[roseviolet]

Happy anniversary, Sidecar! Ten years is pretty amazing.

DM, sounds like everything worked out for the best afterall. Are you going to look for a different job in your area or just stay with your current employer?

((((((((((((continued love for CCGirl's family))))))))))))))))))

Billy, I hadn't seen that yet! Ha! I guess it isn't too surprising, though. Bernie has always been so fiercely protective of the F1 name & logo. Remember a couple years ago when that American network (CBS?) fucked around with the F1 logo & blended it in with their own? Bernie gave them a lot of shit for that & the hybrid logo suddenly disappeared from the telecasts. Hmm!

Anti-kvetch: Sheff finally went back to work today!

[sidecar]

((((christine))))) glad it went ok.
((((dm))))) i'm sorry the job didn't work out, but i'm glad you're ok with it.

tonight was the 10th anniversary of the first date i had with martini. we went out for a nice dinner. hard to believe it's been that long!

[designermedusa]

((christine and family)) Glad you were able to clear and direct with A, and I think you made the right decision. Hope you are able to concentrate and work, and enjoy your vacation.

((sidecar)) Feel better.

((billy and family)) Glad to hear your mom is better.

((sheff)) Feel better. ((rose)) I hope you don’t get sick.

((polly)) Sounds like the sock monkey festival was a fun time.

((ccgirl and family)) I hope everything works out health wise.

((star)) I think de-clawing cats is cruel, and that’s why Mr. DM and I won’t adopt a cat. He loves cats, but I’m scared of the clawing. I’m not really concerned about furniture, more about carpet because we rent.

((bunnyb)) I love banana bread, yay for the success. $$$$job vibes$$$$

The Chicago job is not going to work out, but I’m okay with it. I feel like I go back and forth about wanting to move or not, so many things to consider. I guess if it’s meant to be then it will someday.

[Christine Nectar...]

so I decided to give up on my usual tactic of asking questions delicately, and just told A straight out that I would like kiddo and he to come with me to the funeral. And he said ok. Simple as that! Maybe this is a lesson to me to be more clear and assertive. As it turned out, A didn’t end up coming, but only cause he ended up working overnight the night before, so I took kiddo and that was ok. The service was really long, drive home SUCKED (3.5 hours of country highway in freezing rain at night) but bestfriend was doing ok, and I got to spend some good time at her mum’s house helping them sort out left over food from the neighbours, which was good. Kiddo was exceptionally good and understanding the whole time, but did almost make me laugh at an inopportune moment – while the minister was praying she was looking at the picture of bestfriends dad on the program -
“is that R----?”
(whispering) “yes.”
“he looks different in the picture than he did in the basket.”

Right now I’m trying to concentrate on work, so everything is ready before I go on holiday Friday afternoon. i’ll be off for a week, and looking forward to hanging out with my sisters for most of it. Concentrating on work is not going so well….

(((ccgirl))) hope your family holds strong

(((billy))) be well!

(((sidecar))) hope you return to being are HEALTHY in every which way

Bunny – I’m jealous. I usually make good banana bread, but I tried to this weekend, and for some reason it failed HORRIBLY!

~~~health vibes to all the sickies~~~

[sidecar]

Glad to hear your mom is better, Billy!
(((ccgirl)))

Still coughing. Ugh. On the plus side, having two types of flu in two weeks has done wonders for my weight.

[billybonka]

Thank you all for the concern. Mom went home from the hospital Saturday morning and is feeling good; she sounds good. I know Dad is concerned while she is in the hospital, but it gives him some respite which he surely needs.

CCGirl... you family has its hands full. Best wishes.

Rose, did you see where USF1 is now US Gran Prix Engineering? Bernie Ecclestone wasn't at all happy about having his F1 name used.

[roseviolet]

(((((((((((((((((CCGirl's grandparents & parents))))))))))))))))))))))))
My family went through that about a decade ago. It's tough. I hope your grandma's doctor has some ideas.

Star, kittens can be difficult because they're still exploring & learning. They aren't that aware of the pain & damage their claws can do, so the earlier you can get them to use a scratching post, the better. It's a good idea to have more than one scratching post or pad around the house. My Millie prefers the horizontal scratching pads that she can sit on as she scratches (she has 2), but I know plenty of other cats who like the up-right posts that allow the cat to stretch as they scratch. Also keep in mind that there are lots of different textures. Millie will use the post wrapped in rope from time to time, but she definitely prefers the scratching pad made of layers of cardboard. It's a bit messy because little bits of cardboard come off as she scratches, but it's easy to sweep up.

Bunny, banana bread sounds lovely! Sorry the job hunt continues to be so rough. I think Starbucks is supposed to close some locations here in the states, so I wonder if something similar is in the works over there.

Kitten, I understand your vending machine pain! Everything is chocolated-coated this or deep-fried that. So frustrating!


I made some soup for Sheff for lunch & he ate almost all of it, so that's a good sign. I didn't take his temp, but it feels like his fever is breaking. I gave him a fresh glass of juice before I left him alone, so hopefully he'll drink that between naps. All he has done for the last 2 days is sleep. He doesn't even feel well enough to read, poor thing.

[pollystyrene]

((candycane & grandparents)) My grandparents are starting to get up there, too. My grandma is okay mentally, but is physically going down, and my grandpa vice versa. I just hope they can both be okay in a year for my wedding.

Star, I'm glad you're not going the declaw route. I have some bitter apple spray I can give you. Sometimes that helps (although it's more for chewing)....also, if the info you already read didn't include this, try putting aluminum foil on the parts of the couch- they hate how that feels!

Mmm, banana bread. I haven't made that in awhile. I bought the ingredients for some apple oatmeal muffins that I have to make.

Rose, I hope sheff feels better and you don't get sick!

((hugs to all))

[candycane_girl]

star, congrats on getting further with your dissertation!

bunny, I'm glad you had a good weekend.

(((((billy and mom)))))

((((rose and sheff)))) don't be sick! And yes, I'm sure that by my just telling you not to be sick that it will work and you two will be healthy.

kvetch: I'm not sure if I'm sick or if it's just allergies. I couldn't breathe through my nose last night and I have a bad headache right now. I'm not sure if it's the change in weather (it rained like crazy last night) or what.

Also I could really use some vibes for my parents and my grandparents. It seems like all of a sudden, things are getting really bad. On Saturday my grandmother's knees buckled under her and she fell but she was okay. However, at one point during the day she was having a bath and then she couldn't get out. My grandpa had to call my dad to come over and get her out.

Then yesterday it was even worse. She fell again as she and my grandpa were going out and this time she pulled him down with her. My grandfather managed to get up but he couldn't pull her up so once again he had to call my dad. So my grandmother was lying out in the driveway in the pouring rain until my dad and his friend could come over and get her up. We think that my grandma needs a knee replacement but at 87 I don't know if she can even be operated on or if it's too risky. It's very likely that my grandparents will be moving in with my parents soon and I know that it's going to be stressful on everyone.

Sorry for the long post, it's just that this is all happening really fast and I'm worried about them.

((((((((kvetchies)))))))))

[stargazer]

thanks bunnyb and kittenb for your scratching tips! polly gave me the same idea about getting kitty his own furniture to scratch. he onlys scratches on the sofa arms when he comes downstairs just to put his scent on it. he is easily redirected and listens to me. so, i know he can be trained. he doesn't scratch any of my furniture upstairs because he has a scratching post. so, i just need to get one for the downstairs. thanks again!

[bunnyb]

Yay for dissertation progress, star!

And yeah for sock monkeys! Your post cracked me up, polly. "World Peace" heh. Are there photos?

It is a bit of a germ fest in here. *Passes some Vitamin C around*.

rose, have you made Sheff some soup or is it too warm?

star, my personal opinion about de-clawing cats is that it's cruel. Evolution gave cats claws and if people don't want their furniture scratched then they shouldn't have cats. Sorry to be so blunt but it's a subject I feel strongly about; I'm sure that's probably where your ambivalence stems from on some level. I would try one of those scratching stands; Mandoo never touched his but then he doesn't scratch, except for every so often on the side of doors (which we don't mind) or when he swipes at somebody pissing him off.

I had fun with cocl and persiflafer yesterday; persi I had met before when zoya came to visit and cocl is a seriously cool and intelligent lady. Our plans were scuppered due to crazy rain (after a lovely few mild days) so we went to a trendy indoors market instead, ate tapas, went to the huge bookstore I used to work in, wandered, went to a pub.

Thanks for the temping suggestions; such things do exist here and I have signed up to agencies. I am willing to do anything at this point (I even submitted an application to Starbucks over the weekend) as I am poor, bored and worried so pride has to take a backseat. I'm not too grand for any work that pays, as long as it keeps me in the life I have grown accustomed to (food, wine and books - once the bills are paid).

I'm still giddy about going home in a couple of weeks .

eta: I forgot to add that I successfully baked banana bread for the first time this weekend, using a lovely recipe yuefie provided. It was delicious!

(((everyone)))

[kittenb]

Happy Monday all. I just ate M&Ms at 10 AM. I was hungry and GOD FORBID there be something healthier in the vending machine. I try to convince myself that I could do worse than M&Ms because they have a lot or protein and less chocolate than a candy bar but I am not sure if my body blieves my words.
Your welcomes to everyone for the Netflix tip. When someone suggested it to me I kind of went, oh, yeah, what a good idea.
Polly congrats on the Sock Monkey. So there was a talent competition? Wow, that is intense.

{{{Health vibes to Sheff & preventive vibes to Rose}}}

Star - try to get a good and ugly jute/coir scatching post. Not something that is carpeted. I can't swear that it has saved all of my furniture but I think it helped.

I think Watchmen is becoming an real divisive "love it/hate it," esp. among the fans of the book. The Geek wants to see it again. I am curious what my best friend will say. He is seeing it with his comic book loving boyfriend tonight. I can see a lot of the criticisms that people had with it, I just liked it anyway.

{{{persiflager, bunnyb, candycane_girl, billy, yuefie, and all!!!}}}

[stargazer]

**comes in wearing a surgical mask**

dood, alot of people are getting sick?

(((bunnyb))) yay for free trips home! how is hangin' with cocl in london??

*~*~*get well vibes for polly*~*~*

*~*~*stay well vibes for rose*~*~*

*~*~*get well vibes for billy's and sassy's moms*~*~*

antikvetch: well, i made alot of progress on my dissertation. the last 2 chapters will take a little longer than i anticipated, but, i think just getting back on that horse has helped me to finish this sucker. thanks for asking rose!

kvetch: i didn't want to declaw the kitten. then, for a brief time, i was like, uh, no he needs to be declawed. now, i'm on the don't declaw kick again. unfortunately, mama is like, once he destroys something downstairs, he's not allowed downstairs again. argh. i find it amazing that a woman who would say how she wanted to have a big family has no patience for a little kitten. i mean, i always knew mama had little patience, she used to tense me out awful as a kid, but seeing how she is with the kitten...um, yeah, she has no patience. i did feel better after reading some info on the anti cruelty society about ways to train a kitten to not scratch work. so, i'm gonna go that road.

antikvetch: i had a great time at sockmonkey fest with polly, le boy, and polly's mama. i ate fries like they were going out of style at lunch. then, had a little food coma at the sockmonkey fest. only to be ready for thai in the evening. omg. my food was just as good the next day!

(((kvetchies)))

[roseviolet]

Happy Monday, all. Hope the Americans out there remembered to fix their clocks yesterday.

(((((((((((Sassy's mom))))))))))))
(((((((((Sassy)))))))))))))))

(((((((((((Christine's best friend & family))))))))))))))))
What did you decide to do with the kid?

((((((((((Zoya's niece)))))))))))))))))))

*!*!*!*!* sprakly, brilliant writing vibes for Sybarite & Stargazer & CCGirl *!*!*!*!*

Stargazer, how much did you accomplish on your dissertation? Hope you got a lot done!

((((((((((((Billy's mom)))))))))))))))))) I hope she's out of the hospital now.

~$~$~$~ job hunting vibes for Raisin and so many others ~$~$~$~

Bunny, glad to hear you get to go back home for a bit! How sweet that your mom and Katy are footing the bill. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

~~~~~~~ soothing for Sidecar ~~~~~~~~ Hope you're feeling all better today.

Polly, Sock Monkey Fest sounds fabulous! Congrats on making it to the finals.


Thanks to all of you for your encouraging words. You all kick so much ass, so your kind words really do help me a LOT. I'm feeling more optimistic now. I mean, I'm young & healthy & I have plenty of time to explore life & learn new things. I just need to get out & experience it more.


Kvetch: Sheff has been sick all weekend. He's too exhausted to get out of bed, coughs if he talks, & has a fever. Luckily, his temp is a little lower today. It was 102.3F last night & it's 100.5F this morning. Hooray for progress! It's just a shame that he had to miss such a gorgeous weekend. He wants to be left alone which I understand, but I spent most of the weekend at home just in case. I ran out to buy soup (and lip stain) but that's it.

Anti-kvetch: Finally got to see Paris, Je t'aime and really loved it. I also made tabbouleh for the first time. Lord only knows why it has taken me this long to do that! It was the perfect thing to eat on such a warm weekend.

Kvetch: I'm afraid I've caught Sheff's bug.

[pollystyrene]

Quiet around here today!

I have a little cold and only have about half of my voice. I think I'll still be okay enough to go into work tomorrow.

I went to the Sock Monkey Festival yesterday with LeBoy, my mom and Stargazer. We brought our monkeys and met up with Ululah while we were there. It was fun. It's the third year I've gone (I missed last year's because of my eye surgery). My cowgirl monkey, now known officially as Calamity Jane, was selected as a finalist in the Mr./Ms. Sock Monkey pageant. Unfortunately, when I entered her, they neglected to mention that I'd have to come back for the pageant today. And come up with and demonstrate a talent. And answer a question (to which, her answer would be "World Peace", no matter what.) Well, it's an honor just to be nominated and I wasn't going to drive 90 miles back there.

I'm very proud of myself- I figured out how to turn on the XBox and get to the instant Netflix queue by myself. LeBoy went to see Watchmen (for the second time this weekend) and I found something that he wouldn't be interested in watching- a PBS documentary about Frank Lloyd Wright.

((billy & mom))

Hooray for your trip, bunny!

~*~*~*job vibes for raisin*~*~*~

~*~*~*healthy immune system vibes for sidecar~*~*~*

~*~*~*healthy mom vibes for sassy~*~*~*

~*~*~*thesis vibes for sybarite~*~*~*

Thanks for mentioning the exercise videos on Netflix, kitten- I don't know why I didn't think of that before, and I found a few available instantly.

rose, I'm also someone who has no interest in being defined by my job, by myself or others. There's so many other things I do and am interested in outside of my job. Anyone who judges people based on their job (or lack thereof) isn't someone I'd want to know.

bunny, I think kittens suggestion for a temp position, assuming such a thing exists over there, is a good idea. I've done it before and they've led to more permanent positions.

yuefie, I hope you've had some good times with Franpa- how long are they there for? And Happy Birthday to the kidlet, too!

Ok, I need to go hop in the shower. And hopefully the steam will help clear some of the crud out of my lungs.

[Persiflager]

*delurks*

Christine, I was listening to some parents talk about this dilemma on the radio last weekend and one of them suggested a good compromise. They didn't take their child to the funeral but they had a mini service with him at home, where they talked about the person they'd lost and planted a tree. This gave him a chance to say goodbye without the stress of the big occasion. I think the boy was 5 or 6, so similar to your kiddo.

*relurks*

[bunnyb]

((( billy and billy's mom)))

fingers crossed, raisin! we shall find something...

yay for sock monkey festivals!

So I'm really posting twice today so I can gush about going home for a few days later this month! bunnymama and close friend kinkykatykins paid for my travel. I will be able to see the boy's sis and nephew who will be over from Canada at the same time and spend time with family, friends and mandoo. The boy can't come with me as major stuff happening around that time in work but I'm travelling back down the day before my birthday so I can spend it with him. Some of you know that I have been majorly homesick recently so it will be lovely to be home.

We received a gift voucher for seats with footrests at a fancy, independent cinema for Christmas so we're going to use those in a couple of weeks for Watchmen (it doesn't open there for couple of weeks yet so going once it has).

(((everyone))) have a great weekend.

[billybonka]

Things have been hopping here, but I'll stick my head in for just a minute or two. I've got all the work I can handle at the moment and just keep forging ahead. My mom has been hospitalized for 48 hours with an infection, but it's going to be ok. But, we're just sort of losing her by degrees and I don't know what else to say. I'm not sure that the lifespans we're seeing these days are all that desirable.

Many of you mean a lot to me... thanks for being around.

Grey boxer briefs, of course. No penguins or flowers at this time.

[raisingirl]

Car visited Mando, sounds like she's doing really well, and said she'd tell us all about it -- I'm guessing that she'll probably post here in addition to LJ...?

Hate to post and dash, but I'm giving myself 15-minute breaks every so often with the work I've got to bang out today. Hitting the job search hardcore and (fingers crossed) I might finally be making headway... xo

[bunnyb]

Health vibes for (((zoya's))) niece. Thanks, star, I was going to post the same.

(((christine and best friend))) I think you and A should talk. IMO sheltering children from death can be a very tricky and negative thing.

(((sassy and sassy's mom)))

(((ill busties)))

(((thesis and homework vibes for needful busties)))

(((star))) belated on the wedding thing but you did the right thing. Not the same but the boy's sis and nephew will be home in Glasgow later this month and we can't afford to go to visit them so we're not, even though we didn't see them last time either (two weeks after we moved here).

happy birthday to the, kidlet, yuefie! are franpa still visiting? (very belated reply to kittenb: franpa is the collective name for yuefie's grandpa and his partner fran).

I hope gradgal is having a lovely honeymoon.

(((rose))) hun, I commiserate on the whole "what am I doing with my life/what am I contributing" schtick.

(((mandi))) ongoing love and soothing wig brushing vibes (that's intended to make you smile).

I can't really contribute to the Watchmen chat ... haven't read or seen although intend to, at some point. zoya is a huge fan and has been telling me about it for quite a while.

anti-kvetch: my aunt treated me to a lovely lunch today and it was good to catch up and actually have some daytime conversation for once.

another (!) anti-kvetch: I'm meeting crazyoldcatlady on Sunday! persiflager and I are going to show her around London a little.

undies: matching pink with cream trim.

(((everyone)))