Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[Sew Sumi]

I know the feeling! I shared a computer with right handed people and learned to use the mouse that way (with my left hand) rather than change it for 10 minutes. 

Scissors? I'm a rightie. My mom was considerate and bought me some lefty scissors, but I just can't cut with my left hand. I'm ambidextrous with knives. When I eat, I cut righty. When I chop veggies or whatever on a cutting board, I'm lefty. 

[fonfereksglen]

18 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

I'm very dominantly left handed, can do almost nothing with my right hand.  I also drag my left hand across the paper even though, back when I was learning to use a pen in second grade, we used those cartridge pens with the liquid ink that smeared like crazy.  The nuns at school never tried to change me which is a good thing.  I am also left-footed and left-eyed.  No one else in my immediate family is a lefty.

I use right handed instruments to do surgery but hold them in my left hand.  When I tried to use left handed instruments in the past, I couldn't do it, I put pressure on the wrong parts of them because I was used to using the right handed stuff.  It's like trying to cut with left handed scissors when you've always used right handed ones with your left hand.  That doesn't work either.

On the subject of baseball and lefties:  I once delivered the child of a major league pitcher (actually I've delivered kids for several, but I digress).  As soon as his son was born, the guy told the nurse to put something in the baby's left hand.  "He needs to be holding something in his left hand all the time because he is going to be a lefty." Why? "Because left handed pitchers are always in demand and can get better money than righties.  If I had been a lefty, I'd have made the majors a lot sooner than I did as a righty."

Love the baseball story!  Because of me, my youngest brother always hoped the same for his three boys.  They are all good jocks, but he only produced one left footed son.

As for ink,  in 5th grade I spent a bizarre amount of time in the 6th grade room.  For spelling, we were graded not only on spelling and penmanship using a pen,  but also neatness of the page.  On extra special lined paper.  The Horror!

As an aside, that year, my 5th grade teacher said to me that if I didn't start acting like a girl, I would grow up to be a lesbian. My guess this opinion was expressed with the other staff members, and even in 1962,  the reason why I spent a lot of my school day away from that cretin.

[Sew Sumi]

Wow. Despite my (lack of) size, I was better than all but one girl in my grade where sports were concerned. I was a tomboy, but I was also boy crazy. Maybe the latter is why I never got the lesbian/dyke tags in school. Around the 7th grade, peer pressure hit, and I decided that I wanted to dress more like a girl. 

Looking at me now, I've regressed. 😁 I prefer tees and jeans. I don't remember the last time I wore a dress. oops!

[CalicoKitty]

Dealing with elderly, ill parents is not fun.  Both of my parents are in a great assisted living facility now, and my brother and I are now certain we made the correct decision.  My dad (95) is unable to speak or do anything for himself anymore.  My mother (92) is physically able, but her dementia is getting worse by the day (some days by the hour).  She just cannot remember to push the call button when my dad needs to get out of bed.  (What button?????)  She gets him out.  Today I found out the the staff gets Dad up and dressed in the morning, and then Mom changes his clothes and put him back to bed.  He sleeps a lot, so being in bed isn't too bad, but she is not to be lifting him or helping him walk.  Also, when she changes his clothes, she is dressing him in HER clothes.  She keeps taking all the clothes from both of their dressers and moving them around the apartment, so the staff is never sure where to look for clothing.  I have no idea---sometimes you just have to laugh.

[Zella]

It's interesting the different things people who are left-handed do either left or right-handed. My family is full of lefties! Dad, older brother, paternal grandparents each have at least 1 left-handed sibling. My brother is pretty ambidextrous, though, truth be told.

My mom tried to make me a righty. It's why I write right-handed. I didn't even know that for years.

I just thought I had terrible penmanship and fine motor skills until my brother was like, "Yeah, remember how Mom was always trying to switch us? It worked a little better on you." I'd always found it odd that I do more things left-handed than he did, then it all made sense. It's nearly impossible for me to even open a mayonnaise jar right-handed. LOL

In any event, once I figured out I was left-handed, my life made so much more sense. I could finally tell the difference between my left and my right (never could when I thought I was right-handed), and all sorts of crafts, like knitting, and things like using chopsticks that I couldn't do before I picked up easily.

I finally figured out I always taught myself to do things left-handed naturally, but when other people tried to teach me to do things right-handed is what confounded me. When I tried them left-handed, they almost always worked out much better for me. 🙂 

Because of the way I hold a pen, I manage to smear ink badly despite writing right-handed. LOL I use a lot of red ink for editing, and my hand always looks like a murder scene by the time I'm done. 😂 Like, it scares people when I show it to them. 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Zella

[Barb23]

7 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I'm very dominantly left handed, can do almost nothing with my right hand.  I also drag my left hand across the paper even though, back when I was learning to use a pen in second grade, we used those cartridge pens with the liquid ink that smeared like crazy.  The nuns at school never tried to change me which is a good thing.  I am also left-footed and left-eyed.  No one else in my immediate family is a lefty.

I use right handed instruments to do surgery but hold them in my left hand.  When I tried to use left handed instruments in the past, I couldn't do it, I put pressure on the wrong parts of them because I was used to using the right handed stuff.  It's like trying to cut with left handed scissors when you've always used right handed ones with your left hand.  That doesn't work either.

On the subject of baseball and lefties:  I once delivered the child of a major league pitcher (actually I've delivered kids for several, but I digress).  As soon as his son was born, the guy told the nurse to put something in the baby's left hand.  "He needs to be holding something in his left hand all the time because he is going to be a lefty." Why? "Because left handed pitchers are always in demand and can get better money than righties.  If I had been a lefty, I'd have made the majors a lot sooner than I did as a righty."

That's interesting there are right & left handed surgical instruments.  I would have thought they were like pencils or table knives - one style fits all. I guess it's something non-medical people ever think about. For curiosity sake, I may ask the general surgeon I'm seeing for my sacral wound if he's left handed & what instruments he uses if he is.

Loved your newborn pitcher story.  Mr. Barb & his brother are big baseball fans & can't wait to tell them. 

My in-laws are both lefties but neither Mr. Barb nor his brother or any of the three grand kids are lefties.  I'm amazed there aren't more lefties in the Duggar 19 - isn't Jinger the only one? 

My mother-in-law was a teacher &  learned quickly she couldn't do the "drag way" of writing on the chalk board because she was smearing & erasing the words as soon as she wrote them.

Thanks for all the lefty stories. I'm  enjoying reading them all. 

[Love2dance]

Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow is the day to toast Mister Dragonfaerie. I hope your memorial will be comforting and meaningful, @DragonFaerie.

[Mindthinkr]

4 hours ago, Love2dance said:

Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow is the day to toast Mister Dragonfaerie. I hope your memorial will be comforting and meaningful, @DragonFaerie.

Thank you for the reminder. I’m setting another one on my phone for when I’m at the party. 

[Westiepeach]

4 hours ago, Love2dance said:

Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow is the day to toast Mister Dragonfaerie. I hope your memorial will be comforting and meaningful, @DragonFaerie.

I have the sparkling wine chilling. Breakfast tomorrow was postponed, so I am doing my own toast to @DragonFaerie and her dear husband in the afternoon. I hope she know just how much she means to us in this community! 

[Mindthinkr]

1 hour ago, Westiepeach said:

I have the sparkling wine chilling. Breakfast tomorrow was postponed, so I am doing my own toast to @DragonFaerie and her dear husband in the afternoon. I hope she know just how much she means to us in this community! 

AND this is the best ever community to belong to. Unconditional and supportive. 

As always, My best to everyone. 

[Barb23]

@DragonFaerie Hope things go fabulously at your husband's FUNeral today. It sounds like you have a great day planned.   Don't dwell or even give a second thought to the ones who chose not to attend. That is their choice & the ones who will be missing out.   You will be in my thoughts all day as well as for the toast.  🎉 CHEERS! 🥂

[EVS]

I would like to join in toasting mr dragonfaerie. @DragonFaerie, I will be thinking of you both today. 

To Mr. Dragonfaerie!  🍾🥂

[emma675]

I'm just back from vacation and my internal clock is totally screwed up so I'm toasting Mr. Dragon Faerie early. Cheers to a good life and a peaceful journey. 

[crazycatlady58]

To Mr. Dragonfaerie: To a peaceful journey and May your memory be ever eternal.

Edited August 10, 2019 by crazycatlady58

[wilsie]

@DragonFaerie  I hope today is the start of tremendous healing and comfort for you.  I hope you get a special sign that your dear husband is at peace and looking at you with the most loving heart.   Cheers to his life well lived full of love!  Cheers to you for helping make his life as wonderful as it was to the very end!

[Minivanessa]

@DragonFaerie I'm joining in the toast to Mr. D this afternoon. I hope you have a fabulous life celebration and feel the love from all of us innernet strangerz!

[lookeyloo]

@DragonFaerie sending you a toast for a great memorial to Mr.dragonfaerie.  Will be thinking of you today.

[Scarlett45]

I had to report someone for hate speech on a YouTube video today. I got tagged because I commented on a travel vlog, and thus his hate ridden comment was sent to my email box. It was just shocking to open my email and see that filth. 

Delete. 

[Love2dance]

@DragonFaerie, sending my toast to Mr. Dragonfaerie, and hoping you are finding love and comfort at your memorial for him today. You are in my thoughts. Hugs!

[latetotheparty]

To Mr. @DragonFaerie, in memory of I life well-lived and well-loved. *clink*

[Sew Sumi]

The weather here in the Bay is perfect for a FUNeral! A toast to Mr. Dragonfaerie! 

[Zella]

I made my toast from Arkansas just now! 

[galaxychaser]

2 hours ago, Abstract said:

Thanks to a very extroverted and socially adept friend I made here at the conference, i not only met him, I shook his hand, got a picture, and actually had a conversation with him. I am dead.

So who is the celebrity? I want to know.

[ginger90]

🥂 🍻 

♥️ 

[BetyBee]

I don't drink, but I'm toasting with an iced tea to Mr. Dragonfaerie.  May you find peace and healing, Dragonfaerie.  And may today hold many stories from loved ones about a life well lived.  ❤️ 

[Zella]

2 minutes ago, BetyBee said:

I don't drink, but I'm toasting with an iced tea to Mr. Dragonfaerie.  May you find peace and healing, Dragonfaerie.  And may today hold many stories from loved ones about a life well lived.  ❤️ 

I don't really drink much myself. Mine was a tea lemonade toast. 🙂

[Abstract]

 I remembered to lift my non-alcoholic drink to toast Mr. Dragonfaerie. May peace be with you and your loved ones, @DragonFaerie.

[doodlebug]

14 minutes ago, BetyBee said:

I don't drink, but I'm toasting with an iced tea to Mr. Dragonfaerie.  May you find peace and healing, Dragonfaerie.  And may today hold many stories from loved ones about a life well lived.  ❤️ 

Beautiful day here in NE Ohio.  I toasted Mr. Dragonfaerie with Diet Pepsi at the neighborhood pool.

[sixlets]

Here's to Mr. Dragonfaerie!!  It's a beautiful and warm summer evening in Baltimore today.  My drink of choice is a Schweppes' ginger ale with a hint (😉) of Kinky Pink.  Here's to a life well-lived!  

Edited August 10, 2019 by sixlets
Apparently, alcohol affects my grammar.

[Scarlett45]

Raising my glass to Mr @DragonFaerie

[jcbrown]

I will toast Mr @DragonFaerie with either a French 75 or an Old-Fashioned. I hope this day brings you some peace, Dragonfaerie.

[Ohiopirate02]

I toast Mr. Dragonfaerie with a frozen mimosa. 

[OpieTaylor]

Cheers to Mr. and Mrs. Dragonfaerie!

[Mindthinkr]

Since there was over 20 of us who toasted, this was all I could capture in one picture, but we all wished a fond farewell to a Mr @DragonFaerie. 

[realityfan26]

Cheers to Mr. @DragonFaerie. 🥂🍸🥃🍺🍹(where is the margarita emoji?)

[Christina87]

@Mindthinkr was it you or someone else who said you got a fever the night after your shot? I was basically okay the rest of the day, but I was sick yesterday, especially last night! I got a low fever, headache, muscle aches, joint pain, and just the worst exhaustion ever! It legit felt like having some sort of virus. However, the arm pain hasn't been too awful. Cheers to not having this again for ten years, and I have felt good today! 😃

I also toasted Mr. @DragonFaerie tonight while out eating Mexican! Cheers to a life well lived, and please know that you're loved by all of the members of this group! I hope he was looking down to see all of his celebrations today. 💕

[galaxychaser]

I don’t drink. But I too toasted your husband with my iced coffee. @DragonFaerie I hope you smile when you think of your husband and your love story. May he Rest In Peace.

[Jynnan tonnix]

We toasted Mr Dragonfairie over dinner last night as well. It was actually the first time I'd had wine since my surgery. Sorry I didn't think to include a picture. It was a great evening here as well, so I hope your celebration was everything you had hoped for.

[GeeGolly]

For Mr @DragonFaerie 🍾🥂 ❣️

And for all you warm hearted posters 🥤🍷🥛🍺🍹🍸❣️

[galaxychaser]

Went to dinner with a lady who 

1. Refused to pay tax on the meal

2. Refused to tip

3. Asked for hot water. She carries around her own tea bags. Flipped out when told that hot water costs $1.50. Decided to not tip and never come back. 

4. Last time I’m going anywhere with her. Mind you I wanted to meet in McDonald’s. She didn’t want to.

5. Raved on about why didn’t they give her a to go cup with hot water. It’s supposed to be free. 

No it’s a restaurant nothing is free. 

I paid for both our tax and tips. Yeah fun times. 

Then she had the nerve to ask me to go to the movies on my wallet. Yeah nope. You got a job buy your own movie ticket.

[Mindthinkr]

@galaxychaser Sounds as though this is another time that you need to meet a new/better/equal friend and I’m sincerely sorry to say that. I wish better for you. 

[Christina87]

1 hour ago, galaxychaser said:

Went to dinner with a lady who 

1. Refused to pay tax on the meal

2. Refused to tip

3. Asked for hot water. She carries around her own tea bags. Flipped out when told that hot water costs $1.50. Decided to not tip and never come back. 

4. Last time I’m going anywhere with her. Mind you I wanted to meet in McDonald’s. She didn’t want to.

5. Raved on about why didn’t they give her a to go cup with hot water. It’s supposed to be free. 

No it’s a restaurant nothing is free. 

I paid for both our tax and tips. Yeah fun times. 

Then she had the nerve to ask me to go to the movies on my wallet. Yeah nope. You got a job buy your own movie ticket.

How exactly does one refuse to pay tax on a meal? Dang, I've never heard of that before! She definitely does not sound like a good potential friend. 

[Minivanessa]

30 minutes ago, Christina87 said:

How exactly does one refuse to pay tax on a meal? Dang, I've never heard of that before! She definitely does not sound like a good potential friend. 

I realize this is harsh, but, she sounds like a nutjob. 

[galaxychaser]

She is very religious. I honestly expected her to tip with a bible tract. 

2 hours ago, Christina87 said:

How exactly does one refuse to pay tax on a meal? Dang, I've never heard of that before! She definitely does not sound like a good potential friend. 

We didn’t get separate checks. My mistake. So she only gave $ toward her food. I payed the tax plus the tip for both of us. Lesson learned get separate checks! 

[Mindthinkr]

@DragonFaerie How are you after this emotional weekend? 

@jcbrown Have you made any decision yet on whether or not to take the trip with your Dad? 

@Christina87 Be sure to let us know how the start of your new job went please. 

@Jynnan tonnix How are you feeling and are you beginning to get around yet? (Not that you may want to with all of the terrible heat and humidity that so many of us are experiencing.) 

[Jynnan tonnix]

1 hour ago, Mindthinkr said:

@DragonFaerie How are you after this emotional weekend? 

@jcbrown Have you made any decision yet on whether or not to take the trip with your Dad? 

@Christina87 Be sure to let us know how the start of your new job went please. 

@Jynnan tonnix How are you feeling and are you beginning to get around yet? (Not that you may want to with all of the terrible heat and humidity that so many of us are experiencing.) 

That's sweet of you to ask about us! I do love how this community seems to look out for one another.

I have been doing well. It took a while of ups and downs. Mr Jyn was getting concerned about me because he said I'd been looking and getting around better a week after surgery than I was two weeks later - there were just things that made all the internal aches and pains flare up, and just nerve pain where my whole abdomen felt really tender for no apparent reason - and last week I tried to do a little bit of yard work - just deadheading some weeds which had gotten taller than the flowers before they went to seed, then realizing that I could actually pull most of them up without having to lean down as far, but which, I guess, put more strain on my abdominal muscles than it felt like, because I spent the next two and a half days having to baby myself because of the pain. But it seems that doing that must have also strengthened my core a bit, because I've been feeling quite spry since then. The weather has also been not nearly as terrible as it was a few weeks ago (mostly low 80's during the day with not-awful humidity levels), so that helps a lot. I even went swimming in our next door  neighbors' pool, which I've been waiting for the clearance to do! That was lovely! We get along really well with them, and they invite us over for a swim pretty regularly - and when they are away on a road trip or something, as they are this week, they tell us to treat their pool as our own. Great neighbors!

[galaxychaser]

When it rains it pours. Thursday had a big leak in the bathroom. Today a huge leak in the kitchen. Fun times.

[jcbrown]

9 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

@DragonFaerie How are you after this emotional weekend? 

@jcbrown Have you made any decision yet on whether or not to take the trip with your Dad? 

@Christina87 Be sure to let us know how the start of your new job went please. 

@Jynnan tonnix How are you feeling and are you beginning to get around yet? (Not that you may want to with all of the terrible heat and humidity that so many of us are experiencing.) 

Thanks for asking! I talked to the social worker at Dad's care facility and she had no rabbits to pull out of her hat. She agrees the trip would be quite difficult and shares my concerns about keeping him safe and cared for. He has no appreciation for how much goes into caring for him on a daily basis--his brain isn't working that way anymore. He wasn't scared out of his wits like I was when he got overwhelmed in a restaurant and started to slump to the floor. The social worker is looking into whether we could hire a nurse to take the trip with him, (at least) one nurse if his girlfriend is going and (at least) two if his girlfriend is not. I imagine this  will be crazy expensive. My next plan is to tell Dad this. I know he will not want nurses along but it is non-negotiable, as far as I'm concerned. Then, I will tell my aunt so that she can help his brothers understand that this would not be as easy a thing as I suspect Dad is portraying it to be. Dad's comment to my sister was that he needed help for the trip because he "doesn't have a car" and "probably can't drive anyway." Yeesh. 

I second your request for an update from @Christina87 and concern that things are okay with @DragonFaerie. Glad to hear you are starting to feel better, @Jynnan tonnix.

On an unrelated note, we took our kitties to the vet this weekend for their annual scheduled maintenance. We learned that Lucy, our 3 year-old, has a congenital skeletal deformity called pectus excavatum. This can result in severe symptoms but she is asymptomatic so fortunately it's not something to worry about in her case. Evidently Siamese kitties and other similar breeds are more likely to have this, adding more data to my hypothesis that Lucy is a related breed called an Oriental Shorthair.

Edited August 12, 2019 by jcbrown
corrected spelling to demonstrate I was not educated at the SOTDRT

[galaxychaser]

The 2 Canadian killers committed suicide. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7349417/Canadian-teen-serial-killers-died-suicide-gunfire-15-days-run-autopsy-reveals.html

[crazycatlady58]

10 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

The 2 Canadian killers committed suicide. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7349417/Canadian-teen-serial-killers-died-suicide-gunfire-15-days-run-autopsy-reveals.html

Cowards.