Thread Drift

[Crankin]

Er, I am just back from meeting some of my younger friends from school for drinks. I ate things that never touch my lips; cottage fries, nachos, etc. That plus 2 glasses of wine are making me feel gross. It was fun, but I can't do this very often.
I have to go on a long ride tomorrow!

[Tuckervill]

I'm sorry, Pax. :(

Karen

[NbyNW]

CA: http://www.hoteldeluxeportland.com/

We found it by googling "dog friendly hotels," came up with another hotel that we've stayed at, called Hotel Lucia, and when they didn't have availability, they sent us over here. I think it's an extra $45 fee for the dog, and they ask that you keep him in a crate if he is left alone in the room.

Pax: will keep Linda in prayers.

[crazycanuck]

Pax, good thoughts being sent to your friend

[Pax]

Thank you for all the kind thoughts everyone.

[Biciclista]

Yeah, Pax, sorry to hear, Melanoma is really scary.


All my luck is not good. My car (Which apparently feels neglected) went to the shop Wednesday for an alternator, yesterday for a battery, and today it's getting a new oil pan gasket. OUCH OUCH OUCH.

that's 3 ouchs, 3 bills, 3 days and boy sometimes things happen in 3's PLEASE I HOPE WE'RE DONE NOW!!!!

[Duck on Wheels]

My grandmother believed in 3's, especially bad news coming in 3's. You should be out'a the woods until the next set of 3 comes along. She also survived melanoma (I hereby send some of her left-over butterflies for Pax's friend Linda), living to be 15 weeks shy of either 100 or 101, depending on what story or documents you believed in. (Note to those seeking the fountain of youth: Try becoming a refugee, be sure not to carry ID, then find a good forger to make new ID for you while pulling a year or two off your age. Oh, and keep exercizing so you can live to enjoy the extra time.)

[bmccasland]

Despite using a name brand of flea treatment for two months, Herald the cat - who is allergic to flea saliva - has some bad sores. I was out doing field work for part of the week, and came home to a very unhappy kitty, who had licked most of his fur off a patch on his side. But using a flea comb came up with nothing most of the time. Anyway, got him in to his Vet this afternoon, where he got lots of sympathy. I found out that that particular brand of flea treatment (F******ne) has been known to fail, but there is better out there - the chief competitor I presume (Ad*******). Anyway, he got a cortisone shot, is on antibiotics, has some spray for his sores (which apparently he won't like the smell of), and new flea treatment. Now that the fleas have been killed off, he's resting confortablly for the first time in days.

And I feel like a heel. Something completely preventable, I was even TRYING to prevent - got completely out of control and my poor baby was miserable. :(

Naturally getting flea treatment for 3 cats + a dog, his other medications, and the office visit... the bill :eek::eek:
Unfortunately all the furry beasts in the house have to be treated.

If there's any good out of this.... his frantic itching has gotten him some extra exercise and he's lost a bit of weight. He's down to 17 pounds. He even has a waist. :o Poor fella.

[Blueberry]

Beth- Give up on Frontline. I've had to switch to advantage (after the people at Frontline's customer un-service line were really rude to me). Seems fleas *have* developed a resistance to it. We're going all Advantage (or something else) here.

[mtbdarby]

I switched to advantage as well. Both dogs got lymes while on the other stuff so I'm hoping this works better.

Healing thoughts to Linda as well.

Today's my son's 7th bday - where does the time go?

[Tuckervill]

I switched to Advantage, too! Still no fleas. We fought them and fought them with Frontline. The only problem is we have ticks down here, and Advantage doesn't work on ticks (as I found out the hard way). I have been buying enough of the extra large size to do all the dogs and cats with the same stuff, but I'll have to figure out another way for the dogs to have K9 Advantage or whatever it is that kills ticks, too.

I'm never going back to Frontline. I can't believe they still haven't altered their product or figured out that the fleas are resistant. I wonder if they'll become resistant to Advantage, too.

I hope your kitty heals up fast!

Karen

[Lise]

I'll start the good news train...WE'RE ENGAGED! :D

Unfortunately I'm up at 3 AM because my hips hurt so much. I've taken meds, rubbed in Tiger Balm, and am waiting to get sleepy and go back to bed. Here's a picture of the gorgeous ring, and I'll post more details later.

[crazycanuck]

Congrats Lise!!! May you & your dear have many more happy times together :D

[Crankin]

Congratulations! I love hearing news like this.

[Pax]

Congrats Lise!

[Biciclista]

congratulations, Lise!

I was expecting a daschund paw.. :D:D


fleas, fleas, the bane of my existence. I sleep with my cats and the way I learn we have fleas again is by getting bitten. Then I treat all the cats. Maybe I'll use up what I have now.
I use Advantage/Frontline (thanks for the info) and combine with Program.
if fleas are around, they don't reproduce. I also usually only treat 2 of my cats. the 3rd doesn't go out, and as long as I treat the others, she doesn't get fleas either.

Have to go get ready for a big long ride today.

[mtbdarby]

Congratas Lise!

I'm jealous of the ride Mimi. It's 44 here with winds in the 30+ mph. Not a chance I'm gonna go biking today:D Heck, I'm pyching myself up to take the dogs for a walk, lol. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow though.

At the rate this weather's been going I won't be able to plant my flowers and veggies until June. That's common for northern WI but not here. Brrrrr.

[Veronica]

It's already 81 degrees here at 10 AM. Today is suppose to go to 97 and tomorrow to 100.

We started our yard work at 6:30 this morning.

Veronica

[Zen]

Today's my son's 7th bday - where does the time go?

What a great age. Happy birthday, little boy.
(in seven more years he'll be 14 :eek:)

[mtbdarby]

I should have stayed home. Zeus got his head into something stinky. I washed his hair/head with shampoo and it still reaks. Kind of like skunk but not quite as strong. I have no idea what it is.....guess he gets round two of a shampoo!

[Tuckervill]

Congrats, Lise! Beautiful diamond.

My knees hurt. Small little ride on my touring bike. Not happy.

Karen

[Zen]

My knees hurt. Small little ride on my touring bike. Not happy.



reminds me of haiku.
adjustments must be made

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

reminds me of haiku.
adjustments must be made

Don't you mean:

Touring bike hurts knees
Adjustments must be made soon
Could it be haiku?

[Tuckervill]

I've never been much of a poet. :)

Thanks for cleaning it up, Lisa.

Karen

[kelownagirl]

Congrats Lise!!! :)

[Lise]

A dachshund paw! HA! :p

(now I want to go find a dachshund at the park, put the ring on her finger and take a picture...do dogs have fingers? John would not appreciate...)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

A dachshund paw! HA! :p

(now I want to go find a dachshund at the park, put the ring on her finger and take a picture...do dogs have fingers? John would not appreciate...)

You might have to put her TWO middle 'fingers' in the ring! (too cute!!)

Congratulations. :)

[salsabike]

Aw, Lise. That's EXCELLENT news.

[Zen]

One glass of wine, too much food, good company.
I need a nap http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sleep013.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

[Duck on Wheels]

One glass of wine, too much food, good company.
I need a nap http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sleep013.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

Do you mean:
The red wine was strong.
The meal fed body and soul.
Together they sleep.
?

[Lise]

You might have to put her TWO middle 'fingers' in the ring! (too cute!!)

Congratulations. :)

I told John about my bright idea to photograph a dachshund wearing my ring. He said, "Two words: Photo. Shop." :p

[Lise]

Congrats Lise!!! :)
I remember how happy and excited we were for you when you got engaged and married!

[Tuckervill]

OW, my back hurts!

Should I exercise it or rest it, that is the question? I've done a lot of exercise this week, mostly gardening. I did something while shoveling last Sunday and ping'd my right sciatic nerve (a very familiar thing from my 2 prior disk repairs). Now I'm wondering if I should go to the doctor. Yikes.

blahblahblah

Karen

[Zen]

No doctor No drugs.
Rest.
Stretch.
Lay on the floor.
Do you have a foam roller?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

No doctor No drugs.
Rest.
Stretch.
Lay on the floor.
Do you have a foam roller?



Don't you mean....

No doctor no drugs
Do you have a foam roller?
Floor makes a good bed

[Zen]

As my parents used to say, "you're getting silly. Go to bed" :D

[OakLeaf]

There was a baby
Mourning dove out of its nest.
Now it's gone. Raccoons? :(

[bmccasland]

Congradulations Lisa! :D

Herald the cat is much more comfortable, the fleas are dead. All the kitties were treated with Advantage. Dog was given Confortis (or something like that) - a chewable tablet.

A friend also suggested to treat the house with Borax - sprinkle in the carpet, scrub in with a broom or rake, let sit 5 minutes, then vacuum up. Plus wash all bedding in hot water. Do the Borax / vacuum thing every 2-3 days to get all the flea eggs. Now doesn't that sound like fun? I might have clean carpets (except the stains) when this is over. :cool:

[Pax]

...A friend also suggested to treat the house with Borax - sprinkle in the carpet, scrub in with a broom or rake, let sit 5 minutes, then vacuum up. Plus wash all bedding in hot water. Do the Borax / vacuum thing every 2-3 days to get all the flea eggs. Now doesn't that sound like fun? I might have clean carpets (except the stains) when this is over. :cool:

Ahhhh, memories. Our girls have been gone for almost five years now and I still remember having to mess with the carpet for fleas. We're in a different house now and are starting to consider getting dogs again...but this time it's hardwood as far as the eye can see!! :D

[Biciclista]

When we moved into our house so very many years ago there was carpeting in every room except the kitchen. that included the bathroom, and i had two young boys. That was the first one I ripped out. Then one by one I ripped out all the others, sometimes with DH helping me, sometimes not. then when the entire floor was exposed, we refinished it. He and I did the bedrooms, we hired an outfit to do the dining room/living room. I do NOT miss the carpet. The floor is dirty enough, but at least i can wash it off.

We celebrated mother's day yesterday. For mother's day I got a little ceramic japanese cat from one son and from the other, a balance beam made out of a pipe and some wood. YES. great sons.

[Crankin]

Yesterday, I had a different kind of day. It rained in the early AM, but it did stop. The forecast was for clouds. mid sixties. All of a sudden, I had an urge to see the ocean. This hasn't happened in a long time; when I first moved back east, we spent all of our free time and vacations at the beach. However, once we both started cycling, that has gone by the wayside. Beach areas full of tourists in the summer are not good places for riding. With the exception of a few 3-4 day vacations to the Cape in the "shoulder" season, we haven't done much beach time. Plus, my neighborhood has a swimming pond, which I do use in the summer.
So, we drove up to the NH seacoast and walked on the beach in North Hampton. It was lovely. The waves were crashing, the tide was low, and the sun actually peeked out. The beach shack across the street was open, so we got sandwiches and soft serve ice cream. Then we drove down the coast to Newburyport, MA, another place we used to go to all of the time. By this time it was getting colder and windy, so we walked around the town once and headed home.
I guess I didn't expend many calories, but it is nice to be a "regular" person once in awhile!

[Pax]

Crankin - that post made me homesick.

[Crankin]

Yea, when I lived in AZ, I used to play the video we had of a vacation at the Cape and go about my business in the house. I had it on, just to listen to the sound of the waves and the wind.
A couple of years ago, someone on the board mentioned the smell of pinon burning in fireplaces. That really made me nostalgic for AZ. But, it was truly just nostalgia. I am never leaving Massachusetts!

[Tuckervill]

I took my car to the body shop today and then walked to the gym/PT place. Explained the situation to Noel, the PT, and he very gently adjusted my hips. I felt instantly better...but it's not all better. He said to let it heal up and just walk, then in a few days start doing the balance exercises that we all know and love at this gym. He said don't go to the doctor, yet, because they'll just give me drugs and that won't help (I knew that already). I walked home, briskly, about 1.5-2 miles (there was an actual detour that took me about half a mile out of the way). Walking always helps my back feel looser.

I'll be better soon, I think. Still loving the Zen/Lisa haiku!

Karen

[Tuckervill]

My dining room wall is covered in photos I took in Newburyport, MA. Some in Portland, ME and some on that island with the ferry by Portland that I can't remember the name of (the island, not the ferry).

Karen

[OakLeaf]

Mice ate my car. Again. This is the third vehicle they've rendered inoperable, second one we've had to have towed in.

Anybody got any suggestions for keeping them out? This is REALLY a PITA.

[Tuckervill]

What? Mice? Do you park in a field?

Hire a falconer to patrol your yard? Borrow some barn cats?

I did hear this problem on Click & Clack once. I don't remember the details, tho.

Karen

[Pax]

Mice ate my car. Again. This is the third vehicle they've rendered inoperable, second one we've had to have towed in.

Anybody got any suggestions for keeping them out? This is REALLY a PITA.

I have squirrels eating my car, although they steer clear of the electronics and satisfy their chewing urges with my fenders and bumper...filthy tree rats. :mad:

[Biciclista]

Mice ate my car. Again. This is the third vehicle they've rendered inoperable, second one we've had to have towed in.

Anybody got any suggestions for keeping them out? This is REALLY a PITA.

I want to know too. Where do you park this car? in what geographic area?
Is it in a garage?
All I can think of right now is Cat Piss and i'm not sure you want THAT smell in your car.

[TsPoet]

Mice ate my car. Again. This is the third vehicle they've rendered inoperable, second one we've had to have towed in.

Anybody got any suggestions for keeping them out? This is REALLY a PITA.

Get a terrier. Border terriers in particular are great vermin hunters. Too bad you don't live near me, I could loan you one for a day, your mice would be gone.
Of course you wouldn't want to watch. :(

[Crankin]

Tuckervill, do you mean Peak's Island?
Portland, Maine is another place I love, but rarely get to anymore. We almost moved there, but it was 10-15 degrees colder than Boston and coming from AZ, we thought it might make us crazy.
My son used to do a bike race in Saco and we would go into Portland every night during the weekend. Fun.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Old fashioned mouse traps works well for us, in our basement and garage (where the cats don't have access).

Over the winter in our little barn where the rider mower is stored, we put a cloth bag full of mothballs inside the mower engine- mice hate the smell thus will not nest inside the mower engine during the winter and eat the wiring.

[Biciclista]

Get a terrier. Border terriers in particular are great vermin hunters. Too bad you don't live near me, I could loan you one for a day, your mice would be gone.
Of course you wouldn't want to watch. :(

Terriers can't get into car parts in the middle of the night when the mice show up!

[Pax]

Terriers can't get into car parts in the middle of the night when the mice show up!

I think they win the war through attrition.

[mtbdarby]

Maybe you should feed them something besides your car:D

[DebW]

Hello all. It's day 2 of my 3 month stay in Zurich. Finally got internet working in my apartment (finally thought to cycle the power on the router). Biked to work today (5 miles) and had to pull out the map a few times each way. Lots to learn about living here. Gorgeous views of Lake Zurich from the city.

Duck, where are you? Since I'm on your side of the pond, maybe our online times will mesh.

[Trek420]

Duck, where are you? Since I'm on your side of the pond, maybe our online times will mesh.

Duck and UK are probably packing for ALC right now. Both arrive here on Friday I think? UK will head back to Wales right after ALC. I think she leaves for the airport right after closing ceremonies. :(

After the ride Duck heads back up to Northern CA with our mutual Mom who is heading down to catch them and closing ceremonies. Then she's back to Hell (Hell, Norway that is :p).

We have a mutual cousin who lives in Geneva. D must be in her late 70's I think, does a little bike riding and still works as a UN Translator on some of their special projects.

[Zen]

Trek, you have such an interesting family :)

[Duck on Wheels]

Hello all. It's day 2 of my 3 month stay in Zurich. Finally got internet working in my apartment (finally thought to cycle the power on the router). Biked to work today (5 miles) and had to pull out the map a few times each way. Lots to learn about living here. Gorgeous views of Lake Zurich from the city.

Duck, where are you? Since I'm on your side of the pond, maybe our online times will mesh.

Hi Deb! I'm up here [she waves] North of you. Waaayy north, kinda backlit against the 1030pm sunset. Can you see me? For the moment, yes, we're in the same time zone. Until I leave for California on Friday. I'll be back again June 13. I hear rumours that scrabble is again available on Fb ...? Haven't found it there yet, but I've heard rumours.

[Duck on Wheels]

Trek, you have such an interesting family :)

All families are interesting once you get to know them and take the time to think about it a bit. We take them for granted, but they're all unique and have interesting stories about how they got to be who they are.

[Trek420]

Trek, you have such an interesting family :)

I do :cool: I'm lucky they picked me :D What Duck sez. All families are interesting.

[Crankin]

Deb, what job are you doing for three months, you lucky thing????

[DebW]

Deb, what job are you doing for three months, you lucky thing????

Visiting scientist at ETH University working on climate impact of volcanoes (we don't need volcanoes, just computers to simulate them).

[Tuckervill]

Tuckervill, do you mean Peak's Island?
Portland, Maine is another place I love, but rarely get to anymore. We almost moved there, but it was 10-15 degrees colder than Boston and coming from AZ, we thought it might make us crazy.
My son used to do a bike race in Saco and we would go into Portland every night during the weekend. Fun.


Yeah, that's it! Peak's Island!

My best friend's mother grew up in Saco, and I hunted down her old house for her and talked to the old man who lived there and took a picture of the house. That was the trip I thought was 5 miles away, so I took my mountain bike, and ended up doing 25 miles because I took a wrong turn.

I love that area, though.
Karen

[OakLeaf]

I might try mothballs, but I'd be a little afraid of the fumes getting into the passenger compartment. I'm thinking more along the lines of hosing the whole thing down with hot pepper spray, or Bitter Apple, or something.

We'd have to hit EVERYTHING - wheel sensors, I assume there are sensors on the exhaust system? and all the wiring in the engine compartment, which is really packed tight, we'd have to spray from above and below.

It isn't garaged, but the garage is actually worse. We did learn, with the motorcycles, it's a matter of denying the mice shelter. If we take the seats off as soon as we park, mice won't nest. I'm not sure there's an equivalent with a car - DH thinks parking with the hood open would just invite more critters in, and obviously it wouldn't have any effect on them eating the wheel sensors.

I don't think we could trap all the mice in the county. :rolleyes: I'm just happy when we can keep them out of the house. When we leave for the winter, all the kitchenware, linens and clothes go into plastic tubs (we learned that the hard way, too :mad:).

Our experience from our last house - where the neighbors had outdoor cats - is that cats just drive the mice deeper into places where the cats can't go. Not good.

One of my riding buddies offered me one of the big blacksnakes that lives in his shed. I'd take him up on it, but not sure how I'd keep the snake confined to the mouse-accessible areas of the car. :p


Maybe you should feed them something besides your car:D

Honestly, I was thinking about getting a few hundred feet of wire, putting it in a nice cozy box, and letting them have at it. :rolleyes:

[crazycanuck]

I guess TE'll be quiet for a few days because of the US memorial day long weekend.

Many Many Many moons ago I remember asking if anyone in the DC area if they've seen the "Rolling Thunder" procession. Do people in the area avoid the area like the plague on long weekends like this? Just wondering

THE SUNSHINE IS BACK!!!!! wweeeeeee...:D The trails will be great & hopefully the hills will be debris free :)

I'm sitting here doing the last bits of editing on my paper that's due Tuesday. After all the panic over it a few weeks ago, I was able to settle myself down and get it done. My panic/fear was that I'd not written a uni paper in 10yrs :o and wanted to get it right.

[Biciclista]

yes, you're right, except people were still posting, just not on this thread.

I was in the middle of a 68 mile ride on Saturday. We had come down a hill, about 25-35 mph on the tandem and slowed so that we could turn left.
There was a lady waiting to cross our street (in a car) on the street that we were turning left on. She waited for us to turn in front of us, and as I waved, this 60 year old woman took her fingers to her head and made the "you're crazy" gesture. It really took the wind out of my sails for a bit.
there wasn't a lot of traffic, we were trying to be safe, and it was a lovely day. We were in South King county. Maybe that was the problem?

[Tuckervill]

Oh, maybe she was being facetious. Or maybe she's a horrible curmudgeon. Either way, her opinion is worthless! :)

Karen

[NbyNW]

. . . this 60 year old woman took her fingers to her head and made the "you're crazy" gesture. It really took the wind out of my sails for a bit.

Don't let her get to you, Mimi! Thankfully, you will probably never see her again.

At least she's not a co-worker . . . or your boss!

[Zen]

as I waved, this 60 year old woman took her fingers to her head and made the "you're crazy" gesture.

How did you know her age?

CC, Many people in the DC area see the Rolling thunder cyclists as a PITA. I think only a small percentage of them have any connection to the Vietnam War and most use it as an excuse to party

[crazycanuck]

Zen, I didn't know that..interesting & sad.

I made it up Mount Street today sititng in my saddle :D I don't normally have info on the streets I cycle up but moons ago I asked the GIS dude at my former workplace for the info...

Length of Mount St – past bridge to top (cliff st): 280m
Height at bottom: 15m
Height at top: 50m
% Gradient = 35/280*100 = 12.5%
As Degrees slope: roughly: 7.125016348901798

Weeeeeee :) I could never get up it before without feeling like i was about to fall over etc. I'm so glad I got meself a compact double!

[Selkie]

CC - Actually, I live in Arlington -- where Rolling Thunder starts --- and I don't consider it a PITA. As a matter of fact, I like seeing/hearing the motorcycles roaring down Rt 66, which abuts my neighborhood, on the way to and from the start. Yes, many motorcyclists stay in hotels within a mile of my neighborhood and in the many years that I've lived there, we have never had an issue with Rolling Thunder participants. It's a mark of the start of summer for us.

I'm not going to cast aspersions on those who participate. As a matter of fact, I know several people who ride in it and while they are not Vietnam Vets, they are there to support all veterans and active duty military.

[crazycanuck]

Route 66..are there more than two in the US? :o

I missed the Rolling Thunder procession because the Washington YHA was booked out that weekend. I went to Antietam (sp..:o) instead.

[Biciclista]

How did you know her age?

CC, Many people in the DC area see the Rolling thunder cyclists as a PITA. I think only a small percentage of them have any connection to the Vietnam War and most use it as an excuse to party

sigh, Zen, it was an approximate age.
she could have been 65 or 72

more to the point, she was just a little older than me.

and you're right,Jocelyn, i will never see her again, but that part of the county continues to give me bad vibes and that incident did not help.

[Fredwina]

Route 66..are there more than two in the US? :o

I missed the Rolling Thunder procession because the Washington YHA was booked out that weekend. I went to Antietam (sp..:o) instead.

I think the OP was referring to Interstate 66 which runs west from DC to Winchester (IIRRC) vs US rt 66 - (where one gets there kicks going from Chicago to LA) :)

[Selkie]

I think the OP was referring to Interstate 66 which runs west from DC to Winchester (IIRRC) vs US rt 66 - (where one gets there kicks going from Chicago to LA) :)

Correct, Fredwina! Not many get their kicks on Interstate 66 (especially those of us who must use it for our commute to work ;) )

[Zen]

I get my info from the Washington Post and my experience with them on the highway.

[Zen]

http://www.velonews.com/article/92496

[crazycanuck]

I'm not a big roadie event fan. I do however have a particular liking for Cadel Evans :D Cadel & Rafa...ooooo

Thanks for clearing up the Route 66 info! When I read it i thought hmmm..doesn't route 66 go from California to ???? but not DC..

[Zen]

I do however have a particular liking for Cadel Evans

I knew you had the hots for someone but I got my Aussies mixed up:o

[crazycanuck]

I have the hots for my man too :D

My eyes are driving me nuts...They're drippy & hot making it hard to bike :mad:. Hopefully i won't grow a tail.:rolleyes:

[NbyNW]

. . . but that part of the county continues to give me bad vibes and that incident did not help.

Can you tell me roughly where, so I know to avoid?

[Biciclista]

Can you tell me roughly where, so I know to avoid?

south King county; Kent, Federal Way, Auburn. where MaryQFC was hit.

[MM_QFC!]

south King county; Kent, Federal Way, Auburn. where MaryQFC was hit.

yep, same here, Mimi and Jocelyn...while I have been back out on the trail (Linda and I, just last weekend, rode from South Park to the site in Auburn where we were hit)...and a bit on the road, I have not done some of my[former] favorite routes - through Kent out to Flaming Geyser or Auburn to Black Diamond (with mandatory bakery stop!)...am still kinda scared and am not going to push myself to ride down there again, while I still feel like this.
To note: I was hit (mowed down is a more accurate description:() while in a painted crosswalk, with lots of signage for traffic approaching in all directions - whew!
Even when you, Salsabike and I rode on the Centennial trail recently, I noticed that I was still kinda "hinky" (technical term there, = shaky) on getting back up to where I was previously with bike handling, traffic crossings and the like.
It is all part of the crash and injuries experience, including aftermath, I guess...understandable and part of what I'm easing myself through, without pushing too fast.

[salsabike]

Hi, girls.

Just thought I'd say.

[bmccasland]

Hi, girls.

Just thought I'd say.

Hi! back at you from the Big Easy. Hurricane season officially starts on monday - the annual panic has already begun.

Me, I took off early from work yesterday, went to my local nursery bought some plants, came home, ripped out the sorry straggly rose bushes by my front door and relandscaped the to front beds. Looks much better now if I may say so myself. :)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hi there Salsa!



Me, I took off early from work yesterday, went to my local nursery bought some plants, came home, ripped out the sorry straggly rose bushes by my front door and relandscaped the to front beds. Looks much better now if I may say so myself. :)

That sounds VERY satisfying! Sometimes it's hard to rip out plants that are still alive and chugging along. I've slowly learned to harden my heart and just do it, otherwise I keep looking at them and resenting their scraggliness. :cool:

I've been gradually getting more efficient in my bread baking so that now I can be making bread in between multi-tasking work and other things at home. For the past 2 hours I've been working on patent drawings AND baking two new loaves of bread- a plain white sesame boule, and an olive/tomato/cheddar loaf....mmmmm.... I think we've bought only two loaves of bread in the past 6 weeks- and we eat a lot of bread.

Yesterday I planted a bunch of new seeds in my little veggie garden- scallions, French radishes, Italian purple pole beans, bok choy, and others.
I can't wait for my new large veggie garden to get dug in and fenced. :(

[Biciclista]

You pulled up roses?
i dug down 3 feet once to get rid of a rose. It came back. They're related to blackberries :cool:
now I just cut it to the ground whenever i see it. At least it doesn't spread or multiply like some of my weeds.

[OakLeaf]

What is it with me this week, where three separate people are ticked off at me now for things I DIDN'T post on TE but somehow they think I did???

[Zen]

Someone is getting you confused with me? :D

[OakLeaf]

:D:D That's probably it.

[Crankin]

Let them be ticked.

You know, I am getting worried that I am liking the student life too much. I keep thinking that in 2 years I am going to have to get a job, work 8 hours a day, in the summer, too, until I get my hours for my license (1.5-2 years). Not that I haven't worked my whole adult life, but I have always been on a "school" schedule. What I have found is that I like having "different" routines each day, with a variety of things to do, which is why my goal is to work part time. And then, of course, there's the time to ride, run, walk,yoga, x country ski, snow shoe...
I have my priorities right :eek:.

[Lise]

Hey, Mimi,

Sorry that older lady put out such negative energy. It's a good reminder to me not to project my pain/frustration/fatigue at total strangers (or near strangers, or vague aquaintences...) It doesn't really relieve anything for me, and the negativity stays with the others, as evidenced by us discussing it here...

I'm really glad you were out for that ride. Reading about it lifts my spirits!

My foot and leg really hurt today. I took 2 Tylenol at 5 AM and 2 Aleve at 8 AM, and it still hurts, though less (I'd hope so!) I cannot believe that three months post-op it's still so "weak" (that's how I think of it).

The scars are super sensitive to touch, as well. I've found these great silicone scar protector sheets at CVS. I cut one patch into two strips and cover each scar. Makes it much more comfortable to wear shoes and socks.

[Biciclista]

keep moving those sore parts, Lise! I don't know what else to tell you.

and (blush) I got featured in the NY TIMES!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/arts/design/31pain.html

Obama’s Face Rules the Web


By RANDY KENNEDY
Published: May 30, 2009
Mimi Torchia Boothby’s job as a technician puts her outside a wind tunnel every weekday at the Boeing plant south of Seattle, but in her free time two years ago she took up watercolors. Among her favorite subjects are cats, idyllic scenes of Italy — and, of course, Barack Obama, whose contemplative, sun-splashed portrait she completed a few weeks after his election as president.

[Crankin]

Congratulations, Mimi!

I have to go to the "wedding from Hell" today. I think I wrote about it earlier, when I was annoyed about having to buy so many gifts for this person, who will never stay married.
Well, I will enjoy the lunch and dancing, and the fact that I get to be with my son, too. I feel so badly for my friend (the mother of the bride), who has put up with so much over the years, from this girl. Trying to be supportive, but both parents just give in to her. I would not be paying 20K for this wedding.

[redrhodie]

Wow Mimi! That's FANTASTIC! With Shep Fairey in the same article, too. Very cool.

[OakLeaf]

Yay Mimi! :)

[snapdragen]

Tres cool Mimi! I must say, of the paintings they had in the slideshow, yours is the best. :)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

congratulations mimi!!!!!

Great job. Your art is really taking off!

[NbyNW]

Congratulations, Mimi! What a wonderful way for your work to be recognized!

[PamNY]

Congratulations, Mimi. Great exposure and well-deserved, too.

It may not be apparent from the web site that this is a front-page story, at least in the home delivery edition that I get.

If you want extra copies, I can send you mine and probably snag my neighbors' as well.

Pam

[Tuckervill]

Way to go, Mimi.

I was in the New York Times once, too. Little ol' me, in Arkansas, talking about a radical educational philosophy. I thought it would escape notice in my little conservative town--but no, the local paper ran it on the front page on THANKSGIVING, so everyone in town read it! yikes.

Karen

[Biciclista]

Way to go, Mimi.

I was in the New York Times once, too. Little ol' me, in Arkansas, talking about a radical educational philosophy. I thought it would escape notice in my little conservative town--but no, the local paper ran it on the front page on THANKSGIVING, so everyone in town read it! yikes.

Karen

What a trip! I didn't know they'd run it in other papers too.

Thanks everyone for all your kind words, I am truly overwhelmed!

[MM_QFC!]

keep moving those sore parts, Lise! I don't know what else to tell you.

and (blush) I got featured in the NY TIMES!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/arts/design/31pain.html

Obama’s Face Rules the Web


By RANDY KENNEDY
Published: May 30, 2009
Mimi Torchia Boothby’s job as a technician puts her outside a wind tunnel every weekday at the Boeing plant south of Seattle, but in her free time two years ago she took up watercolors. Among her favorite subjects are cats, idyllic scenes of Italy — and, of course, Barack Obama, whose contemplative, sun-splashed portrait she completed a few weeks after his election as president.

Attagirl, Mimi! This is so well-deserved...blush all you want, but enjoy it to the hilt!
Beautiful work and now, great press: Congratulations!
Mary

[Tuckervill]

What a trip! I didn't know they'd run it in other papers too.

Thanks everyone for all your kind words, I am truly overwhelmed!

What happens is your local paper will monitor or get a notice (I don't know the apparatus) that the AP (or whatever news service) has mentioned a place in their distribution area. So, naturally, if they have the room and it's relevant, they run it, too.

It's a really good painting. I'm happy for you!

Karen

[salsabike]

Ho, ho, Mimi! It's delightful to see your talent getting the recognition it deserves!

Crankin, I sort of do, now, what you may be thinking about. Half-time school psychologist, pick up occasional consulting jobs in my other profession (workforce/economic development), and have triathlon training time as well as some measure of work-related sanity. It can work out, although probably not if one is the sole bill-payer. And it's very good for the soul.

Re people getting mad about what they THINK others say in posts...there should be a big sign on every online forum that says, "Please try to underinterpret what you read online and in email." Without hearing voice tones and seeing facial expressions, it's so hard to know if posts have any additional layers of meaning that you can't see easily on their faces. So it would be nice if readers would think twice or even more before they decide to take umbrage (barring the occasional blatant insult, which doesn't seem to happen much here).

Ugh. That wasn't very coherent and I am very pooped having just come back from out of town and not enough sleep last night. SO--I hope my meaning is...uh...sort of understood.

Funny how the oncoming of spring is also the opener for hurricane and tornado season. Bleah. I don't miss Michigan's tornado warnings one bit. Better come up here and visit, bmccasland. We're entering our benign season, here. (as opposed to the fall and winter flood and windstorm phase)

I have the world's most wonderful tea rose. It's called "Sheer Bliss". It has very pale pink, long blossoms and the most wonderful light fragrance, and it is unbelievably vigorous and just blooms its head off from May through the first frost. It has about a dozen blooms/buds on it right now and it's right off the porch/outside the weaving studio window.

[Zen]

Re people getting mad about what they THINK others say in posts...there should be a big sign on every online forum that says, "Please try to underinterpret what you read online and in email." Without hearing voice tones and seeing facial expressions, it's so hard to know if posts have any additional layers of meaning that you can't see easily on their faces. So it would be nice if readers would think twice or even more before they decide to take umbrage (barring the occasional blatant insult, which doesn't seem to happen much here).


I understood it quite clearly.
But keep in mind i speak fluent Gibberish ;)

[Lise]

Hey, all,

We went for a really nice ride through the forest preserves yesterday. Loaded the bikes on the car and drove to the North Branch Trail. Temps were perfect, and the trail not toooo heavily used, though there were a few tight moments.

The best part was that I wore my biking shoes instead of sneakers for the first time since surgery. I've been riding for over a month, but the first time I wore bike shoes, clipping out with my left foot was very painful. Yesterday was fine! My foot is always sore, because a normal pace for me (walking, riding, whatever) is what most people seem to call "over doing it". So I take the Aleve and keep going.

I noticed that, clipped in, it sometimes felt painfully slow to ride behind John. Now this is a big guy-- 6'2", 200+# --but he often rides at a pace I consider, well, painfully slow! Some might say he's just enjoying the day... Then, at some point, he really poured it on, and I had to work to keep up. :o

It was a great ride, a great day, and I'm not even too sore. I've got a 6 hr clinic today followed by a 24 hr call starting at 10 tonight, so I'm glad I got in some fresh air and fun exercise this weekend.

Hope y'all did, too!

And Mimi, I said it before on another thread, but congratulations, and lovely work! :D

[Tuckervill]

I got my fresh air putting up the pool. Exhausting work.

Karen

[Biciclista]

thanks for the explanation, Tuckerville
LISE you go girl!!
can i retire now?

[Crankin]

The wedding yesterday was actually nice, in terms of a ceremony, party, etc., but it was more like a party for the parents, since the bride and groom are so dysfunctional that they didn't interact much with the guests. And it was one of those weddings where the families are from totally different cultures and sort of different social classes. Very interesting to observe. Well, I got to dance with both my husband and my son...
This morning I went to yoga/meditation class that I am going to take for the summer. I don't know why these types of things sort of rile me up. The class was exactly what I am looking for, but I always feel like the other people in yoga classes belong to a "club" that I am not a member of. I don't need to be best friends with them, but it is just a weird feeling I get. I was, however, pleased to see that all of my home practice has paid off, as I was as flexible as the other people in the class who are instructors or training to be instructors.

[Biciclista]

The wedding yesterday was actually nice, in terms of a ceremony, party, etc., but it was more like a party for the parents, since the bride and groom are so dysfunctional that they didn't interact much with the guests. And it was one of those weddings where the families are from totally different cultures and sort of different social classes. Very interesting to observe. Well, I got to dance with both my husband and my son...
This morning I went to yoga/meditation class that I am going to take for the summer. I don't know why these types of things sort of rile me up. The class was exactly what I am looking for, but I always feel like the other people in yoga classes belong to a "club" that I am not a member of. I don't need to be best friends with them, but it is just a weird feeling I get. I was, however, pleased to see that all of my home practice has paid off, as I was as flexible as the other people in the class who are instructors or training to be instructors.
Crankin, that's great about the wedding! sounds like a strange couple, all right!

meanwhile the yoga thing? I always seem to get vibes like that too.
I attended a yoga class for a while where the owner/instructor always brought her little pug dog. I'm ok with sharing space with a dog, but it also expected love and attention from all of the students. I did not wish to have the snuffling creature on my mat, so it started barking at me. How professional! I never took another class from her. She wasn't even in the room dealing with her dog!

[Lise]

mimi, that's just wierd about the pug. That said, I think I should be able to take our Tibetian Terrier to work with me. He'd be very soothing, I'm sure. ;)

[Biciclista]

as long as he doesn't bark at people who don't want to pet him. He could remind mothers in transition to pant. pant pant pant pant.

[Crankin]

Well, there were no dogs in the yoga class, which is indeed very strange. Just a bunch of women my age who all seemed to know each other and were all the same "type." It's funny, every sport or activity seems to attract a certain type of person. I don't seem to fit the mold for people who practice yoga or meditate, even though I really enjoy both of these things. I feel much more comfortable with cyclists!

[Biciclista]

ha, Crankin, at least you DO have a group you feel comfortable with. Some of us just don't.

[OakLeaf]

That's funny, the yoga studio I go to has a wildly varied clientele. A bunch of employees from the beach bar and grill across the street, who definitely fit the stereotype of beach bar employees ;); some older people who've been athletic all their lives, and some older people who've never been athletic; two or three nurses (not including the owner/teacher who's an RN as well); some pretty hardcore athletes; one devotee who's a former MMA fighter and seems to be going a million miles an hour whenever he isn't deep in meditation; etc.

My gym has one aerobics class that's pretty clique-y, but other than that, they're pretty open.

But that's weird about the dog. I'm all for bringing well-behaved pets to work, but when they're behaving badly, especially someplace like a yoga studio, that's crazy.

[snapdragen]

But that's weird about the dog. I'm all for bringing well-behaved pets to work, but when they're behaving badly, especially someplace like a yoga studio, that's crazy.

Agreed. At the Pilates studio I used to go to one of the students would bring her yellow lab. Alma is a therapy dog at the hospital I work at (she even has her own employee badge). My teacher said they only had one incident, Alma couldn't resist one of the small balls and popped it when she tried to pick it up. :p

[Lise]

I think Mr. Spock (our 13 yr old Tibetian Terrier) would be great with the pant-pant-pant part of labor! Mostly I want him to just hang out in the call room so I can come and hang out with him.

I LOVE China Kitchen's Combination Lo-Mein. I eat and eat and eat, and the quantity does not seem diminished. Hmmmmm...

[Lise]

For fun, go back and read the early days of TD. I miss Nanci.

[Biciclista]

is TD too dull now?

[Lise]

It's just fun to see how TD developed in the beginning. Knot was in a miserable relationship, and then she was free...and now she's happy with Trek...Fish Dr. became Bee Dr....snapdragen was always handy with the quick reply....I was single and treating you all to my match.com adventures...and Nanci was forever getting a new turtle or snake and teaching us herpetological stuff. I'm remembering those days fondly.

[Biciclista]

Today I had another first. I have worked in the same place for 30 years and i've lived in 3 houses within a few miles of each other; so i've had the same commute for 30 years.
I've never walked. Today I walked the 4 miles home!
I discovered that this commute is even worse to walk than it is to bicycle.
For roughly 1/2 of the 4 miles, there was no sidewalk or the sidewalk that was there was so overgrown with weeds that i had to wrassle with blackberries and pull grass seeds out of my socks!
It was fun though. I found a 1/15 of a dollar bill. and a wrench

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Wow- how adventurous, Mimi! I often alternate my walking and my biking- the walking really helps my hip joints and my spine in ways that biking simply cannot. Most of my usual walks are about 4 miles too. Good for you!

[Lise]

OK, I have to ask: 1/15 of a dollar bill? How did you quantify that? The wrench is cool.

I don't know how far my walk to work is. I'm guessing about 4 mi, too. Driving home, listening to the weather, I thought that I probably won't ride to work, as it will be rainy and 61 deg tomorrow. (Blech, when did we turn into a colder, wetter PNW?!?) I thought, "I could walk", but realized I really don't want to walk 4 mi home at night.

The foot said, "Thank you".

[crazycanuck]

Hmmm..I guess Big Bird will no longer be chastised for having an imaginary friend. Mr Snuffalufagus wasn't imaginary..

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25579626-25918,00.html

[Tuckervill]

All my kids had imaginary friends. My eldest son's friend was a horse named Bessie.

My youngest's friends were called Tiefighter and Snailer and Snail-tail.

I don't remember any of the many friends my middle kid had. How weird is that?
Karen

[NbyNW]

I don't remember any of the many friends my middle kid had. How weird is that?

Not weird at all. As a middle child myself, I'm just floored when my parents remember one of my friends.

[Tuckervill]

Ha!

Well, he was the baby of the family for 9 years, so he didn't suffer too much from midkid syndrome. There are lots of baby pictures of him, for example.

:)

Karen

[crazycanuck]

Take a moment today to remember June 4, 1989 :(

[Zen]

It's still June 3rd here but we will be reminded numerous times during the course of the day.
I always think of that guy in front of the tank and hear Tom Petty (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsn7Ig8KCCM&feature=related)

I got custom orthotics today and my insurance paid 100%.
Great for me but how unfair for others. Why can't everyone pay the same premiums I do and get the same coverage?

[Tuckervill]

Thanks for clearing that up, Zen--I didn't know the date of the Tiananmen Square until today, and now I've learned more via Wikipedia.

Karen

[Crankin]

My older son's "friends" were Boris and Doris. They appeared around the time #2 son was born and lived with us for a couple of years, until older son was 4 or 5.
We still refer to Boris and Doris once in awhile. As in, "Boris did it."

[crazycanuck]

Today (well at least up in the northern hemisphere) is the 65th anniversary of the D-day landings. Spare a thought for the servicemen who landed on The Juno, Sword, Omaha, Gold and Utah beaches.

Australia's last WW1 soldier died this week...

[Fredwina]

CC, I had to laugh. I almost forgot the date until I had to write a check. I did have an uncle who lost his mind on Omaha Beach :(
switching topics, the Hocus Focus may have gotten on the TV Show "Cops". I was driving to REI and one of the Rancho Cucamonga's Police cars that's set up for filming (They have extra lights on the light bat for filming at night) went through a Traffic signal with its lights on. They did have someone pulled over in front of REI

[crazycanuck]

Helps if i have my eyes open when i'm reading...I've only watched the show " Cops" once & hated it.

[Fredwina]

"Cops" is a reality show that focuses on Police Officers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COPS_(TV_series)
or
http://www.cops.com/
most of the more "entertaining" calls come in late at night
The website will let you look at last week episode. I'l try at and let you if I make it:o
I don't think I will. I think it was a shoplifter from the mall. But they did have a helicopter up

[Fredwina]

oK, Did everyone get arrested?:p
I did buy a new PC over the weekend. why does everyone gripe about Vista?

[Biciclista]

Vista was originally released on a lot of computers which were not fast enough , didn't have sufficient memory, or a combo of the two, to run well.
And like any new s/w product, there were problems and we the people were the test dummy. Hopefully, that's all been fixed by now. Happy new computer to you!

[crazycanuck]

We purchased a new computer on the weekend as well :( Bye bye new bike wheels :(

We kept getting the blue screen of death for over a month or so.Yep, new computer needed as ours was 8yrs old.

NOw if someone can please tell us how to get our old emails back, that would be great ;) :( Ian found the bsg? files but we're not sure how to get them onto our new computer. There are some important contacts on a few of the emails..

Computer whizzes??

[crazycanuck]

Urban Myths..What's your favourite one?

[Biciclista]

getting desperate, are we?

[Tuckervill]

How long have you known your oldest internet friend?

I've had a group of friends online since 1994 or 95 thereabouts. Today I found out that two of them have been silently fuming over slights real and imagined for a long long time, and one of them unsubbed from our private list, seemingly out of the blue in response to the other. I don't know what to think about that. I'll probably never "see" her again, because the thing that brought us together online in the first place doesn't apply to either of our lives anymore (related to kids growing up). But, she had a huge influence on my life. I know we'll always be friends, and she feels the same way about me. But we have thousands of miles of distance between us, and no place to meet anymore, because she left.

I'm sad.

Karen

[Biciclista]

I have a friend that i met on the internet around 1998 and we're still friends.
We met at a conference, before 2001 and haven't seen each other since but we still write.

[kelownagirl]

Early summer 1997. We were in a pregnant and due in December 1997 group. I still talk to those ladies about 4-5 times a year and our babies are now going on 12...

[OakLeaf]

1991. But the ones I'm still in contact with, I see f2f at least once every couple of years as well. Are we only counting the ones that we know only online?

DH, I see a lot more than that. ;)

[Crankin]

My only on line friends are you guys. I don't do any other forums...
I used to be on a middle school English teacher's list, but it really was strictly professional (affiliated with NCTE). I unsubscribed when I started caring more about cycling! Seriously, I don't think those people had a life outside of work and since I already had decided to quit my job and do something else, I had nothing in common with them anymore. Plus, they had no sense of humor!

[Tuckervill]

I found in that community where I met that friend a similar kind of camaraderie that we have here on TE. We all brought our diverse viewpoints, but one thing we were all passionate about bound us together. Many of those people I get to see at conferences across the country and I know their kids and their partners. But, my kid is growing up, and so are many of theirs. I'm just a little sad that it seems like an end of something, instead of a new beginning.

Karen

[Crankin]

I feel so dumb! I haven't felt well for about a month. First, i chalked it up to the stress of my final research papers at the end of the semester. Then, the pollen count was and still is high. I don't usually have spring allergies, but...
Then my neck started hurting. I've had some neck and back issues, related to cycling, etc and I started PT 3 weeks ago. It's helped, but not 100%.
So, after starting to feel progressively worse during my vacation this weekend, I realized, gee, i am really sick. I didn't go to yoga/meditation today and cancelled my PT for tomorrow.
I went to the doctor today. I have a really bad ear infection, which has caused swollen glands, allergic nose, etc. No wonder I have felt like a whiny little kid with an ear infection! I am now on an antibiotic and I also asked for a prescription for the allergy nasal spray I took for quite a while. After my medical saga a couple of years ago, I rarely go to the doctor, except for my yearly check up and checking in with my rheumatologist. Definitely have learned my lesson... no riding or running until Wednesday at least.

[TsPoet]

I love where I work, we all just received this email (I work in the 337 building within the 300 area)

There is a large fire burning west of the 300 Area which is causing heavy smoke smell in the buildings. Should these smells cause irritation we ask that you step outside of the buildings into the fresh air until the smells are gone.


The email goes on to say that we shouldn't leave work now because the main road out is gridlocked due to people farther out than us being evacuated. So, I have to sit here and smell smoke with burning eyes waiting to be allowed to leave. Or, I could go outside where the air is somehow miraculously more fresh.

[Biciclista]

wow, Crankin, get well soon, what a bummer

Ts Poet :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: yikes!

I've been in a watercolor workshop all week and bike commuting 20 miles a day.
I am beat!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

TSPOET hope you got home safely?

Hope you are enjoying your workshop, Meemster.

I biked 24 miles yesterday and 21 today. Would have been 24 today too, but DH discovered two bolts missing from his crank (!!) so we opted to turn around and head for home immediately. Gosh it felt good to be back on my bike again. :p

[TsPoet]

TSPOET hope you got home safely?

:p

Got home fine. A little smokey drive home. I'm glad I didn't ride into work, would have been at least psychologically hard on my lungs :rolleyes:
It'll be interesting tomorrow to see the damage on my way into work. Today I couldn't see anything.

[crazycanuck]

Weeeeee :D

I found myself a very easy part time job :). It'll allow me to study & bike in the afternoons plus the social interaction i've been missing out on for the last few months :(.

This also means I get the wheels for my bike :cool: :D :)

[OakLeaf]

Ugh Crankin. That's awful. Hope you feel better soon. Only time I ever had an ear infection to my knowledge, it felt like my brain was numb, and it took about 7 months for my hearing to come back completely. Sure hope it's quicker than that for you!

CC, great news! :D

[Crankin]

Well, the searing pain in my ear has abated, along with the swollen glands. I did ride yesterday. But, the tinnitus I have had on and off for 2 years has come back pretty badly. I think that is connected to the neck/back stuff I have going on, but who knows? No one could find any reason for the ear ringing 2 years ago, so I think it is definitely tied up with the ear/allergy thing, along with whatever structural issues i am having. I do have a hearing loss in that ear; nothing horrible, though.
Not sure how much longer I will go to PT; it's definitely not helping much with the neck/back and my therapist, while good, keeps saying little things that remind me of the cultural microaggressions I learned about last semester (won't go into that... he doesn't have a clue. I keep thinking about George's father on Seinfeld, who yelled, "anti-Semitic" every time he thought someone had said/done something negative to him).
I don't feel "sick" anymore, though.

[OakLeaf]

On and off for at least ten years I've tried to put up a bird feeder, but sooner or later the raccoons always got to it. Once they'd figure it out, there was no point in refilling it, because they'd completely empty it each night, and often destroy the feeder getting to it.

Two weeks ago I decided to take up the battle again. (The feed store says that bird seed sales have been through the roof, very unusual for them this time of year. Maybe it's the economy for some people - feeding birds is cheap entertainment - although that's not the issue for me. I just felt like watching them.)

New, heavy, sturdy feeder. New, taller pole. The raccoons got into it immediately. Moved it twice. They weren't able to destroy the feeder or get it off the pole, but they could empty it where it hung. As for the suet cage, they never went far with it, but several mornings I had to search quite a while (didn't want to find it by running over it with the lawnmower!).

The pole is metal, about a 3/4" square cross-section, tall enough that they can't reach the feeder from the ground, and far enough away from anything else. We never caught them actually climbing the pole - DH insisted that it was impossible for them to climb - but I saw no other explanation.

Two nights ago, at my wits' end, I came up with a simple, elegant solution.

I greased the pole with Vaseline. :D (Very slippery, not highly toxic, no food smells as a vegetable oil would have.)

For the second morning in a row, I've woken up to birds happily visiting an undisturbed feeder... and a pole covered with debris where raccoons had obviously tried to climb it. Haven't caught them in the act yet - I'd love to see them slipping down it, the little villains!

[crazycanuck]

I'm not sure if racoons have similar paws (??) to possums but...In NZ, all power lines have metal wrapped round them towards the bottom/middle. That might be another idea should you ever decide to give up on vaseline...

[OakLeaf]

The pole itself is metal.

With a large diameter pole, wrapping it with sheet metal will keep raccoons from climbing (I know people who've done just that), but apparently with the narrow pole I have, they could grab on enough to shimmy up. We never saw them actually climbing it, although we did catch them wrapped around the feeder like little bears. :mad::rolleyes:

[Biciclista]

vasoline!! keep it greased. I love it.
Crankin, tinnitus can be exacerbated by allergies. And you just had an ear infection. It might go away. Or it might not. I get noise induced tinnitus.

[kelownagirl]

vasoline, greasing the pole, I had to scroll down a bit to get some context here... :rolleyes:

[Duck on Wheels]

We used to keep raccoons and skunks from climbing the support poles under the roosts on our chicken houses by putting a metal "collar" around each pole. Each collar would be cut in sections partway up. The top end (without the cuts) was wound around the pole and fastened (nailed on with roofing nails), then the cut bits were flared outwards, kind of like the ruffles you would put on a roast turkey leg, but straight-edged. The flares had to be long enough and bent outwards enough that the 'coons couldn't reach around them to pull themselves past that point. It worked. And I don't think any raccoons or skunks actually cut themselves on the flare edges, although they were a bit sharp. These are smart animals. When they feel that sharp edge with a paw, they turn back down and look for a safer route.

[TsPoet]

vasoline, greasing the pole, I had to scroll down a bit to get some context here... :rolleyes:

That's so funny, me too. For some reason a stripper's pole sprung to mind. I know somewhere on some forum recently I was reading a thread about how much fun and exercise stripper's poles are and they are a great exercise fad - so that's just what I thought was being discussed. :p

[Zen]

I can't say anything here...but you know I have so much to say.

[Crankin]

You can buy a "squirrel proof" bird feeder. I have one, in fact had it for years. It's on a pole as you describe, but the feeder part is weighted, so if an animal heavier than a bird gets on the ledge, it clamps shut, causing the offender to fly off.
Much easier than the vasoline, which we tried for quite awhile.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Do they have squirrel-proof stripper poles? Or Stripper-proof bird feeders?
I'd think there'd be a market for both.

[Crankin]

I have no reply to that question, Lisa! The Audubon Society would disown me.

[Selkie]

Is Ruby getting a stripper pole?

Margot is losing her puppy fluff and now is getting real dog hair. I think she's going to be more of a blonde than butterscotch golden. Puppyhood is so fleeting (thank God!). She's 12 weeks old today and can already jump up onto the furniture. :eek:

[Crankin]

Rain again! Well, it looks like I might be able to get a run in this afternoon and a ride first thing tomorrow morning, after I get my hair cut.
I am cutting my hair off after a year of growing it. I can't take it anymore... Straightening every 3 months, having to wait half an hour to blow dry it, or total frizz, using the flat iron. Plus, although it looks straight when I am done, it's not particularly stylish looking, more like a suburban mom look.
Not to mention the pain of it when cycling. I am getting it cut very short again, but instead of the spikes, I am leaving it longer and "messy" looking on the top.
My visit to the "special" PT seems to have worked. She used the "McKenzie" method to work on my neck and sent me home with 3 exercises that are working. I go back tot he regular guy Tuesday.

[OakLeaf]

Wmy therapist, while good, keeps saying little things that remind me of the cultural microaggressions I learned about last semester (won't go into that... he doesn't have a clue. I keep thinking about George's father on Seinfeld, who yelled, "anti-Semitic" every time he thought someone had said/done something negative to him).
I don't feel "sick" anymore, though.

Crankin, glad you're feeling somewhat better.

I hadn't heard that word "microaggressions" before, but it sure is beautifully descriptive. I totally get what you mean about not wanting to jump to conclusions, but I wouldn't be so quick to excuse the guy as clueless. My experience is that the people who make those little comments to someone's face, are the same ones who'll say something much more vicious and explicit when they're gone. :( I expect that where you live, there just aren't that many social situations where it's acceptable to make blatant racist comments. Unfortunately, that's not the case where I live, so I get to see both "faces" of people.

[Crankin]

You are right, in that it definitely is not acceptable to make racist comments around here. But, he doesn't even know he is making a "comment," which is why I said he is clueless. That's why it's a microaggression which build up, because people assume that the culturally dominant way of thinking is the only way. For example:
Him: What are you doing this weekend?
Me: Riding on Saturday and going to a wedding on Sunday.
Him: ON SUNDAY??? (in a raised tone). Who gets married on Sunday?
Me (to myself): Jews do, you ignoramus.

Me: I really liked that sample of BioFreeze you gave me.
Him: Oh yea, it's a great stocking stuffer.
Me (again, to myself) I'd like to stuff your stocking...
Obviously, these comments taken on the surface, are not racist. But he is assuming a lot. He works in a community (the town where I used to live and where my kids went to school) where at least 30% of the population are not Christian, mostly Asian and Jewish. I guess my blonde hair and blue eyes hide my true identity, but he should be more aware.

[crazycanuck]

My mom, 2 aunts & cousin are coming in September :eek: We're now wondering where everyone will sleep & how all 6 of us will travel together. Our ute only fits 5.

Not only that but we were going to do a big mtb event that month..do we still do it?

[Tuckervill]

Of course you do it. You can't stop your life just because someone is coming. They can come and watch!

Karen

[Duck on Wheels]

You are right, in that it definitely is not acceptable to make racist comments around here. But, he doesn't even know he is making a "comment," which is why I said he is clueless. That's why it's a microaggression which build up, because people assume that the culturally dominant way of thinking is the only way. For example:
Him: What are you doing this weekend?
Me: Riding on Saturday and going to a wedding on Sunday.
Him: ON SUNDAY??? (in a raised tone). Who gets married on Sunday?
Me (to myself): Jews do, you ignoramus.

Me: I really liked that sample of BioFreeze you gave me.
Him: Oh yea, it's a great stocking stuffer.
Me (again, to myself) I'd like to stuff your stocking...
Obviously, these comments taken on the surface, are not racist. But he is assuming a lot. He works in a community (the town where I used to live and where my kids went to school) where at least 30% of the population are not Christian, mostly Asian and Jewish. I guess my blonde hair and blue eyes hide my true identity, but he should be more aware.

Brings to mind when UK-E was beginning school. Norway has a national church (Lutheran) and schools required "Christian education" class 2 hrs per week, unless the child was excused from them. Non-Lutheran parents could request that, back in UK's day (nowadays they've changed the name of the class, though not so much of the content, and taken away the right to refuse it -- a solution being contested in international courts). Anyhoo, back then, if more than 5 such requests came in for a given grade level, then the parents could collectively request that those kids be offered an alternative class in ethics and world religions. We and 6 other families did. The 1st grade teachers at the school then came back at us, one family at a time, urging us to withdraw that request so they could keep each class together as a unit at least that first year. I said that would depend on what they planned to teach in the "Christian education" classes. "Our" teacher said something like "Only things everybody believes in, like that G-d created the world." Well, as an atheist, I don't happen to believe that, but she didn't seem to understand my point. So I tried to explain to her that I'm not simply an atheist, but a secular Jew. "Oh!" she said, "Then [UK] gets her Christian education at the synagogue." Uhmmmm ... what did you just say...? Well that settled it for me. Taking "Christian education" classes throughout one's school years clearly rendered one dense as a doughnut when it came to understanding others' religious feelings. I was having none of that for my kids!

[Crankin]

What a story, Duck! But, it doesn't surprise me.
Yesterday, when I was at PT, he asked me if I was of Scandanavian descent. Apparently, people from that part of the world have an extra rib that can cause issues. I said , "No, I am Jewish and a 3d generation American... all of my grandparents were born here."
No response, but we will see if he keeps making the comments.

[Zen]

Apparently, people from that part of the world have an extra rib that can cause issues.

:confused: huh?

I was in McDonalds recently where they've started selling Angus Burgers. A woman next to me asked what kind of meat is an Angus.
I know everybody doesn't know everything but I sure thought everybody knew that. Maybe I know too much about meat.

[Biciclista]

I can vividly remember the discomfort I felt when i left parochial (catholic ) school and went to public school where everyone had to pray a protestant prayer. Most of the prayer were the same words as what we'd said the year before, but at the end it was very different. When I protested, I was coerced, forced, whatever to chant along with everyone else. Imagine how little jewish or muslim kids felt about that!

[Crankin]

Zen, I kid you not. This is what he said. OK, maybe it's not an extra rib, but he definitely said something like that, describing in detail some physical anomaly in that population.
I still remember when we said a prayer in public school, too. We said the 23d psalm, which is not inherently Christian or Jewish, but the only time I've heard it in synagogue is at the end of a funeral, when the casket is being wheeled out to the hearse. However, being the mature young kid I was (this was maybe in 3d grade), my friends and i decided to get hysterical over the line in the prayer that says "my cup runneth over." I guess we were obsessed with the idea of bra cups??? I got in trouble for laughing during the prayer.
It was during that year, they passed the law against school prayer, so I didn't have to worry about getting into trouble anymore. No wonder I liked being with middle school kids. Nothing they did in class could surpass some of the weird things I did.

[papaver]

no cycling but tiling today. And I pretty happy with the result. I'll do the grouting tomorrow. :)

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/fattiebert/IMG_3103.jpg

[papaver]

oooops I think i posted this one in the wrong place. :o :D

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Looks like a nice tiling job! :)

It's pouring rain again. What else is new? :(
The excavator won't come to dig out my new big vegetable garden until the ground dries up a little. But it won't stop raining for weeks now! :mad:
I've been waiting and waiting and waiting. Our other project is to repaint the porch, and we can't do that either....the wood has been sopping wet for weeks now.

So instead I re-arranged our canned goods in the basement. :rolleyes:

[Biciclista]

sounds like the monsoon on the east coast! (of the USA I mean)

[Aggie_Ama]

We could use some of that rain. 103 and boiling here!

[Zen]

I'm a little bit more south on the coast. It finally stopped raining here. Hot and humid for the next 5 days or so.

[crazycanuck]

Just an " Only in Australia" story..

http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2009/06/25/80825_fun-weird-news.html

[lph]

Zen, I kid you not. This is what he said. OK, maybe it's not an extra rib, but he definitely said something like that, describing in detail some physical anomaly in that population.

Wha? *feels ribs* I do know of two friends that both have unusually long backs. It's not visible, at least it doesn't look weird or anything, but I do believe they have an extra vertebra. Maybe it's more common here, never thought about it. I kid them that they're like these modern pigs that are bred with an extra rib.

I wouldn't mind an extra vertebra. My female friend has the loveliest elegant back you can imagine and looks stunning in long gowns.

Re: prayer and kids: not quite the same, but I can also vividly remember the discomfort I felt about the Pledge of Allegiance when I visited my grandparents in the States for 3 months when I was... 9 or so, and went to school there. Not surprisingly it just felt very wrong, which I "solved" in an extremely unelegant way, by mumbling, rolling my eyes and generally being a pain :D Funny, that no-one ever asked if I might want to pass on it and just sit. Do kids still recite this in school?

[OakLeaf]

Skeletons aren't nearly as uniform as they'd have you believe in grade school health class.

I've got a transitional sixth lumbar vertebra, which is a very common variation - I think something like 20% of people have one (most people have only five lumbar vertebrae). It certainly hasn't made my back long though. (Or who knows... without it, maybe my ribcage would actually touch my hipbones. :rolleyes:)

My first husband's family was prone to having six fingers on one or both hands. Most of them had them amputated in infancy. That's a rarer variation.

The kneecap and the sesamoid bone of the ankle may be two bones joined by a ligament, rather than one as in most people.

There are several other bones that may be present or absent in humans - some are more commonly absent, some are more commonly present. Some are related to fetal skeletal development, but others are genetic variations that would be more common in distinct populations.

[lph]

That's very cool, OakLeaf. My son has webbed toes, up to the first joint of 3 toes on each foot. I was told that this is just a common "defect" that happens sometimes, one of the harmless ones. No-one else in the family has anything like it. They look a little weird but I just tell him it's a sign he was born to love water :)

[Crankin]

lph, I also feel the same cringe at reciting the Pledge. I don't know why. I always have, even as a kid. I am American, and while I don't agree with a lot of things going on here, I don't want to change my citizenship!
I think it has to do with actually "pledging" to something, which seems a little Nazi-ish to me. I can't really describe it. Saying the Pledge had dwindled in practice when I was a teen, going to school here. Then I moved to Florida, where, let's say it didn't go over well when I refused to stand for it.
As a teacher, we mostly could do it if we wanted, at the beginning of the day, in the middle school. For awhile, I had a principal who said it aloud, over the PA. Only once, did I have a kid ask me why our homeroom didn't say it. I told them, we could, if they took turns leading it. No one volunteered.

[lph]

Yup, I have no problem with people being proud of their country, their countrymen and especially founding ideals, but ideals are just ideals,what matters is what is actually done. I do have a problem with being asked to blindly pledge loyalty to a *country* (or a flag, which amounts to the same thing), not the ideal as such. What if the leaders of that country act in opposition to those ideals - are you still expected to loyally support them?

And having an enforced pledge, even though it's just an expectation, sort of pulls the ground under the whole loyalty thing. "I promise to be loyal (cause my teacher sez I have to)" :rolleyes:

There has been a suggestion that people seeking Norwegian citizenship recite some kind of pledge. I think it's focussed on pledging to abide by the laws of the country though, which is easier to swallow.

[OakLeaf]

There has been a suggestion that people seeking Norwegian citizenship recite some kind of pledge. I think it's focussed on pledging to abide by the laws of the country though, which is easier to swallow.

The US citizenship oath (http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=931696981298d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD) for persons seeking naturalization is different from the Pledge of Allegiance - and it's much scarier than pledging allegiance "to the flag" (whatever that means).

I know at least one person who would like to become a US citizen, but won't seek citizenship because of that oath.

[Biciclista]

man, if I was born with 6 fingers on each hand, i'd be furious with my parents for cutting it off!!!
that would be SO COOL!

[OakLeaf]

Unless you wanted to wear gloves (mittens would work for warmth, but for cycling, motorcycling, cutting, mechanical work, working with harsh chemicals or oils, etc. you need fingered gloves); learn to play a keyboard or stringed instrument, or touch-type without devising your own exercises and fingerings; etc.

I can see both sides of that one. IIRC what he told me, many of them were born with six toes as well, and those were left intact.

[Biciclista]

I admit gloves would be a problem - but people can knit and sew custom gloves easy enough, it's not rocket science!
I learned to play a stringed instrument, it fails me completely to understand why you think it would be harder if i had an extra finger.
and ah, on a typewriter/keyboard, how nice that finger would be to hit the end key and perhaps the escape key!!

[OakLeaf]

Nitrile gloves for working with solvents in the garage are like $8 for a box of 50. Vinyl or latex gloves for washing dishes in hot water, cleaning the toilet, etc., are $5 a pair. Who knows what it would cost to get them made custom.

"Meat cutter's" (kitchen) gloves are $5-10. Those I guess someone could easily knit if they had access to kevlar yarn.

Bicycling gloves are $20-$50. Getting a custom pattern made and assembled would have to be at least triple that.

Motorcycling gloves are about $200. Getting a custom pattern made, custom carbon knuckle protectors molded, and the whole things custom sewn, I shudder to even think what it might cost.

I (used to) play keyboards. Sure, it could be done with six fingers. Jerry Garcia famously had four fingers and played the guitar just fine. What I said was devising your own fingerings and exercises. All commercially available exercise books are written for five fingers. Beginners usually rely on fingerings that book editors have worked out; devising your own fingerings is a rather advanced skill. I wouldn't ever have known how to come up with my own exercises, even when I was studying secondary piano at a conservatory/college. So it's not that it would be harder to do, it would be harder to learn.

[PamNY]

Kevlar yarn (http://cgi.ebay.com/500-Feet-of-Medium-Kevlar-Yarn_W0QQitemZ360090606723QQcmdZViewItem) is available on Ebay.

[Biciclista]

thanks Pam, I'll stock up so i can use it in my next life when i have 6 fingers on each hand and my parents don't cut them off.

:cool:

[katluvr]

Kevlar yarn (http://cgi.ebay.com/500-Feet-of-Medium-Kevlar-Yarn_W0QQitemZ360090606723QQcmdZViewItem) is available on Ebay.

Ok, I really had nothing to add to this discussion...until I saw this. Now that is worth commenting on! And it made me smile--ok, almost chuckle. And now I am picturing some "mature" women sitting around knitting kevlar bullet proof vests (oh, and 6 finger gloves and socks, too!):D

[Tuckervill]

Ed, Farrah, and now Michael. :(

[bmccasland]

Ed, Farrah, and now Michael. :(

Yeah, but at least my Mom came home from the hospital after getting an E-ticket * (ambulance) ride this morning. Texas heat + morning walk + underlying cardiac problem = trouble.
She's fine, didn't want to talk, wanted to just check in, then go watch M*A*S*H! :rolleyes:





* anyone actually remember what an E-ticket is?

[snapdragen]

I remember E tickets!

My mom is glued to the TV watching MASH too.....

[Zen]

Of course we remember "E" tickets! What? They don't use those anymore?

[Tuckervill]

Nope, don't remember an e-ticket.

Am glad she got to come home, though, and that everything was fine.

Karen

[Crankin]

I have no idea what an e ticket is. I'm the same age as you guys, so please tell.

[bmccasland]

I have no idea what an e ticket is. I'm the same age as you guys, so please tell.

E-ticket: the ticket needed for the "good" rides at Disneyland. Back before there were all-over-park passes, you'd get a ticket book with tickets A-E, different rides needed different level tickets. Space Mountain was an E ticket. Seems the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups was an A-Ticket. So big kids would grumble about being stuck with tickets for "baby rides", and not enough tickets for the good rides. Seems you could buy more E-tickets once in the park. At the entry gate, you could buy ticket booklets according to your budget and family age group. I suppose this was when Disneyland had most of their visitors coming from the immediate area. When I was a University student (late 1970's), they were phasing out the ticket books and phasing in the all-over park pass.

[Crankin]

That explains it. I am a freak of American nature in that I hate theme parks. I lived in Florida when Disney World opened and went a couple of times. Took my older son to Disneyland in like, maybe 1986? Then, in the 90s my DH had a company meeting in Orlando, during our February school break. We all went, and my kids got to see Disney World for the first time at ages 13 and 15. They figured they were the only 2 kids in MA that had not been there...

[OakLeaf]

I did visit Disneyland once.

But I think "E-ticket ride" is one of those phrases that survives in the culture long after the reference is gone, like "dialing" a phone - oh, I can't think of any others right now, but I know they're out there.

[katluvr]

I hadn't even thought about the "dailing" the phone. We DO still say that at times. Although I think I mostly say "call so & so" or " I was just calling you" (not "just dailing your number").

That brings me to music....so when a band has a new release of an ...ok, it is not an album, so it is a CD. But I usually just buy/down load it. So I have "So & So's newest donwload"? I still slip and say album/cd. It just doesn't flow.

[Aggie_Ama]

E-ticket: the ticket needed for the "good" rides at Disneyland. Back before there were all-over-park passes, you'd get a ticket book with tickets A-E, different rides needed different level tickets. Space Mountain was an E ticket. Seems the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups was an A-Ticket. So big kids would grumble about being stuck with tickets for "baby rides", and not enough tickets for the good rides. Seems you could buy more E-tickets once in the park. At the entry gate, you could buy ticket booklets according to your budget and family age group. I suppose this was when Disneyland had most of their visitors coming from the immediate area. When I was a University student (late 1970's), they were phasing out the ticket books and phasing in the all-over park pass.


Even though my first Disney trip was 1983, I knew about these from Disney trivia. :p Tell your mom to take it is easy, it is 80 degrees before the sun comes up and no end in sight. Maybe she needs a DVD of M*A*S*H?

[Tuckervill]

An album is the proper term for any collection like a recording or book. I imagine it comes from the same root as albino, which means white or blank.

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Never been to Disneyland, and never want to go. ;)
Never heard of "E tickets" until this thread. :D

Albums? I still catch myself saying "LP's" sometimes!!! :eek: (most people don't even know what LP stood for anymore.)

It was only a few years ago that I finally stopped saying "ice box" instead of "refrigerator". :eek:

I miss the round metal dials on the heavy old black phones. Dialing was satisfying and made such nice sounds.

[DebW]

I hate theme parks too, but we took the kids to Disney World once at dh's insistence. My son was young and wouldn't go on any of the rides, so I just hung out with him while daughter and dh did the rides, though it was very hot and very crowded and not at all pleasant. Then we went to Epcot instead, and it was full of gardens and not crowded and my son would do the "rides", which were mostly Disney's version of the present future as envisioned in 1950. I will admit it was worth seeing Ellen Degeneres and Bill Nye the Science Guy together in the prehistory exhibit.

BSG, my family tried hard to break me from saying "ice box", and they mostly succeeded eventually. But "ice box" just flows off the tongue so much easier than "refrigerator". I still enjoy it when my grandmother calls it "the box".

[Crankin]

Lisa and Deb, I knew there was a reason we were friends :)!
I could never believe the amount of money people around here spent on taking their kids to Disney. I mean, people who couldn't afford other things, spent it there. I know, it's a choice, but with so much cultural stuff to do around here, you choose to go to Disney World? I even knew some who had some type of monthly/yearly pass that cost a fortune and they flew down there several times a year. Well, I think that the $ spent sending my kids to Audubon camp, where they slept in a tent for 6 weeks and learned about the environment and did sports of their own choosing was better spent. Yea, this is a sore subject with me.
It's thundering and raining AGAIN... just came back from another rainy run. had my cycling clothes on, but then it started raining. Changed to running stuff and quickly did 2.5 miles before any lightning started.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Yep, still raining and thundering here too. But the guys came anyway today and brought in my two huge dumptruck loads of topsoil for my new veggie garden. Got soil? :D

[Tuckervill]

I didn't go to Disneyworld until this decade! :)

I enjoyed it, because the three of us enjoy rides, but I never have to go back. I would enjoy another trip to Epcot, though.

Karen

[snapdragen]

I've been to Disneyland a number of times, I love it. The rides, the parades, the whole fantasy. I took my nephew when he turned 5, then my niece for her 5th birthday. There is nothing better than Disneyland through the eyes of a 5 year old. Even if niece made me go through "It's a Small World" at least 10 times :rolleyes:

Disney movies are another story -- they bore me to tears.

[OakLeaf]

Disney movies are another story -- they bore me to tears.

Even Pixar movies? I loved Up. Loved Ratatouille. Loved Toy Story. Loved Finding Nemo. Missed Wall-E, but it got nothing but rave reviews.

I've got to find some kids to take to the movies... :rolleyes:

We spent a day at Universal Studios this year and had a good time. First time I'd been to a theme park since Disneyland when I was 12. Disney World seemed more oriented toward the little kids.

[Selkie]

Having grown up relatively "deprived," my parents never took us to theme parks. Instead, we went to amusement parks---mostly local, Kennywood & Idylwild---and once, we went on a three day vacation to Cedar Point and SeaWorld (Sandusky, OH)!

As an adult, I don't really find them appealing but then again, my three kids have four paws and big fluffy tails. :D

I TDYed to Orlando for training a few years ago and saw all that madness from a distance. That was more than enough for me!!!

[Aggie_Ama]

I love Disneyworld! We went just a couple years ago in a slow week after Thanksgiving with my parents. The youngest of the 4 of us was 26! We had a great time but I guess we are simple folk. There was Christmas decorations, my favorite holiday and short lines. Because my favorite ride as a child was Dumbo, we all rode it! I also love the zoo, the aquarium, museums, historical sites, outdoor sculpture gradens and parks. I usually get Pixar movies from my MIL, I love them.:p

My Mammaw still calls it an icebox, why correct a 92 year old woman? She has the best stories to tell about real ice boxes and an amazing vinyl collection put complains the record player broke. :D

[Crankin]

I like the zoo, historical sites, and botanical gardens, also. But, they are *real* places, not some corporate entity's idea of what my *fantasy* is. I don't like rides, my DH and one of my kids have motion sickness, and yes, I've been called a fun hater. My DH took my kids to Sea World when they were young, while my mom and I went on a shopping spree and out to lunch (they live in San Diego). And Epcot is just a recreation of what Disney thinks those places really are. I got a really bad feeling when I was there, like this is America's view point of the rest of the world? I can't really explain it. Theme parks are not an American phenomena, but it is just hard for to understand the intrigue they hold for anyone.
The best example of all of this I can give is that on that trip we took to Orlando in the 90's, my husband and I went out for a nice dinner at a Cuban restaurant that had been recommended by the hotel. It was in that planned community that Disney built... I can't remember the name of it. Anyway, after dinner, we went out and walked along the "main street." We both got this terrible, sickening feeling, and we left pretty quickly. It was like they tried to recreate a real town, with a real town center; in the word's of the promotional literature we had read it said something like "this is the way life used to be, when people knew their neighbors, shopped at local stores, etc, etc." At the same time both DH and I said, "it's like they tried to recreate Concord center (or really many other New England towns) with this fake stuff." And I am sure there are plenty of other places where this still exists, for real.
Just my opinion, but it was a scary feeling.

[crazycanuck]

My family went to disneyland wayyyyyyy back in the late 70's. I don't like theme parks, rides & will def never go back to disneyland etc. Then again, I don't like disney films as they're booooring & the social aspect of disney bothers me....I'm not interested in big budget animation films & certainly don't want to watch a film by a company selling " happy world" stories..:mad:

I would much rather watch a foriegn film (hopefully this year's Perth film fest has an Iranian film as they're so cool!).

I do enjoy museums, galleries & beaches.

[snapdragen]

Even Pixar movies? I loved Up. Loved Ratatouille. Loved Toy Story. Loved Finding Nemo. Missed Wall-E, but it got nothing but rave reviews.

I've got to find some kids to take to the movies... :rolleyes:

We spent a day at Universal Studios this year and had a good time. First time I'd been to a theme park since Disneyland when I was 12. Disney World seemed more oriented toward the little kids.

I did love Ratatouille, Toy Story was OK. Much to my best friend's dismay, I couldn't make it through the first ten minutes of Finding Nemo. :o

[crazycanuck]

:eek: My co-worker showed up at work this morning.. drunk :eek:. I'm glad I rang head office as she was swaying etc & thought..this doesn't look good on our Co image! The director was quite happy that I rang as it would be baaaad news if they lost a particular client..

*shakes head*

[Zen]

thought..this doesn't look good on our Co image!

Well...that may not have been my first thought. This person needs help.Hopefully a leave of absence and treatment is in order instead of a firing which would only make things worse for said person.

[crazycanuck]

Well, I have no idea how many times this has happened as i'm covering at the particular building.. The Co director came & spoke to her but am unsure what happens next.

Coming to work drunk on a MOnday??? :confused:

[katluvr]

I mean I do DREAD Monday's...returning to work and all. But I think showing up drunk is just not the best way to handle it.
I just crank up the java and hope for an easy transition back into work.
Wow!:eek:

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

It's a leftover/continued drunk from Sunday night, perhaps with maintenance 'booster shots'.
not uncommon at all for an alcoholic to still be drunk monday morning. Very sad. She needs to want to get herself some help.

[bmccasland]

Yesterday at a picnic, a massage therapist friend of mine, who owns her own spa, was grumbling that she had to send one of her employees home to bathe and put on clean clothes - and this isn't the first time she's had to do this with the gal. Employee is putting new meaning to "roll out of bed, go to work," with absolutely nothing else in the middle! :eek: My friend would love to fire some of her employees for poor work habits, but when she posts ads (paper, Craig's List, on-line lists, schools), she gets very little results.

[Zen]

Coming to work drunk on a MOnday??? :confused:

Is there an acceptable day?

[Duck on Wheels]

You did the right thing by reporting her. Yes, she needs help. She won't get it if all her colleagues play the enabler role by pretending not to notice. Now it's her boss's responsibility to offer her the help she needs and pressure her to take the offer. As a fellow employee you would have no authority to do either of those things, so alerting the boss is the right thing to do, also for your troubled colleague's sake.

[KnottedYet]

Drunk or diabetic/hypoglycemic?

The two (three) can be frighteningly similar. Ketoacidosis (with crazy high blood sugar) can even make a person smell drunk. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can really mess with balance and cognition and emotional stability, which I know all too well.

I'm in the process of getting a medic alert anklet made that says clearly "Feed Me Sugar!" (I'll also modify my RoadIDs) Someone encountering me in a hypoglycemic state would assume I was drunk, which could lead to me biting the big one.

When I was in EMT training we were told to give sublingual glucose to anyone acting oddly. It could save the life of someone with low blood sugar (diabetic insulin reaction or just plain ol' hypoglycemic) and would only mildly discomfit someone with normal or high blood sugar until they get to the ER.

Whatever the cause, someone showing up to work Monday swaying and acting oddly needs to see the doc asap. Either for health management or for detox... You did good, CC!

[Tuckervill]

Knotted, my youth baseball park is surrounded by a walking trail, and there's a big shady playground right between a couple of my fields. When we were out working on Saturday, we saw an ambulance come flying through the parking lot and the EMTs ran out to the playground. Since it's "my" ballpark, I ran out to see if I could help.

A man had apparently been sitting in the shade under the playground tarp after his walk, and passed out. EMTs immediately found his medical alert bracelet. Diabetic. Blood sugar, 26! If there had been any other circumstances, like if it had been in the evening or in a big city, and if he had not been dressed neatly in Harley-Davidson t-shirt, I would have thought he was drunk, too.

I shudder to think what would have happened if a little girl in a stroller with her mama walking on the trail had not wanted to stop at the playground and her mother had not found the gentleman lying there. There were 25 of us working on the fields getting ready for a tournament, and none of us saw him out there. That would have disturbed me for ages if he had died.

I am very happy that our EMTs and police in our small town are so good at their jobs. No one we found knew who he was, but the police went straight to work, found his car in the lot, and went straight to his home to find his family. Their heroism makes me feel safe. And proud.

Karen

[Trek420]

I am very happy that our EMTs and police in our small town are so good at their jobs. No one we found knew who he was, but the police went straight to work, found his car in the lot, and went straight to his home to find his family. Their heroism makes me feel safe. And proud.

Karen

Thank you EMT's and health types everywhere, and good night!!!

CC, you done good :D

Aack, working on the form to apply (not transfer, it's like a new job application) to the company I already work for. They want references. Yikes, I'd better ask some folks. :cool:

[crazycanuck]

I have no idea what's happening with the woman now. I've never encountered something like this before & just thought..odd..

All I know is, i'm doing my job & having an interesting time reaching things :o I'll have to attempt to rearrange some items so i can actually get to them!!! Poor coffe drinkers won't have any sugar if i can't reach it!! :eek:

Great ride today..no rain!!! Weeeeharr!!!

[TsPoet]

Drunk or diabetic/hypoglycemic?

The two (three) can be frighteningly similar. Ketoacidosis (with crazy high blood sugar) can even make a person smell drunk. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can really mess with balance and cognition and emotional stability, which I know all too well.


That was exactly what my first thought was - Monday morning is also a good time to have screwed up blood sugar levels due to eating that piece of cake the night before.
I have a coworker who has twice just left my office in the middle of a conversation and re-appeared a few minutes later with a candy bar. I have glucose tablets in my desk, but the candy bar tastes so much better :cool:
He says I start to slur my words.
Drunk is also possible, as has been noted, my Uncle used to seem drunk mostly just on Monday mornings. He handled the alcohol in such a way that Friday-Sunday night he didn't seem that bad. He seemed worse when he was coming off of the binge.

[Biciclista]

I didn't get a bee in my bonnet!

no, what i got was a yellowjacket who thwacked right into my forehead. Then he crawled onto the bridge of my glasses. At this point, i grabbed my glasses and threw them on the grassy strip along the side of the road. End result?
No one got hurt. Then I stopped my bike turned around and picked up my sunglasses, none the worst for the wear.
:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Then I stopped my bike turned around and picked up my sunglasses, none the worst for the wear.
:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:


:eek: :eek: :eek:

fast thinking, Mimi.

I got a bee in my helmet once while riding. Happily, it didn't sting me while I screeched to a halt and removed my helmet posthaste. I'll never forget that buzzing all over my scalp while riding 20 mph. :eek:

[Biciclista]

:eek: :eek: :eek:

fast thinking, Mimi.

I got a bee in my helmet once while riding. Happily, it didn't sting me while I screeched to a halt and removed my helmet posthaste. I'll never forget that buzzing all over my scalp while riding 20 mph. :eek:

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: Talk about an adrenaline rush!

[OakLeaf]

Yikes.

When DH and I first started dating, I was riding my motorcycle one day, flipped up my visor at a stoplight and a bee flew in underneath my sunglasses. I tried to get it out of there, and it did fly away, but not before it stung the corner of my eye.

For the next week, wherever I went with DH, people would see my swollen eye and give him the dirtiest looks! :p

Just this Saturday, a sweat bee landed on my water bottle to try to suck up a little Heed. Naturally when I wanted a swig, it stung the inside of my lip. :eek: Luckily it was only a sweat bee... although I suppose if it was something bigger, I might have noticed it before I tried to take a drink, too!

[Biciclista]

are sweat bees little?
never heard of them. But ouch, that had to have hurt... both times!

[Trek420]

Drunk is also possible, as has been noted, my Uncle used to seem drunk mostly just on Monday mornings. He handled the alcohol in such a way that Friday-Sunday night he didn't seem that bad. He seemed worse when he was coming off of the binge.

I was wondering if a stroke could do that too? :eek: Can't a mild stroke make you slur your words?

[OakLeaf]

are sweat bees little? never heard of them.

Yeah, they're only like 6-7 mm long, and their sting isn't terribly bad, but it's enough! I didn't realize you don't have them on the West Coast. They get their name because they're attracted to sweat. They're not aggressive, but they will land all over your body, and then when you bend an elbow or knee, or move so that they're in between your clothes and your body, they'll sting.

[Biciclista]

Yeah, they're only like 6-7 mm long, and their sting isn't terribly bad, but it's enough! I didn't realize you don't have them on the West Coast. They get their name because they're attracted to sweat. They're not aggressive, but they will land all over your body, and then when you bend an elbow or knee, or move so that they're in between your clothes and your body, they'll sting.
EW, that's icky.
I'll tell you a secret: One of the best things about Seattle is that we have no horseflies, no deerflies, no bott flies, no sweat flies, no chiggers, no "no see'ems", no ticks and not many mosquitoes. There are roaches, but not many. Our car windshields do not need constant washing to remove bug carcasses. We do have hornets, yellow jackets, all sorts of wasps, bumblebees and ants. No fire ants.

[Crankin]

Please stop raining. Please...
Today we had a 50 mile club ride that ends with a pot luck lunch. It starts in Portsmouth, NH and goes up to York, Maine. MY DH is off this week and he was going to come with me. Got a message yesterday that said the rides are on, despite the fact that every forecast I looked at said either rain all day or clouds, mist, rain, fog, etc all day. Temperatures in the low 60's. Now, this is unusual for this group. They have cancelled in less "weather." But, I think they wanted the lunch. So we got ready last night, got up, ate, and started out. It started raining as soon as we got in the car. It got heavier and heavier as we went north. Finally, after 30 miles, we turned off the highway and headed home.
Am I a wuss? It probably is not raining heavily there, but the visibility in Portsmouth was down to 1/2 a mile, with showers predicted all day. I have rain gear, but I don't choose to ride in the rain, unless I have to, like a commute, or I get caught out there. I actually think I have a better chance of getting a ride in down here.
Now, I just have rice salad for 16 to get rid of.

[bmccasland]

YAAAYYYYY! I have finally finished writing my first Environmental Impact Statement - on the Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Program. Now doesn't that sound just fascinating? :rolleyes:

It is now in the hands of our technical writer - an english major, to catch errors, and to make certain what I wrote actually makes sense.
'Cause right about now, my brain is mush. :p

I had to get it finished by July 2, and I'm one day ahead of schedule! Of course, we'll see how many corrections and clarification my Tech Writer hits me with....


So long as New England's excess rain doesn't come in the form of a tropical storm, we'll take some of it. And from what I've heard in the news, the left coast would love to have the water.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

rain rain rain rain rain rain rain........

[bambu101]

Go Away!

[DebW]

Today I joined in an annual summer tradition in Zurich: the lake crossing swim. It's 1.4 km across. You pay 20 CHF, you get a bright orange bathing cap and a luggage tag. Your bag of dry clothes goes to the other side of the lake by boat, and you get to swim. They start groups of 150 people (I believe it was) every 20 minutes, from 4 pm til 7 pm. There are boats every 75 meters along the way, and police and lifeguards for safety. This is not a competitive swim at all, and most people were swimming breast stroke. At one point the police boats stopped the swimmers so a large ship could pass. At the other end you get a cup of hot bullion - I was shivering after I got out so that was welcome. And later you get a bowl of risotto and a bottle of water for a light meal. Quite the sight to watch the ribbon (a rather wide ribbon) of bright orange caps moving across the lake for hours. Also a nice view of Zurich from the water. I biked around the lake last Sunday (70 km) so the swim was a nice complement. AlpineRabbit did the swim also, but earlier in the day than I did.

Mimi, there are really no ticks in Seattle? That's hard to believe. In New England you can even get them in the winter.

[Crankin]

That sounds fun, Deb. Even I could swim that far, especially for risotto.
I had to get outside. We went for a walk on the street and ended up going into the trail/woods that leads back to my neighborhood. A nice 25% grade up a ridge right at the end. I was in full rain gear, but I since I was all sweaty from the climb, I still had to shower when I got home. Not sure how far it was, but I think around 3 miles.
The rain has now let up, but will return for tomorrow. Friday on looks good ;).

[Biciclista]

Today I joined in an annual summer tradition in Zurich: the lake crossing swim. It's 1.4 km across. You pay 20 CHF, you get a bright orange bathing cap and a luggage tag. Your bag of dry clothes goes to the other side of the lake by boat, and you get to swim. They start groups of 150 people (I believe it was) every 20 minutes, from 4 pm til 7 pm. There are boats every 75 meters along the way, and police and lifeguards for safety. This is not a competitive swim at all, and most people were swimming breast stroke. At one point the police boats stopped the swimmers so a large ship could pass. At the other end you get a cup of hot bullion - I was shivering after I got out so that was welcome. And later you get a bowl of risotto and a bottle of water for a light meal. Quite the sight to watch the ribbon (a rather wide ribbon) of bright orange caps moving across the lake for hours. Also a nice view of Zurich from the water. I biked around the lake last Sunday (70 km) so the swim was a nice complement. AlpineRabbit did the swim also, but earlier in the day than I did.

Mimi, there are really no ticks in Seattle? That's hard to believe. In New England you can even get them in the winter.

Deb, how absolutely awesome your (vacation?) sounds. How brave to jump into the lake and swim.
Feral kittens are often infested with ringworm, lice and fleas but I never heard of one with a tick. Nor have i heard of dogs with ticks. If you go east of the mountains, I'm sure there's plenty of ticks there. Anecdotal evidence from others "I've been hiking in NW Washington for 20 years and never saw a tick"
I think it just doesn't get warm enough for critters like that here. :confused: It's nothing like New England.
We dont have lightning bugs either. :(