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Welcome

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Make yourself at home. Put your feet up. Grab your favorite beverage and prepare to enjoy the reads.
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Monday

How to Save Your Drowned Cell Phone

The other day my cell phone fell into a cup of Earl Grey tea. Today it is working just fine. What's my secret? you may ask. I'm glad to tell you what I did to save my phone.

Rather than cleaning myself up, or the table or floor where the tea splashed, I grabbed my celly and held it to the nearest piece of fabric, my t-shirt, and immediately began wiping dry. Then I quickly turned the phone upside down and pressed the fabric firmly against the keys, which leaked out a little more fluid. The hard part was next. I tried to open the little door that has the battery in it. I had to really work at it. I couldn't remember the trick to opening it. So, I highly recommend you practice once in a while. Time is of the essence. When I got the battery out, it had very little moisture. Quite minimal, in fact. Still I put the cloth to it. Forgot to mention that during all this I had frantically pulled my t-shirt off to provide this drying service to my celly as I ran to the kitchen.

The next part is the absolute most important. If you don 't have any rice on hand, you will be out of luck, so go out to the store and stock up. Will ya?

With the battery removed and the door to it left off, I put my cell phone into a bowl and covered it completely with dry rice. Now this is not the time to fuss that it is not whole grain. You definitely will have more effective results if you use white rice. Why does this work? Because rice will absorb the rest of the moisture that may be hidden in the crannies of your phone. Just like when you cook rice on the stove, it absorbs the water in order to become soft and fluffy food.

Reminder!!! Rice must be uncooked... dry!

Now this is the hard part! You have GOT to leave that phone in the bowl of rice undisturbed for at least 24 hours. Can you do that? If not, then it's time to admit you might have an attachment problem with your phone. If you run out to the phone store and pay a ridiculous price to have a new one immediately then we are talking addiction. It may be time for intervention! Reconsider your priorities!

So, after the allotted time, and then some, I rescued my phone from it's ricey rest, popped the battery back in and smoothly replaced the little door to the battery as if I did this sort of thing every day. VoilĂ ! I can now use my cell. Text me!

Now, I just gotta figure out how to get that dried tea stain out of the carpet!

Sunday

Never Forgotten


were you but a memory to me

you would fade away to dust

but diamonds never fade




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In memory of those I love who succumbed to Chondrosarcoma

Saturday

Zen Empty


When life feels bereft

I ask myself,

is this the zen

of nothingness?

Is this the empty nothing

that all seek?

empty so lonely

empty so dark

empty so cold

This is not the peaceful void.

This is sadness enveloped in pain.

Where is the lightness of being?

Where is the void without suffering?

Written Sat Nov 20, 2004

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note: 
Not feeling this way anymore. The art is my own creation.

Thursday

Books in the Spare Bedroom

Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman
Author: Elizabeth Buchan

Bel Canto
Author: Ann Patchett
  
Long Quiet Highway : Waking Up in America
Author: Natalie Goldberg
   
Children's Writer Guide to 2007
Author: Susan M. Tierney
   
Leap of Faith : Memoirs of an Unexpected Life
Author: Queen Noor

The Mind-Body Problem
Author: Rebecca Goldstein
   
Starting Out in the Evening
Author: Brian Morton

A Cat Is Watching: A Look at the Way Cats See Us
Author: Roger A. Caras

Contented Cat
Author: Nobuo Honda

The Perfect Kitten: How to Raise a Problem Free Cat
Author: Neville

Costumes for Your Cat
Author: Lynn Chang

Education of Oversoul 7
Author: Jane roberts

The Further Education of Oversoul Seven
Author: Jane Roberts
   
Ninja Secrets of Invisibility
Author: Ashida Kim

Ninja Mind Control
Author: Ashida Kim
   
The Pilgrim's Progress
Author: John Bunyan

Not Wanted on the Voyage
Author: Timothy Findley
   
Dynasty of Death
Author: Taylor Caldwell

Captains and the Kings
Author: Taylor Caldwell

Dynasty of Death
Author: Taylor Caldwell

Arab Historians of the Crusades
Author: Francesco Gabrieli

Girl With a Pearl Earring
Author: Tracy Chevalier

A Thousand Splendid Suns
Author: Khaled Hosseini

A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul
Author: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen

A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul 

Author: Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield
   
Chicken Soup for the Soul
Author: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen

Suleiman the Magnificent
Author: Andre Clot

Death Be Not Proud
Author: John J. Gunther

Rivals for the Crown
Author: Kathleen Givens

The Blue Sword
Author: Robin McKinley

Jacob's Ladder: The History of the Human Genome
Author: Henry Gee

Rules for Writers
Author: Diana Hacker

The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Author: Mohsin Hamid
   
City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan
Author: Beverly Swerling
   
The Beloved Invader
Author: Eugenia Price
   
Raleigh's Lost Colony
Author: David N. Durant

Legends, Lies Cherished Myths of World History
Author: Richard Shenkman
   
City of Glory: A Novel of War and Desire in Old Manhattan
Author: Beverly Swerling
   
Small Miracles: Extraordinary Coincidences from Everyday Life
Author: Yitta Halberstam, Bernie S. Siegel

Defending Andy: One Mother's Fight to Save Her Son from Cancer and the Insurance Industry
Author: Marilyn Azevedo

Frommer's Britain's Best-Loved Driving Tours
Author: Roy Woodcock, John McLlwain

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Bk 4)
Author: J.K. Rowling

The Pillars of the Earth
Author: Ken Follett
   
SHE
Author: H.Rider Haggard

The Name of the Rose: including Postscript to the Name of the Rose
Author: Umberto Eco

The White
Author: Deborah Larsen

Small Miracles: Extraordinary Coincidences from Everyday Life
Author: Yitta Halberstam, Bernie S. Siegel

The Devil's Horsemen : The Mongol Invasion of Europe
Author: Chambers

The Beloved Invader
Author: Eugenia Price

Pleasant Dreams: Nighttime Meditations for Peace of Mind/155
Author: Amy Dean, Amy E. Dean

Secrets of the Widow's Son: The Mysteries Surrounding the Sequel to the Da Vinci Code
Author: Daniel Burstein, David A. Shugarts

MycoMedicinals: An Informational Treatise on Mushrooms
Author: Paul Stamets

Fitness Over Fifty: An Exercise Guide from the National Institute on Aging (With DVD)
Author: The National Institute on Aging, The National Institute on Aging

Acupressure for Lovers : Secrets of Touch for Increasing Intimacy
Author: Michael Reed Phd Gach

Mastering Leptin: The Leptin Diet, Solving Obesity and Preventing Disease, Second Edition
Author: Byron Richards

When Crickets Cry
Author: Charles Martin

Yoga Over 50
Author: Mary Stewart

The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo: A Novel
Author: Peter Orner

Pleasant Dreams: Nighttime Meditations for Peace of Mind/155
Author: Amy Dean


The Anti-Aging Fitness Prescription
Author: Z. Altug, Tracy Olgeaty Gensler

The Last Templar: The First Knights Templar Mystery
Author: Michael Jecks

Questions and Answers on Death and Dying
Author: Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

My Sister's Keeper
Author: Jodi Picoult
   
Galileo's Daughter : A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love
Author: Dava Sobel

Autobiography of a Face
Author: Lucy Grealy
   
The Essential Handbook of Women's Spirituality
Author: Barbara G. Walker

History of the Arab Peoples
Author: Albert Hourani

The Tartar Khan's Englishman
Author: Gabriel Ronay

Prehistory and the First Civilizations (The Illustrated History of the World, Volume 1)
Author: J. M. Roberts
  
The Templar's Penance
Author: Michael Jecks
  
Witchcraft a Secret History
Author: Michael Streeter
    
Magical Spells for Your Home: How to Bring Magic into Every Area of Your Life
Author: Anne-Marie Gallagher

The Illustrated Discovery Journal : Creating a Visual Autobiography of Your Authentic Self
Author: Sarah Ban Breathnach

Is It in Your Genes?: The Influence of Genes on Common Disorders and Diseases That Affect You and Your Family
Author: Philip R., M.D. Reilly 

The Double Helix : A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA
Author: James D. Watson

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3)
Author: J.K. Rowling
   
Physiology
Author: Peter Abrahams
   
Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying
Author: Ram Dass, Mark Matousek, Marlene Roeder

Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom Volume 2 

Author: Rachel Pollack

Our Family Tree Record Book
Author: Mason Linklater
 
The Woman with the Alabaster Jar : Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail
Author: Margaret Starbird

Essentials of Genetics
Author: William S. Klug, Michael R. Cummings

Creative Digital Photography
Author: Peter Cope
  
The Expected One
Author: Kathleen McGowan

Monday

Watching Old Video

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Dad's habit

patting his bald head

Mom rubbing her sore leg

How straight is his profile

from nose to chin...

that "stiff upper lip"

he always said to keep.

How tired she looks

saying goodbye

them walking... holding hands.