Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[DangerousMinds]

I’ve dated men with the last names “Cummings” and “Horn” within the past several years 😆. 

[awaken]

4 hours ago, BetyBee said:

We had a dentist named Dr. Fierre (pronounced Fear) when we were kids. He was an a** - he slapped my sister when she was crying about treatment hurting. You know, to calm her down 🙄 😠

Years ago, we had a client named Melvin Pancake.

In college there were students with the last name of Pancake and Barefoot. I always got a kick out of that. 

once a doctor yelled at me because my nonverbal son with autism was signing to me and the dr felt he was being interrupted 🙄

[SunnyBeBe]

Happy Valentine's Day to all.  It’s difficult for so many, I know.

So much rain! I cant get a roof estimate here until Wednesday. Praying the leaks don’t get worse.
 

My parents lost power due to ice storm fo almost  a day. They had gas logs, so that was good.

 

 

[Zella]

Reporting in from the Arkansas tundra. So far, still have power and no frozen pipes. I'm not sure how much snow we've received. I've never experienced powdery snow that drifts before as opposed to the heavy wet snow we usually get. (Or if I did, I was too young to notice the difference.) So, some parts of the yard are 4-5 inches deep and other parts look more like 1-2 inches. We're supposed to get a few more inches overnight and then a few more on Wednesday. 

The low this morning was 5, with -10 windchill. (The high got up to a balmy 7.) I had a small heater going in my bedroom with several layers of blankets and a few layers on me. I woke up at about 5 am and was sweltering. I looked over and realized that my Chihuahua, who had started the night under all the blankets, was lying on top of the covers, glaring at me with his best "Can I talk to your manager?" face. 😂

Though that was too warm for us both last night, I'm going to follow the same procedure tonight since the low is supposed to be -6 with a -20 windchill. We won't get above freezing until next weekend, but we at least should pull out of the subzero temps and dangerous windchills after tomorrow. That works for me. 

Edited February 15, 2021 by Zella

[emmawoodhouse]

And here I am whining about a little rain (it's been a very dry winter).

Stay safe and warm, everyone! 

[NotthebadVictoria]

26 minutes ago, Zella said:

Reporting in from the Arkansas tundra. So far, still have power and no frozen pipes. I'm not sure how much snow we've received. I've never experienced powdery snow that drifts before as opposed to the heavy wet snow we usually get. (Or if I did, I was too young to notice the difference.) So, some parts of the yard are 4-5 inches deep and other parts look more like 1-2 inches. We're supposed to get a few more inches overnight and then a few more on Wednesday. 

The low this morning was 5, with -10 windchill. (The high got up to a balmy 7.) I had a small heater going in my bedroom with several layers of blankets and a few layers on me. I woke up at about 5 am and was sweltering. I looked over and realized that my Chihuahua, who had started the night under all the blankets, was lying on top of the covers, glaring at me with his best "Can I talk to your manager?" face. 😂

Though that was too warm for us both last night, I'm going to follow the same procedure tonight since the low is supposed to be -6 with a -20 windchill. We won't get above freezing until next weekend, but we at least should pull out of the subzero temps and dangerous windchills after tomorrow. That works for me. 

I’ve had the same problem in Texas, but no heater in my bedroom and still sweating like a whore in church. Thanks Menopause! 😂. 

[Zella]

6 minutes ago, NotthebadVictoria said:

I’ve had the same problem in Texas, but no heater in my bedroom and still sweating like a whore in church. Thanks Menopause! 😂. 

I explained this story to a friend of mine from New Hampshire and, consequently, is much savvier in the ways of winter extremes than I, and before I even finished, she was like, "You got overheated, didn't you?" 

Edited February 15, 2021 by Zella

[Nysha]

We have a winter storm warning from 7 PM tonight to 4 PM tomorrow. My hope is it snows enough that I don't have to go to work. I'm working half days at the regular campus, which is 7 flat blocks from my house, and half at a satellite building that is 10 up hill miles from my house. The area the other building is in gets more snow and ice than my neighborhood and I'm not sure my poor tires are up for the drive.

[frenchtoast]

We have maybe an inch of snow. First thing this morning it was crunchy, even though it was very cold, but now it seems like the powdery stuff which I'm glad about because it's easier to just sweep that with a broom especially since we did not bring a snow shovel with us *kicks self* Mr. Toast is considering using the leaf blower because, well, it'd be fun. It's such a small amount, not even sure it's worth removing anyway. Nearly all of our faucets are interior so we're good with that I would think. We lost power briefly which pissed me off because there isn't any ice, it wasn't windy, and there was hardly any snow (and honestly, snow doesn't bring down power lines so...) I'm not worried about driving in it, I've driven in far worse. Tomorrow either I or Mr. Toast have to drive our son to work and we'll see how it goes.

[QuinnInND]

Stay safe, dry and warm everyone. I can't get over how cold it is in Texas now. Crazy. 

[NotthebadVictoria]

8 minutes ago, Zella said:

I explained this story to a friend of mine from New Hampshire and, consequently, is much savvier in the ways of winter extremes than I, and before I even finished, she was like, "You got overheated, didn't you?" 

I had my regular fan on and tiny crack in the window, but the hubby shut it when I was asleep 😂. My Canadian bestie is laughing at me too 😂

[Oldernowiser]

1 hour ago, NotthebadVictoria said:

I’ve had the same problem in Texas, but no heater in my bedroom and still sweating like a whore in church

This is my new favorite expression!

[madpsych78]

1 hour ago, QuinnInND said:

Stay safe, dry and warm everyone. I can't get over how cold it is in Texas now. Crazy. 

Currently single digits in Dallas/Fort Worth! That is ACTUAL temperature, not wind chill. 

[ChiCricket]

Maybe somebody else will find this as cool as I did...

You can easily find clear as a bell radio stations all over the world by just clicking on a dot on the map.🌎

http://radio.garden/

I had already listened in to Ireland, New Zealand, and Spain..then I found Puerto Rico!

I can't wait until I show my husband  all the stations I found near the little town where he grew up in Puerto Rico.😊

We live in Chicagoland, where most of the Spanish radio stations are more Mexican American flavored. Not the same music at all!

He's going to love this.

[GeeGolly]

Here in New England we're on at least day 15 of this relentless winter. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we've been dealing with either snow or freezing temps. Today and they rest of the week they're predicting a mixed mess daily. Nighttime temps single digits, daytime temps should reach the high 20s and one day in the 30s.

Right now I'm looking out the window at the gloomy calm before the storm. But... so far, the following week looks better.

Everyone try and stay safe and warm. But not too warm. 😉

[Jenniferbug]

We've had negative highs for the last week. Today our high is -4, with wind chill that will feel like -30. I think we're supposed to get up to single digit highs later this week finally. We usually have a day or two that are this cold, but this is the longest stretch I can remember in a while. 

I got my second covid shot on Friday. Friday night and Saturday were a little rough with fever and achiness but nothing too unbearable. My parents were able to receive their first shot on Saturday through their doctor, and my husband is scheduled for Friday. Hopefully his won't be canceled this time. He was supposed to get it a couple of weeks ago, but the county didn't receive enough for the school district so they canceled teachers. 

[frenchtoast]

It is 5 degrees out right now (I'm in north TX) and the wind is blowing and we've been without power since 3 AM (about 4 hours). I am super pissed. There are not supposed to be rolling blackouts at 1 AM and then 3AM and for this long. Yes, it's cold. Guess what, it gets cold. Doesn't mean people should lose power. Terrible planning and terrible infrastructure is not the fault of the cold, it's the fault of the people that are more interested in rolling in the money while the customers freeze. And no, I won't feel bad for the employees, because we're all suffering and this could have been prevented with better planning and equipment and it wasn't the customers that fucked up. Also, my electric and gas bills are not cheaper than they were in Massachusetts and we didn't lose power because it got below 20 degrees. Chicago doesn't lose power because it's cold. (There is no ice, barely any snow and it's light anyway, this is an issue of access and distribution and deliberate lining of pockets)

Mr. Toast put in request to finalize getting a generator. 13 grand is a lot (heck, it's tuition at college for our son) but we lose power for absolute no reason at times. When it drizzles. The system here is so fragile apparently just people using it causes problems.  We've been here about 6 months and this is 10th time we've lost power. So fucking stupid.

[Jeeves]

@frenchtoast, I'm sorry your power situation is so suck-y. Bah on them. 

It's minus 5F here, at 7:00 am. So far no power issues, but this is Denver so it's (a) well-developed with a lot of underground lines, and (b) a place where the infrastructure has to deal with real winter stuff. Also, unlike more humid climates, we rarely get ice storms. Yes, roads get icy but we don't have ice forming on power lines, etc., very often. If at all. I've lived here for almost 45 years and can't remember that kind of ice storm here although maybe it happened and I didn't realize it. (Our weather-related power outages tend to be caused by fall or spring heavy snowstorms with wet snow that overload and break leafed-out trees. The trees then fall and take out power lines with them. So in our case it's the un-seasonal storms that seem to cause more power problems than actual winter storms. The leafless winter trees don't cause so much trouble.)

I came here from Texas and I know how un-prepared it is for this kind of cold weather. I'm concerned for my relatives down in the Houston area. Hope they can stay safe indoors and warm, until the crazy cold snap is over. 

Take care, everyone. Our temps are climbing up to a balmy 25F today and will not go back down to zero again this week even at night. So I'm happy. Especially since my second dose of the COVID vaccine is scheduled for Wednesday morning. 

[crazycatlady58]

I am just outside of Houston.  16 ° with a feels like temperature of 0. I just have a dusting of snow with ice under it. If its this cold I should have lots of pretty snow. So far I have not lost electricity but they are saying we will have rolling blackouts.

[emma675]

Dallas here and it is 7 degrees and the water in my toilet lines has frozen. Power is still on but I'm prepared for it to go out at any time.

I hope all of the decision makers in our state's electric grid are fired over this. It's a disaster and one they should have prepared for. This storm was known about for weeks, it's not like a tornado. People have been without power for hours in sub freezing temps, that is life threatening. It's ridiculous. And it's not supposed to get above freezing until Friday. 

My eyelid procedure was canceled at 7am because my surgeon can't get out of her driveway. Hopefully next Monday will be the new surgery date.

[Turquoise]

25 in Nashville right now, with a wind chill around 10. Totals vary around the area, at our place we had a glaze of ice, with a couple inches of sleet added last night. Starting in the next couple hours we're supposed to get an ice/sleet/snow bonanza. I am grateful that we already had Mr Turquoise home with all his gear. I'm originally from the Midwest and am used to worse weather. but they just don't have the winter equipment/supplies here. We often have daffodils by Valentine's Day. So things are not great on the roads, but we don't have to get out, so we won't.

 

[Jenniferbug]

Wow. It's so interesting how different states are in similar circumstances. I'm a lifelong Iowan, and while I remember one really bad icestorm from my childhood that caused power loss, it's not normal to lose power here for ice and snow. I've never had water in toilet lines freeze! I didn't know that could happen! We have some warnings with making sure pipes along outside walls don't freeze and burst, but I rarely hear of that actually happening. I'm sorry for all of you who have to deal with that! It is certainly not a normal occurrence in winter weather! 

[ozziemom]

Only time I ever had pipes freeze was one winter in Houston in the early 80’s. Lived in New England most of my life, no frozen pipes mainly due to better insulation. And homes built knowing it will be freezing every winter. Sorry to hear about folks losing power, that must be tough.

[Jeeves]

3 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

Wow. It's so interesting how different states are in similar circumstances. I'm a lifelong Iowan, and while I remember one really bad icestorm from my childhood that caused power loss, it's not normal to lose power here for ice and snow. I've never had water in toilet lines freeze! I didn't know that could happen! We have some warnings with making sure pipes along outside walls don't freeze and burst, but I rarely hear of that actually happening. I'm sorry for all of you who have to deal with that! It is certainly not a normal occurrence in winter weather! 

I grew up in Houston a long time ago, and I remember it being standard operating procedure to have to wrap outside pipes to try to prevent them freezing, in many many homes if the temps were going to drop that far. I'd like to think that building codes and practices have improved since those long ago days. Sigh.

TBH homeowners here in Colorado can have problems with basement water pipes if they aren't careful during severe cold snaps. A pipe freezes and the ice causes a crack in the pipe and of course it's not discovered until the weather warms up enough that the pipe thaws and starts leaking. Or flooding. Plumbers are often in demand in the warm-up days after a deep cold snap. 

[Zella]

I thought our subzero temps would end tonight but apparently they go through tomorrow and will bottom out at -7 but without a windchill. So, I guess that's better than the current -1 with -15/-20 windchill.

Sorry for everyone dealing with power outages and frozen water. So far, mine is holding up okay. I have the ability to have wood heat, so if I lose power, I will still stay warm. In some ways, I'm dreading freezing pipes more. My dad's pipes froze yesterday, even though they were taking precautions. 

Edit:And they literally just changed the forecast. It's been different every time I check. Now the -7 is today and tomorrow's will be 12. For the love of Christ, this is going to drive me insane. 

Editing the edit: the weather channel's app can't even agree between the hourly forecast and the daily forecast on when we hit -7.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Zella

[GeeGolly]

Wrapping pipes, letting the water run at a continuous trickle, lining the wall behind pipes with newspapers and blankets and opening cabinet and cupboard doors are ways to discourage pipes from freezing.

Wow @emma675 having a frozen toilet is awful. Do you have a heater you can put in your bathroom to warm the lines up?

Edited February 15, 2021 by GeeGolly

[emma675]

21 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

Wow @emma675 having a frozen toilet is awful. Do you have a heater you can put in your bathroom to warm the lines up?

I have a pier and beam foundation which means my house is about two feet off the ground. I think the lines under the house are frozen so I can't do anything about that part of the pipes, unfortunately. I've got all the faucets in the house running a small stream of water, just in case. It's supposed to get into the 40s on Saturday but it's going to be a long week. I just hope I don't have a very expensive plumbing problem by then.

[BetyBee]

I have some good news. I'm walking normally (no longer shuffling) and I had a good night's sleep last night. My back still hurts, but not nearly so bad. The chair yoga has been very helpful and I'm going to continue with it.

I'm sorry for everyone with frozen pipes and/or lack of power. It's freezing frickin' cold here too and the amount of snow is something we haven't seen for a several years, but we are more used to that in the Chicago area. Also, being retired means we don't have to go out. I hope things improve for all of you and they you don't suffer too much expense or discomfort ❤️

[Jeeves]

12 hours ago, Zella said:

I woke up at about 5 am and was sweltering. I looked over and realized that my Chihuahua, who had started the night under all the blankets, was lying on top of the covers, glaring at me with his best "Can I talk to your manager?" face. 😂

I forgot to mention earlier, that this cracked me up SO much first thing this morning! Love it! I hope his talk with the management satisfied him. 🤣   

Chihuahuas kind of fascinate me. I've learned that they are a burrowing breed by nature so prefer to be under the covers at bedtime. My big honor when visiting a cousin who has a Chihuahua, was when the dog came into the guest room early one morning and burrowed under the covers with me. The seal of approval!

[Zella]

6 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

I forgot to mention earlier, that this cracked me up SO much first thing this morning! Love it! I hope his talk with the management satisfied him. 🤣   

Chihuahuas kind of fascinate me. I've learned that they are a burrowing breed by nature so prefer to be under the covers at bedtime. My big honor when visiting a cousin who has a Chihuahua, was when the dog came into the guest room early one morning and burrowed under the covers with me. The seal of approval!

His default facial expression is a cross between "May I speak to your manager?" and "Have you come to pay homage?" (Or as one of my friends has said, a cross of withering judgment and supreme self-satisfaction.) So, I'm not sure if he was pleased with management's response. 😂 He seemed comfy this morning, though he'd surfaced more above the blankets than I did.

He was pretty angry at the snow today. It is nearly as tall as him. He is now wrapped up in a blanket of his choice, recovering. 

He loves to burrow! He basically has to have blankies at his presence all the time, so he can tunnel into them. It'll be 100 degrees, and he'll be turning himself into a blanket burrito. One of his greatest hobbies is stealing every blanket in his path. He has requisitioned all of mine. LOL It was one reason I was so baffled by him being angry. He must have been baking like a hot potato to pull his jail break. 

For a Chihuahua to come visit with you and snuggle with you is like them giving you a presidential seal of approval! 🙂 

[GeeGolly]

My granddog, a chihuahua, is like the Princess and the Pea in regard to temperature. She snuggles up and burrows with humans and also burrows in blankets alone. But she is picky. She burrows much more in the summer when the air is on, in the winter she prefers spooning or lining herself up next to a warm thigh. The minute she gets a tad too warm, she's off to her bed and her own blankets. I call her 'our little whore' because she'll sleep with my son, myself and my husband throughout the day, depending on who's doing what or sitting where. At night she sleeps with my son or goes solo because the one room that is off limits is mine and my husband's bedroom. But she occasionally gets lucky, if one or both of us, falls asleep downstairs.

She has an attitude as well. Yesterday my husband said something to her and I swear, if she could have put her paw on her hip in disdain, she would have.

[beckie]

The first night we had our little chihuahua,  she burrowed under my hubby's pillows and we freaked out because we couldn't find her. On a whim, I picked up one of hubby's pillows and there she was. I miss that sweet little face.

[Oldernowiser]

@beckie, I’m glad to “see” you. How are you doing?

[beckie]

15 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

@beckie, I’m glad to “see” you. How are you doing?

I'm doing ok. Mostly just trying to keep warm. Its frickin cold here, even with the heat going. 

[QuinnInND]

My MIL just texted me and said it's 20* in Jersey Village, TX. Basically Houston. That's crazy cold for there. 

[Zella]

My power company is now telling us to cut back on power usage or face rolling blackouts. 

[NotthebadVictoria]

9 hours ago, frenchtoast said:

It is 5 degrees out right now (I'm in north TX) and the wind is blowing and we've been without power since 3 AM (about 4 hours). I am super pissed. There are not supposed to be rolling blackouts at 1 AM and then 3AM and for this long. Yes, it's cold. Guess what, it gets cold. Doesn't mean people should lose power. Terrible planning and terrible infrastructure is not the fault of the cold, it's the fault of the people that are more interested in rolling in the money while the customers freeze. And no, I won't feel bad for the employees, because we're all suffering and this could have been prevented with better planning and equipment and it wasn't the customers that fucked up. Also, my electric and gas bills are not cheaper than they were in Massachusetts and we didn't lose power because it got below 20 degrees. Chicago doesn't lose power because it's cold. (There is no ice, barely any snow and it's light anyway, this is an issue of access and distribution and deliberate lining of pockets)

Mr. Toast put in request to finalize getting a generator. 13 grand is a lot (heck, it's tuition at college for our son) but we lose power for absolute no reason at times. When it drizzles. The system here is so fragile apparently just people using it causes problems.  We've been here about 6 months and this is 10th time we've lost power. So fucking stupid.

There is power at a few hotels in the stockyards. We had to evacuate our house after hour 7! BUT there is no access to actual food at some of the hotels. 

[lookeyloo]

We got our second Covid shots this morning.  I started in 2.5 hours with a very painful arm, past sore and achy.  I now feel like I have a mild case of the flu.  Mr lookeyloo doesn't have a sore arm but feels a little queasy.  We are supposed to get some of the awful weather tomorrow and the shots where we got ours are outside under tents and they have been postponed.  Glad we are one step ahead.

[frenchtoast]

59 minutes ago, NotthebadVictoria said:

There is power at a few hotels in the stockyards. We had to evacuate our house after hour 7! BUT there is no access to actual food at some of the hotels. 

We got power after 14 hours. It was 47 in my daugher's room, slowly getting back and was 56 last I checked. I'm ok with rolling blackouts, but dang, that was not a rolling blackout. We called at hour 12 because wtf and after waiting an hour (figured as much) were told it was feeder and it was giving them trouble apparently. Yeah, they can't tell you anything. But we've had it for an hour now, so I fully expect it to go out again soon. But dang is it nice to have the heat on. And give the gas fireplace a break.

[GeeGolly]

8 minutes ago, frenchtoast said:

We got power after 14 hours. It was 47 in my daugher's room, slowly getting back and was 56 last I checked. I'm ok with rolling blackouts, but dang, that was not a rolling blackout. We called at hour 12 because wtf and after waiting an hour (figured as much) were told it was feeder and it was giving them trouble apparently. Yeah, they can't tell you anything. But we've had it for an hour now, so I fully expect it to go out again soon. But dang is it nice to have the heat on. And give the gas fireplace a break.

You need to write a book about The Series of Unfortunate Events When Moving.

So sorry you guys are having a tough time. Crossing my fingers your power stays on for good now.

[emmawoodhouse]

3 hours ago, Zella said:

My power company is now telling us to cut back on power usage or face rolling blackouts. 

Jill Dillard posted about this in her stories. 

[Zella]

11 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Jill Dillard posted about this in her stories. 

That doesn't surprise me. Apparently the regional consortium or whatever it is is telling all of its member power companies to do rolling blackouts. I doubt jill has power through the same company I do (mine is fairly small), but I bet we're both under the same regional infrastructure. 

I'm actually one of the lucky ones since our company is trying to stall the blackouts. The other power company on the other side of the county started doing them this morning without warning. So far, I've kept my power on. I'm also typing by lamp light with all my heaters turned off to do my part.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Zella

[Scarlett45]

Hello friends- this weekend has been exhausting, I’m so glad I have tomorrow off, Happy Mardi Gras!! 
 

The short version of the story is that my Godmother said that she could not stay in her home with her husband another minute, and she was making the decision to leave. Well he didn’t like that and pitched a fit, it was such a situation with her leaving she didn’t take anything but her purse(and left her phone on her bed on accident). 
 

Her daughter (my god sister), my Mom & I and another friend got her settled into a hotel for several nights, with caregivers who are staying with her and we are arranging a long term Airbnb situation for her. She wants to stay here in chicago because her Drs are here and an new experimental treatment is starting. 

My god sister had to make it back to MI because of the snow. 
 

My godmother already had all of her paperwork taken care of and all of the correct parties in her care team have the medical POA naming my mom as agent and she has informed people not to speak to her husband, she doesn’t want to talk to him. I told my godsister “call his kids and let them know what’s going on, they need to handle their Dad.”

She is safe. Weak and in pain but safe and comfortable. She asked about Cosmo. I last set eyes on her in person in December when I hung her xmas lights, she’s deteriorated a lot the last two months. She’s so thin, her color is poor, she looks so weak. I would’ve bought her some lounge wear to tide her over until they got to the store, but she’s so thin now NOTHING anyone in this house owns would stay on her body- even with a draw string. 
 

Cancer sucks. 

[GeeGolly]

I'm so sorry @Scarlett45. Sending comfort, healing and light to you and yours.

I don't get the rolling black outs in AR and TX. Don't y'all have air conditioning on blast in the warmer months? If the grid can handle that, why can't it handle more houses cranking up the heat?

[Zella]

4 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

I'm so sorry @Scarlett45. Sending comfort, healing and light to you and yours.

I don't get the rolling black outs in AR and TX. Don't y'all have air conditioning on blast in the warmer months? If the grid can handle that, why can't it handle more houses cranking up the heat?

I don't really get it either. The only thing I can guess is that they factor that in for the summer but not the winter. Weirdly enough, my regional power thing covers places like Kansas, Nebrasksa, and South Dakota, too, not just southern states. I was just reading their update on the power grid capability, and they were saying the entire system was under stress. 

https://spp.org/markets-operations/current-grid-conditions/

[Liddy52]

Prayers for your godmother, her daughter,  your mother and you, @Scarlett45.  What a terrible ordeal for you all. So unfair that your godmother had to go through this on top of cancer. It is wonderful that she has you and your mother to be there for her. 

[emma675]

Well, my master bathroom tub and toilet lines are frozen solid. Water isn't coming in or going out of either. They are both on an outside wall and I think the lines under that part of the house are frozen. Luckily the guest bath is in the interior part of the house and everything still works for now. I tried aiming a hairdryer at the walls and floor but it didn't do anything but trip the breaker in the bathroom and I panicked for a second thinking the power went off. My brother down in Austin hasn't had power since 2am and they aren't even giving estimates of when it might be restored now. I swear, there better be heads rolling over this at the state level for people who run the grid.

Scarlett45, wow. What happened that lead to this decision? Is her marriage essentially over now?

[Zella]

@Scarlett45 I'm so sorry; that sounds awful. I hope things are easier for her now that she is away from him, though I'm sorry she has to deal with this stress on top of everything else. 😞

[jcbrown]

@Scarlett45, I'm so sorry to hear that. She is lucky to have you in her life.

On the topic of names: my dad has complained his entire life about having "Lynn" as a first name. That's been 84 years now and he still gets all bent out of shape when people on the phone mis-gender him. Or he used to, anyway. He is not so good at using phones lately.

[Jeanne222]

@Scarlett45I'm so sorry to hear about your godmother having to leave her home.  Prayers being offered up that she will finally find some peace with this move.