Merry Christmas

 

It's Christmas Eve morning

 

 

with my early cup of coffee in my happy cup ...I see so many wonderful pictures that would be fun to share...

but mostly I hope you will have peace this Christmas and coming New Year

 

 

 

Christmas in Arizona

Here are a few unusual, only in Arizona, Christmas sights:

A blooming prickly pear cactus and here is the recipe if you want to make some of that famous Prickly Pear Jelly:

PRICKLY PEAR JELLY

1 gal. prickly pear cactus fruit, very ripe, deep garnet color 4 c. juice 4 c. sugar 2 pkgs. fruit pectin Gather the fruit using tong and gloves. Put fruit in sink with water. Using tongs, swish in water to remove stickers. Cut fruit in half. Place in large pan. Boil until fruit is shriveled. Mash with potato masher. Strain through jelly bag or cheese cloth. Bring juice and pectin to boil. Add sugar and boil to jelly stage. Pour into jelly glasses and seal.

 

A rooster pulling a decorated wagon (matches the chili peppers I think).

 

My computer screen saver and it isn't even close to below freezing outside:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally!!

Well the computer was a little better for a short time and then went crazy again so decided it was time to buy a new one....

Of course the fun now is getting everything transferred and working but at least on the blog I can  grab the pictures again.

Here are some things that have been happening on the home front.
We decided to update our master bath....

 Before

Of course you first have to tear it all down..

After a lot of mess we now have the results...

I am very pleased and the dust and dirt prompted a good cleaning:)

We were invited to a friends house for his 65th birthday and he has restored Tom Mix (old famous western actor) car in which he lost his life here in Florence, Arizona. Seeing pictures of it and reading about it is one thing but to see it in person is overwhelming. Well, here is a picture anyhow...

You can go to this web site and see so many great ones along with the before pictures and awards and etc.

And the granddaughter's volleyball team placed second in the State Championships! Good job Cobra's!

Got to see them play a couple of times (Granddaughter is fourth from the left).

We had Thanksgiving at Black Angus Restaurant this year because Granddaughter got a job there and promised she would work that day. It was pretty good and we had a nice time.

It is already Dec. and I am procrastinating about Christmas.....that is a bit of my norm I am afraid.

Troubles

Having computer problems so can't add any pictures:(
Hopefully it will be fixed this week.

Our Mexican neighbors have it right

 

This picture was recently featured with an article of growing signs of voter fraud across the nation, and that the question isn't whether it's happening, but how widespread it is — and why the media refuse to treat it as the serious problem it is.

In a recent study the US came in 3rd in assessing elections but our neighbor, Mexico, came in 1st on all eight criteria for assessing election administration.


Check it out:

1. Nonpartisan election administration. Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) is a nonpartisan, professional institution in which political party representatives have access but no control. IFE manages a nation-wide system with uniform rules. In contrast, the United States has 13,000 counties and municipalities that manage our national elections with different rules and less capacity. Partisan officials generally control the process, and in a close election, the opposition is often suspicious of the result.

2. Registration and identification of voters. IFE actively registers about 95% of 77 million eligible voters and gives each a biometric, photo ID card, which Mexicans use as a primary identification. The registration list is audited regularly, and the photos of the voters are on the list in each polling site.
In contrast, U.S. states and communities passively register about 55% of eligible voters, and the lists are flawed with many duplicates and errors, especially between states and counties. Each state has different rules, and in states where Republicans have a majority, their focus on preventing electoral fraud has led them to restrict registration and require IDs, while Democrats are more concerned about voters' access and believe the Republican ID laws are aimed to suppress voter turnout from poor people or minorities. The truth is that we ought to adopt Mexico's national, biometric ID system. That would eliminate duplicates and simplify the registration and voting process.

3. Poll workers. Mexico views the conduct of elections like Americans view jury duty – a civic obligation – and they recruit on a random basis a large number of people from each district. They are well-trained in every stage of the electoral process. When I asked a U.S. election official about the criteria for choosing poll workers, he said: "I'll take anyone with a pulse." Most poll workers are very senior citizens without the kind of stamina necessary to manage a polling station for 12 hours, and in most cases, they are poorly trained as compared to their Mexican counterparts.

4. Campaign finance/corruption. Each of Mexico's main political parties receive approximately $24 million of public financing for a three-month campaign. They can also receive 10% of their funds from supporters, but no one can give more than $71,000. In contrast, in the United States, there will be an estimated $6 billion raised privately, and with the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money. Major contributors could have extraordinary access and substantial influence over public policy. Some would define that as corruption on a scale that even the drug cartels couldn't compete.

5. Equitable access to the media/negative advertising. IFE pays for media advertising, and ensures that the candidates have equal access. IFE also tries to discourage any negative advertising. A substantial amount of the $6 billion raised by the candidates in the United States goes for media advertising, and a recent study showed that 70 percent of ads in this year’s presidential contest has been negative. Just think what $6 billion could do as an endowment to a university; it would have lasting positive effects. Who believes that negative advertising can have a lasting positive effect?

6. Neutralizing incumbency. Since its revolution, Mexico's constitution prohibits re-election in order to prevent incumbents from using government to manipulate the electoral process. IFE goes even further by trying to prevent the president from even campaigning in the most indirect way for his party's candidates. In the United States, incumbents have a huge advantage in fund-raising because special interests can contribute to members of Congress while they are writing laws.

7. Judging disputes. Mexico has minutely-detailed election laws, and a professional and independent Electoral Tribunal to judge election disputes. The United States has few laws and no court with the expertise to settle such disputes.

8. Observers. Mexico invites international polling observers while the U.S. government does not welcome any international observers, and only two states allow them.
It was partly because of decades of electoral fraud that the Mexican people decided to construct a completely professional, independent and nonpartisan election organization. This has not eliminated all problems, but as compared to the thousands of complaints received by U.S. election authorities, the concerns from Mexico are minor.
A measure of commitment is that Mexico's IFE spends roughly 10 times more per capita than the United States to manage a state-of-the-art electoral process.

Our  U.S. system is so antiquated, decentralized, dysfunctional, under-funded with public resources, and over-funded with private interest money that we should maybe start asking why can't our electoral system be as good as Mexico's. Instead, any suggestions of change and improvement are met with accusations voter suppression and/or being a racist. Being able to count on fair electoral procedure is paramount for our United States of America.

 

Hey Congress how about this be your first call to action along with guaranteeing you have to adhere to the laws you pass and limiting your time in congress and...whoops I got carried away........

 

The tallest building in the world

At 2,722 ft

 

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest building in the world

Here are some comparisons

Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure and completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010

A 304-room Armani Hotel, the first of four by Armani, occupies 15 of the lower 39 floors.

The  sky lobbies on the 43rd and 76th floors house swimming pools. Floors through to 108 have 900 private residential apartments (which, according to the developer, sold out within eight hours of being on the market). An outdoor zero-entry swimming pool is located on the 76th floor of the tower. Corporate offices and suites fill most of the remaining floors, except for a 122nd, 123rd and 124th floor where the At.mosphere restaurant, sky lobby and an indoor and outdoor observation deck is located respectively.

There are a total of 57 elevators and 8 escalators and the building has 2,909 stairs from the ground floor to the 160th floor.

Look at the buildings next to it!

 

No trick or treat here....just the facts.

 

Voting time

I hope each person that has the privilege to vote, studies and prays about their choices. For me, when it comes time to  decide on judges this is my highest quality.


integrity

1. 1.

   the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.

   "he is known to be a man of integrity"

   synonyms:

   honesty, probity, rectitude, honor, good character, principle(s), ethics, morals, righteousness, morality, virtue, decency, fairness, scrupulousness, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness "I never doubted his integrity"

   antonyms:

   dishonesty

2. 2.

   the state of being whole and undivided.

   "upholding territorial integrity and national sovereignty"

   unity, unification, coherence, cohesion, togetherness, solidarity "the integrity of the federation What are some of your standards that you  make your voting decisions by?

Caution

I have gotten a flu shoot every year for the last couple of years...

 

But this year they asked me if I wanted the super dose and I figured I should have all the coverage possible.

In less than four hours I became very sick....fever, vomiting, diarrhea and etc. I called the Pharmacist and she said yes you can experience flu like symptoms and it should only last about 24 hours. 

 

Lord I am glad I didn't have the real thing! It is awful.....

 

I wished they would have told me ahead of time! So how about you? Have you ever gotten sick after taking the flu shot? Do you know anything about the "super dose"?

Fascination

I have a fascination with Queen Elizabeth. I can't imagine living in the spotlight your  entire life. Here she is just a baby...



and here as a little girl. Can you imagine not growing up with the idea that you can be anything you want to be but instead...you will be the Queen of England?

And what about her sister Princess Margaret (on the left)

Did she feel she lived in her sister's shadow?

Can you believe she trained as driver in 1945 during the war...

From a uniform to the Princess

A young woman who displayed great independence...




And so who does a potential Queen date? Well supposedly she met her man when she was only 13 years old and not without controversy (read more here) but she indeed married Prince Phillip in 1947
The marriage produced children Charles in 1948 and Princess Anne in 1950





Here she is at the coronation in
1953






















and now add Queen to Wife and Mother and represent all of England.


She has met and been photographed with 12 U.S. Presidents over the years.


 Herbert Hoover 1957


 Harry Truman 1951


 Dwight Eisenhower 1957



 JFK in1961

 Nixon in 1970

 Gerald For 1976


 Jimmy Carter 1977


 Ronald Reagan 1983 (at a roast)
 HW Bush 1971

 Clinton 1994


 George W. Bush 2007

 Obama 2011

A lady through and through, I love her smile.
This picture was taken on her 88th birthday...


and this photo was taken just this past April....

Queen Elizabeth II sits with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as she delivers her speech during the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster, 04.06.2014 in London, England.
 

 

This woman is amazing so you can't blame me for posting this one last picture...

 

          Go Queen Elizabeth !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hair

After posting the picture of my Mother and I, it occurred to me that my Mother's hair in the picture may have appeared a bit strange to some. It must have been a Sat. because her hair was in pin curls.

 

and most of the time she would wear a little scarf like thing but for some reason she didn't here. I on the other hand have a kerchief to cover mine:)

Another memory....

 

My mother made my pin curls by wrapping the hair around her finger like above but the thing is...she had long, pointed fingernails! I am sure you get the picture.

 

We went from pin curls to brush rollers.....

 Weren't they lovely and especially to sleep on. Yes, those were the good old days.

 

 

 

Through a childs eye

 

 

 

I am four years old in this picture that was taken with my Mother and her parents (my Grandparents). They lived at the very northern top of Montana on a homestead. What a different life it was than compared to where I was living (in a small town in Arizona with electric lights, running water, and a grocery store full of food that my parents owned).  I don't remember a lot except there were chickens right out the back door and you could throw seeds out and they would come running (scared me) and that you could get potatoes out of the ground! I also remember a picture of me getting a bath in a tub on the stove. One night my parents decided to go to town and left me with my Grandmother. We were going to bed and she stood in front of the mirror and began taking these things out or her hair and of my gosh.....she had this really long hair that I had never seen!
In my minds eye it looked like this:

 

Of course it wasn't but it was a shock to me. That was the only time I ever saw it down and later in life she cut it short but I will never forget it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mercy Ships

Can you imagine the excitement of seeing his ship in port!

 

Started 38 years ago from a man with a vision of bringing hope to the world

 

 

This woman was able to see her child for the first time thanks to the free surgery on the Mercy Ship.

https://www.mercyships.org/blind-mother-receives-sight/