8/31 Our life in Quincy

is good. We're planning a family picnic today at Jan and Tim's. We're going to swim in the afternoon (including Gus) and then eat. It will be so much fun because we always have fun when we're together.

Yet, I received two emails from national Red Cross asking for me to go to the Gulf Coast to help with disaster mental health. Do I want to go? Hell, yes. Can I go? No, damn it.

My job is still too new to allow me to be gone for two to three weeks. I would go without pay (like I did with Katrina/Rita/Wilma in 2005), but it's the newness which makes it impossible. Plus I'm still down three staff and we're all doing extra duty.

Yeah, my back is an issue too. Can't really see me living in a shelter at the moment (unless I absolutely had to).

But I can't get the people out of my mind. Although the news is focusing on New Orleans, I know the same thing is happening in Mississippi. My friends are staffing shelters, even though there's a mandatory evacuation. They'll be there until the end. And they'll be working up to 20 hours a day.

Yeah, I'll definitely have fun today--but the Mississippi Gulf Coast won't be far from my thoughts.

8/28 Busy

Time is just flying by. The class at QU went well again last night. And work is extremely busy, but I love it. Just wish I felt better. Next Tuesday will go to St. Louis to the neurosurgeon. Hope to hear something that will help.

Gotta run. Gussie needs me.

Okay, I'm back. Talked to Genia in Biloxi. She's in charge of the Harrison County evacuation shelter. And the coast has a mandatory evacuation coming up tomorrow or the next day. Sure wish I could be there helping. They are definitely in my thoughts and prayers. They don't need a repeat of 2005.

We do have our own drama and adrenaline-producing stuff going on in my current job too. Guess that's why I like it so much.

5/5 GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!

I got an offer on my Mississippi house! Hallelujah!

The problem is that it's $12,000 less than what I'm asking. I'm countering at half that. We'll see. Keep your fingers crossed please. (And prayers won't hurt either.)

I'm in between clients at the moment. I saw 8 clients today before I got away for lunch at 4:30. Sure made the day go fast. Have two more before I can go home tonight. It's been a really good, and productive, day.

3/19 I'm done

The day started out sad but ended up great. I went to my empty house and put the trash at the curb. Then I went to work, talked to my boss via phone, and turned in my computer equipment and phone. Sad.

Following that I went to a board meeting where the Interfaith Disaster Task Force gave me a gorgeous pottery bowl, made from Mississippi mud. It is fantastic, and I will always cherish it. I promised not to use it for popcorn. :) It came from the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum and was made by a local artist.

Then I went back to my house to put the trash can back near the house and saw that the painters had been really busy already. It's like it's not even my house anymore.

I joined the casemanagers and some other staff at High Cotton for lunch. It was a really nice celebration, and they gave me a lovely piece that has two pictures of the staff on it, and an Irish blessing. I will cherish this as well.

So now I'm back at Caroline's doing laundry and starting to pack up for my trip tomorrow. I'm looking forward to picking up my dogs since I haven't seen them since Saturday.

Oh, I almost forgot. Last night was crazy fun. Our card-playing group met for the last time (with me in it). After we played for a few hours they brought out this HUGE wrapped box. When I opened it, I noticed there were many smaller presents inside. Genia explained the significance of each gift--most of which were hilarious. The one that made me cry is a gorgeous calendar with pictures of Biloxi's Gulf Coast. They also gave me Biloxi t-shirts--one has three drunk frogs on it and it says "Toadally Wasted." Funny. I also got a round pillow that says World Poker Tour on it. Made me laugh, but I'll use it. I got a beautiful glass frog wind chime. And a CD with some memorable pictures on it. Genia also knitted a lovely scarf for me so I can ward off the northern cold. One of my favotie gifts is a placemat with three Care Bears on it. Each one bears a name--Caroline, Genia, and Lorena--and it says Best Friends. I'm going to frame it and hang it up.

What a great group of friends I have. I'm such a lucky bug.

3/11 Another great one

We went through Alabama into Florida. Went to Pensacola Beach and it was absolutely beautiful. Eric took so many great photos, and I can't wait until he posts them on his website.

Tomorrow we're going to New Orleans again. Right now I am super-tired so will hit the sack. Am looking forward to another fun-filled day tomorrow.

2/28 Can't sleep

The dogs woke me up at 4:30 to go outside. They came right back in and went to sleep, but not me. I haven't been able to go back to sleep. My mind is just racing--so much to think about, so much to do. I have to put the finishing touches on my presentation for tomorrow. There are going to be around 300 people there, and we are talking about the importance of funding case management. Some federal folks will be attending, and it's vital they hear us.

Then of course there's all I have to do with the house and other items to get ready to move. I'm so excited, yet know there's a lot of work ahead of me--not the least of which is driving to Quincy with both dogs. Last time I drove to Quincy in August, Q was six months old and I didn't have C yet. Now Q is one and C is 18 months. They'll take up the whole back of the car, plus I have to take at least two suitcases, a big bag, dog food, toys, water, computer case, purse, and a dog crate. Oh my. I have no idea how I'm going to get everything in the car. But I'll do it. Everything always does work out, even when it seems impossible. I just want to have enough room in the back of the car so the dogs can at least move around for the 12-15 hour drive.

Lots of fun things to look forward to also--I'm going to be home for Easter. Plus family members are arriving on the 9th. I love to show off the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Besides the devastation still in evidence, there's incredible natural beauty. It'll be fun to have them here.

1/31 I can talk about it now

Due to an abrupt and unexpected funding cut, my program has been terminated here in Mississippi. Most of our staff received their RIF (Reduction in Force) letters today. They received two months notice so will be laid off after March 31. There are five us staying on until the end of June in order to finish out the necessary administrative tasks.

I closed on my house April 13 of last year. I should have known that Friday the 13th would not bode well.

This program termination isn't the fault of anyone in our company. It's purely a funding issue. So I can't feel bad about all the good work we've done. But I can feel bad about all the work left to do. Luckily there are other agencies rooted here in Mississippi who will continue the work.

We really want to stay here to finish, but it's not to be. My company came here from Texas for what we knew would be a limited time, but we certainly didn't expect the abruptness of this. It is gratifying to know that we did what we could and that other good companies will stay until it's done.

So, like many others here, I'm job hunting. And will chronicle the travails of doing so. Also, I have to look at selling my house because the three jobs I'm looking at are all in different places. Gosh, I really love it here, but I know I can be happy wherever I end up. God is so good to me, and always has been.

So tonight I'm thinking of our clients, still struggling to put their lives together; I'm thinking of our staff, and all the energy and passion they've continually put into their jobs; and finally I'm thinking of me and wondering what life will give me next.

Please pray for all of us.

11/30 Still more pics

Quincy fitting in a tight spot when we were putting up the tree


















My house


















A sad saloon in Bay St. Louis


















A familiar sight--No Trespassing sign and desolation.

11/29 More pictures

Some of the live oaks that died were sculpted beautifully by an artist with a chain saw. (Yes, they are really called "live oaks.")





















My beautiful kids.

11/27 Photos

A series of pagodas on a fishing dock.


















And the Hard Rock guitar at the casino.


























King Neptune lost his arms in the storm.























Finally, here's a Katrina Cottage--many of the survivors are given that after the FEMA trailers are removed.

More photos later.

11/18 Bill Moyers on PBS

Bill Moyers did a wonderful piece on the Mississippi Gulf Coast recovery, or the lack of it. This is the written piece, but the TV show was both wonderful and extremely sad. This describes eloquently why we will be working here for a long time.

11/3 Busy day

Jan and Tim got in on time last night and got to meet three of my friends. And my dogs were very happy to have new folks to attack with love.

This morning we took Quincy and Cookie to the kennel and then drove along the Mississippi Gulf Coast toward New Orleans. Jan and Tim both seemed to enjoy the beauty of the coast while being saddened by the devastation.

We decided to drive down south of New Orleans to the end of the Mississippi River. The drive was too sad, full of refineries and poverty. So we happily decided that the French Quarter was the place for us. We walked for hours, and drank for hours too (or so it seemed). But it was a very enjoyable day. And Tim got thrown a lot of beads because of his willingness to expose his breasts.

Jan and Tim both just went to bed, and I'm going to head to mine soon. We laughed at how old we are.

I'll miss having my puppies with me tonight.

9/22 The storm didn't come--yet

We're very grateful that the tropical depression did not turn into a tropical storm. I still have the 10 AM conference call--I guess there might be something else brewing for next week. I'll find out.

Here are some pictures from young Paisley's birthday party last week.















I tried to post some pictures from the dumpster diving episode yesterday but they were sent bitmap for some reason and I can't change them to jpg or gif, so they won't post. I'll try to figure out something else.

9/21 It always changes

The caseworkers can't move today because their new offices aren't finished. So we have utter chaos here in the old state office. The only constant here is that things keep changing. :)

Because of the approaching tropical storm we are extra busy today. I'm sneaking a few minutes while munching on a sandwich. This will be my first tropical storm since moving here. I'm so grateful it's not a hurricane. So many people haven't recovered from Katrina. There are thousands of folks still living in FEMA trailers--much of the country doesn't realize that.

I'll be so happy to stay home with my pups tonight. I have flashlights and batteries and a radio that you can crank up, so I'm prepared for some power outage. I don't really expect much of anything to happen where I live, but we all know it's better to be prepared. The advisories call for 40-50 mph winds and some coastal flooding. I'm eight miles from the coast, so I have my fingers crossed on that.

Will have another conference call tomorrow with a guy from the National Weather Service. He was most helpful this morning.

Keep your fingers crossed.

9/17 Dinner Impossible

Robert Irvine, the chef from Dinner Impossible on the Food Network, is cooking dinner for volunteers and staff at the Salvation Army place (called Yankee Stadium) in Biloxi. I went there for a while and it smelled awesome. But my dogs had been alone for 5 1/2 hours and I needed to get home. Drat!

But the primary foods were meat and seafood; at least what I saw and smelled. There was a tremendous seafood gumbo being prepared, and I saw ribs and chicken. It will be on TV during the Christmas holidays. That will seem funny because we were all sitting there sweating. :)

Prior to that I had another function to go to and they had baklava. Omigod, I love that stuff. Luckily it's always cut in little pieces since it is so rich. Had two of them.

Got a lot done at work, but problems keep popping up. Guess that's the nature of the job. Lots of stuff going on. This Friday the caseworkers move to their new location, and next Tuesday I move to mine. There will only be three or four of us in the state office in the future, since our case managers and construction folks are stationed at the camps now. It will be quiet. No excuses for not getting my work done--well, except that I'm not in my office all that much. :)

Oh, Quincy did fine for the time left alone today. I figured out that Cookie is the destructive one--chewing cords and my clothes. And poor Cookie had an accident in the crate today. That really surprised me. Anyway, tomorrow they're back to Doggy Day Care. Hooray.

9/15 Saturday, beach, mud

This morning was good. I picked up Genia and we went to breakfast. Then we got "the girls." Q and C were both happy to see Genia--she's a real dog person, so they love her.

We took them to the beach and the dogs had a ball. Genia kept Cookie and I played with Quincy. I'd bought a 25 foot training rope, so Q was able to play in the water until she was exhausted. Great fun!

Today was Mississippi Gulf Coast clean up day and the beaches were just full of people picking up trash. The good news is that there were plenty of people and not a lot of trash.

Last night I had to leave Genia's party abruptly when my shoulder started hurting pretty bad. Today it felt okay again, until after I got back from the beach. Then it started hurting again. Can't wait until it gets back to normal.

It sucks being old.

9/2 Hurricanes, etc.

Am getting ready for church and looked at the Hurricane Center of NOAA online. I hadn't even heard of Hurricane Felix and it's already at Cat 2. Looks like it's heading for Mexico and turning north for Texas. Of course, the path can change drastically. I'm keeping my colleagues in south Texas in my prayers. Sure hope this one dies out before it hits land in Mexico. But there's slim chance of that.

And there's a tropical storm off Baja California, plus another one in the Atlantic. Things are heating up. So far everything looks good for us here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. But you never know....

My pups are having fun playing with their toys. But I have to wash my bedspread a LOT because that's their favorite playground. This is just like having two toddlers. Except they can't really talk. Except Quincy reminds me of Lassie. She does communicate. She'll bark and go to the door, so I know she needs to go out. She'll bark and put her nose in the empty water bowl, so I know to fill it up. She'll bark when her toy goes under furniture and I'll know I have to get it out for her.

The cool thing is that she'll come to wherever I am, bark and wait for me to follow her. Of course I often say, "What is it girl? Is Timmy in the well?" Aren't I original?

Gotta run. (Oh, the pups slept until 6:38 today. It felt like I was sleeping in.)

8/28 Cookie

Yep, that's her name. She is absolutely adorable! Such a sweetheart and so loving. Or maybe that was the anesthetic. :)

She and Quincy had a great time in the back of the SUV though, and I think they'll be great friends--sisters even.

Unfortunately neither one of them are home with me. I worked until just a little while ago. My boss is in town and we had lots of meetings. So Q is spending two nights at Doggy Day Care, and Cookie is staying at the vet's. She's got to be kept quiet for 7-10 days, and Doggy Day Care would definitely rip out her stitches. She'll get to go there during the day beginning next week.

For now, I'm beat. I have another long day tomorrow. Have to get up at 4 because we're going to a sunrise service in in Waveland, MS. Tomorrow is the second anniversary of Katrina. And Waveland is the first place Katrina hit in Mississippi. Waveland, Bay St. Louis, and Pass Christian are still virtually leveled in many spots. It could have happened yesterday by the looks of things. So sad. So much to be done. I'll report back on the service.

6/24 Ice

The best entertainment for Quincy in the house is a piece of ice. She pushes it along the linoleum and it moves fast, far, and randomly. Then chases it to begin the game again. It is so cute to watch. Plus it gives me a few minutes to do something else, like fix my breakfast which I'm going to do in a few minutes.

Then we're going to the beach to play in the water. I hope we have as much fun as we did last Sunday. It's going to be another hot day and it's usually cooler on the water.

I love Biloxi. Besides the obvious attraction of the Gulf of Mexico, the casinos themselves are beautiful (if you like gambling, and I do), the homes and architecture (left from the storm) is lovely, and I could go on...but the most fascinating thing about the Mississippi Gulf Coast is the population. I know I've said it before, but the people on the Coast are the friendliest I've met anywhere. Having lived in many places and traveled to even more, I've seen the gamut of "welcome-ness," and the Mississippi Gulf Coast wins hands down.

You can converse with prince or pauper and you'll get the same sense of welcome. In a million years I would have never chosen to live in Mississippi. Now I can't imagine living anywhere else. (Okay, that last sentence was hyperbole for effect. I can imagine living elsewhere. It's just that right now, I don't want to.)

6/18 Stormy Monday

A weird day. Had a doctor's appointment this morning. Nothing wrong, just needed to find a local physician.

Left Q for 3 1/2 hours at home and she did fine.

It's been storming all day and I feel bad because we have 360 youth from a synod up north. They're here to work all week, and most of them were probably working outside.

There's a 60% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow too, and that worries me. I'm supposed to work with the kids Tuesday and Thursday, and we're working outside near the Gulf. I'm excited about getting out of my office, but know I'll complain about sore muscles.

Q has some stomach problems this afternoon--I think it's from drinking salt water when she was swimming in the Gulf. Hope she learns, for both our sakes. :)

6/17 A wonderful Fathers' Day

First of all my brother, Joe, wrote a funny and wonderful tribute to Dad on his blog. His blog started as a blog to make fun of other ones--mostly mine. But it's turned into so much more. It's a place where he honors (and teases) everyone on their birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. We all love it! If you want to check it out, be warned that there are tons of inside jokes. Some of which I don't even understand because I've been gone so long from Quincy. :)

Today's been good in other ways too. Q woke me up at 5:30--nothing different about that. I lazed around a bit (nothing different about that either). Then cleaned up the dining room and emptied four more boxes. Afterwards Quincy and I went to the beach. We went to Ocean Springs because it's not as crowded or "touristy" as Biloxi beaches. I knew Q wouldn't go into the water (after watching her yesterday--loving the swimming pool but refusing to go in the Gulf).

Then I saw a young couple with two big dogs. I asked them if Q could play and their dogs teach her to go into the water. Before they could even say, "Sure," she was chasing the other dogs into the surf. She ended up swimming like a fiend and seemed to have a great time. I know I did.

Rachel and Kevin both work at USM Gulf Coast Research Facility, right on the water. What a cool job. He's a toxologist and she's a biochemist--and from Stevens Point, WI. A nice surprise.

The dogs (and us) played for over 90 minutes. It was a great way to spend part of the afternoon. I know I'll see them again. Nice folks.

On the way home Q slept (of course), and I talked to my kids on the phone. A nice treat for me. Jill, Todd, Kayla and Hunter were in Santa Monica having lunch and then were going to take a bike ride along the path that runs by the beach. Sounds like fun. Rob and Beata were napping. That sounds like fun too. (Hope "napping" wasn't a euphemism for something else.) :)

Anyway, it was super talking to them. Miss them all so much. Beata and Rob are going to try to visit sometime this summer. In November Jill is flying to NC to spend time with Rob and Beata. Maybe I'll drive up so I can see all of them at the same time. I'd love that so much.

Guess that's enough for today. Nap time, and then more work. Love to all.

6/16/ Q is 4 months old

Can't believe how time flies. We ran a bunch of errands today and then went swimming at Paula's house. It was a riot.

On the way there, Quincy and I stopped at the beach to play a while. We played fetch, but I was surprised that this labrador retriever didn't seem to want to get in the water. I got in, but she wouldn't follow. However, by the time we got to Paula and Tommy's house, it had changed. Q loved swimming, almost as much as I did. We played for a few hours. She didn't swim the whole time of course, but got out frequently and also enjoyed lying on a raft a la Cleopatra. When we got in the car she fell asleep immediately.

We're invited to go again tomorrow if we like, but I think I better stay home and get a little bit of work done. But for now I need to doctor up the scratches on my arm. Oh yeah, Q got a little scared in the beginning and I paid the price.

6/15 Posting while lunching

Peanut butter sandwich and Campbell's "Soup at Hand" Velvety Potato Soup. Not as bad as it could have been. At least it's filling and will last me until dinner.

Q was thrilled being back at Doggy Day Care. She flew out of the car. Looked like a dog version of Superman. Really cute how much she loves it there. No rules; just playing and spoiling and treats. Just like a kid going to Grandma's house.

So much work to do here. I've lost our office manager and am doing much of that work because our deputy is off for several days. In the future I'm hoping for an admin asst to help us out. We'll see if that pans out.

There are major changes in the offing and there's a lot of organizational work to be done in preparation. I believe things will go well; and am praying to that end.

As I was driving to work today I thought again about how much I love the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I don't think I've seen more beautiful beaches in the continental US, and I've seen a lot of them. If we don't get any major storms this year, the recovery phase will keep going full bore. This past week, they planted at least a hundred big palm trees along Beach Boulevard. The new ones add so much to the ambiance. This place is gorgeous!

Plus, I've decided to finally go to one of the casinos. Was going to wait until I have company because I really don't want to go by myself, but I want to go--so will. There are some beautiful casinos here in Biloxi. Haven't really noticed the ones in Gulfport and points west...but I'm sure they're nice too.

Okay. Done eating. Back to work. Will pick up Quincy about 5. As happy as she is to get to Doggy Day Care, she's even happier to see me. That's a good feeling. (I must get my camera connected to the computer to charge it up, so I can take pictures.)

6/8 Another Quincy

Just found out that a group from Quincy, IL is coming to Camp Biloxi. They'll arrive tomorrow and stay until next Friday. I'm so excited to meet some folks from home.

Today was a really good day. I spent most of the morning at a client's home--at least their property. They are living in a FEMA trailer because their home was completely destroyed. BUT their land is right on the Gulf and is so picturesque and perfect. It's exactly what I would picture the Gulf Coast to be like. Lots of live oaks, a dock leading to the water, a catamaran tied to the dock. Everything is perfect except they lost everything else.

It will be my privilege to work there the week after next with 12 youth from the midwest. I'm looking forward to it, even though I know I'll complain about sore muscles.

Tonight was great too, with another group of youth. We formed a partnership with Youth Build, an organization that trains youth in construction jobs. These youth will then volunteer for our construction projects, but Youth Build will pay them. It's definitely a win/win/win situation. We had a BBQ with this group tonight. Most people are still there because there's a DJ, but I had to leave because Q was in her crate and I don't like to leave here there for longer than 3-4 hours. Her bladder still doesn't last a lot longer than that.

I'm looking forward to being home with Q for the weekend.

5/31 Off to Chicago

I've been up since before 5. Q had to go out, and usually we go back to sleep, but I kept thinking of everything I had to do before I left town. I'll work until 3 or so and then catch a plane for Chicago. This is the weekend for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk and I can't wait to be with my sisters, nieces, and friend. This is always our special weekend every year. We don't need to check in until 1 PM on Friday so Friday morning we will go to the Designer Outlet Mall, where I always buy lots of Christmas presents. Since I'm flying, I'll either have to buy a few small things or convince Jane to take them back to Quincy in her van where I can pick them up later. In any case, the most important thing is that we'll be together. We'll be in a hotel Thursday and Friday nights, then camp out on Saturday during the walk, then a hotel on Sunday night as well. Everyone is so tired after either walking or working that it's hard going home on Sunday. It will be much easier on everyone to spend some time in a pool and/or jacuzzi. Shoot--I forgot to pack my swimsuit. Also forgot my Avon Crew hat and my jacket. Yikes. Guess I'll make a trip home before going to the airport.

Jane, Jan, and I always do the Avon Walk together. Jan walks the 40 miles, Jane is a team leader on the medical crew, and I'm Operations team leader working in Incident Response. This year our friend Deb is working on the medical team, and nieces Kris and Beth are walking with Jan. Kris is Jan's daughter so this will be even more special for them.

Quincy will spend the long weekend at doggy day care (and boarding). If she's the only one being boarded the owners will take her home with them so she doesn't have to be alone. That's wonderful.

I forgot to blog yesterday--the past few days I've been in non-stop meetings and this is the first time I've been at my desk since a few hours on Monday. We've been busy going to the Long Term Recovery Committee meetings in the three counties that we cover. It's been really interesting and I've learned so much.

5/28 Memorial Day

Most people are off today but not the Mississippi and Louisiana branches of my company. Why? Because the staff voted to have off on Fat Tuesday instead. Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday and is of course Mardi Gras. They celebrate it all over the Mississippi Gulf Coast and is not just a Louisiana thing. I look forward to seeing the parades and such next year, and it will be nice to sleep in my own bed after the shenanigans, and not have to pay for a hotel.

Any relatives and/or friends are welcome to visit during Mardi Gras.

The reason I'm writing now during my work time is because of something that just happened. I was working on my computer and Quincy was eating. (She's with me today because the doggy day care is closed on Mondays, so I bring her to work with me.) All of a sudden she started choking, trying to cough but unable to do so. I said, "Sandra, come here please." Sandra is the deputy coordinator and is next door to me. She's also someone who Q loves passionately. Sandra said she heard urgency in my voice. I did remain calm, however.

I did one abdominal thrust on Q, and could hear the food being expelled into her mouth. She of course chewed it and swallowed it.

Guess how I knew what to do? It's amazing. Yesterday at Walmart I bought a little book about Labrador Retrievers. And it showed how to do abdominal thrusts on dogs. I don't even know if I did it right, and will check the book tonight. All I know is that it worked. And I'm so grateful. (Thank you, God.)

Q is my companion and family member. I do appreciate her, but it takes something like this to make me realize how much.

5/21 Americorps and Habitat for Humanity

Even though yesterday was Sunday I had to work a little bit. We received an invitation to go to a special Americorps and Habitat joint celebration. Although it wasn't easy to drag myself out of my house, I'm so happy I went.

It was the last day of the national Americorps week and the first day of the Habitat Buildathon. Habitat for Humanity International is building 20 homes this week and it's a huge deal. Plus it's a celebration of the fact that they just built their 1,000 and 1,001 home in the Gulf. You're probably familiar with Americorps, the government program that allows young people to give up to a year of service in the US. VISTA was there too (Volunteers in Service to America).

Thousands of people filled the Gulf Coast Coliseum, and lucky me got to sit in the reserved section so was in the second row. The talks were mostly by Americorps members and Habitat volunteers and were so impressive. I can't begin to tell you the emotions that welled in me, and wish I'd taken notes so I could more accurately represent what happened.

I'd encourage all young people who may not know what they want to do with their lives to check out Americorps. The youth were exuberant about the experience and the travel.

What a great job I have!

5/20 A great reward

I went to buy groceries at WalMart yesterday and when I came out there was a note under my windshield wiper. (My car has Lutheran Disaster Response magnetic signs on both sides.) Here's the note:

May God bless you for blessing us! Thank you, Dave Brown

It brought tears to my eyes. Yes, we get thanked a lot by people who live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but this was so unexpected, so random, so loving. It made my day.

5/17 Radio Interview

Today I was interviewed by a radio station in Michigan. It was a lot cooler than I thought it would be. The guy was interesting and had volunteered at one of our camps last summer. He promised to come back this July with another group, and gave out our phone number for other interested volunteers. One thing that was funny was that he was pissed because New Orleans got most of the press, and he wanted to make sure Mississippi got its fair share.

Also today was the end of the Mental Health Summit. I didn't get to attend much of it, but it was enlightening. Learned a lot.

My boss arrived today. Tomorrow we have individual meetings with each manager and then an all staff meeting. I'll be glad when the day is over.

4/14 Spoke too soon

The puppy had several accidents in the house. And we have such a nice big yard. Guess it was too good to be true.

Closed on the house yesterday. (Thank you, God.) I am thrilled beyond belief in my little nest. Quincy loves it too. She has a huge crate that she can grow into, and sleeps in there at night and when I'm away for a while. So far I haven't left her for more than a few hours. What a blessing that she can come to work with me occasionally.

Next week I'm in Albuquerque on business and she'll be in a kennel. Makes me sad, but I know I'll have a good time.

Just took a pair of pants to Kim's Alterations because a seam had unraveled and she charged me one dollar. I love this place.

Thunderstorms and tornadoes are everywhere so I can't stay on long. Unfortunately we have a celebration barbeque in 45 minutes. I'm afraid that it's going to be an indoor event. But that's okay. As long as the tent doesn't blow away, we'll be fine. It's to celebrate a big undertaking with Habitat for Humanity International. We'll be working on a big project with them for two years and it's awesome. So many people will be served, and that's what it's all about.

Am in my office because, although my DSL is turned on at home, my equipment is outdated. (Oh, my brothers would have a field day with that line.) UPS won't deliver until Monday and of course I'm out of town. Bad timing on my part, but that's life.

Next on my agenda at home--besides putting stuff away--is getting a fence and getting someone to work on my lawn. It looks like it's been sodded but is very uneven and mostly weeds. There's also a big fire ant hill in the yard and they'd kill Quincy if she ever got into the hill.

That's it. The storm's here. Love to everyone.

3/31 I love the weekend

This morning I went to Joy's for breakfast and coffee. While there I caught up on some reading for work. Then did my laundry, which cost $10. Can't wait for my own washer and dryer again. After that I drove to Gulfport to Petsmart and bought Quincy's crate for the house. It's huge, for when she's grown, but has a panel to put in for when she's small. Nice. But it will take up about 1/4 of my RV. Funny.

I'm going to finish my taxes, put away my laundry, and then relax.

Here's what I'll miss about living in an RV park: Whenever I go outside there's always folks walking their dogs. I can pet animals and talk to their owners. It's so friendly here, and that's really neat. Even those without pets are outside a lot (heck, many of these RVs are small), and there's visiting going on. But your privacy is really respected. I mean no one knocks on your door or makes noise late at night. And this park is a nice combination of retired people and folks here to do disaster work.

Talked to Jill and Rob. Jill and her family are on their way to the Grand Canyon for a vacation while Kayla is on spring break. Rob is still really sick but won't go to the doctor. He sounds awful and I told him to consider himself nagged. It's probably a sinus infection or a throat infection. He says he's too busy to go to the doctor, but I don't think he realizes what a strept throat can turn into. His Aunt Janet had a strept throat in high school and it turned into rheumatic fever. She had to spend part of her sophomore year at home in bed, and has some minor heart issues as a result. Yeah, Rob, this is for you. GO TO THE DOCTOR. I love you.

Talked to Jan too today. She and Jane (and other relatives) are at a huge garage sale and they are raising money for our Avon Breast Cancer Walk in Chicago in June. By noon they'd already raised more tan $1200. I'm thrilled. Way to go!

3/27 Whoops

Just checking in while I eat my lunch at my desk and noticed I didn't blog yesterday. That's unusual. But I'm staying pretty busy.

Besides lots of work in my office yesterday, I drove over to Camp Victor. It's about 15 or 16 miles from my office. It was a good visit and I got a lot accomplished. Had lunch there which was great. They almost always have a vegetarian entree, and always have a neat salad bar. Spoke to the site director, the assistant site director, a long-term volunteer who does a bit of everything, and a newspaper reporter. The reporter loved the tour and the building. I basically tagged along for the tour because I want to learn everything I can.

While in the warehouse I found two tables that I'll be able to use for my home office. That's great and will save me some money. Of course, they aren't mine, but will serve me well while I work for LSSDR--hopefully for a long, long time.

Today the management staff and I went over our hurricane response plan. Hurricane season starts in June, so we have lots of planning to do in a short period of time. But this is a great group of people and I know we'll get it accomplished. (No, I'm not just saying that because some of them might read this.)

Tonight there will be no working from home. Why? Because I'm a reality show junkie and American Idol and Dancing with the Stars are on tonight, that's why.

3/25 Sunday miscellaneous

Miscellaneous Musings:

Went to 8 AM services at Christus Victor. Since I was awake anyway I decided to go to the early one. Pastor Terri introduced me and had me stand. More than 100 people in the church were volunteers from Camp Victor and so it was good they could associate a face with my name. As I sat back down it really hit me about the enormity of this job. I just looked up at the cross and thought, "Help me."

In my travels today I drove along Beach Drive four times. There's a huge speedboat race going on and the roads and beaches are full of people. I could see from the road though and each speedboat had a helicopter right over it. How cool is that?

As I neared Keesler Air Force Base a C130J flew right over me. That thing is as huge as a small village.

I passed a clearing where a church used to stand. The people were having worship services near a big wooden cross they'd put up.

Our motto at work is Semper Gumby, standing for Always Flexible. Don't know who made it up, but I heard it from Henry, a retired Marine. I love it.

Went shopping, got my nails done, bought food and clothing. Went out to breakfast after church. Everyone is so friendly. We just chat while waiting in line.

Met some people from Luck, WI who are volunteering here.

Have been working on my taxes. Am almost done with my federal ones. Will get a nice refund this year--that's because I had CPI take out more money than I needed. I'm a terrible saver and didn't want to be caught unaware with a high tax bill.

I know there's more, but I'm tired.

3/24 Saturday

I slept late--8 AM. This is the first morning I slept until it was light.

After my shower I went to Joy's for coffee and a bagel. Then down to the Gulf. I walked for 40 minutes then took a drive around the peninsula. Past all the many casinos, but through small, devastated neighborhoods too. The difference between the two is astounding.

Now I'm doing laundry and will soon start on my taxes. I won't finish them right away though because I'm going to PetSmart to buy some puppy "stuff." Then to a late lunch/early dinner.

Living less than a mile from the beach is AOK with me. Wow, what a blessing!

3/23 Friday again

Tomorrow will be pretty boring since I'm going to be working on taxes. I think I'll have Turbotax going on my personal computer and a movie DVD going on my work one. Should keep me awake anyway.

Got a lot done today. Then went to lunch at Camp Biloxi with Sandra and Maria. Afterward we drove out to Woolmarket where we checked on a warehouse operated by IDTF (Interfaith Disaster Task Force). Since Woolmarket isn't too far away from my new place we drove by there on the way back to the office.

It was such a beautiful day that I left work at 4:30 and walked around the RV park a little bit.

There are boat races on the Gulf this weekend. Maybe I'll stop there. It will remind me of the races on the Quincy bay. :)

Oh, I got an email and everything is set with my home loan. Can't wait.

3/22 I love Mississippi! And I love The Joys of Coffee!

I'm not lying when I say I've never lived in a place where people are so friendly and gracious.

Lots of people are excited about the Starbucks that's coming in. (We currently don't have one.) I'm excited too, and but won't go there unless I'm with someone else who wants to go. Does this surprise you? I'm the gal who posted about stopping at Starbucks every morning in Milwaukee on my way to work. At the same time though, I frequented Alterra coffee which was a local coffeehouse, but only went there on the weekend because it was far from work.

Local businesses need to be supported. Every morning on the way to work I stop at The Joys of Coffee for my decaf Americano. After Katrina, Joy came right back in, cleaned up the place and started making coffee. That's a great story. And Joy is such a welcoming and friendly person. She, Matt, Sloan, and the young woman whose name I don't know do a great job there. And I'm greeted every morning with, "Good morning, Miss Jeri." How can you beat that?

They're closed on Sunday, so then I drive to Ocean Springs to Mocha Moose for a coffee. I sit on the porch and read or watch the world go by.

I love Mississippi. (We'll see what I say when summer comes.) But how can I not love a location where palm trees grow?

3/21 Now it's really Spring!

I'm so excited. My brother, Jeff, is coming down to work with a group from his church. They're coming toward the end of September for a week and will help with rebuilding the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Isn't that awesome?

When he first approached me about this a few days ago, I told myself not to get my hopes up, but they are really going to do it. They'll stay at Camp Biloxi because it's only about a mile from my office. I'll be able to go to the mess hall every night and have dinner with him. We provide a place to sleep and all meals for our volunteers. A lot of staff have meals there as well. I went there for lunch today in fact. They had baked chicken, mixed vegetables, homemade rolls, broccoli cheese soup, salad, and cake. So I sure didn't have to eat much for dinner tonight. (Ate a pre-packaged bean and cheese burrito.)

I spent time at FEMA today to get my packet so I can sign up for a FEMA badge, but I'm afraid they gave me the wrong one. They gave me the one for staff instead of an affiliate agency. So I'll go back tomorrow, but luckily it's less than a mile away. Our office is really centrally located for Biloxi. Too bad it's a little distance from Camp Victor but that will get better once the bridge gets rebuilt.

3/18 Me and my RV

I'm nice and cozy in this RV. I really like it. Just hope I can find room for everything. It's amazing though; there are cubbyholes and storage everywhere. Under the bed, under the RV, under the couch, under the benches by the table, in the bathroom. And there are plenty of cabinets in the kitchenette. Again, I'm amazed.

This morning I went to church at Good Shepherd Lutheran which is Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Next week I'll go to Christus Victor which is ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). Today's service was so much like a Catholic Mass that I could say most of the prayers without looking at the book.

Afterwards I moved all my stuff from the hotel to the RV. In doing so I broke Rob and Beata's TV they'd loaned me. I left my big one at their house and took a smaller one with me--no room in the car for the big one. So I had to go buy a new TV today too. Plus towels and pillows--things like that. No problem because I'll use them at my new house.

I feel great...work is only about a mile down Pass Road, and the coffee shop is only a mile in the other direction. Yay.