|
|
11-17-2017, 11:20 AM
|
#4761
|
Rivet Master
2007 Interstate
Normal
, Illinois
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18,065
|
The last of the 5-6 cords of wood from the-trees-of-2013-2014 has been moved into the garage, just in time for a couple of days of wet, cold weather.
Still using Doug’s old leather work gloves, I have today emptied the outside wood rack, which has not been completely empty in at least 4 years...another first...hauling wood a task taken on in widowhood, and bare cement cleared that was last viewed when Doug was still alive.
Little things that tug at one’s heartstrings.
I have to have carried at least a couple thousand pounds of wood these past 3 1/2 years.
Good density building for my aging bones, tho, I remind myself, as I very carefully step over the threshold from the patio into the garage...whilst carrying bags of wood that must be 40-50 pounds each.
I have determined that I only have maybe two weeks of wood left, so have ordered a face cord from our long time wood guy, which will be delivered to the now empty wood rack in the next few days.
I can’t be without a fire for a month or more before I head south...I just can’t.
The same wood guy who split the tree sections Doug and the neighbor had stacked, and tossed the 5-6 cords over my fence in the Spring of 2014. Sigh.
I’ve decided to make modest hiking a goal in 2018, after reading of this 80 something gent who did the entire Appalachian trail this year...
Doug and I were never big hikers, and I will not now be taking on long distances, climbing mountains, sleeping on the ground, going without a shower for days, etc., etc., but many campgrounds have nice hiking trails in or near...so, why not.
Good physical and emotional strength building for me, and also for Miss Lily.
I have been somewhat fearful that I would fall and break something, out there in the woods, and/or encounter large and toothy animals that could harm me, then be stuck out in the middle of nowhere without help... but if I am not actually “in the middle of nowhere”, where I don’t choose to camp, anyway, someone will eventually come along, right?
Also, I must be prepared and in a position to rescue my own self from most things.
That is a survival skill of widowhood, and one I am going to try to expand on in 2018.
Maggie
__________________
🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
|
|
|
11-18-2017, 04:48 AM
|
#4762
|
Rivet Master
2015 30' International
2009 27' FB International
2007 25' Safari
Currently Looking...
Greensboro
, North Carolina
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,564
|
"Also, I must be prepared and in a position to rescue my own self from most things.
That is a survival skill of widowhood, and one I am going to try to expand on in 2018. "
You go girl! At my age, what you have said is absolutely true. But, I do a lot of praying as well... too scared to go without...
__________________
Happy trails and Good Luck
Ms Tommie Fantine Lauer, Greensboro, NC
AIR #31871 KQ3H
www.fantinesvoice.com
|
|
|
11-18-2017, 12:12 PM
|
#4763
|
Rivet Master
2007 Interstate
Normal
, Illinois
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18,065
|
And, we are having a blizzard...
We call this “snowman snow”, heavy and wet.
__________________
🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
|
|
|
11-19-2017, 12:11 PM
|
#4764
|
Rivet Master
1973 Argosy 24
Kitchener
, Ontario
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 945
|
Nice weather to be sitting inside with a fire going. It's snowing here too but nothing sticks to the ground yet.
|
|
|
11-19-2017, 12:37 PM
|
#4765
|
Rivet Master
2007 Interstate
Normal
, Illinois
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18,065
|
Hi Gerard!
That’s what I did, too....kept the fire going, read, puttered and cooked a bit, and enjoyed my Smart TV.
There was wind plus rain or snow almost the entire day, and I deserved some down time, after working hard on Friday.
I finished watching this fine series, which I’ve been working on a couple of weeks
http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/when-calls-the-heart
It might be considered a bit sappy, not my usual go-to, and Doug wouldn’t have liked it , but I would happily watch it with my grandchildren.
Not surprisingly, a Michael Landon Jr. product, and reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie in a different time and place.
It is very well done, with strong male and female roles...a few bad guys, and some demonstration of what would be considered social problems in the early 20th century, but most importantly...lots of modeling by men, women and children of good values, personal ethics and doing the right thing even when it is hard and/or goes against popular opinion.
I didn’t expect to be hooked on it, but I was.
Heartwarming and a very nice change from the darkness and evil of the plentiful Netflix Original Series...most of which I can’t get myself to finish.
This was in the Trib this morning, and was very good...I firmly believe that gratitude helps lift us up, thru and out of dark places.
Gratitude is a choice, and a big part of practicing resilience in tough times.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/o...119-story.html
This morning, I finished the raking and hauling of debris to the curb...anything hard enough to make you sweat outside in 25 degree weather has got to be good for you, right?
Yard is looking good, and I am settled for the afternoon with my newspapers and crochet...
Maggie
__________________
🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
|
|
|
11-21-2017, 03:59 PM
|
#4766
|
Rivet Master
2007 Interstate
Normal
, Illinois
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18,065
|
Well, the near-inevitable has occurred...I am wearing one of these on my left hand.
I have diagnosed myself with “de Quervain’s tenosynovitis”, secondary...of course...to crocheting, and complete with the painful sticking and snapping thing when I move my thumb.
Yesterday, something got stuck in my thumb joint for several hours, causing quite a bit of discomfort, until I finally released “it”. This was the second time that happened.
Rest and use of this kind of support is the recommended treatment...and I can still crochet with it on, tho rather awkwardly it can be done and does not worsen the situation.
I have hats to finish, but am going to have to slow down and wear this brace.
Tomorrow I will make pecan bars, Thursday morning homemade rolls will go in the oven, and we will then mosey to my son and his to be guests for dinner. I like.
I’m going to go on a small rant...
Searching and reading online in recent days for a term of some sort which defines what is taking place in this country the past year or so, I found numerous articles referring to “tribalism” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribalism triumphing over reason...a circling the wagons/herd mentality/protecting the tribe response to significant cognitive dissonance, with the regressive abandonment of basic tenets of morality, ethics and acceptable standards of human behavior...to insure, first and foremost, survival of the tribe.
The private sector seems to be responding appropriately to the recent mass of disclosures of misconduct by powerful people, but is there in the public sector no level to which it is unacceptable to stoop?
No level where the tribe will take a stand and reject one of its own? Is it always tribe first, standards be
d——-—d? What is happening here!?!?!!!
Additionally, it is not an acceptable response only to act when decades of misconduct become public. Abusers always have protectors, if only in those who know and remain silent.
Rant over.
Have a nice Thanksgiving, all.
__________________
🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
|
|
|
11-21-2017, 04:37 PM
|
#4767
|
Rivet Master
1962 28' Ambassador
1961 19' Globetrotter
1962 26' Overlander
Mesa
, Arizona
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,996
|
Maggie, so sorry to hear about your thumb and see you are wearing a brace. Sounds like rest will do you some good or just crochet a little bit slower :-)
With regard to your rant they're just doesn't seem to be an appropriate response.
It seems to me it's just the general decline of humanity. I over we.
When you can't set a standard for good, because it doesn't meet everybody's needs or description, then there isn't a standard of good to adhere to.
When you cannot set a standard for doing what's right, because it does not meet everybody's needs and description, then who's to say what you're doing is wrong or right.
When you cannot judge somebody's actions, because you're not the law, the lawyer, the judge or the jury then again it's very difficult to say somebody's actions were inappropriate.
We are not all strong enough to do what's right even when no one is looking, when no one will know, when no one gets hurt.
When the world goes crazy I'm always glad to have regular, normal, average, good friends, family and colleagues that show me there's much more good in the world then all of the crazy that's going on.
But you gotta wonder and worry what kind of future our grandchildren and their childrens children will inherit.
__________________
Hittenstiehl
|
|
|
11-21-2017, 04:46 PM
|
#4768
|
Rivet Master
2007 Interstate
Normal
, Illinois
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18,065
|
I know, Hittenstiehl, I have those same concerns.
So many have said they were afraid to come forward for fear of retaliation and loss of their jobs...tho there are laws against retaliation, those who have been there will tell you they provide no protection and the effect on ones life by speaking out is at minimal devastating.
The good old boys network, I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine, keeping the lid on the garbage can, protecting the system rather than the vulnerable....it is a very sad commentary on this country that these issues are so widespread and systemic.
Sigh.
Maggie
__________________
🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
|
|
|
11-21-2017, 07:41 PM
|
#4769
|
Figment of My Imagination
2012 Interstate Coach
From All Over
, More Than Anywhere Else
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,868
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lily&Me
The private sector seems to be responding appropriately to the recent mass of disclosures of misconduct by powerful people, but is there in the public sector no level to which it is unacceptable to stoop?
|
Please bear in mind that there are actually TWO public sectors: civil service and elected officials.
In Federal or State civil service, employees at all levels from the lowest drone to the highest supervisor have clearly-delineated standards of conduct, and well-established procedures for whistle-blowing. Corruption does exist in civil service, but those who wish to do something about it generally do have the means, and the average civil servant is honest and law-abiding. Not always hard-working, though— a lot of civil servants are eventually ground down by the daily grind of working for a system run by political cronies. At least from what I saw in 34 years of Federal civil service.
But elected— or politically appointed— officials are a completely different kettle of (rotten) fish, as you have noted in your rant. Politics run on double standards, do as I say and not as I do, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. The only apparent recourse for dealing with corrupt elected or appointed officials is for the public to vote the politician out of office so that those appointed by that official are also ousted in favor of new political cronies. Whistle-blowers have no recourse when faced with retaliation— except in an election year.
Character is defined as how you act when no one is looking over your shoulder. Unfortunately, too many people in public office have not learned the difference between having character and being a character!
__________________
I thought getting old would take longer!
|
|
|
11-21-2017, 07:48 PM
|
#4770
|
Rivet Master
2007 Interstate
Normal
, Illinois
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18,065
|
I understand that, Protag, but thanks for the delineation....I was referring mostly to elected officials and that system, tho my 25 years as a civil servant in Illinois has left me with a much different perspective of the civil system than what you describe.
It simply doesn’t work that way here...all the channels and supposed protections are in place, but they are simply for show.
Maggie
__________________
🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
|
|
|
11-22-2017, 07:33 AM
|
#4771
|
Rivet Master
1972 31' Sovereign
1975 31' Excella 500
Currently Looking...
Benton
, Arkansas
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 5,868
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lily&Me
I understand that, Protag, but thanks for the delineation....I was referring mostly to elected officials and that system, tho my 25 years as a civil servant in Illinois has left me with a much different perspective of the civil system than what you describe.
It simply doesn’t work that way here...all the channels and supposed protections are in place, but they are simply for show.
Maggie
|
I am friends with a lot of civil servants, and I work with civil servants daily, a smart one knows not to blow any whistles until they are already receiving their retirement benefits. Thats just my take.
There is too much for them to lose when so much is at stake, and there WILL be retaliation because corruption at the top is expected to be respected.
__________________
The fact that I am opinionated does not presuppose that I am wrong......
|
|
|
11-22-2017, 07:43 AM
|
#4772
|
Rivet Master
2007 Interstate
Normal
, Illinois
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18,065
|
I agree with that completely, J. Morgan, and the systemic nature of retaliation against those speaking out is something we hear about with great regularity....the VA whistleblowers are what come immediately to mind, but so many of these recent complainers of sexual harassment have reported they feared for their jobs and careers if they reported their experiences.
I think right now there is a tidal wave of support for so many victims, a safety in numbers thing that encourages those who have remained silent to come forward...tho many of these won’t allow their names to be used, because they fear retaliation.
All the protocols are in place in public service agencies, as that is required to be the case, but utilizing them safely is the problem.
I heard someone comment the other day that if you’re going to take a shot at the king, be sure to strike a fatal blow, or something to that effect.
If it weren’t for the media reporting it, this wouldn’t be happening now.
The truth is, those with the power can do whatever they want, to whomever they want, and while there may be recourse in the court systems it takes years to get that.
It is a sorry state of affairs.
Maggie
__________________
🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
|
|
|
11-22-2017, 09:05 AM
|
#4773
|
Rivet Master
2012 30' International
1997 25' Safari
1967 20' Globetrotter
Burlington
, Ontario
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,499
|
Hello Maggie,
Trigger Thumb. What a pain in the, well, thumb. I currently have it in both thumbs brought on by, I think, raising my bicycle seat too high, resulting in too much weight being transferred to my hands. No riding being brought on by the onset of cold weather should give my hands a bit of a rest. Wearing the supports got old real fast. Good conversation starter though. Hope you have a speedy recovery. Jim
__________________
Jim
|
|
|
11-22-2017, 09:21 AM
|
#4774
|
Rivet Master
2007 Interstate
Normal
, Illinois
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18,065
|
Thank you, Jim, and you are exactly right.
Both of my thumbs are affected, tho I only have one brace and the left one is significantly more affected, so that’s where I wear it.
It’s the repetitive motion from the crochet, and one reason why I like to work on a couple of different things at a time, so I can vary the stitch and therefore the movement of my hands....which I have not done lately, getting a pile of basic hats ready to go.
Ahh well, a good problem to have, I guess.
It is cold but clear and sunny here, and to be the same tomorrow...perfect for all the cooking preparations going on.
Maggie
__________________
🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
|
|
|
11-22-2017, 12:44 PM
|
#4775
|
Refugee from Napa, CA
2015 25' Flying Cloud
Currently Looking...
Formerly Napa
, On the road
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 614
|
Sunny and in the mid-90's here, with the same temps through the weekend.
Sorry to hear about your thumbs and hope they get better. I am betting a few hours with the grands will help.
__________________
Instagram. Alluminator
|
|
|
11-22-2017, 12:50 PM
|
#4776
|
Rivet Master
2007 Interstate
Normal
, Illinois
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18,065
|
Hi Vince!
I am sure grand-therapy will do a world of good.
Maggie
__________________
🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
|
|
|
11-22-2017, 01:18 PM
|
#4777
|
Rivet Master
2010 25' FB Flying Cloud
Davenport
, Iowa
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,146
|
Maggie; that "Brown Snake Oil Medicine" will make your thumb feel better.
|
|
|
11-22-2017, 01:23 PM
|
#4778
|
Rivet Master
2007 Interstate
Normal
, Illinois
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18,065
|
It will, Mike, and I have plans for a Honey Jack & Ginger after awhile.
I can’t have the brace on while doing today what I need to for tomorrow, so it will be well deserved.
Maggie
__________________
🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
|
|
|
11-23-2017, 05:06 AM
|
#4779
|
Rivet Master
2020 28' Flying Cloud
Upper St Clair
, Pennsylvania
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 2,943
|
The Rant:
When activities go unreported it is the same as condoning the act. Congress has spend over $17 MILLION in the past paying off those accusers who came forward. The $17 MILLION is taxpayer money. How many kids could that have feed or provided some degree of health care for?
The only real solution in my opinion is term limits.
The Thumbs: Has your therapist tried or using a TENS device? I dislocated my elbow training a rather challenging dog two weeks ago, chiropractor friend put it back into place, then used a Tens 7000 machine and the person helping told me I could buy one on Amazon for $30.00. I bought it, elbow is fine now. Not sure it would work on the thumbs but might not hurt to ask.
Be Well,
Bud
__________________
2020 28' Twin Flying Cloud
2021 F350 6.7 King Ranch
USAF Master Training Instructor (TI) & (MTI)- 68-72
Volunteer K9 Rehabilitator & Trainer
|
|
|
11-23-2017, 05:22 AM
|
#4780
|
Rivet Master
2007 Interstate
Normal
, Illinois
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18,065
|
Hi Bud!
And there’s been a whole lot of condoning going on, secretly using our tax dollars.
I haven’t seen a doctor about my thumbs, and won’t feel a need to unless something changes...it is a repetitive motion injury, which rest and the brace resolve.
I didn’t crochet at all yesterday, and my left thumb is greatly improved.
Maggie
__________________
🏡 🚐 Cherish and appreciate those you love. This moment could be your last.🌹🐚
|
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 2 (0 members and 2 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|