First of all I want to Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your advice & compassion. I have been very stressed over all of this and I could feel the genuine concern you have for our situation. Just to fill in a few blanks, we are both now 56 yo. DH has his BA & MBA & a certified Project Manager. He worked AND went to school at same time. I'm afraid I am lacking in the educational department. I have 2 AA degrees in nothing marketable, & got my RE License about a month(2006) before the market started crashing-but left because of my DM deteriorating health at the time. But, actually I was the main caregiver for both of my parents from 2001 until 2007 in our home until they both passed. Dad had cancer & Mom had Alzheimer/dementia. About 2 months after my DM died (Dec '07) I started babysitting(Feb'08) for my 2 granddaughters until just this past November '09, when I started working part-time again. Can't believe I did the formula, diapers, potty-training all over again, but my girls were a good distraction from my grief. My DS & DDIL paid when the could, what they could,--most of the time, not at all, but I just wanted to help them out & make sure the girls were safe with me. It was never about the income, it was all about what was best for my GDD's. Last summer I looked into a local university here & wanted to start school to get a Gerontoloy Certificate ( would take 18 months) & eventually work in Hospice & for seniors. (Heck, I am a senior now too according to Bob Evans--lol) I guess I am just destined to be a caregiver all my life. I started the application process & was told I would probably be eligible for Finacial Aid, but I think working Full Time has to be my priority now. I've been brainstorming to think of any additional means of bringing in some income--like maybe renting out the in-law quarters of our home. Selling off some jewelry--only about $200.00 worth, but every bit has to help. We're down to 1 car which we "juggle". Right now, everything just seems up in the air. We might know more by this week-end, when either my DH's project goes well or comes crashing down & him with it. I am preparing for the crash down, because in the past few weeks, anything that could go wrong, has gone wrong. Like servers going down for hours, connection problems etc. One manager just walked off the job, because he said he couldn't take the pressure anymore. So, Thank you, thank you, thank you, all for taking the time just to let me talk/write about this & for listening. I know there are those here with far worse problems (health etc) & my problems are miniscule compared to theirs, but I thank you again for your suggestions & support. God Bless ~~ katclaws

The man who repaired my VCR in California, and his wife, had been to see Pope John Paul II twice. He had the certificates/photos framed in a corner of the livingroom. They weren't really conspicuous, but they were proudly displayed. She had a high-end job; he was a stay-at-home Dad and ran an electronics repair shop out of the garage. I'll add that their three kids were always well groomed, well behaved, happy, busy, well fed, and the house was spotless. He had bi-weekly dinner plans posted on the fridge! I told her on more than one occasion that she truly had the perfect husband. She enthusiastically agreed.

Unfortunately this scam does work, or the scammers wouldn't continue to do it. I see it mentioned in the newspapers sometimes, but I think there should be more alerts to call attention to it. Computer users are probably more aware of it, so I would be curious to know if those who do fall for it are those who don't have/use computers, and that is probably the older generation. I think no matter what name you give the caller, he will say that is his name, and if you ask for his name, no doubt he will not give you his real name. I had a similar call several months ago, so when this one came I was ready for him, and played along until I had him on the hook. I posted about it as a Memory Refresher, and hope all of you will mention this scam to any older people you know. Spread the word! Sue

I think most posts were from folks saying they either liked it or they didn’t, not that it was an unusual choice or that they had never heard of it. My take away from this thread is that rum and raisin ice cream has been around for years but it is not a favourite of many. Our ice cream place is now featuring haskap berry and keso/queso. eta not combined, but I suppose one could have a scoop of each 🍨