Opportunity and Possibility

The MANGLE

Discussion on another blog reminded me of what we had as a kid, and mom STILL has in her basement! My Mom even has the matching MANGLE CHAIR.
Ironing...is FUN! "How to Iron shirts without hating your husband"!!
http://www.archive.org/details/MakingaN1946

http://www.archive.org/details/MakingaN1946

What kind of animal are you?

DD and I ended up with SAME result...freaky!!

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Money flows to me freely

Have been cleaning out the van...found 20 in an envelope from the Insurance company, and assorted change!!

Do You believe me?

So...with all this "do gooder" reading I've been doing, prayer, meditation etc...it still begs the question..."Do I fully trust?". Can God do what He says He will, and Can I rest and trust in that?
Yesterday's reading was about the 3 blind men..coming to where Jesus was, and being asked..."Do you BELIEVE I can heal you?"...they said Yes, HE said.."Be it unto you ACCORDING to your Belief".
Well..I've been trying to walk FULLY seeing. EYES WIDE OPEN. Can I believe?

Yesterday, had some fairly devastating news regarding Middle child's teeth/jaw. Major problems, will need surgery eventually, and of course bottom dollars..--over $4000 plus implants at $5000 a piece. She is missing SEVEN teeth total, Ortho thinks he can close the gap so she may only need two implants. CAN I TRUST? Yes, Lord, I can trust.

Over $200 came in mail yesterday from an unexpected Insurance payment.

Today, We got a dreaded letter from MICHIGAN TAX in Lansing. My "hiney" did a cringe as my blog friend Ree would say. I call the number...They have Missing money of ours...to the tune of over $500. HOW COOL IS THAT?

"Money flows to me freely, Money comes in the mail". Help Lord my unbelief.

Gleaning

definition: Gleaning is the collection of leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been mechanically harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest.

We live in a small rural town within 4 miles of "town" yet surrounded by farmers fields.
In the back, there is a partial Parcel (say THAT 5x), of woods in which a momma dear and her two doe have been all summer. I've enjoyed watching them devour the farmers crops around the woods.
Well...Fall is here, and the farmer harvested last week. One of the fields was beans. Black beans specifically. I had not been out to the forest recently, and decided to sneak out there one night when Hannah Montana was blaring from the tv. You'd think I'd KNOW by now, that the sound of a mother sneaking is enough to broadcast LOUDLY to each of her children!!
OUT came the two girls. IGNORING shouted questions, I continued in my journey.
OUT came the girls with their shoes on. OUT OUT they came to the field. I was on my way back and had started picking up the left over plants, "gleaning" them. I had a little handful.
The girls asked what I was doing. YES!! A PERFECT moment for learning! ...Welll ...I started...remember the story of RUTH in the bible.....and how Boaz took care of her...even telling his workers to leave a Few extra handfuls out for her also. umm.>Yah..I didn't get into the whole Wife buying thing....
THEN
we have been sitting on the back deck splitting the pods open for getting the beans out. How cool is this?

New way to live my life

I can't remember where I read this recently, but I LAUGHED right OUT LOUD, and now..its gonna be added to those "life verse" things to live by.

"Whenever I'm going to do something,
I stop and Pause, and ask...
Would an IDIOT do this???---and if they
WOULD
I STOP and don't do it".

HA HA HA!! LOVE IT. Even better than...if this made the front page of the newspaper with me doing it...would I want it there???

What are YOUR sayings that help mold, shape your choices?


d.

and the winner of $600....is......

http://thepioneerwoman.com/2007/09/rise_and_whine.html

I LOVE pioneer woman blog. NESS won the "name that photo" contest!! she won a $600 gift certificate to JC PENNEY's!!! How COOL IS THAT!!!

Movies I watched

wow. Two Winners. Both pretty tense. Not the laid back relaxing mode of movies. No. Psychological thrillers. Scary. Almost over the Edge.

Susan Serandon: Irresistible
Watch? Yes


Then : THE GIFT
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0219699/plotsummary

Watch: Yes.

Both good. Sit on the edge of the couch good. Put the kids in bed first good.

what do teachers make?

Military Tribute

Weds stuff SWITCHBACK

The Health and Wellness center had a fundraiser for Youth Programs. I took oldest son, and a buddy, and we went. IT WAS GREAT!
it was bring your own beverage, they had snacks--(healthy albeit good!!). Relaxed...kick back..Mandolin! guitar! Kick ass lyrics! Good lookin !!
PLUS!!
Met a guy (YEAH!! ) hee hee--actually we were chatting and out of the blue he says.."So do you want a full time job?--Send me your resume!"
Gotta love it when it comes together. My thoughts and prayers have been this week, " I am expecting, and accepting the perfect job". I got my HAIR cut and primed today, and am looking for a couple outfits to have on hand so that I am READY for the jobs.

Great selection on their myspace page
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=61956257
waygoodmusic.com
Band Members Brian FitzGerald on guitar, mandolin, vocals; and Martin McCormack on bass guitar, guitar and vocals

The Secret POst card guy!

I GOT TO SEE THIS GUY LAST NIGHT ON CAMPUS!!
He was GREAT!!!
The BLURB:
Frank Warren is the creator of the popular website postsecret.com This website was named the third most popular blog by New York Magazine. He also won many awards at the 2006 Bloggy Awards. He has been seen on 20/20, CNN, MSNBC, Today, NPR and Fox News.

It is a lecture you won't want to miss. (I DID'T MISS IT!!). Hub did not want to go..so I was able to round up a buddy and go.



PostSecret
http://postsecret.blogspot.com
(PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

Facilitated Communication

To Sandra...a person having a Facilitated Workshop coming up.
From Their Flyer:
. "Many people with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, Rett syndrome, and other challenges cannot speak (or cannot use speech to communicate fully) and have not found alternative systems of communication that allow unlimited use of language.

A method of communication that has made interactive language possible for many is facilitated communication (FC). This technique requires a facilitator who supports a person's hand or arm which in turn makes it possible for that person to direct a finger to her or his chosen spot on a keyboard. Some people who use FC are able to realize independent typing."
MY REPLY AND EXPERIENCE
Dear Sandra-
I am on a listserv and somehow got your information on the FC conference.
I wanted to tell you about my use of FC.
I was working at the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing at the time. (around maybe 89-90). FC was just being introduced Stateside I think. As I recall there was a lot used in Australia I think, and it was full of controversy. I was finishing up my Bachelor of Science from Central Michigan University.
My Student Was Keith. He was non verbal, a very LARGE kid--sometimes bad behaviors. Nobody thought he was worth anything on..he's was just a "blob". (I'm just trying to tell you how it was not trying to put judgment or anything). He was a "tucker"...(He had tucked his Private for so long and would PULL it.....well...he would tuck --WAYY tuck and it would show out the BACK of the top of his too small Sweat pants that his mom kept him in ALL the time.) I share that to just add the picture of how people dealt with "him that was Keith".
Anyway..I always liked him--I had come out of working at a State Mental Institution and was just loving the school setting. I would tease Keith...he lived in the dorm that connected to the one I worked at. He would move over and make room if I went over there to watch TV or whatever, talk at the desk. He LOVED magazines...looking at the pictures (we thought), or greeting cards etc. He loved after Christmas when Staff would bring in all their holiday cards and give them to him.
The students lived at MSB during the week and went home on the weekends. They would come in about 4 on Sunday, and leave Friday afternoons.

One of the teachers became aware of FC. Keith had used some pictures, but not to much success. He did not have a "picture board" for communicating in the dorm, or the school as I recall. He really did not communicate, but just sort of existed. Not bad, not good...just "was". His head sort of rolled around on his too fat shoulders, and he was just "there".
I started working with Keith. I was instructed in the 'how to do it'. Put my hand over his..had the alphabet board etc. (please excuse if I'm not using the correct terms, I"m trying to just tell you this from memory before I get online and relook stuff up). I think his board looked like a keyboard, the thought being that maybe eventually they would be able to use a keyboard, but that was before Email and all that was really being used at the School. Some kids had Speak boards but not very many.

SO...Out comes a book. I read to Keith. The story was about a girl, with very long hair, getting ready for school in the morning. There was something about conversation with her mom, having her go down the stairs to get ready, brushing her hair etc.
Then the FC.
I'm Shaking as I remember this stuff. Everyone that was there swears I was faking it. I was NOT.
There were 'routine' questions prepared I was supposed to ask Keith, about the story.
IMMEDIATELY, the back pressure worked, and he began pointing out to letters. NO HESITATION. He was going so fast, I had to write letters down to try and get the "words" as they came up.
He knew the story..answered the questions, etc etc. At one point, when asked the girls name...he typed out MY NAME...and I realized...He was JOKING!! This...this..."Blob" of a nothing student...had SENSE OF HUMOR!!! I was laughing and he was laughing..and nobody GOT it. Some began to understand, others ALWAYS insisted I was doing the movement. Then eventually...it worked with other people too. We realized---KEITH COULD READ. All those years of looking at mag's or whatever...He was able to somehow figure it out.
That MOMENT...of "contact" with Keith--was and is one of the "real est" moments of "human to human" contact I have had.
So.
what did this do for Keith?
He was able to express that he wanted to learn to use the Microwave. When he went home on weekends, his mom (barely mentally competent) only gave him peanut butter sandwiches all weekend.
The teacher was able to teach him that, how to get his mom to buy food he could do etc. That was huge. He started doing his own laundry.

These were small things..but ...HUGE for the life of Keith.
I hope he still has someone to use it with.

Well, thanks for listening

"Good Morning Mrs. Teacher" said the students..

to the TEACHER.!!!!
Had my first "SUB" gig today. LOL. WOW. What a contrast...KINDERS to The Adult students I"m used to teaching.
Nasally John, to anyone that passed by him, "It's My MOMS BIRTHDAY to day and SHE IS FORTY"!!!
Girl: "We have a pet mouse that used to live in the Attic! WE caught him in a live trap and his name is Squeak". Same girl has a lot of health issues, and "my dad is studying to be a nurse. He's a LEEPIN (Lpn) Now but he's gonna be a EARNIN nurse." (RN). IS that perfect or what?
SAW: out by the playground, is a Ball backdrop, and 2nd recess--SAW A VERY BIG DEER out there. When pointed out to the students...there was the second moment of silence for the day.
9-11----Unexpected voice from loudspeaker for moment of silence for victims of 9-11. "How is being quiet going to help the dead people?". ...young boy

It's My Birthday Friday September 7th!

Grateful home improvements part deux

Mark My maintainance guy for one more day...kept doing projects yesterday.!! I"m so Blessed and happy!
He painted the garage door trim in 3 places. This had been power washed last year, and I scraped it last week.
He put 2 lights in new shed-One a Halogen light fixture above Hub's dad's work bench. He put electrical plugs in new shed from the old shed. This saved tons, as we didn't have to run FEET AND FEET of conduit/wire etc from the House to the new shed. He was able to "split" off and reroute some of it. His dad had the extra wire so that worked out GREAT. He Ran the wire through PVC pipe between the two units so its protected.
By adding the two light units, it makes the shed a lot more inviting. One works by the new wall switch, the halogen is on a pull string-it will use a lot more power.

In "the breezeway" room...aka Aunt Barb's room, He installed 2 plugs up on ceiling, and added a florescent light unit I had gotten at garage sale for 1.50. It makes ENORMOUS difference! We can now read album covers etc. He also fixed the shelf unit that was above the door that was Sagging down for years. Now if we need too, a dehumidifier can be run in that room.
The LARGE overhead ceiling grate that fell out of the hallway months ago, almost striking Little Joy on the head has been screwed back into place!

Ty came over and I hired him to start work in the garage. Ty is an amazing organizer. He moved several doors from the garage to the Shed. We are trying to get a Large enough work space to have in Garage to actually be able to WORK, instead of filled with stuff.
Shelly came over for Lunch. I had made a turkey dinner on First day of School, so we had leftovers. Turkey, Dressing, mashed tatos and gravy.
For Dinner last night for all eight of us, (us + Mark + "little man" Mark) then later Big Mark, I made Taco salad. We were going to have watermelon but didn't get around to it.
It is a lot of work getting work done!

Mackinaw Bridge Walk 2007

What a Wonderful couple of days!! Helena really wanted to go see MYSTERY SPOT, and walk the bridge etc, so Sunday morning she got up and started researching about "getting a room". Right. On Labor Day weekend, with the 50th anniversary of the Bridge walk. Well She didn't find one, but was I was able to with my savvy detection skills!! We got a "Sweet suite" in St. Ignace. In Piled all the kids, plus Ty. We had four others supposed to go--then When I got to next location...delays. So, Picked up one, the other 3 were going fishing or something, and I wasn't going to wait for hours for them..then they were going to come up later. Kewl!
We hit the road about 12:30, sunny and bright. Got up to Mackinaw City about 3:30, had a picnic, walked around town, bought some fudge, then headed to hotel.
GREAT ROOM!! Had TONS of space!! A Bed, pull out bed, fold down bed, recliner that made into bed, Ty had brought his bed, and William slept on cushions so we all had our own space. With the microwave,--hot dogs, sausage, cheese and crackers, wine, we ate in the room with food I brought in the cooler...saving $$$,(and time) then headed to the MYSTERY SPOT.
IT was hokey, and great, and the kids loved it. Will post photos later when I get them.
The Bridge walk was PACKED. Joy made it across all by herself this year!! Last year, Buddy Jerry G. carried her most of the way! It was SUNNY and warm, and Beautiful.
We got done, got some ice cream --Dippin Dots and caught the bus back to get the vehicle in St. Ignace. They only had 99 buses for all of the crowd. I had to be savvy and cut in line...they had over 30 buses not show up. We all stayed together tho...no getting separated with thousands of people there. We Picnicked at the car, hung out at the beach.
On the way back to our vehicle, we saw the cops working on a dark van. Someone ..I can't believe it..had YES...left their DOG in their van, yes it had food and water but it was 80 degrees!! They were reaming on the van, and messin it up good. We left before the rescue was completed. I ended up jumping another van that couldn't get started--I love my jumper cables!!
Great trip back! Minor traffic jam north of Clare.
Kids started School today.
Middle Mark Is back at work on the shed doors, and finished the shelves in the breezeway.