Had such a lovely (and unexpected) rain shower tonight...thank you Lord for that blessing on our lawns (and my landscaping projects)!. Over the past few months while my landscaping business has kept me very busy working six days a week most weeks, I've had precious little time for my own yard, and even less for keeping my own flowering plants watered. There have been at least two occasions when I've been working all day on clients' yards and have heard rumbles of rain but not felt any, only to arrive home to find that my yard is thoroughly wet!
I looked around in surprise the first time, as if I didn't expect the Lord to hear and answer my prayer for rain to water my neglected flowers, and then looked up with a smile to give Him thanks for His provision. The second time I checked the neighbors' yards to see if the rain had affected them, because I honestly didn't see any sign of rain on the streets as I drove in, and then raised grateful praise again, to my provider, Jehovah.
When this Spring arrived, I talked with the Lord about showing me whether the landscaping work should be my focus, or if I should be concentrating on nursing again, and just asked Him to bless the business with more clients if that should be my focus. I had one client already but that one wouldn't be enough to make ends meet, but shortly after my prayer, I put some feelers out at a church I've been attending on Wednesdays because they're only 5 miles away. The pastor not only felt it was a good idea to put up my card and fliers on their bulletin board, but he also said I could advertise on the church website.
A few days later, he approached me about putting in a bid for the landscaping project the church is planning to have done, and not long after, I was approved for my bid. The answers to my original prayer have come little by little, with one new client coming to me as a previous client's project is nearing completion, so that I'm not overwhelmed by too much business, but not fainting for lack of business either. I praise the Lord for providing me landscaping clients just when I need them, and for as long as I need them.
Give us this day our daily bread isn't just a meaningless phrase in the "Lord's Prayer" to me, as this is so often how the Lord provides for me and has done so for the past few years as I faced continued unemployment from the nursing profession. My 30 years of nursing experience has gone slowly stagnant as every single job lead I've pursued in nursing has failed to result in a job, or even temporary contract type of work.
Landscaping projects became my bread and butter, as the Lord showed me I could make a living in another field without returning to school for a degree, or having a work history/resume to show potential clients. Native intelligence, lots of hours of research (both online and in person at garden nurseries) on flowering plants and their needs, skills learned from a childhood fascination with growing flowers and watching TV D0-it-yourself shows about landscaping projects have given me a wealth of knowledge about how to create beautiful flower gardens.
Coupled with the Lord's enabling me to boldly market myself to friends and business acquaintances, this knowledge allowed me to get several landscaping clients last year and several more new ones this year. Landscaping is a very seasonal profession, as in most areas of America you can't plant things in the Winter, so I must also trust the Lord to provide an alternative source of income for the Fall/Winter seasons.
With that in mind, I've diversified into "hard-scaping", which includes brick, stone, slate and flagstone used for walkways, borders, retaining walls, flower bed borders, etc. My biggest project to date was a 60 foot flower bed border made out of dark mountain green flagstone material, built in the front yard of a church to frame their flower garden. This border has earned high praise from not only the pastor and deacons of that church, but also many passers-by as I was creating it. The highest praise came from a master wood-worker who urged me to include stonework in my new resume and website for this business, as he considered this project to be first-rate.
Not surprisingly, I've been so busy, and so worn out by the time I get home, I've hardly had time for my normal letters, or even keeping up with this blog. Hope I can get around to updates more regularly from this point on. Thanks for your patience and continued interest.
Debbie
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Dear Family & Friends,
Just a short note to let you know a little of what is happening.
Tonight, I'm going to fall asleep with the sound of ocean waves rushing
against the beach sands of Atlantic Beach in the Outer Banks of NC. I
love the ocean (not quite as much as I love the desert), and it's been
awhile since I heard the surf without the benefit of traffic sounds as
well, so this is a real treat. I'm here to have an interview with the
Director of the Carteret Surgical Center here in Morehead, NC and they
put me up at the Sheraton, which is as "on the beach" as any hotel can be
and survive hurricanes. It's a very short walk to the sands and surf
from my room, so I took full advantage of the beautiful sunshine, balmy
temperatures and proximity to dip my toes in the still chilly waters of
the Atlantic Ocean and get delightfully damp all the way up to my knees.
After the walk on the beach, I took a drive to find my way to the
Surgical Center so that I could find it efficiently in the morning for my
interview, and while I was doing that, my new potential boss called to
invite me to dinner with her. We ate a bistro by the Hilton hotel on the
west of the Bogue Sound which separates the outer banks island at this
point with the mainland, so I could see water, and spent an hour and a
half over supper. I had a special request dinner of flame-grilled jumbo
shrimp with lumpy mashed potatoes lightly broiled on the top with a
lovely salad of spring greens, grape tomatoes and cucumbers tossed with a
heavenly balsamic vinaigrette. Shrimp fresh-caught daily is a specialty
of some restaurants here on the coast, and I have to tell you, there's
nothing quite like the taste of fresh, flame-grilled jumbo shrimp, no
added sauces or glazes. If you like shrimp, but have never tasted them
fresh out of the ocean and never frozen, what a different taste, and how
you could get spoiled.
The dinner served as an informal setting for a very open and honest
"interview", where I just gave her insight into my passion for nursing,
what I want from a job, and how I approach management. She is not a
nurse, but has done a great deal of consulting and our employment
histories are quite similar, as are our philosophies on professional
responsibility on the job, not micro-managing, and holding staff
responsible for doing the job right without having their hands held. It
was a very frank discussion, and as I told her, I like to have my
potential boss know what my passion is about, why I'm such a "dictator"
at times in my particular profession, and that I don't tolerate laziness,
stupidity or mediocrity in my staff.
She seems to be on the same wavelength about all this, so tomorrow may
be less of an interview than an introduction to my potential staff,
coworkers and physician staff group. I made it very clear that I trust
the Lord to guide me to the right job, to open the door to that job of
His choosing, and if this is the one, there will be some financial
concerns (like housing) that He will have to provide in order for me to
be able to take the job. This is a "permanent" position, but I've given
her enough insight into my work ethics and style that she understands how
much I'm a person who is very good at taking dysfunctional OR's and
turning them into well-mannered, smoothly-functioning businesses, and
that's my strength and my skill-set. She's enrolling in nursing school
to get her nursing degree, after getting a Masters in Finance Management,
so we kinda joked that when she finishes her degree in nursing (2 years),
I should be able to hand over her Surgery Center to her in the shape it
needs to be in, and she will help me find the next "fix-it" project to
tackle.
She also knows I want to devote at least a month a year to
volunteer/charity work, and that my interests lie in either Africa or
Israel, and she's already agreed that this can be worked out. She runs a
volunteer clinic here in this region, so has an appreciation for giving
back. We discussed me being able to have a life, and already have the
understanding that I'd prefer to work 3-4 days/week than 5-day weeks, and
she's very OK with that too, because she has only been here a year and
told her bosses that she will be starting to have every Friday off pretty
soon, when she has a CNO for the surgery center and things have settled
down there. So, I guess we informally worked out a lot of interesting
angles of importance to us, got some informal agreements worked out
off-the-cuff without the pressure of the "office interview" and we'll see
where tomorrow takes us. Wasn't expecting to get so much talked over
tonight, and really wasn't sure about where this interview would head
tomorrow, but it may very well turn out quite well for both of us.
Please pray for me at 1000 EST while I'm having the interview, if you
get this in time, and we'll trust the Lord to accomplish His purposes in
all that transpires. I had an interview with the folks in Sitka, Alaska
yesterday, but they require their OF nurses to work in PACU (recovering
patients from anesthesia), and that not only requires experience doing
it(which I don't have), but it requires ACLS Certification (which I don't
have), which is also an ASPAN (the Recovery Bible like AORN is the OR
Bible) standard. When I advised them that I have no experience at all in
PACU, nor ACLS certification (which they didn't really care about), and
would be very uncomfortable working in recovery without any experience at
al in it, they let me know today that they didn't feel I'd be a good fit
(which I'm very much in agreement with). So, for now, AK is out of the
picture. I still want to go to Israel, and the Lord may provide for that
opportunity with a NC group that sends volunteers to Israel to work in
various areas, and the financial outlay is minimal for the volunteer.
Many things to consider, much to pray about, and I should get to bed now.
More later....happy MAY!!
Love,
Debbie
Just a short note to let you know a little of what is happening.
Tonight, I'm going to fall asleep with the sound of ocean waves rushing
against the beach sands of Atlantic Beach in the Outer Banks of NC. I
love the ocean (not quite as much as I love the desert), and it's been
awhile since I heard the surf without the benefit of traffic sounds as
well, so this is a real treat. I'm here to have an interview with the
Director of the Carteret Surgical Center here in Morehead, NC and they
put me up at the Sheraton, which is as "on the beach" as any hotel can be
and survive hurricanes. It's a very short walk to the sands and surf
from my room, so I took full advantage of the beautiful sunshine, balmy
temperatures and proximity to dip my toes in the still chilly waters of
the Atlantic Ocean and get delightfully damp all the way up to my knees.
After the walk on the beach, I took a drive to find my way to the
Surgical Center so that I could find it efficiently in the morning for my
interview, and while I was doing that, my new potential boss called to
invite me to dinner with her. We ate a bistro by the Hilton hotel on the
west of the Bogue Sound which separates the outer banks island at this
point with the mainland, so I could see water, and spent an hour and a
half over supper. I had a special request dinner of flame-grilled jumbo
shrimp with lumpy mashed potatoes lightly broiled on the top with a
lovely salad of spring greens, grape tomatoes and cucumbers tossed with a
heavenly balsamic vinaigrette. Shrimp fresh-caught daily is a specialty
of some restaurants here on the coast, and I have to tell you, there's
nothing quite like the taste of fresh, flame-grilled jumbo shrimp, no
added sauces or glazes. If you like shrimp, but have never tasted them
fresh out of the ocean and never frozen, what a different taste, and how
you could get spoiled.
The dinner served as an informal setting for a very open and honest
"interview", where I just gave her insight into my passion for nursing,
what I want from a job, and how I approach management. She is not a
nurse, but has done a great deal of consulting and our employment
histories are quite similar, as are our philosophies on professional
responsibility on the job, not micro-managing, and holding staff
responsible for doing the job right without having their hands held. It
was a very frank discussion, and as I told her, I like to have my
potential boss know what my passion is about, why I'm such a "dictator"
at times in my particular profession, and that I don't tolerate laziness,
stupidity or mediocrity in my staff.
She seems to be on the same wavelength about all this, so tomorrow may
be less of an interview than an introduction to my potential staff,
coworkers and physician staff group. I made it very clear that I trust
the Lord to guide me to the right job, to open the door to that job of
His choosing, and if this is the one, there will be some financial
concerns (like housing) that He will have to provide in order for me to
be able to take the job. This is a "permanent" position, but I've given
her enough insight into my work ethics and style that she understands how
much I'm a person who is very good at taking dysfunctional OR's and
turning them into well-mannered, smoothly-functioning businesses, and
that's my strength and my skill-set. She's enrolling in nursing school
to get her nursing degree, after getting a Masters in Finance Management,
so we kinda joked that when she finishes her degree in nursing (2 years),
I should be able to hand over her Surgery Center to her in the shape it
needs to be in, and she will help me find the next "fix-it" project to
tackle.
She also knows I want to devote at least a month a year to
volunteer/charity work, and that my interests lie in either Africa or
Israel, and she's already agreed that this can be worked out. She runs a
volunteer clinic here in this region, so has an appreciation for giving
back. We discussed me being able to have a life, and already have the
understanding that I'd prefer to work 3-4 days/week than 5-day weeks, and
she's very OK with that too, because she has only been here a year and
told her bosses that she will be starting to have every Friday off pretty
soon, when she has a CNO for the surgery center and things have settled
down there. So, I guess we informally worked out a lot of interesting
angles of importance to us, got some informal agreements worked out
off-the-cuff without the pressure of the "office interview" and we'll see
where tomorrow takes us. Wasn't expecting to get so much talked over
tonight, and really wasn't sure about where this interview would head
tomorrow, but it may very well turn out quite well for both of us.
Please pray for me at 1000 EST while I'm having the interview, if you
get this in time, and we'll trust the Lord to accomplish His purposes in
all that transpires. I had an interview with the folks in Sitka, Alaska
yesterday, but they require their OF nurses to work in PACU (recovering
patients from anesthesia), and that not only requires experience doing
it(which I don't have), but it requires ACLS Certification (which I don't
have), which is also an ASPAN (the Recovery Bible like AORN is the OR
Bible) standard. When I advised them that I have no experience at all in
PACU, nor ACLS certification (which they didn't really care about), and
would be very uncomfortable working in recovery without any experience at
al in it, they let me know today that they didn't feel I'd be a good fit
(which I'm very much in agreement with). So, for now, AK is out of the
picture. I still want to go to Israel, and the Lord may provide for that
opportunity with a NC group that sends volunteers to Israel to work in
various areas, and the financial outlay is minimal for the volunteer.
Many things to consider, much to pray about, and I should get to bed now.
More later....happy MAY!!
Love,
Debbie
May 3, 2008
Dear Family & Friends,
May has already arrived, and I'm just not sure where April even
went. The days dragged on at times, then flew by without any effort at
all, and I'm not ready for this year to be so far along. When I last
wrote I had gone to work the strike in Oakland, and it's been a whirlwind
since getting back home. My supervisor on the strike called a couple
weeks ago to thank me for working that strike twice so far, ask me to be
sure to be on the next one if possible and offer a letter of reference to
me. Not bad for a week's worth of work...it was a neat type of
experience even though it was very physically demanding and draining.
So, upon arrival back home in Greensboro, I was treated to a week of
really cold, ugly weather, which was a huge change from the delightfully
sunny and mild weather we had in California the week of the strike. That
type of early warm weather is what I miss most about the Southwest, and I
yearn to return to AZ to live in that wonderful desert climate.
Before heading out to CA on the strike, I had three working
opportunities kinda hanging over my head, so to speak, and while there,
the Sullivan group called to see if I'd be able to do an Interim
Management position in Michigan, to which I obviously said yes. Then the
Director of a physician-owned surgery center (small outpatient clinic) in
NC, with whom I had spoken before, and things were kinda in limbo with
them, emailed me to ask if I'd consider coming to them for a 3-month
Interim Management contract to try out the position. Of course I said
I'd be interested in that, and so went home with two opportunities
supposedly very positive and both of them were for "ASAP start"s. Alaska
was still kinda on the back burner, but when I called Jim Wilke, he said
the position had been filled and they were good for the rest of the
summer.
Two weeks into April, neither of the Interim Management positions
had called to set up interviews, but the one in NC had suddenly decided I
needed to take an "assessment" (which is mumbo-jumbo for a psychiatric
personality evaluation), and after I had taken it, I heard nothing
further from them for a week. So, wanting to either get the door
officially closed or find out if it was still open, I emailed the lady to
see what was up. She emailed back to say that due to the outcome of the
"assessment" she was going to accept it's judgement that I wasn't a good
fit for this position for them, in spite of the fact that she really
liked me and thought my resume "is fantastic". After mulling that
response over for an hour or so, with my initial reaction being quite
annoyed at such a thing, I decided to fight back.
I wrote to Dorothy that with all her years of experience, and her
excellent professional judgement (obviously she's been successful in her
profession), it seems odd that she would let a cold, impersonal, on-line
personality profile override her judgement so completely. I asked her
when things had gotten so automated and computerized that a person in her
position had to allow one single interview tool to totally influence a
decision about whom to interview, and if professionals at our level of
experience and maturity couldn't at least be given the courtesy of an
interview in person, then I wished her good luck finding someone for that
position. Then, with a bit of a flippant tone, I asked her if she
thought Hillary Clinton would submit to such an assessment and allow it
to keep her from her goals.
The very next morning she called early to say that I had intrigued
her with my response, that I was right about Hillary, and she had decided
she had to meet me and give me an opportunity to properly interview for
the position. So we set up the date for the interview this week on
Friday, and she arranged a hotel room for me on Thursday so I could have
a little visit time at the beach. Meanwhile, I also emailed the Sullivan
agency about the Michigan position, and the response I got was...we'll
check...nothing since then. That's how this whole consulting thing can
go, feast or famine, multiple opportunities open up, you get excited
about the possibility of an interesting contract, and then you wait and
wait and wait...for the phone call or e-mail saying things are moving
forward. Like this interview at the beach...the bottom line after it was
all over, was that she still had two other interviews to conduct, and
she'll let me know what her decision is two weeks from Friday, which
means I should know by May 16th.
Good for me that my paycheck from the last strike has been able to
stretch far enough to pay bills through the middle of May, but I really
need to be back to work by then if at all possible. Anyway, I decide to
check up on the Alaska thing, and last week he said they were OK, and
then on Tuesday the same hospital in Sitka that was fine, suddenly needs
not one but two RN's for their OR, and ASAP. We interviewed that same
afternoon, and what the recruiter hadn't mentioned was that they require
the OR RN's to also do Recovery/PACU, and since I have absolutely NO
EXPERIENCE in PACU whatsoever, I let them know that I'd be very
uncomfortable having to do recovery of my patients. They, in turn,
decided that they wouldn't be comfortable having me with no PACU
experience, so AK is out of the picture for this summer at least. I'm
still hoping for some consulting work with Sullivan HC, but have had no
word at all from the VP who brought me on board for that Iowa gig.
My trip to the beach this week was delightful. The weather had
turned balmy and warm, with good breezes to keep things from getting too
hot, so when I arrived at the beach it was comfortably warm and the sun
had turned the ocean a deep blue-green near shore, with gentle waves
brushing up onto the sand inviting a swim. After getting my things to my
room on the 5th floor, finding I had a small balcony, I opened up the
door to the balcony and allowed the ocean breezes to air out the room. My
room had a very nice view of the beach and was very nice. After getting
things arranged I walked down to the beach, which was literally just a
sand-dune away, and took a lovely stroll along the beach. The sand and
ocean waves insinuated themselves into my consciousness till I decided to
take off my shoes and socks, and then the stroll became a lovely romp in
the water. By the time I returned to my room, my jeans were wet to my
knees. but I was a very relaxed and happy camper.
As my habit is, I took a drive to find the surgery clinic in the
daylight so that it would be easy to find the next morning for my
interview, and about the time I had found it, I got a call from Dorothy,
who invited me to dinner with her. We ate at a small bistro with a view
of the Bogue Sound, so I got to see the sunset a bit, and had a very
tasty dinner. Since the shrimp is caught fresh daily, I had
flame-grilled jumbo shrimp with lumpy mashed potatoes that had been
lightly broiled to give them a tasty crust, and a salad of spring baby
greens with little grape tomatoes and crisp white cukes, drizzled with a
delicious balsamic vinaigrette. What a delicious dinner it was, and I
savored every bite. Conversation never lagged, and ranged from personal
stuff to professional, and I just decided that this was my chance to
present my case as honestly and frankly as possible, creating an
atmosphere of an informal interview right then while I was relaxed and
comfortable. It was a very enjoyable dinner and I left feeling that we
had done a great deal to favorably impress her with my suitability for
the position.
The next morning at 10 AM, we had the official interview, which
ended up being a progressive thing and quite impromptu with various
members of the staff in management positions. I discovered that the "OR"
staff have an extremely shallow level of OR experience having been given
OJT right there in that surgery center by CST's (surg techs, not even
RN's), and that the current OR Manager has less than 5 years of OR
experience (all of it OJT at CSC). Carteret Surgery Center is
doctor-owned, managed by a lady with a Master's in Finance Bus. Mgmt, and
they only have one RN working on the practice side (the doctor's
offices), three nurses in the surgery center and 5 CST's to do the
scrubbing and run decontam. The doctors not only get their weekends off,
but also an additional day off each week, so they all have extremely
heavily scheduled days when they are working. However, their volume of
surgery cases is very low (for a surgery center), and amounts to 25 cases
per week, which is normally what most surgery centers do each day.
It's a much more complex situation than I was given to understand on
the phone, perhaps manageable for someone of my background, but I'm
giving this a lot of thought and prayer, because now that I've seen what
goes on there, and hearing what is going on from the nurses with whom I
spoke, I'm not entirely convinced I want to take on this challenge. From
all that I've seen in hospitals, and the few outpatient surgery centers
I've been in, I'm fairly certain that this will be a battle of wills
between me and the doctors, because they always want to make more money,
cut corners to save money, and keep skeletal staffing to save money too.
I could go into much more detail, but that might bore most of you.
Suffice it to say that if I don't get the job, I may heave a sigh of
relief, because I'm becoming more certain by the hour that this will be
more of a headache than I've ever encountered. Not that I can't handle
headaches and challenges, but when it's temporary (3 months), you hang in
there because you know the end is in sight around the bend. When it
comes to a permanent position, you know the reality is that those
headaches may continue for many, many months or even years, and is that
what I want to commit myself to? Yes, I enjoy the challenges of my work,
but at my age and stage in my career, is it really wise to accept a job
that I'm sure will put me in a daily battlefield and tug of war with the
doctors for an unknown amount of time into the future, possibly till I
retire?
Apart from the job search, much of my time has been spent helping
my parents with their daily tasks and challenges, running errands,
keeping up with the Spring yard work, and helping Nanny Geiger (my VOB
pastor's mother) with building her a flower garden at her home. That has
been a challenge because Nanny's yard is mostly in the shade, and she
needed a garden that is as low-maintenance as possible to keep from
needing repeat help keeping it looking good. We also had to find a good
variety of shade-loving plants that also bloomed as much as possible
throughout the entire three growing seasons, and to give her as much
color as possible. That first flower garden was completed last week, but
she has a few other projects in mind, so I may get to do some more to
make her yard very colorful and pleasing to her. That project was fun,
and I had a really good time doing it for her.
Well, I guess that catches everyone up for what's been happening
with me since the strike. More when I have something to report on the
job situation or other good news.
Love,
Debbie
Dear Family & Friends,
May has already arrived, and I'm just not sure where April even
went. The days dragged on at times, then flew by without any effort at
all, and I'm not ready for this year to be so far along. When I last
wrote I had gone to work the strike in Oakland, and it's been a whirlwind
since getting back home. My supervisor on the strike called a couple
weeks ago to thank me for working that strike twice so far, ask me to be
sure to be on the next one if possible and offer a letter of reference to
me. Not bad for a week's worth of work...it was a neat type of
experience even though it was very physically demanding and draining.
So, upon arrival back home in Greensboro, I was treated to a week of
really cold, ugly weather, which was a huge change from the delightfully
sunny and mild weather we had in California the week of the strike. That
type of early warm weather is what I miss most about the Southwest, and I
yearn to return to AZ to live in that wonderful desert climate.
Before heading out to CA on the strike, I had three working
opportunities kinda hanging over my head, so to speak, and while there,
the Sullivan group called to see if I'd be able to do an Interim
Management position in Michigan, to which I obviously said yes. Then the
Director of a physician-owned surgery center (small outpatient clinic) in
NC, with whom I had spoken before, and things were kinda in limbo with
them, emailed me to ask if I'd consider coming to them for a 3-month
Interim Management contract to try out the position. Of course I said
I'd be interested in that, and so went home with two opportunities
supposedly very positive and both of them were for "ASAP start"s. Alaska
was still kinda on the back burner, but when I called Jim Wilke, he said
the position had been filled and they were good for the rest of the
summer.
Two weeks into April, neither of the Interim Management positions
had called to set up interviews, but the one in NC had suddenly decided I
needed to take an "assessment" (which is mumbo-jumbo for a psychiatric
personality evaluation), and after I had taken it, I heard nothing
further from them for a week. So, wanting to either get the door
officially closed or find out if it was still open, I emailed the lady to
see what was up. She emailed back to say that due to the outcome of the
"assessment" she was going to accept it's judgement that I wasn't a good
fit for this position for them, in spite of the fact that she really
liked me and thought my resume "is fantastic". After mulling that
response over for an hour or so, with my initial reaction being quite
annoyed at such a thing, I decided to fight back.
I wrote to Dorothy that with all her years of experience, and her
excellent professional judgement (obviously she's been successful in her
profession), it seems odd that she would let a cold, impersonal, on-line
personality profile override her judgement so completely. I asked her
when things had gotten so automated and computerized that a person in her
position had to allow one single interview tool to totally influence a
decision about whom to interview, and if professionals at our level of
experience and maturity couldn't at least be given the courtesy of an
interview in person, then I wished her good luck finding someone for that
position. Then, with a bit of a flippant tone, I asked her if she
thought Hillary Clinton would submit to such an assessment and allow it
to keep her from her goals.
The very next morning she called early to say that I had intrigued
her with my response, that I was right about Hillary, and she had decided
she had to meet me and give me an opportunity to properly interview for
the position. So we set up the date for the interview this week on
Friday, and she arranged a hotel room for me on Thursday so I could have
a little visit time at the beach. Meanwhile, I also emailed the Sullivan
agency about the Michigan position, and the response I got was...we'll
check...nothing since then. That's how this whole consulting thing can
go, feast or famine, multiple opportunities open up, you get excited
about the possibility of an interesting contract, and then you wait and
wait and wait...for the phone call or e-mail saying things are moving
forward. Like this interview at the beach...the bottom line after it was
all over, was that she still had two other interviews to conduct, and
she'll let me know what her decision is two weeks from Friday, which
means I should know by May 16th.
Good for me that my paycheck from the last strike has been able to
stretch far enough to pay bills through the middle of May, but I really
need to be back to work by then if at all possible. Anyway, I decide to
check up on the Alaska thing, and last week he said they were OK, and
then on Tuesday the same hospital in Sitka that was fine, suddenly needs
not one but two RN's for their OR, and ASAP. We interviewed that same
afternoon, and what the recruiter hadn't mentioned was that they require
the OR RN's to also do Recovery/PACU, and since I have absolutely NO
EXPERIENCE in PACU whatsoever, I let them know that I'd be very
uncomfortable having to do recovery of my patients. They, in turn,
decided that they wouldn't be comfortable having me with no PACU
experience, so AK is out of the picture for this summer at least. I'm
still hoping for some consulting work with Sullivan HC, but have had no
word at all from the VP who brought me on board for that Iowa gig.
My trip to the beach this week was delightful. The weather had
turned balmy and warm, with good breezes to keep things from getting too
hot, so when I arrived at the beach it was comfortably warm and the sun
had turned the ocean a deep blue-green near shore, with gentle waves
brushing up onto the sand inviting a swim. After getting my things to my
room on the 5th floor, finding I had a small balcony, I opened up the
door to the balcony and allowed the ocean breezes to air out the room. My
room had a very nice view of the beach and was very nice. After getting
things arranged I walked down to the beach, which was literally just a
sand-dune away, and took a lovely stroll along the beach. The sand and
ocean waves insinuated themselves into my consciousness till I decided to
take off my shoes and socks, and then the stroll became a lovely romp in
the water. By the time I returned to my room, my jeans were wet to my
knees. but I was a very relaxed and happy camper.
As my habit is, I took a drive to find the surgery clinic in the
daylight so that it would be easy to find the next morning for my
interview, and about the time I had found it, I got a call from Dorothy,
who invited me to dinner with her. We ate at a small bistro with a view
of the Bogue Sound, so I got to see the sunset a bit, and had a very
tasty dinner. Since the shrimp is caught fresh daily, I had
flame-grilled jumbo shrimp with lumpy mashed potatoes that had been
lightly broiled to give them a tasty crust, and a salad of spring baby
greens with little grape tomatoes and crisp white cukes, drizzled with a
delicious balsamic vinaigrette. What a delicious dinner it was, and I
savored every bite. Conversation never lagged, and ranged from personal
stuff to professional, and I just decided that this was my chance to
present my case as honestly and frankly as possible, creating an
atmosphere of an informal interview right then while I was relaxed and
comfortable. It was a very enjoyable dinner and I left feeling that we
had done a great deal to favorably impress her with my suitability for
the position.
The next morning at 10 AM, we had the official interview, which
ended up being a progressive thing and quite impromptu with various
members of the staff in management positions. I discovered that the "OR"
staff have an extremely shallow level of OR experience having been given
OJT right there in that surgery center by CST's (surg techs, not even
RN's), and that the current OR Manager has less than 5 years of OR
experience (all of it OJT at CSC). Carteret Surgery Center is
doctor-owned, managed by a lady with a Master's in Finance Bus. Mgmt, and
they only have one RN working on the practice side (the doctor's
offices), three nurses in the surgery center and 5 CST's to do the
scrubbing and run decontam. The doctors not only get their weekends off,
but also an additional day off each week, so they all have extremely
heavily scheduled days when they are working. However, their volume of
surgery cases is very low (for a surgery center), and amounts to 25 cases
per week, which is normally what most surgery centers do each day.
It's a much more complex situation than I was given to understand on
the phone, perhaps manageable for someone of my background, but I'm
giving this a lot of thought and prayer, because now that I've seen what
goes on there, and hearing what is going on from the nurses with whom I
spoke, I'm not entirely convinced I want to take on this challenge. From
all that I've seen in hospitals, and the few outpatient surgery centers
I've been in, I'm fairly certain that this will be a battle of wills
between me and the doctors, because they always want to make more money,
cut corners to save money, and keep skeletal staffing to save money too.
I could go into much more detail, but that might bore most of you.
Suffice it to say that if I don't get the job, I may heave a sigh of
relief, because I'm becoming more certain by the hour that this will be
more of a headache than I've ever encountered. Not that I can't handle
headaches and challenges, but when it's temporary (3 months), you hang in
there because you know the end is in sight around the bend. When it
comes to a permanent position, you know the reality is that those
headaches may continue for many, many months or even years, and is that
what I want to commit myself to? Yes, I enjoy the challenges of my work,
but at my age and stage in my career, is it really wise to accept a job
that I'm sure will put me in a daily battlefield and tug of war with the
doctors for an unknown amount of time into the future, possibly till I
retire?
Apart from the job search, much of my time has been spent helping
my parents with their daily tasks and challenges, running errands,
keeping up with the Spring yard work, and helping Nanny Geiger (my VOB
pastor's mother) with building her a flower garden at her home. That has
been a challenge because Nanny's yard is mostly in the shade, and she
needed a garden that is as low-maintenance as possible to keep from
needing repeat help keeping it looking good. We also had to find a good
variety of shade-loving plants that also bloomed as much as possible
throughout the entire three growing seasons, and to give her as much
color as possible. That first flower garden was completed last week, but
she has a few other projects in mind, so I may get to do some more to
make her yard very colorful and pleasing to her. That project was fun,
and I had a really good time doing it for her.
Well, I guess that catches everyone up for what's been happening
with me since the strike. More when I have something to report on the
job situation or other good news.
Love,
Debbie
June 2008
Dear Family & Friends,
We've officially passed the halfway mark of 2008, and I'm aghast at how fast this year has slipped away! Spring hasn't officially given way to Summer yet, but the weather has already started to resemble last year's summer of drought, and, here in NC, we never got caught up from the water deficit from last year, so we're praying for more rain. Our lawn, which started out so beautiful this Spring, has started to look brown again, and I'm hoping that we won't have a repeat of last summer. My roses are doing very well, blooming profusely with the first wave of rains and warm temperatures, so that I was able to give them away almost daily to prevent them from just withering away on the branch. They're into their second wave of blooming, and looking beautiful.
My mimosa tree (grown from a seed) is covered up in those frilly pink blossoms that look like tiny feather dusters; the gardenia bush has set a plethora of buds from which I already found one open blossom; the crape myrtle is cautiously blooming; the mother's day gardenia plant has resurrected once more and given me a single perfect bloom; the magnolia tree is showing it's petticoat of heavily perfumed flowers; the Texas Star has bushed out nicely; and the butterfly bush evidently appreciated the extreme pruning I gave it at the start of Spring, because it's also covered in nascent bloom sprigs which will explode into fragrant color spikes that attract bumblebees and butterflies so nicely. The Spring blossoming flowers have mostly shown their colors, while the day lilies and tiger lilies are just now in full bloom, and the hostas are starting their blooming season too.
We were finally able to replace the rotting four-by-four garden borders built to look like a split-rail fence, and now the flower beds are framed by rounded-front charcoal/red brick edgers, as well as the magnolia tree and the smaller circle of hostas around the crape myrtle tree. The look is so much more professional and very neat/orderly. I'm tickled to have that done, but am still figuring out how to incorporate my rock collection into the design. As part of my travels all over America, I've picked up colorful rocks that I've found in every state to which I've gone on contract. Most of them come from state or national parks, they vary in colors and sizes, but most of them I recall where they came from, so there's sentimental value to them, if nothing else. Now I have to find a place for them in this newly professional-looking scheme...
We've officially passed the halfway mark of 2008, and I'm aghast at how fast this year has slipped away! Spring hasn't officially given way to Summer yet, but the weather has already started to resemble last year's summer of drought, and, here in NC, we never got caught up from the water deficit from last year, so we're praying for more rain. Our lawn, which started out so beautiful this Spring, has started to look brown again, and I'm hoping that we won't have a repeat of last summer. My roses are doing very well, blooming profusely with the first wave of rains and warm temperatures, so that I was able to give them away almost daily to prevent them from just withering away on the branch. They're into their second wave of blooming, and looking beautiful.
My mimosa tree (grown from a seed) is covered up in those frilly pink blossoms that look like tiny feather dusters; the gardenia bush has set a plethora of buds from which I already found one open blossom; the crape myrtle is cautiously blooming; the mother's day gardenia plant has resurrected once more and given me a single perfect bloom; the magnolia tree is showing it's petticoat of heavily perfumed flowers; the Texas Star has bushed out nicely; and the butterfly bush evidently appreciated the extreme pruning I gave it at the start of Spring, because it's also covered in nascent bloom sprigs which will explode into fragrant color spikes that attract bumblebees and butterflies so nicely. The Spring blossoming flowers have mostly shown their colors, while the day lilies and tiger lilies are just now in full bloom, and the hostas are starting their blooming season too.
We were finally able to replace the rotting four-by-four garden borders built to look like a split-rail fence, and now the flower beds are framed by rounded-front charcoal/red brick edgers, as well as the magnolia tree and the smaller circle of hostas around the crape myrtle tree. The look is so much more professional and very neat/orderly. I'm tickled to have that done, but am still figuring out how to incorporate my rock collection into the design. As part of my travels all over America, I've picked up colorful rocks that I've found in every state to which I've gone on contract. Most of them come from state or national parks, they vary in colors and sizes, but most of them I recall where they came from, so there's sentimental value to them, if nothing else. Now I have to find a place for them in this newly professional-looking scheme...
July 28, 2008
One of my friends wrote recently to say she wanted a real letter about what I've been up to, not just forwards, so here we go. As you can see above, this letter was started in June, and that's about as far as it got. You don't have to be working a 40-hour week punching a time clock to wonder where the days go. Some may wonder what I do to keep me busy since I'm not "working"...smile, or at least try to. Well....let me see...I'm technically unemployed, but self-employed, so having to try to scrounge a job from wherever I can, doing whatever I'm most qualified to do. Have had quite a number of really interesting Interim Management opportunities slip right through my fingers since April 2007, and it took a lot of time and effort to get through those searches and then lose the position. Job hunting can be a full-time occupation all by itself, and when you're self employed, it becomes a task that can't be ignored for very long without risk of getting forgotten in your field of expertise. Going a whole year or more without any Interim OR jobs doesn't look so good on the resume, but explaining why is a bit of a challenge.
Besides looking for work, there's keeping the home here in Greensboro maintained, and that takes a good bit of time too. I'm fully responsible for the maintenance of the yard as well, and while I have a man to mow the lawn (we don't have a lawn mower and when I'm gone for months at a time, you can't just let the grass grow), but keeping up the flower beds is lot's of time consuming work. This past year has been a challenge in that department because of the severe drought NC endured. It took extra time and effort to recycle as much water as possible that was used in the house so that I could keep the roses watered at least minimally to keep them from getting burned up by the heat. We had an extra hot summer too, along w/the drought, so it was a challenge just keeping the roses alive.
Then there's the time spent with my parents when they were able to be here at the house. They appreciated my efforts to help take some of the weight of their duties from their shoulders, so I spent a great deal of time helping with the numerous requests for assistance from Suriname, did most of the grocery shopping (of course most of you know I enjoy shopping, so it's no chore), and ran a lot of errands when the need presented, so that Daddy could concentrate on his more official duties. His health has had some acute challenges this past year, so helping even with mundane chores gave him relief to deal with more pressing needs.
Most of you have husbands or wives, possibly children old enough to help with household chores, so all these activities don't seem too much to handle, especially if you're not having to go to work 40 hours a week as well. But it is a bit of a challenge to handle all that as a single woman, no husband or children to help. I've also attempted to start a boutique gardening business (since I've not had any nursing work), doing something I really enjoy anyway, and see if I can make a few extra bucks to get by. So far I've only acquired one client, a lady in her 70's who's pretty spry and loves her gardening work as well, but hasn't the stamina or strength I can offer to accomplish some of her tougher garden chores. She gets me on Tuesdays, usually about 4-5 hours in the morning, and I do whatever she wants done that I'm capable of. I've cleaned gutters, transplanted plants, cleaned/fixed small water fountains, mowed her 3' x 12' patch of grass, used a blower to clean up all the debris from the chores as well as the dozens of trees that surround her house leaving debris everywhere. Today we worked on her garden shed, cleaning it up and completely taking all its contents out and reorganizing everything into a more efficient and orderly fashion so that things are able to be found readily and used with a minim of fuss. Until I get another nursing position, I'll continue to seek more clients so that I can supplement my unemployment income somewhat.
During April and May, I also had a temporary client, my pastor's widowed mother, who loves flowers and lots of color, so I suggested to her that she allow me to create some beautiful perennial flower gardens. We started with just two, one medium sized with approximately 4 dozen flowers, and the other a smaller one for along a back fence to cover it's weathered facade with clematis. When those two were finished, she wasn't satisfied with just two, so got her son to rip out a 16-foot privacy-hedge of mature azaleas in front of her patio, and we created yet another garden of lovely perennials. Then, not content with my protestations that her yard doesn't get enough sun for growing roses, she ordered some hedge roses, and that gave birth to her fourth flower garden. The roses are doing fair-to-middlin' but one is trying to die, and she's not happy with my explanations that her choice wasn't a good one, and they are less likely to flourish than anything else I have done for her. We'll see about that.
In addition to a very complimentary client (she raves about her beautiful gardens), she and I had many conversations while she was "supervising" my activities, and she was quite concerned about my financial situation with being unemployed for so many months in a row (now 15). The upshot of our frequent talks about savings, investments, etc was that she transferred one share of Coca Cola to me this month! So, I'm now a shareholder of Coca Cola, and it's on an automatic dividend reinvestment program they have. My goal is to add a share per month (once I'm working again) to that program, which will grow into a tidy little nest egg in time. Her husband encouraged her early in their marriage to become part of an investment club with a group of ladies, which she did, and she is now living on the profits made by her own investment club. It's been fun talking with her and learning more about stocks and how she learned to invest, and how so many companies make it possible to purchase stocks directly from them without having to pay a broker for that privilege. Knowing that I can't keep on with the harder aspects of nursing forever, and not having any savings left since my continued unemployment last year used up what was a nicely growing nest egg, I have to find a better way to put away something for when I have to retire from nursing and find another way to produce an income.
Some very promising Interim OR Manager positions have come my way this Spring and Summer, none of which have turned into a job for me. Many factors are at play, not the least of which has been that the pool from which hospitals have to draw on for Interim OR Managers has grown exponentially in the past 5 years. Other nurse like me, mature, experienced, having issues with the day-to-day staffing situations, and perhaps needing the flexibility of self-employment due to spouse job situations, or whatever, have glutted the formerly sparse ranks of travel nurse OR Managers available, so at any given time, the competition for the available positions is pretty stiff, with many of them having an automatic advantage over me because they either have BSN's or even MSN's to offer those hospitals a little more snobby about their credentialling process. The answer to that is not necessarily getting a degree, because my style of management and interest in levels of management doesn't lend itself to having a degree that would remove me from the proximity to my staff that makes me better at what I do than most managers.
Besides which, I trust the Lord that He has a plan for me, and that He has had very good reasons for allowing this period of unemployment. It has allowed me time to give my parents my undivided attention when they needed it most, has allowed me to maintain the house/grounds in good condition, and given me time to become very involved in my church as a charter member, and part of the music worship team. My time with them usually takes parts of 2-3 days a week, and I've very much enjoyed getting so close to the critical workings of a fledgling congregation. We have a vital outreach to Jewish people, and I love the Hebrew worship songs I've learned so far. Our pastor has really opened up a new dimension of Scriptural understanding for me, which has deepened my own Bible study and appreciation, so my continued unemployment has truly had some significant spiritual impact on my life, and that is never a negative outcome.
My parents returned to Suriname on May 28th, and they are settling back into life there with their usual ease and comfort. The grandchildren in Suriname have recently lost another sibling to the inevitable march of time when you graduate from high school and become a Bible college student. David's two children are here in Winston-Salem, NC while Jonathan's two eldest, Matthew and Miriam are at Northland Baptist Bible College. Matthew just recently returned from a yearlong survey/study trip to Turkey to discover how the Lord will use him as a missionary to Islamic peoples in Turkey. He also recently became engaged, and the wedding is scheduled for June 18, 2009. He and his fiancee, Bethany Toomer, will be at NBBC this year, for her to finish her studies, and for him to complete his Master's. Miriam is a rising senior and an RA at NBBC, loving everything to do with her studies and college life. This fall, Seth, Ethan's eldest son, will start college at Ambassador Bible College in NC. Ethan is my younger brother, and Seth is the first of 8 children to leave the nest.
Ethan and Seth are here in Greensboro getting time to help Seth find a home church for his college time, shop for their Suriname needs, ship all the stuff they've been given and shopped for, and generally prepare for another two years of service in Moengo, Suriname where they minister along with Jonathan and my parents. With Ethan here, and Kim in Suriname (someone has to look out for the other 7 children), I've taken over the job of chef and housekeeper, and getting a bit of assistance with the leaf-raking from Seth in the bargain. I was a little apprehensive about cooking for two such big guys (both over 6 feet) and accustomed to Kim's cooking, but after my first meal, it became clear that my own life in Suriname and being part of the Champlin family certainly helped me to have similar cooking habits as they do. Seth's first response to my first meal for him was a slight upturning of the corners of his mouth and a satisfied "Ahhhh". He went on a little later to say that it was the first meal he'd had since returning to America June 30th that tasted like home. With a few tips from Kim, I hope to keep the men well-fed and as content with their food as either can be away from home.
This afternoon I received a phone call from an agency who had referred me to an Interim OR Management job in June, which had passed me by again, and the recruiter said that they've completed the part of their game plan that they didn't think I was qualified to do, and now they need someone who's more comfortable with the type of hands-on management that I'm best at. So, once more, I'm submitted to this same hospital, trusting that their renewed interest might mean a job this time! The timing will be good...they want to shoot for mid-August, and Ethan returns to Suriname on August 13th, so that should work out well, if they decide to offer me the job this time. Please pray for God's hand in this and an open door if this is of Him. It would be in Atlanta, GA, so I'd be able to fly (if need be) home easily for long weekends and not suffer jet lag, or drive if it was really long weekends.
Also had a phone call from a lady in Charlotte, NC who is a massage therapist that comes to your home for the appointment, and she's interested in my Jeep that is for sale. Her birthday is mid-August and she wants a "new" car for her business, as the old one is dying. She thought my ad in CARS.com was very thorough and was quite interested in my personal knowledge and care of my Jeep. I hope she will choose my Jeep, because it would be nice to know it's still doing something related to the nursing profession. Well that about sums up this year so far. Good to get this update done and feel like I'm not so remiss in staying in touch with my loved ones.
Love,
Debbie
Welcome to the new 2008 edition of getting to know your family and
friends. Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be lame and
spoil the fun. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then
send this to a bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person who sent it
to you. Some of you may get this several times; that means you have
lots of
friends. The easiest way to do it is to hit 'forward' so you can change
the answers or copy and paste. Have fun and be truthful!
1. What is your occupation right now?
Self employed OR Nurse consultant
2. What color are your socks right now?
Pink
3. What are you listening to right now?
Republican National Convention: John McCain's speech
4. What was the last thing that you ate?
Fresh Fruit salad
5. Can you drive a stick shift?
Yup and love it!
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
Brother- Jonathan
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Love her like a sister and she's my best friend (Alice)
8. How old are you today?
50, with only two more months to stay that way
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
Soccer
10. What is your favorite drink?
Mango juice
11. Have you ever dyed your hair?
NEVER
12. Favorite food?
Filet Mignon medium well
13. What is the last movie you watched?
Dances With Wolves
14. Favorite day of the year?
Resurrection Day
15. How do you vent anger?
Yard work, shooting gun at the range, two-sided arguments with myself.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Ceramic horses
17. What is your favorite season?
Summer
18. Cherries or Blueberries?
Cherries
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?
Sure!
20. Who is the most likely to respond?
Ann C
21. Who is least likely to respond?
SJP
22. Living arrangements?
Single, never been married :'(
23. When was the last time you cried?
Two nights ago
24. What is on the floor of your closet?
Shoes!
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to?
Aunt Alice
26. What did you do last night
VOB Worship team practice, visited with Nanny Geiger, watched the RNC speeches...go Palin!
27. What are you most afraid of
Heights
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburger
Plain
29. Favorite dog breed?
Rhodesian Ridgeback
30. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday
31. How many states have you lived in?
18
32. Diamonds or pearls?
Why choose? I have more pearls than diamonds, but only because pearls are more affordable
33. What is your favorite flower?
ROSES...ever seen my yard?
friends. Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be lame and
spoil the fun. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then
send this to a bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person who sent it
to you. Some of you may get this several times; that means you have
lots of
friends. The easiest way to do it is to hit 'forward' so you can change
the answers or copy and paste. Have fun and be truthful!
1. What is your occupation right now?
Self employed OR Nurse consultant
2. What color are your socks right now?
Pink
3. What are you listening to right now?
Republican National Convention: John McCain's speech
4. What was the last thing that you ate?
Fresh Fruit salad
5. Can you drive a stick shift?
Yup and love it!
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
Brother- Jonathan
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Love her like a sister and she's my best friend (Alice)
8. How old are you today?
50, with only two more months to stay that way
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
Soccer
10. What is your favorite drink?
Mango juice
11. Have you ever dyed your hair?
NEVER
12. Favorite food?
Filet Mignon medium well
13. What is the last movie you watched?
Dances With Wolves
14. Favorite day of the year?
Resurrection Day
15. How do you vent anger?
Yard work, shooting gun at the range, two-sided arguments with myself.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Ceramic horses
17. What is your favorite season?
Summer
18. Cherries or Blueberries?
Cherries
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?
Sure!
20. Who is the most likely to respond?
Ann C
21. Who is least likely to respond?
SJP
22. Living arrangements?
Single, never been married :'(
23. When was the last time you cried?
Two nights ago
24. What is on the floor of your closet?
Shoes!
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to?
Aunt Alice
26. What did you do last night
VOB Worship team practice, visited with Nanny Geiger, watched the RNC speeches...go Palin!
27. What are you most afraid of
Heights
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburger
Plain
29. Favorite dog breed?
Rhodesian Ridgeback
30. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday
31. How many states have you lived in?
18
32. Diamonds or pearls?
Why choose? I have more pearls than diamonds, but only because pearls are more affordable
33. What is your favorite flower?
ROSES...ever seen my yard?
June 2008
Dear Family & Friends,
We've officially passed the halfway mark of 2008, and I'm aghast at how fast this year has slipped away! Spring hasn't officially given way to Summer yet, but the weather has already started to resemble last year's summer of drought, and, here in NC, we never got caught up from the water deficit from last year, so we're praying for more rain. Our lawn, which started out so beautiful this Spring, has started to look brown again, and I'm hoping that we won't have a repeat of last summer. My roses are doing very well, blooming profusely with the first wave of rains and warm temperatures, so that I was able to give them away almost daily to prevent them from just withering away on the branch. They're into their second wave of blooming, and looking beautiful.
My mimosa tree (grown from a seed) is covered up in those frilly pink blossoms that look like tiny feather dusters; the gardenia bush has set a plethora of buds from which I already found one open blossom; the crape myrtle is cautiously blooming; the mother's day gardenia plant has resurrected once more and given me a single perfect bloom; the magnolia tree is showing it's petticoat of heavily perfumed flowers; the Texas Star has bushed out nicely; and the butterfly bush evidently appreciated the extreme pruning I gave it at the start of Spring, because it's also covered in nascent bloom sprigs which will explode into fragrant color spikes that attract bumblebees and butterflies so nicely. The Spring blossoming flowers have mostly shown their colors, while the day lilies and tiger lilies are just now in full bloom, and the hostas are starting their blooming season too.
We were finally able to replace the rotting four-by-four garden borders built to look like a split-rail fence, and now the flower beds are framed by rounded-front charcoal/red brick edgers, as well as the magnolia tree and the smaller circle of hostas around the crape myrtle tree. The look is so much more professional and very neat/orderly. I'm tickled to have that done, but am still figuring out how to incorporate my rock collection into the design. As part of my travels all over America, I've picked up colorful rocks that I've found in every state to which I've gone on contract. Most of them come from state or national parks, they vary in colors and sizes, but most of them I recall where they came from, so there's sentimental value to them, if nothing else. Now I have to find a place for them in this newly professional-looking scheme...
We've officially passed the halfway mark of 2008, and I'm aghast at how fast this year has slipped away! Spring hasn't officially given way to Summer yet, but the weather has already started to resemble last year's summer of drought, and, here in NC, we never got caught up from the water deficit from last year, so we're praying for more rain. Our lawn, which started out so beautiful this Spring, has started to look brown again, and I'm hoping that we won't have a repeat of last summer. My roses are doing very well, blooming profusely with the first wave of rains and warm temperatures, so that I was able to give them away almost daily to prevent them from just withering away on the branch. They're into their second wave of blooming, and looking beautiful.
My mimosa tree (grown from a seed) is covered up in those frilly pink blossoms that look like tiny feather dusters; the gardenia bush has set a plethora of buds from which I already found one open blossom; the crape myrtle is cautiously blooming; the mother's day gardenia plant has resurrected once more and given me a single perfect bloom; the magnolia tree is showing it's petticoat of heavily perfumed flowers; the Texas Star has bushed out nicely; and the butterfly bush evidently appreciated the extreme pruning I gave it at the start of Spring, because it's also covered in nascent bloom sprigs which will explode into fragrant color spikes that attract bumblebees and butterflies so nicely. The Spring blossoming flowers have mostly shown their colors, while the day lilies and tiger lilies are just now in full bloom, and the hostas are starting their blooming season too.
We were finally able to replace the rotting four-by-four garden borders built to look like a split-rail fence, and now the flower beds are framed by rounded-front charcoal/red brick edgers, as well as the magnolia tree and the smaller circle of hostas around the crape myrtle tree. The look is so much more professional and very neat/orderly. I'm tickled to have that done, but am still figuring out how to incorporate my rock collection into the design. As part of my travels all over America, I've picked up colorful rocks that I've found in every state to which I've gone on contract. Most of them come from state or national parks, they vary in colors and sizes, but most of them I recall where they came from, so there's sentimental value to them, if nothing else. Now I have to find a place for them in this newly professional-looking scheme...
July 28, 2008
One of my friends wrote recently to say she wanted a real letter about what I've been up to, not just forwards, so here we go. As you can see above, this letter was started in June, and that's about as far as it got. You don't have to be working a 40-hour week punching a time clock to wonder where the days go. Some may wonder what I do to keep me busy since I'm not "working"...smile, or at least try to. Well....let me see...I'm technically unemployed, but self-employed, so having to try to scrounge a job from wherever I can, doing whatever I'm most qualified to do. Have had quite a number of really interesting Interim Management opportunities slip right through my fingers since April 2007, and it took a lot of time and effort to get through those searches and then lose the position. Job hunting can be a full-time occupation all by itself, and when you're self employed, it becomes a task that can't be ignored for very long without risk of getting forgotten in your field of expertise. Going a whole year or more without any Interim OR jobs doesn't look so good on the resume, but explaining why is a bit of a challenge.
Besides looking for work, there's keeping the home here in Greensboro maintained, and that takes a good bit of time too. I'm fully responsible for the maintenance of the yard as well, and while I have a man to mow the lawn (we don't have a lawn mower and when I'm gone for months at a time, you can't just let the grass grow), but keeping up the flower beds is lot's of time consuming work. This past year has been a challenge in that department because of the severe drought NC endured. It took extra time and effort to recycle as much water as possible that was used in the house so that I could keep the roses watered at least minimally to keep them from getting burned up by the heat. We had an extra hot summer too, along w/the drought, so it was a challenge just keeping the roses alive.
Then there's the time spent with my parents when they were able to be here at the house. They appreciated my efforts to help take some of the weight of their duties from their shoulders, so I spent a great deal of time helping with the numerous requests for assistance from Suriname, did most of the grocery shopping (of course most of you know I enjoy shopping, so it's no chore), and ran a lot of errands when the need presented, so that Daddy could concentrate on his more official duties. His health has had some acute challenges this past year, so helping even with mundane chores gave him relief to deal with more pressing needs.
Most of you have husbands or wives, possibly children old enough to help with household chores, so all these activities don't seem too much to handle, especially if you're not having to go to work 40 hours a week as well. But it is a bit of a challenge to handle all that as a single woman, no husband or children to help. I've also attempted to start a boutique gardening business (since I've not had any nursing work), doing something I really enjoy anyway, and see if I can make a few extra bucks to get by. So far I've only acquired one client, a lady in her 70's who's pretty spry and loves her gardening work as well, but hasn't the stamina or strength I can offer to accomplish some of her tougher garden chores. She gets me on Tuesdays, usually about 4-5 hours in the morning, and I do whatever she wants done that I'm capable of. I've cleaned gutters, transplanted plants, cleaned/fixed small water fountains, mowed her 3' x 12' patch of grass, used a blower to clean up all the debris from the chores as well as the dozens of trees that surround her house leaving debris everywhere. Today we worked on her garden shed, cleaning it up and completely taking all its contents out and reorganizing everything into a more efficient and orderly fashion so that things are able to be found readily and used with a minim of fuss. Until I get another nursing position, I'll continue to seek more clients so that I can supplement my unemployment income somewhat.
During April and May, I also had a temporary client, my pastor's widowed mother, who loves flowers and lots of color, so I suggested to her that she allow me to create some beautiful perennial flower gardens. We started with just two, one medium sized with approximately 4 dozen flowers, and the other a smaller one for along a back fence to cover it's weathered facade with clematis. When those two were finished, she wasn't satisfied with just two, so got her son to rip out a 16-foot privacy-hedge of mature azaleas in front of her patio, and we created yet another garden of lovely perennials. Then, not content with my protestations that her yard doesn't get enough sun for growing roses, she ordered some hedge roses, and that gave birth to her fourth flower garden. The roses are doing fair-to-middlin' but one is trying to die, and she's not happy with my explanations that her choice wasn't a good one, and they are less likely to flourish than anything else I have done for her. We'll see about that.
In addition to a very complimentary client (she raves about her beautiful gardens), she and I had many conversations while she was "supervising" my activities, and she was quite concerned about my financial situation with being unemployed for so many months in a row (now 15). The upshot of our frequent talks about savings, investments, etc was that she transferred one share of Coca Cola to me this month! So, I'm now a shareholder of Coca Cola, and it's on an automatic dividend reinvestment program they have. My goal is to add a share per month (once I'm working again) to that program, which will grow into a tidy little nest egg in time. Her husband encouraged her early in their marriage to become part of an investment club with a group of ladies, which she did, and she is now living on the profits made by her own investment club. It's been fun talking with her and learning more about stocks and how she learned to invest, and how so many companies make it possible to purchase stocks directly from them without having to pay a broker for that privilege. Knowing that I can't keep on with the harder aspects of nursing forever, and not having any savings left since my continued unemployment last year used up what was a nicely growing nest egg, I have to find a better way to put away something for when I have to retire from nursing and find another way to produce an income.
Some very promising Interim OR Manager positions have come my way this Spring and Summer, none of which have turned into a job for me. Many factors are at play, not the least of which has been that the pool from which hospitals have to draw on for Interim OR Managers has grown exponentially in the past 5 years. Other nurse like me, mature, experienced, having issues with the day-to-day staffing situations, and perhaps needing the flexibility of self-employment due to spouse job situations, or whatever, have glutted the formerly sparse ranks of travel nurse OR Managers available, so at any given time, the competition for the available positions is pretty stiff, with many of them having an automatic advantage over me because they either have BSN's or even MSN's to offer those hospitals a little more snobby about their credentialling process. The answer to that is not necessarily getting a degree, because my style of management and interest in levels of management doesn't lend itself to having a degree that would remove me from the proximity to my staff that makes me better at what I do than most managers.
Besides which, I trust the Lord that He has a plan for me, and that He has had very good reasons for allowing this period of unemployment. It has allowed me time to give my parents my undivided attention when they needed it most, has allowed me to maintain the house/grounds in good condition, and given me time to become very involved in my church as a charter member, and part of the music worship team. My time with them usually takes parts of 2-3 days a week, and I've very much enjoyed getting so close to the critical workings of a fledgling congregation. We have a vital outreach to Jewish people, and I love the Hebrew worship songs I've learned so far. Our pastor has really opened up a new dimension of Scriptural understanding for me, which has deepened my own Bible study and appreciation, so my continued unemployment has truly had some significant spiritual impact on my life, and that is never a negative outcome.
My parents returned to Suriname on May 28th, and they are settling back into life there with their usual ease and comfort. The grandchildren in Suriname have recently lost another sibling to the inevitable march of time when you graduate from high school and become a Bible college student. David's two children are here in Winston-Salem, NC while Jonathan's two eldest, Matthew and Miriam are at Northland Baptist Bible College. Matthew just recently returned from a yearlong survey/study trip to Turkey to discover how the Lord will use him as a missionary to Islamic peoples in Turkey. He also recently became engaged, and the wedding is scheduled for June 18, 2009. He and his fiancee, Bethany Toomer, will be at NBBC this year, for her to finish her studies, and for him to complete his Master's. Miriam is a rising senior and an RA at NBBC, loving everything to do with her studies and college life. This fall, Seth, Ethan's eldest son, will start college at Ambassador Bible College in NC. Ethan is my younger brother, and Seth is the first of 8 children to leave the nest.
Ethan and Seth are here in Greensboro getting time to help Seth find a home church for his college time, shop for their Suriname needs, ship all the stuff they've been given and shopped for, and generally prepare for another two years of service in Moengo, Suriname where they minister along with Jonathan and my parents. With Ethan here, and Kim in Suriname (someone has to look out for the other 7 children), I've taken over the job of chef and housekeeper, and getting a bit of assistance with the leaf-raking from Seth in the bargain. I was a little apprehensive about cooking for two such big guys (both over 6 feet) and accustomed to Kim's cooking, but after my first meal, it became clear that my own life in Suriname and being part of the Champlin family certainly helped me to have similar cooking habits as they do. Seth's first response to my first meal for him was a slight upturning of the corners of his mouth and a satisfied "Ahhhh". He went on a little later to say that it was the first meal he'd had since returning to America June 30th that tasted like home. With a few tips from Kim, I hope to keep the men well-fed and as content with their food as either can be away from home.
This afternoon I received a phone call from an agency who had referred me to an Interim OR Management job in June, which had passed me by again, and the recruiter said that they've completed the part of their game plan that they didn't think I was qualified to do, and now they need someone who's more comfortable with the type of hands-on management that I'm best at. So, once more, I'm submitted to this same hospital, trusting that their renewed interest might mean a job this time! The timing will be good...they want to shoot for mid-August, and Ethan returns to Suriname on August 13th, so that should work out well, if they decide to offer me the job this time. Please pray for God's hand in this and an open door if this is of Him. It would be in Atlanta, GA, so I'd be able to fly (if need be) home easily for long weekends and not suffer jet lag, or drive if it was really long weekends.
Also had a phone call from a lady in Charlotte, NC who is a massage therapist that comes to your home for the appointment, and she's interested in my Jeep that is for sale. Her birthday is mid-August and she wants a "new" car for her business, as the old one is dying. She thought my ad in CARS.com was very thorough and was quite interested in my personal knowledge and care of my Jeep. I hope she will choose my Jeep, because it would be nice to know it's still doing something related to the nursing profession. Well that about sums up this year so far. Good to get this update done and feel like I'm not so remiss in staying in touch with my loved ones.
Love,
Debbie
August 10, 2008
Dear Family & Friends,
WOW!!! I've already gotten to see history made in this summer
Olympics' events so far, only three days into it, and what fascinating
moments they've been. My favorites in the summer Olympics are first and
always the gymnastics, then swimming, then beach volleyball (which has
supplanted my other favorite: horsemanship, for third place). Of course,
my attention was caught in the last Summer Olympics by Michael Phelps, of
now worldwide swimming fame, so I'm glad that the gymnastics aren't
taking place at the same time as the swimming events in which Michael is
featured, because it would be difficult to choose. So far, Michael has
won two of the eight gold medals in swimming that he is attempting to
earn, and I've gotten to see both of those races "live", as well as the
medal ceremonies.
The second race he won was the team free style 400m relay, and what
a nail biter it would have been, except that there was barely time to
chew a nail. Our American relay team, of which Michael Phelps was the
lead leg, won that race in major style. They not only broke the current
world record, they smashed it to smithereens by 4 whole seconds!!! In a
world where most races are won by hundredths of a second, to break a
world record by such a margin is truly historical. Amazingly, this race
was so fast that the Swiss team, who came in FIFTH, also beat the world
record! The anchor leg was a superhuman feat of pure heart, because the
French, who were favored to win based purely on each individual team
member's personal times set already in preliminaries and individual
heats, had a good half body lead by the third leg (American Cullen Jones
was lagging badly after the first two legs had managed to keep a very
slight lead on the French). The anchorman, Jason Lezak, not only came
from behind to beat the much-favored French, he beat them by 8/10ths of a
second in a heroically determined effort.
The other "miracle" we've been watching unfold is the presence of
Dara Torres, a 41-year old female swimmer, who has a 2 year old, who is
competing in her fifth Olympics, and is competing alongside/against
teenagers who weren't even born when she competed in her first Olympics
in 1984 and won gold then. Dara has not only already set world records
this week in her events against athlete who are in their teens, but she
has also already won a silver medal in one event in which she was the
anchor for a women's team relay. She is the oldest Olympic swimmer in
history, as well as the only swimmer to win a medal in five Olympics.
Her split in the relay was the second fastest in history, with the
Aussie, Libby Trickett (less than half her age) faster only by 1/10th of
a second. She's the oldest swimmer to qualify for the Olympics, the
first to make five teams, and in 2000 was the oldest member of that
Olympic team. One year after beginning her third comeback in 2006, she
broke her own 50M free record set 7 years earlier at the Sydney Olympics!
What at woman...
Guess you could say I'm quite a fan of the Olympics, and I'm very
much enjoying getting to watch them this time. They make a whole lot
more sense than in years past, because I'm more educated on the
background, rules, athletes, etc, and appreciate their accomplishments so
much because I know how hard it is to excel in your field, whether it's
sports or the Operating Room. I also like seeing America win..no matter
what the arena is, or what the sport is. But for swimming and
gymnastics, we've had some very wonderful times of bringing home the
gold, and gotten it taken away too, so I'm ready to see our athletes win
against other much better funded/supported athletes whose countries
sponsor them fully from childhood, unlike our athletes whose families
sacrifice greatly to see their children's dreams come true.
Well...life isn't all Olympics, and since July 24th, Ethan, Kim
and Seth have been at my parents' home in Greensboro. Kim returned to
Suriname July 25th, so Ethan and Seth have been kinda relying on me for
the basics: meals and cleaning. Since I've been single all my adult
life, and living mostly on the road as a travel nurse, I'm not used to
cooking for two adult men. My first meal for them was a success, having
provided Seth with the first Suriname-like meal he'd had since leaving
Suriname in June. His satisfied "ahhh" was all I needed to know that the
meal met with his approval, and set the stage for other satisfactory
meals. There were a few compliments, "thanks for the good meal" which
helped to make it easier to continue to put a new meal on the table every
day.
As a single, I normally cook about 2-3 times/week, eating warmed
up leftovers the rest of the week; and I don't eat much rice, potatoes or
bread at all anymore, just protein, raw veggie salads and fruits. So, to
have to come up with a good main meal every day, plus light supper meals
every day, was an exercise in the creative cooking process, and a
challenge to make something they both enjoy that was also nutritious. It
was also time-consuming, from prep to cleanup, so my days were very busy,
with very little time for my own business. Then there were a few loads
of clothes to wash, all the errands, helping Ethan with navigating around
Greensboro for his various shopping needs, helping him find the most
accessible vendors for his needs, and helping with picking up stuff he
ordered by phone from local businesses, while he started packing
everything for shipping to Suriname.
I mostly stayed out of the packing, because I have some ideas about
how it should be done, but Ethan and Seth did take one suggestion I made,
to use Seth's computer to create a packing list of each item that went
into the barrels that they are using for shipping, which turned out to be
a timesaving idea. I got to spray-paint numbers on each barrel, to
coordinate with the list of items in each barrel, and monitored their
progress occasionally when refilling their drinks, or bringing out a
timely snack of fruit. Ethan and Seth both love peaches, so since
peaches are very much in season right now, I stocked up at the Farmer's
Market so they'd have plenty of those to enjoy. Blondie bars made a big
hit too, so I hope that the memories of meal-time will be favorable,
considering how much effort went into trying to make that a pleasant
thing for them. Ethan had purchased a new rice cooker for taking to
Suriname, and I was able to use that every day to cook their 2 cups of
rice, and I'm completely sold on rice cookers!!! Wow, what an easy way
to make picture perfect rice every time, and I'll never want to cook rice
the old way again.
Saturday, Seth left for the last time, as he will be starting his
new job at Ambassador Baptist College next week prior to classes
starting. Ethan will be back Monday to wrap up all his packing and
shipping business, hopefully sending off all the barrels to Miami on
Tuesday, then flying out of Greensboro on Wednesday to return to Suriname
and his family. He has burned up the Skype "phone lines" each night to
Kim since her return to Suriname, so they will be glad to not be so far
apart. My parents are doing well in Suriname once more, and while my
father's health challenges give him some bad days, they are settling into
a routine and trusting that stability and consistency will resolve some
of those difficulties.
My job search continues...there are a few possibilities in sight,
two for which I've already interviewed once and will have to interview a
second time before there may be an offer of any type. Again, these are
possibilities, and since I've now gone for 16 months without work, in
spite of many such interviews for potential jobs in that time, I tend not
to get excited about interviews and how they may work out, or not. My
job situation is in God's hands...where it should be...and I am trusting
Him for the provision of the right job at the time of His choosing. I'm
very eager to get back to work, but I realize that God's timing is not my
own, and I must be patient, trusting God to show Himself faithful no
matter how things work out. More when I've got something to relate...
Love,
Debbie
Dear Family & Friends,
WOW!!! I've already gotten to see history made in this summer
Olympics' events so far, only three days into it, and what fascinating
moments they've been. My favorites in the summer Olympics are first and
always the gymnastics, then swimming, then beach volleyball (which has
supplanted my other favorite: horsemanship, for third place). Of course,
my attention was caught in the last Summer Olympics by Michael Phelps, of
now worldwide swimming fame, so I'm glad that the gymnastics aren't
taking place at the same time as the swimming events in which Michael is
featured, because it would be difficult to choose. So far, Michael has
won two of the eight gold medals in swimming that he is attempting to
earn, and I've gotten to see both of those races "live", as well as the
medal ceremonies.
The second race he won was the team free style 400m relay, and what
a nail biter it would have been, except that there was barely time to
chew a nail. Our American relay team, of which Michael Phelps was the
lead leg, won that race in major style. They not only broke the current
world record, they smashed it to smithereens by 4 whole seconds!!! In a
world where most races are won by hundredths of a second, to break a
world record by such a margin is truly historical. Amazingly, this race
was so fast that the Swiss team, who came in FIFTH, also beat the world
record! The anchor leg was a superhuman feat of pure heart, because the
French, who were favored to win based purely on each individual team
member's personal times set already in preliminaries and individual
heats, had a good half body lead by the third leg (American Cullen Jones
was lagging badly after the first two legs had managed to keep a very
slight lead on the French). The anchorman, Jason Lezak, not only came
from behind to beat the much-favored French, he beat them by 8/10ths of a
second in a heroically determined effort.
The other "miracle" we've been watching unfold is the presence of
Dara Torres, a 41-year old female swimmer, who has a 2 year old, who is
competing in her fifth Olympics, and is competing alongside/against
teenagers who weren't even born when she competed in her first Olympics
in 1984 and won gold then. Dara has not only already set world records
this week in her events against athlete who are in their teens, but she
has also already won a silver medal in one event in which she was the
anchor for a women's team relay. She is the oldest Olympic swimmer in
history, as well as the only swimmer to win a medal in five Olympics.
Her split in the relay was the second fastest in history, with the
Aussie, Libby Trickett (less than half her age) faster only by 1/10th of
a second. She's the oldest swimmer to qualify for the Olympics, the
first to make five teams, and in 2000 was the oldest member of that
Olympic team. One year after beginning her third comeback in 2006, she
broke her own 50M free record set 7 years earlier at the Sydney Olympics!
What at woman...
Guess you could say I'm quite a fan of the Olympics, and I'm very
much enjoying getting to watch them this time. They make a whole lot
more sense than in years past, because I'm more educated on the
background, rules, athletes, etc, and appreciate their accomplishments so
much because I know how hard it is to excel in your field, whether it's
sports or the Operating Room. I also like seeing America win..no matter
what the arena is, or what the sport is. But for swimming and
gymnastics, we've had some very wonderful times of bringing home the
gold, and gotten it taken away too, so I'm ready to see our athletes win
against other much better funded/supported athletes whose countries
sponsor them fully from childhood, unlike our athletes whose families
sacrifice greatly to see their children's dreams come true.
Well...life isn't all Olympics, and since July 24th, Ethan, Kim
and Seth have been at my parents' home in Greensboro. Kim returned to
Suriname July 25th, so Ethan and Seth have been kinda relying on me for
the basics: meals and cleaning. Since I've been single all my adult
life, and living mostly on the road as a travel nurse, I'm not used to
cooking for two adult men. My first meal for them was a success, having
provided Seth with the first Suriname-like meal he'd had since leaving
Suriname in June. His satisfied "ahhh" was all I needed to know that the
meal met with his approval, and set the stage for other satisfactory
meals. There were a few compliments, "thanks for the good meal" which
helped to make it easier to continue to put a new meal on the table every
day.
As a single, I normally cook about 2-3 times/week, eating warmed
up leftovers the rest of the week; and I don't eat much rice, potatoes or
bread at all anymore, just protein, raw veggie salads and fruits. So, to
have to come up with a good main meal every day, plus light supper meals
every day, was an exercise in the creative cooking process, and a
challenge to make something they both enjoy that was also nutritious. It
was also time-consuming, from prep to cleanup, so my days were very busy,
with very little time for my own business. Then there were a few loads
of clothes to wash, all the errands, helping Ethan with navigating around
Greensboro for his various shopping needs, helping him find the most
accessible vendors for his needs, and helping with picking up stuff he
ordered by phone from local businesses, while he started packing
everything for shipping to Suriname.
I mostly stayed out of the packing, because I have some ideas about
how it should be done, but Ethan and Seth did take one suggestion I made,
to use Seth's computer to create a packing list of each item that went
into the barrels that they are using for shipping, which turned out to be
a timesaving idea. I got to spray-paint numbers on each barrel, to
coordinate with the list of items in each barrel, and monitored their
progress occasionally when refilling their drinks, or bringing out a
timely snack of fruit. Ethan and Seth both love peaches, so since
peaches are very much in season right now, I stocked up at the Farmer's
Market so they'd have plenty of those to enjoy. Blondie bars made a big
hit too, so I hope that the memories of meal-time will be favorable,
considering how much effort went into trying to make that a pleasant
thing for them. Ethan had purchased a new rice cooker for taking to
Suriname, and I was able to use that every day to cook their 2 cups of
rice, and I'm completely sold on rice cookers!!! Wow, what an easy way
to make picture perfect rice every time, and I'll never want to cook rice
the old way again.
Saturday, Seth left for the last time, as he will be starting his
new job at Ambassador Baptist College next week prior to classes
starting. Ethan will be back Monday to wrap up all his packing and
shipping business, hopefully sending off all the barrels to Miami on
Tuesday, then flying out of Greensboro on Wednesday to return to Suriname
and his family. He has burned up the Skype "phone lines" each night to
Kim since her return to Suriname, so they will be glad to not be so far
apart. My parents are doing well in Suriname once more, and while my
father's health challenges give him some bad days, they are settling into
a routine and trusting that stability and consistency will resolve some
of those difficulties.
My job search continues...there are a few possibilities in sight,
two for which I've already interviewed once and will have to interview a
second time before there may be an offer of any type. Again, these are
possibilities, and since I've now gone for 16 months without work, in
spite of many such interviews for potential jobs in that time, I tend not
to get excited about interviews and how they may work out, or not. My
job situation is in God's hands...where it should be...and I am trusting
Him for the provision of the right job at the time of His choosing. I'm
very eager to get back to work, but I realize that God's timing is not my
own, and I must be patient, trusting God to show Himself faithful no
matter how things work out. More when I've got something to relate...
Love,
Debbie
America: Foreign Home
How could I tell them?
They would never understand...
That my heart and life are split in half,
Yet each bleeds into the other side, undefined.
They know not the side of me that belongs across the sea.
They only know what the eye can see: the American inside of me.
And yet this American is tainted, stained, infused
With the chaos, the wonders, the essence of her other home.
My people have not known what it is like to save a child from the streets.
My people have not known the abject poverty, the smell of disease.
They have not heard nor seen the vain, desperate cries to empty, ugly gods.
It is not enough to show them our pictures or see a video. It is not enough.
They simply don't get it... Until that same voice pricks their hearts.
All the dinners, all the fellowships, all the talks
With all the average people in all the average churches
It wears one down to explain over and again that
America has now become the foreign land.
The awkward silence ensues, and they serve more food.
Because they don't understand this foreign land, they don't understand the foreign me.
I'm too foreign to be American, too American to be foreign.
I have become a puzzle-piece, with ever-changing, ever-morphing sides.
With some I do not fit; the kids in the States would never match my sides.
That is sometimes unbearable; sometimes freeing.
Sometimes both at once.
Maybe I have the worst and best of both worlds.
I will keep searching for my niche; for I know that my misshapen heart
Will always have a home no matter where I go...
Home is in following Him.
Alexandra
Bangalore, India
Sept. 2008
October 2008 Debbie Champlin, MK from Congo, Africa and Suriname, South America says, "This poem resonates so deeply with me still, and I've not been an MK on the field since 1974. What cuts even more deeply is that I still don't feel completely at home in America, and home seems to be anywhere I am
How could I tell them?
They would never understand...
That my heart and life are split in half,
Yet each bleeds into the other side, undefined.
They know not the side of me that belongs across the sea.
They only know what the eye can see: the American inside of me.
And yet this American is tainted, stained, infused
With the chaos, the wonders, the essence of her other home.
My people have not known what it is like to save a child from the streets.
My people have not known the abject poverty, the smell of disease.
They have not heard nor seen the vain, desperate cries to empty, ugly gods.
It is not enough to show them our pictures or see a video. It is not enough.
They simply don't get it... Until that same voice pricks their hearts.
All the dinners, all the fellowships, all the talks
With all the average people in all the average churches
It wears one down to explain over and again that
America has now become the foreign land.
The awkward silence ensues, and they serve more food.
Because they don't understand this foreign land, they don't understand the foreign me.
I'm too foreign to be American, too American to be foreign.
I have become a puzzle-piece, with ever-changing, ever-morphing sides.
With some I do not fit; the kids in the States would never match my sides.
That is sometimes unbearable; sometimes freeing.
Sometimes both at once.
Maybe I have the worst and best of both worlds.
I will keep searching for my niche; for I know that my misshapen heart
Will always have a home no matter where I go...
Home is in following Him.
Alexandra
Bangalore, India
Sept. 2008
October 2008 Debbie Champlin, MK from Congo, Africa and Suriname, South America says, "This poem resonates so deeply with me still, and I've not been an MK on the field since 1974. What cuts even more deeply is that I still don't feel completely at home in America, and home seems to be anywhere I am
| There were 39 combat related killings in When some claim that President Bush shouldn't have started this war, tell them the following:
|
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Dear Family & Friends,
March 22, 2008
Just a quick note to let you know that the strike I was going to
attend has started, I'm on site and after a tough and wearying start, we
had a very lovely, quiet and compatible day this Saturday. We had NOT a
SINGLE surgery all day!!! What a really strange occurrence, but we were
blessed with a supervisor who isn't a slave driver, encouraged our offers
to clean rooms, stock rooms, and generally get things all tidied up after
a tough week for the nurses. We all dug in and got the work done before
0930, took breaks, then did some lolly-gagging around. I was able to get
my computer fired up, work on a sticky problem with my direct deposit for
this strike, and get another book nearly completed.
So much quiet made us all tired and sleepy, so we took some power
walks all over, had a good lunch, and while the guys watched a basketball
game, we girls bonded around girl talk. It was a nice opportunity to
forge some bonds that will help us start Monday with a real team
attitude, and ability to work toward common goals. There were the usual
little dust-ups that occur among such strong personalities as an OR
generates, magnified by the fact that we're all very tired, and all
experienced OR nurses who've been traveling for awhile(yeah, 20 years
could be considered awhile). We achieved a modicum of collaboration, and
I'm hopeful that this will help make the rest of the week go much more
smoothly than might have been anticipated.
I also had an opportunity to get some bonding with the OR Manager,
Brett, so there's more of an understanding of his management style, his
commitment toward making this week go smoothly and not kill us, and his
approachability. I believe this could be another pleasant strike, at
least on the site, and that's great. I still don't know how I'm going to
manage 10 days straight, working 14-hour days, but I'm just taking it one
day at a time. We already had one girl call in sick, and I expect to
really collapse by Wednesday, but we'll just have to see. Thanks for
your prayers for my health to be sustained, and my stamina to be
recharged every day. Must get to bed...
Love,
Debbie
March 22, 2008
Just a quick note to let you know that the strike I was going to
attend has started, I'm on site and after a tough and wearying start, we
had a very lovely, quiet and compatible day this Saturday. We had NOT a
SINGLE surgery all day!!! What a really strange occurrence, but we were
blessed with a supervisor who isn't a slave driver, encouraged our offers
to clean rooms, stock rooms, and generally get things all tidied up after
a tough week for the nurses. We all dug in and got the work done before
0930, took breaks, then did some lolly-gagging around. I was able to get
my computer fired up, work on a sticky problem with my direct deposit for
this strike, and get another book nearly completed.
So much quiet made us all tired and sleepy, so we took some power
walks all over, had a good lunch, and while the guys watched a basketball
game, we girls bonded around girl talk. It was a nice opportunity to
forge some bonds that will help us start Monday with a real team
attitude, and ability to work toward common goals. There were the usual
little dust-ups that occur among such strong personalities as an OR
generates, magnified by the fact that we're all very tired, and all
experienced OR nurses who've been traveling for awhile(yeah, 20 years
could be considered awhile). We achieved a modicum of collaboration, and
I'm hopeful that this will help make the rest of the week go much more
smoothly than might have been anticipated.
I also had an opportunity to get some bonding with the OR Manager,
Brett, so there's more of an understanding of his management style, his
commitment toward making this week go smoothly and not kill us, and his
approachability. I believe this could be another pleasant strike, at
least on the site, and that's great. I still don't know how I'm going to
manage 10 days straight, working 14-hour days, but I'm just taking it one
day at a time. We already had one girl call in sick, and I expect to
really collapse by Wednesday, but we'll just have to see. Thanks for
your prayers for my health to be sustained, and my stamina to be
recharged every day. Must get to bed...
Love,
Debbie
Monday, March 03, 2008
Dear Family & Friends,
OK...the March 3-7 thing is on, but it's probably just 4-7, and
only two of those days are actually paid work. Still...it's getting me
in the door, and allowing the boss to see what I can do, so they can
decide to give me that 2-3 month thing, which lets them see more of my
abilities, which gives them time to decide whether they can take me on
for either a 6-month or 12-month exclusive contract. After several
emails and one phone call, I finally learned that my interview with Linda
K was with the Director of Internal Operations at DJSullivan Healthcare!!
She had emailed me rather informally, so I didn't have her usual
"business signature" at the end of her emails, and didn't know how far up
to totem pole she was when we had our interview. Not that it
would have made a whole lot of difference, because I talk very frankly
with folks so that I don't have to make excuses for how I normally talk
with them after they decide they want to hire me. I've learned a little
diplomacy in my years as an interim manager, but not so much that I'm not
me anymore either. Yes, it may be off putting to the high-brow folks, or
the ones who like all that P-R craziness, but then I wouldn't be able to
pull off acting like those folks anyway for very long, so why not just
let them see enough of the real me to judge me on my merits, not my
ability to speak PR language.
Anyway, before you all get the wrong impression, this is one of those
really short (hit-n-git as they say in the South) projects with several
consultants hitting the same hospital at the same time to really do a
huge overall assessment. We'll fly in (usually on Monday) this coming
Tuesday, work Wednesday and Thursday, then fly home on Friday. It
appears that I'm assigned to be mostly on my own, doing 13 separate
assessments in the OR, over two days, and then have to write my report
about what I learned. Please be praying that I'll be able to do the job
well that they need done, make a very good impression, and fit in with
the other team members with whom I'll be working. I don't think I'll see
the boss (LindaK), but she'll be getting reports from the team members
about me, so it's really important that I do well.
As I said, from the emails that LindaK sent me, this thing next week
may lead to a 2-3 month contract to help them wrap up some lagging
projects and tie up loose ends on them for some special clients. That
allows me to show my flexibility/adaptability to the boss, and learn
their ropes enough to let them decide if they can put me to use for much
longer and more consistently. This is a great opportunity and I trust
that it will go well next week. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers
and thoughts all next week, but specially Wed and Thurs.
Love,
Debbie
OK...the March 3-7 thing is on, but it's probably just 4-7, and
only two of those days are actually paid work. Still...it's getting me
in the door, and allowing the boss to see what I can do, so they can
decide to give me that 2-3 month thing, which lets them see more of my
abilities, which gives them time to decide whether they can take me on
for either a 6-month or 12-month exclusive contract. After several
emails and one phone call, I finally learned that my interview with Linda
K was with the Director of Internal Operations at DJSullivan Healthcare!!
She had emailed me rather informally, so I didn't have her usual
"business signature" at the end of her emails, and didn't know how far up
to totem pole she was when we had our interview. Not that it
would have made a whole lot of difference, because I talk very frankly
with folks so that I don't have to make excuses for how I normally talk
with them after they decide they want to hire me. I've learned a little
diplomacy in my years as an interim manager, but not so much that I'm not
me anymore either. Yes, it may be off putting to the high-brow folks, or
the ones who like all that P-R craziness, but then I wouldn't be able to
pull off acting like those folks anyway for very long, so why not just
let them see enough of the real me to judge me on my merits, not my
ability to speak PR language.
Anyway, before you all get the wrong impression, this is one of those
really short (hit-n-git as they say in the South) projects with several
consultants hitting the same hospital at the same time to really do a
huge overall assessment. We'll fly in (usually on Monday) this coming
Tuesday, work Wednesday and Thursday, then fly home on Friday. It
appears that I'm assigned to be mostly on my own, doing 13 separate
assessments in the OR, over two days, and then have to write my report
about what I learned. Please be praying that I'll be able to do the job
well that they need done, make a very good impression, and fit in with
the other team members with whom I'll be working. I don't think I'll see
the boss (LindaK), but she'll be getting reports from the team members
about me, so it's really important that I do well.
As I said, from the emails that LindaK sent me, this thing next week
may lead to a 2-3 month contract to help them wrap up some lagging
projects and tie up loose ends on them for some special clients. That
allows me to show my flexibility/adaptability to the boss, and learn
their ropes enough to let them decide if they can put me to use for much
longer and more consistently. This is a great opportunity and I trust
that it will go well next week. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers
and thoughts all next week, but specially Wed and Thurs.
Love,
Debbie
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
February 11, 2008
Dear Matthew & Miriam,
Wanted to share something the Lord did for me today. He granted me a boon...in more ways than one. I've been praying about the Toyota payments situation, and of course, getting a job is going to help me make payments, but whether I should even keep it. I'd surrendered the Toyota back to Him if that was how I needed to proceed to help my situation, but kept looking at ways to make it more affordable if it turns out I get a contract and need to be off on the road again. With my COSTCO membership, they have that auto loan program, so I went on-line one night on a whim, just to see if I could qualify for a loan from them to refinance the Toyota, hopefully at a lower finance rate.
Much to my surprise, within 30" my loan application was approved, and a few days later there was a blank check in the mail for me to use to pay off the Toyota loan at a finance rate of 8.6%, which was a whole point less than the loan which Summit Credit Union had given me. Upon investigation, however, I noticed that there was no GAP Insurance (which covers the discrepancy between the insured value of the vehicle and the replacement value should it be totaled in an accident), nor was there disability insurance (which makes my payments should I become disabled enough not to be able to work and make payments) included with their loan. So, after much prayer and consideration from a couple trusted folks, I decided to take the offer from COSTCO to Summit C/U and see if they would be willing to consider refinancing my loan closer to the terms on the COSTCO loan to keep the loan with them.
Today, I did just that, and they were completely open to the possibility, ran my credit rating again, and (here's the first boon from the Lord) learned that my credit rating had gone up since November when I took out my first re-fi loan w/them for the TS (Toyota Sequoia) from 630 to 675!!. Then they crunched some more numbers and after about 2 hours, I left with a new re-fi loan, the finance rate had been cut in half from my original finance rate of 13.99% (then 9.4%) to a new low finance rate of 7.4%!!! Payments are only $10 less/month, but the finance rate was lowered 2 whole percentage points from the first re-fi, and now is quite close to their lowest finance rate for top-qualified buyers, which is 5.9% (only 1.5% points from the lowest finance rates they offer their clients with perfect credit!
Of course, my new loan includes the GAP coverage and Disability Insurance, at no new cost, so I left their office feeling like the Lord had performed yet another miracle in the history of me finding, qualifying and buying this Toyota, to being able to refinance it twice for lower finance rates each time. How my credit rating went up since November is a mystery to me, because I've only been able to make minimum payments on my outstanding bills besides the ones that have the big tickets (due to being unemployed for 9 months now), but again, I feel that the Lord is doing marvelous things on my behalf in ways I can't dream of. Don't know if I had mentioned about the key system, but the owner of the auto dealership where I bought the TS has agreed to pay for any mechanical repairs needed for the first 20,000 miles I put on it since purchase, and also paid for the computer diagnostic tests that were done to determine what was wrong with the security/key system. He also paid to have a new security and keyless entry system installed in the TS, so now I have a way to get in using my new remote, and the security that was supposed to be part of my deal.
Now, I still need a job, and I'm confident that one is being prepared for me. I need to be ready, and there were some loose ends to gather up, my mental status had to be in the right place, and I needed to get some things cleared up. My church has been very gracious in deeming me to be in need of traditional Hebraic charity (it starts at home, and that includes your church family), and gave me a generous amount this week from VOB's Tzedakah (Charity Fund), to help with groceries. Richard and Donna (my pastor and his wife) came over last Thursday to discuss my situation with me, what I've been doing, how I've been handling things, and seemed to think that I was using my time effectively, could try to do a little more research into permanent positions, but that I should be open to what the Lord brought to my attention. They also told me at the end of our time that some of the church members had suggested my church family should consider me for Tzedaka this month, and there would be some assistance forthcoming.
Today I also got some staples and a few things to keep me going for most of the next 30 days with regard to food/meals, with the exception of fresh fruits/veggies, which I like to get weekly. Should I get a contract soon, this will also be my stash to take w/me to get started till my first paycheck gets deposited. With the room I have in the TS, I'll have plenty of space to take my coolers stocked with food along with me, and that's a great help when your paychecks don't get into the bank for a couple weeks after you're on the job again.
Dear Matthew & Miriam,
Wanted to share something the Lord did for me today. He granted me a boon...in more ways than one. I've been praying about the Toyota payments situation, and of course, getting a job is going to help me make payments, but whether I should even keep it. I'd surrendered the Toyota back to Him if that was how I needed to proceed to help my situation, but kept looking at ways to make it more affordable if it turns out I get a contract and need to be off on the road again. With my COSTCO membership, they have that auto loan program, so I went on-line one night on a whim, just to see if I could qualify for a loan from them to refinance the Toyota, hopefully at a lower finance rate.
Much to my surprise, within 30" my loan application was approved, and a few days later there was a blank check in the mail for me to use to pay off the Toyota loan at a finance rate of 8.6%, which was a whole point less than the loan which Summit Credit Union had given me. Upon investigation, however, I noticed that there was no GAP Insurance (which covers the discrepancy between the insured value of the vehicle and the replacement value should it be totaled in an accident), nor was there disability insurance (which makes my payments should I become disabled enough not to be able to work and make payments) included with their loan. So, after much prayer and consideration from a couple trusted folks, I decided to take the offer from COSTCO to Summit C/U and see if they would be willing to consider refinancing my loan closer to the terms on the COSTCO loan to keep the loan with them.
Today, I did just that, and they were completely open to the possibility, ran my credit rating again, and (here's the first boon from the Lord) learned that my credit rating had gone up since November when I took out my first re-fi loan w/them for the TS (Toyota Sequoia) from 630 to 675!!. Then they crunched some more numbers and after about 2 hours, I left with a new re-fi loan, the finance rate had been cut in half from my original finance rate of 13.99% (then 9.4%) to a new low finance rate of 7.4%!!! Payments are only $10 less/month, but the finance rate was lowered 2 whole percentage points from the first re-fi, and now is quite close to their lowest finance rate for top-qualified buyers, which is 5.9% (only 1.5% points from the lowest finance rates they offer their clients with perfect credit!
Of course, my new loan includes the GAP coverage and Disability Insurance, at no new cost, so I left their office feeling like the Lord had performed yet another miracle in the history of me finding, qualifying and buying this Toyota, to being able to refinance it twice for lower finance rates each time. How my credit rating went up since November is a mystery to me, because I've only been able to make minimum payments on my outstanding bills besides the ones that have the big tickets (due to being unemployed for 9 months now), but again, I feel that the Lord is doing marvelous things on my behalf in ways I can't dream of. Don't know if I had mentioned about the key system, but the owner of the auto dealership where I bought the TS has agreed to pay for any mechanical repairs needed for the first 20,000 miles I put on it since purchase, and also paid for the computer diagnostic tests that were done to determine what was wrong with the security/key system. He also paid to have a new security and keyless entry system installed in the TS, so now I have a way to get in using my new remote, and the security that was supposed to be part of my deal.
Now, I still need a job, and I'm confident that one is being prepared for me. I need to be ready, and there were some loose ends to gather up, my mental status had to be in the right place, and I needed to get some things cleared up. My church has been very gracious in deeming me to be in need of traditional Hebraic charity (it starts at home, and that includes your church family), and gave me a generous amount this week from VOB's Tzedakah (Charity Fund), to help with groceries. Richard and Donna (my pastor and his wife) came over last Thursday to discuss my situation with me, what I've been doing, how I've been handling things, and seemed to think that I was using my time effectively, could try to do a little more research into permanent positions, but that I should be open to what the Lord brought to my attention. They also told me at the end of our time that some of the church members had suggested my church family should consider me for Tzedaka this month, and there would be some assistance forthcoming.
Today I also got some staples and a few things to keep me going for most of the next 30 days with regard to food/meals, with the exception of fresh fruits/veggies, which I like to get weekly. Should I get a contract soon, this will also be my stash to take w/me to get started till my first paycheck gets deposited. With the room I have in the TS, I'll have plenty of space to take my coolers stocked with food along with me, and that's a great help when your paychecks don't get into the bank for a couple weeks after you're on the job again.
I'm very thankful tonight for some very generous friends at VOB; very thankful for the Lord enabling me to get the loan on my TS refinanced at a significantly lower finance rate; thereby saving me money in the long run, maybe making it possible to make extra payments at some point. Also very grateful for parents who have been more than generous in allowing me to stay at their home in Greensboro without any charge, and contributing toward bills as well as gas money for the TS. Hope you can rejoice with me on the positive turn of events that have come my way today, the Lord rewarding the persistence of my efforts to resolve some difficulties with bills, and the gracious charity of my church family at VOB, to help me not go hungry. God is Good!
Love,
Debbie
Love,
Debbie
Monday, January 14, 2008
January 14, 2008 Worksearch Update
01/12/08
Hello everyone, here's an update on the job search. You might remember I had interviewed for a consulting position with a group helping with the construction of a new hospital in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and I was supposed to hear from them on January 3rd. The recruiter called me Wednesday night to let me know that they had chosen to go with a gentleman with whom they had worked before, and supposedly was suddenly available to join them for this opportunity. Of course, I'm extremely disappointed that I was not chosen, but that's the way things go. I am disturbed that this company, (who claimed to like to work with known entities and search out former coworkers for new projects), didn't seem to either remember this man from a previous project or had contacted him and he didn't seem to be available, went through the two week process of interviewing many other potential consultants, then suddenly at the last minute, this guy is now available and chosen over other well-qualified people.
We'll probably never know what really happened here, but he seems to have come on to the picture late in the process of interviewing candidates, so probably indicated a lack of interest or availability at first, then realized what an opportunity he was passing up and reconsidered. That said, it means, naturally, that I have to resume the job search, and had already done so on Tuesday this week. I was contacted by my favorite recruiter about a position that just opened up on the coast of NC in a town called Southport. Oddly enough, I've been to Southport(years ago in 1981 when I was attending PBC and our dorm mother had a place there which she let us gals use occasionally), and it would be a fun place to work in. My recruiter just emailed me tonight to say that there are 9 candidates who have applied for the position, so I guess there are other consultants out there who are experiencing the same lack of work that I am. The past several months have been like that: many applicants submitted for the same position no matter what state it's in, so the chances of getting chosen are not as good.
Tonight I also received an e-mail from another recruiter with an opportunity in Montana of all places during the winter, which wants a start by January 28th, and he said to contact him ASAP. I'm not sure what he was doing up at 2AM, but I was happy to see that e-mail after being told that my chances for the Southport job are one in nine. I sent an immediate reply to him, along with my newly revised and updated CV (resume to some of you), and will call him tomorrow when I get up to see what the position is requiring and if they want to interview me. This means that I'm now in the (hopeful) for two positions, but have not gotten any interviews scheduled or conducted. Please be in prayer with me that the Lord would guide in this process of searching for jobs, and provide the one of His choosing for me. My unemployment benefits are close to running out, so it would be quite nice to have a new job before that happens...:)
Thanks for your prayers and support during this difficult time of unemployment for me.
01/14/07
Here's the latest on my job search...from a phone call late this morning from the agency who had emailed me about the Montana position: the hospital is part of a prestigious upgrade project with Johns Hopkins, and at this time they will only accept applications from nurses with degrees! Therefore, with a lifetime experience degree in professional nursing, 6 years under my belt of interim management, and 6.5 years of college credits, I'm suddenly "not qualified" to apply for this position! I guess the hospital didn't specify that they required a minimum of a bachelor's degree when they made the call to hire Pathfinders Health Search to recruit an Interim OR Director for them, which is why Adam Silbar sent me the request.
Now, what I find extremely interesting in this case, is that this hospital is asking for a start date of January 28th (that's less than 2 weeks away if you're to arrive on site, settle in housing and get started at work on the 28th), it's a job in MONTANA, and it's the middle of WINTER there (and we all know what Montana winters are like)!! They may face quite a challenge finding anyone with a degree who is not only willing to take their low-ball pay rate, but also willing to endure winter in Montana on such short notice. It's possible they'll have little success with their search, and have to reconsider some of their strict requirements. However, I'm not holding out for such to happen.
That leaves me with the Southport, NC opening, but we've heard nothing from them so far....keep praying please.
Debbie
Now, what I find extremely interesting in this case, is that this hospital is asking for a start date of January 28th (that's less than 2 weeks away if you're to arrive on site, settle in housing and get started at work on the 28th), it's a job in MONTANA, and it's the middle of WINTER there (and we all know what Montana winters are like)!! They may face quite a challenge finding anyone with a degree who is not only willing to take their low-ball pay rate, but also willing to endure winter in Montana on such short notice. It's possible they'll have little success with their search, and have to reconsider some of their strict requirements. However, I'm not holding out for such to happen.
That leaves me with the Southport, NC opening, but we've heard nothing from them so far....keep praying please.
Debbie
Saturday, January 12, 2008
January 2008 Winter Snows Arrive
January 20, 2008
Dear Family & Friends,
We've had a very wintery week here in Greensboro, NC!! The forecast for last week was quite alarming to me, as I really don't care for the really cold weather (well, I don't care for any cold weather to be quite honest), but it didn't turn out to be quite as unpleasant as it could have been. A cold front moved in and stayed stalled over North Carolina for several days, moderating a bit for an hour or so now and then, but the nights got down to the freezing-near-freezing point several nights in a row. Then the precipitation moved in, heralded (for those who know to watch the moon) by a beautiful rainbow halo around the moon on Friday.
I'm tempted to start a study on what types of precipitation fall when the moon gets haloed, and how soon, based on the diameter of the halo, distance from the moon, and characteristics (simple halo, halo with white haze filling space between it and the moon, rainbow effect, and no halo but with large white, fuzzy nimbus around moon). Maybe someone has already done it, but I've no clue where to find such a study. The other thing that was of noteworthy mention, was about two weeks ago on a Wednesday night when I was driving home from Prayer Meeting at Charity.
The moon was full, over my left shoulder, and as I took a look at it, my eyes caught what looked like a bright white streak nearly touching the moon on the lower, right area. When I got home, I went into the back yard to examine this unusual sighting a little more closely, took my digital camera with me and pointed it at the moon, zooming in as tight as it would go. There was definitely a large white tick next to the moon, and I took a few pictures, and talked with a couple moon-watching friends about whether they had noticed and could explain. Nothing in our experience gave us any good answers, but someone else who moon-watches must have emailed the local weather station, because the next night there was an explanation for this phenomenon which quite a few of us star-gazers must have noticed and remarked upon. The explanation was that Saturn's orbit had come so very close to that of the moon's that its sun-reflecting glow had cast light on the rings of Saturn, and what we saw as an asymmetrical streak was actually part of Saturn's rings being illuminated by the glow of the moon. There was a diagram of the same phenomenon in the paper that Sunday, which I saw because the Barbers were out of town but the newspaper boy didn't stop delivering when he was supposed to. So, my curiosity was assuaged, and I learned something quite interesting to boot!
Back to this past week...on Thursday, I woke up to snow everywhere I looked, but the sun was shining. Evidently the snow had fallen during the night, heavily but quietly because I never heard it start. The temperatures stayed cold enough that most of the snow stayed where it had fallen all day, but I didn't even get out in it until much later in the afternoon, because I just didn't want to risk the crazies who drive in total disregard for weather traveling conditions no matter what the type of precipitation. The temperatures didn't get much above freezing all week for highs, and stayed in the low 20's overnight, so there was the definite risk of black ice to be wary of. That always strikes a note of fear in my heart, primarily because I've had two bad accidents as a result of hitting black ice, but also because so many folks just don't pay attention, don't slow down, and won't keep a very safe distance away from other cars in their lanes, all of which makes for dangerous driving even when the actual risks are not severe.
Saturday was the good day, however, except for it being mostly overcast and really cold. I woke up to the sight of a steady drift of snow lazily falling from the sky like tiny feathers from a multitude of angelic wings getting brushed out for the winter. As you know, I really don't like snow either, nothing against snow itself, but against the nasty traveling/driving conditions which can result from it. So, this was a very special snow indeed for me to stand in the doorway watching it float down. This wasn't heavy-rainfall-type of snow that you can almost feel pelting down on the earth; it was this fairy-light, feathery-soft drift of snow, no wind to blow it around, so it just simply "sifted" lightly downward. Oddly, I noticed that the rate was very sedate, and the spread was quite uniform: no heavy patches interspersed with light patches, but very uniform in size and dispersion, like a very soft, drizzly, soaking rain. With such a beautiful snow to enjoy watching, I decided to call my sister-in-law, Sherrie, and share the beauty with her, because she really enjoys snow. I wanted to simply stay indoors, bundled up and read a good book by firelight...except we can't use our fireplace, so I contented myself with sitting in the front room and relaxing on the couch with a book.
Today, and arctic wave blew in and the overnight low wasn't even in the teens, and we barely cleared the freezing point for our high. There are supposed to be several more days of this very nippy weather, with daytime highs not expected to beat the freezing point by much, and overnight lows not expected to break out of the teens. To be safe, I brought all my cacti plants into the house on Friday night, so they don't get frozen to death. Last year, my prized collection of cacti (which I had collected and raised for nearly a decade), was decimated by the foul, freezing, bizarrely harsh weather that the Fort Worth, TX area suffered under the entire winter. My former roommate (she took in a stray friend who got into a shotgun divorce) had written to tell me the sad news that all my cacti had died as a result of the heavy freezing rains, sleet, ice and harsh weather they had suffered.
Well, when I drove to Texas in late October to register/license my "new" Toyota Sequoia (2003), I went to her house to see the destruction, and clean up things. Much to my surprise, I found several well-preserved survivors who had even had the gumption to produce babies over the process of their recovery during a moderate Texas summer and fall. So, I cleaned up the detritus and rescued the most easily transplanted of the survivors, taking all the babies that had been produced to start my own nursery here in Greensboro, and left a few of the larger surviving specimens to see how they will make it through another mid-Texas winter this year.
With those that I rescued from TX, my cactus collection now has 15 adolescent/mature plants, and a nursery with 10 babies from the barrel cactus group, and two specimens of the pinecone cactus variety. Most of my plants have been found here in NC, so they aren't as interesting as the varieties that were in my original collection (which was comprised solely of varieties purchased in Arizona), but I enjoy them anyway. and probably won't be bringing more of those special specimens from AZ into my home until I have a permanent place to keep them in Arizona. They do OK here, but I can't leave them outside in my flower gardens because it's too wet when we get so many days of rain in a row. Of course, we had a drought this year, but I kept them on the porch anyway because I was never sure when it would rain and didn't want them getting drowned. Since cacti like it dry, the drought didn't affect them at all, and they all gave me gorgeous blooms to enjoy when the roses weren't doing so well.
The job search continues...I haven't heard back from any of the three that I now have an interest in (NC, NE & VT), but we can continue to pray and trust the Lord to provide. Will keep you informed of what transpires next.
Love,
Debbie
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