Now it's Christmas.

Happy Holidays.

It didn't seem like Christmas until the Food Fairy showed up with this tree.

Ours had been lost in the fire. Now it seems like Christmas.

Joy and Peace to you all.

Well, that didn't work

We're sorry, all circuits are busy now? On to plan B.

No calls until January. Stay tuned for exciting developments. Joining me will be The Food Fairy, Vina Tsarina and our own Fine Living Diva with tips and tricks to make living simple, easy, delicious and fun.

Now, go get that shopping done!

all the best,

Donna

Geek Rant: A technological triumph?

So after screwing around with Phoner and WireTapPro for a month, I called tech support for Wiretap Pro. Seems it doesn't work all that well, and the problem is on the Phoner side. Nothing from that developer yet.

Guess I got ahead of technology again.

OK, while I'm waiting for that to happen, I've looked into Skype (as recommended by WireTapPro) and Gizmo.

They're both limited, in their freeware versions (only Skype to Skype or Gizmo to Gizmo,). But Gizmo has a deal with freeconferencecall.com and I think this might be the ticket. At least a good start.

So, when you call the Salon on Wednesday, brush your teeth, you're going to be immortalized.

Here's the new number: 641 985 0005.
PIN: 405110#

Looks like it's Christmas at the cabin.

Sure enough, yesterday the contractor told me that he wouldn't need my final picks on the fixtures until the week after Christmas...subtle don't you agree?

The painters were there today trying a new primer to try to improve the work done unacceptably and with a really nasty attitude by the plasterers.

It was dusk, so the light wasn't great, but the attic looks beautiful. The pink just softens everything. Can't wait to see it in the morning.

Update on the house

The plasterer finished, the siding's almost finished. The roof's leaking.

Doesn't look like we're going to make the Dec. 10 deadline.

Making a list...Checking it twice

Hope your Thanksgiving was just that. A week of intensive family relations has left me a little overwhelmed, how about you?

On this week's call, lets talk about the holidays and ways to cope with the stress and pressures both external and internal.

I think one of the most important things we can do as parents is to create holiday memories that will last a lifetime. What do you want those memories to be?

What old traditions will you keep and what new traditions do you want to create?

Twenty years from now, what stories will your children tell about this holiday season? Twenty years from now, what stories will you tell about this holiday season?

Please, take a minute to make a list of what's most important to you. Share it here, bring it to the call on Wednesday or keep it to yourself, just do it. Set your intentions and expectations now, and have a happy and joyous December.


See you on the call.

Wednesday Phone Salon 10 am eastern

The Holidays are looming large. Do you have your gameplan in place?

Let's talk about some easy ways to create unforgettable moments, new traditions and happy holidays for everyone. You included.

The phone number is in the left column. Drop by even if you can't do the whole hour.

Looking forward to hearing your smiling voice.

Oh, and if you're trying to sell your multilevel scheme via posting on my blog, you're out of here.

Sad times.

Another fire, two people dead. Doesn't tell the story of the beautiful lives these two led. They touched me with the tenderness they showed for each other. Really, when I think about it, this is perfect.

Internet Relationships

Bob Parsons (of GoDaddy.com fame) gives some chilling stats and good advice. Check it out.
Let me know what you think. Hmmm trackback doesn 't work. http://www.bobparsons.com/comment.php?type=trackback&entry_id=90


Donna

Salon Call on Wednesday 10 am eastern

It's been a thought provoking month for me. How about you?

Starting with Katrina and Rita, then the earthquake, floods and various mini catastrophies world wide and now the threat of a pandemi and it's time to start thinking about the holidays, I was starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed by the big picture. Then, Kurt Vonnegut appeared on PBS's NOW.

His advice was, "Well, you are human beings. Resourceful. Form a little society of your own. And, hang out with them. Get a gang."

Good advice, don't you agree?

Join our little society for a lively discussion about this and other relevant topics. Call from a quiet place, use a land line and settle in for a stimulating, provocative conversation. To get the number and pin code, click on the join the conversation link under the YahooGroup Button or by leaving a comment asking to join in.

Until then, post away.
All the best...

More New Orleans local links.

Two more:

nola.com checkout the news forums, particularly Reaching Out.

an amazing blog from someone who's still there today. Here's a snip of his Monday, August 27 post

For those of you who haven't been reading this, I'm on the 10th/11th floors of a 27 floor high rise at 650 Poydras in downtown New Orleans. If you go to Google Earth or some other map program, we're the big brown building between Poydras ave and Lafayette Square and between Camp Street and St. Charles Ave. We're about 6 blocks from the river. We have a view (in the daytime) of the river, the twin spans over the river, the interstate, the Entergy building, the landmark building, the federal court of appeals building, a bunch of hotels, etc. Welcome to ground zero.

Think global, act local

Here are some links to Baton Rouge TV coverage about Katrina:



Channel 4 WWLTV.com is broadcasting from the studios of Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

2theadvocate.com is a collaboration between Channel 2 and Baton Rouge newspaper, The Advocate. There is an amazing day by day archive of video documenting this event.

Getting local information from local folks makes more sense to me. Seeing it through the eyes of someone from somewhere else, filtered through a big city producer, it looks like a whole different story. I'd like to hear your take on this.

Please join the call tomorrow, Sunday Sept. 4 at 3 pm eastern. Details in the Katrina Conference post on this blog.

Be well.

Katrina Conference Call

My heart goes out to the thousands of people who are spending another night lost in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.

More than once today, I have found myself overcome by the images and voices of these people. The ripples have already started to move outward. The impact of this event is evident today at gas stations and grocery stores all through the U.S.

It's time to rally the troops, and I don't mean the ones in uniforms. Times are going to get tough real soon and the more prepared we can be, the better.

I'm scheduling a conference call for Sunday afternoon, September 4 at 3:00 eastern. My intention with this call is to give you, and any one you'd like to invite, an opportunity to focus on this catastrophe and how it has impacted you and what we can do to help each other.


Like 9/11, and the tsunami last December, this event has long threads that connect us in unexpected ways. I hope that with this first call, we'll get a glimpse into how far reaching, deep and complex these connections are. Maybe we'll come up with a way to find the silver lining. That would be good, wouldn't you agree?

What are your thoughts about this?

Please post your comments. Go ahead, venting is good.

Please read and consider the comments of others and come to the call ready to contribute, to listen, learn and grow.

More info about how the whole call thing works. Click here

Sunday, September 4. 2005

3 pm eastern.

Call number: 712 580 7700

Access code: 27001 # (press the # key after the access code)

Hope to talk with you on Sunday,

D

The saga continues

Whew. It's been eight months since the house fire. We're still in our temporary home. The burned house hasn't been worked on in almost six weeks, unless you count some guy with a weed eater cutting the grass in mid August.

Other than that, my wardrobe is coming along nicely. Problem is I keep changing shape. Hmmm. Accessorize!!

This projects I'm working on and the folks I'm hanging (and lurking) out with are turning out to be a "defining moment" Dr. Phil has spoken so eloquently about.

Difference is, I know it. And I like it. Can't wait to see who I'll turn out to be this time.

I'm smilin', my eyes are sparkling. Woo Hoo!!

Tomorrow we're ordering the kitchen!

Queasy still

The kitchen needs to be ordered. Everytime I look at the plans my stomach knots up and I feel like I want to cry. Think I don't like it? Yeah.

The first day of the rest of my life

Free at last. Good God Almighty, I'm free at last.

I have my own rule of three. I can do anything for three years. I lived in Texas, Germany, worked for the Army, was married to two of the most unlikely husbands, and served on several boards of non profits.

Tonight, I completed a three year stint. At times it was a huge challenge to my integrity, my commitment and everything I knew. I grew. I learned. Now it's done. Next.

That queasy feeling

Work has stopped on the house. It's half demolished, stuff is still in it. The contractor and the insurance guy are making me nervous. Have a meeting today. Wish me luck.
here are a few pictures. I'm trying flickr

Back to Real Life

Got a phone that actually works after several tries. What a joy. Just my opinion but Circuit City's Verge isn't worth the bargain basement price. I (am not technically challenged by any means) couldn't figure out how to hang up after completing a call. The sound quality was painful to listen to and no one recognized my voice.

Got a Panasonic. Love it.

Grace and gratitude.

It's been a month today.

A surreal, odd month. From homeless - only for a few hours while Man, woman, boy, dog and two cats were all piled into the station wagon with a bag of groceries and a cell phone - to here, the home place of one of our neighbors three blocks from Elwood.

The journey has been a test of (and testament to) my last four years of coach training. Knowing that how I think about this, the words I use, the actions I choose are important, have kept me focused and grateful.

I know what grace is, first hand. It humbles me.

Phase II...Gypsy no more.

We're moving into our home for the next few months this morning. No more commuting. Can you hear that sound? It's RAM space being freed!

My great neighbors.

As I leaned against my car watching the house burn, people started to gather.

The morning of the fire it was cold in the house. School was out because of the weather. I had dressed in layers and put a big terry robe over everything. I had on socks, but no shoes.

Virginia took in my son, keeping him warm and safe. Someone, I still don't know who, brought me a pair of shoes. Eva brought me a coat, a box of tissues and some chapstick.

A TV reporter offered her cell phone and to call the Red Cross. Susan took me directly to the insurance office and then to the bank.

I felt blessed, and grateful.

Purge by Fire

About noon, January 20, I had come downstairs to check my email and wake up my sleeping son. I heard a noise upstairs. Something crashing. My first thought was, bad dog. But there he was looking toward the noise too. Intruder?

As I started through the utility room, I saw blue smoke curling around the fluorescent lights. Damn it. What's broken now?
Halfway up the steps I saw black. Black like I've never seen. It had an energy, it seemed alive and threatening. I started up and felt the heat ... Heard the roar and bam ... Adrenaline is a wonderful thing.
I grabbed the portable phone and called 911, waked Ben, grabbed the fire extinguisher. By then (about 60 seconds later) the black cloud was moving down the steps. I shot the fire extinguisher once and realize this was futile.

Grab the costumes, find my keys, get the dog. Call Babe the cat ... Babe. I couldn't find Babe.

The firemen arrived. Get out of there...Put the dog on a lead, move the car....

The windows blew out. Find the cat...He's blind... I left. Put the dog in the car....Moved the car...Moved the car again....Find Ben.

Ben. OK. Lovely in purple surfer shorts with silver lightening bolts, a tee shirt and his sleeping bag. But safe.

Watch life as I knew it go up in smoke. Watch my list of someday projects come tumbling onto the lawn in a sooty smoking heap. Stay present. Stay in the moment. Know that this too is perfect.

Big Changes for us

Change begins with an ending. Change ends with a new beginning.

January 28, 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

As you may have heard, our house burned last week as a result of an electrical panel short. (WAVY chopper photo here) It was fast, destructive and shocking. My son and I were at home at the time, therefore we were able to call 911 and an amazingly short time later, the Norfolk fire department was there. They stopped the fire as it was entering the first floor, protected my books and furniture with plastic and were diligent into the night making sure that the fire did not rekindle.

Our insurance coverage is very good and the company representatives have been wonderful. We're warm and safe in a suite type motel and we'll be moving into a temporary home next week just blocks from our house. So, a little inconvenience now, but in the end, we'll be in a completely rebuilt house, redesigned just for us.

I feel so blessed to have so many people in my life who have made so many warm and generous offers to help. I will be forever grateful to them for their support when the going got tough and for their thoughts and prayers. They were heard and felt by us all.

Next week, I'll be resuming my coaching practice, my husband is back to work and normal life will resume. I'm looking forward to that!

So dear friends, check your policy...if you don't have good coverage, I can't suggest strongly enough that you upgrade to the max. I hope you'll never need to know how much peace of mind you'll receive knowing that everything's going to be just fine.

All the best,

Donna

Donna Dickerson
Life Stylist

Living on the Edge

Living on the Edge

Theater, live! It always amazes me that some folk would rather create drama off stage than on. What a waste of time and energy.
My new year's resolution....retire from being a volunteer. It's become a drain on my talent, my time and it's no longer serving me. I'm done.

It's time to stop playing with people who aren't any fun, don't share their toys and don't play well with others. Life's too short.