80 for Brady, watching football can be fun

Inspired by a true story, this film shown at The Estates (a rom com?) tonight tells of four lifelong friends in their 80s (played by Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field) who travel to Houston to watch Tom Brady and his New England Patriots play in Super Bowl LI in 2017. Seventeen years before the 4 had gathered to help Lily get through her cancer treatment and had a tradition of watching him together. They win tickets (they think) and have hilarious adventures on the trip and at the game. 

Obama's quagmire?

Obama ran on the Iraq war issue--specifically getting out. He said it was a distraction from more important issues. Yet all 8 years of his terms we were at war with him in charge. So now Democrats call this 2 month war a quagmire? Hegseth fires back at 'quagmire' label, tells Garamendi 'shame on you' in House hearing.   And if Obama hadn't given Iraq the money to create this mess, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

Looking for low sodium cottage cheese

Cottage cheese is high in sodium but is a good source of calcium.  I can't find a low sodium cottage cheese brand. If I inquire on the internet, I receive results for low fat. Sodium content is similar for some brands, but checking labels is worth it. But I checked Ricotta cheese and it is much lower in sodium, but also different texture. Found this: "Ricotta cheese contains 76.9% less sodium compared to cottage cheese. Both food items are equal in their potassium and phosphorus contents." Ricotta cheese has more iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and selenium, and cottage cheese has more copper. Supposedly they taste different, but I think that's because Ricotta has much less salt. Cottage cheese has more liquid (water?) so I think measurements in grams are tricky. Ricotta has more fat, so more calories, but cottage cheese has more sugar and sodium. If you look at the graphs in this article, it looks to me as though Ricotta wins the nutrition race and is safer for those watching salt, which affects a lot of older people. Like me. I've never seen it in anything except dessert or pasta recipes, but tried some on a bowl of fruit today. I was explaining all this to Bob (about 7 a.m.) and he said, what does it taste like? And I said, like library paste. First time I've used this site on nutrition, but it's very thorough.

 https://foodstruct.com/nutrition-comparison-text/ricotta-vs-cheese-cottage-creamed-largeorsmallcurd?

Low Sodium Cottage Cheese - The Kidney Dietitian

Saying good-bye to Luan

 Next Saturday we'll be saying our final good-byes (for now) to Luan Zangmeister who died on April 16, 2026.  We were fellow members of UALC for about 5 decades. I recall poking my head in the room where she and helpers assembled the UALC newsletter, many chats in the halls, Sunday school classes after first service and our Thursday senior Bible studies. We watched her children and grandchildren grow up. Her son Jim was the "lucky" camp counselor when our daughter broke her arm at horse camp, and he was Phil's guitar teacher.  I remember her kindness when she sent us cards and notes when our son Phil had cancer. 

A memorial service will be held at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, 2300 Lytham Rd., at 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, 2026. The family will receive friends immediately following the service. The Reverend Paul Ulring will officiate.

  

Luan Zangmeister Obituary (1933 - 2026) - Columbus, OH - Southeast Messenger

Take your child to work day, April 23, 2026

Take your child to work day. They are interviewing kids on Fox & Friends about this event. One little girl said she had no idea what her dad's job is, but she's going to work with him. Said she's looking forward to spending more time with him. Hmm. Sounds like he needs some time with the kids at home, too.

I can't remember not knowing what my father's job was. In fact, he wasn't happy when I was in 3rd grade and it was a class project. I drew a picture of him standing in front of his big red truck with a 5 o'clock shadow. He was already out working by the time I left for school, so I must have drawn what I saw in the evening. Also, occasionally my brother and I rode along with him. I thought it was a special treat, but maybe my mom was just busy?

Spring art show at The Estates

Here at the Estates on Friday evening Bob had a small (and brief--3 hours) one artist show. Most paintings were from our apartment, but three came from the storage shelves at our daughter's home. Two were new this year. Champagne and hors d'oeuvres were served. What you see on the walls hangs in the lobby, not the show. It was very popular with our neighbors and people are still talking about it and which was their favorite. Lots of variety. Pheasants in the snow. Santa Marie Fishing boat. Aarni washing potatoes in the lake. Bicycles in Lakeside. Phil Bruce. Young Haitian woman. Abby reading. Andy docked on Lake Erie. Verde River, Arizona. Indian woman with veil. Jack sailing Webb 3. Southern Ohio barn. Ireland Plateau. Pavilion in Snow at Lakeside. Stockbridge, Scotland, Leith River.

  

  

Celebrating 250 years with the USPS

A special postage stamp appeared in July 2025, but I hadn't shopped for stamps for a while and hadn't seen it. Today I bought a sheet celebrating USPS, "250 years of Delivering" issue. I admit, I was baffled by the message (of the art). I could see a town/neighborhood, seasons of the year, clothing that did not identify as female, vehicles/vans, birds, dogs, cats, black employees, no automobiles, people gardening and having summer activities on rooftops of buildings, babies and children, and a few businesses that could be a bookstore or a restaurant. One thing was clear; in this make believe town square there was a statue of a pony express rider. I looked at a couple of websites for an explanation and this video sort of explains it. https://youtu.be/0rfif1Lv7c0?si=pnPSzqgyZVMOgCxr It is following one current black female employee through time in the U,S. She's the only person in the art that is clearly a woman. Or even whose ethnicity is clear. It's why you see no changes in our life and culture except the models of the mail vans. Not even the clothing changes--not even ADA rules for handicap access (the ramps have no railings).