Posted 9:34 PM by Bonnie

Monday Music Mambo - Week 66

Today the Monday Music Mambo is dedicated to International Tool Day which honors folks who make their living using all kinds of tools. One and a two and a three -- let's Mambo.

01. What music tools (PC applications) do you use? Windows Media Player

02. What song(s) or lyrics can you name that mention tools?

If I Had a Hammer - Peter, Paul, and Mary
Screwdriver - The White Stripes


03. Think of a tool. Now, using the letters of that tool list either artists names or song titles.

Wrench:

W - Wayward Wind
R - Red River Valley
E - Endless Love
N - Nowhere Man
C - Can't Stop The Music
H - Help!

Posted 9:22 PM by Bonnie

Just for grins:

Posted 9:10 PM by Bonnie

Job Hunting: Figured it was time I posted an update on my adventures in job hunting. One positive thing has come out of my latest arthritis flare up. I have been directed to the Vocational Rehabilitation Center here in Sumter for help. The arthritis has now become a disability, even though I don't consider myself disabled. So, they are trying to help me find something I can do and have given me a list of places to try. If nothing comes of it they will open a file on me and work to find me a job or if nothing else help me get on disability. That is a last resort for me.

Also, out of the leads I have come upon a woman who heads up a program called Experience Works. She helps people 55 and over find part-time employment. I will be seeing her next Tuesday.

In the meantime, my last visit to the doctor was interesting. He did the usual range of motion tests and has informed me that now I not only have arthritis in my left hip, knee, back, both hands, and right shoulder, but also in my right knee. I had been hoping that that leg would not be affected. He put me on a different medication, since nothing was helping and the pain had gone beyond bearable. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst it was hitting around 15 to 20. With the new medication it was back down to between 5 and 10. So he told me to add extra-strength tylenol with it and that seems to be helping for now.

When I couldn't walk or do my line dancing I knew I had to do something more.

So...the job hunt continues but I am feeling more positive about it now. I checked in with the staffing agency I am also using and they had four jobs come in, but all involved heavy lifting. Not for me!!! All in all I am feeling better mentally and emotionally with the pain back under control and more "in control" again.

One place I'm applying is with the school district here. Hey, with my husband teaching here, my sister, Victoria, teaching in CT, I figured I'd get involved in the school in some capacity, too.

Look out world here I come... well, at least look out Sumter, SC here I come!

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of Bonnie J!

Posted 2:57 PM by Bonnie

Will you still love me... Well, went to the doctors last night for my arthritis to see what could be done. After doing the usual range of motion stuff he told me not only do I have it in my hands, left knee and hip and back, but it is now in my right knee. Oh joy! At least it isn't causing me pain there...yet, but it's nice to know it's in the future. Yeah, right. He gave me a different medication and we are going to see if that helps. So far it has made the pain tolerable which is better than AAARRRGGGHHHH!!! which is where I was for the past couple of weeks.

So, went to talk with Voc/Rehab today and they set me up with a bunch of places to see if there is a match for me. One is really cool. It's a t-shirt silk screening and they need someone to take orders and do office work. I can do that. They are supposed to call me and haven't yet.

Another is a place that finds jobs for people 55 and over. I have to call the woman tomorrow to set up an interview. Those were the two most hopeful ones. She gave me some other leads to follow up tomorrow and if none of these pan out for me I have an appt. with her on 10/10 and she will open a case file and we will go from there. She asked me if I was on disability and I told her know, I was trying to avoid that route.

But, the cutest part of the interview was when she said, well, it's too bad you aren't 55 because there's an agency that works only with people of that age and over. I love her!!! I told her I am 57. She was taken aback for a minute, but recovered her professional demeanor quickly and said, oh! well then go to job services and she gave me the address and directions.

So, I am once again on the hunt and at least have something to fall back on if these don't work out for me. I'd keep my fingers crossed but it's too painful!

Posted 9:40 PM by Bonnie

Poor Mr. Fuzz! I would have to say of all our cats Mr. Fuzz is the most sincere. If he accidentally scratches us he looks sad and will come and kiss us to make up for the injury he has caused. He likes certain canned cat foods and eats them with great happiness and will even share with a kitten if needed. He has his concubine Heidi, whom he will sing to and if he can't find her will go around calling until he does find her. He snuggles in at the bottom of my husbands bed at night, and then will curl up behind my back. When it's time for breakfast he wakes me as gently as possible...unlike the kittens who scratch at my face and feet until I finally get up. But... he also has asthma. Last weekend he had an attack and we took him for his shot. They gave him the lesser of the shots because the big shot can make him sick. He was fine until Friday when he had another bad attack. I took him back in and they gave him the "big shot" and kept him all day and overnight to keep an eye on him. I brought him home Saturday but only with the promise to bring him back first thing Monday morning so they could recheck him. I promised and will do so. They have all fallen in love with this gentle giant (a 14 pound sweetie) and worry over him as much as we do. (One of the receptionists used to sing to him) I guess most people would have given up on him and had him put down by now, but he does have good weeks and even good months where he doesn't have attacks. Now he also has a lump on his neck and they are concerned over that too and are measuring it each visit to make sure it isn't growing. If it does grow they will need to remove it and have a biopsy done on it and we are all hoping it is just a fatty deposit or something benign. You gotta love a cat who KNOWS when he has done wrong and tries to rectify the situation.

When I brought him home Saturday he had his priorities...first find his Heidi cat, then go eat, then use the litter box, have a drink and take a nap. Yep, he has his priorities straight. So send good thoughts for this poor baby and hope all goes well with him. He's just one of those sweet cats you really get attached to.

On the other hand we do have this BAAAAAD orange cat - marmadukealade - since we aren't sure of the sex... that is up for grabs most days.

Posted 8:01 PM by Bonnie

HUH??? Keith and I went to get the oil changed in our cars today and while there the young woman brought up the hurricane and we started discussing all the repercussions. We got to the gas prices and she said... and I quote... if people weren't so greedy and would stop buying gas there wouldn't be shortages and they wouldn't have to raise the prices and there would be plenty for the people who really need it. Like her I guess. HUH??? So, if OTHER people would just stop using their cars she wouldn't have to pay so much at the pump. Of course, she also thought none of this was the shrubs fault and blamed it all on us greedy consumers who use their cars for work, grocery shopping, doctor appts., and such. You gotta wonder at how some of these people rationalize these ideas. Well, I just found it amusing so thought I post it here for some grins.

Posted 2:59 PM by Bonnie

It could only happen to me! I have been back and forth to the vets so much the past couple weeks that what happened this morning is perfectly understandable. Since I was taking in the kittens I was using the smaller carriers. A fabric one and a small blue one. This morning I had to take in Mr. Fuzz because he woke me up having an asthma attack at 5 a.m. I gave him his albuteral and it stopped the attack, but it being the weekend and the vet not being open again until Monday morning, we decided I should take him in for a shot. So, I did. And then set the gray carrier down as I paid the bill. I picked up the carrier on the way out and called my husband from the car to let him know we were on the way home. Mr. Fuzz sounded a bit odd so I decided to check on him before we left. I turned the small blue carrier so I could look in and to my amazement found a small dog instead of my cat. It was then I realized my error! I had grabbed the wrong carrier! Okay, stop laughing. The man who saw me come back in and swap carriers was laughing hard enough. As I told him, it's a good thing I checked BEFORE I got home! I can only imagine how my husband would have felt when I released a dog into the house! It was an honest mistake!!!!!

Posted 2:12 PM by Bonnie

Wednesday Mind Hump - Week 76
Happy Hump Day!

Let's hump it up by celebrating the recent Clean Out Your Junk Drawer Day.

Yes, we all have junk drawers. Go to yours and list some of the items (or all of the items if you dare) that's in your junk drawer.

For a little extra fun, tell us why you're saving some of that "junk" or if some of those items bring back any memories.

I actually have two junk drawers, side by side, in my kitchen. They contain everything from lose tools to nuts and bolts and screws that came with bookshelves. You know the extras they throw in in case you lose one. Let's see, also phone cords, power supplies, cables and the like. All things I just might need one day and since they only take up a little space (two small drawers) it doesn't hurt anything.

Now...if my husband answered this question he would have lists and lists and lists of junk drawers and junk stacks and junk..well, never mind... smile!!!

Posted 1:54 PM by Bonnie

Nationwide is on your side? As I listened to the news this morning I didn't want to believe what I was hearing. Nationwide, the on your side insurance company, is denying coverage to hurricane victims. Why? Because they are stating the damage was not caused by a hurricane, but by a flood. And the customers should have purchased flood insurance through FEMA. Their advice? Get the government to help you. So, I guess all those houses blown to smithereens by the high winds BEFORE the levees broke and flooded the area, were not hit by a hurricane. This is mind boggling! Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture or is it just me?

Posted 11:59 AM by Bonnie

Teachers: I find it sad that the most important job is among the lowest paid. I am speaking of teachers. Those folks who take our children and mold them into thinking, functioning, caring human beings who are able to go out into the world and hopefully make a difference themselves. The following has reached my email many times, so this time I am dedicating it to the two teachers in my family - my husband, Keith and my sister, Victoria and all the teachers who made a difference in my life...especially Mrs. Hoffstetter who loved my poetry and encouraged me to write and inspired me more than any other teacher ever did. To Mr. Polenta, my music teacher, at Gridley, who in spite of my poor playing ability let me in the band and encouraged me to keep practicing. To Mr. Quirk who also encouraged me to write and explore my abilities in that area. There are more, but these are the ones who after all these years remain with me. So, to all of you....

How Much Do You Make?

The dinner guests were sitting around the table
discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with
education. He argued: "What's a kid going to learn
from someone who decided his best option in life was
to become a teacher?"
He reminded the other dinner guests that it's true
what they say about teachers:

"Those who can: do. Those who can't: teach." To
corroborate, he said to another guest: "You're a
teacher, Susan," he said. "Be honest. What do you
make?"

Susan, who had a reputation of honesty and frankness,
replied, "You want to know what I make?"

"I make kids work harder than they ever thought they
could. I can make a C+ feel like the Congressional
Medal of Honor and an A- feel like a slap in the face
if the student did not do his or her very best."

"I can make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall
in absolute silence."
"I can make parents tremble in fear when I call home."
"You want to know what I make?"

"I make kids wonder."
"I make them question."
"I make them criticize."
"I make them apologize and mean it."
"I make them write."
"I make them read, read, read."

"I make them spell "definitely & beautiful" over and
over again, until they will never misspell either one
of those words again."

"I make them show all their work in math and hide it
all on their final drafts in English."

"I elevate them to experience music and art and joy in
the performance, so their lives are rich, full of
kindness and culture, and they take pride in
themselves and their accomplishments."

"I make them understand that if you have the brains,
then follow your heart... and if someone ever tries to
judge you by what you make, you pay them no attention.

"You want to know what I make?
I make a difference.
What do you make?"

Posted 2:37 PM by Bonnie

I know you're just itching to dance so let's twist ... erm ... I mean let's Mambo again like we did last summer and this summer too.
This week, a little Katrina inspiration.

01. What song lyrics come to mind when you hear the words: water, wind, rain

And I played my guitar
Through the night to the day,
Turn, turn, turn again.
And the only tune
My guitar could play
Was, "Oh the Cruel Rain
And the Wind."Percy’s Song – Bob Dylan

02. Using the letters K-A-T-R-I-N-A see what song titles you can come up with.

K – Kathy’s Song – Paul Simon – this one also fits the above:

And as I watch the drops of rain
Weave their weary paths and die
I know that I am like the rain
There but for the grace of you go I.

A - Alice's Restaurant By Arlo Guthrie.

T – Turn, Turn, Turn by Pete Seeger

R – Restless Wind – okay it’s really Wayward wind but it does have restless wind in the lyrics – Neil Young

And the wayward wind
is a restless wind
A restless wind
that yearns to wander
And I was born
the next of kin
The next of kin
to the wayward wind.

I – I’ll Be There – Michael Jackson

N - No Place to Hide – Alison Krauss (these also seem to fit)

When I was a child
I used to love to watch the rain
I'd stand under the downspout
Let the water cool my brain
I never thought to worry
If the river rose too high
That all the seeds we planted
Would get washed out with the tide
But now I am a man
And I need a place to hide

A – Anytime – Brian McNight



03. If you were going to send Katrina survivors a musical message of hope which song would you choose?

You’ve Got a Friend – James Taylor

When you’re down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, whoa nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest nights.

You just call out my name,
And you know whereever I am
I’ll come running, oh yeah baby
To see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You’ve got a friend.

If the sky above you
Should turn dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind should begin to blow
Keep your head together and call my name out loud
And soon I will be knocking upon your door.
You just call out my name and you know where ever I am
I’ll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you got to do is call
And I’ll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey, ain’t it good to know that you’ve got a friend?
People can be so cold.
They’ll hurt you and desert you.
Well they’ll take your soul if you let them.
Oh yeah, but don’t you let them.

You just call out my name and you know wherever I am
I’ll come running to see you again.
Oh babe, don’t you know that,
Winter spring summer or fall,
Hey now, all you’ve got to do is call.
Lord, I’ll be there, yes I will.
You’ve got a friend.
You’ve got a friend.
Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend.
Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend.
You’ve got a friend.

Posted 2:04 PM by Bonnie

It's been one of those crazy weeks from hell. As you all know we took the two babies in to get spayed last week. If you read the previous post you found out one of them was a bit of a rare bird...or do I mean rare cat... as it was neither male nor female. Well, things went downhill fast for the two little ones. When we brought them home Delia was fine and playing and eating and having a good old time, but poor Marmalade just wasn't well. We ended up taking him back and he stayed at the vets for a few days, but just wouldn't eat or respond. Then Delia got sick and I took her in...she kept vomiting and yowling as if in pain. They told me Friday Marmalade was ready to go home and I took him home along with Delia and medications for them both. Well!! When I took Marmalade out of the cage the incision was red and the poor cat just laid there. Delia kept yowling and vomiting so we called the vets and said this will not do! So, they said bring them back... the vet who owns the place took them home with her on the weekend and by Monday Marmalade was eating and driving them nuts wanting to get out and play, so I went and brought that one home. Delia finally started eating so they let me bring her home today. She is doing better and is not vomiting and even sat on me while I played on the computer for ahwile and snuggled up with her Mr. Bug. So, for the time being all is well....

Well...except Percival the Persian has diahrrea and I have to treat him now and bathe him later...Believe me! There is nothing more disgusting than a Persian cat with diahrrea. You just don't want to know!

Posted 12:09 PM by Bonnie

Strange cat story: or truth is stranger than fiction! Took our two female kittens (Marmalade 7 months and Delia 6 months) in to get spayed. When I picked them up today they said both were doing fine, but... are you ready for this? Marmalade is not exactly a female. And not exactly a male. For the records the cat is now labelled male but it has a vagina on the outside so for all appearances it is a female...but inside there was no uterus, but a penis! No testicles but a penis - no uterus but a vagina - so the cat is neither complete male or female. Now I don't know what to call it! The vet said since there is a penis it is technically a male, so that is what their records now show. No wonder the poor thing is so wild! It's confused as to it's gender! Anyone else ever hear of this in the animal world before?