Elder Care Resources

There's a good list of some major resources that can lead to yet more resources for elder care here at iVillage.

Mansions with Motors - The hottest new RV models for 2008

Check out this webpage from the TV channel HGTV and learn all you ever needed to know about RV's. Figure out which type of RV is right for you. Drool over the luxury models. What's your budget and what can you get for it? Learn how to get the most out of your RV and lots, lots more.

How to Make a Fabric Postcard

This is just one more great "mini-website" within the humungous universe of useful information known as About.com. Under the general sub-heading of "Home4Home & Garden4Quilting," and authored by Janet Wickell, Quilting Guide, you can learn how to make several types of fabric postcards to impress family and friends. Give it a try!
VISIT THE WEBSITE

Stuff for Teachers

Whether you teach in a school classroom or at home, these websites might come in handy for everything from teacher/classroom supplies to lesson plans to research to student projects and more.

ReallyGoodStuff.com
English Language (ESL) Teaching Resources - a collection of blank grids, customisable worksheets, and miscellaneous printable resources for teachers
A to Z Teacher Stuff
Free Stuff for Classroom Use
Interesting or useful stuff for teachers
Useful Websites for Teachers, Parents, and Students
Math Resources
KinderArt® Teacher's Toolbox
Useful Links for Teachers
"Teachers" T-Shirts and Gifts
Superteacherstuff.com
Sites For Teachers
Bilingual Education
Free Stuff for Canadian Teachers
Dave's ESL Cafe
Discovery Education
Teacher Related Freebies
CalMAX - find or exchange materials commonly used in California's schools.
Free Stuff for Educators!
Free Stuff for Science Teachers
Science Learning Network
Education jobs, news, reviews and debate (U.K. site)
FREE (Federal Resources for Educational Excellence)
ArtsEdge - Information, resources, and ideas that support the arts as a core subject area in K-12 curriculum.
Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM)
Helping Your Students With Homework
Internet4Classrooms
Teachers.net
TeachersFirst.com
Scholastic.com
Teacher Storehouse
Teacher School Supplies
The Schoolbox
Homeroom Teacher
Teaching Supply Store
Teacher Supplies, Teacher Resources and Classroom Activities

Roof Help

See, this is what it is... I was 17 years old when my Mom bought this house and moved us here the day after I graduated from high school. I was 100% sympathetic to her reasons for wanting to move so I didn't begrudge her the move per se, but the day after my graduation? She actually was going to yank me out of school in the middle of my senior year, moving into the new house and me into a new school after a lifetime of me forming friendships with the same kids at the same schools, all of us growing up together, and I was supposed to dump all that to start over at a new school in the middle of my senior year?

Not going to happen. No way. So the day after graduation was the compromise. And here we are and now I am fifty-seven years old and now my Mom is bedridden, on oxygen, on a tube feeding, and I am her sole caregiver.

We've had folks in and out of here, including my younger brother when he was still alive and my sister and her new husband early on in their marriage (their daughter is now in her 30's and her son is a teenager in high school).

We had an extended Mexican family living here for a year and a half. At one count, we had fourteen Mexicans living here and they were a G-d sent miracle because the lessons on living we learned from them forever altered the course of our lives and have probably saved our lives more than once since then.

Then there was the nasty El Niño wind and rain monsoon season that ripped shingles off our roof and allowed the pounding rain to collapse our ceilings all along one side of our house - dining room, living room, and two bedrooms. Big chunks of ceiling missing, carpeting and furniture ruined.

Hey, at least we could enjoy the rain from inside our house. That was different.

So... our Mexican family got up on our house and installed a new roof on that half of the house. And everything's been fine for a few years.

Now, the front half of the roof is going. We're in trouble.

I think we must have the last wood shake roof in existence in Southern California. They are against the law now because of the danger from brush fires and we do live most extremely close to the Malibu hills.

The front of our house looks like a shanty from the wrong side of the tracks because the roof is so old, so dried out, missing shingles, and it's just plain ugly anymore. It makes me feel bad every time I have to see it.

Nobody should have to feel that way about their own home. But, that is the way I feel. If the neighbors only knew that I want to see a new roof up there even more than they do, maybe they wouldn't hate me so much.

I am poor. I am disabled. Even if I didn't have to be here inside the house 24/7 to take care of my Mother, I am not able to work. And Social Security Disability is not enough money to pay for a new roof.

So, here we sit. Meanwhile, I can dream, can't I? I can pretend what a new roof might look like. I can dig up information on roofing and pretend somehow it's all going to mean something to us here one day.

When I go "pack rat" on collecting data, I gather the online links together in a folder in my Favorites. And I thought they just might qualify as "useful" so here they are...

[THE USUAL DISCLAIMER STUFF: I cannot personally recommend ANY of these links or verify any of the information contained in these links because I don't know crap about roofing. These links should be considered a mere starting point for a quest for information. That is all.]

Vehicle Ratings - Top Safety Picks from IIHS

The Institute rates vehicles good, acceptable, marginal, or poor based on performance in high-speed front and side crash tests plus evaluations of seat/head restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts. The first requirement for a vehicle to become a Top Safety Pick is to earn good ratings in all three Institute tests. Another requirement is that winning vehicles must offer electronic stability control. This requirement is based on Institute research indicating that ESC significantly reduces crash risk, especially the risk of fatal single-vehicle crashes, by helping drivers maintain control of their vehicles during emergency maneuvers.

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Large cars
Audi A6
Cadillac CTS
Ford Taurus with optional electronic stability control
Mercury Sable with optional electronic stability control
Volvo S80

Midsize cars
Audi A3
Audi A4
Honda Accord 4-door models
Saab 9-3
Subaru Legacy with optional electronic stability control

Midsize convertibles
Saab 9-3
Volvo C70

Small car
Subaru Impreza with optional electronic stability control
Minivans
Honda Odyssey
Hyundai Entourage
Kia Sedona
Midsize SUVs
Acura MDX
Acura RDX
BMW X3
BMW X5
Ford Edge
Ford Taurus X
Honda Pilot
Hyundai Santa Fe
Hyundai Veracruz built after August 2007
Infiniti EX35
Lincoln MKX
Mercedes M class
Nissan Murano
Saturn VUE built after December 2007
Subaru Tribeca
Toyota Highlander
Volvo XC90

Small SUVs
Honda CR-V
Honda Element
Subaru Forester with optional electronic stability control

Large pickup
Toyota Tundra

How Financially Secure Are You? Take the Quiz!

Take Another quiz for fun from Settlement Quotes, LLC.

65%
CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE QUIZ.