What's happening in your neck of the woods November13

Afternoon

glad you enjoyed your outing "M"

Suzanne called to say the weather might be bad in the morning and yet the Weather network doesn't show it..perhaps you called and told her you were sending it my way?

Susan, I needed a stitch regulator for the sewing machine I bought on the weekend..Canadian Distributor is in Alberta..she said she's try to get to the post office today to mail it but there was quite a blizzard going on..hope you are inside and safe from the weather conditions..

yes, the dinner was delish. Good company, too :-)

and yes, we have a blizzard going on right now - high winds and white-out.....
and also yes, I'm staying inside.... haven't stepped a toe outside in 2 days.....

I do have a crazy-busy week this week though:
Wed am - church service at a senior's residence - I'm doing one of the scriptures
Wed 7pm - Blue Christmas service at our church. I go there in memory of my father....

Thurs 10am - Bible Study. 11:30 am "Thank you lunch for volunteers" at a Care home where I go once a month to help with a Church service.
Make sandwiches for a homeless shelter; 7pm Choir Practice; after that, take sandwiches that ladies from the church make, to the homeless shelter

Friday - seniors' lunch with Christmas present to be shared (the ole "$5 maximum"

Saturday 9:30am - UCW ladies create gift baskets for Shut-ins; 11:30 Potluck lunch & UCW meeting; Noon - make sandwiches for a funeral; 3pm - a friend of the church's funeral :-( (he was 89, and he leaves his wife of 70 years..... they'd just celebrated their anniversary Oct 4th)

So, you see - it's a busy 4 days ahead for me..... hardly any time to breath.......

YW re the card Susan ...
We are in the DEEP freeze as well .. guess it's to be expected at this time of the year ..
The dogs sure are NOT impressed ..

Trying to keep up with house cleaning and Christmas preps, think I'll HAVE to make a list ..
Gord and I went to a local nursery/greenhouse the other day, attaching a pic of him with Santa ..
He has let his beard grow !! He did it a few years back as well, says it keeps his face warm, I'm saying nothing, but thinking BUNCHES ..

Stay warm everyone

~M~

Not sure "M" one can keep house clean at this time of year!

Have a friend who bakes and sells tays of goodies for Christmas $$$
Think I should call to order one

Not sure what is happening this Christmas with Jim maybe not making it through the Christmas season

Sharon asked wether or not I'd be going to Florida for the2 weeks..it's a hard call.

Now that I know what is wrong with me i have to wonder if Icould take the ride sitting..perhaps if I go will have to check the big bird as method of travel. Lol

Snowing and blowing here. Brrr

Snow and much colder here today. Nothing like Susan and M are having though.Pups are excited to see the snow back.

Betty this is a very difficult time for you and your family. It must be very hard leaving Jim knowing how fast he is going downhill. It seems like Jim is a peace with himself and for that your mam should be thankful. I am so glad Jim has reved up his Welsh ire!!

Is it just for 1 night M you get to be Mrs Claus? Jim looks like he is trying to audition for Santa with his bear. Warren decided to grow 1, 1 winter. Oh my!! He said the barometric pressure had everything to do with the growth of his whiskers. Think you know my answer to that.

Dianne

Dianne did give the Welshman a hug from you..he said he lived about 6 miles or so fom Cardiff, Betso?? It got him talking about his days in Wales..believed he enjoyed that

Excellent Betty. True Welshman then, they love to talk of home.

MASSIVE BRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Poor pups were out and back in in jig time this morning !
Lorna and I are 'supposedly' headed for the gym in a bit .. she is getting so much from it, me, not so much, I'm simply there to help her get on and off the equipment, but, we do swim together after ..
The City issues a PAL card to a disabled person (Lorna), the card allows the disabled person to have someone (me) accompany her for assistance, but, I can't use the gym equipment and work out (break my heart .. NOT) :-)
Swimming is different as I HAVE to help her off with her leg and into the pool, there is NO lift .. lemmee tell ya, it has been a bit scary a couple of times, but, we're gettting better at it ..

Betty, I would NOT wish your decisions to be made on anyone .. you have such a huge heart, and are like me, you hate to disappoint anyone ..

I am Mrs Claus for just ONE night (I hope), Christmas Eve at 6pm at the Hospital .. still trying to figure out what to do with my hair .. may have to look up a wig from somewhere .. I've even let my hair grow to my shoulders in hopes of 'curling it with rollers' !

Gord and his beard ... sigh .. he's starting to remind me of Burl Ives ! Says it keeps his face warm .. guess i can't argue with that ..

STAY warm

~M~

Betty - must have missed a post - you KNOW what's wrong, and dealing with (what???) it
it is a tough call on whether to stay, or go to FL....... you'll make the right one, I'm sure.

Still looking for the Santa Warren Christmas exchange thread......

Santa Warren exchange is just chatter on the Best/Worse and What did I learn today..no special thread..

yes I did find out..need 2 hip replacements

omg..... Betty - so sorry to hear this. Have they chosen a date? I imagine you'll need 2 separate operations. They don't seem to do these at the same time. BUT...... I've talked to people who've had knee/hip replacements, and they are SO happy with them.... heal rather quickly from what I understand.

Betty, don't mack a conclusion until you have actually SEEN and spoken to the specialist .. there could be 'other' alternatives .
With me, well, there just weren't.

It's December here ^_^
Cold and snowy ..

LOVE my Santa Warren gifts !!!

~M~

and I love my Santa Warren gifts, too :-)

Popping in to say hi to everyone ..
Sure is quiet in here, must be Christmas ..

Shall I comment on the weather ..??
BRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr sums up ours witha lil bit of snow in there, nothing like down east though!

AbAnne appears to have disappeared .. was wondering how Edmonton was making out ..

My Xmas Eve (Afternoon) as Mrs Claus is creeping up, here's hoping it all goes well, kind of excited and SO hoping the weather isn't inclement. ..

DIanne is in a snow belt typa deal .. likely no power except for her generator .. may hear from her soon.

Best be on my way

Take care

~M~

I hope Dianne's online again soon - miss that gal!!
Yes, AB Ann...... how are you? Did you get as much snow as we did, last night/this am? About a foot of it, it looks like......

I just got back from my Dr app't - Knee specialist.... apparently I'm to have a cortisone injection on January 2nd am.
I’m not a candidate for knee replacement. And, the torn meniscus is only slight, while the Osteoarthritis in my left knee shows a widening of the space between the (joints?) and is getting worse. My right knee is fine, but obviously the fall in April 2011, and then another in July 2013 really “worked it’s magic" on my left knee.
The Dr said, maybe in 5 or 10 years, I will need a knee replacement, but not now.

HI Guys
Just a bit nutty and I don't seem to be able to get on from home anymore and just find it's too much trouble to fight every time. I guess I should figure it out after Christmas.
We have a ton of snow and it's been cold then warm.....you would almost think it's Calgary!

Getting ready for Christmas and hope to be ready by Monday. Last day of work today and then I can focus on my family.
Will fill you all in later but I have been getting seed catalogues so soon it will be time to get going again. Yahooooooo.
Bye for now
Alberta Ann

Merry Christmas Ann ^_^

I, too, have been having problems posting on here ..

I just hope ALL the Canadian Gardeners have just the BEST Christmas ever, and, ALL the best in 2014 !!

HUGS

~M~

I've got snow to share if anyone would lke some

Lordy snow banks are so high, not sure what we shall do if it continues.

Was to take m turn sitting with Jim but he had such a bad night Sharon was having oxygen brought in then add the storm she insisted I stay home

We will see what the weather is like tomorrow, hopefully I can make the run..just don't like the thought of freezing rain.

Ann, they have you pegged right, seed catalogue, bet you've zipped through the pages more than once already.

"M" are you having Christmas at your Ouse?

DIL let me know yesterday hat daily were talking about my health issues and decided Melanie would ake over this year and all I would have to do is sit and enjoy..that is ok as long as I get to bring home leftovers..

snow, snow, snow, and more snow...... Bob's been "hired" by our neighbour ($150/month) to shovel his driveway, and with all the snow..... well, the 1st time it took him an hour, then needed to do it again the next day - cuz he had to go to an app't. Guess Bob is "on call" whenever they need him.....

Not really much snow here, yes, we have TONS of huge piles of it ploughed up in parking lots, but, no major accumulations.
In fact, we're a BALMY -10C today .. Gord was able to walk the dogs ..
Have been watching Betty's weather! Lordy, what a mess down that way, feel awful about folks who are travelling in the large area affected.
A colleague in Kingston had a horrifying time driving home from work, and, is off now for 6 days nad will NOT be moving !
Lorna worries about her parents, but, they have all their batteries looked after, and, I do believe they can light thier gas fireplace for heat if necessary.

The 'buzz' in my area is a gas shortage .. has caused quite a run at the pumps, MANY stations are out of gas at present ..

Susan .. $150. flat rate/month may not be enough if you keep getting snow ..

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and all the best on 2014 ...

Hugging you tight Betty as I know you have LOTS on your plate this holiday season ..

Take care everyone

~M~

Marilyn - it's what he offered, so it's what Bob took. I'm sure he thought it wouldn't be bad here this winter - we don't normally get that kind of snow.
Gas shortage? really? haven't heard about a gas shortage for YEARS.....

Morning all

If you've been watching weather in my neck of the woods you will know we've had one hecht of a two weeks.

Unbelievable fall of snow last night, luckily the freezing rain has missed us but still calling for it

Glad I was on top of things, Christmas supper fixings bought, Santa gifts under the tree so no need to brave the elements.

Hate the thoughts of shovelling this morning but it's a must.

Susan, if you are getting our snow the contract Bob has won't be to his favor.

"M" this weather could not have come at a worse time, no way I could get to Sharon's to help with Jim which is upsetting!

Unless things have changed overnight tomorrow it may possible to drive to Orangeville

Hopefully Lorna's parents won't have lost hydro

We are getting steady snow, but they don't need him to come shovel every day. They're nicer than that...... They've been good friends of ours since we moved in next door. Bob used to sometimes clear for them regardless, but then realized that would take away from the young man's wages if he did that, so he stopped. I must say that Bob does a better job than the teen boy did..... Bob thinks about things like.........roadways lol The young boy would throw the snow into the roadway, and it was treacherous driving or walking through it (you must remember - we don't have sidewalks..)

Hopefully Susan you won't get freezing rain..we've had a heck of 2 weeks weather wise and it's only 1st day of winter

Sure Bob does a great job shovelling, wish he lived closer

Off to bed, hoping to make the trek to the city tomorrow morning

no freezing rain, thank God, Betty... I hope that the weather front in your area settles down, and you get better weather!!
It's supposed to get to plus1c / 34F tomorrow....

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

Merry Christmas folks. I've been reading but it's been very busy and while I started to post a few times, I never got a post finished.

The room we redecorated will get its first use as a guest room tomorrow when Vancouver daughter and family arrive. They are presently near Kitchener and will fly on to Ottawa tomorrow. I still don't have everything where it belongs in the room, but it's useable.

The bells kept me really busy up through the 20th when we did our final (of 3) Carol Sings. This one was the big one though as we led the Carol Sing at a nearby Anglican church. We played 4 selections on our own. There were 4 Carols sung with organ and all the others (quite a few) were done with bells and a bit of organ back-up. Nice program. All over in just over an hour and a lovely reception to follow. Third year we've done this and the other church made a nice donation to our church building fund as well.

Along the way, I finally got our Christmas greeting done and this year year, since it was rather heavy with pics, I did it on my photo sharing program, SmugMug. If you are interested, you'll find it at: http://violaann.smugmug.com/Other/Christmas-Greetings-2013/35463087_ZcwSzt

Ottawa daughter and family including her soon to be XH and his mother were here for Christmas dinner. Fresh turkey was exceptionally juicy - got nearly a litre of drippings off a 16 pound turkey. Have lots of leftovers to supplement other meals while Vancouver DD and all are here. The bones are presently simmering away for soup stock. I predict batches of turkey soup in the future. :-)

Merry Christmas to all .. as well as a belated happy birthday to Dianne, and, a Happy Birthday to Linda (MG33).

Wonderful to hear from you Ann .. read your letter, lovely pics ..

I will post pics of my Mrs. Santa day on Dec. 24 .. Murray (our son) was Santa .. we went to the local hospital and delivered presents to the children .. quite sobering ..

Large familt gathering today, and now, time to RELAX !!!!

~M~

Bless you, Marilynne, for doing the Mrs. Santa thing. It's very important. I have a friend with 7 1/2 yr-old triplets. His daughter spent most of last year at CHEO here in Ottawa battling a rare and deadly form of cancer. She's doing well now and all fingers are crossed for the future.

Christmas morning started out badly, I have to say.......
I called my Mom to wish her Merry Christmas and a staff member answered - said she's not feeling well, and the ambulance was there to take her to the hospital.
Checked her for UTI (nope), then a stroke (not obvious, giving her an dye test to see if it's a stroke), and will give her a spinal injection to see if it's meningitis. She's been admitted, and has gone from being disorientated and confused, trying to remove her clothing, etc....to getting antibiotics and looking normal.
She's now recognizing people, knows it's Boxing Day, and is being kind again.
She said she wasn't well yesterday and was having terrible nightmares of being barred in..... maybe that's why she was removing her clothes - felt trapped?
Anyway, she's having coffee by the spoonful, ate a hard boiled egg, and is having proper sleep.
They are going to check to see if she has meningitis (on the brain/spine?!).
They won't release her to the care home until they're certain of what it was, and that she's well enough to go to the home.
I was very scared for her......... she's not in my city - she's in Winnipeg. Lots of family to look out for her.

Susan - I hope your Mom continues to improve. Why didn't they call you (or another family member) when they called the ambulance?

It was a family member that had to make the decision to call an ambulance, because they couldn't make that "call".
I live in a different city - almost halfway across Canada....
So, I didn't find out right away, because it was "rush rush rush - get to the hospital to meet Mom there, see what's going on" etc.... and as I'm so far away (about a 20 hr drive), it wasn't possible to call me when they were trying to "deal" with what was going on. I would have gotten a call as soon as one of my sisters got home from seeing my mom at the hospital. It was just opportune that I called just as the ambulance arrived.

Mornimg all,

Sure do hope Susan there is much improvement with your mom this morning!

Difficult when you live so far away...

No new reports on my mom, this am. no news is good news, right?

That's what I hear ^_^

One of my nursing colleagues is off to Hospice this afternoon .. Dx with Pancreatic Ca in Sept., and, it has spread to brain and bone.
Spent time with her today, and have promised to bring the dogs to see her once she's settled at St Joes.

AWESOME and AMAZING weather here .. 14F !! Snow is falling .. love the temps !

Take care, keeping everyone in Ts and Ps ..

~M~

it was 10C here today...... very nice

Here's what my sister emailed me just now:
"they took Mum up for an MRI. The results from the lumbar puncture showed abnormalities. they have her on 3 medications.

she is probably similar to yesterday afternoon/night - they have someone with her all the time to make sure she doesn’t pull out her IV, etc. she is still in Emerg, haven’t gotten a room for her yet. they leave when we are there, so we made sure we let them know that we were leaving when they took her away for the MRI. they put something in her IV to make sure she would be still when they did it.

she does stare up at the ceiling ahead of her, and think she is seeing people, and even talks to them - but it isn’t that bad because what and who she is seeing are making her happy. She sees her old house, with her mother. she talks to her, and rambles a bit about friends, a boyfriend (Dad?). she also responds to our conversation, and she ate lunch for Alice.

not the positive experience we had yesterday, but, who knows, that may return if they discover what the problem is, medicate properly, etc. or then again, maybe not. "

and then a person I know online said "maybe she's not thinking she sees these people - maybe she really sees them"....... is this person trying to tell me that my mom is "at death's door".... NOT what I needed to hear just now......... idiot!!

For ViolaAnn .. and anyone else who would like a warm n fuzzy feeling ^_^

http://www.edisproduction.de/2013/12/23/cutest-polar-bear-family-you-will-ever-see/


~M~

Thanks. Cute indeed.

Oh my, I was just googledy eyed .. Gorodn came into the kitchen to seee what I was 'ooooing and awwwwwing' about ^_^
Pulls at your heart strings and, I am thrilled that Polar Bear numbers are INCREASING !!!

Glad you liked it, thought of you right away when I started to watch the clip !!

~M~