Hotter than Hades too here in Greenviewland!! Now how would I know how hot it is in Hades...since I've never been there and don't plan on it either. I know mythology has always indicated that the netherworld is pretty dang hot! And so is Greenview! On Sunday morning, the humidity made the air oppressive and my thermometer in the late afternoon said 92, but by then the oppressive humidity tamed down a bit. Now for the rest of this week it's supposed to be even worse.
We have a severe weather alert all week due to the heat and oppressive dew point/high humidity. It's most important to drink plenty of liquids to keep hydrated. If you work outdoors, in order to replenish the sodium and electrolytes you lose through sweating, you should drink some sports drink....not all day long, but at least 1/2 bottle in the morning and 1/2 in the afternoon, then keep drinking plenty of water the rest of the time. Too much gives you too much sugar and too many calories. I prefer Powerade because it has about 1/2 the sodium of Gatorade....I feel the sodium in Gatorade is a bit overkill. Both have electrolytes which are very important to make sure you replace when sweating.
If you legs start cramping, you're de-hydrated. Also, if you can pull the skin up on the back of your hand and it stays there for a few seconds, you're de-hydrated. If you start to feel sick to your stomach, chills, dry mouth......get out of the sun and into air conditioning. Ignoring signs that you are overheated can result in a heat stroke.....which could result in death if not treated. Only you can prevent this ... do not overexert yourself in the heat!!!!!!!!
County Fair
It's once again time for the county fair....oh boy.....high heat and humidity....but no rain forecasted. I'm glad that this year I don't have to sit in one of those buildings. Done that .... Been there .... Don't like it.
The fair starts Tuesday and runs through Sunday. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the gate admission is $4.00, under 10 free. But on Tuesday,the 7pm Queen Pageant night, the grandstand entrance is additional....$3.00 adults and children $1.00. Wednesday night is the 7:30pm ATV pull and grandstand is free admission. Thursday night is 7pm harness racing and grandstand is free. Friday night the gate admission after 3pm changes to $10.00 for Adults and for ages 6-10 is $3.00 with under age 6 free. Entrance into the Grandstand to see the 7:30pm Demo Derby is free because of the higher gate admission. For Saturday and Sunday the gate admission after 3pm is yet another change....$7.00 for Adults, ages 6-10 is $3.00, with under age 6 free. Saturday night is the 6pm tractor and truck pull with free grandstand and Sunday night is the 5pm mud bog and the dash for cash in the mud....what a dirty and funny thing this is!!
The fair is for you to enjoy. We're lucky to still have a county fair in view of the economic situation....I know the fair board has had some worries these last few years. The Menard County Fair began in 1855...so this county has had over 150 years of fair going....cotton candy....carnival rides.....eating junk food.....looking at agriculture at its best and even peeking in on the women's events. A good thing as Martha Stewart would say. Be sure to take the time to visit your Menard County Fair....See you at the fair!
A Continuing Story...A Girl Afraid of Death
Starting July 4, I started posting a true story written from journals and diaries of a young girl who had some unanswered questions about death.....and was actually afraid of death. That young girl is/was me. These posts on the continuing story are randomly done....so you will need to read each post to find the continuing story, starting with July 4 for all of the chapters. Some of this seems out of order, but this is how I wrote the journals and diaries as a young girl. I hope you get an idea of a young girl's life in Greenview when she was faced with death issues. Comments are welcome.
Chapter
I am so hurt because my mama promised me a few weeks before that she wasn’t going to die. Here I am today, a ripe old age of 12 with no mom and wanting one again. Is that possible? After a couple of months, I’m going to begin to ride my bike each day to the cemetery to sit by my mom’s and my brother’s graves, trying to get them to give me a sign that they know I am there. Maybe they can come back alive if I pray long enough. Or maybe the dead can talk to people. I still have questions I want to ask about how people feel when they are dying or right before they die. No one thought of me needing counseling to cope with mama’s death. Why not! I am important and do not understand death.
The very next year, on my mama’s birthday, two of my most favorite people died. One was considered important to the world, but one was loved by many but known by few. My great-grandmother Elizabeth was mighty important to me, but the world thought only of President John Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Today was also my mama's birthday but she died in 1962, so it was a pretty sad day for me. JFK and Great Grandma Elizabeth both dying on the same day, and on my mama's birthday. Once again I was faced with the unruly death thing yet our family’s death was swept under the carpet while the world only thought of JFK. My world just seems to be swept with death recently. Who will be next and will be I be able to talk to the next person before death occurs.
After my mom, death approached and grabbed two of my classmates. They were young kids and shouldn’t have had to die. But did they know they were dying? I didn’t get to ask but I suspect they did, as one classmate knew he had cancer. The doctors did surgery and found him full of cancer and just sewed him up and sent him home. There was nothing the doctors could do, so my classmate friend must have known he was dying. But how did he feel? Did something tell him how soon death would be at his door? I don’t know the answer because I didn’t get a chance to ask my friend Pat. My other classmate Kitty must have known death was coming too. Her mom died one summer and even though our classmates didn’t detect she was having problems coping, she was being treated by a psychiatrist. Her last visit must have been very upsetting as she came home and took the shotgun to the farm field, placing it against her stomach and put her toe on the trigger. She had to know death was knocking. Somehow, death or something had to tell her. Once again I wasn’t able to ask my friend questions about death and the feelings Kitty might have had. I didn’t get to tell her goodbye as we were in Florida on vacation.
One day in my teenage years, I got out my white zippered Bible and started searching through the myriad of pages. The words looked and sounded like it was written in a code. I remember our minister reading bible passages and then elaborating on what he had read. But how did he know that’s what the coded words said? Did he learn that in college? I had gone to classes to become a member of my church and was given my white zippered bible, but that sure didn’t make me an expert on what the bible said. Those classes only addressed a very small portion of the bible. And, besides, I was probably mooning over the cute boys in class so my attention may not have been on the subject at hand. Now that I look back, I wish I would have studied harder, so perhaps I might not need so many questions asked. But I still feel, that none of us will really ever know that death is coming until it’s time for us. It's amazing that young kids don't know more about death and why it occurs. People tell us things but then don't explain it.
Be sure to watch for future posts in the continuing story of a young girl. This is a true story.
What's To Eat At Our House Tonight.
We have lots of left overs in the refrigerator....from the weekend. So it's called, Cook's Choice. We have some grilled chicken, some fish, some leftover potatoes and plenty of lettuce to make a nice salad. So instead of giving you info about how to make what we're having, I'm giving you a favorite recipe of mine.
Butter Cake Bars
18.25 oz. box yellow (says with butter) cake mix
8 oz. cream cheese - softened
1 egg
1/2 cup margarine
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
powdered sugar - for coating
Beat together all ingredients, except powdered sugar, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Roll into 1" balls, roll in powdered sugar, and arrange 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar when cooled.
Things People Say
Sometimes it does a person good to laugh and laugh. George Carlin could say something with a perfectly straight face....and was good at it. Here's something pretty cool he said:
"Weather forecast for tonight: dark. Continued dark overnight with widely scattered light by morning."
Thought For The Day
There is always an easy solution
to every human problem -
neat, plausible and wrong.
--Henry Louis Mencken
I always reflect on how boring my message has been. Did I leave my readers with a feeling of complete hopelessness or a feeling that this woman is just plain nuts or did I do a good job of "storytelling". Any time a person writes a blog like this, it's simply "storytelling" -- getting the message across, regardless of what the message actually is. It may have been boring. It may have been unbelievable. It may have been unfinished. It may have been one which satisfied. It may have be one which was unsatisfactory. And it may have been just plain stupid. But I promise I will never end it with "and they lived happily ever after".... because storytelling is just not supposed to end with that! As time goes on, I will continue my "storytelling" and I hope you will continue your reading of the story. No matter what it is on that day. Life is simply a story which goes on and on, day to day. And the story needs to be told. Until another day of "storytelling"....
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