CHIT CHAT in VOLTVILLE

[Renolizzie]

Good morning, peeps.

I vacuumed the house before eating breakfast today. Yay!!! me. I'm trying to clean at least part of the house every Wednesday. Of course, the kitchen gets cleaned up after every meal. The rest of the house may not be the cleanest but the kitchen is definitely sanitary. Also, my house is not a filthy disaster. Just not up to super cleaning lady standards

It might rain. Do a rain dance for me. I just know there is power in Voltville.

Our propane company charges $50 a year tank rental and several neighbors have said they get their tank rental for free. However, Hubby was comparing actual cost of propane with a coworker and our cost for propane is cheaper than the coworker and he has the free tank. That free tank is costing him more than we are spending on our rental.

Another nice feature of our propane company is that they try to come out in the early fall when prices are best on propane. Not too many companies try to save you a buck but they do.

How you surviving the cold Jer, Catlady, Celt and others?

 

[CatLady007]

So far, so good, here. The streets are pretty dry, so maybe we're home free, here in my town. It's a cold and miserable (for FL) day out there, though. Some of my co-workers will have to get home (and back to work) via alternate routes, as most all bridges and overpasses are closed. We just don't have the infrastructure to treat the roads. I can still hear the sleet coming down, from time to time (I have a tin roof, yay). Most all of our technicians were sidelined for the day, as road conditions around 10am were treacherous. I had so hoped it would snow, as my work mates would have been thrilled. Instead we got freezing rain and sleet...story of my life.

 

[SandySu]

So far, so good, here. The streets are pretty dry, so maybe we're home free, here in my town. It's a cold and miserable (for FL) day out there, though. Some of my co-workers will have to get home (and back to work) via alternate routes, as most all bridges and overpasses are closed. We just don't have the infrastructure to treat the roads. I can still hear the sleet coming down, from time to time (I have a tin roof, yay). Most all of our technicians were sidelined for the day, as road conditions around 10am were treacherous. I had so hoped it would snow, as my work mates would have been thrilled. Instead we got freezing rain and sleet...story of my life.

I'm glad you're safe. And I agree, snow is better than freezing rain! Not only is it pretty, but it's safer to drive in. I think the best idea is to stay home till it warms up and melts.

 

[3mg Meniere]

Temp was quite tolerable today. I even got some sunshine in my place. Gave some of my spare pink foam insulation to a neighbor.

 

[awsum140]

Rave, I'm adding some video surveillance as well. We've had some "comedians" that like to drive through our lawns. We got it as well as a number of neighbors. So, I got an IP camera with IR and I'm testing it out right now. So far, it looks like it'll do the trick. I was going to make some spike strips, but worried someone, like me, would step on them.

 

[SandySu]

Another tutoring report.

I started with the little girl. In the car, driving from the restaurant to their house, there was the usual argument over who would go first. So I asked why it was so desirable to go first, and the boy answered, "To get it over with." I told them that was the answer I feared but not the one I had hoped for: that they were so excited to have their lesson that they couldn't wait.

The girl didn't have a book she wanted to read this time, so I produced 3 Little Golden Books that I recently bought from Amazon. They were ones that had been my favorites when I was little, and the girl chose The Saggy-Baggy Elephant, my very most favorite of all the books I had when I was little. She did fairly well reading it. Again, lots of words she didn't know, and I assigned 10 of those I thought most important to learn. She is having trouble discerning "through" and keeps reading it as "though," which she recently learned. I pointed out how one had an r and the other didn't. She is starting to sound out words, but she often relies on learning them by sight.

Oh, yes. Recently, the topic of hiking came up, and the boy was excited to hear that I like to go hiking. So I told them sometime in the spring, I'd take them to Watkins Glen. I still want to do that, but in the car, the girl said she really, really wanted to see a panda. I said maybe the zoo in Syracuse might have one, and then maybe we could visit the zoo. When we got to their house, there ensued a discussion of how long it'd take to drive to Syracuse (a little over an hour, I found out this evening) and I told them it was possible to drive there, visit the zoo, and then return the same day. These field trips are all contingent on their parents' permission, but I think that they would say it's OK. I told the kids this. And we won't be making these trips till spring, anyway.

When we discussed driving times, the boy asked if you could drive to Papua New Guinea. I said you couldn't because it was an island, so you'd have to take a boat or plane to get to it. And it's far, far away, too far for a day trip. The boy said he'd take a plane; it's faster.

Then it was the boy's turn. We went over his words from last time. As his vocab increases, it gets harder and harder to explain what a word means. For instance, "feature." I explained a feature on a face, or some distinguishing characteristic, or a feature movie, being one that's full-length, maybe about 2 hours long.

We looked at a map of the US, which had the names of the states abbreviated, and he only knew a few. I named them, and as sometime before, he was very confused that there's a state called Washington and Washington, DC, where the president is. I brought this up, because last time, when they mentioned the conjoined twins were from Minnesota, he didn't know what that was. I said it was a state in the Midwest, and left it at that, but at some point, we're going to have to learn the states. I pointed out Minnesota on the map and reminded him that he had asked where the conjoined twins live.

The boy started reading a book he was halfway through, but tired of it quickly.

Then we read a bit more about the conjoined twins, the contemporary ones. The boy asked me about operations to separate them, which we had discussed before, how in some cases, where twins didn't share vital organs, it might be possible, though in the old days, when medical knowledge was less, it might be more risky. And in the case of the current twins, they shared so much, it would have left at least one of them, if not both, severely handicapped. We discussed what "handicapped" meant. I told him that some people don't have arms or legs. He asked if they could have artificial limbs, and I said they could, but they weren't as good as the real thing. He was very curious about artificial limbs, and I told him I had recently learned about using a 3-D printer to make artificial hands for people. I promised to print out info about this, and I also found something on a guy with a "bionic" leg; he can think, and it functions, which is different and new and a breakthrough. There were sites on the history of artificial limbs, but I decided those 2 articles would be enough. I don't want to overload the boy.

After going over the words I assigned him to learn from this time, we did another Mad Libs. The girl pointed out that there aren't many left. I said when they got all used up, then I'd search the Internet for more. I fear they have used up all the good ones.

 

[CatLady007]

Wow, Sandy, you are tutoring such young children, and they are asking such grownup questions.
What a challenge. I hope you're getting some deep satisfaction.

 

[SandySu]

Wow, Sandy, you are tutoring such young children, and they are asking such grownup questions.
What a challenge. I hope you're getting some deep satisfaction.

It's mainly the boy asking these things. He will be 9 soon. I think that's about the age a kid starts to think about the larger world. Also, when a kid asks me a question, I don't give a simple answer; I explain as best I can. If a kid is old enough to wonder about it, then he's old enough to learn about it. That's my theory.

I raised my daughter speaking to her like an adult from day one, and reading to her and answering her questions and taking her places so she could experience the world. I think that was one of the things I did right. There may have been things I did wrong, but I got that one right. At a very young age, she could converse with people on an adult level. She had an empathy and understanding that often amazed me.

Here's a poem she wrote when she was 11:


My Great-Grandmother

She was old.
Tasting the taste of sickness
In her mouth.
She lay there
Huddled up
Like a bird in winter.

I loved her,
But she couldn’t even talk,
Just remember the times
When she was nine years old,
Laughing and sniffing the pure winter air.
Remembering the sting of cold snow
As the wind sighed into her ear;
Watching the world spin round and round
When she held her arms out and spun around.

Remembering her white hair,
Brown, wrinkled face
And her sickness
She burrows down in thought again …
Of her mother teaching her how to knit,
The yarn all over her.
The fluffiness of the yarn
Is nestled on her cheek.

She’d remember when I was about three
I’d run my hands over her face.
And I’d sit on the bed
With her warm hands on mine
And I’d tell her
What happened that day.
And her bright, clever eyes
Would light up
And she’d always tell something similar to me
When she was young.

I never saw her again
Because her sickness took over.
The warmth left her hands.
The light left from her eyes.
She had died
And part of me had, too.

 

[SandySu]

Awsum, I've been reading about the New Jersey devil, aka the Leeds devil. It was in my folklore book, and I was particularly interested since I lived in Philly for many years and went to New Jersey a lot. The Pine Barrens have always fascinated me as a mysterious place, and I think maybe I even heard something vague about the devil when I was a kid. What do you know about it? Any tales?

 

[SandySu]

Time for bed. Yes, I know it's early, but I seem to want to go to bed earlier and get up earlier. I think it's the daylight changing. I've always worked best by how the length of days are instead of the clock.

Another snowy scene. These folks have plenty of wood for the winter.

 

[Uncle]

@ "SandySu" - That Poem "Your" daughter wrote was Fantastic and very moving too . . .


@ "Rave" - Although only one of the people living with is your son and your relative - The "kids" - are and should be only considered boarders actually and not members of "Your" household, especially since they pay you rent of "$100 a month" . . . Their income is separate from yours as such and CANNOT BE INCLUDED in your personal finances/household income either . . . Also if they purchase their own food, including eating meals without you - They are "Boarders" with limited privileges (such as use of Kitchen) . . . In addition - If they are not required to pay their fair share of all the utilities - gas, elect, phone, etc. (More importantly, do they have their own phones - Cell phone) - again they are considered "Boarders" since they pay you only $100.00 to live there . . . None of the agencies that offer assistance (even LIHEAP) can stipulate otherwise - it is what you put down and can confirm with documentation . . . Like "Your" Income (disability benefits) + the $100.00 (being paid toward Room & Board) and if you tell them about any other possible income is the only thing that they can consider . . . They must also take into consideration the fact that you have other bills - including out of pocket medical expenses - and is the only thing that they are allowed to consider at all to evaluate your eligibility . . . Just a "Word to the Wise" . . .


BTW: Everyone who enjoyed the Video of Jason Brown might find this Interview with him interesting, especially given that his mother used to be one of the Producers of Arsenio Halls first TV Show . . .

​

 

[celticluvr]

Just sayin'

Click to make it larger

 

[SandySu]

Hey, Celtic! Did you make that snowman? How are you doing in the snow?

 

[Renolizzie]

So far, so good, here. The streets are pretty dry, so maybe we're home free, here in my town. It's a cold and miserable (for FL) day out there, though. Some of my co-workers will have to get home (and back to work) via alternate routes, as most all bridges and overpasses are closed. We just don't have the infrastructure to treat the roads. I can still hear the sleet coming down, from time to time (I have a tin roof, yay). Most all of our technicians were sidelined for the day, as road conditions around 10am were treacherous. I had so hoped it would snow, as my work mates would have been thrilled. Instead we got freezing rain and sleet...story of my life.

Freezing rain - that sucks. Hope you are staying warm and your town is still pretty dry.

 

[Renolizzie]

Temp was quite tolerable today. I even got some sunshine in my place. Gave some of my spare pink foam insulation to a neighbor.

Nice!!!!

Good of your to help out your neighbor with the insulation.

 

[rave]

Good morning, peeps.

I vacuumed the house before eating breakfast today. Yay!!! me. I'm trying to clean at least part of the house every Wednesday. Of course, the kitchen gets cleaned up after every meal. The rest of the house may not be the cleanest but the kitchen is definitely sanitary. Also, my house is not a filthy disaster. Just not up to super cleaning lady standards

It might rain. Do a rain dance for me. I just know there is power in Voltville.

Our propane company charges $50 a year tank rental and several neighbors have said they get their tank rental for free. However, Hubby was comparing actual cost of propane with a coworker and our cost for propane is cheaper than the coworker and he has the free tank. That free tank is costing him more than we are spending on our rental.

Another nice feature of our propane company is that they try to come out in the early fall when prices are best on propane. Not too many companies try to save you a buck but they do.

How you surviving the cold Jer, Catlady, Celt and others?

I am renting my tank too.

Didja get any rain? My fingers have been crossed for ya. *it's hard to type this way*

So far, so good, here. The streets are pretty dry, so maybe we're home free, here in my town. It's a cold and miserable (for FL) day out there, though. Some of my co-workers will have to get home (and back to work) via alternate routes, as most all bridges and overpasses are closed. We just don't have the infrastructure to treat the roads. I can still hear the sleet coming down, from time to time (I have a tin roof, yay). Most all of our technicians were sidelined for the day, as road conditions around 10am were treacherous. I had so hoped it would snow, as my work mates would have been thrilled. Instead we got freezing rain and sleet...story of my life.

Bummer about the rain and sleet. But I'll bet that it sounds really cool on the tin roof. Do you have a long commute?

I'm glad you're safe. And I agree, snow is better than freezing rain! Not only is it pretty, but it's safer to drive in. I think the best idea is to stay home till it warms up and melts.

ANYTHING is better than freezing rain. Just sayin'.

Rave, I'm adding some video surveillance as well. We've had some "comedians" that like to drive through our lawns. We got it as well as a number of neighbors. So, I got an IP camera with IR and I'm testing it out right now. So far, it looks like it'll do the trick. I was going to make some spike strips, but worried someone, like me, would step on them.

Sounds like a good plan minus the spike strips. IR is a must. I do have one camera that supposedly has it, but it certainly doesn't know that it does. That one needs to be replaced at some point. Until now, all I've been able to cover is a driveway alarm and cameras on the "typical" point of ingress. That's fine, but now I'm able to keep an eye on non-typical areas as well. Burglars don't always come to the front door. Just sayin'. And living out in the middle of nowhere, I think this is rather important. One thing that I might suggest is a sign. Mine says "Smile You're on Camera!" Best to have a deterrent. Then - video proof may not even be needed.

It's mainly the boy asking these things. He will be 9 soon. I think that's about the age a kid starts to think about the larger world. Also, when a kid asks me a question, I don't give a simple answer; I explain as best I can. If a kid is old enough to wonder about it, then he's old enough to learn about it. That's my theory.

I raised my daughter speaking to her like an adult from day one, and reading to her and answering her questions and taking her places so she could experience the world. I think that was one of the things I did right. There may have been things I did wrong, but I got that one right. At a very young age, she could converse with people on an adult level. She had an empathy and understanding that often amazed me.

Here's a poem she wrote when she was 11:

*snipped for brevity - sorry*

That is an absolutely phenomenal poem. Even more so for an 11 year old. Your daughter seems to have incredible empathy, especially for one so young. Sounds like you did an awfully good job with her, Sandy.

Time for bed. Yes, I know it's early, but I seem to want to go to bed earlier and get up earlier. I think it's the daylight changing. I've always worked best by how the length of days are instead of the clock.

Another snowy scene. These folks have plenty of wood for the winter.

Hmmm ... yes that is a lovely stack of firewood. Now all I'll need is an exact address. And, can anyone loan me a truck?

@ "Rave" - Although only one of the people living with is your son and your relative - The "kids" - are and should be only considered boarders actually and not members of "Your" household, especially since they pay you rent of "$100 a month" . . . Their income is separate from yours as such and CANNOT BE INCLUDED in your personal finances/household income either . . . Also if they purchase their own food, including eating meals without you - They are "Boarders" with limited privileges (such as use of Kitchen) . . . In addition - If they are not required to pay their fair share of all the utilities - gas, elect, phone, etc. (More importantly, do they have their own phones - Cell phone) - again they are considered "Boarders" since they pay you only $100.00 to live there . . . None of the agencies that offer assistance (even LIHEAP) can stipulate otherwise - it is what you put down and can confirm with documentation . . . Like "Your" Income (disability benefits) + the $100.00 (being paid toward Room & Board) and if you tell them about any other possible income is the only thing that they can consider . . . They must also take into consideration the fact that you have other bills - including out of pocket medical expenses - and is the only thing that they are allowed to consider at all to evaluate your eligibility . . . Just a "Word to the Wise" . . .

Really?!?! Holy cow! Okay! Looks like I have a few things to take care of then, because the kids buy their own food and eat separately (almost always), they don't pay any of the utilities and have their own phones.

Thank You!!

View attachment 300730

Just sayin'

Click to make it larger

Stay warm Celti!!

 

[Renolizzie]

Rave, I'm adding some video surveillance as well. We've had some "comedians" that like to drive through our lawns. We got it as well as a number of neighbors. So, I got an IP camera with IR and I'm testing it out right now. So far, it looks like it'll do the trick. I was going to make some spike strips, but worried someone, like me, would step on them.

wow, what a trip with the jerks driving over lawns. Hope you get their license number so you can turn them in.

 

[Renolizzie]

SandySu, your girl really had deep thoughts for a young age. The poem is lovely.

Sounds like the tutoring is going pretty well. Very interesting.

 

[Renolizzie]

View attachment 300730

Just sayin'

Click to make it larger

How cold is it in Alabama Celt?

 

[Renolizzie]

Raven - I've thought about just putting the sign up that says" smile you are on camera" and then skipping the cameras all together