mugshot summer 2009
Yikes! I wanted to dash off that letter to ABQ's mayor so quickly that I failed to read the comprehensive proposal for Albuquerque's Climate Action Plan. Here's a quick update ... with minor edits, because I left out some conjunctions and propositions in the one I sent to him. :/

Dear Mayor Berry,

I am a new resident to New Mexico and when I wrote to you last time, I did a quick review of Alququerque's proposed Climate Action Plan and what the Task Force is focusing on.

After reading more extensively, I see that there is a solid proposal for managing solid waste diversion, obviously by encouraging and/or mandating citizens and businesses to recycle more, compost more, use less, reuse more in order to lessen the burden on existing landfills, and further in the future eliminate their use all together in hopes of creating zero waste. This is an important issue as you know. When one thinks of the trash barges floating off the coast of New York, because no other country will take them, makes it clear we need to do something. And that's only one small refuse issue. There are the trash islands created in the seas far from public view.

Also in the city's proposed Climate Action Plan, I found the proposals for water harvesting and agressive water conservation. Looks like Albuquerque is already working on harvesting water.

Please work with your city council members to make Albuquerque's Climate Action Plan a reality. It is vital to the health and well-being of not only the city's residents, but of the city itself.

Thank you, for taking time to read this addendum to my first letter to you and that original letter.

With best regards,

Nancy JonesFrancis
mugshot summer 2009
Below is a quick and dirty letter I wrote to Albuquerque's new mayor, Mayor Richard Berry. I had to write it quickly because Mr F was ready with dinner. Eek!


Dear Mayor Berry,

Thank you for the time to listen to individual members of the Albuquerque community.

I am writing you this evening, because I urge you to continue working on Albuquerque's Climate Action Plan by working with the Climate Action Task Force, which was established in 2008. The city continues to grow and we need to continue to focus on cleaner energy sources, traffic congestion, liveable neighborhoods and much more.

Albuquerque is on its way to becoming a more sustainable city by adding bike boulevards and articulated buses to city streets. We can do better by bringing light rail to our city streets, carrying many riders in the same space we currently see one person in one passenger car. We can encourage people to ride public transportation if we give them a free-ride day at least once a year and/or free-ride days during Ozone Action Days.

Read more... )

Quick update

  • Dec. 4th, 2009 at 4:12 PM
mugshot summer 2009
Finally, I feel like I'm moving past this bronchitis.
It's been around more than a month.
That's been the main reason for the silence.

Guilt and family and illness

  • Nov. 13th, 2009 at 9:48 PM
mugshot summer 2009

A letter to a friend:

Hi Mr. V,
How are you doing?
Since Nov. 1 I've had bronchitis. For a week, I was trapped in a motel room ten minutes from my middle sister. Didn't want to give her or her family this nonsense, (so I saw her once for 20 minutes when she brought some healthy raw food.)

Now I'm in Birmingham, Ala., getting ready to visit two cousins and their families tomorrow.

It sucks being sick while on the road.

Drop me a line when you can.

N

------
For two days I was right near the historical home of Carl Sandburg, and felt so crummy that as much as I wanted to take a tour of his home, all I could think of was crawling into bed. Didn't even make it to the nearest big city, Asheville.

That horrid insomnia monster had a stranglehold on me for the past few nights, which didn't help. I took advantage of my cousin's kindness, and slept in until 10 a.m. It helped, but I am feeling the guilt of imposing on her and her family. They were very tolerant.

Maybe it's not as bad as I feel it is. My imposition on my family. Family, which I've only begun to reconnect with since 1976. You want to make a good impression, like with anyone. Plus, you enjoy them.

If I could seriously downgrade the guilt I'm prone to fostering, life would be far more enjoyable.

For now, over and out.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Tags:

100 years ago today

  • Nov. 9th, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Las Vegas holiday
And, oh god ...

... My dad would be 100 years old today if he were still alive!

Happy Birthday, Pappy Jones! 
mugshot summer 2009
That rail transportation conference was great, though I missed the last day, because I woke up with a bad first round of imminent bronchitis.
Headed straight to Rhode Island where one of my sisters lives and checked into the first relatively inexpensive hotel I could find, where I was down for the count for a full week.

Definitely a drag, but I can't help but think of the humorous side. Getting a bad illness while traveling seems to happen 50 percent of the time. That is funny, right?

I saw my RI sister once during that week, onlybecause I didn't want to give her this horrific illness and I felt pretty bad. It's bad enough getting it. Why spread it?

Yesterday morning, I made it out of those stale shadows and drove to my other sister's house in Westchester County, NY.
For lunch, we met up with my eldest brother and enjoyed too short of a reunion.

Stayed at my NY sister's house last night, which was wonderful. Got to spend a little bit of time with her daughter and husband AND their two cute fuzzy dogs who are of a special breed I can never remember. Lovable little guys, those two.

This morning I high-tailed it to NJ and met my middle brother and his son for a long, leisurely lunch. It's been about 20 years since I've seen both of them – my nephew had been about four years old then – so this was quite a treat. 

Now I'm in a hotel room in northwestern Maryland wondering if I should be heading to North Carolina tomorrow because it sounds like Hurricane Ida is heading in the same direction. Not quite as far north as North Carolina, but close enough to create a lot of residue rainstorms in NC.

Meanwhile, Mr F started settling into our new apartment in Albuquerque. I wish I was there with him, but that isn't going to happen for at least a week. Miss P is back to living in her castle-size carrier. Hopefully by the time I get there, Miss P will feel comfortable enough to sleep elsewhere in the apartment and I won't have this obnoxious cough.

Over and out


my daily tweets

  • Oct. 30th, 2009 at 12:28 PM
meez.com
Michael Dukakis is here at Rail~Volution!
12:28 PM Oct 30th from Twitterrific

My daily tweets

  • Oct. 30th, 2009 at 11:52 AM
meez.com
The esteemed mayor of Grand Rapids, George Heartwell, is here at the high speed rail conference. He just passed me at the luncheon. :)
11:52 AM Oct 30th from Twitterrific

My daily tweets

  • Oct. 29th, 2009 at 11:07 PM
mugshot summer 2009

Arrived in Boston! Am excited about the national Rail~Volution's High-Speed Rail Conference, and ready to learn. It's weird being on my own. (via @annieo)

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Tags:

My daily tweets

  • Oct. 22nd, 2009 at 8:16 PM
brain floss
 Whoa. Even with the bright lights shining, I almost hit a hard-to-see forest-camouflaged hunter walking along this dark, rainy country road.

My daily tweets

  • Oct. 20th, 2009 at 11:13 PM
meez.com
 We've been going through our storage units for quite awhile now. I keep giving away clothes, but discover much more. It's a bit ill really.

The health insurance maze

  • Oct. 17th, 2009 at 3:15 AM
drowsy portia
mr f and i, mainly mr f, have been researching health insurance plans since we'll be losing ours soon.

this is the first time i've ever had to pay for my own health insurance. i've always been on the company's plan.

what a mess. like anyone needs to hear this.
it has not been fun.

but we believe we found insurance we can "live" with.
at $316/month! wow. seriously? wow. 
and that's one of the cheapest plans. really? wow.

and that has some sort of discount rate because mr f is just old enough to join aarp.

wow.
mucho dinero.

i'm feeling the pain.
but i won't call a doctor.

My daily tweets

  • Oct. 15th, 2009 at 9:28 AM
meez.com
Still in Indiana a couple more weeks. Feels like we're in New England's Spring 2009. Do we need to build an ark to move?

The countdown has begun

  • Oct. 13th, 2009 at 6:36 PM
pure joy
In less than a month, Mr F, Miss P and I are heading to Albuquerque.
It's getting exciting!
We still have so much to do.
It's still exciting.
Yea!

just saying.

  • Oct. 13th, 2009 at 12:09 AM
brain floss
Self-righteous behavior is quite unbecoming in any individual.
It's especially unbecoming in a person who is a fervent Christian.

My daily tweets

  • Oct. 11th, 2009 at 1:40 PM
meez.com
   
  1. Holy Cats. My 1980s Nishiki road bike just sold for $231. Starting bid: $50. And to think I was an inch away from Goodwilling it.
     
  2.  

mugshot summer 2009

• All of the little and big critter friends we've made this summer, especially the now not-so-little thunderstorm fawn.
• Living in the middle of a beautiful forest with lake and rolling meadows.
• Being geographically close to Mr F's parents.
• Some of the people we've met and started making friends with.

There is more, but this is all I can think of right now.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

mugshot summer 2009

• Having to drive five miles one way to the library, post office and small grocery store.
• Having to drive 10 miles one way to a decent restaurant and hardware store; 15 miles to a coffeehouse with wifi.
• Lack of high culture.
• Fuzzy, static listening of two NPR stations that are too far to get clear signal, yet close enough to taunt you.
• Not having a cooking stove.
• Businesses close around 5 p.m.
• The humidity.

There might be more things, but this is what comes to mind now.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

My daily tweets

  • Oct. 7th, 2009 at 5:00 PM
meez.com
  1. We just saw a kit fox! My first one ever. It was a beautiful deep orangish red. Wow.
     

My daily tweets

  • Oct. 4th, 2009 at 9:03 PM
meez.com
  1. Pack. Purge. Burn.
     
  2.  

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