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30 septiembre Not Another EmailI suppose I could (I have a ton of them) but I won't. Not today anyway. Since I have a site specifically for email, put them there and let it go at that. I haven't been around for a couple of days because I've been otherwise occupied with 'life'; so many things to do like messes to clean up, grocery shopping, cooking, research, household chores, and on and on and on. Everybody is out for a while and I dare to steal a minute to say hello to my friends. I've missed my daily dose of blogging a lot. More than that, I miss visiting and reading about your antics and updates. (tee-he-he-he) Antics? Yes, antics. Some of you do have a way with words and situations, go ahead, admit it - you know you do. I love every word, phrase and sentence of it too! Baby son got his power back Thursday evening. Yaaaaa! Remember I told you he has this 'magical' thing he does with music? I thought about his talent for that and asked if he could set my hurricane Ike poem to music. He agreed and recorded me reading the poem on Saturday. He calls that 'laying the tracks'. Ummm...who knew. My part was done so he brought me back home. That was a blast, so much fun to do! Sunday he brought the finished cd over for me to hear. Man! What he made me do with my voice, I could hardly believe it was me! As the poem got to flowing I jumped and bounced around the kitchen grinning and giggling like a kid with a new toy. Yea, yea, yea, I like that! I like that! He had set the poem to the sounds of (drum roll please...ta-dummmmm) rolling waves, threatening wind and weather. Oh yes! What a wonderful feeling - my poem, in my own words accompanied by sounds. Thanks to my 'num-two-son', Mike. You'll never know how good that makes me feel, son. I love you. 27 septiembre Handbags - Long, But Worth The ReadFor all women and the men who care about them! I never gave it a thought. Have you ever noticed gals who sit their handbags on public toilet floors - then go directly to their dining tables and set it on the table? Happens a lot! It's not always the 'restaurant food' that causes stomach distress. Sometimes "what you don't know 'will' hurt you"! Read on... Mum got so upset when guests came in the door and plopped their handbags down on the counter where she was cooking or setting up food. She always said that handbags are really dirty, because of where they have been. Smart Mum!!! It's something just about every woman carries with them. While we may know what's inside our handbags, do you have any idea what's on the outside? Shauna Lake put handbags to the test - for bacteria - with surprising results. You may think twice about where you put your handbag. Women carry handbags everywhere; from the office to public toilets to the floor of the car. Most women won't be caught without their handbags, but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during the day? "I drive a school bus, so my handbag has been on the floor of the bus a lot," says one woman. "On the floor of my car, and in toilets." "I put my handbag in grocery shopping carts, on the floor of the toilet while changing a nappy," says another woman "and of course in my home which should be clean." We decided to find out if handbags harbor a lot of bacteria. We learned how to test them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake , and then we set out to test the average woman's handbag. Most women told us they didn't stop to think about what was on the bottom of their handbag. Most said at home they usually set their handbags on top of kitchen tables and counters where food is prepared. Most of the ladies we talked to told us they wouldn't be surprised if their handbags were at least a little bit dirty. It turns out handbags are so surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who tested them was shocked. Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Labs says nearly all of the handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria. Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the handbags could make people very sick. In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. "There is fecal contamination on the handbags," says Amy. Leather or vinyl handbags tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags, and lifestyle seemed to play a role. People with kids tended to have dirtier handbags than those without, with one exception. The handbag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all. "Some type of feces, or possibly vomit" says Amy. So the moral of this story - your handbag won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat. Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in toilets, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop. Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a pair of shoes. "If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your countertops, that's the same thing you're doing when you put your handbag on the countertops" - your handbag has gone where individuals before you have sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels, etc! Do you really want to bring that home with you? The microbiologists at Nelson also said cleaning a handbag will help. Wash cloth handbags and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather handbags. 25 septiembre I C E- IN CASE OF EMERGENCYApparently this is a standard procedure all paramedics follow at the scene of an accident when they come across your cell phone. ICE - 'In Case of Emergency' If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this 'ICE' -In Case of Emergency- Campaign. The concept of 'ICE' is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell/mobile phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name 'ICE' - In Case Of Emergency. The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as 'ICE.' For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc. A great idea that will make a difference! Please forward this. It won't take too many 'forwards' before everybody will know about this. It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest. ICE will speak for you when you are not able to. 24 septiembre I Can See Clearly NowI picked up my new glasses today. When the gentleman first stuck them on my face I had to re-adjust them, he had them kind of crooked. Then he proceeded to ask if everything was okay. It was. I couldn't see anything well when I walked in the place anyway. It took a minute or so for my eyes to adjust to the new prescription.I wasn't quite used to them yet so, I ventured to look all around at the different places where there were things to read. Some I could see right away some I had to stop, wait a bit, and then the writing came through loud and clear. He explained that it would take a few days for me (my eyes) to get used to the new prescription. He said not to drive home in them, to wear the old ones to drive back. I said okay, didn't see any need to explain that Jordyn was driving and I was simply a passenger. A lady came over explaining that he was needed by a gentleman over there, guess the one waiting on me was the "head honcho" today. He left to go help the man. The lady sat across the table from me, removed my new glasses, and proceeded to adjust the little "doo-hickey" that rests on your nose, the little plastic thing. "I'll adjust this a bit," she said twisting as she spoke, "they (the glasses) are sitting a little low on your nose." They seemed fine to me, fit like a glove. I never had a pair that felt so good on the first go 'round. She finished adjusting and stuck the glasses back on my face. I had to re-adjust them. She had them on crooked. Maybe my head isn't on straight or something. Maybe my ears are crooked. Whatever it is, both people tried and ended putting my glasses on lopsided. "Oh, I guess you would know how to put them on," she said, barely able to contain her indignation. I repeated what the gentleman had said about not driving home wearing them to her. She picked up a test paper, held it in front of me and pointed to the very last line of writing. It was about a 6 point font. I looked at her and asked, "What? Read that?" She nodded yes. I looked back at the paper and read the line with ease. She put the paper down, "If you can read that, you can drive home." I said okay, didn't see any reason to tell her I wasn't driving. I suppose I could easily have stopped all this talk about driving if I wanted to. Oh well, it made for a good little bit of interesting interaction there for a minute. I put my old glasses back on my face, put my new ones in the case, gathered my belongings and headed off to find Jordyn. At home I switched the old for the new and got busy adjusting. The gentleman was right, it was definitely strange for a while. By the time I finished my "to-do" list and sat down at the computer, I was used to having them on and ready to find out how well they worked when it came to the written word. I can see so clearly now I wonder how I ever got anything done before. There's no need for 'head-tilting-eyeglass-adjusting' at all. From every angle, every word on the screen is as clear as day. All afternoon and into the evening, I work. My left hand often finds its way to my glasses before I realize, I don't need to do anything. I can see just fine, perfectly in fact - for the first time in a long long while. Now, all I have to do is see if these new glasses make me write any better or any more. I really do need to get that second book done. 22 septiembre Houston Remembers The Likes Of IKESitting in semi-darkness with only a dim lamp glowing softly, the steady drone of the generator reminds me of the devastation just outside the door. With little to do but read or write, I put pen to paper for the first time in a long while. Computers have become my primary writing tool.
Contemplating all that has happened, I begin. ~ ~ ~ Houston Remembers The Likes Of IKE © 2008 by Leona G. Shankle - All Rights Reserved ▪ Dell Girl Publishing It was September 12, 2008 that Ike blew through Texas delivering his fate, ~ ~ ~
© 2008 by Leona G. Shankle - All Rights Reserved ▪ Dell Girl Publishing Touching BaseI should be asleep but an update is in order. If I don't do this now,
it might not get done tomorrow. The sidewalks in front of and along
side the house are piled high (as tall as or taller than I am) with
tree limbs, branches and wood from the fence. Ike just blew it down and
scattered it around like a box of toothpicks. There is still lots more to do. The back yard looks as if it could very well take a good four months to get it right, more limbs need to be cut from the huge huge sprawling tree. Smaller trees need to be trimmed, pruned and made to look nice again. Leaves? Well, we'll be raking piling and bagging leaves forever. I've never seen so many leaves in my life. The area between our house and the neighbor's looks terrible, the large limbs and branches have been removed but leaves and twigs cover the ground like a blanket of snow. The front and side yard, the part that is visible from the street, needs raking again. The first go-round seemed to only take care of the large stuff. It still looks a mess. So, first I'll dress in my camoflauge gear to try and hide myself from the mosquitoes. They have a way of smelling me as soon as I crack the door open, and they tear my legs up something awful. I usually end up rubbing (with alcohol) and scratching for hours after going outside with nothing on my legs. That means long pants, socks and shoes. . . uggghhhh...in this heat no less. Once outside in all these clothes, it doesn't take long for me to "heat-up"like a hundred watt light bulb and within minutes I'm dripping with sweat. Can't take too much of that either. So I'm darned if I do and darned if I don't. I can either dress coolly and get eaten up by those humongous dive-bomber mosquitoes or cover up and sweat like crazy. While it's cool in the morning (hopefully) I'll pick a spot and stick with it until I can see some progress. Something Good I convinced youngest son to come over Saturday for the afternoon since our power is back on, said we could cook and enjoy the day together. He came. Oh goodie! I cooked. He wanted shrimp so he went to the store and got them, peeled them and asked me how we prepare them. I explained how we do it, showing each step as he watched attentively. With all the food on the stove simmering we played a few favorite cds, I pressed my luck and suggested he spend the night since his power is still not on yet. He thought about it for a second and agreed. Oh, goodie - again!! We popped a Netflix movie in the player and settled down to watch it. A little over half-way through the movie, Jordyn returned from rehearsal . We got to talking and missed the end. That's all good though, talking with them is better than any movie I know - even Coal Miner's Daughter. He stayed until past mid-afternoon Sunday then left to go back to his place. What a great way to spend the week-end, with two of my "Reasons for waking up everyday." Thanks to Ike he didn't have to work and had some free time to spend with us. OH! I almost forgot. He didn't stay home long, said it was too hot (his power is still not on) so he thought he'd come back and spend another night... go to work from here in the morning. WOW! Life is good. 14 septiembre Thanks For The PrayersBefore I start, and before I get off track (as only I can do): This is straight from my heart,
Thanks again to everyone. I love you guys. 12 septiembre Praying That Ike WeakensThe past several weeks have been filled with news of approaching
hurricanes, one after another. Predictions of landfall possibilities
and destructive capabilities of each one have caused millions of people
to evacuate to other parts of the state and the country. They return
home only to have to evacuate again, for a new hurricane. Today we await Hurricane Ike. He has been a top news story since before his predecessor, Gustav ended. Yesterday, Ike was predicted to hit Houston - directly. Early last night, my prayer was, "Dear Lord, let Ike bypass Houston somehow someway, let him die out, get weak and incapable of the anticipated destruction that is predicted, let Ike take a path up and through the uninhabited woods somewhere along the coast line. This is my prayer. Thank you, Lord." Selfish? Yes. But, I prayed it anyway, two of "my reasons for waking up everyday" are there. Then, late last night we received word that Ike had turned. Good news? Maybe. Possibly Houston won't take a direct hit. But, added to that was a mandatory evacuation order for our hometown, the city where I am right at this moment. There are plenty of woods and fields between the coast and here for Ike to ravage and die out before reaching inhabited places. So, we await Ike's arrival. I pray he wimpers in like a harmless summer storm rather than the ferocious destructive force anticipated. Please, keep us in your prayers. 09 septiembre Life's Twists & TurnsLife's a funny thing. Life is . . .
You get the picture. Well, today is an up day. Life is good, as good as it can get what with regular everyday stuff; the economy, family illnesses, shaky job situations, storms and hurricanes threatening almost daily, and so forth. Therefore, today I post "The-wind-Beneath-My-Wings". Tomorrow it might just well be "The-pin-that-popped-my-balloon". That can happen in an instant without anybody really trying. Might even happen before the sun sets completely in the western sky today. So, one day you might look and the wind is missing from beneath my wings. That'll be the day somebody forgot to pick the thorns off the roses before putting them in the bed. In the end though, the wind and I keep blowing right along, good, bad, and everything in between. Happy Tuesday everyone and have a good Wednesday. 08 septiembre The eyes Have ItCrazy, huh? After fiddling around most of the morning and into the afternoon, dawdling my time away with other stuff, it finally dawned on me that I'm avoiding committing to the computer today. It has become increasingly frustrating to sit in front of the monitor and have to make so many dang adjustments in order to accomplish anything. First, I have to toss my head way way back to find the 'just right' spot in my eye glasses to see the durn writing. Then, I can only see one 'itty-bitty' space, about an inch or so wide. Next, I have to adjust my glasses up and down and sideways with my non-dominant hand to get them in a good position until I have read all that I'm trying to read. On and on it goes, throw the head back, read a bit, move the glasses back and forth, read a bit more. Uggghhh, what a bummer! It has gotten so bad, I get a nasty taste in my mouth when "the-eye-glass-head-back-dance" is in progress. Today I did put up a couple of pictures, that's about it. Pictures are okay - they're bigger, so I can see them alright. Good news though, for me anyway. At least, I hope it makes a difference. Last week I went and had my eyes tested for a new prescription. Yea! Finally! It's about time. I should have done that long before I started getting dizzy from all the head tossing and eye glass adjusting, before it got so bad. Oh well, lesson learned - the hard way. More. Sort of good news. The nice lady who fitted me for my frame said it would be about a week before my new glasses are ready, but she would call if they got them ready earlier. I hope it is earlier. Maybe once I get the new glasses, I can read more spaces with odd colored backgrounds and even odder (I made that word up) colored writing. LOL. I have forced myself to find a way to read my friends' spaces with such colorings. However, new folks have invited me to be friends but when I got to their spaces and found "COLORS" on "COLORS" I immediately clicked away. Sorry, it's just that bad. So much for the 'rant', thanks for listening. Got to go now and give the "head- tossing- eye-glass-fixing" queen a break. I'll see you all later - after the EYE BREAK. 06 septiembre I'll Always Remember The 3rd Of September
"It was the third of September. That day I'll always remember, yes I will. 'Cause that was the day that my daddy died." That is as far as the similarities of Daddy and the lyrics of the song go. Beyond that, nothing else in the song applies. The music is - the hook. September 3, 1988 was the day my daddy died. The phone rang about 9 p.m. and a family friend informed me that Daddy was "gone". Not understanding or not wanting to understand, I question, "Gone? Gone where?" She answers, "Your mom asked me to call and tell you that your daddy passed away. He's gone." Suddenly a dark cloud covers me like a blanket. I can't cry like I want to. My nine year old is right here, I have to keep it all together for him. Hubby hovers characteristically close, waiting for my reaction. He asks if I'm okay or if I want to go outside with him. "I'm okay," I reassure him. The older two kids are at a football game. Jordyn is a cheerleader, oldest son is on the team. I want to go home - now -but, I have to wait for the kids to get here. I excuse myself with "I need to go and pack so everything will be ready." In the privacy of the bedroom my tears flow unchecked, but only momentarily, the baby is at the door wanting in. I quickly dry my tears shake myself together and get on with the business of packing. With a million and one thoughts crowding my numb brain, I silently occupy my self and wait. Finally, the older kids are home, hubby has the car packed and I gather them around to tell them about Papa. They react as expected, tearfully, grief-stricken and full of questions. Among explanations and reassurances I head them toward the car for the long painful ride home. All is quiet in the backseat after a few miles and I am thankful for the darkness that conceals the anguish that now consumes me. The journey through the thick East Texas woods is quiet, the silence broken only occasionally by a question from hubby about how I am doing. We arrive at Mama's about 2 or 2:30 a.m. Rousing the kids from their sleep we gather our luggage and start for the front door, for the beginning of a life without Daddy. At the steps I stifle the threatening tears, catch my breath, grit my teeth and prepare to go inside. I have no idea what lies ahead or what it is like to lose someone this close. I do know that a special light has gone out, a era has come and gone. And with it, the love of my life - my daddy. * * * * * * * * * * Today, September 3, 2008 I am left with Daddy's . . . "legacy of love". 05 septiembre Automated Phone Pay Systems - Rate ItWay way back in prehistoric times, before I learned about online "bill paying" there was . . . taa-duuummm . . .phone pay". Remember that?! Well, the other day while doing the dreaded chore, I happened upon some notes I'd made rating different phone pay systems. I had made the notes while waiting on hold to be connected or while listening to the main menu telling which number to press to go do what. If I had found this prior to saying what I said about the "chore", I would have counted my blessings and kept my mouth shut about it.My kooky little note rates the company's automated phone pay system. Rate the automated phone pay system Happy face - the cable tv company - WOW! Great system. Gets to the point. No hassle at all. Happy face - the electric company - Great! Pretty good. Got in, got out. Got it done fast. No problem. Regular face - cell phone company - OK. Not too bad. Had to repeat myself a couple of times. All in all, not tbad. Regular face - auto insurance company - It's ok. Not bad. They mixed up on what I said a time or two. Got it right next time. Tolerable.. Ugly, twisted sad face - telephone company Recording: "What is it you would like to do? You can say anything, like change my address or pay my bill. So, what would you like to do? Me: Pay my bill. Recording: All right, you want to pay your bill. Please say your account #. Me: one zero five five five one zero. Recording: All right, that was...one zero nine five five one four. Is that correct? Me: No. Recording: Okay, let's start again. Say your account #. Me: one zero five five five one zero. Recording: one zero five five nine one zero.He got it wrong four times, the fifth time . . . Me: (Screaming at the phone losing all my composure. Talking loud, as if I'm shouting to somebody three blocks away, ears burning, pulse racing, voice raising to a fever pitch) No!!! No!!! No, that's not what I said!!! No I said my number a hundred times already and, you - doggonit. I hate this stupid phone system. It's stupid, stupid, stupid!!! Darned phone company, silly stupid automated system!!!!! Recording: All right, you said you want to speak to an agent. Okay, an agent will be with you shortly. Please hold for the next available agent. Me: Chewing paper, breathing fire, cussing like a dirty-mouth sailor - finally breathing deeply, trying to get a grip on myself. Rating?! It S-U-C-K-S. Next month, I'll remember this (hope I do) and simply tell you, my friends, I'll be busy a little while without all the drama about paying bills. 02 septiembre Get-'er Done TuesdayAlthough the past week has been rather hectic, today proved more
so than all of last week. So many irons in the fire, so much to do -
all important and urgent. The most time consuming of the lot is "bill
paying". Even with the system I've worked out, it still takes more time
to pay bills than I like. I said all this before, though. So today and some of tomorrow, I've got to get that done. First thing tomorrow though, I have Bible class. After that I'll come back and finish the bills. Hopefully I can finish early enough to get back to blogging. I miss you guys. When I do get back to blogging I'll come by to visit everybody. Hope all has gone well since I last talked to each of you. I'll see you as soon as my pudgy little fingers can get the bills done. Good night and nice dreams to all. Oh yes! I googled the story about the drug-addicted boy calling the police on his parents. There was nothing recent, all the stories were old. They were of the same general theme as the one I heard, but too old to be on yesterday's news. Oh well! 01 septiembre Half-Cocked?!I don't normally like to "go-off-half-cocked". But, I'm diving in this one head first. Today, while trying to stay abreast of the latest on Gustav, I heard a news brief that has me perturbed disconcerted and down-right disgusted. They only presented the brief "coming up next" and never gave the full story. Left me hanging dangling wondering, what's missing. Am I not getting the entire picture? Something is wrong with this picture. Enough venting. got me about to jump up on my "high-horse" without a saddle. Here's what I heard... A California (I think) couple had handcuffed their drug-addicted son while he slept, put him in the car, and proceeded to take him to re-hab. He asked to use the restroom along the way and called the police to report them. THEY were handcuffed and arrested. Anybody else hear this? What am I missing? As soon as I finish this post, I'm digging further into the WHOLE story. I need the "rest of the story". Then I can self-righteously climb upon my mighty "high-horse" and rant and rave to my heart's content. MORE LATER, if I can (as Mama Leona used to say) get the straightening of this. Hello Friends, Happy Labor Day!Oooo yea! Summer's over, summer for school being out, that is. It's the last day of August. Well, actually it's early morning of September 1st. For all intents and purposes though for kids and teachers, summer IS over. Even though calendar-wise it is not over.
Hi to all my friends. I hope you had a good weekend and that today, Labor Day is a good one for you. Especially those who are threatened by Hurricane Gustav, like we are here in our area.
Although a good portion of my weekend was spent making and approving or dis-approving plans and arrangements for my mom to either stay put or evacuate, she's in another town. I'm trying to take care of all this via phone while keeping my eyes on weather conditions so I can be prepared myself. All arrangements worked out fine. Everything is in place. We are all fine so far.
I will visit all later in the day. have a good one. I'll see you later. |
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