Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Spam-a-Lot
In the last few weeks, I’ve gotten many comments to this blog. Unfortunately, most seem to be from people advertising pay-day loans, web hosting, vitamins or other such nonsense that has absolutely nothing to do with the entry they commented on. Come on, folks, quit sending me silly comments! ~Karen
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Crazy Cat Moves to WordPress
With the help of my son, Doug, and a nice little article online at http://www.hyperarts.com/blog/import-export-blogger-wordpress-blog-wordpress/, I have copied over all my blog posts from Blogger to this new WordPress set up. Literally, the process took longer to research than to install the plug-in and activate it on WordPress....
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Remembering Remo
He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. ~Clarence Budington Kelland My dad & his mom I came across this quote and immediately thought of my dad, Remo Zappavigna. This September 3rd marks the second anniversary of my father’s death. Sometimes, it seems as though it has been forever since Dad left this earth; at other times, it seems like yesterday.Over the past couple of days, I have reminisced about...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
It’s That Time of Year
The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. ~Robert Maynard Hutchins Yes, it’s that time of year. No, not Christmas, but the beginning of the school year. Like the quote above states: the object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. For most of my son’s lives, their education was acquired in the non-traditional form of homeschooling; living life and learning have always gone hand-in-hand....
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
It’s All in the Family
Today, I had the pleasure of attending a family reunion. This was for my dad’s side of the family, the Zappavigna’s. Dad was from a family of six children. As with many families, my paternal side had experienced some unfortunate separations over the years. Earlier this year, my Uncle Mario died. At his services, his children, along with many of my cousins, my siblings and I, lamented over how many years had been wasted due to misunderstandings about...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Another Obama Email
This must be my lucky week! A few days ago, I received an email from Michelle Obama; yesterday, I received an email from Barack Obama. (See image of email below my signature.) I would guess that I have somehow ended up on an email list for the Democratic National Committee. Barack begins the email with a warm, “When you and I set out on this journey three years ago, we knew that ours would be a lengthy struggle...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
An Email from Michelle Obama
Today, I received an email from Michelle Obama. It was addressed to me by name, too. The subject of the email was “Prevention,” and it extolled all the virtues of the “Affordable Care Act” that was passed earlier this year. (I have posted the email in its entirety below my post.) The first line of Michelle’s email states: “When you hear about the new health reform law these days, too much talk is focused on the political.” That...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Chase Bank and Creative Finances
Back in the day, as my sons like to say, my husband and I refinanced our mortgage with Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU). We liked them so much that we moved our other personal banking accounts to them, too. Fast forward a few years and Chase Bank has taken over control of WAMU. It wasn’t immediate, but rather gradually that we noticed some changes being made to our bank, namely, Customer Service. Where we once had excellent customer service,...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Is This Really America?
And I’m proud to be an American,where at least I know I’m free.And I won’t forget the men who died,who gave that right to me.~Lee Greenwood During my recent trip to Florida, I saw an Italian restaurant, on Fort Myers Beach, flying the Italian flag above the American flag. The American flag was also turned upside down. Last week, five high school students in Morgan Hill, California, were reprimanded and sent home for wearing t-shirts with the American...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
On the recent health care bill…
Last week, one of our local columnists, Phil Kadner, wrote a commentary on the passage of the health care bill, entitled Health Care Battle Far From Over. (You can read the piece here: http://www.southtownstar.com/news/kadner/2117609,032310kadner.article) I sent in a response to Kadner’s commentary, which was published in the SouthtownStar on Sunday, March 28, 2010 ( http://www.southtownstar.com/news/opinion/letters/2124604,032810letters.article ). Here is my response (in italics): Phil Kadner discussed the ongoing health care reform battle on Tuesday, March 23. He referred to...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
An Early Memory
“Memory is a net.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. I remember going to a school playground with my grandfather. This is one of my earliest memories. I recall sliding down the slide and my Grandpa Quinn caught me at the bottom. I think I was about 4 or 5 years old, with my hair in pigtails and my bangs fringing my forehead. I remember wearing a dress that day, and the cool metal of the slide chilling the backs...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Patsy and a Mouse
“You’re never too old to learn something new.” “Right click, left click! Open a window…wait, what is a window? Oops, what did I click on?” This morning, my mom, Patsy, proved that she has the makings of a computer geekess! Several weeks ago, my oldest son rebuilt a nice laptop for my mom. This morning, we finally had the chance to explore it together. I have to say I was pleasantly surpised to watch Mom giggle and chuckle...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Quotes for Friday
I stumbled across some quotes today as I was reading through some magazines. What are your thoughts on some of them? “Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.” ~Andrew Jackson “No one has an exclusive on opportunity. When the sun rises, it rises for everyone.” ~Chinese proverb Thought for the day: What would you do in life if you knew you would not...
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Is Silence Really Golden?
” I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ~Elie Wiesel Yesterday, our priest gave an excellent sermon on the sanctity of life. He has been one of our priests since I was a child. He is about the same age as my folks (a year younger, actually); we share the same...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
A Fundamental Right?
“….is it surprising that today we have become so morally blind (for wickedness blinds) that we save the baby whales at great cost, and murder millions of unborn children?” ~Alice von Hildebrand, The Privilege of Being a Woman Yesterday, January 22, 1010, was the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision which deemed abortion a “fundamental right” under the Constitution of the United States. I do believe that this decision has led to a complete...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Perhaps the Grinch was Correct
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more.” ~ Dr. Seuss (1904-1991), American author of children’s books. From ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’. ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ is one of my all time favorite Christmas books. What is not to love? Here we have the story of the old curmudgeon who detests Christmas. Instead of living privately with his own misery, he seeks to make those around him...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Counting My Blessings
“If you’re worried and you can’t sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep, and you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings…” ~Irving Berlin, from “White Christmas” For the past few weeks, I had been struggling to find the joy in this holiday season. It is the second one without my dad; my uncle (my dad’s brother) is nearly ready to join Dad in heaven; and I have been sorely missing several other loved ones who have long left...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Sugar Cookies, Pizzelles and Fudge
Last week, my sister mentioned that her boys would love to come over to meet my feline children. Her family had adopted two kittens over the past six months and it seems they have fallen under the spell of the purring furry kids, too. Since the kids are on Christmas break, I invited them to come over to my home to meet the kittens and to do some baking. The gang arrived in the late morning to meet...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Gotta Love Sharing
Although I have kept journals for years, I have only been blogging for a few months. I am also an avid user of Facebook. I have noticed that many of my Facebook friends have their blogs linked to their Facebook accounts and wanted to do the same. A quick search on Google for “add Blogger to Facebook” pointed me to a handy little video to do just that. I quickly clicked over to the article “How to Add...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
It’s “Merry Christmas, ” Not “Happy Holidays”...
A recent conversation on Facebook was started when a friend of mine posted that she did not want to hear “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings,” but rather “Merry Christmas.” Her reasoning was quite sound: Jesus is the reason for the season. I do agree with her. Discussion ensued about Christmas programs now being called “Winter Programs” or “Holiday Programs” so that those who do not observe Christmas may be included in the festivities. There certainly has been a...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Meet Kitty Number 3!
Last week, I adopted a new kitten. She is a domestic short hair, about six months old. I named her Ellie Mae Mews. The shelter I adopted her from, Catnap From the Heart, had been calling her “Muse” because she has so much to say. Ellie Mae has made a smooth transition into our household. My other two cats, Dexter and Jethro, seem to enjoy having her for a playmate. My dogs, Kelly and Chelsea, do not seem...
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Friends, Family & Fate
You meet people who forget you. You forget people you meet. But sometimes you meet those people you can’t forget. Those are your ‘friends.’Once again, life is showing me that people are placed within the lives of others for a reason. I originally met my friend, Beverly, some 13 years ago when her son joined the Cub Scout pack at the local school. Through the years we have been like sisters: we have laughed and cried together, we...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Two Kittens and Ten Months
July 3, 2009. Today is the ten-month anniversary of the death of my dad, Remo. This morning, I had a few moments where the loss was tearing at my heart. I was sitting in the living room, looking out the front windows, recalling a July day last year when I drove my dad by the house to see the way my husband, David, had landscaped the yard. Dad admired the new bushes, flowers and paver blocks. This morning,...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Along Came A Kitten
Jethro became a member of our family back in October 2007. He was a mere 6 days old and still had his eyes closed! He, and his five litter mates, had been abandoned near the criminal courts building where my husband works.Due to his young age, I had to feed Jethro kitten formula. I found myself mixing up kitten formula every two hours for the first week! I’d never even made bottles for my kids, yet there I...
Posted by Karen Zappavigna Hoogland | 0 Comments
Meet “The Boys”
I realize that I may be in serious danger of becoming the “crazy cat lady.” Apparently, this condition has slowly taken over my life these past 18 months or so, since the acquisition of my first kitten, Jethro. It was furthered by the addition of my second kitten, Dexter, this past October.I have always been a self-proclaimed dog lover. I never really considered having cats because many family members are allergic to them. However, the addition of “the...