68 years ago. Most of those who survived have passed on now. Very few remain.

That makes it harder to remember the lessons they learned for us.

Today's global allies can be tomorrow's enemies.

We must remain ever vigilant no matter how others may say about us.

I hope we never forget.

Tiger Woods has really disappointed me, but that's usually what happens when *we* as a celebrity-crazed culture behave like Gladys Cravitz on steroids 24/7. Everyone is human. What bothers me the most is that he seems to be a serial womanizer / playboy. He missed his calling as an infamous merchant marine. Can't help wondering what his Dad would say were he still alive...

I seriously want Harry Reid to be censored for his recent remarks on the Senate floor, trying lamely to connect opponents of his health care legislation as racists. Does he really think people still take him seriously? He's like the old batty aunt, except he's an uncle. He needs to face facts that his bill sucks. He can't make everyone like it. When are people gonna stand up and demand an end to race-baiting? The only good thing about it is, keep it up. It just angers that many more voters who will vote against you in 2010. I hope so, anyway.

On a frostier note, if possible, it snowed here in the Houston area Friday, the earliest snow we've ever had. It only lasted a few hours. It continued to snow, but it turned to water when it hit the ground. It's been rainy ever since. I'm getting tired of it.

Mother May I?

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone. May is steamrolling through my life at about the same speed as the rest of this year - superfast. Mother's Day is this Sunday and then before I blink good it'll be Memorial Day.

It's also heated up even more down here on the Third Coast since my last entry. Slowly, surely, noticeably. One good thing that has come from it is that I have renewed my efforts to lose some more weight. About dang time, huh?

I should say, if I just make sure every day that I eat and drink everything I am supposed to, it's pretty much a weight loss program. Some days it's a real struggle just to drink the metamucil, the green tea (cuz I gotta have my coffee, too!), the water, the V8... eat the salad, the cheese, the fruit, and the Lean Cuisines or dinner-in-a-bag entree... and not the fast food.

I've been hanging in there, though, and been good for a few days now. Hopefully this will continue.

I want to make clear that I am not at all motivated to do this in order to wear a bathing suit. Lord, no, I can wear my bathing suit in my own pool in my own backyard just fine the way I am. I'm motivated to do this now because warmer weather makes me less hungry overall, and I sweat more. If you had my body, you would know that my fat folds get positively psychotic about sweat.

Ok, ok, I get that way. One summer a few years back, I ignored my fat folds and developed a bad skin infection. Not fun. I believe that's when I discovered Gold Bond medicated skin lotion and I use it religiously to this day, year round. If you are reading this and not in menopause yet, just suffice it to say that after menopause your skin crawls, itches, burns...for no reason at all. It's like your nerve endings are freaking out. Gold Bond helps immensely.

So, anyway, I'm thinking that the more weight I can lose, the better my fat folds will get. A girlfriend of mine scoffs at the idea, though. She has fat folds too, and she says that fat folds are better than skin folds, meaning when you lose the fat in your folds, you are left with skin folds and they droop more.

Great, just great. Deep down I refuse to believe that my skin has lost all of its elasticity, that if I lose the fat in my folds I won't also lose the folds. Say it ain't so, Joe.

I will say one thing, I'm losing those folds one way or another, even if I have to go under the knife. I'm thinking a full frontal slice-off would do just the trick, and take the boobs off, too.

Such is the madness that May brings.... ;-)

One-Topic Fool

It seems like all I write about here lately is rainy weather and politics. It's Wednesday, so it's supposed to be Politics on the Hump, but I don't feel much like getting all riled about anything overtly political today.

I have a waterlogged brain and am anxious about this Swine Flu outbreak / potential pandemic.

We did have a few hours of sunshine today, but down here around Houston it's been mostly cloudy and stormy. We are lucky to live on one of the highest points in my area with good storm drains, so aside for temporary street water that drains quickly, we've had no flooding problems. Much of Houston has not been so lucky, but then they never are.

Since the 1990's, Houston floods every time someone spits good. It's mostly blamed on too much concrete and not enough drainage planning. I am so glad I don't have to navigate that place anymore on a daily basis, because it gets extremely dangerous to be caught out in rising waters. There were commuters interviewed on the local news last night who had their vehicles flooded last week and had their rental cars flooded yesterday! Many people keep getting water in their homes. I would be coming unglued at that point. You would maybe be hearing about me taking my city councilman hostage or something.

To me, living there is just not worth all that. I have experience, having lived there in the 1980's. I'm happy to let Hubs have the Toyota and just be homebound on days like this. I get really nervous even thinking about having to drive to the grocery store or post office.

It's situations like in Houston that make me realize that we pay all of these monies in local, county and state taxes, yet we are still in the end on our own or worse, at the whim of inadequate drainage in a rainstorm that we pay taxes to maintain properly so we are not flooded. Or like with my land line phone -- on rainy days it still crackles so badly the phone is unusable -- even though Verizon's been out on multiple occasions and proclaims it fixed every time. Or like the untrimmed trees and unchecked undergrowth that Centerpoint Energy is supposed to keep free from the power lines and doesn't.

It makes me wonder if things would be any worse if our taxes were halved and governments had to nix many of these services that we are not effectively getting. I'm almost ready to try, too. Especially since some governments are making plans to assess even more taxes and fees for the same inadequate services.

My dad told me yesterday his town is discussing changing their garbage fees to an assessment of $1 a pound, and no pickup...citizens would have to take their garbage to be weighed and disposed of. I would be fighting that big time. For one thing, like my dad says, what are all of the elderly people who cannot drive and have no kin going to do? Also, who is going to weigh that garbage and what controls are on them to be accurate? And who is going to police the increase in dumping in order to avoid the garbage fee?

Yes, services might need to be cut back and redesigned, but could ya start with something a little less important to public health and safety than the garbage? Sometimes I wonder if people in responsible civic positions even know how to think something through or walk in someone else's shoes while they're doing it.

Add the dull razor mood that constant rainy weather tends to cause, and pretty soon I'm throwing up my hands and deciding we are all going to hell in a hand basket. If we don't all get the swine flu, that is. I saw my first mosquitoes of the year yesterday, too. And my feet, ankles, calves and fingers have been swollen up like sausages for 2 days. My Ford Focus decided it needs a new alternator and Hubs doesn't want to fix it, so until I can get out and buy a new car, I am back to sharing Hubs'.

I doubt that sunshine could wipe out every glum thing, but boy, it sure would be nice to see. Forget Seasonal Affective Disorder -- I think I have Humidity Affective Disorder. ;-))) So, if the sun is shining today where you are, please try to bottle some for me. I will gladly pay for the postage to send it to me.

Rainstorms...again!

Well, tonite the sky fell out once more this week. Another rain storm, with training. 4-5-6 more inches. I think we are caught up on rain by now.

In other news local to me, perhaps this proves just how hard-nosed folks down here can get:

Riding out the storm? You’ll pay for the rescue

This is a bill going through the Texas statehouse right now. Now, it is something that is logical on the face of it, but we should remember that it is not the wealthy who stay behind, it is the poor and blue-collar working class who do, even those who stay for their pets because they cannot afford to keep them off-site. Billing them for this will just bankrupt them all.

And it takes the focus off the fact that Centerpoint Energy should be shot for not trimming the trees around the power lines which caused most of the power outages.

All I know is that the next time we all have to evacuate down here, if you add 20,000 more people on the roads just from Galveston alone, I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GET OUT!

Be careful what you wish for, Texas, you just may get it! (And, I cannot wait to see what kind of legal chaos this is going to cause when they try to enforce it...or when there are thousands more deaths of people who stayed and got no help, but oh well, they asked for it, right?) Heaven help the Act of God that might leave you having to turn down help because you cannot afford it!

Just more and more micro-management of my freedoms, insidious creeping into my privacy. Here's the deal on what happened to me: I would have been able to come back within a few days had the untrimmed trees not downed my power lines for 15 days! And did Centerpoint pay for my hotel room? Hell no, FEMA did. Do you see the problemo here? I do not blame the state for crying that they can't spend the money, but hey, if they would bill Centerpoint for it instead of the people, maybe Centerpoint would trim those freaking trees!

Just sayin! LOVE what a poster on the Chronicle's site commented about this story:

"What if you were in a freeway accident and needed to be rescued with say, the jaws of life. You had better start carrying plenty of cash. Rescue is rescue; that's why they call it a rescue. After all, you've had just as much warning as everyone else about how dangerous these freeways are and I assume you choose to drive on them anyway. The real answer to this issue is to find some people intelligent enough to come up with realistic, workable plans, not some cockamamie idea that has not a prayer of working. "

YES! Oh, well, it's an Obama World we got here, let's prosecute the Bushies for...keeping us safe for 8 years. I mean, those 8 years are already over now, and no one would dare hit us now because the O man is loved by the entire world!

Why not? Placate the idiot uber-left, that's much more important, they have our best interests in mind, right? And let's do this cap and trade nonsense that will force Exxon and Chevron and the rest of big oil to relocate to other countries that welcome them with open arms to do business, oh yeah, that's gonna really stop carbon-based activity. But don't you dare force California or Martha's Vineyard to put up wind turbines that blend into the scenery farely invisibly. Oh, no, Not In My Backyard!

And let's make obesity a freakin crime against humanity and not let overweight people have medical insurance because they are all nazis and perpetrate crimes against humanity, even thoough 65% of Americans are obese? RIGHT. That works!

I am so sick and tired of all this crap. I just love how the ObamaBots are trying so hard to make all of us pissed-off people into tea-bagging thugs and horrible unpatriotic trouble-makers. Wow, if only Jefferson could be alive right now.

Months ago, I warned people right here on this blog, how Obama takes the teachings of marxist socialist Saul Alinsky in Rules for Radicals, to perpetrate CHAOS in the name of progress, and that one day he would not be able to control what he unleashes.

Well, the way people are proposing to prosecute the Bushies for torture is a great example of what I was talking about. Obama's let this thing get out of hand. Billionaire George Soros, who made $1.8 billion off of this economic crisis by betting against the dollar, but who bankrolled Obama and the Dems and who holds the puppet strings on Obama, has declared that Bushies are to be prosecuted at all cost.

So, what does Obama do, even though he knows it is not a good idea? Does he show any backbone at all? Hell, no. He pushes it off on his Attorney General to tell Soros no deal. Or not. See, Obama is so good at throwing people under the bus, and on passing the buck. Not so good at stopping the buck or showing any kind of political courage. Some leader we have here.

Obama knows it is not a good idea, because Bush's advisors, the ones targeted for possible prosecution, were giving him their legal opinions about waterboarding and other torture tactics. You prosecute them and no subsequent president will ever get any decent advice ever again. And, if we do get attacked again, Obama could be prosecuted for not keeping us safe!

None of that is logical, fair or wise. It's just revenge! I thought we were gonna be POST-partisan, and it turns out we are more partisan and vindictive than EVER! When is it going to be enough? When? When BOTH parties get thrown out on their butts?

Hey, guess what the Tea Party Patriots are advocating? THREE GUESSES....

When do seasons really change?

What is the real criteria for seasonal change?

I know the summer solstice is in June. I know this because it's on my late paternal grandmother's birthday. I always get a phone call from my dad, who always brings it up and asks how old would she be.

For me, though, summer comes long before then. The feel of it, the sweat, the constant wish for a cool sweet breeze, mosquitoes and bugs, and car interiors that never seem to cool off no matter what.

The last two days have been suggesting summer down here. 95 degrees for the afternoon high. What a spike, even for us. This usually happens in May!

I haven't been paying to the tv forecast but every once in a while I've seen a big red splotch over the middle of the country. Today I heard the weather guy say that it's moving east and that NYC would be in the 80's tomorrow from the 60's today.

My first thought was, I sure hope it moves way east...and a little north too. My second thought was, I hope this is just a weird heat wave anomaly. I hope everything will go back to the way it was.

I'm not ready to face this every day, I suppose, even though I have been thinking that this summer Reggie and I are gonna live in the swimming pool as soon as it heats up enough. Well, not exactly true. I can stand this just fine. It's how much hotter than this that it's gonna get that I dread.

I've been spoiled by the cooler than normal weather we've had for the last year. Last summer had some rough days, but there were also plenty of fronts to help cool things off a bit. That's what I'll hope for.

I do need the pool to heat up, because I'm planning to exercise in it every day. Last year it was almost June before it got warm enough. I remember that Missy was back home from school a couple of weeks before she began bugging Hubs to clean it, which led to finding The Pool Guy.

Isn't it funny, me complaining about heat already, when others to the north of me are complaining about still getting the occasional snowfall. You'd think America spanned 2 hemispheres and was this long land mass like Italy.

Heck, if I lived in Mexico in the summer, I'd want to cross the border just to get some cooler weather and air conditioning. And I'd work for pennies in the bargain. Perhaps I've just solved the immigration problem. How about an air conditioner bailout for Mexico? winkwink

ColdSunSpringDay

Poor Reggie. So far, no bath. We keep getting cool fronts.

Today was very windy, and quite cool for a sunny day. The photo is of the pasture behind our house after one of its semi-annual grass mowings. It was so windy that the wooden gate next to Reggie's doghouse kept rattling because the latch is a loose one and lets the gate move a bit. Reggie was constantly barking at it, thinking someone was outside opening it. He was annoying me so much and making himself so anxious that I gave him half a melatonin so he would take a nice long nap. :-000



This is just an every day photo of what I did today. Ate breakfast while sketching some designs for cards and washing and drying a load of clothes, and trying to carry everything with me. I am grateful that I didn't try to dry the sausage biscuit. winkwink

I have no other food to show. Hubs insisted on preparing Sunday dinner and we had steak, baked potatoes and salad, my favorite. Then, tonight he did not eat dinner at home because he worked over and they got catered. I worked on some leftovers. ;-)

I'm head-down into artsing and crafting right now. The Muse is making demands and my creativity is flowin'. Hope everyone has a good week. I think I will. ;-)

emBRACEable me...

You may be wondering, what the heck is in that photo? Well, it's what has been snugly adorning my neck for the last several days: my lovely neck brace. :-))

I was instructed to buy the brace almost a decade ago for the pinched nerve in my neck. Apparently, wearing it helps decompress where the spinal discs are pinching the nerve. I remember at the time, the doctor told me that the progression of home therapy was the brace, a chin strap and weights on the end of my bed, and then inversion, like the Teeter Inversion Hang-Ups.

I'm of two opinions about my neck brace. On the one hand, it does provide some decompression and relief, but I have learned through trial and error that I need to wear the thing 8 hours to get 8 hours of relief. Any less wear and the relief time shortens. You can imagine how old that can get on a daily basis, so I only use it when I'm in unbearable pain or pain with accompanying arm and finger numbness like I'd had recently.

And now that all this time has passed, my problems have worsened to where the second step of the therapy is useless. A Teeter is definitely in my near future, but meanwhile, the neck brace is going to be worn until it quits producing any relief.



My neck problems really couldn't have come at a better time weather-wise. Since I last blogged, we had 2-3 days of rain. Pretty dreary-looking. Had it continued to be all sunny and springy, I'd have been even more unhappy.



Then we had a cold front (cool front for ya'll up North). The days were cool, but the nights were in the 40's which is cold for here. Hubs had just finished lecturing me about not running Reggie's heater, so I made it a point to tell him the heater was back on, bud, and don't mess with it. Every night Reggie runs into his house as soon as the plug is connected, and stays there all night long, so I know he needs the warmth. Hubs is so heartless sometimes. Me, I turn it on the minute it hits 59 or colder. Hubs would let it get into the 40's before plugging it in. I'm hoping he comes back as a dog whose owner is just like him in this regard, hehe. Then he will see. ;-)



We did manage to have some good food, though. Here is Hubs posing so enthusiastically (not) with his major award from work, a new smoker pit. Every so often, if you have contributed something safety-wise, they give you a web link and tell you to choose a gift. This is what Hubs chose back around Christmas.



Here's my plate: pulled pork, potato salad and broccoli. It was awesomely delish. Eating it with the neck brace on: not so fun, but I managed. ;-)

Spring in My Step...

Golly Geebers, I needed a good day today and so far I've been blessed. Today has been wonderfully Springy down here: 70's, partly sunny, not too much wind. The hum of lawn mowers and trimmers has been constant. Usually I abhor that, but I cannot be mad at anything today.

Sorry I've been so long between posts, but this past week has been a bad one for me healthwise. Last week was my intravenous therapy week for my arthritii, and I always feel like warmed over crap for about 7-10 days afterwards. I have night sweats, the runs, and I am sick to my stomach more often than not. It is in fact a bit like chemotherapy, except thank goodness no hair loss. It's all about forcing toxins and bad stuff out. I really ought to be feeling poorly, but on the Spring Equinox with cooperative weather, how can I feel other than great? Mind over matter for one day! winkwink

Today I took good care of our Reggie Dog. It had been 1 month and 10 days since his last bath, I am ashamed to say. So, I corrected that. Then, I washed and dried his dog bed, his blanket and the curtain covering his dog house door. (He lives right outside our back door on the covered porta cache, in a Little Tykes Playhouse, with a space heater inside, and it would have a window unit air conditioner if it were up to me, winkwink.)

While his bedding was in the wash, Reggie got to spend the afternoon on top of a soft cushiony blanket and watch Animal Planet. Hubster came home from work and Reggie got to go sit with him and watch TV a little longer. Then, we all went outside and helped Hubs shop-vac the inside of the doghouse. I picked up and threw out all of the remnants of steak bones that were hidden in corners, along with some nasty little stuffed animals that were beyond saving.

King Reginald's castle is once again clean and refreshed. I've made a promise to give him a bath every Saturday and to wash his bedding. He's such a sweet obedient doxie and loves his baths and his clean digs. I know 2009 is officially the year of the ox according to the Chinese, but around here it might just be the year of the dog. winkwink

My ER / Friday, the 13th Weekend

I have had the most interestingly annoying last 4-5 days, with this weekend being the most annoying. Though I've tried, I have been unsuccessful at shaking the negativity involved with bad days. This leads to an ill feeling just under the surface. You're handling it, you think. But is it really handling you?

For one thing, it has been crappy weather: bone-chilly wetness hours on end, day after day and no sunshine. This gets my arthritii flared because of the humidity, so my neck is in crackly stiffness and pain 24/7. And, really, my fingers, feet, left shoulder, right hip...you get the idea.

I had a slight reprieve on Thursday night when I chanced upon ER on TV, and was utterly delighted I had. I used to be a huge ER fan. I know I watched faithfully for at least the first 5 years. It holds a place in my TV heart even if I got tired of the same old same old with different characters.

Well, they are closing it out right by bringing back old characters in the plot, like to say goodbye along with the current cast. This episode was especially awesome for me because I had always wanted Doug and Carol to re-unite and live Happily Evuh, ya know? Well, guess what, they have - score! It was pure heaven seeing that sexy smile on Doug's face and not have to cringe, thinking uh-oh he's going to screw up again. No, really, it was nice seeing them both in love with each other, mature and happy.

But Friday morning, I was woke up out of a dead sleep by the police knocking on my door! Turns out my phone had water in the line (again!) and was dialing 911 and hanging up. I kid you not. Now, that ticked me off. What a waste of tax money to send the cops on goose chases, and also, can't Verizon figure out how to cut the power to lines that do this...or even better, have them dial their own freakin repair number! Omgosh, that's just so messed up.

Next up, Saturday...the Hubs decides to clean under the cook top. You may recall our wall oven is not working because the element broke off in his hands when he was cleaning that. Well, you guessed it: somehow, when he was cleaning, he managed to make the clicker sound go non-stop (it's natural gas). We had to end up flipping off the breaker to get it to stop. The stove top can still be used, we just have to light the flame manually. Don't know about you, but I think he needs to quit cleaning appliances. LOLOL, poor guy.

Sunday night, my internet went out. Another annoying thing. I was spooked enough by this time to wonder if there was water in the cable, winkwink. Talked to my dad and he reminded me these things run in 3's, so I should be okay for awhile from now on. One can always hope! :-))

Malto-Meal Morning

Every once in a while, I splurge. Kinda like people who never quit wanting their breakfast to be Cocoa Puffs every day.

I never got to eat Malto-Meal growing up, though. Hubs neither. Both of us were in families where foods like that and Tang and frozen veggies and tv dinners were extravagances. So we indulge our childhood dreams in this small and enjoyable way.

Well, Spring is sputtering awake around my parts. The weather has been much like Dickens described, "It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer
in the light, and winter in the shade."

All week it's been sunny at times during the day, then cloudy and blustery. No rain, though. We are down 7 inches on the year so far, which is a lot. I just don't remember such a display of seasonal change as in the last year. It's a welcome change.

I finally have a working car now! A birthday present of sorts from the Hubster...getting it fixed, that is. He took off a couple of days last week and got it repaired. The right rear wheel bearings had to be replaced. But then it got sort of ridiculous. There's a diagnostic light that is supposed to come on when there's engine trouble, but as the car aged it came on when the gas cap wasn't on there just exactly like it liked. (My Honda has the same light, and personally I think it's a sneaky way to make you have to take it in to the dealer for maintenance, if you ask me.)

Anyway, the Focus light was on and Hubs took it down to the auto parts store to get it turned off. But he had to then drive it for 40-50 miles in order to let it re-diagnosis all the different things it monitors and a-okay them. Only then would it pass inspection.

For almost 2 days, Hubs drove the Focus around and around, until Saturday it finally was ready to get inspected. Thankfully, it passed or I'd probably still be car-less.

Took it out for the first time yesterday to run some quick errands. It has just over 48,000 miles and I realized that if I drive it slowly I'll enjoy it. That is the key. Otherwise, I'm going to expect it to be as powerful and responsive as the Honda, and that ain't gonna happen. Missy always mentions how powerful the Honda makes her feel when she's driving, and the engine is quick and strong. It could easily be like crack to Missy, who never met a speed limit she obeyed. winkwink

I'm ashamed to say I've gained back those 5 pounds from the holidays. I suspect it was/is the Valentines chocolate, of course. I emailed the nutritionist and she was like, no worries. Immediately begin drinking green tea, cutting out all butter, and get more exercise in. I really can't argue with that.

The last few days have been high on pain for me. I've been trying to get all my sleep, too. And since I'm now doused in drowse, I'll seeya next time!

what's doin'

There's been some chilly nights down here lately. We've been having a few days of nasty uber-humidity and then a cool front blows through to dry things out slightly before the cycle repeats.

That means pain for me...when it's humid, pain all over. Pain after sleeping no matter the position. Even tried one night in the recliner and that used to never make me hurt. It's just to be suffered. When it's cold, I get a little relief but I also tend to feel the cold more and I'm a shaker. winkwink

Lots of concern down here over border events, too. People are on edge about it. It was recently reported that the Feds find around a dozen Middle Easterners a month illegally crossing the border. They just don't publicize it. Knowing this has somehow woke us up down here a little and we are concerned about the recent confrontations, on the border too. On top of everything else to feel insecure about right now, adding fear of invasion is not welcome. Not to mention that it was also reported that Houston is like the top Al Queda hit spot now. That's just great. Seriously.

I did my annual thing tonight and watched the Academy Awards. Didn't see any of the movies, but it did inspire me to share my 3 top actors and 3 top actresses of all time (this week):

Actors:
1. William Powell
2. Dick Powell
3. Gary Cooper

Actresses:
1. Norma Shearer
2. Lana Turner
3. Ingrid Bergman

Well, sleep calls. Time to go cause some more pain. winkwink

A Rollercoaster Week in Photos

...ike at sunset...

...third time's a charm...

...situational irony...

...a new high school ...

...electrifying bribery...

...trees

...new tourist attraction?

... power of nature

FYI, girls, he's gay

what a root system!

this is a six lane highway (I-10)

typical neighborhood after ike

gas pump canopy

one of too many downed power line poles

this used to be a building

pushed out of their watery boat slips

Hurrication Update

thanks to everyone who has emailed and called me. i appreciate your concern about us. we're alive and safe. we are at a la quinta in san marcos, tx., which is in what is called the I-35 corridor between san antoniio and austin.

we boarded up our home and packed and left friday morning. got on interstate 10 about noon-thirty. our trip took about an hour longer, due to stop and go traffic on the west side of houston, but all in all was a pretty good trip.

hubs was not going to leave at all, and i had decided to stay with him because i tried to look into the future and how i would feel if missy and i evacuated without him and something happened to him. we told missy she could go but she felt like i did.

friday morning i decided to ask hubs what our gameplan was for weathering the storm. our bedroom hall is the only space not walled by windows. so we were going to sit there. then i asked him, what if the storm surge comes? what if our roof comes off? his answer to leaving had been, where do we go? so when i asked him to really, really, look at what would we do in the house were Ike to destroy it, he finally began to see logic. so, we looked online for a hotel and found one that took pets right off. good omen. we packed and left. lots left behind, as in our entire lives. but what can you do?

even evacuated to a safe place with internet and air conditioning, the last few days have been very traumatic for us. it's been next to impossible to find information about the status of our locality. eventually, by late saturday and sunday, we began to hear from friends and family. my brother works for our city and he had to weather the storm at his home, which survived 8 tall pine trees falling and barely missing it. he was on call so he had to navigate the roads at 6 pm saturday to go to work on a skeleton crew clearing the roads and then manning the phones at the emergency call center.

my brother found time to drive to our home and found it in great condition, thank goodness. the top of the chimney that keeps water out had flown off and the back fence is leaning, and that is all. i cannot tell you how much of a relief that was. our street never flooded, even though we are 1/4 mile from cedar bayou, which flows into galveston bay. we were not in a mandatory evac zone because our land is very high. it is on a plate separate from the bottomland that is pretty much sea level.

we are about 25 feet above sea level. and we do not have flood insurance because we were always told we do not need it. i probably do not need to tell you that hubs and i were sweating it out heavily, since all of the meteorological warnings predicted a 22 foot storm surge up into galveston bay and its tributaries, cedar bayou being a main one of those and the houston ship channel aka buffalo bayou being the other main one. i had figured we were just f*cked. my mindset was, hey, i was never gonna use all those art supplies anyway. lol, trying to rationalize so the sting and hurt would be lessened.

so, anyway, here we are today. our house still has no electricity and the water is not drinkable due to the water plant being flooded. hubs helped bring the refinery down on thursday before he left work and it is still down until they can get proper power, but all reports from his coworkers who were on shelter-in duty there are good. the refinery sustained very little damage and it hardly rained there at all. they are ready to bring it back up, but the utility infrastructure of the area is delaying it. you might live in a new area where the utilities are underground, but on my gulf coast they are largely hobbled together above ground, pole to pole, susceptible to wind, trees, wild animals and lightning. just my 2 cents, but if the gov't wanted to help lessen the effects of weather along the gulf coast, they would use the rebuild dollars on relocating the utility infrastructures underground where possible. every time this happens, that is what is damaged the most. who listens to little old me though.

I waited til today to update the blog because the wireless router for our hotel building wasn't working until today. i was going to find another hotel if it hadn't been fixed by today. like hubs said, if the tv in the hotel room didn't work, he'd be pissed. same with my internet, jeebus. anyway, all is well for time being at least.

hubs left to go back this morning. he just couldn't wait around. he had to go back and check out what's going on. me, i am planning to stay right here in san marcos until our water and electricity are back online and good. poor missy is really distraught. she spent all weekend refusing to give up hope that she could return to school in beaumont today, despite us telling her that was a pipe dream. the downtown there had 9 feet of water in it. they and western louisiana got pelted by ike just as much if not more than we did. missy and her school friends spent all weekend trying in vain to find out when they were supposed to be back at school.

we finally found out this morning that missy's tentative date to return to school is Sept. 29, and that is at the earliest. turns out that a lot of the campus flooded. her dorm room is on the 3rd floor, so luckily her room did not flood, and the roof is still okay. she is still not happy about having all that time to fill though. i feel bad for her, but she is really impatient by nature, so it is gonna be testy, lol.

well, she wants to go see "burn after reading" so we are off to do that. i'll check back in later...

Y(IKE)S, Call 9/11

Well, it's that time again, isn't it? This time around, it strikes me that Americans are united in honoring this day, yet there are so many differing beliefs on how we got here and how we go on.

For myself, I wouldn't be shocked to discover that OBL ordered the attack as vengeance for the Bushies cozying up to OBL's father and bringing western evil to his country. I even used to think there might be a chance that GWB choreographed it to start his wars and control us easier.

My planning to vote GOP in November doesn't mean I believe the possibilities of those theories any less. It's just that was then, this is now, and we have to move on and deal with the leftovers. There have been many days that I want to hurt George Bush but I guess I've always paid enough attention to the news to know that John McCain has probably wanted to hurt him more and more often. Most of the nasties in the Congressional GOP are no longer there, finally, and I think sometimes the GOP haters are still hating the past.

So it is that on this day I always re-assess my feelings about our place in the world. I remember how passionately angry so many around me were in 2001, and although I wanted to be, I wasn't. Instead, I get a bit angrier about it with every passing year and less fearful of accepting and appreciating a hawkish stance in a post-9/11 world. That my child and her many wonderful friends have all become adults in the last 7 seven years has a lot to do with my courage, I think.



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As I write this, Ike keeps turning more and more towards us. Even so, Hubs wants to stay and shelter in place, and Missy called to report she doesn't want to come home. So we decided last night not to leave, and went to bed.

Hubs got up to discover Missy sleeping in her bed. Turns out the college and town both decided on an evacuation in the middle of the night. There was the college's automated message on our machine. We'd slept right thru it. Well, there goes my Plan B (I was going to hang out at her dorm if things looked really ominous for us.)

We turn on the local news and the damn storm track is closer to us even more now. I try reserving a hotel and the traffic nightmare to get to any of them makes me stop. (Missy refuses to get into that traffic after the last storm.) So, here we are, waiting for a mutha of a massive storm to decide the weapon and the method, cuz it's now a given that it will happen to us. We will get the storm. What scares me is the storm surge, should it become a Cat 4. We are around 25 ft about sea level, but also only about 1/4 of a mile from Cedar Bayou that feeds into Galveston Bay. The bayou will back up and rise if the bay does. It's never flooded on my street from the bayou or from storm surge and I am just praying this is not the first time.

I don't know, but it seems like right now only the coastal low-lying towns are under evacuation right now. Seems like a lot of folks are going to stay. Tropical storm winds and rain are supposed to begin tomorrow mid-day, and I have have have to prepare a corporate tax return today (my last official one). It's due next week, but if we lose electricity that's a problem so gotta do it now. Then, I have to take a video of all our rooms. Then help secure odds and ends. Missy can get groceries today. I paid all the bills already for the next two weeks. I have our prescriptions, our hurricane supplies, cash, full gas tanks, water, clothes are washed, got dogfood. What else?

A nuclear black-hole machine to put Ike in would be nice...

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Mayor Palin's Big Book-Ban Scandal 411

FROM THE ARCHIVE: Palin: Library censorship inquiries 'Rhetorical'

By PAUL STUART
Editor's note: This story first ran in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Dec. 18, 1996. It has been typeset and posted here to accommodate numerous requests for the story from media worldwide and curious individuals. Please note that not at any time were any books ever banned from the Wasilla city library.

WASILLA -- In the wake of strong reactions from the city's library director to inquiries about censorship, Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin on Monday was taking pains to explain her questions about censoring library material were “rhetorical.”

Library Director Mary Ellen Emmons last week said Palin broached the subject with her on two occasions in October - once Palin was elected mayor Oct. 1 but before she took office on Oct. 14, and again in more detail on Monday, Oct. 28. Besides heading the Wasilla City Library, Emmons is also president of the Alaska Library Association.

The issue became public last Wednesday, when Palin brought it up during an interview about the now-defunct Liquor task Force. Palin used the library topic as an example of discussions with her department heads about understanding and following administration agendas. Palin said she asked Emmons how she would respond to censorship.

Emmons drew a clear distinction Saturday between the nature of Palin's inquiries and an established book-challenge policy in place in Wasilla, and in most public libraries.

"I'm not trying to suppress anyone's views," Emmons said. "But I told her (Palin) clearly, I will fight anyone who tries to dictate what books can go on the library shelves."

Palin said Monday she had no particular books or other material in mind when she posed the questions to Emmons.

Emmons said in the first conversation, before being sworn in as mayor, Palin briefly touched on the subject of censorship.

But on Monday, Oct. 28, Emmons said Palin asked her outright if she could live with censorship of library books. This was during a weak when Palin was requesting resignations from all the city's department heads as a way of expressing loyalty.

"This is different than a normal book-selection procedure or a book-challenge policy," Emmons stressed Saturday. "She was asking me how I would deal with her saying a book can't be in the library."

Monday Palin said in a written statement she was only trying to get aquatinted with her staff at the time. "Many issues were discussed, both rhetorical and realistic in nature," Palin added.

Emmons recalled that the Oct. 28 conversation she pulled no punches with her response to the mayor.

"She asked me if I would object to censorship, and I replied 'Yup'," Emmons recounted Saturday. "And I told her it would not be just me. This was a constitutional question, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) would get involved, too."

Emmons said Palin asked her on Oct. 28 if she would object to censorship, even if people were circling the library in protest about a book. "I told her it would definitely be a problem the ACLU would take on then," Emmons said

Asked who she thought might picket the library, Palin said Monday, "Had no one in mind ... again, the issue was discussed in the context of a professional question being asked in regards to library policy.

"All questions posed to Wasilla's library director were asked in the context of professionalism regarding the library policy that is in place in our city. Obviously the issue of censorship is a library question... you ask a library director that type of question," Palin said

Palin also said Monday censorship issues would not involve any departments other than the library.

Emmons said she has been offered help if it is ever needed on censorship issues from the state library association's Intellectual Freedom Committee and the National Freedom to Read Foundation.

Palin called Emmons into her office Monday to discuss the censorship questions again.

Palin also attended Friday's staff meeting at the library, but without mentioning censorship , Emmons said.

"I'm hoping it was just a trial balloon," Emmons said, "because the free exchange of information is my main job, and I'll fight anyone who tries to interfere with that."

The timing of the issue comes at a time when Emmons is trying to get the book-challenge policies of the Wasilla Library and of the Palmer City Library in line with the Mat-Su Borough policy, revised in December of last year.

Emmons described the new borough policy as "a very good one."

It is a step-by-step blueprint of procedures for anyone wanting to challenge the selection and availability of library material, Emmons explained. "it is a good process, and almost all public libraries have one."

The borough's policy was revised mainly to replace the borough manager as the final decision maker with a formal Reconsideration Committee Mat-Su Borough Manager Don Moore said Saturday that changes were made, with the blessings, after a dispute that was resolved about two years ago involving a challenged book at the Big Lake Library.

Emmons said the current Wasilla policy, which she described as written in more general terms than the borough's, also worked procedurally in a book-challenge case last year. Emmons said then-council-woman Palin was distressed about the issue when it came up, indicating she was aware of the city's book-challenge policy.

Emmons said in the conversations with now-Mayor Palin in October, she reminded her again that the city has a policy in place. "But it seamed clear to me that wasn't really what she was talking about anyhow," Emmons added. "I just hope it doesn't come up again."

Meanwhile, Emmons said she is working with borough libraries boss Bruce Urban and Palmer Library Director Janice Sanford, in the hope of getting the cities to adopt a book-challenge policy identical to the borough's.

My additional information: Palin had constituents who wanted books banned. What if you were mayor of your town and had those constituents? Not cool to just tell them no. A mayor serves all the people. Palin asked questions and took her full position to do that, but that's all. She didn't DO anything. Just asked questions. And is that the story you got in newspapers, magazines, and TV news about this? No, but it should have been with an unbiased media...

Political Potporri

Before I get into my hodge-podge of links and newsworthy items, I want to send a well-wishing shout-out to 2Paws Sarah who is experiencing Tropical Storm Hanna as I write this. She was just leaving me a comment the other day wishing me well during Gustav, and I remember thinking, she's in the middle of NC. How nice of her to think of me when hurricanes aren't a part of her life... Dang, hope I didn't cause the Hanna karma to find her... You might laugh, but after awhile a hurricaneer sometimes wonder why oh why, do I have a hurri-magnet on my butt or something? LOL

Anyway, Sarah, stay safe and dry! (She just re-did her bathroom floors this summer, too...).

And lookie what might be headed toward me next week? I don't like Ike!



Okay, on with the Potporri!


Saw this advertised on Greta Van Sustern tonight, and I'll be watching. I like Greta a lot. She is about the fairest commentator out there, and always takes great pains to appear neutral politically. Probably worth watching, on her recommendation...

Don't know about you but I can only take so much of this partisanship. I'm a judicious type by nature, always gotta weigh pro and cons, both sides. So, I think in a couple of days I will start something like a double-sider on the issues or the candidates. Doing that helps me stay grounded, like a reality check if one of those ever exist in politics...

Most of the internet posts and comments I read about the election are partisan, but sometimes there will be people post who say, "What Palin attack? I don't see it, can you provide links?"

This usually sends me into fits of laughter, but geebus, what a great idea that would be to have a website where they are all listed and linked? Anybody know of one or wanna start one? Huge job, too huge for me to produce, but I can provide help. Email me or leave a comment if you are interested. I mean, hell, Obama has an entire website devoted to fringe emails about him being Muslim. I think it might help us remember it all. And, I'm still waiting to receive my deluge of Obama email. Seriously, I'd love to know what the heck he's talking about?

See how that can go both ways? I'm just sayin....winkwink

Anyway, I can't decide whether to really believe that kind of question if it is indeed being asked sincerely. I guess someone who is watching Turner Classic Movies 24/7 would miss it. Or if they watch network news.

But it can, as I showed, easily be a tactic to cause chaos and upset. One of the boards I was on the other day had a group of Obama supporters in an obvious concerted effort to start as many threads as they could with Palin rumors. And after awhile, we McCain supporters were worn out trying to defend and correct the record, and one big reason I quit once I realized what was being done.

Those of you who do not know the name Saul Alinsky and his effect on Obama need to read this excellent 2007 article. When I look at what the Obama supporters teach each other to do (and his campaign can deny this all they want, but I'm sure the talking points are distributed by them albeit covertly), it always makes me think that Alinsky would be proud. Alinsky is the unofficial father of community organizers, among other more radical ideas. Anyone wanting to look objectively at Obama better make a long stop at Alinsky. The article I provided is a great start.

I kind of want to buy into some odds on whether Keith Olbermann can make it until Election Day without totally imploding or exploding. Let's think back to when MSNBC Prez Phil Griffin rationalized that they maintained objectivity using Matthews and Olbermann as anchors during primetime election coverage. The boys are supposed to be subdued and non-snarky. Right. Anyway, Keith finally blew that beyond all recognition on Thursday night. See the story here, complete with video.

This interesting piece of info from the article: Keith blogs on Daily Kos and read the comments in order to gain perspective.

WHAT?

I kid you not, my friends. (HA! I've actually begun using that phrase at times!) This arbiter of journalistic-objectivity-my-ass gains perspective from Daily Kos. Oh, never mind. He and they are both beyond any sane comprehension. Still, people should know he's a loon. A frickin loon.

Now, I used to love Olbermann before that political switch clicked in my head. I seriously did. I used to watch MSNBC 24/7 and abhor Fox. It's now the exact opposite. I really do think that partisans see the same issue or candidate through completely different lenses. And I have been, in one year, at both ends of the spectrum, lol. No wonder I've been having headaches, lol.

Gustav, Palin...and Missy's 5-Hour Ride

I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend. Missy did get home. It took her 5 hours to drive a 70-mile stretch of Interstate 10! One of the things that make people down here get upset about having to evacuate is the fear that the traffic will be like when Rita hit. And, I'd say poor Missy got a deja vu. She was livid, but what can you do? It's a stretch of straight road with cross roads that lead only to small hamlets and no real alternative routes, so she was stuck. Me, I'd have had to tinkle after the first hour...sigh.

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Well, Gustav ended up sparing us, although up until the very end after landfall, he was tracked to turn west and hug our coast. So, I almost wasn't believing it when he went north instead of west. I do not believe we even got one drop of rain. I'm grateful, but I still feel one of those storms has our number this season...

I have been trying to keep the good folks on the Florida, Georgia and Carolina coasts in my prayers. The one-two-and-maybe-three punch of this current string of storms in the Atlantic is just ridiculous-scary. Hope it's the only pattern of its kind, evah! Stay strong safe and tough, East coasters!

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Well, let us get to the real hurricane in front of us, shall we? LOL



No, I don't assert that the Palin women are storms, but they sure are causing one, or two, or three of them!

The chat out there in message board political threads and blogs is contentious. The Palin pick has brought out a lot of debate. Now, being someone who wanted to experience this and see for myself if it was hype or real, I immersed myself into 2 communities. I have been having problems with stiffness in my fingers and the doc told me to exercise them. Plus, I had the political urge. I had the urge to spread my (poly) ticks, as Yellow Dog Dems down South say. I can now say I've BTDT. Enough for me, at least in that high concentration. I've never seen anything like it in my lifetime, seriously.

I do believe that the Obama campers have the internet covered and the McCain campers are just too outnumbered online to give their oppo a real fight. (Voters who hang on message boards and blogs, though, are still in the clear minority of total voters, so that means nothing in the way of predicting an election outcome.) And, if the number of emails and private messages that were sent to me was any indication, a lot of women just do not want to enter the cyber fray but hold positions just as dear and passionate as the posted ones. I cannot tell you how often I was privately thanked for voicing others' opinions. No, doesn't make me right. I simply appreciate validation and connection, that's all, as well as being reminded that the hyena in front of my face is not as huge as it appears, LOL.

I think it's a great thing to say for our country that I never ran into even a hint of racism, although there were posters who, were they any quicker on the race-baiting trigger, they'd be in jail for discharging a firearm. Someone used the word "uppity" to describe the look Obama makes sometimes, and Lord, never mind that that's been a term to define "stuck up, conceited, self-absorbed" for my entire life. It was "did you mean to say .....", and you can finish the sentence on your own. Of course, it was sometimes a test for me to stifle my snarkiness, as with that example, I was dying to reply, "Wait, wouldn't that be "uppity wegro, he is half-white, ya know." LOL No, I saved that for here. Yeah. That kinda thing.

And I will say this: I never thought I'd ever see this or come to believe it, because as a lifelong Episcopalian I am used to tolerance and inclusiveness to the very point of nausea, but of all the poli-posters who waved their religiosity in front of my face, the most unkind one was Unitarian for goodness sakes. I would have at least guessed a religious denomination less connected with liberalism, but shows what I know.

Actually, I think it shows what we might need to know as concerns this election. I am going to assume that you, dear reader, knows by now that many of the Obama-supporting women out there are back-peddling on women's rights now. I'm gonna say right up front that I don't believe them for one second and that it's a pretty sad day when you have to abandon all that you believe to in order to make points for your candidate. (I'm talking about all the Dem women and some GOP women too who post that Palin shouldn't be running because of her kids, and all she has on her plate, etc).

I find that argument insulting, frankly. Not from the conservative women who truly feel that no matter what their candidate espouses, but the idea that it's ok to so hypocritically flip-flop as an argument against Palin by the Obama supporters. I will assert that this is just further proof that Obama has no real empathy or support for "women's issues". *He* (meaning his supporters and the media, who is in his tank) has already shown this in trashing Hillary, in trashing his 'typical white' grandmother and now in this. And it also shows me my opinion of the ruthlessness in some GenX women is very real. The Obama Boomer women have surprised me, though.

It shows me that you only get support as a woman from the Left if you support the politically correct candidate / platform. Wow. At least Gloria Steinem opposes Palin for her political views and for Steinem's opinion that she lacks experience, and has enough of a conscience to chastise those who are using sexist arguments about her family. At least someone worries about their legacy and record as well as obvious logic, lol.

As for Sally Quinn, what can I say? That woman has been a DC political whore for 30years, so her pitiful little WaPo essay is no surprise. (Click on the whore link for a great read in Salon that dishes the real dirt on Sally. Then tell me this women wouldn't sell herself to get Obama elected.) And, Earth to Sally: when her hubby is WaPo publisher Ben Bradlee, that kinda explains why you get to have published essays at all.

My low opinion of Quinn didn't stop me from emailing her, though, lol. Here's what I wrote her:

Ms. Quinn, I am a 52-y.o. married white woman with a daughter in college. I have voted Dem all my adult life, the first time in 1976. I was tutored in old-school feminism and abortion became legal the year before I became sexually active. My parents were equal partners in their marriage and still are, as I am in my 21-y.o. marriage. I am also a lifelong Episcopalian and have never been born again or fundamental about anything. I say all of that as background for my opinion of your essay about Palin, which is, as I was reading your arguments against her, it suddenly occurred to me I was reading a logic eerily similar to the arguments given my mother in 1959, when she unsuccessfully applied for a teaching position that she was well-qualified for, but it was before I was old enough for 1st grade (there was no daycare back in that day and the official line on working women with young children was almost identical to what Palin is getting thrown at her now, as I am sure you well remember since you are now elderly). By the way, the arguments my mother was given for refusing to hire her back then are illegal for an employer to espouse today.

I am filled with nausea that you are so, so filled with partisan hunger that you cannot see what glares at me. Your stance reminds me of the old withered feminist spinster, who is offered many proposals and career opportunities, but who turns them all down because none are perfect or pure enough in motive.

Out of Biden's lips today (in reference to Palin's red-meat criticism of Obama in her convention speech):

"What do you talk about when you have 8 years of failure? You talk about the other guy!"

Well, Joe, which ticket are you talking about, really? Think about it, hehe.

Yeah. There is sooo much I could point out, but make no mistake. One has only to read about how ruthless Obama was in his Chicago and Illinois election contests to know how ruthless he is now. He thinks nothing, nothing of creating chaos in our cobbled-together culture for the sake of his ascendency. We now have generational, racial and sexist divides so deep I think it might have set us back years. And that was all before he declared in June he had enough delegates. If you wonder what got into McCain, believe me, he didn't want to have to fight fire with fire, but nobody else has against Obama, and McCain, being the fighter and profile in courage that he really truly is, is not about to step back from this.

More tomorrow. I'll be regular from now on because there is just too much to write about and better to do it here than on a freakin message board! Stay tuned....

I Like Her!

My brain is really too fragmented right now and has been all day. Having spent yesterday digesting info on Palin, I spent the better part of today digesting commentary and reaction to McCain's new running mate, as well as keep a running command central infodesk concerning Missy and her continually-changing hurricane plans.

Let me just dispense with Missy's story. She is off at school about 70 miles away, at Lamar University in Beaumont, on Interstate 10 at the Tex-La border. For the last two days, we've been getting the connect-ed automated phone calls detailing any changes made on account of the storm. First, they cancelled classes thru Tuesday for a tentative Wednesday re-opening. Then as Gustav crossed Cuba and the Cone of Uncertainty shifted east, a county-wide mandatory evac was ordered as of 6pm today. Meanwhile, Missy is working a double shift at her restaurant job, and the owner is shuffling his feet about deciding to close. Finally he decides to close thru Tuesday too, and Missy is allowed to leave and make her own plans. But she crosses over I-10 on her drive back to her dorm and it's super-clogged. So now she is waiting til tonight when it hopefully will have finally tapered off. She only has about an hour drive to get home to us, but during Rita an hour drive turned into 10 hours, and she would rather stay put given that chance. I don't blame her, so we are watching and waiting. She'll get here, we just don't know when yet.

Now for the fun:



Just some thought fragments of my reaction to McCain choosing Palin, which was very positive initially, then grew once I began reading more about her. She's not unblemished and not perfect, but to me her positives outweigh her negatives.

You or someone else might ask, how does a pro-choice Democrat embrace Sarah Palin? The entire crux of why and how for me is that as I got older I recognized that culturally, abortion has become a legal taboo compared to my heyday feminist years (yes, it really has), and then I realized that the only solution to this is compromise.

So, comprising on the Supreme Court declaring the federal guarantee of right to abortion in the matter of Roe v Wade is the worst that can happen, right?

So I think about it, definitely not for me, but for my daughter, should she ever want that choice. A conservative majority declaring Roe unconstitutional kicks the legality of abortion back to the states. Period. And I think it's safe to say that NY and CA will be tripping over each other to enact legalization laws if that were to happen. And, hey, it's now a plane trip away. So, to me, the compromise is just that. Worst case scenario.

Poof! Not that big a deal to me. And this is after polling Missy and her friends. Newsflash: the Millienial Gen is conflicted over it and is not ga-ga passionate about it like feminists of my generation were.

Here's the other thing. I've already posted about how dear fiscal conservatism is to me. So, this really explains my embrace. If I have learned anything from being a voter for 34 years and this one will make 9 presidential elections I've voted in, it's this: you have to learn to vote in compromise, and sometimes vote against as much as vote for. You have to vote no matter how much your choices might disgust you. And you have to realize you are voting for 4 years, not forever. What is needed now that can realistically be done in that time frame and who can deliver it best?

So, cultural issue difference pale in comparison to me right now. We are on the verge of economic disaster unless we reign in spending. Game over. For me, anyway.

I think that represents one interpretation of "politics makes strange bed fellows."

More later. Missy's on her way...

Storm Clouds are Coming

I don't know about you, but my week has been getting a little bit worse with every day. I want things to stay the same for a while, but no one is asking for my input. ;-) It seems like it's getting harder to stay positive, just as I decided to be positive, LOL.

So much for fate and that which we call the randomness of life. I've been keeping up with all of the challenges that have hit me these last couple of weeks, smiling through the rain, always looking at the half-full glass. So, dang, I'm really wanting things to stay the same for awhile!

Gustav's headed for the Gulf and this time we need to finally stock up and do the preparation routine, since we've been given 2 dry-runs so far. To ask for 3 would be reckless without being prepared. It might seem mindless to not have stocked up yet, but it stresses us out bigtime to go through the motions because it causes us to have to think of the worst. The current guessing game has it reaching land on Monday, so we adopt that and change as the guessing changes, because even though it may not hit us at all, we still have to operate AS IF.

Hub's mother called and just like every time she calls, our To-Do List got added to. Family stuff that I have to go to, too, for some reason. Why is that? She wants us all to meet on Sunday afternoon at the cemetery as it is his dad's birthday that day. That is totally approriate, except that it doesn't stop there. It's all fricking evening. We all go out to eat afterwards, then a quote-unquote family meeting. Oh, Brother. She doesn't want to be alone, but can you tell I'm just tired of it? Why can't Hubs just go spend time with her? I'm gonna be n-e-r-v-o-u-s by Sunday and I really don't even want to go I may be feeling too badly to go, and I say that sincerely...because whenever I think about what the heck it could be about, I feel like I'm gonna be ambushed somehow. I'm so apprehensive about it that I am halfway hoping if that storm's coming, then come on Sunday.

We're worrying about Missy. She's begins her hardest courseload yet this semester. She also begins something called Ad Fed, which is like a student advertising debate team, except it's a strategy team that does competitions. Many colleges that have decent advertising schools have Ad Fed.

So cool...except if you also have a job and you're trying to work your way through school to help mom and dad pay for it. Missy is so determined to pay her share that her logical next step should things get too hairy is to quit Ad Fed, and so I'm trying to find enough time to talk to her and make her see she needs to quit that restaurant job, not Ad Fed, if need be. Plan B is student loans which we have not yet tapped. And Hubs and I can pay help pay a little more than we are doing, we will just adjust plans we have, if need be. Or borrow from Hubs' 401K.

So, she basically does not have enough hours in the day, what with the restaurant wanting her to work 6 days a week and then take some stupid training classes on day #7. What good is having a job and earning the money to go to colage if you cannot get out of it what you need? So, I dunno, my mind is stressing over that, and for now, she's going to try to juggle it and hope they hire some more employees. Oh, yeah, and today was only her 4th day of class...

We're needing to spend some money to make a few serious household repairs, but we're afraid to! Geebus!

Just a lot of weird stuff piling on...and I want it to be last week again, even though I had a dead computer. Because I was happier then than I am now. I don't know, maybe it's a cumulative effect.

So, I bet at least some of you wanted me to write about the election, especially now that I have my blogs separated and all. LOL But, I'm just kind of calm about it all now. About the only opinions I have right now about the convention are that Hillary was awesome and it sort of made me nauseated to watch all the black people at the convention treat Bill Clinton like they used to back in the Pre-Obama Day...now that Bill's towing the Obama line...like he's not a racist now or doin' to them what he did to Monica (their words). Right...You know me, the hipocracy angle always shows itself...

I still continue not to rule out 100% that I won't vote with the Dems, unlike Hubs. It's not like the end of the world if Obama wins, but I'm still not empassioned to believe, or to stay home and not vote. Like Hubs says, this is an election year where you are voting AGAINST someone more than FOR someone. At least here it is.

I think one reason the Obama message doesn't convince me is because I just don't see things as all that bad. If just everyone would be more frugal over the long term. Bear in mind though, we live within our means totally and always have, so we are not overextended anywhere. Plus, Hubs has a job where his area and what he does is pretty freakin indispensible to the refinery process, so I think it's prudent to assume he has job security until he retires sometime in the next 5 to 9 years. Not a totally sure bet, but you have to assume one way or another, cuz what else are ya gonna do? You cannot save an alternate job in the bank, ya know?

I'm just a hopeless expense cutter, I guess. There's a lot I disagree with him about, but I see McCain being the only one of the two with any hope of actually cutting our expenses, and I feel strongly we need to do that, yesterday. This country freakin needs to live without a whole lotta crap for awhile. With Obama, I see lots of new domestic programs that are just going to cost and cost, and to what end, in the end? Plus, I feel safer with Grandpa in charge. End of story, pretty much.



So, that's that. Kinda blue, isn't it? Blame it on the dog days. It's August, after all. ;-)

I Wish

I've been thinking that a lot lately, those two little words, I wish. When I was a child, those were almost sacred words, to be used most judiciously, lest the wishes wouldn't come true. Now that I'm grown up (most of the time), I think I might want to start wishing for my desires and as many as possible.

Like, I wish we'd had these cute little cartoon graphics on sandwich baggies when I was a kid...



And I wish that every Western Gulf hurricane goes in just like Dolly...

...not that today's gonna be a walk in the park for my part of the world. Just look at that radar image, above. That's as of almost an hour ago, 5:30 a.m. See the Houston area and all the rain we are getting? It's going to be like that all day long and maybe all night. The Houston news this morning is already predicting definite street flooding for today, since Houston floods at the first sign of spit. Brownsville and Corpus are getting the hurricane, but you hide and watch, if any rain band training occurs, some areas around me will be impacted almost as badly.

There is some weird-ass "black hole" type meteorological explanation for it, but we often get pattern "grooves" like El Nino a few years back, where storm clouds travel over and then are caught up in. So, certain areas get 10x more rainfall than other areas just blocks away.



I felt the first outer bands of Dolly exactly at 3 p.m. yesterday. I was walking out the back door to go drop off some mail and a gust of wind almost pulled the door out of my hand. It was a dry very hot wind. The second I got into the car, it began to slant rain. It squalled the entire time I was travelling, and then died down the moment I pulled into the driveway. Talk about timing!

Now, as the sun is coming up, I have been up all night and am on a naturally-wired Hurricane high, even though the dang storm is going in 300 miles to my South. It never fails. I've been this way (my "hurricane high") for every storm I've lived through since my first in 1961. I'll collapse later on and sleep, no worries, but for now, I'll just be grateful that in my alert state I've decided that I want to blog, LOL.

So, I also wish I can get back into regular blogging again. It's really tough when you're out of the habit.

Hm, I wish I could continue to create like I've been recently. I'm still working on creating organization more than anything else, but I am pushing myself to do my little art like daily exercise. Sometimes I finish in a day, sometimes in 3...




The first atc with the little boy was one that Tina liked on my Flickr. Thanks for the comment, Tina! And Reba likes the Bird of Pair-a-Dice (LOL, you know how I like my puns, thank you, Reba). I made the backgrounds for all of them: 2 of them with my new crayon pastels, distress ink sponging on one, and acrylic paints on one.

As for my organizing, my little homemade Clip-It Rack is growing and filling in...



Remember the 3-ring binder spine label I made, and said I'd probably have to change it out once I found a better use for the binder? Well, haha. It happened. I just turned the label over and made a new one on the back side. Here it is:



Then, I finally found a great yahoo group to join for trading and swapping 4x6 APC's (altered post cards). That made it necessary to create a template for this new size of art, so I worked one up (got a little silly, too):





I bought one of those templates for my ATC's at European Papers, and I like it so much, I tried to replicate the idea...really helps me visualize how an image will look on smaller-sized art.

And now, since I am seeing little lightning pops and hearing the rumbling of thunder, I'll close before we get any power interrupts, with a birthday photo of the most gorgeous young woman:



I am continually amazed I gave birth to this girl. Isn't she WOW to the 20th degree? Even though summer semester college algebra here at the local junior college is currently eating her lunch. Mega-homework and killer quizzes for a subject she doesn't really like and probably won't use much in advertising as a copywriter. 57 on the first quiz, yup, that's my Missy, LOL. I'm smelling a C, hopefully. Which is fine cuz the grade doesn't count, only the credit earned, if she passes. If she doesn't, she just tries again next summer. Since her aptitude in math is plenty high, having to take it a second time should be motivation enough to pass...