how about drinking?

I Am Not Gone

(An Inspirational Memorial Poem by Injete Chesoni)

I am not gone
I remain here beside you
Just in a different form
Look for me in your heart
And there you will find me 
in our love which forever lives on

In those moments when you feel alone
Look for me in your thoughts 
And there you will find me
in sweet memories that burn strong

Every time a tear
Forms in your beautiful eyes
Look up to the heavens 
And there you will see me
Smiling down from God’s glorious skies

Good morning, Loungettes!  Lovely red sky morning here today.  Supposed to get some snow tomorrow.  Welcome, Winter!

Goldie-- way to big for words, you are right about that. 

Wahine--I did turn the TV off after a bit, did some housework, did some Christmas Cards.  I'm still praying for all the families involved, and all the first responders, and everyone else impacted by the shootings.  Going to stay away from the news channels today, too.  Gonna be a good day to listen to audiobooks while I putter around the house. 

DorKable--'Look for the helpers.'  What wonderful  advice!  Definitely the way to go with all this. 

Wahine--I'll join you in a dwinky!  Can I have an egg nog with rum?  Spiced rum?  The luminaries is a wonderful idea.  I saw a place with luminaries lining either side of the driveway and walkway the other evening.  They were obviously having a Christmas party, the luminaries and the house lights were beautiful.  Hooray for being done with Christmas shopping!  Good reason to celebrate!

Blackcat--I haven't heard about the hospital in Alabama.  Please forgive me for not going online to look it up just now, but I will add that situation to my prayers, as well. 

BBBBernie-thank you for sharing.  That is a great poem, and a much needed reminder.

Hi ladies---I hope u'r feeling a bit better

This American Tragedy has touched all of us. It's so sick--It's bad enough he wanted to kill his parents--but all those babies>   It's crazy--I couldn't stop watchin it and so disturbed he killed himself cuz we'll never really figure out what he was thinking. When I was wstching I heard thr usual quiet guy, kept to himself kind of thing. Well something was brewing and to figure it out is a puzzle--All the families I can't even maine--I do know I wanted to get Joey home then??? Sometimes u hear this and then some ither sicko decides to out do thst so he'll be remembered. Goldie I totally agree with u about "God allowing" all this horror in the world --This is our world and doing with it is our doing--Whether good or bad-It's people that rule the rules  and break the rules not God. Our purpose isn't to question God it's to pray for others and ourselves for strength, but these are my thoughts, certainly doesn't mean I'm right.

If a shop assistant in Toys R Us or similar tells you a toy is ‘easy to assemble’, that assistant is probably lying scum

Just saying: Women do not an electric toothbrush

Avoid gadgety shops unless you want to get your head spliced off by a remote control helicopter.

1. This year’s top-selling gadget gifts, by the way, are expected to be a USB carpet, night-vision socks, cheese-eating slippers, a hat that writes upside down and a toffee that is waterproof to a depth of 100 fathoms.
2. I think the waterproof ­toffee makes the best gift, as what is the point of a toffee if you can’t take it down to the sea bed without it leaking?

Women do not want any of the ­following as gifts: WD40; an outboard engine; petrol for the car; a fitness DVD; an electric toothbrush; any book with a title such as 1,000 Recipes For The Freezer; Canesten; anything from the Pyrex range.

Keep working on your story. ‘Mummy, how come Father Christmas’s reindeers can fly?’

‘Because each morning he gives them a big cup of Father Christmas’s Most Excellent Flying Juice. It is especially for reindeers who need to fly.’

Goats, bees and donkeys are nice thoughts as gifts, but hell to wrap and to keep secret. Hot-air balloons are also a problem.

 Keep the scissors and Sellotape for your sole use. If necessary, hide one in your knickers and the other in your bra.

 Plan a Christmas gift budget, then don’t look at what you have spent until April — or ever. Eat your bank statements and teach the children that game called Quick, Quick, Let’s Hide From The Bailiffs!

Why not spare yourself the tiring agony of producing a traditional Christmas dinner and offer something different for a change, such as salad?

This will make small children cry and frighten older people, but, hey, you can’t ever get through Christmas ­without upsetting someone anyway.

 Instead of just watching TV, why not play a traditional family game. The rules for Quick, Quick, Let’s Hide From The Carol Singers! are as follows: turn off lights; hide behind sofa; be very quiet; pretend to be out.

Shallots are the work of Satan. It can take a whole morning to peel one. They are not worth it. They are only tight, nasty little onions with mean and ungiving dispositions.

Try not to get competitive about cards, eyeing up how many others have received. But it’s sensible to send yourself a good number all the same.  Plus, you can send yourself charity Christmas cards, thereby proving to yourself that you are a good person, which is nice to know.

Baileys: just because it’s Christmas, it makes it all right to drink a mixture of whiskey and cream, does it? Oh, OK. I get it now. I’ll have a triple with a Tia Maria chaser, thanks.

 Should anyone ask if you’ve seen the scissors and Sellotape, it is important to say ‘No’ quite firmly.  You may wish to check that the ­scissors aren’t poking out of your bra, which will only demonstrate to others that you are a liar and the sort of woman who hides sharp implements in her smalls.

 Before attacking the shops feverishly in search of the perfect office party dress, check that you work in an office and you’ve been invited to a party. If you don’t work in an office and haven’t been invited to a party, you don’t have to attack the shops feverishly.

Never throw a party yourself. No matter how many chairs you provide, someone will sit on the edge of a low (glass) table and tip it up.

Giving your parents or any older relatives a £5 note and saying ‘Buy yourself something nice’ can offend, so up the amount to £10 (or at least £7.50).

It is important to congratulate all the children in the school Nativity play, even though yours was the best by a mile. Seriously, has there ever been such a brilliant sheep?

Keep working on your story. ‘Mummy, is Father Christmas really Daddy?’

Don’t be silly. When has Daddy ever done anything useful round here?’

 A copy of The Times dated the day someone was born makes a thoughtful gift. But, failing that, you could opt for a copy of yesterday’s Times with the date crossed off and ‘September 17, 1932’, for instance, ­written on it instead.  This is not only a far cheaper option, but is also a good gift for an elderly relative in a care home who has no idea who they are or what day it is.

 Bread sauce was invented by the Let’s Dream Up Things For Women To Do Society, founded in 1792 to dream up things for women to do. Bread sauce is, therefore, wholly unnecessary, as well as really quite horrible.

Request the Christmas Day shift at work. If you are refused, beg. If you are refused again, turn up for work anyhow. This will make you the Christmas martyr, and everyone knows martyrs don’t have to shop, cook or clean up.

Just because you feel you ought to invite your mother-in-law, it doesn’t mean you have to let her in.

 If an assistant in PC World or similar says: ‘Yes, it’s easy to set up; it’s just plug-in-and-play,’ they are probably lying scum. You may kick them.

 Beware the tombola at the school Christmas fair because there is every chance you will win back that nasty vase you donated, having won it the previous Christmas.

Also, approach the school fair ­Santa with some apprehension and expect tearful complaints afterwards, along the lines of: ‘But it wasn’t Father Christmas. It was Christopher’s Dad!’ 

 The Argos catalogue is an ­excellent place to start your shopping because it features more than 30,000 products — except the one you want, which is out of stock. How does that work exactly?

Gift tokens may seem like a cop-out, but after driving around Brent Cross for four days trying to park and six days trailing around the shops trying not to cry, you’ll be amazed at how sexy and on-trend they suddenly seem.

 Keep working on that story, even though your energy may be on the wane.

‘Mummy, how does Father Christmas get into houses without chimneys?’

‘Through the hole in my wallet where my money used to be, I expect.’

If you have done nothing yet about Christmas and are in denial, have a triple Baileys with a Tia Maria chaser. You’ll be amazed by how little you care

If your husband’s idea of a gift is to wrap up the kettle at the last minute (‘How thoughtful: our kettle!’) it is only fair that you give him the cheese-grater in return. ­Alternatively, you could give him the finger, which is cost-effective and extremely satisfying.

 You do not have to keep up with the Joneses when it comes to Christmas trees and lights. It is ­perfectly fine to keep things tatty and half-hearted in the hope you will eventually drag them down to your level.

 ’Tis the season to be jolly, so, of course, you are going to feel depressed. Accept it and move on.

 Stop working on that story. ‘Mummy, how does Father Christmas get round all the houses in one night?’

‘That’s a good question. Though, first, let me ask you this. Isn’t there anything on telly?’

 Brandy butter was also invented by the Let’s Dream Up Things For Women To Do Society (see bread sauce, above), as was wrapping bacon around fiddly ­little sausages. Cranberry sauce is OK, and at least you’ve had that same jar on the go since 1952.

That toffee is still the perfect present.

 If you have done nothing yet about Christmas and are in denial, have a triple Baileys with a Tia Maria chaser. You’ll be amazed by how little you care.

Obviously, you want to arrive early so as to bag rooms before your sister arrives. Tell your sister you’re arriving on the 24th. Drive up on the night of the 23rd.

Bring earplugs, holly and manners. A good idea is to wash up immediately after arriving. Everyone will say: “Oh, no, you really shouldn’t.” For the rest of the visit, heed their advice. A good ruse is to be the one who befriends the aged relative. When in doubt, sit on the sofa and nod.

Just accept it: all mums are insane throughout Christmas. There’s little you can do. Peel potatoes. Keep smiling. Ply with drink.

Steel yourself for siblings. You’ve not talked in a year; suddenly, you’re sharing a lilo on the floor.

Go to bed early and don’t make festive innuendos such as “I’ve got to stuff the turkey”, or “I’d better get to bed. Later, I’m coming down the chimney”.

You’ll be under surveillance from mums determined that everyone should have fun. At all times wear a smile, a festive hat and the ugliest and most garish present you’ve been given.

Remember to enjoy yourself. If you don’t, someone will attack. ’Tis the season to be jolly. And if you can’t be jolly, get drunk.

 Should a sexual encounter come your way at Christmas time, remove scissors and Sellotape from pants and bra. Or don’t if you want to give them a night they will truly remember.

 Lastly, if the going gets tough, just repeat this special Nativity prayer: ‘Forgive us our Christmases just as we forgive those who Christmas against us.’ It makes no sense whatsoever, but it is still strangely soothing.

Good Morning Girls,

Funny thoughts, Bernie! Good DOTD Lori. Good idea to turn off the tv, NM! Just tooooo depressing. Cami, I have a diff opinion...I am GLAD the gunman is dead, even though we may never know "why", there usually isn't anything thats found out that can prevent it from happening again. I am glad we do not have to pay $$$$ to house him in jail, provide defense lawyers for him, and jury, judge, appeal, etc. I for one was glad to know he wouldn't be around anymore. I think for the families also, this spares them years of having to hear about him with trials, appeals, etc.

Our lounge is very quiet, understandably. Just too awful to deal with all the tragedy. OH, the hospital shooting in AL, was in Birmingham, about 100 miles (or less) from me.

Gonna have the Tenders make up some Cradle of Life drinks, as we continue praying for all the victims and loved ones. I hope everyone is doing ok today.

Hugsssssssssssssssss,

Kat

Yes Kathy to your question as to wether we are getting the new of the goings on in Ct. it's all o ER the news here as well. I'm just truly saddened that the deterioration of a mind can go unnoticed even by a mother..........just saddens me to think that people have become so wrapped up in themselves to not notice the plight and feelings of others and we end up with huge tragedies like this. What is this world coming to that we should be ignoring our fellow man?

Kathy there are comments I could make on that but I have no right to as they concern your Constitution all I will say is that if something is not done a lot of parents just will not send their children to school or the schools will become like prisons with bars everywhere to keep all the wrongdoers on the outside. Having said that, if the destruction of children is on their mind while guns are available it can happen anywhere.

Hello bwesties!

Happy sundey fundey to all. I slept through most of it, did not wake up until 3pm.

I am here to partay, I hope to find someone else here. Katwinka, ye here? I see Mr. Big and I see dat new tender, why oh why do mese forget his name? Well my point is that all of the hot tenders are accounted for so I guess ye not here hehe!

Chrissy, I do not know about de others but I would love to hear your opinion on anything American. I respect de hail outta ye and tink you is smart.

Camille, I know what you mean by sorta wishing the gunman was alive to find out what de hail he wuz tinking. But on de other hand, I do believe it best for the families of the victims not to have to go through replaying the events of that dey. One ting me all have in common here is sorrow. Anudder ting is sadness and another is fear.

De odds of sumting like dat happening again are low and I would hope that parents to not opening fear sending their children to school. If de parent shows their fear, the child(ren) will likely sense it and be afraid too. I jest hate that this happened and wish I could turn back de clock and make dat berry bad boy have de flu, den to to do dr and admit his thoughts. But hail, I can't do dat so mese jest pray!

NM, I am not a bit surprised that your boss tanked ye for a job well done. I am so happy that you have been recognized and to have your boss recognize you again, in front of your peers, is outstanding. This is the break that you so deserve. I still can't get over the games your previous employer played with you and that they never gave you the kudos that you so deserved. I could not be more happy that you like this job and are being recognized for going far above and beyond the job description. I have a toast for you **here is to Kim de nurse. not only she a nurse but she de most informative nurse I know and I so tankful that de people outside the HTL recognize dis too** here here**!! ++clink clink++, cheerS girl! Eberybody raise ye glass to our HTL medical expert. 

Juliet, not to discount yer great advise, I know dat de fart is yer specialty. And i  hope no one need advise on dere farts from ye cuz mese hope is dat all of our fart are working poyfectly. I tank you for bwining all dose hot wet men to de HTL. Where on earth do you find dese big boys? I see dem and lub dem muchly cuz dey make me realize dat mese libito not totalled hehe!

Camille my dear, how are you doing? I don't blame you for holding your Joey close and wanting to keep him home. I hope you or his Mom had a talk with him over the ugliest incident in US history. I hope and pray that he is not afraid to go to school. And I suspect dat he would like to stay home and play GrandMaw's butler instead of going to school.

well enuff of dat talk for mese, I gotzta try to not tink about it as it was consuming my fart and I could not stop weeping. I knew nothing about it until I read something here late Fwiedey when peaking in from de office. At that time, people around me were already buzzing about it but was not paying them any attention and jest doing mese work. dat is until i take an HTL break! This is by far, my faborite place to go for a break at work!

I am feeling good, having de implant out did make my pain level go down. I get painful sensations off and on but it is no longer a constant stabbing feeling. I find myself yelping a few times a dey when I get the sudden sensation of being eletrocuted or sumting and I make an ouch noise. but I quicly stop hurting and turn the ouchy noise I made into a song. it go sorta like dis "ahhhhhhh, ohhhh, uwlllllll, do the hustle...da da da da bopity du dop da da da dad bopitu de dop, de de hustle!!

Mese still has a gaping hole in my chest and at times, I ken see what i tink is mese fart. I feel it pumping through de hole. The bullet like hole that was in the implant is now smaller since de implant not stretching it but dere is another gash next to it where my PS cut about 1/2 to 3/4 inch to pull de bad implant out. And dat not sealed. Tankfully, I see my PS in de morning and hope to be reassured that all is well. I had called and told him it was open after tinking it was mese fault for peaking and he said it spose to be like dis, huh? I can't really see mese fart but can see more than I'd like in dere. Ok, nuff of dat too!

My DD had a sleep over with a friend from college last night and it was fun. I kept my distance for the most part but did have a round of dwinks with the goils before my stbxdh got here. I was shocked to find out dat DD's friend Karissa was a JD goil. I made her a yummy dwink. My DD had wine and did not dwink much but the goils were laughing into the early aye em. And DD's friend left de cutest tank me note for habing her. She went along with my DD for a partay to honor one of Jessica's high school friends who is leaving de country to study abroad for a year and Jessica wanted her college friend to meet her high school friends which is why she stayed over night. I would not have giben her dwinks if she had to drive back to the school where she dorms.  I got mese hairs did yesterday, did a widdle housework. And dwank. Can't believe where did de weekendeth goeth so quickly? Geez!

Lynda, I have been praying for you and hope that you are doing better and dat de new medicine is working for you. Please report in and let us know how you are doing. bdw, I got lots of compliments when wearing the jewels from ye fart to work. I took a photo of mese in dem, or should i say had one taken but I look whipped as it was after a long hard dey at work, mese first dey back after de pink eye tink. Ennyway, I have a hug for you ((((RakuLynda))).

Beanie, if ye hear me, I am praying for a good bisit to your new onc and jest know you will lub yer new doctor. Don't be a stranger now, Planet nanu nanu seems to be a good place for ye but do come back to earth now and den and bist de lounge more often. I love ye! I always tink of when we was babies and started our Tamox treatment around de same time, mese started 10/10 and I think ye started 11/10?? Come and giv Dorky a hug now!

Um, chit, I know I had more to sey to all ye goils. So I jest say I has a group hug for ye all (((group))) and I am praying for each of you to be happy and healthy. I love all ye goils.

oh, Kittykat, was nice to see you pop in, come back soon now, ya hear?

may I have your attension:

please all, lift ye glass and say CHEERS to Native Mainer/NM/Kim.

now who gonna keep mese company? I has to go and move laundry to hangars and de dryer but mese bese back. be here or be square!

Cheers, NM. CHeerS all goils!

Hi everybody-Muah--kisses to all of u.

Chrissy I too would love to hear u'r opinions. I have misinterpretted the Constituion forever. And of course I never look it up. But I always thought it said more like We have the right to bare arms in a militia---which I thought was for our country--not to just wily-nily kil people. There was snother shootin in CA in a shopping mall the day after--Thank God no one was hurt--It was done just to do it. And I know u'r right about this man kiling himself, It's best--but my curiosity of why is always there. I know they'd go for the insanity, or mental deficiency defense, but it boggles my mind.My GS and I did talk about it and it's very difficult to explain---I don't want him to fear mental illness, but I want hime to know there is evil out there in many forms. He doesn't know about his Mom, he's much to young but one day he will and personally for me I don't want menta illness and evil interlocked in his brain. So I choose my words with extreme caution for him. I have no idea if I'm right or wrong, but that's just the way I think. The bus for school is not even a block away but someone always walks him and gets him and there are 3 other kids there too. I had to stop watching it.  I know bad thins always happened when I was young and my kids were young, but nothing like this.

Good morning, Loungettes!  Got a dusting of snow and lots of wind here today.  Gonna be a coat, gloves AND hat day. 

Chrissy--here in the US mental health care is almost non-existent.  I can tell you from having a mentally ill sibling that, unless the family has large amounts of money, the only way to get a mentally ill child treatment is to go through the criminal legal system.  Put bluntly, until the mentally ill child (or young adult) actually hurts someone there is no help to be had.  My family was lucky, my mentally ill sister attacked me and our mother with a knife.  At that point, after YEARS of trying to get her help, the system finally had something to offer her and us.  I say my family was lucky because she attacked us while she was still small enough that I could over power her and take the knife away, and my mother could do the same a few days later.  My family was lucky because she acted in a way that was clear she was a danger to others.  Many mentally ill children and young adults don't do that.  They say things that make it clear they are capable of causing harm, but that doesn't count as far as getting help.  Too many times the act that 'proves' to the system that a person is a danger is the act that the family is trying desperately to prevent.  I don’t think this young man's mother was oblivious to her son's condition.  I think she was killed by him because she was aware and tried to control him, tried to stop him. BUT--I do not know for sure, and we probably never will know for sure now.  Perhaps the brother can shed some light on things, perhaps not.  Parents go to great lengths to protect siblings from the damage a mentally ill sibling can cause.  I don’t think it went unnoticed, I think the system failed to help. 

Wahine--good point.  I don't know what more schools can do. 

About gun control, and this tragedy will be turned into another gun control debate, yet again missing the real problem, gun control isn't working.  The school was a gun free zone.  That didn't stop the killing.  The shooting was done with legally purchased and registered guns, used by a person who stole them and used them illegally.  The gun laws didn't work.  Lack of actual help for mentally ill children and young adults is the problem, but there isn't a lot of money to be had in creating ways to successfully treat mental illness.  As long as there is a huge stigma on mental illness, there will be episodes like this, with individuals using guns, knives, chemicals, sticks and stones. 

OK, didn't get very far this ayem, got off on a tangent.  I know others have opinions different from mine, and I respect those opinions.  I hope I don't offend anyone by expressing my opinion. 

nm, you deserve every word of praise heaped on you, and i totally agree with you on the mental health issue,we frequently have involentary hold pts for med clearence, and can wait days for a bed, they are starting to increase the mental health funding in this area but unfortunatley due to "care in the community" all those years ago. there's a long way to go.    (care in the community was supposed to provide home care for the mentally ill instead of large institutions which they closed as fast as they could but there was little to none community resources avaieble and they provided minimum  funding for those resources, so a lot of mentally ill people ended up homeless and living on the streets with no meds or care)  and unless the person presents with a clear danger to themselves or others the police's hands are tied. someone i work with her mother has dementia ,her mother was verbally abusive ,didn;t knoww who her family members,but because she wasn't activily violent they wouldnot"baker act" her, the family had to manhandle her into the car and take her to the er where she became agitated and violent enough to be baker acted.its ironic if you have tb and won't take your meds you can be locked up and forced to take them!    dorty-love and hugs. good morning to all

Having worked 20+ in law enforcement...I kno that it is not the guns, it is the person.  I am for gun control for those AK's n stuff, not for handguns, hunting rifles etc.  What do they say 'guns don't kill people, peolple kill people'  That is the truth.  Mental illness is the 'stain' on our communities because they don't/won't/no money/no facilities/no knowledge to care for them.  And like you all say, once of legal age, they cannot be forced into getting help UNTIL they show 'proof' they are a danger to themselves or others.  We called it a 'form 6' kinda like your 'baker act' Julie.  But again...that is 'after' they have done something horrible. 

NM - how terrible and scary about your sister.  Am soo glad you are here with us.  Can't imagine not having you and Julie in our lives.  And I too wud bet that this shooters family 'knew' of his tendencies...it's all just horrific.

I missed a few days, had to work yest...that sore throat from a few days ago came on yest while at work with a vengence.  DH went right out and got me our Zicam.  Went to bed at 6 last night...slept clear thru - not counting the hot flashes.  Better this morn.  Supposed to walk...might rethink that...see how I feel in another hour.

Cyn - it's your 1st day off...got lots planned?  With the weather situation with JeanBean...we are postponing our face-time.  They will have to make it a super fast trip in and back on Tues.  But I told her since she lives sooo close...we will get together soon.  Probably early Spring. 

Have not read all the posts in the last few days...will later...in meantime...Hope all have a good day.

OOPS just saw your msg Sue! Took me awhile to write mine, then *voila* there was yours! Hate hearing that you are still sick. Does the Zicam really work? I hadn't heard of that. I had forgotten about the Mucinex till Dotty was sick, and thats a good one for mucous. Hoping you will feel LOTS bettah todey. Also sad your "face time" with Beans will have to be postponed, again. BUT also am glad you won't be passing on any "sick" germs to her. Jeannie, I hope you and your DH can get out and back home safely tomorra!!!!

Hugs!

K