Sunday, April 27, 2008

Where's George? Bill Tracking Report part 2

http://www.wheresgeorge.com/report.php?key=ffd44e90419a3db2014348c07d26555b67bee842e746f36f

George has surfaced again, this time in Fresno California just thrity miles south of us.
The following I got off the where's George's website;

One Dollar Bill, Serial# L7328---7H Series: 2003A
This bill has travelled 2,523 Miles in 217 Days, 20 Hrs, 34 Mins at an average of 12 Miles per day.
It is now 2,514 Miles from its starting location.
This list is in reverse-chronological order
Entry Time
(Local Time of Zip) Location, State/Province
(Green=USA, Blue=Canada, Purple=International) Travel Time
27-Apr-08 03:02 PM Fresno, CA 26 Days, 19 Hrs, 6 Mins 25 0.94
31-Mar-08 07:56 PM Madera, CA 191 Days, 1 Hr, 28 Mins 2,498 13
User's Note Good condition just a little wear. I got it with the change from Ralley's fast food resteraunt.
22-Sep-07 03:27 PM Honolulu, HI Initial Entry n/a n/a
User's Note (P) Slightly crisp bill. Circle stamped on front and reverse.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Love, loss and Vanessa

Love, loss and Vanessa

Warning a sad post.
If you don’t know already, we lost my niece Vanessa suddenly at age fifteen, and we still don’t know how or why she died.
~*~
Sunday; we went to Vanessa viewing that for some reason was also called a wake. I looked down at her and she didn’t really look like herself, more like a beautiful plaster cast that someone dressed in her eighth grade graduation dress and all her favorite jewelry. There’s a double stand of gold beads in her hair like a tiara. She looks like our princess gone to sleep.
~*~
These things went through my head a rough poem of sorts or a haiku;
.
Get up Vanessa get up.
I'm suppose to go to your wedding in a few years,
Not your funeral to shed tears.
.
Get up Vanessa get up.
You didn’t do anything to land you here;
Nothing a young girl should fear.
.
Get up Vanessa get up.
Your brothers are grief-stricken,
and parents’ heartbroken.
.
Get up Vanessa get up.
Uncle draws the cross on your brow.
Friends touch your hand, or hair.
.
"Get up Vanessa get up!"
Is your father threat as he hits your casket.
But you’ve already gone to your final exit.
~*~

Monday the day of her funeral; almost everyone wore pink (her favorite color) and black as requested, even the men wore either a pink tie or shirt with black pants and jacket. The women were uniformly in pink blouse and black pants or skirt.
.
There were so many people that we filled to over flowing the kingdom hall (The kids were raised Jehovah witnesses but the father is Catholic). Later at the chapel they had to have us view Vanessa’s body in shifts then we exited out the door. Then we follow the hearse in our cars to Arbor Vita Cemetery.
.
The reception afterwards was subdued as these things generally are. The mother went to lie down as the dad made his rounds.
We sat in the sun and I got a sun burn, and because I worse sunglasses I have a skiers tan (burn) either that or I look like a raccoon. It’s an odd sort of souvenir of that very sad day.
~*~
This is from Vanessa’s parents; it was written on the back side of the card that was handed out at the funeral;
~*~
Perhaps you sent a lovely card,
Or sat quietly in a chair.
Perhaps you sent a floral piece.
If so we saw it there.
Perhaps you said the kindest of words,
As any friend can say.
Perhaps you were not there at all
And just thought of us that day.
Whatever you did to console our hearts
We thank you so much whatever the part.
~*~
Thank you one and all for all your care and sympathy.
~*~

Friday, April 18, 2008

Pink for a funeral?

We went to see Vanessa's parents yesterday and they are doing better. The shock has worn off a little bit, and they're doing what needs to be done and have made the necessary funeral arrangements (now that the coroner has released her body).

I was told by my sister-in-law that Vanessa's favorite color was pink and they want everyone to wear that color for her funeral.

Pink?

What scares me is I'm too large a woman to be wearing solid pink. I did once and my family shielded their eyes. I think I could be seen me from orbit.

Okay, I can wear pink and black--I got it in black and white from the newspaper.
See Vanessa was a very pretty girl, but her hair was longer than this though.

We went shopping and my husband found a very pretty lite pink tie that he'll wear with a white shirt and black pants and jacket. My daughter found a white shirt and a pink tank top that'll double as a camisole that she'll wear with black pants.

And me? I found two pink blouses; one I'll wear at the memorial service with a pair of gray pants, the other to the funeral with a pair of black pants.

Next I need to found a pretty plant or lovely pot of pink flowers to take to the funeral.

~*~

On a different subject;

To cap off a truly awful week; my daughter's cat Suzu was attacked, we think, by a dog.

My daughter doctored her and she seems to be recovering; mostly she has been sleeping, but she has eaten and drank some and used the litter box.

I just hope it wasn't a rabid coyote that bit her.*shudder*

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Death in the family

Life took a tragic and unexpected turn today as one of our younger family members died unexpectedly last night.

I got the call at seven in the morning today, and had to have my husband explain it twice before it could sink in.

"How can Vanessa be dead?" I asked "She was only fifteen."

"They think it was a brain aneurysm."

I found out more information when I went over to my sister-in-laws. My Sister-in-law was in no shape to speak to me, but her youngest son was.

He explained that Vanessa had been fine but had a headache.

She had a sleep over guest and they had done all the things you do with a sleep over; painted toes nails, watch movies, ate popcorn. But she had a headache and she said she was going to lay down for a while and see if it would go away.

It didn't.

A couple of minutes later Vanessa's overnight guest was running screaming for her parents--Vanessa was convulsing.

They called 911, and waited for the ambulance as they gave tried to revive her with no success. Precious minutes were lost as the ambulance got stopped by a train. The Paramedic finally arrived and tried to revive Vanessa without success.

They pronounced her dead on the scene and the coroner was call. She had died on her bed.

Her family member stayed around her touching her hands and her feet, as they gradually turned cold as her body cooled.

There is an autopsy being preformed, and the grieving family can not hold a funeral until the cause of death has been found.

I would like to say that the family are doing as well as can be expected, but I can not. This is tearing the parents up.

It's a shock.

Vanessa was their youngest and only daughter, her two older brothers are grown and one is married.

Vanessa was so young so vigant so full of life. She already had a young woman's grace. She was also a terrible tease one friend related to me. I know my own daughter felt close to her, and protective of her younger (by a year and half) cousin and she tried to look out for her at school.

I will always remember her as tall and willowy, with long dark hair that hung down her back with a twinkle in her big brown eyes. And as she hurried to where her father parked waiting to take her home after school, and they would then give me a wave before they left.

I'll miss her.

Fifteen is way too young to die.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Bahahaha!

My daughter got a job of sorts; she's going to show the high school farm goats at the Chowchilla fair. If she shows them to their best advantage and they sell for a good price she gets a pay check.

Now as we all know goats can be sweet, and funny.

And Goats can be cute and darling.

But they also can be mean and nasty.
My daughter got the two meanest goats at the school farm.

I believe they are called Brat and meanie, or maybe that was Brat I and Brat II?

I forget.

Boy does she have her hands full!

My daughter has to learn how to handle the goats and walk them around an arena. She has already got her toes stomped on and bruised, as well as having her legs getting hit with sharps little horns. But the worst was when one of the two goats that she is learning to handle kicked her in the chest with it's hind legs!!!

Ouch!

We went to Fresno today and got her outfitted for the fair; white jeans, and heavy duty boots(for the sharp little hooves).

We also got her some boys sneakers to wear while she brakes in the two brat goats to being handled.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

My daughter's first job

No she doesn't have it yet, but she is looking for one.

She wants her own money and a regular pay check.

I told her if she didn't have summer school she could have a summer job. After all she'll be seventeen this year and getting a job is a big step toward independence.

Okay, maybe I should have been more specific. She got out of having summer school by doing so badly in one class that she is going to repeat it for next school year.

But a promise is a promise, and she already has put in a couple of job applications over the weekend, and she got her work permit application filled out and I've signed it. She just needs her boss (who ever that is) to sign it and then she is all set.

The only other thing I told her was that her job had to be between here and her school, that is walking or bike riding distance from home and school.

I also gave her an option of keeping her job if it didn't interfere with school work, because at this point in her life finishing high school is much more important than a job.

Tomorrow we will be looking at bicycles so she can get to the new job when she gets one.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Charlton Heston, Oscar-Winning Actor, Dies at 84

Breaking News AlertThe New York TimesSunday, April 6, 2008 -- 12:12 AM ET-----Charlton Heston, Oscar-Winning Actor, Dies at 84

Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as thechariot-racing "Ben-Hur" and also portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epicsof the 1950s and '60s, has died, a spokesman for the actor's family told The Associated Press. He was 84.

~*~

My mom went to the walk-in theater around 1956 or 1957 and saw "Moses" on the big screen and she thought it was a wonderful movie.

They run it every Easter on channel 26 here in the states.

I rememer him best though playing "blue eyes" on "planet of the apes."

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Meme thursday

  1. Nicknames? Jan, and please never call me Janet for some reason I just don't like it.
  2. Eye colour? green or hazel green.
  3. Place of birth? Madera CA in the good old US of A.
  4. Favourite food? God do I have one? I like a lot of foods, Chinese, Mexican, American, Italian, seafood. *drool* so many to choose from. Gees, no wonder I'm heavy.
  5. Where have you been overseas? Nope. Never. Would like to some day.
  6. Love someone so much it made you cry? Yes of course. Isn't it a part of life that the one's you love the most almost always have the power to make you weep?
  7. Been in a car accident? Yes two actually and I walked away from both. Though it was more of a limp away from the second.
  8. Pubs or Restaurants? Restaurants. Don't drink, so don't go to pubs.
  9. Favourite day of the week? Saturday because I can sleep in and not have to take anyone anywhere that morning.
  10. Favourite item? My photos, some are irreplaceable.
  11. Favourite flower? sweet alyssum because it smell so sweet.
  12. Favourite sport to watch? Don’t have one.
  13. Favourite drink? Coke-a-cola.
  14. Favourite ice cream? Chocolate or chocolate swirl.
  15. Channel? I don’t really watch that much TV these days. I write way too much, and surf the web doing research.
  16. Favourite fast food? Don't really have one, but I usually order a chicken sandwich because a regular hamburger give me terrible heart burn.
  17. Colour of your bedroom floor? Brown carpet because that what the house came with, and the living room has a horrible gold high low.
  18. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? I passed with flying colors, actually I pass by one point with the first go through.
  19. What would you buy if you had a winning $5000 scratchy? Is that the same as the Lottery? Then I'd say I would pay off all my bills and go on vacation.
  20. What do you do most often when you are bored? Surf the net.
  21. What time is Bedtime? about one in the morning.
  22. Favourite TV show? I use to watch CSI a lot, and I still like antiques road show, (shh don't tell my husband but I can't get enough of those Keno twins.)
  23. Last person you went out to dinner with? My husband and my daughter, we went to the Chinese buffet for dinner today.
  24. Ford or Holden? Um, okay I don't know what a Holden is so I'll go with a Ford. My husband and I use to own a Ford Pinto station wagon when we first got married.
  25. What are you listening to now? a semi truck just went down the road, and I just heard my daughter's light click off. Oh you mean music? None playing right now sorry.
  26. What is your Favourite colour? Blue, but I look really good in green or burgundy.
  27. Lake, ocean or river? Ocean, I love the sound of the surf and I enjoy walking in the sand.
  28. How many tattoos do you have? None. I think they're God ugly.
  29. Have you ever run out of petrol? We call it gas here, and yes enough to make sure I don't get that low again. I live out in the country, and you really don't want to have to walk way out here. Some people have really mean dogs. Yikes.
  30. Anywhere, where would you go? Right now I'm thinking of a trip to Santa Monica to visit the pier there, and then to Lancaster and Palmdale for research for my manuscript Twinheart.
  31. Time you finished this Meme? 11:29pm.