Multi Family Yard Sale

My neighbors have all lived here in the same houses for years. There is just one house on the block that is rented, and we never see those people much. So all the rest of us have been here for at least 6 years. So why is it that we never have a multi family yard sale? All the other established neighborhoods seem to be more friendly about things like that. My girlfriend, KeeKee, just had a big yard sale and everyone on her street put things out to sell. It was like a big block party but they all made a little money and got rid of stuff they don’t want anymore.

What’s wrong with my neighbors?

Stop Hitting

Around here a very controversial subject is spanking. A lot of people say that kids should be spanked as part of their discipline. Other people say that hitting children is abuse. I feel strongly that children should not be hit, but was shocked when I found out the local police encourage parents to hit their kids. The official stance of the police department according to two officers on TV who were talking about it is that beating kids is fine – they must need it and the parents should not worry about being arrested for it. That disgusts me to my very core.

Yard Waste

Sometimes a word or phrase sounds so practical, so perfectly descriptive, that you wonder why you never heard it before.

I have been trying to find out where to take a load of fallen tree limbs and bags of leaves to dispose of them. I know this is not considered trash and its not even considered recycling.

Turns out the proper term for it is yard waste and there are only two places in the county that will accept it. And neither one is open on Saturdays and Sundays. Sigh.

Hugs for Japan

I’m sure by now everyone in the world has heard about the tragedy in Japan. Itt was bad enough to have such a strong earthquake, but then to have a tidal wave come and wipe out several towns and everyone who lived there . . . how horrific that must be. I feel so very sorry for the victims and the survivors. God Bless the people of Japan.

Kroger Digital Coupons

Today I got an email from Kroger grocery stores. It is part of their frequent shopper club program. When you get a key card from Kroger, you sign up with your email address and street address. Then they follow up with coupons that they mail to your house and to your inbox.

It is always nice to save money and I have taken advantage of several of their offers already. Thanks, Kroger!

Bonnaroo Ice Cream

ben-and-jerry-buzz

Ben & Jerry’s has a new ice cream flavor in honor of Bonnaroo. It will be sold on site at the festival and in stores for a limited time. I haven’t seen it in the local stores, yet. But I’m Looking each week.

It’s almost back to school time!!!

Our children go back to school on the 25th and I can’t wait.  I’m a whole lot more excited about it than they are.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a wonderful summer but it’s also been a LONG summer with all of the kids home.  We have to go out today and make sure they have all of the school supplies that are required for their grades and even pick up a few things for other kids in need of school supplies.

My children were on that list a couple of years so now it’s time to return the favor by passing it along to others in need.  That’s what community is for, to help when you need a helping hand and then return the favor when you can.

Ever thought of shopping as ‘Green’?

Going Green is the buzz word everywhere but what about Green shopping?  Buy.com did a study and found out that by shopping online, we are helping to save our planet.  Just think how many places you have to go to get the things you need.  That’s a lot of carbon going into the air.  When you order online and they deliver, lots less nasty things into our air!!

We finally got some much needed rain!!

We had a very wet spring but just as quickly as it came, it went.  We haven’t had a decent rain in about 5 weeks.  My grass is turning brown and my little garden looks absolutely pitiful.  Well sometime last night, the bottom fell out as the old saying goes and I bet we got about a total of 3 inches of rain.  I know my garden and yard were happy to see that.  Now the only problem is going to keep the weeds out of my garden and my grass mowed.  Well I guess you can’t be happy with anything, huh?

This is very important. It only takes a few seconds

This is a very important email I got from my mother who is a nurse about a Proposed Mastectomy Law Change and was written by a surgeon;

I’ll never forget the look in my patients’ eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast. I remember begging the doctors to keep these women in the hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies.

So there I sat with my patient giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn’t grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet ‘Thank you’ they muttered.

A mastectomy is when a woman’s breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain after wards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let’s give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

This Mastectomy Bill is in Congress now. It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important. Please take the time and do it really quick! The Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill is important legislation for all women.

Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you’re receiving this, it’s because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue and send it on to others you know who will do the same.

There’s a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It’s about eliminating the ‘drive-through mastectomy’ where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.