A Dusky Photo Safari
Marian November 22nd, 2007
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- Cool Stuff , Photography
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A Change….
Marian November 21st, 2007
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A PHOTO BLOG I have decided to convert my blog into a Photo Blog. I have opinions on a variety of subjects, but am not the best at conveying the thoughts that I formulate into the written word. So here is my first installment. |
| To see more of my photos click the link on the right. |
- Photography , Uncategorized
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A Long Weekend Trip!
Marian November 12th, 2007
We recently drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Along the way we stopped at the site of the ‘94 Olympic Kayaking course and took a few snaps.
Pictured here, is a fire watch tower along the bank of the Ocoee River. The leaves had yet to begin turning at such a low elevation, but up in the mountains, along the Parkway, they were gorgeous. Unfortunately for us, we were in the clouds for the next 3 days. No views, but occasional glimpses of glorious color.
Cheers for now…
Marian
- Mom , Photography , Travel
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We’re Baaaack
Marian October 27th, 2007
Well, after a few days of down time, I have revamped this site.
My photo galleries have been changed so I have a little more control over content, size and use.
Autumn has finally arrived in North Alabama, so as the colours begin to change, I hope to get out and take some interesting photographs….
We recently returned from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where we sat for a few days in the clouds… On one afternoon, we were able to get out in an abbreviated photo safari.
I will be putting some of the pictures up in my gallery later today!
Cheers for now!
The Shed
Marian July 9th, 2007
Well, our friend Bill, who is a great “handy” guy, was almost finished with the repair of our shed, when he went inside to add concrete panels to the wall, when he found TERMITES. Well, that put everything behind, as far as finishing the shed….
We had some spray for carpenter ants and termites, Bill removed the door from the side shed and we are letting the area dry out and continue to spray the affected areas every day…
My husband, son, and I went out and cleared most of the area around the wall where the termites have nested. We moved thing, threw things out, and got rid of an old desk that was made of particle board that was falling apart, not just due to the termites but also the moisture that the old side shed configuration allowed to exacerbate!
Well, it will be a few weeks before we can get back in and remedy the damage to the shed. Bill won’t be available until then!
We will have to replace some of the plywood flooring, the wall in one section, the building was constructed right on top of the ground… Not on any kind of pier! Well, it will be repaired soon enough!
Wish us luck! 
- D.I.Y. , General , Mom
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Don’t Buy Amana Refrigerators… They don’t last!!!
Marian July 4th, 2007
In 2001, when Circuit City was getting out of the appliance part of their business, we bought an Amana side-by-side refrigerator… It worked well for the first year or so, but after the 3rd year, we began to have problems…
Now, here we are in 2007 and the thing was irreparably broken… A wire, somewhere in the back wall of the fridge was broken. Now, the repairman said it could be made to work once again, but it would open him up to lawsuits.
The refrigerator was an Amana ars 2364ac. I Googled it, and found that we weren’t the only ones to have this problem… I still have fridges that are over 20 years old… They may not be terrible energy efficient, but they used to be built to last! These companies need to think of the consumer, rather than the bottom line!
The scary thing is, is that Maytag Corporation, which bought Amana a few years ago, also owns Whirlpool, KitchenAid, et al… Be careful when shopping for your new appliances… You may get exactly what you don’t want. DO YOUR RESEARCH! Remember, Caveat Emptor…..
BBC NEWS | Education | ‘Double blow’ for autistic pupils
Marian April 16th, 2007
Children with autism who are from ethnic minorities face a double discrimination in education, campaigners say.
A National Autistic Society report on “the reality for families” suggests 62% of parents had no choice over the school their children would attend.
Parents were much less satisfied with their child’s academic and social progress than White British parents.
The government said meeting the needs of autistic children was “a priority”.
Parental perceptions are that their children lost out because of the sort of unwitting racism identified in a recent Department for Education and Skills report.
Joan Nelson, whose son is black and has autism, told the society she believed ethnicity had a significant impact on the level and type of education he was given.
“There appeared to be more of a belief that my child was bad as opposed to having special needs,” she said.
Black boys were penalised because their special needs meant they had difficulty accessing appropriate education, because they were Black, and because they were boys, she said.
“This hinders them in achieving what they should in today’s system.”
Training
Legally all children have the right to access a full education.
National Autistic Society officer Prithvi Perepa said: “All children must be able to access appropriate support and a range of educational provision in order that their individual needs are met.”
Among other recommendations, the report says schools must address bullying on the basis of race and disability explicitly in their anti-bullying procedures.
There should be cultural awareness training for staff - including speech therapists, who needed to be aware of how to work with children whose first language was not English.
The report is being launched on Monday at a conference in London which is part of the national Autistic Society’s ongoing campaign to pressurise councils and the government to improve the quality of education for autistic children.
Autistic spectrum disorders formed the largest single group in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal cases in 2005-06, its annual report reveals: 23% of the 3,410 appeals registered.
Awareness
A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said the government saw meeting the needs of all children with autistic spectrum disorders as a priority.
“We agree that all children with autism should have access to good quality provision and we will continue to work with the NAS and others in the autism field to achieve further improvements in provision,” he said.
Research the department had published last year found that children from ethnic minority groups were no more likely to be identified with autism than white British pupils.
The government wanted a range of provision for children with special educational needs.
He added: “We agree with the NAS that teachers need greater awareness and understanding of how best to meet these children’s needs and we are developing an autism pack for schools”.
