Am sick of WINTER---vent

[Pooh]

We had a beautiful weekend, but it's been raining since Sunday night.  Did I say raining?  It's been POURING and storming with thunder and lightening and the temps dropped like a rock.  Hubby got up this morning and it was 63 in the house.  Needless to say, the heat was turned on again. 

Irish I know what you mean about the farmers trying to get their crops planted.  I saw the big tow truck go up the road this afternoon and I heard on the emergency scanner that they had a tractor over turned up the road from us.  They didn't say who it was, but I'm holding my breath for news.  I doubt it happened in the fields, more likely up near the barn.  I pray no one was hurt.  Machinery can be fixed. 

It just doesn't let up does it.  If it isn't cold and wet, it's hot and dry.  A nice happy medium would be nice for a while. 

Here's hoping there be better days a comin', we sure deserve them. 

Take care everyone and enjoy the good days when you can.

Hugs, Pooh

[genko_b]

Irish, we have had the same issues here in Washington state with the very cold temperatures and late snow mixed in with better days. It has greatly impacted the fruit crops from the eastern part of the state. Some orchards are estimating 30% crop loss. While it makes for interesting conversation in Seattle, it may cause some farmers to go under and contributes to the current sense of food shortages here and there in the world.

Genko

[YICKelly]

I woke up this morning to an inch of SNOW on my car!! Spring - NOT!!  Of course it melted by  11 a.m. and the rest of the day was nice.

[irish]

Mu hubby listened to our trusty weatherman on KARE 11 Mpls. Jonathan Yuhas is his name and he has been a weather nut since he was a kid. Has kept notebooks of statistics, measurements, you name it. He really knows a lot about weather and can tell you what happened 30 years ago cause he wrote it down!!!

Anyway, he said today that the jet stream is in such a position that it may be another 10 days before we get a change in the weather. We are to have rain, cold and possibly snow the end of the week. We havae been running out furnace since the first of November and the money it is costing is awful. I think we will have to cut down on our grocery buying to save money for heat. I don't think we will starve but I will just have to be really frugal.

I am sure that we must have had springs like this before, but what makes me uneasy is listening to these people talking about oil and food shortages. I know that things aren't good, but the more they talk the more people panic and do the hoarding and then it is worse than ever. Half the food stuffs we buy we can get along without. The reason I know this is because when we got married we didn't have all these things. Remember how much smaller the grocery stores were back then. I like Aldi's because it reminds me of back when we got married. Anyway, what will be will be and we will make it through cause that is what tough people do---and we are sjoggies and we are tough. Right Gang!!!Irish

There is a glimmer of hope though. Did you hear that they are getting rid of a lot of the plastic baby bottles and bringing back the glass ones? Also, I have read that cloth diapers are making a comeback. People can't afford the disposable ones anymore plus the cost of disposing of them is getting higher. Also, I have heard that some of the milk companies are going back to glass milk bottles. I always thought milk tasted better out of the glass bottles.

[wordnerd]

I won't mention what the weather's been in Southern California the last few days.  But I hope some it goes all of your ways... then maybe I won't have to run the AC all day.

Hang in there!

-Lauren

[eyeamdry]

Oh me, Oh my.  Tonight in lower Michigan, we are expecting a low of 25.  Farmers are going to lose 90% of many crops if this is the case.  Cherries, apples, grapes are big around here.  I'll bet many will be awake all night and trying to do what they can to save their crops.  Lucy

[genko_b]

Lucy, We'll keep our fingers crossed that the Michigan fruit crops aren't hit too hard. Washington state has lost about 30% of its fruit to severe cold weather this spring.

Irish, the other thing that is different about how we eat is the plates are bigger now than they used to be. My sister and I are using our grandmother's old china and it is much smaller than what is in the stores now. The dinner plates then look like lunch plates now. And we can get milk in glass bottles here.

Genko

[Linda196]

I'm finally starting to feel justified in my stubborn ways!

I'm the "hippy" who held up the check out lines by unpacking and filling her own cloth bags, the one in the bulk food store tying things up by weighing her own glass containers before filling them, the oddball who nursed her babies until they could use a sippy cup, and put them in cloth diapers, the weirdo who took her thermos cup to the drivethru for tea rather than take their disposable cup, and the cheapie who drank tap water when the whole world had a plastic bottle!

Even my hubby, who goes along with it only because he loves me, thinks I'm a bit "off".

We had lovely spring weather until yesterday, when it was dreary and drizzly all day...but last night was an incredible show of nature...winds and rain, distant thunder and a temperature drop of about 10 *C. This morning it's fresh and clean, warming up, and a light breeze to dry things out. Best news is that, although our area has been on flood watch for a week, the rain last night didn't cause any serious increase in the water levels.

[Pooh]

Good morning folks,
Hope everyone has a great day today.  I just wanted to give you all an update from the other night when we had our down pour.  As we were pulling up the drive toward the garage I saw something moving on the drive.  I told my hubby to stop and I got out to see what it was.  There on the macadam were 2 tiny toads maybe 2 inches long total.  I took the tip of my cane and nudged them over in the grass. 

So I guess the "Frankie" lineage will go on.      Ahh, Spring IS in the air!  A little chilly, but none the less IN the air.

Hugs, Pooh

[YICKelly]

Way To Go Frankie!!  Congratulation on your off spring!! LOL

[irish]

Oh, the sun shone today but the breeze came up and is cool. Here comes the cold night again. We have had hard frost here.

Lucy, the people in Michigan and the other states that have all those fruit trees and fruit crops are really going to be hurting. Seems like the weather does this every so often and those fruit farmers north and south end up losing their crops.

Linda, I like your attitude. I have my frugal moments that others would scoff at if they knew. I can use up leftovers and figure out how to make due. We used to burn wood with supplement of oil but ended up getting a LP furnace and giving up the wood cause I couldn't take the ashes or the odor. Bet it was from the Sjogrens. I really miss the warm wood heat. I would put my bread to rise on the top of our wood stove upstairs.

I am one of those women that loves being home on a cold winter day making homemade soup. I really have a fit when I have to pay so much a pound to get a soup bone. I now buy roasts on sale and cut them up with an electric knife into steaks, stir fry meat and beef scraps. I pressure cook the meat for the soup and it gets so tender. We used to raise and butcher all our own meat but we are not in good enough shape to do that anymore and I miss it. It was work, but the meat was so much better than the store bought stuff. Irish

[Pooh]

Oh Irish, I'm with you.  I do so miss the canning and preserves I use to do every year.  It was so much nicer to go down cellar and pick a couple jars off the shelves and open them for dinner and dessert.  Somehow the color of the green beans and the tomatoes were so brillant they looked fake.  But the taste was like nothing store bought in a tin can. 

Farm raised beef and pork always tasted better than the meat from the grocery store. And farm raised chickens and eggs oh my what a treasure.   And that heavenly aroma of bread baking was so wonderful.  I still bake the bread, but now I use my bread machine.  I don't bake it in the machine, but I let the machine do the mixing and kneading.  My hands and arms can't handle it anymore. 

I sure do miss the "good ole days".  It was hard work, but so satisfying.  Oh and the best thing in all the world is home churned ice cream with fresh strawberries or peaches right from the field and trees.  Oh my, just to be able to travel back in time.  I would go in a heart beat. 

Take care all and remember the good times.

Hugs, Pooh

[kimbo]

I absolutely so enjoy all you people and your great spirits. I so need to hear all this sweet dialog.
Unable to sleep tonight and in tears I thank you all.  kim

[Pooh]

Aww Kimbo don't cry.  It makes us all sad when one of us cry.  It'll be better tomorrow and things always look and feel better in the daylight. 

Anything we can help you with?  Would you like us to listen to whatever is making you sad?  We will.  That's what we all do best.

Take care and let us know if we can help. 

Hugs, Pooh 

[Debora]

Hi Kimbo

I hope you are feeling better.  Sometimes it is good to cry, although painful for my eyes!       

Take Care
Debora