As promised, finally, the temperature has been dropping all day. Some light rain with it so it is a damp cold. Tonight I'll have to turn on the heater. It'll be in the 30's. Crazy stuff.
May I just comment on the cost of a nice suit, shirt, silk tie, belt, and lace up dress shoes for a 17 year old young man? Holy cow. I hope he enjoys the Winter Dance, that's all I can say. Plus the tickets and wrist corsage for his date. And dinner before the dance at a nice Italian restaurant. You'd think it was prom.
I used the heater in my new car today for the first time. Works great. Did I mention I have a new vehicle? For the first time in over 20 years I have a new, used car. Yeah, that's right. It is a 2006 so with the 2007 models out now, my car becomes used. It had 96 miles on it at delivery. But most importantly, it has the new car smell. What a luxury for this girl. When I married the husband, we became perennial used car buyers. We have had some great ones, at great deals. My first real adult working experience was at a automobile dealership so I am well aware of the instant depreciation of autos once they leave the dealership's lot.
This car is a Chevy Impala with the bigger engine in it. Maroon with biege cloth seats. I christened the cd player yesterday with my Il Divo Christmas album. I love my Il Divo boys. They're so pretty and have glorious voices.
The car I drove the longest period of time was a Mercedes 300D. It was a great car. Lasted forever. I've had good luck with Mazda's, too. I have had two different models of them. Both of those I bought new as a single woman. I worked for the dealership.
Anyway, I guess the old adage of everything comes in three's is true in Hollywood, huh. First Mel Gibson, then Michael Richards and now Danny DeVito having a meltdown. DeVito was on the View yesterday and according to the clips I saw, was drunk and obnoxious. He fell into the standard cheap laughs with the Bush is stupid crowd. Too bad. I liked him. No more. He was on Fox and Friends earlier and I saw him on that before starting the day and he appeared sober and was fine. Of course I wasn't terribly alert myself at that hour. Doesn't say much for his comedic skills when he does the same pap that Letterman and Jon Stewart do. Not to mention it is just not true. Bush isn't a great speaker but his intelligence is greater than his critics. I guess they still prefer a haughty French looking Boston accent to a Texas twang. It's one of the last accepted prejudices, isn't it, that a slower accent means you lack intelligence.
Bless his heart.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
It's a New Day
Feeling more like myself today, it's a new day. Coffee drinking worked its magic and into the world I went. Stopped by the grocery store after dropping off the son at school in case we get any rainshowers this afternoon. I like going to early in the morning while the store is still quiet and not crowded.
Two disquieting local stories in the news yesterday and continuing on into today. A local high school was on lockdown yesterday after a teen was shot, drive-by style, in front of the school. More news is coming out this morning and seems to be a gang thing. This school has had its problems, beginning to come to a head after the Katrina evacuees came to town. As many schools suffered from turf wars between the locals and the New Orleans kids, this school in particular had a lot of problems including violence between the groups. Now they seem to have a growing gang problem. Earlier in the school year there was a report of a violent sexual assault in a restroom on school grounds. Sounds like the school needs new administrative leadership.
The second story of concern this morning is the arrest of two men in cahoots with the Taliban. As you may know, this area has a huge Muslim population, especially in comparison to other metro areas around the country, except Detroit. These two young men, one mid-twenties, one early thirties, were arrested and charged with training to fight American and coalition forces in the middle east. They were trained just outside Houston and I hope the authorities are handling all that this entails. Shut the operations down and get rid of these enemies of our country. One, by the way, is an illegal Pakistani.
I'm still waiting for the cold snap we have been promised for the past few days. It is suppose to be here tomorrow. I would like to stop running the a/c around here, thank you. The electric company has gotten enough of our family budget this year.
Two disquieting local stories in the news yesterday and continuing on into today. A local high school was on lockdown yesterday after a teen was shot, drive-by style, in front of the school. More news is coming out this morning and seems to be a gang thing. This school has had its problems, beginning to come to a head after the Katrina evacuees came to town. As many schools suffered from turf wars between the locals and the New Orleans kids, this school in particular had a lot of problems including violence between the groups. Now they seem to have a growing gang problem. Earlier in the school year there was a report of a violent sexual assault in a restroom on school grounds. Sounds like the school needs new administrative leadership.
The second story of concern this morning is the arrest of two men in cahoots with the Taliban. As you may know, this area has a huge Muslim population, especially in comparison to other metro areas around the country, except Detroit. These two young men, one mid-twenties, one early thirties, were arrested and charged with training to fight American and coalition forces in the middle east. They were trained just outside Houston and I hope the authorities are handling all that this entails. Shut the operations down and get rid of these enemies of our country. One, by the way, is an illegal Pakistani.
I'm still waiting for the cold snap we have been promised for the past few days. It is suppose to be here tomorrow. I would like to stop running the a/c around here, thank you. The electric company has gotten enough of our family budget this year.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Tuesday's Tidings
I got about 3 hours sleep last night and I am feeling it today. I took a nap this morning to try to feel better, with not much in the way of success. Hubby left about 2:30 to drive over to Louisiana so he can get out into the Gulf. I only had a day and a half to get used to the Croatian haircut. It's not pretty, that's the truth. It is really short, Jarhead style, on the top and the back at the neckline goes too far down. The sides and sideburns aren't right either. It's just not good.
As I frequently mention the coffee waking me up each morning, I often mention Boca Java. I signed on to a plan where they ship an order to me every couple of months and then they ship coffee to the troops overseas earned from my order. Combined with lots of customer orders, it adds up. I got a notice, via e-mail yesterday that my coffee donation from the last order went to 950th Maintenance CO, 352nd CBS APO,AE 09334. Interesting. They ship coffee to the troops every Friday. Coffee is a basic need for me so I think it is a great program and the very least I can do.
Our Westside Wolves came to the end of the road in the District playoffs Saturday at beautiful, huge, Reliant Stadium. The team had a great year. For such a young school they have been quite remarkable. This year, on the All-District Team the Wolves' quarterback was named District MPV and the coach was named Coach of the Year. Maybe they'll win it all next year for son's senior year. He isn't much for sports but would be something to remember.
As I frequently mention the coffee waking me up each morning, I often mention Boca Java. I signed on to a plan where they ship an order to me every couple of months and then they ship coffee to the troops overseas earned from my order. Combined with lots of customer orders, it adds up. I got a notice, via e-mail yesterday that my coffee donation from the last order went to 950th Maintenance CO, 352nd CBS APO,AE 09334. Interesting. They ship coffee to the troops every Friday. Coffee is a basic need for me so I think it is a great program and the very least I can do.
Our Westside Wolves came to the end of the road in the District playoffs Saturday at beautiful, huge, Reliant Stadium. The team had a great year. For such a young school they have been quite remarkable. This year, on the All-District Team the Wolves' quarterback was named District MPV and the coach was named Coach of the Year. Maybe they'll win it all next year for son's senior year. He isn't much for sports but would be something to remember.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Monday Musings
Just back from taking son to school and fighting traffics snarls and drizzling rain. Back to the routine we were taking a break from last week. Finishing up a cup of Boca Java Boca Villa and getting ready to pick up my new automobile when the dealership opens this morning.
Hubby is back from his travels to Africa. One word of advice - never let a Croatian near your hair with scissors. That's all I'm saying.
Making preparations for the coming Christmas holiday. Have to take son to purchase a new suit for a Winter Dance this weekend. It's semi-formal and the girl who invited him says a nice suit is fine so that's what it'll be. He outgrew his suit from a year and a half ago. I'll order her wrist corsage later today. The girl goes to a Catholic girls school so it's girls inviting boys.
Making reservations for air travel for the mother in law to come here for Christmas. I'm looking at a 4 day visit. Maybe 5, tops. Hopefully husband will be home this year. I'll be making our dinner theatre reservations again for Christmas Eve, as it was a hit last year. My childhood girlfriend and her son will join us again. Her husband, too, if he is visiting from his work in Iraq.
Speaking of Iraq, did you hear Charlie Rangel, (D-NY) channeling John Kerry by saying on Fox's Sunday morning show that if a young man had an option of a "decent" career or on enlisting to serve the country, he'd not pick serving. Yeah, they just keep on proving the Dems are not worthy of the nation's trust when it comes to national defense.
The standard line by the foolish military bashers is that it's only those young people who are poor, rural, and without any other options in life that are in the armed forces. He's a Korean War vet so he feels entitled to spout nonsense and not be held accountable for it. The Hertitage Foundation has published a through paper on who comprises our military today and the answer is disturbing to charlatans like Rangel. The study shows our military is comprised of people who are better educated, from middle to higher income families, and a huge sense of service to country.
Rangel is in line to become the chair of the appropriations committee in the House so I am sure while he is trying to rescind the Bush tax cuts, which have brought about a boom in the economy at all levels, he'll be working on cutting funding to the military, too. He's a disgrace. I hope he continues with his nonsense loud and clear the next two years.
Hubby is back from his travels to Africa. One word of advice - never let a Croatian near your hair with scissors. That's all I'm saying.
Making preparations for the coming Christmas holiday. Have to take son to purchase a new suit for a Winter Dance this weekend. It's semi-formal and the girl who invited him says a nice suit is fine so that's what it'll be. He outgrew his suit from a year and a half ago. I'll order her wrist corsage later today. The girl goes to a Catholic girls school so it's girls inviting boys.
Making reservations for air travel for the mother in law to come here for Christmas. I'm looking at a 4 day visit. Maybe 5, tops. Hopefully husband will be home this year. I'll be making our dinner theatre reservations again for Christmas Eve, as it was a hit last year. My childhood girlfriend and her son will join us again. Her husband, too, if he is visiting from his work in Iraq.
Speaking of Iraq, did you hear Charlie Rangel, (D-NY) channeling John Kerry by saying on Fox's Sunday morning show that if a young man had an option of a "decent" career or on enlisting to serve the country, he'd not pick serving. Yeah, they just keep on proving the Dems are not worthy of the nation's trust when it comes to national defense.
The standard line by the foolish military bashers is that it's only those young people who are poor, rural, and without any other options in life that are in the armed forces. He's a Korean War vet so he feels entitled to spout nonsense and not be held accountable for it. The Hertitage Foundation has published a through paper on who comprises our military today and the answer is disturbing to charlatans like Rangel. The study shows our military is comprised of people who are better educated, from middle to higher income families, and a huge sense of service to country.
Rangel is in line to become the chair of the appropriations committee in the House so I am sure while he is trying to rescind the Bush tax cuts, which have brought about a boom in the economy at all levels, he'll be working on cutting funding to the military, too. He's a disgrace. I hope he continues with his nonsense loud and clear the next two years.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Leftovers
Sipping my Boca Java and enjoying some quiet time. I am feeling relief that yesterday I didn't do the whole bird but just the parts we wanted. No fridge full of leftovers to worry about. Son enjoyed the turkey legs, one leftover, and the fresh turkey breast was really good. Enough leftover from that for some really good sandwiches.
Last night I was channel surfing and caught an interview on C-SPAN dating back to 1994. It was with Barbara Bush and the interviewer was Carl S. Anthony, an author of books on first ladies. Barbara Bush, such a class act. The interviewer asked a few questions with a certain tone in his voice but he was no match for her. She handled the predominantly liberal audience just fine.
Mrs. Bush reminded me of a few facts I had forgotten. She was the first first lady to hire a minority chief of staff for her office in the east wing of the White House. Anna Perez went on to a career in California. Also, the first Bush administration gave more money to the world population planning movement than previous administrations.
She and Bush 41 made a vow with each other not to criticize the Clintons as they took office. Shows the difference of class and none.
The Clintons are a look into the flip side of a former president. Bill Clinton won't let the spotlight go and is now openly going around the world telling folks how smart he is, when we know our foreign policy mess falls at his feet. I am reading Louis Freeh's book, "My FBI" and it is an eye-opener. The man openly dismissed helping the FBI bring to justice the Khobar Towers terrorists, yet felt free to hit up King Abdullah for million dollar donations for the Clinton Library being built in Little Rock. Freeh had to go to Bush 41 for assistance, behind the scenes.
Remember Hillary Clinton on the floor of the Senate a couple of days after 9/11 holding up the New York newspaper with the headlines "What did he know and When did he know it?" implying President Bush didn't do anything to stop the attack? I will never forget that moment. I thought at the time, what a political whore she is, showing all the world her true, raw ambitions while our nation grieves in shock after the attacks. The Pentagon was still burning yet there she was. And it all traced back to her husband's administration and the beginnings back to the Carter Administration.
After the Barbara Bush interview re-run, C-SPAN showed one with the same author with Hillary from the same week. He was fawning and gushing as you would expect. To listen to her now after 8 years of them in the White House just makes me shake my head. Her payoff after suffering massive humiliation during her White House days was the Senate seat in New York so she could have a coveted political office. Next we will endure her presidential campaign. She is hellbent to be the occupant in the big house again with Bill up to his old tricks. He'll be free for all kinds of hijinks this time around.
And more gift registries and million dollar book deals to make.
Their sense of entitlement is breathtaking.
Last night I was channel surfing and caught an interview on C-SPAN dating back to 1994. It was with Barbara Bush and the interviewer was Carl S. Anthony, an author of books on first ladies. Barbara Bush, such a class act. The interviewer asked a few questions with a certain tone in his voice but he was no match for her. She handled the predominantly liberal audience just fine.
Mrs. Bush reminded me of a few facts I had forgotten. She was the first first lady to hire a minority chief of staff for her office in the east wing of the White House. Anna Perez went on to a career in California. Also, the first Bush administration gave more money to the world population planning movement than previous administrations.
She and Bush 41 made a vow with each other not to criticize the Clintons as they took office. Shows the difference of class and none.
The Clintons are a look into the flip side of a former president. Bill Clinton won't let the spotlight go and is now openly going around the world telling folks how smart he is, when we know our foreign policy mess falls at his feet. I am reading Louis Freeh's book, "My FBI" and it is an eye-opener. The man openly dismissed helping the FBI bring to justice the Khobar Towers terrorists, yet felt free to hit up King Abdullah for million dollar donations for the Clinton Library being built in Little Rock. Freeh had to go to Bush 41 for assistance, behind the scenes.
Remember Hillary Clinton on the floor of the Senate a couple of days after 9/11 holding up the New York newspaper with the headlines "What did he know and When did he know it?" implying President Bush didn't do anything to stop the attack? I will never forget that moment. I thought at the time, what a political whore she is, showing all the world her true, raw ambitions while our nation grieves in shock after the attacks. The Pentagon was still burning yet there she was. And it all traced back to her husband's administration and the beginnings back to the Carter Administration.
After the Barbara Bush interview re-run, C-SPAN showed one with the same author with Hillary from the same week. He was fawning and gushing as you would expect. To listen to her now after 8 years of them in the White House just makes me shake my head. Her payoff after suffering massive humiliation during her White House days was the Senate seat in New York so she could have a coveted political office. Next we will endure her presidential campaign. She is hellbent to be the occupant in the big house again with Bill up to his old tricks. He'll be free for all kinds of hijinks this time around.
And more gift registries and million dollar book deals to make.
Their sense of entitlement is breathtaking.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Baby Penguins
Last summer some penguins from the Indianapolis Zoo were relocated to the aquarium at Moody Gardens on Galveston Island. The truck transporting the penguins was in an accident and some of the birds didn't make it to their destination. Others had to recover for a while to get well.
The good news is now there are baby penguins from this group! One chick hatched on Nov. 12 and there are 8 more chicks expected to hatch in the coming weeks.
"Their mating and parenting behavior is a positive sign that they are adjusting to their new environment", according to a news release from Moody Gardens.
A little something to smile about this morning.
And now I'm am getting back to my Boca Java Palm Beach Passion with almond toffee creamer.
I wish everyone a truly Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow.
Hug someone.
The good news is now there are baby penguins from this group! One chick hatched on Nov. 12 and there are 8 more chicks expected to hatch in the coming weeks.
"Their mating and parenting behavior is a positive sign that they are adjusting to their new environment", according to a news release from Moody Gardens.
A little something to smile about this morning.
And now I'm am getting back to my Boca Java Palm Beach Passion with almond toffee creamer.
I wish everyone a truly Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow.
Hug someone.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Cruel and Unusual Behavior
Still no end in sight for hubby's African assignment. Poor guy. But the up side is he gets lots of lamb to eat, which he dearly loves. Good thing.
It's one of those odd sort of days, for some reason. I'm not quite sure why, so I'll just go with it. While sipping the Boca Java Ocean Drive this morning I seriously considered a breakfast consisting of a 3 Musketeers candy bar. At the last moment common sense won out and I had the standard bowl of Cheerios.
This whole media buzz over Michael Richards, aka Kramer from Seinfeld, seems so bizarre to me. He is caught going off on some members of his audience during a stand up routine over the weekend at a LA comedy club and was screaming racial slurs and all that. So, he gets to go on Letterman last night, which I did not watch but saw clips of this morning, to be so sorry along with Dave's pal Jerry Seinfeld. By the way, next week a new set of Seinfeld dvd's are to hit the retail shelves.
Richards is given the big hug interview from Letterman. Richards was presumably sober during this act of his at the club. The racial epithats were spewed due to his irritation at hecklers.
Seems to me, when a person loses control and a person's temper takes over, a person's true nature surfaces. The guy's a bigot. He got caught.
Contrast this softness on Richards to the beating Mel Gibson took from Hollywood after his bigoted tirade. Gibson is hugely wealthy, successful, and not beholden to Hollywood anymore. He was skewered. He is conservative politically. I would imagine in Hollywood that would be the difference. Gibson's not one of the cool kids. He was drunk and foul mouthed. Hollywood elites took out full page ads blasting him and swearing to never work with him again.
Just an observation.
Human Rights Watch has proven once again why they are an organization not worthy of being taken seriously in today's times. They have issued a statement claiming Saddam's death sentence is "cruel and inhumane" treatment of the deposed dictator.
Wonder what those surviving families of all those murdered by Saddam think of that dribble?
It's one of those odd sort of days, for some reason. I'm not quite sure why, so I'll just go with it. While sipping the Boca Java Ocean Drive this morning I seriously considered a breakfast consisting of a 3 Musketeers candy bar. At the last moment common sense won out and I had the standard bowl of Cheerios.
This whole media buzz over Michael Richards, aka Kramer from Seinfeld, seems so bizarre to me. He is caught going off on some members of his audience during a stand up routine over the weekend at a LA comedy club and was screaming racial slurs and all that. So, he gets to go on Letterman last night, which I did not watch but saw clips of this morning, to be so sorry along with Dave's pal Jerry Seinfeld. By the way, next week a new set of Seinfeld dvd's are to hit the retail shelves.
Richards is given the big hug interview from Letterman. Richards was presumably sober during this act of his at the club. The racial epithats were spewed due to his irritation at hecklers.
Seems to me, when a person loses control and a person's temper takes over, a person's true nature surfaces. The guy's a bigot. He got caught.
Contrast this softness on Richards to the beating Mel Gibson took from Hollywood after his bigoted tirade. Gibson is hugely wealthy, successful, and not beholden to Hollywood anymore. He was skewered. He is conservative politically. I would imagine in Hollywood that would be the difference. Gibson's not one of the cool kids. He was drunk and foul mouthed. Hollywood elites took out full page ads blasting him and swearing to never work with him again.
Just an observation.
Human Rights Watch has proven once again why they are an organization not worthy of being taken seriously in today's times. They have issued a statement claiming Saddam's death sentence is "cruel and inhumane" treatment of the deposed dictator.
Wonder what those surviving families of all those murdered by Saddam think of that dribble?
Monday, November 20, 2006
So, What's It Gonna Be?
Well, as is our life, we are looking at a change in hubby's travel plans. He's been delayed at the job site so it's up in the air, no pun intended, for now. After 24 years with the man, it isn't anything but normal to not assume he'll be here for holidays.
So now there is a study out that says "dry" oil rigs are good artificial reefs. Some of us knew that many years ago. Those of us connected in the evil oil drilling business, anyway. The fishing is excellent off oil rigs, too, by the way.
The Baker/Hamiliton Commission is being bantered about in the media. Seems they will present three scenarios on how to continue on in Iraq. Go big, go long or go home. Send more troops, spend a longer amount of time there, or pack it in.
It's a mess. We aren't winning right now. Until the Iraqi police and military step up in a bolder way and in more numbers to grab hold of their country, we are doomed to continue on in this downward spiral. My friend's husband over there just last week was in Basrah and had a rocket land in their metal building where they sleep. His best pal's head was blown off his body, right next to my friend's husband.
My friend's husband is a vet, but over there as a non-military person. He is with the military. He is as protected as possible and he is totally frustrated with the Iraqi people. He understands being beaten down for 30 plus years and their reluctance to step up with the fear of Saddam or someone like him coming back into power and murdering his citizens again, willy nilly. This is why the sentencing of Saddam was so important to the ordinary Iraqi.
The Iraqis are terrified we will leave too soon and they will be stuck. The Kurds are still smarting about being hung out to dry after the last Gulf war. We have to get this right.
I saw John Kerry on a Sunday morning show. Such a clueless human being, blinded by his own ego and personal ambition. He takes ownership for his mistaken "joke" but still blames the "Republican attack machine" for his problems. And he still thinks he will run again for 2008's president nomination. I don't think even Theresa's money will help him this time.
"If they say leave in six months, we'll leave in six months. If they say six years, it's six years. I'm just an average soldier, and I'll do what they tell me to do. I'm proud to be a part of it, either way it goes, but I'd like to see it through." - Sgt. Jonathan Kirkendall, 23, of Falls City, Nebraska.
Sgt. Kirkendall is awaiting the birth of his first daughter, due this week. He is on his third deployment to Iraq. He celebrated his 21st and 23rd birthdays there.
There is nothing average about him.
Our military. All volunteer. Bless them.
So now there is a study out that says "dry" oil rigs are good artificial reefs. Some of us knew that many years ago. Those of us connected in the evil oil drilling business, anyway. The fishing is excellent off oil rigs, too, by the way.
The Baker/Hamiliton Commission is being bantered about in the media. Seems they will present three scenarios on how to continue on in Iraq. Go big, go long or go home. Send more troops, spend a longer amount of time there, or pack it in.
It's a mess. We aren't winning right now. Until the Iraqi police and military step up in a bolder way and in more numbers to grab hold of their country, we are doomed to continue on in this downward spiral. My friend's husband over there just last week was in Basrah and had a rocket land in their metal building where they sleep. His best pal's head was blown off his body, right next to my friend's husband.
My friend's husband is a vet, but over there as a non-military person. He is with the military. He is as protected as possible and he is totally frustrated with the Iraqi people. He understands being beaten down for 30 plus years and their reluctance to step up with the fear of Saddam or someone like him coming back into power and murdering his citizens again, willy nilly. This is why the sentencing of Saddam was so important to the ordinary Iraqi.
The Iraqis are terrified we will leave too soon and they will be stuck. The Kurds are still smarting about being hung out to dry after the last Gulf war. We have to get this right.
I saw John Kerry on a Sunday morning show. Such a clueless human being, blinded by his own ego and personal ambition. He takes ownership for his mistaken "joke" but still blames the "Republican attack machine" for his problems. And he still thinks he will run again for 2008's president nomination. I don't think even Theresa's money will help him this time.
"If they say leave in six months, we'll leave in six months. If they say six years, it's six years. I'm just an average soldier, and I'll do what they tell me to do. I'm proud to be a part of it, either way it goes, but I'd like to see it through." - Sgt. Jonathan Kirkendall, 23, of Falls City, Nebraska.
Sgt. Kirkendall is awaiting the birth of his first daughter, due this week. He is on his third deployment to Iraq. He celebrated his 21st and 23rd birthdays there.
There is nothing average about him.
Our military. All volunteer. Bless them.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Sunday
Got an e-mail from the husband last night and he should be winging in to town late Tuesday night. Looks like he'll be here for turkey, after all.
Our son has requested a sweet potato pie instead of the traditional pumpkin pie I normally serve. So, that's a change of pace. Neither of my guys are very fond of pumpkin pie, or turkey for that matter. They love all the side stuff, though, like the veggies and dressing. But usually just turkey legs are consumed by them.
My husband told me he had the best squid he's ever had, and this man has had tons of it in his lifetime, and maybe the biggest squid, too. But very tender. He loves the stuff.
The pearl is my birthstone. It symbolizes freedom from disease and grief, according to an article on gems I recently read.
Hubby is still taking his malaria pills and seems to feel ok. No side effects he sometimes feels from them.
Been reading about the problems with Angelina Jolie's bodyguards in India? Seems three of them were arrested and then released on bail after they allegedly roughed up some parents and students at a Bombay school where the U.N. goodwill ambassador is filming a movie. Angry parents said they were threatened when they tried to get into the school to pickup their children.
Not long ago I saw a photo of Brad Pitt working on a roof of a house in India. Seems he gave Habitat for Humanity a whooping 30 minutes, just enought for the feel good photo op. He spent his 30 minutes, according to the newspaper account, in the hot sun wielding a hammer and talking to other volunteers. Wow. What a guy.
At least Jimma and Rosalynn give a full week to Habitat for Humanity. And they're not spring chickens.
Our son has requested a sweet potato pie instead of the traditional pumpkin pie I normally serve. So, that's a change of pace. Neither of my guys are very fond of pumpkin pie, or turkey for that matter. They love all the side stuff, though, like the veggies and dressing. But usually just turkey legs are consumed by them.
My husband told me he had the best squid he's ever had, and this man has had tons of it in his lifetime, and maybe the biggest squid, too. But very tender. He loves the stuff.
The pearl is my birthstone. It symbolizes freedom from disease and grief, according to an article on gems I recently read.
Hubby is still taking his malaria pills and seems to feel ok. No side effects he sometimes feels from them.
Been reading about the problems with Angelina Jolie's bodyguards in India? Seems three of them were arrested and then released on bail after they allegedly roughed up some parents and students at a Bombay school where the U.N. goodwill ambassador is filming a movie. Angry parents said they were threatened when they tried to get into the school to pickup their children.
Not long ago I saw a photo of Brad Pitt working on a roof of a house in India. Seems he gave Habitat for Humanity a whooping 30 minutes, just enought for the feel good photo op. He spent his 30 minutes, according to the newspaper account, in the hot sun wielding a hammer and talking to other volunteers. Wow. What a guy.
At least Jimma and Rosalynn give a full week to Habitat for Humanity. And they're not spring chickens.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things
Today has been a day of favorite things. First, to start the day, I enjoyed opening a fresh bag of coffee beans. I sipped Boca Java's Ocean Drive and baked some chocolate chip muffins. Yummy stuff.
I leasurely read the morning papers, as we receive two. First I read the Houston Chronicle then the Wall Street Journal, weekend edition. After a shower I watched some cooking shows as I pulled myself together for a lunch date with my childhood friend. We meet once a month and today it was a terrific seafood lunch and visit. Our lunches last about two hours. I brought my son fried shrimp for his lunch and he was very pleased.
I called the bookstore and reserved a copy of "Huck Finn" for son's AP English class reading. I am somewhat disappointed in this choice as he read it in middle school and I think for an AP English class it is not much of a challenge but I won't complain as this is the first choice I have been disappointed with since he began high school and advanced English classes. Next they will read "The Great Gatsby".
My son was in a middle school production of "Huck Finn" and played that character.
According to www.earthweek.com :
Wildlife officials in southern Australia plan to deploy sheepdogs to protect the coast's dwindling population of fairy penguins. A pilot project will employ one dog on Middle Island, where the number of birds has dropped from about 5,000 five years ago to only 100 now because of attacks by wild dogs and foxes.
I was unfamilar with fairy penguins.
And to come full circle on my beloved fancy birds, I see a story book for children is causing a ruckus in a town 20 miles east of St. Louis. It is a story of two male penguins raising a baby penguin called "And Tango Makes Three". It is a true story of two male penguins in NYC's Central Park Zoo that raised a chick from a fertilized egg as their own.
These parents at Shiloh Elementary School claim this raised the issue of same sex parents and they aren't happy with children asking questions on the subject.
Idiots.
Maybe before jumping off a cliff on this one the parents might educate themselves on penguins a bit. The male penguin cradles the egg under a flap above his feet and is the one to hatch the egg.
Education, people. Education.
And from this entry's title, yes, "The Sound of Music" is in my top 10 all time favorite movies. I love movies too much to scale down the all time favorites list any smaller!
I leasurely read the morning papers, as we receive two. First I read the Houston Chronicle then the Wall Street Journal, weekend edition. After a shower I watched some cooking shows as I pulled myself together for a lunch date with my childhood friend. We meet once a month and today it was a terrific seafood lunch and visit. Our lunches last about two hours. I brought my son fried shrimp for his lunch and he was very pleased.
I called the bookstore and reserved a copy of "Huck Finn" for son's AP English class reading. I am somewhat disappointed in this choice as he read it in middle school and I think for an AP English class it is not much of a challenge but I won't complain as this is the first choice I have been disappointed with since he began high school and advanced English classes. Next they will read "The Great Gatsby".
My son was in a middle school production of "Huck Finn" and played that character.
According to www.earthweek.com :
Wildlife officials in southern Australia plan to deploy sheepdogs to protect the coast's dwindling population of fairy penguins. A pilot project will employ one dog on Middle Island, where the number of birds has dropped from about 5,000 five years ago to only 100 now because of attacks by wild dogs and foxes.
I was unfamilar with fairy penguins.
And to come full circle on my beloved fancy birds, I see a story book for children is causing a ruckus in a town 20 miles east of St. Louis. It is a story of two male penguins raising a baby penguin called "And Tango Makes Three". It is a true story of two male penguins in NYC's Central Park Zoo that raised a chick from a fertilized egg as their own.
These parents at Shiloh Elementary School claim this raised the issue of same sex parents and they aren't happy with children asking questions on the subject.
Idiots.
Maybe before jumping off a cliff on this one the parents might educate themselves on penguins a bit. The male penguin cradles the egg under a flap above his feet and is the one to hatch the egg.
Education, people. Education.
And from this entry's title, yes, "The Sound of Music" is in my top 10 all time favorite movies. I love movies too much to scale down the all time favorites list any smaller!
Friday, November 17, 2006
A Little of This, A Little of That
Happy Feet, the movie, starts today. How wouldn't enjoy a tap-dancing penguin with an environmental message? That's entertainment.
The Easy Bake Oven was inducted into the Toy Hall Of Fame. I am quite pleased with this choice. The Easy Bake Oven was my all time favorite childhood toy. It replaced my Chatty Cathy, which is saying something.
Today's toy of choice, if you are to believe the news reports, is the PlayStation 3. So bizarre, the ruckus it causes. My son is asking for the other system coming out, the Nintendo Wii. This is not my area of expertise, I just purchase what I am told, and my son has been kind enough to tell me the prices to expect so I don't get ripped off.
I knew from an initial gut reaction to John Edwards as he jumped onto the national scene last presidential run, that he was not to be trusted. First clue, of course, is that he is a multimillionaire trial lawyer still claiming to be just one of the folks. Why he and Elizabeth go to Wendy's to celebrate their anniversary every year to remind them of their poor days as newlyweds. And, you heard his father was a factory worker, right?
Well, now he is on a tear against WalMart and seems this only applies when toys aren't involved. He sent a young, volunteer (read unpaid) off to find a PlayStation 3 for his younger children and the volunteer asked WalMart to help him out. Didn't want to wait in line like everyone else and not paying his flunkies but, that evil WalMart better shape up.
During his speech before the union upper eschelon Edwards brought out of story using his young son, Jack, who is about 6 years old now, I think. He claims Jack berated a young classmate for buying and wearing sneakers from WalMart. The moral of the story being if young Jack knew better than to shop at WalMart, then surely his classmates must learn the lesson, too.
Now, for those of us in the real world, I can say when my son was 6 years old he no more gave a flip about sneakers or stores than the man in the moon. I am proud to say my son to this days shuns name brands whenever possible and doesn't care what store things come from, whether it is Target or Neiman Marcus. I don't happen to shop at WalMart as it isn't as close by as Target and I prefer Target as it is a little more upscale for a bargain store.
My son is on the cynical side and thinks people blindly follow advertisers and all that. He has always been his own person, thank goodness.
Anyway, it is shameful to drag your own child into a speech for brownie points. Remember when Jimma Carter told a reporter that he was speaking with young Amy one day and she told him her biggest fear was nuclear proliferation?
They think we are idiots.
"There is no such thing as a free lunch". - Milton Friedman, Economist, Noble Prize recipient, brilliant thinker
The Easy Bake Oven was inducted into the Toy Hall Of Fame. I am quite pleased with this choice. The Easy Bake Oven was my all time favorite childhood toy. It replaced my Chatty Cathy, which is saying something.
Today's toy of choice, if you are to believe the news reports, is the PlayStation 3. So bizarre, the ruckus it causes. My son is asking for the other system coming out, the Nintendo Wii. This is not my area of expertise, I just purchase what I am told, and my son has been kind enough to tell me the prices to expect so I don't get ripped off.
I knew from an initial gut reaction to John Edwards as he jumped onto the national scene last presidential run, that he was not to be trusted. First clue, of course, is that he is a multimillionaire trial lawyer still claiming to be just one of the folks. Why he and Elizabeth go to Wendy's to celebrate their anniversary every year to remind them of their poor days as newlyweds. And, you heard his father was a factory worker, right?
Well, now he is on a tear against WalMart and seems this only applies when toys aren't involved. He sent a young, volunteer (read unpaid) off to find a PlayStation 3 for his younger children and the volunteer asked WalMart to help him out. Didn't want to wait in line like everyone else and not paying his flunkies but, that evil WalMart better shape up.
During his speech before the union upper eschelon Edwards brought out of story using his young son, Jack, who is about 6 years old now, I think. He claims Jack berated a young classmate for buying and wearing sneakers from WalMart. The moral of the story being if young Jack knew better than to shop at WalMart, then surely his classmates must learn the lesson, too.
Now, for those of us in the real world, I can say when my son was 6 years old he no more gave a flip about sneakers or stores than the man in the moon. I am proud to say my son to this days shuns name brands whenever possible and doesn't care what store things come from, whether it is Target or Neiman Marcus. I don't happen to shop at WalMart as it isn't as close by as Target and I prefer Target as it is a little more upscale for a bargain store.
My son is on the cynical side and thinks people blindly follow advertisers and all that. He has always been his own person, thank goodness.
Anyway, it is shameful to drag your own child into a speech for brownie points. Remember when Jimma Carter told a reporter that he was speaking with young Amy one day and she told him her biggest fear was nuclear proliferation?
They think we are idiots.
"There is no such thing as a free lunch". - Milton Friedman, Economist, Noble Prize recipient, brilliant thinker
Thursday, November 16, 2006
If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands
Enjoyed Boca Java South Beach Rhythm and a cherry turnover this morning. It was chilly, for here, and it felt good.
I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed Nancy Pelosi having her butt handed back to her by the overwhelming majority of her party as to their pick of Majority Leader. They had the sense to stick with Steny Hoyer and not poor John Murtha.
Am I the only person who thinks Nancy's belly button is moving when she smiles? She does so exaggerate her facial expression that she looks slightly deranged.
Hillary does that, too, sometimes, when she is trying to look like she's happy and her eyes bug out.
Something I found interesting during Pelosi's comments on John Murtha after he lost the vote this morning - she felt compelled to give some of his resume, for street cred, I suppose and mentioned he had been given the Kennedy Profile in Courage award. Somehow I don't think JFK was so pleased with Caroline's choice on that one. The far left that Pelosi and the war position of Murtha are not values JFK possessed. I know he is idolized due to being assassinated after barely being in the job and he had the young Jackie as his long suffering wife but he was quite conservative compared to where his party is today. He was a tax cutter and a smaller government kind of guy. Not to mention the dust up with Cuba and getting us into Vietnam in the first place.
And when he smiled it was relaxed and looked normal. Not to mention sincere.
I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed Nancy Pelosi having her butt handed back to her by the overwhelming majority of her party as to their pick of Majority Leader. They had the sense to stick with Steny Hoyer and not poor John Murtha.
Am I the only person who thinks Nancy's belly button is moving when she smiles? She does so exaggerate her facial expression that she looks slightly deranged.
Hillary does that, too, sometimes, when she is trying to look like she's happy and her eyes bug out.
Something I found interesting during Pelosi's comments on John Murtha after he lost the vote this morning - she felt compelled to give some of his resume, for street cred, I suppose and mentioned he had been given the Kennedy Profile in Courage award. Somehow I don't think JFK was so pleased with Caroline's choice on that one. The far left that Pelosi and the war position of Murtha are not values JFK possessed. I know he is idolized due to being assassinated after barely being in the job and he had the young Jackie as his long suffering wife but he was quite conservative compared to where his party is today. He was a tax cutter and a smaller government kind of guy. Not to mention the dust up with Cuba and getting us into Vietnam in the first place.
And when he smiled it was relaxed and looked normal. Not to mention sincere.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Blown Away
Today is blustery. The wind is fierce and a cold snap is promised. Again. We'll see if it comes to fruition this time. Max, the dog, loves the wind. He stands outside and sniffs to his heart's content. There are all kinds of scents in the air for a curious canine's snout.
Our son signed up for a French competition yesterday, which surprised me a bit. He will compete in March and will do so by reciting a poem, en francaise, that has been memorized. Then later in the day he tells me his English teacher from last year asked him to participate in a UIL competition in English later this year. He agreed so I congratulated him on taking on extra work. More stuff for the resume for applying to colleges next fall.
Our Houston Chronicle newsrag shows it level of accuracy once again. Saturday brought a parade downtown in honor of Veteran's Day. The Chronicle did a story and stated the crowd was about 1,000. Well, the police department estimates the crowd to have been 75,000. Makes a person wonder if anyone actually bothered to go to the event and look around.
The silence is deafening, isn't it, about the outcomes of close races in the country? Where's all the usual outrage of late about "disenfranchised" voters, rigged voting machines, police patrol cars too close to polling sites? Oh, that's right, that only happens when Republicans win big.
From an article in the Washington Post by Ellen Knickmeyer:
At Saddam's sentencing, at least 6 guards surrounded former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark, one of the defense lawyers, and hustled him out of the courtroom.
"Get him out! Get him out!" Chief Judge Abdul Rahman shouted in English, outraged at a court filing submitted by Clark that apparently referred to the trial as a travesty.
"He's coming from America to insult the Iraqi people and the court," the judge added in Arabic.
Ramsey Clark, still making us proud. Hey, I understand George McGovern is being brought in to advise the Dems on what their Iraq plans should be, I'm sure he'll save a seat at the conference table for Ramsey.
Our son signed up for a French competition yesterday, which surprised me a bit. He will compete in March and will do so by reciting a poem, en francaise, that has been memorized. Then later in the day he tells me his English teacher from last year asked him to participate in a UIL competition in English later this year. He agreed so I congratulated him on taking on extra work. More stuff for the resume for applying to colleges next fall.
Our Houston Chronicle newsrag shows it level of accuracy once again. Saturday brought a parade downtown in honor of Veteran's Day. The Chronicle did a story and stated the crowd was about 1,000. Well, the police department estimates the crowd to have been 75,000. Makes a person wonder if anyone actually bothered to go to the event and look around.
The silence is deafening, isn't it, about the outcomes of close races in the country? Where's all the usual outrage of late about "disenfranchised" voters, rigged voting machines, police patrol cars too close to polling sites? Oh, that's right, that only happens when Republicans win big.
From an article in the Washington Post by Ellen Knickmeyer:
At Saddam's sentencing, at least 6 guards surrounded former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark, one of the defense lawyers, and hustled him out of the courtroom.
"Get him out! Get him out!" Chief Judge Abdul Rahman shouted in English, outraged at a court filing submitted by Clark that apparently referred to the trial as a travesty.
"He's coming from America to insult the Iraqi people and the court," the judge added in Arabic.
Ramsey Clark, still making us proud. Hey, I understand George McGovern is being brought in to advise the Dems on what their Iraq plans should be, I'm sure he'll save a seat at the conference table for Ramsey.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Gambling in River City
The warm temps are back and so is the humidity. I was just over the sinus headache and now I feel it starting again. The air conditioning is running again. Bleek.
So, how long did the bi-partisanship mumbo jumbo last after last week's elections? Already it has been announced the Senate committee running the re-confirmation hearings on John Bolton's U.N. ambassadorship will not allow a vote out of committee, thus no vote on the Senate floor, so he's dead in the water. Bolton deserves better. He has done a stellar job and the dems know he would be confirmed with a good majority on the Senate floor, so they have to shut that down. There is a way for the president to get around the Senate approval but I don't know if he has it in him to do it.
The Dems are handing Chavez, Kofi Annan and Aminijahad a bouquet of flowers with that victory.
Maybe if Bolton would just promise to go to North Korea and do the Macarana and bring along more autographed basketballs.
Nancy Pelosi, incoming House leader, has thrown her support to her old buddy Jack Murtha for second in command. He is being rewarded for his orchestrating Pelosi's ascension to the top several years back over Steny Hoyer, the current number two guy. Plus, he was the darling of the press and the far left crowd with his cut and run and hide out in Okinawa. Well, he's a former Marine, he's above reproach, isn't he? Umm, no. He can be just as wrong as the next person.
In 1980, Murtha was caught on tape by the FBI in the ABSCAM scandal. He was offered $50,000 to help Arab sheikh get into this country. He didn't accept this particular offer of money but told the FBI undercover agent he wanted to do business with them. Murtha never called the FBI or police to report the attempted bribe and nailed his own coffin.
Pelosi has inserted herself into the race for the number two slot now underway in the House. This is rarely done by the Majority Leaders but that is Pelosi's nature. She is an uber control freak and insists on blind loyalty. She makes Tom DeLay look like a choirboy when it comes to running her caucus. It'll all start coming out now that the power has shifted.
You knew it was time to run for the hills when she pompously stated she'll have the most ethical leadership ever. Yeah, that's what Hill and Bill said when their co-presidency began and they turned out to be the most subpoenaed and indicted administration in recent history. It's always the misbehavers that feel they have to tell you how ethical they are.
It's kind of like when a couple tells you how blissfully happy they are after all these years and the next week they are filing for divorce.
Not that I'm cynical about it all.
And Harry Reid, the incoming Majority Leader in the Senate is coming under the spotlight over yet another land deal from which he profits in Nevada. He has quite the knack for it, being just a poor boy from Searchlight Nevada and all. Turns out he backed funding for a bridge between Nevada and Arizona that affects the value of property nearby that he owns.
Reid has pledged more openness on the practice of earmarking, funding pet projects for their districts, so time will tell as he continues to enrich himself. With all of his sons as lobbyists in D.C., I doubt any of them will go hungry.
The first big Christmas tree was lit Saturday night at the Galleria. It gets earlier and earlier.
It'll be in the 70's here today. Warmer later in the week.
So, how long did the bi-partisanship mumbo jumbo last after last week's elections? Already it has been announced the Senate committee running the re-confirmation hearings on John Bolton's U.N. ambassadorship will not allow a vote out of committee, thus no vote on the Senate floor, so he's dead in the water. Bolton deserves better. He has done a stellar job and the dems know he would be confirmed with a good majority on the Senate floor, so they have to shut that down. There is a way for the president to get around the Senate approval but I don't know if he has it in him to do it.
The Dems are handing Chavez, Kofi Annan and Aminijahad a bouquet of flowers with that victory.
Maybe if Bolton would just promise to go to North Korea and do the Macarana and bring along more autographed basketballs.
Nancy Pelosi, incoming House leader, has thrown her support to her old buddy Jack Murtha for second in command. He is being rewarded for his orchestrating Pelosi's ascension to the top several years back over Steny Hoyer, the current number two guy. Plus, he was the darling of the press and the far left crowd with his cut and run and hide out in Okinawa. Well, he's a former Marine, he's above reproach, isn't he? Umm, no. He can be just as wrong as the next person.
In 1980, Murtha was caught on tape by the FBI in the ABSCAM scandal. He was offered $50,000 to help Arab sheikh get into this country. He didn't accept this particular offer of money but told the FBI undercover agent he wanted to do business with them. Murtha never called the FBI or police to report the attempted bribe and nailed his own coffin.
Pelosi has inserted herself into the race for the number two slot now underway in the House. This is rarely done by the Majority Leaders but that is Pelosi's nature. She is an uber control freak and insists on blind loyalty. She makes Tom DeLay look like a choirboy when it comes to running her caucus. It'll all start coming out now that the power has shifted.
You knew it was time to run for the hills when she pompously stated she'll have the most ethical leadership ever. Yeah, that's what Hill and Bill said when their co-presidency began and they turned out to be the most subpoenaed and indicted administration in recent history. It's always the misbehavers that feel they have to tell you how ethical they are.
It's kind of like when a couple tells you how blissfully happy they are after all these years and the next week they are filing for divorce.
Not that I'm cynical about it all.
And Harry Reid, the incoming Majority Leader in the Senate is coming under the spotlight over yet another land deal from which he profits in Nevada. He has quite the knack for it, being just a poor boy from Searchlight Nevada and all. Turns out he backed funding for a bridge between Nevada and Arizona that affects the value of property nearby that he owns.
Reid has pledged more openness on the practice of earmarking, funding pet projects for their districts, so time will tell as he continues to enrich himself. With all of his sons as lobbyists in D.C., I doubt any of them will go hungry.
The first big Christmas tree was lit Saturday night at the Galleria. It gets earlier and earlier.
It'll be in the 70's here today. Warmer later in the week.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Coming and Going
So, here I am blogging from my very own, brand new notebook computer. It is the first one that is all mine and mine alone. I have always shared the main, big and powerful, desktop computer with the printer and all right there. So, this feels really wierd but I think I can get used to it! My husband surprised me with it yesterday afternoon. After freaking out that he just went out and spent the money without saying anything to me, who pays the bills, then I settled down and am getting used to it.
I don't do surprises well.
I always feel guilty, like the money should be spent on our son, who will be heading off to college in 1 1/2 short years, or something like that. My husband can spend money with merry abandonment and that is just the difference in our natures.
Tomorrow is another day.
Today my husband left for Equatorial Guinea. He was home a whopping 4 days this time, and 2 of those were spent with him sick in bed. As I type, he is winging it to Paris, which he abhors, then a 2 hour layover and then to Africa. Not too bad for his travels. He was in Equatorial Guinea once before, about 5 or so years ago.
I hope he is finished in a relatively short time and home for Thanksgiving. We don't have anything special planned but I am thinking this year we may eat out. I may just make reservations. It would be a first for us. I always cook and I have already begun stocking the pantry for this year's feast but with just the three of us, I just may suggest we go out. If it is just our son and me, we will definately go out.
Ah, life.
I would like to give a shout out to the Westside Wolves - the District 25-A champs! They were undefeated in the District playoffs and were 9-1 for the seasons.
Go Wolves.
My son doesn't play, but, hey, I'm a southern girl. Football is embedded in my soul.
So, who's sick of Madonna? Elton John? Brad Pitt? I'm starting "Shut up and Sing" by Laura Ingraham tonight.
And now I am going to look at the really cool aquarium screen saver my husband put on this thing.
I don't do surprises well.
I always feel guilty, like the money should be spent on our son, who will be heading off to college in 1 1/2 short years, or something like that. My husband can spend money with merry abandonment and that is just the difference in our natures.
Tomorrow is another day.
Today my husband left for Equatorial Guinea. He was home a whopping 4 days this time, and 2 of those were spent with him sick in bed. As I type, he is winging it to Paris, which he abhors, then a 2 hour layover and then to Africa. Not too bad for his travels. He was in Equatorial Guinea once before, about 5 or so years ago.
I hope he is finished in a relatively short time and home for Thanksgiving. We don't have anything special planned but I am thinking this year we may eat out. I may just make reservations. It would be a first for us. I always cook and I have already begun stocking the pantry for this year's feast but with just the three of us, I just may suggest we go out. If it is just our son and me, we will definately go out.
Ah, life.
I would like to give a shout out to the Westside Wolves - the District 25-A champs! They were undefeated in the District playoffs and were 9-1 for the seasons.
Go Wolves.
My son doesn't play, but, hey, I'm a southern girl. Football is embedded in my soul.
So, who's sick of Madonna? Elton John? Brad Pitt? I'm starting "Shut up and Sing" by Laura Ingraham tonight.
And now I am going to look at the really cool aquarium screen saver my husband put on this thing.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Once a Marine, Always a Marine
Happy Veteran's Day! I hope we all will take a few moments and think about what a lucky country we are to have a military population that will step up, follow orders and secure our future.
This morning's coffee - Boca Java's Blogs of Bravery with chocolate mint truffle creamer. Excellent.
Last night's stroganoff made in the crock pot was a hit. This morning husband requested eggs and grits. Then I fixed potato soup for lunch, thick and creamy like I like it. Hubby has been sleeping most of the day, trying to feel better. He leaves Monday afternoon for Equatorial Guinea. I have been doing laundry like a mad woman so that whatever he needs to travel is clean.
Sunday Gerald Ford will break the record set by Ronald Reagan for being the oldest living president, by one day. The new record will begin with 93 years and 121 days.
I read an article by Mitch Stacy of the Associated Press about Florida'a oldest living vet from WWI. He is 111 years old and Governor Jeb Bush awarded him with the World War I Victory Medal yesterday. Ernest Charles Pusey, his last name is kiling me, was in the U.S. Navy from 1917 to 1919 and served on the battleship USS Wyoming, patrolling the sea lanes around the British Isles. He lives in a trailer since he wasn't happy in a nursing home. He has a caretaker who takes him to church and out for scallop dinners on Sundays. He worked for GM in Flint, Mi for more than 30 years before retiring to Florida. He still remembers his time on the battleship and especially "stopping at different cities out there."
According to the federal Dept of Veterans Affairs website, according to this article, there are fewer than 25 living U.S. veterans from World War I out of nearly 5 million who served worldwide.
Yesterday in Virginia, President Bush became a bit emotional, as he is known to do, as he spoke about presenting the Medal of Honor to a Marine who died as he jumped on a grenade in Iraq to save the lives of two comrades. The Medal of Honor is the highest American military decoration. Cpt. Jason Dunham of Scio, N.Y. died April 22, 2004 as his patrol was ambushed near the Syrian border. He used his helmet and his body to absorb the blast from the grenade. Friday was to be his 25th birthday.
President Bush has awarded 6 Medals of Honor. Three to Vietnam vets and one each to vets of WWII and Korea and one to an Iraq war vet.
Cpl. Dunham's parents were present as President Bush spoke of their son yesterday at the dedication of the Marine museum and they were presented with their son's medal.
Semper fi.
This morning's coffee - Boca Java's Blogs of Bravery with chocolate mint truffle creamer. Excellent.
Last night's stroganoff made in the crock pot was a hit. This morning husband requested eggs and grits. Then I fixed potato soup for lunch, thick and creamy like I like it. Hubby has been sleeping most of the day, trying to feel better. He leaves Monday afternoon for Equatorial Guinea. I have been doing laundry like a mad woman so that whatever he needs to travel is clean.
Sunday Gerald Ford will break the record set by Ronald Reagan for being the oldest living president, by one day. The new record will begin with 93 years and 121 days.
I read an article by Mitch Stacy of the Associated Press about Florida'a oldest living vet from WWI. He is 111 years old and Governor Jeb Bush awarded him with the World War I Victory Medal yesterday. Ernest Charles Pusey, his last name is kiling me, was in the U.S. Navy from 1917 to 1919 and served on the battleship USS Wyoming, patrolling the sea lanes around the British Isles. He lives in a trailer since he wasn't happy in a nursing home. He has a caretaker who takes him to church and out for scallop dinners on Sundays. He worked for GM in Flint, Mi for more than 30 years before retiring to Florida. He still remembers his time on the battleship and especially "stopping at different cities out there."
According to the federal Dept of Veterans Affairs website, according to this article, there are fewer than 25 living U.S. veterans from World War I out of nearly 5 million who served worldwide.
Yesterday in Virginia, President Bush became a bit emotional, as he is known to do, as he spoke about presenting the Medal of Honor to a Marine who died as he jumped on a grenade in Iraq to save the lives of two comrades. The Medal of Honor is the highest American military decoration. Cpt. Jason Dunham of Scio, N.Y. died April 22, 2004 as his patrol was ambushed near the Syrian border. He used his helmet and his body to absorb the blast from the grenade. Friday was to be his 25th birthday.
President Bush has awarded 6 Medals of Honor. Three to Vietnam vets and one each to vets of WWII and Korea and one to an Iraq war vet.
Cpl. Dunham's parents were present as President Bush spoke of their son yesterday at the dedication of the Marine museum and they were presented with their son's medal.
Semper fi.
Friday, November 10, 2006
The Cheese Nun
My sinuses are still out of whack. It will be a near record high temperature here today, projected to be 87 degrees. And humid, of course. Yes, still running the air-conditioning because my menopausal body insists on it.
My husband is at the doctor's office, awaiting a cure for his ills. He wasn't feeling too great after the journey home from China and then he realized an eye infection has set into his right eye, so he's home again today. He took my car and is having it's turn signals repaired as he waits to be squeezed into the doctor's schedule.
It's always something.
Last night I watched a PBS documentary about Sister Noella in Bethlehem, Connecticut. She lives in a cloistered nunnery of Benedictine sisters with emphasis on the benefit of physical labor. She has an interesting story.
Half way through the show I realized I had already seen it. I must have missed the beginning before, though. Yeah, it's been that kind of week.
Anyway, Sister Noella is the youngest of 6 children and was a student at Sarah Lawrence College in 1969 when she realized how disillusioned with life she had become, mostly due to sentiments about the Vietnam War. This group of nuns were criticized for taking in hippies and she was drawn to them.
In 1969, my husband was in the Air Force, stationed in Taiwan and flying missions into Vietnam. I was in my freshman year of high school. To save you the math, he's 7 years older than me!
Sister Noella had an interest in making cheese and that operation began with a single cow, Sheba. Sister Noella won a Fulbright Scholarship to study cheese manufacturing in France for a year.
The sisters make it in a very primitive way, stressing physical labor as is their belief, and it is done by hand. The milk is not pasteurized.
The Mother Superior there, Mother Anastacia, is a blacksmith. She does not look like a nun I would like to be on the wrong side of. After my three years in a Catholic girls' high school in Shreveport, there are lots of residual feelings about nuns remaining! Too many memories of kneeling for uniform inspection - our hemline could not be more than two inches above our knees, in the days of the miniskirt - and it yours was too short the ruler was brought out and your knuckles were whacked.
Ah, good times.
My husband is at the doctor's office, awaiting a cure for his ills. He wasn't feeling too great after the journey home from China and then he realized an eye infection has set into his right eye, so he's home again today. He took my car and is having it's turn signals repaired as he waits to be squeezed into the doctor's schedule.
It's always something.
Last night I watched a PBS documentary about Sister Noella in Bethlehem, Connecticut. She lives in a cloistered nunnery of Benedictine sisters with emphasis on the benefit of physical labor. She has an interesting story.
Half way through the show I realized I had already seen it. I must have missed the beginning before, though. Yeah, it's been that kind of week.
Anyway, Sister Noella is the youngest of 6 children and was a student at Sarah Lawrence College in 1969 when she realized how disillusioned with life she had become, mostly due to sentiments about the Vietnam War. This group of nuns were criticized for taking in hippies and she was drawn to them.
In 1969, my husband was in the Air Force, stationed in Taiwan and flying missions into Vietnam. I was in my freshman year of high school. To save you the math, he's 7 years older than me!
Sister Noella had an interest in making cheese and that operation began with a single cow, Sheba. Sister Noella won a Fulbright Scholarship to study cheese manufacturing in France for a year.
The sisters make it in a very primitive way, stressing physical labor as is their belief, and it is done by hand. The milk is not pasteurized.
The Mother Superior there, Mother Anastacia, is a blacksmith. She does not look like a nun I would like to be on the wrong side of. After my three years in a Catholic girls' high school in Shreveport, there are lots of residual feelings about nuns remaining! Too many memories of kneeling for uniform inspection - our hemline could not be more than two inches above our knees, in the days of the miniskirt - and it yours was too short the ruler was brought out and your knuckles were whacked.
Ah, good times.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Number 84
Hubby got home last night from his trip to China. He is home today recovering and getting some work done from home. He's a busy guy.
Today is my mother in law's 84th birthday. I spoke with her on the phone Tuesday night and she was telling me how beautiful the flowers are that we sent to her. I already gave her subscriptions to a couple of her favorite magazines, Southern Living and Paula Deen's magazine, so she's a happy woman.
My mother in law is one healthy woman. How lucky is she? She doesn't take any meds at all. She takes vitamins and supplements and that's it. She is still working. She retired last year from her work in real estate and that lasted about 7 or 8 months. She's back in the game and doing open houses on weekends for a realtor for a monthly salary.
She is back playing bridge - she is at master's level - and has a new beau, to whom she is re-teaching the game. She continues to be a voracious reader and works her word jumbles every morning. She continues to travel across the country, whether it is to visit us here in Houston, to the Seattle area to visit her other son, or to south Georgia to visit her hometown and her family there. She goes to Florida each winter for a bit with an old friend.
She is an actress and last year continued to pass out her head shots to do commercials and extra work in movies. As a younger woman, she had a cooking show on the local tv station in Indiana where she has lived since marrying my father in law, barely out of her teens. They met while she was a student in college in New Orleans and he was on leave from the war, passing through town, during WWII.
She has lived in Bloomington, Indiana since marrying him. She has the same circle of girlfriends as she always did, so her friendships are in the range of 60 years or so with many of them. They all get together on New Year's Eve and have a slumber party so they can drink champagne and not worry about getting home. A majority of them have a standing weekly date for lunch.
I want to go out the same way.
Today is my mother in law's 84th birthday. I spoke with her on the phone Tuesday night and she was telling me how beautiful the flowers are that we sent to her. I already gave her subscriptions to a couple of her favorite magazines, Southern Living and Paula Deen's magazine, so she's a happy woman.
My mother in law is one healthy woman. How lucky is she? She doesn't take any meds at all. She takes vitamins and supplements and that's it. She is still working. She retired last year from her work in real estate and that lasted about 7 or 8 months. She's back in the game and doing open houses on weekends for a realtor for a monthly salary.
She is back playing bridge - she is at master's level - and has a new beau, to whom she is re-teaching the game. She continues to be a voracious reader and works her word jumbles every morning. She continues to travel across the country, whether it is to visit us here in Houston, to the Seattle area to visit her other son, or to south Georgia to visit her hometown and her family there. She goes to Florida each winter for a bit with an old friend.
She is an actress and last year continued to pass out her head shots to do commercials and extra work in movies. As a younger woman, she had a cooking show on the local tv station in Indiana where she has lived since marrying my father in law, barely out of her teens. They met while she was a student in college in New Orleans and he was on leave from the war, passing through town, during WWII.
She has lived in Bloomington, Indiana since marrying him. She has the same circle of girlfriends as she always did, so her friendships are in the range of 60 years or so with many of them. They all get together on New Year's Eve and have a slumber party so they can drink champagne and not worry about getting home. A majority of them have a standing weekly date for lunch.
I want to go out the same way.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
There's Got To Be A Morning After
I can't believe how foggy the air was this morning. I feel for the folks on the expressways around here in morning rush. My sinuses are giving me a pounding headache even after taking my meds.
So, here we are. The election is finally over and we can relax. I'm happy my state remained in the red column. It's too bad what happened to my party nationwide but I'll admit it was to be expected. I expect the two Senate seats, Montana and Virginia, still in limbo will go to the Dems, too. So, we'll have both houses under Democratic control. We do, however, still have George W. Bush in the White House. This just means not much is going to be accomplished in the next two years and that's not such a bad thing. My strong libertarian streak rejoices.
The good news from all this for me is that my party will now have to do a bit of soul searching and get back to the core principles. When it is the Democrats running on fiscal responsibility and corruption, you know the Republican leadership has lost its way. The president's veto pen will have to be dusted off and put to use. This is a good thing. The far right of my party will be reigned in on the social issues and that is also a good thing. When Republicans get involved in a personal decision on right to die issues, it is time to rethink the issues. When the Republicans got involved in the Schiavo case in Florida, I knew we were going the wrong way. The far right of my party is no better for our causes than the far left is for the Democrats. Both sides look equally off kilter to regular folks out there.
The good news is the president continues to lead the war on terrorism for the next two years. And now the prospects of a Republican president in 2008 are much better. When the partying is over and things settle down to business in D.C., the country will soon realize that Nancy Pelosi is a model of mixed messages. She claims to represent the union worker, yet her mulitmillionaire husband doesn't employ union workers in his hotels or his vineyards in California. She claims she wants civility in D.C. yet just last week in a national tv interview called the president a liar and stupid. Not original and not civil. She is the daughter of a former mayor of Baltimore, grew up in politics, and the only change she brings to Washington is the party affiliation initial after her name. But, boy, her plastic surgeon is good.
I was heartened to see Joe Lieberman's victory speech. I don't agree with him on much at all, but his support on national security is the most important issue of our time and he's a man of courage in his party. The ironic thing is now he is the most powerful Democrat in the Senate and is an Independent on paper. The Dems shunned him and supported Lamont to pacify the far left anti war crowd. Now they'll be required to get Lieberman's support for legislation to be up for votes. Sweet.
I admit to being happy Jack Carter lost his Senate bid in Nevada. He is no better than his failure of a president father, Jimma, and showed his true stripes by asking moms of fallen soldiers in Iraq to stand with him on stage and garner up support for his anti war stance on Iraq. The standard play of Democrats to use victims as vote fodder. What they are slowly learning is that when it comes to the war, Cindy Sheehan is the exception, not the rule. The majority of the moms will not dishonor the memory of their children in brazenly political ways. He was turned down, quite publicly, by the moms he was trying to win over and that is a good thing.
Our foreign policy will not change. The war effort will be modified, as it was being done already. Now, when Don Rumsfeld offers his resignation to President Bush, the president will be able to gracefully accept it and do what needs to be done. He needs a fresh Secretary of Defense with fresh eyes.
The Dems were set to re-elect Mollahan from W. VA and Jefferson from LA, both under corruption investigations so that will be interesting to see play out.
The party of No, if President Bush wants it we don't, the party of obstruction will now have to come up with policy to lead.
They have to be the grown ups now.
The future is looking good.
So, here we are. The election is finally over and we can relax. I'm happy my state remained in the red column. It's too bad what happened to my party nationwide but I'll admit it was to be expected. I expect the two Senate seats, Montana and Virginia, still in limbo will go to the Dems, too. So, we'll have both houses under Democratic control. We do, however, still have George W. Bush in the White House. This just means not much is going to be accomplished in the next two years and that's not such a bad thing. My strong libertarian streak rejoices.
The good news from all this for me is that my party will now have to do a bit of soul searching and get back to the core principles. When it is the Democrats running on fiscal responsibility and corruption, you know the Republican leadership has lost its way. The president's veto pen will have to be dusted off and put to use. This is a good thing. The far right of my party will be reigned in on the social issues and that is also a good thing. When Republicans get involved in a personal decision on right to die issues, it is time to rethink the issues. When the Republicans got involved in the Schiavo case in Florida, I knew we were going the wrong way. The far right of my party is no better for our causes than the far left is for the Democrats. Both sides look equally off kilter to regular folks out there.
The good news is the president continues to lead the war on terrorism for the next two years. And now the prospects of a Republican president in 2008 are much better. When the partying is over and things settle down to business in D.C., the country will soon realize that Nancy Pelosi is a model of mixed messages. She claims to represent the union worker, yet her mulitmillionaire husband doesn't employ union workers in his hotels or his vineyards in California. She claims she wants civility in D.C. yet just last week in a national tv interview called the president a liar and stupid. Not original and not civil. She is the daughter of a former mayor of Baltimore, grew up in politics, and the only change she brings to Washington is the party affiliation initial after her name. But, boy, her plastic surgeon is good.
I was heartened to see Joe Lieberman's victory speech. I don't agree with him on much at all, but his support on national security is the most important issue of our time and he's a man of courage in his party. The ironic thing is now he is the most powerful Democrat in the Senate and is an Independent on paper. The Dems shunned him and supported Lamont to pacify the far left anti war crowd. Now they'll be required to get Lieberman's support for legislation to be up for votes. Sweet.
I admit to being happy Jack Carter lost his Senate bid in Nevada. He is no better than his failure of a president father, Jimma, and showed his true stripes by asking moms of fallen soldiers in Iraq to stand with him on stage and garner up support for his anti war stance on Iraq. The standard play of Democrats to use victims as vote fodder. What they are slowly learning is that when it comes to the war, Cindy Sheehan is the exception, not the rule. The majority of the moms will not dishonor the memory of their children in brazenly political ways. He was turned down, quite publicly, by the moms he was trying to win over and that is a good thing.
Our foreign policy will not change. The war effort will be modified, as it was being done already. Now, when Don Rumsfeld offers his resignation to President Bush, the president will be able to gracefully accept it and do what needs to be done. He needs a fresh Secretary of Defense with fresh eyes.
The Dems were set to re-elect Mollahan from W. VA and Jefferson from LA, both under corruption investigations so that will be interesting to see play out.
The party of No, if President Bush wants it we don't, the party of obstruction will now have to come up with policy to lead.
They have to be the grown ups now.
The future is looking good.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Election Day 2006
VOTE
Today is the day to take responsibility as an American citizen and vote.
The weather may not be pleasant.
The choices may not be the ones you want.
But...
Today you awoke a free American citizen.
The economy is humming right along.
Unemployment is at an all time low.
The stock market is at a high mark.
Our streets are not riddled with bombs.
Our children have a bright future.
We have plenty to eat.
Minorities are at record home ownership levels.
Small businesses are succeeding.
Thank a soldier.
Go vote.
Today is the day to take responsibility as an American citizen and vote.
The weather may not be pleasant.
The choices may not be the ones you want.
But...
Today you awoke a free American citizen.
The economy is humming right along.
Unemployment is at an all time low.
The stock market is at a high mark.
Our streets are not riddled with bombs.
Our children have a bright future.
We have plenty to eat.
Minorities are at record home ownership levels.
Small businesses are succeeding.
Thank a soldier.
Go vote.
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