Every day is a new day and with that, a new opportunity.
EVERYONE is welcome and please join us each morning at 7:30 AM PACIFIC
to tell us what you're working on, share your show & tell, vent, whatever you want...
...this is an open thread. Nothing is off topic.
Okay. Let me make clear before I start that I haven't had it really bad on the job ever. After all, my grandfather and his brother were slate boys in a coal mine before they were teenagers. I never picked cotton all day or took in laundry like my grandma. I never rode fence from dawn to dark. In fact, most of my jobs were pretty darn good, even the ones that didn't pay much compared to jobs requiring equal education and stress. And the bad jobs I did have were temporary, and I knew they were temporary every hour I worked them, unlike many of the people I worked beside for whom these bad jobs were their permanent livelihood.
Two of these jobs, however, were really bad.
The first lasted five hours. I was 16. And the task was simple enough. I stood on the floor of a silo in industrial Denver and scooped grain through a slot in the floor into a railroad hopper car parked beneath. The "scoop" wasn't a shovel, but a flat steel blade attached to a pulley-and-cable system. The scoop was pulled across the floor by the cable. My job was merely to hold it down and guide it to the slot. Which, while physically demanding, was no strain. I was a high school wrestler, muscular and lean in those days.
The problem was the grain dust. At first it was just an annoyance, but soon my allergies struck. My eyes watered. My throat itched. My nasal passages got clogged. I started coughing every 10 minutes or so, and then every five, and then, without stopping. Having started at 6, I was kaput by noon. I had trouble breathing for a week.
The other bad job was hauling garbage. This was also in Denver, three years later. The job lasted four months, exactly what I'd planned for it. Without it, I would have had to drop out of college. But it was a battle every day not to walk away. Unlike in many large urban communities today where mechanical claws grab and lift plastic trashcans from the street and automatically flip them open to dump their contents into the bin opening in the top of the garbage truck, we did everything manually.
The cans were not plastic. And in most of the neighborhoods on our routes, they weren't placed out on the street for easy access. We had to walk into back yards to get the 30- and 40-gallon galvanized steel cans. And then lug them on our backs to the rear of the truck and empty them. They weren't merely heavy. At about half the houses, the cans were buried in little concrete silos up to their necks with just enough of a lip for the lid to go on. Usually two per house.
So, the first step—after trying to shut up the barking dog so many of these houses were equipped with—was to squat and raise the can out of its silo. Then the can had to be picked up by one handle and carried to the street where the truck idled. Dawdling wasn't allowed. We had a schedule to make and timekeepers back at the garage keeping track. So we worked at a slow trot. As I said, I was in shape in those days, stronger than average and used to tough workouts. But this took a lot more than strength and stamina. The first 25 or 30 stops were okay after a good night's sleep. But by mid-morning, pulling those cans out of the ground and delivering them to the truck was excruciating. The only break was taking the full truck to the dump to off-load it into the landfill. By 2 p.m., when we finished, I was weary to the marrow.
It wasn't just the heavy labor. Because I was not permanent, I was assigned an array of daily partners, a driver and another carrier, all of them career trashmen who never warmed up to me no matter how much I tried because they knew I was temporary, knew that after a few months I was going to escape the stink we all took home with us every afternoon and the early breakdown of the body that such jobs cause in those who must do them all their lives. No camaraderie on a job is awful.
The bosses looked down on all of us, saw us as expendable, dispensable, and treated us disrespectfully at every opportunity. Some racism in that disrespect, too. More than half the crews were people of color. The bosses openly hated the union, which was the only good thing about the job: The pay was half again what I could have earned doing anything else for four months. I earned every nickel. So, I put up with it, remembering every day what my grandfather was doing when he was my age, with no obvious escape hatch. And I celebrated the day I left for good.
So, what's the worst job you ever had?
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Latest Updates on Kossack Regional Meet-Up News Below the Fold
:: COMMUNITY BUILDING UPDATES ::
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Let's build communities!
Every region needs a meat-space community like SFKossacks.
We take care of each other in real life.
I urge YOU to take the lead and organize one in your region.
Please tell us about it if you do and we're here for advice.
~
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY
>>>Instructions on HOW TO FORM A NEW DAILY KOS GROUP
NEW GROUPS IN THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZING:
Send a Kosmail to the organizers and ask for an invitation to the group.
• Northern Indiana Area: Kosmail Tim Delaney
• Indianapolis Kossacks: Kosmail CityLightsLover
• Long Island: Kosmail grannycarol
• Northern Michigan: Kosmail JillS
• Nebraska: Kosmail Nebraska68847Dem
• Westburbia Chicago Kossacks: Kosmail Majordomo
• New York Hudson Valley Kossacks: Kosmail boran2
• North Carolina Triangle Kossacks: Kosmail highacidity
• Caprock Kossacks (Panhandle/Caprock/Lubbock/Amarillo area) : Kosmail shesaid
• West Texas Kossacks (including Big Bend Region and El Paso) : Kosmail Yo Bubba
Note to the above new leaders: Feel free to leave a comment any day reminding readers about your new group. Also, tell us about your progress in gathering members. Kosmail me when you've chosen a good name for your group and have created a the group. Then I'll move you to the NEW GROUPS LIST. When you've planned a date for your first event I'll make a banner for you to highlight your event in our diaries and your diaries.
These are the groups that have started since * NEW DAY * began. Please Kosmail navajo if you have started a group before that.
NEW GROUPS LIST:
• California Central Valley Kossacks - Formed: Jul 29, 2012, Organizer: tgypsy, 23 members
• New England Kossacks - Formed: Aug 6, 2012, Organizers:
Clytemnestra for Lower New England (Conneticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island)
GreenMountainBoy02 for Upper New England (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont), 116 members
• Houston Area Kossacks - Formed: Aug 7, 2012, Organizer: Chrislove, 20 members
• Kossacks in India - Formed: Aug 14, 2012, Organizer: chandu
• CenTex Kossacks - Formed: Sep 9, 2012, Organizer: papa monzano, 8 members
• Central Ohio Kossacks - Formed: Sep 26, 2012, Organizer: VetGrl, 16 members
• Kansas City Kossacks - Formed Oct 15, 2012, Organizer: kj in missouri
• Phoenix Kossacks - Formed Oct 16, 2012, Organizer: arizonablue
• Chicago Kossacks - Formed: Oct 31, 2012, Organizer: figbash, 23 members
• Koscadia the Pacific Northwest coast from Northern California to Alaska
- Formed Oct 17, 2012, Oganizer: Horace Boothroyd III based in Portland, OR
• Boston Kossacks - Formed: Nov 7, 2012, Organizer: GreyHawk
• Motor City Kossacks South East Michigan (Detroit) Area - Formed: Nov 10, 2012, Organizer: peregrine kate
• Pittsburgh Area Kossacks - Formed: Nov 12, 2012, Organizer: dweb8231,
Current diary: After a "Brief Delay" Pgh. Area Kossacks Gets Rolling
• Salt Lake City Kossacks - Formed: Nov 17, 2012, Organizer: War on Error, 19 members
• Twin Cities Kossacks - Formed: Nov 17, 2012, Organizer: imonlylurking
Current diary: Twin Cities Kossacks-when should we meet? Poll included!
• Dallas Kossacks North Texas - Formed: Nov 21, 2012, Organizer: Stepping down, chancew, please contact him if you'd like to step up. He'll change the groups' permissions for you.
Current diary: Dallas Kossacks, I need suggestions!
• The Southern California Inland Empire Kossacks - Formed: Dec 3, 2012, Organizer: SoCaliana
• Los Angeles Kossacks - Formed: Dec 17, 2012, Organizer: Shockwave
• Northeast Ohio Kossacks - Formed: Jan 16, 2013, Organizer: GenXangster
• Kansas & Missouri Kossacks - Formed: Jan 17, 2013, Organizer: tmservo433
Current diary: If you are in Kansas / Missouri
• I-77 Carolina Kossacks who live from Columbia, SC to north of Winston-Salem, NC. - Formed: Jan 30, 2013, Organizers: gulfgal98 and eeff
ESTABLISHED GROUPS LIST: (List will grow as we discover them)
• SFKossacks Founded by navajo, Formed: May 2, 2005, More than 80 members
• Maryland Kos Founded by timmyc, Formed: Feb 23, 2011, More than 54 members. Contact: JamieG from Md for a group invite. Current diary: Maryland needs a meetup
• New York City Founded by Eddie C, More than 58 members - Contact the group organizer for meet-up events: sidnora
• Baja Arizona Kossacks Event Organizer: Azazello, 90 members
• Three Star Kossacks Tennessee, Founded by maryKK, Formed: Apr 8, 2011, 46 members
• Nashville KosKats Founded by ZenTrainer, Formed: Jan 30, 2012, 28 members
• Virginia Kos Founded by JamieG from Md, Formed: May 3, 2011, 85 members
Current diary: Maryland needs a meetup
• Kos Georgia Founded by pat208, Formed: Feb 13, 2011, 18 members
• Colorado COmmunity Founded by Leftcandid, Formed: Feb 13, 2011, 25 members
• New Mexico Kossaks Founded by claude, 13 members
• Philly Kos Founded by mconvente, Formed: Aug 29, 2011, 15 members
Currently organizing: Kosmail asterkitty to sign up
• DKos Florida Founded by ThirstyGator, Formed: Feb 14, 2011, 33 members
Currently organizing: Kosmail Vetwife to be included in next event.
• Oklahoma Roundup Founded by BigOkie, Formed: Feb 13, 2011, 12 members
Currently organizing: Kosmail peacearena to be included.
Okla-homies, let's get together (new regional organizing group)
:: Events Currently on the Books for ALL Kossacks ::
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Saturday, February 9th
First Time Ever DKos Florida Kossacks Meet-up!
TIME: 1:00 PM
LOCATION: Fort Cooper State Park
Recreation Hall
3100 South Old Floral City Road • Inverness
$3.00 per car entry fee
Pets welcome but not inside hall
NO alcoholic beverages allowed in state park
Food for event will be covered potluck
ORGANIZER: Send Vetwife a kosmail to attend and volunteer for potluck.
RSVPs:
1. Brian1066
2. Caedy (FloridaSNMom's sis)
3. DaNang65
4. FloridaSNMom [Pasta e fagioli (turkey bacon), focaccia bread]
5. gulfgal98 [pasta/vegetable salad]
6. JaxDem [plates, napkins, plasticware]
7. KayeB in Florida
8. lady blair [food from the vegetable group]
9. OleHippieChick [cran-raspberry juice, hummus, pita bread, fresh baby greens]
10. Orlwriter [diet coke, water, cold cuts, cheese, baked beans]
11. PHScott
12. rnmihayden
13. Russ Jarmusch
14. Subo03
15. Taxmancometh
16. THScott
17. Vet
18. Vetwife [chicken, potato salad, punch, chocolate mousse]
19. whatGodmade [fruit salad, drinks, cups, clean up--wash cloths, dish soap, etc.]
20. YaNevaNo
21. Nurse Lurker [dessert]
22. Band Director [dessert]
23. LilBit (FloridaSNMom's daughter)
24. LilHippieChiclet (Vetwife's daughter)
25. Mt. Dora RN R
26. Mt. Dora RN G [pies and cakes from Publix]
Maybees:
Just Bob, tommyfocus2003, beemerr90s
Latest diary: Big Honkin' DKos FLORIDA MEETUP, this Sat Feb 9
Tuesday, February 12th
Watching the 2013 State of the Union Address
TIME: 5:30 PM
LOCATION: cooper888 and gotmooned's place in Sacramento (Natomas)
Directions will be provided by private email to those who RSVP.
ORGANIZER: Send tgypsy a kosmail to RSVP
RSVPs:
1. Kestrel
2. tgypsy
3. cooper888
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4. gotmooned
5. Sychotic1
Maybees:
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Latest diary: Calling all Sacramento area and Central Valley Kossacks!
DailyKos readers who live and/or work in New England
(Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
Saturday, February 16th
Northern New England Meetup in Portsmouth, NH
TIME: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
LOCATION: Margaritas Mexican Restaurant
775 Lafayette Road • Portsmouth
ORGANIZER: Send nhox42 an email to RSVP at nhox42@yahoo.com
RSVPs:
1. Bill in Portland Maine
2. Common Sense Mainer
3. nhox
4. commonmass
5. The Marti
6. Nautical Knots
7. Nautical Knots's spouse
8. Clytemnestra
9. parsonsbeach
10. parsonsbeach's spouse
11. mayim
12. Jane
13. bjedwards
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14. dvcm
15. lurker
Maybees:
vacationland
Debbie in ME
leolabeth
annieli
icicle68
knockbally
CtheO
CtheO's spouse
vacationland
simple
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Latest diary:
Saturday, February 16th
LA Kossacks Meet-up with Guest Speakers Dana Siegelman, Daughter of Don Siegelman and OPOL by Skype
TIME: 2:00 PM
LOCATION: Casey's Irish Pub
613 S Grand Ave. • Los Angeles
ORGANIZER: Send Shockwave a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. Dana Siegelman
2. Shockwave
3. One Pissed Off Liberal (by Skype)
4. Dave in Northridge
5. jakedog42
6. Joe Bacon
7. SanFernandoValleyMom
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8. RLMiller
9. delphine
10. jared the bassplayer
11. Ducktape
Maybees:
norm
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Latest diary: Los Angeles Kossacks meets again on Feb 16. And we have a guest speaker
Saturday, February 16th
Houston Area Kossacks 4th Meet-up
TIME: 2:00 PM
LOCATION: Chuy's
2706 Westheimer Road • River Oaks
ORGANIZER: Send Chrislove a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. Chrislove
2. nomandates
3. Delilah
4. Tacey (Honorary Kossack)
5. suesue
6. Mr. suesue
7. PDiddie
8. Mrs. PDiddie
9. Crabby Abbey
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10. doraphasia
11. Libby Shaw
12. Mr. Libby Shaw
13. teemel
Maybees:
cosette
mengelhart
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Latest diary: TEX KOS Meetup! T-Shirt Design!
Sunday, Febuary 17th
Kossack Meet-ups Coinciding with Forward on Climate Rally
WHAT: Forward on Climate Rally
TIME: Noon
LOCATION: The National Mall • Washington D.C.
SPONSORS: 350.org, The Sierra Club and the Hip-Hop Caucus
WHY: To tell Barack Obama it's time to lead in the fight against climate change, beginning with the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
ORGANIZER: Send eeff a kosmail if you're interested in connecting the night before or the night of the event.
RSVPs:
1. eeff
2. blonde moment
3. angelajean
4. EricS
5.
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Maybees:
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Latest diary: MOT: 350.org, The Sierra Club & Hip Hop Caucus
SFKossack Attending the 350BayArea.org Forward on Climate Rally
TIME: 1:00-3:00 PM
LOCATION: One Market Plaza
1 Market St • San Francisco
ORGANIZER: Send navajo a kosmail to connect with other SFKossacks and RSVP directly at 350BayArea.org.
RSVPs:
1. citisven
2. Glen the Plumber
3. remembrance +TLOTM
4. navajo
5. Meteor Blades
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Maybees:
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Saturday, March 2nd!!
Lone Star Spring Texas State-Wide Meet-Up in Austin
TIME: 2:00-5:00 PM
LOCATION: Opal Divine's Penn Field restaurant and bar
3601 S. Congress Ave • Austin
ORGANIZER: Send nomandates Kosmail to RSVP.
RSVPs:
1. nomandates
2. teknohed
3. papa monzano
4. Chrislove
5. Chrislove's BF
6. glorificus
7. politik
8. mr pea
9. anotherdemocrat
10. Odysseus
11. suesue
12. mr sue sue
13. blue armadillo
14. texasmom
15. texasdad
16. htowngenie
17. navajo (honorary TX Kossack!)
18. afisher
19. manoffire
20. Wino
21. Mrs. Wino
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22. VinaMist
23. doraphasia
24. Urban Owl
25. Texdude50
26. icelus
27. entrelac
28. Mr. entrelac
29. JayRaye
30. cosette
31. belinda ridgewood (honorary TX Kossack!)
32. Carol in San Antonio
33. krwheaton
34. +1 from Harris County
35. KTinTX
36. Libby Shaw
37. Libby Shaw's husband
Maybees:
Mosquito Pilot
Over the Edge
yoduuuh do or do not
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Latest diary: TEX KOS Meetup! T-Shirt Design!
Monday, March 4th
New York City Kossacks Meet-up
TIME: 6:00 PM
LOCATION: Spitzer's Corner
101 Rivington Street (Ludlow) • NYC
ORGANIZER: Send Sidnora a kosmail to RSVP
RSVPs:
1. sidnora
2.
3.
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Maybees: |
Latest diary: Save the Date for a New York Metro Meetup, March 4!
DailyKos readers who live and/or work in New England
(Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
New England Kossacks All Day Meet-up
Saturday, March 9th
ORGANIZER: Send Clytemnestra a kosmail to attend.
TIME: 1:00 - 4:00 PM
LOCATION I: SolToro in the Mohegan Sun Casino
1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard • Uncasville, CT
RSVPs:
1. Clytemnestra
2.
3.
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Maybees:
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TIME: 7:00 - 10:00 PM
LOCATION II: Mystic Pizza
56 West Main Street • Mystic, CT
RSVPs:
1. Clytemnestra
2.
3.
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Maybees:
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TIME: 11:00 - ? PM
LOCATION III: TBD
[Address] • [City]
RSVPs:
1. Clytemnestra
2.
3.
|
Maybees:
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Latest diary: New England Kossacks - March meet up
Sunday, March 10th
SAVE THE DATE: SFKossacks Roll Out the Red Carpet for a gilas girl
Guaymas in Tiberon: Time TBD
Meet at the Ferry Building and take the ferry to Sausalito. Dine at Guaymas in the sun • Sausalito
Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park: Time TBD
We'll take the Ferry back to the Ferry building and then take public tranny to the park • San Francisco
LOCATION III: TBD for early dinner
Address TBD • San Francisco
RSVPs:
1. a gilas girl
2. navajo
3. side pocket
4. dharmasyd [lunch]
5. Meteor Blades
6. Glen the Plumber
7. remembrance
8. smileycreek
9. paradise50
10. Cali Scribe
11. Mr. Scribe
12. slouching
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13. no way lack of brain
14. norm
15. boatsie
16. Lorikeet
17. FogCityJohn
18. madhaus
Maybees:
edrie
lineatus
maggiejean
no way lack of brain
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Netroots Nation 2013 in San Jose: Plenary Session Table Reservations
June 20th - 23rd • REGISTER HERE
SFKossacks:
1. side pocket [First Lieutenant]
2. mrs. side pocket
3. kimoconnor
4. citisven
5. lineatus
6. Cali Scribe
7. Glen the Plumber
8. remembrance
9. jotter
10. Mrs. jotter
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SFKossacks:
1. Lusty
2. mrsgoo
3. norm
4. boran2 (Honorary)
5. Lorikeet
6. FogCityJohn
7. slksfca
8. madhaus
9. boatsie
10. maggiejean
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SFKossacks:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Native American Netroots:
1. navajo
2. Meteor Blades
3. shanikka
4. no way lack of brain
5. translatorpro
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Central Valley Kossacks:
1. tgypsy
2. cooper888
3. gotmooned
4. paradise50
5. smileycreek
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Lone Star Kossacks:
1. nomandates
2. texasmom
3. texasdad
4. doraphasia
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Cheers & Jeers:
1. Bill in Portland Maine
2. Common Sense Mainer
3. vicki
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Los Angeles Kossacks:
1. Shockwave
2. jakedog42
3. susans
4. murphy
5. Dave in Northridge
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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NYC and beyond:
1. sidnora
2. belinda ridgewood
3. thankgodforairamerica
4. Jimdotz
5. theroaringgirl
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Community Quilt Project:
1. Sara R
2. winglion?
3. loggersbrat
4. ramara (Arizona)
5. Horace Boothroyd III
6. linkage
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Military Community Members:
1. DaNang65
2. drnatrl
3. angelajean (Maybe)
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Misc. registered Kossacks + regions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Hopefully we can put together whole tables for them.
Community Quilt Project NN13 Flash Mob Photo
smileycreek is organizing and asking all Community Quilt recipients to bring their quilts to NN13. We'll assemble at a pre-designated location and time for a group photo with one of the NN13 professional photographers. It will be a group hug celebrating one of the most beloved community building projects we have here at Daily Kos with Sara R and winglion at the center of it. navajo and Glen the Plumber are going to scout out and select a location in advance for all to meet with their quilts for a memorable photo opportunity. Stay tuned.
Date: TBD Time: TBD
1. paradise50
2. Dave in Northridge
3. remembrance
4. BeninSC
5. mimi
6. cskendrick
7. DaNang65
8. llbear (not attending, quilt only)
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9. Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (may not attend)
10. Smoh (not attending, quilt only)
11. slksfca
12. belinda ridgewood
13.
14.
15.
16.
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Send
navajo a kosmail if you post a diary about an event so we can update our round-up.
Okay. Floor's open.
Tell us what you are doing on this NEW DAY?