Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[Mindthinkr]

@jcbrown At least you followed your heart and tried to be helpful. 
At least you won’t feel haunted by not trying if he was the real deal. 

[Nysha]

I had a couple ask me for gas money at the laundromat/gas station. I gave them $5 and then watched as they went outside, counted the money they collected and then bought a pack of cigarettes. They tried the next week & I told them they hit me up last week. They actually got pissy with me for not giving them money, so I complained and they ended up banned.

Edited February 10, 2022 by Nysha

[Ijustwantsomechips]

1 hour ago, Nysha said:

I had a couple ask me for gas money at the laundromat/gas station. I gave them $5 and then watched as they went outside, counted the money they collected and then bought a pack of cigarettes. They tried the next week & I told them they hit me up last week. They actually got pissy with me for not giving them money, so I complained and they ended up banned.

I had a guy try to scam me for money in Walmart. He claimed he was diabetic and needed some cash to get a pre-made salad, water and one other item.  His story sounded convincing except he’d tried the same thing with my mom a few weeks earlier. She didn’t have any small bills but gave him the spare change in her purse, about $3 worth. Do you know the cheeky sumunabitch had the nerves to give it back and tell her no thank you?!?  She reported him to store management. 

When he tried to approach me, I ignored him since I had my earbuds in and I guess he thought I didn’t hear him.  The next time my mom saw him, she knew he recognized her and went in the other direction. 

Last year, a lady approached me at the gas station asking for gas money to get back home and to work for a few days. She was with her grand daughter in a really old minivan in bad condition. I told her I didn’t have it because my rule is never to go into my wallet or purse in front of someone in those situations. It just doesn’t seem safe. I waited until she’d walked back towards another pump and then handed her $20. While I filled up she went inside the station. I fully expected her to come out cigarettes or candy for the kid but she came out empty handed. She pumped what seemed to be about $20 worth, told me “God bless you”, waved and drove off.  I felt good about that.

Sometimes your conscience, or Spidey senses, or the Holy Spirit move you to help a person in need like the lady at the gas station.  All those biblical stories of angels disguised as strangers still live in the back of my mind.  And sometimes the scam scam alert goes off (👀 at you salad man).  

Edited February 10, 2022 by Ijustwantsomechips

[ginger90]

I was informed I got a raise. One of the reasons was because, “Unlike many others, you actually care.”.

No shit.

[Love2dance]

That is fabulous @ginger90. Congratulations.

[Scarlett45]

On 2/10/2022 at 5:49 PM, ginger90 said:

I was informed I got a raise. One of the reasons was because, “Unlike many others, you actually care.”.

No shit.

Yay for your raise!

[Rabbittron]

Well on Friday we had a major snow storm and of course they had to release my mom so an hour drive took 3 hours and if I knew any better than that I would have had my exhusband pick her up and drive her home because he works 4 blocks from the hospital. 

[ginger90]

A family down the road from me lost 2 children recently. They fell in an iced pond on their property. Their mother was able to pull one of the boys out. A dive team from the fire department  had to be called for the other. They were each taken to different hospitals, and subsequently flown to 2 different hospitals.

The children were 4 and 5 years old.

I figure others keeping them in their thoughts couldn’t hurt. 

[Rabbittron]

Well I just got off the phone with my stepmom and she has some things to do this month and next month so her and my dad will be here for Easter to celebrate her POMERANIAN 22 birthday. At least I got a good amount of notice. 

[Mindthinkr]

❤️ Happy Valentines Day ❤️

[GeeGolly]

Just popping in to say Happy Valentines Day STers! 

I'm really enjoying that its still somewhat light out at 5:30 and getting longer everyday! Hope the rest of today treats you all well.

[iwantcookies]

Happy Valentine’s Day! 
 

(I saw that on Instagram)

[BetyBee]

Happy Valentine's Day, Small Talk friends! 💜

My back went out for a few days. I missed most of my workouts and slowly went back to my exercises for my osteoporosis until today when it's almost all better. So I went ahead and did 2 miles of Walk Away the Pounds today. I have to move and I don't want to walk outside because it's still icy here and there. Cold too! Aerobic exercise is harder when you've slacked for a few days, but I had no pain over it, so I'm happy! We really enjoyed the Super Bowl last night. 

Our grandkids are coming in this weekend to celebrate our in town granddaughter's 13th birthday. So we will have all six staying here. The beds are ready for them, but I do have to vacuum upstairs. That should liven things up around here! 

I hope everyone is doing well today and ready for another week. Cheers!

[ChiCricket]

Happy Valentine's Day everyone 💕

BTW, I feel crabby as hell today, for absolutely NO REASON. 🙄

Well, except that I'm contemplating getting rid of my grandkids toys, and all of my dang Beanie Babies. 

  They're all too old to play with them anymore.  My youngest grand who lives here in Illinois just turned 13. 😭

But I really need to de-crappify this house. It might be morbid, but lately I've been thinking about how hard it was to go through my mom and dad's stuff when they passed. (I'll be 70 in May) 😬 

  The worst part was the strife and greed it caused between some of my siblings. (I'm one of 7) which still hasn't completely healed. I don't want that for my 5 kids.

::::::sigh::::::

I think I just need to give away whatever toys I can to my daughter-in-law for her grandkids (they're also my step-great-grands, but they never come to my house like my grandkids used to.) 

 I think I should start taking pictures of all all the toys they used to play with, to remember all the great times I had with them when they were all itty-bitty. 

I am so sad just thinking about doing it, ngl. 

(sorry so long, but I'm obviously avoiding doing the actual work) 😂

Edited February 15, 2022 by ChiCricket

[BetyBee]

14 minutes ago, ChiCricket said:

Happy Valentine's Day everyone 💕

BTW, I feel crabby as hell today, for absolutely NO REASON. 🙄

Well, except that I'm contemplating getting rid of my grandkids toys, and all of my dang Beanie Babies. 

  They're all too old to play with them anymore.  My youngest grand who lives here in Illinois just turned 13. 😭

But I really need to de-crappify this house. It might be morbid, but lately I've been thinking about how hard it was to go through my mom and dad's stuff when they passed. (I'll be 70 in May) 😬 

  The worst part was the strife and greed  it caused between some of my siblings. (I'm one of 7) which still hasn't completely healed. I don't want that for my 5 kids.

::::::sigh::::::

I think I just need to give away whatever toys I can to my daughter-in-law for her grandkids (they're also my step-grands, but they never come to my house like my grandkids used to.) 

 I think I should start taking pictures of all all the toys they used to play with, to remember all the great times I had with them when they were all itty-bitty. 

I am so sad just thinking about doing it, ngl. 

(sorry so long, but I'm obviously avoiding doing the actual work) 😂

(((ChiCricket))) - I think I can relate to some of what you're feeling. I felt similarly when we downsized and I had to let go of so many things. I felt especially sad when going through my kids' toys and tiny clothes and my heart would just break at the passage of time. And now I'm at the point where I don't like to bring a lot of stuff into our smaller place, because I don't want my kids to have to go through a lot when I'm gone. When I go into the room we have reserved for the grandkids when they visit, I see the baby toys in their crates and although we have 2 1/2 year old twin granddaughters who would still be amused by some of the toys, I don't think there are any more g'kids coming along, so I'll be getting rid of that stuff (including beanie babies) too in the not too distant future. 

My niece has to get rid of a houseful of stuff my late sister left. And my sister didn't have a will, so my niece has so much on her plate to organize, all while she's grieving for her Mom. Then there's my Mom, who has never thrown anything away. Luckily, my brother who lives with her, has cleared out the attic. Stuff from her generation like china hutches, people don't want anymore. I expect much of it will go to the Salvation Army when her time comes. 

I'm not trying to bring you down more! This is stuff we all  have to face at some point. I'm really sorry that dividing up your Mom's stuff drove wedges between you and your siblings. I'm one of 7 siblings too (6 now 😢) and I really hope that doesn't happen b/w me and my sibs when Mom passes.

I think you are really thoughtful to take pics of your kids' faves and to give the toys away. That is a great way to handle it. The sad feelings are probably inevitable. I can tell how much you appreciate your kids and grandkids at every age. It sounds like you have a very loving family. The sad feelings will pass. I hardly ever even think of all the stuff I've let go. Take care. I'm thinking of you. ❤️

[MargeGunderson]

For anyone decluttering/cleaning out, especially sentimental items, I came across this blog post that might be helpful. I wish I could help you all - I love cleaning things out. I have seen the difficulties of cleaning out relatives’ houses (and will someday have to clean out my mother-in-law’s house) so it is so thoughtful that you all are thinking of this to make things easier for your own families. 

[GeeGolly]

1 hour ago, ChiCricket said:

Happy Valentine's Day everyone 💕

BTW, I feel crabby as hell today, for absolutely NO REASON. 🙄

Well, except that I'm contemplating getting rid of my grandkids toys, and all of my dang Beanie Babies. 

  They're all too old to play with them anymore.  My youngest grand who lives here in Illinois just turned 13. 😭

But I really need to de-crappify this house. It might be morbid, but lately I've been thinking about how hard it was to go through my mom and dad's stuff when they passed. (I'll be 70 in May) 😬 

  The worst part was the strife and greed  it caused between some of my siblings. (I'm one of 7) which still hasn't completely healed. I don't want that for my 5 kids.

::::::sigh::::::

I think I just need to give away whatever toys I can to my daughter-in-law for her grandkids (they're also my step-grands, but they never come to my house like my grandkids used to.) 

 I think I should start taking pictures of all all the toys they used to play with, to remember all the great times I had with them when they were all itty-bitty. 

I am so sad just thinking about doing it, ngl. 

(sorry so long, but I'm obviously avoiding doing the actual work) 😂

Maybe save a couple of classic toys? Like one Beany Baby, a Lincoln Log tiny home, a Barbie and a Matchbox and display them on a shelf. Just enough to bring the memories back, but not too much to dust.

[crazy8s]

I have found it is easier to part with old things if I feel I have found a useful home for the items.

For kid things - card games, board games, puzzles, books, dvd kid movies, etc, our local safe shelter for women and children is incredibly happy to have them if they are in good shape and all pieces to games are included. since the kids most often come with nothing and need toys and books.

it makes it less sad to part with something when I picture a child who is unexpectedly in a strange place maybe finding a bit of comfort playing with the toys we no longer need.

they will not take baby furniture or equipment, since safety rules change and they don't have the time or staff to keep up with recalls.

[ChiCricket]

2 hours ago, crazy8s said:

I have found it is easier to part with old things if I feel I have found a useful home for the items.

For kid things - card games, board games, puzzles, books, dvd kid movies, etc, our local safe shelter for women and children is incredibly happy to have them if they are in good shape and all pieces to games are included. since the kids most often come with nothing and need toys and books.

it makes it less sad to part with something when I picture a child who is unexpectedly in a strange place maybe finding a bit of comfort playing with the toys we no longer need.

they will not take baby furniture or equipment, since safety rules change and they don't have the time or staff to keep up with recalls.

OMGosh I absolutely LOVE  this idea! Thank you for the suggestion :) 

[Scarlett45]

On 2/13/2022 at 1:25 PM, ginger90 said:

A family down the road from me lost 2 children recently. They fell in an iced pond on their property. Their mother was able to pull one of the boys out. A dive team from the fire department  had to be called for the other. They were each taken to different hospitals, and subsequently flown to 2 different hospitals.

The children were 4 and 5 years old.

I figure others keeping them in their thoughts couldn’t hurt. 

That’s so awful. I am so sorry. Such a tragedy. 

[Scarlett45]

Happy Valentine’s Day to my friends here in Small Talk. I am celebrating watching Sylvie’s Love- I cannot believe I haven’t seen this one yet. 
 

Yesterday was my godmother’s bday. My Mom asked for help making a heavenly birthday post- she had a photo all picked out from when we went to the black tie night at the Chicago Auto Show in 2015, and she said she was ready to delete her number. We were sad but we remembered some great bdays we spent together, Hawaii in 2014, we got massages in 2020- that was right before the pandemic and I had a massive headache acid reflux thing and I’ve always regretted feeling poorly that day because little did I know it would be the last time we would go to the spa together. 
 

I think Cosmo has had a good year with me, I am so thankful for him. Here’s a photo of he and Cavendish who are my Valentines this year. 

[CalicoKitty]

My brother and I were very fortunate when we "cleaned out" our parents's house.  They had lived there for over 60 years and it was stuffed to the gills with stuff--most of which was very good stuff.  Everyone took what they wanted, and then the realtor's son bought the house, and we could leave everything that was left and walk away.  We did let a woman from a thrift store post and sell some things, but whatever was still there, we just completed the house sale and left.  It was hard to leave some of the beautiful things, but we both already have full houses.  We will have to clean out our mother's apartment at assisted living when she passes, which will not be very much longer.  But there isn't too much, and we should be able to handle that together.

I am sitting here right now completely stuffed.  Some friends and I went to a great resort in Tahoe for a late lunch.  The view of the lake was spectacular, and the food was excellent.  I had the best salmon that I have had in a long time.  It was a great way to spend Valentine's Day.

Have a good rest of the week, everyone!!

 

[Cinnabon]

Today was my birthday and I’m feeling old. The last 2 years shouldn’t count, right?

[GeeGolly]

48 minutes ago, Cinnabon said:

Today was my birthday and I’m feeling old. The last 2 years shouldn’t count, right?

Happy Birthday. 2020, 2021 and 2022 should not count.

[Cinnabon]

20 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

Happy Birthday. 2020, 2021 and 2022 should not count.

Exactly! 🙂

[ChiCricket]

Happy Birthday! 

5 hours ago, Cinnabon said:

Today was my birthday and I’m feeling old. The last 2 years shouldn’t count, right?

[Scarlett45]

8 hours ago, Cinnabon said:

Today was my birthday and I’m feeling old. The last 2 years shouldn’t count, right?

Happy Birthday Cinnabon! We are all getting older, I am glad you’re here to share in the prayer closet. 

These last two years have been hard on all of us. It’s been a time for the history books. Next year you should celebrate in a big big way!

[MargeGunderson]

Happy birthday, @Cinnabon! Since the last few years don’t count, I think this means you should have extra cake.🎂

[Ijustwantsomechips]

Happy belated birthday @Cinnabon!

If it makes you feel any better, I realized that next year I will have been out of college for 20 years. 20 freakin’ years!!!  Where the hell did that time go? 

[ginger90]

My 13 year old grandson is going on a mission trip to Tennessee. I’m proud of him for wanting to do it. However, the cost per person going is a bit up there, and the schedule includes a lot of activities not related to the “purpose” of the trip. The kids are teenagers from his youth group. I know they will be doing meaningful tasks while there, but honestly it seems more of a vacation, to me. It could be that I am familiar with the Duggar way, and that is skewing my view, idk.

Edited February 15, 2022 by ginger90

[Absolom]

14 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

My 13 year old grandson is going on a mission trip to Tennessee. I’m proud of him for wanting to do it. However, the cost per person going is a bit up there, and the schedule includes a lot of activities not related to the “purpose” of the trip. The kids are teenagers from his youth group. I know they will be doing meaningful tasks while there, but honestly it seems more of a vacation, to me. It could be that I am familiar with the Duggar way that is skewing my view, idk.

I think learning about the Duggars, Rodrigues, and others does make us a bit more discerning when looking at "missions" and other ventures.  They might be better served in the long run calling it a youth group trip.  I think the term gets overused especially when fundraising for said "missions."  

[Liddy52]

39 minutes ago, Ijustwantsomechips said:

Happy belated birthday @Cinnabon!

If it makes you feel any better, I realized that next year I will have been out of college for 20 years. 20 freakin’ years!!!  Where the hell did that time go? 

Next year, I will have been out of college 50 years! I went year round and finished in 3 years instead of 4, but still, 50 years is hard to believe! In my mind I should only be about 50 years old!

[ginger90]

4 minutes ago, Absolom said:

I think learning about the Duggars, Rodrigues, and others does make us a bit more discerning when looking at "missions" and other ventures.  They might be better served in the long run calling it a youth group trip.  I think the term gets overused especially when fundraising for said "missions."  

Good points.

 

[peppergal]

27 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

My 13 year old grandson is going on a mission trip to Tennessee. I’m proud of him for wanting to do it. However, the cost per person going is a bit up there, and the schedule includes a lot of activities not related to the “purpose” of the trip. The kids are teenagers from his youth group. I know they will be doing meaningful tasks while there, but honestly it seems more of a vacation, to me. It could be that I am familiar with the Duggar way, and that is skewing my view, idk.

Is he going as part of Appalachia Service Project by any chance or is this something they are organizing on their own?

[ginger90]

7 minutes ago, peppergal said:

Is he going as part of Appalachia Service Project by any chance or is this something they are organizing on their own?

I believe it’s through TEAMeffort.

[peppergal]

4 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

I believe it’s through TEAMeffort.

Yeah that looks a lot less service oriented than the ASP projects.  I'd agree with the others that it is more of a youth semi-educational excursion than a youth mission trip. 

The church I grew up in used to do ASP before they figured out they could have even more of an impact for the same cost by banding together with other local churches and doing the same sort of construction/maintenance work in the local community.  There were no trips to Dollywood as part of the official ASP package.  The groups that went up would sometimes extend their trip by making a side trip somewhere fun on the way up or back.  The church was very careful to require that only the $350 fee for doing ASP could be part of a participant's mission fundraising.  If they wanted to be part of a pre/post mission fun trip that money had to come from a fundraiser that clearly stated it was for a fun trip and not a mission trip, or be paid out of pocket.  They did that mostly because the tax deductability of paying for someone to participate in a mission trip run by a non-profit can be quite different than that of paying for someone to go white water rafting with their church group. 

 

 

[Cinnabon]

8 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

Happy birthday, @Cinnabon! Since the last few years don’t count, I think this means you should have extra cake.🎂

Haha I’ve had too much cake (and ice cream, and takeout food, etc) during the last couple years and my clothes don’t fit! That’s what I get for wearing only stretchy clothing during the pandemic.

[lookeyloo]

20 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Happy Valentine’s Day to my friends here in Small Talk. I am celebrating watching Sylvie’s Love- I cannot believe I haven’t seen this one yet. 
 

Yesterday was my godmother’s bday. My Mom asked for help making a heavenly birthday post- she had a photo all picked out from when we went to the black tie night at the Chicago Auto Show in 2015, and she said she was ready to delete her number. We were sad but we remembered some great bdays we spent together, Hawaii in 2014, we got massages in 2020- that was right before the pandemic and I had a massive headache acid reflux thing and I’ve always regretted feeling poorly that day because little did I know it would be the last time we would go to the spa together. 
 

I think Cosmo has had a good year with me, I am so thankful for him. Here’s a photo of he and Cavendish who are my Valentines this year. 

Sweet furry babies!  Mr. lookeyloo and I loved Sylvie's Love.  Very good movie.

[Mindthinkr]

Happy Belated Birthday @Cinnabon I’m glad you had cake and celebrated 🎉

Yesterday my kitty BB got knocked out for dental work. Today I got knocked out for dental work. Today we spent the day together sleeping in bed. Squeaky gets hers done Friday and will be joining us then. 

[MargeGunderson]

Just now, Mindthinkr said:

Happy Belated Birthday @Cinnabon I’m glad you had cake and celebrated 🎉

Yesterday my kitty BB got knocked out for dental work. Today I got knocked out for dental work. Today we spent the day together sleeping in bed. Squeaky gets hers done Friday and will be joining us then. 

May you all have swift and easy recoveries!

[zoomama]

back to the cleaning out houses convo, i am one of those who worries about what my kids will have to dig through. i wish i could say that i have narrowed it down, but i have much work to do ahead of me. i got off to a great start and then slacked off. i am the only one who sews in the family and i have 3 machines and 2 sergers. i have boxes of fabric and notions and patterns. i am a book hoarder too but i am getting better there. i collect roosters and american flag decor so there's a lot of that, too much probably. point is, i have a lot although it doesnt look like it (its all neat and orderly).  i need to get back on the clean-out bandwagon.

[GeeGolly]

If it makes anyone feel better - stuff is stuff. I learned this the hard way after a major weather event. We lost just about everything we owned. What I miss most is pictures. Well really after all this time, pictures are the only thing I miss. That and the memories that were in our old home. I truly don't miss the stuff.

[ginger90]

Sometimes I wish we could use 2 reactions to a post. 

[Rabbittron]

I just got off the phone with my mom and she told me she just adopted a cutie patootie.  She said that she wasn't up to driving to the airport to pickup Aunt Rikki and I said you are going to be 66 in may are you fucking crazy? So I  hope that it doesn't snow in the morning because I have to be at the airport at 930.

[iwantcookies]

Went yesterday to get discounted vday candy. There was nothing I liked left. Oh well guess it’s a good thing for me not to eat all that sugar.

[Rabbittron]

Well here is what happened it took sometime but a while ago my mom saw on a internal web site her friend who has a animal sanctuary that showed about 6 months ago all the puppies that were going to be in puppy bowl 22 and she adopted one of the puppies and she kept it a secret till today. 

[Mindthinkr]

38 minutes ago, Rabbittron said:

Well here is what happened it took sometime but a while ago my mom saw on a internal web site her friend who has a animal sanctuary that showed about 6 months ago all the puppies that were going to be in puppy bowl 22 and she adopted one of the puppies and she kept it a secret till today. 

How wonderful for her and what a lucky puppy. 

[CalicoKitty]

In the Duggar Friends topic there is a discussion about the Rods and their attachment to the KJV Bible.  I have a question for our Bible scholars.  Has anyone read, or does anyone have an opinion on the Lamsa translation.  I have a copy because one of my father's customers, a sweet old Assyrian man, who I liked very much as a child, was a personal friend of Lamsa.  Lamsa apparently was fluent in Aramaic, and he shows some samples of words that look so close, it is very interesting.  Example, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" is translated "rope" instead of "camel", and the words look almost identical.  I know his translation has caused a lot of heat and controversy, but I am interested to get some historical perspective, mainly because I received this as a gift.

[lilwhitelion]

10 hours ago, CalicoKitty said:

In the Duggar Friends topic there is a discussion about the Rods and their attachment to the KJV Bible.  I have a question for our Bible scholars.  Has anyone read, or does anyone have an opinion on the Lamsa translation.  I have a copy because one of my father's customers, a sweet old Assyrian man, who I liked very much as a child, was a personal friend of Lamsa.  Lamsa apparently was fluent in Aramaic, and he shows some samples of words that look so close, it is very interesting.  Example, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" is translated "rope" instead of "camel", and the words look almost identical.  I know his translation has caused a lot of heat and controversy, but I am interested to get some historical perspective, mainly because I received this as a gift.

I'm no scholar, so can't answer to that, but having it be rope makes so much more sense.  Rope vs thread would be the kind of poetic imagery that was commonly used.  Camel makes no sense!

[Cinnabon]

8 hours ago, lilwhitelion said:

I'm no scholar, so can't answer to that, but having it be rope makes so much more sense.  Rope vs thread would be the kind of poetic imagery that was commonly used.  Camel makes no sense!

Either way, the point is very clear. Too bad so many “christians” don’t seem to understand it.