What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread) Showing 2,101-2,150 of 8,509

[Mary JL]

Today I am staying in after church. The heat index is well over 100 degrees. It is also unbearably humid.

[Jim]

It was miserably hot here today, too. I did almost 3 hours of weed-eating in the woods this morning until about 12:30. I was sure ready to come into the AC for lunch! It was well over 90 & felt hotter. No breeze, either. At least the woods paths all look pretty good.

[Nina]

Speaking of dental expense; it hurts both ways to have your teeth fixed; my husband had to pay three thousand to have two teeth put back in after they fell out. As I said, "Ouch!" nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I'm beating the heat with my inflatable pool which is 8 feet in diameter. Yes, we finally set it up. Today (Sunday) I floated around on a tube for a while and then I heard a hissing sound. The tube sprang a leak! I went to the store and bought another one for $3.99. Our boat is still under repair. Thank goodness for inflatable pools and tubes!

Nina - I didn't know that teeth could be put back after they fell out. Too bad about the expense. Also too bad that Medicare doesn't pay for dental care. But I guess that would bankrupt the country! :)

[Jim]

I have to see the dentist today & so does Marg. She's going in at 2pm for a cavity. I'm going in at 3 for a crown. Today is the grind down appointment. Yuck.

[Werner]

Be brave, Jim! I've been there and done that; you've got my 100% sympathy. There's life after it's over (and after you've paid the dental bill).

[Jim]

Luckily, the bill shouldn't be an issue. I have a Health Savings Account with a hefty (for me) balance & so-so dental insurance. It shouldn't impact the budget. Sitting there with grinding going on in my mouth is another matter, though. Ugh!!!!

[Werner]

I hear ya, Jim! (Glad about the Health Savings Account, though.)

[Jim]

It took the dentist over 2 hours to get a temporary cap on my tooth. We discussed a lot of books. I loaned him my copy of No Place To Die by a GR friend of mine, James L. Thane. He gave me a copy of Play Dead by Harlan Coben. Apparently it is Coben's first book & not as good as his later ones, but it was a nice gesture.

Then we had to discuss the crown I was going to get. Apparently there are several kinds, 2 new ones being watered down gold versions, the price of gold being what it is. I went for the best, even though I'll have to pay extra out of my pocket for the higher gold content. (It's my very back molar & no one is likely to look there & porcelain is more likely to crack.) I told him I wanted the one that would keep his fingers out of my mouth the longest.
;-)

Nice people there in that dental office. Older equipment, reasonable prices & very friendly.

[Nina]

Joy, my husband had two teeth held together with a bridge over another tooth. He bit down on a dried hard raisin in an oatmeal cookie and two teeth broke off and fell out. A couple of years ago he fell hard in a parking lot over a barrier that shouldn't have been where it was sitting. He landed on his head and had to have stiches in his forehead at that time they took x-rays to determine if he had a concussion. But, now the dentist thinks he could have injured his jaw and so as time went by it could have caused the teeth to loosen. If he hadn't had the teeth put back in he would have gotten an infection. Actually, he got an infection in between visits and had to have anti biotic injections into the already sore place. It was very difficult and painful. Our dental ins paid four hundred dollars of the three thousand seven hundred. So as I said, "ouch~: nina

[Nina]

I am so sorry about your finger, Jim. It has been a worry to me that it should happen to my husband. I stop and knock on wood that it never does. Hope it is not getting infected and will heal quickly but doesn't sound like it. Take Care, nina

[Jim]

Nina, my finger is doing fine. It's a big, ugly looking cut in the shape of a 'T' right along the side of the middle knuckle, but it's healing right up & the finger is somewhat useable again. I can't bend it all the way yet, but I'm sure I will in another week or so. No worries. I haven't even needed a bandage on it since yesterday.

Sorry to hear about your husband's teeth woes. That's much more serious. I hate going to the dentist. My jaw is sore today since it took 2 shots to numb everything enough that he could grind down that back tooth for the cap.

[Werner]

Nina, your husband has my fervent sympathy! (And your dental insurance provider doesn't deserve to be in business.)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Sympathy goes out to all... about the teeth and about the cost of the teeth. These costs never seem to end and they keep going up. It's a worry for sure. Ah, but it's summertime. Let's not think about anything but floating in the water! Today was a hot day... a good day for doing that.

Our sons started camping on the islands today. We're babysitting the dogs. Lots of coming and going here!

[Nina]

A good dog story. My daughter in ID has two dogs; one a twelve year old Lab and a younger Brittany. Both have pleasant personalities; until a visiting two year old tried climbing into the Brittany's territory; namely, her dog house. She was growling and started toward the dog house to defend her home. There was fear she would attack the little boy when suddenly the old Lab got in between the child and Brittany; thus, saving the child from possible harm. Isn't that amazing?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "A good dog story. My daughter in ID has two dogs; one a twelve year old Lab and a younger Brittany. Both have pleasant personalities; until a visiting two year old tried climbing into the Brittany'..."

Nina, your story shows how smart dogs can be. I'm currently listening to an audio book called Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know. In the GR description, it says: "This book is as close as you can get to knowing about dogs without being a dog yourself." I'm finding that to be true. I'm enjoying listening.

[Jim]

That is neat, Nina.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

We might launch our boat, Sea Dance VI, today. Eddie put in a new carburetor and we hope that will solve our engine problems. It's an old boat, but it has lots of nice things about it (especially for a relatively small boat, 19 feet), including a small, comfortable cuddy cabin.

If the boat is sea-worthy we might take a run down to the Lake George islands. We hardly made use of the boat last year because the engine wasn't dependable.

[Jim]

Good luck with it, Joy. I've heard boats are as bad as horses for throwing money away on, so I've never wanted to get one.
;-)

[Nina]

Bon Voyage, Joy. Seems like your cares float away when you are on the water as long as your boat stays afloat. Our Irish setter loved sailing with us. I still remember her ears blowing in the wind. Do you take your dog along?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks, Jim and Nina. We launched our boat yesterday and it seems to be working fine now. Dogs are no longer allowed on the LG island campsites but years ago our dogs came along with us when we camped. Now we have to leave our dog home unless we're heading for an empty cove on the lake where we can pull in and anchor off-shore, possibly paddling the dog on a boogie board to the wooded land around the lake.

Here's what I wrote to our family about the time we had last night at an island campsite with two of our sons:
=====================================================
"We had a fantastic evening at Tom's campsite last night (Thursday), from cocktails-to-dinner-to-sitting-round-a-great-fire on a balmy night with a full moon! It doesn't get much better than that... especially with grill-master-Tom and his very-capable-and-helpful-girlfriend serving us a delicious meal... along with some potent libations! :) The weather has been fabulous. And our boat is performing well. The water was smooth as glass all night. Incredible!"
===================================================

PS-Yes, Nina, our cares float away when we're on the water. I have a quote to that effect... something about leaving our cares at the water's edge. Ah, yes!

[Werner]

Barb and I did get to see the Harry Potter movie yesterday afternoon; but shortly after that, we got caught up in dealing with a family medical crisis. (And our two oldest grandsons have spent the last couple of nights with us, and are here now.) So this has kept me from doing much posting here (or as much reading as usual), and might continue to interfere for a few days. (So, I'm not ignoring you all --just busy!)

[Jim]

I hope all is well, Werner - or at least works out.

[Werner]

Thanks, Jim!

[Nina]

Jim, hope you get this note. Or I can hear back; having trouble with Goodreads rejecting my email address even though I verify it repeatedly. Anyway, we just gave as a housewarming gift, a Rubic's cube my husband made from wood; he used to use walnut when we owned acreage. Fun gift to put on a coffee table. He once gave one to the owner of a Mexican bar here in town and the patrons loved it according to the owner as she requested one more. nina

[Nina]

Jim, hope you get this note. Or I can hear back; having trouble with Goodreads rejecting my email address even though I verify it repeatedly. Anyway, we just gave as a housewarming gift, a Rubic's cube my husband made from wood; he used to use walnut when we owned acreage. Fun gift to put on a coffee table. He once gave one to the owner of a Mexican bar here in town and the patrons loved it according to the owner as she requested one more. nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Werner wrote: "Barb and I did get to see the Harry Potter movie yesterday afternoon; but shortly after that, we got caught up in dealing with a family medical crisis. (And our two oldest grandsons have spent the ..."

Werner, I hope all is well with you and your family. There's nothing like a family medical crisis to bring us back to reality. Please let us know how things are going when you get a chance.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, I hope you received my e-mail reply telling you what to do if your Goodreads notifications become undependable. Below is what I wrote:
===============================================
1. To get to our group, click on:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/7...

2. Under the group's description, you will see the words "Discussion Board" at the left.
On the same line, to the right, you will see the words: all|new|unread
Click on the word: "unread".

3. You will see a list of all the topics which contain posts you haven't yet read.
Click on the red text which tells you how many new posts there are.
You will be taken to the new post or posts.
================================================
That's what I do when the notifications get buggy.
Sometimes the notifications straighten themselves out after a while.
Good luck!
Joy

[Jim]

A Rubic's Cube of wood?!!! How neat. How did he color the different faces of the squares? Does it work? Did he use the innards from a plastic one for the movement? I thought about doing that once, but never got around to it. Not sure what I ever did with them.

James, my oldest, took it apart & lost some of the squares. Typical. That boy was always taking something apart & he'd lose parts of himself if they weren't attached.

[Nina]

Joy, I did get your mail and i thanked you by commenting but maybe mine aren't getting to you. I am still not getting the messages by email but I am using the instructions you gave me in order to read them. They keep telling me to verify me email and I do and then they tell me the same thing over again. It is quite frutrating but tomorrow is another day, in the meantime at least if I go through these different procedures I can keep track. thanks, again. I wish you were on their support team. nina

[Werner]

Thanks, Joy! Things are as well as can be expected right now. (I'll try to drop you a personal message later today with more details.)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, if you check for "unread" posts occasionally, you really don't need the notifications, even though they're a nice convenience.

Have you sent an email to Prodigy explaining your problem? Sometimes, if you do that, a real person will reply to you by email and help you solve the problem.

To contact Prodigy via a website message, do the following:
=================================================
1. Scroll down to the bottom of any GR page and click on "help".

2. Then click on "contact us" (which you will see at the right). This will take you to the "Contact Goodreads" page.

3. Write your message to Goodreads in the box provided (filling in the other required info). Tell them exactly what you told me. They should be able to understand the problem.
==================================================

I had good results with this method when I first joined Goodreads. I hope this works for you too.

[Nina]

Jim wrote: "A Rubic's Cube of wood?!!! How neat. How did he color the different faces of the squares? Does it work? Did he use the innards from a plastic one for the movement? I thought about doing that o..." Sorry, Jim, I gave you the incorrect info; it is a wooden Soma puzzle that he makes and it is all wood. Not a Rubic's cube.

[Werner]

Thanks, Nina!

[Jim]

I posted some pictures I took of hummingbirds a few years ago here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...

[Jim]

I just got emails from GR that I should have gotten yesterday, so maybe you're not the only person with problems, Nina.

[Werner]

Yes, Nina, they've been having quite a discussion of this problem in the Goodreads Feedback group; but until now, for some reason, I didn't mentally connect it with the problem you were having! I didn't receive any of my usual Goodreads e-mails for a couple of days either, but they've started coming again as of last night.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "I posted some pictures I took of hummingbirds a few years ago here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s..."

Wonderful pics, Jim. Those birds are so precious. I love the fancy feeder! BTW, what flower is that in the hanging planter. Are they called "Miracle Bells"?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, at least you're not alone with the notifications problem. Seems that others are having notification problems too.

[Nina]

It's been eight days for me. When this has happened it usually rectified itself by now. Oh well, I guess I can say, "Misery loves Company." But, really I am glad your problems with goodreads got straightened out which gives me a glimmer of hope. nina

[Nina]

Nina wrote: "It's been eight days for me. When this has happened before it usually rectified itself by now. Oh well, I guess I can say, "Misery loves Company." But, really I am glad your problems with goodreads got st..."

[Jim]

Sorry, Joy, but we can't remember what they were. Marg said, "Something like little Petunias, but I can't remember their name." I'm not surprised.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Sorry, Joy, but we can't remember what they were. Marg said, "Something like little Petunias, but I can't remember their name." I'm not surprised."

I think this is the flower, Jim. It's called "Million Bells" (I knew they were SOME kind of bells ):
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-di...
It says: "Like a tiny petunia on steroids, calibrachoa (also called million bells) grows and flowers at an amazing rate. Often confused for a petunia, million bells makes a splash no matter where you put it in the garden. It is perfect for containers or hanging baskets but also can be tucked into the front of a border where it will spill out onto sidewalk or patio. In fact, it may be the ultimate "spiller" for container gardens as long as you give it ample water and fertilizer, which it needs to fuel its astounding growth."

Another site says:
"Calibrachoa is a bell flower that closely resembles a trailing petunia. Although plants are hardy in Zones 9-11, it is grown as an annual in most of the country. Plants grow into compact mounds 3 to 6 inches tall and spread 20 to 30 inches in a bed. One can easily understand why the plants are called million bells. During the course of their lifespan, hundreds of one-inch, bell-shaped flowers in shades of violet, blue, pink, red, magenta, yellow, bronze, and white are produced."

Some authorities consider calibrachoa and petunia to be the same species. Technically, the only difference is that petunias have 14 chromosomes and calibrachoas have 18. For most of us, the difference is in the size of the flowers. Petunias, generally speaking, have larger flowers than the calibrachoa. What the calibrachoa lacks in size, it makes up for in sheer quantity of blossoms."
FROM: http://mariesgarden.com/fom/Mar/calib...
The best part (from link above) is:
"No deadheading is needed as spent flowers drop off cleanly."

[Jim]

That sure looks like it, Joy. Thanks. I forwarded your message to Marg.

[Jim]

I took a walk with the camera & dogs this morning. I posted them on FB.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...

I have pictures of Purple Martins, a Woodpecker, two of the dogs & Topaz, a horse, with his tongue stuck out plus some others that might be of interest.

I LOVE digital photography!!! I took 125 pictures & deleted 25 of them immediately because they weren't any good. Then I zoomed in on some, creating new pictures centered the way I like them. I wound up posting a dozen, all in 20 minutes, immediately after taking the pics. That is so much nicer than the days & weeks it used to take fiddling with film pictures. By the time I'd get back the final pictures, it could be a month later & cost me a lot of $$$. Usually it was just too much hassle & too expensive, so I wouldn't bother.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Great shots, Jim! The Purple Martin house is pretty fancy!

The dogs are so cute and so is Topaz. Lily is amazing; I love the way you said she "blurs" through the woods. The pic of Pixie is precious.

I had thought Lily was the one who lost her leg. Which one was it? My memory is playing tricks on me. Or was she just injured a while ago and now has recovered.

[Jim]

Glad you liked the pics, Joy. Harley lost her leg, a JRT. Lily is our only English Pointer, my dog.

The Martin House is just a cheap, plastic one. I won't make one out of wood because the plastic ones are so much lighter & inexpensive. The biggest pain are the poles. The second Martin house we have doesn't have a good pole system. I had to drill it & put bolts through to keep it from collapsing.

[Nina]

I enjoyed your pictures. Especially liked the horse and JRT as it reminded me of my daughter's Jack Russell. They are lively but endearing and enduring. The horse even looked a bit like her first one, a quarter horse named Merlin. We got him from a man who originally trained animals for the movies. He said the smarter the animal the harder to train.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Glad you liked the pics, Joy. Harley lost her leg, a JRT. Lily is our only English Pointer, my dog.
The Martin House is just a cheap, plastic one. I won't make one out of wood because the plasti..."

Jim: Ah, yes, now I remember that it was Harley who lost her leg. Just now, I looked back at your posts about Lily. I see she was only 6 months old when you got her back in October 2010. So she's still very young. Maybe she'll slow down as she matures. Right now she's still a lively Lily. :)

PS-Interesting about the Martin House. Doesn't look plastic in the pic. It's still nice and fancy.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

The last of our children went home last night after several weeks of camping on the Lake George islands. It's been fun and exciting as they went back and forth from our house to and from the campsites. They also had friends come and visit them at the campsites. So we've had a lot of excitment.

We also enjoyed a family night by the fire on the islands. We even played a loose form of Charades. It was warm and balmy. So, for once, I wasn't chilly at night as I usually am when we visit the campsites.

It was very quiet here today after all that excitement but we needed the rest. Now we're down to only 2 dogs in the house, ours and a guest dog. It was pretty noisy at times with 4 dogs, especially with the little Dachshund who has a shrill bark and never stops once she starts.

Never a dull moment... until now.