tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186771102024-03-13T06:23:37.710-04:00Green Chair PicturesOver a decade of assorted posts.biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.comBlogger211125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-51897959205681081532020-05-09T10:17:00.000-04:002020-05-09T10:29:39.996-04:00More GMO Corn? Oh, heck no!<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wondering how to channel your frustration with federal government? How about registering your response to the invitation to petition the USDA on the Monsanto Company's attempt to deregulate a variety of corn that has been genetically modified for tolerance for a whole host of poisons?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/biotechnology/brs-news-and-information/2020_brs_news/monstanto_corn_050820" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="698" height="280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OTpl4ipqyYw/Xra6NToMSEI/AAAAAAAACk8/-PpEKqaMu0sPElHPz5ZCOun1zV7ixqJrgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-05-09%2Bat%2B10.11.10%2BAM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Public comments open through July 7, 2020.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You can <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/biotechnology/brs-news-and-information/2020_brs_news/monstanto_corn_050820" target="_blank">download and read the petition and the Federal Register Notice, then submit a public comment</a>. Register your thoughts, even if they're as brief as, </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>"NO!!! Do not deregulate this GMO corn!"</i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Better, as noted on the USDA page, are comments on the environmental or economic impacts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Below is my response (which is a bit afield of the environmental or economic impacts). You'll note that the first paragraph is filled with big words, which I copied from the top of the Bayer/Monsanto petition to show I really was commenting on this topic. But then I make it personal, not that the board of directors of a company like Bayer/Monsanto would care. But perhaps the government agency employees will. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Personalize your own response, if you want, as you<b><span style="color: #38761d;"> <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=APHIS-2020-0021" target="_blank">register your opinion.</a> </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Or, if you're able to do so, please comment on the environmental and/or economical impacts. (Maybe the economic impacts of all the sick consumers having to take time off from work and pay for healthcare?) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Please do NOT allow Bayer/Monsanto (or any company) to go forward with nonregulated Genetically Engineered Maize (or any crop) that is altered for the poisons Dicamba, Glufosinate, Quizalofop, and 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid Tolerance with Tissue-specific Glyphosate Tolerance Facilitating the Production of Hybrid Maize Seed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"I have been ill since 2005 as a direct result of Lyme disease and tick-borne co-infections AND due to Glyphosate in GMO foods such as corn and wheat. Bayer/Monsanto is poisoning citizens and making human beings sick. The company needs to be held accountable to consumers, NOT to stockholders.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Government should be in place to protect the health and safety of its citizens. NOT to allow malfeasance of corporations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Instead, please encourage Bayer/Monsanto and other corporations to use their science knowledge for the good of all. Government should reward companies that help people, not the ones that poison us all."</span>biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-47197025265624648072019-04-15T20:29:00.000-04:002019-04-15T20:42:35.248-04:00Why is Lyme Disease so Difficult to Diagnose & Treat?<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So, the New Hampshire Senate's Committee on Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs has ignored the testimony of patients and apparently thumbed their noses at the NH House's HHSEA Committee's unanimous passing of <a href="http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/bill_docket.aspx?lsr=0518&sy=2019&txtsessionyear=2019&txtbillnumber=HB490&sortoption=&q=1" target="_blank"><b>HB 490</b></a>. Instead of passing it, they have effectively pocketed the bill, apparently giving the state's Medical Association time to prepare additional arguments against it. However, they still have time to reverse this decision this week. Am hopeful they will.</div>
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The bill would establish a commission to study the role of clinical diagnosis and the limitations of serological diagnostic tests in determining the presence or absence of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases...and available treatment protocols, plus appropriate methods for educating physicians and the public about the inconclusive nature of prevailing test methods and available treatment alternatives.</div>
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Attached is a brief history of my own timeline of my battle with Lyme disease and other tick-borne co-infections <b><a href="https://www.greenchairpictures.com/lyme-time.html" target="_blank">(more information is available on my website)</a></b>. I am hoping this illustrates just how difficult this journey was for me, and is for so many others. Our question is WHY? </div>
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<b><i>Why is it so complicated to diagnose and treat Lyme disease?</i></b></div>
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I implore any Granite Staters who are concerned about passing HB 490 now to<b> <a href="http://gencourt.state.nh.us/senate/committees/committee_details.aspx?cc=46" target="_blank">contact senators of the HHSEA committee</a> </b>before April 18. Thank you!</div>
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</style>biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-84098424912047630512019-03-22T13:12:00.000-04:002019-03-22T14:05:56.011-04:00Lyme caused my Interstitial Cystitis (IC)<style type="text/css">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1"><i>In sharing my experience for the February article, </i><a href="https://www.bustle.com/p/what-causes-interstitial-cystitis-how-10-women-got-to-the-root-of-their-bladder-pain-15913236" target="_blank">What Causes Interstitial Cystitis? How 10 Women Got to the Root of Their Bladder Pain</a>,<i> by </i><a href="https://www.bustle.com/profile/suzannah-weiss-1910650" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Suzannah Weiss for </a><a href="https://www.bustle.com/profile/suzannah-weiss-1910650" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank"><b>Bustle</b></a><i>, I was asked, "</i></span><i>How did you find out your IC was due to Lyme?" </i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">I thought I'd share my answer here, in case it can help someone. In the article, which deftly weaves together the stories of all 10 patients, I am the Dana that is mentioned somewhere in the middle. </span></i></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">The short answer is that my LLMD told me so—based on his years of experience with patients.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">The medium answer is that I saw evidence of it as the antibiotics that helped me heal from my Lyme ALSO eventually eliminated my IC symptoms.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">The long answer includes dates/timeline:</span></span></div>
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<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">In November 2011 I presented with so much blood in my urine that a doctor and a nurse each commented they had never seen so much; usually blood in urine is microscopic. (My specimen cup looked like raspberry lemonade.)</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">While my doctors then did not diagnose IC, I had Googled “prostatitis for women” based on my symptoms being so similar to my late dad’s prostatitis. I found IC. Bought the book “You Don’t Have to Live with Cystitis” by Dr. Larrian Gillespie, and immediately followed the extremely restrictive diet. I also created the website <a href="https://confessionsofachocoholic.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Confessions of a Chocoholic</a> about the diet and some of my early experiences. </span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">At the end of February 2012 a new doctor diagnosed IC. As a result, I began being seen in a woman’s clinic with several new doctors and caregivers, including a urologist, an OB/Gyn, a chiropractor, a physical therapist, an acupuncturist, and a nutritionist. </span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">My restrictive diet gave me back some mobility. When I first became ill, I couldn’t travel since I had to void every twenty minutes. By summer 2012, I could go about an hour, which meant I could more easily travel to doctor offices, and that I could finally travel an hour to my sister-in-law’s to participate in expanded family activities. (I was particularly loyal to the diet since the urologist suggested a couple operations involving either expanding my bladder or removing it in order to solve the IC symptoms; neither sounded acceptable to me, so I decided to give the diet a chance.)</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">In June 2013 I cut myself and it quickly became infected. As a result, I was put on heavy duty antibiotics…and almost instantly felt great. My physician assistant ordered a lyme test since I shouldn’t have felt good on these particular antibiotics. The test wasn’t itself conclusively positive, but combined with my history of illnesses that extended to 2005, she consulted with the area’s LLMD and together they decided to treat me for Lyme. I “enjoyed” the herx process, which I soon recognized as a positive sign that the meds were working. I had developed a number of other autoimmune disorders since the November IC symptoms had begun, and my herxing experience was that my latest illnesses were first heightened and then gone, such that IC was one of the last to be finally cleared away.</span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Today—and for the past several months—I am battling Lyme again. My fifth bout of it. This particular turn has my IC flaring something horrible. I am using natural tinctures and supplements, plus a moderately restrictive diet, to treat it this time (with the help of a natural wellness specialist) rather than the antibiotics, which eventually seemed to tire my gut. I have to admit that my current stress levels have meant that I keep caving to cravings (sweeteners like honey & maple syrup), which has slowed my progress. Am only human, I guess…. But I need to stop feeding the Lyme sweeteners. I am hoping I can get back on track this month.</span></span></li>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Thanks for asking! Good luck with the article. And feel free to ask additional questions. I’ll try not to be so verbose. </span></span></div>
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<br />biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-91670502132197256572019-03-21T23:55:00.001-04:002019-03-22T00:01:46.242-04:00All good things...It's official: I'm writing again.<br />
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Today it was only a glimmer of a chapter, but it happened. Rewriting, actually. Chapter Six. Dinosaur that I am, I tend to write in a notebook first. Yes, longhand. Cursive even. That none but I can read (just ask my former students or clients).<br />
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So today I grabbed one of three notebooks filled to the brim with the sketchings of my first-draft, second-in-the-series novel, and picked up where I'd left off: at the beginning of the next chapter. I didn't get far. But I'm not bothered by that, because I'm writing again.<br />
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Also editing. I finally found a couple hours to sit with a client's final chapter of her novel (yay, her!!!) to edit and pen my notes. And before that, I reconciled four months of our household bills, and prepped for the next onslaught. Including that big ticket item: the IRS. Oy! They do come calling for those of us who happen to be self-employed. That's both my husband and me. Therefore, April 15th is always the most painful day of the year: The day we pay up on the former year's taxes AND pay the first installment of the current year's taxes.<br />
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If lawmakers want my vote, they would do well to break up those two painful self-employed payments. And do something about making <a href="http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2017/11/05/when-your-shitty-health-insurance-doubles-in-price/" target="_blank">healthcare affordable</a>. Before you scoff--do you pay over $16,000 a year for two people, which doesn't amount to much of anything covered until we fork out another $13,000??? Glass houses, people!<br />
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Of course they should also bloody well follow <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/03/why-cant-us-pass-gun-laws-like-new-zealand.html" target="_blank">New Zealand's lead and get the high caliber rifles outta the hands of everyone in this country</a> (NRA, I'm looking at you, you nasty buggers!). And don't even get me started on climate change (have you seen my film at the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=mcauliffe+shepard+discovery+center&oq=shepherd+mcauliffe+dis&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.5799j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center</a>? If not, why not?).<br />
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But I digress. Since I do, reminder to self: I need tissues next time I'm at the grocers. And bananas.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oPdXpwuQsYA/XJRbbxRqFzI/AAAAAAAACTI/bk7pgltAxHoMAdxayawvy-z6wg_cWIDOwCLcBGAs/s1600/gibson%2527s%2Btalk.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oPdXpwuQsYA/XJRbbxRqFzI/AAAAAAAACTI/bk7pgltAxHoMAdxayawvy-z6wg_cWIDOwCLcBGAs/s320/gibson%2527s%2Btalk.png" width="320" /></a>So tomorrow's looking up: I think I'll jump right back into rewriting and typing chapter six into my computer. I'll also be picking up my already published novel, as I reread and review before my Lyme disease discussion with <a href="https://www.concordhospital.org/doctors/profile/lynn-durand/#OfficeInformation" target="_blank">Dr. Lynn Durand, LLMD</a>, at <a href="https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/" target="_blank">Gibson's Bookstore</a> next Thursday evening at six o'clock. It's free, if you want to join us. You can buy my book too while you're there. That won't be free, but what in life actually is?<br />
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I'm exhausted, and unnaturally nocturnal these past few days, which some are telling me is on account of the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43960958" target="_blank">super huge moon lighting up the night,</a> and some other hocus-pocus planetary stuff, which I'm still not sure I absolutely believe...though I do believe I'm haunted by...uh, visited by...my spirit guides, dead relatives, and guardian angel.<br />
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But once again, I digress. The point of this blog? That I'm writing again. And whether or not you're happy about that, I can honestly report that my protagonist <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cannot-Play-Dana-Biscotti-Myskowski/dp/168433165X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1539638261&sr=8-2&keywords=dana+biscotti+myskowski&dpID=51Q1ljdeBXL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch" target="_blank">Anna McGrory</a> is tickled to bits that it is so. She wants to get on with this body identification process, after all.<br />
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Ohh...who will she see in that drawer in the morgue? Only my spirit guides know. I hope.<br />
<br />biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-70900015611786930972019-03-20T12:34:00.003-04:002019-03-20T13:21:40.298-04:00Wow. Have I been lazy or what?Just noticed my last post was in December. While Novel Launch Day was pretty spectacular--thanks to all my friends and the two sites that hosted me and my NEWLY PUBLISHED novel (Gibson's Bookstore in Concord, NH, and <a href="https://www.mainstreetbookends.com/" target="_blank">MainStreet BookEnds</a> in Warner, NH)--a few things have happened since.<br />
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Mainly, my step father-in-law has transitioned from our home to an independent living facility across the street from the hospital, which is handy when it is necessary (like all day yesterday when I went with him to a last-second doctor visit to help solve a suddenly painful issue). It is supposed to be a win-win situation: a win for him since he is so social and now has tons of friends to hang out with.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://massmoca.org/" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZaIK53I8Tu8/XJJpaoqsF_I/AAAAAAAACS8/yVcjop1qA2A8-KGOFQPoddQMrRSbU-SmQCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_1907.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://massmoca.org/" target="_blank">Some really cool wallpaper in an exhibit at MASS MoCA. <br />We were there last weekend to see the Punch Brothers <br />in concert. My life isn't entirely about taking <br />care of others, after all. :)</a></td></tr>
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It's a win for me since I can again--in theory--return to my writing since--again, in theory--I will be less exhausted taking daily care of his needs. That hasn't quite happened yet, but it's only been two weeks, so my frequent trips in to see him are only because we have been setting up cable, nursing visits, dropping off medicines and medical necessities that are still shipped to our home, and accompanying him on his myriad of physician visits.<br />
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I'm not complaining. Just recording daily life as a Lyme warrior who has a few other co-infections off and on, and a plethora of autoimmune disorders. To make matters worse for myself, when January and February became especially stressful (did I mention my mother has moved in with us too--meaning I am also driving her and her little dog to the dentist, doctors, and vet), I stress ate. Don't judge me. When I'm harried and exhausted, white carbs appeal to me: especially popcorn and butter toast.<br />
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I'm still making plans and canceling them. I have only a couple friends left who seem to understand this bizarre condition of mine. But at least my husband completely gets me, or at least supports me and loves me despite my being prone to needing about 48 hours of rest for every handful of hours of activity.<br />
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And I plan to return to <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/anna_mcgrory/" target="_blank">Anna McGrory's</a> exciting life as a Lyme warrior and amateur sleuth. When I last joined her in unlocking her journey into Book Two of my Lyme Murder Mystery Trilogy, she was about to identify a body. She's afraid it's Frank, which should be just bones by now since it's been over a year since he was murdered. She wonders if there's a real-life <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance_%22Bones%22_Brennan" target="_blank">Dr. Brennan (on the TV show <i>Bones</i></a>) who could be called in to make a more accurate I.D. But maybe it's not Frank's remains, after all. I left off just as she and her nephew were approaching the morgue, so I don't know who's in the drawer either. I can't wait to find out!<br />
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This rambling post is to say that I'm back. The writer me, that is. I've actually never gone anywhere. I simply got distracted by real life duties that have landed me on the sofa for far too much recovery time. But look at me now: a new post. Maybe the next will be to update my progress on the next novel. I can only hope so.biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-86803691162557439312018-12-13T08:45:00.000-05:002018-12-13T09:16:48.518-05:00It's Novel Launch Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z4lGLIEUo10/XBJhDeD7MgI/AAAAAAAACRw/WX4Vfnm3Y_U2PPO9SOtllQSBGZ8yjac3QCLcBGAs/s1600/Launch%2BParty%2521.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="335" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z4lGLIEUo10/XBJhDeD7MgI/AAAAAAAACRw/WX4Vfnm3Y_U2PPO9SOtllQSBGZ8yjac3QCLcBGAs/s400/Launch%2BParty%2521.png" width="400" /></a></div>
Look forward to seeing readers at Gibson's Bookstore in Concord, NH, at Noon, and at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH, at 3:00. Thankful to all who have helped make this day happen!<br />
<a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/Dana-Biscotti-Myskowski-has-written-a-murder-mystery-22080425" target="_blank">Grateful also to <b><i>Concord Monitor </i></b>for today's article about my book in the A&E section.</a>biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-69802574298017906362018-11-15T11:03:00.001-05:002018-12-03T15:32:35.266-05:00Tackling Flaws of Lyme Disease Tests & Treatment in Fiction<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">What
do you do when your journey down the rabbit hole that is Lyme disease likely
began with a misdiagnosis of ringworm, led to a possibility of advanced bladder
cancer, morphed into several autoimmune disorders that required visits to a
myriad of medical personnel, and finally, nearly a decade later, was correctly
diagnosed as Lyme?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Perhaps,
like many, you write a memoir. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Or
you turn to the wisdom of Albert Camus and tell your</span><span style="font-family: "baskerville"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Baskerville SemiBold Italic"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"> story in a novel since, "Fiction is the
lie through which we tell the truth."</span></div>
<h4 style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Baskerville SemiBold Italic"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">Protagonist in <i>I Cannot Play With You </i>Fights for her Health</span></h4>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
I've given my 50-year-old protagonist, Anna McGrory, a state
director for a U.S. Senator from the <a href="http://www.berkshires.com/" target="_blank">Berkshires of Massachusetts</a>, all of the
exhausting, perplexing, and often painful symptoms of my own Lyme disease and
its co-infections.</div>
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VCppRTZ0Xs8/W-2V6uHSERI/AAAAAAAACQs/xiU5QoTSwj0hkAazU3tt4vZWBzILCJXEwCLcBGAs/s1600/Hillary%2BQuote.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="When her beloved senator boss winds up dead, even Lyme disease can’t stop Anna McGrory from becoming a self-proclaimed Nancy Drew. With more twists and turns than the Mohawk Trail, I Cannot Play With You is suspenseful, surprising, and a total page-turner" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VCppRTZ0Xs8/W-2V6uHSERI/AAAAAAAACQs/xiU5QoTSwj0hkAazU3tt4vZWBzILCJXEwCLcBGAs/s320/Hillary%2BQuote.png" title="Quote from TV Writer Hilary Weisman Graham" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Anna
travels from her home in <a href="https://www.visitconcord-nh.com/" target="_blank">Concord, NH</a>, to the Berkshires, into <a href="https://www.bostonusa.com/" target="_blank">Boston</a>, and up to
the islands off the coast of <a href="https://www.visitportland.com/" target="_blank">Portland, Maine</a>, in this tale of intrigue. The story,
which begins and ends on idyllic <a href="http://www.cliffisland.com/" target="_blank">Cliff Island, Maine</a>, features favorite local
businesses such as <a href="https://www.cascobaylines.com/" target="_blank">Casco Bay Lines </a>in Portland and <a href="http://www.angelinasrestaurant.com/" target="_blank">Angelina’s RistoranteItaliano </a>in Concord.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Cultural
attractions also appear, including <a href="https://massmoca.org/" target="_blank">MASS MoCA</a> and the <a href="https://www.bso.org/" target="_blank">Boston Symphony Orchestra</a>,
which are spotlighted in end-of-chapter summaries with links to <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/anna_mcgrory/" target="_blank">Anna McGrory’sPinterest pages</a>. Also featured is the <a href="http://www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/berkshires/field-farm.html" target="_blank">Trustees of Reservations’ Field Farm</a> in
Williamstown, Massachusetts, which serves as the fictional U.S. Senator’s home.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "baskerville";">I Cannot Play With You</span></i><span style="font-family: "baskerville";"> is scheduled for release Dec. 13, 2018, by
Texas publisher Black Rose Writing. For more information, please visit the
author’s website at GreenChairPictures.com.</span></div>
</div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Find <i>I Cannot Play With You </i>at these bricks-and-mortar
stores: </span><b><span style="font-family: "baskerville";"><a href="https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/" target="_blank">Gibson’s Bookstore</a></span></b><span style="font-family: "baskerville";">, Concord, NH; <b><a href="https://www.shermans.com/" target="_blank">Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shops</a></b>, Bar Harbor, Boothbay Harbor,
Camden, Damariscotta, Freeport, & Portland, Maine; <b><a href="https://www.cliffislandstorecafe.com/" target="_blank">Cliff Island Store</a></b>, Cliff Island, ME; <a href="https://www.mainstreetbookends.com/" target="_blank"><b>MainStreet BookEnds</b></a>, Warner, NH, and--thanks to the <b><a href="https://www.nhwritersproject.org/" target="_blank">New Hampshire Writers' Project</a></b>--at <b>T<a href="https://www.toadbooks.com/welcome" target="_blank">oadstool Bookshop</a> </b>of Milford, NH.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "baskerville";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Borrow the novel from the <b><a href="https://www.warner.lib.nh.us/" target="_blank">Pillsbury Free Library,</a></b> Warner, New Hampshire, the <b><a href="https://www.concordnh.gov/588/Library" target="_blank">Concord Public Library</a> </b>in Concord, NH, or the <a href="https://www.maine.gov/msl/libs/directories/displaypub.shtml?id=40925" target="_blank"><b>Cliff Island Library </b></a>in Maine when it opens again in June 2019.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Online, <i>I Cannot Play With You </i>is available via
the following retailers:<b> <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/home/search/?keywords=dana%20biscotti%20myskowski#internal=1" target="_blank">Indigo </a></b><a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/home/search/?keywords=dana%20biscotti%20myskowski#internal=1" target="_blank">(Canada</a>);
<a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-cannot-play-with-you-dana-biscotti-myskowski/1129619608;jsessionid=93B7BFAC02DFF14D3A44E689060AF377.prodny_store02-atgap04?ean=9781684331659&st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_New%20Core%20Shopping%20Books_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP211455" target="_blank"><b>Barnes</b> <b>and Noble</b></a>; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cannot-Play-Dana-Biscotti-Myskowski/dp/168433165X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1539638261&sr=8-2&keywords=dana+biscotti+myskowski&dpID=51Q1ljdeBXL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch" target="_blank"><b>Amazon</b>;</a> <a href="http://www.blackrosewriting.com/mysterydetective/icannotplaywithyou" target="_blank"><b>Black Rose Writing </b>(Publisher)</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-52592717595361894262018-09-26T15:54:00.001-04:002018-10-03T10:54:31.427-04:00My novel is available for preorder!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://bit.ly/PreorderLymeNovel" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="816" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G2HK7gyudoQ/W7TXhQb_nyI/AAAAAAAACQI/mWzdCHF-6TkVU-2oAEgQat3iNpk8vazPgCLcBGAs/s640/Novel%2BFlyer%2B%25283%2529.png" width="494" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<a href="http://bit.ly/PreorderLymeNovel" target="_blank">After months of research, years of writing & rewriting,</a><br />
<a href="http://bit.ly/PreorderLymeNovel" target="_blank">two years of searching </a><a href="http://bit.ly/PreorderLymeNovel" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">for a publisher,</a><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span><br />
<a href="http://bit.ly/PreorderLymeNovel" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">it's finally here: the novel is available for preorder </a><br />
<a href="http://bit.ly/PreorderLymeNovel" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">directly from</a> <a href="http://bit.ly/PreorderLymeNovel" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Black Rose Writing.</a></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<a href="http://bit.ly/PreorderLymeNovel" target="_blank">For a 15% discount, use the code </a><br />
<a href="http://bit.ly/PreorderLymeNovel" target="_blank">PREORDER2018 at check out. Thank you! </a></div>
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<br />biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-90516139462496159742018-09-25T13:25:00.000-04:002018-09-25T13:26:56.710-04:00Feeling a little flush<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OdNYU34gcRM/W6ptcWjgyWI/AAAAAAAACPU/GtCtx0_2Nm0FQ5zMabMD-7-DnuM-lP0lQCLcBGAs/s1600/Never%2Bimagined%2BI%2527d%2Bactually%2Bbe%2Bgiddy%2Bover%2Ban%2Bapplication%2Bfor%2Ban%2Bindividual%2Bsewage%2Bdisposal%2Bsystem.%2BSeptic%2Bsystem%2Bwin..png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OdNYU34gcRM/W6ptcWjgyWI/AAAAAAAACPU/GtCtx0_2Nm0FQ5zMabMD-7-DnuM-lP0lQCLcBGAs/s320/Never%2Bimagined%2BI%2527d%2Bactually%2Bbe%2Bgiddy%2Bover%2Ban%2Bapplication%2Bfor%2Ban%2Bindividual%2Bsewage%2Bdisposal%2Bsystem.%2BSeptic%2Bsystem%2Bwin..png" width="320" /></a></div>
Today we sign the state application for our septic system design, confirming we are the land owners and that the commissioned paperwork meets our building needs. While this may not be earth shattering to anyone else, it represents a huge step forward in our plans and preparations to build a home for our newly expanded family of four adults--my husband and me, his step father, and my mother. Onward. Upward. I wonder if this is how King Arthur felt when he envisioned Camelot.biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-44668947520578441872018-09-20T16:35:00.000-04:002018-09-20T17:06:33.307-04:00Juggling buoysWe're moving. We think. We're actually mostly waiting to see the forthcoming building quote, hoping we can even afford to do this thing that we've already set in motion.<br />
<br />
While we wait, our own home is undergoing an upgrade. New siding. A broken window fixed. Painting. A repaired faucet, a replaced lamp shade. A new sliding glass door, a new roof for an outbuilding, several replaced lighting fixtures. Upgrade this, tighten that. And all the while help the dogs cope with loud noises and new people in our daily lives.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.jpmyskowski.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j7-WsUfHxvs/W6QC--9xIJI/AAAAAAAACOg/pI0ehPW_EYEQnGFSBvDi3ltkl2epTnvWQCLcBGAs/s320/buoys_2.jpg" width="212" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.jpmyskowski.com/" target="_blank">A buoy sculpture, Cliff Island, ME.(Photo: JP Myskowski)</a></td></tr>
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We're fortunate we can [kind of] afford to build and move. It's not our first choice--mostly since we have recently paid off the mortgage on our home. But it's not our last choice either, since it is all rather exciting.<br />
<br />
When we purchased this home in a lovely cul-de-sac neighborhood on an oval about the size of a high school track with an open field in the center for the neighbors to enjoy, we did so as a temporary house. It was too small for our young family.<br />
<br />
But over the years, as you sometimes do, we turned a one-car garage into a master bedroom suite, and finished the basement for an at-home office and an entertainment room for the teens. We planted gardens, fruit trees, bushes, a Japanese Maple. Two sheds were added--one to hold what the too small one-car garage once housed, and one to keep the wood dry for our stove. Privacy fencing popped up along the northwest side of the house to help enclose the backyard, creating a secret garden where laundry hangs and we hide from the morning sun.<br />
<br />
Now we are four humans under one roof again. But this time it is two in-laws who have joined us. One from his side, one from mine. They'd never met before. I actually only met my step father-in-law once over our 30+ years of marriage.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wL7VBjLcYXE/W6QCeEpi6fI/AAAAAAAACOY/cStCm6k8Uz4xoRNs_4cFImXqIZNwihYJgCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_1312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wL7VBjLcYXE/W6QCeEpi6fI/AAAAAAAACOY/cStCm6k8Uz4xoRNs_4cFImXqIZNwihYJgCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_1312.jpg" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our buoys hanging from one of our peach trees.</td></tr>
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<br />
And again we find the accommodations a bit too snug. And not at all private enough.<br />
<br />
So we wait for the quote to come in to see if we can build our new home on a bit of land we purchased earlier this summer up the road apiece in a nearby town. In the meantime, we improve that land a little at a time--clearing brush, removing dead timber, paying for a septic design--while we daydream about living there, in our slightly downsized home, with just the right touch of privacy and separate spaces.<br />
<br />
I've been sorting through decades of memories and the stuff you accumulate when you sit still for 17 years. My rule is: if we haven't used it in a year, it goes to the town's swap shop. If it's an item that conjures a memory, I weigh whether or not it brings enough joy to lug around any longer, or whether one of my children might want it. I'm growing surprisingly better at cutting stuff--35-year-old yearbooks from the three high schools I attended in Oklahoma, New York, and Massachusetts included.<br />
<br />
I<span style="text-align: center;">f it's something that both my hubby and I have a history with, we decide together. Currently our challenge is trying to decide which buoys to keep. They represent nearly 17 years of going to the seashore as a family. But my husband's not quite as fond of them as I am, which has made me sour on them too just a bit. Should they stay or should they go? Only time, and whether or not we can even afford this venture, will tell. </span>biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-42856907725966033492018-08-22T11:11:00.003-04:002018-08-22T11:15:33.499-04:00Ends of Chapters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been reading mysteries for decades <i>(never mind how many!)</i>. In the past couple of years I began reading chick lit murder mysteries that offer recipes at the end of each chapter. While I usually breeze past the ingredients and the how-to directions in order to get to the start of the next chapter and see where the cliffhanger takes me, I often return to the most memorable yummy snacks to try my hand at the concoction. Or at least to drool over the ingredients. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/anna_mcgrory/britcoms/" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="568" height="126" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zCyQEPiyvMQ/W313roGcZ3I/AAAAAAAACNQ/ceVxq5ZwibQIze-jTGB9TVpI_JootFLrACLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-08-22%2Bat%2B10.47.19%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/anna_mcgrory/britcoms/" target="_blank">Located at the end of Chapter 25 in my novel, I Cannot Play with You, due out from Black Rose Writing, December 2018.</a></td></tr>
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In my debut novel, I decided to create a <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/anna_mcgrory/" target="_blank">Pinterest account</a> for my character, and conclude each chapter with a little snippet that sums up an aspect mentioned in the story. I created the profile and board more than two years ago as I wrote the novel to see how it felt. I really enjoyed jumping into the character of Anna in both my writing and via the social media board. I also like highlighting some of my favorite things in life, like the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00w7dv9" target="_blank">BritCom Miranda</a>, created by and starring <a href="http://mirandahart.com/" target="_blank">Miranda Hart</a>. </div>
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Here's a snippet of a conversation from an earlier chapter--number 23, I believe. The main character, Anna, and her best friend, May, really do quote from the show quite a lot. If you haven't seen Miranda, I highly recommend you watch it. Now. With a cup of tea. That's not too hot...since you may find yourself spitting it out as you laugh aloud.</div>
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<a href="http://www.pbs.org/call-the-midwife/home/" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="587" height="160" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JjbgdLwU714/W3130IoMmuI/AAAAAAAACNY/2vveePMbTFMBdLUpqvPh1ld9A5OjLjOVQCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-08-22%2Bat%2B9.46.14%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-71118704548839040392018-08-21T21:40:00.000-04:002018-08-21T21:40:10.960-04:00It's coming!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eLSNce2ysvo/W3y-Rm5hw0I/AAAAAAAACNA/1hAIUB7d9AwHKzJ-z82MitZyJ8m7Z11WgCLcBGAs/s1600/Due%2Bout%2BDecember%2B2018.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="735" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eLSNce2ysvo/W3y-Rm5hw0I/AAAAAAAACNA/1hAIUB7d9AwHKzJ-z82MitZyJ8m7Z11WgCLcBGAs/s640/Due%2Bout%2BDecember%2B2018.png" width="425" /></a></div>
<br />biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-5836081211677325422018-06-01T22:12:00.003-04:002018-06-01T23:08:08.651-04:00Judge a Book by its Cover. Please.The publisher I've signed with is willing to look at up to two possible designs for my book--a Lyme Disease Murder Mystery set throughout New England, from Cliff Island, Maine, to Berkshire County, Massachusetts, as well as in Southern Vermont, Concord, New Hampshire, Boston, and other points in Casco Bay, Maine.<br />
<br />
Would you pick up any of these designs? Which cover most entices you? Please cast your vote via a comment here or on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DanaMyskowski" target="_blank">Facebook post</a>. Thank you!<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1-CEphYQhgQ/WxH22neP38I/AAAAAAAACLc/RYtW8U2WsZoFxOKipPltSW705rV6r1YNQCLcBGAs/s1600/I%2BCannot%2BPlay%2Bwith%2BYou%252C%2BFIVE%2B%2528_%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1003" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1-CEphYQhgQ/WxH22neP38I/AAAAAAAACLc/RYtW8U2WsZoFxOKipPltSW705rV6r1YNQCLcBGAs/s320/I%2BCannot%2BPlay%2Bwith%2BYou%252C%2BFIVE%2B%2528_%2529.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anchor Chain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ZlpQaEDuog/WxH22lCSGII/AAAAAAAACLU/Bw_OHR7sNi0tIuUiha3ahPs43Pb3TaOFACLcBGAs/s1600/I%2BCannot%2BPlay%2Bwith%2BYou%252C%2BFour.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1003" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ZlpQaEDuog/WxH22lCSGII/AAAAAAAACLU/Bw_OHR7sNi0tIuUiha3ahPs43Pb3TaOFACLcBGAs/s320/I%2BCannot%2BPlay%2Bwith%2BYou%252C%2BFour.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casco Bay Lines Ferry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4wxSzuPL_P8/WxH244LZWSI/AAAAAAAACLg/eyMN9YASke4An4ZXtDjqIBBIhqlY00yOACLcBGAs/s1600/I%2BCannot%2BPlay%2Bwith%2BYou%252C%2BTHREE.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1003" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4wxSzuPL_P8/WxH244LZWSI/AAAAAAAACLg/eyMN9YASke4An4ZXtDjqIBBIhqlY00yOACLcBGAs/s320/I%2BCannot%2BPlay%2Bwith%2BYou%252C%2BTHREE.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowy Bucket</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KKDGAs8Cdps/WxH25OJ_Z6I/AAAAAAAACLk/PRg5toIKjdM4nzwc7ooXJDjWidn9EaFawCLcBGAs/s1600/I%2BCannot%2BPlay%2Bwith%2BYou.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1003" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KKDGAs8Cdps/WxH25OJ_Z6I/AAAAAAAACLk/PRg5toIKjdM4nzwc7ooXJDjWidn9EaFawCLcBGAs/s320/I%2BCannot%2BPlay%2Bwith%2BYou.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But how will we feed the children?<br />
(My daughter.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Thanks to <a href="http://www.blackrosewriting.com/home" target="_blank">Black Rose Writing</a> for its belief in my story. And to <a href="https://www.canva.com/" target="_blank">Canva</a>, where I was able to create these possible cover designs. Maybe even to <a href="http://www.aldf.com/" target="_blank">Lyme Disease</a>, which has hit me FOUR times and continues to challenge me now, but which has helped me to slow down and appreciate the quiet (and sometimes not so quiet) times with family and friends.<br />
<br />biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-2013266980883270212018-02-28T11:13:00.000-05:002018-03-01T09:09:45.501-05:00A Koan for a Spring-Like Day, 2018As she hung the sheets on the line strung between the fence and the peach tree, a songbird landed on a branch above her, seemingly there to watch the middle-aged woman.<br />
<br />
"Don't poop on my sheets!" the woman said.<br />
<br />
"Tweet, trill, chirrup!" the bird sang.<br />
<br />
"You're right. I can wash them again." And in that moment the woman knew she'd taken a giant step toward enlightenment. To celebrate, she threw the sheets to the ground, stomping and dancing on them as she sang at the top of her lungs a silly tune she'd learned as a child.<br />
<br />
When she was at last exhausted and her sheets brown with dirt and green with grass stains, she looked up at the bird. It met her eyes, holding briefly on her gaze before flying off.<br />
<br />
The woman gathered up the sheets and headed inside to wash them again. More enlightened or not, she knew the sheets were not going to wash themselves.<br />
<br />
She was glad for the task.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
# # #</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Today's meditative writing eventually took the form of a koan. Or at least my attempt at one. I've been reading daily from <a href="http://www.wisdompubs.org/book/hidden-lamp" target="_blank"><i>The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women, </i>edited by Florence Caplow and Susan Moon</a> (Wisdom Publications). I originally discovered the book and information about the authors via <a href="http://nataliegoldberg.com/workshops/" target="_blank">Natalie Goldberg's website listing of her 2018 Workshops.</a> The three of them are hosting a <a href="https://www.upaya.org/program/hidden-lamp-courage-intimacy-exploring-womens-stories/?id=1919" target="_blank">weekend workshop I would dearly love to attend in September this year at the Upaya Institute and Zen Center</a> in Sante Fe, New Mexico. While I probably won't be able to get away, I will continue to enjoy my daily dose of koans followed by the insights of modern-day women teachers. </div>
biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-62427499931487055972018-02-05T13:10:00.000-05:002018-02-05T13:13:23.397-05:00Meditative Drawing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Today's meditative writing session included a sketch assignment: Put down the book and sketch something you see now or everyday.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Using my <a href="https://remarkable.com/" target="_blank">reMarkable tablet</a>, I drew our shower stall, complete with the shark sticker that our daughter created years ago. And dots of water droplets from our morning showers. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Draw what you see/write what you see. Either way, we're painting a picture. Thanks to Natalie Goldberg for that lesson in her book <i><a href="http://nataliegoldberg.com/living-color-painting-writing-and-the-bones-of-seeing/" target="_blank">Living Color: Painting, Writing, and the Bones of Seeing.</a></i> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--NfV3gIK4kw/WniEkJpR2sI/AAAAAAAACJ4/b6543Wwz6yEk1POtMKNMwHOv7mboSGZbgCLcBGAs/s1600/shower%2Bstall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--NfV3gIK4kw/WniEkJpR2sI/AAAAAAAACJ4/b6543Wwz6yEk1POtMKNMwHOv7mboSGZbgCLcBGAs/s400/shower%2Bstall.png" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">POTUS-proof shower. Thanks, Sharkie!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-17203689116640709052017-12-03T12:39:00.001-05:002017-12-03T12:39:57.154-05:00Living LandscapeFlocking, frolicking juncos scratching seeds in frosted gardens;<br />
roiling, boiling, crackling, cooling lava blanketing the landscape.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/12675/in-a-station-of-the-metro" target="_blank">A nod to</a> <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/12675/in-a-station-of-the-metro" target="_blank">Ezra Pound's poem</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/12675/in-a-station-of-the-metro" target="_blank">"In a Station of the Metro."</a></div>
biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-19371804579473173562017-12-02T09:18:00.000-05:002017-12-02T11:11:30.346-05:00Batman Works for the CIA<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">Mother recently told
me about a childhood friend,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">A boy I’d played Caped
Crusader with <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Nearly everyday after
kindergarten. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">I was Robin to his
Batman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">At his house we wore
towels for capes, and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Were actually
permitted to jump from <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Sofa to coffee table
to chair in pursuit of <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">The Joker or, my
favorite, the Penguin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">At mine, our capes
were mimed as a <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Backyard plum tree
provided the obstacle <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">To climb, dodge, and
drop from as we narrowly <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Escaped injury in time
for PB&Js dunked in milk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Our mothers kept in
touch through the years<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">As we moved about the
country, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">She and her husband
still in that cozy northern <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Ohio home a block or
two from our first house. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">“Apparently he works
for the CIA now,” Mother said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Since learning this
news, I’ve envied him. At first for <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Becoming what I’d only
ever dreamed of. But as I grow older,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">I am jealous he
can return home to a place he knows well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">My family continued to move, finally depositing me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">In a New England college town like s</span><span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">ediment left </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">Behind by an iceberg on its travels; the r</span><span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">est </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">Eventually migrated
to Southern California.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">In the year before he
grew ill, Dad was accompanied <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Everywhere he went by
a new security guard. Mother <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Would complain that
the guard was eating with them <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Again </span></i><span style="font-family: "baskerville";">and
sleeping in their guest room <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">again.</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">The guard even
traveled with Dad to his new <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Destination of China
and places around the region. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">We wondered why Mother
was no longer invited <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">To journey with him as
she had so many times while<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">He visited the English
plants that he managed from<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">This side of the pond,
the German manufacturers with<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Which he often did
business, and his Italian relatives <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">With whom he was
pleased to finally become acquainted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">None of us knew why he
was suddenly sending us selfies </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">From t</span><span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">he Great Wall and
Tiananmen Square, yet saying </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">Little a</span><span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">bout his new Far East
adventures other than they </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">Were e</span><span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">quipment-purchasing
forays from retired mills.</span><span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">In an office desk
drawer, which Mother thought <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Was jammed as, upon
his death she cleaned out <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">His personal effects, and
which my brother <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Successfully jimmied
open, was a handgun. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">“He was a decent
shot,” said the guard who <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Suddenly darkened the
threshold, there <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">To retrieve the weapon.
But we knew <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Dad could not possibly
have been. After all,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">We’d seen him shoot
his 22, balancing the butt of <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">The gun in his armpit
as he used a hand to cover <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">His eye and the other to
pull the trigger because<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">He couldn’t blink. How
could he possibly sight a pistol? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Apparently he’d been
trained to work around his <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Odd handicap. He’d had
to learn for his own <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Protection. Not even
an undercover CIA operative <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Posing as the new head
of security could protect<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">My father twenty-four-seven
from t</span><span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">he </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">Hit that had b</span><span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">een placed upon his
head </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">By a foreign government. Perhaps all his</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Training had been for naught after all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">When he suddenly fell
ill with stage-four </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Cancer—dying f</span><span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">ive months later—he
often </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">Said cryptically that it p</span><span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">robably wasn’t </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">Natural causes that got him in the end.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Dad had been spying
for Congress. Foreign steel had <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Flooded the
marketplace, purchased illegally by unscrupulous <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Businessmen who dared
blame their shady dealings on legal<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Loopholes that allowed
them the luxury to shun domestic steel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">A contingent from a country south of north had allegedly taken a <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Contract out on my
father. Either they or natural causes—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Or perhaps all those
chemicals he’d been exposed to over <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">The years—got him
before he could deliver his expert testimony. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">He’d spent many more
than Malcolm Gladwell’s ten<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Thousand hours earning
his reputation for greatness <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">In the wire mills of
the world, and could easily identify shifty<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">From legal, frugal
from dangerous, and strong from fragile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">He also knew how to
recognize working mills from <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Reportedly retired
ones, which may have been the <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Final nail in his
coffin—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Or cancerous tumor in
his spine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">My father had worked
undercover with the CIA <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">As a super-secret
agent for our government, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Giving me yet another
reason to admire him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">I wondered if he and
my kindergarten Batman <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Ever worked together,
feeling a sudden pang of <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Jealousy if they had.
But as time continues on, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">What I most envy is
that my childhood friend is </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";">Still able to return home and visit with his father.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "baskerville";"> </span></div>
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biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-17840273171308998632017-11-30T09:56:00.000-05:002017-11-30T10:17:46.634-05:00Dad of SteelThis morning as I fill and flip an<br />
omelet, spread probiotics over the<br />
dogs' breakfasts, measure chicken for<br />
my husband's lunch, I half watch a<br />
public television travel show host tour<br />
the country ruled by a government that<br />
years ago took a hit out on my dad.<br />
<br />
That is one place I'll never go, I think.<br />
Until he ends with a celebration of<br />
Buddha's birthday and a chance meeting<br />
with the American ambassador and his<br />
dog out for a stroll and breakfast supplied<br />
by the myriad of street vendors.<br />
<br />
My father's slight against that country's<br />
leaders was recognizing a trade<br />
imbalance; they were dumping illegal<br />
steel into the American marketplace.<br />
Hired by our government to spy,<br />
trained and protected by an agent<br />
of the CIA, my father instead<br />
succumbed to an aggressive cancer.<br />
<br />
Within a few months of its discovery,<br />
he was gone. Once in conversation with<br />
my mother he apparently hinted at the origin<br />
of his illness--wondering if it was natural<br />
or planted, while also recognizing it may<br />
have simply been the multitude of chemicals<br />
his professional life was built around.<br />
<br />
In our current age of political madness with<br />
a commander in chief who, during a debate<br />
with the other party's candidate, bragged<br />
about using illegal foreign steel to construct<br />
some of his buildings, I now understand<br />
how money drives maniacal power.<br />
<br />
And I wonder if my father's death was<br />
a convenient coincidence for the foreign<br />
powers, or a plotted timeline that cut him<br />
down before his scheduled expert<br />
testimony before congress.biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-35204708661227934452017-11-29T15:15:00.001-05:002017-11-30T09:25:35.203-05:00Christmas without the ha$$leFor Christmas this year,<br />
Our family has decided to<br />
Exchange handmade gifts.<br />
<br />
Spices neatly wrapped,<br />
A cake freshly baked,<br />
A poem, a picture, a whittled spoon.<br />
<br />
It doesn't matter the form,<br />
Only that we are together<br />
Making memories and sharing love.biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-40392974047762202802017-11-28T09:48:00.000-05:002017-11-28T09:48:48.817-05:00Soup Soup has always<br />
for me been a starter<br />
to a meal,<br />
not the meal itself.<br />
<br />
Older now,<br />
and a wee bit wiser,<br />
I eat soup<br />
as a complete meal.<br />
<br />
This morning it is breakfast,<br />
ham and artichoke hearts in<br />
thinned Thanksgiving gravy,<br />
the perfect starter to my day.biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-47635929652611813472017-11-27T17:09:00.000-05:002017-11-27T17:09:05.622-05:00Discounting TimeToday I could unfurl my sails<br />
and surf the net, lonely,<br />
in and out of waves of storefronts<br />
boasting 10 percent off this, 25 percent<br />
off that, buy one/get one, or land a<br />
free phone with a two-year contract.<br />
<br />
Today only.<br />
<br />
If only today I could open our front door<br />
to the rush of friends and relatives who<br />
blew in Thanksgiving afternoon; our<br />
King Arthur table stretched to an oval<br />
with five leaves that held all the<br />
boisterous rollicking of the pop-up<br />
party as we laughed over stories,<br />
debated the politics of slavery, and<br />
read aloud notes of gratitude penned<br />
in green on beige paper hand cutouts.<br />
<br />
Then only.<br />
<br />
If stores could then only offer us 25 percent<br />
more time together, instead of tempting us<br />
with stuff to buy and give, that's a cyber<br />
deal I could jump on and ride; instead of<br />
these cyber Monday blues, today we might<br />
again cook together, swap recipes, hike the<br />
local trails with our canine friends, and play<br />
the silly games we had planned to, but for<br />
which time ran out before the night was done.<br />
<br />
If only.<br />
<br />biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-14723018803254705792017-10-19T15:16:00.000-04:002017-10-19T15:16:44.385-04:00Keeping Up WithI'm not sure I can do this--<br />
Write a novel.<br />
And yet I know I can.<br />
<br />
Pen to paper.<br />
Fingers to keys.<br />
Plod forward, trying to keep up with my characters.<br />
<br />
Wait. What did he just say to her?<br />
What would<i> </i>he say?<br />
Who is that approaching?<br />
And now a dog is in their lives?<br />
<br />
The story fascinates the storyteller.<br />
It better.<br />
If not, it won't entertain anyone at all.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
On writing a novel.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Daily meditation writing</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
after penning a portion</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
of Chapter Twelve</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
in my current novel,</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>Fermi's Redux.</i> </div>
biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-68952969525673628762017-10-13T10:46:00.003-04:002017-10-13T10:46:30.221-04:00Happiness FoundI pray for help detaching from my ego<br />
Asking that I no longer have an ego;<br />
Let go of my ego becomes my new mantra.<br />
<br />
I say it when I wake,<br />
When I take my first sip of coffee,<br />
When I shower,<br />
When I brush my teeth,<br />
When I drive.<br />
<br />
Let go of my ego,<br />
Let go of my ego,<br />
Let go of my ego.<br />
<br />
It becomes a rhythmic intonation<br />
Keeping time with the breaks in concrete<br />
Along the road beneath my tires.<br />
<br />
Let go of my ego.<br />
<br />
And all the while I also<br />
Pray for help with this,<br />
As my heart fills with love,<br />
My mind and body relax,<br />
And I discover true peace.<br />
<br />
For happiness springs from within.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>Today's meditative writing was inspired by readings from</i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><a href="https://www.shambhala.com/authors/g-n/natalie-goldberg.html">Natalie Goldberg's </a></i><u><a href="https://www.shambhala.com/authors/g-n/natalie-goldberg.html">Writing Down the Bones</a></u> </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>and </i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Messages-Your-Angels-Want-Know/dp/1401954014/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1507905860&sr=8-1&keywords=10+things+your+angels+want+you+to+know">Doreen Virtue's </a></i><u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Messages-Your-Angels-Want-Know/dp/1401954014/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1507905860&sr=8-1&keywords=10+things+your+angels+want+you+to+know">Ten Messages Your Angels Want You to Know</a></u>.<i> </i></div>
biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-52882843213609299512017-10-11T15:26:00.000-04:002017-10-12T10:12:02.722-04:00Dear Woman Who Handles My Billing<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "baskerville"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I am disappointed I lost my insurance appeal
and that I now face having to pay out of pocket for my mammogram and accompanying tests, which I believe should have been covered. Indeed, it's what IS covered in other civilized countries where healthcare
is a right and not constrained by the for-profit insurance companies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "baskerville"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I wish that your breast care imaging center helped
its patients get better insurance coverage. How horrible that once the
nightmare of a lump is detected, the patient suddenly becomes responsible for
the hundreds of dollars to diagnose it, never mind the thousands to fulfill
their astronomical deductible if they are unfortunate to need treatment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "baskerville"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">At the very least I had hoped that your
center, the insurer, and I could work out a split bill where the insurer would pay
for the usual and customary procedures in an annual mammogram, and I would
cover the costs of the extra imaging for the lump. But as you pointed out, the billing cannot be split. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "baskerville"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "baskerville"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I don't understand why not. This all-or-nothing categorizing as diagnostic vs. preventative discourages women from contacting their doctors when a lump is found. I would have been better off financially keeping quiet and calling to schedule my annual mammogram. I wonder how many women weigh the risks of waiting an extra couple months for a routine mammogram that is covered at zero cost to the patient as per the ACA guidelines versus reporting finding a lump in their breast, knowing that to do so will mean they'll need to pay for the images, tests, and visit.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "baskerville"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And how ironic that I should be
researching this problem of insurance companies and breast centers across the
country during October—National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RECFdBiOGiQ/Wd5uGe9AGXI/AAAAAAAACIo/iX6xa1OaBl05h2nbDp-n3uO23FKMD_SUACLcBGAs/s1600/Health%2BUn-Care%2BFB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="335" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RECFdBiOGiQ/Wd5uGe9AGXI/AAAAAAAACIo/iX6xa1OaBl05h2nbDp-n3uO23FKMD_SUACLcBGAs/s400/Health%2BUn-Care%2BFB.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side note to those readers who are concerned:<br />
My lump turned out to be nothing more than<br />
a fibrous formation, which is a typical growth in my body. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: 12pt;">Today I logged in online and paid what I
could split between two credit cards. About this time next month I
will pay another $200, and so on until the entire $814.55 bill is paid. I hope
this good faith effort will keep your center from turning my account over to a
collection agency. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "baskerville"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In the meantime, I shall also contact Consumer Services at
the state's Insurance Department to double check that I really have no
other option in this case. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "baskerville"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Thank you for your time.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "baskerville"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><b style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1658625482" style="font-size: x-large;">Take my</a></b></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1658625482" style="font-family: baskerville; font-size: x-large;"><b>informal</b></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: large; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXPh1HgzY2CHlDrbZq8sfpFzh7b3ma4mkV3htrprfQVyZ3wg/viewform#responses"><b>healthcare survey </b></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "baskerville"; font-size: large; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXPh1HgzY2CHlDrbZq8sfpFzh7b3ma4mkV3htrprfQVyZ3wg/viewform#responses"><b>HERE.</b></a></span></div>
</div>
biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677110.post-89648668256669847532017-10-03T12:06:00.003-04:002017-10-03T12:13:24.583-04:00Oh, Health Insurance, You Skanky Muse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The outrageously high prices of health insurance and how little our insurance policy actually covers is what keeps me up nights, as you can see in this six-column chronicle I penned this morning. Once again my health insurance company has hijacked my sleep and my time that could be spent on writing my novel. This afternoon I will be working on my official consumer complaint to the state's Insurance Department.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8qnoVWJquTA/WdO3EogqArI/AAAAAAAACII/BkoBMfE7AhgGxr1jPU464_bZJSGM0tlWwCLcBGAs/s1600/Healthcarenight.tossedtoNotimecorporationsrowpillagingdowntheirtheofweeachseearefusetyranny%252Cthepaycolossal.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8qnoVWJquTA/WdO3EogqArI/AAAAAAAACII/BkoBMfE7AhgGxr1jPU464_bZJSGM0tlWwCLcBGAs/s400/Healthcarenight.tossedtoNotimecorporationsrowpillagingdowntheirtheofweeachseearefusetyranny%252Cthepaycolossal.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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How's your health insurance? Share your experience in my informal anonymous Health Insurance Costs Survey:</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXPh1HgzY2CHlDrbZq8sfpFzh7b3ma4mkV3htrprfQVyZ3wg/viewform#responses" target="_blank">LINK TO SURVEY</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXPh1HgzY2CHlDrbZq8sfpFzh7b3ma4mkV3htrprfQVyZ3wg/viewform#responses" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></div>
<br />
Thanks to <a href="http://nataliegoldberg.com/" target="_blank">Natalie Goldberg's</a> six-word memoir assignment in her book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008J4RQD8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language</a> </i>that inspired the shape and form of today's post.biscotti danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18193580185167350665noreply@blogger.com0