Tuesdays Air

[eric byrne]

Good Morning Everyone,

Sorry I havent been around recently,just got so tied up in other things,missed you all.Well I am sitting at home today,yesterday mid-morning snow began to fall again,heavily,college was closed at 12.30pm,I drove Jennifer home in Springburn got there at 1.00pm,roads were deteriorating,traffic was beginning to struggle,Jennifer asked if I wanted to come in for a coffee,since I had some time before picking up Sally at her work at 2.00pm.I turned her down,preferring to be early rather than late Ha Ha,the whole of Central Scotland at that moment,just ground to a halt.The M8 which links Glasgow and Edinburgh was closed in both directions leaving everyone stranded in their cars,using my knowledge of all the back streets of Glasgow I managed to reach the small district of Swinton reasonably comfortably,unfortunately there is more than one Eric,using this diversion tactic,I found myself in the worst gridlock of my life.Managed to contact Sally to tell her of my situation,told her to stay put until I arrive,as it turns out she had no option anyway,nothing was moving in Coatbridge anyway,than my mobile went on the blink,it was needing recharged,never rains but it pours,finally got to Sally's work at 8.15pm,thats was a drive of usually 45 mins had taken me almost 8 hours.Finally I had to dig my way into my drive to get my car off the road.Well college is closed today,I really hope their is an enquirey into why Scotland roads can gridlock with a few inches of snow,where Sweden and Norway can manage fine with heavier and more prolonged snowfall,I was listening on TV and radio to all the various spokespersons giving vaccous excuses for poor performance of snowplowing and gritting roads particularly when they were give accurate information by the Met office 24 hours previous.I was one of the lucky ones making it home thousands of others had to sleep in their cars overnight and are still waiting for rescue today,think some heads should roll.Finally on the subject,my buddy Bill,his daughter is a Student at Motherwell College,this college was cut off completely from the transport system and all the students had to stay in the college overnight,was she bothered? not a bit,the kids are all having a great big party.

Lots of newsy items to share with you,if you have time on your hands that I unexpectively have.

Good news-work starts shortly on a new building at the Beatson (a world status hospital for the treatment of cancer)when opened,a team of top scientists have been gathered from around the world,will solely focus on bringing new cancer drugs from development stage into patient usage.Appearently its going to make considerable progess in clearing up current log jams.Another nice bit of news is that Glaswegians donated £8,000,000 towards its construction.

Just heard this morning that a team of Oxford Uni scientists have reported after a twenty year research project,that taking 75mg aspirin daily reduces deaths from a wide range of cancers by approx 20%.

On my home front,I went to my sisters to get help from her hubby Pat in sending in some of my pics into Photo album(Sally got a bit fed up with my untidy study,decided to give it a make over,unfortunately I now have seem to have lost Chris's step by step guide on how to send pics in,isnt it a scunner?)Anyway,the horse fell at the first hurdle,Pat had forgotten his security password to confirgure my laptop into his wireless system?So I will just have to content myself and try and get a hold of Chris again.Jennifer thinks I should have grasped how to do it myself by now,unfortunately the way my old brain works now unless I am doing a computer type task regularly,it just fades from my memory?

Emma Gunby has rescheduled the filming in Airdrie to next Monday,weather permitting.Phoned the hospital this morning to cancel my respiritory appointment,needed have bothered,all clinics have been cancelled until further notice,which reminds me since I sabotaged my previous colonoscopy appointment,my next one is on Thursday,might be cancelled also.

Lastly, old big head,has been asked by ABC if he would be prepared to sing Silent Night solo, in the Watchnight service on Christmas Eve,no prizes for guessing what my answer was.

Better go now you have probably all fallen asleep by now anyway,see you later.Bye.

[Annette]

Wow Eric you can go on. At least it is all very interesting and almost picturesque as you describe it. No such luck as snow to shut things down here in Virginia - although I did wear my big coat again.

I hope that things clear up by Thursday - and I'm thinking that you should watch your diet starting now just in case your appointment happens. My better half is going to have one next Wednesday - I'm not looking forward to the diet he has to be on the day before - I may have to have a stash of good food in the closet for myself or something. 24 hours of clear liquid diet - yuck. I just turned 50 in August and my female doctor told me that I should give myself an appointment for one too. Then I read his directions and I'm pretty sure that my CT scan every 6 months for now is sufficient. I'm not gonna rock the boat and ask anyone - just gonna let it go at that - 24 hours of clear liquid diet and my mom tells me the night before is not so much fun. Yep - I tell people I'm 29 and that's the story I'm sticking to.

I hope it wasn't too cold for Bud to "ride" to work - I'm feeling the need for some vicarious exercise.

Hope that everyone is just bundled down this morning staying warm and cozy. Me - I'd better get back to work.

Annette

[Bud Baker]

Good morning, everyone!

It was 26 degrees as I rode to work this morning. Forecast high is 59.

KW Judy, those songs bring back memories. MI Judy, at least the spasms weren't as bad as before. Maybe you'll get these milder ones as a warning first from now on.

Annette, Sleep Aide? Is that a pill? Someone over at the 50+ cycling forum I frequent suggested that everyone over 50 has trouble sleeping. I can testify that it isn't so. Even before I started riding, I was consistently asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, and regular exercise will make you sleep even better. If I didn't set an alarm to get up, I'd oversleep by hours most days.

Wow, Eric, you are really getting hammered this winter. Hopefully, your winter will get better soon. Mornings here have been cooler than normal for early December, but at least the ground has been dry.

Have a great day, all!

[Ann]

It was a chilly 32 degrees this morning on Florida's Space Coast. When the wind chill was factored in, it felt like 29 degrees. Although I love the cooler weather, I can definitely tell you that Florida folks aren't ever prepared for these temperatures. Last night I turned my heat on for the first time this year and it really felt good. There are a lot of the older Florida homes that don't even have heat, so I feel really bad for those guys! I just seem to have more energy when it's cooler. Plus, you have no idea what great hair days I've been having with no humidity...lol!!!

I'm almost two weeks into this cold of mine. I haven't been running a fever for days but the head and chest congestion is really hanging on. I called my doctor's office today to see if I should come in but was told I should avoid that unless I got worse. They told me that there are about 4 really nasty bugs circulating right now and they're advising patients to steer clear of the office if at all possible. So, I'll just keep investing in tissue unless it gets unbearable.

I did feel like decorating the tree and getting most of my little gingerbread people in place all over my house over the weekend. I love coming home and seeing the lights on the tree. It makes things seem warm and cozy.

Hope everyone keeps warm and has a great evening!

Ann

[ts]

Fresh bread out of the oven. Pot of lentils simmering on the stove. Too bad I am headed out for a few hours. This was a gray and cold day to stay inside with the kitties.

[jaminkw]

Hey guys, sounds like everyone is battling the weather. I was supposed to take Wendy to lunch and the movies today. Guess you guys will have to get that Burlesque review from someone else. Between a flair-up of a bladder issue and persistent diarrhea, I wasn't even sure I'd make lunch let alone sit in a movie theater. We stopped at Walgreen's on the way to the restaurant, Wendy to buy me those little red pills (left the ones I just bought home of course) and me to the restroom. They sat us near the restroom in the restaurant and by halfway thru lunch I was even able to enjoy myself. The problem is not resolved though, just got some relief. Am staying in tonight and most of tomorrow. I have to be well for Dominick's concert tomorrow night at school. Olive Garden will be there to provide dinner served by volunteers. Wendy has given Dominick strick orders to not abandon his grandmother and run off with his friends lol. She'll be serving.

Have a great evening everyone. Cold again tonight so suggle up all.

Judy in KW

[Joppette]

Good evening everyone! Well, it's a very chilly 20 degrees F today. The wind is howling, and the poor lakeshore got another hammering today. So glad I'm in land, we've gotten snow but not like Eric or our lakeshore. Windchill is bone chillng for sure! Very thankful I have warm coats, scarves, gloves and hats.

Today was grueling at church work. The phone wouldn't stop ringing, and most of the calls were from people that have nothing, and need help. Heard the saddest of stories, and tried to hook them up with agencies or church's (including ours) to help them find relief.

We have several things going on for giving. There's the gift tree, with ornaments on it that ask you to buy gift cards for those that are needy. Then a box for collecting hats and mittens for children, another box for collecting unwrapped toys for the children, and another box for collecting non-perishable foods for the hungry, and lastly a coat drive box where the local dry cleaners will clean and repair old coats and donate them. Oh my goodness, so much need.

Judy, hope you are feeling well for the concert tomorrow!

Ann, hoping the cold heals fast, and you don't have to go to the doctor's and be exposed to more nasty germs.

Bud, I think you are right. The milder spasms are a nice warning system for me. Thank you.

Annette, you naughty girl. You need that test. All of us of a "certain age" must endure this. It's fine. The pre-test stuff is awful, but the actual test is not bad at all. All I can say is "baby wipes" help alot!

ERic, sounds like your weather has been horrid! I can't imagine spending the night in my car. We had a blizzard in 1978 that was unbelievable! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blizzard_of_1978

Here's a link to it. You can look at pictures too. We got over 25 inches of snow over night, and all highways were closed. In fact police banned us from driving period. The highway by my house had no cars on it, but the cross country skiers loved it! It was truly amazing. It was during this blizzard that people did get stranded in their cars, and were in danger because the snow plow drivers couldn't see if cars were there, and were hitting them while trying to clear the roads. It was a doozy! I loved it because I got 3 days off work.

Anyway, tough day today with all the calls, but I'm home, warm, and ready to turn on the "tube" for some mindless TV before bed.

Good night.

Judy in MI (soon to be in San Francisco)