Ramblings Of A Madwoman

Maiden,
Seems like we're gonna get the same here. They are calling for that tonight & about 6-12 inches of snow. I hope Cat does ok through this as the cold makes her hurt more. Hope you are well.

huggers
Cori

Number of posts : 64 Age : 59 Registration date : 2009-04-30

awww ty Cori hurting like hell but living with it Im gonna go out anyway before the storm gets here because our taxes are in
I get the weekend in bed but Im gonna go do some therapy shopping lol
everyone please stay safe and warm
love n light
Cat

I'm staying warm.

I am to have surgery on my hernias Wednesday.
The plan is for my husband to call Melissa with the news
afterwards, and she is to call you guys, and let you
all know how I am doing. The doctor is going to try a new mesh
that came out. He said there's less chance of me having a
reaction to it. Now, if there is a 99 percent rate of success,
I will no doubt fall into that 1 percent that it does not
work for. But I am willing to try it anyways. I am just
going to have positive thoughts, and keep my strength up
before surgery, even if it means eating when I don't feel
like eating. Taking all of my supplements that I am allowed
to take. I hope I won't have to have a blood transfusion
like I did for my last three surgeries. I am no
longer considered to be anemic, my levels have been
in the good range. So it won't be because of that.
I love all of you so much!
(((HUGS)))

I think we got about 8 inches of snow.
Kinda hard to tell, since we cannot get outside.
The snow is blocking the door from being opened very much.
But we are well and warm. Guess that just means
we can get some things done that are needed
inside to be done. LOL
Hope everyone is well and happy, and enjoying their day.
(((HUGS)))

Maiden,
Good luck on your surgery. We'll be keeping you in our prayers.
We'll look forward to hearing from Melissa. It's been a while so there is much to catch up on. I'm glad your resting up for the surgery. I know they take a lot out of you.
We received about 6 inches of snow here. We played in it on Saturdays for a couple of hours. It's nice to have a bit of a hill for sledding in the back yard. All the fun wore me out lol. I guess that's what happens when the mind says I still in my 20's and my body starts laughing & reminds me harshly that I am twice that age,lol.

Reality takes it's toll please have exact change
huggers
Cori

Okay, just got home from the hospital.
Its going to take time for me to heal.
I sure am sore right now, and sitting hurts.

Sounds like you all had lots of fun Cori.
I just don't seem to enjoy snow when its on the ground.
But it sure is relaxing watching it fall.

Oh! My brother and his wife arrived in Doniphan right when
I was being released from the hospital.
Nick went back to town to get them to help drive his rig in here.
He's got a 24 foot trailer on his truck, and he (my brother)
does not know how to back one up, and Nick does.
He has a storage shed on the back of it. And looked like
some tractor thingies on it. Like plows, etc.

I am going to go lay down.
Love you all bunches.

(((HUGS)))

Maiden,
Glad to hear you are home. Don't worry about catching up with us right now. You rest up. Melissa said she'd be on line Wednesday. Hawk & Koko also said they would be on line some time this month. Glad your brother made it in ok even if he makes you crazy some times. We may need to get together around Spring Break. My mom wants to up the time frame for our family reunion.

Hope you feel better real soon.
Huggers
Cori

Just dropping by real quick to let you all know I'm okay.
I have been doing the bed rest,
and getting up and walking about four to five times a day.
Still hurts to sit for very long.
I see the surgeon again on the 15th for a check up,
so will see then if this mesh is doing what its supposed to do.
I love all of you guys immensely, and miss you lots.
(((HUGS)))

Maiden,
Miss you to. Again Happy Valentine's Day. I hope everything goes well with the surgeon. Keeping you in my prayers. Dani has been asking about you. You may want to drop her a line.
Koko said she'd be on a full wired connection this Friday so would be here more often.

huggers
Cori

Well shoot! Why doesn't Dani read my blogs at Dramaspot?
Does she not go there anymore? I will write to her if I
remember next time I am there.
Surgery went well, and got the staples out on the 14th.
The nurse put Steri (not sure of spelling) Strips, in their place.
Still hurts to sit up for a long time, so am just getting on here a little bit.
Cori, Red, and Fallflower and Bjorn, thank you so very much for the awesome card.
You are all the bestest!
I'm getting plenty of bed rest, which is hard on the back,
but am still doing it, because I want to get better for sure.
Guess the mesh worked this time, I was a bit scared it wouldn't.
But alls well here.
My brother and his wife, just closed on their house.
So, they will be going to Texas to get the rest of
their stuff to move in. Yea, they drive me a bit nuts, but their okay.
They mean well. I'm just not used to being coddled.
So, I'm being a good girl all. LOL
(((HUGS))) to all!

Is Santa buried in this Irish grave?

By Tom Prendeville; Dominic Utton 14/12/2009

Ramblings Of A Madwoman - Page 4 V2r8cl

The ruins of Jerpoint Abbey do not look like the final resting place of the world's best-loved man (at this time of year at least).

But it is here in County Kilkenny, Ireland, amid fallen stones, scrubby bushes and beneath a well-worn slab, that the bones of the real Father Christmas are said to lie.

"It is an amazing story and yet very few people know about St Nicholas's connection to this country," says local historian Philip Lynch. "Every year now we get visitors to the site, but still not that many.

"There is a great story about a notorious old miser. He never gave the children any Christmas presents, instead he delighted in bringing them to Jerpoint and showing them Father Christmas's grave."

The legend of Santa Claus - who magically leaves presents in stockings at Christmas as children sleep - has its roots in a real man.

St Nicholas of Myra, the 4th-century Bishop of Lycia in modern-day Turkey, was renowned for his extraordinary generosity and was venerated as a living saint. Born into a wealthy family, his parents died when he was young and Nicholas dedicated his life to serving God. Following Jesus's instruction to "Sell what you own and give the money to the poor," he spent all his inheritance helping the needy, sick and suffering.

He soon became famous for his generosity and, thanks to countless anonymous gifts to the poor, was known as a miracle worker, giving presents every year to those who lived a devout and Christian life.

CHIMNEY

One story tells of a poor peasant with three daughters, who could not afford the dowry to ensure they married and were saved from a life of slavery.

As he began to despair, on three separate nights as they came of age, bags of gold appeared in his home, seemingly tossed through a window (or down the chimney) as they slept, landing in shoes left by the fire.

On the third night the man stayed awake and confronted St Nicholas. "It is not me you should thank," said the Bishop, "but God". To this day three gold balls - symbolising the bags of gold coins - remain the traditional symbol of St Nicholas. Before long all children began to leave their shoes or stockings by the fire, hoping for similar gifts. It's a tradition which survives today in Holland and Belgium where children leave their shoes out at Christmas in the hope they will find them filled with gold by the kindly saint.

The Bishop died in December 346 - and was buried in the cathedral church in Myra. The tomb became a pilgrimage site and was even said to hold healing powers. He was declared a saint soon after.

And according to Irish historians, 800 years ago the remains of St Nicholas were brought to Jerpoint Abbey - an event chronicled by bards and scribes of the day.

Intriguingly, the old name for Jerpoint is Magh Rath, which means "plain of the forts". And it is pronounced exactly the same way as Myra in Turkey. Following his death, St Nicholas' tomb in Myra remained a holy site until the Saracen Muslim revolt of 1087.

As all Eastern Christendom came under increasing attack and the Saracens overran Turkey, history has it that his tomb was looted by Italian sailors and brought to the town of Bari in southern Italy. But Philip Lynch believes he has found a different version of events. He reckons the rescue of St Nicholas fell to a French family who settled in Ireland shortly after 1169.

"The de Frainets, who are now known as the Freaneys, had land near Thomastown in Kilkenny," explains Lynch, chairman of Callan Heritage Society. "They also had lands in France. They went on the Crusades to the Holy Land to take on the Saracens."

And it was the de Frainets who brought St Nick to Kilkenny. "They were defeated and when they were retreating, rather than let anything fall into the hands of the enemy, they took what they could. When they were retreating through Myra in Turkey they exhumed St Nicholas' body." It was the Crusaders who brought St Nicholas' remains to southern Italy, which was then part of the Norman empire.

FANFARE

The relics remained in a small church in Bari until the Normans were forced out of Italy by the Genoese.

St Nicholas was then taken to near Nice in France, where his remains were entrusted to the French branch of the de Frainet family.

Meanwhile in Ireland, Nicholas de Frainet, fearing the Normans' days in southern France were numbered, decided to move St Nicholas to Kilkenny. He built a dedicated Cistercian Abbey at Jerpoint and in 1200, amid enormous fanfare, St Nicholas of Myra's body arrived at Waterford and was brought to the new Abbey where he was interred.

"St Nicholas Church is still standing and there is a slab on the ground which marks St Nicholas's grave," says Lynch.

Now on farm land, the church ruins are all that remain of the medieval village of Newtown Jerpoint. Once covering 1,880 acres, the abbey and its huge grounds fell into ruin after its dissolution in 1540.

Some of the graves remain, however.

And one great slab in particular stands out.

There, lovingly chiselled into the stone, is the image of a bishop and two other heads.

The heads are thought to be the two de Frainet Crusaders who brought Nicholas to Ireland: the bishop, surrounded by the symbolic three gold balls, is St Nicholas himself. An there is another twist to this extraordinary tale.

As the legend of St Nicholas faded, it took a marketing drive by Coca Cola in the 1930s to revive St Nick and transform him into modern Father Christmas in his red suit, white fur trim, black boots and buckle belt.

And by another coincidence, the Coca Cola company was founded by Asa Candler, a 19th-century banker whose family originally hailed from... Jerpoint, Co Kilkenny.

FROM GOLD COINS TO FIZZY POP

Italy: The Italians believe St Nicholas is still interred in Bari, and December 6 - the date of his death - is celebrated as the Fiera di San Nicolo, when gifts are given to children. For some communities, this is thought more important than December 25.

Holland, BELGIUM: December 5th is the festival of Sinterklaas, during which children leave their shoes by the fireplace, to be filled with gold coins by St Nicholas, in deference to the original legend. In these countries Sinterklaas still wears the full Bishop's outfit, rather than the red suit and boots we recognise as Santa Claus.

Switzerland: St Nicholas is known as Schmutzli and, although he leaves gifts for good children, is also a figure of some dread: taking bad children away in a sack to a dark forest, or worse, to be drowned in a river. AMERICA: St Nicholas? Santa Claus was all-but invented by the Coca Cola company, who set about restyling him as a jolly, fat, Lapland-living, reindeer-raising, red-suit wearing figurehead. Before the 1930s campaign most pictures showed Santa in green.

Just something I found interesting,
and wanted to share with all of you.

Maiden,
You are most welcome for the card. We just wanted you to know we love ya. Very Happy

Glad the surgery went well. A little coddling never hurt anyone but I admit it can be trying at times,lol. Hope you are having a great day. The story on St. Nicolas is very interesting. Thanks for sharing it. Not sure why Dani isn't following drama spot anymore. I think she mentioned myspace as the place she was following things but am not sure. Hope you are having a great day.

huggers
Cori

Yea, whenever I check into MySpace
(about once every three months),
there is a letter there from her to me.
I answer them and then go on my way.

I am still getting more bed rest then I actually want. LOL
I get a pain in my side if I sit up for too long.
The surgeon said it was because of the stitches inside.
I sit up or walk too long, it causes swelling,
hence the pain. So I am getting plenty of rest.
Been having less pain today then usual for this time of year.
I think its because the temps today are close to 60 outside.
I expect tomorrow to be a horror as we have a 70 percent chance of thunderstorms.
I get horrendous migraines whenever the barometric pressure drops below thirty.
Its like someone or something is pressing against my ear drums.
I have even had my doctor look in them when they were hurting bad, and he could see nothing wrong.
So, I just put up with it.
Life is wonderful isn't it? The other option sucks big time.
Yesterday was my last time to take the chemo pills for this round.
I will be off of them for three weeks, I presume.
The oncologist did not put anymore refills on them.
Guess I will find out when I see him next month.
But, know that I am well and happy.
And I wish the same for all of you as well.
(((HUGS)))

Maiden,
Glad to hear you are feeling better. Hooray you are off the chemo pills. I hope it will be a LONG LONG time before you need them (if ever) again. I too have been getting migraines this past week. I wonder if I am not having the same issue that you are.
Hope you continue to feel better.

huggers
Cori

Number of posts : 394 Age : 48 Registration date : 2008-11-24

hmm i was glad to see moms blog,nice reads here love u mom

I love you too baby girl.
Miss you guys a lot too...

Eh, my blog is just stuff mainly that I
thought was interesting, and wanted to
share with my on-line family.

I sure hope your migraines go away soon Cori.
I hope you don't have the same thing.
I have never found anything to relieve them.
Just gotta tough them out is all.

(((HUGS))) to all!

Maiden,
At one time I had a med that was great for migraines. When we lived in FL I was having sinus issues. So the Doc gave me script sinus meds. Well the sinus meds gave me migraines. I mean REAL bad migraines. So I told my Doc but instead of adjusting the sinus meds he gave me another script for the migraines. I paid for the script but decided I would be better off under the care of another Doc. I don't like meds as a general rule & it made me mad that he didn't try to adjust the first med but instead decided to make me take MORE pills. I kept the migraine meds & used them as needed. Never did have a headache that those pills couldn't tackle. Unfortunately I ran out of them long ago & have never gotten them refilled.
Headaches seem gone at this time. Either stress, barometric pressure or another allergy I discovered (I'm allergic to the creamer I had been buying for my coffee-what a kick in the butt,lol).
Anyway...I've rattled on enough.

Love you Lady. Congrats again on no more chemo pills. I hope the cancer stays gone for good this time.

huggers
Cori

Well, I dunno if the oncologist will write a new scrip for the chemo pills or not.
I will find that out on the 10th when I see him again.
Hope your migraines stay away Cori.
Hope everyone is feeling lots better now.
(((HUGS)))

Maiden,
I'm more concerned about you then my silly migraines. I found out I was allergic to the creamer I was using for my coffee. It caused all sorts of problems. Any way I'm much better off w/o the creamer & am trying to learn how to drink coffee w/just a little milk & no sugar (so far blah).

I hope you don't need a script for more chemo pills. I hope the last round was the end of it. I sure hope you are feeling better. The chemo scares the whey out of me.

huggers
Cori

LOL I drink my coffee with nothing in it.
Someone once called me a coffee connoisuer... LOL
Its not bad once you get used to it.

Maiden,
Drinking coffee w/o anything in it is torture. It's bitter & blah. I don't know if I'll ever adjust.

huggers
Cori

Maybe you could try a different creamer.
Hopefully your not allergic to all of them...

» Obscurity In A Box, or Ramblings of SWS.