Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[Jynnan tonnix]

Anybody else want to share their Christmas trees? I love to see all the different ways people make theirs special. Ours has no rhyme, reason or theme, but has over 30 years' worth of our own ornaments gathered from hither and yon, plus a few real "antiques" (there's an elf riding a rocket ship toward the upper middle, which is always the first one to go on. It was a fixture on the trees in my husband's family, and dates to the very beginnings of the Space program in the 60's).

Edited December 14, 2017 by Jynnan tonnix
wrangling rogue bits of text that got stuck around the picture,

[jcbrown]

4 hours ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

So she marched her nasty little paws feet to the ballot litter box? Just a play on a quote for the sake of humor.

She's actually named for Sir Edmund Hillary because she is so tenacious. With turds, as well as other more constructive pursuits, evidently. :-)

[SnarkyShark]

1 hour ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

Anybody else want to share their Christmas trees? I love to see all the different ways people make theirs special. Ours has no rhyme, reason or theme, but has over 30 years' worth of our own ornaments gathered from hither and yon, plus a few real "antiques" (there's an elf riding a rocket ship toward the upper middle, which is always the first one to go on. It was a fixture on the trees in my husband's family, and dates to the very beginnings of the Space program in the 60's).

That reminds me of my family's tree, featuring its own eccentric ornament collection. We have all of Santa's reindeer, homemade ornaments, but the favorites are the ornaments of ships from Star Wars and Star Trek.

[Arwen Evenstar]

@Jynnan tonnix love your tree. I alway envy those who can take a hodgepodge of objects and make something so delightful.  I’m hopeless at it.  I need a color or theme, but I also love how ornaments tell us all something about the personality of the family members.

[Jynnan tonnix]

4 hours ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

@Jynnan tonnix love your tree. I alway envy those who can take a hodgepodge of objects and make something so delightful.  I’m hopeless at it.  I need a color or theme, but I also love how ornaments tell us all something about the personality of the family members.

Aww, thanks, Arwen...Actually, I'm pretty hopeless at cooming up with anything when I don't have some sort of template, but Christmas trees are pretty much just a matter of hanging stuff up, taking a step back, and seeing whether there are any bald spots or areas with too much of the same color/shape together. Rinse and repeat. I can't really take much credit for the result. Most of it is practically accidental. But I do appreciate your kind words :)

[Barb23]

@Jynnan tonnix, Love your tree & the story about the elf on the rocketship ornament. I got married in November and one of my good friends gave me a box of ornaments for our first tree as a shower gift. Some were fancy & some were homemade or bought at a fair. I love them & after 33 years of marriage I think we still have most of them. 

Our tree is made up of a collection of ornaments too.  When my son was in his Lego stage (which was most of his childhood) we had abundance of Lego ornaments as well as Star Wars on the tree.  I like to pickup ornaments while on vacation.  I do get sentimental when decorating, reminiscing about where the ornaments & decorations came from which does extend the decorating time.  Maybe that's why it has become my job. We also put  silver icicle tinsel on the tree, a tradition from both our families. It is messy but not too bad & we don't have any furry friends that would bother it.

[Jynnan tonnix]

26 minutes ago, Barb23 said:

@Jynnan tonnix, Love your tree & the story about the elf on the rocketship ornament. I got married in November and one of my good friends gave me a box of ornaments for our first tree as a shower gift. Some were fancy & some were homemade or bought at a fair. I love them & after 33 years of marriage I think we still have most of them. 

Our tree is made up of a collection of ornaments too.  When my son was in his Lego stage (which was most of his childhood) we had abundance of Lego ornaments as well as Star Wars on the tree.  I like to pickup ornaments while on vacation.  I do get sentimental when decorating, reminiscing about where the ornaments & decorations came from which does extend the decorating time.  Maybe that's why it has become my job. We also put  silver icicle tinsel on the tree, a tradition from both our families. It is messy but not too bad & we don't have any furry friends that would bother it.

Haha...Yeah, we do the tinsel most of the time despite having a couple of furballs, but they do't really bother with it. I like the tinsel. but it's so hard, after the first few carefully placed strands, not to just start lobbing fistfuls of it at the tree and hoping it sticks in a good spot. And then you find it floating around for weeks after the tree comes down. So, since I had to do the tree by myself this year, I opted to forget it :)

I also have a few ornaments the kids made back in kindergarten and preschool which I can't bear to part with, even though the youngest of my babies is almost 27. I end up having to piece some of them back together every year after they have somehow disintegrated even further just sitting in a box. I put them toward the back of the tree, or tucked between some interior branches where they won't serve as a focal point, but I have to find a space for them somewhere!

Actually, though, one of my favorites is a Christmas bulb my daughter painted (I was doing some as a bit of a side business at the time, and she was also good at art work). I think she was about 15 at the time, and we were all into the Harry Potter books and movies. She painted one (you can see it on the tree, slightly below center, a little below the golden rooster, but unfortunately the photo doesn't show detail) depicting a Quidditch match, with Snape (she knew I had a thing for Alan Rickman) skulking about at the bottom. It always makes me smile!

Edited December 16, 2017 by Jynnan tonnix

[Arwen Evenstar]

22 minutes ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

Quidditch match, with Snape (she knew I had a thing for Alan Rickman) skulking about at the bottom. It always makes me smile!

Snape is my favorite character. I, too, found his brooding look kinda smexy. Skulking is such a marvelous word.

[jcbrown]

We use twisted metal icicles on our tree, which don't hurt the floor when the cats pull them off and are inedible, even to my cardboard-munching oddball. I like them a lot, even though I find them under furniture until roughly June. Like these: https://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Christmas-Tree-Tinsel-Ornaments/dp/B0131J0X30

Edited December 17, 2017 by jcbrown

[latetotheparty]

8 hours ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

 (she knew I had a thing for Alan Rickman) 

Who doesn't?? :). Alan Rickman was my gateway to fandom and everything good that's happened in my life because of it. 

[Catfin]

TMI, my old kitty, Stinker, used to eat the tinsel strands and "create" festive litter box leavings. (Tinsel stuck in poo). We always said we should hang them on the tree.  Never did, but laughed about him wanting to participate. 

[Sew Sumi]

Our city's recycling won't pick up trees with tinsel. No biggie, I guess, as it seems to be kind of out of fashion these days (but flocked trees are making an unfortunate comeback). 

We don't have space for a nice floor to ceiling tree, so I put up a small fake one on top of our very 90's entertainment center every year. It's all festooned with ornaments and lights; no one is the wiser. 

[Arwen Evenstar]

3 hours ago, Catfin said:

TMI, my old kitty, Stinker, used to eat the tinsel strands and "create" festive litter box leavings. (Tinsel stuck in poo). We always said we should hang them on the tree.  Never did, but laughed about him wanting to participate. 

That’s freaking hilarious! In Alaska, a popular souvenir was jewelry made from lacquered moose droppings. The oosik is another interesting souvenir. I’ll let you all Google that oddity.

All joking aside, those loose icicles and tinsel can be really dangerous for pets.  Also, the water in the tree stand can make them sick, too.

[Love2dance]

18 minutes ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

The oosik is another interesting souvenir. I’ll let you all Google that oddity.

 

You made me look. Ewwwwwwwww.  ?

Edited December 17, 2017 by Love2dance
Clarity

[Barb23]

11 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Our city's recycling won't pick up trees with tinsel. No biggie, I guess, as it seems to be kind of out of fashion these days (but flocked trees are making an unfortunate comeback). 

We don't have space for a nice floor to ceiling tree, so I put up a small fake one on top of our very 90's entertainment center every year. It's all festooned with ornaments and lights; no one is the wiser. 

Oh the flocked trees.  Growing up it became a tradition for our neighborhood (mainly kids) to show up on the Smith's lawn to watch Mr. Smith flock their huge Christmas tree. It was a novelty back then & we had never seen anything like it.

[Jynnan tonnix]

15 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Our city's recycling won't pick up trees with tinsel. No biggie, I guess, as it seems to be kind of out of fashion these days (but flocked trees are making an unfortunate comeback). 

We don't have space for a nice floor to ceiling tree, so I put up a small fake one on top of our very 90's entertainment center every year. It's all festooned with ornaments and lights; no one is the wiser. 

Our tree is fake as well, though it is a 7' one. We got our first fake tree back when we were stationed in Guam, as it was darn near impossible to get a real tree which wasn't already shedding needles heavily by the  time you even got it up. And given that they came to the island right after Thanksgiving and were immediately snatched up, they were going to be pretty much bald by the time Christmas rolled around anyway. We got a better one when we were stationed in Hawaii some years later, as it was close to the same story there. It's still in good shape, so we just use that, but I do miss having a real tree. I honestly prefer the firs over the spruces, as there's better space between the branches for things to dangle nicely, but Mr Jyn grew up with spruce Christmas trees and doesn't consider anything else quite "right". Some years I get a smaller, real tree (a fir, for me!) to put in the 3-season porch. It lasts virtually forever out there with no heat. A couple of years ago I had one that I finally got around to taking down sometime toward the end of February, and nary a needle was shed.

Edited December 17, 2017 by Jynnan tonnix

[Jynnan tonnix]

12 hours ago, Love2dance said:

You made me look. Ewwwwwwwww.  ?

Haha! Your comment was the thing that finally made me look. I'll say a bone(r) is a bone(r), and it's actually kind of cool as long as you don't have an issue with animal-derived products,and it's not from an endangered species. 

[Arwen Evenstar]

22 minutes ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

Haha! Your comment was the thing that finally made me look. I'll say a bone(r) is a bone(r), and it's actually kind of cool as long as you don't have an issue with animal-derived products,and it's not from an endangered species. 

I think it’s more of an Inuit thing for a tribal elder who has earned the right to have one.  Indigenous peoples do NOT waste anything and only take what they need. Personally, I have no issue with indigenous peoples preserving their culture. They can’t exactly find salad greens in the middle of winter.  Now, that said, commercial seal hunting and whaling are monstrous as far as I’m concerned. 

[Jynnan tonnix]

4 minutes ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

I think it’s more of an Inuit thing for a tribal elder who has earned the right to have one.  Indigenous peoples do NOT waste anything and only take what they need. Personally, I have no issue with indigenous peoples preserving their culture. They can’t exactly find salad greens in the middle of winter.  Now, that said, commercial seal hunting and whaling are monstrous as far as I’m concerned. 

That makes sense. And ITA on the seal hunting/whaling thing.

[Arwen Evenstar]

14 minutes ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

That makes sense. And ITA on the seal hunting/whaling thing.

The Faroese have been under fire for their annual whale hunts, but the Danish government permits it because it’s for their own consumption and part of their history.  For one’s own consumption is far different than a wholesale commercial slaughter. The Inuit from Alaska to Greenland also eat whale meat and blubber and seal meat. The primary goal is food, not a seal pelt. I think none of us condemn those who need to feed themselves, but wastefulness and brutality of commercial sealing/whaling are abhorrent. 

[Lady Edith]

Hey everyone!  I took a brief hiatus from the boards.  Work got crazy prepping for an event and, now that it’s over, I’m back!  I’m catching up on posts and such.  Missed you guys!  Glad to be back!

[Marigold]

I can't figure out how to load pictures.

I have a tall real tree with just white lights. No ornaments.  Too stressful for me.  ;)

[ginger90]

8 hours ago, Marigold said:

I can't figure out how to load pictures.

In the reply box, click "insert other media" then click "Insert existing attachment" , and choose a picture you have saved.  

[emma675]

I have the same problem, Marigold. It always says my pics are too big to load.

[Jynnan tonnix]

2 hours ago, emma675 said:

I have the same problem, Marigold. It always says my pics are too big to load.

I generally use ones that I have on Facebook - I just re-save those to my photos. Sometimes I save them to Facebook specifically for that purpose. I'm sure there's an easier way, but this works for me.

[ChiCricket]

3 hours ago, emma675 said:

I have the same problem, Marigold. It always says my pics are too big to load.

Download this free app : Reduce Photo Size

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shoozhoo.imageresizer 

Go into that program, and hit *select photo*

Then hit *reduce photo* 

Then go to top right and *hit 3 dots*

Choose *reduce*

Then *choose 640 X 640 (VGA)*

Then go back to top right *little dots*

Choose *save as* (just let it use the name it comes up with)

Make sure you use the reduced photo to post (should be a jpeg)

Sounds hard, but I'm an old lady, and if I can do it, anyone can! ?

Ps I included a picture I reduced this way, which is how I've felt all 2017 :)

Edited December 18, 2017 by ChiCricket

[Sew Sumi]

5 hours ago, emma675 said:

I have the same problem, Marigold. It always says my pics are too big to load.

You have to resize them. Happens to me all the time.

[jjane]

Hi guys, I stepped away from the boards for a while. It's been a bad year with the loss of two brothers and a couple of health scares, but it seems to be looking up. We finally found a house in the city about an hour away that we have been dying to move to. Hope to close on the fifth of January and make a new start. This house will be much better for me as far as my physical limitations so I'm excited about it. To everyone here, thanks for the support all year and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and that those of you who have also had challenges have a much better 2018. Much love and big virtual hugs to you.

[andromeda331]

3 hours ago, jjane said:

Hi guys, I stepped away from the boards for a while. It's been a bad year with the loss of two brothers and a couple of health scares, but it seems to be looking up. We finally found a house in the city about an hour away that we have been dying to move to. Hope to close on the fifth of January and make a new start. This house will be much better for me as far as my physical limitations so I'm excited about it. To everyone here, thanks for the support all year and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and that those of you who have also had challenges have a much better 2018. Much love and big virtual hugs to you.

Hugs to you too. I'm so sorry for your loss. Congratulations on your new house and I hope next year is a much better year for you. Have a wonderful holiday. 

[CalicoKitty]

Question:  Does anyone have experience with a knee replacement revision?  I have been in constant pain since my replacement in 2011,  and my comp carrier denied me going to an ortho doc because it "was not medically necessary".  I finally have a great comp doc, who managed to get a visit to an ortho approved, and, lo and behold, my hardware has come lose.  I am scheduled for a revision in April.  I'm concerned because the hospital stay is longer than it was for my original surgery, so I'm wondering if there are any other inherent problems I need to know about.  I'm NOT looking forward to the post-op pain and procedures, but I am really looking forward to being able to walk and go shopping again.

[ChiCricket]

On 12/20/2017 at 4:57 PM, CalicoKitty said:

Question:  Does anyone have experience with a knee replacement revision?  I have been in constant pain since my replacement in 2011,  and my comp carrier denied me going to an ortho doc because it "was not medically necessary".  I finally have a great comp doc, who managed to get a visit to an ortho approved, and, lo and behold, my hardware has come lose.  I am scheduled for a revision in April.  I'm concerned because the hospital stay is longer than it was for my original surgery, so I'm wondering if there are any other inherent problems I need to know about.  I'm NOT looking forward to the post-op pain and procedures, but I am really looking forward to being able to walk and go shopping again.

    I just got an MRI today so I can  get my left knee replaced. I had my right knee replaced in July....the difference was amazing. I'm kicking myself that I didn't get this done years ago. But I didn't know the hardware could come loose! Wow.

 Here's hoping my second one goes as well as the first one.

Aaaaand now I probably jinxed myself. 0_o

I hope everything goes well for you and your revision. :)

[Catfin]

How is everyone holding up with holiday stress? Year end and Christmas should not occur at the same time! 

Gifts are bought and need to be wrapped. Plans in place for Christmas Eve with my side. DH's family can't commit or plan more than a day ahead, so we're dong our own thing and planning on us, our kids, stepdaughter and her kids for Christmas Day.  Kind of sad yet freeing when the extended families stop gathering.  I'm done being the cruise director for that side.  Someone else can host if they're interested. Ahhhhhh. 

[CalicoKitty]

1 hour ago, ChiCricket said:

    I just got an MRI today so I can  get my left knee replaced. I had my right knee replaced in July....the difference was amazing. I'm kicking myself that I didn't get this done years ago. But I didn't know the hardware could come loose! Wow.

 Here's hoping my second one goes as well as the first one.

Aaaaand now I probably jinxed myself. 0_o

I hope everything goes well for you and your revision. :)

Thank you.  I wish this had gone  according to plan the first time.  My best thoughts for your successful surgery!

[jjane]

@Catfin, I know how you feel. I took over when  Mama's  Parkinsons got bad and kept it up after her death for Daddy. When he died I quit. It was too much with my fibromyalgia, since the only offers of help consisted of my sister calling on Christmas day to ask what she could go and pick up from whatever store might be open. Then there was the fact that at least one person always felt it necessary to let me know the cornbread dressing wasn't quite like Mama's. I'd been the one making it at that point exactly the way she taught me for roughly ten years.  That showed me how much  attention they had been paying.  I did make the effort this past Christmas for some reason and I'm glad I did because both my brothers died this year. The last time I did it  was because I knew it would be my brother-in-law's last Christmas and it turned out to be Daddy's last as well. O Lord, maybe there's a connection there.  I think I'll just ask Hubby to BBQ this year. I'm running out of relatives.

[ChiCricket]

1 hour ago, Catfin said:

How is everyone holding up with holiday stress? Year end and Christmas should not occur at the same time! 

Gifts are bought and need to be wrapped. 

 I was just thinking I wish the PTV forums could be read out loud to me somehow while I wrap umpteen packages. :)

[zoomama]

most everything is bought and wrapped. need to make one more trip to the stores BUT i ended up with vertigo today so not a darn thing got done on my first kid-free day. hoping i can finish it all on saturday when DH will be here to drive me...unless the dizziness is gone in the morning. 

[bythelake]

 Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa to all. 2017 was a tough year for many on this board, with health, family and personal issues as well as the devastating hurricanes. Although relatively new to posting, I've been lurking since the days of twop. You are all a great bunch of kind, intelligent people and I continue to be amazed at your knowledge of so many different subjects. I hope that 2018 is a kinder year for all. Have a great holiday season.

[bigskygirl]

I am patiently waiting for the year to be over with. My anxiety has gotten worse, so if I do not start feeling better, I will go in and see about how to get a better handle on it. The good news is we are getting snow, the bad news is the roads are terrible. The cold is not helping at all. I feel like crap. My husband is having problems at work to the point I am ready to go to the main office and raise some heck. Sassy has a bad case of cabin fever. It could be a lot worse. We are lucky compared to a lot of people.

[emma675]

I, too, am ready for this year to be over. I've put up my decorations, bought all the presents, and am traveling to see family, but I'm just not in the holiday spirit this year. I'll fake it, but I'm just ready for it to be done. Hopefully 2018 is better for all of us.

[bigskygirl]

Could be worse, we could be married to Dwerp Boy Man, or have the Duggars for in-laws. I will leave a trail in the snow to follow so others can find the Prayer Closet in the snow and cold. Hot chocolate and other winter weather treats will be sitting out for my fellow heathens.

[Love2dance]

Wishing everyone a happy, and for most, healthier year in 2018. The only reason I am happy the Duggars are being renewed is that it means I still get to hang out here with all of you. See you all partying in the Prayer Closet❣️

[Porkchop]

Zoomama ... have you tried the body movements to relieve vertigo? It seems like a weird thing to do, but moving your body around in certain ways seems to dislodge the crystals in your inner ear. I had success with a simple version (compared to the Epley maneuver and others found on the internet), and have been vertigo-free for three weeks! 

[Love2dance]

1 hour ago, Porkchop said:

Zoomama ... have you tried the body movements to relieve vertigo? It seems like a weird thing to do, but moving your body around in certain ways seems to dislodge the crystals in your inner ear. I had success with a simple version (compared to the Epley maneuver and others found on the internet), and have been vertigo-free for three weeks! 

Vertigo sufferer here too....I have had success with Epley maneuver. It’s pretty easy (google it), but what kind of body movements did you use, @Porkchop? I’d like to try something new next time I get an attack.

[zoomama]

1 hour ago, Porkchop said:

Zoomama ... have you tried the body movements to relieve vertigo? It seems like a weird thing to do, but moving your body around in certain ways seems to dislodge the crystals in your inner ear. I had success with a simple version (compared to the Epley maneuver and others found on the internet), and have been vertigo-free for three weeks! 

i would love to know what you tried. i thought today was better but alas, no. i have not tried the epley moves - guess i need to google this stuff. 

[jcbrown]

I am a long-time vertigo sufferer and I have had better luck with the half-somersault than the Epley. You can find it here: http://www.halfsomersaultmaneuver.com/

[zoomama]

3 hours ago, jcbrown said:

I am a long-time vertigo sufferer and I have had better luck with the half-somersault than the Epley. You can find it here: http://www.halfsomersaultmaneuver.com/

i will be trying this!!!   thanks for sharing the video -- its seems easy enough. today was another bad day -- tried to drive to the market close by and it was not a fun endeavor. spent the rest of the day in bed, being still. 

[Porkchop]

I got these instructions from a friend who said it worked for her. It is so simple, I feel silly passing it on .... but it did seem to work for me. Sit on the edge of your bed, then fling yourself backwards as hard as you can, landing on your right side (if it's your right ear that is involved). Or left if left ear.
There is something inherently silly and childlike about "flinging yourself backwards" ... so not only am I cured by this process, I am also entertained!
By all means, Google the Epley maneuver, and the other variations. Vertigo is such a downer ... I am delighted to be free of it.

[Love2dance]

31 minutes ago, zoomama said:

i will be trying this!!!   thanks for sharing the video -- its seems easy enough. today was another bad day -- tried to drive to the market close by and it was not a fun endeavor. spent the rest of the day in bed, being still. 

Hope this works for you, @zoomama. If I have another attack, I’m going to try both the Epley and Half Summersault. If I get brave, or desperate, maybe the backward fling. ?

[Catfin]

Crap. The water heater just died.  Off to Home Depot with Mr. Fin. Glad he's handy and able to take care of this stuff. 

[Marigold]

You guys have brought me a lot of smiles and fun. 

I wish everyone good health and a beautiful new year. 

Edited December 23, 2017 by Marigold