What Are You Thankful For?

I  enjoy Thanksgiving, yes, family all together  having a good time.

But it seems so many limit their thankfulness to this one day of  the year.

Do we need a Special Day to think about being THANKFUL for what we have in our lives?

What do you think?

I AM THANKFUL FOR EVERY NEW DAY WITH MY FAMILY

What are YOU Thankful For?

Blessings Bags ~ Pay It Forward

If you know me at all, or if you follow this blog, you probably know that even though I’m limited in what I can offer, that I do what I can to help those less fortunate than myself. And they are numerous. The homeless and near homeless population in our area is alarming. It’s sad. And for the children, heartbreaking.

With what I have at hand or can gather from those who’ve heard, I run my little Project Warmth each year around this time. For the homeless or very needy, especially for the children, I make hats, scarves, mittens, baby blankets and whatever I can whip up.

This week I saw a new idea. I am not sure who to credit it to. It doesn’t seem like it should be such a novel brainstorm, but for me, well, I just hadn’t thought of it before. They are calling them Blessing Bags.

They are simply baggies, filled with a few basic necessities, and maybe a few tiny luxuries, kept in your car and handed to the homeless or needy. It’s a wonderful idea! So simple, yet it hadn’t even occurred to me before. Now that it has been planted in my brain, I intend to make up some to include with my Project Warmth goodies this season.

It won’t be a lot. I don’t have a lot to give. But I will give what I can. And if I give. And YOU give. And if you give and your friend gives, and their friend gives, look what happens in the world? You see?

You may have questions:  Who would I give them to you say? Where would I hand them out? Where do I find homeless people? Are there homeless people in my town?

The Answers are simple. Wherever there are people, there are people in need.  As an example, with Project Warmth, I’ve asked teachers to identify needy children and families and anonymously offer a gift of warmth. Schools are an excellent resource when looking for needy children. Stop in your local school and inquire of the Main Office Secretary or School Nurse. I’m sure they will be more than happy to help. There are privacy laws, however, so don’t expect to be given names. You may be able to enlist them to discretely send home your gifts anonymously.  You won’t get any credit for it, but do you really need it?  Fame is not why we do this, am I right? When I’m about town I see the old men on the benches near the community square, every day they are there, huddled and cold. Offer them there. If they refuse out of pride, simply leave them on the bench, wish them a good day and walk away. Guaranteed they’ll be appreciated when you are gone. Ask at your local church or community center, your local food banks, shelters and even the YMCA. All are good places to start. Stop in your city hall or police precinct. Its a given that the patrolmen know where to locate the homeless. You might even enlist the help of an officer or two.  Once you start looking, you may be amazed and dismayed at how many less fortunate there are among us.

The Ministries at Main Street Homeless Shelter houses 15-30 people per night during the winter months

County officials believe that there are more than 50-80 single adults living on the streets of Pottstown. (The Mercury)

In 2009, it is estimated that 749 people were homeless in Montgomery County. (The Mercury)

In Chester County, 1,109 people stayed in a homeless shelter at least once in 2009.( Chester County Department of Housing & Development)

On one night in Berks County, there were 513 homeless people, 13 of whom were unsheltered. (US HUD, 2010)

     County Officials believe there are 50-80 single adults living on the streets in the TriCounty Area

                In Pottstown School District, about 15 students could be considered homeless

                Source: “Left Out in the Cold,” Pottstown Mercury, March 20, 2007

There are some who chose not to come into a shelter but the 50-80 single adults number is in the county as a whole.

~

TCN Homeless Services Committee
TriCounty Community Network
260 High Street
Pottstown PA 19464

Google Search: “Homelessness + (your zip code)”  for your area’s Homeless Statistics

Ideas for Packing Your Blessings Bags

• I’m sure you’ll come up with even better ideas, but here are some things I’ve thought to add:
• toothpaste
• tissues
• soap
• baby wipes
• individual tylenol packets
• cough drops
• toothbrush
• deck of cards
• mini shampoo and conditioner
• mini mouthwash
• comb or brush
• disposable razors
• deodorant
• mini powder
• mini hand lotion
• chap stick
• individual fruit snacks like applesauce
• peanut butter crackers (a bit of protein)
• hand warmers
• socks
• mittens
• ear muffs
• face lotion
• sun screen (even in winter)
• bandaids
• antiseptic or antibiotic cream
• vaseline
• cold tablets
• raisins
• peanuts
• pen
• small notepad
• washcloth
• tea bags
• collapsible cup
• sugar packets
• candle
• matches or lighter
• roll of mints
• pop top cans of tuna or potted meat
• bottled water
• juice mix packets
• sewing needle and thread
• aspirin
• tampons (for the ladies)
• nail clippers
• cotton swabs
• multivitamins
• rubber bands
• teeny tiny mini light, the kind with the battery already inside
• lollipops (for the kids – they might actually need the sugary ones)
• Little Luxuries for the Ladies like nail polish, mascara, lotions, body spray
• Little Luxuries for the Gents like cologne, body spray, hair dressing, aftershave
• Little Luxuries for the Kids like a small toy such as a yoyo, lollipops, pencil and small paper pad, crayons

I’m sure I’ve left out a lot of simple basics, but you can think of more. Let me know what your ideas are. Send in pictures. Let’s hear your story!

Thank you for reading.
Have a wonderful day!

Pay It Forward

Don’t have anything to give?

Join the Crowd.

Give of Yourself

😀

  

What Say You?

What Have You Done to Better Your World Today?

No Matter How Small, No Act of Kindness is EVER Wasted.

Awesome Tale for Halloween, Samhain ~The Púca by Ed Mooney

What a wonderful story! I cannot imagine that anything as beautiful as a wild black colt (or other beast of nature) would endeavor to do any more than to allow the rider to experience life as at no other time, hence the thrilling, if not terrifying, ride. One is never more alive than when she feels she may not be for much longer.

Read the entire story at Ed Mooney Photgraphy.

LINK:  The Púca.

I’m Back!

Here I am! Received my new computer in the “mail” today and its awesome!

I had tried blogging from my phone..no.  From a borrowed iPad….HUGE NO! Gawd I hated that thing, if I would hate ANYthing that is, which I don’t, of course 😉

I gave up with the newfangled gadgets, broke down and bought a new laptop. I LOVE IT..so far 😉 Things could change, you know, but I hope not.  Its a Gateway, my previous go-to computer guys, prior to the Sony Vaio which I had last and thought would be indestructible, but far from it, sorry to say.  I got a great deal through Amazon, one of my favorite places to shop.  Since my eyes are older now, and my hands are slower, I opted for Gateway’s 17″ screen with a widescreen view and a more spread out keyboard. Despite the size, its very sleek and pretty. Silky Silver is the color, and it is silky, and silvery, imagine that?  AND it has a number pad! Yeah! I think I’ll be happier with another Gateway….they’ve always been great in the past.

Windows 8? Well, there’s a learning curve. But I think I’ll overcome it fast enough. I still haven’t figured out how to add social networks and GMail, etc to the start page. I can find Microsoft Apps but haven’t figured out how to download and install 3rd party apps to the start page. Oh well, I’ll figure it out.  I’ve only had it for an hour.  Other than that, I’m loving it!

So, here I am…again, I guess that means you are destined to put up once more with ramblings and Pearl Jam and Grateful Dead fangirl type raving idiocy, but to know me is to love me, right? heheheeee

ttfn, be back later.

Busy playing with my new toy!

Peace,

jo

R.I.P. Ms. Vaio and Ms. Samsung

It’s a sad, sad day in the Heck Household.

It is with a heavy heart that I must pass along the news of the passing of two very dear friends. Like the plague, sickness spread unabated throughout the household. No time for quarantine, no time for professional help to arrive. I did what I could, but it just wasn’t enough.

It started out as a simple bug, didn’t seem to be serious at all. I now wish I’d been more diligent. Ms. Vaio was the first to show symptoms. She wouldn’t charge, then she just wouldn’t start, but it seemed she had nothing more than a common software issue. I tried intervening with home remedies and undoubtedly, though I had good intentions, made things even worse. It started small and I was certain that a change of battery would do the trick… fix her right up…and it did, for a little while. I very carefully changed her battery along with her charger and she seemed to perk up right away. But it didn’t last. Even so, I still thought she could be treated here at home. I’d had successes with home remedies in the past and so decided to do what I could. Confidently, I proceeded in more or less this order: cleaning and updating her data system..running her antivirus and spam programs, software updates, drivers, safe mode diagnostics, Vaio Care, system restore, and ultimately resorted to reformatting her C Drive and reloading her entire operating system. Start fresh I told myself…she’ll be good as new! And it worked! She thrived for a day…nearly two. Eventually though, she just couldn’t turn on at all. No lights. No beeps. No screen. Nothing. Poor thing.

Of course, as you may have guessed, her warranty had just expired, and without insurance, professional care is so expensive. Lacking the services of a professional technician and thinking that I couldn’t possibly do any more harm than good, I got out my teeny tiny Phillips head screwdriver and prepared for surgery. I laid out all the tools, prepared a clean space to line up all her screws and covers in the proper order, and actually (talk about naive) believed I could reestablish some sort of healthy and rewarding quality of life for her. Alas, my efforts resulted in the ultimate failure. Her mother board just couldn’t take the stress of the operation. The familiar pretty pink hue just faded from her and there was no reprieve. R.I.P. Ms. Sony Vaio. You will be sorely missed.

Grief stricken as I was, I turned to my trusty smartphone in an attempt at some sort of Internet comfort…even Facebook would be a blessing at this point. And she came through for me, trooper that she is. Even though she’d always freely offered her internet capability, I must admit that I always turned to my friend Vaio before Ms. Samsung. Now I feel a bit guilty as I admit I overworked her immediately after having ignored her for so long. I overworked her…exhausted her..and very quickly and selfishly took from her everything she had. Sadly, very shortly after losing Vaio, we lost Ms. Samsung as well. It was her charging port. It just gave out. I really should have seen it coming. She tried to tell me, but in my grief over Vaio, I have to admit I expected a great deal from her. In the end I buried her in the basket right next to Vaio. I hope they get along better in death than they did in life. God rest their little silicon souls.

I don’t think I’m ready to move on to new technology just yet. I don’t think I’ve fully processed the enormity of the loss quite yet. When I’ll be ready to move on I can’t say. In the meantime friends have lent their own trusted solid state appliances to me. Everyone has been so kind. I’m speaking to you now through a borrowed iPad….she’s very nice … don’t take this the wrong way, and while I do appreciate her, she’s just no laptop, you know? I hope that doesn’t sound too awfully ungrateful because I appreciate her, I really do.

As far as phone calls, I’m not even thinking about going back to another smart phone right now. It seems disrespectful to just take a new one when Ms. Samsung is so recently gone. I’ll just use a regular cell phone when I really need to. I think she’d be OK with that.

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Day 9 ~ 30 Day Challenge

Get used to it. I’m an infamous procrastinator 😉 Surprise! Surprise!

 

9.  Pet peeves.

Good thing one of my pet peeves is not procrastinating…wait, actually it is, as long as we’re not talking about me 😉

Hmmmmmm …. pet peeves.

~ Being unnecessarily mean or crass..uncalled for, included is making fun of someone in a demeaning way, their looks, their size, their social status, their intelligence, etc.

~ Mean people in general

~ Sounding like a barnyard full of hogs when eating

~ Acting better than someone else (you usually make a fool out of yourself doing that, so knock it off)

~ Not sharing

 

I think that’s it. Basic stuff.

Interesting, right?  ho-hum i know

 

Defriended!

Uh OH!~

I have survived all this time as a defriending virgin! Years and years I have gone without so much as a block or hide…well, that I know of.

But today, my life of blissful Facebooking has come to an abrupt reality check, with my Very First DEFRIENDING!  Oh no!

Drama! Everyone is concerned. Except me.

However, I am happy to see that so many of my “good” friends do care that someone would be so mean as to defriend me.   That’s a particularly nice side of Facebook.  And that speaks volumes for my Friends and PJFam, whom I love dearly.

I think I’ll stay. 😉

(my arm has been successfully twisted) 😉

Gotta love it.