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Changing My Vibration
January 11, 2017
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Vibration Platform
Last week my friend talked me into going to the home show downtown at the civic arena, although it is not my cup of tea. I ended up having a good time and making a discovery. We went to a booth selling power plates, now known as vibrational platforms and tried the merchandise. We mounted the vibrating plate and stood in a couple of positions for about 5 minutes total. I discussed the pricing and said I would think about it, but the price was not in my range. I have been aware of these machines for many years, but had never tried one because of the high price. They were used often in professional offices and studios, rented to the public by the minute in the past. Now the price has come way down and the selection is vast for the consumer. No special skill or fitness level is needed.
My friend called to tell me that our 5 minute vibration demo had done wonders for her chronic hip pain. This good news spurred me to research and shop for my own home model. To my surprise and delight I found a portable unit for sale on Amazon $600 cheaper than the home show. It arrived today. I am thrilled. It is easy to use and convenient to store. I tried standing, sitting, and balancing on my arms with feet on the floor. I just did 25 minutes today in order to see how it feels. It wiggles at a speed chosen or runs a program of choice. I have much to learn about the various ways to use it, but already am very happy I own it. Heidi can get rid of her pain and I can play around with different movements while I vibrate. It feels good while you do it, but I believe the long term effects will be the best part of it. The system works to tone muscles, but the reason I bought it was to drain the lymphatic system. A healthy, happy lymphatic system is a strong immune system, keeping one in good health. My new fitness toy is a fun way to strengthen my immune system by draining my lymph daily. I look forward to the long term rewards. Have you ever used a vibration platform, gentle reader? They have come a long way from the physical therapist’s office. Anyone who can stand up can do it.
#HookedRX The Medical/Pharma Connection
January 10, 2017
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opioid facts
The Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU has produced an important documentary about Arizona’s opioid addiction crisis. I live in Tucson where an obvious uptick in junkies all over the place has everyone concerned. From the petty theft to the mental illness caused by addiction to opioids destroys neighborhoods, families, and individuals. The routine overprescribing of pain killers began as a marketing strategy for drug makers. They promoted studies that concluded their products were not addictive, and provide a needed level of pain control. Now we know they are highly addictive, and even a short time on this hard prescribed stuff can lead the patient to seek out heroin as a cheaper alternative.
Pain is a relative thing, so anyone who wants to stay high on opiates can go to a medical doctor and say they are in pain, and easily score drugs. There is also a huge black market in these pills. Many hop on the addiction train by taking pills from the parents’ medicine cabinet as teens. Since the drugs are socially acceptable and widely discussed and well known, there seems to be no stigma for taking pills for any reason. The idea is that no person should ever feel pain, anxiety, confusion, social pressure, or discomfort of any kind. There are pills to insure that real life does not intrude into the self medication. I have never been into pills so this phenomena is really bizarre to me. I understand wanting to get high, but not wanting to feel nothing. So, what is the gateway drug for feeling nothing? A visit to the doctor? This has gone south in the worst possible way.
Beggar Archetype, Self Aggrandize vs Self Respect
January 9, 2017
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Beggar
Fascination with celebrity grows stronger as we are saturated with all kinds of award-winning (or election winning) famous people. I used to follow rock music and know most of the artists. I was familiar with the television and radio performers as well as the movie actors. There were not very many of them to track when I was a child. I knew all the players on the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. The sports stars were not as wealthy or elite as they are today. They acted more like part of the community. Celebrity, in and of itself, had not been discovered as a means to become more famous with no particular achievement or talent. We had not created a crazy delusional world in which we reward self-centered behavior over all else. Now we have made this world and live with the bizarre consequences.
Self aggrandizement, or self-glorification was not an acceptable way to present oneself when I was young. Society today revolves around it in an exaggerated way. Reality television has made every possible conceit and vainglory into entertainment. National politics are now a reality show, with shocking plot twists daily. We have become a nation of beggars. While a large number of our citizens are reduced to depending on others for basic food and shelter, some make a full-time job of begging for attention, love, power, and justice. Dignity is not a consideration for those over zealous needy attention seekers. They stop at nothing to increase their own power and wealth.
The biggest problem I see with this trend is value corruption of the youth. We are teaching our children that fame is a valuable commodity, while failing to teach self-respect and self-care. Healthy self-love is a product of mindfulness, forgiveness, and boundary setting. Taking care of needs rather than frivolous desires builds self-esteem and confidence. Choosing companions and activities that uplift and educate will build self-respect and lay a foundation for an intentional and meaningful life. Let us focus on real value, real merit in order to improve our reality. What do you think, gentle reader?
Sunday Rejuvenation, Brunch
January 8, 2017
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fortune
The keeping of a sabbath on Saturday or Sunday is traditional in religious America. A day of complete rest, apart from the daily grind, was intended to be devoted to prayer and meditation on divinity. Today the religion of twitter has launched #SelfCareSunday as a tribute to taking a real break from the worries and stresses of modern life. This practice is viewed from different perspectives by many proponents of self-care. I have been reading lately about the Danish practice of Hygge, a simplistic, holistic way to stay centered and happy. This lifestyle concept is not related to religion, but does promote mindful awareness of simple pleasures, such as entertaining friends. Gathering to share cozy comforts is essential to maintaining community and identity in society. A good laugh and a delicious meal with friends can heal the wounds inflicted by the tragic news of the day. I like the idea of taking one meal every week to be mindful of our habits.
Here are a few ideas for #SelfCareSunday Brunch:
- Picnic in a park or natural setting
- Silent potluck brunch, keeping silence while sharing a meal
- Hiking brunch, bring a backpack and climb to a destination
- Restaurant with dining companions, an obvious oldie but goodie
- Cooking with companions in a home kitchen
- Informal meet up at a farmers’ market or coffee-house
It is an excellent idea to be extra aware and conscious of self-care for one day a week. The benefits of rest and relaxation combined with good company can’t be overstated. We all need a little help from our friends. Do you have a self-care practice, gentle reader? Are your Sundays sacred? What is your favorite way to rejuvenate?
Sunday Brunch
#WeekendCoffeeShare Transformation Time
January 7, 2017
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#WeekendCoffeeShare
If we were having coffee this weekend I would tell you my life is healthy and happy with few exceptions. I had a quiet week experimenting with historical fiction and multi camera live streaming on Facebook. I produced nothing of great artistic import, but have challenged myself to develop these skills in order to do so. I wrote one very undeveloped story in which I mixed some outrageous truths about my paternal great-grandfather with some embellishment I created. It was short and kind of silly, but I feel happy to have started down this path. I published it. I have studied my genealogy for a long time, and have many factual stories on which to base my future efforts. I believe in time I will write longer and more involved stories, but also have been reading and studying flash fiction. This burning hot brief format insists on an outstanding title, a perfect last line, and usually the events presented out of chronological order. I want to work up to that too. I started a bullet journal and joined a Facebook group on the subject. This calendar system is a brilliant way for me to incorporate my new writing styles into my regular blogging. I have much to learn from the Bu-Jo peeps, as they call themselves. They are inspiring and highly educational, much like the food preppers.
If you are here in Tucson at my home today I will invite you to drink a hot cup of coffee or tea of your choice. I had a big fire in the stove last night so the house is staying warm this morning. We have not had our first real freeze, so the flowers are still in bloom. Help yourself to fresh grapefruit juice from the giant crop I am harvesting in the garden this year. I am serving a large fruit salad with berries and watermelon. Enjoy our sunny day and some fresh fruit flavors while you tell me how your week has been. I so appreciate sharing this time will all of you on the weekends. In fact, many of my new efforts as a writer have been inspired by all of you. I love to learn about your writing studios, the writing challenges you accept, and the way you make it work with daily life. I admire the fiction writers and poets who tell stories from imagination. I also love to see the photography from your own environments. I get to travel without leaving my office. I look forward to your visits. You have encouraged and inspired me to transform and expand my writing skills. It reminds me of being in beginners’ ski school, where you see that everyone falls down, but with practice they get better. You fiction writers are like the intermediate skiers who make me want to be that good someday. Starting is key.
If you want to share some digital coffee and some relaxation with a group of writers go to Diana’s weekend party link. She holds this regular gathering of inspiring individuals from her home in New Orleans. Please join us to read, write, or comment on your week. Thank you all for stopping by today.
poet
Recommit To Fitbit
January 6, 2017
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waterproof fitbit
I have used a Fitbit for tracking my movement and sleep for years. Recently the battery has started to lose the charge very quickly, indicating end of life issues for my tracker. I thought about just going without it, but decided to re-enlist by purchasing a Fitbit 2, which is waterproof. I have slacked on recording much of the data on the app since my life is going well. To get the most out of my new device I will put it to full use b giving it data. It is easy to record water and foods consumed in the log. By being lazy at the data recording I fail to notice how I can improve on my dietary habits. This is the simplest step to better health and yet I am not doing it. There are logs for resting heart rate and hours of sleep which I have ignored for over a year. When I needed help with my sleep the knowledge gained from my monitor was of supreme help. I found ways to sleep longer and more deeply by watching my statistics carefully. Once I conquered my sleep issues I stopped recording the data.
I did get a good deal on my new fitness tracker, but it will only be a good deal if I use it to the fullest benefit. I do not accept friends or do challenges with the app, but think I will be healthier if I pay attention to the diet/sleep/water/calorie intake/weight data. When the new apparatus arrives my plan is to give it all the information it can process. If we are fitness partners there is no point in trying to hide from my own truth. Fitness and health are complex issues. They are influenced by habits and social norms. We know what is healthy and good for our bodies, but must practice awareness to stay in a healthy groove. Fitbit 2 will be on my team, but I am still the leader of my own wellness program. Do you use a fitness tracker, gentle reader? Have you been faithful to logging all the data, or have you been a slacker like me?
Ready for Epiphanies?
January 5, 2017
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Time For Transformational Epiphany
Dynamic Start-UP energies are running strong today Jan 5 and tomorrow morning, Jan 6!
The first ARIES MOON 2017 – an Initiation Energy that we can easily tune into emotionally now – kicks the CAP SUN and PLUTO out of its ‘hibernation station’ –
WAKE UP, People!
HA – the Year of the Fire Rooster or Phoenix Bird is on the horizon too (starts on the day after the next New Moon, Jan 28).
Phoenix
Today, the ARIES MOON ignites URANUS in ARIES:
Time to be open for Breakthroughs, and to give ourselves permission to Break Free from old, heavy, slow, conditioned consciousness, and into liberated initiatives.
Prometheus bringing the Fire of the Gods to Humanity
And remember, 2017 is a ‘1’ Year – and it all starts with ARIES, and # 1 – the SELF. Nobody does it ‘for you’, and that’s a good thing.
Show up authentically, drop…
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#NationalSpaghettiDay Celebration
January 4, 2017
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The food holidays come daily, but few are as popular as spaghetti day. Pasta is popular all over the world. Kids can usually be cajoled into eating dinner if there is pasta involved. When I was a child we rarely ate pasta at home, but I looked forward to outings to restaurants where I could order it. I also had some Italian friends at school and Brownie Scouts whose moms totally rocked the dinner table. I connived to find ways to be invited to their houses to eat. The first dishes I learned to prepare myself in the kitchen were lasagna (my mom never made it) and beef Stroganoff on a bed of egg noodles. I believe I was trying to knock off some of my friends’ mothers recipes. Since pasta is such an easy and versatile dish to prepare I have been making noodles since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
We eat pasta about once a week, but I try to vary the ways I prepare it. I have not made a lasagna in years because I am so lazy now, but I do bake pasta dishes for the same effect. Today I have an assortment of fresh vegetables that need to be used. I have roasted a butternut squash for sauce, and am now roasting a red onion for color and excitement. My approach to cooking is to use what I have on hand in the most creative way possible. I hate to waste food. I have parsley, basil, rosemary, marjoram and sage growing in my garden to use to build the flavor profile. Brown butter sage is a great compliment to the butternut squash. If you have not used this versatile winter vegetable to make sauce, here is a vegan recipe:
You can choose to use milk or heavy cream if you want those extra grams of fat and calories. It also works with vegetable bullion. Of course there are plenty of pre-made sauces in jars that taste fabulous. #NationalSpaghettiDay is a very easy holiday to use to express your inner chef. Wander off into trying ingredients you like on other dishes..olives, artichokes, garlic, herbs..Have fun, gentle readers. Buon apetito!
I love spaghetti!
Crab Grass
January 3, 2017
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Ernie in Coffeeville
The perfectly manicured green grass shimmers in the bright morning sun as we take out the lawn bowling set that belonged to our great-grandfather. He was both a lawn perfectionist and a lawn bowler, a rare combination none of his children or grandchildren has encountered again in life. He took great pains to keep the crabgrass out and the healthy green grass trimmed evenly. His yard was his pride and joy. His children were enslaved in landscaping work during the time they lived in their father’s home. Like Claude Monet it appeared that Jason cared more about his garden than he did about his children’s happiness. Because of his particular love of lawn perfection and startling indifference to humans his children called him Crab Grass behind his back.
When my grandfather was young he left home with his brother because they were not fond of Crab Grass, and even less fond of his wife, their stepmother. She claimed to be a witch , but she was known as a con artist. She was a Cherokee woman who would arrive in a town saying she knew where Tecumseh had buried gold in the vicinity. She would then scam the townspeople to bankroll an expedition to find the hidden treasure, then leave. When she met our great-grandfather he was a snake oil salesman. He peddled patent medicine and introduced his second wife to his family as a witch capable of harming them. The boys’ birth mother had died young, leaving them with old Crab Grass and this con woman/witch, living on the Cherokee Nation. Ernie and his brother Ralph ran away to become migrant workers, picking corn and doing other agricultural work all over the Midwest. They worked in the season, then returned to their grandparents’ farm in Kansas during the winters. They rarely visited their father, who lived in a nearby town in Oklahoma.
When great-grandfather Jason died his wife wanted to get rid of the lawn bowling set because she said it was haunted. Nobody recalls which member of our family accepted the large burlap bag full of heavy balls that he had used almost every day of his life. The family did not give it a second thought until the spooky feeling that accompanied the bag became obvious. A family meeting had been called to decide what to do with this creepy inherited game set. It was decided that the bag would travel from home to home, staying for a period of a year each time. Since 1927 this lawn bowling set has brought tragedy, mystery, and wealth to our family. It has acted as a Ouija board, seeming to be directed by spooks, to foretell the future. It seems to be inhabited by the spirit of our ancestor. His restless soul still wants to play his favorite game. Since he is not longer incarnate we figure it can’t hurt to keep the game going for his amusement. As we play on our own lawns now we wonder exactly what we inherited from all our relations. It is far from clear.
William Little Jr, Seventh Great-Grandfather
January 2, 2017
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In this inventory- Jeanette Armour gets a years support-Her son Andrew is the person who did the inventory.
My seventh great-grandfather was born in Surry, Virginia in 1685. His father, William Sr, was born in Massachusetts Colony and migrated to Virginia. There is a William Little in Surry County by 1687 when he and Edward Napkin are convicted of not going to church. Even earlier, in 1673, a William Little is listed in those who took part in the Lawne’s Creek Church uprising, the first tax strike. According to Elizabeth Wright, a William Little is found on the tax rolls as early as 1674. A John Little appears in 1688.
William Little Sr. was involved in the early colonial tax strike in Surry County, Virginia in 1674. Upon his death, he left his son, William Little II, his plantation and 200 acres upon which William II lived. He also set his slaves free (source: Michael C. Little, 2004).
William Little Jr. was born about 1685. He is listed in his father’s will as the oldest son. Thigpen Tribe lists his birth in 1685. He owned Bought land in 1738 in Surry Co. VA. He owned land that sold on 18 Feb 1755 in Surry Co. VA. William sold 100 acres to Buford Pleasant ” it being part of a tract of land granted by patent to Phillip Hunniford bearing date the 17 Day of May 1666 which was left to the said John Little by his Father in his last will and testament it is part of the tract of land which William Little the father of the sd John Little purchased of Edward Napkin junr” on 5 Jan 1709. He was living on 23 Jun 1755 in Surry Co. VA. 10 Jan 1755 William Little and wife Mourning of Surry Co. to Thomas Davis of Elizabeth City Count 300 acres (being the land William Hart sold him on 16 Mar 1738) bounded by the Mill Swamp, the Meadow Branch, Mile Branch, Benjamin Bell, and the Hog Pen Branch. Witnesses were Thomas Wilson, Benjamin Little, Jacob Little, Joseph Holleman.
On 23 Jun 1755 Mourning Little, wife of William Little, relinquished her Right of Dower in the 300 acres sold to Thomas Davis of Elizabeth City County
In the 1755 tax list for Beaufort; Wm. Little, Abraham Little, James Little, John Little, and Thomas Little were listed. William and Abraham were listed together with only 2 polls (themselves). Amos Atkinson was also listed.
In 1762; Isaac, James, John, Joseph, and Robert Little were listed. He moved before Sep 1755 to Beaufort Co. NC. September 1755, William Little of Surry Co. VA received 300a on Cheeks Mill Swamp to pay a 40 pound obligation from James Cheek in Halifax precinct NC. Deed was witnessed by Amos Atkinson and Abraham Little. He died in Mar 1756 in Beaufort Co. NC. Beaufort Co. NC March Court, 1756. Son Abraham 100 acres where he now dwells, Thos Sharp, Cheek’s Mill Creek, James Hearn; 12lb to survey the land I bought from James Cheek & then to make a title to his 2 brothers. Son William & James – the remainder of sd tract of land which I bought from James Cheek. Son Jacob – 100 acres where I now dwell joining the Dividing Branch. Son John – 100 acres on north side of sd Dividing Branch except my daughter Jane Moring to have the use of where she now dwells during her lifetime. Son Isaac – pot. Son Joseph 10L VA. Wife Morning – rest of my estate during her lifetime & then to my 5 youngest sons Jacob, William, James, Joseph & John. Wife: Morning. Executors sons Isaac and Jacob Little. Witnesses Amos Atkinson, Mary Judkins, Jane Atkinson
He was married to Morning Kimborough . It is likely that Morning is not the mother of Abraham, Isaac, and Jane. William’s will gives Abraham the land where he now lives, Isaac only a pot, and Jane the right to live where she is now living. He makes other specific requests to Jacob and John. He then gives the balance to Morning as long as she lives and then to be divided between his youngest 5 sons. I believe this indicates these are Morning’s children and the other three are not.
(Notes from Jane M. Lindsay 1/3/99 and updated 2002)
William II was involved as a North Carolina commissioner helping settle the Virginia/North Carolina border in 1728, resulting in North Carolina becoming a royal colony.
William Little Jr (1685 – 1756)
7th great-grandfather
Jane Jeanette Little (1713 – 1764)
daughter of William Little Jr
Andrew Armour (1740 – 1801)
son of Jeanette Little
William Armor (1775 – 1852)
son of Andrew Armour
William Armer (1790 – 1837)
son of William Armor
Thomas Armer (1825 – 1900)
son of William Armer
Lucinda Jane Armer (1847 – 1939)
daughter of Thomas Armer
George Harvey Taylor (1884 – 1941)
son of Lucinda Jane Armer
Ruby Lee Taylor (1922 – 2008)
daughter of George Harvey Taylor
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Ruby Lee Taylor
estate
inventory
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