Getting ready for college, next step in life,

I have been quite busy, trying to run around, buying things, (mostly buying things, which I can ill afford to do), getting myself a decent pair of walking sandals (gosh, they cost $49, on sale), preparing to go to college. It is hard to believe, at 50 something, I am going to "live" at college and get a Masters in English. Why do this? Like Dana Torres, 41, Olympic swimmer said, it's never too late to achieve your dreams.
Yes, you can go to college, even if it will be the same one as your son! But he is an undergrad in IT, and I hope to be a professor or editor/research writer. And to keep writing my satire "Lessons" on the side.
Even drove up there for an assistantship job to help with student activities, but, well, they gave it to someone else, someone no doubt younger. But son says "he" could get me a job!
Maybe I could be like Lee Smith: professor/author. It is one goal, anyway, along with improving the environment for plants AND people, and help support public school teachers. I just need to be better at picking myself up in the job-setback department. There will always be fierce competition (so how do you get "picked" for things)?

proposed coal plant, regulate gasoline!

I was left here while the spouse went to a public hearing on building a supposed "hybrid" coal plant in southwest Virginia. Do we need MORE coal plants at a time when we are experiencing weather extremes related to global warming? It certainly won't reduce the price of gasoline.

Gasoline, uh, it's ridiculous at $4.00 a gallon! When I was a kid it was about 25 CENTS (!) a gallon. And so many people out there are driving big SUVs and vans and not doing anything to conserve energy. If our state and federal governments worked with us on these issues, maybe we wouldn't have to pay all that money, and have cleaner air too!

We NEED TO REGULATE GASOLINE and it needs to be done worldwide. It is not a commodity to be gambled on like gold, silver or pork bellies. The oil companies are making all this money. They should take some responsibility for the recession they are causing. They should be made to do some drilling and work with the government on conservation and alternative energy programs. Why couldn't they help finance hybrid cars and railroad service in rural areas? They have enough profits that they could afford this!

Tubing can be fun, needing to get away,

Sometimes you just need to get away for, you know, a day or two. Just to forget about all your bills for a while and to be less stressed (a somewhat healthy idea) and have a little good, clean fun. Well, we found that visiting friends in North Carolina who used to live by us. And their idea of a fun, cheap diversion was just right.

The second day with them we went down to a place on Green River that has these huge, colorful tubes (the donut hole is not cut out for younger children, who can be "towed" by a stronger adult). A bus took us to a place along Green River to start out, and before we were in the water a minute we hit rapids. They were not the boat churning, tip you over in an instant kind, but the kind that toss you a bit as you sit in the tube on your back. You can also lean forward on your stomach. This didn't seem comfortable to me, so I stayed on my back --- but I got sunburned later (and should have shifted position more often).

This 3 mile water trek took us by some slow "riffles" and some real good dips. In a few places, I had to use my shoe -- an old one I allowed to get all wet-- to push off of the big, jutting out rocks. It seemed a little hairy a few times, because it was my first time going tubing. We went as a group and tried to stay near each other; sometimes, if someone got too far ahead, he or she would grasp a passing branch and hang on and wait.

We weren't given any special instructions, but our friends said to watch out for jutting out branches because they could smack you in the face. And if you wore glasses you could lose them! So I was careful to keep away from branches and hand paddled away from them, and put a string around my glasses (got it at Walmart) to help keep from losing my glasses. It was quite a ride and you got some exercise too!

The spouse also did some fishing and we did a little hiking and ate a "cookie" cake for our friends' grandaugther's birthday. I guess that hit the spot.

Organic Insecticide, try to hypermile

We have gotten a garden underway in the last week or two and it is about time. We have several tomato plants ( 3 are in pots now), green (bell) peppers, onions getting big, and a recent crop of bean plants near the zucchini hills. But only the tomatoes and the onions with their acidic/spicy parts are not full of holes.

So I went to Mike McGrath's (Mr. Organic) website and then did a search through http://forum.gardenweb.com and learned that you can try a soapy mixture you can make yourself! Yes, you can make a basically organic insecticide you spray on the leaves. For each quart of water add a teaspoon of Ivory Liquid (the liquid dish soap) and about a half cup of oil and shake up and spray it on the leaves. It is supposed to be done in the early morning or late afternoon. I did it in the evening, but I thought rain was threatening. But it didn't rain. So, will the soap be too toxic? My pepper and bean plants look like Swiss cheese, I don't think they could do worse. My cabbage plants are only "partly" holey.

So, I try to be hopeful about the garden. Better than I feel about the price of gasoline. At almost $4 a gallon it's ridiculous! What is it, gold or something? And why should commodity traders gamble on such a neccesity item? It should be regulated, just like utility companies! Even Saudi Arabia thinks the price of oil is too high!

There was an article in Reader's Digest about a fellow who "hypermiles" and I may try that. It's not complicated. Things like no fast starts or stops. You 'gradually' slow down to the stop sign or light. You have to be a conscious driver. If you live in a windy, hilly area, that's good. Use those hills to coast down and use less gas! You should also fill up in the morning when the gas is denser and then less will evaporate! Oh, and I need a new gas cap as well to keep in gas!

survive colonoscopy, son left home, gardening

Once you've had cancer you worry that every little ache and pain is now cancer. That isn't necessarily so. But it doesn't hurt (too much) to check.
I'm talking about the thrills and spills of having your own personal colonoscopy. After being on the anti-cancer/anti-estrogen drug for a few years, Femara, I seemed to have developed intestinal problems. Having too little estrogen can be as bad as too much (which can stimulate tumor growth in some women, like myself). Several months back I had the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- you know, going between consitpation and almost diarrhea, and I couldn't figure out why. So I did some research and began adjusting my diet and things are fairly close to normal. But I see where I have problems with pains/intestinal distress -- eating wheat or flour, too many nuts and more than a little oatmeal.

But the aches and pains of the abdomen made me worry about cancer. So I had a colonoscopy -- it came out clean! I was told by an acqaintance that her husband had colon cancer -- the symptoms were months of diarrhea and anal bleeding, which I didn't have, thank goodness. But the doctor said I needed a diagnostic colonoscopy anyway. The procedure itself I couldn't remember as they give you a sedative that essentially knocks you out, but I remember the three nurses trying hard to find a place to stick in the IV to give me the sedative, which wasn't comfortable.

And the night before, taking this electrocyte drink that rans trhough your system and made me run to the bathroom every 10 minutes was no fun --- I couldn't even wash my hair before the procedure I did so much running to the bathroom, soiling my pants one of those times. There should be a more gradual way to clean out your intestines before the procedure. I was amazed I had the will power to not eat for over a day (just drink) till after the procedure.

Now that son number two has left home [ :( ] I am concentrating on gardening, writing, (of course) and trying to get into college myself. I have registered for 3 graduate classes and have planted tomato plants, cabbage plants, zucchini, green peppers (a few of each) and broccoli and lettuce seeds in the last week. I hope it is not too late for the lettuce and broccoli. I should have gotten some potting soil and added it to whatever is in that old tire in back. I know it has a fair amount of sand, so wonder how healthy it is for vegetables. Last year we got several onions from the tire, but that was it.

I've also planted some campanula (bluebell family) and wonder if it can survive our mostly clay soil. Be nice if it did.

On Writing, Naturalist Class, etc

Journal--- It is not easy being a freelance writer. On the one hand, you feel good when you have written something that is published. You revel in seeing your name in print, and are proud of what you have accomplished. But the pay -- it's awful. I guess, if you have a 'regular' job with a paper or magazine that's different. Unless you live near a city of some size it is difficult for that to happen. I spent way too much time on this travel article on Richmond (too bad it wasn't a dollar a word or by the hour, cuz then I would have made something). I even provided the pictures, but will probably only make $50 because I'm freelance. How wonderful.

Am glad that our 'Master Naturalist' class will continue to meet in some capacity, but I think I miss the classes. And the Mt. Roger Naturalists' Rally was really informative! I spent in a tent for the first time in many years (had a first class air mattress) and learned about several different kinds of salamanders, herbal teas and something about bird songs. There is much to learn about nature. I think they should teach more about this in public schools myself!

Naturalist's class ending, Thoreau, etc

Well, I am a little bummed our "Master Naturalists" class is coming to an end. It was a way to really learn a lot (lots of which I am certain I will forget) about nature. Met a few interesting people, people I actually have something in common with. We went through most of the "Peterson's Guide to Eastern Forests," which covers living things coming out during the 4 seasons, as well as identifying various trees, plants, birds, wildflowers and most bugs (there are a million out there, so we didn't cover all that many, just some in the water and woods).
OUR environment is a wonderful amalgam of all these things, which make up our Eastern forest ecology. We need to protect the environment, for the mussels in the water and ourselves, as well. Oh, we also went into amphibians and had a professor show us various (dead, of course) snakes native to Virginia. It's hard to run into snakes. They are secretive. They don't try to get into your garbage, like maybe a possum or raccoon might.
For my final project I did a presentation on Henry D. Thoreau. Not many realize that not only was he one of the Transcendentalists, but the leader of the movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson, was his mentor. He even let Henry live with him and his family while Thoreau did odd jobs for him and wrote. Thoreau's notes on when plants appeared were actually looked at recently by a few scientist researchers. As noted in the Oct. 2007 issue of "Smithsonian" mag, most of the flowers in Thoreau's time are flowering a full week EARLIER now. And there are corresponding rising winter and summer temperatures now too. If you would like to be part of a global effort to denote plant comings and goings, go to www.smithsonian.com and learn more.
Then--- on Sat. the family and I did some running around. In front of K Mart several ladies were selling things to help "Relay for Life" and the Cancer Society. They should have sold something healthier than chocolate fudge, cupcakes and colorful sprinkled cake. Don't they realize being fat or overweight increases your chances of breast cancer as you get older?

Stream/bug hunts, Naturalist Class, You bet your garden

My, the "Master Naturalist" class I have taken since late February has kept me really busy. We have covered about everything in "Peterson's Guide to Eastern Forests", like trying to I.D. bugs in (this case) a healthy mountain stream, like the juvenille "bugs" that mayflies and stone flies and crane flies are -- little things with segmented bodies, somewhat like earth worms. If that sounds icky, it's not bad. Not really.
There is so much in the woods, that if you knew half of it you'd be raring to go and find it! The Eastern woods, at least, are home to chipmunks and, near streams, beaver, a multitude of wonderful trees, and insects and fowl and larger animals --- and they are all part of the food chain, the web of life. If we try to use nasty pesticides and kill all the mosquitoes then the bats will starve, for example, and we need to let nature do its things more.
Being a cancer survivor I have become more interested in the water we drink and what goes into it and being nicer to the environment,as it helps the woods and us too. I interviewed Mike McGrath of NPR Radio's "You Bet Your Garden" and he says he is the only one out there promoting totally organic gardening. Just go to www.youbetyourgarden.org for more info on how to do it.
Anyone, really, can get a book from the library and study the plants and animals in the woods, and you can learn about helping the woods and yourself by going organic too!

Lenten forgoing, life's aggravations

Today our pastor spoke about how Abraham was not "alone" in his faith. He had his wife, his slaves, and I guess, his goats and sheep too. Sometimes it is easy to feel that way, to feel alone, even in this Lenten season. Everyone does their own thing when it comes to communing with nature and God and wondering about the whole faith business.

I read somewhere that a pastor in England thinks that instead of chocolate, everyone should have one less light bulb in the house, to "reduce" their carbon foot print as something to give up for Lent. I am having a hard time giving up chocolate, my faith wavers, and I need to lose fat for the sake of my health. But I did go to Curves 3x last week. And they gave us some cut up fruit and yogurt because one worker, the manager, left for another job. Well, she may have the degree she wants but she has herself ANOTHER full time job. No one seems to give me any kind of job (except low paying writing assignments or an unhealthy Walmart job -- it sucks).

And I have yet another bill --- a collection agency called about the car co. for the second car we had in an accident in one year and the GAP insurance didn't pay it all, by $2,000. Never seem to have money or get ahead. It is a downer. And when I read in "Writer's Digest" about first time (publishers) authors that is a downer too. I have no money --- I need some!

I wish I could get a decent paying writing assignment. ARe these writing sites worth anything?

Saw Bill Clinton, Choclat and Chocolate!

We were treated to seeing former President Bill Clinton (suppporting his spouse, Hillary), at the Higher Education Center in Abingdon, Virginia, in preparation for Tuesday's primary. Wow, what a crowd! The local paper advertised his coming that morning and a few thousand people crowded into a room, shoulder to shoulder. It was "supposed" to be a town hall meeting,with people able to ask questions, but it didn't turn out that way.

One woman by me was half a head shorter and afraid she wouldn't get to see Clinton, but I let her lean over in my direction, between 2 male heads, to catch a glimpse of his white head and distinguished look. He looked like he did on film, but you know it's neat to see someone "live" you have only met in print or on TV. Now he seems very real, and his speech (there was no room for a town meeting format)was extremely informative, especially the fact that Hillary wants to get us out of Iraq, cut the tax cuts to the oil companies, and use that money saved for an optional (opt in) national health insurance plan and jobs created from alternative energy sources. These ideas made sense. I would consider this national insurance if it costs less than what we have. We currently pay about $500 a month on medical bills from past cancer treatments and the husband's hernia operation. Something's gotta be better than all these extra costs insurance doesn't cover!

Saw the movie "Chocolat," about a French woman living in an ultraconservative little town, trying to be herself and fit in. I could emphasize, as a New Yorker living down here in Appalachia. I have found it hard to fit in, especially in an area where "kin is king" and everyone is very conservative in matters of religion and politics. In the end she finds a way to fit in . I have fit in a little as a journalist, but I need more. I think about moving now and then, seeing if it'd be better elsewhere.

It is Lent but having a haad time giving up chocolate. I really need to lose weight to keep my cancer from coming back.

Spring in February

My favorite weather, which consists of spring temperatures where you can walk outside with or without a sweater or jacket, the wind gently blowing. It would be a decidedly warm breeze, and of course, would not blow me down. And today that happened. I took a walk and it must have been in the upper 60s. The moss on big rocks on one side of Oxbow Lake was bright green, thriving in the faint sunlight, and a little bit of ground ivy was,well, on the ground. I got some exercise. That was a good thing. Winter "thaws" are okay with me. I don't see how people far north tolerate so much cold and staying inside in winter.

Passing the GRE, Nutritint hair dye works, son's job

Well, world, the last week or so I have done a few new things. I have gotten a box of so called "organic" hair dye (had no ammonia or resorcinol but did contain peroxide) and tried it. I was really afraid, as I'd read somewhere online, that my hair would turn carrot colored. But I think the young woman who tried that had lighter hair to begin with. My hair was now totally grass and my dark commercial dye was coming out. This dye was much better (and darker) than expected. Now if only I could find a way to find my fine, frizzy hair, which is quickly thinning out on top because of the anti-estrogen pill "Femara". I wonder how many other women on Femara are having these hair problems.

Looked at the Graduate Record Exam CD two weeks before the test --- ew, I should have done it so much sooner! I don't think I would have done a lot better on the verbal (reading comprehension, antonymns, word analogies), but I probably could have fared better in the area of math, the quanitative part. And the 2 essays -- I don't know if I did really well or just ok. I understand a small committee will look at my essays. I hope it is good enough for this 50+ woman to get into college again, after all these years.

I guess I am looking at changing my career (unsuccessful freelance writing -- well, I can't make a lot of money at it) as my middle son looks for a job. He had a job interview in Wisconsin and may be leaving here soon. I want him to get a good job and be happy, but when he leaves I will feel somewhat lonely, and not even a cat can make up for that. Oh well, life goes on. Which is why I need a real career and to move.

Of coal plants, GREs and the future

Well, a regional politician, a Mr. Terry Kilgore, said he disagreed with the area daily paper and said that the proposed coal plant in Wise County,VA would be safe for his family and bring economic prosperity. Yeah, right. He sounded like someone who has not investigated the fact that this new plant would be putting out so many tons of mercury over time and the remaining toxic ash from the plant could be put in a nearby pit that could seep into the ground water. Maybe Dominion Power helped pay for his re-election.

Now I am trying to study up for the GRE -- graduate record exam. At 50+, my knowledge of Algebra is basically nil (good thing middle son Adam is home to help me understand some of the study guide the co. sent me, in the form of a CD you install on your computer). And practice writing the essays -- even WITH my writing background, it will take the whole time for this slow typist to get everything down. I probably should practice typing more, but I think that I would do MUCH better if I could write my thoughts down on paper, instead of the computer. Yes, I think if I had attended grad school back in the seventies this may have been less complicated, though I know a lot more on how to write than I did back then. The GRE will not be easy, in my opinion. I will earn any good grade, I am sure.

Vytorin, Zetia, health etc

I don't know what drugs my parents are taking (well, I DO know my mother takes lisinopril, one of many), but hearing that the highly advertised cholesteral drugs Vytorin and Zetia (sp?), with those cute commercials where people kind of looked like foods, was just another disappointment in the drug industry. These pharmaceutical companies spend billions a year on advertising (which AARP and others say they could spend on prevention or research or even more affordable medicine). It is very unfair to those who depended on those drugs.

My mother and aunts are presently on cholesterol medicine and I hope that I don't have to. But, being over 50 and postmenopausal and on "Femara" (an estrogen suppressant), I may have no choice. I really wonder how older persons' livers are able to process all the medicines they are being given. According to Dr. Colbert's Toxic Relief, if you take more than 2 drugs a day, it can strain your liver and some toxins or xenoestrogens may not be properly filtered out. That concerns me and is a reason for NOT taking cholesterol medicine, but am seeking alternatives in diet and exercise. I have to see my dr. in March (or maybe sooner), so we will see about that. Those fish oil capsules are a 'bear' to try to swallow!

Went Up AGAINST Coal Plant/ job searching

Hello world.
I am frustrated that I lost my original post, so this will be a bit shorter. I went with a group and young and older environment lovers (sounds better than tree huggers or hippie green peace activists) to a State Corporation Commission hearing on a proposed nasty coal burning plant that Dominion Power wants to put in my back yard -- practically. In the 21st century, isn't there healthier, cleaner technology than this? And just because you live in the coal fields, that's no reason to make the people living in that region sick all the time. No wonder people get lung cancer and black lung!
We were with a fella from Appalachian Voice, a newspaper/organization that might even sue the Power co. people if the permit for its plant is approved. He couldn't speak, but we all could. And I, as a cancer survivor, questioned why we couldn't do like the "Clean Energy Future Group" in Australia. They were working with New South Wales on sustainable energy development. Australia initially refused to approve the Kyoto Treaty on climate change, but this country down under is really getting on the ball when it comes to the environment. The only other area in the U.S. like minded would be California. But energy is so darn expensive. We need cheaper AND cleaner energy!
Well, I need to work more on my "books" and freelance writing possibilities. I saw where maybe I could make money helping people search the net, but don't know if that will really pan out. I need to make some money writing!