72 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 10-22-18”

  1. Morning all. Nice to see evidence of another meet up. We are becoming real. 🙂
    It is raining hard here, but it held off long enough for me to get in my five miles of walking. I always do an extra mile when I have lunchtime yard duty.

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  7. Good morning. Nice meet-up pic. 🙂

    QoD: I’m fixin’ to prepare to get ready for going to the DMV to renew my driver’s license. Fourth Arrow will be driving me over there.

    Still can’t believe I totally forgot about doing that when the notice came in the mail. My birthday (by which time I needed to have it renewed) was on a Sunday last month, and except for 2nd Arrow’s wedding day (a Friday), I’ve driven with an expired license every Sunday and every Friday between my birthday and this past Saturday, plus a few odd assorted days in between.

    Funny how when September 19th rolled around last month, I was thinking, “Today is 40 years since getting my first driver’s license.” Why that came to mind, and not, “Hey, you were supposed to renew your license 10 days ago!” is beyond me.

    I guess one of those memories got encoded in long-term memory, and the other did not. I should have just taken care of it when the renewal notice came in the mail.

    Embarrassing how completely I forgot about it as soon as I got it.

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  10. Yes, my mom had to retake the test. She didn’t know what the tester meant when he said to parallel park. He explained further and she said that was no problem and proceeded to do so. She passed the exam. The first time she got her license she just paid a quarter or some such and got it.

    Love the picture.

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  11. My mother-in-law’s driving test is a family joke. She’s 5’3″ or so and has a bit of a little-girl voice even now (and apparently really had a little-girl voice as a young woman). So here she was at 18 or so, and the tester (a man) told her to parallel park. She said, “You want me to put this great big car in that little tiny space?” and he said, “No, I guess not” and passed her. She married at 18 and until my husband talked with the doctor when Dad was in his late seventies and had his driving privileges revoked, Dad did nearly all the driving. By the time Mom started doing the driving, they didn’t drive if they left town, but someone else (usually my brother-in-law) would drive them. So she has never had any need to parallel park, that I know of!

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  13. Great photo!

    Is this at a restaurant? Love those windows in the background 🙂 Yeah, me and old windows.

    6, I also had to renew my DL this year and was afraid I’d forget it. I was able to do it just by mail or online so I did it online about 3 weeks ahead of time.

    I’ll be in trouble if I have to ever parallel park for a driver’s test, though. Sometimes I do it perfectly, sometimes not even close.

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  15. 6 Arrows, I saw your question at the end of the weekend’s R&R thread. That is the logo of the University of Michigan, the victors valiant, the conquering heroes, the leaders and the best, the champions of the West (so says its fight song). Their large main campus in our relatively small city of Ann Arbor makes them rather a dominating presence. They are the city’s largest employer, and students account for a hefty chunk of the city’s population. There are 40,000 students and the city census had 115,000 people. (It’s hard to figure how many of the 40K are included in the 115K because some of them live outside the city limits and others are counted back home instead of where they go to college.)

    It’s a lot different from Los Angeles where I grew up. We had big universities — notably UCLA and that other one I won’t mention in Michelle’s presence — but in a city of 3 million people (and something like 10 million in the extended LA area) they don’t dominate everything.

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  16. I can parallel park a tractor trailer. Or at least I used to be able too….. 🙂

    As long as you have power steering, it’s not all that hard.

    ————————

    I’m off to lunch with Elizabeth, where we will discuss her taking the “written” test soon, as she is now of age, and we’d like her to start driving herself places too. We are gonna pay for professional instruction as the AAA discount for doing so will lessen the blow to our insurance rates, so it’ll pay to do so right off.

    🙂 and 😦 at the same time.

    But mostly?…..

    😲

    It’s terrifying.

    The driving part, not lunch. That’s Dairy Queen. 🙂

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  19. This morning while on the expressway going to work, a small rock fell off a truck or got kicked up and hit our windshield. Yes, we now have a small fracture on the glass. How long have we had this car? Since Sept. 26th. So far a flat and a windshield ding. Praising God through it all for we never know what He saves us from.

    Yesterday my Sunday school class got cancelled. Our class is suppose to be in sync with another class and we had gotten ahead. I attended the older women’s class instead. It was nice to visit with them. My good friend was the teacher so I think it made her happy that I went to their class. It’s one of two classes that carried over from the former church because the older people wanted continuation of their classes.

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  20. DJ – The coffee shop is located in an old building downtown. We have lots of old buildings in that area, and all over town. It is neat to see old photos from the mid-to-late 1800s and recognize a bunch of the buildings and houses.

    Next year, Stafford will celebrate it’s 300th birthday.

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  22. And yes, Nightingale is a natural beauty

    I busted Tess this morning as she was making an escape with a quarter pound block of cheese (in a wrapper) that had fallen from the counter unseen by me.

    I was near the back door when around the corner she ran, heading for the doggie door, the cheese dangling in its wrapper from her mouth. She saw me, stopped in her tracks and dropped it on the spot.

    Good dog.

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  25. We have a few old buildings like that, they show up in old historic photos and it’s so fun to see them looking so familiar.

    Speaking of old buildings — Kim, I was watching NCIS LA last night and they filmed some shots in Pappy’s, that restaurant we went to. They also were in the local marina for several shots and in a few of our old brick-lined alleys. That particular show has filmed in town quite a bit this season, someone a couple months ago posted a shot of their kids posing with LL Cool J in one of our local neighborhoods when the cast was on a break. Very sweet that some of these actors take the time to do that.

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  27. Right across the street from the coffee shop is a small park where they had a scarecrow contest. Nightingale had made one for the Boy’s scout troop. It was pretty impressive – I wish I’d had the presence of mind to take a picture!

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  30. I FLUNKED MY DRIVER’S TEST!!!

    Ha, ha, just getting you all going — I didn’t have to retake any test. 😉

    I did have to read the top line of a vision exam, and identify the presence and location of flashing lights in my peripheral vision, which I could easily do.

    And I had to pay a $5 late fee on top of the $34 renewal fee. Not a big deal, as a ticket for driving with an expired license would have, I’m sure, been much more costly.

    Part of me, though, wants to say, how did I inconvenience the DMV or anyone else by not renewing on time, that they would have to tack on a late fee? They didn’t, for example, send any reminder notices that my renewal was past due.

    But, whatever. It is what it is.

    I got my little picture taken (they had to do it twice, because the first one had too much glare from my glasses, so I went without glasses for the second), got a paper receipt that will stand in for my license that will be coming in the mail sometime within the next two weeks, and now am good to go.

    DJ, so you could just renew without going in? Do you have to submit a new picture with your renewal application? That would sure save a lot of time, especially if your DMV wait times are as long as Michelle’s. 🙂 (My wait was, fortunately, only about 1/8 that, ha!)

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  31. Kevin, thanks for that background on the University of Michigan. That IS a huge presence in Ann Arbor!

    Kizzie, my best friend’s name is the same as yours, and her oldest daughter has the same first initial as your Nightingale (her real first initial, not “N”). 🙂 Also, and quite interestingly, K’s oldest daughter looks similar to Nightingale. Both sweet, pretty girls who look so welcoming. Nightingale and E light up every picture they’re in. 🙂

    Kevin, Mrs. B reminds me of someone with whom I attended church when I was growing up. It is so interesting to see similarities between people one knows from various places and times when those people are probably not related. 🙂

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  32. Yes, they let you renew by mail for so many times before making you take the written test at least again — same pic. Forever young, we are.

    But we’re all moving to the new IDs by 2020 so I’ll probably have to go in to get one of those.

    Maybe Kizzie can send in a photo of the scare crow?

    I have to say, Nightengale has eyebrows to die for 🙂

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  33. Yesterday in Bible study, there was a friend of one of our regulars who was visiting from Nebraska. The visitor’s last name is Bach. She is interested in looking into her ancestry to see if she is descended from Johann Sebastian Bach.

    Another lady in Bible study was saying that she got DNA testing because she was interested to know her blood lines. Her dad had told her that she had some American Indian blood, but testing revealed absolutely nothing of the sort.

    To which another member of Bible study asked her if she was planning on running for political office. 😀

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  34. I think Nightingale looks like a younger version of Kizzie.. Of course, sometimes our children do not want to hear that they look anything like us.

    Once someone said that Son looked like me because his face was round. That was rather funny to me. I was overweight which caused my face to look more round than it should. Son had been on steroids for his asthma so he had that bloated from steroids look on a child. Sometimes it is better to say thank you and not elaborate to a stranger.

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  36. OK, stop with the Rod Stewart. 🙂

    I just spent 40 minutes in Dairy Queen with Elizabeth naming the 10 or so songs playing in the background from the 70’s-early 80’s, with an emphasis on British rock. Her music lesson for today, classics such as Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung”, The Who classic, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way” as well as a breif history of the band, why they broke up, how they’re like 70 and touring again, except for Lindsey Buckingham, who they didn’t invite because he’s a jerk and now he’s suing them too, for touring without him, because he’s a jerk…… etc….

    So lunch was fun and informative. 🙂

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  40. So Kevin finally got in on a meetup! After I retire, maybe Mrs L and I will “wander” around on a “Whirled” tour and meet some more of you, maybe even spend a day in your towns/cities, instead of just lunch or coffee.

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  41. I got an email from Alfred Music (publisher) with a link to a blog article that Michelle and others may enjoy. Flanders Fields: Honoring the Fallen With Music.

    https://www.alfred.com/blog/flanders-fields-honoring-fallen-music/?utm_source=silverpop&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Social_All_20181018_Recap_October%20(1)&spMailingID=14451610&spUserID=NjQ5MzgzNjcwNTkS1&spJobID=1501357618&spReportId=MTUwMTM1NzYxOAS2

    I hadn’t heard the piece that is referenced in the article, but I found an SSSAAA version of it (it was originally written for a mixed-voice ensemble, I think SSAATTBB) on YouTube that shows the score. Haunting words and harmonies, with the Alto 1 part like a whispering wind through the poppies.

    And now I really need to get reading Michelle’s A Poppy in Remembrance. 🙂

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  42. We would have loved to spend more time in Stafford Springs, both to see more of the town and to have more time with Kizzie and her family (if they’d want us!).

    We were constrained at one end by our Boston friends being available only Monday evening, and on the other end by my appointment at Cleveland Clinic Wednesday morning. We had a long driving day Tuesday from Boston to Erie, with the lunch stop in Stafford Springs, then a couple hours driving Wednesday morning from Erie to Cleveland.

    I enjoyed quite a few road trips in my 20’s, including 2 1/2 round trips coast-to-coast. At our present age it’s a little harder to take long days of driving. It would be fun in retirement to take a more leisurely trip round-the-country trip, driving half a day and spending the rest of the day (and maybe the next day too) exploring one place.

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  45. Afternoon! Busy day cleaning, laundry, cutting back all the frozen plants…it is lovely outside today! Opened windows for some fresh air, and we have a dozen or so doe and their babes bedded down just beyond our deck….they are so sweet!
    Very nice photo of the meet up! (Dj I immediately noticed the windows !)

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  47. I guess I’m one of those “older” folks who can still handle long car trips, driving several hours ion one day. Yes, I’m tired at the end, but I take a rest stop every two hours to stretch, empty the bladder, and refill the coffee mug.

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  51. Janice – I think it’s funny that you think that Nightingale looks like a younger version of me. I’ve had a couple other people tell me she takes after me, but neither of us see it.

    But I think that if I didn’t have what I call the “Moebius nose” (many of us with Moebius have a similar nose) I would have a nose like hers, because hers is similar to my dad’s. One day several years ago, Nightingale, my dad, and I were in a chiropractor’s waiting room waiting for my mom to come out from her appointment. (We were going out to lunch afterwards.) At some point, both Dad and Nightingale were looking off to the side, in the same direction and angle.

    I glanced at them and was struck by how the profiles of their noses were almost exact! (Hers was smaller, of course.)

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  52. Kizzie, I just showed 6th Arrow the header picture, and she said Nightingale looks like…my youngest sister. 🙂 I never thought of that, but there is a bit of resemblance! Nightingale is a younger version of my sister, though, who is not only celebrating a birthday today, but just arrived at the big 5-0!

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  54. The subject of having American Indian heritage came up earlier. Some people say that most white Americans have a little bit of American Indian in them, but that is not true. But it does seem that many American families believe that they have native blood in them from several generations ago.

    My mom would talk about the Indian great-great-grandmother they had. Supposedly, there was a photo of her. But when my cousin, the son of her brother, had his DNA tested, there was no trace of American Indian heritage.

    That didn’t really surprise me, but he was disappointed.

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  58. Hey, AJ!

    Saw this on Facebook, and thought of you.

    “What’s the difference between a Fenway Park hot dog and a Yankee Stadium hot dog?

    You can get a Fenway Park hot dog next week!” 😀

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  59. Kizzie, having seen you and Nightingale on your Facebook page, I have always thought you two look like each other with the only difference being Mobius. You both have a vibrant richness in your appearances. I think it has to do with your fair skin and dark hair colors.

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  63. The painting drags on.

    Now one of the front windows isn’t latching on the bottom, which has me frustrated. Painter says he thinks the house must be moving and he can alter the latch part of it but I would rather have the window people who made and installed them (just this past February) come back to at least take a look to see what they think is going on.

    I doubt the house is “moving” that much. I can’t help but think it’s all the work and painting the painter has done on those windows that’s made them wacky so I don’t really trust him to “fix” it.

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  70. No, I don’t want him doing anything to those windows either. They’d sanded the outside casing and he had to replace the center wood piece also, but after they sanded the wood bare they didn’t prime it for weeks — so I’m thinking something got swollen or otherwise distorted (twisted?? Eeek). Real Estate Guy said he’d come over to take a look but it has to be when painter isn’t here as they butt heads something awful now.

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  71. Wow, they’re pretty close in age, Cheryl.

    You told me before, and I’m trying to remember: did you say your youngest brother is younger than your sister? Or is your sister the youngest? (I’m thinking your brother is, but I might be wrong.)

    The sister who celebrated the birthday today is the youngest in our family, so we are all in our fifties now. In a little under four years, we’ll (I’ll) start the move into the sixties.

    That doesn’t seem possible!

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