MAKE A NOTE!! -- November 15th, 1999

CIRCULATION - 2,223 (From Around the World :))

A Free Twice Monthly Ezine with (Hopefully) Useful Information on a Wide Variety of Topics

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In This Issue:

	Twice in a Lifetime Meteor Shower
	Christmas Letters/Shortcuts
	Gift Baskets & Magazines/Christmas Shortcuts
	Thanksgiving/Christmas Celebration Ideas/Links
	Back Pain - Real Age Tip
	Y2K Reasonable Response
	Back Issue Treasure: Iridium Flares
	Joke, Quote, Feedback, Subscription Info

NOTE: Each entry has a suggested "POST IT..." location at the end. We recommend that you print out the ezine, cut out each entry, & post it at these locations to make it easier to find when you need it. And if you like what you read, be sure to pass it on to others to check out too.

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TWICE IN A LIFETIME METEOR SHOWER

Most of us may be too far away for the Northern Lights, but here is a show that is sure to dazzle many parts of the world. On the morning of November 18th (this coming Thursday), the Earth will make its once every 33 yrs pass through the debris field of a comet and we should be treated to quite a show with numerous "falling stars". Best time to view is early in the morning just before dawn. They call this shower the Leonids because most of the "stars" seem to come out of the Leonid constellation. It would be too difficult to explain here, but you can check it out at http://www.fayettevillenc.com/foto/backyard/index2.shtml. This is a local site, but it also has links to national & international sites that can give you more information. Or check with your local forecaster, science clubs/teachers. Get out the sleeping bags & take the family out for a big pre-dawn family hug with popcorn & hot cocoa. POST IT...on your calendar.

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CHRISTMAS LETTERS/SHORTCUTS

Okay, so you weren't as successful as you had hoped with making it through our Christmas Countdown Checklist. Now is the time to re-evaluate your "to-do" list. Maybe this is the year to consider doing a Christmas letter (as a friend of mine said the first year she did them, "Never say 'never'"). I was very stubborn about this until I realized that I enjoyed receiving a mass produced Christmas letter from friends/family much more than just getting a signed card or a scribbled note that told me little about how they were really doing. Try to keep the letter to a single page and if you use regular size envelopes then they even have a machine now that will fold the letters for a minimal cost. Saved me at least a good 2 hours this year that I can spend with my family instead. Use those moments when you are waiting for kids at classes or lessons to address, stuff, & stamp the envelopes. Now is also a good time to buy those return address labels. You can get 1000 from Walter Drake for about $6, again, well worth the time it will save you. POST IT...near your Christmas checklist.

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GIFT BASKETS & MAGAZINES/CHRISTMAS SHORTCUTS

Christmas should be for family, not just for long preparations that swallow up that family time. If you still haven't gotten started on that shopping list, here are a couple of ideas to make things easy for you. Why not get a gift basket loaded with all kinds of goodies & send it to the entire family instead of a lot of individual gifts. I'm not talking about the majority of food catalogs that seem to display a huge amount of food, but the gifts are a lot smaller "in person". Check your business pages under "Gift Baskets" and find a local business that does this type of thing and actually go check out their baskets. The local businesses are usually much more reasonably priced than the big catalogs and you tend to get a lot more for your money. Most of the time they also will ship for you. Why not take the gift baskets one step farther and go with only regional products say from your state, or nation? I can personally recommend Occasions Gift Baskets based here in NC. Suzanne Bal does a beautiful job with general food baskets or she can also do baskets with just North Carolina products, and she ships around the world. You can reach her at (800)723-7646 or (910)426-9988. If you are not in a location where the toll free line works then you can reach her by email at suzkellybal@prodigy.net. If you are interested in finding goodies from other parts of the USA, check out http://www.ishops.com/vm/regsspec.html (at press time this site was experiencing some difficulty, so try again in a few days if necessary). This is also a great idea for people who are far from home (maybe the military or missionaries??) & may be missing the local goodies. Another idea for easy gift giving is to give magazine subscriptions. This is a gift that will keep giving throughout the year and also encourages that lost art of reading. There are a huge number of children's magazines available to order also. I have a list of about 80 that I know of. While I can't list them all here, if you have a child with particular interests & would like to send me an email outlining the same, then I will respond to one email per family with magazine contact info that fits your request. POST IT...on your shopping list.

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THANKSGIVING/CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION IDEAS/LINKS

Debi Taylor-Hough, author of "Frozen Assets" and editor of the ezine Simple Times (to subscribe send a blank email to simple-times-subscribe@egroups.com) had some wonderful ideas on how to celebrate Thanksgiving & Christmas. For Thanksgiving, take construction paper & make a tree on a wall. As a family member thinks of something/someone to be thankful for, they should write that on a brightly autumn-colored leaf & tape it to the tree. You could also do something similar for Christmas with a Christmas tree or a birthday cake for Jesus, with each candle having something on it to be thankful for. Debi also suggested having a Thanksgiving Jar & throughout the year write down on pieces of paper things you are thankful for, then take them out at Thanksgiving & read them aloud. Here are a couple of links with even more ideas, http://members.aol.com/SbakerMan2/xmas.html and http://www.cvc.org/christmas/index.htm Another Simple Times reader suggested buying a pan & putting a copy of the "Frozen Assets" cookbook in it as a gift. Does someone like pies? Why not a pretty pie dish with a pie cookbook? POST IT...near your computer.

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BACK PAIN - A REAL AGE TIP

With all the stress of the holidays, we often find ourselves with that "aching back". So here is a tip that was recently sent out by the Real Age people.

"Hurt your back? Well, don't go to bed. It is well demonstrated that not only does longer bed rest fail to provide relief from back pain, it can often do more harm than good. Bed rest for more than five days leads to reduced muscle strength, which prolongs pain and delays recovery. If muscle function gets worse, the back pain can become chronic. More than one-half of all adults will experience back pain at some time. If you want to learn more about what you can do to prevent or treat back pain, or if you want to determine your risk for developing back pain in the future, check out our back pain Health Assessment. To calculate your accurate Real Age, & receive personalized recommendations on how you can make your Real Age younger, please visit www.RealAge.com . (c)1997-1999 Real Age, Inc. The content of this electronic transmission, and any portion thereof is protected by US copyright laws. Real Age, RealAge, Age Reduction, and What's Your RealAge? Are trademarks & service marks of RealAge, Inc. RealAge shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon." POST IT...near your back pain medication.

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Y2K REASONABLE RESPONSE

Well, I promised I would address this issue and now it is time. For those of you who are new subscribers, my husband works in the computer field and has done a lot of study on this issue. The majority of experts are now saying you should prepare the same way you would prepare for a hurricane. Planning for the possibility of pockets of problems here & there. Even many of the books/videos that were predicting dire results have been voluntarily pulled from the stores because the authors no longer believe there is reason to be that concerned. The phone companies are saying that they aren't worried about their phone systems going out, unless it is caused by everyone picking up their phone at once at midnight to see if there is still a dial tone. :) Now if I am wrong, you can all send me a message by carrier pigeon to say I told you so, BUT I refer you all to a great hurricane preparedness site to take the precautions. http://www.hurricanes.net/impact-guide/default.asp You should also, and hopefully would without my saying so, have hard (paper) copies of all account information. Again, just in case, most experts think that problems will be very small in number. POST IT...near your computer.

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BACK ISSUE TREASURE - IRIDIUM FLARES

If you would still like to see a light show, but aren't the early bird to catch the Leonid shower, then check out this back issue. In the December 1st, 1998 issue there was an entry about a web site that will help you spot Iridium flares both day & night. Circling high above us are Iridium satellites that trail a highly reflective panel about as wide as your front door and a lot longer. When they flash it usually lasts for about 20 seconds. This site can even tell you where to look from your longitude/latitude (& will even help you figure that out too). :) The back issue also has a list of Thanksgiving/Christmas cooking help lines and more ideas for last minute Christmas giving made easy. To request this back issue send an email to make-a-note-issues@xc.org and in the subject or body of the message, type in MAN-008 and you should receive the issue promptly. POST IT...by your computer.

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JOKE (from Glory G.)

"A Sunday School teacher was discussing the 10 Commandments w/her 5 & 6-yr-olds. After explaining the commandment to 'honor thy father & mother' she asked, 'Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers & sisters?' Without missing a beat one little boy answered, 'Thou shalt not kill.'" :)

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QUOTE

"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

--John Robert Wooden

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FEEDBACK-FEEDBACK-FEEDBACK

RE: Cornbread Salad Recipe (11/1/99 Issue)

Kathy wrote to ask if the ingredients in the cans were drained. The answer is yes. Please forgive me for missing that particular direction.

RE: Gasoline (Savings) (4/15/97 Issue)

No, that date isn't a typo. In the very first issue of the Make a Note I mentioned an article that promoted filling up in the morning when the gasoline was colder & more condensed to get more for your money & save about $50/yr. However, I must now withdraw my support for this money saver. Recent news reports of the recall of the 1996 Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravans, and Plymouth Voyager/Grand Voyager minivans has brought new information to my attention. In the case of the recalls they have a problem where the gas could leak & potentially cause a fire. But many of the reports are also discussing the problem of people topping off their tanks, continuing to fill after the first cut off click. What this does is build pressure in the tank when you put the lid back on. So the fumes will expand & come out the top. This can cause your O-rings to go bad. If you would like to read more about it go to http://www.wral-tv.com/news/wral/1999/1105-minivan-recall/ I am now recommending that you stop filling as soon as you hear the first click, and don't fill up completely in the morning unless you are on a long trip that would use up the gas before it expands as the day goes on.

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Here's to a wonderful Thanksgiving for you all with a deep appreciation for all we too often take for granted.

God Bless,

Sharon

Editor, Make a Note

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