Good morning. It has been a grueling three days of the longest shifts, in which I filled in for an ill colleague for two. Nothing has changed, by the way. At the meeting, management rejected the union’s complaint, basically threatening (though they insisted it wasn’t a threat) that if it was continued to insist that my health would not allow home visits, then they would decide my health would not permit clinic work either, i.e. I would lose my job.
Back in January my office gave me a spa day at Wind Creek Casino. It is owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Atmore (they own others in different places). Anyway, yesterday was the day I was able to go. It was rainy and cold, so it was nice to “get away” for a day. The massage therapist even massaged my arms. You don’t realize how sore your arms can be!
And today? It is still overcast and cold, but I am a happy girl.
A friend shared a comic meme today with two old ladies chatting. One tells the other that she is getting so old her friends in heaven are going to think she didn’t make it. Made me chuckle.
Morning! 2 degrees…our high tomorrow will be -3…our low -16….half a foot of snow will accompany the temps and it will snow through Wed evening…hunkering down for a few days. I suppose most of us are in the bleak days of winter…brrrrr
Roscuro, so they’d rather not have you at all than have you for the work that you can realistically do? Isn’t that the old “cutting off your nose to spite your face”? I’m sorry.
The comment yesterday that younger people may experience more intense reactions to the second dose of the vaccine (and people who already had Covid may also), because their immune systems are stronger / already ready to take on the virus, made me think of the people who won’t get flu shots because the only times they get the flu are when they have a shot. (I have a relative who says that.) Are they perhaps actually experiencing an immune response? Also, perhaps in general a really light case of the flu or a cold might actually be more an immune response than an actual illness?
Cheryl, more than one colleague thinks it is a case of bullying by immediate management – they do not like what is happening with me, as it is setting a really bad precedent for future working conditions. Oh, and the agency used an excuse I’ve heard from an employer before – they are a non-profit agency, so cannot offer accommodations that a for profit might offer. Yet the agency recently recieved a large philanthropic donation, and its top executives recieved a comparable salary to those in the private sector. The last time I heard the non-profit excuse, it was from the non-profit Christian resort centre that raked in profits from its patrons but refused to hire more staff or pay those who were working better. Beware the non-profit employer.
Cheryl, re the vaccine question – two things are going on:
One is what the recently linked Atlantic article touches on, that the body’s immune system reacts much more strongly and quickly to a second exposure to a viral pathogen. My nursing pathology textbook has a line graph illustration of antibody production of first and second exposures to a viral pathogen. The first exposure, the line of antibodies produced is flat for the first week and then gradually rises over the next two weeks. The second exposure antibody line skyrockets within 48 hours to levels higher than the peak of the first exposure.
Second, that description of the first exposure line contains an important clue – it can take three weeks for your body to recognize an invader and mount an immune response. This means that if one is exposed to a virus immediately before or after receiving a vaccine for that same virus, the body does not have time to develop immunity to the virus before it is infected by the virus. Getting the vaccine at the same time as being infected by the virus was just coincidence, because the body needs three weeks before the vaccine will be effective. What might not be coincidence was if the person became infected because they got over confident after having the vaccine and didn’t keep taking precautions until the vaccine had time to take effect.
As to Roscuro’s situation: back in the day, in the Navy, the women had the shore duties, meaning the men had to be at sea more. That, of course, can cause resentment. But women could not go to sea so many said women should not even be in the Navy as they were taking from the men. Men might want a shore duty between sea duties so they can see wives and families but because women took those assignments, they would be at sea for years on end. So then they changed it so men and women would go to sea.
So to Roscuro’s situation, could be everybody would prefer clinic work (with some outliers exceptions of course) and by her not being ale to do the home visits, it forces them out of the clinic more. And so the management has to decide how to balance the needs and wants of all the employees.
Mumsee, what on earth are you talking about? Nursing and the Navy are in no way analogous [Nursing is a traditionally female dominated profession – though female nurses generally have no problem with males entering the ranks]. Proverbs 18:13 applies here. The position I was hired to was a clinic position. Others are hired to a home visit position, or even to a clinic and home visit position, but I was specifically hired to the clinic. I wasn’t even trained for the home visit position because I was told by a manager at the time that I would be in the clinic and therefore didn’t need home visit training.
I don’t think spas are open here, but maybe they are. “When in doubt, assume it’s locked down” has been our motto for nearly a year. And on it goes.
I’m a bit concerned about my British journalist friend from church (J, he’s maybe late 80s, his wife, B, a former airline attendant, is a bit younger, originally from Germany which is how they met as ‘youngsters’ — both are amazingly still youthful and attractive, though he’s had a hip replacement that’s slowed him down some; she’s tall and willowy and seems in very good shape).
But like me, they’re both awaiting their 2nd Covid vaccine shot.
In November/December 2019, J came down with a ferocious case of the flu that actually had him isolated in a rehab by his doctors for several weeks. At the time, they said it was the Type A strain, but he and his family now wonder if he didn’t actually have an early case of Covid-19 considering the severe reactions he went through and how very sick he was.
I was texting his wife last night with that info about how those who already have had Covid may experience stronger responses and her first response back to me also was the concern that J may indeed have had it already — I guess they never tested for the antibodies.
When the pandemic hit, J’s doctor told him he wasn’t to leave the house until there was a vaccine. Of course, we’ve all managed to leave our houses, thankfully, but they’ve been pretty careful with that as most of us have. He’s one of those extroverts who loves being around people and so it’s been very hard.
His family did get him his first iPhone recently and he’s in love with it 🙂
Also, there always more clinic shifts available than there are nurses to work them. Ever since I started working, they have assigned nurses who do home visits to work in the clinic in order to fill the gaps. While I was filling in for the sick colleague, I was working for two nurses, seeing both the patient’s that were assigned to my colleague as well as those that would have been assigned to me.
This was posted on FB and included a photo of handcuffs and roses:
Did you know?
The Nash County Sheriff’s Office is now offering a Valentine’s Day Weekend Special!
Do you have an ex-Valentine and know they have outstanding warrants? Give us a call (252) 459-4121 with their location and we’ll take care of the rest.
This Valentine’s Day Weekend Special starts off with a set of limited-edition platinum bracelets, free transportation with a chauffeur, a one-night minimum stay in our luxurious ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ accommodations, and this special is capped off with a special Valentine’s dinner.
We know this special is so incredible that you may be tempted to provide additional referrals. We don’t blame you, this special is too sweet to pass up. Operators are standing by!
Roscuro – I’m so sorry you are experiencing this difficulty with management. Hopefully, after your surgery and recuperation, you can eventually find a job better suited to you with better management.
Like Roscuro, my EMT is being asked to do all sorts of things out of her job scope.
She’s management, however, and expected to pick up the slack. She’s worked ten straight days, twice in the last month, including night shifts to cover folks who, mostly were sick.
She also is now giving vaccinations and wishes she’d get selected by FEMA–because their pay is crazy good.
However, she’s needed where she is.
As a side note, she and two other managers are the only three who have not gotten COVID. They’re also the only ones who took the vaccination.
Our county fire department reports half the first responders refused to be vaccinated.
I understood what Mumsee was getting at without having it in mind at the moment the parameters of your hiring, Roscuro. Grace be to Mumsee and me.
I remember in working in a governmental accounting office that I was informed of my responsibility to go to the basement where the computers were and put heavy boxes of computer generated reports on a hand truck to bring them to our office. I basically said I would not because it might hurt my back. My boss was a woman and I could tell she felt that was almost a firing offense. There were guys in the office willing to do it. I always asked for help with it but my boss was not happy with me. Some people! Grrr . . .imagine that. She thought I was a wimp!🙄
Janice, while I understand the impulse to prejudge a situation, I also would point out that I do not often share my heartaches – part of of my mother’s British heritage is keeping a stiff upper lip – so when I do, it is because the problem is truly serious, and it really hurts when someone tries to dismiss or downplay the little I bring myself to speak about. There are plenty of small injustices I have endured throughout my life that I don’t think worth mentioning, and my mother is past master of pointing out the other person’s point of view [even she is forced to admit this situation is really unjust], so that I have never been allowed to develop a habit of thinking myself a victim. So, when I say something is wrong, it really is wrong.
“The “offense” of the cross is not what many in modern evangelicalism think it is. It isn’t to make yourself as offensive as possible; nor is it getting in people’s faces over the law. It is the offense of the cross; not the offense of the law.
“The offense of the cross is that our whole righteousness before God is the perfect righteousness of Christ put on our account. Our only hope before God is our sins nailed to his cross.
“The reason that this is so offensive is that it means that your pedigree, your education, your socio-economic status, your politics, your standing in the community, your church membership, your good works, your wisdom – count for less than nothing in God’s eyes.”
Roscuro, I tend to think of the other person’s point of view too. In fact, when I complain to my husband about my sister and he is upset at something she has said or done, I explain her viewpoint and how I may not like something she has said, but she is at least being consistent with what she believes, or otherwise to show that her “blame” is limited. I rarely think she is lying (I think she believes what she says even if it is not actually true) or intentionally being cruel. She just is uniquely bad at understanding another’s viewpoint unless she has experienced what the other person is experiencing. (She can be very kind to widows, those who have suffered miscarriages, etc. She’s far less kind if she hasn’t experienced life from the same lens. If you have children in public school, for instance, or you are a woman who works outside your home, she will feel no need to see you as a fellow believer with opinions that count. You’ve forfeited your right to respect.)
What I thought of right away in your situation is that some people likely prefer the home visits to being “stuck” in a clinic. Also, since they have had a hard time keeping fully staffed as it is, getting rid of a good employee because she has genuine health limitations is harder on the other employees than the possibility that some might have to do more home visitation. But your being hired specifically for the clinic should mean that they can’t fire you because you need to stick to that. Similarly, when I applied to McDonald’s, I said I wasn’t available to work Sundays–plenty of other employees were available weekends, including lots of high school students who weren’t available to work during the schoolday when I could work. Every time they tried to press me to work Sunday, I said no, I wasn’t available. If they pressed harder, I reminded them I’d put it on my application that I wasn’t available on Sunday. (I’m not saying “that always works,” but just that pre-employment agreements should be honored.)
Cheryl, the problem is, that I am a nurse. There is a lot of talk about the patriarchy and how male ordered systems oppress women, and while there is undoubtedly some truth to that (as per Genesis 3:16, the oppression of women in Judges when every man did what was right in his own eyes, etc.) the truth is that one of the most oppressive positions for a woman to hold is in nursing, a profession donated by and usually managed by women. Nurses are bound by confidentiality not to complain about dangerous patients and bound by professional ethics not to use force in defending oneself from such patients (unlike the police, we cannot use deadly force, though we often deal with the same kinds of people), which is why nursing is considered one of the most dangerous professions: . We are bound by a code of ethics to keep working even when it is dangerous and employment contracts like mine have a little clause in them, one that provides employers exemption from union or health and safety regulations that other employers are obligated to keep, a clause that states that the terms of the contract can violated if it is deemed necessary to the continued delivery of services. Thus, every contract is subject to violation, and even when there are viable alternatives, as they has been in this case, a bully management can still impose unjust conditions in the name of keeping up delivery of services, and there is nothing anyone can do about it.
Now, some have argued in the past that if one chooses a job, one shouldn’t complain about the conditions of the job – essentially, “if you can’t take the heat, then get out”. There is a flaw in that argument. The flaw is that such an attitude can be and is used to silence warnings of injustice. I see the “if you can’t take the heat” argument used by those who insist healthcare professionals have an obligation to provide abortion and euthanasia to those that request it. Those who conscientiously object, say they, have no business in healthcare. So, that habit of saying people should just find another job instead of fighting the injustice in their present job could lead to all people of conscience having to leave healthcare. It is a dangerous thing to dismiss injustice.
roscuro, what’s the status of the vaccines for health care workers? Do they just not have the doses, or are some at least planned to be delivered soon?
DJ, like so much that goes wrong in the, it is a myriad different reasons. Healthcare workers and the elderly were prioritized, but doses are limited and focus was put on the epicentres of the pandemic, so Toronto and the GTA (greater Toronto area – Toronto is surrounded by a series of slightly smaller cities that run into each other, making for the largest population concentration in Canada – 6 million, 16% of Canada’s total population). We are just outside that area, and case numbers, aside from several horrific outbreaks at nursing homes, are relatively low. So, we are not a priority in delivering the limited vaccines.
So many complications. A friend w/Type 2 diabetes has also been waiting, she’s in her 50s and lives in LA but has been “stuck” in Ariz. caring for her mom. California has just announced that those with underlying conditions (age 16 and up) will begin getting vaccinated in March. I’ve encouraged her — since her permanent residence is still here — to try to get a ride if she can get an appointment set online. (Unless Arizona begins also vaccinating those with secondary medical conditions, but so far they seem to be running behind California, sad commentary as that is, in getting enough vaccines out and rationally distributed.)
Community services have actually been asked, although the sector is chronically understaffed, to take on the task of delivering vaccinations, leaving the hospitals and public health agencies free to do other things. But we haven’t been offered the vaccine for ourselves.
Roscuro, that is hard ti hear, as someone who has a lot of friends who are nurses and a daughter who is an LPN who has just been accepted into the program to finish and get her RN. (Last year the state messed up and got the paperwork to several in the program too late for them to meet their deadline. When COVID-19 came along, she ended up being happy about being able to be a nurse instead of a student who was somehow taking nursing school virtually.)
One very strong argument against requiring medical people to participate in abortion is that it sidelines the most compassionate among the professions. And I know people who specifically avoid ob-gyns who perform abortions when looking for a doctor who can deliver their baby. Is the patient not allowed to make such conscience decisions either (and decisions to protect their baby from someone who would be willing to harm the baby under different circumstances and who might not fight all that hard for the baby if things go wrong)?
Supplies are limited because there was a delay in Canada’s own vaccine development – it is about a year behind, due in part to some rather nasty international politics with a certain highly populated country in Asia the research materials, causing irretrievable delays (there is another Canadian grown vaccine develop – Canada has been on China’s naughty list since we, at the behest of the US, arrested a Chinese Communications CEO and held her for extradition to the US: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54756044. Recognizing that our own vaccine development was delayed, Canada took out contracts with Pfizer and Moderna very early on for enough doses. But, the US forbid any of the vaccine produced by Pfizer or Moderna in the US until the first hundred million doses were delivered to Americans – the same thing nearly happened earlier with N95 masks, until it was pointed out that the pulp that the masks in the US are made of comes from a Canadian mill. So, Canada was getting the vaccines from the European manufacturing sites, but the EU has moved to do the same, now that both Pfizer and Moderna have had to pause production there in order to enlarge their facilities. Everyone may like Canadians, but no one really cares about them.
N.B. Canadians are capable of producing high quality vaccines – it was a Canadian research lab that developed the successful Ebola vaccine that is now produced by Merck: https://www.statnews.com/2020/01/07/inside-story-scientists-produced-world-first-ebola-vaccine/. I have no doubt the Canadian developed COVID vaccine, which uses the same concept as Pfizer and Moderna’s will be good too – it is just that it is almost a year behind in development.
Elvera is still with us, but not conscious. We are just wailing.
It’s tough waiting for part of you to die. I know there’s no marriage in Heaven, but I hope we know each other.
I have one son, he has three daughters, they have a total of eight.
I am thankful , all of them are active in their respective churches.
I was under the impression that a nurse could work anywhere she wanted.
Elvera’s sister visited us in Falls Church, Va. Went back to Atlanta and quit her job. She then came to Virginia and got another job……….
Cheryl, it is already extremely difficult for the most compassionate to refuse participation in those things. I was told, in that ill-fated interview for the OR position that management could not grant exemptions for nurses to not participate in surgical abortions, because if the exemptions were granted, and I quote, “no one would want to participate.” One of the most compassionate nurses I know was pressured into assisting with a legal termination of life. This is not the government mandating this, the courts and laws both say there are exceptions for conscience. This is the independent healthcare agencies themselves, pressuring people who care deeply about their work that they will be “abandoning their patient” if they do not participate. I have read of similar cases of such coercion in the US, so crossing borders and changing healthcare funding systems offers no protection. Doctors have far more power of refusal than nurses in both systems. Here, doctors are contract workers, while nurses are employees. In the US, nurses are, again, employees of agencies.
dog is me, dj – experimenting as the random dj I use (not being signed in, or I didn’t think) still turns up my full name when I ‘like’ something. WP isn’t easy to manage when you have two identifies (work and personal) you need to keep separate. It doesn’t like to do that.
Chas, with you in sorrow. When my mom was in this stage, most of my dad’s grieving had already been done (she had ovarian cancer) but it was still hard. But God. We know we will see Him with these eyes. And great will be our rejoicing.
Chas, I could get any job, but with my health being so fragile, I couldn’t keep any job. I need only part time work in less physically demanding nursing – I do have heavy work, but not all the time. My time in West Africa taught me that if I work to the point of exhaustion, I will not be able to work anymore and be once again unemployed and utterly dependent on my parents, who are growing old. My current employers have refused to understand this when I tried to explain it.
I am a nurse not because I thought it was a fun job, or a cool profession, or that I thought I would make a lot of money doing it. I am a nurse because it was the thing that my hands found to do (Ecclesiastes 9:10) and the thing in which I was wise hearted (Exodus 28:3). The years I have spent in impoverished limbo, looking for work in my field, taught me that I can no more cease from nursing and bear it than Jeremiah (20:7-9) could cease from prophesying and remain silent. I have suffered to become a nurse and suffer to remain a nurse, but I have to do it.
I do wish you had more compassionate management, Roscuro. It is difficult as a Christian to understand such a cold-hearted people who withhold something needed by someone when it is within their power to give it. And to blame it on a sense of obligated fairness to others is just wrong. There are always exceptions to the rules because people are not cookie cutter replicas of each other. I was sad to read what you wrote about how the health care workers are exempt from the rules about working in dangerous situations. You probably wrote about it before but this time around I gained better understanding of the whole picture.
I can envision you working as a part time nurse on a college campus and doing other less strenuous work for a second income. Maybe something that involves research in the medical field, maybe writing articles, or working for a professor in a medical school department.
Our hearts are joined together in prayer while waiting with you and your family, Chas. May you feel a strong presence of God with you even carrying you through these days and nights.
Price was a local in the town where I grew up (Inglewood) from my early elementary school years through high school (and beyond, my mom lived there through her death in 1990 and I didn’t sell her house until 1997).
I still head back to take my animals to the beloved hometown vet, passing by his huge church building/edifice every time. So familiar, it’s strange when you re-visit your hometown (even though it’s not that far away from me now).
_____________________
Frederick K.C. Price, who founded a megachurch and televangelism broadcast that made him a popular voice for Black Christians, died on Friday evening of complications from Covid-19, a spokeswoman for the family said. He was 89.
Mr. Price died at Torrance Memorial Medical Center near Los Angeles, said Holly Baird, the spokeswoman.
“He fought the good fight of faith and laid hold of eternal life,” a statement from his family posted to Facebook by his son, Frederick K. Price Jr., said.
In an Instagram post earlier this week, the church said the elder Mr. Price was hospitalized with Covid-19 and asked its members “to pray for the complete restoration” of Mr. Price’s lungs, heart and kidneys “as he faces the health challenges posed by Covid-19.”
Mr. Price founded the Crenshaw Christian Center in Inglewood, Calif., in 1973, according to the church’s website. Its membership has grown to over 28,000 from 300 at its inception. …
… n addition to services in the FaithDome, a 10,000-seat building, Mr. Price began televising his services locally in 1978 through Ever Increasing Faith Ministries, the missionary outreach arm of the church, after he had “received instruction from God,” according to the church’s website. Mr. Price had began broadcasting his services on the radio years earlier, and expanded the televised broadcasts “in an effort to reach Black America.”
__________________________________
Thank you, all, for the lovely birthday wishes yesterday. It was really good day. Baby snuggles, trip to the antique mall with the babies (their first ‘fun’ outing) and then Chinese food for supper.
Chas, holding you, Elvera, and your family up in prayer.
Roscuro – Nightingale and I were talking about some of what you wrote about nurses, and she concurs. She added that if a patient assaults anyone else, they can be accused of a crime, but assaults on nurses are rarely charged. Instead, the nurse is questioned on how she could have better handled the situation. 😦
We had a good visit with my 2 brothers and most of their children. My oldest bro was surprised, as intended. We all arrived at the same time, which was cooincidental, considering we were traveling from different parts of the state.
We’re still at my brother’s house, but church is cancelled due to extreme cold. (-2° with a -16° winchill).
Good morning everyone.
She is still here. Takes a breath occasionally.
The Lord was watching for us in another respect.
Some may think it’s trivial. But
Last fall, I decided to make arrangements for uninterrupted electricity in my house. That because of Elvera’s condition. So”
I had an electric generator installed in case of power failure. That beaus of Elvera’s condition. It cost several thousand dollars.
But”
Yesterday, about this time, the power went out. My generator came on. The power is still out, the generator is still running.
I have been immensely blessed by such events during my life.
I thank the Lord for all His watchcare.
Those who traveled around say that my house is the only one in the community with lights on.
So thankful for that, Chas! Prayers for you and yours as you continue this chapter of your life.
Our church was canceled today, because of the extreme cold. Last week I think it was mostly the prayer team and speaker at the church. It is just too cold to be out when we really do not need to be. So glad I know the seasons will continue until my Savior comes again. Spring will come or something better!
Morning… it is -10 and snowing lightly here in the forest…temps will continue to plummet to -16. Very thankful for your insight to get that generator Chas…continuing in trust of our Lord to comfort you and yours ♥️
Chas, that is sixteen people you have mightily influenced to follow the Lord. Pretty significant. Not even touching on work, Sunday School teaching, us, a kind word here and there, Lions. God has used you well. To the moon and back, one might say.
Good morning! I saw on the weather report that Georgia and Florida are the only escapees from the tremendous weather event. Wow! That is huge. And I praise God and give many thanks that Chas got that generator. Our Good, Good God prompted Chas and he obeyed. That is a blessing extraordinaire♡♡♡
The sun is shining here. But a few hours drive away, the city church mentioned the snow was falling there. Kind of funny, because the years I spent in the city, there was always less snow and warmer temperatures than here at my parents’ place.
There was a tapping at my door this morning that woke me up. I thought there must be something wrong. It was Tiny, just come to deliver a Valentine she made for me.
Nightingale has a date for Valentine's Day this year. Coach is taking her out to dinner tonight after work. However, she is expecting that with limited seating, they will have trouble finding a place, and may just get some take-out. (He didn't mention anything about making a reservation.)
Either way, it is nice that Coach thought to ask her out specifically for Valentine's Day. Sounds like he really likes her. 🙂
It’s sunny but very windy here, I just heard one of my empty trash bins fly off onto the driveway with a loud crash. And the backyard wind chimes are alive and well.
Chas, so glad that generator worked so well right when it was needed. Grateful you thought to do that and had the money also to do it.
We have the southern end of NancyJill s storm. It was -2 when i pulled into the driveway. It was a white knuckle drive down the mountain from work. I dont have to be anywhere away from home until next Thu. My goats decided to kid during this storm. Currently, we have 3 mamas and 6 kids. 2 are in a box by the stove as the heatlamps in the bran arent doung the job.
just fog and clouds here and a nice temperature. There is something about living close to the equator. I will be subbing next week and am hoping to observe this week. My friends are going to Guam for the birth of their daughters second child. however the little girl came early so she is waiting to meet them. With all the restrictions there is only one way to fly out of here.
so very grateful that chas got that generator. God is good.
Mrs L and I had an impromptu Valentine date. Since we were returning home we stopped for lunch at a Panera Bread. Not crowded, good food. In some place Panera bread is called St. Louis Bread Company.
I’m doing laundry for Valentine’s Day I guess. lol
I’m worried about my MO cousin, hadn’t talked to him in a couple months so I already was concerned; when I called him today his phone sounds turned off, no voicemail available. He’d just moved in with his wife’s adult grandkids — sold his house in Liberty MO and they were building an extra residence for him on their rather large property. His health wasn’t great but didn’t sound like anything might be imminent.
Unfortunately, I have no other contacts for him, can’t even remember the town he’d moved to and have no clue what the grandkids’ names would even be. He had no online communications going so the only way to reach him was by his cell (he also couldn’t navigate the voicemail very well, but typically he’d answer right away as he had neuropathy in his feet and getting around much was difficult).
I’ll try calling again, it could be his phone was just off for now, but I kind of think something happened.
Our prediction has gone up to eight to ten inches, which basically would about equal the amount from our first two-and-two-thirds years of living here, up till about the end of January. But since then we’re had another three-inch snow, five or six inches, various flurries, and now an actual snowstorm on its way.
The good news is people in a condo don’t take care of their own snow. The bad news is the treasurer showed us with the last snow on its way that we were reaching the end of our snow budget for the year. We don’t have to do it ourselves (yay), but it’s expensive to hire it done (boo). And we have no way of knowing whether we are anywhere near done for the year. With the number of back-to-back snowfalls we have had in the last month, my hunch is we’re not going to get to the end of it this week. This is the first winter here that has actually looked like winter. The two previous ones have had one or two snows of two or three inches, once an icestorm, and occasional flurries. But this year it’s snow on the ground for weeks on end, and we’ve probably got a ways to go before we’re finished with that.
I never even got his new address as he’d just moved there last time we talked sometime in fall, I think. I let way too much time go by, I know, but he was a very long-winded talker and all I have are weekends. He’d usually call me every few weeks though. I was going to call at Christmas when my friends became ill and all of that was such a preoccupation.
Nightingale cancelled her date for tonight because she realized that she was overtired, and needed to get to bed early, especially since she works tomorrow, too.
I suspect that she has been up too late too often this week doing her studying and such. Please pray for wisdom for her to balance that. Thank you.
Tell Nightingale to (strongly) suggest a rescheduling! (though she probably already has?) Guys can get discouraged very easily without cause.
Family search — I did find his wife’s obituary and now have the two grandson’s names (a third died at age 25, sadly). I signed up for a 1-mo subscription to one of those people-finding services and have a list of names in MO matching the grandsons (based on approximate ages, but that’s a guess). I wish I knew the town but worse comes to worse, I’ll just make a few blind cold calls and see what turns up.
The good news is I’m not seeing anything when I search for an obit for my cousin.
DJ – I don’t know how she worded it, but I’m sure she made it clear that it was more of a postponement than a complete cancellation. They’ve been seeing each other at least once a week, and sometimes twice a week, for several weeks now.
I believe today was one for the books. I was privileged to be there to help a little. Let’s see when the storm went through friday evening, it took out lots of trees including one on the lower field at the school, which took out the soccer goal, so no soccer at noon today. One teacher is still in quarantine as her sister has an unknown virus. one teacher was quite ill, the power was out in grades three and four, several families have moms who work at the clinic and were quarantined. Fierce rain at lunch. The principal did grade one until first recess while I observed in third then I took over for the rest of the day. blessed to have a mom as an aide who was very helpful.
What will tomorrow bring?? so glad that another teacher and I made it back on the last flight. they have been covering with no relief for so long.
oh, the third grade teacher was developing a bad rash. she found a caterpillar on her neck on friday and brushed it off. the hand she brushed it off with had a rash and her trunk was getting worse as it began at her neck. The principals son burned his hand. on and on…. Several are planning furlough in June, but have no idea what flights will be like then.
Wandering Views 
Morning all, time for me to get some sleep.
Praying for you, Chas, and your sweet lady.
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Thanks Jo. She had a difficult night. Me too.
But we’re still here.
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I am glad you are still here.
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Good morning. It has been a grueling three days of the longest shifts, in which I filled in for an ill colleague for two. Nothing has changed, by the way. At the meeting, management rejected the union’s complaint, basically threatening (though they insisted it wasn’t a threat) that if it was continued to insist that my health would not allow home visits, then they would decide my health would not permit clinic work either, i.e. I would lose my job.
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Back in January my office gave me a spa day at Wind Creek Casino. It is owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Atmore (they own others in different places). Anyway, yesterday was the day I was able to go. It was rainy and cold, so it was nice to “get away” for a day. The massage therapist even massaged my arms. You don’t realize how sore your arms can be!
And today? It is still overcast and cold, but I am a happy girl.
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A friend shared a comic meme today with two old ladies chatting. One tells the other that she is getting so old her friends in heaven are going to think she didn’t make it. Made me chuckle.
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Good morning.
Cute, Kathaleena.
Chas, how many grandchildren and greatgrands and great great grands have you and Elvera been blessed with?
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Morning! 2 degrees…our high tomorrow will be -3…our low -16….half a foot of snow will accompany the temps and it will snow through Wed evening…hunkering down for a few days. I suppose most of us are in the bleak days of winter…brrrrr
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Roscuro, so they’d rather not have you at all than have you for the work that you can realistically do? Isn’t that the old “cutting off your nose to spite your face”? I’m sorry.
The comment yesterday that younger people may experience more intense reactions to the second dose of the vaccine (and people who already had Covid may also), because their immune systems are stronger / already ready to take on the virus, made me think of the people who won’t get flu shots because the only times they get the flu are when they have a shot. (I have a relative who says that.) Are they perhaps actually experiencing an immune response? Also, perhaps in general a really light case of the flu or a cold might actually be more an immune response than an actual illness?
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Cheryl, more than one colleague thinks it is a case of bullying by immediate management – they do not like what is happening with me, as it is setting a really bad precedent for future working conditions. Oh, and the agency used an excuse I’ve heard from an employer before – they are a non-profit agency, so cannot offer accommodations that a for profit might offer. Yet the agency recently recieved a large philanthropic donation, and its top executives recieved a comparable salary to those in the private sector. The last time I heard the non-profit excuse, it was from the non-profit Christian resort centre that raked in profits from its patrons but refused to hire more staff or pay those who were working better. Beware the non-profit employer.
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Cheryl, re the vaccine question – two things are going on:
One is what the recently linked Atlantic article touches on, that the body’s immune system reacts much more strongly and quickly to a second exposure to a viral pathogen. My nursing pathology textbook has a line graph illustration of antibody production of first and second exposures to a viral pathogen. The first exposure, the line of antibodies produced is flat for the first week and then gradually rises over the next two weeks. The second exposure antibody line skyrockets within 48 hours to levels higher than the peak of the first exposure.
Second, that description of the first exposure line contains an important clue – it can take three weeks for your body to recognize an invader and mount an immune response. This means that if one is exposed to a virus immediately before or after receiving a vaccine for that same virus, the body does not have time to develop immunity to the virus before it is infected by the virus. Getting the vaccine at the same time as being infected by the virus was just coincidence, because the body needs three weeks before the vaccine will be effective. What might not be coincidence was if the person became infected because they got over confident after having the vaccine and didn’t keep taking precautions until the vaccine had time to take effect.
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As to Roscuro’s situation: back in the day, in the Navy, the women had the shore duties, meaning the men had to be at sea more. That, of course, can cause resentment. But women could not go to sea so many said women should not even be in the Navy as they were taking from the men. Men might want a shore duty between sea duties so they can see wives and families but because women took those assignments, they would be at sea for years on end. So then they changed it so men and women would go to sea.
So to Roscuro’s situation, could be everybody would prefer clinic work (with some outliers exceptions of course) and by her not being ale to do the home visits, it forces them out of the clinic more. And so the management has to decide how to balance the needs and wants of all the employees.
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Mumsee, what on earth are you talking about? Nursing and the Navy are in no way analogous [Nursing is a traditionally female dominated profession – though female nurses generally have no problem with males entering the ranks]. Proverbs 18:13 applies here. The position I was hired to was a clinic position. Others are hired to a home visit position, or even to a clinic and home visit position, but I was specifically hired to the clinic. I wasn’t even trained for the home visit position because I was told by a manager at the time that I would be in the clinic and therefore didn’t need home visit training.
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I don’t think spas are open here, but maybe they are. “When in doubt, assume it’s locked down” has been our motto for nearly a year. And on it goes.
I’m a bit concerned about my British journalist friend from church (J, he’s maybe late 80s, his wife, B, a former airline attendant, is a bit younger, originally from Germany which is how they met as ‘youngsters’ — both are amazingly still youthful and attractive, though he’s had a hip replacement that’s slowed him down some; she’s tall and willowy and seems in very good shape).
But like me, they’re both awaiting their 2nd Covid vaccine shot.
In November/December 2019, J came down with a ferocious case of the flu that actually had him isolated in a rehab by his doctors for several weeks. At the time, they said it was the Type A strain, but he and his family now wonder if he didn’t actually have an early case of Covid-19 considering the severe reactions he went through and how very sick he was.
I was texting his wife last night with that info about how those who already have had Covid may experience stronger responses and her first response back to me also was the concern that J may indeed have had it already — I guess they never tested for the antibodies.
When the pandemic hit, J’s doctor told him he wasn’t to leave the house until there was a vaccine. Of course, we’ve all managed to leave our houses, thankfully, but they’ve been pretty careful with that as most of us have. He’s one of those extroverts who loves being around people and so it’s been very hard.
His family did get him his first iPhone recently and he’s in love with it 🙂
But reminds me, I owe him an email today.
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roscuro, seems clear to me if you were hired for a clinic position you should be kept in that role.
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Also, there always more clinic shifts available than there are nurses to work them. Ever since I started working, they have assigned nurses who do home visits to work in the clinic in order to fill the gaps. While I was filling in for the sick colleague, I was working for two nurses, seeing both the patient’s that were assigned to my colleague as well as those that would have been assigned to me.
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This was posted on FB and included a photo of handcuffs and roses:
Did you know?
The Nash County Sheriff’s Office is now offering a Valentine’s Day Weekend Special!
Do you have an ex-Valentine and know they have outstanding warrants? Give us a call (252) 459-4121 with their location and we’ll take care of the rest.
This Valentine’s Day Weekend Special starts off with a set of limited-edition platinum bracelets, free transportation with a chauffeur, a one-night minimum stay in our luxurious ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ accommodations, and this special is capped off with a special Valentine’s dinner.
We know this special is so incredible that you may be tempted to provide additional referrals. We don’t blame you, this special is too sweet to pass up. Operators are standing by!
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Roscuro, never mind, unimportant.
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Michelle, too funny!
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Roscuro – I’m so sorry you are experiencing this difficulty with management. Hopefully, after your surgery and recuperation, you can eventually find a job better suited to you with better management.
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Like Roscuro, my EMT is being asked to do all sorts of things out of her job scope.
She’s management, however, and expected to pick up the slack. She’s worked ten straight days, twice in the last month, including night shifts to cover folks who, mostly were sick.
She also is now giving vaccinations and wishes she’d get selected by FEMA–because their pay is crazy good.
However, she’s needed where she is.
As a side note, she and two other managers are the only three who have not gotten COVID. They’re also the only ones who took the vaccination.
Our county fire department reports half the first responders refused to be vaccinated.
Interesting.
Very sorry, Roscuro.
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Kizzie, the job is very well suited to me, if they would just let me do it.
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We would all get the vaccine, if it was offered…
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I understood what Mumsee was getting at without having it in mind at the moment the parameters of your hiring, Roscuro. Grace be to Mumsee and me.
I remember in working in a governmental accounting office that I was informed of my responsibility to go to the basement where the computers were and put heavy boxes of computer generated reports on a hand truck to bring them to our office. I basically said I would not because it might hurt my back. My boss was a woman and I could tell she felt that was almost a firing offense. There were guys in the office willing to do it. I always asked for help with it but my boss was not happy with me. Some people! Grrr . . .imagine that. She thought I was a wimp!🙄
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Janice, while I understand the impulse to prejudge a situation, I also would point out that I do not often share my heartaches – part of of my mother’s British heritage is keeping a stiff upper lip – so when I do, it is because the problem is truly serious, and it really hurts when someone tries to dismiss or downplay the little I bring myself to speak about. There are plenty of small injustices I have endured throughout my life that I don’t think worth mentioning, and my mother is past master of pointing out the other person’s point of view [even she is forced to admit this situation is really unjust], so that I have never been allowed to develop a habit of thinking myself a victim. So, when I say something is wrong, it really is wrong.
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I have often had similar thoughts to these: https://myonlycomfort.com/2021/02/10/the-offense-of-the-cross/
“The “offense” of the cross is not what many in modern evangelicalism think it is. It isn’t to make yourself as offensive as possible; nor is it getting in people’s faces over the law. It is the offense of the cross; not the offense of the law.
“The offense of the cross is that our whole righteousness before God is the perfect righteousness of Christ put on our account. Our only hope before God is our sins nailed to his cross.
“The reason that this is so offensive is that it means that your pedigree, your education, your socio-economic status, your politics, your standing in the community, your church membership, your good works, your wisdom – count for less than nothing in God’s eyes.”
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Condolences to Peter.
Continued prayers for Chas and Elvera.
A belated Bonne Anniversaire to Kare.
Glad you are home safe and recuperating, Kizzie.
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Roscuro, I tend to think of the other person’s point of view too. In fact, when I complain to my husband about my sister and he is upset at something she has said or done, I explain her viewpoint and how I may not like something she has said, but she is at least being consistent with what she believes, or otherwise to show that her “blame” is limited. I rarely think she is lying (I think she believes what she says even if it is not actually true) or intentionally being cruel. She just is uniquely bad at understanding another’s viewpoint unless she has experienced what the other person is experiencing. (She can be very kind to widows, those who have suffered miscarriages, etc. She’s far less kind if she hasn’t experienced life from the same lens. If you have children in public school, for instance, or you are a woman who works outside your home, she will feel no need to see you as a fellow believer with opinions that count. You’ve forfeited your right to respect.)
What I thought of right away in your situation is that some people likely prefer the home visits to being “stuck” in a clinic. Also, since they have had a hard time keeping fully staffed as it is, getting rid of a good employee because she has genuine health limitations is harder on the other employees than the possibility that some might have to do more home visitation. But your being hired specifically for the clinic should mean that they can’t fire you because you need to stick to that. Similarly, when I applied to McDonald’s, I said I wasn’t available to work Sundays–plenty of other employees were available weekends, including lots of high school students who weren’t available to work during the schoolday when I could work. Every time they tried to press me to work Sunday, I said no, I wasn’t available. If they pressed harder, I reminded them I’d put it on my application that I wasn’t available on Sunday. (I’m not saying “that always works,” but just that pre-employment agreements should be honored.)
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Cheryl, the problem is, that I am a nurse. There is a lot of talk about the patriarchy and how male ordered systems oppress women, and while there is undoubtedly some truth to that (as per Genesis 3:16, the oppression of women in Judges when every man did what was right in his own eyes, etc.) the truth is that one of the most oppressive positions for a woman to hold is in nursing, a profession donated by and usually managed by women. Nurses are bound by confidentiality not to complain about dangerous patients and bound by professional ethics not to use force in defending oneself from such patients (unlike the police, we cannot use deadly force, though we often deal with the same kinds of people), which is why nursing is considered one of the most dangerous professions: . We are bound by a code of ethics to keep working even when it is dangerous and employment contracts like mine have a little clause in them, one that provides employers exemption from union or health and safety regulations that other employers are obligated to keep, a clause that states that the terms of the contract can violated if it is deemed necessary to the continued delivery of services. Thus, every contract is subject to violation, and even when there are viable alternatives, as they has been in this case, a bully management can still impose unjust conditions in the name of keeping up delivery of services, and there is nothing anyone can do about it.
Now, some have argued in the past that if one chooses a job, one shouldn’t complain about the conditions of the job – essentially, “if you can’t take the heat, then get out”. There is a flaw in that argument. The flaw is that such an attitude can be and is used to silence warnings of injustice. I see the “if you can’t take the heat” argument used by those who insist healthcare professionals have an obligation to provide abortion and euthanasia to those that request it. Those who conscientiously object, say they, have no business in healthcare. So, that habit of saying people should just find another job instead of fighting the injustice in their present job could lead to all people of conscience having to leave healthcare. It is a dangerous thing to dismiss injustice.
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Link that should be there: https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-nursing-dangerous-osha-0914-story.html
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roscuro, what’s the status of the vaccines for health care workers? Do they just not have the doses, or are some at least planned to be delivered soon?
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DJ, like so much that goes wrong in the, it is a myriad different reasons. Healthcare workers and the elderly were prioritized, but doses are limited and focus was put on the epicentres of the pandemic, so Toronto and the GTA (greater Toronto area – Toronto is surrounded by a series of slightly smaller cities that run into each other, making for the largest population concentration in Canada – 6 million, 16% of Canada’s total population). We are just outside that area, and case numbers, aside from several horrific outbreaks at nursing homes, are relatively low. So, we are not a priority in delivering the limited vaccines.
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So many complications. A friend w/Type 2 diabetes has also been waiting, she’s in her 50s and lives in LA but has been “stuck” in Ariz. caring for her mom. California has just announced that those with underlying conditions (age 16 and up) will begin getting vaccinated in March. I’ve encouraged her — since her permanent residence is still here — to try to get a ride if she can get an appointment set online. (Unless Arizona begins also vaccinating those with secondary medical conditions, but so far they seem to be running behind California, sad commentary as that is, in getting enough vaccines out and rationally distributed.)
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Community services have actually been asked, although the sector is chronically understaffed, to take on the task of delivering vaccinations, leaving the hospitals and public health agencies free to do other things. But we haven’t been offered the vaccine for ourselves.
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Roscuro, that is hard ti hear, as someone who has a lot of friends who are nurses and a daughter who is an LPN who has just been accepted into the program to finish and get her RN. (Last year the state messed up and got the paperwork to several in the program too late for them to meet their deadline. When COVID-19 came along, she ended up being happy about being able to be a nurse instead of a student who was somehow taking nursing school virtually.)
One very strong argument against requiring medical people to participate in abortion is that it sidelines the most compassionate among the professions. And I know people who specifically avoid ob-gyns who perform abortions when looking for a doctor who can deliver their baby. Is the patient not allowed to make such conscience decisions either (and decisions to protect their baby from someone who would be willing to harm the baby under different circumstances and who might not fight all that hard for the baby if things go wrong)?
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Supplies are limited because there was a delay in Canada’s own vaccine development – it is about a year behind, due in part to some rather nasty international politics with a certain highly populated country in Asia the research materials, causing irretrievable delays (there is another Canadian grown vaccine develop – Canada has been on China’s naughty list since we, at the behest of the US, arrested a Chinese Communications CEO and held her for extradition to the US: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54756044. Recognizing that our own vaccine development was delayed, Canada took out contracts with Pfizer and Moderna very early on for enough doses. But, the US forbid any of the vaccine produced by Pfizer or Moderna in the US until the first hundred million doses were delivered to Americans – the same thing nearly happened earlier with N95 masks, until it was pointed out that the pulp that the masks in the US are made of comes from a Canadian mill. So, Canada was getting the vaccines from the European manufacturing sites, but the EU has moved to do the same, now that both Pfizer and Moderna have had to pause production there in order to enlarge their facilities. Everyone may like Canadians, but no one really cares about them.
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N.B. Canadians are capable of producing high quality vaccines – it was a Canadian research lab that developed the successful Ebola vaccine that is now produced by Merck: https://www.statnews.com/2020/01/07/inside-story-scientists-produced-world-first-ebola-vaccine/. I have no doubt the Canadian developed COVID vaccine, which uses the same concept as Pfizer and Moderna’s will be good too – it is just that it is almost a year behind in development.
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Elvera is still with us, but not conscious. We are just wailing.
It’s tough waiting for part of you to die. I know there’s no marriage in Heaven, but I hope we know each other.
I have one son, he has three daughters, they have a total of eight.
I am thankful , all of them are active in their respective churches.
I was under the impression that a nurse could work anywhere she wanted.
Elvera’s sister visited us in Falls Church, Va. Went back to Atlanta and quit her job. She then came to Virginia and got another job……….
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Cheryl, it is already extremely difficult for the most compassionate to refuse participation in those things. I was told, in that ill-fated interview for the OR position that management could not grant exemptions for nurses to not participate in surgical abortions, because if the exemptions were granted, and I quote, “no one would want to participate.” One of the most compassionate nurses I know was pressured into assisting with a legal termination of life. This is not the government mandating this, the courts and laws both say there are exceptions for conscience. This is the independent healthcare agencies themselves, pressuring people who care deeply about their work that they will be “abandoning their patient” if they do not participate. I have read of similar cases of such coercion in the US, so crossing borders and changing healthcare funding systems offers no protection. Doctors have far more power of refusal than nurses in both systems. Here, doctors are contract workers, while nurses are employees. In the US, nurses are, again, employees of agencies.
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Oh Chas, I am sorry. I know it is hard on you.
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Chas, how hard. Praying and thinking of you.
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dog is me, dj – experimenting as the random dj I use (not being signed in, or I didn’t think) still turns up my full name when I ‘like’ something. WP isn’t easy to manage when you have two identifies (work and personal) you need to keep separate. It doesn’t like to do that.
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Chas, with you in sorrow. When my mom was in this stage, most of my dad’s grieving had already been done (she had ovarian cancer) but it was still hard. But God. We know we will see Him with these eyes. And great will be our rejoicing.
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Chas, I could get any job, but with my health being so fragile, I couldn’t keep any job. I need only part time work in less physically demanding nursing – I do have heavy work, but not all the time. My time in West Africa taught me that if I work to the point of exhaustion, I will not be able to work anymore and be once again unemployed and utterly dependent on my parents, who are growing old. My current employers have refused to understand this when I tried to explain it.
I am a nurse not because I thought it was a fun job, or a cool profession, or that I thought I would make a lot of money doing it. I am a nurse because it was the thing that my hands found to do (Ecclesiastes 9:10) and the thing in which I was wise hearted (Exodus 28:3). The years I have spent in impoverished limbo, looking for work in my field, taught me that I can no more cease from nursing and bear it than Jeremiah (20:7-9) could cease from prophesying and remain silent. I have suffered to become a nurse and suffer to remain a nurse, but I have to do it.
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I do wish you had more compassionate management, Roscuro. It is difficult as a Christian to understand such a cold-hearted people who withhold something needed by someone when it is within their power to give it. And to blame it on a sense of obligated fairness to others is just wrong. There are always exceptions to the rules because people are not cookie cutter replicas of each other. I was sad to read what you wrote about how the health care workers are exempt from the rules about working in dangerous situations. You probably wrote about it before but this time around I gained better understanding of the whole picture.
I can envision you working as a part time nurse on a college campus and doing other less strenuous work for a second income. Maybe something that involves research in the medical field, maybe writing articles, or working for a professor in a medical school department.
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Chas, I’m heavy-hearted on your behalf. Prayers for you and Elvera, and your family.
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Our hearts are joined together in prayer while waiting with you and your family, Chas. May you feel a strong presence of God with you even carrying you through these days and nights.
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amen
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Now I can’t ‘like’ anything. Sigh.
But I join with the others here, Chas, such a difficult stretch.
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Price was a local in the town where I grew up (Inglewood) from my early elementary school years through high school (and beyond, my mom lived there through her death in 1990 and I didn’t sell her house until 1997).
I still head back to take my animals to the beloved hometown vet, passing by his huge church building/edifice every time. So familiar, it’s strange when you re-visit your hometown (even though it’s not that far away from me now).
_____________________
Frederick K.C. Price, who founded a megachurch and televangelism broadcast that made him a popular voice for Black Christians, died on Friday evening of complications from Covid-19, a spokeswoman for the family said. He was 89.
Mr. Price died at Torrance Memorial Medical Center near Los Angeles, said Holly Baird, the spokeswoman.
“He fought the good fight of faith and laid hold of eternal life,” a statement from his family posted to Facebook by his son, Frederick K. Price Jr., said.
In an Instagram post earlier this week, the church said the elder Mr. Price was hospitalized with Covid-19 and asked its members “to pray for the complete restoration” of Mr. Price’s lungs, heart and kidneys “as he faces the health challenges posed by Covid-19.”
Mr. Price founded the Crenshaw Christian Center in Inglewood, Calif., in 1973, according to the church’s website. Its membership has grown to over 28,000 from 300 at its inception. …
… n addition to services in the FaithDome, a 10,000-seat building, Mr. Price began televising his services locally in 1978 through Ever Increasing Faith Ministries, the missionary outreach arm of the church, after he had “received instruction from God,” according to the church’s website. Mr. Price had began broadcasting his services on the radio years earlier, and expanded the televised broadcasts “in an effort to reach Black America.”
__________________________________
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Thank you, all, for the lovely birthday wishes yesterday. It was really good day. Baby snuggles, trip to the antique mall with the babies (their first ‘fun’ outing) and then Chinese food for supper.
Chas, holding you, Elvera, and your family up in prayer.
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Chas – As I’ve said before, my heart goes out to you. I understand what you mean about a part of you dying. That is what it feels like.
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Roscuro – Nightingale and I were talking about some of what you wrote about nurses, and she concurs. She added that if a patient assaults anyone else, they can be accused of a crime, but assaults on nurses are rarely charged. Instead, the nurse is questioned on how she could have better handled the situation. 😦
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Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
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We had a good visit with my 2 brothers and most of their children. My oldest bro was surprised, as intended. We all arrived at the same time, which was cooincidental, considering we were traveling from different parts of the state.
We’re still at my brother’s house, but church is cancelled due to extreme cold. (-2° with a -16° winchill).
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While I’m here, I might as well say…
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57!
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Good morning everyone.
She is still here. Takes a breath occasionally.
The Lord was watching for us in another respect.
Some may think it’s trivial. But
Last fall, I decided to make arrangements for uninterrupted electricity in my house. That because of Elvera’s condition. So”
I had an electric generator installed in case of power failure. That beaus of Elvera’s condition. It cost several thousand dollars.
But”
Yesterday, about this time, the power went out. My generator came on. The power is still out, the generator is still running.
I have been immensely blessed by such events during my life.
I thank the Lord for all His watchcare.
Those who traveled around say that my house is the only one in the community with lights on.
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Chas….
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Our Lord’s love and mercy toward us is incomparable. Thank you for listening to Him.
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So thankful for that, Chas! Prayers for you and yours as you continue this chapter of your life.
Our church was canceled today, because of the extreme cold. Last week I think it was mostly the prayer team and speaker at the church. It is just too cold to be out when we really do not need to be. So glad I know the seasons will continue until my Savior comes again. Spring will come or something better!
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Morning… it is -10 and snowing lightly here in the forest…temps will continue to plummet to -16. Very thankful for your insight to get that generator Chas…continuing in trust of our Lord to comfort you and yours ♥️
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Chas, that is sixteen people you have mightily influenced to follow the Lord. Pretty significant. Not even touching on work, Sunday School teaching, us, a kind word here and there, Lions. God has used you well. To the moon and back, one might say.
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Thanks Mumsee
Our church is cancelled. No power.
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Good morning! I saw on the weather report that Georgia and Florida are the only escapees from the tremendous weather event. Wow! That is huge. And I praise God and give many thanks that Chas got that generator. Our Good, Good God prompted Chas and he obeyed. That is a blessing extraordinaire♡♡♡
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The sun is shining here. But a few hours drive away, the city church mentioned the snow was falling there. Kind of funny, because the years I spent in the city, there was always less snow and warmer temperatures than here at my parents’ place.
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There was a tapping at my door this morning that woke me up. I thought there must be something wrong. It was Tiny, just come to deliver a Valentine she made for me.
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That is a valentine to treasure always, Roscuro.♡
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❤ Happy Valentine's Day, Fellow Wanderers! ❤
Nightingale has a date for Valentine's Day this year. Coach is taking her out to dinner tonight after work. However, she is expecting that with limited seating, they will have trouble finding a place, and may just get some take-out. (He didn't mention anything about making a reservation.)
Either way, it is nice that Coach thought to ask her out specifically for Valentine's Day. Sounds like he really likes her. 🙂
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Good for Nightingale 🙂
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It’s sunny but very windy here, I just heard one of my empty trash bins fly off onto the driveway with a loud crash. And the backyard wind chimes are alive and well.
Chas, so glad that generator worked so well right when it was needed. Grateful you thought to do that and had the money also to do it.
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We have the southern end of NancyJill s storm. It was -2 when i pulled into the driveway. It was a white knuckle drive down the mountain from work. I dont have to be anywhere away from home until next Thu. My goats decided to kid during this storm. Currently, we have 3 mamas and 6 kids. 2 are in a box by the stove as the heatlamps in the bran arent doung the job.
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Oh, my!
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just fog and clouds here and a nice temperature. There is something about living close to the equator. I will be subbing next week and am hoping to observe this week. My friends are going to Guam for the birth of their daughters second child. however the little girl came early so she is waiting to meet them. With all the restrictions there is only one way to fly out of here.
so very grateful that chas got that generator. God is good.
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Yea! 75!
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Mrs L and I had an impromptu Valentine date. Since we were returning home we stopped for lunch at a Panera Bread. Not crowded, good food. In some place Panera bread is called St. Louis Bread Company.
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I’m doing laundry for Valentine’s Day I guess. lol
I’m worried about my MO cousin, hadn’t talked to him in a couple months so I already was concerned; when I called him today his phone sounds turned off, no voicemail available. He’d just moved in with his wife’s adult grandkids — sold his house in Liberty MO and they were building an extra residence for him on their rather large property. His health wasn’t great but didn’t sound like anything might be imminent.
Unfortunately, I have no other contacts for him, can’t even remember the town he’d moved to and have no clue what the grandkids’ names would even be. He had no online communications going so the only way to reach him was by his cell (he also couldn’t navigate the voicemail very well, but typically he’d answer right away as he had neuropathy in his feet and getting around much was difficult).
I’ll try calling again, it could be his phone was just off for now, but I kind of think something happened.
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Our prediction has gone up to eight to ten inches, which basically would about equal the amount from our first two-and-two-thirds years of living here, up till about the end of January. But since then we’re had another three-inch snow, five or six inches, various flurries, and now an actual snowstorm on its way.
The good news is people in a condo don’t take care of their own snow. The bad news is the treasurer showed us with the last snow on its way that we were reaching the end of our snow budget for the year. We don’t have to do it ourselves (yay), but it’s expensive to hire it done (boo). And we have no way of knowing whether we are anywhere near done for the year. With the number of back-to-back snowfalls we have had in the last month, my hunch is we’re not going to get to the end of it this week. This is the first winter here that has actually looked like winter. The two previous ones have had one or two snows of two or three inches, once an icestorm, and occasional flurries. But this year it’s snow on the ground for weeks on end, and we’ve probably got a ways to go before we’re finished with that.
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DJ, I hope you can reach him.
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I never even got his new address as he’d just moved there last time we talked sometime in fall, I think. I let way too much time go by, I know, but he was a very long-winded talker and all I have are weekends. He’d usually call me every few weeks though. I was going to call at Christmas when my friends became ill and all of that was such a preoccupation.
I feel like a bad cousin.
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Me too, Cheryl.
The only local weather event here in all the winds are that some of the waiting container ships may have had to be moved to safer anchorages.
And my trash can fell over, but I already told you that.
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Praying for DJ to connect.
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Nightingale cancelled her date for tonight because she realized that she was overtired, and needed to get to bed early, especially since she works tomorrow, too.
I suspect that she has been up too late too often this week doing her studying and such. Please pray for wisdom for her to balance that. Thank you.
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Tell Nightingale to (strongly) suggest a rescheduling! (though she probably already has?) Guys can get discouraged very easily without cause.
Family search — I did find his wife’s obituary and now have the two grandson’s names (a third died at age 25, sadly). I signed up for a 1-mo subscription to one of those people-finding services and have a list of names in MO matching the grandsons (based on approximate ages, but that’s a guess). I wish I knew the town but worse comes to worse, I’ll just make a few blind cold calls and see what turns up.
The good news is I’m not seeing anything when I search for an obit for my cousin.
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One more mama had 4 kids. The count by the woodstove is now 3. It is supposed to be -11 tonight. Yuck! I am thankful to be home with the family.
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Ha! Those journalistic skills come to the fore! I have found people just by googling and an age.
That is a lot of kids, rkessler. We have not ever had more than triplets. Chocolate, Chip, and Cookie come to mind. What kind do you have, again?
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DJ – I don’t know how she worded it, but I’m sure she made it clear that it was more of a postponement than a complete cancellation. They’ve been seeing each other at least once a week, and sometimes twice a week, for several weeks now.
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I believe today was one for the books. I was privileged to be there to help a little. Let’s see when the storm went through friday evening, it took out lots of trees including one on the lower field at the school, which took out the soccer goal, so no soccer at noon today. One teacher is still in quarantine as her sister has an unknown virus. one teacher was quite ill, the power was out in grades three and four, several families have moms who work at the clinic and were quarantined. Fierce rain at lunch. The principal did grade one until first recess while I observed in third then I took over for the rest of the day. blessed to have a mom as an aide who was very helpful.
What will tomorrow bring?? so glad that another teacher and I made it back on the last flight. they have been covering with no relief for so long.
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oh, the third grade teacher was developing a bad rash. she found a caterpillar on her neck on friday and brushed it off. the hand she brushed it off with had a rash and her trunk was getting worse as it began at her neck. The principals son burned his hand. on and on…. Several are planning furlough in June, but have no idea what flights will be like then.
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