Some few years ago, a very dear friend of mine who lived in another state passed away. Being not acquainted with her family, and unable to attend the funeral, I had no way of knowing anything about after she passed on. So I started trying to find my friend, and Boy oh boy! I never thought finding a dead person would be so hard. Yikes! So, if you ever find yourself on a similar search, here's some info to help get started.
First, waste no time!! The longer you wait, the harder your search is going to be. Information gets buried and it does NOT get easier to find when that happens.
Second, gather up your information. Legal spelling of their first and last name, where they died, and if at all possible the exact date of death. If you don't have the exact date, at least narrow the field to within a week or two.
Third, let your fingers do the walking. If you have the information listed above, go straight to the Social Security Death Index. If that yields no results, look up the public records of the county where your friend died, as well as the obituary archives and possibly any relevant articles of the local newspapers for that area. If you are lucky, there will be an obituary with the postmortem information you need. WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING YOU LEARN!!!
Fourth, start making phone calls. See if you can find any names of relations that you might be able to call and ask. Bug the newspapers. If the passing was more than 2 or 3 years ago, call the local papers and ask them to check their obituary archives. Call the cemeteries and funeral homes. Most people will bend over backward to help you when they know you are searching for a loved one.
Now this is going to sound horrible, but if your loved one died by suicide or other unnatural means, it's actually lucky for you, because your job just got a LOT easier.
What you do in this case is to call the county coroner's office in the county where they died, with their name/date/place of death. The Coroner's office will be able to tell you which funeral home/cemetery was responsible for your loved one, and can provide the number if you ask real nice. Then all you need do is call the home, and learn what you need to know.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The $3.53 Toddler Dress
A few days ago I stumbled across the "daddy shirt" dress idea in the blog of a lady called Cheytown, and it looked so easy I couldn't resist. So yesterday I went to the thrift store, and found a nice men's shirt since they were having a 50% off sale. The shirt cost $2.99 total, and the lace was something 54¢ total. By cutting the buttoned piece down lower from the shirt, and strategically shortening the yoked piece to match (look just above the hemline there), I was able to utilize the ready-made hem and save myself a LOT of headache. To make the straps, I ignored the "use the sleeve caps" idea, and just cut the hem (is that the right word?) of the shirt's sleeves off right next to the seam, then used those to fold over the edge of the lace and stitch down with a single seam, so they were literally NO extra work at all. On the whole, the entire project was very quick and easy, and I look forward to making a few more soon.
If you are interested, there is also a neat idea here at Livyloo's Blog for Matching Capri Pants.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Los Angeles (or, adventures in Little Tokyo)
That's right folks, small-town Rez-rat goes to the Big City. Actually, due to my husband's martial arts, we usually go 2 or 3 times a year. While we do watch expenses, these are generally much more "comfy" than the San Diego excursion.
To begin with, we invariably stay at the Miyako Hotel, which is hands-down (IMO) the most civilized spot in the whole S. CA Megalopolis. For roughly $80/night, we get a VERY clean, elegant business-class room with comfy beds, fridge, microwave, tv, hi-speed internet, and a blow dryer n' ironing board. For a few bucks more, the "executive" rooms even boast (get this!) a heated bidet. That's right, I said heated. Now to more sophisticated and worldly types, this might not be anything particular, but to a small-town hippy kid, a machine to warm the throne definitely qualifies as "ritzy". However, it's not the bidet and fridge that make this lovely, unassuming hotel the most civilized place in LA.
It's the SPA, down on the third floor.
Now don't get your hopes up about facials and pedicures and whatnot, ladies, it ain't that kind of spa. It's a traditional Japanese sort of thing. There's a men's half and women's half, separate from each other, that share a common workout room. Shiatsu massage is offered, but for me, the REAL charm of this place is in the plumbing. A lovely wooden dry sauna, a steamroom I positively adore, a small Jacuzzi, and two high-pressure showers are the extent of the facilities, except a small locker and Toilette area (with ammenities and necessities provided free by the hotel). For $20, you get in all day from opening to closing, as many times and as long as you like. Everythi.g is kept very clean, and tea-tree oil regularly appears in the steam-room. It's wonderful on the skin, feels good to breathe in with the steam, and powerfully disinfects. So far as this li'l redhead is concerned, that's civilization. :) But just for the record, it IS clothing-optional. I'm comfortable with it, but for ladies preferring more coverage, towels and robes are plentifully available....just don't be shocked when the other ladies opt for their birthday suit.
Now, on to a more important subject: FOOD
As you might suspect, there are plenty of places literally a few feet away, at which one can get what is said to be really authentic and delicious japanese food. However, if the smell and taste of fish are as revolting to you as they are to me, your options are considerably more limited. Everything in those places positively REEKS of fish ~GAGS!~ Even "vegetarian food" contains the that gawdawful fishy reek and taste. YUK!
Fortunately there is relief, right within walking distance of the Miyako hotel. If you leave the front lobby, turn right, walk a few steps, turn right again, and wander into the Little Tokyo Mall, culinary delights await even the pickiest palate.
First stop, the bakery at the corner on the right, next to the fountain. They sell sweet and savory pastries, custards both plain and with fruit, tarts, breads, sandwiches, and drinkage, all at reasonable prices. Seriously, I live out of this bakery when in LA. There is also a small Japanese grocery store with reasonable prices, on the left side of the fountain. Don't be intimidated by the signs, the prices are in english, the staff is friendly, and there are plenty of familiar american staples to be found. Prices are fair for LA, and certainly cheaper than eating out.
Eating out.......aaahhh yes.......The Great Adventure. As I said, there are any number of eateries within quick walk of the hotel. In the Little Tokyo Mall, you can find Japanese, but also Korean (which makes a nice change of pace). My favorite, however, is the Cuban place, which is not in the LTM, but is still very close. Leave the hotel lobby, turn right, walk down, cross the street, and go to the brick building with "CUBAN FOOD" painted on the side. Now, go inside, the charming waitresses will seat you in a simple dining area with dark wood floors and pretty artwork, and hand you a menu. I can't speak for the rest of the menu, I go STRAIGHT for the Ox Tail soup. It's rich, tender, and DEEEEEElicious! To drink, try the Ironbeer Rootbeer. It's a wonderful rootbeer with a warm vanilla taste. It really is heavenly :) In the area, there is also a Subway, and a Starbucks (at the New Otani Hotel, 1 block north)
Spirituality: For those interested in attending, the Koyasan Buddhist Temple opens to the public at 10 Am Sunday mornings, and a Buddhist service is held at that time. All are welcome to attend, and it really is lovely and peaceful. A couple blocks away is a christian church of some sort, something like Lutheran or Presbyterian, if memory serves. At any rate, it's within walking distance.
OK, more will follow later on LA, but for now I'm tired of typing, so I'll catch ya's on the flip side.
Peace out!
To begin with, we invariably stay at the Miyako Hotel, which is hands-down (IMO) the most civilized spot in the whole S. CA Megalopolis. For roughly $80/night, we get a VERY clean, elegant business-class room with comfy beds, fridge, microwave, tv, hi-speed internet, and a blow dryer n' ironing board. For a few bucks more, the "executive" rooms even boast (get this!) a heated bidet. That's right, I said heated. Now to more sophisticated and worldly types, this might not be anything particular, but to a small-town hippy kid, a machine to warm the throne definitely qualifies as "ritzy". However, it's not the bidet and fridge that make this lovely, unassuming hotel the most civilized place in LA.
It's the SPA, down on the third floor.
Now don't get your hopes up about facials and pedicures and whatnot, ladies, it ain't that kind of spa. It's a traditional Japanese sort of thing. There's a men's half and women's half, separate from each other, that share a common workout room. Shiatsu massage is offered, but for me, the REAL charm of this place is in the plumbing. A lovely wooden dry sauna, a steamroom I positively adore, a small Jacuzzi, and two high-pressure showers are the extent of the facilities, except a small locker and Toilette area (with ammenities and necessities provided free by the hotel). For $20, you get in all day from opening to closing, as many times and as long as you like. Everythi.g is kept very clean, and tea-tree oil regularly appears in the steam-room. It's wonderful on the skin, feels good to breathe in with the steam, and powerfully disinfects. So far as this li'l redhead is concerned, that's civilization. :) But just for the record, it IS clothing-optional. I'm comfortable with it, but for ladies preferring more coverage, towels and robes are plentifully available....just don't be shocked when the other ladies opt for their birthday suit.
Now, on to a more important subject: FOOD
As you might suspect, there are plenty of places literally a few feet away, at which one can get what is said to be really authentic and delicious japanese food. However, if the smell and taste of fish are as revolting to you as they are to me, your options are considerably more limited. Everything in those places positively REEKS of fish ~GAGS!~ Even "vegetarian food" contains the that gawdawful fishy reek and taste. YUK!
Fortunately there is relief, right within walking distance of the Miyako hotel. If you leave the front lobby, turn right, walk a few steps, turn right again, and wander into the Little Tokyo Mall, culinary delights await even the pickiest palate.
First stop, the bakery at the corner on the right, next to the fountain. They sell sweet and savory pastries, custards both plain and with fruit, tarts, breads, sandwiches, and drinkage, all at reasonable prices. Seriously, I live out of this bakery when in LA. There is also a small Japanese grocery store with reasonable prices, on the left side of the fountain. Don't be intimidated by the signs, the prices are in english, the staff is friendly, and there are plenty of familiar american staples to be found. Prices are fair for LA, and certainly cheaper than eating out.
Eating out.......aaahhh yes.......The Great Adventure. As I said, there are any number of eateries within quick walk of the hotel. In the Little Tokyo Mall, you can find Japanese, but also Korean (which makes a nice change of pace). My favorite, however, is the Cuban place, which is not in the LTM, but is still very close. Leave the hotel lobby, turn right, walk down, cross the street, and go to the brick building with "CUBAN FOOD" painted on the side. Now, go inside, the charming waitresses will seat you in a simple dining area with dark wood floors and pretty artwork, and hand you a menu. I can't speak for the rest of the menu, I go STRAIGHT for the Ox Tail soup. It's rich, tender, and DEEEEEElicious! To drink, try the Ironbeer Rootbeer. It's a wonderful rootbeer with a warm vanilla taste. It really is heavenly :) In the area, there is also a Subway, and a Starbucks (at the New Otani Hotel, 1 block north)
Spirituality: For those interested in attending, the Koyasan Buddhist Temple opens to the public at 10 Am Sunday mornings, and a Buddhist service is held at that time. All are welcome to attend, and it really is lovely and peaceful. A couple blocks away is a christian church of some sort, something like Lutheran or Presbyterian, if memory serves. At any rate, it's within walking distance.
OK, more will follow later on LA, but for now I'm tired of typing, so I'll catch ya's on the flip side.
Peace out!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
San Diego On The Cheap
Ok, Here's the first real post.
The last several days I've been over in San Diego for my father's heart surgery, a cardiac ablation to fix his heart murmur. Happily, dad is home safe and doing noticeably better already, much to our relief. The fun part of the trip was, I got to amuse myself for 2 days in San Diego with no schedule but my own whims (for the most part). The downside is, I had a bare minimum of money on which to do it. Here's how I managed, and what I learned.
Food: Honestly, I didn't pack very well for this trip, in terms of nutrition. For drinkables, I brought water and some sodas from home. For food, I stopped at a roadside farmers market place that I know well, and stocked up on fruit. Bananas, strawberries, oranges, peaches...delicious and easy, but not real good in terms of keeping me full. To fill out my diet on the cheap, I had the Hostel's pancake breakfast every day with peanut butter, and coffee (I am NOT forgoing my caffeine fix!), and got a couple dollar menu burgers at local drive-thru's. Not the best diet, I know, but it could have been worse, too. Solidly 70% of my diet for all 3 days was fresh fruit, with enough carbs and protein to keep my blood sugar stable. I ended up drinking only one of the sodas, and that was on the way home, for the caffeine.
Lesson Learned: Pack bread and sandwich fixin's and some plastic silverware...and some teabags would have made a nice change of pace from water.
Lodging: OK, hotels are expensive. Even Motel 6 can run $60 a night or more, which adds up FAST. So I started looking around, and found that Hostelling International has a hostel at 5th & Market streets, at the southeast end of the Gaslamp District. I paid about $26 a night for 3 nights. Despite the rather dubious-looking front lobby, the rooms and beds were very clean and comfortable, and the staff were genuinely nice young ladies & gentlemen ~s~ The showers were clean and had superb hot water and water pressure. Included in the nightly rent is a "Free all-you-can-cook" pancake breakfast every morning. They also have a tv/internet room, local tours, activities on certain days of the week, and a place to wash your laundry. Now, to get a cheaper rate, I stayed in a 10 bed Co-Ed dorm room. Sharing a room with a few well behaved guys doesn't bother me at all. However, they do have all female and all male rooms, too. Security measures included a slide-card locking system for the entrance AND the door to your own dorm (couldn't get into anyone else's, only your assigned room), plus a guard outside the door at night to check for your room pass. No pass, no entry. Period. Depending on your vices, you may like to know that the entry door is (I kid you not!) between a Sushi restaurant and a Cigar store, and right near any number of pizzarias, bars, nightclubs, upscale restaurants, and upscale fashion stores for shopping.
Entertainment: With dad in the hospital, I had all of Monday and Tuesday to fill up. Balboa Park is a great place to amuse yourself for a few hours if you're flat broke, but it REALLY helps if you've got some spending money. Next time, I intend to buy their museum pass for a little less than $40, which lets you into all the museums for an entire week for that one fee. This time, however, I got to content myself wandering through the Spanish Art Village marketplace, the Temken art museum, the botanical building, and around the various gardens (all free!) with my camera. Two perks of Balboa Park include LOTS of places to park all day for free, and you can bring your own food to eat.
I did spend the $30 each, for me and dad to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. For a couple of history-loving bibliophiles, the chance to see so many ancient books was WONDERFUL!!! Not only were there a bunch of the dead sea scrolls, but also a bunch of other books dating as early as the 1100's, and even a Roman Codex. One other interesting part of the exhibit were original hand-done art & calligraphy pages from the Saint John's Bible (google it), which were just beautiful. And did you know, there is now a Dead Sea Scrolls bible. Check it out :-)
Incidentally I was VERY blessed to find some lovely clumps of Aloe Vera growing in a back corner of the park, to treat the sunburn I acquired.
Lesson learned: Two days is a LOT of time to fill when the museums are off limits! Yes it was worth splurging to see the ancient scroll fragments and books, but only once.
Parking: Three words.........ouch. ouch! OUCH!!!!!! Parking is EXPENSIVE!!!! Normal night parking in a garage is fairly reasonable ($6-8), UNLESS you need to park on a Game Day. On Game Days, you can expect to pay double and even triple to get a parking spot, whether you give two hoots about sports or not. No, parking on the street at a meter all night wasn't an option, thanks to street sweepers. Parking in their way was a fa$t track to get towed away! :-( Lesson learned: look up the local-team game schedule before you leave home, and plan your parking budget around it. Most garages in that area seem to start their "Night" rates at 6 PM, but beware! The hourly rate usually kicks in starting at 3 AM!
On the other hand, for actual driving, traffic wasn't terrible at all, I just had to figure my way around with all the one-way streets. There's a LOT of those in the old section of San Diego, so a map that indicates them is a valuable investment.
DO take and apply sunblock, and beware of cloudy/hazy days, because you can get a MUCH worse sunburn then. And a light shirt with long sleeves is better than no sleeves, if one is as prone to sunburn as I am. Oh yes, and DO bring or buy your own drinking water, as the City water is NAS-TEE!!
Peace out!
The last several days I've been over in San Diego for my father's heart surgery, a cardiac ablation to fix his heart murmur. Happily, dad is home safe and doing noticeably better already, much to our relief. The fun part of the trip was, I got to amuse myself for 2 days in San Diego with no schedule but my own whims (for the most part). The downside is, I had a bare minimum of money on which to do it. Here's how I managed, and what I learned.
Food: Honestly, I didn't pack very well for this trip, in terms of nutrition. For drinkables, I brought water and some sodas from home. For food, I stopped at a roadside farmers market place that I know well, and stocked up on fruit. Bananas, strawberries, oranges, peaches...delicious and easy, but not real good in terms of keeping me full. To fill out my diet on the cheap, I had the Hostel's pancake breakfast every day with peanut butter, and coffee (I am NOT forgoing my caffeine fix!), and got a couple dollar menu burgers at local drive-thru's. Not the best diet, I know, but it could have been worse, too. Solidly 70% of my diet for all 3 days was fresh fruit, with enough carbs and protein to keep my blood sugar stable. I ended up drinking only one of the sodas, and that was on the way home, for the caffeine.
Lesson Learned: Pack bread and sandwich fixin's and some plastic silverware...and some teabags would have made a nice change of pace from water.
Lodging: OK, hotels are expensive. Even Motel 6 can run $60 a night or more, which adds up FAST. So I started looking around, and found that Hostelling International has a hostel at 5th & Market streets, at the southeast end of the Gaslamp District. I paid about $26 a night for 3 nights. Despite the rather dubious-looking front lobby, the rooms and beds were very clean and comfortable, and the staff were genuinely nice young ladies & gentlemen ~s~ The showers were clean and had superb hot water and water pressure. Included in the nightly rent is a "Free all-you-can-cook" pancake breakfast every morning. They also have a tv/internet room, local tours, activities on certain days of the week, and a place to wash your laundry. Now, to get a cheaper rate, I stayed in a 10 bed Co-Ed dorm room. Sharing a room with a few well behaved guys doesn't bother me at all. However, they do have all female and all male rooms, too. Security measures included a slide-card locking system for the entrance AND the door to your own dorm (couldn't get into anyone else's, only your assigned room), plus a guard outside the door at night to check for your room pass. No pass, no entry. Period. Depending on your vices, you may like to know that the entry door is (I kid you not!) between a Sushi restaurant and a Cigar store, and right near any number of pizzarias, bars, nightclubs, upscale restaurants, and upscale fashion stores for shopping.
Entertainment: With dad in the hospital, I had all of Monday and Tuesday to fill up. Balboa Park is a great place to amuse yourself for a few hours if you're flat broke, but it REALLY helps if you've got some spending money. Next time, I intend to buy their museum pass for a little less than $40, which lets you into all the museums for an entire week for that one fee. This time, however, I got to content myself wandering through the Spanish Art Village marketplace, the Temken art museum, the botanical building, and around the various gardens (all free!) with my camera. Two perks of Balboa Park include LOTS of places to park all day for free, and you can bring your own food to eat.
I did spend the $30 each, for me and dad to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. For a couple of history-loving bibliophiles, the chance to see so many ancient books was WONDERFUL!!! Not only were there a bunch of the dead sea scrolls, but also a bunch of other books dating as early as the 1100's, and even a Roman Codex. One other interesting part of the exhibit were original hand-done art & calligraphy pages from the Saint John's Bible (google it), which were just beautiful. And did you know, there is now a Dead Sea Scrolls bible. Check it out :-)
Incidentally I was VERY blessed to find some lovely clumps of Aloe Vera growing in a back corner of the park, to treat the sunburn I acquired.
Lesson learned: Two days is a LOT of time to fill when the museums are off limits! Yes it was worth splurging to see the ancient scroll fragments and books, but only once.
Parking: Three words.........ouch. ouch! OUCH!!!!!! Parking is EXPENSIVE!!!! Normal night parking in a garage is fairly reasonable ($6-8), UNLESS you need to park on a Game Day. On Game Days, you can expect to pay double and even triple to get a parking spot, whether you give two hoots about sports or not. No, parking on the street at a meter all night wasn't an option, thanks to street sweepers. Parking in their way was a fa$t track to get towed away! :-( Lesson learned: look up the local-team game schedule before you leave home, and plan your parking budget around it. Most garages in that area seem to start their "Night" rates at 6 PM, but beware! The hourly rate usually kicks in starting at 3 AM!
On the other hand, for actual driving, traffic wasn't terrible at all, I just had to figure my way around with all the one-way streets. There's a LOT of those in the old section of San Diego, so a map that indicates them is a valuable investment.
DO take and apply sunblock, and beware of cloudy/hazy days, because you can get a MUCH worse sunburn then. And a light shirt with long sleeves is better than no sleeves, if one is as prone to sunburn as I am. Oh yes, and DO bring or buy your own drinking water, as the City water is NAS-TEE!!
Peace out!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)