Are you doing anything special tonight? I'm not.
I never did, really. When I was younger I used to call this *Amateur Night.* Not a safe time to be out and about, with many people drinking to excess who usually don't.
It's not that your average *Pro Drinker* isn't dangerous. Nope. It's just that the amateurs are even less predictable.
So I may stay up to watch the ball drop - another time-honored activity! - or, I may fall asleep. I like to see the year change over. It's fun. Generally speaking, I just don't get extremely revved up about holidays. But I do like them.
Tonight I'm still awake and it's around 11:30 here in Florida. For now, I'm watching marathon reruns of To Catch a Predator. I love that show!
So...since I didn't write that long post describing what a unique and wonderful year this was - and it really was! - let's see if I can make the rounds and tell everyone *Happy New Year!!!* before that ball drops.
Ready?
GO!!!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Have I Mentioned How Much I Love My Orchids?
Having become singularly unfashionable in this, my Old Crone stage of life, I know nothing whatsoever of feng shui.
But reading this and that in other people's blogs and comments has reminded me of some things I used to know. Things in keeping, perhaps, with that feng shui approach.
Such as: It's important to surround myself with beauty. It's how I am. I'm happier that way.
There's nothing wrong with it, either.
Yes. I know the antique fan got knocked a bit off kilter. It'll live. I love having it on the wall above my big wood work table. Especially with an orchid or two under it.
This flower spike is in a very nice stage of blooming. The oldest blossom (at the very top) is just folding up; the newest one (lower right) is still a bud.
Different orchids hold their flowers in very different ways. This one makes a flower spike (aka a raceme, or inflorescence), and its individual buds are borne on opposite sides of the raceme.
Every orchid I've ever seen has a face. A lovely little face, looking at us, often a bit shy.
They make excellent company.
But reading this and that in other people's blogs and comments has reminded me of some things I used to know. Things in keeping, perhaps, with that feng shui approach.
Such as: It's important to surround myself with beauty. It's how I am. I'm happier that way.
There's nothing wrong with it, either.
Working along through the Great Paper Chase here, I decided to bring in some orchids as they bloomed. A certain Harvard study tells us that having blooming flowers, real ones, in our house makes us happier.
I definitely agree. And they were only talking about regular-type cut flowers.
Time to one-up old Harvard, there.
I definitely agree. And they were only talking about regular-type cut flowers.
Time to one-up old Harvard, there.
Yes. I know the antique fan got knocked a bit off kilter. It'll live. I love having it on the wall above my big wood work table. Especially with an orchid or two under it.
This flower spike is in a very nice stage of blooming. The oldest blossom (at the very top) is just folding up; the newest one (lower right) is still a bud.
Different orchids hold their flowers in very different ways. This one makes a flower spike (aka a raceme, or inflorescence), and its individual buds are borne on opposite sides of the raceme.
Every orchid I've ever seen has a face. A lovely little face, looking at us, often a bit shy.
They make excellent company.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
He's gone...
Yup. Walter's back on the road.
But he started off with a decent load, and Mr. Bank Account will be happy, at least.
Me, I've been under the weather for a little while now. Weak and fevery, and I'm not sure why. I'd love to say, --I'm going to hit the yard and plant some snapdragons! But it may not be in the cards for a few more days.
I'm more likely to be napping a lot, and attacking that paperwork again.
The Paper Chase Project is going well. I'm feeling ever so organized! Five years' worth of filing is almost done. I can actually put my hands on Important Pieces of Paper that I've been looking and looking for, sometimes from two or more years back. I even found the title to the car in there.
Keeping up with paperwork used to be the norm in my life. It took until this year to realize there might well be a connection between me falling down on the job, paperwork-wise, and when we lost our business. That happened in January 2003. And how far back do my unfiled papers go? 2003.
I've said before that I love reality. That's true. Part of reality is seeing one's own self as clearly as possible. Yet humans have a natural talent for self-deception.
Seeing inside ourselves, or seeing what's really going on in the world, often takes more effort, determination, and emotional toughness than we give it credit for.
I make it one of my highest priorities. Which doesn't mean I always achieve as much clear-sighted understanding of myself as I'd like.
Whatever the reason my perception was blocked, or perhaps just shaded, I'm glad I can see this better now. Losing the business was hugely gladdening, many ways. Freedom. I never wanted to work in it, wasn't supposed to, had to, and resented it.
But it was still a loss, and it looks like I didn't give that the credence I should have.
People. Grieve your losses. If you don't grieve your losses you can't let them go, you can't move on.
Amazing how peaceful these trays of nicely sorted little papers makes me feel.
But he started off with a decent load, and Mr. Bank Account will be happy, at least.
Me, I've been under the weather for a little while now. Weak and fevery, and I'm not sure why. I'd love to say, --I'm going to hit the yard and plant some snapdragons! But it may not be in the cards for a few more days.
I'm more likely to be napping a lot, and attacking that paperwork again.
The Paper Chase Project is going well. I'm feeling ever so organized! Five years' worth of filing is almost done. I can actually put my hands on Important Pieces of Paper that I've been looking and looking for, sometimes from two or more years back. I even found the title to the car in there.
Keeping up with paperwork used to be the norm in my life. It took until this year to realize there might well be a connection between me falling down on the job, paperwork-wise, and when we lost our business. That happened in January 2003. And how far back do my unfiled papers go? 2003.
I've said before that I love reality. That's true. Part of reality is seeing one's own self as clearly as possible. Yet humans have a natural talent for self-deception.
Seeing inside ourselves, or seeing what's really going on in the world, often takes more effort, determination, and emotional toughness than we give it credit for.
I make it one of my highest priorities. Which doesn't mean I always achieve as much clear-sighted understanding of myself as I'd like.
Whatever the reason my perception was blocked, or perhaps just shaded, I'm glad I can see this better now. Losing the business was hugely gladdening, many ways. Freedom. I never wanted to work in it, wasn't supposed to, had to, and resented it.
But it was still a loss, and it looks like I didn't give that the credence I should have.
People. Grieve your losses. If you don't grieve your losses you can't let them go, you can't move on.
Amazing how peaceful these trays of nicely sorted little papers makes me feel.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
World War III?
Yes. Politics. A forum I venture into only rarely on this blog. And even now, I'll be brief. I'll leave out all the background, the nuances, the reasoning for my opinions on this subject.
Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, recently returned to her country after many years of exile. Her return was largely engineered by Condoleezza Rice. As a rival to President Musharraf, her presence there was controversial.
A few hours ago, she was killed in a suicide bombing outside her home. I have long admired this brave woman, and I mourn her loss.
I hope - I very much hope - I'm wrong about a potential consequence of this event.
Her murder will, at the very minimum, cause great unrest in Pakistan and other countries. Uncertainty and instability in worldwide financial markets is almost certain.
Worst of all, this may be the signal event that kicks off a World War III.
From time to time, I hear of books I'd like to read, but won't purchase new because I don't want royalties to accrue to the authors. Sometimes I can find them in our local libraries, or for sale as used books. I like to read viewpoints that are in opposition to mine; to understand those positions means, at the least, that I can argue my contrary position all the better.
One of those books was written by Osama bin Laden. I haven't read it. So I'm not able to personally vouch for the book's contents.
What I hear is this: His primary goal, as stated years ago in that book, was to set things in motion to engulf the US in World War III. If he could take action that would begin the next world war, he'd consider himself a success.
With any serial criminal - and it looks to me like that's a valid description of Bin Laden - it's wise to avoid letting them pull your strings. They are extremely manipulative people. Part of the work of profiling pioneers John Douglas and Robert Ressler of the FBI was geared toward learning how to manipulate the manipulator, for the purpose of capturing those criminals and preventing further crimes.
Roles become reversed; the hunter becomes the hunted, using proactive tactics rather than reactive ones. Time after time, experience has shown this strategy to be far more successful in capturing perpetrators of various types of serial crime. While I'd never pretend to be privy to the secret strategies of anyone's government, it's always seemed to me that most actions against Bin Laden and his ilk have been reactive, including in countries like Pakistan.
If Bin Laden's efforts to pull the strings of people all over the world have now succeeded, his victory will be a very bitter one indeed. Bitter for us, bitter for all lovers of peace and justice throughout the world.
Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, recently returned to her country after many years of exile. Her return was largely engineered by Condoleezza Rice. As a rival to President Musharraf, her presence there was controversial.
A few hours ago, she was killed in a suicide bombing outside her home. I have long admired this brave woman, and I mourn her loss.
I hope - I very much hope - I'm wrong about a potential consequence of this event.
Her murder will, at the very minimum, cause great unrest in Pakistan and other countries. Uncertainty and instability in worldwide financial markets is almost certain.
Worst of all, this may be the signal event that kicks off a World War III.
From time to time, I hear of books I'd like to read, but won't purchase new because I don't want royalties to accrue to the authors. Sometimes I can find them in our local libraries, or for sale as used books. I like to read viewpoints that are in opposition to mine; to understand those positions means, at the least, that I can argue my contrary position all the better.
One of those books was written by Osama bin Laden. I haven't read it. So I'm not able to personally vouch for the book's contents.
What I hear is this: His primary goal, as stated years ago in that book, was to set things in motion to engulf the US in World War III. If he could take action that would begin the next world war, he'd consider himself a success.
With any serial criminal - and it looks to me like that's a valid description of Bin Laden - it's wise to avoid letting them pull your strings. They are extremely manipulative people. Part of the work of profiling pioneers John Douglas and Robert Ressler of the FBI was geared toward learning how to manipulate the manipulator, for the purpose of capturing those criminals and preventing further crimes.
Roles become reversed; the hunter becomes the hunted, using proactive tactics rather than reactive ones. Time after time, experience has shown this strategy to be far more successful in capturing perpetrators of various types of serial crime. While I'd never pretend to be privy to the secret strategies of anyone's government, it's always seemed to me that most actions against Bin Laden and his ilk have been reactive, including in countries like Pakistan.
If Bin Laden's efforts to pull the strings of people all over the world have now succeeded, his victory will be a very bitter one indeed. Bitter for us, bitter for all lovers of peace and justice throughout the world.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
:-O !!! It's 'XACTLY Like SANTA!!!
He's been spotted! New sightings are being reported as we speak!
In Atlanta.
In Valdosta, having a bit of a rest.
Passing Gainesville. That one always takes SOOOO long. Exits way far apart.
Then - THEN - he's past Yeehaw Junction!
And now?
Fort Pierce! The magical mile marker, only 100 miles till home!
YESSSSSS!!!!
'Scuse me. Gonna go put some chicken in the oven.
er, leave out some cookies and milk.
In Atlanta.
In Valdosta, having a bit of a rest.
Passing Gainesville. That one always takes SOOOO long. Exits way far apart.
Then - THEN - he's past Yeehaw Junction!
And now?
Fort Pierce! The magical mile marker, only 100 miles till home!
YESSSSSS!!!!
'Scuse me. Gonna go put some chicken in the oven.
er, leave out some cookies and milk.
Baby Update! Walter Update! Merry Christmas!
Well!
Yes, I've been a bit preoccupied the last week or so. Seems to be going around, that.
The wee tiny kitten is home with his ecstatic mama and papa. So...as much as I admire his pic up there, I guess it's time to let it move down. Make room for new ones. Besides, they've probably washed his face at least eighteen hundred times by now.
kmom tells me they said that baby cries in the night sometimes.
--But we're working on that,--they said. '-)
They also discerned that he doesn't like the dark. Whereupon his dad ran out to the store and bought a night light. Make said baby kitten feel better.
kmom is greatly enjoying all this. As are we all.
See, some of you get new babies in your families fairly often. For us, this is an exceedingly rare event. Of k's two sibs, only one of us - kbro - had children. Two. One is the lovely niece in question. The other, the excellent nephew, is of the firm opinion that he will remain childless.
So this little one is a very special baby to us, indeed.
I guess I need to wise up. These new babies keep catching me off guard. I think they aren't supposed to arrive until the stated Three Weeks from Now - then all of a sudden THEY'RE HERE!!! and I spring them upon you, all unawares.
I've become an Ex-Step Grandma and a Great Aunt all in the space of a few months. Gracious!
Walter asked for time home for Christmas. If the company found him a good long haul, he'd stay out on the road. He was just off work on a long unpaid leave, and his heart seems okay again, and we need the bucks. Not to mention, Christmas at home can be hard for him. He gets homesick for his family in Europe sometimes, and for Christmas, it can be easier for him to stay on the road.
But past experience has taught us there's little work available over Christmas. So he told his driver manager, --If you can find me a good long one, fine. If not, send me home.--
They got him a job to Atlanta, GA. Atlanta is still quite a distance from South Florida, although to us it feels like the back yard. Still...The fuel cost from Atlanta to home is significant.
I guess it's a sort of Christmas present. They couldn't find Walter a load to bring from Atlanta to South Florida. So they ordered him to deadhead home - no paying load, just an empty trailer. Ordered as follows: *Arrive home by 11PM 12/25/07!*
Yes SIR!
WHEEE!!!!!!
I just got off the phone with him. He's taking a little break in Valdosta, GA, almost at the Florida line. He's moving along quite well.
kmom and kdad will come by to visit this morning, and I'll get to see my sweetheart by tonight. Whenever he gets here is fine by me.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!
Yes, I've been a bit preoccupied the last week or so. Seems to be going around, that.
The wee tiny kitten is home with his ecstatic mama and papa. So...as much as I admire his pic up there, I guess it's time to let it move down. Make room for new ones. Besides, they've probably washed his face at least eighteen hundred times by now.
kmom tells me they said that baby cries in the night sometimes.
--But we're working on that,--they said. '-)
They also discerned that he doesn't like the dark. Whereupon his dad ran out to the store and bought a night light. Make said baby kitten feel better.
kmom is greatly enjoying all this. As are we all.
See, some of you get new babies in your families fairly often. For us, this is an exceedingly rare event. Of k's two sibs, only one of us - kbro - had children. Two. One is the lovely niece in question. The other, the excellent nephew, is of the firm opinion that he will remain childless.
So this little one is a very special baby to us, indeed.
I guess I need to wise up. These new babies keep catching me off guard. I think they aren't supposed to arrive until the stated Three Weeks from Now - then all of a sudden THEY'RE HERE!!! and I spring them upon you, all unawares.
I've become an Ex-Step Grandma and a Great Aunt all in the space of a few months. Gracious!
Walter asked for time home for Christmas. If the company found him a good long haul, he'd stay out on the road. He was just off work on a long unpaid leave, and his heart seems okay again, and we need the bucks. Not to mention, Christmas at home can be hard for him. He gets homesick for his family in Europe sometimes, and for Christmas, it can be easier for him to stay on the road.
But past experience has taught us there's little work available over Christmas. So he told his driver manager, --If you can find me a good long one, fine. If not, send me home.--
They got him a job to Atlanta, GA. Atlanta is still quite a distance from South Florida, although to us it feels like the back yard. Still...The fuel cost from Atlanta to home is significant.
I guess it's a sort of Christmas present. They couldn't find Walter a load to bring from Atlanta to South Florida. So they ordered him to deadhead home - no paying load, just an empty trailer. Ordered as follows: *Arrive home by 11PM 12/25/07!*
Yes SIR!
WHEEE!!!!!!
I just got off the phone with him. He's taking a little break in Valdosta, GA, almost at the Florida line. He's moving along quite well.
kmom and kdad will come by to visit this morning, and I'll get to see my sweetheart by tonight. Whenever he gets here is fine by me.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Here He Is.
This was originally published 12/20/07, 1:37 AM. I'm going to keep it up top for a while.
You know. So every time I pull up the blog, I can look at him again.
Baby's Doing Better
I was so exhausted last night I couldn't sleep. And that's me, far away from the action, only a peripherally involved great aunt. I can only imagine what his mom and dad and the grands and the nephew are feeling!
I went to bed around 6am and woke up at 1:45. This time I didn't sleep with the telephone. I found a message from my nephew, B, on my answering machine, left there at 1:25. Perfect timing!
I'll paraphrase the message: --He is a beautiful baby. I just got back from the hospital, went to see him. He didn't have any more episodes over the night, with the breathing, so in all likelihood it was just him being, you know, new at the whole breathing thing and needing to figure some stuff out.
I had only one sip of espresso before I called him back.
The nephew says Mama asked the doc an important question, and the doc answered that there's no increased risk for SIDS. None.
It was nephew B's first in-person visit with the little one. B told me, just now, that where the baby's pix were good to see, they didn't have a noticeably powerful affect on him.
But sitting next to the baby in NICU? He said he could have just sat there for hours, looking at him.
Uncle B. Got a nice ring to it.
Uncle B. Aunt L.
I told him, --That baby will be one of the most loved babies around.
Yeah.
Bye.
Bye.
I went to bed around 6am and woke up at 1:45. This time I didn't sleep with the telephone. I found a message from my nephew, B, on my answering machine, left there at 1:25. Perfect timing!
I'll paraphrase the message: --He is a beautiful baby. I just got back from the hospital, went to see him. He didn't have any more episodes over the night, with the breathing, so in all likelihood it was just him being, you know, new at the whole breathing thing and needing to figure some stuff out.
I had only one sip of espresso before I called him back.
The nephew says Mama asked the doc an important question, and the doc answered that there's no increased risk for SIDS. None.
It was nephew B's first in-person visit with the little one. B told me, just now, that where the baby's pix were good to see, they didn't have a noticeably powerful affect on him.
But sitting next to the baby in NICU? He said he could have just sat there for hours, looking at him.
Uncle B. Got a nice ring to it.
Uncle B. Aunt L.
I told him, --That baby will be one of the most loved babies around.
Yeah.
Bye.
Bye.
NICU
Okay. I'm not going to get too worked up over this, because from what I hear, the docs aren't.
But the little one is not going home so fast, after all.
He had a few episodes where he stopped breathing. So since he is small, and they need to watch him, he's going to stay in neonatal ICU for at least 48 hours.
He's had blood drawn, so they'll do a blood culture to check for infection. Do a scan. See an ENT to check for blockages or some other reason he'd have trouble breathing.
Like I said, everyone is taking it pretty calmly.
But I don't like it. Nope. Not a bit.
The good thing is this: The NICU nurse sits in a place where she's surrounded by little NICU babies. Several are arranged around her, not more than a couple feet away.
Nothing can possibly happen without it being noticed, and instantly.
That's a very good thing. Somehow, the idea of sending such a little baby home so fast seemed...optimistic to me. I don't like this: but still, I feel a little more comfortable this way, because I know he'll be watched intently, 24/7.
That won't be too hard on the nurses, either. I just got some pix of him, and that is one beautiful baby.
Just absolutely beautiful.
But the little one is not going home so fast, after all.
He had a few episodes where he stopped breathing. So since he is small, and they need to watch him, he's going to stay in neonatal ICU for at least 48 hours.
He's had blood drawn, so they'll do a blood culture to check for infection. Do a scan. See an ENT to check for blockages or some other reason he'd have trouble breathing.
Like I said, everyone is taking it pretty calmly.
But I don't like it. Nope. Not a bit.
The good thing is this: The NICU nurse sits in a place where she's surrounded by little NICU babies. Several are arranged around her, not more than a couple feet away.
Nothing can possibly happen without it being noticed, and instantly.
That's a very good thing. Somehow, the idea of sending such a little baby home so fast seemed...optimistic to me. I don't like this: but still, I feel a little more comfortable this way, because I know he'll be watched intently, 24/7.
That won't be too hard on the nurses, either. I just got some pix of him, and that is one beautiful baby.
Just absolutely beautiful.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
That was FAST!!!
The excellent niece is the beaming happy new mother of a healthy baby boy, after only 4 hours of labor. (*whew!*)
He's 5# 10 oz., 19" long. Big enough to go home with his mom and dad; they don't need to keep him at the hospital.
A wee tiny precious little kitten.
My own wonderful nephew is now, himself, an uncle. When I asked him how it feels, he said it feels pretty darn good.
While I was talking to kmom, telling her I'd just heard about the birth, she got a call on the other phone from my brother, the new grandad. He told her the baby had arrived, and she said I'd just told her. Then he held the phone up to the baby, who *talked* to kmom - now a great-grandma! She got to hear that baby hollering, and said he has a great pair of lungs.
We are all ecstatic here. This is just, just...it's the cat's meow.
He's 5# 10 oz., 19" long. Big enough to go home with his mom and dad; they don't need to keep him at the hospital.
A wee tiny precious little kitten.
My own wonderful nephew is now, himself, an uncle. When I asked him how it feels, he said it feels pretty darn good.
While I was talking to kmom, telling her I'd just heard about the birth, she got a call on the other phone from my brother, the new grandad. He told her the baby had arrived, and she said I'd just told her. Then he held the phone up to the baby, who *talked* to kmom - now a great-grandma! She got to hear that baby hollering, and said he has a great pair of lungs.
We are all ecstatic here. This is just, just...it's the cat's meow.
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