I remember reading in junior high school--seventh grade. I was at the public library so often that they 'amended' the rules for "children" to let me take out the same amount of books that an adult was allowed! I'd take out a stack books and return them, after reading, within a few days! 

The first  science fiction book I remember reading was Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank. It was the story of a  small town's inhabitants and how they 'survived' a nuclear  war.  Actually, I got that from the library at Bakalar Air Force Base--a 'reserve' base in the town I lived in at the time, Columbus, IN.  It's long gone now.  We lived in a  large mobile home park, about 500 ft away from the main (only!) gate to that AFB.  My dad was a civilian working there; but we had access to the base library.  

But my normal reading included the Cherry Ames 'nurses' books. And more than I can't remember!  Probably Nancy Drew, etc.  Anyway, from then on --I  was a 'constant' reader.   I've read many science fiction books as well as mysteries, romances, etc. Several genres, actually. 

My grandmother introduced me to Harlequin books.  I 'joined' a Harlequin book club & collected several hundred of those books--mysteries, romances, etc.  I eventually discovered a couple of local trading bookstores and exchanged my Harlequins for  other books. 

Later, I joined a hardcover book club & collected at least a hundred hardcover books--which  take up 5 shelves in one of my bookcases. Over the years, I've downsized my paperbacks (traded them for others), so they take up only a few double-stacked shelves now.

Then, I discovered 'digital' books. I now have 7,700+ books in my Amazon library and another several hundred 'on' my computer--downloaded directly from several newsletters. All of the latter were 'free'--and many of the  Amazon  books as well. I'll never run out of things to read! 

When I'm not 'writing', I usually read one book each day.  The only exception to that is when I'm depressed or sick.  Lately, due to 'real life' problems, my favorite genre is 'fluffy'. I really like the paranormal stories with witches or ghosts. And anything 'not heavy'. 

However, one of my favorite authors is J.D. Robb--aka Nora Roberts. When one of her books becomes available, I read it instantly! She writes murder mysteries set in the  future: 2059-2061.   I have a number of her hardcover books here, but lately, I just get them through my library. 

If you're interested in learning about 'good books', just check out my 'book group'. I post on all the books I read--and whether they are good or bad, etc. Since I read so many books, I often forget  whicch ones I've read! So I'm keeping a list now,  by year. 

And yes--I have frequently reread books! When I couldn't afford to buy new Harlequins, I reread many of what I had.  Now--My favorite 'ghost' series is the Haunting Danielle series by Bobbi Holmes, aka Anna J. McIntyre.  I've read that series at least three times...start to finish! (usually while waiting for the next one to appear!)  

Right now, that's the ONLY author whose books I'm buying. And  the next one (#31)is due out near the end of November. And yes...I've already preordered it!!   The first book is 'free'...so anyone can get it and see if they like it.   I read the first 22 from my library, but now I  am happy to buy them!

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I just saw something on Facebook about 'what goes with corn bread'. Well, boy did that bring back memories! One of my grandmothers fixed corn bread, fried potatoes and hamburgers quite often when we visited. That was one of my favorite meals.  I can almost 'taste' that, as I talk about it. 

However, 'now', I don't dare have all of that at one sitting! An ironic note: only a few hours before I got the call from my doctor, telling me he was putting me on a med to lower my 'bad' cholesterol, I had this craving for fried potatoes. Now, I hadn't had fried potatoes in a very long time--probably a few years! I hardly ever eat anything 'fried', to be honest. Maybe a hamburger once a month. And while I do eat frozen chicken tenders or fish patties, I fix them in the toaster oven, or air fryer. My skillet doesnt get much use! (Ok, once or twice a month I might fix bacon for a BLT sandwich.)   But in general, I try to eat 'healthy' when possible.  Sigh. Oh for the  good old days when we could eat whatever we wanted... 

PS: nowadays, it's a 'treat' when I have a bowl of chili with some corn bread. And no...I've never made it 'from scratch'! I  buy packaged 'sweet' corn bread mix. That works just fine.

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As I said in a recent Poll, I do remember most of my dreams. And yes, I often dream in 'color'.  If you did, you'd remember that for sure! Or at least, that's my opinion. My mom used to say she never dreamed; we now know that 'everyone' dreams; but you may not 'remember' the dreams. According to science, you actually need REM sleep--the sleep state where you dream. And I recently read where you can actually dram when not in 'REM' state. 

For many years I've awakened at least once for a 'bathroom break'.  In recent years, that's become at least three,  especially since my major surgery in 2020.  And that means I might have several dreams. It seems that every time I wake up, I remember a dream; two nights ago it was three--though once I was completely awake for the day, I only clearly remembered things from two of them. Sometimes, I don't remember much, other than to know that I did have a dream.

Last night, I only woke up twice, so I remember two dreams. The first one was about my sister being hurt when we were kids; and no, that never actually happened! It was a complete scene--including 'color'--which I don't want to think about.  The second one was incomprehensible: something about a lot of 'numbers'. It didn't make any sense at all.  But that's how it goes at times.  

Over the years, I've dreamed about many family members. A number of them were deceased family. Most of those 'seemed' like they were still with us. The very first one of those that I remember was just after my grandfather passed; it was if he was 'coming back'--and no, I didn't want that, since it was as a zombie! But subconsciously, I was probably wishing to have him back.  So yes, that one was kind of a nightmare. But that was the only one like that--that I can recall. And yes, some of my dreams have been 'nightmarish'; but usually I don't remember much about those--just that they weren't "good" dreams.

Some say that dreaming about deceased relatives is them 'visiting' us.  While it's a comforting thought, I can't say I believe that. But I won't say it's not possible. Who knows?

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While I did recently upload a couple of new pictures to my Gallery, I really hadn't looked at what else I have in there  for some time! So I just now decided to go through the pictures and delete some. Do you ever do that?

Wow...I  didn't realize how many photos I've uploaded over the years.  Another reason I was looking at my Gallery was that someone asked if my new Sig tag was 'my cats'.  No...if you look closely, you'll see (in the upper right corner) the name of the site where I've gotten a number of cat pictures from.

I first uploaded that picture in my Graphics group, to show the 'curled' edge--and which I recently decided was a good place to show my 'tag by...'  

When our last fur babies died a few years ago, we made the decision that due to health and finances, we simply can't have pets any more.  I have many saved photos of all of them--saved in file folders as well as 'real pictures'. And I have this collage hanging on the wall here in my tv/computer room.  I also have pictures of Sammi & Tasha drinking from one of my fountains; and a double photo of Tasha, which shows her 'dates'. (May 1990-Sept. 2007).  I also have several good videos of a number of our cats.  

Yes, I've always been the photographer in the family, so I have a file folder with over 13GB of pictures, which includes many of our cats.  That's another story.

Tags: Photos Cats

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My son just asked for Grandma's Chicken Casserole recipe, which reminded me about all the 'old' recipes I've collected over the years. I did find a big folder of them--but to be honest, there's only one  that I actually use--word for word. More on that later. 

Back to Mike's question, first. I never did find the 'real' recipe! That's because I do a 'quick version'.  Grandma (his great grandmother) was a fantastic cook; she even baked and sold everything from pies and cakes to candy!  Everyone loved her home cooking. My favorites are many, but to limit the list: made from scratch Red Velvet Cake (before anyone thought to make it a 'box' cake mix) with made-from-scratch frosting, Chocolate Covered Cherries, ham salad, and of course--Chicken Casserole. 

 Now, Grandma baked a whole chicken, then deboned it. And of course, she made 'noodles' from scratch to go in the casserole. As for me: I used canned chicken and a package of store-bought noodles. I do chop bell pepper and celery, cook them and then put them in the casserole.   And I buy a jar or two of 'chicken gravy'. Then I bake it. I think she put onions in hers, but since my family isn't wild about onions, I never bothered with that. 

 That's the recipe I use most often. But the entire family's very favorite came from my great uncle Vic--one of Grandma's brothers-in-law. Uncle Vic was a cook in the Merchant Marines. His made-from-scratch Spaghetti Sauce is fantastic!!  Now, using 7 spices is rather expensive; so this is a 'special' occasion recipe. Naturally, as with all good, old recipes--there's no actual 'measurements'. Oh, the basic: 'about' 2 tablespoons of each spice; but you mainly go by 'taste'.   And my mother always simmered hers for 4 or 5 hours. Personally, we prefer not to let it 'cook down' that much. So I only let it simmer an hour or so.   

We call this recipe: Italian Spaghetti--probably due to the many spices.  And frequently, I will double the recipe and send some leftovers home with my kids, and/or freeze some for later.  Some years ago, I started fixing this as our family Thanksgiving dinner--or even for Christmas.   

Thinking of Uncle Vic and Aunt  Laura reminds me of the one time my immediate family visited them in New Orleans. I was very young, so about all I remember is their Mynah bird and the lovely, lush back yard!  The latter might be due to the photos Mom had of that 'garden'.  When I got married, they sent me a 'Cookbook for Two'. 

Grandma had 12 siblings, but once we moved away from Indiana, I really didn't see any of them. However, I do remember once when my husband and I were visiting Grandma, we drove up to her hometown and had 'Sunday dinner' with one Aunt and Uncle--yeah, it was fried chicken. I think that was a staple--for Sunday dinners, at least for farm families.  So yes...thinking about family recipes brings back fond family memories. 

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I saw a post on Facebook this morning that made me stop and think. The question was about "Predictive Text".

Well, I 'tried' the thing--which didn't work. I 'googled' it and learned that apparently this is ONLY for 'smartphones'--or maybe 'Android'!   That reminded me--so many people don't even 'use' a real computer anymore! That boggles my mind.   Not to mention: many people simply can't afford a Smartphone and feel lucky to even 'have' a simple computer!!

Even though our daughter recently gave us Smartphones this year, I do not plan on 'using' it in place of my computers! I mainly use it for phone calls/text. And since she also gave me a Fitbit, it's 'attached' to the phone. 

Oh, occasionally, I will 'check' FB--when the phone 'beeps' to let me know I have a new post to see (though I mostly ignore that)--or turn on the Police Scanner app (I only have those apps on 'Android'--iPad and phone & I usually listen on the iPad). 

But for everything else--and especially when I'm playing with 'graphics' or working on my NOTH pages-- I use my laptop.  So that's why I just posted a Poll.  I 'added' Tablet, but I don't know if anyone uses that anymore, which is why I made it a separate choice. I had one years ago, before the iPad.

 I do know  at least one person here who only uses Android and therefore has problems 'seeing' some things here (videos that anyone posts here on their pages). For me, it's best to use a 'real computer' which I can rely on for everything--especially when working on my NOTH pages. But, I was curious about what others prefer!

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In cleaning out some files, I found a list of my 'first' email address and contact list. I had completely forgotten about this: juno.com   

  Apparently, it's still around--but no longer 'free' and I guess it was mainly used when we all had 'dial-up' internet. I'm not sure now 'who' would use it.

That also reminded me that some of my first online friends used AOL.  So I did quick search: yes, that one is also still around. It's now 'free'.  However, most of my friends now use Gmail--it's safe, secure, and easy to use. And of course Cloudeight recommends it! (I call TC and EB my 'computer gurus'!)

Of course, many more just use their official ISP email addresses--some don't realize they can have more than one & think they 'must' use it.

I was just wondering what email accounts others use now. I know some who have Yahoo (though I stopped recommending it years ago due to all their security problems). Others use just their ISP: ATT, etc.   My brother-in-law used his ISP--earthlink--until recently. He's now gone to Gmail, too. I set my husband up with our ISP--ATT; but he doesn't do email, so it's just for 'official' ISP things. Recently, when setting up our new smartphones, our daughter had to get him a Google account to use with it. And I have an Outlook account, too.

  Others that I 'found' when looking at that old address sheet: peoplepc, hotmail, netscape, consolidated, and i-star.    No: I'm not asking you to post your email address! Just 'wondering' about 'which' accounts you mostly use.  I have: 3 Gmail & 1 Outlook--and Proton, which was a 'test' & will probably be deleted. And I keep an eye on my husband's ATT account. 

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After seeing a recent poll, I decided to check this out: "What is the least expensive and most popular fruit?" 

 According to what I found--it's probably the Banana. I know for a fact that bananas are less expensive than apples, at least in my area! Those were the two answers people gave in this Poll. I eat both; bananas have more fiber & potassium, which is why I choose them.  I also eat apples, but due to a medical condition, I must peel them first--which negates some of their good points.

Anyway, it's up to each person to decide which they prefer. Both are nutritious and good for you. 

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I've been watching reruns of a favorite old tv show: Emergency. The two main characters are firefighters who are paramedics. I started wondering what happened to paramedics once ambulances started carrying EMTs. Are they still around, or did they just go back to being 'plain' firefighters? 

That made me wonder: what's the difference between paramedics amd EMTs.  So I looked it up. It apparently is how much training they get. What surprised me is that one article I read seems to say that paramedics actually have more training than EMTs. And there are several 'levels' of EMTs as well. 

I found an article by an actual firefighter: I work as a firefighter/paramedic and the majority of the calls we are dispatched to are for emergency medical aid.

   Here is part of what he explained: 

An EMT, who may or may not be a paramedic, will usually work out of an ambulance, though most firefighters are also trained and function as EMTs and Paramedics.  

EMTs are, normally, the first group of people to attend an incident. Many times the first responders on-scene will be firefighters, that are also EMTs or Paramedics. 

If you want more info, here is the link to that article: 

https://firefighterinsider.com/ems-vs-emt-whats-the-difference/

I found it quite interesting. 

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