[KimberlyOnline Facilitator April 4, 2013 at 11:57 am Post count: 4294]

#1059814

In the spirit of Sue’s suggestion that “we need a group hug”, I thought we’d give this Off Topic/Just for Fun thread a try. Have you heard a good joke lately? Are you doing something fun this weekend? Did you just finish a great book? Would you like to share a favorite pet story? (I know that we have both dog lovers and turtle lovers here).

Feel free to post any/all comments here – but please (1) adhere to the Board’s main guidelines, (2) keep it “family friendly”, and (3) be careful with disclosing any details that could be used to personally identify you!

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator April 4, 2013 at 11:58 am Post count: 4294]

#1177826

Just for laughs…

An elderly woman telephoned the hospital switchboard. She timidly asked, “Would it be possible for me to get an update on a patient?” The operator said, “Of course I’ll help, dear. Do you know the name and room number?” The elderly woman in her weak tremulous voice said, “Norma Findlay, Room 302.”

The operator replied, “Please hold for one moment while I check with her nurse.”

The operator soon returned to the phone and said, “Wonderful news! Norma is doing very well. Her blood pressure is fine. Her blood work just came back as normal, and her physician has scheduled her to be discharged tomorrow.”

The elderly woman said, “Oh, thank you so much! I was so worried! Bless you for the good news.” The operator replied, “You’re more than welcome. Is Norma your daughter?”

”No,” the elderly woman said, “I’m Norma Findlay in room 302, but no one tells me SQUAT!”

[LaurelM April 4, 2013 at 12:36 pm Post count: 216]

#1177827

As good read for when our attention span is short is As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto. It is a collection of lmany years of letters written between the two women while Julia was in Europe and developing Mastering the Art of French Cooking with her co-authors and Avis an accidental pen pal/ publishing contact. It is facinating for myriad reasons: 1) Their writting styles are very personal and engaging – on par with good fiction; 2) You get a sense of what was happening politically in in the world. Remember, the Childs were stationed in Europe as diplomats; and 3) The descriptions of the cooking….oh my.

I tend to read before bed and found that I could read one or two short letters before I fell asleep and still follow what was happening. Loved it!

[cmac April 4, 2013 at 12:47 pm Post count: 40]

#1177828

This little tool will put our concerns in “perspective”. Use the horizontal scroll bar to go from microscopic on the left to gigantic on the right.

http://htwins.net/scale2/

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator April 4, 2013 at 2:10 pm Post count: 4294]

#1177829

@cmac – LOL, so true!

@LaurelM – Thanks for the recommendation…it’s nice to have a book on hand that you can pick up, enjoy for a bit, and then put it down and not think about it again until you are ready! Elizabeth Gilbert, Jeanette Walls, and Jill Conner Browne are other authors that fit that bill for me.

[SueAndHerZoo April 4, 2013 at 8:10 pm Post count: 439]

#1177830

Turtle lover???? (ears perk up) Did someone say turtle lover? Is there another one here besides me? Look, turtle lovers are a rare breed so we need to stick together so come out of hiding and reveal yourself!

I have SO many turtles, both box turtles and water turtles, and I have them outdoors and indoors (although the indoor ones are temporary). Along with dog rescue I do turtle rescue. Yes, you read that right: turtle rescue. Last year was an especially big year… I took in 14 large water turtles from 14 different sources.

Crazy? Yes, but who cares. They keep me busy, challenged and happy and unless you’ve loved a turtle, don’t knock it.
Sue

[snelsen April 4, 2013 at 9:16 pm Post count: 1909]

#1177831

Sue, I LOVE a turtle! Her name is Isabella. Such a sweetie! Here’s her story.
My daughter is a MSW, working with very troubled kids in a residential facility.
One of the kids acquired a small turtle. But my daughter (who has three dogs, a cat and a rabbit) was concerned b/c Isabella was being neglected. Over Christmas break a couple years ago, she brought the turtle home. Isabella began her life in an aquarium with a heat lamp to keep her warm, outgrew it,
then outgrew several more living quarters. Got a cage outside, broke out of it, wanted to be free to wander. Now, she lives outside all the time, but is fed regularly her favorite foods, kale, bananas and other green leaves. We thought she was a desert turtle, and Jane was planning to take her to a turtle rescue place in Joshua Tree, Calif. Isabella lives near Pasadena, ca. That is when she found out she is an African tortoise!!! She will love to be well over 100. She make a nest for herself underground, and comes out on warm days. She weighs about 25 lbs now (from 4 ounces) and now my daughter is wondering if she should consult an attorney, make trust for her! Neither daughter is interested in hauling Isabella around for the rest of their lives. So that is her story.
Shirley

[vanillasky April 4, 2013 at 10:16 pm Post count: 339]

#1177832

Reading this part of the forum was refreshing and it is a great get-a-way from our Graves’ Disease.

As for turtles? I used to get turtles as a child. My grandmother would buy them for me. So cute. But I never had much luck. they would all die eventually.

I could tell you some jokes but they are too risque for here so I’ll keep them to myself.:o

As for me, I have a dog named Achilles. He’s a bright orangey/pumpkin pie colored Pomerainian. He has two personalities. He is so sweet and then he can be very nasty! Mostly to my husband. LOL!

The last book I read was “Mob Daughter” by Karen Gravano. If you like to read about the lives of Mafia daughters and wives’, it’s great. (I’m into that stuff)

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator April 5, 2013 at 7:57 am Post count: 4294]

#1177833

@Sue – This thread also has some “Turtle Love”:

http://gdatf.org/forum/topic/42783/?page=3

@Karen – I’m not a “pet parent”, but I am an “aunt” to a beagle. He is a big sweetie, although not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He actually ate a cactus plant the day my sister gave birth to my nephew. My brother-in-law had to leave the hospital to authorize the vet to use anesthesia to remove all the needles!

[SueAndHerZoo April 5, 2013 at 9:41 am Post count: 439]

#1177834

Great idea starting this thread, Kimberly – thanks!

Oh wow, I would LOVE to rescue that turtle from you but there’s no way Isabella would survive the New England winters. I have several box turtles that live outdoors and they bury themselves for the winter (with a lot of help from me) and I expect to see them popping their heads up out of the ground any week now. But I don’t think African Tortoises are capable of hibernating in temperatures that get this cold.

Does she have a personality? I’ve known two Sulcata’s (huge tortoises) that, when you rub their shells, they do a little dance.

Sue

[Stymie April 5, 2013 at 5:41 pm Post count: 195]

#1177835

I have two dogs. A chocolate lab that we bought, and a pit bull that we rescued. Their names are Darla and Stymie. They are my two loves ( second only to my son & daughter

I also had two turtles as a child. I don’t remember them too much but my dad used to tell me we took them in the yard for some fresh air and they were never seen again! Lol maybe they went for a walk…

Diane

[vanillasky April 5, 2013 at 10:49 pm Post count: 339]

#1177836

@Kimberly, I shouldn’t laugh but that is funny! Achilles ate a penny last year. You should have seen my vet bill. I was told that pennies are poison for dogs and can kill them so there we were xray after xray waiting for Achilles to “pass” his penny. He finally did. thank God!

As for turtles, my mother found a huge turtle hanging around the garage door quite a few years ago. We took care of him for a long time. Finally he froze to death in our fish pond! I still don’t understand how that happened!

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator April 6, 2013 at 7:47 am Post count: 4294]

#1177837

@Stymie – Hey, maybe they will show back up one day as 25 pounders like Isabella!

@Karen – Yikes on the penny…my beagle “nephew” would probably do that. He once hopped onto an island in the kitchen (not sure how that happened, but he might have used a stool as a half-way jumping point) and ate an entire bunch of grapes. THAT earned him an all-expense paid trip to the doggie hospital for about 3 days, courtesy of my sister and brother-in-law!

[SueAndHerZoo April 6, 2013 at 9:56 am Post count: 439]

#1177838

vanillasky wrote:

@Kimberly, I shouldn’t laugh but that is funny! Achilles ate a penny last year. You should have seen my vet bill. I was told that pennies are poison for dogs and can kill them so there we were xray after xray waiting for Achilles to “pass” his penny. He finally did. thank God!

As for turtles, my mother found a huge turtle hanging around the garage door quite a few years ago. We took care of him for a long time. Finally he froze to death in our fish pond! I still don’t understand how that happened!

Sorry to hear the turtle died, but I can think of a few reasons he might have frozen in the pond. He may have not been native to the area: people buy exotic turtles at the pet store (or online) and they survive if we provide the proper environment but if the owner gets sick of them and “sets it free” it cannot survive if this is not their native climate. Or, it may have been a box turtle and box turtles do not survive the winter in a pond… they need to be on land so they can bury underground. Or, even if it was a native water turtle, if the pond froze over there was no way for oxygen to enter and for toxic gases to exit so that would kill the turtle.

Sorry, got carried away – I’m sure this is boring for non-turtle lovers.

OK, change of topic: 50 Shades of Gray?

Sue

[vanillasky April 6, 2013 at 10:16 am Post count: 339]

#1177839

If we change the topic to “50 Shades of Grey,” I think it would be x-rated. LOL!

BTW, didn’t read the book. Won’t read the book. I read the synopsis, that was enough. It got to thinking that there are some men that think women in the book are ALL like that and I got upset about that. Just my opinion. I took my frustrations out by reading “Mob Daughter” by karen Gravano. That made me feel better. LOL!

BTW, Sammy The Bull Gravano who is in prison now, has Graves’ Disease very badly. I wonder what type of care they get in prison for this? Do they have Endocrinologists? He looks pretty bad.

As for the turtle, I think he died because we were stupid. We really didn’t know how to take care of him.

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