Thanks for all the suggestions!

Tonight I would love to thank all the others with chronic ailments that have offered their ideas in what I should do to help myself! And to tell me that attitude is everything! The power of positive thinking and all that…
Not that I am ungrateful but seriously folks haven’t you been reading anything I write? I know that is rather harsh and self absorbed of me to think that you all have nothing better to do than to read this drivel nightly… but in reality I could write a book on what we all should be doing and in reality isn’t this sort of the same thing?

Here’s a brief recap, any-who:
Yes, I have more than covered what we should do and how I have done it all from my physical therapy, occupational therapy, neuromuscular massage therapy for fourteen times in fourteen years, and going to the gym for five years for an hour and a half a day five days a week, becoming a certified Aquacize instructor and teaching for four years, two years of yoga classes, twelve years of ballet, tap and acrobatics not to mention some ballroom, modern and jazz too and a short stint as a cheerleader too. And let’s not forget I am also qualified by the state health department to teach a self help course that pertains to all chronic illnesses even been taught to write grants pertaining to whatever ails you with CEU’s included! Not to mention my past fundraising, being a board member and co-president of a local support group, but that’s enough of me tooting my own horn!
Why does everyone insist that I am not doing enough to help myself or that I have given up?
Huh? Huh? Huh?
That’s enough of that; it would seem that I have to go through my own personal explanations of why… every six months or perhaps every three so it seems?
Sure physical deconditioning is harmful to anyone sick or well!
And the truth is no one should let it ever happen no matter what, got that?
To be fair, though, in all these blogs that I have been writing now for just over three, count them three years I have mentioned my exercise programs that have also been enthusiastically self inflicted!
Just this past December I started my floor exercises on my yoga mat daily with my free weights and then incorporated into the program after getting up to myself using my five pound weights and sixty repetitions for all six exercises, I added in my pool exercises and then the unbelievable happened once again… all with me now… I went into an exacerbation! So here I sit, taking it easy, until I feel well enough to begin all over once again!
Whew, that feels so much better!

Haven’t I told all of you to walk, swim or bicycle if you can get approved by your doctors and also mentioned that 90% of you should get the OK! I have also said eat more vegetables and perhaps garden them like we do and fruits too, and yes we are in Florida and so we do have fruit trees but many all over the world do too, and for that I am very sure.
Eat lean meats, chicken and fish a variety with incorporating whole grains of multi-grain breads and brown rice etc. but in moderation, and watch your portion controls.
And don’t forget to access online low fat, low sodium diets, and not too many sweets, but as a treat only occasionally!
All common sense ideas that everyone knows by now, ME INCLUDED FRIENDS!
I love you all… and no this does not mean that you cannot tell me anything or share your great ideas too… oh no… it's just that I want new, fresh ones, okay?
Not the same ole, same ole one, all right?

PS I still do online advocacy and help others that ask me to pass on their messages about their own causes and earlier this evening I received the below email and since I live in Florida I did share it with others online since Multiple Sclerosis Association of America as of yet does not have a Facebook access or page I suppose. But I did call their toll free number to let them know I was unable to go there and that I would post their request here and on Facebook for them and so if you live there or plan on going there contact that nice person with that unbelievable enviable last name…

MS Volunteer for the summer in Cherry Hill, NJ
(Received via email) Mon, June 27, 2011 4:29:00 PM
Can you volunteer to help at MS Association of America in Cherry Hill this summer?
From: MS Association of America Add to Contacts
The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) seeks two personable volunteers to help in the mail room at our Haddonfield Road, Cherry Hill location up to twice a week through the summer to fit your schedule. One of the opportunities will include data-entry, for which training will be provided.
Would you be available to help?
Please reply to me directly by phone or email. Respectfully would you include, a day-time contact phone number in your reply so I may follow-up on your interest and discuss this assignment in greater detail by Friday.
If you are not in a position to help on this occasion, please help MSAA by forwarding this email to anyone in the area who you consider has the qualities and availability we seek on this assignment.
Thank you for considering our request.
Malcolm Friend,
Director of National Volunteer Services
Multiple Sclerosis Association of America
Malcolm@MSAssociation.org
PH: (800) 532-7667 ext 117.
Multiple Sclerosis Association of America
National Headquarters
706 Haddonfield Road
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
(800) 532-7667
And on that DOING SOMETHING, which I like to think is the true me let me be the first to wish you all a very happy good night and to ask you kindly to please help anyone who truly needs it and count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

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

Eureka I have an idea!

Sometimes I do think that life throws us all horrid experiences to make us stronger.
We all know the expression that “G-d doesn’t give anyone anything that they can’t handle”, and yes daily we are all being tested.
Many might feel that it isn’t fair.

My mind sometimes works with facts and sometimes just wishful thinking but I do believe this time I really do have a way to make the lives of all the people who have had their lives destroyed by Mother Nature’s wrath recover more quickly.
Modular homes are well becoming the way to get green, well built structures to the sites of devastated areas fully completed in four to eight weeks.
And no I am not talking mobile homes or those tiny little thrown together with spit and a prayer ones that you see in infomercials for twenty bucks a square foot but strong, hurricane strong, green fully overly insulated, Energy Star quality with all healthy materials dwellings at about eighty dollars per square foot!
They look like any home in any custom neighborhood and there are that many floor plans, but all major construction is begun in the factories.
And no, I do not own any stock or any of them, but boy I wish I did!
Here’s one site, just copy and paste, since their info is more elaborate, plus design info: http://www.breyerwoodhomes.com/ModularHomes.htm (Ohio)
Some take as long as three months to complete:
http://www.modularsinc.com/homes/faq.php (North Carolina)
Here’s another to get you started:
http://www.superiorhomesllc.com/index.php (South Dakota)
Now if the insurance companies would cooperate with all of us consumers our neighborhoods could be rebuilt that much quicker after these horrendous things happen!
And people can get back to what they should be doing enjoying life and not worrying so much.
I have an old friend that actually had a three thousand square foot cedar contemporary complete with a spiral staircase and her mom’s home was a conventional bi-level in all done modular built on ten acres for her home, and this was gosh over twenty-five years ago!
Gorgeous homes and well built.
People are confused on what they are.
In Europe and Scandinavia they have been building like this for decades, and we are fortunate to have factories in our country for decades now too!
My goodness this could be the answer to so much devastation once they get the rubbish cleared away.
People need to get back to work and feel productive, being a veteran of the devastation wars I know what it feels like to feel so helpless, but doing something makes you feel so much better.

I know that I am not that smart, but I do have a lot of time on my hands and don’t forget all those years that Hubby and I have been do-it-yourselfers, gosh since before we were married since we rented a basement apartment that we had to reconstruct before the wedding! But we physically built our five bedroom bi-level in NJ and put on additions on many of our other homes, renovated kitchens and baths and not to mention Hubby was an apprentice plumber while going to college for Aeronautical Engineering at LaGuardia in NYC. And both our grandpas were in the building game I suppose it’s in our blood.
And many of you know how green we try to be with our veggie garden, rain barrels and compost, as well as recycling etc.
And so after much thought and consideration I do think it is not just a pie in the sky type of ridiculous idea, do you?
Nah, don’t answer if you’re going to say something negative, but if you have a positive feedback suggestion go right ahead.
But below is the surprising array of styles available:
http://www.newstylehomes.com/index.php?/custom

Now I have done it; gotten you to do a bit of research too!
I truly think that you will not be disappointed and perhaps a bit surprised too.

On that note of sharing not such a bizarre brainstorm of mine… let me be the first to wish you all a very happy good night and to ask you kindly to count all your blessings and share your overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear?
Thanks again for reading.

Ideas, incidentals, and insignificant...

To have any ideas about anything is to have thoughts or dreams, simple enough.
But incidentals are only something ‘minor’, secondary, a subsidiary, supplementary, accompanying or an attendant.
While anything insignificant is unimportant, irrelevant, not important, of no consequence, immaterial, inconsequential, not worth mentioning, trivial and here we go again ‘minor’ would you believe?
Overlaps in our English word meanings; no wonder anyone trying to learn what we know about in our American English vocabulary would or could throw in the towel during that process, and fast in all the confusion!

How many of you enjoyed your weekend so far?
I do know that we are only halfway through it, that’s why I asked, so far?
Mine has been an up down sort of happening with my neck and head not behaving much at all.

Last night, or I should say in the wee hours of the morning Hubby said it was around three A.M.; I let out a horrible shriek of pain!
Between my neck and my head I truly thought that something horrendous was happening.
I had tried those iced packs again and it was a no go for that help, and then I tried just cool moist washcloths with a dip of alcohol, rubbing that is, on them across my far-head and neck, my netty-pot was next, since I thought that my sinuses too were acting up, and all this was done before I had tried to get back to sleep and let out that chilling screech from the bathroom.
Since I have high blood pressure medications there are no sinus medications that I found that would help me or that wouldn’t interact with all my other medications and so non invasive ways to help myself is what I try diligently to do.
But no it was not my sinuses it is my neck and my head which had that definitely worrisome headache that wakes you from a deep, deep sleep and you know in your heart and soul that this is not at all normal. The reasoning is that it puts me into a numbing situation that scares the heck out of me!
Trying to lie down I do have a cervical pillow that my orthopedic physician recommended years ago when first diagnosed from one of my many MRI’s with the cervical stenosis on it, but I have been using it as a lumbar pillow and so I did switch and put my normal pillows for that use and took back the neck one for my neck, got that?
I also have a soft collar that they told me to wear when I was diagnosed, that doc said to wear it whenever it acted up, but wouldn’t you just know it that I have gotten so damn fat it is too small now!
Hubby was great and wanted to know how to help me, but I really had no idea what either of us could do. And I told him that I already tried everything I could think of short of going to the hospital on a weekend emergency room. Honestly I thought it was overkill anyway, but it has been in my recent history when I have called those 24/7 ‘ask-a nurse’ medical personnel with the local hospitals that is usually their response to my questions or call my doctor, now I ask you is that helpful, really?
I know they can’t prescribe but gosh they know more medical stuff than I do and should have some other ideas up their sleeves to try, wouldn’t you think?
Any-who, the day was not a total waste since Hubby and I did get that curbside chair find finished, and yes he did end up painting it with a new product from Rust-oleum a spray for wood, done in the garage, they have come out with an amazing array of new products you should check them out and yes I did do the actual cutting of the fabric and stapling of it onto the wood and so I was helpful too! And although we bought a new foam pad we both agreed that the original wasn’t that bad after all and so Hubby threw into the slop sink in the garage in Lysol and after two days it was good to go and is under the new fabric.

So would you like to see it? I can’t hear you and so I will take that as a yes…here it is from its humble beginnings to finis!

On this little happier note of not totally wasting the weekend and a feeling of accomplishment… let me be the first to wish you all a very happy good night and to ask you to kindly to count your blessings and to share all those overages and we will too!

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

PS I suppose you might be wondering what my mysterious secret I hinted at from last night was, hmm? Crazy gal that I am… I had my anniversary date mixed up, actually tonight is the third anniversary of this blog, how embarrassing! Another BIG OOPS from the gal who’s middle name is that!

WISH ME A HAPPY THIRD ANNIVERSARY!

I am so proud I could burst, well not burst, but explode, nah not that either, oh well, help me here…I know… I am as proud as punch and I am going to continue punching out this poppycock as long as I have the ability to entertain myself! TA DA! With a great big sticking out of my adult tongue, so there!

You do know that is rather funny though, because when I was a young mom the theory was that if your toddler was able to entertain themselves for a decent amount of time then and only then they would be considered more intelligent.
I am happy to say both our sons passed that so-called test.
But little did I know that I would self impose that particular test on myself at this advanced age to see if my noggin was still functioning in the realm of the norms of my own peers…HA!

Relief!
Therapy that is what all of this is, but you all knew that, for that I am sure.
You see most people would continue in anonymity without allowing the world to know the real person behind these overexposed honest renditions of nightly poop and my own scoops of happiness and disdain for this or that.
Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately many do know the real me, or better said who I am as in my actual identity, but in reality I don’t even think at this stage in my life I know me all that well, since on many occasions I have surprised myself and that is rather nice too!

Right now I am hiding a little secret that I feel I can trust you to allow me to divulge, you think?
Oddly enough, if you go back to the last paragraph to the word ‘therapy’ I had to go lie down due to my neck creating havoc in me and then my head also went berserk!
I went to lie down and my noble pooch, Skipper followed me closely by my side and jumped on the bed next to me to rest his head on me and listen to what I said… I said go get daddy and you know what he did, since Hubby was outside he jumped on our sunroom door and came back to check on me then went back to the door a total of three times before Hubby knew what was up, he was outside watering the plants with rain-barrel water, yep they are full again. He came in took care of me, which I feel so guilty about but he brought me an ice pack wrapped in a towel that has temporarily helped for me to be back sitting here. But I will be calling it quits since for some strange reason it seems to be wearing off the short term help of the ice.
You see besides everything else I do have cervical stenosis and that too acts up on occasion and I think this could be one of those times and so I will like to say happy good night to all and ask you all to count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear?
PS I have another secret to divulge tomorrow night so stay tuned, ok?

Just one more thing… rest in peace Peter Falk one of our favorite sleuths of all time; you will be sorely missed by all who enjoyed your iconic Columbo.

Rain it finally came...

After I was all done with this post last night we finally did receive our much needed rainfall.
You see, we were beginning to think we were the red-headed stepchild of the rest of Charlotte County Florida.
And so now the games begin, the rainy season in all its glory has officially begun here in the unincorporated non-city across the river from the true city River City AKA Punta Gorda, got that?
And yep, I suppose we are chopped liver since we rarely get our recognition or due in the publicity wars of known ability to the masses. When asked where Port Charlotte is I either say between Sarasota and Ft. Myers, or next door to Punta Gorda, and then people say, oh alright.

It appears that we are the forgotten ones when it comes to the fame of the area; sure we have the Charlotte County Sandcrabs that are our local baseball team that play at our stadium, across from our county fairgrounds, north of our home, down Route 776 going west, which is in the realm of Port Charlotte a non-city. And oh yes I nearly forgot we do have the one true indoor mall at Murdock Circle and it is one of those Simon Malls, called The Town Center Mall; what a misnomer geographically incorrect when we are neither a town or the center of one! Englewood, Lemon Bay, which are west and north of us and others that are east and south of us in other areas in our county are considered non-incorporated and so we are of the moniker of non-cities…After nearly twenty-five years, this August 19th, I still don’t understand any of that!
We do not have a mayor, but Punta Gorda does but it is also governed by a council, where they might take turns being the mayor if they care to, I think? Although the one they have currently seems to commit quite a bit of controversy on occasion with his own neighbor wars making the local news and papers. I guess he is not my problem since I don’t live there, huh?
Although, for a short time of four years we did live in the fancy-pants city of Punta Gorda were we rented while waiting for our east coast home to sell. I still did not get it while we were a few of those city dwellers. This December we have been in this particular home thirteen years in Port Charlotte a what, non-city seems so wrong, but it is out third home that we owned in Florida, don’t forget we lived in Ormond Beach for nearly nine years and we owned two homes there and our restaurant too.

We do vote in all elections, but being northerners a bit longer we still have that mentality I suspect. There were villages, towns and cities, usually determined by populations.
We were never city dwellers, we were suburban dwellers but lived in towns with not very large populations and even one very tiny village of only a three hundred population called Bamber Lake where we actually did move from to come down to Florida back in that summer of 1986, here those same size ‘towns’ are considered cities here, how odd.
People think of New Jersey as mostly one city after another.
Why Hubby’s town that he grew up in had less than ten thousand people and still does to this day, Oradell. And my first home of Paramus that I remember was very large compared to his with twenty-five thousand I do believe, but when I moved to Emerson it was less than ten thousand too and think still is!
Even when we moved down the shore, first to Lakewood it was a big town to us I think its population was probably double of Paramus’s.
But our last stop as I said Bamber Lake was really only three hundred but part of Lacey Township which consisted of Forked River as well as Lanoka Harbor and in total I think was about twenty-five thousand but I am sure grown quite a bit since it had plenty of room to that being in the notorious Pine Barrens of New Jersey!

Oh why we were in the Pine Barrens, notorious, well first of all because of the Jersey Devil and then of course due to the so-called bodies being dumped all over them by, dare I say; THE MOB?

Yes, that was the mystique of our area, and yes there were bodies found periodically, but we never found any ourselves. But according to the news we were told that it was the bad killing the bad and so sympathy was not very common with those true stories every once in while on our nightly news that we got from New York or Philadelphia since when we lived there we were pretty much in the middle of both.
Just right, but don’t get me wrong we love Florida warts and all…we wouldn’t have stayed permanently all these years if we didn’t.
Heat, hurricanes, far from cultural centers,not including our arts center that are here on a smaller scale, of course, but its ours and our little piece of paradise or heaven, can’t beat our waterways, sunsets, sports, beaches and you name it we live where most envy and chose to go when they vacation!

On that thought of happiness of choices let me be the first to wish you all a very happy good night and to ask you kindly to count your blessings and ask you to share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear?
And thanks for reading, OK?

Hubby's Result Show, So Far...

YES! I had made an escape today…with Hubby of course…
Wow, what an exhausting day and here I am not at all viral or germy or icky or sickly with any additional microorganisms so far.
We left the compound at exactly 10:45 A.M. for Hubby’s doctor’s follow up visit which was scheduled for 11:00 A.M. And yep that’s how close we live to the doctor’s office we got there with a couple of minutes to spare and that’s including Hubby putting my scooter together and us taking the elevator to the third floor and travel the winding corridors to the doctor’s new office! This was our second time there. The first time it was difficult for me to maneuver the longer never ending seemingly hallways. So that this time, since it was after all my first outing in weeks, we both felt it more advantageous to use my scooter and sure enough it was the right call.
Hubby’s doctor got his reports of all the tests on Hubby were all back and so far it appears that his adrenal glands showed an elevation in the blood work. And his chest was listened to and the doctor has warned of possibility of COPD which is the one in partnership/forefather of Emphysema. His echo ultrasound showed the beginnings pulmonary disease all due to the smoking. I do hope that Hubby finally will quit his smoking which he had done over a year ago but went back to with inhaling cigars, scary, he insists that two a day is his limit, but that is still not a very good idea! He smokes outside so I could not help answer the doc’s specific questions on that topic, and I felt at a loss.
I do know that I personally had to be told that I had TIA’s, mini strokes on my MRI before I realized that I had to stop and next month it will be five years that I quit on July 11th.2006! But it is true no matter how many times I have asked or nagged Hubby about quitting it hasn’t worked, one can only hope that the doctor finally got him to rationalize that it is now doing severe damage!
But even so it is still possibly reversible, if he stops!
A couple of new tests were called for to investigate further his adrenal issue and a PSA for what all you men know what that is for; consisting of more blood work and urinanalysis. He also gave him an additional prescription for a smoking cessation medication.

From there Hubby wanted to go to lunch and so we did at Bob Evans not even a block from the doctor’s office, he had a grilled chicken sandwich and cole slaw and NO fries!
And I had a cup of soup and salad, I had my usual unsweet iced tea with lemon and Hubby had raspberry lemonade.

The next stop I suppose could be a bit embarrassing to mention, but Nate Berkus would be so proud! Hubby and I saw that a neighbor had tossed this lone chair out on the curb for pick–up a few weeks’ ago garbage collection. It did have great bones it was all wood painted white with an oval/round cane back on it, even its cushion from a far did not look bad and it was neutral color off white swirl textured. From a glance I said go get to Hubby and sure enough he did.
He took to our side courtyard and checked it thoroughly for foreign matter or perhaps insect/termite damage and it was quite clean in that respect and so he brought it into his workshop behind the garage and washed it down with Lysol disinfectant.
And on closer inspection there were marks in the fabric that we thought might be washable and so I did try to do that with it in the machine but even after Hubby put the stain remover on the spots they would not come out. And so today we made a side trip to Joanne’s Crafts and Fabrics and purchased just enough in an exterior striped pattern, Wedgwood blue, white, apple green and a mellow yellow; quite cheerful!
The foam was shot too and so we got new of that as well.
Hubby had enough plywood left to make that all new too.
And so this is a project that I am looking forward to, and the chair has the coloring combination of three of the rooms in our home and so it could be used as extra seating in any of those rooms, as an accent piece.

Then we went to Publix for few missing grocery items and for our newest Hubby prescriptions and one of my refills.

And then home.
Dinner was leftovers or whatever we helped ourselves with; without formality.

On this non exciting but enlightening day for both of us let me be the first to wish you all a very happy good night and to ask you kindly to please count all your blessings and to share your overages and we will too!

And next time please be here of be square, ok?
And thanks.

Summer Solstice?

Did you know that the “Dog Days of Summer” actually refers to Astronomy and the Dog Star which is Sirius the brightest star in the sky “and it does rise and set with the Sun at some times during the year - when it does this it is said to be in conjunction with the Sun. The Dog Star came from the ancient Egyptians who called Sirius after their god Osirius whose head and pictogram resembles a dog.” Thanks to Cornell University Astronomy Department at: http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=178
In Egypt as well as ancient Rome the Sun and the Dog Star were up in the sky the same time as summer thus the expression the ‘dog days of summer’!

Can anyone else but me remember when this date was the one we all waited for to start having real fun? It meant summer vacation was very soon. Up in New Jersey we did go to school well into the month of June towards the end; if I recall. And always went back the day after Labor Day, everyone always had 180 days of school no matter where you lived in these United States and I do believe that has not changed.
But our sons were ten and fourteen when we moved to Florida and except for that very first year here they would start in August and get out in early June or even I think one year in May and all these schools are air-conditioned but none up north were; if I recall.

Nasty hot days would start in May even in good ole New Jersey.
Here too most recently but previously years we did not have it this bad and this year oddly enough we started this heat-wave in March, would you believe? I can even remember times when we first moved to Florida having cooler temperatures than New Jersey in the summer; we had eighties and they would have nineties, how odd?
But since March here it has been in the nineties and very dry, causing many forest fires and so even though officially today is the first day of summer I feel like saying…. You have got to be kidding!
Those ancients seem to dictate all of our seasons and holidays too.
I think perhaps we should rethink their decisions for us, what do you all say?
Why don’t we rename the seasons by what they really are? Since we have strange seasons like tornado, hurricane, fire/ drought, mudslide/ flood and snow/hail, or freeze your butt off or some such thing! That would break it up nicely, huh? Wait a minute nah, no can do, winter, summer, fall and spring we all must admit sound much nicer, but the truth is they don’t tell it as it really is; do they? Power of the word or title makes for more positivity, hmmm.
All right another of my logical ideas shot to heck… let’s sweep our realities under the rug…
Living it all is bad enough.

Did I wish you all a happy summer yet?
Please feel free to enjoy it whatever way you feel the need to; after all the idea is free to all… but may I beseech you to pray for cooler weather and then I too will jump on your bandwagon, how about that?

You are getting a bit of break from me tonight with this shorty of a composition, sticking with my school theme. How nice to have a shorty on the longest day of the year, hmm?
Yes, you know that is true sunrise was at 6:34A.M. EST and sunset will be at 8:25 P.M. EST, that’s over fourteen hours of sunshine!
Actually, sunshine is so beneficial to good moods and health and so let’s all welcome the season of summer with a big cheer!
“Hot, Hot, Hot, Not, Not, Not!
What else have you got, got, got?”

On that trying to lighten all of our loads with a bit of flakey oddity from my soul, let me be the first to wish you all a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count your blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, OK?