DECEMBER 2012 in your neck of the woods

Hope this link works for everyone ^_^


http://www.jacquielawson.com/letter/pickup/3813611455801?source=jl999

DUH .. I sent it to myself, ergo, MY name is on the card LoL (I tried)

~M~

Thanks for the good thoughts and prayers for Kayla. I told my sister that I have let you know about her and she said that Shannon is grateful for all the good thoughts and prayer from all over. She is such a believer in the power of positive thinking and you sure get that from her website, it is so sad and at the same time they are so positive its powerful just reading her grace. She is currently resting peacefully in ICU pain free for the timebeing. She will be going home for Christmas and her family is counting their blessings for that.

My freezer is supposed to be the safe place for the baking and I make sure I put it into tupperware that I have difficulty opening when they are frozen. Need my DH's hands to open for me. It kind of prevents me just popping down for one or two treats about 100 times a day! LOL.
Got my west coast seeds catalogue today and will dream over it tonight if I can get a minute.

We are gearing up for Christmas lunch at work on Friday. Will have to run month end in the morning so that should be nuts and then I will be ready for someone to feed me. A super break coming up with going home afternoon on Friday and not back till Jan 2 ...All days between paid!! What a super company I work for.!!

Marilynn waiting a week or two to take that nasty drug shouldn't make a big difference should it? Hope the doc says that would be fine and you can enjoy the season.
Betty freezing rain is not to be fooled with, Florida is not going anywhere and will wait if you take a couple of days longer to get there.

Susan Carp Diem, sieze the day, best advice I have every had.


Bye for now
Alberta Ann

Thanks Ann! I love that saying "Carpe Diem" and I loved the movie "Dead Poet's Society" with Robin Williams, too!

Marilyn - link works just fine - thank you for the Christmas card - pics of flowers and kids are always welcome!

Betty - we like being together....... we're our own best friends and I like it that way........ :-)

Just stopping in. have been quite busy with helping at the Food Cupboard I used to run (we've been seeing between 60 and 70 families every time we are open lately), managing a construction project at home to repair a sagging floor, organizing the bell group for the Carol Sing we are leading tomorrow evening and getting my own Christmas plans made. Have finished my Christmas letter and for any who are interested, you'll find it at: Wishing all of you folks a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. For those who are so inclined, I've finished our family Christmas letter and you'll find it at:
http://clients.teksavvy.com/~frederking/Xmas2012_letter.pdf

Marilyn - thank you for the Lawson card. They are always very nice.

Ann

Early morning wave,
Think the temps dropped over night, feels cooler in the house and Alberta Ann won't be rushing out unless the weather is perfect.

Smiled hen I read about a zillion trips to the freezer for "just one bite" lol then before you know it nothing left.

I'm sure Kayla's family are overwhelmed abd excited all in one, to have Kayla home for Christmas surely will be their best Christmas ever.

Enjoy your time off with family, wonderful all the days will be paid.

I'm finished this afternoon, been a rough week hardly able to move and getting home and right to bed..have absolutely no idea how I'll make the trip with back as it is but must...

ViolaAnn you are a blessing to all in your community! Sad to see increase at food bank and soup kitchens this year..amazing all you are able to achieve. Renovating projects always take longer than time estimated...mess/mess and more mess! Will check out the link you provided.

"M" what is planned for today? Did you manage to get a good day in yesterday.

Guess I had better get a move on, going to bed at 5:30pm these past nights has many chores not done and tomorrow we leave.

Up since 3am .. back for 2 hours .. grrrrrrrrrrrrr .. I do so dislike insomnia ..

TOday is 'family doc day' for me .. I want/need a referral to an opthamologist as I feel the Psoriatic Arthritis is affecting my vision. I keep cleaning my glasses, but, they aren't dirty. That should take 6-8 months to get in .. very disheartening .. who knows, perhaps I'm wrong and it'll be a quicker wait (oxymoron that).
I PROMISED myself to get ALL completed today .. shopping wise .. and, I hope to do so.
With having had a day of rest yesterday, I am feeling less achy.

Sorry to hear you aren't feeling up to snuff Betty. Perhaps the trip south will loosen you up ? I sure do hope all turns out well.

Just imagine Kayla going home following so much surgery. What a gift for her and her family.

Our 'Christmas Cheer Fund' .. give out hampers to the needy, is SWAMPED this year and looking for not only food, but cash donations because their lists of what they are calling 'the WORKING POOR' are swelling .. these are families with both parents working a job at minimum wage, and, having nothing left after paying for essentials .. the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Campaign is also not seeing the dollars this year .. a sign of the times ...

ViAnn .. my how Leila has grown, and Heidi is such a cutie ... the twins have certainly sprouted as well .. lovely letter :-)

I had best get my behind on the move, want to be out of the house before 8am, go for breakfast and then some shopping and my docs appt .. then HOME T O NAP !!!!!!!!!!!!


~M~

No NAP .. just going to go to bed early.

Just watched the Toronto news/weather .. Holy Cow .. I guess you'll make your decision in the morning Betty .. Murphy's Law ..
Snowed 'lightly' here most of the day, but, melted as it landed .. it'll be a BROWN Christmas in Thunder Bay this year.

Was surprised there wasn't too too many folks out shopping today .. got it ALL done .. YAHOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Off to get into some kind of trouble LoL

~M~

I didn't get here yesterday, but I posted some pics and info about the new floor on the Coffee thread for yesterday (Parking Lot).

The bells led the Carol Sing and they played awesomely. I'm very proud of them. And we got it over with, had time to enjoy the reception and took the bells and equipment (enough for two SUVs and two cars) back to our church and were home before the snow started to fly.

Today I need to hit a grocery store and I'm hoping the snow will keep most people home. We got the walls in the computer room (with the new floor) washed down yesterday and we'll start moving furniture back in tonight. There are a couple of spots on the walls where I want to do paint touch-ups - nothing major as it was painted in February.

Quick drop in,

We are 20 miles north of Tennessee, hoping we've seen the last of snow and high winds..really wasn't that bad, we were almost ahead of it everywhere we drove

Sure hoping no snow tomorrow, if we have some, well that would not be good as likely we shall hit Florida border tomorrow late afternoon.

Seeing as we are going to fort Myers we will spend another night in a hotel.

Need a bath muscles hurting

Hope your jpurney South is easy sailing from here on in Betty.

COLD here in Thunder Bay .. you know it's cold when the furnace comes on as well as the wood stove !!

Final preps fpr the luncheon here tomorrow .. want to clean out the fridge to make room for MORE stuff .. always makes me feel bad to think I have to clean stuff OUT when there are so many with NOTHING in their fridge, I try to donate as much as possible, but, I know much of the clutter is simply jars with a tablespoon of relish or jam left in them ..

A friend of mine in NY who teaches high school in a smaller community north of NY, wrote to tell me her school had had a 'threat' yesterday .. nothing came of it, but, it sure shook up everyone at the school ..
She has decided she will retire at 55 (2013) .. as it stands now, the door to each classroom is locked .. everyone goes through a scanner on entering the high school, and, there are security guards on each floor .. she says it's almost like working in a jail !!! Her nerves are shot.

AbANn .. any news re Kayla ? I hope she's doing as well as she can be expected to do ..

Off to do some laundry

~M~

Hi - 3 things - apparently I've been missed in "Betty's thread"..... thought I was posting in all of Betty's threads, but maybe missed one?
2nd thing - SOMEONE bought a subscription to DG for me, and now I'm signed up until June 2014!! Their angel fund signed me up until June 2013, so I'm a very happy person!!
3rd thing - I received my Christmas pressie from Joyce (Thank You!) and not sure where to post the pics......... help?!?!..............?

Just got back from my new Dr, who gave me results of all the tests he sent me for. All I can say is Thank You, New Dr!! I didn't realize how lax my old Dr was....... and how much he missed.
1. No prob on mammogram
2. No prob on pap smear
3. no prob on my iron (although the lab didn't send any other blood tests back to my Dr and he'll research that)
4. no prob on my colon cancer test
5. however..... I do have osteopenia, which is a forerunner for osteoporosis.... This is something my previous Dr didn't check for, and he knows I sprained my knee 2 1/2 years ago and was in walking pain - it wasn't healing.
There is no treatment for it, but to take massive doses of Vitamin D (4,000 IU/day).
My Dr said it's not "written in stone" that this will lead to osteoporosis, but that taking Vit D and staying active is going to help.

Trust me Susan .. Vit D and Calcium are ESSENTIAL in preventing osteo .. I have learned SO much about bones and diseases of the bone over the past few months, I feel I could write a book LoL
I sent you a link via email .. an excellent discussion with 4 physicians who are trying hard to raise awareness re Osteo .

Sounds as though your new Doc is a thorough fella .. good for you ^_^
Nice Xmas present a subscription to Daves .. works for me !!

Off to bed, did too much today and have our family luncheon here tomorrow ..

~M~

Thank you, Marilyn
It's a bit scary, but it SURE could be a lot worse. After all, all the other results are clear/normal, and I expect the reason the Dr didn't get the rest of the results is because they are normal as well. S'funny though, that the lab wouldn't send the rest of the blood tests.......after all it was the Dr who requested them, and all they sent was the folic count (my iron).

Labs are an entity unto their own I have learned.
I have had times where I have had a docs appt 2 weeks following a blood draw, the appt is specifically FOR discussion of the resulting values, and ,, FOOLED ya, only 3/4 of the results are there !!! Very disconcerting, BUT, my family doc never really worries as BAD results are sent on stat.

Glad you liked the 28 minute video re osteo .. kind of techie, medically speaking, but the gist is that awareness of this damaging disease has got to be increased. After all, the population is getting older .. and bones are thinning without proper care.
I might post it on here, have to figure that one out though LoL .. maybe after Christmas when I am in less turmoil LoL

My conundrum for the day ... Do I let the kids open their gifts today so we can SEE them doing it, or, not?
My Mom would be adamant on NO!! The 25th is the 25th and that's when it is done !!!! Well .. I sort of want to SEE their expressions .. last year I gave Brooklyn my Mom's wedding rings .. that was on the 22nd .. and she opened them. Austin also opened his iPod .. I think it's 'YES' .. LoL

Hope Betty is enjoying the sun and heat and all that Florida has to offer .. no snow shovels and winter boots that's for sure .. it's about
-20C here ... brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr .. but .. with the cold, comes ..... THE SUN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Off n running ......... hobbling :-(

~M~

OK .. I am posting the link to one of my nursing sites that I 'keep up to date' with.
This is a 28 minutes video of 4 docs who are trying to raise awareness re Osteoporosis ..

It's a little 'medical' but easily understood, and very well worth the time spent.

~M~

http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/776041?src=0_mp_cmenl_0%3Fsrc%3Dstfb

Sure hope it works

Evening all

Settled in, mid 70's
After 2 1/2 days of driving I'm rather tired..
M hope you let the kids open their gifts..know we all opened our gifts last Sunday..after all it was our Christmas!


Susan, glad tests had good news..

WOO HOO .. way to drive Betty ^_^
So happy to see you are in the 'balmy breezes' of Fla.

YES .. we opened all our gifts .. well .. not the ones under the tree for Tuesday, but, from us and from the kids .. it was an exciting half an hour of paper flying and OOOOOOoos and AHhhhhhhhhhhs .. and the kids scurrying to try on new jammies and other clothing, perfume floating through the air, nail polish on nails .. everyone left well fed and happy ..
The whole family is headed for Punta Cana in Feb for 2 weeks, so, the gift of $$ was well rec'd ..

The dogs are exhausted, not used to all that attention .. matter of fact, so am I LoL
Was happy my body decided to make today a GOOD day ..

Happy tomorrow is the 24th .. seems to me it has taken forever for Christmas Eve/Day to get here ..
Doing some volunteer work for a few hours tomorrow .. hoping for another good body day .. to make sure, I am headed to bed ..

Take care everyone

~M~

PS AbAnn .. any news on Kayla ?

Betty - lucky you....survived the drive, AND mid-70's?!?! yikes!

Marilyn - just so everyone knows...... the link is in your name, so anyone can register for free and view the video on Osteoporosis. It's well worth the look!!!!

Hi All
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.
Just trying to get ready to head to DHs family Eve gathering. Think I'm ready.

Sounds like the drive was fairly good and you arrived safely Betty.
Marilynn I vote to go for it but it looks like you already did!
Susan, good news for you how nice that kindness flowed your way and a smart Dr on top of that.

Everyone please pray for Kayla, not good, she does need a miracle now. right now not tomorrow but now.

Peace be with all of you.
Alberta Ann

Prayers heading west for Kayla and family .. certainly a very special, and stressful, Christmas for this family.

I am finally READY .. just sitting and enjoying the tree .. M&Ms made supper ^_^

I helped serve a full Christmas dinner to the homeless today .. makes me feel good to see the smiles on their faces ..


Wishing everyone a very blessed and Merry Christmas !!!

ENJOY

~M~

Thank you, AbAnn! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Marilyn - how very, very lovely for you to help with a homeless Christmas dinner!!

Merry Christmas to all of you - my dear friends!!!!

Merry Christmas to you all as well

Sending prayers for Kayla..may Santa with help of the Lord drop off a miracle tonight! Her poor parents, must be beside themselves!

YAY .. it's HERE .. and I'm the only one UP !!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS ... enjoy your day ...

VERY cold here .... NO SNOW ~~~~~~~~~

HUGS

~M~

Waving to all

Guess you don't want to hear I just got back from the beach.. 82 degrees!! Would rather be home with family though..hard when you are trying to mention its Christmas..

Will be getting ready to cook supper shortly..

Do enjoy the day

Merry Christmas everyone!
had a lovely morning with my best beloved (DH!) and in 3 hours people will start to arrive for Christmas dinner - best get going!!

Happy Birthday to MG99 ^_^

Betty, enjoy the heat and sun and sand !!!

Like you , Susan, supper is on the cook and waiting for the 'feast participants' ... really liking my turkey roaster that sits on the counter, frees up the oven ~~~

Take care

~M~

Happy Birthday, MG99!!

ABAnn..... prayers for Kayla.........

Sending birthday wishes MG99

Susan, thanks for reminding me, prayers being said here for Kayla as well

Happy Birthday, MG99. And sending prayers for Kayla.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. Just sitting down for the first time in quite awhile. The gang has left after dinner, most of the washing up is done, the turkey carcass has been picked bare and the bones are in my turkey roaster with lots of water, carrots, celery, onions on the stove. Will let them simmer until midnight or so. First turkey I've done in 2 years.

Did I send you folks the link to my Xmas letter? Getting so I can't remember what who I sent it to.

Ann

Ahhhh the ANTI climacticness of it all !!
All over for another year .. nothing to be done about it except relax and breathe.

Turkey supper was a success .. the carcass is now frozen, I'll (or someone) will make soup later on down the line in January.
Hot turkey sandwiches on the agenda for tonight though.

Yikers, it has been C O L D here .. -22C this morning, feel bad for the poor dogs when they go out in the morning, doesn't take long for them to start lifting their paws up.

I was 'thinking' of heading in to the Brick/Leons to look at fridges/upright freezers, but, still in the 'mulling stages' on that one ..
The cupboards above the present fridge are going to have to be moved up one way or another, just have to figure out how much.
Luckily the width of 69" is quite sufficient .. the 2 units (side by side) will take up 65" .. right now, it's the height element holding me back .. our present fridge is 66" high. One set of fridge/freezer is 66.6", while another is 70" .. Am not wanting to lose the storage space from the cupboards, so, I am thinking a step stool will have to be used .. as it stands, I rarely go to that cupboard .. a conundrum for 2013 LoL

OH! The Keurig went over well .. and, for the first time in 18 months, I am having a cup of coffee .. must say it's quite nice too ^_^
I am emptying the Kcups of their grounds and composting them, but, still have the KCup containers left behind .. non recyclable :-(
Lordie do we have a lot of teas and coffees .. takes approx 10 seconds to make a cup.
Back in the 80s when we got our very first Kenmore coffee maker for Xmas, I was SO excited .. a HUGE monolith of a thing, but, it lasted YEARS !!! Advancements abound with these machines now .. quicker and more selection, but, the 'garbage factor' is a bit disconcerting.

I best stop yaking .. have a couple of Scrabble games on the go .. my one vice .. LOVE word games !!!

Enjoy your Boxing Day ....

T & P for Kayla and family

~M~

it's -21C now, but got to -27 before windchill /-34C after windchill last night.... brrrrrrrrrr
Lots of snow, too.....
I had a lovely Christmas - Bob & I enjoyed our Christmas morning together.
Most of the friends came for dinner (5pm). Guess one pulled out at the last moment, cuz Bob went to pick her up and she wasn't there...... she would have been new to our group, so maybe she was shy....
BUT the rest of our friends are regulars, and they said they enjoyed the evening! One new person (Glaide) was visiting Edmonton, and returned in time to eat dinner 1 hour late, but stayed for most of the evening. She brought her beagle Sophie, and Sophie is a sweetheart!
Sorry I didn't take any pictures. I was running around getting dinner for Glaide when she arrived.....

Susan, good to hear you had a nice Christmas despite late comers ^_^
Sophie sounds like a sweetie ..

Off into another COLD day here. Full moon is the 28th, perhaps the weather will change for the better after that. Happily we aren't in the mess the Eastern US is in.

Lorna is due for some blood work today, so, off to the city we go .. have some odds and ends to pick up as well in the grocery dept.

Have been wondering about Kayla. Keeping her in my prayers.

Take care


~M~

Marilyn - did I sound a bit petulant? Well, guess I was..... the late comer is rather a "queen" and won't get anything for herself. She wants to be served. There was a platter of turkey on the counter about 2 feet from her and a clear line to it, but both Bob & I were asked 3 times to get her some turkey..... She asked me to ask Bob, then asked me, then asked again...... Bob had to go to the "little boy's room" then I was helping 2 other people, and she asked "where's Bob, cuz he was supposed to cut some brown meat for me......" then asked me, and asked again when it didn't happen right away..... some "queen" eh?
Then the Cherry pie got dumped on the floor when I was racing around - her Sophie got in my way, and when I whirled around to avoid her, the pie went "splat".... everyone said "follow the 5 second rule and scoop it up." I'd scooped it up into the tin pie plate and dropped it straight into the garbage, but because it was "top up", they retrieved it, and some ate it regardless. I didn't..... and after they left, I tossed it again. I'd really wanted cherry pie...... preferred it to the pecan torte we were given, because it's too sweet....
She'd arrived 1 hour after dinnertime, so we sat at the table another hour and never did get to the living room to relax. I felt like I was "on duty" at the table, all the time and I didn't much like it......

After dinner, Bob always gets busy on the dishes. We have a tiny kitchen/dining room area, and with the table extended for 8, there's only room for one at the sink, but it's his "Christmas offering" to me, to help. Glaide kept hounding about why he didn't sit at the table with the rest of us. She considers it rude. Finally Margaret (who's known Glaide for more years than I can count) said - "it's what Bob always does, to help out" and Glaide stopped.
She's a person that, when she pops by and Bob's watching TV, she tells him to shut it off, cuz she's visiting. Not by invitation, mind you......
btw - I didn't invite her to the dinner, she asked to be invited, and I won't turn anyone away..........
Boy, I sound grumpy.... but it did spoil things for me....

Today is going to be a lovely, quiet day. I'll pick Bob up at 3pm, and then we'll have some nice mincemeat pie I'll make today!

Holy Doodle Susan .. Glaide does sound like a 'Princess' .. I would have been more than a bit frazzled with her showing up an hour late, and, with a dog too !!
But, like you, if she had nowhere else to go, I would have tried to overlook and perhaps taken another blood pressure pill LoL
The cherry pie disaster is so disappointing to read about ..

Trip into the city was kind of busy, at least Canadian Tire was busy ..
Nice the banks were open, and, the ATM machines filled ^_^
Glad to be home though, Lorna's folks are busy dealing with 6" of snow that fell .. I will regret saying this, but, we could sure use some !!

Off to fix up some Cod ..

~M~

Afternoon, just talked with family, got 8" of snow, light so when the wind gets into it it's pretty bad..understand Lorna's folks are getting about the same...
did I forget to say its about 79 here..oooh aren't I terrible.

Lazy kind of day..haven't picked up a craft yet..bought that quilting machine and it's still in the box..keep saying maybe tomorrow but then I run out of energy. Just took another pain killer, yikes I need them, don't remember when I ever got a prescription and used it all up..thankfully I got enough for while I'm here and trip home then I shall have to refill.

Imagine here I sit in a lazy boy, spaghetti sauce simmering, invited a neighbor who is from bracebridge over for supper and I sit rocking away like an old grandma!

Susan, what a terrible guest..seems as though you made the best of it though..dislike overwhelming people.

Prayers for Kayla!!

Glaide was at her family's in Edmonton but she left early to be with us. She quite enjoyed her visit with her family, but "doing" for her Mom wore her out - she's in a wheelchair and Glaide lifted the chair in/out of the car, and helped her Mom in/out of the car/chair. Guess that tired her out physically and emotionally.
She called today to say she hoped I realized just HOW tired she was......... Of course I knew the 3 hour drive was tiring, but she wanted to stress how much helping her Mom wore her out........ she's trying to see how to stop "them" from forcing her Mom into a "lock down". Guess that's a type of Care home where they don't leave? Her Mom keeps falling..... Glaide thinks it may come to her taking it to court?!?! Don't know....

Still no reason to expect being waited on

no, and I don't think she should be waited on either.
She called to tell me this, and I know there are others who do this and more for their parents, but she just HAD to tell me. I suppose she was trying to excuse herself..... but this is not unusual for her, either. It's why I had not invited her originally, but as I said - she invited herself.

Slay me Betty ... 79 !! Beautiful .. enjoy ^_^
Has just started to snow here .. and, I can't believe I am HAPPY about it LoL, but, the temps have moderated so that we won't be in the arctic freeze !!
Full moon is tonight, supposedly referred to as 'the COLD Moon'.

Susan .. seems Glaide is a 'needy' sort of person .. hard to like someone like that ...

Well .. tonight I commence my 'chemo drug' .. kind of nervous about it, but, has to be done .. will take it before bedtime, and, hopefully NOT run into the side effects ... 50/50 chance ..
If it diffuses the pain by even 10% I'll be happy, but, apparently I may not see a decrease in discomfort until I have taken 3 doses .. am beginning to learn to live with 'WAIT TIMES' !!!

Hope everyone has a brilliant weekend :-)

~M~

Morning all,

Maybe you will be one of those individuals that the meds don't play havoc with..here is hoping!

Going to fleamasters (flea market) in hopes of finding treasures. Lol

Darlene is ready to go so off I go

Leaving you all with the best and the snow!