My Thoughts Exactly by Annette Kniola

    It all began October 31st, 1968 in Madison, Wisconsin. I was born and history was made! 😁    I write today because today reflects the one year anniversary of my Mom's passing.  All I have done is think and reminisce about the past I had growing up, so I figured I will write it all down as I go. As I'm writing this, I had to touch base with my family as to places we lived. All my siblings chimed in on our family text feed to all the questions I asked. I know we moved alot, but just couldn't remember the sequence. From the day I was born in Madison, where my Dad was a high school Biology teacher, my Mom a Homemaker, we then moved to Sun Praire, then onto Shawano, to Voyager Village, then to Reedsburg, back to Voyager Village. There is where I began my earliest memories of life.   My God, no wonder I have issues. And I am not even done moving yet. 😧  (Though I do have a faint memory of living in a big white house, on a farm, and having ...

  We are certainly posed for quite the dilemma with the vaccines this year.  Seems everyone will do what they can to get an appointment which fills up in minutes at every location here in Collier County. People are getting upset and hopefully there's more we can do.  Well, one thing is for sure, they can't make this vaccine fast enough. I posted this earlier on my community site on Facebook, but wanted to put it into a blog as well.  My page I on Facebook if you are interested in liking my page or follow. The Estates Community What you think about doing mass distributions for the 100 days and 100 million rollout for vaccines under the new administration?  I understand our Florida Governor Desantis wants to keep a tight grip on how we are handling, but I feel more needs to be done. Especially now that it's open to everyone and you have to be a Florida resident. Which is great!   I have offered myself to learn to administer shots, and to start helping those...

    After yesterdays events at the Capitol, I ask you to do two things for me today. Just two.  First, sing or hum 'God Bless America' out-loud, like Dan Rather asked many to do last night on the Jimmy Fallon Show.  Also below, I have the Kate Smith, who first sang it on YouTube. Second, read the prayer by Senate Chaplain Barry Black, read after this morning's finalizing of the election. That's it! Thank you.💗 God Bless America First written by Irving Berlin in 1918, he rewrote the song in 1938 in response to the rise of Adolf Hitler and fascism in Germany. He rewrote it as a prayer for peace, and it was performed for the first time by Kate Smith on an Armistice Day broadcast (November 11 – now known as Veterans Day) that year. Berlin also wrote the spoken introduction (now rarely heard but which Smith always used). At its heart, it’s a prayer for the well-being of our country. Especially in the politically and racially charged times in which we live, may...

Do you ever wonder what you're doing here and what your soul's purpose is?  Have you ever felt like there is no reason for you to be here any longer, and if so, why? Last night I was informed with very sad news.  A young girl, 13 year old Alexa Walker, here in Naples, took her life. I remember her as a little girl when my nephew Tyler dated her Mom, Amanda.  That was almost 6 years ago. I have not seen her since they parted ways, though I do remember this bright little sunshine that was full of life, along with her little sister, Abby. They were just little ones back then, and her name and her face sparked my interest last night after my page admin, Jennifer, posted it on our Estates Community Facebook page. I did not recognize Alexa right away, but then it hit me. I immediately called Tyler and my sister, Mary.  What a tragic story. I am still in disbelief and yet knowing she left a suicide note makes my soul wonder more? Part of the post written last night reads; "...

Who doesn't appreciate family traditions? I can't think of one person who wouldn't. So, what exactly does a tradition mean to you?  For me, it's all about my family and my beliefs. I was raised by parents that had 5 children and stayed together through thick and thin. They were married for like 52 years, I do believe. (God rest their souls). We had all the wonderful traditions of the holidays, reunions, summer vacations, and all that great stuff. I had a wonderful childhood and I am very thankful to this day.  I am also thankful for my four boys, and four tight bonded crazy-ass siblings as well. Let's hear an "Amen" to that!😇 With the many traditions we hold, there are also extensions of such.  It also goes into our beliefs along with our behaviors. With that said, I am going to indulge a bit further, because I see myself slowly slipping away on certain traditions. I'm probably not the only one. Reason being, the traditional marriage I worshiped for...

The many times I have sat down at this computer to write has been far from many. Ever since my last blog written, I feel like my world has stood still. I'm sure that goes for the rest of us. The Coronavirus has not only consumed our lives, but sadly has taken many as well. Heartbreaking to see the many stories of those affected, and the many other events that have since surrounded it. The death of George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, peaceful demonstrations, in turn, some not so peaceful. A strong feeling of a country divided, for sure. Then of course, there's ole Trumperoo!  I don't plan to bring him up since everything is so "Fantastic!" 😁  We'll just leave it at that. All in one swoop starting in the first half of the year, I took many big hits. I lost my job, I lost my Mom, and I was at the point where I realized I could lose my home. So I had to get creative. Thankfully, I am a saver, always have been, and can go many months without work and survive. Though...

As you all know, most of us have lost our jobs and have since been told to stay home under quarantine through Governor Ron DeSantis order back in March. So obviously I have since complied and applied for reemployment just like the rest of you.  I literally applied on March 15th and followed through on resume builder and wizard.  Did my claims for two weeks, which by then were waived later by DeSantis until May 2nd.  On top of that, supposedly the stimulus was to add an additional $600 per week to our claims up to four months. Amen to that because I have no job and am in need of that money.  Four boys, all home, online schooling, mortgage, utility bills, insurance, cars, you name it. I have bills! Then came the overload of unemployment claims. And you would think of all states, Florida would have key technology and the process would be smooth as silk. WRONG! Florida completely bombed it trying to keep up to the Reemployment site called CONNE...