HM:

The Good news is you're ok.

Bad news is your poor car....

So sorry.

My Great Aunt Alice died on Sunday morning at 07.30.
Also I had intended to write a long(ish) post in her honour today, to remind myself why I loved her and to share some funny stories with you.

I've just found out that the library is closing at 17.00 instead of 17.30 and now I won't have time.

I will post more about her when I can though - she was a great woman and I loved her more than my Grandmother. The funeral will be next week sometime and I know I will find it hard to get through.

We went to see her in hospital on Friday, although it was only to show we cared as she was expected to be out within days. Mum said to me on the way there, "You do have something to wear to the funeral don't you, if and when it comes up?" Which really made me laugh at the time as she's spent most of my life trying to get me out of black. I said, "Mum! If anyone has black clothes it's me!" I had no idea I'd be wearing them so soon.

Alice Doyle RIP.

My condolences, SG. I have a very dear Aunt too. I'm sure you miss yours.

Hugs SG.

I'm sorry for your loss SG. If there's anything I can do let me know.

Also, I note your Aunts name is Doyle. My Nana's maiden name was Doyle. I wonder if somewhere down the line we could be related. Wouldn't that be a trip and a half.

My thoughts are with you my friend.

*Hugs SG* My condolences, never easy. Fill us in when you can, chuck.

Aw, Im sorry SG.

Wow, lots of sadness in the thread... Very sorry to hear about your respective woes, HM and SG. :(

Too true Clod. Chins up everybody.

I'm going to try and keep all my chins up. ;)

(that was a little joke. I hope people can have a little laugh at my expense) (I'll put the bill in the mail)

In case anyone is interested, another article about the central Pacific gyre by Captain Charles Moore Aboard Oceanographic Research Vessel, Alguita. Explains how this has happened, meteorologically.

Apparently they have done photography and spent time studying this... Interesting read...

To cut a long story short:
My grandmother is dying.
She can't come to my wedding.
My dad is trying to take care of her and make her as comfortable as possible.
As a result, he may not be able to come to the wedding, either.
The wedding is 3 weeks away.
I am currently curled up in the university library crying my eyes out.
And I can't skip class tonight.

I'm so sorry, Chocolatl. How far away does your grandmother live?

She is currently about four hours away, at my dad's house in South Florida. I got to see her last weekend when she was in a hospital about an hour away from here, but my dad says she's gone "downhill" since then, so they sent her home with him.

I'm sorry about your situation Choco. I guess you have some tough choices coming up maybe.

My thoughts will be with you and kits.

There's a crack in the hull of our boat. It's going to cost anywhere up to or even over $5k to fix.

The surveyor who checked the boat prior to our purchase is going to be recieving a very nasty letter from our solicitor.

If it's anything like a "home inspector"
...all they have to do is put some language in to cover their ass, and basically they aren't even allowed to tell you anything bad.

Our solicitor has looked over the paperwork and he thinks we have a pretty strong case for the cost of the repairs at least, which is all we really want, so hopefully they'll realize they're at fault and simply ask us to send them the bill rather than having to spend a day in court, which we will do if necessary.

boooohhhhhhooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

My job search has not been going well, and I hate my current job. I currently feel like I wasted 18 months of my life and $20,000 of your money (via student loans) to get my Masters.

Did I mention that my cardiomyopathy has gotten worse?

Don't mind me...I'm just feeling sorry for myself for a minute...I haven't had a moment like that in a while. Carry on...

waaaaaaannnnnnnnnkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrr

a dingo ate your wanker

I wish a dingo would eat you, wanker.

I can't find my coffee cup.

:rar:

ummmm...wankerrrrrr. that sounds good, I"ll have that

if wishes were ho'ses

Hmm. I guess it's true: you are what you eat.

I am upset that the above isn't true for me...they are coming after me, now. *sigh* it could be worse.

Sorry for your news Chocolatl.

Copper bottom and then paint the bastard. Unleaded of course. Just pull the sonbitch out of the water every winter and scrub clean and paint when the amb.-temp is above 0' centrigrade. Almighty work I know but there you go. More than a few winter Saturdays and Sundays for you both. Take a picnic and scrub like ä Tasmainian Devil. You think somebody will do it for you?

Yes someone will do it for us. lol Especially if we pay them. ;)

We can't repair the damage ourselves because the boat is fibreglass and the tools and equipment would cost us more than it'd be worth, aside from the fact that we want it done properly.

I'd rather leave the important stuff to the professionals. :)

Just for you, here is a trade secret: take your boat to your local coachworkers garage: they have all the sprays and paint in the world and normally they touch up cars, vans and trucks but they can do boats and yachts just as well. If you know a good coachwork factory near you with a yearning for work they can do just a good a job as a chandler but without the certificate. Check you navigation insurance just to be sure. Car garages have fibreglass sprays and kilns to create perfect coachwork repairs. It's done here in Switzerland regularly why not in Oz? Just trying to be be helpful Ali.

Side note: icileparadise, I just noticed that your username is not icicleparadise

It's French (dreaded) which is my second language, it tranlates as: here is paradise. Which it is.

Yes, but wouldn't icicle paradise be just as fitting?

I am stupid but I don't get your point. Maybe I am pretty stupid but ici means here and paradise means happy (in this country) so why the semantics? ICILEPARADISE. Fair game for me. You question this?
Rather you quiz my intellect and I am up for the challenge: are you?

whoah there, Tiger. I think you're getting a little carried away with yourself there.

Now you've pointed it out it's obvious that the name is actually ici le paradise, with the spaces removed.....personally I have to mentally correct myself whenever I read it, my brain wants it to read icicle paradise because that makes some kind of sense in my language, where 'icile paradise' does not. Because French is not a language I in anyway think in, it never even occurred to me to see 'ici' and 'le' as separate.

In what way did HLJ question your intelligence?

good point, but if french is not your first language for me it is not ( actuaully it is my third: English, German and French) Icileparadise is all one word. And if you dismay me for having chosing it as my avator, here is the explanation: ICILEPARADISE. you can abrebriviate the ICI if you wish but the whole is my tag. My name is Anthony and you can tag me as Toni if you want. I do not care.

Not only is French not my first language it isn't my second either. I am only fluent in English. I have very, very, mostly forgotten schoolgirl french at best and a little German from years ago.

I'm not suggesting that icileparadise doesn't work as a single moniker. That's your tag and that's fine. I'm saying that it isn't immediately obvious that the 'ici' means here and the 'le' is attached to 'paradise' (e.g le paradise). My mind automatically breaks that word into two sections: icile and paradise.

So....are you saying English is your first language?

Nudge nudge- Swiss Mountains..nudge.
:)
Just guessing here.

@ Cic

That order suggests that English is his first language....but he doesn't in any way sound like someone whose first language is English:P

That's why I said I was guessing Dana!
:p


I'll make a more specific guess. Swiss-German? First language?


(better than me, English is my first language and I really don't have it right)

Oh I'm guessing Swiss-German for first language, I just wondered with the order in which he put his languages that's all.

Hey...ic...chill out! Quit being so defensive!!!

This is frikin' hilarious!!!
:p

Slow down, honey. I think he's referring to the snow etc. we commonly associate with the Swiss alps. Nothing to do with semantics. He's suggesting that not only is it paradise where you live, but maybe also an icicle paradise right now. It being winter and all. At least that's my interpretation.

Icicle Paradise does make sense to an native English speaker for someone living in Switzerland, so it is not an unnatural mistake for us to make when reading quickly. No-one is accusing you of any error at all.

Anthony, your English is quite fine. I was not questioning your intelligence.




P.S. I feel like I walked into a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

I'm French. Why do you think I have this outrageous accent, you silly king?

You don't frighten us, English pig dogs. Go and boil your bottoms, you sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you, so-called "Arthur King," you and all your silly English K-nig-hts

That's okay Hung. No need to for me to get emotional, I think your'e reading it like icicle which it is not. Read it like: easylerparadee = icileparadise.

Perhaps there was some confusion stemming from your apparent use of Frenglish: the words "ici" and "le" are French while the word "paradise" is English (it's "paradis" [sans "e"] in French). This may have led people to look for a corresponding English meaning to "icile" [possibly by way of a typo in which icicle could become icile].

Voici le paradis (here is paradise) would have been my first choice.
Le paradis est ici (paradise is here) seems to be what your nickname is base upon: ici, le paradis (here, paradise), without the verb est (is), perhaps functions as an idiomatic expression.

"Icileparadise" entails some artistic license with your nick; so, it's not surprising that others would take some license with their interpretation of it. :)

yebbut, yebbut..... he's doing it deliberately. Playing with words. We get (=understand) ici le paradise. really. we do. But we get icicle paradise too. It started out as a reading error and ended up as an interesting concept.

I did want to keep a low profile here and I guess icileparadise is foreign to most non french speakers and I now get the icicle thing but in french icileparadis works - it's a selling thing like on a market stall: here is a good thing. I will change it if it's such a problem. I am English born so you know. French language is so romantic however, and icileparadise is like a holy grail, in it's own way. I am pleased and impressed that so many of you discussed my posts and helped me to experience this wynderful opportunity to speak to all people of all nations in our world.our posts have been very welcomed by me. Well done you cellar dwellers. We all benefit from all our own life experiences and sharing. Thank you.

icileparadise, I think it's a good user name and hope you don't change it. I changed mine once, but eventually came back to the original.

icileparadise, just so you know : once something starts getting discussed we have a tendency to pick it apart and go off on our own little drift with it. That's just the way we are, it doesn't necessarily mean we are taking exception to something if we start picking it apart :P

Yes, this upsets me. terribly.

A poorly dog. Pilau has a big lump on his neck which the vet is assuming (hoping) is a cyst under the skin that's got infected. He's running a temperature of 104 (should be 101) and is feeling very sorry for himself.

He's been off-colour for a few days, but I hadn't connected it with the little lump I'd noticed on his neck earlier in the week (he sometimes gets them and then they go) I knew something was up with him, wasn't his usual self. Then today I got back home and whereas normally he's at the door by the time I've finished unlocking it, this time I went in and no sign of him. I thought maybe mum had picked him up on her way home from work thinking I was going to be late back or something...just as I was thinking this he appeared from upstairs, a little subdued but happy to see me.

I gave him a biscuit, put in on the floor in front of him and he just sniffed it and looked at me. So I knew there was definately something amiss. I ruffled the fur on his neck and the little lump was now a massive swelling. I don't even know if the swelling was already there and I just hadn't noticed it because of the area it covered ... like it was so wide and gradual it almost didn't register as a lump. For all I know it's been there for ages and I just didn't notice it because up until a few days ago he had his thick winter coat. I cut all his fur off a few days ago. It's a weird swelling, hard to the touch too.

So, straight away made a vets appointment and booked a taxi and an hour later he was suffering the indignities of a thermometer and two injections. Poor little bugger. He's not at all well. Got to take him back after a week's course of anti-biotics and hope that the lump has gone down...i don;t even want to consider the possibilty that it won't, because that would mean it isn;t a cyst...

He's been restless and unable to settle for much of the evening. Occasionally grumbles or whimpers. Sat wth him on the couch for about an hour stroking him til he went to sleep for awhile. Seems to have perked up a little now though and managed to eat a little food. Apparently he's likely to feel really rotten for at least 48 hours whilst the 1st lot of drugs bring his temperature down and fight the infection.

I can't say I am overly concerned about the £58 it cost at the vets. They were really good with him.

oh...poor Pilau! Is it swelling do to an allergy? He sounds so sick..oh!

Don't think it's an allergy. It's too hard. Also, when I found the little lump earlier it looked like it had bled a little. Not unusual, he occasionally gets *thinks* herbatious? cysts can't remember what the word is now, but they're under the skin. They come and go and once or twice in his life they've been infected and had to be removed (like lancing an abcess). But the size of the swelling is a little shocking. It's basically the entire side of his neck. Which is why I am wondering if it was actually already like that and the 'little lump' was actually just a peak of that.

I hope it all works out ok for your puppy dog Dana. Try not to worry too much. As they get older, dogs are suseptible(sp?) to stuff like that. My dog Sheba is getting lots of cysts as she gets older. The first one I thought was a tic, but then found it wouldn't come off. Now she has several of them, but they're not harmful.

Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent.

Good luck for Pilau. I'll get my puppies to pray to the puppy god for him ok?

*chuckles* thanks Ali, I am sure that'll help :P

Like I say he's had cysts before. From being quite young actually. What's worrying me atthe moment (apart from it feeling different to the usual ones) is the temperature. I know he'll be fine and the stuff the vet gave him will bring it down, probably already is doing....but 104 is very high. If a human had a temperature hike like that it'd be a hospital job. Dogs are pretty hardy creatures but I am sure glad I took him straight away. Otherwise it could have been a four in the morning job with a dog having fever spike seizures.....doesn't bear thinking about really.

Its "sebacious". I occasionally get them under my arm, probably from shaving, and they take a couple of weeks to go away without seeing a doctor. Just for grossness' sake, I was talking to someone once who said she gets them the size of a golf ball :greenface

Thankyou! I've been mishearing that word for years :P

Actually I also get them under my arm, very occasionally. Once had one that turned into an abcess. Not fun.