A prayer for all who perished and were injured on that sad day five years ago.
May the God who is from everlasting to everlasting wipe all the tears from your eyes. May the resurrection of our blessed Savior Jesus Christ bring you eternal life. May the love of the Holy Spirit overcome all hatred and bring peace to our weary world and may we meet again one day in joy. Amen
For memories of that day, click here
Monday, September 11, 2006
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Purpose Driven Life Book Discussion
I'll be doing a small group discussion using Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life with my church around the start of October. I've also decided to it would be fun to do it with an e-mail prayer group I've just started at Yahoo.
Purpose Driven Life has sold over 20,000,000 copies and is being used in churches all over the country. It's an easy to read book that emphasizes God's love for us and urges us to put our faith into action on a daily basis. The subtitle is 40 Days of Purpose and the book is divided into 40 short and easy to read chapters.
If you've been meaning to read it or even if you already have, why not join me in the Prayer Village to discuss it? New or almost new copies are available on e-bay at around $7.00 including postage. I was also able to find a large print version. Many public libraries also have the book.
Purpose Driven Life has sold over 20,000,000 copies and is being used in churches all over the country. It's an easy to read book that emphasizes God's love for us and urges us to put our faith into action on a daily basis. The subtitle is 40 Days of Purpose and the book is divided into 40 short and easy to read chapters.
If you've been meaning to read it or even if you already have, why not join me in the Prayer Village to discuss it? New or almost new copies are available on e-bay at around $7.00 including postage. I was also able to find a large print version. Many public libraries also have the book.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Christ Cartoon
I seated a child on computer in the library today and scanned the surrounding screens for mischief, as I always do. A ten year old boy was looking at a game in which the object was to crucify Jesus. A colorful cartoon of Christ on the cross was labled with instructions on how to pound the spikes.
Someone designed that game. Perhaps it was done in retribution for the insulting cartoons of Muhammed that were around a few months ago. Meanness for meaness. Maybe it's because of the war. Still meaness and it makes my heart ache.
I've had to take kids off sites that were vulgar. "But it's a commercial--it's funny, see?" This from a sweet little girl watching a man leap out of bed dressed only in his shorts. It was relatively inoffensive, but the fact that a woman was in bed with him had set my alarms off. I've seen little boys line up behind girls who were playing on paper doll sites where the dolls were life-like and dressed in bras and panties.
I once took a teenager off a game with such exquistite graphics of a small convenience store I first thought it was a video. Every item on the counter and shelves behind the clerk was clear and identifiable. The problem arose at checkout time when the customer shot the elderly clerk straight in the face with a gun.
We have My Space locked out on juvenile computers. Kids aren't happy about it but older ones just go upstairs and log onto adult computers where it's available. Several of my teens and twenties friends have great blogs on My Space, but they also have the maturity to know what to put in those blogs. Unfortunately, adults with ulterior motives trawl looking for pictures and personal information on young kids too innocent to realize they're putting themselves in jeopardy. It's also an easy way to pass on drug information.
So if your kids play games on computers, check to see if they're driving tanks through desert towns and blowing up civilians (yep, seen that one, too.) Do they have a blog on My Space? Are they old enough? Have you spoken to them about the dangers? Don't just read their blog, see who they're linked to. Do you like their choice of friends and subject material or does it require some input from you? Does you son say he looks at funny stuff? You might want to give that a gander and see if his idea of funny includes bashing minorities or if this is where he's getting his sex-ed.
If the screen is off, but the computer light is on and your child is "doing" homework, check. Look at the bottom of the screen to see if the buttons listed are as innocent as the homework screen. One more thing. IM messages can take up all your kid's time. Do you know if they have that program? Do you know who they message. Work, huh?
Someone designed that game. Perhaps it was done in retribution for the insulting cartoons of Muhammed that were around a few months ago. Meanness for meaness. Maybe it's because of the war. Still meaness and it makes my heart ache.
I've had to take kids off sites that were vulgar. "But it's a commercial--it's funny, see?" This from a sweet little girl watching a man leap out of bed dressed only in his shorts. It was relatively inoffensive, but the fact that a woman was in bed with him had set my alarms off. I've seen little boys line up behind girls who were playing on paper doll sites where the dolls were life-like and dressed in bras and panties.
I once took a teenager off a game with such exquistite graphics of a small convenience store I first thought it was a video. Every item on the counter and shelves behind the clerk was clear and identifiable. The problem arose at checkout time when the customer shot the elderly clerk straight in the face with a gun.
We have My Space locked out on juvenile computers. Kids aren't happy about it but older ones just go upstairs and log onto adult computers where it's available. Several of my teens and twenties friends have great blogs on My Space, but they also have the maturity to know what to put in those blogs. Unfortunately, adults with ulterior motives trawl looking for pictures and personal information on young kids too innocent to realize they're putting themselves in jeopardy. It's also an easy way to pass on drug information.
So if your kids play games on computers, check to see if they're driving tanks through desert towns and blowing up civilians (yep, seen that one, too.) Do they have a blog on My Space? Are they old enough? Have you spoken to them about the dangers? Don't just read their blog, see who they're linked to. Do you like their choice of friends and subject material or does it require some input from you? Does you son say he looks at funny stuff? You might want to give that a gander and see if his idea of funny includes bashing minorities or if this is where he's getting his sex-ed.
If the screen is off, but the computer light is on and your child is "doing" homework, check. Look at the bottom of the screen to see if the buttons listed are as innocent as the homework screen. One more thing. IM messages can take up all your kid's time. Do you know if they have that program? Do you know who they message. Work, huh?
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Don't Toss That Mini Photo Book!
I'm a big fan of those little photo books that are popping up in the mail as free gifts from charities. I know, most folks toss them, but they have some dandy uses if you just think creatively. I like the ones best where you can insert your own cover photo but the others will do in a pinch.
Tuck small note cards with envelopes inside the sleeve or cover; add a couple of stamps and address labels and you can write a friendly greeting whenever you have a spare minute, especially if you include addresses. I also use it as a mini control journal (ala FlyLady). On separate index cards I write my morning and evening routines, current to-do list, folks I'm praying for, Bible verses or bright ideas. I jot down writing prompts so I don't forget them and prayer requests when someone tells me their problems. Keep blank cards in the back; when a card has served its purpose, throw it away.
You can use them for gifts, especially for seniors (they're light as a feather.) Put your picture on the front, or your friend's pet, add specially chosen Bible verses or quotes, a couple of ATC's, if you make them, a tiny sketch, a recipe, stick in a few store coupons, phone numbers for local cab companies, extra index cards.
If you want it to be a bit more attractive cut colored paper to size, but as FlyLady says, don't obsess, it doesn't have to be perfect, your friend will enjoy its convenience and your thoughtfulness.
Tuck small note cards with envelopes inside the sleeve or cover; add a couple of stamps and address labels and you can write a friendly greeting whenever you have a spare minute, especially if you include addresses. I also use it as a mini control journal (ala FlyLady). On separate index cards I write my morning and evening routines, current to-do list, folks I'm praying for, Bible verses or bright ideas. I jot down writing prompts so I don't forget them and prayer requests when someone tells me their problems. Keep blank cards in the back; when a card has served its purpose, throw it away.
You can use them for gifts, especially for seniors (they're light as a feather.) Put your picture on the front, or your friend's pet, add specially chosen Bible verses or quotes, a couple of ATC's, if you make them, a tiny sketch, a recipe, stick in a few store coupons, phone numbers for local cab companies, extra index cards.
If you want it to be a bit more attractive cut colored paper to size, but as FlyLady says, don't obsess, it doesn't have to be perfect, your friend will enjoy its convenience and your thoughtfulness.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Freecycle -- Bless Folks and the Environment All at the Same TIme
I recently signed up with a local Freecycle group. It's a dandy idea, especially when you've caught the declutter bug from FlyLady. People post anything they want to offer (for free--no making money here) and wait to see if they get any takers. My sweet Amazon parrot died of old age a couple of months ago so I offered her lovely big cage. Last count I had seven hopefuls. The first fellow in the e-mail queue came but couldn't get the cage in his car. He'll be back tomorrow, and if not, there are six more bird lovers waiting in line. I have things I've been wanting to give away for years--now I can finally connect with people who can use them. Of course, Freecycle works the other way around too. You can post whatever you need and wait for someone to reply. What a nice way to bless folks and the environment, too. Check Yahoo Groups for your local chapter.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
National Parks: Please Don't Preserve and Protect Them for Future Generations
I visited National Parks Conservation site today to see if I wanted to download some new wallpaper for my "Baby Dell." The scene I'm currently using is of giant sequoias and every time I turn on my computer I feel like I should walk right into the picture and disappear down the dirt road. NPCA is a great site for exploring and getting information on all our national parks. Of course, it's also full of ecological news, budget cuts and the general disrepair of the parks.
I spent my time today reading an article titled "who's Ruining Our National Parks?" printed in the current on-line issue of Vanity Fair magazine. It's long, but very worthwhile. As usual, the Bush administration's single minded dedication to big business is doing damage that may be irreversible. To paraphrase, "Their system is to starve the beast." By constantly cutting back on parks' budgets, the case is made for getting more "entertainment" value out of them. Enter snow mobile and jet ski companies and the whole idea of a National Park goes down the tubes.
"Almost no one outside of (the) Interior (Department) had heard of Deputy Assistant Secretary Hoffman until last year, when he produced a startling document to further his kinds of fun: a revision of management policies for the 390 units of the U.S. National Park Service, one of the nine public-lands agencies under Interior's aegis. Like so many of the environmental changes wrought by the Bush administration, this sounded bland and unimportant. It wasn't. The management policies are the Park Service's bible," writes Michael Shnayerson.
"What concerns me," says a Park Ranger named Reynolds, "is the idea of changing the Organic Act.Â… It is the law that establishes the Park Service. It is the law that binds all the Park Service areas as units. Congressional intent tells us that 'preserve and protect for future generations' is paramount, and that if we're going to err on any side of protection versus use, we're going to err on the side of resource protection. That's part of one's indoctrination. There are training sessions where the Organic Act is taken apart element by element.
"This is the issue," he says, "that many of us are willing to fall on our swords for."
And it may come to that for Mr. Reynolds. It seems that when employees don't agree with the politicall agenda of bringing in big business, park rangers have found themselves transferred to less visible parks or in some cases fired outright.
http://www.npca.org/ for: National Parks Conservation Association
Vanity Fair>
To learn more about the Bush administration's manipulation of scientific reports see: Union of Concerned Scientists http://www.ucsusa.org/
My apologies--the Vanity Fair link worked but not the other two. ???
I spent my time today reading an article titled "who's Ruining Our National Parks?" printed in the current on-line issue of Vanity Fair magazine. It's long, but very worthwhile. As usual, the Bush administration's single minded dedication to big business is doing damage that may be irreversible. To paraphrase, "Their system is to starve the beast." By constantly cutting back on parks' budgets, the case is made for getting more "entertainment" value out of them. Enter snow mobile and jet ski companies and the whole idea of a National Park goes down the tubes.
"Almost no one outside of (the) Interior (Department) had heard of Deputy Assistant Secretary Hoffman until last year, when he produced a startling document to further his kinds of fun: a revision of management policies for the 390 units of the U.S. National Park Service, one of the nine public-lands agencies under Interior's aegis. Like so many of the environmental changes wrought by the Bush administration, this sounded bland and unimportant. It wasn't. The management policies are the Park Service's bible," writes Michael Shnayerson.
"What concerns me," says a Park Ranger named Reynolds, "is the idea of changing the Organic Act.Â… It is the law that establishes the Park Service. It is the law that binds all the Park Service areas as units. Congressional intent tells us that 'preserve and protect for future generations' is paramount, and that if we're going to err on any side of protection versus use, we're going to err on the side of resource protection. That's part of one's indoctrination. There are training sessions where the Organic Act is taken apart element by element.
"This is the issue," he says, "that many of us are willing to fall on our swords for."
And it may come to that for Mr. Reynolds. It seems that when employees don't agree with the politicall agenda of bringing in big business, park rangers have found themselves transferred to less visible parks or in some cases fired outright.
http://www.npca.org/ for: National Parks Conservation Association
Vanity Fair>
To learn more about the Bush administration's manipulation of scientific reports see: Union of Concerned Scientists http://www.ucsusa.org/
My apologies--the Vanity Fair link worked but not the other two. ???
Monday, June 05, 2006
Who Let the Blogs Out?
A co-worker did me the favor of handing me Who Let the Blogs Out? by Biz Stone a couple of days ago. In the first chapter he writes that blogging is a fairly new phenomana, having started in 1999. Since I'm generally about twenty years behind, and started blogging in 2005, I'm feeling positively up-to-date. Who wrote the foreward? Wil Wheaton of Star Trek fame. Now, how could I not read this book?
Besides the history of blogging, there's a mini lesson in HTML, some excellent hints on how to make a few dollars by putting ads on your blog and speculations on the impact blogging will have in the future of the world.
If you're reading this, you're into blogging, in which case get the book. It will add to your appreciation and enthusiasm and get you posting more often.
Besides the history of blogging, there's a mini lesson in HTML, some excellent hints on how to make a few dollars by putting ads on your blog and speculations on the impact blogging will have in the future of the world.
If you're reading this, you're into blogging, in which case get the book. It will add to your appreciation and enthusiasm and get you posting more often.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
What's on my mind today? I have, lately, been taking stock of the interests that I've had all my life, the ones that have sometimes been put on hold, but have never gone away: faith, reading, writing, art, languages, ecology. With a low energy level, it's always been do one or two and let the others slide. Now I'd like to see how I can blend them into combinations in order to get more "bang for my buck," so to speak.
Getting older. How long will I be here--how long will I have the freedom to do the things I love? No one knows. I recently read an actuary table that predicted I'd live until 73. Whoa, that's not very promising--I'm 62 now and somehow, I'd always figured on 80 as my "ideal" demise date.
I can't change the future too much, I can enjoy the present and reach back into my past to re-enjoy the good times and connect them with the joys now. How to connect all my dots, that's the question (and Hamlet thought it was to be or not to be, tsk)
Getting older. How long will I be here--how long will I have the freedom to do the things I love? No one knows. I recently read an actuary table that predicted I'd live until 73. Whoa, that's not very promising--I'm 62 now and somehow, I'd always figured on 80 as my "ideal" demise date.
I can't change the future too much, I can enjoy the present and reach back into my past to re-enjoy the good times and connect them with the joys now. How to connect all my dots, that's the question (and Hamlet thought it was to be or not to be, tsk)
Sunday, February 26, 2006
(The Port) Deal or No Deal?
What upsets me about this port deal? Where to start. First let me admit my ignorance. I was not aware that any of our ports was being managed by a foreign country. When did that happen? And why in the world would we do it? Globalization is a fine thing when it means we share medical information, help the impoverished, and cooperate instead of compete against other countries, but when it means handing over jobs related to our national security? Then there's the matter of the country who'll be doing the managing. First cut the nonsense about being anti-Arab. It's a known fact that Dubai had links to terrorists, we are still occupying Iraq after starting a questionable war, and if you Google "national security alert" you can go to the Department of Homeland Security and discover we're still on yellow alert (as of March 3, 2006.)
Then there's the matter of a president who claims it's no big deal and it's perfectly safe. Funny, he's one of the few who thinks that. Is he listening to Congress? Our elected officials are a little peeved that they weren't in the loop on this one. I can't say I blame them. Has he noticed that the governors of New York and New Jersey are filing suit? Since I live smack in between Port Newark and Manhattan, I find that reassuring and admirable. Thanks, gentlemen!
Am I anti-Arab? No, I was and still am against the war in Iraq. I work at a job where I meet and serve many people from middle eastern countries, mostly women and children. I happen to like them a lot. But permitting our ports to be managed by people who may have a connection, no matter how tenuous, to terrorists is a foolish and dangerous thing to do.
Then there's the matter of a president who claims it's no big deal and it's perfectly safe. Funny, he's one of the few who thinks that. Is he listening to Congress? Our elected officials are a little peeved that they weren't in the loop on this one. I can't say I blame them. Has he noticed that the governors of New York and New Jersey are filing suit? Since I live smack in between Port Newark and Manhattan, I find that reassuring and admirable. Thanks, gentlemen!
Am I anti-Arab? No, I was and still am against the war in Iraq. I work at a job where I meet and serve many people from middle eastern countries, mostly women and children. I happen to like them a lot. But permitting our ports to be managed by people who may have a connection, no matter how tenuous, to terrorists is a foolish and dangerous thing to do.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Computer Conundrum
Would you believe I have two hard copies of a completed manuscript called the Christmas Eve Shop, but nothing on disk? Yep, I did it on a word processor before I got a computer and the disk wasn't compatible, so there it sits. Then I got a computer but no printer and wrote several chapters of Sparrow Hill on Corel's Word Perfect. Three months later my baby Dell got a virus and I lost everything. Ah, but I had most of it on disk. Only problem was my computer didn't like Corel (and neither did I) so we went back to Word 2000. Unfortunately, no one I knew had Corel. Then I wrote about fifty pages of The Home for Nanwrimo on Word 2000 and copied it to disk, but for some reason when I tried to print it out at work, the computers couldn't read my disk.
Are we seeing a pattern here?
I was finally able to print out the initial chapters for The Home and I'm now attempting to rewrite the two chapters I lost during the above named crash. As for Sparrow Hill, my coworker, Tracey, installed Corel's Word Perfect in one of the lab's computers at work and I was ecstatic to see my work after all this time! Then we discovered the machine didn't have a printer or Word 2000 in which to copy and paste. She loaded the program into another machine. That one refused to recognize Drive A so I couldn't open my floppy.
Bless her heart, Tracey offered to try a new machine for me.
Takin' any bets on this one?
Are we seeing a pattern here?
I was finally able to print out the initial chapters for The Home and I'm now attempting to rewrite the two chapters I lost during the above named crash. As for Sparrow Hill, my coworker, Tracey, installed Corel's Word Perfect in one of the lab's computers at work and I was ecstatic to see my work after all this time! Then we discovered the machine didn't have a printer or Word 2000 in which to copy and paste. She loaded the program into another machine. That one refused to recognize Drive A so I couldn't open my floppy.
Bless her heart, Tracey offered to try a new machine for me.
Takin' any bets on this one?
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Olympic Fever
Okay, I admit it, I have Olympic fever. I like the skating best, but I've looked at quite a few of the evening shows all the way through to midnight. For some peculiar reason, I can watch skiers sail off into space and be completely awed, but the skeleton thing, where they go down the luge run head first, gives me hives.
I used to ride my sled that way and it was great fun, so I guess it's the speed and closeness of the walls that scares me. One of the women was two months pregnant. That's a risk I'd never take.
Athletes amaze me by continuing to compete when they're injured or sick. Because of my disability, I hate to see that. I always think of the possibility of permanent injury. I admire their single mindedness, but personally, I prefer the variety life offers.
I used to ride my sled that way and it was great fun, so I guess it's the speed and closeness of the walls that scares me. One of the women was two months pregnant. That's a risk I'd never take.
Athletes amaze me by continuing to compete when they're injured or sick. Because of my disability, I hate to see that. I always think of the possibility of permanent injury. I admire their single mindedness, but personally, I prefer the variety life offers.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
The Blizzard of 2006
At 10:30 A.M. the snow's finally tapering off. The blizzard is over; or is this just a lull? I'm trying to guess how much we got, at least a foot, I'd say. I can't open the front door, it's over two feet there, but that's from drifting. Mini drifts line the bottoms of all my screens, while above they're dotted with snow puffs resembling cotton balls.
People are out with snow blowers and shovels trying to remove at least a layer of the deep snow. The big problem is where to put it. Living in such a crowded area, our houses so close and yards so small, they'll soon be shovelling it over their heads.
I went off to do other things and left this as a a draft. Now at 3:00 P.M. it is still snowing--never stopped. I've been trying to feed the birds all day. For some reason my hanging feeder, that I can reach from inside, didn't seem to be working. Maybe the perches were icy, the seed came out when I poked the holes with a pen. Finally I just dumped it all under the tree and hoped it wouldn't sink in snow or be cover with more snow before the birds got it. Saw a cardinal in the back and swept off part of my back porch, but the seeds were soon buried and no birds came, ditto for the seed I placed on the kitchen window sills. A couple of boys came to shovel me out as well as they could. I threw seed on the top landing and finally my chippies were able to eat. Time to check and see if they need more.
People are out with snow blowers and shovels trying to remove at least a layer of the deep snow. The big problem is where to put it. Living in such a crowded area, our houses so close and yards so small, they'll soon be shovelling it over their heads.
I went off to do other things and left this as a a draft. Now at 3:00 P.M. it is still snowing--never stopped. I've been trying to feed the birds all day. For some reason my hanging feeder, that I can reach from inside, didn't seem to be working. Maybe the perches were icy, the seed came out when I poked the holes with a pen. Finally I just dumped it all under the tree and hoped it wouldn't sink in snow or be cover with more snow before the birds got it. Saw a cardinal in the back and swept off part of my back porch, but the seeds were soon buried and no birds came, ditto for the seed I placed on the kitchen window sills. A couple of boys came to shovel me out as well as they could. I threw seed on the top landing and finally my chippies were able to eat. Time to check and see if they need more.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Thursday, February 02, 2006
I Don't Buy Books. Usually.
I don't buy books. Usually. However, a few months ago I purchased used copies of Time and Again by Jack Finney and A Pilgrim at Tinker's Creek by Annie Dillard on
e-Bay. Why these two?
Time and Again is a novel that encompasses a bit of a mystery, but although the plot holds my interest, it's the method of time travel that compels me to reread it, that and the exceptional feeling of living along side illustrator Simon Morley as he returns to New York City in the late 1800's. The time period from 1880 or so through the turn of the century and on, when so much was brand new and exciting: telephones, radio, automobiles, airplanes, even elevators, has always fascinated me and captured my imagination.
It was a simpler time, with less stress in many ways, but the romance dissolves and reality kicks in when Simon talks to a bus driver as his horse slips and slides in the snow and a bitter wind numbs both mind and body. He has to stand, the driver explains, because once a man returned to the station frozen to death in his seat. Then there's the description of entering a lobby full of spittoons. Finney switches again, to tell of a magical night when Manhattan was alive with young and old enjoying the new snow and crowding the streets in horse drawn sleighs. It's a wonderful book and one that I'm glad to own. And, it has a sequel, Time after Time, which was given to me as a gift.
I read less than half of Dillard's A Pilgrim at Tinker's Creek before I returned it to the library a few years ago, not out of boredom, but because it was just too full of possibilities for me to continue. Since I'm a nature lover and love to write, I found myself wanting to comment, or enlarge on her writing on each page. Almost every paragraph spun out at me like a writer's prompt, a call that hates to go unanswered. There was also the opposite feeling I get each time I'm face with awesome writing, "Pull the plug on the computer and bury the manuscript--you haven't a chance in hell of becoming a writer."
Perhaps.
But I intend to keep writing and to go back to Tinker's Creek with Annie Dillard and old New York with Jack Finney "Time and Again."
e-Bay. Why these two?
Time and Again is a novel that encompasses a bit of a mystery, but although the plot holds my interest, it's the method of time travel that compels me to reread it, that and the exceptional feeling of living along side illustrator Simon Morley as he returns to New York City in the late 1800's. The time period from 1880 or so through the turn of the century and on, when so much was brand new and exciting: telephones, radio, automobiles, airplanes, even elevators, has always fascinated me and captured my imagination.
It was a simpler time, with less stress in many ways, but the romance dissolves and reality kicks in when Simon talks to a bus driver as his horse slips and slides in the snow and a bitter wind numbs both mind and body. He has to stand, the driver explains, because once a man returned to the station frozen to death in his seat. Then there's the description of entering a lobby full of spittoons. Finney switches again, to tell of a magical night when Manhattan was alive with young and old enjoying the new snow and crowding the streets in horse drawn sleighs. It's a wonderful book and one that I'm glad to own. And, it has a sequel, Time after Time, which was given to me as a gift.
I read less than half of Dillard's A Pilgrim at Tinker's Creek before I returned it to the library a few years ago, not out of boredom, but because it was just too full of possibilities for me to continue. Since I'm a nature lover and love to write, I found myself wanting to comment, or enlarge on her writing on each page. Almost every paragraph spun out at me like a writer's prompt, a call that hates to go unanswered. There was also the opposite feeling I get each time I'm face with awesome writing, "Pull the plug on the computer and bury the manuscript--you haven't a chance in hell of becoming a writer."
Perhaps.
But I intend to keep writing and to go back to Tinker's Creek with Annie Dillard and old New York with Jack Finney "Time and Again."
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
What Has Sixty Blogs and a Generous Heart?
Heather Blakey of Soul Food fame, is now offering to help her graphically challenged members, bless her heart. Several of us were discussing the fact that we didn't know how to put pictures on her bloggers at Soul Food. There are over sixty blogs and the pictures that are posted frequently knock my socks off. Although Soul Food was started for those who want to make writing their daily practice the place is now also bursting with amazing artists and photographers.
I don't have a photo program, a camera, a scanner, or even a printer, so that may leave me out, but there's no reason why I can't just gather up any information the blog (Heather and helpers)produces and keep it for future reference. In the meantime I've just asked for an invitation to The Land of Dreams Blog. I finally finished my story, which turned out to be entirely different from what I first had in mind. Oh, well, Off on a Tangent again.
I don't have a photo program, a camera, a scanner, or even a printer, so that may leave me out, but there's no reason why I can't just gather up any information the blog (Heather and helpers)produces and keep it for future reference. In the meantime I've just asked for an invitation to The Land of Dreams Blog. I finally finished my story, which turned out to be entirely different from what I first had in mind. Oh, well, Off on a Tangent again.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Nice Weather, Global Warming, and Stinky Toilets
January in the Northeast has been splendid this year. Our temperatures have been way above normal and since there's been relatively no snow I haven't had to stress about whether it was safe for me to go to work or who was going to shovel me out. On a personal level, I'm all for global warming.
This attitude is what my dad used to call, "Hooray for me and the hell with you."
It's an attitude shared by the government and the oil companies. Can't blame them, I guess, everybody likes money and I sure enjoyed sitting outside in the almost 60 degree temperatures this afternoon before work.
I'm sure we'll be fine--but there are future generations to think about and, according to the Washinton Post, (Jan.28, 2006) the coral is bleaching. Huh? Water temperatures two degrees above average this fall bleached loads of coral from Texas to Trinidad. Keep that up and fishing will go down the tubes. Little island nations exist now, especially in the Pacific, that might not be here much longer. You don't have much leeway when your tallest rock is only six feet above sea level and ocean levels are beginning to rise. And the currents that moderate the climate in Europe--changing.
On a personal level, what do I know about this. Not much, I admit, I'm certainly no scientist. But I recognize the domino theory when I see it. I sailed on Grace Line's Santa Maria down the west coast of South America years ago. The first time we arrived in Callao, the seaport for Lima, Peru I nearly gagged when I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I discovered that one of Callao's main exports was fish fertilizer made from bird guano and the harbor water stunk from factories that manufactured it. The ship's toilets used harbor water.
A year later we made the same trip and I was telling a fellow passenger about the smelly phenomenon; only thing is it didn't happen, next morning, no smell. What was the mystery all about? El Nino had changed the Humboldt Current. The cold water that it brought from the Antarctic didn't come, so neither did the fish. No fish, no birds, no birds no bird guano and no fertilizer. How nice not to have that awful smell. Except Callao was in bad shape that year. No guano--no factories no jobs, no food for hungry people.
This attitude is what my dad used to call, "Hooray for me and the hell with you."
It's an attitude shared by the government and the oil companies. Can't blame them, I guess, everybody likes money and I sure enjoyed sitting outside in the almost 60 degree temperatures this afternoon before work.
I'm sure we'll be fine--but there are future generations to think about and, according to the Washinton Post, (Jan.28, 2006) the coral is bleaching. Huh? Water temperatures two degrees above average this fall bleached loads of coral from Texas to Trinidad. Keep that up and fishing will go down the tubes. Little island nations exist now, especially in the Pacific, that might not be here much longer. You don't have much leeway when your tallest rock is only six feet above sea level and ocean levels are beginning to rise. And the currents that moderate the climate in Europe--changing.
On a personal level, what do I know about this. Not much, I admit, I'm certainly no scientist. But I recognize the domino theory when I see it. I sailed on Grace Line's Santa Maria down the west coast of South America years ago. The first time we arrived in Callao, the seaport for Lima, Peru I nearly gagged when I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I discovered that one of Callao's main exports was fish fertilizer made from bird guano and the harbor water stunk from factories that manufactured it. The ship's toilets used harbor water.
A year later we made the same trip and I was telling a fellow passenger about the smelly phenomenon; only thing is it didn't happen, next morning, no smell. What was the mystery all about? El Nino had changed the Humboldt Current. The cold water that it brought from the Antarctic didn't come, so neither did the fish. No fish, no birds, no birds no bird guano and no fertilizer. How nice not to have that awful smell. Except Callao was in bad shape that year. No guano--no factories no jobs, no food for hungry people.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
What's on the Good Stuff Agenda Today?
What's on the good stuff agenda for today? Well, church for one. For a lot of reasons I haven't been able to go weekly lately, but today made two in a row and it's so good to be back. Pastor Shepler told an anecdote about monks who were disturbed by the noise brought into the abbey by visitors. When they complained to an elderly monk he told them, "Silence is not a lack of noise, it is a lack of self."
Ah! How hard it is to forget self and yet sometimes for brief moments, when I pray, there is only God and his awesomeness and our love for each other.
So much that I read now seems to be stressing getting in touch with your inner child or your true self. Maybe it is exactly what others need, but I grew up an only child, a disabled one at that, so there's been plenty of quiet time in which to delve into me. There is so much more, and it's not all about me.
My good friend Mike came to church today despite his chemo treatments and Ciel was there as well, only a couple of weeks after being hospitalized for a lung embollism.
It was a joy to be with them!
Ah! How hard it is to forget self and yet sometimes for brief moments, when I pray, there is only God and his awesomeness and our love for each other.
So much that I read now seems to be stressing getting in touch with your inner child or your true self. Maybe it is exactly what others need, but I grew up an only child, a disabled one at that, so there's been plenty of quiet time in which to delve into me. There is so much more, and it's not all about me.
My good friend Mike came to church today despite his chemo treatments and Ciel was there as well, only a couple of weeks after being hospitalized for a lung embollism.
It was a joy to be with them!
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Tentatively Tenacious
"Tentatively Tenacious" is a catch phrase at Reach-Dabble-Shine and it sums me up pretty well. I made the decision to blog every day and yes, I am tentative about it.
What else? Well, I'm starting a low-cholesterol diet and I am more than tentative about that. Give up dairy? What a horrible thought. I did tentatively purchase a couple of substitutes, two different margarines to compare the taste and two percent milk, which I now find is really just a transitional product and when I get serious I need to switch to one percent or no fat. I also bought oatmeal, cooked it in water and then added honey and enough two percent so it was drinkable. My Dad used to make it that way for me when I was a kid. It's still good.
In my fridge there's a container of no-fat sour cream (new) Some half and half (old)and tonight for dinner I used up the cheddar cheese. One step forward, two steps back? Oh, yeah, there's still a little left-over Haagen Daz. sigh.
What else? Well, I'm starting a low-cholesterol diet and I am more than tentative about that. Give up dairy? What a horrible thought. I did tentatively purchase a couple of substitutes, two different margarines to compare the taste and two percent milk, which I now find is really just a transitional product and when I get serious I need to switch to one percent or no fat. I also bought oatmeal, cooked it in water and then added honey and enough two percent so it was drinkable. My Dad used to make it that way for me when I was a kid. It's still good.
In my fridge there's a container of no-fat sour cream (new) Some half and half (old)and tonight for dinner I used up the cheddar cheese. One step forward, two steps back? Oh, yeah, there's still a little left-over Haagen Daz. sigh.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Today's Happiness List
1. I heard a live concert from Salzburg and hundreds of church bells proclaiming the joyful celebration of Mozart's 250th birthday.
2. Food shopping's done.
3. The new banister going down to my basement means I got laundry done today.
4. It's after 5:00pm and the sun is just setting. The days are getting longer.
5. This January has been a piece of cake, mild and sunny. It's almost February.
2. Food shopping's done.
3. The new banister going down to my basement means I got laundry done today.
4. It's after 5:00pm and the sun is just setting. The days are getting longer.
5. This January has been a piece of cake, mild and sunny. It's almost February.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Lemony Who?
Well I guess it's official, I am no longer on the S.S. rolls. I can't be the only one. It would be interesting to hear how many people have been accidentally bounced because they filed for disability at the same time as S.S. I wonder what the average time is to correct this error. Or maybe I don't
I'm beginning to feel like I'm in Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events.
Title: The Social Security Sinkhole--the sad tale of a perfectly innocent senior citizen whose well-being is endangered in a monumental paper collapse. Please, if you care for your own sanity, go elsewhere and stop reading this heartrending story. Can you bear to watch her go down the tubes when her Medicaid slips into a bottomless crevass? What governmental agency in the labyrinthine chambers of beaurocracy will strike her next from their rolls? Flee now, do not stay to see a model citizen forced to live in a leaky cardboard box under a crumbling bridge.
I'm beginning to feel like I'm in Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events.
Title: The Social Security Sinkhole--the sad tale of a perfectly innocent senior citizen whose well-being is endangered in a monumental paper collapse. Please, if you care for your own sanity, go elsewhere and stop reading this heartrending story. Can you bear to watch her go down the tubes when her Medicaid slips into a bottomless crevass? What governmental agency in the labyrinthine chambers of beaurocracy will strike her next from their rolls? Flee now, do not stay to see a model citizen forced to live in a leaky cardboard box under a crumbling bridge.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Waiting for Social Security
Tomorrow is a big day for me. Will I, or won't I receive my Social Security check for January? This should be a no-brainer, but when I filed for S.S. the beginning of 2005 I was urged to also file for disability at the same time. Friends said go for it, S.S. people said, nothing to it, if you're declared eligible they'll just switch you over to the higher disability amount. Smile.
Sounds good right?
I received my S.S. checks for four months and then a higher amount in October and November. Sweet, yes? No. I called S.S. office and said, there must be a mistake, I still haven't sent you some papers you just asked for. Ah, you must be getting Supplemental they said. Hmmm. I persevered and kept calling, but I hardly ever got through and the woman I left messages for never called back.
Are you ready for the good part? I get a bill from disability saying I owe them $4,893.00. Whoa, I say! Tops I owe you about $300 for the overpayment, but I didn't receive my Social Security in December, so you owe me the difference.
Stay tuned.
Sounds good right?
I received my S.S. checks for four months and then a higher amount in October and November. Sweet, yes? No. I called S.S. office and said, there must be a mistake, I still haven't sent you some papers you just asked for. Ah, you must be getting Supplemental they said. Hmmm. I persevered and kept calling, but I hardly ever got through and the woman I left messages for never called back.
Are you ready for the good part? I get a bill from disability saying I owe them $4,893.00. Whoa, I say! Tops I owe you about $300 for the overpayment, but I didn't receive my Social Security in December, so you owe me the difference.
Stay tuned.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Three Extraordinary Sites
As always, I am deeply entrenched in the marvelous halls of the Soul Food Cafe, writing and enjoying the writing of others. We have climbed The Faraway Tree and are watching and waiting as new worlds float by on the passing clouds. Right now I am in The Land of Dreams. Anyone who writes or creates art will fall in love with this site at www.dailywriting.net.
For the last few months I've been receiving e-mail from the FlyLady site, www.flylady.net. How can a site devoted to teaching you to clean your house get such an enormous following of loyal fans? How can it possibly be described as fun? You simply have to subscribe to the e-mails to believe it. "Shine your sink," FlyLady says and hundreds of women run off to shine their sinks, "You can do anything for fifteen minutes," she assures us, and we tackle jobs we've dreaded for years. With humor and love she dispenses common sense and wisdom. She has taken a simple thing like housekeeping and turned it into a life changing experience. If your house is clean but you're exhausted and resentful--try FlyLady--if your place is a mess and you're overwhelmed try FlyLady. You'll be entranced and your life will improve.
Reach--Dabble--Shine is the name of a delightful site, which is new, at least, to me. I enjoy encouraging people in their pursuits and also in just enjoying life, and this is what www.reach-dabble-shine.com is all about. The e-mail group is small right now, but I'm hoping it takes off into the stratosphere. What could be better than gathering together a group of people who are willing to share their dreams and to encourage each other to be "tentatively tenacious"?
The Internet is huge and the urge to explore it is hard to resist, but I've discovered three unique and wonderful sites in which to spend my time. Lucky, huh?
For the last few months I've been receiving e-mail from the FlyLady site, www.flylady.net. How can a site devoted to teaching you to clean your house get such an enormous following of loyal fans? How can it possibly be described as fun? You simply have to subscribe to the e-mails to believe it. "Shine your sink," FlyLady says and hundreds of women run off to shine their sinks, "You can do anything for fifteen minutes," she assures us, and we tackle jobs we've dreaded for years. With humor and love she dispenses common sense and wisdom. She has taken a simple thing like housekeeping and turned it into a life changing experience. If your house is clean but you're exhausted and resentful--try FlyLady--if your place is a mess and you're overwhelmed try FlyLady. You'll be entranced and your life will improve.
Reach--Dabble--Shine is the name of a delightful site, which is new, at least, to me. I enjoy encouraging people in their pursuits and also in just enjoying life, and this is what www.reach-dabble-shine.com is all about. The e-mail group is small right now, but I'm hoping it takes off into the stratosphere. What could be better than gathering together a group of people who are willing to share their dreams and to encourage each other to be "tentatively tenacious"?
The Internet is huge and the urge to explore it is hard to resist, but I've discovered three unique and wonderful sites in which to spend my time. Lucky, huh?
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