Show & Tell

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Happy May Day!
A few days ago, I think the last day of the April heatwave, I broke down and went through a box of papers that represented two years of my college education. It needed to be done. And of course I saved some of my carefully typed (on a typewriter), mostly ‘A’ papers-some to reread and maybe toss. The pile went down considerably. I went to a great college from 1977-1979 called Delaware County Community College for an AAS in Early Childhood Education. I met some great friends, but mostly I learned and enjoyed my time there. Here are some of my papers:
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What’s funny about the ‘Study of a Child’ paper is that the girl I did the study on contacted me a few years ago. I was trying to see if people I knew from the past would remember me, so I put her name and her sister’s name on my blog. No, she didn’t remember me! Drats. She is also on Facebook and I offered her this paper a few days ago and she hasn’t replied. She is married with several children.
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My first schedule for college (I thought it was grades at first-wishful thinking):
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I almost have my BS degree in ECE, but dropped out after giving up on a few courses I couldn’t seem to get in another school. I heard that the one class was finally dropped as I wasn’t the only one having problems.
I may post a few poems here if I am brave enough to do so.
I dedicate this post to my almost college graduate son Sean-he’s getting his 4 yr degree from Penn State on the 15th.

My mom’s eyes

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Mom was diagnosed with macular degeneration today.

From Wikipedia:

Macular degeneration is a medical condition usually of older adults which results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field (the macula) because of damage to the retina. It occurs in “dry” and “wet” forms. It is a major cause of blindness in the elderly. Macular degeneration can make it difficult or impossible to read or recognize faces, although enough peripheral vision remains to allow other activities of daily life.

About 30% of the people in her age group get this. The eye doctor said my grandmom had it too. They are going to do everything they can to save her vision. Mom has been an avid reader her entire life. She is really sad right now, so keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
This prompted me to go to the eye doctor to get my eyes checked next month. Scary stuff.

Thursday Thunks

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1. What color is your front door?
It use to be red, but we painted it a teal color which I love.
Front door at Christmas
2. We discussed our folks in previous TT so now tell me about your siblings. If you are an only child, tell me whether or not you wanted siblings, older, younger etc.
I have three brothers, one 5 yrs older, one a year younger and one 7 years younger. My middle brother and I were like twins until we hit about 13. I think being in a family with divorced parents and no dad around was really hard for them, but they turned out well, all have good jobs and many interests. Also I’m an auntie because of two of them-3 nephews and one niece!
3. What color/type butterfly is your favorite?
I really love the Monarch. Had one that hatched late in the season stay on my hand one time-even brought it in the house for a few minutes. He finally got his wings flapping and off he went!
baby monarch
4. Will you be celebrating Cinco De Mayo? We have many Hispanics in this area, so they do the celebrating just fine.
5. Oprah- love her, hate her, or don’t care?
I really admire her for her success! She’s had a fabulous career, built a school, a mansion and a half (or two) for herself. No, never would hate her!
6. Are you worried about the spread of swine flu?
I’m concerned. I just hope none of the locals just came back from the homeland, especially near where it all started. I wash my hands a lot and use lots of hand sanitizer.
7. Hard or soft pillows?
More hard-need support, but not rock hard support.
8. How many trees are in your neighbor’s yard? A lot-especially the humongous ones on a bank that could fall over and take out the electrical lines and maybe hit our house!
9. What was the color of the last car you saw? Black as I noticed the driver as someone I knew.
10. When does your driver’s license expire? I think it’s good for another year or two.
11. Look at the clock on your computer and type the numbers backwards.72:11
12. When you put your pants on, what leg do you put in first? Probably my left as I am left-handed.
13. How would you respond to this letter if you were an advice columnist.
I am an ugly woman. I was an ugly baby and child even! It is a fact. I am 36 now and I have never had a boyfriend, and I am still a virgin.

Due to me not having men in my life, I have poured everything I have in to education and my career. At 36 I am the youngest (and first female CEO) at a big, successful, tech company. I have over 200 personal patents and millions of pounds in investments.

I have everything: huge house, holiday villa in Spain, 3 cars, power boat, a race horse, etc. but as much I try to talk myself into everything being “great” I cannot help but to miss that special someone to share it all with.

Most of my friends are married with kids and I feel like I am gradually drifting away from them also.

Where can I find someone to marry an ugly woman?
You could go the route and say beauty is skin deep and that there is always someone out there for you. Or you could suggest plastic surgery to improve what she thinks is ugly. Or since she seems to be lonesome, maybe she can hire a male companion to be her secretary or something like that.

Want to play?

Late April 2009

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Late April 2009, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

I went around the yard after dinner and took some quick snaps before my head exploded from the pollen! I got my first cold in a while-I think over a year. I just bought the daisies last Friday. I had the herb pot and did plant herbs in it-Rosemary, Oregano and I think Thai Basil. My pond is running well.

Too darn hot!

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It feels like we skipped a few months here-went from April right to the end of June! I can’t remember seeing the leaves on some of the trees pop out like they have in the last few days-even the lilac bush is blooming! There is also a pollen explosion which has had me down and out. Allergy medicine seems to be taking the edge off my stuffy head and gooky throat. It definitely is a heat wave and if it goes above 90 tomorrow-it will be only the second time in history it’s happened for 4 days in a row.
I’ve only planted some Sweet William and pansies under my little Japanese maple.
The bugs are even out and I have a few wicked bites already!
People have even played hookie and went to the shore, though the water still feels like April. I guess you can’t get it all.
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I made a map for a customer of Brian’s and it will be in the ad in the local paper. I had to change a few things, but here it is-made in Paint Shop Pro-
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Be careful about washing your hands because of the Swine flu. There’s cases in NYC and Ohio, so it’s getting closer to us. Scary stuff!

Photo shopping

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A pal on Facebook added a link for some free photo shopping plug-ins. Since I haven’t done too much lately with Paint Shop or Adobe, I downloaded a couple and this is what I got from one of my Longwood Gardens shots:

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I think this is pretty enough for a card!
It’s called ‘Dreamy Photo’.
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I’m fighting a cold or something-have that funny feeling in my throat. My appetite is okay for now. Bri had to go over his dad’s Friday night after dinner as he was getting sick to his tummy. He is better today, but it’s scary when an older chap is so ill. Crossing fingers for me and Bri now.

Photo Hunt-Protect

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PSHunt

This almost century old conservatory shelters many varieties of gorgeous plants, which include orchids, from the elements outside, whether it is heat or cold. There is a maze of different rooms from a desert room to an bonsai room. There’s always something new to see each time I go, which is frequently.

Longwood’s Conservatory is one of the world’s great greenhouse structures. It shelters 20 indoor gardens and 5,500 types of plants. The Conservatory was built in 1919 and has been periodically expanded and renovated. At present, there are 195,668 square feet—or 4.5 acres—of covered display, production, and research greenhouses.

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Yesterday, I bought my first trunk load of flowers. I had saved a bunch of money from eBay sales. Loews was having a buy one get one free on 6″ pots and had a few other good sales. I bought most of my plants at a local nursery because you get a lot for the price. Here I am happy to be in gardener mode again-
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Show and Tell

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New Year card 1939, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

My one brother is sorting through stuff-mainly photos- in our mom’s house and decided to make scrapbooks of what he is finding. I borrowed a finished one he made for mom and this on of the many quaint things in it. It’s a 70+ year old New Year’s card from my grandfather Alan to my grandmom Ruth. I thought it was so cute. My ‘Pop-pop’ was good at card giving as I’ve seen a few now and then. Wish I had know him-he passed away when I was only two months old.
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The temps are climbing here-going to the upper 80s over the weekend! That’s too warm for April! I woke up with a sore throat, just on one side, so I hope I’m not getting a cold. The allergens are in the air too, especially with this spike in temps!

Benefits of Walking and Thursday Thunks

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My uncle sent me this in email and I thought it was good enough to share. Thanks Uncle Larry!
The Importance of Walking
Walking can add minutes to your life.
This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $7000 per month.

My grandpa started walking five miles a day when he was 60.
Now he’s 97 years old and we don’t know where he is.

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
The only reason I would take up walking is so that I could hear heavy breathing again..

I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I’m doing..

I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks.
Haven’t lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there.

Every time I hear the dirty word ‘exercise’, I wash my mouth out with chocolate.

I do have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

The advantage of exercising every day is so when you die, they’ll say,
‘Well, she looks good doesn’t she.’

If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

I know I got a lot of exercise the last few years …… just getting over the hill.
We all get heavier as we get older, because there’s a lot more information in our heads.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

AND

Every time I start thinking too much about how I look, I just find a Happy Hour and by the time I leave, I look just fine.

Thursday Thunks

1. If you could skywrite anything you wanted, what would it be? ‘Love one another’

2. Did you get drunk at your prom?
Didn’t go to mine. I’ve had other times I had issues, only a couple-I was a good girl.

3. What is your favorite spice to use cooking?
I really like chili powder, but I like oregano, basil, and dill a bunch too.

4. What color is your roof? It’s fairly new and I picked out different tones of brown. I had a neighbor ask where we got it and a neighbor a few doors down copied it on their house.

5. In a land far, far away I grew a garden full of magical plants and flowers, ate chocolate all day and had a gorgeous figure that never went south.

6. In the Miss USA pageant, Miss California was asked; “Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?” and her answer was; “Well I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. Um, we live in a land that you can choose same sex marriage or opposite marriage and, you know what, in my country and in, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman,” Carrie said to a mix of boos and applause. “No offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think that it should be between a man and a woman.” Do you think that cost her the crown?
No-she said she understood America had the right to chose and she was expressing her opinion. I think people made a mountain out of a molehill. Time to concentrate on the real winner. And I don’t even like beauty pageants that much as they give young girls the wrong impression about what beauty really is.

7. Do you watch Miss USA/Miss America pageants? Not usually. I did more when I was younger as there wasn’t much to watch, plus Miss America was in Atlantic City, near where I lived.

8. Have you ever driven/ridden on a tractor? Not that I recall.

9. For the parents – what cartoon/children show did your child watch obsessively? (Hey, if you aren’t a parent, maybe a niece or nephew…) Chip and Dale, Rescue Rangers.

10. If I set a level on your living room floor – would it show that it was level?
I think so.

11. What was the last restaurant you ate at? Easy-took my mom out to eat Tuesday at a place up the road-Generations.

12. What’s the picture on your wall calendar for this month? A watercolor of a bunny surrounded by purple pansies-it’s the Old Farmer’s Almanac calendar

13. Are you superstitious? I have to actually step on a crack or see the #13 more than once-like right now-this is the #13-yikes!

14. If I get into your car and turn on the radio – what type of radio station will I hear? Contemporary pop and rock

15. Would you rather wake up with a snake in your bed or a lizard? I can think of a joke-won’t go there-I hate snakes, so I’ll take a lizard-they don’t bite, do they?

16. Do you think schools have changed at all since the Columbine tragedy 10 years ago? In what ways?
I hope so. I think they all should have metal detectors and maybe make the kids wear I.D. like the teachers and staff do.

What to play?

Happenings & Happy Earth Day!

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Finally got down to my hometown yesterday and my hair looks pretty again-thanks C! Also yesterday, Mom was at the eye doctor who works on the internal regions and she has swelling and a leakage in her left eye. He says it’s probably due to her being borderline diabetic and she needs an office laser procedure to repair that. That will be her 4th procedure in 8 months! Mom needs to be more serious about her eating, especially eating candy and sugared drinks. She is going to her doctor tomorrow for bloodwork and to see if she needs to be on medication. In February her blood sugar wasn’t bad (when she had thrush). The doctor yesterday said the thrush was probably from her diabetes. While there we went out to dinner. The restaurant up the road from her was always a favorite and was bought by two handsome Greek guys. They remodeled it and renamed it. This was our first time there and it was good. I got 1/2 rack of ribs-I like when the meat falls off the bones-these really didn’t. Mom had pork chops which she liked. They also give you a little pitcher of whatever you are drinking.
We went back to Mom’s and my brother Don was there playing with the puppy. I ‘fixed’ both of her vacuums-they were just all stuffed to the gills with paper, etc. that Kelsey had shredded.
I’m suffering with my upper back-think I have a nerve issue-from gardening on Saturday (leaning over a gazillion times) and then walking the dog and lifting the heavy vacuum didn’t help. I’ll be using the heating pad a few times.
I got this is my email-

Thanks for following! love, yoko IMAGINE PEACE: Think PEACE, Act PEACE, Spread PEACE http://www.IMAGINEPEACE.com
Yoko Ono / yokoono

I saw that Yoko Ono was on Twitter and it said ‘personal message’-so how cool is that! They can reply on their cells or computers.
Twitter is pretty neat!
I added a widget on the left with my Twitter updates.