Cruise down & back up the Clinton River

On the boat in dining room prior to cruise. 

Joyce  on gangplank.  Joyce used to live in a house on the River Road and was a marvelous tour guide to all of the homes of people we knew when we floated by them.  There was much to see from the river.

Barb's fantastic photo of a blue heron in flight
The Captains Landing Restaurant is where we boarded the boat.

Wendy, Anna Rae and Sonnie.  Dolores B. in background


Mary Rae, who was glad all nine of us made it and had a good time.


Wendy, Lucy, Joyce and Dolores
Anna Rae, Barb, Mary and Kathy

Turtle on driftwood.  Lots of birds and turtles were seen.

Front of boat was all ours to do sight seeing after dinner.
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Back to Curves and other normal living

A lot has happened since the drywall entry.  I was able to start back at Curves last week.  I only got dizzy a little, on two of the machines.  The second day I took my adavert and it went better.  Last night I didn't take the pill, but I took it real easy on those two machines. 

Some days I feel real good after Curves.  On others, I really hurt.  I think it has to do with osteoarthritis and the weather.  If we have high or low pressure my sinuses hurt, so I am guessing the arthritis works the same way.  So far I have kept my commitment to go Monday's Wednesdays and Fridays between 4 and 6 PM.  It is easier for me than trying to go in the morning as I like to do other things in the morning and was missing Curves altogether. 

I discovered a website which will calculate the carbs/ fats/ calories etc and gives you a nice chart you can print out showing how close you are to goal.  It is not as easy to use as Weight Watchers, but then it is FREE, and WW does not give you anything but points.  I took the charts with me to my doctor visits and they both had heard of Spark People.com and were as pleased with the graphics (charts) as I was. 
http://www.sparkpeople.com

Well.  It is time to eat dinner and see what is left of the news.  I keep turning the air on colder and colder as the sun is on the front of the house now.  But it is six thirty and having the air on cold at six PM for the first time has got to be cheaper than having it on all day at 76 degrees.  Love that screen door. 

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Now playing: Elvis Presley - A Thing Called Love
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Now playing: The Mamas and the Papas - Monday, Monday
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Finished Garage

Drywall repairs are done, and garage is beautiful.  We won't mention money.  Most say I got a good deal.  Its one of those things about being single and limited in the man department.  Plus you pay a person what is due.  I have a nice screen door that makes it possible to use the garage door as a huge window on that side of the house.  When it is below 77 degrees, which it actually is sometimes, it saves on air conditioning.
Sometimes I sit in the chair in the open garage and have my morning coffee.  I even park my car sometimes in there.  Now, I have my garden cart at the end of the garage, and very little hanging from the walls. 
Tonight I will take the car out, so I can use the wheeled orange trolley to take the bags to the curb. 

When I pull the car in I feel like I am driving into the sky.  The blue is very pretty.

Drywall Repairs

DRYWALL REPAIR,  STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE, PAINT, SCRABBLE AND OTHER PHENOMENOM

Yesterday Rich Pardon came over and began the molding for the bottom of the walls in the garage.  The walls were terrible, and with his meticulous work the end product should be smooth walls, a light blue, that I will probably be very careful of when it comes to hanging stuff.  In fact, moving everything in the garage to either the basement, or my living room or small bath has given me the opportunity to do more on the sort, clean, toss, or use stuff goal of my retired life. 

Yesterday S. my next door neighbor with whom I have not spoken since the CO1 episode of last November, and I had a good talk.  I gather his complaint is with R. next door and not with me.  IMHO both have anger issues that need resolving.  And I think they can be resolved.  Neither man is a bad person, or neighbor for that matter, but when bad language is used in anger it can inflame. 

The garage is looking well.  Rich just arrived for the afternoon work.  I trust he got his needed rest.  We used about one can of primer, and 1 and a half cans of blue paint.  I would say that Rick is very good at what he does.  Plus he likes my cooking.

Rick Standing on his stilts to get the high places.
 

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Vertigo

    V E R T I G O  
Or just because you are dizzzy, it doesn't mean that the floor is not slanted!

I have not placed an entry here for a while.  Part of the reason is that since the storm, we comcast customers have had jittery internet access at best.  The other is that I have joined a legion of persons whose inner ears are not functioning normally. 

Wednesday evening, June 18th, I was taking my customary nap before leaving for a long night at church for choir practice.  This night I had signed up for the final group dinner at six which included my favorite junk food.  hot dogs!  I planned my whole eating day to allow this on my diet. 

The phone rang around 5 PM and after I took care of the call, I decided I still had time for a ten minute power nap, so I lay down on the couch.  When I got up to go downstairs to get my clean jeans from the laundry room, I realized that all was not right in my world.  The kitchen was out of kilter.  Then I realized it was I,  and not the kitchen that was unbalanced, and no way was I going to go downstairs let alone drive the six miles or even one mile to the church.  I decided to skip the meal and see if further napping would right things. 

It didn't.  So I called the choir guys cell and left a message that I was not coming.  I went upstairs.  The carpeted  stairs going up are easier navigated than the tiled basement stairs. Besides the bed is more comfy than the couch anyway.  I took my BP with my questionable wrist meter.  Normal.  Took my blood sugar reading.  Also normal.  Ate something.  Took one aspirin and went to bed and slept. 

Woke up and didn't feel dizzy, at least not until I got up and tried to walk across the room to the bath.  Holding on to dressers and walls I made it to the bathroom where nausea and the ultimate result of nausea occured.  This, I thought would solve things.  Went back to bed.  Slept some more.  Woke up not dizzy again, until it was time to get out of bed. 

Took vital stats off and on through the night and all else was normal.  I kept track of these records and was pleased to find when I went to the doctor that her blood pressure cuff and my wrist monitor showed very much the same results. 

I did call my sister in Colorado to ask about her experience with Vertigo, and found out that hers was much more severe.  Later on I found that my friend M.  had had the same experience as my sister.  Besides feeling like a wus, I waited another day and decided if things did not change in two days, I would get to the doc, which I did on Friday thanks to my friend V who, although caring for her mom, was able to get some time free to take me.  V also took me for the CAT scan this past Tuesday, although by then, thanks to time and the doctors prescribed nice tasting chewable anivert, I was able to drive. 

Since then, almost everyone I have talked to has had or knows someone who has had varying degrees of BPV,  Benign positional vertigo.  I am not sure what is so benign about it, but its a comforting thought to know it means no harm.  I have also found other friends who will be willing to drive me places should I need it, including M and WB.   Of course I knew that anyway.  V just happened to be available when I was able to get the appointment. 

By Sunday, I felt well enough to drive and discovered that my type of Vertigo seems to straighten out if my hands, or a cane, can make contact with a surface.  So, sitting in the car where I could touch the steering wheel and doors I was fine.  It seems that the only area that is out of alignment when I am dizzy now is the area three feet around me.  I was in a little cocoon driving and was quite able to keep that cocoon on the straight and narrow, with normal awareness. 

It was when I got out of the car in the great big parking lot with no walls that things seems weird.  Also if I am in large rooms I feel the need to touch a wall to get my bearings.  So I carry the cane with me when I know I will be walking in big places. 

A side advantage is the  sympathy you get from people who are more than courteous to the lady who otherwise seems OK but is using a cane.  Of course I knew that about canes anyway.  They are also good for picking up things from the floor, opening heavy doors, and reaching up high on supermarket shelves.  I think I got this particular cane when I had shin splints from bowling too much in 2005.  It is still my favorite. 

It is more like a walking stick than a cane because I never shortened it and can rest my chin on my hands on top of it when I am sitting.  I do have to be careful not to place it where it can trip someone or fall on them.  Today, I went to church for my morning meeting and was pretty good without it.  Perhaps as some of my friends have told me, I have been dizzy for a much longer time than just a week.  I do think things are getting better.

Friday I go back to the Doctor and will ask her for a regular prescription of Anivert which seems to be working if I use it no more than three times a day with a little food as needed.  My sister says she has a lot left in her bottle, but she did get a prescription as well.  I think my friend M does the same thing. 

According to the articles I have read, the little bones, hairs or rocks in your head will bounce around a bit once they get loose, and it is not all that uncommon.  I am aware now of subtle feelings that can warn me of upcoming trouble, so I can take remedies before the benign becomes malicious.  I understand there are exercises you can do that will make all these bones line up too, but my doctor has not brought that up, at least not yet.

Tags: Vertigo, Dizzy,

Home safe again

When I got home from the funeral dinner which I helped clean up after, This cartoon among others was in my email.  It reminded me of the two couples I sat with at dinner who were planning a trip to Macinac Island for next week.  They were trying to decide whether to trailer their bikes there or rent them on the island. 

I planned on buying gas when I got home.  It was $3.97 a gallon at the cheap station on my corner yesterday.  When I went by today, the "cheap" station must have been making up for lost revenue.  They posted $4.17 a gallon.  I didn't stop.  If I don't go anywhere far away, I can make it through to weekend, and maybe prices will go down again.  So far I have not paid more than $3.99.  I would like to extend my record.

Also when I got home I discovered all my led clocks were flashing again.  So we must have had another power glitch while I was gone.  I thought we had one at church while I was washing dishes too.  Glad I unplugged the 'puter before I left.  I will do that tonight too.  They are showing the movie "The Last Sin eater",  which I have seen, and they want me to give an intro for them.  I kept telling them to watch it before they showed it.  We got taught that in our AV classes for teaching, but I guess folks in charge of the Women's ministry didn't get that message.

So I am resting while watching Oprah and will get washed up in a while to go back to church.  At this rate, I may need to buy gas before the weekend is up.  Hope not.  They say we are having more storms tonight, but still we are just on the edge of it.  Folk who have been without power since Sunday though are still suffering.  Saw an interview last night on Larry King.  A boy scout who had been at that camp who survived gave a great interview.  His Dad was with him and supported the kid who was about thirteen years old but much wiser than his years.  I still love Middle School Kids.  Sometimes they just amaze you.

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STORMY WEATHER

                                                                     I COULDN'T FIND A PHOTO OF A STORM IN A HURRY.   I am drinking my coffee this AM very early having awakened with storm warnings... AGAIN!  in the suburbs west of me.  I had a bunch of bills to pay online, so I rushed down here to pay them, and decided this was quicker than writing e mails.  I will be shutting down after this entry. 

They just got most of the 200,000 people who lost electricity back up and now they are saying that Ann Arbor area and others have trees down again.  I don't think Ann Arbor got hit with Sunday's storm.  Well, we were blessed with being bypassed for a few times while the rest of the country got socked.  Now its our turn.  Just heard about Cedar Rapids Iowa being flooded with video of the downtown area last night on TV.  I didn't lose power last time.  Hope we do the same this time. 

A friend of mine has a funeral for her son who died suddenly at age 34 or so of an apparent heart attack.  I am bringing jello.  At least this time it set.  I couldn't find my regular bowl, so I put it in my good pineapple pattern cut glass bowl.  At least the presentation will be good, and folk at church are careful, but hopefully I will still have the bowl when this is done.  After it had all set, I found the bowl I was looking for, but it does look nice in the pineapple pattern bowl, so I won't change it now.  Just be very careful with the bowl. 

I ran a tub of water for bath, so I can get that out of the way before the storm comes too.  Right here it is clear, and we haven't had our storm warnings yet, but now the storm is in Southfield and places I can drive to in less than an hour.  So I will finish the coffee and shut down.

My friends in northern Macomb County just got their power back Wednesday.  Another friend in a pocket near here still did not have power as of Wednesday night.  It is rough on old people who can't take the heat, and on folk who need electric for oxygen and other medical devices.  Hopefully Oakland and Macomb County will be spared.  Oakland still doesn't have power in a lot of places. 

Hospital tried to call me yesterday, but my answering machine cut me off before I could get the message.  They did not call back.  Hopefully it wasn't my pathology report.  I am not expecting that until next week. 

Well, even though it is sunny, I think I will put this in and sign off.  I have to get dressed enough to take my plants down again so they don't fly all over the place when the wind starts again.  Dug up my tulip bulbs yesterday.  Ground is hard and could use a good soaking.  A good rain will wash away the fishfly invasion we got last night too.  Bulbs look good but not as many as I thought there would be considering the blooms I had.  I bet they are caught down in the roots of the shrubs.

Well I am off to do my bath.  Still sunny outside.  Its almost 8 AM and I have to get on the road soon anyway.  Hopefully the storms won't be there when I am. 

ENDOSCOPY

ENDOSCOPY is Over

Good news.  No change detected.  I can eat again and take Excedrin again if I need to.  No stormy weather when I went.  Thanks to my friend Cathy who took me and stayed with me.  This is a hard thing for single people.  But I am glad for friends like her.

Today.  I am really tired.  This anesthetic went a little different that the other times.  First of all I actually remember the experience only thankfully it was not what was actually happening that I remembered.  Instead, I remember rumbling and a low roar, reminded me of what those old merry-go-rounds we used to play on at school.  The kind where you run as you push it and then jump on to ride it to its rumbling end.  I couldn't see anything, but felt like I was lying down on the floor of one of those old merry go rounds.  Then I remember it really going fast but not around, but more like it was going somewhere.  At that point I decided to open my eyes to see if I was back at the nurses station in endoscopy.  I was.  The other two times I woke up and whoever had brought me was there already.  It was some time before they called Cathy in.  I am guessing that the anesthesiologist went a little easier on the drugs this time.  Dr. Gunn said the whole procedure only takes about seven minutes, which surprised me, because I had no idea of time the other two times, but this time it was about as long as you would want to be bumping around on one of those merry go rounds when you were a kid.  I liked the bumpy wagon ride that took me back to the nurses station. 

Only trouble now, is I can't seem to get going again.  I fell asleep in my bed while watching Jeopardy, and was in a very deep sleep.  The cat thought something was wrong I guess because he woke me up by meowing and biting my ankles.  He doesn't do that unless I am asleep for too long.  I have visions that if I should have anything seriously wrong with me or die in bed or something that they will think Toast was trying to eat me or something.  No,  its just his way of trying to get me to be normal again.  He's a good pet.  If I am sick though he seems to sense that and stays by my bed for hours at a time.  He doesn't bite me then.  Now if only I could train him to run the microwave and bring me hot broth, or make jello or something....   Naw,  I wouldn't like eating jello cooked by a cat.  Forget that. 

Anyway, the doc says I do have a hiatal hernia and no change in the Barretts, which is good.  Pathology will come back later. 

Need I say More? We GOT Stanley

NEED I SAY MORE?  WINGS WIN STANLEY CUP 2008!

                     

Today was the third parade down Woodward with all the players, team owners, former players, including Gordie Howe.  All were riding in open vehicles, but not the Lincoln Convertible type as I imagined.  No, these were rough and tough guys.  They rode in the backs of Pickup trucks, or on the back of a convertible Corvette.  Gordie and two other people rode on the back of a Corvette.  They did everything.  Sang the Star Spangled banner, interviewed both players, owners, and bystanders.  A lot of red and white clad Detroiters stood out in the hot hot sun and watched this.  It had to be a thrill.  I was happy to be inside my living room.  Telecast went from 9 AM to when the parade started at eleven, and was still going when I got tired of it at three PM>  By then my scrabble buddy was enjoying my air and we each had a victory at scrabble before she had to leave for other duties. 

Besides this, I got my hose outside turned on and unwound.  I bought two pots of salmon colored Geraniums at the new Randazzo's for under twenty dollars.  They rest on my porch, but if it gets any hotter, I am putting both on the ground where they can be a little more sheltered.  Don't want to cook them the first day.

Discovered that an advantage of the gaping hole in my garage ceiling is that my garage is now nice and cool thanks to my upstairs neighbor's airconditioner.  This will be a bargaining point for getting the work done faster.  But I wouldn't ask anyone to work in this weather, although if it keeps up I will point out that the garage is now airconditioned, so it will be easier work.  I am not in a hurry.  I have to find painters when it is all done.  Or try my hand at it.  That would be interesting.

My endoscopy is scheduled for 7:15 on Monday.  The good news is I can take aspirin again.  Hopefully there will be good news that it is a negative report also.  Cathy L.  is taking me.  Then she is staying and cleaning my house.  On Sunday I will pick up mushy food for me to eat just in case I can't eat regular food. 

Called Pat and Jim on Cell because long distance is free on it and I am on the beginning of the minutes for the month.  My battery on my downstairs phone is dying, so I am still using cell.  Hope I don't get too many long calls. 

Started MLA Newsletter.  Will finish it tonight more or less. 
Over and out. 

Tags: Detroit Red Wings, Stanley Cup

WE WANT STANLEY TONIGHT!

This is a picture of a younger Osgood holding the coveted Stanley Cup in Detroit.  Well we didn't get to win it in Detroit on Monday, but we can always bring it home from Pittsburgh tonight.  Thousands will be watching at the Joe.  I will be watching from home and my sister in Colorado will be watching on TIVO.  At any rate.  Hoping for a victory tonight, if not We can always win in in Detroit on the weekend, but I would like to get it over. 
GO WINGS!!!!

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RED ALERT

                         RED (WINGS) ALERT!
           

Not much typing today.  My back is hurting.  Chiropractor helped a little this AM.  Then I spent at least an hour in the dentist chair, and felt fairly bad when I got home.  Ate a little, started watching a movie, and fell asleep on the couch.  I think that did my back in.  I am in a lot of pain and cannot take excedrin until after the endoscopy next week.  Took some tylonel but it doesn't work as well for me.  Anyway.  Have to eat.  Am using the cane, which helps a little.  Really hot today.  But the air is on and that is good.  Hope I feel well enough to watch the game and enjoy it.  I will try.  Glad it is not I who am out there on the ice.  The Red Wings and all their fans should be glad too.  Over and out.

Face Blindness

Face Blindness... & Saturday Saturday Saturday!

What a beautiful day today is weather wise.  So much to do.  Took my friend, "A" shopping at garage sales today.  She got 30 dollars worth of baby clothes for her litany of grandchildren and great grand children.  In return she treated me to spinach quiche at the Ram's Horn.  So now I don't have to do lunch or be concerned about protein for breakfast either.  Neat.  I am finding my glucose levels are lower when I focus on proteins.  Just have to watch the fats in the proteins.  Carbs are easy.  They are everywhere.  Today's was in cereal early on, and in the fruit cup that came with the quiche.  I left the toast. 

Got home.  Left car outside and started on clearing off the offensive non straight shelves that take up too much room in the one car garage.  Cat is mad because the car is not in there so he has no chance to even think about jumping to the gaping hole in the garage ceiling.  Too bad, kitty. 

Audrey is going to come by later to claim shelves.  I will let her help me dismantle them and dust them off from the drywall dust that accumulated on them I decided that I need to change clothes to do that anyway.  But all the stuff is off and sitting on the garage floor waiting for me to figure out other ways of storing it in the garage.  I am thinking that maybe now I will have room for the garden cart that is in the basement.  That will give me more room in the laundry room.  AND  give me a place for the garden stuff that I really do need to have in a more convenient place to the outside. 

These things must be done slowly and with much thoughtful planning.  The gaping hole scenario gives me the opportunity. 

While in the restaurant I was approached by an attractive thin lady with short hair.  I decided that I would do my face blindness speech right away to save time.  Unfortunately this was one person who did not believe me.  Makes me sad because it turned out to be N.   the sister of a friend of mine.  Unfortunately I feel that I have offended N. previously, and would like tomake it up, but I guess it is not to be.    So I thought it best to put a link here for faceblindness since it is a little known condition.  If interested, check here. http://vision.about.com/od/sportsvision/p/Face_Blindness.htm

You can also google the words face blind and get a slew of references on the web.  I have taken the test online which is tedious, at least for a face blind person, and came out in the 80th percentile.  If you score in the fifties you are moderately face blind.  I guess 90 to 100 percent would be where that lady that was on TV would score.  She had to ask her hubby what he would be wearing when they met for lunch.  I am not that "bad" at least.  Its just people I don't see all of the time, or people who show up where I don't expect them to that cause problems for my recognition abilities. 

I feel bad about N.  but then I started to realize that my life is pretty full anyway.  While I would like to see N. once in a while, would I or she for that matter really have time.  Well, at least if I see her in the next month or so I will recognize her.  She did remind me that her sister P. is having her 65th birthday next month and I have to get her a cute card.  But I am still sad that I have this condition.  Sad for what it has cost me all of my life, and sad for what it does now.  But Our God is Able to take care of this need.  After all, He made me.  He knows how to make me work.

Tags: face blindness, prosopagnosia

Large Gaping Hole in Ceiling

           
Large Gaping Hole in the Ceiling

Well, the ceiling in the garage was still sagging yesterday, although it did not fall down as my worst case scenario imagined it.  I pointed it out to the condo board, and asked Rick if he had liability insurance.  Rick is a good strong man and a plumber besides.  He offered to repair the ceiling and after poking a hole large enough to get his finger into found soggy insulation and upon making the hole larger, found quite a bit of water still there.  No mold. 

I told him I would pay for the drywall, but he wants to do it all with a couple of his friends.  I have seen them.  They look like they can handle it.  There will be two large pieces that need to be put in and right now there is about a three by four foot hole in the ceiling to allow air in to dry it out.  They will start work next week. 

Meanwhile Toast is banned from the garage unless accompanied by a responsible adult who can grab him should he even attempt to jump the four to five feet to the ceiling.  He is very tempted because Rick has a little dog up there and Toast can hear it barking through the now open and exposed floorboards.  OH, well.  Kitty has a box in that basement and he knows how to use it. 


This is the second time in my life that I have gotten to look up into the workings of a ceiling exposed because of water. 

Tags: Drywall

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Neighbors

NEIGHBORS

                    
What do neighbors, Rabbits and a nicely made up bed have in common?
All are part of my day.  Lets start with the bed.  Mine needs to be made.  Cathy came today and did help me turn the mattress but because of other unplanned things, I didn't get it made up afterwards.  And I am oh  so tired. 

The agenda today had on it.  My eye doctor appointment which turned up no change in my vision.  I decided I would get a haircut, if I had time.  Or rather if Reflections and Kim had time.  My appointment at noon gave me just enough time to come home and eat.  I had a nice turkey Rueben sandwich, and made the reservations for the restaurant for the L'Anse Creuse group for tomorrow, and then took off for the hairdresser.  I was gone all of a half of one hour.  When I returned it was raining inside my garage. 

My neighbor in the carriage unit over the garages had forgotten he was soaking dishes in his laundry tub and turned on the washer, causing the tub to eventually overflow.  He was able to right the situation.  So said his pregnant fiance´, but the water was still coming down into the garage, running down my kitchen door, and dripping into of all things the cat's litter box.  Little did I know that it had dripped over the edge of the garage floor and unto the cement blocks comprising the basement wall.  The furnace man who came later in the day discovered the furnace awash with small puddles. 

I was originally going to clean the garage today, but decided to wait because my back was hurting this morning.  Well, needless to say the garage got cleaned and quite well.  My car sat outside for quite a while and now all is put back into place and things seem well.  But am I ever tired. 

I had just slipped off my shoes and socks, after all was done, when my neighbor across the street came over to tell me that there was a mother and infant rabbit sitting on the sidewalk outside my living room window.  I invited her in to view the charming scene.  The Mama rabbit looked as tired as I felt, as she nursed this little bunny and licked it off much like a mother cat does. 

My nature loving neighbor informed me that something had gotten to her mourning dove as she had found lots of feathers outside her front door.  I had a few outside mine too.  I suspect the two or three feral cats, that are fed by the folk in the next complex.  Nature is tough.  I bet the cats are a reason why the mother rabbit only had one baby left and was not in her nest.  Her nest is under the arborvitae, and that is where I found the feathers.  Sometimes life is cruel.  But then these are the same rabbits that eat my tulip bulbs.  I plant extra so I can be sure to get blooms. 

My hair is cut in a wedge.  I am not sure if I like it, but I had no time to deal with it, and I plan to go to bed early tonight, if I ever get the bed made, so tomorrow will hopefully be different. 

They are making violent noises on Bones, so I may not watch it after all.
                   

Tags: Rabbits, Garages, floods

Jordan's Party May 24th, 2008

Jordan's Party May 24th, 2008
Saturday was beautiful.  Everybody had a great time.  Total Album is on "Aunt Mary's photo page", check links in other column.  I ate too much junk, so am being very very good today.  Have to have cholesterol tests etc next week so if I want a good report, I have to eat right.  Jordan looked great.  David stole the show, but all had a great time.  The Wings and Tigers even won their game that night.  What a day!

Tags: Family, picnic

Jordan's Party, Woody's Car

Jordan's Party, Woody's Car
Woody surprised and delighted us by bringing his beautiful antique '57 Chevy Convertible to the party.  All of us who remembered that year, and those who didn't really enjoyed the beauty of this immaculately restored vehicle from the past, before gasoline was even 30 cents a gallon!.  Thanks Woody!

Tags: 1957 Cadilac

What's Buried in the Back Yard?

What's Buried in the Back Yard?

"You never truly leave an old home; you just move into a new one. Since memories of your old life will always be with you, leave something behind to tie you physically to your onetime home. You could, for instance, bury something in the back yard. The family can get together and choose an item that best commemorates the time spent there."

The above quote, from the Detroit News today in an article on moving and organizing your move, was for me a rather humorous conclusion to what otherwise was a very well thought out writing on organizing the task of moving into small pieces.  A good strategy for any enormous task. 

It brought to mind the things we left buried in our family home in Port Huron Township, when we sold it in 1972.  Besides several carcasses of pet cats, there was at least one white canary, and possibly other animals which I am too young, or too old to properly remember.  Then there were the consecutive four to five foot holes my Dad, with me helping, dug in the field beyond the old playhouse.  We used these holes to bury the family garbage which was previously piled in the back for a season, until there was enough to merit burying.  Everyone did that in those days out in the country.  It was referred to as the "garbage pile" and was always beyond the house far enough so as to not create too great a smell.  I think we added yard waste and possibly a little dirt or sawdust to dry things out a little.  Must have.  Otherwise, the flies would have been a health hazard. 

When Patricia and I visited the house sometime in the late seventies, the "new" owners proudly showed us what they had done in remodeling, and we were delighted to see where they had painted, knocked out walls, put a bedroom in the basement and turned the old grocery store our Dad had built into a garage.  These were things we had thought about from time to time while living there but never had the energy or funds to accomplish.  It was great to see the new life given our old home and the wonderful family that was enjoying it as a result.  So many of my friends go back to their old homesteads to find the building in disrepair, or even torn down.  I can proudly say that only one place of all the places I have lived in for any length of time is no longer standing.  Some are in worse shape but all are still being used.  Well, I digress.

The family took us out into our old backyard which seemed smaller than we remembered it, but then we were larger than we were as children and the trees and plants and rock garden were different,  trees, bigger, rock garden different somehow.  The playhouse that formed the back of our yard, had been torn down.  Beyond where it had stood was a cornfield. 

At one point in the cornfield the corn was at least a foot taller than the rest of the field.  The owner said they always wondered about that.  I quickly said the words "compost pile?"  and they concurred.  I think it was reassuring to them as the only other explanation could have been nuclear waste or something worse.  We laughed over that.  Composting was something we did without realizing it back then.  I don't think I had heard the term until sometime in the seventies when organic gardening became popular.  I wonder how many other such gardens sprout up over old garbage dumps, or outhouse sites and folk wonder why the ground there is so fertile.  Things buried in the earth..

Since I had become a fan in the past two years of the questionable moral series known as "Desperate Housewives" I thought about how many of these wives have secrets buried in their backyards.  Bodies of people, not house pets.  I wonder what kind of memories they leave behind in the ground when they move?  There is a kind of gallows humor here.  I wonder about the house in Chicago where a serial killer buried his victims.  Or anywhere for that matter.  There are old Indian graveyards near New Baltimore that were protected for years.  There are the farms that have their own private graves in back.  Wonder how many bodies there are buried here and there that no-one knows about?  I am sure some have been moved as local cemeteries were established, but what about the ones that nobody knew about?  We used to find arrowheads on our township property because according to the abstract it was once Indian territory.  My nephew has found old broken china pieces when putting in a way of dealing with drainage around his house.  Interesting things are in the ground all around us. 

I can't imagine burying a box in my condo yard when I move.  First of all, it is not allowed.  I suppose when I leave the only memories I will leave behind will be my tulip bulbs and Chloe's ashes which are in the roots of the arborvitae on the corner where she liked to play.

Great Article on Being Single

GREAT ARTICLE ON BEING SINGLE

I just finished reading one of the most clear articles for older singles and those who know older singles that I have ever read.  In two pages Lisa Harper accurately looks at Scripture about singleness, marriage, and husbands and God.  She does a great job of reading the verses in context, dispelling myths, and putting singles and I suppose marrieds more at ease.  I copy the URL for it here and have saved the PDF on my hard drive should anyone want a copy.  Email me at Mzeeb@aol.com if you have any trouble linking this link. 

http://www.christianitytoday.com/singles/newsletter/2008/mind0521.html

And NO  this is not the Lisa Harper that we in Michigan know as a pastor's wife.  This is a fortyish Lisa Harper who writes books and has a column at Today's Christian Woman Magazine. 
And for me one of those special younger than me people who have said things that make sense.  For this I am grateful. 

Pasting Paper Beads that look Great

 Paper Beads that look Great

I said I would clue you in on my experience last evening making jewelry out of simple things such as colorful paper and white (Elmer's) glue.  I was eager to learn the process since for years I have  enjoyed wearing a necklace I bought at a bazaar.  It was made out of church bulletin covers and made by a church secretary who used the left over covers to make her craft.  I think I paid $3.00 for it, but the necklace has lasted a long time and as you can tell from the photo below, the necklaces thus made are really attractive. 
Pictured are necklaces made by our instructor M.H.  a former art teacher and talented artist herself.  Below next to the necklaces are some of the simple supplies needed to make this creative craft.

 

Besides Elmer's glue, scissors, string, waxed paper and wooden skewers, you will need a ruler and colorful paper (We used gift wrap) and you will need to purchase a needle and some beads at a craft store, like Michael's or JoAnn's, to compliment your creation. 

First you turn the paper over and measure one inch marks from one side at the top of the blank paper.  Then, being careful to not turn the paper, you measure one half inch in from the same side, but at the bottom of the paper.  It helps if your piece of paper is square.  I used the natural square (about 12" x 12") of the wrapping paper.  After you have marked one half inch in at the bottom, then continue from there making marks one inch from your original half inch mark on the bottom.

Then very carefully draw a straight line diagonally from the top inch mark to the bottom one half inch mark.  Then draw from the bottom half inch mark to the top inch mark, complete a triangle.  Continue this until you have a group of long triangles clear across the paper.  You will have about 12 triangles with their base at the top of the paper and a similar number with the base at the bottom of the paper. 

Cut out your first triangle and starting with the one inch base roll the strip around the skewer being careful to keep the ever shrinking width even as you roll.  You will end up with a tapered bead, with the point of the triangle at the outside. 

Slide the bead off the skewer, and apply glue to the open edges of paper thus sealing the bead.  This is a little messy so have a cloth or something handy to wipe your hand on before starting the next bead. 

Put the sticky bead on waxed paper to dry.  Elmers will dry clear. 

When all beads are done, figure out what color bead you want to put between the paper beads, and string them.  Tie the ends.  If you have between 18 and 23 beads you will have a necklace that will fit easily over your head. 

M.H.  sprayed glaze on hers which gave them a royal sheen.  You can tell from the photos that there are many possibilities for this fun and inexpensive jewelry.  M.H. even bought ear ring hardware and made half inch beads for wire ear rings.  I can hardly wait to try that, although I will have to find a paper I really like before I go that far with it.  I am just learning right now.

I found a lot of web sites that tell about this craft.  I liked this one because it gave a history of this craft and related some of the comradie that I felt doing this with a group.    Have fun!
http://www.tappi.org/paperu/art_class/paperBeads.htm

Tags: paper bead craft

Breakfast Blogging 'bout Books!

Breakfast Blogging 'bout Books!

This will have to be short and sweet. This morning I got a note from an old friend G. C.  Hmmm.  Just realized when she got married a few years ago she did NOT have to change her monogram!!  G. complimented me on being funny, and wondered if I had ever thought about writing a book?  Well, having been in the book business as a librarian for more than thirty years, forty if you count post retirement, and early jobs as a clerk, various places, I know the fragility of success in being an author.  I also have had friends in journalism, who are much aware of the same thing.  So unless this blog gets overwhelming readership, and not just the counts because I have now made it my home page, no books from me shall be forthcoming.  I have made a policy of counting the cost against the result before entering a large venture.  Especially when time is a commodity we all have the same amount of, it is not nearly enough to do everything I may whim to do.  But aside from these lofty goals, I am too lazy to put forth a lot of effort into something that would prove costly, and futile.

I do love to write, however.  I have done journals since I was in high school and learned that Thoreau, Luther, and many, many others whose work I admired had done them.  The majority of these have been for my own amazement, and really are a tool for managing life.  When I can write down my thoughts about sundry items, it keeps me from becoming an absolute bore to my friends whom I see day to day.  It also keeps me on top of my writing skills, and with my private journals, helps me work through the issues of life that even confront single people with no children or grandchildren about which to be concerned. 

We singles have other issues.  Aloneness is a big one.  In this regard I imagine we give some comfort to those who have never been alone and suddenly find themselves in that position.  Why DIDN'T I marry? is another.  Money, health, what to do if I need to go to the doctor.  I have often leaned as all must from time to time on Philippians 4:19  "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." NASB http://www.biblegateway.com/  This versein context is hooked to the fact that the Philippian believers had been contributing to help out their brethren in another part of Asia, but it has proven to be true in my life. 

I think most recently of the need I had when I experience Salmonella poisoning to have someone stay with me and I was able to help out a friend who needed money and was capable of staying with me for six hours.  It was a great comfort.  I dismissed her after I was finally able to keep down the chicken soup and jello she fed me.  Then there was the time when M. , another single friend, was able to drive me to the doctors when I had a concussion a few years ago.  Poor thing, her car broke at the doctor's office and the doctor happened to be seeing a patient who offered to drive me to the hospital for a CAT scan.  On the doctor's recommendation I went with this lady, who turned out to be the mother of a former student of mine.  She even offered me her phone number in case I needed a ride home, too.  But independent me decided to call a cab, and that cabbie was a single lady who was looking for a church, and mine happened to be near where she lived.  So it went full circle there.  And the concussion proved to not be too limiting.  I was back to driving in a week. 

Well, I digress, and breakfast is eaten, and coffee aka wakeupjuice is being consumed and I must soon depart for the upper regions of my house where the computer does NOT live, to get ready to go to the ladies prayer meeting.  After the meeting I hope to hit Curves.  I did that last week and it worked out quite well.  I only came downstairs for breakfast and coffee, and to clean up the dirt from my clean carpet from the plant I knocked over last night after I got home from Delta Kappa Gamma.

Books.  Writing Books. 
What I have seen is that many are written few are sold. Less are read.  A lot of effort and money goes into publishing.  Those that are published mostly have a short life, if any?  I have a friend who as a labor of love published a book about her mother that is delightful reading.  It is packed with photos, both color and b & w, which makes it more costly to print.  As a labor of love, she has been buying and giving the book away to family and friends who are interested.  It is a great tribute to her mother, and a good commentary on life in the last century especially in Michigan and other areas in which she lived.  A copy resides in our church library, and even there has had limited readership. 

Unfortunately people in this video age are NOT reading!  This makes this former educator sad.  Reading is a great resource, and it is lately becoming less utilized than it was before public education made it available to the masses.  It is scary because people who do not investigate issues are prisoners of those whom they hear, and if they are not selective in whom they hear, they can easily be blown about and influenced in their thinking by which ever wind is blowing the strongest. 

Well, I was long and eloquent, and my coffee is almost done, and I must depart for the warmer regions of the office upstairs and the place where clothes are put out, and mirrors of all sorts await me.  Plus pills,  always the pills.  I forgot to take my diabetic pills last night and was shocked until I remembered that I had forgotten, when I took my reading prior to breakfast.  134.  134 without pills is pretty good for this diabetic, but my doctor will think differently.  Hopefully the day will be better.  At some point I will have to tell you about my DKG meeting last night and making beautiful one inch beads out of ugly gift wrap.  What fun! 

Tags: Writing, reading, books, singleness, Phil 4:19