Memory(s) and Some Frogs I Have Known

This is the old memory that came out of my computer. How on earth it ever transmitted/saved information escapes me!! The new memory is one gigabyte. My daughter informed me yesterday that her old Ipod Touch has sixteen gigabytes of memory. That the Ipod (no larger than a cell phone) has fifteen times more memory than my computer is truly mind-boggling.

The Lovely Mr. Striped Leg of Celadon on the Green.

Another Mr. Striped Leg, but this one hails from Slimy Mossy Grove. Both of them had just taken a dip in the pool and were not one bit happy to have been so unceremoniously extracted from said pool.  

Last night I attended a volunteer thank you party for the people who worked on events for the Jim Valvano Golf Classic. It is an incredibly well-organized group of staff and volunteers and has been in "business" for about 16-17 years. Some of the volunteers have been with the group for all of those years. My association with them only dates back to my employment with Mel Day of Dogwood Tree Floral (8 years), but I would be happy to volunteer for this group anyway. There is no more dedicated group of people anywhere - for any cause - and certainly curing cancer is one of the best causes around. Unfortunately, it is a large and noisy group, and I couldn't hear much of the speeches and announcements. I do know they always raise an incredible amount of money for the cause, and I hope that this year was no exception.

The Flower Shuttle

Tuesday was my first time volunteering at the Raleigh Flower Shuttle, but it won't be the last. I had a good time meeting people and arranging flowers in small containers. There are many opportunities for service; if you don't know how to arrange them, you can be one who picks up the donated flowers, or part of the delivery staff. I had heard quite a bit about them over the years, but I was pleased to see how organized everyone was. They really have it down pat.

On the first Tuesday of each month, they have a program, usually put on by a local florist or designer. Not having advance knowledge of that, I wasn't prepared to stay for it. People usually bring a bag lunch to eat during the program.

Of course I wanted to take photos, but because it was my first time there, I had to stick to protocol and do as I was told.....LOL (I don't do that often or well). The woman who started the local shuttle talked about how fulfilling it can be to make deliveries. Most of the people who receive the arrangements don't have many visitors and seldom, if ever, receive flowers - so they are overwhelmed and often cry. After I am more familiar with the program, I may start delivering as well. I have long needed an outlet for volunteering that is doing some real good in the world and I think I've found it, thanks to my old friend Nancy, who I had not seen in a while. She alone, was able to spur me out of bed and into the car on a very cold morning (18*) - I wouldn't have done that for just anyone! But I'm sure glad she asked!

If you have a similar program in your city, I urge you to look into it. You don't have to know how to arrange flowers, judging from some of the "arrangements" I saw there today (although it helps). You'll have fun and fellowship and you'll be rewarded by the gratitude and happiness you see all around you.

WOW

You've heard me mention them before - the women of my neighborhood group - known as WOW. On Tuesday, twelve of us volunteered at our local NC Food Bank. For four hours, we boxed canned goods and foods in plastic or glass containers; attempting to get a variety of items in each box.

My friend who planned the outing said there would be no heavy lifting involved, but she was either misinformed or clueless, since the bulk of it was just that. My back has been hurting (since a misguided attempt to move a file cabinet) for 2 weeks, so I decided not to pack (which also involved leaning over or squatting), but to tape up the boxes and let someone else transfer them to the pallets lined up to receive them.

Would you believe it was sort of fun? Just knowing that what we were doing was really going to help someone later on made us feel great. I wish we had counted the number of boxes we filled, taped and stacked. I think it was at least 4 pallets; which are stacked 4 deep and hold about 64 boxes.

If you have a similar food distribution group in your area, consider volunteering some time. It's a very worthwhile thing to do!

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Today is our son's 43rd birthday. I remember the day of his birth it like it was yesterday. (I wonder how many more years I'll be able to say that?) He's been a good boy and he's an even better man. Happy Birthday, son. See you tomorrow.

Blog reading and commenting will be scarce this weekend, so I'll catch you all on Monday. Be good!