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 |  I've maxed out. Closed this blog. |
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This is a way of making myself write something coherent and grammatically correct almost every day. I'm opinionated and need an outlet. I'm also prone to flights of fancy. Thanks for stopping by. |
| Despite my efforts to avoid over-committing for the season, I still did it for this week. I've got 3 major things this weekend that require my planning and organizing during the week, and one of them even requires cooking and shopping to pull it off. And I'm doing my best to stay with the October Prep for November's NaNoWriMo. So I'm not working any extra time and I can't have any visitors to my home until next week. My sick brother is living back at his own house now. He's healing, and is in a better state of mind. I have a few hours of reading and outlining to do. |
| It’s here, so we may as well talk about it. It’s a virus that originates with animals, but will infect humans and spread human to human. It damages the blood vessels through the entire body, causing rash, vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding. First, what not to fear. You cannot get it in a latent situation, like TB. In latent diseases,illness can be spread by a patient who doesn’t know he’s sick. Not so with ebola. The infecting person will have symptoms. Even with a sick person, it is not airborne, like TB or Chickenpox, which means a sneeze or a cough or a person’s laughter will not put the virus in the air for you to breath and get sick. Walking into the room with an Ebola patient or riding in a plane with him will not put you at risk. How do you get it? It is transmitted through contact with blood or other mucous membranes. That’s why the most vulnerable are family caregivers and medical personnel, including hospital housekeepers. A scratch on your skin will allow entry of blood or spit into your system. After hospital employees and caregivers, those who deal with the remains of the deceased are at great risk. Undertakers, coroners, and morticians are preparing to efficiently dispose of the remains, which continue to be contagious. Be wary of people who have traveled recently to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Nigeria, or the Congo (not all of West Africa, but that’s where these countries are). It takes about 5 days to 3 weeks for symptoms to appear. Once they have symptoms, they are very contagious. Avoid physical contact with these people, including handshakes. If you need to travel to these areas yourself, talk to your doctor first. It may be best to wait. The Centers for Disease Control have a website for the public: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola. Symptoms: High fever, Diarrhea, Severe headache, Vomiting, Muscle pain, Abdominal pain, Weakness, Unexplained bruising or bleeding. |
| We were reminded on the evening news that Glen Campbell is suffering from Alzheimer's. He announced it publicly 3 years ago and went on a farewell concert tour. He could not keep going. Some days he can still play the guitar like nothing has changed, but he has lost the power to speak. The news showed him in concert, joking that he didn't know the people on stage with him, even though his children were included. They told us at times, he didn't recognize his family. Alzheimer's is a disease of the brain, and he has been willing to educate the public about it and the changes it brings to families. He has demonstrated a great deal of courage in fighting the disease. The doctors tell his family that the guitar playing actually helped his brain keep functioning longer. Whether you liked his music or not, he was extremely talented. He taught music composition and theory at the college level after his TV career faded. His personal life with Tanya Tucker may have created some sensation and tongue wagging, but his musical abilities were outstanding. He made a big contribution in the entertainment field, He has enlightened many people about the deterioration of the brain to many aging people. He has been the symbol of hope. There are so many caregivers to so many people who deserve a pat on the back and a special tribute. Acknowledge one that you know. |
| I know I'm the meanest one in my family. I'm the only one who thinks the best squirrel is a dead squirrel. Now before you get upset, like my family, let me explain the background. When my husband and I had a cedar siding A-frame in a gated, woodsy lake community, we were under attack from squirrels. We fed the birds because we liked watching them through the big glass front of the house, especially in the snowy weather. The squirrels kept destroying the bird feeders, literally shredding them to get the seed. We came home one day in December and our Christmas lights were cut in 4 inch sections all along the railing on the front deck and steps. I was ready to call the police about the young vandals in the neighborhood when I happened to look up and noticed it was like that across the roof edge. Kids would have needed an extension ladder to get up there. It suddenly hit me: Squirrels! Sure enough there were pieces that had dropped to the ground all along the porch and corners. Then for Christmas, someone gave us a plastic thistle feeder. We hung it from a long wire from a tree branch. It had a "squirrel-proof" roof and roost for birds. When we got home from work, the feeder was broken into parts and lying across the yard; the seed was gone. Once on the ground, the plastic had been clawed to pieces until the seed came out. We visualized squirrels doing a trapeze act and jumping onto the feeder to knock it down. These squirrels had guerrilla warfare training and were enterprising. We finally gave up on the bird feeding. Then the squirrels started eating the cedar siding on the corners of the house. They broke into the shed by chewing the corner off the wooden door, squeezed flat as a pancake to get through the frame molding, and tore the insulation where the shed attached to the house. They ran around in the roof of the house until I figured out what was creating that racket. War broke out. I'll spare you the details; it wasn't pretty. Where I live now, the squirrels come for the bird food which my father loves to put out for his cardinals, doves, wrens, and spring robins and the occasional blue jay. We keep two b-b guns just for chasing squirrels away. Dad keeps knocking them over, so they're out of alignment, and we can't hit a target. The neighbor's cat keeps killing the birds. We like the neighbor, but we could do without the cat. And the neighbor behind us has a farm. His free range chickens are scratching up my flower beds, covering my walkways and patio with dirt. They're pooping all over the patio and deck so that the kids can't go out bare footed. I'm going to wring a neck if I catch one. They aren't afraid. I've chased them with a broom, but they just cluck and mosey on. I'm going to get some traps. I might get a chicken. I might get some squirrels; they're trickier. And I might catch a cat. Let some people come claim them. That might get the message across. Now the squirrels will...well,that will be my secret. |
| I have been very disorganized when it comes to writing. I think of all the poems I've written over my lifetime that I can't find now. Some--at least a few--were good. I had whole chapters of a novel printed on paper, that's right, actually typed, and I lost them when I moved. Notebooks with short stories disappeared long ago. Actually putting things on a computer, or in the "cloud" is awesome. No moving problems or throwing away by accident. (I actually lost a handmade quilt from my great aunt, a full size yoyo bedspread from my grandmother, and a tatted tablecloth from my great grandmother who died in 1917 from one of those two problems.) I don't know if my head has ever been free of an ongoing story line that I only halfway got on paper if at all. I'm actually getting better at it.Both storing and putting in print. And here's the odd part: the more time I spend actually writing, the more I want to write. It's almost like singing for me. I don't care whether anyone else likes it or not. I do it because it makes me happy. Obviously, I'm letting something go to find time for writing and organizing, but it seems okay. Feeling more fulfilled is worth whatever little things I'm giving up. |
| I already know how to crochet. I never learned how to do anything except a plain knit stitch. There's a new quality yarn shop in town advertising free knitting classes. I'd love to do it. Most yarns are poor quality these days, and yarn shops are almost obsolete. Even Wal-Mart dropped yarn. The neighborhood association does the candles in the sandbags each year at Christmas. We always get some. It's a Christmas Eve ritual to put them out. This year, they want some volunteers to assemble them in advance. More people might participate if they don't have to put the sand in the bags and then go out in the cold and insert candles. It's time consuming just lighting them. I thought it might be fun to get together with some neighbors and chat while we put sand in bags and put in boxes for delivery, then place candles, so all they do is put in their driveways and along the road. But I just committed to NaNoWriNoMo, which will take a chunk out of every day in November. I have to work, keep house and cook for others. There will presents to wrap, decorating, and cards to mail; and I;ll help my Dad with his shopping and wrapping. Then there's special holiday cooking for company, tricks or treats, and yearly events. I want to keep blogging and reading and walking. There is no time for candles or knitting. And I'm saying "No" to all special events or tasks after October. Packages for the needy and projects for the local school are in the norm. I want more hours in the day. |
| I spend too much time sitting at a computer desk, whether at work or home. I sit there without thinking, then when I need to stand, my ankles are stiff or my shoulders ache. This can't be healthy. I'm going to invest in a couple of small timers that don't tick out loud that will ring every 30 minutes. This will remind me to drop everything and stand up or walk around for a half minute or more. Maybe my blood will at least circulate a little and avoid fluid build up in the joints. I've gotten out of my walking routine again. My doctor told me half an hour 5 days a week, which is what all the magazines and websites recommend, is not enough. One hour 7 days a week is what she wants from me because of my age, bone health, and heart rhythm. I've slacked off. I can do the lesser program, but I find it hard to be faithful to her program. And knowing I'm going to the other extreme and sitting to type or read for hours at a time is worse. At least if I finally keel over at my desk, I'll die happy. |
| I love fall. The colors are finally beginning to change here. The leaves are beginning to fall. Pumpkins are everywhere. Local apples are not very abundant yet. Fall and winter squash are being harvested at local farms. Autumn color mums are plentiful. In a few weeks the mountains will be spectacular. We'll have a little low smoke fire in the fire pit (so we don't choke the neighbors) and drink a little hot cider out on the patio. It's time for dried beans to be cooked, College football has been on for the last 5 weeks; now the air will be crisper. In the mornings, we need jackets. By afternoon, the students have donned shorts. I could keep autumn all year long.I think of all the songs that mention autumn or those months. The Fantasticks "Follow"--Try to remember the kind of September..." or Camelot's "If Ever I Would Leave You"---"I've seen how you sparkle when fall nips the air...", The autumn is a celebration of the harvest and so much more. The autumn of life is that last great display of beauty and color before the long winter. Autumn is the middle age if winter is elderly age. It's an exciting, rich display |
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