First aid for a baby bird and other stuff

What do you do when a baby bird flies into your window and crashes to the ground? TB picked the poor little guy up and cradled it in his hands. We didn't know how badly the little guy was hurt and hoped it was just stunned. I found a box and we put a little water, birdseed, and some leaves into the box. TB gently put the bird down and it just did not want to let go of his finger, poor little thing!

We had to go out for a doctor's appointment. When we got back, we checked the box and it was empty. It looks like our little patient was just stunned and needed to rest before flying away! :)

We went to Good Will the other day for sheets. We were hoping to avoid buying new queen sheets just for this craft show. Good Will has everything and is a godsend for people in need. I like shopping there and don't mind the inconvenience of going through each piece of clothing to find my size. It's worth it! They also have everything from socks to bedroom sets and more. Anyway, we didn't find queen size sheets but we did find a set of three. I think they're full size but can be pieced together to make the size we need. It cost us only $6.99!

TB's been working almost around the clock to get ready for the craft show. I took a couple of pictures of the smaller items he's made and will bring.

My favorite is the mouse with cheese. TB took better pictures of his creations because he used a white backdrop. I plan on getting more pictures of the other projects the day of the craft show.

Yet again, I will need to call Medicare. TB and I want to compare health plans and hopefully go with one that has vision and dental. There are two in our area and when I discussed them with a Medicare agent named Jose they both seemed pretty good. He told me the monthly premium would be $84 for one and $89 for the other. I got a comparison report on those two companies from Medicare and was completely confused by the price breakdown. There were about a dozen breakdowns in different categories. Was I supposed to add them up? The report said the monthly premiums would be about $115 a month. What happened to the costs Jose gave me? So that is what I need to ask Medicare. What is the *real* monthly premium?

After that, we need to figure out if our doctors participate. In some cases, like with Dr. Greenbaum our bariatric surgeon, we're not going to want to switch to a stranger. Next, we have to figure out the cost of co-pays. Right now, we have no co-pay. If we switched, we'd save around $200 a month (I think) but then we'd have to figure how many times we see a specialist in a month. The specialist co-pay is $25 or $35. I think I would need a specialist once a month as long as I'm healthy. Switching might be a good option for me if it means I can get dental and vision.

Today I'm calling our doctors to see if they participate in either of these two plans. It's especially important for TB that they do!

This week I'll be thinking about whether I want to push off PTSD therapy to the new year. Susan, my therapist, insists that digging around in all these memories is supposed to dredge up all these feelings and reactions. That I've not reacted with strong emotion nor cried tells her that I'm resisting and using my defenses to stay away from painful memories.

I'm sure she's right because most of the painful stuff either feels like it's in a block of ice in the freezer or in a box stuffed into the back of a closet.

Well. Maybe what I should decide is whether it's worth trying to tackle all that PTSD stuff period. It took me over 50 years to build these walls and defenses and I don't think much will change in a 12 week program. So, I'm thinking...

And while I'm thinking, I've decided I like the Black Friday movement to boycott all but the independent businesses and stores for Christmas shopping. Big name brand stores make tons of money and don't treat their employees well. I suppose the little independents treat their employees similarly which makes me mad but I think I'd rather support them than the big chain stores who could afford to behave better toward their workers. Maybe what I'll do is just boycott everybody and make my own gifts!

On Facebook, I share pictures that resonate with me. Today there was one that pissed me off. It listed the outrageous salaries the president and members of congress earn *for the rest of their lives* and then lists the average social security salary of a senior as $12,000. And it's some of these senators and congresspersons who want to mess with social security and medicare. You'd never see them say anything about reducing *their* forever salaries!

The Green Woodworker and other things

TB's hoping to get a business off the ground and wants to call it The Green Woodworker because he'll be using recycled material. He's made various things for people over the last year or so. Here is an example of what he can do. Someone with a nautical theme asked for an anchor to fill part of her wall and this is what he came up with. I think it looks beautiful! I'm sure the customer will like it too.

Here is a spice rack TB made for our cabinet. He's very creative and can make all sorts of things--magazine racks, wall hangings, ornaments, and on and on. He can customize things to what the customer wants.

What we basically need to do is get a website going with pictures of his projects. We also need to get the word out. Being able to participate in that craft show will help!

So we survived the great snow storm of October 2011. Yes, it was an event but I didn't see a reason to go all ballistic about it the way some people and news stations did. I like to watch Judge Judy and it's carried on a station out of Allentown, PA. Well, last night the show was preempted for non-stop coverage about this great storm. I guess Allentown must have gotten a lot of snow. We got just a dusting but I heard some areas got up to 8 inches of snow. The way they carried on at that station, you'd have thought the world was ending! I watched something else.

I didn't get any pictures of it but Munchkin lent a paw to "help" me fold laundry. She'd put her paw out to hold down a sleeve so I could fold the shirts properly. The only problem was, her claw kept getting stuck and I'd have to gently remove it. I tried to convince her that I didn't need any help but she insisted on assisting. ;)

On the down side, diabetes may be creeping back to TB and me. :( For the last several days, our sugars have been running higher than normal in the mornings. I contacted my doctor who said to track it for 2 weeks and if the levels are consistently high, I'll need to get some blood work done. It's very discouraging. One thing I'm trying now is cutting way back on carbs. On one of my previous visits to Dr. Greenbaum, he was concerned I was losing too much weight too fast. At that time, I added a lot more carbs to my diet to try and slow down the weight loss. The same thing happened with TB.

It's always something! :P

Snow in October

Now I know there are places where snow in October is the norm...but it ain't around here. Today TB and I made our shopping run after dropping Kristin off at her class and Heidi off at work. It was pouring down rain and cold. When we got out of Walmart, the rain drops were fat and heavy and I suspected the dreaded *snow* was mixed in. After Shoprite, we were sure. We were getting ice pellets and hearing reports of accumulating snow in northern Jersey. Sigh.

I love snow. I do. But I love it in winter, not in fall or spring! Who wants to see the little kid trick-or-treaters running around in heavy coats over their costumes? That's no fun! I also miss fall and spring weather. It seems like we get a few days of each and then the rest of the year is summer or winter.

I finally gave in and turned the heat on very low last night. I was hoping to hold out until November but the weather just didn't cooperate.

One benefit to the chilliness in the house: the cats all want to nap with us. I have pictures to share on Cats on Tuesday of various members of the gang. This afternoon I had Munchkin snuggled up under the covers, Mouse on top of the covers curled by my feet, and Kosmo and Cubby lying nearby and providing their own heat. It's like having space heaters all over the bed! :)

I wonder how the people at Occupy Philadelphia will fare. I know they want to stay no matter what the weather but today will definitely be a test. With the heavy rain, cold, and snow, if they can withstand this they may actually make it through colder weather. At this point, I think I would be a fair weather protestor and would pack my stuff up and go. My body ain't what it used to be.

TB still has pain and discomfort from the hernia surgery. I've been looking at his abdomen and the redness doesn't seem to be spreading but it's also not going away. I wonder if we should be contacting the surgeon but TB says we were to do that only if the redness was spreading. Fortunately, there is another appointment with Dr. Greenbaum on Wednesday so we'll see what he says!

TB's post surgery visit and other stuff

Yesterday was TB's one week post-op visit to Dr. Greenbaum. Everything seemed fine except ... there is a redness all around the incision. It didn't look like an infection and didn't feel hot to the touch, just warm. It sort of looked to me like a yeast infection, the kind TB got after his shoulder surgeries. Dr. Greenbaum, though, said it's an abdominal wall infection (cellulitis) and drew lines around the areas with his pen. He prescribed an antibiotic and said if the red areas spread, TB would have to come to the emergency room and get admitted for IV antibiotics. Since then, we've been watching the red areas closely. Boy, it's always something and it's exhausting!

It's cold inside the house. Everyone's wearing hoodies and sweaters and (in TB's case) blankets. It doesn't seem fair because outside it's actually rather nice. I open the windows to try and let the warm air in. In the summer time, it's always been hotter inside than outside so I'm not sure why the sun isn't warming our house up more. We won't turn on the heat yet because it costs too much. The rates jumped up a few months ago.

Is it me or has the fall colors been muted the last few years? When we first moved to NJ, I remember the trees being so vibrant with reds, oranges and yellows. I loved to go for a drive and just look at the gorgeous colors. One year we took a trip to northern Jersey to see the colors at peak. Lately, though, the colors have been so subdued I hardly notice the change. The leaves aren't strikingly beautiful. The first year it happened I thought it was because we hadn't gotten enough rain. The next year we did and then I thought, maybe it needs to be colder.
This year I just wonder if it's my mood or my age. Taste declines with age and so does hearing. Does the perception of fall colors decline too? I wonder.

More Miscellaneous Stuff

This little town I live in has been around since the Revolutionary War. TB found a website once that told him this town has had its share of good times and bad. I think it hit a height in the 1920s if I remember correctly. It was almost like a resort town. The natural lake reflects trees, sky, and any buildings like a mirror. Wikipedia says the median income for a family is around $45,000. I can tell you, with the cost of things these days that income isn't so great.

When we moved here almost 10 years ago, it didn't seem so run down. It was a middle class town with a barber, beauty parlor, library, grocery store, a few clothes stores, a shoe store, an ice cream parlor, a couple of fast food joints and too many auto parts stores.

There are two shopping centers not far from each other. One is the place everyone goes and the other is an eyesore. The owner of the eyesore gets some kind of tax breaks or something on the losses from the place and so he has no interest in improving things. At one point everyone wanted the place condemned including the town government. Somehow it didn't happen. The derelict lot is still there, bleak and ugly as ever.

We have a homeless population that has grown over the years. Many of them live in the woods. There's a hotel in town that provides shelter for the lucky ones.

There's supposed to be a couple of drug nests in town. I know where these places are and don't go there. I've never seen drugs bought or dealt anywhere I've been.

There's nothing for young people to do around here except go to the library. The nearest movie theater is about 20 miles away; same with the nearest mall. Luckily, we do have doctors and a couple of dentists here. Otherwise, we'd have to travel about 20 miles to find one.

I was ranting about the lack of public transportation around here. You really need a car to get anywhere, including the grocery store. Not everyone (including us) is lucky enough to live in walking distance of places we need.

Like I said, it just seemed like a middle class town when we moved here. Now, though, it's gotten older, sadder and poorer...like us.

I thought about boycotting Walmart and grocery stores but I don't think I'd be able to. With all the money those places make, they could treat their employees better. Part-timers get no benefits and these places like to schedule their employees up to an hour below full time just so they don't have to give them benefits. Walmart's benefits for full time employees will be going up as much as 60%. People don't make that much in those places. They'd have to decide between eating or paying bills or the health insurance. The other thing they do is suddenly cut the hours of their employees and hire a whole bunch of new ones. Employees can't be sure from week to week how long they'll be working.

If there was a Boycott Walmart day or week, I'd do it. I don't think I'd do it on my own because it would hurt me and my family and I don't want that. I can save a lot of money on groceries getting things at Walmart. That savings goes into our account for emergencies and things we need. It's about $5 or so here and there but it adds up!

As for boycotting the grocery stores...they all engage in this practice with their employees. I can shop less at grocery stores but there are still some things they carry I can't get elsewhere.

I wonder if there's another effective way of letting the grocery stores know I'm not pleased with them?

TB's recovering from his tooth extraction and hernia operation. He's very sore and hasn't much appetite and is sleeping a lot, but I guess that's to be expected. He sees his surgeon tomorrow. He has another tooth that is on its way out and it would be nice to save it but I doubt we can afford the root canal. So it goes.

Happy Fourth of July!

Memorial Day/Mancat Monday/Susan Boyle

I really like this version of Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" because it honors and remembers our military. I wish I was able to embed it but that function was disabled by Youtube for this video.

Proud to be an American

This is from TB's post from yesterday. I could not resist these pictures of Kosmo!





To see all the pictures, just go to The Man's Side Of It!

For more cat blogging, be sure to check out Blogging Cat Noos for all the latest!

ARGH and embedding is also not permitted for Susan Boyle's latest. :( She appeared in the semi-finals for "Britain's Got Talent" and has now advanced to the finals! I really want to see her win so she can perform the queen. She has such an inspiring story for us all!

Memory

Let Freedom Ring

My friend Laura in Canada sent me a link to this video. It give me such goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes!

Sometimes I Am The Bug...

So ever since we told Toyota to come and get the car we've been carting stuff back and forth to and from the darn thing every evening--things like the car seat, Ted's handicap parking card, sunglasses, registration and so on. Each morning the car would be there and so we'd drag everything back to the car and drive it another day. Last night we forgot to bring everything in. Guess what happened.

Yup. We wake up this morning and there's a big empty place where the car used to be. So we have to call around to find out where our stuff is and we find out we've got to drive to Morrisville, PA to get everything *and* pay them a processing fee of $26.50! Well, it could be a lot worse, I suppose--they could refuse to return Ted's cane and so on until we paid back what we owe. I don't think they can do that.

So Billy, TB and I pile into my van (the one Bill's been driving around for the last 2 years) and drive out to PA to get our stuff. We brought Bill along because when the social security money came in, we picked up an old clunker for him to drive. We did it knowing we couldn't keep the newest Toyota and that it would be repo'd one of these days. We'd gotten the thing re-registered and got new tags for it but TB noticed there were no stickers in the package. He thought the stickers must have fallen out in the repo'd van. Once we got our stuff, we were going to drive Bill back to pick up his new old car.

The drive to PA was long but not terrible. The woman at the tow place was efficient but nice enough and we got all our stuff back. There were no stickers for the new tags, though, and so we figured we'd just drive to the NJMVC and get new ones. TB went in to pick up the new stickers and the lady laughed and said oh no, there's no more stickers--they did away with them now! TB felt pretty silly.

We stopped to get some lunch and when we got back to the car, it wouldn't start.

Click click click click.

Doesn't it just figure? Some days I am the bug and some days I am the windshield. Today, I was most definitely the bug on the windshield, splat!

Luckily, we have AAA and within 45 minutes (and it was *hot* too!), a man came to jump start the car. He told us we have a dead cell in the battery and that it would happen again--in fact, this has already happened several times. It so happened he had a battery in his truck and would we like to buy it and he would install it? You bet!

Within 10 minutes we were on our merry way. We stopped to pick up Bill's car, put on the new plates and gave him the registration and insurance card and followed him home. It's a 1991 Buick Century and is in pretty good shape for a car of that age. Bill is paying us for the car and for the insurance and we told him he'd better set aside money for car maintenance because we weren't going to pay for his tuneups and oil changes and what have you. Bill is very pleased to have the car.

Now I don't feel so much like a bug. Actually, it wasn't such a terrible day just long and full of mishaps. It was cake compared to what we've been through.

Now President Bush has finally signed the bill that should help millions of people who are struggling just as we are. I've been trying to get through to my mortgage company since we heard from social security and the line has been busy busy busy. That tells me there really are a lot of people in trouble out there. I hope this bill really does provide the help we need. Want to read about it? The article is here.

In part, it says:

The measure includes $300 billion in new loan authority for the government to back cheaper mortgages for troubled homeowners; $3.9 billion to help communities fix up foreclosed properties; and $15 billion in tax cuts, including an expanded low-income housing tax credit and a credit of up to $7,500, to be repaid, for some first-time home buyers.

The number of homeowners who could lose their homes to foreclosure by the end of 2009 is estimated to be around 2.8 million. Under the legislation, 400,000 having trouble with payments could avoid it by trading their loans for new, more affordable mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration.

I wonder if the banks will agree to the swap?

I missed Cats on Tuesday again :P, better luck next week!

We are unable to keep ourselves healthy without help?

I'm not sure how I feel about this issue. The truth is that I am obese and haven't been able to get the weight off and keep it off. But do I need the government to come in and help me do it? That seems scary.

TB and I aren't the only obese people in the country. There are, according to the article I read, 67 million of us. Another 75 million of us are overweight. Why? Apparently we just keep making the wrong choices. Instead of going for healthy foods and exercising, we're sitting on our couches eating fast food.

Well...I don't think I totally agree with that (I say from the comfort of my typing chair). Healthy food is expensive. That's one of the problems TB and I are facing. We want to buy fresh fruits and vegetables and stay away from the dreaded middle isles of the supermarket. IF the government wants to interfere, why can't they start a program that would make healthy food less expensive?

TB and I have been advised over and over to cut our budget, cut our food budget. To do that, we'd have to buy junk. Junk doesn't cost much.

This is what the American Heart Association would like government to tackle and bring about change to help us all make healthy choices:

* Locations of fast food restaurants.
* Restaurant portion sizes
* Availability of high-fat, low-fiber foods and sweetened drinks.
* Community design and infrastructure, which involves assessing land-use mix and walkability of neighborhoods, including: adequate sidewalks and areas for physical activity; accessibility of jobs, schools and recreation by walking or cycling; availability of public transportation.

Well, these are all very nice. The AHA doesn't say what it would like to do about the location of fast food restaurants but I'm assuming they'd like to hide them. Well, don't they think people are going to be clever enough to find them anyway?

The good food is available...it's expensive.

I really like the last idea a lot. If any of the ideas are worthwhile, I'd say that one is it. One of our biggest problems is that it's just too easy--or necessary--to get into a car and drive where we need to go. In my neck of the woods, if you don't have a car you are screwed. Everything is too far away for a walk, there's no public transportation and for whatever reason, cabs won't come here.

I used to live in Columbia, a preplanned city in Maryland. What a wonderful place that was and how I miss it! James Rouse planned multiple communities in one with miles of parks, walkways and biking trails. Each community had its own little shopping center, place of worship and schools. You could walk to these places ... or bike. You only needed a car for work and even then you could use public transportation. When I lived there, I did a lot of walking with the kids. I really do miss it.

That's what we need here and in most of the country. I bet it won't ever happen though because of the expense involved. Too bad, because the cost of not doing it is more dear.

The whole article is here.

Sometimes it feels like a curse

Some days are truly overwhelming. Today we got a letter from the township declaring that we were in violation because we hadn't gotten a permit for electrical improvements we had done to the house around 2 years ago. The letter stated we were being fined $2000 and for every week we didn't pay, another $2000 would be added to the fine. The letter also said they could force us out of the home.

TB and I nearly had heart failure.

He called the electric company and within a half hour we found out that there is a permit but that we probably needed to have an inspection done of the work. The secretary reassured us not to worry; we'd done nothing wrong and they would handle it.

I am a quivering mess of nerves. I don't know how much more stress we can take. Even though it turns out this is all right there is still the enormous burden of the other problems we're carrying.

My mother said once that there was a curse on our family because my father is an atheist. A part of me knows that that is silly but another primitive superstitious part of me wonders if it's true.

I know we are not the only ones to face hard times but there is such an overwhelming amount of hard times here. It's not just the health it's also the finances and the possibility of losing our home and our car.

I woke up today and have been walking around with such a feeling of dread and doom. I hate feeling this way. I don't feel like doing anything because of this pervasive what's the use? emotional thing I have going on.

We saw another specialist for TB--this time at the Rothman Institute which is supposed to be renown for orthopedic care. Well, we were basically blown off there, too. The doctor said TB isn't a candidate for surgery in his opinion not only because of his weight but also because back surgery benefits the legs more than anything else and TB doesn't have a lot of leg involvement. The doctor told TB back surgery doesn't help all that much with back pain; often patients still have the same pain--sometimes it's worse! He also said that he felt TB had a 25% chance or less of going back to work.

Nice and encouraging, eh?

No wonder I feel so bad.

Monday Sundries

DO NOT TAKE THIS QUIZ UNLESS YOU DON'T MIND GOING THROUGH 5 MINUTES OF ADS AND SURVEYS TO GET TO THE TEST RESULTS!

I feel stupid for having done this but once I was 3 minutes into wasting my time I was determined to get to the end result. But I rated this quiz less than 1 because of the way they stick you with all those horrible ads.



Which LOST Character Are You?

Devbook Quizzes!!


Question of the Week

When I was a child, I used to have nightmares about skeletons that lived in my closet (I know you are all psychoanalyzing me now), and ghosts and/or vampires who lived in the attic who would come down through a ladder in the closet. When you were a child, were there any scary creatures that you thought lived in your bedroom?


Oh yes, when I was around 5 or so I was convinced there was a vicious wolf living in my closet. I could imagine his red fiery eyes and slavering jaws and if my closet door was open, I was sure he'd "get" me. I had my father checking and rechecking the closet and still wasn't convinced. That door had to be closed or I wasn't sleeping.

Diabestes and Sleep Apnea are linked

Well, ya know, I'm just not surprised about that at all. Sleep apnea causes a whole world of problems, especially if left untreated.

Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea linked
SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) -- Type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea are closely related and both have significant implications on public health, an Australian researcher says.

Paul Zimmet, foundation director of the International Diabetes Institute in Melbourne and co-chair of the International Diabetes Federation Task Force on Epidemiology and Prevention says, health policy makers and the general public must be made aware of the link between type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea so that all can begin to address the significant economic burden and debilitating health consequences to both individuals and the community.

"While type 2 diabetes is recognized as a serious global epidemic, the severe health consequences of untreated sleep apnea, especially in people with diabetes, are not," Zimmet says in a statement.

Recent studies show that obstructive sleep apnea is common in people with diabetes and estimates suggest that up to 40 percent of people with obstructive sleep apnea have diabetes.

The International Diabetes Federation statement that urges healthcare providers to address the relationship between type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea was presented at the American Diabetes Association 68th Annual Scientific Sessions in San Francisco and is published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.




Copyright 2008 by United Press International

Roller coaster ride

If there is any one small consolation it's that TB and I are not alone on this roller coaster ride of financial disaster. We go up, we go down. We were up on Monday and Tuesday after meeting with JCHD, Jersey Counseling & Housing Development. The lady there looked at our ridiculous budget and still worked with us, talking to the mortgage company. We got a disability forbearance until the end of September, time for us to regroup and redo our finances. We have to show that we can afford our mortgage and our bills and still have money left over. A daunting task but we figured we could do it.


Now we are rocketing back down, after talking with someone at Consumer Credit. We'd hoped to enroll in their program but as soon as our expenses put us in the red, she told us we wouldn't qualify for the program. The alternatives would be selling the house or filing for bankruptcy, although the latter might not help us that much.

We need for TB's social security disability to be approved. Then he'll be able to collect his disability pension and then we can start approaching Consumer Credit Counseling again. We have to show that we can meet all our basic expenses first and then have money left over for bills.

This whole process is so scary. I felt hopeful up until I hung up with this woman from the CCC. Now I am feeling despair again. What if SSA doesn't come through by the end of September? I had to take an Ativan to calm myself down.

On top of it all, TB is suffering terribly. He couldn't sleep at all last night between the pain in his back and in his legs. We had to get our partial deposit back from the bariatric surgeon to help us meet expenses during this forbearance period. He really needs that surgery desperately by the practice will not accept just the insurance company's payment of $7000. They want their whole fee of $8000 odd dollars and it doesn't matter the circumstances. Thanks a lot, NJ Bariatrics. :P

TB is confused about what to do next and so am I. We can wait for the disability to kick in and then we could put the deposit down again so he can get the surgery. We could try a different doctor and start over again. The rollercoaster plunges down even further. When will it go up again?

Teaching Kindness

The title of the teaser in my Emotional Health e-zine emailed to me is "Can Love and Kindness Be Taught"? And it can! Oooh oooh, I thought, the world needs more of this and so does my family, so I rushed right over to find out the how of it. Do we set examples to follow? Is there a less offensive way to preach it? I read the article and discovered it's a self-taught method, by meditation.

Oh.

Not that I have anything against meditation but if you need to learn love and kindness would you necessarily know that? And would you focus specifically on those two things while you meditate?

Imaging technology shows that people who practice meditation that focuses on kindness and compassion actually undergo changes in areas of the brain that make them more in tune to what others are feeling.

"Potentially one can train oneself to behave in a way which is more benevolent and altruistic," said study co-author Antoine Lutz, an associate scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

You can meditate to reduce your physical pain, studies have shown that. I believe that you can meditate to become kinder. As one doctor put it, though, how much do you practice until it becomes effective? I guess that part of it needs more study.

Now I need to figure out a way to convince members of my family to put this into practice. There was no useful advice there. Read the whole article here.

I was deeply affected by this song in 1971. I'm so glad that it's on youtube.

Sunday Stuff

I visited St. Mark's Church today and I'm glad I did! It's a very small congregation--apparently something bad happened several years ago that caused a traumatic split and like 2/3 of the families and the pastor left. They are trying to recover from that. It's good that they are reaching out to the community. It seems like it's a helpful healing thing to do to reach out to people in need when you yourself are suffering. I'm going to go back again.

Am I being paranoid or what? I installed AIM for my mom, brother and me because it's easy to use and because so many members of the my family use it. But ... any time I've tried to IM one of them, I'd get no response. And one day when I IM'd, the relative abruptly signed off, signed back on, went invisible and then signed off again. Okay, I get it, thinks I. I must smell or something. OR IM'ing to say hi is just not copacetic. So now I don't send an IM--not that I'd get a chance to because when I sign myself on now, a few seconds later BAM! They're off. I don't get it, but I get it. I get it.

Here's a recent picture of Little T. This picture was taken to paste onto a craft that was to be a spring mushroom project. I haven't updated about him in a while--not because anything's wrong with him. In fact, things are very right with him. He's signing more and as his vocabulary increases, he' beginning to enunciate more clearly.



I guess I've been sticking to the cat blogging more for the same reason people used to go see musicals and comedies during the 1930s. I have to have some refuge from the depressing stuff plaguing us, including issues (or people) revolving around Tomas. Oh, I could go on and on and vent here about it all but I rather think people would be shocked and not know what to say. Or I could talk about the finances and TB's suffering...but everyone has problems.

Cat blogging is therapeutic.

Where was I? Oh yeah...here's one of my favorite memes!

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ...

1. Chemical :: Romance


2. Poker :: Stud


3. Federal :: Reserve


4. Mattress :: air


5. Who am I? :: I am me


6. Investigation :: examination


7. In good hands :: with All State


8. 8:30 :: Lost is on in half hour


9. Creditors :: Vampires


10. Resource :: available to help

It seems I'm in a very weird mood at the moment. Guess I'll take a nap!

Saturday Stuff

Do you need a good laugh? Check out my husband's blog, The Man's Side, for a hilarious look at colonoscopies--his own. If the idea grosses you out, skip it...but if you have a sense of humor about these things I think you will laugh your head off.

Today is Michele's birthday. She is 32. Happy birthday, Michele! I remember when I was 32. That was over 20 years ago!!!! It doesn't seem possible it was 20 years ago but I have the adult son strolling around to prove it!

Linda's birthday is Monday but if things keep going they way they are now, we probably won't see her until Tuesday. She doesn't like to tell us where she's going or where she's staying because it's none of our business. She's going to be 27. When I was 27, I had my own place and didn't have to worry about keeping anyone informed of my whereabouts or what to do with my child if I was away...well, I didn't have any kids at 27.

This morning, we went to pick up our monthly purchase of food from Angel Food Ministries. This is a non-profit blessing from wonderful volunteers and programs like this are a godsend to those of us who are struggling but don't qualify (yet) for food stamps. We learned about the program in December. Little T's school sent home a letter to families participating in the reduced lunch program about Angel Food coming to St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Pemberton.

We were struggling then. The Christmas holidays were approaching fast and TB and I had just about run through our savings. The kids were helping but we were just barely making it. Getting on board with the program has cut our entire food bill by at least a third and possibly more. We just need to buy vegetables, fresh fruit, bread, dairy and other essentials to supplement Angel Food.

The first month we picked up food, there was no line. We were in and out in just a few moments. The second month was just about the same although there were a half dozen other people there. This month, here is what we saw:




Here's the end of the line! One of the volunteers told us that there were almost 200 families participating this month, by far the largest number ever!



The line looks long but actually the volunteers did a great job of moving us right along. Some logistical problems remain. There's just one main door in and out and it's pretty clear that it's better to have an entrance and an exit for the people. I'm sure the program will continue to grow and grow. There really is a crying need for it in our area.


For $118, this is what we bought for the month:

2.5 lbs sirloin strip steaks
4 lbs Salisbury Steak dinner entrees
4 lbs split chicken breasts
4 lbs breaded chicken breast filets
3 lbs meaty beef ribs
3 lbs pork chops
24 oz. Philly steak portions
24 oz. jar of peanut butter
8 oz. chicken noodle soup
18 oz. frosted corn flakes
2-16 oz. frozen corn
2-16 oz. frozen carrots
4 lbs onions
4 lbs potatoes
pumpkin pie
2 lbs black eyed peas
blueberry muffin mix
3 lbs rib eye steaks
3 lbs New York strip steaks
4 lbs hamburger
3 lbs mild Italian sausage
4 lbs frying chicken
4 lbs chicken tenders
4 lbs chicken wings
4 lbs chicken breasts--quick frozen, grilled
4 chicken breast chunks

Not too shabby! This will feed the 7 of us all this month. All I will need to buy extra is corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day!


I enjoyed volunteering at the restaurant for the homeless in Laurel, Maryland, called Elizabeth House so it's no surprise that I was calling up the director of the Angel Food program at St. Mark's. I want to give back to the community. I strongly believe in that concept. Tony (the gentleman in charge) was happy to hear from me...and he invited me (and TB if he wants to) to attend church. I'm going.

Harry Chapin's Words They Say So Much

I love Harry Chapin's music and I miss him very much! It's not just that he had such spirit and such humor and that he was really the one who set the ball rolling on putting concert money to fighting hunger. It's also that his words speak to me and express so many of the things I think and feel...like this song. "Dreams Go By" is a bittersweet sort of song and I think it speaks for everyone, doesn't it? How many of us are really living our original dreams? I still dream...

This woman is a saint...

She is a year younger than I am and gave birth to her own twin grandsons! Why? To help her daughter, who'd been trying to conceive. As much as I'd want to help my kids if they were in a similar situation, my health is in such a state that I wouldn't be able to carry it off. Here is the article I read from The Philly Burbs:

Woman Gives Birth to Own Grandchildren

The Associated Press

SAO PAULO, Brazil - A 51-year-old surrogate mother for her daughter has given birth to her own twin grandchildren in northeastern Brazil, the delivery hospital said.

Rosinete Palmeira Serrao, a government health worker, gave birth to twin boys by Caesarean section on Thursday at the Santa Joana Hospital in the city of Recife, the hospital said in a statement on its Web site.

Hospital officials were not available for comment on Sunday, but press reports said the grandmother and twins were discharged on Saturday in excellent health. The Caesarean section was performed about two weeks ahead of time because Serrao was having trouble sleeping, the statement said.


Serrao decided to serve as a surrogate mother after four years of failed attempts at pregnancy by her 27-year-old daughter, Claudia Michelle de Brito.

Brazilian law stipulates that only close relatives can serve as surrogate mothers. De Brito is an only child and none of her cousins volunteered, so Serrao agreed to receive four embryos from her daughter.


September 30, 2007 10:56 PM

Mancat Monday With Kosmo/Screwy Weekend

Ah, Kosmo, you are handsome even when you are half asleep!

Want more cat blogging? Check out Cat Blogging Noos for lots of news, tidbits and blogger updates!

Why was this a weird weekend?

Well...

my mom was hospitalized on Friday night with complications of diverticulosis (I think)...hopefully all went well and she is home today. She had some tests over the weekend and they look good.

TB's first wife inherited a piece of property with her brother after their parents died. It's in Connecticut. I'm not sure how big it is but it was useless to the family because, at the time, it was landlocked and they couldn't get any right of way to a street. The land sat there, basically forgotten and the taxes unpaid, for all these years. Out of the blue, about a year ago, the tax collector from that town called. There were buyers who wanted the property and were willing to pay all the back taxes. The heirs just needed to be located...that was TB and his brother-in-law.

I'm not sure what the deal is or was with the in-laws but they never did call the tax collector back. A couple of weeks ago, a man called me from CT and wanted to discuss the property. He also was having trouble contacting the in-laws--the same people Linda lived with when she left in 2005. I explained to the man that I thought there was some probably bad blood between the in-laws, TB and Linda--on their part. We have nothing against them.

Undeterred, the man decided to make two separate offers so that the in-laws wouldn't have to deal with us. Yesterday, the man came down with a friend and TB signed the papers. Everything was very pleasant. I was surprised to learn that the man was a published author. He brought a book he'd just published and signed it for us.

They left and headed off to the in-laws, hoping to find them at home. They did and had a really bad experience. I'm sorry for that because the buyers were very nice and I don't understand the attitude of the in-laws. I wish the buyers well.

In the middle of all that, I was trying to get Carnival of the Cats up and running and the links were all bad on me. That was frustrating.

Our Little T came home from his camping trip crabby and tired. He was pulling and pointing at his ear, never a good sign, and today we learned that yes, he has another ear infection. One of the tubes placed in his ear the summer of 2006 has fallen out and that is the ear that's gotten infected twice now in the same month.

And the last bit of weirdness came when TB's boss called to see how he was feeling. The doctor wanted TB to stay off work at least until the results of the MRI came back. The MRI is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon...and I don't know all the details yet at that point, the boss said we're letting you go, you made too many mistakes here. Oh, that is the game they want to play is it? That really sucks!

Happy Labor Day

Just because we're having a rough weekend doesn't mean we can't wish everyone else a Happy Labor Day holiday!





Click here to see a penny postcard possibly from your hometown--at the very least, from the state in which you were born or live! I was totally delighted to find a penny postcard for both the town where I was born and the one where I live now!