Thanks, Tina. I had an uncle and cousins in Hamburg. We visited them twice when I was young. Nice up there. 

Good morning, all,

If I recall correctly, it was one semester of typing. There was one non-academic class we had to take. Took Auto Mechanics, some electrical course where we built a lamp from a wine bottle :), and art. I was not good at art.

Enjoy the day. I go into the office on Thursdays, and it always seems to rain.

Pau

Good morning Paul and all.  Warm 43 and raining here.  Temperature drops into the teens tonight.

With the rain and cold can't walk the dogs for three mornings.  Belle is in some kind of pain, we took

her into emergency but they didn't find it, just prescribed some anti-inflammatory pain pills.  Charged

$189.  Enough for a week of groceries before the price rises with the virus.  We should probably drive

up to Ithaca to the Colonial clinic if gets worse or continues.  They cost even more but are also more

skilled.  My daughter managed to get her dog into Cornell but follow up is months away.  There was a

7 month waiting list when Brandy got the Cancer tumor.  

Paul, don't think we had auto mechanics or electrical.  I spent about two years in auto mechanics technical

schools while I was in the Army.  I didn't stay in it that long after the service.  Knew I needed some college

to support a family.  Was taking a college prep course before I got out of the Army.  Car dealers lie to their

employees as much as customers.  One told me one wage but when got my first check it was less, and on

and on.  wee have cashed in on my auto mechanics schooling over and over throughout the years.  We

couldn't have taken our cars in for work all those years.  Even if you change to wrong part once in a while,

it's still a worn part and the repair garages also change the wrong part sometimes.  They just cover it up.

We did have art.  I remember making pottery.  I was lucky enough to have art class with my girlfriend.

Girlfriend kept our pottery for her hope chest. 

We didn't get much rain yesterday but was gloomy all day.  Above average temps are better than below average

like we get lots of times this time of year.  I see it's forecast to stay above average until the 22nd now.  I would be

more than happy to have a below average Winter if it would save California from the floods.  Don't know if this is

climate change or not because that's an average over many years.  I sure feel bad for them.  I was up in Yosemite

National Park on my bike, where they got 4 or 5 feet of snow last I heard.  Did freeze and ride through a snow storm

on my way down the eastern side of the mountains.  Was wearing all the leather I took with me.  Just hours earlier

I was wearing a t shirt and sweating walking through that tree trunk that was in our school books showing a car 

driving through.  A neighbor tells me the tree had fallen when he visited later.  Strange with the tree being so old.

Enjoy the day all. 

Ernie

giant sequoias

Meant to say Paul, bottom of my jean jacket caught the edge of my coffee cup when I was sitting down and dumped a full cup in my lap.  Bad way to start the day.  Never did that before.  Just got this jacket 2022, still stiff.

Good morning, Ernie, Paul, Tina, Kitty and All,

A cold, but sunny, day here by the shore of Lake Erie.  27 degrees but feels like 15 with wind chill.  Reminder to self to get bird seed today.  The sparrows need strength to keep warm.

Paul,  my eldest daughter Molly, SIL and two grands flew into NYC for the week-end.  Each one has picked a certain venue they would like to see.  Molly chose Central Park.  It’s rather amazing to me how kids leave late on a Friday night and fly into the city for a brief two day week-end.  Eldest granddaughter back to Kent University on Monday and Molly back teaching on Tuesday.  Ah, to be young!

Ernie,  Sorry to hear about Belle.  Hope you see improvement. I must put Finn back on the Deramaxx against my better judgment.  Having difficulty getting up (especially on the hard wood floors).  

Tina, I didn’t realize you were so close to Buffalo.  At the other end of the Lake….Cold there…..and so much snow.

Off to wake up the one who rules the house….Finn likes to sleep in.

Enjoy the week-end.   ((Hugs)). Susan

One year ago today ~

I hope your family enjoys NYC, Susan. 

Stay warm everyone. 

Paul

Good morning Susan, Paul, and all.  17 here this morn.  If a little warmer would take the dogs out

for our run.  Belle has been better since early yesterday.  Paul, I drove down to the Delaware Water

Gap on route 80 yesterday afternoon / eve to get some wheels and tires for my Baja (4).  Awful close

to you.  Lucky the guy drove an hour towards me and lowered the price from $220 to $200 and gave

me a new Baja water pump he also had left over when he sold his.  When we were stationed at Fort Dix,

NJ in the 70s, we drove through there all the time.  Tires the guy had are the same as the ones on the

front of the Baja now.  Size, brand, model, everything.  If it wasn't so late in the day, I would've drove to

Browns Mills, NJ, just outside of Fort Dix and looked at our old apartment building, a house converted to

apartments.  Would've been dark when I got there.  I can see on the street view on Zillow real estate that

it's in bad shape and most of it is boarded up, our apartment is boarded up.  Looks like the main apartment

in the building is still being used. 

I will be able to get my Baja going again today and get down to the farm to help a little soon.  My sister just

was there on the 6th so no rush.  Have so much into the Baja will be happy to get it back into use.

Susan, glad Finn is doing fairly well.  Sad they get older so quick.  Have never seen him but love him.

Put my card into a PA welcome Center candy machine where I couldn't see a price.  Paid $5.00 for a little

pack of M & Ms.  My contribution to PA I guess, on the PA NJ border.  I knew PA was a thief of the poor

by their inheritance tax of 4% on children and 11% on anyone else, no matter how little the inheritance

is.  So if someone is inheriting a farm that only has a 30k to 60k income could easily be lost because the

sibling or whatever couldn't afford the hugh inheritance tax. 

Enjoy the day all.

Ernie

One of my bikes at Yosemite National Park, Calif years ago.

Hi Paul, 

The pictures so far have been Summit One Vanderbilt (a glass tower of some sorts, looks like glass floors and ceilings) and a storefront of Louis Vuitton.  I asked the granddaughter if she purchased a purse and she said ‘no’.     

Sunny but cold here.  Mass in the morning and errands this afternoon.  On we go into Martin Luther King Day tomorrow ~

Susan

Hi Erie,

Kudos on that beautiful picture.  Are Lakes in that area really that blue?   I am betting they are.  Daughter wants us to go to Ireland or England….. I told her my bucket list consists of one venue and that is the Lake Louise/Banff area.  Maybe we will plan that in a year or two.  

So you visited the Delaware Gap area?  My cousin lived in Mendham, New Jersey and I remember prices being so much higher than Ohio and that was years ago.  He was a corporate attorney for A T & T and took a train to work in the city, I believe.

Happy to hear that Belle is doing better.  Daughter’s kitty (15) very ill and will undergo a biopsy for pancreatic cancer.  I rather went through my Motherly lecture about God having a Plan and the cost of chemotherapy for a pet.  They are old enough to do as they and their funds allow.  There is a season for all of us…..

On we go into a holiday tomorrow.   Nothing special here……probably Monday washing.  LOL

Susan

Good morning Susan and all.  Only 13 here so no walk for us, elliptical for me.  I did start

jogging 13 years before Diabetes but no evening session.  That came about just a couple

years ago when I was on 3 meds and headed for insulin.  It's working but someday I will

get to old to exercise and will be headed down that road again I fear.

I can't imagine the stores in NYC or the prices.  We have troubles with the prices in our

little world here.  Sounds like fun though.  I only had a bus tour there in the dark.  We did

stop and get out at the 911 site. 

The Delaware Water Gap is only a couple hours from here.  We didn't know much about the

Binghamton, NY area when we lived in NJ.  Binghamton was just a large town we drove by on

our way back to Fort Dix after visiting wife's parents when they lived north of Syracuse.  My

assistant motor sergeant hit the guard rails here in the snow after visiting his mom in Buffalo.

Tried to look him up over the years.  Think he died in an accident in Georgia in 1981 near an

Army base there.  Before he was 30 years old.   Anyway, we aren't that far away from Fort Dix

here, just never occurred to us.  Last time we visited there was in 1987 after a vacation at

the ocean in Ocean City, Maryland, I think.  On the Delmarva Peninsula.  Most of the friends

we had there were Army and we didn't know where the others were anymore. 

Our granddaughter has a dog that's sick.  She's already borrowed $1000.  They definitely can't

afford it.  Just got married and she's in college.  They have that new Care Credit thing for medical

just about anyone can get.  Belle is still doing good.  Glad didn't turn out to be something critical

so far.

Nj prices weren't much of a thing to us.  We were dirt poor in the Army, did pay $180, then $190

for our apartment and it was dumpy.  Was paying $70 or $80 in Missouri just before that.  We got

a used clothes washer down there and put it in our bathroom.  In the day of cloth diapers.  Was

just barely room to move in the bathroom with the washer hooked to the sink.  Think I remember

the Army paid us $110 a month for a place to live, called BAQ. 

I got the used wheels / tires on the Baja Sunday.  Have to check the tire pressures yet.  Dogs didn't

give me any time to spare.  I'm glad to not be risking a fortune testing the rear suspension. 

The Yosemite lake was a high altitude plateau lake so that probably has something to do with the

blue water.  There was no plaque with the name of the lake or anything.  Think that was May of 2005,

not sure.  Somewhere around that year.  Was really hot on the Pacific Ocean side, then going down the

East side, freezing and almost a blizzard.  Then south through the desert was hot, then got very windy

through the desert for hundreds of miles, very windy, could just barely keep my bike in the lane.  No

traffic though.  Sad that hugh tree fell that you could walk through the hole in the trunk.  Some of the

trees have been lost in the recent fires, after being thousands of years old. 

Enjoy the day all.  Supposed to be sunny 35 here but after that 4 days of rain and snow. 

Ernie