Last night the National Weather Service interrupted our fine TV viewing and directed us to channel 11 where we were informed that we were directly in the path of a very severe thrunderstorm. They even told us the exact minute we could expect it to hit! What they didn't tell us was at that very moment, right over our heads a tiny cell had formed and in five minutes would wreak all kinds of havoc.
My first thought was "they sure were wrong about the time that thing was hitting." But, when I rechecked the weather, I found the "real" storm was still coming: what had just hit us was a very tiny red dot on the doppler radar screen and it was moving on easterly. In its short visit it split a tree limb from the giant oak in front of our neighbor's house and left it still attached and precariously dangling all the way down into the street. Drivers seem to think this limb would not fall on them and just kept going around it.
I called Public Safety and they said they would have the Street Department up to take care of it. Then the Natinal Weather Service went beserk again and, whamo! the real storm hit. Our power blinked on and off. The transformer on the pole in front of the house buzzed and hummed and made me nervous. The lights would dim and brighten. The winds were horrid. The rain hitting the street in front of the house seemed to come from one direction and then from another. The lightening and thunder were fierce. Then as quickly as it arrived it was over.
Our lights were still on. I was amazed. We have lost power twice this summer in much smaller weather disturbances. But, even so, we lost our cable. We plunked a DVD into the player and ingnored the calamaty.
We had expected the limb next door to be removed by morning, but to my surprise it was still dangling. Police tape stretched from the light pole to a tree across the street entirely closing off the end of my drive. A traffic barricade had been placed in the middle of the road. I throught by careful manipulation, I'd still be able to back out of my drive, get around the barricade and make it into work. I was right. However, I felt just a little bit like I was being naughty and should get arrested, or something.
I was surprised to see many trees down. At the post office I learned that the southern half of our town had no electricity. The business loop from 94 was also without power. No McDonalds for hungry travellers this morning. I began to wonder if the church had power (the church where I work as secretary lies just north of the I-94 exit) into town. Happily, when I arrived I found all well at the church and everything working splendidly.
A few people have dropped by the office with chatter about the storm and about what happened to them. A small group was meeting last night, but although the electirical system crackled and popped, they said they never lost any power. That was a real blessing.
Hopefully, by the time I get home this afternoon, the tree will have been removed and I will have easy access to the drive again. However the last person to drop in said they still had no power to the gas stations, grocery store and fast food franchises on the main drag. I guess this Friday night I'll have to make my own pizza.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Monday, July 09, 2007
Service Provider
Aha! Has language changed so much that in the last few years the meanings of words are totally reversed from what they used to mean. "Service Provider" you'd think would be a company providing you a service you were willing to pay for. But, since becoming a cell phone user I have learned that a "Service Provider" is actually a company you pay way too much money, who in turn provides you with a brain aneurysm every month when the bill arrives. I bet if I really wanted an aneurysm, I could manage one nicely without paying Sprint for it.
My bill came today. My brain is still muddled from the 1 hour ++++ I spent on the phone using obscenities when I was sure no one was there and adversely hoping they were taping my entire tirade so they'd be sure to know how pissed off I was and how often I repeated "I hate these people, I hate these people, I hate these people, I hate these people.
In all fairness, perhaps I went into the cell phone "contract" with a negative attitude. Anyway, I hope it is only this experience that makes me wonder if I'm not turning into a conspiracy theorist. I really don't want to find myself an aging bitter old hag who trusts no one and believes in nothing, but I having serious doubts about myself in this respect and about my future. Now, before I joined the program, I asked a few people about their service provider was and one phrase I heard more than once was "billing horror stories". It seemed that no matter which company you might choose you would wind up in war with them once you became a customer.
Now, I have had a reliable Track phone for a few years. It is prepaid and worked just fine for my usage. Every few months I'd add minutes while rolling over the unused ones. I averaged paying about $10-15 a month. Not bad. I rarely turned the thing on and only used it when it was "necessary". My daughter also had a prepaid phone account with Virgin. She, however, used her phone a lot and it had begun to wear out. She knew she needed to replace it and approached me regarding getting another phone. Well, my phone was definitely "not cool" and it didn't text message nor have a camera or cool games, you know, the stuff that made having a cell phone really "neat".
So, the weekend before Jamelah moved off to Ann Arbor we stopped in at a Sprint store (it was a Saturday and the store in our community was closed) in Jackson. The phones were neat. I got a pink metallic Katana and Jamelah picked out a blue razor. We paid the $198 to get us going and walked out of the place grinning. We had a family plan with unlimited, no roaming, fees and free nights and weekends. Plus for $20 extra we added the family plan for unlimited text messaging. We were now super cool chicks.
Two weeks later I received my first bill. Uh-huh! I hadn't had the phone long enough to recharge it and I had my first bill which was exactly $50 more than it was supposed to be. I had my first long distance, "on hold" forever experience. We finally got everything straightened out, I thought, and the guy was just taking care of the final details when the phone went dead. I thought it was no biggie, until yesterday when I got my second bill.
This time the bill was exactly$130 more than the amount I was guaranteed would be my monthly total. Seriously, $75.00 charged for overages. I could not figure that out. We had 500 minutes to use between the 2 of us and at the end of the month still had time left over. What was this overage business? Furthermore, the adjustments they were going to make, weren't adjusted and they had added an additional fee for activating my phone. What... I had already paid for the activation of the service.
Well, I was justifiably angry. You bet. So the ordeal began. I won't go into all the nitty-gritty. I actually don't want to do a blow-by-blow account. I'd probably curl up into a ball again and start babbling and crying in frustration. I tried really hard to remain calm while on the phone, keep a quiet voice and not call anyone names. Now it was easy not to call the young lady on the phone bad names. She was actually a sweetheart. I think, no matter how much she is being paid, it isn't enough. I wouldn't take her job on a bet.
We eventually reached an understanding. A few adjustments were made to my bill (I hope), some costs erased (or so she said, but I'll wait for the next one to arrive) and see just exactly what charges are made. Needless to say, I have decided that cell phone companies are simply the latest "conn" game going with their programs that their employees can't wade through, their salespeople can't stay on top of and the poor customer can't survive without going into shock regularly. I empathize with the employees while wondering why with the speed of technology they are unable to keep up with their own stuff and make the customer feel valued instead of used and abused.
Whatever, what I really want right now, is my track phone back with its prepaid minutes, handy in my purse for me to pull out and use at my convenience. That is what a cell phone is for. This other stuff, might be good for the kiddies but I really think it may cause people my age's brain to explode.
AN ADDENDUM: After 3 phone calls, many tears and much persuasion, I happfily announce that I have finally made peace with Sprint. My last bill was exactly what I had calculated it to be and there were no new surprises and no new hidden charges. I'm not sure why this is so difficult and why it had to be such a hassle. I'm just glad that for now the war has ended. Now, excuse me. I have a lot of talking to do on my cell phone. I have all kinds of minutes to use up!
My bill came today. My brain is still muddled from the 1 hour ++++ I spent on the phone using obscenities when I was sure no one was there and adversely hoping they were taping my entire tirade so they'd be sure to know how pissed off I was and how often I repeated "I hate these people, I hate these people, I hate these people, I hate these people.
In all fairness, perhaps I went into the cell phone "contract" with a negative attitude. Anyway, I hope it is only this experience that makes me wonder if I'm not turning into a conspiracy theorist. I really don't want to find myself an aging bitter old hag who trusts no one and believes in nothing, but I having serious doubts about myself in this respect and about my future. Now, before I joined the program, I asked a few people about their service provider was and one phrase I heard more than once was "billing horror stories". It seemed that no matter which company you might choose you would wind up in war with them once you became a customer.
Now, I have had a reliable Track phone for a few years. It is prepaid and worked just fine for my usage. Every few months I'd add minutes while rolling over the unused ones. I averaged paying about $10-15 a month. Not bad. I rarely turned the thing on and only used it when it was "necessary". My daughter also had a prepaid phone account with Virgin. She, however, used her phone a lot and it had begun to wear out. She knew she needed to replace it and approached me regarding getting another phone. Well, my phone was definitely "not cool" and it didn't text message nor have a camera or cool games, you know, the stuff that made having a cell phone really "neat".
So, the weekend before Jamelah moved off to Ann Arbor we stopped in at a Sprint store (it was a Saturday and the store in our community was closed) in Jackson. The phones were neat. I got a pink metallic Katana and Jamelah picked out a blue razor. We paid the $198 to get us going and walked out of the place grinning. We had a family plan with unlimited, no roaming, fees and free nights and weekends. Plus for $20 extra we added the family plan for unlimited text messaging. We were now super cool chicks.
Two weeks later I received my first bill. Uh-huh! I hadn't had the phone long enough to recharge it and I had my first bill which was exactly $50 more than it was supposed to be. I had my first long distance, "on hold" forever experience. We finally got everything straightened out, I thought, and the guy was just taking care of the final details when the phone went dead. I thought it was no biggie, until yesterday when I got my second bill.
This time the bill was exactly$130 more than the amount I was guaranteed would be my monthly total. Seriously, $75.00 charged for overages. I could not figure that out. We had 500 minutes to use between the 2 of us and at the end of the month still had time left over. What was this overage business? Furthermore, the adjustments they were going to make, weren't adjusted and they had added an additional fee for activating my phone. What... I had already paid for the activation of the service.
Well, I was justifiably angry. You bet. So the ordeal began. I won't go into all the nitty-gritty. I actually don't want to do a blow-by-blow account. I'd probably curl up into a ball again and start babbling and crying in frustration. I tried really hard to remain calm while on the phone, keep a quiet voice and not call anyone names. Now it was easy not to call the young lady on the phone bad names. She was actually a sweetheart. I think, no matter how much she is being paid, it isn't enough. I wouldn't take her job on a bet.
We eventually reached an understanding. A few adjustments were made to my bill (I hope), some costs erased (or so she said, but I'll wait for the next one to arrive) and see just exactly what charges are made. Needless to say, I have decided that cell phone companies are simply the latest "conn" game going with their programs that their employees can't wade through, their salespeople can't stay on top of and the poor customer can't survive without going into shock regularly. I empathize with the employees while wondering why with the speed of technology they are unable to keep up with their own stuff and make the customer feel valued instead of used and abused.
Whatever, what I really want right now, is my track phone back with its prepaid minutes, handy in my purse for me to pull out and use at my convenience. That is what a cell phone is for. This other stuff, might be good for the kiddies but I really think it may cause people my age's brain to explode.
AN ADDENDUM: After 3 phone calls, many tears and much persuasion, I happfily announce that I have finally made peace with Sprint. My last bill was exactly what I had calculated it to be and there were no new surprises and no new hidden charges. I'm not sure why this is so difficult and why it had to be such a hassle. I'm just glad that for now the war has ended. Now, excuse me. I have a lot of talking to do on my cell phone. I have all kinds of minutes to use up!
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Identifying with the boweavil
That's right, the boweevil.
You know the one, don't you?
The one from the song... remember
"looking for a home
trying to find a home"
Yeah, that one!
No, not me. At least not right now. I'm not looking for a home, but I'm looking for a temporary home for my Mom.
She's doing great, although this whole experience has not been a fun event for her. She has been in the hospital over a week and still not allowed to eat. I mean really eat. And for most of the days the only thing she has been allowed to put in her mouth is ice chips. Drat. Can you imagine. Mom has always been tiny, but we may have to start hunting for her among the blankets.
Things were going good for a while and they had introduced her to a liquid diet at the end of last week, but things seemed not to be going through. So they took away her jello and broth and put her back on the ice chips, just as a precaution, in case they would have to take some type action. After 2 days of tests they have given her the jello back again, so hopefully, that means they will not have to take do intrusive treatment.
That means we are back on schedule. They have been expecting to release her from the hospital tomorrow or Friday. I'm guessing later since she will have to be eating solids and handling them before they send her out. But, she will not be able to go home. So we have been looking for a respit care facility for her to stay for a couple weeks until she can get her legs back under her and get around a bit. ...then home to where we can take care of her.
I've made a few calls and the Social Services employee at the hospital has been working on finding a care facility for Mom. We have a couple spots available and now she just has to choose one. The one is here in Albion, although she has always been adamant that she would never go there. Ownership and care in this facility has changed a lot over the years and she may actually opt to spend a couple weeks here. The other place open is in Jackson which would be a bit of a commute and difficult for her friends to visit. In the meantime they will keep her on a list for a place in Marshall, which was her first choice.
We will see how it all works out.
In the meantime, I just can't get that humming sound out of my head..............
uhhhmmmmmmmmmm.... looking for a home, trying to find a home.....uhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm
come on, hum with me.
addendum
well, all that humming paid off. Social Services just called to let us know that a spot became available at Tendercare in Marshall. This was the place she had wanted to go but they did not have any space. So, looks like we've found a home. Last word is Mom will be released tomorrow or Friday. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.
You know the one, don't you?
The one from the song... remember
"looking for a home
trying to find a home"
Yeah, that one!
No, not me. At least not right now. I'm not looking for a home, but I'm looking for a temporary home for my Mom.
She's doing great, although this whole experience has not been a fun event for her. She has been in the hospital over a week and still not allowed to eat. I mean really eat. And for most of the days the only thing she has been allowed to put in her mouth is ice chips. Drat. Can you imagine. Mom has always been tiny, but we may have to start hunting for her among the blankets.
Things were going good for a while and they had introduced her to a liquid diet at the end of last week, but things seemed not to be going through. So they took away her jello and broth and put her back on the ice chips, just as a precaution, in case they would have to take some type action. After 2 days of tests they have given her the jello back again, so hopefully, that means they will not have to take do intrusive treatment.
That means we are back on schedule. They have been expecting to release her from the hospital tomorrow or Friday. I'm guessing later since she will have to be eating solids and handling them before they send her out. But, she will not be able to go home. So we have been looking for a respit care facility for her to stay for a couple weeks until she can get her legs back under her and get around a bit. ...then home to where we can take care of her.
I've made a few calls and the Social Services employee at the hospital has been working on finding a care facility for Mom. We have a couple spots available and now she just has to choose one. The one is here in Albion, although she has always been adamant that she would never go there. Ownership and care in this facility has changed a lot over the years and she may actually opt to spend a couple weeks here. The other place open is in Jackson which would be a bit of a commute and difficult for her friends to visit. In the meantime they will keep her on a list for a place in Marshall, which was her first choice.
We will see how it all works out.
In the meantime, I just can't get that humming sound out of my head..............
uhhhmmmmmmmmmm.... looking for a home, trying to find a home.....uhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm
come on, hum with me.
addendum
well, all that humming paid off. Social Services just called to let us know that a spot became available at Tendercare in Marshall. This was the place she had wanted to go but they did not have any space. So, looks like we've found a home. Last word is Mom will be released tomorrow or Friday. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Painting a bleak picture
Mom fell. My daughter found her when she dropped by to take her to the clinic for her weekly blood work. Mom said her "legs just gave out". She was calling Jamelah when she fell but the call was incompleted. The phone remained on the counter and she could not reach it.
Mom has a medic alert bracelet and she pushed the button. We don't know if the distress signal was not completed because her phone was off the hook, but she tried repeatedly to get up, reach a phone and was left completely helpless until Jamelah arrived. She had been lying there about 30 minutes.
Once Jamelah was there she hung up the phone and tried to call 911 but the medic alert system had Mom's phone blocked. Luckily she had her cell phone with her and was able to get help. About that time the medic alert system kicked in and the asked if help was needed.
The ambulance was soon on the scene and checked Mom out carefully. Thankfully no broken bones, indication of a stroke nor a heart attack. She was very weak and unable to move on her own so they transported her to the hospital and we met her there.
It turned into a very long night. The ER was packed out and the staff was rushing about trying to help everyone. For Mom, the testing began. She had bloodwork done, an xray, ekg, cscan.. and I don't know what all. They were concerned she had pneumonia but because she complained of a sore stomach and was very sensitive when touched they checked her gall bladder. Bingo! She had a severe infection and they admitted her to the hospital.
The next day the doctors began their visits. It was determined that she would need surgery as quickly as possible. That takes place today. Last night we met with the doctor and he very carefully explained all the obstacles Mom faces as she goes into surgery. He seemed to tick them off on his fingers beginning by saying
"...at your mother's age she is very delicate anyway..." then added she has a bad heart (pacemaker implanted last year) breathing problems, low platelet count and it seemed his list of defects was endless. He wound up saying that with all the complications there was a possibility that Mom might not make it through surgery, (a possibility) and a probability that she would have a very difficult time in recovery after surgery. His expectation was that she would be admitted to ICU from the recovery room.
He around at us waiting for our reaction. We just looked back. Then he again wanted to stress the seriousness of the situation.
"Well," I said, "we believe. There are a lot of churches and people praying for Mom. So, we will believe. She is in God's hands." He just smiled.
and Mom said, I've got at least 3 churches praying for me now. Since then the number has grown to... oh, I don't know, about 7. Four people have emailed me today to let me know they are putting Mom on their church prayer list. What more could we want. We have a great hospital a good doctor and all this faith surrounding her.
No matter how bleak the picture the doctor had to paint to just prepare us... she is in God's hands and we will believe.
Mom has a medic alert bracelet and she pushed the button. We don't know if the distress signal was not completed because her phone was off the hook, but she tried repeatedly to get up, reach a phone and was left completely helpless until Jamelah arrived. She had been lying there about 30 minutes.
Once Jamelah was there she hung up the phone and tried to call 911 but the medic alert system had Mom's phone blocked. Luckily she had her cell phone with her and was able to get help. About that time the medic alert system kicked in and the asked if help was needed.
The ambulance was soon on the scene and checked Mom out carefully. Thankfully no broken bones, indication of a stroke nor a heart attack. She was very weak and unable to move on her own so they transported her to the hospital and we met her there.
It turned into a very long night. The ER was packed out and the staff was rushing about trying to help everyone. For Mom, the testing began. She had bloodwork done, an xray, ekg, cscan.. and I don't know what all. They were concerned she had pneumonia but because she complained of a sore stomach and was very sensitive when touched they checked her gall bladder. Bingo! She had a severe infection and they admitted her to the hospital.
The next day the doctors began their visits. It was determined that she would need surgery as quickly as possible. That takes place today. Last night we met with the doctor and he very carefully explained all the obstacles Mom faces as she goes into surgery. He seemed to tick them off on his fingers beginning by saying
"...at your mother's age she is very delicate anyway..." then added she has a bad heart (pacemaker implanted last year) breathing problems, low platelet count and it seemed his list of defects was endless. He wound up saying that with all the complications there was a possibility that Mom might not make it through surgery, (a possibility) and a probability that she would have a very difficult time in recovery after surgery. His expectation was that she would be admitted to ICU from the recovery room.
He around at us waiting for our reaction. We just looked back. Then he again wanted to stress the seriousness of the situation.
"Well," I said, "we believe. There are a lot of churches and people praying for Mom. So, we will believe. She is in God's hands." He just smiled.
and Mom said, I've got at least 3 churches praying for me now. Since then the number has grown to... oh, I don't know, about 7. Four people have emailed me today to let me know they are putting Mom on their church prayer list. What more could we want. We have a great hospital a good doctor and all this faith surrounding her.
No matter how bleak the picture the doctor had to paint to just prepare us... she is in God's hands and we will believe.
Friday, May 25, 2007
The Beginning
Many years ago I was looking for something fun to do with my daughter for her birthday. By now, I don't remember what year that was. A co-worker recommended I take her to Ann Arbor to a very special delicatessen for lunch and spend some time hanging out at Kerrytown Mall (not the typical, but a very special place all housed in one old style building). So, we did.
Ann Arbor, despite it's size and the fact that it houses a campus community of many thousand students right in the middle of it, has a unique small town ambiance about it. It is a fun place to hang out with lots of interesting shops to wander around in. It was the beginning of something we'd do once in a while just for the fun of it and because sometimes you just need to go to Zingermans.
My daughter loved Ann Arbor. It was a town where she always wanted to live. Well, finally, she has rented a spot in Ann Arbor and next Friday, June 1, her lease begins and she will be moving in. She is excited and scared to death all at the same time.
Jamelah has signed up to take a 10 week course in Arabic (1 year of the language crammed into 10 short weeks). When she began considering that she might take the class we had a really good feel about it. This seemed to be a good direction for her to take her life. So, she applied, got accepted and began figuring out a budget that would get fees paid and expenses for the period she would be there. Once the plan began to take shape she resigned her job. This made it really final, but there was no need to hang onto a position, that only provided a small income, but did not provide any hope for the future. Sometimes it was a bit intimidating, but always we felt an assurance that this was a step that God wanted her to take and that He would provide for her as she walked out in faith.
I will be babysitting Sweet Pea since she couldn't find a sublet where she could take her "baby" with her. Ann Arbor is a short 45 minute drive from home and I'm sure she will be coming home to see us and do fun stuff like laundry.
It seems strange to think that "my baby" will be leaving home. Her only time away was the semester she spent in Venice. Somehow, I think this is the beginning of her life adventure. Looking for that something she can pour herself into. I am praying and hoping for doors and opportunities to open for her. It is the beginning. Or maybe, the beginning was that Saturday years ago when we spent the day hanging out in Ann Arbor and eating at Zingermans.
Ann Arbor, despite it's size and the fact that it houses a campus community of many thousand students right in the middle of it, has a unique small town ambiance about it. It is a fun place to hang out with lots of interesting shops to wander around in. It was the beginning of something we'd do once in a while just for the fun of it and because sometimes you just need to go to Zingermans.
My daughter loved Ann Arbor. It was a town where she always wanted to live. Well, finally, she has rented a spot in Ann Arbor and next Friday, June 1, her lease begins and she will be moving in. She is excited and scared to death all at the same time.
Jamelah has signed up to take a 10 week course in Arabic (1 year of the language crammed into 10 short weeks). When she began considering that she might take the class we had a really good feel about it. This seemed to be a good direction for her to take her life. So, she applied, got accepted and began figuring out a budget that would get fees paid and expenses for the period she would be there. Once the plan began to take shape she resigned her job. This made it really final, but there was no need to hang onto a position, that only provided a small income, but did not provide any hope for the future. Sometimes it was a bit intimidating, but always we felt an assurance that this was a step that God wanted her to take and that He would provide for her as she walked out in faith.
I will be babysitting Sweet Pea since she couldn't find a sublet where she could take her "baby" with her. Ann Arbor is a short 45 minute drive from home and I'm sure she will be coming home to see us and do fun stuff like laundry.
It seems strange to think that "my baby" will be leaving home. Her only time away was the semester she spent in Venice. Somehow, I think this is the beginning of her life adventure. Looking for that something she can pour herself into. I am praying and hoping for doors and opportunities to open for her. It is the beginning. Or maybe, the beginning was that Saturday years ago when we spent the day hanging out in Ann Arbor and eating at Zingermans.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Those Little New Hope Critters
I have mentioned that I work part time as a church secretary. I rather like the job, but some weeks, Pastor will be attending a conference or whatever and it gets really "quiet" around here.
I was having one of THOSE quiet weeks, when I started getting a creepy sensation along my neck. You know the feeling, the hairs stand up and you have cold chills. I knew I wasn't alone anymore. Now, I'm not psychic or anything. I had proof I wasn't alone. That proof was the constant patter of tiny feet in the ceiling tiles just over my head.
"Oh Crap!' I thought. It must be a mouse up there. Our church is located in a rural setting (just outside city limits) and mice peering out around things is not uncommon. They don't usually come into my office, though, unless we're beginning to be over run by them. One gentleman in our church is an exterminator and a couple years ago he began providing the church with his services after a winter where the church was over run with mice. I haven't seen one since that winter nor any tell tale signs that they are lurking about.
So... anyway, there is a mouse running around in the ceiling tiles over my head. I backed my chair up and peered at the ceiling over my desk trying to see where a weak point might be, just in case, the critter should drop through and fall on top of my head. After a thorough inspection of the ceiling I decide that the mouse is not going o fall on top of me and decide to get back to work. I'm quite successful at it for a while, but every once in a while that pitter/patter sound still gave me the creeps.
Then the sounds went from "pitter/patter" to "What the heck." Now and then there would be a loud kerplunk, followed by a thunk/thunk sound, then skittering noises and then...
and then...
I decided, WAIT! This can't be a mouse. It's making too much noise. It must be a squirrel. Another scenario with which I am familiar since my home at one time was frequently invaded by squirrels. However, they seldom got beyond the attic part of the house, so although I heard them, I never saw them. We had a huge walnut tree that shadowed the rear of the house and our back porch. In the fall you'd swear the squirrels were using those walnuts for bowling balls as you could hear the nuts rolling down over the roof. Finally, 2 years ago we cut that tree down. I love trees. But that one really made a mess and one year a fallen walnut even broke my daughter's windshield. So, I haven't missed that tree. But, it did give me experience w/the sound squirrels make, but I digress. Back to the church!
So, OK, then. Not a mouse. Probably a squirrel. It is spring. Nesting time for all God's creatures and I decided the louder noises were just the little buggers moving the furniture into a more comfortable arrangement. Not happy about that, but figured as long as they don't come through the ceiling it will wait until the next day when Pastor will be back.
My 4 hrs up... I went home leaving the nesting squirrels to their own devices until the next day. I decided to email pastor and let him know we had been invaded just in case he dropped by the church before morning. I tried to be cute and told him that the sounds over my head sounded like they were dragging around dead bodies, so just in case I didn't show up the next day, he'd want to investigate the tiles over the office of the church and see if you could find me tied up there.
Next morning I got to work on time, peeking carefully around my door, wondering if anything is going to run at me. Nothing did. So I entered, dropped my stuff on the desk, rounded it and bent over to turn on my computer. "Swoosh" over my head. I stood up thinking, OH. MY. GOD. THAT. HAS. TO. BE. A. BAT.
I'm not going to get all carried away here, but bats give me the heebee-jeebies. I stood up and found myself eye level with a lovely little sparrow which had lit on the top shelf of my work station. Swoosh! Off it flew. Into pastor's office.
I followed in into Pastor's office and it was clearly distraught, flying at the windows trying to get out. I tried to open the outside door to his office but it has a deadbolt lock and there wasn't a key around. So, then I tried opening the windows. I finally got them open, then ran for the door between our offices and slammed it. I was hoping the bird would find its way out. I stood listening as the poor creature flew around in there bumping into things.
I went back to my office and email pastor (since he enters his office through the outside door) to watch out for something flying at his head. Then I decided I'd better try to get some work done. That's when I noticed the noise in his office had stopped.
I carefully opened the door and peeped in, then walked and looked everywhere but couldn't see the bird. I listened and heard the familiar chirping sound but it was not coming from just outside the opened window. I quickly shut windows so the little guy couldn't get back in and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
A few minutes later Pastor arrived ready to do whatever needed to be done to get the bird out of our office. I told him all was well and the creature had left.
Then I asked him why the creatures only showed up when he was out of town. "Well," he said, "You know what they say; when the boss is away the creatures play!"
Uh-huh, uh-huh. That's right!
I was having one of THOSE quiet weeks, when I started getting a creepy sensation along my neck. You know the feeling, the hairs stand up and you have cold chills. I knew I wasn't alone anymore. Now, I'm not psychic or anything. I had proof I wasn't alone. That proof was the constant patter of tiny feet in the ceiling tiles just over my head.
"Oh Crap!' I thought. It must be a mouse up there. Our church is located in a rural setting (just outside city limits) and mice peering out around things is not uncommon. They don't usually come into my office, though, unless we're beginning to be over run by them. One gentleman in our church is an exterminator and a couple years ago he began providing the church with his services after a winter where the church was over run with mice. I haven't seen one since that winter nor any tell tale signs that they are lurking about.
So... anyway, there is a mouse running around in the ceiling tiles over my head. I backed my chair up and peered at the ceiling over my desk trying to see where a weak point might be, just in case, the critter should drop through and fall on top of my head. After a thorough inspection of the ceiling I decide that the mouse is not going o fall on top of me and decide to get back to work. I'm quite successful at it for a while, but every once in a while that pitter/patter sound still gave me the creeps.
Then the sounds went from "pitter/patter" to "What the heck." Now and then there would be a loud kerplunk, followed by a thunk/thunk sound, then skittering noises and then...
and then...
I decided, WAIT! This can't be a mouse. It's making too much noise. It must be a squirrel. Another scenario with which I am familiar since my home at one time was frequently invaded by squirrels. However, they seldom got beyond the attic part of the house, so although I heard them, I never saw them. We had a huge walnut tree that shadowed the rear of the house and our back porch. In the fall you'd swear the squirrels were using those walnuts for bowling balls as you could hear the nuts rolling down over the roof. Finally, 2 years ago we cut that tree down. I love trees. But that one really made a mess and one year a fallen walnut even broke my daughter's windshield. So, I haven't missed that tree. But, it did give me experience w/the sound squirrels make, but I digress. Back to the church!
So, OK, then. Not a mouse. Probably a squirrel. It is spring. Nesting time for all God's creatures and I decided the louder noises were just the little buggers moving the furniture into a more comfortable arrangement. Not happy about that, but figured as long as they don't come through the ceiling it will wait until the next day when Pastor will be back.
My 4 hrs up... I went home leaving the nesting squirrels to their own devices until the next day. I decided to email pastor and let him know we had been invaded just in case he dropped by the church before morning. I tried to be cute and told him that the sounds over my head sounded like they were dragging around dead bodies, so just in case I didn't show up the next day, he'd want to investigate the tiles over the office of the church and see if you could find me tied up there.
Next morning I got to work on time, peeking carefully around my door, wondering if anything is going to run at me. Nothing did. So I entered, dropped my stuff on the desk, rounded it and bent over to turn on my computer. "Swoosh" over my head. I stood up thinking, OH. MY. GOD. THAT. HAS. TO. BE. A. BAT.
I'm not going to get all carried away here, but bats give me the heebee-jeebies. I stood up and found myself eye level with a lovely little sparrow which had lit on the top shelf of my work station. Swoosh! Off it flew. Into pastor's office.
I followed in into Pastor's office and it was clearly distraught, flying at the windows trying to get out. I tried to open the outside door to his office but it has a deadbolt lock and there wasn't a key around. So, then I tried opening the windows. I finally got them open, then ran for the door between our offices and slammed it. I was hoping the bird would find its way out. I stood listening as the poor creature flew around in there bumping into things.
I went back to my office and email pastor (since he enters his office through the outside door) to watch out for something flying at his head. Then I decided I'd better try to get some work done. That's when I noticed the noise in his office had stopped.
I carefully opened the door and peeped in, then walked and looked everywhere but couldn't see the bird. I listened and heard the familiar chirping sound but it was not coming from just outside the opened window. I quickly shut windows so the little guy couldn't get back in and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
A few minutes later Pastor arrived ready to do whatever needed to be done to get the bird out of our office. I told him all was well and the creature had left.
Then I asked him why the creatures only showed up when he was out of town. "Well," he said, "You know what they say; when the boss is away the creatures play!"
Uh-huh, uh-huh. That's right!
Friday, March 09, 2007
Wait! Does My Job Description Cover This?
A wintry mess, mistakenly called "wintry mix" by the weatherman dropped sleet which quickly turned the roads to ice then nicely turned into a white wonderland of snow on top of the slick. I was sure I'd not get into work that morning, but luckily I was able to extract the car from the 4in of snow over ice and make it in.
As I turned into the church drive, I saw our youth pastor's car had slid off the side of the drive and was just sitting there. Poor kid, I thought. It's not like that hasn't happened to me a time or two. It just goes with driving a car in the winter in Michigan.
I crept around the circular drive and parked, hearing my name being called, as I opened the car door. I looked around for the source of my name. I'm old enough now to know it wasn't God hailing me from the heavens. Pastor and James (our youth pastor) were coming towards me with a plan.
"Drive your car back up to where James's car is and park off to the side" pastor instructed me. "Then you steer his car and James and I are going to push it out."
I'm game, I thought. So, I crawled back in and crept my car back up the slicky drive and parked "out of the way". Just so you know. The "wintry mix" is still coming down. And it is more ice than snow and more rain than ice... and it is awful. I crawl out of my car, now totally soaked through, which is OK, because I've just got hit by a laughing fit. Pastor and James are standing in knee deep snow in front of James's car patiently waiting for me, and I'm doubled over... laughing my head off.
"As soon as I get back to the office, I'm checking my job description to see if this is covered in it!" I gasp out through laughter, not sure if the wet on my cheeks is tears from laughing so hard or the freezing rain. Pastor informs me that it is covered and actually, I should be pushing and he should be steering, but he's not going to make me do that on this particular morning.
So, I gather my wits and get on with the job at hand. I start up the car,
the guys push...
and we go through the routine twice.
No luck.
The tires are just over the blacktopped surface and keep digging themselves deeper into the soft earth.
Pastor stretches face first down on the wet drive so he can get a better look under the car. I look at my spiritual leader and understand why I am willing to follow this man. God bless him. He rises to his feet and announces that the business is futile. We will have to call a tow truck. So, we all head back inside. I offer the guys a ride in my car to get them out of the weather but they both refuse. What would be the point at this time.
I head for the lady's room and have a look at my drowned head and wonder why I don't keep a comb. With paper towels I get myself as dry as possible and try to arrange my hair the best I can. It turns into some type spiked hairdo... and I decide that it's cool that way. I wish I had the courage to wear it like that all the time. What fun.
And what a fun way to start a day's work. The rest of the day was pretty ordinary from there on out.
As I turned into the church drive, I saw our youth pastor's car had slid off the side of the drive and was just sitting there. Poor kid, I thought. It's not like that hasn't happened to me a time or two. It just goes with driving a car in the winter in Michigan.
I crept around the circular drive and parked, hearing my name being called, as I opened the car door. I looked around for the source of my name. I'm old enough now to know it wasn't God hailing me from the heavens. Pastor and James (our youth pastor) were coming towards me with a plan.
"Drive your car back up to where James's car is and park off to the side" pastor instructed me. "Then you steer his car and James and I are going to push it out."
I'm game, I thought. So, I crawled back in and crept my car back up the slicky drive and parked "out of the way". Just so you know. The "wintry mix" is still coming down. And it is more ice than snow and more rain than ice... and it is awful. I crawl out of my car, now totally soaked through, which is OK, because I've just got hit by a laughing fit. Pastor and James are standing in knee deep snow in front of James's car patiently waiting for me, and I'm doubled over... laughing my head off.
"As soon as I get back to the office, I'm checking my job description to see if this is covered in it!" I gasp out through laughter, not sure if the wet on my cheeks is tears from laughing so hard or the freezing rain. Pastor informs me that it is covered and actually, I should be pushing and he should be steering, but he's not going to make me do that on this particular morning.
So, I gather my wits and get on with the job at hand. I start up the car,
the guys push...
and we go through the routine twice.
No luck.
The tires are just over the blacktopped surface and keep digging themselves deeper into the soft earth.
Pastor stretches face first down on the wet drive so he can get a better look under the car. I look at my spiritual leader and understand why I am willing to follow this man. God bless him. He rises to his feet and announces that the business is futile. We will have to call a tow truck. So, we all head back inside. I offer the guys a ride in my car to get them out of the weather but they both refuse. What would be the point at this time.
I head for the lady's room and have a look at my drowned head and wonder why I don't keep a comb. With paper towels I get myself as dry as possible and try to arrange my hair the best I can. It turns into some type spiked hairdo... and I decide that it's cool that way. I wish I had the courage to wear it like that all the time. What fun.
And what a fun way to start a day's work. The rest of the day was pretty ordinary from there on out.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
What! Jury Duty!!!! Not Again.
5 times. Honestly. I have been called for jury duty five times. The last time, about 3 years ago, I figured my jury duty days would not come around again. Once you hit retirement age they let you say "no". Well, I got the papers, again! and read them... and they have raised the age to 70 where you can say "no" and guess what. This is one of those things you can't "just say no" to. They threaten you with arrest, officers beating your door down and jail time for contempt, if you don't show up on your appointed days.
Now, most of the people I know have NEVER been called to do jury duty. Believe me, I ask people this question. That's right. And 2 times before this one, I wasn't the only juror there questioning why they were repeatedly called. When asked for a show of hands as to how many had been called more than once, at least 1/3 of the room raised their hands. Then, the jury boss went into this long explanation how names are selected randomly. What I want to know is how I get to be random so often and many people don't get to be random once. Does this seem fair to you? Bah!
I know I should feel honored to have an opportunity to do my "civic duty" but I just don't anymore. And I probably shouldn't complain, I have been through this process enough to know how to answer the questions to make sure I am not one of the selected few. They do pay us, sort of. $12.50 per 1/2 day and reimburse us for gas at 10 cents a mile. Hey, I could call this my second job, right! Especially with that kind of money to be made. Oh, give me a break. I'm too old for this stuff.
I really hate the inconveninece of having to crawl out of bed early, drive 26 miles in whatever kind of weather is hitting us that day, and then sit around and drink bad coffee and wish I was some where else. I have learned to take a book and a bottle of water (although, new letter says we aren't alowed to bring beverages with us).
I know it will be fun. I can't wait. Oh Drat! Why didn't they send a letter to one of those people who thought sitting on a jury would be interesting. Everyone needs to learn it really isn't.
Oh.... welll.... I wish I could say I felt better after getting that off my chest, but honestly. I don't.
Now, most of the people I know have NEVER been called to do jury duty. Believe me, I ask people this question. That's right. And 2 times before this one, I wasn't the only juror there questioning why they were repeatedly called. When asked for a show of hands as to how many had been called more than once, at least 1/3 of the room raised their hands. Then, the jury boss went into this long explanation how names are selected randomly. What I want to know is how I get to be random so often and many people don't get to be random once. Does this seem fair to you? Bah!
I know I should feel honored to have an opportunity to do my "civic duty" but I just don't anymore. And I probably shouldn't complain, I have been through this process enough to know how to answer the questions to make sure I am not one of the selected few. They do pay us, sort of. $12.50 per 1/2 day and reimburse us for gas at 10 cents a mile. Hey, I could call this my second job, right! Especially with that kind of money to be made. Oh, give me a break. I'm too old for this stuff.
I really hate the inconveninece of having to crawl out of bed early, drive 26 miles in whatever kind of weather is hitting us that day, and then sit around and drink bad coffee and wish I was some where else. I have learned to take a book and a bottle of water (although, new letter says we aren't alowed to bring beverages with us).
I know it will be fun. I can't wait. Oh Drat! Why didn't they send a letter to one of those people who thought sitting on a jury would be interesting. Everyone needs to learn it really isn't.
Oh.... welll.... I wish I could say I felt better after getting that off my chest, but honestly. I don't.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Mom Update
Winter was such a good thing this year, then all of a sudden, for no reason, it got really mean. Our temperatures have dropped to subarctic and we are freezing up here. But, life goes on, and I comfort myself with words that it can't last long. Spring is just around the corner. But, just for the record, it has already lasted too long. And even though the temperature is climbing all the way up to a high today of 17, maybe, well, that just isn't good enough. I want to see some ice melting, dad gum it.
Even if freezing, we still have to keep on with the routine, so yesterday was Mom's doctor day. She had appointments with her oncologist, Dr. Shen, and her primary care physician, Dr. Byrens. She had blood work done last week and x-rays made, so we were ready to hear how things were going.
Dr. Shen was first and he is a talker. Although Mom's platelet count is dropping (92,000) and is considered "abnormal" is is still fine. The test they run to determine the size of her tumor, shows that it is shrinking. A good thing, having gone from a 10 at the time of surgery down to an "8". I'm not sure what those numbers mean, but Dr. Shen seemed very happy with the report. Mom seems to have recovered from her pneumonia and is feeling better than she has in a long time. She returns to Dr. Shen on the 6th of March.
Dr. Byrens also was pleased with the way Mom is doing. He was very encouraging and said since she was doing so well, she would not need to return for 6 months. This puts her new appointment into August. SHe was quite tickled about this, mentioning that she would be almost 93 before she went back to see him again.
She wondered why no one was saying much about surgery anymore, but Dr. Shen had said they would review that in the spring. So for now, all is well and Mom is doing great and we are hoping to continue getting these good reports.
Even if freezing, we still have to keep on with the routine, so yesterday was Mom's doctor day. She had appointments with her oncologist, Dr. Shen, and her primary care physician, Dr. Byrens. She had blood work done last week and x-rays made, so we were ready to hear how things were going.
Dr. Shen was first and he is a talker. Although Mom's platelet count is dropping (92,000) and is considered "abnormal" is is still fine. The test they run to determine the size of her tumor, shows that it is shrinking. A good thing, having gone from a 10 at the time of surgery down to an "8". I'm not sure what those numbers mean, but Dr. Shen seemed very happy with the report. Mom seems to have recovered from her pneumonia and is feeling better than she has in a long time. She returns to Dr. Shen on the 6th of March.
Dr. Byrens also was pleased with the way Mom is doing. He was very encouraging and said since she was doing so well, she would not need to return for 6 months. This puts her new appointment into August. SHe was quite tickled about this, mentioning that she would be almost 93 before she went back to see him again.
She wondered why no one was saying much about surgery anymore, but Dr. Shen had said they would review that in the spring. So for now, all is well and Mom is doing great and we are hoping to continue getting these good reports.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Fun In The Snow
We were warned we might get some of the lake effect snow here in central Michigan, although we wouldn't get it like those west of us. When I got up it was snowing which was no surprise. When I took Sweet Pea out for a walk, it was not snowing...it was blizzarding. The snow was falling so thick and heavy, I was glad I was not out on a road somewhere trying to get to some place else.
We talked it over and decided we'd probably stay in for the day. By breakfast time, although the snow had slowed, we had a good six inches on the ground. Since my shoulder surgery, I can't manage a snow shovel so that meant Jamelah would have to do the heavy work. It was left to me to go outside and clean off the cars. The snow was light and airy and moving it was easy. Jamelah took Sweet Pea out to play in the snow before she began shoveling. I had one car cleared off when I saw a guy with a blade on the front of his truck plowing out the neighbors drive. I figured it was a good idea to have him come over and plow us out. He said "sure" and we got the cars moved and in 10 minutes he had all of Jamelah's work done.
Nothing left to do but celebrate. Jamelah went out to play catch with Sweet Pea (she loves catching snow balls, go figure) and I ran in to get my camera. I had a feeling there would be some fun pictures to take. I was right about that. Now it looks as one point that the dog is trying to eat Jamelah's head, but I assure you that no people were harmed in the making of this slide show. It could have happened, sure, but it didn't.
I had to go to the store and had told Mom to let me know what she needed and I'd pick up her things. She called back later and said for me not to stop. She didn't want anything from the store and she DID NOT want me to drive into her driveway. Her neighbors had shoveled it clean and she wanted to keep it that way. Well, OK then.
That's just so you'll know that Mom is doing fine. We went to visit the neurologist last Wednesday and his diagnosis regarding the "heaviness" in her leg was that she has neuropathy. He also wanted to get a scan of her lower back and we will have that done tomorrow, but won't get the report back until later this month. Aside from that, Mom is feeling better than she has in a long time and is enjoying her independence more. She likes being able to do for herself.
So all is well on this wintry day in Michigan. Enjoy the slide show as you watch Sweet Pea eat Jamelah's head (although, not really). Click on fun below for show. Because the slideshow moves quickly it is good to set the speed at the slowest possible speed to see clearly, well, at least on my computer, it may be different on yours.
fun
We talked it over and decided we'd probably stay in for the day. By breakfast time, although the snow had slowed, we had a good six inches on the ground. Since my shoulder surgery, I can't manage a snow shovel so that meant Jamelah would have to do the heavy work. It was left to me to go outside and clean off the cars. The snow was light and airy and moving it was easy. Jamelah took Sweet Pea out to play in the snow before she began shoveling. I had one car cleared off when I saw a guy with a blade on the front of his truck plowing out the neighbors drive. I figured it was a good idea to have him come over and plow us out. He said "sure" and we got the cars moved and in 10 minutes he had all of Jamelah's work done.
Nothing left to do but celebrate. Jamelah went out to play catch with Sweet Pea (she loves catching snow balls, go figure) and I ran in to get my camera. I had a feeling there would be some fun pictures to take. I was right about that. Now it looks as one point that the dog is trying to eat Jamelah's head, but I assure you that no people were harmed in the making of this slide show. It could have happened, sure, but it didn't.
I had to go to the store and had told Mom to let me know what she needed and I'd pick up her things. She called back later and said for me not to stop. She didn't want anything from the store and she DID NOT want me to drive into her driveway. Her neighbors had shoveled it clean and she wanted to keep it that way. Well, OK then.
That's just so you'll know that Mom is doing fine. We went to visit the neurologist last Wednesday and his diagnosis regarding the "heaviness" in her leg was that she has neuropathy. He also wanted to get a scan of her lower back and we will have that done tomorrow, but won't get the report back until later this month. Aside from that, Mom is feeling better than she has in a long time and is enjoying her independence more. She likes being able to do for herself.
So all is well on this wintry day in Michigan. Enjoy the slide show as you watch Sweet Pea eat Jamelah's head (although, not really). Click on fun below for show. Because the slideshow moves quickly it is good to set the speed at the slowest possible speed to see clearly, well, at least on my computer, it may be different on yours.
fun
Monday, January 22, 2007
5 Things You Didn't Know About Me (a meme)
I love reading these things but am bad about doing them... but since Caryn tagged me, I'll do my thing. So here goes...
Five Things You Didn't Know About Me (I think)
1. I love to design and make clothes. When "the kid" was small, I did this a lot. My greatest creation was the flower girl dress she wore to my neice's wedding. At that time we just didn't buy stuff new. But since I was "gifted" I could pretty much look at something, find a pattern with similar basic lines, and tailor make clothes for my daughter. She had really neat outfits when she was growing up. I made costumes for her school plays, her prom dress, and usually a new outfit in the fall for her birthday. She had a thing back then and thought she should always get a new red dress for her birthday. Anyway, here is the flower girl dress.
We still have it.
2. Caryn mentioned the bridges thing. And along with that, I'm rather squeamish when it comes to heights, too. I rather die on parking ramps if I'm past the 2nd level. There is something flip/floppy that starts happening inside my internal organs, and then I start getting light headed. I guess the technical term for this is "panic attacks". Well, whatever! It sure is uncomfortable. Now, I handle heights better when I have solid ground under me (like on top of mountains); but tall buildings, and those stupid glass elevators. Whoever came up with that idea anyway? I even have trouble with motion sickness in theatres when they are doing that swoopy scene thing from up high, I have to close my eyes. Isn't that the silliest thing?
3. My age. I mean that's something about me not every one knows, because most people think I'm younger than I look. Yeah, the deal is to list 5 things you DON'T know about me. IT doesn't say I have to tell you what my age really is, now does it?
4. I have a bachellor's degree. That's right I do. I attended college and graduated with a BA degree in theology. Because I am not the preacherly type most people are rather surprised by this. I worked most of my life in an office setting. However right out of college I taught Theology and English at a small Indian Bible school in Phoenix, Arizona. I stopped teaching when I married at the "old maid" age of 28. After my husband died I did not go back to teaching but instead worked in the "real" world and have stayed there.
5. I still love to teach. I just don't have the opportunity to do so right now. But teaching is my most favorite thing to do. I taught in church settings until recently and now am the church secretary. But, I would like very much to have an opportunity to teach Biblical truths again. My special interest is digging into theological concepts. Yeah, that's fun. Really it is. Enjoy setting around the table and just talking about these truths that are so vital to me. You see, I really do believe that God is real, that He likes me a lot and enjoys hanging out with me.
Five Things You Didn't Know About Me (I think)
1. I love to design and make clothes. When "the kid" was small, I did this a lot. My greatest creation was the flower girl dress she wore to my neice's wedding. At that time we just didn't buy stuff new. But since I was "gifted" I could pretty much look at something, find a pattern with similar basic lines, and tailor make clothes for my daughter. She had really neat outfits when she was growing up. I made costumes for her school plays, her prom dress, and usually a new outfit in the fall for her birthday. She had a thing back then and thought she should always get a new red dress for her birthday. Anyway, here is the flower girl dress.
We still have it.
2. Caryn mentioned the bridges thing. And along with that, I'm rather squeamish when it comes to heights, too. I rather die on parking ramps if I'm past the 2nd level. There is something flip/floppy that starts happening inside my internal organs, and then I start getting light headed. I guess the technical term for this is "panic attacks". Well, whatever! It sure is uncomfortable. Now, I handle heights better when I have solid ground under me (like on top of mountains); but tall buildings, and those stupid glass elevators. Whoever came up with that idea anyway? I even have trouble with motion sickness in theatres when they are doing that swoopy scene thing from up high, I have to close my eyes. Isn't that the silliest thing?
3. My age. I mean that's something about me not every one knows, because most people think I'm younger than I look. Yeah, the deal is to list 5 things you DON'T know about me. IT doesn't say I have to tell you what my age really is, now does it?
4. I have a bachellor's degree. That's right I do. I attended college and graduated with a BA degree in theology. Because I am not the preacherly type most people are rather surprised by this. I worked most of my life in an office setting. However right out of college I taught Theology and English at a small Indian Bible school in Phoenix, Arizona. I stopped teaching when I married at the "old maid" age of 28. After my husband died I did not go back to teaching but instead worked in the "real" world and have stayed there.
5. I still love to teach. I just don't have the opportunity to do so right now. But teaching is my most favorite thing to do. I taught in church settings until recently and now am the church secretary. But, I would like very much to have an opportunity to teach Biblical truths again. My special interest is digging into theological concepts. Yeah, that's fun. Really it is. Enjoy setting around the table and just talking about these truths that are so vital to me. You see, I really do believe that God is real, that He likes me a lot and enjoys hanging out with me.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Ice Storm
Well, the weatherman told us it was going to be awful. Imagine my surprise when I awakened on Monday morning and realized it wasn't horrible at all. I was NOT iced in, so without further ado, I had no choice but to head off to work. I arrived in good form... ready to tackle the day's chores. But alas, despite the clear roads, the ice had knocked out the power and I had no phones and no heat, so put my coat on, and sadly (ahem) headed back home.
I did note on my way there and back that several large trees were down on the route, but things didn't seem awful or anything. I got home and we decided on ice storm days you watch Pride & Predjudice, so we began. We were really getting into it when our lights went out. Then back on. Then out. then back on. out. on. out. on
OUT! OUT! OUT! No! This can't be any fun. I called my Mom. Her lights were also out.
My daughter decided to start a big pot of soup, since we couldn't do anything else and it would help keep the house warm. (We, have gas cooking which is a blessing in power outages). So, we pulled out our crocheting and went to work and chatted and decided it was not so bad, anyway. After an hour I called Mom again and asked her to come over to our house. She has an electric cook stove and I thought she must be getting cold. She decided to just stay snuggled under a blanket, sure the power would be back on soon.
Well, after a couple more hours, we were beginning to wonder just when the power would be back on. I called Mom again, but she was determined to wait it out. We decided to call the power company for one of those automated messages so we would at least have an idea as to how long we would be waiting in the dark. The message said the power would be back on by January 16th at 11:59 pm. HOLD ON! That would be the next day! I called Mom and told her to pack her little bag. She now had no choice. She would have to abandon the cold comfort of home and head to our house. This time she relented.
I returned home from picking up Mom to find the house feeling warm and cozy with the warm light of our "way too many" uncounted candles. They twinkled from every flat surface. The soup was done and the aroma made us unwilling to wait; and why should we. IT was already supper time. We settled around the table with out soup bowls and hot garlic bread and ate by candlelight and Mom told us stories of the good old days. It felt like this really was a good old day and we just enjoyed ourselves.
After clearing away the table we began wondering what we could do all evening to keep ourselves entertained and settled for scrabble or more stories. When all of a sudden... ON... the lights came back on. then off. Then on... then ON! And this time they stayed on. I managed to convince Mom to sit a while until her house would have a chance to warm back up... so we watched the weather channel to learn how "not so bad" we had it when so many were worse off then we were. We were glad we would not be 2 days without lights.
I took Mom home and came back to see the Golden Globe dress splendor. And, as usual the gowns were awesome; the jewelry outstanding. It's always fun to see the glamor. But it wasn't nearly as glamorous as the scenery the next day. The ice storm turned everything magical and Tuesday dawned sunshine bright turning everything into crystalized splendor. Not even the camera could catch the prisms of color dancing from electrical wires and chain link fences. It is totally awesome. Here are some pictures. We spent the afternoon trying to catch forever the day and wound up in our favorite place along the banks of the Kalamazoo River. Enjoy.
Winter Ice Storm, 2007
If you want to see the pictures in more detail, simply click on the link "Winter ice storm 2007" above and it will take you to the full album.
I did note on my way there and back that several large trees were down on the route, but things didn't seem awful or anything. I got home and we decided on ice storm days you watch Pride & Predjudice, so we began. We were really getting into it when our lights went out. Then back on. Then out. then back on. out. on. out. on
OUT! OUT! OUT! No! This can't be any fun. I called my Mom. Her lights were also out.
My daughter decided to start a big pot of soup, since we couldn't do anything else and it would help keep the house warm. (We, have gas cooking which is a blessing in power outages). So, we pulled out our crocheting and went to work and chatted and decided it was not so bad, anyway. After an hour I called Mom again and asked her to come over to our house. She has an electric cook stove and I thought she must be getting cold. She decided to just stay snuggled under a blanket, sure the power would be back on soon.
Well, after a couple more hours, we were beginning to wonder just when the power would be back on. I called Mom again, but she was determined to wait it out. We decided to call the power company for one of those automated messages so we would at least have an idea as to how long we would be waiting in the dark. The message said the power would be back on by January 16th at 11:59 pm. HOLD ON! That would be the next day! I called Mom and told her to pack her little bag. She now had no choice. She would have to abandon the cold comfort of home and head to our house. This time she relented.
I returned home from picking up Mom to find the house feeling warm and cozy with the warm light of our "way too many" uncounted candles. They twinkled from every flat surface. The soup was done and the aroma made us unwilling to wait; and why should we. IT was already supper time. We settled around the table with out soup bowls and hot garlic bread and ate by candlelight and Mom told us stories of the good old days. It felt like this really was a good old day and we just enjoyed ourselves.
After clearing away the table we began wondering what we could do all evening to keep ourselves entertained and settled for scrabble or more stories. When all of a sudden... ON... the lights came back on. then off. Then on... then ON! And this time they stayed on. I managed to convince Mom to sit a while until her house would have a chance to warm back up... so we watched the weather channel to learn how "not so bad" we had it when so many were worse off then we were. We were glad we would not be 2 days without lights.
I took Mom home and came back to see the Golden Globe dress splendor. And, as usual the gowns were awesome; the jewelry outstanding. It's always fun to see the glamor. But it wasn't nearly as glamorous as the scenery the next day. The ice storm turned everything magical and Tuesday dawned sunshine bright turning everything into crystalized splendor. Not even the camera could catch the prisms of color dancing from electrical wires and chain link fences. It is totally awesome. Here are some pictures. We spent the afternoon trying to catch forever the day and wound up in our favorite place along the banks of the Kalamazoo River. Enjoy.
Winter Ice Storm, 2007
If you want to see the pictures in more detail, simply click on the link "Winter ice storm 2007" above and it will take you to the full album.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Mid Winter Ramblings
Well, there's not much to report, but "not much to report" is a good thing.
We had Mom's checkup with the oncologist, Dr. Shen, this past week. He shared that her blood count (hemaglobin) was at 14 (very good) her platelets were at 99 (dropping still), and her bone scan shows that the cancer is still inactive.
She has complained with heaviness in her legs and stated that they seemed better. Dr. Shen said this is a side effect of the predazone and since she is not off the drug she will probably continue to improve.
The doctor stated that much of her symptoms are simply signs that her body is wearing out and are not cancer related. She will need to accept that she must be cautious and take things easier from here on out and not plan to plant a full flower garden in her yard every year.
But spring is down the road and Mom does love her flowers. Hopefully we can help her get a least some of her planting done so she can still be proud of her yard. I'm not much good, except for encouragement purposes, but Jamelah has inherited the love of growing things from her grandmother and does a lot to help her out.
In the meantime, all seems well here. Well, mostly! We have not had winter hit yet this season but the weathermen tell us it is on its way and will be arriving this weekend. I have come to realize that I just don't like living in this cold climate and this year to understand how much I really destest that beautiful white stuff called snow. Yeah, I'll change my mind the first beautiful snow covered day we have, but I won't change it for long.
Altogether, all is well here. Hope it is the same with you where ever you are.
We had Mom's checkup with the oncologist, Dr. Shen, this past week. He shared that her blood count (hemaglobin) was at 14 (very good) her platelets were at 99 (dropping still), and her bone scan shows that the cancer is still inactive.
She has complained with heaviness in her legs and stated that they seemed better. Dr. Shen said this is a side effect of the predazone and since she is not off the drug she will probably continue to improve.
The doctor stated that much of her symptoms are simply signs that her body is wearing out and are not cancer related. She will need to accept that she must be cautious and take things easier from here on out and not plan to plant a full flower garden in her yard every year.
But spring is down the road and Mom does love her flowers. Hopefully we can help her get a least some of her planting done so she can still be proud of her yard. I'm not much good, except for encouragement purposes, but Jamelah has inherited the love of growing things from her grandmother and does a lot to help her out.
In the meantime, all seems well here. Well, mostly! We have not had winter hit yet this season but the weathermen tell us it is on its way and will be arriving this weekend. I have come to realize that I just don't like living in this cold climate and this year to understand how much I really destest that beautiful white stuff called snow. Yeah, I'll change my mind the first beautiful snow covered day we have, but I won't change it for long.
Altogether, all is well here. Hope it is the same with you where ever you are.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Happy New Year and all that Jazz! Yeahhhh!
Well, here we are all the way up to 2007. Makes me remember my youth when I picked 40 as the age to die. Those "old people" were so sad and boring! Well If I had bit the dust at 40 I would have been gone 25 years already.
I have learned a bit about aging. For one thing, I have never felt that I was older than 35. I guess that is why I didn't die at 40. Just never arrived at that ripe old age. For another thing, I am totally amazed at how old people my age are when I see them. I go home stare at myself in the mirrow. I guess the doctor inserted rose colored lenses at the time I had to have both eyes "done" because of cataracts. I still don't think I'm as old as any of the people my age. Of course, the arthritic pain when I have to get up makes me think sometimes that I am actually 90.
Anyway, this isn't a growing old theme. This is Happy New Year talk. Here's how our evening celebration went.
The kid was on antibiotics which means we didn't buy our usual bottle of wine to toast in the end of the old and the beginning of the New. But, we determined to have a good time, whatever!
We saw in the year with a game of Scrabble. By some slight miracle I won by just a couple points. The miracle being that the kid got stuck with the Q and could never unload it. And it didn't hurt that despite the fact that with my 7 tiles allowed on my stick, 13 of them were usually vowels. I never could spell much more then 7 point words, even if I were on triple point squares. Until I got a D which fit in just the right spot, joining together two words and getting me triple word points to boot; gifting me up with 54 points for just one play. If not for that miracle... I would have been completely embarrassed when the final score was tallied.
When we put away the Scrabble tiles we watched Little Miss Sunshine. You don't need a New Year's Eve drink to enjoy this movie. I laughed so hard I came close to losing my breath a couple times and definitely had tears streaming down my cheeks. I think it just reminded me of some road trips I had taken in my youth, and I totally felt the pain and the love of the characters in the movie. If you haven't seen it. You should. Got to become a classic and a movie that I will pick up to watch over again and again.
Then Dick Clark counted down slowly to 2007. The neighbors began shooting off fireworks and guns. Sweet Pea got a little agitated and had to bark at the noise, but I choose to believe she was just wishing us a Happy New Year too. Altogether it was a fun night.
Hope the same for you. Hope you had a grand time last night and that the year ahead will be filled with more laughter than tears.
Happy New Year!
I have learned a bit about aging. For one thing, I have never felt that I was older than 35. I guess that is why I didn't die at 40. Just never arrived at that ripe old age. For another thing, I am totally amazed at how old people my age are when I see them. I go home stare at myself in the mirrow. I guess the doctor inserted rose colored lenses at the time I had to have both eyes "done" because of cataracts. I still don't think I'm as old as any of the people my age. Of course, the arthritic pain when I have to get up makes me think sometimes that I am actually 90.
Anyway, this isn't a growing old theme. This is Happy New Year talk. Here's how our evening celebration went.
The kid was on antibiotics which means we didn't buy our usual bottle of wine to toast in the end of the old and the beginning of the New. But, we determined to have a good time, whatever!
We saw in the year with a game of Scrabble. By some slight miracle I won by just a couple points. The miracle being that the kid got stuck with the Q and could never unload it. And it didn't hurt that despite the fact that with my 7 tiles allowed on my stick, 13 of them were usually vowels. I never could spell much more then 7 point words, even if I were on triple point squares. Until I got a D which fit in just the right spot, joining together two words and getting me triple word points to boot; gifting me up with 54 points for just one play. If not for that miracle... I would have been completely embarrassed when the final score was tallied.
When we put away the Scrabble tiles we watched Little Miss Sunshine. You don't need a New Year's Eve drink to enjoy this movie. I laughed so hard I came close to losing my breath a couple times and definitely had tears streaming down my cheeks. I think it just reminded me of some road trips I had taken in my youth, and I totally felt the pain and the love of the characters in the movie. If you haven't seen it. You should. Got to become a classic and a movie that I will pick up to watch over again and again.
Then Dick Clark counted down slowly to 2007. The neighbors began shooting off fireworks and guns. Sweet Pea got a little agitated and had to bark at the noise, but I choose to believe she was just wishing us a Happy New Year too. Altogether it was a fun night.
Hope the same for you. Hope you had a grand time last night and that the year ahead will be filled with more laughter than tears.
Happy New Year!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Bye Year
Well, I don't know about you, but for me this year went way too fast. Most everything seems to have blurred together up until the time Mom was diagnosed with cancer. I do remember having rotator cuff repair surgery and spending lots of time in physical therapy. Then, time was spent with almost losing Mom, to not losing Mom, to staying with Mom, to going back and forth to doctors. Everything was just very confusing.
But the year is winding down and things seem to be not such a mish-mash of horribleness. There are some things that became clear.
1. God kept his hand on Mom through this entire experience. Sometimes Mom and I talk and are in awe in the way God directed and helped Mom. Of course, it would seem better, if none of this had ever happened. But it has. And in the experience we see God was involved in even the small things and has seen to it that Mom received excellent care.
2. I couldn't have made it through this experience without my sister, Phyllis. Phyllis and Jim usually head south before "real" winter arrives and stay there til spring. This year they stayed here to be with Mom. Just the running to doctor appointments and tests would have killed me. They did most of the running. Which means they were with Mom when she received a lot of the bad news and I got it second hand.
3. I have always known my Mom was a really awesome woman. I have come to appreciate that even more this past year. She is stubborn and until she is sure about something she will not proceed. Sometimes that just about frustrated us to death, since we were so certain as to what she should do. In retrospect, in some cases you need to not get in such a hurry. Mom's cancer is not the kind that quickly spreads (not yet, anyway) and so not getting in a hurry was a good thing. My mother's incredible strength of spirit and determination is not defeated nor is her need to be independent.
4. Surgery is not always the best solution for breast cancer. Wow! I sure came full circle on that one. I really thought this was the ONLY answer. Turns out, for women my Mom's age, it isn't. Although we had a date set for surgery, Mom was never comfortable with the idea of having it. Now surgery has been put on hold until spring. I am not sure that she will choose to have the surgery at that time. What she chooses will be the best choice for her and we will support that choice.
5. Little things become more important when you have no guarantees. We lost track of the big stuff this year because we were kept so busy doing the everyday stuff. In the days, spending time with Mom, helping with her with the little things that were important to her, became top prioritiy. Ultimately, things don't really count. The people do.
6. Christmas without a lot of fuss is lots of fun. We just threw out all the stressful activities and did the essential. Shopping didn't happen and that was a blessing in itself. No purchases were made we could not afford. But when we came together at Christmas, we laughed and just loved the joy of being together. It was great to have Phyllis and James here; the first time in 10 years. This Christmas with Mom will always be one I will hold close to my heart because it was such a very special time. There was nothing unique; there were no big gifts; it was just a time of being together and loving one another. Like I said, it was very special.
7. I had to say goodbye to some very special family members. My cousin Gerri died unexpectly. It was sad to know I would not be seeing here again this side of heaven; and a favored Aunt also died at the age of 96. Aunt Hazel was a unique lady with a great sense of humor who loved to fish. She had moved to Florida and due to poor health we had not seen her in a very long time. It will be good to join her again someday in the future.
And, oh yeah! We got a dog. That was pretty cool. She is a border collie/hound mix. She has boundless energy and could play ball 24 hrs a day. She is an uncalculated miracle and brings much laughter into this house. Her name is Sweet Pea, which came with her and we just didn't feel like we needed to change it to some other ordinary thing.
So goodbye, 2006. You tried to beat us up, but in the end, faith in God, love of family held us together and we are all here ready for whatever 2007 holds. So bring it on 2007. We can take whatever you dish out and meet each day head on.
And that's that.
Happy New Year, everyone!
But the year is winding down and things seem to be not such a mish-mash of horribleness. There are some things that became clear.
1. God kept his hand on Mom through this entire experience. Sometimes Mom and I talk and are in awe in the way God directed and helped Mom. Of course, it would seem better, if none of this had ever happened. But it has. And in the experience we see God was involved in even the small things and has seen to it that Mom received excellent care.
2. I couldn't have made it through this experience without my sister, Phyllis. Phyllis and Jim usually head south before "real" winter arrives and stay there til spring. This year they stayed here to be with Mom. Just the running to doctor appointments and tests would have killed me. They did most of the running. Which means they were with Mom when she received a lot of the bad news and I got it second hand.
3. I have always known my Mom was a really awesome woman. I have come to appreciate that even more this past year. She is stubborn and until she is sure about something she will not proceed. Sometimes that just about frustrated us to death, since we were so certain as to what she should do. In retrospect, in some cases you need to not get in such a hurry. Mom's cancer is not the kind that quickly spreads (not yet, anyway) and so not getting in a hurry was a good thing. My mother's incredible strength of spirit and determination is not defeated nor is her need to be independent.
4. Surgery is not always the best solution for breast cancer. Wow! I sure came full circle on that one. I really thought this was the ONLY answer. Turns out, for women my Mom's age, it isn't. Although we had a date set for surgery, Mom was never comfortable with the idea of having it. Now surgery has been put on hold until spring. I am not sure that she will choose to have the surgery at that time. What she chooses will be the best choice for her and we will support that choice.
5. Little things become more important when you have no guarantees. We lost track of the big stuff this year because we were kept so busy doing the everyday stuff. In the days, spending time with Mom, helping with her with the little things that were important to her, became top prioritiy. Ultimately, things don't really count. The people do.
6. Christmas without a lot of fuss is lots of fun. We just threw out all the stressful activities and did the essential. Shopping didn't happen and that was a blessing in itself. No purchases were made we could not afford. But when we came together at Christmas, we laughed and just loved the joy of being together. It was great to have Phyllis and James here; the first time in 10 years. This Christmas with Mom will always be one I will hold close to my heart because it was such a very special time. There was nothing unique; there were no big gifts; it was just a time of being together and loving one another. Like I said, it was very special.
7. I had to say goodbye to some very special family members. My cousin Gerri died unexpectly. It was sad to know I would not be seeing here again this side of heaven; and a favored Aunt also died at the age of 96. Aunt Hazel was a unique lady with a great sense of humor who loved to fish. She had moved to Florida and due to poor health we had not seen her in a very long time. It will be good to join her again someday in the future.
And, oh yeah! We got a dog. That was pretty cool. She is a border collie/hound mix. She has boundless energy and could play ball 24 hrs a day. She is an uncalculated miracle and brings much laughter into this house. Her name is Sweet Pea, which came with her and we just didn't feel like we needed to change it to some other ordinary thing.
So goodbye, 2006. You tried to beat us up, but in the end, faith in God, love of family held us together and we are all here ready for whatever 2007 holds. So bring it on 2007. We can take whatever you dish out and meet each day head on.
And that's that.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Christmas With Mom
Well it's been about 3 months since I added a post here. Sorry about that. Things got a little busy and I tried to keep family updated with emails. In the meantime, we appreciate your prayers. God has been faithful... and, well, here's the latest.
Immediately after Thanksgivings we all got sick. Mom wound up in the hospital with pneumonia. After nearly a week she got to come home to us. She is doing better now and regaining her strength. We are thankful that God was with us. Things could have turned out much differently.
Her surgery, which had been scheduled, has been postponed. Her medical team will be re-evaluating her in March and she can make any decision she needs to make at that time. They cancer is not spreading; and they are keeping a close eye on this with C-scans and such. I find myself no longer "rooting" for her to have surgery. The doctor says there are no guarantees that surgery will prolong her life nor will it add to the quality of life she has remaining. So, we will see what happens in March.
James and Phyllis may head for Florida in January. But for now, it has been more than a blessing having them here. They have been awesome and without them I can't imagine the last few months.
We had an awesome Christmas. We (Vonnie's boys; Marty and his wife Debbie and Wendell), Phyllis & James and me and Jamelah. We had a great dinner, a lot of laughs and it was great just gathering together. You can visit the pictures I took (with the camera Jamelah gave me for Christmas).
pictures here
Immediately after Thanksgivings we all got sick. Mom wound up in the hospital with pneumonia. After nearly a week she got to come home to us. She is doing better now and regaining her strength. We are thankful that God was with us. Things could have turned out much differently.
Her surgery, which had been scheduled, has been postponed. Her medical team will be re-evaluating her in March and she can make any decision she needs to make at that time. They cancer is not spreading; and they are keeping a close eye on this with C-scans and such. I find myself no longer "rooting" for her to have surgery. The doctor says there are no guarantees that surgery will prolong her life nor will it add to the quality of life she has remaining. So, we will see what happens in March.
James and Phyllis may head for Florida in January. But for now, it has been more than a blessing having them here. They have been awesome and without them I can't imagine the last few months.
We had an awesome Christmas. We (Vonnie's boys; Marty and his wife Debbie and Wendell), Phyllis & James and me and Jamelah. We had a great dinner, a lot of laughs and it was great just gathering together. You can visit the pictures I took (with the camera Jamelah gave me for Christmas).
pictures here
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Mom Update: September 19
Mom had her appointment with her oncologist last Friday (Sept 15). A brief summary is as follows:
1. Mom's surgery could be scheduled any time now. She is doing very well and it doesn't appear that they need to wait much longer. (Mom wants to feel that she has regained enough of her strength that she will not contiue to have dizzy spells which she has once in a while).
2. Her platelet count was 134. This is very good. They usually want it to be 140+/- before doing surgery. She will have her blood checked again in 2 weeks. The doctor cut her predizone back to 1/2 of her current dose. She now takes 1/2 pill every other day. So she is slowly being weaned from this medication.
CT Scan: Mom's nuerologist wanted a CT scan of her head and neck area. He felt that her symptoms indicated that she could have some blockage there. This would explain the dizzy spells. She had the CT scan yesterday and the results will be back next Monday. If there is blockage, they will have to go in and clear it out.
Aside from that, Mom seems to be doing very well. She went grocery shopping again on Saturday and out to lunch with Jamelah and me after church on Sunday. She thought she might try going to church this Sunday if she was having a good day. I was glad she went with us it was a beautiful day. Touches of fall everywhere and hard to believe that that time of year is here. Mom gets to go out, so it wasn't like she had been cooped up in the house forever, but this time it was all for fun... no needle pokes and no doctors examining her. We had a good time.
Mom has 2 more appointments with doctors this week. I am trying to keep up with this every week so you will know the latest. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks again for your prayers and support. There is no question about it. God has been with us through this time.
1. Mom's surgery could be scheduled any time now. She is doing very well and it doesn't appear that they need to wait much longer. (Mom wants to feel that she has regained enough of her strength that she will not contiue to have dizzy spells which she has once in a while).
2. Her platelet count was 134. This is very good. They usually want it to be 140+/- before doing surgery. She will have her blood checked again in 2 weeks. The doctor cut her predizone back to 1/2 of her current dose. She now takes 1/2 pill every other day. So she is slowly being weaned from this medication.
CT Scan: Mom's nuerologist wanted a CT scan of her head and neck area. He felt that her symptoms indicated that she could have some blockage there. This would explain the dizzy spells. She had the CT scan yesterday and the results will be back next Monday. If there is blockage, they will have to go in and clear it out.
Aside from that, Mom seems to be doing very well. She went grocery shopping again on Saturday and out to lunch with Jamelah and me after church on Sunday. She thought she might try going to church this Sunday if she was having a good day. I was glad she went with us it was a beautiful day. Touches of fall everywhere and hard to believe that that time of year is here. Mom gets to go out, so it wasn't like she had been cooped up in the house forever, but this time it was all for fun... no needle pokes and no doctors examining her. We had a good time.
Mom has 2 more appointments with doctors this week. I am trying to keep up with this every week so you will know the latest. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks again for your prayers and support. There is no question about it. God has been with us through this time.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Sorry, Just Real People Here!
Just in case this is your first time to read this blog thing, I work as a church secretary. Which is way cool. Our church is anything but typical and this job, like any job, comes with its frustrations. Here lately I have been amazed at the number of people who call and ask for the Pastor and when I explain that he is unavailable, instruct me to give them his "voice mail."
OK... sure, uh, how do I explain this. We don't have that type phone service here at church. It would be nice, but then again maybe not. I then have to explain to them, that I AM Pastor's voice mail and you are more than welcome to leave a message with me and I'll see that he gets it. This seems to leave some people just a little perplexed. "What? I have to talk to a person. Well, I'm used to machines."
At that point I figure, smiling to myself, I can tell them to call right back and I won't answer the phone and will let the "answering machine" pick it up. Which is really a joke, because during my scheduled hours the answering machine is not turned on. Why? Because, I'm expected to answer the phone. And when messages get left on the "machine" who clears it? Oh, that would be me.
Of course, it would be kinda fun to create a fake voice mail message and say "just one moment, please" then wait a second and go into some spiel and wait for them to leave their name and number and write it down on the message pad to pass on to Pastor. I'd mess it up, of course, by saying something absurd after they had finished like "thanks for calling. I'm sure Pastor will be sorry he missed you."
Yep, we're totally not high teck here at our church, at least phone wise. So for the time being I'm going to be the answering device whenever anyone calls. Wait, I have to answer the phone. I wonder if it's for Pastor. I hope not. He's out of the building. Ho Hum!
OK... sure, uh, how do I explain this. We don't have that type phone service here at church. It would be nice, but then again maybe not. I then have to explain to them, that I AM Pastor's voice mail and you are more than welcome to leave a message with me and I'll see that he gets it. This seems to leave some people just a little perplexed. "What? I have to talk to a person. Well, I'm used to machines."
At that point I figure, smiling to myself, I can tell them to call right back and I won't answer the phone and will let the "answering machine" pick it up. Which is really a joke, because during my scheduled hours the answering machine is not turned on. Why? Because, I'm expected to answer the phone. And when messages get left on the "machine" who clears it? Oh, that would be me.
Of course, it would be kinda fun to create a fake voice mail message and say "just one moment, please" then wait a second and go into some spiel and wait for them to leave their name and number and write it down on the message pad to pass on to Pastor. I'd mess it up, of course, by saying something absurd after they had finished like "thanks for calling. I'm sure Pastor will be sorry he missed you."
Yep, we're totally not high teck here at our church, at least phone wise. So for the time being I'm going to be the answering device whenever anyone calls. Wait, I have to answer the phone. I wonder if it's for Pastor. I hope not. He's out of the building. Ho Hum!
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Mom Update: September 9
It's been a quiet week in Mom's life this week. Only one trip to a doctor's office. Can you imagine? Seems strange with how busy they have kept her the last few months.
This week she went to a nuerologist to have her leg checked to see why she had a problem with it before her surgery. The doctor checked her carefully and agreed with Mom's thoughts that she probably had a slight stroke. So, more tests ahead. They will do a CT on her head and neck area to determine if there are any blood clots. The doctor thinks from the way Mom responded to tests in his office that she may have one in her neck. This will also let him know if she has had a stroke. The CT scan will be this week. But things, doctor wise, are pretty quiet for Mom. Just check-ups and getting stronger every day.
She is feeling more like herself and becoming more independent. She went to the grocery store today, the first real outing she has had in months. She seemed to just enjoy being out and doing regular stuff.
Jamelah is off to Grand Rapids tomorrow for a special bead show (she makes jewelry) and is looking to buy some supplies. She does her first craft show in a couple weeks. This is all exciting. But I had told Mom I figured we could hang out some since the kid would be gone and I'd come up and have lunch with her (I had thought I might get her to go out, maybe?} But, she surprised me by saying she had bought something and was planning to cook lunch for me and have it ready when I got out of church. Well! What do you know about that? I was surprised about some of the groceries she was buying. She has no appetite and has lost weight. Her visiting nurse told her the medication she was on would effect her appetite, but she knows she needs to eat more. Hopefully, making and having someone with her for lunch will help her feel more like eating. She'll have left overs too, I'm sure.
Well, Phyllis and James finally got in some shuffleboard and even won a prize. This is the first chance they have had to play. Everything seems a little more normal and we are thankful for the good medical care Mom has gotten and the assurance we have that God is looking after her.
Mom still feels a little house bound and was really excited by a letter and picture of her sister in California. She enjoys hearing from you all. Thanks for being with her as she goes through this difficult time.
This week she went to a nuerologist to have her leg checked to see why she had a problem with it before her surgery. The doctor checked her carefully and agreed with Mom's thoughts that she probably had a slight stroke. So, more tests ahead. They will do a CT on her head and neck area to determine if there are any blood clots. The doctor thinks from the way Mom responded to tests in his office that she may have one in her neck. This will also let him know if she has had a stroke. The CT scan will be this week. But things, doctor wise, are pretty quiet for Mom. Just check-ups and getting stronger every day.
She is feeling more like herself and becoming more independent. She went to the grocery store today, the first real outing she has had in months. She seemed to just enjoy being out and doing regular stuff.
Jamelah is off to Grand Rapids tomorrow for a special bead show (she makes jewelry) and is looking to buy some supplies. She does her first craft show in a couple weeks. This is all exciting. But I had told Mom I figured we could hang out some since the kid would be gone and I'd come up and have lunch with her (I had thought I might get her to go out, maybe?} But, she surprised me by saying she had bought something and was planning to cook lunch for me and have it ready when I got out of church. Well! What do you know about that? I was surprised about some of the groceries she was buying. She has no appetite and has lost weight. Her visiting nurse told her the medication she was on would effect her appetite, but she knows she needs to eat more. Hopefully, making and having someone with her for lunch will help her feel more like eating. She'll have left overs too, I'm sure.
Well, Phyllis and James finally got in some shuffleboard and even won a prize. This is the first chance they have had to play. Everything seems a little more normal and we are thankful for the good medical care Mom has gotten and the assurance we have that God is looking after her.
Mom still feels a little house bound and was really excited by a letter and picture of her sister in California. She enjoys hearing from you all. Thanks for being with her as she goes through this difficult time.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Oh, What a Day!
I had no clue when I crawled out of bed this morning with a bale of cotton in my mouth what an interesting day I was about to jump into.
Warned by the nurse at the doctor's office that I am not to eat or drink after midnight and then head straight to the clinic for some blood work, I tried to ignore the bale of cotton syndrome and headed for the bathroom. I brushed my teeth an extra long time trying to get the saliva to reach the back of my parched throat without much luck. I gargled with warm water and tried not to swallow any thinking this would take care of the problem. It did - for exactly 5 seconds.
I gave up and got dressed so I could be the first person down to the clinic and head for some serious liquid imbidationing. Ready a bit early I decided to check my email and goof off with things that would keep my brain occupied so I wouldn't think about wanting a drink of water or a can of Diet Coke to sting away the dryness in my throat.
My daughter had gone back to our fenced in back yard with our precious dog Sweet Pea (Who we try really hard to keep in the yard which is not an altogether easy thing. It means you have to stand next to the weak spot in the fence so she can't get under it and start wandering around the neighbors yard). We've got curtaining Sweet Pea's desire to wander down to a fine art and she hasn't escaped in ages. So I was quite surprised when I stepped out the back door hurrying to the clinic to be sure to be first in line, to see our darling girl standing at the bottom of the slight hill that is beside our back door. I call her and offer her a treat. She looks at me like I have to make her a better offer. I glance over into the back yard to see my daughter standing in the middle of the yard with a really befuddled look on her face. "She's over here!" I expalin. She then looks at me like I must be daft and continues looking around the yard for the missing dog.
I return to the kitchen to get a treat for the dog. Come back out and try to entice her my way. That's when I realize that poor Sweet Pea seems to have hurt her front leg since she is walking really funny, hobbling around on 3 legs. I call her again. She turns and looks at me again and I hold out the truly delectable treats for her to see. But there are way too many much more interesting things in the neighbor's yard to investigate. Now this incline between the two yards is really steep and there's no way I'm going to try going down it with my bad knees. I'd have to get down on my butt and scoot and once down I'd never be able to get back up.
But Jamelah has arrived on the scene now wondering how the dog got out. She couldn't have gotten our her regular way. I pointed to the gap under the gate. We've been wondering how long it would be before she tried it, well, we now have the answer to that question. We return to trying to get our girl to climb up the hill to us. She continues to ignore us. That's when we realize that her foot, evidently in crawling under the gate, is caught in the the training collar around her neck and she can't get it back out. Lucky break for us. On three legs she isn't going far.
Jamelah takes the plunge down the incline and Sweet Pea hobbles over for her treat and is rescued from her 3 legged problem. They start around the neighbor's yard instead of climbing back up to our door. I'm thinking my chance of being first is screwed.
I'm right. I'm thrid. Which still isn't too bad. I wo't go into the details of the rest of my morning, but the step out the door was just a foretaste. My stop to pick up mail at the post office was derailed leaving me to arrive at work late. Once there things continued being just a little off kilter all day long. But soon my 4 hour day ended and I headed home.
I decided, since we had a weak spot at the rear of the yard and a weak spot at the front of the yard and since I have no magic powers and can only be in one place at a time, to wait for my daughter to get home before letting Sweet Pea out. Once Jamelah was home, we THOUGHT it would be a good idea to let our dog out right away. She would be about to burst with needing to go pee. So, out to the yard we went. I stationed myself at the gap under the gate and Jamelah walked the dog to the weak spot at the rear of the yard before letting her off her leash. We were right about her fairly bursting; to get back out of the yard, that is. She made a beeline straight for me, but I was ready. But not ready enough. Because she hadn't gone under the gate, she had gone under the fence at an entirely different place and I wasn't standing there... and in a second, despite my loud, "NO!, NO!, NO!" she was gone again. This time unhindered by a foot being caught in her collar. She was soon soon out of sight.
We quickly got in the car and took off after her and caught her across the street. She quickly jumped into the car for her treat and we came back home. We still have to get the dog into the back yard to do "her business" but this time we know where she went out. So, Jamelah decided to stand at the front of the yard at the vulnerable place and I walked the dog to the back and let her off leash again; and off she went like a bat out of hell. To our chagrin she was quicker than us and she was under the fence and gone again. We jumped into the car and around the neighborhood we went. But she managed to evade us. She managed, in fact, to evade us for a long time. We thought we could hear her bark. We checked to only find a different dog in their yard barking. We began to pray to find her because we are now worried about how far astray she has gone. We hear a famliar bark closer to home, we investigate, but again it is the wrong dog. We hear another bark and head towards it and find our beloved Sweet Pea standing in our front yard with a quizzical look on her face as if asking "Where have you been?".
Into the car she bounded and this time we headed to Tractor Supply. We got a long tether, a stake and a harness. Sweet Pea's days of running amok in the back yard have come to an end. My brother in law came over and pounded the stake down good and secure. We tethered her up and she took off full tilt for the fence when she was rudely yanked back when she reached the end of the line. She was totally amazed.
The next 3 times "out" she spent most of the time crying and whining and we did a lot of crying with her, but finally she seems to have noW gotten the hang of it and has adjusted to the space the tether lets her go.
Jamelah is signing up for obedience classes for the fall and we are hoping by teaching her "come" and "stay" the tether will no longer be necessary. Truthfully, tieing her up was harder on us than on her. But, that's it for now. I guess we need the Dog Wrisperer to come visit us for a bit so we can teach our dog that she can't go beyond the fence.
Warned by the nurse at the doctor's office that I am not to eat or drink after midnight and then head straight to the clinic for some blood work, I tried to ignore the bale of cotton syndrome and headed for the bathroom. I brushed my teeth an extra long time trying to get the saliva to reach the back of my parched throat without much luck. I gargled with warm water and tried not to swallow any thinking this would take care of the problem. It did - for exactly 5 seconds.
I gave up and got dressed so I could be the first person down to the clinic and head for some serious liquid imbidationing. Ready a bit early I decided to check my email and goof off with things that would keep my brain occupied so I wouldn't think about wanting a drink of water or a can of Diet Coke to sting away the dryness in my throat.
My daughter had gone back to our fenced in back yard with our precious dog Sweet Pea (Who we try really hard to keep in the yard which is not an altogether easy thing. It means you have to stand next to the weak spot in the fence so she can't get under it and start wandering around the neighbors yard). We've got curtaining Sweet Pea's desire to wander down to a fine art and she hasn't escaped in ages. So I was quite surprised when I stepped out the back door hurrying to the clinic to be sure to be first in line, to see our darling girl standing at the bottom of the slight hill that is beside our back door. I call her and offer her a treat. She looks at me like I have to make her a better offer. I glance over into the back yard to see my daughter standing in the middle of the yard with a really befuddled look on her face. "She's over here!" I expalin. She then looks at me like I must be daft and continues looking around the yard for the missing dog.
I return to the kitchen to get a treat for the dog. Come back out and try to entice her my way. That's when I realize that poor Sweet Pea seems to have hurt her front leg since she is walking really funny, hobbling around on 3 legs. I call her again. She turns and looks at me again and I hold out the truly delectable treats for her to see. But there are way too many much more interesting things in the neighbor's yard to investigate. Now this incline between the two yards is really steep and there's no way I'm going to try going down it with my bad knees. I'd have to get down on my butt and scoot and once down I'd never be able to get back up.
But Jamelah has arrived on the scene now wondering how the dog got out. She couldn't have gotten our her regular way. I pointed to the gap under the gate. We've been wondering how long it would be before she tried it, well, we now have the answer to that question. We return to trying to get our girl to climb up the hill to us. She continues to ignore us. That's when we realize that her foot, evidently in crawling under the gate, is caught in the the training collar around her neck and she can't get it back out. Lucky break for us. On three legs she isn't going far.
Jamelah takes the plunge down the incline and Sweet Pea hobbles over for her treat and is rescued from her 3 legged problem. They start around the neighbor's yard instead of climbing back up to our door. I'm thinking my chance of being first is screwed.
I'm right. I'm thrid. Which still isn't too bad. I wo't go into the details of the rest of my morning, but the step out the door was just a foretaste. My stop to pick up mail at the post office was derailed leaving me to arrive at work late. Once there things continued being just a little off kilter all day long. But soon my 4 hour day ended and I headed home.
I decided, since we had a weak spot at the rear of the yard and a weak spot at the front of the yard and since I have no magic powers and can only be in one place at a time, to wait for my daughter to get home before letting Sweet Pea out. Once Jamelah was home, we THOUGHT it would be a good idea to let our dog out right away. She would be about to burst with needing to go pee. So, out to the yard we went. I stationed myself at the gap under the gate and Jamelah walked the dog to the weak spot at the rear of the yard before letting her off her leash. We were right about her fairly bursting; to get back out of the yard, that is. She made a beeline straight for me, but I was ready. But not ready enough. Because she hadn't gone under the gate, she had gone under the fence at an entirely different place and I wasn't standing there... and in a second, despite my loud, "NO!, NO!, NO!" she was gone again. This time unhindered by a foot being caught in her collar. She was soon soon out of sight.
We quickly got in the car and took off after her and caught her across the street. She quickly jumped into the car for her treat and we came back home. We still have to get the dog into the back yard to do "her business" but this time we know where she went out. So, Jamelah decided to stand at the front of the yard at the vulnerable place and I walked the dog to the back and let her off leash again; and off she went like a bat out of hell. To our chagrin she was quicker than us and she was under the fence and gone again. We jumped into the car and around the neighborhood we went. But she managed to evade us. She managed, in fact, to evade us for a long time. We thought we could hear her bark. We checked to only find a different dog in their yard barking. We began to pray to find her because we are now worried about how far astray she has gone. We hear a famliar bark closer to home, we investigate, but again it is the wrong dog. We hear another bark and head towards it and find our beloved Sweet Pea standing in our front yard with a quizzical look on her face as if asking "Where have you been?".
Into the car she bounded and this time we headed to Tractor Supply. We got a long tether, a stake and a harness. Sweet Pea's days of running amok in the back yard have come to an end. My brother in law came over and pounded the stake down good and secure. We tethered her up and she took off full tilt for the fence when she was rudely yanked back when she reached the end of the line. She was totally amazed.
The next 3 times "out" she spent most of the time crying and whining and we did a lot of crying with her, but finally she seems to have noW gotten the hang of it and has adjusted to the space the tether lets her go.
Jamelah is signing up for obedience classes for the fall and we are hoping by teaching her "come" and "stay" the tether will no longer be necessary. Truthfully, tieing her up was harder on us than on her. But, that's it for now. I guess we need the Dog Wrisperer to come visit us for a bit so we can teach our dog that she can't go beyond the fence.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
