Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
What are U doing today?
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What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread)
Nina wrote: "Joy, I think tonight is the last of the episodes of Downton Abby. Out TV station says it will have a marathon of Season 6 next Sunday. Off to watch it now.."Nina, next Sunday, Feb. 28, is the date of the Academy Awards show. I'll be watching THAT! :)
Nina wrote: "Werner, your review of the Nora Loffts book made me run right out and get it but I will just call the library and drive there when it comes in, instead."That does sound like a better plan, Nina! :-)
Joy, In case you missed hearing this, the finale of the Downton Abby is on March 6th.
Dick VanDyke on Disneyland 60th Special https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQLIh...
He doesn't show up until about halfway through, but it's only a 2 minute clip. What a guy!
Thank you Nina and Jim.Nina, please remind me again on that date. :)
Jim, another video follows that one. A comment below it says: "At 90 years old, Dick Van Dyke isn’t slowing down anytime soon. In 2012, at the age of 86, he became a newlywed when he married his wife Arlene—who happens to be 46 years his junior."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTSGf...
In the video you can see how old he is from the wrinkles around his neck and his face, which looks a bit old too, but still much younger than 90. He must have had work done on it. But he's still dancing and moves like a young person!
I finished my puzzle stool. It's at the bottom of my woodworking album on FB. Kind of a fun project, all off the cuff. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...
Jim wrote: "I finished my puzzle stool. It's at the bottom of my woodworking album on FB. Kind of a fun project, all off the cuff. https://www.facebook.com/jim.maclachl... "
I like it!
It's perfect. Thoughtful gift(literally)
Thanks. It didn't take nearly as much thought as the 3D puzzle cube in the previous pictures. They can be a real mind bender to make without orphaning portions.
I missed the first half of last night's last episode of Downton Abbey.Can anyone tell me why (view spoiler)
Joy, Carson has the same disease as his father and grandfather. It is not Parkinson's but acts the same. I have forgotten the name he gave it. If you remember the episode before this one he had trouble pouring wine for Lord Grantham and spilled it. This happened more than once as his hands trembled. In this last episode he was to pour at the dining room table and he stood there and told Andrew to pour. This was observed and also in the meantime Barrow is trying at the new place but the owners; very old man and lady are very aburt and not pleasing. Did you miss the others before he left coming downstairs to wish him well. The little Master George hugged him and said, "Don't leave us." He told him he'd not be far away. Then the man who is trying to teach the students and I forgot his name was told he could have someone's permanent position and his cottage as he was going elsewhere. This left Carson with only Andrew to help him so after the wedding and the family returned they went to talk to Carson and Barrow was allowed to come for the reception and was also standing downstairs so Lord G. asked Barrow if he would be willing to come back as head butler and Carson could be like the emiritis butler just offside but still with the "family." Did you see the wedding" I hope you didn't miss that part. Did you see what Tom and Mary's husband are up to?
Nina wrote: "Joy, Carson has the same disease as his father and grandfather. It is not Parkinson's but acts the same. I have forgotten the name he gave it. If you remember the episode before this one he had tro..."SPOILER'S AHEAD:
Thanks, Nina, for the excellent explanation. I had seen Carson having trouble pouring wine but I didn't know why. Now I understand how the plot developed from there.
Yes, I did see the wedding. No bridesmaids. lol
I'm not sure about what Tom and Mary's husbands are up to. Is it the auto business? Yes, I think that's it. It's a good solution for everyone involved.
New Year's Eve was a good way to end the series with everyone kissing and happily celebrating.
They are in the vintage car sales and when Mary's husband asked if she would be upset to be married to a used car salesman she pooed pooed him and said she thought it was wonderful, Did you see the part about Mrs Craley going to get he man friend away from his family that were keeping him prisoner? Also, Did you see the part about the servant thinking he would get in trouble with the Dowager because the onery lady maid spilled the beans about him being a cartoonist? And did you see that the Lord went to hear Cora's speech for the hospital? Rose took him. And it turned out well as he was so proud of her. It all was a good ending and yes, New Years' was just the right ending. An aside, did you notice how much weight Tom had gained from when he left the show in episode five then returned later?
Nina wrote: "... Did you see the part about Mrs Craley going to get he man friend away from his family that were keeping him prisoner? ? ...."Nina, I think I missed that part, but I think I saw all the rest.
PS-Yes, now that you mention it, Tom did look heavier.
You couldn't have missed that scene, Joy. Mrs. Crawley & the Dowager went in & snatched Lord Merton out of the claws of Amelia, his daughter-in-law. It was perfect! "keep the place. You deserve it." was pretty much what he said on the way out knowing how much it would cost them.I loved the Dowager's reaction to Denker ratting out Spratt. She sure put them both in their proper places. Maggie Smith did a great job.
I knew you'd both love the finale. It really did wrap things up pretty close to perfectly. The Washington Post has a good summary of it if you need to refresh yourselves on names. (I did.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/a...
Jim wrote: "You couldn't have missed that scene, Joy. Mrs. Crawley & the Dowager went in & snatched Lord Merton out of the claws of Amelia, his daughter-in-law. It was perfect! "keep the place. You deserve it...."Jim, I know I missed the first half of the show. I tuned in late.
Thanks for the link. It'll come in handy.
Thanks Jim for posting Downton A. last episode. I did watch it but missed somethng and won't reveal it here yet. Did you know there might be a movie?
Nina wrote: "Thanks Jim for posting Downton A. last episode. I did watch it but missed somethng and won't reveal it here yet. Did you know there might be a movie?"Nina, you can reveal it to me. LOL
Not sure I could sit through all that again if it were a movie. Sometimes it dragged. Besides who could replace an actor like the fellow who played Carson? The actor was Jim Carter: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0141697/?r...
Wow, he was quite an actor. Is anyone else bothered that they don't even mention that Ronald Regan was married before to Jany Wyman and that they had a daughter. I can't remember if there were other children. He was married to Jane when he met Nancy by starring in a move with her. Jane Wyman was from Kansas City.
Nina wrote: "... Is anyone else bothered that they don't even mention that Ronald Regan was married before to Jany Wyman and that they had a daughter. I can't remember if there were other children. He was married to Jane when he met Nancy by starring in a move with her. ..."Nina, I always think of Jane Wyman when I think of Nancy and Ronald Reagan. I often wonder what Jane Wyman thought about her ex-husband becoming president. At times it must have seemed surreal.
Wiki gives the following dates for Ronald Reagan's marriages:
Jane Wyman (m. 1940–49)
Nancy Davis (m. 1952–2004) [Nancy was about 10 years younger than Ronald.]
So there were several years between the 2 marriages.
Wiki says that Ronald Reagan had 5 children: including Maureen, Michael, Patricia, and Ronald. [A daughter named Christine (born to Jane & Ronald) lived only one day.]
It says that Jane Wyman had the following children: Maureen Reagan, Christine Reagan, and Michael Reagan (adopted).
Wiki also says, about Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan: "Together they had two biological children, Maureen (1941–2001) and Christine (who was born in 1947 but only lived one day), and adopted a third, Michael, (born 1945)." [Michael is the only one living now.]
Wiki says that Nancy had 2 children, Patti and Ron. She had only one spouse, Ronald Reagan (1952–2004). So Patricia and Ronald were Nancy and Ronald's children.
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Wiki says:
"After arguments about Reagan's political ambitions, Wyman filed for divorce in 1948, citing a distraction due to her husband's Screen Actors Guild union duties; the divorce was finalized in 1949. He is the only US president to have been divorced."
"Reagan and Wyman continued to be friends until his death, with Wyman voting for Reagan in both of his runs and, upon his death, saying 'America has lost a great president and a great, kind, and gentle man.'"
"Reagan met actress Nancy Davis (1921–2016) in 1949 after she contacted him in his capacity as president of the Screen Actors Guild to help her with issues regarding her name appearing on a Communist blacklist in Hollywood. She had been mistaken for another Nancy Davis. She described their meeting by saying, "I don't know if it was exactly love at first sight, but it was pretty close."
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ABOVE INFO WAS FROM THE FOLLOWING WIKI PAGES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_R...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Wyman
Thanks,Joy this data saved me looking it up. I thought Jane Wyman was very cute in some of the old movies. Nice to hear they were friends even after the divorce. It seems like Michael had some issues with his father from what I remember but he possibly got over them. Whatever they had each other and seemed to be very much attached.
Nina wrote: "...they had each other and seemed to be very much attached."Yes, it was an extraordinary relationship. They each filled-in the other's personality. They say that she was strong where he was soft. He had warmth and she had steel. :)
It's that time of year again... The weather has gotten nice & I'm swamped with all the things I want to do. I'm fighting rain, wind, & other projects. It's tough to prioritize &, of course, other stuff keeps popping up.It's time to spray the Star-of-Bethlehem weed that's slowly trying to take over my fields. I have 3 major outbreaks that I need to fence off with temporary electric fencing, including hooking up chargers to each, spray, overseed with new grass, & let settle for a month. The herbicide that I need to kill it off required me to get licensed to buy it & it's nasty stuff. I hate using it, but this invasive isn't leaving me any choice.
Last night, I was going to start on that, but it had gotten late, so I thought I'd just do some pruning & weeding along the property lines. I wound up talking to my neighbor to the south & he offered me a disc harrow/plow plus a bunch of 2x6 yellow pine. I have to take them off the 6x6's they're attached to, but it's great wood & expensive to buy, so I plan to strip at least one. I'll need to take the tractor down there to get the disc & to flip the pallets.
He's getting divorced & probably selling the house. It's in the kids' price range. Pretty close to perfect if they can stand to live so close to us. They could shove the kids through the fence & watch them walk across the south horse field all the way up to the horse barn or the house from their kitchen window. Erin could pet her horse over the fence when he's down that way. Seems perfect to me, but I'm not sure if Josh will agree. Living that close to his in-laws might not work for him. I can sympathize.
Jim wrote: "... Pretty close to perfect if they can stand to live so close to us. ...."Jim, there's a lot to consider before making that choice. There are advantages and disadvantages. We once were going to build next-door to Ed's folks. We tried a trial-run by living with them for 6 months (while planning the building of the house). It's a good thing we did because all sorts of relationship problems reared their ugly heads. :) We built elsewhere.
No matter how well-intentioned the parents are, the problem of over-intrusiveness becomes evident sooner or later. Kids like to make their own decisions and live their own way without being observed and judged by their parents or their parents' relatives and friends. Familiarity (sometimes) breeds contempt. :)
I agree, Joy. I'm actually desperate to find them a house so they won't have to live with us. Erin is right now & it's driving me nuts. I think 'next door' in this case would be OK for me, but it might be pushing it. It's on the far side of the south pasture, so several hundred yards away. Still, I'm concerned about them always being over at our place, too.
It's worth weighing the advantages vs the disadvantages. Problems may arise which you cannot yet foresee. We were getting along fine as weekly visitors. It was great until we were within closer quarters.Seems there's always a fly in the ointment. Of course, it all depends on the persons involved. Sometimes the pros outweigh the cons. Sometimes there's a solution midway between the two options. We moved elsewhere (less than an hour away) and the relationships smoothed out.
Jim, sometimes it does work. Our daughter and son in law and their two kids once lived next door to us for ten years. When someone asked my son in law what bothered him about living next door to his in laws his answer was, "I don't know how often I'll see my wife." We also lived upstairs downstains for another six years when we both lived in condos one beneath the other. Of course there were some incidents that weren't perfect but I am saying overlall it was fine. Hope it works for you and your family. Besides nothing these days is permanent.
Nina wrote: "Jim, sometimes it does work. Our daughter and son in law and their two kids once lived next door to us for ten years. When someone asked my son in law what bothered him about living next door to hi..."Nina, I think it was different for you. After all, it was your daughter and you were the mother. In my case, it was my mother-in-law and I was the daughter-in-law. :)
I wish it could have been my mother instead of my mother-in-law! I would have loved living near my mother! I don't think my husband would have minded either.
You are so right Joy. It was different as it was my daughter and isn't it Jim's daughter we're talking about?
Nina wrote: "You are so right Joy. It was different as it was my daughter and isn't it Jim's daughter we're talking about?"Yes, Nina. I think so. It makes a BIG difference!
We'll see. It's up to them. The big killer might be lack of high speed Internet up here. He has to have that for work.
Jim wrote: "We'll see. It's up to them. The big killer might be lack of high speed Internet up here. He has to have that for work."Gee, to think, we take that for granted these days. What speed do you have?
Slow. It's long distance wireless, around 500kb most of the time. I rarely look at videos on FB at home because it's so slow. We certainly can't stream any movies or anything. The other options are satellite or cellular, neither of which are any real improvement. Satellite has issues with VPN connections & a long built-in lag time due to sending the signal up to satellites & back down. Cellular relies on the cell towers in the area & both of ours are just over the horizon, so aren't great. The AT&T one is very old & pitiful. The Verizon one has 3G, but due to where we are, its speed is about the same as our current connection.
Jim wrote: "Slow. It's long distance wireless, around 500kb most of the time. I rarely look at videos on FB at home because it's so slow. We certainly can't stream any movies or anything. The other options are..."Jim, do you see any signs of improvement in the future? More cell towers, for example?
We're hoping AT&T will run fiber up our way. The other option is the Frankfort Plant Board. They have a lock on the cable TV & Internet in our county. Very corrupt & fairly awful service. When we sent them a petition signed by everyone on our road all the way to where they ended their service, about 2 miles from my house, they told me they couldn't run it any further. A few months later they'd run it another mile & connected it to a judge's house, though. I'd bug them about it, if their service was better.
Jim wrote: "We're hoping AT&T will run fiber up our way. The other option is the Frankfort Plant Board. They have a lock on the cable TV & Internet in our county. Very corrupt & fairly awful service. When we s..."Jim, our service seems to be like that... a monopoly on providing Internet and TV to our area. It doesn't seem right but we seem to be stuck with it.
The FCC issued a report last year that high speed Internet wasn't being built out fast enough. They've also set requirements that mean current satellite service isn't fast enough to be considered high speed. https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/att...
Jim wrote: "The FCC issued a report last year that high speed Internet wasn't being built out fast enough. They've also set requirements that mean current satellite service isn't fast enough to be considered h..."Jim, it's all beyond me!
If you don't hear from me it's because my husband is installing a new computer. I am not good at "new."
Joy, thanks for all the Nancy Reagan data. I agree what a dismal red dress for someone who is suupposedly fashionable. Some other interesitng facts that I had only glimpses of before reading it. And as for the service not being in church it comes to my mind how few not only funerals but weddings are held in any church now. Even in the old movies in England there was always a church wedding.
We do have a some options in our area/mostly Time Warner but a couple of others are available.
Nina wrote: "Joy, thanks for all the Nancy Reagan data. I agree what a dismal red dress for someone who is suupposedly fashionable. Some other interesitng facts that I had only glimpses of before reading it. An...""Dismal red dress" is a good way to put it! :)
I wonder what percentage of funeral services no longer take place in churches.
Nina, good luck with your new computer!
Joy. The new computer just wasn't user friendly to me. The format was more difficult and the contrast not easy on the eyes even after it was adjusted. I was having some problems with mine but compared to what I would be getting into I decided to take the frequent problems compared to the daily problems otherwise so I'm OK back to where I was although my husband warns me sometime I'll have to sucummb.
Nina wrote: "Joy. The new computer just wasn't user friendly to me. The format was more difficult and the contrast not easy on the eyes even after it was adjusted. I was having some problems with mine but compa..."Nina, I understand what you're going through. It's so hard to make a change when you're comfortable with what you have. I dread learning anything new that's computer-related.
It seems that the learning-curve gets steeper all the time. My son, who is a software engineer, says that the newer formats are made more difficult because they use so many icons that you have to know the meaning of. The format isn't intuitive.
For example, I use the Thunderbird mail program. At the top-left of the columns there is a strange icon. If you hover over it, it says "display message threads".
Well, I didn't know that's what it did. I inadvertently clicked on the icon. Suddenly I couldn't find the email replies which I had just sent out. They were hidden in the threads.
I panicked and telephoned my son but he wasn't home. I searched through my "sent" emails but couldn't find the emails I had just sent. I tried searching with the search tool. It kept telling me that the emails were in my sent folder but I couldn't see them.
Finally I clicked on the troublesome icon and "unthreaded" my emails. Then I found the ones I was looking for.
But I was really flummoxed for a while there! It was a terrible feeling because I thought something was wrong with my computer. I have to learn to "hover" to see what the icons are for.
Another problem I had yesterday was that I couldn't find the "account" button on my Google page. It didn't seem to be there. Finally I realized that I had to move the scroll bar to see it. I had enlarged my screen so much that scrolling was needed to see the entire screen.So I did a CTRL/minus and made the screen smaller. Then the scroll bar disappeared and the account button appeared. Little things like that are so annoying.
Sites changing their pages to look 'new' really tick me off. GoodReads has done it again with the top bar. It took me a while to figure out that I now have to click on "goodreads" for what used to be the 'home' button. Why? And now I can't click on the notification button, but just have to hover over it. Again, why? The simple old format worked very well for me for years. I see no reason to change it. Now I have to think about actions that had become habits.
My husbnd is taking the new computer back tomorrow while I have P,T. He says he understands my problems with it but also he says my computer is outdated and sooner or later I will have to change. DARN!
Jim wrote: "Sites changing their pages to look 'new' really tick me off. GoodReads has done it again with the top bar. It took me a while to figure out that I now have to click on "goodreads" for what used to ..."Jim, my son complains about the same type of thing. Thanks for mentioning the change in the top bar's Home button. As you say, "Why!" Maybe they're trying to make room on the page but it's not necessary. I feel sorry for folks who are just starting out. Everything is hidden.
Nina wrote: "My husbnd is taking the new computer back tomorrow while I have P,T. He says he understands my problems with it but also he says my computer is outdated and sooner or later I will have to change. D..."Nina, I too have had my laptop for several years. I dread having to change and get used to new formats, and losing the established cookies that help with sign-ins. I guess we'll have to deal with it when it happens. Isn't your husband able to guide you in getting accustomed to the changes?
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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Thanks for the reminder, Nina. I would have forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it!