Join Us for the "ME" CAL!

[judianne]

Jules, I agree with you about everything on your list! We're almost 10 years apart in age, you young wippersnapper, but we did the same things...the park, with maybe a Spalding ball to play with and a broom stick for a bat. The swings and jungle gym...we were out all day, even in pretty cold weather!

 

Yes, unless they're HP fans, young people don't read much, and it's evident in their writing and language skills. Try reading the local newspapers without finding typos or words used incorrectly - the use of spell check has fried everyone's brains!

 

WDILT...love the idea! I'm looking forward to doing this.

[HappyOldCro]

Someone on one of the CALs posted a link to friendshipshawls.org. Thank you to whoever it was. I am making the Celtic Knot Shawl from that site as a prayer shawl. It's a wonderful pattern. I'm using RHSS in blueberry pie. (Just one more thing to throw in the mix of stuff I'm doing. :lol )

 

I believe it was me, and that is the one I am making for a prayer/comfort shawl too. I am using Sensations rainbow classic in pink for my DSIL, she was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and is going through all sorts of treatments. She lives in California and I can't leave DH to spend time with her. We were very close when I lived in CA. It is my way of saying although we are many miles apart, I will always stand by her, mentally and spiritually.

As for life being too long....I don't want to be the one to make the choice as to who should be treated and given the gift of a longer life and who should die. I am content to leave that choice to God. Perhaps Krystal is right, that is not for me to judge.

As for me, I am not ready to go yet, and will fight for a while more. I thank the lord every day that I wake up.

 

Darn, it's that evil soap box again.

Must come from those years working with the government, you know, politics and stuff, just can't keep our mouths shut....:lol:lol

 

Luv Ya All

[Misa]

Carol - I hear you, my sister, I hear you :hug

[judianne]

Carol, I'm truly thankful for this bunch of friends we have here, and for the fun times we often have. When we have difficult times it's nice to have others join with us and hold us up on what can often be a very hard journey.

And isn't it good to know that someone else understands?

 

'nite for now...

[Super Granny]

I agree with most all of what you said... I remember learning my multiplication tables drying dishes for my Mom... I did not get out of drying dishes EVERY night until I could answer the multiplication facts rapidly.. then we went back to taking turns drying dishes until it was my brothers turn to learn ... .when my girls were in school I was working full time and did not spend the time my mother did besides the kids were allowed to use calculators .. the funny part was I used to work the problem in my head and come up with the answer faster then they could using the calculator...

 

the thing about playing outside got me laughing.. we were having a conversation with my oldest grandgirl who was complaining of being bored to her mother (they don't complain to me about being bored, I think of all kinds of things for them to do usually involving housework) #1 daughter told her to go and play... then she told the grandgirl that I used to send them outside and lock the door so they couldn't sneak back in when I was busy... they had to knock to come back in... at least they got some fresh air and they soon thought of something to do...

[HappyOldCro]

Sweet Dreams, Judy

 

Thanks for the support, Cara

 

Dear Mel, got so wrapped up in myself and family and the conversation on the thread, I forgot to congratulate you on the job offer. Yes, that is a big decision, I am praying and sending good vibrations your way that you are able to make a wise choice. The most important thing is what is good for you and your daughter.

[HappyOldCro]

I agree with most all of what you said... I remember learning my multiplication tables drying dishes for my Mom... I did not get out of drying dishes EVERY night until I could answer the multiplication facts rapidly.. then we went back to taking turns drying dishes until it was my brothers turn to learn ... .when my girls were in school I was working full time and did not spend the time my mother did besides the kids were allowed to use calculators .. the funny part was I used to work the problem in my head and come up with the answer faster then they could using the calculator...

 

the thing about playing outside got me laughing.. we were having a conversation with my oldest grandgirl who was complaining of being bored to her mother (they don't complain to me about being bored, I think of all kinds of things for them to do usually involving housework) #1 daughter told her to go and play... then she told the grandgirl that I used to send them outside and lock the door so they couldn't sneak back in when I was busy... they had to knock to come back in... at least they got some fresh air and they soon thought of something to do...

 

Ahhh, it sounds so nice and healthy. Unfortunately it only works now in the more rural areas. In the more populated places, it has become dangerous to send children out to play by themselves. I don't envy modern mothers, less time due to jobs and single parenting. I never let my children past the back yard unless I was with them. Yes we had less things those days, but we did have more time.

[busy-bee-lmt]

Carol, I'm sending you lots of :hug :hug. Times they are a changing, and not necessarily always for the better. And with so much of health care so very expensive, those without insurance frequently do without some or all of the doctor visits and medicines that they should be having/taking, but cannot afford. I know. I'm one of the 1 out of every 7 people in the USA who don't have any health care insurance.

[DreamsOfYarn]

Wow Ladies, this has been a very interesting few pages of posts. Sorry I missed out on the discussion. I will say that I agree with most of what was said. I'm too mentally drained (and in too much pain) to comment tonight.

 

I do want to say a big thank you to everyone that commented on my job offer:hug:hug:hug:hug:hug:hug

I did get to ask my questions today, liked the answers I got except for one. I asked him if my GM had approved me moving out of my department (she has to approve it and she has said on more than one occasion that she would prefer that I stay where I am since I've been there for 3 years and I am TOO GOOD to go anywhere else) and he said not yet, that he should know Thursday if she will approve it or not. He is allowed to pick who he wants and he said he would fight for me. He had asked me to to join his team when they started it last year and she said no then, so I am afraid she will say no again. I'll keep ya posted.

 

I finished the rug tonight

Hilly asked me what colors I'm going to make the next one

[judianne]

Mel, WTG on finishing the rug!!:clap

 

Off to take the curmudgeon to the Dr - routine...but I get to

:)

[Aussie]

Mel goodluck hope you can get the job and congratulations on finishing the rug.

 

Judy howdy there.

[Krystal16]

Julie, you didn't disagree with me at all. You reinforce what I say.

 

Did I tell you how my kids are being raised? NO TV. NO GAMEBOYS. NO XBOXES. NO iPods.

 

They read, read, read, read, read.

 

My oldest son - one of his favorite things is a box of aluminum foil. He can sculpt with that for days on end. My kids have so much imagination they are close to being labeled WEIRD.

 

They don't have very many toys - I only allow "good" toys, and even then, not many of them. They have to play outside, which they can do because we live in a rural area (by design).

 

They actually HAVE CHORES. They have responsibility, they have to obey adults and learn manners and proper grammar. Funny, I even make them dress "neat". There are some things that should never have changed, and how you raise your kids should not be dictated by the media. You can control what your kids learn and do (to an extent) by not allowing that garbage in the first place. I hear parents complain all the time about how they don't like that their kids just play computer games all the time, and I think "HELLO!?!?! You're their PARENT, take that darned thing AWAY!" But then they say, "But it keeps them OCCUPIED." That's the heart of the problem. So many parents want their kids just on the edge of their life, not something they actively have to involve themselves with. Daycare is a substitute for parenting, sports are a substitute for neighborhood play, and TV is a substitute for reading.

 

OK, I think I should get off this soapbox now. It's a long jump down.

[tracysthings]

I wish my DD could play outside more often. In SA she was ALWAYS outside, playing with the other kids, even if she was the youngest. I don't think she was worried about tv unless it was her Shrek video my mom got her for Christmas one year and even then she would only watch 10 minutes and then ask to go out. And don't speak about having to wear shoes, she REFUSED. My mom looked after her and she told her she had to wear shoes if she wanted to go out as it was raining (this was when she was 4 years old), so she put her takkies/trainers on and went out, straight into a fish pond (we had three) and came back in and said she can't wear her shoes cos they are wet. And they were the only pair of closed shoes she had. When we came here we moved into a flat and it was hard on her. She loved school so that she could play and get out of the flat. She does have a DS, but she only plays at night a couple of times a week, she LOVES reading and her teacher is very impressed with that and she is having a poem published in a book in March. She does have her favourite TV programmes, but isn't too fussed if she misses them and because she can't play outside much she has learnt to keep herself busy with drawing, reading, knitting, craft projects, etc. She does like it when I take her to the park, but if there aren't any children there she gets a bit bored, which is most of the time. If we go after school, there are other children there, but usually 5-7 year olds and she sticks out like a sore thumb being the only 10 year old there. She does love getting the younger ones to play games, though and has a great time. Unfortunately she can only go to the park if I or my cousin's partner take her as I don't feel comfortable with her going on her own, cos I won't know who else is in the park and what might happen.

Okay, enough rambling for now.

[busy-bee-lmt]

Yep, my kids had lots and lots of books on hand. And Legos enough to build their own city. And tons of paper to draw on with pens, pencils, and crayons. They played a lot inside, because my son's health wasn't so good (bad allergies and asthma), but they used their minds. Will is now a math teacher and Joy is a computer programmer and artist. Both love to read. And when I send my grandson toys, they tend to be the kind that make you use your imagination (blocks, Legos, books, etc.)

[Gardener]

Mel, congratulations on finishing your project. Also on the job offer. I can't tell by your posts if you want this job or not. Hope it works out your way!

 

Interesting discussions going on here, both about medical stuff and using our brains. I agree with Julies post on using our brains, and I like Krystal's take on raising her children.

 

As for the medical ethics, quality of life, and so forth, I am an ICU nurse and for sure this is an area that needs some attention paid to it. I think that the general public needs to be better informed in order to make appropriate choices, but I hope we never get to the point of having someone else make those choices for us. Nearly every time I work, I am confronted with the fact that quality of life means different things to different people.

[JulieKay]

Cindy- yep, I agree. There are lots of grey areas when it comes to quality of life and that decision should be made by each person themselves .Just like we all like certain candidates for president, or we all like certain colors, or we all have our own views on abortion, legalizing drugs, alcohol consumption, religion, etc ...

We also have our OWN ideas about quality of life, organ donation, etc.

 

There's just a lot of things there to think through and each of us should have the right to make that decision for ourselves.

[Misa]

Well, I have my first WDILT! It's not earth shattering to anyone other than me but I learned that I can (with a little effort) recline DHs chair and that massage pad I got him may hurt as a massager but it's nice and cushy to sleep on. I just woke up from the best hour's sleep I've had in months!!! If you truly knew how much trouble I have sleeping comfortably you'd realize how momentous this is. I've always wondered but never bothered trying but then "what did I learn today" popped in my head! Thanks for the impetus, Julie

[Krystal16]

Julie, did you notice that you mentioned abortion, and there's an ad at the bottom in Google for the "Abortion News & Resources"? Scavengers... all of those Google ads are scavengers.

[judianne]

WDILT?

I learned to never accept the first BP reading. FIL's doctor took it a second time after a break and it was normal...

[HappyOldCro]

WDILT? I learned what a great group of folks are in this cal!!!

Krystal, boy am I glad to learn that I am not the only one who tends to get up on a soap box. Didn't have much money for toys when kids were growing up, we had an activity for everyday of the week. One day was reading day and we would take turns passing around the book to read aloud. Kids are in their 40's now and we all still laugh when we remember reading "Five little Peppers", and the part about them making gingerbread men. Another day was paper dolls and towns. We collected discarded magazines, and the girls made paper dolls from the models, and we designed clothes for them from drawing paper. The boys cut out cars and buildings and made their own town in the corner of the living room. Then we had nature day and we would go outside and find unique bugs, leaves, plants, spot birds and just discuss each thing we found. The best was the afternoon we held and studied a praying mantis. I could go on and on but the idea is there is so much you can do together and it doesn't take a lot of money.

 

I would also like to apologize for my rant last night. I haven't told many about the things that are stressing me for fear of folks thinking I was looking for sympathy or feeling sorry for myself. I guess that the presssure of worry over DD on top of all the other things just got too much, so I vented. I just edited it and took all that stuff out, it doesn't belong here.

Finished the Celtic Knot shawl today, haven't had a chance to take pics yet. Made a test swatch of the tumbling blocks ghan and I don't like it, so I will have to find another to make for the twins.

Maybe I will move on to the Kitchen rug that I really need to make, I just can't settle on a design....

OK, who wants the soap box next, :lol

[HappyOldCro]

WDILT?

I learned to never accept the first BP reading. FIL's doctor took it a second time after a break and it was normal...

There is a thing called something like white coat syndrome ??? It is when people get real up tight before seeing the doctor and their blood pressure goes real high. Take it any other time and they are fine...

[busy-bee-lmt]

WDILT? I learned that ort is a legitimate word. I refers to the tail of thread left in the eye of a needle when you finish embroidering a strand.

Carol, it's okay to vent here. There are times when we all like we feel we'll go crazy if don't let go of some of the things bothering us and it's safe to vent here. We all care about each other.

[Misa]

Carol - Don't feel bad about the venting. Actually, I think there were a bunch of us keeping stuff bottled up. Over several CALs we've had several rant sessions....I had one myself I think we all feel a bit better now....I know I do

 

Judy - Yep, it's called White Coat Syndrome. I have to take my blood pressure somewhere other than the doctor's office and then bring her a list of what it was every week because it skyrockets when I get there. Last week it was 196/116 when I was in the office. She looked at me and said, "well you're not dead so I think that might be a bit off" She took it again and it was closer to normal but when I do it I'm always 120/80 or less

 

Linda - "ort"....well now see? we all are learning something new from each other too

[Krystal16]

WDILT

 

I learned that most of the power from Niagara Falls (US) gets "given" to businesses at a low rate unheard of to the residents. The people around NF don't use the electric generated by it. Does this seem dumb to anyone else?

[judianne]

WDILT

 

I learned that most of the power from Niagara Falls (US) gets "given" to businesses at a low rate unheard of to the residents. The people around NF don't use the electric generated by it. Does this seem dumb to anyone else?

Very dumb...

 

...and with our group, since we have basically the same people following each other all over the 'ville, we know we have a safe place to vent...no one thinks any less of anyone or is bothered by it.

 

'nite all....:manyheart