The car was missing if I pushed more than most gently on the throttle, so I took it in for repair ... they said likely new spark plugs or wires, put them on and it worked better ... ... but ... ... there was low pressure in one cylinder and they thought that it needed to have the valves ground ... ... educated guess probably $600. - 700. When I took it in the following week they lent me a van while they were working on mine - gas gauge didn't work, probably about 1/4 tank ... so I put in $10.00 worth. Friend had said he'd like some straw for his garden and I figured that I could get several bales into the van, and only one or two into my little car ... and the back hatch has to be opeend by baler twine. Loaded a bunch of tarps into the van to collect the straw bits, it's old and breaks easily. I've been watching the female canine of a friend who's having surgery for a growth on his neck, and a boisterous canine and a half dozen bales of straw in the same van aren't a recipe for a good game. The tarps covered most of the necessary area, so I was able to get it reasonably well cleaned out without too great effort. When I went to check on the car ... it seems that a valve was a bit bent, so more work necessary. When they were finished, bill was about $1,200. So I can't let the car die for quite a while, yet! I don't think that I've seen the lady since - she'll get a kick out of the dilemma, I expect! Her uncle who died at 91 had been a major executive in a large Canadian supermarket chain ... ... she recently installed real granite counter tops and top of island which includes counter for eating and bar stools, in her kitchen: shiny ... and shiny bits that appear deep into the structure. Was it on the video that I was characterized as, " ... a sweet old dude"? She says that I remind her of her grandfather. Time to bring this literary masterpiece to a close, I think. ole joyfuelled ... was that gas?

Hi Jannie, If one of your daughters, at age 15, invests One Whole Dollar ... ... and manages to have it earn 5% rate of return throughout ... ... through 50 years of time ... ... when she hits the ripe old age of 65 ... that dollar will have multiplied 2-1/2 times - it'll be worth $11.00 and change. If she can manage a 10% return, it'll grow to $117.00 and change. No allowance in either case for the erosion of annual income by income tax, and of the value of one's dollar-denominated assets due to inflation. And when she buys a pack of cigarettes - she pays a lot more than a Buck for each one of them. Most of which goes up in smoke - though some stays in her lungs. And the residue can cause a lot of trouble. Can she imagine what people would think of her were she to stand on a main street corner in town and set on fire as many dollars as she spent on smokes that week? And do that at that street corner - every week? People would say that she was nuts. But - that would do her a lot less harm than using those dollars to buy smokes. Trouble is, though - in the U.S., I think that she'd go to jail: it's a Federal offence to destroy money, as it is Federal property. I do hope that your daughters decide that it is a destructive habit - and one of the worst addictions. I don't want to be a slave to a person - much less to a white paper tube filled with dead leaves!! That sounds some stupid, to me. As Dad used to say, "Looks like that person drove their pigs to a darned poor market"!! Good wishes to you - and especially them - for a New Year filled with common sense. ole joyful

Hi Lindy Lu Who ... ... well, a WA-HO-O-O (not a boo-hoo) about that one! Thank you for making such a wonderful addition to this discussion! I have some Hanes ... and they're blue, too! But ... I've never seen them configured like that! Or ... so occupied, either, for that matter. Also, with elastic still intact - so they're not available for this purpose. Yet. Isn't this a wonderful idea? No more worries about the shortcomings (or, more accurately, long goings) of the elastic: in fact, if it were even somewhat tight, it might cause a problem. If any of you would like to use my old undies in such a fashion, I'd be glad to spring for the postage, even trans-border, to help the ancient briefs find some useful things to do throughout their retirement! Or, more accurately, delay their retirement! I can guaratee that I'll not send holey ones ... and you don't need to worry about the "baggy" that someone referred to, as the only part that's stretched is the elastic (possibly due to not having large body parts to ride herd on). And no stained or dirty ones, either ... solely ones that look to be only in slightly used condition. Then, with these still-useful things having their remaining useful life taken care of, I can go buy new ones with a happy heart!! Adding it as an extra errand when going to town to take care of several needs at a time ... ... and turning off the engine and coasting downhill, and as approaching signal lights when they turn yellow, half a block away ... to be passed by people pushing the gas pedal ... then hitting the brakes about a hundred feet before the "Stop" line. I staked a couple of rows of peas and picked some of the regular and of the edible pod kind. Took them to a nighbour who treats me well, and their daughter and SIL were there, playing cards. Daughter loves peas, I gave her several of the edible pod kind ... and she shelled them and ate them. En route home, I thought that I should have taken the edible pod ones back and given her some of the regular kind ... if she was going to shell them, anyway. Had some of each kind for supper - second picking - delicious! I hope that you had an enjoyable weekend ... and are looking forward to the coming week with anticipation. ole joyful

Me too! One of your recent posts in which you talked about people who are different than ourselves really caught my attention and I was in full agreement with you. I don't think I had a chance to post that day.