Fun Monday -Random Acts of Kindness

Mommy Wizdom came up with what turned out to be a very timely topic this week for Fun Monday.  Her challenge to us:

Your job this week is to go out and perform a random act of kindness. Now, before you freak out, please read on. This is actually really easy!! This act may be for someone you know or for a perfect stranger. It can be big or small, it'll all up to you. Obviously, it should be something within your means. For instance, don't go out and buy your next door neighbor a car and then complain to me that you can't make your mortgage payment, ok?

So let me start by explaining that I live in Southern NH.  Yes, the place where a federal state of emergency has been declared.  In case you haven't heard, we were hit with a major ice storm in the early hours of Friday morning, which left 300,000+ homes and businesses without power.  To put that in  perspective, the total population of NH is only 1.3M.  The RECORD number of power failures in NH in past storms was a measly 94,000.  In our town of 17,000 people, there were still 4,500 houses without power as of Saturday night.  

The local chapter of the American Red Cross  has had a tough couple of years, between back to back floods in 2006-07, record snowfall last winter, and in 2008 a couple of large apartment complex fires that displaced a number of families, the most recent just a week ago destroying 28 apartments.  Now the Red Cross is operating a number of shelters throughout the state, as there are no hotel rooms to be found even for those who can afford a hotel.  

On Friday morning, the extent of the damage from the ice storm became clear as the only reliable source of information was the internet - our local TV and radio were off the air/operating on emergency generators with very low signals.  We were very lucky, we never lost power and by mid-afternoon what little ice had accumulated on our trees had melted.  The Red Cross set up an emergency shelter at the school next door to my house.  A local nursing home was forced to evacuate their residents to this shelter, a school bus was found to transport them.  Diva and I spent the morning baking cookies and took them up to the shelter.  The volunteers there were so happy, as the NH Food Bank was furnishing meals, but sweets were in short supply.  

On Saturday, Diva's BFF revealed they were calling as far south as CT looking for a generator, and even if they could find one, would be lucky to find an electrician to come install it for them.  With temps heading down into single digits for the second night, they were afraid their pipes would freeze.  Kilowatt loaded our generator (which we thankfully did not need) and his tools into the car and was off again.   An hour later their house was slowly heating back up.  The local utility warns it could be a week or more before all power is restored, and we have another storm forecast for Wednesday into Thursday this week.  

We finished out the week with a run across town -- a couple of posts ago I lamented the loss of my 16 year old waterbed mattress, obviously Christmas wasn't a real convenient time to buy a new mattress. Well, we are fortunate enough that we could afford that mattress, and picked up a new one for my daughter also so we could move hers to the guest room. That left us with a spare bed - the Red Cross was able to put us in touch with a local organization called Beauty 4 Ashes who takes gently used furniture and distributes it to those in need. When I called the woman was very apologetic that they didn't have a truck available to come pick the bed up - no problem, with two SUV's we deliver! Since their storage unit is near Goodwill, let's see what we can find to take there on the way.  Double benefit - my house gets cleaned too!

Want to see what things look like up here?  The best source is local news station WMUR.  Today as I was driving across town what was most notable was that there were large areas with no visible impact from the storm, where just a few hundred yards away were large areas of devastation.  One road had no ice or visible damage on the left, but on the right all the trees still had a thick coating of ice.  I'll leave you with this photo, taken about a mile from my house.  Notice that you can see a line on the mountain where the ice begins....

The Ghost of Christmas Past

Christmas is a tough time of year in higher education, as class projects and final exams hit between Thanksgiving and Christmas, making it necessary to either start Christmas planning in October, or delay it until after exams. Since procrastination is my middle name, I tend to delay it until after exams.

So here we are on December 12, and I still have to complete a Philosophy paper for my studies and grade 15 class projects and 15 final exams for my students.

I haven't even considered what photo to use for our cards this year (thank you Snapfish for allowing me to order online and pick the next day at a local store.)

We were planning to go get our Christmas tree this weekend, but the ice storm has made so many roads impassable that may have to wait. Thankfully, we still have electricity (and internet access:)

Remember as a kid how it seemed like Christmas would never come? The tree went up shortly after Thanksgiving in our house, and the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas dragged on and on. We eagerly marked up the TV Guide for Rudolph, Frosty, and the Little Drummer Boy. If only I knew then what I know now - that having that time - to savor the anticipation of Christmas - was a gift in itself.

Oh well, that paper isn't going to write itself, and I have DVD's of Rudolph, Frosty and the Little Drummer Boy to watch after finals are over. I may not get to savor the anticipation of Christmas as I'm too doggoned stressed about getting shopping done, gifts wrapped and shipped (thank you Amazon for wrapping and shipping for me) (omg, when is Hanukkah this year?), decorations up, and mailing those Christmas/Hanukkah -- oh lets just make them New Years cards.....

Float On...

It was so nice to be home in our own bed last night, after three nights visiting my in-laws.  Not that their guest beds are uncomfortable, just nothing sleeps like your own bed.  

We got our first real snowfall today, so I decided it's time to switch over to flannel sheets.  I dutifully stripped off the comforter, bedspread (which we keep on the bed to protect the comforter from the cats,) and sheets.  As I was moving the bedspread, my hand detected something wet on it.  As a cat owner, I'm wondering if a kitty couldn't make the litter box, so I sniffed the cover (ewww, why would I do that?)  No kitty smell.  

Then I felt the side of the bed, and it was damp too.  Uh-oh.  Did I mention it is a soft-sided waterbed?  Yep, the mattress bladders inside finally gave way.  I did what anyone would do in this situation -yelled downstairs to Kilowatt "I think we have a problem."  

While I'm trying to figure out how to get the mattress pieces into the bathtub without getting my hardwood floor wet, Kilowatt is opening the bedroom window.  Did I mention our bedroom is on the 2nd floor (or 3rd, if you count the cellar, which in the back of the house is 3/4 exposed.)  He drains the water out the window, then flings the mattress out after it!  I am so glad we don't have neighbors who can see that side of the house.    

I had been thinking it was time for a new mattress, but I really didn't plan on getting one for Christmas, you know?  A quick look at our files show I bought this one in 1992 - yep, guess it is time for a new one.  A quick glance at the internet shows prices have tripled since 1992 - oh goody.  And the soonest we can get a new mattress delivered is Friday.

So until Friday, I'm sleeping on one of those inflatable guest mattresses that you put on the floor.  We've improved its comfort by putting it up on top of the base of our waterbed frame.  Of course, if I get too close to the edge I'll go flying off...and if this is improved comfort I'm not sure how anyone can sleep on one of these.  Maybe this is why no one comes to visit us:)

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is always a bittersweet holiday - it marks the beginning of the hectic holiday season, the beginning of winter for us NorthEasterners, and a stark reminder that there's only two weeks left in the semester to complete projects that should be a lot farther along than they are.  But it also marks a day we traditionally spend with family, enjoying the Macy's parade on TV and laughing about Thanksgivings past.  

I woke up this morning thinking about everything I have to do today to prepare for the six hour hike to my in-laws.  It's cold out, I'm tired, you know the routine.  I visited our local paper's website for todays news.  All week, there's been a link at the top right of their page "tell us your positive thoughts as holidays approach."  And for a week now, there's been one entry there, from a woman who's husband has lost his job.  And that's it -- one entry in a city of over 100,000 with probably another 100,000 in the surrounding towns that read this paper.

That's not the whole story -- anyone who clicks on the comments link will see a note that 'no further comments are being taken on this story.'  But on the home page, it looks like no one in NH has any positive thoughts to express.

Well, I have a few positive thoughts, and since I can't comment there, I'll share them here.  This holiday, I'm thankful for:

~ my family

~ my friends, scattered though they are

~ living in a country where we are free to disagree with one another, and yet can come together in times or crisis

~ my faith.  After a semester of philosophy, I'm happy to have faith.

~ the sun.  It made an appearance today!

~ my cats.  They love me no matter what, and show that love by grooming me in my sleep (a whole post coming up on that topic soon.)

~ kids (not just my own.)  amazing how a couple of hours surrounded by the boundless energy of youth can make one feel ten years younger (or older, depending on one's attitude du jour.)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

** Thanksgiving clipart from:

Just one dollar

I heard on the radio today about a town in MA where the mayor (I believe it was) is asking everyone to donate $1 toward heating costs for those who otherwise couldn't afford to heat their homes.  Then I saw on the news that the local food banks are almost out of food.  

That got me to thinking, what if people would take the mayor's idea and carry it into other areas.  For example, if you work in a small office, and everyone donated just $1 per week (only $52 a year), then you could probably scrape up $500 or so for one charity, or spread it around a bit more and give 20 different charities $25.  Yes, everyone just give up one trip to the vending machine a week and improve the lives of others.  Or if this is too much trouble, how about designating one week during the holiday season as charity week, and ask everyone to throw in their spare change daily.  At the end of the week, take what you have collected to a local food pantry where you can help someone actually get a holiday meal.   

The holidays are coming, and winter is here.  Despite dropping oil prices, a lot of people still need our help as jobs disappear.  So, if you are lucky enough to be employed, and have enough money to buy food, clothing and shelter, why not start keeping an extra dollar in your purse/pocket at all times to drop in that Salvation Army pot this year.  Or use the convenience of the internet to donate a few dollars to a worthy cause or two.  Need an idea:  visit the NH Food Bank and participate in a virtual food drive.  

What you give doesn't have to be much - if every blogger out there just gives a few dollars to their favorite cause, we can make a big impact.  So, what cause will you choose this holiday season?

Fun Monday - Veteran's Day

I'm really late joining Fun Monday this week, but I think the topic is so worthy that I had to contribute.  Our host this week is Janis.  Her very timely assignment:

Since Next Tuesday is Veterans Day, I thought it would be nice to salute our Veterans and show our appreciation. Photo requirement of something patriotic.

My stepfather passed away two years ago.  He was a WWII veteran, an Army Laboratory Technician.     

Occasionally, when I was young, he would talk about the war.  I don't remember the specific stories, just the overall lesson that being in a war was a very tough way of life.  I know the war made an indelible impression on his life.   Maybe if I had listened closer to those stories, I would have understood him better.  

Veteran's Day is a tribute to him and all the others who have served our country.  Let us never forget the sacrifices made by so many, and do what we can to honor those.  Even those lucky enough to come home bring memories of the horrors of war with them that we can scarcely imagine.  Let us pause in our daily routines to say a special prayer of thanks for their sacrifice, and to remember those who are no longer with us.  

Voter Report from NH

It was a beautiful, unseasonably warm day in NH for this election.  I'm comfortable predicting we'll shatter voter turnout records today for our state at least.  The mood at the polls was unlike any I've seen in all my years of voting.  Despite the fact that whomever is elected faces major challenges, voters were excited to cast their ballots.  I didn't mind having to plan my trip to the polls to minimize traffic congestion and wait time - I think it is great to see such a high level of civic involvement.  Let's hope that the involvement doesn't end here!

My town did a great job - they were very well prepared for the turnout, which was quite heavy.  I voted at 3:30PM - not usually a real busy time - and the parking lot was full.  The high school had set up separate lanes for registered voters versus those registering today.  They had also set up extra voting booths and had people directing the traffic.  

A few high school students were doing exit surveys for their statistics class - this is quite normal for us, they do it every election.  And Kid's Vote was set up in the room next to the polling room.  

All in all the process went very smoothly, and we were in and out in 15 minutes or less.  Finding a place to park was the biggest challenge!