Fiddle here! It's been a while. How are my jellies doing?

Fiddle! Great to see you again!

FPCB! Welcome back!

I’ve got a couple of little kids, a big kid (who is pretty much a man now), a great hubby and I’m resolved to take life by the reigns this year. It’s been the best year yet.

How about you???

Hey you. Fucking great to see you. Let’s go up on the roof with our rifles.

Same shit different day…had I known you were a mod I would have…~

How is the writing going? You had some heady stuff going on.

Hey ya little bastard! I love your artwork, checked out your site.
I’ma gettin’ a little older and creakier but still kickin’ behind in these hills. I am ranch sitting right now for 11 horses, 4 dogs and a disabled chicken that eats canned cat food because of a deformed beak. haha

Quite the crew here and a beautiful fall day in these hills, acorns zinging around and thwacking me on the head every so often.
Remember my goose “Marwyn”? He turned 17 in July, goose immortal. haha

Hello, FPCB. Very nice to see you around these parts. The people are much the same, (smart, caring, good people on the whole), but the high intellectual level of discourse is for the most part gone. But I just can’t seem to shake the dust of this place from my shoes.

Nice to see you back! I agree with @marinelife. The discourse has changed, and not for the better. Paws crossed that jellies like you who popped back in will stick around.

Hey, Fiddle. I was definitely one of your fans back then and missed you when you left.

It’s been a difficult few years for me in real life, and Fluther stopped being a place of comfort and refuge. One stray snide wisecrack too many got past my shield, and I just didn’t have the strength to absorb it. I took a very long hiatus—nearly two years. But news of Gail brought me back.

If you and some of the others whose voices brought reason, warmth, and gentle levity would stay around, I would too, at least for a while.

Heya. Run. Run fast and far before this black hole sucks you in. I mostly stay to call out stupidity and ask questions.

There is nothing going on here worth your time. Not that I don’t want you to be here. I like you. But, seriously…run.

@Jeruba It is a melancholy moment that so many Jellies like you have made the journey back here to pay tribute to @GailCalled and I hope that some will stay and share their creativity, wisdom and grammar checking that made Fluther a special place to call home.

@cupcake: I believe you mean: “reins” and not “reigns.”
(In honor of Gail.)

@skfinkel: That’s correct.

We are all children of the Grand Dame of Grammar.

Good to see you FPCB!! I have been dealing with the end of my long term marriage for the past few years and putting together a full new life. Painting, hiking, librarianing, Unitarianism, music and friends fill my life.

Dearest Fiddlet, nice to see you. Keep well.

So do you play the banjo and the fiddle?

Hi! I’m ok. I’m about to move to Ohio (I’m living in Florida now) so I’m in the midst of all that stuff you do when you move.

I hope you stick around a while.

WB, FPCB. I think I stepped in around the time you stepped out but your fans here are legion and your time here legendary.

I hope you stick around a while and put a little oxygen into the pool…the water’s mighty stale.

Count me as another fan of yours back in the day. I only recently came back, myself. Hope you’re well!

Hey Fiddle. I’m glad you’re back. I enjoyed your contributions in the past.

Life, as always, has been insane, but I still find pleasure in coming to Fluther. I hope you will too if you return (semi?) regularly.

Also, I disagree with @tinyfaery and, were she in front of me, would give her a big, slobbery, hug.

^Want in line for that big slobbery hug.

@janbb, well, I wouldn’t go that far, respectful though I am of Gail’s knowledge. My tenth-grade English teacher was my spiritual parent in the matter of grammar.

Hey fiddle, nice to see you! I’ve been away for a few years struggling to pass an engineering degree and retain a social life and stay healthy so not much time for Fluther in there. I will (fingers crossed) be finished up in just over a weeks time and then have to deal with the whole real world finding a job thing. But the weathers just turned on here down under ready for the summer so that’s nice.

The weather, hm…been raining flaming skulls. But otherwise all is fine. I’m glad to see you here. :)

…bastard lol.

Hi Fiddle – You’re my friend on FB and I love seeing your art there. I’ve been steady on Fluther since my 8 year old was born. Not much new – working, trying to do some craftsy stuff here and there, wishing I had more free time to really get creative. I’m full of ideas, not so full of free time.

Eww. Can’t I just get a cookie?

@tinyfaery I’ve got some special brownies a lá @Coloma

HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! HI !!! I am SO happy to see you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just read your details….they let you be a mod?? are they crazy!?

And what are you doing now, Fiddle?

I’m fine, how are you?

@chyna you too! So many familiar names!

@Cupcake well that doesn’t sound too shabby at all! Congratulations! And I’ve been back and forth between sweeter than any wine and as bitter as mustard greens!

@Adirondackwannabe I’ll bring the chips and hummus :3

@Cruiser I’ve actually had hella bad writer’s block for several years now. I’ve barely written anything. However, since 2013 I’ve thrown myself headfirst into visual art and as of now I’ve sold in 16 countries and almost all 50 states! So I guess I may be stuck in visual art mode for the time being. Maybe one day I’ll be able to write as well again, too?

@Coloma I was curious about your goose! And that sounds pleasant. Sweet of you to give that chicken a second lease on life but I’d expect nothing else from you :)

I’m out of tags so new response incoming…

Hey Fiddle, great to see you again. We’ve all missed your intelligence and good humor. I hope you’ll stick around. I see Jeruba popped in too. It’s almost just like old times : )

Still cooking, still helping people track down recipes, still trying to get help young ladies to not screw up their lives.

Oh yeah, and I even ask questions now. You might recall that I used to only be an answerer (is that a word?) : P

@tinyfaery: Fine. But only if we can share.

@marinelife that’s a shame. I get the feeling there was some kind of cataclysm here? Oh well, it doesn’t really matter. I feel like Gail may have served as a way to heal whatever rift had appeared here, at least temporarily. And regardless, I’m glad to see the familiar and friendly folk here.

@tinyfaery I guess that’s what happens when I’m not modding ;-p (jk I was actually a lazy and terrible mod in all honesty)

@Jeruba you’ve always been such a kind person with a certain type of poise about you. I’m sorry to hear that life hasn’t been so gentle with you. I’ve had a bit of a rough time here these past few weeks, but I’m on the up and up now and I hope things look up for you too. (Also, you once corrected my use of “reins” versus “reigns” in a poem and I think it’s funny that the same mistake came up in this thread).

@janbb you messaging me on facebook (Nef did too) is why I’m here again! Glad to hear you’ve been well.

@ZEPHYRA hey thanks! You too!

@gobears I actually never played the fiddle. Never played it well, at least, but I tried. I do play banjo. I bought one this spring after wanting one since graduating college and I’ve since taught myself to play. I love it.

@JLeslie hey! I just got back from Florida not too long ago. Ohio is pretty nice too. I have friends up there. I really like Cincinnati. Moving can be a drag, so try not to wear yourself out too badly!

@ibstubro aw well I’m honored and flattered to hear that. I’ve changed a lot since then. These past few years have been kinda wild. I may just have to stick around.

@DrasticDreamer I am, and that’s very sweet of you!

@cookieman I’m starting to wonder if anyone’s life is actually sane. I’m glad we have that much in common!

@shrubbery I’m a humanities nerd myself, so I wouldn’t know, but I’ve heard the market is strong for engineering types so I hope you find something speedily! And congrats! That’s nothing to scoff at! (I never learned my multiplication tables).

@Symbeline I’m glad to see you’re still the same Symbeline you’ve always been and always will be. It’s part of your charm.

@jca you should post more of your crafty stuff on facebook, if you don’t already (or send me pics since I rarely look at my feed on facebook). I’d love to see what you make!

@Dutchess_III they did! It was Auggie’s idea! It was fun. I was pretty bad at it, though, and I got bogged down in school stuff and I just kinda buggered off into the aether. But here I am, albeit in a different form.

@dxs I’m great! Thanks for asking.

@Kardamom nice! Glad to hear you’ve been productive. I may have to answer some of your questions, in that case. Get the ball rollin, you know?

And to @janbb and everyone else who is asking what I’ve been up to in the 3 or 4 years since I’ve last been on here- the answer is a lot. I graduated college with honors in 2012 with a history degree and then began my descent into bohemianism. I had a kind of nervous breakdown/epiphany in the spring of 2013 and realized that art is my true passion and has been all along and I just threw myself into the pursuit of art and never looked back. I’ve also been heavily involved with the studies of religion, Appalachian culture and social issues, ecological sustainability, cob houses, and gardening, among other things. I’m more St. Francis than Indiana Jones these days, but I suppose that’s what growing up is like. This was me circa 2012 the last time I posted here and here I am now, all wiser and beardier. Here is my art website which I only recently started working on. My life has been a bit crazy lately, so I haven’t gotten to paint as much as I’d like to, but hopefully I’ll pick it up again soon. Anyway, it’s nice to hear from ya’ll!

@Banjo_Pickin_Appalachian_Wizar All I can see on the website is the picture of a kitty. Have you not set up the links yet?

Cool, it’s great to see you here again.
I mostly lurk since I don’t have a lot of time these days, but I would love to have another movie night with @Symbeline.

I had a kind of nervous breakdown/epiphany in the spring of 2013 [...]
Whoa, same thing happened to me around the same time. For me, it launched a quest to unravel the riddle of iron and self-improvement without the PUA/red pill bullshit.

@dxs that’s odd. It works on my computer and phone. There’s a sidebar to the left with green links to pages.

@Michael_Huntington believe it or not there’s actually a decent subforum on reddit devoted to men’s issues that doesn’t play into the whole toxic red pill shitshow. I’ve gotten a lot out of it.

All the links work for me, @dxs, but I had to do a lot of enabling to get past my security blocks.

@Banjo_Pickin_Appalachian_Wizar Worked for me. Good stuff!

I like the abstract works.

I joined while you were still here, so remember you being fun. I’m more of a lurker but enjoy the site a lot. I was away for the grand exodous so have no idea what went on. It is nice to hear from some familiar folks

@janbb thanks! I need to check on my settings to make sure my site isn’t doing any weird security stuff. I’m new to the whole webmaster thing.

@Stinley I started to get the feeling that there was some kind of exodus here. It’s kinda funny because that’s how I and probably hundreds of others got here in the first place- there was a mass exodus from answerbag when it became monotized and then taken over by spambots. I’m glad to see that at least fluther still functions the same way it always used to.

It wasn’t a mass exodus, more like attrition.

So stoked to see you! This reunion week has been nice!

@janbb yikes. I guess I should be glad I wasn’t here for that.
@Dog glad to see you’re still here!

@Banjo_Pickin_Appalachian_Wizar I just showed up to show support for Gail this week. @Augustlan told me about her. If the site has evolved beyond abusing Mods I might consider staying.

To clarify- my response above has a lot to do with me looking up @Downtide to touch base and reading what was written deeply saddened me. I often wonder, if we were a site that linked our FB or other real identity somehow, if people would be less prone to poor behavior toward others.

However that is all in the past.. I hope. Perhaps Fluther has evolved. I am waiting to see.

@Dog I am an equal opportunity poor behaver.

@janbb Have you gone rebel? Janbb moves over to the dark side!

@Dog I sometimes wish I could!

Well life is hard Fiddle, but seems you’ve been doing excellent for the most part. Glad to hear it and there was never any doubt you’d graduate. Also yes, I remember some Halloween stuff you made and posted on Facebook before. Not the vintage decs, but some you made yourself.

@Michael_Huntington If you haven’t seen it, next one we need to see is Rubber. :D

Hi FiddleBastard! It’s great to see you here. I’m good. Busy, but good. :)

I also popped back in because of Gail. I don’t even know how long I’ve been gone. Nice to see you here, you fiddlin’ bastard, and so many other familiar names! It’s nice to know a member is so beloved that tons of old flutherites came back.

@StillWorksForChocolate Your Willworkforchocolate seems active and the last date before today was December 16th, 2013 You may be able to simply change your name back and great to see you again!

Thorninmud was kind enough to reactivate it for me.

@WillWorkForChocolate Awesome!

Fiddle!!! OMG, I am so verklempt. So many of my favorite jellies dropping in…...I miss everybody.

By the way, I don’t think I have ever typed the word “verklempt’ before.

@syz Channeling @GailCalled…It is used many times but not always spelled correctly.

@Banjo_Pickin_Appalachian_Wizar Remember when I wanted to send you some local brews but you couldn’t have them in your dorm? Well, this Lemon Shock Top is for you right now! Gah…90 today, and I thought freaking fall was here. Pffft! Cheers jellies!

@Cruiser Are you talking about the spelling of farklempt? Verklempt? Verklemmt? I think only the last spelling is spelled “correctly” in that I believe that is the German spelling. But, when it comes to Yiddish, I don’t think there is a right way. Yiddish, Hebrew, Arabic, and I’m sure there must be others, get spelled phonetically-ish in English, and the spelling changes over time too. A specific spelling might become more popular than another.

@Coloma oh I could have them in my dorm! It’s just the shipping that was particularly troublesome. But I thank you and I raise tonight’s G&T to you in return.

@JLeslie I am not in any way shape or form a linguist or play one on TV but I have seen all 3 of your versions used here.

I’m all good man, back after a small, ahem…break ;-}

Aloha, Mr. Banjo.

and Aloha, Mr. Jake!

and Aloha, Mr. Jake!

Jake! <3

Hey J

Jake!

*waves a flipper

Hi, all!

Jake, great to see you back in these waters.

I feel kind of crass giving shout-outs to returning jellies on the Gail thread, but here I feel comfortable say that we’ve missed you, @Hawaii_Jake. Sorry you ‘flipped’ out.

I sea what you did there.

I always say it seems fishy when one resorts to double entendras

Glad to see you Jake. In the pool.

Jake! How are those pillows holding up?

They look smashing!

First, it was fiddles. Now, it’s banjos. I like them both and want to hear your playing some time.

Pillows?

I bought some original artwork from Fiddle the Banjo man in the form of decorative pillows for my sofa.

Excellent. Pillows, artwork, Fiddle. All good.

I want artsy decorative pillows. I mean like, more than I already have.

The Banjo man can deliver. Well, he didn’t deliver them in person. He mailed them.

Pictures?

I saw pix on FB. Really nice stuff. I’m a pillow fan.

Banjo man, can you share the pictures? I don’t have anything to link to.

I’ve been trying to ignore Fluther (among other things) to finish my degree. The recent influx of old timers here has been a nice reason to throw that plan out the window for a bit.

JAKE! .... From State Farm?

Awesome to see ya @Hawaii_Jake