Recently I have been reminiscing about my childhood. I think this was spurred by an old movie video I bought at our library branch's book sale. "Bright Eyes " with Shirley Temple, filmed in 1934.
I bought it so the grandchildren could watch it when they come over. The littlest one ,M, who is 9, reminds me of Shirley Temple. Same blonde curls and dimpled smile. I love and adore M,but when I was little I detested Shirley Temple. My hair was brown, stick straight, and cut in a Buster Brown hair style with bangs. I always wanted Shirley's curls. I wished and wished for blonde curls.
Once when I was about 6 the merchants in Athens had a "Shirley Temple look alike contest on the stage of the Palace Theater. My mother "curled" my hair with a curling iron and topped my "curls" off with a bow ribbon.I competed and lost. A tiny 3 year old girl with "stick straight brown hair" won the prize which was a new outfit.
Not long after that, my mother let her beauty parlor talk her into bringing me in for a "Permanent Wave." Now don't think of rollers, end papers and a solution. That is a "cold wave" and had not been invented yet. Think of a machine with wires and clamps,resembling an electric chair or some invader from outer space with tentacles. The wires and clamps were attached to my head-hair and the juice was turned on. I remember the smell of sizzling hair.
Boy, was I scared. Finally the ordeal was over. When I looked in the mirror I started crying. My hair had turned into a frizzy, scary steel wool mess.
I managed to "live" until I had had enough haircuts to get rid of the mess.
I never had another perm until the "Toni Home Perms" (cold wave)
came out and my girlfriends and I curled each other's hair.
Now, after all these years, my hair has decided to curl on its own. I suppose it is the texture of the grey hair that lives underneath all the sandy blond "Miss Clairol" I get now at the beauty salon.
Wait long enough and wishes can come true......:)
PS: This Thursday I have an appointment for a "body wave" which is what they call perms now. It is not that I am still desperate for curls at my "advanced age." My hair,especially on top has thinned and will do nothing but lay flat.
Wish me luck.:)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Atlanta Flood
Our son and his neighbor took this video from a canoe not far from their homes. It is of a neighborhood club with the playground and pool completely submerged. Their homes are on higher ground and are OK.
This is near the Chattahoochee River in the close in suburb of Vinings, Ga. The rains were unreal and came down in torrents. The river and the local streams all overflowed their banks.
Our townhouse is fine. No water. The sun was shining today. It rained for days and days. The Atlanta metro area got 19 inches of rain in 24 hours. A record.
Incredible.
I feel sorry for the people whose homes were flooded. And 8 people lost their lives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHDWhwXtDew
This is near the Chattahoochee River in the close in suburb of Vinings, Ga. The rains were unreal and came down in torrents. The river and the local streams all overflowed their banks.
Our townhouse is fine. No water. The sun was shining today. It rained for days and days. The Atlanta metro area got 19 inches of rain in 24 hours. A record.
Incredible.
I feel sorry for the people whose homes were flooded. And 8 people lost their lives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHDWhwXtDew
Friday, September 18, 2009
There's Always Something
Yes there is:
But this is one I never expected.
I have a tendency to high blood pressure, hereditary I think, and I have been on two HBP drugs for some time now. The last time I saw my doctor, my BP was still too high so he put me on an additional drug, an ACE Inhibitor, Lisinopril.
I got it filled at Kroger for just $4.00 as it is on their list of less expensive drugs. The helpful pharmacist asked me if I wanted to know the possible side effects and I said yes. She told me that a common side effect of this drug, Lisinopril , is a dry cough.
I had been taking this medicine for about 3 weeks now and at night I did have a slight dry cough but I decided I would not concern myself with that and just popped in a Hall's Honey Menthol cough drop and went to sleep.
Then night before last I got up for a routine pit stop and decided my bottom lip felt strange. I turned on the bathroom light and sure enough my lip was slightly swollen on one side. Hmm, I thought could it be the cough drop or what?
The next morning when I woke up I could tell before I looked in the mirror that the lip swelling was worse.
I looked in the mirror and I was HORRIFIED
My cheek was swollen. My lips were swollen at least 6 times normal size.
I showed hubby and he said ice it and call the doctor.
I waited a couple of hours until the lip swelling had reached GIGANTIC proportion and then called and went right in.
I took the Hall's cough drops, a box of probiotics I had just started taking and the Ace Inhibitor pills because by then I felt it must be an allergic reaction to a medication. The meals I had eaten the day before was just normal standard food.
Dr G. took one look at me and the bottle of medicine, Ace Inhibitor, I had brought in with me and he said this is the culprit.
He said this only happens rarely maybe one in a thousand cases. But it was good I came right in because otherwise my entire face might have doubled in size. He said he rarely sees this sort of reaction, maybe once a year if at all. It is possible, also, to have airway swelling and constriction and breathing difficulity which I did not have.
He immediately gave me a cortisone shot and an anti allergy shot of some type and of course said to discontinue the Ace Inhibitor med. He prescribed oral cortisone for 4 days.
Today the lip swelling is somewhat better but not gone. I have a lingering hoarseness and feel a bit under the weather.
From what my doctor said this reaction can happen right away with Ace Inhibitors or years later while on the medication.
Just thought I would bring this to your attention if you are ever prescribed this medication. I would say,
"Just say no"
PS: I just read an article by a reasearch MD at Vanderbilt who said drug companies do not do enough follow up on side effects of drugs after they are given the initial FDA approval and released to the public.
And from
From WebMd.com:
"An allergy to ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers can cause dangerous swelling of the face and of the throat that blocks airways, referred to as angioedema. "It's a generalized, sudden swelling, usually beginning around the lips and face, sometimes with shortness of breath and wheezing," says Jones. "It's life threatening. The patient needs to get to the emergency room."
But this is one I never expected.
I have a tendency to high blood pressure, hereditary I think, and I have been on two HBP drugs for some time now. The last time I saw my doctor, my BP was still too high so he put me on an additional drug, an ACE Inhibitor, Lisinopril.
I got it filled at Kroger for just $4.00 as it is on their list of less expensive drugs. The helpful pharmacist asked me if I wanted to know the possible side effects and I said yes. She told me that a common side effect of this drug, Lisinopril , is a dry cough.
I had been taking this medicine for about 3 weeks now and at night I did have a slight dry cough but I decided I would not concern myself with that and just popped in a Hall's Honey Menthol cough drop and went to sleep.
Then night before last I got up for a routine pit stop and decided my bottom lip felt strange. I turned on the bathroom light and sure enough my lip was slightly swollen on one side. Hmm, I thought could it be the cough drop or what?
The next morning when I woke up I could tell before I looked in the mirror that the lip swelling was worse.
I looked in the mirror and I was HORRIFIED
My cheek was swollen. My lips were swollen at least 6 times normal size.
I showed hubby and he said ice it and call the doctor.
I waited a couple of hours until the lip swelling had reached GIGANTIC proportion and then called and went right in.
I took the Hall's cough drops, a box of probiotics I had just started taking and the Ace Inhibitor pills because by then I felt it must be an allergic reaction to a medication. The meals I had eaten the day before was just normal standard food.
Dr G. took one look at me and the bottle of medicine, Ace Inhibitor, I had brought in with me and he said this is the culprit.
He said this only happens rarely maybe one in a thousand cases. But it was good I came right in because otherwise my entire face might have doubled in size. He said he rarely sees this sort of reaction, maybe once a year if at all. It is possible, also, to have airway swelling and constriction and breathing difficulity which I did not have.
He immediately gave me a cortisone shot and an anti allergy shot of some type and of course said to discontinue the Ace Inhibitor med. He prescribed oral cortisone for 4 days.
Today the lip swelling is somewhat better but not gone. I have a lingering hoarseness and feel a bit under the weather.
From what my doctor said this reaction can happen right away with Ace Inhibitors or years later while on the medication.
Just thought I would bring this to your attention if you are ever prescribed this medication. I would say,
"Just say no"
PS: I just read an article by a reasearch MD at Vanderbilt who said drug companies do not do enough follow up on side effects of drugs after they are given the initial FDA approval and released to the public.
And from
From WebMd.com:
"An allergy to ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers can cause dangerous swelling of the face and of the throat that blocks airways, referred to as angioedema. "It's a generalized, sudden swelling, usually beginning around the lips and face, sometimes with shortness of breath and wheezing," says Jones. "It's life threatening. The patient needs to get to the emergency room."
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Ancestors
Johann Adam and his wife Catherine traveled up the Rhine river to Rotterdam and there boarded the Griffin, a ship bound for the New World.
Their two small children skipped and shouted as they walked up the gangplank.
“Shush”, said Mama, you be quiet or they will throw you in the water.”
After 4 long weeks at sea they arrived in South Carolina to start a new life in the New World.
And almost 270 years later, here I am.
Their two small children skipped and shouted as they walked up the gangplank.
“Shush”, said Mama, you be quiet or they will throw you in the water.”
After 4 long weeks at sea they arrived in South Carolina to start a new life in the New World.
And almost 270 years later, here I am.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Little Red Wagon
Little Red Wagon
Bright red
Strong and sturdy
Childhood companion
Pull me
Please
Let ME pull it
Now
Look
I can walk
And pull
He toddled on
Short chubby legs
Up the
Steep,steep
Driveway.
I can do it
He said.
Up he went.
Slowly
Slowly
Pulling
Pulling
Uh Oh
Uh Oh
Little red wagon
Got away.
Look at it go......
Wheeeee.......
Look at it go......
Over the hill
Over the wall
On to the sidewalk
Below.
Is it broken Papa?
Run and see
Why no.
Landed on its wheels
Good as new.
Little red wagon
Strong and sturdy.
Little boy
Strong and sturdy
Too
chancy(janet)
Bright red
Strong and sturdy
Childhood companion
Pull me
Please
Let ME pull it
Now
Look
I can walk
And pull
He toddled on
Short chubby legs
Up the
Steep,steep
Driveway.
I can do it
He said.
Up he went.
Slowly
Slowly
Pulling
Pulling
Uh Oh
Uh Oh
Little red wagon
Got away.
Look at it go......
Wheeeee.......
Look at it go......
Over the hill
Over the wall
On to the sidewalk
Below.
Is it broken Papa?
Run and see
Why no.
Landed on its wheels
Good as new.
Little red wagon
Strong and sturdy.
Little boy
Strong and sturdy
Too
chancy(janet)
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
"Fibrillations"
In the current New Yorker magazine there is this witty piece of satire about "health insurance"
That is ; I guess it's satire...could be true to life.
Excerpt below:
"Fibrillations
by Bruce McCall September 7, 2009
"Health Insurance;
"Welcome to the monthly newsletter about your health-insurance problems, not ours.
Note: Charges for the enclosed Supplementary Health Insurance Reminder will appear in your next billing cycle, for which payment is now past due.
Something to Think About: Contracting a serious illness can mean days off work just lying in bed, new adventures of the mind and body through medication, overdue personal attention from loved ones, and new friends in the hospital ward and the clinic waiting room.
And you may be the one who catches a disease that’s making world headlines and brings television crews to your bedside.
Sentences set in small type make a handy eye test.
If you can read this without difficulty, your eyes may be too strong and you will need the prescription drug Corneac R (dollarmycin-B) to return your vision to normal. Consult your pastor about the choice between sightlessness and personal bankruptcy.
Policy Updates
—All of you “Far Horizons” Fifteenth Tier Plan subscribers may now choose any doctor you like, who will then refer you to the list of approved cheap doctors, ex-doctors, doctors-in-training, and veterinarians.
—“Near Horizons” Sharing & Caring Plan members: Some misunderstandings about this plan have arisen lately. Sharing your hospital bed does not reduce the per-day costs of your hospital stay, and you will be legally liable if your bedmate contracts a communicable disease.
—Be sure to ask about the new “Invisible Horizons” Plan, providing discounts and a free ballpoint pen on hospital bills of more than a million dollars per week for any fifty-two-week period when you cannot get out of bed.
.
Explanation of Benefits
Skip this section. No benefits are included."
to read more go here:
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2009/09/07/090907sh_shouts_mccall
That is ; I guess it's satire...could be true to life.
Excerpt below:
"Fibrillations
by Bruce McCall September 7, 2009
"Health Insurance;
"Welcome to the monthly newsletter about your health-insurance problems, not ours.
Note: Charges for the enclosed Supplementary Health Insurance Reminder will appear in your next billing cycle, for which payment is now past due.
Something to Think About: Contracting a serious illness can mean days off work just lying in bed, new adventures of the mind and body through medication, overdue personal attention from loved ones, and new friends in the hospital ward and the clinic waiting room.
And you may be the one who catches a disease that’s making world headlines and brings television crews to your bedside.
Sentences set in small type make a handy eye test.
If you can read this without difficulty, your eyes may be too strong and you will need the prescription drug Corneac R (dollarmycin-B) to return your vision to normal. Consult your pastor about the choice between sightlessness and personal bankruptcy.
Policy Updates
—All of you “Far Horizons” Fifteenth Tier Plan subscribers may now choose any doctor you like, who will then refer you to the list of approved cheap doctors, ex-doctors, doctors-in-training, and veterinarians.
—“Near Horizons” Sharing & Caring Plan members: Some misunderstandings about this plan have arisen lately. Sharing your hospital bed does not reduce the per-day costs of your hospital stay, and you will be legally liable if your bedmate contracts a communicable disease.
—Be sure to ask about the new “Invisible Horizons” Plan, providing discounts and a free ballpoint pen on hospital bills of more than a million dollars per week for any fifty-two-week period when you cannot get out of bed.
.
Explanation of Benefits
Skip this section. No benefits are included."
to read more go here:
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2009/09/07/090907sh_shouts_mccall
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Rest Well Teddy
Well, they laid Senator Ted Kennedy to rest.
The rainy day scene outside the old Mission Church in Boston as the mourners arrived, dressed in black and sheltered with almost identical large black umbrellas reminded me of one of my favorite French paintings of a rain scene, circa 1877 in Paris.
Painted by Gustave Caillebotte the people in this painting are walking down a cobblestone street in a fashionable section of Paris. Many are dressed all in black and they all carry large black umbrellas to protect them from the rain. The cobblestones glisten with light as the rain seems to be stopping.
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/20684
I wondered as I watched the crowds arriving at the Kennedy funeral "how did the hundreds of mourners, mostly dressed in black, know to carry almost identical large black umbrellas.
"Who got the memo out) ;)"
The events of the day went almost perfectly until the end when darkness descended over Arlington National Cemetery as the final minutes of the graveside service were plunged into almost total darkness.
The day's services and the transport from Boston to Washington D.C.had run long past schedule as night fell on the longest day. And yet, it was hauntingly lovely and powerful when the lone trumpeter outlined darkly against the sky played taps; the lighted Robert E Lee Mansion in the background.
The poignant voices of four of Ted's young grandchildren saying good bye to "Grampa" at the grave site was touching.
Now I have watched all 3 Kennedy brothers funerals. Remember Jack's sad cortege with the riderless white horse down Pennsylvania Ave. John John and Caroline.Bobby,Ted and Jackie.
But despite times of self destructive behavior in the ensuing years, Ted endured. He was a father figure for the 10 young Kennedy children who were lest fatherless after the murders of his two remaining brothers.
Teddy survived his brain tumor for almost fifteen months and he was mercifully given time to prepare for a "good ending."
Every detail of this day and last night's wake was planned by Teddy Kennedy himself and carried out with grace and dignity by his widow Victoria Reggie Kennedy.
SMOOTH SAILING TEDDY
AND
REST WELL.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Old Time Radio and TV
Suzzwords
Laughter is one of the best parts of life.It's what makes the hard parts easier to endure.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Suzz at Suzzwords struck a cord of memory with her post about an old time local radio show "Daddy Rabbit" I did not remember that show but I did remember this one:
MY MEMORY
I don't remember Daddy Rabbitt. But DO I remember Miss Debbie. She was a TV local children's show hostess in the Atlanta market. My four old daughter watched Miss Debbie everyday and was especially thrilled when Miss D looked in her magic mirror and, looking straight at the camera said....I see little Mary and Sammy and Joyce and Betty.
Oh how Jan ,my little girl, yearned for Miss D to speak directly to her thru the "magic mirror.
Well what do you know. Hubby and I went to a New Year's Eve party at a business associate's house. Lo and behold who should be there but Miss Debbie in PERSON. Nice attractive gal.
Early in the evening I spoke with Debbie and asked her to look for Jan in the "magic mirror "on tomorrow's show. she graciously said yes she would.
A good time was had by all.
Around eleven pm we missed Miss Debbie and we heard crying and moaning in the kitchen.There sat MISS DEBBIE DRUNK AS A SKUNK and slobbering all over her date.
I told hubby on the way home Miss Debbie won't even make it to her show tomorrow she will be so hung over.
The next morning we. (Jan, hubby and I) turned on the TV to Miss Debbie. There she was chipper, and perky and looking great as she held up her Magic Mirror and said
"I see JAN."
I guess"The show must go on"
Laughter is one of the best parts of life.It's what makes the hard parts easier to endure.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Suzz at Suzzwords struck a cord of memory with her post about an old time local radio show "Daddy Rabbit" I did not remember that show but I did remember this one:
MY MEMORY
I don't remember Daddy Rabbitt. But DO I remember Miss Debbie. She was a TV local children's show hostess in the Atlanta market. My four old daughter watched Miss Debbie everyday and was especially thrilled when Miss D looked in her magic mirror and, looking straight at the camera said....I see little Mary and Sammy and Joyce and Betty.
Oh how Jan ,my little girl, yearned for Miss D to speak directly to her thru the "magic mirror.
Well what do you know. Hubby and I went to a New Year's Eve party at a business associate's house. Lo and behold who should be there but Miss Debbie in PERSON. Nice attractive gal.
Early in the evening I spoke with Debbie and asked her to look for Jan in the "magic mirror "on tomorrow's show. she graciously said yes she would.
A good time was had by all.
Around eleven pm we missed Miss Debbie and we heard crying and moaning in the kitchen.There sat MISS DEBBIE DRUNK AS A SKUNK and slobbering all over her date.
I told hubby on the way home Miss Debbie won't even make it to her show tomorrow she will be so hung over.
The next morning we. (Jan, hubby and I) turned on the TV to Miss Debbie. There she was chipper, and perky and looking great as she held up her Magic Mirror and said
"I see JAN."
I guess"The show must go on"
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Dog and Cat
WHERE DOG AND CAT CAME FROM
A newly discovered fragment from Genesis 3:25:
Adam said, "Lord, when I was in the garden, you walked with me every day. Now, I do not see you anymore. I am lonely here, and it is difficult for me to remember how much you love me."
And God said, "No problem! I will create an animal who will reside with you forever and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how often you are tempted to forget me, or be selfish, or how unloveable you behave, this companion will love you as I do, in spite of yourself."
And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam, and it wagged its tail.
And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in thr kingdom, and I cannot think of a name for this new animal." And God said, "No problem! Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, its name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call it DOG."
Dog lived with Adam and was a companion to him and loved him and obeyed him. And Adam was comforted. And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged its tail.
After awhile, it came to pass that Adam's guardian angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam has become filled with pride. He struts and preens like a peacock, and he believes that he is worthy of adoration. Dog has, indeed, taught him that he is loved, but perhaps too well."
And God said, "No problem! I will create for him a companion who will be with him forever and who will see him as he is. This companion will remind him of his limitations, so he will know that he is not always worthy of adoration." And so God created CAT to be a companion to Adam.
And Cat would NOT obey Adam. And when Adam gazed into Cat's eyes, he was reminded that he is not the supreme being. And Adam learned humility.
And God was pleased. And Adam was greatly improved. And Dog was happy, and wagged its tail.
And the Cat didn't give a shit one way or the other.
A newly discovered fragment from Genesis 3:25:
Adam said, "Lord, when I was in the garden, you walked with me every day. Now, I do not see you anymore. I am lonely here, and it is difficult for me to remember how much you love me."
And God said, "No problem! I will create an animal who will reside with you forever and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how often you are tempted to forget me, or be selfish, or how unloveable you behave, this companion will love you as I do, in spite of yourself."
And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam, and it wagged its tail.
And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in thr kingdom, and I cannot think of a name for this new animal." And God said, "No problem! Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, its name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call it DOG."
Dog lived with Adam and was a companion to him and loved him and obeyed him. And Adam was comforted. And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged its tail.
After awhile, it came to pass that Adam's guardian angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam has become filled with pride. He struts and preens like a peacock, and he believes that he is worthy of adoration. Dog has, indeed, taught him that he is loved, but perhaps too well."
And God said, "No problem! I will create for him a companion who will be with him forever and who will see him as he is. This companion will remind him of his limitations, so he will know that he is not always worthy of adoration." And so God created CAT to be a companion to Adam.
And Cat would NOT obey Adam. And when Adam gazed into Cat's eyes, he was reminded that he is not the supreme being. And Adam learned humility.
And God was pleased. And Adam was greatly improved. And Dog was happy, and wagged its tail.
And the Cat didn't give a shit one way or the other.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Bummer
Are you ready for a vent.
If not then read no further!!!
In addition to my two bum knees I have been having a problem with balance and pain and stiffness upon arising after sitting for any length of time. My internist, the best doctor God ever put on this earth,recommended I see an arthritis specialist. I went today.
This arthritis doctor was a real dud. His Physicians Assistant took all the info. Then Doctor came in with this greeting:
"Hello young lady and young man" ( I hate that condescending tone)
Within 3 minutes he determined that I did NOT have arthritis. He basically said that I was "OLD and OUT OF SHAPE" Duh !!!!!
He wrote script for physical therapy. He must have mentioned old or aged or in your 70's and 80's a dozen times.I was hopping mad before I got out of there.(I will be 80 in December)
DOPE!!!!
Will not go back to him..At least I don't have arthritis. How he could make a diagnosis in 3 or 4 minutes I don't know.
Holier than thou and abrasive.
Couldn't wait to get out of there.
I have an appointment to see another knee doc in September and between now and then I will work on loosing weight, walking and try to"heal myself"
PS:
I am going to drink the gin and throw away the gin and raisins.
Cheers
If not then read no further!!!
In addition to my two bum knees I have been having a problem with balance and pain and stiffness upon arising after sitting for any length of time. My internist, the best doctor God ever put on this earth,recommended I see an arthritis specialist. I went today.
This arthritis doctor was a real dud. His Physicians Assistant took all the info. Then Doctor came in with this greeting:
"Hello young lady and young man" ( I hate that condescending tone)
Within 3 minutes he determined that I did NOT have arthritis. He basically said that I was "OLD and OUT OF SHAPE" Duh !!!!!
He wrote script for physical therapy. He must have mentioned old or aged or in your 70's and 80's a dozen times.I was hopping mad before I got out of there.(I will be 80 in December)
DOPE!!!!
Will not go back to him..At least I don't have arthritis. How he could make a diagnosis in 3 or 4 minutes I don't know.
Holier than thou and abrasive.
Couldn't wait to get out of there.
I have an appointment to see another knee doc in September and between now and then I will work on loosing weight, walking and try to"heal myself"
PS:
I am going to drink the gin and throw away the gin and raisins.
Cheers
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Reading jag
I have been on a marathon reading jag recently. I don't know why but at times reading seems to go smoothly and I just sail through books of all kinds.
I recently picked up several paperback books at our neighborhood library's $6 bag o'books sale. All the books you can stuff into a plastic grocery bag for just $6. What a bargain, eh?
In my bag I included an old classic that I had never read. "The Grapes Of Wrath". What the heck, I thought, even if I don't read it I had room in my bag.
The next book was "Revenge of a Middle Aged Woman" by Elizabeth Buchan.
Then there was "A Man In Full" by Tom Wolfe" which I had read a few years back but had forgotten most of the story.
The next book was also a paperback, "Durable Goods" by Elizabeth Berg. Another book, a hardback, was "The Commoner" a fictional inside look at lives of the last two Japanese women, both commoners themselves, who married successive crown princes of Japan and the hardships they both faced in adjusting to the cloistered life.
I included a few clunkers which I could soon see I would not enjoy. But later I will regift them to our library and they can be resold.
I was blown away by John Steinbeck's "Grapes Of Wrath" The story of the Joad family who were displaced from their sharecropper farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl of the 1930's. As they made their way by truck with all their worldly possessions they encountered misfortunes. one after the other. But the hope of work and a better life on some golden farm in California kept them going.
From Amazon
"What can I say about the Joads that has not already been said in the past sixty-odd years? How could I have missed knowing them earlier? I read this story, with its "country speech" and "country ways" and wanted to take them all in. I wanted to comfort them all"
and "Revenge of A Middle Aged Woman"
"Living wisely is the best revenge for a London book review editor who loses both husband and job to her conniving assistant in this sophisticated and satisfying novel. Rose Lloyd is in her late 40s and has been happily married for 25 years when Minty, her "glossy free-ranging" young assistant, brusquely shoulders her aside. Husband Nathan, who is a deputy editor at the same newspaper, is decent and remorseful, but determined to start a new life, and Rose must pick up the pieces-which she does with commendable energy and resolve"
"Durable Goods"
"Durable Good's" is Elizabeth Bergs first book(she has since written many more) which is amazing when you read the stellar quality of this effort. Katie, a tender, blossoming 12 year old, steals your heart at first page and never let's go. Berg writes effectively in choppy paragraphs the feelings, the observations, the problems, the joys, the experiences of our Katie"
A Man In Full"
"The "man in full" of the title (the phrase comes from an old song) is Charlie Croker, a good-ole-boy real-estate developer in Atlanta whose sprawling South Georgia plantation, massive mansion in the best part of town, half-empty skyscraper tower named after himself, horde of servants, fleet of jets and free-spending trophy second wife have left him terribly vulnerable to bankers deciding the party's over."
What are you reading?
I recently picked up several paperback books at our neighborhood library's $6 bag o'books sale. All the books you can stuff into a plastic grocery bag for just $6. What a bargain, eh?
In my bag I included an old classic that I had never read. "The Grapes Of Wrath". What the heck, I thought, even if I don't read it I had room in my bag.
The next book was "Revenge of a Middle Aged Woman" by Elizabeth Buchan.
Then there was "A Man In Full" by Tom Wolfe" which I had read a few years back but had forgotten most of the story.
The next book was also a paperback, "Durable Goods" by Elizabeth Berg. Another book, a hardback, was "The Commoner" a fictional inside look at lives of the last two Japanese women, both commoners themselves, who married successive crown princes of Japan and the hardships they both faced in adjusting to the cloistered life.
I included a few clunkers which I could soon see I would not enjoy. But later I will regift them to our library and they can be resold.
I was blown away by John Steinbeck's "Grapes Of Wrath" The story of the Joad family who were displaced from their sharecropper farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl of the 1930's. As they made their way by truck with all their worldly possessions they encountered misfortunes. one after the other. But the hope of work and a better life on some golden farm in California kept them going.
From Amazon
"What can I say about the Joads that has not already been said in the past sixty-odd years? How could I have missed knowing them earlier? I read this story, with its "country speech" and "country ways" and wanted to take them all in. I wanted to comfort them all"
and "Revenge of A Middle Aged Woman"
"Living wisely is the best revenge for a London book review editor who loses both husband and job to her conniving assistant in this sophisticated and satisfying novel. Rose Lloyd is in her late 40s and has been happily married for 25 years when Minty, her "glossy free-ranging" young assistant, brusquely shoulders her aside. Husband Nathan, who is a deputy editor at the same newspaper, is decent and remorseful, but determined to start a new life, and Rose must pick up the pieces-which she does with commendable energy and resolve"
"Durable Goods"
"Durable Good's" is Elizabeth Bergs first book(she has since written many more) which is amazing when you read the stellar quality of this effort. Katie, a tender, blossoming 12 year old, steals your heart at first page and never let's go. Berg writes effectively in choppy paragraphs the feelings, the observations, the problems, the joys, the experiences of our Katie"
A Man In Full"
"The "man in full" of the title (the phrase comes from an old song) is Charlie Croker, a good-ole-boy real-estate developer in Atlanta whose sprawling South Georgia plantation, massive mansion in the best part of town, half-empty skyscraper tower named after himself, horde of servants, fleet of jets and free-spending trophy second wife have left him terribly vulnerable to bankers deciding the party's over."
What are you reading?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Slugs
Continuing with the theme of unusual uses for alcohol:
We had slugs that ate our hostas a few years back. At that time I was frequenting a current events chat on Yahoo. I commented about the slugs and an avid gardener from the UK gave me a plan to rid the hosta bed of slugs.
Cut a Coke can in half. Fill the half with beer. Prop the can up in a small hole in the hosta bed. The slugs crawl up to drink the beer and they get drunk and cannot crawl out. ;)
Cheers
(use cheap beer)
I wonder what other off beat uses of alcohol there are?
We had slugs that ate our hostas a few years back. At that time I was frequenting a current events chat on Yahoo. I commented about the slugs and an avid gardener from the UK gave me a plan to rid the hosta bed of slugs.
Cut a Coke can in half. Fill the half with beer. Prop the can up in a small hole in the hosta bed. The slugs crawl up to drink the beer and they get drunk and cannot crawl out. ;)
Cheers
(use cheap beer)
I wonder what other off beat uses of alcohol there are?
Friday, July 03, 2009
Addendum
I will NOT need fireworks tomorrow on the fourth of July. All I need do is open the fridge and take out the gin and raisins concoction, take a hearty tablespoon full and stand back as the fireworks go off in my mouth. "Stars and Stripes Forever" resonates behind my eyeballs.
Potent is hardly the word for it. the longer the mixture sits, the heartier it gets.
OLE!!!!!
And Happy July 4 to y'all.
Potent is hardly the word for it. the longer the mixture sits, the heartier it gets.
OLE!!!!!
And Happy July 4 to y'all.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Gin and Raisins
A while back Millie Garfield had a video on her blog "My Mom's Blog" which showed her preparing a "sure fire arthritis remedy". Gin Soaked Raisins. Since I have been having a problem, after I sit for any length of time, with walking and really bad stiffness and some pain , I decided to give Millie's remedy a try, thinking my problem might be arthritis.
I bought some golden raisins and a pint of Gordon's Gin. I put the raisins in a glass jar, just enough to cover the bottom of the jar. I poured in the gin. Just enough to cover the raisins and have about 2 inches of the gin over top of raisins. I shook the mixture and placed it in the refrigerator where it stayed for about a week until the raisins had plumped up and absorbed the gin.
In the meanwhile having the gin in the pantry and deciding that it smelled good and reading that gin is made from juniper berries, I thought, what the heck, I will take a tablespoon of the gin while I wait on the raisins to plump up. Hum, Not bad. Tastes like cough syrup. The next night I got out a small Waterford cordial glass, filled it with crushed ice and put in 2 tablespoons of the gin and sipped it. Not bad. And also the next night too, but added a lemon twist.
Meanwhile I researched the gin and raisins remedy on the internet and I came up with this information:
"Juniper Berries
Aunt Sophie came by a while ago with her secret remedy to vanquish arthritis. Aunt Sophie is, how can I best put it, of a certain age. This is a certain age that often has much in common with walkers, canes and wheel chairs; but Aunt Sophie is in great shape and is full of, as the expression goes, piss and vinegar, or, as I found, in her case, raisins and gin.“Have a few of these, every day,” was her command as she handed me a hand-packed container of her favourite concoction—raisins plumped to almost the size of grapes, redolent and swollen with Beefeater’s best. “Another bubbe-mayse,” I thought, as I munched some—a tale from the old country. But after a little research I decided this one might not be so far-fetched.The flavour of gin comes from juniper berries. These come from conifer plants, evergreens common in Europe and North America. New berries appear in the fall and can take two or three years to ripen. They are rich in vitamin C and terpenes, the essential oil which, in large quantities is manufactured into turpentine. During the Middle Ages the berries were kept in nosegays to help block the scent of the plague. For centuries, medicinal usage favoured using them in anti-inflammatory prescriptions. Hence, perhaps, Aunt Sophie’s arthritis remedy."
So here I am about 10 days later,(crossing my fingers for luck) feeling much better and able to sit awhile and then get up and walk without pain and stiffness.
Is it the gin and raisins.The gin. Or a combination including the 3 Advil a day I also started taking? Or is it just dumb luck?
All I know is, I hope it lasts.
Cheers, Millie
I bought some golden raisins and a pint of Gordon's Gin. I put the raisins in a glass jar, just enough to cover the bottom of the jar. I poured in the gin. Just enough to cover the raisins and have about 2 inches of the gin over top of raisins. I shook the mixture and placed it in the refrigerator where it stayed for about a week until the raisins had plumped up and absorbed the gin.
In the meanwhile having the gin in the pantry and deciding that it smelled good and reading that gin is made from juniper berries, I thought, what the heck, I will take a tablespoon of the gin while I wait on the raisins to plump up. Hum, Not bad. Tastes like cough syrup. The next night I got out a small Waterford cordial glass, filled it with crushed ice and put in 2 tablespoons of the gin and sipped it. Not bad. And also the next night too, but added a lemon twist.
Meanwhile I researched the gin and raisins remedy on the internet and I came up with this information:
"Juniper Berries
Aunt Sophie came by a while ago with her secret remedy to vanquish arthritis. Aunt Sophie is, how can I best put it, of a certain age. This is a certain age that often has much in common with walkers, canes and wheel chairs; but Aunt Sophie is in great shape and is full of, as the expression goes, piss and vinegar, or, as I found, in her case, raisins and gin.“Have a few of these, every day,” was her command as she handed me a hand-packed container of her favourite concoction—raisins plumped to almost the size of grapes, redolent and swollen with Beefeater’s best. “Another bubbe-mayse,” I thought, as I munched some—a tale from the old country. But after a little research I decided this one might not be so far-fetched.The flavour of gin comes from juniper berries. These come from conifer plants, evergreens common in Europe and North America. New berries appear in the fall and can take two or three years to ripen. They are rich in vitamin C and terpenes, the essential oil which, in large quantities is manufactured into turpentine. During the Middle Ages the berries were kept in nosegays to help block the scent of the plague. For centuries, medicinal usage favoured using them in anti-inflammatory prescriptions. Hence, perhaps, Aunt Sophie’s arthritis remedy."
So here I am about 10 days later,(crossing my fingers for luck) feeling much better and able to sit awhile and then get up and walk without pain and stiffness.
Is it the gin and raisins.The gin. Or a combination including the 3 Advil a day I also started taking? Or is it just dumb luck?
All I know is, I hope it lasts.
Cheers, Millie
Friday, June 12, 2009
UH OH---
(this from our local paper. At least no one was living in it. But still.....what if you had gone shopping and came back to this.......
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, June 11, 2009
"Al Byrd of Sandy Springs got a phone call Monday telling him that his family home in Carroll County had been torn down. The steps remain.The three bedroom house was on a little road bearing Al Byrd’s family’s name.
It’s where all 10 Byrd children grew up, where they gathered to pray, where they lined up youngest to oldest for Christmas gifts, where they recall dad dispensing life lessons from the front porch. It’s where neighbors would walk over to eat watermelons, peanuts and sweet potatoes, and rehearse for the choir.
Now, all that’s left of the house are those memories — and a pile of questions — after the Carroll County home was mistakenly reduced to rubble Monday afternoon.
“It’s incredulous,” said a still-shocked Byrd, a retired Xerox executive who lives in Atlanta. “It’s not about money. This is about family.”
The man who did the yard work at the home, which no one was living in, called Byrd late Monday with the news. Byrd immediately hopped on I-20 and called the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department. He turned onto Byrd Trail — named for his family — in disbelief. Even the mailbox was no longer standing..
“Why did you knock this house down?” Byrd said he asked members of a Marietta demolition company Tuesday morning.
Byrd said a representative of North Georgia Container told him the company was hired by another company, Southern Environmental Services, to raze the home. And that company was hired by Fore Star Property, according to the sheriff’s department report.
None of the three companies responded to messages left Thursday afternoon.
Byrd was told paperwork and GPS coordinates led the demolition crew to 11 Byrd Trail. He said no company ever contacted him before leveling the house.
“If we were going to get rid of it, we would have done it after my father died in 1998,” Byrd said.
He suspects a house on the opposite side of railroad tracks was the intended target of demolition. It’s a wooden home with a green roof — substantially different than his three-bedroom family home.
Vernice Parham, who has lived on the street with two of her six sisters for more than 40 years, was home when the demolition began. “It hurt my heart,” she said. “I wasn’t raised up in it , but I was raised up near it,” Parham said. “I know we got a heavenly home. But we’ve got a Earthly home there.”
Byrd has hired a lawyer, but he isn’t sure what his next step will be yet. His only daughter is getting married on Saturday, and he doesn’t want to be distracted for the big event.
“I’m trying to compartmentalize this,” Byrd said Thursday afternoon. “I don’t want to put a pall on the wedding.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, June 11, 2009
"Al Byrd of Sandy Springs got a phone call Monday telling him that his family home in Carroll County had been torn down. The steps remain.The three bedroom house was on a little road bearing Al Byrd’s family’s name.
It’s where all 10 Byrd children grew up, where they gathered to pray, where they lined up youngest to oldest for Christmas gifts, where they recall dad dispensing life lessons from the front porch. It’s where neighbors would walk over to eat watermelons, peanuts and sweet potatoes, and rehearse for the choir.
Now, all that’s left of the house are those memories — and a pile of questions — after the Carroll County home was mistakenly reduced to rubble Monday afternoon.
“It’s incredulous,” said a still-shocked Byrd, a retired Xerox executive who lives in Atlanta. “It’s not about money. This is about family.”
The man who did the yard work at the home, which no one was living in, called Byrd late Monday with the news. Byrd immediately hopped on I-20 and called the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department. He turned onto Byrd Trail — named for his family — in disbelief. Even the mailbox was no longer standing..
“Why did you knock this house down?” Byrd said he asked members of a Marietta demolition company Tuesday morning.
Byrd said a representative of North Georgia Container told him the company was hired by another company, Southern Environmental Services, to raze the home. And that company was hired by Fore Star Property, according to the sheriff’s department report.
None of the three companies responded to messages left Thursday afternoon.
Byrd was told paperwork and GPS coordinates led the demolition crew to 11 Byrd Trail. He said no company ever contacted him before leveling the house.
“If we were going to get rid of it, we would have done it after my father died in 1998,” Byrd said.
He suspects a house on the opposite side of railroad tracks was the intended target of demolition. It’s a wooden home with a green roof — substantially different than his three-bedroom family home.
Vernice Parham, who has lived on the street with two of her six sisters for more than 40 years, was home when the demolition began. “It hurt my heart,” she said. “I wasn’t raised up in it , but I was raised up near it,” Parham said. “I know we got a heavenly home. But we’ve got a Earthly home there.”
Byrd has hired a lawyer, but he isn’t sure what his next step will be yet. His only daughter is getting married on Saturday, and he doesn’t want to be distracted for the big event.
“I’m trying to compartmentalize this,” Byrd said Thursday afternoon. “I don’t want to put a pall on the wedding.”
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Possessions
Today as I was reading the New York Times I ran across an interesting question:If you had to leave your home in a big hurry what one item would you choose to save. Or stated another way, what one possession do you love most of all ?
As I thought about all the "stuff" we have accumulated in almost 58 years of marriage in over six different houses, I wondered what one thing is most precious to me.
Not any of the books or knickknacks. Paintings collected over the years. Jewelry. Computers. Furniture. Silverware. Etc etc. It is all just stuff.
The one thing I would grab on my way out in a hurry would be:
The small, black and white photograph of my mother that sits in a silver frame on a bookshelf in my living room. It is a formal studio portrait type popular back then. She sits in a decorative wooden chair. There is a painted landscape background. She is pictured in a white dress, white stockings, her dark hair pulled back in a bun. Her own mother, a farmer's wife but an accomplished seamstress, made this dress with fine tucks adorning the bodice.
The date of the photograph would be about 1915 or so. At this time my mother would have been about 22 years old and teaching school in a one room schoolhouse in rural Georgia near Madison, Georgia. She was single, having not yet met her future husband, my father.
Many times since she died at age 91, I touched this photograph and blew her a kiss saying "Goodnight Mother"
I wish I had just an hour or two to sit down with her again and tell her I understand so much of what she went through as she aged. Now that I am approaching age 80, I better understand the aches and pains; the joys and trails of enduring to old age she talked about back then.
What would you choose to save. What one material possession do you love most?
As I thought about all the "stuff" we have accumulated in almost 58 years of marriage in over six different houses, I wondered what one thing is most precious to me.
Not any of the books or knickknacks. Paintings collected over the years. Jewelry. Computers. Furniture. Silverware. Etc etc. It is all just stuff.
The one thing I would grab on my way out in a hurry would be:
The small, black and white photograph of my mother that sits in a silver frame on a bookshelf in my living room. It is a formal studio portrait type popular back then. She sits in a decorative wooden chair. There is a painted landscape background. She is pictured in a white dress, white stockings, her dark hair pulled back in a bun. Her own mother, a farmer's wife but an accomplished seamstress, made this dress with fine tucks adorning the bodice.
The date of the photograph would be about 1915 or so. At this time my mother would have been about 22 years old and teaching school in a one room schoolhouse in rural Georgia near Madison, Georgia. She was single, having not yet met her future husband, my father.
Many times since she died at age 91, I touched this photograph and blew her a kiss saying "Goodnight Mother"
I wish I had just an hour or two to sit down with her again and tell her I understand so much of what she went through as she aged. Now that I am approaching age 80, I better understand the aches and pains; the joys and trails of enduring to old age she talked about back then.
What would you choose to save. What one material possession do you love most?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
My Cup Runneth Over
Remember the drought?
The one that enveloped the entire southeastern part of the US. The one that started the water wars between Georgia, Alabama and Florida? The water cops were out in full force. Neighbors were ratting on neighbors for watering lawns, gardens, flower beds.
Articles were written about conservation. Some even went so far as to collect the water in their showers in buckets and reuse it for outdoor watering. And many had expensive wells dug in their yards to bypass the official water sources and watering restrictions. Lush, green lawns were suspect. Signs went up "This lawn is watered using "WELL WATER"
Plans were made to plant cactus gardens.
Lakes Lanier and Allatoona were 12 to 15 feet below average levels. Florida said they needed MORE water released from Lake Lanier so the snail darters could survive. (We human Georgians wanted to survive also). Polititians fumed and fought.
Lake front lots were dry docks. It was HOT and DRY. PARCHED. It went on and on. Year after year. Almost to "dust bowl" proportions. the "Okies" among us were considering loading up the pickups and heading for California.
Then March, April and May 2009 came:
"Unusually active weather pattern brings frequent torrential rains to the Southeast. The last week of March and first week of April brought a shift in the large-scale weather patterns across the Southeast U.S., characterized by an active pattern with frequent low pressure systems moving across the northern Gulf Coast. Several of these systems were slow-moving, allowing soaking rains and thunderstorms to dump heavy accumulations of rain over the two-week period across most of Georgia, Alabama, and North Florida.. The widespread nature of the heavy rainfall has resulted in flooding of low-lying or poorly-drained areas and record or near-record floods on some Georgia and North Florida Rivers."
And according to WSB-TV Channel 2 meteorologist David Chandley
"Finally, the drought is OVER!.
As I track showers and t-storms across the southeast, I found this little nugget on the computer. For the first time in more than 2 years, the state of Georgia is drought free!! "
Oh. And by the way. about a month ago we had a soaker system installed for our tiny front yard and new shrubs.
Probably that did it and the heavens opened up and blessed us all with
Rain.
Beautiful Rain.
Wet wonderful water.
Rain.
cloudburst, deluge, drencher,flood, liquid sunshine, monsoon, pouring, raindrops, rainstorm, sheets, showers, sun shower, torrent, wet stuff.
Whoopee!!!
The one that enveloped the entire southeastern part of the US. The one that started the water wars between Georgia, Alabama and Florida? The water cops were out in full force. Neighbors were ratting on neighbors for watering lawns, gardens, flower beds.
Articles were written about conservation. Some even went so far as to collect the water in their showers in buckets and reuse it for outdoor watering. And many had expensive wells dug in their yards to bypass the official water sources and watering restrictions. Lush, green lawns were suspect. Signs went up "This lawn is watered using "WELL WATER"
Plans were made to plant cactus gardens.
Lakes Lanier and Allatoona were 12 to 15 feet below average levels. Florida said they needed MORE water released from Lake Lanier so the snail darters could survive. (We human Georgians wanted to survive also). Polititians fumed and fought.
Lake front lots were dry docks. It was HOT and DRY. PARCHED. It went on and on. Year after year. Almost to "dust bowl" proportions. the "Okies" among us were considering loading up the pickups and heading for California.
Then March, April and May 2009 came:
"Unusually active weather pattern brings frequent torrential rains to the Southeast. The last week of March and first week of April brought a shift in the large-scale weather patterns across the Southeast U.S., characterized by an active pattern with frequent low pressure systems moving across the northern Gulf Coast. Several of these systems were slow-moving, allowing soaking rains and thunderstorms to dump heavy accumulations of rain over the two-week period across most of Georgia, Alabama, and North Florida.. The widespread nature of the heavy rainfall has resulted in flooding of low-lying or poorly-drained areas and record or near-record floods on some Georgia and North Florida Rivers."
And according to WSB-TV Channel 2 meteorologist David Chandley
"Finally, the drought is OVER!.
As I track showers and t-storms across the southeast, I found this little nugget on the computer. For the first time in more than 2 years, the state of Georgia is drought free!! "
Oh. And by the way. about a month ago we had a soaker system installed for our tiny front yard and new shrubs.
Probably that did it and the heavens opened up and blessed us all with
Rain.
Beautiful Rain.
Wet wonderful water.
Rain.
cloudburst, deluge, drencher,flood, liquid sunshine, monsoon, pouring, raindrops, rainstorm, sheets, showers, sun shower, torrent, wet stuff.
Whoopee!!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Twitter?
I don't have a clue. I do not know what Twitter is or what Twitter does or what I could do with Twitter. Why would I want to Twitter? Would Twitter show up on my cell phone? If it did who would Twitter me?
What would they say. What would I say?
Might I Twitter this:
Watched "The Office" and "30 Rock" tonight.
Watched new detective show "Southland"
Good show..hard to follow
Relatives coming for holiday.
Dick Cheney is making an a** of himself.
Again.
Your time is up Dick.
Went to library.
Checked out"Me Talk Pretty One Day"
Sprinkled rain today
Windy yesterday
Blew fern off deck.
Shocked that Adam lost American Idol
Chris cute but no star power
Kara almost did striptease on Idol
I hate tattoos.
Played bridge on net tonite.
Getting sleepy
Going to bed and read.
Nite.
.
What would they say. What would I say?
Might I Twitter this:
Watched "The Office" and "30 Rock" tonight.
Watched new detective show "Southland"
Good show..hard to follow
Relatives coming for holiday.
Dick Cheney is making an a** of himself.
Again.
Your time is up Dick.
Went to library.
Checked out"Me Talk Pretty One Day"
Sprinkled rain today
Windy yesterday
Blew fern off deck.
Shocked that Adam lost American Idol
Chris cute but no star power
Kara almost did striptease on Idol
I hate tattoos.
Played bridge on net tonite.
Getting sleepy
Going to bed and read.
Nite.
.
Monday, May 11, 2009
US Senate.
Ok.
I know I have been pushing myself too hard for the last few weeks.
Maybe it is the spring time "nesting instinct" or perhaps I am a bit manic also.
Whatever is the cause, recently I have been on a house cleaning, fixing up, having repainting done, new landscaping in our tiny front yard. Activities which have me near exaustion
But today as I was reading the Yahoo News I realized I absolutely had passed the point of no return when I read this headline:
"CHRIST RUNNING FOR THE US SENATE"
what???
of course it read
"Crist running for US Senate" Crist being the present GOP Governor of
Florida.
But then I thought about the field day the press would have with rumors, scandals, inuendos, and so forth if CHRIST" were running for the US Senate. What a time for "swift boating" that would be.
In today's atmosphere even the most holy are not immune from slander.
I know I have been pushing myself too hard for the last few weeks.
Maybe it is the spring time "nesting instinct" or perhaps I am a bit manic also.
Whatever is the cause, recently I have been on a house cleaning, fixing up, having repainting done, new landscaping in our tiny front yard. Activities which have me near exaustion
But today as I was reading the Yahoo News I realized I absolutely had passed the point of no return when I read this headline:
"CHRIST RUNNING FOR THE US SENATE"
what???
of course it read
"Crist running for US Senate" Crist being the present GOP Governor of
Florida.
But then I thought about the field day the press would have with rumors, scandals, inuendos, and so forth if CHRIST" were running for the US Senate. What a time for "swift boating" that would be.
In today's atmosphere even the most holy are not immune from slander.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Spring is for the Birds
Recently I have noticed numerous blog posts about birds building nests near the house. On porches, decks, garages, lampposts and so on.
For instance :
Golden Days Ginnie had this to say about her most recent bird nest find on her front porch:
"a bunch of leaves seemed to have blown together on top of a 3-tier wrought iron piece where I usually put fresh flowers in season.Imagine my surprise when I tried to move it and a startled little Carolina Wren flew out. She had been protecting her eggs and I quickly realized it was her nest."
This made me recall one of the most unusual spots birds have chosen near my home for their nest.
Once some years back my husband had left one of his golf caps on a baker's rack in the open garage. A bird built a nest in it and that tickled us. And hubby lost his golf hat for the duration.
Then another time prior to that I had gotten one of those KiaPet things as a joke gift for hubby. It was of a bald head with seed on top. I watered the KiaPet and the {hair) seed came in green and plentiful.We left it outside on the same rack. After the grass dried out another enterprising bird kept picking the dry grass from the Kia head to use for a nest.
And believe it or not we kept seeing a little bird flying in and out of a small hole in our gas grill on the patio. Yes. It was building a nest in the grill. And of course we couldn't grill until the wee ones hatched. Then we cleaned out the nest and covered the hole. We did not want grilled bird eggs for dinner.:(
Do you remember any unusual or fun places birds have nested near your home?
For instance :
Golden Days Ginnie had this to say about her most recent bird nest find on her front porch:
"a bunch of leaves seemed to have blown together on top of a 3-tier wrought iron piece where I usually put fresh flowers in season.Imagine my surprise when I tried to move it and a startled little Carolina Wren flew out. She had been protecting her eggs and I quickly realized it was her nest."
This made me recall one of the most unusual spots birds have chosen near my home for their nest.
Once some years back my husband had left one of his golf caps on a baker's rack in the open garage. A bird built a nest in it and that tickled us. And hubby lost his golf hat for the duration.
Then another time prior to that I had gotten one of those KiaPet things as a joke gift for hubby. It was of a bald head with seed on top. I watered the KiaPet and the {hair) seed came in green and plentiful.We left it outside on the same rack. After the grass dried out another enterprising bird kept picking the dry grass from the Kia head to use for a nest.
And believe it or not we kept seeing a little bird flying in and out of a small hole in our gas grill on the patio. Yes. It was building a nest in the grill. And of course we couldn't grill until the wee ones hatched. Then we cleaned out the nest and covered the hole. We did not want grilled bird eggs for dinner.:(
Do you remember any unusual or fun places birds have nested near your home?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
moirologist
This week's theme for the email "Word A Day" is, "There's a word for it".
I never thought about "hired mourners" but yes,
they do exist, and there is a word for it:
"A.Word.A.Day
moirologist
PRONUNCIATION:(moy-ROL-uh-jist)
MEANING:noun: A hired mourner.
NOTES:There are some things in life money can't buy, for everything else, there's Mastercard. With the right credit card you could even hire mourners for your funeral or find the right sentiment. While researching this word, I came across websites that offer "eulogy packs". One such site lists a "Mother's Eulogy pack" that includes "9 speeches, 3 poems, 3 free bonus". Only $25.95 -- have your credit card ready. Fathers go cheaper: $19.97.
. Professional mourners are not a new thing either -- there's a long tradition going back to ancient Greece and beyond. As late as 1908 a New York Times article reported on a professional mourners' strike in Paris."
------
What do you think? Sounds like an easy job and there would NOT be age discrimination so even I might qualify at age 79. And then I could attend the reception afterwards and enjoy the company and the food?
Or perhaps "wedding crasher" might be a more upbeat hobby? Just drop by the country club or hotel and find a wedding reception in progress and blend in for the food, wine, dancing and mingle either as "distant relative of bride or groom"
Life is dull around here ;)
I never thought about "hired mourners" but yes,
they do exist, and there is a word for it:
"A.Word.A.Day
moirologist
PRONUNCIATION:(moy-ROL-uh-jist)
MEANING:noun: A hired mourner.
NOTES:There are some things in life money can't buy, for everything else, there's Mastercard. With the right credit card you could even hire mourners for your funeral or find the right sentiment. While researching this word, I came across websites that offer "eulogy packs". One such site lists a "Mother's Eulogy pack" that includes "9 speeches, 3 poems, 3 free bonus". Only $25.95 -- have your credit card ready. Fathers go cheaper: $19.97.
. Professional mourners are not a new thing either -- there's a long tradition going back to ancient Greece and beyond. As late as 1908 a New York Times article reported on a professional mourners' strike in Paris."
------
What do you think? Sounds like an easy job and there would NOT be age discrimination so even I might qualify at age 79. And then I could attend the reception afterwards and enjoy the company and the food?
Or perhaps "wedding crasher" might be a more upbeat hobby? Just drop by the country club or hotel and find a wedding reception in progress and blend in for the food, wine, dancing and mingle either as "distant relative of bride or groom"
Life is dull around here ;)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
FAST FORWARD
FAST FORWARD
I am all the ages I have ever been:
The little girl
with the buster brown haircut
who
adored her big brother.
He came
in the house
whistling and calling her
pet nicknames.
I am the teacher's pet
in grammar school
who loved poems
and
stories
and daydreamed
about movie stars
whose films
she saw
at the Palace Theater.
in Athens,Georgia
.
I am the
sister who
waited
for three brothers
to come home
from the war.
I am the distraught
young girl
whose pet dog
was run over
and killed
when he followed her
to town on
an ordinary Saturday.
I am the young woman who
went to work
at age
seventeen
at Southern Bell.
in Atlanta,
starting as an
operator
and progressing
to service representative
in four years.
I am the 21 year old
who met
the love of her life
on September 13
and married
him
on November 22,1951
I am the young mother
of a daughter born
in 1956
another daughter
in 1964
and
a son
in 1965.
I am the mom who
drove carpools
baked cookies
attended school plays
helped with
homework
I am the wife
who traveled
with her
successful businessman
husband
all over
the world
I am the daughter
who cared
for her own
mother
as she aged
and died
at ninety one
.
I am the grandmother
of six
who are
the light of her life
I am the 79 year old
woman
who loves
her husband
of fifty seven years
and wonders
how
in the
heck
did
she
get
so
OLD
and how
did
the
time
go.
whizzing by
So
DARN FAST
I am all the ages I have ever been.
I am all the ages I have ever been:
The little girl
with the buster brown haircut
who
adored her big brother.
He came
in the house
whistling and calling her
pet nicknames.
I am the teacher's pet
in grammar school
who loved poems
and
stories
and daydreamed
about movie stars
whose films
she saw
at the Palace Theater.
in Athens,Georgia
.
I am the
sister who
waited
for three brothers
to come home
from the war.
I am the distraught
young girl
whose pet dog
was run over
and killed
when he followed her
to town on
an ordinary Saturday.
I am the young woman who
went to work
at age
seventeen
at Southern Bell.
in Atlanta,
starting as an
operator
and progressing
to service representative
in four years.
I am the 21 year old
who met
the love of her life
on September 13
and married
him
on November 22,1951
I am the young mother
of a daughter born
in 1956
another daughter
in 1964
and
a son
in 1965.
I am the mom who
drove carpools
baked cookies
attended school plays
helped with
homework
I am the wife
who traveled
with her
successful businessman
husband
all over
the world
I am the daughter
who cared
for her own
mother
as she aged
and died
at ninety one
.
I am the grandmother
of six
who are
the light of her life
I am the 79 year old
woman
who loves
her husband
of fifty seven years
and wonders
how
in the
heck
did
she
get
so
OLD
and how
did
the
time
go.
whizzing by
So
DARN FAST
I am all the ages I have ever been.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
The Free Spirit
Brownies for breakfast,
Her mom told her to eat brownies
for breakfast.
WOW
What a neat
mom.
Most practical moms would say:
"Of course not!!!
You certainly may NOT
eat
Brownies
for
BREAKFAST.
eggs,
cereal,
toast,
oatmeal,
orange juice,
but NOT
BROWNIES!"
But her mom said
eat brownies
for breakfast
cause you may be
too full
later in
the day
for dessert
(chancy)
Her mom told her to eat brownies
for breakfast.
WOW
What a neat
mom.
Most practical moms would say:
"Of course not!!!
You certainly may NOT
eat
Brownies
for
BREAKFAST.
eggs,
cereal,
toast,
oatmeal,
orange juice,
but NOT
BROWNIES!"
But her mom said
eat brownies
for breakfast
cause you may be
too full
later in
the day
for dessert
(chancy)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Answering robots
( So many times when we call a business we get these dumb, impersonal answering robots. so turn about is fair play.)
"Subject: 86-year old lady's letter to bank...... Shown below, is an actual letter that was sent to a bank by an 86 year old woman."
Dear Sirs:
I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month..
By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor it.
I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire pension, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only eight years.
You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.
My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally answer your telephone calls and letters, --- when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become.
From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan repayments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by check, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.
Be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative.
Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.
In due course, at MY convenience, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows:
IMMEDIATELY AFTER DIALING, PRESS THE STAR (*) BUTTON FOR ENGLISH
#1. To make an appointment to see me
#2. To query a missing payment.
#3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
#4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping
#5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
#6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home
#7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer is required. Password will be communicated to you at a later date to that Authorized Contact mentioned earlier .
#8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7
#9. To make a general complaint or inquiry. The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service .
#10. This is a second reminder to press* for English.
While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call..
Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.
May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous New Year?
Your Humble Client"
"Subject: 86-year old lady's letter to bank...... Shown below, is an actual letter that was sent to a bank by an 86 year old woman."
Dear Sirs:
I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month..
By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor it.
I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire pension, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only eight years.
You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.
My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally answer your telephone calls and letters, --- when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become.
From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan repayments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by check, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.
Be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative.
Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.
In due course, at MY convenience, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows:
IMMEDIATELY AFTER DIALING, PRESS THE STAR (*) BUTTON FOR ENGLISH
#1. To make an appointment to see me
#2. To query a missing payment.
#3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
#4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping
#5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
#6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home
#7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer is required. Password will be communicated to you at a later date to that Authorized Contact mentioned earlier .
#8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7
#9. To make a general complaint or inquiry. The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service .
#10. This is a second reminder to press* for English.
While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call..
Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.
May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous New Year?
Your Humble Client"
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Bobby Soxer...Me
A lonely teen age girl sits in the dark listening to the new sensation, Frank Sinatra, as he croons a soft love ballad on his nightly radio show.
He signs off every program with these lyrics:
“Put your dreams away
For another day,
And I will take their placeIn your heart.
Wishing on a star
Never got you far
So it’s time to make
A new start”
She turns off the radio, takes out her bobby pins, dampens each strand of her Toni Home Permed brown hair. Then rolls it up in small, flat, pin curls.
She arranges her books for the next school day. Says a prayer for her three brothers who are serving overseas in the war.
Soon she goes to sleep hoping to dream of Frankie.
.
He signs off every program with these lyrics:
“Put your dreams away
For another day,
And I will take their placeIn your heart.
Wishing on a star
Never got you far
So it’s time to make
A new start”
She turns off the radio, takes out her bobby pins, dampens each strand of her Toni Home Permed brown hair. Then rolls it up in small, flat, pin curls.
She arranges her books for the next school day. Says a prayer for her three brothers who are serving overseas in the war.
Soon she goes to sleep hoping to dream of Frankie.
.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tomorrow
I loved the musical "Annie" and especially loved the feel good song the little redhead sang:
"The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There'll be sun!
Just thinkin' about
Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs,
And the sorrow
'Til there's none!
When I'm stuck with a day
That's gray,
And lonely,
I just stick out my chin
And Grin,
And Say,
Oh! The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
'Til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow!
Tomorrow!
I love ya Tomorrow!
You're always
A day
A way! "
It's a beautiful, sunny, spring day in Atlanta, Georgia.
The daffodils are blooming their bright yellow
Heads off
The flowering crab apples
Are tossing their pink petals
On the ground like a spring snow.
AND
They're all gone.
The plumber is gone
The washing machine
Repair guy
Is gone
Carpet reinstallers
Gone
Carpet cleaner
Gone.
Finished and gone.
Just in time
As I was
Too tired to chew.
"Tomorrow" finally came for us and we lived through it all.
:)
"The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There'll be sun!
Just thinkin' about
Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs,
And the sorrow
'Til there's none!
When I'm stuck with a day
That's gray,
And lonely,
I just stick out my chin
And Grin,
And Say,
Oh! The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
'Til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow!
Tomorrow!
I love ya Tomorrow!
You're always
A day
A way! "
It's a beautiful, sunny, spring day in Atlanta, Georgia.
The daffodils are blooming their bright yellow
Heads off
The flowering crab apples
Are tossing their pink petals
On the ground like a spring snow.
AND
They're all gone.
The plumber is gone
The washing machine
Repair guy
Is gone
Carpet reinstallers
Gone
Carpet cleaner
Gone.
Finished and gone.
Just in time
As I was
Too tired to chew.
"Tomorrow" finally came for us and we lived through it all.
:)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Don't Read This
Unless you want to hear me whine.!!!
They say it comes in three's. Misfortune that is.
As they were opening the bike box they noticed that the carpet in part of the playroom was wet about 4 feet out from the sofa and closet. Humm, they thought. Maybe the dehumidifier, which was not turned on had accidently started up, leaked and wet the floor.
They finished putting together the bike(no simple task in itself) then son went home and got his carpet cleaner machine and attempted to clean up the carpet stains. He came back over the next day to try and find the source of the water leak. He pulled up some of the carpet and discovered that the water heater in utility closet had a small, slow leak from the top down the side and under the baseboard into the room,(They had checked that before but it was such small leak from the top and not noticeable) I think it had been leaking for some time and we just had not seen it.
I went to the store to get Kitty Litter and they spread it on the bare floor . They had pulled up the carpet and discarded the wet pad underneath, trying to counteract the moisture. They turned on two fans and two dehumidifiers. Son drained the water heater so it wouldn't do anymore damage. We called the plumber who could not come until Monday. We only had cold water for two days. Brrr. I took spit baths. No shower.
The plumber came and replaced the water heater with a new one. When he finished I asked him to look upstairs at the hose connection for my washing machine as I thought it might be leaking. Plumber said the leak underneath the washing machine is NOT WATER but OIL. It was coming from the machine itself.( this is number three)
I called Sears Repair. They came today and had to replace the transmission etc. This came to a total of over $400. Luckily we had bought a 3 year service contract when we purchased the washing machine.(I had to overrule hubby at the time as he does not believe in extended warranties on appliances). So the repair cost nothing. Good thing as we had already spent over $800 on the water heater and plumber.
The basement playroom is topsy turvy with the carpet drying out. (almost dry now) Carpet guy coming tomorrow to take a look about reinstalling it later with new pad under part that was water damaged.)
Cleaning guy coming on Thursday to vacuum up kitty litter and to scrub up floor and baseboard to get rid of the mildew. (I talked to a water damage company and they said to use Borax detergent to clean up and it should be fine)
Now aren't you sorry you read this. but thanks for attending my pity party.
I found this info on PITY PARTY online:
"Pity Parties require the proper outfit, which is usually pajamas cause you dont get all dressed up during those feeling-sorry-for-myself moments. Also you should have no make up on or just the one from the night before; hair undone as well. It also involves tissues, comfort food such as ice cream; chocolate; potato chips; cookies; cake; and candy. Low fat food is banned Alcohol might or might not be allowed (if alcohol makes you go wild, no alcohol should be brought to the pity party in that case since the point is not exactly to have fun). The purpose of a Pity Party is to dump the pity ."
They say it comes in three's. Misfortune that is.
First it was my computer that died and our son had to take it home with him and administer CPR or mouth to mouth for a week until he revived it. It was DOA when he came to get it.
As they were opening the bike box they noticed that the carpet in part of the playroom was wet about 4 feet out from the sofa and closet. Humm, they thought. Maybe the dehumidifier, which was not turned on had accidently started up, leaked and wet the floor.
They finished putting together the bike(no simple task in itself) then son went home and got his carpet cleaner machine and attempted to clean up the carpet stains. He came back over the next day to try and find the source of the water leak. He pulled up some of the carpet and discovered that the water heater in utility closet had a small, slow leak from the top down the side and under the baseboard into the room,(They had checked that before but it was such small leak from the top and not noticeable) I think it had been leaking for some time and we just had not seen it.
I went to the store to get Kitty Litter and they spread it on the bare floor . They had pulled up the carpet and discarded the wet pad underneath, trying to counteract the moisture. They turned on two fans and two dehumidifiers. Son drained the water heater so it wouldn't do anymore damage. We called the plumber who could not come until Monday. We only had cold water for two days. Brrr. I took spit baths. No shower.
The plumber came and replaced the water heater with a new one. When he finished I asked him to look upstairs at the hose connection for my washing machine as I thought it might be leaking. Plumber said the leak underneath the washing machine is NOT WATER but OIL. It was coming from the machine itself.( this is number three)
I called Sears Repair. They came today and had to replace the transmission etc. This came to a total of over $400. Luckily we had bought a 3 year service contract when we purchased the washing machine.(I had to overrule hubby at the time as he does not believe in extended warranties on appliances). So the repair cost nothing. Good thing as we had already spent over $800 on the water heater and plumber.
The basement playroom is topsy turvy with the carpet drying out. (almost dry now) Carpet guy coming tomorrow to take a look about reinstalling it later with new pad under part that was water damaged.)
Cleaning guy coming on Thursday to vacuum up kitty litter and to scrub up floor and baseboard to get rid of the mildew. (I talked to a water damage company and they said to use Borax detergent to clean up and it should be fine)
Now aren't you sorry you read this. but thanks for attending my pity party.
I found this info on PITY PARTY online:
"Pity Parties require the proper outfit, which is usually pajamas cause you dont get all dressed up during those feeling-sorry-for-myself moments. Also you should have no make up on or just the one from the night before; hair undone as well. It also involves tissues, comfort food such as ice cream; chocolate; potato chips; cookies; cake; and candy. Low fat food is banned Alcohol might or might not be allowed (if alcohol makes you go wild, no alcohol should be brought to the pity party in that case since the point is not exactly to have fun). The purpose of a Pity Party is to dump the pity ."
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Keeping your computer screen clean
See below for a sure fire way to clean the inside of your computer screen.
http://www.raincitystory.com/flash/screenclean.swf
http://www.raincitystory.com/flash/screenclean.swf
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Hooray
HOORAY !!!!
My son brought my computer back today. It is all well and operating good as new.
What a relief, although I did notice I was slowly recovering from my computer addiction. But with the first whiff of "Bookworm" and "Blogs" my drugs of choice, I am hooked again.
Ahhh. How sweet it is.
My son brought my computer back today. It is all well and operating good as new.
What a relief, although I did notice I was slowly recovering from my computer addiction. But with the first whiff of "Bookworm" and "Blogs" my drugs of choice, I am hooked again.
Ahhh. How sweet it is.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
What else can happen?
Last Friday I went to the Yahoo games site to play bridge. I played many, many years ago and I was picking it up well enough to play in the Beginners Room. I had forgotten a lot about bidding, however, so I decided to go browsing for a bridge site about Bridge Bidding.
The second site I went to seemed like a winner so I clicked "favorites" to file the site for later reference. Instead of being saved in "Favorites" it went directly to my internet files. I tried to delete it but no luck. Then a box came up that said " Trojan virus" from AVG internet security. It asked if I wanted to "heal" it or "isolate it". I clicked one then the other but I could NOT get any action. Then my computer started going crazy. Black to light screen then for about 5 seconds a soft porn site came up.
I quickly shut down my computer and went to bed. I could not sleep until 3am as I was so worried.
And sure enough when my son came over the next day he found out that I had a terrible virus
on my computer. It had crashed.
I am on Sam's computer now. My son worked and worked and after 5 days he was able to restore my computer. I will lose any information I had prior to August of '07 but I can manage.
He said if I had to buy a new computer he would get an APPLE. It seems APPLE does not crash as much.
Anyway, when my son brings the old computer back to me it will be all clean and he is putting a better security system on it.
Darn It
There's always something.
But I am SO THANKFUL for my smart son who is always willing to help out.
The second site I went to seemed like a winner so I clicked "favorites" to file the site for later reference. Instead of being saved in "Favorites" it went directly to my internet files. I tried to delete it but no luck. Then a box came up that said " Trojan virus" from AVG internet security. It asked if I wanted to "heal" it or "isolate it". I clicked one then the other but I could NOT get any action. Then my computer started going crazy. Black to light screen then for about 5 seconds a soft porn site came up.
I quickly shut down my computer and went to bed. I could not sleep until 3am as I was so worried.
And sure enough when my son came over the next day he found out that I had a terrible virus
on my computer. It had crashed.
I am on Sam's computer now. My son worked and worked and after 5 days he was able to restore my computer. I will lose any information I had prior to August of '07 but I can manage.
He said if I had to buy a new computer he would get an APPLE. It seems APPLE does not crash as much.
Anyway, when my son brings the old computer back to me it will be all clean and he is putting a better security system on it.
Darn It
There's always something.
But I am SO THANKFUL for my smart son who is always willing to help out.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
There's always something
What a fine kettle of fish this is:
The arthroscopic surgery for a torn knee meniscus I had last October has helped some but it is still not altogether back to normal. But I manage. My husband has driven me back and forth to the doctor. He has helped out buying groceries and many other ways too numerous to mention. I always told him " I owed you one" and I thanked him for all his help.
Well...... a week ago Tuesday, Sam, my husband, who is never sick, stepped out into our small front yard and was looking up to check out a maple that needs trimming when suddenly.........he slipped on the pine straw and fell off the curb, twisting his leg with his foot underneath.
Long story short... Very painful, I had him elevate his leg and foot and applied ice packs.... gave him Advil and a left over pain pill from my prior surgery. The next day I took him to the foot doctor. They x-rayed and he has a broken bone in his foot. They put him in a stiff post-op shoe boot and told him to stay off his feet as much as possible. Keep it elevated and for the first few days keep ice on it. Come back in 4 weeks.
He is being a good soldier and I am being a good nurse/helper. He will be fine and he can drive since it is his left foot. He misses jogging on the treadmill. He is a health and fitness enthusiast and goes to the gym at least once a week. Being inactive is not in his nature. He is doing fine but still has some pain in his foot as the healing takes place.
We can't blame his injury on age since our daughter,when she was 13 years old, broke the same bone in her foot. But I know young people heal quicker.
So I am back being the "chief cook and bottle washer" around here. My knee must take second fiddle now.It is my turn to repay Sam for helping me out. I do it gladly knowing that together we will prevail. In a few months we will be back to normal again.
The arthroscopic surgery for a torn knee meniscus I had last October has helped some but it is still not altogether back to normal. But I manage. My husband has driven me back and forth to the doctor. He has helped out buying groceries and many other ways too numerous to mention. I always told him " I owed you one" and I thanked him for all his help.
Well...... a week ago Tuesday, Sam, my husband, who is never sick, stepped out into our small front yard and was looking up to check out a maple that needs trimming when suddenly.........he slipped on the pine straw and fell off the curb, twisting his leg with his foot underneath.
Long story short... Very painful, I had him elevate his leg and foot and applied ice packs.... gave him Advil and a left over pain pill from my prior surgery. The next day I took him to the foot doctor. They x-rayed and he has a broken bone in his foot. They put him in a stiff post-op shoe boot and told him to stay off his feet as much as possible. Keep it elevated and for the first few days keep ice on it. Come back in 4 weeks.
He is being a good soldier and I am being a good nurse/helper. He will be fine and he can drive since it is his left foot. He misses jogging on the treadmill. He is a health and fitness enthusiast and goes to the gym at least once a week. Being inactive is not in his nature. He is doing fine but still has some pain in his foot as the healing takes place.
We can't blame his injury on age since our daughter,when she was 13 years old, broke the same bone in her foot. But I know young people heal quicker.
So I am back being the "chief cook and bottle washer" around here. My knee must take second fiddle now.It is my turn to repay Sam for helping me out. I do it gladly knowing that together we will prevail. In a few months we will be back to normal again.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Win One For The Old Folks
The Westminster Dog Show had a surprise winner this year. On Tuesday night a 10 year old chestnut colored Sussex Spaniel won Best In Show. His name is "Stump" and he is the oldest dog ever to win this prestigious competition.
In human years Stump would be about 70 years old but he looks and acts much younger and has a spring in his step any 50 year old human could envy.
Stump almost died 5 years ago with a serious illness. His life was saved by the vets at Texas A and M University where he spent 19 days recovering.
Stump came out of retirement this week to win his first show in four years. Owner-handler Scott Sommer decided last Wednesday to bring Stump to the big show, just for fun. and for old times sake.
The crowd at the Garden went wild when Stump won "Best In Show" thus becoming the top dog in the USA. Maybe the audience just liked rooting for the old guy.
Stump is an inspiration to all of us of a certain age.
In human years Stump would be about 70 years old but he looks and acts much younger and has a spring in his step any 50 year old human could envy.
Stump almost died 5 years ago with a serious illness. His life was saved by the vets at Texas A and M University where he spent 19 days recovering.
Stump came out of retirement this week to win his first show in four years. Owner-handler Scott Sommer decided last Wednesday to bring Stump to the big show, just for fun. and for old times sake.
The crowd at the Garden went wild when Stump won "Best In Show" thus becoming the top dog in the USA. Maybe the audience just liked rooting for the old guy.
Stump is an inspiration to all of us of a certain age.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Twenty-five Random Things About Me.
I recently read in the Washington Post about a fad that is zipping around on FaceBook. Some are "tagging" others to respond to this:
"Twenty-five random things about me."
I don't have a FaceBook page and don't plan to get one so I just thought I would post my "Random Things" here for your amusement.;)
Feel free to post yours here or on your own blog.
Consider yourself "tagged" :)
1. My father was 55 years old when I was born. He died whan I was 9 years old.
2. I had one brother, and nine half brothers, one half sister,( by three different mothers.) (Father's first two wives died.)
3, I was the youngest. Or as they say, the caboose. All but three siblings were grown and gone from home when I was born.
4. I don't like dark chocolate.
5. I color my hair.
6. I was teacher's pet in the sixth grade.
7. During the summer I was not allowed to go swimming in the public pool. Polio scare.
8. I knew my husband of 57 years for 6 weeks before we married.
9. I still miss my springer spaniel dog who died when our house was struck by lightening in 1991.
10. I have flown on the Concord super sonic plane two times.
11. I have gone up in a hot air balloon twice also.
12. A plumber's son stole my husband's Rolex watch but his dad returned it in tears.
12. I wanted to be a journalist.
14. Once over a period of 5 years I walked 3000 miles. Two miles a day.
15 . I lived in Washington D.C. at the Watergate condos for 4 years.
16. Sometimes I walked around and around the adjacent Kennedy Center overlooking the Potomac River.
17. I am a news and politics junkie.
18 I campaigned for Jimmy Carter when he ran for President.
19. I have traveled to, Mexico City, Paris. London, Ireland, Italy, Singapore. Hong Kong, Switzerland.
20. I have never been on a cruise.
21. Once as a teen I made a scrapbook about Frank Sinatra. "Ole Blue Eyes" was just starting out and had his own radio show.
22. On TV, I watched the first men walk on the moon
23. I loved Franklin D. Roosevelt. I saw him once in a motorcade.
24 I heard FDR's fireside chats on the radio. Years after FDR's death, I visited "The Little White House" in Warm Springs. Georgia. He died here while getting his portrait painted.
25. I was in a Shirley Temple look alike contest as a child. I lost. :(
"Twenty-five random things about me."
I don't have a FaceBook page and don't plan to get one so I just thought I would post my "Random Things" here for your amusement.;)
Feel free to post yours here or on your own blog.
Consider yourself "tagged" :)
1. My father was 55 years old when I was born. He died whan I was 9 years old.
2. I had one brother, and nine half brothers, one half sister,( by three different mothers.) (Father's first two wives died.)
3, I was the youngest. Or as they say, the caboose. All but three siblings were grown and gone from home when I was born.
4. I don't like dark chocolate.
5. I color my hair.
6. I was teacher's pet in the sixth grade.
7. During the summer I was not allowed to go swimming in the public pool. Polio scare.
8. I knew my husband of 57 years for 6 weeks before we married.
9. I still miss my springer spaniel dog who died when our house was struck by lightening in 1991.
10. I have flown on the Concord super sonic plane two times.
11. I have gone up in a hot air balloon twice also.
12. A plumber's son stole my husband's Rolex watch but his dad returned it in tears.
12. I wanted to be a journalist.
14. Once over a period of 5 years I walked 3000 miles. Two miles a day.
15 . I lived in Washington D.C. at the Watergate condos for 4 years.
16. Sometimes I walked around and around the adjacent Kennedy Center overlooking the Potomac River.
17. I am a news and politics junkie.
18 I campaigned for Jimmy Carter when he ran for President.
19. I have traveled to, Mexico City, Paris. London, Ireland, Italy, Singapore. Hong Kong, Switzerland.
20. I have never been on a cruise.
21. Once as a teen I made a scrapbook about Frank Sinatra. "Ole Blue Eyes" was just starting out and had his own radio show.
22. On TV, I watched the first men walk on the moon
23. I loved Franklin D. Roosevelt. I saw him once in a motorcade.
24 I heard FDR's fireside chats on the radio. Years after FDR's death, I visited "The Little White House" in Warm Springs. Georgia. He died here while getting his portrait painted.
25. I was in a Shirley Temple look alike contest as a child. I lost. :(
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Trying Something New
My Mother's favorite drink
She lived to be 91 and every day of her life she had to have her Coke. In Georgia, during her lifetime,it was known as "Co-cola"..and for years it came in those old fashioned, green glass bottles that kept it so cold, refreshing and frosty. Not like the cans of today.
After she entered the nursing home, when I would go visit her and take her a new sweater or new nightgowns, I always stopped by the cafeteria and dropped in my quarters in the vending machine and bought her a "Co-Cola". She was always so grateful and she enjoyed the refreshing taste.
I suppose "Coke" itself at that time was as old as Mama. She was born in Hall County Georgia,in 1893, and Coca-Cola was sold in bottles for the first time on March 12, 1894. It was sold at a few soda fountains prior to that.
Then in 1985 the Coca Cola company made a tremendous blunder.
"The Coca-Cola Company came out with "New Coke" in 1985. Coca-Cola, amid much publicity, attempted to change the formula of the drink. Some authorities believe that New Coke, as the reformulated drink was called, was invented specifically to respond to its commercial competitor, Pepsi.. New Coke was reformulated in a way that emulated Pepsi. . The commercial failure of New Coke came as a grievous blow to the management of the Coca-Cola Corporation.
It is possible that customers would not have noticed the change if it had been made secretly or gradually, and thus brand loyalty could have been maintained. Coca-Cola management was unprepared, however, for the nostalgic sentiments the drink aroused in the American public; some compared changing the Coke formula to rewriting the American Constitution."
As soon as New Coke came out I took one out to the nursing home for Mama to try. I did not tell her that "Co-Cola" had been reformulated and just asked her "How is your Co-Cola, Mama? She sounded and looked disappointed when she replied "It's all right"
Then I told her about the new version of Coke. She wanted to stick with the old standby that had served her well for almost 90 years.
I never again took her a "New Coke." She enjoyed the familiar taste of the original Co-cola too much to change. At her age she deserved to stick with the original.
She lived to be 91 and every day of her life she had to have her Coke. In Georgia, during her lifetime,it was known as "Co-cola"..and for years it came in those old fashioned, green glass bottles that kept it so cold, refreshing and frosty. Not like the cans of today.
After she entered the nursing home, when I would go visit her and take her a new sweater or new nightgowns, I always stopped by the cafeteria and dropped in my quarters in the vending machine and bought her a "Co-Cola". She was always so grateful and she enjoyed the refreshing taste.
I suppose "Coke" itself at that time was as old as Mama. She was born in Hall County Georgia,in 1893, and Coca-Cola was sold in bottles for the first time on March 12, 1894. It was sold at a few soda fountains prior to that.
Then in 1985 the Coca Cola company made a tremendous blunder.
"The Coca-Cola Company came out with "New Coke" in 1985. Coca-Cola, amid much publicity, attempted to change the formula of the drink. Some authorities believe that New Coke, as the reformulated drink was called, was invented specifically to respond to its commercial competitor, Pepsi.. New Coke was reformulated in a way that emulated Pepsi. . The commercial failure of New Coke came as a grievous blow to the management of the Coca-Cola Corporation.
It is possible that customers would not have noticed the change if it had been made secretly or gradually, and thus brand loyalty could have been maintained. Coca-Cola management was unprepared, however, for the nostalgic sentiments the drink aroused in the American public; some compared changing the Coke formula to rewriting the American Constitution."
As soon as New Coke came out I took one out to the nursing home for Mama to try. I did not tell her that "Co-Cola" had been reformulated and just asked her "How is your Co-Cola, Mama? She sounded and looked disappointed when she replied "It's all right"
Then I told her about the new version of Coke. She wanted to stick with the old standby that had served her well for almost 90 years.
I never again took her a "New Coke." She enjoyed the familiar taste of the original Co-cola too much to change. At her age she deserved to stick with the original.
Friday, January 23, 2009
At seventy nine
At Seventy Nine
When you get to be my age, you should not wish for a Happy New Year.
Instead, try for a Happy Tuesday.
Put down those green bananas, And reach for the ripe ones.
The green bananas will ripen by Thursday; Who knows what Thursday will bring.
If it's winter, do not long for spring.
Enjoy the bare branches and cold winds
While resting by a warm fire
With old memories.
A glass of old wine
An old cat purring in your lap
As you doze off into tomorrow.
When you get to be my age, you should not wish for a Happy New Year.
Instead, try for a Happy Tuesday.
Put down those green bananas, And reach for the ripe ones.
The green bananas will ripen by Thursday; Who knows what Thursday will bring.
If it's winter, do not long for spring.
Enjoy the bare branches and cold winds
While resting by a warm fire
With old memories.
A glass of old wine
An old cat purring in your lap
As you doze off into tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Inauguration
My husband and I watched the inaugural today from beginning to end. The weather cooperated for the massive crowds that had gathered in Washington. Icy cold but clear and sunny. Just think, it could have rained or snowed or sleeted but it was a fair day and everyone survived the chill.
I remember the day in January 1977 when Jimmy Carter was inaugurated President of the United States and we were there. Standing room only but close enough to the podium to see and hear all of it. Most of what I remember is the icy cold. So cold that the Potomac river froze over so solid that some were ice skating on it. But that day was sunny and clear also so we braved the cold and witnessed history being made.
We even attended a ball and watched as the first couple danced. The next day my husband and I attended a reception at the White House for President Carter and his wife Rosalind honoring volunteers from Georgia.
It was a thrill being in this historic house for the first time. I could not help but remember the "fireside chats" that Franklin Roosevelt gave via radio when I was a child during the depression. We got to peek in the Map Room where FDR gave these radio addresses or chats.
Later we went to several parties at the White House while Carter was president and once just before Reagan left office. No time could I believe I was actually there and not just dreaming it up.
I have high hopes for our new President Barack Obama and I wish him much success and happiness in his new home with his beautiful family by his side.
.
I remember the day in January 1977 when Jimmy Carter was inaugurated President of the United States and we were there. Standing room only but close enough to the podium to see and hear all of it. Most of what I remember is the icy cold. So cold that the Potomac river froze over so solid that some were ice skating on it. But that day was sunny and clear also so we braved the cold and witnessed history being made.
We even attended a ball and watched as the first couple danced. The next day my husband and I attended a reception at the White House for President Carter and his wife Rosalind honoring volunteers from Georgia.
It was a thrill being in this historic house for the first time. I could not help but remember the "fireside chats" that Franklin Roosevelt gave via radio when I was a child during the depression. We got to peek in the Map Room where FDR gave these radio addresses or chats.
Later we went to several parties at the White House while Carter was president and once just before Reagan left office. No time could I believe I was actually there and not just dreaming it up.
I have high hopes for our new President Barack Obama and I wish him much success and happiness in his new home with his beautiful family by his side.
.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
The magic of photo shopping
I had to laugh at the term "photo shopping" recently as it reminded me of my daughter in law’s mother’s birthday a while back
. She had just turned 70 and the party was festive with a band and a display of all sort of photos of her and her family over the years.
There had recently been a messy divorce and my daughter in law’s sister’s ex husband , Bert, had just married his much younger "honey"
When I looked at their family group photo taken outside I asked my son where is "Bert," the reprobate ?
My son replied:
"See that shrub ? I turned Bert into a shrub in the backgound"
My son had "doctored" "Photo Shopped" the family group photo
"Bert was now in the background as a small shrub. "
Serves him right.....>:(
. She had just turned 70 and the party was festive with a band and a display of all sort of photos of her and her family over the years.
There had recently been a messy divorce and my daughter in law’s sister’s ex husband , Bert, had just married his much younger "honey"
When I looked at their family group photo taken outside I asked my son where is "Bert," the reprobate ?
My son replied:
"See that shrub ? I turned Bert into a shrub in the backgound"
My son had "doctored" "Photo Shopped" the family group photo
"Bert was now in the background as a small shrub. "
Serves him right.....>:(
Sunday, December 28, 2008
A New Year's Wish For You
Courtesy of Bob Dylan:
FOREVER YOUNG
BOB DYLAN
"May God bless and keep you always, May your wishes all come true, May you always do for others And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung, May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young.
May you grow up to be righteous, May you grow up to be true, May you always know the truth And see the lights surrounding you. May you always be courageous, Stand upright and be strong, May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young.
May your hands always be busy, May your feet always be swift, May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift. May your heart always be joyful, May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young".
FOREVER YOUNG
BOB DYLAN
"May God bless and keep you always, May your wishes all come true, May you always do for others And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung, May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young.
May you grow up to be righteous, May you grow up to be true, May you always know the truth And see the lights surrounding you. May you always be courageous, Stand upright and be strong, May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young.
May your hands always be busy, May your feet always be swift, May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift. May your heart always be joyful, May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young".
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Annual Christmas Message
In Hoc Anno DominiVermont Royster's annual Christmas message.
This editorial was written in 1949 by the late Vermont Royster and has been published annually since in the Wall Street Journal
"When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.
Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.
But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression--for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?
There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?
Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.
And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.
So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.
But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.
Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter's star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.
And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."
This editorial was written in 1949 by the late Vermont Royster and has been published annually since in the Wall Street Journal
"When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.
Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.
But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression--for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?
There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?
Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.
And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.
So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.
But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.
Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter's star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.
And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Religious Freedom
Washington D.C.
Nativity Scene
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. this Christmas.
This isn't for any religious reason though.They simply have not been able to find three wise men and a virgin in the Nation's capitol. There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable.
;)
Nativity Scene
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. this Christmas.
This isn't for any religious reason though.They simply have not been able to find three wise men and a virgin in the Nation's capitol. There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable.
;)
Monday, December 15, 2008
Have you heard this one?
One Christmas Eve, a frenzied young man ran into a pet shop looking for an unusual Christmas gift for his wife. The shop owner suggested a parrot, named Chet, which could sing famous Christmas carols.This seemed like the perfect gift. "How do I get him to sing?" The young man asked, excitedly."Simply hold a lighted match directly under his feet like this." was the shop owner's reply. Chet began to sing "Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells! ..."The shop owner then held another match under the parrot's right foot. Then Chet's tune changed, and the air was filled with "Silent Night, Holy Night..."The young man was so impressed that he paid the shop-keeper and ran home as quickly as he could with Chet under his arm.
When the wife saw her gift she was overwhelmed. "How beautiful!" She exclaimed, "Can he talk?""No," the young man replied, "But he can sing. Let me show you."So the young man whipped out his lighter and placed it under Chet's left foot, as the shop-keeper had shown him, and Chet crooned, "Jingle Bells! The man then moved the lighter to Chet's right foot, and out came, "Silent Night. Holy Night..."The wife, her face filled with curiosity, then asked, "What if we hold the lighter between his legs?" The man did not know. "Let's try it." He answered,eager to please his wife.
So they held the lighter between Chet's legs. Chet twisted his face, cleared his throat, the little parrot sang out loudly (like it was the performance of his life) "Chet's nuts roasting on an open fire...."
When the wife saw her gift she was overwhelmed. "How beautiful!" She exclaimed, "Can he talk?""No," the young man replied, "But he can sing. Let me show you."So the young man whipped out his lighter and placed it under Chet's left foot, as the shop-keeper had shown him, and Chet crooned, "Jingle Bells! The man then moved the lighter to Chet's right foot, and out came, "Silent Night. Holy Night..."The wife, her face filled with curiosity, then asked, "What if we hold the lighter between his legs?" The man did not know. "Let's try it." He answered,eager to please his wife.
So they held the lighter between Chet's legs. Chet twisted his face, cleared his throat, the little parrot sang out loudly (like it was the performance of his life) "Chet's nuts roasting on an open fire...."
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tomorrow is the big day
OK, Please remind me why I thought last Christmas buying an artificial tree, a 6 footer, was a good idea; granted it was an absolutely gorgeous frasier fir fake that had it's own twinkling white lights. It was beautiful when we got all the ornaments on we have collected over the years. I even bought some "Eau De Forest" spray so the tree would smell like the real thing and it was a success. Did I mention it doesn't shed?
But now it resides in a huge box in the downstairs, under the stairs closet with Costco paper supplies, bedding for the hide a bed in the adjacent playroom, several old paintings and the rest of the Christmas decorations.All of the flotsam and jetsam has to be moved out of this small closet to remove the tree from its' year of slumber. then carry the heavy green fir pieces, 4 in all, up the stairs to the living room where my husband and I will have removed a tilt top table, lamp and a marble sculpture we bought in Mexico some time back, to make room for the tree.
Each of the four pieces of the tree are quite heavy with the wiring for the lights and they have to be attached to each other from bottom to top in a way that permits the lights to work... Hubby will start to assemble the pieces: (I will then proceed to kibitz and suggest that perhaps he is not doing it exactly right) ;)... We will finally get it assembled .Then put on all the ornaments and the tree skirt around the base.
Whew
But then after we sit still for a while and admire the beautiful. twinkling tree lights we will go outside and stand in the street and gaze at the image reflected in the front window of our house and breathe a sigh of relief and I will hug him and say :"It IS the prettiest we have ever had."
Now I get it..
IT'S CHRISTMAS AGAIN
AND ALL'S RIGHT WITH THE WORLD
But now it resides in a huge box in the downstairs, under the stairs closet with Costco paper supplies, bedding for the hide a bed in the adjacent playroom, several old paintings and the rest of the Christmas decorations.All of the flotsam and jetsam has to be moved out of this small closet to remove the tree from its' year of slumber. then carry the heavy green fir pieces, 4 in all, up the stairs to the living room where my husband and I will have removed a tilt top table, lamp and a marble sculpture we bought in Mexico some time back, to make room for the tree.
Each of the four pieces of the tree are quite heavy with the wiring for the lights and they have to be attached to each other from bottom to top in a way that permits the lights to work... Hubby will start to assemble the pieces: (I will then proceed to kibitz and suggest that perhaps he is not doing it exactly right) ;)... We will finally get it assembled .Then put on all the ornaments and the tree skirt around the base.
Whew
But then after we sit still for a while and admire the beautiful. twinkling tree lights we will go outside and stand in the street and gaze at the image reflected in the front window of our house and breathe a sigh of relief and I will hug him and say :"It IS the prettiest we have ever had."
Now I get it..
IT'S CHRISTMAS AGAIN
AND ALL'S RIGHT WITH THE WORLD
Friday, November 21, 2008
Ronni's question
Ronni Bennett on her blog Time Goes by asked an interesting question yesterday about what do you have that you have used continously for a long, long time.
Here's my answer. What is yours?
My oldest in continuos use item is a Jewel Tea Casserole Dish in the Autumn Leaves pattern. I have been married 57 years this Saturday, November 22, and I have used this dish at least once a month if not more often for all those years. This week I made yummy Macaroni and Cheese in it. I also use it for other dishes like Banana Pudding which I don't make very frequently now.
This casserole dish dates back to my childhood when the Jewel Tea truck would come around during the depression years and my mother would buy various items and get points with which she could obtain "gifts" one of which was this casserole dish.
Anything I cook in this dish is charmed and turns out great. :)
Here's my answer. What is yours?
My oldest in continuos use item is a Jewel Tea Casserole Dish in the Autumn Leaves pattern. I have been married 57 years this Saturday, November 22, and I have used this dish at least once a month if not more often for all those years. This week I made yummy Macaroni and Cheese in it. I also use it for other dishes like Banana Pudding which I don't make very frequently now.
This casserole dish dates back to my childhood when the Jewel Tea truck would come around during the depression years and my mother would buy various items and get points with which she could obtain "gifts" one of which was this casserole dish.
Anything I cook in this dish is charmed and turns out great. :)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
More on the Economic Crisis Worldwide.
"News from the Far East:
Uncertainty has now hit Japan.
"In the last seven days, Origami bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank has announced plans to cut some of its branches.
Yesterday, it was also announced that Karaoke Bank will go up for sale and will likely go for a song, while shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended today after they nose-dived.
While Samurai Bank is soldiering on after sharp cutbacks, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank, where it is feared that staff may get a raw deal"
Brother can you spare a yen?
Uncertainty has now hit Japan.
"In the last seven days, Origami bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank has announced plans to cut some of its branches.
Yesterday, it was also announced that Karaoke Bank will go up for sale and will likely go for a song, while shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended today after they nose-dived.
While Samurai Bank is soldiering on after sharp cutbacks, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank, where it is feared that staff may get a raw deal"
Brother can you spare a yen?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Hello
Ok What do I do with HER ??
SHE claims she is getting better and is seen whizzing around the house cleaning up and dusting. SHE even cleaned out the fridge today and wiped the shelves without dropping a single scrap on the floor for me, HER live vacuum cleaner.
House rule number ONE:If it hits the floor it is mine.
I have not been taken for a walk for over 3 months now and SHE blames it all on a "meniscus tear" of her right knee. which SHE said happened when SHE got out of the chair at the beauty shop. (give me a break. I can run and jump up on the bed and sofa with no problem at all. However SHE is much older than me. SHE had Arthroscopy knee surgery 4 weeks ago and that should have cured HER, but no, SHE still compains.
So here I am, stuck inside, bored to pieces, and wondering when SHE will again take me for a wonderful walk.
I do like sitting at HER feet as SHE types and follows your blog posts. As I told you before, when SHE naps I hop on up and post my own musing here.
Ok I guess you can tell I am not in the best mood today due to my cabin fever but I will try and cheer up:
While SHE is not looking I am posting these DOG RULES in a conspicuous place.
Dog Rules
1. The dog is not allowed in the house.
2. Ok, the dog is allowed in the house, but only in certain parts.
3. The dog is allowed in all rooms, but has to stay off the furniture.
4. The dog can get on the old furniture only.
5. Fine, the dog allowed on all the furniture, but is not allowed to sleep with the humans on the bed.
6. Ok, the dog is allowed on the bed but by invitation only.
7. The dog can sleep on the bed whenever he wants, but not under the covers.
8. The dog can sleep under the covers by invitation only.
9. The dog can sleep under the covers every night.
10. Humans must ask permission to sleep under the covers with the dog.
DERRY
SHE claims she is getting better and is seen whizzing around the house cleaning up and dusting. SHE even cleaned out the fridge today and wiped the shelves without dropping a single scrap on the floor for me, HER live vacuum cleaner.
House rule number ONE:If it hits the floor it is mine.
I have not been taken for a walk for over 3 months now and SHE blames it all on a "meniscus tear" of her right knee. which SHE said happened when SHE got out of the chair at the beauty shop. (give me a break. I can run and jump up on the bed and sofa with no problem at all. However SHE is much older than me. SHE had Arthroscopy knee surgery 4 weeks ago and that should have cured HER, but no, SHE still compains.
So here I am, stuck inside, bored to pieces, and wondering when SHE will again take me for a wonderful walk.
I do like sitting at HER feet as SHE types and follows your blog posts. As I told you before, when SHE naps I hop on up and post my own musing here.
Ok I guess you can tell I am not in the best mood today due to my cabin fever but I will try and cheer up:
While SHE is not looking I am posting these DOG RULES in a conspicuous place.
Dog Rules
1. The dog is not allowed in the house.
2. Ok, the dog is allowed in the house, but only in certain parts.
3. The dog is allowed in all rooms, but has to stay off the furniture.
4. The dog can get on the old furniture only.
5. Fine, the dog allowed on all the furniture, but is not allowed to sleep with the humans on the bed.
6. Ok, the dog is allowed on the bed but by invitation only.
7. The dog can sleep on the bed whenever he wants, but not under the covers.
8. The dog can sleep under the covers by invitation only.
9. The dog can sleep under the covers every night.
10. Humans must ask permission to sleep under the covers with the dog.
DERRY
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sweet Potatoes
Who does not like sweet potatoes, especially someone born and raised in the south?
Think of all the ways you can prepare sweet potatoes. I like plain baked sweet potatoes brimming with butter and maybe a dollop of brown sugar and cinnamon. And sweet potato casseroles, mashed with butter and vanilla. cinnamon brown sugar eggs and perhaps a gooey marshmallow topping.Or our favorite topping; nuts butter and brown sugar. Also:
Sweet potato pie. Yummy.
One Thanksgiving, my grown and married son who was about 30 at the time, said no thanks to a serving of our family's old stand by, sweet potato casserole. He said " I don't like sweet potatoes." I asked "Since when. You always ate sweet potatoes growing up?" He replied, "No I did not, didn't you notice?
I guess I just drew a blank or my mind refused to acknowledge that my own flesh and blood did not like sweet potatoes. The thought of anyone NOT liking sweet potatoes is beyond my comprehension. :)
Maybe there was a mix up at the hospital nursery? ;)
All About Sweet Potatoes
"The sweet potato is a native crop in North Carolina grown in the Coastal Plains. American Indians were growing sweet potatoes when Columbus discovered America in 149 Sweet potatoes have been around since prehistoric times. Some scientists believe that dinosaurs might have eaten these delicious vegetables. ( and just remember how big they grew)
When European people first came to live in North and South America, they also learned to eat a lot of sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes were a main food of European people living in America in the 1500's, 1600's, and 1700's AD.
When African people came to North America, they called sweet potatoes "yams". That's because back home in Africa, they had eaten a food that was a lot like sweet potatoes, which in Africa was called "nyami" or "anyinam". They aren't really the same plant, but they look and taste a lot alike, so the African people called sweet potatoes "yams." They cooked them the way they had back home, and ate a lot of them."
SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
This tasty sweet potato casserole contains butter, vanilla, mashed sweet potatoes, brown sugar, butter, and pecans.
INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes
.
Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans
PREPARATION:
Beat eggs, granulated sugar, and 3/4 cup butter. Add milk and vanilla. Combine with the mashed sweet potatoes; spoon into a greased 2-quart casserole. Combine brown sugar, flour, 2 tablespoons softened butter, and pecans, mixing until crumbly; sprinkle over sweet potatoes. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
Serves 6.
Think of all the ways you can prepare sweet potatoes. I like plain baked sweet potatoes brimming with butter and maybe a dollop of brown sugar and cinnamon. And sweet potato casseroles, mashed with butter and vanilla. cinnamon brown sugar eggs and perhaps a gooey marshmallow topping.Or our favorite topping; nuts butter and brown sugar. Also:
Sweet potato pie. Yummy.
One Thanksgiving, my grown and married son who was about 30 at the time, said no thanks to a serving of our family's old stand by, sweet potato casserole. He said " I don't like sweet potatoes." I asked "Since when. You always ate sweet potatoes growing up?" He replied, "No I did not, didn't you notice?
I guess I just drew a blank or my mind refused to acknowledge that my own flesh and blood did not like sweet potatoes. The thought of anyone NOT liking sweet potatoes is beyond my comprehension. :)
Maybe there was a mix up at the hospital nursery? ;)
All About Sweet Potatoes
"The sweet potato is a native crop in North Carolina grown in the Coastal Plains. American Indians were growing sweet potatoes when Columbus discovered America in 149 Sweet potatoes have been around since prehistoric times. Some scientists believe that dinosaurs might have eaten these delicious vegetables. ( and just remember how big they grew)
When European people first came to live in North and South America, they also learned to eat a lot of sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes were a main food of European people living in America in the 1500's, 1600's, and 1700's AD.
When African people came to North America, they called sweet potatoes "yams". That's because back home in Africa, they had eaten a food that was a lot like sweet potatoes, which in Africa was called "nyami" or "anyinam". They aren't really the same plant, but they look and taste a lot alike, so the African people called sweet potatoes "yams." They cooked them the way they had back home, and ate a lot of them."
SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
This tasty sweet potato casserole contains butter, vanilla, mashed sweet potatoes, brown sugar, butter, and pecans.
INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes
.
Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans
PREPARATION:
Beat eggs, granulated sugar, and 3/4 cup butter. Add milk and vanilla. Combine with the mashed sweet potatoes; spoon into a greased 2-quart casserole. Combine brown sugar, flour, 2 tablespoons softened butter, and pecans, mixing until crumbly; sprinkle over sweet potatoes. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
Serves 6.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Monday, November 03, 2008
Sarah Palin in one minute
click on title of post for Sarah Palin in one minute
(Tabor Requested this and I did it for her) :)
(Tabor Requested this and I did it for her) :)
Two years in one minute
The endless Presidential campaign of 2008 is almost over.
Just in case you are already having withdrawal symptoms and want more, more, more
Click on the title of this post for recap.
Just in case you are already having withdrawal symptoms and want more, more, more
Click on the title of this post for recap.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Confession
Ok. I guess I need to come clean now.
I have been pretending to be a 78 year old female, blogging under the name "Chancy" on www.driftwoodinspiration.blogspot.com.
I am actually a female Irish Setter named Derry and I learned to type watching my owner and practicing while she slept. SHE is the 78 year old female human and I am the imposter. Her blog posts are so dull I decided to take over the blog and liven it up with humor and Irish stories about Leprechauns and the Blarney Stone and Irish Pubs.
Example
The Mouse on the Barroom Floor
"Some Guinness was spilled on the barroom floor
when the pub was shut for the night.
Out of his hole crept a wee brown mouse
and stood in the pale moonlight.
He lapped up the frothy brew from the floor,
then back on his haunches he sat.
And all night long you could hear him roar,
'Bring on the goddam cat!' "
I have been pretending to be a 78 year old female, blogging under the name "Chancy" on www.driftwoodinspiration.blogspot.com.
I am actually a female Irish Setter named Derry and I learned to type watching my owner and practicing while she slept. SHE is the 78 year old female human and I am the imposter. Her blog posts are so dull I decided to take over the blog and liven it up with humor and Irish stories about Leprechauns and the Blarney Stone and Irish Pubs.
Example
The Mouse on the Barroom Floor
"Some Guinness was spilled on the barroom floor
when the pub was shut for the night.
Out of his hole crept a wee brown mouse
and stood in the pale moonlight.
He lapped up the frothy brew from the floor,
then back on his haunches he sat.
And all night long you could hear him roar,
'Bring on the goddam cat!' "
Friday, October 31, 2008
Halloween
Many Halloween memories here in addition to the years spent trick or treating with our 3 now grown children in years gone by.
There were the Halloweens we lived in a suburb of Chattanooga on Signal Mountain, a bedroom community. Way on over the mountain there was a coal mining community called Edward's Point. The people there were mostly poor miners. The first year we ran out of "treats" for the children. The Edward's Point people were hauling truck loads of children in the beds of their pick up trucks to troll for treats. Mr C had to make a quick run to the store for more candy.
Growing up in Athens Ga. in the 1930's we had never heard of "Trick Or Treat" on Halloween. We just shivered outside in the dark while pretending to look for goblins.I do remember my older brothers playing tricks on some of the neighbors but no such thing as ringing a doorbell and asking for treats. :) I think the trick or treat Halloween tradition must have migrated south after the war years and during the '40's
We lived in Washington D.C. for 4 years at the Watergate Condos which was near the Georgetown area of the city. Halloween night we took a taxi drive through Georgetown to see the impromptu parade of adults dressed out in weird costumes.
Now in the townhouse community where we live, not many, if any, "goblins" come by.
Circle of life I guess.
There were the Halloweens we lived in a suburb of Chattanooga on Signal Mountain, a bedroom community. Way on over the mountain there was a coal mining community called Edward's Point. The people there were mostly poor miners. The first year we ran out of "treats" for the children. The Edward's Point people were hauling truck loads of children in the beds of their pick up trucks to troll for treats. Mr C had to make a quick run to the store for more candy.
Growing up in Athens Ga. in the 1930's we had never heard of "Trick Or Treat" on Halloween. We just shivered outside in the dark while pretending to look for goblins.I do remember my older brothers playing tricks on some of the neighbors but no such thing as ringing a doorbell and asking for treats. :) I think the trick or treat Halloween tradition must have migrated south after the war years and during the '40's
We lived in Washington D.C. for 4 years at the Watergate Condos which was near the Georgetown area of the city. Halloween night we took a taxi drive through Georgetown to see the impromptu parade of adults dressed out in weird costumes.
Now in the townhouse community where we live, not many, if any, "goblins" come by.
Circle of life I guess.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Homeplace
REM
186
It's gone.
The house is gone.
He came and tore it down.
He built on the lot.
In fact he built on 2 lots.
180 and 186.
The red Georgia dirt is still there.
The same blue sky.
The same night time stars and moon.
I used to sit on the front steps
With my brown and white dog
I would gaze up
At the stars as they twinkled in the darkness.
Back then you could see the Big Dipper
and Little Dipper.
The Milky Way.
So clear it was.
No smog.
No haze.
Just clear, beautiful night sky.
We moved away.
I grew up.
Still in my mind's eye
I returned again
And again
To the old house
On the hill.
I was born in the front bedroom.
Skipped down the front steps
And walked to Chase Street School.
Climbed the flowering peach tree
In the back yard.
Gathered pecans
As my brothers climbed up
And shook the pecan tree's limbs.
Now he has come.
He brought his loud band
And microphone
And tailored suits
And money.
He built HIS house.
But underneath it all
I know. I can hear it.
My house still whispers
The same old sweet song at twilight.
186
It's gone.
The house is gone.
He came and tore it down.
He built on the lot.
In fact he built on 2 lots.
180 and 186.
The red Georgia dirt is still there.
The same blue sky.
The same night time stars and moon.
I used to sit on the front steps
With my brown and white dog
I would gaze up
At the stars as they twinkled in the darkness.
Back then you could see the Big Dipper
and Little Dipper.
The Milky Way.
So clear it was.
No smog.
No haze.
Just clear, beautiful night sky.
We moved away.
I grew up.
Still in my mind's eye
I returned again
And again
To the old house
On the hill.
I was born in the front bedroom.
Skipped down the front steps
And walked to Chase Street School.
Climbed the flowering peach tree
In the back yard.
Gathered pecans
As my brothers climbed up
And shook the pecan tree's limbs.
Now he has come.
He brought his loud band
And microphone
And tailored suits
And money.
He built HIS house.
But underneath it all
I know. I can hear it.
My house still whispers
The same old sweet song at twilight.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Ron Howard on voting
Ron Howard (Opie on Andy Griffith wants you to vote Obama)
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/cc65ed650d
click on title of this post for link
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/cc65ed650d
click on title of this post for link
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Go Obama
My absentee ballot finally came in the mail today after almost a month to the day. We sat down at the kitchen table and voted after supper tonight.
Whew!! That was some ordeal getting that ballot. I feel like Joan of Arc or Betsy Ross or someone special after going to so much trouble and overcoming all adversity and not giving up.
Tee Hee. ( Strains of "The Impossible Dream" playing in the background.)
"The Impossible Dream"
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
Whew!! That was some ordeal getting that ballot. I feel like Joan of Arc or Betsy Ross or someone special after going to so much trouble and overcoming all adversity and not giving up.
Tee Hee. ( Strains of "The Impossible Dream" playing in the background.)
"The Impossible Dream"
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
Sunday, October 19, 2008
I am voting
I am voting for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
I am voting, that is, if I ever receive my absentee ballot.
We, my husband and I. mailed our request for absentee ballots on September 26. We mailed two applications, his and mine, in the same envelope to the Fulton County Georgia Voter Registration Division. About 10 days later my husband's ballot came in the mail. No ballot for me arrived.
I waited about a week and called and got someone at the registrars office who said,"Just because you mailed your absentee ballot requests in the same envelope that don't mean they get handled at the same time. We are workin til bout 9 or 10 o'clock at night trying to handle all of this stuff. We's so swamped"
She said wait about a week then call back and check again. I did and when I called back there was no answer and no answering machine taking messages. ( In the meanwhile I had arthroscopic knee surgery and did not feel up to taking on Fulton County again."
After the anaethesia and pain pills wore off I put on my thinking cap and decided to call the Georgia Secretary of State's office and tell them about my voting dilemma. The person who answered, after I was transfered to about 3 different extensions, put me on hold forever. She came back and said she also could not get an answer at the voter's office. She said she would send an email to them. Making an inquiry in my name. Someone should call me from that office by the end of the day.
No one called. Days passed and still no ballot
I called the Secretary of State's office again and the person who answered that time suggested I send in another request for absentee ballot. I did so. By fax and by mail.
Two days later, finally someone with good sense called, identifying herself, and saying she regreted the problem I was having and she would help solve the dilemma.She had been contacted by the Secretary Of State's office. She asked me to fax to her personal fax number my request for ballot and she would "walk it over" to the proper location in the same building. I did so. She called back and said she had received the fax and my ballot would be in the mail no later than tomorrow, Monday, October 20.
Cross your fingers and wish me luck.
(To be continues)
"What a country" :)
I am voting, that is, if I ever receive my absentee ballot.
We, my husband and I. mailed our request for absentee ballots on September 26. We mailed two applications, his and mine, in the same envelope to the Fulton County Georgia Voter Registration Division. About 10 days later my husband's ballot came in the mail. No ballot for me arrived.
I waited about a week and called and got someone at the registrars office who said,"Just because you mailed your absentee ballot requests in the same envelope that don't mean they get handled at the same time. We are workin til bout 9 or 10 o'clock at night trying to handle all of this stuff. We's so swamped"
She said wait about a week then call back and check again. I did and when I called back there was no answer and no answering machine taking messages. ( In the meanwhile I had arthroscopic knee surgery and did not feel up to taking on Fulton County again."
After the anaethesia and pain pills wore off I put on my thinking cap and decided to call the Georgia Secretary of State's office and tell them about my voting dilemma. The person who answered, after I was transfered to about 3 different extensions, put me on hold forever. She came back and said she also could not get an answer at the voter's office. She said she would send an email to them. Making an inquiry in my name. Someone should call me from that office by the end of the day.
No one called. Days passed and still no ballot
I called the Secretary of State's office again and the person who answered that time suggested I send in another request for absentee ballot. I did so. By fax and by mail.
Two days later, finally someone with good sense called, identifying herself, and saying she regreted the problem I was having and she would help solve the dilemma.She had been contacted by the Secretary Of State's office. She asked me to fax to her personal fax number my request for ballot and she would "walk it over" to the proper location in the same building. I did so. She called back and said she had received the fax and my ballot would be in the mail no later than tomorrow, Monday, October 20.
Cross your fingers and wish me luck.
(To be continues)
"What a country" :)
Friday, October 10, 2008
Terms of endearment-----NOT
Ronni Bennett on her blog,"Time Goes By" has an excellent post about the demeaning "terms of endearment" some people use when addressing elders.
I had a routine chest Xray last week as part of a pre op physical in preparation for arthroscopic surgery of my knee which has a meniscis tear.
The Xray tech, about 40 years old female, called me "young lady" twice. This irrates me. I know I am not young although I am SURE I am a LADY!!
I don't want to curse so I am trying to think of a way to correct someone when they use these demeaning names.
My husband said to tell her my name and say " I prefer you use my name instead of "young lady"
Any suggestions for a good retort?
I had a routine chest Xray last week as part of a pre op physical in preparation for arthroscopic surgery of my knee which has a meniscis tear.
The Xray tech, about 40 years old female, called me "young lady" twice. This irrates me. I know I am not young although I am SURE I am a LADY!!
I don't want to curse so I am trying to think of a way to correct someone when they use these demeaning names.
My husband said to tell her my name and say " I prefer you use my name instead of "young lady"
Any suggestions for a good retort?
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Long ago and far away.
Mort of Octogenerian said this:
"The current financial crisis, generating fears that the U.S. faces a serious depression, has triggered my memories of the Great Depression of the 1930s."
This got me thinking about those times in the 1930's
I was born in December of 1929, the year the stock market crashed. We lived in a small college town in the south which did not seem to be greatly affected by the depression. I remember my Mother telling me about families who had to come begging for food and clothing. She always gave them something and my brothers gave them some good clothing of their own. My Father died in 1939 when I was 9 years, Our hard times began then since my Mother was left with no insurance and no income. When WW2 started and my 3 brothers went into the service we got small allotments from each of them. I never really felt poor because during the War since everyone had to do without. Even shoes were rationed so the fact that I had only one pair of shoes for three years in high school was no big deal.
We had to save up to buy any and everything before the advent of credit cards. At first there were store credit cards and then the advent of credit cards in the 1950's . My husband got his first American Express Card in 1958, the first year they were issued so he is a charter member.
There was layaway in the stores. You could pick out a dress, coat or anything and the store would "lay it away" or hold it until you paid the full purchase price. A few dollars a week.
I also never had a bicycle, just roller skates which I would use until the metal wheels were worn down to the bearings. Then my brothers would take the skate wheels and make a scooter with scrap wood.
We played "Kick The Can" in the street. Jump rope, HopScotch, flew homemade kites and made swings from old tires and ropes. Another favorite game was marbles played outside in the dirt.
An ice cream cone was a real treat. We never kept ice cream at home No freezer.For a long time just an ice box. So we walked to the drug store and bought a yummy cone. The same for candy bars.
I sat outside at night with my mixed breed dog and gazed up at the clear night sky. Filled with stars. No pollution. Not many cars.I chased after fireflies and put them in a jar with holes punched in the lid. Took them inside for a magic lantern in the house.
We walked most everywhere. Only once do I remember being driven to school. Walked downtown to the picture show. Walked to the city swimming pool in the summer. Walked to friends' houses.
Long ago and far away. Despite hardship, I had a happy childhood because I knew I was loved.
Many of you did not live through the 1930, but you all were once children. Want to share a memory?
"The current financial crisis, generating fears that the U.S. faces a serious depression, has triggered my memories of the Great Depression of the 1930s."
This got me thinking about those times in the 1930's
I was born in December of 1929, the year the stock market crashed. We lived in a small college town in the south which did not seem to be greatly affected by the depression. I remember my Mother telling me about families who had to come begging for food and clothing. She always gave them something and my brothers gave them some good clothing of their own. My Father died in 1939 when I was 9 years, Our hard times began then since my Mother was left with no insurance and no income. When WW2 started and my 3 brothers went into the service we got small allotments from each of them. I never really felt poor because during the War since everyone had to do without. Even shoes were rationed so the fact that I had only one pair of shoes for three years in high school was no big deal.
We had to save up to buy any and everything before the advent of credit cards. At first there were store credit cards and then the advent of credit cards in the 1950's . My husband got his first American Express Card in 1958, the first year they were issued so he is a charter member.
There was layaway in the stores. You could pick out a dress, coat or anything and the store would "lay it away" or hold it until you paid the full purchase price. A few dollars a week.
I also never had a bicycle, just roller skates which I would use until the metal wheels were worn down to the bearings. Then my brothers would take the skate wheels and make a scooter with scrap wood.
We played "Kick The Can" in the street. Jump rope, HopScotch, flew homemade kites and made swings from old tires and ropes. Another favorite game was marbles played outside in the dirt.
An ice cream cone was a real treat. We never kept ice cream at home No freezer.For a long time just an ice box. So we walked to the drug store and bought a yummy cone. The same for candy bars.
I sat outside at night with my mixed breed dog and gazed up at the clear night sky. Filled with stars. No pollution. Not many cars.I chased after fireflies and put them in a jar with holes punched in the lid. Took them inside for a magic lantern in the house.
We walked most everywhere. Only once do I remember being driven to school. Walked downtown to the picture show. Walked to the city swimming pool in the summer. Walked to friends' houses.
Long ago and far away. Despite hardship, I had a happy childhood because I knew I was loved.
Many of you did not live through the 1930, but you all were once children. Want to share a memory?
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
What???
FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
" NEW YORK -- Sen. John McCain said he will "suspend" his presidential campaign on Thursday and will return to Washington to focus on the unfolding economic crisis. In the meantime, he called for a delay in the presidential debate scheduled for Friday night in Mississippi.
Sen. McCain also called on his Democratic rival Barack Obama to join him back in the capital.
"It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the administration's proposal. I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time," the Arizona senator said in statement issued by the campaign. "Tomorrow morning, I will suspend my campaign and return to Washington."
McCain speaks on the financial crisis Friday at a hotel in New York.
He also called on the Commission on Presidential Debates to delay Friday's debate, the first of three scheduled, and he asked President Bush to convene a meeting with congressional leadership, including both himself and Sen. Obama.
"It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem," he said. "We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved."
The Arizona senator compared the situation to that facing the nation following the 2001 terrorist attacks, saying politics must be put aside for the moment.
"We must show that kind of patriotism now," he said. "Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country," he added.
The bold McCain statement comes as political figures in Washington had begun to assess the fallout of the bailout package on the presidential race. Both candidates have been put into difficult situations: to oppose the package could appear irresponsible in the face of financial turmoil, but support is dicey without a broad national consensus that has not yet materialized.
The Obama campaign had no immediate comment. Sen. Obama is currently in Florida preparing for the Friday debate, which is set to focus on foreign policy issues."
........
I do not agree with McCain and I hope Barack Obama goes ahead with the debate.
Perhaps with an "empty chair for McCain" ???
What's your opinion?
" NEW YORK -- Sen. John McCain said he will "suspend" his presidential campaign on Thursday and will return to Washington to focus on the unfolding economic crisis. In the meantime, he called for a delay in the presidential debate scheduled for Friday night in Mississippi.
Sen. McCain also called on his Democratic rival Barack Obama to join him back in the capital.
"It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the administration's proposal. I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time," the Arizona senator said in statement issued by the campaign. "Tomorrow morning, I will suspend my campaign and return to Washington."
McCain speaks on the financial crisis Friday at a hotel in New York.
He also called on the Commission on Presidential Debates to delay Friday's debate, the first of three scheduled, and he asked President Bush to convene a meeting with congressional leadership, including both himself and Sen. Obama.
"It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem," he said. "We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved."
The Arizona senator compared the situation to that facing the nation following the 2001 terrorist attacks, saying politics must be put aside for the moment.
"We must show that kind of patriotism now," he said. "Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country," he added.
The bold McCain statement comes as political figures in Washington had begun to assess the fallout of the bailout package on the presidential race. Both candidates have been put into difficult situations: to oppose the package could appear irresponsible in the face of financial turmoil, but support is dicey without a broad national consensus that has not yet materialized.
The Obama campaign had no immediate comment. Sen. Obama is currently in Florida preparing for the Friday debate, which is set to focus on foreign policy issues."
........
I do not agree with McCain and I hope Barack Obama goes ahead with the debate.
Perhaps with an "empty chair for McCain" ???
What's your opinion?
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Twisted typoglycemia
I had to laugh when I read over this"email" to my daughter AFTER I had clicked send.
"HI
My emaul has been acting up but it seems OK now."
...
"EMAUL"
Sometimes when the computer frustration sets in it really feels like "EMAUL" lol
.
......
(From the Dictionary)
Entry Word: maul
Function: verb
Text:
1 to abuse physically — see manhandle 1
2 to strike repeatedly — see beat 1
.........
Don't you sometimes feel like you are being "MAULED" by YOUR computer?
"HI
My emaul has been acting up but it seems OK now."
...
"EMAUL"
Sometimes when the computer frustration sets in it really feels like "EMAUL" lol
.
......
(From the Dictionary)
Entry Word: maul
Function: verb
Text:
1 to abuse physically
2 to strike repeatedly
.........
Don't you sometimes feel like you are being "MAULED" by YOUR computer?
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Twisted English?
From a news item on today's Yahoo news.
"Explorer who first reached North Pole indisputably dies at 80"
(I think the word "indisputedly" is in the wrong place. He died "indisputedly" ? :)
Maybe they took his pulse?)
What do you think?
"Explorer who first reached North Pole indisputably dies at 80"
(I think the word "indisputedly" is in the wrong place. He died "indisputedly" ? :)
Maybe they took his pulse?)
What do you think?
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Memories
I was thinking recently about some of my memories of the war years during the early 1940's. Living in a small college town in Georgia we were in no real danger and never felt afraid. You have to know that back then we were not as mobile a society as we are now. If we traveled it was usually either in the car or on a bus. Airplane travel was not an ordinary occurrence as it is now. People on both the west and east coast of the US were more aware of the threats from the enemy. In small inland towns we felt safe.I was 12 years old when the war started and 16 when it finally ended.
My three brothers were drafted. One saw overseas duty in Northern Africa with Signal Corps and one served in England, the Netherlands and later Germany. The third had "tough" duty in the Navy in Hollywood, Florida and then he was sent to Seattle, Washington in preparation to being shipped overseas when the war ended. They all three came home safely.
On the home front we went about our lives in a normal fashion but always concerned about those close to us who were away in the service.
A brief rundown of war time memories:
"December 7, 1941.the day that will live in infamy"
Ration Books, air raid wardens, saving foil from gum, High School volunteers picking cotton, V.E. mail, gas rationing,and rationing of sugar, coffee, News reels at the picture shows, one pair of shoes, no silk stockings, painted stockings with seam drawn on back of legs. VE day, VJ day .Polio, March of Dimes, fear of polio infection from swimming pool and water fountains. There were segregated movies; blacks in balcony and separate entrance. We had blackout curtains, air raid sirens,neighborhood air raid warden, war bonds, . My brother mailed me a silk parachute from Germany,brightly painted wooden souvenir shoes from the Netherlands, English Lavender soap from London. FDR fireside chats, Churchill, December 7 1941. VE day FDR death, VJ day, DDay I wore bobby socks and saddle oxfords, the songs "Bluebirds Over The White Cliffs of Dover", "Nightingale Sang In Berkley Square."
What are some of your memories from this era?
My three brothers were drafted. One saw overseas duty in Northern Africa with Signal Corps and one served in England, the Netherlands and later Germany. The third had "tough" duty in the Navy in Hollywood, Florida and then he was sent to Seattle, Washington in preparation to being shipped overseas when the war ended. They all three came home safely.
On the home front we went about our lives in a normal fashion but always concerned about those close to us who were away in the service.
A brief rundown of war time memories:
"December 7, 1941.the day that will live in infamy"
Ration Books, air raid wardens, saving foil from gum, High School volunteers picking cotton, V.E. mail, gas rationing,and rationing of sugar, coffee, News reels at the picture shows, one pair of shoes, no silk stockings, painted stockings with seam drawn on back of legs. VE day, VJ day .Polio, March of Dimes, fear of polio infection from swimming pool and water fountains. There were segregated movies; blacks in balcony and separate entrance. We had blackout curtains, air raid sirens,neighborhood air raid warden, war bonds, . My brother mailed me a silk parachute from Germany,brightly painted wooden souvenir shoes from the Netherlands, English Lavender soap from London. FDR fireside chats, Churchill, December 7 1941. VE day FDR death, VJ day, DDay I wore bobby socks and saddle oxfords, the songs "Bluebirds Over The White Cliffs of Dover", "Nightingale Sang In Berkley Square."
What are some of your memories from this era?
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Food for thought
I don't remember where I first read this but it is worth repeating
I DON'T KNOW WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF THE FOLLOWING IDEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS, SO I CANNOT CREDIT HIM (OR HER). BUT THE SENTIMENTS ARE ESSENTIALLY MY OWN.
To be a Republican reactionary, you have to believe that...
1. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.
2. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him; a bad guy when Bush's Daddy made war on him; a good guy when Cheney's Halliburton did business with him; and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find a Bin Laden" diversion.
3. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
4. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.
5. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational drug corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.
6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.
7. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.
8. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies, then demand their cooperation and money.
9. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. Moreover, HMO's and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.
10. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.
.
I DON'T KNOW WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF THE FOLLOWING IDEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS, SO I CANNOT CREDIT HIM (OR HER). BUT THE SENTIMENTS ARE ESSENTIALLY MY OWN.
To be a Republican reactionary, you have to believe that...
1. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.
2. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him; a bad guy when Bush's Daddy made war on him; a good guy when Cheney's Halliburton did business with him; and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find a Bin Laden" diversion.
3. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
4. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.
5. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational drug corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.
6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.
7. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.
8. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies, then demand their cooperation and money.
9. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. Moreover, HMO's and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.
10. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.
.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
From Obama and McCain Senate Web Sites
A bit more info about the Medicare part D Prescription Drug Plan
OBAMA:
"The U.S. is the largest market for pharmaceuticals in the world, yet our seniors pay the highest prices for brand pharmaceuticals. The Medicare Part D Program was supposed to address this problem but instead created a “doughnut hole” which limits drug benefits for seniors with more than $2,250 in annual costs. (Senator Obama was not in the Senate in 2003 when Congress passed the Part D program but would have opposed it.) For many seniors, this is a particularly devastating example of "bait and switch." A truly meaningful prescription drug program should provide a benefit that seniors can understand and count on, and reduce the cost of these drugs. To help lower the cost of prescription drugs, Senator Obama has supported efforts to allow American seniors to purchase prescription drugs in Canada and bring them back to the U.S. He also has supported giving Medicare the ability to negotiate lower drug prices."
MCCAIN in Senate: 2003 ABOUT PROPOSED PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL: MEDICARE PART D
"The American people should be aware that this new benefit has substantial cost to seniors, and to current and future generations of taxpayers, who will bear the majority of a crushing financial burden. There will be unintended consequences of our actions, Mr. President. We can be sure of that. Moreover, we should be honest about the cost of this measure - $400 billion is merely a down payment for what we are creating. Given the fiscal realities we face, realities that will become more dire with every passing year, Congress and the Administration should have committed to addressing the acute need for a drug benefit to alleviate the impossible choices confronting lower income seniors. And, most importantly, begun to seek consensus among responsible members of both parties for the reforms we all know are necessary to save Medicare."
AND FROM THE AARP WEB SITE:
"What we often hear from clients these days is that they are having to pick and choose what they can pay for,"
"Those who take medicines that are not fully covered by Medicare or private insurance "are asking themselves whether their medications are more important than their other everyday expenses. It's a tough call for them, but they are having to make those choices."
------
OBAMA:
"The U.S. is the largest market for pharmaceuticals in the world, yet our seniors pay the highest prices for brand pharmaceuticals. The Medicare Part D Program was supposed to address this problem but instead created a “doughnut hole” which limits drug benefits for seniors with more than $2,250 in annual costs. (Senator Obama was not in the Senate in 2003 when Congress passed the Part D program but would have opposed it.) For many seniors, this is a particularly devastating example of "bait and switch." A truly meaningful prescription drug program should provide a benefit that seniors can understand and count on, and reduce the cost of these drugs. To help lower the cost of prescription drugs, Senator Obama has supported efforts to allow American seniors to purchase prescription drugs in Canada and bring them back to the U.S. He also has supported giving Medicare the ability to negotiate lower drug prices."
MCCAIN in Senate: 2003 ABOUT PROPOSED PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL: MEDICARE PART D
"The American people should be aware that this new benefit has substantial cost to seniors, and to current and future generations of taxpayers, who will bear the majority of a crushing financial burden. There will be unintended consequences of our actions, Mr. President. We can be sure of that. Moreover, we should be honest about the cost of this measure - $400 billion is merely a down payment for what we are creating. Given the fiscal realities we face, realities that will become more dire with every passing year, Congress and the Administration should have committed to addressing the acute need for a drug benefit to alleviate the impossible choices confronting lower income seniors. And, most importantly, begun to seek consensus among responsible members of both parties for the reforms we all know are necessary to save Medicare."
AND FROM THE AARP WEB SITE:
"What we often hear from clients these days is that they are having to pick and choose what they can pay for,"
"Those who take medicines that are not fully covered by Medicare or private insurance "are asking themselves whether their medications are more important than their other everyday expenses. It's a tough call for them, but they are having to make those choices."
------
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