51 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 3-22-17”

  1. Good early morning, fellow wanderers. It’s Ann. I haven’t posted much in the last six weeks–but I have kept up on prayer thread–and am trying to get caught up with daily thread. Please know y’all are close to my heart and frequently remembered in my prayers….

    Kim: How is BG? How are you holding up? I’m praying…..

    Chas: Any news on Elvera? Praying for you both and for wisdom for the doctors.

    Liked by 6 people

  2. Good morning everyone.
    I was going to sleep in, but woke anyhow.
    I didn’t get beck until 2 a.m. I aws at the emergency room for eight hours. Waiting.
    She has another case of urinary tract infection. I will be going back later this morning.
    But for now, I have some things I need to do.
    Carry on.

    Liked by 9 people

  6. I love dogwood trees. We used to have them growing wild in the woods and everywhere else. The house G and I lived in for 11 years had a yard full of them. Some years back we lost almost all of them in the area to a blight. Unfortunately when the first trees started dying the city and county chipped them up for mulch so it spread the blight even faster and had done the damage before anyone caught on to what was happening. 😦

    Chas, I am sorry about Elvera. I have been caught up so much in my own drama that I don’t know if I told you that or not. I have her in my prayers.

    BG is home. Mr. P went to the store yesterday and bought some things he knows she likes such as Luigi’s Italian Ices. She had some last night. We all watched Dancing with the Stars together and all went to bed around 9:30.
    We have a therapy appointment today at 11 in Mobile. The doctors have also strongly encouraged us to consult a nutritionist. Of course what can a nutritionist do until I can get her to try some other foods?

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  7. I understand Kim’s problem with BG’s eating.
    Elvera is supposed to drink lots of water.
    if you asked her if she drank lots of water, she would say, “Yes”.
    She isn’t lying.
    She takes lots of sips of water but ingests very little.
    She needs to keep her system washed out. I need to work something out.
    I think I will set aside a time abut every two hours when the two of us will drink a full glass of water, or tea or something.
    I just finished a load of laundry. She had some “accidents” before we caught this situation.
    Off to the hospital in a few minutes.

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  8. Good morning, AJ, Ann, Chas, Debra, Cheryl, Kim. Good evening, Jo. Praying for both you and Elvera, Chas.

    Pretty tree, Janice. Such beauty God gives us in creation. 🙂

    Monday on my way back from my accompanying gig, I stopped at the mall to see what deals I could find at a store that is closing. I’d been there several weeks ago when the closing was first announced. They still had quite a bit of inventory at that time, most of it reduced something like 60%. I found a spring coat I liked — I have not had a decent one to wear to church in probably over a decade now — so I wanted to get that, as it fit well and was a pretty good price. (Maybe $50-something? I don’t remember now.)

    However, I could not buy it that day, anyway, because I only had the checkbook with me, and little cash, and the store was no longer accepting checks. Cash only, no returns, which makes sense, because of their closing soon. (I had not known they were closing until I saw a sign while I was driving past the place that day, otherwise I would have taken cash with me.)

    Life got busy, weeks went by, and I did not have an opportunity to get back to the store until two days ago. Raincoat’s gone, as is almost everything else, so I missed it.

    But something better happened as a result. I went to a different department store in the mall on Monday to see if I could find a deal on spring coats there. Here’s what I found (technically called a jacket, but I still like it): http://www.jcpenney.com/st-johns-bay-anorak-stadium-jacket/prod.jump?ppId=pp5009600196&catId=cat100250094&deptId=dept20000013&urlState=/g/st-johns-bay-womens-coats/N-bwo3xD1nopguZ1z0nvau

    Did you see the clearance price there? I didn’t pay $44.99. I found it on the rack locally, and it had been further reduced to $23.97!! The size was XL, which is roomy, though not excessively, but the arm length is perfect. It also has a liner for warmth that can be unbuttoned from the jacket when it gets warmer out. Perfect for spring in the Midwest, when temperatures can be in the twenties one day and sixties the next. 🙂

    Now I don’t have to choose between a heavy winter coat and a sweater as outerwear for those in-between temperatures. I am very happy when I can find great deals on things I need. 🙂

    Liked by 9 people

  9. Chas, you might try getting La Croix water. It comes in different flavors and is “sparkling”. I sometimes mix it with orange juice or cranberry juice just for something different. I drink about 3 24 oz Tervis Tumblers of water a day so I want something “different”. I am getting water, hot tea (lemon-ginger), cranberry juice, and gator ade in BG. Popsicles are also good. Try that.
    Hey! Since we both have one who is easily getting dehydrated we can share ideas. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  10. Good morning from a doused Atlanta. The storm last night was really bad. I was thankful that Miss Bosley stayed with me downstairs during the worst of it. I do not think it hit as far south as the office so Art was not affected. Many were without power. My immediate vicinity had power although there was blinking and my microwave had to be reset from that.

    The big old dogwood was one I found not far from the office. I have not seen one with such a large trunk in a long time because so many have been killed by the blight that Kim mentioned. The white dogwoods in our yard are all gone and our pink dogwood is barely hanging on.

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  13. Beautiful jacket, 6 Arrows. Black and bronze is nice. When I got together with friends recently, I noticed four of us had on black jackets and one had on blue. Orange may be the new black…but black goes with so many more things!

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  16. It is 55 degrees now, and before the storm last night it went up into the 80s. So glad we are back to spring. My trash barrel full Of yard debris blew over and the lid is in another part of our yard. Rather it be that than a tree down. Thanking and praising God for His protection.

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  17. SixArrows: What a great deal you got! Our Pennys is closing. We have not bought from them in the past few years. I had a daughter who work part time at another one. That one was closed years ago. I used to shop quite a bit at Pennys when the children were younger. I am sorry for the people who are losing their jobs, otherwise it will not affect me much.

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  18. A Pennys anchored the downtown main street when I was growing up. I remember going with my mom to buy my first bell bottom pants there, they came in white and navy blue. I must have been 12 or 13 years old. We also made use of their patterns, they had them filed all through the basement and I’d go with my mom to look through them and see what could be made more cheaply than bought.

    I’m off to cover a meeting where county officials will try to convince landlords to join the subsidized housing program so more homeless can be housed. Tough sell.

    Thanks in no small part to Kim who provided me with the deeply hidden and restricted, way under-the-radar property listing online, I finally was able to turn in that story I’d been sitting on for 2 weeks. Woo-hoo! Now for the followups …

    Prayers for the therapy session today for BG and, of course, for Chas and Elvera.

    Liked by 6 people

  21. I read somewhere that some nutrition experts now think we should get most of our fluid from the food we eat. I’ve actually long wondered about that–people who haul their water half a mile from a well aren’t bringing “eight glasses of water” for each member of the family; they’re hauling water to cook, wash, sprinkle on the garden, etc.

    So my inclination would be to serve soup, fruits and veggies, and other water-heavy foods. If she likes squash, for instance, that’s a great way to get a lot of water. Rice doesn’t seem “wet,” but it absorbs an awful lot in cooking, and I can’t imagine it doesn’t have a lot of water in it. If she likes rice with stewed tomatoes, for instance, you’d be giving her lots of water without her drinking anything at all. Give it to her in a bowl with the rice saturated with the juice and it’s a very wet snack. Celery is too, if she’ll eat it. Mashed potatoes probably qualify, too, or for a healthier option use sweet potatoes. Think of ways to add a bit of broth to something she likes eating; serve in bowls instead of on plates, and with a spoon rather than a fork.

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  22. Janice, I see, too, that black coats are quite popular — a lot of people at church wear them — and I have to be careful I’m grabbing my own black winter coat after services. The new Penney’s jacket I bought is the Desert Sand Bronze one at the link, which better matches my purse and those lovely brown dress shoes you all helped me buy a couple, three years ago. 😉

    Kathaleena, the Penney’s in my area is staying open, but the one in my hometown will close. The one nearest us used to have a portrait studio, too, and all my kids except 6th Arrow got their three-month portraits done there (we went to the Wal-Mart studio for the youngest).

    Sad to see how one of the employees of the area store that’s closing next week looked on Monday. I had seen her both of the last two times I’ve been to the store, and she looked tired the first time, but not nearly as rough as when I saw her again two days ago. Deep worry lines etched into her face that I had not seen before. She wore such an achingly forlorn look, and appeared like she might cry, and at the same time maybe was too drained emotionally to even shed a tear. KWIM?

    At that point, the signs said the store would be open only seven more days. I haven’t shopped much at the store over the years, but anyway, she seems familiar, and I’m guessing she’s probably been employed there many years. So hard to lose a job, especially, I would think, after lots of years in a company’s employ.

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  23. First and Second Arrows also had their graduation portraits taken through Penney’s Portrait Studio, I just remembered.

    And long ago, I ordered my wedding dress and bridesmaids’ dresses from the J.C. Penney catalog. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  24. I was reading Cheryl’s post about getting liquids and thought she was talking about BG and was going through all the things she won’t eat wondering why Cheryl was telling me all that. Then I realized she was talking about Elvera. Good advice.

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  25. I think therapy went well today. She went back by herself and even scheduled another appointment herself. She goes back on the 29th. We went to lunch afterwards and talked. I had to point out to her that she was still swimming up the river of denial but told her I wasn’t going to argue with her over it.
    Yesterday I griped about my ex husband, but today BG pointed out and told her therapist how well her parents get along. She said that all the nurses in the hospital kept telling ex-h “when your wife was here….” He didn’t correct them and when they called me Mrs. C I didn’t correct them. She even told me she has a new respect for Mr. P and she sees that he is trying with her.
    What’s the point in being ugly and defensive about who you are married to. If we are united when it comes to her that is a good things and I am proud they couldn’t tell we were divorced.
    When I am in the depths of despair, if I can make it to the next day I can find the silver lining. Thank You, God that weed makes her deathly ill. Please don’t let her try anything else. Perhaps i it has cleared her system enough in the last couple of weeks that she is thinking a little more clearly. Perhaps now she will invest her time with the therapist and move forward. Perhaps there will be a change of heart. Maybe there won’t but I am more optimistic than I have been in a long time.
    Please don’t stop praying for her.

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  26. Chas, yours is a good idea, to sit down and drink with Elvera. Cheryl is correct in that that we get some of that water from our food; however, the recommendation for the elderly of 6 cups (1.5 L) of fluid per day already accounts for the additional water content in food. any kind of beverage will help to meet the fluid needs and soup is another one that can add a cup of fluid without having to think about drinking.

    I remember being in a J.C. Penney store once. I think we were visiting eldest sibling at the time. It is not a line that ever ran up here. I found the prices too high for my slender means, but second sibling got some nice shirts of a kind not available here.

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  27. I am having an off day. I suspect it has to do with the idea of moving to a city. After doing my Bible time and my pushups, I went into the kitchen to get the milk pail. There was a large mouse sitting under my dish drying rack. I was already off track with the plan to kill two turkeys (did I mention I hate killing and cleaning stuff?). The mouse just stared at me. I picked up a frying pan and walloped him. We figured it must have been old and sick. Why did it not step into the set mouse trap on the floor? We have only caught one mouse this whole winter, and I was thinking the cats were doing their work.

    Anyway, off to the turkey shed and trying to get the fifteen year old and ten year old to pick up a turkey was out of the question. We tried about ten times each. And with my turkeys, you just walk in, pick one up, and walk out. They are quite people friendly. Couldn’t do it. We eventually got one picked up by the fifteen year old and off with his head. The hatchet was dull. Then the butchering knives were not only dull but half of them were missing from when the other fifteen year old did the deed a few weeks ago.

    Now the turkey is quietly roasting in the oven and I feel better as the smells fill the house. But, like I said, I think I am getting tired. It was fine when I had lots of helpers but these four are not going to be able to do a lot and husband is unable to do a lot due to his arthritis. Maybe it is time.

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  30. And straws – that’s how I get enough water – I have a large cup with a straw on my desk – each “sip” is more than I would take from a regular glass.

    Liked by 4 people

  31. All day when I have logged in I have looked at the dogwood blossoms and thought of this. There is no Biblical basis, but it is nice. Sort of like the Legend of the Sand Dollar or of the Sailfish.

    The Bible does not tell us what type of wood the cross Jesus was crucified on was made of. Roman history does not go into specifics as to how the crosses were made or what type of wood was used. There is a legend that the cross was made of dogwood. This is unlikely considering the typical size of a dogwood tree. The legend of the dogwood tree, author unknown, is as follows:

    In Jesus’ time, the dogwood grew
    To a stately size and a lovely hue.
    ‘Twas strong and firm, its branches interwoven.
    For the cross of Christ its timbers were chosen.
    Seeing the distress at this use of their wood
    Christ made a promise which still holds good:
    “Never again shall the dogwood grow
    Large enough to be used so.
    Slender and twisted, it shall be
    With blossoms like the cross for all to see.
    As blood stains the petals marked in brown,
    The blossom’s center wears a thorny crown.
    All who see it will remember Me
    Crucified on a cross from the dogwood tree.
    Cherished and protected, this tree shall be
    A reminder to all of My agony.”

    Again, this is just a legend. It is a nice poem, but there is no biblical basis to it.

    Liked by 3 people

  35. I second Kare’s drinking with a straw….if I just have an insulated cup at work with no straw, I notice I drink almost nothing during the day. If I take my Starbucks insulated cup with the green straw in it….I drink the entire thing plus fill it up once more during the day.
    Praying for Elvera and BG…He is able ❤

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  36. Sheesh, mumsee, I’d never emotionally survive all that. Poor old mouse (even though I don’t like mousies). You’d never be able to find me when it came time for that, I’d flee, hands over my eyes and ears, through the snowy fields …

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  37. Straws may be outlawed here as they’re bad for the ocean and beach.

    Our headline on that story when it ran last week? “Straw Wars”

    Groan. 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

  38. Janice, is that photo of all the blossoms taken from a window or a balcony looking down? I’ve had a hard time getting good photos of (white) dogwood blossoms–those are both lovely pictures!

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  39. BTW, in case it wasn’t clear, I wasn’t saying to serve wet foods instead of water, but to serve wet foods instead of dry foods. Encourage her to drink, but also add water to meals. A slice of watermelon or a bowl of squash will have as much liquid as a glass of water and is a much better snack than a bowl of peanuts or chips. If you’re going to serve chicken and rice, cut up the chicken, add low-sodium broth, and serve it as soup.

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  40. I worked for Penney’s for several years before coming here. The job was fine until they started requiring that we push people into applying for credit cards. They certainly have great sales.

    Mumsee, no way could I do any of that. Kudos to you.

    Liked by 4 people

  42. Cheryl,I was driving out of the Office Depot parking lot and spotted a dogwood across the way that I wanted to use for photos. I parked in the lot of some unknown establishment and hoped I would not be considered to be trespassing. I walked up to that tree and took some photos but then noticed the much larger and older tree on a street adjoining the property. I walked over and the flowers were all over the place. I was looking down on this cluster from a standing position. I could have taken hundreds of photos because it was all so perfectly displayed with good lighting. Another time of day may have given more interesting lighting. I am out so infrequently these days that I felt very fortunate to see this tree.

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  43. On the left corner of the photo you can see a piece of paper that someone had thrown out from their car or else it just landed there after being blown by the wind. The area was well mulched. So that gives you a clue that this limb was near the ground.

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  46. See, one reason I’ve had trouble photographing dogwoods is that their limbs are too high up and their blossoms generally face up. So I wondered whether it was a fallen branch (but then noticed there were flowers on different “planes”), and then I figured you took it from above and the distance from the ground was foreshortened by the telephoto. Thanks for the explanation; they really are lovely!

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  47. I didn’t bring her home.
    I was in the bed and looked at my clock. It said “9:00”.
    I came in here to look at my clock to see what day it is.
    Chas has been SICK. Sick, I said.
    I’m better now but glad I have the night to sleep it off.
    I’ll explain tomorrow. But chuck brought over some Gatorade. I’m drinking some of that and going back to bed.

    Liked by 7 people

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