Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Fast and furious

I checked the weather radar off and on all morning, watching the approaching storm trying to gauge when it will hit this part of the island. I had a very good reason for doing so, as I had a client to visit at 3pm. and did not want to be caught on the roads in the snow storm. At 1pm, I called the office and had them call my client to see if it would be all right with her to come and take care of things at 1:30pm, it was so off I drove.
I worked at breakneck speed all the time glancing out the window at the gathering clouds. By 3:30pm I had done everything I had planned on, like meals being prepared and left in the refrigerator to be easily re-heated, and wood brought upstairs to feed their wood stove.
At 3:35 the first of the hail started to fall and by 3:45 I was on the road driving through wind whipped hail on my way home. I was very happy to turn into our driveway, pull up under the carport and go inside the nice warm house. Around 5pm it started to snow, and it came down very fast. The wind was driving the snow sideways and about 1 1/2 inches accumulated in just about half an hour.
If the forecast is right on, then we are to have plenty of snow this evening, then freezing temperatures Thursday and Friday. I don't have to work tomorrow but do on Friday, but if the roads are slick, I intend of staying off them.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

We are being dumped on

11:49 Update: look what we have now. I elected to stay home and not drive on the slippery roads. There have been accidents reported, and I don't intend to add to the count.

8:46 am It started out with a very heavy rain, then turned to snow, changed to hail and now it is a mix, all blown by a very stiff wind.
I have to be at work at 10 am, so I am hoping this has blown over by then, as the roads could be a little slick.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

A NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE


I was sent this via an email, and thought it very worthwhile posting. How many of us women know what to expect?
I recommend that you ladies read this for your own benefit and you men so that you can advise your wife or girl friend.

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD READ THIS . . .
A NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE

I am an ER nurse and this is the best description of this event that I have ever heard.


FEMALE HEART ATTACKS

I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read.

Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction). Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart attack .. You know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies.
Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack.
'I had a heart attack at about 10 :30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might have brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.

A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable.
You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.

After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasms), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).

This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening -- we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we?

I said aloud to myself and the cat, Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!

I lowered the foot rest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else ...
But, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in a moment.

I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics ... I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts..
She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to un-bolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in.

I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the radiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stints to hold open my right coronary artery.

'I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stints.
'Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand.'

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not the usual men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act).
It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up ... which doesn't happen.

My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before.
It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!
2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics.' And if you can take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you are a hazard to others on the road.
Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road.
Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics..
He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP.
Your Dr. will be notified later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure).
MI's are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in thebody, which
dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there.


Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep.
Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive..

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Wednesday humor

One day an old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost.. Wandering about, he notices a panther heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old German Shepherd thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!"

Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the panther is about to leap, the old German Shepherd exclaims loudly,

"Boy, that was one delicious panther! I wonder, if there are any more around here?"

Hearing this, the young panther halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees.

"Whew!," says the panther, "That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!"

Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the panther. So, off he goes.

The squirrel soon catches up with the panther, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the panther.

The young panther is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that
conniving canine!"

Now, the old German Shepherd sees the panther coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?," but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says...

"Where's that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!"

Moral of this story...

Don't mess with the old dogs... Age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery!
BS and brilliance only come with age and experience.


Monday, January 31, 2011

A chuckle to brighten your day

There were two buddies, one with a Doberman Pinscher and the other with a Chihuahua. The guy with the Doberman Pinscher says to his friend, "Let's go over to that restaurant and get something to eat."

The guy with the Chihuahua says, "We can't go in there. We've got dogs with us."

The buddy with the Doberman Pinscher says, "Just follow my lead."

They walk over to the restaurant, the guy with the Doberman Pinscher puts on a pair of dark glasses and he starts to walk in. The bouncer at the door says, "Sorry, Mac, no pets allowed."

The man with the Doberman Pinscher says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye-dog."

The bouncer says, "A Doberman Pinscher?"

He answers, "Yes, they're using them now; they're very good and protect me from robbers, too."

The man at the door says, "Come on in."

The buddy with the Chihuahua figures, "What the heck," so he puts on a pair of dark glasses and starts to walk in.

Once again the bouncer says, "Sorry, pal, no pets allowed."

The guy with the Chihuahua says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye dog."

The bouncer at the door says, "A Chihuahua?"

The man with the Chihuahua says, "A Chihuahua?????? They gave me a Chihuahua?!"

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Not much going on right now

I know, I know, I am tardy in my blogging, but when a person hasn't been anywhere, or done anything exciting, there really isn't much to say.
I could rant about having to have repairs done to my car, and whine about how I really do need a new one, and how much I would love to take a trip back to my homeland, and how now would be the time to win the lotto so I could afford a new car, a trip or two, and could retire, but I won't rant right now *grin*
Mr C has a saying " I guess we just have to be good lookin' instead of rich" hmmmm! I think I would like to try rich for a while. At least the sun is making an effort to shine today, brightening up the day, and my grumpy mood.
Yesterday I checked out the movie section at the small local library, and discovered DVD's of BBC Masterpiece theatre, I rented one and started watching it last night. Being born and raised in New Zealand, I am familiar with BBC productions on the telly (TV) and this particular DVD brought back all the memories of series I used to watch many years ago. I hadn't realized how much I miss the British shows, so I intend on making another trip to the library to see how many more of these types of DVD's they have for my entertainment.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Roast vegetables

About 1-1/2 cups each of yellow squash, onion, carrot, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, all thinly sliced or broken into small florets, tossed into a plastic baggie with Mrs Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning, garlic powder, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Toss all around in the baggie until well coated then pour onto a foil lined baking dish and bake.

I use my small counter top convection oven, and cook the veggies at 400 F until they are just tender crisp, as I will reheat them in the microwave later on. There are less than 100 calories per one cup serving of these very tasty vegetables.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

We are ready for Spring

Here in western WA we have had some nasty weather. Yesterday they were forecasting for lots of snow starting around 4 to 5pm, well it didn't hit in some places until about two hours later. I changed my hours of work so I could drive home at 5pm with the idea that I can see the snowy roads better in daylight. Well, I was lucky to be able to get home on bare roads, get settled in and wait to see when the snow will arrive.
I went to bed around 9 pm, and still no snow, I got up at 11pm and looked out the window to a beautiful sight of a yard blanketed in soft fluffy snow.
Sometime early this morning, it started to rain and some of the now melted, the rain stopped and the wind came up so there is still quite a lot of snow around our place to melt away. I know that by the time I drive the main highway later this afternoon, the roads will be clear of this mess. Across the pond, in the Seattle area, they are having to drive very slushy freeway, and icy, slushy side roads. We will all be thankful when Winter leaves us, and spring arrives on our doorstep.

Monday, January 10, 2011


JANE SEABROOK is an illustrator and designer who lives in Auckland , New Zealand . In recent years, her artwork has focused on paintings of wildlife for the Fury Logic series of books. She shares her life with her husband, two teenage children, and a growing menagerie of assorted animals.

Saturday, January 08, 2011

My kind of Saturday afternoon

I spent the morning doing my chores, then this afternoon I brought firewood inside and lit the fire.
Mr C was away for the afternoon so I decided to spend the hours in front of the crackling fire reading. I made a pot of my favorite tea placed it on a tray and took it into the living room to sip on while reading. What a perfectly wonderful way to spend one's day when it is too cold and wet outdoors to do anything.

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Salad for dinner

Now that I am counting calories, I have decided to eat 'light' for my evening meals. This salad consists of black rice, avocado, apple, tomato, green onion, and Annie's fat free mango dressing. I also grind plenty of black pepper into the salad.
As I am a sweet tooth, I need dessert, so I satisfy my cravings with a Dreyer's frozen fruit bar
.
All this for 341 calories

Enough already!


My goodness, I don't know what came over me! Early last year I did a good job of tracking my daily calories via My Fitness Pal and managed to drop some pounds, then I just stopped making the effort and paid for it by gaining the weight back.
Of course it didn't help that I had three falls this last year, and was, and still am, in pain quite often. Today I go in for ex rays to see if we can track down the source of my discomfort.
January the 3rd I decided I have had enough of feeling sorry for myself, being depressed about my weight gain, and eating more to console myself, and went back to tracking my calories, and what a difference in my attitude. I think it all comes down to being accountable, as I record my progress on Fitness Pal for all to see, and who wants to fail, when people are watching *grin*
I really like My Fitness Pal as it is free and there is a great community of support. If you are interested in losing a few or many pounds, stop by My Fitness Pal and check out their site.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

First sunset of 2011

What a beautiful way to end the first day of 2011

Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year


The morning after I hope you are not feeling as bad as he looks.

So, go celebrate, be careful, have a designated driver, or take a taxi.

Thank you to all my readers, family, friends, blogger friends, and all you folk who just stop by to take a look. You are all appreciated.

I wish for you all, an outstanding New Year

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Cool stuff and thought for the day


Thought for the day:
One of the life's mysteries is how a two pound box of candy can make a person gain five pounds.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Thursday, December 23, 2010

A wonderful Christmas story

This is what a country Christmas is all about...


"Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their means and then never had enough for the necessities. But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors. It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving.

It was Christmas Eve. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy me the rifle that I'd wanted for Christmas. We did the chores early that night for some reason. I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible.

After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible. I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read Scriptures. But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and went outside. I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity.

Soon Pa came back in. It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight." I was really upset then. Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see. We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this. But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens. Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house. Something was up, but I didn't know what.

Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled. Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job. I could tell. We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load. Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand. I reluctantly climbed up beside him. The cold was already biting at me. I wasn't happy. When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed. He got off and I followed. "I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said. "Here, help me." The high sideboards! It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on.

After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood - the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing? Finally I said something. "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?"

"You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked. The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight. Sure, I'd been by, but so what?

Yeah," I said, "Why?"

"I rode by just today," Pa said. "Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They're out of wood, Matt."

That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood. I followed him. We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it. Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait. When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand.

"What's in the little sack?" I asked.

"Shoes, they're out of shoes. Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning. I got the children a little candy too. It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little candy."

We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence. I tried to think through what Pa was doing. We didn't have much by worldly standards. Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it. We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy? Really, why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our concern.

We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door. We knocked. The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?"

"Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?"

Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all. Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.

"We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of flour. I put the meat on the table. Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it. She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time. There was a pair for her and one for each of the children - sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last. I watched her carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out.

"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said. He turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile. Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up."

I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too. In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak. My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before filled my soul. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference. I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people.

I soon had the fire blazing and everyone's spirits soared. The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face for a long time. She finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said. "I know the Lord has sent you. The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us."

In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again. I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true. I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth. I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others. The list seemed endless as I thought on it.

Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get. Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes.


Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to leave. Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug. They clung to him and didn't want us to go. I could see that they missed their Pa, and I was glad that I still had mine.

At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow. The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals. We'll be by to get you about eleven. It'll be nice to have some little ones around again. Matt, here, hasn't been little for quite a spell." I was the youngest. My two brothers and two sisters had all married and had moved away.

Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles. I don't have to say, May the Lord bless you; I know for certain that He will."

Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold. When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, "Matt, I want you to know something. Your ma and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square. Your ma and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do. Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand."

I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again. I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it. Now the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities. Pa had given me a lot more. He had given me the look on Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children.

For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much more than a rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life."

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Cool stuff and thought for the day

Thought for the day:
The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.
Benjamin Franklin

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Cool stuff and thought for the day


Thought for the day:
A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness. - John Keats