Life Perspective: Reviews & More

My Miss Katy: still loved; still missed. I wish I had a dollar for every time I have mentioned Rodan + FIelds to someone who has replied, "Yes, but you have the personality for it. I don't have the Direct Selling Personality. "  These people don't KNOW me. They have no idea I was so shy in elementary school I hid in the bushes next to the playground during recess EVERY DAY in 4th and 5th grade so the more outgoing kids wouldn't bully me. They don't know that for FORTY YEARS, I was not invited to my own high school reunion because I was so shy and quiet in school, apparently no one remembered me. These are people who don't know that for over 20 years, I published  my own local magazine  from my home with only my sweet dog for company, because I was perfectly happy quietly working from home by myself. They don't know I wrote for several publications from home after my print publication closed, because I was introverted and preferred to be wi...

My bathroom still has no wallpaper, no fixtures &  a hand mirror thumb-tacked to the wall - since June 2011 The situation with Eric Roper and Landmark Construction of Nashville, TN, just gets odder and odder. A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by a woman whose older parents are pursuing legal action against Eric Roper and Landmark Construction because she says he performed the same kind of sloppy works with the same basic crew (Kenny and Frank) on her parents' house in 2010. I believe her parents suffered water damage during the Nashville flood as I did under my house. In my case it was followed by subsequent massive water damage when my washing machine hose burst in the night a few months later and pumped some 2500 gallons of water into my house. Like he did with me, Eric reportedly informed this family he was a licensed contractor. As he did with me, he allegedly told this family he would bring the documentation "another day" and never did. They were ...

This has been a bad afternoon of storms in the Nashville area. A terrible storm cell passed over my Bellevue home. I could hear the high winds, the rain pelting the house and then an awful banging all around my house like someone was throwing rocks at my house. I have never heard anything like it before, although once I heard a storm pull siding off my house which was equally scary. I stayed in my safe room with Miss Katy listening to all the noise until the storm passed, and then I watched the news, so it was about 15 minutes after the hail fell before I thought to go outside and look. There were quarter-sized round junks of ice all around my house and yard. It was almost 70º outside so I don't know if the hail lost any diameter due to melting during those 15 minutes, but it was still an impressive sight. Author Kathryn Darden holds 3 quarter-sized junks of hail in her Bellevue yard We were lucky in Bellevue. Tornadoes touched down in other places including neighboring...

Top Five Falsehoods Told by My Insurance Company Although these crucial bits of misinformation and falsehoods were given to me by my insurance company, anyone can fall victim to being misdirected, misinformed and perhaps even lied to by insurance companies and their agents, adjusters and other representatives. Continue reading at: Top Five Falsehoods Told by My Insurance Company - Associated Content from Yahoo!   

Top Ten Tips for Dealing with a Flood in Your Home Here are the ten most important things I learned about surviving a flood from surviving the Nashville flood and a 2nd flood experience in 2010. Read more at: Top Ten Tips for Dealing with a Flood in Your Home - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

 I am usually very proud to be from Nashville. Stories like this are a good reason why. Brandon Heath’s 4th annual ‘Love Your Neighbor’ concert raises over $25,000 for tornado victims Award-winning Gospel Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year in 2009 and 2010 Brandon Heath, rallied his friends and colleagues for his 4th annual “Love Your Neighbor” benefit concert May 24 in Nashville, raising more than $25,000 for families affected by the recent tornadoes in Alabama. More at:  Brandon Heath’s 4th annual ‘Love Your Neighbor’ concert raises over $25,000 - Nashville Gospel Music & Entertainment Examiner More Brandon Heath

 Because I have been dealing with mold remediation following a flood in my house on October 17, I am writing two articles on mold. Here is the first one: Health issues associated with mold and black mold - Nashville Skin Care Examiner Mold and Skin Rashes Many Nashvillians became intimately acquainted with mold following the Nashville Flood . Molds are a common type of fungus and can be found in many thousands of known species and have been known to cause rashes and skin irritations.

I had two Nashville-area electricians at my house most of the day on Tuesday and again for 1/2 hour on Friday, going over my electrical system. I had electric problems in 3 parts of the house, some as a result of the Nashville flood . I showed them the three specific areas where I was having issues with the power, but after they left, I discovered I still could not turn on the lights/ ceiling fan in one of the rooms. I had to reschedule an appointment for Thursday, and after waiting all day, they called and said it would be "sometime" Friday before they could get there. They finally came back around 5:00 PM on Friday. The electric company originally charged me a $25 trip charge on Tuesday to drive 1 mile from a business in Bellevue to my house, and then added the drive time which somehow ended up being around 15 minutes for a 3-minute drive. Today I called to discuss an adjustment with the owner due to the fact his guys never looked at a room I walked them to and specif...

I posted a link to my article about the Nashville flood a couple of days ago. Today I added a slidshow of 29 photos taken in Bellevue after the flood. 'The Flood of the Century' - the Nashville Flood of 2010 Slideshow Photos from Bellevue, Tennessee showing the destruction caused by the Nashville flood of 2010. Read the accompanying article for my first-hand account of the flood. By Kathryn E. Darden  |  Published 5/14/2010   'The Flood of the Century' - the Nashville Flood of 2010 Devastates Bellevue, Tennessee A first-hand account of living through the devastating flooding of the Harpeth River in Bellevue, TN, during the great Nashville flood of 2010 (with photos) By Kathryn E. Darden  |  Published 5/12/2010

'The Flood of the Century' - the Nashville Flood of 2010 Devastates Bellevue, Tennessee A first-hand account of living through the devastating flooding of the Harpeth River in Bellevue, TN, during the great Nashville flood of 2010 (with photos) By Kathryn E. Darden  |  Published 5/12/2010 Bellevue, Tennessee, is a quiet little town on the edge of Metroplitan Nashville/Davidson County which sits on the scenic Harpeth River. Normally the Harpeth River is a very small river that winds gracefully through the Bellevue hills and meadows. I live on a hillside off of Highway 70 which runs alongside the Harpeth River as it winds into Bellevue. Usually local take the stream for granted and barely notice the picturesque river running serenely below the highway. That all changed on May 1 and 2, 2010. Click here to read my personal account.

Tennessee can be visited by tornadoes, electrical storms, earthquakes, ice storms, landslides and other natural disasters. These weather conditions can cause power outages. Here are 2 articles to help you prepare for a power loss in Tennessee. How to Prepare For a Power Outage In Tennessee Top Five Ways to Be Ready For a Power Failure In Tennessee 

Two more Haiti benefit concerts coming to Nashville: Healing Haiti 1 Song @ a Time: concert for Haiti with Rachael Lampa, Brendan McCarthy, Michael Logen Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 Healing Haiti 1 Song @ A Time  There will be another Healing Haiti 1 Song @ a Time Benefit Concert at 12th and Porter on Friday, February 19, 2010 at... Keep Reading »   Help Haiti LIVE concert event in Nashville/L.A. features Alison Krauss, Amy Grant, Big Kenny, more Monday, February 15th, 2010 Help Haiti LIVE  Following news of all-star recordings to benefit Haiti and various Haiti relief benefit concerts, it has just been annou...

Lots going on in Nashville and in the gospel music community these days! Healing Haiti 1 Song @ a Time: concert for Haiti with Jonny Lang, Marc Broussard, Tommy Sims, more Friday, January 22nd, 2010 Concert for Haiti with Jonny Lang, Marc Broussard, Josh Hoge, Dave Barnes and Tommy Sims Another benefit concert with gospel music connections for the earthquake victims Keep Reading » Amy Grant's 'Somewhere Down the Road' to release March 30 Friday, January 22nd, 2010 Amy Grant to Release Somewhere Down the Road I have some exciting news for Amy Grant fans! The six-time Grammy Award-winner and Nashville native is... Keep Reading » Top 24 American Idol finalists leaked: 2010 American Idol finalists with gospel music ties Friday, January 22nd, 2010 Top 24 American Idol Finalists The list of Top 24 American Idol finalists has been leaked, and several artists with gospel music ties have made the... Keep Reading »