FINALLY, I’m “legal” in Texas!! Yesterday, the department finally issued me a temporary driver’s license and the official one should arrive within a month.

Almost didn’t get my driver’s license this time (again). I was so well-organized with more than enough information. Well my birth certificate says Lorraine Frantz and everything else is Lorraine Edwards. Where was my marriage license?? “You can’t be serious?? I’ve been a widow for over thirty years!! My marriage license??” (Furthermore, it would require two marriage licenses: One from Frantz to Ware, and one from Ware to Edwards.)

Fortunately, I also had my passport and the man (and a lady at the adjoining counter) finally agreed that their instructions say birth certificate or passport. So I finally walked out of the building with a temporary Texas driver’s license–and permanent one should arrive in about a month.

Yes, yes, yes, I know I’ve been “pressing my luck” these many months!! I’ve had such a bad experience with licenses in Texas!! Remember? Licenses for the three vehicles with a huge “new resident” tax.

To celebrate: I treated myself to a veggie pizza at the Pizza Hut just down the street from DMV. I “do” pizza about once  a year and this was the first time I’ve been in that establishment. (I’ve been here one year and three days.)

I shopped Walmart (not because I like it but because “all in one place”). It had begun to rain so I browsed every aisle, killing time. Impulse purchases: I bought the cutest apron. (And it supports a good cause.) I don’t know how much it was; no price on the shelf. It was “me” and I’ll wear it next week during the CARE garage sale. I couldn’t resist buying two vinyl table clothes with Texas flags splashed all over them (on sale). They will be cute for some of our social events.

That’s it!! My BIG celebration day!! Boy am I glad to finally cross driver’s license off my “to do” list. Driver’s License. The picture on the driver’s license looks like I’m “the cat that ate the canary.” That’s exactly the way I felt finally getting to the picture and finger-prints part of the process.

Postscript, Saturday, October 25, 2014: Received my Texas Driver’s License today. Here’s the color picture of “the cat that ate the canary.”

Several more purchases yesterday. I visited a thrift shop looking for things for the “cruise” wardrobe (on a budget). I love the beautiful long-sleeve blouse with sparkling beads sewn to the collar (paired with a nice black pleated skirt [in my wardrobe for years] ). The pants have a unique pattern so better (IMHO) than jeans. I’ve had the kaftan for years; is it appropriate for evening wear?? (Postscript: Searched the Internet for an answer and apparently just “lounge wear.”) The gray pleated skirt was an earlier purchase. The pink blouse was on sale–at Walmart–yesterday. Also bought a pair of like-new Keds white loafers at the thrift shop (sturdy soles on ship-board).

Postscript, Sunday, October 12, 2014: It was a major undertaking to search my wardrobe for plain white, tan or black T-shirts, sweaters, or blouses to wear with the patterned pants!! “Major”… but accomplished!! Slowly, I’m organizing clothes for the cruise (starting the day after Thanksgiving). I still have garments that have not been unpacked so will challenge that project soon. Use it or donate it!!

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Denim shirt (lightweight jacket) from the thrift shop. The purchase of western vest and white shirt dates back a few weeks. I’m always looking for outfits for square dancing. Apparel from a “Western” shop is so-o-o-o expensive!!

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Two more “impulse” purchases at Walmart yesterday. I really need extra shelf space. Soon I’ll unpack sweaters for Fall and Winter. ~~ I donated my hot air popcorn popper in North Carolina. I really enjoy air popped corn as a snack. I planned to make some today and found the unopened package has bugs in it. Now the corn will go to the squirrels. (Lucky squirrels!!)

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This is blog number nine hundred nine. As previously stated “I like round numbers.”

Today I planned to thoroughly vacuum the trailer. Really!! Well, the head kept coming off the end of the wand. I got out my drill, and drilled a hole and inserted a bolt. While my tools were out, I approached a project on my “to do” list. I’ve mentioned preparing a sheltered area for my perennial plants. I’ve known the tarp will collect rain and sag if not supported in the middle. In North Carolina, the satellite dish served as a baffle over bird feeders to discourage squirrels. It will be an excellent support under a tarp (IMHO). I had everything I needed for the project (except a cool afternoon). First I drilled a hole in the end of a wood dowel, then attached the satellite dish with a heavy screw. Then dowel was slipped into a heavy piece of PVC-pipe. I have extra pieces of PVC and parts to link them. At present the assembled parts are a bit too tall but I will shorten when I drape a tarp. Actually, I could have sawed the PVC today but I was hot and sweaty, and ready to go into the air-conditioned trailer. That eighty-seven degrees is a very humid eighty-seven degrees!! ~~ The very heavy umbrella base (for patio table) will be a solid base. That, too, came from North Carolina. Little-by-little, stored items are finding a niche in my yard.

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Earlier, I published a lengthy blog message about Ebola.

Article below copied from The Daily Dose newsletter, received October 9, 2014.

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Has America’s first Ebola death exposed a cover-up?

In some isolated ward in Dallas’ Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital… probably surrounded by nurses in Hazmat suits… Thomas Eric Duncan drew his last breaths yesterday. He became the first death on American soil from the growing Ebola outbreak.

Since the minute Duncan slipped through our porous borders and touched down in America, his case has provided more questions than a round of Jeopardy.

How did a man with Ebola sneak through a Liberian airport onto a plane headed for America? How did hospital workers send a sick Duncan home — even AFTER he admitted he was visiting from Africa?

And those are the easy questions, friend.

Because Duncan’s death has exposed a new, deeply troubling question that is hanging like a dark cloud over the entire global health community. It’s a question that could undermine our trust in the same health officials who are supposed to keep us safe.

Did the United States intentionally deny Duncan an Ebola treatment that could have saved his life?

By now you know the story of two American aid workers whose lives were saved this summer with doses of the anti-Ebola drug ZMapp. They seemed to bounce back within days after ZMapp treatment began.

But when Duncan took sick, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention head Thomas Frieden claimed there wasn’t a drop of ZMapp left on the planet. He claimed it was “all gone” and “was not going to be available any time soon.”

Except no one seemed to tell the Norwegians.

Because according to the country’s national health agency, a dose of ZMapp is on its way to Norway… RIGHT NOW… to help a sick aid worker who took ill DAYS after Duncan. This is allegedly the “real” last dose of the medication.

The world wasn’t out of ZMapp, as it turns out. The world… or at least some folks in very high positions of authority… simply decided that Duncan wasn’t going to get any.

He was put on a highly experimental drug brincidofovir, an unproven medication that had just recently received emergency FDA approval, and was dead a couple days later.

There could be lots of reasons a Norwegian aid worker is getting the last ZMapp dose instead of Duncan. But let’s not overlook the most obvious.

She’s a heck of a lot more sympathetic.

There aren’t going to be any elementary schools named after Duncan, who allegedly lied his way into America and would have been prosecuted in Liberia. Lord knows the damage he could have caused — or perhaps already did.

So, trust me, my sympathies for Duncan don’t run high. If someone decided to give ZMapp to an aid worker instead of Duncan, maybe it was even the right decision.

But Duncan’s case still demands answers. Why were we told there were no doses of ZMapp available? Who decides who gets the drug and who doesn’t?

It’s time for us to get a peek behind the curtain. Let’s just hope we don’t find some government bureaucrat playing God.

Digging for answers,

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

True story: I’ve been searching for the number nine for my (eventual) nine hundred ninety-ninth blog message. You’d think I had something better to do with my time?! Yes, lots of weeds to pull!! Furthermore, I need to finish the winter shelter for my perennial plants. It may be a couple of months until frost but I want to “plan ahead” and be prepared. I’ve created the design; I just need to apply the last minute labor to complete the project. As good fortune would have it, the only expense will be a twelve foot tarp. (I have smaller tarps but decided I want one long enough to drape over the ends.)

Planning ahead.

If worth doing…

Very good Tuesday morning.

Oldest Confederate Widow Tells All.

A great TV mini-series that I recorded on VHS-tape twenty years ago. ~~ My entertainment the last two evenings.

…because the Hummingbirds will soon be gone!! The squirrels know where to find good food; they’ll never leave!! The pictures were taken through the windows, from inside my trailer. I’m blessed with a good view from all my windows!!

The words of a poem came to mind so I searched earlier blog messages. Not quite the exact anniversary of the previous message but so true of my current  situation. I’m introspective, you know. Did I make the right decision to leave JAARS?? Was it a wise decision to become a resident at CARE??

All that is happening and causing me grief
In light of eternity this period is brief
But for now it’s painful – this stage in between
What lies ahead and what’s already been seen

Heavenly Father, I want to trust you more
To fully know what you have in store
For your fearful and trembling child
Who’s prone to wander with thoughts running wild

Hold me steady, let me cry as I may
Read my journal for that’s how I pray
During this period of in between
What lies ahead and what’s already been seen

Above, only an excerpt; read the entire poem by Gail Boemker.

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The Old Gray Mare Ain’t What She Used To Be, many long years ago.

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Nine hundred blog messages on this site.

Searching for clip art is fun!!