Apples for Apple Butter

Someone gave me a large bag of crab apples today. She said that I could make jelly or apple butter. I've never made apple butter before but I have made jelly and preserves. I love apple butter so I'm going to give it a try. The apples are small and I don't know how much apple butter they will make. I may try it today. Later. It's 1:50 am now so I will sleep and try later. Our refrigerator in the garage stopped working so I have to fix these apples soon. I haven't bought apples at the store for a long time because their too expensive. I feel blessed to have these apples for free.

I'll take photos of the apples and the process. Sleep sounds good right now.

December 3, 1916

Yesterday an old, yellowed newspaper clipping fell out of my mother's Bible. I feel sure it was something her mother, my grandmother, had clipped and saved because the date on the clipping was 12-3-16. Mother was born eight years after the date written on the paper. It was hand written and the writing was of my grandmother. I've seen her hand writing so often that I know it on sight. I have many things she's written. The article was about Thomas A. Edison which I have quoted below.

My grandmother Mary is on the left and holding my mother. My grandfather is on the right and his hand is on Wallace, my uncle. The girl in the middle is my mother's sister, Alice.

YARB - (1) "I am not a nonbeliever in God." said Thomas A. Edison to a Post-Dispatch correspondent when it was called to his attention that some things he said had given the impression that he was an agnostic, if not an atheist. "All scientists," he continued, "in getting nearer and nearer to the first case, feel that about and throughout everything there is the play of an eternal mind."

EDISON AMBEROLA 30 introduced in February 1915 is a 4-minute phonograph that plays Blue Amberol or indestructible cylinders only. This later model is slightly larger than the early model. Its dimensions are 12½" Wide, 16" deep and 13" high. This machine has a single spring motor capable of playing 2-3 4-minute records per winding. It has a highly reliable, heavy-duty helical gear drive. The Reproducer is a Diamond Model C, the only option for this phonograph. The cabinet is a table model made from Oak wood. Edison Amberola 30 The metal horn grille is stained this oak color and it has a black silk cloth covering the inside back of the grill. This 'sales leader', the smallest and least expensive machine was produced from 1915 (after the fire) until October 1929.

Commentary: This particular machine required very little restoration work. The grill cloth needed to be replaced, the light oak stain shellac finish needed some gentle restoration. The black metal louvres required a light coat of high gloss black paint. The Diamond Model C Reproducer required a standard rebuild to bring back the original sound of this popular table top machine. When winding the spring on an early Saturday morning, it snapped and immediately spun clockwise which in turn unwound the crank which fell to the floor. It was fairly easy to replace this low energy spring. This Model 30 required a good cleaning, lubrication and general preventive maintenance to keep it running reliably. At the time the Amberola 30 was introduced, it's US List price was $30.00

Like other Edison model numbers, the Amberola 30 cost $30, the 50 cost $50, the 60 was the British version of the 50, the Model 75 cost $75 and the 80 was the British & Aussie version of the Model 75.

Below is the Web site where I found the photo of the Amberol. My grandmother had one and it has been handed down to me.

http://phonojack.com/Edison%20Collection.htm

Clean Cat

CeeCee came to us as a stray that was starving. She was super thin and not very trusting. I feel sure that today was the first bath she has ever had. I have been conditioning her as much as possible with touching her all over, petting, massaging, and clawing her. Clawing sounds worse than it is. I take my finger nails and use them to massage her. CeeCee begs me to massage her.

I gave CeeCee some Bach Rescue Remedy about 15 minutes before her bath to calm her. Then I found all the large empty containers I could and filled them with warm water. I filled a small basin with warm water and cat shampoo. I thought we would need armour to protect us from claws and teeth. I put on garden gloves that are thick plastic and on top of those I used gloves that have those little nobs on them. I used a small kitchen knife to check and see if the point of the knife would penetrate the gloves. It didn't so I felt safe enough. My husband put on very thick gloves that are for use with chemicals.

I had all the breakables out of the bathroom. I placed two thick towels on a stool to dry her. My husband took her by the scruff of the neck and tried to hold her. He had to use all his strength. I poured the shampoo mixture over her and I heard her Geerrrrr in a deep voice. I put a little more shampoo on my glove and rubbed it over her and then poured all of the containers of clean water over her. When my husband placed her on the floor she got the floor really wet. I dried her with two towels and then mopped up the floor. She stood real still in a corner and gave us a prize. Yep, she relieved herself. After that was flushed down the toilet we dried her a little more and let her out of the bathroom. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Now I think we can bathe her more often. I'm sure she will remember this and be watching for signs of bath time. That means I'll have to change what I did this time. Next time I'll have to prepare everything before I bring her in the house. She sure smells better. After she's dry I'm going to powder her with Diatomaceous earth to keep fleas off her. She loves to be outside and hunt birds and squirrels and anything that moves.

Praying Out Loud What I Want

I took time to go the the County Convention today, all day. Last week, all week I had been trying to clean my office. The clutter was so bad that I would trip over things. I couldn't find the bills I was supposed to pay. So I knew I had to change what I was doing. Little did I know that the change came when I changed how I was praying. I used to pray, "God please help me clean this clutter."

I've been praying for God to help me for a long time. Last week I started saying what I wanted to happen. I started saying out loud; I'm organized, I love a clean and neat house, I'm creative, I'm able to make decisions, etc. Before I had been beating myself up for not being organized, for having a cluttered house, and not being able to make decisions. I've done that for years. I think it's because that's the message I got from my mother about myself. After I started speaking out loud to myself what I wanted I was able to do those things I'd been wanting for years. I was saying those things as a prayer to God. You have no idea how thankful I am. I thank God. I used to feel like I was going crazy with all the clutter and messes. I'd feel so bad I'd cry. I would do other things instead of tackle the clutter. It's only been a week and I'm nearly finished with the office. Jesus, I thank you.

Fever Paranoia

On Monday I started coughing and coughed nearly all day long. In the afternoon I started having a headache. By early evening I felt feverish. I finally made it to bed to rest about 8:00 p.m. VERY unusual for me to be in bed before midnight. In my feverish state I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me. I felt sure it was allergies. Then I wondered if it were from some sort of viral thing I was exposed to. I back tracked my steps and the only public place I'd been was to the Santorum rally. There were some VERY scary people there. They were protesters who started screaming their lungs out when Santorum started speaking. The veins on their neck and temples stuck out as they screamed.

I believe that's a sign of a high level of anger. In my feverished [ Not sure if that's a word.] state I was imagining one of the protesters may have sprayed something into the air that would infect those standing around them. Then my reason took over and it said that they would also breath in the same substance if the air were to move just the right way.

Oh, what a fever will do to one's reason. It's not pretty. I'm better and my reason has returned. Now, reason thinks that my illness was caused by an overload of pollen, mold, bird feathers, and cat hair. Maybe even a dirty carpet helped matters. Sorry protesters. Now if they would do the same and let reason reign. Yah. Like that's going to happen.

Wired Head

I know it's a strange title, Wired Head, but you had to be there to appreciate what that means. Simply put, I had a sleep study at a sleep clinic last night. I went there at 8:30 p.m. and left at 6:00 a.m. The lady that wired me up, (Is 'wired me up' English?) was really sweet. She is someone you can become instant friends with. She was very kind and considerate but by 4:00 a.m. and no sleep I was thinking of a new name for her. By the time 6:00 a.m. came and she knocked on the door I wanted to leave and go home to my bed. As she started taking off all the wires from my head, face, and legs I asked her if she was sure this was a sleep study or a torture study? She laughed in her kind way and was as sweet as anyone I've ever known. The lack of sleep will do wonders for your thinking and attitude. I understand now why people will confess to anything just to be left alone to sleep. For those out there in blogger land who enjoy being tortured by a sweetheart I highly recommend you get a sleep study, now known as torture study. Other than the lack of sleep because you have wires from every area of you head and face, and someone watching you on camera all night, it wasn't bad.

The wires went all around my head and face, they poked my back, head, and neck while lying in bed. If I were to have fallen asleep not knowing where I was or why I was there, and woken up, I would liken it to being stuck in a tunnel with cob webs surrounding me and tree roots poking me from every direction. Every time I moved to try to get comfortable I was poked by a different wire. I may have slept for 30 minutes. I came home and ate breakfast and slept until 10:40 a.m. I fixed a tuna salad and spinach for lunch and as soon as I finish this post I'm taking a nap. I can't hold my eyes open.

Why did I have a sleep study? Last summer a doctor said I had an enlarged heart. He wanted me to go to his cardiologist. I waited and requested prayer from people I knew would pray for me. I read all I could about the condition and bought natural remedies. I started slowly walking again, resting more, and let other people take care of themselves. Seven months later I found a different doctor who is a Christian. He gave me an EKG. He said the EKG showed no signs of an enlarged heart. He sent me to a Christian Cardiologist who did an Echocardiogram, a heart monitor, and now a sleep study "torture study". Just before going to the torture study the cardiologist's office called and said my Echocardiogram and heart monitor studies showed my valves are working fine with no leakage. My injection fraction is 70%. Whatever that means. My pulse was 71. My blood pressure was 123/64 (L) mmHg. So when I find out what the torture study reveals about my heart, I'll know if I'm going to live.

The strangest part of all this journey is why the first doctor told me, "Go out and give'um hell. You've got good genes." if my heart was enlarged. He told me he wanted me to go to his cardiologist for a stress test. To my thinking, HE WAS the stress test. I asked him what would happen if I had a heart attack while I was doing the stress test to which he responded, "We'll just put in a stint." I told him I didn't want surgery. I guess it would have taken too much of his time to explain to me what was going on with my heart and why.

Now I'm left wondering; Is it normal for the heart to be enlarged and then return to it's normal size? [I'm also wondering if that sentence structure is right or wrong.] I know it's normal with God to return things to their normal state, i.e. to heal, but in our natural world is that a normal occurrence. Simply put, did God just do a miracle in my heart? If so, then I consider that being Wired to the real Head, God. If not, I consider God the real Head and I want to be wired to HIM regardless.

Found

Mary Copeland was found at 9:30 am in Arkansas. She had ran out of gas and the police had found her on the side of the road.

Thanks to all who prayed and looked for her.