Ouch Beloved!  My hands look a bit green...

We got snow on the weekend but it's mostly gone again.  This is our typical spring, back and forth.  The grass is more yellow than green right now!

I'm not sure when I'll get into gardening.  I was excited about squash, but I think I'll be starting out with bought plants.  If I find some great!  If not, tomato plants are always around :)

Beloved, ouch, that would hurt.

Carolla, yes, there is "hope" in the garden in spring.  In times of sadness, I have found the garden to be a healing place.  

Soon those of you with late springs will be experiencing the green of new life showing up in the garden. 

Ouch ouch ouch Beloved!  Who is the patron saint of injured fingers??  You'd think I might know that, since part of my work is in a hand injury programme!!

I slammed that same finger in firedoors at work many decades ago - very painful!  I went to the hospital to have it (the nail surface) drilled to let the blood drain out & I got a med student who commented  "oh cool - a little drill, I've never used one of these before!"  Must say, it didn't inspire my confidence - but the relief was almost immediate!  Still have a permanent damaged spot on that nail tho!  

LOL - so I went looking on wikipedia - patron saints of ailments etc.  ... long list ... but near the beginning I did see this ... 

• Albinus of Angers - against pirate attack  

Good to know in case of imminent threat of pirates!! 

Ohhh - a jammed finger does hurt.  Granddaughter had her finger jammed in the car door as a little girl.   

A home treatment if no doctor is accessible:  heat a paper clip to red hot.  Hold it with pliers.  Lightly press the end of the clip against the top of the nail.  You won't feel pain but you may smell it burning.  When it breaks through there will be a gush and immediate relief from the worst of the pain.  (Not foke wisdom - a doctor showed it to Seelerman in his office years ago after Seelerman dropped a wheelbarrow on his big toe.)

That sounds crazy!  I had a ganglion on my wrist and a nurse friend was determined to slam it with a heavy book.  I didn't let her and instead had it drained by my doctor... but same kind of wild medical advice.

Actually Hilary, I can't see much difference between having a small hole burned through with a red hot metal point and in having the same sized hole drilled through with an electric drill.  Fingernails and toenails are similar to hair - they are not alive - they don't feel pain.  Once the pool of blood forms and lifts them away from the flesh beneath - you don't feel what is happening to them.  The pain you feel from the injury is in your finger itself, not the nail.

I've heard of people having a cist or ganglion broken by a blow, so that the fluid could be absorbed but I've never seen it happen.  I had two of mine removed surgically - a third (and large) one gradually disappeared while I was waiting for the surgery.  I think it may be different than draining a blood clout from under a nail.

Umm, fairly common practice to hit a ganglion.  A good friend that was an orthapaedic surgeon recommended same treatment.

Surgery implies cutting the skin and scar.  Not necessary if it can go away on its own.

I had a wicked cist on my face. preference was to leave it rather than do surgery due to risk of facial nerves.  I hated to be seen for a while, wore a bandaid as the infection was disgusting; however, now, i have no scar and only a minor darkening.  

surgery is a last resort for me, not due to fear, just because I would prefer to let the body do what it does best..heal

I saw my GP to follow up on a few things, and I asked for some tips to deal with the IV.  I got a prescription.  Fingers crossed it's what I need to help me over this hurdle.

I'm feeling so much more positive compared to a little over a month ago.  Thanks for letting me work out some of those feelings here!  I'll keep you guys updated with how it goes.  Feel free to ask questions too, I don't mind sharing.

I know.  It just seems hilarious to me.  Like a late-night infomercial:  "Health issues?  Slap that growth with an encyclopedia!"

Bodies are funny things.

Good to hear your GP is trying to help, chemgal. Hope things get better going forward.

I was in Kitchener today looking at another nursing home. We liked it so it goes on the list and we have at least 3 we are okay with. My company's manager in Kitchener recommended another one that we had not looked at so I'm seeing if my brothers can look into it further. Next step is get Dad on the waiting list and hope something comes up by the time he really needs it (and not too soon, he's not quite there yet).

Mendalla

aaah, mendalla. wish I had known you were in Kitchener, might have been able to meet for a coffee!  hard time you are going through, my husband went through it recently and we started down the path with my Dad but got respite due to the sale of his house.

I suspect I'll be in the neighbourhood again. I thought about letting you know I was in town but I had to scoot back to do some shopping and stuff before Little M got home from school.

Mendalla

It's ok, I had dad stuff today due to some day surgery, so would have been a push anyhow.  Next time it may work out better.

I'm with ya, Pinga.  No drilling for me.  It is not as painful today as Sunday or yesterday, so I'm going to let nature take its course - my hubby did the same thing a few months ago . . . and he said he let the nail grow out and it was fine.

Took my sis to ER to get her cast changed, x-rayed, and another put back on.  Surgeon said it had moved out of place, so they had to put her out again and put it back in place.  She is having a sleepover as she can't be alone for 8 hours after the anesthetic.  New cast.  Has to go back in two weeks.

Snow melting, but it is a grey day here.

Hope, Peace, Joy, Love . . .

Quiet day in the room today, but lots of folks engaged in great posts elsewhere.

Thinking of those who have nto posted lately, hoping all is well in their space.  Knowing that we all have times to be here and times to not be here.

I have been busily cleaning up my work computer. It sounds funny, but like cleaning up my desk, or cleaning the kitchen, it feels good when it is uncluttered.  So, cleaning up my computer, our sharepoint site, our shared drive (moving to sharepoint) and just all sorts of house cleaning.  Nice to reduce/reuse/recycle bits/bytes 

Things are busy in our home.  All good.  Dad had day surgery and is doing well.

I'll set out some brunch as I head out for a morning appointment with a friend for coffee prior to heading to work.

take care everyone

Leadershop Team Meeting last night. (Leadership Team + our church board) with our minister on sabbatical Marion Best(former moderator) is our pastoral chage supervisor.

One topic we briefly touched upon was Fishing from the Other side.

Of course I said how ironic it is to no longer support Wondercafe when Fishing from the other side clearly identifies on line communities as one form of the church in the future.

Tabitha, was there an answer?

Having my first WC2 jitters. Another board where I mod in certain areas has had a rough week. First an inflammatory discussion about an admin decision (that I supported), then a visit from a troll who's stalking the owner and her IT guy (they are taking the creep to court), and then a database upgrade went south, taking the whole place down for about a day (followed by another visit from the troll). Has me going "Damn, do I really want to be in an admin role on a publicly accessible forum?" Of course I do. It's Wondercafe2 and all, but I hope things go quietly (at least until we have a mod team up to speed on how to do stuff).

Mendalla

Mendalla. can trolls get into a forum without registering. Can the admins know if they are trolls or ordinary folk? Just a wondering.

Greetings all!

Glad to read everyone's posts above and see what is going on in other's lives.  Lives are busy, aren't they?

Lives just keep on, keepin' on - with their own unique set of challenges, upheavals, celebrations, and blessings.

In my world . . . water in basement . . . spring sprung quite a bit the last few days here with water running everywhere.  We have a little corner in our house that leaks - we have done everything we can to fix it, and it only leaks in the thaw and when we get a horrendous downpour in the summer.  It doesn't do any damage as it drains to the sump pump, and we don't have anything in that corner of concern.  But it is a pain.  Hubby is busy right now trying to gouge a deeper trench in the cement in the floor for better drainage.

Leadership Board meeting last night.  I am so happy, happy, happy - I am not the chair!!  I am the past-chair though and had to give some direction every once in awhile to the new chair.  Tried to do as gently as possible - we had a few good laughs.  Then 6 of the 8 of us went out for coffee after the meeting.  That was the best part of the whole meeting!!  We had a new board member who was there for the first time last night, so it was nice to chat socially with her after.  Another young woman has been on the board for a few years, and it was really nice to chat with her socially after too.  One of the other members and I are planning a little day trip for sightseeing in May or beginning of June (first step in making a new friend for me :).  I really enjoyed our coffee time last night.

Today I am working on church stuff and checking out hubby's progress every once in awhile.

A grey day here, and cooler - think snow is on the horizon .

Wishing everone a whole lotta . . .

Hope, Peace, Joy, Love . . .

Forums are generally set up to be read only unless you are registered. What trolls do is to keep registering new accounts using fake email addresses (or free webmail accounts). We saw that here with our resident troll a few years back.

You can use network addresses to try to stop that, but even that only carries you so far if they start using public wi-fi networks.

You generally know someone is a troll or spammer when they start trolling or spamming unless they happen to be coming from a network address that you have associated with known troll.

Mods need to be alert to postings that fit a particular pattern and users need to use board reporting mechanisms when they see something unusual. On the other board, we mods had been told by the admin what this guy was up to and I happened to spot a message going up that matched the pattern. Since I wasn't a mod in that forum, I quickly went looking for a colleague who was so the post could be deleted and suspended the troll account.

We will be posting job descriptions for WC2 soon and the mod description encapsulates their role but members noticing things and reporting them will be a big part of it, esp. late at night when few of us are around.

Mendalla

Weird, I tried to post but got signed out and lost my post.

I'm celebrating a mini-victory today.  No dizziness at my treatment!  Didn't even take the prescription, as there was a concern about getting home safely, I came alone and took transit, but they didn't want me to leave by myself if I was on the med.  Fingers crossed that next time I can get more of the steps done.

Beloved, sorry to hear about your water issues.  Have you at least treated that area with some type of mold protection?

I treat the area with javex. It doesn't last . . . We wet vacuum and sponge it up as soon as it comes in on the floor and doesn't touch anything, so there isn't any mould. But I do javex once it is cleaned up.

Beloved. it poured yesterday. No rain yet today but forecast for rain and snow  for the end of week. I keep wondering is seeler is in the flood zone.

Hooray for "mini-victories"!  We all need to celebrate those!!  Well done chemgal.  

My mini-victory for today was leaving work almost on time!   

Mendalla - I get that sense of "OMG what am I doing?"  I have utmost confidence, and gratitude, to all of you working on the new site.  

Carolla, maybe tomorrow you can leave on time for the weekend :)

CH, we got a fair bit of rain yesterday, but I didn't mind it as it was the first real rainfall in a while.

Beloved, I only mention it because I tend to be a bit cautious with that type of stuff and I recently went searching for something like that because mold grows fairlly fast thanks to our shower door.  I don't seem to react to it either, so I think I'll use it between cleanings.  Most of the cleaners do affect me.

Quite excited to see this morning that the robins are back from their holiday in the south.  Can't help feeling sorry for them though - there are about fifty of them sitting very damp and bedraggled on a nearby tree.  Not the best day to return - it is chucking a mix of rain and snow - and the wind is fearful!  I put out some extra tasty food for them.

We have snow!  The ground is white again.  And the temp is down to zero.  I hope it stays cold.  The rain earlier in the day has brought the rivers up to flood level again.  They had started to go down after the ice moved, but yesterday and today we've had a combination of rain and melt water.  People in low lying areas won't feel safe for a couple more weeks.  I'm on a hill. 

Church rummage sale this weekend.  Cleans up clutter, gets rid of things we don't need around the house and property;  provides recycled goods at reasonable prices - especially welcomed by those who can't afford to buy new; and makes a surprising amount of money for the church.

But it is a lot of work - and I hate going through the boxes and bags of goods - some of which might have been stored in basements or sheds for years.

seeler. watch for mice. yuck.

Rummage sales are fun and painful at the same time.

So good to clean your stuff out, so good to have a wonderful find, and to get something for nothing...

Hope the weather smiles on the rummage sale, 

Rummage sales are fun and painful at the same time.

So good to clean your stuff out, so good to have a wonderful find, and to get something for nothing...

Hope the weather smiles on the rummage sale, 

Good evening everyone!

Snow, oh no, seeler!  Hope it doesn't last too long.  We are supposed to get snow in the next day or so, and then it is supposed to warm up again.  Thinking of all those who are concerned about possibly flooding in the days and weeks ahead.

Rummage sales and church yard sales are both a lot of work.  We had an indoor yard sale last year almost a year ago.  Sorting and putting out and pricing takes a lot of time.  And I think clean up at the end is the worst part of it, because then you have to figure out to do with all the treasures that didn't sell.

Weekend begins tomorrow . . . any exciting plans for anyone?  We are doing dishes at the fundraising supper tomorrow night, church on Sunday, meeting after church, and luncheon after meeting.  Other than that no plans, except for trying to get some chores done around the house.

Goodnight.

It's gotten cooler here. Had frost the other night. No snow, though. It's still well above 0 in the daytime so that's not happening.

Haven't been to a rummage or other such sale in a long time. Likely we'll be having a run of garage sales in our neighbourhood soon. My fellowship has eschewed the traditional rummage sale in favour of running a bazaar where local artists, crafters, and so on can rent a table to sell their wares, with the proceeds from those "rents" going to the congregation. We usually have some kind of food available, too.

Mendalla

Mendella, don't know if I told you, but I was in your city from when I was a baby to when I was 7.

Memories of building a dinosaur with the snow one year

Hello friends on this sunny (sort of) Sunday.  I've brought some tea & scones for those who gather today by the fire - it's still pretty chilly outside!

 I was reading my gardening journal this morning - "May 1, 2013 - Sunny weather in the 20's this week - finally - after a cold wet spring, better weather has arrived!"   Not quite there yet this year!! Nevertheless, I layered up yesterday & did a few hours work outside - it was good just to be moving around, listening to the birds, tidying up.  I may get out for a while today, now that the sun has re-emerged. 

Had our congregational meeting this morning, to vote on the call of a new minister.  She sounds excellent, and I look forward to beginning a new chapter in our faith journey with her.   Our search committee worked very hard & reached a unanimous decision.  Tomorrow evening - pastoral oversight visit from Presbytery.  Busy week coming and I hope to approach it with an open heart. 

GReat stuff, Carolla

raining, cloudy,depressing for two days and the rest of the week is to be the same. drat!!!

Still exhausted from the rummage sale - and I didn't put in nearly as many hours as some of the women.  But it was worth it.

People got their closets and basements cleaned of things they no longer want.

The church made some much-needed money.

Stuff was recycled for reuse, rather than going to landfill.

And, most important, people who needed stuff got it for very reasonable prices.

We don't price items, so each worker decides what to ask.  I sold blouses for a quarter or fifty cents.  Books 5 for a $1.00.  Socks for a dime.   Some people paid more.  One woman gave me $5 for an arm-load when I asked it $2 would be ok - "Keep the change." she told me.   And I suppose some people took advantage of us and stuffed things in their bags without paying.  I hope that they needed them.

And a good time was had by all!

All you shared seeler reminds me of how great rummage sales are and the ministry and stewardship they can provide. A kind word, a generous donation, meeting needs of those who don't have what they need . . .

Thinking of you carolla as you start out on this new leg of the journey . . . Hope this new call is a wonderful match for your congregation and that all rediscover their gifts and ministry through this new covenant. Does it start July 1?

"Grey skies are Gonna clear up . . . Put on a happy face :) " -sorry your weather is crappy, crazyheart. We had a beautiful sunny day. Not super warm, but melting. Very windy though.

For some tonight is the eve of the first work day of the week . . . Hope a good rest befalls those who have to rise and shine early and begin the day at work. For us retired ones, our day will still hold commitments, but hopefully we can relax a bit over a cuppa tea before we have to run out the door in the morn.

Three months notice required - so Aug 1 is the official start date; but she begins with a month of vacation!  So we'll see her in the pulpit come September.  Her husband is minister at a neighbouring church - he used to do our pastoral coverage when our minister was away on vacation or leave - so I guess we will need to establish a new relationship with another church for that purpose!  

well after church it was raining-I looked again at the windshield, some of the raindrops were snow! at 10 degrees.

It was not an afternoon to be paddling.  Out church sale is next Sat.

Yikes - snow and 10+??   This weekend was "launch weekend" at the local marinas - the slips are now filling up with sailboats, and I saw a tanker out on Lake Ontario, heading for the Welland Canal - first of the season I think.  Must be pretty cold out on the water!

snow melted upon impact. My friend 20 minutes up the hills got a white driveway-but very briefly. You had to see it to believe it!

Happy Monday morning everyone!

Coffee perking, kettle boiling . . . cut-up fruit on the table, and some lemon cranberry muffins (gluten free ones too), and some nice goat's milk cheese.

A new day, a new week, and later this week a new month.  Can you believe this is the end of April, and May will soon be upon us?  Any new goals, hopes, or dreams for this week and all its newness?

I'm going to get my crocheting out and start working on it again - a project that has been sitting for years and years and years.  I'm going to finish my two remaining church projects this week (and maybe into next).  I'm going to do a quick spring cleaning.  And then I am going to sit back and wait for spring/summer to arrive.

My daughter came and stayed with us yesterday and had a sleepover - a nasty headcold.  I don't think she will make it to work today, but she may want to go back to her own place.  Going to walk on the treadmill, head to the church to do a few errands, and then spend the afternoon sorting stuff and things .

Hope, Peace, Joy, Love . . . this fine Monday morning.

Sounds like you've made some 'new year's' resolutions, Beloved.  "I'm going to ..."

Well spring is a new beginning!   Actually there are many times in a year when we seem to have renewed strength and determination.  Spring - and fall.  I always remember the first day of school in the fall - 'This year I'm going to ...'   Going to study ahead ... keep my new scribblers neat ... learn French ... get better marks than my best friend ... be in the top ten in my class of 60 or so. 

Today I got up with lots of resolve.  Tidied my room - hung up, or sorted into laundry all the clothes I'd been too busy to look after for the last few days; started the laundry; tidied the livingroom; filled the dishwasher and then filled the sink with soapy water for a general cleanup - wiped off the table and counters, the microwave and outside of the coffee-maker and toaster and --- ran out of steam. 

My lower back and pelvic area ache.  Probably from working the rummage sale.  I think I'll take a pain pill and sit for an hour or so.  Then finish up in the kitchen and sweep the floor (not scrubbing today) before I go bowling this afternoon. 

fresh pot of coffee on since Beloved made hers a couple of hours ago :)

I just caught up with all your news with my coffee and some sunshine.  I'm grateful for plenty of green and some daffodils.  It is only 9 degrees today though, so we're not there yet.  No magnolias anywhere at this point!  Notice it is a Monday morning at 9am, and I'm lounging with my WC friends?

My crazy 6 months of work is settling down finally!!  Yesterday was the last of the high-pressure teaching/preaching on our Affirm process as we celebrated loud & proud!  If anyone was still trying to bury the LGBT part of Affirm justice, it was laid out for all to see yesterday - whoo!  And yet, the majority of our congregation was laughing and grinning as they exited worship, happily greeting our guest preachers, and eating rainbow decorated cake.  All the little rainbow ribbons we had made were scooped up.  So, we have voted 91% in favour, and 96% in favour of our new inclusive mission statement, and now we've celebrated.  From here on in, our work will be done without fear and pressure.  

Oh yah, and Easter was mixed in there too!  

Chemgal - I'm so sorry to hear how difficult things are for you now.  I have seen many nurses struggle with iv's and things too, and I've seen them pass the job off to another nurse more than a few times, so it is no surprise that you would have trouble.  I hope that perspective helps you go easy on yourself.  
 

Whoa, I slept in ...being wokened by the cleaners arriving.  As they start in the upstairs and we only have one washroom, I am relegated to last minute pre-cleaner tidying, kitchen stuff, and breakfast.  They are still upstairs, so taking a moment to check in with folks and what a busy and newsy room.

I found the difference in %'s interesting, Birthstone.  In our congregation there was those who never did see the purpose of the label, and so, wonder if that was it.  They felt affirming already, didn't get why there needed to be a "club", didn't want to seperate themselves from the church down the road.

Thankful your church celebration was so great.  I don't remember ours, probably should, dang. 

My celebration news is that my oldestson has received confirmation that he is graduating.  He has done well in a program that had more than 50% failure rate, so you never know what is awaiting around the corner, what trick in the exam or ridiculous item.  It was an emotionally hard program as friends struggled to get through. 

So, I will be off to Sudbury at the end of May to see my oldest graduate as a paramedic.  

Next hurdle is getting a job and passing his provincials.  

well, snowing, roads and highways bad, everything is white. Saskatchewan in spring

Congrats to Pingason.

seeler, don't bowl if you are sore.

Good work Birthstone.

Beloved aren't you glad you ae no longer chair of council? lol

oops, forgot Tab and Carolla. Lots of good things happening  except for paddling. lol