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Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024

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PORCH PONDERINGS

by QueenNormaJean snow?forgetit..

Rated: 13+ · Book · Biographical · #2198921

Norma's Wanderings around a small section of Montana

Well, hey there!
Welcome to Roundup, Montana! If it's a nice day, we'll sit a spell on my porch and talk awhile.

"All the resources we need are in the mind.” Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President of the United States of America.

I am the Captain of my ship.
God is my co-pilot.
Often I sail stormy seas,
Am flung onto rocky shores.

What's on your mind today?

Signature for use by anyone nominated for a Quill Award in 2020

Signature for nominees of the 2019 Quill Awards

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Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Lazy Writer est 4/24/2008

Dec 18, 2024 at 6:03pm
In response to "Dry eyes!"

I have dry eyes also plus macular dystrophy. Seeing eye dr tomorrow will ask about it. Never knew it could be that serious.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Dec 3, 2024 at 9:43pm
In response to "Epic Snow"

Yes. I remember those snows.

Maybe 1 inch in Missoula but what would I know?

No snow in Thailand.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Nov 22, 2024 at 11:42am
In response to "Strolling and Trolling"

Plenty warm in Malaysia. Steamy. Met Elycia for lunch. Jet lag and sore leg... but a very good day.

Arrival yesterday had potential drama but it all dissipated.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Nov 12, 2024 at 2:07am
In response to "Crazy Talk"

I'm too focused on my trip. Reservations and aisle seats on the plane. Buttttt... I did find my other pair of shoes.

1 Like

CHRISTMAS cub-BELLS R RINGING!

Nov 11, 2024 at 10:51pm
In response to "Crazy Talk"

I've been trying to distract myself, too, by watching feel-good holiday movies on Netflix. It's all a bit scary!

3 Like

AnotherDreamer

Nov 10, 2024 at 2:46pm
In response to "So much Drama..."

I acknowledge the fact that you need to consider your health and sanity. Is there a backup plan for the people who you were servicing and who will no longer get service? Can some other local charity be notified and asked to step in temporarily? Will another organization replace the one that is left high and dry. I am just wondering about the clients. No judgement here.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Nov 10, 2024 at 2:14pm
In response to "So much Drama..."

Meals on Wheels is a great program. My neighbor is on it (they deliver up three flights of stairs). Yes, the food is fine... but she needs visitors... as do many on the program.

I only have 10 dazed days to avoid the drama at God's Waiting Room. I may do take out and greet friends as I come and go.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Nov 3, 2024 at 2:36pm
In response to "Update"

I don't celebrate Halloween. I don't do parties and the American version is silly imho. Samhain is different. I don't mind real witches and ghosts (hope to meet a ghost someday... but not too soon). If goblins existed I'd probably chat with them.

I did go to the Day of the Dead and the parade. Took photos and video. Honoring/remembering the dead is okay imho.

Odd how events "work" or don't. Call me crazy but... the churches have been there a looooong time. How could one NOT know. Same with you and Halloween... they don't know you by now?

I don't join groups because I can't deal with the drama.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Oct 28, 2024 at 1:33pm
In response to "Ducks in a row"

Yep. The only cure to falling is not falling in the first place.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Oct 19, 2024 at 4:14pm
In response to "Catching Up"

It helps to have the time and focus to do Octoprep or Nano. This year I have neither. No excuses and I shouldn't feel guilty. I did sign up for "13" but we'll see... so much depends...

...on the white rain on the black chickens...

We did have snow on the mountains. Today is gloomy.

December 18, 2024 at 5:04pm

#1081285

Dry eyes!

A week to go - then Christmas. But the most exciting part for me is the yearly march back to more daylight!

The holiday times are a non-event. I don't have family or a big celebration any more. I don't even cook or exchange presents anymore. I did get a little something for a friend as she gave me a gift.

After 50 some years of nothing from anyone, well, it is over for me. I just hunker down and spend this dark time working my little jobs in town. I write for the paper, I am secretary for the refuse committee. These two jobs give me some spending money, just a bit. And keep my brain engaged.

Yesterday I went, again, to the eye doctor. He is very concerned about my eye health. Seems my dry eye problem is serious. Okay, well, we decided on a unique treatment plan. Now I have never heard of this before. I go tomorrow to have my blood drawn. At least 11 vials, per the company doing this. The blood will then be sent to a compounding company that will extract the serum from my blood. They will then make a dry eye formula for me. It will be 60% fluid, preservative free, and 40% my own blood serum. Seems this has success in helping with the dry eye problem. Autologous serum. Huh. Who knew this existed.

The other alternative is something using the tissue from harvested placentas. Yep - this is a treatment. Something about taking that tissue, making them into discs that are placed on your eye. Your eye is bandaged for a time. The drawback is the treatment is painful, or can be. And only one eye at a time can be done. Um, sounds creepy to me.

So, the price for both are about equal. And pricey. But if they somehow conquer this problem. they are worth it. And the one I chose is not covered by insurance. The placenta one, perhaps. There is a drug, but it costs $28K. Not even considering that.

My eye doctor states this is perhaps neurotrophic in nature. So when I looked up this, dry eye can be caused by a traumatic brain injury. I think my brain surgeries can qualify for that definition. Terrific. But ultimately if you don't treat the problem, you can have serious problems with your eyes. And since I don't want to lose my sight, I am jumping on this treatment.

So, Merry Christmas to me! Eye drops 4xday made from my own blood. What a strange and unusual gift!

3 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

December 12, 2024 at 4:40pm

#1081080

WrapUp

Well the blasted Christmas stroll is over. The leader of the event was every bit as annoying as I feared she would be. She touts herself as this big marketing genius- yet there was little to no regular exposure of the event beyond some Facebook posts. Our population here in town is leaning toward the elderly, those who are reluctant to fully embrace all the new technologies. Granted, some do. But some are not so quick to go first to Facebook, TikTok, X and all the other mumbo jumbo hocus hocus out there. But the leader of the event does ALL her marketing in that world.

Hmm. She spoke down and disparagingly to vendors, promised paper maps (which were never ever produced), held on to monies paid to her for vendor spaces for weeks, and just generally was a burr in the sides of many good hearted people. And, oh, by the way, she is Roundup's Celebrity.
WHAT? I never heard of her until she took the reins for this.

Ah well. Enough. I am done. Except for an opinion poll I published for the vendors. And boy did that make Miss Celebrity mad. Probably because she didn't do it first. But you know, strike when the iron is hot, as they say. The poll went out the hours after the event finished. And I have some quite enlightening comments.

Beyond that annoying piece of my life, all else is quiet. And thank you for that. I did go to a SouthEast Montana Tourism event yesterday. I always enjoy those meetings. It was bittersweet as the director is moving to Minnesota. After 8 years at the helm, she is moving on. Darn. She was a good director. But I am sure we will get a good replacement. The Billings Chamber of Commerce is our sponsor and is already interviewing. But change is hard.

Christmas is a hard time for me, and many others. The days are dark, the nights are long. There is no family nearby. I always struggle this time of year. I have been using my sunlight lamp each morning, and taking extra Vitamin D. But still, dark days make for a dark mood. SAD hits me hard. But a few more weeks and all will change with the winter solstice when we start adding sunlight again.

2 Like • Comment

December 3, 2024 at 4:00pm

#1080776

Stone Mattress

I just read a story by Margaret Atwood in 'The New Yorker'. It was quite fun, dark but well-written. I would expect no less from her.

Here's a link to it:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/12/19/stone-mattress

It's a short read, and worth the time.

1 Like • Comment

December 3, 2024 at 1:05pm

#1080774

Epic Snow

Heck of a snowstorm they got in NE Ohio the last few days. And I just have to say - DARN! I loved the winter storms when I grew up there. When that Lake Erie isn't frozen, and cold air travels over it, well, you get that lake effect snow. And lots of it.

I remember trying to go to sleep - and the plows going up the road outside our house. The road had a slight incline, so it was fun to watch cars trying to get up that little hill.

Feet of snow. Fun. Sledding at the neighbor's hill below us. Fun. And of course, a day perhaps out of school.

But you went about business as usual most of the time. I remember driving from Jefferson to Ashtabula, 10 miles, one snowy night. To get a record album. Had to have it and by golly, no snow would stop me.

Here in Montana no snow. We had a bit the other day. But dry as can be here. I'd love to see that amount of snow in Roundup.

The Christmas Stroll I've been whining about is this Saturday. It's supposed to be 50° that day. That's wonderful for people to be out and about. But there are still people that have not paid for their vendor spaces. I've emailed to remind them at least twice. Egads.

The person in charge is just annoying me to no end, as I've also whined about. So if those last few vendors don't pay, well, it's all going to fall back on her. She states she is the town 'celebrity'. But I know of no one that even knows her. Hmm.

I have a poll about this event to send to every vendor that I've created.
I'm going to ask 3 questions:
What did you like?
What did you dislike?
Suggestions for the future?

Once that is sent to all vendors, I am done with the entire mess.

Unlike the OctoPrep Challenge we have on this site, where all the writers gather and compete, and runs quite well with few hiccups, this Roundup event is running like a gang of unruly children with no boss whatsoever.

I'll let everyone know what transpires. It may go well, it may blow up. I do know I'll cover it for the paper.

Should be interesting.

4 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

November 29, 2024 at 1:31pm

#1080636

Thanksgiving

I pray everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Or if not, at least a peaceful day.

My day was spent quietly. We didn't go anywhere this year. I thought I sent info to hubby, but turns out I didn't. So we didn't agree on where to go or what to do. So we did nothing. I didn't cook. He didn't cook. I spent time in my office area. He spent time in his office area. I did for a walk, a bit chilly but nice. He took his usual walks.

Then at 7 PM, as usual, he retired for the night. Now this goes on all the time. I am left with at least 4 hours before I go to bed. I cannot lie in bed for 4 hours reading with the light on. We tried that. So I spend time alone in my office area puttzing around.

I watch videos, I knit, I get on Facebook, I read, I rearrange the upstairs area, I get annoyed by dogs barking next door. Mercy. I have tried to write, but the angst from drama in other parts of my life gets in the way.

So starting in December, just a few days away, I will make a concerted effort to write more. Get the angst out. The Christmas event in town will be over, and that currently is driving me bonkers. The event's leader finally brought me some long-overdue payments. She had no idea why people paid her, instead of the Chamber of Commerce. She stated, "I guess am the the town celebrity."

Well, I had an urge to blurt out some insult, but kept it inside. She is delusional, to say the least. She is not a celebrity in anyone's mind but her own. We are all celebrities with our families, our friends. But who really is or wants to be a celebrity? Good grief.

I did announce at the last Chamber meeting that on December 8, I will consider myself no longer the treasurer. The next day I will go to the bank and take my name off the account. I will drop off all the records with the bank president - who is also a Chamber member. Adios.

Black Friday today. I will not be shopping. I have too much stuff. I don't need anything except peace in my life and that is not for sale this year.

2 Like • Comment

November 22, 2024 at 11:34am

#1080336

Strolling and Trolling

They keep promising snow. They keep predicting some kind of moisture for our dry area. Really, come on. Quit with the promises.

The old saying comes to mind. "If wishes were horses, poor men would ride...". Seems that's an old Scottish saying. Or I've also heard. "If wishes were fishes, we'd all swim in riches... or we'd all cast nets."

After that big storm in the NW, I thought surely some of that rain and snow would reach us here in this part of Montana. But no, it's going north, it's going south.

Other news. The Christmas stroll is scheduled for December 7. Pearl Harbor day. December 7, 1941 is the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and propelled the US into WWII. Just in case no one learned that in History class.

My correlation between the two events that are 83 years apart? Everyone worked together in the US during WWII. Perhaps not 100%, but there was unity. Here in Roundup there is disunity about this little event. I am the one to get the $$ for the vendor spaces. I still have 8 vendors, out of over 30, that haven't paid. And of those 8, 4 paid the event organizer. The event organizer, for whatever reason, isn't passing those fees, amounting to $100, along to me. I've asked her at least 4 times. Hmm. Plus several people have dropped out as vendors because of the organizer.

So as a result, after the event, I am resigning from the Chamber of Commerce as treasurer. This was an ordeal the past few years as well. No more. I have enough stress in my life. This is added pressure, for a volunteer job, I don't need.

Also, the event organizer one day posted that I was hosting the event. WHAT? Without my permission, by the way. I quickly emailed her back, NO, I am not a host. I don't want that title. I am just the money person. I will be working at the museum, one of the event locations. And I will be putting vendor fees in the bank. Because, if this whole thing crashes and burns, I don't want to be one of the 'fall guys'.

Thanks for the venting space. Because we all need to tell those who listen our problems sometimes. Petty as they may be, they are big in our own minds. I wish it was warmer. I need to sit on my porch swing.

1 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

November 11, 2024 at 10:19pm

#1079827

Crazy Talk

There is lots of uncertainty right now in the world. We discussed this after our lunch today. My hubby and I talked of theocracy, monarchy, autocrats, dictators, a Republic. Then we morphed into remembering what we knew of Lenin, Stalin, Mussolini, Chairman Mao, Czar Nicholas who was related to Kaiser Wilhelm, even Hitler. Somehow we talked about Rasputin. Remember him?

Strange talk. Guess I've been watching too much internet news.

All this took place over root beer floats. Such an innocent treat. Then we started to think, how secure is our food supply? We're not preppers in any real sense of the word. We don't have a year's supply of food in the basement. But we do know how to hunt. We do know how to garden. Just the other day we finally harvested this year's potato crop. There's about 25# now in the cold basement storage, along with 10 spaghetti squash.

So tonight I decided to distract myself from all this gloom and doom. So I'm watching some favorite old shows while I knit. Project Runway Allstars.

Now that is some drama. Sew a ball gown in 8 hours.

4 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

November 10, 2024 at 2:08pm

#1079769

So much Drama...

Silly me, I thought drama in my life was over. OctoPrep finished and it did well.

But no! Now it's the Roundup Christmas Stroll that is consuming energy. Gee whiz. You would think people would cooperate. Is it so hard to make sure things get done in a timely, orderly manner? Seems like it is.

There is a charge for vendors for this event. Crafters pay $25 per table to show their wares. The $25 is due now. I won't consider any vendor as paid until I get their payment and the payment is in the Chamber of Commerce bank account. I am the treasurer for the Chamber. The leader of the event is now holding on to some payments. Why? Who knows. So people are telling me, "I've paid - my mother gave the check to my aunt who gave the check to...." You get the problem.

This same thing happened last year. Another person led the event for a time, and held on to monies for a few weeks. Then she insisted that because she had the payments in hand on a certain date, those vendors got to be first in line. She got upset and quit the whole event when I told her, "No, that is unfair to others who followed the rules."

The current leader of the Stroll is notorious for not contacting people, not following up with people. So annoying. It's becoming a real 'cluster ****' So much so that I am now going to resign as treasurer for the Chamber after this is all over. I don't need the aggravation of this volunteer job.

When you have been taught that when you do a job, no matter how small, you do it to the best of your ability, but others you have to work with don't share that ethos, it is hard to proceed. It makes life so difficult.

Another change we did recently is resign from volunteering for the meals on wheels program. There is again, so much drama going on. The head of the program is not doing her job, and has had so many complaints about her performance. Not to mention a legal case against her now, plus a bad background check come back. And I do stress the 'bad'. Why she got hired I have not a clue. But perhaps it is because she is a good friend of the chairman of that board of directors. Again, drama I don't need in my life. So we discussed this for a few weeks and decided to quit this volunteer job. And we are not alone. Many others have also quit.

Ah life. Fun and games.

2 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

November 3, 2024 at 11:50am

#1079441

Update

It's over! OctoPrep is finished, and it went well, I think. My records show 31 writers finished within the time limit, plus 4 went over the time limit but finished the assignments. So 35 writers did all the work and are now on to NaNoWriMo and are busy with their novel writing projects, I pray.

There were some good ideas and I hope they develop into viable books.

Things here in Roundup are relatively quiet. Halloween is always a big deal, but not for me. I think it's a waste of time and money on my part, not to mention my faith doesn't think kindly of the witches and goblins, but that's my belief. Lots of folks don't worry about that, and that is their decision. The paper wanted me to cover the Halloween parade, the 'trunk and treat' thing, which is now some kind of big deal. When did that come to be so hot? Well, anyway, she was a little miffed when I said, no, I wouldn't do that. I didn't even hand out treats this year. I will do just about anything else, but not Halloween.

So now the emphasis shifts to the annual Christmas Stroll. The town gets vendors lined up for one night of shopping and events along Main Street. This year the organizer has grand plans. She wants shopping to start at noon and run til 9 PM. I argued the case that it's too long, and people sometimes have to drive at least an hour home. So, fine, we changed it to 8 PM stop. Then she wanted people to start organizing their booths at 8 AM. Well, another problem. The Catholic Church is a venue and they have a Mass that day plus confession and are busy til 11 AM. Another venue, the Baptist church, has an event each Saturday morning til at least 11 AM. So, that isn't available till after that time.

Her grand plans of a 'Hallmark holiday' night are slowly being crushed back to the way it has always been done. Tradition is something you don't want to mess with sometimes. Now I am, as treasurer, having to deal with people all wanting to be in one location. Not paying their booth fees. Not giving me their information. Not getting up-to-date information from the event leader.

Gracious sakes. It will all work out. Somehow it always does. But come January, I have already decided I will no longer be treasurer for the chamber. Enough is enough.

3 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

October 28, 2024 at 1:21pm

#1079064

Ducks in a row

It's the last week of the OctoPrep Challenge and things are heating up for the writers. So far, 15 have finished the challenge. A number have missed their deadline of 72 hours, but can still compete as runner-ups.

I remember when I did the challenge and the push to get all 'my ducks in a row' so to speak this last week. If I remember right, we were going on a trip that coincided with the last day of the challenge. So the pressure was on to get the assignments posted, and everything finished by the deadline.

Life here in Roundup is rolling along. There is planning for a Christmas Stroll. Somehow I got elected to be the organizer for the venues. Mercy. That wouldn't be so bad if only the person in charge of the entire event would communicate with me. So I try not to overthink the entire scenario. I do what I think is prudent, take money, assign people to spaces. Then let the chips fall where they may. Sink or swim, organizer.

A dear friend of mine fell the other night. Now when you fall, and you are older, the problem is not the falling, the problem is 'why did you fall?'. She ended up breaking her leg. So pain meds were administered in the hospital. Her leg is in a splint, waiting for swelling to subside before casting. Standard procedure. But yesterday she stopped breathing for a spell. So they administered Narcan. (Narcan is for opiod overdoses.) Now she may be transferred to a hospital in Billings to figure out why she had such a strong reaction to pain medication.

So I had to tell a few other friends of the incident. Then I get pushback about who to tell for church. Well, for church, I am no longer the email communicator. That has been given to another church member since I stepped down from that task. He is not proactive with this little task. He won't email if you ask him to. He won't answer emails. Whatever.

Like I said, getting my ducks in a row.
mama duck and ducklings

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