Monday Morning Roll-Call

[immisceo]

So...

With the temperatures in the NE United States and Canada making international news, and the groundhog's verdict coming to fruition, I wonder what my North American brethren are up to on this Presidents' Day week.

Anyone around the rest of the globe celebrating Mardi Gras/Carnival/Shrove Tuesday? Here in Ireland, Pancake Tuesday is indeed a thing, but don't picture the American version of pancakes! These are much more like crepes and eaten with lemon juice and a little powdered sugar.

And yes, on Wednesday you will the occasional person with an Ash Wednesday smudge on their forehead, a la Vice President Biden.

As for myself, I'm delighted that the not-for-profit I work with has added a new venue to teach in. From Tuesday, I'll be teaching at Trinity College - best known to most folks around the world as the home of the famous Book of Kells. Gorgeous, historic campus. That makes it sound like a professor, but no no. Just tutoring senior citizens in computer usage.

I'm eyeing the Narcissus(es) on my balcony each morning, begging them to bloom. Knitting a bright yellow shawl in the mean time. Come on, Spring!

[davincidanes]

* nutshell...

[davincidanes]

Glad you all survived the winter weather.  Here in east Tennessee, we had an ice storm that immobilized the area, we had a tree and a telephone pole fall into the yard.  The pole put a hole in our roof.  We had to pay to have the electric lines re-run to the house. The power was out for 4 days.  Finally gave up on the 3rd day and checked into a nearby hotel that had power.  Just got the internet back on... TV satellite is working now.. as of today.  The insurance adjuster comes tomorrow and we still need to get the roof fixed.  

In a nutshess, it's been a hell week!

~Linda

[immisceo]

So glad your cat ran back in! Hard to go searching in that weather!

[Artanis12]

No, no vest yet, but I suppose I need to get one ASAP, since it can get hot here in a hurry, and I think anything over 80 is rotten, and have felt that way for decades.  

I'll take a look on Amazon, now that you mention it.  I've been cruising around there checking out canes that have seats, (I really WANT a can that blows poison darts, but Amazon doesn't stock them, alas!)  I guess I'd better start hunting for that vest too...

[maxthecat43]

Hi there!  Oklahoma huh? I've driven through there once.  It was a nice drive.   I'm actually even further south than Houston.   Literally the tip of Texas, lol!  I suspect I'm going to live in my cooling vest.

Do you have one yet?  I purchased mine through Amazon.   They're are a few different types.  I have one with reusable ice packs.  You can also get evaporative ones.  

[HVAC]

We have a snow storm in Carolina that most Northerners would laugh at but it is mostly ice so every one who is smart is staying put. The dogs slip on the snow and don't like it. My indoor cat escaped last night realized it was snowing and thank goodness ran back in.

Alex

[Artanis12]

Houston area?  God help you.  I'm in Oklahoma - which isn't exactly amateur hour when in comes to triple digits, but I'd gnaw off a limb before I'd go to the gulf.  Humidity is NOT my thing, even when I was young and healthy. I hate walking out and taking an instant shower inside my clothes. Yuck.  

I am new to this, and have had incidents in recent years that indicate that I may end up being heat-sensitive, and now with dx, even more so than back when.  This spring and summer will be my first since dx, and I too am worried.  I'm currently working on getting a remote start installed on my car so I can dash (har) from buildings to a pre-cooled vehicle.  Otherwise I may be in deep ka ka.

[supermum_ms]

I happen to be hoping my current issues are just the everyday ladies-of-a-certain-age-peri-menopause, lol first time ever my mental cycle has gone weird with my usual bladder and bowel dramas, it's never been unexpectedly weird before, so a girl can only hope. Oh and i know with out doubt, that not being able to reproduce will be a joyous occasion for this little lassie, lol i make complicated little peeps lol enough said!

Hmmmm thinking of my peeps, my youngest little peep is now on his last year of schooling before UNI, he's too intelligent for his own good but has the work ethic of a sloth. lol I know no one likes home work but this kid is so comfortable throwing something together at the last minute, he's been a nightmare to keep on top of the work load this year, well he's either pushing the boundaries or i'm loosing it, lol it's probably both :D

It's summer over my side of the world, though the weather has been truly out side of normal, our holiday lost over a weak with unseasoned storms lol finding a shop selling wet weather gear and umbrellas was a tad difficult as was getting through the lake size puddles they left behind. Not sure i feel like we had a holiday actually, we also had car issues caused by the mechanic and had to get the diff rebuilt and with change over ownership of the complex, it caused a few issues for everyone too, which didn't help with the relax point of holidaying LOL i'll put a cork in my whine now....

Well just noticed above little peep is currently watching TV and it's a renovation programm which he has zero interest in, except as a distraction from doing his home work.......so i'm off to crack the whip or hit him with maths motivator, which is actually a cricket bat lol bad mother bad bad mother oops he's been reading over my shoulder and has taken off with the cricket bat....a mother's work is never done :D

Cheers........JJ

[immisceo]

Wow! From the northernmost part of the country to the southernmost! Definitely stockpile those cooling vests. On the upside, I don't think you'll be lacking in the vitamin D department.

[immisceo]

I remember last years snowman! Making snowmen is a bit like 'when life gives you lemons...' Although it sounds like everyone has enough snow this year to need scaffolding to put the carrot in!

[maxthecat43]

I recently moved to the South tip of Texas.   I'm not entirely certain winter comes to this part of the world.  In December we had one day in the high 30's, and a week or so in the high 40's.  Today it felt like summer to me (I'm from the Pacific Northwest), the temperature today was 88!  Like a lot of us, I don't do heat very well- so I'm nervous!

Be safe everyone!

[johnniebear]

Just wanting Spring to come early...  I'm so tired of winter the older I get the more I dislike it.  

I've made another huge snowman this year and I will post a picture of it later..

take care   everyone
JB

[immisceo]

Kat, I admire your commitment to Zumba! Sorry to hear about needing to cancel your appointment. At 5', doesn't sound like you had much of a choice! I hope all of that melts in a slowish, sane way so you're not having to deal with flash flooding on top of everything else.

Ess, ladies-of-certain-age things sound ideal, bar having to tangle with the home improvement guy/gal. With your temps + the wind, you may win this round! Hats off to being a good dog owner in the face of all that, though.

[essdipity]

Hey, Imm, thanks for reviving this Monday tradition. It's always been fun.

Where I live we've dodged many bullets regarding snow this year, though 5 to 8 inches is forecast for tonight. We haven't dodged the cold, though. Yesterday morning when I was walking my pooch, both of us bundled to the max, the temp was 5F, with winds of 26 mph gusting to 39. Holy moley. Even abbreviating the walk to the minimum requirement we were miserable. When my little dog wants to go inside, that's called cold.

I sort of forget about holiday weekends and so forth because I've long been in the land of the retired, ancient as I am, and I also retired at 57. So I guess every day's a holiday for me. I know, I know, but I did work my behind off for many a year.

This week I have no medical appts (yay!), but will do my hospice volunteering and go to my book club, out to lunch with a friend or two, and I guess generally do the ladies-of-a-certain-age thing. Also deal with my home improvement person, who wants a fortune to improve my home, but maybe there's a compromise somewhere.

So I have nothing at all exciting to report. But then again, I'm feeling pretty good, except for some permanent MS stuff, and I'm not in a flare. Sounds good to me.

ess

[torikat32]

Another snowstorm yesterday and more snow tomorrow means I canceled my neuro appointment again in as many weeks. Looking forward to spring but with all this snow on the ground at least 5ft we might end up swimming.  

Headed to zumba class this morning its a balmy 2 degrees and windchills are -25 so hope to warm up in class.

everyone stay safe and stay well

kat

[immisceo]

Artanis12, autumn's a great time for a visit over here! Things are a lot more laid back than the height of the summer tourist season. You know, the location of the National Severe Storms Lab is officially my new fact of the day.

Laura, stay safe during your travels! That sounds a bit of a challenge even if it's 'only' a couple of inches! Thanks for reminding me of Chinese New Year. Chinese make up a large immigrant community in Ireland, so I'm pretty sure there will be some festivities I can get into. And, being a knitter in a country with almost as many sheep as people, I'm delighted to know which zodiac animal claims this year. I have a friend in Boston as well who's in my thoughts. Your sojourn to D.C. sounds exciting and important!

Corrie, you stay safe and warm too! I can't wrap my head around some of the temperatures I see mentioned. I'll be thinking about you on Friday. Hopefully it will provide you and your doctor with useful information.

[Corriel]

It is really cold here in New Brunswick Canada! Just had our second blizzard in as many weeks. Brrr!

Getting another MRI this Friday to determine if I have a c-spine lesion causing my hand weakness and waiting for next month's EMG.

Looking forward to spring!

Corrie

[Lulu54]

So kind of you to check in on us this side of the pond.  Today is a mixed bag for me - i'm off work to head to Columbus for my neuro appointment and monthly Tysabri.  The forecast calls for 4-6 inches of snow south of us, but the route I travel may only get 1-2 inches.  It will be an interesting 90 minute drive which I hope doesn't turn into hours on the highway.

The weather person just said it is -9F windchill - our real temp is a balmy 5 degrees.

Spring can't come soon enough for my friends in Boston - so much of the iConquerMS group I am working with are there and they keep getting wave after wave of snow, blizzards and other horrific weather.

Also this week is Chinese New Year on the 19th - the year of the Sheep is coming and it would be a great day to eat some yummy food in honor of the holiday. Perhaps some Moo Shu Chicken with those terrific Chinese 'crepe' wrappers.  

I'm feeling pretty good - invigorated after spending a few days in Washington DC with other lead patients for the assorted Patient Research networks.  There is a lot of great patient-centered work going  on.

happy Monday!!
Laura

[Artanis12]

Well, this morning in the heart of the Great Plains, I'm sitting here, NOT going to work, and glad of it because we had just enough crunchy rain last night to make it a right mess out there.  

I am NOT looking forward to spring, because I've always been more of a fall/winter girl, although saying that around here is not at all the same as saying that in a location further north.  Oklahoma does not have harsh winters as a rule - it can get genuinely cold by anyone's standards - in the teens and even into the negative F numbers, and the wind here is always a factor - but cold never lasts very long here. I also don't care for spring due to our storms here.  I find the nail-biting to be tiresome.  Summers are usually brutal here, and this will be my first after my recent dx, so it should be interesting.  I'm not looking forward to it.

But enough about weather - we Okies all tend to be weather fatalists, and amateur forecasters - it's almost a requirement (the National Severe Storms Lab is located here after all), so we do tend to go on a bit. I have no big plans for today. Hunkering down and staying in until it warms up enough to hit the roads and run a few errands is my only real goal.

Your new teaching gig sounds fabulous. And hearing of it just makes me more eager to get there.  My husband and I are planning a trip to Ireland in the fall of this year.  It will be his first time there, and my second, and we are really looking forward to it. I had such a wonderful time there years ago, and I know he will too. So I may spend some of today in the delightful activity of perusing travel books and maps to see where we'd like to go.

And now I've got a hankering for crepes! :)