kritter
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When we lose sight of how we treat animals, we tend to lose sight of our humanity
Posts: 19,895
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Post by kritter on Jan 10, 2024 19:11:29 GMT
Yep, might as well start cutting back all my plants as next week they will be frozen for sure. Monday is going to brutal. I already have 3 large trash bins to go out for the trash guys tomorrow and that only made a dent in what needs to be cut back.
At least there is no snow involved so that is a little consolation. Since I will be stuck in the house, the plan is to put up all the new cat trees and throw the old ones out.
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val2525
Chaos Manager
Posts: 30,762
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Post by val2525 on Jan 10, 2024 19:22:42 GMT
I must admit, the standing desk arrangement is working out pretty well. Most of the shoulder pain is gone, except for some mild pain in the evenings. I'm still keeping my PT appointment tomorrow, as I'd like to learn some exercises & stretches so it doesn't come back if I return to sitting down at the computer. The problem with standing up is when I'm working on something, I lose track of time and I end up standing in the same position for hours and I end up with ankle swelling I started wearing shoes with some sole support and I'm going to get one of those anti-fatigue mats to stand on, that should help. And of course, setting alarms so I move around every 60-90 minutes Now I just need a monitor stand higher than the one I have, since that one is too short.
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val2525
Chaos Manager
Posts: 30,762
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Post by val2525 on Jan 10, 2024 21:50:56 GMT
Target's store brand Favorite Day has a Neapolitan Ice Cream Sandwich. It's quite good. Even the cookie part is flavorful (usually it tastes like cardboard). /PSA
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Post by denise15601 on Jan 10, 2024 22:06:20 GMT
Val...do you need compression stockings? I am supposed to wear them, but my hands are so sore from my chemo that I haven't used them for months. oops.
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val2525
Chaos Manager
Posts: 30,762
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Post by val2525 on Jan 10, 2024 22:56:34 GMT
Nah. I just need to remember to move around and not stand in the same potion, unmoving, for hours. Geez, even the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Solder and Buckingham Palace don't stand in one place all day
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Post by jesmelric on Jan 11, 2024 14:26:47 GMT
I think that the wind is dying down now, but it is dark, so I don't see the huge pine trees beside my house bending over. One of those 200-year-old pines could crush my whole house. I asked my daughter about putting me on her Amazon account, but she doesn't know her password. I will suggest that maybe she can change her password. She is experimenting with her new Ninja air fryer and does like it. They finally worked the stuck TV loose from her stairs down to the family room, and got it into the room via the basement door. Denise as long as your daughter can log into her account (password saved) she doesn't need it to add you. She can just log in and add you as a family member. If you have an account already your email and password stays the same. And if you don't already have your own account it will have you sign up with your own email and password.
Mild here today, high of 76 so it will be a nice day to run errands. Cooler tomorrow, but the arctic air arrives Sunday. We are planning on heading to the bins on Sunday. It's usually overly warm in there anyway lol.
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Post by denise15601 on Jan 11, 2024 14:34:48 GMT
Thanks Jes!
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Post by staytuned on Jan 11, 2024 16:01:27 GMT
Speaking of arctic air, enjoying mid 30s to low 40s for highs this week. Woke up to coating of the white stuff, still flurries flying around in all directions but everything's melted off. Next week Monday and Tuesday in particular are going to be HIGHS in the TEENS and wind chill making it feel BELOW ZERO. This is when I appreciate my 800 down parka and understand why the Canadian geese hang around all winter.
Chap- love your pics. One thing I love about England is how well preserved places are kept through the centuries that make the homes/cathedrals/pubs, etc. along with the history so fascinating. Here, it's either old and tear it down or "Home Depot" them, sucking the original uniqueness out of them.
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Post by labbypaws on Jan 11, 2024 16:05:18 GMT
We are getting very cold air next Wednesday during the day. The other nights will be very cold (Sunday and on).
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Post by staytuned on Jan 11, 2024 16:18:49 GMT
I just hope the roads are dry going to work at 5am both mornings. Boy, is the hallway at work going to be cold plus arctic blasts of wind every time someone opens the entrance door, which is frequently. Surprised many employees smoke and sure remember those days freezing to satisfy the craving.
Looks like we'll be in the freezer the next couple weeks before going back in upper 30s, that feels comfortable this time of year.
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val2525
Chaos Manager
Posts: 30,762
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Post by val2525 on Jan 11, 2024 18:45:38 GMT
Boy, is the hallway at work going to be cold plus arctic blasts of wind every time someone opens the entrance door, which is frequently. I'm always surprised that more office buildings don't have a double entry door. It cuts down on the cold/heat that gets inside. Seems like it would also save on the power bill.
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jan 11, 2024 19:22:16 GMT
Stay warm, everyone! We were in Salisbury today and it was even colder than Winchester, and had some snow.
Took one of the most fascinating guided tours I've ever been almost to the top of the Salisbury Cathedral spire, the tallest spire in the UK.
You have to be definitely able bodied to do it, climb over 350 steps, most narrow and spiraling and some of the oldest without hand rails, and not suffer from vertigo. No kids allowed (but teens are welcome accompanied by an adult) due to the hazards. We had a great tour guide and went up into places normally never accessible to the public. High in the spire we see the web of 14th century woodwork that keeps hundreds of tons of stone aloft.
The Medievals were brilliant builders, I doubt anyone could equal them today with the tools they had, and their structures still stand. Much of the wood here is almost 1000 years old (200 years old when harvested for building). The way the load stays stable is by compression, by having the very top of the spire actually weighting DOWN on the structure by tension with a sort of reverse loading.
We climb out onto the parapets and look down on the town, and on another section of the spire, the cathedral itself:
As we leave the close, we see the cathedral bathed in the sunset:
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Post by denise15601 on Jan 11, 2024 19:27:47 GMT
Amazing, Chap!
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val2525
Chaos Manager
Posts: 30,762
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Post by val2525 on Jan 11, 2024 20:12:03 GMT
The cathedral is beautiful, Chap!
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jan 11, 2024 21:53:57 GMT
It's gorgeously carved and was saved from being looted by Cromwell's men because the then bishop struck a deal with Cromwell - he could lodge his parliamentary soldiers at the cathedral and grounds without let or hindrance, but the bishop begged that they didn't loot and destroy the place. It was a bit of a Hobson's choice for the bishop, but amazingly, Cromwell struck the bargain and his men left everything alone.
The Germans didn't bomb it during WWII because, as it turns out, they used the great spire as a navigational aid.
History is filled with odd and sometimes awful bargains.
On our way to one of the museums, we stopped for coffee and a treat - the coffee house was accessed through a narrow passageway off the street that led to a little yard and there was the door. Once inside, there was a small fire in a little local artisan retail area and the shop dog curled up in front of the fire.
He greeted the regulars with thumps of his tail. Dogs of all sizes here are commonly dressed in various sweaters (human clothing for the big dogs, dog specific for the little ones - my favourites are the little cable-knit sweaters with mock turtle necks). Once day in the 1350s, a big dog (probably one of the stonemason's guard dogs - large dogs were commonly used to watch over building materials) clomped across some of the clay tiles that were being made for the roof of the cathedral - during recent reno works one of the workers came across this one and the city museum put it on display.
If you think spray paint graffiti is bad, think again! This stuff is everywhere, gouged into all kinds of old buildings - the oldest I've found has been later 17th century and I've seen dates up through the early 20th century (but mostly 18th century). Nothing was sacred, including spires and cathedrals erected to the glory of god, but some bonehead wasn't gouging their initials or name into it.
I've got more, this is just one of a bunch I found this time that I was able to get a snap of.
Paint you can get rid of - EW the knucklehead is danged near immortalised (or at least he has been for the last 350 years).
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Post by sunsetpainter on Jan 12, 2024 15:40:43 GMT
A reminder that there's no mail or UPS on Monday January 15.
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Post by jesmelric on Jan 12, 2024 16:35:56 GMT
Hope everyone is doing well today. It was warm very early this morning then a front came through and temps are dropping and it is WINDY! But it's sunny so that makes it more tolerable lol.
We are expecting that arctic front Sunday morning with a chance of freezing precipitation later on Monday. Fingers crossed it won't actually freeze, you never know here. Kroger was pretty crowded for a random Friday at 8 am so I am guessing that is why. I am going to bring in my plants and cover my hibiscus and jasmine. Most everything else took a cr*p during the drought
I got a big toe splint from Amazon and wore it a couple of days and it seemed to be helping. But now today my toe is red and itchy and I think my skin is reacting to something in the fabric so I had to take it off. I am icing my toe as it's the only thing to kill the itch. Sigh.
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Post by labbypaws on Jan 12, 2024 16:53:31 GMT
Winds are picking up here. I got out walking before it picked up.
Going to start roughing out my taxes this week. I should be able to use a shorter form this year. We shall see.
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Post by denise15601 on Jan 12, 2024 18:02:11 GMT
Jes..You might want to use Betadine or Bacitracin on the itchy areas of your toe, to ward off an infection. I have had 6 years of toe misery from my chemo. In my case, itchiness usually precedes an infection.
Labby-have fun with taxes! have been working on mine for 2 weeks since I have to have them done by the end of January for Medicaid.
Cold and windy here too. That doesn't help with the reaction that I will get from my chemo today.
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Post by sunsetpainter on Jan 12, 2024 18:13:14 GMT
Got 2 - 3 inches of heavy snow overnight, then it changed to rain, now we've got totally horizontal snow-mixed-with-rain. Super windy! Took some trash out and filled the bird feeders and it felt like a sandblaster on my face! Good day for doing indoor stuff!
(((denise)))
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jan 12, 2024 22:47:42 GMT
jesmelric - I find that fabric tape irritates my skin - when I broke my wrist my first splint had a cloth tape wrapping around the wrist and the itching nearly drove me nuts - I actually had little gouges in my skin from where I had been trying to scratch it with a chopstick! For the cast change they used a different sort of tape - no problem. I've also had problems with other cloth tapes. I have skin like hide and didn't think anything would bother it, but I can't tolerate whatever they use in that cloth tape - it itches like crazy. It might be with the removal of that splint your skin will feel better. Breaking a toe is a real hassle because we walk around on it - my aunt was hobbling for weeks after she broke hers - frustrating because she walked everywhere.
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Post by labbypaws on Jan 12, 2024 23:03:03 GMT
I had been using tape on my foot for PF now I am trying to use moleskin. Both tear off my skin when I try to remove the tape. Ugh.
Try cortisone cream for your foot. Cortisone 10 roller or something like that.
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jan 12, 2024 23:16:52 GMT
We took the bus to the Georgian town of Arlesford (along the River Arle) - known for its pastel painted buildings. We had intended to hike the 10 or so miles back to Winchester through fields and down little country lanes.
A lot of flooding in the region, which is swampy and watery to begin with. The causeway was clear as we hiked between two rivers.
This fulling mill was built in the 1200s. Here the roof is being re-thatched. A surprising number of buildings all over England still have thatched roofs - they're actually well suited to the climate. Some have really beautiful detailing, like this one is getting. The thatcher is getting ready to climb back up to continue the scalloping - it's a skilled trade and thatched roofs can last for a long time.
Nice country inn and pub:
It was a bit warmer than it had been - about 40 deg - so we weren't bundled up in many layers, but it was still damp, and about halfway to Winchester we were stopped by a field so flooded that we couldn't get through it without Wellingtons. I made it about halfway across but even with Goretex high top boots I started having water lapping into my feet. The DH had low tops and didn't make it even a quarter of the way before he was waving at me that he was having to stop. I was having to jump from clump of grass to clump of grass and I was still landing in ankle-deep water, so retreated. We decided to hike back to Alresford.
There is seldom any setback that something useful can't be made of it, and for this one we toured around Alresford village's little downtown and window shopped, and stopped at a nice old coffee house and warmed up with coffee and some treats, then took the bus back, sitting on the top so we could really see the countryside. It's wild doing that, because the top of the bus seems so disconnected to what the driver is doing down below, so it looks like you're definitely going to crash into buildings or run over things because of the weird perspective - I really like riding up there!
We're going to London tomorrow.
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Post by denise15601 on Jan 13, 2024 1:59:07 GMT
When I have toe infections, I wrap gauze around my toe first. Then I tape over the gauze.
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val2525
Chaos Manager
Posts: 30,762
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Post by val2525 on Jan 13, 2024 5:20:08 GMT
Jes, did you ever go to the doc? It's possible you may need a real walking boot to immobilize the toe and foot.
Looks like the arctic front is going to move in earlier than originally forecast. Now they're saying tomorrow late afternoon/early evening instead of Sunday.
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Post by staytuned on Jan 13, 2024 14:40:55 GMT
We're a bit early, too. High supposed to be around 28 today (currently 23), woke up to a powdering of the white stuff with flurries starting up again and wind gusts at times. Thankful power, so far, has stayed on. Going down in teens for highs tomorrow (not counting windchill so probably 0) and really feel like winter. DH went down to the Yuppies last night to go with them on a weekend trip he really didn't want to do but BIL presumptuously already booked everything with him included. He emailed last night that he got there seeing 5 accidents along the way and one he had to wait about 15 minutes to get through. Had to drive through rain and sleet all the way down. Maybe they don't take into account the weather because they're not affected as much, but don't take into account weather up here this time of year can turn bad any time.
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Post by labbypaws on Jan 13, 2024 16:29:35 GMT
It was 53 this morning. Wore a jacket because temps were falling and wind was picking up. Sunny when I started. Skies darkened, wind howled and got home before we got light rain. I was able to take my jacket off the first hour.
Dropping down to 28 tonight.
Going to my SIL’s for holiday get together. She is nice enough to host everyone. Featuring tacos and the trimmings today. Hubby wasn’t too sure about it but it worked great at my last 2 family reunions.
We are taking hoagie dip.
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