What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread) Showing 3,801-3,850 of 8,509

[Werner]

We're having a good visit with Rebekah and Tony! I'm free to get online at the moment, because they'll be gone until (probably) about six o'clock. They're taking our grandson Joel (who doesn't go to preschool on Fridays) to the arcade at the mall. (Liliana got treated to her special day yesterday --she chose a picnic in the park-- and the older boys will each get one in the next couple of days.) And Barb went off to meet the schoolbus, so I'm here eating a late lunch.

[Jackie]

Rebekah is a good aunt, what a unique way to make each child feel special. Enjoy your visit!

[Werner]

Thanks, Jackie!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, about the asparagus, I didn't realize that they grew into ferns. I guess you have to pick them before they do that, but you have to let some grow into ferns too. Right?

I mentioned them to my husband and he told me that our former neighbor used to raise asparagus. I had no idea. :)

Jackie, good luck at the job.

[Jim]

Jackie, I didn't post a picture of the trebuchet recently. The fire was that long ago? Wow.

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Werner, glad you're all having a great time.

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Joy, you've got it. Here are some pictures.

Cut the longer ones a few inches above the ground to eat them at this stage:



Let them go after a while & they start to branch out.



The ferns grow thick. At the bottom, you can see where some stalks have been cut in this picture. They're also getting seeds on them.



The seeds turn a pretty red in the fall.

[Nina]

Asparagus doesn't do well in our climate and soil but I do remember it growing wild all around Wisconsin.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, thanks for the asparagus pics! That's an education all by itself!
I TOLD you I was a city girl! :)

[Werner]

Even though Rebekah and Tony left yesterday morning, I still haven't resumed regular participation on Goodreads, and thought I ought to explain why in case anyone might be worried. The one thing that marred the visit was a severe strain of flu going around here; Deborah had it the whole time and Barb almost the whole time (and they still do), Tony had a bout of it for two or three days, and the younger two grandkids are down with it. I'd hoped to escape it; but I got up on Monday morning with a 100 degree fever. (I rarely carry a fever at all, and not one this high for a good many years.)

Since then, I've been home on sick leave. My temperature fluctuates, and dipped to 99.9 once; but otherwise it's ranged between 100 and 102.1. :-( I've been trying to keep up with my BC and personal e-mail so the inboxes don't get out of hand, but I haven't felt like reading books or posting here (except, mostly, for a couple of brief responses that couldn't wait). This is a particularly mean virus, and I don't know how long it'll take to run its course. But in the meantime, I'll be around here lurking, and for those of you who've sent me unanswered messages, please know that I value them and will answer ASAP! (I'll have a LOT of catching up to do.) "This, too, shall pass away!"

[Jim]

What an unwelcome visitor! Sorry to hear that, Werner.

[Werner]

Thanks, Jim.

[Nina]

Bah Humbug, Werner. Hope all are in the recovery mode by now. Take Care

[Werner]

Thank you, Nina! Will do.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Werner, sorry to hear about the flu in your family. Hope it flies away fast!

[Werner]

Thanks, Joy! Late this afternoon, I saw our family doctor; he gave me an inhaler and three prescriptions, which he believes will put this right.

[Jim]

I just had a wonderful meal of steak & potatoes with fresh asparagus, just cut tonight out of our patch. Yum! Made up for an otherwise kind of frustrating day.

We started out with a hard frost. I had to plug in Marg's bus & spend too much time scraping the windshield. Then I got home & had to mow the back yard. I still had a bit left to do when Marg was ready to let me in to Speedy's paddock. I got half of that done when the belt on the mower broke.

Speedy is over 30 & can't be on all this fresh spring grass, so Marg put him in his paddock & he's not happy about it. Being an escape artist, there was no way I could get through either of the gates by myself with the lawnmower. Anyway, I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow evening.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, I hope tomorrow will be better for you. Give Speedy an apple. :)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Werner, keep us posted on your progress. Good luck.

[Werner]

Thanks, Joy! Will do.

[Nina]

Drink lots of liquids.

[Jim]

We just got back from the ER. Rascal dumped Marg again. This time she was wondering what his name was & asked me if I untacked him at least a dozen times obvious concussion. The ER says nothing broken, but then a doctor never actually saw her, just looked at the Xrays & CAT scans.

She's here at home falling asleep on the couch thanks to Percoset. She's off work until maybe next Thursday & is going to be very, very sore for the next week or two.
:-(

She finally agrees that he's got a screw loose & she's too old for dealing with him. About time. And I'm supposed to be the hard headed one. Hah!

He's high strung & didn't have a good childhood. Before Marg bought him, he'd had some teenager trying to train him on her own & she'd plain drove him nuts. He's coming around, but still spooks too easy. He tossed me 20' about a month ago. I did a flip & landed on my back. Gentle landing compared to Marg's. She did a nose dive. Broke her helmet & has cuts on her nose & temple, lots of bruises all over.

He just dumped her a couple of weeks ago, too. She was just getting over being sore from that. Landed on her butt so hard her cheek swelled half again its normal size & she's got a lump in it now. I've been telling her he's too goofy for us. She finally agreed tonight. I'm holding her to it, too!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, I hope Marg will be OK! Sounds like a terrible experience!
What will become of Rascal now?

[Jim]

Marg's going to try to find a home for him & take a loss - give him away. She's very sad, really likes the little guy & he has come a long way. He's quite pretty, athletic, & will likely make a great show pony for someone. They just need to be younger & better able to stick with him until he gets over his trust issues & settles down.

Marg is fighting dehydration right now. She's thirsty, but her stomach is upset & she wound up throwing up the water she drank. Her pupils look even & reactive, so I'm pretty sure that's all it is. We've had this battle before when she's been injured. When she scratched her eye really bad, we wound up coming out of the eye clinic & had to go to the ER instead of our car. I sure hope that doesn't happen again. It's a long, twisty ride each way to the hospital & that makes her car sick which makes getting fluids into her tougher.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Hope you will find a good home for Rascal.
Best wishes to Marg!

[Jim]

Here are some miscellaneous pictures; my 2d crocheted pony, horses grooming each other, & Marg's face last night.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...

[Nina]

Poor Marg and poor Rascal who has certainly lived up to his name. Nothing that bad in our family but my great granddaughter who is five opened the front door and let their German Shepherd who has always been mild mannered and she adores him; less than a year old, out and he ran across the street and attacked a Pomeranium and killed him. Her mother now has to buy the neighbors a new dog, pay for the cremation and decide what to do with their German Shepherd. She can't bear to take him to the pound and Wayside Waifs has a waiting list. So it's sad for the neighbors and for the culprits..In the meantime, best wishes for Marge to get much better, fast.

[Werner]

Jim, I'm so sorry to hear about Marg's accident! Let her know I'll be thinking of her and wishing her a speedy recovery. Hope Rascal finds a good home.

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Your crocheted pony looks really cute!

[Jim]

Oh, that's awful, Nina!

Thanks, Werner.

Marg had a rough morning, but finally got thirsty & drank a whole Gatorade, so is doing better now.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, I can see that Marg really has some bad bruises. Hope they clear up soon.

I loved the pics of the crocheted pony. Really cute!

Also enjoyed seeing the pics of your horses interacting. Good shots!

Nina, sorry to hear about the dog problems. Sad story. Let us know how it turns out for the German Shepherd. What will they do about him?

PS-Jim, have you given your crocheted pony a name? :)

[Werner]

Yes, Nina, I'm sorry too to hear about the situation with your great-granddaughter's German Shepherd! I'll be praying that they can reach a decision that'll be best for everyone.

So far today, I've been without fever, and have had much more appetite and energy. I'd considered returning to work tomorrow; but Paula, the other BC librarian, suggested that I wait until Monday. So that's the plan, at this point. It's great to be feeling significantly better! Thanks to everyone for your prayers and/or good wishes.

[Jim]

Joy, I never thought of naming a crocheted pony.
The cuts & bruises on Marg's face aren't great, but nothing compared to her shoulder. She didn't break her collar bone, but close. She's too old to be landing on her face.

Werner, glad you're on the mend. Seems to be a tough spring all around.

[Werner]

Thanks, Jim! Yes, it's been a tough spring here and out your way, too. Hope summer will be better!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, a name for your crocheted pony might be "Floppy". :) He's very cute!

[Nina]

Joy H. wrote: "Jim, I can see that Marg really has some bad bruises. Hope they clear up soon.

I loved the pics of the crocheted pony. Really cute!

Also enjoyed seeing the pics of your horses interacting. Good s..."I, too, love the little pony. He/she is delightful.

[Werner]

Happy Mother's Day, to all the members of our group who are moms! (And likewise to all the members' spouses and parents who happen to be moms!)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Werner wrote: "Happy Mother's Day, to all the members of our group who are moms! (And likewise to all the members' spouses and parents who happen to be moms!)"

Werner, thank you for the Mother's Day wishes. My son took me out to lunch on Friday but then I came down with the flu. I felt awful for most of the weekend: headache, runny nose, muscle aches, congestion and coughing. All I could do was sleep. It seemed to be similar to the illness you recently suffered through. Maybe it's going around.

[Jim]

Sorry you were sick, Joy. The flu is miserable.

Tomorrow is the ugly day. We're putting Blue down. This tooth infection is too bad & Marg decided that it just wasn't right to let him suffer. He was looking OK last night, but it comes & goes. Sometimes the pain gets bad & he doesn't eat, just wanders off from the herd & stands by himself. Marg has contrived to have me feed the last 2 nights. I don't know if I will tonight or not. This is killing her.
:(

[Werner]

Jim, so sorry about Blue! He led a long and happy life for a horse, and I'm glad yuu and Marg were able to have him for so long.

Joy, sorry about your flu, and hope that you're feeling much better, or that you will soon. Yes, it's exactly the kind of symptoms we had. Barb's not fully over hers yet, which put a damper on Mother's Day here; but she says that, allowing for being sick, she had a pretty good Mother's Day otherwise.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "... Tomorrow is the ugly day. We're putting Blue down. This tooth infection is too bad..."

Jim, that's one of the hardest things to do. My heart goes out to all of you. Animals are so helpless that we really feel for them. How do you know it's a tooth infection?

[Nina]

Hang in there. I will pray to St. Francis to ease both your pain and thankfully the pain in the animal will be over soon. I'm sorry for all of you.

[Nina]

Joy, not a time to feel miserable when you should be Happy. Better soon I hope. Be sure to rest a lot even when feeling better so you don't have a repeat. Take Care.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Joy, not a time to feel miserable when you should be Happy. Better soon I hope. Be sure to rest a lot even when feeling better so you don't have a repeat. Take Care."

Thanks, Nina. That's good advice. Yes, I'm resting a lot because that's about all I can do. :) Every day I feel a little bit better. I'm sure that when the weather warms up, I'll feel MUCH better!

[Jim]

[insert many bad words] I HATE the government bureaucracy. They're so ridiculously inflexible. Today, of all days, Marg got called in for a random drug test. That means after her run, she has to go pee in a cup at the main garage. No, she can't do it a few hours later, either. Jerks with bad timing.

I'm going to see if I can push the vet back half an hour or so. She feels she has to be here to see Blue off, but the vet's schedule is usually pretty tight. Ugh.

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Joy, we've spent much many & many hours over 4 months trying to fix this issue. It's an infection at the root of 2 molars & the upper jaw bone. Blue has had Xrays & been seen by 2 vets, was on 3 different antibiotics including shots for for 3 months. We thought we had it licked & then his right nostril started leaking a nasty green slime again.
:(

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, I guess you've done about all you can do for poor Blue. It's a shame that the antibiotics didn't work. Hope the vet can delay things until Marg can get there. After all the money you've spent at the vet, he should make allowances for you. So sorry you have to endure this. With pets (as with people) there is never a happy ending.

Reminds me of the poem by Rudyard Kipling, "The Power of the Dog":
http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets...

[Jim]

All worked out, Joy. Very hard, though.

[Nina]

Joy H. wrote: "Nina wrote: "Joy, not a time to feel miserable when you should be Happy. Better soon I hope. Be sure to rest a lot even when feeling better so you don't have a repeat. Take Care."

Thanks, Nina. Th..."Can you believe it is 95 degrees here today. where did Spring disappear to?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "All worked out, Joy. Very hard, though."

Jim, I send my condolences to all. Hope Blue didn't suffer during the procedure. At least his suffering is over. How old was he?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, the weather is crazy, as you say!

[Jim]

Luckily, the vet was able to come 1/2 hour later & we did the deed after the vet checked to make sure there wasn't anything else to be done. The knacker wouldn't schedule beyond coming today, but I'd asked nicely & they did put us in early & the guy got here at 11:30, so the timing was about perfect.

Topaz & Cutter, but especially the former, have been whinnying off & on all day looking for Blue. It makes us both wince & puts Marg into tears sometimes. Very bad day.

Blue was 25, Joy. Not bad for a TB off the track. Horses don't usually last much past that, although I've known a few over 30. They're usually barely able to walk, though.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

That's so sad about Topaz and Cutter whinnying and missing Blue. A sad day for everyone.

Where will Blue be buried?

[Jim]

Joy, I said I had the knacker come out. That's the dead animal removal guy. Burying is a lot more chancy & expensive here. Too much rock.