end of april

To day is the last day of April 2006.

Four months have passed this year each month passing faster than the month before.

April is a transition month it’s a time of year when preparations are made for the summer to come. The air begins to warm, trees expel their green pollen and dawn a new covering of almost transient levees of green yellow and red. The dogwoods and azaleas bloom, flowers show their faces and birds sing. This morning I found a tiny bird egg shell and held it in my hand wondering what type of bird the chick that hatched from this egg would become. It is a month of new beginnings.

But this month already very busy just by being April was made even busier by responsibility. My responsibility to family has been almost overwhelming.. I am in a profession where compassion and nurturing is expected. Well I’m not an overly nurturing kind of person. I like my space and my freedom. When I begin to feel backed in a corner by “responsibility” I get resentful. I do not like being in the “tween” generation. That place where children, ageing parents and ones own desires pull in different directions I long to walk my personal path but that path is so hard to find. Its times like this I long for that golden age of 50 when I will be free. My youngest will be college and I will be in a small cabin on the side of a hill overlooking Buffalo mountain. In the morning I will watch wisps of mist as they form on the open pastures and then are taken away by the gentle morning breeze. In the evening I will watch the insects and listen to the still air as I relax on the porch as the sun sinks behind the mountains. Ah but this is only a dream (for now) today the grass needs cutting, laundry needs to be done, dogs need to be walked and mom needs to be helped.

Easter morning around 6:30 am Willis VA.

some bikers on bikers weekend

Boy has it been a busy few weeks. Both my mother and middle son spent time in the ER; it’s been a while since I spent time on the patient’s side of the ER visit and I DONT LIKE IT!!!! My mom broke her arm and my middle son just seems to have a sensitive vagal response under the right conditions pain makes him pass out he’s going to have to be careful and that kid has always been rough and tumble. Other than doctor visits I’ve been busy working in the yard, spring is here! I tooled around town looking at the big bikes that came to town during biker week (April 4-8 this year). Riding on of those things scare’s the heck out of me but I like to look at them. Over the Easter weekend I got to go to the mountains it was too short a visit but I needed to get off this Island! The next three days (night’s) I’ll be at work and before you know it another week will have past.

light show

Boy we had some weather come through last night with a light show that would have impressed Doug Thompson of Blue Ridge Muse. We had lightning that appeared to jump from cloud to cloud causing the air to rumble and the whole sky to light up for what seemed forever. We had great bolts of lightning that came straight down with a mighty crash-bang-boom and a brief bright flash of light. It rolled through for hours but surprisingly left little rain. This was the big low that caused so much damage in Kentucky and further points west and north. I don’t know what damage it caused around here I haven’t turned on the radio or TV but nothing in my immediate area seems to have suffered any. Storms like that are amazing in their beauty and fierceness. I wanted to stand out in the yard and watch the light show but feared the possible consequences of such an action and instead watched from my window. Storms like that are usually caused by two opposing fronts that collide. This time the cold front won pushing our warm weather aside for a little while. There will be more storms after all it is April and “April showers bring May flowers” of course around here we always lose a few trees and roofs along the way.

Oh my, another week has gone past. This time of year always fly’s by for me. There is sooo much to do and I seem to be doing it all at once. Work picks up, folks taking a little time off gives me a little more work to do. This is the time of year I try to get repairs done around the house and in the yard. Fresh paint on the doors and trim make the house look cleaner and picking up yard debris helps get the yard ready for use. This week was also made busier by my trip to Norfolk to see my niece and her family. They recently moved to the area, it’s nice to have family only 2 hours away and it was great seeing her children, some for the first time!!

Time spent on the computer this week has been spent checking out Windows XP. My son put his own computer together and now he needs an operating system. I have been trying to figure out which is best the Windows XP home edition that sells for $199 or the Windows XP OEM version that sells for $80. Decisions decisions. I have also been looking at designated e-book readers I think I have settled on the eBookwise-1150. I want something that will allow me to just read. I don’t need a palm pilot, I just need to be able to download something I want to read be it a book or an article or a bunch of new policies I’m supposed to go over and be able to take it to the beach the mountains or bed and read just like I would if I were reading a book or magazine. Sony has a new one coming out in the “spring of 2006” but it’s over $300 and I’m just not going to spend that kind of money on a book reader. The eBookwise-1150 sells for around $140 after tax and shipping is added and it comes with a memory card. It has a few drawbacks but the good seems to out weigh the bad. Hummmm……

Well tomorrow starts another very busy week and it starts with less time thanks to the beginning of daylight savings time.

Tight Squeeze: Life Inside FEMA Trailer

Boy has life been in fast mode lately. This has to be fixed, that has to be moved, gotta go here should have been there, the list of tasks gets longer every time something gets done!!!!
I complain when something gets broken or does not go the way I hoped. I feel cramped in my house and long to GET RID OF STUFF! Stress, stress, stress, and then I read an article about real people going through real stress and wonder how I can possible call my life stressful. The painting that needs to be done will get done; the extra stuff will make it to the Hot Line thrift store; large item pick up will happen and the tire and other junk that came from “somewhere” will be gone. I will think of the many people in and from Mississippi and Louisiana who are still homeless and be thankful for the walls that my kids and dogs can’t seem to keep their hands and paws off and all the normal mataintance that need to be done in my intact home.

Tight Squeeze: Life Inside FEMA Trailer

It was a great day on the outer banks for a parade.

The weather was perfect for the annual Kelly’s St Patrick‘s day parade in Nags Head NC. The parade is a gaudy affair and just about any one that wants to be in it can. It’s a time to bring the kids and pets and just have fun. Another reason winter on the Outer Banks is a great time.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Waterford Ireland

In 1915 my grandfather Ralph Lee, grandmother Annie and their 4 children William, Louise, George and Elizabeth traveled to Liverpool England and boarded a ship called The St Louis and left their home in Ireland behind. Eight years later my father Ralph was born in Baltimore Md. It’s St. Patrick’s Day and I salute my Irish roots. I never met my grandfather but my grandmother was a good strong woman and I miss her. Some day I will make it to Ireland and I will visit Waterford, my grandfather’s birthplace and Londondarry my grandmother’s Birthplace. A toast to all the Irish and to all those who wish they were!!

I just cant let this one go

It seems a couple decided to pay off their credit card and Homland Security was set in to action. Its kinda funny and very scary.

Scripps Howard News Service

We have had wonderful weather here on the Outer Banks this week. The daffodils are in bloom, the live oaks have shed their leaves and many of the hard wood trees have a red tinge to them, a sure sign of spring and a promise of green to come. This time of year is very busy. Businesses are reopening for the season, home owners are down to prepare their homes for the rental season and folks like me are busy in their yards cleaning up and preparing for the season to come. It’s hard to stay inside. It’s hard to remember this is volatile time of year and that the weather can change at the drop of a hat. The most destructive storms to hit the Outer Banks have happened in the fall and spring, the times of transition. I love this time of year on the Outer Banks. The beaches are still wide open and there is still a sense of quiet not the hubbub noisy feel of the tourist season. Well I’m off to the yard the weather is getting ready to change. There is a promise of much needed rain and then the temperature is expected to fall.

Seasons on the Outer Banks are marked by the birds that fly here. In the fall we see lines of geese and duck in the spring we see man made birds like Cessna’s and Piper’s. I caught this one landing on the small air strip behind the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kill Devil Hills

Nice day for flying.

• It’s hard to believe that it’s Wednesday already. I had a good visit with my #2 son this weekend. I saw just enough of him to make me happy and he got to see his bud’s. He seems happy in Greenville but he will most likely be back this summer after all Greenville is a college town. Oh well…

• For the past 2 months I have been going to the gym at least 3 times a week for an hour each time. I have been running the dogs at least every other day. I have been trying to eat right and sleep more; I even had my yearly physical (admittedly 5 years late). I thought I was feeling more energetic and aside from a cold last week it seemed as if my stamina was up. With all this behind me I decided to tackle yard work! Folks I don’t care how many exercise machines I used, how many weights I lifted, how many miles I walked, hoeing and turning that little 8 foot by 16 foot patch of ground that I garden in, along with picking up and trimming tree branches and just cleaning the yard after a winter of disuse beat my butt. Motrin and Tylenol are my friends. My yard work is not done and I can’t waste today, this is day 2 of 4 days in a row that I have off and my goal is to get the peas and lettuce in and to fertilize the yards. I’m planting about a week early for this area but it’s been a warm winter and I’m betting it will be ok. That easy chair will look good this evening.

D'Oh!

While listening to the radio show Wait Wait -- Don't Tell Me! this morning I heard about a survey in which 28% of the American public could name the 5 members of the animated TV series the Simpson’s but only 1 in 1000 (1/2 of 1%) could state the first 5 articles of the bill of rights.

I’m sorry to say that I’m one of the 28% who can name the Simpson’s (I know the name of just about every “regular “ character on that show) and one of the 99.5% who cant tell you what the first 5 right’s in the bill of rights are. I feel that is kinda sad so today I am posting on my blog a brief summery of the bill of rights with a link to both the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution.

I pose this question. If we as a society don’t know what our rights are, how will we know when they are threatened?

Bill of Rights - The Really Brief Version

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution are summarized below.

1Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition 2 Right to keep and bear arms in order to maintain a well regulated militia. 3 No quartering of soldiers. 4 Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures 5 Right to due process of law, freedom from self-incrimination, double jeopardy 6 Rights of accused persons, e.g., right to a speedy and public trial. 7 Right of trial by jury in civil cases. 8 Freedom from excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments 9 Other rights of the people. 10 Powers reserved to the states.

Read the complete text of the Bill of Rights.

The Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution can be found at this and many other web sites http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/

My #2 son called me last night and the conversation went something like this: “Mom Max and I are coming to the beach” my reply “When” to that he answered enthusiastically “Tonight”. “Well that’s nice how long are you staying” I said. “Just until tomorrow evening” he said. “Well it will be good to see you” I said. “Well I wont be in until late and I do have to see so and so and I have to do this and that. ………….” He went on to say. To tell you the truth I stopped listening when he said I wont be there until late “I expect to at least get a “hi” from you” I said sternly. “Oh you will I’m going to stay at your house and mom can I bring my laundry you have to pay to get it done here all they have are laundry mats”

Kids gotta love em.

This week a 14 year old young man became so despondent that he took his own life.

When I heard this, an intense sense of sadness swept over me. He is not the first young person whose name I knew to do this. This is not the first time I was nearly over come with the need to go to my own children look in their eyes and tell then that death is so final. There is no hope in death. That in all but a few cases death is not the best choice. That no matter what any of them may do I would always love them.

I do not know what drove this young man to do what he did. My heart goes out to his parents and family. I want to say I empathize with them, that I understand what they are going through but I know I never really can.

I will talk to my youngest when I see him today. I will ask him questions in roundabout ways trying to get a feel for what he is feeling. I will hug him and be thankful.

Carbon Monoxide, the FDA and us (US)

I like meat and this kind of bugs me......

Food Product Design - FDA Reinforces Safety of Carbon Monoxide in Modified-Atmosphere Packaging
FDA Asked to Prohibit use of Carbon Monoxide in Red Meat

Might make you think twice about those prepackaged packs of hambuger at the local Food Lion

why I love my dog's........

their just so cute

(she knows she 's not suppose to be on the couch; she's trying to ignore me)

tagged by a cold

Saturday night I went to work feeling just fine, did my 12 hour shift, went home took a shower and went to bed. When I awoke Sunday afternoon I had a stuffy nose and did not feel that well but I wasn’t sick enough to miss work. That changed by the time my Sunday night shift was over. Folks I haven’t had a real cold in a long time and I don’t ever want another one. I spent my three days off in bed and today I’m feeling better but not well enough to go to work. I have sent my son to get more Puffs (with lotion) Lysol spray and orange juice. Today I will piddle around the house do a little laundry, watch some movies, try to read my book (not easy with a cold) and just get my (roll of the eyes) strength back. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to go back to work. Working PRN has its draw backs and no sick pay is one of them.

(hopefully I have not "tagged" anyone with this cold)

Meme of Fours

A week or so ago I was tagged by Tony Plutonium for a “game” called Meme of Fours well here goes

Meme of Fours

Four jobs I've had: among the many jobs I have had: I spent a summer as a farm hand picking tobacco; I have been a waitress, retail manager and an interior painter

Four movies I can watch over and over: there are so many but these make me feel good; the Indiana Jones trilogy (I count them as one because I watch them one after the other) The Mummy (the Brandon Frazer one), Robin Hood Men in Tights and Space Balls (I love Mel brooks)

Four television shows I love to watch: I watch very little TV and I don’t “love” to watch any shows but I do like; “Stargate” sci-fi channel, “Modern Marvels” on the history channel, I like a new show called “Dirty Jobs” the Discovery Channel and the “Dog Whisper” on animal planet.

Four favorite dishes: a new favorite Scallops Portabella found at MAXWELLS ON THE BAY in in Naples Fl, spaghetti, my aunt B’s fruit salad and just about anything Mexican

Four websites I visit daily: Netscape news, NPR, Dark Horizons, and by-art.com (I like to play Mahjong). Of course from these web sites and the blogs I visit god only knows where I will end up and how long I’ll be a surfin.

Four places I've been on vacation: My guys love the Outer Banks beaches but we love to visit family and friends and have been many places including New Orleans, Niagara Falls, Philadelphia and my all time favorite Willis VA

Four places I'd rather be: I am very satisfied with the life I have now and other than being closer to family there is only one place I would rather be and that is sitting on a rock on a hill on my four acres in Willis VA

In keeping with the spirit of the game I am tagging these four blogs that I like:

Blue Ridge blog
Blue Ridge Muse
Fragments from Floyd
View from the Ridge (this guy gives me some good info on what is going on on the OB and I would like to know more about him).

the road side stalker

Picture this a small flock of snowy white egrets on a small quaint fishing dock with the bright morning sun reflecting off their white feathers making the birds appear to glow. Would that not be a beautiful shot? Well that’s the shot I went for this morning but the egrets would not cooperate. They are shy birds and would not let me get with in a 100 feet. I tried twice following them from the fishing dock to a boat dock. I tried to “sneak” up on them at the boat dock but when they saw me they must have thought enough was enough and flew off into the marsh. I must have been a sight to the folks traveling up and down the busy road, a woman dressed in exercise pants and a tee shirt wearing flip flops caring a camera stalking a bunch of birds. But who cares it’s a beautiful day on the Outer Banks and today I don’t have to work so if I want I can stop on the side of the road and stalk birds.

snow day

yard shots

dogs eating snow

snow everywhere but here

In Dare County today is a snow day. Early this morning we got a dusting of snow but with the temperatures in upper 20’s to lower 30’s there will be slick spots on the roads, Dare County has no salt trucks so they did the correct thing and cancelled school. The really bad part of this snow day is that this snow is not the kind of snow you can play in, its wet and there isn’t much of it so the kids will be stuck inside “board” and then they will most likely have to make up the lost day on Saturday. Oh well it is pretty.

The dogs have discovered that they like the taste of snow. Looking out my window I see them grazing on the snow like cows graze on grass, this is funny.