forum friend. Kermit the frog...AKA Michael. Some of you will remember him,a very intellegent and funny man. He's living near the Delaware River about 50 miles north of Philly...not too far from me! He's not in the best of health, but still putters around and spends time on the internet. I suspect most of you are getting ready for Thanksgiving. We are doing a lunch/dinner thing at the fire house with deep fried turkeys and a bunch of us are bringing the rest. Newark PD, on duty fire and Ems and Paramedics are invited and the VFW also,lots of fun expected.
My Doc is pleased that my Psoriasis is better. Not completely gone, but greatly improved.Enjoy the rest of the weekend. We have a big cold front coming in later tonight with dropping temps. and high winds.
I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday however they wished,and acknowledged the freedom we have to do so.
Sadly, our worst fears have been realized. Ardy Hope, the third severely injured firefighter from the Wilmington fire on Sept.24 lost her fight yesterday. She was a sweet and tough cookie who had been a fire fighter for many years and was soon to retire. Now we start again to honor her and send her to rest with the others.
Woo... is it cold here! That vortex came sweeping through and the birds have put on their long johns! We got a touch of snow with bit more predicted.
We did have the fire house kids party last Saturday...I think it may have been the best ever. I have asked that someone else take over the kids 5 craft tables next year. I'll still help of course, but we need some new blood. My little bit of shopping is finished and I'm slowly working my way through my Christmas card list. Hope everyone is in good spirits for the holidays.
Stay warm and Merry Christmas
Thanks, same to you. Watch out for that Kansas wind....of course we know where some of it comes from....HA!
One more fun thing finished.The Chief's open house was held Wednesday night with a large number of happy people from many fire companies pigging out on good food and fellowship. I made my usual 40 pounds of big stuffed mushrooms with my usual sausage and cheeses inside. This year it made 10 extra large pizza pans....Baked at 350 for 20 minutes. I couldn't believe how fast they disappeared. Once again I wore my "Tobina made" apron with the mushrooms on it.I love it! Hopefully you have all your shopping done and are ready to have fun across the long weekend. Merry Christmas once again.
It's a shame the forum has died or been killed off. There was a time when, during this time of year, there would be happy visits back and forth and the nasty stuff would take a break... but no more. Very sad.
I had a nice birthday yesterday...even got a shout from the forum.That was very nice. Had to cancel our credit card, numbers were stolen and used to buy several plane tickets.
So now I' ll brag for real. Our Newark Charter School has once again been named a Blue Ribbon School! Yay! We are so proud of those kids.
I'm sitting here waiting for a bit more snow. Fortunately, we won't see any of that awful ice storm. It's going across south of us. I feel so bad for the people who have had to deal with that mess.
Our new credit cards arrived. That's the second time I've been hacked and I can't figure out where from. It was at a merchant, not electronic and I've only used it at a couple of places just before it was used and it never left my sight. Very puzzling and annoying.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on January 12, 2017, 12:15:06 PM
I had a nice birthday yesterday...even got a shout from the forum.That was very nice. Had to cancel our credit card, numbers were stolen and used to buy several plane tickets.
Could you find out where they were landing and catch them that way?
It was more than one ticket. We got the alert call from American Airlines first. There were tickets from Costa Rica to Miami and once we contacted our credit card company, there were several more on Delta from Miami to Texas. They all think they may be able to catch them as they think they might try to sell them back and get the money. Thank goodness we are not libel for the several thousand dollars, but it's a pain and makes things more expensive for everyone. We are pretty predictable with our spending and do call our charge card company, if we are planning a trip that might pop odd spending.
By the way, thanks to you all out there for the birthday wishes, especially on face book.There were so many it took awhile to read them all. I'm so flattered.
According to one on here, my friends are all in my head. HA!
I hope your ice storm was tolerable. We got some here last night, but being on the weekend helped a lot. There wasn't that much, the city had brined the streets before it came, and the ice was beautiful this morning in the sun. It's a busy week coming up. Two funerals, two doc visits and a finance meeting. No storms forecast...hope it holds. Have a safe week y'all.
Woo, the wind is really howling, with some rain too.
Some folks around here went to the womens' March in DC and there were about 1,000 in a little one in Wilmington, as well as several hundred at a local one here in Newark. Pres.Trump better watch his back...HA!
Joe Biden and Jill came home by Amtrack Friday afternoon to a huge reception in Wilmington. He was accompanied by John Carney, Tom Carper and a few others. Some of our fire fighters went to join a large group of others to salute his long service. Oops, I just heard a call for a tree fallen into a house, with injuries. Trees and branches are falling everywhere. I'm surprised we still have power. Time for lunch with bingo tonight.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Thinking of you, this day, and smiling, dear lady!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Good morning Elk County! So, it seems one of your number has fled,or is trying to. I hope he can find what he wants in Oklahoma. He better be careful that the pipeline doesn't go through his new property! HA!
We had that happen to us many years ago when Colonial pipeline came through PA. It went right behind Daddy's grape vine trellis. He got a nice check....twice. I used to enjoy watching the little piper that flew down the pipeline looking for leaks. We had a bit of snow and it's very cold, but should be this time of year. I've had the T V on constantly for the last several days. I can do what I need to around here with it in the background. Even my die hard Republican friends are wondering what they have unleashed. It remains to be seen. History is being made, that is for sure.
Our ground hog saw his shadow so it's 6 more weeks of winter for us. HA! Stay warm all.
Yeah, well, we both know it's going to be 6 more weeks of something. ;D ;D ;D
Been thinking about you - concerned about that prison and hoping you don't know any of those involved.
Just praying.
Sadly, I'd had the guard who was killed in First Responder class shortly before I retired. I also know several of the police officers who were dispatched. It's over now, but had everyone on edge for many hours.Thanks for thinking of us.
It is very cold here and again very windy. Had a big old tree fall across Capitol Trail,one of our major local roads and it had to be closed for many hours.While it was cleaned up and the wires it took down were repaird.On the good side, the daffies are popping,the snow drops are bloominginsheltered places and even have some snow crocus blooming.
I see we are in the news again because of that Russian ship slipping up the coast. It's too far away for us to see from the shore, and really isn't anything new. People are spooked of course, because Washington is so unpredictable right now. Everything seems so out of balance.Will it ever settle down?
No. Our society has slid so far off of center that it will almost take the second coming of Christ for us to get back on track.
I feel the same way.
I enjoyed watching the Academy Awards last night. It was nice to mentally escape for a time. I wonder what happened with the best picture award? Very strange indeed. I'm sure they will eventually figure out what went wrong. Not that it matters, as everyone did the right thing and it ended well.
Then there were the shootings in Kansas. A nut case for sure.
We're prepping for a potential big "Nor'easter" on Tuesday. At this point we here could get hit hard, or not have much at all. We've had so little snow this winter, I'll not complain, but so much has been opening up from the warm weather, it could wipe out his year's peach crop. I'm expecting flattened spring flowers and the big magnolia buds have already turned brown.
My magnolias were in full bloom a couple of weeks ago, but have since been blackened by frost. Tonights temps should take care of lots of things. I had to start the heater in the greenhouse today. Kansas in spring. Bipolar I'm thinkin',
Today and tomorrow are those two days before a storm that everyone hates.The path up the coast isn't quite set, so a bit west or east can change dramatically who gets how much of what.The schools have to decide whether to close, the beach folks have to decide whether to prepare for flooding and tidal damage. We have to decide whether to put the chains on the fire apparatus and put the snow plow on the field fire truck, etc.
Al was supposed to have his 5 year colonoscopy on Wednesday, but we rescheduled that for two weeks. So, now we just wait and see and hope the wind isn't too bad, hope we don't lose power or have much damage. Have a nice Sunday y'all.
Keep safe Diane!
6dogmom- You have a greenhouse. My bucket list includes building a small one this year, something like 10 x 16. Do you heat with propane, natural gas, or kerosene? How many months a year do you us the greenhouse? Any attempt to cool it in the summer? Just vent fans? Or? My thought is to use one from mid-February into June, no cooling, but maybe a circulation fan.
The storm is here and it's really strange.We've had several inches of snow, but about 7AM it changed to ice and has coated everything.Trees and wires are starting to fall and some have lost power. So far we're fine. Al went out already to do a first go with the big snow blower. It's soppy wet stuff that is supposed to change back to all snow later this morning for several more inches of just snow.We'll see what actually happens. I made big pan of oatmeal so he can warm up his tummy when he come back in.
Wake-up, my greenhouse is teeny tiny, just built onto the south side of my little barn in the front yard. My sweet man built it for me a few years back. But i do enjoy it, it a little puttering I do just like the chickens.
So Diane, how much snow did you end up getting all together?
We were lucky right here....Had about 4 inches of snow with about 2 inches of sleet and ice. Just north of here had twice that. We never lost power, but much of our area did and several friends lost big yard trees. We had at least 30 calls for trees and wires down and into houses. It was a mess but could have been worse and was north of here.
I see western Kansas has had some late snow. We have finally had enough nice weather to get the spring yard clean up under way. We're hoping to go to our favorite Amish green house on Thursday to pick up a lot of plants.
Too much sadness here. Recently lost a cousin in Orange Texas to complications from a car accident and have lost several friends to cancer. I'm sure most of you saw we lost a young state trooper. Shot to death at a near by Wawa store. Awful.
Hope you are all well and enjoying life...but not tornadoes.
I hope you all didn't have any tornados nearby.
We finally got so some warm weather...a three day heat wave in the 90's, and then perfect today. Last week we had driven up to Lancaster Co. Pa. (Amish country) and got most of our veggies and flowers and today we planted the toms and peppers. Tomorrow will be the beans and cukes and most of the herbs and flowers. Tomorrow is also Newark's Memorial Day parade, the biggest in Delaware.
I found some fresh soft shell crabs and sauteed them for a great summer meal with sweet corn and potato salad. A lot of my friends children are graduating from high school this year. Makes me feel old! HA! Hope all my friends out there are doing great.
Hello all. It looks like summer is here to stay. We even had a small tornado do some damage to a farm downstate. My veggies are looking good and have s few green toms already. I'm so sorry about Bob. Bonnie is such a nice person. Any news to share?
I'm still around, but have been abandoned I guess. We had the worst garden ever, with too much rain and not enough sun. Toms were just OK, but peppers, beans and cukes were awful. Very poor pollination. Like most, I've been following family in Texas and friends in Florida.One is a nurse, lives and works in Key West. Lots of damage. She rode it out at the hospital where she works. Happy birthday to anyone I missed .Computer has been acting up badly and just won't connect part of the time....grrr! Hope is well with you all.
Hi to all. Everyone is excited here getting ready to watch the Superbowl. I have some friends who actually spent the money to buy tickets and go. I'm too tight to spend money that way! HA! Hope all of you are well and avoiding the flu. We have a lot of it here and unfortunately some have been very very sick. Hope you all watch and enjoy the game....Go Eagles!
Hi Diane! Hope you guys are well as I am. Getting tired of hibernation, trying to stay away from the flu bug. Lawrence is not doing too well. he had yet another stroke just before Thanksgiving, and now we think he will be diagnosed with leukemia. he has an enlarged spleen, and many too many leukocytes in his blood with not enough red cells. I am very worried. He is in Oklahoma, and I have not seen him since Christmas, but plan to go down again soon. Got snow here today, praying the roads are clear before Tuesday, as I have a Dr appt in Bartlesville. Such is the life of getting older I guess. keep well friend. i think of you often.
I'm sorry for all your troubles and worries.That's a darned shame.The Eagles won, so we are celebrating the birds bringing home the trophy at last. I'm glad the bug hasn't found you! I just ordered some seeds to start early. I'm gonna have some spring one way or another. Ha! We've had some snow, but mostly rain. We think of you often too. I miss my Kansas friends.
Miss you too Diane. Happy to see you posting again.
We really enjoyed watching the big Eagles parade in Philly yesterday. Everyone was so happy and upbeat.We needed that. Of course the big stock market drop was scary.I t didn't hit us too bad, but bears watching.Our bond funds helped buffer the stock drop.We've been cold and sunny and have more precip. coming, but expect it to be rain instead of snow. Have a nice day all.
That market correction was more than just a little scary. Hope your investments didn't suffer!!!!!!!!!
So far we have survived two big Nor'easters with no loss of power and not too much tree damage. I did lose a big chunk of my old Rhododendron under my living room window, but I think with some pruning it will be OK. Some of my friends lost 30ft.evergreens that were brought down by the heavy wet snow and the high winds. Now we many have another storm on the way for the weekend. We're not sure just where it will go. Will the winter ever leave? Hope you are all well and ready for real spring weather.
Hope your weather straightens out soon. Stay safe!
Thanks. We hope this will be the last,but who knows.Perhaps it will be just rain for us.
The storm didn't amount out anything for us. YAY! It's still awfully cold though and we still have some snow on the ground. Hello to all.
So here we are again, in the middle of our fourth Nor'easter this Month.This one is dropping lots of snow ,but the expected winds have not arrived yet. It's beautiful, but once again people are losing wires and trees. Lots of accidents too. We still have power, but many don't. I'm ready to hurt that ground hog!
Finally, we had a warmish day yesterday.I got out and cleared our back deck of all the sticks, of which there were many. Next, I can start on the front yard....loaded too. We head up the road with flowers for the cemetery later today. Sunday is Easter of course, but it also would have been Mom's birthday. Enjoy good Friday all, and have a happy Easter too.
Hi all. I'm sending my new e-mail. It's now dasilverman@yahoo.com. I hope everyone is well. We are still hoping for some warm weather that will say put. We've had just a very few nice days.
We had a horrible shock last Monday evening. A darling young woman and neighbor ( age 33) was shot and killed by the jealous wife of a co worker. We are still just devastated.The shooter then shot herself.
I hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day. It rained here. It looks like we finally have warmer temps.to stay, but too much rain and very little sun. It looks like my thirty year old Magnolia in the back yard gave up and will have to come down. It's a shame because it shades the deck from the hot summer sun and is a big hang out for our birds. I don't know what happened. It was all budded and then the main branches suddenly died. A few skimpy branches are still alive, but not many. Hope you all have your gardens in and are enjoying the weather, but have no bad storms rumbling your way.
I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and paused to remembered why we have it. It will be 50 years on July 15 since we lost our dear friend Dave Arnold in Viet Nam. When we visit his grave, I still have tears wondering what his life would have been like had he lived. His family are all gone now so he doesn't get many visitors any more. We made sure he would get a flag.That's a long story. Enjoy the summer and better weather.
Is there anyone left who has something to say besides ranting and grumbling about politics ad nauseum? Shouldn't I bother any more?
Diane, of course you should. I mean what else is there to do but look to see what everyone is ranting and grumbling about. It is one of the highlights of my day. But, and this is a big but, sometimes someone does enlighten us with something worth reading. If nothing else you can check what Karen puts on the obits page. You with your East Coast Happenings and me with my Observations tell others what is going on in our lives and share our experiences. I realize that those two categories have nothing to do with Elk County but there might be somebody in Elk County who likes to see what it is like elsewhere. So keep checking. I do.
Larryj
Diane, Please continue...I ignore the politics etc and slamming but do enjoy reading about what is going on in your life. I do check the obits. I use to enjoy what Teresa had to say but she has wandered too!
Thanks to you both! I'll stick with it after all. I was about to give up.
Right now we're having a very hot spell. After having such a cold wet spring, I wasn't sure real summer weather would ever get here. Some of my garden has failed, but some is doing great. I lost two pepper plants and two toms.That has never happened before. I still have plenty, but I'm really puzzled as to why they just up and died. I finally did get my green beans in. I'm glad I waited. The soil had been too cold and wet. Several of my friends have now put their beans in for the third time.The first two times they just rotted in the ground.
We have a tree company coming next Monday to take down my big old Magnolia that suddenly died, take down a big, now over grown, Pussy Willow and do some pruning and shaping on a big Maple. Hope everyone is well and having good times. We're off to Bingo at the fire house tonight. I'm still selling games, but it can sometimes be a pain with pushy, grumpy players, HA!
Don't ever give up and quit, Diane. You are a breath of fresh air. :-)
I may not agree with you Diane, however I do check the obits daily...I always go by the thumb of rule: "If you start to feel the heat you will get burnt if you jump right in" (well I made that up), but I think it comes to all subjects that are biased/twisted truths or just flat out inflammatory.
And that goes for tomatoes!!!!!!! ;D
.
ready...to eat my words
That did not come out right.
Where you live is exciting for me, as I have never been east of Tennessee. Keep writing.
I read Observations and the Obits to let others know that might not be aware.
Keep writing.
ready...to quit while ahead
As far as I know, I have never grown inflammatory tomatoes....HA!
You've never had a 'rash' of red ones???? lol
ready
HA! That was a good one. Thanks!
I spent yesterday afternoon picking up sticks in the yard and pruning the ground runners on my forsythia. I'm really sore and stiff today. The humidity is still high, but the temperature has cooled down some, so it's not bad at all. My deck pots are ready to start using.There is parsley, cilantro, dill, basil and lettuce. I've got a few nice green toms, but nothing red and ready to eat yet. I usually plant a Juliet in a pot to have some nice grape toms to snatch as I walk by.The summer festivals are starting in this area. Pick a culture and they have a big party. Greek, Italian, Chinese and more have lots of entertainment and great food.... and food truck festivals too. Also, the summer Sunday Farmers Market has started up again in our local Newark Shopping Center Parking lot. Great fun. Have a fun day everyone.
So, Florence finished up dousing us with heavy rain, which we didn't need, and then finally moved on out.Those poor folks in the south will have to deal with the rising floods for sometime to come.Still no electricity in Wilmington (NC.) My girlfriend got back home, but what a mess she will have to deal with. I just can't imagine all the rotting food, downed trees, tons of debris,snakes all over the place, stranded pets and farm animals and on and on.Boy,am I spoiled.I don't know when our fire crews,both male and female, will finally be released to come home, or even how they will get back here; so many areas have been cut off. I hope you all are in good health and enjoying late garden produce and cooler weather. I'm ready for some cooler days and less humidity.
It looks like our cooler weather will be here tonight. Tomorrow only in the 70"s.
We just cooled off too. Just in time for the first official day of fall. It's raining here...again...and only about 65.M y girlfriend in Wilmington NC just got her electricity back on. She's so happy. Now to get someone to get rid of the three big trees that came down in her yard. What a mess they have been having.
and so it is raining here...again.This time it's Michael's rain bands arriving here as it swings east. No wind to speak of, but we just don't need any more rain. My yard has been ruined and the plants are drowning.
The Florida panhandle sure got hit hard didn't it? So sad.
I just cleared out the last of my veggies for the season...made a big kettle of tom sauce to finish off the tomatoes and peppers. I surely will miss the fresh tomatoes. We will really chill down here once this weather clears. Highs in the 50s and 40s at night. It looks like we might be headed for going from the air conditioner to the furnace with no break in between. Yuk. Have a nice day all.
Good morning, Diane, I have been watching with interest about this storm. I was thinking of you and hoping and praying that you would be okay. Thanks for posting so we can know how you are doing. Too bad about your vegie garden. We never really got around to putting on in this year so I miss the fresh tomatoes also.
Take care.
Larryj
We are going to be having really chilly weather coming down from Canada .It came blowing in a heckin' after Thursday night's storm rain finally cleared. Thank goodness we have a sump pump in our basement. The ground is so saturated it can't take much more. We brought in our house plants yesterday because they don't like 40s at night for long stretches. We have a grow light over a table in the basement where they will spend the winter. We managed to wrestle our huge Night Blooming Ceres to its winter home in front of our south facing living room triple window. It did love all the rain and had beautiful white flowers, as many as 7 at a time, scenting the whole yard several times during the summer. It's gotten so big that someday it will be too big for us to get through the living room door and then I don't know what we'll do.
We still have lots of animal visitors each night checking the back yard and deck for whatever they can scrounge. There are foxes,deer a skunk, raccoons, a possum and who know what else. Not surprising I guess, because even though we live in town, there is a large woods across the street from us. Have a great day.
Oh, and a warning for all...Do not accept any messages from Hormel, it might be Spam! (Yuk,yuk)
We had 22 kids for Halloween on a beautiful cool fall evening yesterday. They had so much fun . On another note, the politics is upsetting me so much I can hardly stand it.The lies and partial truths, threats and misuse of government is really starting to make me actually feel sick. Sure, entry level jobs are a dime a dozen, but who can actually live a descent life on what they make at the local fast food joint. It wasn't meant to be that way. When they start cutting social security, that some seniors desperately need ,that will affect people of all parties, not just those"evil" Dems. Tariffs are just one more tax WE have to pay and the drug companies are out of control.I've been, as always,watching all the news channels and it's just amazing what is being said.Now people re going to start killing in Trump's name.Is a true Civil War next?Sending our own armed military to the border to"help.''Just what are they going to be doing? And from where? Tanks? Shooting people from planes? So where is that promised wall? Shall we tear down the Statue of Liberty and cast it into bullets to kill "the enemy" with? and who decides who the enemy is this week? When will it be you....or me? Why not just cancel the entire Constitution and all the amendments and have a "The biggest, meanest best armed bully wins" form of government. It just makes me, a staunch Independent, sick! As always, I'll vote next week for my usual mixed bag of politicians, but I won't enjoy it one little bit.
So you've had some snow flurries? We've got rain for today and tonight with a drastic drop in temperature...might even have killing frost. Some of the leaves here have been beautiful, but many trees didn't color up well at all this year. Al has got the first batch at the curb for pickup and others covering the flower beds, as well as some saved for mulch for next year. He'll have to rake one or two more time before he's done.I have fire company meeting tonight and will be asking for help for our fire prevention awards night next Thursday. We will have our 30 winners from grades K-6,( and their families,) come to receive their awards, have photos taken, have refreshments and tour the engine bays.
The Aetna Kids' Christmas party gets worked on next.
We have sold the station that has our big hall, so this will be the next to last kid's party there. After 2019, I'm not sure if, or where, we will build another fire house, or if we do, whether it will even have a big hall. It is all very uncertain at this point. Next year will be our 25th Children's Christmas party, so we will go out with a big one.
Have a wonderful day.
Winter came roaring in here on Thursday. In spite of being told it would be no big deal, we got 4.5 inches here in north Newark.It was really wet, sloppy, slippery stuff. The snow plows were caught off guard and had to beat feet fast to get up and running.The were many accidents with people sliding into each other.By 7PM it had changed to rain, but it was really awful.We had our fire prevention awards scheduled at the fire house, but people were brave, came out, and had a wonderful time.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. We are so cold here.Nobody is used to this yet.Have a wonderful day.
And the same to you. There is a song that says "it never rains in California". However, it did rain during the night last night. Not much but dangerous to those who are in the burn areas from the fires. So we are moving from fire season to mudslide season.
Larryj
I hope you had a nice family get together Thursday. We did the usual "feed the finest"meal at the firehouse for EMTs,police officers, firefighters or other first responders who were on duty during the day. Some had lunch with us, family dinners on Friday and more dinner with other family members today. That's a lot of eating!HA!
Our oldest granddaughter is on a travel softball team. She was scheduled to play in a tournament in Las Vegas the weekend after Thanksgiving. So my daughter and her family went to her in-laws on Thursday and then went to Las Vegas on Friday. Because of this our family actually had a Thanksgiving the weekend before. Everything was wonderful with the family all together. The food was great. Just had it on another day.
Larryj
Al did survive his 72nd birthday on the 25th.Wasn't too happy about it, but watcha gonna do? We went to a great seafood place for lunch and had really nice " almost" local oysters from lower Maryland.His bladder cancer is still stable, so we're hoping for the best on that front. Between the late effects of polio and the cancer, he's OK, but his stamina has dropped a lot.He stays busy, but has to rest often to keep going. He tries to take a nap every afternoon when he can and that does help.
Larry, I'd send you some snow,but I doubt you even have a snow shovel...and you can keep your fires,mud slides and earthquakes. How about Anchorage? Enjoy that busy pup!
Merry Christmas to all.The Fire Company Christmas banquet went very well. Al received his 50 year membership pin and a nice plaque.The company president read a really special report listing many of the things Al has done, both as a firefighter and now of his many administrative duties. He received a standing ovation from all in attendance.
I was so proud of him, and his father, Doc Silverman, also a firefighter for many years, would have been too. Al has faced so many challenges. From having had Polio as a child, and now bladder cancer, it's amazing what he has accomplished.
Merry Christmas to all, even if there are very few left that will read this.
Congratulations to Al both on his birthday and for his service. What an honor for 50 years!
and no I don't have a snow shovel. I left it in the mountains of Wyoming many years ago. Where I lived there was at least two feet of snow on the ground from September until June.
and on to stranger things. This puppy now seven months old is weird. There is a commercial in which there is a guy strumming a guitar and singing the word "no". This is because there is a couple trying to watch something on TV and they are not happy because there is nothing on that they haven't seen or that they don't like. This is for a service that provides TV, internet and phone. What does this have to do with the puppy? In the morning when I am laying in bed drinking my coffee and watching TV he likes to lay between my legs and sleep or just lay there. Every time that commercial comes on he perks up and stares at the TV. If he is laying on the floor chewing on a toy and that commercial comes on he stops and stares at the TV. My son and I have come to the conclusion that because he hears the word "no" around the house from my wife and I that he is trying to figure out who is saying "no" to him. Is this a once in a while thing maybe only happening a few times? No because that commercial is on many times during the day and if he is in the room he will stop and stare at the TV.
I have decided that I am going to record it and play it for him. A lot. Just to bug him. How fun!
Larryj
Merry Christmas Larry, to you and your entire family, including that entertaining pup.
Merry Christmas to you and Al. We will going to my daughters later and the whole crowd will be there. As far as the entertaining pup he has decided to bark at the TV on occasion. Even if it on pause and nothing is moving on the TV he will just sit there and bark. Now he has decided that he doesn't like the screensaver on the computer and will bark at that and it doesn't move either. Weird.
Larryj
A belated Happy New Year to you and yours.I'm trying to Deal with family health issues as best I can. As they say, getting older isn't for sissies. Sadly, one of the best friends of my sister just lost her youngest son to a gun suicide. So terribly sad.
I'm still very concerned about our government mess. I can't figure out what Trump is trying to do. Anyway, I hope you are well and not dealing with mudslides or other weather related issues.Play with that pup for me!
I'm sitting here watching the rain/freezing rain and glad we aren't getting the huge amounts of snow that this storm is bringing to some areas.
It's been fun looking at the animal prints all over the yard since the last snow. So far there are cat, possum, racoon, lots of deer, birds of course, and what might be fox and skunk.We've had groups of robins coming out of the big woods across from us. I've seen them up in the holly tree pulling off the berries.
Have a good day in spite of the weather.
It's nice to be back. We're finally getting more of a peek at spring here. Daffodils are popping buds everywhere and the birds are starting to sing at first light and I've seen some pairing off.
A new proposed hotel finally got past Newark City Council last night, so we'll be getting a big new building on Main Street. Some residents are in favor of it and many were against, but within our codes it was all done properly. I think it will be a nice new addition to downtown. In the meantime we have a major reconstruction of Main St. starting April first and lasting almost two years. It will really make getting around a mess, but it badly needs to be done. They will be replacing very old crumbling sewer and water pipes, improving storm water handling and generally fixing it up underneath and adding some cute little bump outs with benches and bike parking on both sides. DELDOT should have gotten to this several years ago, but it's finally going to happen. Also there is going to be a major rebuild of one of our shopping centers and a new nursing home/assisted living approved to be built not too far from me.
There is a big building boom going on here, especially near UD. They want to expand their number of students, but don't want to build more dorms to house them. So, of course, the local builders are buying up old rather dilapidated houses, tearing them down and are putting up more high density housing aimed at the student population. Many of the locals here are not happy about it. But...UD is a major employer here, so there's that to consider too. UD also bought the old closed Chrysler plant in south Newark and are building a new big technology center (The Star Campus) that will be amazing in a few years when it's finished. Have a nice day all.
It has been confirmed.We did have an F1 tornado go tearing across lower Delaware about 3:45 this morning. Just a baby compared to what you all get, but it did cause a least one injury and did destroy some buildings and downed a lot of trees and tore down a lot of wires. Pretty scary stuff. Welcome to spring!
It turns out there were two of them...an F2 and a smaller F1 in a different community in lower Delaware.Many trees were down and some are just getting electricity back on.I just can't imagine dealing with the aftermath of one of your big ones. Have a Happy Easter everyone. It's a beautiful day here. We are having lamb for dinner after finishing some yard work.
More storms went rumbling through yesterday, but we had already finished restaining the deck and all the old redwood furniture, so it didn't matter to us. Some folks lost trees in straight line winds and we were on a tornado watch for awhile .
I got all my pansies and petunias...now to get them in their pots and hanging baskets. I've got my tomatoes and peppers too, but it's going to get down to 39 here tomorrow night, so I think I'll just wait a bit longer. My "nose " garden smells wonderful right now.The lilacs, wisteria and Carolina sweet shrub are so nice. The earliest bulbs are finished but the later ones still look good.
The wrens have returned and we saw our catbird this morning. He came over and licked some sugar water from the hummer feeder. No hummers yet. They are late this year.
I hope you are all well and enjoying spring.
I hope all you moms out there had a nice Mother's Day. We had rain...again.We got the garden planted but I think it drowned. I hear Judy Harder is having a bad time of it. Facebook messed me up and I've had to start a new account.They did apologize, but I'm still trying to recover my friends.When I ask they assume I've been hacked and some won't friend me again. Please ask for me back... I miss you!
We've been watching your weather out there. I sure hope everyone is OK. Yikes. We may get the dregs of it tomorrow night but hopefully it will go north of us.Thinking of you all.
More out there yet again. I feel so bad for everyone affected by the tornados and straight line wind storms. Please stay safe all.
I guess I've been dumped. All my posts since May have vanished. I give up. I'll miss you all .
I'd like to believe the Cascity folks would not censor this 'forum'. Especially when the conversation is in the neighborhood of wrens and catbirds. But, your comment worries me.
Come, toss your $0.02 in on politics. I guarantee at least one reply. It might be fun.
Merry Christmas to anyone still left. The east coast is still here and Al and I are still alive. I guess I've been shunned, so I'll go back to facebook. Such a shame. I always enjoyed the good conversations here, but never cared for the bullies. I doubt I'll ever visit Kansas again. Have a good 2020.
I don't know that you've been shunned; I think there's no conversation any more. The obits catch most of the visitors. I hope you had a very Merry Christmas. We did. The weather's been wonderful the last couple of days - highs 60+.
I don't know that anybody stunned you except the bullies that have left the forum. Just nobody is posting any longer.
Hope you had a Merry Christmas, the weather has been great here.
Hi. It's nice to hear from you both. We did have a nice Christmas and it's very unseasonaly warm here too. 60 tomorrow with rain coming in tomorrow night. Maybe we all ran out of things to say? I'd love to see the good part of the forum active again. It was a lot of fun. Perhaps there is hope after all. Have a wonderful day.