jannie hope you're getting better..it took me several trips going an alternate route before i had the courage to drive where i got rear ended seveal months ago... sue, when i worked for ma bell (in san diego) that was a common complaints..here, it's squirrels that do the most damage...you't think with all tech they could get a wire that didn't taste good! glad you're back... not much going on in mi..weds was b squish day. the rest of this week has been getting dh's laundry all done early. actaully he'll be closer to you next week. they're having a mini elevator convention at purdue u for 3 days. he and the head mechanic are attending...i probably could have gone but would much rather stay home with the cats than sit in a hotel room, lol...

My days always start around noon as far as getting anything accomplished. No, I don't sleep all morning. My joints don't cooperate and it takes hours to get going. So around 1 o'clock I went into town and looked around at the new thrift shop. It is really nice, clean and everything displayed neatly. Didn't buy anything though. Then I went to Sharp Shopper and found my favorite soft drink (Cheerwine) 2 twelve packs for $2.50. Got 2, plus celery, bread, Texas Toast, and a half gallon of milk. The price of milk has increased another 10¢. Then I went to KMart for TP and Aleve (generic). Checked my blood pressure: 117/56/68. Next to $Tree for batteries then to BigLots but only bought a big bag of Tootsie Midges. Not a big shopping day, but the first chance I've had to ramble for a couple months. Next stop was at Bank of America to close out my account there, and then took the paper work to DuPont Credit Union where I had already opened an account. Last stop was Krogers for some groceries. I was tired and thirsty so I just sat on the porch and had a cold Cheerwine. Then a friend stopped by and we chatted until after 8 o'clock. Finally I made myself a left-over tuna salad sandwich, and made tea for tomorrow. Watched the news and here I am on the PC, at the KT. Tomorrow I won't be any good for anything!! So that was My Day, as Eleanor Roosevelt to say. Sue

wish i had the commercial sized back up generator i should have bought in 2004 lol. we are in the orlando burbs and have gone as long as 24 days w/o power (aug 13 04). we go often enough that Progress Energy has a speed dial on my cell phone. we have a generator, just not one big enough to run the huge A/C unit, clothes dryer, fridge etc...all at one time. i own pretty much every accessory for going w/o power except for a new digital portable TV, have looked at them but for $200 for a 4" screen i can go w/o and use the internet. our other portable TV does not work now, of course. the state has already said that even in the event of a hurricane they will not be broadcasting in analog, so w/o a digital TV you will get nothing here. in 2004-05 we had an awesome thread going on the FL gardening forum on gardenweb that was 52 pages printed. i printed it but am at work right now. no one knows more about long-term power outages than floridians :-( one thing we do before hurricanes is cook ALOT of food in the stand-up freezer and i bake ALOT. baked goods are neccessary for bribing linesmen and help lol. good coffee also helps. we have 2 huge chain saws w/ 2 spare chains for each. in 04 we could not even get out of our subdivision because of all the trees down on the road in/out, everyone in the neighborhood had to chainsaw thru that. i always have plenty of plastic silverware, paperplates, plastic cups etc...on hand, along w/ foil pans. during hurricane season i do not let laundry pile up. a nice accessory to keep for short outages (1 day) is a power inverter and keep a spare car battery always charged. you can run several lamps, fans and 2 laptops on that lol. and atleast here in FL when it's all over and done w/ be prepared for significant increases ea yr to your power bill to cover repairs & upgrades in the state LOL last yr was 17% increase, this yr 25%, next is 30%....while expecting service to go down. until 3 hurricanes in 04 we'd never lost power, since then it's common and in 5 yrs the bill has doubled while useage has gone down to save $$. ~ liz

We're getting ready for our 21 year-old granddaughter's visit. She flies in Saturday morning and we'll pick her up in Orlando. She's just a sweetheart and I haven't had her all by herself since they moved from Florida when she was 3 or 4. Guest room is ready and just need to do some last minute clean-up. I'm so excited!! She's a great photographer and takes all the pictures for her college yearbook. She made me a Mother's Day card which was a collage of nature photos she'd taken. She's going to give me lessons while she's here so I can post pictures. Paid bills, made out a grocery list and a list for Wal-Mart. Did the ususal daily stuff--pick up, make the bed, etc. Dinner tonight is a chicken breast that's in the crockpot right now with a tarragon mustard sauce. We'll have that with rice and DH's favorite--peas. Still have picnic cake. I should have brought it to the KT!!