Queen Mum's Dancing in the Rain

[SmallFarmGirl]

Houdini and Jelly Bean are all happy about eating out of my hand today. As long as it is yummy stuff.

Keep the yummy stuff coming !!! Before yah know it Houdini will be a little doll !!!

 

[autumnprairie]

Glad to hear the yummy stuff is working

 

[Ms. Research]

Amazing what yummy stuff can do. So glad to hear you are making progress.

K

 

[Queen Mum]

So You Want to Know a Little About Me?

I am a woman with something to say about just about anything. I am a night person and have a profound dedication to staying that way. I believe that I am descended from those phosphorescent paramecium (pair-a-me-see-um) that haunted the shallows after the sun went down. I am also a fourth generation Washingtonian.

Most therapists will tell you that to understand a person you need to know about their Family of Origin. Mine is quite interesting.

Papa was a logger and Mama a nurse. They were married on June 10, 1950. Early in their marriage, my father was often away at logging camp. They must have done a lot of celebrating during the times when Papa was home in January and July, because Maggie was born April 19, 1951. A year later Mary came along on April 21. Next came Ruthie, in October, 1953 (do the math), Nancy was born in the wilds of Scotia, California in November, 1954. Peter was born on Highway 1, literally, July 30, 1956 and 8 years later, Sue was born in October.

But wait a minute, what happened to Sara? Nancy was my name before I got religion. I have to admit its a big shift from Nancy Ann, to Sara Ruth, but as you get to know me

Papa, bless his heart, was a generous soul who loved children and animals. He was a man of few words but being 6 foot 4 inches tall and a logger, when he spoke, people listened. (We sure did.)
His nickname in the woods was Hurricane Paul. The explanation I heard from his friends for the name was that as he strolled through the woods he left a path of downed trees like that of a hurricane.
Papa was one tough man. When I was about 23, a tree fell on his leg, and he sustained a fractured femur. He had his buddies get him to his truck but insisted that he sit in the front seat on the drive to the hospital, because an ambulance was an unnecessary delay.

Papa was hit by a widow maker when he was 58. That is a tree that doesnt fall where its meant too. With a broken arm, a fractured skull and a fractured collar bone, Papa walked out of the woods to the waiting helicopter, because he didnt want some fool kid dropping him, by tripping over a branch and feeling bad about it.

Papa was declared disabled, as the accident had destroyed the nerves in his right arm. Despite that, until the day he died, Papa had more strength in that arm than most people have in their legs. He died at age 73, due to lung cancer from smoking 3 packs of home made cigarettes per day.

Dad was an ex-marine and was proud of it until the day he died. The only inkling I ever got about regrets about the military occurred during the gulf war, right before Papa passed away. He said, War is the stupidest waste of young mens lives, that people have ever invented.

My mother is very intelligent (she was a member of MENSA). She was a nurse at Harborview on the locked psychiatric ward for 20 years. When she retired, Mama made her life as an artist and craftsman. She wove baskets, made pottery, dolls, quilts and other arts. Hmm, I wonder if the basket making was the result of her former profession. At the age of 72, she featured in Workbench Magazine as a woman who loves her woodworking tools. Mama died at the age of 73, also from cancer due to smoking - two to three packs of home made cigarettes a day. I HATE cigarettes.

I come from a long line of tenacious, outspoken folk. One of my maternal ancestors signed the declaration of independence. Does the last name Carroll, sound familiar? A maternal great-grandfather was an itinerant preacher from the deep South. We know he had a lot to say. My maternal Great Grandmother had an opinion on everything. At the tender age of 80 she declared that she would live to be 100 and promptly did so.

On my fathers side of the family, two great-uncles and his great-grandfather came to the US from County Cork, Ireland by boat. They got into such a huge row on board ship that they had to be kept apart for the remainder of the trip as they repeatedly threatened (and tried) to throw each other overboard. When they got to the US, they changed their names so they couldnt find one another. (A familiar pattern is emerging.)

My father furthered the problem by encouraging independence, clear thinking and self reliance in each and every one of us. My mother encouraged us to read and to think with an open inquisitive mind.

Dinner time, when I was growing up was promptly at 6 pm and the dinner discussions were lively and full of discourse. We debated, told jokes, and discussed everything under the sun.
Now-a-days, my sis Maggie is an artist and works for in a state animal lab in the south east coast of the US officer. Mary is a pediatric RN with a Ph.D. (Dr. Nurse) and a world class tango dancer. Ruth is a lawyer, makes doll clothes and reviews childrens books. I am a goat wrangler and a child advocate and Peter is a tugboat skipper and sells rare books. Susan has recently changed her name to Devin, and is a very talented musician.

So, alas, as you can see from my family history, my tenacious and opined nature is inherited. AND I am anything but ordinary. I have Tourettes syndrome, and ADHD and Aspergers syndrome. I am a very tenacious advocate for the rights of handicapped children in the public schools. My reputation is well known in Washington and Oregon Public Schools. (They dont like me much.) There is more to it but thats enough for now. Ill leave you with one last thought.

When you are down in a hole, and its so dark you can barely see, Look UP and you will see the sky. Follow the light!

 

[Ms. Research]

So You Want to Know a Little About Me?

I am a woman with something to say about just about anything. I am a night person and have a profound dedication to staying that way. I believe that I am descended from those phosphorescent paramecium (pair-a-me-see-um) that haunted the shallows after the sun went down. I am also a fourth generation Washingtonian.

Most therapists will tell you that to understand a person you need to know about their Family of Origin. Mine is quite interesting.

Papa was a logger and Mama a nurse. They were married on June 10, 1950. Early in their marriage, my father was often away at logging camp. They must have done a lot of celebrating during the times when Papa was home in January and July, because Maggie was born April 19, 1951. A year later Mary came along on April 21. Next came Ruthie, in October, 1953 (do the math), Nancy was born in the wilds of Scotia, California in November, 1954. Peter was born on Highway 1, literally, July 30, 1956 and 8 years later, Sue was born in October.

But wait a minute, what happened to Sara? Nancy was my name before I got religion. I have to admit its a big shift from Nancy Ann, to Sara Ruth, but as you get to know me

Papa, bless his heart, was a generous soul who loved children and animals. He was a man of few words but being 6 foot 4 inches tall and a logger, when he spoke, people listened. (We sure did.)
His nickname in the woods was Hurricane Paul. The explanation I heard from his friends for the name was that as he strolled through the woods he left a path of downed trees like that of a hurricane.
Papa was one tough man. When I was about 23, a tree fell on his leg, and he sustained a fractured femur. He had his buddies get him to his truck but insisted that he sit in the front seat on the drive to the hospital, because an ambulance was an unnecessary delay.

Papa was hit by a widow maker when he was 58. That is a tree that doesnt fall where its meant too. With a broken arm, a fractured skull and a fractured collar bone, Papa walked out of the woods to the waiting helicopter, because he didnt want some fool kid dropping him, by tripping over a branch and feeling bad about it.

Papa was declared disabled, as the accident had destroyed the nerves in his right arm. Despite that, until the day he died, Papa had more strength in that arm than most people have in their legs. He died at age 73, due to lung cancer from smoking 3 packs of home made cigarettes per day.

Dad was an ex-marine and was proud of it until the day he died. The only inkling I ever got about regrets about the military occurred during the gulf war, right before Papa passed away. He said, War is the stupidest waste of young mens lives, that people have ever invented.

My mother is very intelligent (she was a member of MENSA). She was a nurse at Harborview on the locked psychiatric ward for 20 years. When she retired, Mama made her life as an artist and craftsman. She wove baskets, made pottery, dolls, quilts and other arts. Hmm, I wonder if the basket making was the result of her former profession. At the age of 72, she featured in Workbench Magazine as a woman who loves her woodworking tools. Mama died at the age of 73, also from cancer due to smoking - two to three packs of home made cigarettes a day. I HATE cigarettes.

I come from a long line of tenacious, outspoken folk. One of my maternal ancestors signed the declaration of independence. Does the last name Carroll, sound familiar? A maternal great-grandfather was an itinerant preacher from the deep South. We know he had a lot to say. My maternal Great Grandmother had an opinion on everything. At the tender age of 80 she declared that she would live to be 100 and promptly did so.

On my fathers side of the family, two great-uncles and his great-grandfather came to the US from County Cork, Ireland by boat. They got into such a huge row on board ship that they had to be kept apart for the remainder of the trip as they repeatedly threatened (and tried) to throw each other overboard. When they got to the US, they changed their names so they couldnt find one another. (A familiar pattern is emerging.)

My father furthered the problem by encouraging independence, clear thinking and self reliance in each and every one of us. My mother encouraged us to read and to think with an open inquisitive mind.

Dinner time, when I was growing up was promptly at 6 pm and the dinner discussions were lively and full of discourse. We debated, told jokes, and discussed everything under the sun.
Now-a-days, my sis Maggie is an artist and works for in a state animal lab in the south east coast of the US officer. Mary is a pediatric RN with a Ph.D. (Dr. Nurse) and a world class tango dancer. Ruth is a lawyer, makes doll clothes and reviews childrens books. I am a goat wrangler and a child advocate and Peter is a tugboat skipper and sells rare books. Susan has recently changed her name to Devin, and is a very talented musician.

So, alas, as you can see from my family history, my tenacious and opined nature is inherited. AND I am anything but ordinary. I have Tourettes syndrome, and ADHD and Aspergers syndrome. I am a very tenacious advocate for the rights of handicapped children in the public schools. My reputation is well known in Washington and Oregon Public Schools. (They dont like me much.) There is more to it but thats enough for now. Ill leave you with one last thought.

When you are down in a hole, and its so dark you can barely see, Look UP and you will see the sky. Follow the light!

Thanks you. It does tell a lot about you when you reveal where you come from and what their beliefs were. You come from strong people. Like my DH.

That's what got me in trouble with my family. Their family dynamics was to stay in the hole, never look up. Thank Heavens there are ways to change family dynamics. Bigger shame is that family dynamics will die with me and my Better Half, known as DH. But, truly no regrets here.

K

 

[marlowmanor]

Wow, that's a lot of information about you. It's good to read though since it's nice to hear about peoples family history. I did a paper on Aspergers when I was in college for my AA degree in Early Childhood education. That's been a few years ago though.

 

[DonnaBelle]

Temple Grandin is autistic, and is one of the great minds in agriculture.

Asperger's is a mild form of autism.

I have two friends, each has a child with asperger's. Both children are brilliant in their own way. Issac is a computer genius. Jane has a photographic memory. Both children's parents are totally involved with them and their activities, but the most important things are disipline and structure. They march to their own drummers, that's for sure.

We all have our burdens and our demons, the trick is to outwit them....

DonnaBelle

 

[marlowmanor]

Temple Grandin is autistic, and is one of the great minds in agriculture.

Asperger's is a mild form of autism.

I have two friends, each has a child with asperger's. Both children are brilliant in their own way. Issac is a computer genius. Jane has a photographic memory. Both children's parents are totally involved with them and their activities, but the most important things are disipline and structure. They march to their own drummers, that's for sure.

We all have our burdens and our demons, the trick is to outwit them....

DonnaBelle

Aspergers is like a focused form of autism, usually the person will be really good at something. I would guess Sara is really good at animal husbandry. So Sara, what subject/activity are you focused with in regards to Aspergers?

 

[Queen Mum]

Temple Grandin is AWESOME! She has written a LOT about Autism and Aspergers and has done some amazing things. I met her once at an education conference and thought she was so much like me and yet so different. Her book, "Thinking In Pictures" is a must read for people who want to understand Autism and surprisingly animals.

Also Animals in Translation by Dr. Grandin gives incredible insight into how animals work and if you ever have trouble with your farm animals, it is a wonderful reference for animal behavior.

As for Aspergers syndrome, Aspergers is part of me, not who I am. I am funny, odd, idiosyncratic, kind, cheerful, insightful, verbose, loving, persistent, and most of the time pretty positive.

I come from an era where Aspergers was poorly recognized and as such didn't get very good guidance, so I have spent my life drifting from job to job. That is rather typical of people with Aspergers as well. Not a big deal. OK, so it is a big deal, but if you met me, you would just find me a bit odd.

What most people don't realize about Aspergers is that 'we' focus on more than one thing. Most people with Aspergers will have one or two specialties with two or three subspecialties. Many times it will be in the same "area". I focus on not A subject but several. This is typical of High functioning Aspergers.

When I focus, I tend to hyperfocus. I get very involved and somewhat encyclopedic. I am great with anything that requires tactile skills. I am also ridiculously clumsy. Thus my combined degree in physics, chemistry and math is useless. (I'm dangerous in the lab.) So when I was in college I sort of changed my major to neuropsychology and then went on to become a paramedic after that and got quite good at it. (Nobody ever got hurt except for me.)

I am an encyclopedia of Education law and psychology, Alas, as an advocate, I tend to piss people off, but then so do lawyers so it's the perfect job for me. However, since I'm not a lawyer, I can't make much money at it.

I'm also extremely good with animal behavior and medicine. Mostly due to my background in science, research, medicine and some employment in agricultural research.

I am also pretty good at mechanics and computers. I can rebuild automobiles, sewing machines and computers and love to do all of the above. I can also do a lot of construction on the side, but I get hurt often so I would never make a good auto mechanic, or a construction person. (God forbid!)

 

[SmallFarmGirl]

When you are down in a hole, and its so dark you can barely see, Look UP and you will see the sky. Follow the light!

That is a pretty phrase. You should ALWAYS keep trying ....