Quartzsite Call To Action

I have blogged a few times about the anarchy in Quartzsite Arizona.  There is now a large demonstration scheduled by several organizations.

This is from the Desert Freedom Press:

Quartzsite, Arizona's "Liberty Fest" is shaping up to be a historic event. The event will center around a non partisan August 27th 10 am banner and flag march to the steps of Quartzsite Town Hall, followed by speeches and a live radio broadcast by Ernest Hancock of "Declare your Independence". A pot luck dinner gathering will feature live entertainment.

It has just been announced that well known musician and freedom fighter Jordan Page, has been confirmed for Saturday evening, and other artists are currently in negotiation to perform.

The Quartzsite Liberty Festival was inspired by ten members of the Quartzsite Police Department who chose to honor their oath to the Constitution, and ask for a formal  criminal and ethical investigation into their boss, Police Chief Jeff Gilbert. Law enforcement officers and patriots from around the country wanted a way to show support for the "Quartzsite 10", after facts surrounding the actions by town leaders became a national news story.

According to the website for Oath Keepers, "The Quartzsite Liberty Festival will also support the concerned citizenry of Quartzsite, local activists such as grass-roots journalist Jennifer ‘Jade’ Jones, and the town Mayor, the Honorable Ed Foster (a Marine veteran), who have stood up for the free speech rights of the citizens."

In addition to the Greater Phoenix Tea Party and the Oath Keepers, patriot groups such as the  Ron Paul R3volution, Sons of Liberty Riders, Campaign for Liberty and others have RSVP'd for the event.

For more information about the event, contact:
Arizona Oath Keepers – Contact Mike Frye: mrteapartyfrye@gmail.com phone -- 623-521-3612
Oath Keepers Board of Directors – Contact Elias Alias
eliasalias@gmail.com phone -- 406-285-6597


For more information on musician Jordan Page, see:
http://jordanpagemusic.com/
and
http://www.myspace.com/jordanpagemusic

Gear for Rallies and Outdoor Gatherings

Heading out to a demonstration or outdoor event? A few practical items to bring along:

• Folding camp chairs
• Reusable water bottles
• Portable sun shade canopies

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I Wasn't Expecting a Dead Body

Pic from Dukelabs.com

I was debating which subject I wanted to blog about tonight. I had a few rough drafts sitting idly by while I read the latest news articles from Drudge, Google News, etc.

My Droid's battery was in the red so I decided to plug it in for a charge and head down to the Emergency Room for a bit. You know, cause I do all this blogging on my phone. I certainly wouldn't do it on a company computer. Anyway, along my path, I was paged overhead. Nothing unusual about that.

A quick shout out to the ER desk and I was informed my assistance was needed in Room One. Room One is our trauma room and most likely I was being summoned to help with chest compressions. A perk of being one of the few bigger guys on the night shift. There could be five EMT's standing around that just brought the patient to our hospital, but it's me and a bodybuilder from Respiratory that get to pump on chests.

Anyway, to my surprise, I wasn't needed for chest compressions at all. Nope. I was needed because three little female nurses were given the task of "boxing the big guy". Boxing as in put the obese dead patient into the cold box until the mortuary guys get here at 8am.

Now, I've known somebody had to do this job. People die in hospitals every day. Somebody has to secure the body in the morgue until the mortuary people come and get them. I just never thought I'd be the one to do it. It NEVER crossed my mind...at all.

So the bodybuilder and I are looking at each other. This body was over 400 pounds (that's where our scale stopped). Of course he had NO sheets underneath him to help move him around. The little nurses were reading the instructions, I kid you not, that came in a "kit". These instructions, as she explained to us, included rolling the patient on his side so that we could place a body bag under him. We also had to insert a large absorbant pad, almost the full length of the gurney.

We found two security guards and the four of us rolled this man on his side. I won't go into details about what was under or coming out of this body. I will say, however, that this was not in my job duties AND I had just eaten my share of pizza (one of our security guards was called to deploy in Kuwait so we had a little send off party).

Ours was like this but a little bigger...a little.

We finally got the body in the bag and he was so large that we couldn't zip it up. We covered him with a sheet so we could transport him down the hall to the box room. Then it got difficult.

Picture a full size refrigerator placed flat on the ground. Instead of a door in the traditional place, the small end (or top of the fridge) was the door. We had to get the big guy in lengthwise from a gurney into the cooler. Again, not in my skill set.

Long story short, what normally holds two bodies...could now only hold one. We had to take the middle "shelf" out to make more room. If there was a wrong way of placing a person in this thing, we surely did it. Several minutes later, profusely sweating, we closed it up and walked away.

The last thing I was expecting tonight was to see a dead body..let alone have to move it around, bag it up, and get it into a large ice box.

If you're looking for that one last little excuse to go on a diet because you are overweight, consider the healthcare workers that will have to put your big butt in an ice box after your demise. And they may have just had pizza. I almost had mine twice...

~OJD

Motivation for a Healthier Path

Stories like this are a good reminder to stay on top of health goals. A few things that help:

• Home fitness equipment
• Kitchen food scales
• Fitness tracker watches

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Gun Question from me, to my Internet Friends.

I'm just about ready to start showing my older girls a little bit about guns.  I initially though I would take them out with my Remington 12 gauge and just show them the basics.  Everything I know is learned from watching friends on church outings or watching tv documentary.

There's an ER Physician female friend of mine suggesting that I NOT start out with a  loud shotgun with young girls as it would probably drive them away from ever wanting to participate with gun usage again .

So I'm asking you, my internet family, if I start slow with nonleathels, like pellet comes, pump guns, etc.  What would you recommend?  I'm thinking about a little handgun that shoots pellets or bee bees. Small enough that they could handle the weight but accurate enough that it doesn't feel like a toy.

I'm thinking handgun first but possible a daisy rifle too.  I don't know whether  to do hand or rifle,  BBs or slugs. . Cartridge or pump action.

What say you on proprly teaching of weaponry to children age 10-14 girls.

Gear for Firearm Owners

Whatever you decide, here are a few accessories worth considering for responsible gun ownership:

• Gun safes
• Firearm cleaning kits
• Ammo storage cases

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Joe Cross Inspired Juicing Recipes

Just a quick note to say I've added a few tabs at the top of the blog.  I recently posted about the Joe Cross movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and I've been juicing daily since for multiple reasons.  It's kind of turned into a fun little hobby and I've taken pictures of the different juices Wifey and I have made.

So, if you are interested in juicing fruits and vegetables for whatever reason, visit my Juicing for Health tab at the top of the page (or click here).

If you ended up here looking for before and after pictures of Joe Cross, use the first link in this post to see the images of him before and after his 60 day juice fast.

~OJD

Get Started With Juicing

Inspired to try juicing yourself? A few things that make it easier:

• Juicer machines
• Juicing recipe books
• Reusable glass juice bottles

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Adding Space for Student (Ikea Wall Hinge Desk)

Stock photo: Ikea wall hinge desk.

Along with our renewed vow of "make do or do without", we had to figure out how to give daughter #3 a desk for her cramped room so she could study away from her other five sisters.  She is blessed with a giant princess castle bunk bed that any child would love to possess...only it takes up 2/3rds of her room.

So while shopping at Ikea a few weeks ago we noticed this handy wall desk.  It mounts to the wall somewhat like a locker and closes up nice and neat.  A keyed front keeps under age sisters from prying where they don't belong.  It also has some additional handy features like a built it hole for laptop cables and a strap to keep it in place when closed up.

Brace boards screwed
to wall studs.

I needed to anchor it well in case somebody decided to "accidentally" lean or hang from it.  I started by locating the wall studs with my handy stud locator from home depot.  I located two pieces of scrap wood from the backyard and cut them to size.  I anchored the boards to the studs with three inch wood screws.  These allow me to attach the desk anywhere along the length of the horizontal boards (pilot holes on things you want to attach to walls are NEVER the same distance apart as the studs in the walls).

Once the two braces were on the wall, I just screwed the desk to the boards with the included supplies.  I had #3 come sit in a chair and pretend she was typing to make an estimated guess at how high I needed to place the desk (it's a wall mount = no legs).

New desk, all closed up.

The final result is a desk she can use in the privacy of her own room that doesn't take up any floor space.  Priced at Ikea for $59.99 but we found one in the clearanced section of the store for $39.99.  We were told it had been a floor model and that is why is was discounted.  To my joy, it was already assembled.  I just had to screw it to the wall.

Daughter have saved up $62 from odd jobs and was happy to save $20 on this desk that she had been wanting for several weeks. She got a desk, I got to use my power tools...the world is right once again.

~OJD

Desk opened.

More Small-Space Desk Solutions

Setting up a study space in a tight spot? A few products that help maximize the space:

• Wall-mounted folding desks
• Desk organizer sets
• LED desk lamps

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I Put on My Angry Eyes

Just one of those days I guess...

Most parents out there will recognize that title from Toy Story.  I added it for a little humor because for some reason today, I'm really angry.  I don't know why really.  I just feel the emotion.  Maybe it's a guy thing?

I woke up earlier than normal.  Went out into the living room and endured just enough sibling rivalry to reach the point of telling everyone to stop whining, sit down and be quiet.  Of course, that lasted all of two minutes.

Older girls weren't doing the chores their mother was asking them to do.  Younger girls were fighting about who's stuff belong's to whom.  And the dog was barking because he couldn't reach the left over dinner scraps parked up on the dinner table...that no one bothered to clean up.

I snipped at a few kids for the remarks they were making at the dinner table and damned if I didn't feel guilty after doing it!  By that point, Wifey's looking at me, obviously caught on that something's wrong with my mojo.  I shrug it off and go change clothes to head to work. 

I was kind enough to say goodbye to everyone, including the snarky 10 year old who informed me at dinner that it was my responsiblity to pay for her wedding some day. I even hugged and kissed the Chloe Monster goodbye.  She's responsible for 99% of the background noise in our house every day.  Just random shrills and screams.  Like she's testing the audible durability level of the windows in our house.

I'm greeted at work by my dayshift opposite who explains with no facial expression how he justified leaving two CT Scans on a Telemetry patient FROM 4PM for me.  It's now 7:15pm.  I excuse myself to attend a Code in the ER and upon arrival the ER Physician says "It'll a be a bit til the patient gets here. Can you do a wrist xray in room 5?"  Sure.

After walking back across the hospital to get the xray film necessary for a wrist, I return to ER room 5.  I'm greeted by three generations of women.  Grandma and mom politely excuse themselves from the room as I begin to perform my xrays. 

"So", I say to the patient, "what happened to your wrist? Did you fall on it or something?"

"Well", she says, "No...I've just been drawing a lot lately and...." sentence ended.

So, here I am.  Already angry at the world.  Now I'm administering radiation to a 15 year old girl, brought in my her supossed elder more wiser parent and grandparent...because her wrist hurts from drawing too much.

Lord, just let this day end. Please.

Surviving the Rough Days

Some days just don't go your way. A few things that help take the edge off:

• Stress relief kits
• Noise-cancelling headphones
• Chore charts for kids

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Sister's Custom Crochet Blankets

Chloe Monster snug as a bug...

Every since my first daughter was born, I've called her Sister or Sis for short.  It's not that I knew she would have sisters one day, quite the contrary.  None of our children were "planned" as it were.  Nevertheless, she has five sisters now and the nickname fits quite nicely.

I've mentioned in previous posts that our family is returning to the old days in a way by learning basic hand skills that our grandparents used on a daily basis.  Skills like knitting and sewing, making bread from scratch and cooking with alternative heat sources other than the kitchen stove. We've begun to "use it up" and "wear it out", to "make it do, or do without". 

With six daughters, we have rows of boxes in the garage filled with clothing that had become too small for an elder sibling and packed away until it could be worn again by a younger sibling.  We actually have the Halloween costume that Sister won second place with at a McDonald's Halloween costume contest 11 years ago and our youngest, now two years old, has worn it as well.

Close up of her Granny Square stitch.

Sis has taken on crocheting this year and has done quite well.  I feel the need, as any proud father would, to display her talents and thus the reason for this post.  She not only learned to crochet over Christmas break from a visiting relative who stayed with us for five weeks, but has taught her siblings as well or at least attempted to (second oldest daughter gets frustrated VERY easily).  She has made baby blankets for her Cheer coach and a church member down the street.  Both as gifts from the goodness of her heart. 

She has made blankets large enough to cover our kitchen table and others still in-process, final size yet to be determined.  I have to admit, I keep our house pretty cold.  I blame it on living in the Arizona desert but my super-sized belly is more likely to blame.  But at the end of the day when we're all cozied up watching a family movie on our couch, there's nothing more cozy than covering my cold limbs with a warm blanket woven by the hands of my daughter.

These blankets will be around a long, long time.  Wifey still has blankets made by her great-grandmother.  These are the types of basic skills I want my daughters to learn...and hopefully teach their children.

Self sufficiency breeds confidence.

~OJD


More pics:

Crochet Supplies for Custom Blankets

Inspired to make your own custom crochet blanket? A few essentials to get started:

• Bulk yarn packs
• Crochet hook sets
• Crochet pattern books

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