Sunday, September 25, 2005
Sub-standard Sunday
Did not get awakened to blood-letting this morning, a minor plus. No, instead it was Mike reporting that the dog was throwing up everywhere. Then the dog himself came in for comforting and threw up...FROM my bed instead of in, but still. Not sure what the problem is...everything seems normal except that he keeps doing it. So we'll begin tomorrow with a trip to the vet, I guess.
While I was sleeping, I was having unsettling dreams--things blowing up, people lost and crying. At one point I thought Damaris and the girls were there, sitting on my blankets so I couldn't get up. I DID know I was dreaming, though, because I managed to at least open my eyes a little, and I could tell the room light was not the same color as it was in my dream.
The weird dreams and trouble waking might have been because I took a Benadryl at bedtime. I might be catching a cold.
Then Damaris came over for reals later in the morning. She has some stress going on in her life, and it's the sort of thing that no one on the outside can help with much, which is the kind of problem *I* hate because I always want to fix everything.
However, today hasn't been all bad. Here's something funny that happened!
While Damaris was talking to me this morning, Mike kept drifting away from the dishes he was supposed to be washing to come hear what was going on. At one point, he interjected one of his patented almost but not quite appropriate sympathetic and encouraging comments, which made Damaris start laughing hysterically. "Watch your back, Dr. Phil! Here's your new competition!"
Just like that we started envisioning the Mr. Mike Show...because that's how we get at the slightest provocation.
Sad Victim of the Day: *tells tragic story*
Mr. Mike: *listens briefly then speaks* "OHHH WELLL! Get USED to it!!"
Audience: *makes various train sounds to indicate approval* "Wooooo-WOOOOOOO!"
"Dang-dang-dang-dang-dang!!"
But I don't want you to think Mike is wholly sympathy-free. He does understand that sad events sometimes happen that no one can control. That's why we almost hurt ourselves laughing when he looked very worried and asked Damaris sincerely, "So, does that mean you have to sell your kids?"
He SAYS he was just joking. Probably he was hoping we could buy them, so that he would have full-time playmantes....
While I was sleeping, I was having unsettling dreams--things blowing up, people lost and crying. At one point I thought Damaris and the girls were there, sitting on my blankets so I couldn't get up. I DID know I was dreaming, though, because I managed to at least open my eyes a little, and I could tell the room light was not the same color as it was in my dream.
The weird dreams and trouble waking might have been because I took a Benadryl at bedtime. I might be catching a cold.
Then Damaris came over for reals later in the morning. She has some stress going on in her life, and it's the sort of thing that no one on the outside can help with much, which is the kind of problem *I* hate because I always want to fix everything.
However, today hasn't been all bad. Here's something funny that happened!
While Damaris was talking to me this morning, Mike kept drifting away from the dishes he was supposed to be washing to come hear what was going on. At one point, he interjected one of his patented almost but not quite appropriate sympathetic and encouraging comments, which made Damaris start laughing hysterically. "Watch your back, Dr. Phil! Here's your new competition!"
Just like that we started envisioning the Mr. Mike Show...because that's how we get at the slightest provocation.
Sad Victim of the Day: *tells tragic story*
Mr. Mike: *listens briefly then speaks* "OHHH WELLL! Get USED to it!!"
Audience: *makes various train sounds to indicate approval* "Wooooo-WOOOOOOO!"
"Dang-dang-dang-dang-dang!!"
But I don't want you to think Mike is wholly sympathy-free. He does understand that sad events sometimes happen that no one can control. That's why we almost hurt ourselves laughing when he looked very worried and asked Damaris sincerely, "So, does that mean you have to sell your kids?"
He SAYS he was just joking. Probably he was hoping we could buy them, so that he would have full-time playmantes....
Saturday, September 24, 2005
20 things
My friend Filkferengi on LiveJournal tagged me with this meme-thingie where you come up with 20 facts about yourself. I tried to make it interesting, at least. Feel free to skip it if you want, though.
1. A camel at the Denver zoo once chewed my hand.
2. I have killed a rattlesnake with a hammer. Also with an ax, but the hammer incident was scarier. To me. Don't know how the snake felt about it.
3. I raised fancy rats and sold them to pet shops to make money in high school.
4. I lived in 49 different places by the time I was 25, but I have lived in the house we are in now for 21 years and change.
5. I once bought a colt for $10 at an auction and named him Cheap Thrill. He grew up to be a beautiful horse but died at age 5 from an ulcer.
6. I have had an ulcer, and I break out in hives from major stress.
7. I'm better at destressing than I used to be. Had to learn. Otherwise too itchy.
8. I have four kids, two home-made and two store-bought.
9. I used to consider myself a whiz at Ms. Pac-man because I could get up to the banana level.
10. My first media character crush was Pop-eye, followed closely by Zorro. I was around 4.
11. When I was nine, I was in a 'parody' beauty pageant for little girls (before they were held for real!) and I was Little Miss Thornton, and 2nd runner up for Little Miss Colorado.
12. Because it WAS an unusual event, a Life magazine photographer covered it and took a bunch of pics of me. Still have the album my mom made around here somewhere. Something newsy happened and bumped us all out of the publication line-up, though.
13. I have touched a Bald Eagle. Got yelled at by the Wildlife guy. Didn't care, I still had the magic on my fingertips.
14. I got accidentally floated way off the beach and stung by a jellyfish in Florida, but luckily I am very bouyant and managed to swim back to shore.
15. I like the ocean in small quantities, but prefer hot tubs.
16. I have not yet won the lotto, which is why I do not yet have a hot tub.
17. I am running out of facts. (Just checking to see if anyone is still reading this.)
18. I have a tattoo of the logo of the United States Tae Kwon Do Federation on my head, near my left temple. Yes, under the hair.
19. I used to shave it clean for special events like tournaments.
20. I am 51 years old and barring the sudden loss of the improbable and not especially deserved good luck that has carried me along this far, I consider I am probably just a smidge over half-through with my life.
1. A camel at the Denver zoo once chewed my hand.
2. I have killed a rattlesnake with a hammer. Also with an ax, but the hammer incident was scarier. To me. Don't know how the snake felt about it.
3. I raised fancy rats and sold them to pet shops to make money in high school.
4. I lived in 49 different places by the time I was 25, but I have lived in the house we are in now for 21 years and change.
5. I once bought a colt for $10 at an auction and named him Cheap Thrill. He grew up to be a beautiful horse but died at age 5 from an ulcer.
6. I have had an ulcer, and I break out in hives from major stress.
7. I'm better at destressing than I used to be. Had to learn. Otherwise too itchy.
8. I have four kids, two home-made and two store-bought.
9. I used to consider myself a whiz at Ms. Pac-man because I could get up to the banana level.
10. My first media character crush was Pop-eye, followed closely by Zorro. I was around 4.
11. When I was nine, I was in a 'parody' beauty pageant for little girls (before they were held for real!) and I was Little Miss Thornton, and 2nd runner up for Little Miss Colorado.
12. Because it WAS an unusual event, a Life magazine photographer covered it and took a bunch of pics of me. Still have the album my mom made around here somewhere. Something newsy happened and bumped us all out of the publication line-up, though.
13. I have touched a Bald Eagle. Got yelled at by the Wildlife guy. Didn't care, I still had the magic on my fingertips.
14. I got accidentally floated way off the beach and stung by a jellyfish in Florida, but luckily I am very bouyant and managed to swim back to shore.
15. I like the ocean in small quantities, but prefer hot tubs.
16. I have not yet won the lotto, which is why I do not yet have a hot tub.
17. I am running out of facts. (Just checking to see if anyone is still reading this.)
18. I have a tattoo of the logo of the United States Tae Kwon Do Federation on my head, near my left temple. Yes, under the hair.
19. I used to shave it clean for special events like tournaments.
20. I am 51 years old and barring the sudden loss of the improbable and not especially deserved good luck that has carried me along this far, I consider I am probably just a smidge over half-through with my life.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Listen to that treadmill hum!
It's been a busy week so far here at Chez Neon.
I'm not very good at multi-tasking if any of the tasks are actually IMPORTANT. So Monday I got things done on a rather ragged and haphazard basis, working around a meeting I traveled to in La Junta, about an hour west of where I live.
A progressive group is starting up a multi-functional website for Coloradans who want to be involved in furthering the Progressive agenda. It's called ProgressNowAction.org, and it is going to have all kinds of goodies to access...blogs, email lists, simple ways to write to all of your governmental reps as well as area newspapers, news and info sharing--they are trying to put things together so you have it all for one stop political activism! I'm very excited about it and hope to have a part in helping make it work.
But taking three hours out of the middle of Monday kind of messed up the rest of the day for more than minor accomplishments otherwise. No biggie, I jumped into the middle of Tuesday with both feet and I did get some stuff done. Except I felt like I had been beat with a broomstick by Tuesday night.
During the night, I was joined in bed by Mr. Mike, who was giving off fever heat like a little furnace. There are several very nasty bugs going around here, and not only did Mike have one, I think I did too. So today he stayed home from school and I doinked around not doing a heck of a lot.
Late in the evening, after the frantic crowds had fled, I went to town and filled up both cars plus our gas can, in anticipation of higher Rita-fueled gas prices tomorrow.
So, in case you wondered, that's what I've been doing this week. If you are one of my Colorado peeps, drop over to check out the ProgressNowAcrion.org site. Be an Early Influencer! You will like it!
I'm not very good at multi-tasking if any of the tasks are actually IMPORTANT. So Monday I got things done on a rather ragged and haphazard basis, working around a meeting I traveled to in La Junta, about an hour west of where I live.
A progressive group is starting up a multi-functional website for Coloradans who want to be involved in furthering the Progressive agenda. It's called ProgressNowAction.org, and it is going to have all kinds of goodies to access...blogs, email lists, simple ways to write to all of your governmental reps as well as area newspapers, news and info sharing--they are trying to put things together so you have it all for one stop political activism! I'm very excited about it and hope to have a part in helping make it work.
But taking three hours out of the middle of Monday kind of messed up the rest of the day for more than minor accomplishments otherwise. No biggie, I jumped into the middle of Tuesday with both feet and I did get some stuff done. Except I felt like I had been beat with a broomstick by Tuesday night.
During the night, I was joined in bed by Mr. Mike, who was giving off fever heat like a little furnace. There are several very nasty bugs going around here, and not only did Mike have one, I think I did too. So today he stayed home from school and I doinked around not doing a heck of a lot.
Late in the evening, after the frantic crowds had fled, I went to town and filled up both cars plus our gas can, in anticipation of higher Rita-fueled gas prices tomorrow.
So, in case you wondered, that's what I've been doing this week. If you are one of my Colorado peeps, drop over to check out the ProgressNowAcrion.org site. Be an Early Influencer! You will like it!
Sunday, September 18, 2005
In the news
A few humorous bits for your Sunday night/Monday morning reading pleasure.
Battling nonagenarian grabs burglar by 'nads
"Popova attributes her grip of steel to years of milking goats."
Wheelbarrow blagger cuffed after 2mph pursuit
(Please note, a 'blagger' is not the same as a 'blogger'.)
Crimebusting cheerleaders bust hit-and-run perp
That one was sooooo Buffy-esque! I had the original CNN link, but it's gone now.
Battling nonagenarian grabs burglar by 'nads
"Popova attributes her grip of steel to years of milking goats."
Wheelbarrow blagger cuffed after 2mph pursuit
(Please note, a 'blagger' is not the same as a 'blogger'.)
Crimebusting cheerleaders bust hit-and-run perp
That one was sooooo Buffy-esque! I had the original CNN link, but it's gone now.
Victory over the mechanicals!!
Some of my longtime readers might remember me complaining last year (!) that the dryer was not drying right and making a funny whompa-whompa-whompa noise.
Well, you know me. I efficiently got right on the job and looked up the problem on line and ordered the kit ( http://repair2000.com/tuneup.html ) to fix it.
Aaaand then, well, it was the busy holiday season, and stuff happened, and the sun got in my eyes, and my dog died (eight months later) and oh, yeah, my knees were hurting a lot and it was hard to get into the space to do the repair....
You might also have noticed I have not been posting much, and what I have posted is on the fluffy side. That's because I don't like to write about downer stuff much...bad enough if I am bummed out, there's no need to spread it around and bother everyone else, eh?
Lately much of my mental powers have been used up on dealing with Mike, who is Going Through a Phase. Happily I think he is well on his way OUT of the phase, with me not in jail or having to answer awkward questions for Child Protective Services or anything! So it's win-win all around.
This most recent Tool Time episode actually came about because Mike was trying to show he could be responsible. He tried to wash a load of towels all on his own. It's a task he HAS done before, but not for a while, and he seems to have turned the knob on the washer backwards a few cranks by mistake. So it was off-cycle, and when it quit, there were still a few inches of rinse water in the drum. But he soldiered on and put the ABSOLUTELY SOAKED towels into the dryer as though all was well. (Yes, and doing that DID get the floor pretty wet, too.)
We knew nothing about all this until I happened to go back towards the laundry room and heard the dryer making a new and much WORSE sound which I can't begin to approximate here. The last few staggering steps before death kind of sums it up.
Let us draw a curtain over the part where my head a splode, and move up to yesterday.
FIRST I cleared out a workspace, because as with most typical laundry rooms, ours came equipped with the invisible Stuff Magnet, which mysteriously pulls everything in the house which has no established function or storage spot into the already microscopic laundry room free space. Then I went hunting for tools. I have a gazillion tools, but the ones I need always seem to be the ones REPULSED by the rays of the Stuff Magnet, so they aren't there in the tool chest for critical functions.
I have to say, the dryer repair kit people were 100% right on the money with their instructions, which are included with the parts. It was actually not that hard to disassemble the whole dryer by following along on the sheet. When I got down to the roller assemblies which the Repair2000 guy thought were causing our problems, that turned out to be exactly it.
These two rollers were identical at birth, and the one on the bottom of the machine had held up pretty much okay. But as you can see, the one on the left, which had apparently been a LITTLE out of true, got cored out by the wet towel load and also sheared off a whole lot of its rubber, which was liberally coating the dryer wall, far too close to the electric motor for the peace of mind of my vivid imagination.
To cut to the chase, I did manage to get the rollers and belt replaced and everything stuck back together, plus on the recommendation of the web repair guy I added a much safer flexible steel dryer vent. Since they say these older dryers are actually a lot sturdier than the models available today, for about $50 and a few hours of really annoying and frustrating work, I have one that works like new and ought to be good for 5-10 years more!
And Mike had another Learning Experience.
Well, you know me. I efficiently got right on the job and looked up the problem on line and ordered the kit ( http://repair2000.com/tuneup.html ) to fix it.
Aaaand then, well, it was the busy holiday season, and stuff happened, and the sun got in my eyes, and my dog died (eight months later) and oh, yeah, my knees were hurting a lot and it was hard to get into the space to do the repair....
You might also have noticed I have not been posting much, and what I have posted is on the fluffy side. That's because I don't like to write about downer stuff much...bad enough if I am bummed out, there's no need to spread it around and bother everyone else, eh?
Lately much of my mental powers have been used up on dealing with Mike, who is Going Through a Phase. Happily I think he is well on his way OUT of the phase, with me not in jail or having to answer awkward questions for Child Protective Services or anything! So it's win-win all around.
This most recent Tool Time episode actually came about because Mike was trying to show he could be responsible. He tried to wash a load of towels all on his own. It's a task he HAS done before, but not for a while, and he seems to have turned the knob on the washer backwards a few cranks by mistake. So it was off-cycle, and when it quit, there were still a few inches of rinse water in the drum. But he soldiered on and put the ABSOLUTELY SOAKED towels into the dryer as though all was well. (Yes, and doing that DID get the floor pretty wet, too.)
We knew nothing about all this until I happened to go back towards the laundry room and heard the dryer making a new and much WORSE sound which I can't begin to approximate here. The last few staggering steps before death kind of sums it up.
Let us draw a curtain over the part where my head a splode, and move up to yesterday.
FIRST I cleared out a workspace, because as with most typical laundry rooms, ours came equipped with the invisible Stuff Magnet, which mysteriously pulls everything in the house which has no established function or storage spot into the already microscopic laundry room free space. Then I went hunting for tools. I have a gazillion tools, but the ones I need always seem to be the ones REPULSED by the rays of the Stuff Magnet, so they aren't there in the tool chest for critical functions.
I have to say, the dryer repair kit people were 100% right on the money with their instructions, which are included with the parts. It was actually not that hard to disassemble the whole dryer by following along on the sheet. When I got down to the roller assemblies which the Repair2000 guy thought were causing our problems, that turned out to be exactly it.
These two rollers were identical at birth, and the one on the bottom of the machine had held up pretty much okay. But as you can see, the one on the left, which had apparently been a LITTLE out of true, got cored out by the wet towel load and also sheared off a whole lot of its rubber, which was liberally coating the dryer wall, far too close to the electric motor for the peace of mind of my vivid imagination.
To cut to the chase, I did manage to get the rollers and belt replaced and everything stuck back together, plus on the recommendation of the web repair guy I added a much safer flexible steel dryer vent. Since they say these older dryers are actually a lot sturdier than the models available today, for about $50 and a few hours of really annoying and frustrating work, I have one that works like new and ought to be good for 5-10 years more!
And Mike had another Learning Experience.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Sorry if you think I'm a perv
But this REALLY made me laugh. Probably the most appropriate New Orleans fundraiser going right now!
Be a part of The Salivation Army!
Go to one of the approved charities like Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, etc, donate $5, forward the thank you letter you get, and they give you a membership to go see the donated pics of mammaries, both male and female!
No, I haven't actually paid up to go look, but I'm more than willing to share the info!
Be a part of The Salivation Army!
Go to one of the approved charities like Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, etc, donate $5, forward the thank you letter you get, and they give you a membership to go see the donated pics of mammaries, both male and female!
No, I haven't actually paid up to go look, but I'm more than willing to share the info!
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Spoon day
Yay me, I have already done my meager daily quota of listing five things on eBay. Today was little sets of those small coke souvenir spoons offered to tourists nearly anywhere you go.
I have more interesting stuff, though, honest. Like the 1968 film (on a reel! In a can!) called "It's Wonderful Being a Girl" which seems to have been made for those SPECIAL girls-only health classes, where you learn how to SAFETY PIN a big ol' hunk of cotton padding to your underpants. (This one ends this evening, BTW.)
Then there's this cool book from 1934, "How to Train Dogs for the Home, Stage, and Moving Pictures."
Do you know anyone who wants to build a database of sound effects? This is a batch of 12 different LP records--yeah, those old black vinyl disk things!
This one is just kind of fun, a roll of 21 laminated pages from two issues of the Pueblo (Colorado) Chieftain, in the fall of 1939.
This little snapshot of a few days that rolled by 65 years ago just intrigues me to little mint balls. A trolleycar was BOMBED by three people in a car who pulled ahead of it, set a shoebox (with a BOMB!) on the tracks and zoomed away. WHY? We will never know.
It was Friday 13th All Right
"Phoenix, Ariz, Oct 13--(AP)--When a black widow spider crawled up his pants leg and bit him on the right knee, Bryan Thacker, 45 year old Maricopa County courthouse gardener, received emergency room treatment and returned to his job.
A few minutes later another black widow crawled up the other leg and bit Thacker twice. He was sent to a hospital.
In other headline news, Feasibility of Death Ray Not Yet Proved to Science in U.S (It's about what Hitler might be up to.)
We just don't get this kind of intensive news coverage these days!
I have more interesting stuff, though, honest. Like the 1968 film (on a reel! In a can!) called "It's Wonderful Being a Girl" which seems to have been made for those SPECIAL girls-only health classes, where you learn how to SAFETY PIN a big ol' hunk of cotton padding to your underpants. (This one ends this evening, BTW.)
Then there's this cool book from 1934, "How to Train Dogs for the Home, Stage, and Moving Pictures."
Do you know anyone who wants to build a database of sound effects? This is a batch of 12 different LP records--yeah, those old black vinyl disk things!
This one is just kind of fun, a roll of 21 laminated pages from two issues of the Pueblo (Colorado) Chieftain, in the fall of 1939.
This little snapshot of a few days that rolled by 65 years ago just intrigues me to little mint balls. A trolleycar was BOMBED by three people in a car who pulled ahead of it, set a shoebox (with a BOMB!) on the tracks and zoomed away. WHY? We will never know.
"Phoenix, Ariz, Oct 13--(AP)--When a black widow spider crawled up his pants leg and bit him on the right knee, Bryan Thacker, 45 year old Maricopa County courthouse gardener, received emergency room treatment and returned to his job.
A few minutes later another black widow crawled up the other leg and bit Thacker twice. He was sent to a hospital.
In other headline news, Feasibility of Death Ray Not Yet Proved to Science in U.S (It's about what Hitler might be up to.)
We just don't get this kind of intensive news coverage these days!
Monday, September 12, 2005
Catching up
We had a typical weekend, with me either keeping busy and cheerful, or pouting about something. Saturday started off okay, in that no one was bleeding when I got up, but Mike HAD puttered around disassembling things I would have rather he did not (the remains of the window he broke the week before) and committing other crimes against the household at large. Then, since he was in the wrong and in trouble, HE was snarly and contentious (a pattern we have noticed but not yet figured out how to nullify).
Good times, good times. Except for in the way it SO wasn't.
Sunday was better (boring to others, but better) and today has been pretty good. I was awakened by my pupgirl Climber, who jumped up next to me in bed, but not to snuggle or play. She sat down by my shoulder and LOOKED at me with a Worried Dog Look, then LOOKED up at the window, and then back at me, running through this until I gave in and got up.
I hadn't been able to hear the problem because the window fan was going in the bedroom, but from the hall by the back door I could now hear a loud grinding, clanking rumbling mechanical sound. What Climber had been alerting me to was The Invasion of the Roadside Mower.
As a Border Collie/Blue Heeler mix, she is dedicated to protecting her territory, and anytime she's outside, she runs briskly about, chasing birds off our phone lines and terminating grasshoppers (which are delicious!) with extreme prejudice. But the clanky thing was out of her league and she knew it, so she very wisely came quietly to me for help.
And of course once I looked out the door at it, it went away, so I am basking in the undeserved glow of being the BIG Rouster!
Good times, good times. Except for in the way it SO wasn't.
Sunday was better (boring to others, but better) and today has been pretty good. I was awakened by my pupgirl Climber, who jumped up next to me in bed, but not to snuggle or play. She sat down by my shoulder and LOOKED at me with a Worried Dog Look, then LOOKED up at the window, and then back at me, running through this until I gave in and got up.
I hadn't been able to hear the problem because the window fan was going in the bedroom, but from the hall by the back door I could now hear a loud grinding, clanking rumbling mechanical sound. What Climber had been alerting me to was The Invasion of the Roadside Mower.
As a Border Collie/Blue Heeler mix, she is dedicated to protecting her territory, and anytime she's outside, she runs briskly about, chasing birds off our phone lines and terminating grasshoppers (which are delicious!) with extreme prejudice. But the clanky thing was out of her league and she knew it, so she very wisely came quietly to me for help.
And of course once I looked out the door at it, it went away, so I am basking in the undeserved glow of being the BIG Rouster!
Friday, September 09, 2005
If it's on the news, it must be true, right?
Nope, not a faked photo!
http://www.snopes.com/photos/katrina/disaster.asp
Staggering along
Here we are at the end of another week! I meant to update Tuesday night, and then Wednesday, but I was just...bleargh, you know? Mentally incoherent from doing too much, seeing and hearing too much. I'm sure you can relate.
Tuesday I was a packing whirlwind, and I got five boxes of clothes and stuff together to ship to http://www.coffeecup.com/hurricane/ I like how you can play the home game and follow along with what they are doing on their picture blog!
The girl at the UPS counter here in Lamar was a doll. She hadn't heard of anyplace to send things, and asked if she could copy off the address and send some stuff too. As she was ringing up the charges, she leaned in and told me conspiratorially that she had short weighed them all a little, to give me a better deal. I thought that was just darling of her. It's the little gestures, you know?
I am doing fine on shipping by any accounting, though. My mom, who recently sold her house and moved and so has no Stuff to send gave me a nice check, and so did one of my LJ Flisters who shall remain anonymous because I think that's how they want it. But I thought it was a swell thing to do.
Also, I have a book up for sale on eBay I will use for funding shipping. The odd thing about this is that we had it sitting around on top of a stack for weeks, as a book intended for the Friends of the Library sale. Then suddenly it became topical. And although if you look around online (bookfinder.com) you can get one of many available copies for $6-7, in the first rush of emotional reaction someone sold one for $80!! That's eBay for you....
New Orleans: A Picture Book to Remember Her By
Tuesday I was a packing whirlwind, and I got five boxes of clothes and stuff together to ship to http://www.coffeecup.com/hurricane/ I like how you can play the home game and follow along with what they are doing on their picture blog!
The girl at the UPS counter here in Lamar was a doll. She hadn't heard of anyplace to send things, and asked if she could copy off the address and send some stuff too. As she was ringing up the charges, she leaned in and told me conspiratorially that she had short weighed them all a little, to give me a better deal. I thought that was just darling of her. It's the little gestures, you know?
I am doing fine on shipping by any accounting, though. My mom, who recently sold her house and moved and so has no Stuff to send gave me a nice check, and so did one of my LJ Flisters who shall remain anonymous because I think that's how they want it. But I thought it was a swell thing to do.
Also, I have a book up for sale on eBay I will use for funding shipping. The odd thing about this is that we had it sitting around on top of a stack for weeks, as a book intended for the Friends of the Library sale. Then suddenly it became topical. And although if you look around online (bookfinder.com) you can get one of many available copies for $6-7, in the first rush of emotional reaction someone sold one for $80!! That's eBay for you....
New Orleans: A Picture Book to Remember Her By
Monday, September 05, 2005
OK, right, let's lighten up a little, if we can
Per this very good advice from John M. Ford (Damaris, I hear you laughing, STOP IT! :) )
Jim Macdonald explains how Folksongs Are Your Friends:
I have four children, two daughters and two sons. Naturally, I worry about their moral upbringing. As everyone knows who's paying attention, "Just say no" doesn't work. Instead, I made sure they were constantly exposed to the traditional folksongs and legends of Great Britain. Nothing's more certain to give you a strong sense of the negative consequences of immoral or imprudent behavior.
I have also decided to compile a list of extremely trivial things to be pissed off about. Feel free to join in and add your own, but remember, they must be TOTALLY trivial and without importance. To wit:
The current spate of Captain Crunch commercials I see on the TV channels Mike tends to watch. It took me a while, but I eventually realized what made these so much more annoying than others of the same ilk.
That's not Captain Crunch's voice.
At least, it is not the voice they started with pretty near 40 years ago. And that somehow bugs me way more than it ought.
More later, I still need to go de-glass that window.
Jim Macdonald explains how Folksongs Are Your Friends:
I have four children, two daughters and two sons. Naturally, I worry about their moral upbringing. As everyone knows who's paying attention, "Just say no" doesn't work. Instead, I made sure they were constantly exposed to the traditional folksongs and legends of Great Britain. Nothing's more certain to give you a strong sense of the negative consequences of immoral or imprudent behavior.
I have also decided to compile a list of extremely trivial things to be pissed off about. Feel free to join in and add your own, but remember, they must be TOTALLY trivial and without importance. To wit:
The current spate of Captain Crunch commercials I see on the TV channels Mike tends to watch. It took me a while, but I eventually realized what made these so much more annoying than others of the same ilk.
That's not Captain Crunch's voice.
At least, it is not the voice they started with pretty near 40 years ago. And that somehow bugs me way more than it ought.
More later, I still need to go de-glass that window.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Boiling
I am a boiling-down to basics sort of a person, and today I think I have scraped my conclusions about the hurricane disaster from the bottom of my brain crucible.
1. Many of the people who want us not to point fingers, blame Bush, make this political etc. have a simple, understandable motivation. Since they supported/still support him themselves, any blame attached to him also sticks to them a little bit. No one wants to admit they helped this ghastly mess. Like I said, understandable, if not very admirable.
2. Those of us who are furious are not only outraged on behalf of all the victims. We are seeing the proof that the majority of people who are supposed to be running the country either don't care, are incompetent, or both at once.
Since we know there are more disasters in fate's pipeline waiting for all of us in general and some of us in specific, we are afraid and angry on our own behalf as well.
So there are my generalizations. I don't exactly feel BETTER for coming up with those conclusions, but I feel 'done', if you know what I mean. Now I can get on with a clearer mind, and go back to finding goods to mail out to victims without getting bogged down (as easily) in frustrated depression.
As before, one very good place collecting goods to help the refugees is
http://www.coffeecup.com/hurricane/
Another source is http://beenthere.typepad.com/been_there/
Onward.
1. Many of the people who want us not to point fingers, blame Bush, make this political etc. have a simple, understandable motivation. Since they supported/still support him themselves, any blame attached to him also sticks to them a little bit. No one wants to admit they helped this ghastly mess. Like I said, understandable, if not very admirable.
2. Those of us who are furious are not only outraged on behalf of all the victims. We are seeing the proof that the majority of people who are supposed to be running the country either don't care, are incompetent, or both at once.
Since we know there are more disasters in fate's pipeline waiting for all of us in general and some of us in specific, we are afraid and angry on our own behalf as well.
So there are my generalizations. I don't exactly feel BETTER for coming up with those conclusions, but I feel 'done', if you know what I mean. Now I can get on with a clearer mind, and go back to finding goods to mail out to victims without getting bogged down (as easily) in frustrated depression.
As before, one very good place collecting goods to help the refugees is
http://www.coffeecup.com/hurricane/
Another source is http://beenthere.typepad.com/been_there/
Onward.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Update
Today I packed up a paper box (the kind paper for copiers comes in) full of kids' books. It weighed 33 pounds 6.2 oz, and that cost a mere $12.04 to mail Media rate. I will have to use Parcel Post for clothes and stuff, but boxes of those will weigh less than boxes of books, so still not bad. I feel like I can fit a couple boxes a week into my mailing budget, more if sales pick up now that the summer is over.
Here is the company in Corpus Christi that is taking in the goods:
http://www.coffeecup.com/hurricane/
They had this note on the above page:
"We are currently working with the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Salvation Army to distribute what we are collecting. The first delivery trucks will arrive and begin distributing items the morning of Tuesday, September 6th."
There is a little map that shows they are set up to be able to reach a LOT of area where refugees will go.
The other person I mentioned yesterday is already pretty swamped, so for now the Coffeecup folks are who I would send things to.
I am working on another idea, though. I saw that some of the refugees are being sent to other towns like Dallas and (I think) San Antonio. Since one of my brothers lives near Dallas and is also very active in his church, I am going to check with him to see if he wants me to ship him stuff to distribute wherever those folks end up!
So...who do YOU know that lives someplace where they are going to need Stuff?
(Yeah, I know the conventional wisdom is to send money instead of stuff. The displacement of more than a million people with little or no goods to see them through is NOT a conventional disaster. STUFF is needed.)
Here is the company in Corpus Christi that is taking in the goods:
http://www.coffeecup.com/hurricane/
They had this note on the above page:
"We are currently working with the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Salvation Army to distribute what we are collecting. The first delivery trucks will arrive and begin distributing items the morning of Tuesday, September 6th."
There is a little map that shows they are set up to be able to reach a LOT of area where refugees will go.
The other person I mentioned yesterday is already pretty swamped, so for now the Coffeecup folks are who I would send things to.
I am working on another idea, though. I saw that some of the refugees are being sent to other towns like Dallas and (I think) San Antonio. Since one of my brothers lives near Dallas and is also very active in his church, I am going to check with him to see if he wants me to ship him stuff to distribute wherever those folks end up!
So...who do YOU know that lives someplace where they are going to need Stuff?
(Yeah, I know the conventional wisdom is to send money instead of stuff. The displacement of more than a million people with little or no goods to see them through is NOT a conventional disaster. STUFF is needed.)
Thursday, September 01, 2005
We can help!
I was unable to get rolling today. I just felt stuck in front of this monitor, unable to break away from reading all the stuff out there about the hurricane. But on the bright side, I got some good ideas from various people on LiveJournal.
I know the conventional wisdom, and most of the advice going around right now, is to just SEND CASH and let the big name charities sort it all out. Which makes sense for the actual hurricane struck areas, I admit. But.
Non-earmarked for bills cash is not something I have a big supply of, just at the moment.
On the other hand, as someone who sells on eBay and the internet, I have Stuff by the boatload, plus an excellent working knowledge of shipping and how to get Stuff from place to place safely and as economically as possible.
So when some people on my Friends List came up with vetted candidates for getting some good used goods to the hurricane refugees who have made it to Houston or other locales, it really perked me up. Yes! Something useful I can DO!
So, here are a couple links. If you know of others, tell me!
1) CoffeeCup Software is located in Corpus Christi, Texas (a couple of
hours south of Houston), we are calling upon anyone who receives this
e-mail to send 'Goods' to our office. This will directly help the thousands
upon thousands of American refugees that will be entering Houston,
Beaumont, and througout Texas within the next days and weeks.
Our office will collect what you send and will drive these items by cargo
truck to the refugees where they are located. Over 25,000 people will
arrive at the Houston Astrodome tonight and we expect many waves of
refugees over the next month. We will collect items for the next 60 days
and will make trips once a week or more as needed.
Currently many Charitable organizations are overwhelmed and we want to make
sure the Families and Children will be given what they really need without
wait. Send as much as you wish, we have plenty of storage.
Some items we believe they need are:
Diapers, Baby Wipes, Infant Care Items
Personal Care Items (soap, razors, shaving cream, toothpaste, hygeine
items)
Clothing (socks, underwear, shirts, shoes, pants, shirts)
Long Distance Calling Cards, Batteries, FM Radios, Walkie-Talkies
Toys (coloring books, crayons, puzzles, any activity toy)
and more....
Our Address is:
CoffeeCup Software
c/o Hurricane Aid
226 South Tancahua Street
Corpus Christi, Texas 78401
You can also order things online at places like Amazon.com,
WalMart.com, Target.com, and others and have them sent directly to our
offices as
well.
Please do not send food, water, or money. This will be handled by
Organized Charities. Send what you would personally want if you were placed
in a very uncomfortbale position for a very long time with little or no
money (use your best judgement).
http://www.livejournal.com/users/odogoddess/109546.html
2) Where to send yarn, clothing, non cash items
HURRICANE KATRINA HELP
_Introduction_
(http://home.earthlink.net/~linkslilyray/#intro)
_Desperate Need_
(http://home.earthlink.net/~linkslilyray/#need)
_Send Donations
_
(http://home.earthlink.net/~linkslilyray/#send)
_Large Donations_
(http://home.earthlink.net/~linkslilyray/#large)
_Red Cross Donations
_
(http://home.earthlink.net/~linkslilyray/#red
cross) _Helping Displaced
Animals
_
(http://home.earthlink.net/~linkslilyray/#animals)
_Show Your Support
America!_
(http://home.earthlink.net/~linkslilyray/#americans)
First, thank you for viewing this site. Any and All help will be much
appreciated.
I live in Lafayette, Louisiana. We are taking in evacuees from New Orleans
and surrounding areas that have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. As of
today (8/31) we have a few thousand people being given shelter in our Cajun
Dome alone. Many of our schools and churches are also acting as shelters.
People here are even opening their homes, having sometimes 10 to 15 people
sleeping on their floors. This is the largest disaster to hit the U.S.
ever. Our situation will get more desperate before it can even begin to get
any better.
I know that crocheter's and knitter's are some of the most generous people
in the world. We need ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING.
Many of these people have only the clothes on their backs. We have no place
for the people to bathe.
We need:
Clothes - new or old
Clothes - hand made or not
Toiletries - toothpaste, deodorant, baby wipes etc.
If some of you that currently run charities have anything you can spare
please help.
Yarn from your stash - I have a bond knitting machine and can crank out
baby blankets, regular blankets or small
clothing items fairly quickly. I do not care what type of home it comes
from (smoke free - pet free etc.) We are desperate.
Anything will help. These people (and more still coming) will most probably
be here for over a month. Even after they can begin to return to their
cities, there will be nothing left for them to return to. We will be in
need for several months to come.
I have arranged for my postman to hold all packages marked Hurricane
Katrina at the post office so that I may take them
directly to the shelters.
Any of you that have websites, your friend's website, business website,
etc. please post a link to this page.
_http://home.earthlink.net/~linkslilyray_
(http://home.earthlink.net/~linkslilyray)
Please send to:
Kim Rutledge
Hurricane Katrina
1901 Eraste Landry Rd.
Apt. 1063
Lafayette, LA 70506
DO NOT SEND ME MONEY. Please make any monetary donations directly to the
Red Cross. (_http://www.redcross.org_
(http://www.redcross.org/) )
Anyone may contact me with any questions via _kimrldg@earthlink.net_
(mailto:kimrldg@earthlink.net)
Sending Large Donations
If your charity has large amounts of items they would like to send, please
bear in mind there is only so much I can carry directly to the shelters. I
urge everyone wanting to make large donations to follow the links below to
the television stations,
particularly _http://www.wafb.com_
(http://www.wafb.com/) to find out where you can send large amounts of
stuff. The red cross
is currently only wanting money. WAFB is trying to help those who want to
help communicate with those who can accept, sort, and distribute the
donations.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/torn_soul/274614.html
I know the conventional wisdom, and most of the advice going around right now, is to just SEND CASH and let the big name charities sort it all out. Which makes sense for the actual hurricane struck areas, I admit. But.
Non-earmarked for bills cash is not something I have a big supply of, just at the moment.
On the other hand, as someone who sells on eBay and the internet, I have Stuff by the boatload, plus an excellent working knowledge of shipping and how to get Stuff from place to place safely and as economically as possible.
So when some people on my Friends List came up with vetted candidates for getting some good used goods to the hurricane refugees who have made it to Houston or other locales, it really perked me up. Yes! Something useful I can DO!
So, here are a couple links. If you know of others, tell me!
1) CoffeeCup Software is located in Corpus Christi, Texas (a couple of
hours south of Houston), we are calling upon anyone who receives this
e-mail to send 'Goods' to our office. This will directly help the thousands
upon thousands of American refugees that will be entering Houston,
Beaumont, and througout Texas within the next days and weeks.
Our office will collect what you send and will drive these items by cargo
truck to the refugees where they are located. Over 25,000 people will
arrive at the Houston Astrodome tonight and we expect many waves of
refugees over the next month. We will collect items for the next 60 days
and will make trips once a week or more as needed.
Currently many Charitable organizations are overwhelmed and we want to make
sure the Families and Children will be given what they really need without
wait. Send as much as you wish, we have plenty of storage.
Some items we believe they need are:
Diapers, Baby Wipes, Infant Care Items
Personal Care Items (soap, razors, shaving cream, toothpaste, hygeine
items)
Clothing (socks, underwear, shirts, shoes, pants, shirts)
Long Distance Calling Cards, Batteries, FM Radios, Walkie-Talkies
Toys (coloring books, crayons, puzzles, any activity toy)
and more....
Our Address is:
CoffeeCup Software
c/o Hurricane Aid
226 South Tancahua Street
Corpus Christi, Texas 78401
You can also order things online at places like Amazon.com,
WalMart.com, Target.com, and others and have them sent directly to our
offices as
well.
Please do not send food, water, or money. This will be handled by
Organized Charities. Send what you would personally want if you were placed
in a very uncomfortbale position for a very long time with little or no
money (use your best judgement).
http://www.livejournal.com/users/odogoddess/109546.html
2) Where to send yarn, clothing, non cash items
HURRICANE KATRINA HELP
_Introduction_
(
_Desperate Need_
(
_Send Donations
_
(
_Large Donations_
(
_Red Cross Donations
_
(
cross) _Helping Displaced
Animals
_
(
_Show Your Support
America!_
(
First, thank you for viewing this site. Any and All help will be much
appreciated.
I live in Lafayette, Louisiana. We are taking in evacuees from New Orleans
and surrounding areas that have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. As of
today (8/31) we have a few thousand people being given shelter in our Cajun
Dome alone. Many of our schools and churches are also acting as shelters.
People here are even opening their homes, having sometimes 10 to 15 people
sleeping on their floors. This is the largest disaster to hit the U.S.
ever. Our situation will get more desperate before it can even begin to get
any better.
I know that crocheter's and knitter's are some of the most generous people
in the world. We need ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING.
Many of these people have only the clothes on their backs. We have no place
for the people to bathe.
We need:
Clothes - new or old
Clothes - hand made or not
Toiletries - toothpaste, deodorant, baby wipes etc.
If some of you that currently run charities have anything you can spare
please help.
Yarn from your stash - I have a bond knitting machine and can crank out
baby blankets, regular blankets or small
clothing items fairly quickly. I do not care what type of home it comes
from (smoke free - pet free etc.) We are desperate.
Anything will help. These people (and more still coming) will most probably
be here for over a month. Even after they can begin to return to their
cities, there will be nothing left for them to return to. We will be in
need for several months to come.
I have arranged for my postman to hold all packages marked Hurricane
Katrina at the post office so that I may take them
directly to the shelters.
Any of you that have websites, your friend's website, business website,
etc. please post a link to this page.
_
(http://home.earthlink.net/~linkslilyray)
Please send to:
Kim Rutledge
Hurricane Katrina
1901 Eraste Landry Rd.
Apt. 1063
Lafayette, LA 70506
DO NOT SEND ME MONEY. Please make any monetary donations directly to the
Red Cross. (_
(http://www.redcross.org/) )
Anyone may contact me with any questions via _kimrldg@earthlink.net_
(mailto:kimrldg@earthlink.net)
Sending Large Donations
If your charity has large amounts of items they would like to send, please
bear in mind there is only so much I can carry directly to the shelters. I
urge everyone wanting to make large donations to follow the links below to
the television stations,
particularly _
(http://www.wafb.com/) to find out where you can send large amounts of
stuff. The red cross
is currently only wanting money. WAFB is trying to help those who want to
help communicate with those who can accept, sort, and distribute the
donations.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/torn_soul/274614.html
