Author: Ally

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Recovering from the Texas Wildfires

With all the drought in Texas this summer and the awful wildfires, you would not think that homeowners who live in the Austin area would have trouble with water and flooding. But when I heard that an entire neighborhood just east of downtown Austin was on fire, I knew that the firemen were having to work hard to put out fires in homes, not just the forests. When they came upon a house on fire, they had to fight that fire with water. So although the firemen saved the house from burning to the ground, the water damage from all that water will require professional cleaning, especially if the houses had wall to wall carpet that got soaked.

My former neighbor, John, moved to Austin about 6 years ago and I called to check on him, wondering if the wildfires were any threat to where he was living. He assured me that he was on the other side of town, but that many co-workers lived East of the city and their homes were at risk. His boss was already faced with finding a water to help with the damages to his family’s home.

 

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Time to winterize

The time has come to winterize the house and garden. The end of October always means the leaves have turned color and fallen and the temperatures are dropping every night.

We went an procured several loads of manure for the garden and mixed it in well for the winter season. The gutters have been cleaned from most of the fall leaves, and we only have to put new insulated foam around the pipes to keep them from freezing.

I do believe we still have to check the windows and doors for airflow as seals will dry rot from age over time. Other then that I believe we will be set. The rest of October and November will be chopping wood for the fire place and bon fire outside. Busy as always. =)

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No Bones for My Dogs

As a kid, we had a bunch on dogs to play with on my grandfather’s farm. I loved running and playing with them across the yard and the corn fields. But they were mostly hunting dogs – not house dogs. They ate all kinds of thing. My grandmother would scrape the plates after meals and just toss it all outside for the dogs to get.

But now I have dogs that I love dearly and my vet has told me to not ever give the dogs tables scrap and to make sure they never get bones. The bones, especially from chicken and turkey, can splinter and the sharp points can slice up the dogs insides and kill them.

I sure had not eve thought of that and I guess it is a miracle that my grandfather’s dogs never suffered from internal bleeding and died from eating bones. But I don’t want to take a chance with my dogs, so no bones for the dogs. Not even steak bones. The vet says to stick with dog food and as long as I have money for real dog food, my dogs will get the best I can buy.

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Dog Food

My dogs are pretty picky about their dog food. I only buy name brands and I only buy the chicken flavor. When I buy the beef flavor, they get upset stomachs.

So, I have tried to stick with chicken dog food for my beloved pets. They especially like the Purina brand dog food that is in the red bag and has big chunks of chicken in it. They gobble down the Purina dog food and I have noticed that they pick out the big chunks of chicken first and then eat the rest.

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New Lotions

One of the cool things about spending the night with family or friends is having the chance to try new things. Like a different brand of toothpaste. Or a new hand lotion. I tried a new cologne last night – it was called Butterfly Wings. I have no idea who makes it, but it smelled lovely!

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Sing-a-longs

My grandfather used to play the piano at family gatherings and we would all sing along to a lot of fun songs. I loved the music class in school, too. Its a good thing most schools have some kind of music enrichment for kids.

I especially loved the times when we could sing songs in the round. Do you remember any of the songs like, “Row, row, row your boat?”

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Ten Interesting Facts About Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security is the newest cabinet of the US government and the third largest. Though many Americans certainly remember a time before the department even existed, there are many interesting things they may not know about how the department got its start.

Here are ten facts about the history and development of the Department of Homeland Security.

  1. It was created in 2002 as part of the Patriot Act, in direct response to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States.
  2. The creation of the department represents the most significant reorganization of the government since 1947, when the National Security Act was passed. This act was in response to the Cold War and created the CIA, among other things.
  3. Though the agency is charged with protecting the “homeland” and is therefore distinct from the military, which protects abroad, the Department of Homeland Security later absorbed the US Coast Guard, which previously fell under the Department of Defense, along with the other branches of the military.
  4. In 2003, the Department of Homeland Security absorbed the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The INS was then divided into two agencies: Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services.
  5. Once the Department of Homeland Security was complete, it represented the most diverse merger of federal functions, incorporating 22 agencies under one organization.
  6. Former Pennsylvanian governor Tom Ridge was the first Secretary of Homeland Security. He had been appointed by President George W. Bush as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security in October of 2001, before the Department of Homeland Security was created.
  7. The Department of Homeland Security has been located at its “temporary headquarters” on Nebraska Avenue, across from American University in Washington DC, since its inception. Permanent office space has been secured for the department at the St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Complex. However, the soonest personnel could begin moving into this complex is 2012, a full ten years after the creation of the department.
  8. The Department of Homeland Security developed the “terror threat” advisory system scale that we use today. It reports the current threat level of terrorism on a scale from “low” to “severe”.
  9. The seal of the department carries several important symbols. The shield in the center is divided into three sections, for land, sea and air.
    The air has 22 stars in the night sky, representing the 22 agencies that came together to form the department. The 13 arrows in the eagle’s left claw and the 13 olive branches in his right claw represent the 13 original colonies.
  10. The development of the Department of Homeland Security created new   jobs and job titles within the government, including the creation of federal air marshals, who ride on commercial airline flights to protect passengers and crew.

Though the department has seen its share of criticism for how agencies were absorbed and how measures have been carried out, there’s no question that the creation of this department has had a major impact on how the government does business and provides safety to Americans on our own shores.

Phyllis T. Zerkle particularly likes to write about issues surrounding homeland security and the various courses studied when earning a homeland security degree online.

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Turn the Page

Everyone has been so paranoid about the 10th Anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center Twin Towers. Thankfully we did not have an incident to ruin the day. But that does not mean we should let our guard down. When you take that big sigh of relief and go back to being lazy – that’s the perfect time for the bad guys to strike.

So, remain vigilant, friends. But also, let’s move on. Let’s find a way to get our lives back before the war and all these terrible things that were launched on Nine Eleven. We need to get back to normal.

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Red Beans and Rice

There are some really good mixes at the grocery store that let you make a big batch of red beans and rice in about 20 minutes. If you can boil water and open a cellophane package, you can make a passable version of red beans and rice.

But for my taste, the red beans and rice that they make at Popeye’s Fried chicken cannot be matched by a packaged mix. I don’t know how they make their version of it, but it rocks! Seriously, I love the stuff.

It would be worth getting a part time job at Popeye’s Fried Chicken just to learn how to make all the stuff they have on the menu. I love their dirty rice and their po’boys. This is the closest I have ever been to real New Orleans cooking and I love this stuff! Teach me!

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Early Start for the Weekend

Everyone I know has a three day weekend because of the Labor Day Holiday giving them Monday off from work. But I’m extra lucky because I have off today. That means I have a four day weekend, and I intend to make the most of every minute. See you on the Lake!