Thank you all so much! Now I can put "faces" of sorts behind the posts I am reading.

Iris, thanks for getting us involved in this roll call. I joined Gardenweb when I was frustrated with my kitchen backsplash back in 2009. From Kitchens, I then found Home Deco Conversations and the KT.

I am married for almost 34 years. Two daughters, 28 and 30. Both out on their own living in the city. No hopes of grandkids. Oldest who is in a long time relationship says she isn't interested :( Youngest mentioned adopting, who knows?

We live in an NYC suburb where we raised our daughters. We have an "inherited" pit bull mix that we acquired from our oldest. She then went on to rescue a chihuahua.

I work sporadically at a part-time job, doing sensory work for a market research company. My career was in social work before kids.

My goal in my 60's is to keep in shape. I am down to the weight that I was when I got married. I do a weight training class three days a week and yoga twice. I'm also a lifetime Weight Watcher member.

I have been on here since 1999. I had a different user name back then. We have four grown children, 3 daughters and a son. Two granddaughters and two great grandsons and one step grandson. We live in the country on six acres with another five acres near by. I like to sew, embroider, read, bake, garden and did love having chickens but no longer have those. I have one pet and her name is Izzi. She is a red Pomeranian. She always has to ride on my golf cart that is called my "Big Rig". I do not do much gardening any more as it is too much and I have too many other things to do. My husband is a stroke patient and that takes a lot of time and energy. I have been married for 64 years. I am 82.

I will be 69 in January. I now live with my daughter and her hubby, as my health makes it hard for me to live alone. I won't bore you with a list of my ailments. However I am on oxygen 24/7.

Years ago I took a couple road trips across the US, in my little red convertible. Just to meet several of the members here. Sadly some of them aren't with us anymore.

We've been together through births, deaths, weddings, divorced, tears and laughter. An experience I hold very dear. I love this old table, wobbly legs and all. A better bunch you won't find elsewhere.

Myself, I was raised all over, the life of an army brat. I spent six years in Germany as a child. Have some memories still.

Have lived all over. Born in LA California. Have 2 grown children, a daughter, Jenelle, born in Virginia Beach VA. And a son, Stephen, born in Hawaii. Have grandkids and great grandkids.

Hope you build memories here too.

Welcome Iris, I have been here for over 20 yrs. I stop in at the KT several times a week but seldom post. No reason, I guess just a woman of few words. Is that an oxymoron? Maybe, LOL. Great group of people here.

Iris, thanks for telling us about yourself. It's also been fun reading all of the other members posts. All I told you was that I've been here since the KT first started, so I will tell you a little about me. My hubby Ivan and I have been married for 47 years. He is 83 and I am 78. Both of us are retired. Ivan worked in the steel mill and I was an elementary teacher. We have no biological children, but have an "adopted by love" daughter who lives in Michigan. We moved from Ohio to Georgia 14 years ago, bringing 9 cats with us. We got a dog after moving. All of those furkids have died, so this year we adopted two little all black kittens that are brothers....Milo and Meeko, who are the loves of our life and spoiled rotten. They are now 8 months old. My dad's parents came to this country from Germany. My maiden name was Banks, so I have some German in me along with Pennsylvania Dutch on my mom's side. I'm a crafter and love making cards. I've met a couple of the KTers in person and wish I could meet them all, but of course that isn't possible. Again, welcome to the Kitchen Table.

Hi Iris, welcome to the group. You have such an interesting life. You posts will add much interest to the Kitchen Table.

I have been here since 1998. I am 76, married 58 years. Two daughters, however sadly we lost the younger daughter 11 years ago. No grandchildren, but currently have two much doted on granddogs that belong to daughter who lives nearby and lets us 'baby' sit often.

Our home state is PA. Soon after marriage we moved to Ohio for 20 years then in Michigan for about 15, and then retired back to PA where we are now. Dh is a long term heart patient and I have a slowly progressive muscle wasting disease. But we are doing just fine with the abilities we have. We are passionate about bird feeding, love nature including all the flora and fauna that inhabit our I acre yard. I spent a lot of time hosting a lot of Monarch butterflies this past summer. Me and my camera were out on my handicapped scooter many times a day checking it all out.

DH and I traveled by motorcycle for nearly 30 years seeing most of this great country. Now we stick pretty close to home enjoying our antique car at car cruises. I spend my down time doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles between short bursts of energy with regular household chores. DH is good for picking up where I leave off. We are doing well, life is good...at least most of the time.

Thank you so much for the link, JoAnn. I am going to read it tonight. What a great, diverse group of people! Everybody seems to be so positive. I am sure I can learn a lot from all of you.

Hi Iris....nice to meet you. I also live in a fixer-upper, but since set backs by Hurricane Harvey, I am ready to throw in the towel, admit defeat, and move on down the road. Not too far....same area.

I am 71 years old, married 52 years. My husband is a commercial shrimper. We have one daughter, who is married and lives in Houston, about 45 minutes away, depending on the traffic. No grandchildren....but we do have a grandcat. ;)

I like to listen to talk radio while I do my chores around the place. I have 8 horses, a mule and 3 donkeys and a baby donkey on the way. Most of them are rescues...all but one that I raised from a foal. My last two horses are very old and were abandoned. I also have dogs and cats and did have fish until the hurricane washed them away, but I recently got five koi and 6 goldfish, so will be adding to those soon.

I like to cook....don't care for tv at all, and seldom watch it. Love to garden and did a lot at one time. I also raised waterlilies and other aquatic plants. I had 200 varieties of waterlilies in my collection. Just a few now, but once we get settled in a new place, I plan to get back into raising them. Also love antique roses and unusual shrubs and vines and tropical plants.

I have been at Gardenweb since 1999.

Okay, now that I have 3 minutes to spare I can tell you all about myself. I am 56 yrs old, I do not have a career but I do have a job. I am the office manager of an exterminating company. I have a SO, his name is Tommy, we have been together 25 yrs, we still haven't married but neither are against it. Between us we have 5 grown kids, 5 grandkids, 2 great grandkids. Life is very busy. We have 2 beautiful fur cat kids that we spoil when we aren't spoiling everyone else. Life is just real good right now. We live in the same small town that SO was born and raised in and that I have lived in since I was 17. His 3 kids all live within a couple of miles of us. My daughter lives 100 miles away and my son lives in Chicago which is hundreds of miles away. Most of our time outside of work is spent with our kids and their families. Now that I have typed it all out it sounds kind of boring, we love boring.

I've lived my whole life in various suburbs around Chicago. On my paternal side, I come from a long line of Susans, dating back to Bern, Switzerland in the 16th century. I'm just "Sue", though, not any of the longer forms.

I was an 'only' and married someone raised as an 'only'. We adopted our own 'only' DS as a newborn. He happily married and has *two* children, a boy, now 12, and a girl, now 6.

At age 40, DH discovered he was adopted and that he was the middle of five. He was the only one surrendered for adoption; he was born during the Depression. Unfortunately, aside from verifying background, none was open to a relationship.

It was such a battle to obtain heritage information due to sealed adoption records that I co-led a search and support group for adult adoptees and birthparents for a dozen years, Truth Seekers in Adoption. Like many adoptees whose own personal information is withheld from them -- and many birthparents -- we have worked to end to this discrimination against consenting adults.

I am edging past "mid" seventies next year. DH will be eighty. We've been married 53 years. We were both journalism majors who met in a night school class on public relations. (Unknown to him, DH's birth father ran an area newspaper in the city.) My health is 'good'; DH's is excellent!

We put down the last of four Westies in 2016 and are not getting another dog until we no longer go to Maui in winter. There may be a fifth Westie for one or both of us later. (Harder to know what's going on in your neighborhood if you aren't walking a dog!)

I was invited to the KT from the Appliances Forum when I had problems with my new Fisher Paykel dishdrawers. They were new in the home we built, so that was 2001 -- when I first 'dropped by', sat down, and never left.

Hi, Iris and welcome to the Table! I live in Manitoba, the province right in the center of Canada. I have been married for almost 50 years and have one son and two wonderful granddaughters. I don't watch much TV at all either, but love to read and when I'm trying to collect steps on my Fitbit, I listen to audiobooks. We don't have any more pets since our beloved cat Ellie died a couple of years ago. I love to travel - DH (dear husband) not so much! We went to Europe in August and I was very thrilled to see Berlin, Dresden and Vienna. Too much to see in the short time that we had. I volunteer at a couple of organizations, one being a fundraising used book sale to benefit our Children's Hospital. There are many volunteers with only one paid employee and last year we raised more than $600,000 to donate. Although I studied English at university, I think that everyone who posts here should be free to express themselves the way that they wish, without worrying about correct English or spelling. I like to experience peoples' personalities here at the KT and that includes the language they use.

Hi Iris...I'm pretty new also. I didn't have such a lovely experience in the beginning, but I will remember very fondly those who were kind to me...

I don't say much about myself. I have 4 kids. None of them want children :( I don't like where I live. I'm in pain much of the time.

And THAT is why I don't say much about myself :) I still have my sense of humor, though ;) And a husband and a dog who I adore, so life is good.

Hi Iris and welcome!

I've been on Gardenweb for a really long time, my profile states since 2002, so 15 years. I only started following and posting here at the KT a couple of years ago. I am a regular at the Texas Gardening forum and used to follow other forums more often than I do now(Ponds and Aquatic Plants, Computer Help, Gardening in Shade, Garden Junk and Woodland Gardening).

I'm married to my soulmate for the past 21.5 years and we've been a couple for 27 years. I have a grown son and daughter with 5 grandkids between them (daughter keeps trying for a girl and has 3 sons :-). I work in IT and my husband is a self-employed home improvement contractor. We live outside of Fort Worth, TX.

Hi, I'm in northeast Michigan. Only one traffic light in the whole county! Small town living. We are on a lake and enjoy the water. We have a space down at the water that is all weeds. DH will not mow it because of the milk weed the Monarch butterflies need grows there!

4 kids, 7 grands and love them to pieces.

Marylmi is near me.

Started on Garden web at the wedding and sewing and quilting forums back in 2001. Made my way to the KT eventually. Now it is my favorite forum, I also check out the Buying and Selling Real estate and Antiques.

Sometimes it's just fun to close your eyes and pick a new forum and check it out, never know what you will find.

KathyG in MI

LINDA... there's no way your 78 I looked at your picture.

Iris, your going to need more then tonight to read it all. I could probably spend a week and not see all thats there. :^ D

I am adding this thread to the Kitchen table page since there are so many new comments.

Welcome to you,Iris.....I came to Garden web in 2000 to the kitchen forum because we were doing a kitchen demolition and redo. I gravitated to other forums after the job was done and usually only come here and Hot Topics. I'm born and bred Pennsylvanian. I live an hour from where I was born, an hour where I was raised and 45 minutes from the college I attended. I married while still in college and have two kids, a son who has a daughter and a daughter who has a son. Both only children. Thankfully they both live within a few miles of me. We live in a 180-year-old farmhouse on 1/2 acre in a small town near a city. We have two ten-year-old dogs, a Boston mix and a standard dachshund, both rescues. We have at present three cats, an 11-year-old grey tiger, a 16-year-old Tortie and a Maine Coon I rescued from the alley last October. We have two koi ponds and a wildlife backyard with a gazillion trees and bushes. We have a veggie garden here and another one 1/4 mile away in a community garden. I am an animal activist and very politically involved as well.

It's ok if it is taking me a while. It's good reading.

Hello Iris! I've been on the forums for around 2 years, but on a different account.

I live in Arizona, after moving from Ohio in 2016. I am gluten free, I love to bake and I have a garden.

I did have two bunnies, but they died from old age. I really want a dog, but I can't because of allergies.

Hi Iris (and all) -- I'm 57, been lurking on GardenWeb for at least 15 years. Most of those years, I'd log on, read a few posts, and that was it. Husband and I retired 2 years ago so I'm a bit more active now. We recently downsized homes. I now live in a friendly little city in the Shenandoah valley, walking distance to stores, parks, shops, craft breweries, and two of my three sisters. I feel like I'm just starting to get the hang of retirement -- how to plan days to feel like something has been accomplished. Mostly that includes eating local and healthy, cooking new delights, exercising at the parks & rec, hiking in nearby mountains, reading, and gardening. (It's great to be on-line with so many others who also value pollinators and biodiversity. The Sixth Extinction weighs on my mind.) We currently have one older, very mellow flat-coat retriever and one younger, frisbee-obsessed border collie. I'm highly allergic to cats or we'd have at least five.

What else... we have one daughter, age 27, who recently moved about 2 hours from us. She travels a lot with her job. My mom died 12 years ago, dad moved into a retirement community up in Northern Virginia. He's 90, early stages of dementia. He's on the waiting list for an assisted living apartment in a retirement community a few miles down the road from us.

I have fond memories of being a little kid, playing on the kitchen floor while the grown-ups talked around the table. This place feels like that home :-)

Seeing so many people here that are at least my mother in laws age, it makes me sad for her. She is about 73 (I think) and will not touch a computer. No internet, no email and no texts. My father in law shows her what my daughters put on Facebook and looks at Amazon and such wishlists and orders. It certainly isn't that she isn't smart enough, she just flat out refuses to even try. She has relatives in Sweden, friends and some relatives in Austria. It would be so much easier to stay in touch than phone calls and snail mail. The "people my age" excuse didn't work for us since we first tried to have her have a go at it. She loves scrapbooking and I imagine she would have a lot of fun joining a forum for that. Or just a group of people like this.

That's sad, Iris. It's a great way to not feel so alone.

Personally, I have an acer Chromebook. I'm instantly online (just open it..nothing to turn on, Google is right in front of me), no problems, no viruses, nothing to "save"..it couldn't get any easier for a Luddite like me.......perhaps she could be persuaded to check one out? If you celebrate Christmas, it's a great time to buy...

Geetings, Iris, glad to hear from you.

There's a great bunch here at the KT - we've come to share many of life's joys, sorrows and wisdom ... and have come to hold one another in quite high regard.

I hope that you'll enjoy your stay - share when you feel like it.

This 88 year old guy isn't sure how long he's been around here, but it's well over 10 years. Family background , back several generations, British, Scottish and a smidgeon of Swiss, I grew up on Dad's rather large farm near London, Ontario, a few miles from where I live on what was step-uncle's farm. My landlord lets me have a fairly large garden - he gets some of the produce, as do friends, a couple of churches which I attend and some social agencies ... but there have been poor results for about three years.

I was 10 when World War II started in 1939 and hired men went off to war, so my two younger brothers and I learned quite a lot about work (and setting priorities) at an early age. Mom was in psych ward from a few months after youngest brother born, grandpa died about then and Dad's mother came to live with us. Mom died when I was 13.

Dad, with some breathing problems, moved to farm in Saskatchewan when I was 17 and had 40 years of good health in that drier air. I went to university and seminary (liberal Protestant: United Church of Canada - Methodist, Congregationalist and most Presbyterians joined in 1925), grad in '53, when Korean War stopped and I spent several years as a missionary there, mainly helping refugees get their lives back together.

Met a young lady from Iowa when taking courses in N Y state ... she came to Korea and we were married there, no one from either family present; son, who's never married. born there. Needing eye care for him, we returned to Canada where I was a parish clergyperson for a number of years, a daughter born in Canada, a dual citizen, has spent most of the last 20 years in Phoenix and Cozumel, where her partner operated a motorcycle rental, which they sold, and are setting up a business services business in Atlanta, where he lived for many years, has grown family ... and they were married ... on a beach ... a few weeks ago.

Their Mom and I were together for 11 years and apart for over 40: she was head of food service in a local psych hospital (where my Mom had been a patient, over 30 years earlier), for 20 years, took early retirement when they talked of closing her hospital or a similar one in a nearby city. Ironically, she, who'd fed millions, died of colon cancer, at 66 - so the kids were happy that she'd had 10 years to enjoy retirement.

I had blood clots following shots to shrink varicose veins about 7 years ago: glad that they were in lungs, and they got me back to about the same as earlier health, via rat poison, which I'm still on ... and a KT person said that her dad had been on that for years, and hadn't shown any signs of growing a tail. Clots in heart or brain can be a great deal more troublesome.

Am thankful to be in remission from having dealt with prostate cancer a while ago ... but they say that 80% of guys over 80 have it ... but die carrying it, rather than having it cut their lives short.

I love coming here to the KT, and teasing some of the denizens ... along with offering some suggestions which folks seem to find somewhat helpful, on occasion.

If you ask a question, or seek some advice, you'll usually get a worthwhile answer, sometimes in very short order.

Sometimes we tend to get in one another's hair a bit ... but usually some others come along to get things toned down some. There's usually a good spirit here ... and we've been sad to have lost some good friends, over the years, whether through death, decreasing capabilities or following other interests.

Some time ago, when I hadn't shown my nose around here for a while, several people got concerned, and one (Jasdip), whom I'd met, along with a few others, when a lady from Arizona who used to gather a few when she visited dozens of cities and towns around our countries, did some digging, found where I lived and had the provincial police come looking for me ... and they, being busy, asked a police lady from an indigenous territory near here, to see whether I was all right: it took her 8 minutes to get to my house, she said.

By the way ... what happened to Nita_AZ, didn't she call herself?

joyful guy ... ole joyful ... ole joyfuelled ... (who's quite a talker)

Best wishes to you, Iris. Your mother in law sounds like one of those people (they're far too numerous) who are closed-minded and/or hold on stubbornly to their views while ignoring suggestions others may offer. I have a few like that in my family and they can be a real pain to deal with. She's the one missing out but she probably thinks little of the inconveniences she causes others.

" If you celebrate Christmas, it's a great time to buy.."

penny, I don't think you meant what you wrote where it sounds like you're saying that it's a great time to buy PCs and Chromebooks IF Iris celebrates Christmas. Presumably if it's a good time, it's a good time for everyone.

We tried with an iPad. It's just one button to get to the internet there, too. There even was a picture guide, but she doesn't try. The internet does make things so much easier. And she wouldn't have to call me to text my daughter to answer her phone. Well actually leave me a voice mail to call her so she can tell me to text my daughter. Love her to death, but she is stubborn. My father in law is still doing some consulting work and is otherwise building stuff for his train setup, so he stays busy. And of course he is "liking" everything on Facebook.

Joyfulguy, what a story.

Yes it's a good time for everyone to buy elmer. It's an even better time, however, to receive a gift. I'm sorry I had to clarify for you...

Agreed about Joyful, Iris. Fascinating story worth telling in more detail. ;)

I am reading through the link JoAnn provided. Too bad Nectarine retired. This sounds like so much fun.

I've been coming here off and on for probably 18 years. Maybe longer. I used another name when I first found this board. Stopped coming for a few years then decided to see what everyone was up to again. I figured I may as well use my name rather than my dead cats name (I was Cleo199 for years). I don't really keep track of who is who and who likes what. I just read the odd post and don't comment as much as I did when I first came here. I used to spend all day between this and BHG boards (I miss BHG boards).

Another welcome from snowy Michigan! I am a widow of seven years. My husband passed away from Alzheimer's in 2010. My profile says I joined Houzz in 2002 but I think it was actually several years earlier.... back when we paid. The computer forum was the first one that I found after doing a Google search for a computer problem . There are so many nice people on these forums!

Welcome welcome welcome! Great to read so many stories.

I have been around for probably 20 years or so. At various forums. I was a helper for many many years at the computer help forum here and a lot of other computer help forums around the internet. I have been seen in the kitchen forums and design and gardening, and garden junk, etc. Just so many great forums here. But I generally get by here at kt daily.

We are in our senior years, he is a little more senior than I am lol. We are currently living in the north Houston area. You probably have read about our ordeal with hurricane Harvey and losing everything we owned. It is a day by day life right now. We don't know what our immediate future is much less down the road lol. We live in a motorhome named FREEDOM, named by the good people here at KT. We are thankful we made it out alive, I didn't think I was going to make it out that day. So each day is a blessing. We have a precious little girl toy fox terrier named Mia. She is our heart. I inherited a wonderful stepson when I married my husband 40 + years ago. We have 5 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

I am a Cajun gal from South Louisiana and I have raven black hair, with a lot of silver these days, hence my name.

I have a beautiful bright yellow mobility power chair, Sunny Bella, my wonderful friends here at KT and GW provided for me when I lost everything in the flood. These people are more than friends they are family. They are a true blessing. I have had the honor of meeting several of them in person. Always a great time.

Ed, Nita_Az is still around and traveling whenever she can get Mike, her husband, out of the house. They are in Florida right now...I think. There was a death in the family...her step sister, and I imagine they are trying to get her step mother established in some kind of care unit. She didn't say that, but her sister and mother lived together, and I don't think mother is able to live on her own without help.

Well I have no idea how long I have been on here. Started out in the bird watching forum, then the cooking one & some how landed here. My husband & I live in central Alabama with our dog Ali. I am from Illinois & my husband is from Minn., Ali is from here-LOL. We have 2 grown daughters from my first marriage. One is in N.C. & the other is in Fl. We got Ali 3 months ago after being dogless for 15 months, the longest we have ever been without a dog. But she was well worth the wait! She is 12 pounds so she is small, our last dog was small also. We have gone to smaller dogs because of my back. Ali is 7 years old, the people who had her did not want her any more. Their loss, she is a wonderful dog. I enjoy old movies & TV shows plus Survivor & Jeopardy-I love trivia. Oh & I am hooked on the Hallmark channel! We both like to cook & eat. But I do not cook every day. I like to make enough to have leftovers, love leftovers! I enjoy reading Amish novels, I also crochet some. We both like to walk & do yoga. Oh & we feed the deer. Have had 6 at one time, they are so pretty.

How do I check my profile to see how long I've been here? I tried hitting on my name but I do not see that info. I too started in the Kitchens Forum and came over here when someone on that forum mentioned the KT; I was charmed. Every so often I feel panicked when I think our host might dump the site but so far, so good! That's how much a part of my day this forum is. :) I live in the Silicon (rhymes with Oregon--soooo many problem pronounce it wrong, especially newscasters,) Valley with my husband. Our three girls are grown and gone from the house, no grandkids yet but there's always hope. We don't have any animals but we sometimes take care of our daughter's dog which makes me very happy. Welcome to the table, Iris!

sjerin , according to your page ---- 2006-07-14.

I live in sjerin's general area (and have over 40 years) but my ear hears the words differently. To me, Oregon and silicon don't rhyme.

Oregon - the last syllable sounds the same as the last syllable in "begin"

Silicon - the last syllable sounds the same as the 'O" sound in gone.

Silicone, the inert substance used for cooking and kitchen items (among other things) - the last syllable rhymes with "bone".

Thanks Terry, and wow! Time sure does fly.

Ok, Oregon is pronounced as Oregun, and Silicon, as in Valley, is pronounced Silicun. Hubby has been in the biz for a long time and corrected me soon after we moved here. Sorry if I sound like a know-it-all but this one bugs me! And Gonzaga is pronounced with the middle 'a' as a short vowel (hat). It's probably not proper, but those who attend pronounce it that way.

Sorry for the derailment, Iris.

Hello Iris and welcome. I think I started on GW around 2005 and was mostly on the old forums called Garden Design, the pond forum and occasionally the bluebird forum. I found my way over to the home decorating forum after the several of the really knowledgeable and helpful folks left the garden design forum. I lurked there for a while and also visited the bath site when we remodeled our bathroom for some very good tips over there.

I still am most active over on the home decorating convo side and visit a few others on occasion. I somehow found my way here a year or so ago and joined in quickly as there were several from the other forums already here.

I live in North Alabama with my DH and old chocolate lab on 9 acres. I retired in mid-summer and am enjoying myself. I love to garden. We like to travel, hike, shoot, and stay active and fit. I run and also walk with my neighbors in our rural neighborhood. We have 3 grown kids and 6 grands, and we also stay busy going to their sports activities and visiting with them as they are close. Oldest grandson is now in college and a granddaughter will go next year. They grow up so fast.

I've been around here a long, long time. Don't remember exactly when I joined, but I do remember that when my twin sister was in a nursing home in Killeen, TX in 2000, friends here sent her lots of greeting cards, and then sent to me when she passed away in July, 2000. I've met lots of KTers, Nita, Vannie, Martha, etc. including a bunch when we met in Fredericksburg years ago. Remember that? I am 76 now and live with my retired DH in a small east Texas town on Cedar Creek Lake, about 30 miles east of Corsicana and 50 miles west of Tyler. Ken retired after 30 years as a geophysicist with Exxon, and we were vagabonds during that time. Now we've been in this house 26 years...a record!! I don't have to pick my stuff up and move any more! What peace of mind. We're feeling very blessed now because 1 1/2 year ago Ken was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer...first dr. said he had 6 months to live. My first response was, That's not acceptable! A wonderful surgeon in Dallas operated and then he had chemo and radiation, now oncologist says the cancer is in remission. Surgeon told us that Ken was going to be his 1% of patients who survive this kind of cancer cause he'd never smoked and has always exercised and taken care of himself and his body. Made all the difference in the world! He and I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and much health and happiness in the New Year!!

Welcome Iris. I've been here since 2004. Also German, but not from Germany. My great grandparents migrated here from Russia (Germans from Russia) and settled in South Dakota, where most of my relatives still live. About 3 years before I was born, my Dad trudged home through the snow and told Mom they should move to California. He may have been joking, but Mom asked, "When can we leave?" So, I was born in California and have never lived anywhere else. I am 62 years old.

I have two children, 4 stepchildren, 3 grandchildren and 6 cats. I work full-time for a couple of attorneys and in my spare time, of which there is very little, I love to knit, crochet, sew, cook and read.

Hello, and welcome, Iris! I am Tami in north central, snowy, Ohio. I have no idea exactly when I started here, but I am guessing around 1998. Soon after DH finally broke down and we got the internet! I started looking for crochet patterns, and lots of recipes, (and I hate to cook!), so I found the crochet forum, then the crafts and dec forum, and someone mentioned the KT, and I was hooked. I tend to be MIA a lot anymore, as I get distracted with a knitting forum on another site, also like family to me, and RVing. I have been a stay at home mom of 2, DD is almost 34, with a boy and a girl, and DS who is 30, with 2 boys. DH is still working, though we hope in a couple of years the he will retire and we will go full time in the RV. I am 58. We have been married for 35 years, but are high school sweet hearts, and dated for 8 years before we got married. We had a basset shepherd when we married, until 1994, then various gerbils, and a newt or 2, before DD talked us into a bunny. Sunflower bunny passed in 2002, and we were petless for 2 years before DD talked me into letting her get her dad a new bunny for his birthday. Sonny bunny was a one person bunny. DD is a photographer, and at the time, was photographer for Pet Smart and Petco in our area. She called one morning to say that her baby bunny's mom was up for adoption. I knew she would end up taking Sydney home, so I said if her dad was ok with it, we would take her. We got them both fixed, and those 2 were as close as they could get to each other until the day Sydney passed. Sonny lived about another year. We now have 2 more, brother and sister, Hoover and Dyson! They are about 2 years old now.

You will rarely find me without knitting needles in my hands. Or a book!

Hello Iris, I have only been here a couple of months, and I love the people here. I started out on Daylilies years ago, progressed to Home Decor and their conversation side, and now here. What I like is so far is that I have not seen any sniping or drama here. Very nice. I am still trying to keep people straight here, too! LOL

I am a newly retired teacher, still substitute teach. Best things in my life: 2 grown daughters, 96 year old Mom, 2 little dogs and lots of flower beds! Worst things: Daughter moving far away in 2 weeks, and I need to lose weight. Soooo as I said, life is pretty good.

welcome Iris. Glad to see you joined us. My profile says I joined in 2004, but I think it has been longer. We live in the middle of SD in a town of about 40 people. I always said I didn't want to live in a town this small. It is just like living on a farm and I grew up on a farm. So I like it. I am retired from being a cook and my DH drives on of the blades for the county. He loves his job and doesn't want to quit yet. I am 66 and he is 67. We came from ND. I am also a German. One of those from Russia like Donna Loomis. We have 2 children. Our daughter lives in Michigan with her husband and 2 daughters and 1 son. Our son lives in Georgia married with 3 children and 4 grandchildren. We have a cat, long haired grey tabby. I belong to a CFEL club and to a social club and the Catholic church. I make rugs from old sheets that I buy at a thrift store for 25 cents a piece. I do a few other crafts as well. I check in on this form numerous times a day. I love the smiles even, though just the other day I read it as smell for the day. I thought maybe that could be a new post idea, especially for this time of the year.

I first joined as a paid member back in the Spring of 2004, but had been lurking for a while prior to that. My husband and I are both retired California State employees. Hubs is an attorney and I worked as a network administrator for a large state agency.

We live in an unincorporated area of Sacramento County, CA. One very spoiled tuxedo cat, no kids.

Eva, that is wonderful news about your husband!

Hi, Iris. I've been at the KT since 1999 or 2000. I only know that because we had a small KT get together here at my house shortly after 9-11. A lot of good people have drifted away from the KT as I don't think any of those people still post here but we are all really close friends to this day and chat online most days. Nectarine was sewn by me and her travels were coordinated and mapped out until it just got too hard to keep her moving. She is now retired but her adventures were very fun.

If you ever get a chance to attend a KT get together, go! They are always fun. Welcome to the KT.

I'm coming along at the tail end of this interesting batch of stories. Been here since about 1999 when I joined the caregiver's forum after my husband had a stroke just a few weeks after our 50th wedding anniversary celebration in 1997. I cared for him until his death in 2004. Two years later I moved back to Minnesota where I grew up. Two of our 4 daughters live here.

My long-ago (1941) boy friend located me on the internet and we were married in 2006. He was 89, I was 85. We had six great years together. I live alone now in a Senior Independent living apartment.

I'm past 95, the oldest person on Kitchen Table. Read it every day and post now and then.

Welcome, Iris, so nice to get to know you, and it is nice to get acquainted and re-acquanted with everyone else. I discovered the kitchen forum first in 2010 when I was redoing the kitchen in our vacation home we refer to as the riverhouse. My grands named my main home the woodhouse for some reason. There are a lot of trees here, but I really don't think that is the connection.

I have been married 45 years. I met my husband when I was 16. I live in the suburbs of Washington DC but grew up in the Bronx, NY. I have three beautiful accomplished daughters all married and mothers to my 7 grandchildren. I am a retired middle school English teacher. I sub several times a month at my old school. I am so fortunate to have had a career that I can still enjoy in retirement. I am happy that 2 of my daughters live within a couple of miles from me and the other only a 4-5 hour drive, so I am able to see them often. I help out with driving kids around, errands and such and attend games and school events. Tonight I am going to the Christmas pageant where one of my grandsons is a donkey. He is so excited; he must have told me a thousand times. My granddaughter decorated the Christmas tree yesterday and baked cookies while the grandsons did this.

The members here are wonderful people. You will enjoy the interaction.

Senior gal, what a story. I actually love all the stories here, very interesting read. Going back and forth sometimes to figure out who is who.