BonTexasNY

So excited today to meet 2 friends for lunch I haven't seen in quite some time. I'm looking forward to a glass or two of Moscato and laughing non-stop at our previous antics. Going to a previous favorite Italian joint of ours and hope the food is as good as I remember. Eye is totally healed. Amazing how much clearer I can now see out of that eye. Second one to be done in 2 weeks, Hopefully, I won't develop a scratch since a contact lens will be placed to prevent it from happening this time. The scratch happened after the surgery, not during.

For some weird CC reason I clicked to quote Maryann's post but couldn't type a response!! So, what I wanted to say, @LuckynanaMariann, is that I love reading about your grandkids achievements. Congrats on the latest! You, Jim and the whole family must be so proud and rightly so.

@mets07Wonderful news! Congratulations on the birth of your newest grandchild. @LionesssSue I know you have a multitude of good thoughts and prayers, including mine, going your way for things to work out for you. Let the de-stress begin! @h20skibumContinued prayers for your daughter and granddaughter. @TravelGirlinDallasHoping the 3 of you stay healthy for your Thanksgiving cruise.

Dani, Jack and I totally agree! On a lighter note, today was brisk, sunny in the 50s. A bunch of us drove up to Buc-ees for their out of this world brisket sandwich. Took approx. 30 minutes and well worth it. Tomorrow will be a high of 40, rain all day and a low of 33. Lousy weather for sure. Happy those with covid are getting better. Both Jack and I were fatigued for a few weeks after we were done with covid.

Thankfully, Dallas has nowhere near the humidity Houston has. We once landed in Houston and we felt the choking, hot humidity just exiting the plane into the attached jetway. Never stepped a foot outdoors! I was happy we just had to change planes to continue our journey. @DaniDanielle Marietta, a very happy birthday to Charlie!

At first glance I thought I was looking at one long ship!

Your NY temps are higher than mine in Dallas. 42 here with a high of 51, low 30s at night. Bright sunshine and lovely to be outside with a very light jacket. 42 here seems warmer than I remember 42 in NY where I lived. Maybe the position of the sun?

I remember when it snowed in NY where I lived in April, once on Easter Sunday. Mother nature is very unpredictable.

All of your grands are totally priceless. Best wishes and congratulations to Chris and Donna on their marriage on Tuesday. Wishing them a lifetime of love and laughter. Congratulations to you, Eric and the whole family.

With some advice, next year I am going to plant potted tomatoes on my sun-drenched balcony. At first glance, I thought the first picture was an assortment of candy.

This was taken from google: The haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community, fearing that military service would cause spiritual harm and necessarily occupy time that would be better spent on Torah study, spearheaded legislation whereby potential conscripts appear before the IDF and declare that “Torah is their occupation” This causes an understandable rift and resentment in Israeli society. I'm proud that my Israeli orthodox (not ultra) friends and family served and are serving in the Israeli army with distinction.

I'm glad the library has an option to delay delivery to kindle for a week or two. One time I received notification that 3 of my hold books were ready for download! I have the Grisham book on my library hold list, as well as Joanna Gaine's new book "The Stories We Tell". I wasn't thrilled with the David Baldacci book, "Long Shadows" nor Harlan Coben's "Win".

Thank you all for your encouragement and get well wishes. This thread sets the standard for tolerance, compassion, support, etc., etc. Dani, you did good! Greg, sorry to hear Linda is positive for covid but it was probably inevitable. Hoping her symptoms are mild. How is your shoulder and knee? Any pain? I'm not much of a drinker but I look forward to trying my first kraken colada on our Bella cruise!

I've mentioned his before in here. My father passed away a day before Thanksgiving. Since then, when we gather around the Thanksgiving table, and, tell poignant, oftentimes funny stories of dad. My mom passed away during our holiday of Passover. We do the same around the Passover sedar (holiday meal with prayers). Wonderful stories of mom. Light and funny. The first year, always the hardest. I miss them deeply. Thank you to all veterans for their service and to the families whose loved ones paid the ultimate price for our freedom. And,,,,,,,,eye is doing great!! No pain and I can see. Yay.

The saga of my eye continues. My doctor visit on Wed., a day after cataract surgery determined that a scratch in my eye was causing me so much pain every time I blinked, which was rubbing against the scratch. He explained how the scratch probably happened but not sure why he couldn't see it at the conclusion of the surgery. He numbed my eye, put a contact lens in so that my lid would not rub against the scratch and I walked out pain free. However, as the day progressed I experienced pain again but not as severe as before. This is not the positive experience everyone I spoke to had. All said no pain after. Surgery was Tues and I still have pain and can't see clearly out of that eye. Yet, here I am typing. AND I have to go through this again in 2 weeks to have the other eye done, hopefully with no scratch. On a happy note, my foot (ankle surgery) is much better! Yay! I skimmed through over 10 pages on here and I know I missed a lot. I did note that Greg and Deb have covid and hope both have very mild cases. Marietta, your daughter's beautiful wedding picture saddened me. Continued hugs to the whole family.

Jack neither but just to be sure I would give him "the look".

Thank you so much! Thanks Lenny!

Wanted to add regarding the chicken soup recipe, I always serve the soup the next day so that the fat can solidify on top for easy removal before serving.

Nothing written. I just follow what my mom did every week when she made chicken soup. I add some low sodium chicken stock to water and put in the chicken. I add beef marrow bones, veal or beef neck bones (can't get veal here, this was in NY), lots of veggies, carrots, celery, sometimes leek but it's a pita to clean, onion, parsnip, fresh parsley and dill. Don't want to gross anyone but I put in some chicken gizzards. The added "secret" ingredient at the end is believe it or not, a cinnamon stick, placed in the soup pot the last 15 mins. You won't taste cinnamon, but it just adds something to the soup. Mom did it so I do it. We all have favorite recipes but I just about gagged when Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman) added cream to her chicken soup.😛 Thanks for remembering and for your good wishes. Anesthesiologist called earlier to introduce himself and asked if I had any concerns. I told him to keep the valium handy. 🤣

Graham, so sorry to read this. I wish the best for you no matter what road you take.

I don't drink much alcohol, Jack almost none, but his Kraken sure has me wondering. This laptop keyboard is very sensitive. It knocks me off and just a few seconds ago all of a sudden, a recipe website for chicken soup popped up which I would never use since I make the best chicken soup in existence.

Crazy TX weather. Low 70s today and tomorrow. 80 on Wed., then the "deep freeze" starts on Fri for a few days with temps running a high of 50s, low 30s. We're a one car family and Jack has the car for a few hours running errands, appointments, etc. Good time to straighten this house up or....sit on the recliner, feet up as I'm doing now tooling around online.

Wonderful review and pictures. You did yourself proud!