Shelter Box Arrival !!

Did you see Dianne's post today! She has pictures of the actual arrival of some Shelter Boxes in Haiti.

These are pictures that Dianne posted.














And here is a tent being put to use.






I know - a few are just a drop in the bucket. But every drop helps! Can you imagine what it would mean to you if you had lost everything - EVERYTHING - that you owned, and saw all of your family, friends and neighbors in the same situation, and suddenly you were presented with a tent for ten people, bedding, water purifier tablets, containers for water, tools, and even some school supplies for your children! The nothing that you had suddenly turned into SOMETHING. Difficult to understand. We have so much. And they have nothing at all.

SHELTER BOXES/USA

Brief Insurance Update

The woman from Coventry Health Care, AdvantraRx, Grievance Unit left me a voice mail message yesterday saying she had contacted my doctor's office and faxed him a form for the Prior Authorization. Of course, I know he had sent that way back in June, and it was denied.

I called the doctor's office myself to be sure I had my facts straight. I had. It's bad enough that they deny a doctor's prescription, but I can't believe they actually try to tell me there is no record of a complaint in my file. This is so absurd.

Anyway, he sent the form - again - and I sat down and wrote to the woman at Coventry so she would have it all in writing. I also told her I wrote to President Obama's office, and that I blogged it. Apparently they did react to the Congressional letterhead. Maybe the rest will mean something too. I can only hope.

And if you read Dianne's post today you will know how insignificant my own complaints are. Keep your sense of humor and imagination going, Dianne. It's all you've got to rely on at the moment. Aren't insurance companies just so far out of hand today? They have got to be reined in. They are filling their pockets while the rest of us suffer - and sadly, many even die because of their greed.
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Everyday Kindness

You may recognize the title of this post as the theme emphasized many times by our dear friend, Dianne, from Forks Off the Moment. As I started to write today, I found it hard to come up with a title. But my subject is so basic - I believe it comes down to this. Respect for one another leads to kindness toward everyone we encounter, whatever the circumstances, family, friend, or stranger.

And this leads me to another dear friend, Casdok, from Mother of Shrek. Yesterday I read her post concerning abuse. I urge you to follow the link to her blog. Casdok is an amazing woman, living in the UK, mother of an autistic child who is now an adult. The difficulties she has faced in her life have made her a strong, sensitive woman, determined to help her own son, and along the way, to help others whenever she can. In this post, she presents far better than I, the case against cruelty against the disabled adult, the elderly, and the man or woman in an abusive relationship. As she points out, there is legislation designed to protect the young, and so many others in our society, but very little specifically designed for adults. Casdok lives in Britain. The same situations exists here in the US. We read or hear of individual cases that happen to make headlines, and we shake our heads and tell one another how awful it is. What we need to do is to open our eyes to what is going on every day in our own little corner of the world. Sadly, it is all around us - not just in nursing homes or other facilities, but in our own neighborhoods. It's next door, or across the street.

As a child, I witnessed and experienced abuse of one kind and another. I put it out of my mind for many years. I think too many of us choose to ignore what we see and tell ourselves we must be mistaken - it couldn't really be happening.


On my side bar you will see a telephone number. Please don't hesitate to use it if it is appropriate for yourself, or if everyday kindness suggests that you might use it to help someone else. - 1-800-799-SAFE - the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

The Name of the Game...

...is "Let's See if We Can Scare Everyone to Death". If they don't die in a terrorist attack, or jump to their deaths because of the economy, or come down with swine flu - well, we'll just scare them to death.

I've ranted before about so-called "news"casters on TV and radio. Listen to rising panic in their voices. Pay close attention because they are bringing you the "news" of the day.

I loved Dianne's advice in her post yesterday. If I may quote, "You want to live longer? Turn off the freaking news and go outside and stand in the sun."

Ignore the network channels, folks. Did you listen to the President on the subject of swine flu in particular, and the way he countered every other fear-based question that came his way from the "news" people? Calm, common sense reassurance. Thank heaven there's someone with a little sense at the helm.

And don't forget to wash your hands.

The "Itchy Ball" Question

A very serious study. Are those balls on my plane tree the same thing as those "itchy balls" that Dianne has on her tree? My finding is - no way. You look at the evidence, and make your own decision.




These are Dianne's itchy balls.
(This is her photograph.)








These are the seed balls that I find under my plane tree. In my opinion, these are much softer and smoother. (I couldn't even find any whole ones today. They squish and explode almost as soon as they hit the ground.)


I think Dianne's itchy balls appear to be harder and sort of prickly.


So my verdict is that they are from two different types of trees. My plane tree also has bark that peels off very easily - sometimes in sheets. Is yours similar to that, Dianne? They could be in the same family of trees I guess. I don't know enough about the subject to tell.


This very serious study came about because I have posted a few pictures from time to time, on Sky Watch mostly, and have received quite a number of comments from people asking about "those balls" or "the fruits" on the tree. Then Dianne posted a photo today for Straight Out of the Camera, of what she calls "itchy balls" from her tree. So I was inspired to do a post on the subject.



It isn't as if there aren't deeper subjects to cover this month. Among others, it is Autism Awareness Month. It is also Poetry Month - another subject dear to my heart. I'll have to give that more thought before the month's end.

Introspective

You started it, Dianne! Well, no. To be honest, I started it myself. You just sort of pushed me over the edge. I guess I started it a few days ago when I started talking about my mother and others talking about dying in the near future.

The times we're living in today, the general state of the world, and of this country in particular - just not conducive to optimism and good cheer. We start to take it personally. Begins to make us start wondering if we're doing it all wrong. And maybe, in the case of much older people, like myself, makes us start to wonder if we want to keep on going at all. We don't always acknowledge even to ourselves that we're thinking that way, but that's what it amounts to in the end.

My physical state at the moment is not all that wonderful. Winter has a lot to do with it. I ache and I creak and I'm so very tired. Between arthritis and angina and a myriad of lesser problems, it just seems sometimes to be too darned hard to get up in the morning and face another day. And when I do, I hear about war and political shenanigans and global warming and economic disaster, and I want to go back to bed.

I think maybe that's why I've started doing memes like Shadow Shot Sunday, and Mellow Yellow Monday. They not only distract me from what's going on out there, they are actually fun and cheery, and often beautiful. I know it's why I don't want to watch anything on TV in the evenings except inane sitcoms. I don't want to go to bed thinking of anything serious. If there's anything of import that I'll want to see, I record it for another time. On a night when everything on the air is violent or suspenseful, I just don't turn on the TV. I find the Britcoms on PBS the most entertaining. And I love Big Bang Theory. Ooops. I shouldn't say that. Whenever I start talking about a series I really like, it goes off the air. Hope I didn't jinx it.

There are a number of blogs that I turn to for beauty and inspiration as well. They keep me going through the day. And people like Dianne and Gina and Deborah and Ann and Sylvia, David and Ralph and Cliff - OK I'll stop, even though I haven't mentioned nearly all of them. And there's my family (which includes Lisa). But there are days when they just aren't enough.

Once we accomplished our goal of getting Mr. Obama headed to the White House, there was a terrific let-down. Felt like nothing left to do. I know. There are many things left to do - but that's how it felt for a while. And the way things have come about, January 20th will only be the start of a very long, difficult road over the mountains of problems that will have to be overcome. It isn't as if we've reached the peak, and it's all downhill from here.

OK. Have I brought everyone down to my level? Wow! Talk about depressing. Well, I'm not going to delete it all now. Just let me say - if I skip posting some days except for the memes, you probably wouldn't want to read it anyway. It would be like this one. When I start reminscing again, or thinking about my grandson, I'll write some more. (Yes, I have good days as well as bad, even in the winter.)

Want to cheer up a little? Here are a couple of pictures of said grandson - for no particular reason except that they cheer me.

Another New Blog! And Other Stuff

Wow! Everyone is doing it! Dianne doesn't need my promotion I'm sure. She already has a huge following. But in case you hadn't heard, she is starting a new photo blog called Do You See What I See. I know it will be great. She's been into photography for a while, and she's good. Very innovative.

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My daughter, Kitty, left word on her blog, Fetal Positions II, about a new line of goods on the market, all related to the now infamous phrase, "That One". It's pretty darned funny. I'm too cheap. I made myself my own little logo thingy for my sidebar. But they do have some really nice shirts and hats and such.

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I think the birders are here in Cape May in full force now. I had forgotten for the moment that they were coming. Happened to drive down to Cape May - well, actually up, to Cape May Point this morning. I'd intended to do the nature trail or something. But when I got there, the parking lot was crowded and there were lots of people on the hawk watch platform, and bicycles were rolling everywhere, and people were walking around shouldering expensive looking cameras. I'm a rather solitary soul when I head out to meet Mother Nature, so I just said, "Oh, well" and went home.


I saw quite a few butterflies flitting around, but not any real swarm of monarchs, so I guess they aren't ready to take off on their migration yet. Soon.

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Haven't posted a Dave Walker cartoon in a while. How about this one:

His Cartoons for Blogs are free for the taking.

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Gee, but it's hot again. I put my a/c on this afternoon. I sure hope it cools off this weekend as promised by the weatherman. I am not fond of a/c weather. One nice thing about the warmer weather is, today I found this out on the back deck.








I had thought they were all finished. I hadn't even looked at them recently, nor trimmed off that little dead stem, as you can see. I really should be paying closer attention.

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My cousin sent me another good email yesterday. He called it "Oddball Stuff" -


For all You Folks Who Have Difficulty Converting Units:

Ratio of an igloo's circumference To its diameter = Eskimo Pi
2000 lbs of Chinese soup = Won Ton
1 millionth of a Mouthwash = 1 Microscope
Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement = 1 bananasecond
Weight an evangelist carries with God = 1 billigram
Time it takes to sail 1 nautical mile per hour = 1 knotfurlong
16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone = 1 Rod Serling
Half of a large intestine = 1 semicolon
1,000,000 aches = 1 megahurtz
Basic unit of laryngitis = 1 hoarsepower
Shortest distance between 2 jokes = 1 straight line
456.3 graham crackers = 1 pound cake
1 million microphones = 1 megaphone

Strange Definitions:

Eye Dropper - a clumsy ophthamologist
Heroes - what a guy in a boat does
Left Bank - what the robber did when his bag was full of money
Paradox - 2 physicians
Parasites - what you see from the Eiffel Tower
Pharmacist - a helper on a farm
Polarize - what penguins see with
Primate - removing your spouse from the couch in front of the TV
Relief - what trees do in the spring
Rubberneck - what you do to relax your wife
Selfish - what the owner of a seafood store does
and our favorite:
Sudafed - litigation brought against a government official.

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Well, I don't suppose any of my posts of odds and ends would be complete without a chicken joke. It just doesn't seem right to end without one. So..........

What is this? A chicken joke without chickens? How can that be?




Hey! You'll have to ask Doug Savage, It's his cartoon, not mine.



I like it anyway.

Independence Day

It's the 4th! Have fun! Be safe doing it, please.

And at some point during your day, Maybe try to pause and think of the 4113 men and women from our country who have died in Iraq - so far - and think of their loved ones at home and how they will be celebrating.

Think of the coming Presidential election. Will you blindly vote the party line this time? Or will you give real thought to what has been going on in our country?

It's OUR COUNTRY! It doesn't belong to politicians. It belongs to US. And it will belong to our children and their children.

I was listening to Mr. McCain's political ad on TV the other day. They spoke of gas prices - a sore subject for us all today. What was Mr. McCain's answer? He has new catch words: "Energy Security". And he's talking about "Domestic Drilling". That scares the hell out of me!

Never mind. I'm not going to go on a further rant about politics. I'm really not articulate enough to get my point across anyway. I let my emotions get in the way too often.

Please, do yourselves a favor. Click on a link here. Go over to Dianne's blog, and read what she has to say about time she spent with friends at the V.A. She writes so well, and you might be interested in what she has to say, as well as some of the Vets. It will only take a few minutes. Then you can go back to the bar-b-q.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT

This came to me today from Dianne, over at Forks Off the Moment.



Right back atcha, Dianne.

Hate to sound so trite, but, I don't know what I did to deserve this. I do know that Dianne's writing is warm and wonderful, and deserves awards. I look forward to reading her posts every day. If she finds mine worthy of recognition, it makes me very happy.

Seriously, Dianne, I blog for selfish reasons. When I sort of stumbled into it I was surprised by the fact that it made me feel good to get my thoughts down in print, and get some feed-back from others. There is no one my age around here any more; the few of us who haven't "gone on to our reward" are scattered over the United States, and it gets a bit lonesome at times. It isn't lonesome any more because I have all of these friends on the web. We can't sit down together over a cup of tea, but sitting at the computer is a pretty good substitute. So, the gratitude is all on my side. Thanks to each one of you who has made my life much more pleasant these days.

The World of Meme

Ok, Folks. Dianne, of Forks Off the Moment has tagged me for a meme. This really isn't my sort of thing, but I guess it could be fun. I'll give it a try.

Guess we start out by giving you the rules we're playing by, so here goes:


Link to the person who tagged you.

1. Post the rules on your blog.

2. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.

3. Tag six random people at the end of your post, by linking to their blogs.

4. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their
website.

5. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.


And now, I post my six quirky habits, for all to know. I guess I have enough to fill pages, but I will gladly restrict my list to six.

l. I just can't let a new word go. If I run across one I don't know, or have heard but am not sure of the meaning, I am compelled to find a dictionary and learn what the heck it means. The vocabulary game for free rice is great, because it supplies both the word and the definition. That's my kind of game.

2. Still in the realm of language, it drives me crazy when an announcer on radio or TV manages to mis-use or mis-pronounce a word - especially if it is the name of a country. I don't care if an ordinary person like you or me does this. But a news anchor!? IT'S THEIR JOB!

3. I have a habit of picking up a shell or a stone whenever I find myself spending a beautiful moment or two in a beautiful place. I carry them in my pocket or on the dashboard of the car for a while, then sooner or later they find their way to my desk or table or bookcase. I cannot begin to tell you how many little shells and stones I have accumulated. I just seem to need something of the place with me. I take photographs, but that isn't enough.

4. I almost always travel a different route to get to a familiar destination. When I was working, I lived only a half mile at most from the office, but I went a different direction and took the long way 'round every day, unless I was running late. I like a change of scenery.

5. I can't stand nail files or emory boards or dentist's drills or brushes, or anything that rasps. I close my eyes and take it in the dental chair, but I don't have to file my nails! Manicure scissors do just fine.

6. I absolutely refuse to forward any email that threatens dire consequences if left unforwarded, or any chain letter of any kind. Just won't do it. Superstition makes me angry......and superstition coupled with religion makes me furious. God is not going to damn anyone to hell for breaking a prayer chain. And don't try to guilt me into it by telling me if you don't get it back you'll know what that means.


Guess that brings us to the part where I tag a few more unsuspecting people:

Lisa (Villas Girl)

Lisa (The Butterfly Farmer)

Shelly

Mahala

Judy

Nora