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Topics - Susan Mouw

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1
News and Information / Stepping away...
« on: March 22, 2021, 05:37:20 PM »
Hey everyone.  Just a quick note.
As many of you know, I sold out of or gave away my Ameraucanas last year, only keeping one cockbird (Solomon) and three of his favorite hens for my own personal use.

I am now stepping away from the chicken groups and pages, as it has become abundantly clear to me that I need to focus on other things right now.

I'm asking 2 things:
Please don't pm/call/text/email me about birds/chicks/eggs for sale.  I do not have any and will not have any.
Please don't tag me in a post, at this time.

Thanks, everyone. 

2
News and Information / The forum is back!
« on: February 20, 2021, 10:23:14 AM »
Good morning, everyone

The forum is now back up and running.  The reason the forum went down was due to an upgrade by godaddy (our hosting service).  They upgraded their SQL files and the version of the forum software we were on was not compatible with the newer SQL/php files.  So we had to upgrade the forum software to the latest simple machines release (2.0.18, release 2/1/21).  That is now complete.

Please note, however, that while things seem to be working fine and we trust in the complete testing done by simple machines, as someone who used to work in the software industry, I understand that it is impossible for any software developer to mimic the environment of every user out there.  So, things might get missed.

If you run into any problems/issues, please let me or Lindsay Helton know as soon as possible.

Be sure to give Lindsay kudos - she was the one that delved into the issue and after much back and forth between godaddy and smf, was able to figure out the source of the problem.

3
News and Information / 2020 Board of Directors Election
« on: August 31, 2020, 09:02:25 AM »
Good morning, everyone.

The 2020 ABC Board of Directors Election is about to open for electronic voting.  There is only one position in contention - that of the SE District Director - so only those members in the South East District will receive electronic ballots.  The electronic voting will run from 9/1/20 8AM (EST) to 9/15/20 8PM (EST).  Outside of that time frame, no electronic ballots will be accepted.

Each member of the SE District will receive an email from our club email address (info@ameraucanabreedersclub.org) with a special individually assigned key. Those notifications will be sent at the start of the voting - 9/1/2020 8AM EST.  That key can only be used one time and permits that user to access the electronic voting application.  If you are an active member of the ABC and reside in the South Eastern District, please check your email for that notification tomorrow morning.  If you do not receive one, please let the Electronic Election Commissioner know, as soon as possible.  You can email me at samouw@gmail.com.

It is a quick and easy process - so be sure and get your votes in!  All votes are completely anonymous - no one, not even the Election Commissioners, will see who voted for which candidate.

All results will be announced once the voting ends.

4
News and Information / Christmas Morn
« on: December 25, 2019, 01:23:44 PM »
Merry Christmas to everyone!

This was a poem I wrote a few years back and I recently was asked to read it at our church Christmas play.  I managed to get through it. Now I'm sharing it with you.

Christmas Morn

Christmas morn dawns bright and cold
With snow thick upon the ground.
Children squeal with glee, their wishes fulfilled
And joy and laughter abound.
 
The tree, once bright, now sags with the weight
Of the lights, and the many shiny balls.
Its day, once anticipated, has now come and is going.
The needles, now dry, silently fall.
 
The stockings, once hung o’er the mantle with care,
Are now emptied of their secret stash.
The candy cane wrappers and empty battery packages
Now litter the floor with the rest of the trash.
 
Forgotten are the recent memories
Of the shopping, the rush, and the noise.
Soon forgotten, too, are the mountains of gifts –
The ties, the socks, and new toys.
 
Is this what You meant for Christmas, Lord?
Are we honoring the memory of Your Birth?
When the TV stations track Santa’s progress
From the North Pole to the ends of the earth.
 
But so few words are spoken
In memory of what this day truly means.
So few thoughts turn to You, Lord
In the rush of this holiday scene.
 
I truly love this season, Lord.
I like the lights, the gifts, and the noise.
I like Christmas carols sung by the fire
And children’s faces as they open their toys.
 
But, even more, I love the memory we honor.
The joy and miracle of Your Birth
That promises of our salvation
And hints at Your sacrifice, and its worth.
 
So, this Christmas day, amid the rustle of paper,
And shouts of joy and acquisition
I promise to remember You, Lord
And what it means to be a Christian.
 
Susan Mouw

“6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)

This, and many of my other writings, are included in my book, The Road to the Cross.

5
News and Information / Last post
« on: November 22, 2019, 07:57:54 PM »
This may well be my last post on the forum.  I'll check in from time to time, but continuing health issues have limited my time, energy, and availability.

I hope everyone has a great time at our National, at the Dixie Classic, in a couple of weeks.  To all my friends, I'm not going anywhere!  I'll still be around and still have a few projects going.

8
Exhibiting & Promoting / Self-Blue Final Qualifying meet - Ohio Nationals
« on: November 09, 2019, 12:23:00 PM »
From Lindsay Helton, at the Ohio National, just a few minutes ago:
"The final qualifying meet for the self blue Ameraucana color variety is being held today at the Ohio National poultry show. 42 self blues are on hand for the occasion and have been entered by 10 exhibitors including (in order of exhibitor number) Pat Dukes, Barbara Dodington, Susan Mouw, Lindsay Helton, Jean Ribbeck, Paul and Angela Smith, Eric Waterman, Shannon Rowe, Chris Cross, and Dakota’s Chickens. Good luck to everyone showing today! We are hopeful that the variety will become officially approved today!"

9
News and Information / Surgery is scheduled - more updates :)
« on: May 16, 2019, 01:13:18 PM »
Ok, folks, we have a scheduled time for surgery of 5/21 at 11:30. The surgery will take about 4 hours and I will be in the hospital at least 5 days.
After home care will be at least 2 weeks on "restricted duty", whatever that means.
Barry said he is going to stay at the hospital until I'm out of surgery on Tuesday, and will be updating my FB page sometime either that evening or the next morning.
My siblings all have his phone number, too, so they may post updates if he can't get to a computer, since he doesn't have a smart phone (his choice).

10
News and Information / The ABC_members database overview
« on: May 13, 2019, 12:29:22 PM »
As I leave the office I've held for nearly 4.5 years, and as we transition to our new Secretary/Treasurer, Dana Smith, I realize there are some things that should be published and have not been.

One such item is our abc members database. When I started documenting the various processes for Dana, I realized the user interface on our database was not very user-friendly. So, I went back and incorporated a new user interface.

This document is an overview of that user interface and the image below is a schema of the user interface (not of the database itself, just the user interface).



To see the overview of the database itself, here is the .pdf:

http://ameraucanabreedersclub.org/docs/ABC%20Members%20DB.pdf

11
The first phase of the transition, electronic transfer of files, is now complete, pending Dana's final download.  This was, and had to be, broken into two steps, with the first step of zipping and transferring the "working directory" for ABC to Dana.  That working directory, even zipped, was over 2.2 GB of data/history/info.

The next step in that phase was the transfer of the ABC website files and that was recently completed and is now in Dana's capable hands.  This was another huge transfer of over 2 GB of data/files/images.

The next step is setting up all the various tools that we use to maintain website, forum, and all the other hats the Secty/Treasurer wears. 

The final step will be going through the various processes (new members, meet requests, meet reports, etc) with Dana so there is no gap.  Well, actually there is already a gap as I have saved back examples from each of the above to use as training guides for Dana.  With her background, and education, however, I expect she will pick these processes up very quickly and, just as quickly, have ideas on how to improve on those existing processes.

All of the above will be done by her official start date of 5/15/19. 

Thank you, Dana, for stepping up to the plate!

Update on my surgery: It is still scheduled for 5/21.  The cardiology reports are both in (nuclear stress test and echocardiogram) and, with one minor issue on the stress test, all is clear and I'm approved to go forward with the surgery.  I have been told I will be spending 5-6 days in the hospital and for the first week at home, will have a drain tube in my head (this is done to prevent a build up of fluid around the brain).  The neurologist that is 1/2 of the surgical team has already told me no electronic devices during that first week! (How did he know he needed to emphasize that?), so no phone, no laptop - I can't even watch TV - it's going to be a very rough week. lol

Please forgive any delays in processing new members, meet request, meet reports, etc over the last month and during this transition, and place the blame squarely on my shoulders.  My little "episodes" are more frequent, and my energy levels are not what they used to be.

Hopefully all will be healed and I'll be ready to go again this fall, as I have several shows on my "wish list" to attend!  Hope to see many of my friends at some of the shows this fall - just ignore the new mohawk haircut - it will grow back.

12
News and Information / Surgery is scheduled - Update
« on: March 27, 2019, 04:43:32 PM »
Update - Surgery is now firm, and scheduled 5/21.

I have just gotten back home from meeting with the otolaryngologist that will be 1/2 of the surgical team.  The other half, Dr. Vender, neurologist, I won't see until Friday.  The surgery is tentatively scheduled for April 30th and it will take 3-5 hours.  There will be a 5 day hospital stay following the surgery, and he never answered my question about recovery.  There are some check boxes that must be marked before the surgery, so that is why that date is, for now, tentative.

The good news, or at least I think it is good news, is that the brain, part of the temporal lobe, has herniated through the gap in the brain pan.  While that does make the surgery a riskier procedure, it also means that it could be the cause of these episodes, which in turn means, they could stop following the surgery. Time will tell.

13
News and Information / New! Junior Master Exhibitors!
« on: March 27, 2019, 08:39:09 AM »
Congratulations to the latest new Junior Master Exhibitors!!

Lauren Dossey
Athena Balderas
Eric Waterman


I am in the process of updating the documents on the website and will get the plaques ordered this week.

14
News and Information / Points
« on: March 25, 2019, 02:21:12 PM »
Are now updated on the website, through the most recent Meet Report received.

http://ameraucanabreedersclub.org/points.html

15
News and Information / Meet Reports overdue
« on: March 23, 2019, 07:07:35 AM »
Hi everyone

I'm trying to track down meet reports from the attached list.  Some of these are over a year old and have not been received.

If you attended any of these shows and can help out with completing the meet report, please contact me at info@ameraucanabreedersclub.org.

Just as a side note, our meet policy requires that meet reports be received no later than 30 days after the show date.  We've not enforced this, but will have to start.  As of today, meet reports not received after 90 days from the show date will be not counted towards points or other awards.  We opened the meet reporting up to members a while back; so when you go to an ABC meet, be sure to take along a copy of the meet report and fill it out.

Just a quick reminder:  If the District Director is not at the show, then the person requesting the meet is next in line for completing the meet report!  We have quite a few Show Secretarys that have stated they do not/will not prepare breed club meet reports, so if you want those points - get those meet reports in!


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