She's settled in fine thank you. We put a swing out in the patio and she spends a lot of time there when its sunny. We keep her fridge stocked with Chinese goodies and she eats all day, talks to her bird, watches animal planet and fiddles on her computer. She comes up and has dinner with us. We got her a scooter so she can go on outings with us. She's going to, hee hee, the Philadelphia Flower Show with us. Yep! Hubby got us tickets.
Her garden is coming along. I ordered the shade garden from Graceful Gardens, told them what colors I wanted and its in. I have to order another one to finish off the top tier. The caladiums from the group buy looked great until September/October when the deer hit. We also put in a little frog fountain for her that's run by solar.
I agree. Its great Malki can grow up with a close relationship with her grandmother.
Yehudith
s
Your Neck of the Woods part 14
I've seen Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Saving Mr. Banks and heartily second VV's review.
I saw the latest Hunger Games movie last night and thought it was great! It definitely helped that I had read all of the books, though. My husband, who hadn't, said he didn't understand the first 10 minutes of the movie.
Muddy, I took my husband to see the final Harry Potter movie, even though he hadn't read the books or seen the first 6 movies. He was sooo confused!
Brrr!!! It's hella cold out there!! I hope everyone is nice and warm.
why yes thank you! enjoying a day off. But it was so pretty last night, took the dog out for, you know, and the moon was up and the trees made shadows on the snow, and the air was so clean and crisp. I read this in A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson "the air was so (clean, crystalline?) you thought you could ping it with your finger"
Nice. I had to shovel when I got home and it sure was crisp alright.
Cozy and warm. Did have to drive the boys to school today. Their daddy had an early dr. App't so they needed my car. I was thankful the snow was sooo light and fluffy that I just broomed it off my car instead of scraping. Our town has gone to campus schools, so three of the grandies go to three different schools. Only one gets to ride the bus.
What is a campus school? Is that where you get to pick your own school but have to provide the transportation?
Spent another day driving, and tomorrow I will be doing it again. Roads were much better than yesterday and the traffic was much lighter. Josh came over and tossed the tree out for me. Carried one of the packed Christmas boxes upstairs.
Oh, yesterday on my way out to pick up my parents, I picked up a young man who was trying to ride his bicycle to work. Doesn't have a car, he was slipping and falling all over the road. I stopped in the middle of the road (you can do that on back roads) and said if you can get that bike in the back I will drop you off. He gave me a doubtful look but as I dropped the back seats he got a smile on his face. I don't know how far he had gone but he had another good 3 miles to work.
Why Holly, don't you know all strangers are dangerous? lol He might have thought you would zoom off once the bike was in. He'll never forget your kindness, I predict.
I got most of the Xmas stuff boxed and shoved back under the stairs.
I was happy to only spend 25$ at the food store, finally catching up, only to rack up 70$ at Target- new wool socks, lampshade for the one very yellowed and cracked, gifts, beside the shade it fit into one bag, eek..
LOL Sally, Years ago Ric worked night shift, dressed for warehouse work, with hair down to his shoulders. Car or Bike (can't remember) broke down and he was walking home in the dark, rain, middle of the night and some lady stopped and pick him up. I told him at the time that I'm not sure that I would have picked him up and I'm a pretty soft touch.
Yay for the kindness of strangers!! Yay for getting things put away. I left a few snowmen things out. Seeing all the decorations I didn't use, I am feeling the URGE to purge and to downsize.
There are three elementary schools in town. Each used to go K-5. A few years ago they split up the grades and now it is k-1, 2-3, and 4-5 grades. So, since the grandies are in 1,3,and 5 they are all indifferent schools. Because of the distance the older ones can't get a bus, so either have to walk or be driven. The junior high and high school start at 7:30, 2-3 and 4-5 around 8:20 and K-1 starts at 9. Miss Maggie gets off the bus at 4 pm. Logistics is just positively CRA-CRA!!!!
That is crazy, Jan. It's gotta be hard on working parents.
LOL....Cra, Cra!
Oh my Holly, I definitely wouldn't have picked up Ric for certain. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't pick up anyone along the road unless I already knew them. There are too many sickies in this world and unfortunately, the innocents that really need help get tossed with the sickies. I have stopped to help a couple people with their car though but that is different than offering a ride.
Jan, I can't imagine juggling that schedule everyday!
Holly, that was so kind of you. That young man will remember you forever!
I ran over something in the road -BW parkway- one time back in college. I looked back to see a stream of something following me, something had to be drastically draining out and I knew that was never a good sign. As soon as I stopped, a man and his teenage sone stopped to help. They seemed fine and I nervously accepted a ride to the next exit and service station. It was fine. And I just didn't know how else to deal with it. No cell phone. Wait until someone called a trooper? Wait for a woman? Truth- I am naive and trusting.
My DD slid off the road when she was a new driver. Not hurt, not that far from home. I was so grateful to the woman (yay a woman they never hurt people) who stopped and stayed with her until we arrived.
Haha....'yay women never hurt people' Ever hear of Jodi Arias?
I've had my car break down TWICE on the DC beltway (same spot, even!) and was surprised at the number of people that stopped to help.
Seq, I think the difference is that while there are still crazy women out there, they tend to almost exclusively attack their SO/family and not strangers. The problem is when you come across people who are high on drugs, which can happen in either rural or urban areas.
Yeah I was mainly joking but it really is a scary world out there.
In Reading PA where I used to live it was always rumored that if someone didn't put their headlights on at dusk and you flashed your high beams at them to let them know, they'd follow you til you stopped and kill you. It was initiation into a gang. Now not everyone without their headlights on was a gang member but the potential was there I guess. Just to be sure, I never flash anyone who doesn't have their headlights on. True or not, I don't want to take the chance...Lol
Hmmm--is it true that, if you pass a cop sitting and trying to catch speeders,
and you flash your lights for the oncoming cars to warn them--that is an offense?
Can they ticket you for that?
G.
I'm not sure but I will flash depending on the mood I'm in.
I think twice now about picking someone up. Long story, so bear with me. 3 of my boys were working with someone in their barn. They were early teens. I went to pick them up. Someone came in the drive and asked for a ride back to town, about 6 miles. Hey, the boys were with me, so I said okay. We are on a divided highway. 2 lanes going my way, still pretty rural. About 3 miles down the road I am surrounded by police cars and pulled over. Our friend is also following them. His brother is one of the policemen. The guy opens the sliding door and throws something out. They tell him to get out and they cuff him and put him in a car. Whatever he threw out is found. Turns out that our friend's mother saw this guy trying to get in her neighbor's house. She lives about a quarter mile away from the barn. She saw him head down the highway. She called the police and her son answered her call. So he came to the barn of his brother, told him the situation, and was told that I picked the guy up, so they sped down the road to find me. Glad they did. Apparently there were warrants out for him from Camden. YIKES!!!
My boys never let me forget that!!!!!
I do think I would have picked up Holly's guy also, though. Individual circumstances.
I have heard that, too, Gita. I don't know.
I don't know for sure Gita, but I flash them all the same.
I give rides to people all the time, I probably shouldn't, but I know what it's like to be stuck in the cold and wet. The most memorable was a young girl walking in the rain, I turned around and asked if she needed help. As it was, she'd had a fight with her SO, and was going home to her parents. I was glad I'd stopped and I'm sure she was too. That was pre-cell phone days though.
I got a flu shot yesterday, while at the VA. I'm now wishing I hadn't. I'm miserable, it feels as though all liquids in my body are exiting via my nose, which feels like I've been using sand paper for tissue.
A number of years ago I had the flu and it went to pneumonia, so I started getting the shots.
Yikes Ric! My Mom told me she heard on the news that the docs who guess at which flu strain will be the worst so everyone can make the vaccine, got it wrong and the most prevalent strain this year is not the one the vaccines are for. I am not currently a believer in the flu shot but maybe my mind will change when I get older.
Get the shot!
Even when they "get it wrong" the strain might share some similarities with the prevalent ones that year, and I think that means that the antibodies your body produces will help a bit. You may not end up immune, but I believe getting the shot may at least reduce the severity if you do get the 'flu.
But yah, it can make you feel crummy for the day. Sorry, Ric.
IMO, immunizations aren't something to "believe" in or not.. I don't mind so much whether or not people get 'flu vaccines, but it makes me see red when people "choose" not to immunize their kids and put them at risk. There's so much misinformation out there about the "dangers" of vaccines, but the reality is that the diseases being prevented are far more deadly, unless you're subject to severe allergic reactions. And childhood immunizations do not cause autism! Whoever started publicizing that theory should be prosecuted for child endangerment.
If you haven't had an update to your vaccine for whooping cough (Pertussis), get it. Don't risk being a vector. You don't ever want to hear a little kid struggle to breathe like that. It's been included with tetanus/diptheria vaccines, so if you've had that one in the last 5? years, you're good. CDC info page: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/tdap.html
***
On a more cheerful note... Seed swap threads are up! :-)
Yikes! I am pertussis immunized. I got a tetanus vaccine the other year and that came with.
sorry, Seq... you picked a word that pushed my buttons when you mentioned not believing in flu vaccines... that whole rant wasn't directed at you, honest! But I'm glad you have your TDaP... gardeners all need to be up to date on tetanus, just in case! :-)
it's not just flu vaccines that sometimes "miss" -- my dad told me the Pittsburgh Penguins have been taking turns catching mumps... and they'd all been immunized! My mom remembers having mumps in HS, no fun at all.
Jeff--I heard that as well, on radio, about this Flu vaccine.
Here's my story re Flu vaccine:
Every year, in October, we can get free Flu shots at the HD.
Four years ago, I got one. It was the 1st time they had the Swine Flu
in the vaccine.
The next morning--I started getting sick. ME! who is never sick! ???
I am NOT around children--and had no close contacts with anyone.
I started coughing and feeling bad. This did not go away, but became worse.
The cough persisted and started going into my chest.
By mid-December--I was having a hard time breathing--so I decided to call my Dr.
Their office was closed for the Holidays! GREAT! Now what?
On my way home from work--I decided to go to a Patient First office.
They worked me over and finally the Dr. prescribed me some antibiotics.
I asked her what was wrong with me? She said, casually, "You have bronchitis".
I was not well again until beginning of March. That is FIVE months!!!
I have not gotten a Flu shot since--that is 4 years now--and i have not been sick
with anything. As I said above--I never get sick! I also never get headaches.
I have heard other people say they got sick right after getting this year's Flu shot.
I believe Donner was one of them. Now Ric!
Not taking the chance again. Gita
Jill, you may have misunderstood me. I don't care to get the flu vaccine but I have no problem with other vaccines...
I'm with you on the flu vaccine G!
It's good weather for googling, so here's an article about flashing headlights to warn people about speed traps. There's a section at the bottom giving info for some states, including MD and VA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlight_flashing
Seq, there's a section dispelling the urban legend about the gang initiations.
Ugh, I have a friend who got the whooping cough in her late 20s. She was soooooooo miserable for so so so long and missed so much work (and money).
Whooping cough/pertussis is no joke! I can't imagine a tiny baby getting it. We gotta get the herd immunity back up again!
Well I don't know about you, but urban legend or not, I'm not flashing anyone who doesn't have lights on...not worth it.
Critter, the doctor who started that childhood vaccine/autism hysteria got at least a small part of what he deserved: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/health/policy/25autism.html?_r=0
He's a disgrace to his profession: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield
I've gotten the flu shot or mist every year for a couple decades since it became widely promoted, (except a year or two lapse here and there) never got sick "from" it. But of course what we're reporting here is a tiny anecdotal sample.
People call the health dept and say they are sure they got sick from restaurant meals. They blame their last meal, when foodborne illnesses rarely work that fast.
I never heard the headlight-gang thing.
I don't flash light to warn others of speed traps because I think if they're speeding they deserve to be caught.
I've gotten the flu shot since 1994, when it took me months to get rid of the congestion that came with that bout.
I don't warn drivers of speed traps either, for the same reason.
I was getting sick so often and then with diabetes complications, flu shots became routine for me a few years ago. Like Sally, I never got sick right after getting them either. I still get colds and some flu symptoms off and on during the year, but it is not nearly the volume that I was getting before I started getting the annual shots.
I'm usually the one caught in the speed trap so there is no time to flash to warn anyone else - just kidding, most of the time I'm just oblivious...
Ric, is still feeling pretty bad. He always gets sick after he has a flu shot.
So far I'm doing very well. I have been having some problems with my blood sugar levels, so I have started a serious regime to log in my carbs and make sure that I don't go over them at all. I had gained about 10 lbs since Fall, with all the traveling and holidays. So I have been very careful about the calories, too. Lost 3lbs in the last few days. Started a water intake program 6 cups of water, 1 med cucumber, 1 lemon, fresh mint and 1 Tbsp grated ginger. When I get hungry between meals or later in the evening I just drink a glass of water and wait 15 mins and somehow I forget that I thought I was hungry. I have completely cutout snacking. Also started a 30 day Plank challenge. on day 10 and doing a 60 sec plank. Going to add one more morning exercise to the routine. Rather than jumping in with some 30 min workout routine that I won't do I am starting small and adding as I go.