Saturday, February 28, 2009

3.5 trillion budget...sounds so unreal...

That's what our new guy wants to do; put us on a 3.5 trillion budget I personally think I could handle that!
Do you want to know what I would do to stay on it?
Here I go… shop at all the warehouse stores for non perishables and bulk meats and fish, go to thrift shops, discount and outlet stores for our clothes, keep our paid for car and not drive unnecessarily; causing better gas mileage usage wise.
Turn off the lights, electric appliances, or fans when I leave a room.
Put a rain barrel in to prevent high water bills and add a drip system to water a vegetable garden to save money on vegetables.
Get rid of cable and buy a converter, ooops did that nearly fifteen years ago; cable not the converter but have that since June.
Go to the library for free entertainment for reading, music and movies.
Mmm if I can think of other saving tricks I will.
That should help I am very sure I can stay in that thirty-five thousand dollar budget!
What you say? Haven’t you been already doing all of that?
Yes we have and we can!

Oh silly me he said 3.5 trillion I thought he said 35 thousand, well that’s different!
Fly in those lobsters from Maine, call Saks and Tiffany’s I will be taking those baubles and trinkets I had on lay-away!
Gas up the Rolls and the Learjet; we are going on a junket for the celebration of ding, ding, ding spending!

Of course I am kidding but it is mind boggling the talking about the dollar amounts being bandied about, and to think that our actual ‘Sugar Daddy’ is in China or maybe it is just China the country? That country on the other side of the world is backing up these crazy monetary deals coming down our pike since before the election. We are eventually all going to be speaking Chinese, mark my words! Then we can look forward to being asked on computer bank lines and elsewhere if you would like them to speak to you in English, Spanish or Chinese? I studied Spanish in high school, but not Chinese; didn’t know I would need it. And no I do not consider myself a bigot, but think about it. They basically own us now. As we all know our dollar has nothing backing it anymore or I could be wrong, but probably not keep it hush, hush.
I am unsure of what to think since I am not that smart enough to know if all this is good or downright bad only time will tell.

The new Pres is trying to keep his promises, really I do believe him; the fact that he is going to go for an August 31st 2010 removal of the majority of the troops in Iraq I think is a good thing, but you know, yep, I'm not too smart, sounds good though that much less soldiers being killed. That date is important in a small way to me, it just so happens that, that date would have been my brother’s 79th birthday being born on 8-31-31, but as you may know he has been gone for a few years now. RE: this Blog (10-23-24-08)

I will now bid you good night to all and to all count those blessings and I will too.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Choices and why decisions can be fun if not interesting

Being a fairly decisive person, but honestly not always, but I do admire others with that consistent ability.
So it does my heart good to know that one of the major concerns of our countrymen and woman has seemed to be decided.
The first dog’s breed, a Portuguese water dog seems to have become the popular favorite chosen one at this writing, although as we all know these things can change and often do.
Now the name seems for this famous critter appears to be in somewhat of a tie, either Moose or Frank, apparently it will be a male or not.
Now if I was asked which I would prefer, which more than likely I would not be, but let’s just say for arguments sake that if I were, my choice would be definitely an unqualified without hesitation that it would have to be Frank, since our President Obama has always been honest with us therefore, “frank” would be the unquestionable right choice in my opinion.
And Moose is a creature more at home in, dare I say Alaska, and we all know who we associate with that state, enough unsaid.
And these are my unabashed unrequested opinions and reasons for them, TA DA, so there!

Portuguese water dogs are of medium size about 45-50 lbs. and do not shed, which is good for children with allergies.
They are great swimmers, thus the name and are friendly and loving with everyone in the family, but they are also good watchdogs.
Young, puppies’ need many chew toys because as most pups they enjoy chewing on just about anything they can get in their mouths and so many chew toys are very necessary.
They are high energy and do well with large properties, but can be trained for an apartment dweller too.
All and all they do sound just like what our new guy asked for a non girlie type pet, you can’t really blame him with him being so out numbered with all those women in his living quarters?
Malia’s allergies should be in check with Frank’s coat not shedding.
It appears to be the perfect match for a young family with high energy and an allergic child, a win, win like all else for our new first family!
Happy families make good decisions, and so we will all win too.

I know no one asked me to weigh in on this major decision for our first family, but being an animal lover myself knowing how you will be spending the next 14 to 16 years with that type of commitment is so important to anyone who truly cares.
After all it is the only family member you can choose!

So on that note... let me just say again good night to all and to all count your blessings and I will too.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

How was your day?

My day today was blah, blah, blah and I suppose that should be considered boring.
Oh wait a minute the word blah is used when describing talking and no, not too much of that was done today.
Yep, I checked that’s when it’s used for non important words or talking.
Boy isn’t language great; we even have a word for not talking?
But sometimes even when we speak the same language we still get misunderstood, odd how that is?
Interpretation is how the mind accepts the information going in and then turns it back into an acknowledgement of whatever has been said. We react to most verbiage with a response to verify or with some other form of body language perhaps a smile or nod if in agreement or a shake of the head or a frown if not.
Words are remarkable and so are we as humans, does anyone but me think it is extremely interesting how on earth we all learned to communicate and then screw it up in our modern civilization so badly that we go to war because of it?

Day after day we open our mouths to utter a daily sound of a compilations of whatever our brain figures we are trying to noise into our environment to be noticed as thinking relevant beings, amazing, I say!
The process is something most of us take for granted it is done not always with much thought and that is usually what I do…speak without thinking so that is why I do say I have foot in mouth disease.
But to be fair many of us do have this problem.
Consequences of these unabashed uncensored commentaries are on occasion entertaining but can be treacherous and inflammatory to whomever you may be speaking within any given moment.
So mouthers beware.
We are a breed amongst not too many others in this day and age of conformity.
Some people actual do come with built in censoring machines, and at times that makes me jealous, but wary.
How can one trust someone who is too careful with the words that the Merriam Webster gave us to use?

Life is dangerous and one must take chances to make it interesting I say!
So fling those nouns, adjectives adverbs etc. all over the air fronts since they are not tangible polluters although they can pollute if a little dirty, be respectful of those surrounding us is all I will say.

I do believe I heard somewhere that sleep deprivation could be compared to cocaine use, and with my many sleepless nights maybe I will gain the ability to become a great writer like Poe or King?
Nah, I would really prefer sleep and write like me however that is.
Onward I say!
Try to be great in my own teeny non-penmanship world.
So without a pen is it still mightier than the sword?
Sort of like the tree falling in the forest with no one there does it still make a sound?

That’s all gibberish; I told you all that I was sleep deprived.
So sorry that tonight’s Blogging was more like clogging, hah, I made a funny, but that’s the way I feel confused and exhausted.
So I will bid you good night to all and to all count those blessings and I will too.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Very high blood pressure and more medication

Through the roof is what the medical professional said to me about my blood pressure, and yes I had taken my blood pressure medicine over an hour before going to my appointment. She also took it to check to see if it had gone down, since a different nurse, a male one had taken it the first time, and it had slightly gone down, but still, 145 over 94, before it had been 154 over 100, not good.
And so now I am also on an ACE inhibitor added to my regular blood pressure medication as well as my cholesterol medicine.

I want off of this nasty unhealthy ride!
This nurse-practitioner is the one who saw me that decided that I needed the additional meds and that more than likely my frequent headaches, daily they are, could be caused by my ridiculous hypertension.
All the pain in my different locations shoulders and hips she concluded what I too thought my MS as well as the osteoarthritis, and she did say with my GI history, stomach problems of ulcers IBS etc. med wise there were not too many choices, but she did give me the phone number for someone that could recommend a pain management person that might work on a sliding scale for payment, but just from our brief info, income how many people in the family etc., over the phone the best they could do for me would be $200 an office visit, not disallowing my husband’s SSI disability like the health department does, if we didn’t have that we too would be up a creek without a paddle it allows us to pay our bills on time. (PS for you out of country people that is something that while you work they take out of your paycheck all those years for just this purpose it is not charity or government funding it is your money, insurance, you put in all the years you worked! And they take it out of everyone’s paychecks in the US. And they make it awfully hard to get back too they investigate like you are stealing from the government, hah! They should have been so careful with those banks, big business and Wall Street and then maybe things would have been different now.)
So again I am up a creek without a paddle, since that would be a weekly or bi-monthly expense just too far out of reach for us commoners without insurance.

I am screwed. The pain seems to come much more frequently, and I am medicated with all those three prescriptions, which are not for pain by the way, and fortunately are all generic so only $36 dollars a month.

Silly note: Charlotte County Florida: Our Town Center Mall right here in River City better known as Port Charlotte Florida had a streaker Saturday night at our one and only enclosed mall, yippee some excitement! And it even made it to the net; great for tourism just what this little berg needed to create a frenzy, good for you Brandon!
It is only a misdemeanor crime anyway.
And a good laugh in these unflappable not so funny times!

We also had our spring training Tampa Rays play their first game today, wow we got a lot of good stuff going on, and yes they did win.

On that somewhat happy note I bid you good night to all and to all count those blessings and I will too.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Tonight we will be hearing from our new president...

Again our President Obama will speak to our nation about our economy tonight at 9 P.M. EST.
He will be discussing how we will be going about getting a handle on all those major problems.
Until he speaks that is all I am able to say, and I will not second guess his comments since I am not a member of any journalistic pool with a presumed written text on what exactly will be covered.

As a commoner, but an American with disabilities, but also many abilities that is I do have a mind of my own as you all know and will be able to figure out just how important his statements should be tonight and what he thinks or is about to do to accomplish our resolve to our problems as a nation.

And that is a problem lately… what am I talking about?
My own disabilities, lately my legs have been going numb way too often, which is making walking a real issue.
I know the doctor said that my hips are now bone on bone which means that I do have osteoarthritis of the hips and so are my shoulders in the same predicament, but the numbies are either coming from my MS, Multiple Sclerosis, or from a few discs misbehaving since I also do have spinal degeneration for the last several years, but most do; it is a part of the aging process, well, I do also have stenosis but in my cervical region, the neck that is.
Anyway, none of this feels very good and I will be going to the doctor tomorrow to find out if there is anything that can be done other than just giving up and using my new ride inside too?
To be honest I don’t feel very well.
I know who does these days?
Everyone has problems.
Life is frustrating to all, and we as a nation of people with more commonalities than differences now more than ever. That is to say that not one thing is the problem in our lives but many have been causing us stress over these last few years and we should all try harder to be patient with one another, as well as trying for a unified understanding of each other.

I do sometimes wish that this venue was more interactive, where people would send me ideas or comments that would be able to help me or even… more to my liking me help them.
Wishing sometimes makes things happen or start the ball rolling on beginning a way to really communicate with the world.
As I have been saying we all have more in common than not.
So comparing notes on similar problems could be helpful?
Lately, mobility has been with this little scooter, but really only able to use it outside since my home is too small or maybe we just have to rearrange it furniture wise?
I still do have one step to conquer down here to the sunroom where this computer is, and daily the problem of maneuverability to here gets more difficult, and writing does cause my shoulders to hurt too.
I would die a little inside if I could not maintain this Blog daily it is really something that I look forward to.

Getting tired now so I will bid you good night to all and to all really, really count those blessing and I will too.

Monday, February 23, 2009

All the empty homes alone...

Suggestions are flying and needed for an understanding why in a country of the home of the free and the brave; have we so many homeless people and people-less homes?

Sometimes common sense can appear as brilliance and logic can be just plain simple.
Why with all these different situations of need can we not have some modifications of how to handle these problems and match up families with homes and have them work for a new paid for government agency making them employees to help others in a similar position etc., etc.?
We would be solving the foreclosure, homeless, jobs problems all at the same time!

Now I do know what you are saying…this is the same woman who thought that the homeless were taking over the empty homes in her neighborhood already.
Yes, that is true, but you know something they were quiet and took care of the properties and were nearly perfect neighbors, odd you say.
I say, hmmm surprisingly decent, but that sounds patronizing, why wouldn’t they be?

Do you know what happens to homes that are left empty and abandoned?
Well, lately the trend… dare I say has been teens and some adults having wild orgy type parties in them with under age drinking and drugs causing the destruction of these homes and therefore a destruction of that neighborhood, and so the dominoes fall.

We must come to the conclusion that a full house is better than an empty one.
Every home that goes without loving or without being a shelter for someone is a ‘Rave’, waiting to happen! I think that’s what they are still called, those moved around wild parties of the nineties where the people who would create them would move them to different locales according to where they could have them without much or any over head expenses.

They were notorious for drugs and underage drinking, but actual physical destruction of the property was minimized due to most locations being large buildings similar to Quonset huts, mostly empty shells. The original concept was worthy though it was for youngsters to get together to hear live music and dancing, hah!

But tonight, the news just mentioned such a party over this past weekend which was held in a foreclosed 4K foot home that was basically broken up and out and written all over with vulgar graffiti throughout; seventeen were arrested, seven adults and ten children.

Now my idea is sounding pretty good huh?

Did you see the Oscar Awards last night?
They were great and not too many surprises on the winners, but I was pulling for Mickey Rourke mainly because I knew how much it would have meant to him, and his loving 18 year old Chihuahua just died six days before. I would hate to see him take a down turn when he is doing so well. We are all pulling for you guy! And being nominated is truly great; not just lip service.
Can’t wait to see Slumdog Millionaire, we have already put it in our Que online at our movie rental home delivery service.


What can I say about Hugh Jackman?
Now I see why he is this year’s choice for the sexiest man alive.
Is it just me or wouldn’t he be the next best James Bond?
Personally, I can already hear him saying, “Bond…James Bond.”; “And shaken not stirred,” etc.
And he is so multitalented, singing and dancing, and no, he is definitely NOT GAY!!!! Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Politics are going on and on and all I know is that all it has been just a mere month and already our new chosen guy is being given, in my opinion too hard a time, hang in there Mr. President we are in the majority, the ones who are pulling for you, which means when you win we all succeed!
It is sort of like a teacher whose student gets all 'A's', that means the teacher taught that child well.

Good night to all and to all count your blessings and I will too.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

An email I received today got me thinking again...

And this could be dangerous it has been before!

The meaning of pacifist is some one who strongly and actively opposes war or any type of violence for moral or religious beliefs.
And the meaning of an activist is a doctrine or practice that is in direct opposition to one side of a controversial issue.

Well, I guess I have done both of those in many youth filled angst years, but seriously who hasn’t? And as a nearly senior, although AARP believes I already am, yes I have expressed my feelings out loud again and again, like now.

Speaking of that email…which I surprisingly received from an elder cousin discussing all those right reasons to be involved in a war, it was one of those chains, but he did send it to me.
You all know what I am talking about…basically I stood by when they did such and such to someone or other than me or mine, on and on until then when they did finally come for me it was too little too late.
I am a firm believer in any anti-genocide behavior whatever it takes, but to start a war on misinformation or fear from an unknown individual has made me stop in my tracks these last several years and question, when do we really know that it is besides for the prevention of genocide, which is a clear-cut reasoning for me; when we should intervene?
As I have said before… what price war?
I don’t believe, but I could be wrong that any of his children or grandchildren is on that front line with their individual lives on the line, but I could be wrong and thankfully none of mine are now either.
But as a parent who cherishes life, as most everyone does, including that of others’ children I would really want to know for sure that there was an extremely, no other way out way of thinking why I should have someone’s life on the line for my freedom.
When the face is a blank in your mind that soldier be it a woman or a man they are very dear to some one some where, imagine that individual with your loved ones face and then I ask you is it so easy to say send them to war?

I honestly could and would say an absolute no, these soldiers commit to die for their country and too many already have, more than all of the people who died on 9/11.
Life is way too precious.
Too many wars have been started on one person assuming things without facts or being paranoid or differences of opinions on religious beliefs these are all verbally negotiable conflicts, murder to make them listen doesn’t seem right, you know?

That is what war is to me murder with an allowable legal reasoning, a hypocrisy.
I have never met any soldier who has been on the front lines that when they got home was not changed forever.
Even if physically unharmed, seeing all that it surely emotionally has taken its toll.
No one is unscathed by war, and we all know that many of our young people over the last several years have been committing suicide from whatever they have seen or been a part of; they can’t all be cowards as the righteous warmongers would like us to believe.
These people, young and old have consciouses and guilt of killing or seeing killing hurts them all. I am not saying that the way to handle all that is the correct way, but why won’t their military officers accept that they need the help before it gets that far?
I pray it never ever does come to that, but as we know even our military has been unable to cover up this truth of all these current suicides.

And that is why I suppose if I was younger and asked to go to save our freedom, first I would have many questions, and if they couldn’t prove to me that people were being killed because of their hair or eye color and then I would probably be considered what used to be called and I am sure still is a conscientious objector.

That’s something to think about; again.

Good night to all and to all count your blessings and I will too.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Tired but the good kind of tired

Tonight we had our more scaled down version of a dinner party only two guests, but this is one of those times that quality over quantity counted, and it was definitely the case for this evening.

Good food and pleasant conversation what more could any nearly seniors want or desire.
And tonight we enjoyed both.

The day started with my mad rush to try and clean our home within an inch of a nosey inspectors concern, but none were coming with any white gloves so I do wonder at times what possesses me to think that way.
I do hope I came close in passing that test metaphorically speaking that is; it does seem that the only motivation to try for that type of clean is when we know that we are having company.
It is a good reason to get things in ship shape anyway.

My hubby is still hard at work cleaning the grill from his slow cooking of those great babyback ribs that he made.
As you must have guessed our guests have gone.

And to tell the truth I am pooped too.

So tonight will be just this short little Blob of a Blog.

Good night to all and to all count your blessings and I will too.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Routine for most but not for me...

Howdy partners in this obsession of mine called writing this Blog without missing a beat or day so far, pretty darn great I say; commitment is amazing to anything in this day and age.

Fort Myers is counting up their expenditures from the visit of our President Obama a few weeks ago, it apparently cost the city 76K, but they have 92M for such happenings? So I ask what the problem is. The fact that they paid overtime to their police and fire services does seem rather odd, considering this was a daytime event. I suppose it was calling the day off people in for more coverage, which does sound right.
Other things like clean up etc. seems appropriate, but then again I have never run a presidential event before, so I really have no idea what they should run; dollar wise that is.

A young, five year old child in Putnam County Florida, the little girl, Haleigh Cummings that has gone missing, presumed kidnapped, when her babysitter a seventeen year old who is the twenty-five year old father’s girlfriend called 911 when she noticed that the child was missing. Now might not be the right time or moment to bring this up, but has anybody besides me and my husband wondered why no one has questioned why a twenty- five year old father of two has a seventeen year old girlfriend and isn’t that illegal in this state and many others?
Now this young woman has stated just this morning on the Today Show that a relative of hers who is a criminal that lives in Tennessee may be the ‘who’, who took her boyfriend’s child.
Too weird for me, but I do hope it all turns out all right for the missing child’s sake.

Now, I do have the right to revoke my previous statements concerning the Chimpanzee’s owner, the more I hear about her and his relationship with her the more I do believe she is somewhat of a whack-job, I do believe is the proper colloquialism.
Anyway, her neighbor or so-called friend, talk about toxic relationships this fits that bill big time, she is doing better and talk is she may very well be a candidate for a face transplant since she is in the hospital that did the first US one. We can only hope all goes well whatever happens for that poor unfortunate soul.

Back to life goes on in our Charlotte County Florida we had a murder of a sixty-six year old woman, in a very nice fancy neighborhood, and the husband confessed in less than a day!
Wow, that expedites our system, saves us taxpayers a chunk of change.
And our law enforcement agency comes up smelling like a rose.
Unfortunately, the husband might get off due to his wife having had him declared psychotic prior to moving here from Maryland so it’s a matter of record.
Oh well.

On that note I wish you all good night to all and to all count your blessings and I will too.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Some things of interest to anyone I supppose...

We just had a brief sprinkle, not enough to fill our rain barrel, but which is not unheard of in our dry season just not seen that often. Oddly enough we received an email from our county extension who is offering a $40.00 class on how to install a rain barrel, and so I sent them a picture and note of ours, I am so bad, really! I even mentioned our drip system and composter.

The Dow Jones closed at its lowest point since October 9.2002 at 7465.95 down 89.68 points.

Today, we returned the rearview camera we bought on Saturday; since in Florida you cannot obscure your license place with anything and that is where you are supposed to mount it, odd that the company did that and didn’t know. We had purchased it at one of those famous discount chain stores we all know.
And usually they are always extremely busy no matter what and the isles are stuffed to the brim with products, but it appeared quite wide open and under stocked for them, as well as also pretty quiet patron-wise too.
For the heck of it while there in their garden department I thought I might have a look at their broad leaf shade plants that I was interested in, but oddly enough they said that those particular species that I was interested in had froze from our cold snap and they threw them all out. Now when that sort of thing happens at home we trim back the plant and they usually come back, and to me, especially in this economy that sounded just plain wasteful. Well, it’s not my money yet supporting their store that is accept when I make purchases.

75B of the recovery package will be helping out the in jeopardy homeowners who are legitimately in need as stated specifically for prevented foreclosures.

The use of radio frequency technology for killing cancer cells inventor, John Kanzius a retired engineer, a local man from Sanibel Florida, did not live long enough for his idea to help himself, sadly he died from his cancer today. And he was born in 1944 so he was still not that old a man and to me that proves that you are never too young or too old to save the world or at least try to. His legacy will be miraculous for all who will benefit.

Unemployment hit an enormous high today 4.98 million people are out of work, what happened to that .02% person, OMG? Sorry but how can there be a missing .02% I really don’t get these numbers sometimes, do you?

92% of us still pay our mortgages on time, how about that? I suppose that is some good news for a change.

Only 8% are in iffy or dire straights, and we as a nation should be able to change that for the better.

President Obama made his first trip out of the country today to Ottawa Canada actually a tradition for US presidents; he was there to meet with Prime Minister, Steve Harper. They discussed NAFTA, Afghanistan, etc.
He finished off his tour of Canada as a tourist by helping their economy by shopping. But made a big faux pas by mentioning he had never seen a hockey game, not a good thing to say in the land of hockey! Oh well, I suppose he will now have to make sure he sees several.

Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton finished up her Asian tour today in Korea.
And at one point she appeared to be treated as somewhat of a rock star! Good for her, women are great diplomats! She seems to have found her niche.

Good night to all and to all count your blessings and I will too.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Chimps demise is an unfortunate necessity...Facebook draws the line in black and white

The Chimpanzee in Connecticut was not understood by most.
As a child, who didn’t want a monkey or pony as a pet?
I do think most of us little girls did, but we grew up and realized that they took a very big commitment and a lot of room and knowledge to keep.
Sadly as an animal lover of more conventional pets I can almost understand the chimp’s owner’s dilemma, but in the end she did do what any sane person would do in her situation, she tried to stop her loving pet from turning into a wild monster by physically destroying him before he destroyed another human life!
My heart goes out to her and her friend that she tried to save that is now in critical condition.
For 14 years the only problem she had to deal with was the occasional hijinks that her loving son/pet created as a minor problem, her misery is felt all over the country and all our prayers are with her for her dear friend/neighbor’s survival.

Apparently, while I was busy doing other things than placing a Facebook file online nasty displays of our populace were taking place, oooweee showing way too much of just about anything and doing or saying whatever they care to, boy have I been out of the loop.
Anyway, the powers that be are finally getting involved with terms of logging on and what is allowed in that context, but not really, I think I am too confused:

“Logging onto your profile this morning shows the following message:
Over the past few days, we have received a lot of feedback about the new terms we posted two weeks ago. Because of this response, we have decided to return to our previous Terms of Use while we resolve the issues that people have raised. For more information, visit the Facebook Blog.

If you want to share your thoughts on what should be in the new terms, check out our group Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.”

Apparently, the idea of anything goes has gone, or they will own it or not, and now you are fully responsible for what you do, protection is like your medical and financial records. Well, that was as plain as mud?

Anyway, life goes on for the rest of us in a rather mundane way.
Today, I did myself a favor and baked two desserts for the weekend and quickly froze them so I wouldn’t be tempted to eat them, walnut brownies and banana sour cream pound cake, mmm too good!

A few nice things happened today…as promised my cousin chose to make an effort and an offer to get together for the art show on the first of March, and of course I will get back to him with that answer…sure why not?

My other cousin, who I hadn’t heard from in some time who oddly enough I was hoping to hear from, was all right. I had been thinking about him, as I took a short nap today, and there like magic were three emails from him when I awoke, wow talk about psychic…we were.
I told myself when I got up from my nap I should email him and ask how he’s doing, that was so weird, but in a nice way.
He’s and older cousin, actually now that I think of it except for one cousin of my twenty-five first cousins I only have one that is younger.

You see, both my parents came from large families.
And most of my cousins are males.
When I was a teenager it was great we would go out for bowling and pizzas, and I would hide when they tried to pick up girls.
Whatever that relationship may sound like to you; it made it easier for me to talk to boys as a teen, and make most of them my friends before we even thought about dating.
And later on it prepared me for motherhood of sons.

As I have told you previously we are in our dry season, and right now on the periphery of our county we have a few forest fires that have sprung up, but seem to be somewhat under control.
Unfortunately, at one point though a couple of areas had to be evacuated, for us though being near the water that is one of the few things that we have not had to be concerned with that in all of our years in Florida where we have always lived near the water.


So I will bid you good night to all and to all count those blessings.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

787B, Wow it is now the law! More excitement, DTV is now a fact of life here in Florida, as of noon today!

The 787B stimulus/ economic package was signed into law today in Denver Colorado by President Obama, hopefully, marking the beginning of the end of most our nation’s financial woes.

In Florida we are getting 8.1B so the national news stated but our local news said 11B, which is right only time will tell, either will be to shore up our infrastructure, help our healthcare system and pay for unemployment extensions!
That sounds not too bad, we sure can use that help in those areas, but none of that has any direct affect on me and mine, although I am happy for those people in need.

The below site is for us American taxpayers that wish to track where our money is going: http://www.recovery.gov/
Time will tell how this is all going to turn out.

The stock market is nervous and went down again 298 points, guess they are concerned we might not contribute to their ups and downs if our own tax money helps us out.

Our new president today deployed troops and the count was… of 17K additional forces to Afghanistan.

A deadline for the automotive industries is today, GM and Chrysler that is. They just turned in their viability reports today, but will need billions to turn things around, an additional 18B for both they feel.

Today also was the big day that stops our in state reminders about DTV coming and what to do, since officially Florida hit the switch today at noon!
Yea, no more annoying commercials, but now the TV channels are taking phone calls for people who…get this… are surprised when they got home from work today that there TV isn’t working, because of the change over and they supposedly had no clue, huh?
I really think if these people have a tendency to turn on their TV first thing when they arrive home from work I would think… but I could be wrong that they might have an inkling that this big moment was going to happen today!
Don’t you think so too?

My own day was not as exciting as our government’s, but to be honest it was touch and go for most of it.
I started out happy go lucky took my ride for a ride around the neighborhood, which was very pleasant stopping off to bend the ear of my neighbor across the canal all the way till lunch.

Afterwards I got concerned I hadn’t hear from my cousins still so I called again and got miff when I got my female cousin and again she put me off stating that my male cousin would be calling me back and that they were unavailable for the dinner party this Saturday since they already had plans, I said then don’t bother to tell him to call back since that’s all I wanted to know.

Meanwhile, this is how my mind works … were they trying to avoid me for some reason?
So as I do in all these situations I start calling my friends’ bank, and of course no one was home and I got a few machines.
But then I struck pay dirt.
And talked and talked for over an hour about anything else.

Although, I did mention how odd it was that they couldn’t just tell me up front that they were unavailable.

Anyway, my cousin did call back and we cleared the air their other plans had been made months before and my timing was just amiss.

My disappointment was palatable, but he reassured me that we would get together soon.
And I was relieved.
Well, I am getting tired so good night to all and to all count those blessings and I will too.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Planning a social event in the mini size...

How many of you have had to plan a dinner for incoming guests for an evening?
Well, for years as a young wife and mother I used to do it quite often and enjoyed every moment of it. Even on one just such occasion we had over sixty guests, but it was a backyard barbeque in our rather large home on over a half acre of land.
But that was when I was young, gosh I was about thirty-four and healthy!
In those days even when the holidays came around I always took Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law took one as did my sister-in law and we would have about twenty-five to thirty guests all family.
Everyone pitched in and it was wonderful; not rushed very much, relaxed and enjoyable.

At this age and lack of ability we still enjoy having company, but of course we have realized that scaling down is helpful, and this coming Saturday night we have invited just four guests that should be just right for us to manage.
The menu will be delish and simple: barbeques ribs and blackened Tilapia for those who don’t care for ribs, the sides will be sweet potatoes and cole slaw, and dessert will be a banana sour cream pound cake, mmm I can taste it all now.
Of course we will have a little smattering of chips and dips, popcorn, and three different cheeses with crackers while we wait.
Beverages will be simple too soda, wine and beer.
All in all I think it will be just right.

My only concern is the entertainment portion, we do have music a few CDS and a radio, and if anyone cares to we do have cards or we could play charades? Actually I think that would be fun.

My male cousin who is also invited is a magician and perhaps we could ask him to do a few tricks, but I don’t presume that I should take advantage of that.
Aw heck…
But with not too much prodding he is always willing to oblige and so maybe I will.

So far I have heard back from my neighbors across the canal and I am still waiting on my cousins a couple of cities over, about a half hour from here.

We are the youngins in the group; they are all in their sixties while we are just brushing barely the end of our fifties.
They all seem to be quite social and active in spite of their advancing ages, ha!
Isn’t the age of sixty like the new forty?
And fifty is supposed to be like thirty was and so forth…
Gosh I missed that boat, but none of our guests have.
In spite of the usual what ails you they all look remarkably well for their advancing ages; almost too good.
Nah, you can never ever look too good at any age!

Happy relationships maybe, we have all been married forever by today’s standards.
Let’s face it we all have our moments of not agreeing with our spouses, but the only way you would constantly agree is if you had one brain, and none of us have that!
Thank heavens! We all are individual thinkers with magnificent brains of our very own; I suppose that is one of the reasons I like these people.
They have something to offer into any conversation, they are interesting.

And so just talking to one another may be just enough entertainment wise?
We will see…playing by ear does occasionally work.
I am really looking forward to this auspicious occasion.
Here I go again making my own happy…times!

Good night to all and to all count those blessings and I will too.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Has anyone else noticed or am I just the one?

The above question was not rhetorical.
It was an absolute conclusion of an observance that something was and is happening.
That our days are getting longer once again; I know it happens every year at this time.
So I suppose most of us have begun to take it for granted.
Well, just to make my observance clear and to be put on the record of recorded time last night it was still light at six thirty here in Florida.
Now I do know up north it was probably around five thirty that it stayed light until.
Why is that?
Does it have to do with us southerners being closer to the Equator?
Perhaps it does.
Well, spring must be on its way and summer is not that far behind for you northerners and you should be glad to know; to us it just doesn’t have that same affect.
So it really doesn’t make that big a difference to us is what it means.

Ah seasons, you all love them where you are up north, but here it’s just not that big a deal.
I suppose we have been through this before, but let me explain once again: Florida has just two seasons, wet and dry that is it; winter and spring for you are our dry season, summer and fall are our wet season, got it?

In other words this is probably when you should come down here for a visit, March is even better though the weather is pretty near predictable then; 80’s during the day and sixties at night with the humidity still rather low, just perfect!
Now, if I were a tourist that’s when I would come on down.

I think I did a pretty good job for the Chamber of Commerce, and I will now continue on with other topics of interest to me.

Laziness is something some of us strive for, but I prefer to call it balance after one has had a fairly busy day yesterday.
I did do some laundry, feed the outside critters and make two and one half of the meals today; my hubby did the barbequing of the turkey, while on occasion I enjoy the PBS programming of Jacques Pepin’s Fast Food, and the History Detectives, which have been welcomed additions to my viewing pleasures over the last several weeks.
I did begin to read my book today that I took out just yesterday from the library, but guess what?
I really should have known better it was from one of my favorite authors, and yep, you got it I read it already.
I really should have written down all the books that I’ve read, but now there’s no way to do that it would take years to do it now.
At one point I was reading a book a day and so the number of my consumption would be staggering.

What I do find myself doing though is going to the authors’ online sites to try and get ahead of the curve by checking the release dates on new ones that are about to come out then I know for sure that I couldn’t possibly have read them.
I am pretty well caught up on all my faves though.

The other thing that my hubby did today was weed the gardens, trim the bushes and plants. These are a few things that I did enjoy for years but now have become too difficult for me to do.
Aggravating and annoying, as well as frustrating that I cannot do what I used to love.
I’m sure there comes a time in every ones’ life when this happens but it still is bewildering and numbing just the same, realizing that you aren’t who you were.

Some things are just wrong the fact that I can’t reach up to put certain things away, not because I am too short I’ve always been short, but in truth I am even shorter now by three freaking inches, but that’s not it it’s my darn shoulders won’t let me.
They are in sad need of repair.
Standing too long cause the numbies and moving too much causes pain in my hips, thus my new ride, but not for inside, only outside.
I must recline for relief inside.
Looking in the mirror makes me long for an exercise program like I used to have when all parts worked and I could be a gym rat for an hour and a half five to six days a week, but no more the parts are just too worn out and bone on bone squeaks and creaks.

But I have the love of a good man, and a son who says he loves me too, and other family and friends, loving pets, and a cute little gem of a home with all my creature comforts, we can still pay the bills with not too much effort; life is good and so why complain.
And yes, that was rhetorical.

Good night to all and to all as I try to spread these words each and every night some words to live by: be happy and always, always count your blessings and I will too.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Celebration, busy day, and more thanks to you

Well, I would be amiss if I didn't up front mention the fact that I want to thank all my readers since they are totally responsible from getting me out of the Kiddie Pool and now gloriously into the rating readership-wise of an Advance Beginner!
This rank or range is from 500 to 1000 lookers apparently, and we have made that level with 21 page consumers to spare!
Moving on at any pace is more than I can imagine from any of you, but let's put it this way...you did it once and so I do believe you can do it again! And I will politely and obligatory thank you now in advance.

Now I will tell you why we had somewhat of a celebration today, our thirty-eighth anniversary as well as Valentine’s Day.
And I do hope that you had a marvelous day too.
We decided to leave our humble abode by 10 A.M. since I had charted part of the day’s happenings with my hubby’s approval we were going over to our Cultural Center where today there was an Arts and Crafts Fair.
I must admit that it was better than all the previous ones that we had recently attended there.
The quality of the work presented was quite outstanding, and the exhibitors were from as far away as Long Island New York.
And this time we did make a purchase, and very unusually received a gift from a somewhat local craftswoman that did eyelet embroidery on bedding, just beautiful work! For some lovely unknown reason she handed me two of her pillow cases that were marked $18 and said please take this as a gift at first I hesitated, but she heard me mention it was our anniversary and she said that she wanted us to have them, and so I somewhat mystified thanked the woman profusely for her generosity.
Later on we returned to where I had admired scented miniature character dressed Teddy Bears that were scented, one in bubble gum, and the other in an apple scent.
The apple scented one was dressed like a boat captain, while the bubble gum one had a nineteen-twenties striped but in a two piece bathing suit on with a life preserver nattily slanted around his one arm. Both were absolutely adorable and the scents brought back wonderful childhood memories.
These brought my collection of twenty three bears up to twenty-five, which keeps the numbers still uneven, but who cares!
They were on sale, only $10 for the two.

After, the travels through the center on my new ride we went outside and down the path to the library, which is part of the complex, but first made a quick stop at the car to pick up the books we were returning.

We spent another twenty minute or so perusing the book isles trying to find something to bring home to read, and with luck we both succeeded.
I also checked on the one that I requested Patricia Cornwell’s latest release, Scarpetta, and I had moved up the list to number five from previously being 12th, originally I had been number 35.

Next stop was for lunch and so we went to that chain lobster place for lunch; when it is usually not that crowded and it is nearly half the price from the dinner menu.

After there we decided to go to our local mall, which is just in the center of the parking lot where we were.
And so my speedy husband, who had already gotten down the reconstruction of my light weight mobility scooter to a science with just three tries, amazing, redid it for my cruising in the mall.

We were on somewhat of a mission my hubby was looking for a lined or reversible hooded zippered sweatshirt, but no luck, again our weather had turned warm and we were told that they went fast during that last cold snap, of course, this is Florida after all.
Now we saw all bathing suits and beachwear; our warmth was back and so were the wardrobes to go with them.
After we tried all the major stores and a few smaller ones we decided to go over to the big discount one across the highway oddly this is where I remember getting the worn one that my husband was trying to replace.
But alas I went in by myself after he put my chariot back together for my faster than a speeding child with the ability to race toddler tricycles at a constant speed in my blue glider ride and off I went on my mission.
Unfortunately, they too were all gone from their racks and so I decided to bring my husband a consolation prize.
And went over to the camera department and asked if they carried a backup camera for the car, and they said no, but I said my husband saw one here a while ago, and they suggested it might be in automotive and it was.
But the one on display was twice as much as he said that it was and so I became saddened and confused, but the woman behind the counter said that one had a GPS which we didn’t want and that she thought they may have one without in the back, and then she brought one out and it was $50 less than what my husband mentioned, and I said wrap it up I’ll take it!

Unfortunately, though when we got it home my retired law enforcement man noticed that the camera was to be mounted on the license plate which is illegal in this state to obscure your plate with anything, so I guess it will have to go back, and let them know why.

We finished our leftover really homemade pizza, crust and all, for dinner and here I sit telling of our mostly pleasant and fun day.

So now I will say good night to all and to all try to have fun where you can, sometimes the simplest things make one happy or even two.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Fascination, obsession, disaster and downright silliness

Triskaidekaphobia has religious and historical significance, the fear of Friday the 13th. Some Christian traditions have it that at the Last Supper, Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th to sit at the table and that for this reason 13 is considered to carry a curse of sorts. It may have also affected the Vikings—it is believed that Loki in the Norse pantheon was the 13th god. More specifically, Loki was believed to have engineered the murder of Baldr, and was the 13th guest to arrive at the funeral.

In 1881, an influential group of New Yorkers led by U.S. Civil War veteran Captain William Fowler came together to put an end to this and other superstitions. They formed a dinner cabaret club, which they called the Thirteen Club. At the first meeting, on Friday 13 January 1881 at 8:13 p.m., 13 people sat down to dine in room 13 of the venue. The guests walked under a ladder to enter the room and were seated among piles of spilled salt. All of the guests survived.

All the above information is courtesy of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that I love.
And it is paraphrased so you can go there and get the exact content for anything just about.

Horror near Buffalo New York where we had our first deadly plane crash in over two and half years all died including one in the home that was destroyed on the ground; a Continental #3407 originating out of Newark New Jersey crashed killing all 49 onboard, and one man in the home that was hit.
Sadly, one on the plane was a woman, Beverly Eckart, whose husband died in 9/11, was one of the victims.
What a devastating night in the northwestern portion of New York State.

For us our day was much tamer, but not without our own minuscule brand of excitement.
Ever since my mobility scooter was ordered we had been given a tracking number with a major ground delivery service, which allowed us to follow its progress on its journey across the country from its point of origin in Seattle Washington.
It was put in the system on the 5th of the month and we were first told it would take seven working days so I figured next week on the 17th or 18th allowing for the holiday.
But to my pleasant surprise by the 6th the tracking info said it would be here by the 12th, whoopee!
Over the next several days we noticed it had made it all the way to Nashville Tenn., at this point it was close to I75 which would bring it south to here! But delivery would be the thirteenth, yeah?
By the tenth it skipped us and went south of us to Fort Myers and was on the truck by 4:11 A.M. on the wee hours of the morning of the thirteenth to be delivered on, you got it, on the thirteenth!
We are only 45 minutes from Ft. Myers, maybe an hour, and so by one P.M. I was wondering where on earth my new ride could be?
And so I called the toll free number provided by the company, and tried to act cool and said I know this might sound silly to you but I was given the tracking number and it says that my delivery would be today but according to the information on your site it was put on the truck at 4:11 A.M. and has no new info and usually it gives a departure time, and so I was wondering if my package would be coming today?
The pleasant male voice on the other end of the phone said yes it will be there before 5 P.M., I said thank you and hung up, but I made a mental note to call back at about ten to five if it still wasn’t here.
2:18 P.M. I hear a loud motor, a truck outside, and yes it is the ground deliverer, hip, hip hooray! They were here.
The package weighed more than a hundred pounds but the delivery man stood with it in his arms when I said that the one side was drooping I hope it isn’t broken?
He said if it is just call right away and they will pick it up, I said OK not too sure, and then asked don’t I have to sign something?
He said just your first initial and your last name and so I did as he finally put the heavy package down for me to sign, and then with all the niceness of any civilized person, he asked, where would you like me to put it?
I showed him and thanked him.
My husband kept our canine son outside while this went on; otherwise he gets quite excited with company, any company.

As soon as hubby came in he tore into the box and I took the battery to charge it up the directions said a minimum of three to five hours, we both took it for a test drive before dinner, it was a smooth mover.

And here I am now writing about my day. Tomorrow who knows where we may go…

Good night to all and to all get moving too.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

February is an interesting month for us...

Of course we all know that it is Groundhog Day on the 2nd and Black History Month all month long, Valentine's Day on the 14th and Presidents' Day whenever it falls. Actually, today would have been Abraham Lincoln's birthday his two hundredth and George Washington's is in reality on February 22nd.
But for us it is even more personal.
For us it is a happy and sad and mournful month for us.
We have a son that was born thirty-three years ago yesterday after only four hours and twenty minutes of labor at 5:05 A.M. also on a Wednesday who we do love very much but beyond any right or reasoning has chosen to be estranged from us, not our decision, but his, and right now none of our family has had any contact with him or even know his phone number or his address, and this makes me so very, very sad as his mother.
Saturday, is the holiday for lovers and our 38th anniversary, yes we were married February 14th 1971, wow how time flies.
And Sunday the day after is the mournful day of another anniversary the day my Mother passed away in 1982, my goodness that’s twenty seven years ago!
But on Monday Presidents’ Day is my husband brother’s birthday, on the 22nd of this month would have been my Mother’s birthday, but now our nephew has that date and so that explains our interesting February.

I’m sure many can relate to those previous paragraphs we have all had dates that mean so much more to us than just another day.
Perhaps that is why I discussed anything but my memories yesterday, an avoidance of not being able to wish my child a happy birthday, which fills my heart with misery just thinking about it.

Now why should I have discussed readers and the numbers of who those people might be was definitely another way to circumvent my issues, which is why I started this Blog to begin with, to have a venue to say what was on my mind.
Although, it is a pleasant thought to know that I have somewhat of a following I would be lying if I didn’t admit to that.

Children are a joy and a trying part of ones life, but worth all that it entails to make them grown into independent capable adult people.
But when your efforts for some unknown reason cause one of your only two children to not love you or want any part of you that can only be compared to a death or at the very least a broken heart.

Sadly, the one son that has been there for us always at times I think feels slighted since I don’t think I have ever ended a conversation without mentioning or asking if he heard from his brother.
They had been close, but now for their own reasons are not.
And so they have no real connection either, which creates more sadness in me.
Everyone needs some family if for no other reason than to know who you really are and to have that unconditional love, which I feel equally for my children, men.
No one tells you when you’re expecting that the next forever time will be in any certain way, but we all hope and pray that our healthy babies will be brilliant, handsome or beautiful, happy, and succeed in whatever they choose to do with their lives.
But not once did I ever think I would lose the love of one of mine.
I am crying now since this is just too much for me to continue…
But as I tell all of you count your blessings and that’s what I will do too.

Good night to all and to all kiss those babies!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Reassuring to see my numbers going up...

In just about four days or so my viewing numbers have gone up nearly 100 points, and I just want to say thanks to whomever out there is responsible for that fact.

Now if we can continue this progress to make it significant to…oh I don’t know… other Bloggers, the media, or a publishing house.
Ooops there I go again with my pie in the sky dreams!

My only hopes and dreams are no different than anyone else’s to have peace of mind with a home without concern of not being able to pay the freight, so to speak, and to be able to pay any bills that might go berserk with increases, and to have some health insurance too would be nice.

I know we all can sign on to that laundry list for needs.
Notice I didn’t say desires since none of those things are the least bit frivolous. Peace of mind financially is priceless, but not more than knowing that you’re healthy and will be for eternity, ha, no one is, we are all mortal and terminal, surprise!

Realistically when we all eventually go to that great big no more worries no more cares place in the heavens the authorities will have to write something on that death certificate.
I think it’s the law or something, of course it is!
Old and decrepit is not enough for an answer or just that your parts all wore out, nope they need more.
One of the most popular so I’ve heard to fill that all important box opening is that their heart just gave out.
But that sounds like they stopped loving everybody and I really don’t think they mean that, do you?

Originality should go out with you, don’t you think since all those years you spent on the earth you were so unique, and so different from everyone else that there was no one at all on the planet just like you, even if you were a twin or multiple birth sibling, you were you and no one else is or ever would be just like you.

And so that alone should allow you or I should say us to decide how and what causes us to take that last breath and be curd for worms or float our souls to the great beyond or reincarnate to another life form, doesn’t it only seem fair?

So from now on when all those hospitals that we occasionally use ask us to sign those DNR orders, which they prefer to call Living Wills, we should request from those same people the form on how we want them to state the way we left this earth.
Floating on a cloud out of town, or taking the next wave to the heavenly bodies, or cheating it all and deciding to stay, that would cause quite a stir I am sure, ha!
But why not go out with a bang or some other unconventional idea of what the masses presume to be the only way.
As we all know death is just a part of life.
So since we all know that some how we are going to do it why not make it fun, or just plain funny.
Pain is a pain who doesn’t logically know that and to me that is so very, very sad, but we also know that they make happy drugs to make the pain go away and they go along with that territory.
Get ‘um take ‘um and feel the way you want to I say!
But only if you know that the inevitable is banging on your door that is, otherwise, no drugs are better for you but of course!

This topic is due to the conversation I had with my eldest son of thirty-six when I was trying to explain what to do if we were gone.
He took the offensive threatening to hang up, saying he didn’t want us talking about death.
Well, I can relate to his sentiments when my parents tried to tell me what to do in the event of their deaths I told them no, you’re not going anywhere!
As I said before my Mom died when I was 31 and Dad died when I was 35, and so you see my logic in finally trying to discuss this with our eldest child.
Death is just the end of what our children think of us being immortal, sad but true we all believe that our parents will be there forever, but it’s not true.

Good night to all and to all count your blessings each and every day since taking inventory of the positives in life is what makes us realize we are luckier than we sometimes think we know.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Senate passed the stimulus bill while...

President Obama was at the Town Hall meeting at the Harborside Events Center in Fort Myers when he was handed a note stating that his 830+B Bill had passed.
But the Treasury bill tanked and caused the stock market to plummet almost 382 points.


He was unscripted and candid with his answers to the questions of the alternating girl/ boy audience members asking every thing from all topics from education, jobs, foreclosures and health care.
Julio Astewega, the last to ask the questions about benefits at a job working for McDonalds for 4 and half years while a communications student at Edison State College is now getting his more than fifteen minutes of fame by being offered a sports casting job from the Fort Myers Miracle baseball team and also was interviewed on CNN.
The most memorable though would be the older woman who has been homeless for the last several years after she lost her job and could not find another, Henrietta Hughes broke all our hearts and brought me to tears when she stated that she is living in her car and would only want a place with a kitchen and a bathroom to use whenever she needed them instead of having to use the parks; and later on was offered a rent free home from a local political leader for as long as she wants.

I am a true believer in the squeaky wheel system if you don’t speak up who would know you need something, hurray for Julio and Henrietta!

All in all, the trip to Southwest Florida for our new President Obama was just the right thing for a down trodden area where its people were becoming less than hopeful.
President Obama singlehandedly regained the faith of the people with his positive decisive answers and hopeful responses, at times humorous with saying that the bill is in Washington D.C. so who knows what will happen to all who were there and the many who watched at home.

But he didn’t promise a tomorrow conclusion to all their problems, no, he was honest, and reminded them that we didn’t get into this mess over night and so it will take a while to turn it around, but he felt with his chosen economic advisers we could all do it.

Well, all I can say is that this is way too big a problem to solve for one person, and I do hope that the new administration is given the wiggle room to stretch their wings to accomplish what it takes to get the job done right.
This is uncharted territory according to all those think tank brains.
Even though everyone keeps trying to compare it to our Great Depression they’re some similarities but way too many differences to know how to handle it, in other words no one has a blue print or historical basis for knowing exactly what it takes to change things in this particular situation.

If anyone believes in anything higher than themselves may I suggest that they pray to whoever that might be; it couldn’t hurt?

With that additional weight on your plate I will bid you good night to all and to all ...maybe we should just clap our hands like we did for Tinkerbelle to make sure we do believe it will get better.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Tweeking the project decorating according to...

Logically when one decides to do anything they would plan, think ahead of time on what, how, and when they will do it.
And we are no different, but some times you must improvise when your original ideas take a turn for the worse or not possible, but you still have the will and some way to do them.
So after the work area was made ready for my stencil project with plastic covering our out-door table, paints assembled and chosen, brushes lined up, containers for mixing colors and water for the brush cleaning, masking tape used to tape down my first stencil, my ivy chain. I began my work, and noticed immediately that the heavy plastic stencil was not going to lie flat at all, which would most definitely create a wicking of the acrylic paint past the actual stencil, and at that moment I knew all bets were off! I almost thought that the white paint plain Jane look might be the one to go for, but alas I am me and that was not my style at all.
And so I took a leap of faith that is in me, to paint a vine free-hand and some-what abstract, and that is definitely more my style!
Now the guest-room has a garden flavor, which is what I was going for.
When it came to doing my other stencil I didn’t even bother since they were both made of the same material.
Instead I found a few stamps mixed amongst my paints’ baggie and they were perfect two seashells and a fish, and that is how my stamped motif was incarnated.
Choosing the proper color actually got narrowed down by which paint I had the most of and that just happened to be an antique gold.
Most of the hanging photos in our bedroom have that color used in the frames, which I did a while back to give them uniformity.
Over the weekend on one of those how to shows that I love they showed a beautiful seashell with just one stripe of silver added to it at the rim, and it was selling for $45, and so I got the timing right on glitz again, and I thought why not?

We even re-arranged the guest-room to a more roomy appeal set up and moved the small dresser where I could see right away it needed a vase and mirror.
Fortunately, I had just looked at my floral Limoges vase over the weekend and wonder where it would look good, and there it was still in my china cabinet needing a new home and I also took some silk flowers from other arrangements around the house and it was just the right touch.
I even found our old, over twenty five years old mirror in-cased in a burnt rattan frame, which after all these years I decided to paint white to match the white dresser.
I know, sacrilege you say, well, actually it was doing nothing sitting on dusty shelf in the garage and I made it pretty and useful again, so there.

All in all it was a tangible reassuring effective day of pleasure and accomplishment.

Good night to all and to all go do something that makes you feel good about you!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Finishing touches

My husband started a few smaller projects around the house today.
The trimming out of the two bedrooms’ windows with rustic 1" by 4” wooden pine trim and the exterior garage doors on our courtyard side with 1" by 4" trim too.
My husband measured twice and cut once for both projects but his is completed while mine is still on hold until the white double undercoats dry before my stenciling can begin.
The trimmed out garage side doors came out great since all screw holes had been counter sunk and filled with putty and then painted over, just the right finish to that side.

My job on the projects will begin tomorrow, and I am sure glad that my husband showed me the extra white paint that we still have left in the gallon. We have just enough in case I oops or don’t like the effect.
Only time will tell. The great thing about this project is that it’s not written in stone type of commitment.

Decorating is a fun thing and every-time we moved I have had that privilege of creating whatever I wanted for our ambiance.
And I have with no matter how much money we have had, which has been from high upper middle class income to nearly a poverty level I have always tried to make our home suit our needs with or without children, but always with pets, and to also create a welcoming atmosphere.
I did have a course on interior design while in college, but it was not my major, retail business really was.
Somehow we covered so many other aspects in so many fields from History of Art which I did ace, by the way, as well as journalism that I loved even psychology and business law and business math; actually all that has to do with the marketing of products when I think about it.

So I did learn about textiles and to appreciate art and all that I suppose has been helpful over the years. You would think that I would have more confidence in my own design judgment.
After all I came up with designs for our homes and additions and remodeling all these years along with my hubby who had eight years of drafting, which helps to make sense of my concepts, since he has drawn blueprints that many a building department has approved.

I guess it is like all new things in life one must test the waters.
Trying to think out of the box or just copying someone else’s idea because you found it visually appealing gives legs to your reasoning for going through with any so-called lame ideas, but they are yours so they are not lame by any means they are brilliant!
And so tomorrow I will tackle a project that I have never done before stenciling a motif on a wooden border.
But I have painted before I even made a mural called, River Life on the side of our shed. People loved it and commented often on it.
And I decorated with acrylics our mailbox and our outdoor gazebo table that were also considered pretty at that time.
The trend became popular by me painting our mailbox; after mine was done I noticed more on a daily basis popping up in the neighborhood, and so I had started something.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery, isn’t it?
So here I go again into unknown territory, at a bargain price of decorating for the fun of it!
It’s rather exciting, and I do have nearly a gallon of white-out, so to speak, to fix it if it doesn’t work out…

On that note I will bid you good night to all and to all do something small that gets you out of your comfort zone, and that is not illegal!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

We have the distinction of being one of the ...

Southwest Florida, namely Lee County just south of here, has one of the highest unemployment numbers in the country, which is just over 10%.
And they also have the dishonor of having one of the most foreclosure rates in the US too, Lehigh, which is an unincorporated area east of Fort Myers has that claim to infamous. Consequently, that is where our new President Obama will be visiting on Tuesday.

Being distinctive is something that all states strive for, but these negative statistics are not helpful.
Honesty is wonderful and we should always try to be upfront and open and truthful, but we must tell the rest of the country and world about our attributes even more so now than ever before.
We need people of all interests and abilities to relocate here, as well as a continuing tourist base.
What would be wonderful is to have companies that could provide jobs and then we would have an influx of newcomers to our shores. Just think what we have to offer them on their days off, living here in paradise.

We retirees have no difficulties with the lack of jobs here, but in order to encourage a younger demographic we must have jobs for them to come to, and to create a base of needs for our stores that have closed to reopen.
And I too believe it must start with the obvious of shoring up our infrastructure which is in dire need of repairs.
That alone could keep many employed for years and years to come.
Our local bridges and roadways need to be cared for yesterday.
Not unlike the rest of our country we must have an open mind about how the new jobs get done.
Retraining people from other fields is another job creation for those instructors, one position will make way for another, and another and so on.

I do understand that the medical field is wide open for needing people, and that is an area near and dear to me being on the receiving end.
Hopefully with the advent of more people in all aspects of those careers we will have something to be modeled after and useful for all in reciprocal need.
All any of this takes is imagination without limits.
We as a nation are only rationed by our own negativity of not pushing ourselves to our full potential.
Just like an infant whose new motherhood has fears of allowing the growth of that child to expand by exploring his or hers surroundings, with concern for well being, but not realizing that allowing the adventurousness is part of the developmental process has a positive for expansion of ones learning curve, and more times than not causes intellect to surpass others of the same age.
Letting go of old ways of doing things is what we as a nation have got to learn to do, because it simply just didn’t work.

I do realize how scary and unsure these next few years will be, but as a country we are still taking baby-steps compared to the rest of the world.
We have come so far, but in recent years have backslidden, and we must regain our turf and be brave and try new and different ways to accomplish what we need to do to regain our footing.
And I truly believe we as a united front will be able to do it!

And so good night to all and to all have an open heart and mind and we will be strong and whole again as one nation and one world.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Last night I noticed something for the first time...

As a member of Google's Blogger site they keep track of how many people surf your site at any given time.
And being as astute as I am, I mention this with tongue in cheek I just noticed that they rate your hits too, all new to me as of last night, wow talk about slow uptake.
Pitifully, I must admit that I am considered to be still in their kiddie pool of less than five hundred hits for this year so far, actually only 225 as of this moment, which works out to 45 per week sadly.

I wonder if there is anyway to get my numbers up.
Everyone loves to be popular, and the last time I can remember feeling that liked was when I was seventeen years old and a caravan of admirers, which today would be considered the sixties version of the ‘Geek Squad or nerds’ chauffeured me to my job at the mall just after they put my name in for Campus Queen in the fall of my senior year of high school. They pulled up right in front and opened the car door and ushered me to the front door of the store and opened that door too, boy what gentlemen. To say the least it was extremely memorable, and I always wondered what happened to those less than popular but very bright young men, my doters, wow did I feel like I already won. I bet they are all running some science operations or work for NASA or run some country other than ours, who knows. But in actuality the title of Campus Queen eventually went to a voluptuous beauty with brains. I had neither at the time; I suppose I was kinda cute but never ever voluptuous, and never ever considered brainy, but not dumb either. All and all we had a pretty smart class.

Back to trying to raise my readership, anyone want to let me know that you are reading this? So far I have had no takers, but some how seeing those numbers are reassuring.
I would be willing to research topics of interest to kowtow to my public, just kidding too much pressure and too many other people’s opinions. If you have been reading this you know that I wouldn’t want that kind of stress…NO ONE WOULD!
Although, everyone knows that us woman are notorious people pleasers even to the detriment to loosing ourselves at times.
I think my biggest change came to me not when I physically changed, physiological, but when I realized as an adult at fifty years old that now I only need to please me, after years of trying to make nice, nice with family
and friends.
I selfishly took on being selfish and desperately decided that to make me happy required me to learn how to say no.
Not to say that I stopped helping others all together, but I realized the world would not come to a crashing halt if I decided it was a no go for me to be involved too.

It’s so refreshing to be able to be happy with those decisions, and relieved.
You see being in management all those years I had and probably still do have a type “A” personality, with that an attitude that goes along with that is if you don’t do it, it won’t get done. Guess what… it all got done, even with me no longer doing it.

No one is irreplaceable in business or non-profit, only in your family.
Priorities have to be realized at every age or decade, and so every ten years or sooner one should reevaluate what’s important to you, and you do know which changes need to be met.

Be harsh with ones self and cut back where necessary in things that cause misery or stress and indulge abundantly without too many restraints yourself where you feel happiness will be prevalent.

Some things in life we have no control over, most that would be true, but what we can control is our own happiness, and by the nature of us human beasts we must err on the side of joy and peace in ones life.

On that note I will say good night to all and to all thanks for being there even though I just found out.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Surfing for pleasure or for need

Let's examine the word pleasure, which has a giddy naughty feel to it, doesn’t it?
The definition below is thanks to Merriam Webster Online Dictionary:
Main Entry: 1plea•sure
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English plesure, alteration of plesir, from Anglo-French plaisir, from plaisir to please
Date: 14th century
1: DESIRE , INCLINATION wait upon his pleasure — Shakespeare2: a state of gratification3 a: sensual gratification b: frivolous amusement4: a source of delight or joy

Now the word need, let’s examine that it appears to be much more mundane and gives a necessity to our wants.
Main Entry: 1need
Pronunciation: \ˈnēd\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English ned, from Old English nīed, nēd; akin to Old High German nōt distress, need, Old Prussian nautin need
Date: before 12th century
1: necessary duty: OBLIGATION2 a: a lack of something requisite, desirable, or useful b: a physiological or psychological requirement for the well-being of an organism3: a condition requiring supply or relief4: lack of the means of subsistence: POVERTY

So as my title tonight states surfing that is on the net for pleasure or need, which is
two different reasons.

Oddly enough with all the research I self impose on me I found when I truly needed to find something I took the old fashioned route and used the phone, a cell phone, but still a phone, and a few emails as well.

Over the last several days I had been trying to locate a fairly new light-weight nominally price mobility scooter since I would not be able to have any insurance pay for it and the cost would be totally an out of pocket expense on us.

And so with after two days of spending many non productive hours on the phone with different non-profit organizations I decided to email some family and friends, and our eldest son came through. He called with a site he found for a new one two hundred dollars less than the reconditioned one the local dealer offered and all this with free shipping and a three years warranty, and just the right size; small enough to not need a lift but to be able to be broken down small enough and light enough to fit in our car and to be quickly reassembled, consequently a sale was made! It should be arriving in 7 business days, which I figure to be from tomorrow since it was late afternoon here when decided on and that should make it the 16th or 17th of this month.

Now how many people do you know search online for just the joy of looking at different sites?

Surfing or searching for me has been like being a tumbleweed on a desert since I tend to travel on from whence I came. One interest moves me on to another and another and another so in reality I could also liken it to my chocoholic desires, and so I guess my surfing is more for pleasure than a true need, and mostly for the heck of it.

As I grow older I find that I don’t know as much as I thought I did and so learning is a daily desire.
My willingness to accept that has taken some time, but I do know that I must.

But when a family member or friend asks for information I am more than willing to try and help and find what they need online for them and I do this with much joy in my heart, and so I do guess I surf for pleasure as well as need.

With that bright note I will bid you good night to all and to all the world is your oyster and you must find the pearl!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

The BIG FREEZE is coming to Southwest Florida etc.

We are in for it!
Freeze watches and warnings are all over the area actually the state of Florida, hard freeze warnings are in affect and are considered when temperatures go below freezing for several hours and are a threat to crops.
And so we have been warned that tonight will be our coldest night in many, many years, lows will be in the mid thirties near the coast, that’s where we are, but inland will be in the high twenties, where most of our state crops are grown, brrr.

Below is some information from a medical dictionary MEDLINE that I thought would help me understand these particular words and their meaning:

Main Entry: stable
Pronunciation: st -b l
Function: adjective
Inflected Form: sta•bler
1: not changing or fluctuating the patient's condition was listed as stable
2: not subject to insecurity or emotional illness a stable personality
3 a: not readily altering in chemical makeup or physical state stable emulsions b: not spontaneously radioactive a stable isotope

Main Entry: re•mis•sion
Pronunciation: ri- mish- n
Function: noun
: a state or period during which the symptoms of a disease are abated cancer in remission after treatment compare ARREST, CURE 1, INTERMISSION

I looked them up to try and understand what exactly I was told way back in October of 2006 when I had my last MRI on October the 13th a Friday, oddly enough, about my MS being stable. If you recall that was the date that my niece unbeknownst to me had passed away from colon cancer.
Stable does not mean cured or being in remission it does means it did not change from what it was symptom wise.
The way I interpreted it is as meaning that all the things going on would stick with me until they changed either for the better or for the worst.
In other words the annoying symptoms I have would not go away in the near future or necessarily become more so.
Well, that’s clear cut.
Not really, anyway, my strange ill affects have become a part of me, and that’s not to say in a good way.
But this is my venue for complaining and I decided that this month I would try not to, so again I caught myself and I am done.
So it is with restraint that I move on…

News: today the congress has voted to postpone the change over from analogue to digital TV to June 12.2009, but Florida will be changing over on the 17th of this month anyway.
A local Fort Myers station owner’s reasoning is that their will always be procrastinators no matter when the change over is made and that 97% of our state is prepared for the new digital age.
Well, that does make sense. I’m sold and ready; and so go for it I say!

Silly us on our outing we forgot a handful of things so we will be going again with a list not just our acute memories, fortunately nothing was that dire in need so it can wait till even next week.

Goodnight to all and to all keep questioning things. If you are on the net like I imagine you are if you are reading this, just search for your interests and ideas and whatever you want to know, but check your info with more than one site to make sure that it is legit.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Journey of one day takes forever it seems at times

Sorry about the title, but tonight I feel a little Zen.

“Zen emphasizes experiential wisdom—particularly as realized in the form of meditation known as zazen—in the attainment of awakening, often simply called the path of enlightenment. As such, it de-emphasizes both theoretical knowledge and the study of religious texts in favor of direct, experiential realization through meditation and dharma practice.” Thanks to Wikipedia’s information for this bite. But after looking more closely at what the definition of Zen is I guess I practice it more often than I thought.

We, that is my hubby and me went on an errands run today, and did some investigating too.
And our first stop, which was on our way to our final destination we checked out the mobility scooters at our local medical supply store, my husband went in and I waited in the car.
After he determined that the price wasn’t right for us we moved on, even with a little wheeling and dealing the only change in price was on a nice used model for 100bucks less, well, we have to think about it.
Next stop was on to try and find a new groomer for our loving canine pal, Skipper, the one he’s been going to since a pup last time did his Bichon locks in August when they sheared him so close that it wasn’t until just recently that you could tell that he is a Bichon Frise, really!
So this is thus our reasoning for us looking for a new groomer who has more patience with trying to get the few knots out of his lamb like fluffy hair, this groomer though was farther away than our around the corner place and also ten dollars more plus they said they would shear him when they find knots too, why is that?
And so we are consequently still looking.

Then we went off to our main destination the warehouse store.
At ours we usually find coffee for four dollars less than at the grocery and gas at times at their pumps can be as much as twenty cents a gallon cheaper, but today it was 2 cent more, fortunately we didn't need any.
Also we buy dry good like paper goods for much less and produce like bananas at 49 cents a pound while the grocery sells them for 65 cents a pound.
But they also have excellent prices on fish: salmon, tilapia and shrimp at hard not to buy at their prices.
We even bought Baby Back Ribs reasonably for the first time this year; we usually buy them once or twice a year. They are great, slow cooked on the grill, but when this winter spurt goes away is when we will invite those neighbors back for a great meal. Brrr it was the sixties today, now it’s down to 58!

Maybe we could stop eating so well and save up for the scooter or we could eat less well and save up for the scooter or make a better deal for the scooter? Who knows, we will see?

Any-who, we did something that commercials have been not so quietly been hawking at us and are responsible for, we drove through a burger drive-thru something we rarely if ever do, but we did because they advertised so much about this new burger called an ‘Angry” that was suppose to be hot, sweet and spicy, and it was, but also a $1.20 more than their other similar monster heart attack on a bun choices so now that we have tried the bombarded with brainwashing specimen we are all done and don’t feel the need to repeat the action again. To be honest it was quite tasty, but also not something anyone should eat on a regular basis, once a year perhaps, maybe every six months but that’s the limit.

Today was the fiftieth anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and his band, his life was immortalized in the song, American Pie, for those of you who do not remember or are too young to.

Good night to all and yes go and try something new, you know all things in moderation are good for you, so be a little adventurous be it food, life or whatever try it, you may like it.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Groundhog Day again...Groundhog Day again...Groundhog Day again...

And Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and so we are all in for six more weeks of winter.
That actually means you northerners; not us here because we here in Florida in reality have mini winter breaks in between our year round summer weather.
Sorry to say, but true.
And this winter that means yours, it does seem that we have had more than is usual for us.
Really don’t know what to make of that, oh well perhaps it will be explained at a later date, because I really didn’t sign on for winter in Florida, no way, no day, Hah on me!

Some game last night, huh? Go those Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-23, so close, yeah! Excitement went down to the last 45 seconds, just like a made for TV production; and those players looked like the movie kind from central casting, did they seem leaner to you than the previous years ones?
Guess they are all off those steroids, thank heavens!
They really did look healthy slim.
Those commercials were also up to par, but it is hard to believe how their costs have gone all the way up to 3M for a 30 second spot.
When I worked promotion way back in the early nineties we were amazed at a 250K price tag on those thirty seconds.
I suppose just like everything else that had to go up too.
You would almost think that with the way the economy is most would share the thirty seconds, like 15 seconds for Coke and 15 seconds for Pepsi that way they would only have 1.5M bill?
Nah, that’s too much to ask of any product war besides they have been at each longer than most political disputes. Just like Mickey D’s and Burger King I suspect that they wouldn’t know how to share a times spot either.
Better they waste all that money on advertising so that they have to raise the price for us so that we could no longer be able to afford their products; it is a domino theory, you know?
I know, I know those commercials keep free TV free, huh, what's free TV?
Who said that?
Nothing’s for free.
Even if you don’t pay for cable or satellite you more than likely bought antennae, paid for the TV, and also the daily use of electricity to run it, so what’s free?
No people of River City nothing is free here or anywhere we all pay in the long run, as we all know the only sure things in life are: death and taxes.

And we pay taxes to everyone; each and every thing you buy has tax on it including your electric bill just look at it, and so I rest my case.

So please do not despair since even Macy’s is cutting 7K jobs nationally!
They all said it would get worse before it got better and they were right for once…but when is the BETTER COMING people?
We need some light on our horizons.

Sadly I bid you good night to all and to all I wish you a good one.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Vegetating for the free spirits who love to just mellow out

I was born at a great time in our history.
Just in time for my elementary school to be built for me to go to kindergarten back in 1955, my Junior high was built for my entrée into it for 1962 and the 7th grade, and the high school addition was just in time for that year too of 1965 my 10th grade, and to see the space program which began in 1957 and was even lucky enough to see our astronauts land on the moon in 1969. Televisions were in every home before the end of the decade. We got to see some of our greatest history making people ever, and I was lucky enough to be after the Big War of World War Two, since I was a post WWII baby, a baby boomer; I was born on July 1.1950.
Many famous people have been born on this date, Princess Diana, but in 1961, Corporal Klinger of MASH fame, and one of the Ghost Busters guys to name a few. Even my cousin in Virginia was born on the exact same day and year. I suppose that makes it a real special day to many. Did you also know that it is Canada’s Day too?

The reasons I like when I was born is because we saw so much happening in the Age of Aquarius, which was also the age of patience and understanding, no, that’s wrong we were very inpatient but we did try to be understanding and tolerance for the races were born and begun during this era.
We spoke out for or against things we truly believed in more than any other generation before or since, the non apathetic generation.
The Beatles came to the states when I was only 14, back in 1964, and I was able to appreciate the full affect of them that night they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, and I was ‘Just 17’, when they wrote that one too, so I was just right.
The Beach Boys were in their heyday and so were Simon and Garfunkel who were telling us as it was then.

Of course they were all those historic horrors too of the Kennedy assassination which was televised, Bobby’s and The Reverend Martin Luther King’s also.
But we fought for equality for people and to stop an unjust war.
We shouted, “Make Love Not War!”
We knew where we stood and we stood together, and got things done, by marches or joining the Peace Corp or even just being squeaky wheels with ‘sit ins’.
Woodstock was a happening that I unfortunately missed since I was on a European College tour that August of 1969.
Its infamous historic etchings were profoundly written about and abundantly shared by others on my return to the states, and yes it was really something so I’ve been told.

Being only slightly past, well nearly nine years, past a half century it amazes me of all the things that I have already seen and been a part of.
And I am sure if we all take the time to delve into and access those recent memories that have been stored in that computer scanner of ours, our brains we could all commiserate that wow what a time it has been for us all.
Looking back helps to put things in perspective when times seem difficult or even tough today.
I suppose our own histories are the most significant in how we handle things in life; if you were a survivor before you will be once again just draw on that when you need to.
Good night to all and you too should kick back and get mellow once the Super Bowl has finished and reflect on your own history and how it was then and how it is now and how to do what you got to do for you to get it done.

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...