• Welcome to The Worlds of Katherine Kurtz.
 

Recent

Welcome to The Worlds of Katherine Kurtz. Please login.

March 28, 2024, 04:14:53 PM

Login with username, password and session length
Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 27,486
  • Total Topics: 2,721
  • Online today: 180
  • Online ever: 930
  • (January 20, 2020, 11:58:07 AM)
Users Online
Users: 0
Guests: 115
Total: 115
Google (2)

Latest Shout

*

DerynifanK

March 17, 2024, 03:48:44 PM
Happy St Patrick's Day. Enjoy the one day of the year when the whole world is Irish.

KK Chat -- 1 May 2016 (Happy May Day and Happy Orthodox Easter!)

Started by DesertRose, May 01, 2016, 06:03:32 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

DesertRose

May 01 17:17:43 *   KK has joined
May 01 17:17:50 <The_Bee>   Hi KK
May 01 17:17:53 <Evie>   hi KK
May 01 17:17:56 <DesertRose>   Hi KK!
May 01 17:18:00 <KK>   Hello, all.
May 01 17:18:08 <revanne>   Hi KK
May 01 17:18:17 <jemler>   hi kk
May 01 17:18:24 <drakensis>   hi
May 01 17:18:39 <DesertRose>   Happy Orthodox Easter!
May 01 17:18:43 <Evie>   brb, I think I left my plastic shoebox in the other room, and I meant to use it to sort these supplies in
May 01 17:19:09 <Evie>   Christos anesti, or however that's spelled
May 01 17:19:32 <jemler>   christs toes are nasty?
May 01 17:20:17 <revanne>   Possibly just a bit fishy?
May 01 17:20:35 <Evie>   I suspect yours would be too if you wore sandals all day long on dusty roads.  :-)
May 01 17:20:42 *   Demercia2 (Mibbit@842092.C19ECF.3A0E88.26B3C9) has joined
May 01 17:21:19 <Demercia2>   Mibbit doesn't seem to like me tonight
May 01 17:21:29 <The_Bee>   Which Demercia is the evil twin?
May 01 17:21:33 <Evie>   OK, it's official, if I find another bit of ivory, black, or white fabric, I shall scream
May 01 17:21:52 <The_Bee>   ??
May 01 17:21:52 *   Shiral (Mibbit@504018.A7BCBA.563ED8.F843AE) has joined
May 01 17:21:58 <DesertRose>   Hi Shiral
May 01 17:21:59 <jemler>   hi shiral
May 01 17:22:01 <The_Bee>   Hi Shiral
May 01 17:22:06 <Shiral>   Hi Everyone
May 01 17:22:23 *   Demercia has quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
May 01 17:22:32 <revanne>   Demercia already has an official evil twin;)
May 01 17:22:38 <Demercia2>   Both, Bee😉
May 01 17:23:08 <revanne>   Hi Shiral. How was New York?
May 01 17:23:16 <Shiral>   It was great and busy
May 01 17:23:22 <DesertRose>   Carys says "purr" and also "pet me NAO!"
May 01 17:23:33 <Shiral>   Hi there Carys
May 01 17:24:01 <The_Bee>   Any news on Francesca?
May 01 17:25:27 <Shiral>   She had a biopsy on Thursday, results come next week. But the Vet also showed me x rays he took. And....whatever cancer she has is attacking the jawbone itself.
May 01 17:25:38 <DesertRose>   Aw, poor Cesca.
May 01 17:25:48 <The_Bee>   Poor Kitty! :(
May 01 17:25:57 <Evie>   :-(
May 01 17:26:21 <Shiral>   I think she's in a lot of pain, and it hurts her to eat. She feels lighter and smaller already when I pick her up. I think I'm going to have to send her across the bridge in the coming week.
May 01 17:26:29 <DesertRose>   :'(
May 01 17:26:31 <revanne>   :(
May 01 17:26:52 <Shiral>   I didn't really have any illusions this would end well for her. And I was right. =o(
May 01 17:27:04 <DesertRose>   Sometimes it sucks to be right.
May 01 17:27:12 <Shiral>   It sure does
May 01 17:27:16 <DesertRose>   Sometimes it really, really sucks.
May 01 17:27:22 <The_Bee>   That may be the kindest thing for her, if not for you.
May 01 17:27:43 <Evie>   So sorry.
May 01 17:27:54 <Demercia2>   Poor Cesca. And poor you
May 01 17:28:00 <The_Bee>   Will you wait for the biopsy results?
May 01 17:28:00 <Shiral>   Yeah, the mass has already grown since April 6th. She tries to eat, but she gives up after a bite or two
May 01 17:28:20 <Shiral>   I don't know, Bee. I don't think it's going to change my decision, though
May 01 17:28:35 <KK>   So sad.  I went through a similar scenario with my beloved Bear of happy memory.  When he could no longer eat, I had to send him to the Bridge.  Gus is his worthy successor--and there will be a worthy successor to Cesca in due time, I feel certain.
May 01 17:28:49 <Shiral>   She's spending more time under my bed.
May 01 17:29:32 <Shiral>   I'm trying to figure when this began, and I remember her being more withdrawn than usual starting in about February
May 01 17:29:53 <Shiral>   It's a fast aggressive cancer, no matter what the medical term turns out to be.
May 01 17:30:31 <KK>   With luck, she'll pass while you're making up your mind, thus saving you from that difficult decision.  That's what happened to Algernon, just last month.  (Actually, month before last.  This is May already.)
May 01 17:30:32 <Demercia2>   When my little cat had cancer, I came home to take her to the vet for the last time and she had curled up in her favourite place under my bed and gone across the bridge on her own
May 01 17:30:38 <Shiral>   And yes, Dmitri won't go very long without a new playmate.
May 01 17:31:16 <The_Bee>   Melantha and I were lucky the vet caught her cancer in time.
May 01 17:31:21 <KK>   Cats seem to have a talent for that.  It's like they want to spare you that heartache.
May 01 17:31:22 <Shiral>   But first, Francesca will have to be mourned
May 01 17:31:47 <Demercia2>   They wind their paws around your heart
May 01 17:31:50 <Evie>   yes
May 01 17:32:21 <KK>   Yes.  Our beloved companion animals are not interchangeable.  Each one has his or her unique personality and soul.
May 01 17:32:22 <Shiral>   She has periods of greater alertness and she came and visited with me in my office yesterday evening. I will not let her suffer
May 01 17:34:02 <revanne>   Our poor dog is very clingy at the moment. She used to spend a lot of time with her head on my Dad's lap and of course we can't explain to her that he's not here any more. But she is definitely missing him.
May 01 17:34:50 <Shiral>   Poor doggy! She just knows that somebody she loved is inexplicably not there, anymore
May 01 17:35:46 <DesertRose>   Catarina (my family's late cat) crossed the bridge as my parents were getting ready to get in the car to go to the Last Vet Appointment for her.  She was a little past twenty years old, though.
May 01 17:36:09 <Demercia2>   That's a great age for a cat
May 01 17:36:17 <revanne>   That's a good age.
May 01 17:36:19 <KK>   It is.
May 01 17:36:45 <Evie>   Is there any way that Cassie can go to the gravesite? She might sense what's happened then and get some sort of closure.
May 01 17:37:03 <DesertRose>   Yeah, my parents were fairly disinclined to get any more cats after Catarina and Roxanne (who died a few weeks later at age 18) passed because they said they weren't sure the cats wouldn't outlive my parents themselves!
May 01 17:37:24 <DesertRose>   But now they have beautiful gray PJ and handsome tuxedo Merlin the Hell-Manx.
May 01 17:37:53 <Demercia2>   The cat who lived next door to us when Revanne and I were small lived to 25, but he did nothing except wander around the neighbourhood houses looking for the warmest spot
May 01 17:37:53 <revanne>   He hasn't got a grave - he wanted his ashes to be scattered on a beach like my mum's.
May 01 17:38:17 <revanne>   We just try and give Cassie lots of love.
May 01 17:38:23 <DesertRose>   One of my SCA friends had a cat who was 24 when I was 28.  I'm not actually sure how old the cat lived to be.
May 01 17:38:39 <DesertRose>   I'm sure the cat has passed by now as I'm forty.
May 01 17:38:48 *   Eyikl (Mibbit@OWIRCN-91e71206.cable.earthlink.net) has joined
May 01 17:38:51 <DesertRose>   Hi Eyikl
May 01 17:38:51 <The_Bee>   My dad's ashes were scattered in the ocean off the Isles of Shoals.
May 01 17:38:58 <The_Bee>   Hi Eyiki
May 01 17:39:03 <jemler>   hi eyikl
May 01 17:39:06 <Demercia2>   Hi Eyiki
May 01 17:39:17 <Eyikl>   Merry May!
May 01 17:39:18 <Evie>   hi
May 01 17:39:21 <revanne>   Hi Eyiki
May 01 17:39:41 <Demercia2>   Chilly May this side of the pond
May 01 17:39:48 <Evie>   Mayday! Mayday!  Oh, wait....
May 01 17:39:58 <DesertRose>   Demercia2, did you see what I posted to revanne's Facebook earlier today?
May 01 17:40:01 <Eyikl>   :0
May 01 17:40:03 <DesertRose>   Or are you on FB?
May 01 17:40:04 <revanne>   LOL
May 01 17:40:40 <Demercia2>   I am.  Was that the invictus stand off ?
May 01 17:40:42 <Shiral>   Hi Eyiki
May 01 17:40:52 <The_Bee>   Is "REvanne" your Facebook name?
May 01 17:40:55 <DesertRose>   No, it was the "Loading British Summer" graphic.
May 01 17:41:14 <Evie>   I posted the Invictus link via Quip
May 01 17:41:35 <Demercia2>   No I didn't.  I'll check later, if I try to load FB now Mibbit will sulk!
May 01 17:42:12 <Evie>   KK, the conversion of DS' old room to a craft room has begun
May 01 17:42:27 <jemler>   brb. dinner.
May 01 17:43:04 <Demercia2>   So if DS wants to stay does he have to drink a shrinking potion ?
May 01 17:43:16 <DesertRose>   LOL
May 01 17:43:38 <Demercia2>   Trying to remember which way the "drink me" in Alice works
May 01 17:43:48 <DesertRose>   Both, IIRC, with different potions.
May 01 17:43:49 <Evie>   LOL, no, fortunately for him it's also the guest room, so there will still be a bed in here
May 01 17:43:52 <revanne>   My facebook name is just Anne Davis
May 01 17:43:56 <Evie>   Or at least a futon that folds down to make a bed
May 01 17:44:08 <KK>   Excellent.
May 01 17:44:48 <Evie>   Moving the old entertainment center in here was a chore, but with the help of several sliders under it we got it to work, and now it's going to be a combination of storage cabinet and castle rooms
May 01 17:45:09 <Evie>   https://flic.kr/p/Gxy4VY  You can see my Mini-Royalty checking out some of the space
May 01 17:45:18 <The_Bee>   complete with garderobe?
May 01 17:45:29 <DesertRose>   Only if there's a hidden Portal!
May 01 17:45:58 <Evie>   LOL, I hadn't thought of a garderobe set up, but I do have a small tub suitable for medieval bath scenes
May 01 17:46:31 <Evie>   I suspect it's just as well that Mini-Duncan won't have to face the humiliation of photos of him using the necessarium.  :-D
May 01 17:46:59 <KK>   You absolutely need to give them a garderobe.  (Inside ca be a specialized Portal that takes away what's unwanted.):D
May 01 17:47:12 <Evie>   ROFL
May 01 17:47:17 <DesertRose>   "Blessed Saint Camber, can't these voyeurs leave me to do THAT in peace?"
May 01 17:47:18 <revanne>   I suspect that would be an excommunicable offence - taking photos of mini-Duncan that is.
May 01 17:47:40 <Evie>   You're right, Revanne.  So I'll use Denis for those scenes.
May 01 17:47:44 <Evie>   :-D
May 01 17:47:52 <revanne>   Maybe a curtain across one of the corners.
May 01 17:47:58 <revanne>   :D
May 01 17:48:23 <Evie>   I have a chair that's meant to hold a small flowerpot, but it would also work for a close stool
May 01 17:48:30 <Evie>   with some modification of course
May 01 17:49:00 <KK>   What a good idea, tailor-made.
May 01 17:49:23 <Demercia2>   Why would anyone make a chair to hold a flower-pot?
May 01 17:49:46 <Shiral>   Well... why would somebody make a tiny garderobe?
May 01 17:49:50 <Shiral>   =o_
May 01 17:49:53 <Shiral>   =o)
May 01 17:50:19 <Evie>   But actually the cubbies in that entertainment center would be rather large for a garderobe scene.  On the other hand, I have an old chifferobe in the same room that will be primarily for storage, but it has a few very small cubbies too tiny for a decent sized room, but big enough for a small monastic cell, tiny chapel, bath chamber, or I suppose a garderobe.  :-D
May 01 17:50:30 <The_Bee>   When I was a kid our summer place had an outhouse.
May 01 17:50:44 <Evie>   It's meant to be one of those decorative miniatures to hold a flowerpot on a windowsill or something
May 01 17:51:17 <Evie>   Like the chairs and table I bought at Yankee Candle that were meant as votive candle holders, but I converted them to doll furniture because they were exactly the right size
May 01 17:51:54 <DesertRose>   Necessity is the mother of invention, but creativity is at least the godmother.
May 01 17:52:17 <Shiral>   Very considerate of them to know what you needed, Evie. =o)
May 01 17:52:18 <Evie>   Or if my phone's autocorrect is to be believed, Necessity is the mother of Invection.  LOL
May 01 17:52:44 <DesertRose>   Your phone's autocorrect operates on its own logic, though, LOL.
May 01 17:53:15 <Evie>   So true. And you're being kind in calling it logic.
May 01 17:53:20 <DesertRose>   LOL
May 01 17:54:29 <The_Bee>   What's the armored critter in front of Gigi, Evie?
May 01 17:54:46 <Shiral>   Whoops, Have to go, folks
May 01 17:54:57 <DesertRose>   Okay, see you later, Shiral.  So sorry about Cesca-kitty.
May 01 17:54:58 <jemler>   nite shiral
May 01 17:55:05 <Evie>   There are two little dragons from a set similar to Lego blocks
May 01 17:55:09 <Eyikl>   goodnight Shiral
May 01 17:55:11 *   Shiral steps onto her portal and disappears in a cloud of blue steam
May 01 17:55:14 <The_Bee>   bye Shiral.  Glad you came. And huggles to Cesca.
May 01 17:55:14 <Evie>   Goodnight Shiral
May 01 17:55:16 <Shiral>   BYE!
May 01 17:55:21 *   Shiral has quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
May 01 17:55:22 <revanne>   night
May 01 17:56:36 <Evie>   When DS was much younger and obsessed with Lord of the Rings, we got him a fantasy medieval playset of building blocks and figures similar to Lego, but in gray/pewter/bronze colors and by a competing toy company
May 01 17:56:51 <Evie>   which I still have stashed away in a plastic box underneath the guest bed
May 01 17:57:07 <Evie>   except for those two dragons that wouldn't fit into the box without disassembly
May 01 17:57:19 <DesertRose>   :)
May 01 17:57:31 <revanne>   "No disassemble!"
May 01 17:58:15 <Evie>   I've saved the set so I can eventually put some scenery around the miniature castle for Lego Duncan and friends
May 01 17:59:04 <KK>   Sounds like a plan.  (I was wondering whether one of your mini-Deryni had become the Mother or Father of Dragons.)
May 01 17:59:53 <Evie>   I figure if Charissa can summon a Stenrect, someone can at least conjure up the illusion of a dragon.  Maybe during a Duel Arcane
May 01 18:00:56 *   Demercia2 has quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
May 01 18:01:11 <revanne>   Do stenrects have any objective existence, KK?
May 01 18:01:16 <Evie>   Interesting, I've just found a miniature book cover for a bio about Arthur Conan Doyle.  I wonder which of my Mini-Deryni would like to read that one?
May 01 18:01:25 <jemler>   take a large bowl, cover it with saran wrap, use spray-n-startch, and some glitter, to create a warding dome.
May 01 18:01:44 <Evie>   I think they objected to Alaric....  ;-)
May 01 18:02:03 <revanne>   And he to them!
May 01 18:02:14 <Evie>   I don't think I have a bowl large enough though, Jemler.  Even my punch bowl would be too small
May 01 18:02:46 <jemler>   maybe and old bbq lid.
May 01 18:03:48 <jemler>   can thr littles knees bend?
May 01 18:04:07 <Evie>   Yes
May 01 18:04:33 <Evie>   A very large beach ball might work if it's just to be used as a form to mold something over
May 01 18:04:48 <Evie>   Figures are 12" tall, though, plus would require headroom
May 01 18:04:55 <jemler>   sit 4 on their knees, facing inward. like they are making a TP.
May 01 18:05:02 <DesertRose>   That's have to be a BIG beach ball.
May 01 18:05:07 <DesertRose>   *That'd
May 01 18:05:07 <The_Bee>   How tall are the mini-Deryni in inches?
May 01 18:05:32 <Evie>   12 inches for the males (give or take a few mm) and about 11.5" for the ladies
May 01 18:05:41 <Evie>   On average
May 01 18:06:01 <Evie>   Or one of those exercise balls made for sitting on, etc
May 01 18:06:21 <DesertRose>   Yeah, a balance ball would probably be better.
May 01 18:06:24 <drakensis>   night
May 01 18:06:26 *   drakensis has quit (Quit: Nettalk6 - www.ntalk.de)
May 01 18:06:39 <DesertRose>   Well, shoot.  I was going to tell drakensis g'night, but he bailed too fast.
May 01 18:07:09 <Evie>   They are not tiny figures.  People constantly underestimate their size
May 01 18:07:44 *   Demercia (Mibbit@842092.C19ECF.3A0E88.26B3C9) has joined
May 01 18:07:50 <DesertRose>   Rehi Demercia
May 01 18:07:50 <Evie>   ROFL!  Just found miniature book cover for "Self-Hypnosis for the life you want."  Yeah, that's definitely going on their bookshelf!
May 01 18:07:54 <DesertRose>   LOL
May 01 18:07:56 <The_Bee>   rehi Demercia
May 01 18:08:23 <Eyikl>   hi Demercia
May 01 18:08:23 <Evie>   Their modern world bookshelf anyway
May 01 18:08:28 <revanne>   very appropriate
May 01 18:08:35 <Demercia>   Rehi.  Sorry nodding off here, going to say goodnight.
May 01 18:08:47 <DesertRose>   Okay, g'night then!
May 01 18:08:53 <jemler>   nite
May 01 18:09:00 <Evie>   goodnight Demercia
May 01 18:09:02 <The_Bee>   glas you came. Have a good week.
May 01 18:09:13 <KK>   Nighters, Demercia.
May 01 18:09:31 <Demercia>   See you all in June!
May 01 18:09:32 <Eyikl>   night
May 01 18:09:53 *   Demercia has quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
May 01 18:10:22 *   drakensis (~drakensis@OWIRCN-f44d79e9.skybroadband.com) has joined
May 01 18:10:27 <DesertRose>   Rehi drakensis
May 01 18:10:56 <Evie>   Just found Duncan's lost pectoral cross, months after making him a new one
May 01 18:11:01 <drakensis>   just a bounce. night
May 01 18:11:01 <DesertRose>   Of course.
May 01 18:11:04 *   drakensis has quit (Quit: Nettalk6 - www.ntalk.de)
May 01 18:11:22 <jemler>   he's in germany
May 01 18:11:23 <DesertRose>   You almost always find something when you replace it.
May 01 18:12:02 <Evie>   And Ailidh's bathing suit top, so she can scandalize Jass
May 01 18:12:47 <DesertRose>   The one time I haven't had the "find something practically as soon as you replace it" come true is one time I lost my entire key chain, and even after replacing all my keys, I never found the original key chain.
May 01 18:13:32 <revanne>   Germany?
May 01 18:13:42 <Eyikl>   I've done that.
May 01 18:14:19 <DesertRose>   The suffix on drakensis' quit message was "de" which might well indicate Deutschland/Germany.
May 01 18:14:33 <Evie>   A server address ending in .de is German.  He could be traveling on business, or on holiday.
May 01 18:14:38 <revanne>   ahh
May 01 18:14:41 <DesertRose>   I thought drakensis was in the UK, but maybe he's traveling or he uses a German-based ISP.
May 01 18:14:42 <jemler>   look at the domain name. www.ntalk,de de = deutschland
May 01 18:15:25 <revanne>   He's UK based but could easily be in Germany.
May 01 18:15:29 <KK>   Jemler, are you at home now?
May 01 18:15:40 <DesertRose>   Yeah, it's not like Germany is that far to travel from UK.
May 01 18:15:42 <jemler>   yes. finally.
May 01 18:16:15 <The_Bee>   What was the first thing you ate when you got home?
May 01 18:16:29 <jemler>   kfc.
May 01 18:16:34 <DesertRose>   Aw, man!
May 01 18:16:40 <DesertRose>   No home-cooked food?
May 01 18:17:01 <jemler>   it'd been a long day, my mom was tired so, no.
May 01 18:17:06 <DesertRose>   Ah, okay, that's reasonable then.
May 01 18:18:06 <KK>   Yeah, KFC is fine if it's not your only source of food.
May 01 18:18:26 <revanne>   KFC is good comfort food
May 01 18:18:28 <DesertRose>   Yeah, and Mom needs a break from cooking sometimes.
May 01 18:19:15 <DesertRose>   Especially after a busy day of handling other stuff.
May 01 18:19:20 *   CGI976 (~4911c7fb@OWIRCN-1bdd9d77.org) has joined
May 01 18:19:26 <DesertRose>   Hi CGI976
May 01 18:19:45 <jemler>   i can't control the stove from my chair, and i refuse to poison someone else with my cooking! :)
May 01 18:20:02 <Eyikl>   Hi CC1976
May 01 18:20:03 <DesertRose>   Wow, jemler.  Are you THAT bad a cook?
May 01 18:20:04 <jemler>   hi cgi1976
May 01 18:20:29 <jemler>   i haven't cooked for nearly 20 years, so probably!
May 01 18:20:41 <DesertRose>   Ah, yeah, probably very rusty at best, then.  :D
May 01 18:21:22 <CGI976>   Do you takeout, or does someone else cook for you?
May 01 18:21:22 *   The_Bee has quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
May 01 18:21:40 *   CGI976 is now known as Bee
May 01 18:21:52 <DesertRose>   Sometimes I forget that not everybody started helping cook as soon as they were tall enough to see over the kitchen counter and never really stopped in the intervening almost thirty years.
May 01 18:22:01 <DesertRose>   Actually, over thirty years.
May 01 18:22:23 <DesertRose>   Oh, I didn't realize that was you, Bee.  The hostmask was different.
May 01 18:22:44 <Bee>   I'm using the3 alternate chat.
May 01 18:22:48 <DesertRose>   Ah, I see.  :)
May 01 18:23:16 <revanne>   Going to say goodnight as it's getting late here. Have a good week everyone.
May 01 18:23:21 <DesertRose>   G'night, revanne
May 01 18:23:26 <DesertRose>   Have a good week!
May 01 18:23:30 <jemler>   i was raied to think that the boys were to mow the lawn, shovel the sidewalk, and take out trash. the hardest part of being paralyzed was watching my mom shoveling snow my first winter back.
May 01 18:23:33 <Bee>   good week to you, Reverend Anne
May 01 18:23:35 <jemler>   nite revanne
May 01 18:23:42 <Eyikl>   goodnight revanne
May 01 18:23:55 <DesertRose>   Oh yeah, I can see where that would be rough.
May 01 18:23:57 <Evie>   Goodnight
May 01 18:24:15 *   revanne has quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
May 01 18:24:29 <DesertRose>   My dad worked as a short-order cook for a while, and found the skill sufficiently useful that he made my older brothers learn at least rudimentary kitchen skills.
May 01 18:25:26 <Bee>   good idea
May 01 18:25:41 <DesertRose>   And my mom had me helping her cook probably by the time I was six or seven years old, but that may have been out of necessity, since my parents were divorced by then and she and my stepdad didn't marry until I was almost nine.
May 01 18:27:34 <DesertRose>   I had it in my head that if I'd ever had a son, he was going to learn to cook and clean house and do laundry and so forth, because I was hanged if I was going to turn a son loose on the world who thought that he had no indoor responsibilities.
May 01 18:28:17 <DesertRose>   Also, DD has had to learn to mow the lawn and do some rudimentary car maintenance and so forth, so that rule went both ways.  No shoveling though!
May 01 18:30:15 <Bee>   no snow in FL?
May 01 18:31:07 <Evie>   I suspect the day that FL gets enough snow to shovel will be the day I sprout wings and fly to the top of Sears Tower
May 01 18:31:43 <DesertRose>   Yeah, pretty much.
May 01 18:31:56 <DesertRose>   The last time it snowed and stuck to the ground in FL, DD wasn't even born yet.
May 01 18:32:49 <DesertRose>   But when I was pregnant with her (and I didn't know for sure whether she was a boy or a girl until she was actually born), I made a list in my head of Skills This Kid Needs to Learn by Adulthood, Regardless of Gender.
May 01 18:33:34 <Evie>   I'm about 8 hours or more north of DesertRose, and we don't get it thick enough around here to require shoveling.  Though that's partly because, on the rare occasion when it sticks and becomes deep enough to require a shovel, the entire city is closed anyway, so there's no roads open to drive on
May 01 18:34:04 <jemler>   poor baby. :(
May 01 18:34:13 <DesertRose>   Like, how to do laundry without totally hosing up your clothes, how to cook at least a few meals from scratch, how to sew well enough to mend tears and replace buttons, how to check and replenish fluids in cars, how to change a car tire, etc.
May 01 18:35:18 <Evie>   Oh noes, I'm missing a bishop!
May 01 18:35:29 <Evie>   In a chess game, fortunately, not one of the Mini-Deryni
May 01 18:35:30 <DesertRose>   And I had the attitude of Kid doesn't have to LIKE doing any of this stuff, Kid just has to know how.
May 01 18:36:46 <Eyikl>   So you're in NC or VA Evie?
May 01 18:36:47 <DesertRose>   Because heaven knows I HATE doing dishes and laundry.
May 01 18:37:20 <Evie>   I'm in AL, Eyikl
May 01 18:37:33 <jemler>   ohio, here
May 01 18:37:45 <Evie>   North-Central, just northeast of Birmingham
May 01 18:38:12 <Evie>   I should have said I'm northwest of DR, technically
May 01 18:38:14 <Bee>   Massachusetts
May 01 18:39:20 <DesertRose>   Perpetually lurking bynw is in Iowa.
May 01 18:39:25 <Eyikl>   I'm in MA, or sometimes PA.
May 01 18:39:28 <Evie>   I've not driven that direction in ages, but to the best of my recollection it's 6-8 hours drive to North Florida, about 12 hours to the part of Central FL where my mother-in-law lives, and about 16 from here to Miami
May 01 18:39:34 <DesertRose>   (To be fair, I think he's at work right now.)
May 01 18:39:55 <DesertRose>   Probably about like that, Evie.  It was a 10-hour drive here from Huntsville.
May 01 18:40:28 <Evie>   OK, so about 8 hours from me, since Huntsville is about 1.5 to 2 hours away depending on the route and how fast you drive
May 01 18:40:49 <Eyikl>   Does that include food breaks/
May 01 18:40:54 <jemler>   all those dirt roads in AL slowed you down a bit, huh/
May 01 18:41:03 <Evie>   If you grab fast food to go, then yes
May 01 18:41:08 <DesertRose>   Yeah, and I didn't actually pass through Birmingham on my way here from Huntsville (because that would have meant driving an indirect route).
May 01 18:41:21 <DesertRose>   Yeah, if you don't stop for a major sit-down meal.
May 01 18:41:44 <Evie>   LOL, jemler!  I'm in the most populated area of the state, so not many dirt roads around here.  :-)
May 01 18:42:09 <jemler>   :)
May 01 18:42:40 <DesertRose>   I did have to pass through Hotlanta, AKA Traffic Hell, though.
May 01 18:43:05 <Evie>   Though I'm tempted to show you a photo of my son the squirrel-charmer just for that joke.  ;-)  Unfortunately he's got it blocked to public viewing.
May 01 18:43:09 <Eyikl>   I don't think I'd want to drive 8-16 hours without stopping.
May 01 18:43:18 <DesertRose>   No, no you don't, Eyikl.
May 01 18:43:30 <DesertRose>   It's uncomfortable to say the least.
May 01 18:44:21 <Evie>   Oh yeah, it seems I have a Deryni son, KK.  He's got a squirrel that lives outside his apartment tamed to the point of climbing up on him and coming inside the apartment to explore and meet his cat, Mr. Butters.  And Butters has apparently forgotten how to cat, because he doesn't try to chase the squirrel when it's inside.
May 01 18:44:22 <jemler>   well folks, i'm gonna go. see you next week.
May 01 18:44:35 <DesertRose>   I drove from here (Jacksonville, FL) to Dallas, TX, almost nonstop (except for food, bathroom, and fuel breaks and one nap break) and it was a rough trip.
May 01 18:44:39 <DesertRose>   G'night, jemler.
May 01 18:44:46 <Evie>   So my son with the Dhugal-colored hair seems to have his animal rapport skills to go with it
May 01 18:44:53 <Bee>   bye jemler
May 01 18:44:57 <Evie>   goodnight jemler
May 01 18:44:58 <KK>   When I was little, and we used to drive north from Miami to Ashville, NC, there were still some dirt roads in Georgia and, I think, SC.  That was the days before Interstates.
May 01 18:45:01 <Eyikl>   goodnight jemler
May 01 18:45:14 <DesertRose>   It wouldn't surprise me if there were dirt roads in SC.
May 01 18:45:22 <KK>   Nighters, Jemler.  Glad ou're home.
May 01 18:45:27 <DesertRose>   SC even still doesn't maintain their interstates worth a darn.
May 01 18:45:31 <jemler>   thanks.
May 01 18:45:33 <Evie>   Oh, I'm sure we still have dirt roads too, just not too many of them in the Greater Birmingham Area!
May 01 18:45:44 <jemler>   bye.
May 01 18:45:53 *   jemler has quit (Quit: )
May 01 18:46:22 <Evie>   Unless they're at campgrounds and the like
May 01 18:46:28 <DesertRose>   Like, when we drive up to Charleston to visit family, there is a noticeable difference in the road quality when you cross the GA/SC line.  On the GA side of the Savannah River, the roads are WAY smoother.
May 01 18:47:26 <Evie>   Oh yeah, it was that way at the AL/TN border until fairly recently.  DS woke up from a sound sleep at the border once and knew instantly that we'd just crossed the state line because the road suddenly got rougher
May 01 18:48:07 <Evie>   They finally smoothed out that section of interstate, I think, but for a while it was pretty rough
May 01 18:48:41 <DesertRose>   I-95 also narrows by a lane when you cross into SC from GA.
May 01 18:48:50 <DesertRose>   It's three lanes each direction in GA, but only two in SC.
May 01 18:49:14 <Bee>   Which state was the rough one? AAL or TN?
May 01 18:49:33 <Evie>   Alabama
May 01 18:49:59 <Evie>   But the interstate system has been getting an overhaul a section at a time in recent years
May 01 18:50:17 <Evie>   In Birmingham, right now the project is replacement of all the old bridges crossing the interstate system
May 01 18:50:46 <DesertRose>   Unfortunately for political reasons, SC wants to be all Proud and Independent and not take federal funds to improve the damn interstates, even though it wouldn't cost any state revenues and would probably create at least some temporary jobs.
May 01 18:50:46 <Evie>   Which is badly needed, but makes me glad I don't have a daily rush hour commute to downtown B'ham anymore
May 01 18:51:15 <Bee>   They replaced all the bridges on I-93 a year or two ago.
May 01 18:51:42 <Bee>   at least in MA
May 01 18:51:48 <Evie>   That's weird. On my end of things, it looks like half my sentence disappeared and someone else's text got grafted onto my sentence
May 01 18:51:53 <DesertRose>   Oh yeah, one of the interstate bridges here is being improved, and near as I can tell it's going to be really nice once it's done but boy while it's being worked on, it's a traffic nightmare.
May 01 18:52:42 <DesertRose>   And said bridge is more or less right in the middle of downtown Jax.
May 01 18:53:03 <Evie>   I was trying to say that given the demolition and rebuilding of key bridges and overpasses, I'm glad I don't have a daily rush hour drive to and from downtown Birmingham anymore.
May 01 18:53:16 <Eyikl>   And the Salisbury bridge on I-95 going into NH.
May 01 18:54:18 <KK>   All this Interstate refurbishment is badly needed.  The infrastructure of the country has long needed a serious injection of cash.
May 01 18:54:45 <Eyikl>   Have to go eat food now, nice to talk to all of you.
May 01 18:55:05 <Evie>   Yes, agreed, though I'd just as soon avoid having to drive through the construction until it's completed.
May 01 18:55:10 <Bee>   MA voted down a bill that would have funded infrastructure repair.
May 01 18:55:22 <Evie>   Bye, Eyikl
May 01 18:55:29 <Evie>   Glad you're eating food rather than non-food
May 01 18:55:30 <Bee>   bye Eyiki
May 01 18:55:49 <Evie>   If you said you had to go eat old slippers, I'd worry
May 01 18:55:58 <Eyikl>   so am I.
May 01 18:56:23 <Eyikl>   and I don't think I have any old slippers, anyway.
May 01 18:56:34 <Evie>   Every time I think I've got stuff mostly sorted, I find some other box to go through.  Argh!
May 01 18:57:01 <Eyikl>   It's a reverse black hole.
May 01 18:57:03 <Evie>   I just need this room to look like a guest room rather than a storage room within the next week.  No worries.
May 01 18:57:28 <KK>   I'd better boogie, too.  See you all next week.  I'm going to Fla. Tuesday, returning Saturday, to belatedly help celebrate my father's 91st birthday.  See you next week.
May 01 18:57:35 <Bee>   me too, Evie.I'm frequently finding clothes I forgot I had.
May 01 18:57:49 <Evie>   See you later.  Enjoy your dad's belated birthday!
May 01 18:58:00 <Bee>   thanks for coming, KK.  Have a good week.
May 01 18:58:03 *   KK steps onto her Portal, waves goodnight, and disappears in a shower of green sparkles.
May 01 18:58:12 <Eyikl>   Bye everyone Have a good celebration KK
May 01 18:58:12 <Evie>   I'll hopefully be here next week, depending on parental plans
May 01 18:58:15 <KK>   Nighters.
May 01 18:58:22 *   KK has quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
"If having a soul means being able to feel love, loyalty, and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans."

James Herriot (James Alfred "Alfie" Wight), when a human client asked him if animals have souls.  (I don't remember in which book the story originally appeared.)