[Felinitations] Annual Greeting Card Exchange Rules

These are the rules of the card exchange - Most people would surely
intuitively understand them anyway, but I want to make it abundantly clear
what Felinitations (and the previous year's Lists) were about. (I am deeply
sorry that this seems necessary this year, my apologies)



0) This is supposed to be fun and a celebration of the cross-cultural,
international friendships we've formed over the years.



1) Whilst its 'understood' that if you are on the 'full' ('sending') list
that you'll send cards to everyone else on the 'full' list, you are under no
obligation to do so, and nothing bad will happen if you don't. If you
suddenly find yourself unable to send cards (or able if you are on receive
only), an e-mail to that effect would be appreciated, but folks understand
that Life happens. If you are likely to be offended if someone didn't send
you a card when you were on the list, please unsubscribe from Felinitations
now.



2) If a person appears on the 'receive only' part of the list, then folks
can send or not send to them cards as they wish, knowing that any and all
cards received will be received in the spirit of friendship and community
that they were sent in.



3) You can send whatever sort of snail-mail "greeting" you like, its
entirely up to the *sender* what message is (it goes without saying that the
message should be in the spirit of friendship and ocmmunity, otehrwise why
bother sending the greeting inthe first place?). We are a multi-cultural,
multi-national lot and we each observe the seasons differently - if
receiving a greeting card that is outside of your particular faith or
tradition is likely to upset or offend, please unsubscribe from
Felinitations.



4) Whilst its 'understood' that card exchanges have traditionally happened
in December (where both cards and postage are cheap and plentiful) again you
are under no obligation to send them all in late November or December - you
can send them any time you like with the understanding that there's 365 days
between this year's list and next year's that you can send them in.



5) This is supposed to be fun and a celebration of our cross-cultural,
international friendship.



Sorry it had to come to this, but this year, the rules need to be made
clear. Please feel free to ask any questions eithe ron-group or in private
e-mail (mind the spamtrap)



Yowie

Yowie, unfortunately, because of the HORRID year that we've had, I'm not
going to be able to send out cards this year, but would be profoundly
grateful to anyone who would like to send me a card without getting one in
exchange. I was thinking of making an electronic version of my card like I
do every year and posting that - but I can't even promise that much because
of the medical problems I'm having (even to the point of my not being able
to post here very much at all anymore).

Financially... Ben is still without a job, my company is in the midst of a
merger and I may be laid off around Christmas, we've just claimed bankruptcy
but are still having to pay for the things we *have* to keep (refrigerator,
water heater, vehicle, house, etc.) - so it helped us out some, but not
really enough.

Medically... I won't know for sure for another 8 days, but besides having
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (which is traveling down my right side and
starting to appear on my left side), the shock of that to my autoimmune
system may have caused the onset of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (or maybe
vice-versa - I'm trying not to focus on this and do a lot of googling, I'm
determined not to panic over something that doesn't even have a definitive
diagnosis (my doctor was going by a list of symptoms when she mentioned this
possibility)). Last Wednesday the Rheumatologist took about a gallon of my
blood and sent it off for specialized testing in a laboratory in
California - it takes 2 weeks to get the results. I am continuing to work,
but I don't know how long I'll be able to - I certainly don't have the
energy for anything outside of work.

I'm about ready to just lie down, give up and never rise again! But, of
course, then I'd have at least 4 cats freight-training me across my belly
every 5 minutes, so that option is out! ;

Oh, one bit of good news - Archer got his feather sticks in the mail
yesterday and he is ECSTATIC! It takes so little to make a child or a pet
happy - why can't we adults be that way?

Hugs,

CatNipped


"Yowie" wrote in message
...
These are the rules of the card exchange - Most people would surely
intuitively understand them anyway, but I want to make it abundantly clear
what Felinitations (and the previous year's Lists) were about. (I am
deeply sorry that this seems necessary this year, my apologies)



0) This is supposed to be fun and a celebration of the cross-cultural,
international friendships we've formed over the years.



1) Whilst its 'understood' that if you are on the 'full' ('sending') list
that you'll send cards to everyone else on the 'full' list, you are under
no obligation to do so, and nothing bad will happen if you don't. If you
suddenly find yourself unable to send cards (or able if you are on receive
only), an e-mail to that effect would be appreciated, but folks understand
that Life happens. If you are likely to be offended if someone didn't send
you a card when you were on the list, please unsubscribe from
Felinitations now.



2) If a person appears on the 'receive only' part of the list, then folks
can send or not send to them cards as they wish, knowing that any and all
cards received will be received in the spirit of friendship and community
that they were sent in.



3) You can send whatever sort of snail-mail "greeting" you like, its
entirely up to the *sender* what message is (it goes without saying that
the message should be in the spirit of friendship and ocmmunity, otehrwise
why bother sending the greeting inthe first place?). We are a
multi-cultural, multi-national lot and we each observe the seasons
differently - if receiving a greeting card that is outside of your
particular faith or tradition is likely to upset or offend, please
unsubscribe from Felinitations.



4) Whilst its 'understood' that card exchanges have traditionally happened
in December (where both cards and postage are cheap and plentiful) again
you are under no obligation to send them all in late November or
December - you can send them any time you like with the understanding that
there's 365 days between this year's list and next year's that you can
send them in.



5) This is supposed to be fun and a celebration of our cross-cultural,
international friendship.



Sorry it had to come to this, but this year, the rules need to be made
clear. Please feel free to ask any questions eithe ron-group or in private
e-mail (mind the spamtrap)



Yowie

No cluons were harmed when CatEyes wrote:
It takes so little to make a child or a pet happy - why can't we adults
be
that way?

We are, when we are surrounded by cats (grin).


Hugs and Purrs,
Mark
--
Proof of Sanity Forged Upon Request

In ,
CatEyes typed:
Yowie, unfortunately, because of the HORRID year that we've had, I'm
not going to be able to send out cards this year, but would be
profoundly grateful to anyone who would like to send me a card
without getting one in exchange. I was thinking of making an
electronic version of my card like I do every year and posting that -
but I can't even promise that much because of the medical problems
I'm having (even to the point of my not being able to post here very
much at all anymore).

I'm sure everyone understands, Lori. This is the last thing you need to
worry about!

I'll put you on the Receive Only section , and if you want to send out an
electronic greeting or even snail mails cards, you can.

Financially... Ben is still without a job, my company is in the midst
of a merger and I may be laid off around Christmas, we've just
claimed bankruptcy but are still having to pay for the things we
*have* to keep (refrigerator, water heater, vehicle, house, etc.) -
so it helped us out some, but not really enough.

Medically... I won't know for sure for another 8 days, but besides
having Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (which is traveling down my
right side and starting to appear on my left side), the shock of that
to my autoimmune system may have caused the onset of Systemic Lupus
Erythematosus (or maybe vice-versa - I'm trying not to focus on this
and do a lot of googling, I'm determined not to panic over something
that doesn't even have a definitive diagnosis (my doctor was going by
a list of symptoms when she mentioned this possibility)). Last
Wednesday the Rheumatologist took about a gallon of my blood and sent
it off for specialized testing in a laboratory in California - it takes 2
weeks to get the results. I am continuing to
work, but I don't know how long I'll be able to - I certainly don't
have the energy for anything outside of work.

I'm about ready to just lie down, give up and never rise again! But,
of course, then I'd have at least 4 cats freight-training me across
my belly every 5 minutes, so that option is out! ;

Oh, one bit of good news - Archer got his feather sticks in the mail
yesterday and he is ECSTATIC! It takes so little to make a child or
a pet happy - why can't we adults be that way?

I am *so* glad you have Archer in your life right now, because I know his
joy is also your joy.

I wish I could wave a magic want and make everything better for you (heck, I
wish I could wave a magic wand and make thigns better for *everyone*) but
all Ic an do is send purrs. S:

Purrrrrr~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

{{{{{Lori}}}}}

Yowie

"CatEyes" wrote in message
...
Medically... I won't know for sure for another 8 days, but besides having
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (which is traveling down my right side and
starting to appear on my left side), the shock of that to my autoimmune
system may have caused the onset of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (or maybe
vice-versa - I'm trying not to focus on this and do a lot of googling, I'm
determined not to panic over something that doesn't even have a definitive
diagnosis (my doctor was going by a list of symptoms when she mentioned
this possibility)). Last Wednesday the Rheumatologist took about a gallon
of my blood and sent it off for specialized testing in a laboratory in
California - it takes 2 weeks to get the results. I am continuing to
work, but I don't know how long I'll be able to - I certainly don't have
the energy for anything outside of work.

Hugs,

CatNipped




Lori,

Do you spend a lot of time in rooms with fluorescent lights (home or
office)? If so, it might be a good idea to see if you can avoid those
lights and use regular incandescent bulbs or (better yet) full spectrum
lights. I have had friends with SLE, and all of them have found that
fluorescent lights *increases their level of pain.* Fluorescent lights
probably do not have anything to do with "causing" lupus, but it surely does
make the symptoms worse. Likewise, certain insecticides, cleaning products,
etc. can exacerbate the pain.

MaryL

On Oct 8, 5:18*am, "MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER
wrote:
"CatEyes" wrote in message

...





*Medically... I won't know for sure for another 8 days, but besides having
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (which is traveling down my right side and
starting to appear on my left side), the shock of that to my autoimmune
system may have caused the onset of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (or maybe
vice-versa - I'm trying not to focus on this and do a lot of googling, I'm
determined not to panic over something that doesn't even have a definitive
diagnosis (my doctor was going by a list of symptoms when she mentioned
this possibility)). *Last Wednesday the Rheumatologist took about a gallon
of my blood and sent it off for specialized testing in a laboratory in
California - it takes 2 weeks to get the results. *I am continuing to
work, but I don't know how long I'll be able to - I certainly don't have
the energy for anything outside of work.

Hugs,

CatNipped

Lori,

Do you spend a lot of time in rooms with fluorescent lights (home or
office)? *If so, it might be a good idea to see if you can avoid those
lights and use regular incandescent bulbs or (better yet) full spectrum
lights. *I have had friends with SLE, and all of them have found that
fluorescent lights *increases their level of pain.* *Fluorescent lights
probably do not have anything to do with "causing" lupus, but it surely does
make the symptoms worse. *Likewise, certain insecticides, cleaning products,
etc. can exacerbate the pain.

MaryL- Hide quoted text -

That's really interesting. It would be quite a challenge, though, to
avoid
them, especially if you work. They're everywhere!
Full spectrum lights are amazing. Besides the claims that they're
actually
beneficial to mood in winter months, they're the best light ever for
reading
and close work.

Sherry

On Thu, 8 Oct 2009 05:18:29 -0500, "MaryL"
-OUT-THE-LITTER wrote:

Do you spend a lot of time in rooms with fluorescent lights (home or
office)? If so, it might be a good idea to see if you can avoid those
lights and use regular incandescent bulbs or (better yet) full spectrum
lights. I have had friends with SLE, and all of them have found that
fluorescent lights *increases their level of pain.* Fluorescent lights
probably do not have anything to do with "causing" lupus, but it surely does
make the symptoms worse. Likewise, certain insecticides, cleaning products,
etc. can exacerbate the pain.

Fluorescent lights *flicker*, which can cause many people trouble. If
you feel bad after a day at the office, the lighting may be partly to
blame. CRT displays do the same. I'm not sure about liquid crystal
displays.

Bud

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...

"CatEyes" wrote in message
...
Medically... I won't know for sure for another 8 days, but besides
having Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (which is traveling down my right
side and starting to appear on my left side), the shock of that to my
autoimmune system may have caused the onset of Systemic Lupus
Erythematosus (or maybe vice-versa - I'm trying not to focus on this and
do a lot of googling, I'm determined not to panic over something that
doesn't even have a definitive diagnosis (my doctor was going by a list
of symptoms when she mentioned this possibility)). Last Wednesday the
Rheumatologist took about a gallon of my blood and sent it off for
specialized testing in a laboratory in California - it takes 2 weeks to
get the results. I am continuing to work, but I don't know how long I'll
be able to - I certainly don't have the energy for anything outside of
work.

Hugs,

CatNipped




Lori,

Do you spend a lot of time in rooms with fluorescent lights (home or
office)? If so, it might be a good idea to see if you can avoid those
lights and use regular incandescent bulbs or (better yet) full spectrum
lights. I have had friends with SLE, and all of them have found that
fluorescent lights *increases their level of pain.* Fluorescent lights
probably do not have anything to do with "causing" lupus, but it surely
does make the symptoms worse. Likewise, certain insecticides, cleaning
products, etc. can exacerbate the pain.

MaryL


Yeah, I work under them 10 hours a day. The only ones we have at home are
in the kitchen and since I don't cook I don't think there's a problem there.
But I am ALWAYS interested in alternative therapies - you never know what
just might work for you.

Hugs,

CatNipped

"CatEyes" wrote in message
...
"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...

"CatEyes" wrote in message
...
Medically... I won't know for sure for another 8 days, but besides
having Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (which is traveling down my right
side and starting to appear on my left side), the shock of that to my
autoimmune system may have caused the onset of Systemic Lupus
Erythematosus (or maybe vice-versa - I'm trying not to focus on this and
do a lot of googling, I'm determined not to panic over something that
doesn't even have a definitive diagnosis (my doctor was going by a list
of symptoms when she mentioned this possibility)). Last Wednesday the
Rheumatologist took about a gallon of my blood and sent it off for
specialized testing in a laboratory in California - it takes 2 weeks to
get the results. I am continuing to work, but I don't know how long
I'll be able to - I certainly don't have the energy for anything outside
of work.

Hugs,

CatNipped




Lori,

Do you spend a lot of time in rooms with fluorescent lights (home or
office)? If so, it might be a good idea to see if you can avoid those
lights and use regular incandescent bulbs or (better yet) full spectrum
lights. I have had friends with SLE, and all of them have found that
fluorescent lights *increases their level of pain.* Fluorescent lights
probably do not have anything to do with "causing" lupus, but it surely
does make the symptoms worse. Likewise, certain insecticides, cleaning
products, etc. can exacerbate the pain.

MaryL


Yeah, I work under them 10 hours a day. The only ones we have at home are
in the kitchen and since I don't cook I don't think there's a problem
there. But I am ALWAYS interested in alternative therapies - you never
know what just might work for you.

Hugs,

CatNipped



Are you in an office at work where you could turn off the fluorescents and
replace the lighting with your own lamp(s)? Or you in a cubicle where the
lights are part of a larger system and would be impossible control without
affecting other workers? If the former, it would be worth trying. It won't
help some of your health problems but might help with the lupus (and also
with depression, if you get the full spectrum bulbs).

MaryL

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...

"CatEyes" wrote in message
...
"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...

"CatEyes" wrote in message
...
Medically... I won't know for sure for another 8 days, but
besides having Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (which is
traveling down my right side and starting to appear on my left
side), the shock of that to my autoimmune system may have
caused the onset of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (or maybe
vice-versa - I'm trying not to focus on this and do a lot of
googling, I'm determined not to panic over something that
doesn't even have a definitive diagnosis (my doctor was going
by a list of symptoms when she mentioned this possibility)).
Last Wednesday the Rheumatologist took about a gallon of my
blood and sent it off for specialized testing in a laboratory
in California - it takes 2 weeks to get the results. I am
continuing to work, but I don't know how long I'll be able to -
I certainly don't have the energy for anything outside of work.

Hugs,

CatNipped




Lori,

Do you spend a lot of time in rooms with fluorescent lights
(home or office)? If so, it might be a good idea to see if you
can avoid those lights and use regular incandescent bulbs or
(better yet) full spectrum lights. I have had friends with SLE,
and all of them have found that fluorescent lights *increases
their level of pain.* Fluorescent lights probably do not have
anything to do with "causing" lupus, but it surely does make the
symptoms worse. Likewise, certain insecticides, cleaning
products, etc. can exacerbate the pain.

MaryL


Yeah, I work under them 10 hours a day. The only ones we have at
home are in the kitchen and since I don't cook I don't think
there's a problem there. But I am ALWAYS interested in
alternative therapies - you never know what just might work for
you.

Hugs,

CatNipped



Are you in an office at work where you could turn off the
fluorescents and replace the lighting with your own lamp(s)? Or
you in a cubicle where the lights are part of a larger system and
would be impossible control without affecting other workers? If
the former, it would be worth trying. It won't help some of your
health problems but might help with the lupus (and also with
depression, if you get the full spectrum bulbs).

MaryL


About the first thing I did when I had an office of my own was to
replace the super cheap fluorescent bulbs with the much more
expensive full spectrum non flicker type. It helped to control my
migraines and just plain made me feel a lot better. Thank heaven
they last almost forever.

I have those in my kitchen as well.

Jo