Anniversary

Another sad one.
It has been three years since the 26 people, 20 children and 6 adults were killed by an unstable person who wielded a gun at Sandy Hook Connecticut elementary school students and teachers and administrators. 
I don't want to take anyone's guns away that are responsible hunters and want protection if someone comes after them  but... let's face it unstable people who have access is quite dangerous as if they were a toddler in your home and no one wouldn't lock up any arsenal no matter how big or small to protect their child, would they.
That's all I am saying treat the ill accordingly.
Also no one needs automatic weapons for either of the above mentioned reasoning's.
Collectors keep theirs in locked cases I would think.
So even with nearly 1500 beings being killed off domestically by guns since that horrendous day just three years ago, you gun toting Americans are safe from me trying to take them away, but not my opinion.
A lot to think about, hmm?
Personally I don't own any guns or like them and they scare me, but that's me.Being short in stature and slender, now just short, fat and old, I always felt anyone could take it away from me and use it against me.
Although, weapons I hear tell come in all shapes and sizes, why a woman doctor in Fort Myers Florida south of here was killed a few months ago by a hammer, can you imagine, bloody horrid murder too!   
Maybe if she had a gun she would be alive today many rationalize,hmm????
Who knows...
Sure us gals have pepper spray and hair spray and panic buttons on key chains and to me those are my weapons of choice if I were attacked, even kicking them where it hurts, yelling rape, and let's not forget calling 911 too!
Locking doors being aware of your surroundings and on and on... now stores and offices as well as schools are teaching what to do in these situations to run, hide and as a last resort fight back.
Not bad common sense to have embedded in our brains.

On this note of trying hard to make sense out of the senseless allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know whom, and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

Anew and whew!

Nothing like another home problem to distract you from yourself.
For quite some time our combination Hunter paddle fan/light over our dinette table had one light not giving out sufficient brightness. There are two curly florescent bulbs in each of our identical fixtures, three of those, one in the dinette, master bedroom and also in the sun-room. Our guest room's one was the only salvageable one after the hurricane, and the one out in the Lanai was also replaced, of course.
The first three mentioned all have remotes and are still sufficiently high tech and eco friendly with their type of bulbs that they haven't become obsolete in style or function eleven years later.
So when the one over our dinning table's light weakened Hubby disassembled it to diagnose the problem; after all he had put it in originally after the new roof and ceilings were completed, the fixture that was there had become a water fountain after the hurricane hit, dangerous and scary too!      

Anyway, when he found out the one socket was faulty he called around and found out Lowe's had the ones we needed, he bought two since the only difference was now they would be screw in bulbs instead of snap in, at six bucks for the two sockets not counting additional bulbs, 60w soft whites curly florescent, it was worth the repair.
Even a decade ago each paddle fan/light fixture was about one hundred and fifty dollars a piece, and so it appears that this one should last another few decades, barring any hurricanes that is.

Problem number two:

Hubby's smart phone had been funky while on our last vacation in November for his birthday to New Orleans it kept going into emergency calls only. He would shut it on and off and it temporarily would work. When we got home we called our cell provider and they had him remove his sim card and then reinstall it and again it would work but even since home it has done it, again today! Now the provider had us switch sim cards with each other to verify that is the problem.
So far my phone has been blinking with his in it, and now I have to call myself to get him, confusing!
Any-who, it's just till tomorrow to prove that is the issue and then they said they would send us a new sim card for him if it is the reason.

Busy minds cannot dwell on bad things, hmm?

On that note please allow me to be the very first to wish you a very happy good night and ask you to all kindly count all your blessings and share all those overages with you know whom and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

PS:The best part about today's problems is that they were very fixable, making them not stressful at all! None-the-less still able to distract me; I'm easy. (But only with some things; wink wink.)

Happy eighth/last night of Hanukkah! Boo Hoo! 

When life throws tacks in your way you should punt

Huh?
Sure we all have rough days.
And I am one who knows as well as most with any chronic ailment, mine is Multiple Sclerosis.
Some days thinking about crawling under the covers and going back to bed may be all that you have to do to help yourself deal with another crappy feel-bad day.
But alas some folks do not have that luxury of choice to so eloquently avoid life in any minute increments due to responsibilities to others.
Oh sure you say, what about delegating.
Yes, in complicated lives where work and family are still daily in the picture than that could be the answer.
Although, neither of those have anything to do with my own situation, since I am retired with grown adult sons and it's just Hubby and me here along with Gus our rescue Havanese mix dog.
Hubby takes him out into our fenced in yard several times a day, I don't.  
Since my tiny bought with squamous cell carcinoma, skin cancer on my left cheek last June I hardly go out unless in the car to go to another indoor location.
Even when on vacation most all sightseeing was done from the car.
Easier with my compromised walking ability and not all historic places having to adhere to the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992) rules with access.  
Don't get me wrong indoors with my walker I am still fairly able on and off during any day.
Pacing myself has an effect on how well I do, but some days no matter what I do nothing seems to help.

I do get depressed especially when TV shows kill off MS people. It is a rare occasion that over the years that I have seen any show deal with MS, mostly breast cancer, and they survive and AIDS and they survive, but for some reason they did a short storyline with actress Dee Wallace being the long lost sister of Luke and Bobby Spencer on ABC's General Hospital, a soap opera, and she has MS and is found in an assisted living facility and dies shortly after.   
Scorpion, a new night time TV show on Monday nights on CBS about a bunch of genius kids solving intricate life and death mass criminal situations. The top brilliant fellow's sister also is in the show with MS, which got my attention since he was determined to cure her, and after all he is this incredibly smart young man with a 197 IQ higher than Einstein's and all. Geez foolishly I thought they would announce a cure on the show, silly me, she died two weeks ago in the storyline.
Depressing, and yes I do know I could die from this but I could die from so many other things too.
My one shinning star is my one cousin who was diagnosed, also with MS, at the age of twenty-seven forty years ago and is still with us.I was the fourth in our family our aunt and uncle being the other two, my Mom's in-laws, so not blood relatives but my cousin is, and they were her Dad's in-laws too, her Dad was my Mom's brother, got that.
This insidious disease hits everyone differently, and in some ways for that I am thankfull.
Although, my neuro doctor's last visit was my reality check of me getting worse.
Denial would be how I want to handle this, so day after day I self talk to myself that I am fine, yep I am fine.
Darn symptoms belie my own self brainwashing.
Some times breathing is difficult, my voice gets hoarse many days a week, but I am fine.
My numb legs sometimes don't want to hold me, but I am fine.     
My arms cannot hold the position to write here without drooping, and I am lying down in bed, but I am fine.
Enough about me, remember I told you I was having a bad day, but I am fine.

On this note of being fine is all in one's mind, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know whom and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

  Happy seventh night of Hanukkah!

Information requested but not available apparently

This afternoon I requested more complete information about a toxic frog issue locally that was making animals ill and in some cases even killing them, dogs mostly.
So I asked two news anchors on the station that provided the initial report but not a defined location, since they said it was in Port Charlotte but we are a rather vast area, with inland woodsy type areas east of the main highway I75, as well as where we live waterfront that is on the west side.
Flora and faunas can be quite different here as anywhere I am more than sure.
We do not have coyotes or bears along our shores, inland yes, but an occasional alligator here who do prefer fresh water more so than our salt or combo brackish water in some locations. I have only seen two in all the seventeen years we have been in this particular home, and it is our third home in this state alone, and we always lived by water, salt, not fresh, and those two were the only ones in nearly thirty years I have seen here in the wild, nature. Still I have not seen any bears or coyotes, sure an occasional racoon, a couple of otters, and too many to count waterfowl, mostly ducks, herons, ibis and the like, and hawks, osprey and eagles, and many opossums that seem to enjoy our yard along with one squirrel who eats our avocados.
So we do have animals and a few times Cuban tree frogs, also toxic to pets.

But this Bufo frog:


 
"Reproduction: The giant toad breeds year-round in standing water, streams, canals and ditches.
CAUTION: When this non-native species is threatened or handled, it secretes a highly toxic milky substance from its large parotoid glands at the back of its head, behind the ears. This secretion can burn your eyes, may irritate your skin, and can kill cats and dogs if they ingest the secretion.
Symptoms of Giant Toad poisoning in pets include drooling, head-shaking, crying, loss of coordination, and, in more serious cases, convulsions. The dog's (or cat's) gums often turn red, an indicator used by veterinarians to distinguish toad poisoning from epilepsy. For this reason, pet owners should be familiar with their pet's normal gum color. Treatment: If you suspect toad poisoning, get a hose and run water in the side of the dog's/cat's mouth, pointing the animal's head downward so water isn't swallowed. Rub the gums and mouth to remove the toxin. This treatment is usually successful, but call your veterinarian immediately."

For more information about the giant toad, please see the publication entitled "Florida Invader: Cane Toad"
  
 http://www.wec.ufl.edu/extension/wildlife_info/frogstoads/bufo_marinus.php

Even this info is rather vague since we have water inland and shore wise.

I suppose the information is not exact since no one knows for sure.

On that note of preferring not to think that they were being rude, when the one's site said that the female anchor answers questions within minutes and hours have passed...allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know whom and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear! 

An after thought: I suppose we will just have to keep a closer watch on Gus, but he doesn't even try to eat lizards that are small and plentiful here, so I think he will be fine.

Happy sixth night of Hanukkah!

Another day another mind set

So as days go ours has a mixed review.
Meals were a bit of the new fangled concept and a smidge of the good ole standby usual.
Breakfast was those marvelous six minute boiled eggs with Hawaiian sweet rolls, one each.
Lunch was leftover last night's dinner, Hubby's was made into a multi-grain bread sandwich with the meats and cheeses from the antipasto with its salad on the side. I had the last slice of the pizza I did not eat last night also with a salad on the side and the other half of my Connoli that I did not finish last night either. Afternoon snack time was a Slim Fast.
Dinner was another Stouffers for Hubby and a Lean Cuisine for me.
So a compromise just might work, at least until we make a healthy grocery list.

My energy level had taken a toll too. I suppose you are what you eat is so very true, food is energy and we should all try to find the healthiest energizing ones that works for us. Trial and error will be tried for me, but Hubby seems to work well on all levels. 
These days though I seem to not be able to go for endurance too much, which is disappointing.

Pushing myself has been known to backfire.

As we all know that without food for fuel our lives are usually bland, although in many lives food also represents love, family love with gatherings, anxiety for some, pleasure for us who do know what the word to"dine" truly means, naughty for others who rationalize the foods that have aphrodisiac properties, not naughty but more fun and pleasurable more than sustenance, hmm?
Food glorious food has had songs made about it, food porn pics are a sign of our times, love it but you can never ever really leave it due to the need to survive...we must all be responsible consumers though as this generation has proven as it has grown, and grown...
Whether curvaceous, zaftig, or plus, we are all needing to trust the vitamins within the purist of forms of all the mush can be squished with the same effect of vitamins in much smaller stuffs.

On that note given with for the love of food, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask all of you to kindly count all your blessings and share all those overages with you know whom and we will too!  

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear! 

Happy fifth night of Hanukkah!

So it's like this; not that either of us got hangry, but...

After two and half days of adhering to my concept of a battle of the bulge, body that is, it's not working.
I know, I do really know, two and half days is a drop in the bucket, and you know what I say to that, is there fried chicken in that bucket???? KIDDING! I still am not that much for fried foods, I do have my limitations, really folks! Perhaps a few times a year I might indulge, or a month, but not really that often, truly.
Actually, my choices have been healthy.
I read an article in our AARP Newsletter about a woman who had lost 160 pounds more than what I have to, but it got my attention so I read it, and boy was I disappointed to find out that all she did was stop drinking soda pop, I don't drink it even diet. I drink club soda and coffee with Stevia black period. Oh and she stopped dipping her prepared at home food in batter, huh? I don't do that either. No exercising and she lost all that weight, amazing!
Anyway, it made me wonder again am I fighting an uphill battle due to my own research of the medications that I am on causing all this abundance of me? The numerous ones I take do have that side effect, that is all seven of them! 

So I have decided with Hubby who was not receiving enough nourishment from my plan, even though his was not known for being a diet food Stouffers like my Lean Cuisine is.
Any-who, tonight's break is a biggy and probably not that great a falling off the wagon so far we have fallen... into a large PIZZA with three toppings and Antipasto and there is more Connolis, two, one each! OMG!

I know, the guilt and not even Kosher for Hanukkah!
OH MY!
For shame!
Oy Gevalt!

Oh well, we are weak, but soon we will not be since we will have our bellies filled with wonderful Pizza, Antipasto and Connoli!

On that note of such is life, get over it, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask all of you to kindly count all your blessings and share all those overages with you know whom and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

Who knows what tomorrow will bring... yep, that's true, who knows????? Tell me. Kidding again. 

Happy fourth night of Hanukkah!

Yesterday Hubby had quite a day!

His bathroom had a very unusual problem,unusual for us anyway.
Although, I have heard of this happening to others, but never to us before.
Sure they all have had their moments of stopping up at one time or another.
And after five homes in nearly forty-five years of marriage we had, let's see, 2+3+2+3+2=12, yep twelve bathrooms with toilets and too much paper, or other bodily fluids or solids and the like may have all previously filled the lines with issues to cause stoppage, but we never ever experienced a stoppage caused by this before!
I had only seen it before on This Old House a PBS TV show that we both enjoy.
Well, at first Hubby wasn't sure what was causing the backup and used the usual remedies that he recalled from his apprentice plumber days and has had to use over the many years. A plunger then snaking the line, even running a hose from outside down to flush the system. I suggested my eco friendly sink unclogger nearly foolproof remedy, baking soda and white vinegar followed by hot water and that didn't work either. We didn't have any chemical drain cleaners except for CLR, which Hubby thought might work due to a heavy calcium problem with our city water, but nada.
He finally took the toilet off with knowing he would have to get another seal, but Ace hardware was nearby.
I worried an animal could have somehow penetrated the system, it happens on TV too, ya know?

But nah, after Hubby saw what the problem/stoppage was, a root system from one of our trees, he yanked it out by hand, what a man!
It, the root, filled a disposable grocery bag, yep and had nasty toilet waste included, oops TMI, sorry!
All was put back to normal within moments and all systems flowed without any more problems!

Any-who, as usual Hubby saved the day!
Once a hero always a hero, from his fireman days to his deputy days to his plumbing days he has always been MY HERO! (As well as many a strangers' too, even the plumbing part as a town engineer up north and for neighbors over the years and at work and on and on.)

On that note of sometimes life can be more than ordinary even while at home, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and share all those overages with you know whom and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

 Happy third night of Hanukkah!