THE MUELLER REPORT

THE MUELLER REPORT:

All righty then, the report is done. The summary has been released.  Congress wants to see the whole thang.

Okay, g'head. Pretty sure that there is nothing to get excited about.  Since Mueller did not find anything worth indicting, let all the interested parties salivate over the security redacted contents. 

 Pretty sure there will be disappointed peeps.  The base will rejoice and as surely as a dog returns to vomit (RA Heinlein), POTUS will get calluses on the multiple victory laps. 

A man that age should take care to gargle between speechifying. Don't forget the vitamins.

Granted all the talking heads have nearly exhausted themselves exploring the various meanings of all the non-information.  The what-if factor is staggering and if you are at all insominiac, turn the volume down low for the soporific effects.  It will be quick. 

Please God, send a new political scandal.  Thanks.

I AM A LITLE SAD TODAY

Today I am sad.  May Clarke is dead.  I received a surprise Friend request from her daughter, Kim.  After getting reacquainted I asked about her Mom. She said that May had died last year at age 89.  Wow!  Did time EVER get away from me.

Let me tell you a little bit about May.  We met when I worked at WKMH the hometown hospital in Emmett.  I am not sure why she picked Emmett to move to but she was leaving Florida to get as far away from her ex-husband as possible.  Oh, I forgot her sister lived here.  Which explains the destination.

She told me about when she and her sister lived in Hawaii near Pearl Harbor.  They were there for Decembr 7, 1941.  It was months before they were allowed to leave by ship to go back to the mainland. 

She told some stories about her time in Florida. She worked at a famous steak house as a waitress.  She explained how she used to load plates all the way up each arm to deliver to tables while chatting.  She also taught me  how to tip adequately for a good waitress and she told me how to tell who was a really good one.  A good waitress brings you an extra plate without being asked.  A good waitress will drool with you as you go over the menu.  A good waitress will subtly guide you away from the not so good special.  A good waitress promptly takes your order, efficiently gets your meal to you and handles the bill.  So I learned to give a 15% tip, because it is a cruel, cruel poorly paying world out there. A good joke doesn't hurt either.

She told me that when they drove into the Emmett Valley at night she thought she was taking her family to their death, it was pitch black in the desert portion of the road from Boise to Emmett and very spooky. 

They settled in and May purchased a double wide trailer in the Monte Vista Mobile Home Park.  I eventually purchased a single wide trailer there and Mom and Dad lived there as well. My sister Gale and her husband and kids lived there and my brother  Richard lived there for a few months.  My other friend from work at WKMH, Barbara, lived there as well.  

The park had a small pool, a building with the mail boxes and a goodish sized hall for other activities such as parties, bingo, celebrations, cub scout meetings etc.  Busy place.

As a result of living in such a small "village" of about 300 folk, the old saying about familiarity breeding contempt was certainly true. My mother could not stand either Barbara or May so never the trio did meet much without a mutual grimace.  This created a certain amount of social tension between Mom, me and the girls. Ugh.  So I would ignore snide comments and cheerfully go about my bidness.

Occasionally we ladies took the bus to Jackpot, Nevada.  It was for an over night. We booked rooms at any one of the four or five casino hotels.  One morning as we assembled in the hotel hall room, one of the other parties on the bus, asked us, "Did you girls hear that terrible snoring last night?  I never got any sleep at all!"  We shook our heads no and exclaimed horrified that we too had not slept a  wink and hustled outside before bursting into hysterical laughter.  We were terrible sleepers who snored lustily. If there had been a decibel meter we would have broken it.  I never believed that I snored until I woke up alone one time in my apartment because I heard snoring.  It was ME!! 

Shaddap and go to sleep.

So our casino visits usually meant a meal or two at Cactus Pete's. I always liked the chocolate milkshakes in the restaurant in the rear.  My gambling consisted of nickle and quarter machines until I got tired or ran out of money.  The machines paid out enough to keep me busy enough to have to stop to go wash my filthy dirty hands. 
The drive back was restful and I enjoyed the ride.  Well except one time we all agreed that the lady who clipped her toenails on the bus, letting clippings fly should have kept personal grooming at home. Erk.

May worked in the kitchen at the hospital, Barbara worked in the office and I managed the medical record department.  Sounds grand but it was a two person department.

May didn't cook many of her dishes at work. She was limited to the goods present so it was pretty routine stuff. Plain but good food.
She also cleaned houses for people and she would also cook dishes for them.  I remember she liked to make meatball subs for one house of young men who gobbled them up if she didn't hide them somewhere obvious like the oven.

One of her long term customers was a local dentist who smoked like crazy. I visited with her once while she was cleaning his house and I saw huge burns in sheets and furniture. It's a wonder he did not self immolate.

May, herself, smoked like a chimney.  She never suffered a thing from it, no colds, no smokers cough, no emphysema, no COPD, no Lung cancer.  It'd like to know which gene covers THAT.

I had played Pinochle as a kid and rapidly lost interest until I met May. Both she and Barbara played pinochle and it was not long before we began playing cards and I got pretty good at it.  She always made tea with lemonade and it was delicious. 

I will miss my friend, May, I hope there is a casino waiting for her.
Kim told me that this year on her 90th birthday they were driving to Jackpot, Nevada to spread her ashes.  That is so May.  God Bless her.

BIBLE STORIES

 BIBLE STORIES:

Isn't it interesting what we dimly recall from Sunday School and/or Church services?  I always loved the Old Testament.  But as Paul Harvey talked about there is always The Rest of The Story.

I started out in the entirely wrong direction trying to remember the name of the woman banned and I waded around in Genesis and found Bilhah and that was quite wrong.  

I Facebooked a friend who is a much better Church goer than I and she replied that it was probably Hagar who bore a child for Sarah and Abraham. 

Got it!  So the basic story was that God promised Abraham that he would be the Father of many nations.  However, Sarah did not have a son.  Hagar was um, recruited, and she gave birth to Ishmael.  Then in a few years Sarah finally gave birth to Isaac.  The relationship deteriorated and Sarah demanded that Abraham cast her out.  

She set off with food and water and Ishmael.  She ran out of water and began running back and forth for seven miles between two hills.  She cried out to God who heard her and sent an angel.  The angel struck the ground and a well sprang forth. The angel also told him that God would make Ishmael into a great nation.  Hagar found him a wife.

That is all Genesis says about Hagar and Ishmael.  Abraham produced many nations and that part of the Old Testament rolled on into the rest of the vast history to the present day.

So here is the rest of the story.  We do not learn this in Sunday School and more rarely never hear this story in Church.

The well which the Angel, Gabriel, caused to come forth is the well of ZamZam.  It is located a few meters from the Kabba.  The water that comes forth is pure and in high volume to this day.  It serves the thirsty pilgrims who go on Hajj to Mecca. Hajj occures once a year based on the moon and Hajj is a moveable pilgrimage and advances about 11 days per year.    Hajj lasts for a week.

Muslims are encouraged to attend Hajj if possible.  There are several tasks performed by the pilgrims. First and foremost is prayer. There are specific prayers involved.  All of the men wear a simple two piece white toga type garment.  The ladies wear black. Some children do attend. 

One of the ceremonies is where everyone circles the Kabba.  Another is a seven mile round trip walk between the two hills that Hagar searched for water.  That part is now partially covered with vast folding umbrellas.  Another ceremony involves casting stones at the devil.  There is currently a very large oval shaped pillar for everyone to cast stones.  

There is also a requirement for sacrifice of a sheep or camel.  This is done very efficiently. The pilgrim orders the sacrifice by smart phone. They are notified when it is done and the meat is given to the poor.  That is a lot of sheep and camel. Most of the men get the hair shaved off their head.  The barbers shave a lot of heads and the razors get dull.  The pilgrims also climb a mountain and pray.  

The folks who organize the Hajj are always looking for ways to improve the safety and efficiency of the annual event.  It was explained by a narrator of a video I watched that hosting the Hajj was like holding ten super bowls in one week.  There is now a high speed train from Mecca to the site and they move five hundred thousand people a day. 

Thus Ishmael's many nations and the rest of the story. Inshallah.

ps:  I also wish to politely point out that the Old Testament was first written in Aramaic (I think) and has been translated into many other languages and there have been a few  mistranslations from Aramaic to Greek and so on.  The big difference with the Koran is that it has always been written in the same script and has never changed.  All of the many  Islamic nations can read the Koran but speak their native tongue.  And there have been no mistranslations. 

THE VOICE VERSIS AMERICAN IDOL

THE VOICE VS AMERICAN IDOL:

I have never watched American Idol before this season.  I have watched five or six seasons of The Voice.

I love The Voice because of the blind auditions.  The wonderful performers who are not so esthetically pleasing get a chance to perform in a situation where the judges face away from them. The judges then choose to turn based on their opinion of the person singing.  I don't know how the applicants get to that point and I would hope that the screeners would at least wear mental blindfolds to the thousands of performers.  

American Idol has three judges who fly to ten or so different cities and listen to thousands of performers.  Not many of them are unfortunate looking but a lot of them cannot sing worth a darn.  The judges certainly have a good time during all of this. 

The last couple of days I watched the Hollywood week and they churned through 154 singers and got that down to 78.  The were all pretty darn good, at this point if someone sang flat, forgot a lyric or got sick that was pretty much elimination material.  Last night there  was even a proposal.  Katy Perry cried her eyes out.  I know I misspelled her name but she was so cute.  So they divided the 78 into three groups and told one group that they were not going to Hawaii.  The other two groups will go sing there. This process seems to be speeding along fairly quickly.

Now back to The Voice.  The judges are having a good time, so far there has been one proposal and they have their teams filled up.  Duo competition is coming up and they get to steal other people who get voted off. I like the duo as the singing is darn good.  However when we get to the individual individual rounds I quickly lose interest. The numbers are wildly over produced to the point that I cannot hear the singers very clearly.  Now the judges usually wear headphones so they can hear the feed so they are able to judge.  BUT if 'merica is judging on the live program, good luck with that. 

Both programs provide and encourage access to the songs and videos so they can be enthusiastic voters.

Both programs have phone or text votes at some point.  I have no objection to that.  Especially if that support is monetized and helps out with the program etc.

Once The Voice gets into the elimination rounds I get a little bored even with other established artists filling in as the count gets lower. 

I look forward to following American Idol to see how every thing turns the first time around for me.

Also, I have taken an intense interest in these competitions mostly due to March Madness. I do not care for college B-ball.

Coquille today and I have thinking which is usually a bad sign...

I have discovered something rather fascinating about giving oneself injections.  I have been doing this for a few years now.  I began with using the pens which come preloaded.  Just point and click. No biggie.  Except I started getting some kind of allergy skin reaction at the injection site.  It turned into a perfectly round little freckle.  Kind a polka dot cute.  Didn't itch, didn't hurt. But doc said, let's change to needles.  Um 'kay.

I would pull up what ever dosage was ordered and inject it.  I eventually noticed that we don't have as many nerves on the surface of our skin as I had thought.  I thought they were everywhere.  If I do a gentle poke and feel any sensation at all, I move the needle a few centimeters away and if there is no sensation other than pressure, I do the injection at that site. Viola!  No pain what so ever.  I am not afraid of needles, so this has never been an issue with my self medications.  

Since I am yapping about medical issues, I am being scheduled to see a guy in Eugene about putting in an AV (artereo-venous) shunt for dialysis.  It takes six months for the shunt to mature.  I have recently had a slight improvement in labs but better to be prepared than try to rush this at the last minute.  Dr. K did offer peritoneal dialysis because it supposed to be easier to do. For some reason I find the idea of sloshing around with a few extra gallons in my abdomen rather abhorent. So gonna go cyborg.

Oh AND to top off the general medical behotching, I am in day two of a gout flare in left shoulder joint.  I hope it dies down soon, as I going to have to get one of those coaches whistles to yell for help.

But am feeling somewhat quasi-virtuous.  The other day as I was swishing down the street to the pharmacy, I passed the Black Dog store and outside sat two hard plastic foot stool type things. I purhased them for 6 bucks. They don't scrub up worth a darn, but I found that I could sit on them and use my recently purcharsed grabber to rearrange all the cans and retrieve the out dated ones.  We can donate to the charity shop next to Safeway.  They have a give away spot for foods.  Food banks discard outdated canned food, so someone will use this.  I had been trying to think of what to use for trays to hold the cans.  I had used some cut down cardboard boxes but they don't last well.  I found some aluminum baking cans at the store and have used them, they work perfectly and slide in and out easily.  It was good to take a look at the stores to see what we actually have.  It is good to plan for the Zombie Apocalyps.

Oh, I visited the Chinese Place in town. It re-opened. I had lunch the same day I picked up meds.  I had the General Tsos Chicken, I have had better but the fried won tons were wonderful.  While sitting there I asked if they had Char Sei Bao. She looked surprised and scurried into the kitchen and I heard Mandarin Mandarin Char Sei Bao Mandarin Mandarin. She came out and said they did.  Yummy.  I will get some next time.  I love pork steamed buns.

Enough yapping, time for pain pills in another eight hours.  Ugh.

SIROLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY AND AUTISM

Yesterday I learned three new things; 1) an astounding thing regarding silk, 2) Dr. Phil and 3: Telling lies.

1.  I love to watch video clips all about Ancient Girl.  She lives on a small farm in China, it is a mix of modern and old.  She has a computer but likes to do things the old fashioned way.  They live there using ancient methods for the most part.  She picks corn and takes off the kernels and takes them to a stone wheel to grind her corn into much.  She pours the kernels into a hole on the top of the stone and then used a wooden rod to   walk the stone around to grind the corn. This is very labor intensive and she picks a whopping load of red pepper to be chopped up and mixed into the corn.  This is all put in a large storage jar and saved for later.  She goes about her business doing various tasks.

The vid I watched yesterday involved her picking Mulberry leaves, spreading them on top of straw and putting larva of silk worms to eat the leaves.  When the leaves were consumed and gathered up the cotton ball sized balls and took them in bags to be boiled in water.  Once they had boiled long enough she fished them out and peeled out the dead larva.  The silk puffs were then boiled some more and dried.  

After initial drying, the girl sat at a chair looking thing with a arched back made of steel.  She took each silk pod and gently stretched it to about six inches in size.  She draped the silk over the top of the rod and pulled down.  The silk expanded to cover each side of the form.  She put about five or six silks on to of one another until she had a larger pad formed then pulled the large rpad off and started a new pile.  She processed all of the silk pods just like this.  Then a couple people helped her stretch each pad out over an area the size of a card table. It looked like dough being formed for baklava.  After all the pads were treated thus, the group added a few more hands and those size pods were stretched out over the queen size bed form.  This had about six layers added.  

Then, this is the astounding part.  The girl tacked the quilt together to look like a puffy european bed topper.  There was no weaving used at all to create this fabric!  When that was done she sewed the edges shut and voila a brand new silk quilt.  I. WANT. ONE.

Then she took another quilt and made the older lady a jacket.
I was totally astounded, I had no idea such a wonderful thing could be made without the weaving stage.  The color was white the original color of the thread.

The next part of the vid showed her taking a quilt jacket to the meadow to trade for some wool and a lamb.  She washed, and cleaned and carded the wool and did spin the wool onto several spindles.  She then died the wool using smashed berries and it turned a lovely lavender.  She hung the wool roving over a wash line to dry. When it was dry, she started braiding the roving together. When she had them all braided, she sewed them together and crocheted the ends up. Again there was no use of a loom. She wound up with a chrocheted winter cape and lamb chops.

2. I am probably going to go to Hell for not liking Dr. Phil.  Don't get me wrong, he does wonderful work, gives terrific advice and provides services for the ill, terrified, abused people he sees on his show.  I don't particularly like Dr. Phil because he is just the teeniest firmly conservative.  Until last night.  I was listening to more Ron White and he told a story of his good buddy, Dr.Phil.  They met in Monaco and Doc invited them on his yacht for a party.  Ron drank himself into stupidity and he told an incredibly rank Maimie Eisenhower joke and he stumbled off the boat, dislocated his shoulder,  had several stitches placed in his hand and blacked out.  His wife told him what an ass he had made of himself and he felt so bad that Dr. Phil would never invite him back and he began debating with himself that he needed to quit drinking, become a better man, treat people better.  He was feeling pretty depressed. About that time Dr. Phil called and said," You wanna come over and party tonight?"  "F-ck, yeah!"  So Dr. Phi gets my vote for this one.

3.  I was watching ET last night and they were covering Amy Schumer's Comedy special.  She was talking about her fiance'.  He told her that he was on the autism spectrum.  She realized that those characteristics were exactly what she had fallen in love with.  She said he cannot tell her a lie.  

I suddenly realized that I know someone like that.  And I have known and loved him for over 25 years.  He cannot tell a lie.  I always thought it was because he refused to lie and had to then explain his way around the comment and reason until who ever he was explaining this to lay at his feet stunned into a paralytic state.  He is also OCD. He does almost every thing around the house. I just thought he loved me.  (wipes tear at eye) I wash the dishes, I sweep the floor. I make the bed. I occasionally cook.  Everything else is him. He shops,  he drives me everywhe, he mows the lawn....I. HIT. THE. JACKPOT!!

Wonder what new thing I will learn tomorrow?

Today in Coquille

I was listening to NPR this morning blatting away about how grateful Israel was that Trussia tweeted US would officially recognize Israel as the rightful "owner" of the Golan Heights.  Won in the 6 Day war in 1967.  Ticked off parts of Europe and the Mideast equally.  Bidness as usual.

Which brings me to flashback to a bit of history; my own fourth degree of separation to the 6 day war.  My roommate Judy had a sister named Betty who worked in San Francisco at a tire company.  Everyday she drove her big old Pontiac from San Rafael to the City.  She parked at a nearby parking garage.  There was a small tailor shop located in the garage.  Betty would occasionally take a leather jacket or a leather purse to the little old Jewish man who owned and operated the tailor shop.  She came home on day and the little old man was so excited about the 6 day war that  he did't charge her for the repair/cleaning service.  She thought he was so cute.

Which brings me in a roundabout way to a joke.

Did you hear about the group of Rabbi's who were chatting one day and they were comparing the number of bris (ritual circumcision at 8 days).  One rabbi said that he had kept all the little bits that he had excised over the years.

"You didn't! What did you do with them?"

"I made a little coin purse." He pulled out a small cleverly sewn coin purse that irised neatly open and actually held a couple coins. 

 

They were amazed. "What good is such a little purse?"

"Oh well watch, if I give it a few rubs I get a steamer trunk!"

Regarding devices:
I have really been enjoying my Alexa.  The app just appeared on my Kindle one day and I had these powers.  I can ask for the weather, flash news briefing, question of the day.  I can ask questions such as "How many countries are in Africa? 96.  How many US states have flags?  There is only one flag the US flag of he United States.  Um thank you.  If I want to know about the states it will have to be by state.  I cannot change Alexa's name as that feature is only on Echo and I am not sure I want to yell at the TV screen any more than I do now. Also, if I have an Echo, I have to download the app to my Smart Phone, of which I do not have. I am a reluctant adopter of some new tech.  I do enjoy getting a current weather report.  Alexa told me the new Chinese restaurant was open and I didn't believe it.  I consulted a friend on line and she confirmed that the place had been open since January.  Huh.

Pretty sure someone I know and love will write and tell me that their cell phone can already do that stuff.  Well I have a wind up cell phone and can't do that advanced stuff. 

I get a little insomnia, very nice to say, "Alexa play soft jazz" and I listen to Etta James and other crooners.  Lovely.  This morning I asked to listen to Ron White and I finally had to get up in self defense I was laughing so hard.  

One last thing:  Jacinda Adern (sp) Prime  Minister of New Zealand, has acted swiftly for laws regarding banning assault weapons.  Can we get a Nobel Peace Prize nomination here?  

And a very good Friday morning to everyone else out there.

COQUILLE DIARY JULY THROUGH DECEMBER 2004

COQUILLE DIARY JULY AND SO FORTH 2004:

9-7: Happy Birthday Mom!!  Sent flowers.

Tim's new computer got here, it is an early birthday present. He will have fun setting it up. I just want it to work when I push the power button.

Still playing Myst III the adventure goes on and gets more mysterious.

Attended an OrHIMA workshop in Seaside.  Very scenic place...

Have cancelled trip to National in DC this year, my file clerk, transcriptionist and general fix it girl is out on surgical leave.  She has suffered debilitating pain for years and turns out she had something called Ogilvies Syndrome which means megabowel and Dr. C took out a buncha bowel.  Things should improve quite a bit.  Thank goodness.
Thanksgiving was nice we received certificates for turkeys at McKay's.  They are all around 12 pounds which is just perfect for a couple with left overs. For those over achievers better throw in a ham and a few more sides. urp.
For Christmas I purchased a DVD player so I can play the occasional movie.

December was quite fun at work.  We were all given "bonuses" by the CEO, what small hospital gives out BONUS checks?  I never got one in ANY of the previous places where I worked.  Thank you, Mr. Z!!!!

For the Christmas potluck this year I made Ooey Gooey Butter Cake.   This is so rich you need to have EMT's stand by for resuscitation.
For the crust:  one box of white cake mix, one stick of butter and one egg.  Melt the butter and mix the cake mix and egg.  Pat into bottom of cake pan. 
Filling:  Two 8 oz packages of cream cheese, two eggs, one box of powdered sugar (one lb size), add well drained pineapple tidbits and zest of one lemon. Mix well.  Pour into pan on top of crust and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to one hour.  Didn't bring home a whiff of cake.  Yay!!!

I attended a Quality Assurance meeting in Roseburg and the best part was dinner out with dessert of blackberry creme brulee'.  Fabulous.  The blackberry was a delicate wisp of flavor and it was delicious.

Got a surprise at work. Some of the nurses were cooking breakfast. The menu was Steak&Egg scramble with grits, biscuits and hash browns
Or biscuit and gravy with sausage and hash brown.
Or Southwest Omelet
Or Breakfast burrito
Muffins ad lib.

Choice of OJ, tea, coffee, milk or hot chocolate.  Thank you ladies!!!

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS:
Gale and Rocky were involved in a car accident, they got broadsided, wrecked the car but thankfully did not wreck them.
Brother, Richard left voice mail that Mom had been into ER and a short admission with a bout of gastroenteritis. Called and got caught up with all of that.  
My neice fell at home and broke her foot. 
Sue called to say she might not make it over to code as someone stole her car while it was warming up in the drive way!! So everybody keep their various insurances caught up.

Clipping Coupons.  Got a great BIG check this year from BUECI, last year it was less than a dollar, this year it is for 11 dollars and 31 cents.  Long may they reign.  Thanks guys.
Have been watching coverage of the Tsunami.  Mitch said they heard from his former brother-in-law who was there with his significant other.  They were on the top floor of the hotel and were immediately in water up to their waists.  They were also the couple who found the little blond haired two year old boy and rescued him somehow.  Miracles amongst all of that.

That is quite enough about 2004
G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY JUNE 2004:

COQUILLE DIARY JUNE THRU  2004:

I was re-elected secretary to Orhima and will now be attending board meetings in Salem, shorter drive.

I ordered DVD of Bagdad Cafe. I love this film  It is a cult classic.  I adore the music.  A German couple are stopped at a very dusty roadside stop having coffee.  They get into a fight.  He tosses out a suitcase and a coffee pot and takes off.  She picks up the suitcase and coffee pot and starts walking. She gets to a dusty roadside cafe, truckstop, motel and books a room.  She has no where to go and starts doing stuff around the place, cleaning etc.  Brenda (CCH Pounder) looks at her askance but tolerates the activities.  Gradually she becomes part of the little community.  I urge you to give this one a try.

Recent ER visit.  We had a little old gentleman come in with an overdose.  Oh, of what?  Milk of Magnesia.  !?!?!  Yep trying to alleviate another problem and took so much he noticed other symptoms.  Turned out he had developed hypermagnesemia.  Yeppers.  Drink more water, it is harder to overdose on water.  It can be done but it is harder to do so.

Our locum surgeon Dr. C uses colorful language when dictating operative reports.  I have heard him say more than once that the patient "manufactures polyps like GM manufactures cars.." or "Lo and behold".  

Getting lots of rain, dripping in sunroom, basement is seeping.  Get yer boots on!

June 21:  Just got back from a week in Idaho.  Before going I attended OrHIMA board meeting which was held in the Embassy Suiges hotel.  Very noisy place.  Happy Hour plainly went on for extended hours.  I had retired to my room for the evening and a fire alarm went off.  A really obnoxious one.  There was finally a general announcement to ignore the alarm.  Oh bother.

Spent the week visiting folk.   Gale invited us to ribs and corn on the cob.  Went by WKMH which is undergoing renovation.  I am impressed with the newer bigger medical record department.  They splurged for rolling files.  They will have to keep the filing cabinets for a while but it looks very nice.

Monday Mom and I ran around and visited with the Boise Berglunds.    We visited a Crispy Creme just so we would say we had been there.  I wasn't all that impressed, the donuts are small yet pricey. I think the shop in Emmett is much better.  

Tuesday it was spend the day with Anthony.  We played "Life"  he can read pretty well and the game went well. Pretty sure I was soundly beaten.  Also attended a T-ball game that he was participating in.  He had the same level of engagement as his father.

Wednesday it was Run away with Barbara.  We went to Jackpot.  I played my favorite machines.  We yakked our heads off.  I made my usual donation to the Great State of Nevada.  I always get a chocolate shake in the cafe at the back of Cactus Pete's they are the best.

Visited Phil and Jody at their house. Phil showed me dozens of pictures of Mel in the local production of Lil Abner.  It looked like a ton of fun. There were also pictures of Mel's wedding  It was very casual free spirited style wedding and the day was HOT.

I drove home by way of Vale. I stopped in John Day at the Shell station for gas and um recreational activities. I noticed they had home make pecan rolls I purchased one and cursed myself that I did not buy the whole tray.  Yum!

Got home and I was met with the question: 
"What do you want good news or bad news?"

Good news.  "I piled all of your clothes on the bed."
  
Bad News:  "The closet broke."

The closet in the bedroom is long, narrow and only has one wooden rod and since I did not feel like weilding a hammer and nails.... I shopped at Amazon and ordered a sturdy clothing rack on wheels that when assembled rolls right inside the closet.  Nifty.  

Enough for this section, closing with the end of June.
G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY FEB JUNE 2004:

Got a late Christmas card from Judy Coltrin. They bought a house in Meridian, They are close to Safeway.  Now that I know where she lives I can return the book written by Elise Sereni Patkotak called Parallel Logic. Very funny stuff about life in Barrow.

I have been playing Myst a computer game.  I am hopeless at solving the puzzles but I love the scenery as I walk through the various bits and pieces.  I  quickly found a site on the internet that gives me clues.  Thank you gamer geeks.

2-16: Dragged out all the paper work for Turbo tax and I got the messages that that the program was not ready to work.  Okay then.  Stand down the troops

Tim and I went out for Valentines Day and had dinner at The Chinese Garden.  I tried Walnut Honey Shrimp.  It was delicious!  Will try that again.

2-27; Second attempt at Turbo Tax worked just fine, supposed to get refund bh March 5.  Good!

3-15:  Both deposits in das bank.  Love it when stuff works.

We decided to purchase an upright freezer.  I look forward to freezing blackberries.

The Book Nook also carries a small range of furniture. I purchased a small chest of drawers, two each on top two large bottom and it is just perfect next to the bed in the North bedroom.  It cost 60 dollars.  Not bad.

April 14 worked on Easter Sunday. Kitchen cooked a ham to tenderness and it was delish.  Lovely day.

Strangely enough I have nothing documented for May.  So I am going to reveal my quick trip to New York.  I have always wanted to have a really good  deli pastrami sandwich.  I will stand on line if I hafta.  The drive will kill me.

That's it for now,
G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY JANUARY 2004

COQUILLE DIARY JAN 2004:

Jan 1: watching the Rose bowl parade. Idaho had a composite band in the parade today.

1-3-04:  Series of winter storms blown in off the Pacific.  Lots of snow along I-5.  Power went out early Friday morning.  I got up and went to work.  The lights were on at the hospital as we have a big old generator that roars to life.  Power still off by time to go home.  Tim was freezing.  We went down town looking for anything open, nope. Went home and cleared out the fireplace and began burning a backlog of paper that had accumulated for about five years.  That kept us busy until about 8 pm. we then went to bed and cuddled with an extra cover. We did well while in bed.  About 3 am the power came back on. Thank you lineman guys!!!

Busy at the hospital.  Doctors reluctant to discharge patients to cold homes to the length of stay got extended a good 24 hours.  

We went shopping to Freddy's to stock up on commodies and groceries.  I snagged a bag of beans and cooked a pot of red beans and threw in the left over ham and a couple of onions..delish.

That is all for January. G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY JULY/DECEMBER 2003

COQUILLE DIARY JULY TO?  2003:

7-22:  Joyce has been off work for two weeks.  I have been up to my ears in transcription.  Yikes.

Also Mr. Z apparently feels good enough about the CVH financials that he handed out 2% retroactive raises to the department heads.  Not sure if there is non disclosure clause.  But since meals and insurance went up, we are pretty even at this point.

July 31, husband completed his fifth and final day at Grand Jury.

Monica came to visit! Actually she flew out with a team to inspect all the Coast Guard stations here in Coos Bay.  So I drove to meet her and we went out to dinner at the Portside.  The physician there with us told about his inspection tour of the South Pole. Elevation there is 9300 feet! No wonder people faint when they get off the plane. Water use is restricted to a weekly 5 minute shower.  Phewie.

Charlie is looking into buying into the Chimney Sweep business.

Book Report:  "She Who Laughs Last". By Jenny Klassel.  Very funny stuff.  Young lady has had a nasty rotten cousin take over the house and she and her brother ran away to plot revenge. Part of that was to obtain funds.  So they kidnap the prince and hold him for ransom.  It gets better. If I had been drinking milk, I would have snorted milk out of my nose.

September 13/19: Drove to Bend to get continuing education and to be secretary during the meetings.  It was boring stuff.  Haven't been able to detect much humor among this bunch.  They may still be developing a corporate culture and you CAN carry that stuff too far.

Medical: Husband got to the point of "Go see the doctor" for painful knee.  He was diagnosed with gout.  Once his meds kick in and he stays on them the condition should stay pretty well controlled.

House stuff: I did not know that someone could knock on your door and tell you that your house violates code and must be fixed within 30 days.  Huh?

Apparently the line from the power pole to the house must be covered in conduit and/or 90 degree bend going through a ledger board and the eve.  Otherwise some idiot wishing to self immolate could stand on the deck and touch the wire and expire on the spot.

Taking bids awreddy.  11-10: Marca Electric came and fixed it all.  Because they disconnected the phone lines as well my job was to call the phone people to come hook us back up.  Good to know we are up to code. We also get a 200 dollar rebate from the power company.  Bother.
I shudder to think about the things that are NOT up to code.  Ugh

11-23: 40th anniversary of assassination of JFK.  I was 16 in geometry class, it was a horrible four days.  I went to Church with Grandma Horn and by the time we got home Lee Harvey Oswald had been shot by Jack Ruby.  Yep, no conspiracies here.

We were given gift certificates for turkeys at McKay's.  Yay!  I love roasting the turkey, carving it, deboning and boiling the left overs in a huge stock pot to make turkey broth for freezing.  And I shall make the usual Thanksgiving stuff.

UPDATE ON MRS ICENOGLE  I came across another visit by the lady and her entire name is Dolly Dimple Icenogle.  I am so going to steal that name and gift it to a character in any further iterations of "Princess Giggle".  Love it.

FINDING NEMO:  Bought the DVD and enjoyed it immensely.

Giggle:  I sent her out to five publishers this year and she sailed home unpublished.  Oh well, as Dorie says, "keep swimming...keep swimming".

12-10: I went to a ORHIMA meeting in Salem and from there drove to Seattle to visit Carla and Mitch. I just love their new home.  I also love Third Place Bookstore.  I purchased "Like Water For Chocolate"  I am tring to find the recipe and then get brave enough to make Chiles in Walnut sauce.

12-20:  I got brave and tried the Chiles in Walnut sauce. I sautéed fresh ground turkey breast and onion, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, tomato sauce, slivered almonds, half cup golden raisins, two chopped apples.  Very tasty, not too sweet. Then using poblano or paseíllo chiles seeds removed boil in water five minutes.  Rinse, stuff with meat/fruit mixture.  Arrange in casserole dish, bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Top with blenderized mixture 1 cup walnuts, 6 o cream cheese, 1/3 cup milk, add 1/4 tsp cinnamon.  Pour over chiles, top with pomegranet seeds and some cilantro leaves.  Took it to the potluck. brought home an empty dish.  I win!!!

One last piece of year end stupidity:  A woman was brought into ER witha gunshot wound to her lower jaw.  She had a toothache and for some unknown reason was tapping her tooth with a handgun.  The gun went off and the exit wound was near the carotid.  She could have seen a dentist.

That's is for the rest of 2003.
G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY MARCH/JUNE 2003

COQUILLE DIARY MARCH TO JUNE  2003:

3-11:  Lovely Tuesday off from work.  Lawn is greening up, wish we could rent a herd of goats to nibble it down to the roots....sigh.
Visited the dental hygienist last week.  Got the lecture. l will be sniffing around for someone who is NOT a gum Nazi.

March 17: Computer at work is not worky.  Computer kid says it was  "cycling" what ever THAT means now it is working.  Oy!

First Day Coverage of Iraq War:  Tank, tank, tank, Ted Koppel.  So happy none of mine are riding those tanks. 

April 8:  I got elected secretary for the state medical record organization.  That is a relatively easy position to take for a board position.  I just hafta spell every thing correctly. This could get tricky.

I ordered and received the second Harry Potter DVD. Most enjoyable. I eschew theaters because of sticky floors.

May 4, Iraq War continues.

Budget stuff at work.  Can I get a ride on one of those tanks?

June 10: Just got back from vacation to Emmett.  It was HOT over there in Idaho.  I took off in my rental and got all the way to Wilsoville and remembered that the only underwear I had packed were the ones I was wearing. I looked for a Walmart and dove off I-5 to find out that the store was not even open yet. 

I drove to Skamania Lodge for my Orhima planning meeting.  Next morning wore rinsed and dried undies and thus empowered stopped in Pendleton at a Walmart for new undies.  I called Mom to let hre know that I would be there a day early.

Emmett was very busy.  I managed to visit just about everyone.  Grandson and I had a run away day, we went to the Boise Zoo  Tigers were out and romping about and were HUGE and gorgeous.   Anthony did not want to eave Burger King so I bribed him with a trip to Walmart.  Look out shoppers.

Barbara and I squeezed in a very quick trip to Jackpot.  We found a wonderful Believe It Or Not trivia machine.  Did well at that one.

I was ready to return to cool coastal weather and took off to return by way of Vale, saw lots of critters out and about.  I was all the way to Coos Bay when I remembered the clothes I had left hanging Mom's closet. She very kindly crammed three shirts and two pair of pants into an express mailer. Thanks Mom!!

June 19: Decided to roll over Valic accounts over to fixed interest.  Have thought about refinancing the house but it is such a huge thing.  I hate stuff like this. 

June 21: Got my fifth Harry Potter book.  I was worried that JK Rowling would be obliqed to kill off Dumbledore since Richard Harris died shortly after the second film was released.
Well that went fast.

G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY JAN/FEB 2003

COQUILLE DIARY JANUARY FEBRUARY 2003:

Jan 10: Happy Anniversary!! We exchanged cards.  This is the longest I have ever been married.  Now if I can just survive menopause.  Erk.

01-20-03:  Got new glassed today, quite a change, last new glasses was four years ago.  Wow pricy over 500 bucks but there are bifocals and protected this and some damn thing else.  These better WORK!!

I have been attending CVH Strategic meetings.  My constant refrain has been electronic medical records.  Repeat...electronic.  Save paper.

Feb 1:  The shuttle Columbia shattered into pieces 16 minutes prior to landing.  While a horrible shock, I still vividly remember Challenger blow up one morning when I was home sick as a dog with the flu.  Horrible.  I am hoping the space program does not falter to a halt.  Update: it seems that frozen foam from the shuttle wing.  Pretty sure there is a work around for that .

Feb 9:  Sat down and got taxes done. I decided to file electronically.  This worked so slick.

2-14:  We celebrated Valentines Day and exchanged cards as is our custom.  I predict that who ever is designated to clean out this house after we die will discover some fascinating greeting cards. Might even find some collectors items.  Don't throw out every thing willy nilly kids.

2-23:  Watched Season open of "Survivor Amazon"  Very buff boys and girls.  A bit amusing, the men could NOT stop talking about the women even at Tribal Council.  Eyes up here guys.

Intersting tidbit.  I came across a nifty name at work the other day. Mrs. Icenogle.  I smiled and imagined that name being used in a comedy skit.

Nomination for best joke of the year:
Did you hear about the guy in ICU?  He was all hooked up to the cardiac monitor, IV's and oxygen mask.
A yoiung nurse came in to do his vitals and he asked her, "Are my testicles black?"
The nurse blushed and stammered and said she would get the head nurse.
The nurse supervisor came into ICU and the man asked her, "Are my testicles black?"
The nurse said, "Let me check".  She brisky whipped back his hospital gown, looked him over and said, "No sir, your testicles are not black."
He looked at her wearily, reached up to pull down his oygen mask and said,
"Are my test results back?"

Feb 26:  Got my personal PC back  from the computer guy.  Apparently nothing was wrong with it, they just unplugged some components, plugged them back in and every thing is working.  Huh.

That's it for Jan/Feb 2003:

G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY FOURTH QUARTER 2002

COQUILLE DIARY FOURTH QUARTERY SUMMARY 2002:

4-1: It was not April fools but I did get the permanent gold crown put on my molar.  I am chewing carefully as things are sensitive.
  
4-3: I finally received the Olympic beanie and mailed it to Monica.  She is fairly sick of hats and has discovered that going about with very short hair gets her a certain amount of hushed deference.  Snerk.

May,June, July:  Haven't felt like babbling on paper.  Did get the first rejection slip for Princess Giggle.  On to the next one on the list.

Visited Mom in Emmett at her new digs during Cherry Festival. We had a pleasant time.  I got to take her and her painful hip to an orthopedist who gave her a shot (Cortisone?)  injection.  The medication seemed to work at first. She has since seen a couple other orthopods and an acupuncture person.  She will have an MRI on 8-28.  Which showed an L5 disc herniation. She had the surgery and perked up enough for a trip to Seattle over Christmas 

While visiting in June, I took Anthony to the park to ride on the fun rides.  He had absolutely no fear to going on any of the rides.  He had a riding buddy on the roller coaster and he really liked that one.  There was a big slide and he did a good job of climbing up and sliding down.  He is five. 

Barbara Whelan flew out to visit early October. We had a blast going out to eat, reading, napping and having otherwise riotous times.  We did eat at the Portside in Charleston and had the special coffee.  Yummy. Also ate at Lord Bennetts in Bandon.  The view out the window was spectacular.

Also while Barb was here we had a CAR REPAIR ADVENTURE.  Very first day we coasted to a halt near a good parking place. Called Yellow Cab.  Called towing company to take it to Verger's where a burned out chip that connected to the clutch was replaced and it works well now.

I forgot while here we went to a tiny theater down town Coos Bay to see the production of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".  It was very well done. Barb and I have a long history of attending the odd theatrical outing mostly in Boise.  The first thing we ever attended was a Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelvth Night set in the 30's.  Men dressed in tennis outfits, etc.

At work we have been busy with vision stuff.  Very ernest effort to upgrade the facility and all that good stuff.

12-26: Raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock.  The basement is very wet.  Husband has been manning swabbing out the basement.  Thank you!!!

Work wise closing out the year with HIPAA regs and getting folk all educated and got all fixed up with a DOS program to report Trauma to the State.  Mr. Z allowed me to hire a young lady for filing, hooray, I was fearful of falling into actually hiding the loose filing.  Feeling much accomplished.
That's all for 2002:

G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY MARCH 2002

COQUILLE DIARY MARCH 2002:

Veryl short month documentation wise.

3-13:  I succumbed to curiosity and emailed the Houston outfit and they replied to say that they were expanding the search and wanted someon with an extensive outpatient coding background.  All righty then.  Last time I got "restless" I applied for a job in the Mariana's and wound up in Alaska.  I will keep my eyes open.

I called Monica, she sounds wonderful.  She is getting discharged tomorrow.  Every one is pleased with her except the grandson who is not thrilled to sit on the bed of the lady without hair.

Dental adventure  I had a temporary crown put on a lower left molar and got a filling done in the tooth in front of the molar.  I don't mind going to the dentist what I do NOT like is keeping my wide OPEN for what seems like forever.  

Got the gold crown put on the 26th. The dentist joked that the only drawback to a gold crown is if I get attended to by a mortician who collects gold crowns.  Oh and if you have any kind of thing like a heart monitor thingie they like to remove those kinds of things.

Kind of reminds me of the old joke.  A little old gentleman had reached his 100th birthday and a visitor asked him what was his secret to longevity.  The gentleman replied that each morning he sprinkled a teaspoon of gunpowder on his oatmeal.  The gentleman lived a few more years.  When he died he left behind 5 children, 25 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren and a 20 foot hole in the crematorium. 
G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY FEBRUARY 2002

COQUILLE DIARY FEBRUARY 2002:

Okay about that job interview.  I saw an advert for a job opening in a professional magazine wanting a coder in Saudi Arabia.  Hmm.  I sent off an inquiry mostly because Edna was making retirement noises, I was feeling insecure about a New Guy in Charge and sent off an application.  Then 9-11 happened and  I forgot all about it.  Couple of weeks ago I received a letter asking if I was still interested.  Um, yep.  The benefits are astounding.  

So I was booked to fly out of Portland to Houston via Continental.  4 hours of joy.  Took an hour to find the hotel, 30 minutes to find the interview spot.  That experience was very interesting.  I learned how to politely refuse tea. Good thing to know as the tea is um an acquired taste. 

I have been watching the Winter Olympics.  Wish the coverage was better.

I have resurrected "Princess Giggle" and have decided to sent out the Army, The Navy, the Guards and the Leader of the Pack to search for her missing Giggle.

YOU KNOW YOU LIVE IN A SMALL TOWN WHEN:  Tim brought down a copy of the direct deposit to our checking account of both Federal and State returns. This was a miracle because I gave the wrong account number.  I got the routing number correct.  I spoke to Darlene at the Klamath S&L she said the amount for the direct deposit had to be researched by name.  I thanked her for making the save. 

Update on Princess Giggle:  She is taking Royal Kite flying lessons and doing Serious Things.

Got an email from Monica.  She is scheduled for brain surgery in March.  Her surgeon is pretty confident that he can fix her up and not leave anything limp or not working.  I have ordered an Olympic beret.  Hope it gets here before her hair grows out.

Work: The local phone company upgraded our internet speed to frame relay, what ever THAT means. 

Bye for now,
R

COQUILLE DIARY JANUARY 2002

COQUILLE DIARY JANUARY 2002:

Okay people, for those of you who still write actual paper checks, sit down and put 2002 on at least the first ten paper checks, just to avoid that beginning of the new year getting the date correct on checks problem.

1-5:  Little accident at work:  Got to work this morning and found a note and some broken electrical components, plugs and wiring.  Huh??  Seems housekeeping came in to buff the floors and the buffer tangled with one of the cords lying near the shelves and ripped it into little bitty pieces.  That particular line was part of the Lanier transcription system so I had to make a service call request so someone might call back Monday and Lord only knows when someone will respond.  I am afraid it will run about 700 bucks to fix.  Erk.

Mom moved into a Senior Center.  Her new apartment is a one bedroom.  The laundry room is down the hall and there are lots of folk for her to boss around as I am sure will happen.  

Drug House next door. The land lord finally booted out the kid who was being very busy peddling something.  He rented the house to the kids older brother.  Hope his drug of choice is beer.

1-23: Got taxes done and this year we get a refund. Yay!!!

1-27:  Got big fat snow flakes, it has not melted off AND we have thunder snow.  Thunder in winter different.

I have been feeling restless and have been contacted to fly to Houston for a job interview.  Hmmm more about that next month.
Bye for now,

G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY DECEMBER 2001

COQUILLE DIARY DECEMBER 2001:

Well I reviewed my print version and decided to make one or two comments.

We received a "kicker" check from State of Oregon in the amount of $138.00.  I don't really understand it but sometime in 1980's they passed law to return part of the taxes to tax payers if something exceeded 2%T of something.  No idea. But here it was in the mail. It isn't the Dividend Fund from Alaska but it did make Christmas Dinner a bit less spendy.

Other nifty news is that Edna has granted bonuses as a parting gift when she leaves her position as CEO. Full time employees will receive 400 dollars, part time employees will receive 200 dollars.  All righty then, buy a couple frozen turkeys.

We met with the new CEO, Dennis Zielinski, we will probably call him Mr. Z and he and his family are between homes at the moment. He is staying in a room at the local no tell motel and having visited our contract coder who has stayed there, I do not envy him the size of the shower.  Erk.

I made fruit cake and mailed one to Mom.  She may use it as either a doorstop or paperweight.

Christmas I didn't feel like wrestling a turkeyl so I made meatloaf baked on top of a very dry stuffing and the combination turned out very nicely.

Also got a small check from BUECI in the amout of 15 dollars.  Thank you Barrow!

Merry, merry.

G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY NOVEMBER 2001

COQUILLE DIARY NOVEMBER 2001:

Late birthday mention: 10-24-01:  Charlie turned 29, where did that darling blond curly haired blue eyed boy go?  He grew UP, way WAY up!!

11-1-01: Update on new CEO.  Memo posted in dining room.  Stating that candidate # had withdrawn his acceptance of the CEO position. Apparently something popped up upon further examination of candidate #1 and the board told him not to pack and not to move to Coquille. Okay back to reviewing candidates.

11-5:  Husband noted a slow leak from somewhere in the basement.  Called the local friendly plumber who diagnosed leaky water heater.  He came and said he could bring one and install it in the afternoon!  Thank you, Bobby!
He re-rerouted some pipes and put in a cut off valve and was done by 3 pm.  Phew!!

The Sentinel paper investigated candidate #3 and it turned out that during his one and only tenure as CEO, a large grant was lost because no one reapplied for it, a very spendy orthopedic surgeon was hired with very little improvement of the bottom line and there was a very expensive secretary bringing in a very large salary. 

Candidate #4 Dennis Zielinski is a CEO with experience in Denver, Arizona and comes well qualified.  He is a snappy dresser and has a handsome head of white hair.  Everyone liked him. He likes to fish and he thinks his wife won't miss Michigan all that much as it is very green here most of the year.  He will start December 3.

Blustery weather this week.  The rain cap on the chimney occasionally howls in the wind.  

We are invited to our across the alley neighbors.  Don Sax is cooking. I love it when men cook.  I am taking Grandma Horn's pumpkin pie recipe as well as cranberry orange relish jello.  and I don't have to wash dishes.  Yayyyyy!!!
I did purchase a small turkey just for our household because I love left over and I love to boil the carcass for turkey broth.  I use that is forthcoming dressing dishes.  

I am thankful for many things.

G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY OCTOBER 2001

COQUILLE DIARY OCTOBER 2001:

Gail, Rocky, Justin, Jim are coming to visit Coquille. Justin is headed to Korea and Jim is off to Alaska?  They brought the cutest puppy, Scooter a miniature Schnauzer.  Took Gale for a tour of the hospital, she was impressed with the size of the kitchen. The kitchen is huge.  The dining room is tiny in comparison.

HOSPITAL HUMOR:   This was a for real ER visit. A young lady came in complaining of vaginal bleeding.  Apparently her boy friend had put electrical tape around his penis and she was afraid that he had cut her.  Yeah, there was some alcohol involved.  I bet that smarts when he peels off the electrical tape.

10-16:  I get to sit in on interviews for the candidates for Edna Cotner's job.  She wishes to retire.  The second and third candidates will come in the new couple of days.

 Candidate #1:  Very impressive and professional. IF his wife agrees to move to Coquille with their very young family of four children, two newly adopted.

 Candidate #2:  Good old boy from BSU, worked in Pocatello, Twin Falls and Moses Lake.  He seemed tired and needed a nap.

 Candidate #3:  She came on Monday, my day off and I forgot to work.  Everyone seemed to like her.

10-25; The Board met and offered the job to Candidate #1. 
Well, that is quite enough for October.

G'night folks.

COQUILLE DIARY SEPTEMBER 2001:

9-6: Today is my 54th birthday.  I shall spend it quietly by going to work.

Got the new online checking account up and running.  Went to the online baking website and set up bills that are usually posted in the dining room.  Bill pay will be activated tomorrow.

Update on lost wallet.  Found it in the basement.  Good news is that no one stole it.  Direct deposit is soooo wonderful, beats long lines at the bank in Barrow on payday.  

Husband went to a yard sale and we purchased a 30's type water fall vanity with large round crackled mirror.  The mirror needs to be silvered but I have a very large rectangular mirror that fits in the same slots rather nicely, new style!!

9-7:  Mom's 75th birthday, Happy happy!!

9-11:  Attack on America.  I do not listen to the radio in the morning, as I am all about getting dressed and heading into work.  I was astounded to see a crowd of people in the lobby watching TV.  I asked what was going on and the answer was "They knocked down both of the Twin Towers".  "Both!?"  The death toll will be in the thousands, everything is just paralyzed here at work.

Carla and Mitch are stuck in Las Vegas.  Carla rented a 15 passenger van as soon as they heard the airports being closed.  She managed to round up her entire bunch of co-workers.  Some of them whined and wanted to stay and play.  Nope, get in the van now!!  They stopped in Klamath Falls for the night and got home Thursday.  What a dreadful, dreadful week.

I am haunted by one of the pictures of destruction, it is the picture of three shards buried in debris.  It is so striking and macabre that it should be made into a memorial but I am sure that better design sense will prevail.

A tiny nugget of humor:  I really heard this at work.  One of the nurses was relating that one her elderly aunties had called her to share her shock and anger at the attack at the World Trade Center.  At one point during the conversation the auntie declared in outrage, "and you know that Osama Bin Laden was training those karaoke pilots to crash into those buildings!".  The nurse kept her lips firmly in place when she realized the auntie was trying to spit out "kamikaze". 

Sept 13,14,15:  The Fall meeting was not cancelled.  I drove up the coast to the Inn at Otter Rock.  Neat place.  You park and a golf cart comes to pick you and your luggage up to go to check in.  I was then taken to my place.  It was very nice, full kitchen, fireplace, pull down bed.  I was located right next door to the little tram that connects all of the apartments to the restaurant down by the beach.  It was lovely.  

Nephew, Justin, is being shipped to Korea after his leave this last week of September. Rocky and Gail are driving him and brother Jim to Seattle.  

Need to shut down September,

G'night folks.