Not quite the same

Merry Christmas from Jackson, MS! It's a pretty skyline.

But we are still dealing with the effects of Katrina.

Here in Jackson there are dots of blue roof here and there.Further south there are big blue roofs everywhere you look.

Big shady yards once full of trees now seem empty and bare.

And just look at what Katrina did at my great-grandmother's house!

Headline from today's Times-Picayune (the New Orleans paper) - "Louisiana gains from neighbor's influence. Mississippi senator pushed hurricane relief package." I'm just so proud of Thad Cochran and Haley Barbour. Nature slams us with a major hurricane and Mississippians roll up their sleeves, throw a tele-thon, get a grant, and then go to work rebuilding!

Katrina's toll in Mississippi (statistics from the Sun-Herald)

$125 billion - Estimated dollar amount of damage caused by Hurricane Katrina
231 - Identified dead statewide
5 - Unidentified dead
67 - Missing
65,380 - Houses in South Mississippi destroyed
383,700 - Mississippi insurance claims filed (Katrina and Rita)
$5 billion - Claims paid (as of Nov. 21)
141,000 - Insurance claims filed in South Mississippi
$1.3 billion - Claims paid in South Mississippi
44 million - Estimated cubic yards of debris in South Mississippi
21.8 million - Cubic yards removed as of Dec. 5
20,447 - Red Cross staff and volunteers in Mississippi
5,543,006 - Red Cross meals served
42,768 - People sheltered by Red Cross
229 - Red Cross shelters opened
$185 million - Red Cross money spent in South Mississippi as of Nov. 30

No, I haven't disappeared

So I've been asked why I haven't posted lately. Well, the honest truth is that I got bummed out on most everything when Bud-Dog died.

But I'm trying to get back up with taking pictures and writing again. I've done a bit of crocheting lately so - Soon - I promise - there will be a post with pictures.

Hey, here's something, it's a painting I like called 'The Lady of Shalott' by John Waterhouse. It is based on a poem by Alfred Tennyson. I want a nice framed print of this. The colors are wonderful and I am mesmerized by the look on her face.

Sad News

See that black dot. It showed up on Bud-Dog's belly about the middle of August. It quickly got larger and I took Bud to the vet once I got a chance after Hurricane Katrina. The vet removed the growth and sent it off to the lab. The diagnosis - Hemangiosarcoma. A form of cancer that affects the blood vessels. Not good, not good at all.

Bud died at home, in my arms one week ago today. I miss him so very, very much. He was such a loving little lap dog - that's my chair he is laying in here, waiting for me to sit down and hold him. There is a huge hole in my life right now and I suspect it will be there for a long, long time.

Something new

And in more positive, uplifting news, I received my doily from Ulla in Sweden! A free-form doily with lots of flowers and leaves. I am so impressed. Thanks so much Ulla!! I Love It!!








And I've actually managed to knit my first pair of socks. A month or so ago, I bought the book 'Knit Socks' and some Cascade 220 yarn. I've been working on these little by little every since. I'm amazed that once I bound off the yarn and wove in the ends, there were actually two socks and they fit! Hubby has requested a pair of himself, so I've got the yarn ready to go for his pair. We will definately have warm feet this winter!



Another view of a complete sock, just because I am so thrilled that these came out as real socks!

FYI

www.mississippirecovery.com

Some photos from the Mississippi Gulf Coast - http://dancingwithkatrina.blogspot.com/

Closer to Normal

Life is turning back to something closer to normal here in Jackson, MS. The 3-hour gas lines have disappeared much to the relief of us all. I walked into a local convience store yesterday and was impressed by the fully stocked shelves - rows and rows of soft drinks, chips, gum, candy bars, even doughnuts and sweet rolls! Amazing how I've always taken stuff like that for granted but, after more than a week of stores with very little on the shelves, it sure did look good. Restaurants are opening back up, even if they don't have a full menu. The local Burger King, which sustained a bit of roof damage, is selling burgers again (don't order a fish sandwich because they don't have any).

One of the stranger after-effects of Katrina has been the failure of the 1-800 phone systems. I've been doing buying for the hospital this week and we are still having difficulties getting through on vendor's toll-free numbers. I can pull up their websites but I've been amazed at how many companies do not post their local number on the web. Been having to get rather inventive to get in touch with different companies.

I traveled south down highway 49 over the weekend to check on the folks and saw so many vehicles headed south with supplies. There was a military convoy, 4 Cobra helicopters, RV's and motor homes, and all sorts of out-of-state service trucks that I couldn't even began to identify. Although if you know about Shaw Electric, they were staging in Mendenhall. (I think they may have been a little lost but I'm not sure.) Then there were the trailers filled with weird, complicated looking equipment, including several trailers filled with multi-colored port-a-potties.

And the news from the country folk - Cell service has been set up back in Lone Star and now Daddy no longer has to go up to the top of the hill to make a call. Cellular South has really done a fantastic job getting service back up through the state. While we were there a truckload of ice from Maryland pulled into the local volunteer fire department. I've never quite figured out how news travels so fast out in the country, but there were a lot of people coming up to get some of that cold ice! There has been a give-away of MRE's. Daddy says they are pretty good once you figure out how to open them without burning you fingers.

We went on over to Collins to survey the damage. Collins had a lot of older oaks, many of them hollow, and there are trees down everywhere! (I forgot my camera at home or I would have pictures here.) Anyway, the local grocery store has suffered a lot of damage, including all the front windows being busted. So, the store is now set up in the parking lot and there were quite a few customers as we drove by. There was another ice give-away going on at the Collins Fire Department. The local Sonic opened up for business with just potatoes - they had french fries, tater tots, or hash browns. It is good to see how people have banded together to help one another!

There are still thousands of evacuees here in the Jackson area. It's just so sad how many people have been left with no where to go.

Random Thoughts

My mind keeps jumping from one thing to another. So much has happened lately and I'm having trouble processing it all.

My dad called me yesterday on his cell phone!! If he goes to the top of the hill, he has cell power, apparently from the tower in Collins. They still have no power but the pumping station in Collins has been brought online so he has been able to get gas. Yeah! I did call the power company yesterday to see if they had any idea of when the power might be back on in the Lone Star community and was told probably 2 to 3 weeks.

Dad called me again today but our phone service here in Jackson has been screwy today, both the cell and wall phones. So I wasn't able to speak to him but my cell shows it as a missed call.

Our church is sending supplies to Hattiesburg, MS and people to help clean-up. The Hattiesburg-Laurel area was hit pretty hard. There's a good article about Jones County here. The church has two large 18-wheelers that is being filled with supplies today. Response has been great. (Started to say overwhelming there, but I've been using that word way too much lately.)

Interesting web site here. There are satellite images from the NOAA. Click a box and you can see a detailed satellite image of how different sections of the Gulf Coast look now. My husband and I traveled down to the Gulfport-Biloxi area twice this summer. I'm still trying to comprehend the total devastation down there.

Stopped by Wal-Mart today to get some baking soda to get the odor from the fridge. No baking soda and very little bleach, no frozen pizzas and very few canned veggies, but they had plenty of some fancy labeled Organic Cane Sugar. For some reason that really irritated me.

I need to stop watching all the television coverage of this because it is really getting to me but I can't. We keep turning the TV over to Fox. I've got a soapbox here I could really climb on about how this is all being reported on but I'm not. I have a roof over my head, food & water in the fridge, and air-conditioning. I know that my family is safe and sound. I am blessed.

A few pictures

Monday, August 29th, Hurricane Katrina arrives in Jackson, MS and the screen door to the back is already being pushed inward. I had left work about 11, picked up hubby, and the power went off as soon as we walked inside the house, about 12:30.
Rescued The Cat who was sitting inside next to this screen getting soaking wet.


I actually had to rescued The Cat two more times from the wet. Poor kitty was just fascinated by the wind and flying debris.
I stepped out front once during a short lull to try to figure out what were the large dark things flying through the air. Discovered lots of shingles from our house lying in the yard. This also explained the popping sounds we kept hearing on top of the house.

Fourteen hours later it was still raining but we told ourselves that the wind had subsided a bit and went to bed. Woke up a few hours later and stepped out the survey the damage.
Our yard was, well the back yard still is, covered with debris, including this large limb which had been stripped of leaves.



Bud-Dog absolutely refuses to go out so we give up on that and try to figure out what to do.
Power is still out and I can't get anyone on the phone so we decide to drive to work and see what was what. Going down Highway 25, there were lots of snapped power poles like this one here.



This is the street light outside my office. Obviously Katrina didn't like caution lights! This particular light has still not been fixed.
Roads are full of leaves, sticks, and downed trees. One woman died in the neighborhood near where this photo was taken when a large oak tree fell on her house.


Everyone tries to find somewhere to get gas. Gas lines have become a fact of life here but many, many areas do not have gas so we are lucky on that score. Police are now posted at all gas stations and only allow cars to enter the pump area as pumps become available.



The line for the station above. Notice there are no prices posted. I don't even look to see what the prices are at the pump. You got to have gas to get to work so we all just take what is available and hope we have enough money. I filled up on Wednesday, getting in a line at 5:37 am and pulling away from the pump with a full tank at 7:04 am.



Work sent me back home, so these are from my neighborhood. This is the view of my back neighbor's yard as seen through the newly acquired hole in our fence. We have since put some chicken wire up so the dogs won't roam off.


The dock on Oak Street. Power lines down over the entrance. There is a truck and trailer there, but I can't imagine why you would want to go boating with all that was floating in the water.





Another view of Oak Street. This street did not get power on until today.





A two-for-one special that I'm sure this homeowner didn't appreciate. Actually, it was a three-for because there was also a tree down on the other side of this house.




Downed trees sitting on power lines all over the place. This is at Arrowhead Trail.







A cut power line on the ground in front of the fire department.







Low power lines over the road.






My parents, my sister and her family, my grandmother and aunt live in rural Mississippi. I was able to get down there Thursday with three 20lb bags of ice, some water, batteries, and canned goods. This is the only picture I took down there and is a pecan tree behind my grandmother's house. I remember being a little girl and picking pecans with my grandfather under this tree.

While a lot of media attention has been given to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast (and Lord knows those people are in really bad shape), Mississippi and Louisana are still mostly rural areas and the country folks are facing some hard times. They have no power and it will be another 2 to 3 weeks before power will be able to be restored in some outlying areas. The really lucky communities have someone with a generator and gas to run it. In my parent's area, two generators are being shared from house to house to try to help people out a bit. (Thanks Joel!) Clean drinking water is running short and once folks eat what food they have, there is no way to run up to the store to buy more. There's no phone service, no gas, no power and no TV so they are really isolated and do not yet fully understand the enormous impact of Hurricane Katrina.

I want to thank the American Red Cross for all they are doing and all they will continue to do in the future for this area. If you want to help, please make a donation to their hurricane relief efforts. I'm also very grateful to Brookshire's grocery stores. They have been bringing in truckloads of ice and giving bags away (1 per person). This is how I got the ice to take to my family. And Jackson radio stations Mix 96.3 and MIS103. Mix 96 got us through the storm by airing the television weather coverage all day. Country radio 103's signal was reaching as far south as Hattiesburg. They gave up their music format and became talk radio as people from across the state called in and gave what information they could.

It's just all so overwhelming, and sometimes, it quite frankly seems hopeless, but we southerners will survive!!

Tired, Dazed, And Confused

Still living with the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina. I'm working on a larger post, but I am here!

Oh Baby!

Here's the newest grand-baby! My step-daughter had a baby. Chance Avery arrived Thursday just past lunch. A tiny baby, but oh so cute. I've held him, fed him, burped him, and handed him off to Mom for a diaper change. There's nothing quite like a new-born baby. God really did a wonderful job with the baby thing.


And on a completely different topic, I learned a very important lesson this week. When I make a project for a swap, I need to make real sure that I have a great picture before I mail out the item. But...this is the doily I made and sent out for the Crochetville doily swap. I didn't notice this glare on the pic until I started to upload it which, of course, wasn't until after I had handed the package off to the USPS. So, okay, lesson learned.

We got a new baby in the family. What do you have new?

Oh! I almost forgot...there's a hurricane headed for us. Expected to be at my home early Tuesday. Pray for us all, especially those on the coast.

Time for a new mop!

Let's just file this under weird stuff.

Now I'll be the first to admit that my mop was getting old and needed to be replaced. But still, every week or so I would pull it out, mop up my kitchen floor, and then hang it outside to dry. That is, I did until I stepped out early the other morning to find that some kind of weird alien fungi had taken up residence among the strands of mop fiber. Looking for all the world like wee little satellite dishes, three tiny grey mushrooms were peeking up skyward from the mop head. I got hubby to snap this picture (which you can click on if you must have a better view). The growths disappeared once the sun came out but I'm not taking any chances. I now own a new mop and the infested one has been retired.

So, what's the weirdest thing you've seen this week?

Ignite! and Bud-Dog

Ignite was the name of the annual leadership conference at Pinelake Baptist Church which was held last night and today. A great conference and wonderful break-out sessions. We had a guy from Saddleback Church in California, Jeff Hetschel, who had a session on 'Leading A Small Group' which I attended. It was really good and I picked up some tips for when my husband and I start a small group this fall. Hey - if you are ever in the Jackson area on a Sunday morning come by and check us out.

Now I'm working on my picture posting. The following pics should be clickable to bring up a bigger image. (I'm really hoping this works.)

And here is Bud. The last of the residents to make it to my blog but the oldest of our three pets. Bud gets his name because he is my little Buddy and we've just shortened it to Bud, or Bud-Dog, over the years. Bud is getting on up there. We've had him for almost 14 years and he wasn't a puppy when we rescued him. He has a few problems. He got hit by a car which factured his skull. (This is how we got him. He crawled to our door-steps, we scooped him up and took him to the vet for surgery.) So he doesn't quite have all his marbles and is easily confused. He's hard of hearing, he has a cataract on one eye, he's got very dry skin, and he's missing a few teeth. But he greets each day with joy and lives in his own Happy, Happy little world where the big white box is always full of ice cubes and the giant people always come back home. His favorite things are french fries and belly rubs. I love this dog and I thank God that Bud has been a part of our lives for so many years.

I've Been Tagged!

Ack! I've been tagged by Debi at Deb's Down Time!!

id•i•o•syn•cra•sy - a structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group. Write down 5 of your own idiosyncrasies, then if you wish, tag 5 people.

Hmm, do I want to admit to any idiosyncrasies? I asked Hubby if I had any but he just laughed and refused to discuss the topic. So I'm on my own here. Let's see...

1. I don't like tomatoes, raw or cooked. But I love ketchup!

2. I can't swim and I don't like to get into water any deeper than my waist, but I love to go boating.

3. I've never admitted this to anyone else, but when I'm by myself, I count. Steps, stairs, seconds, whatever - my brain just automatically counts things. There are nine steps on each flight in the parking garage at work. Most red lights will turn green within sixty seconds. I know this because I counted.

4. I tend to be a pack-rat. (I'm trying to work on this though.)

5. I use the word "Well" too much when I'm speaking.

That's my list. And I'm sure there are more, but that's the ones I'm confessing to now.

So I'm tagging Chie at Chie Crochets , Ulla at Ulla's fiber blog , and Jewel at Jewel's Crochet .

Old and New

A new McDonald's has opened up near our house. And it looks like this. (I know, we need to get better at taking night-time shots.) It's a neat looking building with kinda a retro look but I have no idea why it doesn't look like the other McDonald's around here. They still sell Big Macs and Quarter-Pounders though.

I made kitty aka Patches aka 'The Cat' a blanket from Lion Brand's Homespun. The pattern is on Lion Brand's web site. I changed it up just a bit by doing the whole thing as one piece, because I just don't like sewing squares together and I used different colors for the border.

And just what did 'The Cat' think of her new blanket?

Well, you be the judge!

Ain't that just the cutest thing?

Until next time, ya'll be good and sleep soundly!

Showing Off!

More projects finished since my last post. I am slowly, but surely, working my way through the large yarn stash sitting in my spare room.

This giant scarf is from a pattern in the archives of CrochetMe . I changed up the stripe patterning. It's made with Lion Brand's Homespun yarn using a Q hook.

You know how much I really need a giant scarf. I live in Mississippi where the temperature is currently 95 F and the heat index is expected to be 105F.

I kept the picture a bit big so you can see the other works-in-progress I've got going. One day I'll finish them all. (maybe) There's also a basket of cotton yarn there and the big brown thing has more yarn inside.

In the tote of left of picture is a baby blanket that I just need to finish putting the flower border on. The folded object below it is a scrap afghan that will one day fit over our queen-sized bed. (It's a rather ambitious project.) The white tote on the right has a wool sweater I'm knitting. I've got the back done and one sleeve almost finished. (See above for the temperature today and you'll know why I'm not working on it in July.)


Crocheted blue bag made with Aunt Lydia's "Denim" thread. The pattern is here . I added a flap so the bag wouldn't always be wide open. I really like this. It's a nice size, perfect for carrying my sock stuff around.

And speaking of socks, I finished knitting one. I'm going to wait to post a picture until I have two though.

I'm almost finished with my doily for the great Crochetville Doily Swap. I've made a few 8-inch squares, but they didn't photograph well so I'll have to post them later.

Other than that, it's HOT & HUMID here. My yard needs mowing and so far I've been unable to get the dogs to help with that chore.

Hi Mom & Dad!!

Just a quick post in honor of my parents who have finally gotten internet service out there in the country. I've got some pictures of more stuff, but I'll get them posted later. And Dad, the Jackson paper is at www.clarionledger.com . Click on Opinion/Editorial on the left, then scroll down for the letters to the editor.

Love ya both - Julie

Blog Doodlin'

I made a button! With the ducky face!! (I really like that duck. ) I've been trying to figure out how to make a neat looking button. I came across a web tutorial of how to make a button using Paint Shop Pro. While reading the 3-4 page tutorial, I realized that I could make exactly what I wanted using the Paint program that came with my computer. So I did and you can see the result in the sidebar.

Also, I've applied for approval to join the Crochet Blogs web ring. I think web rings are neat and they can lead to some really interesting places. So I've got my fingers crossed that this blog will be approved for admission to Crochet Blogs. It's still a new blog and doesn't have a whole lot of content yet but I think it will be okay.

More Stash-Busting

I like to read crochet patterns. I spend alot of time reading patterns online and imaging how the crochet process goes along. In my mind's eye, I substitute different yarns and colors. Just by reading patterns I can crochet countless items over and over without ever actually finding a hook and yarn.
However, this habit is not helping my yarn stash actually shrink. (And I own way too much yarn!) So, I printed out the very first pattern in the very first issue of Crochet Me and voila!!

It's a crocheted washcloth made from Lion Brand cotton yarn. I changed the pattern a bit by crocheting in the back loops only. I like this. It's a nice size and very soft. I haven't used it yet but I plan to make several more to put in a basket in my bathroom. After all, I've got plenty of cotton yarn in various colors.

Gotta Love the Mailman!!

I got two packages in the mail Monday. The really, really good one was this one here. My order from Webs arrived! Three skeins of Cascade 220 Quatro destined to become warm winter socks. I decided last week that I would learn how to knit socks. Took a trip to Barnes & Nobles and got the book 'Knit Socks!' Ordered the yarn on Friday and I've got socks in progress. Sorry, but I don't have a photo of the WIP because I'm working on them in my office before my work day actually starts. But I'll be sure to post the finished product!

I'm almost finished with my doily for the Crochetville doily swap. I believe Julie said we could make two if we wanted, and I may just do that.

It's Hot in Mississippi and we need rain. (And that five-minute shower we got this afternoon just doesn't count!) How's your weather?

Lady Dog

"Help Me! Someone please help me! Just because I may have put on a few extra pounds over the winter, the woman thinks I'm fat. It was bad enough that she brought home that food for 'overweight dogs' . It got worse when the man stopped feeding me lots of treats during the day. Now, she is making me wear this harness and leash and is taking me OUTSIDE for L-O-N-G walks through the neighborhood where everyone sees me. Oh, the shame of it all. I would much rather stay laid up in the house under the air-conditioner. Someone have pity on me, please!"



Poor, poor Lady dog. We got her a couple of years ago at PetSmart. She's a lab mix, and is a bit timid. She's unsure about people on bikes, she's unsure about people on roller-blades, she's unsure about children playing scoccer in yards. Walking this dog is an experience, because she is just so unsure about so many things. She's also not big on having her picture taken which is why I have this other photo. Yes, that is a roll of fat on the dog's backside. And is the reason we go walking twice a week.

So, How Has Your Day Been?

Let's post a picture!!

Yeah me!! I managed to get pictures posted! I'm so excited!

Poncho above is a stash-buster project and I love it. I came across a cone of Lily's white cotton, that I had probably picked up to make potholders with, and thought Poncho!! The pattern is an adaption of one in the Annie's Attic booklet Poncho panache! It's perfect for a Mississippi summer.

First Post

Gotta figure out how this blogger thing works. So I'm gonna check out the help and get going. This is just a test post more or less.