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Our Daily Thread 2-2-15

Good Morning!

 And Happy Groundhog Day. Here’s Cheryl’s pic, but for some reason, it’s a little pixalated.

Yes, I probably just made that word up.

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On this day in 1653 New Amsterdam, now known as New York City, was incorporated. 

In 1848 The Mexican War was ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty turned over portions of land to the U.S., including Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, California and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. The U.S. gave Mexico $15,000,000 and assumed responsibility of all claims against Mexico by American citizens. Texas had already entered the U.S. on December 29, 1845. 

In 1887  Groundhog Day began in Punxsutawney, PA. 

In 1897 the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg was destroyed by fire. The new statehouse was dedicated nine years later on the same site.

And in 1950 “What’s My Line” debuted on CBS television. 

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Quote of the Day

“Forgiveness is the economy of the heart… forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.”

Hannah More

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 Today is Fritz Kreisler’s birthday.

And it’s Graham Nash’s too.

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Anyone have a QoD?

54 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 2-2-15”

  2. And I’m trying to send you another, the kind of shot very few people on here would have seen based on the reactions of those of us who did see it and of those to whom I’ve mentioned it, if my e-mail will go through . . .

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  3. Groundhog saw his shadow in Hendersonville.
    And it’s working. I woke up to a temperature of 51 degrees. Now it’s 47/ The ,mam on the radio says that’s the high for today.

    😦

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  4. I was not made for cold weather. I will take July in the South over cold almost any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
    It seems my friend was having some of the same struggles with one of her children that I have had with BG. I saw another friend at church yesterday whose sun dropped out of college, wiped out a bank account, and they think is in Mexico. They sure don’t tell you all of this in the hospital when they hand you that cute little bundle.
    BG and I spent some time together on Saturday…I mean why wouldn’t she? I was buying. She asked me if I had heard about “LL”. We were able to talk about it some. I explained to her that mothers felt guilty about just about everything. According to BG “LL”s son sent his mother some nasty texts on Thursday night. It also seems there was some ugliness from the ex-husband. It seems she and I were perhaps struggling with some of the same issues with our children. What makes one snap and another not? Anyway BG and I had a good conversation.
    She seems to be getting her own head screwed on straight. She told me about ANOTHER girl in her class who is pregnant. Then she said, “I hope her boyfriend is a really good guy because now she is stuck with him for life”. We had more conversation about that. At least she does hear about half of what I say to her. I do wish more of these girls would 1. Not get pregnant to begin with, and 2. Really consider adoption.
    Once again I reminded her that boys have cooties until you’re 30. 😉 I don’t think she believes me anymore, but I do think she is starting to respect herself more.

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  6. Chas, we’ll take your high of 47. We just got at least a foot of snow yesterday, so we’re snowed in until my husband works the snowblower. (Our neighbor who usually plows us flew to China yesterday morning, just before the storm.)

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  7. Cheryl, I spent a year at Purdue, up close to you.
    So, I’m familiar with that. I missed a Thanksgiving break flight out of Indianapolis due to a sudden snow. Missed it by 30 minutes.

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  8. Kim, I was not made for cold weather either. I attended a four-month course in Missouri (January to May) when I was 18 and picked up the nickname “Sweaters.” Even in Phoenix I was quicker to put on a sweater than other family members were–I liked the heat and disliked the cold so much that my family joked I wouldn’t marry unless the guy promised never to leave Phoenix.

    I have a dread of cold weather that isn’t rational. I avoid stepping outside when it’s below about 35 (I like my husband to get the mail in winter, for example). In Chicago I would hear stories of past horrible winters in Chicago, and knew I had to get out of there before we had another, because I honestly didn’t know how I would even survive such a winter.

    I tell people that I spent 14 years in Chicago and that was 13 years too many. In many ways, my years in Chicago were wonderful years, but I thoroughly detested several aspects of Chicago; winter weather and driving in Chicago being up at the top. I accepted the idea of moving back to the Midwest to marry only because I now work from home and can (mostly) avoid going outside in it, and because gaining a husband seemed worth it.

    But if you put me and 99 other people in a room and try to choose the two who hate the cold the most, I’d be one of them. The fact that I have now lived 17 years of my life in the Midwest is astounding to me, and I look forward to the day we can leave. (I can’t look forward to that day too much, since the idea is we’ll stay here as long as my in-laws are alive and I love my in-laws. But just the fact that there will eventually be a “moving-away day” is an encouragement to me, because I do not want to spend the rest of my life here.)

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  9. Kim asked: “What makes one snap and another not? ”

    The main reason is God’s grace is sufficient for the Christian. When we stop trusting God we snap. Unfortunately, that leads to decisions which have permanent consequences.

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  10. Enjoy your 50° Chas. It’s 7 here. And the sun is shining meaning any groundhog silly enough to come out of his warm hole in the ground would freeze. Six more weeks of winter weather, here we come!

    I chuckle when someone says the shadow means six more weeks of winter, since by the calender, the vernal equinox (start of spring) is six weeks away whether the groundhog sees his shadow or not.

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  11. It’s really hard to know with suicide. I asked my husband if he shouldn’t send a note to his former boss’ widow. He thought a moment and shook his head. “The handful of times he talked about her, they were estranged. No kids. There’s no one.”

    Sad, chilling and perhaps telling.

    When my own Navy wife pal killed herself a couple years ago, I wrote a long letter to her husband and early 20s daughters, just remembering fun times with her, and the person I knew long ago. I can only hope it helped. What was interesting was the day before she committed suicide she updated her FB account and noted she was Jen’s mother. Jen and her sister were moving home the next weekend.

    The three went into counseling, but what does that say to you–that your mother killed herself five days before you were slated to move in?

    Very, very sad.

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  12. Peter, isn’t it closer to seven more weeks of winter?

    I’ve always thought it would make more sense if Groundhog Day were in March rather than February.

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  13. I won’t even mention how cold it is here. Mostly I would much rather have hot weather, but sometimes a crisp cold day is a delightful challenge. Up here, people say “it’s not too cold, it’s not having the right clothing” Technical cold weather clothing and gear can make a HUGE difference – and thankfully both are getting more stylish (and pretty).

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  14. Morning! We had 4 inches of snow yesterday morning (with a nice coating of ice underneath!) and I used the snowblower all by myself for the first time! (Paul was in KY so I had to suck it up and get out there and fight the elements!) We have a little hill in our drive so I just ran behind the snowblower as it went down towards the road…quite exhilarating! 🙂 Today we should have some good melting action with temps in the 40’s

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  15. I am very happy here in the cool coastal redwood country of Del Norte County, CA. I don’t miss the heat of LA. We are both glad to leave there after a visit. 80 degrees is too warm for us.

    Of course, we never get temperatures down into the cold 20’s either. Our daytime temps are usually in the 50’s and 60’s. I always take a hoody everywhere.

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  16. We’re headed for a week of 68- to 70-degree highs here according to my phone. No rain. Warm. We’ve had no real winter to speak of since the end of the year.

    And I’m with Bob, I dislike the heat. I remember dreaming over the summer temperatures of Eureka years ago when I kept tabs on temperatures from our newspaper’s weather map (highs seemed to never be more than in the low 60s up there, even in July-August) and I decided that would be a good place to live. Although I guess it’s populated with a lot of former hippies. 🙂

    LA can be hot in the summer, but not like Phoenix or other places in the desert-southwest. Ugh. As long as you can live somewhere within just a few miles of the ocean, you at least (usually) get something of a cool ocean breeze in the summers. It’s considerably cooler where I live, for example, than just a few miles inland from me.

    Well, ready or not, I’m heading back to work today. My throat is on fire and my lungs still filled with gunk I’m coughing up. But I feel much better than I did on Friday/Saturday. And I didn’t record a fever at all yesterday, which was a first since this thing hit a week ago now.

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  17. It still surprises me when people suggest they’d love to live in a place like, say, Palm Springs. Really? Talk about a blast oven. Although it’s better than hot and humid I suppose.

    I have a friend who just loves hot weather, dry or humid, so everyone’s wired differently.

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  20. A lesson in using a quote out of context: Says donna j, “As long as you can live somewhere within just a few miles of the ocean, you at least (usually) get something of a cool ocean breeze…” Isn’t that why the dog parks in LA are so cold? (I know, I know. That comment will probably turn this thread into another “Secret Room” thread.)

    Speaking of cold- the sun is out and it’s 16°F and a slight breeze. I went out to reshovel the walk since the wind caused it to drift over. It’s hard and crusty since the sun melted it. Ugh!

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  22. I am just having a really hard day today with “transition”. I haven’t moved into the new/old job and am still in this one, for which I ought to be thankful. I have a salary until the end of February, but as it is coming out who will take over which of my duties…it makes me feel like a failure once again. It is dredging up feelings from July of 2013 when I was fired.
    Why am I not the one that is indispencable ? Why aren’t I good enough?

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  23. Kim, those aren’t the right questions. In business today, it isn’t a matter of “good enough.” It’s not personal, and it isn’t about you. That may not make it hurt any less (you probably want it to be “personal” in that you want them to like you as a person enough to keep you around, not to mention to like the work you do). I’ve never lost a job involuntarily (well, I take that back . . . I did once lose a part-time job I hated, but they rehired me in a few years and I really did hate the job anyway), so I can’t really say I know how you feel. But I do know what the job market is like enough to know it isn’t personal.

    A better question would be “Where does God want me now, since He is moving me on? And what can I offer them?” Look, the man you used to work with obviously thinks highly of your work.

    The real problem is the economy. Not you. The economy stinks, and real people get hurt by it. You can’t take it personally. That isn’t meant as a “lecture” as though your “Why me?” is wrong . . . but as a hug and reassurance that it isn’t you.

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  24. So, does AJ get Groundhog Day as a holiday? Other than posting these threads he doesn’t seem to be on here today. This is the time to start throwing spit wads, put a tack on AJ’s chair or whatever suits your fancy. To be on the safe side I think I will hide my idenity.

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  26. Anon E Mouse is really Aj, trying to stir up things.
    You notice he suggests “spitwads” rather than something with substance.
    And he is not from the South; we say “spitballs” down here.

    😆

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  27. If you like moderate temperatures, move to the mountains of North Carolina. We turn our air conditioner on about three/four times a year. And winters aren’t harsh.
    And traffic moves.
    And people are nice.
    And housing is cheap compared to other parts of the country.
    But there are lots of Yankees here.
    And some “halfbacks”. Those are people who moved to Florida and didn’t like perpetual summer.
    I once suggested to NJLawyer that it would be a good move for her.

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  28. I am at the library so I may be a 2nd Mouse Anon.

    if you were going to set up a reading library at church, just for the Sunday School hour, what books, references, magazines, etc., would you include? Thank you for any answers. This will not include a children’s section so I just need suggestions for young adult and older.

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  30. Lots of outbursts with thirteen year old girl over the past two weeks. Medication is coming closer. No word on the public school. She still refuses to do schoolwork for me and insists she does not want to go to public school.

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  31. No, anon mouse is 6 arrows. It ain’t me.

    My wife worked from home because of the ice and snow. That takes my computer, and all the bandwidth. The laptop is useless in such circumstances. 😦

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  33. I think we called them spitballs in Arizona too. Well, not “we.” I never participated, as it seemed pretty gross to me. But the boys and some of the girls did.

    Wow, did 6 Arrows’ IP address show up, or is that just a guess?

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  35. Snickering over here. Just got off the phone with one my LA relatives–he lives 15 blocks from the beach–and his junior daughter decided she wanted to spend this semester at The Mountain School in upstate Vermont!

    My relative refused to go to New England in the winter, so he sent his CT native wife to take their daughter to school.

    This is a brilliant kid, nerdish and eggheadish who will probably do very well in the future, but she decided she wanted to go to this school for a different experience from her very exclusive private LA school. She did the research, investigated, applied and is now there.

    Where it was 2 degrees today and it will be -4 tomorrow–before the wind starts blowing.

    (Her mother got snowed out of Boston and won’t be home until tomorrow)

    She called her father and demanded to know why he didn’t talk her out of this experience.

    “I nearly rolled on the floor howling with laughter,” he said. “Especially when she told me her job this week is to scrub the bathroom floors.”

    This is so good for her, I can’t stop laughing either.

    But I am off to make her a batch of cookies. I’m not going to have to worry about them defrosting when I put them in the mail tomorrow . . . 🙂

    (And I should note, I sent her a letter last week so she’ll get mail tomorrow!)

    LOL. We should have sent her to Mumsee’s house. Much less expensive.

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  36. Makes sense Aj, I would not be surprised that a woman wouldn’t know about spitballs.

    It might be wise for a LA raised person to spend a year in Vermont. I’m glad for the experiences that I had when I was young, mostly in the AF.

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  38. By the way, we heard today from seventeen year old son who has moved in with his bio sis. Their mom arrived from Ethiopia yesterday and is having quite the cultural experience. She thinks there must be a lot of people living in the Seattle area and wants to know why they are all indoors and not outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Coming from a culture where people spend time outdoors to a culture of indoors must be quite the shock. I know we were shocked in Greece and Italy when we saw virtually no children anywhere.

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  39. Actually, Kim, I think Cheryl may be on to something. These folks like you, the whole thing is odd. Maybe this IS an example of the Lord moving you to a specific place for a specific reason and you just don’t know what it is yet.

    Think of it that way, and it’s exciting and easier to finish off the job, hand things over with grace and feel the lightening of the burden. This ISN’T about you, so much, as God putting you where he needs you.

    It reminds me of my husband’s career ending experience. He was shifted for a “get well” tour and when the first round of fitness reports came out, the CO was reviewing his with him. The CO was so excited to have him, so pleased he was there and he already had performed some minor miracles.

    But as they went through the report, the CO kept staring at what HE HAD WRITTEN, puzzlement all over his face. When he got to the ranking end, he had put R 4 of 7–which was career ending.

    While the CO’s mouth dropped open and he kept saying, “Wait, that isn’t right,” R felt a huge relief.

    “No,” he said. “You just made my life so easy. Put me number 7 of 7, let’s save someone else’s career. This is my clue to retire. Thank you.”

    “But, but . . . ”

    “Nope,” R said. “Thank you. I’m done.”

    When the guy ranked #1 heard what happened, he went to the CO and argued. “R is better than me. He should be #1. What were you thinking?”

    CO kept shaking his head. He couldn’t figure it out.

    But R saw it as the beneficial hand of God.

    (M was indignant beyond belief!)

    It was absolutely the right call and the way God took us out of the Navy. Events have only proved how right it was.

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  43. Well, well, so I’m Anon E Mouse.

    Except, um, I’m not. 🙂 Not today, anyway. I was at the library today, which, when I comment from there, I am Anonymous. But I didn’t have time to comment on, or even read, this thread until tonight.

    The real Anon E Mouse needs to ‘fess up. 😉

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  44. I’m still wondering about two things: (1) why my groundhog photo got pixellated; it’s clear at this end; and (2) why 6 Arrows got chosen to bear the guilt of being Anon E. Mouse. My husband says I should confess, but I say if someone else has already been found guilty, why should I?

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  46. Cheryl!!

    I should have guessed when you started talking about my IP address. 🙂

    Wait a second…did you sneak into my house and hijack my computer, Cheryl? Is that why AJ thought it was me?

    Seems you have more ‘splainin’ to do, ma’am. 🙂

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  48. I didn’t confess to anything. At least not on here, I didn’t. My husband just thought I should, that’s all. I won’t tell you why he thought I should, as . . . well, you know that fifth amendment thingy?

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