Liz Tudor

I've taken to calling her "Lydiot." Too dumb for words.

Jynnan, Cora is beautiful, and it seems she would work well with your lonesome boy. I hope it works out! I'm also a fan of rescuing an older kitty. Maybe if they're the same age, they'll get along better and play. The only concern I would have is the girl-boy thing, because sometimes, but not always, that matters to animals. But I think your boy would enjoy a companion & playmate!

Bwahahahaha! Love this! I will offer up a sacrifice of a mustard colored blazer (I know how most of us here feel about mustard colored outerwear) and fervently hope that Theodorica grants you this awesome house, well under the asking price, and with a stellar inspection. :-)Jynnan, I'm so very, very sorry about your kitty girl. At least she was with you at home. Thinking of all of you on the West Coast with the heavy rains...I have a childhood friend getting swamped in Glendora, CA. Take care!

Lookyloo, glad things worked out! When we moved into our 100+ year old house, the creaky old-school gas furnace was on its last legs (this was disclosed, but heck, we never thought it would die in days!). We moved in in February, and as we were settling in, it kept going out and someone would have to come & go under the house (crawlspace) and light the pilot. This happened several times, and "the guy" couldn't always come right away. That ended up being an unusually cold winter for north MS...it snowed. We & our animals ended up living upstairs for a week or so, it was about 50 degrees downstairs. We were new in town and didn't know anyone, so had to tough it out. That spring, we splurged and got a monster all-in-one (thank you, energy efficiency tax credit!). Wishing you could share that gumbo, sounds yummy!

Hello, and Happy New Year's Eve! Just spending some time catching up with my favorite (and only) online group. We traveled to my family for Christmas, I just have my mom and my brother (who isn't married). He lives 45 mins from mom and spent the night Christmas Eve. We had a lot of fun, almost like the old days. Something funny: after we both moved out of the house, our rooms became guest rooms. The way it just happened to work out, we each ended up in the other's old room. It was kind of strange...in our minds' eyes we could see them the way they were when we were kids/teens, but they bear zero resemblance to that now (no Bay City Roller posters or movie posters!). And my brother wound up in the Very Floral Chintz room, ha, ha! We ate and drank ourselves into a stupor. Christmas Eve, after church, we watched "Hot Fuzz." Mom LOVES Britcoms and British dramas (Doc Martin, Call the Midwife, Foyle's War, etc.) and she thought it was a funny twist on those types of shows. I adore Simon Pegg...if he's in it or had anything to do with it, I'm in! And eerily, with all the posts on kitties & pups, I have a story to add. Growing up, we never formally adopted our cats, they just turned up or were born in our yard. There have been several sets of siblings. My mom was down to her dog (age 11) and Nancy Sinatra (named because of her bad howling!) Nance seemed okay when we got there 12/22, but over the next couple of days, I didn't like how she was breathing when she dozed (which was quite a bit, but not terribly unusual). I kept close watch on her, but just had a bad feeling. We went out to lunch Sunday, and when we came back, she wasn't in any of her usual places (she's an outdoor girl by her choice, would come in during bad weather, but wanted out as soon as it was over). It has been unseasonably warm for a long time, so she was happy in her cat bed on the front porch chair. I knew in my gut she was gone. Her sister, Dusty, who was also an outside cat by choice, died August 2014 at age 15. I had a feeling, and I went to where Dusty chose to die (under our back deck, it is tall, I can stand up underneath it, and many of our pets have hunkered down there when they either couldn't get inside or didn't want to. There's a thick layer of dead leaves, and they'd burrow down and be warm and dry). Sure enough, Nance was there, half under some leaves. I figured she'd gone sometime overnight or early that morning. I lost it pretty good. Nancy was a great cat and had a great life, but what really tore me up was that she was The Last One; of all the cats my family's had over the 37 years we've lived in that particular house. My husband had to perform burial duties while I sobbed and surveyed all the pet graves in the yard. My mom is 75, and very active, but I don't know if she'll emotionally invest in another kitty (perhaps if one were to just show up...). She's always been pragmatic about our animals' passings; they all lived well and died of old age, but she misses the habits and joys they give you...walking with you to the mailbox, sleeping in a sunny flower bed, waiting for you on the sidewalk, etc. I know I was not blubbering just over the cat, but how time got away from me and things aren't and won't ever be the same as they once were. I'm not trying to be maudlin or depressing, I just know that so many of you acutely understand -- you've shared your stories of change and transition. Thanks for letting me process that in writing. Change to lighter topic: Did anyone catch the Kennedy Center Honors? I have adored Carole King & her music since I was 7...remember so many of her songs on the radio, good times. Watching her reactions as she was being recognized for her contributions was The. BEST! She was genuinely moved and surprised by the performances. I thought she was going to vault over the balcony and rush the stage when Aretha plunked down at the piano and belted out "Natural Woman." I was moved by Cicely Tyson, too. As much as I like his movies, George Lucas was a real jerk about it. Whatever, George! We tuned in too late for Rita Moreno...hoping I can catch it online. I know she has an amazing body of work, but "hey, you guys!!!" brought us running to the TV for Electric Company. In an exercise in patience (which I'm getting better at, as I get older), we had a long trip back yesterday...flights that should've had us home in 4 hours took just shy of 12. And to top it off, our bags weren't checked through to our final destination, only to our connecting airport. Something we could've caught if we'd paid attention to the bag receipts. So, our bags (with all of our Christmas presents!) are sitting in Bag Purgatory at Atlanta Hartsfield. It could be several days before we get them, there were so many flights fouled up by weather. I spoke with an airline rep today and he was able to confirm that our bags were found and pulled, but they have no idea how quickly they'll be put on a flight here. What can you do? It is what it is. Sorry I ran long...I did that thing where I haven't posted in weeks and then, BLAM! :-) We'll be quietly toasting the New Year here, nothing too elaborate, but I wish you all a happy 2016, and hope it brings you much happiness and good health! I look forward to reading more here on Duggar and non-Duggar topics! Cheers to you all, and thanks for being the wonderful people that you are!

All y'all cold folks can join me in the Sunshine State, where it's felt like August...since August. We've had one "cold" day...yesterday was 58. Brrr. Me, I need to get somewhere cooler. I'm hot all the time, and my biology isn't helping. A word of caution...businesses, etc. usually run the AC pretty briskly, so bring a sweater, lol! Mr. Tudor & I had to pause the TV and laugh (I mean serious braying) at the imagery of "rage stroke." That is going to work its way into our lexicon. Although I'm sorry you have a permanent scar!Lastly, thanks to your posts & feelings about FB, I, too, am now feeling normal about what FB has become. Like Wellfleet, we are ex-military, and FB has been a great way to keep in touch with fellow military as well as long-distance friends & family. However, my feed has slowly become filled with political rants, oversharing, narcissism, etc. And my personal peeve is MLMs (multi-level marketing/home businesses). Too many folks are using their personal accounts vs setting up another account to crow about how Plexus, Beachbody, Primerica, It Works, Younique, etc. has changed their lives, and can change yours, too, if you join their team! Blergh. I have unfollowed several people and my feed doesn't make me stabby nearly as much. One last thing...I only visit FB maybe twice a week, and I have friends who give me grief and think it's not normal for me NOT to compulsively read, comment, like, etc. They get irritated when I'm out of the loop. Ummm, yeah, I'M the one with the problem... Edited because my iPad keyboard hates me. Feeling's mutual.

He was a brat about it, he was about 7-8 yrs old, but that age can be the height of picky eating for some kids (though my cousin is 25 and still lives on chicken fingers & fries; she was and is a pain when it comes to choosing restaurants). He was a picky eater in the 20th century, so his choices were narrowed further. They ended up making him an era-appropriate version of mac & cheese. The food she prepared looked good, it just took forever on that coal-fueled cooker and wore her out in the process.

I loved 1900's House. The family researched and tried really hard. And I believe Julian Fellows (Downton Abbey) was the one who made the house historically accurate. The mom just about had a breakdown, because the dad sauntered off to his (modern) job as a Royal Marine recruiter, and she was left at home to do EVERYTHING. She kept the twin girls home from school to help with the laundry, because she just couldn't do it all herself (and didn't want to hire a maid). After she nearly peeled all the skin off her hands from working in lye soap, she hired a maid. IIRC, that didn't work out because there were personality conflicts. I also remember her son wouldn't eat anything except bread and cheese, and she was beside herself over that. Definitely not the romanticized Victorian/Edwardian lifestyle we think it was! She was exhausted just doing the most mundane things (and all the girls hated their undergarments--corsets, bustles, etc.).

There are also about 20 or so "twits" in Tontitown!

Tabbygirl521, I enjoy your cat stories. I'm a confirmed Crazy Cat Lady. The most I've had at once is 5, and I've had 6 total. They are all either solid black or tuxies, that's just how it worked out. They are a quirky lot, but we love having them. Something that's stuck in my mind from your stories is that you call your yard "Stripehaven," since you have tabbies. Mr. Tudor and I LOVED that! Glad you got a cat that is "yours." I had to wait a while, but the last cat we took in (he was number 5, and Mr. Tudor really wanted him to have another home) ended up being "mine." The two of us have our "thing," and he doesn't care all that much (just begrudgingly) for Mr. Tudor. I tell Mr. Tudor it's because the cat knows he didn't want to keep him. I'd like to think the ones that "adopted" us (3 total) were sent our way by The Universe...it's been a great experience for all of us!

This is an awesome analogy. Up there with hen-pecked chickens.

Well, thank you for my belly laugh today! That's quite a visual!!! I bought some "adult" (meaning grown-up, hee, hee) coloring sheets (12 designs) this summer that are varieties of ethnic (Asian, Indian, etc.) patterns, almost like a kaleidoscope. I have looked at other coloring books at bookstores, craft stores, etc. Is it me, or are the designs very intricate and small? I loved coloring as a child, and thought I'd explore it again now, but so far, I haven't found a book with designs I like. Even one that was animal-themed was super-detailed with tiny, small elements. Just curious as to what others have found.

FrankenMuffyn? Sorry, couldn't help myself. :-) Glad you got a confirmed diagnosis, sorry the doctors screamed at you for it (I mean, really, things HAPPEN!), and hope the dead guy parts work out well. That's morbid AND cool. I like the idea of averaging the age of your parts...as we all age and have our issues, you've got to have a sense of humor!

CONGRATS, HFC!!! So glad Miss Kenna will always have a special connection to her Great Paw Paw! Some things are meant to be!

Now I'M laughing hard! That'd make great advice a la Dr. Phil: if you can't work your issue out with a child (or relative), just go out and get a new one and start over, lol!