To My New York Friends

To My New York Friends

All of you who live in New York State must be so proud that Chuck Schumer, who has sworn in his capacity as U.S. Senator to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, has no idea what it says.

Over the weekend, Senator Schumer referred to the three branches of our government as the House, the Senate and the Presidency. The Constitution so clearly defines our three branches of government as the Legislative, Executive and Judicial.

You might want to pick someone else next time you’re voting to fill the position of Senator.

A Beautiful Day

Today was absolutely gorgeous! It was sunny and warm, but not too warm. There was a gentle breeze, but not a howling wind. Most of the time I was in the camper, I had my door open and my screen door with its new patch closed. The fresh air was incredible.

Tomorrow it is supposed to rain, but I hope that doesn’t happen early in the morning. I have a 7:30 appointment to have my truck serviced and would just as soon not get wet or have to drive in the rain.

I signed up to stay here in the park until the end of February and may stay even later depending on how soon some business gets settled, but I’m perfectly content here. I take a nap when I want. I’ve been playing a lot of Scrabble and beat the “normal” computer Scrabble player 61% of the time. When I can beat him 75% of the time, I’ll tackle the expert computer Scrabble player. That time may never come, but I’m having a ball. It’s so easy to play on my Kindle.

The Chronicles of the Door

This week, I’ve been slowly working my way through Gene Edwards’ Chronicles of the Door. It’s a terrific set of books and I’m enjoying them as much or more than the last time I read them.

Writing Prompt: The first time I wore _____

The first time I wore motorcycle boots, I could not believe how comfortable they were. And, it wasn’t just physical comfort, but the comfort of knowing my feet and ankles were much more protected than when I wore sneakers while riding my Honda 360 or, later, my Kawasaki 400.

Riding a motorcycle is the most fun I’ve ever had by myself. The rush of wind as you ride down the highway is, well, a rush. When it’s a beautiful, warm, sunny day, nothing beats a motorcycle ride.

I have experienced motorcycle rides that weren’t so much fun. My husband Mark and I rode on our motorcycles from Rochester, NY to Binghamton, NY just once. We went down on a Saturday and back the next day. I guess we hadn’t checked the weather, because on Sunday, it was very cold and rainy. Since Mark was riding some bike I don’t remember – I just know it was a 120cc -- and I was riding a 90 cc Honda, it took us a long time to get back. If I recall, it was a five-hour trip that day, two hours longer than usual.

Surprisingly, in spite of getting drenched, neither of us caught a cold or got sick from the ride. I wasn’t wearing motorcycle boots then or I might have been a little more comfortable, but maybe not. It wasn’t fun while we were doing it, but we had a lot of laughs looking back on it.

One evening, our friends Dave and Carolyn and Mark and I rode over to East Bloomfield, NY to get some ice cream. It was a beautiful summer evening, not a cloud in the sky. Before we started for home, clouds moved in and there was a downpour. I was wearing my motorcycle boots for that ride. The rain was warm so we didn’t get too cold, but there were times we were riding in a couple inches of water on the road. It was a fun ride, in spite of the rain, especially when we got home and tipped over our boots. A lot of water poured out. We laughed and laughed.

I don’t ride motorcycles any more. There are just too many cars on the road and it’s not safe, but if I ever were to ride again, I would certainly wear boots.

Until next time…

McDonald’s, etc.

McDonald’s Fruit and Maple Oatmeal

This morning, I went down to our McDonald’s at the junction of McIntosh and I-4 and picked up 2 servings of their new Fruit and maple Oatmeal, one for Richard and one for me. We both really liked it and after three hours, I am still full. The oatmeal itself if delicious (you can get it all day) and the fruit was plenteous and fresh. I’m sure there were Granny Smith apples, probably Red Delicious apples, some C’Raisins and some gold raisins. I plan on eating this again and hope you will try it too.

International Space Station Coming Together:

Check out this USA Today feature on the building of the International Space Station. It only takes a couple of minutes.

http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm

Screen Patched

Ever since I’ve had my camper, there has been a small hole (i i/2 in. by 1 in.) at the bottom corner. I’ve had screen patches forever, but finally did something about it this morning. I patched it inside and out. The patch is not made of screen. Instead, it is plastic with a screen like pattern on it and is self-stick. I figured if I patched on both sides, it would stay patched better. It doesn’t look too bad, but you can tell it’s been repaired (see bottom left corner). It’s been so nice here, but that will bring the mosquitoes and gnats, which this patch should help keep out.

And I Thought I Had Toilet Trouble

It was reported in our newsletter today that one of our new residents had their toilet BACK UP and spill sewage all over their bathroom. Someone apparently has been tearing up bed sheets and somehow getting them down their drain. In fact, during this latest incident, a whole sheet was found. What, I wonder, could cause someone to do such a thing? I guess I was even more lucky than I thought.

My Writing Prompt

Prompt: Write about a forbidden activity

“Mama said not to put beans in your ear” is the first forbidden activity I thought of when I started writing in response to this prompt. Silly, huh?

Over the last several years, the government, in its benevolent(more like malevolent) nanny-state role, has instituted a lot of new forbidden (or at least, discouraged) activities: smoking (forbidding this I am all in favor of since I’m terribly allergic to smoke, plus it’s disgusting), using saccharin (which has now been declared okay), using incandescent light bulbs (so we can have the CFL bulbs (containing mercury) which are classified hazardous if you break one--even if they don’t break, they cause migraines in many people, trans-fats, salt (Mayor Bloomberg’s favorite no-no), and of course, guns (though freedom-loving Americans have managed to at least stifle some of that). I could go on and on, but I won’t

There are all sorts of activities that it make sense to forbid. Take the Ten Commandments, for example. Most of the commandments start out “Thou shalt not” (KJV) or “You must not” (NLB). The two that don’t start that way have an implication of forbidden activity. “Observe the Sabbath…” and “Honor your father and your mother...”

When asked what the most important commandment was, Jesus summed up what we should do (and thus, not do) with these words (see Mark 12:29 – 31 in the NLT):

²⁹ Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. ³⁰ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’^{[e] 31} The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[f] No other commandment is greater than these.”

Just think what this world would be like if everyone followed these two wise commandments. Just love the Lord with all of yourself and love your neighbor as yourself. In my humble opinion, anything we do that does not follow these should be forbidden activities.

Until next time…

What An Exciting Day

Up at a little after 4 this morning, I started my day doing dishes and making another pot of Spanish Rice, this time using half ground pork and half ground beef. I also added 3 Jalapeno peppers, but still cannot taste any of the heat or Jalapeno flavor. Next time it will be 4 of them. Incidentally, I’m still using Jalapeno peppers I grew last year and froze. They’re much easier to work with when frozen and last for a couple of years in the freezer.

I think I may have to boil the rice a little longer from now on. My cousin uses white rice which cooks in about a third of the time of brown rice. Since all I have or will use is brown rice, my rice tends to be a little al dente. In any case, I still enjoy it.

Richard made a big pot of goulash yesterday and gave me a container of it this morning when I went over to do my laundry – that was the really exciting part of my day.

I also swept out my truck. The floor under the driver (that would be me) was rife with grass and junk tracked in from the lawn by the camper. What a mess! But I got it all cleaned up. I also installed a camo Ford license plate on the front instead of the free advertising for Jarrett-Scott Ford. I hope they can use the old plate. It seems a shame to throw it away.

Prompt: The end of the day

The end of the day is a time for reflection:

• Did I complete everything I planned to get done, i.e., are the items on my list of three crossed off?
• Could I have done anything better?
• What three main tasks do I want to accomplish tomorrow and did I write them down?
• What have I learned/relearned today?
• Did I post my blog?

The end of the day is a time for prayer and praise:

• Did I thank Him for reaching out to me, for dying for me, for saving me?
• Did I thank God for all of His kindness, His mercy and His grace?
• Did I thank Him for answered prayer?
• What special needs did I hear about today that I need to pray for?
• Did I mention each of my family and friends in prayer?
• Did I pray for my country and its leaders?
• Did I recognize burdens I am trying to carry myself and turn them over to God?

The end of the day is a time for relaxation and rest:

• Did I overdo things today (I find this is almost never a problem)?
• Am I going to bed at a reasonable time?
• Is there any problem keeping me awake? If so, did I turn it over to God?

Until next time…

The Mechanic

My cousin Ethelyn sent me another picture so her great-granddaughter Juliette:

That’s daddy J.F. holding her being watched carefully by their dog Montana.

The Mechanic

This morning, I went to AMC to see The Mechanic starring Jason Statham (you might have seen him in The Transporter movies) and Ben Foster. Although Donald Sutherland had a small part in the movie, he was a large part of the plot. Tony Goldwyn, the bad guy from Ghost was also in it.

It’s a remake of a 1972 movie starring Charles Bronson and Jan Michael Vincent, although the sex scenes were a bit more graphic and the violence was much more extreme. I liked the ending of this one better, though. For those of you who may not know, “mechanic” is a term for a fixer or assassin.

I recommend it to anyone who likes lots of action or car chases or Jason Statham. You won’t be disappointed.

The Sky You Were Born Under

Prompt: Write about the sky you were born under (after Joy Harjo)

Although I looked up Joy Harjo, I couldn’t find a reference to “the sky you were born under.” Joy is a Native American of the Muskogee tribe who is a poetess and musician and who has studied painting and theater. She has published seven books of poetry.

In any case, the sky I was born under is the sky everyone else is born under, the very same sky God created on that second day of creation. Two days later, God created the sun, moon, and stars that appear in that self-same sky.

It’s the same sky in which Greek mythology says Icarus tried to flee the island of Crete. His father Daedalus had fashioned wings from feathers and wax, but Icarus is said to have flown too close to the sun, causing the wax to melt and Icarus to die.

It’s the same sky in which two Frenchmen made the first untethered flight in a hot-air balloon created by the Montgolfier brothers on December 14, 1782.

It’s the same sky in which the American flag flew, inspiring Francis Scott Key to pen “The Star Spangled Banner.” The poem was originally called “The Defence of Fort McHenry.” “At the twilight’s last gleaming,” on September 13, 1814, during the War of 1812, Key watched the bombardment by the British of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore. The fort was attacked all night long. Key was amazed and delighted to see the American flag still flying over the fort “by the dawn’s early light” on September 14^th, despite all of the “rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air. “

It’s the same sky in which Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first plane flight at Kitty Hawk, NC on December 17, 1903. However, you would probably have had to lie on the ground to consider those first flights “in the sky.”

It’s the same sky Charles Lindbergh, a 25-year old U.S. Air Mail pilot, flew across when he made the first trans-Atlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis from Long Island to Paris. Oddly enough, he left the U.S. on my birthday, but on May 20, 1927, eighteen years before I was born.

It’s the same sky into which Apollo 11 flew to carry Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon during the Apollo 11 flight. These men stepped out on the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969, watched by millions of proud Americans.

It’s the same sky in which the space shuttle Challenger crashed on January 28, 1986, (25 years ago today), from which the space shuttle Columbia crashed on February 1, 2003.

It’s the same sky in which we watched two planes fly into the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, and in which we saw dark gray smoke announcing that the United States is not safe from religious extremists determined to bring us down as they did the towers.

What a sky to be born under!

Until next time…

Bubble, Bubble, Toilet and Trouble

Last night, my toilet broke free from the flange. (Of course, this was the night when I had drunk two or three cans of Sun Drop, that delicious drink you used to only be able to get in western NY. The flushing mechanism on the toilet worked just fine – no leaking or stinking, but it just wasn’t safe to sit on. I thought about going to a motel for the night, but I was able to make do. I don’t know how the pioneers making their way up the Oregon Trail managed all of that squatting!!!

Today, I called A & A Mobile RV Service, located in nearby Plant City. Within an hour of my call, the nicest man came to fix the toilet. It took him the better part of an hour, but he got it done. He did drop a drill bit down into the tank while working on it, but was able to retrieve it with a handy little grabber like you see in all of those mail-order catalogs – not the big one, but one that opened up about 2 1/2 inches and allowed him to pick up the bit – it may even have been magnetized.

The total charge for repair was only the minimum of $130 for which I was very thankful. And I can’t tell you how happy I was not to have to pack up the camper and tow it over to Camping World.

My writing prompt today was: Write about a used car

The first car I ever had was a used car, a two-seater sports car called the NSU Prinz. I have no idea what year it was, but I bought it right after I got out of college and totaled it within a few months.

My friend and roommate from college Ginnie Harter and I drove down to Camden, NJ, to the wedding of a classmate of ours. On the way back, we stopped in a rest area along I-81 and had a short nap. It was very late and very dark. While we rested, the windows steamed up but I didn’t notice this until I started up. I was wiping the inside of the windshield when I must have steered the way I was wiping.

My little NSU Prinz was no match for the Cadillac I scraped the side of. My car was totaled and it was totally my fault. Neither Ginnie nor I nor those in the Caddy were injured, but I couldn’t drive the car. I had to call Mark, who drove down and towed us back.

I remember that car with fondness, even though, if I recall correctly, it was orange and white. Anyone who knows me will find that hard to believe. I must have acquired my aversion to orange and yellow sometime later in life.

Since those days, I’ve had a lot of used cars and I can only think of one that was not a good value. The only thing about used cars though is they don’t have that new car smell. Of course, the money difference more than makes up for that.

Until next time...

A Scary Storm

The weatherman predicted severe thunderstorms yesterday and for once, he was right.

Although the storm didn’t last long, it was ferocious and intense, worse even than the times I’ve been here during hurricanes. There were a number of tornadoes and hail in various areas around us, but we were lucky here in Thonotosassa, there was only rain and wind.

Did I say only rain and wind? A couple of times, the wind was blowing so violently the camper rocked as if it were going to tip over. The rain was so intense, it was like Niagara Falls down the west side of my camper.

About 9 PM though, the wind dropped off and the rain slowed to a reasonable rate. I was glad it was over.

Yesterday, my writing prompt was: Shadows. Have you ever thought much about shadows? I haven’t and will probably spend more time on what I wrote about them as I think more about them. In any case, this is what I wrote:

What is a shadow?

To understand shadows requires an understanding of darkness and light. While darkness is the absence of light, light is not the absence of darkness. The blocking of light by an object creates an area of defined partial darkness called a shadow. The shadow’s shape, size and intensity depend on a number of factors, including the shape and size of the object, the brightness of the light, the distance of the light source from the object, and the angle of the light. As the object moves in relationship to the light or the light moves in relationship to the object, the shadow can change in size, shape, and intensity.

An object can cast more than one shadow at a time, but more than one light source is required.

The term shadow is used in many ways. The phrase “beyond the shadow of a doubt” comes to mind, as well as “He is a shadow of his former self” and “…the valley of the shadow of death.” In these phrases, “shadow” refers to a hint or intimation of the object, a less than substantial version of the object.

I’d love to know your thoughts about shadow.

Until next time…

The Lord Is My Shepherd

A friend sent me the following in an email. That little boy sure got it right.

A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible - Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter.
Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line.
On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, 'The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know.'

Isn’t that a great one?

A few days ago, my sister-in-law in Johnson City sent me the following picture, You can barely see that big Dodge truck behind the snow bank. That’s the same truck I need a stepstool to get into. Glad that doesn’t happen here in Florida.

I guess they have also been having sub-zero temps like the rest of the northeast.

This morning, the strawberry pickers were out behind my camper. You would not believe how fast they move down that field. They work so hard picking and literally run down the field to the next set of rows to pick in.

 

Although it’s still quite early (3:59 PM), I’m going to post this blog because we’re supposed to have severe thunderstorms this evening. The National Weather Service just announced there’s tornado in Hernando/Pasco counties (we’re south of there).

Until next time…

Leaving

The weather was very cold last night, but not as cold as the poor folks in the northeast. We have yet to face sub-zero temperatures, though it seemed pretty cold. Tomorrow, we expecting rain and thunderstorms (70% chance).

I called Charlene at the park office today and reserved the site I’m in for the month of February. Since there is some business that needs to be handled here, I’m going to stay here until it’s done.

After all, I do not have to leave at any special time. And speaking of leaving, the writing prompt for today was “Write about leaving…”

It seems throughout our lives we have no choice but to leave people or things or places we love. Occasionally, people leave us, sometimes by choice and sometimes not. That, I think, is the hardest, at least for those left behind.

On the other hand, there are occasions when leaving is a good thing: leaving for college, leaving your current job for a better one, leaving the cold for the warm, leaving a dangerous relationship.

Imagine what the world would be like if no one ever left -- any thing, any place or anybody --for even the shortest period of time. Commerce and progress would come to a halt. We would all starve to death in short order. For progress to take place, we must be active. We must leave our houses to go to work, to shop, to visit friends.

The ultimate leaving is, of course, dying. In this instance, the person leaving does not come back… ever. In most cases, the person leaving has no choice. But, one must ask if dying is really leaving. Sure, it’s leaving this world, this earth, this culture, this life, but if is not our choice, then is it really leaving or is the person just removed. Doesn’t leaving assume intent to go somewhere else?

But then, I don’t believe that if a person dies, he will never come back. And I believe that for many dying is a blessing. It means leaving this life of pain and misery and going to a better place. After all, we have a Savior who died that we might live. He offered Himself up for us that we might know that when we leave, we go to a better place, one where there are no tears or sorrow, one where there is no grief or pain, one where we can be in fellowship with those who have left us and are with our risen Lord.

I also know that those whom Jesus has saved will come with Him when He comes at the sound of the trumpet. The Bible says in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NLT):

¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died^[f] so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

¹⁵ We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.^{[g] 16} For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died^[h] will rise from their graves. ¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words.

I hope you have been encouraged by these words and that they gave you something to think about. Leaving isn’t necessarily a bad thing or a good thing, it’s just reality.

Until next time…

Writing Contest Over

This morning, at a little before 10, I submitted my entry titled “Namesake Be Damned” for the WritersWeekly.com Writing Contest. The challenge was to write a story of no more than 875 words long using the following prompt:

The feet of her pajamas offered no protection as she trudged through the deep drifts. She had been crying throughout her ordeal and, when she lowered her head for protection from the wind, she almost missed a light piercing through the trees. As she instinctively turned in that direction, she heard a train whistle...

My entry will be judged along with hundreds of others and a decision will be forthcoming in 6 weeks or more. Once the contest has been judged, they award First, Second, Third, and 20 Honorable Mentions. They also draw a bunch of door prize winners from the contestants.

This was a fun prompt to do. I expect my entry will be a little different from most since I wrote about deep drifts of SAND in the desert instead of SNOW in the winter. Once the contest is complete, I’ll post the story here on this blog.

I really think the practice with writing prompts helped me immensely. My normal practice in these contests is to mull over the prompt until the next morning then rush to write the story. This time, I spent a couple of hours researching some info for the story and had the thing written by 7:35 last night. Amazing, isn’t it? I woke up this morning about 4 and reworked the story for a couple of hours, went back to bed at 6 and got up at 8. I spent about an hour tightening it up and shuffling things around. I emailed it to Writers Weekly at 8:52, well before the 1 PM deadline.

Just think: because I’ve been spending so much time on writing prompts, I can churn out the drivel I write much faster. Eh! Eh! Eh!

Today, Karen and I went to Carrabba’s for lunch. Richard wasn’t feeling up to it. We both had the sausage and lentil soup and spaghetti with meat sauce and sausage. Scrumptious! Of course, I brought home l little of the soup and a lot of the spaghetti. In fact, since it’s now 6:44, I think I’ll warm up the soup and eat it. I’ll probably have the spaghetti for breakfast.

Until next time…

Contest Starts at One O’Clock

It’s only 9:42 AM, but I’m going to post my blog right now. Today, the writing contest I’m in will start at 1 PM. Tomorrow, at noon, it will end. I won’t have any time to work on my blog tonight, but will let you know all about the contest tomorrow.

A few months ago, I sent in my entry with my $5 entry fee. Today at 1, I’ll receive an email detailing the topic, the number of words, where to send what I write and the rules of the competition. I’ve participated in this contest before and really enjoy the challenge, even though I’ve only ever received Honorable Mention. I’d love to win just like every other contestant, but, in the meantime, I plan to enjoy the process. I hope my imagination is working overtime today.

Speaking of “In the meantime…” that is the prompt for today. As always, you can stop reading here if you’re not interested in reading my response to the prompt.

As the years pass by, it seems as if more and more of those I cherish pass away. In the meantime, in spite of the many bruises in my heart from the loss of these dear loved ones, I carry on.

The first person whose death I remember was my Uncle Ike. He and my Aunt Kitty, who lived about eight miles away, had six children: Tommy, Anita, Gerry, George, Jimmy and Denny. My brother Ray and I used to spend a lot of time at their house. Gerry was about my age and George was about Ray’s.

A short distance down from Uncle Ike’s house, a creek ran along side of a road. In a tree above the creek was a rope. One of my most vivid childhood memories was the adventure of swinging across that raging creek on the rope. When I visited there after Mark and I were married, I couldn’t believe that the “dangerous” creek had turned into a dinky little drainage ditch. I prefer to remember it as I remember it and now how it really was.

My cousin Anita, who was a few years older than I, taught me how to play “Heart and Soul” and “Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I’ll eat some worms” on the piano. Isn’t it funny what you remember?

A year or so after Uncle Ike died, my cousin Gerry was killed in a car accident. This happened in 1952. Gerry and I were both seven years old. I remember the year because it’s the same year my brother Jeff was born.

Over the next fifty or so years, so many have passed: my aunts including Lana, Ruth, Iona, and Lillian; my uncles including Bert, Paul, Nate, Kenneth, Floyd, and Glenn; many cousins and many dear friends. In the last ten years, my beloved husband Mark, his brother David, my sister-in-law Fumi, my own dear mother (just last year) and my cousin Alger a few weeks after that. Just recently, my special friend Dave Parks passed on. He and his wife Carolyn and Mark and I spent many hours together over the last forty-some years.

In the meantime, my memories of all of them bring smiles and tears. Each person has a place in my heart with his or her own set of unique memories. I could recount them all for you, but it would take months to write it all down. In the meantime, I can think of them and smile and laugh and cry.

Even better than pulling out these thoughts when I’m alone is that there are a few people still living who had a part in making these memories. When we get together, we’ll bring them up and share a laugh and a few tears. If we’re lucky, there will be others who knew these folks but who weren’t there when the memory was being made. We have the pleasure of making sure others

Just last night David’s wife Esther and her son Steve and I shared some special memories. I felt especially close to my departed loved ones while we were reminiscing. It made me long to be with them all again. In the meantime, I’ll continue enjoying my life before I pass on to the next where I’ll see them all again. I can picture it now: all of us in heaven laughing and enjoying those memories we made together.

Until next time…

Lasagna or Not

This afternoon, my cousin Richard and I stopped at Lazy Days RV Park to pick up Patti (Esther’s roommate from college) so we could all ride over to Esther’s together for a promised lasagna dinner .

We had a great dinner, though it wasn’t the feast we had anticipated. Instead, we were invited to (and did) eat prime rib smothered in mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and baby carrots. For dessert, Esther forced us to eat macadamia nut cheesecake. It was a trial – no lasagna and being compelled to eat prime rib and cheesecake, but lasagna or not, we had a great dinner and a great time of fellowship with Esther, Steven, our niece Jane and Jane’s husband David.

Richard and I got home tonight about 10 o’clock. Now, it’s time to go to bed. If you want to read my latest piece from my daily prompts, it follows, otherwise, this post is complete.

Mail-Order

My prompt for the day was “Write about something you bought mail order.:”

Since the Internet burst on the scene and with it Internet marketing, I avoid physical stores even more. Let’s face it. I HATE to shop! I used to have to qualify that statement with “except in bookstores,” but with the advent of Amazon’s Kindle I don’t even have to go into bookstores.

I have bought a variety of items on-line, (my version of mail order): computers, hard disk drives, solar generators, books (before I got my Kindle), TVs, clothing, and on and on. And, although I had to visit the dealer, I picked out the actual pickup truck on-line. For the most part, I have been very satisfied with my purchases.

Anyone who knows me will know I never take anything back to a store. It just seems like too much hassle. Well, since I’ve been shopping on-line, I’ve changed how I think about that. In fact, this week I returned an item. It was much easier to send an e-mail and request instructions for returning the article than it would have taken to drive back to a store and confront customer service with a return.

The reason I returned the item was simple: the day after I received it in the mail, I found a better one for half the price.

Did I ever tell you how much I like shopping mail-order, i.e., on-line?

Until next time…

Where Is It?

I live in a 25-foot camper. Today, I finally managed to remove the cover from my light in the bathroom so I could see what kind of bulb was needed. I went down to Ace Hardware and got a new 1141 bulb (actually 2 packages of 4 bulbs), came back home and installed it in the socket. Now, I can’t find the cover that goes over the light and in a 25-FOOT camper no less. My advice is: don’t get old and feebleminded like me.

I checked the garbage. I wonder if I should check the refrigerator!!!!

My cousin Ethelyn is doing well. She slept well last night and isn’t experiencing much pain.

Speaking of sleeping well last night, I didn’t. I spent most of night up and down going into the bathroom carrying a dishpan with me in case I had to be sick. I might have felt better if I had been sick. When I talked to Karen today, she said she had not felt well last night either. We’re guessing it might have been the chicken wings, sauce, or blue cheese dressing we had at Kazbor’s.

In case you’d like to read the boring piece I wrote on my writing prompt, just continue reading. Otherwise, you might want to stop.

Prompt: Look out the window; write about what you see

The window over my kitchen sink is not very big. In fact, the size is probably not quite 2 feet by 2 feet. Still, it is still possible to see a few things from my window.

Most obvious is my beautiful, candy-apple red Ford F-150 pickup. It’s almost as long as my camper and, this morning, is dripping with dew. If I were to leave in the truck, I would have to wipe off my backup camera, squeegee my mirrors, and open then close both of the front seat windows to get the water off them.

On the other side of my pickup is a huge class A American Traditions motor home, which makes my home look like an outhouse. It’s mostly white with light brown and black accents – certainly not my favorite colors. I’ve never seen the folks that own it. They must travel a lot in the pickup truck they trailer behind their motor home. The coach is for sale, but I sure wouldn’t want to drive something so big. I have enough trouble with my truck.

Just behind the camper on the other side of a wire fence and driveway are fields of strawberries, except for about an acre which is just prepared land. That blank acre has been plowed and formed into big humps covered with black plastic just like for strawberry plants, but nothing has been planted there. When the fields had to be sprinkled to keep the plants from freezing, this empty acre was also sprinkled even though there were no plants to save.

Along the fence a couple of oak trees have managed to thrive. Their leaves scatter everywhere which is a problem since these trees drop leaves all year long. Some days there are so many leaves in my camper, I’ve considered using a rake instead of a broom.

Looking in the opposite direction, I can see three of the campers parked across the street. One is a Class C motor home, one is a fifth-wheeler, but I can’t see enough from the window to tell what kind of camper the third is. The folks in these homes sit outside in lawn chairs most of the day.

Yes, my kitchen window is small, but I can still see an amazing variety of things from it.

Until next time…

The Heart Specialist

This morning I went to AMC and saw the movie The Heart Specialist. The only person in it that I recognized was Marla Gibbs who played the maid Florence Johnson on The Jeffersons. Another lady looked familiar -- I found out later she was Jasmine Guy from the TV show A Different World. She does not appear to have aged very well. I also recognized Jenifer Lewis, who used to play the receptionist on Strong Medicine.

Perhaps if I had not just seen that terrific film The King’s Secret, I might have appreciated this movie more. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this movie to anyone. Most of it was bizarre and boring.

Ethelyn’s Surgery

My cousin’s surgery went off without a hitch today as scheduled. I just spoke with her and she’s not in any pain from her foot yet, but the novocain  has probably not quite worn off yet. Except for going to the bathroom and eating, she must keep her foot elevated. Her back is already giving her problems from just sitting/lying around.

Writing Prompt

My writing prompt for today was: Remember a sound… There is nothing else that follows the prompt in case you don’t want to read it.

During the time we lived in Canandaigua, New York, my late husband Mark and I loved driving up to Niagara Falls for the day. Since the trip only took a couple of hours each way, there was plenty of time to visit “the Falls” and spend time in the “tourist traps” that peppered Niagara Falls, Canada.

Two major waterfalls, separated by Goat Island, make up Niagara Falls: American Falls (oddly enough on the U.S. side) and Horseshoe Falls (named for its horseshoe shape) on the Canadian side. The much smaller Bridal Veil Falls, separated by Luna Island, is also on the American side.

Most of the water from the Niagara River flows over Horseshoe Falls. Tourists can get very close to the edge of the west side. During the peak season, water falls at an average rate of 200,000+ cubic feet per second. The force and volume of the water falling 173 feet to the river seems to pull you over and down. The roar of the water is a sound you won’t soon forget. Conversation next to “the Falls” is almost impossible. You have to shout to make yourself heard. But, when Mark and I visited in 1969, the volume of water and the roar were even louder.

In 1965, Cliff Spieler, a local reporter from the Niagara Falls Gazette, wrote a number of stories about the “imminent death” of the American Falls. If you compare the talus at the bottom of the American Falls with that of the Horseshoe Falls, you can see a big difference. In fact, it’s difficult to see any talus at the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls. In an effort to study the reasons for this difference in the rate of erosion between the two sections, on June 12, 1969, the water flowing over the American Falls was cut off by a 27,800 pound cofferdam. The effect was astounding: the American Falls dried up. By August, tourists were allowed to walk the dry river bed on a walkway built by the Niagara Falls State Parks Commission.

After the water dried up, the bodies of a man and a woman and a deer were found in the talus, something that could not have been accomplished before they turned off the water. A number of studies were done. Geologists were excitedly doing tests that were previously impossible.

Finally, on November 25, 1969, water began to flow over the American Falls again as the cofferdam was slowly removed, but while the American Falls was dried up, the volume of water over Horseshoe Falls was measurably increased. It was incredible. With that increase, the roar of the water became almost unbearable. In our current nanny state, the government would probably require earplugs before allowing you to visit. It certainly is a sound I remember well.

Until next time…

The King’s Speech

If you are like me, you have probably never heard anything about the movie, The King’s Speech, except that Colin Firth won some kind of award for his portrayal of King George VI of England (this is Queen Elizabeth’s father and husband of the late Queen Mother).

In looking at the list of movies playing at Brandon AMC theater, I saw this movie and it looked interesting. Well, it’s much more than interesting. It’s informative: not only a study of relationships within the royal family, but also a tribute to the courage of George VI.

Colin Firth’s wife, whom I have known my whole life as the Queen Mother, is played by Helena Bonham Carter. For you Harry Potter fans, she plays Bellatrix LeStrange. Another Harry Potter actor – he took over the role of Albus Dumbledore after the death of Richard Harris - Michael Gambon, plays King George V. Winston Churchill is played by Timothy Spall, who plays Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail) in the Harry Potter movies.

One of the best performances, though was by Geoffrey Rush, who played Lionel Logue, George Vi’s speech therapist and friend. You might recognize him as the one who portrayed Barbossa in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

You can probably tell by my tone I really enjoyed this movie even though there’s not a single car chase in the whole thing. The actors do a tremendous job. The story is moving and, from what I could tell, genuine. It may well be the BEST movie of the year.

After seeing the movie, I stopped at Publix for a few things then came home to work on my writing prompt. Since it’s 1063 words, I won’t bore you with it.

Hope you all will remember my cousin Ethelyn in your prayers. She’s having a toe removed tomorrow.

Well, I can’t believe it’s 8:15 already. How will I ever get my beauty sleep?

Until next time…

My New 4-G Modem

Today, in spite of it being a federal holiday, FedEx delivered my brand new 4-G Modem from Verizon. It took about 20 minutes to open, unwrap, and install the thing, but it’s done. I can’t believe how much faster the connection is. It’s like night and day. I’ve had a lot of disconnects, but after I moved the modem over near the window, it didn’t happen so much.

I specifically made sure there was a port for an external antenna for the modem and there is. The only problem is that no one makes an adapter that fits the port. Grrrr! Fortunately, there’s a tower over near I-4.

It rained hard, sometimes really hard, this morning. I’ve spent most of my time reading or on my computer.

I got a Scrabble game for my Kindle. It’s very neat, though the letters could be a little bigger, even with my old eyes, I can still see it fairly well.

My writing prompt for today was: Write about a time you found out about something you weren’t supposed to know…

It was one of the most traumatic days of my childhood and it all happened on Christmas Eve. My brothers and I were very excited about Santa coming. Mom had read us all about it in the story “‘T Was the Night Before Christmas.” We’d heard  Gene Autry sing about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The radio reporter kept us informed of NORAD tracking Santa and his sleigh. We were wired, but we were also pretty clear about having to be asleep or he wouldn’t come.

I don’t know how my mother managed it, but I don’t remember ever being disappointed about what I did or didn’t get for Christmas. You see, we were the epitome of poor, at least financially.

My grandfather didn’t think girls should go to school, so Mom had to leave school after her sophomore year. She worked at a few places before she married my dad, but her education didn’t leave many options for work. After my dad left, the only work my mom could find was as a waitress in my aunt’s diner/truck stop. Try supporting three hungry, growing kids on that.

You see, my dad left seven months before the younger of my two brothers was born and was nowhere to be found until the sheriff caught up with him at my Uncle Pete’s funeral. By then, the older of my two brothers was in the Army and I was in college. But, his capture occurred many years after the day that marked the end of my childhood as I knew it.

I said I didn’t know how my mother managed it, but that’s not entirely true. I have the most wonderful family. I still do. My aunt and my cousins, who lived across the street from us, helped provide the gifts and, no doubt, much more during the year. I’m sure other family members helped too … that is what families do.

Mom wasn’t usually much of a stickler for us going to bed at a certain time, but with reminders of Santa skipping over the house if we weren’t asleep, she shooed us to bed a little earlier than normal. We grudgingly complied and went to sleep as she knew we would.

I don’t know what woke me, but I woke to see Mom and my aunt and cousins putting the presents around the tree. They were careful to whisper, but to no avail. I woke up and learned the awful truth. You can guess what it was, but if you can’t, I won’t end your childhood with the horrible discovery I made that night. I often wished I’d stayed asleep, but once you know something, it’s hard to un-know it.

Until next time…

Are you smarter than an elected official?

The following quiz was given to elected officials and the general public. The general public got an average of 54% right, while elected officials only got 49% right.Since our public officials take an oath “to protect and defend the Constitution of the U.S.”  it seems to me they should know the document they’re swearing to protect and defend.

* * *
Are you smarter than an elected official?
If you can correctly answer five or more of these basic Constitution-related questions, congratulations! You're smarter than the average elected official! (Answers are below -- but no peeking!)
1) What are the three branches of government?
A. executive, legislative, judicial
B. executive, legislative, military
C. bureaucratic, military, industry
D. federal, state, local
2) What part of the government has the power to declare war?
A. Congress
B. the president
C. the Supreme Court
D. the Joint Chiefs of Staff
3) In the area of United States foreign policy, Congress shares power with the:
A. president
B. Supreme Court
C. state governments
D. United Nations
4) The United States Electoral College:
A. trains those aspiring for higher political office
B. was established to supervise the first televised presidential debates
C. is otherwise known as the U.S. Congress
D. is a constitutionally mandated assembly that elects the president
E. was ruled undemocratic by the Supreme Court
5) What impact did the Anti-Federalists have on the United States Constitution?
A. their arguments helped lead to the adoption of the Bill of Rights
B. their arguments helped lead to the abolition of the slave trade
C. their influence ensured that the federal government would maintain a standing army
D. their influence ensured that the federal government would have the power to tax
6) The phrase that in America there should be a "wall of separation" between church and state appears in:
A. George Washington's Farewell Address
B. the Mayflower Compact
C. the Constitution
D. the Declaration of Independence
E. Thomas Jefferson's letters
7) The Bill of Rights explicitly prohibits:
A. prayer in public school
B. discrimination based on race, sex, or religion
C. the ownership of guns by private individuals
D. establishing an official religion for the United States
E. the president from vetoing a line item in a spending bill
8) Identify one right or freedom below guaranteed by the first amendment.
A. Right to bear arms
B. Due process
C. Religion
D. Right to counsel
9) Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government listed below?
A. Make treaties
B. Make zoning laws
C. Maintain prisons
D. Establish standards for doctors and lawyers
10) Who is the commander in chief of the U.S. military?
A. Secretary of the army
B. Secretary of state
C. President
D. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs

Answers are at the bottom of this post…

~~~~

Write About A Bed…

Today’s writing prompt was: “Write about a bed” What I wrote follows. Hope you get a kick out of reading it. I sure did while writing it.

Jerry crept down the stairs, avoiding the creaky third step from the bottom. If he were caught out of bed, he would be in deep trouble, but he had to find out what was going on. He’d heard some strange noises coming from downstairs.

He lowered himself to the floor and crawled, keeping his butt down as he had seen the Marines do in those war movies his dad loved so much. Of course, there was no barbed wired in the hallway that led to the spare room where he was heading. There were no enemy forces to fire at him from behind chairs or the sofa or a cabinet.

His pajamas slid easily and silently on the hardwood floor in the hallway. He could hear voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying until he got a little closer.

“Shhh! You’ll wake Jerry.”

“No, he can’t hear us. He’s sound asleep.”

“This is crazy, you know.” Jerry was pretty sure this was his mom’s voice.

“Well, it worked before.”

“I know, but you don’t really think it had anything to do with this old bed, do you?”

“Come on, Eloise, it’s worth a try. Besides, don’t you miss this old bed?”

His mom giggled. “Oh, yes. But I love our new Select Comfort bed, too.”

“Yeah, but we’re not trying to sleep.”

“Really,” his mom laughed. “And just what do you suppose we’re doing here?”

“We want to give Jerry a little brother or sister.” His dad growled low in his throat and it sounded as if he blew a raspberry on his mom’s tummy. “And this bed worked just fine last time.”

Jerry wasn’t sure about where babies came from, but he was pretty sure you didn’t get them out of an old bed. Since there didn’t seem to be much going on, at least nothing he understood, he turned and made his way back to bed. If there were a new baby in the morning, he’d ask his mom how it happened.

The Green Hornet

Today Karen and I went to see The Green Hornet. What a great movie! It’s as good as the previews indicate. Exciting! Great car chases! Funnier than all get-out! You’ll enjoy it! Go see it!

Answer key:
1) A; 2) A; 3) A; 4) D; 5) A; 6) E; 7) D; 8) C; 9) A; 10) C

A Writer’s Book of Days

In preparation for the writing contest I entered which will take place a week from today, I started today using the prompts in a book called A Writer’s Book of Days. The prompt for today was “It’s Saturday afternoon. You’re not at home.” I wrote a 653-word piece using that prompt as a start-off point.

I also took 3 boxes of books on writing to the Thonotosassa library. They seemed pleased to get them.

I’ve been busy taking care of stuff, but am still not nearly done. There’s still a bunch of stuff at my cousin’s that I have to go through though the pile is getting smaller and smaller.

Tomorrow, Karen and I are going to see The Green Hornet. I’ve been looking forward to this for many months – they seem to advertise these kinds of movies for years before they release them. I’ll let you know tomorrow how it is.

I’m part way through listening to the sixth Harry Potter book again (The Half-Blood Prince) and am enjoying it immensely. I’ve been trying to teach myself Texas Hold’Em. I know the basics, but would really like to refine my playing. Not that I plan to play in any casinos or anything, but it’s a challenging card game and is a lot of fun to play.

Until next time…

The Dilemma

This morning, I saw the movie The Dilemma starring Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connolly and Wynona Ryder with a couple of scenes with Queen Latifa. I’m not a Kevin James fan at all, but the movie was pretty good. Funny – hilarious in several places – mostly, but it was also about friendship and loyalty.

After that, I made a trip to my storage unit where I took out half of everything in there, retrieved 3 boxes, stowed a couple of other boxes and my sauna. I wonder how many more times I’ll have to shift everything around.

Well, can’t make this too long. Things will be back to normal on Monday when I get my new 4-G card and 10 Gb of data transfer in a month instead of the 5Gb I have now.

Oh, I must show you a picture of Ethelyn’s great-granddaughter Juliette:

Isn’t she beautiful? And here is one of the proud papa and mama with the baby. I don’t think J.F. has stopped smiling yet.

Until next time…

Very Short Post

I’ve been on the phone with Verizon off and on today re: a number of issues. The upshot is that I’ve gone over my 5 Gb allowed on my 3G card. My math is apparently worse than I thought. Anyway, being online until Monday will be very expensive so I’m making this short.

All is well. Did laundry.

Until next time…

Cracker Barrel

This morning, Dickie and I went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. It was good as usual, but I couldn’t eat all of mine so I brought back some for my breakfast tomorrow.

The rest of the day I worked on my computer (for that, read played some games), did some crosswords, listened to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and read a little. I watched episodes of Medium, NCIS and NCIS LA as well.

I also dumped my grey and black water tanks as well.

You’ll never guess what an idiot I am: I wanted to make sure there was lots of water in the grey tank so it would flush out the hose properly. I ran some water and kept checking how full the tank was. I ran water for quite a time but it didn’t seem to make much difference. I finally figured out I’d been pushing the button on the fresh water tank and of course, it didn’t ever change. Needless to say, there was lots of grey water for flushing the sewer hose.

Tonight, I plan to watch a little television and go to bed a littler early.

I hope you have all seen Sarah Palin’s response to the criticism of those who are politicizing the awful shootings in AZ. Many are using this incident to try to wrest away more of our freedoms and rights. A transcript of it follows:

America's Enduring Strength

by Sarah Palin on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 6:52am

Like millions of Americans I learned of the tragic events in Arizona on Saturday, and my heart broke for the innocent victims. No words can fill the hole left by the death of an innocent, but we do mourn for the victims’ families as we express our sympathy.

I agree with the sentiments shared yesterday at the beautiful Catholic mass held in honor of the victims. The mass will hopefully help begin a healing process for the families touched by this tragedy and for our country.

Our exceptional nation, so vibrant with ideas and the passionate exchange and debate of ideas, is a light to the rest of the world. Congresswoman Giffords and her constituents were exercising their right to exchange ideas that day, to celebrate our Republic’s core values and peacefully assemble to petition our government. It’s inexcusable and incomprehensible why a single evil man took the lives of peaceful citizens that day.

There is a bittersweet irony that the strength of the American spirit shines brightest in times of tragedy. We saw that in Arizona. We saw the tenacity of those clinging to life, the compassion of those who kept the victims alive, and the heroism of those who overpowered a deranged gunman.

Like many, I’ve spent the past few days reflecting on what happened and praying for guidance. After this shocking tragedy, I listened at first puzzled, then with concern, and now with sadness, to the irresponsible statements from people attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event.

President Reagan said, “We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the last election.

The last election was all about taking responsibility for our country’s future. President Obama and I may not agree on everything, but I know he would join me in affirming the health of our democratic process. Two years ago his party was victorious. Last November, the other party won. In both elections the will of the American people was heard, and the peaceful transition of power proved yet again the enduring strength of our Republic.

Vigorous and spirited public debates during elections are among our most cherished traditions.  And after the election, we shake hands and get back to work, and often both sides find common ground back in D.C. and elsewhere. If you don’t like a person’s vision for the country, you’re free to debate that vision. If you don’t like their ideas, you’re free to propose better ideas. But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.

There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable act of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal. And they claim political debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently. But when was it less heated? Back in those “calm days” when political figures literally settled their differences with dueling pistols? In an ideal world all discourse would be civil and all disagreements cordial. But our Founding Fathers knew they weren’t designing a system for perfect men and women. If men and women were angels, there would be no need for government. Our Founders’ genius was to design a system that helped settle the inevitable conflicts caused by our imperfect passions in civil ways. So, we must condemn violence if our Republic is to endure.

As I said while campaigning for others last March in Arizona during a very heated primary race, “We know violence isn’t the answer. When we ‘take up our arms’, we’re talking about our vote.” Yes, our debates are full of passion, but we settle our political differences respectfully at the ballot box – as we did just two months ago, and as our Republic enables us to do again in the next election, and the next. That’s who we are as Americans and how we were meant to be. Public discourse and debate isn’t a sign of crisis, but of our enduring strength. It is part of why America is exceptional.

No one should be deterred from speaking up and speaking out in peaceful dissent, and we certainly must not be deterred by those who embrace evil and call it good. And we will not be stopped from celebrating the greatness of our country and our foundational freedoms by those who mock its greatness by being intolerant of differing opinion and seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults.

Just days before she was shot, Congresswoman Giffords read the First Amendment on the floor of the House. It was a beautiful moment and more than simply “symbolic,” as some claim, to have the Constitution read by our Congress. I am confident she knew that reading our sacred charter of liberty was more than just “symbolic.” But less than a week after Congresswoman Giffords reaffirmed our protected freedoms, another member of Congress announced that he would propose a law that would criminalize speech he found offensive.

It is in the hour when our values are challenged that we must remain resolved to protect those values. Recall how the events of 9-11 challenged our values and we had to fight the tendency to trade our freedoms for perceived security. And so it is today.

Let us honor those precious lives cut short in Tucson by praying for them and their families and by cherishing their memories. Let us pray for the full recovery of the wounded. And let us pray for our country. In times like this we need God’s guidance and the peace He provides. We need strength to not let the random acts of a criminal turn us against ourselves, or weaken our solid foundation, or provide a pretext to stifle debate.

America must be stronger than the evil we saw displayed last week. We are better than the mindless finger-pointing we endured in the wake of the tragedy. We will come out of this stronger and more united in our desire to peacefully engage in the great debates of our time, to respectfully embrace our differences in a positive manner, and to unite in the knowledge that, though our ideas may be different, we must all strive for a better future for our country. May God bless America.

- Sarah Palin

If you wish to see the video, click on this link:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/notes/sarah-palin/americas-enduring-strength/487510653434

Sage Advice from Regina Brett

My friend Don Martin sent me an email with the following with the advice to read it at least once per week. I think that is good advice.

Make sure you read to the end!!!!!!

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught
me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.
My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree..
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their
journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God
never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one
is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no
for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.
Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years,
will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,
we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come...
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up..
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Today I met Esther and my niece Jane at Mimi’s Cafe for lunch. They both had Quiche Lorraine but I had the Bacon Mac ‘n Cheese. Very good food, but the company made it so much better. We hope to get together again soon. Jane wants to play Scrabble and I love to play too, but I’m not very good at it. So, the 3 of us will get together again soon, I hope.

I was up most of the night reading so I think I’ll hit the hay very soon.

Until next time…

True Grit

Today, despite my previous determination not to see the new True Grit movie, at my brother Ray’s advice, I went to see it and am I glad I did. It’s an excellent movie starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld.

It’s been a long time since I saw the original True Grit with John Wayne, Glen Campbell and Kim Darby, but this new one did not attempt to duplicate or “remake” it. The new one is at least as good, if not better, than the old one. I don’t remember the music from the original, but most of this movie has hymns and gospel songs as the background music. My particular favorite was Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. There were a number of unexpectedly funny scenes in the movie and the expected violence was not at all gratuitous.

If you get a chance, be sure to see it.

Why Did He Do It?

You’ll hear from many in the lamestream media that that fellow who shot Gabrielle Giffords and others did so because of right-wing rhetoric. Weird isn’t it, how easily blame is assigned when it’s obvious this guy is a crazy zealot. It is the left like Frances Fox Pivens and others who are are openly calling for violence. Check out this link:

http://hillbuzz.org/2011/01/08/my-congresswoman-voted-against-nancy-pelosi-and-is-now-dead-to-me-eerie-daily-kos-hit-piece-on-gabrielle-giffords-just-two-days-before-assassination-attempt-on-her/

Great-Grandmother Not Just Great Grandmother

My cousin Ethelyn is now A Great-Grandmother, and not just a great grandmother. Her grandson J.F. and his wife Jolie had a baby last night. Her name is Juliette Bailey Woodard. Isn’t that a great name? Baby and mom are healthy and doing well.

Until next time…

Our New Governor

Today, our new Governor Rick Scott released an on-line update outlining the steps he is taking to improve the jobs situation as well as the government in Florida. He signed 4 executive orders this week:

1. Freeze job-killing regulations
2. Require state agencies to verify the immigration status of job applicants
3. As a concrete first step to reduce the amount the state government spends, took steps to sell the two state-owned and operated airplanes that cost the state $2.4 million per year.
4. Named agency heads at the Department of State and the Department of Community Affairs

He also arranged to have Michelle Rhee to partner with our Education Department to the end of having the funds follow the student and not the program. This is so Florida will have the best educated workforce in the country.

So far, I have been very impressed by Rick Scott’s performance. He certainly seems to be very skillful at assembling people who are effective and efficient. I’m looking forward to seeing the difference his policies make in improving Florida and cutting the size of government.

Today, I’ve spent most of the day working on a collection of the Christmas poems I have written (there are 18 of them) while listening to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

On Facebook today, Paul Robbins had a sign: “A nation of sheep soon begets a government of wolves.”

It’s been beautiful and mostly sunny here today though a little chilly. I still kept my door open – great fresh air.

Back to the library on Tuesday (they’re closed on Mondays) since I’ve finished the three Vince Flynn novels.

Until next time…

Country Strong

Today, Karen and I went to AMC in Brandon to see the new movie Country Strong, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw with a lot of help from Garrett Hedlund and Leighton Meester.

Gwynetth plays a country superstar “with 6 Grammies” who is having problems with pills and alcohol. The story was great. the acting was superb, and the singing, especially by Paltrow, Hedlund and Meester, was wonderful. Tim McGraw did NOT sing anything, but he is certainly coming to his own as an actor. A number of well-known songs by equally well-known singers provided a lot of the background music. I am tempted to purchase the Soundtrack, but will probably not do so.

Have you heard the news about AZ Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords? She was shot in the head and several others were shot, and, at last count, 5 dead. The lone gunman is allegedly Jared Lee Loughner, described by one commenter on YouTube as a “left wing nutbag” whose favorite books are supposedly The Communist Manifesto and Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. What do you bet the lamestream media tries to hang a Beck or Rush fanatic on him.

I’m currently listening to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. What a great book! Each one I read seems to be my favorite – at least, while I’m reading it.

My cousin Ethelyn called this afternoon and reported that they already have 3 1/2 inches of snow and are expecting more. Brrr! On the other hand, it’s been beautiful here today – not too warm or too cold, but sunny and gorgeous.

Until next time…

Season of the Witch

This morning, I went to AMC and saw Nicolas Cage’s latest movie Season of the Witch. After I got back home, I checked on-line and found that most movie critics were well, critical of the movie even though 68% of movie patrons who watched it liked it (according to rottentomatoes.com).

The Huffington Post review stated:

“Season of the Witch is genre garbage, served up with a straight face as though it means something. But all it means is that P.T. Barnum and H.L. Mencken remain inarguably correct in their assessment of the public’s gullibility and appetite.”

They talk about the movie not meaning something, but I think it depends on how you look at the world.

For me, I thought the movie was, at least, interesting and definitely exciting. It was really a classic GOOD vs EVIL movie, but I would guess that except for all things and people that are conservative, the Huffington Post wouldn’t recognize evil if it fell over it.

The story takes place in the 14th century and starts out with a sequence of various battles between the Crusaders and the infidels (for this read Muslims though they never call them that). Although they are fierce fighters, Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman are honorable men who desert when they are required to kill women and children.

In the course of their travels, they come upon a variety of diseased individuals and villages and are forced into service. They must transport a girl the Catholic cardinal has decided is a witch to a monastery where they can deal with her. I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but know that there are some pretty scary manifestations of a demon or demons.

A lot of people today are too smart to believe in demons or the devil, which is just the way Satan prefers it. For a good example of this and interesting insight into the mind of the devil, read C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters.

I’d love to know what you think of the movie if you get a chance to see it.

And speaking of evil, did you see that the latest statistics show FORTY-ONE PERCENT of pregnancies in NYC end in abortion. If that isn’t evil, I don’t know what is. And the real crime may go unnoticed: the highest rate of abortion is among blacks – Margaret Sanger would be so proud.

Until next time…

Almost Done

Today, I took care of the rest of the boxes of canned goods. I still have a box of knick knacks to put on the shelf above my table, but that was a little more than I wanted to do today since I think I’ll have to take the table down and stand on a step to reach it.

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon starting to look through some of my writing. I started with the poems and got through five or six. Following is one of the best ones (I think) that I came across yet:

A Special Symbol

Each year there is a special day when lovers celebrate

The love that is between them that is never out of date.

The symbol of this special day-a heart as red as fire,

Has been the object of great art, has many words inspired.

We start right out when we are young by sending Valentine’s,

Little cards that say such things as “Valentine, be mine.”

Candy hearts are passed around in assorted size and flavors,

And heart-shaped boxes filled with candy that everybody savors.

The heart became a symbol marking out that special day,

So much that we now use it in so many other ways-

It’s used on bumper stickers and on billboards every day,

A substitute for “love,” yes, it’s another way to say:

“I love New York, and Mel’s hot dogs, and fishing from the pier.

I love the Yankees baseball team and frosty Barq’s root beer.”

But there’s another symbol we could use to mark this day-

It’s says the same thing as the heart, but it points us to the Way.

The way that God loves each of us, the sacrifice He made

To reconcile us to Himself, but what a price He paid.

It cost our Lord His own dear Son, Who died upon the cross,

That cross, a symbol of His love to all those who are lost.

Perhaps the cross would be a better symbol of true love,

When sending cards to Valentine’s, to those we dearly love.

A symbol of His sacrifice and of God’s love for us,

A symbol that, in every way, shows that He died for us.

It shows what loving really is-that Christ gave up His life

For those who were not worthy of the slightest sacrifice.

He put our needs before His own as we should also do

For those we love and care for, to show our love is true.

The cross and heart both stand for love, although the cross says more

About what loving really is, about what love is for,

So when you send a Valentine to someone that you love,

Perhaps a cross and not a heart would better show your love.

It’s kind of hard to display this properly -I probably don’t know enough about how to format the text. I wrote this poem for Valentine’s Day in 1997, but I think its message is still valid.

Dickie’s been gone all day. Actually, I think he left yesterday – he likes to go to Bingo in St. Pete on Wednesdays.I tried to call his cell, but didn’t get an answer. Of course, that’s not unusual.

We had a hard rain in the night. Our pond, which was completely empty yesterday, now has at least 2-3 feet of water in it. Amazing! When I went down there last week one day, there was a Roseate Spoonbill in with all of the other water birds feeding there.

Well, I guess I’ll sign off now.

Until next time…

Lunch with Joan, Joyce and Skyler

Today, I met my friends Joan and Joyce and Joan’s granddaughter Skyler at Red Lobster for lunch. It was Skyler’s thirteenth birthday and I guess Red Lobster is one of her favorite restaurants. As you all know, it’s not my favorite, but they do have some delicious cream of potato and bacon soup. I also had the chicken sandwich (I just ate the chicken) – it was supposed to be grilled, but there were no grill marks – just a pale piece of chicken. I was very glad it tasted much better than it looked. Of course, their cheddar biscuits make up for a lot too – yum! yum!

I spent a rather sleepless night (woke at 2:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep), but I was able to get through one of the Vince Flynn books I took out of the library yesterday. Only two more to go. These are terrific books. After I got started on the second book, I realized I had already read it, but the books are so good I decided to read it again. The books pretty much all have the same main character(s) – Mitch Rapp of the CIA’s secret counterterrorism unit, Irene Kennedy who is a director at the CIA and some other characters who make up the good guys. Vince Flynn obviously recognizes that there is good and evil in the world. and in his books, the good guys win.

Hope everyone is praying for our new Representatives and Senators. The debt ceiling will soon be reached and I hope they can be adult and mature about raising the debt ceiling -- like accompanying it with some real spending cuts. Heaven knows, we can’t just raise our debt limits. I personally think they could abolish a lot of the regulatory agencies – maybe starting with the FCC who recently created regulations giving themselves a foothold into control of the Internet – it’s called net neutrality. This was done in spite of the fact that Congress could not get legislation through giving them these powers and the courts said they shouldn’t have it. After FCC, they could go after any of the other 3 and 4 letter agencies that reduce our freedoms and make life difficult for all of us.

Well, enough of that.

Until next time…

Watch Out!

A rather alarming headline appeared on www.Drudgereport.com today: “Europe begins confiscating private pension funds…”

You can read the whole story at:

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/01/europe-starts-confiscating-private-pension-funds

I had read somewhere that legislation was being written here in this country to seize private pensions. Hard to believe our insatiable government wouldn’t take advantage of this, also. Of course, they will couch it in words that indicate it is “to protect us” or “for our good,” but I think we all know better.

And did you hear about the dead birds (about 3000 in Arkansas and 500 in Louisiana)? They just fell out of the sky. And there were an estimated 100,000 fish killed in a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River. Scientists still don’t know what happened.

Today, I finally hooked up the sewer hose to the camper and dumped my grey and black water tanks. It went without a hitch. I didn’t even give myself a shower when I was spraying the hose into the toilet – remember the first time I worked on this. As I told my cousin, “now, I’m free to flush.” Actually, the tanks were only 3/4 full.

And, I got a lot done in the camper today. I even went to Publix to get some groceries so I can start cooking. Rather than use my gas stove, I’ve got an electric hot plate for the little bit of cooking I plan to do other than when I’m cooking outside on a charcoal grill.

UPS delivered a box of apples and cheese from my brother-in-law Don and sister-in-law Rose. The apples are delicious though there are so many I’ll have to share them with Dickie and Karen. And I’m really looking for some real NYS cheddar cheese; I’ve been buying the Cabot (from Vermont) Seriously Sharp cheddar cheese, but it’s not the same as real NYS cheddar.

I went to the library today and checked out 3 Vince Flynn books I haven’t read yet. It just doesn’t make sense to pay $9 each to buy them for my Kindle. Just think: I saved $27

Well, time to get back to No Ordinary Family. I really like this show.

Until next time…

Change Adds Up

Today, I took the coins I’ve been saving up, except for the pennies, to Publix where they have a machine that will count them for you – I had over $600 in change. What a nice addition to my bank account!

In fact, I spent most of the day running around: to the Thonotosassa post office, to Publix, to Long John Silver’s, to Chase Bank, to Wachovia Bank, to the Seffner post office (I’d forgotten to mail a couple of things earlier, and to Bed, Bath and Beyond. Talk about tired out. Running around like that tires me out more than working, but I was able to get some much needed drawer organizers for my camper.

Had a close call tonight at Kazbor’s where Karen and I went for chicken wings. They were advertising two different soups: seafood bisque and sausage and potato soup. We both ordered the sausage and potato soup, but what the waitress brought us didn’t look much like sausage and potato soup. When we asked if this was the right soup, she said she was sure it was, but she would check with the kitchen. By that time I’d eaten 3 or 4 spoonfuls.

It was the seafood soup, containing lobster AND shrimp, both of which literally can close up my throat. Fortunately, other than a loss of appetite, I haven’t yet suffered any ill effects.

I’ve just about finished the book The Third Option by Vince Flynn, an exciting book about counterterrorism and assassins and I’m still listening to the fourth Harry Potter book – Goblet of Fire.

Well, back to my reading.

Until next time…

A Rainy Day

Since the weather forecasters said it would be sunny most of the day, it has rained most of the day. But we really need it. About 40 acres were burned in Pasco County (just north of here) when fireworks were set off.

In one brief period of partial sunshine, Dickie and Karen and I went to Brandon to meet my brother Jeff and his wife Kathy at Westshore Pizza. It was great seeing them again and the food was delicious.

I’ve made a little more progress taking care of things today, but am taking it easy – everyone needs a day of rest. I’ve spent the afternoon taking a nap, working on crossword puzzles, listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and taking care of some stuff.

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “A place for everything and everything in its place” but I seem to have the everything but no place. Oh, I guess I shouldn’t get too discouraged; I’ll eventually get it done. I didn’t think I would ever be bothered by clutter, but it looks like a real possibility.

Until next time…

Four Boxes and a Large Garbage Bag

Today, after packing up some more stuff and taking them to my storage unit, I unloaded a large garbage bag of stuff and four boxes. I still have five or six boxes to go. I’m still having to walk sideways to get through the camper because of a very heavy box I don’t want to try to pick up. I’ll unload the box from where it is.

There is still clutter on every horizontal surface included the gas range. I don’t have the propane turned on so I don’t have to worry about a fire.

I have to say those ant traps work great. I’ve seen one or two staggering around, but nothing like yesterday.

My brother was very disappointed that Penn State lost today. Hoping to see them in the crowd, I watched the game on TV. I don’t think any team can expect to win if their quarterback throws FIVE interception.

Well, once again, my Kindle is calling my name. I doubt I’ll read very long. I need to rest up after my busy day. And you all know how much I need my beauty sleep.

Tomorrow, Dickie and Karen and I are meeting Jeff and Kathy at Westshore Pizza on Bloomingdale at 11 am. They’ll leave right after to go back home.

Until next time…