Friday, September 06, 2013
Thursday, September 05, 2013
Thursday Thirteen
Thirteen photos of my roses in 2013
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 310th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 310th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
The Eagle
About 10 days ago, my husband called me and told me there was an eagle in the hayfield. By the time I arrived with a camera, the bird had flown from the field to a locust tree at the edge of the woods.
We had never seen an eagle on the farm before.
I had to use the zoom on the camera to see it.
I was this far away. The bird was in the tree in the middle of the photo, about where the light turns blue. The sun was also not in a good position for shooting photos.
I took lots of pictures, but these were the best. I wish I could have gotten closer for better photos.
We have not seen the eagle since; according to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries webpage on bald eagles, they migrate from August to January, so I suspect this one was just passing through.
The bald eagle was removed from Virginia list of endangered species as of January 1, 2013. They were taken from the federal list of endangered species in 2007.
We had never seen an eagle on the farm before.
I had to use the zoom on the camera to see it.
I was this far away. The bird was in the tree in the middle of the photo, about where the light turns blue. The sun was also not in a good position for shooting photos.
I took lots of pictures, but these were the best. I wish I could have gotten closer for better photos.
We have not seen the eagle since; according to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries webpage on bald eagles, they migrate from August to January, so I suspect this one was just passing through.
The bald eagle was removed from Virginia list of endangered species as of January 1, 2013. They were taken from the federal list of endangered species in 2007.
Tuesday, September 03, 2013
It's Only a Glass
I become attached to the strangest things.I was saddened recently when I went to drink out of our one-and-only Welch's Looney Tunes glass and discovered it had a big chip in the lip. The glass, which holds about 6 ozs., says Copyright 1994 on it, and I imagine that is how long we've had it.
The glass initially served a dual purpose as a jar of concord grape jelly. Glasses like this sell on ebay as collectibles for about $5.00.
Looney Tunes, in case you don't remember, were cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, the Foghorn Leghorn, Daffy Duck, the Tasmanian Devil, Elmer Fudd, Tweety and Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, and other characters. I grew up watching them, as did millions of other folks who were born in the 50s, 60s, and 70s.I think we had several of these glasses at one time. The remaining one features a sleeping Foghorn Leghorn.
Initially I was going to toss the glass into the recycling, but decided instead to bring it into my office and put it into use as a pen holder. The memories will live on!
*These are my photos.*
Monday, September 02, 2013
Welcome Labor Day
Labor Day is more than just the unofficial end of summer and an extra day for grilling hot dogs.
The day has been set aside to honor the sacrifices and social and economic gains of the American worker. It has been an official holiday since 1887, which was actually before many important gains for workers were implemented by law. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act was not implemented until 1938. This Act put minimum wage in place and gave workers the right to be paid for overtime. All states must adhere to the minimum protections provided by this law; some states have better protections for workers. (Virginia isn't one of them.)
Unions played a big part in these gains for employees. Thanks to unions, workers have a 40-hour work week, children aren't slaves, and women (supposedly) have equal opportunity. Some workers also have retirement pensions. Many of the good things in life are the results of unionized labor.
My husband has long been a member of Local 1132, which is the Roanoke chapter of the IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters). For a short while I was a member of the National Writers Union.
Business owners may not agree, but I think a happy and contented workforce is much more productive than a stressed-out, underpaid and overworked one. When you take a horse out and beat it and work it into a lather, eventually the thing either falls down dead or rears up and kicks the daylights out of you, and that is where we are in the workforce these days. Some business owners are so busy gulping up profits that they are ignoring the health, happiness, and humanity of their workers.
We need more unions and better worker protections. This is not a popular stance in my wildly Republican community, but anyone who reviews their history and thinks about what is going on must realize that without union organizing we would not be the country we are today. We would not have had the strong workforce and middle-class standards we have enjoyed for the last 70 years. It is these gains that business and corporate owners are attempting to undermine, and doing so successfully. It will not lead to good things for all but instead has lead to great things for a few and lesser things for the rest. Life isn't fair, I'm told, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be.
Many people died so that we could have better lives. For example, in 1886, the Haymarket Riot broke out, a conflict in Chicago between workers and business owners. The workers wanted an 8-hour work day; business owners wanted to keep beating that horse. Forty thousand workers walked off their jobs. At the McCormick Reaper factory, violence lead police to kill six workers. The next day at a demonstration, police advanced on a crowd and three civilians and seven police officers died (some from friendly fire). Later, four of the leaders of the strike movement were hanged, the result of a trail later found to be illegal.
In 1894, during the Pullman strike, the US government sent out federal Marshalls and more than 12,000 Army soldiers to force striking workers off the tracks so that the railroads would resume running. The strike was the result of a severe cut in wages for workers at Pullman. The workers organized under the American Railway Union. The Union members refused to run trains that pulled Pullman cars. During the strike, 30 workers were killed.
In 1911, more than 146 people - mostly women and immigrants - died in the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York City. After this tragedy, many changes in Labor Laws took place to ensure that doors were chained shut and that sprinklers and other fire-safety measures were in place.
There are reasons for the rules and regulations that have been implemented. Yes, some of them may be out of date or ill-conceived, but that doesn't mean you throw out all the rules simply because one or two doesn't work anymore. It means you update and you make positive, healthy changes.
Let's all work to move workers forward, not backwards, shall we?
The day has been set aside to honor the sacrifices and social and economic gains of the American worker. It has been an official holiday since 1887, which was actually before many important gains for workers were implemented by law. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act was not implemented until 1938. This Act put minimum wage in place and gave workers the right to be paid for overtime. All states must adhere to the minimum protections provided by this law; some states have better protections for workers. (Virginia isn't one of them.)
Unions played a big part in these gains for employees. Thanks to unions, workers have a 40-hour work week, children aren't slaves, and women (supposedly) have equal opportunity. Some workers also have retirement pensions. Many of the good things in life are the results of unionized labor.
My husband has long been a member of Local 1132, which is the Roanoke chapter of the IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters). For a short while I was a member of the National Writers Union.
Business owners may not agree, but I think a happy and contented workforce is much more productive than a stressed-out, underpaid and overworked one. When you take a horse out and beat it and work it into a lather, eventually the thing either falls down dead or rears up and kicks the daylights out of you, and that is where we are in the workforce these days. Some business owners are so busy gulping up profits that they are ignoring the health, happiness, and humanity of their workers.
We need more unions and better worker protections. This is not a popular stance in my wildly Republican community, but anyone who reviews their history and thinks about what is going on must realize that without union organizing we would not be the country we are today. We would not have had the strong workforce and middle-class standards we have enjoyed for the last 70 years. It is these gains that business and corporate owners are attempting to undermine, and doing so successfully. It will not lead to good things for all but instead has lead to great things for a few and lesser things for the rest. Life isn't fair, I'm told, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be.
Many people died so that we could have better lives. For example, in 1886, the Haymarket Riot broke out, a conflict in Chicago between workers and business owners. The workers wanted an 8-hour work day; business owners wanted to keep beating that horse. Forty thousand workers walked off their jobs. At the McCormick Reaper factory, violence lead police to kill six workers. The next day at a demonstration, police advanced on a crowd and three civilians and seven police officers died (some from friendly fire). Later, four of the leaders of the strike movement were hanged, the result of a trail later found to be illegal.
In 1894, during the Pullman strike, the US government sent out federal Marshalls and more than 12,000 Army soldiers to force striking workers off the tracks so that the railroads would resume running. The strike was the result of a severe cut in wages for workers at Pullman. The workers organized under the American Railway Union. The Union members refused to run trains that pulled Pullman cars. During the strike, 30 workers were killed.
In 1911, more than 146 people - mostly women and immigrants - died in the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York City. After this tragedy, many changes in Labor Laws took place to ensure that doors were chained shut and that sprinklers and other fire-safety measures were in place.
There are reasons for the rules and regulations that have been implemented. Yes, some of them may be out of date or ill-conceived, but that doesn't mean you throw out all the rules simply because one or two doesn't work anymore. It means you update and you make positive, healthy changes.
Let's all work to move workers forward, not backwards, shall we?
Sunday, September 01, 2013
From Sunday Stealing
Q. Have you ever said you would never love again?
A. No. But I have said I would never marry again.
Q. Have you heard a song today that reminds you of somebody?
A. Yes. The song was The Wayward Wind as sung by Anne Murray. The song always reminds me of my father. You can hear the song on youtube here at this link.
Q. Do you apologize first?
A. I'm sorry, what? Yes.
Q. Has someone made a promise to you and broke it?
A. Yes. Dirty rotten rat.
Q. Have you ever won a lot of money in a slot machine? How much?
A. I have never won a lot of money at anything. And I have never played slots.
Q. Do you watch sport on TV even though you aren’t a sporty person yourself?
A. Sometimes. I have been known to watch NASCAR racing, ice skating, and occasionally women's tennis.
Q. Do you eat / drink at your computer?
A. Yes. I always have a glass of water at the computer. I have, on occasion, spilled it all over the keyboard. Candy bars, potato chips, and other items also somehow sometimes find their way into my office. They apparently grow legs and walk right in here and jump into my desk drawer.
Q. How much do you overeat at special occasions? (Birthdays, Christmas, etc.).
A. A lot. I have no will power when it comes to dark chocolate covered cherries.
Q. Do you require glasses / contacts to see properly? If so, which do you use?
A. Glasses.
Q. When you hear your voice back on a recording, do you think it sounds awful?
A. Yes. I sound like a witch trapped in a hollow ol' stump.
Q. When was the last time you got the hiccups?
A. I don't recall.
Q. If you had to, which record would you go into Guinness World Records for?
A. Writing the world's longest sentence.
Q. The last sweet thing you ate: What was it?
A. A banana.
Q. Do you have a middle name?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you find it embarrassing?
A. I assuming you are referring to the middle name. No, I do not find it embarrassing.
Q. Have you ever said you would never love again?
A. No. But I have said I would never marry again.
Q. Have you heard a song today that reminds you of somebody?
A. Yes. The song was The Wayward Wind as sung by Anne Murray. The song always reminds me of my father. You can hear the song on youtube here at this link.
Q. Do you apologize first?
A. I'm sorry, what? Yes.
Q. Has someone made a promise to you and broke it?
A. Yes. Dirty rotten rat.
Q. Have you ever won a lot of money in a slot machine? How much?
A. I have never won a lot of money at anything. And I have never played slots.
Q. Do you watch sport on TV even though you aren’t a sporty person yourself?
A. Sometimes. I have been known to watch NASCAR racing, ice skating, and occasionally women's tennis.
Q. Do you eat / drink at your computer?
A. Yes. I always have a glass of water at the computer. I have, on occasion, spilled it all over the keyboard. Candy bars, potato chips, and other items also somehow sometimes find their way into my office. They apparently grow legs and walk right in here and jump into my desk drawer.
Q. How much do you overeat at special occasions? (Birthdays, Christmas, etc.).
A. A lot. I have no will power when it comes to dark chocolate covered cherries.
Q. Do you require glasses / contacts to see properly? If so, which do you use?
A. Glasses.
Q. When you hear your voice back on a recording, do you think it sounds awful?
A. Yes. I sound like a witch trapped in a hollow ol' stump.
Q. When was the last time you got the hiccups?
A. I don't recall.
Q. If you had to, which record would you go into Guinness World Records for?
A. Writing the world's longest sentence.
Q. The last sweet thing you ate: What was it?
A. A banana.
Q. Do you have a middle name?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you find it embarrassing?
A. I assuming you are referring to the middle name. No, I do not find it embarrassing.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Friday, August 30, 2013
Fincastle Frolic
Last Friday, August 23, the Town of Fincastle hosted something they called the "Fincastle Frolic." It was basically an open house of about 15 businesses, some historic sites, and the county courthouse.
I estimate about 200 people or so turned out.
This is my friend Rena, who works at the library. The library stayed open and she was enjoying the guitar player.
They served refreshments. I'm a big library supporter and I baked and supplied some of those cookies.
Mr. Hearn played his guitar and sang songs.
Fincastle is a very lovely little town.
It was a beautiful evening and folks seemed to enjoy strolling the streets.
Musicians played at various locations, adding to the fun.
My friend Mary Beth, who is an acupuncturist, and her daughter.
The Sunshine House had children's activities.
My friend Lee, who runs the Sunshine House.
The Fincastle Herald office. The fellow on the right is the editor, Ed. Yes, that is really his name. Ed the editor.
My friend Peggy, one of the town's elegant ladies.
Young street musicians. The girl in the black hair is the daughter of my friend Cathy.
A shot of the street. That's Cathy on the right, in black and with a camera.
Balloons marked the entrance to the courthouse, where documents signed by illustrious national founders such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were on display.
I thought it was a nice little event, and it was good to see folks wandering about the town. Generally Fincastle rolls up the sidewalks at 6 p.m. and the town stands empty.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Thursday Thirteen
1. Having finally had the major portion of the bathroom project completed, I now must move on to things like painting the walls, buying new rugs and towels, etc., in order to make it all lovely.
2. I plan to repaint the walls some kind of white; the bedroom is painted in a white called "moonshine" and I think I am going to use the same thing in the bathroom. Right now the walls are a faded pink.
3. The color will come from towels and rugs; I am in search of rose-colored accents now. Hot pink is in, though, so a delicate rose color is difficult to find in my local stores. However, I might change my mind and go with deep red or something ... one never knows.
4. While we had this big project going on indoors, we also are continuing our big project outdoors. The water and fence project has now moved to the other half of the farm. This project involves digging 1.5 miles of water line and installing more than three miles of fencing. To be honest, I am not involved in this at all, except for writing checks to pay for things like fence posts and wire. I'm the supervisor.
5. My other indoor project is to rid the house of clutter. After living here for 27 years, there is stuff in every crook and cranny.
6. Over the years I have tried all sorts of methods to organize and declutter. Few of them work.
7. One of my favorite declutter hints involves using dishwashing tubs, the kind that cost about $1.50. You fill them with stuff and use them in places like the cabinet under the bathroom sink. That way you have all the extra shampoo in one tub, medical supplies in one place, etc. etc. It works well until somebody starts tossing stuff willie-nillie into the cabinet.
8. I bet I have tried every shoe holder known to man. The kind that are just two bars never work; the shoes fall off. My solution has been clothes baskets - I pile shoes in clothes baskets in the floor of the closet. Someone asked me if that wasn't hard on my shoes, but honestly they don't seem to mind.
9. I took six grocery bags full of books to the library as part of my decluttering efforts. They will sell them at their book sale or maybe add them to the stacks. They were mostly novels as I have a harder time getting rid of nonfiction.
10. I cleaned out my plastic containers, too, and sent a 30-gallon trash bag full out to the garage for my husband to go through. He said he needed some small containers to put nuts and bolts and things in. What he doesn't use will be recycled.
11. I understand that people who move around a lot tend to have less stuff. It's probably a good idea to have less stuff. It sure does accumulate. Two years ago I read a book that suggested tossing 50 things; I think I made it up to 22 or so before I gave up.
12. Between doing stuff and having stuff, sometimes I think there isn't enough time to just be. You know. Just be a human being, not a human doing. Or maybe a human having.
13. I will never be one of those people who keep a constantly neat desk. But I sure would like to be.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 309th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
2. I plan to repaint the walls some kind of white; the bedroom is painted in a white called "moonshine" and I think I am going to use the same thing in the bathroom. Right now the walls are a faded pink.
3. The color will come from towels and rugs; I am in search of rose-colored accents now. Hot pink is in, though, so a delicate rose color is difficult to find in my local stores. However, I might change my mind and go with deep red or something ... one never knows.
4. While we had this big project going on indoors, we also are continuing our big project outdoors. The water and fence project has now moved to the other half of the farm. This project involves digging 1.5 miles of water line and installing more than three miles of fencing. To be honest, I am not involved in this at all, except for writing checks to pay for things like fence posts and wire. I'm the supervisor.
5. My other indoor project is to rid the house of clutter. After living here for 27 years, there is stuff in every crook and cranny.
6. Over the years I have tried all sorts of methods to organize and declutter. Few of them work.
7. One of my favorite declutter hints involves using dishwashing tubs, the kind that cost about $1.50. You fill them with stuff and use them in places like the cabinet under the bathroom sink. That way you have all the extra shampoo in one tub, medical supplies in one place, etc. etc. It works well until somebody starts tossing stuff willie-nillie into the cabinet.
8. I bet I have tried every shoe holder known to man. The kind that are just two bars never work; the shoes fall off. My solution has been clothes baskets - I pile shoes in clothes baskets in the floor of the closet. Someone asked me if that wasn't hard on my shoes, but honestly they don't seem to mind.
9. I took six grocery bags full of books to the library as part of my decluttering efforts. They will sell them at their book sale or maybe add them to the stacks. They were mostly novels as I have a harder time getting rid of nonfiction.
10. I cleaned out my plastic containers, too, and sent a 30-gallon trash bag full out to the garage for my husband to go through. He said he needed some small containers to put nuts and bolts and things in. What he doesn't use will be recycled.
11. I understand that people who move around a lot tend to have less stuff. It's probably a good idea to have less stuff. It sure does accumulate. Two years ago I read a book that suggested tossing 50 things; I think I made it up to 22 or so before I gave up.
12. Between doing stuff and having stuff, sometimes I think there isn't enough time to just be. You know. Just be a human being, not a human doing. Or maybe a human having.
13. I will never be one of those people who keep a constantly neat desk. But I sure would like to be.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 309th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
The Bathroom Project
We built our house 27 years ago. The bathroom has pretty much looked like this the entire time:
It's been painted, of course, and once I had wallpaper on the walls, but the flooring had been down all of that time.
They were sticky tiles that we put down ourselves, because we built our house hands-on and did almost all of the work. After all of these years, the tiles of course had lost their sheen and were coming up. They also had ground-in dirt. They weren't made to last nearly 30 years, but they held up remarkably well.
All of the hardware in the bathroom, indeed in all of the house, was antique brass.
When I had surgery earlier this summer, we discovered (a) I had a difficult time getting in and out of the bath tub until I healed up a bit, because I am short (and older), and (b) the tub had cracked. My husband put a patch on the crack, which you can see in the left-hand part of the photo, but it didn't hold.
The tile really did look this bad.
It was time for a fix-up, don't you think?
The only way to replace the leaking bathtub was to tear it out. A new tub came in three parts and we were concerned about mold in the cracks.
So we decided to build a walk-in shower.
It has a corner seat. This photo is the closest to what the tile actually looks like, it is whitish-gray but for some reason it keeps showing up brown in my pictures.
We hired someone to do all of this. The tile man works a second job and it took 3.5 weeks but he wasn't here all of that time, of course. And no the flooring is not this brown!
But I am happy to say it is done now. And yes, we added grab bars so we could get in and out as we age. We are planning on being in this house until the caretaker comes and takes us away.
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