No, I get a lot of messages, too. I tried just reading the digest, but then I got totally confused about where to find the most recent comments. So, I continue to go through the separate messages. See John's comment below; that'll help you to stop receiving the large number of emails.

Hazel

Really, it does! But now that, as the natives say, "our blood has thinned out," 19 F is cold to us. I grew up in the snow belt of NYState, lived in Indiana, Minnesota, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, so I was used to COLD. The first year we lived here, we laughed when people wore down jackets in winter. Now we're wearing them, too; we saved them from our Minnesota days, just in case. It's a very damp cold, which makes things ultra unpleasant. And the humidity and heat in the summer are more than I can stand. For me, summer brings on cabin fever. I would really rather be back in the Land o' Snow. Loved being back in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, for a visit in the winter! We sat in a wonderful coffee shop, looking out the window at the swirling snow around us. Our then dog, Joe, who passed away about five years ago (and whom we still miss greatly), came with us and was totally freaked when snowflakes landed on him.

My husband just saw a job opening in Indianapolis, and he's going to apply for it. We don't have any expectations at all. It'd be nice if he got an interview, of course. Then he could visit friends in Indy and Bloomington. He still has family (his brother and sister-in-law) in Ft. Wayne, we'd love to be closer to them, and we would love to live in Indy, where there's so much more to do than there is in Tallahassee. And it would be a lot closer to a lot of other places in the US. However, we would miss our relative closeness to the beach. Less than a two hour drive gets us to such pristine, beautiful, snow-white-sand beaches nowadays. Not that we get down to the northern Gulf of Mexico often enough.

Hazel

Barbara, you have made my day!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!

Hazel

Artscaping, I totally understand. Of course you want to be sure to be strong enough to care for a pet. If you decide that you are, perhaps you can find a neighborhood person who'd be interested in doing some dog walking for you?

Hazel

Hey, Peach, you're doing fine! I am about as old school as you can get, and I'm less than thrilled with computers. And when I go into my credit union and find that all work must cease because the computers are down, I have to admit it makes me laugh.

Where I put my foot down is smartphones. I have NO interest in owning one. My husband, who's a few years younger than I am, is utterly addicted to his. I went without a cell phone for the longest time. Then I finally caved in and bought a flip phone (yep, they're still being made), so that I can have one in case my car breaks down and I need to call my insurance to send out a tow truck. After staring at my computer screen all day long for work, the last thing I want to do is stare at yet another screen. And besides, where I live, out in the boonies, our cell phone reception is almost nonexistent anyway.

I really don't feel that I have to look up the meanings of words, show a bajillion photos of my animals to people, or play Bejeweled Blitz every second of my spare time. I do NOT do Twitter. I wouldn't even do Facebook if I weren't interested in sharing animals, particularly special-needs ones, who desperately need to be adopted. And I admit that I have met some wonderful people on FB, many of whom I've actually met in person, which has been terrific. But there are truly times that I think that living off the grid would be terrific.

Peach, I'm 16 years younger than you are, and you don't seem to have ANY problems with the computer era at all, as far as I can see. (But don't you miss dial phones? I sure do!)

Hazel

My mother turned me into a chocolate addict when I was a kid. (OK, I've gotta place the blame somewhere.) And now that chocolate with a high percentage of cacao is considered Good for You, then I say, let us eat on!

Yep, attorneys are everywhere. They're not all evil. It's the rotten ones who get all the attention, alas. Sometimes they do wonderful things. I volunteered for quite a while for Legal Aid here in town. I was so impressed with the dedication of the attorneys who worked there. No snazzy offices. No snazzy pay. Just working with a lot of folks who desperately needed legal help but couldn't afford it.

Hazel

Yes, I think it's supposed to be dark chocolate, as dark as you can stand it. I don't like the really really really cacao laden stuff with 90% cacao. But less cacao than that, and I'm there! Also hot chocolate is wonderful! Try it with a little nip of cayenne in it. Or cinnamon.

Hazel

hazel, i am still having the same problems as you are. even when i unsubscribe and change my site. it is overwhelming. very overwhelming. is there something wrong or am i just very computer illiterate?

hazel. we might be twins but born a century or 2 ago. same for the computer. also will not have a smart phone have a flip phone for emergency (i would need a 5 year old to help me with the smart phone). all this helps me to keep my mind off pain. ha ha

I hope one of the moderators can help you with this! It may take a while for the changes to kick in, but I don't know. I doubt you're computer illiterate!

Hazel