fish examples

This was the third Christmas since I lost my Dad. My Dad was the social planner of our family and he made every holiday so special. Christmas hadn't felt right since he left us to go be with Jesus. This year I was looking forward to a bit of Christmas magic. My son is a firefighter and was off this Christmas. He has met a lovely young lady who he will will likely marry soon and my younger daughter had finished her first semester of college successfully. I was happy with the gifts I had carefully selected and was really excited about Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. On Sunday, December 22nd, reality ruined my best laid plans. Hey friends. For those of you who pray, please add my mom Priscilla to your prayer list. She started feeling very off yesterday and I took her to the ER. Her hemoglobin was 5.5. She received two units of blood and it was slightly higher today. They are doing a procedure on... pic.twitter.com/MQglSRWVdQ My mom woke up feeling very weak. She could barely walk to our car. We arrived at the ER to discover her hemoglobin was incredibly low, so low they ran her labs twice. Obviously, she was bleeding internally somewhere. We spent the next few days in the hospital trying to come to terms with various diagnosis. The highest paid people in this hospital (docs and nurses) all seem miserable with the worst bedside manner but the people making the least, housekeepers and nutrition, are so kind and full of joy. It’s the strangest phenomenon. During that time, it was most often the nutritional team and the housekeeping staff who kept our spirits up. They were making the least amount of money, but seemed to understand families in the hospital are just as sad as the people who have to leave their loved ones and come work in the hospital over the holidays. One young man in the hospital cafeteria on Christmas morning boosted my mood for the rest of the day with his kind words and big smile. He wanted to be home with this family, I'm sure, and I wanted my family member home, but he shared humanity with me. We’ve got the world’s smallest Christmas tree and the stockings are hung by the IV with care... and yes, they were knitted by Miss E. pic.twitter.com/UCtaiDuDdx Miss E went into the hospital three weeks ago today, and is still stubbornly hanging on. Meanwhile, oldest son called me this morning to tell me he hit a deer driving back from the hospital last night. Thankfully he’s okay, but his car is probably totaled. Haven’t said it for... Dear friends, I’ll follow up with a proper Christmas salutation from Iron Will, but in the meantime, I’m humbling requesting your prayers. As you know, my mother has Alzheimer’s. And has been fighting valiantly for a long while. But she is nearing her well-earned final rest.... pic.twitter.com/3yAh6bXUuM Wallowing low in my 'woe is me' over our ruined Christmas, I scanned Twitter. I quickly found we were far from the only family spending a sad Christmas in the hospital and many families wouldn't bring their loved one home as I did. Christmas evening, my Mom was stable enough to come home. We received her biopsy results yesterday and her tumor is not cancerous as Doctors had feared. Hi friends! Thank you for all of your prayers. We received good news today. pic.twitter.com/FNgMUCbfFr My mom will need an additional surgery, albeit one without incisions, thankfully, but all in all, this was the best news we could receive. Yes, I missed spending the day with my children, but my extended family loved on them well for me. my family is sending me pics of my kids so I can kind of share their Christmas and it makes my heart happy pic.twitter.com/4pCZORvnMV If this Christmas did not go as planned for you, know you are not alone. Christmas is about a Savior that came to redeem us from all the heartache the world offers us. Thank you to all who prayed for my Mother and know our Risen Savior is closest in our heartache.

ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP SIDE Stoke City sacked manager Narcis Pelach on Friday after just 19 games game in charge. The Spaniard, who was appointed in September at the age of 36 as he succeeded Steven Schumacher, won just three of the 18 league games and leaves with the Potters sitting 19th in the table, just three points clear of the relegation zone. Sporting director and former Ireland international Jon Walters told the club’s official website: “Narcis is a talented coach with huge potential, he works relentlessly hard and I have no doubt that he will go on to achieve success in the future. “However, with the way results and performances have been in recent weeks, we have to accept with hindsight that he has proved not to be the right fit for this club at this time. “I take full responsibility for that and I’m absolutely determined that we will now make the right choice to take us forward.” Stoke, who have taken just one point from their last six league games, are yet to announce the make up of their coaching team for Sunday’s game against high-flying Sunderland.EXCLUSIVE High Street retailers closed up shop on Boxing Day due to fears of spiralling staff costs, expert claims By CALUM MUIRHEAD Published: 22:41, 28 December 2024 | Updated: 22:54, 28 December 2024 e-mail View comments Spiralling staff costs for High Street retailers, compounded by fears over Rachel Reeves ’ Budget , pushed many to keep their shops closed on Boxing Day, it was claimed last night. More than 7,500 shops remained shut on Thursday, with Next and Marks & Spencer claiming it was to allow staff more time with their loved ones over the festive season. But insolvency expert Julie Palmer said many retailers may have had a less empathetic motive – to cut down on wage bills as staff can often earn up to triple pay for working on bank holidays. Ms Palmer, a partner in restructuring firm Begbies Traynor, said staffing costs were ‘breaking the back’ of some shops, adding: ‘Do they want to spend extra getting those staff in when they’re not sure what footfall is going to be like?’ She said some retailers may have used the idea of an extended Christmas break for their workers to put a ‘positive spin’ on what was essentially a cost-cutting measure. Her comments come as Begbies Traynor revealed data showing that the number of UK retailers in ‘critical financial distress’ hit 2,124 in the final three months of the year – a 25 per cent increase on the previous three-month period. It follows a bleak festive season for the High Street as demand dropped sharply in the run-up to Christmas as well as Boxing Day. Some retailers have been pushed to the brink as consumers tightened their belts due to the cost of living crisis. To make matters worse, productivity plummeted as workers took longer breaks due to the timing of Christmas. High Street giants closed on Boxing Day to cut down on wage bills, an expert has said. Pictured: Shoppers on Regent Street for the Boxing Day sales Marks & Spencer kept stores closed on December 26, claiming it was to allow staff more time with their loved ones over the festive season (Stock image) Many offices closed on Friday, December 20, and will not reopen until January 6, as Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day all fall in the middle of the week. Ms Palmer said the signs were ‘not looking good’ after the sluggish Christmas trading left many firms facing collapse at the start of the new year. She added: ‘The first three months of 2025 could be one of the most dangerous quarters for retailers in recent years.’ Last week, data from Rendle Intelligence and Insights revealed the number of shoppers hitting the High Street in the final week before Christmas was 11 per cent lower than last year. Even ‘Super Saturday’, the final Saturday before Christmas Day, saw only a disappointing 0.9 per cent rise in shopper numbers compared to 2023. Boxing Day, when people traditionally search for post-Christmas bargains, also seems to have failed to provide a much-needed uplift, with many leading chains closing their doors – as they have done in the four years since the pandemic. Shopping activity on the morning of December 26 was down by nearly 9 per cent on last year, with high streets experiencing the sharpest declines, according to data from MRI Software. Analysts noted that rather than queuing up outside shops to hunt for bargains, many were using Boxing Day to spend time with family, dine out or attend sports matches. Boxing Day, when people traditionally search for post-Christmas bargains, also seems to have failed to provide a much-needed uplift, with shopping activity down by nearly nine per cent on last year. Shoppers pictured on Oxford Street on Boxing Day It comes as businesses brace themselves for the National Insurance and minimum wage hikes unveiled by Ms Reeves in October. The Chancellor’s tax increases are predicted to push many small and medium-sized firms into insolvency when they come into force in April. Changes to workers’ rights, including a clampdown on zero-hours contracts – jobs that do not offer guaranteed working hours for employees – are also expected to increase costs for businesses. Retailers have been among those most fiercely opposed to the measures, with major supermarkets and retail giants such as Amazon warning that the tax hikes will lead to store closures and job losses. Ms Palmer said the Budget measures were seen as ‘unnecessarily punitive and harsh’, with many firms deciding to close rather than suffer ‘death by 1,000 cuts’. She added: ‘Many businesses feel like they are wading through treacle. It’s been made increasingly impossible to be a small business owner at the moment.’ Official figures revealed the economy shrank in October amid anxiety over the Budget. The Confederation of British Industry has warned of a ‘steep decline in activity’ at the start of next year. Marks and Spencer Share or comment on this article: High Street retailers closed up shop on Boxing Day due to fears of spiralling staff costs, expert claims e-mail Add commentTORONTO — The injury-ravaged Toronto Maple Leafs placed Matthew Knies on injured reserve Friday and signed fellow forward Alex Nylander to a one-year contract, recalling him from the AHL Marlies. Knies was hurt in a mid-ice check by Las Vegas defenceman Zach Whitecloud in the Toronto's 3-0 home win Wednesday. Knies did not return and has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Wednesday with an upper-body injury. Toronto is already missing captain Auston Matthews, Max Domi, David Kampf, Max Pacioretty and Calle Jarnkrok due to injury, as well as Ryan Reaves, who is one game into his five-game ban for felling Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse with an illegal check to the head. Whitecloud, who stood up as he delivered the hit, was not penalized for the punishing check despite video review, but got a minor roughing penalty for tangling with Simon Benoit, who got a four-minute roughing call for his attempted retribution. "They thought it was a clean hit so it's a clean hit," Leafs coach Craig Berube said after the game, referencing the league. "Really there's nothing to say." Under league rules, a player placed on Injured reserve is ineligible to compete in NHL games for at least seven days. Toronto (12-6-2) hosts Utah on Sunday before heading to Florida to play at the Panthers on Wednesday. Veteran Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson missed practice Friday due to illness. The club recalled defenceman Philippe Myers from a conditioning stint with the Marlies. The 27-year-old from Moncton, who signed as a free agent in July, has appeared in one game with the Leafs this season. Nylander's contract is worth $775,000. The 26-year-old Nylander, the younger brother of Leafs star William Nylander, has eight goals and four assists in 14 games with the Toronto Marlies this season. The six-foot-one 205-pounder has 222 career points (102 goals, 120 assists) in 344 regular-season AHL games split between Toronto, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Rockford and Rochester. The younger Nylander has 49 points (25 goals, 24 assists) in 121 career NHL games split between Columbus, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Buffalo. He won a silver medal with Sweden at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championships. Alex Nylander joined the Toronto organization as a free agent, signing a one-year AHL contract in July. He was originally selected by the Sabres in the first round (eight overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft. The injuries have promoted a string of call-ups for the Leafs. Fraser Minter scored his first NHL goal Wednesday in his season debut and fifth career NHL game while Russian Nikita Grebenkin made his NHL debut. --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2024. The Canadian PressMorgan State hopes for end to recent skid with visit to Minnesota

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