Gardener's Group discussion
Misc&Can We Talk?!(Off topic)
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Have A Non-Gardening Topic You Want To Talk About??
Ihope everyone is doing and feeling well!
MissJessie wrote: "Perhaps you could set up a code list Cheryl==A, "HI"B--how are you; C=when are you coming to visit; D==call me on the landline; E=I'm bored; F=How are the kids; G=Just a little message to say I'm ..."
Cute!
I apparently have too much time on my hands.
LOL! :o)
MissJessie wrote: "Perhaps you could set up a code list Cheryl==A, "HI"B--how are you; C=when are you coming to visit; D==call me on the landline; E=I'm bored; F=How are the kids; G=Just a little message to say I'm ..."
I hope I don't have to resort to this, but it gave me a good laugh!
Do you actually use this system MissJessie? :-)
I'm investigating the possibility of learning how to hook wool rugs. I have no experience, but love the look and feel of them and have places around the house where they could be put to good use. Does anyone have any experience or advice?
Our local park system usually has classes each season on things like that, perhaps yours would too? Or maybe the local college has non-credit classes as well.
My only suggestion is a non-learn-how to to it one:keep an eye on Goodwill and yard sales etc. for wool skirts in particular, pants will work too. I have gotten quite a bit of very nice wool, Pendleton often enough, for very little money over the years. Doesn't matter if there are little moth holes, because they aren't visible and you can get such items for a song sometimes. I have washed such items (cold water, gentle) and air dried them successfully; of course, if you want, you can felt them too.
Another idea for interesting patterns to hook if you tire of traditional is stained glass pattern books. There are really beautiful, non-traditional-for hooked rug patterns there.
Jo wrote: "Our local park system usually has classes each season on things like that, perhaps yours would too? Or maybe the local college has non-credit classes as well."I have a source for a class at a local art shop I'm just looking for someone with some experience so they can tell me what works and what doesn't. It's an expensive hobby and I don't want to buy stuff I don't need.
MissJessie wrote: "My only suggestion is a non-learn-how to to it one:keep an eye on Goodwill and yard sales etc. for wool skirts in particular, pants will work too. I have gotten quite a bit of very nice wool, Pen..."
Thanks for the info and since there are 3 thrift shops in my town I will definately check them out. I've also heard wool sweaters can be felted and want to learn more about that too. I've looked on line for patterns but haven't found what I want yet, but know there are pattern books out there.
Recently it seems like I'm not picking up nearly as many book recommendations from GR as I used to. If one isn't into fantasy, vampires etc it doesn't seem like there's much out there. Maybe I should actually set foot in a bookstore and check out what's going on!
Too true. Wish there was a decent one within 60 miles of here.....(:
I have no excuse--I have a nice neighborhood type store only 9 miles away and a huge Barnes and Noble 30 miles away in a town I visit fairly often. I've gotten spoiled by finding info on GR, ordering off of Amazon and trading on Paperbackswap. I think I feel a very long browsing session coming on at B&N.
This is a spot that never fails to bring tears to my eyes. I hope you agree it's worth watching, even if off topic of gardening.http://welcomehomeblog.com/
I just want to share this because there is no-one in real life I am going to tell. I had my first date, lunch, today in years.
Aw congrats Petra!
The date went well, and there were more, just dinner. He went off to Australia for 6 weeks, but phoned the other day wanting to know if I wore earrings!!!I wanted to share something because I am feeling thrilled. A party of Germans led by an Englishwoman came to the shop on Saturday. They are doing a tour of the major gardens of the Caribbean and came and asked me if I had any books. I have a lot of books on gardening in the tropics, including professional ones for landscapers and botanical gardens, and they bought a few. But they gave me such compliments and talked to me for quite a long time as if I knew as much as they did (I don't know anything much, I'm just enthusiastic but I do know about most of the botanical gardens of the Caribbean). I was so thrilled, they said they are going to put my place in their publications in the UK and Germany.
Customers like that make me love having a bookshop although right now its not doing well.
Oh how I wish I could visit your bookstore. We had a bookstore along with our plant nursery and I do miss it.Here in the N.W. so much of our gardening is like England. We had a great publisher Timber Press. Suppose you know of them?
Glad to hear the date went well.
Daffodils blooming everywhere here and tulips starting.
Petra X wrote: "The date went well, and there were more, just dinner. He went off to Australia for 6 weeks, but phoned the other day wanting to know if I wore earrings!!!I wanted to share something because I am ..."
What a wonderful thing to have happen!!
Yes I know Timber, Firefly is very like them. Excellent books. I've never gardened in the UK. All my adult life I've lived in a flat in London I own and although it overlooks a magnificent huge garden for central London, it's not my responsibility. I have gardened in two of the places I've lived on the island but now I live in the rainforest area and it's just beyond me to keep the bush down, so I do a bit and look after what thrives, mostly the trees, mostly the fruit ones at that but anything that thrives I will maintain. I have a go at planting every now and again but nature is stronger than nurture here!
Yes we bought Firefly books in England and I treasure them.My biggest inspiration was Sissinghurst Vita's garden.
Cried my way through the whole garden. Never have truly achieved a total white garden like hers.
Do you have orchids, plumeries, jasmine, and all?
We have had so much rain that my garden needs big work, and I am also working in other people's gardens. Need more hours in the day.
Yes, and all of them wild. The frangipani (plumeria) isn't as spectacular as the hybridized one, and none of the wild orchids are flamboyant but everything grows here. Just it grows too much. I live in a small apartment block - 4 apartments and a house - in their own grounds, and we have a gardener every month or two. He spends a day and a half with a weed eater and a machete just cutting the grass. Then the rest of the second day chopping down vines and trees that are out of control. My tobacco trees (not tobacco, but huge-leafed trees) were cut to 8' last September, they are about 30' now. The gardener has thinned the smaller ones out but refuses to cut the big ones down, too much work.
There are some lovely gardens in the area, but they are of people who employ one or two gardeners either full-time or two or three times a week.
Petra, so glad to hear the dating is going well.I met a fellow when I was helping my boarder get settled in his new house, the water supervisor. We chatted while he was turning on the water and putting in a new meter. He left a note on my front door on Easter Sunday, wishing me a happy Easter and giving his phone number. I called him the next day, and it was a strange, brief call, but he did say he wanted a tour of my house and gardens. The next night he called several times after I had already gone to bed (I go to bed early with my books and cats- my body needs to be flat before my actual sleep time) and I did not answer. He didn't leave messages, just hung up. I am feeling unsure and anxious about following through with anything so I did not return his calls. Last night he called three times, and I realized I needed to respond, so I got out of bed and called him back. Again it was a brief, strange conversation, but again he said he wanted to see my place. The phone book lists his name with a womans, so I don't know if he is married, recently divorced and terribly lonely, or what. With my PTSD I get really anxious about any sort of interaction of a romantic nature, but I do like to have friends. I just can't tell WHAT he is thinking. I am been isolating myself for safety and it is really hard to even think of letting someone "in". So I have been very confused and anxious this week. Not a good week.
Miriam wrote: "I met a fellow when I was helping my boarder get settled in his new house, the water supervisor. We chatted while he was turning on the water and..."Text him next time he calls to call you in the daytime. That would be a start.
Miriam wrote: "Petra, so glad to hear the dating is going well.I met a fellow when I was helping my boarder get settled in his new house, the water supervisor. We chatted while he was turning on the water and..."
Be careful dear Miriam
Miriam wrote: "Petra, so glad to hear the dating is going well.I met a fellow when I was helping my boarder get settled in his new house, the water supervisor. We chatted while he was turning on the water and..."
If you do decide to let him have a tour be sure to have a trusted friend or family member there with you. We single ladies have to be careful who we let into our homes. It all may be perfectly innocent but it doesn't hurt to be careful.
Are any of you on Pinterest? My youngest daughter got me to join and I'm just getting into it. I'm mentioning it because there are loads of gardening ideas as well as recipes, home deco, and many other fun topics. I haven't been able to get it to work exactly right yet. I can pin items already on the site but haven't been able to pin from other sites. For example I would like to pin the info on Buck's Roses my GR friends helped me find on line to my gardening board for handy reference, but have not been able to make it work. Guess I will have to ask my daughter for more info on how to do this.
I have a Pinterest account but not used it. Because I had to sign in with Facebook or Twitter, I don't like the idea of so much info about me being aggregated. I think I'm finding it hard to face up to the modern world where privacy is a concept from the past and sharing is all.
I don't have Facebook or Twitter either. No interest for one thing and the privacy thing for another.But actually considering the amount of information gathered from every site I visit, good bad and indifferent, there's not much privacy left anyway. While I don't have my address here on GR I dare say it would not be too difficult to find for a determined individual. The question is, who would bother?
I understand about your stalker and living on an island, etc., which is a different situation. But living in mid America, I'm just not that interesting.
And Miriam---take real care here. For sure, have someone around. Call his house (or better, have your daughter/friend call from a different number)(caller ID you know) and ask for his wife. Could be a sister after all, though I doubt it.
If it was me, I'd give him a miss. Even if he means well, his approach is, well, weird.
Just my take.
MissJessie wrote: "Call his house (or better, have your daughter/friend call from a different number)(caller ID you know) and ask for his wife. Could be a sister after all, though I doubt it."That's a good idea.
I talked with some folks that know him. Evidently he is just someone who likes to chat and check up on people to make sure they are okay. The married woman I talked to said that he is devoted to his wife, but calls her often to see if she is okay. Said he is very compassionate and worries about women he knows. Makes me wonder if his mother had something happen to her when he was a child- abuse or an accident. Anyway, they said not to worry. Cut him off if it makes me uncomfortable, but just know that he is harmless and he does this with lots of people. I felt a lot better about it after talking to this couple.
He sounds like a very nice man. In days gone by we would all have appreciated someone like this. These days anyone who didn't check up on him would be a fool to themselves, it's just too dangerous not to. Times change, not always for the better.
Miriam wrote: "I talked with some folks that know him. Evidently he is just someone who likes to chat and check up on people to make sure they are okay. The married woman I talked to said that he is devoted to hi..."Glad all is good. What a day and age when we have to mistrust friendly people.
I had blood test yesterday and some good news, I have got my cholesterol down from 215 to 183 by diet. So no pills. I had more blood tests in the afternoon. Today I am seeing the dr. the nurse, the anaethetist and Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all. I have surgery on Tuesday, I'm in hospital for one or two nights only, and won't be able to drive or even lift anything for ten days. But... the following Tuesday
Petra, I know how you feel about surgery. I will be thinking about you a lot. Wish I lived closer and could help you out during your recuperation stage! It is scarey trying to figure out how to manage after surgery when living alone. Are there any community support services available on a temporary basis? The hospital social worker may be able to help you.
This is a private clinic\, it only has six beds and closes at weekends. No social workers. This is a tiny, tiny island in the Caribbean. I have a cleaner coming Sunday, she will come once a week for a month, and I have a couple of friends one who will take me down to town and one who will bring me back. Getting taxis is difficult as although they will bring me back, they won't come up to get me. I don't know how often I will have to go to have dressings changed but I'll find that out when I get off my a*** and go down right now!
Petra X wrote: "This is a private clinic and closes at weekends, it only has six beds and closes at weekends. No social workers. This is a tiny, tiny island in the Caribbean. I have a cleaner coming Sunday, she ..."
Petra, Wishing you all good thoughts and prayers for what you face ahead.
Miriam wrote: "I talked with some folks that know him. Evidently he is just someone who likes to chat and check up on people to make sure they are okay. The married woman I talked to said that he is devoted to hi..."Very smart of you to ask around about him. I find it so disturbing in this day and age that we can no longer take people at face value. That is one advantage of living in a small town, someone always knows who someone one is.
Petra X wrote: "I had blood test yesterday and some good news, I have got my cholesterol down from 215 to 183 by diet. So no pills. I had more blood tests in the afternoon. Today I am seeing the dr. the nurse, th..."I'm so sorry you are having to go thru all this on your own. I'm hoping you have some friends or neighbors who can give you a helping hand since there aren't any services on your island. I'm sending you a big hug and I will also be sending lots of positive thoughts your way that all goes well.
I had to see the anaethetist, a new man, and he put huge pressure on me to have a general anaesthetic, even going so far as to tell me I could wait for a locum anaethetist or go to another facility if I didn't trust his professional judgement. I've had four operations over 14 years by the surgeon here and each time I just had whatever they give you for pain plus sedation. So I wanted that again and he doesn't want to do it. In the end I went to see the surgeon and asked him to decide what he would prefer. He said sedation, but since he no longer owns the clinic he has to get on with the others and so ... On Tuesday I will find out what I'm in for! The anaethetist charged me $225 for a 20 min. consultation. I have no health insurance.My next op. isn't the following week, but on the 3rd, so that's a bit of a break.
I am surprised the anaethetist prefers general, since there are more risk factors. The anaesthetist after my first C-section after 36 hours of labor, came to see me the next morning, to sell me on his Amway business and sign me up! Talk about unethical!
I am just frightened that he will take it out on me, that he will cause me to be in pain or something. My father had a triple bypass where he was fully-conscious the whole time but paralysed and unable to tell anyone. The anaethetist admitted that such a thing could happen but it was very rare... I am frightened of it happening to me, but I am frightened also of what he might do to me under sedation for not going along with him.
Do you think he will be that unprofessional? Can you mention your fears to the nurse so she can keep an eye on him? Or your surgeon?
Miriam wrote: "I am surprised the anaethetist prefers general, since there are more risk factors. The anaesthetist after my first C-section after 36 hours of labor, came to see me the next morning, to sell me..."
Petra X wrote: "I had to see the anaethetist, a new man, and he put huge pressure on me to have a general anaesthetic, even going so far as to tell me I could wait for a locum anaethetist or go to another facility..."
This anesthetist sounds like a jerk and a greedy one at that. I would hope your surgeon would have the option to choose what type of sedation to use as he is the one performing the surgery and knows you as a patient from the past. I'm sure your health system is different from what I'm used to in the US but this guy sounds like a money grubber to me. In addition with your family history of a close family member actually being awake during surgery I think is all the more reason the anesthetist would choose conscious sedation. I have had general anesthetic a few times without problems, but I still understand your concerns. If you trust your surgeon I encourage you to share your fears with him so he can be on top of the situation. Patients do have rights concerning their treatment.
Gardener's Group
Books mentioned in this topic
The Quilter's Apprentice (other topics)The Quilter's Apprentice (other topics)
Leaving Mother Lake: A Girlhood at the Edge of the World (other topics)
A Society without Fathers or Husbands: The Na of China (other topics)
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith (other topics)
More...
B--how are you; C=when are you coming to visit; D==call me on the landline; E=I'm bored; F=How are the kids; G=Just a little message to say I'm thinking of you;
H=I'm going to take a bath so won't answer the phone if called; I-going to the grocery store;
J-Some jerk cut me off on the street today, grrrr.
K-It's raining!!
L-We are having lightening and thunder.
M-I have a head cold.
N-Nasty old day today isn't it?
P-Dull day today didn't do anything special.
Q-I am sick of winter.
R-Merry Christmas
S-Happy Birthday
T-Happy Thanksgiving
U-URGENT CALL AT ONCE
V-Spent the day in the garden.
W-I'm tired, going to bed nox
XX--Love you
Z--It's been a zoo here today.