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A beautiful sunny morning here on the Texas coast. I started a volunteer job this week at the RV Diasters work group. This group is working on the Hurricane Harvey survivors. Helping them these 14 months later, still with all kinds of living needs. I find it just a big eye opener. Many of these folks are in their 60-70-80’s. Glad we have some sunny days. Has been very windy this week, but then it is winter and we winter Texans are here loving it. I did go look for the Whooping Cranes, had all you can eat Catfish, but still have the bay to drive by and look at. Just getting the first coffee going. Hope you are warm and dry at your place. Enjoy this Saturday to the fullest.

Hi, Birdie. It's great that you can help with the disaster work. The stories the lady told that we met in Rockport were so sad. Rockport looks fine until you turn off the main road into the side streets.

I woke up at 3:00 again and couldn't go back to sleep until about 6:00. I thought I was through with that. Hank barked a few time but I'm not going out in the dark to see what he's barking at. I need to check into a security light in the back yard.

Don't know what I will do today except try not to go to Lafayette on a Saturday a week before Christmas. I made my first batch of cranberry sauce. I usually make 2 batches every December so I can put some in the freezer for all year.

It's overcast and gray again today. The temperature in the house is 76 but it's a cold 76. It's funny that sometimes I feel like it's too hot at 76 and today it's not warm enough.

Martha

Good afternoon Birdie, Martha & all! Birdie, that is so nice of you to help out with the hurricane victims. I can only imagine what you must be experiencing. Martha, I wake up often in the middle of the night for hours on end. Wish that would stop.

I missed the morning coffee, so I have iced tea and finger food available.

We had over 7" of rain yesterday. The latter part of the rain was just torrential downpours for hours. It was just crazy. We'll be attending a dinner at the clubhouse provided by the campground this evening. Not much else going on in my corner of the world, but it would be nice to see the sun again, but at least we are having mild temperatures, so I shouldn't complain. Stay warm and dry!

I am enjoying the rain here. BUT we get ours in small increments usually. The news goes crazy if we get an inch and then lets not even talk about a few snowflakes LOL No rain here yet today but some is expected. It is damp and kind of chilly out 44 so I have my usual attire on, sweat pants and sweatshirt (long underwear underneath) but my house is set at 67 and that seems comfortable to me.

Not too much on my agenda today. I know I am NOT going anywhere near any shopping places on the weekend. I might venture out on Monday but no guarantees LOL

Ms Emma is very content to curl up on the couch with me covered with our fleece blanket. So might just be a sappy Hallmark Movie day. Tomorrow Seahawk vs 49ers game so that will be fun to watch I hope.

Afternoon everyone. Chris (son) and I are working on Christmas today. Got tree decorated yesterday and it looks so beautiful, so glad we made trip last Friday to tree farm. Today we will wrap packages, put lights on porch, and do a little baking using my newest Keto cookbook. I sent 8 large bags to donation center yesterday, boy is it nice to reclaim my bedroom floor where i had them stacked! More to go on that as that was just my closet and a few of Mel's things. I wanted my closet back, free of huge clothes, more than I wanted to tackle his closet yet.
Martha, Mel got some really nice solar powered (with battery) security lights at Costco. He hung 1 but I found two more in sunroom I plan to have my handyman help with since these I want where ladder is required. They are LED and very bright and have motion detector. the first one has been up over two years.
No rain to speak of here and we sure need another juicy storm. Sierras doing ok on snow but valley is dry and 60's during day.
I'm not quite ready to go volunteer but I admire those who can. Paradise area folks still need help.
Have a happy day all.
Velda

Not sunny here in N. Central CA. Sitting here in the house with the fireplace going doing a few Christmas cards. Have a great day all!!

Linda

I rented a car for the weekend and just got back from a drive to Portland. It took longer than I wanted, but there was a specialty sausage store I wanted to go to to get fresh Kielbasa and some other things for the holidays. Tried it tonight and it was a bit too bland, but OK. (Good, fresh kielbasa should make your entire car smell wonderful, but this just did not make it.) I know I am picky, but I really miss some of the foods I can get in Detroit, but not west of the Mississippi.

On a positive note, I did order a couple of trays of Baklava from a place in Dearborn, MI, called Masri Sweets. The Detroit area has the world's largest collection of Middle Easterners--well over 400,000. (They are of all religions and nationalities, with the results being wonderful food. If you remember Danny Thomas, you might not know he was born in Michigan to Lebanese Catholic parents. If you don't remember him, think St Jude's Children Hospital that he founded with money from his career on TV and movies.) Not only do they have terrific middle-eastern bakeries, but because many of those countries were once French colonies, they also make fantastic french pastries. Take a look at the cakes, pastries, and baklava on their web site: https://www.masrisweets.com/ They have about 15 kinds of baklava, but I ordered trays with only the kind I like best. It will be a lot of baklava, but it does freeze well and keeps a long time. Too expensive and dried out in stores.

I also stopped for a dozen Einstein bagels and then to Walmart across the river to get some sudafed. Oregon is a funny state--you can buy recreational marijuana on just about every corner, but you cannot buy sudafed for you stuffy head without a prescription.

Anyway, my freezer is getting full, but I still have a couple of places I want to go tomorrow for non-food things! The weekend rate is only $42 for three days, so worth it. It really felt good to get out.

we have had chilly cloudy weather will be glad when it warms up..have even had to turn the buddy heater on some in the day time but try not to do it...sure wish I could find someone to fix the fireplace saw the other day that one vendor is back that says Grandma's fireplace... going to stop and see if they are just a
selling place or a fix it as well...
still working on getting Christmas up so slow at it really dragging my heels but my corner is empty ready for the tree so will go pick it up tomorrow...and decorate it tomorrow
then will have to take care of the clutter that is worse cause I haven't found a home for the displaced items.
think I bought couch today... Kerry came over and she mentioned my chair and I mentioned I was looking for a couch but hadn't found one that would fit either space or budget....she said she had a friend that has one came out of a 5th wheel so should fit he wanted a hundred but he likes to wheel and deal so Kerry wheeled and dealed...and 65 plus my old couch he wants the wood for some reason.. now to find some one with a truck and able backs to take the one out and the one in... not sure from the picture I am wild about it but it is in better condition than mine is... it's the floral print
taking in a Hallmark movie one not seen amazing...
sheila

Slept almost 12 hours last night. Still don't feel great today with headache and sore throat. Just hung out on the couch all day.

Irmi, 7 inches of rain in one day is a lot!! If we got that much here that quickly, my house would get washed down the creek! When we had those torrential rains last week, it only amounted to a little over an inch and the creek was still running really high. We were forecasted to get rain this weekend but that fizzled out. No rain forecasted at all now.

I keep my thermostat at 78 degrees which works well for now. If my gas bill gets too high, I will turn it down a bit. I think it will be better this winter tho since I got a new thermostat that is digital instead of the very very old one that was original to the house with a sliding switch on it.

Judy, Sudafed is used to make meth, so that is why it is either prescription only or kept behind the counter at pharmacies. I bought so much Sudafed when I lived in MN, for my allergies, that I was afraid they were gonna come looking for my meth lab!

Sheila, I hope you get your fireplace fixed soon and get your couches switched out.

Off to bed...

Barbie, I buy it in most states from behind the counter, and use my ID. The problem is that I do not have a general family doctor to get a prescription from in Oregon. My Ohio doctor tried to call one in, but the law does not allow her to mail it to me, and I am not flying to Ohio to pick it up. I already asked one of my specialists doctors here, and he sent in the four-hour type, which does me little good. I really don't want to ask him a second time. So, as long as I stay in Oregon, I can't get it.

Like all the talk about opioids, some of us really need them, like when you are passing a kidney stone and bleeding, but the laws are getting harder and harder to get them for people like me who have legitimate needs. The very few people who are misusing these drugs are causing a lot of problems for those of us who need them. They are punishing the many to prevent misuse by the few, unfortunately.

Seeing the posts about Sudafed makes me wonder why since they are restricting it so much why doctors don't recommend natural ways, but I guess that would be against big Pharmas agenda! The side effects of Sudafed sound pretty scary.
I think the opioids crisis was caused by them not revealing how addictive they were and doctors and dentist would hand out a prescription for thirty pills which is how many unsuspecting people were hooked. I feel sorry for those who need them and it is unfortunate the pendulum swung so far in the other direction. I also think it has contributed to the increased use of CBD and various forms of marijuana as a lot of people claim it has helped them get off of opioids and other drugs such as Zanax.

Sudafed is the only thing that works for me and I have absolutely no side effects from it. Luckily, I rarely ever need it now since I moved to CA.