HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HERE'S HOPING YOU ALL HAVE A HAPPY,HEALTHYAND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!!

OUR TREE 2010

Last year we didn't have a tree here at home because Mom was at the Tendercare  rehab center during the holidays. This year I dug out our four ft tree and Mom helped me decorate it. Mom loves the holidays, even though there are so few of us around.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE YOUR TREES DECORATED FOR THE HOLIDAYS!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

I will be updating here again soon..until then..

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL FROM
OUR HOUSE TO YOURS!! MAY GOD BLESS YOU!. 

ISN'T THAT THE WAY??

YOU are minding your own business driving down the road when all of the sudden you see those red and blue lights behind you. That sick to the stomach feeling comes over you and you think.. "what the heck did I do?".. You slow down only to see the public safety car pass you by. (They don't call them police or cop cars around here
anymore.) What a RELIEF!! You speed back up and in no time here comes another one moving fast. Now you get curious as to the reason. My mind really goes to car-deer accidents first in pretty good weather. I was wrong on that one though. Coming over the hill into the flatter part of the freeway, I see a long line of taillights shining and know that this cannot be good. No way out. No roads to turn off of and go another way. Mom panics right away because she will MISS her time to go on for her treatment. I tell her that "this is why I take the back road..more ways to go." We move ever so slowly..
it seems like it takes hours to go only a mile down the road. The clock says only 10 minutes have passed. By the time we reach the accident, state police and sheriff cars are they helping assist. One car is headed toward us in the median strip, the other in the ditch on the other side. Someone had really made a bad mistake at trying to enter the freeway and have no place to go. We get to where we can leave the freeway and I do it gladly. We cannot miss treatment..it just cannot be done.  I dread the winter, with life sustaining treatment, that has to be given, you cannot get stuck anywhere, you get there "any way" you can. There is a saying by John Lennon. "Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans." We make plans now around what is most important and everything else can just go on the back burner. The back roads will get you there eventually..Mom laughed..slow going but safe.

UPDATE...

Will start this by posting that we still haven’t seen anything but a few light flurries here and I am surely grateful for that. I don’t look forward to shoveling this year at all. The wind is sure cold though and anytime it gets up to 40 I rejoice! Our Thanksgiving here was quiet. I baked and cooked for two days so that we would have tons of leftovers. I went shopping for new boots and found several I liked. Got mom a pair too. She hasn’t worn boots in probably 10 years now. This year if she is living here at home she will be out in the cold and snow so they are really a must. I used that word “IF” in the sentence because starting next month she will undergo another surgery if all goes well, and hopefully it won’t be as hard on her as the last one was. One person can only do so much with the help of nurses, aides and such who visit for a short time 2 or three times a week here at home. Mom hates all the running back and forth to doctor’s appointments, especially in the winter time. They have to be done though, so we grit our teeth and get through them. I hope to be able to take care of her at home, because that is where she wants to be. She thrives here, and does not do well anywhere else. Will let you know how it all goes.







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On the washing machine subject..ours went out and we are still without because it has been a real chore getting to a place out-of-town to order a replacement. The warranty we had was GREAT. They replace, remove the old one.. with no charge at all. The amount they gave us will more than cover a top of the line machine. I have done the homework on-line and decided that the type we had before is no longer an option and we are going to go MAYTAG this time. Hopefully they will hold up to their promise and that old repairman will never see our door! They came today and replaced the old washer…however some of the fixtures were leaking and it needed a longer drain hose.. so it STILL doesn’t work. When they took the old washer out, some water was still inside the lines that did not drain out…you guessed it.. water all over the basement floor… : ( Will be trying to get someone to fix this mess this week when they can arrange to come. I just have the feeling, another trip to the laundromat will be called for. Hate that thought with a perfectly good NEW machine in my basement. Not a happy customer..but it is NOT the job of the delivery person to fix my old plumbing. The saga goes on…..






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Update on the computer problem. The company is covering all charges, once again, because I bought an additional warranty on it. After being on the phone for almost an hour, the technician said he would FED EX me an adapter and I should try that first and they will Call Me to see if it worked. He swears there is nothing wrong with the computer, it is just a faulty power adapter and it was not charging the laptop.He is not living in my house, but he assures me HE IS RIGHT! Will be sure to let you all know what happens. I hate this slow dial-up but at least it is better than nothing! My access is extremely limited though. I spend more time waiting than visiting or commenting or anything else.. and to THINK we all started out that SLOW!






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I send out my sincere prayers and thoughts to Chip Allen and his family at the loss of their beloved furry family member SAM. Greater love have no man that the love of his devoted, faithful, dog. Hugs to you all, I know you will all be reunited one day.






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Will wrap this up.. Hope you all have a great week!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

IF you haven’t heard from my Facebook page, I am having computer issues so posting here will be limited for awhile. My laptop crashed and with no power source available on it, it will have to be sent back to the company where I have the warranty on it. This will take time..precious time for me to say the least. I at least hope for them to resolve the problem or replace the whole thing. I have had issues once before with this same laptop, so maybe it was just time. Given the holidays and such, I expect it will be some time before they can get it back to me. I will be doing the best I can to keep up at least at Facebook with all of you.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT AND SAFE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY!

p.s. KATE AND MAGGIE will return.. they are still on the road and having a ball!

KATE AND MAGGIE Part Two

Kate, being a person who did over the road work most of her life, knew all too well that this trip would be expensive. Gas, lodging, and Maggie's newer vehicle would be a major road block in the whole trip idea. They agreed to meet the next day though and look at used vehicles. Kate was sure that Maggie would balk at seeing how costly a newer vehicle would be. Little did Kate know that Maggie was already aware and had plenty of resources for the trip. Sure enough, before the sun went down, Maggie had a newer used van all insured and ready for a road trip. Kate helped by letting the dealer know that she was very knowledgeable about used vehicles. They agreed to pack up and leave as soon as Maggie could get things together. In two days time they were headed down the major highway bound for all the excitement a trip could be. Kate knew the roads like the back of her hand. She knew the speed traps, the great places to eat and stay over. It was an exciting time for Maggie who hadn't been out of her hometown in at least 25 years.


 They got about 700 miles down the road when the van began to make noises that Kate didn't like. Perhaps it was a hidden thing that she just didn't catch when looking the vehicle over. Kate pulled into a major truck stop and proceeded to check the van out herself. An 18 wheeler pulling into topped off his air horn and made Kate and Maggie both jump. Behind the wheel was a scruffy guy wearing a Detroit Tigers baseball hat, with a cigar stuck in his cheek. He parked his rig and jumped down and sauntered over to the gals standing over the disabled van. Kate knew this fella, his name was Tom, but all the truckers called him "Detroit" because of his love of the Tigers baseball team. He was divorced three times, had one child with each wife. Maggie was  surprised when he opened his mouth and a southern accent came out. "Howdy young ladies..what's up with this van?" Kate introduced Maggie and she and Detroit checked out the van. "Well, Detroit said..looks like a crack in the distributor cap.. easily fixed, but it will take some time to get to it". Kate knew they were going to have to stay at least overnight to find a mechanic. Maggie was excited,, to her, the whole thing was a new adventure. Kate, on the other hand, would rather be on the road driving to their first destination. Kate had never spent this much time with a person over 70 years old before. She had no idea how talkative and repetitive Maggie could be. She began to wonder if she really had taken on more than she had planned on.


If this was such an adventure for Maggie why was she sleeping so much of the time on the road?

KATE AND MAGGIE

KATE AND MAGGIE

Maggie sat at the kitchen table, drinking her morning coffee, looking out at the clear blue sky. She picked up the local easy shopper paper and looked to see what garage sales were listed. Most of her Saturday mornings had started the same way for over 40 years.She was proud of the fact that she looked and felt great  for 76 years old and didn't look a day over 65. Her kids were grown and had kids of their own and lives that were stretched across the country away from her. Maggie's husband of 45 years had passed in his sleep several years before, leaving her with a comfortable life, but a very lonely one. Turning the pages, and sipping her coffee her eye caught a very small ad at the bottom of a page.



"Kate,retired, 35 years long haul trucker,will drive you anywhere you want in any kind of vehicle, you pay expenses." Maggie chuckled to herself and thought that would be quite an adventure. She moved on to the garage sale section and decided today she would pass up the sales and do the laundry that had been waiting over a week. 

There was just something about that ad in the shopper  that kept nagging at her though. What did she have to do all day long? She would love to go cross country and visit her kids and grand kids. She didn't think her old car would make a trip that long though. She would have to get a newer one. The more she thought about it the more she want to call that woman Kate and ask questions. Laundry done, she went through the paper again and found the ad. She dialed the number and a woman answered. Kate told her that she placed the ad because she was bored not being on the road but didn't want to drive semi-trucks anymore. She would be glad to get together with her and talk over a trip and just what it would take to make one across country. They talked on the phone for a while when Maggie told her to just hang up and come on over to her place. She could not wait to see Kate and talk to her in person.

Maggie was excited to see Kate at her door.She was a small woman with big blue eyes wearing a jean jacket and a cowboy hat. Kate laughed at Maggie's expression.   Maggie immediately wondered how in the world she could handle a semi-truck. All that power and her being a slight 5 foot 3 inches tall. Kate explained that she used to sit in her father's lap as he drove a big rig and was clearly in love with trucks from an early age. She adapted well and when she got her license to drive she could not wait to try out the big rigs. She had some close calls in her years on the road, but nothing that she couldn't handle. The more the two women talked the more Maggie was convinced this was exactly what she wanted to do.The next decision was how much it would cost for such a trip and what kind of a vehicle she would get to make it all work.

This was the beginning of something that would change both of their lives forever.

CLEAR BLUE

EVEN our weatherman is amazed at how clear the skies have been and how wonderfully warm the past few days are here. High 60's in November, well that is just amazing. One last chance to go and do all the things that need be done. I sure know how that is. Busy boxing stuff for the Goodwill ..took a whole car load in
the past two days. Feels so good to get rid of the stuff no longer needed. I never went into the store though. I don't know about you, but ME.. I won't go NEAR any used clothing or anything now days that might have the dreaded bugs on it. The local TV stations here did an undercover thing and well the news wasn't good.  Now I just get the creeps going into a store with used items like that in it. All my donations were NOT CLOTHING. Talk about scary..
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Our washer is on the fritz. We have a replacement agreement on it so if it can't be fixed.. YIPPIE we get a new one.. course this old Kenmore mom got probably 20 years ago so it's time is up I believe. The last time they did maintenance on it the man shook his head and told us that they just don't make washers to LAST anymore. I sure believe that.. what DO they MAKE to last now days? Not much! When I called for service appointment they told me there would be a WEEK wait! Yikes laundromat here I come...now to gather up the quarters. Mom looked at me in amazement when I told her that each load costs at least $2.00, she remembered when we could do a whole load for clothes... wash and dry for $1.00. Ahhhh for the good old days.
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Watched some of the last 5 dancing on DWTS.. I must say I thought Brandi and
Jennifer were tops!! Gonna be hard to tell who wins this year. Think it will be a woman though. Have seen Blue Bloods with Tom Selleck and so far really enjoy it. I really can't get into the new Hawaii five-0 show though. I miss 24 so I watch NCIS instead and CSI (the original one). Still love Survivor but hate the new night. It is so hard to get used to it being on mid-week. Watching a lot of the shows that Oprah does with all the celeb interviews. Quite interesting.
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Well must wrap this up, time to get busy with the laundry detail..
glitter-graphics.com

RIGHT PLACE..RIGHT TIME...

EVER find yourself in the right place and the right time? Sometimes you wish you were anyplace else..sometimes not. While shopping for supplies at the K store I spied some teens looking at watches and jewelry. Wouldn't have thought anything about it , EXCEPT the clerk was really staring them down. I guess if you work there long enough you tend to be skeptical about things. Anyway, the girl said to the other girl, that watch on sale looked like hers. YES, she had a watch on, I saw it on her. The clerk did NOT. I moved on to see what gloves and such were on sale. All of the sudden a big commotion made me look to their direction. The young girl was in tears and the clerk was talking loudly to them both. I moved some closer and heard the clerk accusing the girl of stealing a watch. Now most times I would STAY OUT OF IT..but this time I decided NO.. the girl DID have a watch on when she was standing there, I saw it.

I stepped over to the counter and told the clerk that I saw the watch on the girls wrist way before she stepped to that side of the counter. I told her I believed that the watch WAS HERS. The manager stepped behind the counter and was told what the clerk suspected. I just stood there waiting to see what would happen next.  Low and behold the clerk saw that this watch the girl had on her wrist had the correct time and that the band looked used and not brand new. Talk about jumping to conclusions. Well if I was a young person and was accused like that, I think I would be very leery of shopping there again. The young girl looked very relieved and thanked me profusely for stepping forward to help her out.  You know what I told her....
PASS IT ON.. when you KNOW something is wrong and you can help another person out.. please pass it on and help someone out. She just smiled and nodded and I went on my way. If there is ANYTHING in this world I HATE is being accused of something I did not do. It just sits wrong with me to the core. Talk about being in the right place and the right time.. it sure was for me today.

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HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

HECTIC DAYS

Our days are sure hectic here now. Mom’s schedule change has us both wondering what day and what time it is all of a sudden. Funny how you get into your routine and are so comfortable with it and then a shift will make you so out of it. This morning it is 27 here and it’s like November decided to say HI..I’mmmm Bacccck!I am wondering whatever possessed me to wait so late to get a hair cut. Yikes now I have to wear a hat to keep warm, I feel absolutely hairless. Guess it will take time to get used to.

Spent hours Sunday going through the clutter and stuff that we don’t need any more. Packing things to sell or give away. Downsizing is needed here, so it is a necessary thing, but not a fun thing. Mom wants to keep everything she has collected over 60 years and I am the bad girl who has to try to convince her we really don’t need it. Change is hard for the elderly that is for sure. Good thing I have a lot of time to go through things, if I had to do it in a hurry I am sure treasures would probably be lost. I found some old things that Dad had that even Mom had never seen before. Some we wondered about and some Mom had a story to go with. One that intrigued me is a metal pin that was clearly a chauffeur’s license.I guess it was worn on a hat or a coat, I have never seen this and Mom had no idea where it came from. Best guess is that Dad wore it doing a job when he was young living in Tennessee.

I am headed out early today as we have many appointments and I am not one to be late..






HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

RUN TO THE LIGHT!!

Having the name CAROL ANN  this movie scared the beeejeez out of
me....This scene was soooo good! ENJOY!!

WHAT'S GOING ON?? OPRAH???

Oprah.. that's NOT NEW.. but her last season on public television is. She is determined to have so much entertainment and so many new things to send off her last year. 
Reviewing people she met and topics that she covered over the years is proving to be interesting to the viewer. Today her show was dedicated to the movie Sound of Music. All cast members were present and hearing their stories and memories of making the movie was enjoyable.
Tomorrow she and her best friend Gayle will be making a road trip to Yosemite to go camping. If you saw any of her road trip across the USA you will really like this series of shows. I cannot wait as it was really eye-opening the last time. Oprah had no idea how to put gas in a car or what the inside of a motel or convenience store looked like. Checking into a room in any town along the way HAD to have the right linens and pillows, and when they didn't she stopped into a store and bought all brand new for her next nights stay. So you can bet the equipment she will get will probably be the BEST there is to buy. Not all people can afford this kind of camping. Too bad she didn't use things that others could afford to use as an example. Regardless of her accommodations, I will be watching Gayle and Oprah inside a tent , treading water in a river and fishing, putting up a tent and making a fire. It has me chuckling thinking about it.

                                                (photo by google images)
WHAT started this whole thing in the first place?? WHY camping?
It was to bring to attention of all black families that they need to check out our national parks and go camping. Someone, not sure who, told her that not enough black families went camping in this country. Wonder if this will influence anyone in the future? If they see what fun she has, it might work. I do NOT have the extra cable channels, and  will miss seeing Oprah in the future. I guess I will just have to catch up with things over the web site. It won't be the same as sitting and watching with Mom and Sis and discussing the whole program as it is going on. I will miss those moments. I am looking forward to the whole month of November as it will reveal a lot of Oprah's favorite things and interesting interviews and topics. I think in 25 years she truly has changed the way America and the world thinks about things. She talks about an AH HAH moment on some of her shows. A moment in your life where the light bulb went off and you it just changed your way of thinking or living. I heard Oprah talk about how she journaled every day and I had done the same thing in my life. Oprah changed the way I did my journaling. To try and find the positive thoughts in every day and not dwell on the negative. I decided to try that out. Sometimes I back slide but mostly I try to stick with it.

THANKS OPRAH.. for the Americans who can't type or use a computer or have access to your website.. we appreciate what you have done for us all.

  

AFTER THE STORM..

After the storm the sun came out just as it was beginning to go down. It looked like someone had turned on a giant spotlight. The wind was fierce today and we had many warnings and watches. Odd for October in Michigan. They are calling it the second most powerful storm ever to hit this part of the country.My head hurt as I got up this morning with such pressure I had never felt before. I turned on the tv news and they reported that the barometric pressure was lower than it had ever been.  WOW! The winds so high it was breaking records all across the country.. here in Michigan with

all the lakeshore we have it was quite spectacular.

 Hmmm 26 foot waves.. now that I gotta see!  Here is a picture posted on the weather blog I visit.. I guess  bigger ones will be posted tomorrow.

As the sun sets, clouds are racing across the evening sky. Tomorrow it may not rain, but we will remember the wind that brought  down the leaves from the trees and the crisp autumn air that followed it.Fall in Michigan changes minute by minute, you never know what you are going to get. You have to keep track of things to know what kind of coat to wear and if you will need an umbrella or shovel by the end of the day. It was a good thing that yesterday I went and pulled all my leaves the front of our yard. Now they are just blowing down the street to parts unknown and I won't have to worry about the city picking them up.  Well I guess it was going to happen sooner or later..  the token picture of leaves from me...and the last(?) picture of the bare trees 2010.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!     

  

SCENES ALONG THE WAY..

Seems the countryside is changing so fast, you blink and all the trees are bare. We had some wind here that helped them out a lot. As Beth Marie spoke the other day..harvesting is going on like crazy now.  

The local ethanol plant has semi’s lined up way down the road waiting to get in.

  

As we drove to treatment the other day we passed a tour of antique cars. Mom said it really took her back to old times seeing them. Pays to have your camera at the ready for anything that may come along. See that smaller roof..that is a tornado shelter, the door was on the other side. I can’t blame them for having one as their property set in the middle of some very flat farm land. Here is some local color and the bottom 2 pics are of our one and only maple tree in our backyard. It sure was glorious this year.. started out slow and then everything just popped!

  

Well that is the tour of around here this fall. Now all the displays are coming out for Halloween, some are pretty neat. People have such incredible talent! I will just have to get busy and take some views of those too.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

CHASING WIFI

For two days now I have been chasing the Wifi.. both at home and on the road. Believe it or not I have just entered into my third spot. I settled into my little desk area at the library and all of a sudden UH OH.. their system went on the blink. Good thing they announced it or I would have thought my laptop on the fritz.

They had the same problem last Friday.. boy that place sure clears out in a hurry once NO ONE can get on line. So I moved on to another spot and no longer is their service FREE, you have to make a purchase to get the code. So I settled for another spot at the local Hospital parking lot. Here I pick up limited connection, but at least I can get someplace.
Today is sunny here and in the 50′s.. had a very cool morning. I noticed that the price of gas had come down over the weekend to 2.82..big relief as it was nearly 3.00 last week. Visited the post office and bought stamps.. this old gal will never buy anything but the “FOREVER” stamps.. let me tell ya that was a genius idea. Why pay more just because you had some left over..


We had an appt to meet with the social worker in mom’s case and she has promised to try to move mom’s schedule so that we can get home before dark. I sure hope it is soon. Then I met with the clinical nurse in charge to go over all mom’s meds. GOOD NEWS..she can now stop two more of her meds. This means that she is well enough to not need them in her system at all. I questioned whether that would be okay with her DOCTOR in charge and she said she would make it SO. Hmm makes you wonder just who the heck is really running the ship! When one says one thing and another something else I QUESTION it!! I feel for those who don’t understand things it must be very very confusing to them. I see my laptop battery is getting low again.. will have to invest in an adapter soon so I can charge it in the car. I just hope I don’t have to do much more chasing wifi in the future, gas what it is.. well.. makes a person make hard decisions. Just glad the weather is okay and it is warm inside the car.






HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!






P.S. We sure are having a great time with our Facebook group page. Remember you can’t find the group, if you have been invited, UNLESS your are on the HOME page ..not your profile page.

FACEBOOK UPDATE

Quick update here on a new group made at Facebook.. if you are a member there and were on Windows Live Spaces you might be interested in this group. We are keeping track of everyone's NEW blog addresses there so everyone can find each other. The group is private and so you are invited by your E MAIL address. I added as many as I could there. We have nearly 50 people added. If you received an invite on your Facebook page or in your mail box from SPACE FRIENDS that is the group I am talking about. They have a PRIVATE chat there where we all can chat with each other regardless of the time zone etc. ALL you need is to ACCEPT the invite and join in. The chat last night lasted until 2 AM and we had a great time. If you do not have a FACEBOOK account or prefer NOT to join that is up to you. YOU MUST BE a member of Facebook though to join this group. BIG THANKS to SHERRY of BURRWOOD for making this group up.. we are growing by the hour..




HOPE YOU ALL WILL JOIN IN THE FUN>> if you need more info contact my e mail address or visit my FACEBOOK page..




HAVE A GREAT SATURDAY!!

FRIDAY UPDATE

SO it’s Friday again.. what a week.. we helped get 33 miners up out of their dark place and into the light of day and real life again. The news reported today that more than one of those miners had more than one mistress up in the real world. Whoops… I bet those guys NEVER thought of the consequences of their actions. Talk about reality TV.. uh huh…
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Update on the  flu shots.. got mine a couple of weeks back. No problems, but ever since then I have heard of a lot of people who are sick with some kind of something. Fevers, sore throat, etc. Several of the workers at mom’s treatment center have been out sick and even had to get antibiotics to help get over it. Does not bode well for the winter season around here. I have been using those wipes and hand santizers like crazy.  Got our furnace cleaned and heated up the house yesterday. I have been using those infrared heaters you see advertised for at least a month. Sure saves on the gas bill. They are well worth the investment for sure. Eggs went on sale at the store for 99 cents a dozen so I stocked up and decided to make a custard impossible pie.  It was yummy. Placed the recipe at my recipe blog.. is so fast and easy…was a pleasure to make it. Use the search box and find the recipe by name.
Gas went up here to nearly $2.95..wow..you really have to watch when to buy it or you will get really ripped off. I noticed that prices of fruit are back up in stores except for apples which are plentiful here in Michigan right now. Being aware sure helps with cost right now.
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SCHOOL PRIDE is being launched tonight on TV on NBC at 8 PM est. Ever since I saw the commercial I thought this was a great idea. Schools in this country are in such bad condition.. a show that goes in and restores them back to new brings so much back to the youth who go there. With pride in their surroundings they can’t help themselves but be more excited in learning. I think the photos of how bad they look will surely shock a lot of people. WORTH WATCHING this..such a good good idea. Well that’s all from here…
glitter-graphics.com
 
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HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

TESTING THIS OUT

So this is live writer and it is on a trial run. If it doesn’t work out..
it is soo out of here. So far I like how the pictures are put inside
the blog content. Nice size for the blog..that is a plus in my eyes. I tried to add my Wordpress Blog to this and it would not add for some reason. I may have forgotten the original settings or something. This one will have to do until I figure it all out. It’s raining today and most of the gorgeous leaves are falling rapidly. I am afraid that by our weekend the whole countryside will look completely different.
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Watched the live coverage of the miners coming up from their dark place in the world. What kind of mark this has left on their lives is really yet to be seen. I know NO ONE has ever been underground that long of a time before, so I am sure they will get all kinds of counseling. Have been very impressed at how they all look..so healthy. Bravo to all the workers who are standing by helping them escape.
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Well enough of this .. will hit send and see what happens.. keeping fingers crossed… HERE GOES….

FRIDAY ALREADY!!

 It's Friday already. This week has been extremely busy and full of changes. I am  just grateful when Saturday comes and I don't have to go anywhere. Wellll, not exactly. The weather is glorious! Who would NOT want to go out and enjoy it? I will have to mow the lawn and do outdoor chores. I sure would rather do them in the warmth than a cold October day anytime!!
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.Here is a pic of my famous DOLLAR watch. My watch, I wore forever, just would not keep time any way I tried.  I never thought of a bracelet type watch before. I kind of like the whole put one on in a hurry type thing. So I was browsing the display at the BIG K because I had to have a new one in a hurry, and didn't want to spend a lot of money on it. I saw this one sitting there with a clearance tag on it. $19.99! Well I was sold, it looked nice enough to me. When I got the front check out she scanned the watch box and low and behold it was a returned item and she said it was on clearance for ONE DOLLAR..did I want it anyway? Well , shoot.. it was running.. maybe all it needed was a battery. She said the battery had been replaced. OH BOY.. I said YES.. when I got to the parking lot and took the watch out of the box I noticed that there were TWO diamond chips one at 12 and one at 6. LUCKY me!! The maker is not listed on it, but who cares the darn thing works great. Sis really liked it. She collects watches, so when her birthday rolled around, I went back to the store looking for any that might be
returned. No such luck. I sure will be looking from now on though. A nice time piece that works for a buck is just my type of deal. I love it when I get a bargain!!
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Well not much more from here..

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

RANT DAY??

Pardon me. but do we still have a rant day that is a carry over from Spaces? Well don’t know the answer to that, but have gotten peeved about a few things lately that surely apply. First off.. why doesn’t anyone read road signs any more? I mean I am old school about things but really.. if the sign says YIELD.. DO IT!! If the sign says STOP.. do that too. Don’t roll on into the intersection waiting for the on coming traffic to stop for you. Twice I saw this and I must say it was NOT a teen driver doing it either. Here they call them a “Michigan roll.” Roll on out there and get smacked is what they should call them. Geez.. get some education!. I hate people who just go along and think they make the rules of the road. There is NEVER anyone around to give them a ticket to tell them that THEY ARE WRONG.. about what they are doing. Maybe if they got a ticket and had to pay money they wouldn’t do it again.

Mom and I nearly got broadsided with a man, (he was not a kid either) who just drove on through that very large sign that said YIELD. There is a lot of construction out there they are trying to finish before the bad weather comes, and I have seen people driving WAY too fast for the speed that is posted too. Too bad there is not an ”eye in the sky” camera around to film those drivers too. Another thing I truly don’t like is people who try to get out into the intersection before you have even cleared it. We have had some close calls lately and that always makes your heart race faster. There are some crazy drivers out there, who really should be given a lesson on how to OBEY the rules and road signs!


WHEW… now I feel better.. thanks!! (I miss the smilies from spaces)



Gas prices shot back up around here to 2.85! Never did find out why but that was at least a 25 cent jump.Went shopping for some fresh new apples and found that some stores had them as high as 3.99 a bag as where some others 1.99. Pays to shop around I guess. Michigan’s apple crop isn’t too great this year because of the freeze we had and so they are yielding a lot less than last year. The ones that are coming in are smaller apples and with less flavor. I find myself looking for the Washington varieties, they always are delicious.


Those of you on facebook know that Sis is trying out an e-reader. I am trying hers too. It is a fun little gadget that gets e mails and books and will go out on the web. Small and convenient and that is a good thing. Never thought I would use such a thing as I am addicted to my laptop now. It is a lot slower and harder to keep the wifi signal in tact but the battery life is great. You can make a picture viewer out of it with your SD card etc, so it proves to be a real multi-purpose item. I am quite impressed with it so far. So far I give it three stars. You can’t print anything out and maybe they will improve that in the future.


WELL it’s been quite a week here the last few days. Mom has made another trip to the ER and had a small surgery at another hospital. It never ends around here. I sure will be ready to get to the weekend!

LOCAL COLOR IS REALLY POPPING THIS WEEK.


HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

GLAD GLAD GLAD..

Glad that I was able to get the feed working so now many of you can get my updates here . I know many people don't care for the Wordpress set up and how things went with WLS but I have to give them credit for getting so many spaces over to them with all the content intact. AMAZING what technology can do. I would never have clicked that button in a million years if I had not had SO MANY other spaces that I could experiment on. Yep, like BethMarie, I had at least 5 so I could use any one and do a trial run. I moved my recipes and my spacewalk space over to wordpress too. REMEMBER that is a review of the finest bunch of people on the planet. The links should lead to their new homes and if they don't  I personally will FIX it!  What was I to do.. lose all that or copy it and just enjoy for myself? No way!! So I will also be GLAD if the feeds work for those sites too.

SO for those of you catching up here....(sorry guys).. I had a fiasco with a purse recently. I wrote about how horrible it is to get one covered in liquid makeup. YIKES! Anyway I went on a hunt for a new purse in a hurry. Didn't think I would find one I liked either. The one I found was on sale and  neat though because it had a place for my cell phone and a  pocket that I now love because it fit my camera perfectly.

That unzipped pocket is just the right size. It is padded enough to keep it safe too. It is smaller than I would have liked but is working out swell so far. I have another purse I love to use that is leather but maybe later in the winter months. So, I am GLAD that I found something I could really use when I really needed it, and a bargain at that!  How often does that happen..NEVER..at least for me it doesn't. Must have been my lucky day! Glad, glad, glad...
On to other topics.. hope to get some pics tomorrow of the harvest festival in town. The weather will be downright cold as FROST is predicted. I was hoping it would be warmer, but maybe it will be sunny anyway. ..

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...

WHAT IS TO BECOME...

I decided that not many visit here so I will not worry about what I post here. The future is very uncertain for us here and I am not sure how much time I will be able to spend
on line or keep up with things. More important things are ahead of us. Winter is coming faster than we want it to. I dread it. I do not have the energy to keep this old house up anymore. I want to move to another place closer to mom's treatment center but convincing her to leave is proving impossible. In her present state of mind she

only wants to stay in her house for the rest of her life.  Last winter she was taken to treatment in a nice van because she was in the rehab center. This year, being at home, it won't be as easy. It will be very hard on us both. I just don't think she realizes it. I have tried having other people talk to her about what we need to do, but it hasn't worked so far. so it will be a long autumn season. In a perfect world we could stay home and live here and she would happy, but with our monetary status we just cannot do that. When things begin to happen..it will be like a light snowfall becoming a raging blizzard.  

WHAT A MESS!!

If I truly could, I would show you the mess.. it was unbelievable and never have I had such a one in all the days of my life. I have carried a purse or handbag of all kinds since I was a young girl of about 12. What happened you ask? Well ever carry a bottle of liquid makeup in your purse? (Ughhhh don't remind me.)
It was the second or third season I carried that bag, and in my rush to get mom out the door and to her treatment, I threw things into the bag that I would need later on. IMAGINE my shock when I unzipped the purse and, as they say,LORDIE PETE.. I almost lost it! There was makeup on my credit card holder and my wallet change purse, sunglasses, keys, you name it! WHAT A MESS!!!!

I could not bring myself to take a picture of that whole nightmare. I was grateful that my camera was NOT in my bag. So off today and more this weekend in search of a new bag for the winter. The summer one is KAPUT.. I want it out of my sight!
The old winter bag I carried.. well MOM took charge of it and it is now hers. She
decided it was better than hers. More fun for me.. finding a new one!! I am off now to start my quest.. and NO I LEARNED MY LESSON..... NEVER EVER
put a bottle of LIQUID makeup in your bag.. it just isn't worth it!!!
P.S. No..Sis... it wasn't my neat Tiganello mom took over.. no way she gonna get that one!!

This time of year..we take baths at least once a day

if someone will give us the place and the water to do

that! It doesn't hurt if we have a snack after we bathe.

These grapes are just yummy and we have a great

time eating. The big leaves cover us and keep us cool.

Ahhh Fall it's a great time of year!

TGIF.. WHEW!

First we get a call to go to the treatment center at 8:00 A.m.... mom declined! I mean she can decline and go at her normal time and just not so early. We get into town and then the car started ( for lack of another word) bucking or jumping a little. Not severe, but enough to alarm a person. It has never done that before. When the check engine light came on.. I parked it right away. I seized an engine up once long ago by driving one anyway with the light on. So I call the AAAtow and call for a rental and all being done in two towns because you are NOT in your own city. UGhhhh I hate that.. never know who to trust..mechanic-wise.So we get that all straightened out and then the mechanic says to me.."well it will be Monday or Tuesday before we can get to it".. uhhhh OKAY.. since we have a RENTAL CAR we are paying for.. and they know it.. the guy gives me a look like.. WELL YOU HAVE A CAR ya know!! Talk about ticked off.

Someone is making bucks off us.. the AAA charged us 3.50 a mile extra for the miles into our town. YEP. mom's NOT got the
"PLUS" coverage. Cars get complicated I sure do know that.. but I sure hate when they break down out of town and when it is close to the weekend. So the guy on the phone from AAA says "well I can't send a tow out unless the person on the card gives the okay. WEll that is Mom's card and she is hooked up to a machine at the moment. NO exceptions he says.. Ughhh.. so I have to call the center and have the okay given..(between you and me).. the nurse at the center gave it.. not mom. They
didn't want her to get upset..which she would and there would go her blood pressure! Geeeez what we have to go through. Gotta say the tow truck arrived earlier than they said and it was all clean and nice and shiny and the guy did know what he was doing. Sometimes a tow guy knows about as much as I do about hooking them up. I have seen some whacked out things in my time. Enough to make you leery for sure. So Friday is not over yet.. DO rentals breakdown too? I sure hope NO COP stops me on my way any where, as there is NO paper in the car like a registration at all.. only a proof of insurance. WHERE is the proof? .. ahhhh it's with the receipt that my SIS got, not with me. The place of business is closed for the weekend so fat chance getting them on the phone for anything. DO I sound stressed.. yep.. I am at level 6 about now.. earlier it was 10!

If I was a drinking person I would be on my second beer by now.. will be so glad when the day is over and I can sleep through the weekend. This surely has been a rocky week.My back feels better so far, but I haven't lifted anything heavy , but the yard needs a mow. Don't want to even think about what that might feel like. Guess I will put that off for now. TGIF!!!!!

LABOR DAY THOUGHTS

Labor day instills all kinds of thoughts in us. Workers who labor and those we salute proudly. I almost always found myself working over labor day weekend. Rarely did I get a three day off unless it was a scheduled vacation. It was a good thing for me to be working because of the notorious "VIBES" I would get over this one particular weekend every single year. It seemed that something bad or serious or terrible or just plain tragic always happened then. I would alert everyone close to me to be cautious if the vibes were strong enough. One year we had a tornado come near us in my town. One year Princess Diana died, One year Steve Irwin died, One year my mother fell down a flight of stairs and broke her leg. One year there was a car accident involving one of my best friends who died.One year, right after labor day, we all experienced 9-11. It goes on and on, so I just can't help feeling a little bit freaked out about this holiday time of the year. NOW..I do everything I can to think of the positive things and keep my mind off the negative ones. I will get a phone call and they will ask "ARE YOU VIBING?"

and I will say.."NO not yet!" and hope that everything stays that way.

HOW HEAVY ARE YOU??

It never came to mind until I saw Dr. Oz talking about how women had back and shoulder problems due to their PURSE or handbags. Yeah.. those bags have gotten

heavier and larger the past few years. Some look like tote bags and or suitcases.

At the treatment center where mom goes they have a scale in the floor and weigh

every patient as they come in and out of the building. It is accurate to the kilogram. I decided to weigh my current purse and see if I was "over the limit".

What is the limit?.. According to him and his research 14 lbs! FOURTEEN pounds!

I hope to NEVER have one weigh that much. So I weighed my purse and it came

out to 6.5 pounds. I was thrilled. I started thinking about how much MORE I could

take out and make it weigh a lot less. A summer purse of mine weighs a lot less than the winter one made of leather. Why not trim the junk NOW and get it over with. I have had shoulder and back trouble for years and KNOW it is bad for you to carry too much. Bags that have zippers on the front have more pockets to carry more stuff. Just makes it harder to drag it around. I don't mind one small one

but all over it NO.. So I passed my test with flying colors.. mine won't break

my back or give me troubles.. Hope if you carry a purse or bag this will help

remind you to try and beat the limit!!

(P.S. this purse is now gone due to an unfortunate incident!)

CRAVINGS...

DEFINITION CRAVINGS.." An intense desire for some particular thing."

We all have them from time to time. Smoking , drinking,
sweets, drugs, eating.. you name it we have them. What makes it hard is how to kick the habit or the pull they have on us. Walking into a bakery or even by one will set me off big time.The smell of Fresh Bread is one of my biggest craves.. I can hardly resist a piece of hot steamy, soft, fresh baked bread. Loaves or rolls.. they both will make me crave them.I love to bake but haven't done that in awhile. If you can't eat it .. don't bake it is my motto now. I do bake and take a bite and give the rest away especially at Christmas time. Every once in a while I will get the craving for a certain candy or fruit I haven't had in a long time. I usually just get it and then the craving goes away. Not so easy with some things though.



Back in the 60's and 70's I could not function without my daily caffeine rush. I craved Pepsi and still prefer it to this day. I don't drink it unless it is diet and caffeine free though.I tried to cut back as soda is just not good for you. ( yeah I still drink it now and then.) It wasn't easy and I did it gradually, but I got used to NOT having the headaches and shakes from the caffeine and I liked
it. Doctor's then told me that a little caffeine was good for my asthma. GOOD?I couldn't believe it. Oh yes.. people could drink a cup of coffee and it help their breathing. Well, so glad I didn't like the taste of coffee.( Yes, I blogged before about how I love the smell of the coffee..but don't like the taste.)

It is true that what we can't or are not suppose to have will make us crave it more. What got me to thinking about this topic was I had a craving for salty foods. Mom can't have salt, very little of it, so we don't have it here in the house. I was craving Potatoe chips. Something I hadn't had in a long time. It had been so long. I bought the smallest snack bag I could find and ate the whole thing. The craving ended right there, so I know now that if I deprive myself of something it will just make me crazy until I break it and get it out of my system.

DO YOU HAVE PARTICULAR CRAVINGS? How do or did you get rid of yours?

SUMMER'S SPLENDOR...

I hate to see it end.. summer that is.. I really enjoy the warm temperatures and

the ease in which I can get things done OUTSIDE my home. I love the flowers and the sound of the birds in the morning as they call to each other.I love the smell after a summer rain storm. The summer sunsets are so brilliant with color

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES..

Out of the mouths of babes is an old saying, but so true .. you never know what they are going to come up with next. Recently, while standing on the bridge watching the oil flow down the river, a little girl who looked about 4 years old, held her mother's hand and asked her a question. "Mommy..how do the ducks survive in that black stuff?". The mother stood there silent watching the water flow. She finally said " There are people here who are taking good care of them and cleaning them all up." The little girl, without a pause said, " Well I guess those are the ducks guardian angels." I had to smile to myself, those animals really did need a lot of angels to get through what they are dealing with now, as do so many animals in the gulf states. Seeing the oil or crude

first hand and smelling it personally puts a whole new light on the whole problem of pollution in our country. What it takes to clean it and how long a process it is?

How many people are involved and how many are displaced and affected by it?

One of the towns affected here has over 50 families put up in a hotel, for how long, we don't really know. Long term affects on their property we don't know either.

It's a sad thing that is for sure. They will call for more investigating to know why things happened and what they can do to stop it in the future.

LIFE will go on, rivers will flow and sooner or later it will be

"yesterday's news". People will say..remember when..hopefully by then all the

"guardian angels" will have cleaned up the messes and our environment will be

a semblance of what it used to be.

~~And so it goes on~~~

SAD SITUATION

OIL runs as fast as it

can to our Lake Michigan..it's a

tragedy. So much will be damaged for so long a time now. It's a sad day in

Michigan.

TEN AND TWO...

I don't know about you, but I had a pretty strict driver's training instructor. He was a retired sheriff deputy. He believed in the ten and two hands on the steering wheel plan. "You will always have control over the wheel when you do this." Okay.. that lasted only as long as the class and the driver's test. I think if both hands are on the wheel then you have it under control.Heck, even one that is in the right spot and tightly holding it can work. I keep my hands mostly at 9 and 3. I see a lot of men with one hand at 12 and the other on the back of the seat or around the gal of his choice. Sometimes the guy rests one hand on the gear shift if the car is not an automatic drive. What about the people who use their cell phones? Those people use one hand and it could be anywhere on the wheel. Do they really have control of the wheel?

Sis drives mostly with her hands at 9 and 5. A friend I know drives with their hands at 7 and 5..having your hands so high on the wheel..does that really matter?
My dad used to drive with his right hand at 3 and his arm out the window, except for wintertime. People who use their speed controls, well they can steer their cars pretty easily with one hand almost anywhere on the steering wheel. So people can drive whatever way they want to, but do they really have control? I always worry about the deer here in Michigan jumping out in front of you. You have no control over what they do, but you need to have control over your vehicle. SO where are
your hands on the wheel?

Well, it was just something I was pondering the other day while watching a guy eat, drive and talk on the phone at the same time. Would I do that? HECK NO...I have driven and eaten at the same time on occasion, but nothng like a meal or
anything. My car is NOT in a no cell phone zone, I do use it in the car, mostly while NOT driving though. Texting costs me a lot so I don't do that sort of thing, but my hands are on the wheel when the car is moving.

I WISH US ALL SAFE HOURS BEHIND THE WHEEL....

AHHHH A SUNSET...

See more in my facebook album..after so many storms rolled through we finally got to see

a beautiful sunset.

BRRRRR IT's HOT OUTSIDE....

Isn't that cool looking! Ahhh right now I could
just jump in that snowpile. We had over a foot
in this picture. In honor of my "sister" in who
lives UPNORTH..HAPPY BIRTHDAY CINDY!!
*********************************************************************
Last night we had two tornado warnings that lasted until
past 1 AM in the morning. It was a pretty tricky night
watching and waiting for the next report. Our great
station here went on live on the internet so people could
follow if they weren't close to a tv. It was great hearing
their live comments to each other and the latest information
BEFORE they went on air with it. The storms we have had
seem to be following the same track across our state over
and over and over. Some cities are just drenched today with
INCHES of rain and more to come. We had the high winds and
hail and rain but the worst went south of us here by about 10
miles or so. I was sure glad. I didn't feel like getting Mom up
at that hour and disturbing her sleep.
So it's a long day today and a hot one. I just couldn't stand it
out there so I decided I would like to look at something COLD.
HOPE YOU DO TOO!!

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A COOL, SAFE AND GREAT WEEKEND!!

Hawaii Five 0 Intro

DID you know that CBS is re-making Hawaii Five O? It will be on the fall schedule this year. I loved this theme song and the show a lot. I am old school though. I don't think they should re-do MAGNUM PI or ROCKFORD FILES..those shows just wouldn't be the same. I have seen some commercials about the new series. They are still using the theme song, but of course have changed all the characters. CBS has made ratings with these older shows so I guess they are looking for ratings with this new re-do. Some of my favorites are not coming back this fall season so I guess I will be looking for new shows to watch. I will give this show a watch and see what I think of it. If nothing else I will love seeing the scenery again. I think they should make the show stand for itself though. If I hear the guy say "BOOK'EM DANNO", I think I will just be sad though. Remembering the show the way it was will always be a part of me. I guess I am just not fond of change at all. Do you remember this show??

DISASTER

DISASTER. It's a good word for it. I have always always treated any computer I am using with respect and pampered them greatly. No using videos or playing games or even listening to CD'S. Nothing but use for writing and e-mails. When problems came up I took care of them right away, or as soon as I could.
Let me start from the beginning..

It was a unsteady night for me.. up and down all night long, too hot, too noisy,too worried over how Mom was doing. I sat straight up in the bed with a jolt. Was that the bell I heard? The one I gave mom in case she needed me. I listened again to see if it was. Then I heard it again, only this time she was calling out for me. My heart racing, I took the stairs on a run.My bare feet touching the rough steps. It seemed like it took forever to get down the 14 steps.Being careful not to fall on the way down was hard as I was shaking like a leaf. As I headed for the bedroom I heard a faint cry again. Turning on the light, I saw her laying on the floor in a heap. I told her to lie still so I could assess her and tell if anything was broken. She said she wasn't
in pain so much as mad at herself for not being more careful. Something I had drilled into her a million times over. Finding that she indeed was not badly injured was a sheer relief. Next I had to figure out how to get her up off the floor.
I looked at the clock and it was 3:35 in the morning. Too early to call a neighbor or my sister for help. No way I could get her up off the floor by myself I decided to
call for help from the paramedic service. Mom told me she was alright so I went back up the stairway to get something to wear before calling the medics.

Still shaking and heart pounding, I dressed quickly and looked around the room for my shoes and I saw my laptop sitting next to the doorway. I probably wouldn't be coming back up the stairs for awhile, so I decided to take it with me
on the trip down. I grabbed the case by the strap and slung it over my shoulder.
I ran for the stairway with portable phone in my hand. As I got to the top of the stairs I heard a thump. In my haste to get back down the stairway, I had not checked the laptop case. I could not reach fast enough, the laptop slid out of the half unzipped case, and fell down the 14 stairs to the bottom. Such a sound I
will NEVER forget as long as I live. I just stared at the remains at the bottom of the stairway in disbelief and shock. I slowly took each step one at a time.

I could hear mom in the other room asking what had happened. I could hear the clock striking 4 AM. When I reached the bottom of the stairway, I reached and picked up the shattered remains of my laptop. Putting them aside, I called the paramedics to come for a "lift-assist". Trying to make Mom comfortable on the floor wasn't too bad. The medics showed up in no time at all and she was all settled back in bed. After they left, I noticed that I was still shaking some, and sat down on the couch.I focused my eyes on the pieces of my laptop on the coffee table. It might be fixable somehow I thought... and then I noticed a big crack in the top of the display monitor. I sighed and was relieved that it wasn't me
that was at the bottom of that stairway. Things could be replaced I guess..people could not. Mom was okay and so was I and that was all that mattered.

THEN I WOKE UP...

I looked around the room and there sat the laptop safe and sound. I listened and there was no call for help. Was it a nightmare?.. YES.. was it a premonition,who knows. I only know because of it, I will be very vigilant and check the case and make sure I zip it closed ALWAYS, because if I don't it could lead to DISASTER.

P.S. This morning (7/20/10) at 1:10 AM Mom woke me ringing the bell. She had
taken her bandages from dialysis off too early and was bleeding on her bed and clothing. Talk about weird. And so it goes on~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~