Christmas Countdown - 2013

[Christmasstar]

Good afternoon!
It's another cold cold day in Norway.
Almost -20c today (-4f)
Its ICE inside our window in the hall and in our bedroom....
(we live in a old cold house, and are hoping to buy another one this spring/summer)

My FIL is still with us. Barely..
He is in hospital, and today they are moving him to palliative care..
Where he will spend the rest of his life...
Thomas is there when ever he can, and they take him home almost every day.
And bring him back to the hospital in the evening..
But they have to watch over him every minute, and my MIL is so tired, sad and helpless...
My FIL is only 65 years old. He was so full of LIFE, always with a smile on his face..
It's so hard to belive this is hapening!
There is not much left of my FIL. He needs a miracle and he needs it NOW!
So please keep him in your prayers... ♥ Thank you

will be praying for you all.
These final moments together are both precious and sad. Mom was always tired before dad went home. So hard to watch someone you love go through this.

 

[Seawaters]

We only had to worry about water mocasins and copperheads, LOL!!!

That's funny because when I moved in with my grandparents, their old outhouse was still standing yet back by some old out buildings thay used to have. My grandfather would tell me to not go around there, he was afraid I would fall in or somrthing, I guess. But, you know how it is with boys, were naturally curious and every once in awhile I would sneak off and go exploring around those old buildings... Like tom Sawyer and Huck Finn...

I finished reading your post and a song popped in my head by (i think it was) a guy named Jim Stafford; "spiders and snakes"... Can you imagine being in there and some old black snake is in there keeping you company as well??? Ummmm not good~

 

[Seawaters]

Oh, yes, I remember that song. I was an explorer, too, but just not of outhouses!!!

That's funny because when I moved in with my grandparents, their old outhouse was still standing yet back by some old out buildings thay used to have. My grandfather would tell me to not go around there, he was afraid I would fall in or somrthing, I guess. But, you know how it is with boys, were naturally curious and every once in awhile I would sneak off and go exploring around those old buildings... Like tom Sawyer and Huck Finn...

I finished reading your post and a song popped in my head by (i think it was) a guy named Jim Stafford; "spiders and snakes"... Can you imagine being in there and some old black snake is in there keeping you company as well??? Ummmm not good~

 

[Seawaters]

I've heard that one plus a few more!!! You are so lucky to have your grandfather, especially at that age. Just shows you have good genes (not jeans). LOL.

Your right, just reading the temperatures in all the posts, makes you feel cold. And speaking of cold, today, I took my grandfather to the doc's and when I got him home, I complained out loud about the cold temps coming, he turns around and says to me, (now don't forget, he's 94 years old) "I don't know about later, but right now, it's colder than a well diggers behind"! That about did me in! He amazes me at times with the things he comes up with....

 

[snowflake22]

Took down the trees yesterday. It wasn't as sad of an experience as it has been in previous years. We did a bunch of spring cleaning at the same time and my boyfriend got very excited at how clean the house is. So that helped a lot. We also made a really good dinner together and made enough of it to last a few days.

So we have high spirits because of a clean house and good dinner even without the Christmas trees.

I'm glad that it went well, and it was a positive experience

It feels good to have a clean house after spring cleaning, makes it feel new again. I like rearranging furniture & knick knacks to get that vibe, too!


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[Seawaters]

That is so young!!! What has he been diagnosed with? Thinking of your whole family and your FIL and MIL. So sad!

Good afternoon!
It's another cold cold day in Norway.
Almost -20c today (-4f)
Its ICE inside our window in the hall and in our bedroom....
(we live in a old cold house, and are hoping to buy another one this spring/summer)

My FIL is still with us. Barely..
He is in hospital, and today they are moving him to palliative care..
Where he will spend the rest of his life...
Thomas is there when ever he can, and they take him home almost every day.
And bring him back to the hospital in the evening..
But they have to watch over him every minute, and my MIL is so tired, sad and helpless...
My FIL is only 65 years old. He was so full of LIFE, always with a smile on his face..
It's so hard to belive this is hapening!
There is not much left of my FIL. He needs a miracle and he needs it NOW!
So please keep him in your prayers... ♥ Thank you

 

[snowflake22]

I have a confession to make.....

The last of my decorations came down and was packed away last night... If I was 5, I would have a boo-boo lip going right now; sniff.... it's sad to say goodby to them for another 10 months.

SAD - I learned something about this last night about it, it's true... it really does exist! Read below:
Recurrent Winter Depression Could Be a Sign of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

The blues are an unfortunate part of the holiday season for many people. Some individuals suffer from depression more acutely during this time of year due to the pain of lost loved ones or from the stress and pressure that Christmas can bring. Others, however, can find no obvious cause for their low mood, or for the reason that their mood seems to lift as soon as the weather warms and the snow melts away.

Individuals who experience these recurrent depressive episodes often show a seasonal pattern, commonly known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. Individuals with this subtype of mood disorder appear to be responsive to the total quantity of available light in the environment, with a majority of them becoming depressed in the fall and winter when less natural sunlight is available. Features of SAD include fatigue, excessive sleep, craving for carbohydrates, and weight gain, and individuals with this disorder often show clear disturbances in their circadian cycles, with weaker 24-hour patterns than normal individuals.

Although the cause of seasonal affective disorder is not clear, one possibility is that seasonal changes in light may alter the body's underlying biological rhythms that regulate such processes as body temperature and sleep-wake cycles. Another possibility is that some parts of the central nervous system may have deficiencies in transmission of the mood-regulating neurotransmitter, serotonin, during winter months.

SAD develops in women more often than men, and nearly half of those affected report that episodes began during childhood or adolescence. Prevalence rates for seasonal affective disorder suggest that winter SAD is more common in individuals living at higher latitudes (northern climates) and in younger people. Seasonal affective disorder can, and sometimes does, cause depression during the summer months as well.

A trial of intense light therapy, called phototherapy, often helps relieve depression. Phototherapy typically consists of exposure to 2 -3 hours of artificial light a day. The artificial light apparently supplements the low amount of sunlight the individual otherwise receives. Phototherapy does not help all individuals with SAD, especially those who are more severely affected. Antidepressants are sometimes prescribed to treat more severe episodes of SAD, and are often even more effective if treatment is started prior to the onset of expected symptoms.

If you experience episodes of depression that seem to cycle with the seasons, you should consult your doctor about being evaluated for seasonal affective disorder. You do not need to suffer though the holiday season. Help is available.

Interesting article!! I had heard of that before, just never knew it had a name.


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[Seawaters]

Did you take pictures? I would love to see that bear. I am sure CM3 would, too!

hey all, hope this finds you all well, Had heavy snow here sunday night, caused havoc yesterday! all schools shut as roads were bad etc.. you would have thought the council would have learned by now and would be more prepared and have roads gritted etc..

Kids enjoyed playing out in the snow yesterday, we built a snowman and chloe my eldest built a little snow bear hehe!!

Going to catch up on what ive missed! Have a great day! xlaying:

 

[Seawaters]

Beautiful. What is that big white boxy thing on the left in the first pic?

With my handy chart that I printed at Star's suggestion, I know that -20 celcius is -4 F. That is cold!!!

Good morning everyone!

We're short-staffed for a while at work. I will be in and out of here a lot more than I would like. With that said, I have some Christmas to share with you all. The Mont Tremblant village was kind enough to provide me with beauty and excitement on Saturday night. Although much, if not all, the store decorations have been removed, the lights still shine brightly. Of course, the fluttering snow and -20c temperatures certainly added to the scene's beauty as well.

Enjoy!

 

[Seawaters]

Love the second pic. Gives us a Christmasy feeling here in January!

Only two more:

My favourite:

That is all. I hope you enjoyed. I apologize for not taking more. We were in quite a rush to get a cab... and we may have had a few drinks in us already, too.

 

[Seawaters]

Lovely signature pic, Shellie! Majestic animal!

My favourite:

That is all. I hope you enjoyed. I apologize for not taking more. We were in quite a rush to get a cab... and we may have had a few drinks in us already, too.

Lovely photos, so nice to see christmas lights and snow even in jan.. lovely[/QUOTE]

 

[Seawaters]

Sometimes I do crocheting mathematically, especiall when I make some changes. Yes, I definitely understand the 635 chains. Oh, my! I am so glad that you were able to "fix" your vacation. I am sure that was a relief for you. Have a great rest of the day!

Brent, thanks for the lovely pictures!

We had a relaxing day yesterday up to a point. Slept in a while, then relaxed in the morning with our hobbies. There's a complex afghan pattern that I try every few years, but I can't get it started. It's set up on a base of 635 chains (you crocheters will know what that means!), and even though I follow the instructions exactly, the first row NEVER comes out correctly. Well, I spent a few hours on it yesterday and STILL couldn't get it to work. (And I'm no novice---I can usually figure these things out or find a way to MAKE 'em work---but this pattern always beats me.) I even figured the number of chains out mathematically, thinking that maybe the pattern gives the wrong number of chains, but it seems to be correct---so I just can't figure out where the problem is! I may fool with it a little more before I give it up again for a while. The picture of the afghan is so gorgeous I really want to make it, if I could figure it out. But I'm already in the middle of a different afghan, and I have a kit for another afghan arriving tomorrow, so I will probably drop it if I can't make any progress this evening.

Then we went out for lunch. Then we came back and booked our vacation air travel. Then we called our favorite hotel and found out that they were totally booked during our vacation dates! So we booked some different dates with the hotel, and changed our air travel to match. (Luckily, we were able to do that because we were within the 24-hour window where we could change without paying a penalty.) That took all evening, because we kept running into snags trying to book our air travel online, and wound up doing it by phone. But we finally did it. Now I just have to get my new vacation dates approved at the office ... What an evening that was! But it's a relief to know the reservations are in place.

 

[Seawaters]

CHristmas Knight, Brad has pics in his MMC album. Great ones. You should see the engine!

Hey Brad,
The car sounds like fun, I should probably know this... But what kind of car are you working on?

 

[Seawaters]

Time for work so I will finish reading the posts when I get home. TTYL

 

[made582]

Did you guys have to take turns on latrine duty???

It was usually reserved for the kids that got in trouble.

 

[Bradmac]

Hey Brad,
The car sounds like fun, I should probably know this... But what kind of car are you working on?

It's a '77 Camaro, like the one I had in high school. Here are some of the pictures of our project. Thanks!

Where are you getting your parts? My cousin has been buying a lot of parts from Classic Industries for his Nova.

http://www.classicindustries.com/

Classic is a good one, and Rick's Camaros.

 

[MerryCarey]

Sometimes I do crocheting mathematically, especiall when I make some changes. Yes, I definitely understand the 635 chains. Oh, my! I am so glad that you were able to "fix" your vacation. I am sure that was a relief for you. Have a great rest of the day!

When you're retired, I should send you the pattern and let you figure it out for me, and tell me what I'm doing wrong! :wink:

It involves a super-long chain, then begins with a cluster, goes into a tight ripple pattern, then in the center of the chain is a cluster, then more tight ripples. Then you "weave" the ripples around each other with the center cluster at the top (you need a photo to really "get" this), then pick up the yarn again and join to the beginning cluster. It makes a kind of flat helix shape with a cluster at either end that you then crochet around to form a panel. Then three of these panels are sewn together and edged with a border. The devil of it is that when I work it, the ripple pattern doesn't hit the center of the chain and the end of the chain where it should. I must be making some really dumb dope-slap wrong-assumption mistake, because mathematically it should work. Another frustration is that it takes hours to crochet all those chains and ripples to find out that it isn't working! I may try figuring out the chain for a shorter "helix" mathematically and work that to see if I can spot where I go wrong. Or just give up for another year or two ...

 

[Christmas-A-Holic]

Xmastidings, I have known a few who suffer from SAD and it is very real. Vitamin D is very helpful to take since the sun gives that to you that naturally and in most places the sun is not out much during the winter. (Maybe that was mentioned in what you posted, I probably should read the whole thing!!! lol) I know it did mention about the sun and for quite a few years since all the warning of skin cancer have come out people are in "fear" of the sun but in reality WE NEED SUN! It is key to good health but not to overdo it! I have had skin cancer and now know the dangers. I do allow myself some sun without skin protection for a short time when I get out but not allow myself to abuse it and burn. I notice how much better I feel when I do.

I think it's weird how I have a whole lot more energy and feel more chipper in the winter than I do the summer. The summers here are just miserable and drains everything out of me so I sometimes feel a little blue mid summer, not depressed but just really blah! It might help that where I live we do get a lot of sunshine during the winter even if it's chilly. I can tolerate the cold a lot better than that heat!

Thanks for sharing that article. It is important and might be a good idea to post in our Holiday Health Forums! I have the link in my signature below if you would like to start a thread there for all to see! =)

 

[Christmas-A-Holic]

Took down the trees yesterday. It wasn't as sad of an experience as it has been in previous years. We did a bunch of spring cleaning at the same time and my boyfriend got very excited at how clean the house is. So that helped a lot. We also made a really good dinner together and made enough of it to last a few days.

So we have high spirits because of a clean house and good dinner even without the Christmas trees.

I felt good too after taking most of my decorations down. I still have one string of lights up with my mistletoe in the doorway leading to my den and my Christmas wreath on the door but that's it. That mistletoe will be my Valentine decoration!!!

Sometimes I do crocheting mathematically, especiall when I make some changes. !

Well, that means leave me out of crocheting if it involves math! I didn't do so well in math at school! :lol:

 

[Christmasstar]

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
it was -17c when I got up and has gone all the way up to -16c with a wind chill of -25c (-13f), and it is windy!

I work tonight and then off until Saturday. I really wish my boss would stagger my days out more evenly during the week She gave me 6 days in a row, one off one on and then 4 days off. Will have to talk to her, again.

For now I have a turkey roasting in the oven making the house smell great, memories of Christmas!