sunnyislandbreezes.com

First posted March 29, 2010

It all started several months ago when one of the techs at work offered to sell me one of his computers.  Techie Boy has lots of electronic toys and didn’t need all his computers.  My computer was from the dark ages, so I said, “Let’s do it.”

I’d been clinging to my ancient machine, because I didn’t want to buy a new one and get stuck with Vista.  Yes, I know a lot of you all are perfectly happy with Vista, but I don’t know anyone personally who is.

Anyway, this computer had Windows XP, plus Techie Boy had cleaned it up and had some good programs in place for me.  And he said he would bring over his external hard drive, transfer my files and get it all set up ready to go for me.  Now, is that a good deal or what?

Finally, I went out and bought an external hard drive of my own.  I knew I needed it.  I should have been backing up all my work and files anyway.  So, now I had that handy little gadget and then I waited some more.

Now Techie Boy means well, but it’s hard to pin him down.  He’s like the rest of us – lots of stuff going on in his life.  Besides, he lives way over on the mainland and it’s a very long drive for him.

I finally reached the “I can’t take it anymore” point.  It’s a bunch of nonsense having two computers setting here side by side, pretending they are twins.  If I want my computer to have a sibling, I’ll buy a laptop.

So, I called a computer lady who lives on the island just a few blocks away.  Why on earth didn’t I do this sooner?  Arlene is a wonderful person.  She kept right on smiling and being pleasant every single time my pc acted up like the brat it was becoming.

It didn’t want to give up any of it’s secrets.  It took hours to slurp everything out of it.  Then when Arlene transferred it all over, the little brat wouldn’t give up the right e-mail info.

It traveled back in time.  The most current e-mails on there were from September, 2008.  What happened to 1 1/2 years worth of info saved in my e-mail folders?  For that matte4r, what happened to all the stuff in my inbox?  It seems to have morphed into unread mail from prior years.

This computer business is getting more irritating by the hour.  I certainly don’t need this added stress in my life.  Thank you, God, for Arlene.  She got it set up and running without charging me an arm and a leg.  (She actually preferred money – a very reasonable amount.)

I gave her my old, bratty computer.  She sometimes cleans up old computers and gives them to people who can’t afford to go out and buy one.  Arlene even saved my files for awhile until she was sure there wasn’t anything else I might need.  Since I did need some of the stuff in my e-mail folders, I went over last Tuesday, moved the info all into one folder and then downloaded it to a disk.

Feeling good with this disk in my hot little hand, I just knew I was set for a nice long time.  NOT!!!  Wednesday while working at the computer it flashed a blue screen at me, telling me that if it was the first time I’d seen that screen to turn off the computer and restart in safe mode.

I did, I couldn’t and it didn’t.  When I turned it back on, it started beeping at me and the screen just stayed black.  There was no starting it up again.  Forget about safe mode.  More like no mode.

Well, crap! shucky durn!  Okay, time to call Arlene.  She said it sounded like the motherboard or hard drive.  (You mean that evil thing has a mother?  I’m thinking it’s the spawn of Satan!)

Sweetheart that she is, Arlene even researched computers for me.  We even talked about her building one for me to my specs.  I decided to call my son, the computer nerd who has the audacity to live about a thousand  miles away, before making a decision.

After I finished unloading my computer woes on him, he told me that if I saw the dreaded blue screen to just consider that to be the kiss of death.  He told me to just give it up and go out and buy a new computer.  Sweet young thing even told me which one I needed.

Thursday, I went down the street to the handy, dandy computer selling store.  I now have a brand new computer with Windows 7.  After bringing it home, I ignored it.  I just wasn’t mentally prepared to deal with setting it up yet.  I reached the “sick to death of it all” point.

Instead, I sat down with pen and paper and wrote four posts.  If you’re reading this now, it means I went to bed for eight hours before getting up the energy to go through another computer set up.

I’m thankful that the computer craziness is behind me.  I’m also thankful for Arlene.  If you’re ever in the area and need computer help, service or info, call this lady.  She has class in addition to knowledge and ability.She also has the cutest little dog.  I’d like to dognap her, but I won’t.  Maybe I’ll get to babysit her some day.  Or, should that be dog sit her?

*I have received no monetary compensation for singing Arlene’s praises.  I’m just a very happy customer.  If you’re ever in the Tampa/St Pete area, get in touch with Arlene if you need assistance with your computer.

arleneb @ tampabay dot rr dot com

H (727) 577-2727

C (272) 804-8022

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,

for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Colossians 3:1-4

That Certain Summer

By Irene Hannon

New Contemporary Romance by Two-Time RITA Award-Winning Author

With her trademark compelling characters and heartwarming hope, celebrated author Irene Hannon offers her readers an inspiring true-to-life tale of complex family relationships, transgressions revealed and forgiven and the complicated process of finding love.
Karen and Val are family – yet they’re anything but close. Karen has carried the burden of responsibility for her aging mother ever since her sister left town years ago to pursue a career in theater. But Val had darker reasons for leaving town – and had a secret to keep – so coming home has never been an option . . . until their mother suffers a stroke.

Reunited in their hometown, Karen and Val must grapple with their past mistakes, their own relationship and their issues with a mother who is far from ideal. When a physical therapist raising his daughter alone and a handsome but hurting musician enter the picture, the summer takes on a whole new dimension. As their lives intersect and entwine, can each sister learn how to forgive, how to let go and how to move on? And strengthened by the healing power of faith, might they also find the courage to love?

ISLAND BREEZES

Two very different sisters, a divorce, a teenage girl, a working mom, low self esteem and a heartbreaking secret.

Then there’s the manipulative mother who plays one daughter against the other. When the mother has a stroke, both daughters have to be there to help with her care.

This book is about those sisters rediscovering each other and building a relationship.

Toss in a couple hunks, a disabled  teen, an adorable five-year-old and you have a story that will both break your heart and warm it. Yes, you will need that box of tissues to get through this book.

***A special thank you to Donna Hausler for providing a review copy.***

Irene Hannon is the author of more than 35 novels, including the bestselling Heroes of Quantico and Guardians of Justice series. Her books have been honored with two coveted RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America, a Carol Award, a HOLT Medallion, a Daphne du Maurier Award and two Reviewers’ Choice Awards from RT Book Reviews magazine. Booklist also included one of her novels in its “Top 10 Inspirational Fiction” list for 2011. She lives in Saint Louis, Missouri.

For more information about her and her books, Irene invites you to visit her website at www.irenehannon.com.

Available June 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

First posted December 21, 2009

All stops pulled with ramming this health care bill through by Christmas.  Gotta make the promises look better before the year is over.

Business as usual.  Pork is buying the votes.  An article in The New York Times today tells the story of the hidden pork that is pushing through Obamacare.

Is this version of the health care bill worth pushing through?  That’s something every voter should research and decide for himself.  Do you know what’s in this bill?

Update: Nancy Pelosi said that we had to pass this bill so we’d know what is in it. Well, they passed it, we know some of what’s in it and a whole bunch of us do not like what’s in it. No wonder she kept it secret. I’m sure a lot of people who voted for it, would have thought twice about voting for it if they had actually read the bill.

First posted October 10, 2009

The 14th Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

While returning from my trip to the mainland yesterday, I kept hearing about Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  At first I thought it was just some kind of hoax, but had to accept that it was indeed true.  The one thing most people were in agreement on was the fact that they couldn’t figure out why he was the recipient.  Past recipients have included

• Ralph Bunche
• Albert Schweitzer
• Dag Hammarskjold
• Linus Pauling
• Martin Luther King, Jr
• Mother Teresa
• Lech Walesa
• Archbishop Tutu
• the Dalai Lama
• Nelson Mandela

They all worked to advance peace.  Even our peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter, earned his Nobel honorably.  Where does Obama fit into this group?

The Nobel Peace Prize was once a prestigious award.  The prestige began wearing off when Al Gore, “inventor of the Internet” and creator of both convenient and inconvenient lies came out as a Nobel award winner.  I guess he maybe brought peace among the proponents of the global warming theory.  Is global warming the reason why our country had snow in June and is going to have record cold temperatures this winter?

One thing to take into consideration is the fact that the nominations for this prize closed after Obama had been in office only two weeks.  Who nominated him and why did they think he was going to turn into a peacemaker some day?  Some day isn’t what it’s all about, people.

Everyone is wondering what rationale was used.  Alfred Nobel’s will stated that the Peace Prize should be awarded “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

If you want to find out more about these Nobel Prizes and the previous winners you can start here while we wait for Obama to do something, anything, to earn this once prestigious award.

Update: I still don’t see what he’s done to promote peace. We’re now involved in more wars as well as encouraging wars.

A Heartbeat Away

By S. Dionne Moore

When a band of runaway slaves brings Union-loyal Beth Bumgartner a wounded Confederate soldier named Joe, it is the catalyst that pushes her to defy her pacifist parents and become a nurse during the Battle of Antietam.

Her mother’s mysterious goodbye gift is filled with quilt blocks that bring comfort to Beth during the hard days and lonely nights, but as she sews each block, she realizes there is a hidden message of faith within the pattern that encourages and sustains her. Reunited with Joe, Beth learns his secret and puts the quilt’s message to its greatest test—but can betrayal be forgiven?

ISLAND BREEZES

There was nothing civil about the civil war. Beth found that out as she helped her grandmother nurse wounded soldiers.

The blood, the pain, the stench all worked to discourage her as she worked tirelessly.  Joe, her first patient, was able to provide a bit of a balance.

Beth and Joe’s friendship strengthened, but could she actually let her feeling grow for a southerner?

Then there’s the injury which left her with a permanent limp. It was enough for a man to turn away from her and now she’s locked away all hope for a life with a husband and children.

Joe is also struggling with his life threatening injury, as well. He is determined to find out why his brother Ben was murdered.

Throughout this book S. Dionne Moore gives us an authentic view of the inside of the civil war. I’m looking forward to more books by her.

***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***

Dionne Moore is a historical romance author who resides in South Central PA with her family, surrounded by the beautiful Cumberland Valley and lots of fun, historically rich locations. She is a weekly contributor to “The Borrowed Book”, a blog for book-lovers and “Cozy Mystery Magazine”, for all things cozy mystery.

First posted August 14, 2009

The title is what it is.  More thoughts.

Never measure your self-worth from the opinion of others.

Smiles are free.

I feel like a fish.  We all need to be in school with each other.

A hero is one who can hang on one minute longer.

I can change any thought that hurts.

Believe in yourself.  Someone has to make the first move.

It’s never too late to be what you might have been.

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.

Understanding each other is the first step to getting along.  Getting along is the second step to getting well.

Happiness is to get help, to get well, to get out.

I don’t know if any of the quotes can be attributed to someone else.  I just know that the patients here wrote them down as a thought for the day.  Some of them are very astute.

First posted August 12, 2009

It’s actually not an asylum.  That just was a catchy title.  These thoughts were written by mental health clients in my crisis stabilization unit.  One of my techs found a small box with cards of thoughts for the day.  I don’t know how many years these have been around here.  This box was found pushed back into a corner.  Some of these writings are very insightful.  Here’s a sampling:

Life is like riding a bike – if you don’t keep pedaling, you fall over.

One learns in life to keep silent and draw one’s own confusions.

If you want to get along in life, you first must realize that the world largely consists of other people.

Hugs are better than Drugs.  Kisses are cool, too.

My illness is only part of my total being.

Winners make commitments.  Losers make promises.

Pretend you are a rubber band and bounce back!

Don’t be surprised at where you find wisdom.  It’s everywhere.  I’ll share more thoughts with you later.

First posted June 25, 2009

Today the entertainment world said goodbye to Farrah Fawcett, one of Charlie’s Angels, and Michael Jackson, king of pop.  50 year old Michael Jackson died this afternoon of cardiac arrest.  62 year old Farrah died this morning following a three year battle with cancer.

I’ve followed Michael’s career from the time he sang with the Jackson 5 as a child.  He started with his first performance at the Apollo Theater at the age of nine.  Then a memorable album and video, Thriller, propelled him forward, and he grew into The Man in the Mirror.

Michael brought us groundbreaking videos, a sequined glove and the moon walk.  Michael was not just a singer.  He was a very talented performer who sang, wrote, danced and acted.  He was also a man of compassion.  He, along with Lionel Richie, wrote the lyrics for We Are the World.

Farrah will be remembered most for her Charlie’s Angel role of Jill Munroe, and the distinctive hair style that came to be known as “the Farrah.”  Farrah’s acting career neither started nor ended with that role, but 29 episodes made sure we would always think of her as an “angel.”

These two each were a “one of a kind.”  They will be missed.

Update: Has it really been nearly five years?

Jean Stapleton (born Jeanne Murray; January 19, 1923 – May 31, 2013)

I love this episode where Edith finally tells Archie to stifle.