how about drinking?

it is. I am so angry, the table was in perfect condition before it was loaded.

Wally - Kirtland brand? My only problem with all boxed wine is that it's WAY too easy to pour just one more glass…..

I just hope the nicks and dings can be sanded out and refinished

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Hump Day! I took Mom to her ophthalmologist's appointment yesterday. No real changes going on other than expected age-related stuff. I was surprised when he made a referral to an optometrist when Mom said she wanted her glasses updated, though. Apparently this ophthalmologist doesn't fit/prescribe glasses anymore. So now Mom has yet another appointment with yet another doctor in November. Oh well, such is life as one gets older. Aging is not for the faint hearted or people who expect to enjoy lots of leisure time, I guess!

mOmmy--I'd be angry about the damage to the table, too. It's just not right.

Wally--Glad to hear the inexpensive, convenient boxed wine is drinkable.

Minus--the way too easy to pour just one more glass is a drawback for the boxed wines. Not one that's easily overcome, either!

Teka--thanks!

Wally--a taste of the very best of wines would be a lot of fun, and I can see where it could change opinions on wine. But, as you say, unless lottery winnings are involved, not gonna happen in this house.

Karen--welcome back! Congrats on the youngest daughter's engagement! The color scheme sounds really pretty. Would your DH allow some pics to be posted here after the wedding? The health issues sure do seem to be ongoing for you. I pray they resolve or at least stabilize soon. Happy Anniversary! Ah, yes, school has started again. The only reason I know is because I'ce gotten a couple of calls about open school nurse positions, That's something I would think about if the positions were closer to home. I'm sure you will know when it's the right time for you to retire.

Welcome Back Cocktail

Ingredients

• 3 slicesEnglish Cucumber
• 1 small pieceGreen Chile  (I used a small piece of Serrano pepper, about an inch long)
• 1 sprigFresh Cilantro
• 1 ½ ouncesGin  (I used Hendricks)
• ½ ounceLime Juice  (freshly squeezed)
• ½ ounceSimple Syrup 

DH and I celebrated our Silver Anniversary today! (The actual day was yesterday, but he had a class he needed to attend.) I got him a tricked out grill thermometer he's been wanting (for my 'hottie'!), and he got me one of those pendants that you can put your rings on. I'm a MT, when I'm not an entrepreneur, and I can't wear my wedding set when I work. We're also going out for dinner tonight, so we'll have to see what's on the menu!

I picked up 8 bottles of Bogle's Petite Sirah. I've decided the few extra dollars (maybe) are worth getting wine I love. They have it QFC for 7.19 if you buy 6. I bought them out, caught the manager and asked if he could order me a case. Should last me a few weeks, LOL.

Working on the last of the pot holders today for the thing my cousin asked me to do them for. Did hot pads, pot holders and will also do a set of placemats for it.

I wish I had not heard of Charlie Kirk until today. Sadly, ever since the Columbine shooting, Colorado is very loud with gun control news from both sides.

The irony of Kirk's killing is that he was a rabid proponent of a gun in every pocket, and saw innocent people's deaths as a reasonable sacrifice for gun ownership.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/charlie-kirk-gun-deaths-quote/

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy TGIF day! The plan for today is to spend the day with Mom, who wants to do the Ocean Drive in Acadia National Park. Neither of us have done that trip for years. Today should be beautiful for the drive. She also wants to stop to make arrangements for her head stone for the cemetery plot. She wants to have "everything all set, and so no one has to arrange anything." Should make for an interesting day.

Teka--I never heard of him until I saw all the info on the news sites about the shooting yesterday. Crazy situation.

Miriandra--wow, what a wild quote! I agree that something needs to be done about gun violence, but I disagree that gun control laws is the answer. If they worked, we'd have seen some progress by now. I think the real answer is in societal changes that support the value of life overall, but I don't know how to make that happen.

mOmmy--what an Ancestry find! Did you know about the local marker before this?

Friday Cocktail Recipe

4.67 from 27 votes

Ingredients
• 3/4 oz White Rum
• 3/4 oz Mango Puree
• 1/4/2006 Mango(s)
• 1/4 oz Lime Juice

Instructions
Blend Ingredients:
• In a blender, combine 3/4 oz white rum, 3/4 oz mango purée, and 1/4 fresh mango. Add a handful of crushed ice and blend until smooth.
Strain and Serve:
• Strain the mixture into a large highball glass filled with crushed ice.
Add Lime Juice:
• Squeeze a wedge of lime over the drink to add a refreshing citrus kick.
Serve Immediately:
• Garnish with a lime wedge or a slice of mango, and enjoy your Friday Cocktail right away.

From https://www.foodanddrinkrecipes.com/friday/

Knew about my great uncle having two markers. One here where his parents are buried and the one overseas. We knew a little about the circumstances of how he died but not exactly where. My maternal grandmother, his sister had the picture of him in uniform that had been their mother's. She gave it to my mom many years ago and my mom gave it to me. On one of my previous searches I was able to find out his medals and the unit he served with and the mission where his death occured. He was a nose gunner on a B-24.

Had another surprise this morning. Was sitting in the living room and the house we are renting for now having my morning coffee and I saw someting moving in the back yard and thought it was a stray dog. I got up to get a better look and turns out it was a bear! First time since we moved here I saw one in the back yard. Even tough we are in an urban area, we have woods and train tracks just beyond our neighbors! Means that we are going to have to start bungee cording up the garbage bin again!

"Miriandra--wow, what a wild quote! I agree that something needs to be done about gun violence, but I disagree that gun control laws is the answer. If they worked, we'd have seen some progress by now. I think the real answer is in societal changes that support the value of life overall, but I don't know how to make that happen."

I agree that one single strategy will not be the answer to solving the issue of gun violence - gun control laws included. It will take thoughtful approaches on many fronts, especially education and defetishization of weapons. My family has never been a gun family, but I know plenty of good folks who are. They mourn for the days when the NRA's main focus was offering classes on safe gun use and responsible ownership. Then they got infiltrated by gun manufacturers who pivoted their mission to unimpeded gun ownership and lax regulations, so that they could boost sales and corporate income. Private equity ruins everything, it seems.

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Saturday! The day out with Mom yesterday turned out really nice even if it didn't go quite to plan. Mom was having one of her slower-to-get-going ayems, so we didn't leave her place until noon time. She had just finished breakfast before we left. I had breakfast at 6 ayem, so I snuck a PBJ while she was getting dressed, knowing lunch would be later than usual. The drive around the Park Loop Road was nice, but since the part has stopped cutting back the trees on the side of the road towards the ocean there isn't as much to see as there used to be. Or more precisely, there is a lot more trees to see, and much less ocean view. We decided to go to the Jordan Pond House again for lunch, and Mom decided it was going to be splurge day. We got popovers, lobster stew, a lobster popover (think lobster roll in a popover instead of a hot dog roll), blueberry bread pudding (made with popovers, of course) with blueberry ice cream. It was VERY yummy. It came to $213. Mom almost fell off her chair after she asked how much it came to! But boy, oh boy, was it ever good! We didn't stop to look at grave markers, though. Mom was having more trouble than usual finding words and completing sentences, and I was starting to get frustrated with trying to figure out what she was trying to say, so I figured yesterday was not the day to do that. I'll make sure she gets it done soon, though.

Teka--yes, being prepared is a wise move. And you are very correct, we do all need to re-learn how to disagree and remain civil to each other.

Carole--I discovered the same thing about Charlie Kirk when I looked for more info on him. I can't help but wonder what he is thinking now. Mass shootings are becoming much too common. I'm afraid we, as a society, are getting numb to them.

mOmmy--you really have been able to find a lot of info about your great uncle! Bear in the back yard? Time to bungee the trash cans and take in the bird feeders! There are bears in the area where I live, but I haven't seen any near my house. I"ve seen them on the road not too far away, though. I'll never forget the morning I woke up to see a moose looking in my second story bedroom window! The puppers have been getting agitated about something in the front yard in the mid-ayems recently. I haven't seen anything when I look until today. We have a turkey herd ambling through! That's probably what the puppers have been reacting so, as it was the same time they usually have been acting up and wild turkeys around here tend to have pretty regular routes they follow.

Minus--frankly, I'd be more worried about the homeless encampment than the wildlife across the street. I hear about stabbings, shootings, beatings, overdoses, tents being set on fire in the homeless encampments around town more than I hear about a bear doing more than rummaging through trash cans and pulling down bird feeders.

Mirandra--you are right, it is going to take more than one approach to address gun violence. I grew up in a home with guns (rifles for deer hunting, hand guns for target shooting), and remember very well the training we kids got from the time we could start understanding right from wrong and good from bad how to behave around, and later, with guns. It was a bit of a rite of passage to finally be old enough, big enough and responsible enough to be taken out and taught how to shoot. I never realized the NRA had changed so much, I still think of them as the folks who did the yearly gun safety education my folks took me to every year. I think a big part of the reason I choose not to own a gun is because of the gun safety training emphasizing never point any gun at anything you don't intend to make dead. I don't think I could ever bring myself to do that to another human being. On the other hand, when my cousin's husband shot and killed her and himself all the guns owned by family living in the area came to live at my house for several months, until custody of their children was settled, as I lived far enough away that I could guarantee the kids wouldn't ever be in the same building as the guns no matter who in the family they were visiting.

Autumn Sunshine Cocktail

Ingredients

• 6 ice cubes
• 2 fluid ounces bourbon
• 1 fluid ounce maple syrup
• 1 fluid ounce brandy-based orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier)
• 1 clementine, juiced and peel cut into 1x1/4-inch strips
• ½ lemon, juiced

Directions
1. Place ice cubes in a shaker. Pour in bourbon, maple syrup, orange liqueur, clementine juice, and lemon juice. Cover the shaker and shake until the outside of the shaker has frosted, about 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled martini glass.
2. Light a match or lighter over cocktail and squeeze 1 strip of clementine peel near the flame to flame the oil. Rub peel on the rim of the martini glass and drop peel into cocktail.

From https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/241614/autumn-sunshine-cocktail/

Yum on the lunch.

I stopped drinking for two weeks after mastectomy and doctor said I could drink again now. My surgeon, oncologist and radiation oncologist all said drinking and smoking increase the risk but didn't forbid it. I was planning to have an expander put in during the mastectomy and the plastic surgeon told me I must quit smoking immediately as it was important to have good circulation for him to put the expander in. As it turned out he couldn't do it. So now I've quit smoking and if I want him to do the implant I have to stay off the cigs. I'm considering just using a prosthetic as I don't want to go through another surgery with drain. I'm over 70 and apparently only around 5% of women in my age group get implants.

I'm amazed someone here said her oncologist told her drinking and smoking have no effect. giving me pause. I do miss my ciggies.

Mary -quitting smoking was the hardest thing I ever did - bar none. And I'm 81 this year. I quit (the last time) on 7/11/07. Hopefully for the last time but I still miss it regularly. Funny - I always said if I got a life threatening disease I would start again, but it didn't even occur to me when I was diagnosed with the first breast cancer in 2011.

I've been told since that doctors don't like to do any surgery if you're smoking. Apparently it slows the healing.

Good luck