We received our 20 foot flag pole & flag. The pole was delivered by UPS in an 18 wheeler truck. It was too long to fit into the regular "brown truck". After Tide Guy got home from work yesterday, he dug the hole, inserted the tube for the pole, and set the concrete. Now, we have to insert the pole and set it with sand. We will have to install the light and can then raise the flag. I hope weather permits us to have it all ready by Monday, which is Memorial Day.
Wednesday was the end of an era. American Idol said good bye to Simon Cowell. The show has undergone many changes in it's years on TV, but Simon is the one thing that never changed. He was honest, direct, and sometimes very critical. In addition, he was also hilarious and dead on most of the time. He was the only judge that America could count on to tell the contestants the brutal truth. Sometimes he seemed to be the only judge that knew what he was doing and demanded the best from the contestants. Now, AI has to replace him. If they choose the wrong judge, the show will fail.
This morning, BP thinks they have slowed the oil spill by pumping heavy mud into the spill. More details will come throughout the day. So far, the damages have been horrible. And the potential for more disaster is staggering. After more than a month, the President just decided he should now visit the areas affected by the spill. Yeah....thanks.......
This month marks Tide Guy's 2 year retirement anniversary and our 30th month wait for China. 30 months and truly, no end in sight.......
Tide Gal
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Landscaping
We finally finished the landscaping in the largest bed and it looks great! It took a while because we had a lot of rocks in the bed. Big red rocks. And clay. And gravel. The ground was very hard and took a while to dig some of the holes. We used red lava rock in the bed. We were first going to use mulch, but was concerned it might wash away after rain. It is now complete and we love it.
We are looking for someone to do some edging around the smaller bed on the north side of the porch. After we get that installed, we can complete that bed. It won't take long, but finding someone to put in the edging is proving to be hard. One guy had a minimum of 100 feet and we only need about 30-35 feet. We have someone else to check with today.
We received the flag, flag pole, and parts for the bed at the end of the drive. The pole is 20 feet and really looks massive lying at the end of the drive. We would love to have it up by Monday, which is Memorial Day. Once the pole is up, we can easily complete that bed.
I saw three hummingbirds yesterday, but they were not close to our feeder! I need to get more out to attract them.
In national news, oil is still spewing into the Gulf. It has been well over a month and a few attempts to stop the spill have failed. There will be a new attempt today. It looks as if Louisiana's fishing industry is severely affected. The oil slick is spreading to the Florida panhandle and may go down around the Keys & up the east coast. And, now hurricane season is just around the corner. A hurricane will "mix up" and disperse all the oil that is sitting underwater. A hurricane will also stop attempts to stop the attempts to control the leak. It could cause much more problems. Right now, the slick doesn't appear to be on the Alabama beaches.
In the adoption process, something interesting is happening. There was a couple who was approved a few years ago to adopt from China. Since that time, they have divorced. The lady notified her agency and provided an update and request to continue the adoption. Other than being single, she still meet all the medical, financial, and other requirements. Since their original approval, China has stopped single person adoptions. After receiving her request to continue with the adoption as a single parent, China approved her request since the original approval was before the more strict guidelines. Fast forward almost two years, she is a few months from receiving her referral. China has now decided she cannot adopt since she is single. Basically, she is appealing this decision through her agency. But China owes no one an explanation, is "self governed", and the US has no say-so in their decisions. If this decision holds, China may go back and review applicants as they get closer to their referral time. Not long ago, China became more strict with their qualifications: better financial status, better medical reviews (especially weight issues), etc. With the number of people "in line" for Chinese adoptions, China can now pick families that are more healthy, reliable, and more financial. If China re-reviews each case, many families will no longer qualify for adoption. The economy has caused some families to lose jobs, have lower incomes, move into smaller homes, etc. Also, some couples are now divorced and some spouses have died. In reality, many things could happen to eliminate a family. This has caused quite a stir in the Chinese adoption world since many families have waited patiently for 3-4 years and are concerned they will be denied close to referral time. This is a lot of time to NOT KNOW what is going to happen. Plus, all the money already spent, with more that will be needed.
So, what does this mean for us? Well, we don't know. If China does decide not to "grandfather in" those couples that no longer meet their qualifications, our wait should decrease. But, there is no way to know how many people "in line" no longer qualify. I feel there are many, but that is just a guess. And, there is no way to know how much it will decrease our wait.
If China does disqualify people, we will know. More people will provide information if they are no longer qualified and we will probably be notified by our agency.
Bad news for others....but good news for us.
Tide Gal
We are looking for someone to do some edging around the smaller bed on the north side of the porch. After we get that installed, we can complete that bed. It won't take long, but finding someone to put in the edging is proving to be hard. One guy had a minimum of 100 feet and we only need about 30-35 feet. We have someone else to check with today.
We received the flag, flag pole, and parts for the bed at the end of the drive. The pole is 20 feet and really looks massive lying at the end of the drive. We would love to have it up by Monday, which is Memorial Day. Once the pole is up, we can easily complete that bed.
I saw three hummingbirds yesterday, but they were not close to our feeder! I need to get more out to attract them.
In national news, oil is still spewing into the Gulf. It has been well over a month and a few attempts to stop the spill have failed. There will be a new attempt today. It looks as if Louisiana's fishing industry is severely affected. The oil slick is spreading to the Florida panhandle and may go down around the Keys & up the east coast. And, now hurricane season is just around the corner. A hurricane will "mix up" and disperse all the oil that is sitting underwater. A hurricane will also stop attempts to stop the attempts to control the leak. It could cause much more problems. Right now, the slick doesn't appear to be on the Alabama beaches.
In the adoption process, something interesting is happening. There was a couple who was approved a few years ago to adopt from China. Since that time, they have divorced. The lady notified her agency and provided an update and request to continue the adoption. Other than being single, she still meet all the medical, financial, and other requirements. Since their original approval, China has stopped single person adoptions. After receiving her request to continue with the adoption as a single parent, China approved her request since the original approval was before the more strict guidelines. Fast forward almost two years, she is a few months from receiving her referral. China has now decided she cannot adopt since she is single. Basically, she is appealing this decision through her agency. But China owes no one an explanation, is "self governed", and the US has no say-so in their decisions. If this decision holds, China may go back and review applicants as they get closer to their referral time. Not long ago, China became more strict with their qualifications: better financial status, better medical reviews (especially weight issues), etc. With the number of people "in line" for Chinese adoptions, China can now pick families that are more healthy, reliable, and more financial. If China re-reviews each case, many families will no longer qualify for adoption. The economy has caused some families to lose jobs, have lower incomes, move into smaller homes, etc. Also, some couples are now divorced and some spouses have died. In reality, many things could happen to eliminate a family. This has caused quite a stir in the Chinese adoption world since many families have waited patiently for 3-4 years and are concerned they will be denied close to referral time. This is a lot of time to NOT KNOW what is going to happen. Plus, all the money already spent, with more that will be needed.
So, what does this mean for us? Well, we don't know. If China does decide not to "grandfather in" those couples that no longer meet their qualifications, our wait should decrease. But, there is no way to know how many people "in line" no longer qualify. I feel there are many, but that is just a guess. And, there is no way to know how much it will decrease our wait.
If China does disqualify people, we will know. More people will provide information if they are no longer qualified and we will probably be notified by our agency.
Bad news for others....but good news for us.
Tide Gal
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Spring has Sprung
We cut our new sod for the first time yesterday. The sod has roots and had no problems after our zero-turn mower ran over it. It looks a lot better and maintained.
Today, we are going to start (and hopefully finish) the landscaping in the front yard. Yesterday, I ran 3 rows of the landscaping fabric but the heat ran me back inside. The wind also made it a bit difficult for one person to get it down. Today it will be a lot cooler, so we can work longer.
Last weekend, we went to Nashville to see Jimmy Buffett. Luckily, it was inside at the Bridgestone Arena. It was supposed to rain, so we went prepared for water. Unfortunately, it did rain. And storm. And rain A LOT more. In fact, Nashville and the surrounding areas flooded. Interstates were closed Saturday night and Sunday night. We barely made it there, then left early enough on Sunday to get out of Nashville. The Opryland Hotel is flooded and it isn't known when it will open again. It could be a year. The Grand Ole Opry is flooded, but the show has been moved to another location. Opry Mills Outlet Mall flooded and two Piranha from the aquarium are swimming around. Many country music stars have lost all or most of their sound equipment. There was a place where the stars stored their equipment and this place flooded. The Tennessee Titans stadium flooded and water got up to the level of the lower seats. There is a lot of damage to homes, roads, bridges, and buildings.
There has been a oil explosion off the Louisiana coast and the engineers could not get the oil to stop entering the ocean. The spill hasn't hit the shore yet. Yesterday, they attempted to cap it and so far it has been successful. Of course, we are supposed to go to the beach next week, so we hope the oil doesn't postpone our trip.
Time to go outside....more updates later.....
Tide Gal
Today, we are going to start (and hopefully finish) the landscaping in the front yard. Yesterday, I ran 3 rows of the landscaping fabric but the heat ran me back inside. The wind also made it a bit difficult for one person to get it down. Today it will be a lot cooler, so we can work longer.
Last weekend, we went to Nashville to see Jimmy Buffett. Luckily, it was inside at the Bridgestone Arena. It was supposed to rain, so we went prepared for water. Unfortunately, it did rain. And storm. And rain A LOT more. In fact, Nashville and the surrounding areas flooded. Interstates were closed Saturday night and Sunday night. We barely made it there, then left early enough on Sunday to get out of Nashville. The Opryland Hotel is flooded and it isn't known when it will open again. It could be a year. The Grand Ole Opry is flooded, but the show has been moved to another location. Opry Mills Outlet Mall flooded and two Piranha from the aquarium are swimming around. Many country music stars have lost all or most of their sound equipment. There was a place where the stars stored their equipment and this place flooded. The Tennessee Titans stadium flooded and water got up to the level of the lower seats. There is a lot of damage to homes, roads, bridges, and buildings.
There has been a oil explosion off the Louisiana coast and the engineers could not get the oil to stop entering the ocean. The spill hasn't hit the shore yet. Yesterday, they attempted to cap it and so far it has been successful. Of course, we are supposed to go to the beach next week, so we hope the oil doesn't postpone our trip.
Time to go outside....more updates later.....
Tide Gal
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