Ann

Yes...Sweet Sixteen !!!

I'm so very, very sorry.

Today, Debi and Alan are celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary. I just wanted to "yell out" and wish them a very happy day! They are planning a nice, romantic weekend away to celebrate this special time in their loves!!! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY !!!!

I'm so very sorry.

Have you ever served on a jury? When was the last time you have been called for jury duty? Were you chosen? How long did the trial last?

That is the sweetest thing I have ever seen. Made me teary eyed right along with Randy!!!

I copied this from another MB to share with you. As some of you know, I was raised in the beautiful hills of East Tennessee and I can remember my grandparents (and parents) doing many of these things. I helped my mom do the laundry on a wringer washing machine until I was about 12 years old. Then, we finally got an "automatic washer." It's a wonder there aren't millions of people with only one arm, due to encounters with wringer machines...lol! What are some of the things you remember parents or grandparents doing that was environmentally friendly, that could or should still be done. Grammie used an old bowl to wash dishes in, this was taken out and thrown on plants in the garden, or across the lawn (she had a system, Monday tomatoes etc. She had a few old "butter" dishes, to carry food in to a picnic or something, but mostly had wonderful glass bowls. (no worries about clogging up anything, nor getting chemicals leached into the food! Papa would take the sawdust from the workshop (he made lots of great toys and boats) and put it in the strawberry plot, or in the vegetable garden. At various points in time peelings from vegetables were put in the "compost pile" as we now call it, or taken to a relative to feed the pigs. Old clothing was used as pieces for quilt blocks or rags (depending on what it was, and how it was stained) She had a wringer washer, you filled it with hot water, and on the back side was a huge tub of water for rinsing. after washing, clothes went through the wringer into the rinse water, after she agitated and rinsed it, the wringer worked in reverse, so you fed the clothes back through the wringer, (and made sure to catch them), the undies and whites got washed 1st, then the light colors, then the darks, any thing with greasy stains got washed last, all in the same water, just progressing up the chain of "dirty". These were taken out to the clothesline to dry. When I was in my teens she finally got a dryer to use in the winter. so what are your memories? I have lots more, but these are just a few. And one more, in the heat of the summer, when there was danger of the wells going dry, if you just tinkled the toilet was flushed every other person, if you did more, it was ok to flush.

I know a lot of us can relate to these!! Memories! Our Childhood in Black and White. I think you'll enjoy it. Whomever wrote this, described childhood to a T. Black and White (Under age 40? You won't understand.) You could hardly see for all the snow, Spread the rabbit ears as far as they go. Pull a chair up to the TV set, 'Good Night, David. Good Night, Chet.' My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo on the same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't seem to get food poisoning. My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter AND I used to eat it raw sometimes, too. Our school sandwiches were wrapped in wax paper in a brown paper bag, not in ice-pack coolers, but I can't remember getting E-coli. Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake instead of a pristine pool (talk about boring), no beach closures then. The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a pager was the school PA system. We all took gym, not PE .. and risked permanent injury with a pair of high top Ked's (only worn in gym) instead of having cross-training athletic shoes with air cushion soles and built in light reflectors. I can't recall any injuries but they must have happened because they tell us how much safer we are now. Flunking gym was not an option...even for stupid kids! I guess PE must be much harder than gym. Speaking of school, we all said prayers and sang the national anthem, and staying in detention after school caught all sorts of negative attention. We must have had horribly damaged psyches. What an archaic health system we had then. Remember school nurses? Ours wore a hat and everything. I thought that I was supposed to accomplish something before I was allowed to be proud of myself. I just can't recall how bored we were without computers, Play Station, Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital TV cable stations. Oh yeah ... and where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit when I got that bee sting? I could have been killed! We played 'king of the hill' on piles of gravel left on vacant construction sites, and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the 48-cent bottle of Mercurochrome (kids liked it better because it didn't sting like iodine did) and then we got our butt spanked. Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a 10-day dose of a $49 bottle of antibiotics, and then Mom calls the attorney to sue the contractor for leaving a horribly vicious pile of gravel where it was such a threat. We didn't act up at the neighbor's house either because if we did, we got our butt spanked there and then we got butt spanked again when we got home. I recall Donny Reynolds from next door coming over and doing his tricks on the front stoop, just before he fell off. Little did his Mom know that she could have owned our house. Instead, she picked him up and swatted him for being such a goof. It was a neighborhood run amuck. To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told that they were from a dysfunctional family. How could we possibly have known that? We needed to get into group therapy and anger management classes? We were obviously so duped by so many social ills that we didn't even notice that the entire country wasn't taking Prozac! How did we ever survive? LOVE TO ALL OF US WHO SHARED THIS ERA, AND TO ALL WHO DIDN'T; SORRY FOR WHAT YOU MISSED. I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR ANYTHING.

Today, I gave in and went to the doctor about this allergic reaction I've been having for a couple of days. My family doctor remembered I was unemployed and uninsured and waived the office fee for my visit. In addition, he gave me a couple of months worth of samples of the meds I take regularly. So very nice of him...made me cry!!!

What a powerful message...and so very true. Just want to thank you for posting this. I have saved this to my favorites and plan on printing this out where I can always see it and remember these words!!!

I'm grateful to have so many people in my life that truly care about me. Often, we feel as if no one cares and then, out of the blue, people show they care. I had a doctors appointment today and he remembered I was out of work now. He didn't charge for the office visit and he gave me weeks worth of samples in lieu of prescriptions!!! Then, I walked into my hairdressers shop to make an appointment for a cut tommorrow. I hadn't been there since December and she's only done my hair twice before. She's from Guatemala and is very religious and has such strong faith. She said that yesterday, for no reason, I popped into her mind and she said a prayer for me. Her church is having fasting on Sunday and having a day of prayer. She had me on her list already! God does work in mysterious ways!!! I also asked her to add all of you on her prayer list, so expect some mighty good things to be happening!!!

What is the one nicest thing anyone has done for you this week?

Seems I used to be allergic to so many things but that just stopped. As a child, I was VERY allergic to cats and feathers but...I loved cats and although my mother would never allow them inside, I always managed to have outside cats. I think I just became immune to them and now, I own four. I also have a feather pillow and a parrot. Every spring, I used to go nuts when things would begin to bloom but now, all that bothers me is oak. We have lots of oak trees here in Florida and I even have one in my back yard. Maybe once a year, I'll get itchy eyes for a few days. Now, I seem to have developed an allergy to something, I just can't figure out what it is. I still am using the same laundry detergent but I think it may have something to do with all these new formulas that are 2X stronger. Think that would make a difference??? I just started having this burning/redness in the neck areas of my tee shirts and this is all I can think of that is different.

What are you allergic to and what type of reaction do you have from the allergy?

I'm so very sorry for the loss of both your parents, Robbi. Please know that there are so many people here that truly care.

Yes, Jackie...I needed that reminder about the perils of anxiety. I'm so very grateful that we're getting some very much needed rain today.

I agree with you, Ginny. I was completely bored stiff with Marissa's dance. I like her and admire her enthusiasm but she just didn't cut it last night! Never thought I would say that Adam danced fairly well. I think Julianne has made several fans (me included) and maybe her popularity will pull her through. BTW...Idol should be interesting tonight. I assume the genre is going to be country, since Dolly Parton is going to be the guest. I just can't wait to see some of these guys pull off a country song. I actually can see Michael Johns being able to do it but I'm a bit concerned about David Cook. PS.... I just saw that Chekeezie is going to be on Ellen tommorrow afternoon. I really did like him and felt so bad when he left but it looks as if things are looking up for him.

Several years ago, I worked for a home builder that always liked to live life "on the edge"...especially when it came to paying taxes every year. So, when he came into the office on that April 1st morning, I told him that IRS had called to say they had found some discrepencies on his business tax returns and they needed to schedule an appointment for an audit. I even had a list of things he needed to bring with him. Well, apparently I was convincing with my prank, as I thought the poor guy was going to fall over. That joke really backfired on me because I thought I was going to have to call 911 for him. As soon as I saw he was upset, I tried to tell him it was a joke but he was so worked up that he wouldn't listen. Fortunately, he had a good sense of humor and I still had a job at the end of the day. For a long time, he told people that story and was able to laugh!

Who watched Dancing With the Stars last night? Any predictions on who will be leaving tonight?

In honor of April Fools Day, please tell us the best prank or practical joke you have ever played on anyone. You know us...we want to hear all the details, so share you're best! Maybe we'll even vote on which one we think is the most original!

I love crafting in general. I look at something and think, wow, I can make that. Usually, I'm wrong so there are always supplies sitting around that don't get used. I have been on a mission to clean my craft room but seem to have such a hard time getting rid of anything to do with crafting. I tell you, it's an addiction!!!

(((((((Randy))))))) Although they sometimes make us cry, don't you just live those little "visits" that we get?

That is so beautiful, Teri. Just the thing I needed to read this morning. Thanks so much for sharing with us!!!

Do you have a hobby? If so, please tell us about it. Do you sew, knit, paint, do carpentry work, scrapbook?

14. the phone rang