Just Sayin'

Yet another email and I love it:

Let me get this straight. We're going to be "gifted" with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don't,

written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it,

to be signed by a president who also smokes,

with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese,

and financed by a country that's broke.

What the hell could possibly go wrong?

Smile Some More

Another email from a dear friend....just in time for a much needed chuckle

COLOR IS GOOD

Yesterday I went to the doctor

For my yearly physical.

My blood pressure was high.

My cholesterol was high. I'd gained some weight,

and I didn't feel so hot.

My doctor said eating right

doesn't have to be complicated and

it would solve my physical problems.

He said:

"Just think in colors.

Fill your plate with bright colors.

Try some greens, oranges, reds,

maybe something yellow, etc. "

So I went right home

and ate an entire bowl of

bright colors

And sure enough,

I felt better immediately. I never knew eating right could be so easy!!

Now stay healthy,

eat your colors,

and have a nice day

Getting ready

Well, as usual, if it isn't one thing it's another.  We are in a perfect storm of things we have to do.  Our used to be primary residence is finally on the market and that is never a  peaceful thing.  Our agent is good (we think, and hope) but there are still things that pry their way into your serene and blissful life.

While that is happening, we are getting ready to do work on what used to be our weekend/summer/maybe all year round house so that we can live in it all year round.  It needs things like closets, storage, a room large enough for more than 4 people and a bedroom where you can actually have a dresser as well as a bed in the same place.   We are stretching the budget here because, until the other house sells, we will be living on fumes.  It will be done and we will do it.  My husband works from home and his office is here in the house being renovated.  We have to live here while the destruction/construction is ongoing.  We will have the use of  the living room, downstairs bath, our current bedroom and the spare room which will hold all of the everything from the upstairs bath, hall storage closet and used to be guest room.  Our kitchen is being enlarged (praise God) and will be out of commission.  All cabinets are currently being emptied by yours truly and stored in the garage.

Hopefully the work will begin the week of the 18th when we have out of state company arriving.  They will be at a motel but we will be entertaining them by touring and out to dinner and so forth.  We leave for Mississippi  on the 21st and will be gone until the 1st or 2nd and so have to be packed and ready for that.  I am lucky I know where my toothbrush is. 

The house for sale has a couple of very interested people looking and looking again.  Watch.  The house will sell and we will have to empty it out by the 1st.  Oh man.  That would be good news and bad news for sure.

Meanwhile I sit here writing and searching the net for stress relief and here is some.  Ready for Halloween.

Hurricane Horror

We are waiting today for torrential downpours and high winds.  It should have hit sometime yesterday and didn't.  This morning we were told that today would be cloudy and high winds would start (by now) and the heavy rain would bring up to 3 inches by the end of the day.  Right now it is in the 70's and brilliantly sunny.  There is a gentle breeze wafting in the windows to take the humid edge off the air.  What is with the news people and their hyper ventilation?  Not too long ago we were inundated with warnings and watches and omg Help me Hannah about Hurricane Earl.  That went on for days.  Neighbors boarded up windows and cleared the supermarket shelves of candles and bottled water.  People planning on staying for the week closed up and went home early.  A friend sent me an e-mail showing the terrible devastation of Hurricane Earl....let me share it with you

I surely hope the weather men are as accurate this time as they were before.

Life in a Bottle...so to speak

Again from the email collection:  A view of life.

Most of us are already on the THIRD bottle.  Yikes!

Stuff Grandad says

Sorry about the language but you know Grandad - never could control him..

From an email -- laugh for the day

Friendship

Got this fabulous email from my husband and he got it from who knows where.  It started my day and it made my day.  Enjoy.

Friendship isn't about those you've known the longest - -

It's about those who came and never left your side.

Have a wonderful day

Good Day

This whole "Burn a Koran" thing has evidently fizzled out.  The pastor who was going to burn that book said that God told him the mosque will be moved.  OK!  Somehow, the conclusion of this mess is as nutty as the beginning and the middle.  No way does it prove that we are caving in to the nonsense of the muslim world.  Note that I did not Capitalize muslim.  I won't give that belief that kind of respect.  The only thing that this incident has done is to prove to the viewing and listening world that this belief system is one with no respect for human life, no civilized behaviors and no redeeming qualities at all.  Now, I guess, I await my beheading or flogging or stoning since that is what these people, yes, I said these people, think is the right way to deal with dissent.

I am so done with this TOLERANCE issue.

I say good day.

Kinda Fun

Some words of wisdom from another email - from a dear friend......

Bumper sticker of the year:
'If you can read this, thank a teacher -and, since it's in English, thank a soldier'

Now that food has replaced sex in my life, I can't even get into my own pants.

I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!

When I was young we used to go 'skinny dipping,' now I just 'chunky dunk.'

Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.

Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctrl Alt Delete' and start all over? AMEN, AMEN !!

Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they can in prison?
A completely brillant question!!!!!!!

Wouldn't you know it....Brain cells come and brain cells go, but FAT cells live forever.

Why do I have to swear on the Bible in court when the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed outside?
Another completely brilliant question

!!!!

How to Lick a Bowl

My cousin sent me this email on how to lick a bowl.  I thought we could all use a few pointers and a smile.

Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened.

Another Stimulus

(updated 9/30/10 -forgot to attribute this gem to another email )

Sometime  this year, we taxpayers will again receive  another 'Economic Stimulus' payment.

This is indeed a very exciting program, and I'll explain it by using a Q & A format:

Q. What is an 'Economic Stimulus' payment ?

A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q.. Where will the government get this money?

A.  From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?

A. Only a smidgen of it.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment?

A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China?

A. Shut up.

Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the U.S. economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:

* If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money will go to China or Sri Lanka ..
* If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to the Arabs.
* If you purchase a computer, it will go to India , Taiwan or China ..
* If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico , Honduras and Guatemala ...
* If you buy an efficient car, it will go to Japan or Korea ..
* If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan ..
* If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and  they will hide it offshore. 

Instead, keep the money in America by:

 1) Spending it at yard sales, or
 2) Going to ball games, or
 3) Spending it on prostitutes, or
 4) Beer or
 5) Tattoos

(These are the only American businesses still operating in the U.S.)

Conclusion:

Go to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute that you met at a yard sale and drink beer all day !

No need to thank me, I'm just glad I could be of help.

Ain't this the truth?

Sent via email by a dear friend.

LADIES YEARLY EXAM

I went to the doctor for my yearly physical. The nurse starts with certain basics...

How much do you weigh?' she asks.

'135,' I say.

The nurse put me on the scale. It turns out my weight is 180.

The nurse asks, 'Your height?'
'5 foot 4,' I say.

The nurse checked and saw that I only measure 5' 2'.

She then took my blood pr essure and told me it is very high.

'Of course it's high!' I scream, 'When I came in here I was tall and slender! Now I'm short and fat!'

She put me on Prozac.. What a BIOTCH..

Little Known Info

Some Little Known Information which arrived today in an email from my cousin.

Manure : In the 16th and 17th centuries before the invention of commercial fertilizers, everything had to be transported by ship, so large shipments of manure were quite common.

It was shipped dry because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, not only did it become heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is methane gas (of course). As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen: methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM!

Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening.

After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the instruction “stow high in transit” on them, which meant the sailors had to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.  Thus evolved the term “S.H.I.T” (Stow High In Transit) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.

You probably did not know the true history of this word.

Neither did I.

I always thought it was a golf term.

Miracle Ear is in our future

Three old guys are out walking.

First one says, 'Windy, isn't it?'

Second one says, 'No, it's Thursday!'

Third one says, 'So am I. Let's go get a beer.'

 


I think I know them.

I Could Write a Book

Went to this website and pasted some text and what do I discover?

I write like
Mark Twain

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Hot and Heavy

Just a quick update -  the doggie girl is fine and dandy.  Several hundreds of dollars later, x-rays and such we are glad to hear that nothing untoward is causing the stomach upset.  Maybe a change of food will take care of the situation and a change in the weather to less hot and humid.  It's really too hot to type.  It started to rain so I'm hoping for a cool down and a dry breeze.  Well I can hope can't I?

I'll be back when that happens or when we put in an air conditioner.

Doggie Woes of Sorts

Our puppy girl has had another bout of the up chucks.  I think it's the heat and humidity and hubby, of course, thinks the worst.  Until her appointment next week, she is on chicken and rice and teensy tiny bits of her own food.  She loves it.  It constipates her.  The rice, I'm sure.  I understand that.  Hubby thinks the worst is even worser.  I found this on some blog somewhere while searching for what could be making the girl vomit.  I found it so funny that I sent it via email to the hubster.  He did not find it so amusing.  I think you might though.  Here it is:

The four types of dog vomit


YELLOW URKA-GURKA

Dog runs around the house and hides under furniture while making a prolonged ‘uuuuurka-guuuuurka, uuurka-guurka’ noise. (This noise is the only thing guaranteed to wake up a true dog lover who is hung over from a post dog-show celebration at 3:30 a.m.) After mad scrambling to capture the dog and drag him outside, the episode ends with an inaudible ten yard slimy yellow froth from the living room rug to the back door.

BLAP DISEASE

Dog exercises hard and (a) eats large mouthfuls of snow (winter Blap Disease) or (b) drinks a bucket of water (Summer Blap Disease). Within two minutes of returning inside, the dog spews out large amounts of clear slimy liquid while making a distinctive ‘blap’ sound and a sharp percussive noise as it hits the linoleum.

GARKS

Dog suddenly clears his throat with loud and dramatic ‘gggaark, gggark’ noises generally followed by prolonged ‘iiiksss’ and then loud satisfied smacking noises. There is nothing on the rug. Don’t investigate, you don’t want to know.

RALFS

Apropos of nothing, the dog strolls into the dining room and waits till the innocent dinner guests are all watching him. Then, with a single deep gut wrenching ‘raaaalff’ dislodges the entire weeks’ contents of his stomach on the dining room rug.

Variation: Then he eats it.

In all the above events the dog is entirely healthy and indeed deeply pleased with himself.

Summer Season

Summer is here for sure.  The houses between here and the beach are filling up.  The renters are here.  The kids are playing in the streets.  Flags are waving and birds are singing and it sure is beautiful.

Here's the morning walk but now there are more flags.

Here's the beach at the end of that walk.   This is at high tide and now there are people on the beach.

Around here the seasons are not only about weather.  The numbers of people here change with the seasons.

A Day of God's Blessings

Well. I think God is hearing me and smiting them one at a time. Good bye Helen. About time I say.

So, I'll take it. Strip them of their masks bit by bit and sooner or later they'll all be standing there like the emperor stitch starch nekkid. That's ok. Not boils or frogs but it works.

More good news. Today, I went for my walk later than usual and what did I see? This

Yes indeed. The Bluebird of Happiness. That was my father's favorite song by the way. Well, maybe not the most favorite but a favorite. He could pick that out on the piano with two or three fingers.

Be like I, hold your head up high,
Till you find a bluebird of happiness.
You will find greater peace of mind
Knowing there's a bluebird of happiness.
And when he sings to you,
Though you're deep in blue,
You will see a ray of light creep through,
And so remember this, life is no abyss,
Somewhere there's a bluebird of happiness.

Then, what to my wondering eyes doth appear?

Man, God is always with us isn't He? What a wonderful day this has been. Hope all of you had the same good stuff going on. We are so Blessed.

A Plague upon Them

Wow.  It's been a long time since I've been here.  Wish I had tons of things to regale you with that caused my hiatus but, sad to say, it ain't so.  Life has just bubbled along and I have been like flotsam and jetsum bobbing and bubbling along with the current.  Graduation party here, shower there, vomiting dog here, trip to the vet, chicken and rice for her (better dinner than ours in most cases), laundry, water the lawn, sit and read and talk on the phone.  There it is.  My life.

I have omitted the countless outbursts of rage against our current administration and the main stream propaganda arm of theirs.  I have ranted about the nonsense that is being thrown at Israel and have prayed fervently for God to step in and smite someone...rain down those hot coals Sir, show Iran who the real boss is............................please, please please.  Sigh...

I know He is in charge and since I read the end of the Book, I know we'll be okay but seriously folks, don't you want just a couple of the old plagues to hit that fool in Iran?  Don't you want that UN crew to have boils and frogs and such?  Maybe the big O could have a small jolt of pain whenever he tells a lie.  One that would make him say "Youch"  and jump a little.  Something!  Just something!

Well, maybe you'll be all righteous and say "We just pray for their well being and leave all the rest to God".  Me?  I'm for the smiting and plaguing. 

The More Things change - The More They Stay the Same

When I was in college I wrote a paper for some class where I used the technique of anthropomorphism. I argued against foreign aid by setting up the United States and the foreign aid recipient country as if the USA were the parent and the recipient country the child. I had just completed a psych course and this Social Studies course seemed the ideal guinea pig for my sophomoric theories. Well, I posed all of the good parenting skills that we had just learned and tried to answer the seemingly never answered question, “Why, oh why, do they hate us?”. I said that when we treat these countries like idiot children without the skills and abilities to care for themselves, when we mindlessly shower gifts upon them that are useless, unearned and truly undeserved, when we patronize them and pat them on the heads and then say go away and let the grown ups talk…..sure, they hate us and then show their contempt by accepting any and every good thing we give them and rub our noses in whatever the gifts should have been by breaking them throwing them away etc etc. Well, we had just learned that spoiling the child thing and the lack of respect the child develops for the parent. I was told that I was foolishly simplistic. The complexities of foreign diplomacy could not be reduced to simple one on one human interaction. “Why?” I asked. “It seems to me that everything has to be reduced to that since the whole process boils down to one person interacting with another.” “Run along and grow up " I was told.

I wrote that quite some time ago....things have not changed have they?  I wrote that paper in 1962.  More than 40 years later the elitists are still trying to complicate the simplest of things aren't they?  Maybe I just haven't grown up yet.  In my opinion this concept can be brought in to our domestic policy of welfare...can it not?

Ta-Da! Pictures Have Popped.

Finally, the pictures have been pried out of that nifty little camera....well, now, that was easy!!  Not for me.  My husband the computer GENIUS (and he is) finally sat down and made it work.  He is a self employed computer consultant and you know how that shoemaker's kids saying goes?  yes.  they had no shoes.  Same with the computer genius' spouse.  Oh what the hey...it all comes together event-u-walleee. 

Now...here is a taste of the Nantucket Daffodils Weekend old car parade and dog show.  Fun!

How fun is that?  Lots.  Oh, by the way, I have sixty bazillion pictures to dazzle you with.  Brace yourselves.

Happy Mothers' Day

Eleven years ago today my mother passed away.  My neice always remembers Nana's birthday and anniversary date of her passing and when she calls me she will always say, "and Nana said we wouldn't remember her when she was gone."  My mother did say that.  I almost believe that she willed herself to pass on Mother's Day so that we wouldn't forget, ever. 

One of her favorite stories was "The Little Match Girl".  She loved the drama and tragic ending and the tears.  Just a small glimpse into her Cinderella fantasy world.  She would tell us that when she was a girl they would wear carnations to church on Mothers' Day.  A pink carnation meant that your mother was alive and a white carnation meant that your mother was dead.  She told us that she always felt sorry for those in church wearing white carnations.  Well we would naturally say that we were so glad our carnations would be pink and then she would be pleased.

Here are my flowers today Mom and I wish they could be pink.  I'll bet that Mom is pleased.  Love you Mother.

The View

Happy Spring.. The view from my window....ok so this is last year but the view today is the same except for the for sale sign.  That house has sold and we will have new neighbors.  A young couple with a six year old.  This will be their summer home.  It's a very nice house.  Obviously in a very nice neighborhood.  Seems that for some the economy is not too bad.   For that we are grateful.

The Agony of DePictures

I have dozens of the best pictures ever from Daffodil days and the new camera I used to take them is refusing to release them to my computer.  I have loaded and reloaded and unloaded and uploaded and downloaded and?  Nothing.  Zip.  Zero.  Nada.  Blank screens and really bad language.  That be it.

By the time I manage to unload them I will be unable to remember where they were taken and who those people are.

At least I have managed to restrain myself from throwing that danged thing out the window.  I must now return to the task of uninstalling and reinstalling and grinding my teeth.  Thanks for listening.

Nothin'

Sigh.

That's all I have.

Just sigh.

Daffodil Days Are Here Again!!!

So now that the kids have gone I must clean and wash clothes and dust and wash sheets and clean the shower and wash towels and ..... more company coming for the weekend.  Yes!  It's DAFFODIL days in Nantucket and we MUST be there to record the event for posterity.  Dogs in tutus and old cars covered with ribbons, yellow of course, and ladies in LARGE daffodil adorned bonnets.  Remember last year?  No?  Well here's a bit of a reminder - - -

And this too

Can't wait.

Tired Tired Tired

It's Sunday and this busyness thing?  It is really, incredibly exhausting!  Just sayin'.

Busy Busy Busy

Did I say that my husband had reunited with his children after an absence of about 40 years?  We went to visit in September and then went back for a week in March.  They are really great kids and this week they are coming for a visit with us to see the area and meet family.  Here's the Itinerary:

Tuesday:

Check the house, make the beds, bring supplies;
Grocery shop
Drop off Raven at Canine College

Pick up DD in Providence approx 4 PM

Pick up DS in Westwood approx 7:30 PM

Grab a bit to eat

Return to Cape

Wednesday:

Breakfast

Walk to beach and around neighborhood

Eventually drive to Ptown stopping along the way to view Marconi, Highland Light,

Coast Guard Beach walk to water for Atlantic dipping and on to Race Point

Ptown – see the Monument and walk through town to pier – etc

Back home and ?

Thursday:

Breakfast and walk

Drive to NY

Check in and see Central Park and Empire State

Dinner at Gallaghers

?

Friday:

Breakfast

Check out

Drive to Ground Zero

Drive to NJ and Liberty State Park

Tour Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty

Drive Home

Saturday:

Breakfast

Darling Niece arrives

Drive to Boston – The Pru to get tickets for Duck Tour

Hopefully do the Duck

Drive to Constitution for a tour

Drive to Marketplace – walk around and eat at Durgin Park

Home

Sunday:

Breakfast – Walk

Drive to Plymouth – Rock and Mayflower

Lunch in Kingston at 1 – til?

?

Home

Monday:

Breakfast – walk

Drive to Holbrook pick up Raven

Back to visit in Kingston

No plans

Tuesday:

DD leaves

Wednesday:

DS leaves

Thursday:

Be sad

I'm Organizing Today

How does this lady know me so well?

The Miracle

C. S. Lewis, Miracles (New York: Macmillan, 1947), 112, 115-17.

The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this. . . .

In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity . . . down to the very roots and sea-bed of the Nature He has created.

But He goes down to come up again and bring the ruined world up with Him. One has the picture of a strong man stooping lower and lower to get himself underneath some great complicated burden. He must stoop in order to lift, he must almost disappear under the load before he incredibly straightens his back and marches off with the whole mass swaying on his shoulders.

Or one may think of a diver, first reducing himself to nakedness, then glancing in mid-air, then gone with a splash, vanished, rushing down through green and warm water into black and cold water, down through increasing pressure into the death-like region of ooze and slime and old decay; then up again, back to colour and light, his lungs almost bursting, till suddenly he breaks surface again, holding in his hand the dripping, precious thing that he went down to recover. He and it are both coloured now that they have come up into the light: down below, where it lay colourless in the dark, he lost his colour, too.

In this descent and re-ascent everyone will recognise a familiar pattern: a thing written all over the world. It is the pattern of all vegetable life. It must belittle itself into something hard, small and deathlike, it must fall into the ground: thence the new life re-ascends.

It is the pattern of all animal generation too. There is descent from the full and perfect organisms into the spermatozoon and ovum, and in the dark womb a life at first inferior in kind to that of the species which is being reproduced: then the slow ascent to the perfect embryo, to the living, conscious baby, and finally to the adult.

So it is also in our moral and emotional life. The first innocent and spontaneous desires have to submit to the deathlike process of control or total denial: but from that there is a re-ascent to fully formed character in which the strength of the original material all operates but in a new way. Death and Rebirth–go down to go up–it is a key principle. Through this bottleneck, this belittlement, the highroad nearly always lies.

The doctrine of the Incarnation, if accepted, puts this principle even more emphatically at the centre. The pattern is there in Nature because it was first there in God. All the instances of it which I have mentioned turn out to be but transpositions of the Divine theme into a minor key. I am not now referring simply to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. The total pattern, of which they are only the turning point, is the real Death and Re-birth: for certainly no seed ever fell from so fair a tree into so dark and cold a soil as would furnish more than a faint analogy to this huge descent and re-ascension in which God dredged the salt and oozy bottom of Creation.

Thank You Lord for Miracles.

Easter Round Up

Sorting through the Easter activities and things have really turned around.  We are having a new septic system put in and right now the house is almost inaccessible.  The size of this thing is unreal.  We have a teeny tiny house and the system we have to install takes up more land than the house does.  There is a moat that runs along the house on two sides.  I say we could flush a bazillion more times than we ever have in all the years of the house's existence and it will still never be full.  Oh well.  For that reason we have changed plans to have the whole fam here as we usually do.  There is no parking available and with the rain, the mud and muck is everywhere.  Easier to go out and go out we shall.  Meanwhile I still have to clean and such since my nephew will be with us for the weekend.

Oh and yes, at the moment we only have one car since on the way back home on Tuesday my husband went through what he thought was a puddle and instead it was a lake.  The car ran for a while after that but then stopped.  Fortunately he was able to coast into a rest area and call AAA.  Naturally parts have to be ordered and blah blah blah, might take until Monday to be back with us.  So, as you see, business as usual here.

I will probably be back before Easter but just in case I don't have a thought to share, let me share this one.

Maxine is Always Correct

And today all those power mad creeps will be all over television telling us to calm down over their power grabbing health (no)care bill.

Something I needed Today

All of this nonsense being imposed upon us by power grabbing, morally bankrupt leftists led by that man who lied and posed to get into office has disturbed me greatly.  I needed this and I think there are more of us out there than the press will let us know about who need it too.

HUMBLING, ISN'T IT?
Especially when you know our sun is just one of many in this mix

And yet, God knows how many hairs are on your head;

and, not even a single sparrow dies apart from His will.

(Mt. 10:29-31)!

NOW HOW BIG ARE YOU?

AND, HOW BIG ARE THE THINGS THAT UPSET YOU TODAY?

AND

HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD?

KEEP LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE!

Our God is the Creator of everything and is on His throne in charge of the same. 

Thank You Lord.

Back from the Gulf Coast

I'm here.  Even I find it hard to believe.  Went on vacation to Gulfport MS and intended to say hi from there but life got in the way and now, I am down with a NASTY cold that has settled in my chest.  The cough comes from the bowels of the earth and does nothing except leave me exhausted and with sore diaphragm muscles.  Aches and pains everywhere and Yes! I went to the doctor who said go home and rest, take aspirin, here's a prescription for that cough and see you in a week or two.  So that's what I am doing.  The cough medicine hits me over the head and puts me into a coma.  I don't cough though.  I am going to put my head down and not think about those suitcases that need unpacking.  I also feel as fat as a goat.  Just so's ya know.

Frustrated

So after I got that letter from one of my doctors telling me that my insurance is not accepted by him I wrote to my useless piece of work Senator John Kerry to tell him he is a useless piece of work.  I told him that I didn't expect him to do anything that would benefit his constituents unless they were union wokers or high paid public "servants".  I probably just put a big target on my property to be confiscated for the "public good" down the road.  I called Blue Cross and told them that this insurance card is not worth the paper it's printed on if there are no doctors that will accept it.  I ranted and raved and spit and spewed and now?   I am exhausted and frustrated and yes, frightened.  What a world.  I would email Scott Brown but HAH!! there is no email address set up in the Congressional Website.  Normal Delay?????   I think not. 

Have to find a Doctor who will care for Old Folks.....maybe in Canada

It has begun already.  I got my first letter from one of my doctors telling me that he no longer will accept my Medicare HMO insurance.  I can still see him of course and try to get some pittance of reimbursement from the insurance company but.. . . . .  can't wait for the real ax to fall.

Gee.  Do you think that maybe the doctors can see that they won't be paid as much as they have been? Think that health care might suffer with the plan these IDIOTS have in store for us old F's?  Think that when they move on our health care and then take over the retirement accounts and then totally destroy our Social Security . . think that then we can say they are what we already know they are?  Ya think?  And their Obama man leader is nothing more than a despot and a tyrant and a rotten little piece of ...... who still is upset that in the third grade someone wasn't as nice to him as he thought they should have been and he married a piece of work who feels the same way......Ya think????

Ready for Spring

Doctors and dentists and haircuts - oh my!  That's the week and then some.  Shopping and errands and walking the dog.  Shoveling snow and bringing in pellets for the wood stove and laundry and laundry and then doing dishes and cooking and serving and more of the same.  Cleaning the toilets and vacuuming and dusting and occasionally washing the windows where the dog's nose hits them as she waits for us to return from the shopping and errands and doctors and dentists and haircuts.  Such is the way we spend the winter.  Hurry Spring and get here.

I'm Ready!!

A Lovely Holiday

Happy Presidents' Day

Enjoy

Abraham Lincoln's Birthday

Happy Birthday Abe.

This is how I like to think of him....warm, nurturing, good father.

Also a supreme leader during a horrendous war.

We are lucky to have had him and we should take time to honor his memory and his legacy. 

An Unfinished Outburst

Honestly, I know this sounds nuts and it sounds as if I am some kind of conspiracy crazy but tell the truth.  This crowd, the bunch running the country, they are totally whacked.  If they aren't trying their damndest to destroy every shred of capitalism that keeps our wheels running, I don't know what they're up to.....these job things aren't the way to do it since the only jobs that are being tended are those public servant level types ... the union workers who

Just Checking In

This week has been a tad dizzy.  Oral surgery for the hubby yesterday so most of the week was filled with his anxious mood changes although he will deny every word of that.  He did have valium to take prior to the appointment and although he said they did not help at all, the muscles of his face denied that.  He kind of started to look like a melted candle and at one point he was staring at nothing and became a mouth breather.  Glad that part is over.  It all went well and only one more appointment on Tuesday.

Weather is the topic of the day and since I have the dog walking duties of late, I can testify to the nastiness of 10 degrees with a brisk wind in your face.  Last night I wore silk inserts for my gloves since during the morning walk, even though I wore my heaviest duty gloves, I could not feel my fingers when I got home.  The inserts really helped but they are my husbands and too large so I still could not feel my fingers because of the thickness of the gloves over the inserts but my hands stayed warm.  My forehead was frozen and felt inside like that old "ice cream freeze" thing.  Hurry up April!!

I am typing with band-aids on just about every finger since this below freezing weather cracks my skin.  Once cracked, forever until Spring cracked.  Johnson&Johnson stock should soar.  I try my best for the economy folks.  I truly do.  Last year I discovered that using Polysporin every day for two months creates a bigger issue than the cracked skin you are trying to heal.  It seems that you develop a reaction to that stuff and it actually begins to burn away the healthy tissue.  Also.  Once that occurs.  Don't use it again.  It does the same thing but immediately.  Trust me!

Lunch with one of the nieces today and we are looking forward to it.  She's a peach, as are all of them but you know, she's here or will be later and so we have always worked with the "your favorite is the one you're with" method.  They all know this and too bad for those who aren't with us.  They will be favorites next time, if we see them.  Love them all to pieces.

Have to go load up the pellet stove for the day.  It will be running non-stop if the temperature doesn't move in the upward direction.  At least the sky is blue and beautiful.  Later.

More Scott Brown Fun

Well...congratulations to us!!  Have to say it feels good.  We did a good job here in MassTaxachusetts.  For a change.  I know you will find this hard to believe but my husband and I had Scott Brown yard signs in front of the house and along the side, we're on a corner lot.  Today I heard someone knocking on  our front door.  No one ever uses the front door.  It took me a while to realize that was where the knocking was coming from.  I answered, finally, and it was a very cute little man with a large smile and he introduced himself and told me where he lived.  He said his wife was MADLY in love with Scott Brown and he wondered if he could have one of our yard signs to take home to her.  I gathered that he was not as much in love and probably was afraid of the backlash from his other party neighbors if he let her put a yard sign out during the campaign but now.....now....all was well and up the sign could go.  I said fine...go with the sign and peace and love and oh yeah, WE WON!!!!!

How fun was that?

Later that same day I am doing my domestic duties, dusting and such.  Hah!  Like that could be true.  I was sitting here at the computer reading everything there is to read about the afterglow of the election and some one knocks at our side door.  What? is? going? on?  This time of year no one knocks at any door.  It's winter.  We are at Cape Cod near the ocean in a very summer area.  Two in one day is incredible.

I answer the door to a very tall guy, gray hair, big smile who grabs my hand, shakes it and thanks me for Scott Brown.  He said we saved the country.  I am not kidding.  He's from New Jersey, drove by, saw the yard sign and wants to take it back with him.  I direct him to the side of my garage where I have a couple.  "You're just in time," I said.  "I have these that I was wondering what to do with."

"You could sell them for a fortune back in New Jersey."  he said.

"Go for it."  I told him.  He then proceeded to tell me that he was a retired exec from a health insurance company.  Forty years in.  He was disgusted with all the deals and pay offs and bribes and generally with the direction this in power crowd was trying to move our country and how they were willing to do it.

New Jersey sure did their part when they could.   We pushed back in Massachusetts.  Now who's next?  What exciting times we live in.

GO SCOTT BROWN !

GO SCOTT BROWN!!! I love him.......he is such a normal guy!!!  Common sense and so decent. 

Good news Sunday

The husband will be home tomorrow if all goes well today.  He is about to eat real food, of course it will be low fiber and low sodium and low taste and . . ., well you got the picture.  If that real food causes no disturbance then he will more than likely be discharged tomorrow.  My days will be easier since he will be here.  The 4 or 5 hours spent at the hospital (I include the commute and errands to and from) will be better spent here.  I can sit and read and nap or knit or . . . .

Happy Sunday and hope you have good news today too.

Starting the New Year

Happy New Year!  We start off with a hospital stay.  My husband is back in with emergency surgery.  The colon surgery he underwent in October left him with adhesions that were cutting off circulation in his small intestine and the pain hit on Friday evening.  We were in the emergency room on Saturday and that afternoon he was whisked away to surgery.  All went well and he is recovering as I write.  The incision is in the same spot but larger and the recovery will be as long if not longer than before.  Sigh.

So there you have it.  God is good though.  He saw to it that we moved quickly and He arranged for the surgeon who operated on him in October to be on duty so there would be no delay in correcting the situation.  Everyone was in the right place at the right time.  Thank You Lord.

And now on with my day.  Once again I realize how much that man does when he is home and well.  My chores seem to never end now.  At least when I hit the pillow I sleep like a rock.  We're expecting snow today...oh, that's right, it's January.  I must find that darned shovel.

Hopey New Year

Hope for 2010

• Had breakfast yesterday at a really lovely place in Hyannis. The waitress was chatty and one thing led to another and the next thing you know we are talking about our resolutions for the New Year. She is not going to be so immersed in the news. She then proceeded to immerse us in the news and her opinion. We found that her opinion is our opinion. We are conservative to the core and disgusted with the direction this state and this country is going in. We, the waitress and my husband and I, are total supporters of the Tea Party movement and backing Scott Brown for Senator all the way. We both pray fervently that our “leaders” in Washington have a good life somewhere other than in power. If she and I can so clearly see that our country is being led by the wrong people…I have hope that many others can see that as well and 2010 will see some major shake ups in the political world.

• I read that the Mayo Clinic in Arizona is dropping Medicare patients in advance of the Obamacare roll out. Currently they are losing money and they see nothing but bigger losses ahead. A friend of mine, ostrich like in her view of the world, feels that I am a drama queen when I predict my future under this administration. Since I am 66 and on Medicare through no choice of my own, it’s mandated, and I have some cardiac issues, I know I will be cast to the pain pill heap and left to pay my own way as well as pay for the non care Medicare will be providing. She poo poo’s that and uses her vast knowledge of the medical world to cast aspersions on the insurance companies. She has worked in the Medical world and her take on insurance companies is that they are evil. For some reason she doesn’t translate that knowledge into what the government will do when they ARE the insurance companies. Maybe this Mayo Clinic thing will change her mind. At least it might begin to change some of the blindered fools who think this will be wonderful.

• God is always on His throne and totally in charge of the Universe. Things can change in the blink of an eye and God never blinks.

There are more reasons than these that there is hope for 2010 and as I have the time and energy I will throw them out here. Happy New Year to all.

The Day Book entry a Day Late

I think that simple things are in order today. I can only vent so much before my blood pressure feels it.   Unfortunately this took me more than a day to do so

FOR YESTERDAY
December 28, 2009
Outside my window...  I see piles of snow which are as hard as rock or they would have melted with all the rain we have had
I am thinking... as little as possible
I am thankful for... my husband and his family.  They are all such great people (mostly) and are always there when we need them.
From the kitchen... I see a cluster of plastic containers waiting to be put away.  We have so little space here that they have to be nested and cuddled up in just the right way or when the cabinet door opens they fall out on your head and scare the bejeepers out of you.  It is a chore to do it correctly and so, they tend to sit and wait for my patience to accrue before they go back to their allotted spaces.
I am wearing... a pair of black slacks that look good from a distance but I fear they are a tad too snug if checked out carefully.  I also have a baby green long sleeved tee on with a black and green and pink scarf.  I'm hoping the scarf will keep everyone looking above the waist and not notice the snug trousers.
I am creating... a white cable knit cardigan.  We called them Hong Kong sweaters back in the day and I have scoured the earth to find this pattern only to discover it was in a magazine rack here in my own house.  Guess when that magazine rack was last sorted through.  No don't, I can't tell you if you are right because I don't remember.
I am going...to Westport to visit my very dear friend and bring Christmas presents as well as her birthday gift.  I will take her to lunch and hope the too snug pants hold up until I get home. 
I am reading... A Long Shadow by Charles Todd.  It's a Victorian mystery and the main character is Inspector Rutledge who has returned from the trenches of France following WWI.  It's quite engaging and the third of the series I have read so far.  I recommend it highly.
I am hoping... that I will rein in my appetite and lose the couple of pounds that have moved in following the holiday.
I am hearing... my refrigerator running and that's a good thing. 
Around the house... clutter from Christmas abounds but it's a happy clutter and so I will sit back and admire it.
One of my favorite things... is to sit and knit and watch Midsomer Murder DVD's.  Talk about relaxing.  Can't beat it
A few plans for the rest of the week: Husband is off to the dentist on Tuesday and since his teeth are being renovated, the rest of the week will involve dealing with soft foods and possible trips back to the dentist for adjustments.  Have to clear the week to do what may need doing dentist wise.

Here's a picture for thought I am sharing.

I have used the above format found at  http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/ .  Go forth and do the same if you wish.  It really is a nice spot

Power Rangers

The top of my head wants to explode when I read the manipulative junk I just read about this rotten to the core health care bill. Yes! Now you know how I feel about it and the Congress and this administration and this President. They are manipulative nasty creatures putting something horrible into our lives while telling us it's so good for us.

This story I just read helps those manipulators out in so many ways and I'm sure we will see more and more of this as the bill crushes along in the regulatory process. The story was telling us that so many lives are lost or ruined because the patient delays the treatment. The co-pay is too high or COBRA was not established following a job loss because the payment was too high or not offered because of the circumstances of the job loss. Delay causes early death or life changing harm.

Helloooooo! What happens when Medicare is altered to include a gazillion more members and there are not enough doctors to treat all of these newbies? Yup. Delayed treatment. What happens when the money is cut from Medicare to treat things that used to be on the treat list? Yes. This is a fact. Billions of dollars are being cut from Medicare and yet millions of people might be added. How is this possible without patients suffering delays or denials in treatment?

I have known addicts in my time and they will lie cheat and steal to get their fix of whatever it is that they are addicted to and there is never enough of that stuff. The addict keeps needing their fix and they keep needing more and more of it. Well, this health bill is all about the power that will result once it is passed and these politicians are addicted to the power. Every. Single. One. of. them. Every one from the President on down to the little clerk at the Registry of Motor Vehicles is addicted to the power that they have and there is never enough of that. They need more every minute and they will lie and cheat and steal to get it.

The health bill is about the power. The health bill is not about our health. It surely is not about our economic health since it will bankrupt us and the system once it hits in all it's glory. It for sure is not about our physical health since every one of the country's with similar health systems can vouch for long waiting periods for appointments and denial of services that we take for granted now. Why else do we have so many Canadian citizens arriving here for treatment and why did Castro have to leave the country held high by Michael Moore when he needed treatment?

The power addicts also known as "public servants", now there's a joke, are in need of more and more. If you think it's tough to wend your way through the insurance claim process that exists now, or to fight a denial of service, you ain't seen nothin' yet as they say. Patterned after the Registry of Motor Vehicles or the Post Office, our new Health Commissars will set up a dream world for the power crazed. Can't wait.

Oh, and by the way, get ready for this one. I'm sure that "it's for the children" that we must do this. That always works when all else fails doesn't it?

A Very Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good nap. Whew! We had the crowd in last night and what a mad flurry of activity. Food, food and more food and good food and good moods and for the first ever Christmas Eve we had not one emotional break down. It was just wonderful, festive and grateful family members enjoying each other.

Our four nieces are the sweetest and best. I sat back and watched the table as everyone ate and talked and laughed and I realized that I have known these girls for all of their lives and for just about every big holiday we have been together here in our home or maybe our other home. My husband said this morning that he was so gratified to hear the girls reminisce about holidays past and remembering the special things that we have done for them. You would think that they were old ladies reliving the good old days instead of young things in their early twenties. It was heartwarming though to see that we are their memories.

Remember that I only have a niece and nephew left from my family...I often feel truly orphaned. My nephew is always with us since his Dad passed away but my niece lives some distance from us and although we keep in touch we don't visit often. Last evening was a joy. Hope you all had a similar Eve.

God bless us Everyone.

How I Came to Lose Trust in the Media

Anne Applebaum in Slate Magazine writes this:

"There is no nihilism like the nihilism of a 9-year-old. "Why should I bother?" one of them recently asked me when he was presented with the usual arguments in favor of doing homework. "By the time I'm grown up, the polar ice caps will have melted and everyone will have drowned."

Which prompts me to relate this tale from the dark halls of history.

When I was a Sophomore in college I had the most intense crush on Andy Williams. Yes. You have it right. Andy Williams.

He had a weekly show back then and I could never, NEVER miss it. We only had one TV in the dorm and it was in the community room called the smoker where couches and ashtrays also were present. On the week night of Andy's show, I would arrive with whatever I was trying to study and a pack of cigarettes (yes, I smoked and who didn't?), turn on the channel and await his opening number. Most of the other occupants would groan and complain and often, I was the only one left in the room to worship at Andy's pedestal. So now, you have the picture.

The night of the Cuban Missile Crisis Andy Williams was on. Every student was lined up to call home. We only had pay phones in the center of the hall on each floor of the dorm. I saw the length of the line and realized it would be long after Andy's show before I got to call the parents and say goodbye which was what everyone was doing. We also had an exam the next day in some course or other and I should have been buckled down with the text and notes to ensure a good grade. I thought it over and said..."I am watching Andy Williams and then waiting in line and then going to bed. I'd rather be asleep and unaware when the big one hits. As for the test? Why bother with that? The world is ending tonight."

It didn't. I am almost ashamed to say that I was very disappointed that next day. I believed the hype and never studied for that test. I think was the beginning of the cynicism I have developed for the press and politicians. I should never have believed them then and I don't now.

The end of my story. I am glad, however, that I watched Andy Williams. I still have a soft spot in my heart for him.

Can I have an Opinion Now?

Oh. By the way. If it's all right to criticize Tiger Woods' behaviour and not be accused of racism, is it ok now to criticize Barack Obama's leadership methods, or economic theories, or strange need to apologize to every country in the world for my country without being called a racist? Is it?

Wild and Wet and Windy

Wild and windy outside my windows. The puppy girl and I just returned from her morning constitutional and let me tell you, the umbrella? when it blows inside out is quite a jolt to the pup. She picked up the pace each time and it happened way more than once. The wind is so wild and weird. It sounded like a car coming up behind us and as I turned to be sure, the umbrella would go again. I was never comfortable, when I heard that sound, that there wasn't a car coming up on us and so, over and over I repeated the move like some obsessives do. I think I have a tad of that going on.

Well. We got home safe and sound if not wet and cold. I wish that I had taken my camera so that I could have pictures of that HUGE ocean. It is all puffed up and chopping away. Glad to be on land.

Stay dry and warm where ever you are. I'm thankful it's rain and not snow or we would be dealing with this again. Brrrrrrrr - that Global Warming is killing us!

Hold on and Pray

What a week and it's only Wednesday. The brother of one of my very dear friends died unexpectedly over the week end. It was a terrible shock for her most certainly and for the rest of us as well. Another dear friend is having gargantuan financial woes and is trying to sell a building to undo some of that. There is a person in her life doing everything he can to make this effort as difficult as he can and he is trying his best to be sure that she will be even further in debt after the sale than she is now. It's a long and nasty tale and they never had a relationship other that business, imagine how bad it would be otherwise.

I feel so helpless. I have talked with both ladies and really have nothing to offer but a sympathetic ear and a shoulder to cry on. There is nothing I can say to make any of this better. In both cases I can truly empathize since I have suffered both the loss of siblings and panic inducing financial issues. It really doesn't help though in the advice area....I have none other than hold on and pray for strength.

I hope the rest of the week smooths out. Tomorrow I go to the cardiologist for the results of that stress test I took two weeks ago. A sense of dread is hovering over me thanks to the week so far. I guess I'll take my own advice. I'll hold on and pray for strength regardless of the outcome. God is on His throne after all and He will work everything for good for those who love Him and I do.