What's happening in your neck of the woods? #23

Betty - if you're still lurking
Here's a pic of that reindeer I told you about....

Carol .. sneezy, coughy, sniffely crowds are certainly to be avoided right now, I find that as I travel with Lorna from dept to dept in the hospital I am SO careful to ensure I use LOTSA hand sanitizer!! As it stands now .. the local hospital will allow only ONE visitor per patient (your name has to be on a list) .. as you enter the hospital you are met by a masked team of 2 .. and asked 1. Are you coughing 2. have you been sick 3. Any temperature. During SARS we actually TOOK visitors temps, that hasn't started here as of yet. Then .. you are asked to sanitize your hands .. and only then can you proceed into the hospital. Who knows if it'll work .. but .. it's a start I guess.

Lorna is home !! She was discharged yesterday afternoon .. have a house full of equipment right now , and I do believe DE CLUTTERING is on todays agenda .. that as well as VON visit and a physio visit .. busy days to be sure ..

Spittery flurries happening at present ..

Take care all

~M~

Adorable...I took photo last night after class..had it to enclose, guess I was tired enough that I forgot to add the photo..lol..will do so tonight...

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay Lorna's HOME!! ^_^
So good to hear that, Marilyn!


No flurries expected here - rather, a Chinook is coming, and we're supposed to get 15c temp!! (57F, I think...)

Marilyn, I'm pleased to hear that Lorna is home!.
Edmonton hit 18 above!! today. Yeah it was like spring.

Carol, my Mom got in line at 5 am the other day for her flu shot. She was 4th in line for the 9 am opening and was out and done by 9:30. With her many Cancer hits she is high risk not to mention she is just recovering from a some broken ribs after a fall so I was pleased to hear she has the added protection. Both she and my Dad are not leaving the house for a bit unless something crazy comes up.

Ann

Ann - "We Beat Edmonton" (Calgary and Edmonton are so competative. ) LOL it was 20c here today!! I cannot believe that we're getting this temp In November, yet!

I'm really glad to hear your Mom & Dad got through the line so quickly! I hope her ribs heal quickly.
A co-worker said that the H1N1 vaccine takes 2 weeks to get through your system, and you could still get the H1N1 during that time. I don't know about that, but it's what she said......... Anyone else hear anyting like that?

~Susan~

EL NINO ? Am thinking that that iswhy temps are up .. ENJOY !!!!!

I hadn't heard that about the H1N1 shot Susan .. I had thought once you rec'd the shot the antibodies it produced hit the virus as soon as it showed up in your system. Something to look up I guess.
I am still mulling over my options on this 'shot' .. with Lorna now having NO spleen .. she has to be extra cautious around folks so as not to pick up something .. once her meds are done she will be receiving immunizations but, I do believe NOT H1N1 ... this all happens next week so I'll find out the score on that.

Windy here .. and nary a star in the sky ..

TGIF

~M~

I understand it takes about 2 weeks to develop full immunity. Thats true of pretty much any vacination/innoculation I think.

Marilyn I think you should get the shot if you are out and about and Lorna is at your home. Your could pick up infection from somebody else and then reinfect her which you certainly dont want to do.

psssssssssssst http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1054084/ (since I know many of you just have this thread on your watch list).

Marilyn I'm happy to read Lorna is now at your home again and wishes for an uneventful recovery for her are being sent her way.

Hiya

Still 'thinkin' on the SHOT .. has come to my attention that more than a few of our local docs are NOT getting it .. puzzling to say the least ..

Lorna is doing well .. I find my day kinda consummed with 'stuff' .. and my house is pretty much Grand Central Station for the health care disciplines involved in her care (OT PT VON) my coffee pot has never been so well used ^_^

Absolutely GLORIOUS day here .. hung out 2 lines of laundry !!!

Take care

~M~

Heh to everyone, and thanks for always being there for me....you know who you are out there..... I learned my lesson and will never post anything outside of this forum...and hopefully I wont offend anyone.

I havent been able to garden this year, as my house burnt down....lost everything...... my husband died..... and just in the last couple months, my sister died as well. Ive always been a trooper...and Im assumming much younger than most...but I love to garden and Im thinking about moving out of the Vancouver area and going North.

Im just trying to share feelings now...so if anyone is upset..please dont be okay...as Im just sharing feelings...hope that is okay here

Ive had a very, very hard year...and still cry everyday...Im thinking about moving up to
Ft. McMurray and have alot of opportunities in the northern part of Alberta.

If you know anyone that lives there, then D mail me okay...as I dont want anything on here to upset other memebers.

Thanks

Cindy

I don't live in Ft McMurray, but I'm in Calgary, so I'm closer to you when you move...........

Best of luck to you in your move, and take care, Cindy ^_^

~Susan~

Hey Cindy .. as Betty reminded us a week or so back .. the title of THIS forum or thread of the Canadian forum is "What's happening in your neck of the woods today'. I had a little hiccup with posts written by myself while I was having a hard time through Sept/Oct .. and when Betty reminded us ALL of the general content .. I certainly felt better.

I totally empathize with the place your heart and mind are in at this time. I used to be and still am, a HUGE proponent of the healing nature of TIME .. and .. as we all know .. Time takes Time !! You will cry, and that's not a bad thing, you will share thoughts and hope for feedback, and, I pray you get it and are comforted by it.

Re Ft McMurray .. I do have a brother in law who has been UP there for a year. He's a heavy equipment mechanic. Money is good, but, he sacrifices family left behind 10 days at a time in Summerland. Mind .. his family is pretty much grown. His feeling re the Fort is .. 'it's a good place to make money, but, living there is not HIS bag' .
Guess everyone has different opinions.

Leaving Lorna on her own today for the first time .. I have a meeting i MUST attend .. she's quite excited about the 'Home Alone' scenario as she feels she will have no problem .. thank heaven for cell phones and neighbours :-)

I just noticed my 'Bachelor Buttons' on the east side of the house .. close to the house .. have decided to BLOOM again !! Must be the warm daytime temps !!!

Enjoy your Tuesday :-)

~M~

blooming bachelor buttons....... (sounds like a Batman/Robin saying lol)
geeeeeze, Marilyn - you're sure lucky! We had 20c last week, but not going to have that again in any great # of days again (chinooks notwithstanding lol)

~Susan~

I'm as amazed as you Susan re the blooming bachelor buttons ... ZOWIE BATMAN !!! ^_^

All went well today .. time to sit back and relax with Earl Grey !!!!

~M~

ALWAYS Remember .... NEVER forget !!!!


~M~

For sure Marilynne, for sure. How did Lorna make out being left alone today?

Cindy, it is so nice to see you back and posting. Post anywhere you like. I don't think there will be any problems with anything you have to say. Here, you are with friends. If someone else pops in now and then, and doesn't want to read everything, that's fine too.

absolutle Right, m'dear Echoes - this is a room of choices, and we choose to be here for our fellow DG'ers.
We all have pain at one point or another in our lives, and it helps sometimes to off-load some of it to people who understand.
Welcome, welcome, Cindy - to post whatever you're feeling.

~Susan~

Cindy
Welcome back, I have been thinking of you and wondering were you were and how things were going. This part of our gardening is spirit gardening!
I think gardeners are nurturer's, weather it be with Mother Earth her creatures or each other. So please share your burden with us and with "Time" your load will lighten. May Peace be with you.

I think the Ft Mac is a tough one, Northern Alberta is beautiful but the Ft is like an old Wild West town. Crazy! I have some friends who have worked there and they can't wait to get home. Drugs and an overabundance of party after work stuff means they are having trouble with a balance of Family Community and a mainly Male work force. If you could pick a different town I think you would be better off.

Speaking of moving I bumped into a new neighbor the other day who just arrived with her family from England I have been showing her around on my days off. Well she couldn't believe we have frozen juice in tubes! I had to show her how to pull the tab and thaw it a bit to get it out and mix in a jug. Ha don't we take things for granted.

Marilynne, I will be waiting to hear how Lorne does the solo "home alone"! I bet you left all kinds of things for her in case she needs something. I have this picture in my mind............
LOL
Ann

Good Remembrance Day morning all ..

Lorna did very well ysterday .. she said her 2 assistants (Smokey and Lilly) kept her company .. she was able to give Smokey the good brushing he has so sadly lacked as she has travelled through her nightmare .. the old boy looks right PERKY now LoL
Her parents called several times as did other friends, so .. lets just say she had NO time to fall under any BAD Karma !!
She felt quite proud of herself, as did I.

When the sun finishes rising on this cold morning (22F) I do believe those Bloomin Bachelor Buttons will be gonezo .. thick frost carpeting everything out in the yard ..

Have the VON on tap to arrive at 8am .. then .. I may try to either watch the Remembrance Day broadcast on the tube, or, perhaps go to one of the ones in the city.

Say .. is Ann away (ViolaAnn) ?

Take good care all

~M~

Good For Lorna!
Sounds like Smokey & Lilly kept her busy lol
Animals are good at sensing what we humans need, eh?

Take care everyone - I'm busy working on an apron swap - gotta get busy, busy, busy.....

Take care everyone!!

~Susan~

I just finished watching the Remembrance Day service from Ottawa. When they play the The Last Post it always brings tears to my eyes. Although he was not in a combat division my Dad was a vet. Please remember those who lost life and limb and continue to serve today!

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The name of John McCrae (1872-1918) may seem out of place in the distinguished company of World War I poets, but he is remembered for what is probably the single best-known and popular poem from the war, "In Flanders Fields." He was a Canadian physician and fought on the Western Front in 1914, but was then transferred to the medical corps and assigned to a hospital in France. He died of pneumonia while on active duty in 1918. His volume of poetry, In Flanders Fields and Other Poems, was published in 1919.

My uncle died in the 2nd WW.
Here's an excerpt from a book called A Place Of Honour:
"Singleton, Lance Corporal Benjamin W. of Eden (H 6256). Winnipeg Grenadiers. He died a prisoner of war 22 January 1943 at the age of 24 and is commemorated at the Sai Wan War Cemetery in Hong Kong."

A lake was named after him in northern Manitoba, called Singleton Lake.

My father was too young for the 1st, and too old for the 2nd WW (born in 1902...) and he used to remember his brother, Ben. My father's passed away now, but thinking about his brother made him sad.

Take care everyone.

~Susan~


This message was edited Nov 11, 2009 11:11 AM

I,also, watched the ceremonies. With my nephew on his 4th tour in Afghanistan .. well .. it takes on a whole new meaning to me. He will be coming back to Canada soon though.

The poem is wonderful, as always .. thanks Carol.

Only thing that I found a bit 'odd' was Michaelle Jean in uniform .. I understand the reasoning as she is the Queen's rep in Canada .. and the Queen IS the head of the Armed Forces .. but .. for the life of me .. I can't seem to remember any othe Gov. General (maybe Romeo Leblanc) wearing a uniform without having been a fer sure soldier ?
At any rate, it was a moving ceremony and I thought the 'Silver Cross Mother' was lovely, and such a wonderful lady.

Back to house cleaning !!

~M~

The Ottawa ceremonies was superb as always. The added photos of the Canadian soldies who have lost their lives in Afganistan since that war began, brought to mind the extra relevance of this Remembrance Day. Lest We Forget.

This is how Manitoba & Saskatchewan honoured their dead, in the past:

http://www.cforce.hkvca.ca/geographicnames.htm

My uncle is B.W. Singleton.

~Susan~

Susan seeing your post reminded me of Billy Barry's book Age Shall Not Weary Them: Saskatchewan Remembers Its War Dead http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Age-Shall-Not-Weary-Them-Bill-Barry/9781897010204-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527age+shall+not+weary+them%2527 When Mr. Barry was writing it he contacted me to research the names of those who were from Moose Jaw and died in the wars and who now have a northern lake named after them. He did an incredible amount of research prior to publishing the above book......when I listed the names that are on the cenotaphs/memorials here he was able to tell me which ones were Americans that joined up with the local regiments (and other curiousities).

Your the first person I've seen that is related to one of the fellows (Manitoba or Saskatchewan) whose memory was honored that way.

Lest We Forget.

Not away yet. Just lurking, practicing and getting the Canadian Viola Society newsletter into the mail. Have a concert on Monday evening and take off for Germany on Tuesday morning. Also started doing physio on a knee that's been bothering me since I fell in March.

Concert on Monday as Berlioz "Harold in Italy" and Kodaly "Concerto for Orchestra" as the main works.

Ann

Hope your knee responds to physio Ann .. those guys can be brutal !!! ^_^

Glad to hear from you, enjoy your trip over the pond.

~M~

Lily - glad you've been someone who knows about the commemoration of those in prev wars. Other than those who Do the commemorating, you're the 1st person I've chatted with who also knows about it.
Had you ever seen that site I posted, before?

Take care of that knee, Ann.

Carol - thank you for posting the poem. I remembered it incorrectly - thought the part where is says "blows" was supposed to be "grows", but obviously I was remembering the "grows" at the end. My boss & I both thought the same thing....... It just sounded "wrong" until I thought about the rhyming of it. "Blows" fits perfectly, rhyme-wise.

~Susan~

Morning all,

Lordy it's been a hectic week, just this morning am I able to feel like my energetic self...

Had days mixed with nights, worked a god 20 hrs. a day for seems like ions...last night 6:30 to bed, slept like a babe until 5:00 ...now here I am...wanting to gab with you all...

"M" so pleased that Lorna is now home with you..changes your schedule somewhat but am sure you feel better caring for her with shortages in our health system (hospitals almost need a family member on hand for the day to day care)..sending her hugs....

Cindy, this thread IS for all who need each each other..for those just wanting to drop in with a hi ... so glad you dropped in...don't worry, this room is filled with friends....
no need to be lonely!

Brrr it is cold outside, bright and sunny though...talk about summer like weather we had the past while...with each day of sunshine we shorten the winter don't we...did this morning scrape the car windows...teaching a class Sat. morning and needed some vine and red branches for the arrangment so stopped on the side of the road, cut a bunch and started to laugh at my falling almost shoulder deep in a ditch that was hidden by a snowfall..blizzard of a day..just thought I'd perish..lol..and here I am again, in the same bushlot...I simply don't learn now do I...

Last weekend was in Buffalo and Hamburg for the weekend...mom told me her knee was doing poorly, after her slight stroke says she tires easily...omg, had trouble keeping up with her...lol..

Both enjoyed the 450 vendor craft sale in Hamburg N.Y...think mom was more enthused that there was a casino next door..nope, she didn't win!

I did purchase several Christmas gifts and debated on one for me...a craft item for outside deck..don't know why we will spend out $$$ for everyone else but when it comes to getting something for us we himmmm and hawwww...do you do this too? anyway, did purchase it..

With taking Friday off we were able to put in our 48 hrs. on USA side, got home just around 11am...Greg and a friend were shrink wrapping the Foxy Lady...both wearing short sleeve shirts..last year when they did it there was a blizzard, so, without taking my goodies out of the vehicle I proceeded to get boxes from back storage shed and started to hand Christmas lights, decorations and trees out front..even had my Christmas music going..think both of the boys thought I had lost it...I'm sure when they are putting out same in a blizzard and freezing they'll wonder why didn't they do it same day I took it on...rest assured I'll remind them...lol

Tuesday night I drove up after work to MacTier to teach an Iris Folding Christmas Card class for 22 participants...lots of prep work (think that's why I wasn't sleeping) all enjoyed ...

So funny, yesterday I fell asleep at my desk and photo's were taken..ooops, surely can't ask for a raise and saying I'm overworked can I? just kidding, lucky to work 1/2 hr. a day...

Some family trauma going on..worse case scenerio so this morning here in the office I'm babysitting my grand niece in order to keep her safe...I'll share the story later...

Well best go entertain her..lol

Betty, I honestly don't know how you do it all. And this morning, you literally have your hands full. LOL

Betty
It sure doesn't look like she can sit still. Good job you are good at being busy, maybe that is where she get's it from...it literaly runs in the family!
Ann

LOL Ann .. I think you're absolutely right on that !! Sweet little one .. lucky to have GREAT Auntie Betty to take care of her for a bit ..

ARGggggggggg .. got the haircut today .. will wait the prerequisite TWO days before I decide I like it. It wasn't a change .. just a cut .. but someone in the Safeway after my 'do', commented on how much I look like Paula Deans .. she has a cooking show on the Food Channel .. not the first person who has made that comment to me .. we have the SAME colour hair, but, she's got the MONEY LoL

Trying hard to rain here .. have a fresh pumpkin pie in the oven .. and am making an ADVENTURE for supper :-)

TTFN

~M~

Morning....it's been quite an ordeal for Suzanne (SIL) and my niece...she had been living with a young man, father of little Ariana you see in the photo above...last week he came after my niece with a knife, charges were laid and she moved back in to her mom's Suzanne whom I work with...then Wednesday night Danielle (niece) got a call from someone with some information, omg, he had sexually assaulted a friend of Danielle's...she didn't tell Danielle because Danielle kept telling her she had to make a go of this relationship for the baby's sake...

Danielle called the police and met with this young lady..guess during the conversation the sexual abuse that Danielle was also living with came out and both saying how he saied he would harm them and family if they didn't go along with it...

Yesterday he was picked up - 2 counts of sexuale abuse (rape)..today is the hearing..we didn't want Ariana at the sitters without Danielle having custody papers...believe she'll have them this morning...

Don't know how smart young women put up with being treated so badly!

So sitting here waiting to hear how the court hearing and emergency temporary custody hearings go...

"M" VICARS picked both girls up last night, did testing etc. - the friend still had towels of such that she cleaned herself up with, they are needed for court...what a worthwhile organization..she said they were supportive/caring and had so much information for them...thank the Lord for people who do such heart wrenching work...

Glad to know they are safe Betty. Hope they stay that way - there are so often tragedies in these situations as you know.

I too find it difficult to understand why women ( and sometimes it is men) stay in abusive relationships.

Hope things work out for them,

P.S. Betty what does VICARS stand for?

Think "M" would be the better one to tell us what it is all about..

Victim crisis assistance but not sure what the last 2 initials stand for...

I'm sure there are many men going through it as well that one never knows about...

camera doesn't take the best of photo's...just finished Kyle, one more to go..have to sketch Noah, all the frames are in at the studio..kids should enjoy them...another Christmas gift done..lol

Good morning, ladies!
want to tell you a story - not sure which way you'll take it - humourous or sad (little known fact among couples.......)
This story has stayed with me, even though I heard it in my teens (many, many years ago:

I was going out with a fella who was 6'4 (I'm 5'), and he told me about his brother (6'5) and his wife (4'11"). Seems the wife would get up on a chair and beat her husband. At the time I thought "That's funny" then stopped and thought "that's abuse!".
I suppose the adage about Tall Gentle Giants is true. Most large men tend to appreciate their size and strength and don't use it against others, so he must have been one patient man to put up with the abuse. He would simply have had to move away and she wouldn't have been able to his head but, like other victims, he took it.

~Susan~

OMG Betty .. an awful story .. but one I have seen and helped with many times ..
Do so hope Danielle hangs in and gets the help she needs.

Victim Crisis Assistance and Referral Service ... we go to the victim when the police clear the scene and we help the vicitm do what needs to be done .. if that means holding their hand or giving them a shoulder to lean and cry on .. so be it .. but .. we also have some pretty awesome referral information to help them out following the intial shock of becoming a victim.
LOVE the opportunity to help !!!

~M~