Where to give aid

Don't let your worries about scams stop or slow your donations. You can certainly start here: The American Red Cross. Or the equivalent outside the United States. Or take your prayers and a check to your own house of worship. We should be getting good at this, especially after the Tsunami in SouthEast Asia.

You can take a chance and throw a few bucks at a collection can, if you don't recognize the agency collecting, but I'm willing to bet that they'd be content to hear that you've donated through one of the reputable, widely-recognized national and international agencies.

Update: It is very difficult (tedious) to give online right now. Try your local chapters.

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Little Pond

Dog-tired from Doggy Days

If you've been to Pat's Pond, you know the reference to Doggy Days will take you to WalkElmira: you can easily scroll down to the pictures. Oh, sure, Ellie was there. We are lucky to have the shots we do, given the excitement. But a good time was had by all.

Now I am exhausted. If you go to Tanglewood, take a human with you, or a cell-phone. Read the maps, and choose shorter trails. Take your little buddy only if you can control the darling (human or canine) pup. Trails climb upwards and roll downwards: walking shoes are required. Water and a cooling scarf may ease the heat from exertion. Turn back if it looks scary; know your limits.

It may be a while before I can put together a full photoblog of the trails. I know my limits and don't push them too often. These trails require the shoes, water, and proper timing for incontinence (shorts trails are perfect!) problems.

For now, I am making chili and seafood chowder. A nap and some video gaming will finish the day. Church and some light yardwork tomorrow. Gotta know my limits.

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Little Pond

Hey, all you Medifans!

Grand Rounds is UP!

Tuesday is housecleaning. Monday was still a waste after that Migraine on Sunday. Hope I can find time to seek out my favorite Grand Rounds post.

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Little Pond

Another problem solved!

Who says MS is nothing but trouble? It's made me the creative genius that I am.

For years I've been battling with my SpinBrush. For those left in the mid-20th century, a SpinBrush is a self-contained, battery-powered toothbrush. It's practically disposable, except that the head and batteries can be replaced. No cord, yet not heavy. Perfect for MSers' blinding white smiles, like mine.

After all, a fifty-something woman who can't dance, or even wear makeup, has to have something to help her flirt (Don't tell Husband RJ!) and feel attractive.

I bought them for my family. Problem's in storing them upright to dry. They don't stand solidly on their bases, and holders are not available. I wrote to suggest this obvious fault. Alas, to no avail. Guess the constant crashes to the floor keep the business coming. Jerks. Don't think we don't know this, Crest. We do.

I finally hit a solution. Cable cord clips from the 3M Command series! Got a blister pack of four and stuck them on the cabinet walls, where the slimmer neck of the SpinBrush can just slide in: clip doesn't even need to be locked. Cabinet's not that full, and even less so now.

Husband RJ got them from Dowd's Hardware, but the 3M website has a store locator. And lots of other organizing ideas for the anal retentive MSer, like me. Now if you'll excuse me, my color-coordinated cable ties await my selecting and sorting expertise.

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Little Pond

Two Links

Thanks again for all your support and emails and prayers. I have one final favor of the Prayer Trees and Prayer Fans, etc.: This mournful entry caught my eye yesterday, and I can't get it out of my mind. Please help with your prayers and support. These people need some shoring up right now.

And Jenny's back again at Reflections. In the past I've scolded her for deletions, but now I think that may be wrong. She's keeping it lean and mean, and the results are always surprising. Sort of like live television or radio, it's to be caught moment by moment, and strikes me as simply a new (to me anyway) and original form of blogging. So keep checking in.

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Little Pond

Three Stents

Dad's okay. They put in three stents and expect to go in again for some more on the other artery. I am relieved and want to thank you all for your prayers.

My oldest brother was at the hospital (where he is the biostatician) with my Mom. My two younger brothers minded the house and prepared for their return. Another older brother takes care of the cellular phone bills, a tall order with our huge family. (Just came off the phone with her. He's going home later today!)

You can imagine that with five sons and two daughters, Mr. Baker had a lot of prayers and good wishes with him in that room. I branched out through the Internet and my "Irish Twin" brother fanned out through his various prayer groups and trees up and down the Eastern seaboard. Dad and Mom have their own groups, and my Baby Sister does also. Wouldn't be surprised if God just got sick of us knocking and gave us what we wanted, just to get rid of us.

Thanks so much, again. Glad I'm typing, because the tears would ruin a letter on paper! God Bless You All.

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Little Pond

Quick Notes

Very quick notes before I start my Monday chores.

We've lost Jenny. Please wish stop by to wish her well.

Prayers, we need prayers:
Karen of Scottsdale is seeing the whirlwind up close and scary.

My Dad will undergo cardiac catheterization Tuesday. He's 79.

Thanks.

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Little Pond

Happy Birthday to You.

Well, it's probably not your birthday; it certainly isn't mine. But I sang this song this morning. Three times.

When I am unwell, as I am some summer days, I take as little time as possible to dry my hair. My hair is unruly: not curly, not straight, but wavy and messy. Can't be air-dried to look like anything but a frizzy mess.

The heat makes my hands tingle and feel tired. My lower legs, too. (But I solve that by not kneeling. Sorry, God, still, I know You understand.) But the hair has to look presentable. I'm too old for messy to be careless and cute.

This gets complicated, so stay with me: during the flu season we were told to wash, wash, wash our hands. And it worked, but we have to rinse them at least ten (twenty is better) seconds. With no clock, how does one calibrate the time spent?

Easy. Sing one round of Happy Birthday to You. That's about ten seconds. Sing it slowly to get 20 seconds. Better yet: Sing it like Marilyn Monroe sang it for JFK's birthday. Remember, those of you about my age? She sang it for his birthday, deep contralto-voiced and slow, sexy as all get-out. For those who don't remember MM, try it like Talulah Bankhead, or Greta Garbo, or some other Sexy Icon, and you'll get about 20 seconds.

Huh??? What about the hair??? With short hair, above the shoulders: blow it backward to the MM Happy Birthday, to straighten the bangs. Blow it forwards, right over the face, the MM way again. And blow it backwards, shaping it to the regular Happy Birthday. Frizzy hair needs another MM Happy Birthday, and you are done. Guaranteed. Going back and forth seems to help prevent the fatigue factor that foils styling jobs.

It's not my favorite 'do, but I look okay, and it's do-able.

So, Happy Un-birthday To You. (Don't sing the "un-" part: it messes up the timing.)

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Little Pond

For Marilyn's version, click on Happy Birthday, then scroll down to the MP3 address and click. There are lots of sites with her song, for MP#, RealPlayer, etc. Use the Google portal in the sidebar! Don't be scared!

MediFan Alert!

Grand Rounds are up again!

For newbies, this gives us a chance to sample a lot of doctor blogs at one time and in one place. You can start at Gruntdoc, if you like. He's my favorite, for almost daily posting and universal appeal.

This week's Rounds, the host has them all nicely sorted, so you can seek out your own special obsession. Mine is humor, and this one takes the prize. Makes me glad to be a MediFan.

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Little Pond

Attitude Adjustment

After all my grumping this past week, it's time for something positive:

Visit my everloving Blogmother, Sissy Willis. It's all about natural mood enhancement. Not drugs, not herbs, but a proper mindset that being rediscovered. Naturally, someone takes something basic and makes it sound serious. Not to mention Profitable. But I Knew All Along.

So let's open the drapes, raise the blinds, and (if necessary) wipe the puppy snot off the windows!

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Little Pond

VirginMobile Update

The cell works today. So my anger dissipates and I return to blogging. Took Ellie to the river and tried to photoblog, but the sun is filtered through fairly thick clouds, and the photos are blah. Cool enough to venture out, not sunny enough for nice photos. Except this one. It's a glorious morning after all.

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Little Pond

VirginMobile takes my Vacation

Back to work Monday. Rested, ready, mostly healed, despite my doctor's tactless handling of my usual summertime relapse. At least it triggered a vacation.

Had a silly scare this week. Topped off my VirginMobile cell on Tuesday. I was a day late and lost five minutes (that would have otherwise rolled over). $20 and back to normal. My phone is for any trips out of the house: literally a matter of life or death waiting to happen. I nearly fell on one of my RiverDogging excursions. No problem: I have my cell!

Wrong. During my trip to the Fair, I tried to call home over a small, non-health issue. And couldn't. No service. Please press one to TopOff, or some such stupidity.

Cut my trip short. Went online to check my balance. Showed over $25. Weird. So I called from my cell. They said "Weird," too. Hang on, we'll get the supervisor. But the called ended. After all, no service. I called back from my landline. Same thing, need supervisor, blah-blah.

They showed me both topped off and out of service. So please fix: I have MS and this is my lifeline. NO CAN DO. Service is cancelled for 24 to 72 hours while they investigate! I never heard of such a thing. They clearly have a problem, for which I must pay up to three more days without service. Doesn't matter that they have proof of my payment and transaction.

VirginMobile has no snailmail. I sent an email, full of anger, frustration and fears. Took Husband RJ forever to calm me with his assertions that I was wasting my time and energy. Made me even madder.

So I will be ditching VirginMobile as soon as I can afford a GoPhone. My daughters have no problems with Cingular, and Husband RJ works well with a TracFone. Always has. A little security would be nice.

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Little Pond

Better, thanks.

Already more rested than I've been in months. Once again it's time to downsize: blogging cannot be on top of, it has to be instead of, other things.

Posting is tiring, and it's hard to admit that. Anything published must be edited for content, censored for intention, and whittled down in size. I love my blogs, but they are work.

That said, here's my latest. Another quick trip for the Hometown Tourist. Otherwise, a collossal bore, no doubt. No commercial attractions are included, deliberately. They can come later, maybe.

BTW, links and advertising to come later, also. ;)

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Little Pond