111 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 2-6-16”

  2. Ah, the views from–not my house but not far from my house–at home . . .

    Yes, I’m up writing at 4, but only because my brain was demanding I get up and go to work. It’s been awake since 2:15. Anyone else need prayers? 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  3. In case no one besides Donna and I recognize it, I’m sure you know the song: “Twenty-six miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is awaiting for me . . . ” Or maybe that’s just a southern California song?

    The isle of romance, romance, romance . .

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Give me an H
    Give me an A
    Give me a P
    Give me another P
    Give me a Y
    And you ask why?
    It’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY
    for ANNMS!!!!
    ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
    | | | | | | | |
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Chocolate Turtles
    swimming on top
    of whipped cream
    over caramel glaze
    C H O C O L A T E
    ############
    POUND ###CAKE
    Sugar Baby Candy
    ○○○○turtle eggs○○○○
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    ENJOY your cake, calorie free!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  6. HAPPJY BIRTHDAY ANN!

    I see in today’s Times-News where an 82 year old woman searched and found her 96 year old mother.
    Reminded me of a discussion you ladies were having yesterday about a young woman giving up her baby for adoption.
    It might be a good idea to leave a trail. Not in the open, but somewhere.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  7. Usually you have to now, open adoptions, and you want to have some contact in case there are health issues for the child, anyway. But that comes with its own headaches. Several of my friends adopted out of the country so they never had to worry about birth parents showing up and causing trouble.

    This all, of course, assumes you have an adult who actually cares about the baby making wise decisions.

    Mumsee is right, you have to give the woman time. The tragedy is she doesn’t care enough to make sure the baby gets a good start. Lots of accomplished people had alcoholic mothers, but many children wind up impaired because of growing brains saturated in drugs in alcohol. That’s frequently why CPS steps in early and perhaps we should pray that mom gets arrested and can dry out, at least for the length of the pregnancy.

    Sigh.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  12. Many years ago South Carolina (I think) tried to force women into treatment if they were pregnant and their doctor found drugs or alcohol in their system because so many babies were being born addicted or with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. As you can guess some lawyer sued that if was against the mother’s rights so now the child and the rest of us have to pay for the choices a woman made.
    In my own family my cousin adopted my step mother’s grandchild. I know there was both maternal and paternal drug abuse…to the point that within 2 weeks of the child’s birth CPS showed up and took the child. We went to court and Daddy & R got custody. That was 2003. Day before yesterday I got a message from that cousin telling me that just the day before she was telling someone how her Uncle Jimmy helped her become a mother. The child is an A student and is involved in lots of activities with two younger brothers and a family that loves her.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  13. I have a question for you. Janice and Chas may be the best to answer this but everyone else is welcome to give an opinion.
    I you rented a condo at the beach for several months during the winter, how would you feel about the rental management company calling you twice in the 5 days you had been there to get 3 different real estate agents in to show the unit? Oh, and they ALL want in at 10am.

    It’s a fine line. The owner wants to sell, and our job is to sell it, but I tend to think I need to use discretion in getting people in and now practically hold and Open House during all the time they are there. I wouldn’t want to show my own house at 10am on a Saturday morning if I had it listed for sale.

    Like

    Reply

  14. Good morning and thanks for the birthday wishes!
    Evidently, a big thunderstorm came through at 5:00….I slept through the whole thing….Awakened at 6:45 to Becca singing me Happy Birthday…got coffee and was instructed to go back to bed…About 7:30, she and Scott came in with warm, homemade blueberry muffins…my favorite breakfast! Becca is gifted at making people feel special and loved. So grateful to God for the incredible blessings of my children and husband….
    Scott and I are going out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants; Lindsey is going to babysit….She is, of course, still sleeping….She sleeps late on Saturdays.
    Anyhow, it should be a good day.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  15. Kim. I’m not sure I understand the question, but:

    If I rented a condo for a week, the condo is mine for that week. I, personally, wouldn’t mind showing it to someone once. But I wouldn’t be obliged to anyone.
    That includes having the place “spick and span” .
    I think I should, as a courtesy, have a right to first refusal in this case.
    If I were buying, I wouldn’t want to see an inhabited residence.
    If a place is for sale, don’t rent it out to anyone. It limits your options.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  16. Kim, as a landlord, I would suggest that whatever is intended be clearly specified in the lease. Then there are no surprises and no unhappy tenants.

    Like

    Reply

  17. Kim, it is difficult to imagine, but if arrangements were made up front for reduced rent or compensation of some form each time the unit needed to be shown, then it might be acceptable. As long as notice is given the evening before that 10:00 is the time to show, then it should be ok. Maybe the rental agent or owner could give brunch out $ to compensate? This would never be acceptable if it was not known before the person contracted to pay the usual amount that is charged for the rental, IMO.

    Like

    Reply

  21. Most of the condos are in rental programs and a guest has the right to refuse to let the unit be shown. Usually 24 hour notice is needed. It is a balancing act. These guests checked in Monday for 2-3 months. The unit was shown 3 times already since they checked in. Another agent wanted to show it today but he is experienced enough to know that you call about 10 or 12 units and maybe get to see 4. When I told him the unit had been shown 3 times he told me not to disturb the guests. Of course You Know Who is being sarcastic and telling me he only gets paid if the unit is sold and it can’t get sold if it isn’t shown.
    It’s a balancing act that I do every year and this is a very LARGE rental management company that is new to the area and I am trying to butter up the people who work there and get me into rented units so that when I call they will help me.
    My problem is that I see both sided of a situation and I know that 3 showings of a place I was paying to stay at during the first 5 days would annoy me.

    Like

    Reply

  23. Interesting tidbit about our winter quests this year. In the building we mostly represent I have had to deal with two sets of snowbirds who have small children with them. These are mothers who have brought their small children to stay at the beach for the winter. I have had to work around nap times to get agents in to show. This is the first year I have dealt with it. I guess if you can afford to do it you aren’t stuck inside with small children when it snows and you don’t have to bundle them up to go get the mail.

    Linda, these units are sold furnished. Banks don’t lend money on chattel property so contracts are written “unit sold as viewed on 2/6 /2016. Not only do you have the photos in MLS but a good agent will go back when an offer is made and snap some photos themselves. I was involved in a situation where the unit was gorgeous and very well appointed. Between the offer and the closing the owners went back in and replaced all the linens and housewares with stuff from Wal-Mart. It got ugly. I wasn’t the agent on either side but it was when I briefly worked for a large team. I was involved in helping my agent fix the mess.

    Like

    Reply

  24. Three times in five days would be a real irritant, IMO.

    We spent a couple of days at a vacation spot last spring with my daughter and her family. They were contemplating buying one of the condos. It was a nice vacation for all of us (we stayed in a room close by) and a good way for them to see if this would be a good option for them. They did look at another couple of units, but they were empty at the time.

    Like

    Reply

  25. Yep, 26 miles … Catalina is a local getaway though I haven’t been over in a few years now. My last Girl Scout “camp” — when we were teens and all planning pretty much to transition out the following year — was a week on Catalina where we swam every day, so much fun.

    I did use the straightening tool on this photo later and it’s even more beautiful straight, but AJ picked up the crooked version. 🙂 The “Monk” in me cringes, I somehow tilt my horizon in these shots before editing, but it’s still a pretty scene. It was after our wind storm and the view of Catalina from our coastal bluffs was spectacular.

    Sadly, two small planes collided here late yesterday, not sure how that search is going but another reporter from our sister paper was covering it.

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/02/06/three-missing-after-two-planes-collide-plunge-into-waters-near-los-angeles.html?intcmp=hpbt4

    Like

    Reply

  27. When I was looking to rent the last place I lived in in Chicago (I was there for about eight years), the previous tenants had been there for 15 or 20 years and were on good terms with the landlady (who lived upstairs). I told her I needed to see the unit, and she said no, she couldn’t show it while they lived in it, but I could come on the day of signing the lease, and if I didn’t want it I could say no. Of course that wouldn’t have been good for either of us, so I insisted she needed to ask them if my future housemate and I could see the house, and of course they said yes.

    When I was moving from my house in Nashville, I had a couple of bad showings. For one, they left the door standing open afterward. For another, they gave me a range of times, say between 11:00 and 1:00, so of course I planned to be gone (with Misten) by about 10:50, and was cleaning the house, when they showed up about 10:15. Furthermore, they parked behind my car in the carport, so I couldn’t drive to the dog park. I had to quickly leash Misten and duck out the back door while they were unlocking the front. They waved at me and I waved back, and I went to visit a neighbor. Other times I’d keep driving by, ready to come back home, 30 and 45 minutes after the ending time, but those times I figured maybe the person was extra especially interested in the home, and it was OK. But do not give a two-hour window and then show up 45 minutes before the beginning of that time!

    I like Michelle’s idea: clean their condo for them at noon, have it available from one to three, and no more than once every two weeks. If you need a specific unit weekly, then every Tuesday and Friday host a barbecue from one to three for anyone who is having their unit shown during that time, and have guests volunteer to be among those whose units gets shown and who get to attend the barbecue. (Or if they are going to be away during that time anyway and are willing to let it be shown, then they get a voucher for some other special treat.)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  28. I have fairly strong tastes, I suppose, when it comes to home decor, furniture and what I like and don’t like.

    A co-worker has complete opposite tastes from mine. When she was doing a remodel of her house last year, I actually liked her “before” kitchen better than the “after.” (I’m all about natural wood grains, whites and warm colors; she’s monotone black-and-gray only, all metal, glass and stainless). I like traditional, round-hand-thrown-pottery white dishes; she likes the modern square shapes. Probably in black. 🙂

    So yesterday, during a discussion we were having in the break room about curtains, I found myself making an involuntary face when she described the heavy, metallic drapes she’d just bought! Yikes. I need to be more careful about that, I felt bad as soon as I felt myself showing that reaction, it was really involuntary. Kind of rude, though, really. 😦

    But it’s funny how completely opposite our tastes are. Of course, there’s no “right or wrong” in personal taste in furniture, etc. But it would be a challenge to have to meld opposite tastes in a shared household.

    Have any of you struggled with that with your spouses? I think men typically yield to wives on those matters, but maybe not always?

    And I realize I’ve picked up a lot of my tastes from my mom (though I differ somewhat in what she liked). But she always disliked the sharp “cold” lines of the modern furniture back in the 1950s and ’60s, with all the glass and metal (I had an aunt and uncle who loved that look). I think it was mostly known as Danish Modern back then (and my co-worker told me it was her grandparents’ favorite style, so she was probably influenced a lot by that as well).

    Like

    Reply

  30. I like some of the rustic, metal/iron-and-wood, post-industrial styles that are popular right now for tables, however.

    I guess our tastes evolve, but probably don’t essentially change completely.

    Like

    Reply

  33. Though daughter, who helped me paint the cupboards ten or fifteen years ago, offered to come up and redo them for us. New hardware and all. We do without hardware as it is less likely to be broken off by angry young folk. But it would be an interesting change. I told her she would choose and I would be happy with whatever she selects.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  35. Happy Birthday Ann!! It is a beautiful day in CO…snow feeling the warmth of the sun and beginning to melt…ever so slowly…we have some humdinger icicles hanging from dwellings around here!!
    My design tastes have evolved over the years, but I still love antiquing…my coffee table in the family room is a square wooden shipping crate from Sears/Roebuck…heavy hinges, and latch on the front…they don’t make those any longer…nowdays it is heavy duty cardboard…can’t see anyone using that as a coffee table in another 80 years! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  36. My tiny room is almost entirely furnished with antiques. It wasn’t really intentional, I was just trying to find furniture to fit my tiny (10′ x 10′) room. My desk is an old wooden school desk, complete with inkwell. My small bed is an old fashioned spring bed, with a beautifully shaped headboard and footboard with posts at the corners. The only piece of furniture I actually bought was a little bedside shelf because it had similar posts. My mother very kindly let me have the beautiful washstand which came from some childless missionaries whom my grandmother took care of, as it took up much less room than a full sized dresser. It has the most beautiful wood grain I have ever seen.

    My dear friend gave me an old steamer trunk. I spent last fall restoring the trunk, as the tin fittings were badly rusted and the paper lining was mildewed and odourous. I removed the paper, and finished the wood inside and out with a beeswax and orange oil finish. I also removed the tin fittings, and soaked them in a mild citric acid bath, which removes rust without removing the finish. I had to get special square-cut nails to replace the ones I removed, as they have to be clenched [N.B. Nail clenching involves hammering the nail through the wood, while holding a metal block on the other side, so that the tip of the nail will be deflected back into the wood – it looks like a metal staple on the inside of the trunk, while on the outside it you can only see a nail head.]. It was a good challenge to have and I keep my sewing supplies in it now.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  38. Happy Birthday, Ann!

    We used to hear stories of Catalina. My parents were both in Scouts, my mom was a Mariner, so they sailed there and had camp there. I think my parents actually met there at a Boy Scout/Girl Scout dance.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  40. I think we stayed in what was then the Boy Scout camp, a large dormitory setup on the island. Every day we’d head out to the beach and swim, swim, swim, making lots of use of the floating diving docks. Then we’d all go into “town” to shop, as it were, but we didn’t really have much money. I remember buying a cheap ring, i think, but mostly it was just taking in the atmosphere.

    We really wanted to go to the youth dance in the pavilion on the Friday night we were there, but the leaders said no, we were too young (we were probably 14-15 age range then).

    I’ve never been on the other side of the island, which is where the bison are — very undeveloped and the bus ride through there takes several hours. Last time I was at Catalina it was with a former colleague and semi-suitor at the time (which didn’t work out), probably 10 years ago now? It was a nice day.

    Furniture: Nancyjill and roscuro, those pieces you described sound exactly like the kind of thing I love. I have my grandfather’s old wooden trunk with metal braces, I had it restored, painted black & lined with cedar and keep sweaters and quilts inside. I have a couple very old bookcases I love and my mom’s family’s old kitchen table from Iowa when she was a child (it’s now used for filing bills, working/writing stories from home).

    Old stuff with a history is the best. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  41. Love the sounds of a desk with an ink well. How fun.

    I have an old Montgomery Ward’s wooden box with a hinged lid, but it’s smallish. I researched the date on it once, but can’t remember what I came up with. It was from “home,” too — from my mom’s childhood Iowa home.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  42. Kim, I don’t see the point of your comment to me. Whatever the policy for showing the unit, it should be clearly specified in the lease with the folks who are renting it. That solves everything.

    Like

    Reply

  43. The truly great thing about Donna’s photo is that you can actually see the island. Most days you can just notice something murky out there.
    Fun to see as I fly away. Whoops, I just realized that I leave in the middle of the night and only see lights.

    Like

    Reply

  44. Linda, I’m guessing that “we might be selling this condo and need to show it to prospective buyers” is not typical with rentals, and thus wouldn’t be in the typical lease.

    Like

    Reply

  45. “26 Miles” is a very familiar song to me, and I can’t figure out just why. I suppose it has something to do with my father – he liked Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, also The Baja Marimba Band, and it is probable that at least one of them covered the song. Though that wouldn’t account for why the words are familiar…

    Like

    Reply

  47. Sat with a longtime source at the meeting I covered the other night whose wife grew up on the island and they still have a place over there. I asked him what the population was now, he said about 4,000, with lots of local political drama. The latest debates, he said, center around a possible switch in freight carriers that ship supplies over to the island by barge going out of the Port of LA.

    I remember hearing the “26 miles” song growing up, it must have been very popular

    Here’s another music video with some nice shots of the island, including one of the bison on the “wild” side.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  48. I’ve told you before that I haven’t felt total freedom to choose the “look” of the home in deference to two other young ladies who lived here first, and who are justified in expecting it to continue to feel like home.

    Well, I have a group of small horse figurines, solid black (enamel look), which in Nashville were perfect for the plate railing high in my kitchen at the top of my beautiful pine cabinets (which have since been removed and discarded by a subsequent owner). I haven’t been quite sure where to put the horses in this house, but in the meantime put them temporarily on a shelf in the living room. Well, my husband wanted that shelf for books (a desire I understand) so last week I moved them into the kitchen, to a shelf where for a year or two I tolerated a hideous collection of chickens and cows, but I eventually I cleared the farm animals put up some small, clear vases, just to put something up there. But now the horses are there . . . and our older daughter commented this week about how nice they look there. Success!

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  56. As for the furniture, we have oak, ash, teak, cherry, and particle board with something else that might be walnut. And we still have my old desk from high school that my father constructed from plywood and I stained antique green which Art restained the walnut color to match Wesley’s furniture that may be our furniture now. I have a nice looking wash stand that came from an antique shop, an old dining table that my grandparents had, and an old bookcase from an antique shop that has glass doors on the front. We are really furniture and house challenged and have been for much of our lives. We did have an oversize architectural drawing table in the kitchen which we used some for homeschooling but I got rid of that.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  64. Thanks, again, for the sweet birthday wishes.

    Scott and I had a lovely dinner. We hadn’t been on a date in awhile–so it was quite special. We came home after dinner–I was concerned about Lindsey babysitting…. She’d been invited to spend the night at a girlfriend’s (we were home by nine). The friend lives in the neighborhood, so we gave her permission to go. Becca went to bed shortly after we arrived home…so we were able to continue chatting.
    I felt so loved by my family– they did lots of things to make me feel special.
    Scott put a brisket on the smoker about 7:30 this morning and it already smells so good. He’s perfected the art of smoking a brisket–it is always very tender and the flavor is wonderful.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  66. HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY
    BIRTHDAY,
    DEAR JO!!!

    You were born far away, but not so long ago ♡

    From tower to satellite we show we care about you

    With greetings, wishes, and virtual cakes

    May your day be sweet as you are!
    ~~~~~~~~~
    @@@@@@
    Strawberry
    & Cream
    Cheese &
    Whipped
    ~~Cream
    Ribbons~~
    ~~~~~~~~~
    @@@@@@
    ~~~~~~~~~
    Neopolitan
    layer cake
    with ribbon
    @frosting@
    @between
    @layers@
    Alternating
    Strawberry
    & Chocolate
    /\ Kisses /\ surround base
    @/\@/\@/\

    Jo – Jo Cake to celebrate this special day!♡

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  67. Let’s see, there is the grandparents’ piano from the 20’s or so, it used to be a player piano before they got it. And the old piano somebody else gave us as they did not want it foreclosed. And the couch from Greece. And the couch and chair from Germany. And the old waterfall dresser. And the schrank from Germany. And the shelves I made in Okinawa. And the lift chair for husband from last year. And and and…..

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  69. What’s a waterfall dresser?

    Mmm, cake for Sunday breakfast. Happy Birthday Jo 🙂

    Annms, sounds like you had a very special birthday.

    The wind chimes on my front porch are chiming this morning as we head into a few days of desert winds blowing in warm, very dry air toward the coast and overwhelming what would be our usual foggy, marine layer. Warm days, cold nights. No moisture in the air. Chapped skin.

    Like

    Reply

  70. Anyone watching the Super Bowl today? I’m not, but I was reminded about the “big day” yesterday at the grocery store — standing in a very long line behind people with overflowing basket-fuls of chips, sodas, beer/wine, and other football party fare.

    Like

    Reply

  72. No Stuperbowl for us. Art has afternoon tax appointment unless you consider they will be throwing numbers around and perhaps passing a bowl for donations to cover tax bills 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  75. Thanks for the greetings. I found a little video on instant messaging of 2 of my children and 7 grandchildren singing to me. That is so sweet as I was unable to connect with them yesterday. I will have to take my ipad to school and try again at lunch time.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  76. Happy belated birthday to Ann and happy birthday to Jo. The cakes sound wonderful.

    My folks had a player piano. We ended up selling it very cheap to an assisted living place. I am sure it will get some good use there. My dad loved playing it to little children and watching their faces when those keys ‘moved by themselves.’ He had the same delight saying, “Open sesame” and secretly hitting the garage door opener. This was years before such a thing was common place.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  77. Interesting furniture link, Janice. I’m probably a mix of Americana, (unfussy) country and repurposed

    It’s 85 degrees here today, hard to adjust to the temperature swings this time of year.

    I have my ceiling fan going …

    How did the lesson go, Chas?

    We took a break from Romans today and had a sermon on 1 John 3:4-9 — followed by an interesting SS with several good questions.

    Like

    Reply

  80. I just stepped outside to get some eggs because I wanted to make some rice pudding. There were several guinea fowl on the rabbit cages and several more on the ground with the loose rabbits. They mingle very well. It is fun to watch.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  84. Wow. Lady Gaga had on a decent dress and did a good job on the National Anthem. Okay, a little showy, but at least she remembered the words.

    Like

    Reply

  86. I am trying to figure out what to carry for my time at jury duty. I will dress warmly since the weather might do something. I suppose I could walk a few miles from the courthouse to home if I had to. But it has been a long time since I have even walked half a mile. Necessity is the creator of motivation in older mothers, or something like that 😉

    Like

    Reply

  90. It went well Donna. We chased lots of rabbits.
    But that’s OK my teaching philosophy has always been that what they have on their minds is more important that what I had planned to say.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  93. Happiest of Birthdays dear Jo!
    I am not watching the game…Paul went to a friend’s home to watch….it would be nice if Broncos won…I’m thinking this will be the last year for our QB….he is a nice guy….and some say he is old….at 39!! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  109. Just pray that I can keep my spirits up as it is hard to have no one and nothing to celebrate your birthday with. Got a couple of kinder hugs, but that is it other than greetings here and on facebook.

    Like

    Reply

  110. Peter, 49 is of course my birth year. I am excited to get social security when I don’t yet need it and get my home mortgage paid off, plus some basic savings, as Dave Ramsey would say.

    Like

    Reply

  111. My neighbor, who I celebrated with the other day, brought me a gift!! It was my only gift and very special.
    I went to the weight room and then walked 5 miles up and down these hills.
    As I walked I spent time dwelling on past birthdays and the ways many had blessed me.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

Leave a reply to mumsee Cancel reply