Scribblings

Not in the job description

Heidi works for a rather large grocery food chain. I know there are unsanitary goings-on in any place that handles food but when you work right there (or are related to someone who is), sometimes the grossness can get to you. I haven't bought any fresh salad from this store after stories Heidi told me. Who wants salad when you know flies have been roaming around on it depositing whatever it is they leave whenever they land? UGH.

Lately, there's been an increasing mouse problem that has something to do with the way food is disposed. The cans the food should go into are maggoty and filthy and really need to be sanitized or just plain replaced. Management keeps sending the baggers--lowest of the low on the totem pole and mostly teenage kids--out to clean these things. Heidi tells me the baggers stand around talking until enough time has gone by that they could claim they did clean the containers and then they go back in. Who can blame them? What 16 year old wants to clean out a crusty maggoty garbage container?

Anyway, for whatever reason, mice have been coming into the store and the managers' solution has been to set traps.

Last night, Heidi found a baby mouse in one of the traps. She thought it was dead and was disposing it (and the other dead mice) when it moved and she realized it was barely alive. It would not be for long and so she killed it. When she came home, she broke down and wept long and hard. Even though she knew she was ending its suffering she was very upset about what she did.

Some might say, it was just a mouse, just a pesky nasty critter and of no significance. Still, when you love animals as Heidi does, it must have been a traumatic thing to do.

She wants to find another job. I don't blame her.

Happy Mother's Day, and Billy's Home!

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What pretty flowers! I'm hoping that all mothers had as wonderful a day as I did. The best gift of all was having us together. TB, Kristin and I went up to NY to get Billy and bring him home for the summer. It's nice to have him back for a couple of months! To see the rest of the pictures I took today, just click on the pic!

Quick Update on Little T & Other Stuff

I just asked TB to turn off the comments for this blog. I'm sorry to have to do that but until I find a way to screen out the spammers without having to go through and delete all the junk, I just have to do it. I just deleted 275 junk comments and MT only allows me to go at a 20-at-a-time pace so you can imagine how time consuming that is! And I have to delete junk comments at least twice a day so that they don't build up!

I meant to update about our little Tomas. He is doing so much better! He willingly put on the nebulizing mask at the doctor's office when I last posted, thank goodness, and so he got a full treatment. Linda's been giving him his meds and he's been doing much better! He still hacks a little bit but the meds are really helping!

This picture was taken at the restaurant this morning.

Bandwidth Problems

Since March, we've had to pay over $100 in bandwidth charges! That totally blew our minds away. We didn't think we were getting that many hits but apparently we are! That's good news and bad news. The bad news, of course, is that we really can't afford to keep paying the overages. I decided to move some of my post categories to wordpress and my new blog address will be here. That's where I'll do my cat blogging, yak about books I've read and other silly stuff and this site will just cover news about us. So all my cool widgits and rings and stuff will move too. Oh well...so it goes!

Small Update

It's been another lovely weekend, even nicer than the last one because of the milder temperatures. TB and Kristin continued working on our garden. Check it out so far:

Linda worked on a project of her own...painting the bedroom she shares with Little T!

Kennan and T spent the weekend together and had a wonderful time. Tomas has begun to run and jump! He also can blow hard enough on his pinwheel to make it spin. He's really coming a long way since this time last year!

Still, there are ups and downs. It was pretty clear T did not want to come home after such a great weekend with his dad. It's hard enough on any kid who has to go back and forth between households but I guess it's even moreso for T because he can't tell us yet how he feels. With time and work, we are hoping and praying he'll have plenty of words to tell us.

Since When Can't You Just Pay Your Doctor?

Apparently if you are covered by some insurance company your doctor doesn't take...especially one associated with Medicaid!

Linda is really sick. Her insurance is from Medicaid now and the primary assigned to her no longer takes that insurance! Well, that figures--outdated information and misinformation is one of the many things wrong with any provider. There is no doctor locally who takes that insurance and when Linda called the provider, they told her to go to the emergency room! Yey, way to drive up everyone's medical expenses, thanks for nothing!

Linda called the doctor she'd been seeing for the last several years, explained what happened and offerd to pay cash for seeing the doctor. The person she talked to said okay and so she went all the way out there to see the doctor only to learn from the office manager that they weren't "legally allowed" to see Linda because of her insurance.

What! Since when has having any insurance at all made a difference if you could pay in cash? I swear, the whole health system is totally fercockt! So Linda is now at the emergency room.

I have a memory that goes back to January 1965. We'd just moved to Maryland from New York and my brother (he was 10 at the time) got really sick on the way to school one morning. As it turned out, his appendix ruptured and my parents took him to the nearest hospital. The admitting person asked my father about his health insurance and my dad lied and said we had it. In truth, it hadn't kicked in yet. My parents were afraid if they told the truth my brother would be turned away and sent to a hospital that treated the insured further away and in a bad part of the city. When the officials found out my father wasn't insured after all, they were totally furious but it was too late. By then my brother had had his surgery. My dad just shrugged and said sorry, I misunderstood the question, deaf and dumb, you know?

My how times change.

Rachel Carson: Why We Have Earth Day

Silent Spring was one of the most powerfully frightening books I've ever read--it's all true. Rachel Carson warned us about using pesticides and what it would do to our environment and although she was labelled a crackpot she was fortunate enough to have found a supporter in President John Kennedy. I remember reading that anyone born after 1954 will have DDT in their livers, that's how long the poison stays in the environment. I also remember she warned about mutations in species because of pollutions and that's why we have 2 headed fish and frogs. That's why we have no life in lakes and streams poisoned by acid rain. I'm sure this is why our weather is whacked out. It's not DDT now, no--except in poor countries around the world. Now what we have is "the solution to pollution is dilution." I think Rachel Carson's book is a classic--read it if you dare.

The Legacy Of "Silent Spring"

NEW YORK, April 22, 2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(CBS) In her groundbreaking book "Silent Spring," Rachel Carson jolted a prosperous post-war America — a country confident that science and technology were leading the way to a future in which disease and hunger could be overcome, in no small part thanks to a new generation of powerful pesticides.

But in "Silent Spring," Carson warned that progress had a price.

"These sprays, dusts and aerosols are now applied almost universally to farms, gardens, forests and homes — non-selective chemicals that have the power to kill every insect, the good and the bad, to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish in streams, to coat the leaves with a deadly film and to linger on in soil," she said in a 1962 documentary for CBS News. "All this, though the intended target may be only a few weeds or insects."

At the midpoint of the 20th century, spraying was a familiar sight to many young baby boomers including Robert Kennedy, son of the late New York senator, Robert Kennedy.

"We had sprayers coming — coming down our street, big fogging trucks, you know … to spray for DDT," he told CBS News correspondent Thalia Assuras. "And my brothers and I would go out and play combat in the fog, you know, running in and out of this fog, breathing this stuff."

Kennedy is now an environmental lawyer, and says Rachel Carson was a pioneer who inspired a generation of activists.

"She was the first one to quietly, you know, kind of nudge the American people and say, 'Well, wait a second. There's a cost here that you're not being told about,'" he said.

Carson, an unassuming scientist and writer, was an unlikely activist for sure, but the seeds were planted early in her childhood. She grew up in a modest house just outside of Pittsburgh.

"She enjoyed wandering around in the fields," said Patricia DeMarco, the executive director of the Rachel Carson Homestead. "It was her playground. She just was very fascinated with living things and growing things. From an early age she wanted to be a writer and her mother was teaching her at home a lot."

After earning a college science degree, Carson took a job at the Federal Bureau of Fisheries, which later became the Fish and Wildlife Service.

"While she was put out in the field as an aquatic biologist, soon she was editing other scientists' reports," said Linda Lear, author of a biography on Carson who also contributed to a new book of essays about her legacy.

In her free time, Carson wrote three increasingly successful books about the mysteries of the sea. The books sold so well that she turned to writing full-time. She hoped that her writing would help educate the public about the wonders of nature.

"Always to instill her science writing with an ethic, if you will, of how beautiful nature is," Lear said, "how intricate it is and how everything in nature is related to everything else.

So when Carson saw evidence that pesticides — DDT in particular — were killing birds and other wildlife, she decided that would be the subject of her next book.

It took her four years to write "Silent Spring," based on research from a network of scientists around the country. Finishing the book became a matter of will; she was fighting breast cancer.

Roger Christie, Carson's great-nephew, said he could tell how ill she was and perhaps at some level he knew she was dying. Carson adopted him when he was five and she was just shy of 50.

"I think subconsciously, I knew she was dying," he said.

Through sheer determination, Carson participated in an hour-long CBS News documentary on pesticides, which aired not long after "Silent Spring" became a national best seller.

"Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons on the surface of the Earth without making it unfit for all life?" she said in the documentary.

While Carson didn't contend that chemical insecticides must never be used, she faced harsh opposition.

"Well, the one guy, the chief critic was — as they say, he would have made a great villain in a Bela Lugosi movie," Christie said.

His name was Dr. Robert White-Stevens, a spokesman for the chemical industry.

"The major claims in Miss Rachel Carson's book, 'Silent Spring,' are gross distortions of the actual facts, completely unsupported by scientific experimental evidence, and general practical experience in the field," he told CBS more than four decades ago. "If Man were to faithfully follow the teachings of Miss Carson, we would return to the Dark Ages, and the insects and diseases and vermin would once again inherit the Earth."

"He was way over the top," Christie said. "'If Miss Carson has her way, the — hundreds of thousands of people would be starving in the streets tomorrow!'"

When CBS turned to government experts, the questions were many, but the answers few. Dr. Page Nicholson, water pollution expert, Public Health Service, wasn't able to answer how long pesticides persist in water once they enter or the extent to which pesticides contaminated groundwater supplies.

Even still, Christie said he knew his aunt was having an impact when President John F. Kennedy mentioned the book at a press conference.

"And my Uncle Jack, John F. Kennedy, read her book, and said, 'I'm gonna appoint an independent commission to investigate whether it's true or not," Robert Kennedy said. "That commission met for almost a year. And then at the end of that time period, [they] came out and said that essentially everything in Rachel Carson's book was true."

Rachel Carson died in 1964, just 18 months after "Silent Spring" was published. She would never know that her crusade against pesticides forever changed the way Americans view their environment.

DDT was banned in this country in 1972. Carson's work also led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and without her pioneering efforts, we might not be marking Earth Day.

"Silent Spring" foreshadowed the debate over global warming, clean energy and organic food.

But to best understand Carson's legacy, there's no better place to look than Catalina Island, just off the coast of southern California — home again to the bald eagle.

The eagles had all but disappeared after DDT was dumped into local waters, which led egg shells to become so thin that chicks couldn't survive. But just this month, for the first time in decades, eggs left in nests in the wild hatched on their own.

Ann Muscat, president of the Catalina Island conservancy, believes the eagles owe it all to Rachel Carson.

"So I think that wherever she is right now, she must be looking down on Catalina and thinking, 'This is really a wonderful occasion,'" Muscat said.

Tomorrow is Earth Day

Your Life is 72% Green

You live a very green life, and you're aware of how your actions help the earth. Of course, it's hard to be totally green. But when you make a tradeoff, you know why you're making it.

The Tragedy at Virginia Tech

Something so awful happens that sometimes I am just speechless and just left feeling sick to my stomach. That's how I felt after the gunmen killed all those little girs at the Amish school and that's how I feel now in the aftermath of the mass killings at Virginia Tech. I also have a feeling of there but for the grace of God, go I.

I worry about my kids in their respective schools. Kristin's high school has been in lock down several times and now the kids are restricted from using all but 2 or 4 of the bathrooms in the whole big building. Billy called not long ago to let me know RPI went into lockdown after a body was found in one of the buildings. It turned out the man had killed himself but it was still kind of scary not knowing what had happened. And even though Heidi goes to community college locally you just never know when something crazy can happen.

And I know it for a fact. When I was 17 and a senior--December 13, 1972--a maintenance man at my high school went berserk. He was armed with a machete, stabbed two security guards and took a 10th grader hostage. He held the girl in the tiny office next to our psychology classroom. I can still hear the girl's voice, screaming and pleading and how insane the man sounded in reply. In the end, he let her go and the SWAT team shot the man to pieces and killed him. I never ever would have dreamed something like that could happen at my school--but it did.

And it keeps happening over and over.

I've tried to stay away from the news story but came upon it again when I was reading Blog d'Elisson's post today. I'd heard that one of the professors at Virginia Tech had protected his students by barricading the door with his own body and I'd wondered about that man--what caused him to sacrifice himself like that? Read Blog D'Elisson's post, it might make you cry as I did.

I don't know what else to say.

Some Days Are Very Hard

Some days are harder than others when I'm taking care of Tomas. I knew this morning would be rough because he's had a spring break and so he'd be transitioning back into a schedule of eat, get dressed, get on the bus, go to school after more than a week off. The Nor'easter we had yesterday closed the schools and threw everyone off too. I'm not even sure T understood why he wasn't going to school last week.

Anyway, everything was fine until it was time to get dressed. Tomas wanted me to raise and lower the blinds in my bedroom. This is a game we've played for several months now with variations on the language: the blinds go up, the blinds go down, open the blinds, close the blinds, pull the cord, etc. He was still in his jammies and needed to have a diaper change. Again, I'm not sure how much of the behavior is related to PDD and how much is related to just wanting to get his own way. I can't think of any 2 or 3 year old that responds well to "not now" or "later".

Tomas took it very badly. He would not allow me to change him and when he does not want something to happen, it usually can't because he fights like his life was in danger. I stayed calm and said we couldn't play until he got dressed. It takes him a while to process things and so I let him alone for about 10 minutes before broaching again "Let's get dressed." I added that when he got dressed, we would be able to open and close the blinds. He didn't like it.

Now, Tomas slept in this morning. Normally he's up and around by 6:45, just when Linda leaves for work. Today he'd slept until 7:30 so I was working with less time than usual to get him ready. On the other days, he'd be ready so fast we'd have an hour to kill before the bus came. It was still rotten outside so I couldn't use "let's go for a walk" to coax him.

I thought, okay, well, let's at least get him out of my room so he won't be tempted by the blinds. He did not want to go and kicked me several times as I carried him into the hall. I closed the door and right away he began fighting me to re-open it. "Tomas, stop" and "we can go back in when you get dressed" didn't penetrate. Heidi heard the commotion and came down to help.

He's learned to open the door by turning the knob and so he was trying to twist my hand and fingers so that he could get to the knob. I had Heidi go into my room and lock the door from the inside. That stopped that skirmish but then came the diaper battle which left my nerves raw and rattled. He's got to have one particular type of diaper and if it's not there he becomes very angry. Of course, the diaper he wanted wasn't there. He didn't want the diaper or the pants...I was thinking I ought to just send him in his PJs and dirty diaper but I just couldn't. He'd been in that thing all night and needed to be changed.

I called Kennan to see if he had some good ideas to calm T and it was right about then everything seemed to go through the baby's brain. It was like flipping a light switch on. All of a sudden, he was all smiles, cooperating with the diaper change, trying to put on his pants...???? Is it the processing time? Was it that I called his dad? I am not sure he was even aware I'd called.

Well, I won't go on and on about it except to say that I really need to learn how to cope with all of these behaviors. I am okay with sending him to school in his PJs if he won't get dressed but not in a dirty diaper. How do you get through to a child with the issues Tomas has? That's what I need to know...

About Trackbacks to Scribblings...

...we had to turn them off.

We were getting spammed with hundreds of junk trackbacks and it was using up our bandwidth.

That's why it takes so long sometimes to even get a comment approved. We have to go through hundreds of junk comments too but we didn't want to turn those off because we enjoy them so much!

Dog Chews Through Cable...

Just as I was about to post a fun movie meme on Monday night, our cable connection went out. I hate when that happens, don't you? Luckily I'd saved the post and figured I'd wait until morning to repost...except the cable was still out. I rebooted the modem and router a couple of times during the day ... nothing. Now I am annoyed and feeling very cut off from the world. TB calls the cable company and they tell him they can't send someone until Thursday. Ack! Two more days without cable?

Today the repairman came out and we found out that our cable line had come loose (or something) and that some dogs in the neighborhood must have chewed through them. Durn mutts. We have to get some kind of box or something to cover the wire. Anyway, when the service guy looked up, he noticed that our electrical cable had also separated from our house and so TB also had to call NJL&P to come and reattach it before someone got fried.

What was TB doing home? He'd broken a tooth on a peanut Tuesday night, suffered all day Wednesday in pain and at work and when I found out, I called and got him an emergency appointment for this morning. The dentist had to pull the tooth--and it broke into 3 pieces, so TB was in the chair for 3 hours! He is going to get a bridge and all will be well. He was very happy with the care he got at the dentist's.

I was happy to have him home because I picked up a bug, maybe from Kristin. She had/has a temperature of 102 and was throwing up last night. This morning I felt kind of pukey and then just went downhill from there. I slept most of the day and would still be sleeping except that when Heidi went to get Tomas off the bus, he was sound asleep and when he saw it was her and not me he had a great big fit. Then Heidi got mad because I got up to see what was going on and to comfort little T. Argh. So now I've retreated back to the bedroom to catch up on my email and post what I wanted to post over the last couple of days.

Billy called to tell us that he was okay and not to worry--eh? It turns out a body was found somewhere on campus at RPI, the president sent an email to all the parents, and closed the school at noon. I explained to Billy we hadn't been able to get online since Monday but I had lots of questions. The rumors are flying up there that whoever it was had been shot and that someone was still loose with the gun. Great. Well, Billy is back in his dorm and knows to stay put while the cops do their investigation. I hope it's solved soon.

So now I'm going to go check my mail and dig up the posts I saved over the last couple of days. I spent normal internet time writing, playing Chuzzles, Tumblebugs and Sims. It definitely was weird not to be able to get online. I didn't like it a bit. So now I am feeling connected again!

An Abnormality

I really like the plastic surgeon who did my breast reduction surgery in 2005. Not only did he have a great bedside manner and was patient and willing to answer questions, he also believed that the more a patient knew the better of he or she would be. He would anticipate different "problems" that might come up and explain them to me so that if they happened, I didn't get all freaked out. During the last visit when he pronounced me healed and well, he said I should wait a year to get another mammogram. When I got it, he said, I shouldn't be surprised if the doctors found a lot of stuff they didn't like. Most likely it would be caused by scar tissue but it's always better to be safe than sorry. They'll want you to go for a needle biopsy. So go for it but don't let it scare you, he said.

And so I went for my mammogram and wasn't terribly surprised when, the very next day, I got a call from the doctor about an "abnormality" in my right breast--calcium deposits I should have biopsied. Okay, no big deal. I saw the breast surgeon today and she did an ultrasound. There is a cyst and some other thing or other in my right breast. I got a clear view of it. I still wasn't too worried, until the doctor said that if it was just a matter of scar tissue or healing then it would be bilateral.

Huh? She asked if I'd had any problems after the surgery and I didn't think I had. Of course, I do remember that the first surgeon had raised a couple of issues but it was so gently done that I didn't think a thing of it. Had I maybe had an infection that caused this extra weird stuff in my breast? I can't remember.

So next Wednesday I need to go back and have the needle biopsy. TB had taken the afternoon off and had come with me on this appointment and I was glad he was there. It's not so much that I was nervous or scared, it's just so much better not to be alone. I remember having a Pap test come back with abnormal cells right after Rich died and I had to go for further testing alone and it really sucked.

Okay, anyway, the doctor asked if we had any questions and neither of us did. Maybe that surprised her. My feeling is, why ask a bunch of questions now before I know what I'm dealing with? Why freak myself out over maybe nothing? And if it's something, I can't change it anyway. So I'll save all my questions for next week and for when the results come back. Meantime, I just pray.

First Day of Spring

The First Day
==============

Today is the first day of spring.

Spring is heralded by the vernal equinox.
An equinox happens when day and night are exactly equal.
Equinoxes occur twice each year.

On this day, light and darkness are equal.

In our lives,
we often have a tendency to let the darkness overpower the light.

Remember,
there is just as much light as there is darkness.

The thing about spring, from tomorrow forward, the light of each day increases while the darkness decreases.

Remember that.

You can choose which part you live in.
You can choose which part you will focus on.

Which part will you live in and focus on?

...light or darkness?

The light is increasing.

Remember that.

~A MountainWings Original~

See It Through

Sometimes life can throw us a real curve ball, TB and I know that and have been through it. Every once in a while, I find something like this online and I like to use it to remind me to keep on going.

See It Through
===============

When you're up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face;
Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace.

When it's vain to try to dodge it,
Do the best that you can do;
You may fail, but you may conquer,
See it through!

Black may be the clouds about you
And your future may seem grim,
But don't let your nerve desert you;
Keep yourself in fighting trim.

If the worst is bound to happen,
Spite of all that you can do,
Running from it will not save you,
See it through!

Even hope may seem but futile,
When with troubles you're beset,
But remember you are facing
Just what other men have met.

You may fail, but fall still fighting;
Don't give up, whate'er you do;
Eyes front, head high to the finish.

See it through!

~Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959)~

Guess Who Joe Hill Is?

Okay, I admit it...I'd never heard of Joe Hill, except for the one in the song.

I remember dedications by one of my favorite writers to his wife and children but this writer just said "Joe" and not "Joe Hill". I hadn't heard of any of Joe Hill's books but I will have to go and give them a try now. Why? He is Stephen King's son! I looked at the picture and thought, oh, of course.

The article and picture are here but I'm also going to cut and paste it into my extended entry.

It is so hard for kids with famous parents to try and make a name for themselves! Hey, I am always looking for new writers to read!

Secret of horror writer's lineage broken By JERRY HARKAVY, Associated Press Writer Sat Mar 17, 7:32 PM ET

Joe Hill knew it was only a matter of time before one of the publishing industry's hottest little secrets became common knowledge. He just wished he could have kept it under wraps a bit longer.

But when Hill's fantasy-tinged thriller, "Heart-Shaped Box," came out last month, it was inevitable that his thoroughbred blood lines as a writer of horror and the supernatural would be out there for all to see.

After 10 years of writing short stories and an unpublished novel under his pen name, Hill knows that the world is now viewing him through a different prism — as the older son of Stephen King.

Hill, 34, took on his secret identity to test his writing skills and marketability without having to trade on the family name.

"I really wanted to allow myself to rise and fall on my own merits," he said over breakfast in this coastal city. "One of the good things about it was that it let me make my mistakes in private."

The moniker he chose did not come out of the blue. He is legally Joseph Hillstrom King, named for the labor organizer whose 1915 execution for murder in Utah inspired the song, "Joe Hill," an anthem of the labor movement. His parents, who came of age during the 1960s, "were both pretty feisty liberals and looked at Joe Hill as a heroic figure," he said.

"Heart-Shaped Box," a title drawn from a song by the rock group Nirvana, is a fast-paced tale of another man with dual identities. Judas Coyne, born Justin Cowzynski, is an over-the- hill heavy metal rocker with a strange hobby: amassing ghoulish artifacts.

When Coyne learns that a suit purportedly haunted by a ghost is up for grabs on an online auction site, he can't resist adding it to his creepy collection. Things turn ugly fast after Coyne learns that the suit's occupant is a spooky spiritualist bent on vengeance following the death of his stepdaughter.

The book has drawn good reviews, with The New York Times' Janet Maslin calling it "a wild, mesmerizing, perversely witty tale of horror" that is "so visually intense that its energy never flags." And with its cinematic, and bloody, ending, Warner Bros. snapped up movie rights six months before the book hit the market.

As excitement percolated about "Heart-Shaped Box," so, too, did lingering questions about its author. Inklings about Hill's family background started appearing in online message boards in 2005 when his collection of short stories, "20th Century Ghosts," was published in Britain.

Similarities in subject matter and appearance — Hill has his father's bushy eyebrows and the dark beard he sported decades ago — were enough to stir suspicion among followers of the horror genre.

"It got blogged to death," Hill recalled. But only when his identity was trumpeted in Variety last year did he realize that the secret was gone for good. "That was really the nail in the coffin," he said.

Still, his pen name had a good ride. The editor of "Heart-Shaped Box" was unaware of the King connection and Hill's agent remained in the dark for eight years before the author spilled the beans two years ago.

Hill's decision to follow his father's career should come as no surprise. His mother, Tabitha King, has been turning out novels for decades. His younger brother, Owen King, came out in 2005 with a well-received novella and short story collection that is more literary than horrific and laced with absurdity.

Like Hill, Owen King wanted to cut his own path and his book did not mention his parentage. But he decided against a pen name, figuring it would be too much trouble to try to go by an alias when meeting people or having an agent, manager, publicist or personal assistant handle details of his professional life.

The only sibling who has yet to make it into print is Naomi King, oldest of the three, who has switched careers from restaurateur to Unitarian minister. But Hill said his sister is working on a nonfiction project: a book-length study of the sermon as literary text and its place in American culture.

The King children's interest in books and writing took root early on. "It sounds very Victorian, but we would sit around and read aloud nightly, in the living room or on the porch," Hill recalled. "This was something we kept on doing until I was in high school, at least."

In an era of celebrity worship, the family has prided itself on being able to maintain as normal a lifestyle as possible despite Stephen King's fame and fortune. Hill and his brother attended public high school in Bangor, Maine, before going on to Vassar College, where they overlapped for one year.

After graduation, Hill and Owen King collaborated on a couple of screenplays. They sold one, but it has yet to be made into a movie.

The first half of "Heart-Shaped Box" is set in New York's Hudson Valley, the area around Vassar, where Judas Coyne lives with his latest Goth girlfriend, who 30 years his junior, and two devoted German shepherds.

At first, Hill envisioned his tale of a suit with a ghost attached as grist for a short story. But as he added depth and back story to his characters, it ballooned into a novel 10 times longer than what he originally planned.

The choice of title was pure serendipity. Hill's initial idea, "Private Collection," went by the wayside when the 1993 Nirvana song popped up on iTunes as the author was getting ready to write the episode in which UPS delivers the haunted suit to Coyne. It was then that Hill decided to package the suit in a heart-shaped box.

"Coyne is fiction and (Kurt) Cobain was a real guy," he said, "but I felt that the song fit very well with the book. The song is about a guy who feels trapped and desperate, and the book is about how someone uses music as a hammer to beat at the bars of his own cage."

Hill and his wife, whom he met at Vassar, live in southern New Hampshire with their three children. He is reluctant to say much about his private life, recalling how a crazed fan broke into his family's home in Bangor in 1991 and threatened his mother, a frightening episode that evoked the plot of King's earlier best seller, "Misery."

Stephen King declined a request for comment on his son's novel. "He's trying to go along with Joe's wishes and let him do this on his own," said his spokeswoman, Marsha DeFilippo.

But at a recent panel discussion in New York, King told a questioner that he wouldn't rule out a collaborative book project with his son.

"I guess anything's possible," he said. "I took them on my knee, read them stories, changed their diapers, and now they're all grown up and they have become writers, of all things. I am really proud of them. I guess we'll see what happens down the road."

___

Associated Press Writer Colleen Long in New York contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

http://www.joehillfiction.com

Amber Eyes

For Cats on Tuesday:

I just love my new camera. It takes great close up shots. I do most of my practicing on Amber, not necessarily the most photogrenic or patient but surely the slowest kitty in the house.

Her favorite perch is right in front of my computer and that is where I keep my camera. I was sitting this far from Amber when I took the next picture. I just used the zoom lens.

In other news: I saw my friendly new DVR (Division of Vocational Rehabilitation) counselor this morning and talked about how to get me back into the work force. I would like to and feel I can handle a part time teacher's aide job and the counselor agreed this would be a good job for me. I had a psych eval last year before Tomas came to live with us and the doctor felt that fibromyalgia and my physical injuries would be the biggest impediment to work and that emotionally I could handle it. Yay! Well, with the ADA it wouldn't be hard to get accommodations--I just need to be able to stand up or sit down as needed and I have enough stamina to go part time.

Billy went back to RPI after his week long spring break. I missed him almost immediately. Well, May is coming...

Heidi & Kristin are doing great. TB and another employee where he works had words. The other guy is pissed off about something and it's just one of those man-things. It seems to have been straightened out, thank goodness. TB doesn't need any more aggravation than he's already got.

And in the world of agita, Linda was supposed to start work through a temp agency today. It sounds like a scene right out of The Grapes of Wrath when the foreman comes to hire from a bunch of guys standing around desperate for jobs. She shows up and there are half a dozen other people there or so. The boss comes out, says I need 5, picks out the five and the others are left out to dry. The temp agency had a representative there too and I wondered why that rep didn't speak up? Say something like, "Hey you can't have our agency send 8 people out and then you only pick 5."

Tomas had a bacterial infection but is doing much better! His class is having a St. Patrick's day party on Friday and I will be there with my leprechaun hat on!

Just when I thought it was safe in this neighborhood...

...my neighbor comes across the street to tell me about a violent break-in catty-corner from us. The neighbors across the street back to the lake and police believe that's where the thieves came from. They kicked in the back patio door to this unknown neighbor's house and took what? We're not sure. I don't know the names of the people who had their house broken into because I so tend to keep to myself. My neighbor from across the street says it's like "Little Harlem" down two nearby streets. I had no idea. I guess I better open up my eyes. Now before anyone jumps at me about "Little Harlem" my neighbor is herself an African American and she's the one that used the term.

As for me, I knew there'd been another gang related shooting not far from the home of one of Kristin's friends. In this case, two young men were arrested for firing into the house and attempting to kill the fellow inside. In the township, in a very troubled neighborhood in town, another young man was shot and killed. This, too, was gang related. I have been seeing police everywhere lately.

It angers me as much as it worries me. Kristin's only a freshman at the high school. I think it's just going to get worse before it gets better. I worry about her safety and the quality of education in that building. I'm angry because of the increasing violence--why are they coming to my town? There's nothing here!

I believe that is probably exactly the problem. There are too many poor people to exploit and tempt into selling drugs and whatever. There are too many bored teenagers with nothing to do. Why is there no teen center here? Why are there no PAL leagues? I guess I should stop complaining here and go down to the township and find out if anything can be done. I know the teen center is supposed to open ... sometime.

Also meanwhile, as my neighbor across the street said, we have to watch out for one another. I better pay more attention to what is going on.

Words of Wisdom

This is long but every one is a gem - worth the read

By Regina Brett The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Posted by Cassie at 12:03 PM | TrackBack

Busyness

Thursday was Michele's birthday. Happy birthday again, Michele! We miss her and her family a lot, especially around the holidays and special days like these.

On Friday, Tomas's class had a Dr. Seuss birthday party. I took lots of pictures but am only going to upload this one of T because I'm not sure how the families of the other kids would feel if I had their photos online.

After the party, Linda decided to call Kennan and invite him to take T for the weekend because she said she is sick. It's good because T needs to be with his dad but we didn't get a chance to see him off and I miss him. Linda wasn't here when we got back. Where'd she go feeling so sick? The emergency room? Beats me. She still hasn't returned.

Why weren't we here? We had to go to the Greyhound in Mt. Laurel -- Billy came home from RPI yesterday for a 1 week spring break! It's so good to have him back, even for just 10 days.

Today is Linda's birthday. Happy birthday, where ever you are.

The Price of Fun In the Sun

i have always loved the beach -- playing in the sand, swimming or frolicking in the water, sunning myself and most of all, the sound of the surf in my ears and salty tangy smell in my nose and taste on my lips.

We could easily walk to the town's bay beaches in the summer time and I think we were there just about every day from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Sometimes we'd get a real treat and Mom would take my brother and me over to the ferry. This was before the Robert Moses Bridge (on Long Island) was built. We'd go from Captree Beach over to Fire Island where the mighty ocean was. My dad taught my brother and me to swim in the bay and although the ocean was scary, we soon learned how to swim there too.

This love of the beach ... it must be genetic.

These are my grandparents at Sea Gate Beach. The picture was taken in 1915 and I'm guessing they were honeymooning. My grandfather, a stern immigrant from Norway, was never one to just sit around, so this had to be some kind of special occasion.

For every summer of my life right up until I got married the first time, I was always at the beach during the summer. I used to do laps in the bay or in the ocean for exercise. Yes, that silly kid in the picture is really me at around the age of 26 or 27. I loved riding the waves on a raft and when one wasn't available, I'd just body surf.

When we weren't swimming or playing in the water, we'd bask in the sunshine. My brother was too macho for sun screen and while I wasn't one of those Ban d'Soleil folks, I wasn't using SPF 15 either. I think the highest I'd go those years was about an 8.

Gosh, I miss the beach. I've been back to several beaches over the years but not to the extent I did when I was a kid. Now it's all different too--I'm putting on SPF 50 and wearing hats and long sleeves and all that other "old lady" garbage I always used to roll my eyes at. And it's all because of my friend, the Beach and his best friend the Sun.

I began noticing the age spots in my 40s. Having a nice gorgeous tan when you are in your 20s is great but these big splotches aren't so much fun...especially when they begin to change. I guess I've had about a dozen precancerous skin cells removed in the last few years. Most recently, I had 4 removed and two are being biopsied. It's the price of all those years of careless fun in the sun but you know what? I wouldn't trade any of them back. There are just too many good memories.

Fog of Confusion 2

One reason I had to make another entry was to get rid of that second explorer page. I was having too much trouble trying to go back and forth. I have only just figured out moving from tab to tab on a single page--which I really like now. Anyway, the other article on fibro fog was on the Arthritis Foundation website and I found it to be helpful and hopeful.

Clearing the Fog

Excerpted from Good Living with Fibromyalgia Workbook.

Many people with fibromyalgia experience unclear thinking or cognitive dysfunction. They become forgetful, lose their train of thought, forget words or mix them up. This is what is popularly called fibro fog. There's no known cause for it, and the only treatment for it is following some basic memory and communication tips.

Below are some common-sense pointers that can help you clear the fog.

Repeat yourself. Repeat things to yourself over and over again. Repetition will keep thoughts fresh in your mind.

Write it down. Whether you write in a calendar, in a notebook or on sticky notes, if you're afraid you won't remember something, putting pen to paper can help.

Pick your best time. If there is something you need to do that requires concentration and memory, such as balancing your checkbook or following a recipe, pick your best time to do it. Many people with fibromyalgia say they perform best early in the day.

Get treated. Depression, pain and sleep deprivation can influence your ability to concentrate and remember. Getting your medical problems treated may indirectly help your memory.

Engage yourself. Reading a book, seeing a play, or working a complex crossword or jigsaw puzzle can stimulate your brain and your memory.

Stay active. Physical activity, in moderation, can increase your energy and help lift your fibro fog. Speak to your doctor or physical therapist about an exercise program that is right for you.

Explain yourself. Explain your memory difficulties to family members and close friends. Memory problems often result from stress. Getting a little understanding from the ones you love may help.

Keep it quiet. A radio blasting from the next room, a TV competing for your attention, or background conversation can distract your attention from the task at hand. If possible, move to a quiet place and minimize distractions when you are trying to remember.

Go slowly. Sometimes memory problems can result from trying to do too much in too short a period of time. Break up tasks, and don't take on more than you can handle at once. Stress and fatigue will only make the situation worse.

Some of these I do already--I know I focus better in the mornings. I read and do puzzles. Other things I need to start doing.

And here's the lyrics for "Ball of Confusion" while I'm at it. I always did like this song.

Fog of Confusion: That's What My Mind Is Today

My title is a take-off of the Temptations song "Ball of Confusion" but that's not what the post is about. I was looking for information on the ball of confusion from an episode of Sponge Bob. You flip the switch on and immediately all intelligence is vacuumed out of your brain and you stand with with a vacant expression, drooling all over yourself. I feel like that many days, like everything's drained out and I can't put two thoughts together, can't seem to do the simplest task (like heat up an already cooked pork roast), and just generally feel like a sack of jello. Most of the time I get really mad at myself when this happens, which does absolutely nothing to help.

What did help was doing a google search of brain fog, all in fun, and coming up with some useful information. Now, here is the problem I'm confronting at this very moment in time: where did I put all that information? I installed Explorer 7 not long ago and it's great because of the tabbing ... except ... if I click on one of my toolbar icons, a whole nex Explorer page opens up. That's what my problem is right now. I have two explorer pages open and trying to process and find all the information I want for this post is sizzling my brain.

On one explorer page, I have tabs for Stumbleupon.com (which looks really interesting!), the lyrics to the Temps' song, my entry and an article called "FIBROMYALGIA AND BRAIN FOG OR FIBRO FOG". However, I remembered also finding an article from the arthritis foundation about fibromyalgia fog. Where did it go? No tabs...had I closed it by accident? And then I realize there is yet another explorer page open. That page opened because I clicked an icon for our photo gallery. And on that page is the tab for the other article.

I am totally blown away. I sit staring at the screen wondering what to do next. I feel a vacuous expression coming over my face. Next I'll start drooling. But wait! This second page has some really helpful information so that I can try to cope with what's happening.

Here is the first article:

Fibromyalgia & Brain Fog or Fibro Fog

Brain fog aka fibro fog is a commonly reported symptom of fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia patients often describe multiple sensations of fatigue and listlessness combined with transitory states of confusion, poor attention and concentration, and short-term memory loss. This fibro fog tends to exacerbate the deficits in daily functioning that a fibromyalgia sufferer must deal with.

What causes fibro fog? There's no conclusive origin for this symptom of FMS, nor an explanation as to why it exists in varying degrees for different fibromyalgia patients. Sleep deprivation and significant difficulty in achieving and/or maintaining deep level sleep, however, may very well point to the answer.

It is at the deeper levels of sleep (delta wave sleep) that a person's mind conducts its internal "housekeeping". During this phase of sleep, newly acquired information is assimilated and integrated. The inability to get enough restorative deep-level sleep may have an impairing effect on an individual's ability to recall information or operate at a normal level of mental efficiency.

The thing about sleep makes a lot of sense. I didn't sleep well last night and was up really early so that Heidi could go on a field trip to Mt. Laurel. She still has a driver's permit and so I needed to go with her on the drive. Anyway, after I got back home I felt increasingly sleepy so I took a long nap. Instead of feeling refreshed when I woke up, I felt drugged and confused. Then the fog descended.

Next article: Dealing with fog

Sugar's gone whacko

I feel like I've been sick since Christmas. Anyway, TB and I were at the doctor's again about 10 days ago for more antibiotics. I was starting to feel better until Friday or Saturday and now it's like it's all starting over again. My sugar's been really high, in the mid 200s which is worrying me some. Now I have to go back to the doctor again and see what next. I'm taking metformin but it's the lowest dose (I think) so I suppose the doctor will tell me to take more of it. I'm curious to learn more about byetta. TB takes it along with his other meds. It has to be injected but I won't mind if it'll help.

The doctor wants my cousin to use it. She has a pre-diabetes condition. She's reluctant to use it because of the needle. Frankly, if my doctor suggested to me before I became diabetic I would have used it no problem. I guess I'm more inured to the sight of a needle from watching TB inject himself several times a day every day.

A Good Laugh

That's exactly what I did not have when I first read this article a couple of days ago. What I thought was something along the lines of us being doomed or destined or fated for total disaster--no freedom of choice for me here, I didn't vote for this man and we'll be at war again before we can get him out.

By the way, I'll probably be posting a few times about fate, destiny and free will for what will become obvious reasons.

Anyway, today I go to read a fave of mine, Genuine Blog and he's quoting from a friend's blog and I got a real laugh out of it! The friend's blog is called "a href="http://thezeroboss.com/2007/02/14/cmon-baby-finish-killing-what-you-started/" target="_blank">The Zero Boss. I'm going to do the same thing Genuine did and nick the post:

C’mon, Baby, Finish Killing What You Started Posted by The Zero Boss - February 14, 2007 @ 6:51 pm

Um…have we all forgotten what happened the last time we let this man interpret intelligence data? Forget the Federal Marriage Amendment - there oughtta be an amendment specifying that, before starting a new war, the Commander in Chief should finish the previous one. You know, kind of like not being able to eat your pudding until you’ve eaten all your meat.

Mr. Bush already made that mistake once--setting Osama aside to invade Iraq. Now that's the ticket! No starting new battles before the old ones are finished!

Happy Valentine's Day

Great start to the day: I got to sleep in! We had a major storm move through. We got mostly sleet and ice and enough of it to close the schools. TB tried to go to work but gave it up and came back home after spinning out a couple of times. The van drives great in the snow but I don't think any vehicle does very well on the ice. It was nice to have him home on Valentine's Day. In addition to beautiful roses, he'd also gotten me a personalized hoody with a shamrock on it and a nice warm 4-in-1 (poncho, blanket, bag, pillow/cushion).

Linda felt compelled to go to work but was totally frazzled by the experience.

Personally, I've never understood employers that pressure employees to come in during bad weather. Is it because they don't have to pay out on life insurance premiums?

It was a very laid back day. Tomas watched TV and played with us. He has a new thing now where he likes to launch himself across the sofa at TB...and now me. Grandparents are indestructible, I guess, and definitely not as strict about rules like no jumping on the furniture. Heh.

Billy called. Troy is having a blizzard and Billy, even though there was 2 feet of snow on the ground, decided to try and get to class. There is some obscure place on the college website that says whether school is open or not. I don't know why he didn't try to call the school. Anyway, he takes the bus there (technically, he could easily walk on a nice day--and thank God he didn't today) and discovers the first class is cancelled. He has another class with a test scheduled and hangs out to see if anyone will show. By the time he leaves, there are white out conditions. Thankfully someone from pubic safety drove him and several other stranded students home.

He was home and safe so I didn't have complete heart failure but I did say to him--if there is that much snow on the ground to begin with and it's still snowing STAY HOME. Tests can be made up.

I have no idea what the situation will be tomorrow. I am the room nana for Tomas's class and we were supposed to have a Valentine's party. Will we have it tomorrow if there is school? I'll call the teacher and find out ... if schools are open.

Lostaholic

Without a doubt, my most favorite show on TV is Lost. I wasn't in on the first season but was intrigued with all the commercials I saw for the second season. I thought I'd give it a try and, by the end of the season opener, I was hooked. I bought the first season on dvd to catch up on what I'd missed from the year before, joined some fan email lists and got TB hooked on the show as well.

Check this out! It basically describes how I feel about Lost! This is a commercial from ABC that appeared during last year's Super Bowl.

I think what I like best about the show is that the characters are "lost" in more ways than one. For those few out there that haven't heard of the show, the basic idea is that a plane carrying passengers from Australia to Los Angeles goes off course and crashes onto some unknown island in the south Pacific...maybe. In that way, the survivors of the crash are "lost"--they don't know where they are. They are also "lost" because this is not your typical island. Magnetic north is off kilter, there are polar bears on this tropical paradise, monsters in the jungle, and "other" groups of people up to no good. The characters themselves are "lost" in their lives--they are at crucial turning points or are in need of redemption.

Another thing I really like is that the producer and the writers pay attention to what the fans say. Of course, this is not necessarily a good thing. When it worked well, the writers would "shout out" to the fans. Fans who are really into the show watch the episodes over and over, looking for clues and more details. So in the opening episode of the second season, two of the main characters find and watch a very important video. One says to the other, "We have to watch this again." Or the VIPs would take note of questions the fans had about something on the show and they'd have an episode that srt of answered the question.

The downside to all this of course, is that old cliche "if you give them an inch, they want a mile." Fans began to be more critical and demanding, wanting to know the answers to everything right now instead of being patient and letting things play out. Fans complained about the number of repeats last season and I was with them. The network has a stupid policy of beginning the season late (October) and then running repeats because of the World Series, the Christmas season, March madness and all kinds of ridiculous reasons. Who wants to watch 3 new episodes followed by 4 repeats, some of which aren't even from that season? This season, the Lost VIPs convinced ABC to let them do a "mini-season" of 6 episodes, followed by 14 long weeks of nothing, and then a full season starting last Wednesday and running for the next 15 weeks--with NO repeats.

You'd think the fans would be grateful but no, they bitched and moaned about the hiatus too. There is just no pleasing some people.

As for me, I was riveted to the seat by the opening of the "new" season. I thought it was one of the best episodes ever, with a marvellous cast well thought out plot and lots of action!

My theory about where the castaways are: I think it's an alternate reality, a totally different place that they got to via a wormhole or something. As for "the Others", I think there are several groups of inhabitants. The castaways found an old slaver abandoned in the middle of the island. I think one group is descended from that ship. There's another group, scientists, who are affiliated with "The Dharma Initiative" which was a seemingly benevolent bunch of researchers studying behavior, magnetism, zoology and lots of other stuff.

Recently, there's been a new introduction of another group that may or may not be related to Dharma, called the Mitelos Institute. They are more openly sinister (committing murder to recruit a fertility specialist) and may be into the grimmer aspects of the Others' behavior. Maybe they're behind the brain washing and other acts of violence. At least one group of Others is obsessed with chlidren and babies. Maybe their women can't have children and that's why they need fertility specialist Juliet Burke.

Maybe there's yet another bunch of others that have broken off from either this group or the Dharma initiative.

Then there is a lone other: Danielle. She was part of a team that crashed or somehow became "lost" 16 years ago. Her teammates all got some kind of sickness and she ended up killing them. She had a baby girl, Alex, who was baby-napped by the Mittelos Others.

It's going to be fun, these next 15 weeks, watching how things fit together. As one question is answered, another one comes up. That's all part of the fun and intrigue of the show too. I love it!

Since June...Part 1

Now I finally feel I can talk about what’s been going on all these months.

When we first began to visit with Tomas again over a year ago, we were kind of concerned that he wasn’t talking. He also was very reserved with us but I thought that was from the long separation. After all, he’d been through a lot emotionally and although I was hurt that he didn’t seem to remember our closeness from before I tried to understand.

The talking thing…that’s something else. Tomas had frequent ear infections during the time he lived away from us. Linda told us the doctor said his ears were filled with fluid and that’s why he couldn’t talk…because he couldn’t hear. Well, I have a nephew who had a lot of ear infections like that as a toddler and it’s true the hearing becomes impaired. Sean had tubes placed into his ears—what about tubes for Tomas? I guess they couldn’t do that until the infections cleared up and this just dragged on and on and on throughout the winter and into the spring.

Now T was over 2 years old and could not communicate with us. He would look at what he wanted and we’d try and guess what it was. If we didn’t guess right he’d become frustrated and start to tantrum. He would have some mighty tantrums, too, throwing himself against the wall and onto the floor. Now, I would have thought he would try to gesture or point to what he wanted or grab our hands but he seemed to avoid any other attempt to communicate with him. Meantime we were hearing some horror stories about what might be happening at the dad’s house and we were very worried about that.

By the time Linda brought T to live with us, he’d had tubes placed into his ears and the fluid drained away. Still…no words forthcoming, no attempts to communicate and although he could be very loving and affectionate he was also very withdrawn, rigid in his play and routines, and seemingly distrustful. I began to think, if it’s not his hearing that is keeping him from speaking obviously there’s something else going on. Could it be autism?

During this time, there was no contact with the dad. I wanted to call him but was nervous about it because of the way Linda had described him…that he hated us and wanted nothing to do with us. She said he never called her to see how his son was doing and so I wondered if he cared what was going on? Still, I often wondered what he thought about his son’s reluctance to communicate.

Over the summer, as Tomas became more used to us he became more outwardly friendly although he was still very reserved and sometimes unemotional. It was like he was wearing blinders sometimes or deaf/blind to what was going on. Communication wasn’t much better but the intensity of the tantrums decreased...

I contacted early childhood intervention programs and most were unable to act without Linda calling to make the initial request. However, I did finally get in touch with a program at a hospital that could take intake information from me. They still needed Linda to call to send an evaluation team so when she got home from work I gave her the phone and the phone number and she called.

Is This Weather Crazy Or What?

Now I know I've gotta read An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. We've been having some really crazy weather years but this has got to be the screwiest! It was seventy degrees here in NJ...who has this kind of weather in January? Florida! I wonder how warm it is there? I think this is more than El Nino and more than a warming trend. I think we are definitely having global warming and I don't care what Michael Crichton writes!

If that wasn't enough, poor Denver and other parts of Colorado are suffering with too much snow! They are getting what the rest of us in the East and mid-Atlantic should be getting! It's not really funny as I've just read that there's been an avalanche, 100 feet wide and 15 feet deep, that has swept cars off the road! Seven people have been hospitalized, more are missing, and rescuers have to use heavy equipment to get through all the heavy snow!

Read the whole article here.

Merry Christmas!

Oh, the weather outside is stupid...

For crying out loud, here it is December 23 and I am wearing a summer tee-shirt, sweating bullets, and all the windows in my house are open! No, I don't live in Florida or in a part of the country where the temperature is supposed to be in the 60s. It's supposed to be winter here! It's supposed to be cold! It's supposed to snow!

The very last time it snowed was on Christmas day, 2002. I remember that it was the first Christmas TB and I and the blending family spent together and it was so magical having the snow come down the way it did...like good fortune and good tidings being sprinkled over us. Before that, there wasn't a white Christmas since 1998.

Are TB and I the only ones who remember when White Christmas weren't as rare as blue moons? It seems to me that when I was a little kid, we had snow on Christmas every single year. Things have changed in the last 20-30 years. What is it? Global warming? Has pollution caused Mother Nature to become totally wacko?

I know how the poor General felt in the movie White Christmas. I sure would love some snow but all we'll probably get is rain.

But the tree is now decorated!!!!

Backwards Update: Our New Well

It seems the only chance I get to really update anymore is on the weekends. By then I forget half the stuff I've done all week!

About the well...we had a new one dug a few weeks ago and TB meant to post about it but never got the chance--he has the same problem I do! We're always busy...and now he's been called back to work, which is a very very good thing for us but a very bad thing for updating!

Anyway, back to the well...

Our water pressure had been worsening and we called in a new water treatment company, Safe Water Technologies. We'd been dealing with a local business for the last 3 years with only temporary success. I mean, our water was totally yucky! It smelled of sulfur and there was so much iron, we were going through tons of salt to try and keep it from ruining our stuff--and stuff got ruined, let me tell you!

Joe Brown, the owner of Safe Water, took a look at the mess we had and figured we needed a new well before we did anything else and knew of some good companies. We called Robbins. Joe's idea was that the new well would get dug and then he'd put in all new stuff for treating our water.

TB took some pictures.

Once the guys started drilling, Tomas was totally fascinated--as were we!

Very cool, isn't it?

Our original well was only 25 feet. This new one is over 60. One of our neighbors thought we should have had Robbins go to 300 feet!

The new well is dug, the old one sealed, and now all that's left for these guys is to cover the big hole in our front yard.

This is the way our yard looks now...we'll have to pretty it up for spring!

Then it was time for Joe to move in and put in our new water treatment system.

First the old crap had to be pulled out. This is under our house! Blech! We're going to need a plumber to come in to look at the old pipes and we also need to remove all that wet yucky insulation! Blech! Blech! Triple Blech!

And here is our nice new system--in our outdoors "closet" which is now heated and holds all the essentials of the house. No more crawl space!

Thank you, Robbins Drilling & Safe Water Technologies!!!!!

Baker's Dozen Weekend

I don't know what ever happened to the meme called Baker's Dozen...it seems to have disappeared. I thought it was a lot of fun. The point was to list 12 things about your weekend and then post a picture. Or post the picture first...whatever. Well, since my time is limited this morning, I'm just going to go ahead and follow that format anyway!

1. The Eagles lost again....big time. zzzzzzzzzz, I really don't care but it's all over the news!
2. TB was called back to work ... YAY! He started back today, hope he is having a good day so far! It's a loooong drive though!
3. T had a first visit from a teacher who will be working with him every week. She's really nice!
4. Pumpkin carving this weekend! Linda and T worked on their pumpkins and Kristin worked on hers.
5. TB and I actually got to eat dinner out twice! That was really nice considering that lately we've had so little free time!
6. Carl's Shoes in Moorestown NJ is the best if you need specially fitted shoes! I remember when all shoe stores used to have qualified salesmen...but young people aren't really interested in taking up the trade. The salespeople at Carl's are all older...so what happens if they all age out???
7. Bookaholic me bought half a dozen books from Borders to add to the room full of novels I haven't had a chance to read yet!
8. Kristin went to a Halloween party at her friend's house
9. Heidi went to the haunted prison in Mt. Holly
10. We tried to coax T into trying on the cute Tigger costume we got from Costco...and he was having none of it!
11. I took Heidi to the Halloween store yesterday and picked up a simple Superman costume for T...hope he'll wear it!
12. It's going to be very strange today not having TB home!!!!

I can't upload a picture yet because they are still all on my camera! Once I upload those to the Net I'll post one here!

In The Mirror

In The Mirror
=============

Someone will always be prettier.
Someone will always be smarter.

Someone's house will be bigger.
Someone will drive a better car.
Someone's children will do better in school.
And her husband will fix more things around the house.

So let it go, and love you and your circumstances.

Think about it.
The prettiest woman in the world can have an ugly heart.
The most highly favored woman on your job may be unable to have children.

The richest woman you know - she's got the car, the house, the clothes - might be very lonely.

The Word says if I have not Love, I am nothing.

So, again I suggest, love you.

Love who you are right now and let God be your barometer.
Mirror Him.

Look in the mirror in the morning and see how much of God you see.
He's the only standard