http://www.pleonast.com/user/kailua recent pleonast.com entries by user kailua en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/kailua?l=5&entryID=614510 Left St. Petersburgh/Clearwater airport 90 minutes late after boarding, plane computer problems, de-boarding, waiting and re-boarding. Got off the plane in Plattsburgh, New York, got the luggage and stepped out into the dark, freezing cold night air. I wanted to cry and thought my nose was going to bleed due to the severe change in temperature. It was in the upper 80's when we left Florida. It was 15 with a strong wind! That is over 70 degrees difference without even contemplating the wind chill. The sky was so blue in Florida with a bright yellow sun. Here the sky is white with a white sun. I often look at my photos of Hawaii to feel better. 2008-12-31 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kailua?l=5&entryID=611997 Yes that's right boys and girls, New England has been slammed with another storm. The 3rd storm in 5 days! On top of that, this one was a Nor' Easter. I have over 2 feet of snow on my back deck and it's not from drifting. Ed spent straight 6 hours snow blowing and still did not quite finish. The whole state was under a winter storm warning yesterday. Today is also cold but tonight through tomorrow morning there is a severe windchill warning out. It is so hard to comprehend how such beauty can be so dangerous. 2008-12-22 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kailua?l=5&entryID=610534 I am always amazed at people who can speak more than one language. I wish my French was more adept. I am making a meek attempt at learning German and I am always learning new words in Hawaiian. Just a few minutes ago, I wish I could have seen my own face with mouth a gape. I was on hold, waiting for technical support from Dell. When the offer of an upgrade sounded from my speaker phone. (Are you ready for this?) It said that for a fee I could not only pick my technical support team, available 24/7 - 365, but I could get a support team based right here in North America. Why should I have to pay extra for that? The answer is money, money, money, money, MONEY. I did not know until I owned a Dell that the support team is actually in India. Yes, India! I find myself compelled to ask, "How is the weather where you are?", no matter where I telephone. Ahem, now back to my point ~ Have you ever tried to understand technical instruction, in the wee early hours, from the pipes of someon... 2008-12-17 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kailua?l=5&entryID=605303 One more time. After many procedures, tests and biopsies in a completely different area - I am once again deemed cancer free! God is good and He does answer prayer. I have decided cancer is like a bully. You think you have gotten rid of him on the playground. Then you discover they have changed the bus route and he now sits beside you finding new ways to torment you. He rides his bicycle past your house, glaring all the way. He sits on the corner with clenched fists, knowing you must pass. The place you used to always feel safe (your own bed) is no longer a haven because he haunts your dreams. I decided years ago to be happy while you can. Laugh at every opportunity granted. Live life as fully as able, while able. Enjoy life any and every time allowed. A day without pain is a good day. Take time to appreciate even the small, often ordinary day to day things. Life is a beautiful gift, be thankful. Being thankful is something that NO bully can take charge of. And remember - Bullies are j... 2008-12-02 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kailua?l=5&entryID=599624 I am asking for you to pray for my daughter, Nicole Mongeon. She is having a difficult time dealing with several health issues. Please approach our Father's throne on her behalf. 2008-11-15 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kailua?l=5&entryID=593025 Here is a taste of the weather we have had last night and today. The temperature is at a high of 35*. The windchill is terrible, making it feel like single digit temperature! 2008-10-29 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kailua?l=5&entryID=588337 I was going to title this Fall In Vermont but why would I want anyone to FALL in Vermont? On a more serious note, I must state that the beauty of God is everywhere! Colors galore! So much breath-taking beauty everywhere one turns. For the past two weekends we have taken drives to admire what Our Creator has established. The season has come alive with a brilliance of tapestry. The leaves are lasting on the trees for a long duration of time, thus extending this season of foliage. While driving I smelled the wonderful aroma of someone burning maple wood in their woodstove. This is such a wonderful, richly sweet and cleanly fragrant wood to burn. It brought back good memories of years long since past. Imagine driving on a country road, temperatures in the high 60's, sunshine and blue skies with a good cup of coffee and great music playing. The crowning touch being colors of beauty that photos cannot do justice for. How blessed are we that He should grant such splendor to behold! 2008-10-16 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kailua?l=5&entryID=583925 Renovating the house and doing the work yourself/selves is a rewarding BOTHER! For years renovation has been a way of life. It has become a weigh on life. I am so tired of always having more to do. I do not feel comfortable having to work around a mattress, boxspring and dresser in my DINING ROOM! Even more than that, I am tired of fixing one thing just to have another start dripping or stop working all-together. I have just finished my second coat of paint on a particular wall that has needed to be re-done since last fall. I had this great idea of painting a 16' high wall and the adjoining partial 4' high wall a contrasting color from the rest of the dining room. This would would make a lounge/reading area seem more complete and set apart. I primed the area twice. I then gave it two coats of the paint I chose named Chianti. It looked fine but I decided that I liked the CandleLight topcoat I applied in the back bathroom so well that I would also apply it here. BIG mistake. The partial ... 2008-10-05 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kailua?l=5&entryID=583047 The following brings a whole new meaning to the statement, "It's feeding time at the zoo." At the Alice Springs Reptile Center in Canberra, Australia a 7-year-old boy broke into the zoo and fed 1 turtle, 4 western blue tongue lizards, 2 bearded dragons, 2 thorny devil lizards, and 1 5'9" goanna to a 9', 440 pound saltwater crocodile named Terry. Security cameras filmed the smiling younster as he bludgeoned to death 1 blue tongue lizard and 2 more thorny devil lizards in a matter of 30 minutes. Many of the animals fed to the croc were mature so they will be hard to replace. The Center Director, Rex Neindorf was quoted as saying, "The fact a 7-year-old can wreak so much havoc in such a short time, it's unbelievable. In my day he'd get a big boot up the arse." Local police say by law in the Northen Territory the boy cannot be held accountable because he is under 10 years of age. The Reptile Center is considering suing the parents who were supposedly in control o... 2008-10-03 http://www.pleonast.com/user/kailua?l=5&entryID=581877 All my life I have heard the saying, "Money well spent." I was not taught by my parents to invest money. Matter of fact as long as my parents were married, they never owned their own house. There was no savings account. No good business sense at all. As an adult I have invested and diversified with stocks, money markets, etc. It is supposed to be 'rewarding' in more ways than one. I must admit to the saddness and dismay I have felt for the past year every time my portfolio report comes in the mail. I no longer have the excited attitude of wonder about how my investments are coming along. Is there such a thing as money well lost? It is exactly the feeling of, "Oh no. How much have I lost this time?" I have stock in two of the giants that have recently fallen. Alas, I still have shares in JP Morgan who bought one of them up! I was recently listening to an expert in the investment field. She said it takes twelve, yes count them - 12 years to make back what one has lo... 2008-09-30