Flooded With Stuff!!

           {Unless otherwise attributed, all flood photos in this post are via WWLP 22News}

            Today in our area the forecast is for "Plentiful Sunshine. High in the 80s"! It'll be a welcome sight considering the darkness and rain we've been having the last couple of days, thanks to 'hurricane Irene'. Grrrrr! We're glad to get rid of her!...Although I'm still feeling bad for people in her path now. I heard this morning, on the weather channel, that Vermont is having catastrophic flooding. :-(
       I think that's 'Irene's' middle name......Flood! Oooooo Whee!! The 'Big Girl' sure dropped a ton of water on everybody!! The sewage drains (header photo), rivers, streams, playgrounds, backyards, ponds and parking lots all over our area have had enough of her!!

        And she didn't just drop water. She dropped some trees and other stuff too!...

          I suppose that families up and down the east coast could share footage of Irene's travels, and her damage. But, personally, I'm thankful I don't have anything significant to report from my family! 
       Even though I have family and friends in North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont...all of the places Irene passed, as far as I know, everybody came through it just fine!!....That's GOOD news!!! :-) REALLY good news!!
        My mother-in-law came to ride out the storm with us...just in case. During the storm, her town had a lot of people lose power. She was glad she was here. So were we...Thankfully, when she went home last night, her power was on. 
        I thought part of the reason she was in a hurry to go home was because she would be fretting about the power going off. She has freezers full of food at her house. But when I said something to her about it she said: "If the power was off for a while it might do me a favor! I need to get rid of some of that freezer food. It probably has freezer burn and everything else by now!"
       I said: "Why? Has it been in there a while?"...She laughed and said that some of it has been in there since a couple of years after she got married!"....Ewwwwwwww! LOL She's been married for 45 years!!!!! WOW!! ^_^
      So, hopefully, since she doesn't have to go to her part-time job today...(She's a care-giver for pre-school children and babies),...she'll get to work on that freezer! LOL I'm sure part of the time she'll be outside, feeding all the stray cats in the neighborhood. :-]  That's just how she rolls!...Love you Ma!!! ^_^ ...I know she's not hungry! Her and hubby and I ate enough food and snacks to keep us full until the next hurricane comes back!! ^_^ 
      What?!!...A bit much?!....Well, we had to do something!!!... ^_^ ...besides listening to music and dancing, playing Scrabble, crocheting, and watching an inordinate amount of weather reports I mean! :-) We made the best of a bad situation...for sure!!....*burp!* Excuse me. :-]
      Today?!.....I'll be packaging up some sales!....Yep! I came online this morning and had sold....

       ...three brooches and a necklace!!! :-) I don't wanna speak too soon, but I think my new SEO fixing in my shop might actually be working! I'm getting more sales...and a lot more looks too! YAY!!! :-)
       Last, but by no means least, today is the first day of the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament!!! :-) 

        These are some photos taken by Dale, of the blog Savvy Spice, at the beginning of the month, when Serena Williams and Marian Bartoli were about to play at the Bank of the West match  at Stanford University out in California. (You can see the whole post of her day at the match, and more photos, HERE.).....I don't know if these two are playing today, but, even if not, I'll be watching!!!! :-)
        Have a good day everybody!.....And I mean that!!!! :-) And to Hurricane Irene:..."You caused me all kinds of emotional trouble. Yes! I noticed what you were trying to do! I'm not a robot!!...and I'm still talking! Ha!!!... Here's a song dedicated just to you!!"

Ease,By Rhyme

To ease my mind,
I jot down a rhyme.

When forced to think,
my brain cells link.

With emotions on paper,
anxieties taper.

With the flow of my pen,
I'm  at peace again.

And to jot down this rhyme,
brought ease to my mind.

Is 'Irene' Pushing Out "Wacky Gas"?!!!

      It's 12:28p.m....Yes I am UP!!! LOL It's so tough trying to be patient and wait when there's a 'Big Girl' hurricane like Irene breathing down your 'hormonally hot-flashing' neck!!! LOL
      Thanks to a fellow 'hunkered-down' Facebook buddy I now have a new site to stare at while I'm tracking 'Irene'. That's a screen shot of it earlier today in the header photo. You can click HERE to see where the 'Big Girl' is now.

     I was glued to watching this screen while 'Irene' was meandering past North Carolina, because my sister-in-law and her family live right in this area!!...She called us after the worst part was past. They didn't get hit too badly because they live on the innermost section of where she was passing. They got rain and wind, but no more than other bad storms they've had. So they were good.
      She was more worried about us I think. And worried about mom. She's my hubby's sister. Living far away from your relatives during crisis times can be hard. We were worried about mom too. O_O  So we 'talked her into' coming to stay with us until after the storm passes. She's all alone in the house now that my father-in-law is in the facility.
       I think she was wondering what all the 'hoop-la' was about! {That's what happens when you have a T.V., but you don't turn it on for days on end!!!! *smh*} But when she got here and sat down and  looked at the weather channel with me her eyes got big! She had no idea!!...Right now she's safely tucked in the bed in the other room, sleeping like a baby. For that matter...so is hubby!! LOL
      Why am I up doing a blog post, you ask?!...Because after dinner I took a little "nap", and now I'm WIDE AWAKE!!!!! LOL Thankfully it's too dark outside for me to know what's really going on out there. But who needs light outside anyway when they have the weather channel with updates going on every second?!!!! ^_^
      I'm almost glad that hubby and his mom are asleep though! The two of them are clearly 'cut from the same cloth'...so to speak.  They're 'as nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs'!! {Okay...Southern Girl reference! LOL}...How do I know?!
     About 10:30p.m. hubby proceeded to announce that he was going to take a shower...Huh?! O_0 Well, apparently he's concerned that the power is gonna go off before he's clean enough to sit in the dark!! LOL But what's funny is that he went into the bathroom to take a shower...but then came back out with different clothes on, announcing that he had to take the garbage out!...O_0
     Apparently after getting into the tub and getting ready to turn the water on to take his shower...before he turned on the water, mind you!...he remembered that the garbage needed to go out because it might start to smell. So, since he didn't want his mother to be stinked to death, he just had to take it out...NOW!!!
      When the garbage was safely out of the house, he went back into the bathroom to take his shower...Then, as I was on the phone talking to my girlfriend...who is hunkered down with a house full of nervous kids...I noticed my mother-in-law going into the bathroom where my husband was taking a shower!!! O_O Yikes!!!
      Before I could say anything, she came back out, smiled at me, and proceeded to go into the other bathroom....WOW!! Did she forget what the sound of shower water was?!....Apparently YES! She doesn't have a shower in her house! She has a tub with the old time feet....she loves it too!...I figured hubby was 'none the wiser'. He didn't know he was even in potential 'naked danger'! ^_^
      Well, I was wrong!! ^_^ When he came out of the bathroom...all clean y'all!..., he looked at me and gave me the 'what is going on around here?' face! Then.....mimicking it like Marcel Marceau...he reenacted his mother's coming into the shower and how he wanted to say something, but he didn't know if she knew it was him, so he was trying not to look in her direction, and then she left!! LOL Ohhhhh! Too funny!!!!!! ^_^
      I reminded him that he had been funny himself earlier tonight too...with the garbage thing, AND with the medication thing!...I almost forgot to tell you about that...He took his 8:00 a.m. pill that's only suppose to be taken once a day, at 10:00 p.m.!! This was the second time today he took it!!!! He took it by accident when he was suppose to be taking his regular 10:00 pill! *smh*
     We had to call the Pharmacist to make sure he was gonna be okay, because it was a BLOOD PRESSURE PILL!!!! UGH!!!! The Pharmacist said for him just to take it easy.....SURE-EEEE! No problem!! ^_^ Since he's been 'taking it easy already, showering and taking out garbage, he should be just fine!! *smh*...What's going on around here?!....Is  'Irene' pushing 'Wacky Gas' out ahead of her or something?!!! LOL
     Oh well...I guess we need to find something to keep our mind off of the 'Big Girl'!...For me it's tennis and The Weather Channel...until everything goes dark that is!...For hubby, he was outside earlier taking pictures of his flowers...just in case 'Irene' comes through with her big foot and steps all over them! ^_^

     His purple sunflowers even finally opened!...

       I hope 'Irene' doesn't mow them all down just as they decided to show off a little!

     Oh well...time will tell!....Okay, I'm gonna go to the bathroom...{Nobody better not be looking either!!! LOL}...and then turn off the T.V....maybe, and try to get a 'wink' or two of sleep. Hopefully you'll hear from me again on Monday! Night!! And Poetic Dreams!


Good To Be Alive

 Trouble breathing, bills galore,
family problems and all that jive.
I don't care how bad it gets.
It's good to be alive!

Jobs and money, your fair share,
of which you are deprived.
But even so, no matter how it goes,
It's good to be alive!

Migraine headaches, family loss,
careers you can't revive.
Oh yes, debilitating,
and yet, still you are alive!

Injustice, fearing the worst
because of planes that don't arrive.
And while some didn't make it,
for most it's good to be alive.

While trouble in this world
will long continue, grow, and thrive,
For those who see it's end
It will be good to be alive!!

If Tears Were Made Of Acid......... :-(

   (sparksoffire)

       I have a couple of things to talk to you about this morning. Neither one easy....Or good. :-( First, it's hurricane Irene...of course! We're indoors, hunkered down, watching weather report after weather report. 

 (WWLP22News)

          ...And it's not looking good! O_O Right now our area is worried about torrential rains and flooding from Irene more than anything it seems.

     The Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick, on Friday declared a state of emergency and put all kinds of things into play to protect people. WWLP22News quoted him as saying, during a press conference: "We expect this to be a powerful and potentially dangerous storm." 
         Thankfully 'Angry Irene' (that's what they're calling the 'Big Girl' this morning) is expected to be downgraded to at least a Category 1 hurricane by the time it reaches 'the Bay State' (that's Massachusetts' nick-name). 

           But because of her size, and the speed she's traveling, she's still gonna be pretty dangerous. 

          In fact, Officials are still warning residents to stay home this weekend and “prepare for the worst,” forecasting downed power lines and trees, flooding and strong storm surges along the coast.
         Hubby and I are holding our breath already because his sister and family live in North Carolina, and they're getting pounded right now. We told his sister to call us after it passes...which could be a while yet...so we can know she's okay. O_O His niece and her family were gonna go and stay with his sister and her husband last night...in fact, she was waiting for her to get there when we talked to her...so they could ride out the storm together.
       And after moving the hummingbird feeder out of the tree...YIKES! (I'll share that video I mentioned yesterday with you at another time)...and moving the barbecue and the patio furniture into the house this morning, then hubby has to go over and pick up his mother. She's gonna come and stay with us until the storm passes. We had to STRONGLY INSIST!!...She was thinking it wasn't probably gonna be that bad....WHAT?!!!! UGH!...but she also hasn't been watching weather reports!...No problem. I've been watching enough for both of us!!! ^_^
        I've already got things on my mind to worry about today. I didn't want my mother-in0law to be another one!!

 (sparksoffire)

         And herein lies the hardest thing to tell you today...There was a murder in my family this pass week. My sister, a foster mom, lost one of her daughters to a random shooting. I'm not going to get into the details because the person, or persons who did this were not caught...yet...and it's still under investigation.

      Suffice it to say...there has been a lot of tears shed this week, and a lot of worry and emotions that hurricane Irene's coming could not even phase!! :-(

      She was 16 years old, and was 'looking forward to getting out of High School early so she could look forward to going to College', my father said...Whether that ever happened or not, she did not deserve to die the way she did.

      The paper referred to her as a 'juvenile female'. I knew what they meant. That she was not an adult. But my father was very upset at the wording. He initially thought they were trying to say she was a 'bad' girl...After I assured him that it was just 'Official Speak' he felt better. But the whole thing got me to thinking about what any mother, father, sibling, or family member would say about their child if... :-( ...their life was randomly cut short.

      Would you talk about the fact that they smelled like bubble gum most of the time because they always had a wad in their mouth?! Would you talk about how when they giggled at breakfast one time, and milk shot right out of their nose? Would you talk about how they loved certain songs so much that every time you thought of them you could hear the song playing as if they walked around with background music?

      Well, those kinds of things are the things my family will hopefully be thinking about...after the shock of her death sinks in, and we're able to get past the total unfairness of it all. :-( ....In the meantime, it's a good thing that tears are not made of acid....and that love doesn't literally die when a child's heart stops beating.

Murder Took A Child

Our family lost a child today.
A loving heart, just now sixteen.
As to her schooling...smart and wise.
As to experience of life...still green.

I'm thankful tears are not like acid.
because the burn to us who've cried
would corrode a million planets.
And still we'd miss our girl who died.

I know that death was not God's plan.
And that our grief was not his choice.
I know he wouldn't approve of murder,
nor steal from life a young one's voice.

I know he sees and knows who did it.
And left with 'HIM' will be revenge.
It's not the time for "Ifs" and fury.
The thought of that just makes me cringe.

We'll speak of her, and what she wanted,
which included College...free!
An early exit from her High School;
continued love from family.

They'll be a space now at the table.
Events where she won't take a part.
But still a space for every giggle,
in everyone's memory, and their heart. 

Oh Boy! I Hope This Is At Least Worth Writing About!!

(Northernleather)

       Some weather reporters 'crack me up!' One day they'll seemingly go to any lengths to scare the pants off of you, with updates about how 'catastrophic' the weather is gonna be. And once they have you right where they want you...terrified out of your mind!!...the next day they start saying things completely the opposite!!...to try to make you think that everything is gonna be 'just fine'!

       After looking at computer models of 'monster' hurricane Irene on one of my local news channels all day yesterday...

    (WWLP 22News)

(WWLP 22News)

       ...I woke up this morning in worried anticipation. I turned on the TV and started flipping around the TV dial, and came across another local weather man saying: "It's gonna be a great weather day today! No storms!!"...O_0 Huh?!
         Later in his report he 'did' start talking about 'Monster' Irene, but he played down how seriously she might affect our area!....Uhhhhhh!...he wasn't very convincing!! He kept saying: "We're 'likely' only gonna get...blah! blah! blah!...but just in case, BE PREPARED!!! Get flashlights, batteries, etc..." Ha!...I'm not buying it Mr. 'Unconvincing' Weather man!! ^_^
          As of now, I trust one weather man, Sam Champion, of Good Morning America. And he's kinda engaged and 'excited' (not necessarily in a good way) about the path of hurricane Irene...I had never seen a hurricane map look, or be explained, like this...

      Yikes! Boston is getting in my neck of the woods!!...Yep! Just what I thought!...We're not in the clear. New York certainly isn't!!! O_O I saw a worst case scenario video for New York......YIKES!!...And the weather reporters, brave...but crazy...bunch that they are....aren't making 'me' feel any better! Especially since they're showing the 'Big Girl' in action!!

      I'm gonna play it safe, if you don't mind, weather people! Hubby and I are preparing a 'disaster kit' of sorts, according to recommendations. They say your kit should include water, a radio, food, canned goods with an opener, medications, diapers, toiletries, cash, and a first aid kit....check! check!....hmmmmm.....diapers?! Okay!....check!! LOL
        They even said that once you get it together you want to be sure you take a quick inventory of it. You might think you've got things covered, but when the going gets tough you might realize you don't have it. And they also said you should have it all in one place....Makes sense to me!....Done!
        Okay, Irene! I'll be waiting...just like the people of Nassau, in the Bahamas...

     (WWLP 22News)

       And if you get too 'out of order' I'm gonna do like the people in North Carolina did yesterday.....

   (WWLP 22News)

       ...and find me somewhere else to 'high-tail it' to!!...But Please let me know ahead of time, Big Girl! I need time!! I can't just pick up and move my whole 'Wug traveling band' in the blink of an eye!! LOL  And you know that after you cause your damage...like you did in new providence island ...I'd have a hard time getting away!!

      Thankfully I don't have to focus on 'getting away'...not just yet anyway! Instead I can do some crocheting, watch some old movies, or write some poems. {Besides, I have some other disturbing things on my mind...*sigh* I'll tell you about that tomorrow. :-( I've certainly got enough inspiration for some writing now, for sure!!}

      In fact, I was inspired by the journal in the header photo. I saw it in Cindy' s (CinLynnBoutique) new treasury entitled A Emerald Night Out. 

      She also included my emerald and green lapel pin for men...

      Thank you Cindy, for giving me a little something else to think about today. :-]

      And I'd also like to thank you too Donna Carrick!...for throwing a little advertisement my way by way of wearing my necklace out where everyone could see it, and by saying such nice things about it...and me! 

        It allowed me to meet a great customer! :-) Therefore, I'd like to throw a little advertisement your way too!...Anybody that's into reading. She's a writer! So is her husband! And they're publishers! Check out Carrick Publishing!

     I can never get too many views of my necklaces being worn on a satisfied customer's neck!! :-) And that's tons better than looking at this!...

     (The Weather Channel)

        I gotta go look at some hummingbirds for a while, and plan a rather subdued 'Date Night'. We're not able to travel the globe today. I'll explain tomorrow. It'll probably be soup and 'Scrabble'...if we even get to be in the same place. :-(

     But it's alright. We kinda had a 'Date Night' already. We took some footage of the wasp war going on out in the backyard...and we did voice-overs...kinda! LOL I'll share that with too tomorrow...maybe. :-] Have a good weekend...if you can. And if you can't...think happy thoughts about next week's! Sometimes that's the best you can do.

Going Out With My Baby

Going out with my baby.
Or going nowhere, but it's alright.
Playing games and constant laughing.
I think it's gonna be a great 'Date Night'!

Going out with my baby.
Or staying in, and hugging tight.
Eating all the things we shouldn't.
But smiling through every single bite!

Going out with my baby.
And visiting 'virtually' every sight.
All dressed up or in our jammies,
We're having fun. You know that's right!!

BIG GIRLS A Coming!!!

       (WWLP 22News)

          The people in the header photo, from the Washington D.C. area, look exactly like I was feeling yesterday after I heard about the rare 5.9 magnitude earthquake!...

        (WWLP 22News)

           ...It rattled the eastern third of the United States from Virginia all the way to Rhode Island and New York City!...And Yeah! Holyoke is in there somewhere too! LOL
         WWLP 22News shared photos from the Washington D.C. area (below)...

           ....from Philadelphia....

          ....from Baltimore Maryland...

        .....and from other points in between, of people flabbergasted, and damage done. You can see the rest of the photos if you click HERE.

           So, as you might guess, with a 5.9 magnitude earthquake,...the strongest earthquake to hit the East coast in 100 years!...AND then hurricane Irene, almost at a category 3 {125 MPH winds} and now hitting the Turks and Caicos islands on it's way to the Bahamas..... and then also barreling up the coast right toward us by Sunday night!...the feeling is not getting any better this morning!! *gulp!* O_0

      (WWLP 22News)

(WWLP 22News)

         First of all....did I feel the earthquake?!....The answer...I'm not sure. O_0 I 'did' have a strange bout of queasiness yesterday, but I haven't really taken the time to think about whether the timing was connected...I 'do' know that the local news out of Chicopee,...

        ...the town next door to Holyoke,...

      ...was reporting that some people in our area here in Western Massachusetts felt it!...I don't have time to try to figure it out! I'm watching the news and weather, people!! :-]
        I can tell you that there's an almost palpable air that it seems like everybody is feeling. And it's not just from the weather, but the news too! And even though we're all not huddled together in one spot...like the flamingos were yesterday!...I know we can all feel it!
    Speaking of which, the Post Gazette said that the first warnings of Tuesday's earthquake may have happened at the National Zoo. Apparently some of the animals felt the earthquake coming before humans did! 
      The red ruffed lemurs began "alarm calling" a full 15 minutes before the quake hit! And an orangutan let out a guttural holler 10 seconds before the keepers felt the quake...And the flamingos?!...They huddled together in the water seconds before the people felt the rumblings! :-) ...........I think the animals had the idea! Scream, sound the alarm, and then duck for cover!....Preferably not alone! ^_^
     Hubby and I are already talking about huddling strategies involving canned beans, flashlights, batteries, candles, snacks, and an inordinate amount of water!!...My local WWLP 22News said: "...Forecasts for strength and direction of a hurricane this many days out can be tricky and, at times, unreliable. That being said, Irene needs to be watched closely and we will have a much better idea on the potential impact any rain or wind will have on Western Massachusetts in the coming days..."
        The first 'Big Girl' hurricane...so we called her...that we remember coming through the New England area (we lived in Connecticut at that time) was Hurricane Gloria!! She was SOMETHING!!! Oooo! Whee!...Then, not too long ago, we got Hurricane Isabel. She wasn't as fearsome as Gloria, but I did write a poem about her!...Now, I guess we're gonna just have to wait and see what this 'Big Girl' is all about...Oh! By the way, her name is 'Irene'.
       I can tell you something else for sure...whenever she gets here, I'll be right here!!!... Probably in a sleeping bag, with the zipper all the way up, holding a can of pork and beans in one hand, and a can opener in the other. But I'll be right here!!! I'm not moving!!.....*said as I'm shaking in my boots!* LOL...But that might just be another tremor from the earthquake.......*sigh* O_0


Me And Isabel

She's round and likes to travel,
and goes where I'd like to go.
She loves warm weather and water;
and her size doesn't bother her flow.

She packs a lot of power-
But its peaceful to look in her eye;
And, like me, she gets lots of attention
when she goes meandering by.

Beach-combers hate to see her coming,
because she loves to kick up the sand.
She can be kind of destructive-
(But that depends on where she lands).

I love comparing myself to her,
even though I have nothing to gain
by seeing myself-point-by-point,
compared to Isabel-The Hurricane!