searching and pondering

Just a Random Thought

2013-06-18T07:48:00.002-04:00

I am still overwhelmed with all the news, none of which is fit to print. I am beginning to lose confidence in the justice system. Oh. I know. There always has been doubt that we are treated equally under the law but never has it been so obvious that who you know and who you are is more important than what you did. I heard an ad for a job the other day. It was a radio ad for a job in the public sector of course. That seems to be the only area hiring these days. It finished with a long list of who they don't discriminate against which left me wondering if any group not included on the list is fair game. Evidently it is ok to discriminate against certain groups since if it weren't then the ad would have closed with the statement that they don't discriminate against anyone. Am I wrong on that?

More searching and pondering to follow. Meanwhile, a picture to clear my palate.

When I can get to this in a short walk......life gets better. God is on His throne and all is well.

Boiling Frogs

2013-06-09T09:46:00.001-04:00

The news is wearing on me. How much more can this administration get away with? I'm afraid of the answer. I think they are using the boiling frog method of molding us. Put the frog in tepid water and turn up the heat so gradually the frog never realizes until too late that he has been boiled.

Drip drip drip. The water keeps being added to the pot and the temperature keeps building and we keep smiling and nodding and calling those who think there's something going on conspiracy freaks.

God Help Us!

And who are the terrorists Now?

Ah Spring!

2013-05-31T07:48:00.002-04:00

Wow. I've been gone for quite some time. No particular reason, just life and the minutiae it throws around and piles up and then, said minutiae becomes the proverbial mole hill and we all know what happens next. Presently I'm on top of that mountain, gasping for air since it's thin up here, planning my descent. Did I ever mention that fear of heights that I nurture?

Oh bother! The great news is that we have finally enjoyed a warm Spring day. Yesterday was warm and sunny and perfect. Today will of course be too warm and humid and hazy. Let me show you yesterday.

Isn't Spring grand?

I'll be back with the hot humid and hazy report later. Pictures of people sitting in front of fans and such to follow.

Had to do it

2013-04-20T08:33:00.003-04:00

Springing along

2013-03-18T11:17:00.000-04:00

I have to get this going before tomorrow since we are expecting more snow and rain and wind and grey. Sit down for this news. Two days, I said two days of sun have just occurred and this is the third in a row. Granted it's only 29 degrees but sun? Give me the sun and I can overlook that thermometer. On my morning walk with the pooch, perhaps I should say on my morning stop and start and stop and sniff and stop and stroll but I digress, on that walk I saw cardinals flying about (thought they were all in Rome) and buds on some of the shrubbery. Came home to this

Yes. Crocii around my tree - yellow purple and white although they really don't show up very well. Can it be that Spring is trying to ...spring that is. One can hope.

Hope you are not about to be snowed upon. Hope it really will turn into rain as they are predicting and by Wednesday my yard will look like this again but more blooms will have erupted.

Happy Spring to all.

Waiting for Spring

2013-02-27T11:08:00.003-05:00

Wow! I have been gone a long time. Here it is the end of February, and I say Thank God for that. February has never been a favorite of mine for reasons I will share one day. Where have I been and what has been happening? Well, you may not as those questions but, no matter, I am answering.

December was a crazed blur as I'm sure yours was as well. My niece and her husband and her parents bought a home together, in-law space and all, and they moved in and wanted to have Christmas there. Prior to Christmas and after Thanksgiving we attended a baby shower for her in the new home. That was lovely and busy to say the least. Christmas was the usual but since no celebration was occurring here and we were having some rooms painted right after the holidays I was off the hook as far as decorating was concerned. We did, however, have to take down pictures and pack up knick knacks and generally get ready for the painters.

The day before Christmas Eve my husband was stricken with whatever the virus of the day was. He ran a high temperature and had a sore throat and chills and headache and whatever else could be part of the nastiness of the season. He was to be the cook at our niece's but alas that was not to be. I had to pack up the car and deliver the pariphernalia necessary for the event as well as the biggest standing prime rib known to man. My poor brother in law was the designated chef. On the morning of Christmas Eve I took the hubster to an urgent care clinic where they pronounced him ill indeed and sent him home with antibiotics. At that point his malaise had evolved into bronchitis.

My nephew was staying with us for the holidays and I had to leave my man alone so that I could take my nephew to the party house. My husband took several dozen phone calls from his brother as the meal progressed. The evening was a huge success and my nephew and I arrived home with what seemed like more food than we sat down to. Poor hubby was without appetite and to this day is upset that he never got to taste the beef or any of the other goodies we brough home to him.

The illness stuck around through the New Year so we celebrated with hot tea and early to bed. He really didn't feel much better until a full two weeks or more had passed. Then we were hit with the painters and the recovery from that which we are still slowly going through. We hate to hang pictures on such nice new pristine walls.

We have also had snow and when the snow abates we have rain. Sigh. Here is my picnic table waiting for Spring. I am too.

A Thanksgiving to be Grateful For

2012-12-03T11:36:00.002-05:00

Oh Dear! I didn't take pictures for the Thanksgiving festival.. our oven wouldn't start. Eleven people coming, a 20 pound turkey, people bringing side dishes that need to cook in the oven. Just OMG!! Why on earth did I forget to take pictures????

Fortunately friends were dining away and had an empty kitchen we borrowed. We should have borrowed the whole house but we only used the oven. Unfortunately they live a 10 minute drive away so much back and forthing was done. We also used the gas grill to cook some of the side dishes and believe you me much wine was poured.

After all that, we sat down to eat on time for the first time in our lives. How did that happen? I guess it's because I didn't take pictures. Who knew that delayed everything so?

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, not a Harvest Holiday or whatever damned pc term is used. It's Thanksgiving folks!!! Indians and Pilgrims and all. A time of thanking God, neighbors, family, friends and total strangers for the good things we have, the good health we enjoy and the wonderful country we live in. I'll be back for the Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday Jesus post. Bless you all.

From last year -- couldn't find these little guys this year. Probably another reason dinner was delayed in years past, took too much time to put the goodies on the plates.

Later.......

Veterans' Day

2012-11-12T10:25:00.000-05:00

I realize that Veterans' Day was yesterday but many people are on holiday today so it is an extension of Veterans' Day. We celebrated yesterday at an Irish Pub where a benefit for Wounded Warriors was takiing place. My cousin's band was there and the place was packed. We arrived at 7:00 or so, had dinner and sat through the music. Dancing was taking place but the dance floor was mobbed and most of the dancers had been there since way before 7:00 it seemed. We sat in our seats and clapped and sang and tapped our feet. We waited until the band took a break, my cousin came over and spent a bit of time with us and we said our farewells and left by 9:30 or so. It was a good way to honor the veterans. Quite a bit of money was raised at the door and raffle tickets as well as prizes being auctioned off. Hope you were able or are able to honor the veterans too.

God bless our veterans and God bless America!

The Virginian: "Put not your trust in princes"

2012-11-07T08:17:00.001-05:00

The Virginian: "Put not your trust in princes"

The Post of Shame

2012-10-24T19:48:00.002-04:00

I have been lazy and lax. Is that redundant? Yes. It is. I will be back in the morrow and will have something or other to say....promise. I don't know who may be reading but if I were you and saw how little this person ever wrote......I would not be back. This too will change. Later Gaters.....thanks for checking in and I will make it worth your while. (what does that mean anyway?0

Back to Earth

2012-09-29T11:16:00.001-04:00

I sure have been on vacation around here. Just got back from Mississippi, New Orleans and Panama City Beach. We visited family and my college roommate who is like family. We ate and drank and a good time was had by all y'all. I have to say, after 19 days away, I was ready to come home. Since arriving home I have been nesting. Laundry done in your own machine somehow feels right. We have been eating at home, every meal. I love to go out but honestly, I was ready for soup out of a can in my own mug what can I say? Jumped on the scale when we got home and both of us were ready for an intervention. We vacationed with wild abandon. No rules for us. See it, drink it, eat it. That was our motto. It showed. We are very ready to submit to the scientific laws of weight loss. Eat less, move more.

I will leave you with one of the reasons we are less able to button up comfortably. The Gumbo Cookoff in Biloxi

A Buuump on the Head

2012-08-07T16:04:00.002-04:00

Well, about one hour after that last post the hubby and I were walking our girl. She's such a good one that when she was attacked by a mid-sized pooch she never went into kill mode but moved to evade. My husband tried to intervene and tangled himself in leashes and went over backward hitting his head on the pavement. Horrible.

He refused to be transported in an ambulance and so I drove him. We spent endless hours in the emergency room but they gave him a CT scan which showed a concussion and sent him home with the usual instructions which are next to useless. Headaches and neck ache persisted, another CT scan days later and a referral to a neurologist which won't happen til the end of the month. Can't wait for ObamaCare to really kick in so we can wait 6 months and that's if we're qualified to be seen. By that I mean we never donated to any Republican politician and we're not too old. In either of those two cases kiss it good by.

Finally he was referred for an MRI and the results are in. He has a herniated cervical disk and now who knows what. We're waiting to hear from the ENT fellow who referred him for the MRI. He is having a neuro in his area review the report and will call if he feels we have to go off Cape for a quicker appointment.

Later gaters.

Happy Fourth of July - the day after

2012-07-05T08:35:00.000-04:00

A day late and a dollar short as they say. Happy 4th of July, the day after, or as we say around here, "Happy Thursday". To make up for the slackness of not posting on the day, here are some quotes from a gun packing, bible believing, God fearing, USA loving conservative.

Things to remember today, from Will Rogers… first and foremost remember to never squat with your spurs on

1. Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco.

2. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.

3. There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither works.

4. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

5. Always drink upstream from the herd.

6. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

7. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back into your pocket.

8. There are three kinds of men:

~ The ones that learn by reading.

~ The few who learn by observation.

~ The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves

9. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

10. If you're riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.

11. Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back.

12. After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him.

The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

Hope you had a Happy Fourth

How Quickly Things Turn

2012-06-28T08:25:00.001-04:00

Shortly after I posted that last entry about giving people a pass, a friend of mine called and unloaded about her week and how people hurt her and on and on. Interestingly, I was able to quote that fellow I quoted in my last post and I waxed all philosophical urging her to be gracious and let go and so forth and so on.

Later in the conversation she started to talk about something and I was half listening. I don't know what grabbed my full attention but it developed that she was talking about my late husband. She told me things she thought about our relationship that she had never revealed before. She was and is the friend I have known the longest. She lived through every minute of my first marriage. During my troubles she never once let me know what she felt she must let me know now. She shouldn't have let me know it. I found myself in the position of hearing things that were untrue and unkind and I had to be gracious. As I had just advised her, I had to take my advice. I did it but truth be told I am still in pain and questioning a very long establised friendship.

Funny how things turn and twist isn't it?

Just thinkin'

2012-06-24T07:47:00.000-04:00

Just read a story, or at least I skimmed a story, about the brawls and bad behavior of the Secret Service while on Nantucket during one or more of the One's vacations. Why now are the stories being reported? Perhaps if the press had been doing it's job then, the embarrassment of recent Secret Service behavior could have been avoided. After all, isn't that what the press is supposed to do? Report, not take dictation.

I think we can view the current political mess as one which could have been avoided if the press had done it's job in the run up to the past election. Investigate. Report. No Propaganda. If they had and the One won and he may have, all this grindingly obvious nonsense about his past and agenda would be out there. He won despite his connections with socialists, communists, terrorists and crazed evangelical black power people. We all knew and elected him anyway. How much better it would be today.

Do your job press puppets. Don't do any one's bidding. Stop lifting the lid on high school stories about the One's adversary and ignoring everything about himself. Put everything out there and let the people decide.

Never happen. They're too deep in the tank.

Where's your pass?

2012-06-20T08:50:00.000-04:00

I just read this somewhere in my wanderings on the net, it's about the things people say when you have a serious, possibly terminal illness:

"But here’s the point I want to make about the stuff people say. Unless someone looks you in the eye and hisses, “You fucking asshole, I can’t wait until you die of this,” people are really trying their best. Just like being happy and sad, you will find yourself on both sides of the equation many times over your lifetime, either saying or hearing the wrong thing. Let’s all give each other a pass, shall we?"

That last sentence gave me pause. "Let's all give each other a pass, shall we?" I was about to comment on that blog and blah blah blah about grace and be gracious. Before I could reach the keyboard I was struck with my own limitations in that regard. I didn't have a terminal illness or even an illness to speak of. I was less than 25 and dating a very wild guy. He was older and experienced and not at all like the guys I had ever even met not to mention dated. Two of my married friends, who had married the type of guy I had normally encountered or dated, were with me one afternoon and, for whatever reason, they felt the need to counsel me. Their counsel was so self-righteous and condemning that I have carried it with me to this day. Maybe now's the time to give them a pass. They were merely wrapping themselves in their blanket of smug and pointing out to me the wrongness of my choices. The stinging part is that they reached so far back in my life to show me who they thought I was and they were so wrong about what they thought I was up to back then. I thought my "friends" knew me. I was wrong. I was hurt. I went through what I once read was the most painful surgery known to man. I had my eyes opened. I should thank them for that.

That was over 40 years ago. I have seen these women multiple times since. I put on a friendly demeanor. I never refer to that day long ago. I never forget it though. I think it's time to do that. Be gracious. Give them a pass. Shake it off and finally let it go.

I love the Blog world. It's the best therapy ever.

Paraprosdokians

2012-06-16T11:06:00.003-04:00

Here's a good one:

What are Paraprosdokians?

They are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently humorous.

1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong

5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left..

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. They begin the evening news with 'Good Evening,' then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

10. Buses stop in bus stations. Trains stop in train stations. On my desk is a work station.

11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.

12. In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'

13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.
16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

17. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

18. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

19. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

20. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

21. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

22. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target

23. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

24. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

25. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

26. Where there's a will, there are relatives.

AND 27.

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but its getting harder and harder to find one.

Health Tip

2012-06-05T08:14:00.002-04:00

My morning email:

As I was lying in bed pondering the problems of the world, I rapidly realized that I don't really give a rat's hiney. It's the tortoise life for me!

1. If walking is good for your health, the postman would be immortal.

2. A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water, and is fat.

3. A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 8 months.

4. A tortoise doesn't run and does nothing, yet it lives for 450 years.

And you tell me to exercise?? I don't think so. I'm retired. Go around me.

Travel 2012

2012-05-23T09:13:00.000-04:00

Gotta love it....sent to me via email

My inconclusive travel plans 2012

I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.

I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!

I may have been in Continent,�but I don't remember what country I was in. It's an age thing.

PLEASE DO YOUR PART!

Today is one of the many National Mental Health Days throughout the year. You can do your bit by remembering to send an e-mail to at least one unstable person. My job is done!

Life is too short for negative drama and petty things. So laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly!

From one unstable person to another... I hope everyone is happy in your head - we're all doing pretty good in mine!

Nuthin'

2012-05-22T08:42:00.001-04:00

Got nuthin', so here's a pretty picture for ya.

Spent Sunday filling six of these, I think they're pretty and it has rained ever since. Good for them and I guess it means less work for us. It just has rained or been gray for so many days. As my grandmother used to say, "It makes me weary."

Another Mothers' Day

2012-05-12T08:21:00.000-04:00

This has been a stretch of days with nothing to do but think. April 29th would have been my mothers 100th birthday. Happy Birthday Mom. May 9th marks the 12th year of her passing. May 10th would have been my brother's 72nd birthday. Happy Birthday Sandy. May 13th will be the 12th year I celebrate Mother's Day without a mother. Ma (I always called her Ma and she probably would have preferred Mother) always told the story of the children in church on mothers' day. Some had pink carnations and some had white. The white carnations meant their mother was deceased and the pink meant she was alive. My mother always said she felt so bad for the kids with the white carnations and now, I'm that kid. Happy Mothers' Day Ma....love you a lot and miss you. Say hi to everyone up there for me ... hope you are having a great time with all of them.

Rainy Days

2012-05-10T20:20:00.000-04:00

I know we need this rain but, mercy, it's not just rain, it's a downpour and I wonder how long it can do this. It has been raining for days. Perhaps I exaggerate a tad but only a tad. The puddle on our street which is usually quite large is bigger than I've ever seen it. We have waterfront property. The plants are certainly happy but how long will it be before even they become alarmed and need to dry their feet off?

The biggest problem I have with this weather is that I roam the house and stop at the refrigerator with each pass through. I am not hungry. I am restless and looking and needing to chew. "Why not gum?", you may ask. "It's not in the fridge.", I answer. Much more of this and I will need to go shopping for larger and looser clothing.

One other problem while I'm at it. This weather gives me too much time to think. I know. It should give me time to do those exercises I keep threatening to begin. It should. It doesn't. I think about it but I start a train of thought that moves me along to junior high when I would get out of school, head home for American Bandstand and a box of chips. You heard that right. There were potato chips in a box and I loved them. I can't remember the brand name but they tasted kind of like potato sticks if you remember those. I would grab the box, park in front of the tv and consume every one. Then I would wonder why I was such a chubby, no, fat teen. Why? Why? Well here I am again. Different food groups same question. Why?

I think that I have to go back in time, recreate the situation and find a new way through the problem. That means I will be fat and fourteen and home alone watching tv and eating chips while being miserable and pretending that I am Arlene dancing with Kenny on Bandstand or Spin really really likes me. Sigh. How to correct that one wonders.

Thankfully the sun is now out and I have to go to the dump. Whew. Just when I thought I might have to be working through that adolescent angst which haunts me. Oh well...there will be time later.

Kiinda Punny

2012-05-01T18:07:00.001-04:00

Stolen from another blog.....grouchyoldcripple.com. It's a great visit. I highly recommend it.

I changed my iPod name to Titanic. It's syncing now.
I tried to catch some fog. I mist.
When chemists die, they barium.
Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.
A soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
I know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid. He says he can stop any time.
How does Moses make his tea? Hebrews it.
I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.
This girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I'd never met herbivore.
I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I can't put it down.
I did a theatrical performance about puns. It was a play on words.
They told me I had type A blood, but it was a type-O.
A dyslexic man walks into a bra.+
PMS jokes aren't funny, period.
Why were the Indians here first? They had reservations.
Class trip to the Coca-Cola factory. I hope there's no pop quiz.
Energizer bunny arrested. Charged with battery.
I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.
How do you make holy water? Boil the hell out of it!
Did you hear about the cross eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils?
When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble.
What does a clock do when it's hungry? It goes back four seconds.
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me!
Broken pencils are pointless.
What do you call a dinosaur with a extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus.
England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.
I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest.
I dropped out of communism class because of lousy Marx.
All the toilets in New York's police stations have been stolen. Police have nothing to go on.
I got a job at a bakery because I kneaded dough.
Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.
Velcro - what a rip off!
Cartoonist found dead in home. Details are sketchy.
Venison for dinner? Oh deer!
Earthquake in Washington obviously government's fault.
I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.

RIP Chuck Colson

2012-04-21T18:35:00.002-04:00

RIP Chuck Colson. The lesson Chuck learned from Watergate was that God is able to redeem any sinner. He claimed Jesus as his saviour and never looked back. He served his time and served it well. He left prison much like Joseph and led many to the Lord. He was humbled and broken and put back together by God. He served God and, in my opinion, served him well. I will miss him.

The lesson the press learned from Watergate was that they could take down a Republican if they leaned heavily and ruthlessly and persistently enough and they have been trying to do it again ever since. They could never (and would never) take down a Democrat since the Democrat would rather tear the country apart than resign.

Tis the Season

2012-04-08T07:40:00.000-04:00

It's wonderful around here....step-daughter is in for the week from MS. We are enjoying her so much. My nephew is with us for the weekend and my brother-in-law and his family will be here for dinner. We are surely blessed. I hope this Easter season brings blessings to all. I fluctuate between these two moods. Here's one

And here's the other

He is Risen indeed! Happy Easter everyone and I mean everyone....believers or not, after all Jesus died for ALL of us.