Thermal Thursday

[rollerdonna]

Morning Mates from a chilly Pictou county where thermal underwear is the order of the day!
We've gone from +5 to -5, but feels like -10. or 14F. Brrrr...
And yet, still no snow.

Today is Aquafitness again, and this time NOT followed by a Pot Luck Buffet, so all that exercise will actually do some good!
Work has been crazy, as you can imagine with a bunch of kids 3 weeks before Christmas...

Tonight we are going to the local theatre to see a Quartette of women, including Sylvia Tyson (of the Canadian folk duo Ian & Sylvia), singing some Christmas songs. Promised to be a pleasant evening outing....

Mike, hope you are feeling better as each day goes by, glad to see you back on the boards yesterday.
Todd, if you're out there, we miss you!

donna

[beenie weenie]

Good Morning CruiseMates!

This past week has been a whirlwind, sorry I haven't been around too much! I sure enjoyed my time down in Florida...especially the warm part while I was down in Naples and of course the evening of our dinner get together. It was just amazingly cold those last couple of days, I will have to return when it decides to warm up again. I figure if I am gonna freeze my butt off, I may as well be home with the fam.

My flight was scheduled to depart Orlando last night around 7, well I was anxious to get home, I just wanted to see d/h and the kids and sleep in my own bed. So I got up at 4:30 a.m., got dressed, then I scraped the ICE off the windshield of the car (what's wrong with this picture?) and headed to the airport. I dropped off my rental car, and popped over to the Airtran counter. I told them I wanted to go home now and asked if I could fly standby on the 8:00 a.m. flight to Indy. They let me go sit at the gate until right before boarding when they gave me a seat assignment. The plane was nice and new looking with big roomy seats and I had an entire 3 seat row to myself, I thought I had won the lottery lol! But no! it gets even better! During the holidays Airtran is offering free wifi, so I was definitely very happy flying back home to my honeys.

The flight landed at 10:00 a.m. I found the shuttle to take me to where my truck was parked and then when I found my truck, I just sighed as I was once more going to be scraping ice off, and snow as well this time. I just climbed in, fired her up, turned on the defogger, then I remembered I had a bottle of deIcer that I sprayed on the bad spots, and before long I was on the road woohoo! I got home a little after noon. I surprised d/h and the kids with an early appearance.

I slept really well last night. It felt really good to be home. I am buried with work, and the house looks like a bomb went off so things are just like they were before I left lol.

First priority is getting the corn stove running again. We are supposed to have another whale of a storm this weekend and I want to stay very warm. D/H called me the day after I left and asked me how to start the corn stove, since the temps dived into the single digits... I tried to guide him through it over the phone to no avail. So yesterday when I got home I went down to the hardware store, got a box of spade terminals and a piece of wire and bypassed the pressure switch. The stove started flawlessly, but a big puff of smoke escaped through the door which leads me to believe that the door gasket needs to be replaced and that is the reason the pressure switch is keeping the stove from lighting. Another mystery solved! So we'll work on that today when the hub gets home from work.

Yesterday I went on a baking binge and made Hungarian braided bread that we'll likely deliver to the neighbors along with some home made fruitcake and chocolate chip cookies later today. Then I took my mini girlfriend out last night to Big R, which is kind of like a Farm Supply, sporting goods, home improvement, toys, warm weather clothing gear store. In one location I was able to buy d/d a new winter coat, a graphite coated fiberglass gasket with adhesive for the corn stove, a bag of ice melt and d/d bought 3 PEZ dispensers. I was going to buy d/s a new pair of snow pants, but they didn't have them in his size. So maybe today I will head over to the other Big R on the north end of town (yes there are 2 locations in a town with a population of less than 30,000 people lol) and see if they have his size.

I think I posted enough today to make up for the days I missed while I was gone lol. That should bring you all up to speed on the latest news here at the homestead. Hope you all have a great day!

[Trip]

Hi Kids,
Bright sunshiny and brrr out there, but no snow or ice! BW, you are a combo of Annie Oakley, McGiver and Julia Childs...your every post is an adventure,and, here I sit debating, if I want to go out in the coldYou are amazing!

I need to head out to the library, for a book on tape, but I added 5 new books to my kindle this week...gotta love it

Wouldn't you know it, this week I saw $79.00 air to Florida, where was that bloody rate, when I could have usd it for this weeks get together..grrrrr..oh well

Make it a good one.

[Luanne Russo]

Good morning from a very cool and windy Texas. The sun is out, so it should start to warm up.

Yesterday was wash day, and I ran out of time. This morning I realized that my house coat was still with the dirty clothes, so here I sit with my night gown and sweater.

You know one of the best parts about being home? Having a cup of coffee, knowing that when you are ready, there is another one waiting. I hate having to deal with those one cup pots in hotels. If you are lucky you get a 3 cup.

I talked to Todd last night. He made it back home without any problems. He is still talking about what a good time he had this past week.

RD I keep forgetting to tell you that I sat next to your friend Donna, at the dinner. She is so very nice, and I felt an instant connection to her, and her hubby. I also sat with Ken (Skymaster) His wife Vita was really nice, and I enjoyed both of them. We also sat with Gaile (Tweety) and Harry. They are so funny together.

So today it is house cleaning, shopping for food, and finishing up my Christmas shopping.

I hope that all of you have a good day. Stay warm, and remember to love.

Luanne

[Kuki]

Good Morning cruisemates! The superb weather continues in Scottsdale, and now I know why so many snowbirds come here. Last Dec. when I was down here it was cool, so this stretch of weather is a tourism marketer's dream. Going to 80 today.

Speaking of snowbirds. I golfed yesterday with a retired air force pilot from Canada. He's now working privately training pilots for the military. Used to fly with the Snowbirds, Canada's aerobatic flying squad.

I'm being a bit of a pig this week. I golfed Tues, yesterday, and I'm playing again today. Taking advantage of the fabulous weather, and a friend is in town for a short visit. She is the best female golfer I've ever playd with (she missed making the LPGA tour by just a couple of strokes), so she is WAY better than me, plus she is great fun to golf with.

[LS80]

Morning from the Pacific Northwest.........still wram here........no ice so I'll take it......

Glad all who went to the dinner made it home safe & sound!!! Wish we coulda made it....but the timing was off.......

Not much going on today.....just finishing up making candy......

Y'all have a good day.......





Sharon

[rollerdonna]

Luanne, glad you got to meet my friend Donna. We have known each other since grade 5, and although we only see each other about once a year now, our friendship remains strong.

donna

[CruisinK n J]

Good morning! Weather here in SoCal is fabulous, too. Kuki will be glad to know that, since whatever weather we get is passed on to Arizona.

Temps are so nice here, as a matter of fact, that I might grab my DH and go to Orange County to do some Christmas shopping.

Mike, I hope you feel much better today.

Have a nice day, all.

Judy

[Lakers Fan]

Wow ,names from the past .

Good afternoon from NY where its sunny ,windy and 25 degrees

[anniegb]

Good Evening from Central Scotland.

What a great day, the temp rose from -18 C to +5 C overnight.

The town came out of hibernation and shopped until they dropped and I watched. I finished my shopping weeks ago.

Keep well and warm

Annie

[Aerogirl]

Good late afternoon
Waiting for the snow to start falling here very soon. I guesse were going to get just an inch or two with much more on the way Saturday night. I hope my computer is up and running soon, I hate waiting until the hubby gets home to use his. Hope all is well and have a good night.

[Mike M]

Good afternoon everyone:

I woke up at the early hour of 12:30 p.m. ;-) My days and nights are messed up and I slept so much yesterday I couldn't sleep until 6:30 a.m. this morning. Hopefully I will get back on schedule today and get to bed before 2:00 a.m.

We were supposed to have 2" of snow today but it hasn't materialized. It's a nice clear day outside.

I am going to attempt to make dinner for myself today. I'm wondering what I should make. One handed cooking isn't my specialty. I think I might try: Butternut Squash and crab soup, Beef Stew, Bachalau..........oh what the hell, A bowl of Cheerios and a banana sound good.

Beenie: Those switches are there for a reason. Even though they are pain in the rear. Make sure your CO detectors are working if that seal isn't tight. We like having you around here.

Take care,
Mike

[beenie weenie]

Yes I just had to bypass the switch to diagnose the problem. This way I knew whether it was a bad auger motor. If the auger would turn with the switch bypassed, that means we either had a bad switch or a pressure leak. Since we got it to light and saw a puff of smoke sneak out the door, it is most likely a pressure leak, so the switch is good and functioning. All we have to do is replace that gasket seal on the door and that should fix the pressure leak. We won't run the stove with out all equipment functioning as it should. I promise!

If we tried running it as it is, you'd succumb to smoke inhalation long before the CO2 got you. Thanks Mike!

[Kuki]

Beenie... I need an oil change, a lube job, injection system cleaned and my suspension tightened on my car when you get a minute.

[balabusta]

Good evening from a chilly, twenty-two degrees in Virginia Beach. I am finally back from work and am looking forward to going on our cruise in just two days! It's supposed to be chilly in Charleston but, how I will relish the warm weather in Key West and Nassau! Has anybody talked to Todd lately? I was wondering how he is doing. Hope all of my fellow cruisemates had a wonderful Thursday!

[beenie weenie]

Originally Posted by Kuki

Beenie... I need an oil change, a lube job, injection system cleaned and my suspension tightened on my car when you get a minute.

lol I think you need a tune up

[beenie weenie]

Originally Posted by balabusta

Good evening from a chilly, twenty-two degrees in Virginia Beach. I am finally back from work and am looking forward to going on our cruise in just two days! It's supposed to be chilly in Charleston but, how I will relish the warm weather in Key West and Nassau! Has anybody talked to Todd lately? I was wondering how he is doing. Hope all of my fellow cruisemates had a wonderful Thursday!

Several of the CruiseMates just got to see Todd at the CruiseMates Dinner in Florida that Ray organized. I think he is doing really well. He was in good spirits. He phoned last night and said he had a great time. I was glad to see him again and see a smile on his face and a spring in his step.

[balabusta]

Beenieweenie, that was great news to hear about Todd. All I can say is thank you for the support that Todd has been given from his fellow cruisemates. We are in this world to help each other and more people should start realizing this!