What I really want to know, and maybe some other do too, is how would I copy and burn the contents of my journal and burn it to a DVD????
I formatted the DVD but the information I got from my computer was to click and drag the files. How would I put the journal in its entirity into a file (???) and then I could click and drag it.
I am sure others would like to do that too? I would also be good to save it on DVD
I am even more cranky now........Today, or possibly yesterday we heard from the GREAT AND POWERFUL AOL, telling the small and weak minions of AOL that they would no longer be having journals as of October 31, 2008. I would like to know what pea brained executive thought it would be a good idea.
Is the end of AOL in our futures. With all the economic woes of the last few months, are they trying to tell us something????? Now the suggestion is that we all shuffle off to Google.
Well, I did take their suggestions and set up my blog. But, alas, in my haste and feeling extremely irked, I spelled my name wrong. I have only been spelling it right for the past 57 years. But, never the less, it is done.
I only have to figure out how to move my journal:
http://whatclaludiaisnowthinking.blogspot.com/
I would have gone back and corrected it but the die has been cast and I will just go with the flow and not worry about how I have misspelled my own name.
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."
Samuel Johnson
That is a good thought, wish I had said it first.
I have been spending my time reading other journals today. What I did find out is that a lot of people seem to be down in the dumps or in a funk. I am not the only one who has penned some of the same sentiments this month.
I do not know what is the cause of my down mood. Maybe it has something to do with the change of season, barometric pressure or the lengthening of the night and decrease of the day time. I wish it would go away, what ever the cause.
Good news, Emily told me today that so far her average in Nursing School is 95. Way to go EM. I know you can keep up the excellent work. I love ya baby.
I am feeling in sort of a crappy state. I just can not seem to get motivated. I go to work and can't wait to leave. I am glad I have a week off in a few weeks. I guess I will take my aggressions out on cleaning the house. That is good for getting rid of frustrations.
On Saturday I went to do the Household Hazardous Waste clean up. A few times a year in Western PA they will have one day a month when you can get rid of your hazardous things. Such as, oil, paint, insecticides, and other things of that nature.
This was the first year I volunteered because I felt it was a good thing to do. I live in Allegheny County, which was one of its sponsors..
There were a lot of volunteers and we got a lot of things done. BUT, as I am standing there waiting for the people to file in a woman asked me if I was an employee of Allegheny; County. NO, as we spoke and I found out, the employees of Allegheny County got paid time and a half to be there. What was the definition of VOLUNTEER???? I really felt that I was being taken advantage of....why was I there on my day off, blissfully thinking I was helping when the majority of them were getting paid for it.
I will not do that again. To think that my hard money, paying my county taxes was going to pay for alleged volunteers at this event. It really made me a bit angry.
Never again.
Another work week under my belt. Today I did hands. One of the most common hand troubles is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It is when the hand gets numb because the nerve is entrapped. This is a problem with repetitive actions. Such as typing and computer work. I give sedation and the surgeon injects a bit of local and then he releases the tightness surrounding the nerve. I think the hand is immobilized for about 2 weeks. Just think, you can not feed yourself or worse wipe you own butt. You really have to like someone to help with this.
Tomorrow I am a volunteer for the hazardous waste recycling. If you have hazardous waste, there are a few days in the summer and fall that you can take the stuff and paid $2 gallon and they will dispose of it for your. It is really cheap and they get rid of it in a prescribed manner. I think all I will be doing is passing our papers and things of that nature. They expect 2000 drop offs. I have a few gallons of motor oil to be disposed. I also get a free T-shirt and a $10 gift card at the Giant Eagle. (food store.)
I will take my camera and take pics of the guys in the hazmat suits. Back in 2004 when my dad died, my sibs and I cleaned out his garage and found all sort of hazardous waste. It was in unlabeled jars; my worst fear was being ass-ended on the PA Turnpike and turning the car into a fire ball. That did not happen, thank the Lord. I was a bit nervous.
New computer trouble. It keeps sending me information that my wireless Internet is disconnected/ connected. It is flashing like a beacon. I do not know what to do. I went into Acer Management and connected it,. but, why does it not stay connected. Guess the computer needs exorcising. I just got the damn thing back... Making me crazy, it is.
Think I need a picture. A few more gourds to add to the mixture.
Other than painting them and selling them at craft shows and in stores, what is the use of gourds???
At work: People who will remain nameless: "I don't feel sorry for all those rich people who have stock. I don't have any stock"
Claudia: "Do you have a 401K?
Coworker: "Yes, with Fidelity."
Claudia: "YOU HAVE STOCK"
What were they thinking?? Bet they hadn't looked at it since they set it up......
Today was an eight hour day. That was really nice.....I left "early"
Tomorrow is another eight hour day. I like these eight hour days.
Today I did cataracts with IOL implants. That is Intra ocular lens.. They can make your vision 20/20 after your cataract is removed.
Tomorrow I am doing Gall Bladder removals all day. One would think that everyone in America has had their GB removed. Except me and I am happy to report that it is fine. Of course, I make it a point to not abuse it with fatty foods. The food served in our cafeteria is absolutely a gall bladder test meal.
"There is nothing more horrifying than stupidity in action."
Adlai E. Stevenson
This is in epidemic proportions today. Also, never underestimate the power of stupidity in groups.
I erased all the clickable links in the previous entrys. I discovered them when I went to add into my journal. It looked like an idiot wrote it.......
I just can't seem to get going. I am ready for a vacation. When I get this feeling, I can recognize it because I hate everyone and everything about work.. I just can not wait to go home.
I have off the second week in October and I can not wait for it to come......Today I went to Wally World. The main reason is the price of Pepsi Cola. It is almost $2.00 per bottle at the nearby supermarket. I personally, do not drink the stuff. I hate the fizzyness of it. I do not like Champaigne either. Well. Wall Mart has it for $1.25 per 2 liters. I bought other stuff too.
These are gourds. My freind Ruth grown them and sells them at assorted fall festival fairs. I hope you read this and see another idea Ruth.
I wonder how long this will stay before it becomes a white space with a red X in a box. That is one of my questions???
"Do first things first, and second things not at all."
Peter Drucker
I wonder if Peter was refering to chores????
I have been lax at writing. Yesterday I worked 16 hours and worked from morning till about 9 PM. I was exhausted, and am wondering why I am doing this to myself. We are short of help again, not really, short of help but they have expanded the number of sites we cover and people are on vacation and medical leave. Someone is always off at any given time.
I spent today going over my genealogy information. That is very time consuming; but, sometimes, just like a squirrel you find an acorn or two. On Roots Web there are forums and lists where people post names, and locations. Today I got a reply from someone is Brazil (in English) and he was looking for information from Rosshaupt, Bohemia. (Now the Czech Republic) I did not have his information but got three more emails including one from a distant family member. That will send me on another search for the elusive deceased family lines.
Today and Tomorrow is the Shadyside Arts Festival. Emily and I will be going. I will take the camera but most people do not like yu taking pictures of their things.
So I did get the instructions on how to add clickable links. Now, how would I add it by using the words SHADYSIDE ARTS FESTIVAL as a link?
"Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense."
Winston Churchill
Do you think he might have been a tad stubborn???
I am happy today, I found out that my stress test and GB, biliary tract, and pancreas ultra sounds were normal. I was worried a bit, because of my mothers malignancies, I guess that will be in the back of my mind with each major ache and pain. The chest pain has not recurred and if it does I think I will call my Gastroenterologist, maybe it is something in my stomach. There is a bacteria h. pylori, which causes ulcers and is indicated in stomach cancers. The treatment is about two weeks of antibiotics and I think one of those acid reducers.
The research docs who discovered that bacteria actually inoculated them selves by drinking the solution containing the h. pylori and then developed gastric ulcers. Maybe they won the Nobel prize, I have to look that one up for sure......
Emily likes Nursing School. She has to get up early (Normal time for Chuck and I, but it is the middle of the night for her.) To be in class at 7 AM. Guess they want them to become accustomed to early rising. I talked to an RN I know who retired and she said she now can sleep in to 7 AM. A fantasy vacation for me would be a week of sleeping in till 9 AM.
Irked this morning; I had to order a box of checks, and the cost is $20.00 per box. WTF. Although I pay my bills on line, I still need a few around. I also had a problem when someone had breached my account and charges $5,000 including a trip to Singapore and I have no idea how they got my ATM number. They had both Chucks and mine. He NEVER EVER used his for purchases and I RARELY used mine. And they got the number anyway...... Had to put a credit alert on the account.
The banks will do virtually nothing because the amount they will recover is less than the legal fees...What a system.
Much to my amazement I have not written in here for a few days. It is not that anything was not going on I was just doing other things. Things like working and watching the idiots who refused to evacuate because they thought it was a good idea to ride out the storm.
Did you ever wonder what thought process (or lack on one) was involved in some of the most mind boggling decisions???? Anyone with an ounce of brains could look at the television and when you see that the hurricane takes up about 60% of the Golf of Mexico, what influenced you to stay? And these idiots were calling for rescue in the middle to the night and the storm expecting someone to come and get their sorry asses....... Now a lot of responders are risking their lives and safety to go and drag them out of their lairs like drowned rats......These are the same people who have a short memory span and have lost the visual images of New Orleans and Katrina.... WHAT WHERE THEY THINKING????
The wind is blowing in Western PA. It is almost 9 PM and it is 86 outside. The forecast says gusts from 25 to 50. I do not know if we will get rain. The forecast says no so I can expect to get some. I would like to be a meteorologist. It is the only job where you can be wrong 50% of the time and still have your job....What a life !!!
Wow. Its Wednesday. Yesterday I had a stress test. You have to go and get your heart nuked, take pictures' and walk on the treadmill, they get it nuked again and take pictures. The treadmill goes from slow to fast, and increasing the the angle. I made it for the six minutes with no pain. I was short of breath but not enough to stop and fall over.
Chuck, bless his heart, decided to take me. So, in the waiting room, I am being interviewed by the RN. RN: "Do you have an allergies?" ME: "NO"
From the other side of the room, Chuck: "You're allergic to Sulfa" Me to Chuck: "You are one of those spouses when the nurse ask the patient, they answer for them...." Me, to the nurse, "It gives me an upset stomach. That is a side effect, not an allergy" Me to Chuck: "You are giving me fodder for my journal !!!" RN: "I am not getting into the middle of this one" LAUGHS.
I had awakened with pain in the middle of my chest a few weeks back. The Cardiologist said primarily it looks good. Another doctor will read the nuked heart scans.....Wonder what the half life of the nuking isotope is?
Next is a Gall Bladder Scan, along with my biliary ducts (I had mention to my PCA about my mothers bile duct cancer) and my pancreas after the discussion of "The Last Lecture" If nothing shows (I AM REALLY HOPING) I guess a trip to the Gastroenterologist is in my furture. What the hell; he has already examined my colon. Maybe he is in need of a new car !!!!! I will do my part for him to get one.
A tidy house is a sign of a wasted life.............
That was a sign at the Irish Festival, which Emily and I went to today. http://www.pghirishfest.org/ I ran off the instructions that were given to me, but when I went to start this entry I could not find them. They are somewhere and I will find them. We went early and I was looking for books, or at least I had an idea about them. I was looking for books on Irish Genealogy. But, there was not a book to buy. Just food, beer, jewelry and T-shirts and Irish knick-knacks. I did buy a t-shirt. http://www.kelticdesigns.com/ They really have a lot of nice designs. I bought a T-shirt that was a Pentacle Knot. You really have to peruse the bowels of this web site to find the T-shirts. Emily at a chicken pita and I had a gyro.
I wish I had purchased the above quoted sign. It is funny but somehow I feel it is true. My house is not dirty but neither am I Suzie Homemaker. Sometimes I feel that I should have had a cleaning lady. But, really, I would lose the only exercise I get.
Emily starts her clinical rotation this week. I can not remember my first day of clinical when I went......Guess it went well. I do remember my first day of OB and I hear a woman scream "You son of a bitch, you did this to me..........." That made a lasting impression on me. I never, ever, wanted to work on OB. This was pre epidurals.......
I think what I liked the most was the Operating Room; maybe, it was because, at that time, it was the only place in the hospital that had air conditioning.......I was a wuss from the start.....
We had, at that time three month rotations in all the specialities. I loved the OR.....When I was a senior I was interested in the Nurse Anesthetist. http://www.aana.com/ I would only have one patient to take care of at one time.. After working for six months I applied and was accepted.. That was the best career move for me.....The anesthetist worse a lot of jewelry, and I liked that. When I went not too many people were interested in the field, so, they paid me a stipend to go. NOW it is in a Master prepared field and soon to become a Doctorate prepared career. I wonder, why would anyone do this when the same amount of time is required to go to Medical School. You would get paid about 4 times as much if you had a MD behind your name.
It is a push by the colleges and university's. Most of the Professions are now on a doctorate level. The Pharmacists are required a PharmD, the Occupational and Physical Therapist. I really feel it is a money making ploy by the Higher Education Gurus. If they want to control cost, making the entry level positions a Doctorate level is definitely not the way to do. But, it is set in motion and we can not change it.
They would probably do that for the entry level RN, but there is such a shortage that it would be impossible to do.
Emily and her new found cat friends. This was taken about ten years ago.
I keep getting post cards and I know I have to do it. What, make an appointment to take the cats to the vets. It is traumatizing for me and the cats. Lucy, ALWAYS poops in the travel box, the thing I am glad about is it is (this is disgusting) always solid and I have a fresh specimen. One is always needed when you go.
Henry, screams like a mountain lion in the back of the car. Really loud and frantic.
Molly, who just squeaks and never meows, let go with loud full fledged MEOWS.
Jenny, meows loudly every four seconds during the whole trip; both going and return. When Emily moved back from Cleveland, Jenny meowed for the two and a half hour trip. I was ready to open the window and let her out. She was inside her travel box, but the thought did enter my mind.
I have had pets most of my life. The latest thing is cat dental hygiene. A new young woman, just recently graduated from Vet School, told me that the cats had bad teeth and some needed to be removed. The estimate was for about $1,000. Now, I ask, how many people have $4,000 just lying about dedicated to cat extractions. I could spend that getting my own teeth implanted. I have decided to take them to the older woman (my age LOL) who had never mentioned the cats teeth to me. Seriously, that is a lot of cash to remove a few teeth.
Emily's second week in Nursing School is done. She still likes it.....She said she has made a few friends, which is good. I think they will have a study group. She also wondered why they did not accept her Developmental Psychology from college. She went to see and the course and its grade was not noticed because it was under the OFFICIAL STAMP. She was happy because that is a few hundred less she has to borrow. Yeah.......
It is still hot, I am really waiting for it to cool off. I hate hot weather. Anytime I have to use the A/C it is too hot for me.
"The height of cleverness is being able to conceal it."
Frantois, Duc de La Rochefoucauld
"It is hard to believe a man is telling you the truth when you know you would lie if you were in his place."
H. L. Mencken
Just a few quick quotes, we are off to play Trivia tonight......Have to start thinking and being clever.
Henry was sooooo small when we got him at the Humane Society. My red cat Ginger has recently died and I love red cats. I think he was about 6 weeks, so small with such a big MEOW. I swear he said "Pick me, pick me"
WE got two cats that day. Including Lucy, she was a bit of an odd ball. She is very pretty, "when you are very pretty you do not have to be smart." That's what my daughter said.... Lucy is still odd, I do not think she had been properly socialized. You get three pats max; she would have made a good solitary pet.
We had removed the carpeting and were going to have another installed. The basement door is about 2" higher because of the removed carpet. The first day I had the two kitten sleep in the basement; their bed, litter box and food/water dishes were down there. They came up when one of us were home and down for the night.
One night, I put the two of them to bed and I could hear meowing and then some scratching. To this day, I do not know how Henry did it, but he crawled under that door in the 2" space. I heard the noise and next thing I knew there he was walking across the living room and I swear he was smiling.....He only did that one and the problem was self resolving because in about a week he got to big to do it again. After I knew they could climb the steps the graduated to the upstairs.
LUCY
This is Henry; he is getting old. He will be somewhere about 10 next year. Henry is starting to slow down. He used to go into my bathroom, jump on the sink, and then he would calculate his trajectory and leap upon the window sill to look out the window at his backyard domain. Now he will follow me in and stand below the window and meow for me to lift him up so he can watch.
Emily also noticed that he is slower coming up the steps from our basement. He was taking the steps slow and carefully placing his feet. He still is hot on getting to the food dish...
Today I received my replacement Office 2003 CD. Somehow the old Office 2003 got scratched. I was trying to find an old disc from some source. I had posted an inquiry on one of the computer sites and, much to my delight, I found out that if you had registered your CD Microsoft would replace it at a minimal cost. YEAH !!
So yesterday it came and it is installed. I had also ran a scan to see if there were any updates and found that I needed MS VISTA Service Pack 1. That took about an hour, I decided to not do any more today; just incase something went wrong and if I found something I could uninstall the program. Do you know that some people pay big bucks for others to install their things ???? Really, if you can read and have half a brain, they easy to install. I will preface that with, if every thing goes well. I always seem to find some glitch that is not covered by the FAQ'S and end up sending emails to whomever to solve what ever dilemma may have happened.
Work was not to bad on my 16 hours. I finished up about seven and then perused the Internet for a bit. I could take my laptop but it would be on the hospital site and filters "ENTERTAINMENT" which is what this journal is considered. What I find irksome is that they allow "SPORTS" web sites thought.
GRRRRRR.
My day was spent reloading the computer. Before I sent it back to ACER I had moved everything to another hard drive. Actually, I had moved some to a flash drive and everything to the external hard drive. I actually forget what I had moved. So, I spent today moving my photos back. I still have to download the printer and scanner. Did you notice that the electronics rarely come with CD's anymore. What you have to do is connect the device to the computer, access the Internet and download the program for its operation. There must be a lot of money spent in making those installation CD's to go with your purchase...
Above are bromeliads, I think they are related to pineapples. I really like fresh pineapples, but the pineapples are about $4 to $5 each. I refuse to spend that on a pineapple.............I just can't do it.......Maybe, if I were taking a fruit salad to a picnic I would.
Back to work tomorrow, another one of those 16 hour shifts. Tomorrow will be a busy day, all those non emergent emergency cases will be stacked up and need to be done. I have off Wednesday and Friday.
This week is going to be a hot one. It is more like the July-August forecast than September. It is strange, the first week of September to be so hot. But, really, this summer has been a nice one; a little cool weather and a little hot weather. It has also been cool at nights.
I think that Wednesday will be devoted to connecting my devices and then try to make clic links. Beth, thank you for the instructions....
Now that I have added another picture to the one below it did not go where I wanted. I seem to always have problems of this nature. But, WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THE EDIT BUTTON FOR THAT ENTRY?????
These things seem to disappear and make me crazy. What I wanted was to have one photo under the other. ARRRRRGGGGGGGHH.
I am my own worst enemy.......I have figures it out. Thank goodness
I would really like to know how I manage to get myself into electronic limbo....
This picture is really from long ago and far away....This is a picture of my grandfathers family. My grandfather, Willi Schridde, is the soldier in the WW1 uniform, standing in the back. It was taken circa 1816. He was German born and fought in the War to End All Wars. The couple seated are my great grandparents. Heinrich Theodor Frederich Schridde and Anna Meta Margarethe Hackmann They were both from the area around Hamburg, Germany. Willi Had five sisters, Dina, Minna, Lily, Johanna and Oona. I wish I knew which sister was which. I have been trying to find information on them but with out knowledge of the German language it has been a great problem for me.
I am going to a meeting the first week of November in Williamsburg VA. I have a notion to peruse Half Price Books and see if they have a German Language CD and play it during the trip. I will be a prisioner in the car and maybe some of it will be absorbed into my cranium.....
If you compare the family to the snapshot of me and my sibs you will see a great resemblance. At least I do. My brother in the top middle I think looks like my ggrandfather. My sister on the lower left looks like her ggrandmother. I think I resemble my Aunt who is seated in in chair in the front. It is amazing how that genetic works.
I have been working on my genealogy for about two years and I have made progress but I have hit a major brick wall. Some people can trace their ancestory back to Adam and Eve, but I am stuck at the great great grandparents.
Here is another view of Elfreth's Alley in Philadelphia.
Got up this morning at 7 AM. That was a two hour sleep in for me. It is amazing that a day off can be refreshing......The weather outside is rainy and COOL. I love the coolness of the air. The rain was from tropical storm FAY. I guess she is about to run out of steam. We hadn't had rain for a while and things were dry, we really could use it and probably a day or two more.
I love the sound of gentle rain on the roof at night. I woke up and heard it pattering on the roof; then fell back asleep.
Not much on my agenda. Chuck is at work and Emily is at school. Soon the first week will be over for her. This is mostly orientation and I think some basic Nursing Class will start today. A & P had orientation on Tues and will also start for real today too. It is nice to sit at home, it is quiet and I have the cats for company. I think I would like to spend a week as one of my cats. They get to sleep most of the day and have their food handed to them in a little dish.......of course, they are neutered and we have eliminate a large portion of their activity. LOL
This is the last of the three cat photos from the Betsy Ross House. This one just looks contented.
Today was another busy day. Did gyne all day. That is woman's parts, for those who don't know. We did minor procedures and a woman with an ovarian cyst. She had felt uncomfortable for three months. She had a cyst that made her look like she was 7 months pregnant. First they did a small incision and removed the fluid in the cyst. It totaled 13,350 ml of fluid. One 2 liter bottle of fluid has 2,000 ml. So, it was the equivalent of the fluid of 6 and a half bottles of soda. WOW. The good thing was that with this contained cyst it was NOT cancer. Good for her.
Today I took 3 Motrin when I got to work. I also wore my Birkenstock shoes. Yesterday my feet hurt so bad, and actually every bone in my body ached. Last night was a Motrin PM evening. I was so sore that I had trouble falling asleep, after the Motrin kicked in I was able ( with the help of the Benadryl to fall asleep.
I think taking the Motrin when I go to work maybe the answer to my aches and pains. I am off tomorrow and damn glad of it.
Emily likes the Nursing School. Right now all they are having is orientation. Her clinical starts in September. She has the uniforms washed, but the length needs hemmed. She is five foot two inches tall.
This is the second of the three cats on the fountain at Betsy Ross's House. Did you ever notice how cats stretch..........they really look like they enjoy their stretches...wish I could do that............
"The greatest tragedy is indifference."
Red Cross
It's not that I am indifferent, but sometimes I am just all compassioned out. I see the same type of people making the same bad life choices and really wonder "What were you thinking???" Abused women always pick the same type of partner who abuses them again and again. People who don't take responsibility for the upbringing of their children. People who abuse their bodies with what ever vice..
Some times I would like to open their heads and insert some common sense.
This is one of three cats on a fountain outside of Betsy Ross's home in Philadelphia. It looks like a typically pleased feline behavior.
My repaired computer was waiting for me when I got home from Philly. I have been slowly putting things back on. There are still a few things to go. My Office program, iTunes, and a myriad of pictures. I am still investigating photo editing software. All I can say is I am glad I backed up my stuff. I also have the photos, music and genealogy things on a flash drive too. Those flash drives are great. Emily said that the flash drives now contain as much memory as her first computer that she took to college in 2000. That amazing. The first to go back on was AOL, they had downloaded Adobe, but the trial version of Office was not there.........
Emily has off today and school starts tomorrow for her and probably half the population of school students, or maybe more than half....
Do not know what I will do today. Does everyone sit around on their day off and try to decide what to do? I like drinking a cup or two of tea and contemplate the day....
The upcoming week is the last of August. School is starting for many, including my daughter.. That means that getting to work will be a hassle and you have to watch out for all the kids. I have been wondering, since all the traffic stops and lets the kids cross, what happens when they become adults? So, do they think that the traffic stops as if by magic and do a lot get hit by cars? I leave for work at 05:30 and it is a 15 minute drive. I run into the school bus traffic when I go home at 3 PM.
I will be glad to see the autumn. I love the colors and the crisp nights and warm days. I hope the color of the trees are good this year, the past few the colors have been muted. We had a lot of rain this year but not so much for the past few weeks. The lawn is beginning to look a little parched. The water costs too much for me to water grass; but I will have to go out and water my tomato crop.
The tomato crop is in one pot. Maybe I will take pictures of my container garden. I think I will do that tomorrow.
Those vegetables look so good. The colors are fantastic. This was a market it Philadelphia. What I should do is start my water color painting again. I love color and I have a lot of candidates for color in my collection.
Tomorrow we were going to do to the Shaker in the Woods Festival; but it is suppose to be hot and humid and I will be miserable and cranky, so we opted out of that. This festival is in Colombiana OH. It is suppose to be one of the best. They also have a fall and Christmas Festival. Maybe I will go then...........
Here is another picture from Philadelphia with a shop on Pine Street. I LOVE color and its contrasts. The only black and white I like is Ansel Adams. AOL Image Search results for "ansel adams" I hope the search is there when you look. I have yet to master how to keep the type style the same when you add pictures and links.
Yesterday was not too busy. I set up OB, you have to be ready at an moments notice to do STAT csections. I did breaks and lunches and after seven sat around and perused the Internet. We do not need a person on till 11 and I wonder how long it will last. It is a big expense for someone to be there and usually doing nothing.
Today was a very light day. There were only three rooms running. We have thirteen rooms available. Thirteen people were "staff leveled" That means they were told to stay home and go without pay or take 8 hours vacation pay. This is common in the health care business. It doesn't matter if you have bills to pay....just too bad for you. I am glad I am off.
Nothing else going on here. Emily is getting ready for work and I am contemplating the day.
Here is Claudia's version of "Sunflowers" Sorry Vincent...........
Today I was in the GI Lab. I decided hell would be doing colonoscopies for eternity. I did 16, a few of them were gastroscopies too. The youngest person was 44 and she weighted about 130 pounds; she was also the skinniest. WOW what a day. Just got finished at 4:45 PM and I was glad. I was tired and called Emily and asked if she wanted to eat out; she said to pick up Chinese. I have a new favorite of Chinese dish. Garlic Chicken, it has lot of vegetables and not very garlicky. I ordered a small portion for both of us (Emily had shrimp Lo Mein) and there is enough for left overs for tomorrow. The two meals cost about $9 total for two.
Tomorrow I am working for 16 hours. I am assigned to OB, who knows what that will bring.......it is either very busy or very slow....I am hoping for slow. I will spend my day doing lunches and breaks....
I now have an offer for a book club (thanks Beth!!!). I will peruse the list and see what I want to do. Finding the time is sometimes complicated for me. It is funny, if I take something to read for tomorrow to read in my down time I will be busy as could be, if I take nothing I will be sitting around with nothing to do. It always happens, I wish I knew how that worked.
Emily was reading POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS by Augustine Borroughs. She liked it better than RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, that book I thought was the stupidest bookI had read in awhile. Maybe I will give Augustine another chance and read the first listed.
It is hot outside; and to be hot tomorrow. I am ready for fall. I like it when it is warm during the day and cool at night. Soon it will be there...Most people I talk to tell me that fall is their favorite season. But the bad thing about is you know the winter is soon to follow.
Here is Vincent Van Goghs version.
Here is my daughter Emily pretending like she doesn't know I am taking her picture. This was in the Inn we stayed at in Philadelphia. She said if we stayed there again she would take the WIFI booster and plug it in our room. I do not know how it works but it takes the signal from the original site and boosts the signal. Works by magic I guess.
She completed her CPR class and met some of her new classmates. There were also some people she knew from her Microbiology class. Just 6 days till Nursing School starts. She has to take her Nursing courses and Anatomy and Physiology. She had that in high school and enjoyed and did well on that unit.
Emily and her dad are going to see a movie this evening. They both like spoofs and weird comedies. I do not so I am staying at home and typing and reading other journals.
It is amazing that people all over the world have the same thoughts and our lives are basically the same wants, and needs; no matter where we live.
For dinner I made Jamacian Jerk chicken thighs, noodles, corn on the cob and lettuce salad. That chicken is good. Now, a thought from long ago. When we lived in Europe we found out that they do not have corn on the cob. The corn is fed to the animals and even if you cook the corn for a long time it would never get soft. I guess they do not have the same variety of corn here in the USA, I love corn on the cob.
Festive colors at a sidewalk sale. Took this picture at a shop on Pine Street in Philadelphia.
Today is the last day off for this vacation season. Sat around and did not a whole hell of a lot except to go to the library and grocery store. Chucks last day off is tomorrow. Emily has gone to her CPR class, I will hear about that later.
Somedays at the library I find a lot of books and some days none at all. Today I found a few. I go to the bookstores and write down the titles and then go to the library and borrow them. I can read about three novels a week. Somehow I have not been finding a lot of good reads. Am I in a slump? I should google book clubs and lists and go with them. I do not want to be in a hurry, just read at my leisure...which is usually fast.
The picnic was great and I will add one of the pictures of my sibs and I. I didn't have on my glasses so I was sort of squinting.
My sibs and I at Kathys picnic. I am center, front row.
When everything appears to be going right, you've obviously overlooked something...
We had the family picnic yesterday. The weather was great, the kids are all past the swimming pool stage. The water was too cold, a few years back they wouldn't have cared how cold it was.
We had hamburgers, chicken, lettuce salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, baken beans, a lot of deserts, plus chips and other munchies. I took some pictures but have to do a little editing. Next Monday all those kids will be off to school, most of them in college. Three of the kids were working and couldn't make it. I guess it won't be long before marriages and grandkids. WOW !!!! That's a scarey thought.
Tomorrow Emily has her CPR class. She is getting an A on her Micro class. She will also be starting school on the 25th along with the rest of the cousins.
Two more shots from Eastern Penitentiary
Our last day, after checking out of the Alexander Inn, we went to see the Eastern State Penitentiary, in northwest Philadelphia.
This was mostly because of the reference written by Beth. http://journals.aol.com/luvrte66/nutwoodjunction/ She had mentioned it in one of her journal entries.
Beth: It was worth more than the price of admission. If anyone goes to Philadelphia, you have to go and see it. Emily mentioned that it gave her the same feeling as in the dorm of Kohler Hall and Lang Halls at Baldwin Wallace College. She said the feeling was that something was not right. Sort of a creepy feeling some of the time, she never say anything but had the feeling "that you weren't alone."
Forgotten Ohio: Baldwin-Wallace College
ESP looks like a medieval fortress, it was built in 1829 on the farmland surrounding Philadelphia. It became the Pennsylvania Model of prison design and there are about 300 designed on this plan.
ESP :: Eastern State Penitentiary Website
The prison was antiquated and abandoned and inmates transferred to other places. It was undecided what to do with the facility, and in the end some of the areas were refurbished and it is open to tourists. It is downright spooky.
I have many more photos, the cats in the last two photos are the "Ghost Cats" which are sculptures of a colony of cats in residence. They were trapped, neutered and released back into their colonies. The last of the cats died in about 2002, about the same time as their caretaker, Dan McCloud, had passed away. The cats were designed by Linda Brenner,who had dedicated them to Dan McCloud.
Home again, home again.....I have added some pictures to the Philadelphia entries. The Inn had wifi but we were on the end of the reception, or so Emily and I thought....Links were hard to load, and close to not downloading. I wanted to add pictures at the time but it would not do that.
After the Mutter Museum, we were talking to the volunteer at the gift shop. He told us that we could get the city bus there. It stops at the end of the block, ride north about 8 blocks, and there you are. It was just a two block walk up the Ben Franklin Parkway.
We are members of the Carnegie Museum so we got in for free because most museum, zoos, conservatories (flowers) have reciprocating agreements that if you belong to one you can potentially get in for free at another. Yea, $30 saved. You were allowed to take pictures here, as long as you didn't use the flash. We started at the top floor and walked down. They had an elevator there that was so large that it could have fit a medium sized elephant in it. Guess it is needed so big for hugh works of art.
This is the front, there are two wings out of the ends of the main building. It has three floors, and a basement level. There are about 100 steps which I walked up. This is the east entrance, I found out that they also have a West entrance that only has about 10 steps.
Next is a picture of the Philadelphia skyline.
This was immortalized in 1976 by Sly Stallone in ROCKY.
Does anyone out there know how to make this picture larger??? Here is the link to: I tried to find the music, but no luck. It is out there but I didn't find it.
After three house of walking and looking at art we were tired and took the Phlash bus to the READING TERMINAL MARKET. The Phlash bus is a tourist bus that takes you almost anywhere you want to go along the tourist highlights. It cost $5 per day or $2 for one ride.
Reading Terminal Market - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emily bought some tea and a woven market bag for $1. I have a few bags but the problem is remembering to take them in the market. Besides I recycle my plastic bags I get at the grocery store. ( The recycling process involves cat litter. Enough on that process)
I love markets like that one, another nice market is in Cleveland. Wish we had one in Pittsburgh. That evening we ate at the IRISH PUB.
Food was better at the first restaurant.
This is our last day in Philadelphia. Yesterday was very busy; we spent the day going to Museums. The Mutter Museum was too far to walk, so we decided to take a cab. The man at the Inn desk had called for two cabs; mine was the second. There was a young man waiting before us and his fare was a long ride. So the first called arrived last and the cabby was expecting the long ride had lost the ride. He was angry with the hotel man and the dispatcher. He moaned and groaned all the way to the museum. My action was do not make eye contact, give a good tip and get the hell out of the cab. I can understand his frustration, but get there in a more timely fashion.
The Mutter Museum was very interesting. The most was the examples of the bacterial diseases such as TB and syphilis on the body. They had wax facial masks of both. I had not realized that TB could become a skin lesion; it was quite gross. They also had TB of the spine (Potts disease) with a few vertebrae which were bent causing the person to walk with their head facing the ground.
The syphilis had also examples of skin lesions and lesions in the bones also. There was bone destruction from infections, osteomylitis where the bone was eaten away from the bacteria. These are thing you read about or hear about in third world countries; but for the most part you do not see in this country today.
Disappointment: You are not allowed to take pictures in the Mutter Museum. There were a lot of things to take pictures of; guess they do not want people fainting in the streets.
Betsy Ross House.
Today we got up and hit the breakfast in the Inn. The usual continental breakfast servings.
Then we trekked to Independence Park and went via Pine Street also know as Antique Row. There weren't many stores; a few stores selling some interesting things. A lot of the antique stores were not open or sitting unopened behind the metal closing gates.
We went by Pennsylvania Hospital which was the first hospital in the USA. Then to Washington Square which has the tomb of the unknown Revolutionary Was soldier. Diagonal from that square is the Independence Park. We perused the Liberty Bell, walked around the Independence Park and the Gift Shop. Did you ever notice that all the gift shops are set up the same and have the same trinkets. The only thing that changes is the name on the T shirt or coffee mug. I actually saw a coffee mug that had written on it the Declaration of Independence....WOW.
Next was the Christ Church Cemetery that is the burial place of Benjamin Franklin and other Revolutionary War leaders. Up the street was the Betsy Ross and Elfreth Alley which is the oldest, inhabited street in America.
I took about 100 pictures but do not have them downloaded yet. On the way back to the Inn we went up the street of Jewelry Row and then back for a brief respite.
Tomorrow is Museum Day, who knows what we will see. The first is the Mutters Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Art; which is the third largest Art Museum in the USA.
The Liberty Bell with Independence Hall behind.
Elfreths Alley, the oldest, continuously inhabited street in the USA
The five day forecast was a lie. Last night the front came through and it rained very hard. We left this morning and the drive was smooth. There was very little traffic until we got past the mountains and Harrisburg. I have never been to Harrisburg, but have driven past there a few times. They have a state museum and other things to see.
After the exit for Lancaster we stopped for a break and although the gas tank was between 1/3 and 1/4; I filled it up. My thoughts being that the price was right, even though it was the turnpike it was less than in the Pittsburgh area. Moving east on my sojourn in the distance there were dark and menancing clouds. Reminded me of the clouds in the movie WAR OF THE WORLDS.
In about five minutes, the deluge began. The traffic on the turnpike slowed to about 40mph; which is half of about the speed they usually go. People were pulled off the highway en mass. Large semis were also stopped. The rain was so hard that the sounds of the rains sounded like the car was being hit with pellets of metal. There was quite a collection of deceased insect carcasses on the windshield, which the rain cleaned in no time.
The driving was extreme and I am glad I had the AWD Subaru. That car stuck to the road like glue. We found the exit for Philadelphia and spent a bit of time looking for a place to park so we could unload the car. I spent bout 15 minutes driving in squares. Philadelphia is laid out in squares and they are mostly one way, so where you need to turn you can't you keep having to go back and around again. On our second approach there was a space in the unloading area. Parking time was limited to 20 minutes so we unloaded, took our things to our room and out again to park the car. The inn keeper told us how to get to the garage. Just a two block walk from the Inn.
I wanted to go to the Independence Park area but it is a 15 minute walk, and it is raining. Tomorrow looks better. We can walk there via Pine Street which had "Antiques Row" And on the walk back we can peruse Jewelry Row.
The Inn was built in 1900. You can see how narrow the building is; I asked the Innkeeper why and he did not know. He thought maybe it was because it was the only piece of land available was that narrow. My hats off to the architect.
This is where we ate the first night. They had the usual bar fare; plus a minute amount of Irish Food. I had Potato Soup (I give it *****); the best I have ever eaten. They also had ham and cabbage and Shepard's Pie.
I had mentioned before I left that I had found out the Inn was in the Gay Friendly Area. Just check out the rainbow below the street name; if there was any doubt where you were that reaffirms it !!!!!
Chuck said it was named the city of Brotherly Love, that's not what they meant Chuck.
That is Emily in the back with the blue helmet. I checked the five day forecast for Philly and the weather is to be in the high 70's and low 80's. That should be good for trekking around the town. They are calling for a thunderstorm Sunday evening so I must remember to take the umbrella and wear real shoes. I hate when my feet get wet.
Chuck, bless his heart, said I could take his computer. So, hopefully I can keep on writing. I am looking for a slot for the camera card but I do not see one. I wonder if that goes under don't download anything ????? I will have to ask him.
Today I will review my itinerary and make a list. I love making lists, I think I like making them better than doing the things on them. That won't be the case for the trip, but I will have a few alternatives just in case. The main item on the trip for Emily is a visit to the Mutter Museum. It has medical oddities. Should prove interesting to see.
The picture was taken on the Ocoee River in NC. This was the white water river used for the Atlanta Olympics....or so they tell me.
