I originally posted this in November 2017. In 2025, all the boxes still aren’t unpacked yet. Most of the clothes aren’t unpacked/put away yet, either. But, life goes on and we’re doing the best we …
I hope I’m not jinxing myself but today I am thankful that I haven’t had any migraines for a while. It’s not “just” not having migraines, but the fact that, should I get one, there’s …
Today, I’m thankful for my past “Cushie Car”. (although the car is gone, I still have a blue car with the same tags) Since I started attending Cushing’s events, I’ve always tried to rent …
See a penny, pick it up… All day long you’ll have good luck.
When you are out and about today, look on the ground for pennies. It just might be your lucky day!
My mom is forever picking up pennies – or anything that’s cash-looking. She’s made a record over the years of how much money she’s found on the street and the total amount is pretty staggering.
Finding a penny has long been considered a good omen, suggesting something good will happen in the life of the finder. Some superstitious people believe that you should only pick up a penny that’s lying face up.
Some believe we should no longer mint pennies because they cost more to make than they are worth.
Years ago a penny was able to buy something – like penny candy. Today, due to inflation, the penny does not buy much of anything. The metal value and cost of minting pennies exceed their face value. Many nations have stopped minting equivalent value coins and efforts are being made to end the routine use of pennies in several countries including the United States.
The U.S. minted 8 billion pennies in 2014, spending almost $132 million for currency worth less than $50 million, according to Citizens to Retire the Penny, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to educating the public on why the U.S. should ditch the penny.
1793 – The first pennies in the United States were made of copper.
National Lucky Penny Day is observed each year on May 23rd.
Mother’s Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May. It complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Father’s Day and Siblings Day.
In the United States, celebration of Mother’s Day began in the early 20th century.
It was in 1905 when Mother’s Day was finally introduced successfully by Anna Jarvis. She started a dedicated letter writing campaign to declare an official Mother’s Day. Through Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, the first Mother’s Day was observed on May 10, 1908.
This day, to honor Anna Jarvis’s mother grew into a National Observance until in 1911 every state participated. Soon it was spreading internationally and on May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day a national holiday to be held on the second Sunday of May.
I needed gas for my car last week. I was on my way to bell rehearsal so I didn’t have time to go to my usual place. Instead, I stopped by the station that was on my way.
I had stopped going to this particular gas station many years ago when I thought that they were adding water to the mix. My engine had sputtered whenever I’d put in gas from there.
Anyway, I was in a rush, so I went there, to the first pump I came to. The gas flowed into my car, no problem. The hose clicked off as always.
When I removed it from my tank, gas sprayed everywhere. On me, on the car. I dropped the hose on the ground until I figured out how to turn it off manually.
I looked at the meter and I wasn’t charged for the extra gas. Good thing!
I grabbed a lot of their paper towels and cleaned my car off as best I could. Used a LOT of hand sanitizer on me and headed to rehearsal.
First rehearsal went fine. At the beginning of the second, someone mentioned smelling gas and I said it was me – and related my tale. Someone else said they could smell it on my car in the parking lot. <sigh>
Got home, took a l-o-n-g shower and extra cortisone.
DH went up to the gas station to have a word with them. The person on duty said this happens “a lot”.
Wednesday, DH called the station owner who suggested it was my fault. Then he called the main company “Customer Service” who offered us back $.25 (yes, 25 cents) for spraying myself with gas and becoming a possible fire hazard.
DH explained the concept of class action suit when I did a Google search and found over 2 million hits for “gas pump sprayed me”
That was over a week ago. “Customer service” was supposed to call back. Of course, they haven’t yet.
When we were kids, we learned how to dance a Maypole dance but no one else I’ve ever asked remembers doing this. Maybe it was just my small town? This was the town that gave out cherry pies for Washington’s birthday, too.
I don’t remember much about learning how to do this, other than we always got the strands tied up, possibly on purpose.
National Barbershop Quartet Day is observed annually on April 11. Barbershop quartets have a way making the heart flutter. Very often they transport us back to a simpler time or at the least make it stand still.
Barbershop quartets are a style of a cappella or unaccompanied vocal music. Their music features songs with understandable lyrics and easily singable melodies.
Between 1900 and 1919 barbershop music found its popularity. In the 1920s, it began to fade into obscurity. However, the barbershop quartet saw a revival when the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America was founded. This tongue twister of a men’s organization grew quickly as did other similar organizations promoting barbershop music as an artform. Today, just under 25,000 men in the United States and Canada are members of the SPEBSQSA. SPEBSQSA often called “SPEBS” for ease is now called The Barbershop Harmony Society.
Sweet Adelines International is a worldwide organization of women singers, established in 1945, committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performances. This independent, nonprofit music education association is one of the world’s largest singing organizations for women. “Harmonize the World” is the organization’s motto. It has a current membership of 24,000 and holds a yearly international singing competition.
We were waiting for a small Windjammer Barefoot Cruises ship when we met some folks who lived relatively near us. Karen was also a music teacher and we clicked right away. She belonged to a Sweet Adelines group relatively near me and I joined up.
I loved everything about Sweet Adelines – the singing, the sequins, the wigs, the false eyelashes, the competitions, the conventions – everything but the huge time commitment.
In the early days, we made our own costumes, complete with rows of sequins. Our “sewing room” – now my mom’s room – has an outline on the floor from where I had to spray on Fray Check. Forgot to use a newspaper underneath. Oops!
Then, I got Cushing’s and had to take a lot of time off for surgery and such. I tried going back a time or two but I just couldn’t handle it.
I still have my collection of medals from various competitions over 10 years and some days I really miss it.
I still love to listen to Barbershop and have a large collection in Spotify.
Here’s a favorite from the men:
My old group:
Sadly, the Windjammers have gone out of business. In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch was responsible for the loss of the s/v Fantome, a four-masted schooner operated by Windjammer. All 31 crew members aboard perished; passengers and other crew members had earlier been offloaded in Belize.
The ship, which was sailing in the center of the hurricane, experienced up to 50-foot (15 m) waves and over 100 mph (160 km/h) winds, causing the Fantome to founder off the coast of Honduras.
Cushing's Disease is a rare condition caused by excessive production of cortisol, a hormone essential for various bodily functions. It is a specific form of Cushing's Syndrome, where the overproduction of cortisol is due to a tumor in the pituitary gland. The condition affects 10 to 15 people per million each year, predominantly women between […]
For all of my early life, I was the good, compliant, patient. I took whatever pills the doctor prescribed, did whatever tests h/she (most always a HE) wrote for. Believed that whatever he said was the absolute truth. He had been to med school. He knew what was wrong with me even though he didn't live […]
Transsphenoidal surgery is the primary treatment for patients with Cushing disease (CD). This study assessed the surgical and endocrinologic outcomes of patients with CD following endoscopic pituitary surgery using strict biochemical criteria to guide surveillance in patients not achieving early remission.
A diagnostic technique called bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling (BIPSS), which measures the levels of the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) produced by the pituitary gland, should only be used to diagnose cyclic Cushing’s syndrome patients during periods of cortisol excess, a case report shows. When it is used during a spontaneous remission period of cycling Cushing’s syndrome, this kind of sampling can lead […]
Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is a disease which results from excessive levels of cortisol in the human body. The disorder is associated with various signs and symptoms which are also common for the general population not suffering from compound hypersecretion. Thus, more sensitive and selective methods are required for the diagnosis of CS.
Cortisol testing is not routinely done during medical check-ups, and there currently aren’t any at-home tests available to assess cortisol levels. Most healthcare providers only recommend testing for cortisol if there are symptoms indicative of conditions like Cushing’s syndrome.
National Grammar Day is observed across the United States each year on March 4th. According to Global Language Monitor, the estimated number of words in the English language is 1,025,109. There is some controversy to that number, but it’s safe to say it is over a million.
Brian Stevenson, Pender UMC Director of Handbells and Ensembles, presents a series of hymn-based devotions at noon on Wednesdays during Lent. The Third Hymn-based Devotion is When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Remembering all the words is no small feat. I first started collecting records (yes, records!) of musicals when I was in high school in Springfield, MA. Our library had an outstanding record collection, but I could only check out one (or 2?) at a time. I would bring my record(s) home, and listen to them […]
It will be fun watching your child improve their piano skills all while having fun using Piano Maestro in lessons each week! As your child’s teacher (or YOUR teacher!), I’m looking forward to seeing the progress they will make when they start using it at home each day. This guide will help you understand how […]
This day is more than a call to awareness; it's a global movement aimed at bridging the gap between isolation and community, despair and hope, challenges and solutions.
An arpeggio (it. /arˈpeddʒo/) is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than being played together like a chord. This word comes from the Italian word “arpeggiare”, which means “to play on a harp”. An alternative translation of this term is “broken chord”.
Brian Stevenson, Pender UMC Director of Handbells and Ensembles, presents a series of hymn-based devotions at noon on Wednesdays during Lent. The Second Hymn-based Devotion is Ah, Holy Jesus.
In Practice Pie, I’ll teach you how to support your child in their musical journey. I can’t promise it will be as easy as pie (but then, is pie really easy?) but I can promise to make it quick and practical, with a little humour thrown in for good measure.
Step into a world of giggles and song with “Fun with Music" at Pender! This is not just any music class – it's a journey through sound and imagination designed especially for preschoolers and their favorite grown-ups. Since 2013, Jim and Roberta Pont have been creating a space where tiny toes tap, and little voices […]
