ann_totusek

"Horses and snakes join dogs in helping people with disabilities"

"Sorry you're completely paralyzed, Joe. Here's your service anaconda."

Several weeks later:

"Hey- have you seen Joe lately?"
"Oh crap! I forgot to come over and feed his snake!"
"What's that lump....?"


Alternatively:
"Sorry you're completely paralyzed, Joe. Here's your service...Ow! (thud)->gasping<- black mamba..."

Coming soon to a disability service center near you- Service Thestrals, specially trained at Hogwarts!

May post about my life later, but this is _important_

Minneapolis fannish friends are in foreclosure due to Peter's job loss and will lose their home soon unless something is done. It's a catastrophe because Ericka has several disabling illnesses and the house is accessible for her and the care she requires; it's difficult to imagine how they could manage as well elsewhere.

Something is being done. The community accessiblehouse has been set up to spread the word. Read more about Peter and Ericka there. People are putting up other stuff as fundraisers as well. There's a pay pal button and they're taking direct donations. Please spread the word, and if you are able to make a contribution of an item or some cash, please do.

I wasn't going to post because I'm very busy, but this is too important not to post:

http://blackperson.livejournal.com/207448.html

Please count your own blessings, help if you can, and repost.

Thanks and have a wonderful Thanksgiving,

ann

Our day started late since I try to sleep during the day even when I'm not working, to various degrees of success. I slept til about 10 am while M and M2 got up and lazed about watching television. I had decided previously that since I had to work tonight that I would not be cooking dinner- original plan was for M and M2 to go out together and find a place to eat. Since I had actually slept more than I should have last night, I went along, and we invited spidey007 to come along with us. The place we went to, The Machine Shed, was hosting a benefit buffet for a local camp that does free summer camps for low-income and at-risk kids during the summer. They only do a couple of sessions- the rest of the summer they do high-end horse camp for rich kids. After dinner I went over to spidey007's place and he worked on my back while I dozed off on his floor. He woke me at about 7, and I scooted home for a shower and change of clothes before work, which is where I am now.

What I'm grateful for this year:

My family- all of them wherever they are, family of birth, family of raising, and family by choice.
-I and my spouse are both employed
-My health and the health of my family is good
-I have a roof over my head and food on my table (perhaps a bit too much of the latter)
-Life is generally stable and good.
-I've found a new church without too much effort. It has the good things I like about my old one, and specifically avoids the things that I had a problem with.
-My cats. They're silly and twitchy, but they're great to curl up in bed with when it's chilly and no one else is home.
-The people in my life that I love so much that sometimes it hurts- includes people mentioned above in family, plus lots of other friends that I see way too seldom.

Now to make it through Black Friday unscathed...

And a reminder to reach out to those who are less fortunate:
http://www.give.salvationarmyusa.org/goto/anntotusek

I own four memberships that I use for staff help at WindyCon each year. If you'd like to go, and are willing to work for me in Green Room, please get in touch with me. I retain ownership of these memberships, and the hours worked by the person wearing the badge goes in to having it roll over each year so I can staff without costing the con memberships. If you're interested in being one of my little fairies, please contact me at charis_doula at worldnet dot att dot net. In previous years I've recruited folks from Des Moines, but there are a large number of people with conflicts this year, so I'm extending my tentac...um, reach, to my f-list.

This was taken today in the car on my cell phone. We were running errands, including a stop at Petco. He REALLY doesn't like doors, and doesn't yet know how to do stairs. I got training treats, and we're going to work on it along with crate training, which I've already started.

Well, except for never going in the kitchen. I LOVE to cook. But I would have "my people" clean up after me.
( House meme that breaks Friends Pages behind the cut... )

"Baseball commissioner won't punish Giambi over steroids"


I mis-read "Giambi" first as "Bambi", then as "Gumby".
Maybe I should go back to bed.

So our 3/4 family vacation went well. We left for the U.P. on the 17th. I'd intended to leave as soon as I got off work, but I hadn't been able to pack what with work and all the other traveling that I'd been doing, so instead I rushed home to pack, then did a few errands, including a Hobby Lobby stop for some model rocket supplies. We met up with madtechie2718 and P. at the Silver Sands motel and convoyed the rest of the way the next day with frequent stops for waterfall tourism. We saw Agate Falls, Bond Falls, and a couple of others whose names I don't remember. They were really beautiful. P. was an angel for putting up with M2. Children are not her favorite, and he had been warned to not pester her too much, but 7-year olds will be 7-year olds, and much like a cat he decided that the person least likely to want him around was the person he most wanted to be around. I take some comfort in the fact that he could have been MUCH worse behaved than he was. I've seen him do it... ;) Berzerker was fun- I had my own projects this year- several fuel-air bombs (flour and flash powder), the venerable pool chlorine-brake fluid combination, and a stuffed plush pig that we re-stuffed with a rocket engine and flash powder to see if pigs would fly. While we did determine that with a rocket of a given size they won't indeed fly per se, they will come off the launching rail and spin in the sands while the rocket fires. They'll also blow up rather nicely. I bought a cheapo kite and a kids fishing pole (Pirates of the Carribean) and had fun with it for a while on a windy day. It inspired me to pick up a double line delta kite at a kite store on the way back home. :) Saturday night was the fireworks display- several of us had picked up stuff at Morin's fireworks in Baraga, and we set them up and lit them off. Pretty.... :) Sunday night a group of us took a sunset cruise on the lake on the Isle Royal Queen. It rained a bit, which chased folks inside for a while, but overall it was a nice cruise, especially when the captain took us up very close to an ore transport ship that was headed for Duluth. drsulak turned to me and said "That's the makings for a LOT of thermite there..." Made me wish that madtechie2718 had brought the pirate flag that he'd had flying from the antenna of his SUV earlier that week. We could have taken them... :) Drove home on Monday, worked Tuesday dayshift. Last night I went to see "Hairspray" with a friend, which I rather enjoyed. John Travolta did a decent job with Edna Turnblad- she was much more dignified than I was afraid she might end up, and the relationship between her and her husband was really sweet. I was, however, relieved that I didn't have to watch John Travolta and Christopher Walken suck face. That would have been more suspension of disbelief than I could have mustered. Also, they did a great job with his "fat suit"- it didn't look just the same as as all the other fat suits I've seen, putting all the weight on in the same places. Edna had curves, and looked damn fine when she cleaned up! I'm off today (which is nice because it's my birthday) and most of tomorrow- work a night shift starting tomorrow night. Re: my birthday, thank you for all the kind birthday wishes. I don't think of it as turning 40, I think of it as turning 10 for the 4th time. :) Today M1 stopped through town on her way back south from visiting with boppa_bill and I had lunch with them and my SIL (who bought for me in honor of my b-day) at Chili's in Ankeny. We then stopped over so that M1 could say a quick "hi" to ericcoleman and then ran down to the Social Security office to order a new Social Security card for her so that she can get a bank account. Now I'm back off to bed for a while in order to stay up all night tonight prepping for tomorrow's overnight shift.