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Showing posts from January 1, 2017

A New Wireless Doorbell

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I've been writing about some of the gifts we received for Christmas and another one of the gifts we received was a new wireless doorbell. I must say, this wireless doorbell is good enough to have put together a short video and write about here! Our old wireless doorbell was not all that appealing. The quality of the sound was rather poor. It sounded more like a child's toy than a real doorbell. Every time the doorbell rang, the quality of the sound really bothered me. Of course, those who know me probably aren't surprised by this since everyone knows I probably pay far too much attention to the tiniest of details and I'm a hopeless perfectionist. The sound of that old doorbell was really lousy though. I knew that if I was going to replace our doorbell I wanted one with better sound. The other problem we had with the old doorbell is that whenever the temperatures plunged below zero (which is often during six months out of the year) , the doorbell button contacts c

Christmas Gifts from Monticello

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Quite by coincidence, Sheila and I each received gifts for our home from Monticello this Christmas! Monticello is a home I studied in high school and college as an architecture/engineering student. It has always been one of my favorites. As luck would have it, I also highly respect our founding father who designed and built this spectacular home, Thomas Jefferson. He was a wise man who has shared many of my own beliefs and who understood and has written extensively about the growing pains our country would face in the coming centuries. He is often pushed aside and minimized in history but someone whom I admire, respect and try to emulate. Having gifts in our home from Monticello is a nice reminder of an honorable man. Accompanying these gifts, we received a letter written in the hand of Thomas Jefferson. Here is an excerpt from this letter... "...Although more than two hundred years have passed since I've written this letter to you, through the magic of Christmas and t

Post Holiday Poor Health

Whenever I 'overdo' it, my health crashes into poor or miserable levels quite often delving into dangerous waters that causes a further deterioration of health which includes anaphylaxis. I've had some transient health issues on and off throughout the Christmas season but not anything classifying as 'dangerous'... until now.  Shortly after going to bed last night, my health crashed causing sudden anaphylaxis. My body responded to the drop in blood pressure as it should causing flushing and sudden palpitations. I was already in bed, however... already completely spent... now struggling with bigger issues... and, unfortunately, I never made it to my emergency medications.   I remember the sudden drop in energy levels... I remember instantly having difficulty keeping my eyes open... I had thought I was simply tired. In hindsight, I think these were signs of impending anaphylaxis. About an hour or two later, while still struggling with keeping my eyes open, I rememb