More Brat Factor quotes

This is something I need to do more often:

Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are.

Author Unknown

And another one:

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible;
and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

Saint Francis of Assisi

I love this one:

"There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is
a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle."

Albert Einstein

Front room remodel

These are the things that I want changed in the front room.

• North window, 5' wide x 4' high opening, new double pane window
• Move door to south corner of room, approximately over heat vent, 36” wide door, like back door
• Make window where present door is, 36” wide, with an oval top to match door window
• Move heat vent from present location to under new window.
• Replace, repair flooring.

Once addition to the house is done, the door to the kitchen will be blocked off & a bookcase/desk like in Aunt Vi's house installed in that opening. Making the counter top as a desk, could also be a small table for Mother to eat at & a small fluorescent light installed under the top shelves.

Dru's kitchen installed on north wall – a small sink w/cup- boards above & below and a small bank of drawers next to sink with a counter top over it, with a small fridge set up off the ground & a microwave.

These pictures were taken in a small mother-in-law apt that a lady in DUP had built for her mother out of a 2-car garage. Her mother has passed away & now one of her grandson's is living in the apt. She let me go in & take a couple of pictures the last time we had DUP there.

Here is another picture of Dru's kitchen that shows that the fridge does not go all the way to the floor. By setting the fridge up off the floor it won't be so hard for Mother to get in the fridge.

What is Thanksgiving to me?

Amy Peck texted me today with this question, "What do you think when you hear the word Thanksgiving?" I was at work caught up in a manic production day. When I heard the "bling" that heralds a text message, my first thought was, "Oh, crud, did I forget to pay the cell phone bill?" About the only time I get a text message is from Verizon. I flipped open my phone & read her text. I immediately texted back: Food & family.

Since I've been home from work, I've thought of what Thanksgiving means to me. Most of my memories do revolve around food & family. But I have also thought how grateful I am that I have family & Thanksgiving dinners to remember.

I have been checking emails for the past half hour, mostly from Brat Factor.com I love those emails. Pam Young, author of the book Sidetracked Home Executive: From Pigpen to Paradise, sends an email a day.

I don't check her emails daily. I had over 100 that I hadn't read. Here's a thought that come with one recently:

Real things haven't changed. It is still best
to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what
we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have
courage when things go wrong.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

A reader sent the words to this traditional hymn & Ms. Young shared it with us:

"Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free,
Tis a gift to come 'round where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in a place just right
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we won't be ashamed
To turn, turn, will be our delight
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right."

Wow! And was this an eye opener:

Most people do not realize the many health benefits of gratitude. Studies indicate that thankfulness is directly linked to physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

I'm going to forward the last email to Amy. It may help her in the talk she is preparing for Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. I'm sure she is doing a great job in preparing her thoughts for her talk. Too bad she is in Inkom or I'd go listen to her & Colby talk. But I find that a little far to travel for a talk in church.

Coincidence?

Today was a very busy day. I worked this morning & then since they don't feed us lunch at Daughters of Pioneers anymore, Mother & I went out to a small restaurant on HWY 91, Noey's, for lunch. Then to DUP, then to Mother's cardiology appointment in Logan. Run, run as fast as you can.

On the way home Mother needed a drink. I suggested Sonic. No, she wanted a bottle. I stopped at a convenience store just out of Logan's city limits, the 20-oz Mt. Dew was $1.49. Maybe I read it wrong because as I got in the car, the sign in the window said the liter was $1.49. At any rate, I was not going back in to check it out again. I was tired, sigh. The clerk was probably confused when I told her the pop was too expensive, LOL I told Mother we'd stop at the "new" Sinclair station in Smithfield.

We stopped there & I got my cup refilled & a 20 oz. bottle of Mt. Dew for Mother. When I went to pay for it, there was a sign that said the cashier was out filling propane & to go to the deli register. I walked over to the deli & there were 2 cashiers. One was telling the other that she needed a tarp. She'd checked Family Dollar in Preston & they didn't have any, so after work she was going to check Family Dollar in Smithfield. I told her that the best place to buy a tarp is at Bob's Mart in Preston. She, of course, didn't know where Bob's Mart is because it isn't Bob's Mart anymore, it's True Value Mart.

I found out she lives in Franklin, but is relatively new. I told her that I worked at The Preston Citizen. She asked if they needed any help. I said no, but she might check Bear River Publishing. I told her she needs to hand out resumes to different places. She said she didn't know how to do a resume. She said what she really needs is to find out where they hand out commodities. I asked her if she needed energy assistance. SEICAA had just started taking applications for energy assistance. She didn't know what SEICAA was. She handed me an order form & I wrote down SEICAA, aka SouthEastern Idaho Community Action Agency, with directions on how to find it. Gave her my name & phone number & I would be glad to help her with a resume.

I said, "You know why I stopped here don't you? I stopped at another convenience store & the pop was too expensive, so I told Mother we'd stop here." She agreed with me that I was supposed to stop there & help her.

I turned around & there was Mary Capparelli (Priestley) at the main register. I was surprised. Mary & I have known each other since 1st or 2nd grade. She was busy & couldn't talk. But a little after 7 she called from home, here in Preston. She asked if I would help her with her resume. She was desperate. She doesn't have a computer & needed help updating her resume. She needs to have it in the mail by noon tomorrow, but didn't know what to do. She said she couldn't believe it when she looked up & there I was. She said I was definitely an answer to prayer.

An instrument in God's hands. I read a book where the author kept a journal each night of how the Lord had led him each day. To look for the Lord's hand in your life. One of my favorite articles is "His Mysterious Ways: More than a Coincidence." It is a monthly feature in Guideposts magazine. So, as I recognize these occurrences, I have been trying to journal them.

Mufasa aka Houdini or Sirius Black

Mufasa has been getting out of his kennel lately. Once at 2:15 a.m. Sunday morning, Saturday night. Then again at 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning & then today. When the boys came home from Logan Nick was met at the door with Mufasa.

Today was a work day for me. It is the day the paper is put together for printing. The boys went to Logan. When they got home, they were met at the garage door by a very terrified Sam-cat. Nick opened the door to the kitchen & Mufasa was overjoyed to see him & jumped on him.

Nick called me at work & I was stressed anyway. The paper wasn't going that well. For one thing, it was only a 12-pager & there wasn't room for ANYTHING!!! Nick said he wanted to know what dumb-a**ed neighbor let the dog in the house. I said, in a very stressed voice, "I don't know what dumb-a**ed neighbor let the dog in the house." I wasn't exactly keeping my voice down either & my comment stopped everyone in the computer room. They just stared at me. I don't normally use language like that.

I told Nick I was glad somebody did let him in the house, I didn't particularly want to lose the dog nor did I want a fine from Animal Control. Nick said the dog trashed the front room. When DH came home, he was met at the door with the saga of the afternoon. So, when DH called me, I asked how bad the front room was. He said he couldn't see there was any damage. When I got home, there wasn't any damage. OMG, I wouldn't even have known there was a giant dog in the house.

It reminded me of the time when the kids were little. We lived in Bountiful & I came home with them to find an open door. Scared me so bad, I went to the neighbors & asked to use their phone. I called the police dept. & they sent an officer out. He went through my house & came out to tell me the house was trashed, but no one was in there. So, I went in with him & had to tell him it didn't look any different than when I had left home that morning. DH had forgotten to close the door. I'm so glad the cop didn't call the health dept or CPS on me because of my filthy, cluttered house.

Don said Don-Mike got something to fix the kennel door. Since Don-Mike had fed the dog & Don had checked on him after his work & there was still food, I didn't even go down tonight. Both Don & Don-Mike had watered him.

Harry Potter's godfather Sirius Black's animagi is a huge black dog. The kennel door has not been open, but still latched the last 3 times the dog has got out. So, I've been saying Mufasa morphs into Sirius, walks out of the kennel, turns back into Mufasa & runs off to the house. Don-Mike said the tie-downs holding the door shut are wet & slip, letting the dog out.

Medical alert bracelets

I need to order medical alert bracelets for Mother, Nick & myself. I don't know if the medical alert bracelet for Mother would have enough space. I guess a little information is better than no information. I counted 7 lines & Mother has 9 of those in the list below

I need one for lymphedema that says:

LYMPHEDEMA ALERT: No Blood Pressure - No Needles into this Arm

Nick would need a sulfa allergy. I never thought of one for autism. But that would certainly help in an emergency. Would he wear it?

Here's an idea

JOHN SMITH
ON COUMADIN
SEE WALLET CARD

Here is a list of medical conditiions suggested:

• Abnormal EKG
• Adrenal Insufficiency
• Alcoholism
• Alzheimer's
• Angina
• Asthma
• Bleeding Disorder
• Cardiac Arrhythmia
• Cataracts
• Clotting Disorder
• Dementia
• Diabetes (Insulin Dependent)
• Diabetes (Non-Insulin Dependent)
• Emphysema
• Glaucoma
• Hearing Impaired
• Heart Valve Prosthesis
• Hemolytic Anemia
• Hypertension
• Laryngectomy
• Leukemia
• Lupus
• Lymphomas
• Malignant Hyperthermia
• Mental Retardation
• Myasthenia Gravis
• Pacemaker
• Renal Failure
• Sickle Cell Anemia
• Seizure Disorder
• Situs Inversus
• Stroke
• Vision Impaired

Wondering if Nick would wear a medic alert bracelet reminds me of an incident he had last week. I need to find it & post it later. It's an accident he had on Main Street in Logan. He seems to be doing pretty good with his encounters with policemen. But he is certainly vague when it comes to knowing what his medical conditions are & what meds he is on.

Mufasa

A huge, powerful, male lion, Mufasa is the King of the Pride Lands at the start of the Disney movie, The Lion King. The name "Mufasa" means "King" in the Manazoto language.



We are dog sitting a huge, powerful, male Newfoundland named Mufasa. Since I don't have a picture of Mufasa, I found this picture of a dog named Sandy on a blog. I'll try to replace it with a picture of Mufasa. I have never particularly cared for dogs. We had a little terrier/poodle mix named Nikki, that I dearly loved, but I left her with Mother & Daddy when I went on my mission & moved away from home. I have always been deathly afraid of big dogs. And huge dogs? No, way. But Mufasa is such a love. I NEVER thought I'd say that about a dog, much less a huge dog.

He makes me tired, literally. This afternoon Don-Mike got a couple of bales of straw from Nancy at Big J's. She used it for decorating. He asked if he could have a couple of bales & told her why & she said yes. So, he brought it down, dropped it off & cut the twine. I had put the rope on Mufasa, & tied him to a post of the kennel while I was spreading the straw out in the kennel.

Nick came down to talk to me. He doesn't like Mufasa, says he is allergic to him. Anyway, he wanted to go eat. So, I got out of the kennel with Nick's help, but I left Mufasa tied with the rope. I wasn't sure how I was going to get the rope off of him through the kennel. He wasn't being cooperative with Nick there. I decided I'd go back later & take the rope off of him.

Don-Mike & I can deal with him, but Nick & Don don't want to help. Anyway, I went down to take the rope off of him tonight about 10 p.m. Don-Mike had gone home. I was going to ask him to go down & help me, but I hadn't heard him say good night. I was in Nick's room using Eddie's computer & had my back to the door & my hearing aid turned off, when he left.

I didn't know how I was going to even see to do it, much less do it alone. The light had been unplugged because Nick had moved it & Mufasa had chewed on the cord. I had removed that section of cord. Don-Mike has his shop light down there. He had 2 extension cords on it. One short one & one long one. Mufasa had chewed on the short one. As Nick said, "It's a good thing it was unplugged."

I took the car down behind the garage & trained the lights on the kennel, then walked down, plugged the extension cord into the light, walked back to the garage, plugged the light in, walked over to the car & turned the lights off, then went to feed Mufasa & water him. I didn't take him out for a walk today, so he was anxious to get out & run around. Anyway, I had no clue how I was going to get out of the kennel. I stood there & prayed, telling the Lord that I couldn't do this alone. I was hoping that maybe Don would come down. But I was standing at the gate & telling Mufasa "NO." I don't know a lot of dog commands, we have cats. Suddenly, I thought of & said, "Sit." He sat. I was amazed. Having success with that command, I thought I'd try "Stay." He wanted out really bad & was whining, but I told him I needed to get out & he had to stay in the kennel. I got out, with just a minimum of pushing him to stay in.

I immediately thanked God & Mufasa. But tonight, I'm just exhausted.

I hope Lynnette, Mufasa's owner, comes up Saturday. They can take him up to their property in Glendale & let him run.