Sheilajeanne

A local wildlife rescue, the Hanover Humane Society, has made T-shirts, and is selling them to raise money!

HS, I saw the article about that on FB today! The whisky brand that the racoon drank is using the event as an advertisement! Unfortunately, I can no longer find that link, but here's a video from Fox News:

Your work is awesome! And it's nice to see how different it is from most of what we see on here, which is Sheridan type patterns and decoration! Also, nice to see something that isn't a belt, holster or knife sheathe!

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate on this day! We had ours the second Monday in October, except we didn't have the traditional family celebration, as my great nephew got married that weekend! Of course, turkey was part of the buffet at the reception!

Yum! Lemon meringue is my favorite pie!

One Sunday morning, the pastor decided to shake things up a bit. With a mischievous grin, he addressed the congregation. "Today, we’re going to try something different! I’ll say a word, and you’ll sing the hymn that comes to mind." Excited murmurs rippled through the pews as the congregation prepared for the challenge. The pastor began. “CROSS.” Without hesitation, the church erupted in song: “On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross…” Nodding approvingly, he continued. “GRACE.” Immediately, voices filled the sanctuary: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound…” Encouraged, the pastor called out, “POWER!” The response was just as strong: “There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood…” Feeling playful, he decided to throw in a curveball. "S@X." Dead. Silence. The air grew thick with tension. Eyes widened. People shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Husbands avoided their wives’ gazes. The pianist looked like she wanted to crawl under the bench. Then, just as the pastor started to regret his little experiment, an 87-year-old grandmother in the back of the church stood up. With a shaky yet confident voice, she began to sing: "Precious memories… how they linger…"

How did you do the dye? Did you paint the background with a brush, or just put a resist coating on the knotwork to protect it when you dyed the whole belt?

A married couple was in a terrible car accident. The husband survived, but his face was severely burned. When the doctor reviewed his options, the news wasn’t good. Skin grafts were possible, but the husband was too thin—there simply wasn’t enough healthy skin on his own body to use. That’s when his wife stepped forward. Calm. Steady. Without a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Use mine.” The doctor examined her carefully, then cleared his throat. “There is one area where the skin would be suitable… but it’s a very delicate matter.” It was from her buttocks. The couple exchanged a look—no embarrassment, no jokes, just understanding. A quiet nod. This would be their secret. Always. The doctor agreed to the strictest confidentiality, and the surgery began. It was a complete success. More than a success—the man’s face was transformed. He looked healthier, younger, even more handsome than before. Friends and family raved: “Unbelievable!” “You look fantastic!” “Medicine sure has come a long way!” He accepted their praise with a polite smile, but inside, he carried a deep, private gratitude. Every compliment reminded him of what his wife had given—quite literally—so he could face the world again. One evening, overcome with emotion, he took her hand and said: “My darling… I’ll never be able to thank you enough. You sacrificed so much for me. Please… tell me how I can ever repay you.” She squeezed his hand, smiled warmly, and whispered: “My love… I get all the thanks I need every single time I see your mother kiss you on the cheek.”

A Florida State Trooper pulled a car over on US 19 in Clearwater, Florida. When the Trooper asked the driver why he was speeding, the driver said he was a magician and juggler, and was on his way to St. Petersburg to do a show for the Children's Hospital. He didn't want to be late. The Trooper told the driver he was fascinated by juggling and said if the driver would do a little juggling for him, then he wouldn't give him a ticket. He told the Trooper he had sent his equipment ahead and didn't have anything to juggle. The Trooper said he had some flares in the trunk and asked if he could juggle them. The juggler said he could, so the Trooper got five flares, lit them and handed them to him. While the man was juggling, a car pulled in behind the State Trooper's car. A drunken good old boy from New Port Richey, Florida, got out, watched the performance, then went over to the Trooper's car, opened the rear door and got in. The Trooper observed him and went over to his car, opened the door asking the drunk what he thought he was doing. The drunk replied, “You might as well just take me to jail, cause there ain't no way I can pass that test!"

This just about had me ROTFLOL!

My parents bought me a school bag almost identical to that one when I was in grade school. However, I think it was a combination of fabric and leather. The main part of the bag was a dark green and black plaid, and I think the flap and strap were leather. The bottom might have been leather, too.

Oh, that looks delicious! And that's great that you're going to use some of the elk leather. Will you tan it yourself, or get someone else to do it? I know the steps for brain tanning, and it's very labor intensive. Certainly not something I'd want to try!

Robert asked the televangelist to pray for his hearing. After 3 minutes of violent shaking and trying to push him over backwards, the preacher asked, "How's your hearing now?" "I don't know," Robert replied. "It doesn't take place until Thursday at the courthouse!" As someone who's seriously hearing impaired, a Christian, and has had numerous preachers pray for me, I find this seriously funny. I believe Jesus heals, but he did it without the shaking, yelling and pushing people over backwards!

LOL! Who would have thought they'd actually WANT the spuds?? Oh. Wait. You live in Ireland...

Just need to swap 'quilter' for 'leather'!!

Fred, we switch over next Sunday. I didn't realize you switched a week earlier. I sometimes suspect Halloween has something to do with the choice of date. If the switch happened before Halloween, it wouldn't be fully dark when the kids go out trick-or-treating. Although doing the rounds in daylight is safer, it destroys the ambiance of doing it in the dark!

Fredk, wow, just...wow! What an antiquated attitude! My grandmother was a ground breaker! Her father, a druggist, died of a heart attack in his 50's then his only son succumbed to the 1918 flu. That meant her mother had to take in boarders in order to survive, and my grandmother had to go out and get a job outside the home, which was not very common in those days for a woman. At first, she apprenticed to a milliner. However, she had poor eyesight, and the very fine stitches needed in hat making were too difficult for her. Then, a family friend heard there was a position open at the railway office for someone to learn telegraphy. She applied, and got the job! It was a very unusual job for a woman at that time. A station agent who worked nearby was curious about this woman telegrapher, and decided he wanted to meet her. Soon they were dating, and marriage followed! Mom says they used to send Morse code messages to each other by tapping on the table when they didn't want their children to know what they were talking about!

Missed the edit window - there are two places in my reply where I said 'full time' and meant to say 'permanent'. Probably it's obvious that's what I meant, just wanted to clarify!

For Chuck, and the other hunters on the board! The last one really made me laugh!

Tilda, your path in life so far brings back painful memories of mine at the same age. After getting a degree in environmental science, I was unable to find a job. Finally, just to bring in some money, I brushed up on my Gr. 9 typing skills, and started to get temporary clerical/secretarial work assignments at the university. Some of them were interesting enough that I wouldn't have minded doing them full time*, but every time I applied for a full time job, they'd say, "You've go a science degree. You won't stay - you'll find something in your field. And every time I applied for 'something in my field', I either didn't get an interview or was told 'you've only got your bachelor's degree. Go and get your masters, then maybe we'll talk!" Fortunately, no one told me to get married and have kids. I don't know what my response would have been, but it certainly would NOT have been polite! To make a long story short, finally I did find my passion, which was community nursing. I am happy for you that you have - hopefully - found yours! Wishing you all the best with this apprenticeship! I really hope it turns out to be everything you've dreamed about! *The most interesting, challenging job I had during this time was working at the Banting and Best Institute at the university. Yes, I actually got to meet Dr. Best, the co-founder of insulin! My work was mainly typing up scholarly papers for the professors for submission to scientific journals. Their handwriting was not the best, and they used complicated scientific terminology, which I had to spell correctly. There were also lots of scientific symbols that required a special 'ball' on my IBM typewriter. The job I was doing was open on a full time basis, and I did apply, but was not chosen. One of the professors, the one who was the most difficult to work for as he was very picky, was VERY upset when he found out I hadn't been hired. He said, "They just get someone trained to do this work, and now I'll have to start all over again!" It was the best compliment I had during the time I was doing this work. Yeah, it was not a time in my life I look back on with any fondness...

HS, alas, both are gone now. The both made it to age 14, which is a really good age for a GSD. It's amazing how intuitive dogs can be, even if they aren't trained to be service dogs, isn't it? Good for Abby! A lady I know who had her service dog trained to help her balance when she walked, and also alert her to when her blood sugar was low, told me her dog would get upset when they were at the doctor's, because she wouldn't let her alert to all the sick people that were in the room! After being told to mind her own business a number of times, she'd lie down and give a big 'huff' of frustration! Once when her owner was visiting with a friend, the dog kept poking the friend's breast. She asked if she was having a problem with the breast. The lady replied she was actually on her way to the clinic to get a lump checked out! Another lady had a similar thing happen with her German shepherd, and finally decided to arrange for a mammogram. Diagnosis: breast cancer! The lump was small enough that it wasn't detectable without a mammogram or ultrasound. The dog probably saved her life!

LOL, Handstitched!

When I was doing visiting nursing, I had a Toronto cop as a patient. He was on IV antibiotics, as a result of cutting his hand while washing dishes. Yeah, pretty embarrassing... Anyway, we got talking about the way our jobs are similar, in that we were in our cars nearly all day long, and would often have to multi-task while behind the wheel. I'd be reading my Might's Street Guide (no GPS yet!) and reading my client list so I could phone my next patient and tell them I was on my way. He told me about the time he was doing waaay over the speed limit on the 400, while talking on the radio, and keying the perp's license plate number into his computer! I said, I'm going to remember that if I ever get pulled over for distracted driving! We both often ate while driving. He said, "When you're eating lunch, it's likely a sandwich and a drink, right?" "Yes, that's right," I said. "Well I'm talking Swiss Chalet, with all the fixings!" Swiss Chalet is famous for its chicken dinners with their special BBQ sauce. I can just imagine how messy that would be, if you were driving while eating!

In Ontario, the donor form is connected to our driver's license. There used to be a box you'd check, back when the license was paper. Now that it's a plastic photo ID, I guess the cops just enter your license number in their computer if they need to find the information. Here's a potential donor doing stunts on the 400 Hwy, close to where I live. I wonder if the person filming it was a friend, or a cop just waiting to see if he'd crash before he got pulled over... Oh, and the bike doesn't have a plate on it. https://www.facebook.com/atthescene/videos/1637958083830326

The temperament test for the German shepherd requires they be gun-sure. The only one of my shepherds that wasn't was the first one. And of course, she didn't much care for thunderstorms, either. Here's Star (female) and Ranger (male). When Star did the gunfire part of temperament test, she actually wanted to go behind the blind, to see who was making the loud bangs! I trained Ranger to be my hearing ear dog. When I take my cochlear implant off at night, I can't even hear the smoke alarm. He probably saved my life one night, but it didn't have anything to do with his hearing ear training! I had him at a conference. When I took him out for his bed time walk, the sidewalk was very icy, as there had just been an ice storm. As we were passing by a small woods, I thought the ground there would be better footing, are there was still snow among the trees. I took one step off the sidewalk, and my leg went into a fence post hole that was hidden in the snow. It was so deep, I couldn't pull my leg out of it. It was after midnight, below freezing, and there was absolutely no traffic on the road to the hotel at that time of night. I could easily be dead from hypothermia by morning. I'd knocked the wind out of myself when I fell, and was making distressed noises. Ranger came over, and stood in front of me, trying to comfort me. Hmm, I thought, I wonder if he will let me lean on his back. That will give me the height I need to get my leg out of this hole... He stood like a rock as I leaned on him, and pulled my leg free! What a wonderful dog he was! People with mobility problems often train their dogs to help them back up after a fall, but of course, Ranger never had that sort of training.