Sunday, April 29, 2018

14 Things a Snowbird Does on Returning Home

Oregon Summer just a short walk away!
Our home has stood empty for six month...mostly. A grandson, wife and small baby did stayed for three weeks in January. It was nice to share with them.

Since that nothing has happened to make our home feel loved. No plants on the kitchen window sill, no flowers on the dinning table. Dust collected and that about all that could be measured. We have been back since last Wednesday. We have been busy as you can imagine.

Snowbird lifestyle does involve two things...the leaving and the returning. The return is nothing I have ever mentioned. Coming home, and it will always be home no matter where we nest in the winter, is wonderfully exciting. It is like seeing our life with new eyes.

So I thought you might like to know the steps to breathing life back into an empty abandoned house after six month of dark and cold.
  1. Open all the curtains, blinds and windows.
  2. Reconnect TV, internet and turn the water back on. (We leave electricity/gas on for refrigerator and furnace.)
  3. Change car insurance back to the car that is stored in Oregon. (The one is Arizona goes to sleep.)
  4. Unpack suitcases. Sort and classify clothes.
  5. Cook a meal (after shopping for well over $150 in groceries.)
  6. Wipe every surface with polish.
  7. Run the robot vacuum. 
  8. Take a shower and steam everything up.
  9. Put outdoor furniture back outside.
  10. Buy plants...as many or more than the groceries you just bought.
  11. Begin the process of planting pots and yard. The sun will shine soon I think.
  12. Visit with the neighbors.
  13. I have a small neighborhood library in my front yard. I checked to see how it was looking. I can see that the neighbors have given it the love it needs while we are gone.
  14. Have a family/friends gathering!
  15. Let the summer begin with laughter. Life is short so enjoy every day.
It is a simple as that. The warmth and life comes back slowly as you redesign your world. It is a good thing.

How is your spring going?

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Saturday, April 28, 2018

It's a Secret: Our Arrival Time

My husband and I flew home for our 6 months in Oregon this last week. We fly Southwest because they allow us 2 pieces of checked luggage each...free. We have figured out how to get everything we want for the next 6 months into those suitcases. In fact, I think we might be able to travel with less if we needed to do it. Our life is good.

But, as Gilda Radner would have said, "It's always something!" and it was. I am sure you know that a Southwest flight had an engine explode recently. As a result, every plane in the business is taking care of their engines, canceling flights and keeping us safe...and safe we were.

 View from our
Oregon home front door.
Our flight was canceled in Tucson Wednesday morning, we were put on a different flight and routed through Los Angeles, Oakland and then on to Portland. It was not bad at all. Really! I just did not care.

But in all of this shuffling, I became aware that not one time did the airline tell us when we would arrive at our destination until we were ready to take off. If we had been flying on our original ticket I would have known but as things changed...not so much. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention but still...it was not on the reader board and it was not on our boarding pass. Has it always been this way?

I had to laugh because all I was thinking was 'no promise made/none to break!'

We went along willingly to places we were not sure of and arrived at 7:00 pm instead of the 2:00 pm we had counted on. A birthday party was rescheduled to Sunday but other than that there wasn't much inconvenience. Our son and grandson were waiting for us when we arrived. It was wonderful.

AND...my husband and I received 2 vouchers for $200 each to use in the future on Southwest. I suppose we were well compensated.

It truly is "always something". Travel is always an adventure,
at least for us. And when we compare the journey we made each year for many years in our car from Arizona to Oregon, the 5 extra hours is nothing.

How are your travel plans working out?

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Friday, April 20, 2018

When the Snow Birds Go Home


May in Oregon Summer Vacation begins
with Mother's Day 
Great Granddaughter Embrey at less than one year. Mother's Day

4th of July parade with family.
...the people all over the United States that live in a place that attracts winter visitors can reclaim their world. For us all, snow birds and warm climate livers, life is good.

Whitewater rafting in July.
The golf courses are empty and snowbird hangouts can go back to their real life. One man asked my husband when we are leaving. Next Wednesday is our departure date. A party is scheduled for the following Sunday. They will celebrate when we go home and we will celebrate when we get there.
Trip to Santa Fe in November

Arizona Townhouse remodel Sept. to April 

Great Granddaughter born in January in San Diego

Arizona Garden in April...we return
to Oregon next week to begin it
all over again!
I love our rhythm of life. Luck will have us repeating this cycle many more times...fingers crossed.

bz=


Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Potus and Misdirection...Pointing the other Way

Remember back when your children were small and you would change the subject quickly when they demanded something or you would point at the mountain instead of the ice cream shop? My parents tried it on me but I never did bite and did make them turn around and take me back to the Dairy Queen because I was REALLY hungry. The misdirect did not work.

I guess not all that much has changed around here. I can see through a misdirect in a nanosecond. That is why I posted a small poster on Facebook the other day. It looked like this.

Will I never learn that for every opinion there is someone out there that reads some evil intent into the thought? Probably not. But, in this case I totally see what the person that commented was thinking.

She said, "I guess using gas to kill your citizens is okay." I was appalled to think of what I had implied. 

No, it isn't ok to use gas to kill citizen, in particular small children. That is wrong on so many levels I cannot even comprehend it. 

I am learning that being clear about my thoughts is very important AND very hard when such a little numbers of characters allowed. (They allow 130 characters.)

But in this particular case the question is, "What prompted Assad to think that we wouldn't do something even worse that send in one missile?" (Done and dusted Trump's spokesman said.) Is the attitude of our administration that we will NOT fighting evil at any cost (we cannot afford to fight evil it seems) left the bad guys feeling free to do as they please? Isolationism has always been a misguided approach to international relations. I give you the holocaust and World War II as examples. 

My response was:
Barbara Torris Not the message here Sue. I think it is very frightening that we are misdirected anytime he comes under fire. In this particular case I wonder what we were waiting for. I am sorry that you misunderstood. No, using gas is inhuman and totally outrageous but Assad has been at this for how long now and just last week "we are going to pull out and let someone else do it" was what we heard?
Manage
Reply21m
Barbara Torris We are not an island that can separate ourselves from the rest of the world. It would have been nice if Trump had even known what would happen when he threatened to withdraw [from Syria] but he simply cannot see past his own front yard. It is very frightening to think what will happen the next time a new book comes out because there are going to be more...you can bet on it.
Yes, the discussion is about misdirection. We tend to forget what the discussion was even about and there we go off on another rant. 

But it turns out that changing the subject does not make me forget or even look away. I want my icecream, my sanity and most of I want educated and logical thinking by our president. What does it take to have those things? You tell me.

In spite of my frustration, I do see that the USA has come to be seen that the big sugar daddy for many and corruption abounds. There is that to be contended with. What will we do?

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MSNBC Video example of "misdirect" but it takes a while to get to the point...talk shows drive me crazy!


Monday, April 16, 2018

BETTER SLEEP TIPS: The Hot Round-up of the Web Link Suggestions!

I first published this article back in 2011. The baby I talked about just turned 10. But, in the matter of sleep, not much has changed. I received a request for a backlink to some current information so I thought I would repost the article.


Best quote ever: "Put sleep in the background of your life. Don't monitor it, don't evaluate it."

My son and daughter-in-law spent the week retraining their 1 year old to sleep through the night. They have spent on year nurturing this little person because of health issues at birth. After a year, it became apparent that the baby had played his "no sleep card" one too many times. After a week of training he slept through the night... like a baby! This is the one thing that babies have in common with seniors...both age groups are delicate sleeper.

Now I read that we can retrain ourselves to get a better nights sleep, even as we get older. Yesterday I talked about the Memory Foam Mattress and how the mattress we are sleeping on can be the real culprit. Sleeplessness leads to a sluggish next day and could even make us less affective on the job. All the information I read about sleeplessness mentioned the mattress and it's importance in a good nights sleep. Whether it be the Memory Foam Mattress or another, mattress getting the one that works for you can be the key. Sleep is important!

Beyond the mattress issue, there are other things that can keep us awake at night. It is a given that stress, worry, medications and health problems can interrupt sleep patterns. The trick is to find a way to sleep in spite of those things or to change our lives to eliminate problem issues. There are a few common suggestions from people that study sleep problems and most of them, surprisingly involve what we do before we go to bed.
BETTER SLEEP TIPS...a round up from the web!
  • NAPS Napping for a long time during the day will keep you from sleeping. If you need a nap limit the time. 
  • EXERCISE You are going to need to get up and move. Do what is appropriate for you age...walk, run, swim, work...just get up off the couch, leave the TV or book or handwork and get up and move. You will feel better and you will sleep better. 
  • FORBIDDEN FOOD Do not drink bad stuff before you go to bed. On the list of "forbidden" foods and drink are: alcohol, coffee, tea, colas, heavy meals less than 2 hours before, tobacco, and lots of water. We need to go to bed satisfied but not over watered and fed. If you drink alcohol at bedtime you will actually have a "withdrawal" that will awaken you during the night. 
  • Good FOOD Stick to foods that contain high levels of tryptophan, such as milk, turkey, yogurt, ice cream, soy beans, tuna, and peanuts in the evening. Tryptophan helps the body produce serotonin in order to relax. (wikiHow.com/Better-Sleep) I know that a tablespoon of peanut butter will make me sleepy. 
  • CIRCADIAN RHYTHM If you do not know how much sleep you actually need to feel good the next day FIND OUT NOW! Some of us sleep long hours and other need very little sleep. It is called the circadian rhythm or 24-hour cycle. As we age our sleep patterns change and worrying that you are sleeping more or less than you did when you were 20 does not help. 
  • ROUTINE Once you have done this, establish a routine and make an effort to maintain it. Going to bed and getting up at nearly the same time every day gets your body and mind in the sleep habit. Psychology Today says ordinary insomnia may be cured simply by going to bed one hour later for a few nights, even though you may get drowsy. After that period of time add a little sleep back each night returning slowly to the normal routine. (And for heaven's sake don't drive when you are drowsy!) Like that grandson of mine...we may need to retrain ourselves to sleep. 
  • BATTLE EVENING DROWSINESS Get up and move...again. I think that if you eliminate alcohol and eat a reasonably sized meal you find that you are less drowsy. 
  • BEDROOM ENVIRONMENT The bedroom should be a sanctuary. Tune life down at bed time. Lower the lights, turn off the TV, meditate or listen to soft music. Keep the bedroom quiet, dark and cool...cool, I think is the key here. My experience is that getting a little chilled and then climbing into a warm bed leads to a very good night sleep. 
  • LINE UP YOUR BODY Some people promote the idea that lining up our body is important. For many this is like teaching an old dog new tricks. A sleep position habit could be hard to break. Sleep on you back or side with your head lined up with your spine. Putting a pillow between the knees keeps the hips in line. Putting the pillow under you knees when sleeping on your back, eases back pain. I actually do all of the these things and they do help. I also think that sleeping at least part of the night on my back has improved my posture. Slumping over all day AND all night does not make for a straight back. 
  • THE MATTRESS Every link I visited in my research mentioned the mattress...they say get a good mattress and take good care of it. It is just common sense. 
  • SLEEP AIDS? Only one website mentioned sleep aids. Melatonin, antihistamine and tryptophan pills were all on the list. However, I would like to think that we could do this without a pill. 
  • WHEN TO SEE THE DOCTOR If you suffer from restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, acid reflux or any other disorder that disrupts your sleep, go to the doctor. Many of these disorders are very dangerous and may even cost you your life. 
  • DON'T THINK ABOUT IT Psychology Today suggests that we "put sleep in the background of [our] life. Don't monitor it, don't evaluate it." Could it be possible that we think too much...especially at bedtime. I think so and so do the experts. Quit thinking and don't go searching around in your mind for solutions to problems at bedtime. I have never had a doctor tell me to quit thinking but it just makes good sense. If you know you need to do something in the morning and are worried you will forget WRITE IT DOWN AND FORGET IT. 
Of all the websites I visited, I felt that Psychology Today had the best strategies for curing a bout of insomnia. Hop on over there and read what they had to say. The article was called Your Guide to a Better Nights Sleep.

Sleep well.
b

Resources:

Help Guide How to Sleep Better
Psychology Today Your Guide to Better Sleep
WebMD How to Sleep Better
wikiHow How to Sleep Better
Mayo Clinic 10 Tips for Better Sleep

BETTER SLEEP TIPS: The Hot Round-up of the Web Link Suggestions!


Related articles
Circadian Rhythm and Blues: The Interface of Depression with Sleep and Dreams (psychologytoday.com)
Say Goodbye to Insomnia (psychologytoday.com)
Best Medical and Non-Medical Insomnia Cures (healthadel.com)
Heeding the Body's Basic Rhythms (psychologytoday.com)

Friday, April 13, 2018

Was it Better Back When Libel and Slander was a REAL THING?

I am struggling with finding the truth. I don't like any news media either liberal or conservative to try to shape my opinion. I want those people to read me the news without providing any opinions or coloring the story in some way. The news media is not putting out "fake news" but they are injecting a lot of hints as to where they stand. I don't care!


I woke up this morning thinking back to the "good old days" when avoiding slander and libel were part of our ethical culture. People actually believed that something could be done if they were, for example, attacked in print unfairly. In fact, back before President Reagan administration vetoed a law that would have made "equal time" a law and not a public policy, the person that was attacked politically could demand equal time in the media. Wow! Remember when?
The doctrine, instituted by the Federal Communications Commission as public policy in 1949, requires the nation's radio and television stations to "afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views on issues of public importance."
"This type of content-based regulation by the federal government is, in my judgment, antagonistic to the freedom of expression guaranteed by the First Amendment," Reagan said in his veto message. "In any other medium besides broadcasting, such federal policing of the editorial judgment of journalists would be unthinkable." (Reagan's Veto Kills Fairness Doctrine Bill June 21, 1987)
It should be noted here that the media loved Reagan for this veto. We, the American people, have suffered at the hands of political talk show hosts ever since.

I can even remember when it was unheard of for someone to be able to malign another anonymously on the editorial page in the newspaper. Having had some experience with the type of newspaper editor's thinking that encourages that sort of thing, I know that not being able to identify your attacker is very frustrating. Laws should create a level playing field...at least in my world. We all wish the world were perfect.

I know that our founding fathers were far worse than we are today about writing their opinions, publishing them and not revealing their identity. I give you The Federalist Papers (Library of  Congress). So we cannot harken back to a time when our nation was new for inspiration. This sort of thing has always gone on. In fact, it wasn't a law that you needed to be careful about what you said in print, it was just required by society in many parts of our country. Most people knew that disliking a person did not give you the right to attack their appearance or question their abilities. It was and still is viewed as childish.

I, like most of the people in our society, still abide by those ethical rules.

But...now we have Twitter and Facebook and notifications on our phones. If it crosses our minds, we can put it out there immediately and there are no consequences.

Remember back in January when news media was saying that our president asked for tougher libel and slander laws because Michael Wolff wrote a book called Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump Whitehouse. If you didn't see it the article from the NYT back then, here is the link.
President Trump on Wednesday repeated a pledge to make it easier for people to sue news organizations and publishers for defamation, denouncing the country’s libel laws as a “sham” a day after his personal lawyer filed a lawsuit against a major media outlet, BuzzFeed News. New York Times, Jan 10, 2018
That same article  points out that the president saw that changing those laws might put him in jeopardy.

So what really puzzles me is the thinking on social media. It is very like the news media and in fact is replacing it. Yet our president treat Tweets as conversations that disappear into thin air. Would those conversations be basis for a lawsuit?  See, the line is so thin. Is calling a person a liar or dumb slander? 

Here is the real kicker...in order to slander a person you have-to-lie. If you are telling the truth as you see it and it cannot be disproved, tough luck. If you really are fat or if the statement is made in judgment of your abilities or your opinions and you cannot prove otherwise, tough luck. The defamation has to be false. 
The general harm caused by defamation is identified as being ridiculed, shamed, hated, scorned, belittled or held in contempt by others, and lowers him/her in esteem of a reasonably prudent person, due to the communication of the false statement.  Defamation Guide to Libel and Slander
The court of public opinion has to judge that person either guilty or not because the law will not do that. Mocking another is not illegal...it is wrong...but it is not illegal.

What do you think?

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Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Trouble in paridise!

It seems that I cannot post a reply to my comments on blogger. It is driving me nuts because, well, I have stuff to say and no one can see what I have to say. My life is not perfect in anyway.

Yes that is my golf ball and, yes that is the blue flag you see through the tree. My golf game is not perfect either.

Darn! :)

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