The Window Washer (tee hee hee)

And for your putty tat lovers, enjoy this window washer!

It's a video clip you can download here.

Window Washer

Click, then save, then play.

Or you can play it right here.

One Brave Kitty

My smiling cat is determined to reclaim his peaceful corner in the shade of my bedroom. Of course now he tends to lay tightly wound into a ball, as kitties often do, when they are uncertain. But the fact he has moved back to his favorite spot where he was recently terrorized by a snake, is a good sign that like 99.9% of cats, he has unshakable confidence.

We had scattered rains this morning and I had a sleep in after breakfast. I just need my ENERGY back!

This recuperation is taking far too long. Grrr.........

Ponderances

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

OK, we've heard of a fish out of water...

Now tell me, just WHAT are those fenders out for? In case a rescue boat comes alongside?

Or is this a "do it yourself" haulout job? Afterall, the bottom paint looks pretty fresh!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is sponsored by various advertisements. Proceeds from same, go towards my medical fund!

THANK YOU!

You can also buy my book HURRICANES and HANGOVERS (and other tall tales and loose lies from the coconut telegraph)

Those proceeds go towards my support while I get book TWO out for you!

My book is guaranteed to make you laugh or you get 100% refund. How cool is that?

The Last To Know

Well, I wet to see the nurse at the clinic. It was baby day but the doctor didn't show and the babies were gone. She said she understood I had really bad pneumonia.

WHAT?

News to me!

She said it was on my records.

You mean in 22 days of being in the hospital no one ever said I had pneumonia?

You mean you didn't know?

No, I never knew.

Very strange.

It took 22 days to figure THAT out and still no one mentioned it to me?

I am incredulous.

A Hot Day and The Assassinator

Now don't act surprised to find out in my secret life that I am a hit mermaid aka an assassinator.

If you read my book: "Hurricanes & Hangovers" then you read "My First Murder".

Did you really think I would stop at just one?

So yesterday we had dropped my heap of a jeep off to get a muffler repair, so I could once again drive in stealth mode. Running out of errands, we ended up at my home again. It was just so dang HOT.

So hot that I refused a hit job, instead calling around until I found another assassinator to do the dirty work. That is how HOT it was. Sure, I helped him out, lead him to the quarry, and even watched him complete the evil deed. After all I had to make sure the scoundrel was DEAD.

I shall explain.

My girlfriend who had picked me up at the jeep repair, and I, now sat under the fan, sharing icy cold drinks and chatting at my dining table. At some point I got up to go use the bathroom off my bedroom. There in the corner, just before the bathroom, in the shade on the cool ceramic tile, laid my tabby cat, all stretched out and looking rather smitten. I was barefoot, (mermaids grow feet if they are out of the water too long) so I tickled his belly with my toes and this tabby can actually smile.

The only cat I have that can smile.

He put a smile on his face and stretched out even further, looking very comfy indeed. He batted his eyes at me, then closed them again, looking very comfy to be inside his home, with his mistress around and taking a lazy snooze on a very hot day with a self satified smile plastered across his furry face.

I did my thing in the bathroom and as I walked passed him again, I stroked his soft silky fur with my toes again. He let out a contented purr, stretched out even further, and looked extremely comfortable, settling down for a much needed nap on a very hot day.

I returned to the dining table and was about to sit down when this blur traveling at about 60mph flew by me, about a foot below my face. My startled friend said "What in the heck was THAT?"

I had jumped at the sudden movement, wondering where this speed demon of a bird had come from. It had gone right to left, about three to four feet off the floor and originated from my bedroom. So I naturally looked back at my bedroom. Where my sleepy smiling cat had been stretched out in utter comfort was now a huge brown snake.

I screamed. Rather loudly, I might add. My friend jumped up yelling "WHAT? WHAT is it?" I screamed again and pointed. I finally answered in a very high pitched voice "SNAKE! It's a SNAKE!" and my shaking arm pointed at the offending creature.

Now I've read from the experts, that your average house cat can run upwards of 30 miles per hour. I do believe my cat shot off the floor like a cannon and flew by me going about 60mph and rapidly exited the open front door (not to be seen again until late last night.)

Now my friend saw it too. She echoed me by jumping up to get a better view and bellowing "SNAKE!"

We watched in horror as it wiggled around. I cried "WATCH IT! While I get the broom and dust pan!"

I ran around looking for the broom and long handled dust pan, (that I had last swept up a dead bird with, but that's another story...) I came back and ran in the bedroom but the snake was GONE!

I looked back at my friend "WHERE did the snake go?"

"I don't know! It just slithered away, either into the bathroom or into the closet." I looked and for some absurd reason, the closet door was open an inch. Just enough for a very long brown snake to glide through.

"Why didn't you watch it?"

"I did!" she answered "And it wiggled away!"

I came back to the dining table and sat down. I stared where the snake had been. "What if it's under the bed?"

"No." she answered, "I would have seen it, if it had gone under the bed!"

I sighed. I may have evn rolled my eyes.

She got up.

"Cone on, let's go look for it. "

Like two foolish school girls we walked very uncertainly back into the bedroom, jumping and screaming every few seconds and we could not find the snake. My friend was brave enough to peek in the bathroom for all of half a second and announce she couldn't see him.

We rapidly ran back to the dining table.

"I know what!" she says. "Let's go to lunch and we'll deal with it when we come back!"

"Are you crazy?" I implored "Come home to a live snake SOME WHERE in my house?"

"How did it get in?" she asked.

"Hell if I know!"

We silently looked around at all the tightly screened in windows and then focussed on the open front door.

"There is no way that snake came through the front door while we sat here."

It's a mystery how he got in, but I could tell you one thing, if I had my way, he was leaving DOA (dead on arrival).

I drained my iced tea and mopped sweat off my face with a cloth napkin.

I picked up my cell phone and called a male friend who lives and works near my neighborhood. He answered and was very cordial until I asked him if he could come over and help me find a snake in my bedroom and murder it.

"NO! I don't do snake!" he laughed very nervously and said "I am sorry. But I just don't do SNAKE!"

We hung up.

I poked through my phone and called another macho male that might be working nearby.

"SNAKE?" he says "Just spray some Baygone in the bedroom and leave, maybe that will kill it. But um, I don't do snake hunting. Not me, No way."

Note: Baygone is the local bug spray, and unless you unleashed a whole can in the face of the snake, I doubt it would kill it.

I thanked him for his time and hung up.

My friend and I looked at each other. She got up and made herself a stiff drink and offered me one which I declined. Then on second thought, I got up, rummaged around and found a bottle of brandy. I poured a shot glass for myself and slowly slurped it.

I scratched my head and said "I know who will come!"

I reached my lady friend on the phone and after exchanging pleasantries, I asked her if by chance if her husband would come hunt down a nasty live snake in my bedroom and murder him for me.

She giggled and said "I am sure he would! Here is his cell phone number, he is working across the bay from you! Just call him up."

So I called him three times, every minute or so and kept getting a recording.

I called his wife back and she said "Let me call his boss."

A few minutes later, I heard the sweetest music to my ears. The phone rang and my friend said "He will be over right away and take care of that for you!"

Barely 3 minutes later, her husband was at my door laughing, saying he heard I had a PROBLEM.

We recapped the story to him and he was armed already with a long stick that looked like he had sharpened it at the end with a pocket knife. I grabbed my dustpan and broom. I followed him into the bedroom and we began literally poking around looking for the snake. He checked the bathroom then opened the closet door. I had just poked a basket in the floor and it moved and I could suddenly see 2 inches of brown snake.

I screamed "THERE he is! Kill him!"

My friend whipped around while I made a hasty retreat and then pointed at the basket in the floor. "He's under THERE" I whispered, as if not to tip off the snake we were on to him.

"You want him KILLED?"

"Of course I want him killed! If he wanted to live he should have NEVER set foot in my house, terrifying my cat and me and my girlfriend!"

My friend poked around with his weapon. Suddenly we had over four feet of angry snake whipping around the floor looking for an escape.

"It's BIG!" my male friend yelled. "I thought you meant an itty bitty snake like this!" and he holds his hands about six inches apart.

"This thing is 4 to 5 feet long!"

"Yep!" I answered him.

By now, he had engaged the snake in an angry fight, which resulted in a lot of blood splattering around my floor. I handed over the long handled dustpan and my friend swept up the snake with his bloody stick.

He walked it outside to the patio, where he beat it up some more, to make sure it very dead. Then he flung it off into the woods.

Somberly, we walked back inside and I served iced tea. We sat around laughing and joking and I opened up my purse and pushed the assassination fee towards my friend.

He refused it! I said, "Well you must have missed work, leaving this early and all."

"Well, he says, I told my boss what I had to do for you and she said GO! So I won't get docked for being here and I can't charge you for THAT. "

He finished his iced tea and reminded me to clean up all the blood and evidence and off he went.

Another hit job.

Well done!

We locked up the house and left for lunch.

Just another HOT day in a would-be mermaid assassisnator's life.

The Scream Heard Around the Neighborhood

I told the nurse yesterday how tired I was all the time and something is wrong with me or the medicines I am on. Also, I am having trouble getting OFF the hospital schedule. I wake up at 4am expecting meds and finger pricks and blood pressure cuffs and so on.

I often just get up, take round one of all the meds, which require me to eat within 30 minutes, so I make a small breakfast, eat that, then since it's still dark, I either write awhile or snooze awhile or watch something like a video on the computer or a show on TV. No matter what I do, I get tired within the hour and fall back asleep.

So I woke up (again) at 9am, thinking I would shower, haul the garbage, mail off the rent, pick up the local mail, go see the nurse who said she had more of my staph infection meds for me, which I desperately need as my left arm still looks pitiful. It's much improved, just pitiful.

I have learned long ago, to LOOK inside bathtubs and showers before leaping into them. For some reason, the cats favor that as a spot for treats.

Well, there was a baby rat (shown above!) in the shower floor. Which by the way, the landlord's rental agent promised to regrout the shower floor nearly 2 years ago, and hasn't done it yet. But the lying witch can't keep her word on anything! So nothing new there.

With the grout falling out, it's very hard to clean, more grout falls out and there is always gray/black stuff stuck in the grout ruts and my knees are bad, so the last thing on my list, is to get on knees with a toothbrush and scrub the shower floor. I figure if I mop it with a goodly dose of disinfectant, I am good to go.

Besides, I've made loads of expensive repairs to this basement apartment, and my thanks? The landlord's agent has asked for me to pay MORE rent and because I have refused, and keep paying the same old rent for nearly 2 years now (I haven't had this place long) she is taking me to court to evict me!

MORE stress heaped on me I don't need, but this has dragged on since her earnest harassment began last winter. Grrrrrrr..........

I hate to admit the truth, but Tortola has some SUPER GREEDY nasty people living here and many of them are involved in so called property management. We have NO laws to protect the tenant, so the SUPER GREEDY have taken over the business and it's like going up against the Mafia to do any business with them.

I don't now if the courts will be fair to me or not. Last winter when I went to court after being brutally attacked, I was treated like the criminal instead of the victim. Ditto for when my car was vandalized by the neighbor's son, not because he was mad at me, but he was tossing big heavy rocks at his parent and missing, and kept hitting my car windows until he smashed them out and left a huge dent in the roof. The courts didn't order any reimbusrsement and I was incredulous. The parent has since paid for some of the damage but not all. It's been a real mess, I didn't need.

These are all stressful things I surely do NOT need in my life. I try to smile and move forward, but it's hard when financially you are being torn apart by others!

These are things I don't mention much in the weather blog at StormCarib.com as I don't want to sound like a sour puss, but it is my reality and I wonder WHAT HAPPENED?

All i can say is living on my sailboat were the best days of my life in the Caribbean!

Sooooooooooooo...

Back to the baby rat, I got my long handled dust pan and short handled broom and managed to sweep up the dead creature and toss him out. Then I disinfected the shower floor in case the rat carried any deadly diseases and took my shower while a very proud cat wached; the hunter I imagine!

The scary thing is the cats usually slay the rats in multiples, this appeared to be a juvenile rat, so I expect the parents are soon to be slayed.

BVI elec-tricky just shut off da curent again. *sigh*. Glad I got my shower when I did as other wise I could not due to the cistern water pump. I've never hooked it up to my generator. I am going to get dressed and go try to do my errands, praying I don't get dizzy. There should be enough water in the lines to at least brush my teeth.

Can you identfiy THIS?

22 Days in the hospital and I came home to this!

What is it? Can you identify it?

YES, I know it's plant matter!

This was found growing in my bathroom sink. Matter of fact, it still is! Despite repeated teeth brushing with Sensodyne toothpaste, it still grows. Now that gives cause to pause...

If I only use my bathroom sink for splashing water on my hot face and brushing my teeth, then did this fall off my face OR out of my teeth?

What was I eating that had live seeds in it? I wonder.

Let me know if you can identify it.

Write me at:

DearMissMermid AT aol.com

(replace the AT with you know what!)

Secrets

Pneumonia? Why didn't anyone bother to tell me?

The community nurse called me today. Wandered why I hadn't checked in.

Hmmm...

I am confused. She read off my medical charts and knew when my next hospital appointment was. She mentioned I had pneumonia.

22 days in the hospital and no one mentioned that word to me once. Well, I take that back. The girl across from me, in the hall, the first week I was there, she had pneumonia. Her father came to visit her and I knew him. Her mother came every day to see her. I watched with glee, the day they packed her all up and she went home. I was sure I was next.

Institutionalized?

I was joking with a friend who spent a month in the hospital and she said WATCH OUT, it doesn't take long to become institutionalized. Well, after 22 days, my body is still on the hospital's. I wake up at 3-4 am, expecting bright lights and nurses to to check my vitals, rouse me for IV's and meds and nebulizers and finger poking and so on.

Then by daybreak I am ready to go back to sleep until the docs make rounds at 10 or 11 am. It's crazy!

I am so glad to be off that Lasix drug. The constipation and subsequent hemorrhoids was enough to make me think about slitting my throat. The apple cider vinegar has efficiently reduced me of any water gain and at the same time made me a bit more regular. I bought some Prune juice which has gently resolved the constipation problem. Now once the hemorrhoids shrink back into place and they should now that they are not being assaulted daily, then WHEW I might be fine.

My blurry vision has cleared right up too, another problem from the Lasiz. So I feel a bit more confident and might even drive somewhere, if I have to go anywhere. I haven't been dizzy much lately and I hope that was the Lasix and that now that problem is resolved too. WHEW.

I know many folks believe that drugs are the only answer, but when the side effects make your life unbearable, I think it's time to look for alternatives, preferably something all natural. I for one am NOT impressed with drugs and wish to get as far from them as possible.

My cat just shared Yogurt with me! Lately he wants whatever I am having, and now he seems to love yogurt, so funny. I call him the gourmet kitty, cause he always wants to try out human food. I've sen him eat some real spicy stuff too and never flinch, but cherry yogurt?

Like I said, it's HARD to get plain or vanilla yogurt here, so I had to settel for every flavor under the sun except those two. But I needed the yogurt, in any form possible, to keep my innards happy. Here again, the assualt of the remaining drugs is really doing a number on me.

TODAY'S QUOTE

TODAY'S QUOTE

When I served in Nam in the 60'S a lot of my friends were killed in action and we lived by a creed that said, "Live every day to it's fullest, enjoy the sights and sounds of this wonderful world and make sure that thise close to you are always around, if only in spirit"

~~~Patrick Porter

843am Sunday and ALIVE and almost well!

My head aches. Sometimes where i was hit over the head, it suddenly aches for no reason at all, just to irritate me I guess. My arm has phantom pains from the needles. I didn't think that was possible! But everywhere they stuck me on my left arm comes back to haunt me now and then and it feels like I am being stuck all over again or the vampire is poking me and sucking out more blood.

I tossed one of the ppurchased drugs already, number three tossed out now.

The first two were outrageously expensive designer drugs. the kind they advertise on TV all day long. One was for allergies and the other for high cholesterol, neither of which I have, so I failed to purchase them.

Now how did this world end side down? You can't advertise liquor or cigs, but you can advertise dangerous drugs? And an innocent herb, well known for its healing qualities (marijuana) can land you in prison! Is this a world gone mad?

The drug I tossed is to remove excess water. The same thing apple cider vinegar does. I should have had my vinegar in the hospital. Maybe they wouldn't have gave me the dangerous water drug. i say dangerous becasue the side effects, read that THE EFFECTS included many unpleasantries such as blurry vision, constipation, vertigo and dizziness. The chronic constipation was causing hemorrhoids and bleeding, so I was just miserable all around.

I just bought 3 pairs of prescription eyeglasses before I went to the hospital, so I was pretty dismayed to have blurry vision now and the glasses weren't helping. I bought a polarized sunglass pair, a clear pair (the accountant look) and readers for threading needles and reading teeny tiny print on drug bottles, boxes and inserts.

I went out and bought Apple Cider Vinegar, drank a bunch with my liquids and like magic, I lost a lot of water weight and swelling. No side effects, matter of fact, apple cider vinegar has many positive effects. I prefer the organic Braggs brand of apple cider vinegar, (they include the mother, which makes it look cloudy, but you shake it up and it's good for you) but being that I am on a super cheap budget (no medical insurance) I bought the White House Apple Cider Vinegar which was fairly cheap and promises to be all natural, even though it doesn't have the mother in it. Besides, Braggs sells in town 45 minutes away and the other brand sells less than two miles away. I've tried the Shur Fine Apple cider vinegar, but WHEW is that tangy and can make your cheeks really pucker up (at both ends!)

I'm still battling the thrush on my tongue with liquid meds and the staph infection on my left arm from the needle mis-use. But both seem to be slowly but surely healing.

Now I have probably bored you to tears or if you had insomnia, I just cured it!

Like a cat, I still sleep a lot, trying to will my body to heal itself. When I am in pain, which is often, I think about this cold clear river in the mountains. My mother used to say you could sit int he river and it would cool you down for the whole summer. So I think about it and immerse my whole body into that icy cold river and it deadens all the pain. But it also tends to put me to sleep.

I am tired now, nite nite!

Earthquake Activity Ramps Up at Puerto Rico Subduction Zone

Earth Changes Media Newsletter With Mitch Battros In This Issue Earthquake Activity Ramps Up at Puerto Rico Subduction Zone Mitch Battros Research of the Sun - Earth Connection and 2012 More Earth Changes Media Links Solar Rain Solar Rain Global Warming - A Convenient Disguise Join our list August 15, 2009 Earthquake Activity Ramps Up at Puerto Rico Subduction Zone by Mitch Battros - Earth Changes Media A significant escalation is occurring at the Puerto Rico Subduction Zone. A swarm of quakes continue with close to one hundred quakes in just the last three days. What is most alarming is the increase in magnitudes. When a swarm starts to hit a series of high 3's and into 4's magnitude, it trips a geological/seismological switch often elevating an 'observation' into a 'watch'. (see EQ link below) If the earthquake swarm maintains magnitude 4's, it is likely that a "warning" will be issued. In what might be considered a 'unique' situation, it would be rare to call for evacuation of an area based on earthquake foreshocks. However, with current technology and a better understanding of earthquake patterns, I would not be surprised if Puerto Rico and Caribbean Islands are put on alert. What is being outlined above very much resembles the procedures of volcanic escalation which uses color codes and levels describing each position of elevation. If this occurs, it will be the first time measuring seismic escalation was used to foretell a large/mega earthquake event. Volcanic Color Codes/Levels: http://www.earthchangesmedia.com/images/volcanic_color_code.jpg It is not typical to witness an earthquake 'swarm' with high-moderate magnitude events. They are usually in the magnitude 1, 2, 3 range. Take a look below at what is happening right now on the Puerto Rico Subduction Zone. I will present two links. The World EQ's - Past 7 days and the Puerto Rico Region. 1) World Earthquakes Last 7 Days: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html 2) Puerto Rico Region: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Maps/10/295_20_eqs.php To sign-up for our 50% discount and support our efforts to bring this wisdom from our ancestors, and breaking news and cutting-edge research from our science community, click on the link below. This offer is also available for current members who wish to extend their membership. Sign Up Here:https://www.earthchangesmedia.com/amember/signup.php Mitch Battros Research of the Sun - Earth Connection and 2012 Mitch Battros presents fascinating, and sometimes shocking, research from the world's top scientists. After years of dialogue with these experts, Mitch has been accepted into the guarded halls of NASA, NOAA, ESA, Royal Observatory, the US Naval Observatory and other highly esteemed scientific bodies. In addition to the latest research on the Sun's influence on our "weather", Mitch also presents ground-breaking evidence of how the Sun and other celestial orbs produce 'charged particles' and their impact on humanity. Just as the Sun's solar activity affects the Earth's magnetic field which has a dramatic affect on Earth's "weather" i.e. earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, hurricanes; so does this wave of electrical currents affect the human body's magnetic field. Mitch also reveals a little-known development from modern medicine known as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). TMS provides empirical evidence of how magnetic fields can influence human emotions. Solar Cycle 24 has begun - and it has been predicted by NASA, NOAA and ESA to be up to 50% stronger than its 'record breaking' predecessor Cycle 23 which produced the largest solar flare ever recorded. The Sun will reach its 'apex' (maximum) in late 2011 into 2012. "I believe it will be the magnetic influence produced by the Sun which will usher in what is described by our ancient ancestors as "the transition" bringing us to a new state-of-being". (Mitch Battros) ENDORSEMENTS: http://earthchangesmedia.com/Solar_Rain_Endorsements01.htm ORDER BOOKS HERE: https://www.solarrainbook.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=Books&pid=1 More Earth Changes Media Links Come join the No.1 rated news source for space weather and earth science. It is more important now than ever before to access the latest breaking news events which affect us all. Order Books - CLICK HERE Gain full access to ECM and Subscribe Now - CLICK HERE Sign up to receive your Free ECM Newsletter - CLICK HERE View our Free Survival Tips - CLICK HERE Check out the ECM Photo Gallery - CLICK HERE Learn more About Mitch Battros - CLICK HERE Earth Changes Media Home Page - CLICK HERE Order - 'Solar Rain' - The Earth Changes Have Begun - CLICK HERE Read On... Mitch Battros Producer - Earth Changes Media Author: 'Solar Rain - The Earth Changes Have Begun' and 'Global Warming: A Convenient Disguise' newsletter@earthchangesmedia.com Web: http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102029388417&s=0&e=001W2pI_xJ08VgC0XLQ7wJ0PeM0TDOv8wLyb4i7Wm0fhpbvi91DwG5NO9EsCTyrm8zydAkUfuQDMDsAEQg97I7iZO6dnM9BvcVSuFQqKBeCLYE=

1105am Saturday and grumpy

Yesterday was rough on me. I swelled up like a balloon. I went out to haul the garbage and go take pics of the surfers on the north shore. I felt like I had been run over by a train and left out in the desert to shrivel up and die. I felt so terribly weak.

I stopped at the store for juice and forgot the much needed Apple Cider Vinegar. Grrrrrrr...

I came home and was far too weak to take a much needed cold shower. I drank some bush tea then I collapsed in the bed and woke up to darkness and no elec-tricky. The heat and humidity just seemed so unbearable. My phone rang. It was after midnight. Someone long distance checking on me. I explained my dilemma then got off the phone.

I moved the generator outside but the effort required a five minute rest. Next, I pulled three times with all my might on the starter then realized it was empty of gas. I tried to pour gas from the jug into the measuring cup and from there into the generator. I kept spilling it. My eyes are blurry from the excessive meds I am on.

I wanted to cry but was too dehydrated. So i did my breathing exercises.

Then I laid out the 100 foot electric cord by flashlight. I went back outside to try to start the generator. I took a deep breath.

The elec-tricky came back on.

I put the generator back inside, along with the gas can and gas measuring cup.

In the bathroom I tried to undress but my clothing was firmly glued to me. When I finally freed myself, I could wring the sweat out, my dress was wetter than if it had come out of a washing machine.

I stood in the cold shower for a few blissful minutes trying to cool down. I went to bed under two fans and passed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DearMissMermaid,

I really wanted to find something that was indicative and reflective of the many experiences

you encountered and shared with us during your recent hospital stay. However, I am not

so sure that I, myself, could have kept a stiff upper lip and a smile on my face without some

serious duck tape. Let me try:

THE REAL FRIEND

I thank You God for friends. . . who

When I could not pray -- they could.

I thank You for friends, that,

When I did not pray -- they would.

For in those times when circumstance

Brought my spirit so very low, 'My mind was filled with uncertainties;

But Your Will, they seemed to know.

In those times of my trials;

They would pray and intercede . . .

I thank You God for having friends

Who care that much for me.

Help me also know the times their hearts

Are filled with sadness;

Thank You God, as I intercede for them,

You are The Friend who brings them gladness!

by Donna Bennett Howell

Cheer to your heart and peace to your mind,

Frances - Chicago

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you are getting some of your strength back. It will take some time. You will be amazed at how weak a hospital stay can make you when you are lying in a bed for too long.

Frances from Chicago says:

PASS IT ON!

When you've received a blessing

from friends or an unknown,

Remember, and be grateful,

and someday pass it on.

If someone stops to help you

when you are really stuck,

Don't reject that needy stranger

who's fallen on bad luck.

When you were cold and hungry,

think how it could have been

If all who saw you coming

had "no room in the inn."

Each day we should be thankful

for those who pass our way

Spreading rays of sunshine

to brighten up our day.

Each simple act of kindness

is like a seed well sown...

Remember, and be grateful,

and someday pass it on!

by Clay Harrison

Best Wishes,

Frances

p.s. Obviously some of the hospital caregivers never heard of karma

You can say THAT again!!!

Email Replies

If you wrote me and if you didn't get a reply from me, then please check your SPAM file. For some reason, some readers reported finding m email in their SPAM file.

I don't send out spam, I only answer emails that were sent to me.

So put my email in your "safe" list. If you haven't heard from me, write again! I will see if I replied before and forward that to you and if I didn't well I will now!

My email is

DearMissMermaid AT aol. com

Of course you know WHAT to replace the AT with, I am trying to avoid spammers from getting my email off this blog *tee hee hee* so hopefully you can figure out how to correct the email and write me if you so desire.

Now, where does all this dust, fuzz and crud come from that is stuck on my hair brush? I am giving it a good soak in Joy soap, then getting it nice and clean again.

At the hospital, Lori, brought me a brand new hairbrush, as I had none and was looking pretty strange. I washed it everyday after brushing my hair and this seemed to amuse the other patients. I had no bucket to soak it in, like I am doing today.

The other day, I had thrown out an old hair brush, then couldn't find my other new one plus I know I had another not so old one around here, just can't find it. So I dug the old one out of the garbage, and gave it a good cleaning and now it's soaking in a bucket too.

Guess I will have lots of clean hair brushes now!

1027am Ah HA!

Found my new hair brush in my purse. Who would have thouht to put it there? I must be losing my mind. (But it won't get far in the shape it is in!)

934am PAIN

How can recovery be so painful?

Everything hurts when I try to do housework. I can't find ANY of my 2 or 3 hair brushes and this has me completely baffled. Where do they go?

I am grumpy. My face is swollen. I am dizzy.

Today I must look up these horrible drugs I am on and see what the EFFECTS are. I don't believe in side effects, they are all EFFECTS.

Grrrrrrr.........

There Is a Way

Frances from Chicago says:

There Is a Way

There is a way to overcome

The obstacles we face in life...

To many, they seem quite burdensome

And they're ready to give up the strife.

Oh friend, keep struggling as you trudge along

Upon life's rugged road;

There's someone waiting to right the wrong

By lifting your heavy load.

There is a way to smile again

If you'll look up in the sky;

You'll find the sunshine after the rain

When the clouds have drifted by.

Though many tears have filled your eyes,

They've made the way quite clear

To find a rainbow in the skies

And take away your fear.

Yes, there's a way if you'll look for it;

You'll find many blessings if you do not quit

And they will multiply.

Just trust in God from day to day

And don't give in to despair.

Hold on to His hand, let Him lead the way,

Keep a song in your heart and a prayer.

by Lou Ella Cullipher

And another verticle day has passed!!

Horizontal is only good when one is engaged in flatbacking.

Check out the prospects while you are there.

Sincerely,

Frances

BELIEVE

Well DearMissMermaid, another day and you are still verticle. This is Frances from Chicago.

Hope that this poem can uplift you.

Believe

Let the sun be your freedom,

The wind be your song,

The promise of morning

When the nights are long...

And when you find a rainbow

After a rain storm's end,

Believe with all your heart

Miracle do happen.

by Joy Frederick

Take care for another day.

Frances

BRING ON THE RAINBOWS!

Frances from Chicago.

I noticed that you are still in an upright position, instead of the dreaded prone!

Are you sure that hospital doesn't need micro managing?

LITTLE DEEDS

Little deeds of kindness,

Little acts of love,

Show that we're acquainted

With the Lord above.

Little deeds of kindness

Cheer us on our way.

And help ourselves and others

Have a happy day.

Acts of loving kindness

Prompt a happy smile,

And add a joy to living

And make life worthwhile.

by Vera Beall Parker

Safe Keeping,

Frances

ps: Remember, after storms come rainbows.

BRING ON THE RAINBOWS!

I sleep much of my day away. I try to get up and putter around the house, but everything aches or I get dizzy or I just get plain wore out!

My black kitty is stretched out here in front of the fan looking positively wore out too! I have my laptop computer on a bar stool by the bed instead of in my office. That way I don't have far to fall when I am tired!

I've been downloading movies and shows while I sleep so that IF we had a big bad hurricane and no current or TV, I could fire up the generator and watch movies.

As for micro managing the hospital, different shifts are run different ways and other than the head honchos, everyone seems to be on a rotating schedule. That must be tough on their relatives.

One HUGE improvement the hospital could do is make EVERYONE where a label that tells their JOB TITLE. I was thoroughly confused between those that wore whites, pale blues, dark blues, pinks, purples, greens and so on. Some wore no uniform at all. The doctors wore white coats, mostly, and security wore browns. No one wore hats, I guess those are out of vogue now, except some of the nutrition ladies wore hair nets.

Such as the gardener who was wearing a shirt with skull heads printed all over it, a pair of jeans, flip flops and surgeon's gloves while he raked.

The nutrition and kitchen department needs a MAJOR overhaul. The calories widely as did the quality of the food.

I noticed that some employees arrived empty handed and left carrying large bags of stuff. I thought this suspicious.

I've been out of the hospital for a week now, and I am WEAK!

When I got out, I mentioned earlier how I had all these little plastic grocery bags packed up with my stuff. One for dirty clothes, one for clean clothes, one for toiletries, one for snacks, one for chocolate, one for drugs, my computer in a tattered bluejean backpack (it's only 20 years old with rusty buckles, but somehow the zippers have survived) and my purse plus the gift of the stand fan. All I needed was a shopping cart and I could be the bag lady!

My friend showed up to pick me up and thoroughly embarrassed me further by fetching a big black garbage bag and dumping all my stuff in it! Now I did positively look totally homeless and decrepit. We managed to get the pile of debris out the veranda, where I had to stand with it all, while she went to fetch her car.

I am sure it was quite entertaining for the people on the veranda. The lady that sells patties (meat filled turnovers she stressed were baked and not fried) was there. The day before she had sold me patties when I found my lunch a tad disgusting. My lunch had gone to the wild kitty at the edge of the hospital property. When I wobbled back up to the veranda, my friend in the wheel chair had pointed out the pattie lady for me and I went over and did my shopping with her then realized I had no money in my purse. So I hiked back to my room and found some cash and went back out and paid her.

So, now, a day later, I went over and told her that her patties did MAGIC and brought me the miracle I was hoping for, and I was GOING HOME!

We stopped at the Boat House Restaurant at the Manual Reef Marina in Sea Cows Bay (See Cows Bray!) because my friend there had my house keys. The chef made me one my favorite dishes there, a Salmon pizza made like traditional Lox and Bagels, only served on pizza instead of a bagel. I took it home, because I knew there wasn't much there to eat. It was DELICIOUS though hit took me 4 meals to eat it all, as my tongue was still so sore, I could hardly chew without great pain.

Also, the meds seem to have made my teeth super sensitive. My face is swollen and the Docs say this is normal, but I don't get it! How can a swollen face be normal?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Hurricane Katrina s(2005) pecial from New Orleans is on HBO right now. It's a real tear jerker to watch. No one knows for sure how many died. I think it was in the thousands, though officals report a paltry sum of 1200. I find that VERY hard to believe.

When the Levees Broke - A Requiem In Four Acts (Documentary) (link)

This is the show I am watching, it's a real must-see, a very sobering story.