Sunday, August 31, 2008

Well, nobody's perfect; least of all me...

New Orleans has levees not levies.
Levees are built to hold the water back while levies are taxes on property!
Oops, sorry what a dummy I am!
I'm so stupid! I don't deserve a computer with a keyboard to write my drivel.Take it away! Sorry... a momentary lapse into drama queen status.

Anyway, breathe... I made another more serious mistake New Orleans is targeted to receive the brunt of Hurricane Gustav 115 MPH storm at 2 P.M. Monday not Tuesday!
Thankfully, the news just reported all evacuees have left already today, Sunday evening.

Just in a newer report: now our news is saying Hurricane Gustav may very well just skim off of New Orleans, and go a smidgen to their west.
Still not great for their neighbors either; hope they left too.

The candidates are delaying the Republican Convention, and are asking you to raise money for the hurricane victims.
I heard earlier the Democrats are doing the same thing and also encouraging for volunteers to help out after.

This is all being discussed after the President stated that he wasn’t going to the convention, and this was because he would be needed to be available for the victims of this current hurricane. But didn't I just say this time they all evacuated!
The nightmare of Katrina, I guess it is haunting him, as it is all of us.

Hope things aren’t severe at all, and no one will be needed!

But of course that is unrealistic, and idealistic.

Clap those hands and pray or whatever works for you to wish well on the world.

Meanwhile, here at home; those feeder bands from Gustav have kept us all very wet all day not to mention those gusts of winds to 40 mph.
And we are still nearly 250 miles to the west of that nasty monster!

Please have a good night and think kindly of us weather ugly regions, and perhaps when you need us to do the same... we will!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

A hurricane, a tropical storm, and many squalls..OMG

Our lives are becoming an enormous weather redundancy!
Updates: Hurricane Gustav is up to a category 4 with 150 MPH winds, nearly a cat five, a 5 is at 156 MPH winds, and this monster is still heading straight for the Big Easy!!

Fortunately, evacuations have already started and should be completed by Monday morning, and hopefully all lives will be saved this time, but there is no way to save the properties (remember that these are just things, not living), again. No positive way to know that the levies will hold, again. Hopefully the devastation will be not so horrendous. Gustav is predicted to hit that area on Tuesday around 2 P.M.

All day we have been receiving the squalls or offspring gusty winds and rain bands of Gustav even though it will miss us by several hundred miles out in the Gulf.

Hanna is still a tropical storm with 50 MPH winds, and has no idea where she is going, but we are still in her cone of uncertainty.

Sometimes you wonder why this is happening, all these natural disasters to us worldwide. Not just here.
Some will give religious beliefs as the reason; others global warming.
I think some of these disasters are just a horrific cleansing of our earth by nature herself, and that the media has been able to inform us about each incident just so much, much quicker than ever before!

What frightens me is that with all our scientists, and knowledge of climates, geology, meteorology, and all those other ologies or whatever is concerned with these things I'm really surprised that in this in our 21st Century we are still impotent in stopping or preventing these things!

Helpless is not something we humans ever like to feel, but these weather anomalies make us become that way, out of control. What can we do?
Take control of our own well being and safety, and that is about it.

This all remains harder to handle with all the information so close at hand, TMI, too much information; it actually creates high anxiety!
But keeping up with procedures that emergency agencies have discussed in your local area is one way to do something!
Be diligent and stay on target, and learn when to do what you should.
Having a plan usually helps.

Good night to all, be safe, and trust your own instincts with danger in the air.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Spaghetti plots and what's happening...

Colorful is all I can say about this fairly new way of watching what's going on in the tropics...confusing may be the other word I would use.
Tropical Storm Hanna who is taking a backseat to her more deadly bro Hurricane Gustav who is creating those Spaghetti plots that I mentioned. Although, Hanna is slated to become a hurricane by Sunday!
For non followers of our storm season let me explain as best as I can... many different primary colors in a string-like form are being used to try and to map out where the storm will be heading, and this is much different than the, "cone of uncertainty" I mentioned previously.
These spaghetti plots, in my opinion allow more room for error.
They are still saying but not sure that she, Hanna, could be heading towards Florida; anywhere from the east coast to the west coast to the south on to Cuba or out into the Atlantic Ocean missing everyone!
I'll take that choice.
Oh, sorry I thought we had a choice.
Unfortunately, we don't.

WOW! New topic: McCain chose his running mate, and boy was everyone surprised!
Sara Palin, a 44 year old Governor of Alaska for the last two years, is that a state?
Sorry, I do know that it became one in 1959, our 49th, I believe just before Hawaii 5- 0.
Anyway, this woman, Sara Palin is the extreme opposite of what Hillary Clinton stood for... Mrs. Sara Palin is a very conservative, conservative. She is against Rowe V. Wade, and for the NRA, and against Gays having any rights.
And that is why McCain chose her to win over those 18 M Hillary supporters????
The only thing the two have in common is that they are both women.
Personally, I think he made a booboo.

What I have read about her she is extremely ethical, which is a plus in my book.
But her other ideas concern me.
She is also a very happily married mother of five, a good thing.
Her Birthday is February 11, 1964, exactly 12 years older than my youngest son.

She says she has stood up to the good old boys neighborhood, but from what I have read she seems that she stood up by following their ways of doing things, which is not very good.

Now about Barack Obama's speech last night...I fell asleep, but my pitch hitter; my hubby says it was good enough to make him a believer!
And that's good enough for me.

Good night to all, and think for yourself and allow others that same privilege.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

I fell asleep last night, and missed Joe Biden's speech!

Darn, and I really did want to hear that.
During the day yesterday the blurbs I saw and heard about his rituals with attending to his senate job for over thirty years were most impressive.
He goes home every night from D.C. to be with his family; I like that.

It all started because of horrible circumstances losing his wife and young daughter in a horrendous car accident where his two young sons were also injured.
He kept true to his promise to his two surviving sons by being home every night for them, and that was 32 years ago.

Luckily for him he met and married his current wife five years after that terrible day, and incredibly was blessed with another daughter.
He still to this day takes that train home to his wife every night.
Those children are all grown today.
He is as regular a Joe as any of us, and this is due to him never forgetting his roots and his family, which makes him totally relatable to most of us.
Oh well, Mr. Obama will be the main speaker tonight, and I am interested in what he has to say! After all he could very well be our next president.

New topic: Tropical Storm Gustav is still on the same path; but even a little further away from us, and definitely heading towards Louisiana, scary! He may very well be a cat 3 by the time he gets there.

Meanwhile, in the Atlantic somewhat, Tropical Storm Hanna, used to be depression 8, has become a reality, and some meteorologist are saying she is the one to watch because that she may be coming right for us!
Only time will tell.

Busy, busy.
Must be on alert, keep on our toes, and all those other clichés for such occasions!

As I have said before this is our hurricane season, and I guess the action speaks for itself.

I will keep you posted, as long as I stay awake, although my back up, my hubby is pretty good at keeping info updated. He has corrected and straightened me out on more than one occasion.
That could be because as of this weekend August 31.2008 we have known one another for forty-one years, would you believe? We have been married for thirty-eight this coming Valentine's Day.

Good night to all, and keep up with whatever is going on in your world or all our encompassing world. Don't stay on the sidelines!
Life is interesting and should be monitored by all!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Opinion, and something to think about...

Update: Gustav is a tropical storm once again with only 50 MPH winds, but is promised to return to the form of a hurricane by tomorrow.
He is still in the Caribbean, and the fear is that he will stay south of Cuba, and then turn into a category 3, possibly a four once in the Gulf of Mexico narrowly missing southwest Florida by skirting us. His forward speed is down to 3MPH giving him the time and all that space to develop into the monster that they are predicting he will become heading towards the mid Gulf States with all inclusive Louisiana in that realm.

Have you been watching the Democratic Convention?
I have.
Michelle Obama speaking that first night, and those two daughters were just so darling, and she was charming and portended to be the strong but demure first lady that Barack will be entitled to once in office.

The next night it was so strange at first listening to Hillary Clinton, she is such a strong speaker it was tough believing she would no longer be in the running for the top job.
But she is definitely the right person to follow with deep respect for her choice of Barack Obama, creating unity.
Her speech was not only clever but intelligent and to the point with all reasoning qualifying our solutions for change of our choice for our political leader.
We thought that our decisions were getting hard with her out of the race, but last night I was fired up all over again by her logic, and she got to the nitty gritty of what really matters to all Americans, and we should all be proud to be called woman when we have people like her; as a speaker for us all. She has restored our hope with a man named Barack. The differences were not as large as first assumed, and she proved that with her exquisite surgical detailing of ideas; technically so correct!

I am not a Democrat or a Republican...I am just an American, and just want to be free, healthy and happy!

Good night to all, and be free, healthy, and happy yourselves.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

A few things to discuss...

Good news, so we are told it looks as if this newest Hurricane Gustav is going to head away from us, we will know more by this Friday. It really is a lucky thing for us because many counties are flooded still, and even tonight we were having mandatory evacuations to our south!

But it's a mixed blessing since it is becoming more powerful and will be up to a category 3 or 4 by the time it hits its designation which now looks like anywhere from Louisiana to Texas!
We all hope it will diminish and fizzle. They don't need this either, pray it goes poof, gone.

We did do our civic-minded diligence today and voted at our district precinct, which we were the 16th and 17th voters of the day, and this was little after ten in the morning.
I asked about the usual turnout for our local district, and I was informed that it was usually a little more than 10%; to me this was shocking.
Our precinct is very small quantitatively in registered voters. I was told there are only 886 registered, but we are a minuscule housing neighborhood where we have a lot of snow birds as winter nesters, and not all that many year round residents. This is still shocking that they were expecting only about 90 voters for the day.

It’s true it was not the BIG major November election, but these little primaries have a lot more to do with our local government, and our daily lives are affected by that.
Today we actually had the candidates running for sheriff on the ballot, and that is a major race locally!
Only problem for us being registered non partisan we are NOT allowed to vote for any candidates.
This is ridiculous in my opinion.
Anyway, we were able to vote on two other important issues, and we did do that.
And I checked with my hubby after, and we voted the same way without discussing it before hand; great, at least this time we didn’t cancel each other out. On occasion we have done that! LOL

Good night to all, and hopefully by now you voted locally if you had an election to vote for today. And remember November 4.2008 it's up to us.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Weather central here

Tropical Storm Gustav has become a reality as of today!
I thought at least we would get a few days off of lousy weather reporting.
But twas not to be...Gustav is actually already having 60 mph winds, 996 mb, moving at 14 mph towards us from the eastern Caribbean. Since 75 MPH winds are a category 1 hurricane, and he is less than 1000 miles from southwest Florida this is not good.
We are in the designated cone of uncertainty.
Let me explain what that is just in case non Floridians are reading this.
The cone of uncertainty is an area of possible storm fall, where it could go, maybe.
It is more like a CYA for the meteorologists, including NOAA, Weather Channel, etc. all those pros. And can encompass an area of 100 miles or more in any direction.
Unfortunately, for Hurricane Charley we weren't in that cone, and I am trying hard to remember if they had it way back then in August 13. 2004.
We were told Charley was heading towards Tampa, 100 miles away; in our minds we were safe, and that ended up not being the case.

One of the good things about Gustav is we are still pretty much ready for whatever lies ahead, since we did not take all our shutters down, or use our supplies, extra gas included in that.
We only took down the window covers down to let light in, otherwise it would be very dark inside and depressing, also in an emergency firefighters cannot get in as easily as they should be able to if you are locked up tighter than a drum.
So we are ready, willing and able to deal with whatever Gustav wants to throw our way! Or we can leave if it is suggested by the emergency agencies. So we are good.

Correction: Last night I mentioned the Beijing openings ceremonies cost 100 million, I believe I was wrong, and I think I heard today it was actually, can you believe 100Billion????
They were absolutely one of a kind production, but I can't put my brain around that kind of spending for any country. And I am sure that I could come up with better ideas in how to use that chump change. Better than pyrotechnics and high tech doohickeys, as beautiful as they were.
People need jobs, homes saved from foreclosures; we need to feed the starving, and to do something that will last longer than a few hours.
All governments seem to have that same problem with impressing the world, but I want to know why can't they think about what about saving it????

Good night to all with something to think about besides the weather.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Adios, Shalom, Chow, Bon Voyage, take a hike, and don't come back Fay wet wild nasty one

I do believe we have seen the last of that one! Of course we have, wink.
We are still unfortunately in that season...and we will NOT see Fay again she is nothing more than a depression reliable sources report, but we will more than likely meet and greet one of her kissing cousins that is not too far behind. Boys and girls don't rest on your laurels; we are in for it; tis the season and the tropics are active.

Tonight the Olympics of 2008 in Beijing will be ending, our athletes proved their mettle over and over by winning many metals!
I imagine that the closing ceremonies will be just as elaborate as the opening ones were.
I understand the cost was over 100 million, amazing!
It should be interesting to see how London handles things in four years from now.

Our weather was picture perfect today, sunny and warm, blues skies the color of a Robin's egg are what make this a glorious place for tourists year round.

My husband mowed our lawn today without weather interference.
With all the rains that we have been having our grass has grown very fast, and looks quite healthy.
I did my part inside by doing laundry, and preparing meals.
Spot cleaning floors, and dusting here and there.
Mundane as any day comes.

Confession...I do, do something other than read and watch PBS, and go to festivals...I'm addicted to online dominoes, and I play on the Yahoo site nearly daily! There I said it, it's out, anybody out there have something that they are hiding, and not that proud of?
I think of it this way, reading and writing keep my brain sharp, and so does the dominoes with it being sort of a math test.
It is true it's only repetition of multiples of fives, and the games that I play are only to 100, but I have gotten quite fast at those times tables! LOL
The one thing that I really do like is that I have met people from all over the world, and that is fun and interesting.

Good night and good fun from the simplest times of our lives.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Went to our first ever Rib Festival, and it was interesting, and yes Fay is still affecting our weather since she is still here

Sloshing around the park on the river was not that much fun at our ages. Perhaps 50 years ago it would have been considered an outstanding addition to a great time!
On the positive side the view was as beautiful as usual on our Peace River, aptly named I must add.

After my husband and I were done with our shared ribs I said kiddingly, as I got up from our spot under the striped tent set up with tables for comfortable tasting and also to view the entertainment I said to the next seat takers that there were no snakes in the puddles, because I checked. The first woman sat, but the older one behind her hesitated and then stopped altogether.
Apparently, she took my little joke a little too seriously. (BUT I DID SAY NO SNAKES!)
And no, I did not return to calm her nerves or go into a long explanation that I was just teasing; we simply moved on towards our car, and never looked back. My bad, oh well. I wonder if she ever sat down.

Fortunately, our latest band of rain waited until we got back into our Blazer to hit again for the umpteenth time.

Reporting on the Rib Festival itself...in my opinion it was lacking in diversity of accouterments or go alongs with those ribs which were from several local prominent rib joints.
They should have included corn on the cob, sweet potatoes or Cole slaw or other compliments to the menu in my opinion.
The Budweiser bathing suit babes were pushing beer on everyone, and they also had young Budweiser bathing suit clad hunks hawking the ale too.
OK, I do agree for some that beer does go well with ribs, but personally I don't drink beer.
Funnel cakes had their location as well as popcorn, and soft serve, but not a veggie on the lot! Unless you count all that barley and hops in that beer I mentioned just before.

The entertainment was local too, and I was so looking forward to the performance of the Stars of Tomorrow, which had been involved in a fund raiser I did years ago for the Arthritis Foundation.
They are youngsters who perform by singing and dancing and are very talented, but sadly they were a no show.
Instead, forty-five minutes later the high school cheerleaders, also on the list, performed in ancient modest costumes. The Budweiser kids’ bathing suits in contrast looked obscene by comparison, but they were not. To the good of the cheerleaders their performance was admirable considering their having to contend with the puddles in the grass they were working gymnastics on.

Others were scheduled but we went home.
I really do hope it went well for the rest of them since traditions are difficult to start and this was a first for this one. The turn out people count wise did look very good as far as we could see.

It's hard for our organizations to have these things in our summers since our weather is always in question, and our population goes down, since the snow-birds are gone. I know this personally because of my own experience with the help of many others we had a fundraising golf tournament in the summer years ago. Turn out was not too good, but we did miraculously make enough to not have too embarrassing a donation.

Life goes on...
And we must make the most of all that goes on.

Good night and behave, and watch what you say...ones funny might be another's horror!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Back to Business as unusual, and yes Fay is still here

I have decided that conversations consisting of our weather are becoming old and to some may be uninteresting.
So I have decided to discuss a unique problem to our Charlotte County Florida, our tax trim bills, which we received today.
These are paper preliminary notices of what our taxes are proposed, more than likely will be for the upcoming year.
Now here's where it becomes different from our local surrounding counties ... even though our homes' values have gone down our taxes have gone up! Huh?
Lee and Collier, and I do believe Sarasota Counties homes have also been depreciated or devalued due to the housing market but they are getting tax breaks, what?

How is this possible?
I'm terribly confused.
Why is Charlotte County the only one that can do this?
And do we have any say in this? Yes, they say we do.

We are also the ones with one of the highest unemployment rates in the state actually second highest and extremely high quantities of foreclosures.

Next week we have a preliminary election on Tuesday, and will the same Representatives be in power to change things?
And how do we know, which are the ones to discuss this with?

So many questions... someone must know how to handle this travesty.
To add insult to injury; we all voted to increase our homestead exemption and it was passed by an unanimous vote in our state to be doubled from 25K to 50K for the upcoming year!
This means that they subtract 50K from the value of our homes and that our taxes should be based on this lower value. This passed for all sixty-seven counties, not just a few.

We need assistance and logic to handle this problem, and as quickly as possible.
Life for some of our residents depends on managing their very tight incomes, us included.

Our costs of living have gone up much more than what bosses, and or Social Security or pensions have been unrealistically doling out in salary increases.

Let's face it; Iraq seems to be doing financially better than most Americans.
Maybe somebody there could explain this to me?

And this is not a facetious question; I really mean it?

Good night, and please think only good for us here in this odd state of controversies.
If it wasn't for the mostly GOOD weather (Nine months of the year, not now; LOL) I would have left long ago.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Fay again, but more ...

Yes, she is still in our state.
And she is dumping way too much rain in a circumference that extends from Jacksonville on our northern east coast to Cedar Key on our west coast through Orlando in our center, and around back towards Daytona on the central east coast.
Wow, she may not be a hurricane but she sure is wet and persistent! Fay, the storm that won't quit is 283 miles wide I was just told by the news!

Stay out of roadways that you cannot see the bottom to, you may lose yourself and your car in those flooded waters.
Children should not play in the water either since lawn chemicals, septic bacteria and possible garbage, and snakes even alligators may be looming.


Crazy as it may seem we are still getting her residual rain bands periodically during the day here, and she is nearly a 5 hours drive from here!

Moving on, thankfully, our sons were spared her vicious watery bath.

Health wise my body does not do well with this weather between the stress of the forthcoming threat or the actual barometric down turn, arthritis and MS do not do well. PS according to the doctors that specialize in rheumatology it is not just an old wives tale the barometric pressure does affect your bones.
Sleeping for me has been extremely bad. I wake frequently from not being able to find a comfortable position to rest my sore shoulders and hips.

I kiddingly or maybe not told our eldest that if our home was destroyed ever again, flattened i.e. that I would be willing to move to another state.
New Mexico, actually Albuquerque since I was there many years ago it would appeal to my dog loving and Bohemian ways very artsy, also it has a fairly mild climate. The extremes are not that extreme, and the air is arid, not humid!

Right now it’s just a thought.
During the 2004-2005 hurricane seasons it was horrendous on the nerves considering that our home had been destroyed by Hurricane Charley, which was a category 4.
We were lucky enough to get our insurance money and make the needed repairs in record time. Sooner than many neighbors in the same boat, this was depressing.
Our home today is newer and better than before, and we love it just as it is.
But the thought of having to go through that again is overwhelming, and there is the strong possibility that due to my health issues I would not be willing or able to do it again.
Choices and ideas are where I am now during this time of year, and who could really blame me or any of us?
That is all that I am saying… we must all plan for the worst, but expect the best!

Tense times now.

Good night and sweet dreams to all...

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Tropical storm Fay is still here

And she is making history for her longevity!
We have previously been the byway for a few passing through, storms like Katrina, Rita, and Wilma that later became killer hurricanes, some while still here, but not as a home for this length of time for just one storm.

Fay is quite a flooding rain maker on the east coast right now.
Even the center of our state is showing the delayed affects today with their flooding in the small towns surrounding Lake Okeechobee; or Lake O as we lovingly call her. That's in our Glades County. Sixteen of our sixty-seven counties have so far been affected by this storm.

Good and bad comes from this much rain.
The fact that we had been in somewhat of a drought as a state means this rain has been significantly helpful.
But not having control on where it goes or how fast it gets there is difficult, and can be treacherous, and deadly.

So far one death can be blamed on Fay, but unfortunately stupidity is the real culprit.
Another non listening soul started up his generator indoors or in an area that was unventilated.
Please, people generators have to be used outdoors for safety, not even in a garage...OUTSIDE!!!
The gentleman, who died, died of carbon monoxide poisoning, which so easily could have been prevented if he placed his generator OUTSIDE!

Anyway, I apologize to any that find our weather boring, but it is a considerable part of our daily lives during this time of year, and it is on our news constantly.
No need for a weather channel here. The local network affiliates carry it all the time; even breaking into regular programming!

Last comment for tonight is the location where they now say Fay will be going... as previously suggested she will turn from the east coast taking a sharp turn left back into the northern central part of the state or possibly a little further north towards the panhandle, and then again out to the Gulf of Mexico, and strengthen, and head towards where ever!
I will keep you posted, since I was just told by our news that our next new disturbance is more than 2500 miles away in the south Atlantic.

You can't say this isn't exciting unless you are a storm chaser by profession.

Take care, peace be with you, good night and good luck.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Thank you believers!

Your belief in dreams has helped to prevent Fay from becoming a hurricane and causing any extremely devastating damage!
We were so lucky that we had just a little bit of rain, a 3 and a half hour power failure, we really can't complain at all.

Fickle Fay is still in our state at this hour, and has actually gotten a wee bit stronger over land; almost unheard of occurrence.

She is stuck in the center of our state near Lake Okeechobee where the small towns are getting heavy rains and winds, pray for those people now!

Flooding was prevalent where she entered our state around 4:45 A.M. for her second pass near Everglades City in Monroe County, next she deluged Collier County where Naples and Marco Island are. After there she headed up the coast to Lee County, Ft. Myers area pummeled them with rain of 10" or more, trees downed otherwise not too bad either.
Slowly she turned, and we only got a little bit of her remnants as she headed towards the lake region were she still is at this hour! Her first entree was the Keys.

Unfortunately, as she leaves us she most likely will come out by our Space coast, Kennedy Space Center area, and then hang out for a while in the Atlantic Ocean and form into a category 1 hurricane, and possibly turn back into our state towards our Panhandle!

Twenty-two years ago today all four of us, as a young family, arrived in this state, Florida the Sunshine State it is called, we came from New Jersey the Garden State.
Oddly enough it was pouring down rain that day too!
I can remember laughing so hard as I read that sign...Welcome to the Sunshine State!

Quiet for the next little while we are being told.
Those little blips on the weather screen off the coast of Africa are a ways away...
could be few days or a few weeks before we go under fire again.
We are getting good at this.
Not something to really brag about, but what the heck... we are survivors of many of these mini weather wars! And surviving anything that has the potential to kill or maim is a very good thing!

Good night and sweet quiet dreams to all.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Hello, adult here, today, now with way TMI

Plugged in to all the information on the upcoming storm still a Tropical Storm Fay, but she has escalated to 60mph winds, and the pressure has dropped to 998 millibars.

As I said before... too much information, but no one actually knows where she will be going or how dangerous she we'll be when she gets here, there, or wherever!

Why isn’t meteorology called a practice like the non exact sciences of medicine and law? It is NOT an exact science by any means!

Now I am being told on the news that the storm is more powerful on one side than the other, huh? Sure, makes sense to me.
Time for arrival may be anywhere from 8 A.M. to 3P.M. tomorrow! Although, it will still be in our state on Wednesday, lucky us for being so big!

I am not trying to take this situation lightly; eight people have died from this storm on its way here, there or somewhere near here or there.

At least we were ahead of the curve it appears as many are still out there trying to gas up and find water, generators, batteries, flashlights, etc.

Surprising to me...so many new people apparently that weren't here for our historic busy 2004-2005 hurricane season!
That's when we got most of our non disposable supplies.

Storm surge is still haunting the probability factor with even minor winds from a category 1.

That great weather site that I mentioned www.wunderground.com/tropical/ has also notified us that Invest 94, which could become Gustav is following not too closely fickle Fay, oh joy, more fun.

Anticipation, weariness, concern, preparing, having them hit or miss us... is this the excitement of my golden years?

I really have no idea for sure, the heart beats a little faster during this time, but November 30th is less than 3 and a half months away, and by some unknowing psychic ability the season will end again for another year.
We just have to survive this one at its most active time!

Good night, quiet will fall and we shall be here tomorrow you all.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Do you believe in fairies?

I do! I do!
I'm sure you all remember that fanciful question that was part of the play Peter Pan.
It referred to the act of believing, and if you were to clap your hands together it would summon Tinkerbell the fairy of all fairies that made dreams come true.

I had the greatest of pleasures of portraying Peter Pan as a child of 12 for my camp. That play from the very first time I saw it with Mary Martin back in the 1950's was a magical entree into the world of knowing that all things were possible if one would just believe!

So everyone out there clap those hands over and over and maybe Tropical Storm Fay will hear you and go away!
Wouldn’t that be wonderful if it was true? Don’t we all wish?
She is fickle they are saying, and as of yet has not gotten that much stronger, and just perhaps if we are lucky and believe enough she will fizzle that would be great.

And just in case she doesn't listen preparations have started all over our land today.
We personally have battened down some hatches, and more tomorrow if Fay is going to be stubborn and insist on misbehaving. Cash is on hand. We do live on the coast the southwest coast of Florida, so we are well insured property wise, but you must prepare anyway even if we end up leaving.
Fay is wobbling with her ultimate destination still uncertain from 100 miles away in either direction; we all are getting ready.

Storm surge is to be anywhere from 4-5 feet and should arrive in daylight on the afternoon of the 19th, sounds safe to me; we are at a 9 foot height above sea level.
But all this is supposition and no one really knows for sure much like those dikes that were supposed to hold back the water in New Orleans after Katrina.

Hard not to think that way when you have already experienced one that personal.
Charley was the one for me, and has changed everyone that was here and went through it.

Clapping louder now!
You try it too!
Nothing to lose.
What the heck.
Go for it!
Count down to whatever might come...
Another quiet Good NIGHT!
I hope.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Glued to the TV weather, and online weatherunderground, great site!

We are in the line of fire.

It does seem that we will be in a direct line with the Hurricane named Fay, a category 1 when she arrives on our shores, which means 74-95 mph winds although much less than Charley but potentially catastrophic just the same. Four have been killed already in the Caribbean Islands where it has hit.

Preparation has slowly started on our home front. This morning my husband filled our gas cans that will be used for our two generators. Our car tank also filled to the brim. Magically he was able to find gas for only $3.49. 9 a gallon! Thanks gasbuddy.com.
Tomorrow we'll be battening down the hatches day, all possible out projectiles will be removed or tied down. I will also be taking inside and outside photographs for our insurance that is what helped get them to pay us after Hurricane Charley. A picture sure is worth a thousand words and also tens of thousands of dollars too.

The storm is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday August 19th at 8 A.M.
All necessary chargers are on our technologies, which consists of TV, phones, lights, and batteries that will be needed if our power goes out, generators are used when the calm after comes.
Three cases of water are kept backed up in our garage all the time during this season.

Being scouts in our childhood probably made us this conscientious of how to handle this situation.

Every time the news says it is coming towards us not our sons there is some relief in my heart when I hear that.
As I have said before they live two hours away in either direction, and so far it has not been said that their areas are in jeopardy. I can only pray it stays that way.

Sleep will be not so good until Wednesday I am afraid.
Things can change and maybe it will fizzle; it has happened before.
What a relief that would be.

Good quiet night!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Quick before the storm comes!

Thunderstorm making an outrageous roaring noise outside of my door, but no lightening or rain, just a periodic threat of both.

Our local news has had the where with all to name our next storm Fay, but has not given an exact location or destination for our personal concern or interest yet.

We have been warned to stay tuned all weekend long for our 6th of the season interloper's bearings.

This preliminary din has nothing to do with the future clamor of what lies ahead.
Where it will go is anybodies guess, but the pros suggest the east or west coast is possible.

And thus is the fate of the hurricane season for us southern rim dwellers.
Adventurous, attuned and chancy gambles one might say.
But all of life is, so what will anyone do to change nature to behave in a way that isn't wrathful or destructive?
Is it even possible?
No, of course not.

And no place on earth is completely safe. Anyone with half a brain could tell you that.
No matter where you live nature can intervene at just about anytime with anything from tornadoes, to mudslides, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, floods, and blizzards, etc.
But as a resilient species we go on, and on, and on no matter what our fate may be.

The cacophony continues like a drum section of an orchestra.
I wait for the melody to begin, but nothing.
Oh wait... Is that a bird chirping to my unheard tune?

Composition of this relish the calms before the storm are precious, and unique to each and every one of them.

We must stay alert and aware as always!

Good evening to all and to all sleep tight, dry and warm or cool. Whatever your comfort zone is.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Telling it like it is

Being polite and careful with our words is what most parents try to teach their youngsters as to not to hurt someone’s feelings.
And as adults we must always try to set a positive example with what we say to children to display this appropriate behavior.

With that said I do believe there is an honesty policy necessary for certain professions. And besides the law not pulling any punches with telling it as it is; I do really think that in the medical profession they too should do it as well.
A direct approach to fatal illness or even just certain diseases that need to be treated is a plus in the way to take care of the patient with them knowing how to deal with any specific situation.
So politeness while a plus in many of life's arenas it is not the right way to go in serious life and death situations by beating it around the bush or even denying that a problem exists.

The reason I mentioned this is because today I did have my doctor's appointment and did receive a new prescription for the 40mg of my cholesterol medication, which will be monitored to make sure I do not have any liver problems from this higher dosage.
The nurse who showed me to the room to wait for the doctor took my blood pressure, which again was low normal, but wanted to weigh me.
I do know that I am fat, and weighing me to prove it in my book is not necessary.
I blatantly said I was fat, and she said just as blatantly that I wasn't.
Her response triggered a wild certifiably berserk answer from me, and I told her that she should not say that!
I am a realist, and know that I have a lethal disease called obesity (listen it's true I am 70 lbs. overweight), and as a health care professional she should not deny it with so-called politeness.
What she should have said is that yes you are, and we have a way to help you to lose that weight healthfully, and would you like to speak to the doctor about that?
If a person said that they smoked they would more than likely tell them that they had a smoking cessation program to help them quit! Not so callously deny the effects of that deadly habit.
Well obesity is just as lethal.

At first the nurse went equally berserk and said do you want to report me and claim what I did was wrong. But after I calmly explained to her my reasoning she did agree
that there has to be some type of happy medium on handling this national disease that effects children as well as adults. If it doesn't start with the health care workers themselves then where should it start?

I know what you are saying of course it must start at home, but everyone needs to work hard to solve this unhealthy problem. It takes a village, where did I hear that one before? Oh that in it to win it woman wrote some book, oh yeah ... oh well.

Many schools have already started so the news says with healthier foods in their cafeterias, and vending machines.
Even fast food restaurants are trying by getting rid of transfats in their preparation of fooods and having more healthful choices on their menus.

A few years back I had a byline in our local paper when I was in excellent shape 70 lbs. lighter and working out at the gym five days a week for an hour and a half each of those days.
I had done some research and it said that being even just twenty pounds overweight was dangerous to your health.
Also that if a woman had a waistline larger than 35 inches that put a large amount of stress on the internal organs in the mid section, which are most of those important ones, and for a man the 40 inch waist was the limit for those same issues.

After trying two commercial weight loss programs and an over the counter pill that promised to help tomorrow I will be going back to that doctor to see if he can finally give me the tools to accomplish something myself and others have failed at. My appointment is for 12:45 P.M., and yes they made me make another appointment, fourth this month.
Far as exercise goes...My body has been sabotaging me by misbehaving with my hip and shoulder bursitis keeping me from using my recumbent bike, and free weights.
And the rain comes at the most inopportune moments for utilizing our pool; it's not really the rain as much as the lightening.

So please cross your fingers for me that this works, I want it to, really I do!

Good evening to all, and to all a pleasant night.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Genre, novella, Fourth Anniversary and an update

Below is the definition of genre from Merriam Webster Dictionary:
Main Entry: genre
Function: noun
Pronunciation: 'zhän-r&, 'zhä n-; 'zhä n r; 'jän-r&
Etymology: French, from Middle French, kind, gender -- more at GENDER
1 : a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content
2 : KIND , SORT
3 : painting that depicts scenes or events from everyday life usually realistically

Until I was an adult, around 47 years of age I had never heard the word before. It wasn't until I was asked in what genre my writings of my novellas were; at that point I had written about 900 pages of a series of 5 short novels that I was then told were in the "mystery genre".
Novella is another word, which I hadn't a clue about, but was soon informed that was indeed what I had done; I had created 5 novellas.

Defined again by the above dictionary:
Main Entry: no•vel•la
Function: noun
Pronunciation: nO-'ve-l&
Inflected Form(s): plural novellas or no•vel•le/-'ve-le/
Etymology: Italian, from feminine of novello new, from Latin novellus
1 plural novelle : a story with a compact and pointed plot
2 plural usually novellas : a work of fiction intermediate in length and complexity between a short story and a novel

As we all must know education never ever stops.

The reasoning behind my defining the above words are simple I have changed my genre of interest in my personal reading habits. I have gone back to my original child like curiosity of finding out about the backgrounds of people: what makes them or made them tick. And in this particular case I have chosen four women celebrities, Lucille Ball, Lauren Bacall, Shirley Mc Laine, and Barbara Walters. Although, Barbara Walter's book Audition is on hold since I am on a waiting list at the library. Rather an eclectic group I must say.
I decided for my indulgence into this newest journey to only read autobiographies feeling that who knows ones self better than the person who it is about; and you thought I was just another pretty face, duh!

It amazes me that I can be flexible when it comes to personal entertainment choices, much easier than life choices, but that is part of my growing and learning I suspect.

Now onto the fourth anniversary in the title for tonight's blogging, August 13. 2004, just four years ago today was the day that we in southwest Florida were devastated by Hurricane Charley. Much has happened since that momentous category 4 storm directly hit us and changed the character, and the coastline of our beloved Gulf Coast cities forever.
Many have rebuilt and some have left. We are of the many, and are in a new dimension of awareness at this time of the year. Hurricane season has always been from June first to November 30 th as long as recorded history of such storms in this region, but never was it as real to us until we actually survived one. The middle till the end of the months of August through to November, now, we are involved in the most active period of the season. And as Floridians it is our duty to pay attention to our weather reports and what is going on or developing off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic or closer to us in the Gulf itself.
We are attuned and diligent to not go off half cocked without proof or need to be prepared so we are always keeping those hurricane supplies handy, and checking that our window protection is easily accessible, and we have a plan to evacuate if need be.
Anyone who's been through one or more hurricanes now is a pro and well aware of the drill, and never will we be nonchalant or apathetic ever again.

My update: I have gotten my doctor's appointment for tomorrow morning at 9:45 A.M. And I received a call telling me that they will be sending my copy of my blood work to the office that I will be having my appointment; TA DA!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Bureaucracy and the people whose hands are tied by it.

What does it all mean?
I know by now you have all thought that I'm just another pretty face, but in reality I am quite complex.
Remember when I mentioned that I was going to get a copy of my blood work from the doctor’s office?
Well, today I found out that it will be mailed and it will take two weeks. It's my blood work, isn't it?

My pharmacy called the other day to tell me that they could not get through to my doctor that his fax number was no longer in service for them to reorder my prescription.
He is no longer with the physicians that I see.
And my prescription is on hold due to it being wrong and me needing a different dosage due to my cholesterol being so much higher than before.
I was told by the other city where my blood work will be copied and mailed from that I will now have to see the doctor again and to call tomorrow for an appointment for Thursday!
Whew, exhausting just thinking about it and now I'm rather angry that I will have to go through all that again.

I did try to plead with anyone that would listen how ludicrous this all was... they have my blood work report all that they would have to do is fax the pharmacy and give them the new prescription, and then I will just go and pick it up, simple enough in my book.
But no...That’s NOT their procedure I must see the doctor first, get a new prescription and then get my medicine!
And the reason I must wait till Thursday is because my records are now at that other city office for copying!
Ah. Now I see they need more money from my money machine?
Oh well, its just money, and there is plenty where that comes from...NOT!

So we will play the health care game; and whoever doesn't go completely mad or drops dead first wins?

Frustration can at times be overwhelming, but if you let them see it …they get the upper hand and game is over.
And unfortunately they know that we need them more than they need us.
How do I know this?
Anyone can tell just by the overcrowded overbooked waiting rooms!

Sleep well my buddies out there. We do need each other to commiserate if for no other reason.
Good night to all, and to all keep healthy!

Monday, August 11, 2008

How about that...

Our president was supporting our 2008 Olympians at the venue in Beijing, wow!
Many photo opts with those cuties, our women's volleyball team, he was also seen enjoying the swimming meets, bathing beauties and hunks at their trials, as well as our basketball team, super jocks in action.
What a guy!
All was mercifully calm and quiet while he was away on his Asian tour. Barrels of oil dropped in price below $114, and the stock market went up, coincidence...I don't think so!

I've been thinking... do we really need a president?
No, seriously what do they do?
They have to ask permission for just about anything they want to try and do, and then somebody usually says no.
Sound familiar... not unlike a parent and child relationship.
But we cannot have a dictatorship; he's tried it, and we all know what kind of trouble that caused, we let him go just so far before we realized what he was doing, and reined him in.

After all, we as Americans know what we need and want...reasonable and good health care...free would be better, lower gas prices at the pumps, $1 a gallon sounds fair, and food that we don't have to sell our first born for, $20 for weeks worth would be great!
Housing should be free to anyone who stays in a domicile for more than a month, make it like staking a claim.


Why not?
It's actually very simple, and I think we could just do it.
Supposedly the dollar's not worth much anymore, not even a dollar, what? So it just makes good sense to me.
We have an economy that is not much different from many third world countries only we got better stuff; stealing a line from the late George Carlin and he did have quite a few good points.
Just grab whatever you want.

I would love to hear back on this idea, and no I am not running for president.
But I just may vote for Paris Hilton. Her PSA got to the point, and was very well thought out, didn't you think? LOL

Good luck and Good night to all!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Olympics, International Buffet and learning a little

This evening we finally took a break from watching all the Olympic coverage,
and went out to dinner at our own International Buffet.
We had a coupon...boy are we seniors or what?
Anyway, we just so happened to start up a conversation with a gentleman who worked there. (Earlier I had complained that something was wrong with the pepper shaker the pepper smelled funny, and it made the salad and soup taste bad that I had sprinkled it on. This was so out of character for me; I never complain in restaurants, but I thought maybe a kid was fooling around and put something in it, it smelled like horse manure. He was kind enough to check it out, and took it away to taste (yuck) and I think brought a different one back.)
We discussed how quiet all the traffic and businesses were on our long three mile trek up there.
He happened to be Chinese living in the USA for the last 8 years hoping to become an American citizen by next year.
I asked him which province he was from, and believe it or not he was from Beijing!
That started the ball rolling and we asked him so many questions, and he spoke English fairly well, only with a slight accent. He was very genuine and seemed thrilled we were interested.
It took him just ten months to learn our difficult language.
We found out that Beijing is very much a city, not unlike New York.
No grass to grow anything, he laughed.
I was concerned for those who had to quit their factory jobs because of the Olympics and he said they all were working on the construction for the Olympics, and did very well.
He apparently has family still there, and that is why he knew so much currently going on.

Then on to Super Wal-Mart for a few of this and thats.

Good night to all.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Furry, feathers and fins

What do they all have in common?
They all live in or nearby our home.

Charlie whose name really is Prince Charles is named for the prince of England who was married to Diana and that is about how long he has been a member of our family.
He is a Cockatiel that has been with us since 1979, and will be 29 this month!
It's amazing that he is still with us, which is odd because most Cockatiels’ life span is about 15-20 years, although their is supposedly one that lived to 41 years old that is written about in Guinness Book of World Records.

At one time he was finger trained, and was so tame that he stood on our Puffy the cat's back altogether on the den couch with Benji our male Yorkie.
What a cheerful group; but unfortunately he is the only one of that formidable bunch still among us; the others are in loving pet heaven.

Charlie was quite the party bird until along came Brandi the barker, our female Yorkie, who was great with us and lived until the ripe old age of 16.
Sadly, ever since 1988 he has not had the desire to come out of his cage.
We have even left the door open, and nothing.
But he is happy and does love Skipper.
I know he does because he never tries to nip at him through the bars of his cage, he chirps at him instead.

Casey is our cat, a domestic long haired orange Tabby with amber eyes, very handsome, and affectionate.
He was given to us from our younger son when he joined the Navy.
At the time Casey was two, and now is 12 and a half. He is a house cat that never leaves his domicile. His best buddy is Skipper and they play quite well together.
Casey weighs about 11 and half pounds and is just about the same height as Skipper.
But they have been friends since Skipper was small enough to fit in my sneaker when we brought him home!
Casey has always been gentle and loving.

Last but not least are our feeder fish in our outside pond.
Most of them are about four years old, some are only six months.
Unfortunately, last summer the pond got so hot it cooked a few and this year we replaced them.
The rain has once again come on schedule here in southwest Florida, which cools the pond daily very nicely, thank you very much.
For those of you who don't know what feeder fish are let me explain they are the little Goldfish bred for feeding reptiles like snakes, etc., horrible!
Yes, they are very normally small when you get them, but they miraculously grow to nearly foot long specimens in a fairly short period of time, not unlike Koi. But Koi are quite costly, as much as $75 each; while feeder fish are about a dollar a dozen.
My cousin, the retired science teacher suggested them.
He used them in his pond too.
We also have for free Mosquito Eater fish that are small live bearers that prevent the concern for mosquitoes in our pond since they eat the larvae. They are from the agricultural extension, you just call and they deliver them right to your pond!

And that is quite a large menagerie and one of the many reasons that we don't go away on long trips or really care to. Animals, dare I say family members that love you without strings attached!

And let's not us forget the wild birds that we feed daily when we feed our fish.

Good evening, have a pleasant one, and I will too!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Our four footed friends in our home

You might remember me mentioning that we have a few family members of the hairy, feathered, and fin persuasion.

Skipper was just four in March we have him since he was 2 months old though. He is a Bichon Frise of the pet quality, but registered, which is just fine with us. The name Bichon Frise literally translates to curly haired lap dog. He is all white with lamb’s wool type hair, weighs about 15 pounds, solidly built and does not shed and that does makes him hypoallergenic, and so he must get his hair cut at a groomer about every three months, every six weeks if you can afford it.

I did do a bit of research on the breed before we found him. Bichon's are a very old breed from the 16th century where they belonged to Spanish nobility, but in the latter years fell out of favor with them and ended up becoming circus dogs. They traveled throughout Europe including France where they received their name. The Island of Tenerife is where this family of dogs came from, which includes the Havanese from Cuba, Bichon Frise, as well as the Poodle. They are all known to be very lovable to all people/children as well as other pets, and are happy and considered extremely intelligent.

He stole our hearts from day one, but we did make him pass two tests prior to naming him. Skipper had to prove he was sea worthy so on his very first day we took him out on our boat, and he fell asleep! That was great, no seasickness there. The next test was to see if he could swim, contrary to public opinion some dogs can't, another test that he passed with flying colors!
And the best thing is he won't go into our pool unless we are in it. But he does know how to get out by way of the ladder and the steps, safety first so I taught him!

As a young pup 5 1/2 months old we put him puppy classes but they were canceled after the hurricane destroyed the building that it was held in. Those were special classes for the purpose of socialization with other dogs, and a little bit of agility which Skipper loved and excelled at! No fear was shown going over a grate through a tunnel, and over a low hurdle.
Unfortunately, although the classes were started again six months later at a new location they were pure obedience and Skipper is a free spirit, but he did retain some of that training when it counts. He doesn't run away through the front door or out of our outside gate, he stays then and he can sit, lie down, dance and come.
Boring to him at times and he doesn't always do everything when he should, his idea to do these things is when it's necessary, which I suppose, is a good thing.
He can be laid back, easy going, but at times wild.
We call him a greyhound because at times he will race around the house or yard several times like on a race track; odd behavior we thought until we spoke with some other Bichon parents who said theirs did the same thing, interesting with though, and unique to the breed?

Previously, we had Yorkies that lived to the old ages of nearly 14 and sixteen years old. A mixed collie Sheppard till he was nine, liver cancer got him.

Tomorrow, I will tell you the story of cats! and I don't mean the Broadway show.
See ya! You come back, you hear.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

People that do that chore for you...nah!

In all the 38 hundred years we have been married we have not had to call a repairman or had to pay one either.

My husband was blessed with the ability to fix things, and do things like build homes and additions, install bathrooms and kitchens, fix appliances, put bicycles together etc. Magically and laughably at times he has had some left over parts, but everything still does work!
Actually, he had a grandpa who taught him; and my husband passed on that ability our sons.

We were one of the few people that were back in our destroyed home after Hurricane Charlie by December of 2004; the same year it happened.
And the only reason it took that long was because our insurance money didn't come until October, but the hurricane hit on August 13.2004, a Friday!

Years ago my hubby was the one that our neighbors would call for consultations on their home projects.
Or they would ask for his availability to do the project and in his early years way back in the 1970's he was a yes man to all who requested his help.
It helped that he also had 5 years of engineering school, and had worked as an apprentice plumber while a college student.

Times change and unfortunately age creeps up plus an injury to his back, which he is receiving disability for, and for the last few years he has found himself saying no to all that ask.
Many people just don't seem to understand this dilemma of his, but as his wife I see how hard it is for him to still do the necessary jobs around our home. He refuses to call someone else to do them for us, and we really can't afford to hire someone now either on our fixed income.
He is in pain.

Fortunately, the lawn mower was replaced after the hurricane with a ride on one, and the edger and blower are both electric making them much lighter than the gas models.

So that is pretty much what he does once a week in the summer, of course he makes sure the pool sparkles, and has most recently painted the trim on the house. We do garden together.

But long gone are the days of the big projects of building major things. Fortunately, we do have everything and anything we could possibly want at this point in our lives.
That makes it easier not wanting or really needing things.
Upkeep is the only thing that we must do.
So things take a little longer, and are thoughtfully determined the best way to do them.
We are much more careful with body mechanics not to do more damage, and breaks are taken frequently.
Logic and care is much more useful now than ever before.

And saying no was hard for my dear man, but he has learned like we all have to on occasion.

Just a little more insight into how we handle our own daily grind.

Goodnight to all!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Logic and experimentation

Now I am about to update you all on some pressing news and information.
Yesterday I received a note from my doctor's office that I must make an appointment to get my blood work results. So I made one for this morning.
And the news was not very good; I failed my cholesterol test by receiving the highest number for me ever a total cholesterol of 248, beating my previous high score of 227.

I guess this means I cannot say good-bye to my medication for this. This is one of the few tests in life that getting a high score is bad. Personally I do know people who are walking around with much higher scores, and they do look alive and pretty lively too!
I did have the good sense to fill out the form to have a copy made for own interest, but it will take some time. They told me that it is done at a different office in another city. What?
But I said to the office person that had me fill out the form to have my own blood work copy that there was a copier right behind her!
Apparently not allowed, the other office is in charge of this delicate procedure, bureaucracy! But they can torture me in this one?

The form I filled out was on that sensitive type 3 copy paper...but why? It's my blood! Who else needs to know that I'm a failure in the cholesterol wars where getting a total below 200 is the winning number for a healthy person and means you are living a healthy lifestyle...

Oh but I am! I eat well; lots of fruits and vegetables daily, even fish and chicken, also lean meats!
My exercise is pretty good considering for someone with my health issues, arthritis, and the MS!
No drinking any liquor for over a month now... mmm... when I had my wine in the evening my cholesterol was lower...mmm...maybe I nixed the grape brew too soon...mmm.
Interesting we saved one bottle of a Cabernet Sauvignon, and I fooled you all!
It's chilling as I write this...mmm... we will see... could be a good thing.
Taking a quote from Martha Stewart, a good thing that is, but did you know that she is like 66 years old, and does drink wine, and looks terrific!
It's gotta be a good thing and she is my proof!

Having good genes is probably the real reason, and mine are not so good!
Heck with that I will ask her to adopt me.
I guess it doesn't work that way.

But when I told/confessed to the doctors about my wine indulgence they agreed it was a good idea and healthful, and not a problem with the prescriptions that they prescribed.
So now with their permission I will see what I will see...next test isn't for another year...my numbers should be way down by then or I will be a very, very tipsy woman for all time!
Nah, not that much fun and a bit unrealistic with only one glass for medicinal purposes an evening.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Aspirations

Humorists are writers who look at the daily grind of life in a funny way.
Erma Bombeck and Andy Rooney are two that come to mind although they've been many over the years including Samuel Clemmens AKA Mark Twain.

These are the kind of people that make our stupidity not so darn awful and our microscopic examinations of rituals and flaws at times quite enjoyable.

Andy Rooney is the only one of the above still with us though.
He takes weekly ordinary topics and makes them amusing during the last few minutes of Sixty Minutes.
He's riveting in my book! I do pay attention for the whole time he speaks, but then I realize his topic chosen is something so mundane and ordinary, and that I had agreed with every bit of his verbiage that he uttered. This is surprising since we have almost a thirty year generational difference in our age and our observational perspective.
Mr. Rooney is usually quite hysterical in his own benign way.

The late Erma Bombeck was the one that helped me with my child rearing in the days when it occasionally got tough. She appeared regularly on Good Morning America.
You all must remember such books as the Grass is Always Greener over the Septic Tank, and If Life is a Bowl of Cherries; why am I living in the Pits?
Wacko and definitely one great lady!

Life can be quite humorous when one looks from the outside in, and tries darn hard not to get emotional.
Someone told me...I think it might have been my Dad to try and see the humor in life, don't take anything too serious.
My Father had a magnificent sense of humor, and was loved by all. And when I was a teenager and got angry at the silliest things he would laugh at me and make me realize how ridiculous I was!

In my early years when I wrote for my own pleasure as a young mother I did find humor in parenting and that was my topic for release of any anxiety in that period of my life brought.
My sons were quite comical at certain attempts in growing into the fine men that they eventually became.

These are some of the people I do so wish I could write like.
I suspect these are big aspirations for a simple mind that is working overtime just to think, period on some days. But this is the direction I hope to eventually attain, please bear with me as I go on this marvelously wild journey.

Good night to all and to all always think of ways to tickle that funny bone, and so will I!

Monday, August 4, 2008

Finally I am at a loss for words...NOT!

Today is the day that the Brangelina twins were introduced to the world! Very cute, the little I saw of them with those two as their parents how could they not be.

Celebrities are confusing; most of the time they complain about the paparazzi bugging them. And then they sometimes confess how if it wasn't for all the publicity the public would forget about them.

Boy, sure glad I don't have that problem.
How would I handle it?
I would probably handle it in the same way, its human nature to want to be noticed, but not too much or too often. Especially when you are misbehaving like every one does on occasion.
Positive publicity is always a plus; while the negative type usually causes grief.
Thick skin is what you must have and most in the public arena portend to.

Who doesn't enjoy good gossip occasionally?
And there are definitely enough ways to come by it honestly, but not necessarily with any truth to it. Between TV shows and the print media, and don't forget our Internet welcome screens. Yes, we do have a plethora of options to keep informed on such topics.
I must admit that sometimes I find the stories titillating, and worthy of a second glance.
This is one of those things I mentioned about curiosity, and knowledge, but I truthfully don't believe any of this is beneficial to our education.
Except maybe this has to do with worldliness or trivia info for party games.
Although, sometimes Jeopardy asks about celebrities, and I still believe that program is educational in an entertaining way.

Human nature is amazing when studied we are conglomeration of hypocrisies and neediness, for our souls we want to be alone, perhaps to meditate, but for camaraderie we must be with others to validate our lives.

Have you ever imagined what someone from another planet would think of us humans?
I do on occasion.
Gosh we are so complex, and yet so simple at the same time, fascinating I would imagine to those of the non human persuasion.

Good night!
And again I leave you with something to think about...or at least I sure hope so.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Day 40; what a milestone!

Mundane day quick clean up, did some laundry, but I swam for about an hour before lunch. I found talking to the almighty can be done from anywhere at any time.
But motivation to exercise has to come from within, no one else can do it for me.

Today I am not so sad anymore.
We seem to resolve our differences by ignoring them at times; not such a bad thing when it works.
Denial seems to work with a lot of things I have noticed.

People with major illnesses that do take the time to treat them appropriately medication wise, but don't harp on what's wrong with them seem to do well.
My only problem with that is that I have gotten involved with the organizations as a volunteer because of my ills, http://www.arthritis.org/ and ://nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx. (Copying these and pasting them to your search wagon will get you there.) And it does make it harder to not harp on an ill that you are raising money for, teaching how to manage or explaining to Newbees about.

But I have cut back from all that and now most of my help is as an advocate by signing letters for different bills in the capitol to make sure our Representatives do the right thing for us, and this is done online when notified from the main offices of the non profits.

Anyway, it helps me to feel that in some small way I can still make a difference, and maybe find a cure.
Everyone should have something they believe in to support.
My problem for years was that I had too many, that bleeding heart liberal thing I mentioned before, and I didn't know how to say no.
Having those seven types out of the 100 kinds of arthritis and also having Multiple Sclerosis narrowed my fields down.
But every disease needs to be helped. And in this tough economy it's hard for everyone to think out of the box if they are thankfully well.
Who would have thought that in the 21st Century we would still have half of these diseases; I sure didn't.

I have often found that helping others helps you to forget your own problems, and sometimes puts them in a much better perspective.
So I highly recommend volunteering for your sake and all those others you will be helping.

Someone once told me I was wonderful because I volunteer, and I had to tell them the truth is that I do it for purely selfish reasons, because it makes me feel so good!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Pep talk to myself

Once we become adults we are supposed to not have any insecurities like we did in our teen years.
But I am going through a questioning period in my life of my abilities, and self esteem issues that are real to me. I suppose my enormous weight gain more than ever before, and my ills have something to do with it.
Every now and then I wonder what is wrong with me and people around me that makes me ask if I am loved?
When I was a small child I knew I was because my parents always told me, and that was very reassuring.
As an adult with deceased parents, and a non demonstrative spouse I'm never really sure, which sounds just awful.
We do say it to one another on occasion, and so do our sons, but do we really mean it?
Actions speak louder than words.
Paying attention to one another 24/7 now that my husband has retired is ridiculous to expect and not realistic. I do know that.
But common courtesy to say where you go when you leave the house for a half an hour or longer should be second nature in my book.
Since my disability it frightens me to be alone for too long.
When he knows that I need to stay in bed at times he does take his cell phone with him, and hands me mine so we can keep in contact like an intercom.
Though when I am feeling all right, not too bad he just leaves to talk to people, and I have no idea where he is.
This could be for a half hour or more, and I guess I panic. These are at home disappearances. Are others this way I do wonder.

Although, when he leaves in the car to go somewhere I realize he will be gone for quite some time, so I don't think about it.
Weird.

So today when I was angry at him I disappeared for a couple of hours in the car, but I did tell him where I was going, and even called him once.
He was not concerned.
Men are different.

And I am still sad.

Good night.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Junk mail

Today we finished our shopping at the grocery picking up things we didn't get yesterday, because the bulk products are not necessary for two when it comes to perishables.
We had lunch at home.
By then the mail came.

It usually does come around that time of day 12:30-1P.M.ish, but not like clockwork in the old days.

We received more invitations for insurances and refinancing, and one was from the bank that we have our mortgage with, Bank of America, and we didn't need it or want it.

But just for fun of it I asked mischievously if they could beat our 5.12% 30 year fixed mortgage with them, and again they said they could not! So I asked them why don't they look at what we have before they mail?
Then I admitted that I called to notify them to remove us from their mailing lists. By telling them that they are wasting money by sending out mailers to people that are not interested.
I even had the nerve to take it one step further by saying to the telephone person that such expenses could jeopardize their job since they were unnecessary expenditures, and those practices have cost many companies the need to have layoffs to make up for those loses, sad but true.
She giggled and agreed.

The paperwork they sent was several pages, and had personal information on it that created a need for us to shred all parts, same with the AARP insurance info.

And we wonder why so many companies are in financial trouble?

Exxon is doing well though...SHOCKER...our gas prices are responsible for that! As if I have to tell anyone. Billions in profits, ugh!
Some brilliant stock brokers are saying that it is a buy!
YEAH for $1000 or more a share, got any spare change?
Depressing.

Picked up lots of healthy foods like veggies, and yogurt and stuff that has little or no guilt attached, and great for snacking.

Next to the pharmacy in the grocery they have one of those sit down and put your arm through blood pressure checkers, and since I still was not taking my blood pressure medicine I decided to try the machine, and guess what?
I was still good, 117/76! TA DA! Again.

Now if the cholesterol numbers will cooperate those med bucks can be put to good use for fun or saving up for maybe a new appliance if need be or even a car someday. Of course with all those other savings from me not smoking or drinking any wine any more!
Now that drinking thing... let me explain it was never a problem, and neither of us did any while raising our sons who are now 32 and 36, but after 9/11 somehow we decided it was good for our aging hearts, and we were both in our fifties by then. I stopped due to the calories, and added expense, and that was the only reason.

Funny thing about those savings...where are they?
Never can seem to find them. LOL

Have a great evening and I will too!
Take care, peace and good night.

Speaking My Mind: Which way will the war go?

Speaking My Mind: Which way will the war go? :   My eyesight is going again... in case you missed it... Netanyahu snaps back against growing...