Women's Sci Fi Fan Club and Sewing Circle 2

[fanuilhgkar]

We're not stuck here. Well, not today, anyway. Yesterday we were. The sun is out and the snow is melting, but there are many roads (secondary and smaller) which have not been cleared, so there's plenty of ice and snow to drive on. I know how to drive in it, but most of the rednecks in this area don't. Their usual technique is to get right on your rear bumper. Idiots. People here can't even drive intelligently when it's sunny and dry. Add a little ice and snow and you've got a catastrophe. The governor declared the state a disaster area, in fact. Lots of power outages, none here, fortunately. I did talk hubby into staying home from work last night, and it helped when he called in that they told him to stay home.

Anyway, I just got back from an eye appointment and other than a few slushy spots, the main roads are clear. Our street hasn't been cleared, and probably won't be. Sumter county ain't got squat for snow clearing equipment. Hubby and I cleared the driveway this morning (man, that's a lot of work, especially breaking up the ice under the snow, especially if you don't own a snow shovel), but the sun is taking care of most of what we left.

It's warmer, too, and I just put the dogs outside for the afternoon. They've been hanging out in the house for two days. Most of them don't mind, but one would really rather be outside chasing the birds and playing in the snow.

Yesterday evening the local news said that in less than 24 hours 1400 auto accidents were reported. The usual for 24 hours is 70.

The upside is the birds are really hitting our bird feeders now, and I went out and took pictures yesterday. I sure hope they come out, it's hard to make the birds pose.

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[fanuilhgkar]

I was going to post this over on the Fellowship of the Ring discussion, but I'm not sure it belongs there. And I'm risking exposing myself as an idiot but it sort of illustrates where my head is, sometimes.

About 2 1/2 years ago I was working an exercise out in the southwestern US. I was at Holloman Air Force Base, NM, which is not far from White Sands Missile Range. One day one of the radar unit people out there with us mentioned that there had been an animal imported from somewhere else to White Sands Missile Range some years ago. I don't remember why they brought these antelope in, but they did. They're called oryx. I don't know if the plural is oryxes, but anyway, what this person said was, "They have oryx on White Sands Missile Range." What I heard was (some of you are probably already there), "They have orcs on White Sands Missile Range."

Now, I knew they didn't really have orcs out there, but I was afraid to ask what the heck they did have, really, so I kept my mouth shut. I found out later what an oryx was. But if they did have orcs out there, they probably wouldn't ever have to worry about trespassers.




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[PollyMath]

But I would sure hate to see what a bunch of orcs would get themselves up to if they had missles near to hand. Seems to me that orcs combine two qualities: 1) smart enough to figure out how to use a new weapon and 2) blood thirsty enough to want to use it. Could be dangerous if you ask me.

Glad to hear you aren't impossibly clobbered by the snow. We (tri-state coastal area) are being told to watch out for snow sometime on Sunday. I hope it isn't too early. My choir is supposed to be singing two concerts at a nursing home/assisted living facility on Sunday. Then I have karate.

By the way, I still love my karate class. I'm learning the next two forms and working on combinations. These forms are a little more complicated than number one was. I keep getting my left and right side mixed up. And it is sort of confusing learning two at a time. I have a tendancy to mix and match bits of each that is very embarassing.

I tried to break two boards last week - failed dismally. That is OK because I don't have to do it until I go for a purple belt. Right now, I'm yellow, then green, then purple, then brown, then black. But it is a little frustrating (and painful) to hit something and not break it. I've done a single board with both right and left hands.

Our teacher did mention that damp boards are harder to break, so I have my boards in my apartment near the hot air heater, instead of sitting in the trunk of my car. I don't think that will be enough to fix the problem, but it is worth a try. What I really need is a little better technique and a lot more push-ups (or vice versa).

I suppose it would also help if I could look at the two of them there and believe it is possible for me to break them. I don't. Not yet. Maybe in a few months. Maybe in a few weeks. Maybe this week. But last week? No way. I was extremely intimidated.

Love to all,

Polly

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[Sycamore Evenstar]

Neener, neener, neener!

I think our total snow for the entire season is under 2"! We had some snow showers over Christmas--just enough to be pretty coming down, but not adding up to anything (obviously!). Sure hope we don't get 16 feet of it in June!!



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[PollyMath]

I need some advice on how to offer comfort to a person who is facing losing a pet.

My brother's guinea pig may have kidney failure. If she does, she will die. There isn't anything to do for it. They are going to try to do a blood test at the end of the week to confirm it, but they may not be able to draw the blood. Evidently, guinea pigs don't react well to being poked and prodded; it can cause them to die just from the stress.

Anyway, the vet said that if it is kidney failure, she has 3 months at the outside. Maybe less. She is losing weight like the dickens (5 ounces in the last month), but is in no evident distress, is eating well, etc.

My brother is devastated. He adores this animal. He has had a few pets before, but most of the others didn't really have any personality.

What do I do? Last night I listened. I told him what a wonderful life he has given this animal. I told him to get her some of her favorite food (parsley). I told him gently that he was a responsible person and would do the right thing (have her put to sleep) if she got to the point where she was in pain or couldn't eat at all or something else that would lead to a horrible death. I told him to tell some of his friends out there who can: 1) give him a hug and 2) understand what it is like to lose a pet (I've never had one except a few fish).

What else do I do? I can't think of anything. What has made you feel better when facing losing a pet.

The one thing he can't do it go out and get another one. He does expect to be moving at the end of the academic year, and he should at least wait until he is settled in a new place.

Thank you to all for the help.

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[fanuilhgkar]

Jeez, Polly, I don't know how I missed seeing your post for so many days and now it may be too late. I hope not.

You've done what you can. If the guinea pig is dying, there isn't much that can be done. Having her put to sleep is the kindest thing once her pain has gotten to the point that she's miserable. You can't explain to an animal what's going on, and although I've never actually been inside a critter's head, I don't know that they have the ability to remember that they didn't always feel the way they do now.

We had one of our dogs put to sleep a couple years ago. She had liver cancer and it was going to kill her. I came home from a business trip to find her so sick that I knew it was over. Didn't even unpack my suitcase, we just picked her up and took her to the vet. It was in a sense a very easy decision, because I knew there wasn't any way to fix what was wrong with her and she was so miserable. It was also a very difficult decision because I didn't want to let her go. I still miss her. At least the vet let us hold her so we were with her when she died.

Getting another animal right away isn't always a good idea, even if you aren't moving. He should give himself time to grieve. And oh, by the way, it's okay to grieve. It's a loss. He's allowed to cry. Some people don't understand the emotional investment that can be made in a pet, but losing someone you love is never easy. In some ways it's worse with an animal; they've never misjudged you, griped at you, left dirty socks on the floor, eaten the last piece of cake, forgotten to take out the trash, left dirty dishes in the sink, or given you back the keys to your car with the gas tank containing only fumes.

Give him a hug for me, would you?

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[PollyMath]

First of all, sorry about the triple post. The board seems to be behaving better today. I will try to delete the extras. Didn't work the last time I tried.

We have some good news and some weird news on the guinea pig front. Koa (her name) does not have kidney failure! That's the good news. The weird news is that the vet has no idea what is wrong. She has lost a lot of weight. She is eating very well, but she doesn't have parasites. My brother is wisely dealing with it as "not sure is way better than guaranteed fatal."

This is the kicker. The vet prescribed a special high calorie vitamin supplement. He has to give it to her a gram at a time (a few times a day) in an eye dropper or syringe or something. She loves the stuff. He says she gets mad at him for only giving her a little at a time. When they are done, she wants more (Koa has always been a willful girl).

Anyway, we were talking on the phone and I asked him to go over the ingredients. No wonder she likes this stuff. The first five ingredients are (in various forms): sugar, fat, sugar, fat, and sugar.

And now the really good news, she put on half an ounce recently. It seems a good start.

Oh, and I start classes for my masters degree in tax law today.

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[fanuilhgkar]

Polly, I'm glad to hear the guinea pig is doing better. Now I feel like I can post my latest news, which I also posted over at CZ.

In November I sent in a short story for a writing contest here. They were supposed to announce the results in December, but I didn't hear anything, so figured I wasn't anywhere in the top three. It was what I expected, since it was the first time I'd submitted anything to anybody (besides the non-fiction article that got rejected out of hand last month) since I was 12. That got rejected too, by the way, go figure. Anyway, the guy in charge of the contest called me last night to tell me there had been a delay in the contest because one of the judges had had a family crisis, but I won. I won. I was so amazed I just babbled at him.

They're sending me an official notification letter, and $350, and in February I have a chance to give a public reading of the story. I'm scouting around for Valium now.

When I told hubby what had happened, he told me to get my @$$ back on the computer and write some more stuff to sell, LOL! Would that it were that easy!

Cheers, y'all.

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[Nommy]

Fan!.....THAT IS AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

I shall reserve a special bottle for you at the PATD at PH.

Congratulations! You wouldn't happen to have a copy of what you wrote so we could be impressed , do you?

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Nommy

[Nommy]

Fan!.....THAT IS AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

I shall reserve a special bottle for you at the PATD at PH.

Congratulations! You wouldn't happen to have a copy of what you wrote so we could be impressed , do you?

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Nommy