BLOOMBERG

In the Corvallis Gazette Times this morning in the religion section is the headline, "Bloomberg: America's first Jewish president?" Bloomberg is the only candidate smart enough to be president. It's important that he's Jewish, especially in a time when some around the world want to annihilate all Jews.

Hilliary? Why would I vote for Hilliary? I don't know what she stands for since she's so busy kissing up the last three years. When her husband was president, he gave her the project of putting together a national health care system and she failed so just why would I think she would do any better this time plus her husband gave away the store and couldn't control his personal life.

Edwards, the pretty boy? I don't know. I think he would be too busy looking in a mirror.

Romney? I would never vote for a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after my experience in this church. Am I nice to members? Yes. Do I keep my distance? Yes.

Giuliani--maybe I'll vote for him, if Bloomberg doesn't run for president.

COCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS

Coccidioidomycosis can be dangerous and life threatening. Imagine having fungal spores inside your body that multiply and shoot off like popcorn in the microwave and then continue to multiply in all parts of your body. It weakens the immune system, causes respiratory problems, can lead to meningitis when not stopped, and during the 1950's was actually considered by the U.S. Government to be a biological weapon. It isn't contagious. You must breath in the fungal spores. You aren't supposed to get it again but that obviously isn't true since my husband has a new full-blown case of Valley Fever. Was it caused by the residual disease that was dormant in his body or is this a new infection from spores that he breathed in when rototilling our garden? I don't know. I guess we would have to test the soil to know for sure. Interesting.

Since Coccidioidomycosis is endemic to the SW of Texas, California and Arizona, I can see that seniors should be careful when relocating to this area of the country. Stay inside when they excavate for new buildings and stir up the dirt.

LINCOLN HEALTH CLINIC

My husband visited the Lincoln Health Clinic yesterday and I'm pleased with his care. Dr. Williams searches for answers and asks for advice. When consulting with an expert at OSHU and was told that nothing should be done to control the Valley Fever, Dr. Williams didn't stop there but went on to talk to the medical professionals at the University of Washington Medical School. Les is now on fluconazole and is already seeing positive results.

Les is now taking Adviar, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Fluconazole, Hydroxy, and tapering off the Namenda.

Namenda has the potential of shutting down his immune system which could allow the Valley Fever to progress into meningitis again. Dr. Broskie, Les' doctor in Salem called to take him off the Namenda. She has been in constant touch to help him. She is another medical hero who has directed his care.

Susan, the nurse at Lincoln Clinic was amazing on Monday, July 2nd because Les was in the examining room for 2 1/2 hours. This is unusual in the time of a "one symptom and ten minute visit" medical era. By giving him a nebulizer treatment for his lungs, it helped him to breath better. The blood tests taken during this visit made a positive diagnosis of active coccidioidomycosis or Valley Fever.

It takes many people to heal a person which includes Thayne, the Pharmacist at Safeway who got the fluconazole started on Saturday.

Les is starting to get better. He hasn't been sleeping for the last month so I look forward to his getting better, sleeping, and starting to recover so he can enjoy life again. I'm grateful to everyone who has helped.

JOANN FABRICS

I enjoy working at Joann Fabrics and dreamed of how it could be even better.

I would sit with customers in a large sitting area with refreshments to encourage and answer questions with full access to all resources to give outstanding service with other team members. Computer software and a large screen monitor would allow us to take customers in virtual reality to find what they want in any part of the store. A map would be printed out so they could easily find all the items they want. Any questions about craft projects could be answered on the large screen with visual directions and then printouts with all instructions. Samples of all types of crafting would be available in notebooks to show as examples.

There would be classes in Corvallis, just like in the large Super Centers in the big cities.

Any person who has difficulty walking from one end of the store to the other would ride in carts.

There would be a play yard for the children so mothers could shop without worry or concern with plastic tunnels over the fabric near the ceiling with slides. There would be large tables with teachers and crafting supplies for all children.

After all the team members go home after helping customers, all the merchandise that is brought in the semitrucks would be put away by retail robots. All merchandise would have a microchip with directions of the exact spot in the store where it belongs and robots that scan the bar code would know the exact location of where to put the merchandise.

Maybe in the future something like this might be a reality in all retail stores to give excellent customer service.

ON THE LOT

I've been saving the FOX reality show ON THE LOT on my Tivo. They were backed up and I decided to skip ahead and watch tonight's show so I could vote.

This is my favorite show on television. If this show doesn't spark the imagination and light a fire under all screenwriters and filmmakers, I don't know what would. It's perfect. I love the format of this exciting show with executive producers, Mark Burnett from Survivor and Steven Spielberg, the BEST Director of all time. No wonder it's great!

The opportunity to see Carrie Fisher, Gary Marshall, and guest directors react and to see how they critique the films is invaluable to all screenwriters and filmmakers.

The short film, TIME UPON A ONCE directed by Zach Lipovsky was pure genius and magic. I love the way his mind works.

The charming fairy tale, THE LEGEND OF DONKEY-TAIL WILLIE directed by Hilary Graham was fun. I agree with Gary Marshall and was "engaged and involved with it."

SPAGHETTI directed by Will Bigham was my favorite of the first three. I've always loved westerns. When I was in grade school, I used to write my own scripts for Gunsmoke. I always included a commercial and a joke. I loved the story bringing the clash of the new with the old.

It makes me dream of a digital video camera, editing software, and a new computer.

FIRST SIGHT by Shalini Kantayya was an important film with a message. I wonder what kind of films with value and character Shalini will create in the future that will evoke thought and self-examination.

Of all the filmmakers, Adam Stein is my favorite. WORLDLY POSSESSION was clever, inventive, and amazing with the special effects.

Everyone's so gifted and amazing. ON THE LOT will inspire young and old filmmakers all over the world. Everyone will win because of the great films that will be created.

That's a wrap. Fade out.

Family Medicine

The Leslie is almost covered with the rash from Valley Fever or Coccidioidomycosis. He's in severe pain. He doesn't sleep. The Leslie has been directing his own care to get what he needs. The Benjamin researched medications with the least side effects for his Dad yesterday and came up with fluconazole. Ben has a degree in biomedical engineering and works for Zymo Genetics in Seatte as a manager. The Daniel looked up information on the internet, also researched medications, and found someone at Stanford doing research on Coccidioidomycosis. Dan is a research scientist with Battelle in Mountain View, CA. The Wendy diagnosed the coccidioidomycosis, supports and maintains to keep everything going. Now the trick is to get the care The Leslie needs so that he will get well.

Is The Wendy getting a little tired of always putting her dreams on the back burner? Yes!

Coccidioidomycosis

Coccidioidomycosis or Valley Fever or San Joaquin Valley Fever common in SW California, Texas, and Arizona in semi-arid climates now has an identified case in Alsea, Oregon. Yesterday my husband, Leslie was positively identified as having coccidioidomycosis from a blood test taken at the Lincoln Health Clinic in Corvallis.

Coccidioidomycosis is caused by inhaling fungus spores. My husband contracted Coccidioidomycosis or Valley Fever in Arroyo Grande, California in 1978 when he was cleaning up the yard of the house we bought on Tierra Street. He inhaled the spores. Even though this disease is common to the area, especially when there is major excavation, it went undiagnosed. It progressed up into the brain and arrested. He survived. He has had problems with his joints ever since and a CT brain scan showed major damage to the frontal and parietal lobes of the brain.

This time I suspected that it was Cocciodioidomycosis again, even though it was highly unlikely. This is why. After rototilling in the dry soil in our garden area, my husband got worse and started having similiar symptoms to the time he was so gravely ill in 1978. For some odd reason, I did not want him to rototill this year and I made the decision not to have a garden, even though it would not be to our advantage. He did so anyway, stubborn man that he is and who never listens to me. He rototilled a smaller area so he could plant tomatoes. I refused to have a garden this year and didn't want to encourage it.

Medical literature says that you aren't supposed to get Cocciodioidomycosis or Valley Fever a second time. Insurance companies sure don't want to discuss the liability issues of this disease. We don't have medical insurance.

Yes, The Wendy was right and accurately diagnosed it. I told several people what I suspected, including the nurse at the Immediate Care Clinic in Corvallis and the nurse yesterday at the Lincoln Health Clinic. This time it was diagnosed correctly and it will save his life.

Nancy Drew

I saw a great movie yesterday in Corvallis with my Safeway movie coupon. Nancy Drew was on the list of movies so that's what I decided to see. I went by myself since my husband is having problems with asthma and the expiration date on the coupon was almost up. Thank you, Safeway!

Growing up, I used to read Nancy Drew mysteries. I also read Trixie Belden and the Bobbsey Twins.

This is a great movie, full of action that centers around a gifted teen who loves to solve mysteries. The theater was full of parents bringing their children to enjoy the movie together. This was nice.

This should generate a lot of interest in reading Nancy Drew mysteries. Buy them from your local book seller or go to the library and read them all.

I sure had fun. I had the full movie experience with popcorn, a Diet Coke, and box of candy while enjoying a great movie.

What is most important?

To me, what is most important is: to constantly learn, work hard to become better each year in all areas of your life, family, and treating others with kindness.

I took a test last year and I learned that learning is my highest motivator over reaching goals and having friends. Friends was in last place out of the three and I find at this time in my life, I have no close friends.

I've always felt that it is important to progress in life and to be a better person next year as compared to the last year. In life, there are many levels of need for improvement so what may seem apparent to one may not be to someone else. I'm proud of the fact that I learned how to swim 2 1/2 years ago, which is quite a feat since I was so afraid of deep water.

Family is so important to me but I find that I don't have the opportunity to be near family as often as I would like. Everyone is scattered, busy, and involved in important projects. I think these days, family is not a priority in today's world. I've said I would love to live on the same street with my children so I could have a big dinner once a week, be helpful, bake bread, babysit, etc. but this isn't in the cards for me. I guess I'm stuck in the 50's of how I think things should be in life.

I feel it is important to be kind and respectful to others in life. This does not mean, however, that you continue to put yourself in the path of someone you know will cause you harm or continue to allow yourself to be used or hurt. It's important to protect yourself but it is important to forgive and treat everyone with respect and kindness no matter how you are treated by others. I guess this is my Miss Pollyana view of life.

Writing is essential, as important as breathing. To move my writing goals forward daily is important to me. Having computer problems stunts my progress. I recently lost family photos, my screenplay and writing on my computer. Frustrating!

To read to support my writing is equally important. Right now I'm reading the BEST library book. I need to buy it since it is one of the BEST books on writing that I've ever read. A WRITER'S COACH by Jack Hart. Jack Hart is a managing editor at the Oregonian and a former professor at the University of Oregon.

So what's important to me?.....moving my projects forward, being nice along the way, and seeing my family as often as possible.

2007 Maui Writers Conference

I got the conference brochure for the 2007 Maui Writers Conference in the mail and dream about going. Can you imagine learning from Ron Howard, Frank McCourt, Barbara Kingsolver, Mitch Albom, Carrie Fisher, Tony Hillerman, Robin Cook, Nicholas Sparks, and dozens of other writing heroes? I dream of it. I've always wanted to go. Maybe someday I can.

Lisa Nichols will be at the conference, who is known as Iyanla from Starting Over on television, another one of my heroes who dares to tell the truth and who cares about people.

The news in this brochure tells me that for only $20, you can sign up to attend the conference and never leave home. IF my computer keeps working without interference and IF I can get speakers for my computer, I'm going to be listening. I'm also dreaming of an Ipod so I can download these writing workshops--each one important and each one with great wisdom for anyone who takes writing seriously.

http://www.mauiwriters.com/

Doctors and Clinics

My husband went into the Lincoln Clinic in Corvallis. He waited the time period until there could be no doubt this wasn't a virus. He was given amoxicillin, flunisolide, and albuterol inhaler for an "alergic nose" or nasal alergy on June 11th.

During this time my husband was coughing and having a difficult time breathing. He would cough standing up, black out and fall on the floor. This happened several times.

Then on June 15, since he had an allergic reaction to amoxicillin, he went to the Corvallis Immediate Care Clinic at Corvallis Clinic where he was given azithromycin, prednisone, spiriva handihaler and told to continue taking the albuterol inhaler and flunisolide, which is a nasal spray and throw away the amoxicillin. X-rays were taken to show it was a sinus infection. His lungs were clear.

He was coughing so badly and in so much pain that he was unable to sleep through this period of at least three weeks. I finally got him to start sleeping in the chair a little bit at a time.

On June 23, he returned to Corvallis Immediate Care Clinic because he wasn't getting better. The rash on his back was worse and it covered most of his body from the amoxicillin. He had difficulty breathing. When asked what his first complaint was, my husband said breathing. The doctor commented that the muscle on his back might have been torn from so much coughing but he didn't check it. He was given a new round of Predisone, Advair, Rhinocort nasal spray, and Avelox. He's finally getting better, I'm happy to report.

I took him to the doctor at the Immediate Care Clinic and to see the nurse at the Lincoln Clinic all three times. I've stayed home from work because he was in so much pain, having such a difficult time, and because he became confused. Hopefully I can return to work soon.

Sometimes I think we are in the Dark Ages of medical care and it's a miracle people get better after taking all this medication. It seems to be hit and miss. Why isn't there a hand held scanner that instantly diagnoses with complete accuracy and offers recommended treatment? Where are the little gifted kids who grew up to be doctors who take seriously the profession of medicine and who keep updating their knowledge?

I know from master gardening that it is possible to get a detailed soil analysis from a sample with a readout of exactly what nutrients and minerals are missing so why isn't this possible in medicine for human beings? Why don't you get a printout at the doctor's office when you are sick with a complete listing of what vitamins and minerals you need, what exercises would be best, what foods you should be eating to heal, and what recommended treatments should be given to make you well?

My Computer

My computer has been down for the last two weeks, which halted my progress to write a screenplay in a month for Script Frenzy at http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/. I like things to work, especially my computer.

I don't know what happened to it. This happened before to my last computer which is still unusable. I thought this would be the same but my husband finally got this one going again. It's frustrating! I feel like my progress is halted and stopped when this happens.

Sometimes I wonder whether it is worth being on the computer at all. I've been listening to Kim Commando on the radio in the car when I drive back and forth from Corvallis. It seems like you have to have so much specialized knowledge about protecting yourself on the computer these days.

Gardening

Since my soil needs to be tested and I don't have the money to do everything I need to do to create a garden this year, I've decided to wait until next year. I need to test my soil since my corn had purple throughout the husks last year. My sunflowers dramatically depleted the nitrogen in my soil. I need to create great soil first. I don't have the money to buy great bedding plants from the nursery. Time is also a factor since I can't do everything I want to do in a day. I love working out in the garden early in the morning, especially during the summer. This year I'm planting a cover crop on most of the garden areas to get ready for next year.

Miserable with a Cold

I feel miserable with a cold today. My nose is red from blowing it so much. Yesterday it was hard to work since the last few days, I've been sneezing and blowing my nose every few minutes. I'll be glad when I feel better.

Patent Pending

I received a letter a couple of days ago from the U.S. Patent Office letting me know that my application for a design patent will be considered. This was thrilling for me to see this letter. I've been sitting on several inventions and ideas for several years since I haven't had the money to do anything about it. I thought I would start with easy ideas first to learn the process and see what happens. Pretty exciting stuff!

International Society of Poets

I received a letter on May 5th saying that I am cordially invited to the 21st annual International Society of Poets Convention and Symposium in Las Vegas. I have been nominated as Poet of the Year for 2007. The letter goes on to say that I will be inducted as an International Poet of Merit and Honored Member of the Society for 2007 to 2008.

This is a great honor and I sincerely hope that I am able to attend. Money is the deciding factor.

Joann Fabrics

I love working at Joann Fabrics and Crafts. It's fun. Joann sells everything that I love and everyone who comes through the door has something in common with me.

If I were to dream big and think of how I would do things, I would put out all the freight, move sections, and put back stock in the middle of the night with a night crew. Then the people who work while the store is open can concentrate on giving excellent customer service.

I wish we were a Super Center so we would have classes. That would be fun. I think it's a natural that we have a Super Center in Corvallis with the clothing design program at OSU, 4-H, and sewing classes in the high school and middle schools. Sewing seems to be taking off. People are seeing that you can put your unique spin on a dress with your own fabric choices and embellishments making it a one-of-a-kind design.

We have so many great bargains and sales. The last clearance over Memorial Day weekend had $1 a yard fabric which was an extreme buy! It's easy to sell things at Joann Fabrics because everything's a good buy and something that I believe in. Come and see...........and sign up for the sales fliers so you, too, can know when the great bargains happen on your favorite items.

Weight Watchers

I lost 1.8 pounds yesterday bringing my weight loss total to 12 pounds for the last five weeks. I'll take it. I love Weight Watchers. It's recommended by doctors. It's motivational and positive. It holds you accountable, which I need. I need to Watch what I eat or my eating can get out of control with a little here and a little there and splurging once in awhile.

This was the topic of the day by the leader. She talked about "licks, bites, and tastes" and how they can add up quickly before you know it to an extra 700 calories. I understand this and this is why I need to count and keep track of everything I eat. It's easy as a woman to taste your cooking, think that standing up while you're eating doesn't really count, and to not pay attention to an occasional pass by the nut dish to get a few.

I got a great tip at the meeting from a member. This woman mixes cereals with the highest fiber and the least calories for a unique taste. Sounds great to me. I think I'll try it. Another member likes to use a tiny spoon, a tiny cup, and a tiny plate. I don't think that's for me. I'm the one who used to always go to the "all you can eat" places and do my best to make sure I got my money's worth.

We learned that if you follow all your good health habits that this uses up 98% of your points with only 2% for extras.

I'm trying not to use my weekly points. We learned that we should only use it for an emergency, like a special night out at a restaurant.

We learned that if we aren't losing weight, it's most likely that we aren't monitoring our food intake. I believe that.

I tend to get in an eating rut and eat the same things day after day because I feel they are safe. I like to stick with lots of fresh fruit and stir fry but I'm a little too heavy on the olive oil. I need to be careful to counting it, instead of just pouring.

I'm glad I'm back at Weight Watchers. I weighed 130 pounds for years and I'm determined to get back there. With exercise, healthy eating, and monitoring my food intake, I should make it this time and stay there. Permanent changes are necessary. You just can't think that you can go back to your old ways after you get down to your goal weight.

Script Frenzy

It sure is fun to be deep inside the process of writing a screenplay. This will be my first finished screenplay, if I make it. I'm trying to live up to the challenge of writing the first draft of a screenplay in the month of June for the website www.scriptfrenzy.org.

It's harder since I am working part time. I want to finish my screenplay. I'm writing about the Portland to Coast Volkswalk team I was on in 2003. It sure was fun and exciting and something I had never done before or since. The challenge of being part of a team to walk from Portland to Seaside on the Oregon Coast in a weekend is one I'll never forget so I'm trying to put it into words in the form of a screenplay.

Last month I wanted so much to go to a screenwriting workshop in Portland to learn from Michael Hauge, one of my writing heroes but didn't have the money and had to work. That wasn't possible at that time but trying to participate in Script Frenzy is possible.

So back to work on my screenplay..............

Timberhill Athletic Club

Timberhill Athletic Club in Corvallis is building a new outdoor pool with water slides for recreation. It's going to be great for young people when it's finished.

I love exercising in deep water since I learned to overcome my fear in December, 2004. I love to swim slowly back and forth for 30 minutes to an hour. What I am doing can't really be called swimming but I can get from one end of the deep end back to the other end and stay in the water without a problem.

Since the last time that I wrote about Weight Watchers and exercising at Timberhill in this blog, this is how much I have exercised and what I did starting with the last time I went.

May 30--Wednesday
15 minutes swim
1 hour hydrofit

May 29--Tuesday
30 minutes elliptical runner
5 minutes weights for arms
45 minutes hydrofit

May 26--Saturday
1 hour hydrofit

May 24--Thursday
1 hour hydrofit
1 hour water aerobics

May 23--Wednesday
1 hour swim
30 minutes elliptical runner

May 22--Tuesday
1 hour hydrofit

May 21--Monday
30 minutes exercise bike

May 18--Friday
1 hour hydrofit

I should drive in early to exercise this morning but I need to work on my screenplay before going to work today.