LOL - congratulations to the whole family! I love hearing about what everyone is doing.

bumping this up because I know there's other crafters/hobbyists here. And groaning over the misspelling in the title... Fixed it!

I know this is a little old.. but I have a question. I re-joined FB the other day and unfriended a lot of people I didn't feel I needed to be friends with. It felt good... Anyway, I have another question about finding groups you want to join. Let's say you're interested in a group, but it's not a group any of your friends would be in. It could very well be a public group (I noticed that many are already), but how do you find it? I can't figure it out. Is there a way to search for public groups?? I'm still pretty lost. It's changed a lot in the last 4 years.

hey all! What is everyone working on - or what have you let collect dust and you need a little inspiration/encouragement to get it done? Anyone got crafting plans for the spring/Easter season? ======== I'm busy trying to work on a scarf for my dd's school silent auction. It's due this week and my hope/plan is to crank it out before Tues. On my larger loom I've almost finished warping the loom with my first sewing with handwoven project. On a frustrating note - the ruana I had been working on ending up being a big fat mess. Somehow I miscalculated and one panel is 14" shorter than the other. :cursing: The color is really ugly too. I have problems coming up with good color combinations and this one is a doozy! So, I decided on a whim that I may try to tackle dyeing handwoven too. Still waiting for the dye to ship. I plan to use the shorter panel as the tester and if I find something that works, just use the larger panel as a shawl. Wish me luck.

LOL - I'm the same way. I also don't like the beach because of the crowds. The only beach I truly loved was the ones we visited in Maine near Acadia. Beautiful beaches, but not the type that people laid around and sunbathed on. I think I'd probably love the beaches of the PNW as well, but I've never been.

I'm sorry too... :grouphug:

The answer is we are Evangelical at our roots (look at the early church), but currently in America you are less likely to find it. The main reason is because most EO churches were founded by immigrants who came/come from countries where either everyone is already Orthodox (think Greece) or they have been or are currently being heavily persecuted (think Middle East). They come to America and just want to worship without making waves in the community. Immigrants don't want to look weird or stand out. EO is quite different in so many ways. Does that make sense? Anyway, that's somewhat of a prevailing mindset within American Orthodoxy. Not all parishes are like this...but most/many are. It's hard to break that attitude when it's been ingrained from your childhood (if you're the child of immigrants). Most often we found ourselves in dialogs with Western Christians because those are the people looking for something more than what they've found in their American Christian experience (this was the case for me). Also, EO emphasise acts of mercy/kindness... so there's often more emphasis in doing loving things towards your neighbor without pasting a "come to Jesus" message to it... does that make sense? Of course, we look at "salvation" quite differently - so our evangelical actions won't look the same as someone who goes door to door, for example. We just wouldn't do that. I hope this is helpful....

thanks! I will try to remember to look at it later. I didn't even watch the Nye/Ham debate because, while I'm a creationist (ID), I don't agree with the Young Earth theory, so it seemed pointless for me to watch. I went down to the Discovery Inst. in DC a number of years ago to hear a talk by Michael Behe (Darwin's Black Box)... it was quite good, even if some of it was above my head. :D Hugh Ross and his group: Reason's to Believe, debate both YE creationists and evolutionists on many occasions. I'm not sure how to find the video's though.

I saw it several months ago too.. Am I the only one that found it slightly disturbing? I dunno, it's just not something I want to talk about amongst my friends.

Lent starts next Monday for Eastern Orthodox Christians. We share the same Easter/Pascha date this year, but Lent always starts for us on a Monday. It has to do with how we count the days in Lent , but I can't remember what it is exactly. Our prayers will change slightly too. We add the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian to our daily prayers. My lenten diet isn't as strict as most EO due to dietary issues and a non-EO husband. So, I hope to cut down on portions (walk away from the table hungry)... and of course, the church father's always encourage us to concentrate on changing our hearts more than we concentrate on our diet. Here's the prayer for St. Ephraim for anyone interested: O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth (laziness), despair, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity (purity), humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother (and sisters), for blessed art Thou, unto ages of ages. Amen.

I was quite comfortable with it, but I have an independent personality. We also had a good pre-baby class at the birthing center that helped us through those first 48hrs. After that, it all seemed rather natural and organic to me.

praying this morning.

I know. My youngest is 12. he does still like a trip to Target to look through Nerf and Lego stuff though. :grouphug:

I have vit d3 on hand. I'll start taking it. It was beautiful today but I was only out a bit. Tomorrow, icky and cold again.

I was at a Bible study Friday night and found out this morning at church that the person who leads it came down with the flu!! I was in contact with him too - not just sitting across the room from each other. A bunch of us also went out afterwards for coffee/treats and I sat across from him at the table. Ack!!! I was saying to myself a few days ago that I had missed the bullet for another year. I'm hoping that it's not really the flu but maybe a bad cold - something -please!! Not the flu. But, that is what was told to me so I want to proceed as if it really is a confirmed case of the flu . I've already taken 2 doses of elderberry syrup today. I have Airborne but haven't taken any today. I also have Oscillococcinum on hand if I come down with symptoms. What else should I be taking or doing to prevent the onset?

oh my goodness!!! I can't imagine. Thank goodness he was okay. I hope you can get some sleep tonight.

someone gifted me a Kindle about 2years ago. I tried, but I just didn't like it. I like knowing where I am in a book and having that frame of reference. I also like the ease of flipping back to a spot I want to reference something earlier in the book. I like the tangible experience of holding a book and flipping around. I still have the Kindle and I may use it from time to time, but it is not my preferred way to read. To keep the book amount down in the house I do try to borrow my books from the library as much as possible... I also do Paper Back Swap. When I do buy I try to get them used for cheap.

Wow. I'm sorry...but I'm glad you got some answers. Shunning the whole family will not serve her well in the end. I hope she realizes before it's too late.

my kids computer has Windows 8... I hate it. I'm avoid buying another computer as long as possible so I don't have to use Windows 8. NightElf - I think you'd take to your new computer a lot faster if it didn't have Windows 8.

OMG!! The commentary is so annoying. Shut up and let us watch the skating! I don't normally get into the figure skating competition but it's been on occasionally with the kids and I'll stop by to watch it. I can't stand the constant chatter DURING the skating routines. Why can't they wait until the replay to talk?

praying that you can take whatever news comes with a peaceful mind and avoid a panic attack. :grouphug:

Yes, that's the neighborhood. I used to work close by there and the trees are stunning. Still crowded at peak time but not like the tidal basin.

In Bethesda off river rd. I can't remember the name of the street either. Maybe goldsboro? I'm not at home and can look it up. The cherry blossom parade is usually scheduled for the beginning of may, so I always think of peak season being in april, depending on the weather, of course.

I agree. Yay to the lady who thought fast. I'd probably be too stunned to think of what to do. Once someone attempted to steal my dad's VW bug (back when you could hot wire and jump a manual car). My dad went from a dead sleep, to putting on his pants and running after them (the car was already rolling down the hill), hopped into the front seat, and sat on the "driver" while my mom called the cops. My dad is 6'7" and barely fit into the bug as it was so they must have looked like quite the pair when the cops arrived.

I've been screened for TB many times over the years and don't recall ever having that problem. Perhaps it's just a coincidence. I've always come back negative for TB.