Behold, The Luther Burger:
[yes, that would be a bacon cheese burger served up between two Krispy Kremes]
Group Discussions
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4 years ago
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Hot!
Harmony, thanks so much for your prayers and concern, and Mrs C, thanks for holding me up to the light in your Quaker meetings. Both of you, this means so much to me. We don't yet know what is going to happen. Have not had an answer back on the appeal, however my husband contacted the loan modification person at Chase, our lender bank and she said when they get the appeal they can put off the auction again immediately.
Last time when we asked to make the appeal they put it off for 3 months. However, we did not send the appeal until recently because we did not have an adequate income to negotiate with until recently. (You can't just say "Can we stay here for free?")
My 2nd son had a client last year who never paid what he worked for. This month he has a client that has paid on time all month, and has paying within 5 days of invoice in the contract, and the pay is good. If it continues as it has so far, we would be able to pay the full payment which was doubled since our original loan. However, in case the money doesn't stay quite this high we hope to be able to negotiate a lower payment.
But right now we really don't know what is going to happen. We do still feel great peace, and that helps. Our car isn't fixed yet. The mechanic asked for some money up front, then waited 2 weeks to fix it.
He fixed it recently but left the fan belt jerry-rigged, which is not acceptable in this hot weather where if the fan belt went out we could lose the engine again. So we refused to pay the remaining amount until it is property fixed.
Even though we've gone a year without a car, we feel like we need it so badly and this is very frustrating.
My youngest son loves to bicycle to the nearest full size grocery store 2 miles away, and doesn't even mind carrying a heavy backpack home. But I worry about the longer distances needed to go to the Post Office or to get medecines. It can take hours and involves some highway (not freeway, but major street) traffic. And my current medical state requires that my husband not be gone that long.
So we have that issue to worry about also. Plus controlling the diabetes is tricky as is keeping the circulation up and the pain down in my feet. So I appreciate all your prayers.
I am refusing to go under the powers of anxiety, however, and continue working on the orchard and vegetable garden and creating my home school curriculum. We just got chosen as one of just 3 curriculum businesses to be Earth Day sponsors!
There are hundreds of businesses and were only 3 slots and we got one. The criteria was you have to have books or products relevant to earth day. We have 3 different animals penmanship books and a backpacking penmanship book, and have just added "Have a Wonderful Walk" last week.
I am excited about selling "Have a Wonderful Walk" because it is about our park times and is full of color photographs of our family over an 11 year period having home school P.E. at the park, including a wilderness park. We did so many different spontaneous things and I want to inspire other families with what can be done because it brought us so close, and is the inspiration behind what we are doing now, with the orchard and gardens we planted here and all the trees. It was on those park walks that the seeds were sown of love for the earth and working with its glorious potential!
So keep praying and holding us up to the light. If we can stay here, we will have a lot of fruit to share already this year with hungry and homeless people. And we may also end up being able to give tours to the disabled (since I designed the orchard to be wheelchair compatible) and to fairs which teach earth day concepts to inspire others to work with the earth and grow food for themselves, the hungry, and the earth as well.
Last time when we asked to make the appeal they put it off for 3 months. However, we did not send the appeal until recently because we did not have an adequate income to negotiate with until recently. (You can't just say "Can we stay here for free?")
My 2nd son had a client last year who never paid what he worked for. This month he has a client that has paid on time all month, and has paying within 5 days of invoice in the contract, and the pay is good. If it continues as it has so far, we would be able to pay the full payment which was doubled since our original loan. However, in case the money doesn't stay quite this high we hope to be able to negotiate a lower payment.
But right now we really don't know what is going to happen. We do still feel great peace, and that helps. Our car isn't fixed yet. The mechanic asked for some money up front, then waited 2 weeks to fix it.
He fixed it recently but left the fan belt jerry-rigged, which is not acceptable in this hot weather where if the fan belt went out we could lose the engine again. So we refused to pay the remaining amount until it is property fixed.
Even though we've gone a year without a car, we feel like we need it so badly and this is very frustrating.
My youngest son loves to bicycle to the nearest full size grocery store 2 miles away, and doesn't even mind carrying a heavy backpack home. But I worry about the longer distances needed to go to the Post Office or to get medecines. It can take hours and involves some highway (not freeway, but major street) traffic. And my current medical state requires that my husband not be gone that long.
So we have that issue to worry about also. Plus controlling the diabetes is tricky as is keeping the circulation up and the pain down in my feet. So I appreciate all your prayers.
I am refusing to go under the powers of anxiety, however, and continue working on the orchard and vegetable garden and creating my home school curriculum. We just got chosen as one of just 3 curriculum businesses to be Earth Day sponsors!
There are hundreds of businesses and were only 3 slots and we got one. The criteria was you have to have books or products relevant to earth day. We have 3 different animals penmanship books and a backpacking penmanship book, and have just added "Have a Wonderful Walk" last week.
I am excited about selling "Have a Wonderful Walk" because it is about our park times and is full of color photographs of our family over an 11 year period having home school P.E. at the park, including a wilderness park. We did so many different spontaneous things and I want to inspire other families with what can be done because it brought us so close, and is the inspiration behind what we are doing now, with the orchard and gardens we planted here and all the trees. It was on those park walks that the seeds were sown of love for the earth and working with its glorious potential!
So keep praying and holding us up to the light. If we can stay here, we will have a lot of fruit to share already this year with hungry and homeless people. And we may also end up being able to give tours to the disabled (since I designed the orchard to be wheelchair compatible) and to fairs which teach earth day concepts to inspire others to work with the earth and grow food for themselves, the hungry, and the earth as well.
Marie, you're in my thoughts and prayers
4 years ago
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Hot!
Am really hoping and praying your situation improves.
4 years ago
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Hot!
You and your family are in my heart as always, Marie. Our family's Circle/Quaker Meeting are holding you in the Light from Pennsylvania. You are not alone.
{{{hugs}}}
Ms. C.
Marie, you have my very best thoughts, good wishes, and prayers!
4 years ago
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PLEASE keep us posted on this (as you have been doing)- you write so eloquently only a heart of stone would be unmoved or uninspired by your words. Your family is so wonderful!!!!!
4 years ago
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Hot!
Harmony, Mrs. C, and everyone here,
Prayers, please, or good thoughts, meditation etc.
I just finished writing my petition to the lender. Please pray or lend your spiritual energy, whatever your religion, that the appeal will be heard and accepted.
I am appealing about how the specially wheelchair accessible orchard, cared for by my son with Aspergers Syndrome and myself in my wheelchair, to provide me with the nutritious diabetic diet I need, the exercise I need or doctors say I will end up with amputations and blindness, and which we plan to give to the hungry and homeless.
I told the lender they could allow this good situation to continue, now that we have enough income to make payments again, at least negotiated payments.
Or they could kill the orchard by foreclosing, and have a lot of dead trees to haul, or a fire hazard instead. They could make one more family homeless. Or they could enable that family to grow nutritious food for the homeless and hungry.
I told them about the special conditions this house has for me, as a disabled diabetic with severe congenital heat intolerance (we have air conditioning and an above ground swimming pool, a prayer miracle).
I told them about how we have nowhere to go and if they foreclose and evict us, we would be homeless. And I told them about how I cannot sit in a normal chair or lay in a normal bed without severe pain because of river rafting injuries and fibro.
I told them that it took a lot of courage to write this appeal because I know that most lenders are heartless and don't care who they make homeless.
And I told them about the money that my son earned last year that was not payed to him- ie his potential is $50,000 a year, but he was cheated of all but about %15,000 of that income although if the investors come on board that may still be forthcoming. And I told them about his present income with a new client who is paying faithfully, week by week and my husband's improved business situation.
And I told them other things as well, but this is the gist of it. I know that they could say, "Whatever," and toss the e-mail in the bin and foreclose and evict us anyway. The auction is only 2 weeks away, although houses in this valley are not selling well. Even new homes are not selling here.
I also believe in miracles, as I have seen them many times. And whether those are given by God or simply out of justice in the realm of the Truth that is, I do really believe our home could be saved even now.
I have a very good feeling right now, and the feelings I have, of either peace of dread, nearly always happen, whether that is God or a psychic ability or just the Truth that is.
So everyone please pray to their deity or concentrate their spiritual energy for me at this time that the lender will be persuaded against their nature to grant my appeal for us to stay in this house with the beautiful garden and orchard and shade trees and wildflowers that we planted with our own hands, that anyone else is unlikely to put the work into and it will die even if the house sells.
Hold my orchard up to the Great Spirit or whoever you believe in to be saved so it can feed us and many homeless people instead of one more family (us) becoming homeless. The orchard is just bursting with fruit! It has more fruit than w
Prayers, please, or good thoughts, meditation etc.
I just finished writing my petition to the lender. Please pray or lend your spiritual energy, whatever your religion, that the appeal will be heard and accepted.
I am appealing about how the specially wheelchair accessible orchard, cared for by my son with Aspergers Syndrome and myself in my wheelchair, to provide me with the nutritious diabetic diet I need, the exercise I need or doctors say I will end up with amputations and blindness, and which we plan to give to the hungry and homeless.
I told the lender they could allow this good situation to continue, now that we have enough income to make payments again, at least negotiated payments.
Or they could kill the orchard by foreclosing, and have a lot of dead trees to haul, or a fire hazard instead. They could make one more family homeless. Or they could enable that family to grow nutritious food for the homeless and hungry.
I told them about the special conditions this house has for me, as a disabled diabetic with severe congenital heat intolerance (we have air conditioning and an above ground swimming pool, a prayer miracle).
I told them about how we have nowhere to go and if they foreclose and evict us, we would be homeless. And I told them about how I cannot sit in a normal chair or lay in a normal bed without severe pain because of river rafting injuries and fibro.
I told them that it took a lot of courage to write this appeal because I know that most lenders are heartless and don't care who they make homeless.
And I told them about the money that my son earned last year that was not payed to him- ie his potential is $50,000 a year, but he was cheated of all but about %15,000 of that income although if the investors come on board that may still be forthcoming. And I told them about his present income with a new client who is paying faithfully, week by week and my husband's improved business situation.
And I told them other things as well, but this is the gist of it. I know that they could say, "Whatever," and toss the e-mail in the bin and foreclose and evict us anyway. The auction is only 2 weeks away, although houses in this valley are not selling well. Even new homes are not selling here.
I also believe in miracles, as I have seen them many times. And whether those are given by God or simply out of justice in the realm of the Truth that is, I do really believe our home could be saved even now.
I have a very good feeling right now, and the feelings I have, of either peace of dread, nearly always happen, whether that is God or a psychic ability or just the Truth that is.
So everyone please pray to their deity or concentrate their spiritual energy for me at this time that the lender will be persuaded against their nature to grant my appeal for us to stay in this house with the beautiful garden and orchard and shade trees and wildflowers that we planted with our own hands, that anyone else is unlikely to put the work into and it will die even if the house sells.
Hold my orchard up to the Great Spirit or whoever you believe in to be saved so it can feed us and many homeless people instead of one more family (us) becoming homeless. The orchard is just bursting with fruit! It has more fruit than w
4 years ago
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Hot!
Harmony, I started going into the Black Hole yesterday, and my teen daugher and son were right there loving me, hugging me, telling me why Im worth something, especially to them. It took a little while to come out of the hole, but they were with me and I didnt fall far.
The stress wont be over for a while. Our house is listed for auction. Lots of things could happen, good or bad. The housing market in this area is dead. That helps. Its a bad location. That helps. Its a great looking house. That does not help. But with boards across the window and eaves, its not quite so attractive. And the tarp on the roof held down by bricks wont help the looks either. Nor the artistic, very fresh termite trails. We will also be negotiating with the lender. Things could go either way from this point. The slump in our income is over and we are making good money again.
Oh, it is such a roller coaster ride!!!!!!!!! Wheeeeeeeee- wooooooooooe Yaaaaaaaaaah! Wow! Waaaaaa Huh? Okay- I think...... Sorry if I sound a little wacky today!!!!!
The stress wont be over for a while. Our house is listed for auction. Lots of things could happen, good or bad. The housing market in this area is dead. That helps. Its a bad location. That helps. Its a great looking house. That does not help. But with boards across the window and eaves, its not quite so attractive. And the tarp on the roof held down by bricks wont help the looks either. Nor the artistic, very fresh termite trails. We will also be negotiating with the lender. Things could go either way from this point. The slump in our income is over and we are making good money again.
Oh, it is such a roller coaster ride!!!!!!!!! Wheeeeeeeee- wooooooooooe Yaaaaaaaaaah! Wow! Waaaaaa Huh? Okay- I think...... Sorry if I sound a little wacky today!!!!!
Sigh...
4 years ago
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Hot!
I liked what Mark B. wrote with respect to the treehouse post... he used the word "pretending" - I do suppose that is a real norm, among city counsels... the ones who can make changes, the ones who do get the funds that "fall thru cracks" are pretending they care with mouthed words to media... with the addage of left, right hands not knowing what the other is doing...
I go through the searches, one will read about "ending chronic homeless" the very next one is bombbarded with what to do with homeless humans...
It is here, it is real, I just want to shake cities and chambers by their necks - PROVERBIAL - necks...
I have been battling with a couple of entities here in Austin, I have to "housing" again, because this blessing has been transitional only....
I was on the phone yesterday with the Exuctive director of Austin Housing Authority, because these "entities" are playing favorites, or being obviously racist...
When will this madness stop...
Another thing - when you watch the news it is broken up in segments, local news, national news, sports, weather... I think a daily progress reporting on homelessness is in order.
Dixie2cents
Harmony,
4 years ago
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Hot!
(first the email I sent was suppose to have in it "fight fire with fire!!)
I honestly wish we could send the actual Bozo an award by email, it would be "something to talk about"...
Marie I agree with Harmony, it's a black hole for sure, those childhood things are definately in the past, but one thought can kick it off, I had one so bad myself - being 53, with now dead parents and a couple of brothers... there comes a fade of sorts...
sss
Hi Dixie,
4 years ago
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Hot!
Yup- Care2's been having fluky problems- I'll post a bunch of reference links, well under the 6,000 character limit, and the post will only show two of them. Or the post I've entered won't show up at all- not until a few minutes later.. and a group will show on the "my groups" page as having been inactive for a week, when I know full well I posted in it only the day before.. Arggh! Am not looking forward to the groups changing over to that new format.
Hi Marie,
4 years ago
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Hot!
First of all >>>
you wrote:
"I was very down and depressed yesterday. My blood sugar went too low and childhood abuse, neglect and abandonment issues came flooding in, making me feel lost, empty, and like a being who never should have been. I can usually stay above those memories, but illness, exhaustion, low blood sugar, or bad feelings from the neighbors (who don't like having a disabled person live next door) can trigger the memories and I end up falling in a very deep hole."
I hear you, Marie- and am concerned- there's been so much stress for you, one way or another! I do hope your blood sugar is better?
Childhood abuse memories can sneak up at the worst possible moments- it's as if the original abuse created a type of earthquake fault in us (at least that's sometimes how I've viewed it with me)- and then, periodically, subsequent earthquakes and tremors come again along those same "fault lines".
I call it the original "Black Hole"- maybe that emptiness you mention?
Anyway, I realize full well you don't expect me to "fix" anything- but I do love, and I would dearly love to give your neighbors generating those bad feelings a one-stop course in instant enlightenment!! Arggh!
Hello!!
4 years ago
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Wanted to let ya'll know ~ when there is a thread that doesn't look right to you, I am having trouble with care2... nope not my puter ~ definately the site??? 
I hit the reply button, nuttin happens - it is excruciating...
I wish they would deal with these type probs than changing up formats - I have read in other groups that we will have to go to that format soon whether we like it or not 
Hope all had a great weekend ~~~ 
4 years ago
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Harmony!
I was very down and depressed yesterday. My blood sugar went too low and childhood abuse, neglect and abandonment issues came flooding in, making me feel lost, empty, and like a being who never should have been. I can usually stay above those memories, but illness, exhaustion, low blood sugar, or bad feelings from the neighbors (who don't like having a disabled person live next door) can trigger the memories and I end up falling in a very deep hole.
...you can't send Harmony a green star...
4 years ago
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...hope you do get some rest, stress is the silent killer, diabetes doesn't help at all...
I talked with my teacher at school
4 years ago
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and got permission to study at home for a little while, because of the stress I've been going through with my ex trying to commit suicide. Am so glad she's allowing me to do this- already I feel a little pressure easing up.
HARMONY!!!
4 years ago
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....yer just gonna keep reminding me and everybody else ~~ I can't wait til MONDAY (cuz it won't be my birthday - HA)
Besides, it was a wonderful anniversary ~ my birthday - the day Harmony Does Homeless
told me "I dare you" to start a hippie group 
we sure did gal pal 
. 
Someone has been working on my puter, I will be back in a couple of hours!
Put yer feet in the air, eat some chocolate, you deserve it!
Dixie
Marie and Dixie,
4 years ago
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Good to hear from you two!
This past week (supposedly an Easter "vacation" has been a 24 hour, round-the clock- suicide prevention watch for me with a dear, close friend. I've been so afraid my friend will commit suicide. It's been tense, and I've been feeling drained. Today a close friend of ours volunteered to keep watch over him, so he's there now in good, safe hands. I plan to rest and relax and restore myself as much as possible.
Marie, am glad you don't use pesticides! Roundup is NASTY stuff. And am glad to hear you've recovered from the dentistry work!!
And Dixie! HEY! Your birthday's coming up in three days! On the 23rd!!!
4 years ago
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Harmony, nice you are having a break. I don't get to talk with you very often. I was in the hospital, had to get a root canal done in Mexico, then my second son's girlfriend stayed for a week. After she left we met my oldests son's church friends. He is living in another town, about 50 miles away, so it was a treat to meet his friends. Then a girl friend (translate that friend who is female, not romantic attachment) at work came to visit us. So I am exhausted, and regret having to come here and post less often. Went outside today and saw thousands and thousands of weeds on our one acre property (EEEEEEKKK) and we don't use herbicides (bad for the birdies and environment and kids too). So we really have our work cut out for us now!!! But I want you to know that I sure do love you and think of you often. I hope things go well for you. I know firsthand how hard things can be. 
Harmony from Marie
Harmony from Marie
I am so sorry...
4 years ago
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...Harmony you have not been on a long vacation on an island no one has ever heard of (if you find it, "us" homeless "experts" can all get a ticket 
...)
BUT ~~~ since you have posted in Kitchen table BEFORE ME (we really need to stay outta each other's head! 
) ...
I came to Kitchen Table to type I am going out in the morning...
It's planet line ups... Harmony and I usually hit n miss with same-d 
s - I will chalk it up to her daughter's birthday .....JUNO!!!!
I am so sorry...
4 years ago
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Hot!
...Harmony you have not been on a long vacation on an island no one has ever heard of (if you find it, "us" homeless "experts" can all get a ticket ...)
BUT ~~~ since you have posted in Kitchen table BEFORE ME (we really need to stay outta each other's head! ) ...
I came to Kitchen Table to type I am going out in the morning...
It's planet line ups... Harmony and I usually hit n miss with same-d s - I will chalk it up to her daughter's birthday .....JUNO!!!!
just checking in, here....
4 years ago
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This formerly homeless person.. that'd be me.. has a day free from school tomorrow. Not playing hooky- it's in my schedule, LOL. Which means I get to post more in here. Am really kind of getting burned out with school and studying.. but I am glad at least for the direction its giving me. Unless something unexpectedly changes, I'll be going to school until June, whereupon that aspect of things will come to an end. The rest is play by ear.
4 years ago
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On the very rare occasions when I have been able to eat out, I find the restaurants full of seniors, acing like eating out is an everyday thing for them. It seems like everywhere I go here in So.Cal. there are seniors living like kings and queens, and everyone talks about retirement like the ultimate playtime. They can get in zoos, fairs, arboretums, etc. at a half off discount even if they can do just as much there as anyone else, while I am disabled and can't enjoy half what they can, yet I don't get so much as a dollar off.
But I'm not complaining for me, I live a full life, I watch sunsets, listen to bird song, adore my cats, love my trees, and enjoy being with my almost grown up kids. What really bothers me is how people endlessly complain about mothers with young children (which I once was) living on welfare, while they think nothing of able-bodies seniors, who are perfectly capable of working and don't have little kids to support and watch over, live off the government.
I had elderly friends who really needed their retirement- one woman who was like a grandmother to my kids could barely afford her medecines. People like that, I don't mind getting retirement benefits so they can survive. But Bush signed into law a provision that lets seniors making $100,000 a year also receive retirement benefits.
Why do people begrudge survival to young mothers, yet not mind paying for seniors restaurant meals, cruises, and trips to
Disneyland? Benefits from the government should be based on need, not age. It also bothers me that if you are too disabled to work, you don't get disabillity. Does that make sense? We have a culture that benefits those who has, and makes it impossible for those who don't have any advantages in the first place to get a leg up in life.
Just musing, in response to Dixie's post. I'm not complaining, I just spent a wonderful evening meeting all my oldest's son's church friends and visiting with him. I miss him now that he lives away from home and works 2 jobs (just to get by). So I always feel very happy after any visit with him. And I really enjoyed getting to know his new friends for the first time.
But I'm not complaining for me, I live a full life, I watch sunsets, listen to bird song, adore my cats, love my trees, and enjoy being with my almost grown up kids. What really bothers me is how people endlessly complain about mothers with young children (which I once was) living on welfare, while they think nothing of able-bodies seniors, who are perfectly capable of working and don't have little kids to support and watch over, live off the government.
I had elderly friends who really needed their retirement- one woman who was like a grandmother to my kids could barely afford her medecines. People like that, I don't mind getting retirement benefits so they can survive. But Bush signed into law a provision that lets seniors making $100,000 a year also receive retirement benefits.
Why do people begrudge survival to young mothers, yet not mind paying for seniors restaurant meals, cruises, and trips to
Disneyland? Benefits from the government should be based on need, not age. It also bothers me that if you are too disabled to work, you don't get disabillity. Does that make sense? We have a culture that benefits those who has, and makes it impossible for those who don't have any advantages in the first place to get a leg up in life.
Just musing, in response to Dixie's post. I'm not complaining, I just spent a wonderful evening meeting all my oldest's son's church friends and visiting with him. I miss him now that he lives away from home and works 2 jobs (just to get by). So I always feel very happy after any visit with him. And I really enjoyed getting to know his new friends for the first time.
ok here comes the bad part!!!
4 years ago
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Hot!
Yadgyu wrote: 15d ago
JohnDoe2 wrote:
Drug addicts and alcoholics get SSI because they are disabled by their "Disease". We need to take them off of SSI and put them to work. The government is enabling them to live without working.
All of the people who collect Social Security but didn't pay into it for a lifetime like the rest of us should be cut off because it is bankrupting the system.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The money they receive is nothing.
They get like $700 a month. That may be good money for a crackhead but I couldn't live off of $700 a month. I know that it hurts people that some who are not doing anything are receiving money. But the money they receive would never be enough for most middle class people to live off of, even in retirement. We need to stop blaming others and start saving the money that we get. We have to work with what we have instead of crying about what we don't have.
I for am not worried about retirement. If I have to work until I die, so be it. I am going to have to eat, wear clothes, and have a place to live regardless of how old I am. Those who complain about retirement are only bitter that they were not smart enough to save money. The point of working is not to retire. It is to have money to survive. If you need to work in order to survive, do it. If you do not want to work and do not have enough money to retire, start using drugs and alcohol so you can get you $700 a month check.
Drug addicts and alcoholics get SSI because they are disabled by their "Disease". We need to take them off of SSI and put them to work. The government is enabling them to live without working.
All of the people who collect Social Security but didn't pay into it for a lifetime like the rest of us should be cut off because it is bankrupting the system.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The money they receive is nothing.
They get like $700 a month. That may be good money for a crackhead but I couldn't live off of $700 a month. I know that it hurts people that some who are not doing anything are receiving money. But the money they receive would never be enough for most middle class people to live off of, even in retirement. We need to stop blaming others and start saving the money that we get. We have to work with what we have instead of crying about what we don't have.
I for am not worried about retirement. If I have to work until I die, so be it. I am going to have to eat, wear clothes, and have a place to live regardless of how old I am. Those who complain about retirement are only bitter that they were not smart enough to save money. The point of working is not to retire. It is to have money to survive. If you need to work in order to survive, do it. If you do not want to work and do not have enough money to retire, start using drugs and alcohol so you can get you $700 a month check.
ok here comes the bad part!!!
4 years ago
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Hot!
Yadgyu wrote: 15d ago
JohnDoe2 wrote:
Drug addicts and alcoholics get SSI because they are disabled by their "Disease". We need to take them off of SSI and put them to work. The government is enabling them to live without working.
All of the people who collect Social Security but didn't pay into it for a lifetime like the rest of us should be cut off because it is bankrupting the system.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The money they receive is nothing.
They get like $700 a month. That may be good money for a crackhead but I couldn't live off of $700 a month. I know that it hurts people that some who are not doing anything are receiving money. But the money they receive would never be enough for most middle class people to live off of, even in retirement. We need to stop blaming others and start saving the money that we get. We have to work with what we have instead of crying about what we don't have.
I for am not worried about retirement. If I have to work until I die, so be it. I am going to have to eat, wear clothes, and have a place to live regardless of how old I am. Those who complain about retirement are only bitter that they were not smart enough to save money. The point of working is not to retire. It is to have money to survive. If you need to work in order to survive, do it. If you do not want to work and do not have enough money to retire, start using drugs and alcohol so you can get you $700 a month check.
Drug addicts and alcoholics get SSI because they are disabled by their "Disease". We need to take them off of SSI and put them to work. The government is enabling them to live without working.
All of the people who collect Social Security but didn't pay into it for a lifetime like the rest of us should be cut off because it is bankrupting the system.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The money they receive is nothing.
They get like $700 a month. That may be good money for a crackhead but I couldn't live off of $700 a month. I know that it hurts people that some who are not doing anything are receiving money. But the money they receive would never be enough for most middle class people to live off of, even in retirement. We need to stop blaming others and start saving the money that we get. We have to work with what we have instead of crying about what we don't have.
I for am not worried about retirement. If I have to work until I die, so be it. I am going to have to eat, wear clothes, and have a place to live regardless of how old I am. Those who complain about retirement are only bitter that they were not smart enough to save money. The point of working is not to retire. It is to have money to survive. If you need to work in order to survive, do it. If you do not want to work and do not have enough money to retire, start using drugs and alcohol so you can get you $700 a month check.
Um, ok....
4 years ago
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"Over here", when you go to a pantry food for help, or a church gives out bags of goods... it filled with bags of pinto beans, bags of rice, then cans of beans & rice mixed together... no way am I complaining - I just can't eat that much beans or starchy rice 
##################################
I want to post this hoping you will go register a comment - I find this comment-or very offensive....
First baby boomer receives 1st Social Security payment
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/retirement/2008-02-12-boomer-social-security_N.htm#Close
Federal officials at a Vero Beach event to debut a public service announcement lauded Casey-Kirschling's decision to receive her benefits by direct deposit. "Kathy is a trendsetter for her generation," said Jim Courtney, Social Security's deputy commissioner for communications. Over the next two decades, nearly 80 million baby boomers — about 10,000 per day — will become eligible for Social Security. If no changes are made, the Social Security trust fund is projected to deplete its reserves in 2041 and will begin paying out more in benefits that it collects in payroll taxes in 2017.
ADVICE SERIES: TURNING 62: The retirement boom begins
VIDEO: Apply online, boomer says
am making pinto beans! over here in Norway!
4 years ago
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Haven't had these in quite a while, but managed to find some in the health section of my supermarket. MMMM!!!
Give me two please
4 years ago
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... this is the kind of "information" 'we' run across in doing homeless searches... and 'we' don't know why ~~~
By on March 8th, 2008
...actually, 
I am having a late breakfast of spinach omlette, with tomatillo sauce ~~
Harmony feel better ~~
4 years ago
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(hope the pic stays up)
I get to go shopping a bit, do a thrift store ~ am here...
Back ina bit!
Dixie
There are a lot of 'different' sites for Obama ...
4 years ago
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http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/dashboard
I started a blog here at the above site. I also put the address to this group in my blog post.
This is the most amazing homeless group, that covers homeless around the world, especially our civil rights.
It is my hope, O ~ himself will address this group or an aid will.
If I get any posts to the blog I started, I will repost here.
Amazing that the election of an American president is of concern to people around the world.
I have a "fanbox" account. People pop up from around the world - literally, in little chat boxes. Today, one very young man wanted to know what I thought of Obama... what an eye opener.
Know that none of htis is an endorsement.
Dixie
go for it, Dixie!
4 years ago
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These Presidential candidates need to know that there are a LOT of us out here who care that issues of health, poverty, and homelessness get looked at and improved.
I heard...
4 years ago
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...a blip on the tv last night of a commercial with Obama on veteran's... that was the first I had heard him say anything on the subject.
He is speaking in Austin right now, downtown.
I would like to find a good addy to write to him, seems there are headquarters everywhere, I have not found an official site.
Yep, I'm gonna impress on him the homeless, and homeless veterans... 
I will find some place to write him!!!
Harmony go here
4 years ago
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http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=5311&pst=1045963&reply=1#1045970 this is the second time I am trying to post here in the new format, I had to reboot and don't even know if this will post... Some folks have old dinos for puters... care2 was so sloooow in the first place, why reformat? why NOT speed things up? I love you Dixie
just getting back up to speed, here..
4 years ago
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After a week spent taking extensive care of someone... tomorrow will be a better day for posting, I hope. I do hope people will be honest as to whether they like the new look in groups or not. Thing is, when I tried the new look, I was under the impression that it could be switched back, just like that- but now I don't see any such way of doing so. Not good, IMO...
Marie, will repost your NM as requested
4 years ago
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Tuesday, February 26, 2008, 7:35 PM Subject: URGENT I tried to post this on the Kitchen Table but don't know how to post with the new system My daughter, Rose's cat, Maui, is dying. To save his life most vets quoted $900 but we found a vet today who would do it for $300, except we don't have the money. We only have $40 right now for groceries. So my daughter has been crying all day today, watching her cat die. Please post this on the homeless group right away in case anyone can help. There is very little time left. If we could take him in tomorow (with the money in hand) it could save his life. Thanks for caring. (Harmony, I know you can't do anythiing, yourself, I just want yout o post this for me.) ======= Marie, your first post came through just fine. I am so sorry to hear about Maui. I hope and pray you can get the necessary money to save him! I feel so helpless, my friend.
URGENT
4 years ago
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My daughter Rose has been crying all day because her cat is dying. To save his life he needs a $300 procedure to remove an obstruction from his urinary tract, BUT we don't have the money to save his life. All we have is $40 for groceries. So she is having to watch her cat die. There is very little time left. The only way to save his life is if we had the money tomorrow to take him in. If anyone can help, please let us know RIGHT AWAY. Thanks for caring! This is a very special cat. His special traits are irreplacable. This is breaking my daughter's heart.
This post was modified from its original form on 26 Feb, 19:51
trying out the new look for groups, here..
4 years ago
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Will be interested in any feedback you all have. I notice that there is a message on the bottom of my browser saying "transferring data from 0.3.presence.userplane.com".. whatever that is it is slowing down things INCREDIBLY. So.. let's hear it- like the new look? don't like? any bugs croppings up?
Marie, it's a relief to hear from you
4 years ago
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And I hope you get better! Please get better!
Mexicans are kind- from my direct memories and experience. And hey! I've been to Algodones!!
I went with someone who was having dental work done!
It's fairly early in the morning over here. I have school today. However, most of my energy this past week has been going into caring for my ex husband, who's had a nervous breakdown. He came direct from the psychiatric ward to my/our home.. he's been highly emotional, crying, needing a lot of care and attention. Lots of hugs.
So my online time has gone down drastically. But he's getting better, bit by bit...
Anyway, Marie, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Will now go check the other threads, lol.
I went with someone who was having dental work done!
It's fairly early in the morning over here. I have school today. However, most of my energy this past week has been going into caring for my ex husband, who's had a nervous breakdown. He came direct from the psychiatric ward to my/our home.. he's been highly emotional, crying, needing a lot of care and attention. Lots of hugs.
So my online time has gone down drastically. But he's getting better, bit by bit...
Anyway, Marie, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Will now go check the other threads, lol.
4 years ago
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Harmony, please see Rose and my birthday greeting to you on the Birthday thread. I went down to Mexico on Monday and got the dental work done.
When the dentist found out that I am diabetic he was very worried and told me I'd better be very careful talking all the antibiotics on time or things could go very badly because diabetics have trouble fighting infection. It has been a real battle. I started to get better a few days ago but had a relapse yesterday, with all the gland pain throbbing.
I guess you can understand from being homeless before what it does to your psyche to be always fighting for your life. Sometimes you wonder if it is worth the fight. Don't worry, I'm not suicidal, just being philosophical.
It was good to be in Mexico. I have not been there for 26 years. When my husband and I didn't yet know each other, in college, we both went to the same orphanages in Mexico to help. That was Tijuana. This was Algodoness, a tiny town, bursting with crafty tourist stores, with dentists sandwiched between them everywhere, very unusual.
Rose and I bought some Mexican hand crafts while there. One of the hard things was seeing such desparation in their eyes. It's obvious from the anxiety over whether you will buy from them or not that many people there go hungry as often as not.
We were pretty tight outselves and could not buy all we wanted for their sakes, so near the border where the vendors are tightlipped with terror, we started handing out rolls, which were very well received. Each vendor registered sudden surprise, and then great relief, like a weight had fallen off their backs.
It was such an experience. The people were so kind. 2 dentists stayed very late to get the root canal and cap done the same day. We knew we couldn't afford to rent the car for one more day. We had a long talk about immigration issues with a man who worked in Oregon for 23 years and is now back in Mexico. He is still shaken up by an incident where an illegal border crosser was shot dead, just up the road from where we talked.
We stayed so late (waiting for the cap) that we had to drive to a different town to cross back ino the USA. They (thr Mexicans)were worried that we might slip off the narrow road into the sand, and insisted upon accompanying us for 60 miles to see to our safety, after they had already stayed up til almost midnight for the cap. Incdredible kindness!!! And so much need! I'm at a loss for words!
This post was modified from its original form on 24 Feb, 15:17
When the dentist found out that I am diabetic he was very worried and told me I'd better be very careful talking all the antibiotics on time or things could go very badly because diabetics have trouble fighting infection. It has been a real battle. I started to get better a few days ago but had a relapse yesterday, with all the gland pain throbbing.
I guess you can understand from being homeless before what it does to your psyche to be always fighting for your life. Sometimes you wonder if it is worth the fight. Don't worry, I'm not suicidal, just being philosophical.
It was good to be in Mexico. I have not been there for 26 years. When my husband and I didn't yet know each other, in college, we both went to the same orphanages in Mexico to help. That was Tijuana. This was Algodoness, a tiny town, bursting with crafty tourist stores, with dentists sandwiched between them everywhere, very unusual.
Rose and I bought some Mexican hand crafts while there. One of the hard things was seeing such desparation in their eyes. It's obvious from the anxiety over whether you will buy from them or not that many people there go hungry as often as not.
We were pretty tight outselves and could not buy all we wanted for their sakes, so near the border where the vendors are tightlipped with terror, we started handing out rolls, which were very well received. Each vendor registered sudden surprise, and then great relief, like a weight had fallen off their backs.
It was such an experience. The people were so kind. 2 dentists stayed very late to get the root canal and cap done the same day. We knew we couldn't afford to rent the car for one more day. We had a long talk about immigration issues with a man who worked in Oregon for 23 years and is now back in Mexico. He is still shaken up by an incident where an illegal border crosser was shot dead, just up the road from where we talked.
We stayed so late (waiting for the cap) that we had to drive to a different town to cross back ino the USA. They (thr Mexicans)were worried that we might slip off the narrow road into the sand, and insisted upon accompanying us for 60 miles to see to our safety, after they had already stayed up til almost midnight for the cap. Incdredible kindness!!! And so much need! I'm at a loss for words!
This post was modified from its original form on 24 Feb, 15:17
Hi Agnes!
4 years ago
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Yes I did, and thanks so much!
What a wonderful day. People are so beautiful!
4 years ago
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Happy birthday...I will set a table up for you in the speakeasy..when you have time come over for a herbal tea and a sinful slice of black forest cake ..did you get my Birthday mail
Agnes
my birthday today..
4 years ago
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have some friends coming over to help me celebrate it-
Strange times. I feel as if I have a lot on my plate to deal with.. but then so does the rest of the world. It's all relative. So an ex is wanting to come back into my life.. who's had a nervous breakdown and requires almost constant attention.. and my computer has been going through strange stuff (files have begun "dropping out" and gone "missing").. and my online access has been going through strange stuff (very slow).. but I shall prevail.. lol..
anyway, wishing everyone a bright and happy day.. we're all doing the best we can..
4 years ago
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>RE Bush- Not even Reagan, whose policies and world view I >thoroughly detest, comes even close to equaling Bush for the >extraordinary blend of dumb, evil, stomach-crawling, life->ending, world-destroying backwardness he manifests. Just >when I think he's offended me and everyone else in the whole >entire world by every means possible, he does it in yet >another way.
Agreed! And my local newspaper printed the photo too small to see a detail evident in the online one I posted--he's also holding the woman's hand. I don't want to presume to speak for others, especially others I don't know personally ... but I know the Moslem friends I have locally would find that whole thing pretty offensive! (Other photos in the same batch show the faces of Moslem patients, too ... I don't even photograph Moslem library program participants, because of their general beliefs about images of living beings. That said, there's a LOT of diversity among Moslems, and I'm still not speaking for anyone in particular in the photo.)
Is it possible that our government and media representatives know no more about Moslem people in African and Asia than how to bomb them? Or (more likely) do they just not care, so long as their mainstream American audience can be kept ignorant enough to soak up and be swayed by images like this?
I get so frustrated with the lot of them!
OK, back to other things now.
I hope you're having an awesome day, Harmony.
Ms. C.
This post was modified from its original form on 18 Feb, 9:29
Hi, Ms C-
4 years ago
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you wrote:
"The photo I referenced showed up in the post preview ... what happened to it?"
Darned if I know! I'm still dealing with Care2 cutting my posts short unexpectedly. For no good reason. When I'm not even over the character limit!
RE Bush- Not even Reagan, whose policies and world view I thoroughly detest, comes even close to equaling Bush for the extraordinary blend of dumb, evil, stomach-crawling, life-ending, world-destroying backwardness he manifests. Just when I think he's offended me and everyone else in the whole entire world by every means possible, he does it in yet another way.
He and his co-horts must have this incredible teflon coating. EVERYTHING has slid off so far- false elections, illegal wars, torture, destroying the Constitution and Bill of Rights, slashing funds to every program that would help human beings and the environment... everything slides off in this massive sort of knee-jerk denial.. even reality itself..
arrrgh!!
???
4 years ago
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The photo I referenced showed up in the post preview ... what happened to it?
Here's a link just to the picture, then:
PS: Image source
4 years ago
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I'm sorry! I meant to paste in the source for that photo. It's an AP photo, found online at http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8286020 .
Ms. C.
4 years ago
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Hello, Harmony!
Those numbers sound about right ... what's up with us, friend? 
This morning's newspaper featured this picture of Bush "talking with outpatients" in a hospital in Tanzania. I shared it with my daughter, who at 15 saw immediately what had caught my eye (meaning, to me, that it's unlikely Bush's advisors would have missed it): the photo was chosen to play to the sympathies of ignorant Americans, unrepentant for the offense it documents.
A personal notice of very slow internet speed
4 years ago
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Hi all,
My internet provider seems to think I haven't paid my bills (which I have) and so has set my internet speed at the lowest possible rate. This makes my online work feel like pulling teeth- it is painfully slow. But I paid my bills- AGAIN- today (monday the 18th) .. and so hopefully by this Wednesday my online connection will be back up to speed again.
arrrgh.
Dear Marie,
4 years ago
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May you have a safe trip to Mexico and get that treatment you need!
Please get well. Your kind heart, mind and soul are much needed in this world!
Hi, Ms C!! :-)
4 years ago
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I definitely skim! LOL!
"From your 38 subscriptions, over the last 30 days you read 10,695 items, starred 2,133 items, shared 2,080 items, and emailed 0 items."
4 years ago
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I'm going down to Mexico tomorow to take care of some urgent dental work after being hospitalized for a sort of Hel week with severe dehydration, dangerously low potassium, and high blood sugar, all due to not being able to eat right because of an abcess tooth, which they only told me at discharge is dangerously close to my brain.
The reason I call it a Hel week is that I couldn't keep anything down, I just threw up and threw up and threw up, day and night, every time I got up to use the bathroom. Even when I stopped eating I still kept throwing up.
I'm home now and feeling much better, with the effects of a very powerful antibiotic, but the problem will resurface again if I don't get this problem solved. I hope the Mexicans charge as low as they say because we have very little money left, and if this is not treated the infection could reach my brain.
The reason I call it a Hel week is that I couldn't keep anything down, I just threw up and threw up and threw up, day and night, every time I got up to use the bathroom. Even when I stopped eating I still kept throwing up.
I'm home now and feeling much better, with the effects of a very powerful antibiotic, but the problem will resurface again if I don't get this problem solved. I hope the Mexicans charge as low as they say because we have very little money left, and if this is not treated the infection could reach my brain.
I love it.
4 years ago
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Good morning, Harmony!
I love Google Reader! Use the folders to organize everything, and skim--don't try to read every item every day.
I posted a "share" here for the first time in two-and-a-half years. Today's definitely a different kind of morning.
(http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/638029)
Have a beautiful day, Harmony. You deserve it.
Ms. C.
4 years ago
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Thanks, Ms.C!
Fine images!
Today I've just finished breakfast- I've got a test coming up at school today which has required some studying, so I haven't posted in hcrcl yesterday...
I've lately started using Google Reader and getting news feeds- amazing all the info that comes in- yikes...
4 years ago
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Hello,
A friend sent me some art imagesfrom the Hirshhorn Museum's Art Gallery this morning, and I just had to share--I was blown away by them! Here's a site where most of the images are already posted online, so I don't clutter our bandwidth here by repasting them: http://vanmalsen.smugmug.com/gallery/4254990#249109111
Enjoy!
Ms. C.
Thanks, Marie-
4 years ago
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Tender definitely has my good wishes and prayers for a safe recovery.
4 years ago
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Thanks for asking, Harmony! Tender got completely well, happy crawling straight, starting to play, and then things got crazy again, and he is again rolling around and around and crying (though not all the time thankfully, and still nursing). We are again applying the remedy that worked last time, because he got totally well and was fine for days. We are again putting iodine in her ear along with colloidal silver, which is harmless and works wonders. We can't go too heavy on the iodine.
If things don't improve again, we will take him to the vet, but it will cost us $35 to rent a car and that much again to treat him, so we are going to go ahead with our own remedy first. It just started happening again yesterday or the day before. It starts out with him just tipping his head to one side. It's so sad to see- he can't seem to know which end is up, quite literally. But he was well long enough that I think the remedy will work again. Iodine is powerful stuff for fighting an infection, even in very small quantities (used topically, not internally).
This post was modified from its original form on 07 Feb, 19:23
This post was modified from its original form on 07 Feb, 19:25
If things don't improve again, we will take him to the vet, but it will cost us $35 to rent a car and that much again to treat him, so we are going to go ahead with our own remedy first. It just started happening again yesterday or the day before. It starts out with him just tipping his head to one side. It's so sad to see- he can't seem to know which end is up, quite literally. But he was well long enough that I think the remedy will work again. Iodine is powerful stuff for fighting an infection, even in very small quantities (used topically, not internally).
This post was modified from its original form on 07 Feb, 19:23
This post was modified from its original form on 07 Feb, 19:25
Hi, Ms C- my friend Morgan started his own podcast...
4 years ago
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New post on Norsehorse's Podcast http://norsehorse.mypodcast.com/
Sunday, February 3, 2008
20 Yrs in VT, Related Reminiscences & Reflections
http://norsehorse.mypodcast.com/2008/02/20_Yrs_in_VT_Related_Reminiscences_Reflections-77763.html
Direct episode download link:
http://www.mypodcast.com/fsaudio/norsehorse_20080203_0139-168864.mp3
Sunday, February 3, 2008
http://norsehorse.mypodcast.com/2008/02/20_Yrs_in_VT_Related_Reminiscences_Reflections-77763.html
Where I speak about how come Spring of this year it will be 20 years since I first moved to Vermont as well as about related reminiscences and reflections on these and related matters mainly stated within a general context.
Correction: It has been roughly about three (3) weeks since my last podcast, not five (5) as incorrectly stated in the beginning.
Direct episode download link:
http://www.mypodcast.com/fsaudio/norsehorse_20080203_0139-168864.mp3
Morgan
Morgan W. Brown
Montpelier, Vermont, USA
Norsehorse's Home Turf:
http://norsehorseshometurf.blogspot.com
Morgan W. Brown
Montpelier, Vermont, USA
Norsehorse's Home Turf:
http://norsehorseshometurf.blogspot.com
Podcasts?
4 years ago
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Hello,
I've been having lots of fun with podcasts lately, having started listening to them and audiobooks more to try to improve my ability to "get things" I hear as well as see! I've found some good ones ... but I'm sure there are some excellent ones I haven't discovered.
If anyone else here follows a podcast or two, will you share your favorites? (Title is enough to google it and find it, but posting the feed link would be awesome.)
Thank you in advance!
Ms. C.
4 years ago
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So glad you are safe and warm, Harmony, looking out on the storm but not being in it. The kitten is doing much better today. We put some iodine in its ear last night. It's eyes were getting a dull look to them, a very scarey sign, indicating some kind of infection.
My son kept telling me all the internet sites say such behavior often means an ear infection and the rolling over and over is from lack of balance. But the way the kitten held it's arm stiff (against one ear) seemed to me to indicate dislocation.
But when I saw that her eyes were looking dull I saw that my son was right. Iodine will clear up any local infection, anything near at all to the surface. I had the kitten half the night and my husband had him the other half. When he gave me the kitten to hold in the morning, it was no longer rolling over and over. It could crawl fairly straight. And the dull look in its eyes was gone.
It's a really dramatic improvement! But we are going to continue with the betadine in its ear, and if any symptoms get worse we will rent a car and take the kitten in to a vet. I'm not putting it with the mother to nurse anymore because she again sat on the kitten's head with all her weight. It was screaming underneath her and she was completely oblivious.
I will still probably let the mother lick the baby clean, and may sometimes let her nurse under my watchful eye but I have to be watchful every minute. The mother cat, which is the one on my icon, was a kitten I found in the garage and raised with a dropper from a similar age.
My son kept telling me all the internet sites say such behavior often means an ear infection and the rolling over and over is from lack of balance. But the way the kitten held it's arm stiff (against one ear) seemed to me to indicate dislocation.
But when I saw that her eyes were looking dull I saw that my son was right. Iodine will clear up any local infection, anything near at all to the surface. I had the kitten half the night and my husband had him the other half. When he gave me the kitten to hold in the morning, it was no longer rolling over and over. It could crawl fairly straight. And the dull look in its eyes was gone.
It's a really dramatic improvement! But we are going to continue with the betadine in its ear, and if any symptoms get worse we will rent a car and take the kitten in to a vet. I'm not putting it with the mother to nurse anymore because she again sat on the kitten's head with all her weight. It was screaming underneath her and she was completely oblivious.
I will still probably let the mother lick the baby clean, and may sometimes let her nurse under my watchful eye but I have to be watchful every minute. The mother cat, which is the one on my icon, was a kitten I found in the garage and raised with a dropper from a similar age.
A stormy night in Norway, here..
4 years ago
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Freezing rain, fierce winds, hail.. a wild, cold night.
I am glad to have shelter on a night like this.. and remember vividly when I didn't.
4 years ago
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Oh Marie, I do hope your kitten is able to get help! Poor thing!! ((((( hug )))) It can be so heartbreaking seeing a creature in that much pain..
4 years ago
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P.s. the tiny kitten's name is Tender.
4 years ago
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I am distressed right now because a very darling little 2 week old kitten was sat on by my cat, who is a bit of a confused mother, and the kitten is suddenly acting strange, going around and around in circles and endlessly rolling onto its back crying, with its head perpetually tipped to one side and one arm held stiffly up against its body. It's such a darling kitten and I am heartbroken.
It's times like this that not having a car is a problem- I hesitate to take one so small as this on a bus with all its germs to get it to a vet. We may be able to rent a car for one day or get a ride with a friend, but not until the day after tomorow and I hope this kitten will last that long! I suspect a shoulder dislocation, but can't be sure and hope it isn't something worse.
Prayers, meditations, petitions to a higher power please! I dearly love this little kitten. She is so like our elderly stray, Emma, who adopted us but won't live much longer as she is very old. (How long do cats live?) Emma is maybe 10 or 12 years old and I had hoped to keep this kitten long after our beloved Emma is gone. (Emma is the grandmother, not the mother. Emma would not do this to her babies.)
It's times like this that not having a car is a problem- I hesitate to take one so small as this on a bus with all its germs to get it to a vet. We may be able to rent a car for one day or get a ride with a friend, but not until the day after tomorow and I hope this kitten will last that long! I suspect a shoulder dislocation, but can't be sure and hope it isn't something worse.
Prayers, meditations, petitions to a higher power please! I dearly love this little kitten. She is so like our elderly stray, Emma, who adopted us but won't live much longer as she is very old. (How long do cats live?) Emma is maybe 10 or 12 years old and I had hoped to keep this kitten long after our beloved Emma is gone. (Emma is the grandmother, not the mother. Emma would not do this to her babies.)
4 years ago
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Teeheehee! My daughter Rose and I did it together. We looked about the house for comforting kinds of things we didn't need. We wanted you to have things you will see in different parts of the house and use and keep remembering how loved you are! Life can be so hard! And what are friends if not for comforting one another? 
You are one of our favorite people, Harmony! We felt like by packing the teas and candles and other things we were having tea with you! It was like a little visit! Sad that it was late, but the two of us wrapped everything together and it took awhile. (We save wrapping paper, and just cut off the not-so-pretty parts and reuse the wrapping paper for a smaller present each year.)
We wanted you to have enough presents to make up for lost years, and we wanted the presents to be pretty and comforting. We really had fun doing it! We wanted it to be filled with as much happiness as we could find and to be a beautiful artwork when you opened the box.
We have found through the years that it makes our lives so much happier when we give happiness to others. It's something Rose and I have done since she was little, so when I suggested it she was delighted and started helping me look for things right away.
This is a way in which we have found joy amidst poverty! And it isn't anything we will miss. We have a lot of good things from our good years, as long as we can keep our house. I am so happy it finally came and is bringing you such happiness!
The only thing lacking is that I got your message while Rose was away, so she will be jealous of my being first to reply! She is away in Los Angeles for a conference of people who share the cause of helping immigrants know their rights and have some defense against the raids, which sadly go on every day somewhere in the USA. They are even threatening to raid schools now and carry kids off from school to be deported!!!!!
So she has important work right now so she can learn all she can about how to help. She will be very excited when she comes home and I tell her to read your post here. I will be nearby to watch the expression of delight on her face.
This post was modified from its original form on 13 Jan, 10:27
My daughter Rose and I did it together. We looked about the house for comforting kinds of things we didn't need. We wanted you to have things you will see in different parts of the house and use and keep remembering how loved you are! Life can be so hard! And what are friends if not for comforting one another? You are one of our favorite people, Harmony!
We felt like by packing the teas and candles and other things we were having tea with you! It was like a little visit! Sad that it was late, but the two of us wrapped everything together and it took awhile. (We save wrapping paper, and just cut off the not-so-pretty parts and reuse the wrapping paper for a smaller present each year.) We wanted you to have enough presents to make up for lost years, and we wanted the presents to be pretty and comforting. We really had fun doing it! We wanted it to be filled with as much happiness as we could find and to be a beautiful artwork when you opened the box.
We have found through the years that it makes our lives so much happier when we give happiness to others. It's something Rose and I have done since she was little, so when I suggested it she was delighted and started helping me look for things right away.
This is a way in which we have found joy amidst poverty! And it isn't anything we will miss. We have a lot of good things from our good years, as long as we can keep our house. I am so happy it finally came and is bringing you such happiness!
The only thing lacking is that I got your message while Rose was away, so she will be jealous of my being first to reply! She is away in Los Angeles for a conference of people who share the cause of helping immigrants know their rights and have some defense against the raids, which sadly go on every day somewhere in the USA. They are even threatening to raid schools now and carry kids off from school to be deported!!!!!
So she has important work right now so she can learn all she can about how to help. She will be very excited when she comes home and I tell her to read your post here. I will be nearby to watch the expression of delight on her face.
This post was modified from its original form on 13 Jan, 10:27
Ms C, Marie- what wonderful ideas! Thank you both!
4 years ago
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I love it when people discover innovative ways to give
Speaking of which, Marie... WOW!!! 
Your package arrived! I am absolutely amazed! When I opened it, I couldn't help it, I started to cry. In a GOOD WAY! Wow. I just keep saying that. I am bowled over.
Thank you for EVERYTHING! The teas, the soap, the tissues, the scarves.... did you all sit around a table wrapping stuff for me? The love that I feel pouring from the box is incredible. You and your family are awesome!!! To get that package on a cold, grey, wintry day in Norway... after Christmas.. is like extending Christmas all over again.
How can I ever thank you enough? But thank you I do, straight from heart. You and your family are so wonderful, and so incredible.
Speaking of which, Marie... WOW!!!
Your package arrived! I am absolutely amazed! When I opened it, I couldn't help it, I started to cry. In a GOOD WAY! Wow. I just keep saying that. I am bowled over.
Thank you for EVERYTHING! The teas, the soap, the tissues, the scarves.... did you all sit around a table wrapping stuff for me? The love that I feel pouring from the box is incredible. You and your family are awesome!!! To get that package on a cold, grey, wintry day in Norway... after Christmas.. is like extending Christmas all over again.
How can I ever thank you enough? But thank you I do, straight from heart. You and your family are so wonderful, and so incredible.
4 years ago
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A couple more ideas: sometimes we would ask the birthday child which park was his favorite park and take the famly ther for an enjoyable time and some eat & drink treats.
Sometimes we let the kids have a sleepout in our backyard for their birthday. The kids enjoyed star and planet watching and seeing if they could lay still and be quiet enough for wildlife to come around. They saw several oppossums quite close and really enjoyed their special night.
Sometimes we let the kids have a sleepout in our backyard for their birthday. The kids enjoyed star and planet watching and seeing if they could lay still and be quiet enough for wildlife to come around. They saw several oppossums quite close and really enjoyed their special night.
4 years ago
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These are great ideas! I hadn't thought of any of them before. I did a few things myself when we had very little money for presents, fun, or decorations. Here are a few of the things we did.
I have 4 boys and 1 girl (the youngest, Jonathan, is now 15.) When my boys were little they were fascinated by the big planes that flew over our house each day, way up high. So for one birthday, we took the kids to the airport to see the airplanes landing and taking off from the vantage point of a free nearby parking garage. We drove to the top and let the kids climb on top of the hood of the car to watch the planes.
When my daughter had her 4th birthday, we had no money for presents at all, NONE. What I did have was cloth scraps left over from sewing her clothing, which I decided to make into new clothes for her dolls, to match her own. I picked out patterns we had on hand, cut and sewed the dresses, pinned a bow on each dress, and hid them away.
The night before her birthday, after she went to sleep, I sneaked into her room and took all her dolls, dressing each one in it's new clothes. I hid them in her older brother's closet. That morning, we went on a treasure hunt together with clues leading to one place and then another, until we reached the boy's walk-in closet and there were all her dolls dressed in new dresses. She was extremely happy and has told me so many times since.
I used treasure hunts a lot. A treasure hunt drags out present opening making the presents seem like much more than they are. You can have fruits be the treasures, or some other kind of favorite food. Or they can be practical things like school supplies or a pair of socks. I chose things for our home school that we needed to get but that were things I knew they would delight in, being in their favorite school subject.
To find the present, kids read clue after clue, and have to work out where each mysteriously worded clue is hinting at, and go there to find the next clue. This makes a receiving one or two small gifts last and seem more special. Our kids loved our treasure hunt birthdays. We also made each other cards for birthdays, cutting pictures out of seed catalogs to paste inside the cards.
We also made adult birthdays special by picking flowers in the yard and bringing them in to decorate the table. We circled serving plates or ordinary goodies (cake, muffins, donuts, anything we could cheaply make ourselves) with rings of flowers, made a bouquet of flowers in a drink bottle, and spread flowers around the table to pretty it up.
We then chose the birthday person's favorite music and set that up to play as they entered the room. And we set our home made cards around that person's place. So there was music, flowers, cards, baked goods or fruit, and some kind of tea (peppermint, camomile, regular tea, berry tea, or- my favorite- rose petal tea.) This method of celebration has given us many happy times together and wonderful memories.
Sometimes I would sew my daughter a dress when she was in bed sleeping, and then the night I finished it, I would tiptoe into her room and lay the new dress over a chair with a note pinned on it, telling her I loved her. This was also a great delight to her.
This post was modified from its original form on 12 Jan, 20:33
I have 4 boys and 1 girl (the youngest, Jonathan, is now 15.) When my boys were little they were fascinated by the big planes that flew over our house each day, way up high. So for one birthday, we took the kids to the airport to see the airplanes landing and taking off from the vantage point of a free nearby parking garage. We drove to the top and let the kids climb on top of the hood of the car to watch the planes.
When my daughter had her 4th birthday, we had no money for presents at all, NONE. What I did have was cloth scraps left over from sewing her clothing, which I decided to make into new clothes for her dolls, to match her own. I picked out patterns we had on hand, cut and sewed the dresses, pinned a bow on each dress, and hid them away.
The night before her birthday, after she went to sleep, I sneaked into her room and took all her dolls, dressing each one in it's new clothes. I hid them in her older brother's closet. That morning, we went on a treasure hunt together with clues leading to one place and then another, until we reached the boy's walk-in closet and there were all her dolls dressed in new dresses. She was extremely happy and has told me so many times since.
I used treasure hunts a lot. A treasure hunt drags out present opening making the presents seem like much more than they are. You can have fruits be the treasures, or some other kind of favorite food. Or they can be practical things like school supplies or a pair of socks. I chose things for our home school that we needed to get but that were things I knew they would delight in, being in their favorite school subject.
To find the present, kids read clue after clue, and have to work out where each mysteriously worded clue is hinting at, and go there to find the next clue. This makes a receiving one or two small gifts last and seem more special. Our kids loved our treasure hunt birthdays. We also made each other cards for birthdays, cutting pictures out of seed catalogs to paste inside the cards.
We also made adult birthdays special by picking flowers in the yard and bringing them in to decorate the table. We circled serving plates or ordinary goodies (cake, muffins, donuts, anything we could cheaply make ourselves) with rings of flowers, made a bouquet of flowers in a drink bottle, and spread flowers around the table to pretty it up.
We then chose the birthday person's favorite music and set that up to play as they entered the room. And we set our home made cards around that person's place. So there was music, flowers, cards, baked goods or fruit, and some kind of tea (peppermint, camomile, regular tea, berry tea, or- my favorite- rose petal tea.) This method of celebration has given us many happy times together and wonderful memories.
Sometimes I would sew my daughter a dress when she was in bed sleeping, and then the night I finished it, I would tiptoe into her room and lay the new dress over a chair with a note pinned on it, telling her I loved her. This was also a great delight to her.
This post was modified from its original form on 12 Jan, 20:33
PS
4 years ago
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Additional editing note, that probably doesn't really matter. My family actually celebrates Yule, not Christmas ... but I used the mother's holiday in writing to her, to avoid confusion.
Free birthday ideas for kids, p. 2 of 2
4 years ago
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(continued)
- The all-time favorite: A “Wish Come True” gift card. The card reads, “This card entitles you to the granting of any one wish. The only limitations are the following: (1) The wish can’t cost any money, and (2) The wish has to be within your parents’ ability to grant.” I’ve been amazed at what my kids have come up with for this one, and when they do get one of these rare and treasured cards, they always put a LOT of thought into what they’ll wish for. The first time, they decided to walk up the hill behind our house at night, to see the town’s lit Christmas-decoration star up close. I never would have guessed that! But, bundled tightly against the cold, we ventured out into the dark night, and up the hill we went. It was a wonderful, magical evening I’ll never forget.
- Another big hit: Your own web site. There are lots of places to put up a free website online, including Google and Geocities. It only takes time and energy, not money, to help your daughter put up a website with whatever she wants. The time you spend together is precious, and you get to know new things about your own kid you might not have guessed, as she chooses clip art and backgrounds, writes (or dictates for you to type) text, etc. You have a great opportunity to teach her about internet safety, and what not to post on a website. And, it’s something she can show off to her friends later!
- Potentially big and wrappable: Groceries you’d probably buy anyway, but with a twist. Does your family eat cold cereal? If so, wrap a big box of your daughter’s favorite kind, labeled with her name. Add a note explaining that it’s just for her, and she doesn’t have to share it. If she has other favorite foods that are easily within your budget, these can work well, too. My daughter’s nuts for cans of olives, and now that she’s 15 and we’re in a better position, she probably would still doubt it’s really Christmas if she doesn’t get a jar of pickles!
- Mail with freebies. Wal-Mart, Proctor & Gamble, etc., have regular pages online where you can request free samples of products on a rotating basis. [Inserted note to my Care2 friends: My family actually avoids shopping at Wal-Mart now, etc. But for a family in the position described, I still stand by this suggestion. ] Just put your daughter’s name (and your birthday) in the form for anything you think she’d like—and remember that anything that comes in the mail with her name on it is likely to be fun, and little things are also fun. Perfume and lotion samples, shampoo, little tiny deodorants, whatever’s up there … spend a little time filling in forms, and your daughter will soon have lots of mail with little “gifts” for her arriving in the mailbox. Don’t worry about her getting junk mail later. It’s just more mail, which will still be fun for quite a while—and it’ll only present more teaching opportunities for you to help guide her toward handling junk mail as an adult.
Obviously, I could have kept going with this list ... but I thought that four bullet-points was enough for a mother to get at once after asking for a bike!
Take care, all!
Ms. C.
Free birthday ideas for kids
4 years ago
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Hello,
I'm also on a mailing list called AngelHelpinPA, which assists individuals in crisis situations. Recently, a mother asked for help to "make her daughter's birthday happen." The daughter, who is turning 10, really wants a new bike, but the mother said that she'd probably be happy with anything ... and I was struck yet again by how thoroughly we've convinced even our poorest neighbors that they just have to buy things for birthdays and holidays, whether or not these things are affordable--or they're not good parents. When someone's struggling to make rent and pay utilities, then overreaching to "make a birthday happen" can contribute to potential homelessness, kids taken into foster care, etc.--a far worse outcome than not buying birthday gifts!
Hoping that suggesting an alternative would help this particular mother consider something different, I sent her a list of free ideas. Looking at it, I thought I'd post it here--others on this list might like some of the ideas, or might just like to be able to share them when we're faced with similar situations. So, here's a partial paste from my reply to the mother who requested a bike for her daughter ...
(Continued next post; it was too long!)
Ms. C.
4 years ago
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Harmony,
Tea is coming, and much more for your comfort.
I hope it gets there soon!
Sitting home from school with the flu
4 years ago
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Have had a high fever, and am coughing like crazy. Probably will go back to bed and rest and read a good book- then hopefully I'll be back up in an hour or two and post on homeless events and issues.
(((( hugs ))) from a very safe distance..
4 years ago
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P.S. The girl's name is Kendra, and her mother, who is having her thyroid removed due to cancer, is Cheryl. Thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and circle. She needs them.
4 years ago
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Thanks, Harmony, and Merry Christmas! (It is coming!)
Merry Christmas to all!
Merry Christmas to all! Hi Marie,
4 years ago
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How delightful to hear about the girl!
And how sad, at the same time, to hear of the tough situation her mother faces. Cancer is such a bear. It's just so tough... am so sorry to hear that. Am putting her in my best thoughts, prayers, and healing circle.
4 years ago
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This girl is really special. We spent a very comfortable 3 days with her even though we had only just met her in person.
She has gone home now to her mother, who has just been diagnosed with cancer! She is so close to her mother, this is a very difficult time for her, I'm sure! Her mom has a tumor on her thyroid that is cancerous, plus one on her lungs, and one other. They can't get to the lung tumor to test it for cancer, and they do not yet know if it is in her lymph glands. So this is pretty scarey for them right now!
This post was modified from its original form on 20 Dec, 15:02
She has gone home now to her mother, who has just been diagnosed with cancer! She is so close to her mother, this is a very difficult time for her, I'm sure! Her mom has a tumor on her thyroid that is cancerous, plus one on her lungs, and one other. They can't get to the lung tumor to test it for cancer, and they do not yet know if it is in her lymph glands. So this is pretty scarey for them right now!
This post was modified from its original form on 20 Dec, 15:02
Marie!
4 years ago
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I don't know what to say! I am so moved! You and your family are simply amazing. That's all there is to it. Well, there's a whole lot more.. but I hope you know I'm just trying to say thank you in my tongue-tied, foot in the mouth, surprised as all get out way!
WOW! and thank you!! My goodness.
and thank you!! My goodness.
4 years ago
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Harmony
I know this seems too good to be true
But Christmas is coming to YOU
In the mail it may be a bit late
But I think it is worth the wait.
with love,
Marie
This post was modified from its original form on 18 Dec, 18:58
I know this seems too good to be true
But Christmas is coming to YOU
In the mail it may be a bit late
But I think it is worth the wait.
with love,
Marie
This post was modified from its original form on 18 Dec, 18:58
4 years ago
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Hello, Marie!
"Is this too good to be true? Where do you find a girl like that these days???"
There are lots of compassionate, wonderful people. We find them in a great many ways, such as by volunteering or participating in activism (where we meet others who share our values). Quite often, we meet them on the internet, where we talk, heart to heart, mind to mind, and perhaps even soul to soul, without the immediate distraction of trivial details of appearance.
I'm not at all surprised that your son and this girl have been talking so long and so often. She'll have her faults, of course, some of which may only become apparent after sharing physical space with her for a little while. We're all human.
But hey, smile! You raised a kid who's bright enough to get to know the person in whom he's interested, not just the cosmetics or dance moves. How did he find--and attract--such a treasure? That one's easy: Somebody must have raised him right!
Ms. C.
Hi Marie!
4 years ago
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And thank YOU so much!
What a treat to be able to finally meet this online friend of your sons. She sounds like a real sweetheart. May it be a wonderful and enjoyable visit for you all!
(((( big hug )))))
What a treat to be able to finally meet this online friend of your sons. She sounds like a real sweetheart. May it be a wonderful and enjoyable visit for you all!
(((( big hug )))))
4 years ago
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Harmony, thank you for your kind words here. I am very touched by what you said. And, yes, what a relief to know that houses are not selling right now and that they have to sell the house to put us out. The market is really dead here, and there are tens of thousands of brand new units that are a better risk for anyone who would buy in this area.
Right now we are doing last minute preparations for a special guest who will be staying for a few days, a girl in college, whom my son in his twenties has been writing to for 3 years. She is not officially a girl friend- but they have been instant messaging each other many times a day, every day, for quite a long time, many months if not the past whole year.
So.... we are eager to meet this young lady. She is studying to become a nurse and has a heart of compassion. She cares for the sick and elderly at a nursing home as her part time job, and loves to serve. She says she is eager to help me manage my diabetes (being in a wheelchair is no big deal compared with diabetes! But you must know all about the miseries of diabetes.) She has been telling my son over and over, "Be sure and leave some cleaning for me to do." Is this too good to be true? Where do you find a girl like that these days???
Right now we are doing last minute preparations for a special guest who will be staying for a few days, a girl in college, whom my son in his twenties has been writing to for 3 years. She is not officially a girl friend- but they have been instant messaging each other many times a day, every day, for quite a long time, many months if not the past whole year.
So.... we are eager to meet this young lady. She is studying to become a nurse and has a heart of compassion. She cares for the sick and elderly at a nursing home as her part time job, and loves to serve. She says she is eager to help me manage my diabetes (being in a wheelchair is no big deal compared with diabetes! But you must know all about the miseries of diabetes.) She has been telling my son over and over, "Be sure and leave some cleaning for me to do." Is this too good to be true? Where do you find a girl like that these days???
Marie, that info brings me some relief about your situation
4 years ago
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I am very thankful that it is so hard to get houses sold in your area!!
And I am hoping that this period of lousy selling can somehow be a breather during which the mortgage can be caught up with.
Pain and anxiety and stress can be so overwhelming. The combination can take away so much.. I just want to let you and your daughter know how lovable a family you are. And how very precious.. and worth protecting and defending.
4 years ago
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Kelli, I appreciate your post so much. I don't really know what to say back, but just want you to know that it means a lot to me that you care and to read about your experiences and know that at least some churches do help people get back on their feet again.
I have had bronchitis and know what that is like. I had it earlier this year, part of not having a car. I had it for about two months. We have a Walmart in bicycling distance but I can't go there. I can't bicycle as I am disabled and my power chair doesn't go that far. It's about 7 miles each way, 14 miles round trip, so my husband and kids don't go there often either.
We do have a Winco two miles away, which is very helpful for groceries as it is cheap. We get most of our groceries from the church that gives out food boxes, but we also supplement with things we need from Winco and from a small Mexican market that sells safe but seconds food (what grocery stores couldn't sell).
I learned something yesterday that was of some comfort to me. My kids did some research (they're the ones who are good at surfing the net, not me) and they found out that the lender can't first kick us out, then sell. To get us out they have to first sell the house. In a normal market, that wouldn't help any. But where we live, houses are not selling.
My daughter read an article by a journalist assigned to cover mortgage auctions for several days in a row, and he reported that with 250 different foreclosed properties being auctioned per day, not one sold. We have some further hope in that we live next to a large Mexican neighborhood, and on a dirt road, with run down properties close by. That should help.
I have had bronchitis and know what that is like. I had it earlier this year, part of not having a car. I had it for about two months. We have a Walmart in bicycling distance but I can't go there. I can't bicycle as I am disabled and my power chair doesn't go that far. It's about 7 miles each way, 14 miles round trip, so my husband and kids don't go there often either.
We do have a Winco two miles away, which is very helpful for groceries as it is cheap. We get most of our groceries from the church that gives out food boxes, but we also supplement with things we need from Winco and from a small Mexican market that sells safe but seconds food (what grocery stores couldn't sell).
I learned something yesterday that was of some comfort to me. My kids did some research (they're the ones who are good at surfing the net, not me) and they found out that the lender can't first kick us out, then sell. To get us out they have to first sell the house. In a normal market, that wouldn't help any. But where we live, houses are not selling.
My daughter read an article by a journalist assigned to cover mortgage auctions for several days in a row, and he reported that with 250 different foreclosed properties being auctioned per day, not one sold. We have some further hope in that we live next to a large Mexican neighborhood, and on a dirt road, with run down properties close by. That should help.
4 years ago
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Marie, I believe that these blessings are signs that God is there for you. This poem comforts me when thing are tough, I hope it does the same for you, you see I was homeless for 6 months, April through September. We've been living in this apartment sense October. It was hard but it happened for a reason.
Footprints in the Sand
by Mary Stevenson
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied:
"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
In the small town that we lived we couldn't find a job so we were evicted, we had no car, our car was towed away because I couldn't afford to get it smogged, the registration was paid for but I couldn't get the tags without the car passing smog. We were given a tent so we pitched it in an orange orchard, we lived there for 2 weeks. The owner of the orchard found us a shelter to stay in.
The shelter was a Christan shelter, they helped us so much, I'll aways be grateful for the help the owner of the orange orchard and the pastors at shelter.
With my son working for the owner of the orchard before we moved into the shelter and withthe help of one of the pastors, I started work a few months after we moved into the shelter. They helped us to save enough money to get a cell phone, a van and money to rent this apartment.
When we were living in the tent I prayed to God to take my life, it was so hard, I wasn't able to bath for 2 weeks, my sons would take a dip in the canal, having broncides I couldn't climb the embankment to go into the water. We survived 2 storms, which I though the tent would fly away with us in it. We slept in a wet tent for a few days. I'm so grateful that it's over. And the feeling of not having any self worth gone.
It might help if you start a petition for Home Owners in your area. If you decide to I'll help in anyway I can.
Do you have a WalMart in your area within riding distance?
HUGS ~Kelli
4 years ago
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Thank you so much Kelli, for your prayer and advice. We have been getting a large box of food every month since the late spring from a church that is closeby. In the past I have found churches (in Orange County where we used to live) unhelpful. So this was a surprise.
They apparently have worked something out with local farmers and business to collect up any leftovers that did not sell. This does not mean bad food. The food is good and varied. We just never know what we will get. This is the only way we've eaten for most of the year. My husband goes there and back by bicycle. Sometimes someone there drives him home with his food box. There is also a local store that sells some items very cheap, probably from similar sources.
We are not the only people in the area who bicycle because they don't have a car. I found out that another bicycle accident happened across town the very same day as my son's accident. That woman ended up in serious condition. She went flying and landed badly.
I keep thinking about how my son flipped over onto his feet as he flew over the car that hit him. Usually one lands on one's back or head and gets seriously injured. The other really strange thing is that his money, some coins which were all we had left, flew out of his pocket while he was airborn and all landed inside his boot!!! He counted them and not one was missing.
Then my other son walked to the scene to get the bicycle and bring it home in the darkness, and someone took him to be homeless and gave him $20. At that moment we had no money at all except Dove's coins, so he accepted and that gave us a little more money for our needs.
I am hoping these events are a sign of luck, Providence, a good omen, or even God being with us, or some good sign of hope that we will by some miracle still be able to keep our house.
Everyone Dove met at the waiting room as he asked for a ride home the night of the accident was also at some point in the process of losing their homes. The strange thing is, houses in this valley are NOT SELLING.
The lenders are taking homes away from families and putting them on auction and they are not selling- but meanwhile the families become homeless. It is so senseless! My daughter read in the news about a journalist who was sent to attend those auctions in this valley. 250 homes a day were put up for auction (which gives buyers a bargain) and NOT ONE SOLD.
Since none of the homes are selling, why don't they leave all these families, including us, alone?????? We already chose these homes, us and those other families. When will they realize that it would be better to work with us than try to auction when homes AREN'T SELLING in this area????
This post was modified from its original form on 12 Dec, 12:33
They apparently have worked something out with local farmers and business to collect up any leftovers that did not sell. This does not mean bad food. The food is good and varied. We just never know what we will get. This is the only way we've eaten for most of the year. My husband goes there and back by bicycle. Sometimes someone there drives him home with his food box. There is also a local store that sells some items very cheap, probably from similar sources.
We are not the only people in the area who bicycle because they don't have a car. I found out that another bicycle accident happened across town the very same day as my son's accident. That woman ended up in serious condition. She went flying and landed badly.
I keep thinking about how my son flipped over onto his feet as he flew over the car that hit him. Usually one lands on one's back or head and gets seriously injured. The other really strange thing is that his money, some coins which were all we had left, flew out of his pocket while he was airborn and all landed inside his boot!!! He counted them and not one was missing.
Then my other son walked to the scene to get the bicycle and bring it home in the darkness, and someone took him to be homeless and gave him $20. At that moment we had no money at all except Dove's coins, so he accepted and that gave us a little more money for our needs.
I am hoping these events are a sign of luck, Providence, a good omen, or even God being with us, or some good sign of hope that we will by some miracle still be able to keep our house.
Everyone Dove met at the waiting room as he asked for a ride home the night of the accident was also at some point in the process of losing their homes. The strange thing is, houses in this valley are NOT SELLING.
The lenders are taking homes away from families and putting them on auction and they are not selling- but meanwhile the families become homeless. It is so senseless! My daughter read in the news about a journalist who was sent to attend those auctions in this valley. 250 homes a day were put up for auction (which gives buyers a bargain) and NOT ONE SOLD.
Since none of the homes are selling, why don't they leave all these families, including us, alone?????? We already chose these homes, us and those other families. When will they realize that it would be better to work with us than try to auction when homes AREN'T SELLING in this area????
This post was modified from its original form on 12 Dec, 12:33
4 years ago
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Hello Marie,
I care also. I am so sorry that you are having a rough time right now. This might help... check with churches about what you need..sometimes they can provide food and transportation to and from appointments. Also food banks can help with groceries if there's one in your area. You and your family are in my prayers. I am so glad your son is ok. Here is a healing prayer, I hope it helps:
BIG HUG
4 years ago
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My son is back from the hospital and is okay. The car was going 45 miles per hour when it hit him on the back wheel, made the bike go fast, and then it hit on the side and he flew over the top of the car.
It could have been very bad, but he somehow managed to do a flip and land on his feet. He says he deliberately did that. I think it's pretty amazing to be able to do that, to even think when you are being hit by a car and flying over the top of it!
He landed on asphalt but managed to only be bruised and have abrasions and maybe a pulled muscle or sprain- no broken bones, but his hip still hurts. They did check for any break and found none. The pain is a much lower level than a break would cause and he is walking. That's a big relief.
I knew that sooner or later someone in the family would get hit, bicycling to stores all the time. It is a lot safer for them to go to Winco, the close store, but we don't yet have a closeby pharmacy, which is what he was going to. He took a road my other kids won't go on because they don't deem it safe, so they usually take a longer route to be safer.
As for the house, the amount we owe to get out of foreclosure is the same amount my son's client owes him and we are still hoping and praying that he will pay it. He doesn't have the money, and has to get it from investors whom he has not yet sold on his product.
I think their mistake is leaving my son out of their meetings with the prospective investors, who are interested in the product but still have some concerns. Each time they have a meeting without my son, the investors have questions the others on the team can't answer. They then explain it to my son, and he has the answers, but it's too late.
They set another meeting without my son, and the investors again have questions the others can't answer, and again the investors delay and the deal is again postponed, but my son again has the answers.
The reason the guy is leaving my son out of the meetings is that he is only 21, and lives on the opposite coast. But since my son is the one who has the answers, they need to include him in the meeting. He is insisting on this and finally has talked them into including him, but I don't know if things will happen in time to save the house.
(My son is received Microsoft's Most Valuable Professional Award this year, so they should respect him more despite how young he is.) Our only other hope is in a bankruptcy law that says you can't take the house of a disabled person. I don't know if that law is still in force, if it applies to this situation, and what kind of proof I have to have.
I am not an amputee or paralyzed. I am cripped by severe chronic pain, and one lawyer told me you can't get disability for pain, that he has argued hundreds of cases and can never win them. The problem is that doctor's can't measure pain. You know what your limits are, but they can't measure it so you can't prove it.
I have also been told, don't go in to the Disability appointment unless your disability is obvious like an amputation. But they say if you don't go in your case is closed. I don't know how to get hold of a disability lawyer to be told how to proceed. I also have no car to go anywhere or do anything. And I can't rent a regular vehicle, it has to hold my wheelchair, which means an SUV, and a higher expense.
The whole thing is way over my head and makes me want to scream.
It could have been very bad, but he somehow managed to do a flip and land on his feet. He says he deliberately did that. I think it's pretty amazing to be able to do that, to even think when you are being hit by a car and flying over the top of it!
He landed on asphalt but managed to only be bruised and have abrasions and maybe a pulled muscle or sprain- no broken bones, but his hip still hurts. They did check for any break and found none. The pain is a much lower level than a break would cause and he is walking. That's a big relief.
I knew that sooner or later someone in the family would get hit, bicycling to stores all the time. It is a lot safer for them to go to Winco, the close store, but we don't yet have a closeby pharmacy, which is what he was going to. He took a road my other kids won't go on because they don't deem it safe, so they usually take a longer route to be safer.
As for the house, the amount we owe to get out of foreclosure is the same amount my son's client owes him and we are still hoping and praying that he will pay it. He doesn't have the money, and has to get it from investors whom he has not yet sold on his product.
I think their mistake is leaving my son out of their meetings with the prospective investors, who are interested in the product but still have some concerns. Each time they have a meeting without my son, the investors have questions the others on the team can't answer. They then explain it to my son, and he has the answers, but it's too late.
They set another meeting without my son, and the investors again have questions the others can't answer, and again the investors delay and the deal is again postponed, but my son again has the answers.
The reason the guy is leaving my son out of the meetings is that he is only 21, and lives on the opposite coast. But since my son is the one who has the answers, they need to include him in the meeting. He is insisting on this and finally has talked them into including him, but I don't know if things will happen in time to save the house.
(My son is received Microsoft's Most Valuable Professional Award this year, so they should respect him more despite how young he is.) Our only other hope is in a bankruptcy law that says you can't take the house of a disabled person. I don't know if that law is still in force, if it applies to this situation, and what kind of proof I have to have.
I am not an amputee or paralyzed. I am cripped by severe chronic pain, and one lawyer told me you can't get disability for pain, that he has argued hundreds of cases and can never win them. The problem is that doctor's can't measure pain. You know what your limits are, but they can't measure it so you can't prove it.
I have also been told, don't go in to the Disability appointment unless your disability is obvious like an amputation. But they say if you don't go in your case is closed. I don't know how to get hold of a disability lawyer to be told how to proceed. I also have no car to go anywhere or do anything. And I can't rent a regular vehicle, it has to hold my wheelchair, which means an SUV, and a higher expense.
The whole thing is way over my head and makes me want to scream.
Marie,
4 years ago
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I have to say it seems absolutely unfair what's been happening to you and your lovely family! We care in here.. I care..
I read your post in the other thread about your home being foreclosed, and my heart just sank. Some people gathered some information which may be of help.
My prayers for you and your son!! My goodness, I hope both of you will be alright.
4 years ago
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Marie
4 years ago
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I don't know if anyone here cares, but I had a very bad day today. My diabetes went haywire, almost to emergency level. I took more insulin and it went up and down, more up than down. I felt quite paralyzed.
We ran out of money for grcoeries and were down to the last dollar for my nightpills. My son's client was to send us his payched by Western Union but he mistyped his password and they banned him from sending anything.
I sent my other son out on his bicycle (we don't have a car) to the pharmacy to spend our last dollar on my sleep pill, just one pill. Without it I don't sleep at all. My husband could have gone on the bicycle himself, but my blood sugar levels were so crazy, I was scared to let him leave me.
Well, if today wasn't bad enough, and with the very real possiblity that we could lose our house to foreclosure, with the sell date taking our house from us to be set early next month (right after Christmas) on top of all of this stress, my son hit a car on his bicycle and is in the hospital.
I am thankful that he is not dead, not even badly hurt, just sore all over. We won't know how he is until tomorow and don't know how we will get him from the hospital as we have no car. But I am going through so much right now! I think I'm going to go crazy. This is not a world where very many people care what happens to you.
We ran out of money for grcoeries and were down to the last dollar for my nightpills. My son's client was to send us his payched by Western Union but he mistyped his password and they banned him from sending anything.
I sent my other son out on his bicycle (we don't have a car) to the pharmacy to spend our last dollar on my sleep pill, just one pill. Without it I don't sleep at all. My husband could have gone on the bicycle himself, but my blood sugar levels were so crazy, I was scared to let him leave me.
Well, if today wasn't bad enough, and with the very real possiblity that we could lose our house to foreclosure, with the sell date taking our house from us to be set early next month (right after Christmas) on top of all of this stress, my son hit a car on his bicycle and is in the hospital.
I am thankful that he is not dead, not even badly hurt, just sore all over. We won't know how he is until tomorow and don't know how we will get him from the hospital as we have no car. But I am going through so much right now! I think I'm going to go crazy. This is not a world where very many people care what happens to you.
4 years ago
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that's funny Harmony..I see a pattern there...my father who grew up in sweden told me the same..he thought that people used to live so far away from each other in the rural area that announcement by phone was not possible..perhaps this laps over into today.. here In Germany people often just come by, ring the bell and stand on your doorsteps smiling...it is a cultural difference...
I promise if I ever show up at your door step I call before..
Ms C
4 years ago
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Survivor guilt, I can relate to that..
am glad you have three week's notice, though! Somehow, here in Norway, no one ever calls in advance!! They just always show up on the doorstep! Never ask if you need to take a shower first and wash your hair, or vacuum the rug.. no, they just show up..
Sure, Harmony, I'll join in
4 years ago
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What's going on with everyone else?
Here ... I think I've a bit of survivor guilt.
Stress from active teens' schedules: My daughter had a rehearsal for one choral group this morning. After getting her there, I had about a half hour at home before it was time to run my son into town for a swim meet. I'm hoping the meet ends at a time that will allow me to combine picking him up this afternoon with getting my daughter to her musical theater rehearsal ("Into The Woods" this season), but can't count on it.
Stress from holiday plans: My mother's coming to visit in three weeks, and my house is NOT ready for company. (Yep, that's my tea mug from this morning on my computer desk, not put away yet.)
Stress from vacation plans: My partner's worked a host of overtime shifts this year, all because she's determined to get us to Disney World in January. We're going, no doubt; the room and the plane tickets are already bought, and the dog has a reservation at a local kennel. The problem is, right now there's not enough money in the vacation fund left to buy park admissions and food. She doesn't want to hear me worry about whether we'll have enough for that, and swears we will ... even less wants me to suggest maybe we shouldn't have paid for the trip at all this year, when she worked extra shifts outside the regular budget and dedicated that income to nothing but getting us to Disney. But I can't help it. I worry.
More than all of that, though, is that any stress or worry from any of those things is flooded away as soon as they get my attention, by what's really no more than survivor guilt. How many of my neighbors would dearly love to have these worries? How many kids don't have opportunities to explore their talents and develop interests in music or athletics? How many mothers can't come visit at all, deeply as they're wanted, because they're not alive, because they're not financially able, because their health won't permit it? How many families have never gone on vacation and would love to have the guaranteed room and flights to Florida without the park tickets or dining plan? In fact, where do I get off worrying at all when, for a whole week, our perfectly good house will stand empty while we rent a room elsewhere, and within a small radius of our home someone else will spend that week in January without shelter at all?
It's really not that I've always had these things. Part of the reason my partner is so determined that we'll have a vacation every year for at least the next few years is that we never had one before about two years ago. We've been homeless. We've been hungry. We've had utilities shut off and cars sitting unusable for lack of funds to fix them. We've had the accompanying horror stories that are shared by all too many of us here and elsewhere, and that continue to be lived by people all around us.
If that weren't the case, in fact, then maybe I'd feel entitled to things like lessons for my kids, visits from family, and vacation plans. Maybe I wouldn't feel so very guilty for worrying about such privileges.
But I do.
So there's what's going on in my mind this morning.
Ms. C.
for all you usual "lurkers" out there, lol
4 years ago
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This is the thread where you don't have to know anything official about homelessness- just pitch in and talk about stuff. This is where we come for a coffee break, sit back, and share what's going on.
It's taken me a relatively long time as a homeless activist to acknowledge how much I need to take a breather every so often to avoid burn out. Enjoy a joke with a friend or neighbor- read a good book, learn something new, do some knitting or crocheting.
So with that, it's back to you all.. lol..
4 years ago
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Mark, i do think this is indeed about people of color. No one is saying or doing these things with immigrants from Europe, Russia, Scandinavia, Australia, etc. They wouldn't get away with it so easily!
Few people heard about what Immigration did to thousands of Arab/Muslim/Middle Eastern immigrants the year following 9-11. They called them all in for appointments on one day, and the line of people stretched around the block. When each had their turn, they were told that they did not have any documents and were therefore under arrest.
Most of the immigrants DID have legal documents, which they had handed over to Immigration earlier, but Immigration insisted that they did not exist. These men were locked up without food and water for 3 or 4 days, and so crowded in that some had to sleep under the toilets. Others were stripped, hosed down, and made to sleep on cold floors.
They were deported en masse on FAther's Day, of all the days in the year to rob families of their fathers!!!!! It turns out that the reason their documents were missing is that Immigration had SHREDDED 90,000 DOCUMENTS SUCH AS BIRTH CERTIFICATES, PASSPORTS, MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES, AND IMMIGRATION STATUS DOCUMENTS!!!!
Immigration's excuse was that, get this, THEY WERE BEHIND ON PAPERWORK!!!!! They got away with this because the American public wanted blood to pay for 9-11- and they didn't care whose blood it was. I shudder to think what will happen to tens of thousands more immmigrants if they pull this stunt again- and again! Actually, Immigration's stated goal is 12 million immigrants detained by 2012. That's more than 2 million per year!
Few people heard about what Immigration did to thousands of Arab/Muslim/Middle Eastern immigrants the year following 9-11. They called them all in for appointments on one day, and the line of people stretched around the block. When each had their turn, they were told that they did not have any documents and were therefore under arrest.
Most of the immigrants DID have legal documents, which they had handed over to Immigration earlier, but Immigration insisted that they did not exist. These men were locked up without food and water for 3 or 4 days, and so crowded in that some had to sleep under the toilets. Others were stripped, hosed down, and made to sleep on cold floors.
They were deported en masse on FAther's Day, of all the days in the year to rob families of their fathers!!!!! It turns out that the reason their documents were missing is that Immigration had SHREDDED 90,000 DOCUMENTS SUCH AS BIRTH CERTIFICATES, PASSPORTS, MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES, AND IMMIGRATION STATUS DOCUMENTS!!!!
Immigration's excuse was that, get this, THEY WERE BEHIND ON PAPERWORK!!!!! They got away with this because the American public wanted blood to pay for 9-11- and they didn't care whose blood it was. I shudder to think what will happen to tens of thousands more immmigrants if they pull this stunt again- and again! Actually, Immigration's stated goal is 12 million immigrants detained by 2012. That's more than 2 million per year!
4 years ago
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Harmony, yes, they do it to LEGAL immigrants as well as illegal- in fact most raids are about half-half. This is their big dark secret, which pro-immigration groups know very well but the rest of society does not seem to realize EVEN the immigrants themselves, those who have not yet been raided.
They call them "collateral arrests." They will go out with a warrant for one or two people's arrest for violations, then round up all kinds of people for the color of their skin, legal or not, often missing the only people on the warrants. It is actually illegal for them to pick up anyone whose name is not on the warrant- but they do it anyway, all the time.
The truth is, they are detaining over 1,000 immigrants per day across the US and in many cases no one knows where they are or when if ever they will be released. In fact, Immigrations goal is 2 million per year. It is really beyond me what they think they will accomplish by this besides a lot of human suffering!
The whole thing is just outrageous, yet all you hear on the news is the racist propaganda. Harmony, I know how you hate the stereotyping of the homeless. Well this is the same thing- they stereotype immigrants as lazy and shiftless criminals, and at the same time wanting to take over all our jobs. We are told they are "FLOODING across the border" and that they have said right out they plan to take over America and make it a different country.
The reality is, these are hard working people (I thought America valued hard work and rewarded it) whose families were starving, literally, and all they want is to work hard, and I mean really hard, so their children can eat and have a better life. That's all. I know a lot of immigrants and they all say the same thing- "we're just here to work and feed our children."
There are so many Nazi overtones in what is being done every day now- vehicles pulling up in the dead of night and people herded into trucks and driven away, never to be seen again. Remember, Hitler started with a campaign against terrorism and illegal immigrants and began simply deporting them to their own countries- after that, we all know what came next.
They call them "collateral arrests." They will go out with a warrant for one or two people's arrest for violations, then round up all kinds of people for the color of their skin, legal or not, often missing the only people on the warrants. It is actually illegal for them to pick up anyone whose name is not on the warrant- but they do it anyway, all the time.
The truth is, they are detaining over 1,000 immigrants per day across the US and in many cases no one knows where they are or when if ever they will be released. In fact, Immigrations goal is 2 million per year. It is really beyond me what they think they will accomplish by this besides a lot of human suffering!
The whole thing is just outrageous, yet all you hear on the news is the racist propaganda. Harmony, I know how you hate the stereotyping of the homeless. Well this is the same thing- they stereotype immigrants as lazy and shiftless criminals, and at the same time wanting to take over all our jobs. We are told they are "FLOODING across the border" and that they have said right out they plan to take over America and make it a different country.
The reality is, these are hard working people (I thought America valued hard work and rewarded it) whose families were starving, literally, and all they want is to work hard, and I mean really hard, so their children can eat and have a better life. That's all. I know a lot of immigrants and they all say the same thing- "we're just here to work and feed our children."
There are so many Nazi overtones in what is being done every day now- vehicles pulling up in the dead of night and people herded into trucks and driven away, never to be seen again. Remember, Hitler started with a campaign against terrorism and illegal immigrants and began simply deporting them to their own countries- after that, we all know what came next.
4 years ago
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Betina, yes, we will take photos if we can. Publicity helps, sometimes even aborts a raid. Only thing is, they often raid early in the morning- but this time we think they are planning raids to coincide with Thanksgiving when everyone is at family's and distracted by sports and Thanksgiving dinner. Sigh! How long ago were they raiding Latinos/ Hispanics in New York?
Fascism in the U.S.
4 years ago
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Only some whites don't know it is already here. People of color have known for a long time.
Marie
4 years ago
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That is insanely, terribly, awfully inhuman!!
There is no way that they should be able to do that- and yet I know that indeed it does. Makes me wish there was an underground railroad for immigrants. And they do this also to LEGAL immigrants???
Mind you, I'm NOT saying it's cool to treat anyone in the way that you've related.
Abysmal.
shaking my head, here.. in outrage. Where do we march? What petition do we sign? How may we begin to address this?
4 years ago
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Marie that is horrible..it sounds like a movie but I have to believe it is true. I used to work with a help organisation in New York in a hispanic neigbourhood . There was lot's of talks about raids...I am so sorry you have to witness this, so sorry for the people..can you take some pictures so it can be brought to the public ? 
4 years ago
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Yes, Harmony, something more exciting is happening in our neck of the woods (my daughter and I). The police ICE (immigration police) are raiding in nearby Perris, rounding up illegal AND LEGAL immigrants in sudden moves in different places. That's where we sometimes shop (my kids on bicycles).
What the immigration police and other authorities frequently do is outragrous. Often the detainees go 24 hours without food or water, then are given rotten food and just one small water bottle. Ditto for toilet breaks. Young children are left at home never knowing when or IF they will ever see their mom or dad again. (Detention can be indefinite.) Nursing mothers are denied access to their babies, and sometimes have to express milk in front of a whole bunch of prison guards to prove they are nursing mothers.
The immigrants rights are violated all over the place, and no one knows when or where the immigration police will strike, only that they round up and detain at least 1,000 per day, focus mainly on southern California, usually deny basic human rights, and often strike in the early morning, 4 a.m. or so in homes or as soon as the workers get in at workplaces.
So we are not happy to hear that 8 white vans were spotted parked along a road in our little tiny town with the head van labeled Homeland Security (the head of the whole Nazi like raid apparatus) and the others looking just like paddywagons- blacked-out windows, high vents, identical license plates with no number, etc.
It has me shaking to know that our neighbors and friends' families may soon be torn apart and submitted to the terror and anguish of not knowing when or if they will ever see each other again. It gets very painful when they are people you know and love! Soooo- you want excitement, here's excitement for you! (Ugh!)
This post was modified from its original form on 21 Nov, 9:16
What the immigration police and other authorities frequently do is outragrous. Often the detainees go 24 hours without food or water, then are given rotten food and just one small water bottle. Ditto for toilet breaks. Young children are left at home never knowing when or IF they will ever see their mom or dad again. (Detention can be indefinite.) Nursing mothers are denied access to their babies, and sometimes have to express milk in front of a whole bunch of prison guards to prove they are nursing mothers.
The immigrants rights are violated all over the place, and no one knows when or where the immigration police will strike, only that they round up and detain at least 1,000 per day, focus mainly on southern California, usually deny basic human rights, and often strike in the early morning, 4 a.m. or so in homes or as soon as the workers get in at workplaces.
So we are not happy to hear that 8 white vans were spotted parked along a road in our little tiny town with the head van labeled Homeland Security (the head of the whole Nazi like raid apparatus) and the others looking just like paddywagons- blacked-out windows, high vents, identical license plates with no number, etc.
It has me shaking to know that our neighbors and friends' families may soon be torn apart and submitted to the terror and anguish of not knowing when or if they will ever see each other again. It gets very painful when they are people you know and love! Soooo- you want excitement, here's excitement for you! (Ugh!)
This post was modified from its original form on 21 Nov, 9:16
Back from school
4 years ago
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And my ex husband is sitting in our living room and looking at the neighbor's laptop as I write this.
The familiar sound of Windows doing something is in the air (I use Firefox)- all I know is that if he succeeds, my internet bill will go from 400 kr a month to about 150.
In the meantime, on other fronts, all my mail has been going to my ex husband's new address. This is not very exciting in a good way to me. This tends to raise my blood pressure. So both he and I have spoken to The Vast Machine about 4 times trying to get my mail changed back to the way it should be, to no avail.
Will I ever get a letter again that comes to where I live? We shall see. Stay tuned.
Or else tell me something more exciting that's going on in your neck of the woods.
Mark and Betina, thanks for your good wishes and (erm) prayers- all appreciated!
4 years ago
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Harmony will send the search party out if you are not back by evening...
I second what Mark wrote in the post before.
Being as I'm an atheist....
4 years ago
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....I wouldn't usually do this, but....
If there are any higher powers out there, PLEASE don't let Harmony's hubby screw up!
Morning- and I have to leave for Norwegian class
4 years ago
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It's rushing out the door time!
Then, when I get back around 1 PM, my ex husband is going to come over and try to get our upstairs neighbors connected to our internet. He's tried twice already with no luck, so this will be interesting.
I get nervous- because I have an internet phone- and 99% of my friends and life is online. I hope he doesn't screw this up!
Hi Betina!
4 years ago
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I don't need a bike-
I was responding to something Marie said- that her kids have biked 14 miles (round trip) to get groceries, and that they've worn out a couple of backpacks doing it. So I was wondering if a pannier or basket in the back would work in her situation..
All of which costs money..
I know that I've gotten a lot of use out of my bike basket which I bought, and hung on the front of my rollator- it's sort of become my mini-car on foot, LOL.
may everyone have a warm kitchen out there
4 years ago
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it warms my heart to see that the kitchen table thread here is doing well..
the kitchen is always the first place to see where ever I go to. A good strong kitchen table a couple of cups and a steaming pot of tea or coffe is wonderful and makes you feel home wherever you are.The place to come for a cup and to be loved for who you are.
I think the kitchen -the place around the fire is the birthplace of many creative thoughts.
Ms C. I just think that is a fantastic idea to sit in a cardbox for 24 hours to make you feel how it is to be homeless..24 hours really?
I wish that politicians had to do this once a month so they do not forget to be humble and thoughful and keep the important issues close to their hearts before they walk back to the tax payers mercedes and drive off to the villas on the good side of town???.
Harmony a bike..you need a bike? What kind of bike?
4 years ago
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Harmony, I understand how angry you must feel regarding your X. How painful to be in your situation, with the language barrier hemming you in from all over and him knowing Norwegian and being so unhelpful!
Languages are so hard to learn! Especially as we grow older. I am so jealous of my daughter, Rose, and how easily she picks up on Spanish, while I go over and over the lessons and pick them up so slowly.
At least I don't have to know Spanish just to live and pay the bills! But I do so wish I could speak and understand it a little better with Rose's Spanish speaking friends, who are also my friends, except the language barrier makes things so awckward at times!
With the bicycle, the backpacks my boys are wearing out are triple sewn with industrial weight thread, reinforced all over the place, made of tough material- the boys just stuff them too full. But I understand why, because they come out with X number of groceries and then have to figure out how to get them home.
Nothing home-made will hold up, and they can't carry things in front because they say it messes up their steering and veers them into things. What they need is a specific wooden carrier for the BACK of the bike, which they have had their eye on for some time. All I can do is hope and pray that we can get one for them at least by this Christmas. But the past two Christmases have not been good, so we'll see.
Recently they've taken to going in twos to get the groceries home. Really, it's just so good to have all these groceries. We feel like we're in Heaven with the variety of foods we've been able to get recently, between Winco, the little past-due-date Mexican store, where the food is still good, and a food pantry my husband goes to on Thursdays.
All the time I keep wondering, what are all those other people doing with homes in or near foreclosure? We're not seeing any stories in the news about individual families, yet we read that tens of thousands of Americans are losing their homes to foreclosure. Why the blackout on individual stories? If you find any, please post them because I am wondering what everyone else is doing.
I know that Americans are so attached to their lifestyles, I mean the middle class (which is sinking all the time.) Are other families taking the drastic measures that we are taking to save their homes? Or are they hanging on to a middle class lifestyle and just letting their homes go?
The reason I'm wondering is that we've had to back off from some middle class friendships because these friends think it so unthinkable to hang clothes on a clothesline to dry, go without a car, live without gas, make our own clothes and Christmas gifts, etc.
In fact, these particular friends think it's starvation to not eat out every week. We've coped before now by buying grains in bulk (beans, rice, cornmeal, flour), getting yogurts at the Mexican corner store (for 12 cents each- Yoplait, untampered) and growing our own green beans, Swiss chard and tomatoes. This is better nutrition than one generally gets by eating out.
In fact, eating out more often than once every month or two is an experience I've never had, and even that was our best year out of the last 25 years of marriage. I get so tired of being lectured by middle class people with Utopian ideals. To just have a house is so fortunate these days, and to have grains, yogurt and vegetables is decent nutrition.
Why can't these people look around at the housing market, the homeless statistics, etc. and rejoice with us that we are holding on, that we are making it? It's an economic Hurricane out there and we are hanging on for dear life, but we ARE hanging on.
Languages are so hard to learn! Especially as we grow older. I am so jealous of my daughter, Rose, and how easily she picks up on Spanish, while I go over and over the lessons and pick them up so slowly.
At least I don't have to know Spanish just to live and pay the bills! But I do so wish I could speak and understand it a little better with Rose's Spanish speaking friends, who are also my friends, except the language barrier makes things so awckward at times!
With the bicycle, the backpacks my boys are wearing out are triple sewn with industrial weight thread, reinforced all over the place, made of tough material- the boys just stuff them too full. But I understand why, because they come out with X number of groceries and then have to figure out how to get them home.
Nothing home-made will hold up, and they can't carry things in front because they say it messes up their steering and veers them into things. What they need is a specific wooden carrier for the BACK of the bike, which they have had their eye on for some time. All I can do is hope and pray that we can get one for them at least by this Christmas. But the past two Christmases have not been good, so we'll see.
Recently they've taken to going in twos to get the groceries home. Really, it's just so good to have all these groceries. We feel like we're in Heaven with the variety of foods we've been able to get recently, between Winco, the little past-due-date Mexican store, where the food is still good, and a food pantry my husband goes to on Thursdays.
All the time I keep wondering, what are all those other people doing with homes in or near foreclosure? We're not seeing any stories in the news about individual families, yet we read that tens of thousands of Americans are losing their homes to foreclosure. Why the blackout on individual stories? If you find any, please post them because I am wondering what everyone else is doing.
I know that Americans are so attached to their lifestyles, I mean the middle class (which is sinking all the time.) Are other families taking the drastic measures that we are taking to save their homes? Or are they hanging on to a middle class lifestyle and just letting their homes go?
The reason I'm wondering is that we've had to back off from some middle class friendships because these friends think it so unthinkable to hang clothes on a clothesline to dry, go without a car, live without gas, make our own clothes and Christmas gifts, etc.
In fact, these particular friends think it's starvation to not eat out every week. We've coped before now by buying grains in bulk (beans, rice, cornmeal, flour), getting yogurts at the Mexican corner store (for 12 cents each- Yoplait, untampered) and growing our own green beans, Swiss chard and tomatoes. This is better nutrition than one generally gets by eating out.
In fact, eating out more often than once every month or two is an experience I've never had, and even that was our best year out of the last 25 years of marriage. I get so tired of being lectured by middle class people with Utopian ideals. To just have a house is so fortunate these days, and to have grains, yogurt and vegetables is decent nutrition.
Why can't these people look around at the housing market, the homeless statistics, etc. and rejoice with us that we are holding on, that we are making it? It's an economic Hurricane out there and we are hanging on for dear life, but we ARE hanging on.
4 years ago
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Dixie, Welcome back! Isn't it nice to be able to talk on the internet when you've lost your voice? Hope you are well soon. Sore throats are no fun!
Earl Grey sounds good, Ms C
4 years ago
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And I like your substitution of the flower image for the hanged man.. a lot more pleasant.. now if you can only convince the website's programmers?
I like google talk.. I've been using it more and more.. and how nice to be able to help someone with their homework, too!!
RE attempt to recreate homelessness... I've always got my big doubts about something like that- I applaud the willingness, and the effort.. it's just how do you get away from the fact that these people KNOW they're going to be going home within a very short time, whereas homeless people don't know of any end in sight?
I guess I just have to cut a lot of slack, here....
Great thread idea, Harmony & Betina!
4 years ago
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I know I don' t post as often as I'd like, but thanks for this thread anyway.
Random catching-up thoughts ... it's cold, gray, and rainy here today. A local college did a homelessness awareness thing a few days ago, where college students apparently spent 2-4 hours sitting in a tarp-draped cardboard box on the sidewalk to learn about "what it's like to be homeless." I'm sure they learned something useful, and I commend those kinds of efforts overall ... but it was sunny and warmer then, and those students didn't stay long. I'm guessing they're inside, warm, dry, and fed today.
Current book on hold to get from the library: The Nine: Inside Story of the Supreme Court, by Jeffrey Toobin. Hope I get it soon.
Hangman ... fun game, and creative conversation tactic, Harmony. Loving the game concept but not the image, I taught my kids to play when they were little by drawing an empty flower stem in a flower pot instead of a hangman's noose. Six petals' worth of flower, the picture's finished, and the flower goes to seed ... but the image one of fading in preparation for rebirth, instead of execution. We still play that way, when we're stuck waiting somewhere.
Cup at my desk currently holds: The dregs of some yummy Earl Grey, with a drop of soy milk and sugar. Anyone else want some? I think I might get some more in a minute.
Current activity: Both my kids occupied with schoolwork, my partner napping, and one of my son's friends asking permission to seek my help (through GoogleTalk) with his algebra. Since I just said yes, my brief visit to Care2's going to be cut short. But it's a calm, gray day.
Activity earlier today: Checking my Freecycle posts to confirm plans for people to come get the things we've just cleaned out of the shed, checking in on work stuff and tidying up presentations for upcoming classes. Felt good about myself because I took my son to a friend's house briefly, where the mother is an awesome beautician. A half hour later, my son had a nice new haircut, and her son understood (and had completed) his math homework--a lovely, happy, cash-free even trade that left us all with smiles and hugs instead of empty pockets. That's the kind of economy I'd like to see grow.
Now ... if I put on another pot of water, would anyone else like a cup of tea?
Ms. C.
Hangman
4 years ago
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http://www.fun-with-words.com/hangman.html
There's this online game, Hangman, which I've started playing recently. There's something intriguing going on, more than just participating in the game-
you can see the top scorers. It you get a 12,11, or 10, you can sign your name and it appears on the top of the list. Boring, eh? Except that long time participants have figured out a way around a site that offers no chatting facilities- they've figured out how to win consistently AND deliver short little messages using the few letters allotted for their names.
So it's... "Harmony Hi All" and Pete hi Mimi.. and "where in Norway?" (addressed to me at one game)-so the challenge becomes having to win the next Hangman game so you can get your reply in. And every once in a while, the game will throw a phrase in Latin or French just to be cute.
Hi Dixie, good to see you!
4 years ago
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It must be the flu season, or some such- you've got a sore throat, my daughter has a sore throat, and I've been home sick from school yesterday and today.
Take care of yourself, ok?
It's cold over here- I've got my home-made furnace going in my tiny apartment- six candles burning. Of course, I don't leave them burning when I'm not there, or go to sleep with them burning.. but they do help to heat the apartment without electricity.
I've been cuddling up in bed reading Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series. I'm starting over again with "The Eye of the World", because when I got the books the first time, I got them read all out of order, which is downright confusing.
Any books you can recommend? Videos?
Well, a kitchen table!!
4 years ago
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I love Harmony so much, she is the biggest trooper I know and I mean that!!
I am amazed at the number of members in here, now!
I have not been the dedicated person I once was in here - I have left my own groups to flounder - but always read some of what is going on in the homeless world - since it is what brought me and Harmony together!!
I am getting my life back on track ... dont want to paint any pics here, I am starting to see the silver behind clouds.
Today I woke with a sore throat from hell - never in my life have I lost my voice, til now...
Oh, yea - I want topoint out the absolute fact, we dont talk or type "ordinary"!!! 
I am going to lay my UN-ordinary self down!
I love you Harmony ~ great new thread (psst, maybe you can try that in O.H.A. 
Dixie
Hi Marie, re bicycles and stuff
4 years ago
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Am thinking about bicycles, and in particular, bike baskets and/or bike carrier bags.
I have a rollator (walker on wheels) which I use. I've hung an ordinary bicycle basket on the front of it, and with this added room, I can do a week's shopping and am able to carry it back to my apartment.
I'm just sitting here wondering if there are some second hand bike baskets out there, or second hand carrier bags, which could be used? Or, failing that, if some sort of custom bag or pannier could be sewn? And yes.. I know.. often we can't afford things even second hand. Believe me, I know.
But I was just brainstorming as an alternative possibility to backpacks... considering how they've worn out, and all..
That is incredible to hear how far your loved ones have biked! I hear you about the bronchitis- it seemed as if I got it twice a year when I was living in California. NASTY STUFF. And pneumonia's even worse- I've had that three times.
Hi Marie- re frustration
4 years ago
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It's been frustration on top of frustration since he's moved out. He wants all the bills switched over in my name, which I do also- but it means my expenses are more than doubling.
He also expects me to do all the "switching"- and here's where I've been running into MORE frustration- just try to do everything in a foreign language- the bills come in a foreign language, the names for various departments (customer service, etc) are in a foreign language, the phone you call on leads to someone who speaks in a foreign language- and even when I manage to find the right phone number or the right website, I don't know what kind of services we've been having from a particular company.
When I try to call him for some practical help. the only number I have is his mobile phone. Because he new girlfriend lives in a deep valley, most mobile phone signals are shut off. So I constantly get automated messages saying "this user has shut off his mobile phone or else is not connected", all of which costs me money. So, another frustration.
It's making me feel overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, and pissed off.
And now, on top of that, when I'm expecting two important letters, I find my mail's been going to HIS new place. Right now, I can't help it, I hate him.
4 years ago
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Harmony, that's so frustrating about your mail going to your X. That's crazy!
The big thing that's going on with us right now is the new Winco that is 2 miles away from our house. We've had to hang so tight so long, and the kids (teens and twenties0 have been bicycling 7 to 14 miles each way, sometimes longer, to get groceries and medecines, as we live in a tiny country town that is not even officially a town and has only a couple of tiny stores.
I've worried about a lot of things. The kids are so willing to do this for our family, but I worry about them bicycling down a highway between towns, that has been necessary. I worry about them getting bronchitis or pneumonia bicycling hard and fast, loaded down with groceries in their backpacks when there is a cold fog. I had bronchitis for months this year. And I worry about them getting in an accident, which has much more serious consequences if you are on a bicycle.
And then there is the plain old wear and tear. They've already gone through two backpacks. They stuff them so full they rip out. And various things happen to the bikes as well. such as handle bars coming off, flat tires, a wheel going out of round (wrecked rim). They want new bikes for Christmas but I don't know if that will be possible. OUr last two Christmases were not just tight but downright scarey. We almost got everything shut off the day before Christmas! (Heartless world!)
My oldest got stuck once as he brought the wrong bike lock key. He had to sit and wait in the cold and dark until one of the other kids biked the 7 miles with the key. Then they got separated when one lost his hat and went back to look for it. That was when those horrific winds that fanned all the fires had started blowing sand everywhere. THey were out in it, though not in the worst dust storm, which came the next night.
My middle son stopped the harassment of a homeless man once, when some young men in a big SUV went after him. He ran into the bushes, and they were getting out to go after him, and who knows, probably beat him up for not having a home. My son held up his cell phone, to let them know he could call the police on them, and they piled back in and drove away.
We've also seen the kinder side of humanity as some people have paid the difference when the kids haven't had enough money on them for the groceries they checked out with. This has happened several times and saved them a second trip out to get the groceries they put back. Some people have given our kids rides, including Rose, my daughter when she was out with my oldest. And my 15 year old is really growing into responsible manhood and actually loves to be the one to make the trip.
But we are really thrilled to have a Winco 2 miles away now, with apples for 5 cents, pears for 10 cents, and other unheard of prices, plus bulk grains, and a whole lot more. With their prices we can lower our grocery bill while at the same time increasing the variety of foods we can buy (after being so tight for so long!)
To other people it may seem like a hardship biking 2 miles each way for groceries, but to us, it is a great relief after 7 to 14 miles. So the kids are in a really good mood right now. I am so relieved because I really worried about them earlier. So many things could have happened, and the cold weather has come in.
We don't get snow and ice but we do get deep fog and super cold winds, which are not safe to breathe heavily in and they had to breathe heavily to get home all those miles. I'm working away at my art curriculum, feeling like I am on a treadmill, it is such a big project.
I get to give away some of our products as e-books free, at no cost to us or the selling site, which I'm excited about, because we have been so tight we've had little opportunity to give, and its so good to be able to give for once!
I'm also trying to get up the energy to sew my kids Christmas presents
The big thing that's going on with us right now is the new Winco that is 2 miles away from our house. We've had to hang so tight so long, and the kids (teens and twenties0 have been bicycling 7 to 14 miles each way, sometimes longer, to get groceries and medecines, as we live in a tiny country town that is not even officially a town and has only a couple of tiny stores.
I've worried about a lot of things. The kids are so willing to do this for our family, but I worry about them bicycling down a highway between towns, that has been necessary. I worry about them getting bronchitis or pneumonia bicycling hard and fast, loaded down with groceries in their backpacks when there is a cold fog. I had bronchitis for months this year. And I worry about them getting in an accident, which has much more serious consequences if you are on a bicycle.
And then there is the plain old wear and tear. They've already gone through two backpacks. They stuff them so full they rip out. And various things happen to the bikes as well. such as handle bars coming off, flat tires, a wheel going out of round (wrecked rim). They want new bikes for Christmas but I don't know if that will be possible. OUr last two Christmases were not just tight but downright scarey. We almost got everything shut off the day before Christmas! (Heartless world!)
My oldest got stuck once as he brought the wrong bike lock key. He had to sit and wait in the cold and dark until one of the other kids biked the 7 miles with the key. Then they got separated when one lost his hat and went back to look for it. That was when those horrific winds that fanned all the fires had started blowing sand everywhere. THey were out in it, though not in the worst dust storm, which came the next night.
My middle son stopped the harassment of a homeless man once, when some young men in a big SUV went after him. He ran into the bushes, and they were getting out to go after him, and who knows, probably beat him up for not having a home. My son held up his cell phone, to let them know he could call the police on them, and they piled back in and drove away.
We've also seen the kinder side of humanity as some people have paid the difference when the kids haven't had enough money on them for the groceries they checked out with. This has happened several times and saved them a second trip out to get the groceries they put back. Some people have given our kids rides, including Rose, my daughter when she was out with my oldest. And my 15 year old is really growing into responsible manhood and actually loves to be the one to make the trip.
But we are really thrilled to have a Winco 2 miles away now, with apples for 5 cents, pears for 10 cents, and other unheard of prices, plus bulk grains, and a whole lot more. With their prices we can lower our grocery bill while at the same time increasing the variety of foods we can buy (after being so tight for so long!)
To other people it may seem like a hardship biking 2 miles each way for groceries, but to us, it is a great relief after 7 to 14 miles. So the kids are in a really good mood right now. I am so relieved because I really worried about them earlier. So many things could have happened, and the cold weather has come in.
We don't get snow and ice but we do get deep fog and super cold winds, which are not safe to breathe heavily in and they had to breathe heavily to get home all those miles. I'm working away at my art curriculum, feeling like I am on a treadmill, it is such a big project.
I get to give away some of our products as e-books free, at no cost to us or the selling site, which I'm excited about, because we have been so tight we've had little opportunity to give, and its so good to be able to give for once!
I'm also trying to get up the energy to sew my kids Christmas presents
Don't be shy, folks!
4 years ago
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Share what's been going on, what movies you like, all that stuff...
Right now, I continue to be frustrated with my ex. He changed his mailing address, and now all MY mail has started going over to his new place, too.
ARRRRGG!!!
Aside from that, my life is perfect.
Well, no, it isn't.. but I'm just sitting here waiting for you guys to show up, LOL.
Betina, a cup would be great!
4 years ago
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And I'm also going to light some sage! A very nice friend sent me some!
A table for 700.. yeah.. I guess it's an infinitely expandable, round table.. imbued with the magic quality of being cozy no matter how many are around it..
GRAVEYARDS- wow, now- I'm sure we've all seen these graveyards where most of the head stones are small and humble, but one or two ARE REALLY, BIG AND IMPORTANT HEADSTONES? One day as I was going past a graveyard, I saw this really incredibly huge monument.. and I couldn't help it.. the thought crossed through my mind that this was a DEAD COMPETITION!! It was almost as if I could hear the big headstones shouting:
As in, "LOOK AT ME!! AM I NOT THE MOST IMPORTANTLY DEAD PERSON IN THIS WHOLE, ENTIRE GRAVEYARD! AM I NOT THE DEADEST OF ALL??"
and yes, a strange world where the dead can have their place but not many of the living...
This post was modified from its original form on 07 Nov, 12:48
This post was modified from its original form on 07 Nov, 12:48
4 years ago
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let me tell you Harmony what I told my husband tonight..and this is a good place to do so..
we walked around a small cemetery here all cozy looking with candles in red glass glowing in the rainy night..
a strange world we live in ,where the Dead have a small place to call their own, when so many of Living have none at all..?
Harmony
4 years ago
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this is the place? I just brought in a handful sage from the garden ..care to join me for a cup?
The kitchen table where one sits and talks..the power place..the exchange place, the vent place ,the place to kick back..to ask and to listen... I see a table for more then 700 people wow...
The Kitchen Table- ordinary talk thread!
4 years ago
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I've long been feeling that I've needed a thread in this group where people can just kick back, relax, and share informally. Recently, my friend Betina pointed out the need for such a place also, so I'm going ahead with it.
I was going to think up some astonishing new title for the thread, but it didn't drop down from the sky into my thoughts, so I am going with "The Kitchen Table", lol.
So feel free to join in and share whatever!
This topic is closed
