This is what I was up to the first of the week.  I was priviledged to be there for my great nephews birth.

What an incredible experience to be allowed to be part of.  Welcome to the world little one!!!!

If any of you would like to continue finding out about my uncle curt's progress in Haiti, you can go to http://curtking.wordpress.com/   It is informative as well as heart rendering at times.

This is what I want be doing, therapy....major therapy.  Sewing that is, it isn't what I get to do right now.  Right now it is just dealing with dr appts for dh.  You can't always do what you want, you do have to do what is at hand.  So I can dream of thearpy that hopefully sooner than later I will get to do.

I did spend some time this weekend watching the grand girls playing in the pool.  They sure had fun and are water babies whenever they get the chance.
Their other set of grandparents were up visiting them.  I like that we can talk about our grands, laugh at their antics, enjoy their silliness.  I loved to swim as a kid.  My mom was determined that all 4 of her children would know how to swim well because she never learned.  She did not want us to have the fear that she did.  She tried to learn when we were pre adolescent, and ended up getting strep throat from the lake she was in.  That was it for my mom.  Life jackets are her friends if she is in the water.  My dad was a wood shop teacher and made canoes.  We learned how to go down easy rivers and on the lakes.  Mom did a couple of trips with us.  I congratulate her for her bravery.  On one of those floats on a river we did often, we found a picnic table that someone had thrown in.  So Mom brought the truck and we pulled it out.  It was ssssssssssooooooooooooo heavy from being in the water, it was water logged indeed.  It was a fun picnic table in our backyard because we used it all the time and it was part of our adventure.  Great memories to share with the grand kiddos.

So the organizing has been on hold for the last couple of weeks, I got to do a wee bit yesterday and will do a wee bit today.  I have to remind myself, that a little is still forward progress.  I guess each of us have to do the same, that a little progress is still progress.  At times, it is easier to want to give up when you can't do it when you want to, like you want to.  The reminder for me, in dealing with fibro and my unpredictable body is that a little progress is still some progress.  So with that in mind I shall go do a wee bit more............
cs

Late night meanderings.......when you are so tired but you can't sleep, you have pushed every button for every station and nothing holds your interest, the pain level from the fibro is driving you nuts, you have no concentration, hmmmmm a hammer upside the head, I think not, it would wipe out what few brain cells I have left tonight..........lol........thus the writings from a rummy dummy woman.......and the cat just puked on some quilting fabric.....perfect, just perfect......yes that was sarcasm....gggggggggggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

So here they are Sheryl-lyn, my little 9 patches. 
Still working on the kitty picture, it may have to wait until tomorrow....grin.  Tired.....some zzzzzzzzzz are sounding good.

Hey there, okay Karin and Sheryl-lyn, I took pictures of my kitties and pictures of my blocks and it keeps tellimg me when I try to upload that they are not there.  They are there, I go to that file and they are right there.  I have no idea what is going on...so be patient girls, I will keep working at it.  I have done this so many times, hmmmm just not a day to get er done!!!

I have to say being on the waiting, test, waiting and hold pattern, can be hmmm, not really frustrated but hard to be patient with.  I want to know what is going on like yesterday.  That is just me, right now.  Other times I can wait, but this is my guy.

I can't say I got much done today at all.  Do you have those days where you go one foot forward and then several back.  Yes, that would be today.  Thankfully that doesn't happen to me every day, but for today....lol, it did.

Thankfully another day will start tomorrow and I can begin anew.  For that I am very thankful.
cs

It is a Monday all day long......grin!!!

So here is too Monday!!!! and getting through it!!!!!!  Hope you all had a better one....lol
cs

Every have times were you are sure you are on a roller coaster ride, even if you haven't left your home?

Well this week has been one of those weeks.  I thought I was going to get to continue on my great organizing adventure that I have had going on here at my house.  Clear bins being my best friends as of the first of this year.  Nope, that wasn't going to be my plight.  Instead being at the VA with my hubby was, then coming home and crashing(for lack of a better word).  Thankfully he got to come home on Saturday morning, but there are more tests to come to get all that is going on with his body figured out.  One of them being tomorrow morning at 7:30am.  To say I am not a morning person is an understatement....so this will be interesting.

So my challenge has been trying to figure out how to not have the stress affect me, or have it affect me as little as possible.  Not possible for most of what was going on, but still ...............   Fibromyalgia's biggest enemy is stress because what do you do when you stress, you tighten your muscles.....  My fibro has my muscles tightened all the time anyway, which causes pain.  So exercise is important.  I do not always exercise as I should.  I want to rant and rave instead, then go back to behaving myself.  LOL.  When the unknown happens and you have no answers allowing yourself to get proper rest is imperative, not always easy, but imperative.  Thus why, go to hospital, come home and crash.  My body could do no more.

This weekend was going to be a stay at home, but due to circumstances that didn't happen until today.  I was greatful for today.  I will take this day!!!!!  I watched part of the superbowl with hubby, I really like seeing the Who, yes, I am that old!!!!  I read some of Mrs Piggly Wiggily to grand daughters, that book makes me laugh.  I made a big batch of spagetti sauce for dinners to come.  I am working at doing more of that for the days when life throws some wrenches into it.  All in all, not a bad day....but here I sit tonight going, come on body, shut up and go to sleep....not happening.  Reading will be commencing shortly but figured, hey, can't sleep will go write for a few.  One of the best releases for me is writing, thus my journaling for years, yes, handwritten.  Too sore to do that kind tonight so figured would use the computer....

Time marching on, best get to that reading......
here is to each of you havng a good day tomorrow, stopping and enjoying a moment or two in it.....me too!!!
cs

GREAT NEWS......MONEY FOR THE DRILL RIG CAME IN......now they just have to get it from Miami to Haiti, plans in progress.  Two wells drilled, one collasped....water for one small camp.  Many more to go.

I have spent the last 3 days at hospital with hubby.  They finally have a clue what is going on.  I am so thankful.  When we first got there they were saying heart failure and silent heart attack.  Thankfully neither of those was correct.  Have some issues to deal with but nothing that drastic now.

Fibro screaming because of the stress, ahhh life, ain't she grand.  Not like I am stressed, geezz being told that he may have heart failure and having to wait 5 freakin hours to know if it was true or not, did this girl in.  Nope, no stress at all.  NOT!!!!!  So after passing that hurdle, I called my mom, with my knees shaking, just to hear a normal voice.  Back to the emegency room for more what ifs, maybes, lets check this, from silent heart attack to blood clot in lungs to ........, lots ruled out.  Then I went home, sat and the couch and did not move....only to do it all over again on Wednesday.  Today I am staying put, called and got the scoop from the doctor and then took a nap.  Which I just might have to have another one of.....
life on the wild frontier......lol.
cs

I thought I would share with you some of the emails my family is getting from my Uncle Curt.
Curt has been drilling wells in Haiti off and on for almost 30 years.  He took his family, wife and 3 children and lived there for a few years as well.  He is in his 60's and has a generous heart.  He has drilled wells for water in Haiti and in Africa.  His heart is towards helping those in need.  Here are the last 3 emails.


Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:50:55 -0800

Subject: Haiti report Jan 29, 2010

Hi everyone, I got my computer today (long story), so time to update:
After an uneventful flight from Seattle to Santo Domingo, we spent the night at a very nice hotel, met up with a team coming out Haiti, and early the next morning loaded up and drove to Haiti, about a 6 hour un eventful drive.

As we drove closer to Port au Prince, we could see an occasional cement fence tipped over, then as we got closer to Delmas 28 (where the Free Methodist headquarters 4 story building had been), we began to see large store buildings sitting at odd angles, broken glass, and every few buildings, a building collapsed flat, a lot of them with vehicles partially protruding from the rubble, or just a glimpse of a flattened vehicle that had been sitting in the parking lot. At one large hotel there was a row of perhaps 10 cars, all flat except for the last foot or two, where the building had tipped over onto them.

I had heard about our 4 story new building collapsing (the Haitian who was standing beside it said it took about 4 seconds to go from 4 stories to about 15 feet of rebar, rubble and an occasional book or other memento lying in the remains. But it was very sobering to see, and I cannot imagine the men who crawled through small openings in the broken mess, down and around to the sound of the surviving two people, until after 6 hours, with the ground still moving and things still falling, then dug them out. The building slid sideways as it fell, hitting an adjoining house and killing 2 Haitians, that house partially pushed over the next house, which was empty. One Haitian was on the steps going up the new building and was killed instantly, and the other two Americans in the building were killed. Today our US military has agreed to recover the bodies of all the deceased. Arron the the others who dug out the survivors had a service to bury the Haitian who had died on the stairs.
As we drove up Delmas to find a missionary's house where we were to stay, the downed buildings seemed to be at complete random, maybe 5 houses standing, then a few down, then 10 standing, then a hillside collapsed. The road into the house has slid down, so we take a long dirt path shortcut with the pickup.

We spent the last 2 days at the US embassy and other offices, mostly waiting. But at the end of today, we had met with a lot of people, and I think the results will have made the wait worthwhile: late this evening, after dark, with a group of Army men, Kevin Kate and myself met with a water bureau, who gave us maps pinpointing the latest survivor camps. We are free to choose any place where we think we can be successful, and drill as many wells as we feel necessary to help alleviate the water needs for the camps.

It helped immensely that about halfway through our meeting one of the water bureau advisors and I suddenly recognized each other. He was on La Gonave 2 years ago while I was drilling with Guts Church, so my experience was recognized. Couple that with the Military suddenly realizing that if we are successful, their present work and expense of transporting 16 large tanker loads of water will suddenly be greatly reduced.

By the end of our meeting, we were all in agreement; the Military will document what we do with a story and pictures, the water bureau has given us free reign to work, free hand pumps, and a good chance of more. It isn't all we hoped for, but is a good start!

Our needs:

Our rig is 31 years old, and was a little inadequate for the work here then. It has a lot of baling wire and strange arrangements to keep it going. We need a better one. There is larger, newer rig sitting in Miami waiting to be purchased for $200,000. We hear from reliable sources that items brought in will be duty free for 3 months, that would save thousands, and allow us to be much more productive, for now, and for the long term.
We have gone WAY out on a limb with this idea. Now that many eyes are on us to see if it will work, please pray the old rig will hold together, that we will locate a good area where fresh water can be found, that we will maintain our health, and all the other little things that are necessary to bring fresh water to those who are suffering so much.

I need wisdom, so much wisdom, to make the right decisions, to not overclaim what I can do, nor to back away from the seemingly impossible challenge of keeping the equipment running.

In the end, we face enormously challenging days ahead. Just in the few days here, I have felt so inadequate and helpless to know how to really help the suffering all around here. Perhaps some of the most lasting affect I can have is in stopping to talk to any Haitian who pauses beside me to ask them how they are, do they still have family or shelter. Two men sitting in front of the house where the 2 Haitians are still buried smiled as they remembered how my wife and I walked from one building to the other, sometimes greeting each other. Little things to bring a smile in the midst of such loss... perhaps they will find a moment of peace to keep them going on for a little longer.

Curt King
Port au Prince, Haiti
Jan 29, 2010


The latest news from Curt in Haiti.


 Well, another day... We went early to the collapsed FM building to
 pick up whatever we could find that was useful. We got some drill
 pipe, barrels, a few wrenches, two tire rims, and a few other things.

 I did go into the old FOHO building that was still standing. I had to
 climb over the rubble of the new collapsed building to get inside
 through a broken door. It's hard to explain my flood of memories of
 the many, many times we spent there. I particularly remembered the
 last time I was suffering from dengue fever, and Merle and Dorthy West
 offered encouragement to me since they were also staying there.
 Realizing Merle had died only a few feet from me, and his body is
 still buried in the collapsed building was a uniquely spiritual
 moment. What a good man, who spent so much of is time and money for
 the people of Haiti. Rest in peace, Merle.

 Retired Colonel Vahan Sipantzi, Snaider and I went around the back of
 the building where there was a very shallow grave, just a slight rise
 of dirt covered with cement blocks from the rubble, and a piece of
 steel pipe driven in the ground. This is where Erlin's body is
 buried; he died in the stairway that connects the old building to the
 ruined new building. Vahan prayed... What a moment of reverence for a
 good good man.

 It was with real sadness as I drove away, this will probably be the
 last time I am ever in that building, as I think it has been condemned
 due to damage.


 We tried to get tires for the rig out of customs, but there is a
 problem; the lady who helps take care of the paperwork was killed in
 the building, along with all the paperwork. Maybe Monday we can make
 progress. We really need them, since the rig is on a 4 wheeled
 trailer that currently only has 2 good tires, and the tires are a
 unique size. Not much hope, so Healing Hands is trying to get another
 set sent to us.

 We looked at a huge "refugee" camp, but they appeared to have at least
 a minimal supply of water. On down the road a few miles was a large
 camp down off the road in a hot, dusty area beside a dry riverbed.
 There is no way to get directly into the camp, and if we drill up on
 the road nearby there is a good chance that pickups will converge on
 the site, so that the poorest in the camp will not have first chance
 of the well. We went on a few miles further to a town square where
 the Cubans have a medical center. This town doesn't have any large
 camps, but rather many small tent camps scattered around town. We
 don't know if they are victims of the earthquake, or are people afraid
 to sleep inside.

  Finally we found the drilling machine, where Arron had stored it after
 the earthquake hit, while he was drilling. I must admit, I was very
 discouraged. It is so old and tired, "why Lord, when there are so
 many suffering so much, do I have to spend so much time fixing and
 patching?" I sometimes wonder how many more people would be living
 if, a long time ago, I had insisted on new equipment.

 But by the end of the day, we had both engines running, and most
 everything working. Kevin and I plan to keep at it tomorrow, checking
 more camps, and spending some time working on the machines.
 Meanwhile, Snaider and driver will go to Mapou to pick up supplies,
 and be back Monday night, Lord willing.

   This evening I talked to an orphanage near the Port au Prince airport
 that needs water, was it callous of me to ask if they have any
 survivors living there, so that I can justify it as relief? But I am
 trying to bring help to the neediest at the moment, and pick up the
 others later. Just so much need, Haiti was so needy before the quake,
 I wonder how things will look a year from now?

 curt king
 Port au Prince, Haiti
 jan 30, 2010



This is the latest letter from Curt.



      Left at 7am today so we could lead another pickup out to the main road
   to a bakery where they had a meeting with a pastor. As we passed the
  Caribbean Market, the road was blocked as they are starting to tear it
  down. The smell around that place is not at all pleasant; I wonder if
  they have an estimate of the amount of deaths; it was a big
  supermarket, undoubtedly filled with shoppers when it collapsed. It
  was our favorite place to shop for groceries, they even had fresh milk
  most of the time!

   We went to Quisqueya School, where our kids went to school many years
 ago. The US Army special forces special operations are occupying the
 schoolyard and it is filled with tents, vehicles, generators, and many
 other things for their operations. We were soon deeply involved over
 maps of Haiti, showing them locations of hospitals and NGO
 organizations. We have offered them our Mapou house and yard as a
 staging area, and hopefully helped them understand more about the
 country. They are ready to help, so we will have food, water and some
 fuel available for our work. We were assured that if we have any
 problems, just call and they will be there to help. A great
 reassurance for us.


 We passed a survivor camp along the road, hundreds of people down off
 the edge of the road. I climbed down the bank into the camp and was
 immediately surrounded. We talked for a long time. If they can
 organize enough to clear a road down into the camp, I told them I hope
 to be ther by midweek. A scene of chaos, with an occasional old man
 or woman just staring blankly as I walked by. What a dry, dusty needy
 cluster of humanity.


 We had to run back to the house to drop off the food and water, as it
 is not good at this time to be hauling this in the back of a pickup.
 We took a shortcut down a mountain trail to avoid heavy traffic, and
 on the way past a huge UN complex, Kevin Kate spotted a drill rig over
 the fence. Between Vahan's special forces id badge and my Creole, we
 talked ourselves into another heavily fortified and armed compound,
 and found the rig, parked amongst dozens of vehicles. It is the
 Brazilian contingent of the UN, so it took awhile to find an English
 speaking man. I told them I was there to beg, borrow or steal that
 rig (not too smart of a thing to say around well armed men!). Then
 cannot loan it, and have been able to do a little work with it.


 We went to the rig and worked on it for a couple hours. Once again I
 was discouraged about the old rig, perhaps even a little angry at
 having to work with old worn out stuff again. But you know what, I
 could be sitting on our boat house in Seattle complaining because I
 didn't have any way to help in Haiti. I just need to learn to quit
 complaining and be thankful for what we have, and the opportunity to
help!

 There is an orphanage not far from the international airport that we
 visited to see if we can drill a new well for them, since the existing
 well has a pump solidly stuck in it, and may be dry. We will try to
 get the pump out or drill a new well. It's hard for them to get water
 hauled in right now, but no buildings were severely damaged.


 We got back to the house just before dark today, and
had a good time of discussing how to try and be more effective.

 Oh, some other good news. On the way down the back trails to the main
 road we have been passing 2 500 gallon water trailers, and wondered
 how we could get the use of them. Today we stopped to put a note on
 them asking to rent them, since we could not find anyone around. A
lady walking down the road saw us, she just happened to know people we
 know, so she set about to find who owned them. This evening I got a
 call from the Haitian man who owns the trailer; I asked to rent them,
 he said that if it's for the needy, just use it. Now if we can just
 find a water pump to fill it, we are in business. And if not, we will
 fill it with buckets. We are determined, with God's help, to get
 water for these people.

 We still cannot get tires for the rig but
 tomorrow we will try the customs house again, pray we can push our way
 in and get what we need. Without papers it may be a challenge, but we
 must try.
 Today is a special day, Mary and my 40th anniversary. How we miss not
 being together, but what joy to be serving our God and trying to help
 these desperately needy people.

 curt king
 Port au Prince, Haiti
 Jan 31, 2010



There you are.  If you can help in anyway with the drill rig sitting in Miami, or have a suggestion of who to contact, please leave me a comment

Thanks for reading.....cs