Fashion

[PAlady]

Good morning ladies, hope all is well.

We had some crazy storms here last night.  We almost had 3 inches of rain in a matter of hours.  There was flooding in near by towns, but, as far as I know we did okay around here.  I am sure there was some small flooding, but the town up the road, you could boat down Main Street.  We are supposed to get more weather like it today, not looking forward to that, but..

I hope everyone is safe from the weather today, I do need to get a couple things done around here.  I will check back later.  What is everyone up to today.

[cerb]

Good morning - Susan, so sorry to hear that the excess rain caused nearby flooding.  Will pray for the safety of everyone.  twinny - thank you for explaining that you were in IN.  How fun to spend time with the family and attend a graduation party.  Those milestones are special.

I realized within hours of planting the Chinese pistache trees that they are deciduous and won't make a good screen from the ugly view during winter months.  Geesh.  We could probably remove the middle tree and replace it with an tree that doesn't lose leaves.  I am not familiar with these trees, but my DH was in a hurry at the nursery and insisted that he wanted them.  I, by contrast, usually think about things like this for a l-o-n-g time before making decisions.  The pepper tree and the Jacaranda tree have been on my purchase list for a couple of years. 

Today I am going to the grocery store and will do some chores around the house.  Nothing special.  This coming Friday is when I'm having my eyelid surgery.  I'm a bit nervous about it. 

Waves to all  ~ Charlene

[Bird mama]

Hi Susan @PAlady   are you in upstate NY?  I see your nickname and I can't remember where you are from.  We haven't had 2 days in a row of dry weather in so long I can't remember.  I'm not in a flood plain (thank God) even though some people in my county have to worry about all the rain.

[PAlady]

Bernie - I live in South Western PA - North of Pittsburgh, PA.  It is raining again, just pouring out. I am so tired of rain right now.  I know, you can't tell Mother Nature what to do.   I guess I could do a little cleaning.

[Bird mama]

Charlene @cerb   Sounds like your husband is a 'make it happen' kind of fella.  I have a 6ft white vinyl privacy fence on one side of my yard that I installed in a hurry back in 2007.  I was in such a hurry that I had it installed a couple of inches inside the chain link fence that divided my property from the neighbor who was barking at my dog and screaming at me every time I walked into my yard.  It's all legal, I applied for the permit myself to expedite the process with the fence company, rofl.

Now that I am home all of the time I plan to install a privacy fence on the other side.  This time I'll have the fence people pull the chain link fence and just put my privacy fence up on the exact property line.

I'm going to run the fence a little further (lengthwise, alongside the house) than the current fence.  There is an old evergreen shrub that the birds like to hang out in that I know I will be cutting down to get the extra length of privacy fence.

I haven't even called the fence people out for an estimate and I am already researching aborvitae (hope I spelled that right) and various evergreen shrubs that I will plant inside the privacy fence probably next spring.

I'm waiting for breeding season to be over for the sparrows before I do anything.  I have at least 7 other evergreen shrubs (one near the house, 6 along the back fence) that the sparrows can live in during fall and winter.

Long story short, I'm a planner through and through.

[Bird mama]

Well, I finally broke down and just messaged Maxwell House on their facebook page.  I guess facebook can be useful   My husband was never a coffee drinker and it didn't make sense for me to make a pot of coffee before work to only drink a cup or two before I hit the road so I've become accustomed to Maxwell House instant coffee for nearly 20 years.  

I haven't been able to find Maxwell House instant coffee on any store shelves for nearly 3 weeks.  I was rationing what I had and today the rubber met the road and I ran out.  I went to 2 stores and nothing.

Out of desperation I bought Folgers instant.  While I normally don't drink coffee in the afternoon I thought hey Bernie, just try it.  Well, the cup of coffee is sitting in front of my keyboard on the desk in the office.

It's not the worse cup of coffee I've ever had.  There is zero coffee aroma like what I get from Maxwell House.  I'm glad I tried it now instead of shocking my system tomorrow morning.  I bought the classic blend and maybe I'll look online and see if they make a rich blend or something.

As I was googling Maxwell House instant coffee shortage I learned Kraft Heinz (didn't know the 2 companies merged) put Maxwell House on the market to sell it in February.  No takers yet.

They are also trying to sell off Ore-Ida potatos and it's not looking good for Oscar Meyer either.

All of the brands I grew up with no longer seem to be profitable for these companies.

I'm hoping that I get a response from the Maxwell House facebook page.

This is what I messaged them (my name and location is known on these forums:

"Hello my name is Bernadette and I reside in Southeast Michigan. I can't find Maxwell House Instant coffee in the jars for 3 weeks now. I was rationing what I had on hand and today had to buy Folgers instant. I just made a cup of Folgers and it doesn't even taste like coffee (yuck). I know Kraft Heinz put Maxwell House up for sale a couple of months ago. Is this why I am not finding the instant coffee on the shelves? Was there a problem in the factory or something? I feel like I'm not gonna make it without my Maxwell House instant. Well, I'll make it but my quality of life is going to hit the skids in the mornings. Please advise. Respectfully, a lifelong Maxwell House girl."

[Bird mama]

Wow, Maxwell House messaged me back and assured me that they are still making the product.  They're trying to help me find some locally.  I am not kidding you, if I can find a store that has it locally (even a couple of Walmart's were out) I will check the expiration dates and buy several.  That Folgers coffee is giving me an upset stomach.  

[LindaLatte]

Good Afternoon and thanks for getting us started, Susan.  Sorry for all that rain, but glad you haven't had any flooding.  So many parts of the country are having serious weather problems.  One of my nephews lives in OK, and posted a picture on FB -- very grey and rainy. Fortunately, he hadn't had much trouble with flooding or tornadoes, but he was concerned since he is the one who does horse rescue, etc.  

Hi Charlene.  Sorry that the some of the trees you purchased may not be the best for privacy.  I am not sure I mentioned it here, but I recently purchased two plants from a local nursery -- not ones I had tried before.  One is on the front patio (behind a wall) and is growing nicely.  But, the one I put in the front yard was obviously attacked by an animal in the night -- perhaps a rabbit.  Guess I need to stick to cactus out there.  Some of my neighbors put little cages around their flowers, but that seems counterproductive to me since you can't really see the flowers.

Glad you spoke up about the coffee, Bernie.  Like you, I have become accustomed to certain brands of products, and find substitute brands don't usually taste nearly as good.  Could be psychological, but......  In regard to your tree trimming -- I hope that it grows back in a way that pleases you.  I had a somewhat similar experience with one of my big bushes.  It kept blocking my back gate, and my landscaper suggested cutting off half of it (it had sort of grown an extra half over the years).  At first I said no, but after several months, I said go ahead.  I was not pleased with the result at all.  But, after another six or more months, the bush is pretty much perfect.

Sounds like you had lots of fun shopping in that little town, twinny.  Hope you make it home safe and sound.

Also hope your tests go well, Jean.

Waves to all of our posters and readers.

I had a real problem yesterday afternoon after I went to the gym, etc.  Really thought I would vomit, but I did not.  I did break into a sweat, ached all over, etc.  I had some issues all evening and into the night.  Finally got up about 2:30 and did a bunch of de-cluttering in my laundry area.  I was so proud of myself for being ruthless in getting rid of things -- trash and set aside for donation.  After a couple of hours, I went back to bed for a while, but got up before 6:00 a.m.  I took a walk, but was still aching, and I decided that I probably needed to do something about my constipation.  Taking a pill just didn't do the trick.  Not to be gross or anything, I went to the Wal Mart, found a product to use, and I'm feeling much better now.  I will probably try to take a nap after lunch.  

I have some more decluttering/cleaning to do in that laundry area, but much less.  I decided to get rid of the small refrigerator DH wanted to keep cool beverages in, especially during the summer.  It still works okay, and I have cleaned it up so it is ready to go.  I'm waiting for a return call from the thrift store to arrange a pick-up time.

Not very exciting, but I am feeling very good about taking care of some of this clutter.  You are quite right, Charlene.

Hope everyone has a nice evening, and your weather is okay.

Hugs,

Linda

P.S. It is warm and sunny here.  Still cool in the morning when I take my walk, but headed up in the 80's today.

[Bird mama]

Linda @LindaLatte   It's not gross at all.  I sometimes laugh because I understand now why both of my grandmothers were fixated on having a 'daily constitutional'.  From the time I was a kid if I said I wasn't feeling good, either grandma would ask if I had gone to the bathroom that day   Of course as a child I'd say Grandma, really.  

Just a thought - take it easy and maybe skip the gym for a day or 2.  

[LindaLatte]

Thanks, Bernie.  My Mom had those sorts of problems, but I was hoping I would not.  Wrong!   Fortunately, it is not a gym day for me.  I will see how I feel tomorrow afternoon and, if not great, Friday it is.